Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7106

If you were to go hands-on with the $700 (as of March 30, 2011) Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7106 before you looked at its test scores, you'd never guess that it was one of the slower desktop replacement laptops we've tried. Subjectively, its performance is agile in standard desktop applications, and its large, 17.3-inch, 1600-by-900-pixel display gives you plenty of screen real estate. The machine even has a Blu-ray drive on board, so you can watch high-def moves. For the price, it's a lot of laptop.

The L670 series is available with a ridiculous number of CPU options--everything from an Intel Pentium or AMD Turion II to an Intel Core i3 to the AMD Phenom II P860 Triple-Core on the L675D-S7106. Joining the Phenom on our test configuration were an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 graphics processor, 4GB of memory, a 5400-rpm 500GB hard drive, and the aforementioned Blu-ray player/DVD burner. Just looking at the branding, you might think that it had a discrete graphics card, but you'd be wrong: The HD 4250 is a two-generations-old Radeon graphics offering built into the chipset, sharing RAM with the main system.

The L675D-S7106's WorldBench score of 78 is rather low for a desktop replacement laptop, but subjectively the unit feels very nimble. It also plays 1080p video smoothly, though gaming frame rates don't cut the mustard; it generated only 29.3 frames per second in Unreal Tournament 3 at 800 by 600 with medium detail (the least demanding resolution we test at). Daily desktop tasks such as Web browsing and word processing zip along nicely, but demanding work such as editing or encoding video will be slow for a system of this class.

Samsung Chromebook

Cloud computing is a term we've heard with increasing frequency recently.

It's the idea that our usual computing tasks are not run by the hardware in our computers, but instead on powerful servers connected to your machine via the internet. Operating systems on netbooks and laptops are still firmly tethered to the hardware, with Windows 7 and Linux distros being the OSes of choice. Into this fray comes Google's Chrome OS, an operating system designed to drag laptops and netbooks into the cloud. The machines that run Chrome OS are known as Chromebooks, and Samsung is ahead of the pack by releasing the first Chromebook in the UK – the Samsung Chromebook Series 5. As the first of its kind with no immediate competitors - an Acer Chromebook has been announced by Google but Acer has yet to confirm if we will see it in the UK - the Samsung Chromebook faces some interesting challenges.

While it launches with no other competition from Chromebooks, it's currently solely responsible for persuading consumers to move from the more familiar Windows operating system to Chrome's browser-based interface, and to encourage early adopters to embrace the new technology. The Samsung Chromebook Series 5 also needs to set the bar for what we can expect from this new breed of computer.

Samsung Chrome Book Features

One of the biggest selling points about the Chromebook is its simplicity.

Where other laptops would boast of their specifications, cramming in powerful components wherever space allows, the Series 5 is proud of its pared-down simplicity. Google's aim with Chrome OS is to offer as uncomplicated a computing experience as possible, ideal for people who just want to use their computers with little fuss. Google wants you to 'just use' the device, rather than have to tinker with and maintain it.

MacBook Pro

Apple might say we're in the post-PC era, but hey -- turns out they still make Macs in Cupertino, and thenew MacBook Pro is actually one of the more aggressive refreshes in the machine's history. Not only has it been less than a year since the last MacBook Pro spec bump, but our 15-inch review unit is actually the first Sandy Bridge system we've received from any manufacturer. And it's not just the CPU that's new: Apple's also launching the new Thunderbolt high-speed interconnect, and there's been a big switch to an AMD Radeon HD 6750M GPU paired with Intel's integrated HD Graphics 3000, an arrangement that should offer both solid graphics performance and great battery life. 

Look and feel

It's been nearly three years since the MacBook Pro last had a significant design change, so you'll need some eagle eyes to tell these new models apart from its predecessors. Seriously, Thunderbolt even uses the Mini DisplayPort connector, so the only distinguishing characteristics are the lightning-strike Thunderbolt icon on the port row and a subtle new texture to the aluminum lid. Oh, and the SD slot is now SDXC. Almost everything else is exactly the same: the still-best-in-class keyboard and glass multitouch trackpad, the standard glossy display, the ports, the sealed-in battery, you name it.

That's both good and bad, of course: Apple's competitors have only recently gained any ground on the MacBook Pro's unibody build quality and stiffness, but would it really kill anyone to throw in a couple extra USB ports? And maybe space them out enough to allow for both a thumb drive or wireless card and another device without an extension cable? That would be cool. And while we're at it, we'd also love that optional higher-res 1680 x 1050 display to come standard -- in matte, if possible. We will not even begin to lament the lack of a Blu-ray option; down that road lies only the aching pain of desire forever unfulfilled.

