HP Recalls Thousands of Laptops

Hewlett Packard has announced that it's recalling 54,000 laptop batteries. The lithium-ion batteries could possibly overheat and catch on fire. The batteries, which were made in China, came with laptops purchased both in stores and online from August 2007 to July 2008. Many were also sold independently.

According to HP, less than 3% of the laptops have the defective batteries and they company will replace them for free. The batteries can burn someone or catch on fire. The company released a statement saying, "HP fully stands behind the products it makes and has taken a proactive approach to this situation to ensure the safety of our customers and the integrity and quality of our products."

In May of last year the company recalled 70,000 laptop batteries, due to overheating, but the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that more batteries than originally thought were overheating. The recall spans over 31 different brands of computers. Initially, two different consumers complained but later an additional 38 complaints were filed by people injured by handling the batteries and laptops.

HP is not alone in recalling laptop batteries. Over 10 million Sony batteries were recalled between 2006 and 2008. 4 million of those were recalled by Dell, 1.8 million by Apple, 340,000 by Toshiba and 338,000 by Fujitsu. Lenovo, Acer, Sharpy and Sanyo also recalled their laptops. According to Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson, said that almost any laptop battery can overheat if charged too long or if laptops don't have good ventilation systems.

If your laptop battery has been recalled and you ned a temporary back-up, why not consider a laptop rental?

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Looking for Laptop Rental information? Visit our Tech Travel Agent Laptop Rental Page for a variety of laptop rental solutions for business or personal use. Or call today at 800-736-8772.

The Sony Dash: True Tablet or Not?

So Sony has decided to dive somewhat into the tablet industry but not completely. The Dash has a tablet-like appearance and many of the same functions, but it is not exactly as portable as tablets like the iPad.

The Sony Dash has a pretty basic structure. It features a seven-inch touchscreen, stereo speakers, a snooze bar/menu button, volume buttons, a USB port, a headphone jack, and of course the power connection cord. The case that encompasses the Dash is made of a rubber-like material that allows you to get a good, secure grip on the device.

The biggest problem that I see with the Dash is the fact that it does not have a battery. This means you can’t just carry the Dash around. You are constricted by the fact that it must be plugged into an outlet. Sony says that there next version of the Dash will have a battery, but that makes me wonder even more why they didn’t just put a battery in the version that is out right now. I feel that having a battery would definitely elevate it to complete tablet status.

So we’ve discussed the external side of the Dash, but what’s exactly inside of the device? The Dash has a 500MHz processor and 256MB of RAM. Having this type of power under the hood allows for video playback, but it isn’t exactly enough to be considered extremely fast. The touchscreen is responsive, but the OS seems to lag behind at times.

The Dash runs Chumby OS with a custom Linux build. Now not many people have heard of a Chumby OS. I know that I had never heard mention of it before, but it is simply a Flash runtime that features Chumby widgets that Sony calls Dash Apps. There are over 1,000 Dash Apps. Now, with the Linux side of things, Sony added the capabilities to utilize Bravia Internet Video Streaming that allows for apps from Netflix, Pandora, Slacker, Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, and a variety of other providers.

The Sony Dash is being called “an amped up alarm clock” by reviewers at engadget, and honestly in comparison with Apple’s iPad, that’s really all it is. Every action is easier to perform on the iPad, especially since the iPad has the option of using an external keyboard. Also the fact that the iPad is portable gives it a huge up on the Dash, and the iPad’s OS doesn’t lag behind. Now, it is $300 more that the Sony Dash, so that is something to definitely consider.

So it is your decision whether or not you think the Dash meets your needs. It’s only $200, and it does perform a decent amount of satisfactory actions. It’s an interesting approach to the tablet industry by Sony, but I think that they will most definitely do better with the Dash once they install battery capabilities.

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The Sony VAIO VPC-Z116GXS Laptop

Sony is known for having top of the line laptops. Before netbooks and CULV laptops, the Z-series of Sony’s laptops was one of the best-selling lines. They were the most chic and powerful laptops available. Right now, the VAIO VPC-Z116GXS is the only 13-inch ultraportable laptop that runs an Intel Core i5 processor and a switchable graphics system. If any of this has caught your attention, then keep reading.

The Z116GXS is beautifully designed. It is enveloped in carbon fiber and magnesium metals that make the laptop extremely sturdy and durable, as well as attractive. Sony was able to design the Z116GXS in a way that allows it to weigh in at only 3-lbs. The laptop features 1,600 x 900 resolution that allows for a crystal clear picture.

