hn battery

Intel has been pretty good about making sure the higher-end Core i5 and Core i7 processors are on the market, and those are all grand and good, but what about those looking for something a little cheaper and mid-range? Well, it looks like HP is on the ball, and has three new laptops coming with the Core i3 processor. This is great, as the HP Pavilion dv7t, the Pavilion dv6t, and the Pavilion dv4i all recieve the option of Core i3. Even better, just for those who care, all three of these are already on sale on LogicBuy. Follow the links to get in on them!

It happens every day. You hit the power button on your laptop and you wait. First it seems like nothing is happening. The screen is black, but your power light is on and you hear low whirring noises. Then you see the logo of the laptop manufacturer and some text. You continue to wait as the screen goes black again, and then you hear more mysterious whirring noises. Finally, you see the Windows logo that tells you your operating system is still booting.

This slow and confusing preboot period occurs when the system’s BIOS (basic input/output system) performs a POST (power on self test) and can last for 10 seconds or more, dramatically increasing overall start times. On our tests over the past couple of years, notebook start times took an average of 55 to 66 seconds, across all the major Windows and Mac systems we tested.

Even so called “instant-on” operating systems like DeviceVM’s Splashtop and Google’s upcoming Chrome OS cannot begin loading until the BIOS has completed its POST.

“In the ’90s, people were complaining that BIOSes took a minute [to POST]. So there was a big push from Microsoft and the BIOS makers to start getting down to 10 or 15 seconds,” said Brian Richardson, senior technical marketing engineer at American Megatrends, a leading BIOS vendor. “Now people are used to turning on the TiVo that instantly has that program from last night, and they want that experience on their computers.”

Fortunately, the push for faster start-ups continues. BIOS manufacturers and notebook vendors are hard at work cutting the POST time down to a second or less

Lenovo is not only refreshing their current notebook lineup this year, but they have just announced an all-new Thinkpad; the Edge. This notebook is designed to be a cross between a small-business and consumer notebook, adding a spark of color and style not really seen in current ThinkPads. The biggest change that people will notice besides the glossy top is the completely redesigned Chiclet-style keyboard. In this review we look at the new 13-inch ThinkPad Edge and see how well it stacks up to previous ThinkPad models FRU 92P1141  , FRU 92P1137 , .

Our 13-inch Lenovo ThinkPad Edge Specifications:

Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 (1.3GHz, 800MHz FSB, 3MB Cache)
13.3″ 1366 x 768 WXGA Glossy Display
Intel X4500M Integrated Graphics
4GB DDR3 RAM (2GB x 2)
320GB Fujitsu 5400RPM Hard Drive
Intel 6250AGN+WiMax, Bluetooth 2.0, Gobi 2000 WWAN
Built-in web camera
6-cell 11.25v 63Wh Battery
Dimensions: (LxWxH) 8.9 x 12.6 x 0.5″ - 1.4″
Weight: 3lbs 14.4oz
MSRP: $549 starting, $899 as configured

Perhaps one of the most interesting products to come out of the first day of this year’s IFA electronics fair in Berlin is Toshiba’s JournE Internet and multimedia tablet.

The lightweight device sports a 7-inch touch screen and Wi-Fi connection for quick access to the Web and popular social networking and sharing applications like Facebook, Flickr, MSN Messenger and Picasa. It also has a media player for viewing pictures, listening to music and watching videos. But the best thing about it might be the price: €249 (US$356), which is considerably less than many competing products.

But what’s it like to use? Toshiba has several demonstration models on its IFA booth and I took it for a test drive.

When the device is first switched on it takes a few seconds for the Windows Embedded OS to boot up and a Windows desktop momentarily appears before being replaced by a much smarter looking page that was developed by Toshiba. It has 15 icons per page in three rows of five with each providing a shortcut to an application or service.

Performance was unfortunately difficult to evaluate because of the slow wireless connection at the Toshiba booth. The device is supposed to provide a gateway to Internet services so a slow connection gives an appearance of sluggishness but a few times the connection appeared to speed up and at those points the device felt faster.

It’s relatively light at 450 grams so doesn’t really become tiring to hold. It’s 14 millimeters thick, which is about the same as a cell phone.

