HP Mini-note 2140 available in February
Posted by Scout on January 7, 2009
When the HP Mini-note 2133 first came out, NotebookReview.com tested a unit and came up with the following conclusion:
“HP managed to create the single most impressive ultraportable notebook on the market … and then decided to put a lackluster processor inside. If HP decides to replace the VIA processors with the new Intel Atom processors or alternative processors from Intel, the Mini-Note would become the undisputed champion of the subnotebook market.”
Their wish, along with many others, has just come true. Feast your eyes on its successor, the new HP Mini-note 2140:
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Canon DSLR camera prices in Hidalgo
Posted by Scout on January 6, 2009
NOTE: All prices were taken from Henry’s Camera Photo Supply’s list unless stated otherwise, and is only meant to serve as a guide. For questions on AVAILABILITY and the most CURRENT PRICES, it’s advisable for you to call the shops before you venture to Quiapo. A list of phone numbers can be found here.
Last updated: January 11, 2010
DSLRs:
Canon EOS 1000D Kit - 28.5K
Canon EOS 500D Body - 38K (Mayers)
Canon EOS 500D Kit - 42.5K (Mayers)
Canon EOS 450D Kit - 34K (Mayers)
Canon EOS 40D Body - 42K (Digital Zoom Walker, Greenbelt 5)
Canon EOS 50D Body - 50K (Watson)
Canon EOS 50D Kit (18-55 IS) - 64K
Canon EOS 50D Kit (18-200 IS) - 83.5K
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Body - 113K (Mayer’s)
Canon 7D Body - 85K (Watson)
OTHERS:
Ixus 860 IS P15,000 (Mayer’s)
Ixus 870 IS P16,000 (Mayer’s)
580EX II P20,500 (Mayer’s)
EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS P82,000 (Mayer’s)
» Filed Under Cameras | 226 Comments
Nikon DSLR camera prices in Hidalgo
Posted by Scout on January 4, 2009
NOTE: All prices were taken from Henry’s Camera Photo Supply’s list and is only meant to serve as a guide. For questions on AVAILABILITY and the most CURRENT PRICES, it’s advisable for you to call the shops before you venture to Quiapo. A list of phone numbers can be found here.
LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 10, 2010
DSLRs:
Nikon D3000 Kit (18-55VR) - 26K, with 4GB card and bag
Nikon D5000 Kit - 33K, with free 4GB card and bag
Nikon D90 Body - 40K, with free 4GB card
Nikon D90 Kit - 53K, with free 4GB card and camera bag
Nikon D90 Kit CDSC - 61K, with free 4GB card, Nikon bag and tripod
Nikon D300s Body - 74K
Nikon D700 Body - 106K
Nikon D700 Body CDSC - 135K
POINT & SHOOTS:
Nikon Coolpix L19 - 6.8K
Nikon Coolpix L20 CDSC - 7.5K
Nikon Coolpix P90 - 19.8K
» Filed Under News | 822 Comments
New MSI Wind 120 available this January 2009
Posted by Scout on January 3, 2009
Netbook fans among you will probably know about the MSI Wind U120 - the follow-up to the original highly successful MSI Wind U100 which was launched last year. Specifications for the new Wind on the official MSI website indicate that it will have WiFi-N support, face identification software for security, and redesigned touchpad buttons. Other than these, there’s not much change from the original, which is disappointing.
For those waiting for it to come to the Philippines, you may not have to wait much longer as an announcement by PC Corner on TipidPC says that ETA on its arrival is Jan. 19th of this year - then we’ll know for sure what the specs really are. As per the post, these are the prices for the various U120 configurations:
2gb / 160gb / lan / wifi / atom / …. 25,500.00
2gb / 320gb / lan / wifi / atom / …. 26,500.00
2gb / 500gb / lan / wifi / atom / …. 29,500.00
I’m wondering, though, if it was a typo error and the announcement really meant U115 instead of U120. The U115 version is more exciting, sporting a different flavor of the Atom paired with a more power-saving chipset, hybrid storage with SSD + HDD combined, and claiming a battery life of up to 12 hours on a single charge. Now that’s a dream for mobile workers.
Also in that announcement is the upcoming availability of the Asus EEE PC 900HA for Php20,999. It will have the familiar Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, LAN, WiFi, 9″ screen, and a regular 3-cell battery.
» Filed Under Netbooks | 1 Comment
The “perfect” netbook
Posted by Scout on January 1, 2009
In this season of gift-giving - both to others and to ourselves - it becomes quite tempting to indulge yourself by buying that great-looking cellphone, the digital camera of your dreams, the laptop you’ve always wanted, and so on. Here’s the catch: what if you already have a cellphone, a camera and a laptop - all perfectly working - but you just want something better?
I’m sure I’m not alone in this dilemma. To prevent myself from spending on a new netbook needlessly, I’m writing this post to remind myself that:
1. Netbooks will only get better as time passes. The Intel Atom will soon be paired with a better, less power-hungry chipset.
2. Netbooks will get much, much cheaper in a jiffy. Just look at the myriad of EEE PCs.
3. More models will become available locally. Looking forward to the Everun Note with an AMD Turion inside, or something similar.
Here’s the list of things that I want for my next laptop, and hopefully I’ll have the discipline not to purchase one until the “perfect netbook” comes along. Timeframe: 2-3 years.
