The much-awaited Dell Streak has been in the news for quite sometime now.The Dell Streak tablet is finally arriving through AT&T this month for less than $300 (approx. Rs. 14,010) if purchased with a contract.
The tablet is fitted with a 5MP rear camera as well as a front facing VGA camera which integrates AF and LED flash. Users are offered wireless connectivity through the built-in Wi-Fi capability. Powered by a removable battery, the device houses 2GB of onboard memory.
“The Dell Streak has found a way to fit your whole world in a 5-inch screen. Its unique size will help people discover new ways to enjoy the web, connect with friends, and navigate their lives,” explained Ron Garriques, president, Dell Communication Solutions.
Additionally, it allows owners to avail of navigational functionalities through the integrated GPS system. Attributed with a 5” WVGA multi-touch display, the device is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor. Moreover, users can manage their e-mail as well as social networking accounts through this 3G tablet.
The existing storage capacity of the Streak can be expanded by up to 32GB through a microSD card. Apart from being Bluetooth ready, the peripheral flaunts UMTS/GPRS/EDGE class 12 GSM radio abilities with link speeds of up to 7.2 MB/s speed.
Pre-orders for the Dell Streak through AT&T will commence from August 12, 2010. The tablet is priced at $299.99 (approx. Rs. 14,000) with a two year customer agreement and it can be picked up for $549.99 (approx. Rs. 25,690) without the contract.
Technology buffs might be happy to welcome a laptop that is cited to perform like a notebook and yet flaunts dimensions similar to a netbook. The Dell Inspiron M101z notebook is now available in a host of configuration options. The gadget is offered with a choice of AMD Athlon II Neo single K125 or AMD Athlon II Neo dual K325 Core processors.
Users can purchase the notebook with dual channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM offering internal memory up to either 2048MB or 4096MB. The notebook maybe purchased with a 250GB SATA HDD operating at 5400rpm or a 320GB HDD variant that functions at 7200rpm. Apart from that, the laptop comes with the ATI RS880M + SB820M chipset.
The 11.6” HD TFT WLED screen displays a resolution of about 1366 x 768p and integrates TrueLife technology. Visual output of the device is backed by the AMD Integrated ATI RS880M graphics card. This Bluetooth 3.0 enabled notebook flaunts a built-in 1.3MP webcam for video conferencing or chatting over the web.
Owners are offered audio output courtesy of the two 1.5W speakers supported by SRS premium Surround sound standard technology. Its chassis is embedded with an RJ45 terminal, a mic-in, a line out and three USB 2.0 ports. It also accommodates a 15-pin VGA video connector and an AC adapter connector as well as a 3-in-1 media card reader.
The M101z comes pre-loaded with the 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium OS. It is powered by a 6-cell Li-ion battery that is cited to power it for about 6 hours and 36 minutes. The dimensions of this offering are calculated at 8” x 0.9” x 11.5”.
The Dell Inspiron M101z notebook is tagged at prices starting from £379 (approx. Rs. 27,370) depending upon the selected configuration options. Users may choose to purchase the gadget with a one-year, a two-year standard extended or a three-year standard extended phone and repair support plan..
Given the extreme performance and category dominance we discovered with Alienware desktop computers, we shouldn’t be very surprised that the Alienware M17x garners such high ratings among gaming laptops. The brand continues its dominance of the gaming category without missing a beat and even the extreme graphics motif that makes it stand out among desktops is carried over to the laptop units. If there are any two points that we find just a little disconcerting about this laptop, the first has to be its very designation into this category. This unit is both large and heavy. Be really careful when shopping for a bag to carry it around. The typical laptop bag designated for 17-inch computers just won’t do it. If you can find one that claims to accommodate two 17-inch computers, you’ll be in good shape. As for weight, at about thirteen pounds, depending on how it’s configured, it’s not going to be a suitable replacement for a netbook…nor is it intended to be. The other bone of contention is its price. Of course, shoppers considering Alienware are looking for performance rather than a bargain price so that’s no big surprise.
Alienware computers are famous for their radical appearance and this one is no exception. The anodized aluminum case is available in silver, black or red but that’s just the beginning. The screen features edge-to-edge glass on the display that announces immediately that you’re not dealing with any run of the mill machine. Alienware has a system call Fusion FX which allows you to set the colors behind the backlit keys. In fact, as many as four different colors can be selected simultaneously so that different regions of the keyboard display different colors. Certainly not necessary but definitely cool looking. The lighting options extend down the front of the keyboard in a grill-like arrangement that is either reminiscent of a stealth fighter or a 1950s concept car.
