Laptop Reviews

The mini laptops that were student based were the ones that formed the base for netbooks in the year 2007. It turned out to be the dream come true machine for the consumers who were longing for a budget priced and durable machines for kids in the United Kingdom. Now that this market is not dead and a never dying one, HP has acted quite smart and designed its latest offerings that embodies the above mentioned factors. This 100e netbook portable is designed for Kindergarten through grade 6. The subsidised price tag will not be available for the normal consumers, this offer is open only for school systems, but for those lucky students who get to place their hand on these PCs get a decent performance and a really long battery life for a very good value. Now, let us find out if it is a better choice than the other student based offerings available in the market or even the other budget mass-consumer models.

Design:

Snow white:

At the very first look, you might think that it might be an offering from Apple, we are sure HP has got some inspiration from the macbooks. This no nonsense design of the HP Mini 100e will also call to mind the similarly rugged Intel Classmate PC. HP has employed some rounded curves in the design, with gives the netbook an excellent aesthetic edge. Having dimensions at (H x W x D) 10.9 x 9.9 x 1.6” and weighing about 3.4 pounds, the unit is thicker and heavier than an average netbook. But there is nothing to worry about, as a slim and sleek casing is not necessarily a virtue in a student based netbook stage. Its chalky white clamshell body contrasts pleasantly with the ashen keyboard. The plastic covering is lightly textured, giving the machine a no-slip feel. Being a netbook aimed at kids, it is mandatory that it is durable and, it has achieved it with a matte plastic chassis.

Elegant:

The lid is a simple plain one with just a small and tasteful HP logo with a small LED light near the top, which is activated when the system is connected to the internet. This feature allows teachers to monitor network usage (students will hate this). The blank lid allows schools to add their own adhesive logos or designs. Though the HP Mini 100e netbook computer is quite thick, it actually does not feel bulky at all or look clunky for that matter. Overall, we would say that HP has managed to achieve an attractive, elegant and simple aura. Everything about this system is aimed to please school administrators, from being simple to repair to being easy to store at the end of the day when school’s let out.

LCD display:

The wide-screen LCD is surrounded by wide bezels. The 10.1 inch matte display of Mini 100e has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels has an extremely wide horizontal and vertical viewing angles. This means, a small group of students will be able to share a screen with encountering any sorts of distortion or obfuscation. This netbook was able to handle a 720p trailer without dropping frames. The colours are quite nice and deep and the netbook managed to handle languid motion and transitions from light to dark too. Users looking to type long documents or view some newer webpages might be in for additional horizontal scrolling, but nothing that you wouldn’t find on other similar netbooks.

Durability:

As we had just mentioned, the most important factor to look for in a student’s netbook is durability and how capable is it to withstand the rigorous use and abuse by kids. We cannot blame them; perhaps they have not yet learned how to take care of expensive electronics. HP has well understood this as it has included some features to mitigate damage, such as a spill-resistant keyboard and a large gray rubber-grip carrying handle protruding from the screen hinge, which lowers the risk of dropping it. Some of the other options that support durability include a hard drive accelerometer, which parks in the needle if it happens to sense a sudden stumble. When the system is open no area around the keyboard exhibited any sort of flex. The palmrest was rock solid alone with the keyboard and trim near the screen hinges. The hinges themselves were very strong, completely without wobble, and held the screen firmly shut when the system was closed.

Even the keyboard keys seemed to be a step above what was found on standard notebooks, with an etched label for each symbol instead of just being printed on the surface of the keys. Though the HP 100e flourishes with features supporting durability and sturdiness, we steered towards the preference of the overall design of the extra-kids proof CTL 2go Convertible Classmate PC NL2. The CTL 2go has our preference in this area because of its rubberised coating on the outside, with reinforced edges, a scratch resistant display and even an anti-microbial coating on the keyboard and touchpad.

Keyboard:

The unadorned deck was, without a doubt, designed for children. The HP Mini 100e Student Notebook has island-style keys that are of good size and is also very comfortable for both students and their parents too. HP has tried its best to keep the keyboard as ilk as possible to the traditional keyboards, including the placement of keys along the edges. Keys such as Shift, ALT, CTRL and Fn are all in their usual positions. Hence, kids who are learning to type will not have to make any strange adjustments when they move on to a full sized keyboard. The small LEDs that are embedded on Caps Lock, F11/Volume Mute and F12/WiFi keys that indicate when they are active are welcome additions. The key plunge is a little shallow, but the keys are virtually silent when struck. Most important, this keyboard feels sturdy enough to withstand rough treatment from a child. The only quibble that we had with the keyboard is that, sometimes they seemed to require more deliberate taps than the touch typists are used to. We found that, every now and then, a letter or two was dropped, which is while typing at a normal rate. However, we feel that this con will turn out to be an advantage for students learning to type as it will certainly encourage accuracy before speed.

Touchpad:

The touchpad is quite spacious at 2.5” x 1.5” as it employs raised dots that are reminiscent of the Asus Eee PC Seashell models to aid with tracking. The surface on the 100e is software, which means, the effect is the same and the tactile sensation will not be as harsh as on the Eee PC. It responds well to finger taps and scrolling but does not accept other multi-gesture input. The touchpad control panel has areas for gestures, but all of those are grayed out indicating those features are disabled via hardware or software. We were left wishing that the two discrete mouse buttons along the bottom could be bigger, but they are actually about the right size for small fingers and they offered some snappy returns.

VGA Webcam:

The HP Mini 100e 10.1″ Mini Laptop also sports an integrated VGA webcam that is capable of producing some decent images. However the quibble here is that, they tend to be quite dark in rooms with bright fluorescent lights overhead. It captures colours quite well when the backlight does not overwhelm. The blurriness comes in only when you move very quickly. We snapped a few photos using the Webcam and noted a grainy quality to them. Skin tones looked accurate, if a bit washed-out. We thought it would have been great if HP had employed a swivel for the webcam, similar to the one on the CTL 2go PC NL2, which allows students to have a wider range of shots available for them. On the plus side, the integrated microphone is sensitive and picks up voices from across a small room.

