The starting price of this model is $499 while the following configuration will set you back somewhere around $579. At the heart of this model is an AMD E-350 processor clocked at 1.60 GHz and 4GB of DDR3 memory running at 1,333 MHz. For storage it is equipped with a 500GB hard drive spinning at 5,400 rpm while the graphics power is handled by the AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6310M. This netbook measures 11.4 x 7.6 x 0.7 – 1.0 inches and has a curb weight of 3.1 pounds (3.6 pounds with the AC adapter).

Lenovo IdeaPad S205 (Source: itechnews.net)

In this price segment in which the S205 fits in, most of the netbooks adopt an all plastic construction, but this Lenovo seems to be a little better than the rest of the crowd, featuring a subtle pattern on the back of the black lid. Much like other 11-inch ultraportables, this one seems like a mild update over a 10-inch netbook. We like that the build quality is top notch and you will not notice any flex at all, not even in the middle of the keyboard, while the rest of the chassis is very well put together.

In our humble opinion, the best thing about the Lenovo IdeaPad S205 is its superb keyboard which uses an interesting variation of the popular island-style configuration which consists of flat-topped keys that are quite large. Lenovo’s keyboard replaces the regular square keys with different ones that have a convex bow to the bottom edge which improves accuracy. The only downside of the keyboard would have to be the shrunken Fn and Tab keys but other than that it is borderline perfect.

Lenovo IdeaPad S205 (Source: laptoping.com)

We can’t say the same nice things about the touchpad because it’s small even for an ultraportable like this one. We do like the matte texture but the amount of available space is very limited so we highly recommend an external mouse. This touchpad does offer multitouch support like two-finger scrolling or pinch-to-zoom but these are quite awkward to perform due to the limited size of the touchpad. As for the two separate left and right mouse buttons, this have quite a nice size and are comfortable to use.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S205 comes with an 11.6-inch display has a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels (720p HD) which seems to be the ideal resolution given the size of the display, managing to balance desktop real estate with readability. If you didn’t knew, the IdeaPad models come with glossy screens, unlike the company’s ThinkPad series which have matte displays. The glossy ones cause reflections and glare from nearby light sources which can be a problem to some people.  As for the image quality, this is just about the same as the one you’ll find on other similar priced models, but we don’t like the viewing angles because these are quite limited.

Lenovo IdeaPad S205 (Source: pretmic.com)

Let’s talk about the connectivity features of this model and start by mentioning that in the video department it packs VGA out and an HDMI port. For audio it offers headphone and microphone jacks, while for data it comes with three USB 2.0 ports and an SD card reader. The S205 is equipped with an Ethernet port and 802.11n Wi-Fi. As you would expect, there isn’t an optical drive onboard, but this is understandable given the size of the system.

AMD’s E-350 processor is certainly a step up in comparison to the very slow Atom platform from Intel, but it still no way near as fast as a more powerful Core i3 CPU. Even so, you will most likely be pleased with the performance offered by this processor which seems to be ideal for a netbook/ultraportable.

Lenovo IdeaPad S205 (Source: computershopper.com)

Regarding the battery, the one in the Lenovo IdeaPad S205 is not a top performer but even so it managed to do a good run in a video playback test, surviving for almost 5 hours which for some people is more than enough. We should mention that the aforementioned HP dm1z will last for about 30 minutes more during the same test.

We have seen a lot of ultraportable solutions in 2011 but this one is probably the most interesting of them all, offering decent performance, great build quality, excellent keyboard and a solid battery life. Let’s see what Lenovo plans on launching this year for those who are on the look for an ultraportable. We hope that the days of low powered netbooks that come with the older Atom processor are over and we can focus on ultraportable that come with a decent processing power that is able to handle some mild multi-tasking while staying on the budget.

Lenovo IdeaPad S205 (Source: lenovo.com)

Battery life must still remain a very important feature of an ultraportable so companies should not make any compromises in this area. The ideal situation would be a more powerful processor that is more energy efficient, much like Intel’s second generation of Core processors which are not only more powerful than the first ones, but they also drain less battery. We are also very curious to find out what Asus has in its plan for this year. Why? Because Asus is the company that essentially invented the concept of a netbook and its Eee PC models have been quite interesting. Those who said that netbooks will be discontinued in the future are probably wrong because this type of product has real potential and can create (if it didn’t already) its own niche.

The front of the handset is dominated by the generous 4.3-inch display that has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It manages to deliver a good amount of light, but it’s no Super AMOLED or Super LCD. The colors seem to be vivid enough but we don’t like that the screen is not as responsive as we’re used to. You can write messages either with the XT9 virtual keyboard or with the regular Android one, both of them sharing a lot of similarities.

ZTE Warp (Source: productwiki.com)

Located above the screen is a silver earpiece speaker along with a notification light, something that you don’t see that often anymore. Below the display are the capacitive buttons for home, menu, back and search functions. On the right spine of the Warp you have access to the dedicated camera shutter and the microUSB port, while on top sits the small power key and a 3.5 mm jack. Looking on the left side of the phone we find nothing but a volume rocker. At the back is the 5 megapixel camera that has an LED flash, along with the main speaker. The microSD card slot is accessible without having to remove the battery.

