Panasonic SL-CT580 Portable CD Player

Panasonic SL-CT580 Portable CD Player
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Product Type: CE

Editorial Review:
Product Description
Panasonic is proud to introduce a deluxe personal CD player. Up to 40 second anti-shock memory assures flawlessly smooth playback performance even while walking or jogging. Heat-resistant polycarbonate body is designed to withstand outdoor use. Slide-lock full open top cover assures reliable security and easy CD changes. Using optional AA batteries and two Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries (included), this CD player provides extended playtime of 56 hours, ensuring you'll have music whenever you need it. The digital servo system helps the unit maintain tracking, even in difficult circumstances and Panasonic's exclusive MASH 1-Bit D/A conversion system ensures all your CDs will sound great. The player also has CD-R/RW playback capability.
Amazon.com Product Description
Panasonic's ultra-slim SL-CT580 CD player offers the convenience of pocket sizing and remote control operation alongside long battery life and reliable anti-skip protection. The player's No Skip technology combines rubber, shock-absorbing brushings and an anti-skip digital servo with 40-second memory reserve for added back up.

Panasonic's Power Last system uses a highly efficient motor with low-load circuitry for drastically improved playback time, helping the player derive up to 56 hours of playback from two supplied Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries in conjunction with two standard AA batteries in the included external battery case.

A hold function prevents unintended interruptions in playback and saves batteries by negating playback when the player is stopped. You can set it to lock the player, the remote control, or both.

The SL-CT580's digital-to-analog converter is Panasonic's single-bit MASH (multi-stage noise shaping technology) DAC, designed to virtually eliminate distortion and deliver all the subtleties and nuances that make digital recordings so rich.

Playback options include 24-track programming, repeat (track or disc), and random play, and a four-preset equalizer lets you tailor the sound to your preference--choose from S-XBS (extra bass system), live, train (high cut). Auto power-off prevents battery drainage after your CD has ended, and the unit's aluminum top cover and polycarbonate body protects the player from the elements.

What's in the Box
CD player, stereo headphones, user's manual, and an AC power adapter.

Average customer rating: 2.5

Repeatedly freezes -- second one video card failed
It had a lot going for it... until you get to the cons section...

Averatec N2370HM1E-1 12" Notebook PC (AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 Dual Core Processor, 1 GB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, Dual Layer DVD Burner Drive)

Manufacturer: AVERATEC
Product Group: Personal Computer
Binding: Personal Computers
ASIN: B000J588FA

Related Categories:

Notebooks

Product Description

The Averatec 2300 Series is a full-featured notebook, combining powerful dual-core processing with infotainment capabilities in an Ultra-thin, Ultra-light form factor. Featureing a super-bright 12" widescreen display with the distinctive AveraBrite LCD technology, AMD's dual-core mobile CPU technology and Windows XP Media Center Edition, this small but mighty notebook provides performance and entertainment value unmatched today!

Amazon.com Product Description

With the Averatec N2370HM1E-1 notebook PC, you'll be able to carry a powerful virtual office with you wherever you go without breaking your back. Nicely light at just over 4 pounds, it features a bright 12-inch LCD screen that looks great even in direct sunlight. In addition delivering an outstanding digital entertainment experience, it also provides high-performance processing designed to handle today's demanding business applications. It's powered by the 64-bit 1.6 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 processor, which allows you to easily run multiple programs without slowing down your productivity. Other features include a 100 GB hard drive, 1 GB of installed RAM (2 GB maximum), dual-layer DVD burner, 5-in-1 memory card reader, ultra-fast Gigabit Ethernet, and Microsoft XP Media Center edition.

The Basics
<ul>

Hard Drive: The 100 GB hard drive (4200 RPM) is slightly above average in size for notebook PCs. It provides enough capacity for storing documents, digital media files, and productivity software.

Processor: The 1.6 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 processor offers a dual-core architecture, which delivers additional computing resources to help expand your PC's capabilities by providing higher throughput and simultaneous computing--increasing your performance by up to 80 percent. You'll be able to perform multiple tasks such as digital rendering and gaming all while running virus scan or other background tasks seamlessly thanks to the innovative Direct Connect Architecture. And it's designed to handle simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing with no degradation in performance. You'll enjoy long battery life thanks to the AMD PowerNow! power management technology, which delivers performance on demand and can extend system battery life up to 65 percent. And the AMD Digital Media XPress technology delivers stellar multimedia performance and playback on digital entertainment such as games, streaming video and audio, DVDs, and music.

Each processing core has a 256 KB L2 cache (for a 512 KB total), and this processor can deliver up to a 1600 MHz system bus for lightning quick computing reflexes. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

Memory: The 1 GB of installed RAM (PC5300, DDR2 SDRAM, 2 x 1024 MB) offers a top-of-class 667 MHz speed. It's a good start right out of the box, but you'll want to add more RAM to handle today's demanding multimedia and productivity suites. It has a 2 GB maximum RAM capacity.

CD/DVD Drive: The multi-format, dual-layer DVD burner enables you to store up to 8.5 GB of data on a DL disc. It will also burn your favorite music mixes to CD.

Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook offers a standard-sized 84-key keyboard with an 18.05mm pitch and 2.1mm stroke. It also has a Synaptics touchpad with 2-way virtual scroll. </ul> Screen, Graphics and Sound
The 12.1-inch LCD screen offers Averatec's proprietary AveraBrite technology, which helps keep things bright and readable even in direct sunlight, and it has a 1280 x 800-pixel widescreen, high-definition resolution. Video is powered by the Nvidia GeForce Go 6100 video/graphics card. It features NVidia's PureVideo technology--which provides great picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and precise image scaling for video content--and full support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 for stunningly realistic cinematic effects for all DirectX-compatible applications. It also has an integrated audio card that provides 8-channel (7.1) high-definition surround sound audio.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The N2370HM1E-1 has an integrated 54g wireless LAN that's fully compatible with 802.11b/g wireless networks. It also includes a next-generation ExpressCard 54/34 card slot (but not a PCMCIA slot), which lets you take advantage of thinner, faster, and lighter expansion cards for even more advanced wireless, networking, storage, and security features. You get a basic offering of connectivity options, which does not include FireWire: <ul>

3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players

1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals (1 in front, 1 in rear)

1 VGA monitor port

4-in-1 memory card reader, compatible with Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital, and MultiMedia (MMC) cards

1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack </ul> It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Fast Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
The pre-installed Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is essentially Windows XP Professional Edition with a variety of tools to help you to create, organize, and enjoy digital media ranging from music to home movies to photo slide shows. Additionally, it enables you to control your television with the included remote and record and pause programs (much like a DVR--or digital video recorder--such as Tivo or ReplayTV). It's compatible with cable, digital cable, satellite TV and antenna inputs, and it includes an FM tuner. It also comes with a full trial version of Phoenix FirstWare Recover Pro software that stores user data, applications and the operating system in the secure, host-protected area (HPA) of the hard drive. Other preloaded software titles include Cyberlink DVD Solution 4, ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite (30-day trial), and Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Dimensions and Weight
Nicely light for a laptop with a 12-inch screen, this Averatec weighs just 4.1 pounds and measures 11.7 x 8.4 x 1.3 inches.

What's in the Box
This package contains the Averatec N2370HM1E-1 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty and a 6-month battery warranty.

Customer Reviews:

Repeatedly freezes -- second one video card failed.......2006-12-16

I was thrilled to get such a high-performance, inexpensive, lightweight computer. I bought it right after Thanksgiving (2006) and immediately started having issues. The computer is fast. The screen is small but brilliant and clear and overall the responsivity of the machine was in the hardly better anywhere -- except that as you are typing or doing work suddenly, for no obvious reason you'll get a freeze -- the system will just stop responding.

At first I thought it was just a software glitch especially since the ZoneAlarm security software is about as intrusive a bit of irritating software as I've ever encountered. But after removing in every case the system that seemed to be offending, I've come to the conclusion that it is just some fault with the computer. It's made in China afterall.

My experience with it is just awful. It freezes, it goes to a blue screen sometimes without warning, it says that it's lost registry entries on boot up but has recovered them, but this happens repeatedly. I'm using it now to write this review looking over my shoulder waiting for it to freeze.

Maybe after they get the bugs out this will be terrific -- but right now it is a lemon. If I was the only one I'd think it was a fluke. But when I started researching the "freeze" I found other users with the same problem.

I'd avoid it for now.
UPDATE -- I took the first Averatec back to Staples where I bought it and the fellow there was very surprised saying that they generally had a good reputation. So I thought, "OK let's give'em another chance." I exchanged the first machine for another and gave it to my son for Christmas. Well he was thrilled. But in three days of use, heavy use since he was playing WOW on it heavily -- but then for no reason, no abuse, the video started misbehaving. It refused to heal itself. Two computers, two major issues, no abuse or misuse. We took that one back and now he's checking out his new HP. Meanwhile I'm pretty satisfied with my new Vaio although it's a little pricey by comparison. If you get a good Averatec you're probably in good shape. But 2 strikes in 2 tries is a surprisingly bad record. I don't see any reason to be very optimistic about this beastie. I probably should demote the thing to one star.

It had a lot going for it... until you get to the cons section..........2006-10-19

PROS:
-Great compact size
-Great screen resolution
-3 USBs
-Clean casing
-Large hard drive for a small laptop
-Dual layer DVD burner
-Dual core processor
-1GB of RAM
-Very competitely priced
-4-in-1 memory card reader and ExpressCard slot

CONS:
-ATROCIOUS BATTERY!!!! - I got 113 minutes on my battery drain, 126 minutes on standard, and a measely 140 minute maximum battery. The Dual Core processor in this instance is not a low voltage, and drains the battery
-Integrated Graphics
-Slow processor - 1.6GHz is not thrilling, and the benchmarks, although outbeating the HP and Winbook, are not incredibly impressive
-Heavy - 4.2lbs is heavy for a 12" laptop
-Terrible customer service - and Avaratec are infamous for not holding up
-Lacking in media controls
-Lacking in external outputs
-Terrible speakers - Just ugly, weak, and tinny

BOTTOM LINE: I good starter laptop. If you don't mind carrying your AC adapter around, or a spare battery, I'd say it's good for college students as well. With a laptop with amazing potential, it went to waste on things that seem minor, but add up to really drag this laptop down.

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