By Steven Vea

A cer has always been a reputable and reliable brand that has created a range of quality products. Its latest innovation, the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ convertible laptop, is a

tablet PC that is at the forefront of its class. When you unbox the 1825PTZ, you are welcomed by Acer’s classic and suave glossy sapphire-blue chassis, which is accompanied by a stylish protective black sleeve. Once you lift the tablet PC from its styrofoam cradle, you will probably be surprised at its light weight (approximately 1.7kg,) despite its dimensions. Opening the lid, we were greeted by Acer’s raised and full-sized FineTip keyboard, which occupies the majority of the laptop’s workspace. This is inarguably the 1825PTZ’s most positive characteristic, and will be the force drawing consumers in. On the other hand, the multigesture touchpad is perhaps its weakest physical trait, as this reviewer found it to be awkward with an almost impossibly small area of real estate to navigate with. However, you will most likely use the excellent touchscreen to navigate anyway, but let us tackle that later. On the upper left-hand corner above the keyboard is a physical button for quick system backup, and above that, on the display’s bezel, is a multifunction “P” button (Ctrl Alt Del, Print Screen, and one customizable slot), which will eventually come in handy if you decide to purchase the 1825PTZ. On the right side are the multicard reader, mic/earphone jacks, 2USB ports, Ethernet port, and the elusive sliding power button, which was initially difficult to locate. On the left-hand side you will find the HDMI and VGA ports, the power adapter connector, and an additional USB port. While there is no optical drive, the 1825PTZ certainly comes armed with enough options. Upon turning on the convertible laptop, Windows 7 Home Premium boots up with the help of an Intel Pentium SU4100 processor at 1.3GHz, accompanied by 2GB DD3 RAM, which boasts a lot of power for such a small piece of hardware. The 11.6-inch LED display with a resolution of 1366x768 is clear, bright and vivid, yet is quite reflective. Using the 1825PTZ in a well-illuminated area might pose some difficulties, and positioning your laptop in relation to the light source might present a small hurdle, but this is not a major issue to be concerned with. With reflections aside, the touchscreen itself is quite responsive, although the lack of a bundled stylus leaves much to be desired. However, using your finger to navigate through Windows 7 is quite a breeze, considering the small size of the 1825PTZ. To cater to your touchscreen lust, this laptop comes installed with Acer’s Touch

Portal—which is an entertainment hub featuring games, a notepad and other applications. The plastic hinge which allows the 1825’s display to swivel 180 degrees clockwise feels sturdy enough so as not to make you worry when transforming the laptop into a tablet. Once the screen has been rotated and folded neatly above the keyboard, the 1825PTZ looks elegant and chic, and functions quite well in this mode. The only hurdle will be the 1825PTZ’s weight, which will probably cut your tablet experience shorter than you might like. The ability of the display to swivel will definitely be useful for presentations, but if entertainment is what concerns you, the 1825PTZ is equipped with an Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics card, so rest assured that images and video are crisp and clear. You won’t have any problem playing back HD movies, but you will run into some disappointments when it comes to gaming. In short, the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is ideal for business professionals who want a small, mobile and convertible laptop. With an amazing battery life of up to 8 hours, this touchscreen notebook/tablet is a gadget that should definitely find its way into your inventory of mobile technology.

BusinessMirrorGADGeTSSundayMAGAZINE

Sunday, September 19, 2010www.businessmirror.com.ph B5

WHAT’S HOT

WHAT’S NOT

BOTTOM LINE

SPECIFICATIONS

StylishEasy to useSpacious keypadCan charge via micro-USB port

Lackluster cameraNo Wi-Fi capability

8.2

The Nokia 7230 is for those who want a phone that brings them back to the basics while keeping a sense of style and sophistication.

FORM FACTOR SliderLCD SIZE 2.4in.; TFT, 256K colorsPHYSICAL DIMENSIONS 98mm x 48mm x 14.75mmWEIGHT 100g with batteryBAND 2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G - UMTS 900 / 2100 / 1900 UMTS 850 / 1900 / 2100INTERNAL MEMORY 45MB, 2GB micro SD card included

WHAT’S HOT

WHAT’S NOT

BOTTOM LINE

SPECIFICATIONS

Converts into a tabletLarge ergonomic keyboardResponsive touchscreen8-hour battery life

Small touchpadQuite heavy for a tabletNo optical drive

The Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is an excellent convertible laptop well worth the money. With this product, you certainly have the best of what a laptop and tablet can offer, all in one compact gadget.

