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October 6th, 2008

Sony AW series: The best laptop display?

Posted by John Morris @ 6:35 am

Categories: Notebooks

Tags: Sony Corp., Sony Vaio, Desktop Replacement, Laptop Computer, Entertainment, Display, Desktops, Advertising & Promotion, Hardware, Marketing

The best laptop display?With expansive 16:9 displays and Blu-ray drives, the new crop of desktop replacements with 18.4-inch displays are geared toward mobile entertainment. Though its design is nothing special, the Sony VAIO AW series stands out from this group, according to reviews at PCMag.com and LaptopMag.com, thanks to its high-quality, LED-backlit 1,920-by-1,080 display.

“The color reproduction on this laptop’s high-definition, Adobe RGB-compatible display is unparalleled,” PCMag.com gushes. And “if you think photos look great on the screen, wait until you pop in a Blu-ray movie.” The matte display is also better-suited for professional applications than the glossy displays on competitors such as the Acer Aspire 8920G, HP HDX 18 and Toshiba Qosmio G55 series. The only real drawback: The $3,219 VAIO VGN-AW190 configuration PCMag.com tested included slower 4,200rpm drives, though it did have 1TB of storage. (Sony offers faster drives–up to 640GB with 7,200rpm models–and SSDs.) Typical users might be better off with a less-costly desktop replacement such as HP’s HDX 18, but the “Sony VAIO VGN-AW190 is not your average desktop replacement. It has professional photographer, serious artist, or graphics designer written all over it.”

LaptopMag.com tested a $4,000 configuration, the Sony VAIO VGN-AW180Y/Q, with dual 64GB SSDs and a 5,400rpm 500GB hard drive. The display is bright, less-reflective and has wide viewing angles. “When we watched an episode of Heroes on Blu-ray, the screen produced accurate colors and rich details, and for the most part, the scenes looked fluid,” the review stated, though playback “hiccupped” a few times. The 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9600, 4GB of memory and Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT with 512MB delivered better performance than anything short of the Lenovo ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation. The pricey SSDs weren’t much faster than the HP HDX 18’s dual 7,200rpm 160GB hard drives on file transfer tests–and the HDX 18 has a slicker design and better keyboard–but the Sony AW series is a “powerful, feature-packed entertainment notebook.”

Reviews of the Sony VAIO AW series:

October 3rd, 2008

The quad-core laptops are here . . . sort of

Posted by John Morris @ 12:59 pm

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags: Mobile, Mobile Workstation, Lenovo Group Ltd., Quad-core, Laptop Computer, Quad-core Laptop, Core 2 Quad Extreme, Workstations, Processors, Semiconductors

Lenovo ThinkPad W700Back in August Dell, HP and Lenovo all announced mobile workstations that offer Intel’s first quad-core chip for laptops. Those systems are now available for order and reviews of at least one model–the Lenovo ThinkPad W700–are giving a glimpse of the performance you can expect from these 17-inch powerhouses.

The ThinkPad W700 and Dell Precision M6400 are both available for order with the 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9300 (though it looks like you’ll have to wait a few weeks for them to ship). HP announced that its EliteBook 8730w will also offer the Core 2 Quad Extreme processor, but the pre-configured models currently available top out at the 2.53 GHZ Core 2 Duo T9400, a dual-core chip.

The Core 2 Quad Extreme is a pricey part–Intel charges more than a $1,000 for the processor–and it will only help with multi-threaded applications, though many of the typical workstation applications (high-end image editing and video editing, and computer-aided design) fall into that category. But there are other high-end features on these workstations that boost performance across the board including lots of fast DDR3 memory (up to 16GB on the Precision M6400), Nvidia Quadro GPUs with up to 1GB of memory and dual hard drives (including SSD options) that can be configured in RAID 0 for best performance.

The 17-inch widescreen displays on these mobile workstations are also a step up. They are high-resolution, brighter and can display a much wider color gamut–more colors–than a typical laptop display. The ThinkPad W700 also comes with an integrated color calibration utility.

