The NeoMatrix

Hands-On With Olympus’ Brand New E-PL2 Camera, 2011 Line-Up

2011-01-09T18:57:00.001-08:00

We had an inkling that the Olympus E-PL2 would launch this week and we weren’t disappointed. The new model is a little light on spec changes but under the hood you have a larger, brighter screen, improved ISO up to 6400, and new layered effects for adding multiple effects at the same time. The new kit, priced at about $600, comes with a m14-42mm. The new camera supports the new PenPal Bluetooth, a $60 device that allows you to send HD images from your camera to any mobile device (except the iPhone, at least for now). The new lenses are movie/still compatible, a feature that considerably reduces lens noise when recording video.

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via techcrunch.com

Motorola's Atrix Android Phone: Twin CPU Cores And a Laptop Dock!

2011-01-07T04:57:00.001-08:00

Motorola's Atrix Android Phone: Twin CPU Cores And a Laptop Dock!

It runs Android 2.2, with HTML5 support, and is AT&T's first dual-core processor in an Android phone. And it docks into a laptop. They're calling it the world's most powerful smartphone. ORLY?

It also has 1GB RAM, a 1900mAh (that's ginormous) battery, and 2x faster than competing web browsers. You can "view HD video".

Also! There's a Motorola Atrix Webtop Application, which docks your phone into a laptop, using it to power the entire laptop. This is like Palm's Foleo idea, but, you know, maybe not crappy. Firefox browser inside, running on this device, using the desktop version.

In short, the Motorola HD Dock, the thing that hooks the Atrix to a laptop, is going to let you use your phone as a laptop, taking advantage of the keyboard and mouse on the laptop. Still wondering about the employment of android 2.2 instead of something more contemporary, though!

Here are the official specs:
• Dual core processor, each at 1GHz
• 1GB RAM
• qHD resolution (960x540)
• 24-bit color
• 16GB internal, 32GB microSD expansion
• 802.11n
• AT&T hotspot service
• 11m thickness
• 1930mAh battery
• dual microphones

As for the docks:

The Motorola HD Multimedia Dock has three USB ports and an HDMI port enabling connections to a keyboard, mouse, speakers and HDMI-compatible monitor for working at your desk/office, or connecting to an HDMI-compatible television and home theater audio system for interacting with content and enjoying video, music, games and more in your living room.

The Motorola Laptop Dock has an incredibly thin design with an 11.6-inch screen, full keyboard, stereo speakers, 36Wh three-cell battery that delivers up to eight hours of battery life and weighs just 2.4 pounds. Users simply dock their Motorola ATRIX 4G into the back of the Laptop Dock to turn it into an active, connected machine to experience true mobility at work, home and playing on-the-go in a form factor that's lighter and smaller than most laptops on the market.

Send an email to Jason Chen, the author of this post, at jchen@gizmodo.com.

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Tom_Servo 01/06/11

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The guys face in that first pic is quite humorous. Reply

sweetelectro 01/05/11

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What is up with that design?! It may be sturdy but having a phone stick out the back of my notebook doesn't lend it any use in my bed or on the couch. Reply

UgoBogdan 01/05/11

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Wait a sec... So Motorola can do this, but the iPhone can't download an app over 20 megs on ATT's 3g network?
Oh where has competition gone? Reply

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darth_vato 01/05/11

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What in the hell? This thing is just as, if not more powerful than my netbook. Reply

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Jackstick 01/05/11

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I don't get it. When would I ever really need to Kuato my phone onto my laptop? Reply

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FriedPeeps will kill for a CR-48 01/05/11

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If only the phone looked better, the laptop ran Chrome (OS?), and this was for Verizon. Reply

anitesh.jaswal 01/05/11

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Hard to believe this is coming out of the company that gave us the Razr and other piles of garbage. Reply

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redman042 01/05/11

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Didn't Palm come out with something similar before they got gobbled up by HP? Reply

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KyleUndefined 01/05/11

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I'd buy it, but not the laptop dock.
But why Android 2.2? Reply

HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H. 01/05/11

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I think I bought my G2 at the wrong time. This is incredible.
Ah, well, something awesome to look forward two in 2 years... Reply

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origosis 01/05/11

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I am sure the Dual core CPU will help. But considering desktops and game still have yet to really utilize multi cores in any meaningful way... I think this phone will be similar to desktops. Great at multitasking, but about on par app for app performance.
I hope I am wrong, but even if I am right. Once multicore CPUs become more common in phones I am sure things will get better.
Does Android 2.2 even know what to do with 2 cpus? will it divide the workload? or just run background apps on 1 core and then your main app on another core? hmmmm. Reply

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Apotheosis 01/05/11

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It's a clever idea, probably with limited customer interest. I think they're really missing the boat by having the computer powered by the phone instead of the inverse, plugging it in will recharge your phone, and run the laptop. Reply

AreWeThereYeti 01/05/11

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I have to say, Motorola is all over the place. Sometimes great stuff like the Droid X, sometimes bizarro stuff like this. Earth to Motorola: I'm not going to buy my phones and notebooks in custom matched pairs (for some guaranteed gigamundo price), especially if the "notebook" can't do normal notebook functions too.
Given that the lifetime of an Android phone seems to be less than a year (if you want any kind of current Android version), people aren't going to shell out like that every year.
Oh, and WTF with the Firefox browser built in? I'm sure it's nice and all, but on Android I want to use Chrome, and they better not make it less-than-seamless to do so. Reply

Edited by AreWeThereYeti at 01/05/11 3:16 PM

lllbarllllcodelll 01/05/11

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I can't wait until the software that makes the docking happen gets ported out so it can be used for any phone! Reply

mricyfire 01/05/11

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That guy looks so familiar...
Reply

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Error601 01/05/11

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This absolutely does not "simplify" things one bit. Reply

lllbarllllcodelll 01/05/11

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Why Att for Motorola? Verizon should have it!! Pleaaasse! Reply

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Unseelie23 01/05/11

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So, does the laptop dock thingie have it's own battery or is everything powered by the battery in the phone? Reply

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Steezy McFresh 01/05/11

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What happens to the OS when you dock it? Is it Motorola's software or does Android already have these capabilities built in? My guess is that it's Motorola's software, but I didn't know they were capable of writing such sophisticated software. (This is sophisticated stuff, no?)
...Or is it actually running OSX? :P Reply

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TareX 01/05/11

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I love this phone the most, out of the three announced. But I'm slightly bothered by the fact it has the biggest bezel surrounding the display. I mean look at the Sammy and HTC phones. Reply

ZenInsight 01/05/11

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Gotta say. That lappy dock is brilliant. Reply

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P3nnst8rflakes: Breakfast of Champions 01/05/11

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YA RLY Reply

Almightywhacko 01/05/11

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Maybe I am missing something, but if you are going to carry around a laptop-sized object.. well wouldn't you be better off just carrying a laptop, instead of a phone-powered netbook? Reply

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TareX 01/05/11

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They didn't mention it, but the dock's screen has got to be 1080p.... Reply

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mtfmuffins 01/05/11

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i *love* this concept and hope someone comes out for something similar for my Evo! (unlikely, but I can hope!)
It's funny to me that my Evo has more horsepower than my 1st desktop computer. All I want is to be ab le to surf and type/edit doc's. Something light, lighter than a tablet but far less expensive than a macbook air. If there were a way for me to dock my Evo like they describe here and get a larger screen w/ full sized keyboard, I'd be down. Down like a clown, charlie brown! Reply

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Samsung's Infuse 4G: A Spectacular Google Android Phone

2011-01-07T04:33:00.001-08:00

Samsung's Infuse 4G: A Spectacular Google Android Phone

"Holy shit." It's not what usually comes to mind when I touch a new phone. But Samsung's Infuse 4G is spectacular. Ridiculously good 4.5-inch screen. 1.2GHz processor. 4G on AT&T. Why, exactly, wasn't this the new Nexus phone?

I pick it up. Whoa. This is quality. The first Samsung phone in ages that doesn't feel cheap—it's a radically better tactile experience than any Galaxy phone, even the Nexus S. The plastic is dense and matte, the back textured. The phone itself a nearly perfectly sculpted, sufficiently thin slab (AT&T's thinnest), the expanse of the 4.5-inch screen making it seem somehow thinner. It's what a high-end phone should feel like.

Let's consider the specs: 1.2GHz processor. The fastest Android phone yet. The screen is comically, hyperbolically named, like the umpteenth version of Street Figher II—Super AMOLED Plus—except that it lives up to the name, in that it's noticeably better than Samsung's current Super AMOLED displays (which are already great), since it packs more subpixels into each pixel. The screen definitely pops more. It's also one of AT&T's first 4G phones. (This may sound confusing, but it's 4G in the same sense as T-Mobile's 4G, since it runs on AT&T's HSPA+ network, not its LTE network.)

Any downsides? Well, I'm mildly concerned about the battery life on this beast. And it's running Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top of an as-of-yet unknown Android variant. A clean build of Android 2.3 would be killer, effectively making it the real Nexus. That said, it might wind up being one in a sense anyway: This is the new blueprint for building an Android phone.

Send an email to matt buchanan, the author of this post, at matt@gizmodo.com.

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mipakr 01/06/11

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but does the screen combine with the ultrazord?
Reply

sweetelectro 01/06/11

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FOUR AND A HALF INCHES?!
That is freaking awesome! I need to see this thing in person. It could be too large but this could almost completely replace a tablet. Reply

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LearnIIBurn 01/05/11

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Not a blueprint for building Android phones, It finally does look like a nice Samsung phone though. This thing will be old news very very quickly. Reply

clearzero 01/05/11

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This is one of the first Android phones I could see myself buying. The only thing that would prevent me from doing so is the HORRIBLE skin Samsung puts on it. Why can't we just have standard Android with no crapware.
For the Android users out there- How difficult is it to install a vanilla rom and does performance suffer from it? Touchwiz is gawd awful! Reply

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Andy Mesa 01/05/11

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Good to see every other phone manufacturer is still dismissing battery drain issues entirely. Reply

Captain K'nuckles 01/05/11

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Yep, this is the new blueprint... for another two months. This phone war is getting ridiculous. I shouldn't be this jaded this soon.
Anyway, good news for AT&T and I'm assuming that they're no longer tinkering with Android in capricious, disgustingly unnecessary ways, yes? Reply

weinerschnitzelboy 01/05/11

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I'm positive that Samsung screwed Google over when they made the what is now current Google Nexus S Reply

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Bender 01/05/11

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What the BALLS google? Samsung had this beast ready and waiting and you still chose the Nexus S as a flagship? It's a nice phone, but this just clearly outstrips it. Reply

ryanr1230 01/05/11

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When is the Samsung Infuse being released? and what is the price? Reply

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Super_Pickle 01/05/11

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Two things will prevent this from being my next phone.
1. The lack of pure android.
2. at&t's network, customer service, and pricing plans.
Hopefully this will become the next standard for smartphones, and a million more will pop up, with a pure android clone riding the wave onto a different network. Reply

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RsK 01/05/11

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finally some good android phones for AT&T. Reply

Edited by RsK at 01/05/11 5:07 PM

RsK 01/05/11

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I actually might get this phone, I would have to hold it myself first, 4.5 inch screen is big. I held my friend's DROID X, and that phone was big, and I believe it had a 4 inch screen. Or if not this phone, I'll get the iphone 5. Reply

HK-47 01/05/11

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Isn't it a little too big for a mobile phone? :-S Either that or he has small hands. Reply

Edited by HK-47 at 01/05/11 5:02 PM

quillaja 01/05/11

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I thought the MID was dead? Reply

Dogen 01/05/11

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Sadly, I'll never buy another TouchWiz phone unless Samsung puts a hell of a lot more effort into it than they did the Galaxy S variants. I've found so many glitches, stalls, freezes and things that kill the phone. Sorry, Sammy, you need to do better. Reply

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KyleUndefined 01/05/11

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Finally official Android phones on AT&T Reply

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brianbotkiller 01/05/11

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It's on at&t. therefore, it is shit. The end. Reply

