A laptop screams convenience as an on-the-go device that  fits as comfortably under your arm as it does inside a backpack or carrying case. However, a laptop falls short in the viewing area department –the “real estate” provided by the screen. This creates the dilemma of having to pick and choose which applications to leave on the screen and when, so as to avoid overlapping windows. Those with desktop PCs can obviate this problem by adding a second monitor. But having to lug a monitor around with the laptop, not to mention needing an AC outlet, sort of ruins the whole “portability” idea.

That’s no longer the case if you’ve got one of the new breed of USB-powered LCD monitors. AOC presents its 16-inch, LED backlit monitor as a lightweight addition to a laptop’s screen at a mere 2.5 pounds. But the best part is the loss of the power adaptor — the AOC monitor gets both its data connection and its power directly from the laptop’s USB socket.

While resembling a tablet from the front, don’t be shocked to find that there’s a great deal more depth to this monitor compared to that of an iPad or Android tablet. Part of that depth consists of an embedded tab that pulls out for standing the monitor upright: the tab rotates for use either horizontally or vertically. And sensibly there are rubber tabs attached which both indicate which way is up as well as provide protection from scratching the surface underneath it. But since there’s no protective case included, even though the screen is glass, it could get scratched if mistreated. I would recommend getting a tablet carrying case for it as a safety precaution (you have one for your laptop anyway, right?).

The finish is a flat black, although looking at the screen while holding the monitor might cause some to think there is a very glossy finish. This is misleading, since a glare-resistant coating is touted as one of the features. In general use, complaints about glare will be minimal, if at all.

The rest of the contents consist of a moderate length USB cable (one end being the mini-USB plug that fits into the very unobtrusive socket on the monitor’s back, behind the pull out tab), and a CD that installs the device driver into a PC. Note: it’s always a good idea to check out the manufacturer’s website’s “Support” to see if there might be an updated driver to use rather than the one that has been burned on disc. Since the Mac driver is only on the website, if you don’t go there, you might not think it works with an Apple computer (it does).

So after you installed the driver and rebooted, it’s just a matter of placing the monitor next to the laptop and connecting the two ends of the USB cable to their respective USB sockets when you want to use it (note: you’ll be connecting the monitor to the PC during the installation process as part of the procedure so it might already be connected). Should you be using a device, which has a low-powered USB output (unlikely these days), the second USB plug at one end of the cable will have to be inserted into a second USB socket. [AOC recommends attaching the monitor prior to turning the computer on, by the way]

With the laptop now active, the monitor now comes to life. At this point you’ll want to decide whether to “mirror” what is being seen on the main screen, or use it as an extended monitor. Setting this and other aspects of the monitor is done through the display options inside the PC laptop’s “Screen Resolution” (the monitor tops off at 1366 x 768 pixels). You can orient the monitor for “portrait” or “horizontal” viewing. Later you can access the settings through an icon in the System tray, using XP or Vista, or through a key press combination using Windows 7 (with Macs, a simple but dissimilar procedure applies to activate the monitor).

The monitor’s performance is somewhat dependent on the graphic card and processing power of the attached computer — no surprise there — but while you can use it in a similar manner to that of the main screen, it’s comparatively lower resolution could be disappointing to some. Certainly if you use it for static imaging and other applications where motion and detail is less prevalent, it’ll work fine (say thanks to the internal processing chip inside aiding in the processing of what is being displayed). As an example, I’d keep word processing on the main screen to avoid eye-strain and let videos play on the AOC. I didn’t encounter any screen refreshing issues that were visible to the eye, or any “flicker” or image smearing over a period of extended use. The high dynamic contrast ratio (50,000:1) is a far cry from the puny, early days of LCD and is extremely helpful when using a small monitor such as this one.

