Dell Inspiron 15 Notebook

By Ely | Published: August 23, 2009

Dell has announced the new Inspiron 15 laptop, the latest addition to the Inspiron line of systems offering solid performance and smart style at a great value.

The 15.6-inch, 1366×768 glossy screen is nice and bright, with a webcam situated at the top. The left side features two USB ports, a VGA port and 100Mb Ethernet, while the right features a single USB port, DVD+-RW and ExpressCard 34 slot. The front lip is kept similarly simple, with an indicator light for power, headphone and microphone jack and an SD/MMC/MS card reader. Wireless communications are limited to 802.11g — you’ll find no 802.11n or Bluetooth here, but both are optional extras for AU$29.70 and AU$13.20 respectively.

Software-wise, the Inspiron 15 runs on Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, with our review sample arriving with McAfee Security Center 30-day trial, Microsoft Office 2007 trial and Roxio Creator DE. Dell has also bundled its own software, including a dock that sits at the top of the screen purely for quick access to applications; DataSafe, which gives you 2GB storage online for free for 12 months, Dell Remote Access, webcam apps and a wireless configuration utility.

The new Dell Inspiron 15 notebook features:

Intel® Core™2 Duo mobile processor T6400 2.0GHz , 800MHz system bus, 2MB L2 cache.
4GB DDR2 SoDIMM memory
Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
15.6-inch WXGA widescreen LCD display (1366×768) resolution.
320GB SATA hard drive
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD graphics(up to 384MB shared graphics memory)
Built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam
8-in-1 digital media reader
3 USB 2.0 ports
Built-in Dell 1397 wireless networking mini-card (802.11b/g)
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet network card
Weighs 3kg(approx.)

Performance
Inside our review sample was a Core 2 Duo T600 at 2.1GHz, 3GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive. This interesting mix gave us impressive results for a sub-AU$1000 laptop, scoring 874 in 3DMark06 (only bested by the Toshiba L500D), and 4043 in PCMark05, making it OK for casual gaming (but certainly not capable of playing new titles), and excellent for general use and office work.

Turning off all power-saving features and setting screen brightness and volume to maximum, we played back an XviD file and the battery lasted two hours, 39 minutes and 47 seconds, longer than any other sub-AU$1000 notebook we’ve tested. It must be noted this is an incredibly harsh test — with casual use, battery life will be longer.

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Sharing Laptop Experiences

By Ely | Published: August 20, 2009

From Mark

hi guys…..im a german foreign student and live here in manila for about 5 years now…actually i just bought a neo netbook…i think its a vivid v1103…thats the cheapest netbook they got…i bought it for 14.999PHP…i already got a toshiba 17incher …wow what a monster and i bought that in germany where i most got my gadgets from…hehe but this neo mini notebook i just recently bought.wow, i must say thats a very good reliable sub-notebook…im very satisfied…i just bought that because i need a small laptop for my college classes….its a intel atom 1.6…1gb ram….wifi ready 8.9inch screen and glossy finish design etc bla bla…and for that price 15k…thats very good and cheap…. actually i had bought an acer or hp but when i saw this notbook….i just had to get one… for that price!!??i mean,there is nothing broke!!…i got it for some days now and i didnt encounter any problems yet or what soo ever…but i did read some comments above and many say that it is a crappy fucking laptop etc…if i point now on my vivid i have to say that i dont agree what the other people say, that its very slowly and bad looking and shit…i really love my vivid…soo me as a German…i am actually very proud that philippines can create or can produce their own brand of laptops and mini notebooks…and since i dont really buy my gadgets here in the philippines, then neo really has a good potential to invade the international market with their incoming future notebooks and tech related stuff… and for other people who said that they dont trust their own country made products…..*tooot*…because soo long until you dont support your own nation how could you EVER be a successfull country…i refered this notebook to all my friends who are mostly americans koreans etc…i many of them bought also from neo…and no one yet had an bad error encounter or etc..i mean…ofcourse their are some people who had some BAD experience with their neo products but i believe that neo should be supported by all of us who are part of this country…so it dosent really matters if neo is good or bad…and like many of u said start-up companies are like taht bla bla… i mean look nokia..they started with making toilet-papers and boots and look at them now…or APPLE ipod stuff…their first ipod till 3rd generation was an DISASTER…and now?? almost every ****  has one…see…lets be a little optimistic with neo and give and some time…and i promise you…they can do it BIG-TIme..haha anyways…thanks for reading this…and take care…SALAMAT.

