Asus Chromebook C200

A Chromebook is a laptop running on Chrome OS as its operating system. It is built primarily to run while connected to the internet with very limited offline capability.  Most of the applications and data run on a chromebook reside in  a data cloud. As such, chromebooks are designed with basic hardware specification to run basic applications. The first commercial Chromebooks  from Acer and Samsung went on market in mid 2011. To date, there are countless players in this market including Google itself, which entered the market early last year. Chromebooks have become increasingly popular because they are highly portable and affordable.

If you are looking for a laptop to run basic applications like web browsing, social networking or watching videos, you need an affordable laptop, and the Asus Chromebook C200 is a great choice. It is priced at  only $249. The Asus Chromebook C200 is a sleek ultrabook, with a lot of features. At the heart of this Chromebook is an Intel Atom CPU running Chrome OS.

Attractive features on the Asus Chromebook C200

• Compact and ultra-light laptop

The Asus Chromebook C200 features a compact laptop design weighing only 1.15kgs. This makes it suitable for everyday use wherever and whenever.

• Spacious touchpad and keyboard

The Chromebook C200 is designed with a full sized keyboard and a large touchpad to simultaneously enhance comfort, provide multi finger gesture support and provide a fast accurate action.

• Front facing HD Webcam

Chromebook C200 is equipped with an HD camera that you can use to take photos, record videos as well as for video conference calls with colleagues and workmates.

• WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0

Stay connected to a host of your favorite devices and network either through WiFi or Bluetooth. With this Chromebook's WiFi adapter, you can stream videos and browse the internet at ease.

Full tech Specs of Chromebook C200

Main Processors and memory

• Intel® Bay Trail-M Dual/Quad Core Celeron N2930 Processor
• 2 GB / 4 GB DDR3L MHz SDRAM, OnBoard Memory
• 11.6" 16:9 HD/GL/LED (1366x768)
• Integrated Intel® HD Graphics 
• 16GB/32GB eMMC 
• SD/SDHC card reader

Connectivity

• Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n/ac or 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.0 support (on WLAN+ BT 4.0 combo card)

Input/Output ports on Chromebook C200

• 1 combo audio jack
• 1 SuperSpeed(SS) USB 3.0 port
• 1 USB 2.0 port
• 1 HDMI port

Other on-board devices

• Built-in stereo speakers
• 1 Microphone
• HD Web Camera

Power Requirements

Chromebook C200 is powered by a 3-cell 48Wh battery. Its power adapter is rated at, Output: 19V DC, 1.75A, 33W, Input : 100 -240 V AC, 50/60 Hz

Weight and Dimensions

Chromebook C200 weighs 1.15kg when installed with a 3-cell battery. It measures 304.3 x 200 x 19.8 cm (WxDxH).

Buying guide

• Chromebooks in general rely heavily on Google apps available on chrome store. They do not support Microsoft Office Suite. A free cloud version of office, Microsoft Web Apps, compatible with Chromebooks is available. You can also use the native Google Drive to open, run documents, spreadsheets and presentations. All your old Microsoft Word documents and PowerPoint presentations can be imported directly into Google Drive, allowing you to work on your files. However, there are known compatibility issues between documents created using Google Drive and MS office. So you might want to stick with MS office for documents created using Microsoft Office.

• Chromebooks are heavily reliant on internet connectivity. Almost all apps on the chromebooks run from the cloud. You might be rendered unproductive if you are out of WiFi range.

• Chromebooks are not good for everybody. They are meant for basic web browsing, social networking, email access, etc. They cannot for instance be used for heavy gaming since their video graphics processing power is very limited.

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Microsoft Surface Pro 3

A lot of innovation has been ongoing over last couple of years in tablet PC development. We have witnessed the advent of 2-in-1 PCs. Microsoft's surface family of tablets has progressively been improved over time from Surface X series to Surface Pro X series. Surface Pro 3 is the latest and most powerful 2-in-1 tablet PC in the Surface family. It is built to offer a more powerful performance than an ordinary laptop while retaining all the features of a tablet particularly portability.

Attractive features on Microsoft Surface Pro 3

• A 12-inch Full HD plus multi touch display screen

Surface Pro 3 features a 12 inch Full HD plus 2160 x 1440 pixel display LCD screen built by Microsoft. The large multi touch screen is built to give a crystal clear display to enhance your eye comfort while working.

