Gateway NV5214u All-Purpose Laptop Review

The Gateway NV5214u is really a finances all-purpose laptop computer, and happy with it. For your sticker value of $529, it provides the common drill: lackluster speakers, minor in the way of bundled software, as well as a rather hefty footprint. But it really is very a able device, supplying a respectable bang-to-buck ratio and seeking rather excellent from the method.

For its plastic casing, the NV5214u took some design pointers from its bigger siblings. A glossy finish, sleek curves, and a row of slick touch-sensitive keys give it an air of class. It can be also fairly significant, measuring 14.6 by one.five by 9.eight inches, and weighing 6.8 pounds.

So the technique is really a minor on the hefty side--but it is what is on the inside that counts, right? Microsoft's Windows Vista Residence Premium resides on the 320GB challenging drive. Powering the NV5214u could be the dual-core, two.1GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 QL-64, as well as 4GB of RAM. The DirectX 10-capable ATI Radeon High definition 3200 graphics processor drives the screen, but do not count on miracles: Although a title for older, refined tastes like Doom 3 will chug along at thirty frames per second on the greater settings, newer games like Crysis will balk. The ensemble scored a 64 in the WorldBench 6 test suite, which puts the NV5214u behind marginally a lot more high-priced opponents these kinds of because the HP Pavilion DV4-1465DX or even the Dell Studio 14Z. Vehemently opposed to Vista? A flyer packed with the machine casually reminds users to choose up their free duplicate of Windows 7 Residence Premium, which should enhance things--particularly the battery existence, which currently clocks in at a less-than-spectacular two.five hrs.

The fifteen.6-inch, LED-backlit display screen is easily vivid inside the standard office or in a fluorescent-lit dwelling, however the visibility suffers the moment you venture outside. The 1366 by 768 resolution is simply proper for 720p video clip, with a sixteen:nine facet ratio that will make sure you film buffs and bored college college students alike. Color reproduction is good, and also the exhibit is evenly lit.

Gateway makes enough utilization of the machine's footprint, providing a spacious keyboard using a total number pad. While the individual keys are vast enough, they are also flat, and arranged uniformly, which may be disconcerting for touch typists. In low-light circumstances, you might find your wayward fingers becoming misaligned with all the keys; and with practically nothing to differentiate the keys, you would possibly make the occasional typo.

Nestled between the display screen as well as the keyboard are 7 touch-sensitive buttons for managing the amount, toggling the trackpad and Wi-Fi, and triggering the MyBackup computer software (much more on that in a bit). The device also includes a programmable button that will launch any application, file, or Web page you command it to. So far as touch-sensitive buttons go, they're pretty attractive, lending the NV5214u a few of the style-consciousness of more-expensive machines. However they are also nigh invisible in low-light problems, which may end result in some haphazard display screen finagling should you desire to turn the volume down even though viewing a motion picture.

The trackpad is very good: It has a nice, sleek texture which makes for at ease pointing. However the trackpad button is usually a bit bothersome. It is just one, reflective bar--tap the left aspect to click, faucet the right aspect to right-click. The middle, nonetheless, is unclickable. This really is nitpick territory, but when you happen to be accustomed to pressing both the left and appropriate buttons for any middle click on, or even the single bar on most older MacBooks, put together to get a little bit of a studying curve. Stretching your fingers to faucet the opposite ends in the seesaw-like bar is awkward enough to draw unfavorable attention to an otherwise beautiful fixture.

All the regular laptop computer facilities make an appearance inside the NV5214u: Four USB ports, a Webcam, a multiformat card reader, a DVD burner, and ethernet, modem, mic, and headphone jacks are all arranged neatly along the sides with the machine. Users looking for a bit far more display property will value the included VGA and HDMI ports; even though the GPU might not have the ability to deal with much gaming, the method ran effortlessly when multitasking on the 1900-by-1200-resolution, 24-inch display.

