BenQ XL2420T

While it’s a bit on the pricier side for a 24-inch monitor, the XL2420T is feature packed and offers all-around great performance, especially for those looking to do a bit of PC gaming. Its 120Hz refresh rate and Nvidia 3D Vision certification, the XL2420T is an excellent choice for a gamer. Image quality is excellent and even includes several gaming presets optimized for specific games. The only caveat to consider is the fact that people are sometimes dissatisfied with BenQ’s company policies (such as limited warranty support), but still love their products.

Asus PA Series PA238Q

When it comes to design and ergonomics, the PA238Q is quite nearly unmatched, making it an excellent display for general productivity. Color reproduction is also exceptional, and as an IPS panel, viewing angles are very good; however, refresh rates do suffer slightly, so gamers may want to pass on this one. Blacklight bleed has also been a reported issue with the PA238Q, so those looking for an immersive video experience should tread carefully.

Asus VG278H

The VG278H is another display well suited for gaming, though like the BenQ, it’s a bit pricey for a monitor of its size (27 inches in this case). It features a 120Hz refresh rate and is Nvidia 3D Vision certified as well. Color reproduction is excellent, though it too suffers from poor viewing angles. In terms of price per performance, it represents a great value, though it lacks a few popular features, such as USB ports.

Wacom Cintiq 24HD

As far as drawing tablets have been concerned, Wacom has always been the brand of choice. Wacom’s foray into the display market has been a welcomed one by those in the computer graphics profession. The Cintiq 24HD is really less about the display and more about the tablet capabilities, featuring the Cintiq Pen with 2048 levels of sensitivity. At upwards of $2000, it’s certainly expensive, but if you’re in the computer graphics business, you won’t regret it.

Dell U2412M

The Dell U2412M is about as close as you can get to professional grade color reproduction and performance without spending an awful lot of money for something like Apple’s new Thunderbolt Display. It makes an excellent display for an aspiring video or photo editor and is an all-around great choice for any multimedia work. With an astonishing 5 USB ports, it can also help clear up some of the clutter around your desk.

This, of course, is just a tiny portion of our extensive list of monitors reviewed on alaTest. While the top 5 are currently of a slightly more expensive nature, our Monitors Section has a long list of well reviewed displays of all price ranges, such as the more affordable AOC I2352VH (a very good value) and the Samsung Syncmaster S27A850D (a high-performance professional grade display).

1: Lenovo IdeaPad Z575

When it comes to build quality, budget laptops tend to throw it out the window. The Z575, however, does not. It has a solid chassis with a metallic finish and all-around sturdy construction that, honestly, looks great. But its beauty is more than skin deep. When it comes to performance per dollar, the Z575 is one of the best options out there.

The models with the quad-core AMD A8-3500m processor carry a list price starting at $550 but can be found as low as $500. The A8 processor is nothing short of amazing for the price. HD videos are a breeze (even 1080p YouTube videos which are taxing to even performance laptops). Being quad-core, multitasking and productivity are no sweat either, and thanks to the integrated Radeon GPU, moderate gaming is possible too.

2: Dell Inspiron 14z

The Inspiron 14z is a very well balanced laptop. Its 14-inch display is slightly smaller than most budget laptops, but if portability is what you’re after, that’s a good thing. The Intel Core i3-2330M processor isn’t well suited for gaming, but it excels at just about everything else. The base configuration is currently available at $550, and you can even add a backlit keyboard while staying under $600. As far as design is concerned, Dell did an excellent job keeping things practical yet elegant.

3: Asus A53E

The Asus A53E (specifically the NS51 and AS51 models) is a processing powerhouse. The Intel Core i5-2450M processor really is the best you can find for under $600, and it’s no slouch. It’ll actually keep up well with $1000+ laptops. This makes the A53E ideal for heavy multitasking and productivity, although its lack of a discrete class GPU does make it less suited for gaming. Apart from its stellar processing performance, it also carries Asus’ 1-year full accidental damage warranty.

