ASUS HAS OBSESSION WITH SCTOCH TAPE

Every once in awhile we decide to bring you something totally bizarre or funny in the laptop world. This time our attention turns to the Eee PC manufactured by ASUS.As you can plainly see from the photo above, someone at ASUS thought it better to use tape to secure parts in place then using something a little sturdier. At any rate it is a beauty to look at an Eee PC 1008HA (if you're geeky like

DELL STUDIO 14z IS HERE!

Will you look at that? Looks like some little kid at Dell got their crayons all over the design for the companies new Studio 14z. These 14-inch LED back-lit screens are packing some nice features such as Core 2 Duo CPU options, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics with HDMI/DisplayPort out, 1,.3 megapixel camera, 720/900p screen resolutions, up to half a terabyte of HDD space,34mm ExpressCard slot, six

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MSI A BUNCH OF LAPTOPS OUT THE BAG

This just in, MSI has decided to grace our lives with a bunch of laptops including a gaming GT729 which comes in with 3GB of RAM and Core 2 Duo processor, WiFi, 17-inch LCD, ATI 1GB Mobility Radeion HD 4850 GPU and 4.1 audio system. You calso get 2 megapixel webcam, optional Bluetooth, HDMI/VGA outputs, three 2.0 USB ports, ExpressCard slot and up to 500GB of HDD space as well as a Blu-Ray drive

MEET THE CLEVO TN70M UMPC

We'll be honest with you, if there was an ugly competition this computer would win hands down. But even though it carries no kuddos for design it is a simple machine that packs a 7-inch screen and 1.33 Intel Atom Z520 CPU as well as full QWERTY keyboard.What is quite funny is the fact that its packing either XP or Vista as its operating system. There is a nice finger print reader and webcam

ALIENWARE'S ALL POWERFUL M17X

You might remember that last week we discussed the soon to be announced all powerful laptop from Alienware. Well folks its finally here and is packing some serious power. We'll go right into the details.Core 2 Extreme quad core CPU is the brains behind this 17-inch monster. You can get up to 8GB of DDR3 1333MHz DDR3 memory along with a 1TB 7200 rpm hard disk or 512GB SSD (RAID 1 or RAID 0). A

LG Arena KM900

LG delivers Arena KM900 in a compact box. This package depicts around five LG Arena phones displaying different screen shots of the new interface. The box itself closes with a magnet and is quite straightforward and neat. Upon opening the box, LG KM900 Arena is visible right away. The LG mobile phone looks beautiful. The size is perfect, just like its weight. The front is silver (shiny) and in addition to the touchscreen monitor, it also features three touch buttons.

Furthermore, there are only four buttons on the LG smartphone the on and off button, the camera shortcut and the volume buttons. Along with the LG Arena cell phone, a data cable, a headset, a battery charger, a software CD and several instruction manuals are packed in the box. The year 2008 was very successful for LG Mobile. Not only thanks to the worldwide sales of 100 million mobile phones, but also because of having conquered a significantly larger market share.

As a result of the high sales numbers, LG has now surpassed Motorola and is well on its way to reach a solid Top 3 ranking. And with the many product introductions announced by LG Electronics, this aim may well become reality. The announced cooperation with Windows Mobile shows that LG has definitely gone into a different direction, together with the new LG user interface, it will suit everybody�s needs.

The coming three years, some 50 introductions of LG phones with Windows Mobile are scheduled. And the fact that Windows Mobile will launch a new version in the market later this year ensures the expectations are sky high. The menu of the LG Arena has changed drastically, thanks to the new S-Class User Interface. The changes are positive by all means. Not only is it beautifully designed from a graphical viewpoint, but it is also easy to work with and proves remarkably smooth.

There are four start windows Shortcuts, Widgets, Contacts and Multi media. These start screens can be changed by moving them, which will make the screen rotate like a cube. Or you can use the middle touch key to do so. A rotating 3D cube will be displayed, at which you can choose the desired screen. Furthermore, there are four shortcuts below the start screen at all times, a keypad to select a phone number, messages, phone list and the menu button.

