Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Nokia Lumia 800

Today, Nokia unveiled its first Windows Phone handsets, the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710.

Nokia Lumia 800

Calling it the "first real Windows Phone," Nokia said it designed the Lumia 800 from the inside out and features a durable polycarbonate plastic body with a curved 3.7-inch ClearBack AMOLED (480x800 pixels) touch screen. It's powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor and has 16GB of internal memory. Users will also be given 25GB of free storage through Microsoft's cloud-based SkyDrive service.

Nokia has always been known for equipping its smartphones with excellent cameras, and it looks like the Lumia 800 will be no different. It comes with an 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. It's capable of capturing 720p HD video at 30fps, and the camera app offers various editing options, such as red-eye reduction, motion blur reduction, and white balance controls, and includes an instant-share feature.
In addition to the apps and services provided by Windows Phone, the Lumia 800 will also come preloaded with several apps built specifically for Nokia's devices. This includes an ESPN Sports Hub, Nokia Drive for free, turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, and Nokia Music and Mix Radio, a free music-streaming service with the ability to create personalized channels.
The Nokia Lumia 800 will be available in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and United Kingdom in November. Pricing is expected to go around 420 euros ($585 U.S.), and you can preorder yours today through Nokia's Web site.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Motorola Droid Bionic

The good: The Motorola Droid Bionic has a nice slim and sleek design, with a 4.3-inch qHD display and the double whammy of a dual-core processor and Verizon 4G LTE support. Multimedia features are plentiful, and business users will be pleased with its enterprise abilities like the Webtop application and solid security. We were also pleased with its long battery life.
The bad: The Motorola Droid Bionic is saddled with Motorola's custom UI, which might not be for everyone. The camera has a slight shutter lag, the display is not as sharp as we would like, and it's also quite expensive. The Webtop accessories aren't cheap.
The bottom line: The Motorola Droid Bionic is everything you want from a high-end smartphone. It's sleek, fast, and powerful, with features that will please both consumers and business users--if you're willing to pay the high price
Since its announcement, however, many other dual-core phones have arrived ahead of it, such as the T-Mobile G2x and Motorola's own Droid X2. The HTC ThunderBolt also beat the Droid Bionic to the punch as Verizon's first 4G LTE phone. The Droid Bionic began to lose its luster, while consumers grew even more impatient for this phone to finally arrive. Even we here at CNET had begun to question whether we would ever see the Droid that had suffered delay after delay.
Nine months later, Motorola is finally ready to give birth. And we have to admit; it was worth the wait. The Droid Bionic that Verizon will have in stores in September is remarkably different from the one we saw in January. The hardware is slimmer, sleeker, and definitely more polished. Indeed, Verizon claims that the Droid Bionic is its thinnest 4G LTE device yet. Also, while there are many dual-core smartphones and Verizon 4G LTE handsets on the market, the Droid Bionic is the first to be both. And we're glad that Motorola wisely ships the phone with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread instead of just Android 2.2.
We've seen its features before on other handsets like the Atrix and the Motorola Photon 4G , but we are still impressed by its multimedia capabilities, enterprise-friendly applications, and the powerful Webtop application that helps turn it from a phone into a portable PC with the aid of accessories like a laptop dock. We were reluctant to embrace this overhyped handset, but in the end, we have to say we're very pleased with its power, speed, and style.
The cost of the phone is why we hesitate in recommending it. The Droid Bionic is $299.99 after a two-year contract with Verizon Wireless. If you want the laptop dock accessory, that's another $299.99, though Verizon will knock $100 off that price if you have a data plan of $50 or more per month. The HD Station dock is around $99.99, and the tiny Webtop adapter is the cheapest option at $29.99.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Sony Ericsson unveils the Xperia ray, Xperia active and txt



The Sony Ericsson Xperia ray is an old friend of ours previously known by its code name, Urushi. The 9.4mm slim smartphone weighs in at just 100 g and packs a 3.3" BRAVIA screen of FWVGA resolution (854 x 480 pixels).
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray comes with an 8.1 megapixel autofocus camera with an Exmor R backlit sensor, capable of capturing 720p video. It's only got 300 MB of user-available memory but the microSD card slot lets your expand that by up to 32 GB.
As is to be expected, the Xperia ray connectivity departments is well geared with dual-band (900/2100 MHz) or tri-band(850, 1900, 2100 MHz) 3G/HSPA, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, microUSB and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray will be available globally in selected markets from Q3 (our previous tipster mentioned the end of September) in four distinct colors - black, gold, white and pink.

Sony Ericsson Xperia active

The Sony Ericsson Xperia active has SPORTS written all over it (proverbially!). It's a dust proof and water resistant Android smartphone with scratch-resistant screen with wet finger tracking support. Wait what? Yeah, its touchscreen would work just fine registering your sweaty fingers during workouts. Awesome, right? Wait to hear the rest of the specs.
The Xperia active runs on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and packs a 3-inch Reality display (with Mobile BRAVIA Engine) of HVGA (480 x 320 pixels) resolution, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video recording, 320MB internal memory and microSD card slot (with 2GB pre-installed card).
The Sony Ericsson Xperia active has a bag full of connectivity tricks too - there is Wireless N with DLNA support, quad-band GSM and dual (or tri)-band HSPA network support, GPS with aGPS and digital compass, Bluetooth, FM radio with RDS and a 3.5mm audio jack is onboard.
The Xperia active runs on the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread and will come with lots of pre-installed sports apps and is compatible with ANT+ technology for real-time heart rate monitoring much like other Sony Ericsson handsets.
As we said, the Xperia active is dust proof and water resistant and can swim in up to 1 m of water depth for good half an hour. The screen will successfully track your fingers if they are wet from sweat or otherwise. But there is more, Sony Ericsson has included lots of goodies in the retail package to help your phone in your active life - an extra exchangeable back cover, detachable sports ear hooks for the handsfree headset, a wrist strap for your Xperia active and an arm band case.
Sony Ericsson Xperia active will launch in Q3 this year with the pricing yet to be announced.

Sony Ericsson txt

The last announced phone is the Sony Ericsson txt It's a socially-oriented feature phone with 2.6-inch (non-touch) display, a full hardware QWERTY keyboard, an SMS shortcut for instant texting option and a "Friends" app showing the social updates of your top five friends.
The info on the Sony Ericsson txt is pretty scarce so far. The only other available detail is the availability - Q3 this year.

LiveDock and LiveSound

Sony Ericsson has also announced two new accessories compatible with the latest generation of Xperia devices - the LiveDock (a simple docking station for charging) and LiveSound. The latter is a new tangle-free hi-fi headset with a key, which can control some compatible apps (like you can control the iPod/iPhone player with the single key on its headset). Both accessories will become available in Q3 too.

