Toshiba Satellite Pro C660 review

Toshiba Satellite Pro C660

The Good in Toshiba Satellite Pro C660

• Large hard drive
• Cheap

The Bad in Toshiba Satellite Pro C660

• Poor keyboard
• Limited range of ports
• Pedestrian performance
• Iffy build quality

Toshiba comes with a enviable reputation with regards to laptops, so it's something of a surprise to find the 15. 6-inch Toshiba Satellite Pro C660 going on a bargain-basement price. Our model, the C660-17J, is becoming sold by Laptops Direct for approximately £345, and you may pick it up for £295 in case you trade in your aged laptop too.

Cheap like a budgie

Toshiba Satellite C660 appearance is disappointing -- it looks cheaper compared to the cast of The only way Is Essex. The whole chassis is made out of black plastic and, although Toshiba has extra a dimpled pattern on the lid and wrist relaxation, it still looks about as stylish being a room full of location teachers. Worse still, the chassis doesn't feel all that robust, especially around this wrist rest. If you apply some pressure into it, it flexes quite significantly.

There isn't much to obtain excited about with regards to the computer's line-up regarding ports, either. In simple fact, you get just a couple USB ports, which is mean even at this price. Although there's a VGA output, there's no HDMI vent -- something that's becoming standard on most machines. Even the LAN port is limited to 100Mbps Ethernet, when almost all of today's laptops offer Gigabit Ethernet assistance.

The keyboard is also a huge disappointment. The keys rattle quite badly since you type, so we wouldn't have massive confidence within the keyboard standing up well to long-term abuse. The keys also provide very little travel so they really don't feel all which comfortable or responsive.

The trackpad is more preferable, though. It sits flush with all the wrist rest and is wide enough to allow you to easily sweep the cursor around the screen. The two large, tubular buttons also think quite sturdy and make a distinct click when a person press them.

Glossy films on screens divide thoughts and opinions. On the one palm, they generally improve the appearance of colours, making these people look more vivid, although, on the other palm, they tend to always be very reflective, which is usually uncomfortable if you're with them under bright, overhead lighting.

Toshiba Satellite C660 display is sadly more reflective in comparison with most, and this, put together with its tight vertical seeing angle, means getting an appropriate viewing position can always be tricky. Nevertheless, the resolution of 1, 366x768 pixels isn't poor, and the legibility regarding text in documents and online is good once you've gotten the screen positioned the right way.

Toshiba Satellite Pro C660

Verdict

While the 15.6-inch Toshiba Satellite Pro C660-17J is cheap, its limited range of ports, pedestrian performance and uninspiring build quality mean this laptop doesn't really offer good value for money.

Toshiba Satellite Pro C660 has the most limited range of ports we've seen on a laptop in quite some time.

As you'd expect of an 15. 6-inch desktop-replacement machine, the C660 has some sort of DVD rewriter. Thankfully, Toshiba hasn't skimped on the hard drive. While most budget machines feature smaller 320GB drives, this place offers 500GB of safe-keeping, which should be enough for most people.

Stale chip

The laptop uses a dual-core Intel Pentium T4500 model clocked at 2. 3GHz. It's really a pre-Sandy Bridge processor, so that it uses the older, reduced Intel HD integrated design. Consequently, in the 3DMark06 standard test, it only managed to post a consequence of 773, which isn't superior to most netbooks. That means 3D gambling is pretty much impossible, but at least the actual Intel HD graphics offer some acceleration for tasks like high-definition video playback.

The particular T4500 chip isn't accurately a cutting-edge processor, so we weren't expecting much on the C660 when it stumbled on the PCMark05 test. The item racked up a ranking of 3, 918, that's pretty much what we all expected. In real-world words, this means the laptop are going to be fine for lighter tasks like Web browsing, seeing shows on iPlayer along with updating Facebook, but isn't actually suitable for more challenging tasks, like compressing HIGH DEFINITION video files or incorporating effects in programs such as Photoshop.

With a 15. 6-inch tv screen, this isn't really some sort of laptop that's designed for life while travelling. That's probably just too because it didn't perform particularly well from the intensive Battery Eater Traditional test, which runs the CPU at 100 % until the battery conks out there. The C660 managed and keep running for just an hour and 16 minutes, whereas almost all of today's 15-inch laptops find a way to creep above the an hour and 20 minute mark.

Conclusion

The Toshiba Satellite television Pro C660-17J is challenging to like. Its rickety keyboard set, lack of ports and pedestrian performance mean that, although it's cheap, it isn't very cheerful. If you desire a low-cost computer which offers better build quality, we'd suggest you read the likes of the Acer Desire 5552 instead.

Our rating

2.5 stars out of 5

User rating

2 stars out of 5

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LG Optimus 2X smartphone worldtech20 review

LG Optimus 2X

The earth cried out for the dual-core smartphone and LG and NVIDIA answered the decision. Actually, the world only ever dreamt about multicore mobile architectures up until late last year, but sometimes that's all it requires to get those zany technical engineers engineering. So here we're, in early February 2011, beholding the actual world's first smartphone designed around a dual-core processor, the LG Optimus 2X. This can be a landmark handset in additional ways than one, however, as its presence available signals LG's first sincere foray to the Android high end. However the company delivered two thoroughly competent devices for that platform with the Optimus S and T really, they were the very definition of mid-range smartphones and in reality that Samsung, HTC and Motorola were being left to fight among themselves for that most demanding Android users' hard-earned rubles. So now that LG's joined their rankings, was the wait worthwhile?

LG Optimus 2X

 LG Optimus 2X Hardware

Nothing much has altered since we first achieved this phone under their codename of Star a couple of months back. One uninterrupted slate of glass covers your entire front, broken up only from the earpiece grille at the very top. Four capacitive touch buttons maintain 4-inch WVGA LCD organization, along with a front-facing camera simply to the right of your LG logo. As we said in our preview, this is the uncomplicated and restrained pattern, evidence perhaps that LG thought we would spend its time and money on the lies beneath the epidermis.

