In The Zone

In The Zone

Manli GeForce GT 220 And GT 210 Graphics Cards: A Different Kind Of Implementation

littlelion | 19 November, 2009 14:20

NVIDIA’s entry level entrants, the GeForce GT 220 and GT 210 graphics cards, have been around the block for quite some time. Given that, we are anticipating that most of you are already familiar with what to expect with these cards in terms of specifications and performance. We reiterate that these graphics cards embody NVIDIA’s first attempt to use the 40nm fabrication process.

At the graphics card manufacturers’ end, the real challenge for them with the GeForce GT 220 and GT 210 GPUs is the matter of implementation. Being branded as entry level, a designation which is quite synonymous with the annoying low end status, the GT 220 and GT 210 might be a yawn for many buyers who are wary about performance. Nevertheless, since they are among the cheapest and newest graphics solutions in the wild these days, they remain decent attractions for budget-conscious consumers.

WeSC Maraca Circumaural Headphones: A New Thing To Our Ears And Yours Too!

littlelion | 17 November, 2009 14:48

We are the Superlative Conspiracy. Not we but they are. If you were a bit confused, we are referring to the Sweden-based company which is popularly called as WeSC and casually known as We. They have been known as a clothing brand since 1999, purely associated with underground culture, street fashion and skateboarding. Later on, they added headphones to their product array, which show off relatively avant-garde designs. Needless to say, that is to match the unconventional taste of the young and young-at-heart which are WeSC’s key audience.

For sampling, our friends from H2O Republic sent us the WeSC Maraca and upon seeing it, we immediately felt that we were too tired of seeing cans that come in black, white or silver color conventions. The Maraca was a refreshing sight indeed and we instantly fell in love with its black and red color pattern. But just in case it is not your cup of tea, feel free to drop by WeSC’s homepage to see Maraca’s other funky color schemes as well as headset models that are on offer.

Samsung Printer Launch In Singapore: Ushering In The New Age Of Web Printing

littlelion | 12 November, 2009 10:42

Large-scale success stories do not happen overnight. Depending on the external and internal variables that are present, the achievement of a goal may take several years before it gets accomplished. Take for instance the case of Samsung’s laser printer business. After years of hard work, the Korean giant is now savoring the fruits of its labor. Just last year, the company added a mind-shattering USD 550 million to its coffers, and recorded 15% annual growth rate. In spite of these flattering figures, Samsung is still discontented. Samsung’s grand ambition is to claim the top spot in global laser printer market by the end of the decade.

With that said, every course of action that Samsung took this year is geared towards that clear objective. For 2009, the company chose Web printing as their key selling point in order to stand out among the competition. Samsung put stress on this proposition on two separate occasions: first at IFA 2009 in Berlin; and more lately, at the regional conference in Singapore. Fortunately, Samsung gave us the opportunity to cover the highlights and sidelights of the latter event, so here they are.

ASUS P5G41-M LE Motherboard: Intel G41 Chipset In The Limelight

littlelion | 10 November, 2009 13:27

ASUS is swinging into high gear these days. Just a few weeks back, the renowned PC components and computer manufacturer staged the ASUS My Eee PC Fair at SM North EDSA, where the winners of the My Eee PC My Life Blogging contest were recognized and awarded with exciting prizes. Fresh from that affair, the dynamic team of ASUS Philippines is now making some noise once more for the upcoming finals of the ASUS Xtreme Domination: The Quest for the Fastest PC Builder. We are hoping that you would not miss the said event which is scheduled to happen in SM Manila this Saturday.

In the meantime, while we are bracing ourselves for the outcome of the contest, we took a peek at one of the ASUS motherboards that hit our labs recently. In the spotlight today is the Windows 7-ready ASUS P5G41-M LE motherboard.

Razer Naga MMO Laser Gaming Mouse: Adding Imba To Your Gaming Lingo

littlelion | 05 November, 2009 15:59

Unusual gaming peripherals are no longer new to us. A few months back, we wrote about a peculiar gameboard that was loaned to us for quite some time. This month, Razer, through their local distributor, American Technologies Inc., brought us the ergonomic Razer Naga MMO laser gaming mouse.