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dale3h 01/05/11

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I'm still happy with my EVO 4G...7 months later and it is still in the top 5 best smart phones. This is actually pretty rare for Android phones lately...
But if I HAD to switch to AT&T, I'd definitely get this phone but I would flash a vanilla ROM to it to get rid of Samsung's (in my opinion) ugly interface.
My friend's Captivate didn't even have a Weather app from the factory!! WTF?
There would be a few things I miss about my HTC Sense mixed UI, but I'd get used to it. Reply

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crazypills77 01/05/11

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i stopped reading at "4.5 inch screen"
these people need to just stop. seriously. Reply

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AreWeThereYeti 01/05/11

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So, although no one says it, I'm assuming from "50% more subpixels" that they have finally dropped the crappy alternating two-color pixels?? That would be nice. But can't *someone* somewhere figure out the actual resolution of this thing? Reply

siwex80 01/05/11

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A device of every possible size... choice or overkill?
To me, make the Tab look even more pointless.
Or this is pointless.
Oh. I dunno Reply

garmonestes 01/05/11

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According to another article the Infuse will not be released until 2nd quarter of 2011. That would explain the decision to go with the Nexus S. Reply

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verditsgerman 01/05/11

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The world according to giz commenters.
Reply

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00000000 01/05/11

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This is great! Now HTC has something to BEAT. Reply

Nigra 01/05/11

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So... there was a 5" tablet out there, right? How is that any different than this?
I don't see the size to be too different to tell them apart. Reply

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Video: NTT Docomo’s Coolest New Cell Phones For This Winter

2010-11-10T05:55:00.001-08:00

via mobilecrunch.com

oStylus for capacitive touchscreen drawing doesn't block your view - Notebooks - Crave - CNET Asia

2010-11-03T06:08:00.001-07:00

via asia.cnet.com

Viewsonic announces two Android tablets; one dual-boots Windows 7 | andrew | Androinica

2010-11-01T20:13:00.001-07:00

Devices

Viewsonic announces two Android tablets; one dual-boots Windows 7

November 1, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka

Tablets

Viewsonic has announced that it will soon begin selling two Android tablets, one of which can also boot to run Windows 7. While the Viewpad 7 will go on sale this month, the Viewpad 10 will arrive early next year. Here’s a look at each device.

The ViewPad 7 is a 7-inch LCD capacitive tablet with 800×480 WVGA display. It sports Android 2.2, and unlike many Android tablets we’ve seen in the pass, the ViewPad actually has support for Google Mobile Services. That means buyers will have access to Google-owned apps like Gmail, YouTube, and the Android Market. There’s a 3 megapixel camera with auto-focus on the rear and a 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera. The ViewPad has WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, USB, 512 MB memory, and up to 32 GB microSD support. The ViewPad 7 is $479 and goes on sale in Q4 2010 (this month or next).

The ViewPad 10 has a 10.1-inch touchscreen with 1024×600 resolution and LED backlit panel. There’s a 16 GB SSD harddrive and microSD slot, 1.66Hz processor and 1 GB of memory. These upgraded stats will be important because the ViewPad 10 can dual-boot into Windows 7. That’s a nice feature to have, but buyers will have to sacrifice versions because the 10-inch model of ViewPad only runs Android 1.6. The device also supports video conferencing through a 1.3 megapixel camera and built-in microphone.

The cost for the ViewPad 10 is $629 and will go on sale in Q1 2011.

android tablet, Android tablets, tablets, ViewPad 10, ViewPad 7, viewsonic, windows

via androinica.com

CherryPad 7-Inch Android Tablet Video Review - HotHardware

2010-10-30T02:26:00.001-07:00

via hothardware.com

CherryPad: This is What a $188 Tablet Looks Like | News & Opinion

2010-10-29T18:09:00.001-07:00

CherryPad: This is What a $188 Tablet Looks Like

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By: David Pierce

10.28.2010

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$499. $399. These are the prices we're seeing for tablets (and those are the cheapest ones). But how about $188? That's what Cherrypal is asking for its Android tablet, the CherryPad. Cherrypal is best known for its $99 computer, so the $188 CherryPad comes as no surprise. It's a 7-inch, Android 2.1–running tablet that weighs a little over a pound, has built-in WiFi, an 800-MHz processor, resistive touch screen, 2GB internal memory with a slot for more, and lots of the other trappings you'll find on much more expensive tablets.

But is the CherryPad any good? That remains to be seen. Based on the few minutes I had with the device, it's totally functional, and is faster and more responsive than I expected, but you're very much getting what you pay for—from the exposed screws to the resistive touch screen, there's none of the beauty and polish of a device like the Apple iPad (which the CherryPad's design essentially copies as much as possible). But if $188 is what you want to pay, the CherryPad might not be such a bad idea.

We've got the CherryPad in our labs for testing, and we'll report back with a full review. Before we do, we took some shots to show you what you can expect to see with the CherryPad, so hit the slideshow to see exactly how much tablet you'll get for your $188.

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via pcmag.com

320 GB Playstation 3 is the Classic Upsell - PCWorld

2010-10-28T16:40:00.001-07:00

Sony's getting creative with its Playstation 3 bundles, adding a 320 GB console for $350.

That's $50 less than a console with the same size hard drive and the Playstation Move starter kit, which includes the camera, the motion controller wand and Sports Champions. It's $50 more than Sony's basic PS3 with 160 GB hard drive.

I've read the opinion that the $350 price point shows Sony's willingness to subsidize the Playstation Move. On its own, the Move starter kit costs $100, so in essence, Sony is cutting the Move price in half when bundled with a $400 console. I think of it in a different, admittedly unsubstantiated way: Sony's putting out the sans Move bundle mainly to lure people towards its new motion controller.

I can already envision the pitch at Gamestops across America: So you're buying the 320 GB PS3. Why not spend an extra $50 for the Playstation Move bundle? That's a $100 value for less than the cost of one game, which you're already getting in Sports Champions.

The upsell isn't so much in the initial Move bundle as the purchases that will inevitably follow: New games for the Move, the subcontroller that's required for certain games, more wands so people can play together. Clever.

Of course, it's also possible that Sony's trying to get buyers of the 160 GB model to pay $50 more for twice the storage (that's the current pitch at Sony's official Playstation blog). I wonder, then, how many people will be double-upsold?

For more smart takes on technology, visit Technologizer.com. Story copyright © 2010, Technologizer. All rights reserved.

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The Galaxy Player Looks Like One Sweet Android iPod Touch

2010-10-27T20:01:00.001-07:00

The Galaxy Player Looks Like One Sweet Android iPod Touch

2010-10-27T19:42:00.001-07:00

The Galaxy Player Looks Like One Sweet Android iPod Touch

We'd gotten a quick look at the Galaxy Player before, but not like this: a nearly three minute video that shows that Samsung's brought a gun to the iPod Touch gunfight.

The Galaxy Player is an Android 2.1 media player, and it looks like the first device to really go toe to toe with Apple's iPod Touch. It's got a 2MP camera, 8GB or 16GB internal memory along with a microSD slot, an FM radio, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.2-inch screen, built-in DivX support. And access to the Android Market for all your Angry Birds needs.

There's no price announced yet for the US, but it's currently available for at 200 euros overseas. The iPod Touch costs about the same in euros and in dollars, so we'll hopefully see the Galaxy Player come in at around 200 bucks. If you're an Android fan, you've been waiting a long time for this. [Samsung Hub via Wired]

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OMG! Blyan! 10/26/10

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Jesus Christ, Samsung. At least PRETEND you're not just stealing all of Apple's designs. This is getting silly. Reply

zipeater 10/24/10

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With enough budget to produce all-CGI scenes, Samsung cuts the funds to hire a professional hand model. Sad, sad thing to watch the crooked finger for 2 minutes. Reply

jesuswhammy 10/22/10

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As an iPhone owner, I can't wait to get this and bring Android into my life. This is exactly what I've been waiting for. Reply

Unicorn Man 10/22/10

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How can it have the Android Market if it doesn't have a 3G signal radio? That is one of the requirements that prevent just any tablet from getting in on the fun. Reply

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walkingagh 10/22/10

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I am very excited about android tablets, but I am still not too sure on an MP3 player. They just seem so redundant with cell phones. Reply

Mactopia 10/22/10

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For some reason that screen look like it was added to the video cuz in a few instances, that persons finger looks out of place when touching icons like hes fat fingering the screen. Is this an attempt to fake the speed of the phone and clarity?
one part he pressed an icon and the media player came on just before he was touching the icon to bring it up on the main screen. Reply

wattznext 10/22/10

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But...I hate the music player on my Android... Reply

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Alex Brewer 10/22/10

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Does it look pretty fat to anyone else? like slider phone fat? Reply

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Jimmy1 10/22/10

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It looks great...but people keep missing what makes iPods the huge sellers that they are: the ecosystem.
You can find any number of peripherals, docks, adapters, etc. etc. for your iPod.
For example, if you go to a party, you can more than likely dock an iPhone or iPod into one of the DJ's peripherals or a home stereo; devices like these, not so much, at least not without carrying some kind of a cable with you.
Hell, most home-theater-in-a-box systems sold at places like Best Buy are packaged with an advertised iPod dock. Reply

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Bant: Electric Burger 10/22/10

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It's too bad I have no idea how the thing will work because the entire thing is simulated. Reply

golferal 10/22/10

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Jesus H. Christ. Someone FINALLY did it. I've been wanting to cut the last tie I have to Apple products but there hasn't been a true competitor to the iPod touch until this. If it has a screen as good as the Galaxy S phones and maybe even a 4" screen, that's even better!
Ten thousand thank yous Samsung! Reply

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Brian Wright 10/22/10

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I'm happy to see this come out for one simple reason- the more Galaxy series devices there are, the more likely Samsung will actually put some effort in supporting them. We know for sure that Galaxy S phones will be getting 2.2. There is a very high chance this will have it before the end of the year. If they keep coming out with devices that share a code base, maybe we'll even see gingerbread on them. Reply

Wade McGillis 10/22/10

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"And access to the Android Market for all your Angry Birds needs."
Android Market? On a non-cellphone device?
I will buy this, maybe. Reply

BergenCountyJC is rocking in the free world 10/22/10

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Regardless if the screen is simulated, but does he not seem to hold down his finger when pushing on an app or anything for that matter, a bit long? Reply

Chernobyl 10/22/10

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Sweet, I can't wait to play Angry Birds Halloween on it. Reply

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Syntax Error 10/22/10

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Usually not into circus/indie/happy-go-lucky music, but I liked the song they used in this. :) Reply

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twothefutureandbeyon... 10/22/10

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How did it get Android Market and what media player will it use to sync with Reply

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Arggh! there goes a...snake a snake! 10/22/10

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MSN Droid, that just sounds funny.
This looks pretty cool. I like the augmented reality app. Reply

Wrathernaut 10/22/10

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If only it could pretend to be an iPod to all those car stereos that only make good use of an iPod through that 30-pin connector.
iPod is the best cross-brand, best-featured CD changer ever to come to mobile audio. Reply

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redangel7 10/22/10

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Same price? Repeat after me.. NO RETINA DISPLAY
Thank you... Reply

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bizzo98 10/22/10

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I don't get it. All it would take for a device like this to become a serious ipod touch competitor would be to knock $50-$100 off the price. The android fanboys (myself included) will inevitably love this but for the Christmas shopping parent or the not-tech-savvy adult looking for a music player, what would entice them to go with an unproven product over the behemoth that is Apple's ipod? Apple's marketing machine is too good and their head start is too advanced for any company to go toe to toe with them in terms of pricing. Reply

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countjackula 10/22/10

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I'll be watching this closely. I need an Android device for dev purposes. BTW is this the cheapest way to get an uop-to-date Android device besides getting a phone with contract? Reply

Dr. Evil Genius: The Fall of House Atlantic promoted this comment

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Evster88 10/22/10

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Ok the flying Android with the cape outside the plane was friggin adorable. Reply

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rxe7en 10/22/10

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Same concept should be applied to WP7. Instead of creating the Zune hardware and abandoning for WP7, MS should have extended the brand to a WP7 Player--a device that's part of the entire WP7 ecosystem and not have neglected the Zune market. Can WP7 or a variant run on a Zune HD? Reply

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Nigra 10/22/10

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Great! This is great but, how about audio quality? The iTouch is known by being the higher end portable player out there. I'm an audiophile you know... Reply

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Compare the HTC Surround with several other mobile phones side by side.

