Sunday, November 23, 2008
Chuwi M70 Portable Media Player PMP
Chuwi has just introduced a new portable media player (PMP) for the masses in the form of the M70, and this little PMP that could comes with touchscreen support (with a little bit of help from LG, of course), a display at 800 x 480 resolution with 16 million colors, gaming support (nothing 32-bit obviously) as well as a wide compatibility with both audio and video formats. Unfortunately, it lacks GPS navigation, which sorta pushes it down the list where desirability is concerned. Won't be knocking the iPod off its perch anytime soon though.
MPGIO MF101 Portable Media Player
Trust the Koreans to roll out this portable media player that not only handles a wide variety of audio and video formats, it also boasts the ability to keep you entertained via pre-loaded Flash games including 'Mini Game Heaven', 'Super Action Hero', 'Penoa jeongi', 'Punupunupong' and 'Come2us Soccer 2006'. The MF101 PMP will have 1GB of internal memory which frankly, isn't decent enough to qualify it within PMP ranks, although it does come with a ARM 922T 192Mhz processor and a 2.4" QVGA TFT LCD (320 x 240 resolution) display with 260 thousand colors, allowing you to milk your compressed video for all its worth. Prices start from less than $100 onwards. Would be nice to see a memory card slot of some sort though.
Epson EH-TW4000 Projector
Epson has another projector from its Dreamio range, the EH-TW4000 that will come with the following to keep you entertained :-
* Dupports full 1080p high definition
* Epson D7/C2FINE LCD panel
* DeepBlack technology
* Contrast levels of 75,000:1
* Brightness of 1,600 lumens
* Automatic iris
* Two HDMI 1.3a ports
Interested parties had better make a beeline for Japan this November 28th as that's when Epson will put this projector on sale. It will retail for approximately $3,700 after conversion.
* Dupports full 1080p high definition
* Epson D7/C2FINE LCD panel
* DeepBlack technology
* Contrast levels of 75,000:1
* Brightness of 1,600 lumens
* Automatic iris
* Two HDMI 1.3a ports
Interested parties had better make a beeline for Japan this November 28th as that's when Epson will put this projector on sale. It will retail for approximately $3,700 after conversion.
Creative Zen Moo
Has Creative finally failed to live up to its namesake, with the latest MP3 player from the Singaporean company being named "Moo"? Well, perhaps they're trying to tap into a much younger and less mature demographic. After all, the Creative Zen Moo comes in the form factor of a cow's face, and looks to feature a similar set of functions found in the Zen Stone, including a tiny OLED display, 2B of internal memory, 20 hour playback time and an integrated FM tuner. The Creative Zen Moo was specially designed in this manner to pay a tribute to the year of the cow in the Chinese zodiac calendar for 2009.
Larger Eee Top Models Coming Our Way
Wasn't it just 24 hours ago that Asus released its 15.6" Eee Top all-in-one desktop computer? Well, they certainly aren't one to rest on their laurels, having already released news that they will be outsourcing future 20" and 22" models to Quanta Computer for manufacturing. These larger sized Eee Top computers will be out in the first half of next year. How much do you think Asus will price these new models, considering the current Eee Top retails for approximately $565 at this point in time? Whatever the figure, surely they won't be as expensive as Apple's offerings, right?
Samsung 2494HS LCD Monitor
Samsung's latest LCD monitor, the 2494HS does not come with a round number where screen size is concerned, instead, it features 23.6" of viewing real estate. Other specifications are no less impressive though :-
* Native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution
* 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
* Stereo speakers
* HDMI input
* DVI and VGA connectivity
* 5ms pixel response time
* 300cd/m2 brightness
The Samsung 2494HS LCD monitor ought to be out in Japan sometime in the middle of next month onwards for $420 thereabouts. Good to know Samsung has a heart for the earth, as this LCD monitor sips just 48W of power when in use. No idea on whether the 2494HS will see action outside of Japan though.
* Native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution
* 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
* Stereo speakers
* HDMI input
* DVI and VGA connectivity
* 5ms pixel response time
* 300cd/m2 brightness
The Samsung 2494HS LCD monitor ought to be out in Japan sometime in the middle of next month onwards for $420 thereabouts. Good to know Samsung has a heart for the earth, as this LCD monitor sips just 48W of power when in use. No idea on whether the 2494HS will see action outside of Japan though.
