Apple iPod Touch (first generation, 16GB)

The good: The Apple iPod Touch has a large, video-worthy screen, a cutting-edge interface, and Wi-Fi Internet, e-mail, and music download capabilities.

The bad: The iPod Touch may cost too much for you, depending on your needs. It has a small capacity for a portable video player.

The bottom line: The iPod Touch is a beautiful product, inside and out, but prepare yourself for sticker shock.

Specifications: Device type: Portable media center ; Dimensions (WxDxH): 2.4 in x 0.3 in x 4.3 in ; Display type: 3.5 in

If you find yourself dazzled by the Web, video, and music capabilities of Apple's iPhone but can't stomach the contract commitment, the iPod Touch might be just what you're looking for. Offered in 8GB ($299), 16GB ($399), and 32GB ($499) capacities, the iPod Touch is a premium-priced device with an attractive set of features for a midsize portable video player. Still, the Touch's limited storage capacity makes it a difficult choice when held up to higher capacity products like the iPod Classic or Archos 605 WiFi.

Design
For better or worse, the iPod Touch is clearly the iPhone's baby brother. Like most products that roll out of Apple, the Touch shows the love of committed designers, hardware engineers, and usability experts. The iPod Touch measures a slim and pocketable 4.3 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.31 inch, with an all-metal-and-glass design that feels as expensive as it looks. Because nothing will ruin a portable video player faster than a gouge across its screen, we're happy to see that the face of the Touch uses the same scratch-resistant glass found on the iPhone. Most users will still want to buy a protective case, however, since the iPod Touch feels a little fragile and the back is covered with the glossy, scratch-prone, smudge-loving chrome exterior common to most iPods.

Although the iPod Touch (center) shares most of its features with the iPhone (left), it is technically a sibling of the iPod Classic (right).

There are only two physical buttons on the iPod Touch: a button on the face of the player used for calling up the main menu; and a screen deactivation button found on the top-left edge of the case. The iPod Touch is controlled largely using an icon-based touch-screen navigation menu nearly identical to the iPhone's, but with greater emphasis placed on music, photo, and video playback.

The two design details that distinguish the iPod Touch from the iPhone are the downward-facing headphone jack and volume controls. In the absence of dedicated volume control buttons, the Touch gives users the ability to bring up an onscreen volume slider by double-clicking the main menu button. The same volume screen offers controls for playing, pausing, and skipping through tracks.

When it comes down to it, the iPod Touch's most unique selling point is not its feature set, but its interface. You can find products that offer more features, as well as higher quality audio and video performance, but you won't find any other product that can match the feeling you get using the iPod Touch interface. In the absence of jetpacks or flying cars, the futuristic novelty of zooming photos with a pinch of the finger or flying through your music collection in Cover Flow is difficult to quantify into a bullet point, but it is probably the most justifiable reason to invest in the Touch.

Features
The iPod Touch draws 99 percent of its features from the iPhone. While iPhone owners have zero incentive for buying the Touch, the rest of us now have a way to get our hands on many of the iPhone's features without costly and contractual AT&T service plans. The bad news is that the iPod Touch does away with more than just the iPhone's phone capabilities--it also gives up built-in speakers, microphone, camera, and Bluetooth. Remaining features such as a Safari Web browser, POP/IMAP e-mail, YouTube video portal, photo viewer, music player, video player, stock tracker, weather forecaster, notepad, and iTunes Wi-Fi music store still place the iPod Touch on the cutting edge for portable video players, however. In fact, at the time of this writing, the only product that can even compete with the iPod Touch's combination of a Wi-Fi-enabled Web browser, wireless music store, wide-screen video playback, photo viewer, and audio player, is the Archos 605 WiFi.

One of the few notable features that put the iPod Touch ahead of the iPhone is the ability to output video and photos to a television using an optional Apple AV cable, Universal Dock, or qualifying third-party video accessory. We are a little disappointed that the iPod Touch is the only iPod that does not support a generic USB storage mode, but we doubt many users will be upset by this.

Audio format support is unchanged from previous iPods. The Touch supports standard and purchased AAC, as well as MP3, Audible, WAV, AIFF, and Apple Lossless. Video format support is likewise unaltered from the H.264/MP4 files playable on 5G iPods, as well as the third-generation iPod Nano and the iPod Classic. The Touch supports video resolutions up to 640 by 480 at 30 frames per second.