Samsung Focus (AT&T) Review & Rating

2010-10-20T20:25:00.001-07:00

The Samsung Focus delivers the best Windows Phone 7 experience I've seen so far. It's a spare, elegant canvas for a mobile operating system that relies heavily on bold design. The Super AMOLED screen showcases Microsoft's big blocks of color, and Samsung even found ways to subtly downplay Windows Phone 7's weaknesses.

Hardware and Phone Performance
The first thing you notice about the Samsung Focus is its grand and gorgeous 4-inch, Super AMOLED screen. AMOLED's hypersaturated colors work well with Microsoft's UI, which has big blocks of color and clear text; the Focus makes many competing phones look washed out. The phone itself is a slim 4.9 by 2.5 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and 4.2 ounces, pretty easily pocketable. The entire front is black, so as not to take attention away from the screen; the plastic back has a businesslike pinstripe design, but looks a little greasy when overrun with fingerprints.

View Slideshow See all (6) slides

A world phone that connects to AT&T's and foreign 3G networks at HSPA 7.2 speeds, the Focus also integrates 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. I was able to get about 1.3Mbps down using a speed-test Web site, although you can't use this phone (or any Windows Phone) as a modem or hotspot for your PC.

Specifications

Service Provider: AT&T
Operating System: Windows Phone 7
Screen Size: 4 inches
Screen Details: 800-by-480 Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen
Camera: Yes
Network: GSM, UMTS
Bands: 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100
High-Speed Data: GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
Processor Speed: 1 GHz

As a voice phone, the Focus is fine. In my tests, RF reception was stronger than the competing HTC Surround ($199.99, 3 stars). Volume was okay, if a bit quiet sometimes. Noise cancellation in the microphone worked very well, though it made my voice sound a bit strangled when it was busy blocking out a loud, passing truck. The speakerphone has great volume and transmissions sound solid. The Focus connected effortlessly with my Aliph Jawbone Icon Bluetooth headset, and the TellMe-powered voice dialing was unusually accurate. Talk time, at 5 hours 54 minutes, is good for such a slim phone.

The Focus is the only Windows Phone 7 so far to accept expandable memory. Take off the back panel, and you can pop in a MicroSD card (up to 32GB), potentially turning this 8GB phone into a 40 GB phone. But beware: you can't remove or change the memory card without doing a full factory reset of the phone. Don't think of this as "removable" memory—think of it as adding more RAM to your mobile PC.

The Focus and Windows Phone 7
For a basic rundown of Windows Phone 7's features, take a look at our review of the Windows Phone 7 OS.

In my mind, the Focus's major contribution to Windows Phone 7 is what it doesn't do. The Focus doesn't have a slide-out keyboard or a kickstand, so you'll almost always hold it in portrait mode. And this is a good thing.

One of Windows Phone 7's biggest problems is that it's just not designed to be used in landscape mode. A few apps work in landscape mode—a couple of games, the Web browser, the video player, and the e-mail program. But most of the system just doesn't rotate. Most notably, the menus, even the Zune music-selection menu, don't rotate. The Focus avoids tempting the user into using the phone in landscape mode, playing down this OS weakness.

AT&T and Samsung got to add a half-dozen apps of their own to the Focus, although you can uninstall any of them. AT&T added FamilyMap, a GPS tracking service; myWireless, which helps you monitor your phone bill; AT&T Navigator, AT&T Radio, and U-Verse Mobile, which I'll discuss later.

Samsung Now, which gives you basic weather, news and stock information is also pre-installed. I wish it could show that information in the app's home-screen tile, but the selection of Windows Phone apps is so thin at this point, I'm grateful just for the data.

The Zune Phone
Like all Windows Phones, the Focus is also a Zune music player. I don't mean it's "like" a Zune; the interface looks very similar, and it has has almost all of the features of Microsoft's Zune HD.

To Zune, hook your Windows Phone up to a PC running the Zune client software. Mac software for syncing unprotected, local music and video is coming soon. The Zune client lets you organize, sync, and download music, video, and apps.

AT&T stuck some of its own media software on the Focus, too. AT&T Radio gives you a large library of streaming radio stations for $4.99 per month. I think it will be outdone by Slacker Radio, which should be in the Marketplace at launch. More interesting is the $8 a month U-Verse TV, which promises unlimited streaming and downloadable copies of popular TV shows. I couldn't test that feature, though.

The 5-megapixel camera is pretty good, although it isn't quite as good as the iPhone's. Shutter speed is super-quick and resolution is good at 1,300 lines, but shutter speeds in general seemed a little low, causing some blur (especially in low light) if my hands were shaky. The video camera isn't bad either, taking 720p HD videos at 24 frames per second and 640-by-480 videos at 30 frames per second. They were a little grainy, but clear, in focus, and not wobbly, in my tests.

Windows Phone vs. the Competition
The Samsung Focus is probably the best of the Windows phones, although I have five more reviews to go before I can really decide that for sure. But the more practical question is: How does this phone compare with the other top handsets on AT&T?

The Focus strikes hardest at the Samsung Captivate ($49.99-$199.99, 4 stars), AT&T's best Android phone—and at Android in general. The Captivate is a terrific phone, but Windows Phone is like a manicured garden where Android is running a little wild. It looks like updates will come more promptly for the Focus, and e-mail compatibility is even better. Especially if you like the Zune syncing experience, the Focus can offer a more elegant, more orderly (if less flexible) option.

Microsoft may be a major player in business, but the Focus and the BlackBerry Torch ($199.99, 4 stars) don't really compete. You're buying the BlackBerry Torch because your business has a BlackBerry server, or because you want a physical keyboard. Come back when we've reviewed the Dell Venue Pro and we'll talk.

Apple's iOS is simply a more mature platform. Even though the iPhone 4 ($199, 4.5 stars) has serious trouble making phone calls—yeah, yeah, we've heard it—it retains our Editor's Choice because it's both refined and flexible. The platform's 300,000 apps are a big part of that, but Apple is also just a step ahead of Microsoft on many of the experiences, such as multiplayer gaming. While Microsoft's promised XBox integration is mostly potential for now, it'll undoubtedly be more impressive when there's a better array of games, including multiplayer titles. But this is a good start.

Zune fans are obviously the first major market for the Samsung Focus, but I'd also recommend it to folks who want the simplicity of the iPhone, but who are scared away by its poor voice performance. Just beware that you're an early adopter, and are buying into a platform that's just starting up. For a version 1.0, though, the Samsung Focus is a great start.

The Samsung Focus will be available on November 8 for $199.99 with an AT&T contract.

More Cell Phone Reviews:
•   Windows Phone 7 OS
•   HTC Surround (AT&T)
•   Samsung Focus (AT&T)
•   Nokia N8 (Unlocked)
•   Samsung Acclaim SCH-R880 (US Cellular)
•   more

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How to Create Custom Facebook Pages

2010-10-19T10:35:00.001-07:00

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Samsung Omnia 7 first hands-on (update: video!) -- Engadget

2010-10-18T09:21:00.001-07:00

Review: Nokia N8 Is Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Tech News «

2010-10-15T18:16:00.001-07:00

Nokia’s first true response to the smartphone market share loss handed to it by Apple, Google and Research In Motion comes in the form of the Nokia N8, a GSM touchscreen device with the brand new Symbian^3 operating system. I’ve previously said that Nokia is a great hardware company that wants to be good at software and services too, and the N8 is a perfect illustration of that desire.

Nokia N8 Highlights and Specs

3.5″ touchscreen with 640×320 resolution

680 MHz ARM CPU with Broadcom GPU, 16 GB internal memory, microSD slot

720p video recording (25 fps), 12 megapixel camera, Xenon flash, Carl Zeiss optics, front facing QVGA camera

Symbian^3 operating system

802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, BT 3.0, GPS, Quad-band GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, Penta-band HSPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz

2.32″ x 4.46″” x 0.5″, weight of 4.76 ounces

Like so many prior Nokia handsets, the N8 is a thing of beauty in terms of design and hardware features, but still falls short by comparison in the software department. Unfortunately for Nokia, software drives the user experience, which can make or break a device. The N8 is, however, the best Nokia device I’ve used yet, and comes closer to offering what the current crop of smartphones bring to consumers. However, the unsubsidized $549 price tag makes this a tough sell in the U.S.

It’s possible that the N8 or a similar Symbian^3 device could wash up on U.S. shores with a carrier subsidy, bringing the price to $199 or less. Such a price point is in line with high-end handsets like Apple’s iPhone 4 or any one of the many Google Android offerings. The N8 is meant to compete with these devices, but even with an improved operating system and app store, U.S. consumers won’t abandon the iPhone or an Android device in droves for the N8. Here’s a rundown of likes, dislikes and other observations from using the device over the past two weeks.

What’s great about the Nokia N8?

Build quality is superb. The anodized aluminum case keeps the N8 light, but sturdy, and gives the device a premium feel.

There are ports that aren’t readily available on competing devices. An HDMI-out jack at the top allows you pipe media to an HDTV, which is offered on some other new devices. The USB On The Go function is unique, however. Using the microUSB port and a connector allows the phone to interface directly with USB drives.

The N8 arguably offers the best smartphone camera solution on the market today, thanks to the 12 megapixel sensor paired with Carl Zeiss optics. The Xenon flash is far better than any LED flash that’s typical fare on other smartphones; it’s akin to the integrated flash of a mid-range digital SLR camera. The phone also has a dedicated picture-snapping button. The 720p video capture is nearly on par with that of Apple’s iPhone 4. While a full 30 frames per second would be ideal, high-definition video from the N8 is quite good.

Signal strength and call quality are top-notch. I used the N8 with my T-Mobile SIM, and the voice experience was at least as good, if not better, than on my Google Nexus One.

The AMOLED display is vibrant, actually usable in the sun, and uses the same capacitive touch used in the iPhone and other modern handsets.

The integrated 1200 mAh battery lasts at least a full day, even with moderate-to-heavy use. Kudos to Nokia for designing a device and operating system that can run a smartphone on one charge a day.

The software keyboard in landscape mode works really well in my hands and the auto-correct feature is excellent.

Multitasking is intuitive to use: Hold the only hardware button on the front of the N8 to see, close or switch running apps.

Nokia wisely incorporated radios that work for data and voice on nearly any GSM network in the world.

What’s improved but still falls a little short?

Symbian^3 is much better than S60, but isn’t completely baked yet, nor refreshingly new. To be fair, Nokia is caught in the same trap that Research In Motion is: Much like the new BlackBerry 6 OS, Nokia can’t run the risk of alienating its vast S60 user base with a radically new interface. That’s a sound strategy, but one that will mainly appease the existing Symbian users, not attract many new ones.

Home screens are very customizable with widgets, backgrounds and themes, which is welcome. Alas, there are only three home screens and no way to add more. While the widgets are very handy, and one of the aspects I like about Android, they’re a fixed size, which limits the amount of useful information shown.

Even without a current-generation CPU, the N8 is a reasonably peppy performer. I witnessed a little more lag with the N8 as compared to 1 GHz handsets I use, but not much, which is a testament to how Nokia has optimized the operating system. Much like the “version 1.0″ feel of Symbian^3, however, the processor could use a boost. Nokia appears to have made a tradeoff between performance and power use here, and the GPU certainly helps as video playback is buttery smooth.

Nokia’s updated Ovi Store provides a better experience in finding software, although users have to install the Ovi Store on the device, which makes absolutely no sense.

The N8 works quite well with Google’s Gmail, which I use exclusively. Using the Mail app, I easily set up both my work and personal accounts, complete with calendars and contacts. A unified inbox would be nice, however, and I still don’t see the point of how Nokia treats message composition. Instead of typing directly in the message, you still type in a text box, which feels very 2002-ish.

What needs work?

For all its improvement, the main Symbian^3 interface still needs help. There are fewer system nags than S60 provides, but they still pop up every now and again. By default, the phone prompts you when hitting a secure site, for example, and will still ask if it’s okay to connect to the cellular data network. I can understand that in some regions of the globe, this is a desired feature, but maybe the default should be set by region.

