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Sandisk Sansa TakeTV: Video, from PC to TV, Easily
2007-11-30 12:37:00
SanDisk is offering what might be the easiest way to watch videos from your PC on your TV. The Sansa Take TV - a USB drive- plugs into a dock that in turn connects to your television. Put the video on the device by dragging and dropping your own files, or download content from Fanfare.com, SanDisk’s source for video. I loaded the TakeTV with files and started watching videos on my TV in minutes. You can forget about HD, surround sound, or a ton of storage space: The TakeTV lacks a hard drive and has minimal A/V outputs. But at $l00 for 4GB of storage or $150 for 8GB, the device comes at a nice price-and it just works well.Compatible with both Windows Vista and XP, the TakeTV supports DivX/Xvid and MPEG-4 video files, but it won’t display photos or Play music files. SanDisk claims that this capability is in the works.Currently, Fanfare.com offers shows like Dexter and CSI: Miami free. Eventually, premium offerings from Showtime will cost $1.99 or more, or users can choose free co...
More About: Video , Sandisk , Ansa

T-Mobile Sidekick LX: Easy on the Eyes-And Fingers
2007-11-30 12:35:00
The limousine of messaging devices, T-Mobile ’s huge new Sidekick comes with a luxurious keyboard and a big, bright screen that makes e-mails and IMs fun to write and easy to read.The Side kick LX’s best features is its keyboard. The well-spaced, raised buttons make typing easier on the LX than on almost any other handheld device I’ve tested. The keyboard also ties into the excellent IM client, backed up with both SMS and MMS support. You have full access to AIM, MSN, and Yahoo! Mail buddy list, and you can flip through conversations quickly.There are some drawbacks. The LX pushes POP3/ IMAP e-mail to you, though it doesn’t support Gmail very well-or Yahoo! Mail or Exchange at all. It browses the Web, but not very quickly. The LX is stuck with T-Mobile ’s poky EDGE network without the boost of Wi-Fi that other EDGE devices have. Worse, the browser is basic, without support for frames or Flash. As a phone, the LX is mediocre. Maximum call volume isn’t very loud, though the ...
More About: Eyes , Easy

HP Photosmart A626 Compact Photo Printer: Photo Printing With Style
2007-11-30 12:33:00
If hauling yourself to the local drugstore to print photos is too long a trek, here’s a stay-at-home solution. HP’s Photo smart A626 Compact Photo Printer offers a 4.8-inch touch screen that turns the unit into a kind of mini photo kiosk.The A626 weighs only 3.2 pounds, plus an extra 8 ounces for the included battery. HP says the printer can churn out 75 4-by-6 photos on a full charge. The A626 can also produce standard-format photos at up to 5 by 7 inches and panoramas up to 4 by 12 inches.After the simple setup, the A626 can print from a computer, a PictBridge camera, a memory card, or a USB key. The latter two can be used with touch-screen-based menus, which enable photo-editing tasks such as cropping, red-eye removal, or adding a frame.Photo output was true photo quality, though some colors looked a bit punchy. Print speed, at upward of a minute, was less than impressive. Cost per print is just above average, at 29.2 cents for a 4-by-6.Still, the A626’s touch-screen conveni...
More About: Photo Printing , Photosmart , Style

Linksys NAS200: Home NAS on a Budget
2007-11-30 12:28:00
Linksys enters the home network-attached storage (NAS) device market with the budget-conscious and bluntly named NAS200. You purchase the box as just that-an empty box-for about $135 (street). Adding storage can bring up the cost to anywhere from $200 to $600, depending on what capacity eSATA drives you purchase.The NAS200 has room for two drives, configurable separately or together, the last in shared or mirrored mode. You’ll also find all the usual NAS features, including backup (via third-party software), access accounts, a UPnP-compatible media server and even an FIT server that you can use to get to your shared files across the Web. Unfortunately, accessing the more advanced features isn’t particularly intuitive.Performance was noticeably slow, averaging 4.7 MBps on our tests. This isn’t poor enough to be a deal breaker for standard data operations, but if you plan to view video from the NAS200, the slow throughput means you’ll probably experience some frame loss.Perfor...
More About: Home , Linksys , Budget

