Category: Product Review

Product Review–Dell Inspiron 15R consumer laptop

Introduction

I am reviewing the Dell Inspiron 15R consumer laptop which is pitched by Dell as a value-priced mainstream consumer laptop that would suit most home users. It is another example of the recent trend by companies making equipment for the Windows platform to upstage Apple on aesthetics, build, functionality and performance in a cost-effective manner.

Dell Inspiron 15r laptop

Price
– this configuration
RRP AUD$949  
Processor  Intel Core i3 M330 CPU (2.13GHz)  Intel Core i5 processors – extra cost option
RAM 4Gb shared with graphics on Intel HD option
  6Gb – extra cost option  
Secondary Storage 500Gb hard disk DVD burner, SD card reader
  320Gb hard disk – cheaper option
640Gb hard disk – extra-cost option
 
Display Subsystem ATI Mobility Radeon 5470 Graphics 1 Gb display memory
  Intel HD Graphics – cheaper option  
Screen 15” widescreen LED-backlit LCD
Network 802.11n Wi-Fi  
  Bluetooth 2.1  
  Ethernet  
Connectors USB 3 x USB 2.0
  eSATA 1 x eSATA combined with one USB socket
  Video 1 x HDMI
1 x VGA
  Audio 1 x 3.5mm Headphones output jack
Digital out via HDMI
1 x 3.5mm microphone input jack
Operating System on supplied unit Microsoft Windows 7 Home Edition  

The computer itself

Aesthetics and Build quality

The review unit isn’t styled in a manner that copies the aesthetics of Apple’s MacBook range of computers. The back of the display is finished in a red colour but is available in a range of other colours when you order the computer through Dell’s website.

As mentioned below, the keyboard area isn’t colour-coordinated to the back of the display. Here, the keys are finished in black and set against a chrome-look bezel that reminds me of the way various car manufacturers used a chrome panel around a group of controls on the centre console or around power-window buttons on the armrests of high-end vehicles to emphasise luxury.

These aesthetics may appeal to those of us who like to move away from the “Apple-copy” styling that is happening with some portable computers. The only limitation with this glossy finish is that it attracts fingermarks too readily.

User interface

Dell Inspiron 15r laptopThe computer has a numeric keypad alongside the keyboard and this keyboard is the orthodox kind that Dell uses rather than the “chiclet” calculator-key layout that I have seen in other laptops.  The trackpad is even made to be a “distinct” area with easily-identifiable buttons rather than the Macbook-inspired panel which has an area marked out for the buttons.

Storage

There is a 500Gb hard disk that is split in to 400Gb user space and 37.4Gb OS space plus a system-recovery partition for the main secondary storage. As well, a DVD burner and an SD card reader provide for the system’s removable storage needs,

This capacity would be suitable for a consumer notebook that is intended to become the sole computing device for someone who wants to head to the laptop-based “new computing environment”.

Audio and Video

I have observed the visual experience when running the move as part of the battery rundown test and it was smooth even through the scenes where there was a lot of action. The sound is very good if played through headphones or external speakers but like all laptops, it leaves a lot to be desired when played through the computer’s own speakers.

Battery life

I have run the computer through the DVD run-down test and it has completed 2 hours, 17 minutes while playing a feature movie through Windows Media Player and the wireless functionality was enabled. It played the same DVD feature movie during the run-down test for 2 hours 39 minutes with no wireless modem in use; a task that would be performed when the laptop is used on a long-haul flight.

When I took the computer “on the road”, the battery duration was  good for word-processing and Web-browsing even though it was powering my mobile phone as part of a tethered wireless-broadband-modem setup. I was able to get a few hours out of a USB tethered Nokia N85 when I ran the computer on batteries only and the phone was the wireless-broadband modem.

Other experience notes

When I have used this computer, it hasn’t run hot too quickly. This would be typical for a “standard-form” large-screen laptop where there is enough room for the components to breathe.

Conclusion

I would recommend this laptop as a value-priced option for most of us who want a large laptop computer for use as a main computer at home — the new laptop-centric computing environment — or as part of tertiary study. At a pinch, it may suit the small-business user who uses it as a computer to take between the office or shop and their home.

It wouldn’t be good for regular air or other public-transport travellers who want to use the computer while on board the plane or other transport vehicle. This is  because it is too large for typically cramped spaces like urban public transport or the economy-class cabin in a plane.

Product Review–Brother MFC-9840CDW colour laser multifunction printer

Introduction

I am reviewing the Brother MFC-9840CDW colour laser multifunction printer which is pitched as a general high-throughput document “workhorse” for a small to medium business.

Brother MFC-9480CDW colour laser "document centre"

Print Scan Copy Fax /
E-mail
Paper Trays Connections
Colour Colour Colour Colour 1 x A4 USB
Laser Xerographic 2400dpi Super 3G fax Optional high-capacity A4 tray Ethernet
802.11g WPA2 WPS wireless
Auto-Duplex Double-side automatic document feeder POP3/SMTP email-based fax (T.37)

Prices

Printer

RRP: $1599

Optional Extras:

High-capacity secondary paper tray: $299

Inks and Toners

Standard High-Capacity
Price Pages Price Pages
Black $112.95 2000 $171.95 5000
Cyan $131.95 1500 $258.95 4000
Magenta $131.95 1500 $258.95 4000
Yellow $131.95 1500 $258.95 4000
Servicing
Drum Kit $356.95 17000
Belt Kit $179.95 50000
Waste Toner Kit $29.95 20000

The printer itself

Network connectivity

This machine can connect to a network using Ethernet cable or 802.11g Wi-Fi wireless. When you enter the WPA-PSK network password, you can use the numeric keypad to enter it “SMS-style”. I have tested it on Wi-Fi wireless and it hasn’t “gone off the radar” on the network even if it goes in to energy-save mode. Still, I would prefer printers like this one to be connected to am Ethernet or HomePlug powerline network rather than using a wireless network.