LG Optimus 2X

The actual glass front slopes off on its left and also right edges before being engulfed by way of a metallic frame that wraps round the whole handset. Fit and finish between your two is absolutely great. The third component for the 2X's external setup can be a flexible matte plastic cover that makes up its entire rear section. It's stupendously easy to replace while still forming a great seal with its encircling elements. The austere black rear (there'll be brown and also white versions too) is decorated which has a silver column running through the middle brandishing a "with Google" motto, which ends in a slight bump near the top, designed to accommodate the 8 megapixel camera module. We're happy to see another little glass protect here protecting the the len's from accidental damage.

LG Optimus 2X review

Overall, the LG Optimus 2X feels wonderfully put together. It will be rigid and unyielding, as well as although its construction components are nothing special, the cumulative result can be a highly pleasing one. Care about detail is evident throughout, as even such simple things since the power / lock option and volume keys (the only physical controls on the 2X) feel perfectly tested and built. The screen does experience a bout of excessimus bezelitus as well as we'd have preferred non-capacitive Operating system buttons, however those are design decisions we'll have to live with at this aspect. You'll find the bezel at the least partially justified when you available the rear and observe how densely packed the 2X's internals tend to be.

 LG Optimus 2X Tegra 2

Tegra 2

  Gaming on the LG Optimus 2X

In which HDMI cable -- bundled from the box, as it need to be -- is also placed to good use having 1080p video content, which looks sharp and also plays back flawlessly around the 2X. As we observed above, the mirroring ability is dropped when handling video, but that's unlikely being an issue because we all can't imagine a application scenario where you'd ought to see a video feast upon both displays. Getting the HDMI connection up is really a zero-setup affair and playback switches between devices around the fly -- disconnect your HDTV as you're watching a video and it flips up to the LG Optimus 2X and integrated speaker; hook it backup again and within a 2nd it's back booming at you through the HDTV. Just seamless. Scope out the video below for the demonstration of this phone's video-crunching qualifications.

T-Mobile LG Optimus 2X 1080p HDMI Output and Gaming Demo

When you finally get past those nicely executed headline features, nonetheless, there's a certain deficiency of real utility to be enjoyed from this dual-core computer chip. The trouble is in which smartphones haven't really was without for processing firepower in a very good long while. What applications does one run on your mobile that may choke a 1GHz COMPUTER, whether it be some sort of Snapdragon, Hummingbird or a great A4? There aren't quite a few, right? And there are even fewer which may have such a demanding overhead while running inside background -- which happens to be NVIDIA's big selling point for Tegra 2, that it allows you to multitask without ever acquiring bogged down. The graph below illustrates this nicely, but it also provides your very best case scenario -- you have to be engaged in a CPU-intensive method while decoding music inside background, another CPU career, and downloading / setting up applications. As soon while you back off, say by switching off of the background music and allowing your foreground process to get all the processing energy (and thereby complete it is task more quickly), some great benefits of having a dual-core machine can become far less tangible.

The final outcome therefore is that, indeed, multitasking maniacs will find their mobile lives accelerated with that second core, but all of those other world might very effectively shrug its shoulders and enquire "is that it? " Like a city dweller owning the supercar, the Tegra 2 buyer should be wary of the idea that his hardware will far exceed his daily needs all of which will only show its true, brilliant colors on uncommon occasions and under just the right circumstances.

LG Optimus 2X Display

A 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) LCD may appear like standard fare pertaining to modern Android phones, but LG's panel can be a notch above the normal. It's bright and effectively saturated, retaining its colour fidelity even at oblique watching angles. We wouldn't say it's competition for the IPS displays available on Apple's apple iphone 4 or Sharp's IS03, however again, not many tend to be. In the absence of such advanced display technological or Samsung's snazzy Super AMOLED, we reckon LG has given us the following best thing with the 2X's screen.

Update: As it turns out, LG's 4-inch LCD about the 2X is actually a good IPS panel! That would be the reason it looked better than the run of the mill LCD, however we'd nevertheless caution against expecting iPhone-level quality. It isn't up for the same standard.

All that said, our testing unit received a manufacturing defect in which exposed some backlight bleeding towards the top (see image below). We don't expect retail units to suffer from the same flaw, so we'll let this blog slide unless and until we hear of the issue showing up throughout other handsets.

LG Optimus 2X

One thing we touched on inside our Optimus 7 review had been LG's preference for less sensitive capacitive touchscreens than the competition. It was a commendable choice on the Optimus 7, helping us all minimize unintended inputs, however we found the event on the LG Optimus 2X instead less satisfying. Far too often our gentle swipes still did not move the stoic homescreen via its position and there were to apply that extra extra pressure to get it to register. Adapting to this peculiarity is most likely just a question involving habit, but it's still something to be aware of.

LG Optimus 2X Camera.

LG Optimus 2X Camera

Spanning a full eight megapixels, LG's camera sensor can surely enable you to get all the dots you'll need, but what is it gonna fill them up having? A great amount regarding detail, as it turns out. In the full-sized image in the bike rack above, we can read all the facts next to the bike's code number without difficulty, while noise is kept under control admirably well. In actuality, you're more likely in order to decry the noise-reducing blur, that is sprinkled in judiciously, when compared with any signs of increased graininess. The integrated LED flash can be quite bright, to the point regarding washing out any things that get too close (a habit the 2X has obviously selected from its family partner, the Optimus 7), though we reckon which is to be well appreciated by all of the nightclub amateur photogs. Overall, the LG Optimus 2X packs a really impressive little camera, particularly considering it essentially comes to be a free extra on something you're keeping within your pocket anyway, and its full collection of adjustment options increases those credentials. We enjoyed having exposure compensation just as one easily accessible option, while experimenting with the negative photograph effect, which does exactly what its name suggests, was also plenty of fun.