The prototype offered access to several sites including The Weather Channel. Accessing that site required input of a city name and provided a chance to use the on-screen keyboard, which takes up about a third of the screen when it appears and is big enough to finger type without hitting neighboring keys.

Toshiba is playing down the detailed specifications of the device and its operating system saying they’re not the point. It’s supposed to be orientated around Internet services so the underlying hardware shouldn’t really matter, be it Windows Embedded or another OS. Toshiba chose Windows Embedded because it has a wide range of applications available. However, future models might be based on other software, hinted Marco Perino, general manager of EMEA digital products and services at Toshiba.

One of the desktop buttons has direct access to a Toshiba Store where the company is planning to offer free and pay content and widgets for the device, Perino said. There’s already a wide range of Windows Embedded software available so the store should fill up fast with applications, he said.

Perino is keen to get services like the BBC’s iPlayer streaming and on-demand TV service on the device. It’s starting out as a gadget to provide Internet access in the living room perhaps while people are watching TV, but with access to iPlayer or other national equivalents it would also become a gateway to on-demand and live TV entertainment.

Like many smartphone makers, Toshiba has done much to disguise the old-fashioned Windows user interface but Windows dialog boxes do pop up a few times. They’ll be gone when it ships in Europe later this year, Perino said.

And that probably is going to be the key to the success of the JournE touch. The price is right but if the user interface is slick and smooth enough then it will satisfy the needs of most people for casual Internet access and multimedia and could become a hit. If the interface is excessively difficult to use or bogged-down in Windows dialog boxes and other quirks then users might stay away.

Perhaps one of the most interesting products to come out of the first day of this year’s IFA electronics fair in Berlin is Toshiba’s JournE Internet and multimedia tablet.

The lightweight device sports a 7-inch touch screen and Wi-Fi connection for quick access to the Web and popular social networking and sharing applications like Facebook, Flickr, MSN Messenger and Picasa. It also has a media player for viewing pictures, listening to music and watching videos. But the best thing about it might be the price: €249 (US$356), which is considerably less than many competing products.

But what’s it like to use? Toshiba has several demonstration models on its IFA booth and I took it for a test drive.

When the device is first switched on it takes a few seconds for the Windows Embedded OS to boot up and a Windows desktop momentarily appears before being replaced by a much smarter looking page that was developed by Toshiba. It has 15 icons per page in three rows of five with each providing a shortcut to an application or service.

Performance was unfortunately difficult to evaluate because of the slow wireless connection at the Toshiba booth. The device is supposed to provide a gateway to Internet services so a slow connection gives an appearance of sluggishness but a few times the connection appeared to speed up and at those points the device felt faster.

It’s relatively light at 450 grams so doesn’t really become tiring to hold. It’s 14 millimeters thick, which is about the same as a cell phone.

The prototype offered access to several sites including The Weather Channel. Accessing that site required input of a city name and provided a chance to use the on-screen keyboard, which takes up about a third of the screen when it appears and is big enough to finger type without hitting neighboring keys.

Toshiba is playing down the detailed specifications of the device and its operating system saying they’re not the point. It’s supposed to be orientated around Internet services so the underlying hardware shouldn’t really matter, be it Windows Embedded or another OS. Toshiba chose Windows Embedded because it has a wide range of applications available. However, future models might be based on other software, hinted Marco Perino, general manager of EMEA digital products and services at Toshiba.

One of the desktop buttons has direct access to a Toshiba Store where the company is planning to offer free and pay content and widgets for the device, Perino said. There’s already a wide range of Windows Embedded software available so the store should fill up fast with applications, he said.

Perino is keen to get services like the BBC’s iPlayer streaming and on-demand TV service on the device. It’s starting out as a gadget to provide Internet access in the living room perhaps while people are watching TV, but with access to iPlayer or other national equivalents it would also become a gateway to on-demand and live TV entertainment.

Like many smartphone makers, Toshiba has done much to disguise the old-fashioned Windows user interface but Windows dialog boxes do pop up a few times. They’ll be gone when it ships in Europe later this year, Perino said.

And that probably is going to be the key to the success of the JournE touch. The price is right but if the user interface is slick and smooth enough then it will satisfy the needs of most people for casual Internet access and multimedia and could become a hit. If the interface is excessively difficult to use or bogged-down in Windows dialog boxes and other quirks then users might stay away.