The iTunes Wi-Fi music store lets you browse, preview, and download music over a Wi-Fi Internet connection.

Safari
The Safari Web browser found on the iPod Touch is more or less the same great browser found on the iPhone, minus a few features. For instance, when using Safari on an iPhone, street addresses, e-mail addresses, or phone numbers displayed on Web pages can instantly launch a location map, phone call, or impromptu e-mail anywhere with mobile phone reception. On the iPod Touch, however, maps and e-mail functions require Wi-Fi reception, and phone calls are obviously out of the question. Our major complaint using Safari on both the iPod Touch and iPhone is its incompatibility with Flash-based Web objects, such as embedded video players and music players.

Despite these few limitations, using Safari on a small mobile device like the iPod Touch is still fun and useful. The intelligent touch-screen keyboard and multiple browser window management are a big plus. Beginning with firmware Version 1.1.3, iPhone and iPod Touch users can now use Safari to save bookmarked Web pages as menu screen icons, providing quick access to commonly-used sites.

iTunes Wi-Fi
Both the iPod Touch and iPhone allow users to browse, preview, purchase, and download music from the new iTunes Wi-Fi music store. The store is limited strictly to music downloads--no movies, TV shows, podcasts, or games--at least, not yet. You'll have to hop onto an available Wi-Fi Internet connection to take advantage of the wireless music store, but once connected, you can search for any artist, album, or song in the iTunes catalog, as well as browse by genre, top sellers, featured artists, and new releases. Store purchases require you to enter your iTunes password as a security measure. Once the download is complete, the song is immediately available to listen to and will transfer to your computer's iTunes music library the next time you sync the device. The feature seems to work without any kinks. Even interrupted downloads pick up once a Wi-Fi connection is re-established.

Apple has also announced a partnership with the Starbucks coffee chain that will allow iPhone and Touch users the ability to access a Starbucks-branded version of the iTunes Wi-Fi music store when the device is used at participating cafes--without paying to use the hot spot. We doubt that anyone will purchase the Touch based on this added functionality, but it bears mentioning.

Firmware 2.0 improvements
Launched in July 2008, version 2.0 of the iPod Touch's firmware adds support for many third-party applications available in the iTunes App Store. Developed primarily for the iPhone 3G, many of the iTunes App Store applications let you extend the functions of the iPod Touch to include features such as streaming Internet radio, sophisticated video games, and instant messaging. You can download App Store applications directly to the iPod Touch using a new App Store menu icon, or load them through iTunes after connecting the Touch to your computer.

Some of our favorite music-related applications for the iPod Touch include AOL Radio and Pandora, which let you stream music directly to the iPod Touch over Wi-Fi. Apple released an application called Remote which transforms your iPod Touch into a full-featured remote control for your computer's iTunes music library or a separate Apple TV system.

Wish list
Complaining about the iPod Touch's lack of FM radio or voice-recording features feels like complaining about a Porsche's lack of cup holders. Still, there are some missing features on the iPod Touch that we would have enjoyed. High-capacity SD memory card expansion is at the top of our list of most-wanted features for the Touch. We could easily forgive any PVP's limited built-in memory capacity if the option of SD memory card expansion was available (the Archos 405 or Creative Zen are perfect examples of video players that give us the option to expand).

We'd also love to see embedded Flash support in the otherwise fabulous Safari browser. Whether video content from sites like DailyMotion or Viddler or music from Web sites like iMeem and Muxtape, embedded Flash media content is a big part of the Internet media experience. And while we're being picky, we also stereo Bluetooth transmission and the ability to use the Touch as an external storage drive like the iPod Nano and iPod Classic.

Performance
Putting aside the Touch's sleek design, futuristic interface, and innovative feature set, the quality of its audio and video playback rank only slightly above average. The iPod Touch reportedly uses the same audio chipset as the iPhone, but a different one than the iPod Classic. The Touch offers good audio quality, but not the stellar audio we were hoping for in an expensive product. The audio issue is compounded by Apple's long-standing history of preventing iPod users from defining their own custom EQ settings. Apple's 20 built-in equalization presets are handy, but there's just no substitute for rolling your own five-band EQ curve. With the Touch's emphasis on video playback, it would have been especially useful to have a surround-sound emulation effect similar to the Cowon A3's or Sony NWZ-S610's.

We've heard some complaints about the iPod Touch's video performance, but we found the overall quality to be good. Viewing angles are less than great, producing some color and contrast shifting from even slight tilting. We also found that the glossy glass screen kicks back a lot of glare. Still, despite the common complaints, the Touch is unquestionably the most video-worthy iPod yet.