From Chean

Sorry, but for me and my friends, Neo laptops really suck… I’ve got my Neo lappy for more than a year now. 3 months after the purchase, the motherboard broke. It was needed to be replaced then, i needed to wait 1 month before my laptop was given back to me.

Neo has a very bad customer service. They’ll tell you they’d get back to you but they will never will. Neo doesn’t know how to take care of their customers.

Neo laptops are very cheap but of poor quality. I’ve regretted buying it the first time the motherboard broke. Now, it’s more than a year. Just last Monday, it won’t boot up, with a blackscreen, out of the blue. It was doing fine when I shut it down before I left the house and when I opened it the moment I’ve arrived at our client’s office, it really went out.

I’m working as an IT consultant and having laptop is a necessity. That very same day, I hurried to Neo Care – SM Megamall to have it fixed. They promised me of 7 working days turn around time. They told me that a service fee of Php 1,000 would be charged to me since i’m out of warranty – either it is repaired or not. According to the poster seen at Neo Care, this is in lieu of upgrading their customer service quality. I was told that I could just follow-up thru YM and by logging into the tracking service requests of the Neo Website.

2 days after, I tried adding Neo’s YM ID to my contacts but it was offline. Then, I tried using the tracking service requests of the Neo website but it only says “Invalid serial no.” whenever I inputted the serial no. of my laptop. Unable to use the “improvements”, I resorted to calling Neo Customer Service.

I asked the call center agent if my laptop is already in their service center – Boni Ave. but she told me she can’t locate/track my laptop and she’ll try to check at SM Mega if it’s still there. They cannot track my lappy’s location because according to her, the website is down and not functioning the time I called… I brought my lappy to be fixed the soonest possible but it is still not in Boni Ave. where it’s supposed to be checked thoroughly.

I called again last Friday to check on my lappy’s status and I was informed that it has been delivered to Boni Ave. already and still not yet been diagnosed for the “further problems”.

Early in the afternoon, this day, i’ve called again and got a hard time connecting thru the Customer Care hotline. Then, after 30 minutes of waiting, someone picked up my call. I asked for the status of my lappy and again, I was told, it has been not yet diagnosed.

With this kind of customer service Neo has, what is the Php 1,000 service charge for? I thought the customer service would be much better but what happened? How could you inquire if the Neo’s ym id is offline? How can you be able to use their website’s tracking services if your laptop cannot be tracked?

I’m not the only one complaining about these issues. I’ve heard a lot of rants about the Neo’s quality and customer service nightmare… even my friends tell me of their bad experiences with Neo laptops. As a techie, I cannot recommend this brand to my friends and even in our company.

@Neo, I just hope you could hear where we are coming. After sales support is quite essential to us, your customers. Don’t you value long term relationship with us? Price is not the only basis for purchasing gadgets. Good customer support has always been one of the key factors.

To Mark;

Not all people get the laptop they want and need, like I’ve said before some of their unit come out defective. We do support our products its just in this forums we get more complaints that remarks on their units, its not our fault to be like we are. We are only consumers  that want better functioning products. We all complain on things, complaining makes things better. Like service in a restaurant to satisfy our need and yet they lack of it, we complain to make it more better. Its just that there are so many complaints about their products and units, its for the better not for worse but by the looks of it its getting worse because of so many complaints about it. Like you said they should be supported to make them better but would you think of how long has neo been making laptops? and yet there are still some bad experiences out there from people who bought laptops from them? many years has passed and yet there are still complaints.

Well thanks for the shared experiences from Mark and Chean, I hope some of the people who read these get ideas on what laptop really suits them. Its ok to get cheaper laptops to save up, you’ll be the one who’s gonna use it not us think of whats better for you. We here just give our point of view and opinions on what unit we got our hands on and have used for some time. Thanks again and i’ll be posting some of the other people that shared their experiences on their laptops.

