The Top 3 Highly Recommended Budget Laptops on Amazon

WITH THE HUGE demand for laptops nowadays -- what with entertainment, businesses, education and even shopping, among other daily activities people can do online -- prices for laptops and other electronics have become very competitive. Meaning, they are now cheaper and more budget-friendly and still of a good quality.

The wide selection of laptop brands, models and specs also brings a good range of prices. We can now buy basic brand new basic model of laptops for as low as $200.

For learning and online studies, as well as other common simple tasks, programs and applications, there are many new basic models of laptops that deliver high efficiency and smooth performance, enough to accommodate your daily needs.

We went through Amazon and studied the pros and cons, compared the prices and read all the reviews of every new laptops on the market. Hence, here are the 3 budget and reasonably-priced laptops we recommend: 

3. Asus Intel Core i5 ViboBook 15 Laptop

True to its description, this light and ultra handy laptop functions smoothly and opens programs fast. It is easy to set up, too. It has over a hundred satisfied buyers. The only downside is its battery life, which is not ideal for travelers. On the contrary, it charges up fast. It received an average global rating of 4.6 out of 5, with a 4.9-rating on "screen quality", 4.6-rating on "lightweight", 4.6-rating on "value of money", 4.4 on its "battery life" and a 3.6-rating on "touch screen". So, if you only need a basic household laptop, this one would be good enough when you are on a tight budget. Check price on Amazon USA here. They also ship worldwide. 

2. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14" FHD Convertible Laptop

Second in line is the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14-inches FDH Convertible Laptop. This laptop has a general overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 where touchscreen performance scores 4.7, battery life scores 4.6 and screen quality scores 4.2, thus, making this budget friendly laptop ideal for any simple to average tasks. It also works smoothly even while doing multiple tasks.  

It has a touch screen mode, hence, can be used as a tablet. Its battery runs for about 7-hours if on safe mode and is also much cheaper than other brands of computers. It (battery) can easily be replaced without taking too much time. Most of its users are satisfied with its performance especially with its crisp and clear graphics display on its 14 inches screen. 

Its downside includes: limited availability of colors. In fact, it is only available in graphite gray shade. It has no number pad, but quite understandable due to its small and compact size. For online learning and video streaming, among other simple tasks, this one would be our bet.    

Check price on Amazon USA here. They also ship worldwide. 

1. HP Standard Model 15.6" Wide Full HD IPS Display Laptop     

 

This simple but overall a great laptop for common household usage, office work and online education reaped good reviews from hundreds of satisfied users with a general global rating of 4.5 out of 5. 

It has great screen quality with very clear and crisp images producing amazing videos when streaming on YouTube. It produces clear videos when using Zoom for video calls with nice audio quality. The size of the screen is enough for home schooling purposes, as well. This laptop delivers what it promised and most satisfied users find it a great value for their money.

Check out the price from Amazon Japan HERE. This laptop easily gets sold out on Amazon. So if you missed it, there are other laptops from similar brand. Check them out on Amazon USA HERE.

Top 5 Halogen Indoor Heaters to Use This Winter

As the temperature gradually drops making way for the cold season, you might be considering investing on a good heating system to keep you and your family warm throughout the long winter nights.

While dressing up right may keep you warm, nothing really beats the comfort of a warm room on freezing days; and a good, durable and efficient halogen heating system is what you need to achieve a pleasant and sound slumber. 

What are halogen heaters and why are they nice to use?

Halogen heaters use the light emitted from halogen lamps as a source of heat. Light emitted from halogen heaters is predominantly invisible infrared (heat), and is a highly efficient source of heat energy. (www.ushio.co.jp)

Halogen heaters are user-friendly, portable, affordable, easy to store, space and even energy saver. Many new models already come with safety features, avoiding any mishaps and accidents. 

Among the halogen heaters we have tried, and researched about, among other means, we have narrowed down the 5 best ones. Let us check out these five amazing halogen indoor heaters and see if they fit your needs. 

5. Grelife 1500W Dual PTC Portable Heater

On the top 5 of our list, the slim and space-saver Grelife 1500W Dual PTC Portable Heater features a night light, 15 seconds auto backlight, a 12-hour timer, and a remote control with a nice storage on top of the device. It also has safety features including tip-over and over heat protection, as well as child lock. It is ideal to use inside the bedroom, living room and even in the office.

