HTC Droid Incredible Lives Up to Its Name

Droid Incredible Review, by Ginny Mies, PC World April 18, 2010

The best of the Droids on Verizon, the Droid Incredible ($200 with a two-year contract from Verizon) impresses with its speedy user interface, gorgeous AMOLED display and fun Sense user interface. Other than some minor design qualms, this smartphone truly lives up to its name.

Design-wise, the Droid Incredible appears fairly similar to the Nexus One, but it is essentially a CDMA version of the HTC Desire, which launched last February in Barcelona, Spain. The Droid Incredible has an 8-megapixel camera (as opposed to the Nexus One and Desire's 5-megapixel shooters). The Droid Incredible also has a strange rubberdized "topographic" battery cover, which I could have done without. While the Incredible is lighter, it doesn't feel as solid as the Nexus One.

While the Nexus One has four touch keys, the Droid Incredible has four physical hardware keys running along the bottom (Home, Menu, Back, Search). I actually prefer the Nexus One's touch keys, though, as it gives the phone a more streamlined look.

Another difference from the Nexus One is that the Droid Incredible has an optical mouse as opposed to a trackball. Like RIM BlackBerrys, HTC seems to be making a shift from trackball to optical (both the HTC Desire and Legend sport an optical mouse).

The Droid Incredible runs Android 2.1 with the revamped Sense interface, which offers some useful new functions for easy navigation. For more information about Android 2.1's features, check out our review of the Google Nexus One.

Impressive 8-Megapixel Camera

While 5-megapixel cameras seems to be the standard for high-end smartphones for right now, expect to see a lot more 8-megapixel camera phones in the near feature. Overall, I was impressed with the Droid Incredible's camera, but I didn't think it was as good as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10. You press the haptic mouse to snap pictures, which works okay, but I found myself wishing there was a dedicated camera key on the phone's spine. The phone just didn't feel as steady in my hands and sometimes my pictures looked a bit blurry. Otherwise, I was very impressed with my outdoor shots. Colors appeared bright and natural, details looked sharp. There was also very little shutter lag. My indoor shots looked good as well, though a few had a bit of yellowish tint. The flash also seemed a bit unpredictable as to when it decided to go off, as well. Many of my indoor shots were pretty well lit so when the flash went off, details and colors were blown out. Nighttime snapshots looked good, however-better than most smartphone cameras with flashes.

The Droid Incredible can shoot high resolution video up to 800-by-480, but you can't shoot 720p quality video. The camcorder is fine for quick clips, but I was disappointed by the slight pixelation in my videos.

Multimedia: Just Okay

I do wish that HTC would have updated the Sense media player. It is slightly prettier than the dull-as-dirt Android player, but I prefer iTunes or Palm's webOS player. Audio playback sounded good, though and the player supports a respectable range of audio and video formats.

from www.pcworld.com

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The HP EliteBook 2540p Is a Highly Portable Business Machine With Few Sacrifices

EliteBook 2540p Review, by Zack Stern May 6, 2010

A new HP laptop, the EliteBook 2540p assembles zippy components and versatile ports in a nimble case. Though HP's omission of a graphical processor slows the machine down for games and 3D software, this model possesses ample power for nearly any professional application. And the highly portable (3.38 pounds) EliteBook can transform any room into a satellite office.

Priced at $1629 (as of May 5, 2010), the EliteBook 2540p is especially noteworthy for its solid case--a clean, metal-and-plastic design that HP says can withstand 300 pounds of pressure when closed. (If you do run into problems, however, be forewarned that HP ranked last in our most recent reader survey of manufacturer reliability and service.) The laptop feels compact and manages to hold out for a solid 5 hours, 34 minutes on a single battery charge.

A 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-640LM and 4GB RAM provide the laptop's pep, helping it to a score of 102 in our WorldBench 6 test suite. The system feels powerful enough to handle Web browsing, Office apps, and virtually any productivity or content creation software. But lacking a dedicated graphics processor, it limped through our low-quality, 800-by-600-pixel Unreal Tournament 3 benchmark at 14.2 frames per second. Other 3D games are similarly unplayable. Business users might not care, but content creators may occasionally want better graphics performance than this model can deliver; even Photoshop can take advantage of a dedicated GPU.

The keyboard works well. The full layout trims some of the extra width from Tab and several other outlying keys, but the keyboard still handles touch-typing quite comfortably. Initially I disliked the texture, which feels like slate and even gets marked up with fingernail scratches (though those scrapes wipe off easily). After a while, however, I got used to the finish.

The EliteBook includes two pointers: a standard two-button trackpad, and a two-button eraser-head joystick. The trackpad feels responsive, while the ThinkPad-esque rubber pointer gets out-of-control a little too often for my taste. Still, both work, and being able to use the input device you prefer is all to the good. Both sets of mouse buttons left- and right-click independently; unfortunately, both sets felt a little too squishy to me.

The matte, 12.1-inch display is well suited for mobile work. It looked best with a lot of background light and was even readable outside. On the other hand, it lacked brightness, seeming more washed out than competing models and displaying less contrast. Forf these reasons, graphics pros might want to consider a different laptop. At least text always looked sharp, and the display can tilt back beyond 180 degrees for versatile mobile use.

The laptop's audio was certainly adequate, though a wider range of tones would have warmed it up significantly; midrange and high-pitched tones came through clearly, while lower sounds drifted away. As a result, rock music and movie soundtracks never sounded credible, though you could put up with either if were stuck somewhere without headphones.

from www.pcworld.com

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Casio Exilim EX-G1 Is Tough, but Its Images May Look Rough

Exilim EX-G1 Review, by Sarah Jacobsson May 5, 2010

Snowboarders, snorkelers, and rock climbers, listen up: The ruggedized Casio Exilim EX-G1 point-and-shoot digital camera is a worthy companion for your next outdoor adventure. That's assuming, of course, you don't snowboard in weather colder than 14 degrees Fahrenheit, you don't snorkel in water over 10 feet deep, you don't climb rocks higher than 7 feet, and you can live with middling image quality while you're on the move.

The key phrase here is "while you're on the move." The 12.1-megapixel Exilim EX-G1 performed extremely well in our lab-based imaging tests, producing very sharp images with good color accuracy and a lack of distortion. In PCWorld Labs' subjective testing, our jury of evaluators rated the EX-G1's image quality as Very Good.

But you'll rarely have a tripod with you on a mountain hike or snowboard trip, and that will have a negative impact on this camera's image quality in the wild. In my hands-on, real-world tests, its still images were, at best, decent. The EX-G1 offers ISO equivalency settings up to ISO 3200, but my images above ISO 400 started showing a lot of noise when zoomed in at 100 percent. Images looked sharp enough when viewed at smaller sizes, but noise, artifacts, and color issues were evident at ISO equivalencies above 800 and at larger sizes. Though the camera offers a Macro mode (in the REC menu under the Auto mode), the EX-G1 had trouble focusing on objects as close as 4 inches away from the lens.