Ports and Slots:

As far as the connectivity and slots of the 100e is concerned, the Mini 100e offers a considerable selection, considering the age of the intended user. You will find VGA, Ethernet, Memory Card, Headphone and Mic, with two notable differences. Firstly, there are only a couple of USB2.0 ports, while most systems ship with at least three of them. Another thing to note here is that, it have left some room for what many would consider to be an anachronistic addition; a modem port probably. HP might have included this port for students who may not have internet or high speed broadband access at home. Hence, in this way, the students will still be able to connect through a dial-up ISP, or dial in to the school’s servers in order to download assignments. The 100e even includes a lock slot, so that these machines can be kept secure in a classroom environment. Hence, the ports and slots list includes a power port, a Kensington lock slot, two USB ports, a VGA-out port, an Ethernet jack, microphone and headphone jacks, and a two-format (SD, Multi-Media Card) flash-card slot. There is even wireless (the 802.11b/g flavour), but the system lacks a Bluetooth radio.

Features:

Easy to Upgrade:

The HP Mini 100e is quite easy to upgrade, although we were surprised to not see any sort of child-deterrence mechanism to prevent tampering by students. With the battery removed, two screws are revealed that hold the back cover in place. Once the cover comes off you gain access to the wireless card, hard drive, and system memory. The hard drive has partial shock protection through small rubber grommets that isolate the drive from the chassis, intended no doubt for the eventual tumble during class. Overall we can easily say this netbook is one of, if not the easiest to upgrade model on the market.

The insides:

In the heart of the HP 100e is the Intel Atom N455, clocked to 1.66 GHz and RAM of mere 1GB. The100e’s score on the PCMark05 was almost 100 marks below the netbook average, and was also below the much cheaper Toshiba Mini NB255 with the same processor. The big miss is that, it was also outscored by Asus Eee PC 1001P, which has an older N450 CPU. However, in the Geekbench tests, it fared much better, though still behind the Mini NB255, but ahead of the Asus Eee and comfortably leads its direct rival, the CTL 2go PC NL2. The hard drive is a 160GB 5400 rpm one, and it is no speed demon. It has a file transfer speed of 17.8 Mbps. This speed is on par with the Asus Eee PC 1001PC, but below the NL2 and Toshiba MB255 and the overall average of 18mbps. While students will not have to do much of video transcoding, they still can so more with their webcam videos as the 100e will be able to handle this task slightly better than most netbooks in the current market. To transcode a 5:05 MPEG-4 video clip which is about 114MB to AVI format using Oxelon Media Converter, the Mini 100e took 5 minutes and 57 seconds. Now, this rate is faster than its direct rivals.

Graphics:

HP has employed an Intel integrated Graphics Media Accelerator HD on board. With such a technology, we did not expect it to offer ion level power, but it performs as well as its competitors. It managed to play a Standard Definition 720p HD video smoothly via windows media player. However, when we played a video from Hulu, the result seems very slideshow like, this is even while not at full screen. Videos on the TNT.tv plays smoother and we found that there were far less dropped frames while watching videos on Netflix, which makes use of Microsoft Silverlight instead of Flash. Overall, this PC will suffice for basic classroom media-playback needs.

Connectivity:

At about 15 feet from the router, the Realtek RT8191SE 802.11 b/g wireless radio managed to deliver a strong throughput of 32.8 Mbps, but when you move as far as 50 feet, the signal dropped to 17.9 Mbps. Though this is less powerful than its direct rival the CTL 2go up close, the HP 100e was a little stronger at a distance. It beats the Eee PC 1001P at 15 feet but not at 50 feet and the Toshiba model seems to be the winner at this field being an overall winner.

Software:

Software that HP has included is very typical to what you would find on a Windows 7 netbook with a few extras that are geared toward students. HP has preloaded Evernote, which is a note taking suite that syncs to the cloud and other notebooks; a PDF Complete Reader with an optional upgrader to editor and a Win-Zip. The unit also includes Microsoft Math which is a program that aids K-6 students solve equations with step by step guidance; very handy indeed. The Hewlett Packard Mini 100e netbook also includes a Microsoft Office 2010 Starter, which is a pared-down version of Word and Excel. They have just enough functionality for the young students and it also keeps cost down for the school systems, given the fact that the Starter is completely free and is not just a 60-day trial version. In addition to this, the students will also have access to Windows Live Suite of programs that include applications like Movie Maker, Writer, and Photo Gallery. The students are also given the ability to take snapshots and record video with ArcSoft’s Webcam Suite.

For the sake of security, HP has loaded the netbook with Microsoft’s Free Security Essentials and Computrace tracks and helps recover stolen laptops. This suite must be enough to protect you against any kind of viruses kids might pick up while surfing the web. Notably absent from the system are educational games and learning tools like those found on the Classmate PC. While the Mini 100e’s software load is by no means less, the CTL 2go offers a few more programs such as Art Range 2 which is more fun than Windows Paint and Blue Dolphin user interface, a kid-focussed overlay that makes interacting with Windows 7 much more entertaining. The schools systems have a small range of configuration options available for them, mostly when it comes to software. Apart from the Windows 7 Starter edition, HP will also provide you with Windows XP, which might offer a slightly faster performance or the SUSE Linux Enterprise on the 100e. HP will also make a few other education based software available to schools depending on their requirements, including stuff like classroom management tools.

