Best Buy Laptops and Computers, these Diwali
Diwali is normally a season of happiness and joy in India. However, given the somber atmosphere that prevails as the country’s economy slumps and recession sets in, some predict a low-key Diwali. But I'm optimistic – while sales may be down at the moment, I have no doubt things will look up soon. So here is a list of products designed to cheer up any computing enthusiast this Diwali.
One of the biggest developments in 2008 has easily been the introduction of netbooks. These light and portable machines have achieved a perfect balance between functionality and price and brought about a price point revolution in mobile computing. With this new segment emerging, there has been a rash of releases with each manufacturer trying to outdo one another.
In this mad rush, our clear favorite is Acer’s Aspire One. The Aspire One has a styling reminiscent of the company’s Gemstone Blue range and is designed to look more like a stylish high-end ultraportable than the budget laptop it actually is. Its lid has a mirrored finish, with a range of available colors: dark blue, green, red, black, and white.
The LCD panel is an 8.9 inch backlit LED panel with a native resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, and offers a very good experience. Connectivity-wise, the Aspire One is similar to other netbooks. It has three USB ports, a 0.3 MP camera, a multi-format card reader, VGA-out and standard audio plugs for speakers/headphones.
The Aspire One is priced at Rs 21,000 for the Windows XP variant.
Dell, which has virtually monopolized the laptop market in India with its Inspiron range, recently introduced the Studio range – a hybrid creation combining the budget Inspiron and the stylish XPS. The new range has inherited design elements from the XPS M1330 and M1530 laptops, including a wedge-shaped profile and a drop hinge design. The range also borrows from the Inspiron laptops with regard to optional color-coordinated accessories and peripherals such as backpacks and slip covers, mice, and more.
While the design element makes the laptop looks funky, its specifications are pretty sound. It offers a variety of Intel C2D processors, 3GB RAM, 250GB HDD, and a 15.4-inch LCD panel. For further details about this range, check out this link.
The latest iteration of the Vaio TZ series is as impressive as its predecessors. It has a beautiful, slim body with dimensions of 227 x 198.2 x 22.5 mm, and weighs a mere 1.17 kg. The design is superb, with a thin frame that manages to mesh the lid, keyboard area, and underside in a very sturdy frame. The construction is very solid – it's made of nothing less than carbon fiber.
The screen is vintage Sony. It’s a backlit matte-finish LED panel that offers a widescreen resolution of 1366 x 768 (16:9) in an 11.1 inch frame. For a small laptop, the TZ38 is well-equipped. It offers a dual-layer DVD-RW, fingerprint reader, 2 USB ports, a Firewire port, 2.0 EDR Bluetooth and a 3-in-1 media card reader. On the wireless front it supports 802.11n and this is a good thing.
The TZ38 sports an Intel C2D UV 7700 processor (1.33 GHz); 2GB of DDR-667 RAM, a 48GB SSD, and its graphics are powered by Intel GMA950 graphics subsystem. It costs Rs 1,40,000.
One could write reams on the iMac and still fall short. The now-iconic desktop range has seen sharp growth, ever since Intel became a staple feature in the Mac universe. The latest iteration of the 20-inch desktop is now cheaper than before, and comes fairly loaded.
The 20-inch entry level iMac sports a 2.4 GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, a 20-inch Backlit LED panel , ATI HD 2400 XT GPU, and a 250GB HDD. The best part of course remains the Apple OSX, which in its current incarnation (Leopard) offers what's probably the most sophisticated GUI experience of any current-day OS. It’s incredibly intuitive and, despite being fairly closed-source, can do everything a PC can – and do it arguably better.
Taking a leaf out of Apple’s book, HP recently introduced its Touchsmart PC which is designed in a manner similar to the Mac – an integrated CPU/monitor monolithic design. The Touchsmart however takes things a step further, by offering Tablet-like functionality. This, coupled with Windows Vista, makes for a very intriguing experience.
The Touchsmart comes fairly loaded, with a 2.16 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, a 22-inch LCD panel with a native resolution of 1680 x 1050, and a 500GB HDD. We currently have the Touchsmart PC in our labs and have so far found it to be an excellent product. (The review should be live tomorrow.) It retails for Rs 87,000.
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