Test Netbook from Asus Eee PC 1215N

The ASUS Eee PC 1215N is the latest netbook to offer a 12-inch HD display and a dual-core Intel Atom processor to deliver multimedia entertainment and multitasking productivity for just $500. While this isn't the cheapest netbook on the market, the 1215N promises to be the most powerful. Keep reading to find out more.

Pros:

• Excellent netbook performance
• Webcam privacy cover
• Nice screen

Cons:

• Limited upgradability
• Bouncy keyboard
• Bad touchpad buttons

Conclusion
ASUS has once again shown why the Eee PC line of netbooks remains popular with many consumers. The new Eee PC 1215N offers the best overall performance we've seen from an Atom-based netbook. Battery life isn't as good as the best single-core netbooks, but it is better than the previous 12-inch Eee PC.

In truth, the only things we didn't like about this netbook were all related to design. First, the keyboard was too bouncy and the touchpad buttons are just horrible. We also would have liked to see easier access to the hard drive and wireless cards since many well-informed owners add new hard drives or SSDs to their netbooks.

Still, it's hard to find another 12-inch laptop that offers better performance for just $500 retail price. If you want an ultraportable netbook with a good screen and good performance for less than the price of a CULV-based notebook then the ASUS Eee PC 1215N probably belongs at the top of a very short list.

ASUS Eee PC 1215N Specifications:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit)
• Intel Atom D525 Dual Core Processor 1.8GHz (1MB L2 cache)
• 2GB DDR3 RAM (800MHz)
• 250GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD plus 500GB Online Storage
• 12.1-inch diagonal WXGA (1366x768)
• NVIDIA ION with Optimus
• 0.3 megapixel webcam
• Realtek 802.11 B/G/N Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• 4-in-1 media card slot
• 11.65 x 8.19 x 1.31
• 3lbs 3.5oz (not including weight of AC adapter)
• 6-cell Lithium-Ion battery (5200mAh, 56Wh)
• One-year standard warranty
• MSRP: $499.99

Build and Design
The ASUS Eee PC 1215N is the latest addition to the "Seashell" line of Eee PC netbooks and features an attractive wedge design with a very thin profile at the front that gradually thickens towards screen hinge. This shape feels nice in your hands and looks even nicer when the computer is resting on a desk. The combination of glossy black plastics and silver metalic finish help accent the various details in the design of this netbook. ASUS was the company that invented the netbook category with it's original Eee PC, and whether you love them or hate them, netbook sales are still strong enough to suggest that this category of budget ultraportable laptops is going to stick around for a while.

Build quality is very good with the 1215N feeling solid and showing almost no signs of flex. The screen stays firmly shut with a good amount of tension from the screen hinges when closed. Protection from the screen cover is very good; as no distortions appeared on the display when we applied pressure to the back of the cover. Opening up the screen you can tell the hinges should hold up for a long time with strong tension that prevents the screen from flopping around once opened. The body of the netbook seems to be well designed with minimal chassis flex and no obvious creaks from the plastics.

As we've seen on other recent ASUS notebooks, the new Eee PC 1215N features a convenient webcam privacy cover that slides into place over the lens of the built-in webcam when you flip the switch between the "on" and "off" positions. Yes, technically proficient users can disable the webcam using the Windows Device Manager, but many average netbook owners appreciate having a simple way to protect their privacy so unscrupulous outsiders don't use their laptop webcams for spying or stalking. Considering how much value a few cents worth of plastic offers, I'm amazed every built-in webcam doesn't have a switch like this.

One area of the design that didn't impress us was the bottom of the netbook. The expansion bay consists of nothing more than the two RAM sockets. The cover panel is held in place by a single screw, which makes it easy to upgrade the RAM, but ASUS engineers don't give you convenient access to the wireless card or the hard drive. Users interested in making upgrades (a common thing for netbook owners) will have to completely disassemble the Eee PC 1215N if they want to do anything other than upgrade the RAM.

Screen and Speakers
The 12.1" screen on the Eee PC 1215N appears to be the same model used in the older 1201N and is great for browsing the web, editing photos, or even watching HD movies. Color and contrast are excellent thanks to the glossy surface and LED-backlighting. Color saturation is better than average although only in a narrow viewing range. Once you start to tilt the screen forward or back the colors start to look dim or very washed out. Horizontal viewing angles were better; staying visible until roughly 60 degrees where the reflections on the screen start to overpower what is being displayed. Peak backlight brightness was fine for viewing in bright office conditions, but only when the brightness was set to 100 percent. Outdoor viewing was close to impossible unless you were in some serious shade from a tree or other structure.