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Laptop Experiences

By Ely | Published: August 6, 2009

From miko;

When sony started up, their products where not that good, its cheap and disposable. look at sony now.

When samsung started up, their products where like china, its cheap and disposable. look at samsung now.

I own a neo laptop 10 months, and no problem so far, what i can see here are legitimate complaints but most is mishandling, handle it with care, this is not a cellphone which you can play around with.

Someone is lying, just to get the warranty and get your unit replaced, that is not new. In north america a lot of people do that because they can replace items there easily.

A lot of people say it died or broke down, and thats it without telling what happened before that.

This is similar to the cheap china ipod imitations which cost P1,000. Its cheap but if you bought it, the only one to blame is you.

From bax;

Bought this unit @ villman marikina. Superb performance much better than acer ao751. Much better when i downgrade from vista to xp. You might have a problem lang looking for xp drivers. There is no support for drivers sa website ng gateway. But for me got the official drivers. just keep on looking.

From CHARMS;

I have ordered NEO Laptop already today.. and reading these messages from disappointed customers made me confused.. The laptop is on its way this weekend.. Can somebody at least enlighten to advice me with NEO.. I had an HP before but i gave it to my younger brother.

To miko;

Miko like I have said before these are their experiences with their laptops, not all people would like to post bad things or negative feed backs on their laptops just to gain profit. Its to get better services and good quality laptops. And miko that’s why they bring it to service centers to know what happened, and there are technicians there to access the real problem of your laptop.

To bax;

bax,  I see you are satisfied on your laptops performance, and by down grading your OS to XP from Vista gave you more satisfaction on your laptop. Good for you, you got all the official drivers that you need for your laptop. See here people with a bit of eagerness and patience you will get what you need for your laptops like bax.

To CHARMS;

CHARMS, go on with the NEO laptop test it out, not all NEO laptops have problems. Just take care of it like you have take cared of your HP before, well you might get good or better results than your HP laptop before. There are many NEO users that have shared their experiences using their laptops to the fullest and yet they still don’t have problems on their unit. Some had their units for years and yet no major problems, just problems with the oldness of the unit. This is my advise to you CHARMS and I hope it helps.

I want to thank miko, bax, and CHARMS for their comments and shared experience on their laptops. I hope with my opinions shared to you helps you on what question and answers you seek in the near future. Thanks again.

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Gateway LT3100 Netbook

By Elias | Published: July 25, 2009

Gateway introduced the Gateway LT3100 netbook, the company’s first with a productivity-boosting high-definition 11.6-inch display. Complementing the new display are features that equip customers to do more with their netbook, including wireless connectivity and an AMD Athlon Processor.

Gateway LT3100 netbook
Savvy mobile customers who are always on the move can stay in touch and connected using the new Gateway LT3100 netbook. Compact and easy to use, it is an ideal netbook for customers who want a reliable Wi-Fi 802.11b/g wireless connection to the Internet to stay up-to-date on emails, post updates on social networks and enjoy online entertainment. Students and small business customers can use it for conducting online research, reviewing materials for class and communicating with colleagues.

Gateway netbook features
Customers can do more with their new Gateway LT3100 netbook. The Netbook’s Ultrabright high-definition widescreen display is a large 11.6 inches, providing increased screen real estate to view Internet sites as well as multiple applications and windows. As a result, customers can avoid extensive vertical and horizontal scrolling and can more easily move between windows for a better overall experience. The display on the new Gateway netbook is LED-backlit and features an entertainment-enhancing 16:9 ratio and 1366 x 768 (WXGA) pixel resolution, so pictures and photos on it are incredibly clear and crisp. Plus, the larger display size made room for a full-size keyboard, so even typing is easier.

