The Wrist Keyboard

Completely sealed, it can operate in the rain and other harsh environments. A curved back provides a secure and comfortable placement on the wrist. The keyboard layout is optimized to provide alphanumeric entry. Carefully positioned arrow keys ease menu-oriented tasks. The WristPC keyboard comes with an optional wrist strap to provide the capability of attaching it to your wrist.

Optimus Keyboard

Each and every key on the Optimus Keyboard is a stand-alone display that shows you exactly what it is controlling at the very moment.

Maltron 3D Ergonomic Keyboard

These fully ergonomic two handed keyboards fit the shape of hands and the different lengths of fingers to reduce movement and tension.

The Roll-Up Keyboard

These keyboards feature 104 keys in a standard QWERTY layout, but with a nifty twist of being the most portable keyboard seen to date. Simply roll the unit up when you’re done with it! A great tool for laptop users who miss their full-sized KB when on the road, or LAN party warriors looking to lighten their load.

Check How Many connections are Issued Against Your CNIC – Through Web

Earlier we reported about a method of finding out number of connections issued against your SIM through sending an SMS – look at following.

Simply point your browsers to this url: http://www.pta.gov.pk/668/

By the way, service is still not officially launched, so you may find record not found thingy.

Also make sure that you go to respective service center to find out mobile connections that are your name. Get those numbers blocked immediately, which you are not using. At times, this can be very sensitive as number under your name can be used for some illegal act, so get it blocked, right now!

Cool Computer - Skunkworks F-117A

This amazing computer was designed for playing flight simulators and as a gaming console. It features three 17-inch

LCD monitors, an AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 processor, 1GB(512MBx2) of DDR PC-3200 memory, dual nVidia

NX6800-TD256 graphics modules in SLI configuration, and a WD Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM SATA hard drive.

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface is a surface computing product from Microsoft. It’s able to recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and maps. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a dynamic surface that provides interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects.

The product is aimed at hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues.

Future Computers Shapes

Pen Size Computers

The design concept uses five different pens to make a computer. One pen is a CPU, one a camera, another creates a virtual keyboard, and yet another projects the visual output and thus the display. One more pen is a phone. All five pens can rest in a holding block which recharges the batteries and holds the mass storage. Each pen communicates wirelessly. But this is a conceptual prototype, meaning it does not exist in real form……..yet. The technology already exists for the keyboard and projector.

The prototype was designed by Toru Ichihash of Japan and introduced in 2003 at the ITU World Telecom Exhibition in Tokyo. It was described as a Pen-Style Personal Networking Gadget Package or P-ISM. Can you guess who Ichihash’s inspiration was? Why James Bond of course!

Samsung NP-Q320

For many people, the pricing sweet spot for the perfect laptop is between $800 and $1000. Full-fledged yet svelte, Samsung's NP-Q320 all-purpose notebook ($949 as of September 10, 2009) has the muscle to serve as your primary work/school/home computer. The laptop is compact and light enough (4.8 pounds) not to break your back, it has a 13.4-inch screen that you don't need to squint at, and it's powerful enough to run most major applications well. Still, this nice all-purpose laptop suffers from a couple of minor usability problems.Problem number one is the backlit LED screen. Given its 1366-by-768-pixel resolution and at 13.4-inch-diagonal size, you'd expect such a screen to save power and perhaps improve color or contrast. But the NP-Q320's screen doesn't show colors or contrast ratio very well. Images look slightly washed out at maximum brightness, and blacks are not quite black enough. And unfortunately, as you lower the brightness level, the contrast gets worse. The poor range of vertical viewing angles leads me to believe that the NP-Q320 uses a six-bit TN (twisted nematic) panel--a regrettably common component in budget-conscious laptops.

The keyboard is easy to type on, and the trackpad is responsive and accurate, with left and right buttons that permit accurate no-look pressing. Some keys (such as Alt and Ctrl) are a bit narrow, evidently to make room for a seemingly unnecessary menu key to the right of the spacebar. Still, for its size, I found this notebook comfortable to work on.

The right edge hosts a slot-loading DVD drive, a USB port, and a power connector, leaving little room for anything else. As a result, Samsung crowded the left edge with connectors: ethernet, VGA, USB, USB/eSATA combo, HDMI, microphone, headphone, and ExpressCard. Though it's great to see so many options on a smaller notebook, I wish that the industrial design hadn't prevented any plugs from going in the back. Lacking room for an SD card slot on either side, Samsung placed the slot all by itself on the front edge. (The little plastic plug for this slot is nearly impossible to pull out, by the way.) The front edge also hosts a row of blue and amber LEDs to indicate power, hard-drive usage, Wi-Fi, and so on.

The NP-Q320's performance compares favorably with that of other notebooks in the $800-to-$1000 price bracket. The 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor loped to a WorldBench 6 score of 94--impressive for a sub-$1000 laptop. The nVidia GeForce G 105M with 256MB of RAM (the weakest discrete graphics system nVidia sells) handles image production; and it's certainly a step up from any sort of integrated graphics. But while it can manage casual games pretty well, the NP-Q320 is out off its league when challenged by a high-end game. At 1024-by-768-pixel resolution and high quality settings, the laptop managed a frame rate of just 22 frames per second on Unreal Tournament III and 21 fps on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Still, the nVidia chip does a better job with video decoding than Intel's integrated graphics, which can make a big difference if you plan to put the HDMI port to use. The notebook's battery life of 3 hours, 56 minutes puts it a little behind the average for this category. The Acer TravelMate 6293 continues to rool the roost on this measure, with a battery life of almost 8 hours.

At $930 (for the configuration we tested), the Samsung Q320 poses strong competition for other well-equipped 13-inch notebooks, such as the Dell Studio XPS 13. Samsung's model has a little more muscle than that, but it isn't quite as stylish. Overall, the NP-Q320 is a pretty good value for a general-purpose laptop. Like the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2940, this machine is a bit heavier than most 13-inch models, but it's compact and lightweight enough to carry around all day at school or work, big enough to work on easily, handsome enough not to walk around with in public, and fast enough to be your primary computer. If the screen were better, the NP-Q320 would be an outstanding bargain.

LG Electronics W2452T

LG's $500 (as of May 19, 2008) W2452T takes a minimalist approach to features--which would be fine if it were priced to match. Unfortunately, the LG costs just as much asSamsung's SyncMaster 2493HM, which packs considerably more connection and adjustability options.