The EX-G1 also has no real image stabilization other than a digital "Anti-Shake" option, which is off by default and disabled automatically when you use a flash. You have to dive into the camera's "REC" menu to turn it on, and it does little to combat shaky hands or darting subjects. Instead, it increases ISO sensitivity--leaving you with, well, a number of artifacts and a somewhat shaky picture.

The Exilim EX-G1 features a 3X-optical-zoom lens (38mm to 114mm), a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and a variety of preset "Best Shot" modes. It's delightfully tiny at just 5.4 ounces and 0.78 inches thick--Casio says it's the slimmest shockproof camera on the market (the upcoming Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5, which measures less than 0.75 inches thick, might have something to say about that soon). The EX-G1 takes MicroSD and MicroSDHC cards, and it's available in black or red for $300 (as of 5/5/2010).

It is indeed rugged. The camera is shockproof to falls as far as 7 feet, waterproof down to 10 feet (and it does sink, so use that wrist strap), freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (though using the camera at this temperature significantly decreases your battery life), and dustproof. I tested everything except the dust, and the EX-G1 powered through like a champion--though the LCD screen did suffer a scratch or two.

from www.pcworld.com

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The Inspiron 14 (model 1464): It’s Just a Dell, Dude

Inspiron 14 (1464) Review, by Zack Stern May 5, 2010

The chips inside the Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) should push this average laptop beyond midrange quality. A 2.13GHz Intel Core i3-330M processor and 4GB of RAM should power any typical home or office workload. A decent, 14-inch display gives room to edit side-by-side documents or to watch videos. Why, then, does the Inspiron 14 end up feeling more low-end in actual use?

Without a dedicated video processor, games and high-performance applications stumble. The 3-hour, 20-minute battery falls short of mobile demands. And the ho-hum, faux-metal case feels a little cheap. Nearly every aspect of this model feels adequate without being impressive.

Shipping for about $680 (as of 5/5/2010), the Inspiron 14 focuses on CPU performance. The system scored a strong 92 in our WorldBench 6 test suite. However, its results in gaming graphics were disappointing, with the system chugging through our Unreal Tournament 3 benchmarks at 28.7 and 22.2 frames per second in low- and high-quality tests, respectively. Those tests were run at a resolution of just 800 by 600 pixels, too.

Real-world performance echoes those benchmarking cues. The Inspiron 14 easily handles Office applications, online tools, and media playback software. High-end software and games falter. You could play less-demanding titles, such as Tropico 3, if you're forgiving. First-person games, such as Splinter Cell: Conviction, are unplayable.

It's a shame because the big screen seems like a match for students who would want to keep up with games. The glossy, 1366-by-768-pixel display looks good enough in many situations. In bright rooms, the sheen can cause excessive glare, and the black border is even worse, reflecting your fingers as they rest on the keyboard. The screen misses the deep contrast and color saturation of other displays. Still, text is sharply defined, and it looks good enough to be satisfactory overall.

The keyboard is responsive even though the plastic keys feel just a little cheap. A few volume and media playback keys share space with the F-keys. The Inspiron 14 has no dedicated extra buttons, but there isn't much reason to want more.

The touchpad matches this aesthetic of averageness. Mouse control feels snappy, and independent buttons left- and right-click. However, the mouse buttons are a little too spongy, instead of letting you distinctly feel each press.

The speakers turn in another adequate performance. Since they're embedded into the base of the laptop, if you're using it literally--on a lap, that is--the sound is muffled and doesn't seem to originate from a specific place. The audio cleans up if you set it on a desk, creating a wide, stereo pattern. The volume can get loud and introduces a little warble at the highest level. But throughout, the speakers strongly favor high tones, dropping midrange and lower sounds. They seem like a typical set of laptop speakers, even if they can get louder than those of many competitors.

A 500GB hard disk and a CD/DVD burner tackle storage duties. Both meet expectations without adding anything beyond the minimum.

Many of the ports fall below that minimum threshold. Sure, you get an HDMI and VGA port. Audio-in and -out appear alongside a 7-format memory-card reader. A Webcam captures video and photos. 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth handle wireless connections. But the Inspiron includes only three USB 2.0 ports and a 10/100 ethernet jack. Additional USB, gigabit ethernet, and even eSATA would have been welcome additions.

All together, the Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) is missing that certain something that would boost its overall quality, and Dell fares poorly in our reliability survey of PCWorld readers. A more-impressive battery--even one running 5 hours--would offset most of the midrange features, but the Inspiron 14's died after 3 hours, 20 minutes in our tests. Better graphical performance, a higher-resolution display, or brighter colors could make a difference. Even excellent sound could propel this laptop above competitors. But all of the features are just adequate, and no single spec can offset this midrange aesthetic. The speedy processor comes closest, but today's great laptops include more than a good CPU.

from www.pcworld.com

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Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot a Win for Laptop Users

Overdrive Review, by Ken Biba May 4, 2010

If you're like me, you need to be connected to the Internet constantly, on multiple devices, and at the highest speeds possible. Wi-Fi is great for connecting from places like home, work, and local coffee spots. But when I'm on the road, finding usable Wi-Fi hotspots for connecting my wireless devices is a challenge, and I often use (or wish I could use) cellular data service instead.

Sprint’s Overdrive 3G/4G mobile hotspot device (made by Sierra Wireless) connects to Sprint’s cellular network and then forms a miniature Wi-Fi zone for other devices to connect to. The battery-powered Overdrive looks like an unusually thick coffee coaster; it fits easily in your shirt pocket and can share your cellular data connection with up to five Wi-Fi-capable devices.

The Overdrive is the latest in a series of devices that can create mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. Others include Novatel’s popular MiFi, the Cradlepoint PHS300, and some uberphones such as the Pre on Verizon.

Unlike the others, the Overdrive is capable of supercharging its mobile hotspot with 4G WiMax--which claims to offer a tenfold increase in performance over 3G. When the Overdrive can't connect with a 4G network, it automatically reverts to Sprint’s 3G or 2G service, depending on what's available.

Sprint (through its partner Clearwire) has deployed 4G WiMax in 28 cities and will offer the service in at least 56 cities by the end of 2010.

I traveled with an Overdrive through several of Sprint’s 4G and 3G cities, along with a couple of laptops and a gaggle of smart devices--an iPhone 3GS, an iPad, a Motorola Droid, and an HTC Hero. I often stowed the Overdrive conveniently in my coat pocket or in my backpack, and let it work its magic from there.

If you can configure your home Wi-Fi router, you'll find that the Overdrive is a snap to set up by comparison. A simple yet comprehensive browser interface guides you through configuration and setup.

An external LCD on the Overdrive delivers key status messages. If you like, you can make it display your Wi-Fi password. (I tend to forget mine, so I value the quick reminder.)

Unfortunately, the device’s single power/control button was sometimes slow to respond in my hands-on testing, leading to uncertainty as to whether it was responding at all. Another drawback: The Overdrive took a full minute to boot up.