Nokia N9


General2G networkGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G networkHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
Announced2011, June
StatusComing soon
SizeDimensions116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm, 76 cc
Weight135 g
DisplayType  AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size480 x 854 pixels, 3.9 inches
 - Gorilla glass display
- Anti-glare polariser
- Multi-touch input method
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
SoundAlert typesVibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
 Dolby Mobile sound enhancement; Dolby Headphone support
MemoryPhonebookPractically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call recordsYes
Internal16/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
Card slotNo
DataGPRSClass 33
EDGEClass 33
3GHSDPA, 14.4 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.7 Mbps
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
BluetoothYes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
Infrared portNo
USBYes, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go support
CameraPrimary8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual LED flash
FeaturesGeo-tagging, face detection, touch-focus
VideoYes, 720p@30fps
SecondaryYes
FeaturesOSMeeGo OS, v1.2 Harmattan
CPU1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, PowerVR SGX530 GPU, TI OMAP 3630 chipset
MessagingSMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
BrowserWAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds
RadioNo
GamesAngry Birds Magic (NFC), Galaxy on Fire 2, Real Golf 2011; downloadable
ColorsBlack, Cian, Magenta
GPSYes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps
JavaYes, MIDP 2.1
 - MicroSIM card support only
- SNS integration
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- Digital compass
- TV-out (720p video) via HDMI and composite
- NFC support
- Dolby Digital Plus via HDMI
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA/FLAC player
- MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
- Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), PDF viewer
- Video/photo editor
- Voice memo/command/dial
- Predictive text input (Swype)
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 1450 mAh (BV-5JW)
Stand-byUp to 380 h (2G) / Up to 450 h (3G)
Talk TimeUp to 11 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G)
Music playUp to 50 h

Monday, June 13, 2011

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 preview: First look

Introduction

By losing an inch of screen diagonal and reducing the weight to something you might actually be able to hold longer than 5 minutes, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 hopes to convert more people to the tablet cause. Those who found the 7” Galaxy Tab too limiting and the 10.1” slates too heavy to take anywhere other than your couch will certainly appreciate the effort.
This could be the next evolutionary step in Android tablets. An ultra-slim slate with powerful hardware, lower weight than we expected and an impressive screen created by the world’s number-two-soon-to-be-number-one manufacturer. It definitely looks like a winner on paper (and not the Charlie Sheen kind, mind you).

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 3G at a glance:

  • General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
  • Form factor: Tablet
  • Dimensions: 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm, 470 g
  • Display: 8.9" 16M-color WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen
  • CPU: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset
  • RAM: 1GB
  • OS: Android 3.1 Honeycomb
  • Memory: 16/32/64 GB storage
  • Camera: 3.15 megapixel auto-focus camera with 720p video recording; LED flash, 2 megapixel front facing camera, video-calls
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port,GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, HDMI TV-out (through an adapter), USB host (adapter required)
  • Misc: TouchWiz customization, telephony, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, Swype text input
Android tablets may have been off to a slow start, but no one can deny that they’ve been improving at an amazing rate. Only a few months after the release of Honeycomb we already have at least a dozen intriguing tablets, including the Transformer with its detachable multi-functional keyboard, the Acer ICONIA Tab A500 with its competitive price and the XOOM with its hopefully-soon-to be-enabled LTE connectivity.
Yet the not quite polished Android 3.0 OS has been holding all those tablets back. Lagging, lack of support for all the features (like the USB host or microSD card) and low number of optimized apps used to be the deal-breakers.
Well, Google has already addressed most of the performance issues with the 3.1 update and developers have been hard at work on delivering those apps so iOS might finally get itself some proper competition.
Good timing for the Galaxy Tab 8.9 then, which may as well see its prospects soar.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Samsung Infuse 4G review: Extra legroom

Introduction

In America, it is widely believed that bigger is better. Or so Samsung must have thought when they decided to launch the phone with the biggest and brightest screen first in the United States, and with the biggest network – AT&T. The Samsung Infuse 4G is definitely meant to stand out – its 4.5” Super AMOLED Plus screen is nearly unmatched on the market, and a beauty to look at. It makes 4-inchers look petty and irrelevant.
Despite its humongous screen, the Samsung Infuse 4G has an impressively thin body. At 8.99 mm, it is only a tad thicker than a Galaxy S2. It does have an excuse though – it’s packing a larger screen than the current Samsung flagship. That’s the spirit.

Key Features

  • Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
  • 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
  • 4.5" 16M-color Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
  • 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 512 MB of RAM
  • 8 MP wide-angle lens auto focus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
  • 720p video recording at 30fps
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support
  • GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
  • 16GB internal storage, microSD slot
  • Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
  • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p) support
  • Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
  • FM radio with RDS
  • Great audio quality
  • Super slim and lightweight at 8.99mm and 139g
  • 1.3MP secondary camera, video-call
  • Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration enable 1080p flash video playback in the web browser
  • Document editor
  • File manager preinstalled
  • The richest video format support we’ve seen

Main disadvantages

  • All-plastic build
  • No dedicated camera key
  • Super slim body has poor grip when taking pictures
  • Single-core processor
  • No 1080p video recording despite having the same camera unit as the Galaxy S2
  • Sheer size raises questions about single-handed use
  • Non-hot-swappable memory card slot
  • The device ships with Android 2.2 (Froyo), not the latest Gingerbread
Certain comparisons are not in the Samsung Infuse 4G’s favor. It looks like a flagship, but it’s not quite there. The Infuse just doesn’t have the raw processing power of the Galaxy S2. What’s fair’s fair though – it does look even more impressive.

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 review: Utility droid

Introduction

Samsung’s QWERTY messengers have not exactly been setting the world on fire. They have done well though to set the scene for this one. The Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 follows on the heels of Omnia and Corby. It puts Android in a time-tested form factor and is ready to entertain upgraders coming from dumbphones and PocketPCs alike.
The Galaxy Pro has a clear objective – deliver the full Android experience, a good social package and hassle-free messaging. What does it need to meet those tasks? Well, a comfortable QWERTY keyboard obviously, possibly a touchscreen, enough processing power and at least some basic shooting skills to capture the important moments. Of course, a messenger is nothing without a proper OS and this is where the Android Froyo comes in. But let’s see what else the Galaxy Pro has to offer.