The onboard speakers were lap-firing and sounded very tinny. The speakers had no low frequency response and just a small hint of midrange. This is fine for listening to streaming music or watching a YouTube clip, but not for sharing a movie in a small room. The speaker orientation causes problems if you have the laptop laying on a bed or pressed against thick clothing on your lap. I was able to easily obstruct the speakers with my legs; making them sound muffled. In short, audiophiles would be better off using a nice pair of headphones or connecting the Eee PC to a stereo through its HDMI-out port.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The nearly full-size keyboard on the 1215N is very comfortable to type although it still has a learning curve compared to regular sized notebooks. Most condensed Chiclet-style (also called island-style) keyboards provide enough space between each key to prevent excessive typos. The keyboard looks quite nice but the keyboard on our review sample suffered from a great deal of flex or "bounce" under heavy typing pressure. Not only does this make typing feel mushy but it can lead to typos when the keys "bounce" under your fingertips. The keys are designed with a rough matte finish on top which helps increase fingertip traction. Individual key action was smooth, giving off a quiet high-pitched click when pressed.

The touchpad on the 1215N is a Synaptics model with great sensitivity and speed. We didn't notice any problems with the touchpad calibration straight out of the box and the lightly textured surface provides just the right amount of traction for cursor movement. The flush touchpad surface is separated from the palmrests by a pair of polished metal strips but I often found my finger moving outside the touchpad area when using the touchpad. Once again, ASUS engineers decided to use a single touchpad button bar rather than two separate buttons. This makes it easy to accidentally hit the wrong mouse button since there is just one button and no dividing line between the two sides. Hopefully one of these days someone at ASUS will read these reviews and stop using touchpad buttons like these.

Ports and Features
Port selection on the Eee PC 1215N is fairly standard for a modern netbook. ASUS gives you three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI-out, VGA, LAN, and audio jacks. It also features a SDHC-card slot for expanding internal storage or just loading images off your camera while traveling. We won't complain about the port selection, but since we're starting to see USB 3.0 on more consumer notebooks we hope it will start showing up on netbooks soon. The only negative aspect of the connections on this Eee PC is the super-tiny AC adapter plug. Compared to any other notebook or netbook (and even some cellphones) it is smaller and potentially weaker. We can't accurately speculate on long term reliability, but we don't imagine this power jack could hold up as well as more robust connectors.

Front View: Activity lights

Rear View: Battery and screen hinges

Left Side View: AC-power, VGA out, HDMI-out, one USB 2.0 port, and media card reader

Right Side View: Audio jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, LAN, and Kensington Lock slot

Performance and Benchmarks
Like the older Eee PC 1201N, the dual-core Atom processor paired with NVIDIA's ION puts the ASUS Eee PC 1215N somewhere in-between the performance level of a single-core netbook and a CULV notebook. General system performance is only slightly more impressive than single-core Atom netbooks, as the 1215N is less "laggy" in a Windows environment but still isn't as responsive as the latest Core i5 and Core i7 CULV processors.

The latest version of Nvidia ION inside the Eee PC 1215N offers several new features not seen in previous ION-based netbooks. First, since the latest Intel Atom processors integrate the memory controller, display controller and integrated graphics processor (IGP) onto the same die as the processor itself, ION is able to use Optimus technology to pair the discrete/dedicated GPU with the CPU and IGP to offer better performance when wanted and better battery life when needed. Thanks to Nvidia ION with Optimus, the ASUS Eee PC 1215N is basically smart enough to know when it needs to use the dedicated graphics for high performance (video and gaming) and it can switch to the low-power integrated graphics when you need to have as much battery life as possible.