4: Acer Aspire 5750G

Much like the Z575, the Aspire 5750G (in particular, the AS5750G-6873 model) is an excellent all-around performer. The Intel Core i3-2330M paired with an Nvidia GT 520M GPU perform very similarly to the AMD A8, capable of handling anything from web browsing to moderate gaming. At $599, it’s slightly more expensive than the Z575, though it really comes down to personal preference between AMD and Intel.

5: Acer Aspire 7739G-6676

For those who prefer a larger screen, the Aspire AS7739G-6676 is an excellent choice. It has a 17.3-inch display with a 1600×900 resolution, which is rare for a laptop priced just under $600. It also features the Intel Core i5-480M processor which, while slightly older than current offerings, is quite fast. The Nvidia GT 610M GPU is very power efficient and yields similar video/graphics performance as the GT 520M and AMD A8. All-in-all, it’s an excellent choice for anyone who wants a bit more screen at a lot less price.

There are of course countless more laptops on the market for less than $600, especially with the flux of daily deals and discounts. Laptops featuring the AMD A8 processor are supremely well balanced for everything from online browsing to 3D gaming, and are almost certainly a steal if found under $600. Similar is true for Intel i5 systems, especially if they’re paired with some sort of discrete graphics chip.

1: Asus Zenbook UX31

The Zenbook UX31E is considered an Ultrabook (aka an Ultra-Portable Notebook), and it is a direct competitor to the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air. Compared to the Air, the UX31E is just as thin, features the same Core i5 processor (or optional Core i7), same SSD storage, and same 4GB of RAM. Yet, the UX31E has a higher resolution screen, HDMI output, and USB 3.0, all while costing about $100 less than the MacBook Air. Oh, and did we mention it looks very chic with its aluminum chassis. We’re not surprised it took the Air’s #1 spot on our board.

2: Asus G74SX

Yup, another Asus, this time of the gaming variety. The G74SX weighs in at roughly $1650, depending on configuration. This usually includes the top-end Core i7 processor, 12GB of RAM, 1.5TB of storage, and the performance-packed Nvidia GTX 560m graphics chip. Even though the 560m isn’t the fastest video card on the market, the G74SX’s high-end components and 1080p display make for an excellent cost-to-performance ratio at its current price. It has a pretty bulky chassis, but that’s something most mobile gamers are used to.

3: Acer Aspire S3

The Aspire S3 is another MacBook Air competitor. Unlike the Zenbook which tries to surpass the Air in every way, the S3 looks to appeal to people’s wallets. At just $799, the S3 comes it at a third cheaper than Apple’s cheapest 13-inch MacBook Air; however, the Aspire S3 does this by using many of the same components found in Apple’s $999 11.6-inch model.  It sacrifices a bit in display resolution and build quality, and you don’t quite get that SSD storage performance. Still, other than that, it offers very nearly the same performance and form factor, and the price tag is hard to argue with.

4: Dell XPS 15

Until recently, the XPS 15 held the #1 (and occasionally #2) spot on our list for over a year. It’s actually quite surprising that it has dropped so far. Still, 4^th is quite respectable, and the XPS 15 still offers a heap of performance as well as customizability at relatively good prices. Starting at $999, you can get a very capable Core i5 based system; however, in the $1500 range, you can get features such as an industry leading 1080p display and Core i7 processor. Dell’s prices are slightly higher than similar offerings from Acer and Asus (likely why they have surpassed it), but the quality does speak for itself.

5: Asus N55SF

For those looking for a laptop that can do just about anything without breaking the bank, the N55SF-DH71 is by far one of the best choices, costing about $1200. It features a Core i7 processor along with 8GB of RAM, so you’ll never be lacking in terms of performance. Its 16-inch display is neither too small nor too big and sports an agreeable 1080p resolution (great for watching Blu-rays with its included Blu-ray drive). And for the PC gamers, its Nvidia GT 555m can handle most high-end games with the settings maxed. At 1.5-inches thick, it’s a tad on the bulky side, but not unreasonably so.