• Ultra-slim and ultra-light

Surface Pro 3 is the thinnest and lightest tablet in the Surface Pro family weighing only 0.8kg and 0.55 inches thick with the keyboard attached. It is a tablet built for the busy travelers. It enables you to keep in touch with friends and family on social networks as well have access to corporate and personal mail.

• Run your favorite desktop apps on Surface Pro 3

Surface Pro 3 is built to be very responsive and  fast. You can install favorite desktop apps such as a Microsoft office suite.

• Write naturally with a premium pen

The Surface Pro 3 is supplied with an aluminum pen that writes and feels like an natural pen. The palm block technology enables you to rest your palm and write naturally without leaving a trace.

• Multi position Kickstand and Type Cover

With the multi position kickstand and type cover, you can transform Surface Pro 3 from a tablet to a laptop in seconds. This makes it very convenient to work from anywhere.

Full tech specs of Surface Pro 3

• Pre-loaded with 32-bit windows 8.1 Operating System
• Intel Core i5-4300U 1.9 GHz  processor family.
• 8GB RAM
• MicroSD card support
• 256GB Solid State Drive
• 12" 2160 x 1440 WXGA display screen.
• Multi touch input screen
• Intel HD Graphics 4400 GPU
• 802.11ac/802.11a/b/g/n WLAN
• Bluetooth 4.0 low energy technology
• Digital Compass
• USB 3.0 port
• Mini DisplayPort
• Type Cover port
• Stereo speakers with Dolby Sound
• Built-in microphones
• Head phone Jack
• 5.0 Mega pixel Webcam
• 5.0 Mega pixel rear facing Camera
• Ambient light sensors for sensing light intensity
• Accelerometer sensors for orientation sensing
• Gyroscope sensor for sensing angular velocity
• Magnetometer sensor for sensing the magnetic field of the earth
• Battery that lasts up to a maximum of 9 hours of web browsing.
• 36W AC power adapter.
• Multi position kickstand
• Weighs approximately 0.8kgs.

Buying tips

• If you consider 4G LTE connectivity to be important like I do, you might choose to hold off buying the Surface Pro 3 because this option is not available. Microsoft for some reason chose to omit this important feature on it's flagship tablet PC and yet it was available on the first generation surface tablets.

• The Surface Pro 3 has no built-in HDMI port. If you want to enjoy HD movies or HD video games on your big screen via HDMI connectivity, you have to purchase separately a mini DisplayPort to HD AV adapter at about $39.99. There have been complaints that this adapter doesn't support 4K displays. I haven't tested this myself. 

• The Surface Pro 3 similarly does not have an in-built Ethernet port. By buying a Surface to Ethernet adapter you can adapt your USB 3.0 to a wired LAN of up to 1Gbps data rates.

• If you are upgrading from a first generation surface tablet PC, you might to consider carefully your requirements and how the new Surface Pro 3 will meet them. This is because it is way pricier than its predecessors. For instance if you decide to purchase in addition, a few accessories like the Arc mouse, docking station, HDMI adapter, Ethernet Adapter and Type Cover, the total cost would very nearly get to $1780.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Tablet - 7 Inch

Amazon digital services has been tweaking its Kindle Fire devices over the years and the Kindle Fire HD series is a result of this work. Kindle Fire HDX is the new 7'' Tablet that replaces the old 2012 Kindle fire HD. Among the improvements from previous versions is the CPU and HDX display screen. The Kindle Fire HDX features a 2.2GHz Quad-core processor and 2GB RAM tailored for a flawless fluid gaming action and video. The 7" HDX display is a high pixel density screen that reproduces life-like images with impeccable clarity. HDX tablets are sold in three variants, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of which you have an option of choosing WiFi models only or WiFi + 4G models.

Attractive features on Kindle Fire HDX

• Powerful and fast CPUs

The 2.2GHz quad-core processor and the Adreno 330 GPU make resource intensive gaming possible without annoying "buffering effects" experienced on slower tablets and with exceptional console quality.

• Mayday button

The availability of 24x7 free tech support for all Kindle Fire HDX tablet customers is a plus. You can connect to a tech expert anytime, anywhere for quick help.