Toshiba Qosmio G45-AV680: Heavyweight Laptop Contender
2007-11-29 19:47:00
Although you may want to move this laptop around, you probably wouldn’t take it with you on a cross-country trek. Toshiba ’s newest Qosmio , the G45-AV680, is a great hulking laptop, weighing in at a hefty 9.9 pounds, with a glorious 17-inch 1080p widescreen. The system was given a much-needed design overhaul; in particular, it’s the first laptop with an HD DVD-R writable drive. Unfortunately, its high price tag is likely to scare off most would-be buyers.The Qosmio’s high-definition experience is arguably the best in the media center laptop category. Toshiba’s software HD DVD player produces crisp, smooth, artifact-free image. The system’s HD DVD-R drive lets you burn and play back HD DVD content. And its four integrated Harman Kardon speakers. 1-bit amplifier, subwoofer, and Dolby 5.1 surround sound make the audio offerings the most powerful available in a laptop.Toshiba skipped the integrated TV tuner, instead opting to include an external USD tuner and capturing device...
More About: Laptop , Heavyweight , Weigh

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini: Disaster Recovery to Go
2007-11-29 19:39:00
The market is filled with portable USB “pocket” drives with capacities up to 250GB. The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini , a 160GB drive, stands out as one of the few that provide disaster recovery as well as data backup.The OneTouch 4 Mini uses Maxtor’s OneTouch data backup program and its SafetyDrill utility, which copies an image of your C: drive onto the Mini. In case of computer catastrophe you can use the recovery boot CD to restore your PC (even if you need to replace your C: drive) - provided that your PC uses an NTFS- formatted drive. (Sorry, Mac users, you’re out of luck on this.) The Mini also has a 256-bit encryption utility to safeguard your data should the drive be lost or stolen.The 5,400-rpm Mini is fast, taking 51seconds to back up my test folder using the One Touch utility and 49 seconds with Windows drag-and-drop. (Anything under a minute is quick.)The list price of the OneTouch 4 Mini is lower on a GB- per-dollar basis that that of competing products from Toshiba an...
More About: Recovery , Disaster , Aster , Disaster Recovery

HP w2408: A Brilliant Widescreen Display
2007-11-29 19:31:00
Although the HP w2408 has a vastly different design from last year’s HP LP2465, both share an impressive image quality and feature set. The w2408 is a 24-inch widescreen monitor with a brilliant screen that allows for flexible viewing options. Its panel boasts a 1,920-by-1,200 resolution and a very wide (92 percent) NTSC color gamut (the range of colors a monitor can show) for a consumer display. This makes for much bolder and sharper colors, and a brighter image, than are found in the model it replaces.The w2408 has an HDCP-enabled DVI port, an analog input, five USB ports, and an audio jack for the rear-mounted speakers. But I’m puzzled by the lack of extra A/V inputs such as S-Video and component video. HP bills this as a model for entertainment as well as home office use, so those ports would make sense.On my tests, primary and secondary colors appeared uniform and ramped evenly from dark to light, and there be no color tracking errors or signs of tinting. The panel’s 5-ms...
More About: Widescreen , Display , Brilliant

Netgear ReadyNAS NV+: The Top Small-Office NAS
2007-11-29 19:12:00
Beyond the usual features, this stylish NAS box adds some innovations and can manage both office and home duties. The combination of that with smoking performance (up to 30 MBps!) for general data transfers and media streaming earns the ReadyNAS NV+ our Editors’ Choice award for best small-business NAS device.The ReadyNAS NV+ can certainly play in a home environment, too, but it’s specifically equipped with business muscle. For one, it’s consists of a four-disk enclosure that supports hot swapping- a must for businesses. Netgear ’s patented X-RAID technology lets you upgrade not only without rebuilding the entire array, but with different hard-drive types -a bottom-line watcher’s boon.You’ll find business smarts at the software level, too, where the ReadyNAS does everything from being a good network citizen to integrating its user list with Active Directory. It also supports multiple backup methods, Internet access to shared files, file and folder encryption, and more. Ho...
More About: Office , Small