After it launches in Europe it will be rolled out to other markets, he said.

Being a student these days means you’re neck-deep in some of the coolest technology you can’t afford. As a recent graduate, I remember all too well what it’s like to walk the line between pinching pennies and trying not to settle for the bottom of the bargain bin. So when Macworld told me I had $300 to set up my student Mac, it felt like old times (you can check out the challenge’s rules here ).

The setup

Thanks to the prevalent Wi-Fi on most college campuses, laptops are a student’s best friend. I started my setup with a MacBook. Apple includes a number of great programs for tackling creative projects, but for many of the more academic (and not-so-academic) parts of student life, I had to fill in a few blanks. Making things more challenging, I needed a system that could do it all–including keeping me on top of classroom lectures, organizing projects, making the most of my downtime, and helping me stay in touch with distant family and friends.

Study aids

Let’s start with the basics: getting homework done. There’s no shortage of options on the Mac for taking notes, writing papers, or recording lectures. But finding one program that covered everything was more of a challenge. Note-taking apps like Circus Ponies Software’s NoteBook fall short when you need a spreadsheet or presentation. And while the Mac’s built-in TextEdit is free, it isn’t very good for much more than the most basic of writing assignments. Google’s free online Docs service may be a good option for some users, but as soon as your Internet connection is gone, access to all your work disappears too.

To make sure I can tackle anything my professors throw at me–whether it’s a finance class this semester or French poetry the next–I decided to go ahead and invest in Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition. Yes, it’s more expensive than other competitors, but it has the best productivity bang for my buck. Word 2008 features a Notebook Layout view perfect for taking notes, tracking tasks, and outlining paper topics, and the built-in voice recorder ensures that I can go back to hear exactly what my professor said. Excel is practically a necessity no matter what your major is, while PowerPoint and Entourage round out the package nicely.

To make it all the more attractive, I was able to pick up the Home and Student Edition on Amazon for $107.99, which is about $40 off the regular retail price, and just $37 more than the student pricing on Apple’s competing product, iWork.

For studying in bite-size morsels, I also picked up a copy of Loopware’s $14.95 iFlash ( Macworld rated 4.5 out of 5 mice ), the perfect flash-card maker. It includes a massive library of premade card sets such as language primers and math guides, and it gives me the freedom to create my own sets. I can then print out my cards to take a break from the computer, or I can sync them to an iPhone or an iPod touch, classic, or nano.

Taskmasters

(Image Caption: Schoolhouse 2) To keep track of all my assignments, I decided to pick up some project management software. Altered Axis’s Schoolhouse 2 ( Macworld rated 4 out of 5 mice ) can track grades and tasks, and even publish assignment schedules to the Web, letting me collaborate with other classmates. And since Schoolhouse 2 is donationware, I was able to set my own price for this one (after evaluating my budget, I went with $7).

That takes care of my homework deadlines, but there are plenty of other things going on around campus that I need to keep track of. For these, I stuck with Apple’s iCal. To keep iCal visible, I downloaded HashBang Industries’ $12.99 iDeskCal, which displays iCal’s events and to-dos right on my desktop.

And because sometimes an iCal alert just isn’t enough–especially if I’ve dozed off–I also picked up Koingo Software’s Alarm Clock Pro 9. It can do just about anything, such as text you at a specific time, start an iTunes song or playlist, start up your Mac or put it to sleep, and open specific documents and Web sites. For $19.95, Alarm Clock Pro is probably the best personal assistant money can buy.

Finally, to help me keep up with the local music scene, I downloaded iConcertCal. This free plug-in scans your iTunes music library and displays a calendar of upcoming concerts, including links to buy tickets. You can then save a version of that calendar into iCal.

Campus security

Thieves love laptops as much as students do. Fortunately, most notebooks include a standard lock port. Some notebook locks work with a key mechanism–but, like last week’s homework, keys are easily misplaced. When it comes to protecting an expensive laptop, I prefer to remember a lock combination. So I chose Kensington’s ComboSaver Combination Portable Notebook Lock, available for $20.33 at Amazon. You can attach its compact coiled six-foot cable to almost any grounded object, such as a bolted-down table in a coffee shop or the desk in your dorm room.

