|
|||||
 The iPhone 4S is the top favorite smartphone stocking stuffer this holidays in the UK In a recent study, it was found that the iPhone 4S accounted for nearly 1/4th of all smartphones sold in the UK so far during the holiday season. The iPhone has stayed in the top position over all throughout, forcing other smartphone vendors to fight it out for the rest of the UK market. These statistics were found from the study that was conducted by GFK research firms and was reported initially by the Financial Times on Monday. According to study, the iPhone 4S’ market dominance continued up to the end of the study period on 9th of December. The first week of December was especially good for the iPhone as its five versions, including the two and a half years old iPhone 3GS, absolutely dominated the market while accounting for about 37% of all smartphone sales. It topped the ranks of the top 15 smartphones sold during that time. The smartphone market in the UK has grown phenomenally in recent times. It grew to double its size between the time of February 2010 to August 2011. To highlight this fact, British government authorized telecommunications regulatory authority Ofcom released statistics that show 47% percent of the entire mobile market now being occupied by smartphones. That means almost one in every two cell-phone owner owns a smartphone. With the market growing this rapidly, the benefits were felt by other smartphone makers as well. Samsung’s Glaxy S II proved to be quite the popular model and occupied the number two position in the top 10. Research In Motion’s three versions of the Blackberry Curve also found themselves in the top 10 at various positions during the study period. It seems that whatever trouble Blackberry has been facing in the Europe, Middle East, Asia and African regions — it has not affected their sales in the UK all that much. However, fortune has not smiled on all smartphone makers. Nokia was very conspicuously absent from the fray. Despite spending a reported 20 million Pound on advertising, they are yet to see any significant Christmas sales. Nokia’s sales have yet to pick up after their momentous decision to switch to Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. Towards the end of the year they released the first two Windows Phone devices — the Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710. The two phones received good reviews and have been appreciated for their design and software. Despite all of this, Nokia has not been able to make a dent in the market. Windows Phone 7 series over all has not in fact been performing all that well. The market continues to ride on the iOS and Android models with RIM getting away simply because of their prowess in the enterprise sector and their omnipresent BBM service. In its defense, Nokia has said that it does not have an established user base like the iPhone and Android models. Hence it would have to persevere through slow sales for now. Apple’s runaway success confirms another report published earlier that claims the iPhone has taken the top spot away from Android for the first time since late 2010. It said that the Apple phone device holds 43% market share as of November 2011.  ASUS eeePC 1015PW-MU27-PR (10.1-Inch Screen) Netbook - Purple The Asus Eee PC range was the first ever netbook range to hit the market and it has grown in to a sprawling line of netbooks since. The ASUS eeePC 1015PW-MU27-PRis a 10inch netbook that comes in multiple colors. This is the purple version. Powered by an Intel Atom N570 1.66GHz processor, this netbook comes with 1GB of DDR3 RAM (Single slot, Expandable up to 2GB). This is a dual-core Atom powered device, which makes it really good mult-tasking for basic things like running multiple browser tabs and listening to music at the same time. Coupled with the DDR3 RAM, it should be able to handle pretty much everything that you throw at it. Packing in a 10.1inch LED backlit display, this netbook has a native resolution of 1024 x 600. It is the standard resolution for this screen size and is just right for comfortably reading text and viewing images and videos. The graphics is handled by an onboard Intel GMA 3150 chip, which is enough for viewing standard definition videos both online and locally. The main attraction of this netbook, other than the affordably price point and stable performance, is the purple styling. Being one of the latest generation models, it has sleek looks with a smooth matte finish. The lid has a textured design in purple with the Asus logo on it. The bezel is shiny black with the webcam on usual the top center spot. Asus has added a physical on/off switch for the webcam right above it. The ASUS eeePC 1015PW-MU27-PR comes a 250GB SATA HDD for storage and also has a memory card reader on the side. So now you can carry this around on your trips and instantly transfer all your digicam photos from the. The keyboard covers