Samsung SCH-i760: Maximize Your Mobile Productivity
2007-11-29 10:12:00
Verizon’s best Windows Mobile phone to date has the hottest form factor going right now: the dual keypad, with both a traditional number pad and a full QWERTY keyboard for typing messages. The Samsung SCH-i760 also packs plenty of power and offers rock-solid call quality.Slid closed, the i760 looks like a thick candy bar-style phone. Opening the device rotates the screen and exposes the QWERTY keyboard. The 400-MHz processor lets Windows Mobile shine. Long e-mails open relatively quickly, and the included Picsel browser renders the most complex PDF files with aplomb. The only hitch was the 54MB of program memory, which, since Windows Mobile never quits programs, periodically ran out. AWOL are IM and GPS applications and support for 4GB memory cards; their absence is disappointing, but not a deal breaker.The i760 connects to the Internet using both Verizon’s fast EV-DO Rev 0 network and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g. Calls made with Verizon coverage were loud and clear, with full-sounding voi...
More About: Productivity

Gateway XHD3000: The Videophile’s Grand Display
2007-11-29 09:47:00
Until recently 30-inch display, while offering high native resolution and excellent image quality, fell short in terms of video processing (the ability to scale videos at other resolutions to fit). All that has changed with the XHD3000, Gateway ’s newest 30- inch display.Although most PC displays have a video processor built in, before the XHD3000, none were able to scale content properly to 2,560-by-1,600 for 30 inch displays. Instead, this function was handled by the PC’s graphics card. The XHD3000 incorporates the Silicon Optix Realta chipset, a high-end video processor, making it capable of scaling, deinterlacing, and reducing noise on both standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) video streams.The XHD3000 has inputs galore. You can connect up to six devices if you use S-Video and composite connections. You can also hook up a PC, a game console, and an HD disc player and switch easily between them with the included remote control.One of the XHD3000’s best features ...
More About: Display , Grand

Lenovo ThinkPad X61: Lenovo Raises the Tablet PC Bar
2007-11-29 09:41:00
These days convertible tablet PCs are becoming more than just a niche of the mobile PC market, and Lenovo has been leading the way. With the best keyboard in the industry, very good performance scores, and a sturdy design, the ThinkPad X61 Tablet earns itself an Editors’ Choice nod.Lenovo stuck with the same tried-and-true design elements for the X61. The magnesium-alloy-backed frame, which protects the system against wear and tear, and its pitch-black ID are identical to those of the rest of the ThinkPad line. Unlike many of its competitors, the tablet comes with a standard-size screen and only one option for resolution, 1.024-by-768. The matte screen finish is more advantageous for office work (as opposed to multimedia), but the screen allows for less vertical scrolling in tablet mode.With its unmatched full-size keyboard and unique TrackPoint pointing- stick technology, the X61 provides the best typing experience I’ve found on a tablet-hands down. Tablet mode is where the sys...
More About: Thinkpad

Creative Zen: More Flash for Less Cash
2007-11-29 09:24:00
Creative has abandoned hard drive-based devices, and the new ZEN is the company’s first shot at a flash-based music and video player. It has larger screen and more features (including an FM radio and a voice recorder) than its comparably priced competitor, the iPod nano. The Zen also offers a roomy 16GB version, which rings up at $150 less than the same-capacity iPod touch. In addition, the ZEN has an SD memory card slot, so the player’s capacity is expandable.Audio file support for the ZEN is fairly good, including WMA, MP3, and unprotected AAC. For video, the ZEN supports only WMV, but it comes with software to convert DivX/Xvid and MPEG-4 files. JPEGs are the only supported photo format.The large 2.5-inch.320-by-240-pixel screen displays colorful and sharp images, and the interface uses graphics that are sharp, well designed, and easy to navigate. Audio quality is adequate, but you’ll want to upgrade the not-so-great bundled earphones.Sure, the ZEN has its flaws: It’s nea...
More About: Creative , Flash , Cash , Creative Zen

Canon EOS-1D Mark III: Fastest D-SLR Camera
2007-11-28 08:01:00
Unbelievable innovation! It’s the correct word aim to Canon EOS 1D Mark III. This D-SLR camera with CMOS 10,1 megapixel sensor is can shot till 10 fps (frame per second). The user of this magnesium alloy body camera can take 110 burst shots in JPEG Large format, or 30 shots RAW format. Fast performance of the camera supported by Dual DIGIC III processor that makes this EOS series can present 14-bit picture processing.The camera with different menu from its predecessor, 1D Mark II, of course has many new things. For example, wider ISO: 50 - 6400. Besides high ASA, added also High ISO Noise Reduction feature which capable to lessen noise at dark areas.Its LCD is now bigger, that is 3 inch, with Live View modus (Realtime viewfinder display at LCD). Dust cleaner system (EOS Cleaning System) aliance between hardware and software have been planted in its body.The autofocus system is also is renewed with 19 cross-type sensor and exposure metering 63-zone. Additional of 26 AF assist poin...
More About: Camera , Anon

