Apple MacBook Pro 2.5 Ghz - 17" Widescreen

As a result of the 15.4-inch heels, MacBook Pro and in place of 17-inch PowerBook G4, 17-inch MacBook Pro offers more of the same features as its little brother beloved, as the scrolling track pad, the Sudden Motion Sensor, and great software, and offers a large and bright 17-inch display, which is to work for graphics.the 17-inch MacBook Pro is the standard configuration costs $ 2799 (upgrades to our unity, the price adjustment to $ 3099). But for graphics professionals and other Mac users, silver, 17-inch MacBook Pro is a dream.With the MacBook Pro, Apple has radically transformed the shape of PowerBook-Factor, a few improvements. Measuring 15.4 centimeters wide, 10.4 cm deep and 1 cm thick, the structure, aluminum MacBook Pro is very similar to the 17-inch PowerBook G4 it replaces. At 6.8 pounds, the 17-inch MacBook Pro is a hair more easily than its predecessor and the lightest laptop of its size on the market. With the adapter, which like other Apple laptops connects magnetic Where the MacBook Pro weighs 7.9 kg. In comparison, the Dell Inspiron E1705 weighs 8.2 kg, the Toshiba Qosmio G35 weighs 10.2 kg.

Under the lid, the MacBook Pro is the tradition of the PowerBook minimalist design. The MacBook Pro is simply an on / off, a big keyboard framed by stereo speakers, a large touchpad with one button and a practice of the built-in iSight camera, which is sitting at the screen. Although the keys are somewhat superficial, they are yours and you are the keyboard backlight, which relate to changes in ambient light. We are not only that the keyboard is located 5.4 cm from the laptop front, we were focused on a position of ergonomics. The touchpad, you can scroll through documents, web pages and tables, using two fingers of the PAD, a feature that is unique to Apple laptops. No doubt, 17-inch MacBook Pro is the most beautiful display function: the big big screen has a good 1680x1, 050 native resolution.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro offers a choice of ports and connections, but it is a bit short, what you do on a large-laptop, including the Inspiron E1705. This means that the MacBook Pro is equipped with three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 and FireWire 800, one Express Card slot and a DVI (with VGA adapter) to connect to an external monitor. It also supports Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), and you can access the Internet via 802.11g Wi-Fi radio and Gigabit Ethernet. As with the PowerBook, MacBook Pro has a slot-loading SuperDrive plays and burns DVDs and CDs. A new extra is the Apple Remote included with the Front Row media player, we want the MacBook has a location for storage. Unlike most laptops, the MacBook Pro does not have an integrated media player for flash memory cards, and there is no S-video and modem - the PowerBook had.

The MacBook Pro comes with Mac OS X Tiger, highlights of the incredible advantage cool customizable Spotlight and Dashboard, a collection of office tools at hand. In addition, the software robust iLife'06, Front Row Media Center Software, and a handful of other applications. In addition, the beta version of Boot Camp, you can MacBook into a dual-boot engine, all versions of Mac OS X and Windows XP (you need a full version of Windows separately).

The 17-inch MacBook Pro comes with a default configuration that costs $ 2799th Although not many upgrade options, including our hard drive and memory extensions, that the price to $ 3099th Many money, you expect a fairly high-end data, the MacBook is a fast, 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2GB of fast 667MHz DDR2 RAM, an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256 MB VRAM and fire of 7200 rpm, 100 GB hard drive. However, the MacBook Pro is slightly more expensive than other laptops of Windows is configured, such an Inspiron E1705 with similar features costs $ 2889th

CNET Labs compared to 17-inch MacBook Pro to a number of elderly, laptops Apple on the PowerPC processor and Core Duo-Mac. Not surprising that the MacBook Pro trailed behind a PowerBook G4, in the performance of Sorenson Squeeze, the Rosetta translation for the new chipset. But the ability of memory and a fast hard drive helped the power on our Photoshop CS test, in spite of Rosetta. (We hope that the MacBook Pro at a price of more software Publisher Release Universal Binary-known programs, but we recommend testing your applications, or will soon be Intel compatible before buying a new system of Apple.) Courses on native applications such as iTunes, the 17-inch MacBook Pro saw significant increase over the last generation PowerBook. Probably due to its discrete graphics card, 17-inch MacBook Pro Doom 3 very respectable frame rates, while the 23.2 frames per second (fps) with 56.5fps Inspiron E1705 we tested. In our DVD battery-drain test, the MacBook Pro lasted 2 hours, 54 minutes - very respectable for a desktop replacement that is not likely to see too much time away from the socket.

Apple, the MacBook Pro with an industry standard one year warranty parts and labor, but the telephone support is limited to only 90 days - more than what you normally find on your page PC - unless they buy $ 349 Apple Care Protection Plan, phone support and repair for three years. However, you can most PC warranty to three years for about $ 200 U.S.. Apple offers online events and web forums are a good source for advice from other users to download and print the product manual.

Sony VAIO TZ298

While Asus' U2E is ideal for a leather love, Fancy Pants-executive, the Sony Vaio TZ is also central to an executive, but gives elegance with knowledge understatement. Sony may be said, "Power Broker and real Road Warriors do not need leather, but they have a good design."

The TZ 298 is one of the highest-end configurations of the TZ ultra portable and compromise almost anything. As both a 250 GB hard drive 64 GB Solid State Drive, there is no room for an optical drive, which is why I said "almost." Sony also has an external optical drive with this computer, however.
The TZ is wearing a combination of black executive. It is the carpet and the black hat basic lids carbon brushed room, almost brown and beautiful contrast with the mirror silver Vaio logo at the center, and slightly indented chassis black piece on the piano keyboard.