Key features

  • 2.8" 256K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) resolution
  • Full four-row QWERTY keyboard
  • ARMv6 800MHz CPU, 270MB RAM, 180MB of user-available storage
  • Android 2.2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz 3.0 UI
  • Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
  • 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n with hotspot functionality
  • GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
  • 3.15 MP autofocus camera
  • QVGA video recording @30fps
  • microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
  • microSD slot (up to 32GB, 2GB in box)
  • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Accelerometer and proximity sensor
  • Document viewer out of the box, paid editing
  • Stereo FM radio with RDS
  • Light and compact
  • Smart dialing

Main disadvantages

  • The QVGA screen looks bad and limits the choice of apps
  • Portrait homescreen ported to landscape takes some time getting used to
  • QVGA-only video recording
  • No shutter key
  • No Adobe Flash support in the browser
  • No secondary video-call camera
  • No ambient light sensor
  • No dedicated video player app
  • No multi-touch
  • Android 2.2 Froyo, instead of latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread
It should be clear by now the Galaxy Pro B7510 isn’t your typical Android powerhouse for HD video, quality imaging or heavy-duty internet browsing. Gaming is out of the picture too. To be honest, the Galaxy Pro doesn’t quite make the grade as a BlackBerry competitor. To make up for it, it is social and friendly – and a great texter too. Virtual keyboards have been getting better but the Galaxy Pro’s superbly laid-out keypad is the prefect addition to Gmail.
So the Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 it is and, although this is not the typical Android package, let’s hope the experience is up to scratch. With a handful of Samsung Ch@ts, Corbies and Omnia messengers gone almost unnoticed, we’re about to see if our Galaxy Pro here has what it takes to leave a mark. Our traditional hardware check-up is due right after the break..

HTC Desire S review: Droid cravings

Introduction

Powerful hardware, large high-res screen and the latest Android version in a solid metal body– the recipe did wonders for the original Desire so no wonder HTC are in no mood to experiment with the sequel. Take the best and make it better pretty much sums up the game plan. Oh well, we’ll take quietly brilliant even if emphasis is sometimes on quiet. In other words, the Desire S is a phone we’re ready to like. But make no mistake – it’s not meant to be the flagship its predecessor was.
HTC has the Sensation to send against the heavyweight competition. The new Desire is given a different, though no less important role. Ideally, it should be the smartphone that has broader appeal, the one to offer as reward to loyal upgraders. The phone to give you – wait for it – more bang for your buck than we’ve come expect from HTC.
Here’s what it puts on the table summarized.

Key features

  • Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
  • 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
  • 3.7" 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
  • Uses the best screen from HTC so far (along with the Incredible S)
  • Android OS v2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense
  • 1 GHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset
  • 768 MB RAM and 1.1 GB ROM
  • 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging
  • 720p video recording @ 30fps
  • Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
  • GPS with A-GPS
  • microSD slot up to 32GB (8GB card included)
  • Accelerometer and proximity sensor
  • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Stereo FM radio with RDS
  • microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
  • Smart dialing, voice dialing
  • Front facing camera, video calls
  • DivX/XviD video support
  • Compact aluminum unibody
  • Gorilla glass display
  • HTC Locations app
  • HTCSense.com integration
  • HTC Portable Hotspot
  • Ultra-fast boot times (if you don’t remove battery)

Main disadvantages

  • No dedicated camera key and no lens cover
  • Poor camcorder performance, jerky 720p videos
  • Below-par sunlight legibility
  • Wi-Fi signal degrades when you cover the top part of the back panel
  • microSD is below the battery cover
Those coming from the original Desire will certainly notice the absence of the optical trackpad and that now capacitive keys replace the hardware buttons. It’s a different way of interacting with the phone but by no means less comfortable. Other than that, the new smartphone certainly does well to upgrade the original. You get more RAM, a slightly more compact and lighter body, which is still solid enough thanks to all the metal, along with the latest Android and a more powerful GPU.
Video-chat enthusiasts will cheer the front-facing camera, while those who want lots of apps installed on their smartphones will appreciate the extended built-in memory.
The bad news is the Desire S is – in more than one way – running against the clock. A year is a really long time in cell phone terms and there’s no guarantee the updates are enough to make it competitive in a market that’s embracing dual-core and pushing beyond the 1GHz mark.
The easiest way to dispel the doubts would be to sail smooth through this review. So why wait – unboxing coming up right after the break

Monday, June 6, 2011

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II preview: Second encounter

Introduction

Having earned its place in the Android hall of fame, the original Galaxy S can start thinking about retirement. And these won’t be thoughts of fear and worry. With a replacement on its way, the veteran can look forward to getting the respects it deserves.
And what a replacement it is. Samsung’s Galaxy lineup is home of some of the world’s finest droids. But the I9100 Galaxy S II is special. The forerunner was in contention for the Best Droid title and more than once got a hand on it. But it was only a matter of time for the competition to eventually catch up and even get ahead. The Galaxy S II aims to put Samsung back in the lead.

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II at a glance:

  • General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
  • Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
  • Dimensions: 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm, 116 g
  • Display: 4.3" 16M-color WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen, Gorilla Glass,
  • CPU: Dual-core ARM Cortex A9 1.2 GHz processor, Orion chipset
  • GPU: Mali-400MP
  • RAM: 1GB
  • OS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
  • Memory: 16/32GB storage, microSD card slot
  • Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection, touch focus and image
  • stabilization; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash, front facing camera, video-calls
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port,
  • GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, TV-out, USB-on-the-go
  • Misc: TouchWiz 4.0 UI, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, Swype text input
The success of the original Galaxy S was based on four key features: the big Super AMOLED screen, the processing power, the 720p video recording and the ever evolving Android. The Galaxy S II is not just a cursory update – it upgrades all the key ingredients of its predecessor. The Super AMOLED Plus looks better and is more power efficient. The powerful dual-core processor and faster graphics make the Galaxy S II a silky smooth performer in web browsing and media.
On top of that, Samsung has really listened to the users. They’ve added a LED flash to the camera – and 8 MP sounds like they finally mean business. Not to mention the full HD videos were quite impressive. There is even more – the Galaxy S II has ditched the glossy battery cover in favor of a textured surface that makes the phone appear both more mature and durable.
The Galaxy S II is slightly bigger than its predecessor, but thinner and lighter. It’s a monster of a smartphone with a killer screen and premium imaging. You can bet the Gingerbread ticking inside feels right at home. And though this isn’t the first time we’re about to see it in action, we’d gladly spend more quality time with it.

Motorola Atrix 4G review: Enter the Atrix

It was the alliance with Android that put Motorola out of the woods. Like every partnership, it’s been a series of peaks and dips but every now and then the relationship between Motorola and Android goes beyond a mere marriage of convenience and well into a simmering love affair.
They did it with the MILESTONEs and the DROID X, the BACKFLIP and the DEFY. With the ATRIX 4G, Moto says it has no plans to live in the shadows of other big makers.
The Motorola ATRIX 4G is the first dual-core smartphone in the Motorola line-up. It’s also the first to flaunt a qHD touchscreen. That’s as solid as credentials get. Add the fact it’s the first handset for Motorola to support the fast HSDPA+ network (hence the 4G moniker) and you’ve got yourself a Droid that’s not afraid of what comes next.
Dual core is certainly the next big thing in mobile phones and the Motorola ATRIX deserves credit for being among the first – our bad really, this review isn’t exactly on time.
But there are other bold decisions that Motorola had to make. The HD and laptop docks for one – though the concept is not exactly original, Motorola is trying to make it mainstream. The added fingerprint scanner is not new either but well forgotten old does just as well. Plus, it will satisfy the privacy freak in all of us.
Anyway, the standard package is what we’re interested in and this is what our review will focus on. The optional extras can wait. The ATRIX is more important to us a phone (a dual-core smartphone, to be precise) than a wannabe laptop or a potential entertainment dock. Let’s waste no more time and take a glimpse of the ATRIX 4G’s key features.

