MSI Wind

With the success of the first Wind U100, MSI has, thankfully, thought of revising the U100 model at where it matters most? The hard drive. And the new version of the MSI wind combines the best of the Solid State Drives (SSD) with Hard Disk Drives (HDD).

The Wind U100 is actually MSI's sophomore offering of the hybrid netbook variety. The first MSI hybrid to be released was the U115.

What is a hybrid netbook? A hybrid netbook actually features a standard HDD but with an SSD installed in it. With a hybrid netbook, a user can choose to run the operating system from the SSD while using the HDD exclusively for storage. This type of storage has two distinct advantages: (a) it maximizes performance, and (b) minimizes power drain.

SSD Vs HDD

Hard disk drives were first used, and are still being used, in desktop computers and regular sized laptops. These storage devices have a large storage capacity, with some hard disks storing up to 200GB of data, although maximum netbook capacity has been steady at 160GB so far.

Hard disk drives have several moveable parts for storing data, including the driver motor, magnetic platters, and drive heads. Because of this, the information on solid state drives becomes unreadable after an impact. A hard disk drive comes in different sizes: 1.8", 2.5" or 3.5" and uses either an ATA or SATA drive interface in order to be useful.

On the other hand, an SSD uses semiconductor flash memory chips to store data. With less moveable parts, SSD netbooks, can boot data up to 20% faster and are generally more reliable than netbooks using traditional hard drives.

The first netbooks to be sold in the market used SSD because they draw less power. Netbooks with SSD have longer battery life and they also tend to be shock-proof. Since a solid state drive stores all its data in memory chips, there are fewer moving parts to be damaged in any sort of impact. But SSD netbooks have a much lower storage capacity and can only hold up to 64GB of data.

The Hybrid U100

Although MSI has not specified for how long the hybrid Wind is going to last for on battery mode, it is expected to last longer than either SSD netbook or HDD netbooks.

The company has not specified the expected battery life under real world conditions, but this 'eco on' mode will look attractive given the U115's modest 3-cell battery. The hybrid Wind U100 pretty much the same version of the old Wind with its 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 chip running Windows XP, an LED-based 10 inch screen, 1GB RAM, and 802.11n WiFi. The hard drive comes in two options, an 8Gb SSD with a 120GB 2.5 inch HDD, or a 16GB SSD and a 160GB HDD.

Dell Studio 15

What is really good about the Dell Studio 15 is its brilliant keyboard which is pretty large and has good feedback for quick and accurate typing and the backlight makes it easy to use in all lighting conditions. It comes with Dell Dock to keep your desktop neat and with Dell Video Chat, but it is not very responsive. It lets you have up to 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 Memory the standard being 4GB and this laptop is one of the few which is able to run the modern 3D games with ease. However, to get a decent frame rate you need to go low on the details. The 15.6" High Definition LED display is bright and excellent with colors and contrast and is available in 720p, 900p, and 1080p resolutions.

Weighing at 2.7kg, the Dell Studio 15 is light enough to carry around and the battery life of around four hours is very impressive for such a "high on features" laptop. It has Intel High Definition Audio 2.2 and a decent 2.0 mega pixel camera. It comes with standard Dell Wireless 802.11g Mini Card and Dell Wireless Internal Bluetooth Mini Card (2.1). It is also good on graphics as it ships with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics. The standard HDD is 320GB, 7200rpm, SATA disk but you can also upgrade it up to 500GB. Other than this it has all the other features that are required in general purpose laptop, like a DVD RW DL Optical Drive, 8 in 1 Media Card Reader, 2 USB Ports, 1 USB/eSATA combination port, HDMI and VGA video connector, 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery, Integrated network connector and the required audio jacks.

There are a few things we would like to change in the laptop before purchasing it depending on performance needs but is really a great deal for an average user and a perfect laptop for college students which enables you good gaming, amazing movies and music experience, good customizable looks and a real value for money. Over all this is an excellent general
purpose laptop.

Dimensions:-
Width: 14.6".
Height: 1.0" Front and 1.5" Back.
Depth: 10.0".

Sony Vaio W

Are you looking for a mini laptop? One of the great mini laptops that's worth considering is the rather tasty little Sony Vaio W, which is Sony's first foray into the world of mini laptop. You will certainly be amazed by the features and options of this mini laptop.

Specification wise, the Sony Vaio W comes with a 10.1-inch display with 1366×768 resolution, an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, GMA950 graphic, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, and supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This mini laptop can also be attached to VAIO Media plus Multimedia Streaming software. It can activate even PLAYSTATION 3 if you are fond of games. There are amazing games which you will certainly adore. If not for you, leave them for your kids or whoever likes games.

One of the outstanding features of the Sony VAIO W mini laptop, is the high resolution screen. It can display up to 1366 x 768 pixels, which is higher than most other 10-inch mini laptops on the market today. It enables us to view two full web pages at the same time, and view them clearly. Isn't it wonderful? Besides, this model is available in several colors, including pink, brown, and white.

Besides that, there are several advantages the Sony VAIO V has over its competition. One of them is the ergonomically designed, chiclet-style keyboard which you can use comfortably. The mouse keys also enable you to control the notebook very easily and quickly. Additionally, the VAIO Media Plus Multimedia Streaming software allows you to enjoy any video, music, and movie anywhere you want.

If you have any documents that you need to transfer from any other computers to your mini laptop, the Sony Vaio W's USB port helps you transfer them very easily and very quickly using a USB cable. You can also use the Bluetooth technology which connects some peripherals without the need of using cables.

If you want to see and hear your family or friends when talking to them, Sony VAIO W allows you to do that too with with its built-in webcam and a microphone. This way, you can always stay connected to your friends and family. Overall, the Sony VAIO P is a nice little computer to own if you are one of those who travel frequently!