The device comes equipped with GPS to display the unit’s position in Google Maps, and with a microSD card that enables you to share files between Wi-Fi-attached devices. Ultimately, though, the microSD storage isn't as convenient as using a simple USB memory stick to move files.

During my tests in Sprint 4G cities, the Overdrive remained in 4G mode about 80 percent of the time. When I used the Overdrive to connect my laptop near the city centers of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, I saw download speeds of around 3.2 megabits per second, and upload speeds of 400 kilobits per second.

Sprint promises peak 4G download speeds of up to 10 mbps, with average speeds in the range of 3 mbps to 6 mbps. In Novarum’s 13-city wireless broadband performance tests conducted in January 2010, Sprint’s 4G network delivered average download speeds of between 2 mbps and 4 mbps, with occasional higher bursts.

In my tests with the Overdrive, I set the device to switch automatically between 4G and 3G service, with a preference for 4G (the default setting). Moving to 3G from 4G was quick and seamless; but the unit needs between 30 and 60 seconds to jump from 3G service to 4G service.

When the device was stationary, the 3G-to-4G shift didn't pose any special problems (aside from the time); but once when it was in motion aboard the Acela train from Washington, D.C., passing through Baltimore (a Sprint 4G city), the Overdrive couldn't seem to decide between the two wireless modes (possibly because of the speed of the train and changing cell zones) and communications ceased. Only when we passed out of Baltimore’s 4G footprint did the Overdrive settle on 3G service and restore communications.

The Overdrive's performance with my smartphones and iPad was very different from its performance with my laptop. 4G download speeds on the iPhone, iPad, Droid, and Hero were substantially worse than the corresponding speeds on my Overdrive-connected laptop.

In fact, in my tests, the IPhone and iPad registered faster speeds when connected via their internal 3G radios over AT&T’s much-improved 3G network than when connected via the Overdrive to Sprint's 4G network. So using the Overdrive rather than the internal 3G radio to connect those devices seems pointless. (I should note, though, that the latest Overdrive firmware update substantially improved iPhone’s performance over the hotspot.)

For the Droid and the Hero (which normally connect over Verizon's and T-Mobile's somewhat slower 3G networks), the Overdrive boosted performance by about 50 percent. Whether that improvement justifies buying the extra Sprint contract is debatable, and depends entirely on the customer.

In 3G-only cities, performance for all devices drops to Sprint’s reliable but somewhat leisurely 3G speeds, which our 13-city speed tests showed to be marginally slower than Verizon’s and markedly slower than AT&T’s.

Like other mobile hotspot devices, the Overdrive has its own battery, which you can recharge via miniUSB connected either to a PC or to a power outlet using a plug-in adapter. As a traveler I like to keep the number of chargers I carry to a minimum, so I prefer to recharge the Overdrive from my laptop.

The Overdrive seems to use more power when connecting to 4G than it does when connected to 3G. The device's battery life was about 4 hours on 3G and about 3 hours on 4G. Recharging it from a fully discharged state took between 2 and 3 hours using the USB cable, but less than an hour using the plug-in adapter.

The unit has a list price of $350, but Sprint’s current rebates bring the upfront net cost to $99 when tied to a two-year contract with unlimited 4G data but with a 5GB-per-month cap on 3G data for $60 per month. These prices are the same as for single laptop USB network adapters, but at least you can share the bandwidth among several devices.

For power laptop users, the Overdrive is a godsend. In 4G cities, it delivers substantially higher performance (often two or three times higher) than that generally available from hotel or coffee shop Wi-Fi. And for frequent travelers, offsetting hotel Wi-Fi charges easily justifies the cost of the Sprint contract. The Overdrive has a spot in my travel bag for precisely these reasons.

from www.pcworld.com

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Lenovo S10-3t: Half-Netbook, Half-Tablet

IdeaPad S10-3t Review, by Sarah Jacobsson May 4, 2010

If you love the idea of a portable tablet PC, but can't really come to grips with the lack of a physical keyboard on such devices, Lenovo's S10-3t is here to help. This convertible tablet netbook features a screen that swivels 180 degrees and lies flat, so you can have the conveniences of both a touchscreen and a physical keyboard.

Our review model, which is black and costs $549, features the 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and a 10.1-inch LED multitouch screen. It also has a built-in Webcam and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. The unit comes with Windows 7 Starter as the operating system.

The Lenovo S10-3t isn't a breathtaking netbook. It has a very shiny (and fingerprint-attracting) cover with a glittery square pattern. Its connections include two USB 2.0 ports, an ethernet port, a VGA-out port, headphone and microphone jacks, and a front-loading SD card slot.

For a 10.1-inch netbook, the S10-3t is pretty slim at just 0.79 inches thick. With the four-cell standard battery, it weighs 2.7 pounds (a larger eight-cell battery raises the weight to 3.3 pounds). This is a good weight for a netbook, but a little on the heavy side for a tablet. Though the larger battery gives you significantly more life than does the standard battery, the battery pack sticks out almost an inch from the back of the netbook and makes holding the device for more than a few minutes awkward and uncomfortable.

I definitely appreciate the full-size physical keyboard--but in tablet mode, you have no virtual keyboard, which can be very annoying if you like to work in that mode. The keys are nice and big, but a little too springy for my taste--they have no weight at all, which makes typing uncomfortable and promotes typos galore.

The trackpad is another story--it's about an inch-and-a-half tall, with two integrated buttons denoted by tiny dots on the lower corners. And it's textured, so there's no mistaking where it is (though, if you blink you might miss it). For what it's worth, the trackpad works nicely. Scrolling is smooth and the buttons are easy to press. It's just so small. Lenovo presumably didn't spend too much time (or real estate) on the trackpad because the good old touchscreen is right in front of you, but still, I would've appreciated something a little larger.

The 1024-by-600-pixel touchscreen is a single-input multitouch display that gives the user a pretty decent experience. It's not the most precise touchscreen we've ever used, but it's good enough to take the place of a trackpad. The IdeaPad has an accelerometer, but it was shaky at best--every time you lay the device flat, it gets confused and picks a random orientation (instead of just sticking with the orientation you had before)--annoying. You also have to wait 3 to 5 seconds as the desktop reorients itself.

No stylus is included, and writing on the screen is pretty much a lost cause. You'll have to find or buy your own stylus if you plan on using the "notes" feature. The screen is also highly glossy--not such an issue if you're using it as a netbook, but a big problem if you're using it as a tablet. The screen is quite reflective, and from some angles you can barely see it at all.

Audio and video are pretty dismal. I couldn't even stream a standard-definition one-minute clip of Family Guy without choppiness and lag, and downloaded video isn't any better. Even the sample preloaded clip (of horses and ducks and other nature things) looks more like a series of still pictures than a video clip. The speakers, located under the screen, are louder than most netbooks but still very flat-sounding. Dolby headphone surround sound gives a much better audio experience--I'd definitely recommend toting headphones around with this netbook.