all the available space on the netbook and has island style keys that make for comfortable typing. The layout ensures that no space is wasted. The touchpad is fused in to the palm-rest and has the same finish as the rest of the region. It is demarcated by two vertical silver accents that are set in to the body. The lower ends of these lines terminate over the single click bar that has a slightly curved design and a silver matte finish. The touchpad performance is average might take some time getting used to. With a 6-cell battery, it has an official battery life of 10 hours. In real life scenarios you can expect it to last around 7hours with with abundant WiFi usage. There are 3 USB ports on this netbook along with 1 VGA port and 1 Ethernet port. There’s WiFi b/g but no Bluetooth. It comes bundled with Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is a bone of contention for a lot of buyers. However, its limits can be gotten around by using third party solutions that are freely available online. Over all, the ASUS eeePC 1015PW-MU27-PR is a good buy for the price point, especially with the dual core performance and the good looking styling in place.  Acer Aspire One AOD257-13685 10.1-Inch Netbook (Espresso Black) The Acer Aspire One series is one of the most popular lines of netbooks. Known both for their affordability and utility, the Aspire One netbooks are common choices for the average user as well as students and professionals. The Acer Aspire One AOD257-13685 is a 10inch netbook that is powered by a Dual core Intel Atom N570 processor. It is coupled with a 1GB DDR3 RAM — which when combined with the processor is enough to handle most of the day to day computing tasks of an average user. This netbook comes in different colors and this particular one is called Espresso Black. It has a beautiful fully black finish. It has matte black finish on the lid with the Aspire One logo printed on one side of it. The interiors sport normal plain plastic finish. The touchpad is set in to its own area on the palm rest and has a single click button made out of shiny, deep black plastic. The touchpad can take some time getting used to but it can get the job done. Plus it support multi-touch gestures, so navigating through websites, photos and document becomes that much easier. However, if you are looking for more precision and less cramping, it is better to invest in a USB mouse. The keyboard has flat, island type keys that are slightly curved individually in order to guide your fingers to the center with each keystroke. Since this is a 10inch netbook, there isn’t much space for the keys to spread out. So they are very closely set and are not meant for long typing sessions. However, even though you won’t be writing your next novel on it will still be enough to send out emails and do social networking on the move. Many of the keys have multiple functions marked in blue. They are overall comfortable to type on and each key sets in without wobbling. The netbook is not the slimmest on the market but does keep the profile around 1inch at maximum. It has its ports on the side, which include a VGA out, an RJ45 Ethernet port, two USB ports and even a card reader. The display on the Acer Aspire One AOD257-13685 is a 10.1inch LED backlit display with a native resolution of 1024 x 600 (WSVGA). Given the size of the screen, this is the perfect resolution to get things to done without having to squint every time. It comes equipped with a 250GB SATA HDD, which is enough to carry around the things that you always want have with you when you are on the move. For most people, it would fit in their entire music collection, documents and some movies too. On the connectivity front, it has WiFi-n (802.11b/g/n) but no Bluetooth. The 3-cell battery gives you a battery life of 4 hours. The Acer Aspire One AOD257-13685 scores well on buyer reviews. The only complaints seem to be about the limited Windows 7 Starter Edition. It is a good package for the low price and that is what makes it a good buy.  HP Mini 110-3830NR Netbook PC - Black The HP Mini 110-3830NR is 10inch netbook that comes with your standard issue Intel Atom N455 processor. Clocking in at 1.66GHz, this single core Atom is coupled with 1GB of SDRAM. It has 250GB of SATA HDD storage with a platter speed of 5400RPM. It is meant for those who need basic computing in a small package and a smaller budget. The HP Mini series is not as expansive as some of the other netbook lines like Asus’ Eee PC but it has very well developed models. This one specifically is a good-looking 10inch specimen that is all black all through. It sports a matte finish on the inside but the bezel is shiny. The lid has a plain black finish with the HP logo on top of it. It comes with a webcam that is settled top center on the bezel, in the de facto position for laptops/netbooks. The keyboard has island style keys and is laid out in way that