TomTom Ease features simple menu interface and comes at low price with advanced features like text-to-speech. Its battery life is 3 hours.

Thumbs Down:

3.5 inches screen may be small for getting large view. Integrated EasyPort mount is not so flexible like most of TomTom devices.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

TomTom Ease is a GPS navigation device that includes maps of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Canada, Alaska and USA. It has 2GB inbuilt memory and features USB connectivity and audible signals.

3.5 inches touch screen LCD display has a resolution of 320×240 pixels. The display menu language options are Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, English, Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

The additional features are TomTom Map Share Technology, Text to Speech, IQ Routes technology, TomTom QuickGPSfix, Preinstalled POIs, Plug & Go.

Razzle Dazzle:

TomTom Ease is 3.2 inches tall, 3.7 inches wide and 0.8 inch deep and weighs 4.4 ounces. At first look, it appears like TomTom One 140S. The Ease comes in red, white and black colors. Our test mode had red color. If you need the device in different color then you have to replace the shell from TomTom. For removing the shell, you have to remove the EasyPort from back and simply push off the device. TomTom Ease costs $119 and it is very easy to use like Garmin devices.

Inside Dope:

TomTom is one of the famous manufacturers across the U.S. The company is trying to low down the curve for fresh entry-level GPS users its new navigation device – Ease, which falls below previous TomTom One. The Ease is similar to previous TomTom Star that was debuted in Europe last year.

TomTom Ease has 3.5 inches QVGA touch screen display and EasyPort Mount just like that of the One 140S. Its power button has been moved to the back, whereas combined mini-USB port for sync/charging sits on the bottom edge. You have to use this port for updating the maps as the GPS device does not have the micro-SD or SD card slot.

Previously, we had to clip the EasyPort mount on rotating swivel at the back of TomTom One. That fitting was a bit difficult for new users. Now, the company has provided some nice changes. We like that there is a housing integrated in TomTom Ease for attaching EasyPort Mount. This configuration makes the Ease much thinner than TomTom One. You can easily remove the EasyPort assembly to angle suction cup for adding dashboard mount supplied inside the package. The removable and rechargeable lithium ion battery is located beneath the shell.

Home menu of TomTom Ease – GPS device has been simplified as compared to tedious interface of TomTom One. Previously, we got home screen with six and more options. On the other hand, the Ease has two main options at Home screen: Browse map and Plan route. You will also find options, done, help, day/night mode and sound options in a row at home screen.

Plain route shows sub-menu of selected destinations. You can navigate to searchable points of interest (POI), recent destinations, specific address, favorite destinations, and preset home address. Browse map exhibits overhead map view to select a point/destination on map. You can overlay the POI icons on the map for easily locating them, for example, icons for nearby gas station or restaurants.

Sound icon located on the home screen’s submenu can mute or un-mute the sound, whereas the volume control is in different menu. Night/day button switches between color schemes. Help button shows “Where am I?” screen that exhibits current location, and nearby streets as well as contact numbers and driving directions to nearest emergency services. The Clicking options supports advanced and device options, whereas Done returns to live navigation map.

Live navigation map of TomTom Ease is similar to other devices from same company. You will get zoom in and out buttons at upper corners. Information fields for destination information, direction, speed etc. are located on the bottom. You can click anywhere in the map to get back to home screen.

We agree that TomTom Ease is a basic entry-level GPS navigation device; still provides advanced features. It has text-to-speech engine, using which you can hear the street names and turn-by-turn voice directions. The device also has TomTom IQ Route Technology that uses historical anonymous speed data for creating real time routes as well as free map correction network – TomTom Map Share. These updates are downloaded at TomTom Home software and also manage map updates, custom routes and points of interest.

TomTom Ease performed well while testing. It tracked our location in single lane mountain roads. It quickly located our locations in urban areas. The device could not keep the GPS signal in the long tunnels, but detected our position through speed limit and immediately locked our position nearby other end.

TomTom Ease has standard lithium ion battery that has a life of 3 hours. We appreciate the company to provide much simpler, least expensive and smaller device than $139 priced TomTom One 140S. However, the Ease does not have maps of Mexico and Canada and advanced land guidance like the One 140S.

Nitty Gritty:

If you need a compact GPS navigation device at a budget friendly price and do not need maps of Mexico and Canada, then you can buy new – TomTom Ease.

Free online game service, inbuilt Wi-Fi and Web browser; internal power supply; 1080p HDMI output; 120GB hard drive; works as both DVD and Blu-ray player; easy interface; high-definition games; slimmer and more compact; quieter operation with less fan noise; budget-friendly price tag of $299.

Thumbs Down:

No backward compatibility for PS2 games; lacks infrared port disabling the usage of universal remotes; online commerce, media and gaming options are still not better than that of Xbox Live.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim is a game console that supports CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and BD-ROM. It is powered with 45nm Cell Broadband Engine processor and 256MB RAM. It has BD-ROM Blu-ray disc player and 120GB hard disk drive.

The graphics adapter is 256MB NVIDIA RSX that provides resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. Supported wireless interfaces are Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11. Sound output mode is stereo.

The connector-set of Sony PlayStation 3 Slim includes 1×SPDIF output (TOSLINK), 1×PlayStation 3 AV output, 1×HDMI output (19 pin HDMI Type A), 1×Ethernet (RJ-45) and 2×USB (4 pin USB Type A). The PS3 Slim consumes 250 watt power.

Razzle Dazzle:

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim looks identical to 160GB and 80GB PS3 models. It is 2.6 inches tall, 11.4 inches wide and 11.4 inches deep and it weighs 7.1 lbs. It comes in charcoal black color. It is much 33 percent smaller and 36 percent lighter than original PS3. It feels substantial while taking in hand.

Inside Dope:

In November 2009, Sony had introduced Netflix to its PlayStation 3. The Netflix subscribers can order free PS3 Netflix Blu-ray Disc at its Web site. They have to use that disc always to stream a movie. Now, the company has launched Sony PlayStation 3 Slim for overtaking the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. If you are a big fan of Sony PlayStation 3 and waiting for its price to come down up, then be ready to buy $299 priced 120GB Slim PS3. On the dark side, Sony has removed the backward compatibility and capability to install any other operating system such as Linux. The Slim PS3 features inbuilt Wi-Fi, inbuilt Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player, two-USB port for charging and using external storage.

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim supports MPEG4/H.264, MPEG2 and MPEG1 video formats and JPEG picture viewing from disc based or USB external media. It can also work as media hub to stream contents from DLNA compatible networked devices such as computers and hard drives connected on routers. It also has inbuilt Web browser to access the Internet.

You will find AV output for analog video/audio, optical digital audio output (SPDIF), HDMI cable and Ethernet jack. Sony has not added any new feature to the PlayStation Slim PS3. Moreover, the company has also not provided any infra red port to control the game console via universal IR remote controls. The Slim PS3 does not have backward compatibility, so it cannot play the PS2 games.

The mirrored strip located next to opening of disc slot and glossy plastic on sides gives glamour to Sony PlayStation 3 Slim. However, both of them works as fingerprint magnet to capture smudges even on gentle touch. However, there are some changes in the design. Sony logo branding has been re-designed for nice look. Touch-sensitive Eject and power switches are replaced by standard push buttons. The master power switch has been removed. The new power button on the front is quick responsive and boots up the PlayStation in less than 20 seconds like original PS3.

Sony has redesigned the complete internal architecture for building a slim game console. We appreciate the Sony’s engineers to build internal power supply instead of using external cabinet like the giant one with Xbox 360. The company had moved the hard disk drive to the front of game console. Without voiding the warranty, you can upgrade and replace the hard drive. You can open the door at the bottom of game console to unscrew the two screws for removing the hard drive. Sony PlayStation 3 Slim is designed to place horizontally. For positioning it vertically, you can purchase additional stand at $25 from Sony.

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim is powered by 45nm version Cell processor that runs at the same speed of 60nm processor in original PS3. However, this new processor is more energy efficient and smaller in size. According to Sony, the power consumption of Sony PlayStation 3 Slim is reduced to 250 watts from 280 watts. As a result, the PS3 Slim generates less heat due to which the company has installed small cooling fan. It also reduces the fan noise. We played game and Blu-ray disc for two hours; still got the light breeze from the fan instead of hot air.

