Michael LumThe Health Promotion Board has its Great Singapore Workout (GSW), but that doesn’t have half the muscle or the pull of the local IT community’s COMEX 2009.
Let’s face it: the Great Singapore Workout was a joke, and it has the dubious honour of being the only exercise regimen that doesn’t have anybody breaking out in a sweat at the end of it. In contrast, we were already perspiring after barely an hour in the cool, air-conditioned Convention Centre jostling around with the thousands who were also keen to clinch some quick deals at COMEX 2009. Who’d have guessed that grabbing tech bargains could be such a serious challenge of one’s personal fitness?
And while we’re at it, maybe we should point out that the attendance at COMEX 2009 on Day 2 has already exceeded the number of participants in the Great Singapore Workout.
Jokes aside, COMEX 2009 is packing them in, even though, for the first time, the event sprawls the entire 6 levels (minus the 5th level) of the Suntec City Convention Centre. Yep, you heard that right. Even the PC Show 2009 didn’t have such a capacity to boast about.
Naturally, being the tech geeks that we are, UrbanWire couldn’t resist the temptation of heading down to get the lowdown of some of the most attractive offers.
Of course, it would be almost humanly impossible to perform a complete sweep of COMEX 2009, and you wouldn’t want to read it either, so without further ado, on to the offers, according to the level of AWE we experienced over at their booths, and the bribes paid out to this writer.
Okay, we lied. No bribes were paid out. We respect your intelligence too much, honest.
COMEX 2009 Part 1: Desktops, notebooks and netbooks
Once again, Acer has shown why they’ve been scoring extremely well in sales figures annually. While they didn’t spend money on any of those catchy slogans like “The Computer is Personal again” or “Think Different”, they’ve proven themselves extremely successful in appealing to consumers’ greatest concern: the price tag.
Needless to say, we were totally not surprised to see Acer offering what must be the cheapest, most value-for-money notebooks with some totally amazing hardware specifications that just about wipes the floor with its competitors.
Acer Aspire 5738Z-432G25Mn
One of the reasons why Acer can always keep their computer lineup so attractive is their choice of hardware. Packed inside this 15.6” Acer Aspire 5738Z is an Intel Pentium Dual Core T4100 running at 2.1GHz, Intel Onboard Graphics, a 250GB hard disk and 2GB of Ram. While the Pentium Dual Core is classified as a budget processor with less performance than the mainstream Core 2 Duos used in most notebooks, the performance difference is not significant enough to detect with the naked eye, and the onboard Intel graphics can hold its own in basic media playback and gaming. Retailing at an unbelievable price tag of only $799, this is the cheapest 15.6” notebook we have seen in COMEX 2009.
UW’s verdict: Get it. NOW.
Acer Aspire 8935G-904G100Wn
Acer’s big momma, the 18″ Aspire 8935G, hasn’t changed the slightest bit since we last reviewed it during the PC Show 2009, where the exact same model was offered for sale. It still packs the same cutting edge hardware specifications: Core 2 Quad Q9000, the same 1TB of hard disk space, and the same Blu-Ray drive which sets it apart from most of the competition. Mobile power computing doesn’t get any better than this.
And yes, it even still retails for the same bargain price of $3,498. Although we’d agree that it’s hard to lower the price tag when it’s already at the lowest it can be.
UW’s verdict: Get this notebook and you’ll never need to go laptop-shopping for at least another 3 years, minimum. That is if its weight doesn’t kill your arms first.
Acer Aspire M7720 Gaming PC
<not displayed in COMEX 2009>
Generally, most gamers prefer to build up their own PC from scratch because of the degree of control and customisation you can get when setting up a DIY PC. But if you’re a lazy gamer who just needs a machine to get up and running, or are too overwhelmed with the choice of hardware components available at SLS, the Acer Aspire M7720 gaming PC is your best friend.
For just $1,999, you get a 23” monitor, the latest Core i7 -920 processor (which shames the Core 2 Quads by a significant margin), a 64-bit copy of Windows Vista Home Premium, 6GB of RAM, a 750GB hard disk for all your gaming needs, and last but not least, an Nvidia GeForce GT230 graphics card topped out with 1.5GB of dedicated video RAM.
UW’s verdict: with a price like that, and top-of-the-line performance, maybe schools should really start to consider contracting Acer as the sole provider for PCs for their computer labs.
For some reason, we can’t get enough of HP. Not only are they known for producing some of the most sleek-looking (aka: fingerprint magnet) and durable computer systems, they’ve made good on their promise to make the computer personal (again). Although we’d want to ensure that our PCs don’t get too personal with us. At least, not until android technology becomes mainstream.
HP Probook 4310s
Red must be the new colour of ‘personal’. Especially when HP decides to release the 13.3” Probook 4310s in a nice striking vermillion shell which actually looks quite good on the eyes. And like most notebooks today, the keys on the keyboard are all separated and segmented, which supposedly makes for better keyboard comfort. Stashed away inside that visually appealing shell is a monster though: the Probook boasts the following hardware configuration:
- Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.8GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
- for those who don’t understand what it means, here’s a newbie-friendly summary: it OWNS.
- A humongous 500GB hard disk for all your games and torrenting needs.
- An ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 GPU with 512MB dedicated video memory
- A built-in DVD+/–RW SuperMulti DL LightScribe Drive for you to burn your own CD/DVD covers on the special LightScribe medium
- COMEX price: $1, 999 (U.P: $2, 999)
UW’s verdict: A very personal notebook with all the power you need at a very not-so-personal price.