The W2452T has a native resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels, and it can connect to a PC via DVI or VGA input. Though it can swivel and tilt, it lacks pivot and height adjustment. The display forgoes amenities like USB 2.0 ports (fairly common on LCD monitors), an HDMI input, and an integrated Webcam. Nor does it have built-in speakers or an option for attachable speakers.

The monitor's on-screen display menus have plenty of advanced adjustment options--such as individual color controls--but I had difficulty navigating through the menus. The navigation buttons are hidden below the display, and reading the corresponding labels for each button is nearly impossible.

Considering its price, the LG W2452T doesn't make the grade: You can find competing wide-screen displays that have more features and yet cost substantially less.

Hotels In Dubai?

Dubai Hotels on line Booking allows you to browse hotels in Dubai by star , rate or location and ability to search by map with Sepcial discount lodging features we have Just added The atlantis hotel in plam Jumeirah which shall be most in demand for Dubai Holiday makers...

Located on the doorsteps of the famous Burj Dubai, touted as the tallest building in the world, stands the 63 story hotel known as The Address. This 5-Star Flagship Hotel, offers state-of-the-art facilities along with quality customer service. This hotel’s central location in the city, allows guests easy access to many of Dubai’s fine attractions. Situated near the hotel, is the Dubai Mall. Upon its opening in Nov 2008, the Dubai Mall will be the largest in the world, housing the world’s largest aquarium and the world’s largest Gold Souk. Also, nearby guests will find the famous Burj Al Arab, with its iconic structure that represents the Spirit of Dubai, and the world-renown Palm Jumeirah, the first of the Palm Trilogy man-made islands, and home to the new Atlantis Hotel with its renowned AquaVenture Waterpark where you can experience a swim with the dolphins. For additional shopping venues, guests can visit the nearby Souk Al Bahar with its many unique boutique shops; the Madinat Jumeirah with its beautiful waterways, and designer shops in a Souk Style setting; and the popular Mall of the Emirates with its own Indoor Ski Resort, Ski Dubai. For those interested in a top-notch golf facility, the Emirates Golf Club, home of the Dubai Dessert Classic is just a short drive. After enjoying a pleasant day out visiting the sites of Dubai, guests can return to The Address, Downtown Burj Dubai to enjoy a relaxing treatment at The Spa. The Spa with vast menu of massages and treatments is sure to fix “what’s ailing you.”

Lenovo Thinkpad T400S

The Lenovo ThinkPad T400s (the "s" could stand for "small," or maybe even "surprising") is an evolutionary step up from the ThinkPad T400, which is itself a good all-purpose business laptop. In fact, the T400s looks as if it were a T400 that someone had left in the dryer for too long. So how did Lenovo improve on a laptop that already offered a great balance of features? For starters, it slimmed down the profile (big time), beefed up the ports, and integrated GOBI (for Wireless WAN access).

Measuring 0.8 inches thick and sporting a starting weight of 4 pounds, the T400s is one of the lighter all-purpose laptops around. It makes the old T400 (at 1.5 inches thick and around 6.5 pounds) look downright big-boned. What's even more impressive is that the T400s still manages to squeeze in a lot of the extras that business users require. This model is literally lined with ports. Whether it's the five-in-one flash card reader or the space allotted for a 9.5mm DVD-ROM burner (or Blu-ray option), this machine has you covered. It even has stuff that might seem like overkill, such as VGA and a DisplayPort option, but even that gives you the opportunity to plug in two monitors. I'm personally a big fan of the built-in USB/eSATA port, which is perfect for high-speed data jockeys. (What I'd love to see in the next iteration is more than one pass-through USB charge port for powering USB devices while the laptop is off; for anyone with too many gadgets and power supplies, this feature is incredibly handy.)

The ThinkPad T400s earned a sound mark of 112 in our WorldBench 6 test suite, smoking the trim Acer TravelMate 6293 (and many of the other all-purpose laptops in our Top 10, for that matter) and coming in about 20 points faster than the T400. Applications loaded swiftly on the 128GB SSD hard drive, which uses an Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600 processor with 2GB of RAM. To help cut down the size of the system, however, the company dropped the discrete graphics card. That downshift to Intel's integrated graphics will prevent you from using the T400s for games. But this is a business box, after all.

The nine-cell battery that gave the T400 its incredible longevity is gone. Our test unit came with a six-cell battery as standard, with no word of larger batteries on the way. As a result, this laptop managed to survive only 5 hours in our battery tests. Not a horrible result, just something to keep in mind when you're preparing for your next cross-country flight.

Showing off a bright 1440 by 900 pixels, the 14.1-inch, LED-backlit screen is an eye-catcher indoors and out. Like the T400, the T400s uses a matte coating, as opposed to a flashy, glossy surface that looks good only indoors. Examining the two side by side, I found that the T400s's screen was sharper; sky blues, for example, popped more and looked richer on the T400s. One mechanical quirk I noticed, though, is that the hinge of the T400s is a little loosey-goosey. If you're sitting at a desk, that's not much of a problem--but if you encounter any turbulence midflight, the screen can flop back.

The keyboard is typical Lenovo fare--excellent. But that doesn't mean Lenovo coasted. For instance, two of the keys I use a little more often that I should admit--Esc and Del--doubled in size. The designers also managed to retain all the buttons from the larger, thicker T400 and still make room for a handy microphone-mute button (more on that in a minute).

The trademark ThinkPad pointer nub is present in addition to a touchpad. Having both options is nice, but the dual sets of pointer buttons can result in accidental presses if you're not familiar with the layout. That said, a tip of the cap to Lenovo: The tiny T400s has a larger, more satisfying textured touchpad compared with its big brother.

Wireless gets a major upgrade. Beyond the standard 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN (and optional Bluetooth), you get WiMAX3, integrated WWAN, and ultrawideband connectivity options.

Despite all the progressive tech on board, in a laptop of this size some shrinkage was inevitable. Gone is the PC Card slot (a 34mm ExpressCard remains). Say so long to FireWire. And the headphone/microphone jacks merged into a single plug. That's a thoughtful design decision for the perpetually mobile, as you can plug in your wired cell phone headset (from, say, an iPhone or a Palm Pre) and it'll work just fine.