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim performed well for gaming and playing Blu-ray discs while testing. The PlayStation Network is free and PS3 Slim allows accessing and downloading of games, TV shows and movies. Netflix subscription-based streaming service is also available. You can also use Play On software to stream the contents of your computer.

Nitty Gritty:

In fact, Sony PlayStation 3 Slim costs half of the price of original PS3 and lacks IR port, ability to install other operating system like Linux and backward compatibility for PS2 games. If you can overcome above drawbacks and need affordable game console with energy efficiency, home-theater functionality and impressive gaming, then you can buy latest – Sony PlayStation 3 Slim.

Perfect picture quality on Blu-ray movies; video streaming services such as NPR, Slacker, YouTube, Amazon VOD and Netflix; budget-friendly price tag; onboard decoding for DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby True-HD; Profile 2.0 compatible.

Thumbs Down:

Lacks onboard Wi-Fi and internal storage for BD-Live; no eject button on remote; outdated contents on some Internet channels.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Sony BDP-N460 is Blu-ray disc player that supports Profile 1.1 (Bonus View) and Profile 2.0 (BD-Live). It features 1.3a HDMI and up-scaling up to 1080p. The Blu-ray player has tray to load media. It supports audio formats of PCM and MP3, and AVCHD video format.

Sony BDP-N460 supports media types of BD-R, BD-RE, BD-ROM, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL. For connectivity options, it has one Ethernet port that supports IEEE 802.3u (Fast Ethernet). The internet streaming video services include Slacker Personal Radio, BRAVIA Internet Radio, YouTube and Netflix.

Sony BDP-N460 provides stereo sound. Its supported digital audio formats are Dolby True HD digital output, Dolby Digital Plus output, DTS-HD digital output, Dolby Digital output and DTS digital output. The additional features are x.v.Colour Technology, Progressive scanning, BD-Java, JPEG images playback and parental lock.

The connector set of Sony BDP-N460 includes 1×USB ( 4 pin USB Type A ) – Front, 1×SPDIF output ( RCA phono ) – Rear, 1×Ethernet ( RJ-45 ) – Rear, 1×Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) – Rear, 1×Composite video output ( RCA phono ) – Rear , 1×Component video output ( RCA phono×3 ) – Rear, 1×SPDIF output ( TOSLINK ) – Rear and 1×HDMI output ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) – Rear.

Sony BDP-N460 is EPA Energy Star certified. It needs 120V AC power supply and consumes 26 Watt. Sony is providing one-year limited parts-and-labor warranty on its BDP-N460.

Razzle Dazzle:

Sony BDP-N460 has similar design to previous BDP-S360. The most part of front panel is made up of black glossy plastic. It has sleek look and the disc tray is not easily noticeable. The two buttons of play and stop are raised above the surface. Front panel will flip down automatically when you press the eject button. This design is less clumsy than flip-down design of Samsung BD-P1600.

Inside Dope:

Sony was the pioneer of the Blu-ray technology but now they have been surpassed by Samsung, LG and Panasonic. The company makes another attempt with BDP-N460 to top the Blu-ray player market. It’s streaming services including NPR, Slacker, YouTube, Amazon VOD and Netflix and challenges LG BD390 at low price. There are a few shortcomings though, the BDP-N460 does not have inbuilt storage, Wi-Fi, network media streaming and multi-channel analog outputs. These drawbacks make the BDP-N460 a poor alternative to other players like LG BD390. Moreover, the PS3 Slim is available for $100 more and it offers media streaming and high-definition gaming experience. Sony BDP-N460 offers a good combination of Blu-ray playback and streaming functionality at a budget friendly price.

Although the LCD display of Sony BDP-N460 is small in size, yet it is readable from distance. You can dim and turn off the LCD display while using the Blu-ray player. USB port located at right bottom corner routes out the front panel design.

The USB port at the back panel is deep-set inside the unit and completely surrounded by black plastic. It offers small opening for accessing compact USB external drives. So, you cannot use large external drivers for more storage space.

The remote control of Sony BDP-N460 has simple design, but it lacks the eject button for disc tray. It means that you have to manually press the eject button the player, which is quite frustrating. We will prefer Sony to include the eject button on remote like its competitors.

Sony BDP-N460 has XMB based interface that is identical to PS3. Main categories include Network, Video, Music and Photo. The interface is not completely straightforward. The media streaming services are categorized under Media, instead of Network.

The Netflix interface on Sony BDP-N460 is different as compared to other Blu-ray players. At a time, it shows small 18 movie covers. You can easily move through the titles to select the favorite one. In addition, the rewind and fast-forward options are different. It minimizes the paused movie in bottom scrub bar without any thumbnail, but other Blu-ray players shows thumbnail of paused scene. While testing, the overall streaming video quality of Netflix was not good like other Blu-ray players.

YouTube application has included some premium TV shows and movies. We played a movie and observed that image quality had to be improved, whereas image aspect ratio was better than that of LG BD390 and Panasonic DMP-BD60.

Sony BDP-N460 has also included some movie titles from Sony Movie Studio. The image quality was perfect on this streaming service. Sony also had included some movies such as “Steamboy”, “Muppets in Space”, “Ghostbusters” and “Cloudy With a chance of Meatballs”.

Sony BDP-N460 also features video contents from Wired, FEARnet, Crackle and blip.tv. We agree that it has impressive number of channels, but does not have admirable user experience because some contents are outdated. We loaded Dignnation channel at blip.tv and got that it did not have latest episodes. We appreciate the Sony to increase the numerous streaming video services like NPR, Slacker, YouTube, Amazon VOD and Netflix.

Like all Blu-ray players of 2009, Sony BDP-N460 is compatible to Profile 2.0 to access BD-Live playback features on Blu-ray movies. You have to connect USB external drive to store BD-Live content because the BDP-N460 does not have inbuilt memory.

For Internet connection, Sony only included Ethernet port and forgets to use Wi-Fi. This omission is acceptable only at this low price tag. The company suggests using Linksys WET-610N Wireless Ethernet Bridge for wireless networking. Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray player has inbuilt software for easy wireless setup.

Sony BDP-N460 has inbuilt decoding for Dolby True HD as well as DTS-HD Audio Essential. It can easily decode sound formats for playing back on most of the HDMI capable AV receiver. Also, the BPD-N460 supports bit stream output that allows decoding in AV receiver. DVDs with DTS formats including Neo:6, ES Matrix, ES and DTS 96/24 could not be played on the BDP-N460 because DTS-HD Mater Audio Essential does not have all necessary decoders.

Sony BDP-N460 has HDMI output connection for high resolution multi-channel audio and 1080p video. The component video output supports the analog video. It can also output standard-definition composite video, DVDs at 480p and Blu-rays at 1080i. You will get both coaxial and optical digital audio outputs for multi-channel support, but it does not support full resolution of both DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. Stereo analog output supports analog audio. The connectivity options are limited to USB and Ethernet ports.

We tested Sony BDP-N460 in 1080p/60 and Oppo BDP-83 connected to Samsung PN50B860 through HDMI. We played HQV (Hollywood Quality Videos) on both Blu-ray players.

Sony BDP-N460 provided pure image quality with complete 1080p resolution without moiré pattern. Its performance was well comparable to Philips BDP7310 and Samsung BD-P3600. However, it could not beat Oppo BDP-83 that is expected at this cost difference. On the contrary, the disc loading speed of the BDP-N460 is much better than other Blu-ray players, but slower than that of Oppo BDP-83.

There are more movies available on DVD as compared to Blu-ray. We also played some DVDs on Sony BDP-N460 and Oppo BDP-83. The DVD performance of the BDP-N460 was not comparable to that of Oppo model. If you are not choosy about DVD playback, then Sony BDP-N460 will be the good choice.

Nitty Gritty:

Sony BDP-N460 offers impressive mixture of low price, streaming media options and good Blu-ray performance. The BDP-N460 player does not have eject button on remote, onboard Wi-Fi and internal memory. If you need budget-friendly Blu-ray disc player and do not mind above drawbacks, then you can purchase Sony BDP-N460.

Multi-touch pad; excellent battery life; large hard-drive; energy-efficient, big and brigh LED backlit display; stylish and unique design; solid built.