HP Pavilion dv9000: Grand Notebook
2007-11-28 07:45:00
If most exquisite and luxury piano called as grand piano, hence HP Pavilion dv9000 can be called as grand notebook. There are many reasons to equalize both. Which most noticeable, dv9000 is a big notebook. Its monitor size is 17,2 inchs, so that the dimension reaching 28,5x39,6x3 cm with 3,56 kgs weight.Pavilion this dv9000 also looks like piano in slippery material and flash applied. This material makes it seen elegan, though latter we discover s(he very susceptible of fingerprint. Though has tried cleanness hand, footstep jemari we remain to be ex- swimmingly. Possibly that is why HP brings as of mop sheet as equipment of standard.HP Pavilion dv9000 can be classified as multimedia notebook; and it’s the special one. You can look in its speaker which using Altec Lansing, so that bang sound heard more energetic. Sound level is sett through unique touch button and gives futuristik impression. Its LCD screen is luxurious. Equiped with BrightView technology, we see a real bright scre...
More About: Notebook , Grand

Creative Prodikeys DM Value
2007-11-28 07:32:00
Just try to stop working and take your time to playing music. Two activities can be done easily with Creative Prodikeys DM Value. This gadget is keyboard PC at the same time integrated keyboard MIDI, so gives multiple functions.For playing music, MIDI button in the tuts keyboard appearance with 3 octave scale there is in board underside. On the left there is hotkeys to implement music program and a wheel which functioning as volume control and pitch bend. In order not to bother when do typing, close the MIDI peripheral with available cover at the same time functioning as hand arm rest.Before implementing musical function, you need to install the software before. You can learn, play, even makes your own song easily. You even can record it in MIDI, WAV, and MP3 format. Prodikeys can also functioning as music sampler. To produce more optimal sound, Creative suggests usage of Sound Blaster Audigy sound card. Unhappily it’s rather expensive.Unquestionable, Prodikeys DM Value is purpose...

Selphy CP750: Printer with Red-Eye Removal
2007-11-28 06:59:00
The colour is white and grey, with aluminum color cover. A 2,4 inch LCD seen in upper panel, surrounded by seven buttons at both sides, and a 4-direction button. In fromt panel there is three memory card slots, ready to receive almost all memory card types except SmartMedia which has seldom be used.Hidden behind rubber seal of left side front panel is PictBridge cable which able to pulled in for connection to the camera carrying PictBridge. If having Bluetooth or infra red adapter, you may print directly with wireless feature from your cell phone or PDA. Of Course you can also connected Selphy CP750 to computer through USB port 2.0.There are two new features in this CP730 series substitution dye-sub printer: Triming and Red-eye removal. Trimming - accessed through one special buttons in LCD side – its can crops part of picture that is is not you desires. So you don’t have to open application in computer. While Red-eye removal, like its name, functioning to correct red-eyed effec...
More About: Printer

Christmas Gadget (Part II: High Tech Gift)
2007-11-27 12:12:00
Toshiba TDP-FF1AU Mobile Projector$699 directwww.toshiba.comA portable powerhouse, the TDP-FF1AU weighs only 1.7 pounds; it combines DLP technology with an LED light source for a great picture in a tiny package. Unlike other projectors in its class, it has a portable screen.---------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- --Logitech Harmony 1000$499 directwww.logitech.comThis state-of-art remote control will connect you to all of your electronics with a beautiful, bright, color touch screen. Its brushed-aluminum, high-end look may be intimidating, but the 1000 is very easy to program and use, a few minutes after opening the box you’ll be all set up.-------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------So ny HDR-HC3 HDV 1080i Handycam$1.499.95 directwww.sonystyle.comTake your home movies to the next level with this high-def digital camcorder The HC3 has a 10X optical zoom and a widescreen 2.7-inch touch screen, and it shoots in beauti...
More About: Christmas , High Tech , Tech , Gadget , Gift