The obvious drawback to these mobile workstations is size and weight, or as Wired.com puts it, “Lenovo’s Mega Notebook Crushes Benchmarks, Femurs.” That’s obviously an exaggeration, but at nearly 10 pounds these systems are really semi-portable–you can occasionally move them from one workspace to another, but you won’t want to take one on the road regularly. Then again, these mobile workstations outperform many desktops and even the fastest gaming laptops such as the Alienware Area-51 m17x and Gateway P-7811FX.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700 reviews:

October 1st, 2008

HP’s first 13.3-inch Pavilion vs. the competition

Posted by John Morris @ 12:34 pm

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags:

HP’s first 13.3-inch Pavilion vs. the competitionHP is shipping its first laptop with a 13.3-inch widescreen display. The HP Pavilion dv3500t series is already available on HP’s site starting at $1,000, and a slightly higher-end configuration, the dv3520nr, is available for pre-order at Best Buy for $1,200. Other sites have reported that this model will be a Best Buy exclusive.

The dv3500t series has the same bronze metallic finish and glossy touchpad as other new Pavilion models including the Pavilion dv4 14.1-inch laptop and Pavilion dv7 17-inch desktop replacements. The $1,000 base configuration includes the following specs:

  • 13.3-inch WXGA (1,280 x 800) widescreen display
  • 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5800
  • 2GB DDR2 memory
  • NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS with 512MB
  • 160GB hard drive
  • SuperMulti 8X DVD
  • 32-bit Windows Vista Home Premium SP1

You can upgrade to an LED-backlit display for an additional $100. The dv3520nr has the LED display, as well as a faster processor, twice the memory and a larger hard drive for $200 more.

Many competitors already offer 13.3-inch models, but most of them rely on Intel integrated graphics. Here’s how the dv3500t stacks up to the competition for similarly-priced configurations (I did not include the Apple MacBook Air or Lenovo ThinkPad X301, since they start at prices well above $1,000):

Apple MacBook2.1GHz C2D1GBIntel X3100120GBDVD-ROM$1,100
Dell Inspiron 132.4GHz C2D T83004GBIntel X3100320GBDVD multi$974
Dell XPS M13302.4GHz C2D T83004GBIntel X3100250GBDVD multi$1,000
Lenovo IdeaPad U3302.0GHz C2D P73502GBRadeon HD3450250GBDVD multi$1,199
Sony VGN-SR1902.26GHz C2D P84001GBIntel 4500MHD120GBDVD multi$1,300
Toshiba Satellite U405D-S28742.1GHz Turion X24GBRadeon 3100250GBDVD multi$950
Toshiba Satellite U405D-S28542.0GHz C2D T57503GBIntel X3100320GBDVD multi$950

[Via Laptoping.com]

September 30th, 2008

Sony VAIO TT Blu-ray ultraportable reviewed

Posted by John Morris @ 1:45 pm

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags: Sony Corp., Sony Vaio, Blu-ray Disc, LaptopMag.com, Blu-Ray, Desktops, Personal Technology, DVD, Home Entertainment, Hardware

Sony VAIO TT Blu-ray ultraportable reviewedTurns out you can build a pretty good laptop for more than four grand. LaptopMag.com has the first full review of the new Sony TT series ultraportable, and it doesn’t disappoint. The latest low-voltage Core 2 Duo processor, a Blu-ray drive, dual 128GB SSDs and six-hour-plus battery life in a 2.8-pound package adds up to an Editors’ Choice for the high-end VAIO VGN-TT198UBX.

Curiously though, the VGN-TT198UBX only gets 4 out of 5 stars, in part because of the price, but LaptopMag.com also notes that “watching Blu-ray movies on a n 11.1-inch display isn’t very enticing,” performance on benchmarks was only average, and the integrated Intel graphics was “predictably weak” on 3D gaming tests. As the review states, you can get a version of the TT series without the Blu-ray drive and SSDs starting at $2,095, but you’ll also have to settle for a slower processor and less memory.

“In general, though, we prefer the Sony VAIO Z series, because it’s only about half a pound heavier while offering discrete graphics and a larger screen and keyboard,” LaptopMag.com concludes.

CNET.com’s Crave blog has also posted its first impressions of the VGN-TT198UBX.

Hands-on coverage of the  Sony VAIO VGN-TT198UBX

September 30th, 2008

First reviews of Toshiba Qosmio with SpursEngine

Posted by John Morris @ 11:01 am

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags: Toshiba Qosmio, Desktop, Quad-core, Desktop Replacement, Video, Toshiba Corp., PCMag.com, ComputerShopper.com, Qosmio G55, Qosmio G55 Series

First reviews of Toshiba Qosmio with SpursEngineMore than three months after Toshiba launched its first desktop replacement that makes use of the Cell processor in Japan, the Toshiba Qosmio G55-Q802 has reached U.S. shores and received its first hands-on reviews from PCMag.com and ComputerShopper.com.

