Here’s what I got as a Christmas present for myself….
It’s a Blue (brand, not the color) Notebook PC – here are the specs:
13.3″ WXGA Display 1280 x 800
Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83 GHz processor
1 GB DDR2 RAM
ATI X1300 256 MB Video Card with HyperMemory
60 GB SATA Harddisk
Built-n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
SD / MC / MMC Card reader
PCI-E Mini slot
DVD +/- RW
The Blue brand of laptops is fairly new. It’s a Filipino reseller’s brand and they package some pretty cool spec of notebooks. I was bent on purchasing a branded laptop, with all the research I did online and by rummaging through all techie mags I can find. But when I first saw this sleek gadget from a flyer at Greenbelt 1, I instantly said ‘this is the perfect laptop for me!’.
Who knew it will ever come true?
I asked my dad to accompany me when I purchase a laptop since he has a car and, after all, a laptop is something you do take good care of because it’s a hefty investment. I’ve already asked permission from Nina to spend on this since it’s going to be a great help for two things: 1) act as a back-up when the desktop konks out (which did happen – twice! – good thing it was still on warranty), and 2) helping me with my work when I’m sent out for Official Business. (By the way, this year’s Christmas Season was a blessed one, that’s why I was able to afford it too!).
When Papa and I got to the computer store, I looked around at the sample units they had running. I was firm on buying a 15.4″ screen, but when I saw how big it really was, it turned me off. I wouldn’t want to carry around that big and heavy thing, especially when I’m out of the country. I asked Bas, the salesman who accomodated us, to recommend one that’s relatively small and with a decent videocard (a true gamer like me need one!). He gladly pointed out to me the 13.3″ silver gizmo which, I now am a proud owner of.
I’ll save the review of this gadget for another posting.
Here’s what I’ve done with it so far…
- brought it to Tagaytaty and watched Mr. Bean VCDs during New Year’s Eve (requested by Matt-Matt)
- Tested it with a projector at the office, during a meeting
- Installed Civilization IV, and now Rome: Total War – very happy at how it handles these graphics intensive games
Oh, and I didn’t have to shell out 100k… not even 80k… or 60k for this great gadget… It was the best money-for-spec around in its size range.
Talk about portability.
Blue Radon W310 – User’s Review (Part 1 of 2)
<< Check out their website: www.ilikeblue.net >>
March 6, 2007 at 11:37 am
hehe… natisod ko lang blog nyo sa tipidpc seeing how happy you are with your lappy. and tama ba na UP-D ka rin?
hehe..
March 7, 2007 at 12:33 am
@ masterbather
Yep, UP-D din ako. BS ME. 95-XXXXX. hehe…
So far so good ang performance ng Gizmo ko. Managed also to ‘convince’ an officemate to buy the same brand. Hope to see you around my blog. There’s an entry about the UP Fair 2007, if you weren’t there to see it.
March 7, 2007 at 8:03 am
00-xxxxx naman here, BSGE. MS RS ngayon.
read that UP Fair07 entry already. hehe… sayang i didn’t get to see the freaky pic.
nice lappy. core duo din sana bibilhin ko but unfortunately, my budget won’t allow me. i’ll be lurking around your blog. hehe… thanks for the ‘testimonial’ about your experience with blue notebooks. baka i just might change my mind.
March 8, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Oo nga, sabi nga ng kaibigan ko, sayang daw di ko natago yung pic. pero sobrang freaked out kami ng wife ko that we jsut had to delete it.
Alam ko pababa na presyo ng mga core duo lappies kasi may core 2 duo na.
Was able to run 3dmark05 on my desktop. i’ll try it on Gizmo next and finally – the user’s review i’ve been wanting to do! (btw, i don’t work for blue and this is not a pr stint)… hehehe
Happy lurkin’…
March 14, 2007 at 5:15 pm
bro, i like your GIZMO! if you have time, please do guide me where i can grab one, hanggat maari ung main shop ng blue, not a reseller like pcexpress,(nka-order basis kc) pra pag pinuntahan ko, iuuwi kna kagad!=p hehe i want to customize my “babyblu”! haha may name na kagad….
hope to hear from you.. regards sir…
March 19, 2007 at 12:05 am
Uy, PECHAY, thanks for reading my blog and this entry in particular! I managed to bring Gizmo out of the country on a company-sposored trip and I was able to use the wi-fi sa airport (sa Frankfurt, may bayad nga lang). This is good kasi my Globe phone was not connecting to any network kahit na ni-report ko na yung problema.
Anyway, I got mine at Laptopking (gilmore). Alam ko reseller lang sila. I guess you could give Blue an e-mail via their website and see kung saan ka pwedeng bumili directly. May bago silang link for those who want to customize their laptop sa ilikeblue.net.
