New Netbook: Lenovo Ideapad S205s

New Lenovo IdeaPad S205s netbook with up to date 4G wireless technology and you aren’t too concerned with a 2-year contract stipulation, Sprint has got the deal that you want. The deal is for the Lenovo IdeaPad S205s.

Lenovo IdeaPad S205s has 3G and 4G WiMAX potential and costs just around $200 if you sign-up for the 2-year service plan. That is an incredible deal whatever way you slice it, and even with paying for the data plan you’re still getting a great deal on the netbook.

Full specs for the S205s include an 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.33 GHz Intel Pentium dual core U5600 processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory, and a 250GB hard drive. Software-wise, it comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit. Fully charged, it holds  about five hours of battery life, so that’s plenty of time for many of your non-plugged in tasks.

And for those of you concerned about weight, it slides in at an easy 3.3 lbs. The S205 line came out in 2011 for $500 from Lenovo, but the new Sprint version has a slightly different makeup as it has an Intel processor and mobile broadband connectivity.

You should always consider data plan costs when purchasing a laptop/wireless combo, and this situation is no different. The cheapest data plan you can buy to get this deal is $49.99/month, so the full price tag for the whole two years is around $1,400. Maybe just a $299 netbook with wifi and 3G tethering will suffice.

Review: Asus All-in-One PC ET2700INKS

The good: The Asus ET2700I is unique for its 27-inch display, a fast Core i7 GPU, and a discrete Nvidia graphics chip.
The bad: Like other 27-inch Windows all-in-ones, the Asus' 1080p resolution hurts its appeal next to the higher-resolution 27-inch iMac.
The bottom line: The Asus ET2700I will meet the needs of anyone searching for a fast, large-screen all-in-one for mainstream home entertainment and general-purpose productivity.

Review: Asus All-in-One PC ET2700INKS

HP debuted the first 27-inch Windows all-in-one earlier this year. Now Asus follows suit with its ET2700I. Like HP, Asus charges a reasonable premium for its large display, asking $1,399 for a system that might otherwise cost around $1,000 with the same components and a 24-inch LCD. None of these 27-inchers has the same high resolution as Apple's large iMacs, making them a better fit as home entertainment PCs than productivity workstations. Should you choose the Asus system over the HP? If overall performance and budget gaming capability are important to you, yes.

Asus offers a few different versions of the 27-inch ET2700I. This one is the most expensive, thanks to its Core i7 CPU, a discrete Nvidia graphics card, a Blu-ray drive and a standalone subwoofer unit that plugs into the side of the system.

I haven't seen an all-in-one with a breakout subwoofer before. It seems like a reasonable way to differentiate the system, but the effort is marred by underpowered hardware. Asus sends power and the audio signal to the sub via a single audio cable. The unit provides a slight boost to the bass output, but even at max volume and all of the various software effects enabled, the audio isn't what you would call room-filling. At the higher volume levels, the output also lost some integrity.

Cheap subwoofer aside, the 27-inch screen is the highlight of the ET2700I. The resolution tops out at 1,920x1,080 pixels. That's plenty for most non-professional users, and movies, games, and other media content will look great. You might be disappointed if you want a giant screen to cram full of open windows for multitasking. Professional digital image editors and others will also likely prefer the 27-inch iMac's denser 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution.

Also note that the ET2700I does not have a touch screen. Multiple PC vendors have told me that getting touch on a 27-inch display is prohibitively expensive. That didn't stop Lenovo and others from exhibiting touch-enabled 27-inchers at this year's CES, but whether those systems actually come to market here in the United States is another question.

It's worth noting that without touch, upgrading to Windows 8 later this year might feel rather pointless. How that might factor in to your present-day buying decision depends on what you think of Microsoft's ability to spur the development of compelling touch applications. For this system today, I expect most potential buyers won't find the lack of touch a deal killer. Get the full article >>>