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MSI X-SLIM X430 SHIPPING NOW

Well guys, its finally here, the new X-SLIM X430. And it is shipping with a starting price of only $899.99. You might be wondering what you're getting for that price, and although we already covered it on this blog we will refresh your memory.CPU is an Intel ULV SU3500, OS is Window's Vista Premium and the LCD is a 1366 x 768 13.4 inch screen. Chipset is Intel GS45+ICH9M-SFF. In terms of graphics

Samsung Magnet SGH-A257

Unlike Samsung's recent messaging phones, like the Samsung Impression and the Messager, Samsung Magnet forgoes the slider design and goes for a more straight forward candy bar chassis. However, don't mistake straightforward for boring. The Magnet is quite eye catching with its orange color and slim profile. The handset measures 4.2 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.4 inch thick and weighs 3 ounces, and it has a nice, solid construction.

The back of the phone also includes a patterned soft touch finish to give it a non slippery texture. Samsung Magnet features a slim design and eye catching orange color. Samsung Magnet's display certainly doesn't attract big praises. The 64.000 color, 2.2 inch TFT display is bright enough, but with a 176x220 pixel resolution, it isn't the sharpest. Text has some slight fuzziness around the edges and pixels are visible in pictures.

That said, everything was still readable and it's on par with other lower end handsets. The user interface is basic and easy to use. You can choose from various menu styles and themes and change the wallpaper and backlight times. Below the display, you have a navigation array of two soft keys, Talk and End buttons, a Back and Clear button, a message shortcut, and a four way directional keypad with a center select key.

The outer controls (soft keys and Talk and End buttons) are spacious but we had some problem with the center set since they were a bit cramped. Sometimes we'd accidentally hit the End key when trying to press the back button, or we'd end up hitting some letter keys when trying to press the down button. The Magnet's keyboard is pretty easy to use, though the keys are a little stiff to press. The full QWERTY keyboard is quite decent.

The shape of the keys are a little reminiscent of the BlackBerry Bold's rectangular with a slight bump to make them easier to press. They are a good size but just a little stiff to press, which slowed us down a bit but nothing horrible. The number keys are highlighted in orange and the bottom row includes shortcuts to the camera, instant messaging, and games and applications. On the left side, there's a volume rocker, and you'll find Samsung's proprietary headset jack or power connector on the right.

AT&T packages the Samsung Magnet with an AC adapter and reference material. For more add ons, please check our cell phones accessories, ringtones, and help page. If the full QWERTY keyboard didn't give it away, the Samsung Magnet's main attraction is its messaging capabilities. The handset includes a Mobile Mail app that allows you to connect to various accounts, including Yahoo, AOL, Windows Live, Comcast, Earthlink, and other providers.

We received a "Communication Error" the first time we tried to hook up our Yahoo account, but we entered our ID and password again and everything went smoothly, though it took a couple of minutes for the phone to retrieve our messages. The inbox view is simple but it works. There are tabs for your Draft and Sent messages, though you have to go through a couple of menus to get to your other folders. The Magnet also comes preloaded with three instant messaging clients AIM, Yahoo, and Windows Live. The phone comes with a 500 contacts address book and includes room for multiple numbers, an e-mail address, and notes.

For caller ID purposes, you can assign a photo, a group ID, or a custom ringtone. Other phone features include Bluetooth, quad-band world roaming, three way calling, a speakerphone, a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a WAP browser, as well as organizational tools like a calendar, a task list, notepad, and currency converter. Samsung Magnet is equipped with a VGA camera with 4x digital zoom and a self timer.

You can choose from three sizes, and you also get white balance settings and effects. Picture quality is pretty much what you'd expect from a VGA camera. You could make out the objects in the image but it wasn't the clearest shot and colors were a bit washed out. Once done, you can send your photos via multimedia message, upload them to HP's Snapfish photo service, or set it as your background image. The Magnet offers 16MB of RAM.

Eee PC 1008HA SEASHELL REVIEW COMING THIS WEEKEND

Just a quick news bulletin. You've heard about the Eee PC 1008HA Seashell, and you're probably wondering if its any good. Well we'll have the full rundown come this weekend.So stay tuned for our full review and yes we will say it, don't preorder until you have read our review because the netbook isn't going anywhere.On the other hand if you have gotten one early, fail not to leave your thoughts

SONY VAIO P GETS XP OPTION

We've been waiting for this for some time now, and today its finally here. After making one of the biggest blunders it could in the launching of its glorified netbook, Sony has axed Vista from the equation and instead replaced it with the much better suited XP.Of course this means you are going to notice performance jumps if you should buy a new one, but unfortunately the inclusion of XP has not