In terms of real world gaming this means you can play World of Warcraft on low detail settings at 1366x768 resolution and gameplay has an average framerate of about 45 frames per second. Similarly, you can play Left 4 Dead on low settings at 1366x768 and get average framerates in the low 20s. The bottom line is the latest version of Nvidia Ion works fine for games with low requirements (World of Warcraft,Portal, or Sims 3) but really starts to slow down with slightly more taxing first person shooters like Left 4 Dead or Resident Evil 5. Although this level of performance isn't as jaw dropping as a portable gaming system like the Alienware M11x, the Eee PC 1215N certainly is the most impressive standard netbook we've reviewed to date.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures gaming performance (higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Heat and Noise
Under stress the dual core Intel Atom D525 and Nvidia ION graphics raised the outside case temperature of the 1215N into the "warm but still comfortable" category. After 30 minutes with both the CPU and GPU stressed, some parts of the reached temperatures as high as 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Under normal conditions at or near idle the same spots were about 5 degrees cooler. The system fan worked harder in this netbook compared to models we have tested without the NVIDIA ION or dual-core Atom, but it still stayed below audible levels in a typical office environment. While at or close to idle the fan noise would be comparable to a virtually silent whisper or heavy breath and under load would be a quiet whisper.

Battery Life
The ASUS Eee PC 1215N has a dual-core Intel Atom processor and NVIDIA ION graphics both working against it when it comes to battery life. Despite this, ASUS claims that this netbook can deliver up to 7 hours of battery life depending on the settings and use. In our tests with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Windows 7 set to the Balanced profile, the ASUS 1215N stayed on for 5 hours and 34 minutes. This is roughly an hour more than the older Eee PC 1201N which used a battery with higher capacity cells. Granted, this isn't as good as some of the older ASUS netbooks that delivered more than 10 hours of battery life, but this is the most powerful Eee PC we've seen so far.

From : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5832&review=asus+eee+pc+1215n

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Test Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Laptop

When you need to strike the balance between a desktop-replacement notebook and a laptop for frequent travel you will probably end up shopping for a 14-inch notebook. The Dell Inspiron 14 is one of the most popular laptops in this class and comes packed with the latest Intel processors and a nice range of options at an affordable price. Is this the best 14-inch consumer laptop? Keep reading to find out.

Dell Inspiron 14 (1464) Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core i3 330M (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB)
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• Memory: 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
• Storage: 500GB 5400rpm HDD
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD
• Display: 14.0” HD (1366x768) LED Display and webcam
• Optical Drive: 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD/-RW/R) with Dual-Layer
• Wireless: Intel Wireless 5100n
• Battery: 6-cell Lithium Ion battery (48 WHr)
• Dimensions: 13.39 x 9.55 x 1.27 inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 4.8 lbs
• Retail Price as configured: $799.99 (currently available for less than $740 in retail stores)
  

Build and Design
The design of the Inspiron 14 hasn't changed much in the last year since Dell released the Inspiron 14, Inspiron 14z and Studio 14z laptops. As mentioned in the specifications above, our review unit comes with the newer Intel Core i3 330M dual core processor. We're calling this laptop the "Inspiron 14" in our review, but it's worth mentioning that Dell markets this system as the "Inspiron 14" as well as the "Inspiron 1464." You can also find this system selling on the Dell website under the older configuration name "Inspiron 1440" with older Intel processors. Of course, there's also the Inspiron 14z (also called the Inspiron 1470) that uses the Intel CULV processors for extended battery life. Are you confused yet? We sure are.

Moving beyond the superfluous model names for essentially the same laptop, the Inspiron 14 looks like an average budget notebook with a 14-inch display. The plastic construction, average screen resolution, and lack of a backlit keyboard certainly don't give this laptop the same premium look and feel as the Dell Studio 14z. You might think that the palmrests and area surrounding the keyboard are made of metal at first glance, but upon closer examination you'll find that it's just plastic with a fancy metallic finish.

The Inspiron 14 feels reasonably durable despite the fact that the notebook chassis is constructed from relatively thin plastics. The touchpad and palmrests suffer from flexible plastics as does the keyboard itself. The working surface of the laptop essentially bends under heavy pressure, so durability wasn't the main focus for the designers. The screen lid also suffers from thin plastics and if you press on the lid with your fingers while the laptop is on you will create screen distortions.

When closed the Inspiron 14 looks relatively thin compared to budget laptops from several years ago, but the weight of the 6-cell battery makes this system a bit too heavy to qualify for the "thin and light" category today. The "Promise Pink" screen lid gives the Inspiron a nice candy-covered look, but Dell charges a $40 premium for the privilege of selecting pink instead of black. On a more positive note, Dell donates $5 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every pink Inspiron 14 that they sell. Sure, $40 is a little excessive for just sticking a chuck of colored plastic on a notebook, but it's nice to know that your purchase is helping a good cause.