To sum this up: it looks and feels exactly like a MacBook Pro. It's still the industry standard in terms of design and quality, but after three years competitors like the HP Envy 14 have started knocking on the door, and we'd like to see the best get even better the next time around.

MacBook Air

There comes a time when that giant, corporate-issued laptop stops fitting into your lifestyle. When dragging around a Kensington roller case just won't do. When you start to hear the siren lilt of something thinner, lighter, and maybe a bit more alluring. For years the MacBook Air has been that svelte temptress hollering your name, but it's always been a bit too slow -- all show and no go. It didn't have the power and the longevity to make it a serious contender for your serious affections.

No more. With its latest refresh, Apple has taken what was once a manilla-clad curiosity and turned it into a legitimate machine, not just a sultry looker. Good thing, too, because the death of the plastic-clad MacBook means the Air is now Apple's entry-level portable.

Hardware

The outside of this 2011 refresh of the MacBook Air is virtually indistinguishable from that which came before it. Yes, that means compromises. On the 13-inch model you'll still have to make do with but one USB port on the left and one on the right, but now that latter one is flanked by a Thunderbolt connector, Apple's implementation of Intel's Light Peak standard. This 10Gb/sec interconnect has become standard fare on all new machines coming out of Cupertino, a fact that should help to accelerate the so-far tardy uptake in support from accessory manufacturers.

The 11-inch model is likewise emblazoned, but sadly has still not been granted an SD reader, something restricted to the bigger 13. On the left you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, the MagSafe power connector and... nothing else. All other ports have been deemed unnecessary by Apple's designers and therefore relegated to myriad USB adapters for things like Ethernet -- though if you start relying on those you'll likely need to start packing a USB hub as well.

Like before, the omission of these ports leaves the Air free to pinch down to a delicious taper beneath the keyboard, thin enough to make for a decent cleaver when no proper blade can be found -- or when you just can't be bothered to find one. Even on the fat end it measures a mere .68-inches (17mm) thick. Or thin, rather.

So what has changed? The touchpad, surprisingly. It's still big and glassy and situated in the middle of the full-sized palm rest like on the chunkier Pro. Now, though, it's subtly quieter, with a more refined sound and feel as you click away. The previous generation almost feels hollow and has an annoying resonance that's been banished.

Sony VAIO S Series

It's sad to say, but most of you who are going back to school have probably already returned by now -- though if you're in class right this moment you should probably be paying attention. If you managed to get back to campus without bringing a new laptop along, you might just want to keep reading -- Sony's just released a 15.5-inch addition to its VAIO S Series that not only adds a crucial bit of extra display acreage, but also bumps things up to a full 1080p.

Yes, this is a laptop that can not only be configured with a Blu-ray drive but has enough pixels to do the resulting footage justice, meaning it could make a passable player for movie night. But, does it have the chops to do your workload justice? Is it worth the $1,000 minimum asking price, at least a $100 premium over Sony's 13-inch models? Join us as we find out.

Look and feel

The new 15-inch S Series definitely carries a lot of design DNA from its smaller SA and SB siblings. If it were closed and you were standing far away, or perhaps aren't so very good at judging the size of things, you'd have a hard time telling them apart. It shares the same thickness as the 13.3-inch SB we recently reviewed and shares the same angularish design, same magnesium alloy case, and same gigantic, swoopy VAIO logo in chrome on the back of the lid. Proud of your brand choice? You best be.

Open things up and you start to see some differences, most notably in the keyboard area. The extra footprint meant Sony had room to stuff a full number pad in here. This of course will be a boon for future and current CPAs, but the result is an offset QWERTY portion that some may find is not quite worth the compromise. Indeed, sitting slightly off-center from your laptop's display can leave everything feeling slightly askew.

Fujitsu LifeBook AH572

we were intrigued by the prospect of Sandy Bridge speed and 3D capability -- it boasts a passive 3D display and dual cameras for recording in the third dimension -- for an eminently reasonable $999. Well, were you able to resist the wave of laptops from the rest of computing's usual suspects, you can now get your hands on Fujitsu's 3D lappy packing Intel's latest silicon, a 500GB HDD, and Blu-ray combo drive to boot.