A final issue is that of the power drain derived from an extra monitor. Obviously the monitor will decrease the usable battery powering a laptop — unless it’s plugged in for power — but just how much depends on factors ranging from the charge of the battery, the kind of applications being run, etc. In general, it’s fair to say that the battery drain should be considered and noted over time as the monitor is used so as to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Editor’s Rating:
4 out of 5 stars
Great

Bottom Line: Having a second monitor provides more “real estate” when using a laptop, as well as allowing for a better segregation of applications in use. The lightweight nature and lack of power brick that is the standard of the AOC USB monitor, and this new breed of portable monitors in general, makes it well suited for traveling with you whether across the globe or in a coffee shop or bedroom.

Pros

• No need for a power plug
• Lightweight for portability
• Clear and bright display

Cons

• Somewhat “flimsy” construction compared to that of a tablet
• No protective case included
• Mac instructions a bit vague

The Razer Blade is the talk of the town among gamers. It’s got a similar look and feel to the MacBook Pro 17″ from Apple, plus the guts any game can love. But the recently updated MacBook Pros are no laughing matter; just put Windows on it and you have a formidable gaming machine, one that’s slick and offers some of the best battery life you can get on a laptop. So how do the two compare?

Design

Comparing any laptop to the MacBook has been trouble when discussing design. The aluminum unibody design, simple logo, light power brick…it’s simplicity at it’s finest. Razer takes a lot of those same elements and implements them into the Blade. It’s black instead of white, but otherwise could be mistaken for a MacBook closed except for the Razer logo. The Blade really is the darker, more devious brother to the MacBook Pro. In a strange twist of irony, the Blade is actually larger but thinner. Here are the dimensions of both:

MacBook Pro 17″ – 15.47″ x 10.51″ x 0.98″, 6.6lbs (2.99kg)
Razer Blade – 16.81″ x 10.9″ x 0.88″, 6.6lbs (3kg)

Based on size alone, the Blade is longer and taller, and has a bigger display, but is 0.1″ thinner and almost exactly the same weight.

Open both up and the main design difference is abundantly clear: the trackpad on the Blade is not below the keyboard. Instead, it’s based on the Razer Switchblade, a device with only LCD-backlit and completely adjustable buttons. On the Blade, users can pre-assign different functions to all ten buttons above the 3″ LCD display. That display also acts as the trackpad, so there is no chance of accidentally palming it with your other hand. And because it’s an LCD display, it can double as almost anything, from a secondary screen to watch YouTube videos to a number pad. Apple uses the extra space on the MacBook for speakers, which is nice. But for gaming, no laptop is going to be good enough.

It may seem like a tough call, because on the one hand people who like using their left hands to mouse just won’t like the Blade’s trackpad. It’ll be impossible to use. On the other hand, Razer matches the excellence in design from Apple and takes it a step further with something no one has ever done before.

Winner: Razer Blade

Ports

Ports may not seem so important, especially on a laptop, but if you’re buying a 17″ model for over $2500, you’re looking for a desktop replacement. Docks are a pain and expensive, so everything needs to be built directly into the machine.

The MacBook Pro features 3 USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire 800 port, Ethernet, audio in and out, and the new Thunderbolt port. The Blade has 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB 3.0 port, an HDMI 1.4 port (which supports 3D, 4K resolutions, 7.1 surround out, etc.), and a single audio in/out combo port. Deciding which is better appears tough, but based on today’s technology landscape, it’s a fairly simple choice. There simply aren’t Thunderbolt devices, but USB 3.0 is the up and coming standard. Video out is also hugely important, and right now Apple owners have to buy a mini-DV adapter plugged into the Thunderbolt port.

Winner: Razer Blade

Parts (components)

Here’s a look at the spec sheet:

The two machines are very similar in components, which isn’t surprising considering the pricing on both. There are three notable differences: the GPU, battery capacity and price (we’ll get to the latter two in a bit). AMD’s 6770M is a great card, and can definitely handle any and all of your gaming needs (though  OS X can’t). However, the GT555M is, while not the top-of-the-line mobile GPU (that would be the GT 580M), it’s damn fast. However, it’s not so much about the GPU speed in this case, but the GPU RAM. The Blade’s GT 555M comes with 2GB, compared to the 6770M’s 1GB. That will make the biggest difference in gaming (and application) use. Then again, with 8GB of RAM, most users won’t actually notice that except in heavier games. Other applications won’t take advantage of it, for the most part.