Because the S10-3t is a half-tablet, Lenovo includes an appropriate amount of touch-friendly software. Along with the requisite 60-day trial of Microsoft Office, you get a suite of apps (dubbed "NaturalTouch") that includes a photo browser, an e-book reader, a notes application, and a media player. And a dedicated button on the lower left corner of the screen will take you straight into NaturalTouch. Lenovo also bundles a number of its own applications, including Lenovo DirectShare, Lenovo VeriFace 3.6, Lenovo VeriTouch, and OneKey Recovery. One app, called BumpTop, displays your desktop as a touch-friendly 3D "desktop."

The Lenovo S10-3t is, at best, decent as a netbook and decent as a tablet. While it's nice to have the functionality of both, I think I'd get better use out of something that was just really good as one or the other--a great netbook or a great tablet would be better than something that's merely.

from www.pcworld.com

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HP Officejet 6000 Wireless: Cheap Business Inkjet Delivers the Goods

Officejet 6000 Wireless Review, by Jon L. Jacobi and Melissa Riofrio March 30, 2010

The HP Officejet 6000 Wireless.lower price ($120 as of March 29, 2010).Setup was easy, despite a veritable avalanche of dialog boxes for setting up the wireless functionality. On a Mac, you must visit the Preferences/Printers dialog box to add the printer manually--a small task, but one that other vendors' products have managed to automate.

The Officejet 6000 Wireless placed in the middle of the pack on most of our speed and quality tests. (The Epson WorkForce 40 is a lot faster, but it has other drawbacks.) On the PC platform, text pages on plain paper averaged 7.4 pages per minute. A variety of plain-paper grayscale and color pages exited at rates of 3.3 ppm to 3.7 ppm. When we switched to photos using HP's own paper, prints emerged at 1.9 ppm, the fastest we've seen in a while. On the Mac platform, plain-text speed was 7.45 ppm, versus 1.47 ppm for a mixed text and graphics PDF file and 0.77 ppm for a full-page color photo. On both platforms, text quality was just a hair shy of crisp. Color prints tended to have a more sepia or yellowish tinge, though they still looked natural. Our grayscale image seemed a little greenish and grainy.

A full-featured, fairly sturdy design distinguishes the Officejet 6000 Wireless. The printer's top lid (for access to the ink cartridges) is flimsy, but the rear-mounted automatic duplexer enhances the overall stiff build of the printer. A flip-down rear door lets you peek into the paper path in case of a jam, or you can pull out the unit completely for deeper access. The simple, 250-sheet input tray has a sliding width guide on the left. Its lid doubles as the 50-sheet output tray, with a somewhat bendy pull-out extension for catching pages. On-printer controls consist of just three buttons: resume, cancel, and wireless. The last toggles wireless on and off if you press and hold it; if you push it quickly, it prints out network settings.

The inks are reasonably priced. Standard-size (HP 920) cartridges ship with the unit. Replacing the black ink costs $19.95, or 4.8 cents per page. The 300-page cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges cost $9.99 apiece, or 3.3 cents per page. A page with all four colors would cost 14.7 cents. The high-yield, 920XL cartridges are a much better deal: A 1200-page black cartridge costs $31.99 (2.7 cents per page), while each 700-page cyan, magenta, or yellow costs $14.99 (2.1 cents per color per page). A four-color page would cost an economical 9.1 cents.

The HP Officejet 6000 Wireless represents a step down in speed from the Officejet Pro 8000 Wireless, but it has nearly identical features and print quality. It would be a good inkjet printer deal for many small, low- to mid-volume offices on a budget.

from www.pcworld.com

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Belkin Play Max 802.11n Wireless Router: Wi-Fi With Apps

Reviewed by Patrick Miller on April 30, 2010

The Play Max is positioned at the top of Belkin's recently refreshed 802.11n Wi-Fi router line. It costs twice as much as the entry-level Surf ($50), but the package supplies you with a dual-band router plus Belkin's full assortment of wireless networking apps for getting the most out of your wireless network.
The set of apps includes Bit Boost, which lets you set rules to prioritize network traffic, and Torrent Genie, which lets you continue BitTorrent transfers when your PC isn't on. You also get three apps designed to help you manage and share your music libraries across your network: Music Labeler automatically tags your music, Music Mover shares your music libraries across your network, and Daily DJ sets up customized playlists by analyzing your music libraries and pick songs that cater to a certain "mood." Finally, Print Genie and Memory Safe let you share printers and schedule backups to devices connected to one of the Play Max's two USB ports, and Self Healing claims to automatically correct networking flaws.

Setting up the Play Max is fairly easy: Plug the router into the modem and power outlet; pop the driver CD into your PC; then install Belkin's router management app, and set it up through the Belkin Setup wizard. The router has encryption turned on by default (with a password printed on an included card as well as on the bottom of the router itself), so you don't need to worry about someone creeping onto your network the moment you plug it in.

Gaining access to the Play Max's more advanced features, such as Bit Boost and Torrent Genie, requires a little bit more digging. Unlike the software that comes with the Cisco M20 Valet Plus, the Belkin Setup app doesn't let you alter the router's configuration from the Advanced Tools section (which just gives you links to the appropriate page in the Web-based GUI setup system).

A Windows utility called the Belkin Router Monitor, which runs in your taskbar, handles the apps. From there, you can change your Bit Boost Quality of Service profile to various presets (Voice over IP, Online Gaming, and so on), launch Vuze--the included BitTorrent client, which can combine with the Torrent Genie app to continue file transfers when your PC is off, if you have a USB drive plugged into the Play Max--and access Belkin's suite of music-related apps.

Belkin Router Monitor got annoying fairly quickly. It stays open in your system tray and pops up occasionally to warn you if you're not on your router's Wi-Fi network--and I couldn't find a way to shut it up. Worse, this warning kept coming back when I was on the router's own 5GHz network (instead of on the 2.4GHz network), and there's no obvious way to stop it short of closing it.

Overall, the apps are a bit lackluster. For instance, the music apps offer no compelling reason to switch from a more robust app such as iTunes, which already handles music sharing, tagging, and randomized playlist needs just fine. Memory Safe's scheduled backup functions are nice, but Windows 7 has its own a built-in Backup and Restore app.

Even the two apps I was most looking forward to--Bit Boost and Torrent Genie--were underwhelming. Bit Boost is essentially a collection of three preset configurations for the Play Max's Quality of Service functions, promising a way to avoid the tiresome chore of configuring QoS rules manually. Unfortunately, while this app might be useful for juggling VoIP and video, the Online Games mode is downright antiquated. It supports 11 games, most of them dating back to the early 2000s (such as Quake, Half-Life, and Team Fortress 2). The most recent game on the list (Battlefield 2) debuted in 2005. If you want newer titles to work with Bit Boost, you'll have to add them manually--port ranges and all.

Similarly, Torrent Genie sounded like a great idea: You leave your PC on to download BitTorrent files all the time. But I prefer to manage my downloads with uTorrent, as Vuze feels slow and clunky--and unfortunately Torrent Genie supports only Vuze, forcing me either to choose between the two or to deal with the hassle of using two torrent clients.