Thailand is host to many key factories and manufacturing plants for companies like Toshiba, Western Digital, Sony, and Nikon (just to name a few). All of these companies have had to halt production in Thailand due to flooded facilities which has led to product shortages for this holiday season. Some products have been hit harder than others, and fulfilling Christmas lists this year may be difficult.

Hard Drives

Hard drives have been the most affected by the floods. Nearly every major hard drive manufacturer uses Thailand facilities extensively and there have since been reports of worldwide shortages. Even though you can still find them on shelves, the effects of Supply and Demand are very clear.

Back in October, before the flooding became severe, high capacity external hard drives could be found for well less than $100, but have since skyrocketed closer to $200. The 2TB Western Digital Elements Desktop hard drive is a perfect example. In October, you could buy it at a mere $89, but with news of the flooding and shortages, it promptly jumped to $150 and then $180. To make matters worse, most retailers have started limiting hard drive purchases to one per customer. Internal hard drives and laptop drives are affected as well.

All is not lost, however. Solid State Drives have been largely unaffected by the flooding. The problem with Solid State Drives has always been the price, typically $1-$2 per GB compared to $0.04 per GB of a traditional hard drive. But the Solid State Drive market has become increasingly competitive, bringing prices down. Per GB, they are still considerably more expensive than Hard Drives, even at their currently inflated prices, but you also get considerably more performance.

Digital Cameras

Also hit quite hard are digital cameras, especially digital SLRs. Nikon’s entry-level SLRs, the D3100 and D5100, have become hard to find. Its high-end D7000 is experiencing shortages as well. Sony, though, has certainly been hit the hardest. Having just launched its new NEX and Alpha series cameras, there were very few on the market to begin with. The flooding has rendered these new cameras almost impossible to find. The NEX-7, one of the most highly anticipated cameras of the year is nowhere to be found and likely won’t be available until early next year.

Laptops

Most laptop manufacturers do not rely on Thailand facilities to assemble their products, but a few, like Toshiba, do. The hard drive shortage is affecting the laptop market the most. With the increased demand, laptop manufacturers have had to pay more for their hard drives as well, resulting in higher prices down the line. Overall, laptops haven’t been hit that hard, with typical price hikes only around $60 to $90. Many of the larger companies, like Dell and Apple, can afford to absorb these costs themselves.

With all of these abrupt price hikes, it’s wise to research the price history before making any big purchases, especially when buying a laptop. As for hard drives, with their prices so high and availability so sparse, you may want to consider waiting for the market to return to normal. Even though they don’t feel quite as personal, gift cards are a great alternative for those items that just aren’t available. And consider keeping with the holiday spirit and contributing to the relief efforts in the flooded regions.

Dell XPS 15

Laptops are always popular gifts, and the Dell XPS 15 is one place where you can’t go wrong. It may not be the fastest laptop on the market, nor the cheapest, but its style, reliability, and balanced performance makes it a great buy. And today, you can get $100 off and a free Canon ELPH 100 HS digital camera if you order from Dell online and use this coupon code: 932N$0ZCCHWZB9.

Sony DSC-HX9V and Nikon Coolpix P300

Speaking of digital cameras, the Sony HX9V and Nikon P300 are both excellent cameras that can be found on sale today at Amazon.com. These two cameras have been among out top ranked ever since they were released. The P300 is a little more on the affordable side, and the HX9V offers a few more features for those who like a bit more manual control.

Smartphones

Smartphones are on sale today as well, and this includes the latest and greatest phones that have been recently released, such as the acclaimed Galaxy S II. The iPhone 4S has also gone on sale at various places, but finding it is a bit tough since it tends to sell out rather quickly. Both phones make excellent gifts, and with many retailers and carriers (such as Verizon Wireless), the return window extends into January, just in case something goes wrong with the device.

