WESTERN DIGITAL MY BOOK STUDIO EDITION II

Zippy, Voluminous External Storage



I really liked the Western Digital My Book Mirror Edition, which yokes two 1TB hard drives together to provide a terabyte of mirrored (RAID 1) storage. Think of the Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II as the Mirror Edition's fraternal twin. But while the Mirror Edition emphasizes protected storage, the Studio Edition II is all about speed and capacity. It's just the thing for video-heavy creative types who would enjoy having 2T8 of transportable storage by their desktops. It's Mac-friendly out of the box, though it will work with Windows PCs, too. In terms of dollars per GB, this is more expensive than a single-mechanism drive, but it's cheaper than a portable drive.

Within its case, the Studio Edition II has the same pair of Green Power mi hard drives as the Mirror Edition, and as with that product, the user can replace one of the Studio Edition II's drives if it fails. The Studio Edition II comes formatted for HFS+ (Mac format) and with RAID 0. (You can reformat to FAT32 or MIS if you like.) This means it can fully support the faster FireWire 800 and eSATA interfaces.

The Studio Edition II proved speedy on our test MacBook, taking only 49 seconds to copy our 1.2GB test folder via USB, 38 seconds via FireWire 400, and 32 seconds with FireWire 800. If all you need is a secure, protected place to store your backups, then get the (slightly) cheaper Mirror Edition. But if you have a home business or other small business or are a graphics professional, the Studio Edition II should float to the top of your buy list.—Joel Santo Domingo



PC Magazine April 2009

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LENOVO THINKPAD USB PORTABLE SECURE DRIVE

Lockable, Portable Hard Drive




Drive security is getting to be a hot-button issue; witness the recent story about a lost M1)3 player with military data on it being resold in a pawn shop. The problem with so-called "secure" hard drives has traditionally been that they have too many limitations. This Lenovo external drive transcends those limitations by internalizing its security—it looks just like a plain old hard drive to Windows or Mac OS X. It's hardware-encrypted (with 128-hit AES) and easy to use—what more could you as for?

At first glance, the 0.5-by-3.5-by-4.5-inch (I-IWD), 320GB Secure Drive looks like a USB numeric keypad. An LED indicator tells you the drive's status, and the casing is clad in the same rubberized coating that gives Lenovo's Think Pad notebooks their distinctive and sturdy feel. You can add up to ten users (in addition to the administrator),each with a unique access code. That way, the drive can be passed from person to person while remaining secure, with each user having access to all the data on it.



In testing, the Secure Drive scored very well on PCMark05, turning in 3,126—exceptional for an external storage drive. It was also fast in simple dragand-drop copying, taking only 52 seconds to transfer our 1.2GB test folder. 'lb he sure, FireWire and eSATA drives have the potential to be faster, but the Secure Drive pays no performance penalties for its security. At about $0.68/GB, the drive is a bit pricey. You can get a nonprotected 500GB drive for the same total price as the Secure Drive (about $0.44/ GB). But for its target audience, the extra security is worth the money. If you're a businessperson who needs to pass sensitive data physically from one computer to another, or it you want to back up your files with another layer of security, the Secure Drive is a perfect choice.- Joel Santo Domingo

PC Magazine April 2009

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Archos 5

Shortcomings limit media player's true potential



THE NEW ARCHOS 5 is the most stylish of the company's media devices. It looks great, comes loaded with features, and performs well. But several flaws hold it back from being the outstanding player it could be.

The device is controlled mainly via its touch screen, a fantastic 4.8-inch, 800x480 display that's bright and clear. The Archos 5 can play back photos, video, music, and PDF files, and it can surf the Web via its Opera browser. It also supports Flash 9, widgets, and an e-mail application. When it comes to media playback, the Archos 5 supports a variety of file formats in addition to often-used ones like MP3 and WMV, and with its built-in Wi-Fi connection, the Archos 5 can stream music and video from Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) servers on your network, as well as music from Internet radio stations.

Both the screen and body design, however, are prone to fingerprints, and unfortunately, the Archos 5 features an entirely new proprietary connector—if you're upgrading from an older Archos player, your accessories will be rendered useless. Be prepared to shell out more money if you want to take advantage of new add-ons. Also, despite the player's many great features, we were disappointed that we couldn't charge it using a standard USB cable. If you are on the go and forget your proprietary cable at home, you're out of luck.