makes use of every inch of available space on the netbook. Even though the size still makes it a bit cramped for prolonged typing, the layout and the keys make it comfortable to type on the 3820NR. The touchpad is set in to its own groove and is not fused with the rest of the palm rest area like some of the other netbooks. It has a matte surface that provides good traction for the fingertips. It has two separate click buttons. The netbook has a 10.1inch LED backlit display with a native resolution of 1024×600. It addition to that, it has an anti-glare coating to make it easier to work on for longer periods of time. Graphics is handled by an onboard Intel GMA chip with a shared memory. Enough to run all your standard definition videos and online streaming content. The 250GB storage that comes with the HP Mini 110-3830NR is enough for the average user to store a lot of documents, music, photos and some movies too. If you are looking to make it your only computer, then an external storage unit in addition to this should take care of your needs. Coming to connectivity, it comes with 802.11b/g/n Wireless, which includes Wireless N for super fast WiFi speeds wherever available. It has a standard 10/100 Ethernet port also for those who work on LAN. There’s no Bluetooth available but you can easily correct that with a small dongle that is available everywhere nowadays. The HP Mini 110-3830NR comes preinstalled with Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is a cause for complaints from some buyers. It has restricted features in terms of customization but they can be remedied with some third party tools that are easily available online. Buyer reviews are mostly positive. Users love the affordability and the portability of the netbook. They also love how good it looks in black. Perfect for basic computing and Internet on the move.  ASUS Eee PC 1015PX-MU17-WT 10.1-Inch Netbook (White) The ASUS Eee PC 1015PX-MU17-WT is a 10inch netbook that has a beautiful white finish. It is powered by an Intel Atom N570 dual-core processor and comes with 1GB memory. The memory is expandable up to 2GB but there’s only one SODIMM slot to fill. Hence it is a better idea to get it upgraded at purchase. The diplay on the 1015PX-MU17 is a 10.1inch LED backlit WXGA display with a native resolution of 1024×768. Whilst this is only an average display, it perfectly compliments this budget netbook. It displays movies and photos quite well. The netbook comes with 250GB of storage and also a 2-in-1 card reader accepts MMC and SD (SDHC) card types. This allows you to transfer photos to your netbook directly from your camera/camcorders’ memory card. Good for those who like to shoot on the go and need a quick way to empty memory cards. This netbook is quite thin despite its storage and processing power. It is only 1.44-inch at its thickest. The body is hard plastic and is white all throughout. This makes it look amazing but also makes it harder to clean and take care of. However, if you are looking to turn heads, this is a good option. The only part that isn’t black on the netbook is the screen bezel and it is also where the 0.3mp webcam is located. The finish is matte throughout and the lid bears the Asus logo in a textured silvery finish. The ASUS Eee PC 1015PX-MU17-WT has a keyboard layout that utilizes all the available space on the body. It has island style keys, which makes it easier to type on this netbook. 10inches is still going to be somewhat cramped for prolonged typing but it is quite well suited to the average user. All of the function keys have other functions that can be triggered with the ‘fn’ modifier key. The touch pad is fused with the palm rest area and is only demarcated with two silver chrome lines. It has a single click bar that represents left and right click on corresponding ends. The click bar has a chrome finish similar to the physical dividers that mark the touchpad on the palm rest. Responsiveness is average and might take some time getting used to. Due to the size of the netbook itself, the touch pad is quite small. Those who want to have precision control should get a USB mouse — which are quite cheap these days. There are built in speakers in the ASUS Eee PC 1015PX-MU17-WT and it has a built-in digital array microphones. So you can have video chats on the netbook out of the box. The bundled Windows 7 Starter (32bit) Edition OS on this one is one of the only complaints that buyers seem to have. However, its limitations can easily be resolved with some online resources. Over all satisfaction with the netbook is good. Users like the portability and affordability with a practical amount of processing power, memory and storage.  