Samsung CLP-770ND

Print Technology: Color laser
Interface: USB, Ethernet, optional Wi-Fi card, Proprietary external interface
Maximum Paper Size: 8.5x14 inches
Maximum Resolution : 9,600x600 effective dpi
Dimensions (HWD): 18.9x18.3x17.5 inches
Weight: 63.1 pounds

Depending on what you do for a living, you may find yourself suddenly in need of a large volume of printing in a hurry, making you wish for a Kinko's in your living room—like when you're asked to bring a dozen copies of a 1,200-page manuscript to a meeting in the morning or hundreds of double-sided card stock invitations and envelopes for a stuffing party. For these moments, you need a color laser printer that has the perfect combination of speed, versatility, quality, high duty cycle, and low-cost-per-page (not to mention a boatload of paper). A device very much like Samsung's CLP-770ND color laser printer.

The $899.99 CLP-770ND is clearly meant for an office environment. At 63 pounds (78 pounds, once you add four full toner cartridges and a ream of 20-pound paper), as well as being about half the size of an apartment dishwashing machine, the CLP-770ND is probably too large and heavy to rest comfortably on your desk. (While Samsung doesn't market a matching cabinet for any of its printers, adding a couple of optional 500-sheet paper trays and a rolling base effectively transforms it from a desktop unit into a floor model.)  But since it's a network device (with built-in USB interface and optional Wi-Fi connectivity, should you wish to make it a local printer), designed for departmental rather than individual use, you can easily position it on any conveniently situated large surface.

Despite its hulking dimensions, the cube-shaped unit has an unobtrusive battleship gray and dark gray–topped appearance that will help it blend in well with many business environments. On the front is the pull-down, 100-sheet adjustable multipurpose tray. The tray design lies somewhere between simple and crude; it is noisy and takes a bit of strength to pull open. On both sides of the tray are rigid white plastic straps, and as they help slide the tray in position, a small plastic slot at the bottom opens mechanically, for feeding paper into the printer. Inelegant, but effective.

Underneath the multipurpose tray is the main 500-sheet adjustable paper drawer, for a total capacity of 600 sheets. If you require even greater capacity, the CLP-770ND has the ability to add one or two optional paper trays, which stack underneath the printer. This gives the CLP-770ND a total capacity of 1,600 sheets, 700 sheets more than the $699 Lexmark C546dtn (also a color laser printer), which has a 900-sheet capacity. (The Lexmark costs $200 less, however.)

Just above the pull-down multipurpose tray is a recessed handle that releases and opens the front flap, exposing the printer's innards, for replacing consumables and clearing paper jams. The four self-contained toner cartridges (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow) slide into color-coded slots stacked one atop another, while the transfer belt cartridge snaps into the front flap. The cartridges have solid-feeling plastic handles on either side that make the cartridges relatively easy to hold and slide into place. However, you must be extra careful handling them because, unlike HP's and many other manufacturers' toner cartridges, Samsung's cartridges do not have a movable shutter or flap to protect the organic photoconductor (OPC) drum from fingerprints, scratches, or light. (But they do ship with a removable cardboard protector.) Also, it's possible to insert them into the wrong slot: Even though the LCD control panel will warn you to put them in the correct slot, it does so only after you've closed the flap.

Each toner cartridge is good for up to 7,000 impressions, which translates into just about the lowest costs per page in its class. An average monochrome page costs about 1.5 cents, with color at 7.5 cents per page. By contrast, the Lexmark C546dtn is 1.6 cents per page for monochrome and 11 cents for a typical page of color business graphics. Given its large paper capacity and speed, the CLP-770ND is capable of greater sustained throughput than the Lexmark.

The transfer belt is good for 50,000 impressions; a user can replace it in less than 2 minutes; and its cost of ownership adds up to less than four-tenths of a cent per impression.

On top of the printer is the sloping control panel. It has only four buttons—menu, back, stop, and the power-saving instant off/on (the master power switch is on the right side, below the network, USB, and external device interface ports); in the middle is a circular four-way rocker switch with an OK button in the center. The illuminated four-line monochrome control panel doesn't provide much information, but its menus are well structured and logically nested, making navigation relatively easy, even for novices. Some of its parameters and settings are duplicated in the printer driver, which can occasionally cause confusion and conflict. For instance, we set paper type to card stock in the control panel menu, while selecting plain paper in the interface. Instead of defaulting to the interface, the printer simply displayed a conflict message and waited for the user to press the OK button manually before proceeding.  

Surrounding the control panel is a bezel lid with finger indents, to help clear paper jams. Behind it is the paper discharge tray with a fold-out paper stop. It can hold up to 350 sheets, and the paper arrives face down. One nice feature: When the output tray fills to capacity, instead of jamming up or spilling paper onto the desk, the printer will automatically pause until the paper is removed.

10 Free iPhone Music Apps

When we show off our iPhone to curious friends, we usually cycle through some of the useful and cool apps that might tempt them into purchasing one for themselves. In the midst of apps aplenty, it’s easy to forget that the iPhone is also a music player, and, at most, we usually tap the Pandora button to listen to a wider variety of tunes than we store on our unit. So when our editor asked us to find 10 good, free (or almost free) music apps for the device, were shocked to see 274 pages of them on the App Store.

The apps range widely: free publicity for almost every extant music group, a wealth of free and for-pay pretuned radio stations, and apps for making your own noise with cowbells, screen taps, and virtual instruments. We confess that the cowbell app left us, um, moo-dy, and in our hands, the virtual-instrument apps drove most other living creatures from the room. But in the end, we did track down 10 versatile, interesting, and free music apps that either enhance the native iPod playlist structure or add hours of listening pleasure to your day.

HP EliteBook 2740p

Processor: 2.53GHz Intel Core i5-540M
Memory: 4GB RAM
Storage: 250GB hard drive
Optical Drive: None
Screen: 12.1 inches (1,280x800 native resolution)
Graphics: Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD
Weight: 3.8 pounds
Dimensions (HWD): 1.25x11.4x8.4 inches
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

More than a decade before Apple stole headlines with its iPad, HP was among the first to offer a convertible laptop that could serve as a standard notebook PC or as a tablet. Its latest progeny is the EliteBook 2740p, a fast 12.1-inch ultraportable that also happens to be a killer tablet. That's not to say it's flawless: The $1,699 price puts the EliteBook 2740p on the high end of price continuum, and we were disappointed with the battery life. But if you need a business-rugged laptop with plenty of power and features—and you genuinely need its tablet abilities—the 2740p is a strong choice.

