July 1, 2009

More Substance Than Style
By Luis Anthony G. Oliveros
Published in the May 2009 print edition of PC World Philippines

Lenovo ThinkPad W500
P154,990
www.lenovo.com/ph

It’s pretty obvious at first glance that Lenovo’s ThinkPad W500 is no eye candy. It doesn’t come enclosed in a flashy chassis design, neither is it emblazoned with über glossy trims to attract the fashionably driven younger generation of users. It’s in fact quite the opposite really; with a general shade of charcoal gray cloaking the machine which makes it practically invisible in any office or home computer setups. Plus its mid-corpulent 356x255x35mm body won’t exactly slip effortlessly into your everyday backpack or handbag though it does naturally offer mobility but only to a degree. It weighs 2.8kg, which is, by no means, back-breaking but is considered relatively heavy nowadays for those frequently on the road. However, to its credit, this laptop isn’t really pushing much effort in terms of aesthetics, since it’s geared more towards business users and students with larger-than-average computing needs.

Its lacklustre, black box-like appearance is bolstered by edgy sides and corners and combines two surface textures with the lid’s soft quasi-rubberized finish and the smooth hard plastics that sheath the rest of its body. While we like how the lid’s surface gives the laptop a nice feel and a business-type, non-flashy matte appearance, it’s also very receptive to scratches, smudges and your sweaty palms.

On the flipside, build quality is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from a Lenovo product. It inherits the traditional workstation design from the IBM days including the solidly built frame with no noticeable creaking hinges when you prop the lid open and when you shut it close. It also has an obvious focus on ergonomics as seen with the keyboard which features large, well-spaced keys and offers great tactile feedback that contributes to a very comfortable use.

Like most of the brand’s desktop replacement laptops, the W500 offers an amusingly glaring red trackpoint as an auxiliary navigation tool. This is placed smack dab in the middle of the keyboard and is accompanied by its own left and right click buttons located below the spacebar. While it offers proper sensitivity that can be tweaked further to your liking, it’s practically challenging to manoeuvre if you’re aiming for accuracy; in which case you can opt to use the ubiquitous touchpad. But then again, if you’re dealing with detail-oriented graphics and in need of utmost precision in your input device, you’d find the ThinkPad W700 a very enticing alternative with a larger 17-inch display panel and a built-in Wacom tablet and matching stylus.

The W500′s 15.4-inch WSXGA+ LCD yields a 1680×1050 resolution, displaying crisp visuals with cleanly defined monochrome contrasts evident when viewing word processing documents with no visible gray shadows past each character’s edges. It provided us with vibrant images and clear color definitions during our tests; from the basic picture viewing, Web surfing and even on the games, Photoshop use and on DVD movies, with no visible signs of ghosting and pixelations. And we really like that even the smallest of details that have been driven to near obscurity in other machines’ LCD screens are easily discernable. This makes it an ideal tool for video editing and for running visually driven graphics manipulation software suites, and has a roomy screen real estate for multitasking with a handful of windows simultaneously open. It has decent horizontal/vertical viewing angles which is a plus for working in busy environments. The only snag we ran into was the screen’s brightness which proved to be well adequate for brightly lit indoor setups but a little lacking when used outdoors.

However, if you prefer to use other display panels, perhaps a larger LCD monitor for better viewing or for an optimized video playback ala-faux home entertainment system, sockets for both DisplayPort and VGA interfaces have been provided, located on its left side panel. A LAN connector for the wired Ethernet, an ExpressCard slot and three USB 2.0 ports are also bunched with these. In our opinion, more USB ports would’ve been better, but this shouldn’t be an issue if you intend on using a compatible docking station or a cheap USB hub you can easily pick up from any PC retailer.

Above the keyboard are the speakers that churn out audios with surprisingly loud volume configurations, decent quality and a fair amount of detailing, although you won’t really notice this with the bass deficiency common among built-in speakers also afflicting this unit. However, should you decide on using the W500 also for multimedia playback, media streaming and especially for audio/video editing, plugging in a standalone 2.1 speaker set or a pair of headphones with good midtone output and bass response would be preferable.

The two 3.5 audio jacks (headphone and mic) to accommodate these are easily accessible right on the front side panel. These are joined by a Firewire 1394 port you’d find essential for connecting to most multimedia devices, a switch for enabling the integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 connections and a 7-in-1 card reader. Meanwhile, the right side panel houses the RJ11 port for the modem and a slim optical bay for swappable drives that, for the unit we received, housed a DVD Multi-Recorder.

During our tests, we didn’t encounter any hitches as far as performance is concerned. The unit we tested had an Intel Centrino 2 processor at its core and joined by the pairing of an Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics and 4GB of memory which makes it more than adequate for multiple tasks for mission critical office works, school needs and even for multimedia playback. It ran smoothly from startup to basic word processing, multitasking and multimedia streaming. The hard drive in our review unit is at 320GB which sounds just about right, but given that this is a workstation expected to get much beating from its varying uses, a larger storage would’ve been ideal, like perhaps 500GB or even a terabyte would be great.

