How much power can a 4.6-pound notebook really offer? More than you might think. Thanks to a second-generation Intel Core i5 CPU and AMD Radeon HD graphics, the Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4820TG-6847 ($729) outperforms most of the competition and looks good doing it. Perks such as Dolby Surround Sound really sweeten the deal, too. Read on to find out how this thin-and-light speedster compares to the competition.
Design

Understated but elegant. That's how we'd describe the chassis of the TimelineX AS4820TG. The lid has a black brushed aluminum finish, while the palm rest has a lighter brushed metal treatment. Glossy black plastic surrounds the display and keyboard, which adds a nice accent but picks up fingerprints.

Above the keyboard on the left side of the deck is a grooved circular power button, next to which are LED activity lights. Two speakers separated by a Dolby Home Theater Virtual Surround Sound label sit in the center, and two thin black buttons--one to launch the Power Smart Manager and an eject button for the tray-loading DVD drive--are on the right side of the deck.

Heat

After playing a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the TimelineX AS4820TG stayed well below the threshold of what we consider uncomfortable. The touchpad and keypad (between the G and H keys) both checked in at 89 degrees, and the bottom registered a far-from-threatening 83 degrees.
Keyboard and Touchpad

The AS4820TG's FineTip keyboard felt comfortable to the touch. The tactile response wasn't as sharp as we'd prefer, but we had no problem writing this review and a few e-mails. The Ctrl and Alt buttons on both sides are the same size as the letter keys, which resulted a few errors while touch typing. While it wasn't exactly a trampoline, the keyboard had a bit more flex than we'd like, too.

more notebook review:
* ACER AS07B72 battery
* CLEVO M540BAT-6 Battery
* Apple MA561 Battery
* Apple MA458 Battery
* IBM 40Y7003 Battery
* IBM ASM 92P1170 Battery
* Sony VGP-BPS2B Battery
* Sony pcga-bp2v Battery

Recently TechTree got their hands on the Asus 90-NFV6B1000Z G73JW gaming notebook, this was manufactured by Asus’ Republic of Gamers division, which should mean that the hardware within is high-end and overclockable.

The G73JW-91051V runs Windows 7 Home Premium and features the Intel Quad Core i7-740QM CPU, 8GB DDR 1333 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 640M graphics, 2 x 500GB solid-state hybrid hard drives, a 4X Blu-ray combo drive, a 17.3-inch 3D display and the Intel HM55 Express chipset, you can see full specs here.

You can see what the G73JW looks like here, as you can see it is quite bulky, however this is because you are getting PC standard gaming performance from a notebook, you will also see a few buttons above the keyboard, one of which allows you to intelligently and automatically overclock your CPU and GPU another of which allows you to toggle the 3D visuals on and off, you must use 3D glasses to experience the 3D content. Another neat feature allows you to output 3D visuals to a compliant 3DTV via its HDMI port.

You can see benchmark results here and here, it performs well in all of the tests, however in some cases it falls short of the Alienware Asus A33-S37 Battery, but let’s not forget that this does not feature 3D capabilities and has a massive price tag.

TechTree seem very happy with the gaming notebook and say that it is better than MSI and Dell’s offerings, it is expected to retail for Rs. 1,21,499, however at the time of this post a US price was unknown, its weight is one issue, however Asus do throw in a bag with the notebook, you can see TechTree’s conclusion here, all in all they say if you want a gaming laptop and price is not an issue yo should check out the Asus G73JW.

More Asus notebook:
Asus BTY-M68 Battery
Asus CBPIL72 Battery
Asus MS-1010 Battery
Asus 90-N7PPW1010 Adapter
Asus 04G266006100 Adapter

If there's one thing that strikes you immediately about Sony's BDX-S500U external USB Blu-ray DVD drive, it's the fact that it's tiny. Measuring a mere 147x137x19mm (wdh). That's the same size as two CDs in their jewel cases, stacked one on top of another. We're talking about an impressively small piece of hardware.

So compact is the BDX-S500U that we had to double-check it wasn't merely a DVD writer - but no, it's a fully-fledged Blu-ray writer rated at 6x BD-R and 2x BD-RE read and write speeds.

First impressions
From a cosmetic point of view, the BDX-S500U looks very smart in its shiny black casing. Press the eject button on the front of the drive, and the tray pops out so you can load a disc, provided you've connected the external power adapter to the rear of the drive.

Some external optical drives use a double-headed Y cable to supply the necessary juice; however, the Sony only requires a regular USB cable as the power supply does all the hard work. On the downside, this does mean that you won't be able to use the BDX-S500U drive with your laptop when you're out in the field and away from mains power. Anyone with a single spare USB port on their laptop will be grateful for the choice that Sony has made.

more notebook review:
Medion W72044LA
Medion W34X48LB
Medion BTP-C1BM
Medion BTP-AKBM
Medion BTP-BVBM
Sony PCGA-BP3T
Sony VGP-BPS13

A RAID system you can take with you. The Raidsonic ICY BOX RD2262 offers you a good selection of ports and a broad scope of uses for multiple HDDs. Is it convenient for everyday use and does it really perform better than just the sum of its parts? We've got the answers.