Weighing 3.8 pounds and measuring 1.25 inches thick, the EliteBook 2740p isn’t the thinnest or lightest machine in the 12-inch class. Part of the blame falls to the screen and its digitizer overlay, as the top half of the EliteBook 2740p is noticeably thick. HP also had to accommodate the thermal needs of a full-voltage Intel Core i5 processor here; thinner notebooks get by with low-voltage or ultra-low-voltage CPUs to squeeze into a thin chassis. The EliteBook 2740p isn’t as slim as the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet Multi-TouchFujitsu LifeBook T4310, although that 12.1-inch convertible tablet comes with an optical drive (tucked in a swappable bay, no less). That's a feature the 2740p lacks. tablet, but it delivers much better performance. And it’s a quarter of an inch slimmer and half a pound lighter than the

If your design sensibilities lean toward clean and uncluttered, the EliteBook 2740p will disappoint. Since all buttons need to be accessible in either laptop or tablet mode, out of necessity the sides are chock full of ports, buttons, and toggle switches. On the front edge, you’ll find the large latch to release the screen, a latch to open the swing-out WWAN antenna (on models with that $125 option), and the sliding power switch. Move to the right side, and you’ll find buttons to launch HP QuickWeb and HP QuickLook (more on those in a minute), a headset jack, a SmartCard slot, two USB ports, and a modem jack.

Around back, HP put the LAN jack and a VGA port; for use in tablet mode, you’ll find a handy scroll toggle, an Esc button, a button to rotate the screen, and a recessed button to enact Ctrl+Alt+Del. On the left side you’ll find the pen slot, a memory-card slot, an ExpressCard/34 slot, a Wi-Fi on/off switch, a FireWire port, and another USB port. HP engineers should be applauded for making this all fit, and we suspect the designers simply gave up trying to make it look anything but functional.

You’ll likely spend most of your working time with the EliteBook 2740p in laptop mode, and you won’t be disappointed. The LED-backlit screen is very bright, and colors are rich and vibrant. The panel’s 1,280x800 native resolution delivers crisp, readable text. The EliteBook 2740p’s spill-resistant keyboard is full-size and very comfortable. The keyboard isn’t backlit, which is a feature we’ve come to expect in this price range, but you do get a handy white LED above the screen that casts just enough light on the keyboard to make it visible on a plane or in a darkened conference room.

HP has included both a pointing stick and a touch pad, but the mouse buttons for the stick steal precious real estate from the touch pad—so much so that multi-finger gestures are limited to scroll and zoom, as there’s not enough room to accommodate the rotate gesture.

In tablet mode, the EliteBook 2740p’s Wacom digitizer, as on the Fujitsu LifeBook T4310, is simply terrific. The overlay is completely unobtrusive when you’re focusing on the screen and is discernible only if you look for it. (That's not a given with touch-capable panels.) The touch screen is very accurate and supports finger input, including gestures. As a result, in addition to tapping onscreen icons and dialog-box choices to mimic a mouse click, you can use a swipe to scroll, pinch, pull, and pivot to zoom in or out, or to rotate an image. Navigating around news and video sites with your fingers is certainly preferable to using a cursor on this tablet (or any system, for that matter). Also, while you're surfing, you'll be pleased with the EliteBook 2740p's speakers, which are adequate for Web video and presenting to a small group.

For life on the road, the EliteBook 2740p sports active protection for the 250GB hard drive, which means it will protect your data by stopping the hard drive heads if it detects the system is falling. It also adheres to the Military Standard 810G specifications for vibration, shock, dust, humidity, and temperature fluctuations. And the EliteBook 2740p was designed to withstand up to 300 pounds of pressure on the lid without damage to the screen or other components. So while this isn’t a fully ruggedized machine, it does qualify as “business rugged.”

The 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 4GB of fast 1,022MHz DDR3 RAM helped the EliteBook 2740p deliver strong results on our benchmark tests. The machine scored 5,558 on the 32-bit version of PCMark Vantage, which measures overall system performance, and 6,122 on the 64-bit version of the test. To put that in perspective, the physically similar Fujitsu LifeBook T4310 convertible tablet scored 3,727 and 4,021 on those tests. Compared with the Lenovo ThinkPad X201, a traditional 12-inch ultraportable in the same price range, the EliteBook 2740p came up a little short, as the Lenovo scored over 300 points higher (6,491) on the 64-bit Vantage run. But the EliteBook 2740p trounced both of those competitors on the 64-bit version of our Cinebench 10 test, scoring an impressive 8,667, compared with 6,440 for the ThinkPad X201 and 5,061 for the LifeBook T4310.

Also in the plus column, the EliteBook 2740p outperformed both the Fujitsu and Lenovo entries on our Windows Media Encoder 9 trial (which measures the capabilities of the CPU while converting a video file), needing just 3 minutes 57 seconds to complete the task; the ThinkPad X201 finished in 4:18 and the LifeBook T4310 in 6:20. And on our iTunes encoding test, in which the test machine encodes 11 tracks from MP3 to AAC, also heavily taxing the CPU, the EliteBook 2740p more than held its own, completing the process in 3 minutes and 40 seconds, which is a little slower than the 3:23 the ThinkPad required but faster than the 4:54 for the LifeBook.

Powered by the seemingly universal (in business machines, at least) Intel GMA 4500 integrated graphics chipset, the EliteBook 2740p delivered decent results on our 3D graphics tests: The system managed a score of 2,099 on 3DMark06 at 1,024x768 resolution. That’s essentially tied with the 2,090 we saw from the ThinkPad X201 and notably higher than the 1,109 posted by the LifeBook T4310. And while this performance is still not enough to play intense 3D games at high resolutions, it’s fine for low-impact, casual online gaming.

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T

Socket Type: AM3
Number of Cores: Six
Operating Frequency: 3.2GHz
Front-Side Bus: HyperTransport 3.0
Cache Memory: 9MB (combined L2 and L3)

AMD’s first pair of six-core CPUs, the $285 Phenom II X6 1090T that we’re looking at here, as well as the $200 Phenom II X6 1055T (announced on the same day), aren’t exactly cheap. But compared with Intel’s sole six-core CPU (as of this writing), the $1,000 Core i7-980X, which launched last month, AMD’s offerings are downright thrifty. Indeed, while AMD’s new chips have names only a tax accountant could love, you probably won’t have to blow much of your federal return on one of these six-core wonders. That’s more than we can say about Intel’s six-core offering.

At their under-$300 prices, it’s no surprise that AMD’s six-core chips don’t run as fast as Intel’s top-end CPU speed demon. But with features like dynamic CPU clock speeds and compatibility with existing AM3 systems, they further cement AMD’s dominance in terms of both upgrade flexibility and performance for your dollar. Intel still holds a strong lead in ultimate performance, but in our tests, the Phenom II X6 1090T performed right in line with Intel chips that currently sell for nearly twice as much.

