Intel to Launch SSDs

Intel announced this week it has begun shipping the X18-M and X25-M Mainstream SATA Solid-State Drives for laptop and desktop computers.

The 1.8-inch X18-M and 2.5-inch X25-M are based on multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash technology and are available in 80GB capacities. Their read and write speeds are up to 250MB per second and up to 70MB/s respectively. Samples of upcoming 160GB versions will be available in the fourth quarter of this year.

The SSDs offer “several advantages over hard drives including faster overall system response and boot and resume times”.

“With no moving parts, SSDs run cooler and quieter and are a more reliable option than hard drives. In addition, SSDs remove input/output (I/O) performance bottlenecks associated with hard disk drives that help maximize the efficiency of Intel processors”, the chip maker says, adding that lab tests show the Intel X18-M and X25M increase storage system performance nine times over traditional hard disk drive performance.

The Intel X18-M and X25-M are priced at $595 for quantities up to 1,000.

Best Laptops- Top Rated

By combining experts’ reviews with users’ ratings we can create interesting and informative product tops like the one I’ll present to you today and which is called Best Rated Computer Laptops. It’s not like a top 10 because instead of showing you a fixed number of models, we have a list with 5 laptop models picked from each of the top 5 brands with the highest ratings on 4 reviews websites - CNET, Epinions, reevoo, and alaTest.

The first in alaTest’s top is Asus Eee PC 900, a 9-inch model with a screen large enough for watching videos and work on the go, long battery life, multi-touch trackpad compatible with Windows XP, while the bad aspects include small storage capacity, no 3G, too small keyboard for some, and no optical drive among others.

Reevoo has the Asus X51RL T2310 in the top 5 brands, a 10-rated laptop recommended by all reviewers for its long battery life, durability, design, performance and value for money.

ASUS Eee PC 4G on Epinions scored 5 stars for its overall design and ultra-portability, while the bad aspects are related to the keyboard size, monitor casing getting hot too quickly, too small memory and no disk drive. I’d like to ask these guys what did they expect from a $350 laptop?!
On CNET, the same laptop has a Very Good rating for having Windows XP installed for the same price as Linux, while the Bad includes low hard drive space and low screen resolution. Still, it is considered one of the best rated computer laptops worldwide.



Sony Vaio VGN AR11S from reevoo has a 17-inch display, long battery life, several software utilities pre-installed, and no bad reviews yet.

Acer Aspire One has a score of 99 out of 100 and people like it because it is elegant, in a slim form factor, with a large keyboard, and at an affordable price. Some say it’s limited in RAM memory, battery life and helpful features such as the Bluetooth.

On Epinions, the same laptop is among best rated with maximum of 5 stars accumulated for the price, performance, design, web camera and microphone. Some didn’t like the fact that it has no Bluetooth, but small keyboard and short battery life.

One of the lightest and thinnest laptop models available on the market is the Lenovo ThinkPad X300. In addition to these main positive aspects it provides a built-in DVD burner, WWAN, GPS and wireless USB connectivity. The thing that seems to bother many on alaTest is the price of about $1,830, which is a bit high.


Lenovo ThinkPad T61 has a lower price of $750 for having fewer features, but its durable design and long battery life allowed it to score 5 stars on sites like Epinions.


From HP, the Compaq Presario V4332EA 15.4-inch laptop is one of the few highly recommended models on reevoo, while on Epinions you can find the HP Pavilion dv6000z with 5 stars, lowest price displayed of $1099, and some Cons including short battery life, small hard drive and overheating.


HP Pavilion dv5-1000us entertainment system was reviewed on CNET and there people liked the expandable RAM memory which reaches 8GB, its design line, high processing speed, wireless draft N support and others. What they liked less includes the material used for building the housing on the exterior. It attracts fingerprints. Besides this, it is not that easy to use and users need a better user guide in order to learn how to access all its features.

From Apple there is the MacBook 2008 Edition, a great portable computing system with fast operating speed, large hard drive, high-quality built-in web camera for video conferences, as well as many security layers. There are no negative reviews, just that it seems a bit pricey for some on CNET.

Apple MacBook Air, the thinnest notebook, has 158 user reviews on alaTest and 81 expert reviews. From what I read there, it is considered too expensive for having a non-replaceable battery, small storage on Solid State Drive, limited connectivity, and slower operating speed compared to other laptops from the same category.

Advent appears in the top 5 best rated computer laptops on both reevoo and alaTest, but with different models. While Advent 4211 is appreciated for screen quality and value for money, and disliked for not having 3G connectivity and a longer battery life, the Advent 8109 on reevoo has a score of 10 for all categories: size/weight, design, value for money, battery life and performance.




I have to recognize I don’t know much about Everex products’ quality but after taking a look at the reviews on Epinions and CNET, I can say that the Everex StepNote SA2053T has a good design at under 4 lbs, costs under $600, but supports maximum 2GB of RAM memory and has no web camera. Let’s say it’s a mid-level laptop. On CNET, Everex StepNote XT5000T shows that users are satisfied for the graphics quality and all other stuff, excepting the fact that it overheats from time to time and the battery life tends to shorten.




What brand do you think is missing from the picture till now? – Toshiba probably, as it scored 10 on reevoo with the Toshiba Satellite Pro L40-15A and almost 5 stars on CNET with the Toshiba Satellite M65-S809 model. The latter has a noisy hard disk, low sound, and gets hot quickly, these in addition to being kinda heavy. You might like at it the display quality and the overall design.

Fancy Hard Disks

Obtainable in a range of colors across in offer are the My Passport Essential and My Passport Elite range. Western Digital has proclaimed the initiation of the novel 500GB & 400GB capability My Passport Essential & My Passport Elite Portable USB Hard Drives. Analogous to existing proffering (320GB being the flagship until now), new-fangled copies let you store up to half a terabyte of music, videos and additional stuff in the palm of your hand. These USB 2.0 bus influenced hard drives weigh 7 ounces and feature built-in 128-bit encryption. They're also similar in temperament with PlayStation3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 game consoles.

Dell Renames 1420 and 1525 to Inspiron 14, 15

Dell has renamed select models in the Inspiron laptop lineup, giving them simpler names.

The 14.1-inch Inspiron 1420 is now Inspiron 14, while the 15.4-inch 1525 is now Inspiron 15. The Inspiron notebook series also includes a recently released 13.3-incher - the 13 - and the Mini 9. The 17-inch models are currently unavailable.

According to product pages, specifications of the laptops remained the same.