Gateway LT3103u Specs:

AMD Athlon 64 Single-Core L110 (1.20 GHz, 512KB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
11.6-inch WXGA screen (1364×768 pixel resolution)
2048MB DDR2 SDRAM
Integrated ATI Radeon X1270 Graphics
250GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
802.11b/g Wi-Fi
Integrated Web Camera
Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
Three USB 2.0 Ports
6-cell Li-ion Battery
11.26W x 7.99D x 1.03H inches
NightSky Black
Microsoft Windows Vista Basic with Service Pack 1

Suggested Retail Price: $399.99 (Php 18,000 to 20,000)

Gateway LT3100 mini notebook
The Gateway LT3100 netbook delivers a heightened level of performance and usability thanks to its AMD Athlon 64 L110 Single-Core processor and ATI Radeon X1270 Graphics for enhanced performance when browsing internet websites, downloading music, moving through applications and handling multiple tasks. Ready for customers who want to take their digital media and files with them, the Gateway LT3100 netbooks will feature up to 2GB of DDR2 memory and up to a 250GB internal hard drive. Available with a 6-cell battery, the Gateway netbooks provide battery life of up to five hours.

Gateway Netbook webcam
Customers can capture moments on the go in video with the integrated webcam. With it, consumers have an easy way to document their adventures in video, record video emails and enhance communication with “face-to-face” video-conferencing. It captures smooth video and high-quality images even in low-light conditions. Plus, the built-in digital microphone conveys excellent voice quality, keeping background noise levels low and minimizing echoes. Consumers will enjoy audio with the Dolby Headphones and two built-in stereo speakers.

Multi-Gesture Touchpad
The Gateway LT3100 netbook further enhances productivity with its Multi-Gesture Touchpad. Unique movements on the touchpad let users intuitively move through Internet sites and digital media. For example, customers can make an inward or outward pinching motion to naturally zoom in and out on photos. Customers can move two fingers horizontally to flip through photos, web pages and PDF documents. Also, customers can swirl their fingers in a circular motion to scroll through web pages, long lists of files and music playlists.

Gateway netbook design
The sophisticated design of the new Gateway LT3100 notebook gives it a fashionable look and feel. The glossy chassis is punctuated with a subtle yet defining Gateway engraved logo and modern silver trim and is available in both NightSky Black and Cherry Red. Sleek and comfortable to hold and use with an incredibly portable form factor, the LT3100 has a starting weight of 3.14 pounds. The Gateway LT3100 netbook measures only about an inch thick, so it neatly fits in a backpack or purse.

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Acer Aspire One AO751

By Ely | Published: July 14, 2009

Looks like Acer was the first one to let out a 12-inch netbook in the market with the 11.6? Acer Aspire AO751. After using one for a couple of weeks, I got to the bottom of things. Check out our full review after the jump.

An Intel Atom Z520 @ 1.33GHz, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 250GB HDD, Intel GMA 500, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11b/g. Pretty nice specs IMO. The only biggest concern here is the seemingly underpowered CPU. While 1.33GHz isn’t really that slow, you will still feel that the pre-installed Windows Vista OS is dragging it.

The large 11.6? screen is a big plus for the AO751 with a large 1366×768 pixel resolution only the Sony Vaio P can beat. Despite the size, it did not sacrifice the weight and dimensions to separate itself from the regular 12-incher notebooks — still under 1 inch thin and weighs just about 2.75lbs (pretty thin and lightweight for its size actually). Biggest advantage here is the almost 100% full chiclet-style keyboard.

Obviously, the CPU has the lowest subscore (1.9) among all other components of the netbook. SuperPi 2M took about 4m 56s. As a point of reference, an N270 1.66GHz takes 3m 45s on SuperPi 2M and has a subscore of 2.2 on Windows Performance Index. It would have been nice if a 1.6GHz Z530 was in here or maybe even a 1.66GHz N280 but the latter would have needed an exhaust fan.