Bacon saver

As a student on a deadline, you may encounter one of these nightmare scenarios: you accidentally overwrite a paper or project and desperately need to get an old version back; you forget work on a computer at a friend’s place or the lab the day it’s due; or your hard drive fries. Sadly, all three situations are painfully common–which is why you can’t repeat this mantra often enough: back up your stuff.(Image Caption: Dropbox)

Dropbox manages to hit all three birds with one stone. Dropbox’s free plan offers 2GB of online storage, and it’s incredibly easy to use. When you save a file to a Dropbox folder on your Mac, it’s automatically uploaded to your secure Dropbox account online. Make changes, and Dropbox keeps track of previous versions–perfect for recovering an older version of your paper before you added that late-night two-page rant about your professor. What’s more, your Dropbox files are accessible on the Web (the syncing service works on Mac, Windows, and even Linux), so you can work with just about any computer on or off campus.

Entertainment

Enough with work. When I’m ready to relax, my MacBook easily does double duty as a TV–though admittedly a small one. What’s more, thanks to the Internet, I have a ready stream of viewing options that don’t cost a thing.

Since I don’t plan on getting up every time I want to change songs or watch a video, a $19 Apple Remote is a necessity. It has some of the best six buttons money can buy.

(Image Caption: Hulu Desktop) Of course, I’ll need something to watch on my Mac, which brings me to Hulu. Hulu is like YouTube for mainstream TV shows and movies. Now with the free Hulu Desktop client, you can watch Lost, The Simpsons, The Daily Show with John Stewart, and a host of feature-length films in glorious full-screen mode on your Mac for free. Bonus: you can control Hulu Desktop entirely with an Apple Remote, unlike Hulu.com.

Adding the perfect yang to Hulu’s yin, Boxee is a more general media-center application. While Boxee streams some big studio content, its real appeal is in all the other Internet media it works with–MTV music videos, Pandora streaming radio, Netflix, MySpace Video, Revision3, Comedy Central’s Web exploits, and much more. It can also play your local music and videos, including non-DRM iTunes media. And it’s all for the low, low price of free. And as with Hulu Desktop, you can control Boxee with an Apple Remote.

Finally, a MacBook can’t serve as a great portable TV without a decent set of speakers. Adhering to the tight budget, I went with the JBL Duet II speakers from Amazon for $52.64. They won’t rattle the walls, but they get a good range of sound for the money and they don’t take up a lot of space.

Long-distance connections

A basic cell phone plan might fit into many a student budget, but bills can add up for heavy chatters, especially when you’re calling other wireless networks or long distance. And while video calls may be the future, they only work if your recipient also has a Web-cam-equipped computer–not a sure bet. I needed something that would offer me both video and voice chats. After looking around, I chose a Skype Unlimited plan for $30 per year (this price is available once you go to check out). I can make as many calls as I want from my MacBook to family, friends, and that significant other who picked the wrong college, even if they don’t use Skype. The service also includes video calls to anyone who uses Skype, and quality is top notch.

Of course, the phone isn’t the only way people keep in touch these days. You have to update your Twitter feed to let your friends know you’re still alive, to post road trip photos to Facebook, and to check Digg for interesting news. To keep it all manageable, I splurged on Cosmic Machine’s EventBox, which acts as a one-stop social-networking shop. It might seem weird to pay $15 for social networking software, but EventBox lets me use Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Digg, Google Reader, and Reddit all from one centralized, beautiful application. Put another way, Eventbox lets me spend less time on social networking and more time on being social.

Live long and study

As with most things in student life, stretching your Mac-furnishing dollars requires some creativity and flexibility. That said, I’m pretty happy with this setup. It gives me everything I really need without feeling skimpy. I’d prefer a bigger screen and a gadget like the EyeTV for watching live TV programs. But considering how little room there is for downtime in a student’s life these days, those luxuries can wait until my budget graduates.

