Articles on Optics

Canon Pixma MX868

Review Take the minimalist design of the Canon Pixma MX338, add the functionality of the Canon Pixma MX7600, finish it off with built-in Wi-Fi and you've got the Canon Pixma MX868. It's the only printer in the series that offers wireless while still maintaining all the features you need to print, scan,...

Samsung ST550

Review Unlike in the past when camera manufacturers tried to outplay one another by introducing higher-resolution sensors or more powerful zoom lenses, these days it takes more than that to stand out from the competition. This is probably why some of the latest compacts show off interesting features, such...

Yamaha RX-V665 A/V receiver

Review We've been critical of some Yamaha receivers in the past for not offering as many features as the competition, but we've always been impressed by their sound quality. That's why when we previewed the Yamaha RX-V665, we were a little worried that the weight was substantially lower than last year's...

Asus UL50 (Core 2 Duo ULV SU7300 Processor 1.3GHz, 4GB RAM)

Review This year has undoubtedly been defined if not by Netbooks, then by the growth of affordable thin laptops that shed the size--and even optical drive--in an effort to provide a more portable, larger-screen computer. Whereas this used to be the domain of highly expensive "executive" machines, such...

Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Review Ever since standalone Blu-ray players hit the market, there's been a great deal of anticipation for an Oppo Blu-ray player, mainly because of the company's reputation for making excellent DVD players. Oppo held out for quite some time, and in retrospect, it was a smart move. Almost all the early...

LG BD390

Review In 2009, it's not enough for a Blu-ray player to just play movie discs. With the ubiquity of online media streaming services, such as YouTube, consumers already expect such players to offer up a wide variety of instant-gratification online media options to complement their HD experience. Its...

Gigabyte T1028M Touch Note (Intel Atom N270 processor 1.6GHz; 1GB RAM)

Review Taiwan-based Gigabyte is better known for producing PC motherboards, and this attempt of theirs at penetrating the touchscreen tablet Netbook market has produced a feature-packed product. At S$999, the unit is value-for-money for those looking for a Netbook that also doubles as a convertible...

Gigabyte M1022M Booktop (Intel Atom N280 processor 1.66GHz; 1GB RAM)

Review On the surface, the Booktop seems to be just another Atom-based 10-inch minilaptop from a minor player. But while Gigabyte is better known for manufacturing mainboards than laptops, we were impressed that the M1022M managed to stand out from the crowd during our testing. In fact, it could be the...

BenQ JoyBook Lite U121 Eco (Intel Atom Z530 Processor 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM)

Review With the wide range of Netbooks surging into the market, along with the second-generation Atom platform expected early next year, vendors are finding way to differentiate their offerings in the market. HP collaborated with famous fashion designers such as Vivienne Tam and Studio Tord Boontje to...