Preloaded along with the Windows Vista operating system is Lenovo’s own ThinkVantage system which pulls up a simple interface of system tweaks and management tools and can be seen as an expansion of the one-button backup found on the brand’s mainstream laptops. Upon pressing the corresponding blue ThankVantage button found on top of the keyboard, you are presented with a lineup of tools for updating or recovering the system, creating simple backups and discovering wireless networks within the area, as well as for configuring the installed devices, managing multimedia contents and various security tools.

And speaking of security, the W500 definitely beefs it up outside of the customary ASCII-based password protection. The built-in 1.3megapixel Web cam, aside from being able to take bright videos and photos and visually supplement chatting, also has a facial recognition feature that allows only previously scanned faces to log into the computer. A fingerprint scanner is also at hand, located just below the arrow keys, and can be enabled to only allow access to people whose fingerprints have been registered as login credentials. While both these security enhancements aren’t something we haven’t seen before, they’re still nice additions geared to protect your personal data.

	click to enlarge image

June 30, 2009

Dell Vostro 1220
www.dell.com

Dell has announced the latest addition to its expanding line of Vostro laptops, the 12.1-inch Vostro 1220. This stylish, ultraportable laptop was designed exclusively for business travelers who are unwilling to comprise performance, battery life and security for a thin and lightweight design.

Available in Obsidian Black or Deep Cherry Red, the Vostro 1220 starts at a mere 3.36 lbs, is equipped with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and features up to nine hours of battery life, making it an ideal traveling companion for on-the-go, global entrepreneurs.

According to IDC, worldwide commercial shipments of 12-inch widescreen laptops are expected to grow almost 35% from 2008 to 2009. “This trend supports what Dell has been hearing from our customers,” said Sam Burd, global VP, Dell Small and Medium Business. “Today’s globe-trotting entrepreneurs need a laptop that is powerful and long-lasting. That used to mean carrying around an ungainly device, the Vostro 1220 combines performance, built-in security and long battery life with useful features like videoconferencing to be the ideal weapon of choice for any road warrior.”

Vostro 1220: Productivity, Security and Connectivity

• Only Dell offers pre-installed videoconferencing software, Dell Video Chat, which along with the purchase of optional integrated webcam and microphone gives customers a complete videoconferencing solution.
• More security options than similar  small-business systems including mobility solid state drives for three times the reliability of traditional hard drives, fingerprint readers with easy-to-use software, and multi-factor authentication and encrypted hard drives with Wave Systems software that can easily encrypt data without impacting system performance.
• 802.11 draft-n wireless LAN or optional Mobile Broadband external solution for optimal connectivity anywhere your business takes you.

The highly mobile HP Compaq 6530b Notebook PC helps keep you connected and productive so your office goes with you. This newly designed notebook offers the latest Intel Core^T 2 Duo Processors, enhanced security solutions, and compatibility with a range of HP Universal Accessories for a complete business solution around the corner or across the globe. Built to last. Reliable features such as HP DuraFinish, magnesium alloy support structure, and HP 3D DriveGuard help give you a reliable notebook that can go the distance.

Technology in tune with your needs
With the 14.1-inch diagonal widescreen display, you choose between a high-resolution, an antiglare or an HP BrightView display. Experience new levels of system responsiveness when running multiple applications and smarter battery performance designed to help extend mobility with Intel Core 2 Duo Processors. With the Upgrade Bay with Dual HDD support, easily replace your optical with an optional secondary hard drive or upgrade to the next-generation optical drive. Quickly synchronize and store your data with different types of devices or other users with the integrated Media Card Reader.

Enjoy wireless in more places
Whether you’re across the street or across the country, HP Mobile Broadband, Wi-Fi Certified WLAN5 and Bluetooth technologies allow you to conveniently stay connected in more places.

HP Professional Innovations help you focus on your business
Built to protect. An array of multi-layered, customizable security solutions help defend your network, your applications, and your data.

Built to simplify
Boost your productivity while maximizing simplicity with features such as HP QuickLook 2, which allows you to quickly view your e-mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks information with one touch of a button.

The Lenovo T400 is engineered to reach new heights in connectivity, productivity, power management, environmental responsibility and comfort.  ThinkPad T Series notebooks are designed to enhance productivity and change the way that you work.

Commitment to environment
ThinkPad notebooks are environmentally responsible as well and can meet EPEAT Gold qualification. Equally reassuring is the fact that T Series models enjoy worldwide, round-the-clock service and support. They also come with an industry-leading warranty, as well as optional services like ThinkPad Protection which can provide you repair and replacement services to further protect your assets.