WINDOW'S VISTA SP2 CAN BE DOWNLOADED NOW

We know that the acceptance of Vista has been pretty mixed in the computer world, but we're pretty sure that even if you like it, there are one or two things Microsoft could do to improve the O.S.Well they just did (or at least we hope so) as you can download SP2 for Vista right now. The service packs are for all versions including the 32-bit and 64-bit editions.We're not sure how long Microsoft

Apple MacBook (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M)

Internally, the big news is an Nvidia chipset with improved integrated graphics, while the "unibody" aluminum chassis, the buttonless (or more accurately, all button) touch pad, and edge to edge glass on the LED-backlit display are the major physical changes on the outside. While the base model keeps the same $1,299 price (our review unit was the upgraded $1,599 version with a faster processor, a bigger hard drive, and backlit keyboard), you lose the FireWire port in the transition.

And the $1,299 model gets you a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, rather than the 2.4GHz CPU. The higher end model keeps the same 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, but also costs $100 more. Both new MacBook models operate on a faster front side bus, (from 800MHz to 1066MHz) and move from DDR2 memory to DDR3. Even with the slower base model CPU and missing FireWire, the new MacBook represents both an impressive value and an impressive feat of engineering although it's hard to expect anything else from Apple's flagship computer product, which has been a consistent favorite for several years.

The most obvious changes are physical. The familiar white and black bodies have been replaced with an aluminum chassis that looks nearly identical to the new MacBook Pro, only smaller. The actual construction for both the new MacBook and MacBook Pro now follows the MacBook Air model, with a solid block of aluminum carved down, rather than a thin outer shell that has had support struts added to it.

The result is a lighter and thinner, yet stronger, chassis that feels more solid and substantial a notable feat, as the previous MacBook models were already extremely sturdy. Another notable new feature is a radically redesigned touch pad. This larger touch pad uses multi touch gestures similar to those found on the iPhone, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, and offers a much larger surface area than previous 13 inch MacBooks thanks to the elimination of a separate mouse button.

In fact, the entire touch pad depresses like a button, although a simple tapping (as on a PC laptop) will also work once you turn that option on in the settings menu. The all button touch pad concept is actually a bit difficult to get used to, and feels slightly clunky at first compared with a traditional fixed position touch pad. On the other hand, there are some useful new gestures you can hide all your apps by sweeping four fingers up on the pad, and you can also designate one corner of the touch pad as a "right click" zone.

Most useful, perhaps, is sweeping four fingers left or right, which brings up the application switcher. Once you get used to that, going back to a regular touch pad would be difficult. The 13.3 inch wide screen LCD display offers a 1,280x800 native resolution, which is standard for screens between 13 and 15 inches in size. It provides for text and icons that are highly readable, but we'd love to see Apple move into the 16:9 display universe, as in the case with new systems from Sony, Hewlett Packard, and others.

Apple has also added LED-backlit displays (previously available on the Pro models), which means a thinner lid and some battery life benefits, plus the edge to edge glass we're seeing more often on multimedia systems, such as the HP HDX18. The glass, however, also grabs stray light rays with ease, making the glossy screen seem that much glossier a problem if you prefer matte screen finishes.

ACER ASPIRE TIMELINE

Its not the first we have layed eyes on the Timeline from Acer. But finally we are getting some specs. Turns out the laptops will be sporting 13.3, 14 and 15.6 inch screens as well as up to 4GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive and DVD. Of course the basics such as WiFi and WAN are all there including an 8 hour battery life and Window's Vista Home Premium.No wording on price or availability but we can't

LENOVO IDEAPAD U350 AND G550

We'll get right to the point with this one. Ideapad not only announced the availability of the first ION based netbook, but they're also releasing some moderately priced notebooks. The two which were announced today is the U350 and G550.The U350 is a 13.3 inch notebook that comes with a 1366 x 768 LED-backlit display. Other features include ambient light sensor, HDMI out, 1.4GHz, 1.3GHz Intel

IDEAPAD S12 IS FIRST ION BASED NETBOOK

We were waiting for the day we could play Mabinogi or WoW on a netbook without serious side effects. Well that day is finally in sight because just today Lenovo announced the Ideapad S12 which will be the first netbook based on the ION graphics from NVIDIA.Except for the inclusion of the ION graphics option (which will run you $50), everything else is the same with 160GB of HDD at 5400rpm, 1GB of