Apple rates the iPod Touch's battery life at 22 hours for music playback and 5 hours for video. Our CNET labs found that the iPod Touch lasted an average of 23 hours for audio playback and 6 hours for video--which is better than expected, and more than adequate for a few in-flight movies.

The iPod Touch comes with a small, clear plastic stand for hands-free viewing. It took us only two days to lose it.

Final thoughts
We think the iPod Touch is a great product with lots to offer, but its premium price tag should give some shoppers pause. Don't assume that Apple's most expensive iPod is the best solution for your needs. If you're planning on watching a lot of video, high-capacity products like the iPod Classic or Archos 605 WiFi will allow you to load entire seasons of your favorite TV shows. Also bear in mind that if you're not around an available Wi-Fi network, features like the Safari Web browser, Internet radio, e-mail, iTunes Wi-Fi music store, and YouTube video portal won't mean much at all. While the iPod Touch may not be the slam dunk we were hoping for, it is an unquestionably cool product that continues Apple's legacy of sleek, innovative design.

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Blackberry Bold VS Nokia E71

In the latest chapter of “response to the onslaught of reader’s requests,” we’ve decided to put the Nokia E71 and the BlackBerry Bold head-to-head. While both are totally different breeds of devices, they do share a number of similarities and are targeted to the same demographic. You’ve got two enterprise handsets with QWERTY keyboards, cameras, Wi-Fi, 3G, corporate email, great battery life, etc. Click on through to see which device wins out in this epic showdown of QWERTY gone violent.

We used some of the information from our Bold vs. iPhone post since in most cases it was exactly the same.

Design

BlackBerry Bold:

Some could agree the Bold is the sharpest and cleanest-looking BlackBerry ever to come out of Waterloo. With a complete black face, chrome border and sides, and faux black leather back, the device looks great. From all the matching chrome accents all over the phone to the simple and not confusing layout, RIM has designed a great BlackBerry which should set the bar for future devices down the road.

Nokia E71: Nokia, Nokia, Nokia…aw, who are we kidding? The E71 is one of the nicest designs to have come out of Espoo as of late. With a real metal structure (read: plastic BlackBerry Bold), great materials, and some pretty slick engineering, the E71 looks awesome. Well, except for the vicious red power button. Totally ruined it for us, Noke.

Build quality

BlackBerry Bold:

The BlackBerry Bold is built extremely well. Not including minor screen scratches and things of that nature, the Bold should be able to last you as long as you want to keep the thing. The unit is a little lighter than it looks and there no creaks or anything to get you worried about. The only negative thing we’d have to say, it that the build quality on the BlackBerry Curve slightly trumps the Bold. We’d ever go as far to say that the 8800 does too. But not the Pearl. Hell no.

Nokia E71: Again, Nokia hits it out of the park. Nokias have great build quality for the most part across the board, as do BlackBerrys, but the E71 is built like an absolute tank. Literally. We don’t think we could break this thing if we tried.

Size

The Bold is the biggest BlackBerry to be released in a pretty long time. Well, since the 8700. It is larger in every way than the BlackBerry 8800 and can sometimes feel a little hard to hold in one hand. It’s definitely no Curve. Comparing it the E71, the E71 feels much better when holding it, but since the Bold’s keyboard makes use of the larger size, we’re going to call this one a tie because of the pretty comfy Bold QWERTY.

Nokia E71: If you had to shrink 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, a camera, physical QWERTY keyboard, and other components into the smallest package possible, what would get? Most likely an E71. We don’t think the device could be any smaller, though the small size does hinder the QWERTY keyboard slightly. Everything else is well balanced, and it makes the Bold seem like this huge Dark Knight hovering over it, jealous it can’t shed a couple inches on its waistline.

Screen:

We’re sticking to the “BlackBerry Bold’s screen is the best. mobile. device. screen. ever.” line. Sorry, Nokia, but the E71s screen as decent as it is, can not hold a candle to the Bolds rich, sharp, and spaceous display.