LG 47LW5300

If you ever wanted to get on the 3D TV train, now is your chance. Dell is offering an amazing deal on the LG LW5300 at $430 off, plus free shipping. Considering that it’s a 47-inch LED flat panel, the price is pretty amazing as is, but throw in a 120Hz refresh rate AND 3D PLUS a Blu-Ray Player, and you’ve got yourself a killer deal.

This is just a tiny portion of the deals that are out there today and will continue through the weekend. If there is an item you have your eye on, look it up on alaTest. Our price search updates in real time, so there’s a good chance we’ll catch the best sale price for you. Go ahead, give it a try.

The Bigger the Better?

The race to the biggest screens is almost entirely a marketing tool. Today’s smartphones really are just miniaturized computers, with a processor and RAM, but many consumers don’t know to look for this information; moreover, in the case of smartphones, processor and memory specs are hardly ever even listed!

Smartphone manufacturers know that the screen is one of the first things a buyer sees when looking for a new phone, and if you’ve ever been shopping for an HDTV, you’ll know that in the showroom, the bigger screens always stand out. That’s exactly why manufacturers have started producing bigger and bigger smartphones. Screen sizes are also numbers that advertise well because people can actually relate to them. 1GHz, 1.5GHz, dual-core, these terms only mean anything to those who are already familiar with the technology and likely already know what they want to buy. Everyone knows what an inch is, and that a 4-inch screen sounds better than a 3.5-inch screen.

But are these glassy pixel monstrosities really a step in the right direction? Sure, as long as the phones themselves aren’t getting too big. Back to that HDTV analogy, once you’ve bought one and brought it back home, you realize just how huge it is once all of the larger TVs aren’t around to skew your perspective. The same thing is happening with smartphones: people are buying the larger screens only to realize down the line that they’re too bulky to be practical. So what smartphone display size is right for you?

Screens Under 3.5 Inches

There are a lot of smartphones with 2.8 to 3.2-inch displays. These are generally entry-level devices, intended to be affordable but still functional. These are great for the younger crowd, such as teenagers, who might be more prone to losing or breaking a phone and have the younger eyes to see the smaller screen.

Smartphones with portrait style keyboards also have screens of this size. These are aimed at the business professional crowd who will be primarily using it for things like text messages, emails, and documents.

Screens 3.5 to 4.3 Inches

This is currently the sweet spot in terms of screen visibility and overall package size. The 3.5-inch devices are typically in the mid-range scale. Their performance can vary from very moderate, like the Huawei Ideos X5, to high-end, like the iPhone 4.

 
For things like multimedia and especially web browsing, the 3.5-inch screens can be a bit cramped. This is where 4-inch displays shine. The overall sizes of the phones are generally close to the same as the 3.5-inchers but extra screen space is a noticeable improvement. It’s for this reason that the iPhone 5 (or iPhone 4S) is expected to have a ~4 inch display.

In the 4.3-inch range, you have some of the true powerhouse phones, like the Galaxy S II and Sensation 4G.  They’re starting to get a bit bulky but will still fit into most pockets.

 

Screens Over 4.3 Inches

There have been a few phones with screens over 4.3 inches. The Dell Streak was among the first, sporting a giant 5-inch display, blurring the line between smartphone and tablet. This was just too large to fit easily into a pocket – even purses had trouble.

 

4.5-inch screens are still quite large but much more manageable. Phones like the Samsung Infuse and the AT&T and T-Mobile variants of the Galaxy S II have 4.5-inch displays. They’ll still fit in a pocket, much thanks to their thinness, but be sure to consider just how big they are before buying them.

The Sleek One

Dell XPS 15

In its current form, the base configuration of the Dell XPS 15 is an excellent buy. Its CPU is the exact same model used in many high-end powerful notebooks, and while it may not have as much RAM as the more expensive models, it’s still the latest technology and easily enough for most every task. Where the $799 XPS 15 falls short is its display. At just 1366×768, it can seem a bit cramped in terms of screen space, but the color quality is still among the top in the industry. It’s also not the best choice for gaming, but can still play all of the modern games as long as you turn down the settings.

