Internet access is provided through Gigabit Ethernet or Wi-Fi 802.11b/g Draft-N, making it easy to browse websites, check email, make VOIP calls, and enjoy online entertainment, including the latest social networking platforms like facebook, twitter and YouTube. A Multi-Gesture Touchpad allows users to pinch, flick and swirl their fingers across the touchpad for more natural photo and video viewing as well as intuitive navigation of websites. The Acer Timeline Multi-Gesture Touchpad allows users to scroll, zoom in and out and flip through web pages, photos, spreadsheets and more. The TouchPad can also be disabled with a one-touch button, eliminating accidental cursor movement with palms and wrists when using an external mouse.
The Y450’s keyboard has a good classic combination of travel and click, and the textured multitouch touch pad feels more accurate than glossy pads, although that is more of a tactile psychological effect. The twin buttons below were a little mushy for us, but worked fine.
The 17-inch wide-screen LCD display offers a 1,440×900 native resolution, which is standard for a screen this size at this price. It’s a lower-end resolution, but again it’s to be expected. The bigger problem with the Asus G71GX’s screen is that off-angle viewing is terrible. Things look great when you’re sitting directly in front of the screen, but if you frequently have people viewing your screen off to the sides, they’re going to have a hard time seeing what you’re showing them.
From a design standpoint, the S12 looks like a larger brother of its smaller 2009 sibling, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2. Compact and well-proportioned, the outer matte black plastic case (white is also available) is topped with a glossy plastic lid patterned in a subtle series of varying polka-dots. It’s a smudge-collector, but attractive.
Inside, smooth matte black plastic surrounds the keyboard, and the 12-inch glossy screen is surrounded in glossy plastic. It looks professional and stylishly austere, not unlike a ThinkPad. The full keyboard feels great, and the touch pad is an improvement on the S10-2 in terms of size. It feels like a “real” laptop. It might be the most comfortable and solid keyboard we’ve experienced on a Netbook.
Perhaps the best option is to use the diagnostics tools available directly from the HD manufacture’s Web site. Each manufacture has its own custom utility for checking the status of its drives. For example, Seagate has a utility called SeaTools and Western Digital uses Data Lifeguard Diagnostic, and each has the capability to create a bootable diagnostic CD.
The resemblance of many smartbooks to netbooks may lead consumers to assume smartbooks can handle the same computing tasks. But smartbooks running Linux or its offshoots, such as Google Inc.’s Android, won’t run applications like Microsoft Word or Apple’s iTunes. Early netbooks that ran Linux ran into customer resistance and were quickly replaced with Windows-based models.
“With these new HP Minis, we’re enhancing the customer experience by adding compelling features that allow users to interact with their Mini in a fun way,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, Consumer Notebooks, Personal Systems Group, HP. “Our broad portfolio of mini companion PCs truly offers customers choices to fit every need and every personality.”
The systems are also primed for visual clarity. The 11.6-inch widescreen HD LED-backlit display is large enough to comfortably view videos, photos, documents and web pages. Featuring LED backlit technology, a 16:9 aspect ratio and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, the AS1410 Series delivers realistic HD pictures with crisp detail and smooth video playback.
The US Transport Security Administration late Sunday implemented new rules that are likely to have far-reaching implications for technology on planes. The security measures will ban those on international flights entering the US from having any “personal belongings” on their laps for the final hour of the flight, restricting notebooks and most other non-handheld devices. Access to carry-on bags is similarly restricted for the same period.