LAPTOP MESSENGER BAGS

Laptop Messenger BagToday, it seems like everyone has a laptop. Years ago, technology was expensive and the so called �portable� machines you could buy still weighed a large amount and were vastly underpowered for business tasks. These days, with groundbreaking laptops like the HP DV2 and the Macbook Air, laptops have hit the big time. Nearly every business professional has a laptop and so do

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FREE LAPTOPS

Free LaptopWith the economy as it is today and many people struggling to keep up with their bills, it�s no wonder that more and more people find that they don�t have the cash to spend on expensive technology like laptops. The average laptop today costs around $600 with some of the more impressive or designer models costing over $2000. You may have seen deals or adverts online which talk about

UMID mBOOK M1 BEGINS APPEARING ON DOORSTEPS WORLDWIDE

Don't you love it when companies deliver you new products that you spent fortunes for? Well thanks to the guys who made the mBook M1 you can now get one for $659.42 for the Linux flavor and $765.78 for the Window's XP Home version. You also get an 8GB microSD card and of course Atom running the show underneath.Yes we're done here. So let us know if you are planning on getting one, or you have

THE MAG-UNSAFE CHARGER

We got to hand it to Apple to actually make sexy devices that are complete fire hazards. As we have found out in recent years, laptop batteries has the ability to combust. But to date we have been hearing quite a few stories of Apple's magsafe chargers doing the whole fireworks business. The latest one comes from a dude who left his Unibody Macbook Pro 17" plugged in only to be awoken by the

ASUS EeePC 1000HV COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD

This is not the first time we have seen the 1000HV for back in 2008 it was leaked along with a bunch of other ASUS models. Now we are getting more details on said system.Things to expect include a 10.1 inch screen with 1024x600 display, 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU, 160GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM as well as VGA out. You will be glad to know that there is an AMD HD 3450 graphics set underneath.So far

GOOGLE CHROME GOES INTO PHASE 2

If you've been using Google Chrome but wishing it carried some cool features such as the ability to autofill or full screen mode, you will be glad to know that they have updated those features and made Chrome a lot faster.While I have never been a Chrome fan (yes I still use IE8), I give Google major props for their efforts as it is one of the fastest and securest browsers on the planet. So if

MEET ONKYO'S SOTEC DC204A3 NETBOOK WITH 32GB SSD

We can't remember when last we heard a company making a 32GB SSD standard on a netbook. But yet Onkoyo's new Sotec netbook has just done that. Even more impressive is the fact that it lacks VGA and Ethernet. However you do get an adapter that fixes both of those problems. Only problem is the adapter rivals the netbook in size. That said, there is an Atom N270 processor running underneath on a

MSI WIND U123 NOW SHIPPING

Those who are hell bent on getting an MSI netbook can find the U123 at their doors sometime this week and next as MSI has began shipping the blasted units. The only bad thing is the U123T which packs the TV tuner thingy is not shipping. Also the U123H that comes with 3.5G HSDPA WWAN is not shipping either.So your options are as follows. Order the U123 for $350 or wait on MSI to get their act

DELL MINI 10 TV TUNER AVAILABLE NOW

We had discussed a few weeks back about Dell stuffing a TV tuner in their venerable Mini 10 netbooks. Well Dell has just made it official and it is available as an option on all Mini 10's via their website. The option will set you back a $50 but you will have full ATSC (new HD format) and an external antenna if reception should become fuzzy.For those in the charitable mood, their will be a (

MOBLIN 2.0 VIDEO DEMO RELEASED

You're probably aware of Intel's efforts to create an O.S specifically geared towards the netbook arena. The name of that project has been Moblin and has gotten the official blessings of Linux (what its built off of). That said, we now have a video demo of version 2.0.While we haven't been much of a fan of any other netbook O.S except for Ubantu or Window's XP (and soon to be Window's 7), we have

Eee PC 1005HA SEASHELL GETS SPECS

Hasn't been a good minute since the 1008HA had its fame but from the looks of things ASUS is only gonna make that last 15 minutes as it has already outed the details for the Eee PC 1005HA Seashell.The new system will come with Window's XP Home, 10.5 hour battery live, 160GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, 10.1 inch LED backlit screen, 1024x600 resolution display, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 0.3

RAINBOW LATITUDE 2100 DEBUTS FOR EDUCATION

Dell has their eye on your little kids with the new Latitude 2100. The new netbooks are especially geared to children with colorful and rugged designs. The systems are protected against "child abuse."Dell is also including a Dell Mobile Computing Station which can charge 24 of said systems at a time. Base price begins at $369. But you can expect the price to move up if you decide to bump up the