Speaking of...well...speaking, the T400s has been tweaked with Web chats in mind, and I'm not talking only about the built-in Webcam. The tiny, tinny speakers of the T400 got a boost--the speakers of the T400s are better in just about every sense. The sound, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over audio from the average laptop. And it can reach a reasonably high volume--perfect for when you want to talk to your coworkers back at the office via Skype. The microphone-jack mute button, parked just above the keyboard, is convenient for those times when you want to give the silent treatment.

Then there's the software that business users have come to know and love: the ThinkVantage application suite. Common tasks such as setting up wireless connections and managing power-consumption settings are readily available, and power users will appreciate being able to back up data or configure security settings on the fly. The ThinkVantage suite largely serves as a front end for functions that Windows can handle, but it does a lot to improve overall user efficiency.

Some advanced features, like the Active Protection System, may escape most users' attention altogether. The laptop's shock-mounted hard drive is designed to protect your data from damage if you're working in especially turbulent conditions. You'll find that most useful if you're prone to dropping expensive hardware; but even if you're the careful sort, it's a well-conceived feature that prevents the hard drive from spinning when it detects an excessive amount of vibration. The system adapts to your usage patterns and ignores steady, persistent vibrations, such as when you're working in a car or on a bumpy express train.

Starting at $1599, the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s can be a compelling little laptop. Of course, once you start adding all the bells and whistles, the price kicks up significantly (our model, as reviewed, sells for $2130). Still, thanks to sturdy construction and great performance packed inside a slim profile, the T400s is a winner, and great for the jet-setter who wants a little more out of their mobile machine.

Sony VGN-Z598U/B

Everyone talks about the Apple tax - the premium you're paying for an Apple product. The same could technically be said for some of Sony's more uniquely designed notebooks, like the Sony VAIO VGN-Z598U. This ultraportable class starts at $1,499, but our review unit balloons up to the eye-bulgingly-high price tag of $4,450. If money is no object (yeah, as ifthat's the case these days), then by all means, scoop up this overstuffed, lightweight beauty.

Primary responsibility for the sticker shock goes to a pair of 128GB solid-state drives, which jacked up the original price by roughly two grand. But our test unit also jams a 2.53-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a dedicated nVidia GeForce 9300M GS GPU into its tiny 12.4- by 1.3- by 8.3-inch frame.

The twin SSDs probably contributed to the VGN-Z598U's eye-opening WorldBench 6 score of 107, the highest we've seen from an ultraportable. The next-fastest competitor in this class is the Asus U6V, with a mark of 93. And yet despite its powerful configuration, the VGN-Z598U weighs only about 3.3 pounds (4.2 pounds including the power brick).

In stamina mode, the VGN-Z598U switches from its nVidia GeForce 9300M GS graphics to its integrated Intel GPU), to prolong its battery life. Working with the integrated GPU, the laptop runs for 4 hours, 46 minutes--not bad, but far below the figure of almost 9 hours for the Lenovo ThinkPad X200. And unlike with a certain Mac-flavored machine, you can toggle between modes without either enduring a full system reboot or having to log out first.

The first thing you'll notice upon lifting the lid of this VAIO is its beautifully backlit 13.1-inch wide-screen display. Even in direct sunlight, the LED image at its native 1600-by-900-pixel native resolution is crisp and clear. And the wide-screen design is great for positioning documents side-by-side and for watching movies at a 16:10 aspect ratio. Not coincidentally, the VGN-Z598U also houses an optional Blu-ray drive.

As on other high-end Sony models, the VGN-Z598U incorporates a cutout keyboard, in which the keys pop out through holes in the case. The design creates good key spacing between buttons and promotes solid tactile feedback. The only extra buttons on the keyboard are a large disc-eject button, a couple of programmable shortcut buttons that by default launch a presentation mode and Windows Meeting Space, and a performance toggle for switching between the integrated Intel GPU and the GeForce 9300GS chip. The mouse is suitably large and sensitive, but its two slim mouse buttons (with a fingerprint scanner between them) are like two landing strips for gnats. At least the buttons are firm and well-built.

The laptop's layout is clean and simple, though some of its features are just a tad skimpy. Among the positives are two USB 2.0 ports, a four-pin FireWire jack, and a PC Express card slot. High-end A/V-heads will appreciate the unit's HDMI output, too. Though a Blu-ray drive is a configuration option, the base model comes with a modest VGA port.

Sony's suffers from the same problem Like most ultraportables, the VGN-Z598U has a rather puny sound system consisting of two tiny, tinny speakers and no subwoofer. On the bright side, it does get loud enough to distract cubicle neighbors (sorry, mate!) or fill up a small room. Of course, most of the time you'll want to use headphones anyway.

Preloaded software includes Microsoft Works, a video content exporter, a basic video-editing program, and the VAIO Control Center (which quickly breaks down all of the vital chores you're likely to need instant access to on your computer.

High-flying businessfolk will have little to complain about with the VGN-Z598U in its fanciest configuration--except its price. And you can trim $2000 off that scary number ($4450) by opting for a platter-based hard drive in place of the dual SSDs. Or you might want to cast your eye toward Samsung's tweener (part ultraportable, part all-purpose notebook), the X460.

Dell Studio ONE 19

Better than a budget all-in-one, but not quite high-end either, the Studio One 19 could be a good fit if your needs are somewhere in the middle.

You'll either love or hate the Dell Studio One 19. It's by far the fastest 19-inch or smallerall-in-one PC we've tested; and like the HP TouchSmart IQ816 and TouchSmart IQ500TPCs, it boasts a dual-touch display. But its screen wasn't as responsive to gestures as we had hoped, and its design...well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I could do without the fabric trim around the display (no matter which of the colors--white, navy blue, gray, pink, or red--you choose). But maybe you, or your family, will feel differently. If you're after a more-refined look from Dell, take a look at its 20- and 24-inch XPS One all-in-one PCs.

A lush display, unmatched upgradability, and extras such as an HDTV tuner, a four-in-one remote, and a 2-megapixel Webcam make the A600 all-in-one hard to resist.

No question about it: Lenovo's IdeaCentre A600 looks unique. The combination of a sharp and angular design, an ultrathin chassis, and a 21.5-inch display definitely stands out against the more traditional "one big flat panel" look that competing all-in-one desktops offer. And at $1149 (as of 7/2/09), the A600 is seriously competitive, especially since it's the most upgradable all-in-one PC we've seen.

