It’s not often that the promises of a software company actually live up to the software they publish, so it was nice to see that the new version of Reimage System Repair actually works. The $70 Reimage program—which claims to provide hassle-free relief for damaged Windows installs—delivers on its promise. (www.reimagesystemrepair.com)

Reimage works by scanning for the causes of PC problems, and then with a click of a mouse, fixes them for you. The program is easy to use. You simply go to their website and click Start Scan, install the program as instructed, and run it. The program is small, only about 7.2MB, so it will only take a few minutes to download.

During the scan, Reimage thoroughly goes over every element of your computer. In addition to looking for damaged or Windows files and registry entries, it also looks at how much available room is on your hard drive, how much memory is installed, the running temp of your processor, and which programs are crashing and how often. Once it’s done, it will report back to you in an easy-to-read report.

Reimage even checks your system for malware and viruses. The malware scanner is powered by several systems, such as the well powerful Avira platform, which is one of the most widely-used antivirus programs on the planet.

Once you’re ready to repair your computer, Reimage will repair any files it finds. Prior to the next start-up of your PC, Reimage will finish repairing and replacing any damaged files it discovered during the scan. When that’s complete, your computer finishes loading Windows and displays your newly-repaired desktop.

On my problematic Windows 7 test system, the entire process took about 45 minutes. While no infections were found, Reimage accurately noted several stability problems. The Novell Netware client, Teamviewer, and Google Chrome had all caused a number of crashes recently, and Reimage picked up on all three. After a quick reboot to replace files that were in use (which took less than five minutes), I was deposited back at my Windows desktop. Three days later, I had yet to experience a single crash, and my system was running beautifully.

If a Reimage operation happens to cause a program to stop working on your computer, you can undo the changes. That said, I performed several scans on multiple computers running a wide variety of software and never experienced any unexpected “breakage.”

There is one major downside to Reimage: a working Internet connection is required. In my many years as a technician, one of the most common problems I fixed for people was (you guessed it) a broken Internet connection. I also expect that DNS-hijacking malware will prevent Reimage from contacting its servers in order to block removal or repair attempts.

While I count Reimage’s price tag of $70 per year as a minus, there’s a caveat. For the average home user who doesn’t know how to reinstall Windows or completely remove nasty malware, $69.95 per year is a very good deal. A single trip to the computer repair shop would cost you more than that, and Reimage can definitely prevent those visits. Two more PCs can be covered for $30, and that’s an absolute steal if you have a close friend or family member that gets stung by the periodic computer repair bill.

All in all, Reimage is a fantastic repair utility that can fix some of the ugliest Windows problems out there. It won’t totally replace your local computer technician, but it definitely has the potential to save you money, time, and frustration.

The most distinguishing feature of the Samsung NF310 is indeed its curvy design which you may or may not like. It also has a dual core processor, an HD display and some of the best netbook speakers. That said, at $399 the Samsung NF310 is costlier than many netbooks. So is the machine worth the relatively high price tag?

Brad at Liliputing has published a detailed review of the laptop. You can read it here.

Samsung NF310 Quick specs

Processor: 1.5GHz Intel Atom N550 dual core processor
Display: 10.1 inch display with 1366 x 768 pixels
Memory: 1GB of RAM
Storage: 250GB hard drive
Connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi 802.11b/g/n

The Samsung NF310 is now available from Amazon for $399.

Design
The Samsung NF310 features a kind of wavy design on the sides which makes it a little larger than a typical 10 inch netbook. The curvy design may not impress all prospective buyers, but it does make the netbook look distinct. And that is a very good thing because netbooks tend to have pretty regular specs. In most cases the biggest selling point of a netbook is its design. Samsung has indeed succeeded in giving the NF310 a unique look although I am not sure that it will impress everybody. But of course, there are going to be some takers and the company is targeting them. While the NF310 is a little wider than a typical 10 inch netbook, it weighs less than 2.9 pounds.

The shiny, glossy lid does attract some fingerprints, but not too many.