LG Optimus 2X Camera

We do have several dissatisfactions to express, nonetheless. The first is that colors look just a little washed out. London can be a dreary place at now of the year, though the LG Optimus 2X made the item look that extra bit bleaker than it truly was. This isn't a massive issue as could possibly litany of color adjustment programs around (plus the phone gives a vivid mode of it is own) and we'd sacrifice some saturation for all your extra detail quite fortunately. The second thing that ailed us was how the camera app takes a short while to process each image before being ready for your next, yet leaves you with not a visual clue to the actual fact it's still working. Therefore, users bashing the "New" button to get started on composing a new image are left frustrated and a little confused why the phone isn't answering and adjusting their input.

The front-facing 1. 3 megapixel camera must be thought of strictly as a video calling facilitator. Chromatic noise sneaks in almost as soon as you step out of perfect lighting and also the pictures you take from it won't be of use for way too many purposes. As to video for the LG Optimus 2X, it may be recorded at resolutions nearly 1080p -- we noticed no obvious processing lag or perhaps frame rate stutters by any means -- and does a good job of emulating the camera's stills performance by capturing a good amount of visual and aural detail. Check out the video below with an idea of what to anticipate, it was shot while using Super fine quality placing.

LG Optimus 2X 1080p HD video sample

 LG Optimus 2X Loudspeaker, earpiece and battery life

Loudspeaker, earpiece and battery life

The loudspeaker on the LG Optimus 2X is a principal imitation of Apple's iphone 3gs arrangement -- it sits behind the proper grille you see above and does a very decent job. Sound end result is hard to muffle far too, as some of it escapes throughout the back of the mobile phone, a handy little imperfection to its design. The earpiece is also properly, with call quality staying no better or worse compared to the competition. The 2X does heat during extended calls, but again, we can't think of any comparable phones that will don't.

Battery life was an important aspect for us with this particular phone, for obvious motives. Our happy discovery was which the LG Optimus 2X can sustain the current crop of Android multimedia powerhouses, perhaps even outlasting a few of the less frugal among them (Desire HD, we're pondering you). This is mostly right down to Tegra 2 having an acceptable power draw when idling. We managed to cross the 24-hour standby mark on the day when we would about an hour's really worth of calls, a couple of minutes of HD video, and some sporadic music playback, all while keeping push email notifications plus the 3G and WiFi radios continually on. Note that in most of that time the screen was deterred and the processor didn't obviously have much work to carry out, but the experience illustrates you can take a dual-core smartphone on the go, provided you don't expect anything more from it than you'd from its single-core brethren. The camera ended up being the biggest battery drainer, together with 1080p decoding and development following up in close second, both predictable effects. We can't conclusively say whether or not the LG Optimus 2X is approximately power-efficient than its contemporaries -- efficiency like a function of both strength consumption under load plus the duration of load situations, the latter being shorter on the faster chip -- but we didn't feel any more restricted by its durability than we did with all the likes of the Galaxy S, Desire HD or maybe Droid X, its direct competitors in the Android big leagues.

 
 LG Optimus 2X Software package

Not to put too fine a point on this, LG, but each and every your dual-core beastphone seem like an 18-month old HTC Main character?

Reading the spec sheet, you'd expect lag around the LG Optimus 2X to be measured in flaps of your hummingbird's wings, but the mildly changed Android homescreens plod along in the fashion that's appreciably worse than what you'd get on the real Hummingbird devices, Samsung's Galaxy S versions. UI responsiveness on the 2X can be defined as mediocre, which we discover a mind-boggling development as the hardware is obviously fast enough. It's vital that you note that applications bunch as fast or faster than other Android handsets we've encounter, it's just that navigating in their eyes and through the 2X's possibilities didn't feel as snappy once we would have liked. The final code simply doesn't check out have been optimized along with it should have also been -- a suspicion corroborated simply by our unfortunate knack for finding solutions to crash applications. For case, our review unit's Gallery app crashes whenever we exit it via the trunk button after entering it through the Clock application. We found that bug without even trying to find it, never a good sign.

Worse yet, the 2X's relatively unresponsive behaviour isn't exactly sparing program resources. We installed Advanced Process Killer (which we also was able to crash, woohoo! ) around the 2X and even after clearing out the many apps running in the setting, the highest amount of memory we're able to free up was 210MB. Which means that of the device's 512MB regarding available RAM, a good 300MB are taken on by the OS per se. That's a hefty footprint to have the fact that that 256MB of RAM was the standard among smartphones until not too long ago.

LG Optimus 2X

 One of many culprits for this deficiency of frugality is the Songs app, which is impossible to de-activate because its controls are incorporated into Android's window-shade slide-down selection. That integration in alone isn't actually the worst idea on this planet -- and neither are the rest of LG's moderate modifications towards Android interface. Contact pages are spruced up in the well organized and rational manner, the messaging application includes a delightful little drop-down preview of one's latest unread text, and the calendar and weather / clock widgets will also be nice extras to have got. There's a boilerplate social networking updater, which can mail your status out for you to Twitter, Facebook and Myspace at the same time. That part's good, the Twitter for LG and Facebook for LG apps will not be.

The LG Optimus 2X's saving grace is equivalent to that of many the Motoblur handset: LauncherPro. Anyone familiar with the remedial effects involving installing this little Android skin on the phone will know that your laggy default UI is simply something you look at to the 30 or so seconds it requires you to open the Market and download Federico Carnales' masterwork. Any qualms we have about the LG Optimus 2X's smoothness evaporate into nothing with LauncherPro in influence, and we even discovered the phone's unlocking cartoon -- whose appearance is still unchanged -- felt snappier.