SCREEN SIZE 11.6 ” HD, 1366 x 768 resolution, LED-backlit TFT LCD with integrated multitouch screenMEMORY 2 GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memoryCPU AND CHIPSET Intel Pentium processor SU4100, 1.30GHz, Mobile Intel GS45 Express ChipsetWIRELESS USED Intel Wi-Fi Link 802.11b/g PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS 85 x 208.9 x 28.5mm

HTC WildfireSmartphoneTHERE’S no denying everybody loves HTC smartphones, but not everyone can afford the premium prices that come with these gorgeous devices. Well, fret not. You can have the same HTC goodness and Sense sensibilities without the hefty price tag with the HTC Wildfire. It has all the Android goodness you’d come to expect from an HTC-built smartphone—the Éclair 2.1, Marketplace access and social-network integration through HTC’s Friend Stream. You can even recommend apps from the Android marketplace to other people via Twitter, text or e-mail.

Nokia 7230 aCER 1825PTZ

By Michelle Callanta

C onsider me one of the few who still believes that when it comes to gadgets (or anything technologically advanced), the simpler the better. A mobile phone is no exception,

despite even the more sophisticated phones available in the market that seem to find themselves in the hands of students as well as professionals. So when my own personal Nokia N82 (which I’ve had for a couple of years now) began to show signs of aging, I didn’t shun away from the opportunity to have the Nokia 7230 for review and to have a brand-new phone at hand without worrying about it dying on me in less than a day. Now the 7230 admittedly doesn’t have the high-end features one would want from any other high-end, ergo more expensive, phone. And I’m not here to compare it with that of a high-end phone as it is here to cater to the league of entry-level, no-nonsense users who are satisfied with just the basic features, without breaking the bank or their sense of style. The Nokia 7230 (either in black or pink) is a stylish slider. It’s curvy yet slim, trimmed with a chrome lining for that added luxury. However, the ribbed battery cover is a rather thin plastic sheet that seems flimsy and almost feels like it might just break in half if you’re not careful. The slider itself, on the other hand, is incredibly sturdy and slides smoothly with every push outward. Underneath are relatively spacious and large keys for easier one-hand maneuvering, be it dialing or texting.

mobile phone tablet pC

The screen itself is bright and clear with a 240x320-pixel resolution while the interface is extremely easy to use. The default home screen is simple with the menu on your typical grid but you can also customize your phone to have shortcuts for either the left and right selection keys, as well as the navigation keys. As for its added features, the Nokia 7230 comes with MMS, FM Radio, MP3 and AAC ringtones, Bluetooth connectivity, a phonebook for up to 2,000 entries, and (my personal favorite) the Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging which allows you to send voice messages instead of boring old texts. The music player is easy to navigate as with everything else you want to use, be it the recorder, calculator, or even the 3.2-megapixel camera, which has a dedicated button on the right side of the phone for quick activation. Pictures can be easily uploaded to Flickr or Nokia’s Ovi Share service. The 7230 doesn’t have Wi-Fi capability. The 7230 comes with a wall charger that connects to the mini charging port at the top of the handset, although it can also be charged via its micro-USB port so you can transfer files and charge your phone at the very same time. Battery life is great and lasts a good 2 to 3 days with regular use, while calls are undeniably clear and crisp.

8.3

SamSung n220 PluS netbook DON’T you hate it when your netbook dies out on you in the middle of writing that magnum opus? That won’t happen with the Samsung N220 Plus, which offers up to 14 hours of secure connected mobility. The impressive battery-powered performance is possible because overall power consumption is reduced by the energy-efficient LED display, optimized performance and Samsung’s proprietary Enhanced Battery Life Solution. The N220 Plus also has several display features that enhance its user’s visual experience. The new netbook’s 10.1-inch LED antireflective display fine-tunes movies and images with the sharpest images and boldest colors, and there is no mirror effect under bright lights or in sunny weather. Using the integrated Easy Resolution Manager Tool, screen resolution can easily be changed if a program or game needs to be viewed in 1024 x 768. For added visual enhancements, the new N220 Plus offers an integrated Digital LiveCam for video-conferencing or live messaging.

Php 24,900