User interface

The printer uses a bitmap monochrome display which is backlit using a white light and it can make the display easier to read. As well, the typefaces for the display are easy to read even for people with limited sight. The keyboard is also laid out in a logical manner and is easy to read.

Brother MFC-9840CDW Control panel

Control panel

Brother MFC-9840CDW control panel with LCD lit

Control panel with LCD display lit - easy to read

Fax functionality and IP-faxing

The unit has regular support for Super G3 colour faxing over the regular telephone line service to a standard of a business-class fax machine.  This unit can only accept fax documents from the scanner or a computer which uses the “print-to-fax” driver supplied by Brother.

It has inherent support for email-based (T.37) IP-fax operation as well as regular Super G3 colour faxing over phone lines. This is whether it works as a receiving / transmitting endpoint or as an “off-ramp” to regular fax machines. Users can enter their destination email addresses from the control panel by using the numeric keypad in a manner similar to entering text on a mobile phone. But, as I have mentioned before in the Brother interview and an article on IP-based faxing, this feature is very hard to provision and use. The owner needs to establish a separate email address for best results as well as know the SMTP and POP3 details for their email service. Also, at the moment, it doesn’t support any colour “fax-over-email” functionality because as far as I know, this standard doesn’t have any support for colour transmissions.

When you fax from the unit, there is twenty buttons for one-touch dialling but there is also a “shift” key to gain access to a further twenty fax numbers for one-touch dialling. This also works in addition to a large “speed-dial” registry for other regularly-used fax numbers. This registry can also handle email addresses for T.37-compliant IP-based faxing as an alternative to regular telephone numbers.

Printing colour photographs from a digital camera

The unit doesn’t have a colour LCD display nor does it have SD card slots for printing of images from digital-camera cards. But it uses an up-front USB port which allows you to print images from PictBridge-enabled digital cameras, camcorders and mobile phones. The same port can be used to print TIFF, PDF, JPEG and XPS files from USB memory keys but you would have to know your desired image’s or document’s file name and where it is on the USB memory key.

When you print photographs, the pictures come out rather dark and this may be a consequence when a colour laser printer is used to do this job on plain paper. It can be good enough when you need “there-and-then” hard copy of pictures on a digital camera. As well, like all other multifunction printers you aren’t able to send pictures by email or fax from the USB slot or PictBridge.

Scanner and automatic document feeder

The scanner uses a conventional fluorescent lamp to illuminate the document rather than the LED “bar” used in all of the other multifunction printers that I have reviewed. This may yield benefits by providing even lighting for scanning the work but can be requiring replacement on a regular interval for a busy machine.

There is a double-sided automatic document feeder but I have noticed that it has some problems in its use. Here, it can cause some documents to “buckle” up when they are being turned over and this behaviour is more so with older documents that are being scanned. This behaviour is also highlighted with the access panel at the top of the automatic document feeder “creeping open” during the duplex cycle. The ADF has a separate slot where the document partially comes out during the “turnover” cycle. It is also worth knowing that it takes 17 seconds / page to scan both sides of a regular office document.

The reason I am paying attention to this is because most businesses may want to use a double-sided automatic document feeder to expedite the scanning of documents for electronic archiving or optical-character-recognition. Similarly, they may want to use this feature to fax or copy both sides of a document.

Duplex automatic document feeder

Duplex automatic document feeder with narrow slot for paper to emerge when "turned over"

Printing

The printer is very reliable although, because it uses an older colour-laser print engine, the cost of replacement toner cartridges is more expensive than the HL-4150 machine that I reviewed previously.

Another penalty of the older mechanism design is a longer duplex-print cycle where only one page at a time can be printed on both sides. Other than that, the printer is very reliable especially when it comes to large print jobs. Infact I have sent through a single-side print of a 225-page document then followed it with the same document printed double-sided and the printer worked very smoothly.

Limitations and Points of Improvement

For a machine of the price range, it could benefit from a colour LCD display and could also benefit from a memory card reader for “ad-hoc” printing from digital camera memory cards. The automatic documet feeder could do with some improvement for a high-duty-cycle type especially when it comes to reliability when doing a double-sided scan of documents printed on older paper.

It, like most other fax-enabled multifunctions, could have support for a “fax-from-mixed-source” function where a monochrome or colour fax job to a single destination could be constructed from document pages scanned via the automatic document feeder;  document pages scanned directly on the scanner glass (such as bound or stapled documents and till receipts) and / or digital images from a digital camera or user-attached flash storage.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

This multifunction printer does work well if you intend to use it as a printer for many short-run colour jobs or use it as a high-traffic high-usage machine and not do much in the way of archiving older paper documents to electronic form.

The printer could be cheaper to run as far as materials are concerned if a business expects to buy or specify it for use as the only document centre for their operations.

Product Review–Brother HL-4150CDN Colour Laser Printer

Introduction

I am reviewing the Brother HL-4150CDN colour laser printer which is a dedicated printer based on Brother’s latest colour laser-printing “engine”.

There is a more-expensive “deluxe” variant of this printer available as the HL-4570CDW and this machine is  equipped with 802.11g/n WPS-enabled wireless networking out of the box.

Brother HL-4150CDN colour laser printer

Print Paper Trays Connections
Colour 1 x A4 Direct (USB)
Laser Xerographic Manual-feed tray Ethernet network
Auto-Duplex Optional high-capacity A4 tray IPv6 ready

 

Prices

Printer

RRP: AUD$599

Optional Extras:

High-capacity secondary paper tray: $249

Inks and Toners

Standard High-Capacity
Price Pages Price Pages
Black $106.95 2000 $179.95 6500
Cyan $106.95 1500 $299.95 6500
Magenta $106.95 1500 $299.95 6500
Yellow $106.95 1500 $299.95 6500
Servicing
Drum Kit $259.95 25000
Belt Kit $179.95 50000
Waste Toner Kit $29.95 50000

All prices quoted in Australian Dollars with all taxes inclusive.

