Stationery Review 190 - Luxor Converge Premium Notebook Series

Hi Friends,

Thanks to the Luxor Writing Instruments Pvt. company, which is based in Noida, India. I have been a fan of their products since my childhood. I have been using these notebooks for a long, long time. 

In fact, I used them as Bullet Journals before BuJo was introduced by the author of the book. I used to track my day-to-day planning and contest wins, etc. I still have those books from 2010, 2011, 20212, 2013 somewhere in my closet. Check it out! 

Link to video - https://youtu.be/97YLtcCewfA - Your Views Are My Only Blessings!

#LuxorConverge #StationeryReview #Notebooks #WritingInstruments #TheLifesWay #TechBlogger #Youtuber #Johannesburg #SouthAfrica

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Thinkbook 13s Fulfills All Your Productivity Needs @Lenovo_Africa #LenovoThinkbook13s #ProductReview

Hi Friends,

Lenovo has been at the forefront of the laptops industry and in the commercial space, it has brought about some of the unique products which are not only powerful but brings about all the productive features for people on the move and as South Africa needs it - for people impacted by the load-shedding. Along with the need to work from home a lot of factors are needed in your day to day devices to help you perform at an optimum level. I received this Lenovo Thinkbook 13s Laptop for Business which really broke away my perception of Thinkbooks as the matte black plastic body to a modern and fancy aluminum chassis in a great metallic finish.

Lenovo Thinkbook 13s as they call this particular model which came on my review desk and as I charged the same, I immediately fell in love with the body and the features the small package contained in this beast of an efficient machine. There are certain factors that determine your laptop buy decision - let's go through them one by one -

1. Value for Money - The first and topmost feature is the amount of money, you need to shell out and what are the various options available in the market in that price range. Generally, all laptop companies do consume the same kind of hardware and software inside the laptop in a price range. To reduce costs, you will have Celeron or AMD processors and can still have normal hard disks installed along with 4 GB RAM. The Lenovo 13s comes in the price range of  R19500 on Takealot but it brings in the power of Intel Core i5 processor along with 8GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB SSD.

2. Display - The second most important thing is the display, if you don't love watching the screen on your laptop, your purchase is not worth it. This I am saying because we use laptops to not only read text or presentations but also as an entertainment machine to watch videos and stream Netlfix or Youtube channels. Also, we do use them for a small kind of game that doesn't require hardcore hardware features. Lenovo 13s has a great display which is full high definition and you will immediately fall in love with the same. The configuration is 13.3" FHD (1920x1080) IPS 300nits Anti-glare Dolby Vision. My first use of the machine was to watch the movie as it has both the things necessary to make the entertainment great.

3. Sound Quality - The parameter I was talking about in the above point to make the entertainment experience better is the loud sound that should come out from any kind of laptop for a group session with family and friends or watching the same alone. When I bought my first Dell XPS L501 laptop in London long back in 20110-11, it was the Altec-Lansing speakers sound quality that attracted me to buy the same. Similarly, Lenovo 13s had this Harman Speakers of 2x 2W with the ability to produce Dolby-audio experience and I found them loud enough and much better than the one I have on my Dell laptop.

4. Portability - It's becoming the biggest factor as the world is bitten by the minimalism and doesn't want to carry heavier stuff and don't want to buy a lot of accessories. I also want to travel light and three factors come into the play - first being the overall weight of the machine, secondly, the battery life to go on a single charge, thirdly - the number of ports and inputs available to the user. All these factors bring about the portability as a whole in the equation. Lenovo 13s has a powerful battery that gives you power for more than 10 hours in a single charge and the overall weight of this metallic laptop is only 1.40 kilograms making it easy to slide into your backpack or executive leather bag. Other than the charging port, Lenovo 13s features a USB Type C port, HDMI Port, Headphone/Mic combo, USB 3.1, USB 3.1 (Always On) port to charge your smartphone.

5. Security - Data breaches are a real-world problem and we hear stories of data hacking from time to time. Lenovo 13s comes with a Touch fingerprint reader which is integrated with the power on-off button. Secondly, the webcam which is 720p camera and is pre-installed with the Think-Shutter which you can keep off with just a slide, and the camera is covered and you can slide it and the camera is visible for all those zoom calls. This feature really won my heart as I have not seen this one in any other laptop brands.