Update: As many astute readers pointed out, there are two major differences between both machines that were not originally discussed. The first is the CPU. The MBP has a quad-core processor, while the Blade uses a Dual-core processor. Both are i7, though the MBP will perform better with applications that utilize more than two cores.

However, the vast majority of today’s applications, including high-end apps, do not utilize more than two cores. Most only use one core. Most people who use two cores are running multiple applications simultaneously. The question here, frankly, is whether faster performance is more important than more cores (more simultaneous processes).

For someone purchasing either computer for gaming, the Blade is the clear winner. Faster is better, and there are only a handful and a small one at that, that use even two cores. Most use just one. However, the L3 cache is the big differentiator, and the base MBP CPU has 6MB of L3 cache, compared to the upgraded 2.5GHz with 8MB. Ultimately, I’d need to test both machines out, but what is clear is that the upgraded CPU will have better overall performance (perhaps not with today’s games and applications, but definitely over time) than the Blade’s i7. The base model CPU, however, likely will not be as powerful.

The second is using 3rd party hardware. The fact is most of us don’t do that, and likely never will. There is certainly the option to upgrade the RAM or from a HDD to SSD, but once again those are expensive steps to take. They’re not Apple expensive, but it’ll cost you no matter what. The same options will be available with the Blade as well, so they weren’t even discussed.

Finally, price. For the most comparable machine, Apple fans need to put down $750 more and still get a slower processor and a lesser GPU. If the SSD is scratched on the MacBook and replaced with a 750GB 7200RPM hard disk, then it’s roughly the same price, but as we’ve found with today’s applications and operating systems there is a pretty stark difference in speed and quality between HDD and SSD. But, again, for a desktop replacement more space may be the more important thing.

Winner: Razer Blade

Battery Life

The MacBook Pro has a denser battery, one that promises to last for 7 hours per charge. Razer isn’t advertising battery life on the Blade because it isn’t that great, but at CES I was told 1.5-2 hours of heavy gaming per charge. We’ll have to wait and see how it performs for daily use, because lord knows getting a laptop like this doesn’t mean we’ll be playing games on it every second of use.

Winner: Apple MacBook Pro 17

Features

Based on the specs, Razer wins thanks to a few minor upgrades over what Apple currently offers, such as Bluetooth 3.0 (over 2.1), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (a/b/g/n can cripple networks for users if one person is connected through the “a”, so eliminating it altogether is better for everyone). Apple does include the DVD-R drive (does anyone use those anymore?) which for some gamers who don’t download all their games will be a major loss with the Blade. Then again, who buys a $2,800 gaming machine and uses discs? Apple also has a denser 1200p display, compared to Razer’s 1080p. Apple also has an option for glossy or antiglare displays, while Razer ships only with glossy screens.

The big feature, of course, is Switchblade. We’ll have to wait and see how good it is in actual use, but even if you don’t use it to it’s every capability the mouse all the way to the right may prove to be an excellent design choice, so long as you aren’t left handed.

Winner: Razer Blade

Price

Pricing is tough in this case. The MacBook Pro 17″ can be purchased anywhere from $2,500-$4,100, and there are a lot of options to change. A jump between 2.4 and 2.5GHz may not seem like much, but the L3 Cache is 2MB bigger, which is a big deal. 4GB to 8GB is a big deal. The dealbreaker is Apple’s ridiculously expensive SSD drives. The 128GB SSD is only $50 more than the 750GB 7200RPM HDD, but the 256GB SSD is $450 more expensive. Add on $1K for the 512GB. SSD pricing has always been crazy, but as always Apple raises the bar.