The bottom of the notebook features the battery and single access plate for the RAM and wireless card. Removing the hard drive requires more in depth disassembly. There isn't much to talk about here other than to briefly mention the location of the two speakers on the bottom of the front edge (more on that later). The bottom of the Inspiron 14 likewise suffers from the same flexible plastics mentioned previously in the review. You won't notice it if you aren't squeezing the laptop, but if you're running to a class or a business meeting with the laptop in your hands you might feel it "bending" under the pressure from your fingers.

In short, the Dell Inspiron 14 looks cool and is probably durable enough for desktop replacement work, but the heavy use of thin plastics certainly doesn't help the laptop feel as durable as it could be.

Screen and Speakers
The 14-inch high-definition (1366 x 768) panel on the Dell Inspiron 14 isn't quite as nice as the vibrant 1600 x 900 screen used on our review unit of the Studio 14z. The colors on this screen are generally good but contrast wasn't as impressive. The LED backlighting in our review unit is pretty even and offers a range of brightness settings. Honestly, since all 11-inch notebooks/netbooks come with 1366 x 768 resolution displays we feel it's time to make 1600 x 900 the "minimum" resolution of 14-inch notebooks. Horizontal viewing angles are extremely good, so you won't have any trouble sharing a movie with the person sitting next to you on a plane. Vertical viewing angles are average or below average with colors quickly washing out when viewed from above and colors begining to distort and invert as you move the screen back.

Once again, the stereo speakers on the Inspiron 14 class of notebooks failed to impress me. The stereo speakers produce average sound quality and are located beneath the front edge of the notebook palmrests firing downward at your lap. I usually call this type of audio "crotch speakers" because the speakers aren't pointed up toward the user. If you're using the Inspiron 14 on a desk then the audio from the speakers "bounces" off the hard desk surface and it sounds okay, but if you're using this PC as a "laptop" then the sound is going to be muffled.

Bottom line, the speakers aren't horrible ... but the location isn't helping matters. You'll probably want to use a good set of headphones with this notebook, and the headphone jack produces clear, distortion-free sound.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on our review unit has full-sized keys with acceptable key spacing and an excellent depth to the key throw. Each key has a textured black finish and a relatively flat surface. The keyboard isn't as firm as it could be, so if you type with a lot of force you might have to worry about keyboard flexing or lightly bouncing while you type. My only minor aggravation is that the keyboard isn't available with optional backlighting ... making it harder to type in a dark classroom or dorm room. I felt a little cheated since the Dell Alienware M11x comes with a LED-backlit keyboard and sells for the same price as this Inspiron 14.

Still, as long as you type with gentle fingers and don't work in dark rooms then you should find the keyboard on the Inspiron 14 to be perfectly fine.

The multi-touch, gesture-based touchpad is pretty average for a 14-inch notebook and the dual touchpad buttons have deep feedback with quiet clicks. The touchpad itself is an ALPS model that uses Dell proprietary touchpad drivers. The touchpad was reasonably responsive with good sensitivity and very little lag. Touchpad accuracy was a bit off at times, but that may be correctable by tweaking the drivers. My biggest problem with the touchpad is the flexible plastics. There is a gap of about 1/8 inch or more beneath the touchpad surface, and if you use the "tap to click" feature then you will feel the touchpad "bounce" when you press down on the touchpad to tap. Again, if you use a gentle tap then this probably won't bother you. We just don't like to see flexible plastics on a laptop in this price range.

Ports and Features
The port selection on the Inspiron 14 is pretty average for a budget 14-inch notebook with one or two exceptions. Dell included three USB 2.0 ports, VGA and HDMI video out ports, Ethernet, and a multi-format memory card reader. Unlike the Studio 14z, which sacrifices an optical drive for the sake of portability, the Inspiron 14z includes a standard 8x CD/DVD burner with dual-layer support. The Inspiron 14 lacks an ExpressCard slot, FireWire, and eSATA, so if those ports are important to you then you'll need to look elsewhere.

Front: Status light and no ports.

Rear: Screen hinges and battery

Left: Kensington Lock slot, power jack, heat vent, VGA, Ethernet, HDMI, and USB 2.0.

Right: Audio jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, memory card reader, and optical drive.

Performance
The performance of the Inspiron 14 with an Intel Core i3 330M (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB) processor and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD integrated graphics is good enough for typical daily activities (browsing the web, watching streaming video, typing documents in Microsoft Office, or making simple edits to your digital photos or videos) but this laptop isn't designed for extreme multimedia performance.