The Qosmio G55 series is part of a new wave of desktop replacements that use an 18.4-inch display, rather than the usual 17-inch display. Competitors include the Acer Aspire 8920G, HP Pavilion HDX18 and Sony VAIO AW series. The new display size offers several advantages. It has a true 16:9 aspect ratio, which makes it ideally suited for high-definition content, and it is more efficient to manufacture. All of the new 18.4-inch models have a 1080p native resolution (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) except the Qosmio G55, which has a resolution of 1,680 by 945 pixels, which is sufficient for 720p video.

What sets the Qosmio G55 apart, however is its Quad Core HD Processor (aka the “SpursEngine”), a co-processor that traces its lineage to the Cell processor jointly developed by IBM, Toshiba and Sony, and used in the Sony PlayStation 3 game console. A version of the Quad Core HD processor is also used in other Toshiba products such as LCD TVs and upconverting DVD players. Here the main goal is to speed up video encoding and decoding when using video editing applications that are optimized for the Quad Core HD chip, a list that currently includes only the bundled Ulead MovieFactory 5. For example, Toshiba says the chip can convert high-definition video to a standard-definition format and burn it to a DVD up to 10 times faster.

ComputerShopper.com gets credit for putting the video encoding and decoding claims to the test. It tested the time required to import a 7-minute video clip from a camcorder, convert it to a new format and burn it to a DVD. When using the version of Ulead MovieFactory that is optimized for the Quad Core HD Processor, the task was about a minute and a half faster, but “the result fell far short of the elevenfold boost we were expecting.” The Quad Core HD processor can do a few other tricks including upconverting DVDs and other standard-definition video content so that it looks better on a high-definition display, building a searchable index of faces from video clips and controlling applications using hand gestures and the 1.3-megapixel Webcam. The results here were mixed. The video upconverting and indexing are nice features, but neither ComputerShopper.com nor PCMag.com had much luck getting the gesture controls (”more trouble than it’s worth”) to work.

The Qosmio G55 is Toshiba’s first laptop to offer either 32-bit or 64-bit Windows Vista, and the $1,550 G55-Q802 configuration that both tested came with the 64-bit version. ComputerShopper.com tested performance using FutureMark’s PCMark Vantage, which is tuned for 64-bit Vista, but PCMag.com’s standard SysMark 2007 and MobileMark 2007 benchmarks still don’t support 64-bit Vista (BAPCO needs to get this patch out pronto). Both PCMag.com and ComputerShoper.com did plenty of application testing using iTunes, Windows Media Encoder, Adobe Photoshop CS3, CineBench, a test based on Maxon’s Cinema 4D, a 3D authoring tool, and some popular game titles. Overall performance was fine, but not on the same level as the fastest desktop replacements. Then again, the G55-Q802 costs significantly less than other 18.4-inch desktop replacements, which tend to start at around $2,000 and include faster processors, as well as options such as integrated TV tuners and Blu-ray drives.

Toshiba’s Qosmio desktop replacements have always been niche products that pushed new technologies geared toward entertainment applications. The G55 series carries on that tradition. The Quad Core HD Processor’s functions are limited, but for a particular type of user who wants to do a lot of editing in a consumer-level package such as Ulead MovieFactory, the Qosmio G55 series offers a lot for the price. Ultimately most consumers looking for an entertainment-oriented desktop replacement will want a Blu-ray drive, so Toshiba will eventually need to adopt the format.

Toshiba Qosmio G55-Q802 reviews:

September 29th, 2008

Sprint’s Xohm service and the first “WiMax” review

Posted by John Morris @ 7:17 pm

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags: Mobile, Sprint Xohm, Clearwire Corp., Sprint Communications, Service, Laptop Card, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, Wireless, John Morris

[Update 10/2/08: Hands-on reviews of Sprint’s Xohm service, which is based on Mobile WiMax, have now been posted at LaptopMag.com (XOHM WiMAX In Baltimore: Speed Tests With XOHM ExpressCard) and PCMag.com (Sprint XOHM Mobile WiMAX).]

No sooner had Sprint flipped the switch on its WiMax wireless broadband service–at least in one city–then InfoWorld posted the first hands-on review of what it called a WiMax service (Road test: Does WiMax work in the real world?).

