Wal*Mart's laptops are pretty groovy

USA
Walmart is sure to make waves with this new laptop. At $598, it is cheaper than similar second hand models you find elsewhere except that this one is brand new. The ECS A535 incorporates an AMD Athlon XP-M 1600+ processor, a capable and speedy CPU - unlike slower models from Singapore or UK which tend to use VIA's slower C3 processor.

The model comes with a 14.1in 1024x768 XGA capable LCD screen. Storagewise there is a 40GB hard disk and 128MB memory. I would prefer though to have more memory and less hard disk especially since the memory - at least 16MB is shared with video. This makes things worse as Windows XP home is preloaded with nothing more added except Intervideo WindDVD4.

Other notable items in the spec list include two speakers, one DVD drive, four USB 2.0 ports, a TV Out and S-video, one microphone in and a modem. The main input devices are the keyboard - a plain one and a Synaptics touchpad with a 4-way scrolling button. But the most interesting part concerns the connectivity - the cheapest new laptop in the US comes with an integrated WIFI compliant Wireless 802.11b LAN as well as an onboard Gigabit Base-T wired LAN ethernet.

Last but not least, the A535 comes with a battery. While this might seem quite normal, it is worthy noting that many destop replacement laptops do not come with batteries and that you should purchase the latter to get full autonomy. The laptop weighs only six pounds, slightly less than the average mainstream laptop. In our opinion, the A535 is almost the perfect entry level laptop - only a more substantial software offer and the lack of a CDRW writer makes me grin. Even though, get yourself one before it is too late. µ

UK
Freeview is fast becoming a must for many households. Basically, you pay for one receiver and you can enjoy many digital terrestrial channels and radio. Jetwat has introduced a PCI card which allows you to do that without having to buy a dedicated freeview box. The V-stream Xpert DTV DVB-T PCI card allows you to watch Digital TV with an ordinary UHF/VHF antenna without any ghosting. The killer app though is the Scheduled recording in Power On mode which will power on your computer to record a programme which you have chosen before even when you are not there. A fully featured remote control is also provided - it can be used to power off your computer.

Other features include compatibility with 16:9 wide format display, auto Channel scan and name recognition, multiple channel preview and TV video. It also supports timeshift and playback live TV program simultaneously as well as Digital Real Time Video Recording in MPEG2 format. Picture in Picture and still image capture in JPEG or BMP is also available. You can also connect other video sources as the card provides with four inputs.

A DVD burner software as well as a MPEG converter and editor is provided. At £46.21, it costs less than many freeview boxes which do not allow the essential PVR - personal video recorder function. Though it comes with some shortcomings like sticky remote buttons or some softwre bugs, it is still the cheapest digital terrestrial TV card available in UK and as such deserves a pat on the back. The card is also available under the brand K-World. µ

France
The latest dual layer DVD Writer from Pioneer, the DVR-108 is on sale at Grosbill for €109. It features an incredible 16x writing speed for both DVD+R and DVD-R while some competitors do 16x for DVD+R only. Dual Layer and DVD+/-RW are written at 4x which is still laudable. Normal CD is written at 32x and CDRW at 24x making it viable to have only one drive instead of two. CD reading and DVD reading both operate at 40x and 16x respectively, overall making the drive very speedy. You'll be hard pressed though to find 16x compatible media as 8x DVD have just becomed mainstream. The drive is an OEM version which should however come with some software.

The retail version includes the excellent MyDVD deluxe 5.3 authoring software, Drive Letter Access 4.9, RecordNow 7.2, Smplebackup 5.0 and Cineplayer 2.0.1. The drive also incorporates some new innovations from Pioneer. The QuietDrive which reduces vibration of the drive, liquid crystal tilt/thickness compensator, smart laser driver, which prevent signal distortion and ultra dynamic resonance absorber which alleviates vibration. While the drive fails to impress in some tests like DVD Video read, reviews praise its low CPU usge rates and fast load times. Pioneer seems to have made an outstanding drive that ensures maximum compatibility and reliability.

Also unlike a majority of other DVD writers, the drive seems to detect which media are apt to be 12x-written. A very good drive overall which should ensure that 16x media come mainstream even quicker than 8x ones. µ

Singapore
D-Nexus is selling a Samsung ML1710 laser printer for S$399. Nothing special in this except that the printer comes with a a free Samsung YP-35H MP3 player. The Laser printer is amongst the smallest of its category and manages to produce expcetional quality monochrome imahe. It uses a USB interface and is compatible with a number of operating systems. Curiously, it does not have any warmup time meaning that you can start using it almost instantaneously. A useful addon is the econosaver mode which allows you to save toner - up to 40% - at the touch of a button.

Its small foot print will ensure that it takes only a small space on your office table and its 7Kg makes it easy to move around. Other interesting specs include a duty cycle of 15000 pages per months, 8MB RAM and a resolution of 600x600dpi. As for the MP3 player, it does supports MP3 and WMA formats and allows voice recording. Like for the BenQ plasma screen reviewed yesterday, this one also supports SRS WOR 3D Surround sound as well.

Finally, it comes with 128MB memory and a sleek well-though design. It might be a little expensive but on the long run, costs of consumables included, it will be a much more wiser investment than in a inkjet. µ