Esys Wizard

Though it is not universally acknowledged, one of the driving factors in laptops today is products from small, locally-run manufacturers and resellers. These products are basic, often bare-bones, and offer little by way of sophisticated design or attention-grabbing performance. However, they do fill a crucial niche (the budget to value market) and thus tend to be a ready choice for a first-time buyer who wants mobility but is on a tight budget.

While such units are fairly common in countries like China and the US, they are virtually nonexistent in India. But that seems to be changing. Recently, quite a few large resellers have been expressing an interest in entering this market. One such firm is Esys, a Delhi-based distributor that's introduced its Wizard notebook.

Keeping in mind its budget positioning, we were not expecting the laptop to be anything spectacular. In this respect we were proven right, as the wizard is a standard 12.1 inch laptop and comes in just one color: black. The lid, the keyboard area, LCD panel cover are all a basic black with no particular visual appeal.

The only color variation (if one can call it that) is that the laptop hinges and the mouse touchpad / buttons are a dull silver. The shape and size are unremarkable; the laptop has a standard widescreen design and is not boxy or weirdly designed. The hinges are sturdy and there's no extra snap or flex.

The construction, however, is quite good. The plastic used is strong and somewhat heavy, and this gives it a reassuring feel of sturdiness. Despite this, the laptop does manage to remain lightweight. The keyboard is fairly good: it offers excellent tactile feedback with careful positioning and spacing between keys. The keys themselves sport a sober matte finish.

The LCD panel was a surprise. It offered very good levels of brightness, color and contrast. This is the kind of display one would expect in a top-level offering from like Dell/HP/Asus and not in a budget product such as this.

Connectivity-wise, the Wizard is quite okay. It offers three USB 2.0 slots, a multi-format card reader, a VGA port, and the standard Ethernet / Tele jacks. For further specifications, please see this link.