The Lenovo's 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 processor has one of the slower clock speeds for all-in-ones larger than 20 inches. Surprisingly, that doesn't have as big of an impact on overall performance as you would think when comparing it with, say, the 3.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor of the 24-inch Sony VAIO VGC-LV180J. As for its other main components, the Lenovo's 4GB of DDR3-1066 memory is a step above the DDR2-800 average in PCs of this class, while the 1TB hard drive is among the best you'll find in an all-in-one, matched here only by the 22-inch HP TouchSmart IQ500t and the 24-inch Apple iMac.

The A600's score of 87 in our WorldBench 6 test suite isn't the best we've seen, but it puts the machine in fine company. It ties the IQ500t and beats the 24-inchTouchSmart IQ816 (which scored an 81), but lands 28 percent shy of our all-in-one performance leader, Apple's 24-inch iMac (which earned a mark of 111). Given that the Apple system is nearly twice the price of the A600, however, that's not a bad showing at all.

The A600's ATI Radeon HD3650 graphics helped it achieve above-average graphics scores. The A600 had a solid average of about 60 frames per second in both our Enemy Territory: Wars and Unreal Tournament 3 tests (at 1024 by 768, and at normal and medium settings, respectively). Results fell to about 35 fps in each test when we bumped up the resolution to 1680 by 1050. The A600's HDTV-centric native resolution of 1920 by 1080 prevented it from running our tests at 1920 by 1200 or higher.

The A600 lacks touchscreen functionality--perhaps, in part, to keep the price so low. The display is otherwise strong: It delivers powerful saturation and pretty good contrast levels for gaming and Blu-ray movie watching (a built-in Blu-ray player is a common feature for all-in-ones with screens of this size). In my testing, I found that other all-in-ones offer a bit more contrast and richer black levels. Darker scenes on the A600 seemed slightly brighter than they should be.

On the side of the system you get two USB ports, one FireWire 400 miniport, and a six-in-one media card reader. Four more USB ports are on the A600's rear, alongside the system's gigabit ethernet port and HDTV tuner input. I would have liked to see some kind of next-generation connectivity on the system, be it an eSATA port, an HDMI port, an optical-out, or integrated 5.1 surround sound. As it stands, you can transform the A600 into a quasitelevision, but you have no way of fully integrating this all-in-one into a fancier entertainment-center setup. At least you'll be able to stream files off your network quickly using the A600's gigabit ethernet or 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity.

Surprisingly, you can upgrade nearly every part of the A600's insides. Typical all-in-one upgradability--if any exists--is restricted to the memory or the hard drive. If you have determination and a screwdriver, and if you've read the provided upgrade guide, you can really get inside the A600 to make whatever customizations (or replacements) you desire. It's a wonderful "above and beyond" move by Lenovo, although it's not the only one.

Canon Pixma MX700

One of the faster units we've tested to date (though it falls far short of the top engine speed Canon quotes), the Pixma MX700 pushed out text pages at a rate of 9.1 pages per minute; graphics pages averaged a swift 3.2 ppm overall. So far, only the HP OfficeJet Pro L7680 has performed faster.

Text looks nicely black. A slight unevenness to the edges makes closely spaced fonts look mushy, though. Color images have an orange cast. On plain paper, this helps enliven the palette; on photo paper, it can be overpowering, especially with flesh tones. Copy samples we made were quite crisp, while scan samples were reasonably (if not perfectly) accurate for color and precision.

Cost per page is low: 3.2 cents for a half-page of black text, or just 8.8 cents for a page with small amounts of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. (A full-color photo will use more ink.)

The Pixma MX700's design includes a clearly labeled front control panel with a mostly intuitive layout. Buttons for primary functions adjust what's shown on the small (1.8 -inch), tiltable color LCD, whose menus are navigable using the adjacent arrow buttons. The automatic document feeder, which unfolds from the machine's top, takes a generous 30 sheets of paper. Its media slots take most card types; you'll need a third-party adapter to add xD media.

The dual 150-sheet input trays are a nice bonus. The rear, vertical input takes all accepted media sizes. Use the control panel's toggle button or the printer driver to choose between it and the front input, which takes just letter, A4, and B5. But this front tray is literally overshadowed by the two-part output tray, which guides paper over the front input tray, concealing it entirely. That's more going on in a small space than I'd like. The MFP lacks automatic duplexing, but on-screen prompts step you through the manual process. Dell's 948 AIO and Lexmark's X6570 offer automated duplexing for a lower price (with other tradeoffs). Canon's Pixma MP830 features duplex printing and scanning, but we haven't tested this unit.

Canon bundles its own and third-party software to cover scanning, photo printing, OCR, and even document management. Its well-designed Solutions Menu interface centralizes most of the machine's functions for easy management through your PC. HTML-based guides cover both hardware and software. Canon printers also scored better than average overall in our recent Reliability and Service survey.

Pumpkin-colored people aside, the Pixma MX700 is, overall, one of the strongest multifunction packages I've seen to date. It stuffs a lot of functions into a fairly user-friendly package and offers scads of software to help you along.

Acer Aspire ONE AOD150

I love it when a company sees fit to shake things up a little and cook up some crazy new design. The Acer Aspire One AOD150 is not that netbook. In fact, many of the changes made from the original Aspire One make the AOD150 seem more like everything else on the market. And that isn't necessarily a good thing.

Seem a little harsh? Let me put this in perspective: The original, 8.9-inch screen model packed a huge keyboard onto a fairly tiny frame. That keyboard was practically dripping over the sides and I was genuinely impressed for the effort. Here, with its new 10.1-inch screen (which looks great), I'd expect a little more room to work with. Instead, you get the same still-short-of-full-size keyboard. It's not tiny, but Acer could've made an effort to space out the buttons a little more.

The next big switchup is the touchpad. At first glance, I was ready to dance a jig because the left and right buttons flanking the touchpad surface were gone. Just a single, simple mouse button bar. In and of itself, not necessarily a bad thing. But then I tried using it. Exerting a shaolin monk's concentration, you need to really want to hit that button in order to get it working. With very little give, it's hard to know when you've made contact and the way that it's recessed into the wrist rest makes it a little more difficult to use than the mouse on the first Aspire One. At least the new touchpad has a multitouch functionality, so that scrolling and browsing is a little less headache-inducing.