ZTE Warp (Source: cdn.androidcentral.com)

The ZTE Warp is running on a pretty much stock version of Google’s operating system which would have to be Android 2.3.5. You get to use up to five home screens that can be filled with shortcuts and widgets, while on the official Android Market you’ll find more than 250,000 apps to try. As you would expect, the phone comes bundled with GPS, Gmail, messaging and e-mail support, along with a My Files app, stop watch, voice recorder, stopwatch, BoostZone app and the Mobile ID feature with which you can download themes and other similar stuff.

The ZTE Warp is fitted with a 1,650 mAh lithium-ion battery that has a rated standby time of up to nine days and nine hours, while the rated usage time is of five days. The phone is powered by a single core Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.0 GHz with 512MB of RAM. You shouldn’t experience any sort of lag while navigating through the menus and opening various types of applications.

TRADIC (Source: semiconductormuseum.com)

The second generation debuted in the 60s and the first machines from this era were the TRADIC and the TX-0. The memory technology was based on magnetic cores that were accessed in a random order. Some of the most important breakthroughs of those days include the index registers for controlling loops as well as floating point units for the calculations that were based on real numbers. This is the period when many high level programming languages were introduced, like FORTRAN, ALGOL and COBOL. We should also mention significant commercial machines like the IBM 704.

The third generation came with a significant boost in computational power as this was the period when researchers started using integrated circuits, semiconductor memories, along with the use of microprogramming as a technique for designing complex processors in an efficient way. In 1963 Cambridge in collaboration with the University of London developed the CPL – Combined Programming Language.

CYBER 205 (Source: mms.dkrz.de)

The fourth generation debuted in the beginning of the 70s and saw the use of large scale integration and very large scale integration for constructing computing elements. Core memories were replaced by semiconductor memories as the main type of memory in most of the systems. It was also the period when high speed vector processors like the CYBER 205 started dominating the high performance computing scene, leading to the emerge of computers with large main memory, like the CRAY 2.

The fifth generation can be characterized by the general acceptance of parallel processing, along with the development of computer networks and also the use of single-user workstations. In that period, the scientific computing was still dominated by vector processing, and it was the time when WAN – Wide Area Network and LAN – Local Area Network technologies developed at a fast rate.

The sixth and current generation started with lots of gains in parallel computing and it also marks the growth of the aforementioned WAN. In the last few years, network bandwidth has expanded a great deal and it will continue to do so for the next couple of years.

What’s next for computer technology? Only time will tell.

This model has a MSRP of $349.99 and comes with a 12-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch backside-illuminated CMOS sensor. It features 12x, f3.4-5.9, 28-336mm lens and comes with a 3.2-inch LCD touchscreen display with 460k dots. The camera measures 3.9 x 2.3 x 0.9 inches and it tips the scales at 7.3 ounces. The highest resolution available for the still photos is 4,000 x 3,000 pixels while video recording can be done at up to a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels at 24 fps.

Canon PowerShot Elph 510 HS (Source: proreview.net)

For this class of cameras, the quality of the photos taken by the Canon PowerShot Elph 510 HS is very good. The images will get noisier and softer above ISO 200 but you still have very usable ISO 400 and 800 to play with. Similar to other HS models, the noise and noise reduction are very well balanced which means that you will still be getting good detail and color up to ISO 800. At ISO 1600 and 3200 the colors desaturate, the subjects will appear very soft and the amount of detail will be diminished.

The color reproduction is great for the segment’s standard, managing to provide vivid and bright results, while the exposure level is also quite good. However, highlights have the tendency to blow out, but the good news is that pincushioning at the telephoto and barrel distortion at the wide end are both kept under control.

Canon PowerShot Elph 510 HS (Source: www1.pcmag.com)

The quality of the video recordings is just about the same as the one you will get from a good HD pocket video camera which means that it is suitable for web use and also nondiscriminating TV viewing. Keep in mind that even though panning the camera will create judder, the video will still remain watchable. The video recording in a low-light environment is pretty grainy and you have the possibility to use the zoom while recording. The bad news is that the zoom lens move extremely slow, which is probably because Canon wanted to prevent the movement from being picked up by the stereo mics located on top.

The battery is located on the bottom under a non-locking sliding door and you cannot charge it in-camera. The battery life of the Canon PowerShot Elph 510 HS is rated by CIPA to last for 170 shots.

Gifts And Gadgets (Source: i.istockimg.com)

This is how a top 5 gadget list for under – graduates looks like: On the fifth place we have the tablet PCs and E – readers such as an iPad, Amazon Kindle, Nook, Play Book or who knows what multimedia device in this category; this gift will be surely enjoyed by your child. The problem is that if he or she already has a laptop or a similar device that he’s very fond of, your gift is at risk as it may not be used much by the young under – graduate. Although the number four may seem a surprise, it shouldn’t be. Digital cameras take this place. Besides being a very useful gift for anyone wanting to express the inner artist, it is also a beautiful gesture. Young ( or young girls in particular ) might not appreciate this gesture considering that ” their camera device ” is represented by the phone.

Gifts And Gadgets (Source: a3.idata.over-blog.com)

The real testimonies are the thousand pictures that are being posted with the subject in the mirror with the phone. Passing over these issues, the quality of the pictures is very important, so you need to first understand that teenagers must have excellent quality photos, not just good and so you must understand exactly what is in trend. The third place is occupied, surprisingly, by audio devices and any other gadget that ” binds the user ” ears to the favorite iPod, MP3 player or any other multimedia device.

Unfortunately this article is too short to comprise the entire top list so I will continue with the second article that will present the last two places, the ones that deserve most attention.