Christmas Gadget (Part I: Dirty Job)
2007-11-27 10:06:00
iRobot Looj 150$169.99 directwww.irobot.comThis gutter-cleaning gizmo, from the makers of the Roomba, will keep you off the roof and out of harm’s way. The Looj crawls through gutters and churns out muck and debris with an auger, spinning at roughly 500 rpm. Its hard plastic fins and bristle brushes will finish this dirty job in no time.------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Nokia Vertu Signature Rose Gold Pink Diamond Edition$73.000 listwww.vertu.comEvery gift guide needs at least one absurd item, right? This luxury handset, with 923 stones (rubies, pink sapphires, pink diamonds, and white diamonds) totaling 72 carats, costs more than most cars, so you might need Santa's help. All we can say is. Don’t leave it in a cab-------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------Gr iffin iKaraoke$39.99 listwww.griffintechnology.comPlug this microphone into your iPod and, voila, you have your own personal karaoke machine. The ...
More About: Christmas , Gadget , Dirty , Part

Cowon Q5W: Super-Portable Media Player
2007-11-26 14:54:00
Still remember at Cowon? This is the South Korean electronic company which produce iAudio MP3 player with Swing Touch unique navigation system.Recently Cowon launchs super-portable media player (PMP), which already displayed in Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, United States, in the beginning of this year.The PMP is Cowon Q5W, which is already launched in America and Asian only. In Korea, the PMP had been launched at May, by Cowon Q5 name. The difference, Q5W already equipped by Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g network connection.By this connection, user can browse the Internet, including seen flash animation in web site. Besides, Q5W provides Bluetooth and USB connection.Alike an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), this PMP brain is AMD Alchemy AU 1.250 processor with 600 megahertzs speed clock, with 40GB and 60 GB hard disk capacities. This is the first gadget from Cowon which using Windows CE 5.0 Operating System.This 13,8 x 8,8 x 2 centimeter dimension device has 5 inch widescreen ...
More About: Media Player , Media , Portable Media , Portable , Player

Neuros OSD: Connecting All
2007-11-26 14:39:00
While Nokia carries “Connecting People” motto, Neuros OSD it’s good to called as “Connecting Devices”. This small gadget can connect all home entertainment gear with your personal computer.This is the first based on Linux media center in world made in Neuros Technology, audio/video peripheral company which based in Chicago, United States. This open source operating system makes it can implement the third party application easily.This equipment can be connected with television, home cinema, and functioning as “bank file”. It will keep your video or DVD content in digital files. Because functioning like external hard disk, new file also can be kept in it.Its body is slim and curved with various output and input connection in right and left side. Purchasing package also accompanied with a remote control, RCA cable, IR Blaster, and power cable.Neuros OSD has CF, SD, MS card port and USB port in the frontage. Through this ports its ability can be enjoyed maximumly. Other pe...

Xerox Phaser 8560MFP/D: As Solid as Its Ink
2007-10-23 17:16:00
Solid-ink printers are designed to compete with color lasers, offering laser-like speed and output quality. They’re pretty much exclusive to Xerox , whose latest, the Phaser 8560MFP/D, is among the more impressive laser-class all-in-ones I’ve seen.Solid-ink printers are best for an offi ce that can keep the printer running all night so that the ink stays melted. The 8560MFP/D is a whiz at paper handling, with a standard 625-sheet paper capacity and a 1,675-sheet maximum with optional trays. It also has a built-in duplexer.The 8560MFP/D went through our business applications suite in 10 minutes 31 seconds, faster than the fastest color laser AIO I’ve tested. It also prints photos quickly, averaging 23 seconds for a 4-by-6 and 36 seconds for an 8-by-10.The 8560MFP/D’s output quality is superb. Text is a bit below ideal. Graphics were good enough for any internal business need. Photos were superior for a laser-class printer, good enough to pass as true photo quality at arm’s l...
More About: Solid , Soli , Hase