The only other change for the (slightly) worse is the second-gen Aspire One ditches the original's second SDHC Card slot. Not a major bummer, because this machine has a reasonably large 160GB hard disk drive.

Now, back to that new 10.1-inch display: I really do love this 1024-by-600-pixel screen. It's crisp, with good color reproduction and, quite frankly, it feels like this machine was built around the gorgeous screen. Its dimensions are relatively slim (one thing that hasn't changed too much from the original) measuring 10.2 by 8.0 by 1.31 inches. That makes it slighter than comparable netbooks with a 10.1-inch screen. The Aspire One is also very solidly constructed, ready to get knocked around in a bag.

The second-generation Aspire One's performance is in line with what we'd expect from its components: 1GB of RAM and a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU. It achieved a score of 35 in our PC WorldBench 6 tests, an average score based on what we've seen with this configuration in other netbooks.

One thing that isn't quite standard is the battery that came with our machine. Our test unit arrived with a 5800mAH battery. Don't get too excited, though: This battery will not be a standard config in any of the units here in the U.S., and Acer doesn't even know when this longer-life battery will be available separately. The standard configuration usually comes with a 6-cell 4400mAH battery. Usually.

Here's where it gets goofy: According to a spokesperson, in the hurry to get units to store shelves, some of the machines shipped with higher-powered batteries, instead of the standard. It's like some kind of Willy Wonka move, but instead of a golden ticket, you have a chance you'll get a better battery and not get charged for it.

If you get lucky, you'll be thrilled: In the PC World Test Center's battery life test, the Aspire One lasted an amazing 8 hours, 34 minutes with the supercharged battery. Since the odds are more likely you'll get the 4400mAH power, though, we are scoring this machine based upon the reasonably impressive 6 hours, 38 minutes. It's funny -- last time around the Aspire One got dinged for its poor battery life and celebrated for its large keyboard. This time around it's almost the reverse. Am I in Bizzaro world?

The software on the machine is fairly minimal. The only things of note here are a 30-day trial for an online backup solution (my advice, Acer: check out what Asus is doing -- its netbook comes with 10GB of free online storage for 18 months) and eSobi, a news and RSS feed reader.

Not much else has changed, though, between the two Aspire One models. The ports are the same: Three USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, ethernet jack, webcam and microphone . . . it even has the same $350 price tag. And honestly, I think a good chunk of that money went into the screen. It shows. But at the end of the day, I feel like the Aspire One moved on, but I'm not 100 percent sold that the developers have taken these guys in the right direction.

The new Acer Aspire One has some strong points, but even better netbooks are on the market now, and more are on the way. If you want in on the battery lottery for the long-life battery, then go for it, but even the included battery will give you solid day-long performance, That said, I'd still recommend that you take a peek at what Asus offers with the Eee PC 1000HE. I'm digging that netbook a whole lot more and it only costs a few dollars more.

Samsung N110

Samsung has made an interesting decision to switch from the matte screen on the NC10 to the glossy side of the force. It doesn't matter all that much: The 10.1-inch, 1024-by-600-pixel panel works reasonably in all sorts of lighting conditions. What's notable is that, in a side-by-side comparison, the glossy finish didn't really make the screen on the N110 pop that much more--but it did introduce a bit of glare. I'd almost prefer sticking with the matte screen of the NC10.

Thank goodness Samsung has addressed the troublesome touchpad buttons of its older netbook. On that machine you have to push the button down below the surface in order for the action to register. As a result, if you press the left side of the single-button bar, the right side of the bar juts up. On the N110, the company has fixed the problem quickly and easily by changing the molding on the casing. Even though the dimensions haven't changed from those of the NC10 (10.3 by 7.3 by 1.5 inches), the N110 feels a little more slender. And since Samsung built this mouse button into the curved bottom, it hits the hands more naturally. Generally it seems more secure.

What hasn't changed a whole lot is the keyboard. The buttons satisfy, and the firm, solid keys give a little as you press down. The feel is reminiscent of what you find on the Lenovo IdeaPad S10. Lacking any extra shortcut buttons (like the S10), the N110 comes across as a semi-stylish but bland netbook on the surface. Of course, it all comes down to personal taste. For instance, I think the HP Mini 1000 makes better use of that same amount of space with its wide, flat keyboard.

Otherwise, you're getting the standard-issue layout for a netbook: an SD card reader, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA, ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Webcam. And don't forget the tinny speakers--the curse of most netbooks.

If you're familiar with netbooks at all, you know not to expect them to be speed demons. No exception here: The 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU and 1GB of RAM in the N110 motored through our WorldBench 6 tests with the same verve we saw from the initial pack of netbooks using the same processor. It scored a hair higher than Samsung's previous model, earning a middle-of-the-road mark of 36. Also unremarkable is the fact that the machine comes with a 160GB hard drive. Where it does shine, though, is in the battery-life department: The N110 ran for a staggering 8 hours, 23 minutes. That's long by any stretch--and by netbook standards, it outdoes the competition without having to use an overly meaty battery. The system weighs only 2.7 pounds.

The feature attractions, in my humble opinion, lie in the bundled software package. Samsung Recovery Solution III is a handy backup and system-restore program that even throws in a couple of suggestions regarding the possible causes of your machine's problems, giving you a recommended course of backup action to resolve the matter. Easy Network Manager lets you quickly and effortlessly connect to networks; it's a superfluous bit of software for anyone remotely savvy enough, but it puts a pretty face on the standard Windows XP option. I even like the well-annotated and easily navigable digital user guide. I'm not kidding--I wish every netbook came this well prepared for battle.

Offering an improved mouse button and impressive battery life, the Samsung N110 would make a great choice for your next road trip. At $470, it isn't by any means the cheapest netbook on the block, but it certainly is a handsome, functional one. While I salute Samsung for correcting design flaws present in the NC10, I'd have preferred to see this the first time around.

Asus EEE PC 1000HE

The streamlined and redesigned Asus Eee PC 1000HE takes no prisoners. While the previous Asus Eee PC 1000 offered a solid netbook, Acer's Aspire One stole all the attention with its lean and incredibly affordable approach. With the latest incarnation of the Eee PC 1000, the "HE" might as well stand for "Holy Enhancement!" This model bears only a passing resemblance to last year's Eee PC, and improves upon just about everything from the keyboard to the CPU. Better yet, in addition to losing some unsightly girth, Asus also trimmed the price to $400.