OS

BlackBerry Bold:

This is a tricky and sensitive subject for a lot of people. Many of us live and die by the BlackBerry OS. Some could say we even know it better than we know some of our significant others… But therein lies the problem. While RIM has been on a mission to revamp the BlackBerry from the old school “pager” into an all-in-one communications device for consumers and business alike, we can’t help but wonder when the OS will get a real makeover. Not a Mariah Carey cover page airbrushed makeover, more like a Carnie Wilson 300lbs to 150lbs makeover. But, we do have to say that RIM has a great thing going. The BlackBerry minions have figured out every single tip and trick there is to squeeze every ounce of usability out the operating system, and for a lot of people, the OS is fine. It does what it is supposed to, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s just that the market has changed so drastically in the last year and half. People want to be connected more, they want to do more while doing less.

Nokia E71: S60, huh? We’d have really liked to see FP2 make it to the E71 out of the gate. Anyone that’s not a current Nokia user might have a bit of trouble dealing with access points, configuring their email, and getting around. This is a tricky subject as there are no doubt some die-hard Nokia fans, but we’d so S60 is showing its age a lot at this current point in time, just as RIM’s OS. What you do get with S60, however, is a ton of great 3rd party applications. We think you’d hard pressed to find more than 10-15 useful applications for the BlackBerry platform, whereas you have thousands for S60.

Call quality / RF performance

This has been explored before, but we find the Nokia E71 to be one of the worst performing Nokia handsets in the RF department. That compared to the outstanding reception on the Bold leaves us without too much faith that the E71 will be able to handle our daily usage in low signal areas. In terms of call quality, the Bold did a much better job at delivering us a clear and loud call, while the E71 often garbled our voice to the party on the other end. Speakerphone was the same with the Bold performing better than the E71.

Battery life

You’d be surprised, but we’ve found the Bold and E71 to go toe for toe in our battery tests. They both last longer than any other 3G device we’ve used, but to be fair, since the E71 isn’t the best RF signal holder, the Bold was on 3G more than the E71, and the E71 was rarely on Wi-Fi. We say the Bold inches out the E71 in the battery department.

Email

BlackBerry Bold:

Listen, you can’t throw around the word “BlackBerry” without thinking about email. That’s RIM bread and butter, and we don’t see that changing for a very long time. There are probably 500 competitors vying for the title of “Best. Email. Ever.”, but they’re not coming close anytime soon. While Windows Mobile offers some of the same feature-set, there is nothing like using a BlackBerry for email. From changing your out of office message, to configuring email filters on the go (what, you think we actually get all 6,000 comments from our iPhone 3G giveaway post on our BlackBerry?), to remote searching (awesome!), RIM has perfected email on the BlackBerry for the most part. When new features like full attachment viewing and HTML get introduced, though, it gets a little murky. Instead of viewing attachments natively off the bat on your BlackBerry, RIM’s data network will compress and send you what you need bit by bit. There is also a clear separation between RIM’s BES services and BIS services, and they are totally unnecessary. There is no reason we should have the ability to view HTML on BIS, but not on BES yet (unless you hacked that in), and there is no reason file type support is so convoluted. For instance, we can listen to our voicemail MP3s on our BIS email, but not on BES because even the latest BES service pack still doesn’t support the encoding used in our MP3s. Things like this really confuse users and there’s no reason for it. BIS features should mirror BES features as much as possible and be upgraded at the same time. If we have to email an attachment from our BES to one of our BIS email accounts one more time…

Nokia E71: Email is email for Nokia. There’s no HTML support, there’s really not a lot of configurable options when using an Exchange server, and the email application isn’t the most reliable thing under the sun in general. As far as comparing it to email on a BlackBerry… well, we won’t even go there. It would take a couple more days to list all the issues and inconsistencies with Nokia’s default email application. We’re not saying it’s terrible, it is definitely usable, but it’s not something we’d like to use. Get it?

Keyboard

Another tricky subject. You’ve got the Bold which mashes up the Curve, the Pearl, and the 8800’s keyboard, and you’ve got the E71 which takes its cues from the E61i. If we could fault the E71’s keyboard, it would be that it is a little too small to use 100% comfortably. We’d also point out the stupidity of their keyboard layout once again. Get it through your heads, the “Z” key NEVER goes directly under the “A” key. That’s not how it’s done, boys. The keyboard does give you a nice response when pushed, and the keys are a bit on the hard side, but that actually works well on the phone. With the Bold, we find ourselves banging away emails like we’ve always done — that’s great. RIM didn’t mess with success here.