Key features

  • Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G with HSDPA and HSUPA
  • 4" 16M-color capacitive touchscreen of qHD (960 x 540 pixels) resolution, scratch-resistant Gorilla glass
  • Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset; 1GB of RAM
  • Android OS v2.2; MOTOBLUR UI (update to Gingerbread planned)
  • Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.1 support
  • 5 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash; face detection, geotagging
  • 720p video recording @ 30fps (to be upgraded to 1080p Full-HD )
  • Wi-Fi ab/g/n; Wi-Fi hotspot functionality; DLNA
  • GPS with A-GPS; Digital compass
  • Fingerprint scanner that doubles as a power key
  • 16GB storage; expandable via a microSD slot
  • Accelerometer and proximity sensor
  • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  • microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
  • standard microHDMI port
  • Smart and voice dialing
  • Office document editor
  • Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary mic
  • DivX/XviD video support
  • Lapdock and HD Dock versatility
  • Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.2 support

Main disadvantages

  • Not the latest Android version
  • No FM radio
  • Screen image is pixelated upon closer inspection
  • Questionable placement of the Power/Lock button
  • Poor pinch zoom implementation in the gallery
  • No dedicated shutter key
  • Doesn’t operate without a SIM card inside
The ATRIX 4G is certainly the most powerful phone Motorola has made so far. With a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB worth of RAM and the ultra low power GeForce GPU under its hood, the ATRIX 4G is set to win the hearts and minds of power users.
Garnish all this premium hardware with a 5MP camera with dual LED flash and a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen of qHD resolution of 540x960 pixels, and the ATRIX 4G is more than ready to play with the other dual-core kids.
As for us, we are about to take a closer look at the design and build of the phone and find out if it matches the premium hardware that resides within.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The white iPhone: Does size matter?

Few companies other than Apple can inspire such burning questions in the tech world. And until they're answered, those questions orbit around the blogosphere at tremendous speed. When will Verizon get the iPhone? How much will the next MacBook weigh? Will the iPad ever get Flash?
In the last few weeks, however, one question has put the tech press on the the edge of its collective seat like never before. It wasn't about the capacity of the next iPod, but rather whether the long-elusive white iphone 4 was thicker than its black counterpart. Apple fans demanded to know the truth  in forums and ugly rumors spread that your existing case or bumper wouldn't quite fit. The reported difference was miniscule ("roughly 0.2mm" as TiPb put it) and other outlets said that there was no difference at all. Yet, the chatter was loud enough for Apple SVP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller to tweet, "It's not thicker. Don't believe all the junk that you read."
That could have put the issue to rest, but we just had to see for ourselves whether the rumors were true. When we took it from the box we couldn't see any design differences outside of the white skin and the more visible proximity sensor above the speaker (on the black phone the sensor blends in with the bezel). We also tried a couple of cases and they fit without any problem, but even then we weren't satisfied. So we took two iPhone 4s and traveled a few blocks from CNET's offices to put the question in the hands of experts. TechShop is a membership-based workshop that has just about every tool and machine you can imagine, from laser cutters to a drill press. Our needs were basic--just digital calipers, a micrometer, and one of TechShop's "Dream Coaches" to run the test.
After a few minutes of waiting with bated breath, we found that the white iPhone is indeed thicker, but only by the tiniest amount. According to the micrometer, for example, the comparison was between 9.4mm and 9.308mm. No, it won't make any difference in usability--and your case or bumper will still fit--but our white iPhone was a bit fatter around the waist. Watch the video below for the full details.
Now there are a few things to keep in mind. Tools can vary in accuracy and the differences could be due to imperfections in the skin or even dust or a bit of grease caught between the tool and the phone. What's more, it's very possible for a manufacturing assembly line to turn out two models of the same product with slightly different measurements. You may get different results measuring your white iPhone and you may find no difference at all.
But whatever the reason, we're already told you that the 0.092 gap will make no difference in your everyday use. And that's the most important fact to remember. So if you're freaking out (and really, why would you?) there's no reason to do so. Rather, we suspect that most iPhone users couldn't care less. And in all seriousness, there's no reason that you should.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 (Violet)

The good: The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 is simple to use with reliable auto shooting and decent low-light photos in a very small body.
The bad: The W570's shooting performance--especially shot to shot--is slow, and the lens has some edge and corner softness.
The bottom line: The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 is a tiny and light ultracompact capable of taking nice photos with little to no effort.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W570 is the successor to ,2010's Cyber-shot W350 a favorite ultracompact of mine and our readers. Sony didn't change much for the update, increasing resolution from 14 to 16 megapixels and putting in a slightly brighter, wider, and longer lens while keeping the body approximately the same size and weight. Its shooting options are the same as the W350's, so really the resolution and lens are the only reasons to upgrade (i.e., I wouldn't bother trading up). On the other hand, the starting price dropped $20, which makes it sweeter for those who don't have a W350.
This little camera can turn out nice-looking photos and movies, too, thanks to excellent color that's consistent up to ISO 800. Lens softness at the edges and in the corners kept it from rating higher; if you're sensitive to that, I would skip this model. Also, while the 16-megapixel resolution might work for marketing, it doesn't help or hurt photo quality. In fact, it just seems to slow the camera down between shots, so if you hate to wait you might want to keep looking. Otherwise, for the price it is a very good take-everywhere ultracompact camera.