Technical Specifications
Model                     Aspire One AO-751-BB
Processor                Intel Atom Z520 processor
(1.33 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Chipset                   Mobile Intel® US15W Express Chipset
Memory                   2GB DDR2
Display Screen        11.6″ HD 1366 x 768 (WXGA) TFT CystalBrite LCD
Video Type              Intel Graphics Media Acceleator
Storage                    250GB HDD SATA
Operating System    Windows Vista Home Basic
Applications            Acer eRecovery Software, Adobe Reader, McAfee Internet Security Suite
(60 day trial) , Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office Home and
Student 2007 (trial)
Network Interface    Built-in 10/100 Ethernet, Bluetooth
Wireless LAN           Acer Invilink 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi certified
Audio                       Stereo speaker
Built-in                    Microphone
Card Reader             Multi card reader: SD,MMC,MS,MS-Pro,xD,Smart Media,MS-Duo,MS-Pro Duo
WebCam                  Built-in Acer CrystalEye Webcam
Battery                     6 Cells: 5200 mAh, 7.5hrs*
* Actual battery life will depend on actual operations and other settings.
Weight                     1.33kg
Dimensions             284 (W) x 198 (D) x 25.4 (H) mm (11.18 x 7.79 x 1) inches
Speakers                  Stereo Speakers, 16-bit Stereo with Intel® High def
Colors                      Sapphire Blue, Ruby Red,
I/O Ports                  3 USB 2.0 / 1 microphone in / 1 headphone/line-out /
1 external VGA monitor / 1 RJ-45 / 1 AC power

As for the GPU, Acer used an Intel GMA500 which turns out to be better than the GMA945 for Windows Aero (2.9 vs. 2.0). The screen is glossy which makes the display bright and crisp (similar to the AOD150). What I found somewhat buggy is that the screen turns black when launching apps (outside the app window) and doesn’t refresh back to normal display immediately.

Battery life is impressive, just like its earlier siblings (6-cell 5200mAh), and ranges between 5.5 to 6.5 hours depending on the brightness level of the screen. I haven’t been able to squeeze it anywhere near the promised 8 hours but the 6.5 hours on regular use (with WiFi) is already a good number.

I’m still a bit disappointed that the 3G SIM card slot isn’t there (the label says it’s WAN-ready only so I don’t know what it means). That would have made the retail price of Php27,500 a great bargain.

Just a fair warning — since the Acer Aspire One AO751 runs Windows Vista Home out of the box, you will most definitely experience a laggy performance. I somewhat avoided that by upgrading to Windows 7 RC (Windows XP should also do the trick). What this model gives you that no other 10-inch netbooks out there cannot give is the larger screen and higher resolution (1366×768pixels). That and the full-sized keyboard.

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Shared Laptop Experience

By Ely | Published: July 12, 2009

From Slick_Nickl;

I own an Empriva M540N. My Laptop hasn’t bugged down since it was repaired by Neo 1 1/2 yr ago. I must agree nasa pagha handle din ng tao minsan kung bakit sirain yun laptop but not to discredit Neo may mga laptops din kasi talaga silang mejo may problema. In my case, 2 months after I purchased my laptop nagkakaron ng blue screen error then I had it repaired by Neo after nun ok na yun nga lang same with every one here who had their laptop repaired, puro gasgas yun laptop ko ng binalik ng Neo. Just this afternoon, I went to Neo Megamall asking kung magkano optical drive (DVD RW) since hindi na nagbabasa yun sa kin kahit sobrang bihira ko lang gamitin yun. I laughed hard nun sinabi sa kin ng Neo Rep nila sa Mega na P7,950 yun. Grabe mas mahal pa kesa sa DVD RW ng Acer, HP, Toshiba & Asus. Sa Acer P4,000+ lang. So do I recommend buying Neo Laptops? No. It may not worth the hassle lalo na kung work laptop yan =)

From Chris;

Well, just like anneZ said, nasa gumagamit talaga ang itatagal ng life ng isang laptop or any other devices. Kaya if you’re planning on buying a Neo laptop and you’re not a typical techy kind of a person, i suggest that leave Neo brands last on the list. If may pera ka naman, invest ka na lang sa mejo mahal nga, pero hassle free naman na brands. If budget is the problem, Neo nga is the right option, pero, dapat pag aralan mo din gamitin ng TAMA, just Google it. As for me, i could say that Neo laptop is one of the good laptops around. Mine is 3 ½ years old now, pero still ginagamit ko pa din sya for work as a web developer. Wala me naging major problem sa kanya regarding sa hardware failure, dati. Never din nya nabisita ang mga ohh soo reliable na mga tech support ng Neo..