First though, let’s discuss who can actually make best use of high-end CPUs like these. As much as both Intel and AMD may lament it, most software still can’t take advantage of more than one CPU core at a time. For most everyday computing situations, unless you’re somehow tackling six CPU-intensive tasks at the same time, your six cores won’t make anything happen any faster. Even four cores is overkill for many users, which is why we continue to tout options like AMD’s $100 dual-core Phenom II X2 555 and triple-core $75 Athlon II X3 435 as good options for budget gamers, or those who just want a speedy, inexpensive CPU for average computing tasks.

To get around the limitations of current software, AMD has added dynamic core clock speeds to this processor, employing a technology it calls Turbo CORE. With Turbo CORE, the base clock speed (3.2GHz, in the case of the Phenom II X6 1090T) will ramp up to as much as 3.6GHz automatically when the CPU is churning away on a task that can only make use of a single CPU core. Intel’s version of this technology, which it calls Turbo Boost, has been available on higher-end Intel CPUs since mid-2009. This feature is a welcome addition to any CPU, to be sure. But unless you rely on software that actually uses all available cores, you won't see the full benefit of paying for those additional cores. Most such software comes from the professional content-creation realm. For those who rely on programs like Adobe’s Creative Suite or Sony’s Vegas video editor (or similar programs that are expressly multi-core aware), stepping up to a six-core processor can mean a serious speed-up, especially if they are currently running an aging dual-core CPU.

On the other hand, gamers (at least today) won't be the primary beneficiaries of six-core tech—except under certain circumstances. A few titles do take advantage of multiple cores. (In those games, the extra cores allow the game to handle more-complex artificial intelligence for non-player characters.) But again, while a handful of games qualify, and more are on the way, most games currently on the market won't see a significant benefit from six cores, especially if you're already running a fast quad-core CPU.

So, if you find yourself in one of those two camps (or straddling the two), six-core CPUs can be a smart choice. Those editing massive amounts of HD video on a tight schedule may wish to pay the premium for Intel’s faster Core i7-980X CPU, but there’s no denying that AMD’s Phenom II X6 1090T is plenty speedy. And what makes its under-$300 price extra-appealing is that you can drop the chip into an existing AM3 or AM2+ motherboard, making the entry cost for hexa-core computing that much cheaper if your PC is ready to accept the chip. (A BIOS update will be necessary, though, so be sure one is available for your board before buying.)

To see how the Phenom II X6 1090T stacks up against similar CPUs, we ran it through our spate of tests designed to measure general performance, as well how it handles tasks that fully tax its six cores. First up, in PCMark Vantage, a synthetic test designed to measure overall system performance, the Phenom II X6 1090T managed a score of 7,462 in our test rig. That puts it ahead of the 6,583 turned in by Intel’s quad-core (and currently $550) Core i7-870. Intel’s current six-core king, the $1,000 Core i7-980X, slid in well ahead, with a showing of 9,822.

We then moved on to Cinebench 10, another CPU-centric test designed to tax multiple processor cores. The Phenom II X6 1090T again ran a bit ahead of the Core i7-870, with a score of 17,812 to the Core i7-870’s 17,542. But the Core i7-980X’s showing of 26,981 puts Intel's six-core chip in another league (which is, truth be told, where it belongs for the price).

We then moved to our iTunes conversion test, which can only make use of a single CPU core. (In the test, iTunes converts 11 standard MP3 files to AAC format.) This test shows the limitations of six-core CPUs—AMD’s and Intel’s alike—in most everyday tasks. The Phenom II X6 1090T actually came in third here, converting our 11 test files in 2 minutes and 48 seconds. The quad-core Core i7-870 came in six seconds faster, while the six-core Core i7-980X again came out on top, finishing in just 2:26. The fact that these scores were much closer demonstrates how users who don’t rely on software that can tax extra cores won’t notice much real-world difference among any of these three high-end CPUs.

In video editing with Sony’s Vegas Pro 8 however, multiple cores make much more of a difference. In our Vegas 8 MPEG-2 render test, the Phenom II X6 1090T encoded our test file in 2 minutes and 23 seconds, while the Core i7-870 did surprisingly well with its four cores, finishing just 3 seconds behind. But the Core i7-980X showed its true dominance here, finishing in just 1:40. For those encoding very large files, those time differences will be of even greater significance. The takeaway: The Core i7-980X is much faster in this regard—if you can afford it—but considering that the $285 Phenom II X6 1090T does about as well as the (currently) $500-plus Core i7-870, video editors and content creators who don’t need the absolute fastest speeds should take a long, thoughtful look at this AMD chip.

Those upgrading or building a new PC should also consider the simplicity and relative affordability of AMD’s hardware platform as a whole. The new 890GX chipset supports all current-generation AMD CPUs and dual-channel DDR3 memory. Comparatively, the complexities of Intel’s current CPU lineup, which employs two different CPU sockets (LGA 1156 and 1366) that support, respectively, dual- or triple-channel DDR3 memory, seem downright confusing. On the practical side, the fact that AMD has stuck by a single socket standard means that current AMD motherboards have much more upgrade flexibility than recent Intel ones. With the Intel boards, you’ll have one of the two aforementioned socket types, and be locked into that particular socket’s cost and performance limitations until you’re ready to buy a new motherboard.

In terms of performance, though, little has really changed. As has been the case since the launch of the initial Intel Core i7 CPUs in November of 2008, Intel holds a strong lead over its CPU rival AMD at the very high end of the consumer-CPU market. But down in the realm of affordable chips, AMD has been doing quite well for itself with impressive offerings like the $120 quad-core Athlon II X4 635, which is, in most tests, a fair bit faster than Intel’s similarly priced, dual-core Core i3-530.

And in the world of six-core CPUs, things are decidedly similar today. To summarize: In our battery of tests, AMD’s new six-core flagship chip, the Phenom II X6 1090T, is a very strong performer in the $300 price range. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t match the performance of Intel’s $1,000-plus, six-core Core i7-980X, or even the quad-core Core i7-975, which sold for about $970 when we wrote this in late April 2010. But it ran pretty close to even in our tests with Intel’s quad-core Core i7-870, which sold for $550.

Amkette Wireless Keyboard with Trackball

Looking for an awesome input device for your home media center PC? Then head right over to our contest where you can win one of 8 Wireless Amkette Keyboards with built-in mouse (trackball).

All you need to do is answer the ridiculously simple question and fill in your contact details. As always multiple entries will be automatically deleted so please don't bother spamming.

LG 47 LE8500 INFINIA LCD TV

It’s been a while since a full fledged HDTV has made its way to our labs, but now all the brands are pipelining models one after the other. Today we have LG, and their newborn Infinia Series of LCD TVs. The LED8500 model came packed in a wooden freight carton. Removing it took us a good 90 minutes. We hope this new crop of HDTVs has something nice to offer, what with all the hype created at CES. It’s got a local dimming Led backlight that should interest the techie readers instantly.