Thumbs Down:

Various bloat-ware; uncomfortable and stiff mouse buttons; no HDMI.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 laptop is powered with 2.2GHz Intel Pentium T4400 dual core processor. The laptop has 500GB hard disk drive, DVD±RW (+R DL) optical drive and 4GB DDR2 SDRAM that is upgradeable to 8GB. The operating system is Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition. The K60I laptop has Intel GMA Dynamic Video Memory Technology 5.0 graphics card, integrated high definition sound card and 0.3-megapixel camera.

16 inches TFT display of Asus K60I-RBBBR05 features LED backlit and antiglare. The laptop has card reader that supports SD memory card, Multimedia card and Memory stick. Preinstalled software are Face recognition software and Adobe Reader 9.0.

Network adapter of Asus K60I-RBBBR05 supports wired networking protocols of Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet. In addition, the wireless card supports wireless standards of IEEE 802.11 b/g/n. The laptop has two interfaces: 1×RJ45 network – Ethernet 10Base – T/100 Base – TX/1000Base-T and 4×4 pin USB Type A – Hi-Speed USB.

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 has six-cell lithium ion battery. Asus is providing one-year limited parts-and-labor warranty.

Razzle Dazzle:

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 has unique look. There is hounds-tooth pattern on the keyboard deck and lid. It features multi-touch pad and chiclet type keys. The laptop is 1.7 inches tall, 14.6 inches wide and 10.1 inches deep. It weighs 5.9 pounds and 6.7 pounds with power adapter, which is bit more than other laptops.

Asus has selected deep black and brown color scheme for its K60I laptop. The small logo is located in the lid’s center and top left corner of screen bezel. The laptop’s chassis provides solid feel. The wrist rest beneath keyboard is wide. The hinges are solid and sturdy enough to hold the display securely.

Inside Dope:

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 will draw your attention at any store like Best Buy with its $529 cost for dual core processor, 4GB RAM and 500GB hard drive. In addition, $499 priced Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5018 and $529 priced Dell Inspiron i545-4266iBU also draws your interest because both of them offers similar Intel Pentium T4400 dual core processor. Although the T4400 is not the latest one, yet it is one of most used processors for budget-friendly laptops.

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 has unique design, superior feature set, and more battery life as compared to that of Dell model. The Asus model offers Wireless-N Wi-Fi as compared to IEEE 802.11 b/g of the Dell laptop.

16-inches display of Asus K60I-RBBBR05 is a bit larger than common 15.6 inches display of other laptops. It has 1366×768 pixels resolution and uses LED backlight that is more energy efficient than typical fluorescent tubes. Moreover, it helps to create much brighter image on the display.  Despite of being glossy, the display screen has antiglare coating that helps to minimize reflections and distracting glare. 0.3-megapixel Webcam is located above the display.

Asus has included chiclet-style and wide spaced keys and separate numeric keypad. You might know that chiclet style keys are famous because of Apple MacBook. Overall, Asus K60I-RBBBR05 provides comfortable and appreciated typing experience. If you have to spend hours daily for data punching and continuous typing, then we will recommend selecting this new Asus K60I laptop. For including the separate numeric keypad, Asus had narrowed the arrow keys and off-centered the keyboard. Some users may not like this change.

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 has small touch pad. Again like Apple MacBook, It supports multi-touch motions like two-finger scrolling. Chrome-finished two mouse buttons are very stiff to press. You will get Altec Lansing speakers on Asus K60I-RBBBR05 laptop. The speakers do not provide loud sound like that of Dell Inspiron i545. We will recommend using headphones for better sound quality.

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 has one media card reader slot, VGA port and two USB 2.0 ports. The laptop does not have ExpressCard slot, eSATA and HDMI ports. You will find HDMI ports on a bit more expensive HP Pavilion dv4-2145dx and Gateway NV7915u laptops.

Asus offers various preinstalled trial applications and other offers. It provides Windows 7 Home Premium and some utilities also. While testing, Asus FastBook utility enhanced the booting speed. Windows 7 booted in 50 seconds, which was better than booting speed Dell Inspiron i545.

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 features 2.2GHz Intel Pentium T4400 dual-processor, which is an entry level processor. It features 4GB RAM as compared to 3GB in Toshiba and Dell models. On the contrary, Asus is using 667MHz that is less than 800MHz of both Toshiba and Dell. Gateway NV7915u laptop is providing Core i3 330M CPU for $599 and performed 31 times better than Asus K60I-RBBBR05.

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 performed better than Acer AS5532-5535, Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX and Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5018 in our multitasking, Photoshop and iTunes test. Dell Inspiron i1545-4266iBU, Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5018 and especially Gateway NV7915u performed better than Asus K60I laptop.

The annual power consumption cost of Asus K60I-RBBBR05 is $4.66, which is better than %5.08 for Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5018, $5.17 for Gateway NV7915u and $7.16 for HP Pavilion dv4-2145dx. However, Dell Inspiron i1545-4266iBU succeeded with $4.47 in annual power consumption cost.

Asus K60I-RBBBR05 laptop is using standard six-cell battery that has a life of 3hr 24min of continuous vide playback.

Asus is providing one year standard labor-and-parts warranty. The accidental damage warranty will not be applied to the only K60I laptops only purchased from Best Buy. So, we will recommend you to purchase this Asus K60I-RBBBR05 laptop from any other store.

Nitty Gritty:

If you need a budget-friendly laptop with large display, more hard drive capacity, better keyboard, good battery life and does not mind average performance, then you can purchase new Asus K60I-RBBBR05. However, we will recommend you to check Gateway NV7915u that offers Core i3 processor for better performance in only $70 more.

It features wireless networking and TV tuner with general features and some upgrade options.

Thumbs Down:

The DX4300-15e does not have some external storage options that are found on other low cost Gateway desktops.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Gateway DX-43001e desktop is powered by 2.6 GHz AMD Phenon II X4 810 quad-core processor and AMD 780G chipset. The RAM is 8GB DDR2 SDRAM and it cannot be upgraded.  The DX-43001e has 1TB SATA hard drive, 16x DVD±RW, AverMedia H751 hybrid digital/analog TV tuner card and wireless card supporting IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standards.

Gateway DX-43001e features ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3200 graphics card, network adapter and integrated sound card. The desktop has seven interfaces: 1×Audio, 1×HDMI, 1×IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 1×VGA (Monitor), 1×RJ-45 Ethernet and 8×USB 2.0 ports. It also has four expansion slots: 1×PCI Express x16, 1×PCI Express x1, 1×PCI and 1×Memory card reader.

The operating system is Windows 7 Home Premium. Preinstalled software includes Norton Internet Security 2009, Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007, drivers and utilities, and Microsoft Works. Gateway is providing one-year warranty on its DX4300-15e.

Razzle Dazzle:

Gateway has used the same casing for the DX4300-1e like its other desktops. It is 16.2 inches tall, 7.1 inches wide and 16.3 inches deep and it weighs 25 lbs. Gateway DX4300-1e is well-suited for living room being a mid-tower computer. Its black plastic exterior gives a shining and attractive look. Moreover, the front upper row makes USB 2.0 ports and media card slots comfortable and easy to use.

Inside Dope:

We don’t care much about a TV tuner card in the computer; we’d rather have that money spent on a discrete graphics card or a faster processor. Usually you have to sacrifice on features if you go for a computer with a TV tuner card but this Gateway machine is an exception to this. But if you are not too keen on a TV tuner card we will recommend you not to go for this because you can find a faster PC in this price range elsewhere. But if you need a PC with TV tuner card, look no further and buy this machine.

Gateway DX4300-15e has to face tough competition from HP Pavilion p6320y because of the components are quite similar. Moreover, you will find less expensive desktops such as Gateway DX4831-01e and HP Pavilion p6310y with quite similar features such as quad-core or dual core processor, 1TB hard disk drivers, more upgrade options, multiple video outputs and 6-8GB RAM. Both the DX4300-15e and the Pavilion P6320y offers wireless networking. The Gateway model comes with an AverMedia H751 hybrid digital/analog TV tuner card.

Gateway DX4300-15e does not have the matching performance of $549 priced Gateway DX4831-01e. The DX4300-15e was slower on single application. Gateway DX4300-15e performed slower than HP Pavilion p6310y, p6320y, Gateway DX4831-01e and Asus CG5275-AR003 while working Apple iTunes and Adobe Photoshop. However, it succeeded over $599 priced HP Pavilion p6310y and p6320y in multitasking, but remains slower than Asus CG5275-AR003 and Gateway DX4831-01e.

