TOSHIBA P505 MULTIMEDIA NOTEBOOK REVIEW

The Toshiba Satellite P505 is a powerful multimedia notebook equipped with ATI Radeon HD 4650 discrete GPU and a gigantic 18.4" display. It offers dual drives for optimal performance and storage.

Toshiba Satellite P505-S8950 Specifications:
Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1)
Display: 18.4 inch 1680 x 945 HD+ TruBrite Display (Glossy)
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 with 1GB GDDR2
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB Cache)
Memory: 6GB DDR2-800 RAM
Storage: 64GB Toshiba SSD + 320GB 7200RPM Hitachi
Retail Price: $1,599

Build and Design
With its 18.4 inch display the P505 looks really gigantic. The machine weighs over 11lbs and isn’t very portable. The glossy black pinstripe finish on the exterior of the notebook lends it a classy look. Build quality is satisfactory, but the weight and width of the notebook does make it susceptible to some flex. The screen hinges also don’t appear really tight, but that is nothing surprising considering the heavy screen.

Each hard drive has its own individual bay. There are easy access panels to both hard drive bays and memory slots. So upgrading components wouldn’t be an issue.

Screen and Speakers
The display panel comes with a resolution of 1680x945. The panel itself is very good: colors are bright and vivid. But the glossy display makes reflections a huge problem when you work in a bright setting. Vertical viewing angles are average but horizontal viewing angles are satisfactory.

The P505 comes with a Harman/kardon sound system. The speaker performance is quite impressive. It is more than adequate for watching a movie or listening to music.

Keyboard and Touchpad
There is a full-size keyboard and keypad. There is also a 1 inch wide touch sensitive multimedia key section on this notebook. The keyboard has an easy-to-follow layout and is very comfortable to type on. The large touchpad is a Synaptics model, but its performance seemed lacking.


Ports and Features
Port selection is good. There are three USB ports, one eSATA/USB combo port, FireWire, VGA-out, LAN, HDMI, SD-Card slot and audio jacks. Other features include slot-Loading DVD SuperMulti, Intel 5100AGN, Bluetooth v2.1 Atheros AR8131 1GB Ethernet and built-in web camera.

Performance
Performance is quite snappy thanks to the Intel P8700processor, ATI Mobility HD 4650 GPU and Toshiba 64GB SSD. Boot times are minimal. Multimedia performance is good. It can easily handle 1080p HD video content. This is not a dedicated gaming notebook, but you can still play most games on this system.

Heat and Noise
The P505 has a large chassis which allows plenty of airflow that keeps the system cool. Noise levels are also within normal limits.

Battery Life
The P505 is equipped with a large 12-cell battery (6-cell option is also available) with a capacity of 100Wh. At around 4.5 hours, the battery life is quite good for a notebook of this size and capacity.

Conclusion
The 18.4 inch Toshiba Satellite P505 is an excellent desktop replacement laptop. It is good at handling most tasks. You can watch HD video and play most modern games. The touchpad performance isn’t very good, but that problem can be solved by using an external mouse.

Pros:
Amazing speaker system
Good battery life
Snappy performance

Cons:
Heavy
Average touchpad

ASUS LAUNCHES ITS UL50 MULTIMEDIA LAPTOP

Asus has announced a new multimedia laptop – the UL50. The Asus UL50 is equipped with a 15.6 inch display. It is now available for purchase in the US.

The Asus UL50 sports an Intel SU7300 1.3 GHz ultra low voltage processor with Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics. Up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM can be installed. The maximum storage capacity is 320GB. There is an HDMI port for transferring video to an external monitor.

The machine runs on Windows Vista. The 15.6 inch display features 1366x768 pixels. Other features include a DVD burner. The best thing about this machine is indeed its rated battery life of 11 hours. Prices start at $799.

ASUS ANNOUNCES N61 AND N71 MULTIMEDIA NOTEBOOKS

Asus has added two new notebooks – the 16 inch N61 and 17.3 inch N71 - to its popular N-series. The Asus N-series notebooks are known for their multimedia capabilities. The new additions won’t be any different either.

Asus claims that the new notebooks will offer a fantastic audio experience. The N61 and N71 are equipped with the Altec Lansing speakers in SRS Premium Sound. They also make use of Asus’s SonicMaster technology which improves the sound quality over a number of audio ranges.

The N61 and N71 can be configured with either an Intel Core 2 Duo or an Intel Core 2 Quad processor. Up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM can be installed. The hard disk capacity is 500GB. For gaming, there is a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 240M or GT 220M GPU. There is also a Blu-ray drive. Both notebooks have a resolution of 1366x768.

No information regarding pricing and availability has been released.

CHOOSING A MULTI-MEDIA LAPTOP

Multi-media laptops are for those users who would like to work with graphics, watch movies or listen to music. Most multi-media laptops belong to the desktop replacement laptop category. They are more powerful than the conventional desktop computers and can work with media of all sorts.

Multi-media laptops aren’t necessarily portable. They are heavy and don’t come with good battery life. Travelers who will want to make media-rich presentations will, nevertheless, find them helpful. You may also want to use a multi-media laptop if you are a graphic artist who does some traveling. Opt for a model with a large display. If you do have to travel with a multi-media laptop, don’t forget to have a spare battery. You may also require access to power outlets as using media rich programs will easily drain the battery.

Multi-Media Laptop Features
Most multi-media laptops will weigh 7.5 pounds or more. They are closer to 2 inches in thickness and come with 15.4 to 20 inches widescreens. Multi-media laptops will usually have fast processors. They also come with multiple USB ports, FireWire and Memory Card Readers. Hard drive capacity can range from 60GB to 120GB. Networking and internet connectivity options are LAN, modem, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

ASUS W90 ANNOUNCED AS THE ULTIMATE MULTIMEDIA NOTEBOOK

Asus proudly announced what it called the Ultimate Multimedia Notebook at the CES. According to Asus the W90 bridges the gap between form and function to deliver style and performance in one stunning package. Its combination of high powered technology and style is perfect to meet your needs whether it is work or entertainment.

