MacBook Air - 11"

An ultra slim and super light weight laptop from apple. It is powered by Intel dual core i-series processors and features an 11 inch HD display. With this MacBook Air, you enjoy blazing speeds with its WiFi connectivity and an exceptionally responsive laptop thanks to the OS X Mavericks operating system and its all Flash Drive storage that is 9 times faster than an ordinary 5400rpm Hard Disc Drive.  

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Attractive features on the MacBook Air 11"

• Ultra responsive OS X Mavericks that has over 200 new features including some of my favorite AirPlay, Airdrop, iCloud, Multiple display support, App & Power Nap, Compressed memory and of course facebook integration.
• The LED Back-lit HD display makes this MacBook Air's display screen comfortable for reading for long hours. 
• The 1.4GHz dual-core Intel core i5 CPU (with Turbo boost to 2.7GHz) together with the Intel Graphics 5000 GPU makes this MacBook Air ultra responsive to gaming and video streaming and movie action.
• For those of us that love taking selfies, the 720p Face time Camera comes in handy with stunning image quality.

Full tech specs of the MacBook Air 11"

• OS X Mavericks Operating system
• Crisp 11.6 inch 1366 x 768 LED-back lit display screen. It supports dual display and video mirroring with full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 x 1600 pixels on an external display.
• 1.4GHz dual-core Intel core i5 CPU with Turbo boost to 2.7GHz
• Intel HD Graphics 5000 GPU
• 4GB RAM of 1600MHz LPDDR3 RAM upgradeable to 8GB
• 128GB PCIe-based flash storage memory upgradable up to 512GB.
• Built-in 38WH Lithium-Polymer Battery
• 100-240V, 50-60Hz 45W MagSafe 2 power adapter
• 720 pixel HD face time camera
• Thunderbolt mini Display Digital Video output port
• MagSafe 2 power port
• 2 USB 3 ports up to 5Gbps link speed
• 1 Thunderbolt port up to 10Gbps link speed
• 2 Stereo Speakers
• 1 headset port
• Dual Microphones
• 802.11ac Wi-Fi  LAN backward compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.0 Technology
• Ultra-thin, at 0.68" thick and ultra-light weighing just about 1.08kg.

Buying tips

• The MacBook air -11" has no HDMI, VGA and SD or SDXC card ports. However, the mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter can be used to output HDMI AV (Audio and Video) signals. The adapter is not supplied along with this MacBook air, it is sold separately. Similarly a Mini DisplayPort  to Video Graphics Array(VGA) adapter is sold separately. To me, these two adapters are a must have since I use a laptop for movie and music playback with my home stereo and TV.

•  The MacBook Air is a fantastic tool for photography use and organization, ebook reading and document organization.  It is supplied pre-loaded with iWork suite featuring softwares such as Pages (for word processing), Numbers (for spreadsheets), Key Note (for presentations), iPhoto, Photo Booth and iPreview (for photography).

• If you are a traveler this MacBook Air suits you because it is ultra thin and light weight at only 1.08kgs.

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Kindle Fire HDX Tablet - 7"

Amazon digital services has been tweaking its Kindle Fire devices over the years and the Kindle Fire HD series is a result of this work. Kindle Fire HDX is the new 7'' Tablet that replaces the old 2012 Kindle fire HD. Among the improvements from previous versions is the CPU and HDX display screen. The Kindle Fire HDX features a 2.2GHz Quad-core processor and 2GB RAM tailored for a flawless fluid gaming action and video. The 7" HDX display is a high pixel density screen that reproduces life-like images with impeccable clarity. HDX tablets are sold in three variants, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of which you have an option of choosing WiFi models only or WiFi + 4G models.

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Attractive features on Kindle Fire HDX

• Powerful and fast CPUs

The 2.2GHz quad-core processor and the Adreno 330 GPU make resource intensive gaming possible without annoying "buffering effects" experienced on slower tablets and with exceptional console quality.