Meeting its promise to launch by the end of September, Sprint began offering service today in Baltimore [press release here]. The InfoWorld review, however, is based on a month of testing of Clearwire’s Mobile High Speed Internet service in the Reno, Nevada area. (Next quarter Sprint plans to merge its Xohm business with Clearwire to eventually deploy a nationwide mobile WiMax network. Intel, Google, Comcast and Time-Warner have also invested in the venture.)

WiMax competes with both home broadband services, such as cable and DSL, and mobile 3G data services sold by AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Clearwire’s service worked fine in fixed locations: InfoWorld got consistent speeds of 1.5Mbps to 2.0Mbps downstream and 275Kbps to 325Kbps upstream. But it failed to connect at all when in a moving vehicle. “Although WiMax is often thought of as a mobile broadband service, it’s really a portable broadband service meant to be used while a device is stationary. The convenience is being able to take that device and use it in different location, all with the same broadband service,” InfoWorld concluded.

That seemed puzzling since Sprint and Intel have frequently demonstrated WiMax devices in all sorts of moving vehicles from cars to golf carts to Segways and scooters (really). And it didn’t seem to bode well for Sprint’s new mobile WiMax service. But it turns out that InfoWorld’s review of isn’t likely to be an indicator of just how good WiMax will be–either with Sprint or Clearwire. The reason is simple: It isn’t WiMax. Clearwire’s current network, including in the Reno area, is based on a different technology, Motorola Expedience, which it refers to as pre-WiMax.

Clearwire is conducting beta trials of true mobile WiMax network (based on the 802.16e-2005 standard) in Portland and Atlanta. The company plans to add service next in Las Vegas and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and hopes to upgrade its existing pre-WiMax markets next year to cover a total of 60 million to 80 million “points of presence” by the end of 2009, according to Susan Johnston, a Clearwire spokesperson. Sprint’s Xohm network is also based on the 802.16e-2005 standard. There are reasons to believe that these true mobile WiMax services will offer better performance on the go. The Baltimore Sun reported that Sprint had demonstrated how it could smoothly stream a movie to a laptop and display it on an LCD TV while driving trough the city in a van.

The pricing plans Sprint announced today are also competitive. Sprint offers home access for $25 a month and mobile laptop access for $30 a month without contracts, as well as $10 day passes. Laptop cards are $60 and home modems cost $80. Clearwire’s pricing is similar. Sprint says additional WiMax devices are in the works including a USB modem, Nokia’s N810 tablet, and Intel Centrino 2 laptops. Sprint will also offer dual-mode 3G and mobile WiMax devices.

September 25th, 2008

Suddenly the MacBook Air doesn’t seem so expensive anymore. . .

Posted by John Morris @ 1:51 pm

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags: Sony Corp., Sony Vaio, Burner, Apple MacBook, Blu-ray, Fiber, Network Technology, Desktops, Networking, Hardware

Sony VAIO TTAs rumored, Sony announced its new ultraportable this week. The old VAIO TZ series was a slick ultraportable, and the new VAIO TT series looks even better, though I’ll wait for some full reviews for confirmation. In the meantime, the list of available options– carbon fiber chassis that weighs 2.9 pounds, 11.1-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, integrated Blu-ray burner and HDMI-out, dual 128GB SSDs, wireless WAN–makes for one great press release.

The only catch: if you want it with all the good stuff, it will really cost you. You can pre-order the top-of-the-line VAIO VGN-TT190UBX for a cool $4,344.99 (or a little more than a dozen Asus Eee PC 900 netbooks). That gets you these specs:

  • Carbon fiber case
  • 11.1-inch widescreen LCD
  • 1.4GHz Intel Core2 Duo SU9400 processor
  • 4GB DDR3 memory
  • Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics
  • 256GB (128×2) SSD
  • Blu-ray burner

You can blame the SSDs and Blu-ray for the sky-high price tag. A 128GB SSD currently retails for about $400 to $500, and Sony’s cheapest Blu-ray burner, the BWU-300S for desktops, will be available in October for $400. And to be fair, Sony does offer a configuration starting at around $2,000 with a slightly slower processor, 2GB of memory, a 160GB hard drive, and a DVD burner.

But it’s hard to settle for those specs when you know what could be packed in this tiny laptop. Maybe Sony ought to bring Qualia back for this impressive, but pricey ultraportable.

