Reviews Archives - Page 9 of 13

Hands on with the Motorola Droid X

Instead of doing a full-on review stepping through each feature or characteristic of the Motorola Droid X, I’d rather focus on the emotional experience. And the Droid X is one of very few phones in recent memory that has sufficiently challenged the iPhone as my primary mobile device.

Unlike most handsets that pass through, I chose to use the Droid X nearly exclusively for the week I had it on loan it from Kevin Tofel (jkOnTheRun) last month. It shattered my notion that anything larger than a 3.5″ or 3.7″ phone is just too big — it’s 4.3″ LCD-toting body fit fine in my pocket, while feeling more comfortable and safer in the hand than the similarly endowed EVO. There’s no question the iPhone 4 has the clearest mobile display, but there’s something to be said for the extra screen real estate found on the Droid X, which I could see replacing my Kindle. The revamped “Motoblur” is mostly an innocuous Android skin job. It adds a few UI enhancements and widgets without bogging down the interface or taxing the Droid X’s speedy processor. As opposed to the more in-your-face Samsung TouchWiz, which seems to generate a distinct love or hate reaction.

Hands On with the Samsung Galaxy S

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Samsung’s making a splash with their new, high-end line of Android “Galaxy S” handsets. And while they’ve already launched overseas, the US variants with custom enclosures and functionality, start rolling out today:

As part of the launch festivities, I was provided a stock Galaxy S to evaluate. Media outreach and spec sheet highlights have led with Samsung’s 4″ 800 x 480 Super AMOLED screen. And while I initially found it oversaturated, even garish (combined with Samsung’s Touchwiz skinning), I’ve landed somewhere else entirely. In fact, I’ve concluded that the Galaxy S utilizes the most pleasing mobile display I’ve encountered — striking an excellent balance of resolution, size, and vibrancy. The Galaxy S obviously isn’t as high res as Apple’s iPhone 4 pixel-dense “retina display” … but with uncorrected sub-20/20 vision, it’s not like I’ve been bothered by aliasing at 18″. So, ultimately, I find myself in the same camp as Harry McCracken of Technologizer:

if all other phone features were equal, I’d take more square inches over more pixels

A common Galaxy S knock has been a plasticy appearance and/or feel. And while the enclosure is indeed plastic, it contributes (positively) to a lightweight feeling device, despite sporting that 4″ display. (And how quickly folks have forgotten iPhone 3GS and 3G’s slippery plastic backside?) There’s no debating that the Samsung’s handset doesn’t pack the same level of materials or symmetry found on the iPhone 4 but, in my week of usage, the Galaxy S has been both comfortable and functional.

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Regarding the Galaxy S’s photographic capabilities, I can tell you the handset captures 5 megapixel stills and 720p video. I haven’t shot enough sample content to pass judgement, other than saying quality’s in about the same ballpark as most of the competition. Two other camera notes… The Galaxy S doesn’t incorporate a LED, or other, flash. Which isn’t a problem for me, as a flash-free photographer, but it’s something you may want to consider. Also, my particular unit houses a front-facing camera. But, sadly, I’m unaware of any Market apps which support the feature (yet) and believe only the Sprint model in the US will contain similar.

Hands On with the Kodak Pulse WiFi Frame

I got pretty excited about the Kodak Pulse digital picture frame back at CES, but didn’t have a chance for any one-on-one time with the product until last weekend. Who needs a review unit when your parents buy the gadget outright? And that in itself says a lot. After years of searching, we finally have … Read more

Hands On the Vue Personal Video Network

The Vue Personal Video Network bundle has been shipping for a number of months now. And in the time I’ve dilly dallied with my review hardware, Vue has seen some notable improvements since the possibly reserved launch coverage. The $300 Vue bundle consist of a wireless base station, which you hardwire to your router, and … Read more

Hands On: Targus Premium Laptop/Phone Charger

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UPDATE: Engadget is reporting a major recall of Targus adapters. Buyer beware.

Ever been short a power cord? Or an outlet? Targus has a solution. The Targus Premium Laptop Charger comes with one slim power adapter that splits in two for simultaneous charging of a laptop and mobile device. The product also bundles in a car adapter, and a wide selection of tips for different laptop/netbook models. Since I’m often on the go, I took Targus up on the offer of a review unit.