The printer itself

The local control console is based around a small LCD user-interface display which shows approximately how much toner there is left as well as the printer’s status. There is a group of buttons used for various functions like walk-up printing, and print-job management.

Brother HL-4150CDN control panel and USB host port detail

Control panel detail

The printer has a USB host port on the front for walk-up printing from a USB memory key. It can print PDF or XPS documents or JPEG and TIFF pictures. You have to use the LCD display to select the document or picture to print from and this can be difficult if you don’t know it by folder location and filename. This is something you have to do as soon as you insert the USB memory key in to the port because it will show the first file in the list of files that you can print when that happens. This function could be improved on by providing PictBridge functionality to print from digital cameras or mobile phones using the camera’s control surface.  <optional detail on USB port>

It also supports “confidential job release” where you can send the job to the printer but it isn’t printed out unless you are at the machine. The small keypad makes this function more difficult to operate because you have to “pick ‘n’ choose” numbers to enter the document-release password. This could be improved on by use of the USB HID device class to support the connection of a keyboard or numeric keypad to the USB port for entering this password.

Similarly, this same USB port could be used to connect USB flash storage for print jobs so as to provide increased print-queue capacity and fail-safe printing; or a Bluetooth radio module to allow a user to send print jobs from their phone.

The printer would take between 30 and 40 seconds to start printing even if it went in to a standby mode after a long period of inactivity.It will take 5 seconds per page for the printer to turn out a job, This is even if you use the inbuilt automatic duplexer where it will “draw in” and print the reverse side of two pages thus avoiding any time penalty associated with double-side printing.

The duplex-print functionality has support for a “booklet-print” function. This is where the printer scales the document so that two pages fit on each side of the sheet of paper and are sequenced in a book-like manner. Then the pages will be printed using the automatic-duplex mechanism. It can work effectively for documents with up to 6 or 8 pages and comes in to its own with food-service menus, order-of-service sheets and similar documents.

If the printer runs out of paper during a print job, it immediately continues printing from where it has left off once the user puts new paper in the paper tray and closes that tray. There is no need to press any button to continue printing.

Toner cartridges on drum-unit "drawer"

Toner cartridges on drum-unit "drawer"

In most cases, the printer is easy to service and maintain. The drum unit works as easy-to-load toner cartridge drawer so you don’t have to grope inside the machine to change cartridges. may have to remove drum unit and reach in to machine to remove jammed paper. There is a drop-down back panel for access to paper in the duplex mechanism but it can be dropped down for print jobs where a straight-through paper path is needed like envelopes.

The standard print-driver software is easy to use for most job-specification requirements but if you needed to use functions like Secure Print (confidential job release), you have to go to an “advanced” window to set these options. One feature that I like is that if an option is enabled, it is listed in blue on the left side of the window.

Brother HL-4150CDN Driver setup screen

Driver setup screen

Limitations and Points of Improvement

Like most printers on the market, this printer could support “CD-free” setup, whether through storing the driver set on flash-memory or using a link to the Internet to download the drivers.  As well, it could have the option to support “print-to-the-edge” printing for use in running off “full-bleed” print jobs or printing photographs.

As well, when I talked of the control panel and USB port earlier in the review, the printer could make better use of the USB port for activites like PictBridge printing.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

This is one colour laser printer that I would recommend as a dedicated short-order / “as-needed” publishing machine for a small business, church or other similar organisation. It doesn’t matter whether the organisation has a multifunction inkjet printer or monochrome laser printer for use with their ordinary printing needs or not.

Similarly this colour laser printer could come in handy for organisations who end up printing out “infill copies” of material that is printed elsewhere due to delays or short-runs or printing out test-runs of PR material before it is sent out for printing.

The high-capacity toner cartridges and the high-capacity paper-tray option can then come in to their own when you find that you do more of these print jobs frequently.

Product Review – HP Mini 210 netbook

Introduction

I am reviewing the HP Mini 210 netbook which is pitched as Hewlett-Packard’s main nethook for this year. It is available in a few different colours or can be purchased for extra cost as the Vivianne Tan edition which has the design work of this famous handbag designer on its outside.

HP Mini 210 netbook

Price
– this configuration
$599  
Processor Intel Atom  
RAM  1Gb  shared with graphics
Secondary Storage 250Gb HDD partitioned out SDHC card reader
Display Subsystem  Intel Graphics  
Screen 10” widescreen LED-backlit LCD
Network Wi-Fi  
  Ethernet  
Connectors USB 3 x USB 2.0
  Video VGA
  Audio 3.5mm headphones
Operating System on supplied unit Microsoft Windows 7 Starter  

 

The computer itself

User interface

The small keyboard is of the “chiclet” type which appears to be flat and more at risk of errors. There is also a touchpad which works in a similar manner to the Apple Macbook Pro and the HP Envy. This means that the selector buttons are areas that are marked off at the bottom of the touchpad area.

Like most laptops, this unit still requires you to press the Fn key to use standard functions and the Fn functions on this unit are written very dimly. This will make it hard to use the function keys like F5 for particular tasks like reloading the browser. I have found that there isn’t a PgUp or PgDn key on the keyboard which is important if you wish to browse large documents or Websites.

As well, the keyboard is very cramped which is common with all netbooks. This therefore makes it not suitable for long sessions of typing.

Audio and Video

This unit still has the similar audio and video capabilities for a computer of its class. It can reproduce a Youtube video properly for the bandwidth of the video and is still efficient on the battery when this happens. You also have  stereo sound reproduction but there is still that tinny sound that is common with laptop and netbook sound systems.

Battery life

There wasn’t an optical drive integrated in to this nethook so I wasn’t able to run down the battery on a DVD of a feature movie being played, which would normally test the battery on video, sound and disk activity. But I was able to complete a new-machine antimalware scan and a Windows Update concurrently, which would test the battery on the hard disk and the network. The unit had finished on 50% full at the end of the virus scan and Windows Update.