1. At least 8 hours battery life
2. At most 1kg with battery and adapter
3. 2GB RAM
4. WiFi-N, 3.5G, and BlueTooth connectivity
5. Screen size: 9-10″, 1280×768 max resolution
6. Heat emissions not to exceed 90 degrees Farenheit
7. At least 160GB SSD
8. 2.0 GHz processor speed or higher
9. HDMI output port
10. Chipset capable of playing 1080p videos
11. Option for discrete graphics card
12. Touchscreen
13. 2MP webcam
14. Colored E-Ink display or OLED
15. Convertible to tablet mode
16. Price: =< Php 20K
Yup. These specs are about two to three years away, if I’m lucky. These things seem to be evolving so fast, my wishes might come true sooner than I thought.
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There’s never enough storage
Posted by Scout on December 27, 2008
The 320GB external hard drive I bought just this November is getting filled faster than I thought it would. Less than two months after, it’s now down to exactly 89.7GB. Blame it on torrents, as I’m addicted to documentaries - nature, art, history, and what have you. It’s all good. I’m learning. However, my storage space is also fast shrinking.
So I guess the next step is to go the terabyte level. My preference is to get 2.5″ external drives for their convenience, but the current maximum for this form factor is 750GB, and anyway, it’s way too expensive. External drives with regular 3.5″ inch drives are better priced, though I’ve read enough horror stories from Amazon and Engadget to scare me away, mostly concerning Western Digital MyBooks. It could just be a case of lemons, but I’m not really in a mood to gamble on my data.
There’s always risks. However, Seagate’s reputation and 5-year warranty makes me much more at ease, which is why on March or whenever my Maxtor drive gets filled up, I’m set to purchase a Seagate FreeAgent Desk 1TB. It’s listed on Villman at approximately Php8,500. If you know another store selling it for less, let me know.
» Filed Under Others | 7 Comments
Merry Christmas from Budget Gadgets
Posted by Scout on December 24, 2008
I don’t really believe in Christmas, but I do believe in celebrating with dear friends, family, and plenty of good food.
Normal posting schedule will resume after the holidays. Until then, merry christmas and a happy new year to all!
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MacBook Prices (as of Dec 2008)
Posted by Scout on December 14, 2008
In a local forum I frequent, there was a thread asking, “What gadgets would you buy if you were given 100K?” Let’s see, if that much money suddenly dropped from the sky, I wouldn’t buy any gadgets - I’d save it in a bank to add to my house fund (planning to build one in 2010). Most of the posters in that thread, though, were quick to say they’d love to get their hands on a brand new Unibody MacBook Pro. Bah, it’s not even enough.
Window shopping at the new Apple Store revealed the following base prices for Macs:
MacBook - Php 55,990
MacBook Air - Php 99,990
MacBook Pro - Php 109,990
Mac Mini - Php 31,990
iMac - Php 63,990
Mac Pro - Php 149,990
As for the iPod line:
iPod Shuffle - Php 2,790
iPod Nano - Php 9,490
iPod Classic - Php 15,490
iPod Touch - Php 14,990
Do you also dream of owning a Mac? I’ve used a myriad of them from an old iMac (CRT) to Powerbooks to MacBooks to a G4 for work (I was with an independent film-making outfit), but I can’t say I was ever impressed enough to become a fangirl. They’re OK, but the hype is sometimes unbearable.
» Filed Under Computers | 1 Comment
Google Philippines Zeitgeist 2008
Posted by Scout on December 13, 2008
This is a little late, but still interesting. Google released its Zeitgeist for the year which includes the top search worldwide and per country. For the Philippines, there’s still the perennial favorites Friendster, Multiply, and YouTube. Notably added this year are singers Charice Pempengco and Arnel Pineda, the infamous DJ Montano, and the omni-present Jonas Brothers.
Manny Pacquiao tops the local news searches, and I’m sure I contributed in that. I take comfort in the fact that our countrymen are highly interested in such matters as the Reproductive Health Bill and the ZTE Broadband Deal. A democracy needs engaged citizens.
On the tech side of things, I’m surprised the Wii and the DS didn’t even make it to any list while the PSP is high up there. Still on gaming, Cabal proves its popularity, while Y8’s flash games continue to zap office productivity across the nation. It also seems like we have high awareness for Mozilla which is great, because IE (still) sucks.
Here’s the full list:
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Netbooks Under 10K: Packard Bell EasyNote XS20
Posted by Scout on December 12, 2008
This post is part of a series on low-cost laptops. Related posts can be found here.
To round out this series, we have Packard Bell’s EasyNote XS20. Until recently, this was priced at an incredibly high 30K++ at PC Corner - unreasonable given that its sibling, the Astone UMPC, was already retailing at below 10K for some time. Good thing they were able to spot the oversight, otherwise this model would have stayed dusty and unloved in their warehouses.
The EasyNote XS20 is a full-featured laptop with a 7″ screen (800×480) launched last year. It has a built-in WiFi, VGA webcam, stereo speakers, 4-in-1 memory card reader, and two USB 2.0 connectors. The EasyNote has 1GB of RAM and comes with a 30GB hard drive. As for the processor, it runs on an ultra-low power Via C7-M with 1.2 MHz. Battery life is claimed to be over 3 hours with WiFi on.
This mini-notebook is light as expected, tipping the scales at 950 grams. Packard Bell was nice enough to include a protective suede carrying case so you don’t have to worry about scratches. The Linux variant goes for P9,995, while the Windows variant is 2K more expensive.
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