We realize that the Archos 5 needs special connectors for its hardware add-ons, but a standard mini-USB port for charging and PC- and Mac-compatible data transfer would help a lot. —Rich Grech

Computer Shopper March 2009

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NEC NP61

Full-auto projector takes sweat out of presentations



DON'T WANT TO FUSS setting up a presentation projector? NEC's fully automatic NP61 is for you. Just plug it in, connect a laptop, and it's ready to go. No fiddling with input buttons, focus controls, keystone correction—nothing.

At $1,299, the compact NP61 isn't cheap, but it's appropriately priced for a 3.5-pound portable model with a native XGA (1,024x768) resolution. An instant-off feature lets you turn it off and pack it up immediately without a lamp-cooling period. Should you need to make an adjustment, its controls are on the top of the unit.

NEC claims the NP61 can be placed as close as 4.8 feet from a wall or as far as 44 feet away to produce an image of 33 inches to 300 inches (diagonal). Its Digital Light Processing (DLP) engine is rated at 3,000 lumens with a contrast ratio of 1,600-to-1.

That's bright enough to use even in a well-lit room. In our tests, we placed the NP61 112 inches from the screen to create an 80-inch image. Image quality was excellent. In a medium-lit room, the image was very bright.



Photo and video images were a touch darker than they appeared on our laptop screen, but they still looked impressive. Our only real disappointment is that the monaural speaker delivered, at best, low volume. Also, the constant whir of the projector's fan is noticeable, and it may even grow annoying to the person adjacent to it. Setting the projector to economy mode drops the noise level to about 5dB while delivering an image that's still plenty bright. —Jamie Bsales

Computer Shopper March 2009

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Eurocom L390TP Uno

All-in-one has limited abilities, but needs little space, electricity



EUROCOM'S L390TP UNO is an all-in-one PC that spurns TV capabilities in favor of simple PC functionality. (A tuner is an option in other configurations; none was included in our $1,750 test model.)

The system's distinguishing feature is its 19-inch touch screen, but the screen's shortcomings make the Uno seem more like a tablet PC with desktop pretensions. For instance, you can use a finger to navigate the screen, but you'll find the system better suited to tried-and-true pointing devices.

Since the panel has no digitizer, you'll need practice to master the precise movements necessary. Plus, it takes quite a bit of force to activate buttons (and patience to cope with a jittery mouse cursor).

At 12.Sx18x2.7 inches (HWD), however, the Uno could be a space-saving option for those living in cramped quarters. It's also wall-mountable. Lightweight (20 pounds) and convenient to carry, it's easily transportable between rooms. Eurocom also touts the compact system as extremely energy-efficient and claims it pulls a maximum of just 70 watts of power.

The nun-of-the-mill components include a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a DVD±RW drive, and an integrated Webcam; the OS is the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Business.



You do get lots of connectivity options: a multiformat card reader, an ExpressCard slot, USB, four-pin FireWire, HDMI, external SATA, and more. But the Uno's performance is mostly unexceptional, lagging behind HP's TouchSmart line of PCs, which feature a more exciting and useful implementation of touch technology. If space and power usage are concerns, the Uno might be sensible; just don't expect it to be a powerful, well-rounded problem solver. —M.M

Computer Shopper March 2009

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Sony VAIO VGC-RT150Y

Outstanding performance, exorbitant price



MOST OF THE TV-FOCUSED all-in-ones we've seen so far have been more about potential than performance. All have offered basic Media Center functionality, and some have aimed slightly higher, but to accomplish any serious tasks, you've generally had to look elsewhere. Sony is trying to capture the enthusiast sector of the all-in-one market with its very appealing, high-end VAIO VGC-RT150Y, which has many of the benefits of other do-it-all systems at a price we can charitably describe as prohibitive.

First, the good news. The VGC RT150Y, which is equally well-designed inside and out, seems poised to fit into any user's lifestyle or décor. The 17.3x26.1x9.3-inch (11WD) unit is solid black and has sharp-angled corners, the embodiment of I-mean-business elegance. The only colors come from the white Sony logo—which glows when the PC is turned on—and the screen itself, an attractive, glossy 25.5-inch expanse.

You can place the system on either the desk, using the included stand, or on the wall with the help of the included VESA mounting bracket. The components, too, are unusually serious for an all-in-one: a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 processor, 8GB of DDR2 RAM, two 500GB hard drives in a RAID Level 0 configuration, a Blu-ray burner and DVD±RW combo drive, and 512MB of Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics. The system was designed with video editing in mind, so its components are not exactly surprising—nor are the media features that complete the package. Of course, there's a dual-band (ATSC/NTSC) TV tuner for capturing video.