Design and Features
This is easily the slimmest TV around, at least when not perched on its stand. It’s a seamless bezel, completely covered by a glass sheet that extends out and borders the black bezel. The age old plague that haunts all TVs is here too: ugly looking fingerprints. The bottom panel has a row of flush, touch sensitive buttons labeled in white behind the glass panel. The back is bare, with a small window for i/o on the bottom left.

This model has no 3D capability, that is only available on the LE9500. The main feature is local dimming LED backlight, which actually totals 216 zones for our 47 incher, as sourced from the press release. Besides 3D the TV can do everything in the book, from internet video courtesy NetFlix and applications like Twitter, Yahoo, generic weather, stocks, sports updates etc. There's local gaming ability (small time games), along with the ability to play videos and music off a USB flash drive. It comes with a plethora of image processing features like XD Engine, Dejuddering, IRE adjustment. As a final note that is more of a marketing weapon: this model claims THX certification.

Specs
Brightness/Contrast                   not rated
Refresh rate                               240 Hz
Response time                           1 ms
Resolution                                  1920 x 1080
Display                                        TFT Active matrix LCD
Backlight                                     Local Dimming LED
HDMI                                           3 back, 1 side
Component                                 2 back, 1 side
Composite                                  1 back, 1 side
VGA                                             1
RF input                                      1
Digital audio output                    1 optical
USB ports                                    2 side
Ethernet (LAN) port                    1

Asus G51J Gaming Laptop

Hailing from Asus’ Republic Of Gamers series and equipped with Nvidia’s 3D Vision technology and powerful hardware, the Asus G51J gives a different dimension to gaming, in the true sense. It’s a mean machine with a rich feature set, but can it handle the intensive rendering when it comes to 3D gaming? Let’s find out!

Design
The laptop follows a dashing blue-black theme, where the lid is glossy and deep blue with an illuminated ROG emblem and lights at either edge. The interior is all-black, with a hint of brushed satin chrome around the touchpad. Thankfully, there aren’t any loud or annoying colorful blinking lights, something rather typical of gaming laptops. On the contrary, this one is quite sober to look at. Open the lid and you’ll notice a glossy but solid screen frame, good-quality hinges, and a matte rubberized wrist rest with a nice matte touchpad. The touchpad is rimmed with a brush finished metallic frame, which extends to double as mouse buttons. The overall build quality and the ergonomics are top notch, but we weren’t impressed by the chiclet keyboard, because it flexes a little too much.

Gaming laptops are large in size, heavy in weight and they certainly can’t be carried around on a regular basis, and the Asus G51J is no exception. Owing to its overall size, ruggedness, and rich feature set, this laptop weighs almost 3.5 Kg and its maximum thickness is almost 5 cm. So, what goes without saying is that, you’ll have to use it on a desk, unless you want a sore lap. Also, while benchmarking and gaming, we noticed the temperature of the base soaring to 70 degrees Celsius, so you wouldn’t want to play games when on the move. Another good reason for using it on the desk is that, this laptop doubles up as a high-end desktop PC, thanks to the powerful hardware.

Features
In terms of hardware, the biggest asset of this laptop is the processor, while others include RAM, the two hard drives and the discrete graphics. Built around Intel’s performance chipset, an Intel PM55, the machine is powered by an Intel Core i7 720QM processor which is clocked at 1.6 GHz. There is 4 GB DDR3 RAM and two 320 GB hard drives (7200 rpm). So there is not only enough number-crunching power but also ample room for storing games, music, movies and such. The discrete graphics is courtesy an Nvidia Geforce GTX 260M.

Coming to the highlighting feature; the laptop bundles with it the Nvidia 3D Vision glasses and a classy Razor Abyssus optical gaming mouse. So you don’t need to go hunting for these must-haves. Also, you don’t need to worry about compatibility, because the 15.6-inch screen is a 120Hz panel (1366 x 768) which is suited for the 3D vision kit. Want something more to drool over? This machine has a Blu-ray drive and multi-channel sound, so even watching movies is truly a treat. Options for external display are common, HDMI and VGA. The standard connectivity options include gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi N and Bluetooth. Then, there are 4 USB ports, a 2.0 megapixel webcam, a FireWire port, a memory card reader and the laptop is pre-loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit). Finally, in addition to the Nvidia 3D Vision kit and the Razer mouse, the laptop bundles with it a sporty rucksack, an OS-recovery disc, drivers, manual and a cleaning cloth.


The processor
Most powerful and high-end in Intel’s new series of Core processors, the Core i7 features Hyper Threading (HT) and Turbo Boost. While the Intel Core i3 and Intel Core i5 series of CPUs are common to entry-level and mid-level machines respectively, the i7 is the workhorse when it comes to performance. The CPU used in this laptop (the Intel Core i7 720QM) is a quad-core variant so you can see eight threads processing simultaneously (thanks, to HT). Also, it has a whopping 6 MB L3 cache, which again helps boost the performance of a CPU.

Nvidia 3D Vision
Remember the blockbuter flick Avatar? Well, now you can enjoy a similar experience in your home, with Nvidia's 3D Vision glasses. These glasses have brought about a new twist to the gaming world. They offer a stereoscopic 3D experience during gaming and even while watching 3D images. But, for the glasses to work, you need a 120 Hz LCD monitor.

While the G51J bundles these glasses, you can even buy them separately to experience the 3D realm on your desktop PC. Since there is wireless technology involved, in the kit you'll find a wireless receiver which connects with the USB port. Also, they wouldn't work with any game you throw at it, there's a handful of games, that are optimized for this technology.

firmware update to bring 3D gaming to your PS3

Sony’s last PS3 firmware update caused a furore with thousands of PS3 users indignant about the Install Other OS option being removed. While legendary PS3 hacker GeoHot went ahead and gave users a way around to the difficulty, Sony was churning out its next system software update. It will be available soon and will be mandatory. Primarily, these updates will provide new features to the Trophy section making it “easier to claim bragging rights”, and the much looked forward to 3D gaming support. Here are the updates, from Sony’s PlayStation blog:

Trophy enhancements:
1) Now you can more easily sort trophies in the [Trophy Collection] and [Comparing Trophy] sections. Sorting can be done with [Trophy Collection] in the [Game Category] and also when comparing trophies with your friends in the [Friend Category]
2) Trophy Folder (Title List) can be sorted by game name/ by title according to the date in which you earned your last trophy (ascending/descending)
3) Add-on list (Group list) can be sorted by original/the date in which you earned your last trophy (ascending/descending)
4) Trophy list can be sorted by original/trophy name/grade/date of obtaining the trophy (ascending/descending)

3D Gaming and other features:
In addition, this update preps the PS3 system for some upcoming new features, including 3D stereoscopic gaming, which is coming soon to PS3, in time for the launch of Sony’s 3D BRAVIA TVs.