AT&T PLANNING TO EXPAND NETBOOK SALES

For those who are just hearing, phone companies are planning to actually sell netbooks on contract. That said, AT&T is at the head of the pack saying they plan to expand their contract netbook offerings Nationwide by this summer.If you remember, they did offer deeply discounted systems in Philly and ATL. But after a "successful" trial run, the company is read to carry the idea nationwide. We're

ASUS Eee PC 1008HA SEASHELL FOR PRE ORDER

We're sure you're absolutely dying to hear when the ASUS Eee PC 1008HA would be available. From the makers of the original netbook comes the sexiest netbook yet by any standard.Of course you've read the specs but if you were waiting for a price and release date, we got one for you. Said system will be shipping around the 27-28 of this month and will be for $430. On the other hand if you order it

ACER ASPIRE ONE D250 AND 751h AVAILABLE IN N. AMERICA

So Acer has done it again, this time with an 11.6 inch WXGA Aspire 751h-1192 and the 10.6 inch WSVGA D250-1042. Both systems are carrying that cool corner-placed VGA pot that ads a little more sexiness to the system. Under the hood though you get the usual, including a 160GB HDD, up to 2GB of RAM, XP Service Pack 3, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor (751h can swap for a 1.22GHz Atom Z520 processor

RED DELL XPS 16 IN PERSON?

We had told you earlier that Dell was coming out with their new XPS 16 systems in Red. And in fact it did appear on the website only to be taken down a few days later. That said, it looks like someone has caught the monster in the wild.While we know there are some Photoshop geniuses out there, we're also sure that no one has these type of Photoshop skills, but then again we could always be

ALL POWERFUL ALIENWARE LAPTOP

We're gonna say that before you take anything we say in this post get out your salt shaker....just in case. But the image you are feasting your eyes on was uploaded to NotebookReview forums by someone who claims to be from Alienware marketing in Costa Rica (they have a branch down there)?We already know Alienware is planning something big and in fact will be launching something in 15 days. By the

Dell G2410

The 24 inch Dell G2410 is plainly designed with angular features and a black matte finish. The bezel measures a short 0.75 inch long on all sides and the middle of the bottom bezel has a slightly raised silver Dell logo on it. The panel is nearly 1 inch deep (In comparison, most 24 inch models we've tested have a panel depth of more than an inch) however, the back of the display which houses the backlight, connection options, and ventilation system extends another 1.5 inches, bringing the full monitor depth to about 2.4 inches.

The panel width measures 22.4 inches long average for a monitor of this screen size. The rectangular footstand measures 10.75 inches in width, with a depth of 6.1 inches. The footstand is a short 0.5 inch tall. We saw only minimal wobbling when we knocked the display from the sides, but with such a long and flat footstand, you'd really have to knock it hard before it toppled.
The bottom of the bezel sits about 2.75 inches from the desktop, but unfortunately, this screen height is neither adjustable nor is there a screen rotation or pivot option useful if you prefer portrait mode.

The capability to tilt the screen back 25 degrees is the only ergonomic feature included. To keep the price and energy footprint down, Dell only includes DVI and VGA as connection options. You're out of luck if you want to connect an external Blu-ray player, since there is no HDMI which is a mainstay on most monitors this size. The most improved feature of the Dell G2410 is its on screen display.

The OSD follows Dell's recent stellar, labelless design last seen in the SP2309W and S2409W. This OSD, however, is even simpler and easier to use with more features. Four buttons line the lower right hand corner of the bezel. Pressing any of the buttons brings up the OSD, which pops up parallel to the button array, each option corresponds to one of the four buttons. Once a new menu comes up, the function of the buttons change dynamically, as the top two buttons become the up and down arrow buttons used to navigate though the newly seen menu.

Since any button labels for the OSD are actually on the screen, calibrating the display in a dark room proved painless. Pressing the button next to "Energy Modes" on the OSD brings up a menu for choosing three different modes that determine your monitor's energy footprint. Choosing Standard lets the user manually set the display's brightness. Energy Smart activates the ambient light sensor and caps the screen brightness at 66 percent.

The ambient light sensor will adjust the brightness based on the level of light in the room the lower the ambient light level, the lower the brightness automatically adjusts. Energy Smart Plus is identical to Energy Smart, but adds dynamic dimming, which automatically dims the backlight when the screen shows an image that is overly bright or all white. As you change options that affect your energy footprint brightness, the three energy modes you'll see an Energy Gauge in the OSD.