LauncherPro spots over, but it won't fully heal LG's gaping software program wound. We still were able to clunk applications into inability, which was an sad reminder of what lies beneath the skin. LG's evident weakness on the software front shouldn't be overstated when it comes to its impact today -- iphone app glitches were sporadic in lieu of regular -- but it's a major sticking point should you be hoping the company will deliver a capable Gingerbread for the 2X. Of course, Froyo has been around for over half a year, yet the best thing we can easily say about LG's treatment on the OS is that "it doesn't crash too much. " Would you genuinely bet your mobile updating future on a track record like that will?
Tegra Zone.

[LG OPTIMUS 2X] nVIDIA Tegra2 Dual Core Android SmartPhone

 

  continuing theme through our computer hardware testing was that Tegra 2's total potential has yet to become tapped. NVIDIA is working hard on correcting that and possesses enrolled the makers in the Unreal Engine into its development program to ensure that upcoming graphically intensive games take advantage of the extra power the new hardware offers. The particular Tegra Zone, a installed app on all Tegra 2 devices, will be central to the present effort. It'll present NVIDIA-curated online games, videos, trailers, and iphone app recommendations that showcase the chip's superiority. Devs are being encouraged to create graphically fancier versions of their games specifically for Tegra 2 -- as the makers of Galaxy on fire 2, Dungeon Defenders and Samurai 2 previously done -- with a presence from the Zone serving as his or her reward. You might call up it fragmentation, but NVIDIA would likely call it just great business.

Update: LG has gotten in-tuned to say the Tegra Sector app was left with our review handset unintentionally and won't ship along with devices. NVIDIA is still in the act of testing its application out and you'll likely have to download it through the Android Market if you'd like it on your full price 2X. On the additional hand, NVIDIA itself features promised to preload the Zone on phones in addition to tablets running its silicon, we're just guessing it'll do so once said testing has been concluded.

Either way, NVIDIA's clout with coders and considerable budget look planning to secure Tegra 2 some sort of bright and increasingly beneficial future. In the quick, however, this powerful new chip's biggest contributions towards smartphone realm will probably be 1080p video recording and output plus a dash of added gaming oomph.

Wrap-up

We started off by referring to LG's failure to make itself known among the Android elite to now. Up till now, the Korean giant has not so much as hinted in threatening the incumbents on top of the Android pile, plus the 2X is therefore its most crucial smartphone launch, well... ever. It carries the hopes and aspirations of the entire multinational corporation, and if you'd like any evidence of precisely how important mobile hardware has become, just go check out there LG's latest quarterly in addition to annual fiscal results. This phone matters. And it should matter to us the maximum amount of as it does to help LG, because everyone benefits from having another legit big-timer competing with the high end. Then maybe we won't should sit through umpteen different variations about the Galaxy S formula via Samsung or HTC's exhibition of "13 solutions to repackage a Desire HD. ".

LG Optimus 2X

 Fortunately for LG is it's built a very solid foundation for itself with all the LG Optimus 2X -- Tegra 2 is surely an undeniably powerful, multicore buildings, one that's only going to expand in importance and value even as move forward, and all of those other phone's specs all complement to our basic expectations of the top tier handset. Building is robust, finely thorough and generally unobtrusive. The screen might not have anything Super over it, but as LCDs proceed, it's a very good one. Where we were being left disappointed, however, what food was in the company's software setup. Neat little tweaks to Android's default interface failed to obscure the truth that the LG Optimus 2X is neither as responsive neither as stable as it must be. You might be competent to rectify those flaws by installing among the inevitable avalanche of custom ROMs that this device will benefit from, but we're here to review LG's own performance and we obtain the failure to deliver an honest platform inexcusable.

The LG Optimus 2X delivers great, benchmark-elevating hardware, but can't earn our stamps until it gets the software kinks straightened out there. As it stands today, it's a great doll for developers and enthusiasts that offers the rest of us a tantalizing glimpse at what famous brands the Atrix 4G in addition to Galaxy S2 might bring because the smartphone world continues the move toward multicore units.

 

 

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Eurocom Bringing GeForce GTX 880M to Its Type of High Performance Gaming Laptops

Eurocom is shipping the actual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M within single and SLI (Dual) configuration from the line of fully configurable, VGA upgradeable, high end gaming laptops.

The addition on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, the best performance mobile solution coming from NVIDIA, gives Eurocom customers a much better choice of GPUs for you to power their gaming laptop using a graphics card to healthy every performance level.

Eurocom NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M

"Eurocom created the X series of gaming laptops so your gaming clients can could discover their dark side, the performance, capability as well as design are unmatched" Draw Bialic, Eurocom el Presidente.

The particular NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M graphics card has 1536 CUDA cores operating at 954 MHz + raise with 8 GB GDDR5 recollection running at 2500 MHz. In SLI the a pair of 880M graphics cards offer users up to a whopping 16 GB DDR5 video memory and 3072 CUDA cores offering Eurocom users simply unbelievable performance.

The 15. 6" EUROCOM X3 as well as 17. 3" EUROCOM X5 and X7 include high resolution 1920x1080 FHD shows, upgradeable Intel Core i7 serious processors, next generation NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M graphics, multiple storage options (up in order to 5 physical drives) or more to 32 GB associated with DDR3-1600/1866 memory.

The NVIDIA GeForce is faster plus much more power efficient than the prior generation and offers numerous cool new features. The particular 880M features blazing overall performance, battery saving technologies for instance new NVIDIA Battery Increase, and the addition associated with cool new gaming features for instance ShadowPlay and GameStream.

The 880M comes with GPU Boost 2. 0 for overclocking allowing for maximum performance.