Corporate usage

BlackBerry Bold:

RIM has made the BlackBerry the hands-down winner for a perfect desktop extension. Pretty much whatever you can do from Outlook on your Exchange server, you can do from your BlackBerry. In addition to looking at the device specifically, RIM’s BES server offers the now standard way of managing, controlling, and deploying devices across a corporate infrastructure. Their BES servers allow IT admins to tweak and configure every possible setting, making this is the ideal solution for mid-to-large businesses and government agencies. RIM’s focus on security also make the BlackBerry the most secure device on the planet to use in a corporate environment.

Nokia E71: And dropped BlackBerry Connect again why? Not a good idea, guys. At least as far as the U.S. market is concerned. You had a device which would have been bought by the pound and used by a lot of corporate executives along with their BES, giving them an opportunity to venture outside of the immediate BlackBerry world. You now have to deal with people buying devices personally for the most part, and at + / - $500 with no discount for corporate volume purchases, it’s going to be a tough sell. Especially considering MailForExchange’s shortcomings.

Pricing:

BlackBerry Bold: The Bold’s pricing hasn’t been revealed yet, but it’s going to be in the $199-$299 price range with a two-year agreement. Or three if you’re unlucky to be a slave to Ted Rogers.

Nokia E71: The E71 is priced at $499 at Nokia stores directly, but you most likely can find it for around $420-$475 depending where you shop.

Conclusion:

It’s a little hard to put this but… we absolutely loved the Nokia E71. It was the best S60 we’d ever used. And it still is, some would argue. There is no doubt it is the finest QWERTY device Nokia has made. Don’t bring up the E90, ok? Even though we had used a Bold prior to our Nokia E71 first review, it wasn’t until we had both devices together that we really had our mind change. This is a personal opinion here, but the BlackBerry Bold smokes the E71 out of the water in so many ways. The E71 is fine as a personal communication device, but once you enter into the realm of corporate email, or even small business, for that matter, the Bold is the reigning king, and will stay that way for a pretty long time.

(http://www.boygeniusreport.com)

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Dell XPS M2010

With an ever-increasing number of look-alike notebooks hitting the market with 19-inch displays, Dell's reimagining of the laptop is genuinely refreshing. Sporting a huge 20.1-inch adjustable display, a removable Bluetooth keyboard, and a convenient carrying handle, this desktop-meets-notebook is sure to inspire "oohs and "ahs" from the neighbors and a "yikes" from your accountant. Weighing 18.3 pounds and starting at $3,500 (our configuration costs a mind-blowing $4,475), the XPS M2010 was created to appeal to a very limited audience, but it packs nearly every feature you could think of into one of the most innovative designs we've seen in a long time.

The XPS M2010's massive 20.1-inch screen extends away from the system on a hinge, more closely resembling an external flat-screen monitor than the display of a traditional notebook. Located atop the
screen is a webcam; eight speakers (four on each side) reside along the bottom of the display. The base measures 19.3 x 8.3 x 2 inches. It contains the CPU, all of the notebook's ports, a subwoofer, and a pop-up slot-loading optical DVD drive. The power and media buttons are at the top, closest to the screen.

The media buttons glow blue on contact, and the eject button extends the optical drive from the base when pressed, creating an automating buzzing sound—and a very retro-futuristic Knight Rider feel.
The monitor folds over the base and keyboard. Its hinge doubles as an extremely sturdy handle. When closed the whole unit resembles a large brief case, complete with a faux leather design.

The keyboard is full-sized, with all the amenities, including a numeric keypad and dedicated media keys. The keys have a nice tactile response, leaning more towards a desktop than a notebook. The trackpad is a bit small for a notebook of this size, stuck in-between the keyboard and number pad, almost like an afterthought. The real benefit of the keyboard, however, is its Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The keyboard secures into the base via six pins, which also serve to recharge the battery. The system also comes with a full-sized Bluetooth optical mouse, compensating for the awkwardly-positioned trackpad.

Performance-wise, the XPS M2010 offers the sort of numbers one would expect from a multimedia system in this price range. The 2.16-GHz Intel Core Duo T2600 processor combined with a whopping 2GB of RAM racked up an impressive 253 in MobileMark 2005 with Wi-Fi off. The notebook's Dual 6-cell battery managed 3 hours and 12 minutes of runtime, a remarkable score for a system of its size.