Audio:

The average audio quality does not come in as a surprise given the small speakers on the front edge of the system. While watching a video on TNT.tv, where the audio tends to be softer, we had to turn up the volume to 100 and still had a hard time hearing the softer voices, and this is at a perfect home environment with the air con running on low in the background. Peak volume levels were fine for listening to presentations or YouTube videos, but if you plan on enjoying music or a movie, connecting headphones is the preferred method.

Noise and Heat:

System noise was minimal with the power efficient Intel Atom processor and integrated graphics. One of the biggest advantages of the Atom processor inside the 100e is that, it helps a great deal in keeping the temperatures down. In order to test if this claim by HP is true, we played a YouTube clip in full screen for about fifteen minutes, and measured the temperature of the three key areas of the netbook. We were surprised to see that the touchpad reached just 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the space between G and H keys measured at 84 degrees F and the middle of the bottom of the 100e remained to be relatively cool at just 89 degrees F. These values are either at or much below the acceptable temperature zone. This means one less worry for parents about allowing their kids use the HP 100e netbook on their laps for long periods.

Green:

Being a student notebook, it will be great if it also teaches some environmental consciousness. The 100e is also fairly green, taking just a couple of hours to charge to 80 percent and another 58 minutes to get 58 minutes in order to get the full capacity. During the period of charging, the 100e uses an average of 25 watts for excellent battery efficiency. This makes the system very green, coming in under the netbook average. The only other netbook to beat it in this regard is the Eee PC.

Battery:

The six cell battery of Mini 100e has lasted for 6 hours and 32 minutes, which is exactly same as that of average of a six cell netbook and is less than 10 minutes behind the NB255. The Eee PC 1001P still proves to be the champ of the low cost netbooks, however, six and half hours is likely more than most students will need as they will mostly use the 100e during class time. It is a good thing that the netbook will make it through most of the long car trips.

You get two options of battery sizes: 6-cell and 3-cell. If you feel that the netbooks are going to remain in one classroom for most times, the shorter battery life of the 3 cell option will not matter as much. However, if students are going to carry them from class to class, then the 6-cell battery will be the apt choice. You also get the hard drive accelerometer which will lessen the damage caused by accidental drops and bumps. The pricing of these upgrades and additions will vary depending on the school system and number of units too.

Warranty:

HP offers one year limited warranty for its Mini 100e netbook and battery. The optional HP Care Pack Services is available for extra.

Verdict:

The cost per system depends on the number of systems ordered, but HP has estimated that the Mini 100e will be extremely affordable. While the HP 100e might not offer as robust a package as that of its direct rival, the CTL 2go Convertible Classmate PC, it still costs much lesser which will be a pretty step delta for large, cash-strapped schools. Even though the consumer models such as the ASUS Eee PC 1001P and Toshiba Mini cost about the same, and in some areas perform better, they do not have the kid-proofing and durability that keeps you from having to replace the unit after a minor accident. The HP Mini 100e is excellent value for schools and students. It delivers strong performance and more importantly, it sells for a lot less, which will be the biggest selling point. Overall, the educators in the market for budget PCs optimised for the classroom should make a note of the HP Mini 100e.

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HP Mini 100e Netbook Laptop – Technical Specification Table

HP has managed to follow up its MacBook Pro rivals, with its release of the Envy 14. With this model, the manufacturer has managed to make some main enhancements in design, ergonomics, quality, performance and value too. One thing that is highly trending right now, is kitting them with some real high-end speaker systems. Asus was one of the first to do so with their Bang and Olufsen NX90 notebook and MSi shortly followed with the GX660R, a machine that boasts a Dynaudio system embedded in the chassis. HP seems to have taken an alternate route with HP Envy 14 Beats Edition and has employed the help and expertise of legendary Hip Hop producer Dr Dre and his Beats brand that manufactures high end headphones. If you happen to think that the HP Envy 14 was not for you, then this one will be a good treat for you. Read on to find out more about its computing capabilities and more about the all important audio.

Design:

Red Black:

Aesthetically, the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition’s design is very much like its forerunner, the Envy 15. Replacing the original Envy’s taupe, etched aluminium and magnesium body, is smooth matt black. That matte finish does have a tendency to attract fingerprints and smudges, so beware if you are the kind of compulsive polisher who needs their tech to remain pristine at all times. There is also a red coloured Dr. Dre logo that is placed notably at the centre of the laptop’s lid, and this motif extends on to the deck , with its red accents and even some red backlit keys. The soft touch coated palm rest is very likable and it has a mostly smooth black bottom. This is where you can attach the optional battery piece.

A bit beefy:

Since the Beats Edition now has an optical drive, the dimensions of the laptop is slightly thicker at (H x W x D) 14 x 9.3 x 1.1inches. However, it is still easy to be slide into a messenger bag, it is just that you have to be prepared to carry around some weight (5.6 Pounds) which is same as the 15” Macbook Pro and heavier than the original Envy 14. Nevertheless, it is one of the tightest looking notebooks in the current market. This laptop is definitely more of a desktop replacement, portable in principle, but primarily to squat on a desk providing all manner of multimedia delights through a multitude of ports.

Display:

HP has opted for a new 14.5″ widescreen offering a pretty good deal of balance between the extra screen real estate and portability. Unfortunately, the users of the Envy 14 Beats will not be able to enjoy the Radiance Infinity Screen with a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels that was on the Envy 14. This one has a display of resolution 1366 x 768 pixels, displays up to 82% of colour gamut and possesses a maximum brightness of 350nits. The colours on the videos are bright, crisp and simply popped off the screen. And, the blacks were also deep and lustrous sans any artifacts. When compared to a 13” MacBook Pro, the Envy 14 Beats Edition was pretty evenly matched. Though certain videos were slightly crisper, but it was a pretty fine point. The viewing angles are excellent, but the glossy finish kicks back a lot of reflections in brighter settings.