6. WoW Features - There shall always be some features that we are not looking for but really want the laptop to have. Lenovo 13s comes with spill-resistant where the keyboard can take some kind of water and coffee spillage. Up to what level it can take, I didn't put that to the test but anyway a feature to enjoy. I always want the laptop keyboard to be backlighted as it enables and helps you to work in the night without any table lamp glowing in your side of the bed spoiling the sleep of your family members. Lenovo 13s has white LED lighting in the keyboard which can be enabled and disabled as per your choice.

Overall, though this one is an executive looking enterprise laptop but it has some great features to become a favorite in the entertainment category too if you have the budget of around R20000 and as my brother who has been using the laptops since 2003 and used almost all the brands including Apple, IBM, Dell and many more and now using the Lenovo Carbon series as a recommended laptop for all his employees all over the world. I got the laptop for 2 weeks review but I fell in love with this Lenovo 13s and never wanted it to go back to the PR company or the brand. I hope and wish that someday I will migrate from my 10 years old Dell XPS L501 to this Lenovo 13s laptop.

Cheers!!!

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@Acer Announces 15-inch #Swift5 Notebook Weighing Less Than 1 kg #NextAtAcer

Hi Friends, 

Acer today announced its new Swift 5 notebook designed for users who want superb portability, solid performance, and a touch of style. With a 15-inch display, the elegant chassis weighs less than 1 kg (2.2 lbs), ideal for people always on the go. The Swift 5 is powered by Windows 10, the latest Intel® Core™ processors and features exceptional performance and battery life that lasts through the workday.

“There’s been great feedback on Acer’s amazingly light 14-inch Swift 5, and we are now pushing the limits with the 15.6-inch model,” said Jerry Hou, General Manager, Consumer Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “We’ve kept the weight under the 1 kg mark by using ultra-narrow bezels and a marginally larger chassis.”

The Swift 5’s Full HD IPS1 touchscreen features ultra-narrow bezels measuring just 5.87 mm (0.23 inches), giving it an incredible 87.6% screen-to-body ratio to maximize the viewing experience. The Swift 5 features Acer Color Intelligence™ technology, which dynamically adjusts gamma and saturation in real-time, optimizing screen color and brightness without clipping or over saturation, while Acer BluelightShield technology allows adjusting of the screen’s blue-light emission over extended periods of use.

The Swift 5 is constructed with advanced materials including ultra-light magnesium-lithium alloys for the top and bottom cover, and magnesium-aluminum alloys for extra sturdiness on the palm rest area. Thanks to the LED backlit keyboard, users can work effectively on the go all day and even at night.

Powered by the latest Intel® processors, the Acer Swift 5 offers an exceptionally fast and responsive experience with battery life that lasts through the workday. The Swift 5 features Intel® Wireless-AC 9560 which offers 2x2 802.11ac wireless Gigabit performance that enhances streaming, sharing, conferencing and gaming experiences.

Up to 1 TB of SSD storage and up to 16 GB of DDR4 memory keeps the system fast and responsive, while connectivity is provided through one USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 2 port (10 Gbit/s data transfer, supporting power delivery and display output), two USB 3.1 Type-A ports (one with power-off charging functionality), an HDMI port, and an SD card reader. The Swift 5 supports Windows Hello through a fingerprint reader, allowing users to log in to their accounts faster and more securely.

Pricing and Availability
Exact specifications, prices, and availability will vary by region. To find out about availability, product specifications and prices in specific markets, please contact your nearest Acer office or retailer via www.acer.com.

The new Acer Swift 5 was unveiled today at the next@acer press event held in New York, where the company announced a range of new devices and solutions for gamers, creators, families, students, and professionals. For more information, visit www.acer.com/nextatacer.

Cheers!!!

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Acer TravelMate P648 - Commercial Notebook #CES2016 @AcerAfrica

Hi Guys,

Acer recently announced the TravelMate P648 series commercial notebooks at CES 2016, which runs on Windows 10, boasts powerful Intel® 6th generation Core™ i3, i5 and i7 processors, industry-leading tri-band 802.11ad wireless, and Thunderbolt™ 3 for ultra-fast data transfer and 4K displays support. Combining a durable, ultra-slim chassis and speedy wireless technology, these notebooks are the ideal traveling companion for even the most active road warriors. 

This new series builds upon the Acer TravelMate P645, which earned Red Dot Awards in both 2015 and 2014, and an iF product design award in 2014. The powerful processors translate to faster wireless processing, long battery life of up to 8 hours, vivid, clear visuals and fast video conversion.

