When scrolling web pages or other text quickly, there is some noticeable text blurring. The blurring isn’t terrible and if you scroll slower it isn’t an issue. As previously discussed in our Thinkpad X60s review, another 12″ XGA notebook, this editor finds XGA resolution to be limiting on even a small 12″ display. We know Toshiba has in the past produced SXGA+ (1400×1050) 12″ notebooks and would love to see the re-emergence of these displays. With Windows Vista’s ability to scale text more appropriately with respect to both resolution and display size, it is entirely possible we will see a re-emergence of high resolution, small size displays.
Though Getac does not specifically mention optical coating, a degree of coating must be there as the image remains very visible in direct sunlight. That, however, is only part of the story. While the 9213 does not have the superbright 1,200 nit backlight used on the company’s B300 and V100 notebooks, the LED backlight is considerably brighter than what we usually see on consumer notebooks. Backlight brightness is controlled via a function key combination and goes from quite dim to full bright in 16 steps.
Very small computers like the GoBook MR-1 cannot possibly accommodate all the full-size ports and connectors that fit onto a standard notebook computer. That is where “port replicators” come into play. You generally snap them onto the back of a device and that is the approach General Dynamics took with the MR-1.
The replicator measures 6.2 x 1.875 x 0.75 inches and adds standard jacks for audio in and out, RJ45 LAN, 9-pin serial, two USB 2.0, and a standard 15-pin VGA video-out port. It’s small enough to be taken along, and it is very nicely integrated into the overall design of the GoBook MR-1. A vehicle dock is also available for vehicle mount applications.
According to a recent report on the Internet, the new gaming laptop from ASUS is expected to debut in Europe for the price tag of 1,899 EURO, at the end of October. The G60J and M60J might just be the first of many to come from ASUS boasting the latest generation of Intel mobile processors.
Yet, as netbooks develop, and more companies move toward a thin client, browser based application model, those percentages will move upward. Consumers love netbooks and pundits encourage enterprise IT departments to accept a growing number of products first adopted by consumers. Since users often ignore IT guidelines, get ready for the netbook question. Enterprise ready or not, some number of netbooks are in your future.
When you head outside with this tablet PC the screen’s special coating and high brightness make it very useable even on a bright day. It also has an excellent viewing angle, which will make the screen easily viewable for another person standing next to you. Users should have no problem using the M400’s screen in a regular or tablet mode, indoors or outdoors.
The picture below shows the 9213 directly facing the 10AM morning sun. This is the most challenging test for any LCD as no backlight can compete with the power of the sun. What matters in this situation is effective optical coating and polarizers. As you can see, the 9213 display remains visible and readable. The screen takes on a somewhat greenish cast and reflection can become an issue. It is actually not as much of a problem as you might expect as the human brain is very good at tuning out reflection and concentrating on the image itself.
Keyboards are the bane of the existence of small device designers. That’s because keyboards are perhaps the biggest anachronism in all of computing. I mean, what other part of a computer has its origins in some arbitrary layout designed to slow down typists of mid-19th mechanical typewriters? Yet that is what we have to work with, and human nature being what it is once someone has learned the dreaded QWERTY layout, it seems impossible to erase it from their brains. Numerous approaches have been tried, all sorts of alternates — handwriting recognition, gestures, character recognition, tiny onscreen keyboards, alternate layouts optimized for small devices — yet nothing really worked. Millions are using the predictive “T9″ approach from Tegic to tap out SMS messages on cellphones, and before that, millions used Graffiti to conjure up characters on the screen of Palm Pilots.