Voodoo Envy 133
Now that I have used my Voodoo envy for a few weeks, it's time to share how it worked for me. Voodoo is a powerful name in PC Gaming hardware, but let's be clear: this is definitely *not* a gaming machine. The Voodoo envy is an ultra-light laptop that is really good at productivity tasks such as email, web browsing, excel and text editing. Think of it as the ultimate internet cafe machine: it is uber-light, will get you connected with the fastest WIFI, looks great on the table and is most likely a conversation starter even if conversations tend to be repetitive and start with "wow, what's that laptop?".
Physical design
The industrial design is the greatest asset of this computer. It is thinner than the Macbook Air from end to end (0.7") and it also looks so much classier. Very few people seem to have actually seen a Voodoo Envy 133 in the wild. Each time I hop into a meeting, people are watching the laptop instead of looking at the projector screen: you have been warned! Fortunately, I don't sell anything, so that's fine. There's no need for a descriptive paragraph, just look at the photo gallery, it speaks for itself.
Performance
PCMark CPU Score (performance mode)
* Core i7 3.2Ghz: 9873 (desktop PC)
* HP 2730P: 4875
* Voodoo Envy 133: 4536
* Vaio SZ120P: 4191
PCMark HDD Score (performance mode)
* Core i7, Raptor 10k rpm: 9442 (desktop PC)
* HP 2730P: 3750
* Vaio SZ120P: 2996 (Stock drive: Seagate Momentus 5400rpm)
* Voodoo Envy 133: 2767
As you can see, the Voodoo Envy's CPU is not a horserace by any means, but it is largely "good enough" for everyday applications. The hard drive is another story. Being slower than my 3 years-old VAIO stock drive (a 2.5" Seagate Memento 5400rpm) is a bit scary, but remember that the Envy 133 has a 1.8" 4200rpm drive. SSD is an option - at a high price, that said.
Battery life
During my tests, I got around 3 hours of battery life if I use the maximum power savings mode, and may be 1h15mn in performance mode. I mainly spent my time browsing the web, writing reviews and using webmail (I typically dislike using Outlook on a laptop).
I'm not a big fan of the Envy 133 power "brick" and even though it has a cool "Ethernet to Wifi-N" feature, I just wish that it was a bit smaller. In terms of volume and weight, I think that it's somewhat comparable to the power brick of my Vaio, but it is bigger than the HP 2730p tablet. After a while, I can say that I would have traded the Ethernet capability for a smaller power-brick, which would come handy as a paid add-on...
It would have been great to have a battery life similar to the amazing 6+ hours of the HP 2730p, but I can live on power-savings mode and 3+ hours. It's "OK".
Ports and connections
Despite being thinner than the Macbook Air, the Voodoo Envy does have more ports. First of all, it has two USB port. One of them also doubles as an eSATA that can be used to connect an optical drive. The same USB/eSata port can provide power (USB) and connectivity (eSata) to the optical drive. You get the high-performance of SATA and an extra USB port for the day to day use. Smart.
The Envy 133 is obviously too thin to accommodate an Ethernet plug. As we said earlier, Voodoo's solution is to have an Ethernet plug in the Power supply and have it communicate with the laptop via an AdHoc WIFI-N connection. That way, you can benefit from a fast wireless connection even if you don't have a WIFI-N router yet.
The presence of an ExpressCard port means that wireless broadband modem or memory cards can be used, which can come in handy, even if it would ruin the esthetics. There's also an HDMI port that serves as a video out. Of course, there's a small VGA adapter that comes in the package if you need to plug the Envy into a common projector. It works just as one would expect.
Voodoo Instant OS
The Envy 133 comes with Voodoo IOS (or Instant OS, based on Splashtop), a quick-boot operating system based on Linux. I don't really like using the word "instant", because it really isn't (15 seconds to a web page). It does boot a lot faster than Windows, but I found myself not using it at all. I wonder why Microsoft can't build a real instant OS based on Windows Mobile from which we would have access to Exchange, which means emails, contacts and so on. It's just a thought.
Not exactly perfect
As good as it is, the Voodoo Envy 133 isn't perfect. Take the trackpad for example: its integration in the overall design is perfect, but in the dark, it's hard to figure out where it is. A simple LED backlight would solve this. Also, I disabled most of the gestures because they don't work they way I want, except for the vertical scroll, which is really convenient.