So far, 4 problems pa lang ang meron sa laptop ko now:

1. Kupas na kulay, mejo nakakahiya na siya dalhin sa mga cafe, vintage na daw or natapunan ng coffee. HEHE!

2. Battery, now totally drained na battery nya. Di na pwede pag wala outlet.

3. CD/DVD drive, mejo tsambahan na lang if ma read nya mga CD or DVD specially yung mga data or installers CD.

4. Built in camera, hirap humanap ng drivers for Vista.

Yan pa lang ang mga problems na madalas ko ma encounter sa loob ng 3 ½ years, as of now. I always use my laptop everyday around 6 hrs min and 12 hrs max. My brother bought this around 40k on a 12 months installment.. So again, right usage of your laptop will prolong it’s life, kahit Mac, Viao, Alienware or Neo pa yan, if di tama ang pag gamit, di tlaga tatagal.. Thanks for reading..

Thanks for sharing your laptop experiences with us, I hope our readers will get the idea on how to take care of their laptops and how to look for laptops that they really need.

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Acer Aspire Timeline

By Ely | Published: July 7, 2009

There is a long-standing principle that the very best designs emerge when form follows function. The Acer Aspire Timeline is proof that this is still true.
At its thinnest point the Aspire Timeline is just 24mm thick (less than one inch), rising just 5 mm at its highest.
The brushed aluminium cover not only gives it looks to die for but also keeps weight down to a featherweight 1.6kg (3.5 lbs) for the 13.3” model and just 2.4kg (5.3 lbs) for the 15.6” one, making it both lighter and easier to carry around than anything comparable.

We’ve introduced multi-gesture functionality to the Aspire Timeline that transforms navigation into a simple, natural movement of the hand and fingers.
A simple circular finger-swirl motion lets you scroll up – or down – web pages, documents or playlists. Pinching lets you zoom in and out of the applications you use the most while swiping two fingers horizontally lets you flick through photos, web pages, documents or media albums.
There’s a world inside every PC. But the world inside the Aspire Timeline is closer to yours.

See Timeline: three screen sizes – 13.3”, 14” and 15.6” – with 16:9 aspect ratio, high-definition CineCrystal™ LED backlit display, HDMI-out port and integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam.
Hear Timeline: Dolby® Sound Room® simulates 5.1-channel surround sound from the integrated stereo speakers or headphones to transform the experience of movies, music, and games.
Reach Timeline: 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N wireless, 3G WWAN and Mobile WiMAX™(*) connectivity.
* on selected models.

Specifications:

Processor and chipset
Intel® Centrino® 2 / Centrino® processor technology
- Intel® Core™2 Duo ultra low voltage processor SU9400 or  Intel® Core™2 Solo ultra low voltage processor SU3500
- Mobile Intel® GS45 Express Chipset
- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5100 (dual-band quad-mode 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N) Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® network connection, or
- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5150 Wi-Fi®/WiMAX™ dual-mode module,

Operating system
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium

Memory
Dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM support, Up to 4 GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, upgradeable to 8 GB using two soDIMM modules (requires 64 bit Operating System)

HDD
hard disk drive up to 320GB

Storage
160/250/320/500 GB or larger hard disk drive or 80 GB SSD drive, 5-in-1 card reader, supporting Secure Digital™ (SD) Card, MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick™ (MS), Memory Stick PRO™ (MS PRO), xD-Picture Card™ (xD)

Optical Media driver
8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive (except model 3810T)

Display
-15.6″ HD 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness (200-nit) Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD, 16:9 aspect ratio, Super-slim design (model 5810T)
-14″ HD 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness (200-nit) Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD, 16:9 aspect ratio, Super-slim design (model 4810T)
- 13.3″ HD 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness (200-nit) Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD, 16:9 aspect ratio, Super-slim design (model 3810T)

Graphics
Mobile Intel® GS45 Express Chipset with integrated 3D graphics, featuring Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD (Intel® GMA 4500MHD) with up to 1759 MB of Intel® Dynamic Video Memory Technology 5.0 (64 MB of dedicated video memory, Microsoft® DirectX® 10