Related to the interface: The apps are still hidden in an Applications folder. It’s a hardware button press and a screen tap just to see what apps are on the N8: a level of inefficiency echoed in various places within Symbian^3.

In portrait mode, the software keyboard is a T9 style, requiring multiple taps for every letter. Some would argue this offers a better one-hand experience, and I agree. However, it’s as if the low screen resolution of 320 pixels wide in portrait mode doesn’t allow for a full keyboard. Again, it feels like another compromise, or Nokia simply didn’t get around to creating a good portrait keyboard yet.

Social integration for media sharing either isn’t there, or I can’t find it. Perhaps it’s a user error on my part, but as a long-time smartphone user, if I can’t easily find a function, it’s not intuitive. That’s a shame because this type of integration is becoming common on smartphones and is available in prior Symbian devices from Nokia.

The typing in a text box issue mentioned earlier permeates the system. Typing a password on the web, for example, takes you to the textbox, where you must press a button to return where you started: then you have to hit a login button. It’s a disjointed, inelegant experience.

Speaking of the web, the browser is WebKit-based, but not nearly as enjoyable to use as that of an iOS or Android device. Text is pixelated and there’s no text reflow when zooming in on a page, causing far too much scrolling. The browser looks nearly identical to that of older S60 devices, and after a few years of revamping the platform, this is a missed opportunity: people are using smartphones primarily for the web and apps, so dropping the ball here is disappointing.

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All in all, Nokia’s N8 and Symbian^3 operating system show signs of catching up to the competition in this market. Unfortunately, in many instances, it only catches Nokia up to where its competitors were two years ago. Is it a device that will make some people happy? Yes. If you’re a current S60 device owner that wants a more modern touchscreen smartphone, then the N8 is well worth the look. Will Nokia gain N8 converts from the iPhone and Android handset rank-and-file? Not in any meaningful quantities. For that, we may need to see Symbian^4 or MeeGo devices from Nokia.
Nokia has said it expects to sell 50 million Symbian^3 devices, and I think it will do that. It won’t be because these devices bested the competition, however. Instead, it will be due to Nokia’s global reach and branding in 190 countries in combination with an updated operating system that will keep Nokia’s current customers happy.

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Nokia N8 Highlights and Specs
3.5″ touchscreen with 640×320 resolution
680 MHz ARM CPU with Broadcom GPU, 16 GB internal memory, microSD slot
720p video recording (25 fps), 12 megapixel camera, Xenon flash, Carl Zeiss optics, front facing QVGA camera
Symbian^3 operating system
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, BT 3.0, GPS, Quad-band GSM/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, Penta-band HSPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz
2.32″ x 4.46″” x 0.5″, weight of 4.76 ounces

via gigaom.com

Windows Phone 7 handset gallery: Focus, Omnia 7, HD7, and more – Cell Phones & Mobile Device Technology News & Updates

2010-10-12T11:43:00.001-07:00

Samsung Focus

We’ve already posted hands-on coverage of the HTC HD7, HTC Surround, and LG Quantum Windows Phone 7 phones but that’s not all we saw at the launch day yesterday.

Other products on hand included the Samsung Omnia 7, HTC Mozart, HTC 7 Pro, Samsung Focus, and more. Not all of them were launch phones and not everything available was slated to hit the US market, but we thought you still might want to take a peak. The gallery focuses on the LG and Samsung phones (sorry Dell fans) and then there are videos below of the HTC devices.

Samsung Focus

Samsung Focus

Samsung Focus

Omnia 7 back

Samsung Focus

Samsung Focus

Samsung Focus

Samsung Omnia 7

Samsung Omnia 7

Samsung Omnia 7

LG Quantum

LG Quantum

LG Optimus 7

LG Quantum

First up is the HTC Surround:

HTC 7 Pro hands-on:

HTC Mozart (not available in US):

Curious which phone goes to each carrier?

AT&T will have the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround, and LG Quantum at launch.

T-Mobile will be getting the HTC HD7 sometime in November, but probably not for launch. They will also get the Dell Venue Pro.

Sprint and Verizon are waiting until 2011 to ship WP7 phones. So far we know Sprint will carry the HTC 7 Pro.

via geek.com

T-Mobile announces myTouch with HSPA+, HD camcorder and video chat | larsa | Androinica

2010-10-12T06:30:00.001-07:00

The phone that previously was known as the myTouch HD has now been announced by T-Mobile: it’s simply called myTouch, and features a 3.8-inch WVGA display, a second-generation 1GHz Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, and a 5MP camera capable of recording video in 720p. The device also has a second, front-facing camera that’s designed for unprompted face-to-face conversations on the move using Qik or Yahoo! Messenger, so a Wi-Fi connection is not required for video-calling. PC to phone and phone to PC video conversations are supported.

Information about who’s available for chat is integrated into the myTouch’s address book, and users will be able to leave Video Mail using Qik. Video calling was the hot new cellphone feature in parts of Asia and Western Europe 6-7 years ago, albeit it was rarely used back then, and it’s nice to see the current trend that takes video chat to the next level.

Swype will be preinstalled on the myTouch, and a 8GB SD card is included. No word yet on how much RAM the device is packing, but at least 512MB is expected. Photos and videos captured with the 5MP camera can be shared wirelessly with a compatible HDTV or other DLNA device through the Screen Share feature.

The myTouch runs Android 2.2 from the start and will be able to take full advantage of T-Mobile’s growing HSPA+ network. According to T-Mobile’s press release, the myTouch will be released in time for the holiday season, and comes in four colors: white, black, plum and red.

Via [T-Mobile]

via androinica.com

Nokia N8 Unboximg and Demo - SlashGear

2010-10-10T10:06:00.001-07:00

via slashgear.com

Roku refreshes their set-top boxes with 1080p and USB playback, embarrasses the AppleTV – New Tech Gadgets & Electronic Devices

2010-10-06T10:32:00.001-07:00

Right before Cupertino’s new $99 AppleTV announcement earlier this month, set-top box maker Roku dropped the price of their devices… and boy, are we glad they did, because with today’s refresh of their .XD and XDS players, Roku is easily now offering the best bang for the buck in set-top boxes out there.

The XD is the new mid-range Roku model, costing $80, and has been updated with 802.11n WiFi as well as 1080p playback. Got that? For 20 bucks less than an AppleTV, you can get higher definition playback than what Apple is offering on a box imbued with their fancy A4 CPU.

If you’re willing to pay the price of an AppleTv, though, or $99, you get even more: not only does the Roku XDS get the same 1080p and Wireless N functionality as its little brother, but it also gains component video out, optical audio out and a USB port through which you can play locally stored music, photos and videos. The USB port won’t go “live” until an update in November, but that’s still really impressive.

Finally, Roku is boasting that the XD and XDS models are also getting an industry first software feature in set-top boxes: the ability to skip back in a video in seven second increments without having to wait for the film to buffer again. If you say so!

Either way, Roku’s just successfully proven that Apple’s “hobby device,” the AppleTV, is still a hobby. For the same price, you can get a much, much more capable set-top box.

Read more at Roku

via geek.com

Ceatec 2010: Hands on with Panasonic's 3D camera | Circuit Breaker - CNET News

2010-10-05T03:40:00.001-07:00

The Micro Four Thirds camera from Panasonic with 3D lens, shown here at Ceatec 2010.
(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

CHIBA, Japan--Panasonic's 3D obsession encompasses more than TVs. Here at Ceatec 2010 is the company's full complement of gadgets capable of recording, storing, and displaying 3D video and images.
Panasonic introduced the 3D camera at Photokina in Cologne, Germany, a few weeks ago, but there was a demonstration area set up here to test the 3D Lumix GH2 camera, so we tried it out.
The 3D lens can be attached to the Micro Four Thirds camera. With the 3D lens on, there's no zoom, and very bright light is required. Photos taken in a dimly lit exhibition hall barely registered any 3D effect, besides being blurry. For the best results, Panasonic says it recommends using the setup outdoors.
But the images we took in the demo area, where Panasonic had set up a backdrop with plenty of depth and a very bright light, even indoors, came out fairly well in 3D.

A 3D image taken with the camera and displayed on a 3D TV. You need 3D glasses to see the effect.
(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

Once the photo is taken, you don't get the 3D image on the camera's flip-out display. Instead, you take the SD card out of the camera and put it into a 3D TV (Panasonic, naturally, used its own in the demo area).
Only once you've donned 3D glasses and selected the image from the TV's menu can you review your photo. (Example at right.)
It should be noted there's no requirement to use a Panasonic 3D TV with the camera. An HDMI cable between the GH2 and any other brand 3D TV would also work.
The camera and 3D lens is going on sale at the end of October in Japan for the equivalent of $250, and sometime in November in the U.S. for between $250 and $300, according to a Panasonic representative here.

via news.cnet.com

IS03: Sharp’s New Android Phone Boasts Impressive Specs

2010-10-04T08:44:00.001-07:00

via mobilecrunch.com

T-Mobile myTouch announced: Android 2.2, video calling, and HSPA+

2010-10-04T06:17:00.001-07:00

T-Mobile myTouch announced: Android 2.2, video calling, and HSPA+
Engadget • by Chris Ziegler • 9 hours ago • keep as unread • preview • visit site

40 people recommended this

Looking a bit like a myTouch 3G Slide sans slide, the newly-announced myTouch -- yes, just "myTouch" -- is the latest addition to the consumer-centric side of T-Mobile's Android lineup, featuring a 3.8-inch WVGA display, 5 megapixel primary camera with 720p capture, and a next-gen MSM8255 Snapdragon core running at 1GHz. Notice how we said "primary camera"? Yep, it's true: the myTouch features a second, front-facing cam as well, becoming just the second phone from T-Mobile (and one of the first in the States, of course) to offer video calling. Looks like it'll be supported over both WiFi and 3G using Qik and Yahoo Messenger, so you'll be able to see the beautiful faces of your EVO-sporting friends from afar. Like the G2, it's got full support for T-Mobile's up-and-coming HSPA+ network along with 802.11n and Android 2.2 out of the box. We don't have pricing or a launch date yet, but we're told it'll be available "in time for the holidays" in your choice of four scintillating colors: white, black, plum, and red. Follow the break for the full press release.

via feedly.com

Sharp's IS03 Android phone packs retina display, minus the branding pretense -- Engadget

2010-10-04T05:48:00.001-07:00

WVGA's so 2009, isn't it? Sharp has broken Android's usual 800 (or 854) x 480 mold this week with the introduction of the IS03 for Japan's KDDI au network, boasting a full 960 x 640 on its 3.5-inch screen -- matching the iPhone 4's so-called retina display -- along with Advanced Super View (ASV) technology, delivering the same kind of viewing angle benefits you find in IPS. If that alone doesn't make for enough of a monster spec sheet for you, consider that the IS03 also features a 9.6 megapixel autofocus camera with image stabilization, one-seg TV tuner, and Osaifu-Keitai, which allows the phone to be used for contactless payments in subways and the like. Though you won't find it sold outside Japan, you might eventually see one outside Japan thanks to support for Global Passport CDMA, meaning the IS03 can be used in countries that have operating CDMA networks -- the US, for example. Unfortunately, it's running Android 2.1, but let's be honest: the monster hardware might be enough to overcome that little oversight. Look for this puppy to launch in three colors next month.

Engadget Japanese

Touchscreen E-Reader Pushes Our Disappointment Button

2010-10-03T16:26:00.001-07:00

Touchscreen E-Reader Pushes Our Disappointment Button

Sony hasn't exactly upstaged anyone in e-reader theater. But, the company's pocket-sized PRS-350 is looking to change that. The impetus was clear: Make an attractive, travel-sized, idiot-simple e-reader for the masses.

Unfortunately, though the PRS-350 does many things right, there's still a lot of room to kvetch.

Sony clearly nailed the hardware on the PRS-350. As the company's flagship pocket reader, it's small and feather-light at 5.5 ounces, while also supporting a spanking new 800 x 600 e-ink Pearl display. Nestled into the frame is a functional (yet cheap-feeling) stylus, and resting below the five-inch screen is a set of functional (yet cheap-feeling) soft keys. An aluminum and plastic chassis and an infrared-driven touchscreen add a touch of class, and at a little over four inches wide, the device sat comfortably in our hands during marathon reading sessions.