• Mayday button

The availability of 24x7 free tech support for all Kindle Fire HDX tablet customers is a plus. You can connect to a tech expert anytime, anywhere for quick help.

• HDX Display

Kindle Fire HDX's display is a 323 pixel per inch screen display which makes it reproduce stunning images with more than HD quality.

• Over 100,000 games and apps

Like all other Kindle Fire tablets, you have access to over 100,000 apps from the amazon app store which are downloadable to your device.

Full tech specs of Kindle Fire HDX

• 2.2GHz quad-core processore
• 7" 1900 x1200 display screen
• 2GB RAM
• Adreno 330 GPU Video graphics processor.
• Front Facing HD camera.
• MIMO WiFi
• 4G LTE
• Dolby Audio
• Dual Stereo Speakers
• Built-in microphone
• 64GB internal memory
• A single battery charge gives you 11 hours of mixed use
• Mayday button 
• Micro USB port for data transfer and charging
• 3.5mm audio for a headset jack 

Buying tips

• The Kindle fire HDX has been priced at a starting price of $229. At this price you get a 16GB model with WiFi only and in addition ads always display on your lock screen. If you are a heavy data user, the WiFi only model can suffice but special ads showing on your lock screen might be annoying! So you might want to pay $244, which is a little bit extra to get rid of the ads.

• Heavy downloads require bigger memory space, so you might choose a Kindle Fire HDX model with 32GB or 64GB of internal memory instead of a model with 16GB memory. 

• WiFi data access charges are generally lower than 4G LTE data charges. For heavy online gamers, the WiFi only Kindle Fire HDX model might be an appropriate choice since most of the time you will be using WiFi access.

• Battery power consumption is hard to estimate because it depends on the tablet usage. But in general, a 4G LTE data access, display ads on lock screen, consume the battery more rapidly.  

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Acer Aspire Switch 10

The Acer Aspire Switch 10 is a super light weight budget laptop that can be used both as a tablet and laptop. You can flip or rotate it through virtually 360 degrees about its snap hinge or detach the screen completely to use it as a tablet. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor and features a 10.1" HD multi touch anti glare screen built with scratch resistant Gorilla glass. It is supplied with Windows 8.1 OS. If you are not a heavy laptop user, this laptop provides the best two-in-one solution. At a starting price of $429.99, it rivals Microsoft's surface pro 3.
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 Attractive features on Aspire Switch 10

• HD multi touch anti glare display screen

 It features a wide XGA HD display LCD screen built with IPS technology. The multi touch screen and LCD are fitted almost seamlessly together to produce an anti-glare and vivid display suitable for working outdoors. where there is too much light.

• Scratch resilient screen

The screen is built with scratch resistant Gorilla glass 3 that is three times as resistant to scratches as ordinary gorilla glass.

• Acer snap hinge

The snap hinge let's you transform your Acer Aspire switch 10 laptop into a tablet. You detach or re-attach the screen to the keyboard easily with this hinge and the display is held in place by a magnetic force.

• Ultra-slim and ultra-light

The Acer Aspire switch 10 is very thin and light. At 1.17kg and 8.9mm thick in tablet mode, it is one of the slimmest two-in-one laptops on market right now.

• Acer Lumiflex display

The Acer Aspire switch 10 features a Lumiflex display for optimized color control well suited for displaying images and watching videos everywhere and whenever.


 Full tech specs of Aspire Switch 10

• Pre-loaded with 32-bit windows 8.1 Operating System
• 1.33GHz/1.83GHz Quad-core Intel processor and Chipset family from Intel corporation.
• Expandable 2GB DDR3L SDRAM
• MicroSD and extended microSD card support
• 500GB Serial ATA HDD
• 10.1" 1280 x 800 WXGA Active matrix color LCD screen.
• In-plane switching(IPS) and LED backlight screen technology 
• Multi touch screen
• Intel HD Graphics controller chipset
• 64GB DDR3LM SDRAM shared Graphics memory
• 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN
• Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
• HDMI port
• micro USB
• Stereo speakers, HD audio
• Built-in microphone
• Built-in Webcam
• 5910mAH 2-cell Lithium Polymer Battery that lasts up to a maximum of 8 hours.
• 18W AC power adapter.
• Weighs approximately 1.29 pounds.