Features:
When talking about extreme gaming computers, it’s always the graphics card setup the gets most of the attention. That’s certainly the case with the M17x which comes standard with an awesome NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M card featuring a substantial 1GB of video memory. If that’s not enough for your extreme gaming requirements, the computer can be ordered with a pair of the NVIDIA cards which will support outrageous gaming requirements or amazing multitasking.
Alienware’s M17x can be built with either Inter Core 2 processors or the newer i5 and i7 CPUs. For Core 2’s, the included processor is a substantial Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 running at 2.4GHz, 3MB Cache and 1066MhzFSB but there are lots of upgrade options. There are two faster Core 2 Duo processors available with the T9600 running at 2.8GHz clock speed and 6MB Cache or the T9800 that kicks the speed up to 2.93GHz with the same Cache. A couple of different Intel Core 2 Quad processors are also options. The first is the Q9800 with the four cores running at 2.0GHz or, for ultimate performance, the Intel Core 2 Quad QX9300 with four 2.53GHZ cores, 12MB Cache and 1066 MHz FSB.
The alternative base processor is the Intel Core i5 520M running at 2.4GHz and 3MB Cache. There’s also the option of an i5 540M running at 2.53GHz. There are four Intel Core i7 options with the basic processor running at 2.66GHz and sporting 4MB Cache. The top of the line is the Intel Core i7 920XM which clocks at 2.0GHZ or up to 3.2GHz in Turbo Mode and has a 8MB Cache.
When you have a need for speed, the next essential piece of the puzzle is RAM memory. The basic unit comes equipped with 4GB of dual channel DDR3 1066MHz RAM. It’s upgradable to 6GB or 8GB with the snappiest option being 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 running at 1333MHz. While the base 4GB is pretty substantial for a typical laptop, for this gaming monster, we can’t help but think a RAM upgrade is a no brainer.
There are several storage options available, too. The starting point is a pretty pedestrian 250GB drive running at 7,200RPM. The 7,200RPM drives can be upgraded to 320 or 500GB or you can choose to sacrifice speed for size by opting for a 640GB drive that spins at 5,400RPM. To really get fast, both 128GB and 256GB solid state drives are also available. They’ll give far faster data access speed than any mechanical hard drive can but have notably smaller storage space available.
Available optical drives include a DVD/CD burner, a drive that will also play Blu-ray discs and a final upgrade to one that includes a Blu-ray burner. The included optical display, i.e. the screen, is a 17-inch WideXGA+ which displays 1440 x 900 pixels (900p). That can be enhanced by adding a 17-inch WideUXGA screen displaying 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution (1200p).
The M17x comes with a one year basic service plan which can be increased to three or four years. There’s also an advanced in home service plan available but it requires remote diagnosis before a technician would be dispatched
Dell has released information about the pricing of its 3-inch Android smartphone as well as a 5-inch smartphone/tablet hybrid UMPC device known as the Streak. The Aero, will be the smaller 3-inch version and will retail for $99 on contract or $300 sans contract on August 9th. The larger Streak, previously thought to go for $500 unlocked, is a bit more expensive with an unlocked, contract-free price of $549 and a contract price on AT&T of $299.
Both devices will run the Android operating system. Dell has stated that the Streak will launch with Android 1.6 and will be upgradeable to Android 2.2 at a later point. The devices will support AT&T's 3G network and will fall back to EDGE on T-Mobile's network should you go the unlocked route. Dell still hasn't announced the exact launch date for the Streak, though the company has stated it will launch at the end of the month.
Don’t tell the hordes swarming into the Apple Store every weekend, but the days of needing to spend over $1,000 to get a quality laptop passed by while most of them were still in high school. Even before netbooks came along sending manufacturers into a frenzy while chewing their own margins down to pennies just to compete, prices on Windows laptops were in a freefall, leaving today’s prices at rock bottom. With Windows 7 now standard, you won’t have to deal with Microsoft’s last dud of an operating system this year either. Just about any notebook under $500 will serve your most basic needs, but some inevitably do it a whole lot better than others. Here are some of our favorites. If you have a favorite you would like to share, or want us to know about, please post it below! te: All prices reflect what you can find these notebooks for on the street or online, not necessarily MSRP.