Configurations

Intel® CoreTM i5-2410M Processor (2.3 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache, 1333 MHz FSB); 2.90 GHz with Turbo Boost
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Microsoft® Office Starter 20101
15.6″ Crystal View WXGA HD display with 3D XPOL filter
One pair of 3D glasses included (circular polarizing, passive)
Intel® HD 3000 graphics with up to 1.7 GB of shared video memory
4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz SDRAM memory (2 GB + 2 GB)
500 GB S-ATA, 5400 rpm hard drive1 with integrated Shock Sensor
Integrated Blu-ray ROM optical drive
Two integrated cameras and a digital microphone
Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6205 wireless; 802.11 a/b/g/n
Intel® Wireless Display (WiDi)
Integrated Bluetooth
HDMI, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, 3 x USB 2.0 ports, MemoryStick®/SD slot
Anytime USB Charge through a USB port
Main battery: Lithium ion (6-cell, 63Whr); up to 7 hours and 50 minutes3
Standard spill-resistant keyboard with separate numeric 10-Key keypad
One-year International Limited Warranty
ENERGY STAR® qualified

Apple iMac

The heaviest of heavyweights in the all-in-one field has seen another update, another batch of new internals to liven up the aging (but still classy) chassis. Apple unveiled its latest iMac refreshs with a surprising nobody with a new selection of AMD Radeon HD graphics cards, quad-core Intel Sandy Bridge processors, and solid-state storage options, all designed to do one thing: go faster.

These latest iMacs are quite naturally the speediest yet, as you'd expect, but with the right configuration they can be properly quick. Faster internals plus Thunderbolt ports on the outside turn what's supposed to be a family-friendly and eye-catching machine into an unassuming powerhouse that might just be quick enough for professional users. There's a more important question, though: is this $1,999 system the right choice for you?

Hardware

When Apple refreshed the iMac lineup last year we sampled the 21.5-inch model, svelte and sweet and a good choice for your average household. This time we moved up to the full 27-inch size, sporting a Core i5 processor that hums along at 3.1GHz. This is the processor you get if you opt for the pricier configuration of the bigger model and resist the urge to make any other customizations -- but cycle-hungry users can spend an extra $200 to step into a 3.4GHz Core i7.

Either way you get four cores, ours came paired with 4GB of 1333MHz, DDR3 RAM, installed as two 2GB DIMMs, and a 1TB 7,200RPM, SATA drive. Pushing pixels to that 27-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 resolution IPS panel is an AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. That, thanks to the dual Thunderbolt ports tucked around the back, gives users a new-found ability to power a lot of external displays, in theory up to four thanks to the dual-channel nature of each port. We managed to get two additional displays lit up, but the LED-backlit monitor here is more than spacious enough for most use, and is certainly bright and gorgeous enough too -- but you knew that.

In fact you probably already know a lot about how this looks because, other than the faster internals, there isn't a lot new here. It's the same design that Apple's been hawking for a few years now. It still looks good, modern and understated styling matching your modern and understated life, but we're left wanting some updates. That SD card slot is still dangerously close to the DVD-ROM slot (which still won't accept Blu-ray discs), and the power button is still in exactly the right spot to confound new users and frustrate experienced ones as they accidentally hit it every time they reach to tilt the display back.

And we can't help but wish we could get a little more interactive with that hyper-glossy display, which makes for a heck of a good mirror when turned off. Apple of course has patents out for what looks like a touchable iMac and we're a bit disappointed they didn't come to fruition here -- though we would hate to smudge up that surface. There's still no matte option, but at least you can opt out of getting a Magic Mouse and substitute in a Magic Trackpad this time.

Oh, and there's a new FaceTime HD webcam stuck in the bezel, for those about to chat.

Performance

This machine has the higher of the two default configurations for the 27-incher, and we found it more than adequate for just about anything we threw at it. Obviously the gaming selection is still a little limited here, but Half-Life 2 and Portal 2 played full-res without a hitch. As you'd expect a 1080p clip loads quickly and cycles just fine -- we had five simultaneous 1080p clips going without a hint of frame drop on any.

In fact about the only the only thing that really caused a stutter was trying to edit a 4K video clip in REDCINE -- it was still workable, but we had to view it at half-res to get the preview render looking smooth. Hardly a deal-breaker. If you're looking for more synthetic benchmarks, we scored 8,465 in Geekbench, a 30-second 720p clip exported from iMovie in 20 seconds, and a 1080p clip took under a minute.