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Philips Surround Base - HTL4115B/F7

The Philips Surround Base is a 2.1 channel integrated subwoofer sound bar system from Philips aimed at boosting the output of your MP3, disc palyer, gaming console or TV. It is an easy to use surround audio system that provides a fantastic sound output. Equipped with a one touch Bluetooth feature, you can play your favorite tunes from your smartphone directly to the surround base. It is a low cost space saving surround sound system with all speakers integrated in one unit.  At $199, it is value for money.
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Specs of the Philips Surround Base

• Loudspeakers

It is designed with 2 woofers, 2 tweeters and 1 subwoofer rated at 20W, 4ohm all integrated within the main unit. The total music output power is rated at 80W, 4ohm @ 30% THD.

• Sound features

It features sound enhancement features like Virtual Surround Sound (Dolby Digital), Treble and Bass control, Audio Sync and Night mode all focused at enhancing user experience.

• Connectivity

The Philips surround base supports Bluetooth and NFC(Near Field Communication) Integrated connections for audio streaming. In addition, it supports smartphone(Android/iPhone/iPad/iPod) connectivity via bluetooth or a 3.5mm audio in jack. Other connections include Audio in and USB at the front face while at the rear there are four conector types; Digital Optical in, Digital Coaxial in, AUX in and HDMI output(ARC).

• Audio Playback formats 

Supports only two audio playback formats; MP3 and WMA.

• Power consumption

The Surround Base draws a maximum of 20W from a 120V, 60Hz power source. At standby, it draws only 0.5W of power from the mains.

• Easylink feature (HDMI-CEC)

Philips EasyLink uses the HDMI connection. It supports HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC), automatic audio input mapping, One touch play, One-touch standby, Audio pass-through, and System standby.

• Net weight

The main unit weighs 6.5kg net.

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Sony Muteki STR - KM7 specs

The Sony Muteki STR-KM7  has been around for quite some time and party lovers like it because it delivers on power just as promised. For a full review click here while for a full system specification, continue reading.

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Amplifier specifications:

• 7.2 Channel Analog Amplifier; Total power output - 2012W RMS (6 Ohms, 1kHz, 10%THD)
• Stereo Output mode(6 ohms, 1kHz, 1%THD), Output (L+R, 120W + 120W)
• Surround mode output(6 ohms, 1kHz, 10%THD), Output FL/FR /C/SR/SL/SBR/SBL = 216W. Subwoofer (4 ohms, 100Hz, 10%THD), SW = 250W.
• 4 Sound fields (Movie, Game, Music) and without lock.
• Falcon 1.1 DSP
• Bass/ Treble equalizer
• Speaker level (dBm) control; +/- 10 for Centre, Subwoofer and Surround speakers, L+1 to 8/R+1 to 8 or BALANCE for Front speakers.

Decoding format:

• LPCM (2Ch, 5.1Ch, 7.2Ch) through HDMI
• Dolby Prologic II
• Dolby Dual mono
• 96kHz/24bit PCM
• DTS 96/24
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby TrueHD 
• HD Digital Cinema Sound

Inputs and outputs: 

• Analog Audio in/out : 5/1
• Optical digital in/out: 2/0
• Coaxial in/out : 1/0
• Component video in/out: 2/1
• Composite video in/out: 2/1
• HDMI in/out: 3/1

Video features:

• 1080p HDMI Quality and 1080/24p
• HDMI Quality - 3D pass through and 3D over HDMI
• HDMI Quality - HDMI pass through
• HDMI Quality - Audio Return Channel (ARC)
• LPCM for HD surround from Blu-ray Disc.
• A/V Sync
• HDMI Quality - Deep colour/x.v.Color

 Tuner and general specs:

• FM/AM mode, Station name input, Direct/Auto tuning, Preset channel tuning
• Sleep timer(up to 2hrs), Auto standby, Union jack display
• Power requirements; 110-120V or 230-240V, 50-60Hz, 180W depending on region
• Power consumption standby: 0.3W
• USB Playback option located at the front of the system unit.