First of all, I tend to be skeptical of any product that includes adapter tips. It can be hard to find the right tip for your device, quality is often questionable, and tips are easy to lose. Initially it seemed Targus was an exception. I snapped up adapter tip L107 (as indicated by the manual for Asus laptops), popped it in to my computer, and it immediately appeared to start charging. Unfortunately, some time later my computer shut off unexpectedly. I didn’t have time then to investigate, but in attempting to charge my Asus again later in the day with the Targus adapter, the same thing happened. I plugged in my regular charger and discovered I’d dropped down to 1% power. There was no low-battery alert. Nothing except sudden shut-down.

As it turns out, I didn’t have the right adapter. Targus shipped me a new one immediately (the L124), and it does indeed charge as advertised.

Putting aside my experience for a moment, Targus does include a lot in its adapter package. The Premium Laptop Charger comes with tips for laptops/netbooks made by HP, Compaq, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Gateway, IBM, Lenovo, Asus, Sony, Panasonic, and Fujitsu. Targus even includes a handy tip clip for keeping an extra tip close at hand – in case you want to switch up your machine. And if you register your product, Targus promises free tips for future laptops and cell phones. That means if the tip you need isn’t in the package, you too can have a new one sent out – free except for shipping.

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On the mobile side, the Targus package includes a mini USB tip, which will power most cell phones now, and a tip for Apple iPods and iPhones. I had no problems juicing up my phone.

Hands On with the HP DreamScreen

It’s taken a little longer than I had hoped, but I’ve finally composed my thoughts after reviewing the HP DreamScreen. Bottom line: It’s a beautiful display with some very useful applications. If HP could guarantee additional apps, available in the near future via software download, I could imagine plunking down the $249.99 ($219.99 at Amazon) for my own 10.2″ DreamScreen. But the device does need some tweaking, and more apps, more apps, more apps. Here’s the complete lowdown.

The DreamScreen is a Wi-Fi-connected photo display with widgets that provide: clock, calendar, weather, Snapfish photos, Pandora, and Facebook functionality. You can also use the DreamScreen to play your own library of music and videos. The picture quality is stunning, and as HP describes it, the device itself is piano-black with a “flush-glass widescreen display.” There’s a touchbar at the bottom of the screen, but I found it largely useless. The best way to control the DreamScreen is with its remote. As other people have noted, the interface could use some work, but it didn’t bother me overly much. There are cases where you have to click up or down to get to the horizontal menu selection you want, and sometimes it’s difficult to backtrack if you’ve inputted something incorrectly (like a password). However, these types of annoyances are the kind I can get past pretty quickly, especially when there’s nothing better currently on the market.

Now on to the good stuff.

Hands On: Sungale Desk Lamp Photo Frame

In my continuing quest to find meaningful evolution in the digital photo frame space, I stumbled upon the Sungale desk lamp with photo and video display. Not long ago I reviewed a Sungale touch-screen frame, and came away hoping for more. But the desk lamp is a different story. The photos are sharp on the 3.5″ screen, video is surprisingly crisp and easy to upload, and the device even plays any MP3 files you’ve got. My one hesitation here is that the lamp retails for $100 ($90 at Amazon). It’s probably not an unreasonable price, but I still find it hard to justify in my own budget as someone who would normally spend about $15 for a desk light. If your price range is higher, however, you should definitely give the Sungale lamp a whirl. It’s a lot of fun and would be a good gadget gift for the office worker.

First off, this desk lamp doesn’t disappoint in its primary function. The light is bright, soft, and easily flexes in any direction. It’s also energy efficient, consuming only 5W of power.

Getting beyond the lighting function, the lamp has a little pop-up LCD screen that resides in the base. As a photo frame, it’s a bit small, but remarkably clear. The screen gets 320×240 resolution, and the lamp has 512 MB of built-in memory. You can also plug in your camera’s memory card (SD, MMC, MS), or connect to a computer via USB. Transporting photos was easy. My PC opened up a dialog box asking if I wanted to connect using the “program provided on the device.” The software isn’t flashy, but it’s perfectly serviceable, and settings on the lamp allowed me to control the slide-show display.

The Zoodles Online Browser for Kids

There’s a market for kid-friendly online browsing. Children watch their parents on computers and want to get in on the fun from an early age, even if they don’t quite know how. Although there are a number of kid computers (VTech, Fisher-Price, etc.), these low-end devices don’t offer the same breadth of options available on … Read more