Smallest i7 Laptop – 2011 Laptop Guide

A couple years ago I ditched my full power laptop for the likes of a Netbook.  I didn’t want the size and heft of practically a full PC in my backpack, so I went little, and my patience took a beating for it!

I love the little laptop, but I need full power so I don’t go crazy!  So I went searching around for a laptop that was really small – some would call this an ultraportable, and a laptop that had plenty of power to get the job done.  I also did not want to spend more than $1000! 

Enter the Acer Aspire TimelineX.  This is one of the smallest laptops that carry the i7 Intel chip.  It comes ready to do all the work you want to do, filled to the gills with specs that are on par with any full featured laptop.

One of the best specs with this laptop was the battery life.  It is spec’d out to get a full 8 hours of battery life from one charge! 

It is sleek and very small with an 11.6 inch screen.  This baby is pretty much a netbook sized powerhouse, perfect for those on the go.

All the reviews around the net are totally positive for this laptop.  From those ready to buy a 11.6 Mac Airbook, to those looking for a ultra convienient travel laptop.  They all rave at the great size and power of this laptop.

It comes with one of the best ultra-portable keyboards around.  The keys are nearly full size, and have plenty of space in between.  The mouse supports finger and swipe gestures for zooming and navigating, similar to much more expensive laptops.

It comes standard with VGA, HDMI, USB and Ethernet ports right on the machine.  No need for expensive converter dongles, this laptop is ready to hookup to anything you need.

This has been one of the best deals that I have seen on an I7 Laptop of this size.

If you are in the market to find the smallest i7 laptop for 2011, then look no further than this baby here.  It’s small, but packs a powerful punch.  The best part is that it will not break the bank!

 

Sweet Droid 3 Accessories Everyone Should Have

The Droid 3 will be out on Thursday.  This is a phone that I have been waiting for ever since I got my Droid X some time ago.  I really liked the X mostly for it’s size and screen, but what it really lacked is the slide out keyboard.

So now I am off to grab the new Droid 3 as soon as I can.  So with that I am on a mission to find the accessories for the Droid 3 without paying the crazy Verizon store prices!

 

1.) The Droid 3 Car Dock.  This is the most important accessory for me as I drive a ton and love having the Droid always accessible in it’s spot.

Looks like they updated the design of the car dock.  The dock for the X had a longer arm from the suction cup to the phone itself.  This made the phone bounce a little on the bumpy roads.  Looks like they updated to make it more stable, and it just plain looks cool too!

This package said it contains a custom audio and power USB cable?  Does this mean that it will grab the audio thru the USB so you don’t have to fiddle with hooking the audo cable into the phone after it is docked?  Wow that would be great!  I have been wishing for this feature for a while.  I’ll let you know if this is true as soon as I get one in my hands.

UPDATE:  I just got my Droid 3 Car Dock, and Yes, the audio gets pumped thru a special USB cable that has an audio jack on the end.  So all you have to do is put the phone in the dock and you are ready to go.  No more searching for the audio cable and hooking it into the audio jack on the phone!  Nice Job Motorola! 

You can grab the Droid 3 Car dock here

 

2.) Droid 3 Car Charger.  Just about any Droid car charger will work for this phone, and if you buy the car kit above it comes with the charger.  So for those who do not have this yet, here is a link to get this cheap.

You can grab the Droid 3 Car Charger here

 

 

3.) Droid 3 Multimedia Station.  I really liked the multimedia station for my Droid X as it gave the phone a nice ‘home’ while charging or sitting on the bedstand.  Like the X, this station includes an HDMI port thru that will allow you to hookup to your HD TV and mirror the output of the phone on the TV. 

You can grab the Droid 3 Multimedia Dock here

 

4.) Bluetooth Wireless Headset.   This is a universal accessory that is really nice, especially in those states where using the phone while driving is illegal.  I like the Motorola brand Bluetooth headset because the have special ‘hooks’ into the phone that will give you added features like reading your text and emails.  I also like it because it has a neat flip open type of door that shuts the unit off when you don’t want to use it.  That keeps the battery going for a long time cause you never forget that you left it on!