Speaker system:

• The system is supplied with 9 speaker boxes; 1 Centre(CN), 2 Front speakers (FR/FL), 2 Surround Back, (SBR/SBL), 2 Surround speakers (SR/SL) and 2 Subwoofers (SW).
• Bass reflex Front, surround, Subwoofer and centre speaker system.
• Metallic cone speaker system,
• Magnetically shielded speakers
• Subwoofer system 250mm cone type
• Speaker weight: Front R/L -15kgs, Centre - 3.3kgs, Surround R/L -13kgs, SBL/SBR - 2.4kgs, Subwoofer(SW) - 8.5kgs 

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Nook Glowlight eReader

Nook Glowlight eReader is a second generation eReader from Barnes & Noble. It is built with a 6 inch crisp E Ink pearl display that is built with 60% more pixels than its predecessors. Its fonts and GlowLight technology have been optimized for digital reading. With its battery lasting up to 8 weeks, the Nook GlowLight eReader is the real deal.
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Key Features

• Massive digital book Selection

Get spoilt with choice! With over 3 million titles to choose from including 1 million FREE titles, magazines and newspapers, it is certainly all you can ask for. You are definitely bound to save a great deal on hard copy texts.

• A laminated anti-glare high resolution E ink display

The new anti-glare screen display has 60% more pixels than its predecessors (like the nook simple touch) to provide crisper text images suitable for reading wherever you are. The lamination ensures the screen survives whatever you throw at it; be it keys, coins,etc.

• Long battery life

Amazingly, a single charge can last up to 8 weeks. This makes it suitable for traveling; and the best part is that you don't have to carry a charger.

• Large Memory Capacity

Nook GlowLight holds up to 2,000 books. So you can shop and download your great read with the in-built Wi-Fi whenever you like.

• Nook optimized fonts and  GlowLight technology

Nook GlowLight's fonts have been carefully selected and optimized for easy reading. This coupled with the new GlowLight technology, which provides evenly dispersed light, ensures a  pleasant reading experience in dim and total darkness.

• Ultra-slim and ultra-light eReader

Nook GlowLight is ultra-slim and 18% lighter than Nook Simple Touch - its predecessor, with a soft-touch trim and rounded corners that fit naturally into your palms.

• LendMe Feature

With Nook GlowLight you can borrow books from your local library for free. In addition, you can share your favorite books with other Nook owners through the LendMe feature. 

• Free Nook Support

Nook support is available at all Barnes & Noble outlets. So you can always get free support from your nearest Barnes & Noble book sellers available country wide.

 

Technical specifications

• 6 inch 758 x 1024 E Ink Pearl Display with infrared touch technology, built-in anti-glare screen film and adjustable text sizes and font styles.
• 4GB Memory  Capacity: 2.5GB for content, of which 2GB reserved for Barnes & Noble content.
• Built-in WiFi (802.11b/g/n ): Enjoy free WiFi in all Barnes & Noble stores, plus 30,000 AT&T hotsports.
• Micro USB connector for USB charging and PC connection.
• Supports PDF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, ePub file types.
• Heavy duty Battery lasting up to 8 weeks on a single charge. This is based on 30 minutes of reading per day and a single page refresh per minute.  
• Lightweight Nook: It weighs only 176gms or 6.2 ounces.It is very convenient and comfortable to carry.

As a final note, unlike all previous nooks, the Nook GlowLight does not support a micro SD card and out of the 4GB on-board memory, only 500MB is available for personal digital books download. The 500MB might appear small, but considering the average ebook size is about 600kB, 500MB gives 800+ copies of digital downloads. 

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