As previously mentioned, the Inspiron 14 comes in a variety of configurations, but the 1464 features Intel's Core i3 processors. Although the dual-core 2.13GHz processor in our review unit provides plenty of performance for daily tasks it also throttles down in order to extend battery life when you aren't actively using the laptop. This gives the Inspiron 14 the advantage of better battery life if you occassionaly walk away from your computer or close the lid to let it go into sleep or hybernate mode. Of course, if you plan to use the laptop non-stop on an international flight then the powerful Core i3 processor might devour your battery sooner than you expect (more on that later in the review).

For the retail price of $799 as configured the Inspiron 14 performs quite well compared to the more expensive 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro. More importantly, the new Inspiron 1464 crushes the older Inspiron 14z and HP Pavilion dm3t with ultra-low-voltage processors.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures video and gaming performance (higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance results:

Battery
The 6-cell 48WHr battery does a pretty good job overall. With the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and the Windows 7 power profile set to "Balanced" the Inspiron 14 stayed on for 3 hours and 34 minutes. For use in the classroom or on your lap in front of the TV this amount of battery life was fine, but it isn't quite as impressive as the "4 hours of battery life" Dell claims in the marketing material. That said, it's worth mentioning that the default "balanced" power profile under Windows 7 will automatically dim the screen after a short period of inactivity ... which will extend the battery life even more compared to keeping the screen set to 70% brightness.

Heat and Noise
The cooling system does a reasonably impressive job keeping the external temperatures down. After extended periods of use the keyboard and touchpad areas get warm, but temperatures remain well below 100 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. The temperature readings below were taken after stressing the system with performance benchmarks and web browsing for 60 minutes.

Noise levels are fairly quiet when running on battery as the fan produces a constant weak "hum" as hot air is pushed out. The fan gets louder when the laptop is stressed running benchmarks and plugged into the AC adapter, but the fan should only be noticeable by others in a very quiet room.

Conclusion
The Dell Inspiron 14 is an affordable 14-inch notebook that delivers good performance and acceptable battery life at the expense of durability. If your child or your family is looking for a convenient laptop for general use then the Inspiron 14 can handle daily multitasking with ease. That said, if you're willing to put up with a smaller screen I'd have a hard time recommending the Inspiron 14 compared to the Alienware M11x at the same price.

The fact that the Inspiron 14 includes an optical drive and a Core i3 processor helps make this laptop an attractive purchase. However, the abundance of flexible plastics and lack of special features like backlit keyboard or more advanced ports make the Inspiron 14 far more average than exceptional.

Pros:

• Good performance
• Optional charitable donation
• Attractive price

Cons:

• Average battery life
• Cheap "fake metal" plastics
  
• No backlit keyboard

From : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5651&review=dell+inspiron+14

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Test Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 is the biggest notebook in the Edge family that also includes 13 and 14-inch models. The Edge series is known for its stylish looks that set it apart from other models in the ThinkPad series as well as its chiclet style keyboard. In this review, we see if the ThinkPad Edge 15 holds up as well in our testing as the two previous models.

Readers who pay a close attention to detail will notice that the ThinkPad Edge 15 has a lot in common with both the Edge 13 and Edge 14. Some parts of this review are reused for areas with identical components.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 Specifications:

• Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
• Intel Core i3-330M processor (2.13GHz, 3MB cache)
• 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 WXGA glossy display
• Intel GMA HD integrated graphics
• 2GB DDR3 RAM (2GB x 1)
• 250GB Fujitsu 5400RPM hard drive
• Intel 1000BGN Wi-Fi, Realtek Gigabit LAN
• Built-in web camera
• 6-cell 10.8v 5.2Ah 57Wh battery
• Dimensions: (LxWxH) 14.96 x 9.72 x 1.33 - 1.56"
• Weight: 5.56 pounds
• MSRP: $869 ($649, street)

Build and Design
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 is a lower-cost consumer and small-business oriented laptop. Unlike the SL-series ThinkPad the Edge models don't share the common look and feel of other ThinkPad models. The all-black exterior has been replaced with a silver-trimmed border with multiple glossy and matte screen cover options. Our Edge 15 review unit included the glossy Heatwave red screen cover. I think an overlooked design touch would have been changing the ThinkPad logo from silver to black on this model to better contrast against the red background. Lenovo matched the letter background to the lid cover, but it has the same effect as over saturating a picture and losing distinction between the silver logo and red background.