Key specsSony Cyber-shot DSC-W570
Price (MSRP)$179.99
Dimensions (WHD)3.6x2.1x0.8 inches
Weight (with battery and media)4.1 ounces
Megapixels, image sensor size, type16 megapixels, 1/2.3-inch CCD
LCD size, resolution/viewfinder2.7-inch LCD, 230K dots/None
Lens (zoom, aperture, focal length)5x, f2.6-6.3, 25-125mm (35mm equivalent)
File format (still/video)JPEG/MPEG-4 (.MP4)
Highest resolution size (still/video)4,608x3,456 pixels/ 1,280x720 at 30fps
Image stabilization typeOptical and digital
Battery type, CIPA rated lifeLi-ion rechargeable, 220 shots
Battery charged in cameraNo; external charger included
Storage mediaSD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Eye-Fi SDHC
Bundled softwarePicture Motion Browser 5.5, PMB Portable 5.0 (Windows), PMB Portable 1.1 (Mac), Music Transfer
Photo quality from the W570 is very good for its class, but like most point-and-shoots it still stumbles at higher ISOs. Photos at ISO 80 and 100 are relatively sharp with very good fine detail and low noise. At ISO 200, subjects soften some, losing a touch of sharpness and fine detail. At ISO 400, images get noticeably softer and there's an increase in noise in darker areas of images. If you're printing at and below 5x7 inches and not doing heavy cropping, the results are very good. Photos at ISO 800 and 1600 look painterly from noise reduction, so subjects will appear soft and smeary; it's even worse at ISO 3200 making it unusable. Colors get muddy as well, especially at ISO 1600 and ISO 3200; you'll probably want to reserve these two highest sensitivities for emergencies when you need to shoot in low-light conditions or get a faster shutter speed regardless of the results.
 
Color is excellent. While blues and reds may not be as accurate as other colors, they are bright and vivid. Plus, they're consistent up to ISO 800; again, above that things get slightly washed out and muddy-looking. Exposure and white balance are good as well, though highlights tend to blow out.
As for the lens, Sony controls barrel distortion at the wide end of the lens and pincushion distortion at the telephoto end. The lens' center sharpness is very good, but gets noticeably softer at the edges and in the corners. (Editors' note: We tested two different W570 cameras for this review. The first one had extreme softness on the right side, which made everything we shot blurry on only that side. The second camera we tested did not exhibit the same issue; its softness was even, leading us to believe the first camera's lens had been damaged. However, it seems lens sharpness at the edges and in the corners is an issue in general with this model.) Fringing around high-contrast subjects was minimal and only really visible when photos were viewed at full size. Even then it's mainly off to the sides and in the corners.
The W570's movie mode is simple, offering resolutions up to 720p HD with a mono mic for audio and use of the optical zoom while recording. Video quality is on par with a basic HD pocket video camera; it's good enough for Web use and nondiscriminating TV viewing. Panning the camera will cause noticeable judder. You may also see trailing behind fast-moving subjects. Both are typical of the video from most compact cameras, though.


Saturday, April 30, 2011

SugarSync for Android

SugarSync, the popular solution for browsing, backing up, and syncing your files across multiple devices, is now available on the Android platform. If you're not familiar with the program, its concept is simple. Download SugarSync on all of your computers and mobile devices, and select which files and folders to sync. Then voila, access your files and folders from any of your devices, or through the SugarSync Web site. It's a super convenient service that you probably won't truly appreciate until you try.
The mobile app installs and syncs in seconds, provided you already have a SugarSync account (otherwise, you'll have to go online and register for either a free 5GB account, or a paid account starting at $4.99). Then once you're up and running, the interface is fairly straightforward, as you simply choose which of your devices you'd like to peer into, tap it's icon, and browse. But remember, since the files aren't all stored in your phone's local memory (thank goodness), whatever you access, you'll have to download first. From there, you can view files, share via e-mail, or share folders with other users. It's all a snap

especially with the built-in File Manager, for reaching those normally-hard-to-access corners of Android's file system.
Where the SugarSync app really shines is its AutoSync Photos feature. Enable it, and every picture you take will automatically be backed up to your SugarSync account in the cloud. It may drain a bit of battery life, but it's terribly convenient, reliable, and works completely behind the scenes. For the phone paparazzi among us, this feature alone is worth the download.
While SugarSync for Android is a near-perfect solution for viewing and syncing files through your mobile device, one thing we were missing was a greater set of sharing options. For instance, there's no built-in sharing of files (or links to files) via Twitter or Facebook clients. Meanwhile, rival file-syncer Dropbox incorporates the function into its menus.
Overall, SugarSync is a solid Android download, especially for existing account holders. It provides access to files on any of your synced devices, backs up to the cloud, shares via e-mail, and comes with a built-in File Manager. And for phone photographers, the AutoSync Photos feature is something you can't pass up


Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Sony Ericsson W8 launched

Description:
With selling maximum number of mobile phones in the mobile market, the Sony Ericsson has taken maximum amount of share in the international market. The mobile phone from the particular company has gained much response that is extra ordinary. The most recent mobile from the company is the Sony Ericsson W8 that is a unique masterpiece creation. The Sony Ericsson W8 is well endowed with good latest options in the market. Sony Ericsson W8 price in india is not announced.
The Sony Ericsson W8 features are very good and interesting. The mobile phone is having eye catching looks and design. The handset is walkman phone with excellent camera facility. Sony Ericsson W8 is enabled with brilliant display screen with audio and video player facility. An internal and external memory is well enabled with the mobile phone with good battery backup. A FM radio with RDS facility is also available in the handset with social networking facility.
The specifications of the mobile are splendid. The mobile phone is powered with 600 MHz processor with latest Goggle Android OS. The handset is boasted with 3” HVGA display screen with QWERTY keypad facility. The Sony Ericsson W8 is supported with 3.2MP camera facility with Geo tagging and video recording facility. The handset is having 1200 mAh standard battery with up to 446 standby and talk time up to 4.45 hours. The mobile phone is enabled with 128MB internal and 168MB RAM with up to 16GB external memory. The Sony Ericsson W8 is enabled with v2.1 Bluetooth and micro USB v2.0 cable port facility. A 3G and WIFI facility is also available in the mobile phone with HTML and web kit browser facility. The Sony Ericsson W8 is integrated with java MIDP emulator with lots of interesting games.
Sony Ericsson has delivered this masterpiece with great expectations from the mobile.

Sony launches two Android 3.0 tablets

Description:
Sony one of the major electronic giant has recently forayed in tablet arena with launch of two new outstanding tablets. With the launching of these tablets, Sony seems to take on Apple iPad 2 wifi 3G. The recently launched innovative tablets are Sony S1 and Sony S2. Either tablet has been flavoured with Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system and ensure to provide excellent services.
The newly launched gadgets are tablet cum computer which are loaded with latest technology and two display screens. Kunimasa Suzuki, deputy president of the consumer products and services group already announced both the tablets at Consumer Electronic Show in the Las Vegas 2011. He said that Sony aimed to the number 2 position in the tablet market with in a year with launching of these outstanding tablet cum computer devices.
The Sony S1 tablet is Wi-Fi network capable and has 9.4 inches display screen. Meanwhile Sony S2 is 3G and 4G network capable device with a 5.5 inches display screen. These tablets allow to enjoy Sony Playstation games. Both the Sony tablets can be folded which is amazing and stylish feature in these. The Sony tablets are major competitor of another popular tablets like Motorola Xoom, HTC Flyer,Blackberry Playbook,Samsung Galaxy Tab and LG G Slate.
Now the company expects to sell around 294 million units between 2011 and 2015 and ready to take on Apple iPad 2 WiFi which is most popular tablet in the market now. Sony is mulling over to bring an Android smartphone to the market very soon.