A lot of the PRS-350's hardware high-points come with counterpoints. Though reading text on the screen is a delight thanks to 16 adjustable contrast levels, getting titles onto the device's 2 GB of memory via a mini-USB cable and clunky proprietary software is old hat. And while it sports meat-and-potatoes ePUB, PDF, and TXT support, the Sony Reader Store pales in comparison to its competitors. As if that weren't bad enough, the PRS-350's lack of 3G or even Wi-Fi connectivity underscores all these issues.

Despite our issues with the PRS-350 as an all-around gadget, we can't deny it's a solid e-reader. Not only does it feel comfortable when you're actively poking through the menus -- or better yet, double-tapping words to pull up the integrated dictionary -- but it also completely disappears into the background while you're reading. Turning pages with mere finger whisks became second nature, and transitions were smooth thanks to a capable processor. Complaints aside, this is essentially what one wants in an e-reader, so we can't fault Sony too much for its utilitarian delivery.

Of course, there's the two-ton e-reading elephant in the room: How does the PRS-350 stack up against competitors like the Kindle and Nook? When it comes to important features like connectivity and software, Sony is clearly outmatched. But if you're looking for an aesthetically pleasing bare-bones reader you can certainly do worse.

WIRED Compact design is both eye-catching and travel-friendly. Touchscreen makes highlighting passages and notation a breeze. Sixteen contrast levels makes outdoor reading a cinch. Screen stays smudge-free even after numerous swipes. Battery only needs a quick bi-weekly charge.

TIRED Missing Wi-Fi and 3G makes it $50 too expensive. Sony's online store leaves a lot to be desired. Comes in robotic silver or cartoonish pink. No headphone jack means no audio books. Cheap-feeling buttons and stylus are unforgivable.

Manufacturer: Sony

Price: $180

via wired.com

HTC Merge / Lexicon prototype previewed, 800MHz processor produces sweet scores (video) -- Engadget

2010-10-02T10:57:00.001-07:00

Roku XDS versus Apple TV: Round one

2010-10-02T10:45:00.001-07:00

Roku XDS versus Apple TV: Round one

by John P. Falcone

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(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

The great Internet TV battle royale of 2010 is officially underway, with new boxes from Roku and Apple TV leading the charge. On paper, it's a very even-handed match-up: both are miniscule $99 streaming-media boxes that promise to offer an expanded slate of TV shows, movies, and music for consumers. Other matching features: both offer Netflix streaming, dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking, and HDMI output. So, which is worth your hard-earned Benjamin Franklin?

Unfortunately, it's not a cut-and-dry situation. Both units scored an identical 3.5 stars on our CNET rating scale. But if you look at the sub-ratings (design, features, performance), you'll see that each box has a relative strength and weakness. Right now, it shakes out as follows:

The selection of TV shows to stream is limited to just ABC, Fox, BBC, and Disney.
(Credit: Matthew Moskovciak/CNET)

Apple TV: We loved the design and interface on Apple's box. It's easy to use, beautiful to look at, and works like a charm. The problem--especially for a product with the word "TV" in the name--is that there just isn't a whole lot of TV to watch on it. Instant rental choices are limited to shows from Fox, ABC, Disney, and BBC--and even among those providers, the choices aren't comprehensive (no "House," no "Fringe," and no "Modern Family," for instance). There's a workaround--buying shows on iTunes on your PC and Mac, and then streaming them from your computer to your Apple TV--but it's slow, cumbersome, and more expensive than renting. (Netflix is great on Apple TV, as it is most everywhere else, but that service doesn't offer much current-season TV content at this time.)

On the other hand, you can use Apple's free Remote app to control the Apple TV from any iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone--and it works really well. And if you already have a giant library of iTunes music on your PC's hard drive, accessing it through the Apple TV is dead simple. In other words, Apple TV is currently best for those who value Apple's best-in-class interface and design, and already use other Apple software and hardware products.

Read the review of the Apple TV (2010)

Roku currently offers a wider variety of programming than Apple TV.
(Credit: Roku)

Roku XDS: The XDS is Roku's new flagship box, with step-down models available at even cheaper $79 and $59 price points. No one is likely to be blown away by the Roku interface; it's stark and utilitarian, and it lacks the smooth animations and polish of what you'll see on the Apple TV.

What it lacks in style, Roku makes up for in choice. Besides Netflix (also available on Apple TV and nearly every other Internet-connected video product currently on the market), Roku also offers dozens of "channels" that you can choose to add. Key among them is Amazon Video On Demand, which currently offers thousands of pay-per-view movies and TV shows for rent and sale. It's not nearly comprehensive enough to dump your cable or satellite service, but it does offer a better selection of TV shows than that of Apple TV. Beyond Amazon, Roku users can also choose to access Pandora (free music) and sign up for additional pay services like MLB TV (live baseball games) and UFC (live extreme fighting)--to name just a few of the dozens of channels available.

In other words, Roku is a better choice for viewers looking to maximize program choices, and those who don't need tight integration with other Apple products.

Read the review of the Roku XDS

CNET's recommendation: That being said, our current recommendation would be this: Hold off. Don't buy anything. Wait--for at least a few weeks. That recommendation comes for two reasons.

For starters, both of these products are getting major software upgrades in the next few weeks. Apple TV will be getting AirPlay compatibility in November, which will allow any AirPlay-enabled app to send audio, video, or photos from an iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone to the Apple TV at the flick of the screen. Roku, meanwhile, is slated to get Hulu Plus in October, which opens the current seasons of all ABC, NBC, and Fox shows up for unlimited viewing for just $9.99 per month. Both are potential game-changers, and we think they'll change the value propositions on both units significantly.

The final point is that these aren't the only two fish in the Internet TV sea. In the next two weeks, we'll finally get full details on the Google TV products from Logitech and Sony. Both of them could be major alternatives to the Roku and Apple TV. And that doesn't even include Boxee (coming in November) or less publicized products like the Sony SMP-N100 "Net box." The latter unit is a $130 media player that Sony's released with little fanfare--it already offers Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Pandora, Slacker, and Qriocity--and it too will be getting a Hulu Plus upgrade in just a few weeks. (We'll have a full review after that upgrade occurs.)

The bottom line is that the choices in the Internet TV arena are expanding like never before. So it's worth holding off for a few weeks to see how things start to shake out.
Looking for more detailed information? Check out CNET's new Quick Guide to Internet TV, which explains the services and hardware offerings in detail.

Read the Quick Guide to Internet TV

The following product is available:
On Sale Now: $96.00 - $99.00
View the latest prices for Apple TV (Fall 2010)

John P. Falcone covers home theater and network entertainment products. He's been writing for CNET since 2002.

via news.cnet.com

Tablet Wars: Apple iPad vs BlackBerry PlayBook vs Samsung Galaxy Tab | MAGGadget

2010-09-29T03:10:00.001-07:00

RIM has stepped into tablet wars with a powerful tablet. BlackBerry PlayBook is powered by 1 GHz dual-core porcessor, 1 GB of RAM, features BlackBerry Tablet OS, 7-inch capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support, multitasking, 5 megapixel rear camera with 1080p HD video recording, 3 megapixel front camera for video conferencing, Adobe Flash 10.1, Adobe Air Mobile, Java more. The hardware of the BlackBerry PlayBook is powerful and has the ability to beat iPad, Galaxy tab and other tablets available so far.

Checkout the comparison between Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab and BlackBerry Playbook:

For live updates follow us on Twitter or like us at Facebook.

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Apple iPad vs Samsung Galaxy Tab
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Tagged as: Android, Apple, Blackberry, BlackBerry OS, Compare, Galaxy Tab, iOS, iPad, PlayBook, samsung

via maggadget.com

Sony PRS-650 Touch Edition eBook Reader Review — The Gadgeteer

2010-09-28T06:37:00.001-07:00

Sony PRS-650 Touch Edition eBook Reader Review

by Janet Cloninger on September 28, 2010 · 0 comments

in Featured Items,Reviews,eBook Readers and Gear

It’s September, and that means updated readers from Sony! I’ve been a devoted fan of the PRS readers since 2006 – first the PRS-500, then PRS-505, and the PRS-600 last year. I’ve loved my Sonys and spent thousands of hours reading on them over the years. Unfortunately, the PRS-600, while beautiful, eventually fell out of favor with me. The touchscreen layer made the reader reflective and glare-y, and it also made the text on the screen lighter and a bit harder to read than on the previous PRS-505. I admit that I eventually began reading exclusively on my iPad. The iPad screen was beautiful and it never caused eyestrain for me, but all its other fabulous functions seemed to tempt me away from reading. I haven’t been reading much at all for the past few weeks. When the new Sony readers were announced, I was excited to hear the old resistive touchscreen layer had been replaced with a new method – neither capacitive nor resistive

via the-gadgeteer.com

Galapagos: Sharp Announces 5.5-Inch And 10.8-Inch Android Tablets (Video)

2010-09-28T04:37:00.001-07:00

It took them a while, but now it seems Sharp is serious about entering the e-book and tablet business. The company announced “Galapagos”in Tokyo today [press release in English], with Galapagos being the (terrible) name both for Sharp’s cloud-based e-book service and two new Android devices supporting that service.

The smaller one, the “mobile type”, has a 5.5-inch LCD screen (1,024 × 600 resolution) that’s optimized for displaying paperback books (it will be available in red and black). It also comes with a trackball to scroll through pages.

The other model, the Galapagos “home type”, misses said track ball (you’ll turn pages just like you do on the iPad). It has a 10.8-inch LCD screen (1,366 × 800) for magazine content formatted across a two-page spread. By way of comparison: The iPad has a 9.7-inch LCD screen featuring 1,024×768 resolution.

Both Galapagos devices will have Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b/g) on board. Buyers will be able to surf the web, view “PC documents”, play games (via apps), and share comments and recommendations with other owners via a pre-installed “social app”. That’s the reason why Sharp, on its Japanese website, advertises the devices as “media tablets” – not just e-book readers.

The Galapagos e-bookstore service is scheduled to start in Japan in December. Sharp says that buyers of the reader can expect a total of 30,000 newspapers, magazines, and books at time of launch.

The company has yet to announce further details (more specs (which Android version?), prices, exact release dates, international availability). It expects to move about 1 million units next year. We’ll keep you posted.

Here is Sharp’s official promo video (it’s in Japanese, but that doesn’t matter that much in this case):

via crunchgear.com

RIM introduces PlayBook -- the BlackBerry tablet -- Engadget

2010-09-28T02:05:00.001-07:00

http://code.google.com/p/namebench/

Because Everyone Needs a Router

2010-09-25T13:03:00.001-07:00

programming and human factors
by Jeff Atwood

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Web Coding Horror

Sep 25, 2010

Because Everyone Needs a Router

Do you remember when a router used to be an exotic bit of network kit?

Those days are long gone. A router is one of those salt-of-the-earth items now; anyone who pays for an internet connection needs a router, for:

NAT and basic hardware firewall protection from internet evildoers
A wired network hub to connect local desktop PCs
A wireless hub to connect laptops, phones, consoles, etcetera

Let me put it this way: my mom -- and my wife's mom -- both own routers. If that isn't the definition of mainstream, I don't know what is.

Since my livelihood revolves around being on the internet, and because I'm a bit of a tweaker, I have a fancy-ish router. But it is of late 2007 vintage:

Although the DGL-4500 is a nice router, and it has served me well with no real complaints, the last major firmware update for it was a year and a half ago. There have been some desultory minor updates since then, but clearly the vendor has, shall we say, moved on to focusing on newer models.

The router is (literally!) the central component in my overall internet experience, and I was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the status quo. Frankly, the prospect of three year old hardware with year old firmware gives me the heebie-jeebies.

So, I asked the pros at Super User, even going so far as to set up a Recommend Me a Router chat room. (We disallow product recommendation questions as they become uselessly out of date so quickly, but this is a perfect topic for a chat room.) I got some fantastic advice from my fellow Super Users via chat, though much of it was of the far too sane "if it ain't broke don't fix it" variety. Well, that's just not how I work. To be fair, the router market is not exactly a hotbed of excitement at the moment; it is both saturated and heavily commoditized, particularly now that the dust has settled from the whole 802.11 A/B/G/N debacle. There just isn't much going on.