In our tests, HP Pavilion p6310y and Gateway DX4300-15e were closer in performance. It means that you are paying $80 additional for TV tuner card and wireless capability for buying the DX4300-15e. It is a reasonable amount as per our assumption.

Gateway DX4300-1e features one HDMI video port that makes it well-defined for your living room. It is noteworthy that computer’s TV tuner card cannot decode few certain cable feeds. You will also get some upgrade options with the desktop. There is a free hard disk bay, one standard PCI slot and one PCI Express graphics card slot. We are disappointed that the power supply of 300 watt will restrict to add high-end 3D graphics hardware. Also, you cannot upgrade the RAM as all four RAM slots are already filled up.

You will get digital audio jacks, 7.1 analog audio ports, standard VGA and DVI video ports, numerous USB 2.0 ports and one HDMI port. Gateway DX4300-1e does not have any eSATA and FireWire ports. On the contrary, you will find these ports on low cost – Gateway DX4831-01e.

Having AMD processor and chipset, the annual power consumption of Gateway DX4300-1e is more than two Intel desktops. Due to its AMD Phenom II processor, the Gateway model has lower annual power consumption of $31.65 than $35.72 for HP Pavilion p6320y and $34.91 for the p6130y. The annual power consumption is more than $22.85 for Gateway DX4831-01e and $22 for Asus CG5275-AR003.

Gateway is providing one year warranty with 24/7 toll free number support with its DX4300-1e. You will also find online drivers and software for the desktop.

Nitty Gritty:

If you need TV tuner card with HDMI video output and good performance, then you can buy Gateway DX4300-1e.

The revolutionary design of game controller offers motion sensor gaming experience. Inbuilt Wi-Fi delivers free online game play and other services. Virtual Console has the best appeal. The Wii console is completely compatible with GameCube, its games and controllers. You will get inbuilt SD memory card slot for photo viewing and storage. Nintendo Wii has inbuilt Wii Sports game and it is best budget-friendly game console.

Thumbs Down:

The controller set discharges the batteries and needs some time for charging. The online community and gaming facilities are locked by “friends code”. You have to pay additionally for nunchuk controller. Nintendo Wii does not have latest surround sound and HD graphics, unlike the PS3 and the Xbox360. Need to place wired receiver near the TV for connecting with wireless controller. Unable to play DVDs and CDs.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Nintendo Wii is a game console which is powered by IBM PowerPC RISC processor and 512MB RAM. The video graphics card is ATI Hollywood. Input devices are remote control and joystick, which can be connected both wireless and wired. Both of them features inbuilt speakers rumble feedback and motion sensor.

The media type supported is Nintendo Wii and GameCube discs. The connectors of Nintendo Wii are: 2×USB, S-video output, Composite video output, Component video output, 4×game controllers and 4 pin USB Type A.

Nintendo Wii has one SD memory card slot and 2×Nitendo GameCube Memory card slots. Accessories supplied inside the package include composite A/V cable, nunchuk, power adapter, cradle, sensor bar, wireless controller and adapter and Wii Sports.

Razzle Dazzle:

Nintendo Wii is 1.75 inches tall, 6.25 inches wide and 8.5 inches thick and it weighs around 3.84 lbs. Its overall weight and measurement are like DVD players. Its initial mode is only available in bright white like that of iPod. The Wii console comes with a kickstand that can be used to stand the console either vertically or horizontally.

Inside Dope:

You will also agree that the new – Nintendo Wii is still the best selling gaming consoles for current generation. The company also knows that it has adventured off the crushed runway by launching its flagship model. Now, Sony PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are available at almost the same prices. Seeing that, the Nintendo has announced to drop off the cost up to $199.99, which is same for basic Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade.

There are some drawbacks in graphics area on this new game console, whereas both Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 accent their most liked graphics. However, it is normal as the Wii console is not a graphic power house. When Microsoft and Sony continue to use brand names and game pads containing directional pad, control stick and conventional buttons like their predecessors. On the contrary side, the Nintendo has oddly named its new player as Wii replacing previous name – GameCube. Moreover, the Wii console has game pad looking like TV remote. It will be noteworthy that Nintendo has added Wii MotionPlus to the arsenal of its Wii game console, which provides accurate motion control.

The drawbacks of adding new controller setup, odd name for console and poor power processing are some hits for the Nintendo Wii. Due to its day by day increasing popularity, it will be less available on the stores because it delivers different and strange motion sense gaming experience. Yes, it is not so powerful like others, but fun to play and enjoy.

Nintendo Wii comes with composite video/audio cables, but it does not supply HDMI cables. You have to purchase the HDMI cable separately for better HD video experience. Like Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii has a slot mechanism to accept Wii and GameCube discs without using any adapter.

Nintendo Wii has 512MB internal memory for storing Virtual Console titles, saved games and other data. It also has Secure Digital (SD) card slot for external storage that supports up to 2GB. Nintendo also released an update that allows Virtual Console and WiiWare games to directly play from SD card. We would prefer the manufacturer to increase the supported storage capacity of SD cards.

Nintendo Wii comes with Wii Sports that uses wireless controller as sporting input that allows us to mock-throw and swing for playing boxing, bowling, golf, tennis and baseball. This motion sense supports four players at once. Wii Sports seems a complete collection of five small games and provides fun play.

Nintendo Wii is very easy to setup with TV due to its simple design. The back panel has five ports: two USB ports, one sensor bar socket, one proprietary A/V port and power jack. You can simply plug the sensor bar and stand it on the top of TV. It is very easy to plug one end of video cable at back panel and other into TV. Now, you just have to plug the power adapter for starting the exciting gaming experience.

After setting up the hardware, you can power on Nintendo Wii and it will guide you through software setup wizard. For Wi-Fi connection setup, you will need encrypted code of local Wi-Fi connection. If you do not have any Wi-Fi wizard, then you can use the USB ports for network connection. The company is also saying to provide Ethernet adapter based on USB ports.

You have to perform the network (Wi-Fi) setup to access the WiiConnect24 service. It will allow downloading automatic updates, some gaming contents and even news and weather. Any new update or Nintendo’s message will indicate the blue light from disc slot. You can disable this notification in Preferences menu.

Nintendo Wii provides you the navigation through Wii Channels. The default channels include Mii channel, photo channel, message channel, news channel and weather forecast. Channel home page works as default gateway that provides access to games on discs and titles on Virtual consoles.

Mi Channel will allow creating your cartoon avatars, which you can also use on Wii Sports as player and on Message Channel. It is very easy to create and takes 6KB of storage. It allows you to create only 10 Mii avatars and use them on your friends Wii as well.

Photo Channel can show and edit pictures. The manufacturer claims that Nintendo Wii can be used to play MP3 music and QuickTime videos. The MP3 files only played during slideshow and we were not able to load QuickTime movie on the game console. You can load 1000 photos at a SD card and browse them individually in album view or in slideshow. It also has basic image editor.

Nintendo Wii cannot play video DVDs and audio CDs. The game console also does not have any inbuilt hard disk drive. As per the company, this omission was to low down the price. It also does not seem that manufacturer will bring any update on these issues.

The online facilities of Nintendo Wii has some online “Channels” that offers alternative to computer based Internet browsing. Moreover, you can send invitations to join other Wii console owners. After accepting, both of you can interact through Message Channel. However, this system is a bit difficult as compared to the Xbox Live. Nintendo also provides non-gaming applications like Internet Channel, Forecast and News channels.

You can use the Forecast Channel to get detailed weather report about any location. Functions of News Channel are same as that of Forecast Channel. This News Channel downloads stories from AP wire service. These stories come with accompanying photos and map of that particular location. The news is organized into different sections such as sports regional, international and national.

Nintendo Wii has Opera based browser in its Internet Channel. You can enter the URL from onscreen keyboard via Wiimote. It can load everything like Flash loaded YouTube, Hullu.com etc. You can zoom in and zoom out the Web pages. However, you have to pay for the downloading. Nintendo had recently added the USB keyboard support in the game console. So, you can use the keyboard as well for better browsing experience.

Virtual Console of Nintendo Wii offers a lot of online contents, but these downloadable titles are classic video games from past generations. It originally supports Turbografix-16, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, SNES and NES titles. Recently, the company had extended to access Neo-Geo titles. We appreciated the Nintendo to add new titles on every Monday.