The gauge is a meter that dynamically changes based on how much power your monitor is consuming. Take your brightness to full and the gauge goes into the red. Bring the brightness back down and your gauge responds by turning green. Ultimately, the Energy Gauge is not that useful, as it depends primarily on your monitor's current brightness level however, this is a welcome first step and we'd like to see Dell and other vendors continue to develop its usefulness.

Aside from the energy mode options, OSD options include the mainstays brightness, contrast, and various color options. The presets are separated into two categories Graphics and Video. There are six Graphics presets to choose from: Standard, Multimedia, Game, Warm, Cool, and, of course, Custom. The movie presets are Movie, Game, Sports and Nature. The presets do not change anything other than the Red, Green, and Blue color balance and therefore how well each setting works will be subjective.

Also, there are options to adjust the hue and color saturation in addition to options like setting the OSD to stay on screen up to a minute useful for anyone who will spend a good amount of time calibrating. The Dell G2410's 16:9 aspect ratio supports a "Full HD" 1.920x1,080 pixel native resolution. This continues the trend of more and more monitor vendors moving toward 16:9 from 16:10 because high definition content in particular 1080p movies can fit onto a 1.920x1.080 pixel screen without distorting the image.

Microsoft Zune 120GB

The design of the Zune 120 is almost entirely unchanged from the Zune 80 we reviewed last year. The back of the Zune is now black instead of silver and the face of the player is covered with a glossy plastic that, although pretty, is more prone to smudges and scratches than the metal finish on last year's model. We're happy to see that the increase in the Zune's hard drive capacity doesn't translate into a thicker design.

The Zune 120 measures the same 4.3 inches high by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep as the Zune 80. Also, no changes have been made to the Zune's navigation controls, headphone jack, hold switch, dock connection, and 3.2 inch glass covered LCD. Considering Apple's strategy of altering its iPod design every fall (for better or for worse), it's a little unnerving to see the Zune's hardware design at a standstill.

The upshot of the Zune's lack of design tinkering is that it maintains the product's compatibility with the handful of accessories designed for the player. The bulk of the third generation Zune's improvements are found by flicking through its main menu. New menu items for Games and Marketplace have been added alongside existing selections for Music, Videos, Pictures, Social, Radio, Podcasts, and Settings. The Zune's primary purpose as a high quality portable music player hasn't changed.

If anything, the enhancements offered by the third generation firmware have bolstered the unique music discovery and sharing features that have differentiated the Zune from the very beginning. One of the more notable new features on the Zune is a Marketplace selection in the main menu that allows you to browse, preview, and download music directly from Microsoft's Zune Marketplace online store.

Within the Marketplace submenu you can choose between browsing Top Songs, Top Albums, and New Releases, or search for specific music by keying in a few letters. Songs can be previewed for 30 seconds with the option to add them to your virtual cart or purchase and download immediately. By signing up for Microsoft's Zune Pass music subscription service (a free 14 day trial is available), you can download unlimited music to your Zune for a flat fee of $15 a month.

Otherwise, you'll need to purchase songs a la carte by setting up a payment account in the Zune desktop software. Your Zune needs to be connected to a Wi-Fi hot spot in order to take advantage of the Marketplace feature. Fortunately, Microsoft has improved the Zune's ability to step through public Wi-Fi hot spots, and it's even struck a deal with fast food giant McDonald's to have the Zune supported by the Wayport Wi-Fi hot spots found in many McDonald's restaurants. If your local Wi-Fi requires you to enter a password, you can enter it manually using the Zunepad. The Zune will remember and associate your Wi-Fi passwords so that you'll only need to enter them once.

TOP TEN NETBOOKS REVIEWS

Top 10 NetbooksSleek, slim, and plenty of computing time are just a few of the words used to describe the newest, portable computer: the netbook. Deriving its name from �Internet� and �Notebook�, a netbook is also referred to as �mini laptop� or �mini notebook�. There are several advantages and benefits to using netbooks and a clear understanding of what components makes a netbook will help

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CENTURY ALL-IN-ONE DOCK FOR NETBOOKS

We know you're probably looking for something that will give you a little more from your netbook. So if that is the case let me introduce you to Century's all-in-one netbook dock.The awesome little addon comes with a pop-up fan to help with cooling, 8x DVD-writer, slot for 2.5-inch SATA HDD or SSD drive as well as a few more surprises.Its compatible with XP and Vista but for all the Microsoft