• HDX Display

Kindle Fire HDX's display is a 323 pixel per inch screen display which makes it reproduce stunning images with more than HD quality.

• Over 100,000 games and apps

Like all other Kindle Fire tablets, you have access to over 100,000 apps from the amazon app store which are downloadable to your device.

Full tech specs of Kindle Fire HDX

• 2.2GHz quad-core processore
• 7" 1900 x1200 display screen
• 2GB RAM
• Adreno 330 GPU Video graphics processor.
• Front Facing HD camera.
• MIMO WiFi
• 4G LTE
• Dolby Audio
• Dual Stereo Speakers
• Built-in microphone
• 64GB internal memory
• A single battery charge gives you 11 hours of mixed use
• Mayday button 
• Micro USB port for data transfer and charging
• 3.5mm audio for a headset jack

Buying Guide

• The Kindle fire HDX has been priced at a starting price of $229. At this price you get a 16GB model with WiFi only and in addition ads always display on your lock screen. If you are a heavy data user, the WiFi only model can suffice but special ads showing on your lock screen might be annoying! So you might want to pay $244, which is a little bit extra to get rid of the ads.

• Heavy downloads require bigger memory space, so you might choose a Kindle Fire HDX model with 32GB or 64GB of internal memory instead of a model with 16GB memory. 

• WiFi data access charges are generally lower than 4G LTE data charges. For heavy online gamers, the WiFi only Kindle Fire HDX model might be an appropriate choice since most of the time you will be using WiFi access.

• Battery power consumption is hard to estimate because it depends on the tablet usage. But in general, a 4G LTE data access, display ads on lock screen, consume the battery more rapidly. 

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Acer Aspire Switch 10

The Acer Aspire Switch 10 is a super light weight budget laptop that can be used both as a tablet and laptop. You can flip or rotate it through virtually 360 degrees about its snap hinge or detach the screen completely to use the Switch 10 as a tablet. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor and features a 10.1" HD multi touch anti glare screen built with scratch resistant Gorilla glass. It is supplied with Windows 8.1 OS. If you are not a heavy laptop user, this laptop provides the best two-in-one solution. At a starting price of $429.99, it rivals Microsoft's surface pro 3, which is much more expensive!

Attractive features on Aspire Switch 10

• HD multi touch anti glare display screen

The Acer Aspire Switch 10 features a wide XGA HD display LCD screen built with IPS technology. The multi-touch screen and LCD are fitted almost seamlessly together to produce an anti-glare and vivid display suitable for working outdoors where there is too much light. 
IPS (In-plane switching) is a screen technology that remarkably improves response time, color reproduction and provides a wider viewing angle for LCDs. With IPS, Liquid Crystal molecules are oriented and actively switched parallel to the plane of the glass plates in which they are contained. With this technology, the Acer Aspire Switch 10, presents an impeccable display for all conditions even bright sunlight.

• Scratch resistant screen

The Aspire Switch 10 features a screen built with scratch resistant Gorilla glass 3 that is three times as resistant to scratches as ordinary gorilla glass.

• Acer snap hinge

The snap hinge let's you transform your Acer Aspire switch 10 laptop into a tablet. You detach or re-attach the screen to the keyboard easily with this hinge and the display is held in place by a magnetic force.

• Ultra-slim and ultra-light

The Acer Aspire switch 10 is very thin and light. At 1.17kg and 8.9mm thick in tablet mode, it is one of the slimmest two-in-one laptops on market right now.

• Acer Lumiflex display

The Acer Aspire switch 10 features a Lumiflex display for optimized color control well suited for displaying images and watching videos under bright sunny conditions.

Full tech specs of Aspire Switch 10

• Pre-loaded with 32-bit windows 8.1 Operating System
• 1.33GHz/1.83GHz Quad-core Intel processor and Chipset family from Intel corporation.
• Expandable 2GB DDR3L SDRAM
• MicroSD and extended microSD card support
• 500GB Serial ATA HDD
• 10.1" 1280 x 800 WXGA Active matrix color LCD screen.
• In-plane switching(IPS) and LED backlight screen technology 
• Multi touch screen
• Intel HD Graphics controller chipset
• 64GB DDR3LM SDRAM shared Graphics memory
• 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN
• Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
• HDMI port
• micro USB
• Stereo speakers, HD audio
• Built-in microphone
• Built-in Webcam
• 5910mAH 2-cell Lithium Polymer Battery that lasts up to a maximum of 8 hours.
• 18W AC power adapter.
• Weighs approximately 1.29 pounds.