The OS is the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Ultimate, providing backup features beyond those included in Home Premium. You get four separate card readers for importing content: ExpressCard, CompactFlash, Memory Stick Pro, and SD, all aligned on the display's left edge. Other connectivity options are just as plentiful: four-pin FireWire, USB, external SATA, headphone, microphone, and audio-input jacks, also on the left side; two more USB ports on keys (which double as touch volume controls), and OK button let you interact with the display's settings as if it were a full- fledged TV.

A toggle switch near the bottom of the screen lets you switch off the built-in 802.11a/b/g/n Wi Fi, and a button below lets you connect to the wireless mouse and keyboard. Sony takes things still further with software, offering not just the expected (trial versions of Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft Works, and Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007) and its own proprietary media software (for burning discs, creating movies, and streaming music and other media), but also full versions of Adobe's major consumer editing apps, Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements.

These packages give you a lot more functionality than just about any free software we've seen and are exactly what someone serious about using the VGC-RT150Y would need. Running them shouldn't be a problem: While the Sony displayed very good image quality while watching high-definition Blu-ray movies, it also placed consistently near the top in our all-in one and media-PC rankings.

Usually, only better-equipped—and pricier—PCs can turn in results as good as the VGC-RT150Y's 11,164 in the 64-bit version of Cinebench 10, 3 minutes and 58 seconds with Windows Media Encoder, the right side; and an A/V input, S-Video, infrared transmitter out, optical out, Ethernet, two more USB ports, HDMI out, and HDMI in.

The system allows for easy control over all its functions, most of which you can manage from the right edge of the display. At the top is a power button, and immediately below it is a button that will turn off just the display, leaving the PC on. Below that are the optical drive and then the HDMI-select button, for choosing to accept input from the HDMI port instead of from the PC. The display menu, arrow all on the rear of the unit.



3 minutes in our Mines conversion test, and 5,242 in Futuremark PCMark Vantage. This system excels within its class. Still, the $3,999 price is excessive even by all-in-one standards and not quite in line with what the system delivers. (HP's TouchSmart IQ816, by way of comparison, has the same-size screen and a Blu-ray reader—and costs $2,099.) Unless you desperately need or want the Sony brand, you're better off buying an even more powerful desktop and connecting it to an HD-ready monitor of this size or larger—you'll spend less money, even counting the Adobe software, a Blu-ray burner, and more. We love the VGC-RT150Y's power and extensibility, but we can't blindly recommend it unless you have money to burn. —Matthew Murray

Computer Shopper March 2009

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Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

Excellent single-lens solution for photo enthutiast

THE CANON POWERSHOT



SX10 IS ultrazoom digital camera offers an impressive 20x optical zoom lens. This 10-megapixel model's focal length of 28mm to 560mm resembles that of a digital single-lens-reflex (dSLR) camera and gives one-lens convenience for everything from group shots to wildlife photography.

The SX10 IS resembles a small SLR, with a large grip on the right holding four AA batteries. The 2.S-inch LCD may seem small compared with the 3-inch screens on some competing cameras, but it can swing out and swivel to shoot from unusual angles.

Overall, still-image quality is excellent. Details are very sharp, and colors are accurate without being overly vibrant. Noise levels are very low, yet little detail is lost to in-camera sharpening at higher ISO settings. The camera's optical image stabilization remained effective even at the farthest reaches of the zoom range.

We did notice some chromatic aberration (purple fringing) in areas of high contrast, but this was mostly evident when we zoomed in on deep or heavily cropped images. Also, we found that skies and other bright image elements were sometimes blown out in our shots. One other nit: The SX10 IS captures 10-megapixel, 3,648x2,736-pixel images in JPEG format only; there's no RAW support.

As for speed, the camera takes 1.6 seconds to start up. Shutter lag was well under a tenth of a second in our tests. The camera shoots 1.4 images per second in continuous-shooting mode; normal shot-to-shot delay is about 1.8 seconds. The SX10 IS will also shoot VGA-resolution video at 30 frames per second.



There's a dedicated Record button for video, and the resulting Quick-Time-format movies look good, though we noted an audible clicking sound in the video if we changed the zoom level while filming. The VGA-quality video isn't as impressive, however, as video from comparable cameras that shoot HD footage, including the similar Canon SX1 IS, which hasn't yet been released to the North American market. (One other interesting video feature: You can shoot full-resolution stills while recording video, though the image will black out for a second while the photo is captured.)
Overall, the SX10 IS is a marked improvement over earlier cameras in Canon's ultra-zoom line, offering a very flexible zoom range and shooting options, plus overall good image quality.—Denny Atkin

Computer Shopper March 2009

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