Audio
Optimized 2nd Generation Dolby Sound Room® audio enhancement, featuring Dolby® Headphone, Dolby® Natural Bass and Dolby® Sound Space Expander, S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) support for digital speakers, MS-Sound compatible, built-in microphone

Communication
. Acer Video Conference: Integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam supporting
enhanced Acer PrimaLite™ technology
. WLAN: Intel? Wireless WiFi Link 5100 (dual-band quad-mode 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N) Wi-Fi CERTIFIED? network connection, featuring MIMO technology, supporting Acer SignalUpT with NplifyT wireless technology or
- Wi-Fi®/WiMAX™* Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5150 Wi-Fi®/WiMAX™ dual-mode module, supporting Acer SignalUp™ with Nplify™ wireless technology * depending on network availability
- WWAN GTM382E module: UMTS/HSPA at 900 MHz/2100 MHz and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) upgradeable to 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.7 Mbps HSUPA (for 3G models)
. WPAN: Bluetooth? 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) – on selected models -
. LAN: Gigabit Ethernet, Wake-on-LAN ready

I/O ports
5-in-1 card reader (SD™, MMC, MS, MS PRO, xD), Three (Four on AS5810T) USB 2.0 ports, HDMI™ port with HDCP support, External display (VGA) port, Headphone/speaker/line-out jack with S/PDIF support, Microphone-in jack

Security
BIOS user, supervisor, HDD passwords, Kensington lock slot

Power
ACPI 3.0 CPU power management standard: supports Standby and Hibernation power-saving modes, 62.16 W 5600 mAh 6-cell Li-ion battery pack: Acer PowerSmart 3-pin 65 W AC adapter, ENERGY STAR® 5.0

Special keys and controls
103-/104-/107-key keyboard, with inverted “T” cursor layout (model 5810T) – 86-/87-/91-key keyboard,, with inverted “T” cursor layout (model 3810T & 4810T), Multi-gesture touchpad pointing device supporting:
. Circular-motion scrolling
. Pinch-action zoom
. Page flip
10 function keys, four cursor keys, two Windows® keys, hotkey controls, independent standard numeric keypad (only on AS5810T) , international language support Acer PowerSmart key, Easy-launch keys: Acer Backup, Communication®, touchpad lock, Media control keys (printed on keyboard): play/pause, stop, previous, next

Dimensions and weight
- 322 (W) x 228 (D) x 23.4/28.9 (H) mm – 1.6 kg ( 3.5 lbs.) with 6-cell battery pack (model 3810T)
- 338.4 (W) x 240 (D) x 24/28.9 (H) mm – 1.9 kg ( 4.2 lbs.) with 6-cell battery pack (model 4810T)
- 378 (W) x 259 (D) x 24.8/29.7 (H) mm – 2.4 kg ( 5.3 lbs.) with 6-cell battery pack (model 5810T)

Software
Acer Crystal Eye, Acer GridVista™, Acer GameZone, Acer Game Console, Acer Backup Manager, Acer PowerSmart Manager, Acer eRecovery Management, Adobe® Reader®, Adobe Flash Player, Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, Cyberlink® Power DVD, CyberLink® PowerDirector® trial version, McAfee® Internet Security Suite, NTI Media Maker™, Microsoft® Works 9.0 with Office Home and Student 2007 SP1 Trial, Acer 3G Connection Manager (for 3G SKU only)
Optional items
1 GB / 2 GB DDR3 1066 MHz soDIMM module, 6-cell Li-ion battery pack, Acer PowerSmart 3-pin 65 W AC adapter, External USB floppy disk drive, External USB 56K modem

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Sharing One’s Experience

By Ely | Published: July 5, 2009

From kikz™;

Got a Neo Basic 2165 for a year now.. some problems i had with it is whenever i use windows xp sp2, it occasionally freezes in the windows xp loading screen.. the progress bar stops, then various horizontal lines will appear all over the screen and slowly, the screen will be entirely in white.. like the laptop had a slow painful death or something.. whenever that happens, i have to press the power button to forcefully restart it.. there are even some occasions that this “phenomena” occurs more than one time.. consecutively.. :P

i also used windows vista ultimate on it and occasionally, i experience the BSOD (blue screen of death) quite a number of times.. i got fed up with it so i formatted it and reinstalled windows xp sp2.. no more BSOD, but for the price of the problem i mentioned above.. maybe i will no longer experience any problems if i install windows 95 or even.. windows 3.1??!! good grief..

