Smart Office

Menu

Mendelson Tiu

12-Inch Lenovo Netbook Plays Full HD Movies

by

Lenovo has launched its first 12-inch netbook which comes with a full-sized keyboard and offers an increased processor and graphics option which the company claims will play Full HD movies without slowdowns.

Using Nvidia’s Ion graphics platform, the company says that users will be able to watch 1080p video with smooth and quick playback, or watch it on an external monitor via its HDMI connection. Select models of the IdeaPad S12 will also ship pre-loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium edition.

Lenovo says that the IdeaPad S12 measures less than an inch thick, weighs 1.5kgs, features an ExpressCard slot, has up to 320 GB of storage and 3 GB of memory, offers Lenovo’s OneKey Rescue System that recovers user data or system settings, and lasts up to six hours. In addition, the unit also comes with Lenovo’s VeriFace facial recognition technology, a Lenovo Quick Start environment that allows e-mail and Internet browser without waiting for the full operating system to boot, and a 4-in-1 multicard reader.

Lenovo ANZ’s Product and Marketing Director, Chris Kelly said, “We’ve heard from consumers loud and clear about the need for affordable and extremely portable computing devices, and we’ve responded by introducing our third generation netbook with a completely new form factor, making mini-computing easier and redefining value in this market. We are pioneering new territory in this developing arena by being the first to give customers high quality video capabilities and even more choices to optimise their netbook performance.”

The IdeaPad S12 netbook will be available in December through www.lenovo.com.au and Lenovo business partners with pricing starting at $799.

Small Wireless USB Adapter From D-Link

by

D-Link announced a Nano Wireless-N USB adapter that sports a small form factor.


Click to enlarge
The D-Link DWA-131 Wireless-N Nano USB Adapter connects to a Wireless N network so users can access files quickly. It comes with a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) feature that enables it to establish a single-click connection with an access point or wireless router and also offers advanced security features.

D-Link’s Quick Setup Wizard promises an easy way to set up the USB adapter, while its included Wireless Manager helps to keep track of recently accessed networks.

D-Link Australia and New Zealand’s Marketing Director, Maurice Famularo said,
“With its unique ‘Firefly’ design and unmatched performance, this ultra-portable USB adapter is an ideal choice for setting up a secure, high-performance wireless connection.”

The DWA-131 Wireless N Nano USB Adapter is available now for $79.95.

Sales And Profits Up For JB Hi-Fi

by

JB Hi-Fi Limited has reported a record half yearly net profit of $76 million from $1.554 billion in sales for the six months ending 31 December 2009. The company has also reported that its dividend has increased 120 per cent to 33 cents per share.The company has also reported a comparable store sales growth of 10.2 per cent for the period in Australia, while gross margins remained stable despite competitor discounting and the strong performance of low margin categories.

In addition, the company’s cost of doing business was down 39 basis points to 13.2 per cent. EBIT margin increased 10 basis points to 7.2 per cent, while cashflow from Operations was strong at $168.4 million for the half year.

The company has raised the dividend declaring a fully franked dividend of 33.0 cents per share, an increase of 120 per cent (HY09 was at 15 cents).

Sales in December were solid across all categories, with comparable store sales of 6.5 per cent.

 

JB Hi-Fi’s CEO, Richard Uechtritz said, “We are once again extremely pleased with this strong result, particularly in the comparable store sales growth of 6.5 per cent in December, when compared to the prior corresponding period, which was impacted by the government’s stimulus package.”

“JB has proven to be very resilient throughout the economic downturn which led to low consumer confidence and spend. This performance is testament to our strong retail model and the depth and strength of our management team,” he said.

“We continue to grow our market share as recently opened stores mature, we open new stores, expand our offering, and reduce our prices on the back of increased economies of scale and a continued focus on costs,” added Uechtritz.

The company has opened 15 new stores in the half and is expecting to open 7 more in the second half of FY10, bringing the number of new stores to 22, which “will be the largest number it has opened in any year since formation,” says the company.

Finally, the company said that sales in January have met internal expectations with comparable store sales at 7.2 per cent.

“Whist the retail outlook continues to be uncertain, the company is cautiously optimistic that it will have another strong year. JB confirms its previous guidance that sales will be circa $2.8 billion or a 20 percent increase on the prior financial year, and expects Net Profit after Tax to be in the range of $117 million to $120 million or a 24 percent to 27 increase on the prior year.

Panasonic Whiteboards Now With Audio

by

Panasonic announced three new Elite Panaboard electronic whiteboards that come with an integrated stereo sound system, text and graphic capabilities, and rugged screen.