The NV5214u's speakers suit the budget-machine mold, as well. Crank the amount up, and they'll fill a place with sound--the bland, tinny type of sound. If you would like to have any semblance of bass, you'll need to make investments within a proper set of speakers, or more probably, a decent pair of headphones.

The package isn't going to provide you with a lot from the method of bundled software. The MyBackup method is exactly what its identify suggests. You press the touch-sensitive hotkey to fire up Gateway's simple backup-scheduling utility. Just pick which folders to sync, after which pick a vacation destination as well as a timetable, as well as the software will take treatment from the relaxation. The tool isn't robust, but informal end users will enjoy the one-button accessibility to a modicum of data-loss prevention, which is a stage inside the appropriate direction.

You'll also uncover the normal 60-day Microsoft Workplace trial, ad-supported Microsoft Performs, and a handful of casual games and demos inside the Gateway Video games console, a digital storefront.

The Gateway NV5214u has quirks, a short battery daily life, as well as a groan-inducing 7-pound bodyweight that may ward off some shoppers. But at $529, it is a stylish bargain, and everyone (specifically a pupil) who wants a good, cheap machine--and who does not mind the lack of bundled extras and frills--would do nicely to seem it about.

Sony VAIO Z-series VPCZ137GX: Light and Mighty

Sony's VPCZ137GX balances portability, ergonomics, and efficiency within a way that is tough to defeat. It's not very as light or as small because the regular ultraportable, nevertheless it offers a 13.1-inch, 1600-by-900-pixel show, fantastic ergonomics, and an onboard DVD burner. About the other hand, it can be more compact and lighter than a normal all-purpose 14- or 15-inch laptop computer. And last but not least, it seems to be wonderful and performs superbly.

The downside is value: The VPCZ137GX fees a whopping $2300.

One particular purpose for your substantial sticker value is actually a 256GB solid-state drive. This costly element provides the installed 64-bit Windows seven operating program a snappy really feel that a standard rotating challenging disk are not able to match, even when aided by a CPU more quickly than the VPCZ137GX's hugely capable 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 460M. Sony also offers 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 program memory as well as a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 330M GPU with 1GB of video clip memory.

On our WorldBench six check suite, the ultraportable earned a great mark of 118, also as wonderful frame rates in our reference games. 1080p Hd video clip played smoothly within the stunning show and also the audio was remarkably apparent and spacious sounding. Bass was lacking, but that's frequent in laptops.

Better however, battery lifestyle hardly suffers at all in the great efficiency. The VPCZ137GX lasted six hours, 20 minutes in our rundown check.

Even with all the DVD burner on board, Sony offers a great deal of ports: a few USB two.0 (sorry, no USB 3.0), the two VGA and HDMI, and gigabit ethernet. Additionally you get Bluetooth and N-wireless, Sony's Reveal My Connection software program (for sharing a broadband connection with 5 other customers), Memory Stick MagicGate and SD memory card slots, and microphone and headphone jacks. The VPCZ137GX lacks eSATA and Sony I.hyperlink (four-pin FireWire) jacks.

The Webcam tops out at 640-by-480-resolution video. Sony also provides a helpful three-way button on the top rated left of the unit so you can change the power scheme amid a few modes: velocity, stamina, and automobile.

The VPCZ137GX's backlit, Chiclet-style keyboard resembles the ones around the MacBook Air and Toshiba M645, but as opposed to with these models, the backlight leaking from round the keys is not distracting at any angle. The keyboard features a great firm really feel, as well as the touchpad is well-tuned.

The VPCZ137GX weighs in at just more than three lbs and measures eleven.4 by one.three by eight.3 inches. Nonetheless, its bigger size can make it a much better laptop to use. During my hands-on testing, I by no means obtained the feeling that Sony had sacrificed performance for portability.

Sony loads its VAIO laptops with application. A lot of the applications are branded utilities that duplicate Windows seven functionality, but some--like the Wi-Fi hotspot utility and ArcSoft's WebCam Companion 3--extend the laptop's capabilities. You also get trial versions of Microsoft Office 2010 and Norton Net Protection, that can cover you until finally you install your own software.