Enjoying the latest content is centered on visuals. The Eurocom type of high performance Gaming Lap tops support beautiful full hi-d 1080p 1920x1080 matte and glossy displays with all the option to go that has a fast refresh 120 Hz screen.

In the new type of Eurocom gaming notebooks, customers develop the options of configuring nearly 5 storage drives, by using two mSATA solid condition drives, and two hard or solid state storage space drives, an additional storage drive can also replace the optical drive. This allows for a wide range of RAID options.

Personalize your individual Eurocom laptop weapon that has a custom backlit keyboard, together with 7 colours, 3 zones and 8 modes you are able to dominate and stand out there.

Eurocom Gaming Laptops encouraging NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M
EUROCOM X3 -- 15. 6"

• VGA Engineering: MXM 3. 0; Easy to Upgrade;
• Display: 15. 6-inch FHD 1920-by-1080 together with Glossy (Glare) or Matte (Non-Glare); GUIDED Backlit
• Chipset: Intel HM87 (Haswell) Cellular Express Chipset
• Processor: independence day Generation Intel Mobile i7 Primary; up to i7-4930MX Excessive
• Memory: up to thirty-two GB; DDR3L-1866/DDR3L-1600; 4 RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY sockets
• Storage: up in order to 5 drives; 2x HDD/SSD (SATA3) + 2x mSATA (SATA3) + 1x HDD/SSD by way of ODD Bay (SATA2); RAID 0/1/5/10
• Card Reader: 9-in-1 MMC/RSMMC/SD/miniSD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo
• Optical Push: DVD-RW or Blu Ray-RW or maybe extra HDD/SSD
• Keyboard: Iluminated, backlit together with customizable 7-colours
• Webcam: 2M FHD 1920x1080; 30fps; together with Samsung HD sensor
• Head unit: Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3; external 7. 1CH audio end result; headphone out, microphone with, S/PDIF and Line-in interface; two built-in ONKYO Loudspeakers (2. 2W)+ Subwoofer (2. 5W)
• Ports: DisplayPort 1. 2; HDMI out there; Mini Display 1. 2; 1x eSATA/USB 3. 0; 3x UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS 3. 0 (1x Run USB AC/DC); 1x UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS 2. 0; S/PDIF; Headphone; Microphone; Line-in; Firewire-400; RJ45 (LAN)
• Excess weight and dimensions: 3. 3kg (7. 26lbs); WxDxH 375x268x22-45mm (15x10. 72x0. 88-1. 8 inch)

EUROCOM X5 -- 17. 3"

• VGA Engineering: MXM 3. 0; Easy to Upgrade;
• Display: 15. 6-inch FHD 1920-by-1080 together with Glossy (Glare) or Matte (Non-Glare); GUIDED Backlit
• Chipset: Intel HM87 (Haswell) Cellular Express Chipset
• Processor: Intel 4th Generation Mobile nearly i7-4930MX Extreme; socket primarily based; easy to upgrade
• Ram: up to 32 GB; high performance DDR3L-1866/DDR3L-1600; 4 RAM sockets; easy to upgrade
• Storage: up to 5 hard disks; 2x HDD/SSD (SATA3) + 2x mSATA (SATA3) + 1x HDD/SSD by way of ODD Bay (SATA2); RAID 0/1/5/10
• Card Reader: 9-in-1 MMC/RSMMC/SD/miniSD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo
• Optical Push: Blu Ray-RW, DVD-RW or maybe extra HDD/SSD Drive
• Key-board: Iluminated, backlit with custom 7-colours
• Webcam: 2M FHD 1920x1080; 30fps; together with Samsung HD sensor
• Head unit: Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3; external 7. 1CH audio end result; headphone out, microphone with, S/PDIF and Line-in interface; two built-in ONKYO Loudspeakers (2. 2W)+ Subwoofer (2. 5W)
• Ports: DisplayPort 1. 2; HDMI out there; Mini Display 1. 2; 1x eSATA/USB 3. 0; 3x UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS 3. 0 (1x Run USB AC/DC); 1x UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS 2. 0; S/PDIF; Headphone; Microphone; Line-in; Firewire-400; RJ45 (LAN)
• Excess weight and dimensions: 4. 1kg (9lbs); WxDxH 414x286x25. 3-46. 1mm (16. 56x11. 44x10-1. 84")

EUROCOM X7 -- 17. 3"

• VGA Engineering: supports both SLI as well as CrossFire; MXM 3. 0; Easy to Upgrade;
• Display: 17. 3-inch FHD 1920-by-1080 together with Glossy (Glare) or Matte (Non-Glare); 120Hz Optional; LED Backlit
• Chipset: Intel M87 Cellular Express (Haswell)
• Processor: independence day Generation Intel Mobile Primary i7 4xxx series; nearly i7-4930MX Extreme with O/C service
• Memory: up to thirty-two GB; DDR3L-1866/DDR3L-1600; 4 RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY sockets
• Storage: up in order to 5 drives; 2x HDD/SSD (SATA3) + 2x mSATA (SATA3) + 1x HDD/SSD by way of ODD Bay (SATA2); RAID 0/1/5/10
• Card Reader: 9-in-1 MMC/RSMMC/SD/miniSD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo
• Optical Push: DVD-RW, Blu Ray-RW or maybe extra HDD/SSD
• Keyboard: Iluminated, backlit together with customizable 7-colours
• Security: TPM 1. 2, Fingerprint and Kensington Fastener
• Webcam: two webcams: 5M (front cover) as well as 1M (backcover); FHD
• Head unit: Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3; external 7. 1CH audio end result; headphone out, microphone with, S/PDIF and Line-in interface; two built-in ONKYO Loudspeakers (2. 2W)+ Subwoofer (2. 5W)
• Ports: 1x Thunderbolt; 1x DP 1. 2 (via Thunderbolt port) 1x HDMI out there; 1x eSATA/USB 3. 0; 4x UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS 3. 0 (1x Run USB AC/DC); 1x UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS 2. 0; S/PDIF; Headphone; Microphone; Line-in; RJ45 (LAN)
• Excess weight and dimensions: 4. 0kg (8. 8lbs); WxDxH 419x295x42-54. 8mm (16. 76x11. 8x1. 68-2. 19")

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M Specifications:

• 954 MHz + raise Engine Clock
• 1536 CUDA Cores
• 8 GB GDDR5 Ram
• 2500 MHz Memory Time clock
• 256-bit GDDR5 memory program
• DirectX 11. 2
• Shader 5. 0
• Open GL: 4. 4
• NVIDIA SLI All set
• GPU Boost 2. 0
• OpenCL 1. 1 as well as Direct Compute.