Keypad:

The keyboard too is very similar to the previous Envys; the Envy 14 Beats edition Laptop features a black island style keyboard. So, what is new? The backlighting is. Though you can do only two things to it On or OFF, when compared to the range of gradient lighting settings on the MacBook Pros, it is quite a good addition. The soft surface of the buttons and the lack of loosening were kind of likable while typing, but at times, you may have to press harder than usual. We welcome the ‘quick access keys’ to adjust the brightness and volume.

Trackpad:

This time again HP has integrated the mouse buttons into the touchpad, which is quite spacious at 4.25 x 2.5”. Though we wished that it had been slightly toward the left, it did not cause any real issues that were evident on the Envy 15, such as the palm moving accidentally onto the cursor. The overall navigation was pretty simple, the way it should be.

Features:

Slots and Connectivity:

In response to some desperate reviewers and user suggestions, HP has added an optical drive to the Envy 14 Beats Edition Notebook PC. In the left side of the system, you will find the slot loading dual layer DVD-RW, a combo mic/headphone port (that works with the Solo Beats), along with two USB ports, and a headphone jack. On the right are an HDMI, eSATA/USB, Ethernet, mini DisplayPort, and a Kensington lock slot. On the front, there is a two in one memory card reader and there is also a webcam stuck on the bezel just above the display. The lack of Blu-ray is disappointing, especially considering how much you are shelling out for the privilege. There is also no VGA on board, which limits your video-output options.

Webcam:

The webcam employed on the Envy 14 Beats Edition is capable of high definition video and also has some low light capabilities. The video looks little washed out , but there was plenty of detail and the colours are quite accurate. In very low light, the hair and room surrounding will not be clear, but the subject face and clothing is as clear as if it was day time.

Software:

The Envy 15 Beats Edition Laptop included a premium Software that was designed to attract music aficionados, including Native Instruments’ Traktor LE software and Audio 2 DJ. Determining that this bundle added too much to the cost, HP no longer pre-loads this software. However, the Envy 14 Beats does come with the Beats Audio equaliser utility. HP branded applications and utilities proliferate. HP QuickWeb is an instant-on environment that allows you to surf the Web and chat on Skype, among other things. HP also includes a small utility called Fences that is intended to keep your desktop looking tidy; it allows you create small windows where you can store shortcuts to apps. HP’s MediaSmart suite includes programs for watching DVDs, listening to music, viewing and editing photos and home videos, recording webcam videos and watching TV. Other nice extras include the full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 and Adobe Premiere Elements 8.0. We also like that Hulu Desktop and Microsoft Silverlight come pre-loaded, so users can get right to watching streaming video.

Performance:

Boot and file transfer:

The insides of the Envy 14 Beats Edition include a 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-450M processor and 4GB of RAM. That is serious voodoo, especially when you complete the unholy triumvirate with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD5650 graphics card. Performance wise, it is very similar to the Envy 14, which is no surprise. It is better than the Toshiba Satellite M645, which too has the same processor and RAM, but a slower hard drive. The laptop booted into the Windows 7 Home Premium faster than the original , taking just about 53 seconds as opposed to the long 1 minute and 22 seconds. Though the 500GB, 7200rpm hard drive did not perform as well as the original, scoring just 25.1 MBps on file transfer, compared to 29.8MBps. However, the drive is faster than the average thin and light.

Graphics:

Moving on to the graphics, the Envy 14 Beats has two graphics cards; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 and Intel GMA HD. Unfortunately, ATI is yet to come up with a seamless way to switch between the two, that is the Nvinda’s Optimus Technology. The device automatically switches to integrated mode when you unplug it, otherwise, you have to do it manually and there is a second or so when the screen goes black. The good news here is that, this discrete GPU is more than capable of playing the latest titles.

Connectivity:

The Wireless scores performance of the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 Wi-Fi card is a mixed bag, though not identical to the original Envy 14 with the same wireless card. At 15 feet from the access point, there is decent throughput of 37.9 Mbps, less than the 48 Mbps the original scored, but above the average, which is 29 Mbps. At 50 feet, throughput dropped to 20.9 Mbps, which is not stunning, but above the original’s 18.3 MBps, and just above the 20.5 Mbps average.

Audio:

As you might expect out of a laptop named “Envy 14 Beats Audio Edition”, the audio is simply mind blowing. This laptop features some rather tasty speakers on the front edge that produces some powerful sound to fill a medium sized room, but we felt the bass was a little weak. The audio is impeccable when connected into the included Solo Beats Headphones. This magical combination resulted in some bass that came through deep and warm. If you are just kicking back with some YouTube video it will enhance your experience, but for proper audio enjoyment you will want something better. You will be able to do a pretty comprehensive spread of tweaks for equalizer settings in the Beats Audio Control Panel. You will also be able to save your presets if the included settings are not very convincing for you. You will be able to get complexities not only with the music from a wide range of genres, but also while watching TV and movies. While listening to a live performance of a rock artist, we were able to hear the whispers of the crowd while the artist wailed with his harmonica.

Heat:

One of the biggest issues with the original Envy15 was that, it had really poor heat dissipation; its quad-core CPU raised the touchpad to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and that of the wrist rest to 103 degrees. Fortunately, the HP Envy 14 is not so much of a heater. After about 15 minutes of continuous video, the touchpad measured 87 degrees, in-between G and H, it was 91 degrees and the middle of the underside is somewhat uncomfy at 101 degrees, when compared to Envy 14’s measurement of 81, 82 and 98 respectively. The heat by the vent even reaches an unpleasant 107 degrees.