Unlike close scary screen and lid hinge ball sets, rather than a Beefy batteries, the computer raises the surface, almost half inches, there is no unusual design flourishes. The machine is also in other colors such as gold and red, for those who are a little more flash in their computer. Even if the screen as thin if not thinner than the Toshiba R500, it is more stable. The rest of the body is much more bold than the R500's, only from a heavy equipment. Dimensions and weight

The fact that Sony controls the TZ is so thin (ranging from 0.8 "to 1.2" thick), the use of these materials is a solid performance, even without the optical drive. The hardware in your computer a little more weight than the other, non-optical disc drive Ultra-portable: It weighs 2.7 kg, while the Lenovo U110 weighs 2.4 kg. At a minimum, the Sony TZ, the smallest power brick (0.6 lbs). In the main, TZ feels very easy, especially large grippy handle in the form of round, that hinge.

Product Specification :

Ports

From left, Sony hid some of the most difficult and perhaps less used ports, behind a wall of rubber. Drag the box to protect the new Gigabit Ethernet, modem and FireWire ports.

LIEGE after rehabilitation is a ventilation fan and a U-Express Card slot and two USB ports. The front of the TZ is, with the ports and buttons on the left, you will find the headphone jack, microphone, "Magic Gate" slot for Sony's proprietary formats and SD slot. There are LEDs that indicate if the "Magic Gate" is used, the battery status and the status of hard disk. Far right is a Wi-Fi On / Off switch and six metal balls multimedia keys that we have in the bottom Usability. On the right side is a USB port, a VGA port on the back.

There are no real buttons or ports on the back of the machine, but at each end of the spherical joint is a place of (left) and socket (right), a plastic artificial-Power button flashes orange or green, is a solid. You can not see, but it is the only one in the group with a map broadband Sprint EVDO. Unfortunately, Sony does not give us access to this feature in our control unit, so that we do not test the speed of data transfer.

Sony XBRITE screens have a good reputation for reliability and ultra-sharp, even in this incarnation incredibly thin, lack of glare and the rich color well above the average for the ultra-portable screen. Battery Sony TZ benefits of screen LED backlit, too, because she was able to do so, the longest in this Roundup. The ring of the screen is as thin as the Toshiba R500. It would be a pleasure, but to make a film on the laptop screen while the movie recorded on the hard drive (no optical drive).

Keyboard

Sony keyboard is smaller than the standard laptop size, but for me it was the best way to do all laptops. This is because the keys are to each other to race, which shows Apple MacBook progress made since 2006. My laptop inadvertently a MacBook, I was at home with the feeling of the buttons. Although in a glossy piano black casing, the keys have a slightly grainy feel to them, and almost none of Clickety-clackety noise, that almost all the keyboards.

These are small slits on the speaker left and right above the keyboard, but they sound great surprise. In this sense, audio-visual, the Fujitsu P8010 and the Sony TZ is unparalleled, the other three in this Roundup laptops can not compete.

And trackpad button

The trackpad feels a little mucous, it is simply not enough leaves of different wristpad and smoothly. The keys are a customs duty on the trackpad, and small clicks, the race itself as regards the capacity of back and forth clicking, but not much to do, so you're wondering if you correctly . Between the two buttons is a fingerprint scanner, I'd rather not be disabled at the page between the keys.

On the edge of the lip before the computer, just below the keyboard-mouse, these six multimedia keys I have already mentioned: AV mode of play / pause, stop, back, forward and S. I think that both the declaration, AV Mode button, the computer on your DVDs, videos, music or photos without your computer starts, and S in this case means "eject". "

These buttons are a little more sense with an integrated optical drive, I found it quite ignorable during my use of the machine. On the positive side, they are small and relatively flush with the machine, so I have not taken randomly.

The noise and heat

In our test, these machines are very hot during the implementation of benchmarks and battery test. Hum low emissions at any time, regardless of the fact that readers were used for spinning or computer. And here's some bad news: the computer and others recall 73,000 units were by Sony in September. The offender? The warning to consumers: "son improperly positioned near the hinge of the computer and / or a screw in the hinge can be short-circuiting and overheating. This is a risk to consumers burn." The good news is that a short circuit does not occur, while our brave test this machine. If you are not relieved? We were. While this computer has been warmer than others in the Roundup is not harmful. Nevertheless, we machine from Sony in haste so that we can a new entity: the Vaio TT.

Price

In a decision without a doubt something to remember, many units TZ, Sony is selling this machine on its website. The final price, which he sold for $ 2999, and if you are on site abroad, was probably a bit less than the price. As mentioned above, Sony has a new design, the TT, Tom's Guide, and a short time.

It is a little war for the opportunity to Sony on the price of the TZ, but we can simply summarize it is very appreciated. Although this machine to hit the Lenovo U110 assessment results, a large hard drive and a Solid State Drive, high-speed EVDO, excellent taste and it should not cost more than $ 1,000 in any other computer this cycle: It is about $ 2300 in most. Factor in the thin possibility of damage to the heating, and this machine is not worth purchasing systems today. We just so that we have with the next TT, and to show how Sony compared to the rest of the ultra portable while most of 2008.

Battery Life

Sony VAIO VGN-TZ298N is a laptop with the exception of others in this Roundup. It contains both a 250 GB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive and a 60GB Solid State Drive. The 10.8 V, 5800 mAh (design and actual capacity) the battery lasted 207 minutes. The laptop is a bit low speed probably contributed to this long battery life, but we suspect that the design of the battery has played an important role. Performance