MoGo Talk XD Bluetooth Headset and Protective Case for iPhone 4 (Black)

The good: The MoGo Talk XD is a solid protective iPhone case with a built-in Bluetooth headset. The headset has a comfortable fit and comes with a variety of earbud tips.
The bad: The MoGo Talk XD lacks a few advanced Bluetooth headset features like A2DP and multipoint. You have to use the phone to adjust the volume. Call quality was also not as good as we hoped.
The bottom line: The idea behind the MoGo Talk XD is clever, but we didn't think the features fully justified its retail price

When we first looked at the MoGo Talk XD, it reminded us of the LG Decoy, a phone we reviewed about three years ago. It was the first phone we reviewed that had a built-in Bluetooth headset stowed away in the back. The idea struck us as clever: Bluetooth headsets are notoriously easy to misplace due to their size, so it made sense to keep one close at hand.
The MoGo Talk XD takes that concept and brings it to the iPhone, putting a skinny Bluetooth headset inside an iPhone case (there are versions for the iPhone 3G/3GS and the iPhone 4). The MoGo Talk XD works great as a protective case, with its rubber sides and carefully molded cutouts that fit the iPhone's controls perfectly. There are openings for the speaker, the camera, the charging jack, the headset jack, and the mute switch. The volume buttons and power key on the top are precisely covered by a rubber bumps so they're easy enough to press. Bear in mind that the current MoGo Talk XD is only designed for the AT&T iPhone.
What sets the Talk XD apart from other cases is its thick humpback, where the Bluetooth headset is housed. There's a Micro-USB port at the bottom of the case for charging the headset. The headset itself is supremely skinny--when laid flat inside the case it doesn't protrude at all. It has a different look from the rest of the case, as while the case is black, the headset has silver and gray markings.
To take the headset out of the case, simply press down on the left of the headset and it will pop out. That's because the charging cavity has a slightly deeper divot on the left side. To put the headset back in, you insert it on the left side first too. The headset by itself measures around 2.25 inches long by 1 inch wide by 0.2 inch thick, and is very lightweight. The multifunction call button is on the right side. It's a very tiny button, but it's raised enough that we could still find and press it. The charging points are on the left side.
On the back of the headset is the earpiece, which can be rotated in and out to open and closed positions. At the tip of it is the earbud. The MoGo Talk XD comes with two different kinds of earbuds in three different sizes. The rounded earbuds are for increased noise isolation, while the slim-line earbuds are to allow more ambient noise. We found the rounded earbuds good enough for our needs.
To fit the earpiece to your ear, you need to rotate it out at least a couple of clicks. Then you place it in your ear, and close it back down by a click so that the headset feels snug. The mic should be pointed toward the mouth. For such a skinny headset, the fit is surprisingly comfortable, and it feels just like an in-ear headphone

Friday, April 22, 2011

Transformer, the tablet that becomes a Netbook

The good: At $400, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer has the lowest price of any Honeycomb tablet. Also, its high-quality screen and relatively cheap keyboard/dock make it an attractive option.
The bad: A few things keep the Transformer from completely blowing us away: the choppy recording and playback of the camcorder; its sharp edges; a build quality that's somewhat lacking; and problems that arise when docking.
The bottom line: The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is a low-price, quality Honeycomb tablet with useful options

The bottom line: The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is a low-price, quality Honeycomb tablet with useful options

Tablets are still a hard sell to most, but one of the most important factors is price. The lower the price (without being too low to raise suspicions of quality), the more likely consumers are willing to part with their money.
At $400, the 16GB, Wi-Fi-only version of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer is the cheapest Honeycomb tablet on the market and undercuts the lowest price  iPad 2 by $100. But, what sacrifices did Asus make to get it that low?
Design and features
Before even powering up the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, we were struck by its wider-than-normal left and right bezel, each measuring about 1.1 inches. That's a lot wider than the Motorola Xoom's 0.5-inch bezel. We also noticed that the Transformer is the longest of the new generation of tablets, measuring a full 10.7 inches in width compared with the Xoom's 9.8 inches. Make no mistake, this is a large tablet; it's the largest Honeycomb tablet we've seen, in fact.
I thought of writing a superlong paragraph detailing dimension differences between the latest tablets, but that's what charts are for. Here's a handy chart to illustrate the size differences between the Transformer and other recent tablets.

Friday, April 15, 2011

mac air book pro (early 2011)

Apple might say we're in the post-PC era, but hey -- turns out they still make Macs in Cupertino, and the new macbook pro is actually one of the more aggressive refreshes in the machine's history. Not only has it been less than a year since the last macbook pro spec bump, but our 15-inch review unit is actually the first Sandy Bridge system we've received from any manufacturer. And it's not just the CPU that's new: Apple's also launching the new Thanderbolt high-speed interconnect, and there's been a big switch to an AMD Radeon HD 6750M GPU paired with Intel's integrated HD Graphics 3000, an arrangement that should offer both solid graphics performance and great battery life. That's a lot of new parts in a familiar case -- but do they add up to something more than just a speed bump? Read on for our full review!
Look and feel



It's been nearly three years since the MacBook Pro last had a significant design change, so you'll need some eagle eyes to tell these new models apart from its predecessors. Seriously, Thunderbolt even uses the Mini DisplayPort connector, so the only distinguishing characteristics are the lightning-strike Thunderbolt icon on the port row and a subtle new texture to the aluminum lid. Oh, and the SD slot is now SDXC. Almost everything else is exactly the same: the still-best-in-class keyboard and glass multitouch trackpad, the standard glossy display, the ports, the sealed-in battery, you name it.

That's both good and bad, of course: Apple's competitors have only recently gained any ground on the MacBook Pro's unibody build quality and stiffness, but would it really kill anyone to throw in a couple extra USB ports? And maybe space them out enough to allow for both a thumb drive or wireless card and another device without an extension cable? That would be cool. And while we're at it, we'd also love that optional higher-res 1680 x 1050 display to come standard -- in matte, if possible. We will not even begin to lament the lack of a Blu-ray option; down that road lies only the aching pain of desire forever unfulfilled.

To sum this up: it looks and feels exactly like a MacBook Pro. It's still the industry standard in terms of design and quality, but after three years competitors like the HP Envy 14 have started knocking on the door, and we'd like to see the best get even better the next time around.

Performance, graphics, and battery life


No two ways about this: the new MacBook Pro is the fastest laptop we've ever tested, hands-down. We were sent the stock $2,199 15-inch MacBook Pro, and its 2.2GHz quad-core Core i7-2720QM, 4GB of RAM, and AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics with 1GB of dedicated GDDR5 RAM turned in numbers exceeding any Mac we've ever had in the labs. In fact, the raw CPU score is so high you'd have to step to a Mac Pro and Xeon processors to get anything faster, as far as we can tell. (That'll obviously change when Apple bumps the iMac line to Sandy Bridge.)