Buying tips

• If you run applications that require a lot of processing power, choose an aspire switch 10, with 1.83GHz processor clock speed.
• It is also advisable to expand SDRAM from 2GB to 4GB.

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MacBook Air i5 - 11"

The MacBook Air i5 - 11 inch is an ultra slim and super light weight laptop from apple. It is powered by Intel dual core i5 - a fourth generation Central Processor and features an 11 inch HD display. With this MacBook Air, you enjoy blazing speeds with its WiFi connectivity and an exceptionally responsive laptop thanks to the OS X Mavericks operating system and its all Flash Drive storage that is 9 times faster than an ordinary 5400rpm Hard Disc Drive.

Attractive features on the MacBook Air i5 - 11"

• Ultra responsive OS X Mavericks that has over 200 new features including some of my favorite AirPlay, Airdrop, iCloud, Multiple display support, App & Power Nap, Compressed memory and of course facebook integration.
• The LED Back-lit HD display makes this MacBook Air's display screen comfortable for reading for long hours. 
• The 1.4GHz dual-core Intel core i5 CPU (with Turbo boost to 2.7GHz) together with the Intel Graphics 5000 GPU makes this MacBook Air ultra responsive to gaming, video streaming and movie action.
• For those of us that love taking selfies, the 720p Face time Camera comes in handy with stunning image quality.

Full tech specs of the MacBook Air i5 - 11"

• OS X Mavericks Operating system
• Crisp 11.6 inch 1366 x 768 LED-back lit display screen. It supports dual display and video mirroring with full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 x 1600 pixels on an external display.
• 1.4GHz dual-core Intel core i5 CPU with Turbo boost to 2.7GHz
• Intel HD Graphics 5000 GPU
• 4GB RAM of 1600MHz LPDDR3 RAM upgradeable to 8GB
• 128GB PCIe-based flash storage memory upgradable up to 512GB.
• Built-in 38WH Lithium-Polymer Battery
• 100-240V, 50-60Hz 45W MagSafe 2 power adapter
• 720 pixel HD face time camera
• Thunderbolt mini Display Digital Video output port
• MagSafe 2 power port
• 2 USB 3 ports up to 5Gbps link speed
• 1 Thunderbolt port up to 10Gbps link speed
• 2 Stereo Speakers
• 1 headset port
• Dual Microphones
• 802.11ac Wi-Fi  LAN backward compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.0 Technology
• Ultra-thin, at 0.68" thick and ultra-light weighing just about 1.08kg.

 

Buying tips

• The MacBook air -11" has no HDMI, VGA and SD or SDXC card ports. However, the mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter can be used to output HDMI AV (Audio and Video) signals. This adapter is not supplied along with this MacBook Air though, it is sold separately. Similarly, a Mini DisplayPort  to Video Graphics Array(VGA) adapter is sold separately. In my case, these two adapters are a must have since I use a laptop for movie and music playback with my home stereo and TV.

• The MacBook Air is a fantastic tool for photography use and organization, ebook reading and document organization.  It is supplied pre-loaded with iWork suite featuring softwares such as Pages(for word processing), Numbers(for spreadsheets), Key Note(for presentations), iPhoto, Photo Booth and iPreview (for photography).

• If you are a traveler this MacBook Air suits you because it's ultra thin and ultra light; weighing only 1.08kgs.

• Do you run memory hungry apps? You can order for a customized MacBook air from apple online store at a small extra fee.

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Acer Aspire Switch 10 - Laptop

The Acer Switch 10 is a super light weight budget laptop that can be used both as a tablet and laptop. You can flip or rotate it through virtually 360 degrees about its snap hinge or detach the screen completely to use it as a tablet. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor and features a 10.1" HD multi touch anti glare screen built with scratch resistant Gorilla glass. It is supplied with Windows 8.1 OS. This laptop is the 'real deal' if you are not a heavy user because it provides the best two-in-one solution on market today. For more details about the Acer Aspire Switch 10, follow this link.
Starting Price: $379.99

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