Therefore the unit can still do most tasks expected of a netbook on its own battery for a long time.

Quick-start shell

There is a pre-boot “quick-start shell” which allows you to do some elementary tasks without you having to fully boot Windows 7. This allows you to work with the Web, including viewing selected Webmail accounts; use an online calendar or  play music and view photos held on the computer’s storage.

I would like to see this “quick-start shell” extended to support for a desktop mail client for POP3/IMAP/ActiveSync mail setups which most home and small business users would use as well as support for access to DLNA media servers for online media playback. This could be extended to use as a DLNA Media Control Point for use in playing media on DLNA MediaRenderer devices. 

Conclusion

The higher-capacity hard disk can be of benefit when you want to do things like preview many digital pictures or work with a lot of email using a desktop email client like Windows Live Mail. Other than that, it has the typical capabilities of a netbook.

This means that I would still place it as a secondary-use traveller computer or as a “floater” computer for the home network for accessing the Social Web in front of the TV for example.

Product Review – Sony VAIO E-Series laptop computer

Introduction

I am reviewing the Sony VAIO E-Series laptop computer which is Sony’s attempt to create a VAIO laptop that can be positioned as a sole computing device for small business owners and similar people.

Sony VAIO E-Series laptop

RRP AUD$1399

  Review Sample Variants
Processor Intel Core i3  
RAM 4Gb shared with graphics  
Secondary Storage 500Gb HDD 320Gb HDD or 640Gb HDD
  DVD-RW drive BD-ROM Blu-Ray / DVD-RW drive
  SDHC card reader, Memory Stick card reader  
Display Subsystem ATI Mobility Radeon 5650 with 2.8Gb shared memory  
Screen 15” widescreen LED-backlit LCD  
Networking 802.11g/n Wi-Fi wireless 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi wireless
  Gigabit Ethernet  
  Bluetooth  
Connectivity USB 2.0 x 4  
  eSATA x 1 (shared with 1 USB)  
  Video: VGA, HDMI  
  Audio: HDMI digital, 3.5mm Headphones,  for thecrophone in  
  Express-Card 34 expansion slot  

 

The computer itself

This laptop is another attempt to upstage the MacBook Pro laptops in aesthetics and functionality. It is finished in a cyan-blue housing with a black keyboard and keyboard surround. There are different variations with a larger variety of different colours available for the series.

Processor and RAM

This unit comes with an Intel Core i3 multicore processor and works on 4Gb RAM that is shared with the display subsystem’s memory. This configuration seems to be “de rigeur” for most mid-range laptops offered on the market by the major manufacturers and is capable of handling most office and multimedia tasks.

Secondary Storage

The test sample came with a 500Gb hard disk which has all of the capacity as one logical drive rather than the usual practice of creating separate partitions for recovery data or vendor-supplied tools. There are machines in the range that have 320Gb at a cheaper price or 640Gb at a more expensive price. This is a size that I would find adequate for a computer that is expected to be one’s only computing device used for their work and personal computing needs.

There is a standard DVD burner supplied as the optical drive but you can get a Blu-Ray reader / DVD-burner drive as an extra-cost option.You also have a separate SD card slot and Memory-Stick card slot for removeable storage.

Display subsystem

This computer’s display subsystem is driven by an ATI Mobility Radeon 5650 subsystem with 2.8Gb shared with the system’s main memory. It uses a 15.5” LED-backlit widescreen LCD as the main display but can be connected to an external display device using either a VGA connection or an HDMI connection.

Keyboard and trackpad

Sony VAIO E-Series keyboard and trackpad

Sony VAIO E-Series keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard is a chiclet type with a dedicated numeric keypad that would please business users. It has shied away from  requiring you to press the Fn key to gain access to the standard function keys, a practice that has been required with other competing laptop designs. Yet it is still suitable for long-haul computing tasks because it doesn’t appear to be cramped.

There are dedicated keys for use in gaining access to the VAIO shell extension, the Web and Sony’s VAIO ASSIST program. The trackpad is a similar design to some of the Dell notebooks I have reviewed where it is a recessed area finished in the same style as the palm rest. The buttons that you press to select the option are distinctly different and are actual buttons rather than marked-out areas on the trackpad.

Networking and Connectivity

The computer uses an 802.11g/n Wi-Fi wireless connection or a wired Gigabit Ethernet connection to connect to your network. There is the option of an 802.11a/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi network available at extra cost if you have deployed such a network.

The computer has an ExpressCard-34 slot which you can use for ExpressCard-34 (slim-profile) expansion cards such as wireless-broadband modems. As well, there are four USB 2.0 sockets with one that is shared with an eSATA external-hard-disk socket. You also have a headphone socket and a microphone socket located up front.

Software complement

The VAIO E-Series is powered by the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system but I would recommend that business users use the “Anytime Upgrade” option to upgrade to either Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate to do it justice. There is the complement of multimedia programs that Sony provides for all their VAIO laptops, including a VAIO DLNA media server.

Use Experience

With all optical-drive-equipped laptops, I run them through a DVD run-down test with a movie to assess how long the battery will llast under a difficult environment. This is with the display showing the movie constantly and the optical drive spinning constantly. This unit was able to make through 1 hour, 42 minutes with wireless networking and Bluetooth enabled and 1 hour, 50 minutes without wireless networking and Bluetooth enabled. The DVD playback experience was smooth even with scenes that have a lot of action in them.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

This is another laptop that I would consider as being useful as a portable computing device for users who perceive it as their only computing device. This would includ users who want it as a “work-home” laptop. It doesn’t have the same “managed” business-class security complement that some business users would demand but would work as a basic all-around “work-home” laptop. It would also be another machine that I would put on the list of laptop computers that I would recommend to a parent who is giving a laptop to their son or daughter who is starting tertiary education and living at a dorm / hall-of-residence or similar facility.