Specified as “3D stereoscopic gaming”, it is now apparent that earlier rumours were correct: the update will only support 3D gaming, and not movies on the Blu-Ray format. The update will arrive in June, alongside Sony's 3D TVs. As mentioned in an earlier article, Sony’s 3D TVs will come bundled with four PS3 3D titles: Wipeout HD, Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Pain, and Super Stardust HD.

10 Xbox360 Games

Now we move onto Microsoft’s console, the Xbox360 and here are the exclusives that deserve a place in your library.

Gears of War 2

Bigger, better and definitely more badass, Gears of War 2 was the definitive sequel to Epic’s Unreal 3 fuelled action game. Sure the plot was a bit cheesy but it successfully pummeled us with in your face gratuitous violence, intense gameplay and engaging multiplayer modes. It even introduced us to the much loved horde where you could take on waves of enemies co-operatively.

Crackdown

While not as popular as a Halo or a Gears of War, Crackdown generated a cult following for itself with its over-the-top co-operative gameplay in which both you and a friend went around Pacific City cleaning up the streets as genetically modified super cops. Social service was never this much fun.

Burnout Revenge

Even though Burnout Revenge for the Xbox360 is a port it still till date remains one of the most exhilarating racers on that platform. Tons of racers have come and gone but I have yet to play one that’s as fast paced and enjoyable as this one. I didn’t include Burnout Paradise on this list simply because Revenge is a superior game in every way.

Dead Rising

So Dead Rising may not be the best game ever made. In fact I personally would term it as frustrating and brutally tough thanks to the anal checkpoint system but there’s no denying the fact that a mall full of zombies for you to slaughter in innovative ways is just plain awesome. I mean how can smashing a zombie’s head with a cricket bat/hockey stick/stuffed toy/katanas/frying pans/golf clubs/guitars/lawnmowers etc. not sound like fun.

Ninja Gaiden II

If there was one game that made you feel like a badass Ninja, Ninja Gaiden II would be it. It was fast, ludicrously violent and boasted of a deep combat system that was easy to comprehend but difficult to master. Be warned though; the game’s capable of demoralizing even the most hardcore of gamers with its tougher than nails gameplay and insane difficulty. 

Top 3 HDTVs for Gaming

The market for HDTVs is expanding by leaps and bounds, with categories being created with each batch of releases. Today we need to shortlist TVs for one of the most demanding experiences: gaming. Firstly we need the highest definition, and we need good response time. In other words, no blurring or streaking. Then comes the obvious requirement of good dark level details, for visibility in those lonely crevices at the end of the map. Here are three great choices for the job, plus these are all relatively new.

Budget: Samsung LA32B530P7R
MOP  Rs.38,000/-

For a budget TV this model works great for gaming. Aesthetics-wise the TV is simple yet classy - a clean design with a glossy black exoskeleton. There is also a thick glass sleeve running along the bottom border to add effect. Connections are usual with 3 HDMIs, 2 component, 1 composite and a headphone out. The panel is Full HD 1920 x 1080, with a contrast ratio of 60,000:1 (dynamic), brightness rating is not given.

The best thing about this TV are the parameters the menu offers to dial in a good image. There is white balance, gamma, black level adjust, dynamic contrast, variable backlight etc. Thus the tweakers out there can spend some time customizing and calibrating. And of course the images look very sharp and crisp due to a higher definition of the panel itself. Grayscale wise, the TV is not so great and spectacular, rather it is a sober, decent performer, with black levels being its Achilles' heel - they are not so deep. Whites are still better with accurate color temp at pure 100 IRE white, no tinges and coloration.

Perfect 42 incher: Sony Bravia 40NX500 LCD TV
Rs. 68,000

Cowon V5 HD 16 GB

The world of personal media players might be in trouble according to some folks, what with the mobile phone now able to do everything a PMP can. But there will always be a niche of brands that offer quality, and albeit are priced more. Cowon has carved out this reputation for themselves, they have some really god players. Today we have the V5 HD by Cowon, so let’s see if it can hold the flag up waving high.

Design
Available in the box are a pair of earphones, a small CD, manual, warranty card, adapter and USB cable, which has a proprietary connector on one end. This irritates me for the obvious reasons: what if the cable gets lost? The connector actually doubles up as the HDMI and also the SPDIF out, the cables of which were not included in our package. The unit itself is slightly heavy, not too conducive to carry straight in the pocket, plus the screen is not protected. But the complaints end there in the design section, as the flat rectangular form factor is seamless, and very clean looking.

The screen is a large 4.8 inch, digital TFT LCD touch screen. 800 x 400 is the resolution, while brightness is 400cd/㎡. The left side has the USB port for PC connectivity hidden behind a panel, along with a slot for SD card. The other side has 3.5mm earphone socket and the adapter socket.
Back to the touch screen. The main USP is that  the resolution of video that can be viewed is 720p, which comes under the realm of HD video. It has album art visualizations, EQ section and also has an image viewer (JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, BMP, RAW) and other stuff like  a calculator and a .TXT file reader for eBooks in that format. The text size can be adjusted in size and color as well. The player charges via the adapter, and takes about 3 hours to be fully charged. Last but not least, there is a voice recorder option. Now what it doesn’t have: No Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, thus many apps included in it will be pointless.

Specifications
Video Resolution       800 x 400, Max res: 1280x720
OS                             Windows CE 6.0
Max Output               16 Ohm earphones : 30mW + 30mW
File formats               (video) AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA(MKV), OGM, MPG/MPEG, DAT,
                                 (audio)  MP3/2/1, WMA, ASF, AC3, FLAC, OGG, M4A, MATROSKA (MKA), TTA, APE,
                                  MPC, WV, WAV
Codecs                      H.264 (MPEG4-AVC) MPEG 1, MPEG 2, VC-1, WMV 9, AC3, WMA
Size                           128 x 22 x 15.7 (w x h x d)
Weight                      197 g

The Mobile Clone Wars

The budget mobiles i.e. Java based mobile handset or the ones that are still quite popularly being referred to as ‘China mobiles’ have hit the Indian market like a tsunami. They had a bit of a problem when it was assumed that they were ‘pirated’ copies and had no IMEI numbers to offer validity. But they’re back - it's The Return of the Java, pun intended obviously, and they are not going anywhere.

They come bearing promises of offering users everything they could possibly want at an unrealistically low price. While there was a time not too long ago that these same handsets also referred to as clones as most of their designs very closely resemble some of the bigger brands Samsung, Nokia et al. The current trend is to have handsets embody RIM’s BlackBerry form complete with QWERTY keypad and UI.

Now I have no qualms with the ‘cough-rip-off-cough’ designs. I mean if I could get a handset that looks like a BlackBerry at a price that would make RIM cringe, I’m a happy guy. So what if it doesn’t do as much as the original device, it comes close... sort of.