September 25th, 2008

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X200 Tablet racks up awards

Posted by John Morris @ 12:22 pm

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags: Lenovo ThinkPad, Lenovo Group Ltd., Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Corp., X200 Tablet, PC Magazine, Tablets, Notebooks, Processors, Hardware

Lenovo’s X200 Tablet racks up awardsReviews of the tablet version of Lenovo’s X200 ultraportable are in. The big change in this version, which replaces the longstanding ThinkPad X61t, is the switch to a widescreen display. The X200 Tablet is also thinner and lighter, weighing about 3.5 pounds with the standard four-cell battery and a little more than 4 pounds with the eight-cell version.

Both Laptop Magazine and PC Magazine tested a $2,323 configuration that includes a low-voltage 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L9400 (the regular ThinkPad X200 uses a standard-voltage Core 2 Duo chip); 2GB of DDR3 memory, which also operates at a lower voltage; the latest Intel integrated graphics; and a 7,200rpm 160GB hard drive. This configuration also includes an LED-backlit display that accepts pen-input only. You can also choose an LED-backlit display works with both the included pen and your fingertip–but is not as bright–or a standard LCD display. All three have the same 1,280×800 resolution. The alphabet soup of wireless options–Wi-Fi, wireless WAN, Bluetooth, WiMax, UWB, Bluetooth and ThinkVantage GPS–is also pretty impressive.

PC Magazine says the X200 Tablet easily retains its predecessors Editors’ Choice thanks to the Centrino 2 upgrades, lighter chassis, enhanced speakers, and widescreen display options. Laptop Magazine awards it an Editors’ Choice as well stating its “one of the best tablets of the year thanks to smooth performance, durability, and numerous wireless options.”

Both sites note the two obvious drawbacks: the X200 Tablet lacks an internal optical drive and it doesn’t have a touchpad. Those are features found in bigger and heavier competitors such as the Toshiba Portégé M700 series and Fujitsu LifeBook T4220. Fujitsu also offers a 12.1-inch widescreen tablet, the LifeBook T2010, that weighs 3.5 pounds, but like the X200, lacks an internal DVD drive, as well as a couple of 13.3-inch tablets.

This week Lenovo also released a new version of the X200. The X200s uses carbon and glass fiber on parts of the case to trim the starting weight down to 2.4 pounds, and includes options such as 128GB SSDs, UWB, and a nine-cell battery that Lenovo claims delivers more than 13 hours. It starts at $1,709 with a 12.1-inch LED-backlit display (1440×900), ultra low-voltage 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300, 1GB DDR3 memory, Intel GMA 4500M integrated graphics, 80GB hard drive, and standard four-cell battery.

[Read PC Magazine’s review of the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet]

[Read Laptop Magazine’s review of the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet]

September 16th, 2008

First reviews of HP’s HDX 16- and 18.4-inch laptops

Posted by John Morris @ 11:51 am

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags: Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Core 2 Duo, Laptop Computer, Blu-ray Drive, HDX18, PC Magazine, Blu-Ray, Notebooks, Processors, Personal Technology

HP HDX18No sooner had I completed a post on new desktop replacements with 18.4-inch displays then HP introduced its own version. The HDX18 is one of two new laptops HP announced today. The other, the HDX16, has a 16-inch display. Both are geared toward digital entertainment with high-resolution displays, TV tuners and Blu-ray drives.

HP’s first HDX entertainment notebook was a 20-inch laptop nicknamed the Dragon that weighed more than 15 pounds and cost nearly $3,500. These new models should find a broader audience.

Like the Acer Aspire 8920G series and the new Sony AW series, the HDX18 has an 18.4-inch 16:9 wide-screen display with a native resolution of 1920×1080 (the Toshiba Qosmio G55 series has the same size display but tops out at 1680×945). HP says it will be available later this month starting at $1,550.

PC Magazine has a full review of a $2,000 HDX18 configuration that includes a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB of DDR3 memory, Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics, dual 160GB hard drives, and a Blu-ray burner, which earned an Editors’ Choice. Its verdict: the HDX18 is the “ultimate no-holds-barred, state-of-the-art media center laptop that is destined to sit on the desks of video-editing professionals, content creators, and home-theater enthusiasts alike.”

The HDX16 comes with either a 720p (1366×768) or 1080p resolution (1920×1080), depending on the configuration. It will also be available later this month starting at $1,300 with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo P8400, 4GB of DDR2 memory, Nvidia 9600M GT graphics with 512MB and a LightScribe SuperMulti DVD drive.