MSI WIND U123 NETBOOK AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER AND NOW BEING STOCKED BY US RETAILERS

Your wait for MSI Wind U123 has finally been over now as this incredible gadget is available for pre-order from online US retailers. This 10.2-inch WSVGA netbook is equipped with 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, 1 GB RAM, integrated graphics, card reader, 160 GB HDD, 6 cell battery, 1024 x 600 LED backlit display, 802.11g/n and Windows XP Home. Many US retailers are showing the new netbook in stock,

FUJITSU LIFEBOOK U2010 UMPC IS NOW WITH 2GHZ ATOM Z550 PROCESSOR

Fujitsu has come up with an increased processor option in its Loox model UMPCs which include Lifebook U810 and U2010. Introduced last year with 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, the Loox models will now incorporate a 2GH Intel Atom Z550 processor which will enhance the performance of the machine. This processor enhancement has broken Microsoft�s restrictions on XP for notebooks and is probably

OFFICIAL PICTURES OF ACER ASPIRE ONE 751

Well what do we have here? Is it an 11.6 inch netbook with the Acer tag on it? Why yes it is, and while not new news (oxymoron), it is quite refreshing to see some official pictures of the device leaked.Everything on the inside is almost the same (Atom, 1GB RAM etc...), but on the outside Acer has relocated the VGA port as well as give it a better overall design and finish. The keyboard looks

MSI BRINGING 14-INCH X-SLIM X400 LAPTOP FROM THE ORIENT

This does not seem at all unlikely since MSI has been copying a few pages from the venerable ASUS play book. In any case MSI leaked in their company event in Japan this weekend that a 14-inch variant of the X-SLIM laptop line will be coming.Nothing is quite specific yet but we're expecting something along the line of a CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) chipset for processing power and of course a

RUNCORE PRO IV, ANOTHER HIGH PRICED SSD

We're gonna be frank with you, unless you have serious cash or data issues or your company is footing the bill for your new SSD you might want to look elsewhere. That said RunCore has a new line of SSD's called the ProCore IV which are only 2.5 inches.If you haven't noticed, these guys sell some freaking fast machines with read speeds of 240MBps and write speeds in the 285MBps region.If you're

Sanyo SCP-2700

Sanyo SCP-2700 has a very straightforward design, and looks a little like a lower end version of a BlackBerry, or a thicker version of the Pantech Slate. Measuring 4.3 inches long by 2.4 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick, Sanyo SCP-2700 is encased in glossy plastic with a checkered texture design on the back. Sanyo SCP-2700 is also quite lightweight at 3.4 ounces. It feels good in the hand, but the glossy surface does make it prone to fingerprints.

On the front of Sanyo SCP-2700 is a decent 2.2 inch diagonal display with 65,536 colors and 320x240 pixel resolution. We would've liked 262.000 colors instead, but since the SCP-2700 isn't a very high end phone, we were fine with it. The screen looks nice and bright, and the text is legible and sharp. You can adjust the backlight time, the size of the input font, and the sleep mode timer.

Underneath the display is the navigation array, which consists of two soft keys, a square navigation toggle with middle confirmation key, a dedicated text messaging key, a back key, and the Send and End/Power keys. The aforementioned toggle is mapped to four user defined shortcuts, while the middle confirmation key leads to the main menu when on standby mode. All the keys are sufficiently raised above the surface, and are easy to use.

Below the navigation array is the QWERTY keyboard, which is what makes Sanyo SCP-2700 a messaging phone. The keyboard is a little small, like that on the Palm Centro, but we really liked how tactile the keys are. The keys are raised above the surface, plus they have a bubble like texture that makes it easy to type. There's also a dedicated emoticon key that brings up the different emoticons while you're typing out a text message.

The dedicated speakerphone key is on the bottom right of the keyboard. On the left spine are a charger jack, a dedicated camera key, and the volume rocker, while a 2.5mm headset jack sits on the right spine. On the back is the camera lens and an external speaker. There is no flash or self portrait mirror. Sanyo SCP-2700 doesn't have a lot of features going for it, but it does do messaging very well, which suits its primary purpose.