It is also another machine that can can be considered as a Windows-powered alternative to the Apple MacBook Pro laptop and is priced in the similar range and offers similar performance. It may therefore be considered as a laptop solution for people who are disaffected by Apple’s recent goings-on and want to “move away” from Apple, yet still want a brand-name multimedia-capable laptop.

Product Review – HP Photosmart Wireless-E Multifunction Printer (B110a)

An Internet-based printing appliance from HP

Introduction

I am now reviewing the HP Photosmart Wireless-E Multifunction Printer (B110a) which is the successor to the Photosmart Wireless (B109n) printer that I reviewed previously on this site.

HP Photosmart Wireless-E all-in-one printer

Print Scan Copy Fax /
E-mail
Paper Trays Connections
Colour Colour Colour Colour 2 x A4 USB
Inkjet     Receive e-mail from Web-based service   802.11g/n WPA2 WPS wireless

Prices

Printer

RRP: AUD$129

Inks

  Standard   High-capacity  
  Price Pages Price Pages
Black AUD$18.76 250 AUD$51.20 800
Cyan AUD$16.76 300 AUD$29.56 750
Magenta AUD$16.76 300 AUD$29.56 750
Yellow AUD$16.76 300 AUD$29.56 750

There are no fees or charges to use the ePrint service for print-to-email or the ePrint applications.

The printer itself

This unit looks as if it is a copy of the previous model, with the same compact black chassis and small screen with ATM-style operation and “pinball-machine” touch-buttons around the screen. The printing mechanism is very similar to the predecessor and using the same consumables.

But there is a lot more that meets the eye when you plug it in and switch it on,

Improvements over the B109n

Wireless-network setup

You will notice the first improvement when you set up the printer to work with your wireless network. Previously, if your Wi-Fi network’s router or access point didn’t support WPS “push-button” setup, you had to connect the printer to your computer and run the HP-supplied software to enrol it with your secure wireless network. With this model, you can enrol it with your non-WPS wireless network segments using the control panel. This is done using a “pick and choose” text entry method for entering the network’s WPA passphrase.

Another improvement is the ability to integrate properly with 2.4GHz 802,11n Wi-Fi network segments which means that you don’t need to “downgrade” your 802.11n router or access point to “mixed mode” or 802.11g for it to work properly.

The Internet-based printing appliance

The printer can now work as a network-based “printing appliance” for emails and MMS messages as well as being a network printer and scanner. There is also support for “print apps” where the printer can print out Web pages, RSS feeds, Sudoku pages and the like from the control panel. These are all set up by visiting the HP ePrint website (http://www.hp.com/go/ePrintCenter) where you establish an account using your Google, Facebook or openID credentials or site-particular credentials. Here, you enrol the printer by entering the device-specific code which is on an “ePrintCenter” sheet that is printed as part of the setup process.

ePrint Apps on unit's screen

ePrint Apps on unit's screen

Once set up, you have a machine-specific email address which you can add to your laptop, smartphone or MMS-capable mobile phone. Here, you then forward your document, photo or message to this address or add this address as a BCC address to an email to have it printed on the printer. This will then be printed out by this unit without you needing to have a computer at the same location switched on all the time. You may have to make sure you type some text before the photo if you are sending a photo by MMS so the ePrint service doesn’t reject your picture as spam.

HP ePrintCenter Web page

HP ePrintCenter management page

Similarly, HP have introduced “ePrint Apps” which allow you to print items provided by certain content providers from the control panel. I have talked about this feature on this site last year when HP released their first TouchSmart-based Web-enabled multifunction printer that had this functionality. One of these “ePrint Apps” that I like is the “Tabbloid” which allows you to have today’s posts from a list of RSS feeds that you select printed out at the touch of a button. Of course, there is the HP Quick Forms application which allows you to turn out ruled paper like notepaper, graph paper or music-manuscript paper using the printer’s control panel. This application still has some limitations like only being able to print 10 staves on the music-manuscript paper which is useless for certain music projects such as “vocal+piano”, quartet or organ pieces.

Limitations and Points of Improvement

On the other hand, the small control panel makes it harder to perform most walk-up printing tasks. Here, you have to highlight the task, touch “OK”, then work through menus to determine the task, which can make the whole process more difficult and confusing to perform and lead to more operation errors. This is a real limitation for older people or those of us who have eyesight or dexterity limitations.

As well, like the previous model, this unit doesn’t have Ethernet connectivity, which may be required if your Wi-Fi network is plagued with reception difficulties and you want to use HomePlug as an alternative networking method or connect it directly to the router using an Ethernet cable.

Some of these limitations may be to do with a common practice associated with the design of manufactured goods as the design nears the end of its lifecycle. This is where the manufacturer creates a model that is based on a common physical and mechanical design as other popular models that have the design but this model has a swathe of improvements over the previous models either in order to “finish off” the design or rush certain features in to that design.

Conclusion and Recommendation Notes

I would recommend this printer for home use as an entry-level network-enabled printer especially if you are moving towards the laptop-based wireless-network-driven “new computing environment”. It would also work well as a secondary printer for the study or kitchen area or in another building, especially if you place high value on the unit’s function as a “network printing appliance” that prints emails and photos that you send to it.

Product Review – Canon PIXMA MX-870 Inkjet Multifunction Printer

Introduction

The network-enabled printer that I am now reviewing is the Canon PIXMA MX-870 which is positioned at the top-end of the home and small-office / home-office range. It is another of the multifunction printers that are starting to complete a “bridge” between the high-end of a manufacturer’s consumer-oriented range and the low-end of their small-business range when it comes to inkjet-based multifunction printers.

