Axiotron ModBook Reviewed: First Mac Tablet has impressive engineering, but too heavy
An impressive feat of engineering, the ModBook from Axiotron is the first tablet for Mac users. The ModeBook is well-constructed but lacks a keyboard and rotating screen orientation, said to be most basic function a tablet should have.
The good: Ingenious design. Marrying slate tablet to bottom half of a stock MacBook. Built-in GPS. Wacom digitizer for accurate input.
The bad: Screen is stuck in landscape mode. Very heavy. Big premium over original MacBook cost. Shorter battery life than the MacBook. Sending e-mail is a challenge.
The bottom line: The engineering behind Axiotron’s Tabletized MacBook is simply impressive but the target audience is likely very small, especially since Windows-based convertible tablets do so much more.
Price: Starting at $2,279
Read full review over at Cnet.
Share ThisArchos 705 WiFi Multimedia Player Reviewed: Cool, but not so Portable
The Archos 705 WiFi is more perfect for those who like their gadgets ginormous. It can be an iPod Touch killer with its price offer of $399 and $499 for an impressive 80 GB and 160 GB memory capacity. Wow! But really, this one is huge. Read more
Super.Fi 4vis Ultimate Ears Reviewed: Excellent Choice for iPhone Lovers
Ultimate Ears’ Super.Fi 4vis Ultimate is a perfect alternative to Apple’s infamous and now generic white earphones. iPhone lovers will enjoy using this new pair of earbuds after months of using the old thing.
The Good: Super comfy tips. Great choice for exercising. Mic and phone/iPod controller are tiny,unnoticeable, and pretty to look at. All-around excellent sound, with solid bass, treble and midtones. Machined aluminum buds look slicker than an oil spill.isolated loud external noises. Sound is solid no matter which genre is played.
The Bad: Mic is unusable when the wind is blowing strong. Perform worse than FEMA in windy conditions. Cables conduct noises from movement like a doctor’s stethoscope.
The Bottomline: Excellent choice for any iPhone user. Everything about the form factor is perfect. Great value for you money if you’re a certified iPhone lover.
Price: Starting at $150.
Read full review over at Wired.
Share ThisFujitsu LifeBook P8010 Reviewed: Lighter than Its Rivals, super battery, bad keyboard
The Fujitsu LifeBook P8010 can rival both the MacBook Air and the Lenovo Thinkpad x300 since it’s as light as the other two laptops…actually even lighter. And like the Lenovo, this one from Fujitsu has a built-in optical drive. Looks like Steve Jobs needs to release an updated MacBook Air real fast or else, the Fujitsu will be King of the Lightest Laptops…atleast in the weight division.
The Good: Built-in optical drive. Weighs only 2.8 pounds. Very excellent battery life at 5 hours. Environmentally friendly, Energy-saving. Bigger 12-inch LED screen.
The Bad: Cramped keyboard makes it a turn off. Optical bay is no longer modular. You can’t swap it out for an additional battery. Lacks an option for a built-in cellular modem.
The Bottomline: The Fujitsu LifeBook P8010 is part of a select group of laptops that integrate an optical drive and weigh less than 3 pounds. Fujitsu needs to up its game by putting in a larger keyboard and faster components to justify its price. But 5 hours of battery life? Maaan, this is something!
Price: Starting at $1,592
Read full review over at PCMag.
Compare prices for the Fujitsu LifeBook P8010 at Froogle.
Share ThisNew MacBook Pro Review: Good But Not Amazing
The new MacBook Pro got us a little too excited so we’re wondering why Apple made it all hyped up. Not much change in the looks department but nevertheless, the upgrades are real nice.
The Good: Addition of Multi-Touch is a great new feature. LED backlighting and Penryn chips’ boost give an extra hour of battery life.Keyboard now has the F-key functions. Temperature is cooler than the old MBP version.
The Bad: Touchpad is smaller and narrowed than the one on the MacBook Air.LED matte screen was less bright.
The Bottomline: The updated MacBook Pro is good but not that amazing. There is not much change in power but definitely more efficient with the Multi-Touch and the Penryn.
Price: Starting at $1,999.
Read full review over at Gizmodo.