The trackpad mouse buttons look great, but having two button using a single piece of plastic isn't the best idea. You have to click at the very edge on either side for them to work best. The keyboard is also wonderfully integrated in the design, but the keys are a little slippery. The keyboard is also a little smaller than the one on my 13.3" VAIO - because Voodoo had to make room for the speakers on each side of the keyboard. It's a weird choice because the keyboard seem to be more important than the audio and it's not like they can't put the speakers elsewhere (well, may be they can't). Talking about the keyboard, I did myself a favor and disabled the Caps Lock button (here's how to do it). First, the performance is "good" to "just OK", depending on your tolerance to battery depletion.
The hard disk speed is the main performance issue here. If you can afford it, go for the SSD, assuming that it is really faster. Note that the hard disk is not upgradeable and apparently, this laptop could not accommodate the Intel X18-M SSD. I have not taken it apart to try.
Temperature
The Envy 133 never gets hot to the point of being uncomfortable on the lap (including on the bare skin), let alone burning hot. That's true even in "performance" mode while running a 10mn torture-test. I guess that this is what happens when, unlike some competitors, there's a fan to blow out the hot air. Oh, and if you wonder, the fan is not too noisy.
Conclusion
My biggest complaint is that I have to clean my fingerprints traces to keep the surface shiny at all times. Sure, The Voodoo Envy 133 isn't perfect, but if you want to have one of the most beautiful laptop, you'll have to take the good with the... less good. As for whether or not you "should" buy one, I would say that you're asking the wrong question. The right one is do you "desire" to? One doesn't buy this laptop to "get the job done", but to do get it done in style. Voodoo did not come up with fancy taglines, but they built the sexiest ultra-thin laptop on the planet. ($2100 as tested )
Physical design
The industrial design is the greatest asset of this computer. It is thinner than the Macbook Air from end to end (0.7") and it also looks so much classier. Very few people seem to have actually seen a Voodoo Envy 133 in the wild. Each time I hop into a meeting, people are watching the laptop instead of looking at the projector screen: you have been warned! Fortunately, I don't sell anything, so that's fine. There's no need for a descriptive paragraph, just look at the photo gallery, it speaks for itself.
Performance
PCMark CPU Score (performance mode)
* Core i7 3.2Ghz: 9873 (desktop PC)
* HP 2730P: 4875
* Voodoo Envy 133: 4536
* Vaio SZ120P: 4191
PCMark HDD Score (performance mode)
* Core i7, Raptor 10k rpm: 9442 (desktop PC)
* HP 2730P: 3750
* Vaio SZ120P: 2996 (Stock drive: Seagate Momentus 5400rpm)
* Voodoo Envy 133: 2767
As you can see, the Voodoo Envy's CPU is not a horserace by any means, but it is largely "good enough" for everyday applications. The hard drive is another story. Being slower than my 3 years-old VAIO stock drive (a 2.5" Seagate Memento 5400rpm) is a bit scary, but remember that the Envy 133 has a 1.8" 4200rpm drive. SSD is an option - at a high price, that said.
Battery life
During my tests, I got around 3 hours of battery life if I use the maximum power savings mode, and may be 1h15mn in performance mode. I mainly spent my time browsing the web, writing reviews and using webmail (I typically dislike using Outlook on a laptop).
I'm not a big fan of the Envy 133 power "brick" and even though it has a cool "Ethernet to Wifi-N" feature, I just wish that it was a bit smaller. In terms of volume and weight, I think that it's somewhat comparable to the power brick of my Vaio, but it is bigger than the HP 2730p tablet. After a while, I can say that I would have traded the Ethernet capability for a smaller power-brick, which would come handy as a paid add-on...
It would have been great to have a battery life similar to the amazing 6+ hours of the HP 2730p, but I can live on power-savings mode and 3+ hours. It's "OK".
Ports and connections
Despite being thinner than the Macbook Air, the Voodoo Envy does have more ports. First of all, it has two USB port. One of them also doubles as an eSATA that can be used to connect an optical drive. The same USB/eSata port can provide power (USB) and connectivity (eSata) to the optical drive. You get the high-performance of SATA and an extra USB port for the day to day use. Smart.
The Envy 133 is obviously too thin to accommodate an Ethernet plug. As we said earlier, Voodoo's solution is to have an Ethernet plug in the Power supply and have it communicate with the laptop via an AdHoc WIFI-N connection. That way, you can benefit from a fast wireless connection even if you don't have a WIFI-N router yet.