But here’s where we separate the men from the boys, the smartphone from the somewhat intelligent phone. The Operating System is the clincher. While the Java based OS may be a good option for the budget range of devices it can be quite a painful experience if you’re crazy enough to switch from a smartphone to this. Manufacturers create UI’s that are placed on top of the OS and depending on the kind ‘clone’ you’re interested in, the UI is usually customized to look and to feel, to an extent, like the originals.

Right now RIM must be quite flattered or flustered with the fact that every single company that’s into the manufacture of these Java-based budget handsets has, at the very least, 2 models that are BlackBerry clones. In order to take things a step further from the design phase, the companies also customize the interface to look and feel similar to the BlackBerry OS. You’ll have shortcuts on the desktop that allow you quick access to certain functions and a main menu with icons straight out of the BlackBerry OS’s drawing board to add a little more authenticity. Makers of the touchscreen models seem to prefer Samsung’s multiple desktop options and the TouchWiz UI’s desktop widget system. You’ll have a pop out panel loaded with various widgets that can be placed on the desktop for easy access to a variety of features. Some companies have even managed to replicate the iPhone and a UI that looks quite like the originals.

The problem with this OS is that it’s ridiculous that companies sometimes don’t really bother to take the time, relax, sit back and organize the UI properly. The distribution of features into sub-categories and folders, especially in the handsets that are trying really hard to disguise themselves as BlackBerry’s are untidy and mismanaged. In order to simply fill up space, you’ll have shortcuts to functions in the main menu and the same inside other folders. Simple access to functions also involves extra key presses making it a longer process than it needs to be. The layout lacks finesse and user control.

With quite a few of these companies there seems to be a stronger focus on making the UI’s colorful and visually appealing (that usually turn looking gaudy and psychedelic enough to believe you’re on an acid trip) rather than on the quality of the function itself. Audio players offer colorful interfaces with flashing lights to give Vegas a run for its money and A2DP connectivity. Most even offer a lyrics display option. I really don’t know why. It’s not like the speakers aren’t already built to wail at you even in a crowded train. There’s also a possibility we’ll have to hear the users sing along with it. As if commuting wasn’t hard enough in this city. Instead of all these unnecessary options, I say keep it simple and concentrate on the quality of the handsfree for starters and the overall quality and output of the player itself.

But enough with the Java-beating, for a bit. Sure the OS has quite a few issues, but one can’t simply tag them as flaws. There’s very clearly room for improvement. But at the end of the day most of these handsets can offer you a pretty good value for your money, as inexpensive as they may be. The one thing this OS handles well enough though is Dual SIM functionality. A few tweaks here and there would of course make it better, but as is, running and managing two and now three SIM cards is not a problem.

Some of these handsets even mange to incorporate motion-based technology for games and a few other functions and even employ the use of track-pads and track-balls for navigation. Again I’m sure RIM is staring on in disbelief considering the price of handset that has these features is about Rs. 10,000 cheaper than some of their cheapest devices. What a shocker, someone replicated hi-tech components at a ridiculously lower cost. And let’s not forget that Java is a widely used system even in higher end handsets. There are quite a few applications and games that can be downloaded to enhance your devices usage. 

For those with a tighter grip on their wallets and aren’t interested in taking out a personal loan for a smartphone, the bottom line is that some of these handsets can get most of the job done, even if does have a bit of round about way of doing it. It’s highly unlikely that smartphone users will ever transition to the Java OS, but for those who want to shut up pretentious mobile users flaunting their BlackBerrys, just whip out your clone and show them the price-tag. That should shut ‘em up.

SoundMagic PL21 and PL 30

Soundmagic is one of those “made in China and we’re proud of it” brands, which is actually different from your regular “Made in China” brands. The company is called Shenzhen Soundmagic technology, and the global coverage on this set of in-ears is nothing less than superlative. I love the rare occurrence of an obscure brand coming into the market and winning praise out of nowhere, you know, the underdog phenomenon. We have 2 models by them, and I plan to put both under the scanner: the PL21 and PL30, thus these can be another choice for your sh*tty iPod earphones replacement.

The Soundmagic PL21
Rs 800
These little plugs have a black outer body that marries itself to black rubber sleeves. The design is not the most elegant out there, but has no tackiness at all. It’s a simple straight up look, barring an ultra slim metallic rim around the drum of the body, and also small labels stating ‘left’ or ‘right’.
The cord is 1.2 m long, which also comes with a clip for the shirt. The accessories are basic but complete, comprising a leather carrying case, 7 pairs of extra ear sleeves of different sizes and a pair of ear braces to attach over the pinnae. The frequency response is stated 15-22000 Hz, while the sensitivity is at 99 dB@1kHz/mW.
The sound quality had one thing going for them right from the start, and that was solid bass response. The bass is not dominant; in fact it supports the rest of the spectrum very well. The mids and highs are also crisp and crystal clear, respectively. The levels can go louder than most requirements; in public too there is an acoustic sound isolation of about -20dB.

The Soundmagic PL30
Rs 1000
The PL30s have a slightly different design, it’s slightly more complex geometrically speaking. The drum of the body is a little flat, with a small semi circular dial on top of it, for bass adjustment. The sleeves are similar to the PL21, black rubber material along with other choices in size. This set also has foam sleeves that take the shape of your ear canal to ensure a snug fit, the latter ones are great for bass response and sound isolation both.
This model has similar specifications to the PL21, which is a 1.2 m cord, 20-22000 Hz frequency response. The only difference is in the sensitivity, this one is louder at 103 dB@1kHz/mW.
The sound quality here is again really beyond my expectations, they do sound like much more expensive, boutique quality in-ear plugs. The bass can be slightly adjusted  though I prefer them in normal mode, it’s a great sounding balance of audio frequencies. As expected this model is louder than the PL21, plus they have very impressive clarity.

Google, Yahoo Countersue Xerox on Search Patents

Google Inc, its YouTube video service, and Yahoo Inc on Thursday filed counterclaims against Xerox Corp in a lawsuit accusing them of infringing the document management company's patents on Internet searches.

In filings in Delaware federal court on Thursday, the defendants sought declarations that they did not infringe the two patents at issue, or variantly that the patents are invalid and thus cannot be enforced by Xerox. Xerox had sued Google, YouTube and Yahoo in February, claiming that Google services such as Google Maps, YouTube and AdSense advertising software, as well as Internet tools such as Yahoo Shopping, infringed two patents dating as far back as 2001. According to a court filing, Xerox contended its patents covered such technology as a system for generating queries for information relating to a document, and methods to integrate information from documents and other data. Xerox is seeking compensation for past infringements, and a ban on the defendants' use of the technology.

Lenco iPod Boom Box Contest

Just because we love you, we have arranged for yet another cool contest for our readers. Here's your chance to win one of 3 Lenco iPod boom boxes  in our simple contest.