Let's take a quick tour around the machine to kick this off. The first, most obvious thing you'll spot is the cut-out keyboard. Just like you'd find on an Apple MacBook Air or on Sony VAIO laptops, the keys poke through the plastic, creating a wide gap between buttons. In that respect, this feels and looks great, and is generally more usable. The trackpad is just spacious enough -- I particularly like its metal framing and the few multitouch functions incorporated into the design. However, I found the pad slightly twitchy to control. No deal-breaker, but I noticed.

You also get a couple handy shortcut buttons hovering along the top of the unit. They do everything from give the CPU a speed boost (more on that below) and user-definable shortcuts to a screen resolution adapter. That is, you can view 1024-by-768 resolutions even though the native resolution of the 1000HE is 1024 by 600 -- it's a special compression mode that Lenovo employs in the IdeaPad S10 as well, and represents a convenience given that some applications default to a 1024-by-768-pixel resolution and won't work otherwise.

This unit's 10.1-inch backlit LED display is bright and capable of good color reproduction; its glossy coating helps the image pop a little more than you usually see on netbooks. However, the highly polished bezel that keeps the screen in place can get a little distracting at times.

A number of aerodynamic nips and tucks make this 10.3-by-7.4-by-1.4-inch netbook just a hair thinner than the older, clunkier Eee PC 1000 we reviewed last year. It's also a little on the "heavy" side for a netbook, weighing 3.2 pounds. That's the price of strapping an 8700mAH battery to the bottom of this thing; Asus promises that the 1000HE will deliver 9.5 hours of performance (but we got a solid seven hours, nine minutes in our tests).In short, netbooks in this generation are finally packing the battery power required for marathon computing sessions.

Speaking of performance, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE sports Intel's 1.66-GHz Atom N280 CPU. For the sake of comparison, most of the netbooks that came out late last year used the N270 CPU, which runs at a lower frequency (1.6-GHz) and a slower frontside bus speed (533MHz as compared with 667 MHz in the N280). The difference, however, was minimal. Our test unit got a 35 in WorldBench: an average score for what you'll find in netbooks.

The Asus comes with 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard disk drive, and 802.11b/g/n /Bluetooth wireless. Around the perimeter of chassis lies a fairly standard set of three USB 2.0 inputs.

The audio, as on the Eee PC 1000, sounds surprisingly strong for its size. But it lacks a good subwoofer, so don't expect to rock a house party with this thing. Other notable features thrown into the mix: InterVideo WinDVD (which seems to be a little bit of overkill, I'd recommend you try out KMPlayer), and 18 months of 10GB of free online storage.

In the end, this is a fairly solid -- and sizable -- jump over what's come out just a few months earlier. In fact, I'd dare say that amongst the netbook pack, this is one of my current favorites and something that I'd highly recommend that you check out. Considering that its selling in some places for as little as $380, you could do worse.

HP G60-230 laptop

Description:
The HP G60-200 combines essential features, attractive design and quality to put the versatility and productivity of notebook computing within your reach and offers a 15.6" screen and a full size keyboard with numeric key pad.

Product Specification:
General

System Type Notebook
Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN antenna
Width 14.9 in
Depth 9.9 in
Height 1.7 in
Weight 6.6 lbs
Localization English / United States
Recommended Use Home use

Processor

Processor Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200 / 2 GHz
Multi-Core Technology Dual-Core
64-bit Computing Yes
Data Bus Speed 800 MHz

Cache Memory

Type L2 cache
Installed Size 1 MB
RAM

Installed Size 3 GB / 4 GB (max)
Technology DDR2 SDRAM
Configuration Features 1 x 1 GB + 1 x 2 GB
Form Factor SO DIMM 200-pin

Storage Controller

Type Serial ATA
Serial ATA Interface Serial ATA-150
Storage

Hard Drive 320 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm

Optical Storage

Type DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM
Disc Labeling Technology LightScribe Technology
Card Reader
Type
5 in 1 card reader
Supported Flash Memory Cards
SD Memory Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard, xD-Picture Card
Display
Display Type
16" TFT
Max Resolution
1366 x 768 ( WXGA )
Widescreen Display
Yes
Features
BrightView
Video
Graphics Processor / Vendor
Intel GMA 4500MHD Dynamic Video Memory Technology 5.0
Total Available Graphics Memory
1309 MB
Audio
Audio Output
Sound card
Features
Altec Lansing speakers
Notebook Camera
Camera Type
Integrated
Input Device(s)
Type
Keyboard, touchpad
Telecom
Modem
Fax / modem
Max Transfer Rate
56 Kbps
Networking
Networking
Network adapter
Wireless LAN Supported
Yes
Data Link Protocol
Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft)
Compliant Standards
IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft)
Expansion / Connectivity
Expansion Slots Total (Free)
2 ( 0 ) x memory - SO DIMM 200-pin
Interfaces
3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A ¦ 1 x display / video - HDMI ¦ 1 x microphone - input - mini-phone 3.5 mm ¦ 1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) ¦ 1 x headphones - output - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ¦ 1 x modem - phone line - RJ-11 ¦ 1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45
Miscellaneous
Features
Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately), power-on password
Power
Power Device
External
Battery
Technology
6-cell lithium ion
Installed Qty
1
Operating System / Software
OS Provided
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Software
Microsoft Internet Explorer, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Works, Norton Internet Security 2009 (60 days subscription), muvee Reveal, CyberLink DVD Suite, HP Total Care Advisor, Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition (60 days trial), HP Help and Support Center, HP Recovery Manager, HP DVD Play
Environmental Standards
EPA Energy Star Compliant
Yes
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support
1 year warranty
Service & Support Details
Limited warranty - 1 year

Dell S2409W monitor

Prepare to be blown away by the stunning clarity and realism of the Dell S2409W 24-inch widescreen flat panel High-Definition LCD monitor that is designed to bring you a digital entertainment. This sleek and stylish monitor delivers the ultimate visual experience designed to thrill the senses. Discover a way to enjoy High-Definition multimedia content such as the movies and blockbusters as well as high quality photo and video with superb full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratios. The Dell S2409W is able to seamlessly deliver High-Definition contents in the highest resolutions intended and the 16:9 formats is perfect for desktop computers to run the growing variety of Full HD media contents. Optimize your viewing pleasure with excellent high contrast ratio and a fast response time of 5ms that helps prevent smearing when using the display for fast motion video such as gaming or video editing, giving you vibrancy and brilliance that surpasses your expectations. The high brightness of 300cd/m² provides excellent performance while viewing motion video at high luminance.