If I could have stored any laptop that came through the PCWorld check center in past times 12 months, this product would be my choice. My only quibbles would be the lack of USB three.0 along with the availability of Blu-ray only at twice the price inside a signature sequence product.

Dell Inspiron Duo laptop review

The Dell Inspiron Duo is an innovative netbook / tablet Computer hybrid having a display that revolves so it can be employed as both a conventional laptop computer or a convertible tablet.

We got to invest some hands-on time with the Dell Inspiron Duo, and here's our first-look evaluation.

Unlike the Dell Adamo, which beats the Apple MacBook Air within the slimline stakes, the Dell Inspiron Duo can be a hefty 1.54kg machine. The overall dimensions are shockingly big. In order to cram in the dual surround needed for that ten.1in display as well as the individual frame through which the display spins by way of 180 degrees. Dell has had to make the Inspiron Duo 24mm-thick. It's also 328mm vast and 235mm deep, with not much of that expanse usable.

The 'Flip' display screen of the convertible Dell Inspiron Duo makes it stand out from equally the tablet and laptop computer crowd. However, we located it relatively large and it is much chunkier compared to super-slim Dell Adamo design. Nor does it have the desirable style credentials that had us drooling above the Adamo.

Operating an Intel Atom N550, the Dell Inspiron Duo is actually a netbook inside a heavier-than-normal chassis. However, it's a battery existence of the mere 4 hours. Graphics are integrated on towards the chip, so whilst the 1366x768 resolution show is touted as High definition, playback is going to be nearly anything but.

The Dell Inspiron Duo runs Windows seven 32bit, has 2GB of RAM, 802.eleven b, g and n Wi-Fi as well as a 320GB difficult drive. A one.3Mp webcam, Bluetooth, 2W onboard speakers plus a pair of USB ports but no HDMI complete the hardware checklist. Costs start at ?¨º479 from Tesco and John Lewis.

Lenovo IdeaPad U350 laptop review

The Lenovo IdeaPad U350 is 1 of people scarce items in which truly utilizing it causes it to be seem to be much more powerful than its check final results and characteristic set may make it look on paper. This initial hits you when, soon after you fire up and start typing, you comprehend that the keyboard is actually--dare I say it?--usable for touch typists. The LED-backlit, 13.3-inch, 1366-by-768-pixel display screen seems a lot more than adequate for standard office use and even light-duty photo editing. What you will get can be a respectable ultraportable machine at a rather reasonable cost (our unit, as configured sells for $749).

Efficiency is about what you should assume to get a unit sporting the Intel U2700 ultra-low-voltage, single-core CPU. The WorldBench 6 score of 54 is simply a tad beneath that from the somewhat a lot more high-priced MSI X340, in spite of the latter's more quickly CPU. Surely the 4GB of DDR3-1066 SDRAM assists general performance--and is actually a phase previously mentioned what you receive in netbooks and the AMD Athlon Neo-based tweener, the HP Pavilion dv2--but this IdeaPad is no barn-burner.

Battery life is par for its 2700-mAH (milli-Amp-Hour) battery, at four hrs, 32 minutes. This compares favorably using the MSI X340, which has a 2150-mAH battery, and will get only three hours, 42 minutes on our battery living assessments. The Acer Timeline we not long ago reviewed arrived with a 5160-mHz battery, so it ran for the complete perform day (eight hrs, 21 minutes).

Regardless of the single-core processing, multitasking performance appeared snappy; the 4GB of RAM certainly helps. We had Firefox open with about a dozen tabs (some with performance-sapping flash video playing) and TweetDeck working within the background, all even though scrolling by means of a considerable Adobe Acrobat document. Overall responsiveness appeared to maintain up effectively in that environment.