Upon delivery, it comes unassembled, but with its user's manual, it's not too complicated to set up. Upon the first usage, it brings out that manufacturing oil smell but eventually disappeared after a few hours. What we really like about this heater is its ability to turn a freezing (340 to 360 square-feet size) room into a comfortable temperature within 20 minutes. It also gives an accurate temperature measure. We tested it with the IR thermometer and it is within 1-degree.   

Considered as an Amazon's Choice product, this heating device has an average satisfaction rate of 4.6 out of 5-rating, with a 5-rating on safety features and temperature control respectively and 4.7 on head output. 

See prices on Amazon HERE. 

4. Sunnote Space Heater

On the top 4, the Sunnote Space Heater features a cool touch exterior, LED digital display and comes with a remote control. It has an electronic and adjustable thermostat ranging from 4.44 to 37-degree Celsius (40 to 99-degree Fahrenheit). It has an 80-degree wide oscillation making this device ideal for home-office use. It is built with a memory function, always-on mode, a 1 to 24 hours timer, eco-mode and 3 heating modes. 

Users trust its safety features as the Sunnote Space Heater provides tip-over protection, electric shock and overheating resistance. It automatically shuts off after unused for 24 hours.  

This heating system has an average satisfaction rate of 4.7 out of 5, with a 4.9-rating on head output, 4.8-rating on temperature control and a 4.8-rating on safety features. 

This is considered a best seller on Amazon. See prices HERE.

3. Dreo Space Heater with Motion Sensor 2022 Upgraded

Top 3 on our list is the Dreo Space Heater with Motion Sensor 2022 Upgraded. This is another Amazon's Choice item. It is portable and is a real space saver. This heating system features a digital display and a remote control. It has a smart motion detection that recognizes your presence in the room that triggers the automatic on and off function of the heater. Hence, a real power saver device as it only heats up when necessary.

Dreo Space Heater comes with a 5-year warranty. It heats up a freezing small to middle-sized room in 10 to 15 minutes, amazingly fast for a very small device. It heats up to 35-degree Celsius (95-degree Fahrenheit). It comes with 5 heat settings: Eco, Fan Only, 900W, 1000W and 1500W. It is small enough to fit under the desk, hence, ideal for home or office use. The heater has a 20-second countdown and a chime before it turns off.    

It has an average satisfaction rate of 4.7 out of 5-rating, with a 4.9 rating each on heat output, remote control and motion detection. This is also considered a Best Seller item on Amazon. See prices HERE.

2. Wind Talk Space Heater

As the number 2 on our list, the Wind Talk Space Heater is portably designed for indoor use with a cool touch exterior. It comes with an LED digital display, a memory function, and 3D oscillation, adjustable wind directions, complete with a remote control. It has an eco-mode and is energy efficient. It has electronic and adjustable thermostat ranging from 5 to 37-degree Celsius (41 to 99-degree Fahrenheit). It comes with safety features like overheat and tip-over switch protection, 24 hours auto on and off timer, and a 24/7 always-on mode. It automatically shuts off after unused for over 24 hours. It is also designed with V0 flame-retardant materials to avoid any hazard and comes with an ETL-certified mechanisms that provide utmost security and safety.  

It has an average of 4.8 out of 5-rating with a 5-rating on portability due to its lightweight, a rating of 4.9 on head output, temperature control and safety features respectively. 

See the price range and get it for a good deal on AMAZON HERE.

1. FHStars Space Heater

As the number 1 in our list, the FHStars Space Heater comes with very user-friendly features through an LED display touchscreen that provides a simple way of selecting various modes. 

Its special features include a digital display and a remote control with a range of 20-feet maximum, giving you utmost convenience. It is also designed in a way that promotes a space-saving feature, giving the room a more spacious appearance. 

The FHStars Heater has an electronic and adjustable thermostat ranging from 4 to 37-degree Celsius (40 to 99-degree Fahrenheit). It also comes with safety features including over-heat and tip-over protection. It has a 24-7 always-on mode and a 24-hour auto off feature. 

This super user-friendly device has an total rating of 4.8 (out of 5), as it achieved a 5-rating on its easy-to-use features, a 4.9-rating on its convenience due to the remote control usage, a 4.9 on its heat output and a 4.8-rating on its safety features, making this halogen heater an Amazon's choice among their long lines of heating system. 

