The design of the 1101HA will seem familiar to anyone who has seen the 10-inch 1005HA version of the Eee PC (one of our favorite Netbooks). There's a tapered front lip, and a gentle slope to the system, making it slightly thicker in the rear. There's still enough room for standard VGA and Ethernet jacks on the sides, but just barely.Thanks to the slim design and efficient use of space, the 1101 doesn't feel much bulkier than a 10-inch Netbook, which makes it worth a look, if 10-inch screens are just too small, but you still value portability and weight above all else.The slightly bigger footprint allows for a more traditional keyboard layout, with flat-topped keys that widen slightly at the base. Only the right Shift keys seem to be unnaturally small. Lacking quick-launch or media control buttons (except for a touch pad on/off switch), many of the keys have alternate Fn key functions, the most notable of which is the space bar, which also controls the system's power presets. In the 1101HA, Asus' Super Hybrid Engine power software allows you to overclock the Atom Z520 CPU, which gave us better performance (which is important because the Z-series Atoms are typically slower than their N-series cousins). The amount of overclocking is adjustable in the system BIOS, from 5 percent to 30 percent.
The touch pad is perfectly usable, but the texture on it--made up of tiny raised bumps--isn't everyone's favorite, although it gives good tactile feedback as you move across the touch-pad surface. The single rocker bar that acts as the left and right mouse buttons feels thin and unsubstantial. We prefer separate, and slightly larger, buttons.The 11.6-inch LED display offers a 1,366x768 native resolution, which is the new standard for both 11-inch Netbooks and a handful of more expensive 10-inch systems (such as the Sony Vaio W). The slightly larger display, coupled with the higher resolution, makes the onscreen experience less claustrophobic, and better suited for navigating larger Web pages or long office docs. It's hard to go back to the lower 1,280x600 resolution of most Netbooks after spending much time with an 11-inch model.The 1101HA offers a fairly standard set of ports and connections, including 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, making for a fairly complete package. If you want built-in mobile broadband hardware, you'll have to look to systems such as the Dell Mini 10.
While most Netbooks have Intel's N270 (or N280) Atom CPUs, both 11-inch Netbooks we've tested so far use the 1.3GHz Z520 version. Generally, the Z-series runs cooler and was intended for handheld mobile Internet devices (sometimes called MIDs). In Netbook use, it can be noticeably slower than the N-series Atoms, and that's unfortunate because any additional performance hurdles are especially annoying for Netbooks, which are already fairly pokey under the best of circumstances. In the Eee PC 1101HA specifically, performance was slower than Netbooks with the Atom N270 and N280 in most of our benchmarks--although it was actually very fast in our iTunes encoding test.The mitigating factor in the 1101's case is the built-in overclocking, turned on by switching between presets in the included power management software. With overclocking turned on, we saw benchmark scores that were more in line with typical Netbooks. Obviously, overclocking your CPU will have an impact on battery life, and generate more heat, although we didn't run into any stability issues while using the system. You can also underclock the CPU way down to 1.0GHz to improve power consumption, but we can't imagine being able to do anything useful in Windows XP like that.
CNET News.com has confirmed Apple Computer is recalling 1.8 million Sony batteries that were in iBooks and PowerBooks sold between October 2003 and August 2006. The company said it had gotten some reports of batteries overheating and causing minor burns or property damage.If you purchased an Apple laptop during the time period above, you're urged to call 800/275-2273 or visit the Apple battery recall Web site.Meanwhile, the E-Commerce Times is reporting that Dell and Apple, along with Lenovo and HP, have scheduled a summit next month to establish manufacturing standards for lithium-ion batteries.If the Acer TravelMate Timeline 8371 were a bowl of porridge, it'd belong to baby bear. It's not so large that it'll break your back on a road trip, and not so small that you need the fingers of a four-year-old girl to operate it. It is, in principle, just right. Available in three main configurations, our mid-range review sample boasts the full product name Acer TravelMate Timeline TM8371-944G32 N, and retails for around ¡ê700.
The 8371 is a cool-looking customer. Consumer laptops often feature glossy panels and gaudy accoutrements, but this machine flies below the fashion radar. Some may argue its matte black finish gives it a very formal, almost boring, aesthetic, but we'd disagree. It's understated, yes, but it's also very attractive, and the fact that it isn't as shiny as some of its rivals means it's easier to keep it free of fingerprint smudges. Open the lid and the no-nonsense trend continues. A large keyboard takes pride of place, and we're happy to report that it's a pleasure to use. The keys are of a good size, and there's adequate space between each, which helps to ensure typos are kept to a minimum. The grey mouse trackpad clashes slightly with the otherwise matte black laptop, but it is gesture-sensitive, allowing users to scroll through documents by tracing a circular pattern, or to zoom in and out of documents by making a pinching or stretching gesture.
The understated charm of the 8371 is a welcome change from the gaudy get-up of many consumer laptops
The 8371 doesn't have a huge number or wide variety of ports. The left side is equipped with a D-Sub video output, as well as a single USB port and headphone and mic jacks. The right side houses a couple more USB ports, an Ethernet jack, and an Acer EasyPort IV connector, to which you can attach a port replicator or docking station. This may come in handy for those who require DVI video output or additional USB ports, but it's a clunky solution we'd rather do without.