Canon PIXMA MX-870 multifunction printer

Print Scan Copy Fax Document Feeder Paper Trays Connections
Colour Colour Colour Colour Double-sided 2 x A4 USB
Inkjet 2400dpi         Ethernet
Automatic Double-sided           802.11g WPA2 WPS wireless

Prices

RRP AUD$299

Inks

Standard
Price
Black 22.95
Cyan 22.95
Magenta 22.95
Yellow 22.95
Photo-Black 22.95

 

This printer is the PIXMA MX350’s bigger and more expensive stablemate but offers a lot more for the price. Most of the operations are very similar to the MX350, where the main functions are a button away. Even the quick-forms functions are similar in capability to what the MX350, with the support for printing music sheets that have 12 staves for composing and arranging “vocal+piano”, quartet or organ music.

The network connectivity is very similar to the MX350 where it can be hooked up to either a WPS-capable 802.11g WPA2-PSK wireless-network segment or a Cat5 Ethernet network segment. This can then cater for use with “no-new-wires” network segments based on HomePlug powerline or MoCA TV-coaxial technology when used with the appropriate bridge device.

The fax caters for the full requirements for single-line setups like FaxStream Duet (distinctive-ring) or automatic detect with telephone answering machines as well as the traditional dedicated-line setup. It can work “best-case” with colour transmission and reception.

There is even further improvement with receiving faxes where the unit can be set to print on both sides of the paper when it receives a multi-page fax. This feature can be very confusing when the fax is a separate pre-written document accompanied with a cover page or cover letter because the start of the document may be on the back of the cover page / letter.

It is also worth knowing that there is an optional Bluetooth interface kit which allows you to print pictures on your mobile phone using this printer or the MX350. This can also work with the 

Improvements over the MX350

5 Separate ink cartridges

Five separate ink cartridges

One major improvement that I like is that it uses separately-replaceable cartridges for each of the colours rather than a single colour cartridge. Here, you have 5 inks in separate cartridges which makes this printer more economical to operate

Paper handling

Front paper tray

Paper tray at front of the printer

There is a drawer on the front of the machine which is used for A4 or Letter plain paper. This drawer, which is referred to as the “cassette”, is where you would keep regular paper for use in ordinary print or copy jobs and receiving faxes while you use the rear feeder for printing on to special media like coated or glossy paper. When documents are printed from the paper held in this drawer, the paper path is a “horseshoe” path similar to many HP and Brother printers rather than the linear path used by Epson printers and Canon printers, including this one when it uses the rear tray.

There is also an automatic duplexer which I am very pleased with especially if you want to do your own short-run desktop publishing rather than just use it to conserve paper. Here, you don’t have forced margins or scaling involved and you have a very slight registration shift of 1 or 2 mm between the front and back sides of the page. The only limitation is that you have a 20-second per page time penalty when you print on both sides.

The automatic document feeder is also capable of scanning both sides of a page but it does this in a sequential manner. This can still benefit those of us who scan documents like accounts to PDF for electronic archiving.

User Experience issues

You may find that paper won’t load from the front tray and the printer will show “out of paper” errors for that paper source. This can be rectified by running the printer through a cleaning cycle for the paper-feed roller, which you do by pressing the “Setup” button and selecting “Maintenance”, then “Roller Clean” on the “Maintenance” menu.

Windows 7 users will notice that the printer isn’t replicated twice for the “print-to-fax” queue and the regular printer queue. What will happen is that when they click on the printer in “Devices And Printers”, they will see the printer’s Device Stage which is a “branded” user interface for the printer. If they click on the device status line in the Device Stage header to see what is yet to be printed, they will see a drop-down box which gives the user an option between the printer queue and the print-to-fax queue.

Limitations

There is still one problem with the software where the print monitor program can be out of step with printer, especially if the computer and the printer are working across the network.

Another limitation that I have found with this printer is that there aren’t any high-yield ink cartridges available for it, which can be of a limitation if you do a lot of printing or have to provide for a period where a lot of documents have to be printed like end-of-school-year.

Similarly, I would like to see the front paper tray be able to hold more paper, especially if you expect to receive more faxes or do a lot of short-run desktop publishing. As well, I have always said this that the printer manufacturers need to take advantage of flash memory being available at cheaper prices in order to provide for efficient print-job handling.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

I would recommend this printer as another option for a home-office or small-business printer, especially where double-sided printing or scanning are required and the business places importance on fax capability. It would also work well for people who will want to use the automatic double-sided printing function as part of their short-run desktop-publishing requirements.

Product Review – Brother MFC-6490CW A3-capable multifunction inkjet printer

Introduction

I am reviewing the Brother MFC-6490CW multifunction inkjet printer which is one of the first products of its type to offer A3-size paper handling. This may appeal to you if you are likely to be running-off large spreadsheets, “download-to-print” display signage and promotional material, maps and the like on these large paper sizes.

Brother MFC-6490CW A3 multifunction inkjet printer

Print Scan Copy Fax Document Feeder Paper Trays Connections
Colour Colour Colour Colour Single-sided 2 x A3 USB
Piezo-action Inkjet 1200 dpi Preset Enlarge A4-A3       Ethernet
            802.11g WPA2 WPS wireless

Recommended Retail Price: AUD$529

Inks:

Black: AUD$39.95 / cartridge (450 pages) 

Black – Double yield : AUD$59.95 / cartridge (900 pages)

Each colour: AUD$19.95 / cartridge (325 pages)

Each colour – double-yield: AUD$35.95 (750 pages)

A3 map on automatic document feeder

Can scan or copy A3 documents using its automatic document feeder

Paper handling

Brother has moved away from design practices that are common with most inkjet printers. First, they have used a U-shaped paper path which is similar to what is used in Hewlett-Packard inkjet printers. Here, unused paper is located under the output tray rather than behind the printer.

This has allowed for a design improvement where the paper is loaded in two removeable “cassettes” similar to how you load paper in to the typical office photocopier. These trays can hold both sizes of paper, but have to be expanded for larger sizes.

Copier-style paper cassette

Copier-style paper cassette

It can be fussy about which tray holds A3 paper, especially if the paper to be used is of a special type like glossy photo paper. As well, the unit will not be likely to work reliably if you load a small amount of paper in any of the trays, which you may do if you are using occasionally-used media.