HP Mini 210-3060NR Netbook (Pink) The HP Mini 210-3060NR is an Intel Atom powered netbook that comes in a stylish Purple-Pink color. It packs in a 1.66GHz single core Atom N455 processor. It will not be able to handle heavy processing and multitasking but it is perfect as a companion device for surfing the net and entertaining on the move. The Atom processor is coupled with a 1GB DDR3 RAM and that is the maximum that it can support. It comes with a 250GB SATA HDD storage, which gives you enough space to store lots of photos, documents, music and some movies too. The netbook is designed to be chic and is focused on entertainment. This explains the presence of the Beats Audio brand in the netbook. Beats Audio ensures that you will get pristine audio quality from your netbook. The difference between the audio quality with other non-Beats netbooks is actually discernible if you are using headphones. The speakers are not really designed to pump out much sound. So headphones are advisable. The display is 10.1 inches diagonal, LED backlit for better battery life and has a widescreen aspect ratio. It has a native resolution of 1024×600 and is branded with HP BrightView promising bright images. Coming to the design, the HP Mini 210-3060NR sports the typical rounded corners and smooth finish that is found in netbooks in this line. It has a smooth edge-to-edge glass cover on the screen that covers the bezel as well. The webcam sits in its usual position. It has front firing heat vents, which might cause problems for extended use on the lap. The typical heat vents are replaced with grills, which is a nice design touch. Most of the body sports a fully matte pink-purple finish, which makes it a very good-looking netbook. The keyboard has island style keys, which make it comfortable to type on. Even though it is a 10inch netbook, the keys utilize all the available area and are well spaced out. The touchpad is not the best but then at this price point it expected. It gets the job done but a mouse is recommended if you plan to do precision work. It has a battery life rating of 9.5 hours, which is realistic only when you are not using the wireless or using it very sparing. With moderate wireless usage, expect it to last around 7-8 hours. However, under ideal situations, it is possible to squeeze out 9 and more hours. It comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is something that most buyers don’t like. However, the restrictions imposed by Windows 7 Start Edition are easily gotten around with some Googling. There are third-party tools for getting the features that the Starter Edition is missing. The HP Mini 210-3060NR comes with Wireless N (802.11b/g/n) for high speed WiFi access. It has 1 ethernet port, 1 audio in/out combo port, 2 USB 2.0 ports and 1 media card reader that supports multiple formats. Weighing at about 3 pounds, it is perfect for carrying around with you. With an overall good build quality and great design, it has good reviews from buyers.  Acer Aspire One AO722-0473 11.6-Inch HD Netbook (Espresso Black) The Acer Aspire One A0722-0473 is an 11inch netbook that is designed to be entertainment centric. It is powered by an AMD Dual Core C-60 processor and has TurboCore auto overclocking features that takes the clock speed to 1.33GHz. It has a 1MB L2 cache memory. It is paired with 2GB of DDR3 memory and 320GB storage. The AO722 has an 11.6inch widescreen aspect ratio, making it perfect for viewing movies and videos. The display has a native resolution of 1366×768 meaning it can show HD movies at a 720p onscreen resolution. The netbook can easily run full HD movies thanks to the AMD Radeon HD 6290 graphics that comes with 256MB of dedicated memory. Combined with an overclocked processor, it would also make for some decent gaming action. This is something most netbooks would be unable to offer. The powerful graphics and the faster processor combined make the netbook perfect for every casual user. It is certainly powerful enough to run a lot of software that wouldn’t usually run on netbooks, like Photoshop. It is also capable of handling advanced multitasking and run heavy programs simultaneously. Despite having heavy graphics and processing abilities, the A0722 boasts of 7 hours of battery life. In real life situations, you should be able to get about 4-5 hours with some gaming, WiFi and heavy multi-tab surfing thrown in. With no WiFi or gaming, the battery life should go up to 6hours and more. The build of the Acer Aspire One A0722-0473 is fully plastic with smooth black matte finish on all parts. The back of the screen carries an Acer Aspire One watermark logo and is also completely smooth. The design is on the thick side with side firing air vents. The keys are chiclet style but are very closely set to utilize all the space there is. As a result, individual keys are larger than what you would expect in a netbook but there’s hardly any space between the keys. The arrow keys are not dedicated and they have additional functions that can accessed by modifier keys. The touchpad is smooth and supports multitouch gestures. It has a single bar style click button. The