The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 marks Lenovo’s latest foray in the ultraportable market, which we know is already brimming with many competitors. It aims to compete with the Asus EEE PC’s, Dell Inspiron Mini 9, Acer Aspire One, the MSI Wind, the HP Mininote 2133 and score of other notebooks vying for some market share in the ultraportable segment. It has a similar configuration to most netbooks currently available - Intel Atom 1.6 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD and a 10.2″ display, and offers nothing new. It is however a good mix of features at a decent price, cheaper than many other netbooks. It has nice simple looks and a clean design which may appeal to many and offers nice build quality as well. It is a very good alternative to the Asus EEE PC 1000 and the MSI Wind. Retailing at just $449, it is a good, cost-effective solution for casual office work and multimedia playback as well as light gaming. In this detailed review, we check out the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 and its features, its advantages and drawbacks.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Atom N270 at 1.6 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache, 533 MHz.
• RAM: 1 GB DDR 2
• Hard Drive: 160 GB SATA, 5,400 RPM
• Display: 10.2″ at 1024 x 600 pixels
• Chipset: Intel 945GSE Express
• Integrated Graphics: Intel GMA 950, 64 MB VRAM
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home
• Ports: 2 USB 2.0, Ethernet, Headphone, Mic, VGA out, Express Card, 4 in 1 card reader
• Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Weight: 1.18 kgs

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The next big thing from Nokia is the Nokia N96! The Nokia N96 has been in the news throughout the year since Nokia announced this handset. It actually took quite a time to launch it, which might not justify its high price. The Nokia N96 has top of the line specs as it is an upgrade to the Nokia N95 8GB. Ranging from latest symbian OS with FP2 to DVB-H functionality, this handset has it all. But as always Nokia does have something missing on this one too which will make you think twice before spending your cash on it.

Nokia N96 specifications :

• Dimensions : 103 x 55 x 18 mm
• Weight : 125g
• Display : 2.8″ TFT with 240 x 320 resolution
• Memory : 16GB internal
• Processor : Dual ARM 9 264 MHz CPU
• RAM : 128MB
• Connectivity : GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSCSD, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Card slot : microSDHC upto 8GB
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
• USB : microUSB 2.0
• OS : Symbian OS 9.3, S60 rel 3.2
• Camera : 5MP, Carl Zeiss optics, flash, autofocus
• GPS : Built-in with A-GPS function
• DVB-H TV broadcast receiver
• FM : Stereo Radio with RDS
• Audio jack : 3.5mm jack
• Approx. price : $700

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The new Archos 5 is the newest Portable Media player / Internet tablet on the block and is packed with a whole lot of features. It replaces the Archos 605 Wi-Fi as Archos’ do-it-all device and competes with the hugely popular Apple iPod Touch. It features a sleek new design, is fully touchscreen and has a large 4.8″ display for excellent video playback - which is its strongest point. It features a much refined interface compared to the previous Archos devices. In this review we attempt to find out if this is really Archos’ best device yet in this range.

Archos 5 Specifications:

• Display: 4.8″ TFT LCD at 800 x 480 pixels, 16 M colors, Touch enabled
• Processor: ARM Cortex TM A8, 32 bit clocked at 600 MHz, 32bit DSP at 430 MHz
• RAM: 128 MB
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g , USB 2.0
• Hard drive: 60 GB / 120 GB / 250 GB (2.5″ HDD)
• OS: Linux based
• Audio Playback: MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV
• Video Playback: MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, WMV, H.264
• Image formats: JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, GIF
• Other documents: PDF, Flash
• Video recording: VGA resolution (640 x 480 px) at 30 or 25 f/s
• Audio recording: WAV format
• Transfer Protocol: Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Media Transport Protocol (MTP), Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP)
• Battery Life: 12hrs Audio, 4 hours Video
• Size: 127.5 x 78.3 x 12.9 mm (60GB) / 127.5 x 78.8 x 19.4 mm (120/250GB)
• Weight: 250g (60GB) / 300g (120/240)
• Applications: Email (POP/IMAP), Opera Web Browser with Widgets, PIM (vCard support), Calculator, News Reader.
• OS Compatibility: Windows (MTP), OS X, Linux (MSC)
• Accessories: Earbuds, USB cable, DVR station adapter.