The other key difference is the use of an Epson-style “piezo” inkjet mechanism where the ink is pumped to the print-head to mark the document. This is in contrast to how Hewlett-Packard, Canon and others heat the ink in the printhead to make drops fall on to the paper. There can be reliability issues with this kind of setup if you allow the ink cartridge to run bone dry because of air-locks but they can be rectified by your running the printer through a few head-clean cycles to get the ink flowing again. You can do this by pressing “Ink Management” on the control panel, then selecting “Cleaning”.

Brother have taken this further by locating the ink cartridges away from the print-head and using “capillary” hoses to pipe the ink to the print-head. The Ink cartridges are located behind a door on front of machine. One useability advantage is that you don’t need to lift a heavy lid to replace ink cartridges.

Ink cartridges accessible from front of unit

Ink cartridges accessible from front of unit

Network Set-up and Functionality

This printer is capable of working with either an Ethernet or 802.11g WPA2-compliant wireless network. It can support quick wireless-network setup with WPS-compliant access points and routers but it supports conventional WPA-PSK networks by requiring you to enter the passphrase using the numeric keypad in a manner similar to entering a text message on a mobile phone.

You can use the network for printing and scanning, whether initiated from the destination computer or the unit’s control panel. This will require that you use the Brother software that came with your printer in order to run a “scan monitor”. You also have “print-to-fax” and “fax-to-computer” abilities including the ability to allow the unit to work as a standalone fax for receiving faxed documents if the computer is down.

Walk-up functionality

Copying

The unit has just about the functionality that was expected of a mid-range office copier sold through the 1980s plus can do this with colour.

Here, you can enlarge and reduce originals, with preset ratios for enlarging A4 originals to fit A3 paper and reducing A3 originals to fit A4 paper for example, It also has a “book copy” optimisation mode for copying out of bound materials by using digital trickery to eliminate dark edges and skewing that occur with this kind of material.

Fax

This multifunction printer has all the support for most shared-line PSTN fax setups like Faxstream Duet and similar distinctive-ring services, telephone answering machines with proper end-user experience, as well as the dedicated-line setup. This is a boon for small businesses who are unable by cost or installation issues to set up the traditional separate fax line.

This unit is the first inkjet all-in-one that I have reviewed that provides proper “scan-then-send”  memory transmit for many fax jobs. This allows you to do things you are used to with a well-bred fax machine like scheduled sending (send overseas faxes to arrive at their machine “their” morning) or continuing to send documents to other destinations when one or more destinations is temporarily unreachable.

Print from camera cards

The unit does well with printing from camera cards but, like a lot of its peers, it “holds” the memory card for the whole of the print job even if it is just one image rather than copying the image to memory and releasing the card. This is simply because most of these machines don’t have enough memory for working with print jobs efficiently.

Printing tests

Graphics printing

I tested the Brother printer with a Transport For London transport map which covers the London “Tube”, “Overground”, Docklands Light Rail and other rail services covering Greater London. This map, which I have downloaded as a PDF file from the TFL website allows me to assess graphic colour handling (service lines) and printing and intelligibility of small detail (station names).

From this, it was able to work with small detail but can be hard to read with very small detail. For colours, they aren’t as vivid on plain paper unless you make sure that you specify “Vivid” in the colour option when you configure the print driver.

This isn’t an issue when working with glossy paper because the colours come up more vivid and more contrasty. I have had this printer print a photograph of some people and it handles the flesh tones properly. This is something that I assessed because the A3 page format may also appeal to those of us who are turning out rough drafts, mockups and the like for publishing of magazines and similar work.

Of course, photo-optimised paper yields the best results with more contrast and vivid results. If the work isn’t photo-based, the printer would work best with coated inkjet presentation papers for this kind of work.

Limitations and Points of improvement

The colour print output for graphics printing could be improved when you use plain paper. It is because most of us will work with plain paper either to print “download-to-print” onsite promotion material or run preliminary proofs on to plain paper through a project’s approval cycle. This could be achieved through a “proofing” or “plain-paper graphics” mode which optimises for this kind of use.

The unit could benefit from a “manual bypass” tray so you can load a few sheets of a particular kind of media without needing to empty out one of the trays every time you need to use specific media or do manual duplexing.

The paper-size auto-detect function could be made more reliable so you don’t have to re-determine the paper size through the control-panel or print driver menu if you want to use different paper sizes and types in any of the trays.

An automatic duplexer could be worth its salt as we are being encouraged to print routine office documents on both sides of the paper in order to save paper.

As I have always said, these printers need to benefit from more flash memory installed in them and used for holding pending print jobs. This particular unit would benefit more because of its A3 printing capability where these jobs can take a long time to turn-out. The cost associated of furnishing this memory is coming to the point where it will be ridiculously cheap to provide the technology.

Conclusion

This Brother MFC-6490CW is one of the first colour all-in-one inkjet printers on the market that can print to or scan from A3 or similar paper and this feature alone has impressed me. It is a good “all-rounder” for an operation where there is a desire to print to A3 but size is limited

Product Review – Sony VAIO P-Series netbook

I am now reviewing the Sony VAIO P-Series netbook. This is a computer that is of a similar size to a chequebook wallet of the kind that many busy women like to keep in their handbags. The review sample cam in a bright orange colour but is available in blue or white. All of the units have a black bezel around the display and as a strip above the keyboard as a common feature.

This review unit’s colour scheme reminded me of a similar colour scheme used by Electrolux on a vacuum cleaner sold on the Australian market in the early 1970s where the unit was this same orange colour with black trim.