Battery:

Endurance is one area where the Envy 14 Beats Edition is lacking. When on integrated graphics mode, the laptop managed to last 4 hours and 20 minutes. This period is about 20 minutes shy of average thin and light laptop and is well below 13” MacBook Pro. HP sells a slice battery that should double this notebook’s runtime, but will also add 1.5 pounds to this already beefy machine.
Configuration:

Configurations wise, you always have the original Envy 14, but when configured to match the Beats Edition’s specifications, it actually comes to less than the original version. The other options include upgrades to more powerful Core i5 and quad-core Core i7 CPUs; extra RAM up to 8GB; a 640GB or 750GB hard drive or a 256GB solid state drive; and an extra slice battery. There is no option to upgrade to the higher resolution display too.

Warranty:

This series is backed by a two years HP limited warranty on parts and labour, and 24×7 toll free technical support. E-mail a question and receive an answer in about an hour, and Take advantage of on-line chat, FAQs, and other resources. You can even click on the desktop icon for quick access to on-line support.

Verdict:

HP positively got more right in the second generation Envy 14 than it did with the 13 and 15-inch releases from last year. The HP Envy 14 Beats Edition has dumped the professional grade mixing tools that the 15” model offered in exchange for a much lower price tag. Some of the highlight special features of the laptop are mostly related to its aesthetic flourishes and the bundled high end headphones we had mentioned above, but the difference is that, you will be paying much less (about half of it). As a result of it, you have a slick laptop in your hand that pumps out the best audio we had ever heard from a laptop for a very reasonable premium over the original Envy 14. If you are willing forgive the relatively short battery life, this laptop is definitely worth the investment; you are getting a machine with a comparable display, better graphics, superior audio, and a better look.

Configurations Available:

HP Envy 14 Beats Edition Laptop – Technical Specification Table

One of the largest producers of computers in the world, both desktop and laptop, Dell is also regarded as a loyal follower of the latest technology. Ever since Dell started producing laptops, it has attained a great deal of success and recognition. But it had always been exposed to excessive pressure due to competition from its counterparts and especially, HP. In order to sustain such pressure and also to live up to the expectations of the general public, Dell had to show its mettle by producing world beating products, which it actually did. One such world beating laptop model is the Latitude and is also regarded as by far the best model from Dell, along with Inspiron. Dell has recently released the E series of Latitude laptops, and they look very promising indeed. The E series laptops target the IT professionals and also help in providing them all the essentials. Let us now review one of the laptops from the E series, the E5410 Laptop from Dell. Sit back, relax and read as we tell you the details of an in depth analysis of this new laptop from Dell.

Design:

Finer and Shinier:

There is always little difference when it comes to the aspect of design of modern laptops. Most of them look alike, especially if they are from the same manufacturer. But even then, they never bore you since they are designed to attract you. Now, regarding the Latitude E5410 14.1 inch Laptop, it looks quite like its predecessors but only with finer edges and shinier outer appearance. The shiny grey coloured appearance is also pretty good and colours such as grey do not fade away in due course of time and hence the laptop always looks quite new and recent. Coming to the overall design of the E5410, it looks a tad smaller than normal since it features a 14.1 inch screen. Measuring about 338 mm wide, 33.2 mm high and 224 mm deep, it has got to be one of the slimmest laptop computers available in the marking, barring the latest ultra slim Mac from Apple. Sporting a 6 cell battery, it weighs about 2.36 kg, which is a bit heavier than normal, considering the fact that the laptops from Apple and Sony are quite light in weight. But on the whole, it is one very comfortable laptop that you can carry with you at almost all the times.

Display:

The Latitude E5410 sports a 14.1 inch WXGA and Anti Glare LED backlit display. WXGA stands for Wide Extended Graphics Array, which is capable of displaying a resolution of 768p. This kind of display also has wide viewing angles. Hence it would be comfortable for you to watch from acute angles as well. And then there is the Anti Glare technology, which as the name suggests, does not reflect the light that falls on the screen and hence helps you get a very clear picture. Most often, it is the reflection from the outside lights that causes disturbance while viewing the display. Hence, this mechanism is implemented in the display of the E5410. The screen, hence, sort of absorbs the light that falls on it. This prevents the unwanted reflections. It is one of those marvels that technology can create. Now, last but not least, this time around the display is completely LED backlit, which means that the screen is made as thin as possible. LEDs also give you an evenly lit screen and hence make the display better. And a screen that measures 14.1 inches diagonally is quite good enough for professional uses. This summarises the whole display mechanism of the Latitude E5410.

Features:

The Dell Latitude E5410 provides a great deal of features and as always with the laptops from Dell, there is a bit of variety in the features. But then, there will not be too many changes in that list since all the computers need the same equipment. Let us see what is in the bag for us.

Processor:

Regarding any laptop on the earth, the first and foremost thing you would want to look at after the design part of it, is its processor. The technical world calls it the brain of the computer and it is solely responsible for all the actions that are taking place inside your computer. Now when you see the latest programs or applications, you will find that most of them are beta versions and hence are known to work faster than ever before. But for this, you need to have a solid processing system inside your computer. Fortunately enough, the Dell Latitude E5410 has come with one of Intel’s fastest microprocessor, the Intel Core i5 Dual Core processor. There are three different versions of this Core i5 processor for you to choose from. You need to decide, at the time of purchasing, the clock speed of your machine and choose between 2.53, 2.4 and 2.26 GHz. The bigger the number, the costlier it is. So it is advisable that the users think before they decide on what processor they intend to use. But anyway, the Core i5 series has been a big hit in the market and your computer will be amazingly fast at calculations.

Operating System:

The Latitude E5410 is pre installed with Microsoft’s latest and by far the best operating system, Windows 7. But you have a choice here as well. You can choose between Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows 7. Either way, you will get a 32 bit operating system. The Vista version has again got two separate modes, Home Basic and Business. But, we recommend that you go for Windows 7 since it is the latest operating system and has also got no compatibility issues like Vista . Almost all programs now work pretty well on this platform and since Dell offers you the Professional Version of this operating system, you will be getting additional advantages. It is also suitable for IT professionals and other business people. You can easily write documents, create new exciting presentations, and do a lot of other interesting stuff with this new operating system.