But in the process of doing my router research, I discovered something important, and maybe even revolutionary in its own quiet little way. The best router models all run open source firmware!

That's right, the truly great routers are available in "awesome" edition. (There may be other open source router firmwares out there, but these are the two I saw most frequently.) I learned that these open source firmwares can turn a boring Clark Kent router into Superman. And they are always kept updated by the community, in perpetuity.

In my weaker moments, I toyed with the idea of building a silent mini x86 PC that could run a routing optimized distribution of Linux, but the reality is that current commodity routers have more than enough memory and embedded CPU power -- not to mention the necessary wireless and gigabit ethernet hub bits already built in. Dedicating a whole x86 PC to routing is power inefficient, overly complex, and awkward.

Yes, today's router marketplace is commoditized and standardized and boring -- but there are still a few clear hardware standouts. I turned to the experts atSmallNetBuilder for their in-depth technical reviews, and found two consensus recommendations:

Buffalo Nfiniti Wireless-N High Power Router ($80)

NETGEAR WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N ($150)

Both of these models got glowing reviews from the networking experts at SmallNetBuilder, and both are 100% compatible with the all-important open source dd-wrt firmware. You can't go wrong with either, but I chose the less expensive Buffalo Nfiniti router. Why?

It's almost half the price, man!
The "high power" part is verifiably and benchmarkably true, and I have some wireless range problems at my home.
I do most of my heavy network lifting through wired gigabit ethernet, so I can't think of any reason I'd need the higher theoretical wireless throughput of the Netgear model.
Although the Netgear has a 680 Mhz embedded CPU and 128mb RAM, the Buffalo's 400 MHz embedded CPU and 64mb of RAM is not exactly chopped liver, either; it's plenty for dd-wrt to work with. I'd almost go so far as to say the Netgear is a bit overkill… if you're into that sort of thing.

I received my Buffalo Nfiniti and immediately installed dd-wrt on it, which was very simple and accomplished through the existing web UI on the router. (Buffalo has a history of shipping rebranded dd-wrt distributions in their routers, so the out-of-box firmware is a kissing cousin.)

After rebooting, I was in love. The (more) modern gigabit hardware, CPU, and chipset was noticably snappier everywhere, even just dinking around in the admin web pages. And dd-wrt scratches every geek itch I have -- putting that newer hardware to great use. Just check out the detailed stats I can get, including that pesky wireless signal strength problem. The top number is the Xbox 360 outside, the bottom number is my iPhone from about 10 feet away.

Worried your router is running low on embedded CPU grunt, or that 64 megabytes of memory is insufficient? Never fear; dd-wrt has you covered. Just check out the detailed, real time memory and cpu load stats.

Trying to figure out how much WAN/LAN/Wireless bandwidth you're using? How does a real time SVG graph, right from the router admin pages, grab you?

It's just great all around. And I haven't even covered the proverbial laundry list of features that dd-wrt offers above and beyond most stock firmware! Suffice it to say that this is one of those times when the "let's support everything" penchant of open source projects works in our favor. Don't worry, it's all (mostly) disabled by default. Those features and tweaks can all safely be ignored; just know that they're available to you when and if you need them.

This is boring old plain vanilla commodity router hardware, but when combined with an open source firmware, it is a massive improvement over my three year old, proprietary high(ish) end router. The magic router formula these days is a combination of commodity hardware and open-source firmware. I'm so enamored of this one-two punch combo, in fact, I might even say it represents the future. Not just of the everyday workhorse routers we all need to access the internet -- but the future of all commodity hardware.

Routers; we all need 'em, and they are crucial to our internet experience. Pick whichever router you like -- as long as it's compatible with one of the open source firmware packages! Thanks to a wide variety of mature commodity hardware choices, plus infinitely and perpetually updated open source router firmware, I'm happy to report that now everyone can have a great router.

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Comments

Also, if you're upgrading your router, don't forget to choose fast DNS nameservers when setting it up!

The NameBench tool will use your browser's history to tell you which (free) DNS servers are optimal for you. Very, very slick tool. (and yes UltraDNS wins for me as well.)

Jeff Atwood on September 25, 2010 3:00 AM

I see you're sharing your MAC address. Is it risk-free? Don't you fear being tracked?

Federico Poloni on September 25, 2010 3:11 AM

MAC addresses are routable only on the local ethernet, so feel free to post those all over the place :)

Thomas on September 25, 2010 3:35 AM

> I'm so enamored of this one-two punch combo, in fact, I might even say it represents the future

It has been for some time with a range of manufactures, so that is a safe bet! I mean, using the GPL sources the vendors are obligated to share it, and the community has pretty much 'forced' the issue by providing forked versions of the firmware.

By now, vendors are beginning to understand.

Seth Heeren on September 25, 2010 3:35 AM

These open source firmwares are indeed great, but I have one major problem with them: They are just inferior to my old clunky USR Robotics Router when i comes to QoS/Traffic Shaping (a very importing feature for me).

I am still using a 2005 US Robotics 9107 (http://www.usr-emea.com/support/s-prod-template.asp?loc=grmy&prod=9107), which has a horrible web interface and doesnt have a lot of options, but its QoS Technology is, for some reason, just way better than anything else i tested. I wanted to replace this router for years and tested a couple of different models (dlink,linksys,zyxel) with a lot of differnt firmwares (openwrt, ddwrt, tomato, oem firmware) but a soon as i turn on my Torrents web access becomes slow. If you use Traffic Shaping with them it gets a lot better. (Accessing web pages is not slow anymore, but you can still tell if your torrents are running or not).

With my old USR i can upload with uTorrent at 80Kbyte/sec (~85 is my connection's maximum) and ping/latency goes up from around 40 ms to around 50-55 ms for most of the web sites i visit. I can even play online shooters without noticing that my torrent-pc is pumping stuff at almost full throttle. When using other routers you can just feel that web pages come in more slowly.

Maybe it has sth. to do with the way the USR applies his rules to the traffic. On the webinterface you can specify an 'atm priority' which I havent seen on other firmwares.

Erik Winter on September 25, 2010 4:08 AM

Forgot to mention, that the issue is even bigger when working remotely.

I do a a alot of stuff over ssh/rdp and with ddwrt/tomato i always had to close uTorrent or limit the upload rate. (I hate it when a console has a delay for every keystroke you make, really annoying) With the USR router the ssh/rdp connection stays responsive.

I know im whining like a crybaby here, but does anyone know a router/modem which has a simliar QoS?

thanks,
erik

Erik Winter on September 25, 2010 4:23 AM

The problem I have with routers is that I prefer the adsl/router combo (because buying two devices seems silly), but the product lines in that area seem a lot more crappy, for some reason.

Oh, and don't buy anything from Linksys. I've got some of their stuff and it is some of the worst hardware I've used so far.

WimD on September 25, 2010 5:34 AM

@Erik Winter

Look at this: http://ace-host.stuart.id.au/russell/files/tc/tc-atm/#details

If this is indeed your issue, you can get an experimental build of Tomato with the tc-atm patch here: http://touristinparadise.blogspot.com/2008/04/linksys-wrt54gl-routers-improving.html

The implementation of the tc-atm patch is very early, though, and it hasn't yet been integrated with the web GUI.

Matt Horner on September 25, 2010 6:02 AM

Which version did you flash? mega, VPN, voip, etc?

Churnd on September 25, 2010 6:06 AM

Interesting. I would have expected you to go for a DrayTek (what with being geeky *and* having built in VPN endpoints...).

Thefalken on September 25, 2010 8:13 AM

If the author cares that much he really shouldn't be using an all in one anyway. He should be rolling with separate access points and router. I do the whole Airport Express (for music streaming) and pfSense / m0n0wall thing (lately I've been using the ALIX boards from PC Engineshttp://www.pcengines.ch/alix.htm).

Jared on September 25, 2010 8:27 AM

> I'm so enamored of this one-two punch combo, in fact, I might even say it represents the future

So...does this mean that you will be replacing your iPhone with an Android phone?

Michael Ross on September 25, 2010 8:37 AM

I'm still running a router from circa 2001.

I tried upgrading once. The results were... less then acceptable.

Miff on September 25, 2010 8:55 AM

I just ordered an ASUS RT-N16 two days ago. It was pretty much a tie between that and the Buffalo, but I decided to go with the ASUS because, if you'll skim over the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH forum thread on dd-wrt.com, you'll notice that there are different versions of the router, and some simply refuse to work normally with that firmware. Also, I haven't seen much info on Tomato being able to support the Buffalo router, and I've been itching to try it and maybe even get away from DD-WRT, which my current router is running.

Arktronic on September 25, 2010 9:16 AM

To some extent you get what you pay for. My old Linux-based router would break persistent SSH tunnels after about 24 hours. When I upgraded to an expensive but rock-solid Cisco 877 (running IOS, not the consumer Linksys crud), my problems stopped.

Facebook on September 25, 2010 9:16 AM

Good article, but would have been better without the sexism.

Lloyd Budd on September 25, 2010 9:51 AM

What about using a Mac Mini? We don't own any desktop computer, and as much as I love my TimeCapsule it doesn't do all the nifty things I'd like it to do, like upload the weekly snapshots to S3, for example. Right now I use the Capsule as a router, but as it's now time to move on, I was wondering if replacing it with a Mini made sense? Any insight on this?

julien.genestoux.myopenid.com on September 25, 2010 9:51 AM

I recently went and replaced my modded ASUS WL500gP (32MB ram stock, 128MB ram after mod) with a newer Netgear WNR3500L. The L = Linux as would be the case alot so it was easily modded and I dropped DD-WRT almost the day I got it. Internally it contains a 453Mhz Broadcom BCM4716 processor, 8MB flash, and 64MB ram which is plenty. The added bonus is that this particular router came with a TTY interface not only available but the header was already installed. ;) Therefore if I do happen to brick it then I can easily recover. The cable can be had for $20 and modded to work with the TTY pinout on the router. It went for $90.

Oh and it is gigabit ethernet too.

shinji on September 25, 2010 10:55 AM

Forgot to mention that I usually go by the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" rule but my ASUS was going on the fritz on me.

shinji on September 25, 2010 10:58 AM

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Seagate FreeAgent® GoFlex™ TV HD Media Player Review

2010-09-25T04:46:00.001-07:00

I’ve read reviews on The Gadgeteer for media players that hook up with your TV or home theater setup and let you view your home videos, pictures, movies, and even play your music files. I’ve always been interested in them, but I’ve never had one of these devices. I had looked into an Apple TV some months back, but they didn’t do HD. I liked the idea of the Apple TV because of the easy access to movies I could rent or buy for the device. Recently, I’d been noticing that some companies making these devices were forming relationships with Netflix or other movie services, and my interest in media players was growing again.  When Julie offered the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex TV HD media player, I was excited to give it a try.

What’s in the Box
FreeAgent GoFlex TV HD Media Player
Composite A/V cable
Component A/V cable
Power supply
Remote control
(Seagate’s website says a Quick Start guide and a CD should be included, but there wasn’t either in my packaging)

Specifications
Dimensions: 4.30in L x 5.91in W x 1.65in H (110mm x 150mm x 42mm)
Weight: 0.67lb (0.30kg)
Video file compatibility: AVI (Xvid, MPEG1/2/4, TS), MPG/MPEG, DVD (VOB, IFO) MP4/MOV (MPEG-4), H.264, VC-1 (WMV9), ISO, RM/RMVB, Motion JPEG, FLV, DivX HD
Audio file compatibility: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, WMA Pro, AAC, FLAC, MKA, OGG, APE, Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS
Video resolutions: NTSC 480i/480p, PAL 576i/576p, 720p, 1080i,1080p
Computer system requirements: Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, or Windows® 7 operating system or Mac® OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5.6 or later operating system ; available USB port
Video output: Composite video, component video or HDMI
Audio output: Stereo, S/PDIF Optical Digital Audio or HDMI audio
Network: Ethernet connectivity enables access of shared folders on computers and other devices connected to your network such as a GoFlex Net media sharing device, media server or a NAS
Wireless: Optional Wi-Fi adapter (sold separately), Wireless-N supported
Internet Services: Netflix, YouTube, Paramount, vTuner, Mediafly, Picasa, Flickr, Video feeds (RSS), Text feeds (RSS), Finance widget, Weather widget

(Note: Some of the pictures in this review are clickable for an enlarged view.)