Another complication: One of the perks of leaving your PC on with Vuze (or uTorrent) is the remote management function, which lets you manage your torrents from another PC, but it doesn't work with Torrent Genie.

We haven't yet put the Play Max through our complete battery of performance tests , but it managed to sustain strong bandwidth (between 20 and 25 megabits per second for close and medium ranges) in an office environment with plenty of other Wi-Fi networks nearby.

Though its throughput suffered, it also managed to maintain usable signal strength at longer range in a building with plenty of physical obstructions--meaning that it can probably cover an apartment or small house without requiring additional access points.

In addition, I had no problem streaming HD video at close or medium range. The benefit of having a dual-band radio is that you can set the 5GHz network to allow only 802.11n clients, so it can take advantage of 802.11n's faster speeds while older clients can connect to the 2.4GHz network.

This capability isn't readily configurable using Belkin's included software, however, and users who are unfamiliar with Wi-Fi channels and frequencies could easily set up and use the Play Max without realizing that they weren't getting the optimum speeds for their setup.

While the Play Max is a fairly solid router, the extra bells and whistles don't justify the price. Most of the apps available here either are done better for free elsewhere or don't quite live up to their promise. Still, this bundle is an interesting idea; and if Belkin significantly improves its apps, the Play Max could be a compelling buy for advanced home users.

from www.pcworld.com

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Sony Bloggie MHS-CM5: Pistol-Grip Pocket Camcorder Can't Quite Outgun Its Foes

Bloggie MHS-CM5 Review, by Tim Moynihan May 3, 2010

The Sony Bloggie MHS-CM5 ($200 as of April 30, 2010) distinguishes itself from competing pocket camcorders with a pistol-grip design, a 5X optical zoom lens, and a dual memory-card slot that supports both SD/SDHC cards and the MemoryStick format. It shoots reasonably good video and has some nice features, but ultimately it doesn't set itself apart from the crowd in the area of performance.

Unlike most pocket camcorders in stores today, the Bloggie MHS-CM5 looks like a miniature version of a full-size camcorder. And along with its candy-bar-style cousin, the Bloggie MHS-PM5, it's among the first Sony pocket camcorders to shoot 1080p-resolution high-definition video. Both Bloggie models are follow-ups to last year's Webbie camcorders; Sony has simply renamed its pocket-camcorder line.

Aside from having a unique design, the Bloggie MHS-CM5 is noticeably bulkier than most pocket camcorders. It has a built-in USB connector that swings out from a compartment on the side of the camera--a welcome improvement on last year's Webbie models, which used a separate USB cable to offload footage and charge the camera. Because of the camcorder's generous size, its USB connector may have a bit of trouble fitting in some port configurations. Fortunately, Sony includes a female-to-male USB extension cable to alleviate such woes.

The Bloggie shoots 1080p MPEG-4 video captured at 30 frames per second--as well as 720p video captured at 60 fps and 30 fps, 640-by-480 VGA video taken at 30 fps, and 5-megapixel still photos. There's about a second of shutter lag between when I pressed the shutter button and when the Bloggie captured an image, but the image quality is decent and the camcorder's SteadyShot digital stabilization does a good job of reducing any associated shakiness.

Video performance is decent, as long as you're in a well-lit setting. In bright indoor lighting, the Bloggie's 1080p video is a bit darker and somewhat less sharp than output from two competing 1080p pocket camcorders, the Kodak Zi8 and the Toshiba Camileo S20. The 5x optical zoom lens is a great spec for a pocket camcorder, but the Bloggie didn't offer nearly as much coverage on the wide-angle end as our wide-angle winner, the Creative Vado HD. Autofocus has a little trouble at the telephoto end of the zoom, but it ultimately locks in on a sharp image after a second or so of searching. Also, the zoom is the smoothest we've seen on a pocket camcorder, by far.

Shown below are the results of our standard pocket-camcorder tests. Wide-angle coverage is on a par with that of the Kodak Zi8, but footage shot with the Bloggie showed shadowy bands scrolling upward over our test footage.

The Bloggie reproduced loud and clear audio, and it didn't show the same oversensitivity to hand movements that last year's Bloggie MHS-PM1. That said, the built-in microphone remains sensitive to wind, and overall audio sounds a bit hollow. The Bloggie doesn't offer the external mic-in capabilities of the Creative Vado HD or the Kodak Zi8, so you're stuck with the onboard mic.

Despite its underwhelming video performance, the Bloggie MHS-CM5 has a lot of features to like. Flipping out the camcorder's 2.5-inch LCD screen powers on the camcorder, and flipping it closed turns it off--a much faster process than pressing a power button. During filming, the camcorder's face detection option lets you optimize in-camera exposure settings, and its SteadyShot stabilization is probably the best stabilization mode we've seen in a pocket camcorder.

But the Bloggie's impressive design and spec sheet don't enable this pocket camcorder to catch up with competing models entirely. It's a good option for anyone seeking a pistol-grip-style unit that supports both SD cards and MemoryStick cards, but video quality is mediocre in both bright light and low light. Other than its 5X optical zoom, the Bloggie MHS-CM5's features aren't radically superior to the competition's, and it certainly doesn't outperform existing high-definition pocket camcorders in terms of video quality.

from www.pcworld.com

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Gateway's LT2118u: Style and Super Battery Life

LT2118u Review, by Jon L. Jacobi April 27, 2010

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll shake your head in amazement at the run time of the $350 (at the time of this review) Gateway LT2118u. With Intel's Atom N450 CPU and 3150 GPU at its heart, as well as 1GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive and a 10.1-inch, 1024-by-600-resolution display, Gateway's pride and joy carried on for an astounding 11 hours and 17 minutes in our battery tests.

However, the outstanding battery life brought up a very interesting question. How could a netbook that supposedly differs from its LT2120u sibling only in color run more than an hour and a half longer? As it turns out, the LT2118u uses a model UMO9H36, 5600 milliamp-hour/63 watt-hour battery, and the LT2120u uses the model UMO9H56, 5800 milliamp-hour/63 watt-hour model. Just looking at the specs, you'd expect the UMO9H56 to run longer, but we found no other difference in the BIOS or components, so apparently the UMO9H36 is the better option.

The LT2118u's upper cover is a rich red while the rest of the unit is done up in dark grays for a surprisingly classy look. The standard array of netbook ports is on hand: two USB ports on the left side of the unit with the AC jack and VGA port, and one USB on the right with the audio in/out and 10/100 ethernet port. A Kensington lock port is also on the right edge of the unit as well as an SD card slot for loading, saving images, and such.

At 2.76 pounds, this netbook has about average heft for a 10.1-inch system with a 6-cell battery. The hard drive and memory module are both easily accessible via screw-secured access panels on the bottom of the unit. A vacant mini-PCI Express slot is underneath the hard-drive panel for a possible broadband or other upgrade. You get only one accessible memory slot, but kudos to Gateway anyway, as overall the unit is a hardware tweakter's delight.