See the lowest price on Amazon HERE. 

Make sure to keep yourselves warm this coming winter season.

The Most Expensive Laptop on Amazon: Is it Worth the Price?

WITH SO MANY brands and models of new laptops out in the market now, it is not rare to get a good product for less than $500 as competition encourages better price range and improving satisfaction rate. 

You can even purchase a good laptop for as low as hundred bucks and still get all the basic functions and features that are more than enough to support your minimal tech needs.

And yet, you wonder, why would anyone still need an expensive laptop? And is it worth the price you pay for?

Going through the list of expensive laptops on Amazon, we spotted this $4,000 laptop targeted towards gamers and video-streaming enthusiasts, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 Gaming Laptop. This is an Amazon's Choice item. Check the price in US HERE. Check the price in Japan HERE. Check out price in Canada HERE.

Digging deeper into this outrageously expensive laptop, its specifications and features are as follows:

• It has a 16-inch main screen with a 14-inch secondary touchscreen display, a 4K (3840 x 1100) ScreenPad Plus ideal for gaming, creating and video streaming, among others. 
• 165Hz 3ms 16” Mini LED QHD (2560 x 1600) 16:10 IPS-Type PANTONE Validated Display 
• Operating system: Windows 11 Professional 
• It features a ROG Nebula HDR Display assuring minimum brightness and color representation, as well as　response times, flicker-free, anti-blue light display that minimizes screen tearing with Variable Refresh Rate technology and many more. 
• RAM memory installed: 32 GB DDR5 4800MHz RAM and 2TB PCIe 4.0 Performance SSD 
• AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX Processor (8-core/16-thread, 20MB cache, up to 5.0 GHz max boost) 
• CPU speed of 4.9 GHz
• It features NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 16GB GDDR6 - ROG Boost up to 1445MHz at 165W in manual mode or 150W in Turbo mode (140W + 10W/25W with Dynamic Boost)
• GPU MUX switch lets the GPU communicate directly with the display, increasing performance and decreasing latency 
• Gig+ Wi-Fi 6E with ROG RangeBoost | Bluetooth 5.2
• Built with ROG Intelligent and 0dB ambient cooling with arc flow fans, AAS plus and liquid metal. 
• It supports 100W USB-C for fast charging with long lasting battery life of 90 WHr. 

PROS:

• The laptop's overall appearance is sleek, handy, portable and cool. It is slimmer than most of the other high-performing laptops, yet performs similar or even better. 
• The dual screen feature that comes with a screen pad, makes it convenient and handy when performing multiple tasks simultaneously. Hence, it is great for note-taking and secondary application usage while performing the main task on the primary screen. As one user puts it, "the ability to have a tutorial on the second screen while having a major application open on the main screen is a huge bonus."
• The primary screen provides a superior video quality with an amazing HDR screen, making streaming and movie-marathon a good experience. 
• It comes with a full-fledged desktop replacement.
• It has a good over all performance. 
• It has of 5-star-rating of over 65%.
• It has a good portability, just like packing with you a desktop computer on a travel  and compact size. 
• It has a large selection of ports.
• There are no coil noises or any sort of audible noise when the system is idle.

CONS:

• Notwithstanding their cooling functions, the fans are a bit noisy, and thus, distracting, making headphones a necessity when performing any intensive tasks and work on the laptop. 
• While the keyboard provides a cool exterior, it can be a bit uncomfortable and awkward especially when placed at the edge of the desk or used on top your lap. 
• When you disable the HDR, the mouse pointer may look deformed and may appear gray even when doing video games, but restarting the computer fixes the problem. 
• The screen seemed washed out when you enable the multi-zone backlight. 
• Fews says its camera lack in quality. 

 The ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 Gaming Laptop has an average satisfaction rate of 4 out of 5, with a 4.2-rating on screen display, a 4-rating on touch screen functions, 3.9 for gaming, 3.5 for battery life, and a 3.2-rating for the value of money. 

Extravagance doesn't always assure the best experience as each user demands  vary with unique preferences, specifications and conditions, along with high expectations to meet the satisfaction that equates to the amount being paid for. 