Sony VAIO P-Series netbook

VAIO alongside woman's wallet

VAIO alongside woman's wallet

 

Price AUD$1599 recommended  
Processor Intel Atom processor  
RAM 2Gb Shared with display
Secondary Storage 64Gb solid-state drive Card readers for SDHC and Memory Stick
Display Subsystem Intel Graphics  
Screen 8” widescreen LCD
Network 802.11g/n Wi-Fi wireless  
  Ethernet (via connectivity adaptor)  
Connections USB 2 x USB 2.0 port
  Video VGA (via connectivity adaptor)
  Audio 3.5mm headphone jack

The computer itself

Because the computer is intended as a personal portable computer that is intended to be small and run for a long time on batteries, the specification set will be very minimal, alongside that of a low-end netbook.

Processor and RAM

Like other netbooks, the VAIO P-Series computer is based around the Intel Atom processor which is pitched at this class of computer. It works on 2Gb of RAM with some being used for display memory.

Display

The display is powered by an Intel Graphics chipset and appears on an 8” widescreen LCD display. This can be a limitation for any long-term computing activity due to the way regular-sized fonts come up on this display. It will then require the user to adjust the “dots-per-inch” setting in the Display menu in Windows Control Panel. You may alos have to use Windows Magnifier and / or reduce the number of toolbars running in Web browsers and similar applications.

Keyboard and pointer control

The keyboard uses a “chiclet” style and may look similar to some of the “pocket computers” of the early 1980s. The unit also uses a “thumb-stick” mouse similar to what has been commonly used on IBM / Lenovo laptops with the primary and secondary “click” buttons under the spacebar.

Secondary storage

The VAIO uses a 64Gb solid-state drive which is based on flash-memory technology as its primary secondary-storage space but there is a memory card reader that works with SDHC and Memory Stick cards available for removeable storage.

Connectivity

There is wireless connectivity for 802.11g/n Wi-Fi networks as well as Bluetooth peripherals, which would appeal to this computer’s user base.

Peripheral connectivity is limited to two USB sockets (which you may have to use one of for a 3G wireless-broadband modem) as well as a headphone socket for audio playback applications. There is a dongle that connects to a special I/O connector which provides for connection to Ethernet networks or VGA displays.

I/O adaptor dongle for Sony VAIO P-Series netbook

I/O adaptor dongle for Ethernet or VGA connections

Observations

During the review period, the woman of the house had shown some interest in this computer because of the orange housing and had wanted to wish-list it to her husband. She also had use of the machine to type up a test document and browse her Web-based email account and found that it can be cramped but was enamoured about it as a “handbag companion PC”.

Limitations and Points of Improvement

One main point of improvement that could be provided for is the default use of a desktop setup that allows for readability on this display. The computer could also benefit from being provided with an integrated 3G wireless-broadband modem with software mobile-phone functionality, which could make it attractive to mobile-phone carriers to sell at a subsidised price with a 3G service plan.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

The small display and the large price tag may put this machine out of the reach of most people. But some people who want a handbag-sized computer with a proper keyboard for doing contact management, e-mail, Web browsing on a fully-functional browser and similar activities may appreciate this unit.

Product Review – Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook (REPOST)

UPDATE:  I have had to repost this review because something has happened with the site and the copy for the review has disappeared suddenly

I am reviewing the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook which is the first computer of this class that I am able to review. It would be one of these machines that was considered the right machine to own during the heart of the Great Financial Crisis but still has a place in today’s home network as an auxiliary computer.

As with all Dell computers, you choose the specification for the computer when you order it through their Website and the specification that is available on the Website may differ from the one that I am reviewing. The base specification for this computer would cost AUD$449.but there are more expensive specifications available that primarily have the computer prepared for wireless broadband or an onboard TV tuner.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook

The netbook computer itself

The computer is finished in an “Apple-white” gloss finish on the outside and black around the keyboard and screen escutcheon. The gloss finish may still have the disadvantage of attracting fingermarks during regular use. There isn’t anything that can appear to damage good dining-room tables when the machine is placed on these tables.

My review sample is outfitted with the Intel Atom netbook processor and works with 1Gb of RAM, some of which is shared with the display memory.

The secondary storage is based around a 160Gb hard disk as single logical drive and an SD card slot as removeable storage. The computers that come through the Website will have 250Gb hard-disk space.rather than the 160Gb that is part of the test specification.

The graphics infrastructure is based around an Intel graphics chipset that is optimised for netbooks and yields a 1024×600 resolution on the 10” screen. The only external display connectivity available in this case is a VGA socket.

As well, there are three USB sockets – one on the right-hand side and two on the left-hand side.There is also an Ethernet connection for wired networks and the audio in-out jacks on the right hand side. For wireless connectivity, this unit supports Wi-Fi to 802.11g as well as Bluetooth wireless.

The operating system used in this test specification is the Windows XP Home Edition SP3 but computers that are available for sale come with Windows 7 Starter Edition. It may be still worth upgrading the operating system to Windows 7 Home Premium through an Anytime Upgrade pack if you want better network functionality.

Observations and Experiences

The keyboard is responsive but may appear cramped due to the small size of these computers. The touchpad is very small but works well for navigation. These are situations that are considered typical for computers in its class.

I had watched a few YouTube videos about IT and found that the computer is still good with downloaded video content. As well, I had run it through a round of an action-puzzle game on MiniClip which is a popular casual-game site, and the game was still very responsive. Obviously this wouldn’t be the kind of computer for playing the big-time games but would be good for casual games and similar use.

I haven’t worked out a battery “drain test” yet that is appropriate for computers of this class but as I was working on the computer which was running on batteries, I kept observing the battery meter as I used the computer even while I had McAfee do a virus scan in the background and Windows Update deploy the latest set of updates to XP, the computer doesn’t look like it goes tbattery quickly. I also made these observations with the computer under manufacturer-default conditions.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

I would place this computer as a unit that would be useful as a small-size auxiliary computer for travelling or use around the home such in the kitchen or “Facebooking” in front of the TV. It may work well as something with a keyboard for getting notes on to a file while out and about before you “finish” them on your main computer.