Ports and Slots
The Samsung NF310 has 3 USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port, Ethernet jack, mic and headphone jacks. There is a single access panel on the bottom of the netbook for upgrading RAM and the battery. The battery doesn’t quite sit flush with the bottom of the laptop, but it doesn’t protrude that much either.

The Samsung NF310 has two 1.5 watt speakers. They are some of the best speakers you would find on a netbook and produce loud audio that also sounds good.

Like other netbooks from Samsung, the NF310 has a matte display which is almost viewable in direct sunlight. The viewing angles are also good. A glossy display might look great on the store shelf but it is not usable in direct sunlight.

The NF310 has an HD display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Some people might think that an HD display is not easy on the eye, but it does reduce the need for scrolling while watching webpages.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The NF310 has an island-style keyboard with flat surfaces. The keyboard is slightly smaller than a full sized keyboard, but it is comfortable to use. The touchpad is nice and wide. It supports multitouch gestures.

Performance
The Samsung NF310 has a dual core Atom N550 processor. As you would probably expect it is faster than a typical single core netbook and handles multitasking better. That said, the Atom N550 isn’t significantly faster than the single core Atom N450 or N470 processor. The NF310 can do everything a netbook is supposed to do. It can play 720p HD video from the hard drive. You can also watch HD flash videos from YouTube as long as you do it in a window. In the full screen mode it will begin to stutter. Not bad for a netbook that doesn’t have any support for HD video or 3D graphics acceleration. Modest gaming is possible but 3D video gaming is out of question.

Battery
The Samsung NF310 comes standard with a 6-cell, 48Whr battery. It gets around 6 hours of battery life while surfing the web over WiFi. That isn’t bad, but some single core netbooks on the market last for 9 hours or more on a single charge.

Verdict
The Samsung NF310 has a lot of things going for it. It has a unique design, a dual core processor, great speakers and an HD display that is also matte. It delivers better performance than a single core netbook. Battery life is perhaps the only area where it is behind its competition.

At $399 it may be pricier than a typical netbook, but it does have features that make it worth the premium.

Pros
Good display
Dual core processor
Great speakers
Unique design

Cons
Average battery life

The Asus Eee PC 1015PN is the first netbook to have Intel’s 1.5GHz Atom N550 dual core processor and NVIDIA ION graphics under its hood. Needless to say, it is the most powerful 10 inch netbook to ever hit the market. So how does the machine fare in real life usage?

The folks at Engadget have published a detailed review of the netbook. Long story short, they are quite impressed with the Eee PC 1015PN except for one thing – its inability to support the NVIDIA Optimus technology.

Look and feel
The Eee PC 1015PN has more or less the same looks and case design as other Seashell netbooks from Asus. It has a wide screen bezel and soft-to-the touch lid. The netbook measures 1.4 inches in thickness and weighs around 2.8 pounds. The six-cell battery protrudes from the bottom of the laptop, but some people might like it because it also props up the keyboard. The overall build quality is satisfactory.

Ports
Port selection is satisfactory. The Eee PC 1015PN has 3 USB ports, an Ethernet port, HDMI and VGA jacks, a 4-in-1 media card reader, and a headphone and mic jacks.

Keyboard, touchpad, and screen
The Eee PC 1015PN has a chiclet style keyboard. The keys provide decent feedback while typing. On the down side, some people may not like the shrunken right shift key. But that is an arrangement you will get used to. The touchpad is wide for a netbook of this size and shows decent sensitivity. It has a single mouse button which according to the folks at Engadget is mushy but better than the one found on the Eee PC 1018P.

The Eee PC 1015PN has a matte display which is quite viewable in bright surroundings. Viewing angles are also good. The speakers are loud enough for personal listening, but music aficionados will definitely want to invest in a pair of headphones.

Performance and graphics
The Eee PC 1015PN has a dual core Atom processor. The extra core does improve everyday performance. That said, the machine isn’t significantly faster than a single core netbook. It has enough power to handle day to day jobs like word processing, web surfing and chatting. The netbook comes standard with 1GB of RAM. By upgrading to 2GB of RAM you will be able to speed things up a bit more.