The Heavy Hitter

Acer Aspire 7741G

The Aspire series actually comes in a variety of flavors, but the 7741G is a great example of a well rounded laptop. It’s similar powered compared to the XPS 15, but with its larger and higher resolution display (1600×900), as well as more powerful GPU, it lends itself much better toward gaming. You’ll still need to turn down some of the settings on the latest games, though. It also doesn’t come with the styling you’ll find in an XPS, but considering you can find the 7741G for less than $700, it’s a pretty fair trade.

The Speedy Lightweight

Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG

If you’re looking for a bit of style and some serious portability, Acer also has its TimelineX series. The TimelineX 4820TG has essentially all of the same hardware inside as the Aspire 7741G, making it a very capable laptop for just about anything you’d want to do. The main difference is its physical size, at just an inch thick at its thinnest point and sporting a 14-inch 1366×768 pixel display. With this configuration weighing in at $799 while performing nearly identically to the 7741G, what you’re paying for is primarily enhanced portability.

The Movie Buff

Sony Vaio EL VPCEL17FX

Sony’s EL series isn’t nearly as fast as the previously mentioned laptops, but it’s also considerably cheaper. Plus, this specific model comes with a Blu-Ray drive, allowing for glorious playback of Blu-Ray movies. Despite its slower hardware, it’s still capable of most any task, though if you’re planning on doing any semi-serious gaming, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

The Super Lightweight

Asus Eee PC

When it comes to affordable computing portability, you can’t do much better than the Asus Eee PC series. With screen sizes hovering right around 12-inches, they can nearly fit in your pocket, and without putting a hole in your wallet. Their biggest downfall is performance, but if you don’t mind spending a little extra on the 1215B-PU17 model (currently about $450), which sports the AMD E-350 processor, you can get similar performance to the previously mentioned Sony Vaio EL.

The Apple iPad

The iPad has been available since November of 2010, and it currently sits at the pinnacle of the tablet world. Its 10-inch XGA resolution (1024×768) screen does well to satisfy your video viewing and web browsing needs, and the iTunes App Store keeps it well stocked with feature rich applications. The hardware, however, leaves something to be desired. In fact, even several months before the iPad’s release, there were already several mobile phones that boasted similar or even more capable hardware, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S phones. With even more powerful tablet devices coming out in the next months, you have to ask yourself, “Is that Apple backbone of the original iPad strong enough to compete?”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab

The Galaxy Tab is almost literally an enlarged version of the top-selling Galaxy S Smartphone. Compared to the iPad, the Galaxy tab is slightly more powerful and has a front and rear facing camera, but it only has a 7-inch display, which does allow it to fit into a pocket, but can be a bit limiting with screen space. Built on the Android Operating System, it has an app store that truly does rival Apple’s; however, the version of Android it uses is a bit premature for Tablet use, giving it manageable functionality while being less than ideal. As it doesn’t share the iPad’s strong Apple roots, the Galaxy Tab is likely on its last legs the upcoming dual-core tablets coming out this year.

The Dell Streak

While technically a Smartphone, its 5-inch display teeters dangerously close to tablet territory, so close in fact, that it’s worth mentioning. The Dell Streak may be smaller and considerably slower than other tablets, but it can do something neither the iPad nor Galaxy Tab can: make and receive phone calls. Still, being built on the Android platform (an even older version than the Galaxy Tab), it suffers from the same non-tablety interface.

A Promising Future Ahead

CES this year was ablaze with tablet announcements. Dual core Tegra 2 (that’s an impressively fast NVIDIA processor btw) tablets were on display, and perhaps even more significant, a Tablet version of Android (known as Honeycomb) was seen on several of them, like the Motorola Xoom. There were also very innovative hybrid devices, like the Tegra 2-powered Motorola Atrix, which is an Android Smartphone with laptop style docking station. The turnout was absolutely impressive, and one thing is for certain: all of these upcoming tablets will put last year’s to shame. Still, if I had to buy a tablet today, I’d go for the iPad.