Share ThisLenovo ThinkPad X300 Reviewed: Move Over MacBook Air
The Lenovo ThinkPadX300 is a full-featured laptop, just shrunken down to (just about) the Air’s diminutive size and a tad heavier at 3.4 pounds but definitely has more to offer.
The Good: Virtually weightless at just 3.4 pounds. Runs Windows XP as an option instead of Vista. System is quick and responsive; feels like a standard notebook, not a stripped-down ultralight. Loud speakers. Handy keyboard-illuminating light embedded in LCD panel.
The Bad: Expensive; a standard (and larger capacity) hard drive would be just fine. Disappointing battery life (2 hours, 13 minutes). Power cord is too short. Black brick design really feeling its age. Graphics performance is middling at best.Missing FireWire, S-video out, and ExpressCard connections.
The Bottomline: The Lenovo ThinkPadX300 can give the equally expensive MacBook Air a run for its money because it offers more features but the Air is still prettier.
Price: Starting at $2,935
Read full review over at Wired.
Compare prices for the Lenovo ThinkPad X300 at Froogle.
Share ThisZune 2.0 Reviewed: Microsoft improves its potential iPod killer
Believe it or not, the latest Zune is (at least potentially) an Apple iPod killer: Looks like the Microsofties learned their lessons during their first attempt so this one is better than ever and ready to be a worthy iPod alternative, say Reviewers, including those over at Cnet.
The Good: Slimmer and pocket-friendly. Can now do audio and video podcast. Sports a superior 3.2 inch screen.. Optical glass is scratch resistant. Zune Pad is cross breed between 4-way pad and a touchpad used in laptops. Interface is bigger and bolder so reading is not a problem. Built-in radio is done right on a media player. Wireless syncing.
The Bad: No touchscreen. PC online device requires its own software whick Limigint. No TV downloads, not much content available at the moment. Poor battery life at only 22 hours (with the WiFi off).
The Bottomline: Finding someone to share music with wirelessly is harder than you think. However, the Zune 2.0 makes it some great improvement to the Zune product line.
Price: Starting at $247.50. See full review over at Cnet.
Compare prices for the Microsoft Zune 2 at Froogle.
Share ThisReviewed: Sharp LC-46D64U LCD TV Turns People to Oranges
The new 46-inch Sharp LCD TV, however slim and sexy, disappoints Reviewers over at Wired as it turns images to orange–nothing tweaking the image settings can resolve. To summarize the review:
The good: Slim design and glossy black bezel really class up the joint. Switching is fast and easy. Has plenty of important inputs like 3 HDMI 1.3. Menus are very user-friendly. Backlit remote doesn’t overwhelm with buttons.
The bad: Orangey skin-tones are way too obvious. The TV pushes some colors too hard. Fidelity of colors are sacrificed upon tweaking. Too much noise. Remote is unnecessarily large. Sunken, vertically oriented rear analog inputs virtually impossible to reach
The bottom line: Sharp doesn’t offer anything new with this model. But if you like the color orange, this one’s perfect for you.
Price: Starting at $1,600.Read full review over at Wired.
Compare prices for the Sharp LC-46D64U at Froogle.
Share ThisSamsung SPH-M520 Reviewed: Better Sprint Power Vision Phone
The very attractive Samsung SPH-M520 just got reviewed by Cnet. It doesn’t offer anything new, but this is one of the better Sprint Power Version phones out there.
The good: The Samsung SPH-M520 features a bright display. Offers a refined navigation controls and keypad buttons . Slips easily into a pocket and it won’t weigh you down. Photo quality is sharp. Minimal distortion or choppiness while streaming TV.
The bad: The Samsung SPH-M20 had sluggish camera menus, and it picked up some background noise during calls. It uses a proprietary headset jack.You can’t use MP3s as ringtones.
The bottom line: It doesn’t offer anything new, but the Samsung SPH-M520 is one of the better Sprint Power Vision phones we’ve seen.
Price: Starting at $49.99. Read full review over at Cnet.
Compare prices for the Samsung SPH-M520 at MySimon.
Related: Samsung Website
Share ThisLandisk NS347 Network storage device Reviewed: Low cost, but slow speeds
The folks over at Review Spring just reviewed the new Landisk NS347 NAS device. The testers call it a “low cost and great looking network storage device that is unfortunately plagued with slow transfer speeds”. Read more