A Raid system to go has its appeal. You can back up your data on the go, achieve the fastest performance from the hard discs you have or make use of the greatest amount of data storage space within a single case. Raidsonic's convenient solution is easy to load with HDDs, offers a wide variety of ports and even comes with its own bag. It, however, doesn't exactly come cheap at a price of 120 Euro, especially considering the hard drives to be inserted also have to be purchased separately.

The light 260-gram case is composed of aluminum and plastic, available only in the white-and-silver color scheme. Considering that the HDD slots inside are placed side by side, it would have been possible to make a very thin case. Nevertheless, there's enough room on the inside for hard disc drives up to 12.5 mm in height, that is, very powerful HDDs. This currently allows for a maximum capacity of 2 TB overall (2x 1 TB 2.5" hard drives), although 1.5 TB hard drives are indeed available, they are not yet individually sold.

The sturdy case profits greatly from its aluminum base plate. No imperfections in craftsmanship or parts poorly fitting together were noticeable. The white, plastic top is held in place with 4 screws located at the corners of the base plate. The white plastic is just as prone to showing small scratches and fingerprint marks as other colors might, albeit only in particularly unfavorable lighting. Little rubber feet on the base plate keep the case in place even on a smooth, slippery surface.

The type of HDDs and their combination is unlimited and even HDDs 12.5 mm in height and adding to a capacity over 2 TB are no problem for the ICY BOX. The broad scope of hardware complemented by its easy-to-handle design and simple software makes this unique device a winner across the board. Small imperfections like inconsistently recognizing the connection via eSATA has often been observed with many other external devices and is no unique flaw of the device here.

Unfortunately, the case and its great array of ports come at quite a lofty price. Currently costing at least 120 Euro, it's not exactly a penny-pincher deal, although we haven't yet found a suitable alternative with similar qualities and test results. Maybe there'll be a similar gadget with USB 3.0 coming out soon, offering a good alternative to Windows users at least.

more notebook review:
HASEE SQU-902
HASEE SQU-816
HASEE J10-3S2200-S1B1
HASEE V10-3S2200-S1S6
HASEE V10-3S2200-M1S2

It's big news whenever Apple announces new products and now Apple’s Battery bestselling consumer notebook receives the long rumored major redesign that is no doubt, another stunner. Just when you thought Apple couldn’t make the previous generation MacBook any better, they come around and offer this aluminum and glass beauty that is even thinner, lighter, and more powerful than before. Now that Apple has brought its renewed MacBooks ($1299 starting) and MacBook Pros ($1999 starting) even closer together by offering the same design, engineering, and -for the first time on the MacBook - aluminum body to both notebook lines, the once straightforward consumer and pro-line product differentiation is slowly fading away. Is this the best MacBook to date? Is it safe to call the MacBook, the MacBook Pro "mini"? Read on.

Impressively, the new MacBook is even thinner and lighter than before, achieving a thickness of only .95 " - the same as the new MacBook Pro. At 4.5 pounds, the new MacBook is 1.5 pounds lighter than the outgoing model with weight evenly distributed across thanks to its unibody construction (read: less parts). At 12.78" x 8.94", the new machines are pretty much identical in dimensions to the last generation models.

With a gorgeous 13.3" LED-backlit LCD screen fully encased beneath a black bezeled glass, the MacBook's display is stunning to look at even when powered off. The glossy finish makes colors really pop and adds to its enhanced vibrance, but at the cost of massive glare, making outdoor viewing difficult. Indoor viewing is not as bad, but reflections abound so be mindful of viewing angles and tilt adjustments. At first glance, the display seems identical to the previous MacBook screen with the same 1280x800 native resolution, but thanks to the new LED-backlighting, the display is evenly lit across the screen and noticeably brighter than the previous generation models. Watching movies was a real treat even though you'll find yourself seeing your own reflection in lighted areas. But when compared to the MacBook Pro's larger screen, the MacBook's picture quality is still inferior and you'll notice the contrast and blacks drop out when viewed from an angle - The MacBook Pro's, on the otherhand, looks great at any angle. This is a big reason why Apple would like for you to pay the extra money to go Pro for the better screen. A built-in iSight camera is included as well like before on the top of the display.

Overall, we found the new MacBook a real pleasure to use as with all Mac products we've tested. It's a gorgeous, sexy piece of machinery and certainly the best MacBook yet. But we do question Apple's decision to make the MacBook so closely identical in looks and features to the MacBook Pro... Anyway, at $1299 starting, it's a tad more expensive than we had hoped it would be, but you do get a lot for your money namely the aluminum casing, glassy multi-touch buttonless trackpad and of course, the revolutionary unibody "brick" construction and for a whole $700 cheaper than the cheapest MacBook Pro model. Nonetheless it's a excellent buy for one of the best notebooks around on the market. Some may not like Apple's new design direction (myself included) utilizing black keys to contrast the aluminum, but there's no denying this is one of the best looking laptops available.

related Apple notebook:
# Apple MA561G/A Battery
# Apple MA458G/A Battery
# Apple M9756 Battery
# Apple M9325G/A Battery
# Apple M9140G/A Battery