all in all, there were some annoying experiences that i had with my neo laptop, but i must admit, it also served me well in some ways.. im already planning to retire it and give it to my brother and i will buy the compaq presario or acer aspire.. whichever will be cheaper of course.. maybe those brands will not give me the problems i had with NEO.. :P

Kikz™ your neo only had bad OS installation regarding to the very often blue screen thing that occasionally happens, i think your OS got currupted while in installation that is why the freezing and the blue screen happens. But it is good that after all your negative experience with your laptop you still see the good side of it, by thinking on the positive site that it has served you with all the complications that you have endured.

From jon;

I think if you want to play games you should not use a laptop. If you will notice all video card of laptop is integrated in the board. Playing games on your laptop can lead to destruction of your unit. if you want to play games you should get a game console or a desktop pc with a video card that has a high resolution capacity (e.g. Nvidia 6600 or up). But if you still want to play games on your laptop check first the games specs if it meet the hardware requirements. example of games that you can play in your laptop are Counter strike, Dota. nothing more… this games that has a low resolution. Read the specs first before doing things on your laptop.

Like jon has said its better to play games with high definition graphics in desktops rather than in laptops, but there are laptops that can meet your needs when playing games with high graphics. Some laptops now are released with video cards that can process high graphics these laptops are really made for graphic designing, these same laptops can be used to play high graphics games.

Thanks to kikz™ and jon by sharing your laptop experiences, I hope that some of our readers will get an idea on what kind of laptop they want to buy, and what suits their needs. When reading these don’t always think on the negative side be always positive on things. And always remember with these experiences helps us to know about the product we use, and how to take care of these. Thanks again!

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Sharing Laptop Experience

By Ely | Published: July 2, 2009

From seiji;

I own a Neo Empriva 540NVPi, which I bought August last year. Except for two occasions when it won’t load the BIOS (perhaps as a result of the laptop exposed to the cold–and I only warmed it up by hugging it and everything’s OK), everything’s smooth sailing. I’ve been operating it at nearly 24/7 conditions, and it’s still running.

I plan to install Windows 7 when I upgrade the hard drive to around 160GB. I added 1GB of RAM to the stock 1GB, so all I need is replace one module with 2GB RAM.

Despite the bad rap I’ve been hearing about NEO laptops, I’ve come to love this brand. Mom’s laptop is a NEO, too–a Celeron-powered Q-Note, and, albeit a slow WinXP due to the effects of a virus, it still works fine. I also ran her laptop at nearly 24/7 conditions when I was still borrowing it.

Thanks for seiji for sharing his laptop experience to us. Well this is to show that not all NEO laptops are defective in some way, it is just that some laptops work well and have been used by others more than they have know with out getting any major problems. I hope we get more feedbacks and comments about other laptop experience. Thanks again!

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neo vivid v1103

By Ely | Published: June 30, 2009

Vivid is NEO’s multi-color line that allows you to reveal your style. Choose the color that best describes your personality because now you can put more spunk into your mobile lifestyle! This laptop has nice graphics, nice audio system, RAM speed very adequate  and has a fine Harddisk capacity for storing more files.

Specifications:
CPU         INTEL
LCD Size     8.9″ WXGA LCD
Weight         ~1.0
Tablet      NO
RAM         1G
Storage Type     HDD
HDD/SSD     160
O/S         XP
Webcam         YES
CPU Model     Atom N270, 512 KB cache, 1.60 GHz
Video         Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
ODD         NO
Wireless LAN     802.11 b/g
LAN         10/100 Mbps
Card Reader     3-in-1 Card Reader

Please add your comments and suggestions, and moslty some of your experience upon using this laptop. Your shared experiences will be a very great help for other readers and laptop buyers. Thanks again.

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