HP Mini 5101
Probably the first we saw that wasn’t as serious a fingerprint magnet as the other models HP had on offer at COMEX, this netbook takes a departure from HP’s other Mini series by abandoning the sleeker aluminium casing for a regular black one. This netbook also looks like anything but one: its 95% size keyboard and more conventional trackpad layout easily allows it to pass off as a notebook if not for the glaring ‘Intel Atom inside’ sticker on the keyboard clearly giving its identity away. With a 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard disk, all hidden inside a 10.1” size form factor, this netbook promises to perform well with just about any function not game- or media-related.
COMEX price: $799 (U.P: $899)
UW’s verdict: ASUS has the honor of making first modern netbook, Acer holds the #1 position in netbook sales, and what about HP? The bragging rights for sleekest, best-looking and extremely reliable netbooks.
HP Probook 4710s
Laptops are meant to be portable, but for some, ‘small’ doesn’t cut it. Enter HP’s older Probook 4710s, which is packaged in a hulking 17” form factor for those who crave large displays and full-sized keyboards with a dedicated numberpad. While the specs of the 4710s are a little dated (Intel Core 2 Duo T6570, ATI Radeon HD 4330, 320GB hard disk and 2GB DDR2 SDRAM), the price makes it one of the best bargains for a notebook of this size.
COMEX price: $1,599 (U.P: $1,699)
UW’s verdict: We had our eyes on this one. Really, we did. Especially because of the 17.3” screen and the Radeon HD 4330. Until we saw the processor.
HP Pavilion p6190d Desktop PC
Laptops aren’t for everyone: some people just cannot derive any satisfaction from using an underpowered mobile system which can be easily smoked away by most mid-range desktop models. For these people who just crave every single last ounce of computing power in a huge (ok, it’s not that big) desktop PC, HP offers its p6190d desktop, which comes with the following hardware configuration:
- An Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 processor (4MB L2 Cache, 2.66GHz, 1333MHz FSB)
- Newbie-friendly translation: NOTHING comes close. Except for the Intel Core i7, which beats up the Quad.
- 4GB DDR3 SDRAM expandable up to 8GB (64bit OS will be needed to address more than 4GB of Ram)
- 750GB Hard Disk (which, we can assure you, will take years to fill up)
- Nvidia GeForce GT220 with 1GB dedicated memory
- Newbie-friendly translation: Crysis becomes a purring kitten. Almost.
- COMEX Price: $1,599
UW’s verdict: It’s big, it’s mean, it’s fast, it’s relatively cheap… and it looks like the perfect tool to send your utility bills into overdrive as well, if you don’t give it a periodic break.
Compaq has been on the up since HP bought the company and turned it into its designated budget brand for computing machines. Just like its parent HP, Compaq boasts a relatively sleek and yet somewhat minimalistic design which leaves no doubt as to where this design shift was inspired from.
The CQ40 series of notebooks offered for sale at COMEX 2009 are built on AMD’s platform, which consists of a combination of AMD processors and ATI graphics. And while the AMD powered notebooks are technically slower (don’t believe AMD’s marketing hype: Intel still holds the performance crown) than the more powerful Intels, they’re also significantly cheaper than Intel-based notebooks.
The CQ40 series of notebooks are sold at a range of $999 to $1,299, further cementing Compaq’s position as a contender in the budget-space region.
UW’s verdict: Trackpad packs too much friction for comfort. But for this kind of specs and quality, the CQ40 is almost a steal.
Good ‘ol Toshiba. While they may not have attained the same level of fame as many other computing brands in the market, they have the distinction of being one of the oldest manufacturers still in the IT game. And this year, they seem determined to show the computing public why they could hang on in the market for more than 2 decades with their notebook lineup.
Satellite M300-S439R
We have to admit we were drawn to the unique, gleaming keyboard on the Toshiba Satellite M300-S439R, because that was the first thing which caught our eye when we walked past Toshiba’s booth. They keyboard definitely did call out for attention, and we felt obligated to give it some of ours.
While the keyboard looked and felt good to type on, we have to admit that the Satellite didn’t impress us much. For $1,299, which is $200 lesser than usual, the hardware is fairly dated: it uses an Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard disk and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470, all of which can be considered as being at least 1 generation behind today’s processor and graphics technology.
Although there’s some saving grace to the M300: the notebooks feels, and looks, tough enough to take quite a few hard knocks without destroying itself.
UW’s verdict: Get it if you want, but we’d probably look for better offers first before settling on the M300. Which is a shame, because Toshiba’s notebooks do look beautiful.
Netbook NB200-A101S
Toshiba’s netbooks can probably go toe-to-toe with Acer where netbooks are concerned: because all netbooks use virtually the same hardware configuration (an Intel Atom processor with a not-very-impressive Intel GMA 950 onboard graphics), price, size and bundled software are usually the only differences that netbook manufacturers can compete on, although the NB200 does take some sting out on the wallet,at its price of $699 [usual price is $809], which is $100 more than the Acer Aspire One.
That’s not to say that the Toshiba NB200 is a non-contender though: the NB200, on inspection, definitely felt more solid and rugged than the Acer Aspire One, which is just as important a factor considering that these ultra-mobile notebooks are usually subjected to countless knocks when conviniently left in one’s backpack or haversack when travelling. And if you’re a frequent road warrior who often put your netbook through such typical travel hazards, we’d say the extra $100 is well worth it.
UW’s verdict: Just don’t knock it too much though: this ain’t no Panasonic Toughbook.
We’re not done yet! COMEX 2009 spans 4 days, from Sep 10 to 13, which means that there’re still many other booths that UrbanWire has yet to visit, and many more great discounts waiting to be unearthed.
Check out UrbanWire’s Part 2 on the latest offers COMEX 2009 has in store.