The 1680 x 1050-pixel TrueLife glossy WSXGA+ display is quite crisp and perfect for DVDs or games. The speakers also handled the tasks of movies and music admirably, and we like that the system comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition. While the webcam's picture quality was decent, it's far from the best we've seen.
Thanks to ATI's top-of-the line Mobility Radeon X1800 graphics, complete with 256MB of video memory, the XPS M2010 notched a very good but not quite stellar 3DMark03 score of 11,719, along with an unexceptional F.E.A.R. frame rate score of 28 fps at a 1024 x 768-pixel resolution on its autodetect setting. Gameplay looked just fine at this level, but keep in mind that the "cheaper" $4,215 configuration of the XPS M1710 turned in much higher 3DMark03 (18,319) and F.E.A.R. (104 fps) scores.

The included RF remote control is very cool. In addition to controlling Media Center, the remote has an LCD that displays your music in a manner similar to an MP3 player, so you can see what's playing from the next room and change tracks. It also has a gyroscopicfeature that allows the remote to serve as a wireless mouse. This feature is a bit awkward and tough to master, but it can be pretty handy, especially when you don't have enough desk real estate to use an external mouse.

If you want to use the XPS M2010 to watch and record TV, you'll need to fork over an additional $100 for an external tuner; we'd prefer it was built into the machine. The only thing that the Dell XPS M2010
doesn't have as an option (at least not yet) is a Blu-ray drive, which would allow users to watch high-definition movies and back up as much as 50GB to a single disc. This isn't a case of Dell being chintzy; Blu-ray technology simply isn't available for thinner slot-loading drives yet. Dell anticipates that a Blu-ray drive will be an option by the end of the year.

It's heavy, a little unwieldy, and obscenely expensive. But if you're searching for a transportable all-in-one PC that can double as a stereo, DVD player, and DVR/TV (if you spend a little more), the XPS M2010 is a splurge-worthy status symbol.

(http://archive.laptopmag.com)

Thx for read...be inspired -maskres-

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HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC

While HP’s recently released Mini 1000 is designed for consumers, its new HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC caters to the mobile professional. An update and replacement to HP’s original 2133 Mini-Note, the 2140 sports the same durable chassis and well-designed keyboard as its predecessor but adds a larger 10-inch screen and an Intel Atom processor that pays off in 7-plus hours of battery life (with a six-cell battery). Add in fast-charge technology and hard drive protection, and the $529 Mini 2140 is our top netbook pick for road warriors.
Compact, Road Ready Design

While HP claims that the Mini 2140 is partially aimed at the education market, its design will surely appeal to business travelers. It sports a brushed silver, all-aluminum lid and a solid magnesium alloy chassis (similar to the original 2133 Mini-Note). Making the netbook even more durable are its metal alloy hinges complete with hardened steel pin axles; HP claims this build can endure the closing and opening of the lid ten times a day for six years (or 25,000 cycles).

When placed next to rival 10-inch netbooks (the Samsung NC10, ASUS Eee PC 1000H, Lenovo IdeaPad S10, and the MSI Wind), the 10.3 x 6.5 x 1.1-inch Mini 2140 is certainly compact. In fact, like its cousin the Mini 1000, it compares favorably to smaller 8.9-inch netbooks, such as the Acer Aspire one and Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (see our measurement chart below). However, it weighs 3.0 pounds with its six-cell battery (2.6 pounds with the flush three-cell battery), making the Mini 2140 heavier than other netbooks equipped with six-cell batteries, including the 2.6-pound MSI Wind and 2.8-pound Samsung NC10.

Nevertheless, when we took the netbook with us on a weekend trip, it fit in a small shoulder bag, and even with its AC adapter (which brought the travel weight to 3.4 pounds) we felt no strain.
Same Great Keyboard, Awkward Touchpad

We’re glad that HP didn’t change the keyboard on the Mini 2140 from the 2133 Mini-Note. This netbook features a 92 percent full-size keyboard treated with a coating that HP claims makes the keys 50 times more resistant to visible wear than a standard keyboard (it’s also water-resistant). The panel had absolutely no flex, and the right Shift key is full-size and directly below the Enter key.

To accommodate the spacious keyboard, HP kept the same touchpad and buttons as on the 2133 Mini-Note. At 2.3 x 1.1 inches, the Mini 2140’s touchpad is very narrow, requiring more movement and backtracking than we would like. Also, HP retained the awkward vertical mouse buttons, which flank the touchpad. The touchpad has a button above it for turning it off completely and a dedicated scrolling bar, which was useful for moving through long Web pages.