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HP recently released two spanking new notebook PCs in the form of HP Pavilion HDX 16 and HP Pavilion HDX 18 series. These notebooks feature large screens, good speakers with integrated subwoofers, touch sensitive media control panel with loads of other features. The price of the laptop is on the higher side which puts it in the high-end category.

HP Pavilion HDX 18 specifications :

• Dimensions: 17.17″ x 11.26″ 1.33-1.72″ (WxDxH)
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB Level 2 cache)
• Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
• Memory: 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (800MHz)
• Hard drive: 2 x 250GB (5400rpm)
• Screen:18″ HD HP Ultra Brightview Infinity glossy display (1920 x 1080)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT with 512MB GDDR3
• Optical drive: Blu-Ray multi-drive
• Ethernet, VGA, HDMI, docking station port, microphone in, two audio out jacks,
  three USB ports, eSATA/USB, 5-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard slot, built-in TV tuner
• Wireless: 802.11a/g/n, Bluetooth 2.0
• Battery: 8-cell Lithium-ion battery (73W)
• Weight: 8.94 lbs.
• Approx. price : $2,050

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The Sony S610 is Sony’s low range PMP starting at just $100. It competes with the the likes of the Creative Zen, Sansa Fuze and maybe the iPod Nano. It packs a good range of features at a good price, with an average design and good build quality. It offers great sound quality, as expected of any Sony player and has a superb battery life. We delve into the details of the Sony S610 in this review and check out whether it makes for a good buy.

Sony S610 Specs:

• Dimensions: 47.4 x 84.6 x 16.2 mm
• Weight: 52 gms
• Display: 1.8″ LCD, 262k Color, 320 x 240 pixels
• Capacity: 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB
• Audio Playback: MP3, WMA, AAC
• Video Playback: MPEG 4, H.264
• Battery Life: 32 Hours Audio / 8 Hours Video
• Image Format: JPG
• Transfer Protocol: MTP
• Other Features: FM Radio, Preset and Custom EQ
• Included Accessories: Headphones, USB Cable

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Callpod Dragon V2 has an innovative design that gives you comfortable fit along with good performance. The Callpod Dragon V2 is an upgrade to Callpod Dragon headset which was introduced last year by the company. They do not have a big market presence but their products are value for money. Lets look at Callpod Dragon v2 in detail.

Callpod Dragon V2 specifications :

• Dimensions  : 2.6″ x 1.3″ x 2.2″
• Weight : 0.9 oz
• Color : Carbon Fiber
• Headphone Type : Headphone - Aural
• Headphone form factor : In-ear ear-bud
• Connectivity : Wireless Bluetooth 2.0
• Microphone : Built-in
• Transmission range : 330ft
• Battery : Lithium-ion Rechargeable
• Run-time : 8 hours
• Standby time : 300 hours
• Approx. price : $100

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The iriver T7 Volcano is a very basic DAP (Digital Audio Player) with decent specs but nothing remarkable. It does however offer decent features in a tiny form factor and is inexpensive. It could be the perfect choice for those looking for a cheap, no-frills MP3 player which can do play MP3’s without any problems with good sound quality and don’t care much about the features. In this review, we check out if it does manage to do that.

iriver T7 Volcano Specs:

• Size: 83.8 x 25.4 x 10.1 mm
• Capacities: 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB
• Display: 1″ OLED (64 X 128 px) Display
• Audio: MP3, WMA, ASF, OGG
• Battery: 200mAh Li Poly Internal with 10 hours audio playback (rated)

Other Features: Voice recording, FM Radio, 7 Preset Equalizer

Design:

The iriver T7 Volcano’s design is not much to speak of, it is just a simple flat stick like design similar to the Samsung U3. It is just slightly bigger than a pen drive. On the front face is the 1″ OLED display supporting a resolution of 64 x 128 pixels along with the playback control keys. The headphone jack and USB plug are located at the left and right end respectively. There is a small button on the back to pop out the USB plug. On the top there is a power button and a UP button and on the bottom is the hold switch and the DOWN button. The UP and DOWN buttons can be used as volume controls or for navigation. Continue reading ‘iriver T7 Volcano Review’

Some queries on our Ask-Us section by our readers,

The 1st one being by our reader, Jeremy

thanks for the help what is an ib ( forgot last inital) hard disk?