Integral Silver USB 2.0 32GB Memory Stick with ReadyBoost

Product Information

32GB Storage Capacity ReadyBoost technology
Docking station included Neck cord included
USB 2.0 40x faster than USB 1.1 Store over 8000 MP3s
Ideal for those on the move Compact design

Kingston Data traveller USB 2.0 32GB Memory Stick

With Kingston's reputation for reliable performance, the DataTraveler 150 USB Key Flash Drive makes a shrewd purchase for anyone wanting plenty of movable space! Employing easy plug and play connectivity, transferring your files between drives is merely a matter of connecting up to a USB drive, and then dragging and dropping! The Kingston DataTraveler 150 USB Key Flash Drive also includes a cap, which is stored securely on the end of the device, as well as a reassuring five year warranty.
32GB capacity

SanDisk Cruzer Micro Skin 8GB USB Flash Drive - Memory Stick

With the capacity to store over 6000 photos, 2000 mp3s, or 6 movies, the SanDisk Cruzer Micro Skin 8GB USB Flash Drive is a great tool to have around.Coming in a brilliant green LED metal casing with clear skin and compact in size, the SanDisk Cruzer Micro Skin 8GB USB Flash Drive connects easily to any PC or laptop via the USB port.Store your latest holiday pictures or your favourite movies with the Cruzer Micro Skin USB Flash Drive.

8GB Data Storage Capacity
Store over 6000 photos,
up to 2000 MP3s or 6 movies
Take your memories everywhere you go
Dimensions: 7.9mmx18.95mmx52.2mm (HxWxL)
Brilliant green LED
Stylish metal casing with clear skin&cap
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 certified
Compatible with Windows 2000, XP and
Mac OS 9.1.x+, OS X v10.1.2+

XIcomputer Mtower Pcie 965

For a power PC that tilts toward general functionality and away from gaming prowess, look no further than the Xi Mtower PCIe 965 ($3796 as of March 1, 2009). For the price, this system delivers eye-catching general performance, only to disappoint on our gaming tests.
The Mtower PCIe 965 is one of the few systems we've tested in our Power PCs category equipped with a top-of-the-line 3.2GHz Intel Core i7 965 processor. Our review system came with 3GB of DDR3-1600 RAM, an acceptable but middling amount. Likewise, the storage offerings were middle-of-the-road: two 10,000-rpm Western Digital VelociRaptor drives totaling 600GB, mashed in a striped RAID array.
The test configuration also included an EVGA GeForce 9800+ GTX graphics card, whose performance on our gaming tests fell somewhere between playable and unpleasant. The system managed frame rates of just 47 frames per second in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (at 2560 by 2100 resolution and high quality) and 60 fps on Unreal Tournament 3 (at the same resolution and quality). Both games fared a bit better when we dialed the settings back from the default screen size for a 30-inch display. Still, these frame rates represent two-thirds to one-half of the numbers we typically see on PCs equipped with ATI's Radeon HD 4870 x2 graphics board--including some power PCs that cost less than the Mtower PCIe 965.
On the PC World Test Center's WorldBench 6 benchmark test suite, this system earned a score of 153--dominating most comers (including some PCs that bested it on graphics performance) by 10 to 20 percent. The Xi's Cooler Master Centurion case isn't the worst-looking chassis in the world, but it's no spring chicken design-wise. The grilled front of the case offers a glimpse of the inner blue LED fans, but the texture looks out of place given the placement of the system's dual optical drives (an Lite-On DVD burner and a Sony Optiarc DVD-ROM drive).
The system's internal expansion options are excellent, with one PCI slot, one PCI Express x4 slot, and two PCI Express x16 slots awaiting future upgrades. There's also room for two additional hard drives and two 5.25-inch devices; the internal wiring is a bit messy, however, and may slow down your tweaking.
The Mtower PCIe 965 comes with a slew of ports. At the rear are eight USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 port, one eSATA port, integrated 5.1 surround sound, and dual Gigabit ethernet ports. The chassis falls short on front connectivity, though, with two USB 2.0 ports, a single FireWire 400 port, and a media-card reader.
Our review unit came bundled with Logitech's wireless MX3200 keyboard and MX600 mouse combination. The keyboard provides ten additional function buttons for launching applications, putting your computer to sleep, and launching VoIP calls, among other things. An included LCD screen offers scant details such as the time and the date, but it's unimpressive compared to the offerings on Logitech's fancier devices. The smooth, contoured finish of the wireless MX 600 mouse feels great to the touch. Two side buttons are ideally placed for back-and-forth Web browsing, and three buttons on top of the mouse let you zoom your display back and forth.
It's hard to find a faster general-purpose PC than the Xi Mtower PCIe 965. But you'll pay for that speed: This $3796 power PC is one of the most expensive models in its category--and one of the poorest performing on graphics. In addition, the system's adequate connectivity and bundled input devices only partially offset its stale chassis design.

HP Photosmart C8180 - Wireless Printer, Scanner & Copier - All In One Printer

Offering high quality 6 colour printing, you’ll get fantastic results from the HP Photosmart C8180 Multifunction Wireless Printer. With a resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi, you’ll print out at the outstanding rate of 33 ppm in colour. Using its Wi-Fi connection options, you can place the Photosmart C-8180 Printer in a central location and use it with several devices in the same building. A great companion for any photo enthusiast, the Hewlett Packard Photosmart C8180 Multifunction Wireless Printer also offers copying, scanning and fax facilities.

