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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Working style
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Working style

Working style

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With work environments spicing themselves up, there’s no reason why your laptop should look like your neighbour’s. Can your personal style be reflected even in this now basic work tool? The answer is an emphatic yes! And there are quite a few of these beauties on offer.

Sony Vaio C Series

Ideal for both men and women, the C Series of laptops is available in five variants and the hardware configuration is up to you. The fashion quotient comes through in a range of colours—choose from pink, green, black, white and silver with orange lining.

If you are really interested in the features, the C series also serves as a well-equipped home theatre. It has a 13.3-inch widescreen display with Sony’s energy-saving Xbrite-Eco LCD technology and an onboard DVD±R Double Layer/DVD±RW/-RAM drive. Integrated 802.11a/b/g wireless local area networks (WLAN) capabilities help you connect easily. The 802.11g specification is one of the three prevalent standards (the other two being a and b) for WLANs and offers transmission over short distances at up to 54 megabits per second. This is faster than the earlier standard of 802.11b and is preferred when deploying a network at home. What’s more, all laptops in the series are Windows Vista-ready. Powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the Vaio C models also have enough power for power computing and an energy-efficient battery life to make the laptop a worthy companion on travel.

So it’s not all about the look, but remember, the look will get you a look or two!

Tulip Ego

This might be an unknown brand to most. But Tulip computers have been around in Europe and the US for a long time. They are known for their fashionable looks and powerful performance.

Tulip computers have always been seen as an accessory for the rich and famous. And although their new range of products claims to be cheaper, they will still cost you quite a bit. But for the fashion-conscious professional, it’s all about the impact! The Ego, though, is not just another notebook. In addition to offering the feature of being able to completely change skins, it also boasts of a powerful specification set.

It comes pre-fitted with a front-loading DVD/CD±RW slot that allows you to playback DVDs or CDs as well as burn DVDs and CDs. The Ego has an integrated webcam with mirror-like functionality (you know, to keep looking good when working!). The camera is good enough for videoconferencing and for taking the occasional photograph as well. A 12.1-inch widescreen with anti-glare coating offers an optimal viewing angle even with backlight.

Among other features, the Ego has integrated Bluetooth and WLAN, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA connection, four-in-one card reader, S-video out, Ethernet cable port and some fine speakers. The Ego also has a microphone line-in jack as well as a headphone/ speaker line-out with S/PDIF support integrated.

It looks good, it has power. It packs in Windows XP Media Centre working off a Mobile AMD Turion 64 chip and an ATI Radeon XPRESS 200M chipset. If you are interested, you could log on to their site and order.

The name Ego, though, is not as straightforward as it seems. It stands for Easy-Going device and appropriately, it is equipped with 15 direct-access keys to launch the most- often-used functionalities with a single touch. We’re sorry we cannot give you the price… it’s available only on a purchase request!

HP Fashiontronics

Made in India for India… the HP Fashiontronics line of laptops puts on skins and photos of your choice, too, on standard HP laptops. You can choose any imagery of your choice and applying it to your laptop is as simple as sticking it on. To remove, just peel and HP assures no damage to the original finish of the laptop. Additionally, you can also choose from a line of Suneet Varma accessories for carrying your laptop around. Quite the impression-maker. As for the configuration, choose one that suits you and just go wild with the dressing up. Simple as that!

ASUS Lamborghini VX2

Cars and laptops… boys’ toys. And when the two combine, they cause quite a stir. ASUS first launched the Lamborghini VX1 as an answer to Acer’s Ferrari laptop. But, this year, they have gone further and at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, they announced the VX2, successor to the VX1.

Powered by the Intel Centrino Duo chips, the VX2 runs Vista Ultimate and also has an NVIDIA GeForce Go7700 video memory graphics power. Having a laptop that is a fashion statement, ASUS doesn’t scrimp on the components or the configuration.

It includes a built-in highresolution 240° swivel webcam and microphone for easy communication. Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N solutions power the wireless connectivity part and Bluetooth 2.0 enhanced data rate makes over-the-air communication with other devices three times faster than standard Bluetooth. Of course, all this comes at a steep price of approximately Rs1.5 lakh.

The fashion quotient comes from the fact that the VX2 is available in two finishes—yellow and carbon fibre. Both are limited edition, with the laptop-car marriage coming through from the leather trim on the inside, which covers the palm rest at the front and goes around the keyboard.

The yellow stitching at the edges adds to the overall appeal of the laptop.

ASUS SF6

ASUS’ line of leather-finished laptops was a reasonable hit when it was first launched a few years ago. But as time has passed, laptops have become more compact. And now, it gets even more fashionable in pink! The S6F follows the company’s W1, W2, W5, and VX1 Series notebooks in winning the most prestigious awards in the field of technology-product design, including the RedDot award and the iF award.

This is one laptop for the ultra chic. Complete with a pink leather-finish mouse and its own pouch, the bag is worth killing for. On the specs side, there are no short cuts either. With a Core Duo processor and a 1.6MHz processor, this is no slouch. It also offers a generous 120GB of storage and displays clear, rich, and detailed images on its 1366 x 768 11.1" screen, enhanced by ASUS’ Splendid Video Enhancement Technology. It also employs built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and a complete range of input/ output ports including 5 USB ports, an S-video TV-out port and express card slots. As of now, the S6F is not available in India but if you are travelling abroad, you could bring one back. The suggested price is approximately Rs1.1 lakh.

Time to get fashionable.

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Published: 14 Mar 2007, 12:42 AM IST
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