The Zone

Hot on the heels of its 14" screen cousin, the Samsung NP-X360 flew into our arms for a little hands-on this month. With a 13.3" screen and doing its best to beat the Macbook Air with its ultra slim design, the X360 revealed a startling statistic in comparison to a normal 13.3" notebook of the same class. Read all about it in our latest issue of HWM. (HWM July 2009)

We managed to get some hands-on time with the apolco P3, another teeny tiny LED projector. After having seen the early adaptors (and been forlornly disappointed by them) we were quite happy to see one that finally seems to work. More or less about the same size as a thick cigarette pack, the LED projector seems to be the perfect companion for today's netbook toting presenter on the go. Check out the full review in our latest issue of HWM.

JVC recently launched two new ProHD video camcorders aimed at the professional cameraman. With the ability to record direct into full HD Quicktime or MP4 file formats these SDHC based camcorders offer top-of-the-line video performance at a fraction of the size and weight of current full HD video cameras. With the smaller model weighing in at a scant 1.4kg and featuring some awesome performance using built-in lens, these ProHD video cameras should have the pros and fanatics drooling. For a full report on what went down at the product launch check out our latest issue of HWM.

In a move to bring touchscreen smartphones to the masses, Samsung recently launched their new Star S5233 touchscreen smartphone. Featuring everything that a full fledged smartphone can do complete with fingertouch user interface, the Star is retailing below RM1K. Trying to boost awareness, Samsung have also launched an idol type contest in conjunction with the launch called the Be a Samsung Star and Shine challenge. For more info on the Samsung Star smartphone and the contest, check out  the full report in our latest issue of HWM.

Acer unveils classy product portfolio at sign.of.the.time event in Beijing

HWM was recently invited along with other media from APAC to attend a special presentation by Acer in Beijing as part of the final phase of the company’s multibrand initiative. Themed as sign.of.the.time, the multibrand initiative tied-in with the company’s recent acquisition of leading brands – Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachines.

Dell recently launched the world's thinnest laptop, the Adamo. Featuring scalloped keys, a backlit keyboard, solid state drive (SSD) hard disk drive and carved out of a solid block of aluminum with a clear glass screen, these laptops are targeted at the ultra-premium market especially people who place as much importance on how awesome a laptop looks as how good it performs. Check out the event and more details on the Adamo in our latest issue of HWM.

If you've seen the Pulse Smartpen in action and wondered when or if you'd ever get your hands on this mini computer - translator - digital transcriber - audio note taker device then wonder no more. K-One recently signed a partnership deal with Livescribe, the company that first made the Pulse Smartpen such a big name. For more info on the event, check it out in our latest issue of HWM.

HP recently launched their new Pavilion dv2 Series entertainment notebooks in the flavours and colours of high-grade coffee. Coming in Espresso Black and Moonlight White the new 12" screen notebooks are powered by AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processors and features AMD-ATI 3000 series graphic cards. As an added plus these new performance ultra-mobile notebooks come with their own external DVD drive at a price of RM2399. For a full report on the event check it out in our latest issue of HWM.

Hot on the heels of NVIDIA's littlest brother in its GTX 200 performance series graphic cards, we managed to snag an engineering sample for the up and coming GTS 250. With just the card sent in, we didn't have a chance to see what else came with the complete package but it definitely seems to be one of the higher end models. This is mainly because it comes with a custom Zalman fansink, built-in HDMI, DVI and VGA ports and about 1GB worth of GDDR3 memory. Here's our first sneak peak at its performance for both 3DMark06 as well as 3DMark Vantage. For a full in depth review check it out in our latest issue of HWM (HWM April 2009).

We managed to get our hands on a Samsung X460 and take it for a spin. Featuring an ultra slim design that may give the Macbook Air a run for its money, this new addition to Samsung's line of notebooks holds plenty of promise. Like its NC10 netbook counterpart, it is also rumoured to be competitively priced. Couple this with its excellent performance and we may have a sleeper hit on our hands. Check out the PCMark05 score it gave us below. For a full review, pick up the latest copy of HWM (HWM March 2009).

As part of Samsung's renewed attempt at piercing the personal computer market they have introduced their take on the netbook. With a classy design and ultra light casing, the Samsung NC10 looks great. Rumoured to be priced much more competitively (as in cheaper!) to get into the already saturated market, this 10" netbook will be something to watch when it comes out in force. We managed to lay our hands on an advance version. So far we found that the NC10 has an awesome battery life, stays cooler under pressure and has more than reasonable performance. For a full review of the Samsung NC10, pick up a copy of HWM (HWM March 2009).

We finally managed to get our hands on one of those miniscule projectors that you can fit into your pocket. As you can see above, it really is small enough to fit into your pocket. From the few test spins that we've taken we've managed to ascertain that the RCG Virtual Vision 5100 Pocket Projector has a built-in fan (so it should stay cooler than its fan-less compatriots), its based on a 10 Lumens LED lamp (so it should save oodles on electricity) and on top of having a built-in speaker also has touch-sensitive controls. For a full review check it out in the latest issue of HWM.

Dutch outfit SPRANQ creative communications Utrecht has created a new font which purpotedly saves you ink and consequently, the world. Dubbed Ecofont, the font style which looks like Dutch holey cheese (as seen above) uses approximately 20% less ink, just by introducing holes into the facetype! After using it for a couple of days, we'll have to say that it takes time getting used to, and fonts below 10pts might look as though they're been nibbled by a rat. A must-try if you want more ways to save costs, especially during in these tough times, you can download Ecofont right here.

With the release of the GTX 295 it was only a matter of time before NVIDIA went and overclocked their most powerful single GPU graphic card the GTX 280 and this is exactly what they have done with the release of the GTX 285. We managed to get our hands on one from one of the big boys and have proceeded to do a hands-on right here. Check out the 3DMark Vantage score below but for a full analysis and report check it out in our latest issue of HWM.