Some users said the detailed overall performance of the laptop doesn't live up to its extravagant cost, as one user who loves to travel and creates animated videos said in his product testimonial, "if you don't need a portable device, you can build, assemble or customized your own device with a more powerful desktop for a fraction of the price." But as another customer who was happy and satisfied about the laptop's performance, said, regardless of the price, if you can use the laptop to its full functionality, just get it. And when asked if he'd purchase the laptop again, it's a "yes" for him.

Check out more about this laptop HERE. For Japan users, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 Gaming Laptop is available for 100,000 yen cheaper. Check out price in Japan HERE. Check out price in Canada HERE.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Entertainment Center Stoops Down to the Lowest Market to Suit the Filipinos' Culture of Fun

photo credit to http://2.bp.blogspot.com

IN A SURVEY conducted in 2009 by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a Bristish non-governmental group, it was found out that among the 143 countries surveyed, the Philippines ranked 14th as the happiest place in the world.

The Philippines, which is still considered a developing country and among the third world countries, outranked some of the riches countries in the world, like the United States of America, Austraila, and the Great Britain, which ranked 114th, 102nd and 74th respectively.

Needless to say, it is innate in every Filipino to spend time for leisure despite the hectic schedule in school and at work. Thus, Filipino families always find ways to get together for amusement, notwithstanding the major crisis bugging the country. It is not a wonder why according to the survey, 55 percent of the people are already satisfied with their lives.

With this in mind, World of Fun (WOF) took adavantage of this culture as their edge over the other entertainment destinations.

Emmanual Jimenez, WOF Senior Operating Manager said, it doesn't matter if they have to spend a few amount of pesos, Filipinos always have time to enjoy with their families.

Moreover, Marketing Manager Lovelle Sy said parents always look at such alternative form of entertainment as "rewards to their kids."

In order to address the problem of crisis, which is the major concerns of most families why they don't take their children out for fun, Jimenez said WOF stoops down to the lowest level of the market and maintained their prices at five pesos per token, which is "not hard on the pocket."

Even though going to entertainment centers is not really the priority of the family, but (this offer) will entice them to take advantage (of it)," he told the writer at a press conference in Cafe Laguna, Ayala.

Anyhow, whether Filipinos can afford such entertainment or not, they always find ways to relax themselves and feel life at slower pace. 

TOKYO Around You Photo Contest

IF JAPAN AND PHOTOGRAPHY are two of the things you love, then this might be your chance to be recognized as a winning photographer with a chance to visit or revisit Tokyo as the grand prize winner. Join the TOKYO Around You Photo Contest and get a chance to win two roundtrip tickets to Tokyo. The mechanics are very easy and simple. Just submit your favorite photo of Tokyo during your previous visit/s in the place.

But what if you have never been to Tokyo, will you still be able to join the contest? You still can! Just submit any photo that reminds us of Tokyo or at least anything taken in your place that connects or shows your relationship to Japan’s metropolis.

How to join? Here’s the three simple steps: First, go to Facebook and hit the LIKE button on the page “Tokyo Fan Club.” The name appears in their profile photo with a smiley face on it. Second, select your best photo for your entry and submit it to their page. Third, you may vote for your own photo (of course) then share your entry with your friends to accumulate more votes on your photo entry.

Who are eligible to join the contest? If you call yourself a decent human being, with an age over 13 years old and live outside Japan, give yourself three checks. Furthermore, you must be willing to be famous on Facebook. Well don’t expect “Brangelina break-up” famous ‘cause what I meant to say is, you will be documented or you will document yourself by taking photos – oh yeah, selfie – receiving the prize and while traveling to Tokyo using the prize air tickets, and post these on your Facebook account, tagging the award-giving organization’s Facebook page. Make sure these are appropriate photos or these will be deleted by the sponsors. Lastly, you must give Tokyo Fan Club the rights to use any or all photos taken related to the contest and awards received, and/or comments made for promotional use.   

So if you think you got what it takes to be an awesome photographer wandering about the busy streets of Shibuya, Shinjuku and Akihabara, etc. submit your entry now. Submission ends October 11^th and you will also have the chance to invite your family and friends to like your photo entry until the last day of submission. Winners will be announced on the 20^th of the same month. What are you waiting for? Go to Tokyo Fan Club’s page now.

Disclaimer: I neither connected to Tokyo Fan Club nor do I receive any marketing fees for sharing this good news. I’m just in the writing mood and feeling hardworking to blog these days, and not to mention, I am NOT eligible to join this contest for I am physically located in Japan now. Anyway, good luck!