My A/V setup is very simple. I have a 60” Sharp Aquos LCD TV, a cable box, and a Sony Blu-ray player. Other than TV programming through the cable connection, our entertainment has been mostly limited to the DVDs we currently own. We don’t often bother with our local DVD rental store because they have a problem with correctly checking in returned movies. Our cable service allows us to rent On Demand movies, but we seldom do because of the often choppy, pixelated playback of these movies. This poor playback of the On Demand movies can’t be attributed to our bandwidth, because we have outstanding bandwidth for home service. I was happy to see that the GoFlex was partnered with Netflix, and I hoped that the playback of those movies would be better than the On Demand movies. We were ready to broaden our entertainment horizons!

The front of the GoFlex TV is actually a hinged cover. A GoFlex hard drive can be plugged in the chamber behind the cover.

The GoFlex TV HD is a small black plastic box, some parts shiny and some matte. There’s only the Seagate logo and an LED on the front. The LED is solid amber in standby mode, blinks amber while starting up, and is solid white when the unit is powered on. If you find it distracting, you can disable the LED in the setup options.

The GoFlex TV HD doesn’t have any internal memory, so I was planning to use an external hard drive I had on hand with it. When I received the package from Seagate, I was surprised to see that they had also sent a 1 TB Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-portable hard drive. The GoFlex Ultra-portable hard drive is also made of shiny black plastic, and it is even smaller than the GoFlex TV. The hard drive comes with a connector cable that allows you to plug it directly into a USB port. There is no power adapter for the hard drive; it is powered through the USB port.

Internal chamber for plugging in a GoFlex hard disk

The GoFlex TV actually has an internal chamber (behind the hinged front cover) where you can install a GoFlex Ultra-portable drive, but the chamber is sized for a much smaller drive than the one I received. The 1TB GoFlex hard drive is physically bigger than the smaller capacity GoFlex drives. No problem, however, because the GoFlex TV has two USB 2.0 ports – one on the back, and one on the side. I plugged the GoFlex Ultra-portable drive into the port on the back, leaving the more accessible port on the side available for plugging in USB flash drives, a digital camera, a digital video camera, or the like.

Back of the GoFlex TV showing power connection, composite video, component video, optical audio, HDMI, LAN connection, USB 2.0 port

I did not receive the optional Wi-Fi adapter. They were on backorder, so I bought an Ethernet cable and connected the GoFlex TV to my router. Luckily my router and my TV are in the same room. If you do decide to add the Wi-Fi adapter to your setup, you’ll be happy to know that it supports wireless-N for best range and speed.

Side of GoFlex TV showing USB 2.0 port and reset button

The GoFlex TV comes with composite and component cables, but no HDMI cable is included. My new Sharp Aquos TV has a lot of HDMI connectors, so I bought an HDMI cable. Now, I’m finally ready to go. Or was I?

As I mentioned, my package didn’t contain a Quick Start guide, CD, or manual. I’m resourceful, so I went to the internet and found the most recent version of the manual and the Quick Start guide. I hooked everything up in the order specified by the Quick Start guide. No problems, until I came to the place where I was told to insert the CD. I couldn’t find downloadable software for the GoFlex TV on the internet, so I contacted Seagate customer service and was eventually told the Media Sync software (which allows you to automatically sync files on your computer with the GoFlex hard drive) was not available for 64-bit systems, and that the GoFlex TV device required no other software installed on the computer.

I did find a trial version of Media Sync on the GoFlex Ultra-portable hard drive itself. I connected the hard drive to my computer, installed the software, and ran it to copy my video files to the hard drive. I found the copy to be rather slow, but I don’t add a lot of files to my video directory. I won’t have to worry about needing a sync manager – I can just quickly attach the drive and copy over any new files as I add them if I want them on the Seagate’s disk. At the time I began testing the Seagate with my TV, I had copies of my home video files on both my laptop and on the hard drive attached to the GoFlex TV. My music files and my picture files are only on my laptop.

The GoFlex TV comes with a remote control. It is small, with only a few buttons. There’s a power button, Menu and home buttons (to quickly return to the home menu), a circular set of up/down/right/left/OK buttons to navigate the menus, video playback controls, volume controls, and video zoom buttons.

On-screen keyboard

Some options will require you to input data. There is an on-screen keyboard that you navigate and select letters with the remote control. This option works well enough, but you can imagine it is slow. You can attach a USB keyboard (wired or wireless) to the GoFlex TV using one of the USB 2.0 ports to make entering data much easier and faster.

Home screen

Finally, I’m ready to try out the GoFlex TV Media Player. I selected the proper video source on my TV and powered on the GoFlex TV, and I was immediately connected.    The final option on the top row in the above image, Browse, lets you search the devices connected via the USB ports, and it lets you find computers on your network and setup shortcut connections for quick access to files stored on them. I easily created a shortcut to my laptop by signing in once through the Seagate. You can set up these shortcuts to allow free or restricted access to your files. After defining the shortcut, you quickly and automatically get logged in to the network devices by browsing to your list of shortcuts. I had to access the files on my computer through the Browse option or through the Network icon (looks like two computer screens) in the bottom row seen in the above image. The “Movies”, “Pictures”, and “Music” options on the first row showed only the files on the connected hard drive.

Pictures, Movies, and Music files display with this format

After I created the shortcut, I could see a listing of my computer’s directories. For music, picture, or video directories, you see an alphanumeric sorted list of icons like the one above. I’ll be honest and say I have no interest in playing music through my TV, so I gave that a cursory look. I navigated using the menu control buttons, selected a song, and played it. Music plays well, and information about the song and time remaining displays on the screen during playback. I was able to play songs I had ripped from my CDs and songs I had purchased as digital files.

A picture file displayed on the Sharp TV screen.

I’m also not very interested in looking at pictures on my TV screen, but you can view your photos in a slideshow while you’re listening to your music, if you so desire. Even high-resolution pictures taken with our Nikon camera could sometimes appear fuzzy when blown up to fit our 60″ TV. The movie playback also works great with our home videos. They played smoothly and cleanly.

Internet options screen

The “Internet” option takes you to the same options you see in the middle row of the home screen. We’ll talk about those options in more detail later.

My Shortcuts lists pre-defined logins to my network devices, and Workgroups lets me see devices on my network

Browse function lets you see files on the attached USB drive or networked computers and media servers

I found an HD movie trailer online and downloaded it to my computer. I tried streaming it wirelessly from my computer, and it froze up a time or two during the first playback. I tried playing it from my computer again on a different day, and it played perfectly. When I copied the trailer to the GoFlex drive connected to the GoFlex TV, playback was smooth and uninterrupted.

Setup options for GoFlex TV HD

My TV can display information about the attached sources, and I was concerned to see that my video playback from the GoFlex TV was NOT in HD. After all, I have a full-HD TV, an HDMI cable, and a GoFlex HD media player. After a quick consultation of the manual I had downloaded from the internet, I realized that I needed to go into the setup function and select the appropriate video resolution for the GoFlex HD.

Video resolution setup

I selected HDMI Auto resolution, and my playback is now 1080p.

Listing of the movies in my Netflix Instant Queue

We’ll finally discuss the Internet options.  I’m ready to try out the real reason I was interested in a media player – streaming movies from Netflix. I created my Netflix account, activated my Seagate GoFlex, and was connected – just like that! You can only play movies that you have already added to your Instant Queue at the Netflix website. After a few minutes searching around the Netflix database from my computer, I had created an Instant Queue. On the TV, you see a scrolling list of “movie posters”, and the playing time and rating for each movie. When you select a movie and press the OK button on the remote, you see a summary description of the movie, an option to rate the movie, and an option to remove it from your queue. The only parental controls are those you set up for your Netflix account. Once you select PLAY, you get a progress screen showing the movie retrieval which displays for a few seconds, then the movie starts. We’ve watched several movies since installing the GoFlex TV. Every single movie downloaded and played absolutely flawlessly. There was no hesitation, no pixelation, no problems of any kind. We won’t be renting any more On Demand movies from the cable company!

Despite being listed in the online information, the Paramount video service isn’t an option on my GoFlex TV. YouTube videos can be accessed by several categories, including recently added, top rated, etc. Or you can search for videos by name or sign in to access your account. Mediafly lets you access popular videos or audio files, search, or sign in to your user account. vTuner lets you listen to radio stations from around the world.   These functions were easy to use and worked well.

The Picasa picture service lets you search through and view public pictures, or you can access your account. Flickr lets you search through photos, but there is no login option for your account. These functions worked well, but some pictures didn’t look their best blown up to fit the screen of our TV.

There are video RSS feeds for world or US news, business and technology, entertainment, and sports. There are text RSS feeds from CNN News, NPR News, and BBC News. There’s a weather widget that shows information for pre-selected cities, or you can specify a zip code for your local weather information. There’s also a finance widget that shows you information for the Dow Jones Industrials and several pre-selected stocks; you can also add stocks to the list or delete stocks you are no longer interested in.

There seems to be a little redundancy in the home screen options. As I mentioned before, the “Internet” option at the top takes you to the exact same functions shown in the middle of the home screen. The complete set of icons on the bottom row on the home menu are exactly the same options that are accessed through “Browse” at the top of the screen. I don’t mind this, though I wish I could re-order the sets of options. I’d like to have Netflix on the top row, or at least be able to define it as my pre-selected option when I turn on the GoFlex TV.

You’ll be happy to know that the GoFlex TV’s firmware can be updated. Simply check the Seagate website periodically for downloads to keep your GoFlex TV up-to-date with the lastest version.

I found the GoFlex TV HD media player to be a snap to set up. It’s easy to connect the player to computers on your network, even when you use the on-screen keyboard and the remote to enter your information. I was able to easily access and play files on my computer with few problems. It’s easy enough to copy any personal files onto the GoFlex Ultra-portable hard drive, and playback from there is flawless. My favorite thing is the Netflix option. It’s a snap to connect to Netflix and select a movie from your Instant Queue. Netflix movies worked perfectly – no choppiness, no pixelation, and no problems of any kind. The only hiccough I had was because of the missing CD – that I didn’t actually need. I would recommend that the Quick Start Guide be amended to remove the CD installation step. Quick Start also should tell you to go into setup and choose the correct output resolution for your home theater. I recommend the Seagate GoFlex TV HD media player, and it will have a permanent place in my A/V setup.

I didn’t mention the GoFlex Ultra-portable drive much in this review. I’ll be covering it, along with a 500GB version in more detail in an upcoming review.

The photo of the tall building shown on my TV screen is from the public pictures at Flickr.

Tagged as: A/V device, HD, Media player

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Product Information

Price: $129.99

Manufacturer: Seagate

Pros:
Easy setup

Streaming, HD playback works flawlessly

Easy to access content from hard drives, USB flash drives, and cameras

Netflix access is easy and works perfectly

Cons:
Quick Start Guide steps include installing software that wasn't included nor needed

Can't sign in to your Flickr account

No HDMI cable included

Home screen options are a bit redundant

via the-gadgeteer.com

Scrabble Becomes The First Premium App For The Kindle

2010-09-25T03:38:00.001-07:00

We knew they were coming. We knew the Kindle would soon turn into a multi-purpose device thanks to the KDK. Well, here’s the first premium app — Scrabble from EA. It lacks any wireless multiplayer functions, but it does allow you to compete against either the all-knowing Kindle or a buddy. It can be yours for only $5.

But be careful. Buying games for your Kindle is a slippery slope. Right now it’s just innocent Scrabble. Who knows what app will invade your Kindle next and take precious time away from your reading. Battleship? Trivial Pursuit? Stratego? You’ve been warned.

via crunchgear.com

Dell's Looking Glass tablet gets another chance to shine (video)

2010-09-23T22:04:00.001-07:00

Adobe offers beta 64-bit Flash plug-in with IE9 support

2010-09-16T07:31:00.001-07:00

Adobe offers beta 64-bit Flash plug-in with IE9 support
by Cyril Kowaliski — 6:00 AM on September 16, 2010

On the heels of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 beta, which is available in a 64-bit flavor for Windows 7, Adobe has released a 64-bit Flash plug-in. Dubbed Flash Player Square, this preview plug-in is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, although judging by the "features" section of the download page, Adobe is clearly targeting IE9:

64-bit support — Native support for 64-bit operating systems and 64-bit web browsers on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows.