profile of the laptop is on the bulkier side. Acer makes no attempt to make the netbook look slim. It is a purpose built machine and it has the looks of it. With the full black finish, the netbook looks quite corporate and would sit right at home on an office or college table. The Acer Aspire One A0722-0473 has one HDMI out port that also supports HDCP. If you combine this with a wireless HDMI set up, you can easily turn this in to your entertainment hub. There are 3 USB 2.0 ports and a multi-in-1 card reader. It has Wireless-N with backward compatibility (802.11b/g/n). Customer reviews are very positive. The processing power is well appreciated and so is the portability. The keyboard also draws praises with some complaints about the touchpad being slightly hard to control at times. For those who are looking for a netbook but don’t want to compromise on power, this is definitely the right way to go.  ASUS X101-EU17-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black) The Asus X101-EU17-BK is 10inch netbook that belongs to the Eee PC family. It is powered by an Intel Atom N435 processor and comes with 1GB of DDR3 RAM. Even though it is similar to the other 10inch netbooks in the Eee PC family, its bundled operating system is what sets it apart. The X101-Eu17 runs on the MeeGo OS developed by Intel. It is a Linux based OS that was developed especially for netbooks. Thanks to this, this OS is designed to run fast on the limited resources that netbooks offer. Its user interface is also designed to be easy to work with on the small netbook screens. MeeGo’s interface is focused on letting you accomplish all the common computing tasks with remarkably more ease than conventional OS’. Conventional OS’ carry far too much baggage to be efficient on netbooks. MeeGo cuts everything but the essentials out to allow you to do more. Its interface has large elements that are easy to operate on a smaller screen. It provides for all your emailing, social networking, surfing and media playback needs. There are even some games and office applications. If you are looking for a fast companion device for performing basic computing tasks on the move, this will be a good choice for you. Most uses wont need to download anything extra from the MeeGo App Store because it comes with most things included. MeeGo has a fast learning curve and is designed for the average user. It is also a very good option for those who live their lives on their Internet browsers. Customers report good results with services like Google Docs, YouTube, and Gmail. Skype is also quite operational, even at full screen. You also run Hulu on it. One thing that won’t run on it is Netflix because it does not meet the minimum system requirements for Netflix. Being a lightweight Linux based OS, MeeGo offers seriously fast shutdown and boot times. Compared to the boot times that you will experience on Windows based netbooks, it is quite the improvement. Customers have noted that it would sometimes boot in around 15-17 seconds. This is also because the netbook uses SSD storage, which is much faster than HDD’s. However, since SSD storage is expensive, it comes with only 8GB of usable storage space. Another positive aspect of the Asus X101-EU17-BK the weight of the netbook. At less than two pounds, it is one of the lightest options available for carrying your Internet around with you. With WiFi on, it should last for about 3-4 hours. Without WiFi on or with intermittent usage you can squeeze out more battery life that should see you through an average day. The keyboard has chiclet style keys and is easy to type on. The touchpad can be slightly hard to get used for some people and the button is not the smoothest. It has a webcam and built in microphone for out of the box video chats. WiFi support includes 802.11b/g/n. Customer reviews for the Asus X101-EU17-BK are quite positive. Most users report quick pick up of MeeGo’s interface. Some have even learnt some basic terminal commands to better utilize the Linux core. Overall, for the extremely low price that it comes for, it is presents great value for money for the user.  ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1215P-MU17-BK 12.1-Inch Netbook (Black) The Asus Eee PC Seashell 1215P-MU17 is a conveniently sized and well-specced laptop. It gives you a good mid point between power and portability. It comes with an Intel Atom N550 Dual Core processor and 1GB of RAM (2GB maximum). It inherits the Asus Seashell design, which warrants for slim lines and a good profile over all. This is the black model, a color that enhances the sleek looks of the Seashell series. It is at its thickest directly underneath the screen hinges and tapers off to its thinnest at the opposite edge where the palm rests end. It has chiclet style keys that make for easy typing. The touchpad is set in to its own groove and is not seamlessly fused with the rest of the palm rest area