Laptop Magazine got the first HDX16 review–a $1,824 configuration with a faster processor (the 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo T9600), higher-resolution display and Blu-ray drive (it says the Blu-ray burner won’t be available until December). Its conclusion: the HDX16 puts the high-end features of desktop replacement (”stunning display, Blu-ray drive, TV tuner, booming Altec Lansing speakers and 16:9 aspect ratio”) in a package that is not much larger than a mainstream 15.4-inch laptop and is reasonably portable.

HP also announced several PC accessories including a Wireless Comfort Keyboard and Mouse, HP and HDX Laser Mouse and Laser Gaming Mouse, several digital photo frames, and HP SimpleSave, a utility that backs up digital music libraries to DVDs.

September 15th, 2008

Acer, Toshiba and Sony push laptop displays to 18.4 inches

Posted by John Morris @ 1:14 pm

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software, Notebooks

Tags: Toshiba Qosmio, Sony Corp., Nvidia GeForce, Acer Inc., Intel Core 2 Duo, Toshiba Corp., Laptop Computer, Selling Point, Toshiba Qosmio G50 Series, Notebooks

[Update 9/16: A page on the SonyStyle site referred to the AW series as having the “industry’s first 18.4-inch extra-widescreen display.” Sony says this statement should have referred to the FW series, which is the first 16.4-inch laptop on the market, as stated in the press release. The company is aware of other 18.4-inch models on the market, such as the Acer Aspire 8920G series, and did not intend to position the AW series as an industry-first.]

Sony VAIO AW seriesSony bills its new AW series as the “industry’s first” laptop with an 18.4-inch widescreen display. It is certainly one of the first, but that’s not accurate. Acer beat them to the punch by nearly six months, and Toshiba’s interesting Qosmio G50 series, which is now available in the U.S., also offers the bigger, badder display.

Most desktop replacement notebooks have 17-inch displays. From time to time, computer makers also experiment with much larger “transportables” such as the Dell XPS M2010 20-inch notebook, but these are curiosities. The new 18.4-inch models fall somewhere in the middle. The chief selling points are the display’s 16:9 aspect ratio, and depending on the configuration, a true 1080p (1920×1080) resolution. As a result, Sony and others are pitching these for home theater, video editing, and digital photography.

The Sony AW series comes in several configurations ranging from $1,600 to more than $3,000. All of them include what Sony calls its XBRITE-FullHD display with a 1920×1080 resolution, but the Premium models also support the full Adobe RGB color space (16.7 million colors) and include Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The Sony AW comes standard with a Blu-ray drive; a Blu-ray burner is an extra $100. Though the base model has a 250GB drive, you can configure the AW series with up to a terabyte of storage ($450) or with dual 64GB SSDs and a 500GB drive for a total of 628GB for $900. The base VGN-AW190 model includes a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 2GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics with 512MB, and a 250GB hard drive. (You can see all Sony AW series configurations here.)

Acer’s Aspire 8920G series was part of the company’s Gemstone Blue launch in March. It has the same 18.4-inch 1920×1080 display, capable of displaying 16.7 million colors. The 8920G also has a Blu-ray drive, six speakers (Acer calls it True 5.1), and touch-capacitive media controls. The $2,500 AS8920-6671 configuration includes a 2.60GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9500, 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce 9650M graphics with 512MB, and a 320GB hard drive. Acer also offers a configuration with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T5750, 1680×945 display, and GeForce 9500M GS graphics with 512MB for around $1,100 but it’s tough to find this model in stock.

Toshiba’s Qosmio G50 series is one two models that include a separate co-processor, the Quad Core HD Processor SpursEngine, which is a derivative of the Cell processor developed by Sony, IBM, and Toshiba that is used in Sony’s PlayStation 3. The co-processor boosts performance on video encoding and playback, image processing, and image recognition. The Qosmio G50 launched in Japan this summer, but is now available in the U.S. At one time, Toshiba used Qosmio to promote HD-DVD, but the format is dead, and the G55 instead includes a DVD SuperMulti drive. The $1,550 G55-Q802 includes an 18-4-inch TruBrite display with a resolution of 1680×945, 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 processor, 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics with 512MB, and a 500GB hard drive.

Reviews coverage of 18.4-inch laptops:

John Morris is a former executive editor at CNET Networks and senior editor at PC Magazine. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

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