The hands-on experience playing video was exactly that same as with the LT2120u. The 640-by-480 Webcam's images and recording were exceptionally smooth, and a pop-up Webcam utility appears when you roll over it with the mouse at the top of the screen. The unit played 720 HD WMV, QuickTime, and MP4 videos smoothly, while online FLV and flash gaming were noticeably jerky--extremely so with higher-resolution content. Audio was fine through headphones, and decent enough for any kind of portable computer through the speakers.

The LT2118u, though it handled video a bit better than the average N450/3150-based netbook, scored the same 33 points on WorldBench that most units do--including the LT2120u. Overall, this gives the unit the same less-than-snappy, but doable feel we've become used to with Windows 7 Starter netbooks.

Most people should adapt to the LT2118u's keyboard just fine. Most of the keys are where you'd expect them, and the feel, while a tad light, easily lends itself to touch-typing. One caveat: A rather large gap between the keys leaves a ton of space for dust and other particles to collect. You'll want to vacuum this puppy regularly.

The touchpad is stylish, but instead of being recessed, it consists of an area of raised bumps that make it easy to find by feel while remaining unobtrusive. Thankfully, due to more contrast in the color scheme, it's easier to distinguish visually than with the LT2120u. Gateway has put a single rocker button on the front edge of the unit for clicking, a comfortable location for it.

You'll want to spend a few initial minutes ditching the software flotsam from the LT2118u. Unless of course, you want the icons for eBay, Google Desktop (rendered useless by Vista/Windows 7's search), Norton Online Backup trial, Netflix, Gateway games, Office Student trial, and so on, that blanket the desktop. Dig around a bit, and you will find a real copy of the ever useful Microsoft Works.

The LT2118u is all about style and endurance. It's a cut above the average netbook in appearance and is easy to upgrade--and you certainly can't complain about the 11-plus hours of run time.

from www.pcworld.com

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Asus Eee PC 1001P-MU17: Asus's Netbook for Quick Web Access

Eee PC 1001P-MU17 Review, by Jon L. Jacobi April 27, 2010

In a sea of nearly interchangeable 10.1-inch netbooks, the Asus EeePC 1001-MU17 stands out for one thing: Express Gate, a nearly instant-on auxiliary operating system that allows quick access to the Web, online gaming, Skype, IM, and your photos. If you remember the first Linux-based netbooks, you've got the idea. To boot to Express Gate, you start the 1001-MU17 using a secondary power button (which has no light) on the upper left hand side of the keyboard deck. Booting to Windows 7 Starter is accomplished via the normal lighted power button on the upper right hand side.

After Express Gate, the 1001-MU17 leans mostly towards the mundane. You get the current popular netbook components: an Intel Atom N450 processor with an integrated 3150 GPU, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and a 160GB hard drive. The ports are also the typical lineup for a 10.1-inch unit: three USB, one VGA, one AC, one 10/100 ethernet jack, a single SDHC slot, plus audio in/out and a Kensington lock port.

The EeePC 1001-MU17 is styled in an all-black color scheme broken up by only a silver rocker button for the trackpad and a checkerboard pattern on the upper shell and lower deck. It looks as if it would be more at home in a boardroom than in a coffee shop. That's not a complaint, just a word of warning to those who might want to wow style-conscious friends with their new purchase.

The netbook weighs 2.79 pounds, about average for this category of netbook with a six-cell battery. If weight is more of a concern than run time, you can drop that to 2.24 pounds with a three-cell battery. One caveat: if you're looking to upgrade performance with an SSD, you might want to skip the 1001-MU17. Unlike most netbooks, it has no access panel for the hard drive. On the other hand, it has an access panel to the memory if you want to upgrade the SODIMM.

Overall, the 1001-MU17 felt as snappy as an N450-based netbook can running Windows 7--you can live with it, but that's all. The WorldBench 6 performance of 34, while a point higher than most, bears that out. Video performance was a tad worse than average. The Webcam's image was decently smooth, and the unit had no problem playing QuickTime or Flash HD video locally. However, MP4 and WMV were a stuttering mess, as was online Flash video. Online Flash gaming was jerky to the point of distraction. Battery life was a solid 6 hours and 50 minutes--not the best we've seen, but more than enough to get you from coast to coast.

The keyboard on the LT2120u has a crisp feel, and the oversized left/right cursor keys might eliminate some of the hunting some users might otherwise experience. The touchpad was also exceptionally well-adjusted for tapping. If you hate accidental tap-clicks, give this unit a try to see if it doesn't eliminate those issues.

Asus bundles Microsoft Works with the 1001-MU17, which should cover most user's needs well enough, though a 60-day trial version of Office 2007 is also included, for users looking for a little more oomph, and you'll find Skype installed, as well. Asus has been admirably restrained in placing useless software on the desktop. You won't see the eBay shortcuts or obsolete Google Desktop that vendors like Gateway pile on.

The Asus EeePC 1001-MU17 is a solid effort from the company that started the netbook craze. It has a very nice keyboard and exceptionally well-adjusted touchpad--factors often overlooked in the netbook purchasing equation. While not ostentatious, it's still sedately handsome, and if you regularly need quick access to the Web, the Express Gate can be handy indeed

from www.pcworld.com

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Samsung NB30: Tough for a Netbook

NB30 Review, by Patrick Joynt April 28, 2010

Samsung aims its NB30 mini laptop squarely at people looking for a rough-and-tumble netbook, though that market probably isn't huge. At $379, the NB30 costs only $30 more than its sibling, the less-rugged N150. Since the two machines are nearly identical, aside from the NB30's durability features--some hard-drive protection, scratchproofing, and water resistance--it's hard to prefer the N150 to the NB30. Why not spend the extra 30 bucks?

Inside, the NB30 packs predictable hardware for a netbook with a WorldBench score of 35 and an average battery life of 6 hours, 34 minutes. The configuration includes an Intel Atom N450 processor running at 1.66GHz, Intel's integrated GMA3150 graphics, a 160GB hard drive spinning at 5400 rpm, and 1GB of DDR2 RAM. You also get an ethernet port and built-in 802.11b/g/n wireless--but no Bluetooth. There are three USB ports, a VGA-out, a microphone/headphone jack, and a three-in-one memory card reader. The 10.1-inch screen has a default resolution of 1024 by 600 pixels, and isn't glossy at all.

Equipped with drop-resistance technology, the NB30 scans for sudden changes in velocity and moves the read/write heads away from the platter, minimizing damage from drops. The system uses a water-tight seal to protect the interior of the netbook from spills; Samsung reports that the netbook successfully repelled up to 50cc of liquid, removed within 10 seconds. The ribbed, matte-black case resists fingerprints perfectly and should provide some protection against knocks and bumps.

Despite Samsung's nods toward ruggedizing, the NB30 feel as flimsy as most inexpensive netbooks do, with a lot of flex in the keyboard. Pressing against the textured, matte black ribs of the display's backing causes distortion of the image almost immediately, even before the significant flex occurs. The NB30 seems reasonably tough for a netbook, but that doesn't mean it can handle punishment the way a sturdy, full-scale business laptop can.