Wi-Fi efficiency did appear a little slower on our 802.11n network than Wi-Fi on other, similar laptops. Transferring a four.5GB video took a bit lengthier than we'd usually count on. This didn't look to have an effect on Net searching or standard Web usage, even so.

The IdeaPad is not as thin as MSI's unit, however, nor could it be as light. However the unit felt lighter than its 3.6 lbs (sans electrical power brick.) It will help the IdeaPad's weight distribution appears quite even, which means you can just get it from any angle without having awkwardness. Show output ports (VGA and HDMI) are around the left aspect, together with one USB 2.0 port, gigabit ethernet, as well as the Kensington lock slot. The correct side houses the pair of audio ports (1 in and a single out), two a lot more USB 2.0 elements as well as a slot that supports SD, xD, and Memory Stick flash memory cards.

While the Lenovo seems perfect for general workplace operate and a few photograph editing, its multimedia capabilities appear far more constrained. We observed visible aliasing with DVD-quality video clip scaled to the complete resolution in the exhibit. Vertical viewing angles are incredibly poor--just a slight shift above or under the perfect viewing angle ends in almost unwatchable visual high quality. The built-in speakers are pretty bad, as well, so you'll need to use headphones.

The U350's software contains Adobe Acrobat Reader nine, Lenovo's very own Webcam utilities, and RealNetworks game trialware, plus a trial model of Lenovo's individual Carbonite on the internet backup utility. No protection or antivirus software program is included, nonetheless. Documentation is sufficient, if a bit thin, but well composed and easy to adhere to.

While in the end, the Lenovo IdeaPad U350 offers a relatively normal function set with regular performance, but it is all built right into a nicely integrated, slick-feeling bundle which makes it a real joy to utilize as an adjunct to an office desktop. Just do not anticipate to see a great deal of films on it.

Samsung R610-64G laptop review

Yet another notebook trend is on the rise: Laptops that attempt to straddle the fine line among portable media player and desktop alternative. They activity comparatively large displays (and footprints) with lower value tags than one particular would presume for the privilege. Consider Samsung's R610. This notebook reveals promise--but also could possibly be a supply of cellular disappointment. It's eye-catching plenty of around the outdoors, along with the $899 asking value is attractive sufficient, but unfortunately the underwhelming high quality of its 16-inch-diagonal screen helps make the R610 a tough sell.

The design helps make a good displaying in its parts, though it is nowhere around the top rated in the line: It's got an Intel T7250 2.0GHz processor, 3GB of DDR2800 RAM, and a 220GB hard drive. The evaluation unit also came outfitted with an nVidia GeForce Go 9200GS 512MB video card. But does that discrete card translate into overall performance that'll maintain you even remotely entertained?

Effectively, the laptop computer failed to do as well shabbily in Computer WorldBench 6 tests. No speedster by any signifies (it scored a modest 84), the R610 is flawlessly suited for every day use. That puts it inside a dead heat with Gateway's smaller sized, spunkier UC7807u. You could be tempted to try your hand at entertaining yourself with it at the same time, but you are going to get combined results. In games, the R610 is often a bit of a dud, operating Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and UT 3 at around sixteen frames per 2nd (flip books have much more fluid animation). I also loaded up among my current standbys, Valve's Left 4 Dead, a great-looking game. But even at 720 by 480 resolution and medium configurations, the R610 stumbled when action got too hectic. The 9200GS video card is obviously geared more toward video clip decoding responsibilities for Hd content material (which the R610 handled correctly effectively with a variety of Hd video clip files) than for action video games.

In battery lifestyle exams, the R610 wins back again a few factors, lasting approximately 3 hours on a charge. For a greater all-purpose machine, that's fairly average.

Stylistically, the R610 is eye-catching but it can be significantly from a standout. Even though the high-gloss surface area seems to be nice, that fashion invariably attracts scratches, smudges, and fingerprints that get constant polishing to get rid of. Otherwise, it appears alright. Samsung: Please consider shifting forward aesthetically--just examine what Lenovo does with its IdeaPad Y650, a similarly outfitted method.