Then again, for a gaming machine with 8GB of RAM and at least 1GB of VRAM, an SSD will help, but not all that much. Unless gamers plan on playing while in a car (which is going to be hard on a 17″ laptop), a standard HDD would be fine. The problem is even sticking with the faster HDD keeps the MBP at $3,050. You may say, “at these prices what’s a couple hundred dollars”, except that in this case you are paying more for slower parts.

Normally we award the winner in price to the product with the most choice, but in this case the Blade is more affordable. Even though it comes in only one size, compared to the customization of the MBP, the Blade is simply more bang for your buck.

Winner: Razer Blade

Of course, if you’re looking for a gaming laptop, the Blade my not be your best bet. After all, the RAM and GPU, and even the SSD, are all fairly limited when compared to what you can get on larger machines like the Alienware M17x or Maingear’s Titan-17. On the M17x alone, for the same price I can double the RAM, get a much better GPU and a hybrid HDD/SSD, and a 3D display for 3D gaming.

However, today there is nothing that offers the build and design of a MacBook and makes it game-worthy. The Razer Blade offers to do just that, and for the gaming industry and hardcore gamers, that’s exciting. It means we don’t have to lug around giant heavy laptops to play, or be ashamed of how big and bulky they are. There is a bright future, and perhaps it’s in the Razer Blade. We’ll see when it comes out, in February.

At CES HP revealed the Envy 14, a full size laptop that takes on advanced style changes far beyond what we’ve seen for laptops in the past, while including all of the hardware that laptop users today want. At first glance the Envy 14 is stunning, a stark contrast from anything with an HP logo on it.

The first thing users will notice is the complete glass cover. It looks great, but it’s also a fingerprint magnet. The HP representatives were constantly running between the laptops and wiping them down with cleaning cloth, especially for photography. Germophobes need not apply. A light-up HP logo sits on the top and is similar to the Apple logo on MacBooks, but because of the glass and glossy surface, it looks very crisp and clear. There may be no greater advertisement for HP than Joe consumer sitting in a coffee shop just using the Envy 14. It looks simply stunning.

If you’re afraid of breaking the glass, chances are that you’ll dislodge some of the connectors far before the glass even cracks. The Envy comes with a giant pane of Gorilla Glass, which as you’ll recall is really hard to break. That same glass isn’t only protecting the backside of the screen, it’s built into the palm rest to ensure there’s no wear, like what’s found on the traditional plastic. I asked about that, and was told that indeed after a few years the plastic starts conforming to the palms of users, and that the glass won’t. We’ll have to wait and see if that holds true, but it’s an interesting idea nonetheless.

Along with the everyday components, HP includes the Beats Audio equalizer. This will allow users to get the same audio quality from, say, the HTC Rezound as they do from the laptop. I asked HP representatives whether, like the Rezound, Beats audio only functions in specific applications, and they assured me that it works across the entire OS, acting more as a true equalizer rather than an app-based audio enhancer.

I’m very impressed with the Envy 14, both because it shows that the industry is finally starting to compete in the laptop space on a higher level in both design and functionality. HP is clearly going in the right direction, at least from a design standpoint, an the major departure from the prototypical laptop configuration is a huge step forward. I look forward to seeing how it performs in real life, as well as the public reaction to such a machine. I regularly take my products out for field testing, and often get comments and questions about them. The Envy 14 would be a good one to experiment with.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, “some of the best things in life are the simplest”.  Case in point is Japanese designer Masayuki Todate’s Desktop Chair.  It’s actually far from a chair, at least in the traditional sense, but it does provide a place for your laptop to sit in comfort no less.   And sure, the laptop stand has been around since, well, the dawn of laptops with video outputs.  However, most are a bit jarring to the eye and don’t use wood like this design, which adds a sort of softness to any digital setup.