“Lightweight, durable and powerful, the TravelMate P648 commercial notebooks were designed to meet the demands of executives and other business travellers,” said Jerry Kao, President of Notebook Business Group, Acer Inc. “In addition, IT professionals will appreciate the stringent security for safeguarding the systems and valuable corporate data.”

Light Yet Durable Traveling Companion

The Acer TravelMate P648 is built to withstand the rigors of frequent travel. A high-strength carbon and glass fiber lid is light, yet strong, while the system weighs only 3.5 pounds (1.7 kg) and measures just 0.83 inches (2.12 cm) thin. The palm rest and bottom cover are made from magnesium-aluminum, allowing the notebook to handle extreme pressure and protect it from drops. To maintain its high performance, a fan keeps the system cool and Dust Defender technology safeguards it from dust. A full-sized chiclet keyboard provides comfortable typing with 1.4mm travel distance, and a spill-resistant design safeguards the keyboard from accidental spills. The keys are LED-backlit, so they can be seen in dimly-lit environments, such as red-eye flights.

Industry’s First Notebook With Tri-Band 802.11ad Wireless

Featuring the latest tri-band 802.11ad wireless technology from Qualcomm®, the TravelMate P648 can utilize the 60GHz band wireless spectrum to deliver speeds up to 4.6Gbps, which is up to 10 times faster than 802.11ac. The tri-band solution supports 802.11ac in parallel, for longer range data transfers in larger spaces, as 802.11ad is ideal for short range, high volume data transfers which works best in smaller spaces. With less latency, 802.11ad can reduce the time delay of projecting wireless content from the notebook to a mere 30 milliseconds.

Ideal Office Mate

The TravelMate P648 is ideal for travel as well as life at the office. In addition to a card reader and HDMI for connecting to an external display, it’s conveniently outfitted with a super-fast Thunderbolt 3 (USB 3.1 Type-C) port and three USB 3.0 ports with one supporting power-off charging. The optional Acer ProDock features a full gamut of ports for connecting a vast array of digital devices and peripherals, including two USB 3.0, DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, VGA, and Gigabit Ethernet.

The new Acer TravelMate P648 models were designed to fulfill the rigorous requirements of commercial customers with 14-inch displays, offering choices up to Full HD with IPS technology and up to NVIDIA® GeForce® 940M graphics with 2GB VRAM. They also boast 4GB DDR4 memory upgradable to 20GB and ample storage space with up to 1TB hard drives or up to 512GB solid state drives (SSD). Optional RAID 0 SSD configurations provide fast boot times up to twice the performance than traditional SSD. The LED-backlit displays leverage ComfyView™ anti-glare technology to protect the eyes from blue light emissions and decrease eye fatigue. 

Optimized for conference calls, the TravelMate P648 comes with a HDR HD webcam with wide view support, dual microphones and two speakers, a mute key, high-definition audio and Acer Purified.Voice for enhancing voice sound and reducing background noise and keystrokes. Near Field Communication (NFC) supports paperless payments and tickets.

Tight Security and Time-Saving Management Tools

The TravelMate P648 is outfitted with powerful security software and hardware as well as time-saving management features to simplify the service and upgrade of many of its internal components. 

Acer ProShield Manager, a suite of both security and management tools, safeguards valuable data. It uses pre-boot authentication to protect the notebook from the BIOS to the application level. Users can create a Personal Secure Drive (PSD) to seamlessly store and encrypt all critical files, preventing data from being accessed if the notebook is lost or stolen. In addition, it provides an automated solution for managing IT assets remotely.

An integrated biometric fingerprint reader paired with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) reader protects the system from unauthorized access and a Kensington lock enables it to be secured to a desk.

Acer Office Manager (AOM), a manageability solution, lets IT professionals deploy security policies, monitor IT assets, and schedule maintenance tasks. Plus, Intel vPro with Active Management Technology enables them to administrate software and hardware computing assets.

The Acer TravelMate P648 commercial notebook line will be available to customers with Windows 10 Pro.

“The new Acer TravelMate P648 series provides the latest in design and portability, as well as serious horsepower under the hood through the newest 6th Generation Intel® Core™ vPro™ processor, designed for the modern workforce,” said Tom Garrison, vice president and general manager for the Intel Business Client division. “Once again, Acer validates an understanding of what businesses need with a sophisticated, secure and manageable system that can keep up with increasing demands on power and performance.”