(http://www.laptopmag.com)

Thx for read...be inspired -maskres-

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Relion Adrena 3G

Type Adrena3G - RL373
Part Number ND-6873-T

Processor Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz, FSB533MHz, Cache 512KB)
Chipset Intel 945GSE
Memory 1 GB DDR2 533MHz SODIMM (Max 2GB in 1 slot)
HDD 120GB Serial ATA 5400RPM
Optical Drive DVDRW Super Multi
Display Size / Type 10.2" WSVGA TFT (1024 x 600) / Anti Glare Type
Graphic Build in Intel GMA950 graphics core SSM Max 224MB
Web Cam 1.3 Mega Pixel SXGA

Keyboard 83 keys with Windows Key

I/O Ports 2 USB 2.0
1 Express Card 34 Type II
1 Connector for external monitor
1 Line-out phone jack for external speaker
1 Mic-in phone jack for external microphone
1 RJ11 jack for modem
1 RJ45 jack for LAN
1 SIM Card slot
1 DC-in jack
4 in 1 memory card reader (MS/MS Pro/SD/MMC)

Communication Integrated 56Kbps V.92 Fax/Modem
Integrated 10/100Mbps Ethernet
Mini Express Card Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g
Mini Express Card WWAN module support HSDPA 7.2M
Bluetooth EDR 2.1

Finger Print Finger Print Scanner
Audio High Definition Audio, 1.5W speakers
AC adapter Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz Output: 20V, 3.25A, 65W
Battery Pack Smart Battery Pack, Li-Ion 3-cells, 2400mAh
Operation Time 2 Hours*
Dimension (WxDxH) 266 x 202.5 x 29.5~34.5mm
Weight 1.6Kg (included Battery & ODD)
OS supported Windows XP, Windows Vista
Warranty 1years labor cost, 1years spareparts (6months for battery)
Color Combination of Orange & Black

Thx for read...be inspired -maskres-

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CCD vs CMOS

CMOS


CCD

Kamera digital menjadi barang umum mengikuti penurunan harga jualnya. Salah satu penggerak dibalik penurunan harga adalah dengan diperkenalkannya sensor CMOS. Sensor CMOS sangat jauh lebih murah untuk dirakit dibandingkan sensor CCD.

Kedua sensor CCD (charge-coupled device) dan CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor) berfungsi sama yaitu mengubah cahaya menjadi elektron. Untuk mengetahui cara sensor bekerja kita harus mengetahui prinsip kerja sel surya. Anggap saja sensor yang digunakan di kamera digital seperti memiliki ribuan bahkan jutaan sel surya yang kecil dalam bentuk matrik dua dimensi. Masing-masing sell akan mentransform cahaya dari sebagian kecil gambar yang ditangkap menjadi elektron. Kedua sensor tersebut melakukan pekerjaan tersebut dengan berbagai macam teknologi yang ada.

Langkah berikut adalah membaca nilai dari setiap sel di dalam gambar. Dalam kamera CCD, nilai tersebut dikirimkan ke dalam sebuah chip dan sebuah konverter analog ke digital mengubah setiap nilai piksel menjadi nilai digital. Dalam kamera CMOS, ada beberapa transistor dalam setiap piksel yang memperkuat dan memindahkan elektron dengan menggunakan kabel. Sensor CMOS lebih fleksibel karena membaca setiap piksel secara individual.

Sensor CCD memerlukan proses pembuatan secara khusus untuk menciptakan kemampuan memindahkan elektron ke chip tanpa distorsi. Dalam arti kata sensor CCD menjadi lebih baik kualitasnya dalam ketajaman dan sensitivitas cahaya. Lain halnya, chip CMOS dibuat dengan cara yang lebih tradisional dengan cara yang sama untuk membuat mikroprosesor. Karena proses pembuatannya berbeda, ada beberapa perbedaan mendasar dari sensor CCD dan CMOS.

• Sensor CCD, seperti yang disebutkan di atas, kualitasnya tinggi, gambarnya low-noise. Sensor CMOS lebih besar kemungkinan untuk noise.
• Sensitivitas CMOS lebih rendah karena setiap piksel terdapat beberapa transistor yang saling berdekatan. Banyak foton mengenai transistor dibandingkan diodafoto.
• Sensor CMOS menggunakan sumber daya listrik yang lebih kecil.
• Sensor CCD menggunakan listrik yang lebih besar, kurang lebih 100 kali lebih besar dibandingkan sensor CMOS.
• Chip CMOS dapat dipabrikasi dengan cara produksi mikroprosesor yang umum sehingga lebih murah dibandingkan sensor CCD.
• Sensor CCD telah diproduksi masal dalam jangka waktu yang lama sehingga lebih matang. Kualitasnya lebih tinggi dan lebih banyak pikselnya.