Maximum Print resolution - 4800 x 1200 dpi
Normal print speed - 8ppm b&w/7.5ppm colour
Standalone copying - Yes
Number of cartridges - 6 individual inks
Connectivity - USB 2.0, Ethernet, Wireless
Borderless printing - Up to A4
Direct printing - Cardreaders & Pictbridge
Display - 8.9cm touchscreen

HP OfficeJet Pro L7590 - Printer, Copier, Scanner & Fax - All In One Printer

Maximum print resolution - 4800 x 1200 dpi
Normal print speed - 12ppm b&w/10ppm colour
Max Print Speed - 35ppm b&w/34ppm colour
Number of cartridges - 4 individual inks
Standalone Copying - Yes
Duplex printing - Yes
Connectivity - USB, PictBridge, Ethernet
Automatic document feeder - Yes
Fax features - 33.6 memory, 3 sec pg speed

Full specification

Format
Print, Copy, Scan + Fax

Pages per minute in black
35 ppm

Pages per minute in colour
34 ppm

Digital Camera Card Readers
SD, SDHC, CF. MS, MMC, xD

Standalone Fax
YES

Paper tray capacity
250-sheet tray

Standalone Copier
YES

Number of Copies From Original
99

Automatic Document feeder
YES

Scanner Dots per Inch Vertical
2400 dpi

Scanner Colour Resolution
48 bit

Fax Page Memory
Up to 125

Fax Speed Dials
99

Connectivity
USB 2.0, PictBridge, Ethernet

Software included
YES

Compatible Cartridge - Black
HP 88 Black Ink Cartridge

Compatible Cartridge - Colour
HP 88 Cyan/Yellow/Magenta

Height
356 mm

Width
525 mm

Depth
466 mm

HP Photosmart C4585 All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier

The HP Photosmart C4585 All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier is designed for home users with wireless networks who print everything from documents and web pages to photos – and also want to be able to scan and copy from the same easy-to-use device. The Hewlett Packard C4585 easily connects to your wireless network and prints from multiple PCs or laptops. Add this versatile all-in-one printer to your wireless network and share fast, reliable printing between your family’s laptops or PCs. Enjoy easy connection and great performance with print and copy speeds of up to 30 ppm black and 23 ppm colour. Do more than just print – discover the convenience of being able to scan and copy too, using the same compact Photosmart C4585 All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier. Make crisp, sharp copies of documents, correspondence, photos and more – in colour or black and white – without having to switch on your PC. Use the scanner to digitise photos for sharing by email, or to turn documents into digital files for safe-keeping.

HP Photosmart C4485 - Printer, Copier & Scanner - All In One Printer

Optimise all your printing, scanning and copying results with the Hewlett-Packard Photosmart C4485 Printer, Copier & Scanner. Print anything from photos to text documents, share them with friends or scan and digitise your treasured photos - all with one versatile product. With a resolution of up to 4800 x 1200 the Photosmart C4485 Printer, Copier & Scanner promises to deliver clear and crisp prints whether you're printing colour images, web pages or lengthy monochrome documents. You'll have the option to print border-less photos that will emerge from the Photosmart C-4485 exactly as they would from a professional developer, and for added usability the Printer, Copier & Scanner has capabilities to print envelopes, transparencies, labels, cards and more. The Photosmart C4485 Printer, Copier & Scanner is also handy for printing directly from a memory card thanks to the card reader which will deliver quality results without messing about with leads and cables. The HP Photosmart C4485 Printer, Copier & Scanner couldn't be easier to use, and with handy software to guide you through, you'll benefit from quality printing, scanning and copying in no time. For fantastic printing, scanning and copying at home, choose the outstanding Photosmart C4485 Printer, Copier & Scanner from Hewlett-Packard.

Asus EEE PC 1000HE

The streamlined and redesigned Asus Eee PC 1000HE takes no prisoners. While the previous Asus Eee PC 1000 offered a solid netbook, Acer's Aspire One stole all the attention with its lean and incredibly affordable approach. With the latest incarnation of the Eee PC 1000, the "HE" might as well stand for "Holy Enhancement!" This model bears only a passing resemblance to last year's Eee PC, and improves upon just about everything from the keyboard to the CPU. Better yet, in addition to losing some unsightly girth, Asus also trimmed the price to $400.

Let's take a quick tour around the machine to kick this off. The first, most obvious thing you'll spot is the cut-out keyboard. Just like you'd find on an Apple MacBook Air or on Sony VAIO laptops, the keys poke through the plastic, creating a wide gap between buttons. In that respect, this feels and looks great, and is generally more usable. The trackpad is just spacious enough -- I particularly like its metal framing and the few multitouch functions incorporated into the design. However, I found the pad slightly twitchy to control. No deal-breaker, but I noticed.

You also get a couple handy shortcut buttons hovering along the top of the unit. They do everything from give the CPU a speed boost (more on that below) and user-definable shortcuts to a screen resolution adapter. That is, you can view 1024-by-768 resolutions even though the native resolution of the 1000HE is 1024 by 600 -- it's a special compression mode that Lenovo employs in the IdeaPad S10 as well, and represents a convenience given that some applications default to a 1024-by-768-pixel resolution and won't work otherwise.

This unit's 10.1-inch backlit LED display is bright and capable of good color reproduction; its glossy coating helps the image pop a little more than you usually see on netbooks. However, the highly polished bezel that keeps the screen in place can get a little distracting at times.

A number of aerodynamic nips and tucks make this 10.3-by-7.4-by-1.4-inch netbook just a hair thinner than the older, clunkier Eee PC 1000 we reviewed last year. It's also a little on the "heavy" side for a netbook, weighing 3.2 pounds. That's the price of strapping an 8700mAH battery to the bottom of this thing; Asus promises that the 1000HE will deliver 9.5 hours of performance (but we got a solid seven hours, nine minutes in our tests).In short, netbooks in this generation are finally packing the battery power required for marathon computing sessions.

Speaking of performance, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE sports Intel's 1.66-GHz Atom N280 CPU. For the sake of comparison, most of the netbooks that came out late last year used the N270 CPU, which runs at a lower frequency (1.6-GHz) and a slower frontside bus speed (533MHz as compared with 667 MHz in the N280). The difference, however, was minimal. Our test unit got a 35 in WorldBench: an average score for what you'll find in netbooks.

The Asus comes with 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard disk drive, and 802.11b/g/n /Bluetooth wireless. Around the perimeter of chassis lies a fairly standard set of three USB 2.0 inputs.

The audio, as on the Eee PC 1000, sounds surprisingly strong for its size. But it lacks a good subwoofer, so don't expect to rock a house party with this thing. Other notable features thrown into the mix: InterVideo WinDVD (which seems to be a little bit of overkill, I'd recommend you try out KMPlayer), and 18 months of 10GB of free online storage.

In the end, this is a fairly solid -- and sizable -- jump over what's come out just a few months earlier. In fact, I'd dare say that amongst the netbook pack, this is one of my current favorites and something that I'd highly recommend that you check out. Considering that its selling in some places for as little as $380, you could do worse.