OS X BenchmarksGeekbenchXbench OpenGLBattery Life
MacBook Pro (early 2011) (2.2GHz Core i7-2720QM, Radeon HD 6750M / Intel Graphics 3000)9647340.1 (Radeon) / 157.78 (Intel)7:27
MacBook Pro (early 2010) (2.66GHz Core i7-620M, GeForce GT 330M)5395228.225:18
iMac (mid 2010) (3.06GHz Core i3-540, Radeon HD 4670)5789unavailablen/a
iMac (late 2009) (2.8GHz Core i7-860, Radeon HD 4850)
8312191.08n/a
MacBook Air (late 2010) (1.83GHz Core 2 Duo, GeForce 320M)2717117.38~7:30
Notes: battery life on all machines but the Air calculated using our standard video rundown test; Air was a usage test

Let's talk about those graphics scores for a moment. While the Radeon HD 6750M performed admirably when active, it also seemed to run a little hot -- yes, we got between 80 and 130fps running around in Half-Life 2: Episode 2 at native res, but the fan kicked in as soon as we launched the game, and it stayed on loudly the entire time, even as the case got noticeably warm around the hinge. It's obviously a capable GPU, but it's a good thing the system automatically switches to the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 when it's not needed -- there's a serious decrease in heat and power usage.

Unfortunately, reduced heat and power usage comes at the expense of raw capability. Intel's integrated graphics have never been much to write home about, and while HD Graphics 3000 is an improvement, it's still pretty slow. Apple told us Intel integrated graphics performance should equal or exceed the previous Pro's integrated NVIDIA GeForce 320M, but we found it to be slightly slower at every turn, although not enough so to be dramatically noticeable. It's not a huge problem on the 15- and 17-inch Pros, since you can fall back on that Radeon, but we wouldn't try to do more than average HD media playback or casual gaming on the entirely-Intel 13-inch model.

On a happier note, we set up Boot Camp and ran benchmarks in Windows 7 to provide some more context to our numbers, and the MacBook Pro crushed those tests as well -- the VAIO Z only got a better PCMarkVantage score because of its fast SSD, and the Envy 17 just barely pulled out better graphics performance. (You can configure the MBP with a 128GB SSD for $100 extra, which should probably be standard over the pokey 5,400RPM hard drive.) Playing a little Batman: Arkham Asylum while booted in Windows netted a smooth 60fps at native resolution while meandering about, with a dip to 55fps during fights.


Windows BenchmarksPCMarkVantage3DMark06
MacBook Pro (early 2011) (2.2GHz Core i7-2720QM, Radeon HD 6750M, under Windows 7)804110,262
HP Envy 14 (Core i5-450M, Radeon HD 5650)60381928 / 6899
Toshiba Portege R705 (Core i3-350M)50241739 / 3686
Sony VAIO Z (Core i5-450M, NVIDIA 330M) 99496,193
HP Envy 17 (Core i7-740QM, Radeon HD 5850)615310,787
Dell XPS 14 (Core i5-460M, NVIDIA 420M)57961955 / 6827
Notes: For 3DMark06, the first number reflects score with the discrete GPU off (if possible), the second with it on.

Needless to say, we had no problems getting through a workday on the new MBP -- we generally juggle Firefox, Chrome, email, a couple chat clients, and various image and video editing tasks on and off throughout a day, and things never felt sluggish or laggy at all. Used this way, we also managed to get around seven hours of battery life, which is pretty impressive -- we imagine things would have dipped had we fired up the Radeon more often, but in day-to-day usage the Intel graphics did just fine.

And fair kudos to Apple: with the MacBook Air, the company switched to a new battery test that automates browsing popular sites over WiFi at standard brightness, which generates a more accurate number, but also means the new MBP actually is rated lower than the outgoing model using the same battery. That's a solidly consumer-friendly move, and one we definitely wish more PC manufacturers would make as well.

Face time HD

Apple's been chugging along with VGA webcams on their machines for so long we were actually shocked when we found out the new MacBook Pro has an upgraded 720p FaceTime HD camera in the lid. Image quality is obviously improved from the previous generation, and we noticed a slightly cooler cast. We'd love some fine-grained image controls at the system level for this camera -- even just white balance and exposure sliders would go a long, long way.

Although FaceTime now supports HD calling, Photo Booth weirdly hasn't been updated and still takes VGA shots. Same with Skype, which only supports sending VGA video on OS X right now -- we'd imagine an HD-ready update is a much higher priority now, though.

Thanderbolt
There's just not much to say about Thunderbolt right now -- yes, the port is there, but there aren't any peripherals that use the new 10Gbps dual-channel interconnect just yet. LaCie's announced a dual-SSD Little Big Disk and Promise has announced a Pegasus RAID, but neither of those are shipping yet. Of course, Thunderbolt also carries Mini DisplayPort video, and we were able to drive an external 24-inch monitor without any issues, using an existing Mini DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter. We'll note once again that this marks the first time we can remember Apple switching standards without switching connectors -- a watershed moment in the history of dongle purchasing.

In any event, we're marking Thunderbolt as an incomplete right now -- until there are peripherals to support it, it might as well just be a Mini DisplayPort. That'll change soon, though, and we'll revisit the subject when that happens.
warp up

Apple's forging hesdlong into its next era with the iPad and iPhone, and it almost seems like the company's forgotten about its Macs at times -- note that this MacBook Pro arrived in somewhat unheralded fashion just few days before the iPad 2. But the new Pro is something of a wolf in sheep's clothing: although it's perfectly disguised as the previous MacBook Pro, there's no mistaking its raw, visceral speed once you start using it. It's twice as fast as the outgoing model, 2.5 times as fast as the model before that, and almost five times faster than the11.6-inch Macbook pro Air... all while getting the same seven-hour battery life in the real world. It's hard to say anything bad about that.

Of course, there's no getting around the fact that the MacBook Pro is still incredibly expensive and omits what should be no-brainer features -- $2,199 for two USB ports and no Blu-ray drive? -- but those are tradeoffs and prices professional Mac users have long become used to, just like this particular MacBook Pro design itself. Something tells us the next revision of the MacBook Pro will offer a more radical external redesign to go along with Lion, but that's a long ways off -- until then, this MacBook Pro represents the best blend of power, portability, and battery life we've come across to date. We'll see how the PC world responds with its Sandy Bridge systems soon enough..............................

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Ovi Maps 3.07 Beta Now Available

Espoo, Finland-based mobile phone maker Nokia is hard at work with bringing more and more enhancements to some of the applications and services it offers to its users, and Ovi Maps is one of them.
The company has just announced the release of a new flavor of the mobile application, namely Ovi Maps 3.07 beta, which follows the 3.06 release, which was already available through the Ovi Store.