The splurge

Once I was done with my shopping spree, Macworld asked what I would do with an extra With an extra $300. Here’s what I’d add…

Get more organized Keeping track of homework assignments is essential, but I also like to jot down notes and to-dos for everything I need to get done. So the first thing I’d buy with my sudden windfall would be Things ( Macworld rated 4.5 out of 5 mice ). This program lets me quickly get tasks out of my head and into a tool where I can make use of them. The Mac client is $50, and for those users with an iPhone or iPod touch, a companion mobile app is $10. While you certainly don’t need both to be productive, they are a formidable team for keeping your life in sync.

Pump out the sound It’s possible to ditch the TV and cable entirely for one’s entertainment needs these days, but a few upgrades can really make your dorm room shine. First, I’d skip the JBL Duet II speakers (giving me back almost $53) and instead get a set of Harmon Kardon SoundSticks II, which I found for $107.99 at Amazon. The SoundSticks include a subwoofer to really pump out the bass and low tones, and their unique aesthetic is guaranteed to catch people’s eyes.

Go big My MacBook is nice, but I prefer to experience Hulu, Boxee, and my iTunes media on the largest screen I can afford. An ASUS 22-inch 1080p widescreen LCD is a much better fit. I found one on sale at Dealmac for $139. To hook it up to my Mac, I also needed a Mini DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter, which I got for $14.42 from Amazon.

[David Chartier graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2008 with a degree in multimedia design. He writes about all things technology for publications like Macworld, Wired, and Ars Technica.]

Consumer electronics shopping resource Retrevo says that Apple’s absence from the netbook market is hurting it with students buying laptops. The company has released the results of a study showing the trend.

According to the “Gadgetology” study–culled from Retrevo’s own users–34 percent of students buying laptops are planning to purchase a netbook. Another 49 percent want a full-sized laptop, and the majority of student laptop buyers aren’t considering a Mac.

Students surveyed for the report indicate that longer battery life, small size and light weight are all factors affecting their buying decision, according to Retrevo CEO Vipin Jain, who called 2009 “the dawn of the netbook.”

“Fifty-eight percent of them plan on spending less than $750,” said Jain. Apple offers no laptop in that price range–its least expensive MacBook with educational pricing is $949. Only 18 percent of those students surveyed have a budget exceeding $1,000, according to Retrevo.

Netbooks are an emerging class of laptop computers distinguished by their small size and low cost compared to full-featured general purpose laptop computers. They have limited processing power, storage capacity and memory, but are suitable for surfing the Web, sending e-mail and light productivity work.

Companies like Asus, HP, MSI, and Dell have introduced netbooks into their product lines, while Apple has stayed on the sidelines. When asked by an analyst in July, COO Tim Cook acknowledged that Apple doesn’t “see the way” to build a product it would be happy with at the price point that consumers demand.

“I never want to discount anything in the future, and never want to specifically discuss new products,” Cook cautioned.

During the same conference call, Cook also acknowledged that Apple’s higher ed sales for its third fiscal quarter were flat, with negative growth reported in Apple’s K-12 educational business.

Apple has been rumored to be on the verge of unveiling a new tablet-based product to compete in a lower price bracket than it currently competes, but the company has a long-standing policy of not commenting on rumors, and rarely pre-announces a product before it’s ready to show it to consumers.

Retrevo’s study used more than 300 participants sampled randomly across its monthly visitor base. The sample was distributed across age, gender, income and location areas in the United States. The company claims standard deviation for most questions was 0.498 with a standard error of 0.029.

Apple’s latest MacBook Pro lineup has been getting rave reviews. And deservedly so. Of course, as with any new hardware, these models are prone to a few minor hiccups that don’t affect older MacBook models. Here are two of the oddest ones:

Unusual optical disk drive noises. As first reported by Apple last month, the optical drives in these new laptops may exhibit an “unusual series of noises” when starting up or waking from sleep, even though no disc is in the drive. For those wondering exactly what “unusual” means here, Apple provides a recording of the noise. Out of context, I found the noise to be a bit funny; I’ve even thought about using it as a wacky ringtone.

To banish these sounds from your MacBook Pro, insert a disc “almost all the way” into the slot-loading drive (not releasing it from your hand). Then remove the disc and reinsert it, this time letting it go all the way. This unlikely procedure, dubbed by Apple as “resetting the drive,” should eliminate the problem.