Wrap-up

So could a pro-level user, someone who spends their days in Photoshop or Premiere or even REDCINE be happy here? Yes, surprisingly, they could -- especially with the addition of an internal SSD (a $500 option for 256GB) and a high-speed external storage array connected via Thunderbolt. It wouldn't be our choice, and whether it makes sense to buy something like this versus a dedicated machine with an external display is another question entirely, but if you wanted to, you certainly could.

However, for a general consumer setup we can't help but think this is a bit too much. The vastly more affordable and still hugely capable 21.5-inch model makes a lot more sense for a lot more people. But, for ease of setup, aesthetic appeal, and overall performance and flexibility, the iMac is as hard to ignore as ever.

Mac mini

For those familiar with last year's Mac mini, what you're peering at above isn't likely to strike you as jarring. Heck, it may even seem somewhat vanilla at this point. In truth, Apple did exceedingly little in terms of design changes with the mid 2011 Mac mini, but given the relatively recent cosmetic overhaul, it's not like we were genuinely expecting anything above a top-to-bottom spec bump. And that, friends, is exactly what we've received. The mini remains quite the curious beast in Cupertino's line -- it's thealmost-HTPC that living room junkies are longing for, yet it's still a country mile from being the headless mid-tower that Apple steadfastly refuses to build. It's hardly a PC for the simpleton (given that it's on you to hunt down a mouse, keyboard and monitor), and it's actually taking a giant leap backwards on one particularly important front. Care to hear more? You'll find our full review just past the break.

Hardware and design

Make no mistake about it -- the mini is just gorgeous to look at. As with the prior model, this 2.7 pound slab of aluminum looks nicer than its price tag indicates, and it honestly feels more like a decoration than a computer. It's sized at 7.7 x 7.7 x 1.4 inches, exactly the same as its predecessor, and outside of the chromed Apple logo on the top, a matte black strip of ports on the rear and a similarly hued lid on the bottom, it's a clean sweep of brushed silver. It'll sit nicely on its edge for those contemplating a vertical installation, but the protruding lid on the bottom makes it a little less elegant for those applications.

Speaking of the rear, the dozen connectors found there aren't cosmetically different than those on the last build. From left to right, you'll find an AC input, gigabit Ethernet jack, FireWire 800 port, HDMI (full-size), Thunderbolt, four USB 2.0 sockets, an SDXC slot, an audio input and a 3.5mm headphone port. Funny enough, last year's DisplayPort socket looks identical to this year's Thunderbolt connector, and not surprisingly, DisplayPort monitors and peripherals will happily fit themselves in with no adapters needed. For what it's worth, Apple does include an HDMI-to-DVI adapter, but oddly, no Thunderbolt dongle. Sure, we know those cables are laced in gold, but what better way to encourage adoption of a new I/O port than to toss in an appendage for newcomers? Even a DisplayPort / Thunderbolt-to-HDMI or DVI cable would've been greatly appreciated -- making it simple to hook up dual displays right from the get-go would have seriously tickled our fancy.

Tinkerers are bound to love that bottom lid... and then grow frustrated by what's underneath; a simple twist reveals a WiFi module, cooling fan, two SODIMM slots and plenty of other, not-easily-accessible components. Our test unit came with a pair of 1GB memory modules, but even the greenest DIYer could swap those out with more sizable ones -- a couple of snaps and a tug is all it took. Unfortunately, we're still miffed at Apple's decision to keep the HDD away from a user's fingertips. If we had our druthers, the RAM wouldn't be the only thing that's just a few clips away, but alas, we're stuck with what we've got.

We shouldn't have to chide Intel and Apple (and whoever else wants to claim responsibility) for not having USB 3.0 on Macs in the year 2011, but regretfully, we are. A foursome of USB 2.0 ports are cute, but when sub-$400 netbooks are boasting SuperSpeed USB ports... well, let's just say it's about time Apple took notice. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs still seems to think that the newest iteration of the world's most popular port isn't going anywhere fast, so we're apt to see Thunderbolt pushed as the true USB 2.0 replacement. That doesn't mean we have to like it, though.

Given that it's the only new port onboard, it's worth mentioning that Thunderbolt is a fantastic addition to the array. The ability to daisy-chain monitors and peripherals off of it enables the bantam desktop to play grown-up in a few key ways. It'll handle vast display resolutions (up to 2,560 x 1,600; the HDMI socket tops out at 1,920 x 1,200) and outlandish storage solutions, and thanks to the revised CPU, it can more easily handle 'em with poise (more on that in a bit). It's also worth pointing out that the power supply is still internalized (huzzah!), leaving you with nary a power brick to fiddle with. Let's all breathe a simultaneous sigh of relief, cool?