Uncompromised performance
Combines the highest performing Intel Core2 Duo processor with Active Management Technology (iAMT), for enhanced notebook management and security.

Outstanding battery life
New Power Management feature enables extended battery life. The Enhanced BatteryStretch feature also allows users to select the most efficient power management on demand.

Switchable graphics
Provision for an easy switch between Discrete and Integrated graphics processing unit which enables maximized battery life and performance.

Cool and quiet design
Best engineered fan technology for focused air flow which provides for cooler systems and balanced temperatures across the system. The new fan design also guarantees super quiet computing.

Uncompromised performance
Combines the highest performing Intel Core 2 Duo processor with Active Management Technology (iAMT), for enhanced notebook management and security.

March 15, 2009

The Wizbook Gets An Atomic Upgrade
By Luis Anthony G. Oliveros
Published in the December 2008-January 2009 print edition of PC World Philippines

Redfox WizBook1020i
P19,999
www.redfoxtechnology.com

So here we are again, another notebook PC rising from the continuously evolving netbook mist. Industry giants have gone far and wide to deliver the next big netbook to conquer the low-cost ultraportable segment for themselves; each one bringing its own brand of sleekness for maximum portability, while others barely rally around the netbook form factor fringes as they put utmost value on squeezing in better specs. Caught squarely in the middle is RedFox and their Wizbook line of low-cost notebooks unveiled during the third quarter of the year. And now, even before the year ends entirely, the IT manufacturing brand has released the line’s second generation with the Wizbook800lx that features an eight-inch LCD display and the 10.2-incher Wizbook1020i which we got to test drive this month.

For starters, we have been desensitized by the entire netbook movement, so we’ve practically seen pretty much what they have to offer as far as exteriors are concerned. The Wizbook1020i is no different, presenting a matte and glossy hard plastic body, slim at 254x189x39mm and available in white, red and a black-red combo. Needless to say, you won’t really find anything distinct outside of its softly tapered edges, rounded corners and the logo stamped on the middle of the lid.

The only thing we didn’t like about it, which also goes for netbooks in general, is that it’s housed in a rather plasticky shell, a little disconcerting if you plan for this netbook to be a long-term machine. Despite this, it’s solidly built, with no dubious reaking or rattling sounds during handling and even when propping it open.

A Web cam is positioned right at the very top of the unit’s upper half with the 10.2-inch LCD display right below. It offers a 1024×600 resolution which is good for presenting contrasts in your basic word processing applications and pretty decent for viewing colored images, videos and Web pages, although you’d immediately notice the lines that separate the various hues whenever you come across pages and photos with colors in gradient schemes. Under the screen is the built-in speaker that churns out 2W of audio which isn’t really the best out there in terms of bass fullness and sound detailing, plus the quality heads south whenever you turn up the volume. Utilizing the 3.5 audio port on its left side panel to connect to a set of good quality external speakers or a pair of headphones would be a better option.

The keyboard is bigger and a lot spacious compared to the cramped one in the seminal EeePC’s, but not as expansive and as comfortable as the MSI Wind’s (reviewed in last month’s issue) or HP’s Mini Note. This is not to say that you’d have a hard time getting your inputs across the machine, it just means that you’d have a slightly longer period getting used to it before typing starts feeling natural and comfortable. This, in our case, was about a day or two. However, just like the Wind’s keyboard, the function keys here can also be used to adjust some of the settings like the volume, screen brightness and for enabling and disabling the Web cam and the Wi-Fi connectivity. This lessens unnecessary clutter like volume controls and switches which leaves only the essential ports to the side panels, including an RJ45 outlet for wired Ethernet connectivity, three USB 2.0 ports, two audio jacks and an SD/MMC/MC card reader slot.

As borderline dull as its exterior make it appear, it’s really no slouch with fine inner workings helmed by an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor. RedFox’s clients in the past may actually be surprised with this as they have been known in the past for carrying AMD processors, but as the brand has expressed, they have no exclusivity deals with AMD and the decision to include an Atom chip is a highly ingenious strategic move in our opinion, bringing the Wizbook line up to par with its more familiar peers. An 80GB hard drive is built into the machine which is fairly more than enough for your personal files and additional applications, considering the primary functions netbooks have been set out to accomplish, for communication and content consumption rather than content creation.

The Wizbook1020i comes preloaded with Linux Linpus Lite that comes with a handful of open-source goodies like the Open Office word processing suite, Mozilla Firefox Web browser, Skype for IM and VoIP, and an entire slew of productivity applications for work, study and games. As it was in the past, this operating system offers two types of user interfaces; a tab-based one that organizes each application in tabs tagged as Internet, Work, Learn, Play and Settings, and one that emulates the traditional Windows desktop. Navigation on both interfaces are a cinch to use, employing a completely user-friendly environment even for the common Windows or Mac user, letting you get to your desired application or setting in as few clicks as possible. And with the Linux OS comes a very fast startup and good operation speeds even during multitasking, propped up by a gigabyte of memory. In addition, you can also shell out an extra couple of thousand bucks if you want Windows XP running the show instead.