Graphics performance is impressive. The ION graphics deliver significantly better performance than Intel’s integrated graphics. It even rivals AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 4225 that comes bundled with the Athlon Neo K125 processor. Needless to say, you can stream Flash video at full screen, watch local HD video content and indulge in modest gaming. When the ION graphics is on, the 1015PN has no difficulty playing 1080p HD video on its screen. It can also transfer HD video to an HDTV via the HDMI port.

On the flip side, the 1015PN doesn’t support the NVIDIA Optimus technology. Asus ships the netbook with Windows 7 Starter Edition. Obviously, the company wants to keep the cost down. The result is that you have to reboot the computer every time you want to switch between the integrated and discrete graphics options. Of course, you can keep ION enabled all the time, but doing that will reduce the battery life you will get.

Battery life
The netbook has a 6-cell, 56Wh battery. If you keep the ION graphics enabled all the time, you will get only around four and a half hours of battery life. Switching to the integrated graphics option will lengthen the battery life and you will get close to 6 hours.

Conclusion
The Eee PC 1015PN is unarguably one of the most powerful 10 inch netbooks on the market. It delivers impressive CPU and graphics performance. The only downside, perhaps, is that you have to reboot the computer every time you want to switch between graphics. Of course, you can solve this problem by upgrading to Windows 7 Home Premium which supports the Optimus technology. Or you can spend $70 more and buy that 12.1 inch 1215N.

Pros
Great display
Good graphics performance
Decent battery life

Cons
Doesn’t support the Optimus automatic graphics switching technology

The Asus Eee PC 1015PN is now available from Amazon for $425

The HP ProBook 4520s is aimed at small and medium businesses. This 15.6 inch laptop is the successor to the ProBook 4510s. While its predecessor had Intel Core 2 Duo processors, the new model is available with your choice of a Core i3, i5 and i7 processors.

Our HP ProBook 4520s Specifications:

Processor: Intel Core i5 430M Processor (2.26GHz, 3MB cache)
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)
Display: 15.6-inch LED-backlit anti-glare HD display (1366 x 768)
Graphics: Intel GMA HD Integrated Graphics
Memory: 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM
Hard drive: 320GB 7200RPM HDD
Battery: 6-cell 47Whr battery

Price as configured: $749

Build and Design
The new HP ProBook 4520s features a semi-rugged case design with brushed metal lid which appears more durable than the plastic lid on the 4510s. The bottom of the notebook has no access panels for user-replaceable parts. So upgrading this machine down the line may be a bit of a hassle. Build quality is excellent. The notebook looks and feels solid in your hands.

Display
The ProBook 4520s has a 15.6 inch anti-glare display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The display features good color and contrast and the matte finish makes it easier to read outdoors. Horizontal viewing angles are excellent, but vertical viewing angles are average.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The HP ProBook 4520s has a full-size chiclet style keyboard. There is good spacing between the keys. Another major plus is the dedicated number pad which will come in handy if you use your computer for data entry. The keyboard shows barely any flex at all and the keys provide nice tactile feedback.

The Synaptics touchpad has a button-less design. It shows good sensitivity and is easy to use. But the button-less layout has its share of drawbacks. This arrangement may also require some getting used to.

Ports and Features
Port selection is satisfactory. There are 3 USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA/USB combo port, VGA, HDMI-output, LAN and audio jacks. There is also an ExpressCard/34 slot and SDHC-card reader for expansion.

Performance and Benchmarks
The ProBook 4520s features Intel Core series processors which offer good performance. HP offers pre-configured models with the Intel Core i3 350M processor and the Intel Core i5 430M. Custom configurations with up to the 2.66GHz Core i7 620M and ATI Radeon 4350 dedicated graphics are also possible.