Memory:

The Latitude E5410 comes with the latest memory devices that are available in the market. Regarding the Ram of the device, it is a DDR3 type, which is the latest version and is also the successor of the already well established DDR2. This revised version of RAM is even faster and also more accurate than its predecessor. Running at a speed of 1333 MHz, it shows you how fast it is. The response time is hence reduced a lot which eventually gives you faster results. Again you have a lot of choice when it comes to RAM. There are 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB version of it and you can choose the memory of your mode before purchasing it, keeping in mind that the faster the RAM, the costlier it is. Then there comes the Hard Disk Drive. Fortunately enough for you, there is no choice this time around. There are too many choices already and anymore can confuse you. Now, the Latitude E5410 comes with a 320 GB SATA hard disk drive which runs at 7200 rpm at maximum and is also the fastest as well as latest in the market. Normally, 320 GB is pretty solid for memory space and for most of domestic and professional needs, it is more than enough. Should you need more memory, you have no other go but to purchase an External Hard Drive.

Graphics:

Graphics have become a part and parcel of our lives of late and this is clearly seen in the sales of graphics cards over the last few years. If you are going to purchase the Latitude, then you have no need to buy a graphics card separately as there is a built in Intel HD graphics card inside it. The specialty of this very graphics card is that it has a dynamic frequency, which means that its performance depends on how much of graphics is needed for a particular application. But, we also must know the fact that this graphics card may or may not support high end PC games and some applications that need a solid graphics card. Since this laptop is designed for the IT professionals, in more cases than not, the graphics card that is more than enough.

Optical Drives:

The optical drive that is provided by Dell supports almost all kinds of data discs that are available today, namely CDs, DVDs and Blu Ray Discs. With the support of this new kind of discs, the Blu Rays, you can watch full high definition movies and also write excessive amounts of data on them.

Wi-Fi:

Regarded as one of the most wonderful technological advancements of the previous decade, Wi-Fi has now become a very common name is also seen almost everywhere in most of the cities in the world. There are Wi-Fi hotspots in many airports, cafes, offices, restaurants, schools and universities. This feature lets you connect to the internet wirelessly. There are four different LAN options given by Dell for the Latitude E5410. They are: Dell Wireless 1501 (802.11 n), Dell Wireless 1520 (802.11 n2 x 2), Intel Wi-Fi Link 6200 (802.11 n2 x 2), Intel Wi-Fi Link (802.11 n3 x 3). These four different LAN options let you connect to different ports and experience wireless surfing.

Bluetooth:

Bluetooth also enjoys a very high ranking among the greatest of technologies the past decade. But, in the course of time, it has moved on from being the primitive version or v 1.0 to the beta version or v 2.0 and now it has finally moved on, ahead of its beta version, to version 3.0. A lot of people may not have known this fact but it is understandable since very few devices in the market provide this latest feature, the Bluetooth 3.0. The Latitude E5410 is one of those few and the Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth 3.0 has got a few new advancements in the way it works and now searching for new or old devices is easier and sharing files is faster than ever before. This application is also user friendly and hence is easy to use.

Security:

Dell provides both physical and system security for the Latitude E5410. Steel reinforced Cable Lock Slots, Media Module and Hard Drive Locks are provided to make sure that your device is safe at all times. Regarding system security, there are few options that protect your system. Firstly, the Finger Print Reader ensures that no one else accesses the system except you. You can register multiple finger prints and save them if you want others to access the system. Remember that this feature is optional and you can choose a system with a finger print reader while buying the Latitude E5410. Then there are a few other features like TPM 1.2, Optional Hard Drive encryption and Control Vault, which ensure secure credential management within a trusted boundary. Coming to network security, the Wi-Fi access is also limited to only you or the one that is using the system. This is possible with the help of 802.11 Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) and 801.11 i (WPA2), in association with Virtual private Networks (VPN) 802.1x with EAP modes and compatible with CCX 4.0. All the features are there to protect your system and other valuable and confidential system information.

Critical Data Protection:

Sometimes, when your system drops down to the ground or if something hits it very hard, then there is a great possibility of your hard drives getting damaged. The Dell Latitude E5410 has got some wonderful features that prevent this loss. While everyone knows that you cannot protect the physical body from the damage but at least, you can save your all important data. There is a free fall sensor inside the hard drives and whenever it senses a free fall, it instantaneously saves all the data separately, even if the computer is switched off. This means that even if the drive is partially or wholly damaged, your data can be retrieved back safely. Another sensor is a shock absorber which resides inside the computer. When it senses sudden vibrations or impulses, it makes the computer save all the data in manner which is similar to that of the Free fall Sensor. In both these cases, your data will be a hundred percent safe, which is all what you need at the end of the day. The data from the damaged drives can later be copied on to the new ones.

Multimedia:

There are a few multimedia accessories that help you interface a few multimedia programs on the computer. You will be getting a set of stereo speakers, a headphone jack which is also stereo, and both of them are pretty useful in playing audio files on your computer. You can also buy a home theatre system and connect it to the audio out port if you want. A microphone jack and integrated digital microphone are provided for audio in. An integrated 2.0 mega pixel Webcam, supported by Dell Webcam Central webcam drivers and software, is also provided. The drivers for the audio are already installed.