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20 Factors LG’s Android Skin Is fairly Awesome Actually

For the past few months, my biggest technology dilemma was whether I will get the LG G2 or lose time waiting for the Nexus 5 being released. I had previously acquired an LG Optimus 4X and I wasn’t in any respect averse to LG’s Optimus URINARY INCONTINENCE, but I had likewise tried the Nexus 4 and Recently i purchased a Nexus 7 so I knew what's so great about a pure Android expertise.

As fate would get it, I won the LG G2 at the launch event in my own country, and I are using it for over fourteen days as my main system. The screen, the digital camera, the battery life, your processor and speed, … everything about the unit is mightily impressive along with the best of Android at the moment — and probably for months to come. But I’m not the first person to say which.

The opinion discordance is when you mention LG’s Operating system skin, with some evaluations calling it the G2′s Achilles heel. For as many cellular enthusiasts who appreciate that skin, there is an similar amount who dislike it and I've got seen it described with a great deal of colorful adjectives from “a weak man’s Touch wiz” to “cartoony”, “rainbow-like”, “tacky”… Therefore for once, I want to dispel the misconceptions relating to this topic. Join me following the break as I show you why you shouldn’t disregard LG’s Android skin and so quickly.

1. Home screen Creating to order

The first thing you observe at phone announcements and demonstrations may be the launcher and the principal home screen. While LG hasn’t done a dreadful job of picking your G2′s wallpapers, widgets, in addition to notification bar indicators, the icon choice may be the biggest culprit in their default introduction on the device. It is flamboyant, slightly reminiscent of Samsung’s Touch wiz, and doesn’t do the company any favors with regard to differentiation.

However, thankfully, LG means that you can pick different themes because of its launcher. Over twenty themes or templates are downloadable from LG Smart World, with most being quite cartoonist, nevertheless Biz, Simple Thin and Marine Look should work well should you prefer a more sober look on your phone. These themes also bring using them new wallpapers, new docks in addition to app drawer backgrounds. Pushing the customization further, LG has another rare feature amongst out-of-the-box launchers: you can pick any kind of image file and assign it as a possible icon, allowing you a amount of personalization that you commonly only expect from the kind of Nova Launcher and Pinnacle Launcher.
Downloading themes coming from LG Smart World (left) in addition to 3 different theme icons (right)

Downloading themes coming from LG Smart World (left) in addition to 3 different theme icons (right)

Another neat addition is to be able to remove and add home screens, if you only need to have several home screens, you can take away the others and keep the ones you want, for swifter scrolling between them.

2. Drawer Customization

The second most important thing in an Android device may be the app drawer as it should provide the simplest way to access all ones apps. Aside from adding a handy search substitute for filter your apps, LG’s default drawer is usually chock-full of options to help you tailor it to your requirements. You can switch concerning 4×5 and 5×5 grids, arrange the apps by alphabetical buy, download date or manually organize them. You can hide app icons if you'd like to cluttered your list.

Most importantly, you can pick a new transparent background or a couple of white options or a new black one. I personally prefer the “Darkness” wallpaper the way it provides the most contrast while using icons and makes it easier to find the app I want.

The app drawer background can be set to transparent (left) or a few other wallpapers, like this black one (right)

3. Keyboard Themes

Continuing using the customization features of LG’s skin, the default keyboard is included with four different themes. Additional ones can be downloaded from LG Smart World so you can pick the one that you like best.

Picking up a theme for the LG keyboard (left) or downloading more from LG SmartWorld (right)

4. Emoji Input

Emoji support on Android is a hit-and-miss and its implementation on the default Google keyboard can be clumsy at best. I had to spend several hours ever before researching the different ways to insert emojis, and given having less available information on the subject, I ended up refined all my findings within The best way to Work with Emojis on your own Android os Gadget.

LG simplifies this process by offering visual emoji feedback on their keyboard out from the box. Click the designs and smiley face key, and you have usage of pages upon pages of emojis ready for just a quick insert. These have received a graphical lifting from LG, and they look better than the WhatsApp/iPhone emojis as well as the monochromatic black vanilla Android os emojis.

Emojis on the LG keyboard are extensive and well designed.

 5. Font Changing

One of the first stuffs that irritated me about the G2 when i first turned it in was the font the unit was using. SmartGothic is acceptable for the quick glance, but it isn’t really made for continuous usage over a long time. Also, it looks just a little dated. That’s why I ended up being glad to see you can pick a different font, especially since Roboto was between the pre-installed options. LG SmartWorld also provides a few additional fonts, but they’re all very Comic Sans-like at this time.

6. Customizable Software Switches

I used to like hardware buttons, like in my Galaxy S3, but the Nexus 4 changed my personal mind about onscreen switches. While vanilla Android currently is sold with unmodifiable — unless you root your device — computer software buttons, LG chose to offer a few options to be able to its users. You can pick amongst 6 designs, all including Back, Property, Menu, with or without a fourth Notification drop-down or perhaps a QuickMemo button. The background may also be chosen between Black as well as White, with or without gradients.