The 4520s offers significantly better performance than the 4510s in many respects. The new Core i5 processor is much faster than the Core 2 Duo seen in the previous model. Graphics performance has also improved. The machine can easily handle HD video content. The 4520s has a faster 7200rpm hard drive as against the slower 5400rpm hard drive seen on the 4510s. Agreed, it isn’t as fast as the latest SSDs, but it does manage to reduce application load times.

Heat and Noise
Heat and noise levels are well within normal limits. The laptop is quite lap-friendly.

Battery Life
The ProBook 4520s comes standard with a 47Wh 6-cell battery. It gets a little over 4 hours of battery life. It is worth pointing out that the 4510s with its 63Wh 8-cell battery gets over 5 hours.

Conclusion
The HP ProBook 4520s is definitely worth considering if you are in the market for a portable business laptop. It is affordable and is significantly better than its predecessor in both looks and performance. The button-free touchpad, however, badly needs some refinement. You may also want to invest in a larger battery if you travel a lot.

Pros:

Nice keyboard
Excellent performance
Good build quality
Attractive looks

Cons:

Average battery life
Frustrating touchpad

The Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T is powered by an Intel Core i5-430UM processor. This new generation ULV processor makes the notebook one of the best performers on the market under a grand. What’s more, the 1830T delivers a decent 6 hours of battery life. The folks at Laptop Magazine have reviewed the notebook and seem impressed with its performance.

Aspire TimelineX 1830T specs

Processor: 1.2GHz Core i5-430UM
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
RAM: 4GB/4GB
Storage: 500GB/5,400rpm
Display: 11.6 inch display with 1366×768 pixels

Design
The Aspire TimelineX 1830T measures just 1.1 inches in thickness and weighs around 3 pounds. In terms of looks the 1830T isn’t much different from the Aspire One 721 netbook. It is, however, a bit heavier but that powerful dual core processor does justify those extra ounces.

The notebook features a matte lid which hides fingerprints. It ships with a 6-cell battery which bulges out of the system, tilting the machine at a slight angle.

Heat
The 1830T does get warm while performing certain tasks. There is still no cause for concern. However, putting the machine on your lap for extended periods certainly isn’t recommended.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard is nearly full size. It is easy to use. The keys provide nice tactile feedback and you will be able to achieve your normal typing speed within no time. The silver touchpad buttons are nice and crisp, but the touch surface could have been a little larger.

Display
The 1830T has an 11.6 inch display with 1366 x 768 pixels. The display is bright. Colors are vivid. Viewing angles are also good. But the glossy display does cause distracting reflections.

Ports and Webcam
Port selection is satisfactory. There are 3 USB ports, an Ethernet port, a Kensington lock slot, headphone and mic, VGA port, an HDMI output and a 5-in-1 memory card reader. No eSATA or FireWire. Supported connectivity options are WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0+HS. There is also a 1.3 megapixel webcam.

Performance
The TimelineX 1830T has a 1.2GHz Intel Core i5-430UM processor and 4GB of RAM. This new generation of ULV processors offer significantly better performance than their previous generation. In fact, the 1830T delivers commendable performance in many benchmark tests. However, boot times are average. The 500 GB, 5400rpm hard drive takes 1 minute and 20 seconds to boot into Windows 7 Home Premium. But this delay is probably due to the trialware that comes pre-loaded with the notebook.

Graphics Performance
The 1830T doesn’t have discrete graphics. However, the Intel HD GPU with 128MB memory delivers reasonably good graphics performance. The notebook also has an HDMI port for transferring video to an HDTV.

Battery life
The Core i5 version of the notebook gets a decent 6 hours of battery life.

Verdict
The TimelineX 1830T is one of the best ultraportable notebooks on the market. It has great looks, offers good performance and gets respectable battery life. But at $699, it certainly isn’t cheap. So if you are on a budget, you may want to consider the $599 Core i3 version of the 1830T. Alternatively, you can buy the $499, Eee PC 1201PN which offers comparable graphics performance but less processing power and endurance.

Pros

Good performance
Nice keyboard
Decent battery life

Cons
Not quite cheap