Of course all  the standard regulations apply like the contest is valid for our Indian readers only, and only one entry per person will be accepted — so please don't enter a 1000 times and expect to be automatically be selected as a winner, because we only see that as a single entry anyways.

ASUS N61Jv

Video Magic makes visuals better on the finest quality LCD panels available, made and sold by ASUS with a 100% zero-bright-dot guarantee. No dead pixels and the absolute best image possible. 

Powered by the new Intel® Core™ i3, i5 processors, ASUS N Series is equipped with intelligent new micro-architecture that combines Intel's unique technologies for amazing computing experience, with innovations such as Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, which automatically speeds up your processor when your PC needs extra performance.

The N61Jv offers you the latest in mobile graphics technology with its NVIDIA GeForce GT 325M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM. This powerful CUDA-enabled graphics card lets you enjoy the HD playback and the latest games.

Like a hybrid car seamlessly switches from gas to electric, the N61Jv features NVIDIA Optimus technology to automatically optimize your computing experience so you can keep working without interruptions

Splendid "Super-Sonic" Multimedia Enjoyment

• Experience 10X Transfer Speeds with USB 3.0
• Elevate Your Aural Experience with SonicMaster Technology
• Enhance Your Visual Enjoyment with Video Magic Technology
• World 1st notebook with NVIDIA Optimus™ Technology, Great Performance, Great Battery Life

Enjoy Powerful Audio Entertainment through SonicMaster technology

The new ASUS Series is designed for audiophiles who desire multimedia entertainment while on-the-move.To further enhance and deliver the best audio experience, a marriage of both hardware and software innovations were required. SonicMaster audio technology was developed by highly-trained audio experts from ASUS’ Research and Development team, and fine-tunes sound energy, noise balance, volume and dynamic sound range, minimizes environmental interference and sound distortion, and enhances sound separation. Superior chamber design with outputs of 2.5 watts and measuring 21cc in volume, together with 2-channel Altec Lansing speakers deliver pitch-perfect audio quality that brings multimedia to life.

ASUS Video Magic Technology boosts your graphic computing power

Resolution enhancement to Full HD

Get a whole new look with Video Magic, boosting refresh rates up to 72 frames per second to remove blur and artifacts, while upscaling standard DVDs to full 1080p with no slowdown.

Video acceleration

New N Series notebooks feature NVIDIA CUDA general processing for faster performance. Working together with graphics optimization suite Video Magic, these technologies accelerate multitasking and enable better quality multimedia so notebook users don’t have to settle for limited specs and slower speeds.

ASUS Splendid optimizes colors for perfect images

Another Video Magic component is exclusive ASUS Splendid, an imaging engine with five presets that bring out the liveliest colors, sharpest detail and starkest contrast – normal, theater, vivid color, gamma correction and soft mode. Video has never looks so good.

zero-bright-dot guarantee*

Superior Computing Performance

USB 3.0 10 Times Faster

ASUS is the first to introduce the new USB 3.0, capable of providing a bandwidth of about 5Gbps or around 10 times the bandwidth of the current USB2.0.USB 3.0 is capable of transferring 4.5GB from a 2.5-inch HDD in 1 minute 15 seconds, compared to the 2 minutes and 44 seconds of USB 2.0 in the exact same conditions*. This allows for faster transfers of high definition data, such as movies and videos, as well as various other large capacity file formats. It also charges USB-chargable devices with 900mA, faster than the 500mA of current USB 2.0. Finally, the USB 3.0 helps to extend battery life, suspending operations when it is in idle mode.

Asus Republic of Gamers G73Jh

Key Specs

Processor: 1.6GHz Intel Core i7-720QM
Memory: 8GB RAM
Storage: 1TB hard drive
Optical Drive: DVD±RW
Screen: 17.3 inches (1,920x1,080 native resolution)
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 (1GB)
Weight: 7.4 pounds
Dimensions (HWD): 2.2x16.3x12.6 inches
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

It’s rare that gamers on the prowl for high-end gear get a price break. Most gamers are used to paying top dollar for bleeding-edge parts and systems—with the downside of sacrificing precious power for any money they try to save by settling for older or less capable components. But the Asus G73Jh, branded under the Republic of Gamers (ROG) line, manages to offer, seemingly, way more than its price tag’s worth of juice.
The G73Jh has some of the specifications you’d expect to see on much pricier notebooks. A quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU? Check. A fat bank of 8GB of memory? Check. A 17.3-inch display at full 1080p resolution? Check. A cutting-edge, HD 5800-series ATI Radeon graphics subsystem? Check again. We’d expect a price of well over $2,000 for this configuration, so we’re left scratching our heads as to how Asus crammed it all into a stylish chassis and charges just $1,599 for it.

The G73Jh looks like a stealth fighter. It's a nifty-looking, unique system, with a matte-black finish and a streamlined, contoured lid. It's definitely not your father's Dell Inspiron, that's for sure, and it's sure to turn heads at gaming parties. The only downside of the form factor is the included power brick, which weighs more than a pound on its own and is one of the largest we've ever seen.
The input devices alone, including a black, backlit keyboard and a huge, 4.5-inch-diagonal touch pad, are worth the price of admission. The keyboard features surprisingly large keys with plenty of room between them, and it even includes a numeric keypad. Plus, somehow, enough room is left over for one of the largest laptop touch pads we’ve seen. They keys and the pad are both gloriously responsive, and thanks to an innovative cooling system that draws air through the front and blows hot air out two rear exhausts, the palm rests stay cool throughout any computing session.
Furthermore, the G73Jh features a 2-megapixel camera that performed well in all lighting situations. You’ll also find an eight-format memory-card reader, Bluetooth 2.1, and a full range of connectivity, anchored by Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. Of course, you'll find the rest of the standard ports along the sides of the laptop, including four USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, a VGA port, and audio jacks. One specification that floored us is the full terabyte of hard drive space, divided into four partitions on two physical notebook drives. One partition is expressly for the operating system; the rest are for the whims of the user.

Output is equally remarkable, via the huge, bright display. Driven by the powerful ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 chipset, which features a full gigabyte of DDR5 VRAM, the display features excellent visuals no matter what you choose to do. On our tests, video-playback quality was brilliant, without hiccups, artifacts, or blurring. Audio playback through the onboard speakers proved muffled, typical for any notebook, but throw on a decent headset, and the aural sensation goes from blah to fantastic. That's because the built-in Realtek audio chip supports Creative’s EAX technology up to version 4.0, allowing for positional audio in games that use it.
Indeed, gaming is a pleasure on the Asus G73Jh—as it should be, because that’s what it’s built for. And our gaming benchmark tests came back with excellent scores. On our 3DMark Vantage test, for instance, the G73Jh scored 8,234. On the first of our real-world gaming tests, Company of Heroes, it scored a very nice 139 frames per second (fps) on the DirectX 9 (DX9) version of the test and an excellent 51.2fps under DirectX 10 (DX10). When we ran our second gaming test, Far Cry 2, the G73Jh scored a strong 92fps for DX9 and 53fps for DX10. Considering the price, these are all very impressive scores. Only the most expensive laptops, such as the $4,849 Alienware M17x, trump these numbers.