Setting up the software buttons layout and background.

I'm sure that LG missed the mark here by taking the Menu button instead of Multitasking, but I personally don’t utilize the Multitasking screen all much, and it is even now accessible from any app by long-pressing on Property.

7. Customizable Toggles

From the time that 4. 2, Android has offered a simple Settings panel on the notification drop-down with a few toggles to permit and disable some connectivity and also other features on the equipment. LG decided to sidestep that and keep their own toggles along with the main notification drop-down. We can easily argue about which approach 's best — I prefer everything for being on one drop-down — but the important fact is that LG helps you customize the toggles for this list.

You can add, remove and reorder pretty much every feature you might want instant access to on your phone, including ones that aren’t on vanilla Android, like Miracast, the LED notification light, and much more.

These are the available quick toggles you can enable and re-arrange.

8. Improved Gallery

The G2 is one of the first phones that made me believe that I don’t need to put in a third-party Gallery a great optimal access to my own photos. First, it divides the Albums regarding the on-device pictures, network-shared photographs, Picasa and other Foriegn accounts (Dropbox), so you don’t have to endure hoops to remove dozens of Picasa/Google+ photos from much of your view. Second, it allows you to Show/Hide any folders, in addition to copy and move items between them, as easily as you can.

The LG Gallery separates your local photos from Picasa and the cloud (left), and lets you hide specific albums (right).

 9. Clip Tray

I've got previously used Clipper to help keep a history of the copied items, and even discovered a similar option around the Galaxy Tab range. That’s why I was super stoked to find out a clipboard manager around the G2. Whenever you copy a service, be it a piece of text or an picture, it gets added to the Clip Tray, which can house up to twenty items. When it is advisable to paste, you can easily paste the final item or access the Clip Tray to take previously copied ones.

The Clip Tray holds a history of up to twenty text or image items that can be removed at any time.

The truth that this option is built-in and always available gives me some peace of mind when I’m hopping involving apps, copying and pasting back links and text, and using my phone being a productivity tool.

10. QuickMemo

Apart from the Clip Tray, one of the most used functions on my own G2 is QuickMemo. This feature had been present on the Optimus 4X HARLEY-DAVIDSON, but has been made more awesome on the G2. You possibly can launch QuickMemo from this notification toggles or, more desirable now, by sliding your finger from the software buttons to the center of the screen.

QuickMemo permits you to annotate anything on this screen, with different sign types and colors, and even crop a specific part of the screen, then save it or even directly share it to a different app, without ever being forced to take a screenshot very first. It’s fast and as soon as you use it a few times, you simply get hooked to saving and annotating many screens.

QuickMemo can be launched with a swipe (left) and lets you crop and annotate anything on your screen (right).

11. Enable and Disable QSlide

The reason behind everyone’s hatred involving LG’s skin, and the culprit behind it being termed “bloated” is QSlide. It’s an option in which launches apps as pop-up windows over other apps. Although QSlide can be useful when for you to do a little calculation as well as browse something while keeping much of your app in the backdrop, its presence in the notification drop-down helps it be honestly very clunky.

Thank goodness, you can add any toggle for QSlide while using the other ones, for a quick way to disable and also enable the Qslide reel of apps. I usually keep it off on mine, to have much more room for notifications, but quickly enable it when I would like to launch the calculator, generally.

QSlide apps can be toggled on or off to clean up the notification drop-down.

12. WCDMA-Only Function

Vanilla Android — and a lot other Android skins — offer you 2 different data processes: Dual Mode (where the product connects preferably to 3G nevertheless hops to 2G when it can’t keep a signal) and 2G-only (which helps you to save some battery in areas without having 3G connection). However, LG also have allowed for a 3G-only function, where you force your phone to keep onto 3G even if your signal is a tad weak. This saves you from being forced to wait for the device to switch to 2G and then back to 3G, it also guarantees you’re receiving the speediest connection available.

13. Level Bluetooth Devices as Honest

I use Bluetooth in many cases to transfer photos between my phones or having my computers, but being forced to manually approve each exchange gets tiring. LG allows you to set some bluetooth gadgets as trusted, so whenever a file is being sent from one too, it is always accepted as well as the transfer begins immediately.

14. Spam Management in SMS

A recent discovery of mine is the G2′s Spam Inbox and its particular settings. SMS can be automatically sent to the Spam Inbox based with keywords, phone numbers, and you will even direct any unknown number with it. Goodbye useless ads!

Spam message settings.

15. LED Controls for Individual Contacts

The G2 comes with a LED notification light having support for different shades. In the phone’s options, you can enable and disable a number of the actions that trigger the particular LED, but one hidden functionality is a chance to dedicate a specific color to some contact. That way you can certainly tell if you’ve missed a call or received a message from this special person before you even turn your display on.

LED notifications can be set by function (left) but you can also assign specific colors to your contacts, like you would a ringtone (right).

16. Charge Only as a Default USB Connection Technique

One of the characteristics I hate about vanilla Android is the point that it only offers MTP and PTP modes if you connect your phone towards the computer. Given that I personally use a Mac with Android File Transfer, every time I just want to charge my own phones, I plug them in to the Mac’s USB port and also Android File Transfer starts automatically. It really annoys me personally. But LG has included a Charge Phone alternative which doesn’t trigger any kind of software and lets your phone be aware that you only want for you to top the battery up.

17. USB Storage and also Earphone App Panel

When you connect a USB safe-keeping device or earphones towards the G2, the phone will show a smaller panel of apps that you are most likely going for you to launch now. You can certainly enable/disable this panel, and set up the apps as well as the order in which they appear for each one of the accessory types — practical!

Enabling the app panel upon the connection of a USB Storage device (left) and picking the default apps that show up in it (right).