ASUS U1F: An LED-Lit Ultraportable
2007-10-23 17:00:00
The ASUS U1F is a sweet ultraportable with awesome picture quality and an innovative design. It’s a traveler’s delight, packing a lot of appealing features, but one thing you’ll miss is an optical drive.Thanks to LED backlighting, the U1F’s 11.1-inch screen looks magnificent. Digital photos and even YouTube videos look amazing under low light. However, the screen is very sensitive to glare coming from any light source above you. ASUS uses a magnesium-aluminum alloy in its frame to protect the screen, which is only 5mm (0.2 inches) thick.The small form factor presents challenges to ultraportable manufacturers. It’s unfortunate that ASUS didn’t integrate an optical drive, as Panasonic, Toshiba, and Sony have managed to do on similar lightweight systems. (See the review of Sony’s VAIO VGN-TZ150N, page 50.) Another nit is that the U1F runs a weak ultra-low-voltage (ULV) 1.06-GHz Intel Core Duo U2400 processor, which hampers performance. Also, its hard drive spins at just 4...
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HP Officejet Pro K5400dtn Color Printer: Laser-Class Ink Jet
2007-10-23 16:49:00
If you’re looking for a color printer for a small office, you might go with an inexpensive laser printer. Or you might pick the HP Officejet Pro K5400dtn Color Printer , an ink jet with many of the qualities of a color laser, at a much lower price and running costs.The K5400dtn has laser-like speed on text, finishing our business suite in 8 minutes 49 seconds, a record for standard ink jets. But photo speed was not very good, averaging 2:25 (min:sec) for a 4-by-6 and 5:22 for an 8-by-10. Like a laser, the K5400dtn is optimized for business printing, and that includes output quality. Text and graphics were decent though not laser-quality), but photos fell short. Colors were often too punchy, and prints prone to smudging.Paper-handling capability is strong, thanks to the two paper trays and duplexer. The K5400dtn is priced inexpensively, and at 1.5 cents for a blackand-white page and 6 cents for a color page, the company’s claimed cost per page is relatively low.When it comes to qu...
More About: Laser , Class , Class I

Sony VAIO VGN-TZ150N: Laptop’s Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep
2007-10-23 16:29:00
Laptop manufacturers are putting their focus on design these days, and they’ve come out with some amazingly sleek and sexy creations. This is fine—as long as they don’t forget that performance and features are an important part of the mix. The Sony VAIO VGN-TZ150N epitomizes elegance. It’s a featherweight (2.7-pound) ultraportable with a gorgeous, LED-enhanced screen, a raised keyboard, and a durable carbon-fiber frame. Too bad that Sony hasn’t paid equal attention to what’s beneath the snazzy exterior. If you need a system to keep you productive, you’ll run into a few snags with this one.The TZ150N has some top-notch features: LED backlighting that makes viewing the 11.1-inch screen a joy, a dual-layer DVD burner, a Sprint EV-DO Rev A modem—and a webcam, which, as far as I know, is unique in a system weighing less than 3 pounds.Not so hot is the 1.06-GHz ultra-low-voltage (ULV) Intel Core 2 Duo U7500 processor; nor does it help that the system comes with only 1GB of...
More About: Beauty , Skin , Skin Deep , Deep

Iomega eGo: Storage to Go
2007-10-22 03:06:00
Pocket USB hard drives are all the rage. One of the more attractive and reasonably priced offerings is the Iomega eGo. The drive packs 160GB of storage capacity into its red, chrome-accented frame. It’s shielded from tumbles and comes with a fine backup program—at least if you’re a Microsoft Windows user.Designed to be economical, the eGo offers a better cost per gigabyte ($1) than many of its peers. Its hard drive yields decent performance, taking 54 seconds to copy our 1.2GB test folder, which is fast enough for backup or data transfer. The drive is rated to survive a fall of 51 inches—at least when it’s not plugged in and operating.The eGo comes with a license for a good backup program, EMC’s Retrospect HD. Retrospect can protect both document folders and entire hard drives, including the operating system and applications. But the drawback is that you have to download the program from Iomega’s support site. Worse, it works only on Windows systems.All in all, the eGo...
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Canon Pixma Pro9000: Photo Prints Fit for Framing
2007-10-22 02:57:00
Almost any ink jet printer can churn out decent photos, particularly at small sizes. But to get exceptional quality, and to print on fine-art papers at sizes up to 13 by 19 inches, you need a high-end printer built for professional photographers or serious amateurs. The Canon Pixma Pro9000 may just fill the bill. The Pro9000 packs an eight-color ink system, designed both to widen the range of colors it can print and to reproduce the subtle shading that makes skin tones look realistic and rounded objects look three-dimensional.Although it can serve as an all-purpose printer in a pinch, the Pro9000 is clearly built for photos: The default paper setting in the driver is for photo paper. Slower than its rivals, the Pro9000 ran through our business applications suite at a lackadaisical 25:58 (min:sec), but nobody is going to buy it to output spreadsheets. And although print speed is far less important than output quality for photos, its worth noting that, in its price class, the Pro9000 ...
More About: Photo , Prints , Anon