Beneath the 8371's austere facade is a fashionable new CPU. The laptop uses an Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 chip, part of Intel's trendy 'consumer ultra-low-voltage' series. As the name implies, the CULV range is designed for users who value battery life over performance, although its dual-core architecture and relatively generous 4GB of accompanying RAM help ensure most applications launch quickly and run smoothly.The 8371 is ostensibly a business laptop, so we weren't surprised to learn it lacks a gaming-capable graphics card. Its integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD should probably be called before a court of law for breaching the Trade Descriptions Act. It accelerates graphics alright, but only if the graphics in question are those generated by the card game Solitaire or a PowerPoint presentation. Those who require more 3D horsepower have the option of buying a version of the laptop that features the more capable ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330.
The laptop's 13.3-inch screen lends itself well to displaying multimedia content, or anything else for that matter. Its 1,366x768-pixel resolution gives you enough room to have a couple of application windows open side by side, and its matte coating means it can be used in a variety of lighting conditions, including, crucially, outdoors. As is the case with most laptops, its vertical viewing angle is limited but, on the whole, we've very few complaints about the display.With Dell's recall of more than 4 million laptop batteries today, I started to wonder if we're seeing more laptop battery recalls than usual. Here's a time line of all the battery recalls from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for the past five years. There were no laptop battery recalls in 2002 or 2003 in the United States.
Market-leading Dell begins a market-leading battery recall today. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says it's not only the largest battery recall, but the largest recall of any type of electronic product. Teaming with Dell, it plans to recall 4.1 million batteries. Sony, which manufactures the batteries in question, has pledged to assist Dell in the recall. Unfortunately, many Dell laptops use these Sony batteries, including models from the Latitude, Inspiron, and XPS laptop lines as well as Precision mobile workstations. Six incidents have been reported since June of a Dell laptop's battery exploding and catching fire. Here's the list of affected models:If you purchased any of these models between April 2004 and July 18, 2006, you are urged to visit Dell's Web site on the matter or call 866/342-0011 (good luck getting through). Dell asks that you run your laptop on AC power until your replacement battery arrives. No word yet if other laptop vendors using Sony lithium-ion batteries will add to this already huge recall.
The dot m/a is available with a variety of hard-drive sizes, including 160GB, 250GB and 320GB. The 160GB version that we review here, the dot m/a UK/050, is available to buy now for around ¡ê350. Intel fans shouldn't feel left out, though, as Packard Bell will sell you an Atom Z250-equipped version, known as the dot m, for a similar price.The dot m/a is a pretty-enough laptop, but its creators haven't tried anything too extravagant with its design. The fetching silver hasp-style strip housing the Packard Bell logo is notable, but the matte black keyboard area and glossy black lid are all standard fare. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. Although it's unadventurous, it should appeal to a relatively wide audience. The one complaint some may have is the fact that its 288 by 25 by 199mm chassis is relatively large by netbook standards. It is, however, fairly light, tipping the scales at 1.25kg.
The metal strip on the dot m/a's lid is a pleasing touch, but laptop otherwise looks like the standard netbook fare
The dot m/a's keyboard is a breath of fresh air. Unlike many netbook keyboards we've encountered, its keys are large, have attractive, rounded edges and have a decent amount of space between them, which reduces the likelihood of typos. The most important keys -- return, backspace and shift -- are all relatively chunky, although the left shift key is a little too small for our liking. The mouse trackpad is also relatively teeny, but it feels responsive and is sensitive to multitouch gestures, so documents can be navigated by pinching, stretching or stroking fingers across its surface.
The dot m/a's connectivity is what we've come to expect from this class of machine. The right side houses a five-in-one memory card reader, mic and headphone jacks, two USB ports and a VGA video output for connecting to an external monitor. The front edge has two switches for toggling the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios, while the left is home to a third USB port, as well as an Ethernet port. Given the machine's size, it would probably have been possible to squeeze in an extra USB or an eSATA port (around six times faster than USB), but perhaps we're being greedy.The dot m/a spits in the face of Intel's Atom CPU and embraces a little-known chip from AMD called the Athlon L110. This CPU is clocked at 1.2GHz, which doesn't sound like much, admittedly, but it has an 800MHz front-side bus, which compares favourably to the standard Atom N270's 533MHz FSB. This means it should, in theory, be able to transfer data to and from the accompanying 2GB of DDR2 memory quicker than an Atom system would, giving it a potential performance advantage.By choosing an AMD CPU, the dot m/a's maker has forgone the traditional Intel integrated graphics solution popular in most netbooks. Instead, the dot m/a features an ATI Radeon X1270 GPU, which, you'll be pleased to know, is capable of running 3D games and, in theory, some low-bit-rate, high-definition video content. Unfortunately, as you'll see in from its performance results later, theory doesn't always become reality.
- (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)
- (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)
- (cliquez ici pour suivre le lien)