Another change is an LED-illuminated ThinkPad logo with the dot above the "i" glowing red when the notebook is turned on. This replaces all other activity indication lights, which might be problematic if you expect to see hard disk activity or visual indications of the wireless interface being active. Inside the Edge, there is a consumer-focused design with a flat palmrest and bezel set around a Chiclet-style keyboard. While the Edge series includes a touchpad and pointing stick interface, it doesn't have the same contoured ergonomic sections around those items that you might find on other ThinkPads.

The Edge 15's build quality seems to be a step down from the 13 and 14-inch versions. While the Edge series in general feels under built when compared to higher ThinkPad models, the Edge 15 fares much worse. The right side of the palmrest has a moderate amount of flex under strong pressure. The structural support needed for the span across the optical drive bay is inadequate, which shows when you grip the notebook by that area. Pressing the keyboard there - even with a light press - causes the keyboard tray to flex inward. This is unacceptable on any notebook, but on a ThinkPad model, it seems even worse. The smaller Edge 13 and 14 maintained their rigidity since the open spans were smaller than they are on the 15-inch model.

The ThinkPad Edge 15 has easy access to internal components through two access panels on the bottom of the notebook. One panel houses the SIM-card and WWAN PCIe slot while the other is to access the system memory, CPU and hard drive. Most ThinkPad models include a SIM-card slot and extra mini-PCIe slot even if the systems aren't configured with it from the factory. Like the Edge 14, the Edge 15 doesn't have those parts soldered to the board. The larger panel gives you full access to the processor, heatsink and fan, memory slots and hard drive bay. Our review unit was configured with 2 GB of memory using a single memory slot, which allowed one slot to remain open for cheaper future upgrades.

Screen and Speakers
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 has a matte-finish 15-inch WXGA panel. Compared to other 15-inch panels on the market, this one rates below average with very poor contrast. Black levels were closer to light grey, which caused a domino effect, muting most vivid colors like red, orange, green or blue. We also noticed a "screen door effect" where individual pixels appeared visible at normal viewing distances. At full screen brightness, the center of the screen measured 225 nit with corners measuring between 160-180 nit. Viewing angles were average with colors starting to invert or wash out after 15 degrees when tilted forward or back.

The Edge 15 has thin speakers incorporated into the screen bezel beneath the LCD. Compared to most speaker drivers, they are fairly small and don't produce the best audio. Compared to consumer notebooks, they would rate below average, but against other business notebooks - which Lenovo is positioning it against - they are average. Sound quality would be fine for video conferencing using the built-in webcam or listening to streaming music or video throughout the workday. The notebook also features HDMI out, which is beneficial for connecting the system to a home theater to watch movies or listen to music.

Keyboard and Touchpad
When I first saw the leaked images of the new ThinkPad keyboard, I have to admit I was unimpressed. The keyboard is among the few remaining original parts of ThinkPad notebooks. The layout has been updated over the years, but the keyboard could always be identified as "ThinkPad." With the new design, Lenovo took a hint from other new keyboard designs hitting the market and blended a combination of form and function.

The keyboard takes a Chiclet/island-style that's common on notebooks ranging from the latest netbooks to the newest Apple MacBook, and merges it with a traditional ThinkPad design. What makes the keyboard unique is that it's the first Chiclet keyboard I have found that's very comfortable and easy to type on. Most Chiclet-style keyboards have flat top keys, different spacing and a shallower throw than a normal keyboard. The ThinkPad Edge 15 doesn't have these problems, creating an ideal hybrid keyboard that I can easily say is among the best implementations I have used to date. The keys have a shallow concave shape that cups your fingers and quickly centers them. For touch-typing the keyboard layout is excellent and is easily adaptable.

Typing pressure and feedback is similar to a typical ThinkPad keyboard, so similar in fact that if you type with your eyes closed, you might not even realize the key shape changed. Throw distance seems to be identical to my T60 with the same type of click sound made when fully pressed. Removing the keytops reveal the familiar scissor-action found in traditional ThinkPad keyboards. My best guess would be Lenovo kept the original frame and action assembly, only updating the keytops and adding an internal bezel structure. The keyboard on the Edge 13 and Edge 14 has excellent support with little flex, but on the Edge 15, has considerable flex even under light to moderate pressure. It had the most flex on the right side of the keyboard above the optical drive.

