This week we've been looking at Apple's new lightweight marvel, the MacBook Air, as well as the new K1 Android Honeycomb tablet from Lenovo.
We've also looked at a new 42-inch Smart TV as well as a new Blu-ray player for Sony. And that's just for starters - there's plenty more below.
New MacBook Air 2011 (13-inch)
The new MacBook Air from Apple might well be the most terrifying computing devices ever built. How a device so puny can pack such a powerful punch is absolutely astonishing. Gone are Intel's so-last-decade Core 2 Duo CPUs and in come the Intel Sandy Bridge chips that harness masses more might while using less power and running cooler. And let's just remind ourselves, this laptop is so thin it's practically two dimensional. Of course, it still doesn't harness enough juice for proper power users, but anyone with a penchant for prestige and a soft spot for Apple will be foaming at the mouth at the very prospect. You may need to sell one of the kids for medical experiments though, as you'll be paying through the nose.
The Lenovo IdeaPad K1 is another Tegra 2-powered Android 3 tablet which packs all the hardware power of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. So it's a dead-cert that this is going to be a nailed-on hardcore success. Right? Wrong. In its current form it's an absolute mess, with inconsistent performance, freezes and lock-outs, a poor screen and the biggest bezel of any 10.1-inch tablet we've yet laid eyes on. There is potential there, though, and a silver-bullet firmware update might transform this into a genuine contender. But until then, we advise you steer a wide berth around it and go for something else.
If you're looking for a versatile, multimedia-savvy 42-inch TV that looks great and doesn't cost the earth, the LG 42LV550T has a lot going for it. Its PLEX system works great with PCs and Macs alike, it plays back an unusually wide variety of multimedia file types and for most of the time it also produces extremely enjoyable pictures. If you're a fan of watching films with the lights off, though, you might find yourself troubled by a few black level shortcomings. And there's no 3D to be found on offer here either. As a result, this TV has a good price and it'll get cheaper in time.
Picture quality from the BDP-S480 blu-ray player is predictably terrific. Blu-rays drip with fine detail and colour fidelity is gorgeous. The player is also a great choice for music fans, being the only model here able to play hi-res Super Audio CDs. This multichannel music playback is stunning, easily giving this player an audible edge over others.
Picture quality from the BDD7500 is very good. There's a clinical precision to its images which is easy to appreciate, though it's less enticing as a CD player.
This week's other reviews:
AV kit
Tannoy Arena Highline 300 review
Cameras and equipment
Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 II review
Nikon AF-S DX 16-85mm F/3.5-5.6 G ED VR review
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM review
Sigma 18-50mm EX DC OS HSM review
Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 PRO FX review
Laptops
Panasonic Toughbook CF-53 review
Networking
Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 4 review
Buffalo AirStation WLAE-AG300N review
Apple Mac OS X 10.7 Lion review
Printers
Epson Stylus Photo R2880 review
Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II review
Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II review
Epson Stylus Photo 1400 review
Software
G Data Internet Security 2012 review
Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 review
Panda Internet Security 2012 review
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2012 review
Sony Vegas Movie HD Platinum 11 review
Speakers
Magnat Quantum 650 Series review
Tablets
TVs
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