Performance

We tested out the base mini -- a $599 rig with a 2.3GHz dual-core Core i5, 2GB of 1333MHz DDR3 memory, a 500GB (5,400RPM) hard drive and Intel's HD Graphics 3000 processor with 288MB of DDR3 SDRAM, which is shared with main memory. All things considered, that's a halfway decent spread for an MSRP that's $100 less than the base model of 2010, but alas, there's no optical drive to pay for, either. Whisking about Lion and handling mundane tasks (we're looking at you, Office) was a breeze, though we confess to getting a little impatient when waiting for heavier applications to load for the first time. Bootup routinely took right around 45 seconds from off to usable, and there's no question that an SSD swap would do wonders for the general snappiness of the system.

We also noticed a bit of slowdown after having Photoshop, Word, Firefox, Chrome, TweetDeck and Lightroom open for around three hours. We're pinning that on the lowly 2GB of RAM; granted, we were intentionally pushing it, but those hoping to get creative work done on a mini will certainly want to invest in a few more gigs (and a speedier disk drive). Thankfully, 2GB proved plenty when playing back 1080p files, YouTube HD clips and anything we could find in Boxee / Hulu.

On the gaming front, the results were downright impressive. We fired up Half Life 2: Episode 2, turned the details to "High" and cranked the resolution to 1,920 x 1,200 to natively fill our 24-inch panel. The result? A consistent 31 frames per second. Granted, that title isn't exactly the newest in the stack, but this at least confirms that light-duty gaming with your favorites from yesteryear is indeed possible. Turning to XBench and Geekbench -- staples in the world of OS X benchmarking -- we found similarly impressive stats. This particular system scored 291.21 (overall) / 228.84 (CPU) / 400.30 (Thread Test) on the former, while notching 5,919 on the latter. For comparison's sake, the mid 2010 Mac mini scored 3385 on Geekbench, proving that the Core i5-infused newcomer is leaps and bounds more powerful in terms of raw number crunching.

Wrap-up

It's not often that Apple products take a turn for the worse when a new revision comes out, but there's no question that the design of 2010's mini is superior to the design of this guy. Sure, the revised edition is a heck of a lot more powerful and $100 cheaper, but it's in the same infelicitous spot that it's always been in: by the time you invest in a halfway decent keyboard, mouse and monitor, you're pushing $850+ for a mid-level machine with a sluggish hard drive, the bare minimum amount of RAM that we'd recommend for Lion, no USB 3.0 and no optical drive. For whatever reason, Apple's made the new mini even lessuseful than the last, and while a Benjamin off the sticker is appreciated, it hardly puts it in a new class in terms of value.

On the upside, OS X Lion is a superbly polished operating system, and the mini itself is easily the most stunning SFF PC on the market today. It's also eerily quiet, power efficient and cool, and it's everything the average college student or studio apartment dweller needs. Handling 1080p multimedia, basic video / photo editing and even gaming is no problem, but we just can't get over the paradoxes here. Apple dumbs down the back panel so the DIYers among us can't access the hard drive, but selling a computer without three essential peripherals (monitor, keyboard and mouse) ensures that the target market will be one that's at least remotely familiar with technobabble.

In isolation, the Mac mini is a fine computer. It's quick on its feet, and it's happy both beside your TV or in the office. As with all Macs, there's an elusive premium that comes with the overall software experience, and those placing a high value on OS X and the bundled iLife suite may find the compromises here acceptable. But imagining how stellar this bundle of joy could have been with a Blu-ray drive (orany drive) is an impossible vision to shake. Perhaps it's just getting more difficult to logically recommend a Mac desktop, particularly one that's underpowered for serious AV work and near impossible to upgrade. Apple has fine-tuned its laptop options in such a way that makes the revamped mini look underwhelming -- grandiose thoughts of an entry-level MacBook Air docked to a (reasonably priced) 27-inch Thunderbolt Display continue to find their way into our brains.

If you're still fixated on the beauty here, our honest recommendation is to pick up last year's model as it inevitably drops in price (and in turn, increases in value). We've been looking long and hard for an ideal use-case for this guy, and sadly, we've yet to find it.

Dell Inspiron One 2320 all-in-one

Dell's attractive Inspiron One 2320 offers well-rounded performance and more media connection options than any other all-in-one in its price range.
An HDMI output to go along with the HDMI-in would be helpful, and a competing Lenovo all-in-one gives this Dell a strong performance challenge.

