Translate This Page

Français/French Deutsch/German Italiano/Italian Português/Portuguese Español/Spanish 日本語/Japanese 한국어/Korean 中文(简体)/Chinese
Simplified
Select Language:

Top Blogs

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

AddThis Feed Button

Monday, June 9, 2008

Panasonic Viera PX80 Series

The PX80 Series of televisions are Panasonic's entry-line of plasmas and feature a native 720p resolution. An entry level line means there is a sacrifice in features compared to the more advanced lines, with the benefit being a significantly lower price. One of the big changes from the 2007 to 2008 models is the replacement of the anti-glare screen to an anti-reflective screen across the entire lineup. Panel life has also been extended from 60,000 hours to 100,000 hours. The step-up line over the PX80 Series is the PZ80 Series which contains many of the same features, but has a native 1080p resolution.

Pros & Cons
Pros:


•Great dollar/performance ratio
•Deep blacks
•Decently attractive design
•Long panel life
•Low power consumption

Cons:

•Poor noise reduction capabilities
•Reds are oversaturated and needs to be compensated for

More information

Specs

•720p native resolution
•15,000:1 static contrast ratio, 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
•Game mode
•VIERA link
•Inputs: 3xHDMI 1.3, Component, Composite, S-Video

Clarification on 24p handling - Unlike the higher end PZ800U and PZ850U series, both the PZ80U and PZ85U series perform a 3:2 pulldown on 24p content. What this means is that the 24 frames per second signal is converted into a 60Hz display, with one frame showing for 3 refreshes, and the next frame showing for 2 refreshes. The higher end models display each from for 2 refreshes which makes for smoother motion especially during pans and zooms.

Common to all 2008 Panasonic Plasmas

Anti-reflective screen - created by Fujitsu these screens reduce the amount of ambient reflection that can appear in a brightly lit room.

100,000 hour half life - Panasonic rates the panel to last 100,000 hours, which is about 30 years of regular usage, or 11 years of non-stop, before the brightness of the display is halved.

Models

TH-42PX80U - 42" screen. Spring 2008.
TH-50PX80U - 50" screen. Spring 2008.

Pioneer VSX-1018TXH

The Pioneer VSX-1018TXH is an upcoming 7.1 a/v receiver expected to be released in June 2008 for around $600. It features 130 Watts / channel of power and 3 x HDMI inputs. It can decode high-definition audio formats including Dolby TrueHD and dts HD-MA. The 1018TXH features what Pioneer calls an Advanced Direct Energy power amplifier, which they claim high power output, wide frequency response for the new HD audio formats, and superior heat management. It also features Pioneer Hybrid Amplifier Technology (P.H.A.T.) power module found in VSX-518-K, VSX-818V-K, VSX-918V-K receivers, that Pioneer also claims improves audio performance.

Pros & Cons
Pros:


•High power output @ 130 Watts / channel
•7.1 channel pre-outs
•Video upconversion to 1080p
•Front panel USB port for connecting mp3 player
•3 HDMI inputs

Cons:

•No S-Video inputs
•No switched AC outlet
•No phono input

More information

Features


•Direct Energy Amplifier
•130 watts x 7 amplification
•Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration w/ microphone
•Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS 96/24, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio
•Video Conversion to HDMI
•1080p HDMI 1.3 inputs - 3 in
•1080p Component inputs - 3 in, 1 out
•Digital inputs/outputs - 6/1
•iPod Digital, Auto Level Control (ALC), XM Satellite Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio
•AKA: Pioneer VSX-1018TXH-K (K=black)
•Price: $599 US
•Release date: June 2008

Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet

The good: Tablet is thin, light, and convertible; more than five hours of battery life; sturdy case and hinge; great screen for writing; top tablet security; excellent screen controls.

The bad: Writing surface is recessed; character recognition software is a work in progress; has neither S-Video nor FireWire ports; expensive.

The bottom line: With the performance of a laptop in a lightweight case, the ThinkPad X41 tablet is one of the best convertible tablets we've seen.

Price range: $1,646.50

With the ThinkPad X41 tablet, Lenovo has added tablet functionality to one of the best ultraportable notebooks on the market, the ThinkPad X41, without compromising on the screen quality or the security. At $1,899 (as of July 2005), this tablet's price is similar to that of convertible tablet competitors with faster hardware, but the ThinkPad X41 tablet's balance of portability, performance, and security make it one of the best convertibles on the market.

Its smooth, jet-black case may look just like the X41 notebook, but the tablet version is slightly bigger, measuring 1.1 inches thick, 10.7 inches wide, and 9.5 inches deep. And weighing 3.6 pounds, it's almost a pound heavier than the notebook. The extended battery pack adds an inch to the depth and 0.5 pound to the weight, but that's still significantly thinner and more than half a pound lighter than either the HP Compaq tc4200 or the Averatec C3500. The X41 tablet's AC adapter adds a tolerable 0.7 pound to the travel weight.