You can easily shop and download games easily via Virtual Console. However, these games are purchased only through Wii points. You can use credit card to purchase the Wii points through Wii Shop or purchase these points from a major retailers. Moreover, if you have a Wii Points card then you can use it after entering its code. Downloaded Virtual Console games will be stored in SD card and appear as separate channels. As these games have inbuilt Wii network ID, so you cannot play them on your friend’s Wii console. More to your will, the company allows to download already purchased games if you loose your data or console. The purchasing system seems like Xbox Live one.

Virtual Console games of Nintendo Wii are similar to their respective original versions. Most of the classic gamers will enjoy it, but casual players might hope for better graphics. In addition, if you play the old school games on wide screen then it will look stretched. For resolving this problem, Nintendo has released a new firmware update.

Wii Sports on Nintendo Wii has inbuilt tutorial that works like starter guide. For setting up the wireless connection and controller, you have to put the sensor bar on top or at bottom of the TV. The sensor bar is very small and has light plastic with rectangle size. You have to connect this sensor bar using cable with back panel of the game console. Moreover, you can purchase separate Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar that works without wire.

There are inbuilt accelerometers inside the remote sense. It will control each action like swings in golf club and baseball bat. Wiimote is enough lightweight to result your small movements and controls. For better experience, it provides the audio and tactile feedback on your actions.

Wiimote also uses infrared sensors for determining the orientation of remote with regards to television. A collection of IR diodes with sensor bar serves as pointer for menu navigation and game control. After some practice, it will feel more natural than any analog stick. Moreover, it worked better than other traditional game console controllers.

You will also get a nunchuk device with Nintendo Wii, which can be plugged into Wiimote. You will found one analog stick as well as two buttons on it. It enhances the Wiimote functions almost in every game. This attachment also has motion sensors, so you can shake it and rock it for some actions. The manufacturer launched Zapper in the November 2009. You can use this plastic enclosure to club both nunchuk and remote for using as enclosure. The manufacturer will also launch some games to use this combination.

Wiimote uses AA batteries to supply the power to rumble module, speaker, Bluetooth radio, IR sensors, accelerometers, nunchuk and any other attachments.  Nintendo Wii does not come with any charger. So, you have to go for any third-party solution like Nyko Wii Charge Station. The company had also launched Wii MotionPlus attachment for better accuracy and motion control.

The biggest and most apparent appeal of Nintendo Wii is its motion sensor control for playing some specific games. The new releases of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wii Sports as well as various third-party traditional titles. The Wii console is also completely compatible to previous GameCube console and has four inbuilt controllers and memory card slots for GameCube.

The processing performance of Nintendo is not good, even though it is powered by Nitendo GameCube processor. While Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 have HD outputs of 1080p, the Wii only provides 480p output like GameCube. Some of the games still need to be optimized for wide screens. Wii also does not include latest surround sound and still sticking with Dolby Pro-Logic II matrix surround sound of GameCube. If you need an eye-candy game console and choose Xbox 360 or PS3, then you will have to extend your budget for highly expensive price tag.

Now, you have to make the decision whether you need Nintendo Wii or not. If you need next generation gaming console with HD graphics, Wii is not sufficient. The company does not focus to lead the market; it is only concerned about innovative and fun gaming in budget. Nintendo Wii has exciting virtual-cum-real controls and motion sensor – Wiimote and nunchuk. It also offers Virtual Consoles, Wii Channel, Internet capabilities and compatibility to GameCube.

Nitty Gritty:

Nintendo Wii does not have advanced surround sound and graphics features of Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360. If you cannot afford highly expensive game consoles from Sony and Microsoft; and like to have latest gaming experience in budget, then you can buy Nintendo Wii. We are sure that it will not disappoint you. It is also noteworthy that Nintendo will release several other updates for improving its gaming experience.

Above-average performance; perfect higher ISO levels output; fast Live View auto-focus; large and tilting LCD display.

Thumbs Down:

Awkward design for shooting through optical viewfinder; no video recording; poor color accuracy; Live View only gives 90% coverage.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 is a 14.2-megapixel digital SLR camera with Live View. It has Exmor CMOS of 14,600,000 pixels resolution that features dust reduction and anti-dust coating. The light sensitivity levels are ISO Auto (200-1600) and ISO 200-12800. Shooting programs include Night Portrait, Portrait mode, Sports mode, Landscape, Sunset and Macro. The maximum shutter speed is 1/4000 second and minimum is 30 second. The X-sync speed is 1/160 second.

3 inches LCD display is of folding type and has a resolution of 921,000 pixels. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has optical eye-level penta-dach mirror viewfinder. Its field coverage is 95% with 0.8x magnification. Its dioptric correction range is -2.5 to +1.

Shooting programs are Black & White, Landscape, Portrait, Neutral, Sunset and Vivid. The exposure range is EV 2-20 (ISO 100) with 40 exposure metering zones. Exposure compensation is ±2EV range in 1/3 EV steps. Auto exposure bracketing is 3 steps in 1/3 or 2/3 EV steps. The exposure modes include Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, Automatic, Program, Manual and Bulb.

White balance is of three types: Automatic, Presets and Custom. Its presets include Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade and Flash. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 features SteadyShote INSIDE Optical Image Stabilization, pop-up flash and white balance bracketing.

Zoom lens has a focal length of 18-55mm with an aperture of F/3.5-5.6 DT SAM that provides 3x optical zoom. The auto-focus is TTL phase detection with nine auto-focus points. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has Minolta A-type lens mounting system, 55mm filter and Smooth Auto-focus Meter (SAM).

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has pop-up flash with 12 guide number that features Wireless off-camera control, Flash exposure bracketing, Flash +/- compensation and AF illuminator. Flash modes include Red-eye reduction, Rear curtain sync, Flash OFF mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode and Auto mode.

The still image formats are RAW+JPEG, JPEG and RAW. The image storage resolution options are 2288×1280, 2288×1520, 3344×1872, 3344×2224, 4592×2576 and 4592×3056. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has Hot shoe for flash terminal and self timer delay of 10 second and 2 second.

The additional features of Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 are Automatic display brightness adjustment, Camera orientation detection, Smile Detection technology, Display brightness control, RGB primary color filter, Highlight point display, Dynamic Range Optimizer, Digital tele-converter, Digital noise reduction, Digital image rotation, USB 2.0 compatibility, Shadow point display, PRINT Image Matching, Eye-Start AF system, Built-in help guide, Saturation control, Quick AF Live View, PictBridge support, LCD live view mode, Exif Print support, Sharpness control, Histogram display, Contrast control, Date/time stamp, Face detection, Auto HDR mode, Direct print, DPOF support, AF lock and AE lock.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has two connectors: 1×USB and 1×HDMI output; and two slots: 1×SD memory card and 1×Memory Stick PRO Duo. The software inside the included disc are Sony Image Data Converter, Sony Picture Motion Browser, Sony Image data Lightbox SR and drivers & utilities.

Supported operating systems are Microsoft Windows 2000/XP SP2/Vista and Apple Mac OS X 10.1.3 or later. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has one Sony NP-FM500H lithium ion battery. Accessories supplied inside the package include DSLR camera, battery, power adapter, USB cable, lens cap, dust cap, body cap, shoulder strap, software & drivers disc, and user manual.

Razzle Dazzle:

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 is 4.1 inches tall, 5.4 inches wide and 3.3 inches deep and it weighs around 1.3 lbs (22.9 ounces). It is heavier than the A500 and A380. The Alpha DSLR-A550 has full height grip. The overall plastic housing gives a cheap feel while taking in hands. Sony hasn’t made good usage of a spacious body, its has affixed numerous labels and extra buttons.

Inside Dope:

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 comes in two different kits: body only version for $949.99 and another with 18mm-55mm lens for $1049.99. The DSLR-A550 has larger sensor resolution and faster burst option than its sibling, the A500. However, its resolution is similar to that of the A900 and the A700. While testing, we felt that Smart Teleconverter feature of digital zoom was useless.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 seems to be designed only for LCD based shooting instead of viewfinder shooting. The viewfinder exhibits the image stabilization status bar to show the closeness of objects and also indicates the manual focus mode of lens. In addition, it also shows the focus indicators like large boxes instead of tiny dots by some viewfinders of dSLR cameras. On the dark side, the viewfinder does not display the basic settings like ISO sensitivity levels. It has small size and low magnification. The LCD glass is enough smudge prone to attract the fingerprints and cheek prints. LCD display extends out from the camera’s body like an eye-cup, so you have to choke up your face for better view. However, the screen will attract the cheek-prints.