Hope this helps! Hope to hear about your ‘Blue’ experience too.
April 6, 2007 at 12:47 am
[...] Its model name is Radon [W310], and I have christened it MyToy Gizmo (well, if you’ve read this article, it originally was named as ‘MyToy’ – this will give you the reason why I renamed it to [...]
April 13, 2007 at 7:35 am
Hello,
i’m also hunting for a laptop. budget really is always a problem. i just googled the model of the laptop and so your blog. reading your review game me a good idea. maybe i’ll check it out and see for myself. based naman sa review mo mukhang magagamit ko rin sa work ko. by the way…u mentioned that you also used it for work. what are you into? if you don’t mind me askin’.
April 14, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Hello dyobs,
Thanks for reading my humble review – kahit 1st part pa lang.
I work with an airline, in the aircraft engineering department. but since we outsource most of our technical work, largely administrative and manegerial ang bulk ng trabaho ko. I needed a laptop since i usually get sent out of the country and it really helps that you have something to work on when you’re away. basic office software lang ang gamit ko, but i usually open a lot of windows kasi ang daming references. that’s where the dual core helps.
Hope this proves useful! BTW, If you check my blogroll, Pat’s blog is there. Pat is doing IT-related work and he owns a BLUE notebook, Argon ata. He’s satisfied with his notebook. he got his notebook at a nice price too, since BLUE notebooks are relatively cheaper.
May 1, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Hi guys,
Just a friendly reminder. To those who intend to buy notebooks make sure you know what you’re gonna use it for, (programming, office reports, sales presentations, games, graphics design, etc.) From these things, you’ll get a pretty good gauge of what features you’d like to prioritize in your notebook, (e.g. higher memory, better graphics, more disk space, etc.)
This is especially helpful for budget-freaks because it’d be a sheer waste if you spend a lot for anything with something you would end up not using at all.
Besides notebooks like any other mobile gadget are the worst investments as it depreciates in value faster than your average asset.
May 3, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Thanks, Patrick, for the reminder. I totally agree – define your need for a laptop – how you’ll use it – and then search out for the right specs that will be able to meet that need.
August 4, 2007 at 1:30 am
hi.. i wanted to ask where i could find the driver for the webcam? i lost my cd..
thanks a lot!!!! 
August 9, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Hi Grace! Um, the blue radon I have doesn’t have a webcam. But all of blue’s drivers can be found via link from their site. Lately, when I checked though, I think it was hacked. The usual Blue Digital System page didn’t load. Hope it’s ok now.
November 18, 2007 at 8:54 am
Alam ko kung saan ang distributor ng Blue brand notebooks. You can check it sa Axis Global Technologies. It is located at North Road, Cubao, sa tapat ng Makro.
Ok din talaga yung brand na yun kasi mostly Intel and Fujitsu yung parts nya.
November 18, 2007 at 8:56 am
you can also check their website for contacts:
http://www.axisglobal.com
November 24, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Hi Sir!
Was so happy to see your entry! Ü I’m really planning to get a notebook for myself this Christmas and have been searching for different users’ reviews. Was initially hoping to get an Asus Laptop but later realized that I could get one with almost the same, if not better specs, from Blue. Noted that you published this blog almost a year ago so you’re a perfect source for a review.
How is your unit thus far? Any kinks a prospective owner should worry about? I wanted to use it mostly for work, leisure (movies, simple games) and surfing. Ü
Your feedback will surely be appreciated. Many thanks and Godspeed!
All good wishes!
Landa
February 4, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Hi. guilar,
I’ve just bought blue radon 310 last dec.07..reading on your reviews, ok nman pala sya.so far i didn’t encounter problem, itss just dat its battery life medyo 2 hr. or 2 1/2 lng sya.ganun ba talaga ang battery nya..i ask from you coz u owns it for about 1yr. na..can You give me some negative about blue radon 310 if it has, so i can now anticipated it..your inputs is i big help to me..pls. kip n touch..hoping to hir from u soon..tnx in advance
February 6, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Hi Bong,
Thanks for visiting my site and glad to know you’re a Blue Radon user too. Gizmo’s been functioning well and good this past year and I’ve since brought it with me to my business trips in all weather conditions – from cold cold weather to hot summers (here in the Philippines lang). If you skip over to my other blog entry of the User’s review part 1 (please feel free to browse my blog), then you’ll be able to see some ‘negative’ aspects of Gizmo.
But quickly, from the top of my head, I could name battery life 9you have to lessen the brightness to get more juice), a hotspot in the lower right area (when using your graphics card extensively such as when playing games), and monitor angles (this is tricky, but if you watch movies, you have to angle it just right).
Hope this helps!