The Desktop Chair holds any laptop no fatter than 1.2-inches in an upright position (vertical or horizontal).  Sure, the functionality of this particular item is extremely limited, but if you notice it props your lappy out of the way, freeing up more desktop space for your pens, papers and empty coffee mugs.  Best of all, it’s universal, so any future laptop should fit, no matter the screen size, provided of course you don’t choose a bloated model.

Assuming their funding goal gets met, the Desktop Chair will eventually retail for $50.  But if you pledge $40, you effectively get one for 25% off.

According to our pals over at Macrumors, Apple is working on an ultra-thin 15-inch Macbook.  It’s not clear at this point if it will adopt the same specs and limited feature set as the recent released Macbook Airs, but the site says that the laptop is in the late testing stages at Apple.

In the past Apple has indicated that it is looking to move away from all things spinning (hard drives and optical drives) inside of their machines.  So we see the chances of this rumor as being true pretty darn good.  Macrumors also says that Apple is working on a 17-inch version, though there doesn’t seem to be any indicator as to where that is in the development phase.

On the other hand, Apple just released the brand new Macbook Airs.  So it begs the question why they’d release another laptop with an almost comparable feature set, but with a larger, more popular screen size.  However, Apple has long sold the Macbook Pro in 3 different sizes (13″, 15″ and 17″), so the move wouldn’t be all that unorthodox.

Cocoon always seems to have some really neat idea that go along with their products, so it should come as no surprise to see them make a backpack with a stow-away water resistant hood.  Now you’ll be protected whenever it rains even if you forget your umbrella at home.  This new backpack looks perfect for the college student on the go, with plenty of room for books or a laptop, and a slot for a phone or mp3 player.  Full press release after the jump.

UPDATE: Checkout our Macbook Air 13-inch (2011) review.

As we predicted, Apple updated their Macbook Airs.  They’ve added Core i5 and i7 chips, in addition to their Thunderbolt port and brought back the backlit keyboard.  So now, even though we never out right stated it, we can gladly endorse the purchase of one of these.  While the previous chip, the Core 2 Duo, sufficed for a period of time it was far too antiquated in terms of speed to last the test of time, and by that we mean for the next few years.  Also, adding their Thunderbolt port makes them a little bit more future proof, even though the market is far from flooded with compatible products.

According to Apple the new Core i5 and i7 chips make these Macbook Airs up to 2.5 times faster than the previous iteration.  The Core i5 appears by default in all models.  The 13-inch version, which includes a 1.6Ghz Core i5 chip, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of SSD storage, starts at $999, the same price point as before.  The model up in the same size sports a larger 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM and sells for $1,199.  The entry level 13-inch model starts at $1,299 and ship with a 1.7Ghz Core i5 chip, 4GB of flash and 128GB of storage.  The more expensive 13-inch – it costs $1,599 – ships with a 256GB SSD.  To get into the 1.8Ghz Core i7 chip, which is only available on each size’s top end model, you’ll need to drop $150 and $100 respectively.

All models ship within 24-hours and include Lion OS X.

UPDATE: Checkout our Macbook Air 13″ (2011) Unboxing video. Review coming soon.

Read

The Lounge-wood is crafted of wood and steel and supports your notebook in a comfortable and ergonomic position while you sit on your butt and surf the web.  It’s fully height adjustable, while the table can be positioned in virtually any angle to accommodate even the most finicky of laptop users.  Examining the Lounge-Wood closely you’ll notice that there is a small tray to support your smartphone.  The translated text (from Italian), suggest that you can use it in your home or public places – think we’ll pass on lugging this to our local Starbucks, as it probably it probably weighs a ton.

The Lounge-wood sells for $378.  Ouch.

Read

Newegg is offering a coupon for this ASUS N53JF-XE1 Core i5 15.6-inch Laptop!