Usually dSLR cameras place the controls on the top right for easy access by your forefinger. On the contrary, the controls are closely located on the back of Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 where you cannot reach your forefinger or thumb. You have to lower down the camera to access these buttons. We think that Sony is treating the DSLR-A550 as a cheap camera so it does not place the control wisely.

You can press the Fn button at the back of Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 to access various options including Creative Styles, DRO/Auto HDR, white balance, flash compensation, metering, ISO levels, auto-focus area, auto-focus mode, flash settings and drive mode. However, the navigation switch is flat and does not give any feedback on pressing.

You can tilt the LCD display of Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 for shooting at different odd angles. However, it does have flexible design like flip and twist LCD. You will like the fast Live View auto-focus and MF Check LV mode that magnifies focus area and adjust the exposure. The Live View displays 90% of a scene, whereas the MF Check shows 100%.

The Hand-held Twilight mode of Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has Auto HDR variation. It captures two sequential snapshots at different exposures and then combines both of them to make single shot containing optimum shadow detail and highlight. You can manually select the bracket amounts up to 3 stops in auto or in 1.5-stop increments. This mode is limited to two shots only and does not give ample options. It combines the result of two shots and saves them as JPEG. It works better for extended dynamic range than Sony Dynamic Range Optimizer. The complete automatic setting does not allow changing the ISO levels. The shot-to-shot performance also affected on processing and saving the image.

There is a Speed Priority Continuous Advance mode in Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. It fixes the exposure and focus adjustment on first shot and gives up for the rest shots to provide the 7fps frame rate. However, this mode has some disadvantages also such as the object should remain always moving either on a fixed distance or beyond the infinity focus distance. Moreover, the lighting should be consistent on the object for this mode.

The time from power on to first shoot is 0.4 second. Time to focus and shoot is 0.3 seconds in good light and 0.7 second in dim light. The sequential two shots take 0.7 second and 0.9 second with flash. The burst shooting speed goes to 4.3fps (frames per second).

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 and its cheaper sibling, the A380, have same 14.2-megapixel resolution. It is much better than the 12.3-megapixel optical sensor of Nikon D90. Comparatively, Canon EOS 50D has 15.1-megapixel optical CMOS. However, the Exmore sensor of the A550 gives more clear images on all ISO levels than optical CCD sensor. The pictures are clean, sharp and have great exposure at ISO 400. The A550 provides good picture quality with little image noise at ISO 800. The pictures starts to have mush up at ISO 1600, but the very detailed photos are usable even at ISO 3200. There is an increase in noise suppression from ISO 6400 and above. You can use ISO 6400 and above levels in emergency. However, the picture at ISO 6400 is clearer than that on the A850 and A900. The images at ISO 12800 are only good for small viewing and print size.

The Creative Style provides poor over-saturation and color accuracy. However, you cannot predict the output whether it will be natural or equivalent. In addition, the Sony Image Data Converter SR does not inform about the sharpness, saturation and contrast settings. The raw versions of files were more accurate for A380 than the A550. The inbuilt software does not have any option to replicate or replace Creative Style settings.

Nitty Gritty:

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 offers poor color rendering and awkward design; still it offers good performance and midsection noise profile. If you want to be a Live View shooter and do not care about its awkward design, then you can buy this camera. However, we will recommend you to check other cameras in its class before making any decision.

Great support, pricing policies and best service; powerful gaming and multitasking performance.

Thumbs Down:

Mammoth notebook having small touchpad and keyboard; fingerprint prone surface; low speaker performance.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Mailbal is pronounced as mal-la-bull. Malabal Veda series laptop is powered by 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 processor and NVIDIA MCP79 chipset. The RAM is 4GB DDR3 SDRAM and can be upgraded up to 8GB. The Veda series notebook has 320GB SATA hard drive, integrated 3-megapixel camera and 8x DVD±RW (±R DL)/DVD-RAM optical drive. The operating system is Windows Vista Home Premium.

Malibal Veda series has 18.4 inches LCD display of WUXGA 1920×1200 pixels resolution. It has dual graphics card of 512 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280, a sound card, network adapter, Bluetooth Antenna and wireless antenna. Its network adapter supports networking standards of Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet. Supported wireless networking standards are Bluetooth 2.1 EDR and IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft).

The interfaces of Malibal Veda series notebook are 1×IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 1×Network – Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T – RJ-45, 1×Audio – SPDIF output, 1×Audio – Line-in – Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, 1×Microphone – Input – Mini-phone 3.5 mm, 1×Audio – Line-out/headphones – Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, 1×Storage – eSATA-300 – 7 pin external Serial ATA, 3×Hi-Speed USB – 4 pin USB Type A, 1×Display / video – DVI-Analog/Digital and 1× Display / video – HDMI – 19 pin HDMI Type A.

Malibal Veda series has two slots – 2×Memory – SO DIMM 204-pin and 1×ExpressCard/54. The notebook has 4650mAH lithium ion battery. The manufacturer is providing one year limited parts-and-labor warranty.

Razzle Dazzle:

Malibal Veda series laptop is 1.7 inches tall, 17.3 inches wide and 11.8 inches deep. It weighs around 13.1 pounds and 16.1 pounds with power adapter. Despite of atrocious dimensions and size, the notebook look good. There is no branding on the laptop’s body.

Laptop’s lid has tribal tattoo like design. With lightings, it resembles Christmas tree. The touch-sensitive keys; touch pad, palm rest, keyboard surroundings, and lid are covered with black colored glossy plastic. All these parts work as fingerprint magnet to capture the smudges and fingerprint even on gentle touch.

Inside Dope:

Malibal is the famous laptop builder, especially in building notebooks that can be used as desktop replacement. It is not manufacturing the ultra-portable mainstream models like other competitors. Its new Veda series has large size, with prominent 18.4 inches LCD display. The company is offering various configuration options on different prices starting from $2272. Our test model costs around $5242 and it had Core 2 Quad QX9300 processor, 8GB DDR3 RAM and dual graphics card of Nvidia GeForce GTX280M. We agree that the core components are the best in the market, still the company has to focus on the design of Veda series.

All Malibal laptops are designed by OEM/ODM Clevo. Malibal only takes credits for numerous component offerings, laptop assembly, without risk purchase policy, pricing, warranty, support and service. Malibal Veda series notebook has a touch sensitive key located above keyboard. It allows cycling from different colors. You can also set this key to rotate from colors in every few seconds and turn off colors permanently.

Magnanimous 18.4 inches wide LCD display of Malibal Veda series has 1920×1080 pixels resolution. The company has set a standard by selecting this large screen. The display is made up of GlassView glossy panel, still performed very well from different wide view angles. Its produces rich colors and good contrast on all angles. You will find 3-megapixel camera located above the screen.

Malibal Veda series laptop has inbuilt five speakers and a subwoofer. We tested both speakers and Webcam. The Webcam worked well, but we disappointed from the speaker’s performance. We did not receive good quality sound. Therefore, we will recommend you to plug in external speakers or headphones at S/PDIF output port for good sound quality.

Audio input/output sockets, eSATA/USB2.0 combo port, and one USB 2.0 port are located on the right side. You will also get one RF-input for connecting external tuner. All other ports are located on the left side.

Malibal Veda series is offering various configuration options on different price range starting from $2272. The starting price model offers Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53GHz, dual graphics cards from Nvidia, 2GB DDR3 RAM, DVD burner and 250 GB hard drive, but it does not have any operating system.

Our test had Core 2 Quad Extreme 2.53GHz processor, dual 512MB Nvidia GeForce GTX280M graphics cards, three 80GB solid-state drives and 8GB DDR3 RAM. This configuration model performed well while testing. However, AVADirect Clevo D900F with Core i7 Extreme Quad Core 3.33GHz processor performed much better than the Malibal Veda series in our test.

Still, Malibal Veda series performed better than other notebooks such as Alienware M17x, Gateway P-7808u, Asus W90VP-X1 and iBuyPower M865TU while working on Adobe Photoshop and Apple iTunes.