The presence of an ExpressCard port means that wireless broadband modem or memory cards can be used, which can come in handy, even if it would ruin the esthetics. There's also an HDMI port that serves as a video out. Of course, there's a small VGA adapter that comes in the package if you need to plug the Envy into a common projector. It works just as one would expect.
Voodoo Instant OS
The Envy 133 comes with Voodoo IOS (or Instant OS, based on Splashtop), a quick-boot operating system based on Linux. I don't really like using the word "instant", because it really isn't (15 seconds to a web page). It does boot a lot faster than Windows, but I found myself not using it at all. I wonder why Microsoft can't build a real instant OS based on Windows Mobile from which we would have access to Exchange, which means emails, contacts and so on. It's just a thought.
Not exactly perfect
As good as it is, the Voodoo Envy 133 isn't perfect. Take the trackpad for example: its integration in the overall design is perfect, but in the dark, it's hard to figure out where it is. A simple LED backlight would solve this. Also, I disabled most of the gestures because they don't work they way I want, except for the vertical scroll, which is really convenient.
The trackpad mouse buttons look great, but having two button using a single piece of plastic isn't the best idea. You have to click at the very edge on either side for them to work best. The keyboard is also wonderfully integrated in the design, but the keys are a little slippery. The keyboard is also a little smaller than the one on my 13.3" VAIO - because Voodoo had to make room for the speakers on each side of the keyboard. It's a weird choice because the keyboard seem to be more important than the audio and it's not like they can't put the speakers elsewhere (well, may be they can't). Talking about the keyboard, I did myself a favor and disabled the Caps Lock button (here's how to do it). First, the performance is "good" to "just OK", depending on your tolerance to battery depletion.
The hard disk speed is the main performance issue here. If you can afford it, go for the SSD, assuming that it is really faster. Note that the hard disk is not upgradeable and apparently, this laptop could not accommodate the Intel X18-M SSD. I have not taken it apart to try.
Temperature
The Envy 133 never gets hot to the point of being uncomfortable on the lap (including on the bare skin), let alone burning hot. That's true even in "performance" mode while running a 10mn torture-test. I guess that this is what happens when, unlike some competitors, there's a fan to blow out the hot air. Oh, and if you wonder, the fan is not too noisy.
Conclusion
My biggest complaint is that I have to clean my fingerprints traces to keep the surface shiny at all times. Sure, The Voodoo Envy 133 isn't perfect, but if you want to have one of the most beautiful laptop, you'll have to take the good with the... less good. As for whether or not you "should" buy one, I would say that you're asking the wrong question. The right one is do you "desire" to? One doesn't buy this laptop to "get the job done", but to do get it done in style. Voodoo did not come up with fancy taglines, but they built the sexiest ultra-thin laptop on the planet. ($2100 as tested )
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Windows 7 officially named Windows 7
Microsoft Windows 7
So, you know that follow-up to Windows Vista that Microsoft has been working on for the past couple of years? They’ve been calling it Windows 7 for a while now, but we just thought that was going to be its codename. As it turns out, Microsoft just announced a few hours ago that Windows 7 is the official name of the next version of their operating system. Why not go with another cutesy name like Windows ME, XP, or Vista? Well, they say this is the seventh release of Windows, and that it “just makes sense.” Well, we guess it does. If you’ll be at WinHEC or PDC, you can plan on getting Windows 7 pre-beta code from Microsoft to play with.
So, you know that follow-up to Windows Vista that Microsoft has been working on for the past couple of years? They’ve been calling it Windows 7 for a while now, but we just thought that was going to be its codename. As it turns out, Microsoft just announced a few hours ago that Windows 7 is the official name of the next version of their operating system. Why not go with another cutesy name like Windows ME, XP, or Vista? Well, they say this is the seventh release of Windows, and that it “just makes sense.” Well, we guess it does. If you’ll be at WinHEC or PDC, you can plan on getting Windows 7 pre-beta code from Microsoft to play with.
Asus R710 PND With Pathfinder HUD
Asus has released their R710 PND with Pathfinder HUD (Heads-Up Display) technology that allows users to project directions, speed, etc. on car windshields. The GPS system has a 5-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth capability and built-in light sensor. The R710 will also play MP3s, videos and display pictures for those times when you are stuck in traffic. Its MicroSD card slot can handle up to 8GB. At a thickness of only 13.5mm and a weight of only 200g, contact Asus for price and availability.
Samsung BD-P1500 With Free Matrix
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