If you thought this 0.65-inch-thick, aluminum-shelled beauty shared a bloodline with Dell’s ultra-premium Adamo XPS, you would be right. If you thought it shared the price, you would be dead wrong. An ultra-low-voltage processor and a handful of other minor sacrifices (like only two USB ports) keep the 13.3-inch notebook from pulling ahead as the workhorse of this pack, but it’s hard to beat the knife-like 3.5-pound body for traveling in style.
Not all netbooks are built alike. Asus sets its Eee PC 1201N apart with some of the brawniest silicon to be planted in such a tiny package: a dual-core Intel Atom processor and Nvidia’s Ion graphics processor. Together, they give the 12.1-inch netbook pep above and beyond even some full-size notebooks in this price range, including the ability to run many modern games on the 1366 x 768 display. The dynamo GPU also makes the 1201N adept at 1080p video playback, which it can even pump out to a flat-screen TV via a standard HDMI port.
Don’t let the obtuse name deter you: This is one of the most powerful laptops in our round up. Gateway’s NV5387u offers AMD’ Turion II Ultra Dual-Core M600 processor clocked at 2.4 GHz, not to mention 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, 15.6-inch display, and ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics. The estimated battery life under three hours won’t make it much of a travel machine, but users who need the extra power will be amazed how much grunt they get for the dollar.
Lenovo treads the line between notebook and netbook with the X100e, one of the few computers in the respected ThinkPad line to fall below the $500 mark. While the 11.6-inch screen and weight under 3 pounds might qualify it as a netbook, an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, rock-solid build quality and trusty ThinkPad keyboard with built-in TrackPoint joystick elevate it to a machine worthy of wearing the ThinkPad badge. Users who need a little extra power can also upgrade to the dual-core Neo X2 for another $50.
The Energizer Bunny of netbooks uses a capacious six-cell battery to deliver 14 hours of run time – according to Asus, anyway. As with all notebook battery estimates, it’s a bit of a pie-in-the-sky estimate, but even after accounting for the optimism of Asus’ marketing department, you can expect honest all-day computing. And at only 2.8 pounds, you won’t throw out your back carrying it around all day, either. A 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor won’t get anything done in a hurry, but for surfing the Web, rearranging spreadsheets and writing papers, you won’t find yourself pining for anything more.
HP’s dm1z stacks up similar to the Lenovo X100e with an 11.6-inch screen and choice of AMD Neo processors, but you’ll get the faster Neo K125 CPU in the base price, a superior Radeon HD 4225 graphics chip that handles HD video, as well as more memory (2GB instead of 1GB) and hard drive space (320GB to 160GB). Specs don’t tell the whole story, since we find Lenovo’s build quality is hard to match, but the dm1z makes yet another excellent alternative for folks looking for a little more power than the average netbook supplies.
HP means business, quite literally, with this rare corporate-class entry in the netbook category. Although the guts look a lot like any other, HP has wrapped them in a sturdy magnesium chassis trimmed with aluminum, which looks, well, ready for the boardroom. It also gets the same drop protection as full-fledged business notebooks, an almost-full-size keyboard, and Corel Home Office preinstalled. (Yes, it’s the poor man’s Microsoft Office, but it will save you $150).
OK, it’s a blatant rip-off of Apple’s MacBook Air. But for a penny under $500, what’s not to like? The X340 features the same rounded clamshell edges, 13.3-inch screen, and even a 0.78-inch thick profile that’s only a hair away from the Air’s 0.76 inches. Of course, you get a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo chip instead of a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo, integrated Intel graphics instead of a Nvidia GeForce 9400M, and a glossy plastic body instead of an anondized alumimum unibody one. But hey, what do you expect for a third the price?
Looking for a netbook with some style? Sony’s Vaio W Series delivers with classy pink, blue and white finishes, along with a swank Billabong edition you can pick up for an extra $50. As with most devices bearing the Sony name, you’ll pay a little more for it than the generic equivalent, but a peppier 1.83GHz Intel Atom processor and large-capacity battery both come standard, negating some of the brand name price inflation.
This spacious 15.6-inch machine offers the comfort of a notebook, with the price of a netbook. The AMD V Series CPU you’ll find on the base model won’t get out of its own way in a hurry, so we recommend dropping $30 to step up to a significantly faster Athlon II dual-core processor. As on the HP dm1z, ATI’s Radeon HD 4250 should make short work of HD video on the (admittedly low resolution) 1366 x 768 display, but won’t leave much headroom for gaming.