It has a basic 600 entry phone book, with room in each entry for six phone numbers, three e-mail addresses, a Web URL, a street address, and a memo. You can assign contacts with a photo for caller ID and to different caller groups as well. You can also assign one of 37 polyphonic ringtones for incoming calls, text messages, picture mails, and voice SMS. Other basic features include a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a countdown timer, a stopwatch, a voice memo recorder, and a world clock.

There's also a wireless Web browser, Bluetooth, instant messaging (AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo), e-mail, and voice SMS. There's also GPS support for location based services like Sprint Navigator. Truly, the star feature of Sanyo SCP-2700 lies in its messaging applications. It doesn't just have the standard text message functionality it also supports threaded text messages, which are usually available on higher end smart phones only.

This means you get to view a text message within the context of a conversation, rather than as just a single message. Sanyo SCP-2700 also supports multiple e-mail accounts from an array of providers like Sprint's own PCS Mail, AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, and Gmail, as well as your own POP or IMAP e-mail account. Only PCS Mail requires a Web browser to access.

Amazingly, Sanyo SCP-2700 can also receive your work e-mail. You can either use your employer's Outlook Web Access or use Sprint's own Mobile E-mail Personal Account. The latter requires a software download and a rather tedious Web interface that will link your work e-mail to the phone, so it's best if your company has OWA running.

ASUS COMING OUT WITH 11.6-INCH Eee PC THIS MONTH?

From the ever so unreliable DigiTimes: ASUS is planning to release an 11.6 inch Eee PC by month's end. While we have chided DigiTimes for being very inaccurate at times this piece of info seems to fall in nicely with some more that we heard earlier about Jerry Shen promising to never surpass the 10-inch mark without creaking a spin-off.So does this mean that the Eee PC will get the ever so slight

HYPERMAC POWERS YOUR MACBOOK FOR 32 HOURS

Yes we know Apple is a pain in the ass when it comes to convenience....but thankfully in one case, someone has come up with something that might fix one of their worst errors yet. For those of you who have a Macbook Air or Pro and find yourself constantly looking for a power outlet to charge the thing because of the non-removable battery, HyperMac has got you covered.With their extended battery

PeeWee DEBUTS SPILL RESISTANT PIVOT TABLET LAPTOP

No doubt you want a small laptop for your kids so they will keep away from yours. Well PeeWee has you covered 9disturbing name BTW). The Pivot Tablet Laptop comes with the standard netbook configurations as well as a spill resistant and drop resistant shell and of course a carrying handle.The little bad boy sports the Atom N270 processor with 1.6GHz clock speed, 1GB of RAM as well as 2 USB 2.0

AVERTEC ABOUT ENDROID NETBOOK BUSINESS?

We're still trying to get grips with this Android netbook obsession. While we like Android for a phone, we kind of hate the idea for a netbook, anyways, Avertec does not share our thoughts and is going about a netbook Android system.Well they did not say it outright but with the CEO (Tae-Hyun Cho saying his company will ship a netbook with a "surprise" OS that blends "cell phone and PC technology

ASUS EEE PC 1008HA FOR PRE-ORDER IN THE GOOD OLD U.K

Fear not my fellow Yankee brethren, the launch of the Eee PC 1008HA cannot be long off. As for your my UK brothers, you can now pre order the damn thing for �379.50 ($565).According to Amazon UK (the ordering destination), delivery is expected in a month (the Midnight Blue edition). The all-white edition can be yours if you head over to LaptopsDirect although you will have to fork over an extra

WINDOW'S 7 RELEASE CANDIDATE 1 COMING MAY 5'TH

If you're a TechNet subscriber or MSDN member you can grab your copy today, but the general public will have to wait till May 5'th to get their hands on this one.Needless to say, after playing around with our copy we are every so happy that Window's 7 is not too long in the distance. We're just hoping that our few minor problems will be addressed before the final release is announced.We have a

FUJITSU M2010 NETBOOK

Yes! We're just as tired of all this netbook hoopla as you are, but this one seems to be quite cool (if we do say so ourselves). Turns out Fijitsu is making the market rounds with a netbook that carries built-in Bluetooth and a bundled DVD burner and wireless mouse. Of course the rest of things is standard netbook crap like the 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard drive.According to

HP PROBOOK 4510

Those business customers interested in something great and still retains a little sexiness can say hello to HP's new ProBook laptop. The computer comes with a 4.5 hour battery life, 15.4 1366 x 768 display as well as a Chiclet-style keyboard (if you're into that thing, and according to those who have tested it it gets high marks in performance and obviously styling.Price is starting at $699 which