Unexpected sleep. If you are lucky enough to have more than one mid-2009 MacBook Pro (or Late 2008 13-inch aluminum MacBook), Apple advises not stacking them on top of each other (at least not with their magnetic latches all facing the same way). If you do, the top computer may go to sleep unexpectedly, even in the middle of a startup.

While not likely to be a common problem, I found it interesting to learn exactly why it can occur. It can happen because “the magnet in the bottom computer may activate the magnetic switch in the top computer.” Apple considers this to be “normal behavior,” because this is how sleep onset is normally activated when you close the lid of an unstacked MacBook. Sleep is triggered when the magnet in the laptop’s display clamshell gets close enough to the magnetic “Hall Effect” switch in the MacBook body. By the way, Apple didn’t make up the name for this switch; you can check out various Web sites, including this Wikipedia page, to learn more about Hall Effect switches.

Some people are buying netbooks to use as their main computer. I’m a big fan of netbooks, but there is no getting around the small keyboard and screen, they are best used sporadically rather than constantly.

Back in May, I wrote that I expected a new class of netbook computer, those with 12 or 11.5 inch screens, would be the perfect mating of low price with a keyboard and screen good enough for everyday, continual use.

One of this new class of netbooks, the Lenvo S12, is currently on sale for $379 (with free shipping). This is an amazingly low price for a 12 inch netbook.

There are multiple models of the S12 and this price is for the cheapest one.

A month ago, when Brad Linder did a lengthy review of the next-model-up S12, it was $499. That model, with an Intel Atom processor, now sells for $449. For $379 you get a VIA Nano processor.

Still, no one buys a netbook for the performance, it’s purchased for some combination of price, portability and operating system.

The most important aspects of the S12, for me at least, are the full sized keyboard and the 12.1 inch 1280×800 screen.

I have not used an S12, or seen a review that comments on just how pokey the VIA processor may or may not be. Certainly the glossy screen will be a turn-off for some.

On the other hand, Linder notes that “Typing on the IdeaPad S12 keyboard is virtually the same experience as typing on a laptop with a 14 inch or larger display” and he estimates the battery life to be between 5 and 6 hours.

He also agrees with me about prefering a larger netbook. He writes :

“As much as I love a 10 inch netbook, I find myself frequently grabbing the larger IdeaPad S12 when I’m on the go because it has many of the benefits of a netbook including long battery life and relatively small size and light weight, with the added advantage of a screen that can display significantly more information.”

What’s better than a rumor about one Apple tablet? A rumor about two. That’s right: not one, but two Apple tablets could come either this year or early next year. Market researcher Richard Doherty told BusinessWeek that Apple has developed two tablet computers prototypes: a 6-inch oversized-iPod version and another with a bigger display.

According to Doherty, the 6-inch Apple tablet, which we have been hearing about for the past month, will be aimed mainly at watching videos, playing games, and reading e-books. The second model will have a larger screen and will be able to run all Mac applications, including audio/video editing and graphic animation, he said.

(See a related report: Apple Tablet Dreams: Image Gallery )

It makes sense that the smaller, 6-inch Apple tablet would run on an iPhone-based operating system, hence delivering the same capabilities of an iPod, but only with a larger display. This could be very suitable for reading e-book as well, challenging the Amazon Kindle. Doherty speculates that the small Apple tablet model would retails for around $679.

Doherty’s suggestions about the larger Apple tablet are more interesting, though. By saying that the larger tablet would “run all Mac applications,” he is basically suggesting the model would have full Mac OSX compatibility, hence serving for more advanced functions such as an animation workstation or audio/video editing device.

But this is actually the second time we are hearing about two models of the Apple tablet. Late last week, Gizmodo quoted an unnamed source also saying the Apple tablet would come in two editions — but with a difference: one with a webcam and one for educational use. Gizmodo’s source tablet also went for around $700.

Of course, Apple is keeping mum on any rumors or speculation about the tablet. The Cupertino company has scheduled a special event on September 9, where the Apple tablet might or might not make an appearance. Some say that we won’t see an Apple tablet this year, but more likely next year. Until Apple’s September 9 event, though, we just have to wait and see.

While you wait, you might want to have a look at our Apple Tablet dreams image gallery.

Follow Daniel on Twitter @danielionescu