Features:

• Intel Core Duo processor
• Wifi networking card
• Bluetooth
• 3 / 6 cell Li-Ion battery
• Price starts from £1299

PROS:

• Lightweight (just 2.2lbs), and ultra thin (1.1 in)
• Has intelligent wireless networking card and blue tooth for connecting peripherals without cables

CONS:

• No internal optical DVD drive

Detailed Specification:

Expert Review:

The LG A1 Express Dual is part of the A1 series of laptops from the LG stable. Though not listed in the LG UK website it is nevertheless popular elsewhere in the world. It is ultra lightweight and ultra thin and hence highly portable. The overall dimensions of the sub notebook are 10.7 x 7.7 x 1.1 in and it weighs just 2.2 lbs.

The WXGA display measures 10.6″ diagonally with FineBright technology TFT active matrix and a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels. The laptop is powered by Intel Core Duo Processor U2500 (1.2GHz) which is a successor to Pentium M and has very good power to performance ratio. The maximum power consumption of 31 Watts is only 4 W more than Pentium M.

The graphics is handled by NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 which is an improved version of Go 6200 with a performance a bit below average. The performance is sufficient for office applications and internet surfing but not suitable for fast gaming. The hard disk is available with various capacities and the one reviewed was 100GB PATA. This may be enough for every day use and additional storage is through external optical drive DVD±RW (+R double layer).

The interfaces to external devices available in the notebook include: 3 x USB – 4 PIN USB Type A;1 x 56 Kbps modem – phone line – RJ-11;1 x network – Gigabit Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T – RJ-45;1 x audio – SPDIF output/headphones – mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm;1 x display / video – VGA – 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15); 1 x audio – line-In – mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm and 1 x microphone – input – mini-phone 3.5mm

Wireless connection is through Intel Pro Wireless 802.11a/b/g (3945ABG) and further Bluetooth V2.0_EDR provides link to external devices like digital camera, etc. The notebook has a 5 in 1 card reader that supports the following formats: SD Memory Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard, CompactFlash, xD-Picture.

The operating system is Microsoft Windows XP Professional and other software include Drivers & Utilities, CyberLink Power2Go, Norton Antivirus (90 days subscription), and CyberLink InstantBurn. 3 cells Li-Ion battery is standard which can be enhanced to 6 cells. The LG A1 Express carries 1 year carry in warranty.

Overall, the LG A1 Express Dual is an ultra lightweight and ultra compact laptop with a host of features for every day use. The price may be a little prohibitive and it may not be suitable for gaming or graphics intensive applications.