The Asus W90 is loaded with Intel's Core 2 Duo T9600/T9400/P8600/P8400 processor and Intel X38 + ICH10R Chipset. Its 6GB of RAM along with the 3 x SO-DIMM mainboard design that has been included in a notebook for the first time gives Asus W90 the awesome power to carry out its multitasks with aplomb. The W90 also gives a massive storage capacity with its dual hard disk drives that can provide a max of one terabyte storage. You also have the choice of graphic cards that include ATI CrossFireX technology with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 graphics, GDDR3 1024MB VRAM (W90Vp) or NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS, GDDR3 1024MB VRAM (W90Vn) or ATI CrossFireX technology with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3850 graphics, GDDR3 1024MB VRAM (W90V).

The Asus W90 has 6 Altec Lansing speakers with integrated subwoofer and a 2nd generation Dolby Home Theater to give a mindblowing audio experience. It also includes Blu-ray combo or DVD SuperMulti DL burner, Bluetooth, 18.4-inch or 17 inch widescreen LCD display, WiFi 802.11n, a 2MP auto focus webcam, 8-in-1 card reader and an eSATA connector. As if all this is not enough to bowl you over, the W90 is equipped with the Turbo Gear Function which allows you to over clock the system to increase its performance by 25%.

GATEWAY M-152XL REVIEW - THE COMPRESSED MULTIMEDIA MOTIVATING FORCE

The Gateway M-152XL is a compressed multimedia motivating force aimed unswervingly at the Toshiba A305, HP Pavillion dv6700, or Dell M1530. Each of these laptops proffers the same indispensable features. So how healthy does the Gateway pile up to the rest? Examine on to find out.

Design
The Gateway M-152XL has an extremely trendy design with lustrous metallic blue paint contrasting the brushed aluminum spruce around the casing of the laptop as well as the keyboard. The optical drive, subsequent the smooth and modish theme is niche loading, just like the Dell M1530 or Apple laptop line. Build quality is higher than average with a hard-wearing framework that feels pretty rock-hard in your hand. The plastic is sturdy, flexing little under constant worry and producing no squeaks when tossed roughly.

Performance
The on the whole system recital of the Gateway M-152XL laptop is outstanding, with its Intel Penryn T8300 processor and ATI Mobility HD2600 graphics accelerator card. This amalgamation provides you abundance of performance to play most up to date games even on standard settings, and more than adequate power for day to day tasks. The 7200rpm Seagate hard disk memory drive helped load media applications like the Windows Media Center devoid of holdup, and gave the laptop a very snappy feel when just tooling roughly. In comparison to the other laptops in this price sector, the Gateway M-152XL clearly leads the crowd in on the whole system recital from what we have witnessed in our testing.

Display eminence is run of the mill, with an awfully constricted viewing perspective which can make enjoying a movie or game thorny until you hit upon a sweet spot. The keyboard on the Gateway M-152XL laptop was very nice, with a very rock-hard sense when typing. Thermal presentation of this laptop was brilliant, in commission at surreptitiousness decibel levels during for the most part of activities, and placidly ramping up in momentum under benchmarks. For possessing a customary, non-extended battery power pack, the Gateway M-152XL carries in good off the grid string time of 2 hours and 35 minutes while sprinting on the Windows Vista "Balanced" profile.

Conclusion
The Gateway M-152XL serves a great treaty of presentation and very high-quality build standards for a very striking price. While the customary retail price of this laptop is $1,299, at the time of this writing Gateway is at present are selling it on their website with an additional $250 discount, straining the concluding price down to $1,050. The solitary big grievance I had with our review variant was the paint imperfection.

ASUS WITH TOTAL MULTIMEDIA SKIN

ASUS first unveiled the M50 Notebook. The highlight was its Dual-drive HDD design to offer up to 1TB storage using Hitachi’s Travelstar series (5K500 & E5K500) of drives. Now, the leading motherboard manufacturer has announced its official launch with trade availability expected very soon. The M50 is an absolute multimedia solution in a notebook with the latest "Penryn" Core 2 Duo processor, Mobile Express PM965 chipset, 802.11n Wi-Fi, HDMI for High definition, Fingerprint reader, Hybrid TV Tuner (Analog & Digital) and Blu-ray drive. There are lots of variants of the M50 model depending on the choice of distinct graphics inside them.

STRONG MULTIMEDIA NOTEBOOK – HP PAVILION DV9750US

HP Pavilion dv9750us is one of the extremely strong multimedia notebooks for those hunting for a high definition playback laptop. Addition of digital TV tuner card and much demanded Blu-ray drive offer these features. One noticeable part is that this system is more powered when compared to some of the other similar rated system. You may be paying cost only for its amazing multimedia features. HP Pavilion dv975us is no doubt is much of multimedia notebook and might best act a replacement laptop. Most of the desktop replacements make use superior end Core 2 Duo processors to offer more desktop like feel. Comparatively Pavilion dv9750us uses the quite low end as T7250 model.

HP Pavilion dv9750us comprise two 250GB 5400rpm hard drive to offer excellent 500GB space in hard drive. This is particularly helpful for people looking to use the PVR features offered by Vista operating system with most admired HDTV tuner. This system as well incorporate a drive, which could support playback of Blu-ray discs alongside with recording and playback of CDs and DVDs. All things considered, the HP Pavilion dv9750us is an extremely solid desktop replacement for people desiring to use it for general-purpose machine or wanting to go for multimedia purpose.