Upon seeing the product, some of us were quite intrigued about the message that is labeled on the side of its packaging. It says “Get Imba”. The most avid gamer among us said that “imba” is a gamer lingo for imbalanced. Particularly for those who are into “World of Warcraft”, the word is normally used to describe someone who or something which is too strong. It could also mean too weak, although the latter meaning is seldom used. In the case of the Naga, we are certain that Razer is capitalizing on the positive aspect of the term.

JVC PICSIO GC-FM1 HD Pocket Camcorder: High Definition Comes In A Small Package

littlelion | 03 November, 2009 13:51

It is not hard to fall in love with pocket camcorders these days. Although they are not as powerful and feature-packed as their larger counterparts, these mini wonders are indeed discreet, pocketable, and easy to use. Shooting photos and videos with pocket camcorders is practically just the same as you would with a mobile phone, allowing you to capture moments as they happen.

One of the pocket camcorders that we spotted lately came from JVC’s camp – the PICSIO GC-FM1. The PICSIO designation means that the GC-FM1 belongs to a new family of imaging devices which is separate from the popular Everio series. Consumers can choose among the three colors available, namely Black Ice, Blue Steel, and Purple Passion. In our case, our friends from JVC Philippines gave us the purple model. Because of its size and glitzy shell, this JVC could be easily mistaken for a teen’s handset or a portable media player (PMP) at a glimpse.

Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Power Supply Unit: Renewing The Legacy

littlelion | 29 October, 2009 18:08

Think of an article of trade that you could instantly correlate with Antec. Without a shred of doubt, what most of you would think of is a power supply unit (PSU), if not fancy casings such as the Antec Skeleton. The California-based company has been known for PSUs for years, and if you are mindful about a certain brand from their stable, that could be the TruePower product line.

Providing evidence of its popularity, the Antec TruePower branched off into two series, namely the Quattro and the Trio. This year, sometime in February, Antec threw in another range of PSUs into the TruePower lineup dubbed as the TruePower New, primarily comprised of models available in 550W, 650W, and 750W power ratings. But what’s actually new with the TruePower New? Join us as we find out.

Palit GeForce GT 210 And GT 220 Sonic Edition Graphics Cards: 40nm On Budget

littlelion | 27 October, 2009 13:51

Our friends from PC Trends, Inc., flooded us with a lot of graphics cards from Palit lately. The cards that we had were based on NVIDIA’s entry level GPUs for the GeForce 200 series, namely the GT 220 and the GT 210. The most interesting fact about these GPUs is that they are NVIDIA’s first chips which were manufactured using the 40nm process. Most members of the GeForce 200 series were produced using the 55nm technology.

As a rule of thumb in the field of nanotechnology, a lower number would mean smaller die size, lesser power consumption, and cooler temperature for GPUs. But do these benefits really occur in actuality at all times? We leave that question hanging, but we do assure you that it is going to be answered in the coming issues of HWM Philippines. For the meantime, let’s take a peek at the Palit graphics cards piece by piece.

Apple MacBook Pro Notebook: Come Bite This Apple!

littlelion | 20 October, 2009 10:59

In a world dominated by Windows-based notebooks, the smaller base of MacBook users is invincible. They may be fanatics, but we cannot blame them. There is certainly something in Apple’s MacBook that even those who have been wedded with Windows for years would file for divorce and say “I do” with a MacBook. Like the fruit that had caused the first couple to sin, this Apple is also tempting, only that this time, no mischievous imp is involved.

The new MacBook Pro is actually part of the updated line of MacBooks, with a unibody aluminum build that was unveiled at Apple's WWDC 2009 last June. As most of us already know, the unibody aluminum construction is consistent through other members of the MacBook family. With that said, discoloration as well as palm rest chipping, which were reported among polycarbonate models, are already things of the past.

Neo Launches Edge Ultraportable Notebook Series: Sharpening The Cutting-edge

littlelion | 15 October, 2009 13:50

For more than a week, we have been occupied by a series of product launches and events. Although this state of affairs is already a customary thing for us who are working in the field of IT journalism, the level of engagement is quite overwhelming at the moment. We are not making a protest, but rather thankful as the situation is an indication of a good business and harmonious relationships with the industry’s players.