The Edge 15 offers a generously-sized Synaptics touchpad, having nearly three times the surface area compared to my T60. If you regularly use smaller touchpads, you might have a bit of a learning curve before it becomes second nature. During the first couple of days, I would frequently touch the bottom of the touchpad surface instead of clicking the left or right buttons, which would move the cursor off target. It was annoying until I adapted to its size. Overall, the touchpad was pleasant to use, with a fast response time and no discernable lag. Sensitivity was excellent and no adjustment was needed out of the box. This particular touchpad has some multitouch capabilities, including pinch-to-zoom and pivot-rotation. After extended use, I didn't have any problems with the touchpad texture; its smooth matte finish was easy to glide across with dry or slightly damp fingers. The touchpad buttons seem to have a slightly shallower clicking motion compared to other ThinkPads, but still provided good feedback.

Ports and Features
Compared to the Edge 13, the Edge 15 has additional ports and a spring-loaded SDHC-card reader. The Edge 15 gains eSATA through a combo port that includes three USB ports and one eSATA/USB connection. The larger Edge models also offer an ExpressCard/34 slot for future expansion and an optical drive, making use of their larger chassis.
One aspect of the clean design I disliked on the Edge 15 is its lack of both hard drive indicator and wireless activity lights. Compared to other notebooks, this setup prevents you from seeing if wireless cards are currently powered on, which is handy if you have multiple wireless devices like Bluetooth and WWAN or if some activity is really tasking your hard drive.

Front: SDHC-card reader

Rear: One USB

Left: VGA, eSATA/USB combo port, LAN, HDMI, headphone/mic combo port

Right: Two USB ports, optical drive, AC-power, Kensington Lock slot

Performance and Benchmarks
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 is packed with some of the latest Intel hardware, including a 2.13GHz Core i3-330 processor and GMA HD integrated graphics. Even with a simple configuration with 2 GB of system memory and a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive, we found the system to be more than powerful enough for most tasks, excluding gaming. Office productivity applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook loaded quickly and worked with very little lag. Entertainment-related applications worked very well, with the Core i3 processor and GMA HD graphics having no trouble handling HD video playback. Using the latest Flash 10.1 RC4 plug-in, the Edge 15 had no problem playing assorted 720P videos on YouTube, although 1080P Flash videos with a lot of movement caused some stutter. Local video playback was no problem either using the latest CCCP codec pack and Divx.com h264 decoding package. Playing 1080P trailers downloaded off Apple's website showed roughly 20% CPU activity with plenty of overhead leftover for other background activities.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):



We also recorded a PCMark Vantage score of 3919.

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Heat and Noise
The ThinkPad Edge 15 maintained fairly good thermal performance throughout the duration of our review, including the time during benchmarks, with low keyboard and palmrest temperatures. Lap temperatures under heavy use increased to a level warm enough to be noticed, but still stayed below 100F. Fan noise was low under normal use. The fan was near-silent or off when the processor had no load and just above a whisper level under a continuous load. At full speed, we measured noise between 39 and 40dB at 12 inches with a background noise level of 33dB.

Battery Life
The Edge 15 includes a 6-cell battery in all current configurations. In our battery test with the screen brightness reduced to 70%, wireless active and Windows 7 on a balanced profile, we recorded a time of 4 hours and 10 minutes of battery life. The CULV-based Edge 13 managed 7 hours while the Core-i3-based Edge 14 stayed on for 4 hours and 33 minutes. With a similar configuration, the Edge 15 only cost 23 minutes of life compared to the Edge 14.

Conclusion
The Edge series has brought a lot of changes to the ThinkPad name. Most prominently, the glossy painted lid and Chiclet keyboard. With the smaller Edge 13 and Edge 14, build quality wasn't a huge problem; we only had a few minor concerns like screen protection and hinge quality. The Edge 15, with its larger size, seemed to hit the breaking point where the lack of an internal framework created considerable chassis flex around the palmrest and keyboard areas. The Edge 13 had panels that felt as hard as rock with absolutely no keyboard flex, which obviously didn't carry over as the size was increased past a certain point. In the end, our only recommendation would be to steer toward the smaller Edge 13 or 14 if you like the design or look at higher ThinkPad models if you need a 15-inch screen.

Pros:

• Good performance
• Comfortable keyboard and touchpad
• Quiet cooling system

Cons:

• Keyboard and palmrest flex
• Build quality not up to ThinkPad standards

From : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5656

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