Sure we may have seen it all before when it comes to its physical attributes, but with a good spec and features list, an array of connectivity options, the Wizbook1020i is easily a good netbook you can rely on for your daily needs and basic multimedia playback. We can easily see this as a good secondary notebook road warriors and students can lug around and probably even as a dependable kitchen communication and computing device for the homemaker.

January 7, 2009

Premium Performer
By Billy Joe I. Allardo
Published in the November 2008 print edition of PC World Philippines

Lenovo IdeaPad Y430
P49,900
www.lenovo.com/ph

A couple of months ago, I had an opportunity to dabble with the Lenovo Ideapad Y510. No doubt, it has the inner workings to be a true laptop replacement – a capable processor, good amount of memory and storage space, and nice additional features such as face recognition and a button-enabled rescue tool. Yet it also stays true to its desktop tag for being bulky.

From the outside, the Lenovo Ideapad Y430 we right now have looks exactly like the Y510. It has the same weave-textured cover, sloping hinge design, edgy corners, and matte black color. Yet once you open the cover, you will immediately see the difference between the two. The most apparent is the location of the Dolbyenhanced built-in speakers as these are now located in front. In addition, the Y430 has no external battery level bar unlike on the Y510, which leaves you with the on-screen battery indicator and the power LED in front to know when it is time to charge.

The bezel on the Y430 that contains the thermal keys has a duller look compared to the one on the Y510. Monotonous looking or not, I still find this set of buttons handy for allowing immediate access to and playback of multimedia files. The volume control located on the right saves one from using the function button or dragging the cursor in order to control the sound levels, while the small button nearby switches the thermal keys between playback functions and preset audio enhancements.

One of the things that clearly separate the Y430 from the rest of the notebook PCs in its class is the recovery tool key found at the left side beside the power button. Called One-touch Recovery, it allows the creation of an image backup of your system partition and save it to either an optical disk or external drive. The utility also allows you to restore the Y430 to its factory setting or to a particular restore point. It also happens to have an anti-virus tool, just in case malware caused it to crash.

I had no problems with the keyboard, since the keys gave a tactile feel. The upgrade a same goes with the two buttons below the touchpad. Yet the biggest snag I ran into is with the placement of the Delete and Control keys. I kept on hitting the Function button every time I intend to employ a Control key combination and instead of deleting a character, I frequently copied the whole screen display by pressing the Print Screen.

Underneath the keyboard and sizeable palm-rest is a beefy 2GHz Core 2 Duo mobile processor. Coupled by Intel’s P45 Express chipset and 2GB DDR2 total memory, this notebook PC has enough power to take on multiple tasks. Meanwhile, the embedded Nvidia 9300M GS provides enough oomph needed to run games and graphics-laden applications. With the settings automatically set to run optimally with the given specification, Company of Heroes ran smoothly, with details on in-game objects still evident even when the camera was zoomed out.

The specs given above enable the Y430 to support playback of high-definition video, as manifested by the presence of a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port on the left side. The 14.1-inch display provides good enough output, despite just having a maximum 1280×800 resolution. The DVD playback test drained the battery fully after two hours and seven seconds, which is a bit short compared to the current crop of new notebooks.

Most of the connectivity ports are on the sides. Bunched on the left are the network, HDMI, and S-Video ports together with one USB hub and the microphone and headset jacks. On the right are the slot-in DVD+/- optical drive, two USB ports, a mini FireWire jack, and an ExpressCard/34 slot – a narrower standard that can accommodate TV tuner, data, and Serial ATA cards. In front are the memory card slot, wireless connectivity knob, process LEDs, and Bluetooth 2.0 receiver. Regarding wireless connectivity, the Y430 has a built-in Intel WiFi 5100 card that enables it to communicate with 802.11n routers with 2.4GHz or 5GHz speeds.

Just like with the Y510, the Y430 also features the VeriFace Recognition software. Working with the 1.3-megapixel camera, the software enables log-ins through face scanning, thus doubling up the protection offered by typing a password. The app can also capture the faces of people who would try to log in.

With the serious specs and overall look, it was quite a surprise to learn that the Lenovo Y430 comes with a price tag of just P49,900. Setting aside the small hitch with the placement of the Delete and Control keys, which you can overcome after a few hours, the Y430 is perhaps the best notebook PC offering that I have seen in a while. Shelling out a few bucks to get a battery upgrade and a nice set of speakers or headphones would further make the Y430 a potent desktop replacement or a valuable mobile tool.