HP LaserJet Pro M1212

Alienware M11x

Key Specs

Processor: 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300

Memory: 4GB RAM

Storage: 500GB hard drive

Optical Drive: None

Screen: 11.6 inches (1,366x768 native resolution)

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 335M (1GB) and integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD

Weight: 4.4 pounds

Dimensions (HWD): 1.3x11.3x9.2 inches

Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)

 Why would gamers, who typically lug 15- or 17-inch notebooks to LAN parties, even consider an 11.6-inch portable for play? Answer: For the same reason everyone else buys light laptops. In the olden days (that is, circa 2009), laptops with high-end graphics needed lots of space for cooling, and small screens meant low resolution. An 11-inch notebook was typically a slow-performing netbook, meant for little more than word processing and surfing the Web. So leave it to Alienware to think outside the box and deliver an ultraportable that delivers game-worthy graphics performance, road-ready battery life, and the attitude of a full-blown gaming rig. The unique M11x represents a couple of firsts for Alienware: Its base price of $799 is the lowest of any computer in the Alienware line, ever, and it’s the smallest machine, too.

Our test unit, configured with a Core 2 Duo processor, a 500GB hard drive, and 4GB of memory, came in at a reasonable $1,099. But what really makes this notebook different is its versatility; it mixes an ultra-low-voltage CPU, known for its power-saving and low-heat characteristics, with an Nvidia GeForce GT 335M, a performance-class mobile graphics chipset. It also has an integrated graphics controller for when you don’t require that much 3D power. To be clear: This is not your typical Alienware notebook, as it just doesn’t have the horsepower of its high-end brothers, the M17x and M15x. Still, it has strong enough chops to satisfy all but the most demanding gamers, and it will provide hours of unplugged frag time. And despite its size, it offers many of the cool accouterments you’ve come to expect from Alienware.

With its beveled, race car–style front end, illuminated grills, silver finish, and the familiar backlit alien head adorning its lid, there’s no mistaking the M11x’s family resemblance. It's basically a smaller version of the Alienware M15x. (Like its bigger sibling, it's available in a Cosmic Black finish, as well.) Measuring 1.3 inches thick and weighing 4.4 pounds, the M11x is undeniably chunky for an ultraportable. The slightly larger Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13 weighs 3.8 pounds, while the 13-inch Toshiba Satellite T135D-S1324 comes in at 3.9 pounds. However, the M11x has a very solid feel. The display is supported by two heavy-duty hinges that provide just the right amount of resistance when opening and closing the lid, and the battery is contained completely inside the chassis. (You can remove it by undoing eight screws on the bottom of the chassis and taking off the bottom panel.)

The 11.6-inch screen has a resolution of 1,366x768, which means it can display HD content at 720p. The panel is framed by a piano-black bezel with a backlit Alienware badge on the bottom, and it's protected by a glossy edge-to-edge covering that provides very good contrast and sharp colors. The trade-off is a fair amount of reflectivity, which can be distracting. The shiny bezel is aesthetically pleasing but not very practical; a matte bezel would help cut down on the glare factor. That said, our 720p test clip, The Magic of Flight, looked wonderful on the little screen, and viewing angles were very wide for such a tiny panel.

The roomy keyboard is firm and comfortable, and it's illuminated by the same customizable AlienFX lighting system that also lights up the power switch, the front grills, the logo badge, and the status lights above the keyboard. Unlike the Alienware M15x, which offers four distinct color zones on the keyboard, the M11x is limited to a single zone, but you can choose from 20 colors. The slightly recessed touch pad is textured and provides smooth cursor control, and the mouse buttons are quiet and responsive. There are no sliders or touch-sensitive controls at the top of keyboard, but you will find a power switch in the shape of (what else?) an alien head. The front-firing speakers are surprisingly loud given the M11x’s diminutive stature, and they don’t distort when cranked all the way up.

Considering its girth, the M11x’s lack of an optical drive is puzzling. After all, the engineers at Toshiba managed to fit a DVD drive into the thinner and lighter Portégé R600, so it is certainly doable, and for gamers, it’s practically a must. We thought Alienware might have made this decision in the name of cooling such a graphics-intensive yet small machine, but the company instead cited cost, size, and weight as the determining factors. To us, that means it was possible, but the company doesn’t think people will value it—an opinion we don’t share, especially for gamers. Still, you do get a nice assortment of ports (DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA video outputs, plus three USB ports), which means you can easily hook up this laptop to a larger screen, a full-size keyboard, and a mouse at home for a better gaming experience. You also get a FireWire port and an Ethernet port, and the inclusion of dual headphone jacks is a nice touch. The chassis lacks an ExpressCard slot, but it does have a three-format flash-card reader and a SIM-card slot.

Alienware did everyone a favor and bypassed the bloatware on the M11x. The system's 500GB hard drive came with Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) installed and was thankfully devoid of much else. (Alienware wisely withholds from cluttering its PCs with excess apps and trial software.) In addition to the AlienFX applet, you get another proprietary control utility, the Alienware Command Center. It contains AlienFusion, which lets you adjust power settings to save on battery life or increase performance; AlienTouch, which lets you customize your touch pad's sensitivity; and AlienSense face-recognition software, which works with the embedded 1.3-megapixel Webcam. You also get CyberLink’s YouCam software, which makes it easy to set up video chats and personalize them with cute special effects. In addition to those basics, fans of solid-state drives (SSDs) can have the M11x outfitted with a 250GB SSD as a $420 option. And finally, the M11x comes with a one-year warranty that includes 24/7 telephone support and basic in-house service within one to two business days. You can upgrade to a three-year plan for $199 more.

For all that you get on the hard drive, the M11x is a bit of a lightweight on the CPU. The system is powered by Intel’s Core 2 Duo SU7300, an ultra-low-voltage processor with a stock speed of 1.3GHz. Here, it was overclocked to 1.73GHz at the factory.  You can enable or disable the overclocking by entering the BIOS utility and switching it on or off, but it’s nice having a bit more oomph, considering the CPU’s low-end specs.

On our PCMark Vantage test, which measures overall system performance by running simulated productivity applications, the M11x’s score of 3,608 was more than 1,000 points above the average for an ultraportable and slightly higher than the average mainstream notebook, as well. Granted, it couldn’t keep pace with Sony’s VAIO Z Series ultraportable, but that laptop uses a Core i5 chip and is much more expensive. Closer to the M11x in price is the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13, which the M11x bested by 831 points, and the Eurocom T3 Contessa, which trailed the M11x by more than 2,000 points.