E-Tech

Gateway ID49C08u – Automatic switching graphics

Gateway ID49C08u is an incredibly thin and light notebook with a really slim design. The screen is 14 inches big with resolution of 1,366×768 pixels. This resolution is now ubiquitous in 11-16 inch laptops. But you get better in more expensive laptops like HP Envy 14. The sharpness and brightness are average and at maximum brightness, the images looked a bit washed. The quality of images fades at wide viewing angles. I have seen better laptop screens in this price range.

The speakers are located above the keyboard. The volume level and audio quality is quite good for watching movies but it is nothing spectacular. It has a Dolby Home Theater sticker on the notebook’s exterior but you won’t get much audio effects from these tiny speakers. The Webcam’s light sensitivity is below average and contrast too could have been better. My faced looked grainy and washed out on this Web cam.

There is not a lot of space for ports on the Gateway ID49C08U but you do get four USB jacks on the sides. I expected just three here since it is a slim and light notebook. HDMI port too is there which lets you connect this laptop to a large HDTV. I was disappointed to see that there was no Bluetooth for this price.

On the bright side, the Gateway ID49C08u has a good CPU/GPU combination. You get plenty of processing power and the gaming performance too is quite good. This laptop is powered by Intel Core i5 M450 processor; it is the same as many mainstream notebooks out there. The speed in single and multitasking applications is significantly more as compared to Core i3 chip.

Gateway ID49C08u has Nvidia GeForce GT 330M chip which gave me really good gaming performance. I played few rounds of Unreal Tournament III at 1,280×960 pixels resolution and got 80.4 frames per second. I also played Transformers: War for Cybertron and the results were much better than other laptops having the step down GeForce 310M GPU. The graphic card is equipped with Nvidia Optimus technology which switches off the graphic card automatically when not needed for saving power. The best about this technology is that the switching is automatic and hence you don’t need to do anything.

In my battery tests, the Gateway ID49C08u lasted for two hours and fifteen minutes. I mostly played videos during this period. I previously tested the Gateway ID49C07U with integrated graphics and Core i3 chip; it lasted a little less than three hours. I won’t recommend this laptop if you travel a lot. But if you are buying it anyways, keep the power adapter close.

Gateway ID49C07U comes with a one year warranty. You can get in touch with the tech representatives through e-mail or chat. There is also a 24-7 phone line but the Website doesn’t mention the number. It is 800-846-2301. On the bright side, you can easily find driver downloads and online knowledge base on the website.

To sum it up, I would say that the Gateway ID49C07U gives speedy performance through the Core i5 processor and the discrete graphics card with automatic switching makes it a good choice for gamers.

E-Tech

Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR – EXR mode for better quality photos

This is a very nice looking compact megazoom camera with nice set of features. You get a 27 mm wide angle lens, 10x zoom, three inch LCD, and 12 megapixel super CCD EXR sensor which should guarantee better quality photos than a standard point and shoot camera. It is designed to improve dynamic range and low light performance.

On the top of the camera, there is a power button, shutter release, and zoom ring. Remaining controls are located on the back, right next to the LCD. The functions of the camera are easy enough to learn and even a newbie will get going in no time. However, you might get frustrated by the menu system of the camera. There are two of them, one is located under the menu button and one beneath the F button. On the top, there is a mode dial which includes scene and automatic shooting modes. This dial also contains full and automatic shooting mode along with the full manual option and a 720p HD movie mode.

On the sides, the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR has a microHDMI port for connecting directly to an HDTV. For the shooting features, the EXR mode is something that makes the camera special. You get options for high resolution, dynamic range, high ISO and low noise priority modes as well as an auto EXR mode. The latter is scene recognition which also recognizes which EXR priority option to use.

I found that the EXR mode was effective and reliable. I would recommend you to use it as long as you are comfortable with the reduced six megapixel resolution of the dynamic range and high low noise priority modes. This might be jargon especially if you haven’t used a camera before. So to put it in simple terms, I would say that the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR has one of the best put-it-there-and-leave-it-there auto modes I have ever tested.

Image quality of the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR is very good but I won’t recommend it to professional photographers. You will love the quality as long as you are not a pixel peeper and don’t intend to do a lot of heavy cropping or enlarging. The photo quality is close to that of a typical point-and-shoot camera. The sensor helps but don’t expect miracles from it.

The price of the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR is $229 and according to me, this if good value for money looking at the features that it has to offer.

The shooting performance of the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR is quite decent. It takes just two seconds for the camera to wake up and start shooting. After that, the camera needs 1.4 seconds between the shots which is really fast. If you turn on the flash, the shot-to-shot time extends to four seconds. The shutter lag of the camera is quite acceptable at 0.5 second. In low light conditions, it extends to 0.7 second. The full resolution burst of the camera is limited to just five shots, the speed is very impressive at 1.6 fps or frames per second.

E-Tech

Review Of The LG Crystal GD900 Cell Phone

Thumbs up:Insane transparent touchpad, good voice clarity, luxurious and dainty appearance, high sound quality, S-CLASS 3D interface.

Thumbs down:Bad camera quality,Limited DivX/Xvid playback features,The S-CLASS 3D interface is sluggish when opening certain menus.

Inside the trunk:
Band / mode: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 ; Talk time: 360 min ; Combined with: With two digital cameras / digital player / FM radio

THE WHIZ KID SPEAKS:LG has always already come up with LG ARENA KM900 and the Viewty Smart CG900, which include the S-CLASS 3D interface. The Crystal is the third one in the list. What we gotta see is ,whether this one is better than the other two like its true in most of the fairy tales… the third son is always best, lets go ahead with the review to see if this comes out to be true for the Crystal as well.