Hey Jeremy, we think you mean to ask about an I.D.E hard disk. Well PATA (Parallel ATA) or IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) was a hard disk connection standard which was in use about an year back. It has since been replaced by the SATA and now the SATA II standards offering greater data transfer speed and bandwidth, more buffer size and larger capacities.

The IDE / PATA hard drives can still be used easily as most motherboard / chipset manufacturers still include 2 IDE ports to connect the IDE hard drives directly. If your motherboard doesn’t provide an IDE slot, you can use a SATA to IDE converter to connect it to your SATA drive. Continue reading ‘IDE HDD and Dell Studio 15 Query’

The Nokia 3600 Slide is a stylish new offering by Nokia. It features a sleek slider design which is aerodynamically styled with smooth and rounded edges. It is powered by the tried and tested S40 user interface which has been Nokia’s favorite for mid range phones. THe 3600 Slide has a varied mix of features and doesn’t lack in any department. It has most of the features anyone would want in a phone and excels in the multimedia department. It is almost surely going to be a bestseller and is intended to replace the better S40 based phones. It does lack out on some features like 3G and Wi-Fi, GPS etc but the features seem to be fairly justified in this price range. In this review, we check out the 3600 Slide and adjudge whether it is really worth its price or not.

Nokia 3600 Slide Specifications:

• Dimensions : 97.8 x 47.2 x 14.5 mm
• Weight : 97.3 gms
• Display : 2.0″ TFT, 16M Colors, QVGA 240 x 320 px.
• Camera : 3.15 MP Cam (2048 x 1536 pixels) with LED flash, autofocus, Video VGA at 15 FPS
• Memory : 30 MB Internal memory (upto 8 GB external memory Micro SD)
• Connectivity : GPRS Class 32, HSCSD, EDGE Class 32, USB 2.0.
• Bluetooth : Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• OS : S40 User Interface
• Battery: Li-Ion 860 mAh (BL-4S)

Other Key Features:
5 Way Navigation key, Stereo FM Radio with RDS, Java MIDP 2.0, TV out.

Design and Display:

The Nokia 3600 Slide is a sleek phone which sports a very stylish slider design. At dimensions of just 97.8 x 47.2 x 14.5 mm it is very compact. It weighs only about 97 gms which makes it easy to carry as well. On top of the slider, you get the 2″ TFT display and the earpiece. It also has a 5 way Navi key, two select keys and the standard Call and End keys. Below the slider you get the alphanumeric keypad. All of the keys have a very good feel about them. The keypad backlighting is nice and subtle. No complaints with the keypad. On the top of the phone, you find the charger socket, the Power key and the 2.5 mm audio jack. The left side sports the covered micro USB slot while the right side sports the volume rocker and camera key. Continue reading ‘Nokia 3600 Slide Review’

Apple at its “Lets Rock” event held in San Francisco on September saw the curtain being raised for a new lineup of iPods. A lot of rumors had been going around about the design and changes that these new beauties would have and unexpectedly quite a large number of them turned out to be true, a rarity when it comes to Apple products. Apart from the hardware and cosmetic changes, Apple also reduced the prices of iPods making them even more attractive. We review the new Apple iPod Touch which looks strikingly similar to the coveted iPhone.

Apple iPod Touch 2G specifications :

• Dimensions : 2.4″ x 0.3″ x 4.3″
• Color : Black
• Display : 3.5″ LCD
• Audio formats : Protected AAC, Audible 3, WAV,MP3 VBR,
  Audible 2, AIFF, MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, Audible 4
• Video formats : H.264, MPEG-4
• Connectors : USB, 3.5mm headphone jack,Docking connector
• Photo playback : JPEG photo playback
• Battery : Rechargeable Lithium-ion
• Estimated battery life : 36 hours
• OS : Mac OS X, Windows XP, Vista
• Warranty : 1-year with 90-days phone support
• Approx. price : $229

Continue reading ‘Apple iPod Touch 2G Review’