Click to enlarge
Available in three panel sizes (diagonal) ranging from 83 inches (UB-T81W), to 77 inches (UB-T81), to 64 inches (UB-T761), the new Elite Panaboard whiteboards boast seamless PC/projector integration), onboard avi/wmv/mpg/mpeg/swf-compatible streaming media playback, spotlight mode for highlighting a specific part of the screen, and a screen capture utility that automatically records every operation performed on the board along with accompanying audio commentary.

Panaboard’s Product Manager, Bob Curci said, “I strongly believe that Panasonic giving ‘voice’ to these Panaboards will prove tremendously beneficial to sales executives, teachers and all other interactive-audio video presenters. For the first time they can integrate ‘talking heads,’ sound effects, and video/audio files into their presentations without needing access to an external sound system to play them in rich, conference-room filling stereo sound.”

“With tools like Panasonic’s innovative Spotlight electronic highlighter, these new Elite Panaboard whiteboards take creating and displaying engaging, dynamic classroom and enterprise presentations to a new level of simplicity and sophistication,” added Curci.

Other features of the UB-T781/61 Elite Panaboards include simplified driver and software setup, an optimized electronic pen for easy, mouse-like operation, from-the-whiteboard PC control with onscreen keyboard input, auto saving of text and graphics written on the board, and integrated drawing tools. 

Motorola Wall Plate Comes With Wireless Capability

by

Motorola has launched a new WallPlate access point (AP) designed to quickly extend 802.11n wireless LAN (WLAN) services to multi-room facilities, such as hotels or hospitals.


Click to enlarge

Motorola said that the AP 6511 can easily be installed in a guest room without the time and costs associated with deploying traditional APs. The AP 6511 is roughly the size of a deck of cards and provides a user with high-speed mobile access.

The AP 6511 uses in-wall CAT5/6 cabling, so Wi-Fi coverage can be extended without the need to pull cables or drill holes. A field installable snap-on Ethernet module adds three switched fast Ethernet ports for converged guestroom IP services, such as IPTV or secure wired access.

Each AP can service up to 10 rooms with Motorola’s Smart RF technology automatically tuning power and channels to ensure guest obtain maximum performance and highest quality of service.

The AP 6511 also has multiple management and service options. In smaller facilities, up to 25 WallPlates can be deployed without an external controller by using the Controller AP feature resident on the AP 6511.

For larger facilities, the AP 6511 can be locally or remotely managed by Motorola’s family of RFS wireless controllers, allowing immense scalability. The solution also enables IT operations to create a single seamless WLAN by leveraging Motorola’s broad portfolio of wireless network solutions.  

The AP 6511 will be available in Australia and New Zealand through Motorola channel partners and Motorola sales in the fourth quarter of 2010.

HP Reinforces Commitment To Planet Ark

by

HP has today announced the launch of its recycling program in Australia that will enable customers to return HP printing supplies for environmentally responsible recycling.


Click to enlarge
According to HP, its Planet Partners Program will provide online and phone based customer support services, convenient drop-off points for consumers and collection services for corporate customers.  

Since 2003, the collection and recycling of HP printing supplies in Australia has been coordinated and managed by Cartridges 4 Planet Ark. Recycling services have been provided by Close The Loop, a co-creator of the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program.  HP was a founding member of Cartridges 4 Planet Ark, which has collected close to ten million cartridges in total since 2003.  

HP’s VP and General Manager for IPG, Richard Bailey said, “HP remains committed to the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark Program until the end of the 120-day notice period.  We will continue to cover the costs associated with the collection and recycling of original HP branded supplies by Cartridges 4 Planet Ark until this point and we have taken steps to ensure an immediate start to the transition. We have moved quickly to put the HP customer service line and collection points in place.  These services will ultimately form part of HP Planet Partners Program in Australia when the formal transition to the new program is complete.” 

 

To facilitate smooth transition, HP has established convenient drop off points for consumers in ten locations around Australia. Available immediately, the drop off points will supplement the existing Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection points, which HP intends to support until August 29th, 2009.

HP Planet Partners Customer Service Line – New and existing HP customers can call 1300 325 961 to register for the program and for further information.

HP Planet Partners Collection Boxes – Collection boxes for commercial customers will be available from June 1st, 2009.  The boxes provide medium and large business customers with a central collection point within their organisation for used printing supplies hardware.

Commercial customers can register for the program and order their collection boxes via the HP Planet Partners Customer Services Line on 1300 325 961.  

See: www.hp.com

$899 Medion Notebook Packed With New Features

by

Medion has been delivering value notebooks for the longest time and it is no surprise that their new 15.6-inch notebook packs a lot of features for $899. If you are in the market for something portable, then go to your nearest Aldi store next week.


Click to enlarge

Medion still maintains the brushed aluminium finish on the lid and the matte interior for the MD98390, which gives it a sophisticated look. The keyboard is well-spaced and has a dedicated number pad, making it easy for users to do their accounting or expenses while on the go. The touchpad is placed a bit off centre and offers multi-touch functions such as pinch to zoom and two finger scrolling.