like some of the other netbooks on the market. The touchpad supports basic multitouch gestures. It has as single bar style click button that works for both left and right clicks. The touchpad is slightly fidgety and a laser mouse is recommended for precision work. The keys have a good travel and are comfortable to type on. The increased size over the 10inch models also helps in giving you a better typing experience. The dual core Atom N550 processor ensures that netbook is powerful enough to handle all the daily use apps that the average user needs. This processor is powerful enough to handle copious amounts of multitasking such as multi-tab surfing, document editing and media playback — all at the same time. The 1GB RAM is enough to handle almost every regular use app and buyers have commented saying that they don’t feel the need to install more RAM. If you choose to install more RAM, then the battery life will be lowered by a perceptible amount. The Eee PC Seashell 1215P-MU17 comes with about 8 hours of back up and is rated for 9 hours officially. User reviews suggest that 8 hours is easily achievable in real life scenarios and more battery life can be eked out by optimizing the system to use less power. This netbook has 12.1inch screen with a native resolution (1366×768), which is a perfect size for users who find 13inch models too expensive and 10inch models to small and slow. For most buyers, this was the ideal compromise. It is a bright screen with good visibility even at 50% brightness. This ensures good battery life because you wouldn’t need to run the system at full brightness all the time. It comes with a 250GB HDD, which is enough to carry around all your important documents and the media files that you want to bring with you when you are away from your workstation. It comes with Wireless-N with b/g compatibility (802.11b/g/n) for fast and flexible WiFi connections.  Dell - Inspiron Mini Netbook The Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 netbook is a 10inch portable solution for those who are looking to carry a sleek yet small netbook around. This is a black finish netbook powered by an Intel Atom N450 processor. It coupled with 1GB of DDR2 800MHz RAM (1 SODIMM slot). It has a 160GB SATA 5400RPM HDD for storage, which allows you to carry a decent amount of music, documents, photos and perhaps a few standard definition movies on it. It has a 10.1inch widescreen display, which makes it perfect watching and streaming movies. It has a native resolution of 1024×768, which is the perfect resolution for a screen of this size. It comes with an integrated 1.3m webcam, which gives you the freedom to have video chats whilst you are on the move. Features & Specifications: -
It has Intel’s NM10 Express for handling video and graphics. This much power is enough for all your standard definition videos along with streaming video services like YouTube and Vimeo. Coupled with the widescreen display, compressed movies would look really nice on it. If you are in the habit of compressing movies for making them more portable, you will like the display. The Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 has the standard Dell Laptop design that tapers from the screen side to the palm rest side. The screen sits slightly away from the thickest side of the body, leaving some space behind it when it opens. It has a glossy back and a thick bezel that also has a black but matte finish. The palm rest has a black textured finish with the touchpad set in to its own groove. The bottom cover of the body has a light off-white color. The entire body is plastic but is quite hardy. It has traditional keys with no space between them, which makes for a slightly cramped typing. Definitely not recommended for those who want to type out tens of thousands of words per day. But it is perfect for chatting, emailing and general surfing requirements. The touchpad does not have separate buttons and they are hidden beneath the surface of the touchpad instead. Their presence is marked by two white marks at the lower two corners of the touchpad. It comes with 3 USB ports (2+1), 1 VGA port, 1 VGA port, 1RJ45 port and the usual headphone and microphone ports. It comes with a 30W ac adapter for its 6-cell battery that is good for 6-7 hours of battery life under moderate usage and possibly 8 or more hours under low strain. Buyer reviews for the Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 are overall quite positive. Users are quite happy with the size and portability. Given the price point, this netbook gives you a very good price to performance ratio. The only problem that you might face is the limited features of the Windows 7 Starter Edition. However, there are ways around the limitations with third-party solutions that you can find online with a little searching. |
|||||
|
Copyright © 2011 NetBook Expert - All Rights Reserved - Contact Us |
|||||
Recent Comments