The R610's keyboard is secure and easy to use. In contrast to most other recent large notebooks, the R610 avoids focused media controls or extraneous perform keys, for any cleaner, much more elegant surface. In addition, it helps make place for the good-sized 10-key quantity pad, offsetting the alphabet portion of the keyboard towards the left to try and do so, an alignment that will take some getting utilised to. But while the left Ctrl crucial is at half-size to accommodate the Function modifier key (a pet peeve of mine), it sits inside the reduced left corner as it need to, so touch-typing abilities from regular QWERTY keyboards nonetheless use.

By far the biggest--and most surprising--disappointment may be the screen. The native exhibit resolution is really a comparatively lower 1366 by 768, which can make it hard to manage many duties efficiently. This is not often fatal, because the Lenovo Y650's related display even now managed to glimpse sharp enough with excellent hues, brightness, and viewing angles. The R610, on the other hand, seems to be undesirable. And it comes from a company which is delivered a number of notebooks whose screens we saluted, like the X460.

The R610's picture good quality is slightly blurry, the colours seem to be washed out, and also the vertical viewing angles are a lot worse than on comparable notebooks. You need to adjust the display to your correct angle, or you're going to have a difficult time seeing hues accurately. Whilst the brightness is substantial, the glossy display does not grow to be noticeably less viewable in reasonable sunlight. The R610 can handle video without any apparent problems, but the good quality with the display might convince you in order to avoid media on it entirely. Samsung does supply a version with the R610 which has a 1080p exhibit (as well as a Blu-ray drive), so if you're absolutely set on this model, I might strongly advise ponying up for your upgraded exhibit in the event you can manage it.

No less than the R610 includes a reasonable layout. The easily-removable battery has an LED indicator for how much juice is left. The challenging generate along with the RAM can be found underneath separate, effortlessly taken out panels which might be accessible with a minimum of fuss, however the plastic tabs in spot suggest you need to pry a little to get at each growth location.

The R610 also incorporates a reasonable collection of inputs bristling around its sides. On the proper is really a USB port and also the DVD-RW drive; on the left, an ExpressCard slot, an additional USB port, VGA and HDMI outputs, and headphone and microphone jacks. On the back are a pair of USB ports, a gigabit ethernet connection, as well as a modem port. And an SD card slot juts from your front. Even though the hookups would look a bit ridiculous in the event you needed to use most or all of the ports at the moment, the array does make quick plug-ins of the USB gadgets convenient (since ports are nearly anywhere you may conceivably achieve). Nonetheless, I'm disappointed through the lack of eSATA ports. However even now thought to be a bit higher-end, hybrid USB/eSATA ports are appearing inside a growing variety of notebooks nowadays, as well as the absence of one particular here is often a shame.

Issues perk up somewhat with all the incorporated speakers. Other than the typical issues with notebook audio--namely, no bass to converse of and a bit muddy middle and upper ranges--the speakers offer or else clear sound and excellent volume. The audio hardware also appears to get well shielded, with no perceivable buzz or hum about the headphone, even at substantial volume.

The backup computer software suite will get the task completed, together with the now-standard recovery utilities enabling you to easily produce backup pictures which has a minimum of anxiety. I won't ding Samsung for it, but seeing a driver-level backup alternative within a future model could be welcome--Acer's software program does that. The interactive user manual can be a wonderful touch, as well as a excellent substitute for that puzzling multilanguage nightmares that ship with most laptops.

The Samsung R610 to start with feels like an excellent offer: For approximately 900 bucks (list), you are getting a massive display and devoted video clip capacity having a moderately eye-catching exterior. However, the display screen high quality drastically erodes that value proposition. Even now, in case your financial institution account can manage a little more strain (for an upgraded exhibit), the R610 may be worth a second appear. Soon after all, it expenses lower than the likes of Dell's XPS Studio sixteen and HP's HDX16.