Berdasarkan perbedaan tersebut, dapat lihat bahwa sensor CCD lebih banyak digunakan di kamera yang fokus pada gambar yang high-quality dengan piksel yang besar dan sensitivitas cahaya yang baik. Sensor CMOS lebih ke kualitas dibawahnya, resolusi dan sensitivitas cahaya yang lebih rendah. Akan tetapi pada saat ini sensor CMOS telah berkembang hampir menyamai kemampuan sensor CCD. Kamera yang menggunakan sensor CMOS biasanya lebih murah dan umur baterenya lebih lama.

Saat ini banyak kamera digital murah yang menggunakan sensor CMOS daripada CCD. Apa kelemahan dan kekurangan CMOS dibanding CCD? CMOS memiliki keunggulan dimana ongkos produksi murah sehingga harga kamera lebih terjangkau. Sedangkan CCD memiliki keunggulan dimana sensor lebih peka cahaya, jadi pada kondisi redup (sore/ malam) tanpa bantuan lampu kilat masih bisa mengkap obyek dengan baik, sedangkan pada CMOS sangat buram.

CCD dibuat dengan lebih sensitif dan dengan responsibility tinggi. itu menyebabkan ISO yg di gunakan paling rendah 200. dengan Kontras yg tinggi membuat sangat Noise pada ISO yg tinggi.

CMOS, tidak sesensitif CCD, dengan power yg rendah mengasilkan Gambar yang rada Soft. dengan kontras yg nggak begitu tinggi, membuat gambar masih terlihat baik di ISO yang tinggi.

Feature and Performance Comparison

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Samsung Memoir T929

Samsung announces the new Samsung Memoir 8 Megapixel camera phone, a full touch-screen mobile phone with an 8 megapixel camera, to be offered by T-Mobile USA. The Memoir camera phone features a Xenon flash, 16x digital zoom and five shooting modes. The touch-screen phone, enabled by the TouchWiz user interface makes sharing photos easy. Samsung's new photo widget allows you to post images taken with the Memoir directly to your favorite online photo sharing source, such as flickr, Kodak Gallery, Photobucket and.

Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) and T-Mobile USA, Inc., today announced the upcoming availability of the Samsung Memoir™, a full touch-screen mobile phone equipped with an 8-megapixel camera and premium multimedia features, placing it among the highest quality imaging phones available in the U.S.

The Memoir, available exclusively from T-Mobile, is designed to look and feel like a customer's current point-and-shoot digital camera. The built-in 8-megapixel camera with Xenon flash, 16x digital zoom and five shooting modes empower customers to capture exceptional photos and videos from their phone — whether they're on the go, on a vacation or just hanging out around the house.

The touch-screen phone, enabled by Samsung's TouchWiz™ user interface and powered by T-Mobile's high-speed 3G network,

makes sharing photos easy. Samsung's new photo widget allows customers to post images taken with the Memoir directly to their favorite online photo sharing source, such as flickr®, Kodak® Gallery, Photobucket and Snapfish.

“With the 8-megapixel Samsung Memoir, T-Mobile customers can capture and share little slices of life in all their vibrant brilliance,” said Denny Marie Post, chief marketing officer, T-Mobile USA. “With the ability to share photos at your fingertips, the Memoir helps make those connections more meaningful by their immediacy.”

The Memoir's full-touch virtual QWERTY keypad and multiple messaging capabilities, including text, multimedia messaging, instant messaging and e-mail, make staying connected quick and easy while on the go. The Memoir is complete with a music and video player and built-in Assisted GPS navigation, which allows customers to utilize location-based services including turn-by-turn directions. For hands-free use, the Memoir features stereo Bluetooth® technology, speakerphone and voice-activated dialing.

“This is the camera phone that will make people want to leave their digital camera at home,” said Bill Ogle, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Mobile. “When you combine the Memoir's imaging capabilities, customizable menus and music player, not only is it a great phone, but the entertainment possibilities are unlimited.”

T-Mobile's 3G coverage available in select markets. Samsung Memoir also works on T-Mobile's 2G network. See coverage maps at T-Mobile.com

Thx for read...be inspired -maskres-

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