 You can find a faster all-in-one from Lenovo for just a few more dollars, but as a general-purpose system with a strong home entertainment bend, the Dell Inspiron One 2320 is hard to beat.

Dell's goal is for this $1,250 Inspiron One 2320 to become your digital media command center. At least that's what I assume based on the assortment of video inputs and other multimedia features festooning this all-in-one. Dell would have been wiser to balance those features with more-powerful computing components, and an aggressively priced Lenovo all-in-one gives the Dell a value challenge, but overall I can recommend this desktop if you're looking for a Windows PC to anchor your digital entertainment consumption.

The design of the Inspiron One 2320 is almost identical to that of the Inspiron One 2305 we reviewed this time last year. Along with HP's TouchSmart 600-series, the Inspiron One has one of the more-polished all-in-one designs out there. Dell says this new model is thinner than the previous version, coming in at 68mm/2.68 inches with the touch-screen option. The unit doesn't feel particularly thin in the grand scheme of all-in-ones, though, particularly next to the Samsung Series 7 all-in-one's razor-edge bezel.

From a specification standpoint, the Dell Inspiron One 2320 is well-equipped compared with other all-in-ones in its price range, although the exceptional Lenovo IdeaCentre B520 continues to throw off the comparison. In light of that Lenovo unit, we can't recommend the Dell outright if you're after traditional computing performance since it lags in both its CPU and its graphics card.

The Dell does make sense, though, if you're in the market for an all-in-one desktop with the ability to connect to all manner of home entertainment devices. The Lenovo has an HDMI input, an HDMI output, composite video input, and a TV tuner. In comparison, the Dell has an HDMI input, composite and VGA video inputs, a VGA output, a TV tuner, and an S/PDIF optical digital audio out. We wish the Dell had HDMI-out, but otherwise, it's equipped to work with almost any home audio or video component, and it can also field a second monitor. No other all-in-one we've recently reviewed offers as many options in its device interoperability.

What all those inputs mean in practical terms is that you can connect a cable box, a separate laptop or a desktop, a game console, an HDTV camera, and even older analog devices or CRT displays to the Inspiron One to use as a standalone monitor. The optical audio output means you can connect the Inspiron One to a digital audio receiver and to route sound from the system to a more robust speaker set. And although distinct DVI or HDMI outputs would make it easier to connect a second monitor for expanded screen real estate, you can still make any additional computer display work with the VGA output and the appropriate adapter.

Although the Inspiron 2320 is not as fast as the IdeaCentre B520, the Dell system still performs with appropriate speed for its price. I'm surprised its Photoshop CS5 performance isn't faster, since the Dell's discrete Nvidia graphics card can boost certain aspects of that test, but on the whole this system will provide respectable performance for mainstream tasks at home.

Given the Dell's discrete graphics card, as well as its 8GB of RAM, I also looked into this system's gaming capabilities. I used Bethesda and id Software's relatively demanding new 3D shooter, Rage. In the Dell's native, 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution, with 2x anti-aliasing and all other details set to maximum, the game ran like a dream. I'd expect that an even more challenging game like Battlefield 3 might give this system some hiccups if you pushed the graphics settings to their highest, but at least for current titles, this Inspiron One 2320 makes a competent gaming computer.

Like most current all-in-ones, the Inspiron One 2320 offers touch-screen functionality (although Dell will also let you buy a nontouch version for $100 less). With the touch screen comes Dell's Stage interface, a low-profile but reasonably well-done set of touch-friendly icons and associated applications.

The apps are mostly straightforward media players and the like, although Dell has also included the Nero-made SyncUp program for streaming media files between devices on a network. You can drag and drop your own shortcut icons to the Stage bar. In all, Stage is an accessible, unobtrusive approach to touch. It's not quite as produced as HP's similar TouchSmart software, but the overall benefits are similar.

Conclusion

While I'd like to see faster performance from this system given its competition in the same price range, Dell has overachieved in the variety of connections going into and out of its new Inspiron One 2320 all-in-one. And even if it's not the fastest all-in-one out there for $1,200 or so, its performance is robust enough that you can still feel confident playing games or performing basic digital media editing tasks. I wouldn't recommend this system over the Lenovo IdeaCentre B520 for dedicated gamers, but this Dell is a solid buy for consumers looking for a general purpose all-in-one.