TechnicaMag.com

Asus are unbeatable at the moment for providing the world with cheap, easy to use mini laptops and the release of the ultra portable Eee PC 701 shows that they are still on top form, with the cheapest package costing just £169.

Eee PC background

The three ‘e’s in the title of this mini laptop range are supposed represent Asus’s vision of the future of portable computing, “easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play”. The Eee PC is about the same size as a hardback book and weighs just 920g, which is truly amazing when you consider that a standard laptop can weigh as much as 3kg.

Design

One fault with some of the other smaller laptops on the market is that they can look a bit plasticky and toy-like, but Asus have countered this with a sophisticated pearl white finish on the 701, which gives it a more professional and grown up look. Its petite, slim outer case is simple and functional, and the 701 looks equally at home in the classroom, boardroom or dining room table.

Functionality

Mini laptops do make some sacrifices for their smaller size, and this is most notable in the 701 in the keyboard, which really is tiny with less than a 1mm gap between each key (unlike the 5mm gap on standard laptops). This makes it hard to type out larger documents, and also may result in a few mistakes as you accidentally hit the wrong keys, especially for those with larger digits. However it is perfect for quickly typing out notes and drafting letters, and so is ideal for carrying about to meetings or lectures.

There are three USB ports, a D-Sub video output port and audio jacks, which is very generous considering the small size of the 701, and a memory card reader so that you can use supporting memory cards of up to 32GB. There is no internal modem in this model, but there is an Ethernet port so that you can connect to the Internet if you want to, and they have even managed to squeeze in a webcam just above the screen and speakers on either side of the display.

Features

At under £200 you should not be expecting a lot of features from the Asus Eee PC 701, but it does have an impressive Intel Mobile Celeron-M ULV 900MHz CPU, and a choice of 256MB or 512MB of RAM. For those who want to install Windows or use the Internet the 512MB of Ram is a must, but if you just intend to use the Eee PC as a word processor then the lower RAM option is cheaper and perfectly adequate.

Purchasing the Asus Eee PC 701

Prices vary across the different vendors, and depending on which version you buy you can expect to pay between £169 - £220 for the Eee PC 701. Look out for websites that have promotions and deals on such as Overstock.com, where you can sign up to the onsite newsletter and receive an Overstock.com Coupon Code that can get you money off at the checkout on a huge variety of stocked items.

Most vendors will sell accessorises such as the wall charger and screen protector separately and it can be a good idea to shop around for these, as you can get some great deals on the Internet. For example Newegg.com sells the Asus Eee PC AC Wall charger for just £11.56, and the Eee PC reusable screen protector for just £3.85. You can also get money off at the till if you use one of the Newegg.com Promo Code vouchers, which you can get (along with other offers) by signing up to the regular newsletter before you make any purchases.

The future of mobile phones is touchscreen technology, and Nokia launched its own version in 2008 with the 5800 XpressMusic model. This mobile phone has some solid inbuilt features including a 3.2 megapixel digital camera, Wi-Fi connection, MP3 player, 8GB memory and GPS.

Functionality

The 5800 is neat and compact, smaller than its main competitors the iPhone and Blackberry, but with a nice solid feel. The stylus function may not be to everyone’s tastes, but it is necessary as the smaller screen on the 5800 means the touch buttons are tiny, and too fiddly to use with your fingers. The stylus tool is cleverly fitted into the casing though, and you have the option of using this tool in the handwriting mode, which you can use for jotting down quick notes or text messages. One small drawback is that Nokia have not included auto-correct on the writing modes, but this is more than made up for with the ability to cut and paste, a handy feature that is missing from the iPhone.

The hang up and dial buttons are situated clearly beneath the central 3.2 inch touchscreen display, with the volume, camera and toggle hold buttons on the sides. There is also a neat little menu button just above the touchscreen, which allows you to access the menu regardless of which application you are currently using, allowing you to switch easily between music, camera, web browsing and phone calls.

Technology

Nokia have included some good technical specifications on the 5800, with HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity, GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and front facing camera essential for video calling. Some reviewers have criticized the 3.2 megapixel camera, mainly because most of Nokia’s other phones now have the 5 megapixel camera as standard, but unless you are buying the phone specifically for the digital camera function 3.2MP should be sufficient for most needs.

Checkout this Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic video demo

Interface

The interface on the 5800 is user friendly, with a straightforward navigation experience that should suit most customers. The homepage gives you the additional option of assigning 4 icons directly to four people in your contact book, meaning you can phone or message then quickly without having to go into the contacts book each time. The web browser is a standard Nokia set up, and with fast, reliable access and is suitable for tasks such as watching video clips (with a full screen option) and browsing social media websites.

Music player

The 5800 has 8GB of memory so if you mainly use your phone as an MP3 player you will have plenty of room to store all of your favorite tracks and music videos. The sound quality isn’t brilliant, but still good for a device that combines so many applications and you can improve this a lot by buying some decent headphones to fit into the provided 3.5mm jack plug.

Conclusion

This is a good, all round touchscreen phone and fans of Nokia styling and technology will feel very at home with this model. The stylus interface will put some people off, as it has doesn’t have that smooth, gliding feel associated with some of the larger touchscreens like the iPhone. However there are some good features on this phone which make it competitive, and it comes with that feeling of solid reliability that Nokia mobile phones are so famous for.

Gamers have different requirements for their headphones than people who listen to music, as they need to not only be able to hear what’s going on in accurate surround sound, but also to communicate vocally. Gamers often play for long periods of time, so any headgear needs to be robust, comfortable and lightweight.

Most gaming platforms will incorporate a wide mix of vocals, music, bass and special effects so headphones need to be crystal clear and accurate, so that you can hear voices over background sound. They should also include a rich stereo sound to translate the atmospheric music and special effects properly, so that you get the full spine-tingling experience. The audio microphone on the headphones will need to be adjustable and also noise canceling, so that other gamers can hear you speak without getting a lot of interfering white noise. Controllers that are built into the cable are also useful, so that you can make quick adjustments when you need to in the middle of game play.

You can get some really good deals on gaming headphones at Newegg.com, and the excellent Logitech Extreme 3.5mm Supra-aural PC Gaming Headset is just $12.99, and features easily adjustable volume controls, noise canceling microphone and a lightweight style that fits comfortably behind the head. You can get even more savings on gaming headgear and other items on this site if you use a Newegg coupon code at the checkout, and these can be obtained by subscribing to the regular newsletter, which includes different discount coupons and offers each issue.

You can also get codes and coupons for other websites that can be used to get money off on gaming headphones such as the Best Buy Promotion Code which entitles you to free delivery on all items from the Gameplay website, as well as £5 off when you spend £35+ on gaming software and hardware.

Miniature laptops are becoming more and more popular as they offer light, powerful and portable computing at low prices, for example the Acer Aspire One , which runs on Linux has a screen size of 8.9in and is just £200.

Fujitsu have just released their entry onto this market, the tiny hand held 5.6″ screen U820 model. This is a touch screen laptop which provides a much improved battery life (the Acer is just 2 hours) and also has GPS and a 1.6GHz Atom processor.

The Fujitsu U820 is very light, only 1.3lbs and also includes a whole host of security features such as a BIOS lock, fingerprint sensor, and a Kensington lock slot which allows you to attach a security cable so that you can physically lock the U820 to a solid base to deter thieves. The U820 comes with Bluetooth wireless connection and preinstalled Windows Vista operating systems (either Business or Home Premium) and prices start at very reasonable $999.