Aug 19, 2009 01:49 PM
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(Updated Aug 19, 2009 02:20 PM)
Over the last several weeks or so, & you couldn’t have possibly missed it, our gadget market has been blitzkrieged by a wide variety of ultra portables: War of the net book, note-book & PDA phones has never been hotter. There are brands and designs to kill for!
And slick deals to steal! No doubt, this is to drag us out of the recession induced depression! The iconic status-symbol black-berry phone with push email is as good as a flintlock pistol against the Walther P-22 automatic! Hah! That always was the problem with technology. So let’s talk the nitty gritty, & home in on the obvious facts that bother us.
Why to buy? What to buy? How to buy? What to spend? Connectivity & full blown computing on the move has been on our minds for long. But the options available haven’t been all that inspiring. Sure, that high-end PDA phone promised a lot with all the bells& whistles. Ask any PDA phone user & they’ll tell you how it is. A geek buddy of mine has his foot in his mouth every time his PDA hums!
But Computing on a hand held is like trying to climb a mountain with only a pitch-fork! And let’s not talk the service. Half the fuzz of the handset dies right there. A Notebook has no comparison if you can lug it around. Now if you are hell-bent on having a smart phone, not so bothered about full fledged computing on the move, and don’t mind shelling out a price that can fetch you a decent note-book, then S.E and Nokia have some great toys for you.
A slick laptop that costs the same or maybe lesser than a mobile phone?+/- 30k? & full fledged computing? Makes you think doesn’t it? If you are willing to compromise on mobility a bit, can manage lugging around a few kilos, then voila! Spoil yourself over a range of notebooks from each leading manufacturer, that too at a cool price. It is pointless for me to tag a brand. Yet HP pavilion DV series, Compaq, Dell, Sony and ACER are some of the show catchers for sure. Don’t matter whether your set is an INTEL or AMD based platform. A slick n slim form-factor would leave you with less to carry.
Look up the specs. 2GB RAM and a reasonable graphic card means everything else falls in place. You have a powerful XP or Vista based system in your hands. For hardcore graphics- the cost will go up, mind you. Need to step to the 40-50 K mark. Oh, the apple airbooks are so enticing. But damned that nearly 1 million buck(85K) price! hmf#. Bout time Steve Jobbs got real.
Oh yes, the portability thingie, right? Most laptops aren’t exactly ultra-portable. So say hello to the new boys—the net-books. Small form factor, a full blown PC with XP or Vista, loads of storage & connectivity—all that fits into the size of a standard office diary! Now that’s the USP! Take a USB modem and you got a small & fully functional windows PC on the move. All these systems are almost same in hardware configuration: Intel atom processor, a big HDD, 4-6 cell battery, Wifi, Blue tooth, 1 -2 GB Ram, 2-3USB ports, VGA out, speakers, & an 8-10 inch screen among the major things to bother about.
A few of these boast a slightly advanced processor model, more storage and battery life. You need to check out the built in feel. Many brands lost points in the‘feel’ factor—Poor build and tacky finishing with weird body colors and floral designs aren’t very inspiring. Looks n feels cheap. I checked all the brands worth their salt for 2 weeks. In my book the only winner is Acer Z/-250 D aspire one net-book - It wins in each department. The price range of these net-books are around 20 grand.
So here you are, a net book is the much vaunted full blown computer that weighs around a kilo and can do pretty much everything from net surfing to running PPTs & other popular office applications.You can watch a movie too or play music. Heavy games are a no no. The GMA 950 integrated graphic won't be able to haul a$s!
Cons? Nothing really. Except the fact that the devices’ architecture(atom processor) may not be able to install and run just about any application.But you have Vista or XP OS, can run MS office, IE, adobe applications, media player etc etc, dig out the DOS prompt and write some java or C codes if you have to—ain’t that enough computing and mobility together? Next, net-books don’t have an inbuilt DVD/CD drive. It comes extra and connects to a USB port. At this point most companies are offering the drive for free! Tops that, most major brands are also offering a broadband USB modem at less than 1/3 rd MRP and 1 month’s usage free! Now that’s a deal to go for if you are buying an ultra-portable.
Still, folk like me don’t like computing constrains in terms of applications & hardware. For that, it’s back to a cross-breed between note-books and net-books—the true ultra-portables. I call'em the ultra-book:) These slick n slim devices are a new set of lite laptops. 10-12” screen, add on DVD drive, dollops of DDR, loads of disk space, decent processor & dedicated graphics allows you to load and run wotever you want. For example- the HP pavilion DV2 1000 A series with a single core 1.66 gig Athlon MV 40(512 mb cache) CPU is as good as any modern system in terms of the bells and whistles. Meaning to say, you can install and run all major softwares. Hell, I played FEAR on the DV2 ax. Beat that ye fraggers! I did a lot more. Its lite n sleek n sexy! Maybe I'll share more on this in another review. But its worth a buy- none-the-less.
Verdict-
If U don’t have one, its a good time to buy a great notebook around 30K. You can still carry it around. Full computing on the move & all the benefits that comes with it. For around 20K, the net-book in its diary sized avatar is a full blown computer. Its only constrain is maybe certain software won’t install. But it has All the computing you need on the move. And it’s the size of a li’l storybook! Much better than that smart(dumb) phone. ha ha.
For everything on the move and no restrictions, yet light & small enough to easily carry around(1.3 kilos.)- A powerful swanky looking system that’s slightly bigger than a net book, but smaller & sleeker than a note-book – is the ultra-portable- Look out for the HP DV2 1000 series priced between 30-40k. Yes they are a bit high priced. But its worth it me thinks.
Ideal buying places would be those giant multi brand retailers like the e-zones and Cromas. The deals and bundled offers are the best at this point. Heavy discounts on MRP, % EMI, free bees like broadband modem at throw away price. Hope I’ve answered the why, how, where & how much. One more thing- Odd it may seem, but the configuration of the same model may vary from one seller to another. Check it out. Price does vary too. Also In most cases you don't get the original CDs. Everything is pre-installed you need to create a back up. This the big boys think will help prevent piracy. Hmmmmm. There you go mate. scourge tha market.