Annual power consumption of Malibal Veda series laptop (Core 2 Quad, 8GB RAM) is $39.38. Its battery life is 58 minutes for continuous video playback. It is not worthy to expect large battery life from such a high performance orientated notebook. You can buy extra battery for $135, but it is worthless as you have to play with screws to change the battery. We would prefer the company to provide such external battery that can be attached to laptop without opening the laptop.

Malibal is providing one-year limited labors-and-part warranty with Veda series. The company is also providing 30 days money back guarantee, but check, money order, bank wire, or Paypal charges will be deducted. You can purchase two-year and three year service plans for $149 and $269 respectively. Technical support is U.S. based and available via toll free number from 9AM to 9PM EST. 24/7 online chat support is also available. The company has published online knowledge base, drivers and utilities for the Veda series on its website.

Nitty Gritty:

If you want to leave the huge desktops and can afford the extensive price tag, then you can purchase this new Malibal Veda series notebook.

High video quality and good performance; geo-tagging videos; compact design.

Thumbs Down:

Sticky control layout; no audio controls, iris and manual shutter speed; no wind filter and SD card slot; expensive price tag.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Sony HDR-CX500V is 1080i camcorder that features 150x digital zoom, Steady Shot Optical Image stabilization, digital photo shooting mode, wide-screen video capture and inbuilt flash. The CX500V has 32GB internal memory and one Memory Stick PRO Duo slot. It has 1/2.8” Exmor-R CMOS optical sensor of 6.631-megapixel resolution. The still effective resolution is 6-megapixel and video effective resolution is 4.15-megapixel. Maximum shutter speed is 1/725 second and minimum is 1/8 second.

Sony HDR-CX500V has 3-inch touch-screen LCD display that has a resolution of 230,000 pixels. It also works are rotating viewfinder. The CX500V also has inbuilt microphone with zoom feature.

The shooting programs of Sony HDR-CX500V includes Twilight portrait, Twilight mode, Portrait mode, Spotlight, Landscape, Fireworks, Sunrise, Sunset, Beach and Snow. Digital scene transition is of two types: White fader and Black fader. The exposure modes include Automatic and Programs.

Zoom lens has a focal length of 5.5-66mm with an aperture of F/1.8-3.4 that provides 12x optical zoom. Sony HDR-CX500V has 37mm filter and inbuilt lens shield. Zoom adjustment is motorized drive and focus adjustment is both Automatic and Manual.

The additional features of Sony HDR-CX500V includes Dolby Digital 5.1 channel recording, Lox Lux/Night Mode/ Smile Detection Auto Shutter, Dynamic Range Optimizer, USB 2.0 compatibility, Touch-screen control, Accessories hot shoe, Face detection and inbuilt GPS.

Sony HDR-CX500V has six connectors including Remote Control, 1×S video output, 1×HDMI output, 1×Component video output, 1×USB, 1×composite video/audio output. The camcorder has one Sony NP-FH60 lithium ion rechargeable battery. Supported operating systems are Microsoft Windows 2000, XP and Vista.

Sony is providing 90 days limited labors-and-parts warranty and one-year limited parts warranty with its HDR-CX500V. Accessories supplied inside the package are USB cable, A/V cable, component A/V cable, drivers and utilities disc, battery, power adapter and infrared remote control.

Razzle Dazzle:

Sony HDR-CX500V is 2.6 inches tall, 2.5 inches wide and 5.4 inches deep and it weighs around 15.8 ounces. Both the CX500V and the CX520V has the same size and shape. Despite of large lens, the CX500V is relatively light and small. The HDR-CX500V has well-constructed and solid body and feels comfortable while shooting.

Inside Dope:

Sony HDR-CX500V and CX520V have better features than their siblings HDR-XR500V and XR520V. Both of them have different control panel layout and user interface as compared to its predecessors. Sony HDR-CX500V and HDR-CX520V has same features and design, but only differs by inbuilt hard-drive and their price tag. The CX500V includes 32GB hard-drive that costs $999.99, whereas the CX520V has 64GB that costs $1299.99. Sony’s another model HDR-CX550V has different lens, audio slots and electronic viewfinder as compared to CX500V and CX520V. The HDR-CX550V will give tough competition to Panasonic HDC-TM700 as both have EVF in $1000 price-range.

Sony HDR-CX500V has 3 inches touch-screen LCD display. You can use the finger tap for record and zoom options. GPS switch, disc burn, Night Shot, playback and power buttons are located on the corners of LCD display. You will find USB connector, Memory Stick Duo slot and mini-HDMI connector located behind a cover.

The manual dial sits on the back of Sony HDR-CX500V and you can operate it using left hand. You can hold it down for selecting white balance presets, AE shift, Exposure and Focus. The manual dial is tight that makes it slow to respond. On the dark side, LCD will be blocked when you are operating the dial.

The photo and zoom buttons sits on the top of Sony HDR-CX500V. Zoom control is a well balanced and easy to use button. 5.1 channel mic is located in the front and accessory shoe sits underneath a sliding door. We liked the touch and release option for recording. However, we did not like to hold down the touch screen for zooming in and out.

You can add or remove six menu options on a custom pop-up menu that appears even before entering the menu listing. We appreciated the Sony to remove confusing Options and Home menus. However, we disappointed for endless and straightforward scrolling through menu list.

Sony HDR-CX500V has GPS support with in-camera geo-tagging of photos and videos, and inbuilt antenna. The company licenses NAVTEQ Class 4 map data to provide inbuilt maps and links for GPS satellites. It is worth to mention that map data and geo-tagging is not available for all locations. Moreover, you can use geo data to display all videos on a selected map location. On the dark side, the Class 4 data does not cover all the landmarks and street names. It can only mark museums and galleries, but cannot mark parks. The video editing options at the computer are also limited. Sony has manufactured a sidecar file to store the metadata information and these files can only be read by included Picture Motion Browser software.

Sony HDR-CX500V has some mode options. Its Smooth Slow Record allows recoding the slow-motion capture. The SSR mode is not usable in low light. It provided dark and muddy slow motion footage while testing. The other option is Sony Infrared Night Shot mode. Both the CX500V and the CX520V has capability to down-convert to MPEG2 for direct to DVD transfers and up-convert 60p playback while connecting to TV via HDMI. It also has Face Touch for face detection. These three features are upgrade over their predecessors XR500 and XR520.

Like XR versions, Sony HDR-CX500V and the CX520V continue to have same 12x G-series zoom lens and back-illuminated Exmor-R sensor. They also have Active SteadyShot image stabilization and produce steady video even on the fully extended lens. We would expect that focus and exposure rates were fast. On a contradiction, both were slow in indoor dim light, but quick responsive in normal and bright light.  The automatic exposure was looking little dark, especially in indoor backlit lighting. It was same even with spot exposure or auto backlight correction. The auto-exposure and AF were quick, but most of the AF modes are confused between background and foreground objects. The LCD screen is smaller and has low resolution as compared to XR models. We did not like the LCD performance while adjusting touch and manual focus.

The video quality of Sony HDR-CX500V is overall good. It is very sharp in bright light and there is no significant aberration and fringing in low light. The color rendering and automatic white balance are good. There is some visual noise in low light, which is normal for the camcorders in its class. On the dark side, there are visible rolling edges with de-interlaced playback. You can also notice fur like mushy look at details when zoom is not in close position.

The Low Lux mode of Sony HDR-CX500V is better than low light modes. It provides brighter picture with increased image noise as compared to standard mode. However, there is a bit de-saturation without any slow-shutter speed artifacts. It provides shadow reproduction, mid-tone and saturated colors for better sharpness.

The mic recording and audio sound for Sony HDR-CX500V are good. The still image quality was also good as per 12-megapixel resolution. These photos looked mushy and over-processed, but still good for prints up to 8×10.

Nitty Gritty:

If you are looking for high video quality on compact camcorders and do not need audio jacks and electronic viewfinder, then you can go for Sony HDR-CX500V or CX520V. The internal memory is overpriced, so the CX500V is better choice. Both of them are expensive than models from Canon and Panasonic. We will recommend you to check the CX550V, Panasonic and Canon models also before making any final decision.

LG Lotus Elite has fashionable design, numerous multimedia and excellent features, full QWERTY keyboard and external touch screen on the lid. The Elite also offers impressive call quality.