Helio Fin / Samsung SPH-M513: Thin but Short-Lived
2007-10-22 02:47:00
Take a look at this sweet, svelte little cell. It happens to be the thinnest phone yet from Helio , the extremely Web-friendly cellular carrier, and the company’s best camera phone, too. But with its slim body also comes an annoyingly short battery life.The Fin is a very good voice phone. Calls sound clear, with no hiss, though the speakerphone is somewhat quiet. For Helio users, however, voice is just where handhelds begin. This cell has the de rigueur MP3/AAC player supporting 4GB memory cards, though there’s no integration with Windows Media Player. (Better PC media software will come soon, Helio says.) With its big 2.3-inch, 320-by-240-pixel screen, you can navigate full Web pages, check multiple e-mail accounts including Yahoo! and Windows Live, or log on to MySpace. The ability to read Microsoft Office attachments in e-mails is a bonus. A 3-megapixel camera takes photos that but look a bit washed out in daylight and have a tendency to blur under low light.But the Fin’s pe...
More About: Samsung , Short , Lived , Elio

Westinghouse TX-47F430S: HDMI Ports Galore, and More
2007-10-22 02:34:00
There’s no disputing that HDTVs look their best when displaying high-definition video, and the ideal way to transmit this pristine high-def signal is over an HDMI cable. That’s the draw for Westinghouse Digital’s affordable new 47-inch LCD set. This well-priced TV boasts a total of four HDMI ports for your viewing pleasure.The TX-47F430S measures 31.4 by 46.1 by 9.8 inches (HWD) with its base attached, and weighs in at 71.6 pounds. On-display controls consist of a series of thin buttons along the right side of the TV’s frame. A lone Westinghouse logo adorns the bottom bezel, as does an unobtrusive blue power-indicator light. The TX-47F430S’s two integrated 10W speakers are concealed within the TV’s frame along the bottom edge and fire downward. The set delivers ample volume for a large room, and an integrated subwoofer (15W) helps balance the system’s otherwise bright sound.Watching standard-definition video using DVD and satellite television sources revealed that the ...
More About: Hdmi , Ports , Galore

Apple iPod nano (3rd generation): Pocket-Size Yet Plenty Powerful
2007-10-19 16:13:00
Since its inception, the only thing Apple ’s small player ever really lacked was the ability to screen video—a trick that didn’t mesh with the iTunes Store’s commitment to TV shows and film downloads. Sporting a bright, 2-inch widescreen that shows video in the highest pixel-per-inch count of any iPod ever, the nano is an entirely new beast.The flash player, which comes in 4GB and 8GB capacities, is wider than previous models. But when you hold it alongside a second-generation nano, its widened dimensions don’t seem to matter: A beautiful screen and a just-as-thin body make the device seem like a huge evolutionary step for the line. The new user interface combines the nicer touches of the iPhone’s slick UI—like Cover Flow—with novel elements (a split screen that shows album covers for highlighted songs and a new Now Playing screen).File support offers no surprises. For audio, the nano plays AAC (16 to 320 Kbps)—including, obviously, DRM and DRM-free tracks from iTun...
More About: Ipod , Ipod nano , Size , Nano

Nokia E65: Business-Class Cellular
2007-10-19 13:27:00
A classy pin-striped suit of a phone, Nokia ’s new handset gives you smartphone power with a dignified feature-phone look. With its aluminum faceplate and snappy slide-out keypad, the E65’s build is unusually solid and feels decidedly rich. Watch out, though, as some of this cell’s keys may be too small for the ham-thumbed.The E65 is a Symbian Series 60 smartphone with unusually speedy EDGE data support, as well as Wi-Fi. Voice calls sounded clear, though the speakerphone’s sound level was low. The built-in e-mail client works with POP/IMAP accounts and third-party software can let you edit Office documents. Nokia’s Web browser, which handles full pages, is the best available on any mobile platform. The bundled music player app had no trouble with MP3 tracks but couldn’t play unprotected iTunes Plus AAC files. For pictures, an internal 2-megapixel camera takes detailed, grayish photos with good light balance. Battery life, at 7 hours and 44 minutes of talk time, is pretty...
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