18. Camera Enhancements

The Camera interface upon vanilla Android is considered one of its weakest links, and LG have inked well by changing that. The flash, front/back digital camera toggle, and Mode are always present about the screen for quick admittance. But, most importantly, the camera app allows you to set which shutter sound you desire (including silent) and what the amount keys would serve pertaining to (capture or zoom).

19. Guest Mode

Guest Mode is amongst the newly introduced LG features about the G2. Basically, it enables you to set two different patterns to unlock for your phone. One of them accesses your device because it is, with all the actual apps and settings available. The other is a guest mode where an individual control which apps are shown. Settings and the notification bar and drop-downs aren’t easily obtainable in Guest Mode, so you can hand the device to your kids or friends without allowing them to lurk around your personal content.

Setting up the accessible apps on Guest Mode (left) and how it shows up for your guest (right).

20. Pop-Up Messages and Calls

Whenever you've got any app open and you receive a phone telephone or an SMS, the G2 automatically shows these kind of as pop-up windows, with all the option to answer or decline the phone call, or to reply to the SMS there without needing to open the Phone as well as the Messaging apps.

Previous Words

LG has amassed some bad rep for Android skin, and rather the criticism is justified. The default settings — symbols, font, keyboard color, Qslide apps in the notification drop-down — are a bit too much. But once you understand that every option in these kind of is customizable, and that they almost gave you entire freedom to personalize many issues with the experience, you can forgive them because of it.

Also, many of the options combined with the LG skin are quite useful i think. The Clip Tray and QuickMemo for example have become an inclusive element of my smartphone usage and allow it to be worth “putting up” with a few of the other quirks. Yes, you will discover obviously quirks that We haven’t mentioned here, but they pale in comparison to the amount of handy options interspersed in the software.

I’ve said this before, and I may say it again: if I've got to use an Android device mainly because it is, without rooting this and installing a tailor made ROM, I would select an LG phone. And this is exactly what I’m doing with the G2: I haven’t fitted any custom ROM yet, despite my love for those things modding and tweaking, because I’m not wanting to lose what LG have added in their own skin.

And that says a lot, coming from someone that has so far run tailor made ROMs for 32 out of 34 months that she’s been using Android devices.

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Hands On With the Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung Galaxy S5
The newest Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 5. 1-inch display along with a plastic material entire body. Observe that Samsung provides nicely toned down it is software package preloads -- they are nevertheless presently there (look on the bottom) nevertheless they are certainly not since overpowering since previous to.

Samsung Galaxy S5

 Samsung Galaxy S5 Show
This S5's present is basically amazing. Some sort of customized chips alterations the screen's colour gamut in line with the encircling gentle, to ensure the colorings generally really take. It does not just aid out-of-doors; pictures search greater everywhere you go.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Show

 Samsung Galaxy S5 Back
 Your S5's back is actually uneven cheap, such as Samsung Universe Take note 3. Beneath the actual 16-megapixel camera, you will find there's pulse rate sensor anyone rest ones kids finger on.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Back

 Samsung Galaxy S5 Heart Rate

 Fit ones finger on the heartrate sensor, and the Azines Health and fitness application says to you ones heartrate. The item keeps track of the idea, far too.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Heart Rate

 Samsung Galaxy S5 Widgets
Those custom Samsung widgets are still around, too. Here, we have S Health and an icon for the protected Kids Mode. There's also an Easy Mode for older folks.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Widgets

Samsung Galaxy S5 S Health

 Here are some in the popular features of Utes Health, which often aspires to work with the revolutionary Products only two timepieces for you to course an individual all the time.

Samsung Galaxy S5 S Health

 Samsung Galaxy S5 Top

There's an IR blaster and headphone port on top of the Galaxy S5.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Top

Samsung Galaxy S5 Side

I am just a little let down within the chromed plastic material attributes from the Galaxy S5, that really feel a little inexpensive.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Side

Samsung Galaxy S5 Fingerprint Scanner

Swipe lower about the house switch to make use of this like a fingerprint scanning device.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Fingerprint Scanner

 Samsung Galaxy S5 Fingerprint

 The actual scanning device does not simply uncover your own telephone -- you may also utilize it to purchase points by way of PayPal. You will see a good SDK, as well.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Fingerprint

Samsung Galaxy S5 Camera Modes

The actual scanning device does not simply uncover your own telephone -- you may also utilize it to purchase points by way of PayPal. You will see a good SDK, as well.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Camera Modes

Samsung Galaxy S5 USB Port

  The actual Galaxy S5 is actually water-resistant, therefore it's HARDWARE plug-ins tend to be included in the connect. Indeed, this utilizes which strange HARDWARE 3 jack port how the Be aware 3 utilizes.

Samsung Galaxy S5 USB Port

 Samsung Galaxy S5 Multitasking

 Samsung's multitasking user interface is actually daring as well as obvious.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Multitasking

Samsung Galaxy S5 My Magazine

 My personal Journal is actually Samsung's riff about the Flipboard idea.

Samsung Galaxy S5 My Magazine

Samsung Galaxy S5 Waterproof Seal

 The actual Galaxy S5 includes a detachable back again; spot the water-resistant close off round the within.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Waterproof Seal

Samsung Galaxy S5 Colors

  The Galaxy S5 will come in four colors.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Colors

Samsung Galaxy S5 Power Saving Mode

 Whenever electric battery operates reduced, the actual S5 may decrease for this ultra-low-power, black and white setting in order to dual the actual electric battery existence.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Power Saving Mode

 Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung Apps

Samsung Centre is finished like a preload, however Samsung's application shop continues to be right here. You should use your own fingerprint in order to authenticate you to ultimately purchase applications.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung Apps

Samsung Galaxy S5 Cases

 Obviously, the actual Galaxy S5 will offer you a variety of instances, too.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Cases

 

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