Razzle-Dazzle: The designing of the Crystal is insane to say the least. The brilliant transparent touchpad just blew me off ma chair. Killer looks is something LG always comes up with, but with this one… I have to say they have come up with a masterpiece atleast as far as the designing is concerned. It’s a slider with 3-inch display  which is also touch sensitive and allows you to control the other functions of the phone as well. Also the display is equally fascinating with a support for 16 mln colours it comes up with awesomely amazing animated images.

The phone looks strikingly stunning when the transparent touch keypad is opened. It’s a nice relief from the conventional riggety keypad, innovation at its best I must add. The only drawback of the transparent touch pad being that it loves fingerprints. Its got edgy lights on the sides which just add to the plethora of colours.

The back cover off the Crystal though made up of plastic has a classy feel to it, plus it ain’t solid.

Inside dope:

The crystal touchpad supports many astounding features like multitouch and gesture control. Thanks to the brilliant sensitivity of the touchpad even the handwriting recognition feature works well as compared to its counterparts. The S-CLASS 3D interface is pretty much enticing to say the least. It’s execution is bloody brilliant.

The accelerometer didn’t impress me much though, it does accurately well most of the times but displays some lag at times.

The messaging menu is really simple and is kind of similar to that of the iPhone. Probably even a kid can get easily accustomed too the messaging system of the phone. Also the email settings are quite simple and more so if you use dominant email providers like gmail, yahoo because the settings are already preloaded.

There are certain changes in the phone browser in this one as compared to its other two siblings. The browsing app does display some amount of lag and needs too be worked on. Though browsing with the Crystal touchpad is an experience nothing else can match. Bluetooth 2.1 provides local connectivity and supports the following profiles – HSP, HFP, DUN, FTP, OPP, GAP, SPP, SDAP, SDP, BPP, GAVDP, A2DP, AVRCP, SAP, AVDTP, AVCTP and PBAP. Aside from it, you can simply connect the device to your computer with USB 2.0 cable.

It comes along with a  8 megapxiel camera… whooaaa.. I was tempted to try it out, and lo behold now I really wish I hadn’t tried it out… the image quality isn’t all that great. The colours were kind of unsaturated and nothing like what is expected out of a 8 mp camera. Even the overall video quality isn’t that impressive. The music player is quite a relief from all the clones that we have seen of late. The loudspeaker is kind of tiny but it the sound quality is not bad. Its functionality takes a backseat when it comes to the DivX player which codes movies being played at a resolution of less than CIF (352×288 pixels), with less than 30 frames per second and bitrate lower than 1 Mbps.The battery life is outstandingly amazing and can provide about 300 hrs in a standby. Last but not the least the in-call quality was good enough with no static and no echo isssues.

Nitty- gritty: I got the answer to the question I framed  in the introduction. This one definitely stands out of the three and is the best amongst them. The fantabulous design adds a lot to its weight. The pretty face has a lot of brilliant features behind it. LG has hit it bang on with this astounding marvel that it has come up with. All in all, I would say just go ahead and give it a shot… definitely a head turner.

E-Tech

Review Of The LG LHB953 – Home Audio



Thumbs up:Built-in Blu-ray player; 5.1 home theater system; astounding sound & image quality; quick loading times ; slick pull-out iPod dock; Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, and CinemaNow streaming.

Thumbs down:Design is drab, the Samsung sounds better although the LG is cheaper, no video inputs, no wireless rear speaker option.

Inside the trunk:
Product type: Home theater system ; Components: Speaker system , Blu-Ray disc player / AV receiver ; Media Format: CD , DVD , CD-R , CD-RW , DVD+R , DVD-R , DVD+RW , DVD-RW;Surround System Class 5.1channel;Output Power / Total 1000 Watt ;Amplifier Output Details 155 Watt – 4 Ohm – THD 10 % – 5 channel(s) ( Surround ) , 225 Watt – 3 Ohm – THD 10 % – 1 channel(s) ( Subwoofer )

The Whiz-kid speaks:

The  LHB953 is one the best systems on the market  to handle streaming content options–Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, and CinemaNow augment its disc-playing capabilities with finesse. It also performs basic functions with great ease and comfort.

Razzle- Dazzle:The LG LHB953 packs a 5.1 speaker package consisting of four identical smallish speakers for the front/surround, a sizable center channel speaker and a subwoofer.

The face of the speakers has a slight bulge but the sideview shows off its curved design. The centre channel is huge and takes a lot of space. The subwoofer is an average size for an HTIB.

The LG LHB 953 has a boxy shape but when you took a closer look it has a mix & match theme: glossy black, red & blue.

Inside Dope:The LHB953 does, however make up in features though, the prominent volume knob was very ergonomic, the integrated iPod dock, which makes for less wire clutter than having a separate dock. The way it retracts is slick, too–just push it and it slides out automatically. The remote control is also well equipped & makes using the LHB953 a breeze to use.

The LG LHB953 offered a dynamic sound on music & movies. The satellite speakers & the subwoofer’s complimented each other beautifully.

The performance for the BLU-ray was exceptional, barely any resolution and pattern loss while the DVD performances were very impressive.

Nitty-gritty:The LG LHB953 has a lot to offer and is definitely worth your money. Good sound & video quality packed with astounding features, what more do you want? Go ahead give it a shot

UNDP JOB