Ports and Connectivity:

The Latitude E5410 has got quite a few ports and connectivity options. It showed a great deal of versatility by providing a wide range of ports which are really quite useful for the IT professionals. Here is a list of all the provided ports and connectivity options: An RJ 45 network connector port, which allows you to connect your Ethernet cable and surf the internet, an optional modem connector, which connects your system to a modem, Four high speed USB 2.0 ports, a microphone jack, headphone speaker in and out, an IEEE 1394 port, a 3 in 1 card reader, a Smart Card reader, Type I/II PCMCIA, also known as PC cards, Dock connector, and VGA. Some of these are not seen on those laptops which are intended for purely domestic use. Hence the Latitude E5410 is a very utile professional laptop that provides additional options.

Now, finally we are done with the Features list and it is a pretty long one indeed. This kind of a list impresses many technical experts and also attracts most of the general public. Each and every feature is tested and found to be pretty useful for both the domestic and office uses.

Performance:

After having a look at all the features discussed above, there is little left to critique the performance of the Latitude E5410. You must have already come to a conclusion that this is one of the better laptop computers available in the market today and you are right. There are almost no complaints regarding this computer and of course, when a computer uses all the latest technology in the world, then there is no probability of producing serious errors. The performance is top class as always with the computers from Dell and with such qualitative processor, RAM and memory, you will see a speed that you have never seen before. No connectivity issues are reported and each and every feature that is on the list works very fine. Hence, full marks for the Latitude E5410 for its great performance.

Battery and Power Consumption:

There are four types of batteries again for you to choose from. Dell has with four different batteries based on their longevity. There are 4 cell batteries (37 Wh), 6 cell batteries (56 Wh), 9 cell batteries (85 Wh) with 3 years warranty and 9 cell batteries (81 Wh) featuring Express charge, which means that they are superfast when it comes to charging and they can charge up to 80 % within just one hour. You can choose one of these batteries bearing in mind the fact the there is a significant change in the price. Normally, a 6 cell battery is advisable but if you travel too much and need extra battery support, then you can go for a 9 cell battery. You can also choose the power adapter between 65 W and 90 W.

Warranty:

The Dell Latitude E5410 comes with a one year collect and return warranty for parts and labour, starting from the date of purchase. You have the choice to upgrade it to 3 years.

Verdict:

There is almost nothing more left to talk about this very efficient laptop from Dell. It is a perfect partner for any It professional. All the features and performance details are excellent and three years of warranty is a big advantage. The price is also set very well that there is a very good balance between it and serviceability. Though there are too many things for the general public to choose from, the IT professionals will easily be able to figure out what they actually need. For students and residents, there are more basic and simple laptops available in the market.

Configurations Available:

Dell Latitude E5410 Technical Specifications:

Sony Vaio P Series (VPCP11S1E/P) Ultra Portable Notebook Review

In this era of three hundred pounds and five hundred pounds tablets, it is definitely quite bewildering to know that Sony has still trying to push out a secondary £800 device that is atom powered. The 1st Vaio P series mini netbook had rave reviews. The miniature size and ruthless design was likable, but the price and absence of trackpad was not very compelling. Yes, you are reading it right, Sony does not seem to be ready yet to give up on its eight inch Vaio P series, with the latest measure to update the 1.3 pound mini netbook with a vaguely different construction and a quicker Atom Z560 processor, even an accelerometer and a touchpad. It is packed with some real cool functionality. So, does the meek retooling and a dash of new aptitude make the VOIP a much enhanced product, or even better, worth the hefty £800? Read further and find out.

Design:

Miniature size:

When it comes to the design part, it’s basic form factor is untouched. There is no doubt that the VAIO P’s sleek and elongated form factor remains to be one of the most exclusive looking netbooks in the air. It managed to still turns heads. This P Series VPCP11S1E/P notebook shows off some outstandingly petite measurements of (H x W x D) 245 x 20 x 120mm. At just 632 grams, it is feather light to carry in your hand bag, and for men, you might even be able to fit it in a big pocket, but let us face the fact, no one is going to put this in a jeans pocket except for those models marketing this thing.

Despite its extremely portable style, it is quite hard to use in some situations, it is difficult to be used on a lap or while lying down on a couch. This is mainly because there is no palm rest.

Colour options:

Sony has tweaked the aesthetic a little, and removing the glossy lid is a welcome act. This new VAIO P Series shouts “look at me!” in its three most colourful incarnations: electric orange, neon green, hot pink. If you are a little more self-effacing, white and black versions are also on offer. It is not rocket science to figure out why we prefer the white and black options since the colour appears on more than just the lid.  Though it still does not have the shiny and shimmering silver look anymore, the P is still a cutie.

Display:

The P Series notebook’s 8” display boasts a mammoth 1600 x 768 pixels resolution. Now, this is something of a mixed blessing, as such a high resolution on a tiny display means that you must really strain your eyes to have any idea of what is going on. It is not a patch on the excellent iPad screen, though, which could easily be construed as an alternative device to this. You will also find a zoom tool on the keyboard for the default resolution. We were left wishing if only Sony had traded the glossy screen for a matte one, it would have made it much easier to use outdoors. There is ambient light sensor that manages to adjust the brightness accurately.

Keyboard:

Taking its dimensions into consideration, the Sony Vaio VPCP11S1E/P netbook has a surprisingly large keyboard with isolated keys. Typing in its keyboard will not exactly be a pleasant experience, but, the chiclet layout will be comfortable enough. Though the plastic keys are a bit clicky, they are just fine for firing off short emails and with little practice, you will be touch typing with very few typos. Arguably more annoying is the loud click the mouse buttons make, which will draw yet more attention to your endeavours in public places.

Track-pad Inclusion:

The petite dimensions also mean that there is no room left over for a standard track-pad. However, Sony has managed to sneak in a small, pseudo track-pad to the right of the screen, which is dubbed as the Mobile Nav grip. You can even use a pointer stick to navigate around, which is smack in the middle of the keyboard, and long left and right mouse buttons below the keys. It is still a significant compromise compared even to a netbook with a touchpad, though, or a touchscreen for that matter; for all ThinkPad users may disagree.

