Oct 20, 2009

Asus Eee PC S101, a luxury netbook?

As you may have seen in our comparative netbooks, the market for small laptops is so promising that many manufacturers now offer their products. However, constraints on the dimensions of netbooks and the ubiquity of Intel's components that equip these phones lock manufacturers in shackles it difficult to break. The differences are few and between different models, especially in performance. The autonomy and power management, however, manage to give some relief to the market, like design, which is another element adjustable in a netbook.





It is obviously this last criterion that focused on his Asus Eee PC S101. Great architect of the advent of these new laptops that are netbooks, the Taiwanese firm has stepped up its portfolio with references Eee PC, the first 7 inches to 10 inches today. The S101 is in this latter category, which is also the Eee PC 1000H. After a detailed outline of the Asus netbook this as a luxury, it is therefore 1000H we confront the S101, to quantify the contributions made by the manufacturer on a model sold much more expensive than the Eee PC 1000H.

The design strength of the S101
The Asus Eee PC S101 comes in the form of a 10.2-inch netbook to dress chocolate, champagne or, more soberly, black. Thinner than its cousin, the Eee PC 1000H (3 to 3.8 cm thick 2.3 cm only cons for S101), it is also lighter, since with its 1.09kg, it weighs 250 grams lighter than the 1000H. It is also slightly shallower by about one centimeter. This smaller footprint, however, did not affect the size of the keyboard, since it will even 2 mm in height to reach dimensions that make it one of the most comfortable among netbooks.

The chassis of the Eee PC S101 is made of plastic better than most netbooks (with the possible exception of Dell Mini 9 and Mini 12). The area around the keyboard receives the same treatment as the colored outer shell and the pad is also stained. The edges of the screen is black about him, while the hinge, particularly discreet, imitates the look of metal. If the record is pretty nice, we regret once again the tendency of this type of surface to score easily.

Finally, note the little touch of fantasy Asus signed with this keyboard mottled multicolored sequins that some people find attractive while others will not appreciate this eccentricity.

Asus Eee PC S101
Asus Eee PC S101


Try Dell Mini 12: netbook netbook or not.?

Last week, we were testing the Eee PC S101 Asus and concluding that its price too high, the excluded category of netbooks. That name is, we believe, not infinitely expandable, and it should define its borders, notably with the ultra-portable. And now the Dell Mini 12 is positioned on the cell border we seek to build. So netbook netbook or not?




After the Mini 9 that we tested in our comparative 14 netbooks, Dell offers this month its new model, the Mini 12. As its name implies, the latest addition to Dell offers a 12-inch screen, larger than 10 inches tiles found on netbooks. And this is not the only surprise awaiting us here. But let's start by describing the appearance of the Mini 12. Proposed black as regards the outer shell, it features around the keyboard and screen a gray plastic of good quality, pleasant to the touch. Very stripped, the design of the Mini will please or not. The area left blank for the palm rest is such a little too high for our liking. In contrast, fineness should be unanimous, with 2.8 cm thick and even feet including 6 mm for the front.
Dell Mini 12 (14)
Dell Mini 12 (19)



If weight of 1.28 kg (including battery) is not among the lowest of the netbooks we've already tested, it is good to put this value by the size of the screen. Note well that it is lighter than some 10-inch models we've had in my hands, like the Eee PC 1000H from Asus.

Configure the Livebox Mini: we guide you
Several months after its official announcement, the Livebox Mini has finally made its
appearance in Orange. Succeeding the first Livebox Livebox Mini, also called Livebox 1.2, wants to be more compact and more environmentally friendly because it consumes less energy according to Orange. Technically, its features are pretty much identical to the first Livebox except that Bluetooth has this time gone for good. Note improved resistance to storms, a range Wi-Fi improved and a greater quantity of onboard memory.

Yet equipped with Wi-Fi circuit type i802.11g the Livebox Mini undergoes profound changes in
Logo Orange
its configuration interface. This has indeed been fully reviewed
and has nothing in common with the old interface of the first Livebox. So that always distinguishes two types of Livebox Mini, a model manufactured by Sagem another by Inventel, Orange had the good idea to unify the interface configuration: that your Livebox Mini is a Sagem or Inventel presentation and options are identical. But what is the difference between the model and the model Sagem Inventel? Using a different chip, the Livebox Mini Inventel using a Broadcom chip. But we lose our way because our purpose here is to present in detail the configuration options of the Livebox Mini: small tower owner!

Beware, the aim of this paper is not explain in detail what a router, please refer to our section dedicated to configuring a router for a detailed explanation of basic concepts.

Orange Livebox Mini

A new homepage
The home page of this new formula Livebox Mini consists of two tabs and a box "condition of your home network. This lists all devices connected to your network without you even having to identify yourself. Access to the Configuration tab needs to be identified as an administrator.


Orange Livebox Mini - 1

Creative ZEN X-Fi vs iPod Touch 2G 32GB: game on
It is a fact, Apple dominates the market for digital music players via its famous and iconic iPod. Fortunately, competition is not standing still! Thus the firm in Singapore, Creative, to whom we owe the first portable digital hard drive, launched at the end of last year's ZEN X-Fi. A player who bid for the first time some of the functions offered by the latest audio chip from Creative. Meanwhile, Apple renewed its line of iPods, with the release of the iPod Touch second generation.