In return for treating the NB30 a bit more gently, though, you get a competent, inexpensive, lightweight (2.73 pounds) computer with highly portable dimensions: 10.4 by 7.4 by 1.05 inches. The included Windows 7 Starter edition is stripped down (no Aero Peek, for example), but it does start up from sleep very quickly. The machine itself is comfortable to use, with each key surrounded by a small well of free space. Though the keys are a bit smaller than they would otherwise be, the design makes touch typing very smooth. The touchpad is top-notch, with a single-bodied button, built-in multitouch capability, and great responsiveness.

The 10.1-inch screen is LED backlit and can accommodate 1024-by-768 output (though its default resolution is 1024 by 600). Unfortunately, the range of acceptable viewing angles top-to-bottom is lousy. Side-to-side is okay, but the screen isn't big enough to share comfortably. Colors are bright and accurate for a netbook with integrated graphics.

The NB30 is priced a smidge higher than the competition, but those extra dollars fetch a few features that may help this otherwise run-of-the-mill netbook avoid an untimely death.

from www.pcworld.com

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HP Pavilion p6330f: Stellar Performance in a Plain Package

Pavilion p6330f Review, by Nate Ralph April 30, 2010

Wrapped in the stock HP chassis, the HP Pavilion p6330f ($599, as of April 20, 2010) doesn't immediately stand out from the crowd of budget PCs. But it punches things up with stellar performance, matching that of our current category favorite, the Gateway SX2840-01.

Both the Pavilion p6330f and the Gateway SX2840-01 are configured with a 2.93GHz Core i3-530 processor, 6GB of RAM, a generous 1TB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit). And as befits their identical load-outs, they earned identical WorldBench scores of 118, placing themselves among the top performers in the budget PC category.

Gaming performance on the Pavilion p6330f is--predictably--dismal. Integrated graphics simply can't deliver playable frame rates on our Unreal Tournament 3 benchmark, but no other desktop of equal or lower price fares any better. If you're looking for gaming performance, a discrete graphics subsystem is the way to go; check out our Top 10 Mainstream PCs chart for suitable options.

Though their specifications are very similar, the p6330f and the SX2840-01 do have significant differences. The Pavilion p6330f plants a multiformat card reader on the face of the machine, along with a pair of media expansion bays--one filled with the DVD-burner, and the other open. A door slides down to reveal microphone and headphone jacks, and a pair of USB ports.

For its part, the SX2840-01 moves the card reader to the angled front lip, making it a bit more accessible when the machine is on the floor. It also offers five USB ports on the front, to the HP's two.

The rear of the Pavilion p6330f is arrayed with a DVI port, a VGA port, six USB ports, a FireWire port, integrated 5.1 surround sound, an optical S/PDIF output, and a gigabit ethernet port. The SX2840-01 offers only four USB ports on the rear, but packs a speedier eSata port and omits the DVI port in favor of an HDMI port.

Like most other budget PCs, the p6330f doesn't leave much space for tinkering. Access to the chassis isn't tool-free, but a single thumbscrew separates you from the interior. Inside, you'll find an open PCI Express x16 slot, three open PCI Express x1 slots, and room to mount an additional hard drive. The wiring is a bit cluttered and can make reaching the memory slots a pain.

The input devices are standard for a budget PC: a two-button mouse with scroll wheel, and a keyboard with a few media shortcuts and volume-control buttons. Bundled software is limited to productivity software trials and a generic suite of Wild Tangent games. HP does throw in a poster-size quick-start guide, with instructions on matching cables to ports.

In a crowded field of very similar budget machines, the HP Pavilion p6330f offers strong performance for its category, but fumbles ever so slightly on delivering an ideal user experience.

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Dell Inspiron 580s: Slimmer, Faster Budget PC Misses the Mark

nspiron 580s Review, by Nate Ralph April 30, 2010

The Dell Inspiron 580s ($529, as of April 20, 2010) is in many ways a typical budget PC. Its main points of differentiation are a chassis that is slimmer than most in its category and generally strong performance for the price.

The Inspiron 580s is powered by a 2.93 GHz Core i3-530 processor--a chip that dominates our Top 10 Budget PCs chart. The Inspiron 580s runs Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); it offers 4GB of RAM and a paltry 320GB of storage space. Its score of 119 on our WorldBench 6 test suite puts it on a par with the rest of the category's leaders, including the Gateway SX2840-01 (118) and the HP Pavilion p6330f (118). HP's business-centric Compaq 6005 Pro makes a stronger showing (128), but it's more expensive, too.

As expected, the Inspiron 580s couldn't produce playable frame rates in our Unreal Tournament 3 graphics benchmark tests. Most machines in the Budget Desktop PCs category fail to deliver here, owing to their integrated graphics. If you're looking for gaming-grade performance, a system from our Top 10 Mainstream Desktops PCs chart will be a better fit.

The Inspiron 580s's case is plain but attractive, with a simple honeycomb pattern snaking up the chassis's face. It is equally at ease standing vertically or lying horizontally, thanks to a set of rubber feet on the side. You can't remove these feet, however, and they might be a bit of an eyesore if you prefer to keep their machine upright. The DVD burner and multiformat card reader are masked by a pair of doors, preserving the jet-black aesthetic. Also on the front are headphone and microphone jacks, but only two USB ports.

On the rear of the chassis, Dell provides four more USB ports. The machine also offers 5.1-channel surround sound, a gigabit ethernet port, a VGA port, and an HDMI port. The absence of a DVI port is slightly disappointing; users who lack HDMI support on their displays will have to settle for VGA.

To get inside the Inspiron 580s's chassis, you'll have to remove a pair of screws; once you're there, the slimmer chassis makes tinkering difficult. The system's interior includes a free PCI Express x16 slot and a PCI slot, but cables and the metal braces severely restrict your maneuvering room.

Dell included a generic keyboard and mouse, neither of which offers anything in the way of extra media buttons. Still, they're quite functional. The mouse is symmetrical and curved, with a comfortable groove for your thumb whether you're right-handed or left-handed.

The only bundled software is the obligatory trial version of the Microsoft Office suite. The included user manual is quite nice: About the size and thickness of a point-and-shoot camera's manual, it offers comprehensive info to get you started.

If you're in the market for a generic productivity machine, choosing the right budget PC is chiefly a matter of finding the one that suits your aesthetic and ergonomic preferences. Performance is less of a concern: You can't expect to do much gaming, but you'll have plenty of power in spades to handle most other tasks.

Dell's Inspiron 580s offers fewer connectivity options than its competitors do, but it also costs less and comes in a slimmer package. If you need a bigger hard drive and a greater array of readily accessible ports, Gateway's SX2840-01 and HP's Pavilion p6330f are better bets, albeit with a reasonable price bump to cover the difference.