The keys found on the keyboard of the Z116GXS are smaller than many of their competitors, but Sony made sure to leave plenty of space in between the keys to make sure that the user didn’t feel cramped when typing. The keyboard also features backlighting which is becoming more prevalent in laptops today. It also has a spacious touchpad and a mouse button that is pleasingly quiet.

There are countless features to be found on the Z116GXS. Some of these include: an internal optical drive that can be switched out for a Blu-ray player, three USB ports, HDMI-Out, card slots for SD memory cards, a fingerprint reader, Bluetooth, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi cards from Intel.

The performance of the Z116GXS is outstanding. It could easily be called one of the most powerful laptops available today. As I mentioned previously, the laptop runs on a Core i5-540M processor. The 4GB of DDR3 memory allows the Z116GXS to be an extremely fast machine.

The laptop has both a Intel GMA HD graphics chipset and a Nvidia GeForce GT 330M graphics chipset. It also has the ability to switch back and forth between the two chipsets. The Nividia will allow you to enjoy 3-D intensive graphics, while the Intel will help you to save your battery life. The Z116GXS comes standard with a six-cell battery that lasts around 5 hours.

As you can see, the Sony Z116GXS is truly an amazing laptop. It has so many incredible features that make it stand out among many other laptops. Now it also has a price tag that makes it stand out as well. The Z116GXS starts at $1,800. It is your decision as to whether or not this laptop is worth putting out the cash. It you do make this decision, I can guarantee you will not be sorry.

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Looking for Laptop Rental information? Visit our Tech Travel Agent Laptop Rental Page for a variety of laptop rental solutions for business or personal use. Or call today at 800-736-8772.

Sony VAIO X Series Ultra Thin Laptops

It seems, in the computer world, that thin is the way to go theses days. When the MacBook Air was released by Apple, many of us thought that we couldn't get any thinner. well we were wrong. Sony's VAIO X Series of laptops has proved to be smaller, thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air. While looking at this laptop, you may notice the Intel Atom processor and compare it to be the same as other netbooks. However, this machine is something different completely.

How is this netbook so thin you may ask? Well for starters, the motherboard has all of its components soldiered onto one side of it. In addition to that, all the components are stuffed into the back of the motherboard leaving the front half to house the battery. This interesting choice of design has resulted in the thinnest machine on the market coming in at 16mm throughout. If you want to plug in an Ethernet cord, then you are going to have to the drop-down legs at the back of the netbook because the Ethernet connection is thicker than the actual laptop.

The keyboard has nice spacing, allowing you to easily type at speed. However, the keys only move a fraction when under pressure and don't have much space for travel which will not suit all users. The touchpad is tiny but responsive allowing precise control and the accompanying buttons are somewhat big and do not offer much movement. The X Series comes with an 11.1inch display which is expected for a mid-range laptop although this is better than nearly any one currently on the market. It has amazing color reproduction and comes with a 1366x768 pixel resolution.

Just like the VAIO P Series, the X Series has an Intel Atom Processor and came in at 2GHz offering enough power for most of your office tasks. It also comes with a 256GB solid state drive but only only has 2GB of memory. The X Series chassis is made out of carbon fiber which helps keep it light at a 775g. But this light weight comes at a price. The body flexes heavily under light pressure. But the carbon finish and glossy lid makes the device feel like a premium product.

The X Series is limited on ports having only two USB ports located on the left side of the device and one VGA and one Ethernet on the right side. Support for SD cards can be accessed on the front as well as a place for Sony's memory stick formats. The X Series has 802.11n Wi-Fi as well as Gigabit Ethernet and range topping models get 3G/HSDPA with the SIM card sliding in behind the battery. As soon as you see this thing your first reaction is going to be "whoa". It literally is that small. If you are a business man who values tiny dimensions as well as the lowest weight possible then the VAIO X Series is the exact laptop for you.

New Sony Ultra Portable Laptop

Sony is preparing for a new ultra portable laptop release. Its called the VAIO G2. With a 12 inch system, this new laptop is designed for high portability. Battery life is expected to last up to 12.5 hours with a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor. It comes complete with 1GB RAM, with a max of 1.5GB available. It is Bluetooth 2.0 compatable, has a DVD multi drive, and is WiFi enabled. Buyers have a choice to have HDD or SSD storage.

Sony is also preparing to release the VAIO UX72. It is a handheld ultra portable PC with similar specs to the G2.

These products are expected to be released at the beginning of October. So be sure to be looking for the VAIO G2 and UX72 in our Sony Laptop Rental inventory by the beginning of next year.