Like other convertibles, the ThinkPad X41 tablet has a split personality: you can use it like a standard notebook, or you can swivel the display and fold it over the keyboard to create a digital slate for writing, drawing, or just doodling. Unlike other convertibles, the X41 tablet's screen doesn't wobble on its single hinge, and the digital grid layer required to interpret the pen's movements doesn't diminish the quality of the 12.1-inch XGA display. We did find that the slightly recessed screen makes writing a little awkward, though the glass surface closely mimics the feel of pen on paper. The character recognition is still a work in progress, so you'll need to write slowly and carefully for scratches and scrawls of the pen to be correctly translated into editable text; in our usage, the X41 tablet recognized 86 percent of our handwritten comments. Alongside the screen are helpful buttons for scrolling, rotating the display orientation, rebooting, and calling up a system control panel, plus Enter and Escape keys--pretty much everything you'd need to control your computer while it's in tablet mode.

The rest of the design matches what we've come to expect from ThinkPads, with a comfortable keyboard, a red TrackPoint pointing stick, two mouse buttons, and one button for scrolling. The battery features a grippy rubber surface that makes it easy to hold the machine in one hand while writing with the other, like a clipboard.

The port selection on the ThinkPad X41 tablet, however, is a little weak. It lacks FireWire and S-Video connectors, the latter of which is on the HP Compaq tc4200. The system does have headphone, microphone, VGA, modem, Gigabit Ethernet, and two USB 2.0 plugs (one powered), two fewer than on the larger Averatec C3500. Its PC Card slot doubles for use with the upcoming generation of ExpressCards, and there's a handy Secure Digital flash card reader, though not the multiformat flash card reader we're seeing on traditional notebooks.

In addition to Bluetooth short-range radio, the X41 tablet comes with Intel's 802.11b/g Wi-Fi radio, which was able to stay in contact with our base station for an average 100 feet in our anecdotal tests; you can also choose an Intel 802.11a/b/g radio. Unlike the Averatec C3500, the ThinkPad X41 tablet lacks an optical drive, but the companion ThinkPad X4 dock ($219 as of July 2005) has a modular bay that can be filled with a variety of drives.

In a nod to corporate buyers who may be purchasing a fleet of laptops, the ThinkPad X41 tablet features the same start-up software as some other ThinkPads. Major components and software are expected to remain unchanged for at least a year to help with long-term deployments, and when you're ready to upgrade, Lenovo will recycle your old equipment. In addition, the X41 tablet's security is every bit as good as its traditional counterpart. The TPM-based encryption hardware can protect data on the hard drive, and a fingerprint reader helps with authentication on the road or consolidates a user's passwords into one swipe of the finger.

The ThinkPad X41 tablet features midrange components that prioritize battery life over performance. Our test unit included a 1.5GHz Pentium M processor; a sluggish, 4,200rpm hard drive with a 40GB capacity; and 512MB of quick 400MHz memory. It's no surprise, then, that the X41 tablet scored in the middle of the tablet pack in CNET Labs' mobile benchmarks. The X41 tablet lagged about 20 percent behind the HP Compaq tc4200, which relies on a faster, 1.8GHz Pentium M processor and a speedy, 5,400rpm hard drive, but it scored significantly higher than the 1.6GHz Athlon XP processor in the Averatec C3500.

The ThinkPad X41 tablet ships with your choice of batteries: a light four-cell battery or the heavier but more powerful eight-cell battery. In our drain tests, the eight-cell battery pack lasted a remarkable 5 hours, 25 minutes, more than twice as long as the Averatec C3500's similarly sized cell and half an hour longer than the slightly smaller battery in the HP Compaq tc4200. We feel certain that with some judicious battery management, the X41 tablet will yield a full day of stop-and-go computing.

In addition to Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005, the ThinkPad X41 tablet comes with a wide assortment of programs, including trials of Alias SketchBook Pro 1.1, FranklinCovey PlanPlus for Windows, and utilities such as IBM Access Connections for networking and Rescue and Recovery for backing up and restoring data. The software standout, however, is InterVideo VirtualDrive, an optical disc emulator that lets you copy a full CD or DVD to the hard drive so that you don't have to carry the drive with you; the disc content actually runs faster and quieter off of the hard drive. Like most business systems, the ThinkPad X41 tablet does not include an office suite with its software bundle.

The ThinkPad X41 tablet's basic warranty includes three years of mail-in repairs, which can be upgraded to three or five years of onsite service for $119 and $449, respectively. On the downside, the battery is guaranteed for only one year. Like other business computer makers, Lenovo has a wide-ranging Web presence with troubleshooting help, setup tips, and downloads of everything you'll need, including a very informative maintenance manual. The company claims that e-mail tech-support representatives respond to your queries the next day, and the 24-hour toll-free support lines, available in 65 countries, have staff members who are fluent in a variety of languages.