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ViewSonic VPC190 All-in-One Delivers on Size, Falters on Performance

VPC190 Review, by Nate Ralph April 30, 2010

The ViewSonic VPC190 is rather plain, even by budget all-in-one PC standards. Like its predecessor, the VPC100, the VPC190 sacrifices much to hit its low price ($600, as of April 26, 2010). Though this revision improves on the rather limited functionality of the VPC100, users in the market for an inexpensive all-in-one should weigh their options carefully.

The VPC190 comes with a dual-core 1.66GHz Atom D510 processor, 2GB of DDR2 memory, and Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit). The meager 160GB hard drive offers limited storage space, even its category. The system earned a mark of 39 on our WorldBench 6 test suite, one of the poorest scores we've seen for a budget all-in-one PC. By contrast, the slightly more expensive MSI Wind AE2010 offers twice as much hard drive space, and earned a 60 on WorldBench 6.

Unlike many of its all-in-one peers, the VPC190 lacks a touchscreen; but it might appeal to people who want a space-saving design and aren't sold on Windows 7's touch functionality. The 18.5-inch-diagonal screen's 1366-by-768-pixel resolution makes it suitable for viewing 720p high-def content. Video streamed from Hulu and YouTube wasn't especially choppy, particularly after I installed the GPU-assisted Flash 10.1 beta. A fair amount of blurring occurred during action-heavy sequences, however, especially when displayed at full-screen size.

Color reproduction was nice, though reds and yellows sometimes looked dull, losing crispness and detail. Audio playback on the built-in speaker is reasonably loud, but it devolves into a tinny, distorted mess at higher volumes. Gaming performance isn't a realistic option: Equipped with Intel's integrated graphics, the VPC190 failed to deliver playable frame rates on our Unreal Tournament 3 benchmark, regardless of resolution and quality setting.

ViewSonic does earn a few points for delivering a simple, aesthetically pleasing machine. The glossy black paneling may be a fingerprint magnet, but it makes for a generally attractive shell. The unit is quite thin, too, with a footprint barely larger than that of a typical LCD display. There is no height adjustment, and the tilt adjustment is a bit limited.

The rear of the machine accommodates a pair of USB ports and a gigabit ethernet port; the VPC190 we reviewed also supported 802.11n wireless. On the left side of the chassis are four more USB ports, a multiformat card reader, headphone and microphone jacks, and the power adapter port.

A slot-loading DVD-burner occupies the right side of the chassis, but there's no eject button for the burner. To remove a disc, you must to eject it from within the OS--an annoying, multistep process in Windows. The front of the machine hosts a 1.3-megapixel Webcam and convenient controls for adjusting the monitor's brightness on the fly.

The bundled keyboard and mouse extend the chassis's glossy black motif. I found the keyboard's Chiclet-style keys quite comfortable to type on. Among the keyboard's features are volume controls and media playback controls (by way of a function key). The included mouse, though plain, is large enough for hand-friendly use. Neither peripheral is wireless, unfortunately.

In its push to sell the VPC190 at an eye-catching price, ViewSonic made so many compromises that the system scarcely seems adequate for home use. In a business or office environment, where space is at a premium and requirements are low, the machine might prosper. Still, you can find budget all-in-one alternatives that offer superior performance for little or no additional cost--with or without touchscreen functionality.

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Netgear Powerline AV 200 and AV+ 200: Wi-Fi Alternatives

Reviewed by Patrick Miller on April 30, 2010

Netgear's recent midrange powerline networking adapters--the AV 200 ($130) and the AV+ 200 ($145)--might be just what you need to fill the gaps in your home network access without spending too much time or money. As with any powerline product, however, you should try before you buy: Your network performance depends on your house's wiring more than on any other factor.
Powerline networking adapters let you use your building's electrical wiring as a network, transforming any power outlet into a potential Ethernet port. They're typically used as a complement to a wireless network (see "Better Together: Wi-Fi And Powerline Networking" for more information) because they can be placed in spots that experience wireless radio problems; and they're good for networking devices that don't support Wi-Fi (many TVs, set-top boxes, and game consoles, for example) without requiring the user to lay down a lot of ethernet cable.

Both the AV 200 and the AV+ 200 report a maximum transfer rate of 200 megabits per second. The main difference between the two is that the AV+ has a noise-filtering outlet built into the unit, so you can use the power outlet for another device without interfering with your network performance, while the AV 200 lacks this feature. Also unlike the AV 200, the AV+ 200 has a grounding prong, which means that you can't use the AV+200 with older electrical wiring.

A single powerline networking kit contains two powerline adapters, a CD with drivers, and a pair of ethernet cables. Each powerline adapter only has one ethernet port, however, and you'll likely need one of the adapters to connect to your modem or router to link your powerline network to the Internet, so if you have multiple rooms that you want to add to the powerline network, you'll need more adapters (they cost about $70 each). Though the CD includes an "Online Manual," it's a broken link to an older Netgear support site; the newer support site doesn't seem to have documentation for either adapter model.

The setup process is fairly simple. The only printed instructions are minimal--a pamphlet with a pair of diagrams explaining how to plug one adapter into a power outlet, how to plug an ethernet cable from your router/modem into that adapter's ethernet port, and how to plug the second adapter into a different outlet and connect that adapter to your PC with the other ethernet cable. If you succeeded in setting up your home broadband connection, you can probably set up the AV 200 or AV+ 200 as well.

Once you've plugged everything in, your PC should automatically detect the new hardware as a normal Local Area Network connection. If you don't want just anyone to be able to plug a powerline adapter into your outlets and be able to access your network (or if you're in a building where you share electric circuits with your neighbors), you can set the adapters to encrypt their traffic by pressing a button on their side--just press each unit's button within 2 minutes, and they should automatically detect each other and be good to go.

We'll have more performance testing in for our full-scale review of these products, but keep in mind that the limiting factor for most powerline adapters is your building's electrical wiring, not the adapter's theoretical maximum. PCWorld reviewer Becky Waring managed to get 59 mbps out of an earlier Netgear XAVB101 powerline adapter, which had an advertised maximum of 85 mbps.

By way of comparison, I only managed to obtain about 12 mbps with the AV 200 and AV+ 200 in my (fairly old) apartment building, and up to 25 mbps in my PCWorld office. This isn't to say that the new adapters are slower than the old ones; rather, it underscores the fact that powerline network speeds depend on your wiring, first and foremost.

The drop in bandwidth between the two buildings was fairly noticeable when I surfed the Web and streamed YouTube videos. In the office, there wasn't much difference between the powerline network and standard wired ethernet; but in the apartment, the powerline network felt like it had more latency than my 802.11g network did. Web pages seemed slower to start loading than usual, and YouTube videos stuttered a bit initially.

Though both speeds are sufficient for most Internet uses (albeit definitely a step down from gigabit ethernet) and though Netgear has announced 500-mbps powerline adapters (the AV 500 and the AV+ 500), they may not be any faster on houses with older wiring than the AV+ 200. If your building can accommodate a high-speed powerline network, however, the Netgear AV 200 and AV+ 200 can help you fill in dead spots without having to run new cables.

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