Pricing, Eco-Compliance and Warranty

The Acer TravelMate P648 series commercial notebooks will be available in South Africa from Q2 2016 at the suggested RRP of R20 999

Acer professional notebooks are submitted to a series of reliability tests and are compliant with strict industry standards. The TravelMate P648 series commercial notebook models are Energy Star® qualified and meet the criteria to be titled as EPEAT Gold. They also come with a standard two-year parts and labor warranty, which can be extended to three years of Acer Advantage service. Select models have longer warranties via specific channel partners. All Acer notebooks are backed by toll-free service and support.

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Acer’s New 11.6-inch #Chromebook @AcerAfrica #CES2016 #Portable

Hi Guys,

Acer has rolled out the newest model in its Chromebook 11 line, now with a more durable design that features a premium nano-imprinted cover matched by solid everyday performance and a portable design that makes it an excellent computing device for anyone on-the-go.

“Acer’s position in the Chromebook market is unparalleled because we offer the range of Chromebook products that our customers want –including larger 15-inch displays and convertible models,” said Jerry Kao, president of Acer Notebook Business Group. “We know what our customers want most in a Chromebook are the attributes that complement the mobile lifestyle – great performance and a portable design at an excellent value – all this can be found in the Chromebook 11.” 

According to data from Gartner, Acer Group is currently the world’s leading Chromebook brand with over 34% market share for the first three quarters of 2015.

Portability with a premium, durable design

The Chromebook 11’s cover is made with a nano-imprinted pattern which gives it a premium look and feel while also boosting durability. The Chromebook 11 has been reinforced like Acer’s models for commercial and educational customers to handle extra-stressful environments. It can handle up to 60kg of downward force on the top cover, while the corners can tolerate up to 60cm drops without damage. The reinforced case results in greater resistance to twisting and stress.

The slim and portable form factor makes the Acer Chromebook 11 ideal for use anywhere – at home, school, work and on-the-go. It measures only 0.73 inches (18.6mm) thin and weighs only 2.42 pounds (1.1kg).

The Acer Chromebook 11 has an 11.6-inch display that features non-glare Acer ComfyView, so it limits eye-strain even after long hours of use. The display has a 1366x768 resolution that ensures sharp and legible text as well as vivid, clear videos and photos.

Customers will enjoy video chats on Google Hangouts and capturing crisp, clear photos with the high-dynamic range (HDR) camera. The webcam experience is further enhanced by the two stereo speakers and integrated microphone for top-notch audio and video capabilities.

Solid Performance and All-Day Battery Life

The Acer Chromebook 11 delivers solid everyday performance using Intel® Celeron® quad-core processors. Further contributing to responsiveness and a fast boot time, the Chromebook 11 features 2GB or 4GB of memory and a 16GB or 32GB eMMC storage. Customers on the go will be able to experience all-day productivity and fun since it provides up to 9 hours of battery life.

Keeps Customers Connected on the Go

With the fast dual-band 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi on the Acer Chromebook 11, customers can stay connected and in touch with up to three times faster wireless connectivity compared to 802.11n. The device connects easily to peripherals via Bluetooth 4.0, or the USB 3.0, USB 2.0 and HDMI ports. Customers can transfer files to or from the Acer Chromebook 11 and access media on SD cards with the SD reader.

Acer Chromebook 11 Simplifies Security and Collaboration

Chromebooks are simple to use and ideal for sharing by multiple users. Customers simply log into their own Google account to accessGmail, Google Docs, favorite bookmarks, and other information. Plus, the Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-131 can be used by customers tocreate, edit and collaborate both on-line and off-line in programs, such as Office documents.

Security is a key benefit of the Chrome OS, as it’s automatically updated to guard against ever-changing online threats. Every time Chrome OS boots, it checks the integrity and validity of system files. In addition, user files stored on the device are in a separate partition to keep data secure. Many customers prefer to keep all their files on Google Drive which protects files, documents, and photos safely in the cloud, and ensures that the most current version of the file or document is always available and safe, even if the Chromebook is lost or stolen. In addition, the Supervised Users feature helps get children online in a safe, controlled way.

Models, Availability and Pricing

The Acer Chromebook 11 line (CB3-131) will be available in South Africa from Q2 2016 at the suggested retail price of R 4 499. A lot has been happening in this price range and this year there will be a lot for the customers to buy and cherish! 

Cheers!!!

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