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?

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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.