Loud and Clear

Now,Micro Star International,the trendsetter in netbooks (famous as creators of MSI Wind),has launched a series of laptops that seem to have been designed with good sound in mind. Its new F-series laptops,ranging from 14” to 17”,have been built in collaboration with system experts from Dynaudio and THX.

And it shows. The speakers of the FX 600,which I tested,have better than regular sound. But once you switch on the THX Tru Studio Pro Software and click on the presets,the tiny speakers start behaving very differently. The sound gets a real boost,allowing you to hear the dialogues even of old John Wayne movies.

The company claims the speakers have been placed in a way that ensures unparalleled sound performance.

Hope others will take note.

MSI claims this series is also the first to use Intel’s Wireless Display Interface technology in India. This new WiDi technology,showcased at the CES (a major technologyrelated trade show) in Las Vegas earlier this year,helps users connect wirelessly to HDTVs and home theatre systems without any loss of clarity. The series also features the Intel Core i5 processor with Intel Turbo Boost and Intel Hyper-Threading technologies which adjust processor efficiency as required.

Along with entertainment,the series can double as good gaming laptops too. The F-series comes equipped with the nVIDIA GeForce GT 325M discrete graphics card with 1GB GDDR3 of display memory. This is coupled with MSI’s own GPU Boost technology which automatically switches graphicsprocessing modes.

There is much emphasis on design and style,for example the rough texture of the touchpad. However,this makes the cursor behave a bit awkwardly at times. The keyboard is well laid out and has a nice non-plastic feel. The high-end models in the series have HD webcams with 720p resolution. Plus,MSI has thrown in some applications that can add visual effects to your webcasts.

Despite all these features and a DVD Super-Multi CD-ROM,the MSI F-Series still boasts extended battery life thanks to the ECO engine power-saving technology. This allows users to select from among five power-management levels. But I couldn’t get more that 3.5 hours of juice,at least 90 minutes short of what we’ve come to expect from laptops these days.

While the series has hard drives ranging from 250-500GB,the FX600 comes with 4GB DDR RAM,500 GB storage and costs 64 bit Windows 7. The prices of the laptops range between Rs 37,000 and Rs 53,000,with a two-year warranty.

Just right

* The HP G62 doesn’t plan to sell gimmicks. Its USP will be its promise of “just right computing” for your everyday needs. But still,the notebook has everything,from stylish looks to top-of-the-line features.

* The matte finish runs all around. In fact,it even covers the touchpad,which has been fully integrated into the body. The full-size keyboard is well spaced and only the power button is beyond it,so there is no room for confusion. A thoughtful addition is that the Wi-Fi button in the row above the function keys has a small LED indicator to show if it’s on.

* The 15.6” HD LED Backlit BrightView WideScreen display with a 16:9 aspect ratio makes it perfect for viewing HD content. And,for a change,the speakers are good too.

* Inside,the Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit runs on an Intel Core i3 mobile processor with a 3GB memory. I found the new in-built HP Advisor software very handy. Its PC discovery function lets you exploit the potential of your computer and minimises the need to go to the start menu for function options. Then,HP does a Mac,by throwing in a customisable dock on the desktop.

* The other good thing is the 8X SuperMulti Drive DVD writer with LightScribe,which lets you burn labels on your discs. There is one HDMI port and three USB ports for your connection needs along with a 5-in-1 card reader. HP claims its six-cell lithium ion battery can give up to 5.25 hours of juice.

* However,the touchpad does not support multi-touch,a standard netbook feature these days. And the G62 is a bit heavy at 2.5 kg.

* The HP G62 costs Rs 38,900 and will be available in India from late October.