Ports and Slots:

Moving on to ports and slots, this P Series netbook still lacks a solid selection. It only has two USB jacks, a headphone socket, SD and MemoryStick slots. Sony has to be fair here the VGA / Ethernet dongle is a standard, expected port and should have really included this in the box for its £800 price tag.

Connectivity wise, look no further than the inclusion of integrated HSDPA, 802.11bgn WLAN, Bluetooth plus a 7.2Mbits/sec 3G modem. The P Series has almost every conceivable feature you would demand of a mobile PC. The replicator is also necessary if you want to connect the P Series on a wired Ethernet connection.

Features:

Processor change:

Moving on to the insides, it is fair to say that the Sony P series VPCP11S1E/P 8-inch Laptop Netbook has gone through a small makeover; like a Botox maybe. Sony has broke up with the 1.3GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, and is now dating the slightly faster Atom Z540, which is clocked 1.86GHz. We can hardly call it great, but this P series notebook keeps pace with the Web browsing sans any sluggishness, and sure will manage with the tasks of emailing document editing, and other negligible ones without much hassle. To be clear, we can say that this netbook is good for minor tasks. Sony provides the P series with a quicker Z560 Atom processor for some extra cost.

Storage:

When it comes to storage, the Sony VPCP11S1E/P comes with a 64GB flash drive. As you know, this is not a great amount of storage, especially once the operating system and pre-installed software have had their way with it. Only 30GB of space is left on the 64GB SSD when it is booted it for the first time. You can remove Accuweather’s widget, Webcam Companion 3, ArcSoft Magic-i, Shutterfly PhotoBooks, and finally Evernote for VAIO, which will help speed things up and make some space on the drive. You can also boot the Splashtop instant on OS by hitting the Web shortcut, but the truth here is that you probably never will. The Assist Key will launch the VAIO Care; it is a nice utility to tweak the settings.

However, it is still probably as much space as you might need, this notebook is not really powerful enough for you to enjoy heaps of video content, and unfortunately will not play games.

Graphics:

When it comes to graphics, the performance of Sony VPCP11S1E/P was embarrassingly bad. Even in this streamlined form, though, it is hardly a world-beater. When a 720p YouTube video of Justin Bieber on The Late Show is pulled up, it played rather smoothly with only a few pauses here and there, and obviously that is something an Intel Atom N450 powered notebook cannot afford to do. HD YouTube clips are a no-go and the BBC iPlayer’s high quality videos are not smooth in windowed or full screen mode. And a 1080p video could not manage to play without looking like a total slide-show.

It also takes several seconds to resume from standby. But it is not unusable. When you are working in Word, for example (and note that Office Starter will be included), it is as fast and responsive as you need it to be.

Webcam:

In addition, a VGA Webcam with a 0.3-megapixel resolution is embedded into the screen bezel of Sony Vaio VPCP11S1E/P Laptop.

Loading:

On initial loading, the word ‘slow’ seems too kind. Sloth-like, glacial and sluggish are more likely to spring to mind. From cold the device takes a leisurely minute and a half to be ready to use. We do attribute a bit of the lag to the amount of crap-ware that comes on the system. Sony tries to make up for some of these shortcomings by including such software as a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2010, Microsoft Office Starter 2010, Microsoft Silverlight, a Sony photo-organizer suite, and a note-creation and organization suite (Evernote).

Accelerometer:

As we had mentioned in the introduction, another new feature that has been included is the built-in accelerometer, which detects when the Vaio P series has been turned on its side, and flips the display accordingly, just like the good ol’ mobile phones. Note that, the netbook will do this only in certain situations, for instance, while viewing Web pages in Internet Explorer or even while viewing documents in Word or Adobe Reader. The VAIO P also takes advantage of the accelerometer with a new flick function; when you are in Internet Explorer, you can tilt the P to the left to go back and to the right to go forward. It is a fairly useful trick if you happen to be carrying the netbook somewhere or sitting on the couch with it, but it just does not work in enough programs.  This Accelerometer feature, sure will turn VPCP11S1E/P into an considerable alternative to an e-book reader. Yet again, we found ourselves wishing it had a touch screen for turning pages. This notebook also supports a GPS based compass and location finder applications for finding your way around.

Audio:

As you can expect, the small speakers are quite tinny, they are incredibly weak and are outperformed by many a mobile phone where volume and clarity are concerned. However, Sony does include a pretty nice set of ear buds in the box for compensation.

Battery life:

The Battery life remains to be the area where the P Series falls awfully short of other notebooks. It only has a four cell, 19Wh battery, courtesy of its tiny dimensions. The manufacturer claims that you will be able to enjoy three and a half hours of battery life on a full charge, which, we assume is not much for a portable device. And, Sony’s claim seems to be fairly accurate, the P series device lasted three hours and twenty five minutes in our test of light usage.

Warranty and Energy Rating:

Sony offers a yearlong international warranty that includes a year of toll-free technical assistance. The P-Series earns an EPEAT Gold and a 5.0 EnergyStar rating; it is also compliant with the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) specification.

Verdict:

When it comes down to just portability, the VPCP11S1E/P has some competition, but if you can manage its extremely high price tag and usability niggles is something to think long and hard about. Frankly, for this price, you can get a netbook with 5 times the performance of the P-Series, or a netbook for half the price with better endurance and ergonomics. Overall, it is a gadget especially for those that have the cash to burn on an expensive, though striking little netbook. But apart from it not being a gadget for the lots, we would still like to see it gat a touch screen and more than 4hrs of battery life. It sure has some cool stuff happening here. Cool stuff worth £800? Now, that is your call.

Sony Vaio VPCP11S1E/P Laptop – Technical Specification Table