The new application release comes with support for all the latest handsets from the company, including the Symbian^3-based N8, E7, C7, and C6-01, as well as the newly unveiled Nokia E6 and X7.

“This week we are launching Ovi Maps 3.07 Beta - on the heels of the 3.06 graduation! Ovi Maps 3.07 Beta is available for all Symbian^3 devices: N8, E7, C7, C6-01, E6, X7,” Rebekah from the the Ovi Maps team notes in a post on the Nokia Beta Labs blog.

“One of the biggest changes you’ll see is that we have removed the application menu to Map, Navigation, Check in and Local content. We did this for quick and easy access to the apps you want.”

The new Ovi Maps for mobile v3.07 application is not available for devices that run under S60 5th Edition.

Users who will install the new flavor of the application would also have to download the latest map data to be able to use the release. To do so, they would have to load maps on the device through Ovi Suite.

Make sure that you run Ovi Maps v3.07 once and download a few bytes of map data (so that the relevant files are created on your device) and then exit Maps (this is really important),” the development team notes.

“Download the latest version of Ovi Suite and save data costs and time. Preload maps for whole countries and voices for navigation on your Nokia GPS phone for free with your PC.”

The Map Loader and the Nokia Maps Updater won't work with the new Ovi Maps v3.07.

Motorola's rugged 7-inch tablet aims for enterprise

Motorola could be in the early stages of developing a new, rugged Android tablet. According to information passed to Engadget, the company has begun work on a new 7-inch tablet that looks to feature a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, and 8GB internal storage. Other preliminary specifications peg this unnamed tablet with an 8-megapixel camera on the back, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, HDMI output, and a USB port for "snap-in" peripherals.
The presentation slide alludes to a "rugged" tablet that would be able to withstand extreme temperatures and drops from 4 feet. Motorola has already released a few Android devices with similar hardware features in the Defy and push-to-talk i1.
Very little is known about the software, save for its enterprise features. Motorola claims that this tablet will be the "first physical embodiment defining Android for the Enterprise" and lists a few specific features, including security and scanning utilities.
This device is expect to enter a beta-testing phase in October of this year, with a presumed 2012 launch. Considering the amount of time that will pass before the table hits the market, Motorola has plenty of opportunity to install Honeycomb or the latest version of a platform-optimized Android. As it stands, however, this tablet will run Android 2.3 "Gingerbread." Given we are possibly a year away from seeing this tablet arrive in stores, much could change.

Hands on with 4iThumbs 2: Tactile keyboard for iPhone 4

If you are an iPhone detractor due to its lack of a physical keyboard, 4iConcepts has a product for you. 4iThumbs 2 is a screen protector that adds tactile functionality for users looking to feel what they're typing.
I received a test unit last week from 4iConcepts and, as they state, the screen protector adds a BlackBerry-esque keyboard feel to your iPhone 4. Simply apply the plastic screen to your iPhone in the proper direction and next time you pop the virtual keyboard, little bumps will be on each key.
Though the cover has the bumps, pressing any icons, playing games, and otherwise operating your iPhone still works just fine, if not a little odd.
You have the choice of purchasing a landscape or portrait-oriented keyboard (or both, of course). 4iThumbs 2 for iPhone 4 will run you $19.99 (for both) from the 4iConcepts Web site.
Tactile feedback was never much of a concern for me, so continued use of the 4iThumbs 2 screen protector is unlikely, but if you're looking for a solution to the lack of a physical keyboard and don't want to carry an external Bluetooth keyboard with you, 4iThumbs 2 is a nice way to go

Samsung Gem

Does it have Samsung's signature high-polish glossy body? Of course! But the Samsung Gem, an Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone for U.S. Cellular, also has some style all its own. With its swooping lines and repeated pentagonal, superhero-esque accent, it doesn't look like just any other Android phone.

We're pleased that Samsung left its custom TouchWiz interface off this model, giving us the default (some would call it "pure") Android experience.
The specs are typical for a budget Android handset, which amounts to good value at only $30 for the smartphone. Since many messaging phones cost more than that and bring you less, the Gem joins the LG Optimus U as a killer deal for U.S. Cellular subscriber.

Firefox Aurora debuts, Mozilla's 'dev' channel

Somewhere between a nightly and a beta lies Firefox Aurora, Mozilla's first public browser under its new publishing schedule. Announced yesterday,  Firefox Aurora for Windows (download), Mac (download), and Linux (download), is most analogous to the intent behind the Google Chrome developer's channel (download windows | Mac | Linux): to provide a place where users who don't mind browser instability can test out new features, and contribute feedback to the developers.

Mozilla is now running all four of the browser builds that it mentioned in this bog spot: Minefield, or the nightly test builds; the new Aurora; the beta build, which users who downloaded the Firefox 4 betas are still using despite there not being an official beta release at this time; and the Firefox final release, which is the stable version most Firefox users have.
Currently, Mozilla Firefox Aurora 5.0a2 doesn't appear to offer anything different from Minefield or the stable release, but that will change as Mozilla pursues a release schedule similar to Google Chrome's six-week release cycle.
If you do notice anything different between the current Aurora and stable builds, let me know in the comments below.

Samsung BD-D6700

The good: The Samsung BD-D6700 sports dual HDMI outputs, built-in Wi-Fi, and one of the most extensive suites of streaming video services in comparable Blu-ray players this year, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, MLB.TV, Vudu and CinemaNow. Its 1GB of onboard memory is also more than you get in most of the competition

The bad: It's tough to justify the BD-D6700's high price, especially with the Sony PS3 being available for only slightly more. And while the dual HDMI outputs are nice, most buyers that need them will be just as satisfied with a player with a single HDMI output and using the optical output for audio.
The bottom line: The Samsung BD-D6700 is an excellent all-around Blu-ray player with dual HDMI outputs, but for most buyers its upgrades won't justify its high price

Blu-ray players have come way down in price in the last couple of years, so the main question most buyers will have about the Samsung BD-D6700 is: why should I spend $270 (current street price) on a Blu-ray player? Samsung's answer is dual HDMI outputs, which are necessary only if you have a non-3D-compatible receiver and demand to hear the real Dolby Digital True HD or DTS Master soundtrack. Less demanding listeners can hook up the optical digital audio jack instead of the second HDMI output and get basically the same sound quality.
There's plenty to like about the BD-D6700 overall, including built-in Wi-Fi, tons of streaming video services and smartphone control, but all of those features are available on the step-down BD-D6500 too, which is almost $100 cheaper. Buyers who don't need dual HDMI will get more bang for their buck by spending a little more for the Sony play Station 3 Slim or by going with a cheaper alternative, whether that's Samsung's BD-D6500 or a competing Wi-Fi blu- ray player...