While both devices offer the same amount in terms of storage, ie 32 GB each, their features but also their design are at odds. One is ultra-flat and gives pride to a generous display, the other is more compact, more compact and placed on the processing capabilities of its convincing. The match between these two devices in the following lines!

Apple
Creative ZEN X-Fi: A stylish player
Compact, about 70 grams, the ZEN X-Fi comes in a green transparent plastic that is reminiscent of previous packages iPods. The opening of it is also a touch sensitive so that the extraction of its video player retention requires some care and patience if we do not want to break everything.

Level design, the ZEN X-Fi is more a mat and if the finish is definitely neat, the aesthetics of the whole should not trigger hysteria of crowds. When Apple retains quality materials but it is true to its fragile iPod Touch first or second name, Creative merely a plastic shell, silver gray. The manufacturer is once again the opposite of Apple, as it equips its ZEN X-Fi with a color screen (16.7 million) relatively small 2.5-inch diagonal, a very good quality. And where Apple offers only the bare minimum of buttons, Creative will have 13 to the right of the screen, including 9 for navigating menus. Other buttons there is a rewind button, a button play / pause, and a button to access the configuration menu.

Relatively intuitive, these controls are poorly positioned and their label is usually confused when we regret the lack of backlighting of keys: the black view that the 9 buttons directional keypad is used is an exercise difficult.
Creative Zen X-Fi 32 Go - 1
Creative Zen X-Fi 32 Go - 2


On the right side of the player, there is a jack could not be more standard mini USB connector, one button reset and an operation indicator. The top of the device includes a slot to slide a memory card Secure Digital (SD HC compatible) to expand the storage capacity of the player while a window on the bottom of the unit can enjoy the sound the built-in speaker. Finally and probably the greatest aberration in the design of the ZEN, the button start is at the back of the camera. His modus operandi is somewhat curious since it is necessary to drag the button down and hold this position for a few seconds to turn on or off ZEN whereas positioning the button up on the block mode current the camera and all those buttons.
Creative Zen X-Fi 32 Go - 10

HTC Dream and Magic: the Google Phone in Test
It took 5 months for the first terminal boarding the first operating system for mobile Google landed on our territory. While the HTC Dream is already available in Orange, SFR will sell the HTC Magic in the month of April. The main feature that differentiates the two terminals on the presence of a physical keyboard (on the HTC Dream). Must choose one or the other devices? We try to respond to people who are seriously considering the alternative Android. In all cases, it is certain that Google's mobile OS is not without assets to attract fans of all stripes mobility. Trimmed to discover the two first "Google Phone"? Enter the heart of the matter without further delay!

In two short years, the market of mobile telephony has witnessed many changes. Major players like Nokia or Sony Ericson had to make room for the invading Apple's iPhone, while others are dying brands like Palm, whose arrival of Pre will be saving. It is in this context that Google attacks the market with a mobile operating system, Android, which has yet to find its audience. Fans of the first hour can be reassured that the newcomer is not without assets to satisfy fans of mobility. In a few months old barely environment Google has proved that he was able to compete with the best mobile systems. On the other hand, compared to OS in the market for several years, Windows Mobile and Symbian, the gain of ergonomics looks very important.

Google Phone nokia

HTC Dream and Magic: the Google Phone in Test
Based on the mobile version of OS X that runs the iPhone, iPod Touch boasts as the Apple phone to install third party applications since version 2.0 system, including video games a amazing quality offered at very low prices. After shaking the world of music and that of mobile phones, Apple may well be a place in the handheld gaming industry, especially to provide shade to the Sony PSP.


MP3 player / Multimedia Apple iPod Touch 16GB (clone)
When Apple launched the first iPod games in 2006, the Cupertino company aroused some curiosity, but do not frankly shook the gaming industry. The few available titles (Pac-Man, Tetris, Bejeweled ...) has a huge technological gap in relation to portable consoles from Sony and Nintendo and it was impossible to see players at the tiny screen to shade the DS or PSP. Things have changed dramatically with the release of the iPhone, then the iPod Touch, both devices incorporate a much more complex components and advanced enough to run games in 3D, using what is more capacity to innovative interaction (touch, accelerometer).

However, if the game is one of the strengths highlighted on the iPhone, the stroke of genius from Apple could be positioning the iPod Touch so aggressive on the field of portable consoles, thus attracting a wider audience than that of the iPhone that is essentially a smartphone. The message could not be clearer: the latest advertising player has a dozen games before concluding on the possibility of incidental use for listening to music! The catalog is already available therefore a platform it launched less than a year and prices are well below those of a game for DS or PSP. Moreover, distribution via the App Store allows you to switch from cartridges, or even to download games directly on the device, Wi-fi. All assets that lead us to wonder if the iPod Touch can bring a good game console. For this, we compared the user experience of the player than the PSP and the DS and scoured the App Store in search of the best games available, or at least those who come closest to what located on a console "classic" (knowing that they are naturally compatible with the iPhone).