You can grab the Motorola Bluetooth Headset here

 

These are my ‘Must Have’ accessories list for the new Droid 3.  I am excited to pick up this new phone and I will be back with my first thoughts on the Droid in a few days!  What about you?  What kind of accessories are your ‘Must Haves’?  Let me know in the comments below.

 

Droid Bionic Car Dock and Other Sweet Accessories

One of the best parts of having a Droid phone is being able to dock it while in the car.  Free navigation, cool media player, and thousands of car type apps makes the Droid the thing to have in the car.

The Droid Bionic is a new phone from Motorola, has some killer specs and will be touting the new Verizon 4G LTE service.

This new phone will be sweet in the car, so I want to make sure I grab the Bionic car dock for it.  I like being able to find accessories for phones somewhere outside the Verizon store, saving me some cash in the process. 

Read more about the Droid Bionic Car Dock Here

Now the Bionic multimedia dock is a little bit more than the normal multimedia docks for other phones.  The Bionic is a webtop device, which means that your phone could essentially double as your laptop.

The bionic will be able to have a laptop-like device that will let you use it on the go.  That will come in the future.

Right now, you can get the multimedia dock or HD dock as it is called sometimes.  You will be able to connect a keyboard and mouse, along with an HDMI screen to ‘blow up’ your phone experience to new levels.

Check out the Bionic Multimedia Dock here

 

Your phone just is not complete unless you have a sweet bluetooth adapter.  (Just don’t keep it in your ear all the time – OK? 🙂  The bluetooth headset has become a must have, especially in those states where driving and using the phone is illegal. 

My favorite bluetooth headset is the Motorola H17 Bluetooth headset.  My favorite part of this headset is the little ‘flapper’ that allows you to shut the unit off by just closing the flap.  This keeps the headset going for months, because I never forget to turn it off.  It also has special hooks into the Motorola phones that will read emails and text messages to you from the earpiece.  O ya- it has great call quality too.  It uses multiple microphones to cancel out noise that is not your voice so the other end hears you loud and clear.

I saw it at Amazon for a good price. Check it out here.

Most People like to have a case for thier phone.  I can totally understand this, they just got done paying hundreds of dollars for a cool phone – why scratch it up?

Well I am not really one of those guys, but if you are, there are cool skins out there for the Droid Bionic.  Like this silicone one.  They stay on really well, and don’t add much heft to the phone.

Droid Bionic Silicone Case

With so many new phones out there today,  I am very impressed with the Motorola lineup.  With great build quality and superb call quality, these phones just cannot be beat.

 

 

I am loving the Gingerbread Browser!

I was pleased to visit AndroidCentral today and see that a leaked version of Gingerbread for the Droid X surfaced this weekend.  I have been watching paitently for a while now, hoping for this to come.  So I dove on in, downloaded, and flashed my Droid X with Gingerbread!

The download was about 175 mb.  Took a little over 15 mins to get.  I had been playing around with other Roms lately so I had all the tools needed to load quickly. (If you are looking to do this, head over to AndroidCentral.com and they have all the info on how to load Roms.)  It took just a few minutes for me to wipe my phone of all info, and load the new Gingerbread rom.  After reboot, my Droid X was Gingrebreadified!

This new build for the Droid X is really nice.  I am not sure if this will be the build they roll out for everyone, but it seems like it could be a final version.  The overall snappiness of the phone is great.  It feels like a new phone.  One of the things I was waiting for is the updates to the browser.  After having the iPhone for a little bit, I noticed how choppy the Android browser was compared to Safari.  The Gingerbread browser comes alot closer allowing you to do pinch-zoom dragging!  I know this might not be a big deal to some, but without it, browsing just feels clunky.  I am very pleased to see it now on my X, and it works quite well I may add.

I am sure I will find many more things to like about Gingerbread in the next few days.  One thing for sure, it will make me play with the phone again just like when it was new.  I love updates.

If you want to check this out for yourself, hop over to http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/forum.php