Users who are used to connecting a lot of devices via USB will not be disappointed – the notebook has three USB 2.0 ports. Early adopters who already have a USB 3.0 device are also catered for as Medion also included a USB 3.0 port for fast data transfer.

We connected a WD My Passport Essential with USB 3.0 to the MD98390 and found that it was able to transfer a 2.16GB folder to the Desktop in 70 seconds (averaging about 35MB/s) compared to about 115 seconds on USB 2.0 (about 20MB/s).

Users can find the MMC/SC/MS/MS Pro card reader, microphone and earphone jacks, and DVD drive with burner on the right side of the notebook. It also has a web camera and built-in microphone that can be used for video chat programs such as Skype.

 

Click to enlarge

The 15.6-inch LED backlit screen has a native resolution of 1366×768 and doesn’t sport a glossy finish. Those who want to do their work on a bigger screen can hook it up to a secondary monitor or large screen TV using the VGA or HDMI port. Movies played on the unit were good when watched up front but quality suffered when looking at it from an angle. We also saw a couple of instances when fast moving sequences suffered from tearing.

The Intel Core i3 M370 processor running at 2.40Ghz and 4GB of RAM allowed us to run multiple programs at once without experiencing slowdowns. The notebook also came with a 640GB drive that allowed us to store a lot of movies, photos, pictures, and even documents.

The unit is pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit) and comes with programs such as  Bullguard (Trial), CorelDraw Essentials 4,Cyberlink Media Suite, Ashampoo (Burning Studio, Photo Commander and Snap), as well as Microsoft Office 2010 that offers Word and Excel for free, but includes advertising.

The Nvidia GeforceGT 425M (1GB) video card comes with Optimus Technology that claims to automatically ‘figure out how to best optimize your notebook computing experience’. In a nutshell, Optimus Technology is able to extend the battery life of a notebook when a user is surfing the Internet or sending e-mails and automatically switches to performance mode when watching HD movies or playing games.

 

While the MD98390 is able to play older games, it is important to note that newer games are no-go. The notebook gathered a score of 7115 in our 3DMark06 test.

The unit lasted for 2 hours and 40 minutes during our DVD playback test, with the speakers and Dolby Advanced Audio being able to produce clear mids and punchy bass. This means that users will be able to do a lot of things before having to plug the device to an outlet.

Overall, the Medion MD98390 comes with a lot of new features that make it worth the money. It will be available next Thursday for $899. 

WD Drive For Mac Comes With E-Label

by

WD has launched a new portable drive for Mac that features FireWire 800 and a customisable e-label for easy file organisation.


Click to enlarge

The new My Passport Studio portable drives are formatted for Mac computers, is compatible with Apple TimeMachine software, feature automatic and continuous backup with WD SmartWare software, and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.
 
The e-label smart display on the front of the My Passport drives can be changed often using the included WD SmartWare software. The e-label also shows available capacity and whether the drive is locked. Utilizing e-paper technology, the information on the display remains visible even when the drive is unplugged.
 
WD’s Vice President of Marketing for its Branded Products, Dale Pistilli said, “Many of our customers store their content on multiple external drives, making it difficult to know what content is on each drive. The e-label smart display is an elegant and practical solution for organizing and keeping track of one’s digital life and work. WD SmartWare software makes it easy for users to protect their valuable content with automatic and continuous backup and encryption.”
           
The My Passport Studio offers automatic continuous backup using its SmartWare software and 256-bit hardware-based encryption that scrambles files before they are stored.

The My Passport Studio drives are offered in capacities of 500 GB and 640 GB for $239.99 and $269.99, respectively.     

Fastest Telstra Mobile Broadband Now Available For Consumers

by

Telstra announced that its BigPond Ultimate USB is now available to the wider consumer market. This will allow any user to surf the Internet and download files at very fast speeds.


Click to enlarge

Previously available only to selected corporate and SME customers, the company says that the device is twice as fast as Telstra’s current fastest Next G modem and offers coverage in Australia’s capital city CBDs and associated airports, selected metropolitan hubs and more than 100 regional centres.

The benefits of the new Telstra BigPond Ultimate USB Modem include typical download speeds range from 1.1Mbps to 20Mbps in selected areas and coverage availability in Australia’s capital city CBDs and associated airports, selected metropolitan hubs and more than 100 regional centres.

The Telstra BigPond Ultimate USB Modem is available for $0 upfront on a range of Post-Paid Mobile Broadband plans, when customers sign up to a 24 month contact.

Additionally from today, customers on Telstra’s high-end BigPond Mobile Liberty plans will enjoy more value: 7GB for $59.95 (an additional 1GB for $20 less per month on the previous 6GB offer) and 12GB for $89.95 (an extra 2GB for $30 less per month on the previous 19GB offer).