Thumbs Down:

LG Lotus Elite has similar features as its predecessor. The photo and speakerphone call quality needs to be improved.

Inside the Trunk:

Technology: CDMA2000 1X
Band: CDMA2000 1X 1900/800
Phone Design: Folder type
Caller ID: Yes
Other Features: EV-DO Rev. 0. support, Bluetooth, 2-megapixel camera, Touch-screen, micro-SD card slot and GPS.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

LG Lotus Elite has Google Android as operating system. It has 2.4-inch touch screen external display of 240×320 pixels that supports 18-bit (262,000) colors. Another 2.4 inch internal display has same resolution. The Elite is using the Sprint Nextel as service provider.

There is a 2-megapixel camera that works as both still camera and camcorder. The still image storage resolution options are 320×240, 640×480, 1280×960 and 1600×1200. In addition the video recording resolution options are 128×96, 176×144 and 320×240. The music player supports AAC+, MP3 and AAC format sounds.

The features of Lotus Elite include speakerphone, voice dialing, microSD card slot, GPS/A-GPS, touch-screen display, EV-DO Rev. 0. support, Web browser and instant messengers. The Elite also supports Web mails including Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, Gmail, AIM Mail and AOL Mail. It has inbuilt Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and AIM. The Elite also has support for Outlook Web Access (OWA) to access any OWA-enabled company’s account.

LG Lotus Elite has 1000mAH lithium ion battery that has a life of 354 minutes of talk time and 389 hours of idle standby time.

Razzle Dazzle:

LG Lotus Elite has the same fashionable design of its predecessor. It is 2.44 inches tall, 3.43 inches wide and 0.75 inch deep and it weighs around 4.76 ounces. The Lotus Elite has curvier and sleeker body than original Lotus. It has rounded corners and chromed shining details on its borders. The Elite has solid construction and flexible joints. Elite phone comes in red color with capricious floral tattoo, which looks sexy.

Inside Dope:

LG Lotus Elite is the successor to the previous Lotus which we saw in 2008. The Elite has the same square design, but it is sleeker than its predecessor. The Lotus Elite has touch-screen external display on the lid, so that you can access most of the functions without opening the phone. A lot of the features are same in the original Lotus and new Elite. LG Lotus Elite costs around $99.99 with two-year agreement from Sprint after mail-in rebate of $50. At CES 2010, the Elite phone had been nominated for “Best of CES” awards in “cell phones” category.

The biggest improvement in LG Lotus Elite is its 2.4-inch touch-screen external display, which is big and takes a lot of space on small phone. It has a resolution of 320×240 pixels that supports 262,000 colors. The touch screen is resistive, not capacitive and also it isn’t doesn’t respond quickly like Apple iPhone or Nexus One.

The external display shows animated wallpaper instead of showing standard wallpaper like most cell phones. It shows the indicators of signal strength, date/time and battery life and also gives messages or missed call alerts. You can customize the external display to access contacts list, recent call history, speed dial contacts, photo gallery, slide show of pictures, and messages. You can swipe the finger horizontally on the screen to go through above options. In addition, external display also works as camera viewfinder. You can also select its screen saver and adjust the touch-screen accuracy. Overall, the external touch screen is very intuitive and easy to use.

Charger jack, volume rocker and 2.5mm headset jack sits on the left side. Whereas, the micro-SD card slot, screen lock key and camera button are located on the right side. You will find a metal loop on the back to tie the cell phone with included reddish leather strap. You can flip open the phone and see the camera located on the right hinge. When the LG Lotus Elite is closed, the same camera lens will appear on upper left rear of the phone. As a result, you can use the internal display for self-portrait.

2.4-inch internal display of the LG Lotus Elite has the same resolution and colors of the external one, but internal display is not a touch-screen. It has Sprint OneClick interface of center carousel of tile shaped shortcuts on the bottom row of home screen. This allows use to access phone functions including account details, Yahoo Mail, Google Menu for Gmail, YouTube and Google Search, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Sprint Navigation and messages. You can add and remove the shortcuts from this carousel.

In the LG Lotus Elite you can adjust the applications, dial digits, notepad, browser, message font size, backlight time and brightness. You can also take photo IDs for unknown contacts, private phone numbers, unsaved phone numbers and usual contacts. Main menu can be adjusted in list view or grid view.

You will find the spacious navigation controls underneath display and hinge. It consists of Talk button, End/Power key, Back button, speakerphone key, four-way rectangular toggle with center OK/Menu key and two soft keys. All these keys are flat except toggle, Back and speakerphone buttons.

You will find three dedicated shortcut keys for Text, Email and Shortcut. You can map the Social key to launch any social network application between MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. The Text key will take to new text message and Email key loads the email inbox.

The QWERTY keyboard is located underneath the shortcut keys. All the keyboard buttons are spacious and raised over the surface for easy and quick typing. The numeric keys have orange color highlights and the space bar has larger size than other keys.

LG Lotus Elite can store 1000 contacts in its phonebook. Each contact can save six phone numbers, three email address, memo, URL, Instant Messenger username, street address, birthday, job title and company name. You can divide the contacts into groups and pair them with one ring-tone and photo for the caller ID.

The features of LG Lotus Elite include stop watch, 33 polyphonic ring-tones, world clock, notepad, calculator, calendar, alarm clock, speakerphone and vibrate mode. The additional features are mobile Web browser, stereo Bluetooth, document viewer, voice memo recorder, voice dialing, A-GPS, voice command, wireless backup service and USB mass storage device. The Elite also supports Sprint Family Navigator and Sprint Navigation for GPS.

The messaging features are main forefront for LG Lotus Elite. It includes POP3/IMAP4/SMTP emails, text and multimedia messaging, and instant messengers. The Elite also supports Web mails including Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, Gmail, AIM Mail and AOL Mail. The Lotus Elite has inbuilt Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and AIM. It also has support for Outlook Web Access (OWA) to access any OWA-enabled company’s account. You can also signup with Sprint Mobile Email Personal Account to configure the Microsoft Exchange account.

LG Lotus Elite has EV-DO Rev 0. support to access Sprint mobile broadband services. It has Sprint Music to download/purchase songs, Sprint Radio to access streamed audio, Sprint Movie for pay per view access to movies and Sprint TV for on-demand live shows. The inbuilt music player resembles the interface of Sprint Music Store. The features of music player are transfer of songs via USB, create/edit play-lists, repeat and shuffle modes, and capability to run music player in background. You can store additional tracks on micro-SD card.

LG Lotus Elite has 2-megapixel camera that can take pictures in three quality settings and four resolutions. The camera has settings for four-shutter sounds plus silent option, night mode, self timer, 4x zoom, nine fun frames, six white balance presets, two brightness levels and four color tones. It also has a camcorder to record videos of short length or as per memory card space. You can record videos in three quality settings and three resolutions. The other options of camcorder are same as still camera. The photo quality is not good as the images look blurry and colors seems muted.

You can personalize LG Lotus Elite with screensavers and wallpapers. More options, alert sounds and ring-tones are available at Sprint mobile store for download. The Elite has few applications and games including Social Zone, NFL Mobile Live, NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile, Frogger Evolution, and demo versions of Minigolf Las Vegas 4 Prizes and Family Feud.

We made some calls through LG Lotus Elite via Sprint network for testing. The overall call quality was good and impressive. We received loud, clear and natural sound at our end without distortion. The callers also received same quality of sound at their end without static or background noise. However, some callers told that we sounded robotic or machine like just for few seconds. The speakerphone call quality was poor. We sounded muffled at their end even we spoke closely to microphone. Also, we received tinny sound at our end.

We also played some music and tested EV-Do speeds. The music quality over the speakers was not good. The audio quality was overall thin and tinny. We would recommend you for using headset to get better audio sounds. The video from Sprint TV was good and has little buffering time. Moreover, 1.5MB song downloaded in 30 seconds from Sprint Music.

LG Lotus Elite has a battery life of 16.25 days of idle standby time and 5.9 hours of talk time. The digital SAR is 1.2 watts as per FCC radiation tests.

Nitty Gritty:

LG Lotus Elite has stylish and striking design. It delivers great performance and excellent messaging features. If you need a fashionable messaging phone and do not mind the speakerphone or photo quality, then you can purchase the new – LG Lotus Ellite.