Internet Explorer 9 hardware accelerated rendering support — Enhanced support for Internet Explorer 9 Beta. It takes advantage of hardware accelerated graphics in Internet Explorer 9 Beta, utilizing hardware rendering surfaces to improve graphics performance and enable seamless composition.

Adobe goes on to note that this is a "preview release to highlight 64-bit and enhanced IE9 support in Flash Player." Interestingly, the firm adds that Flash Player Square shouldn't be mistaken with a "'beta release' of a specific version of Flash Player." A production-ready 64-bit Flash plug-in will be released by the middle of next year. Full IE9 support, meanwhile, will arrive when IE9 goes out of beta—no big shock there.

You can grab Flash Player Square right here on the Adobe Labs website.

Tags: Internet Software

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via techreport.com

Samsung NX100, Slimline Mirrorless Camera with Smart Lenses

2010-09-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

Samsung’s new NX100 is a cut-down version of its mirrorless NX10, coming on a like a compact camera to the NX10’s slimline SLR design. Like its older brother, the new camera has an APS-C-sized, 14.6 megapixel sensor and shoots 720p video. What it lacks is the bigger camera’s electronic viewfinder (although Samsung will sell you an add-on which slots into the hotshoe). But that’s not the point. The real news is in the lenses, which use something called “i-Function” to make the camera easier to use.

I-Function puts buttons on the lens itself. Hit the switch and you can then cycle through settings like white-balance, ISO, shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation, controlling them by turning the focus ring on the lens. Yes, it has taken years of research and innovation (the word “innovative” is used six times in the press release) to finally put an aperture ring back on the lens, just where it had sat since time began.

Samsung is also changing the descriptions of its lenses. Now you can buy a “landscape lens” or a “portrait lens”, and these i-Function lenses will tell the camera what they are so the camera can configure its own settings. This is called lens-priority mode, and compatible lenses will have little icons on them to let you know just what they are. I really like the on-lens control idea, but the auto-settings business seems a little gimmicky, and maybe even pointless on a camera clearly aimed at an enthusiast, not a point-and-shooter.

There will be accessories, too. Joining the viewfinder will be a GPS unit, and there are two lenses at launch, a 20-50mm ƒ3.5-5.6 zoom and a 20mm ƒ2.8 pancake lens. Other NX lenses will work, too, but you don’t get the fancy new features.

Pricing and availability are yet to be revealed. Given that an NX10 can be had in a zoom kit for $700, my guess is that the street price will be $500 to $600. The camera will come in black and (as seen in the gallery below) brown.

<< Previous | Next >>

<< Previous | Next >>

NX product page [Samsung: Not yet listing NX100]

See Also:

Samsung NX10 Limited Edition in Black and White

Zero to Hero: Five New NX Lenses Put Samsung in the Game

Micro Four Thirds

Sony Fights Micro Four-Thirds With Lens-Changing Compact

5 Reasons to Ditch Your Digital SLR

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

via wired.com

Back To School: Properly Toting Your Books, Gadgets Around Campus

2010-09-14T09:04:00.001-07:00

Backpacks are a necessary part of school and around here, we’re not strangers to backpacks, messenger bags, and bags in general. We’ve looked at a ton over the years and recently wrapped up our last bag week where we looked at an absurd amount of bags.

School requires a different sort of bag than grown-up life and, well, there are different types of students. Not everyone carries all their books with them at all times and others shop for style over function. Then there’s the college gamer and the occasional student. That’s fine. We’ve got everyone covered.

The Overloaded

Sometimes you need a big bag. I remember those semesters where there wasn’t time to swap books and had to carry all the supplies for multiple classes. That means books, binders, workbooks, gadgets, computers — basically everything at once. What you need is a bag large enough to hold all that while not causing a hunch. The North Face has your back. (I’m truly awesome)

The North Face On Sight tackles both of these requirements with ease. I found it roomy, comfy, and overall great. It’s not the largest bag I’ve tested — that goes to the Booq Boa Flow XL — but I’m confident that the On Sight is large enough to handle just about anything. Plus, it’s approved by the American Chiropractic Associations, which is always good to know.

The Part Timer

So you’re taking a class or two. Fair enough. That probably means a modest dual-purpose bag will work fine for you — maybe even a messenger bag that can moonlight as a computer bag.

Let me steer you towards two Ogio bags: the Street Corp or the Hip-Hop. The later has been my bag of choice for the past five years and has performed with flying colors. It’s about the perfect size for a computer, a couple of smaller-sized books and random gadgets. The often-overlooked shoulder strap is just fine, too. The Street Corp shares a lot of the same design, but adds a five-section document originizer, which is perfect for school. I love these bags.

The Northwest Hipster

Do you ride a single-speed bike, wear flannel shirts in the summer and hang out with Devin? If so, chances are you wouldn’t be caught dead with a North Face bag. That’s fine, but you still need to carry around books and whatnot; check out MissionWorkshop’s Shed.

This awesome bag screams nonconformity. There isn’t a single logo or branding on the outside. It’s just a whole lot of slate gray with black piping. And that’s great. It’s sparse style is what sets it apart from department store specials. The shed isn’t just about style, though. No, this bag is a true messenger bag, in that it’s made for real-life bike messengers. It’s built to last and that philosophy shows. The materials are top-notch and all the compartments are have a waterproof lining. The top flap can even roll down, making a true waterproof dry sack.

The only downfall is that the Shed is rather large. It’s huge, but MissionWorkshop also sells two smaller sizes as well so there’s probably one to fit your lifestyle.

The Dropout

School isn’t just about books. It’s also about making lifelong friends and there isn’t a better way to get to know someone than over a game of Madden. But don’t throw your Xbox in a grocery sack. No, instead use the Astro Scout Gaming Backpack.

This novel backpack is specifically designed for transporting gaming consoles. There’s a large, double padded and fleece lined storage compartment that will keep your most expensive possession nice and safe while all the necessary accessories like controllers, headphones, and Monster Energy are stored in other pockets. At only $80, you can probably afford it, too.

via crunchgear.com

Canon G12 With HD Video Now Official

2010-09-14T08:56:00.001-07:00

You may remember that last month, Canon’s flagship G12 compact camera was leaked in an accidentally published CNET review. Now, over three weeks later, the same camera is officially official.

One of the annoying things about Canon is the artificial hobbling of features to make its cameras fit into the product line hierarchy. The cameras all use the same processing chips (currently the DIGIC 4), but only have a subset of features switched on. All manufacturers do this, but the G-series has been a particularly bad example: After the G9, released back in 2007, Canon switched off hi-def video in its top-of-the-range compact. Why? Nobody knows.

Now it’s back, and the G12 will shoot 720p video at 24fps. The camera keeps its sensor at a sensible ten megapixels and will shoot up to ISO3200. The rear 2.8-inch LCD has a rather pedestrian 461,000 dots, then optical zoom runs from 28mm to 140mm (35mm equivalent) and the aperture ranges from a fairly wide ƒ2.8 to ƒ4.5.

Mercifully, Canon’s other additions are also useful to the serious photographer. Instead of a slew of gimmicky extras (cough Samsung NX100 cough), Canon has added an EOS SLR-style front control dial, hybrid image-stabilization (which works in multiple planes) and multiple aspect-ratios, so you can shoot wide-screen or square pictures in-camera. These come in addition to the already popular manual control knobs.

The G12 is a very solid (literally) update to the G11, although now it has some serious competition in the form of Nikon’s almost identical P7000. That is, of course, great for us buyers. The G12 costs $500.

G12 product page [Canon]

See Also:

Nikon's Stages Compact Comeback with Flash-Friendly P7000

Canon G12: G-Series Regains High-Def Video at Last

Leaked Canon G11 Specs Show Five Megapixels Less Than G10

Canon G10: More Pixels, More Processor, More Dials

Review: Canon Powershot G9 — Small. Powerful. Perfect.

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

via wired.com

Samsung i8700 Caught On Video

2010-09-14T08:52:00.001-07:00

via ubergizmo.com

Beer chills 200 years under the sea

2010-09-03T21:06:00.001-07:00

via rss.cnn.com

iPhone 4 antenna libel: should Apple sue Consumer Reports?

2010-07-15T01:32:00.001-07:00

Home > Uncategorized > iPhone 4 antenna libel: should Apple sue Consumer Reports?
iPhone 4 antenna libel: should Apple sue Consumer Reports?
July 13, 2010
The trumped-up iPhone 4 antenna controversy has now spread to Consumer Reports, with the publication revoking its iPhone 4 recommendation after “additional testing” of the product. The fact that Consumer Reports couldn’t find anything wrong with the iPhone 4’s antenna the first time around merely serves to show what a farce the whole thing is, as the magazine’s testers proved that there’s no “antenna issue” under normal usage in their initial tests, and only went back and did additional “testing” after the geek headline writers misrepresented the specific non-natural finger pattern they’d discovered which could slightly lessen signal strength under certain circumstances. Consumer Reports apparently then went and repeated the same specific finger pattern, found that they could replicate the non-issue, and like so many other reckless technology journalists, libelously labeled it a defect.
Nevermind that Consumer Reports destroyed its own credibility on the matter in doing so; if an issue doesn’t exist in real world usage and can only be evoked in a theoretical scenario that someone told them to try, labeling it a “defect” automatically makes your publication a joke. And nevermind that Consumer Reports, largely forgotten by the mainstream here in the twenty-first century, sold out by taking a desperate swing to try to get back in the game which will backfire in the eyes of the mainstream. The real question here is that with the application of the word “defect” to the iPhone 4 antenna being an obvious act of libel, should Apple sue Consumer Reports and other similarly out of control publications in order to get them to cease intentionally publishing false information about the iPhone 4? Make no mistake: Apple would win. Eventually. After years of legal proceedings, during which the geek headline writers, who despise Apple already, would make the legal proceedings their lead story. It would only serve to give geek technology journalists (and all technology journalists are geek technology journalists) more ammo when it comes to their increasingly creative ways of carrying out their own agenda of attempting to punish Apple for making products that aren’t geeky enough for their personal tastes. And it would bring even more attention to the iPhone 4 antenna story, which deserves none.
Then again, Apple may eventually have to do something to silence the libel coming from these clowns. Or Apple could just wait it out. Geek technology journalism is dying by the day here in 2010, as the mainstream has learned to completely ignore what the geeks have to say about consumer technology; it’s why you see one prominent geek having a public meltdown after another this year. It’s why you see geeks leaving the Apple platform (and good riddance) even as Apple’s products continue to increasingly conquer the mainstream. If one geek leaves the Apple platform and a thousand non-geek users take his place, that’s a double win for the mainstream, because if nothing else, it means that geek headline writers just might stop writing about Apple altogether – meaning that the libel, which is currently served up in a nonstop fashion, would go by the wayside (after all, you can’t falsely claim to have miraculously found an “antenna defect” on a product that you don’t even use).
This is separate from the question of whether Apple should sue journalists for knowingly publishing trade secrets (Apple did this in the past, lost, and looked bad doing so) or whether Apple should sue publications who buy secret prototypes from someone who claims to have found it in a bar. Actually, the fact that there’s not (yet) been a lawsuit against that particular publication suggests that Apple may well have decided that taking journalists to court – even journalists who steal their prototypes and/or intentionally libel their products – may not be a particularly smart way of going about things after all. But how to deal with all the libel, then? Interestingly enough, and serving as yet more evidence that geek headline writers really are being ignored by the mainstream these days, the nonstop libel written about Apple products hasn’t stopped Apple’s products from becoming major mainstream successes. Perhaps Apple’s best course of action is simply to allow these geek clowns posing as journalists to ruin their own reputations one libelous article at a time.
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Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tagged: antenna, Consumer Reports, geeks, iPhone 4, journalists, lawsuit, libel, sue

via beatweek.com