One of the events that we attended just a couple of days ago was staged by Neo. The said Filipino company has been ardent and aggressive in reaching consciousness of consumers from various levels through new products and concept stores. Last year, we spotted Neo as one of the participants at COMDDAP. This time, Neo has launched the Edge as the latest addition to its other lines of notebook computers, namely Basic, Vivid, and Elan.

HP Photosmart And Deskjet Printer Launch: Touch, Print And Go!

littlelion | 13 October, 2009 10:26

Fresh from their regional conference last month, the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) of HP Philippines focused its energy once again on rolling out an array of printing solutions that is more consumer-centric. Going parallel with the popularity of touch-sensitive desktop and mobile devices in today’s market, HP unraveled the industry’s first complete consumer lineup of touch-enabled HP Photosmart printers.

Posing for the camera are HP Philippines’ IPG executives, Country General Manager Ms. Jenny Sotto-Siquioco and Market Development Manager Ms. Gizelle Villacorta, together with new models of HP Photosmart printers.

ASUS P7P55D Premium Intel P55-based Motherboard: Jumping Into The Fray

littlelion | 08 October, 2009 14:07

The Intel Lynnfield processors, along with the P55 chipset, have been enjoying a celebrity-like status since their debut last month. In that big picture, if there was a character which tech observers and consumers alike could hardly ignore, that would be ASUS. In response to the ongoing hype, the Taiwan-based company had launched the P7P55D Series, one of which, the Premium variant, hit our spot for a closer look.

The P7P55D Premium was not actually the first P55-based motherboard from ASUS that we ever met. Previously, we were able to lay our hands on the Deluxe and Evo. Sporting a black and blue color scheme, the Premium looks very similar to the boards mentioned.

ASUS UL80V UnLimited Series Notebook: Scaling Beyond The Limits

littlelion | 06 October, 2009 12:17

A couple of months ago, ASUS rolled out another bout of notebook computers that are powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor, dubbed as the UnLimited (UL) Series. This lineup is comprised of four key models (the UL20, UL30, UL50 and UL80) all characterized by their more or less 1-inch profile and brushed aluminum cover.

The name of the series itself connotes that these laptops have something more to offer up their sleeves, but do they really live up to the name? Our answer arrived in the form of the UL80V notebook.

Logitech Z103 2.1-channel Speaker Set: Standing On The Set Of Scales

littlelion | 01 October, 2009 14:08

In the light of the overflow of multimedia content nowadays, it is hard to imagine how consumers, like us, can enjoy them without good quality audio. Hitting the streets, stores brandish their monstrous 5.1- and 7.1-channel surround sound systems at an upmarket price. So in the midst of the towering speakers, there are the unassuming 2.1-channel speaker systems that offer decent performance without breaking the bank. One of them, the Logitech Z103, went to our scrutiny.

The Z103 is dressed in black with silver highlights, and sports a modern design that can suit to any style of its surrounding environment. Its subwoofer, a wooden enclosure geared with a 4-inch down-firing driver, is compact and stable enough that it can be placed on the top of a regular desktop tower. The whole speaker system weighs about 5 kilograms. In our observation, what makes it a bit heavy is the subwoofer’s enclosure. Snaking from it is the control pod in which the power button and volume knob are placed. The bass control is placed on the back of the subwoofer, along with the 3.5mm jack where the supplied satellites should be connected. The jack is also compatible with headphones. The satellite units come with 2-inch concave drivers and are relatively light. For specifications, check them out after the cut.

WD My Book, My Passport And SmartWare Launch: External HDD Array Extended

littlelion | 29 September, 2009 13:45

In 2000, the first commercial USB flash drive had a scant storage capacity of 8 megabytes. Today, you can buy a 256 gigabyte USB flash drive in simple terms. The big leap took less than a decade. Mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs) took more than 50 years to reach 256 gigabytes. Certainly, USB flash drives and other flash-based external storage devices are fast becoming more advanced than ever before.

WD My Book Essential

But in spite of this rapid development, external HDDs remain popular among consumers, mainly because they are less expensive than their non-mechanical counterparts. Nevertheless, manufacturers such as Western Digital (WD) are working zealously to make external HDDs not only price-attractive, but appealing in terms of physique, storage size and features. WD realized that way of thinking by unveiling their latest line of My Book and My Passport HDDs, along with the new SmartWare software.

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