If you’re looking for a portable media machine at a good discount then look no further! This Asus N53JF Laptop will provide for all of your media needs with style! It has a compact 15.6-Inch full high definition screen to display all of your media and applications like never before. This laptop packs some incredible power with the super fast Intel Core i5-480m 2.53Ghz processor to speed through all applications, 4GBs of fast DDR3 memory to make multitasking easy and nvidia Geforce 425M Video card with 1GB of VRAM to chew through all of the high definition content you can throw at it! It also includes a large 500GB drive to store whatever you need and has an impressive 2.0MP webcam built right in.

The deal comes to $1049.99 – $150 – $25 Coupon (NEWGEEK25) + Free Shipping = $874.99!

To qualify for this deal make sure you sign up under a new email!

Dell Small Biz is offering this Dell Vostro 3300 13.3-Inch LED Screen Laptop for just $868 – $229 Savings + Free Shipping = $639! This laptop features a 13.3-Inch HD LED screen, and intel Core i5-460M at 2.50Ghz, 4GB of RAM, and 320GB of hard drive storage space.

Offer expires 2/26/11

Dell Small Biz is offering a 40% (Coupon Code: TLQP39PBHB07FS) off deal on any Latitude E5510 or E5410 priced at $1299 or more! The E5410 features a 14-inch screen and is ideal for business class and everyday use, and the E5510 offers a 15.6-Inch screen and is perfect for any business or home situation. Features and specifications can be customized to your liking.

Offer expires 2/26/11

Offer expire 2/26/11

Offer expires 2/26/11

The price is $24.99 – $13.74 coupon (USPC11J29380) + free shipping = $11.25!

Don’t forget the coupon: USPC11J29380

Asus isn’t playing around. They’re running straight into the tablet market with three separate devices, one 7″ Android, one 12.1″ Windows 7-based tablet, and a laptop-esque device with a removable keyboard. The first, the EeePad Memo runs a qualcomm snapdragon processor, undoubtedly the same model we’ve seen in recent Android phones and tablets, though it does boast 1080p playback, a front and rear camera, an IPS capacitive touchscreen, and it works even with a stylus. The Memo is expected to release in May for $499-$699.

But frankly, that’s not so special. We already have some Android tablets. The EeePad Slate EP121, a 12.1″ Windows 7 tablet, is beyond a workhorse. It runs an i5-470UM CPU, Win7 Home Premium, and we witnessed it run Photoshop live, albeit barely. It comes with a 64GB SSD, 4GB of RAM, and supports Wireless-N and Bluetooth 3.0, works with a stylus, and has HDMI, USB and a media card reader. It’s a bit ridiculous. You thought the iPad was big. Asus also claims that it’s twice as fast as the iPad. The Slate is expected to release this month for $999-$1099.

Then there’s the EeePad Transformer, a tablet that comes with a keyboard that plugs directly into the bottom of the tablet to make it into a laptop. Asus claims 16 hours of battery life, and the Transformer boasts a full size QWERTY keyboard, all the ports and outputs of the Slate EP121, and even better dual cameras (5MP rear camera with autofocus, 1.2MP front camera). Oh, and it comes with Tegra 2, which is Nvidia’s dual-core full-on processor, which works as the CPU and GPU. The Transformer is expected to release this May for $499-$799.

Finally, there’s the EeePad Slider, a tiny 2lbs .66″ thick tablet slider. That means it comes with a built-in and slide-out keyboard, but interestingly doesn’t run Windows 7, instead using Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). And it does all this with the same Tegra 2 processor as in the Transformer, a 10.1″ IPS display, the same cameras as the Transformer, and all the built-in goodies as the previous two tablets.

Specs:

• Intel Core i5 460M
• 4GB of DDR3 RAM
• 500GB hard drive
• 14.1-inch LED display
• HDMI output
• 3x USB 2.0 ports
• Memory card reader
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 310 M

It’s $949 – $180 instant savings – 15% coupon (USPLENOVO805) + free shipping = $653.65!

COUPON: USPLENOVO805 expires 8/11!