My Top 3 Favorite Pink Gadgets: What's yours?

Gadgets in Pink!: My Top 3 Favorite Pink Gadgets: What's yours?

Gadgets in Pink!: Pink Samsung SL30 Digital Camera for Capturing Moments

Gadgets in Pink!: Pink Samsung SL30 Digital Camera for Capturing Moments

The Ultimate Gaming Laptop: Dell XPS M1730

This laptop is not for the faint of heart! If you are looking for something thin and lightweight, then this is absolutely not the laptop for you. The Dell XPS M1730 has a 17-inch widescreen display, weighs a whopping 10.6 pounds and is 2 inches thick. Its keyboard is LED backlit which is very useful in low-light or late night gaming sessions. It's fully loaded with features that you can't ask for anything more if you are a die-hard gamer. With its stunning and impressive exterior plus its above-average performance makes this laptop worth your cash!


Specifications:

• Battery type included Lithium-ion
• Network interface 10/100/1000 LAN, Bluetooth, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n
• Dialup modem No
• USB ports 4
• Firewire ports 1
• Firewire type 400
• S-Video Yes
• VGA No
• DVI Yes
• HDMI No
• Natural resolution (max) 1920 x 1200 pixels
• Diagonal screen size 17.1 inch
• Primary hard drive 200 GB
• Optical drive DVD-RW
• Graphics hardware Dual GeForce 8700M GT in SLI
• Processor type Intel Core 2 Duo
• Processor speed 2.4 GHz
• Amt of RAM 2GB
• RAM type DDR2-667

Luxury Phone Must-Have This Holiday Season: the LG Prada

The luxury mobile phone LG Prada has a sophisticated and stylish design that would definitely turn heads! It's the closest I can get to an iPhone, only the LG Prada is more fashionable. Its user-friendly 3-inch touch-screen display is its best part. The LG Prada has 3 megapixel camera, music player and document-viewer. It's sexy and it's a must-have this holiday season!

Tech Specs:

• Cellular technology GSM
• Band / mode GSM 900/1800/1900 (Tri-Band)
• Wireless Interface Bluetooth 2.0
• Color Black
• Display Type LCD display
• Display technology TFT
• Display Resolution 240 x 400 pixels
• Digital player supported digital audio standards WMA, Real Audio, MP3, AAC
• Digital player ID3 tags support Yes
• Digital player/recorder type Digital player

You might also want to buy cheap car insurance this coming new year!

Best Gift This Christmas: The All-New Apple MacBook

This coming holiday season, I wouldn't want anything else as a gift but a new Apple Macbook! The new generation of notebooks as Apple calls it, boasts its breakthrough unibody enclosure, industry-first features, and environmentally sound design. It’s a revolution in the way notebooks are made as they say. The new MacBook trackpad has no button because it is the button, which I think is the best part! Looking forward to have this!


Tech Specs:

• Height: 0.95 inch (2.41 cm)
• Width: 12.78 inches (32.5 cm)
• Depth: 8.94 inches (22.7 cm)
• Weight: 4.5 pounds (2.04 kg)
• MagSafe power port
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
• Mini DisplayPort
• Audio line in
• Audio line out
• Kensington lock slot
• Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking
• Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet
• Built-in stereo speakers
• Built-in omnidirectional microphone
• 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
• Built-in iSight camera
• 2.0GHz or 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed
• 1066MHz frontside bus
• 2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB
• 160GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive (2.0GHz MacBook)
• 250GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive (2.4GHz MacBook)
• 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• 45-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard

The All-New Apple iPod Nano-chromatic

Sorry for those who just bought their 3rd gen iPod Nano, as Apple has just introduced the all-new 4th gen iPod Nano called "nano-chromatic. It comes in nine amazing colors: silver, black, purple, blue, green, yelloe, orange, red and pink! It has the Genius feature which finds the songs in your music library that go great together and makes a Genius Playlist for you. It’s like having your own highly intelligent, personal DJ. Tilt or turn iPod nano on its side, and you’ll listen, watch, and play in new ways. You can flip through your album art with Cover Flow. Or, vertically speaking, see more albums and artists on the screen at one time. And now you can shake to shuffle your music. Just give iPod nano a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library. Now how cool is that? It also has a huge screen (huge compared ot the first gen) so you can enjoy watching videos and sharing photos.

Technical Specs:

• Height: 3.6 inches (90.7 mm)
• Width: 1.5 inches (38.7 mm)
• Depth: 0.24 inch (6.2 mm)
• Weight: 1.3 ounces (36.8 grams)
• 8GB or 16GB flash drive2
• Holds up to 2,000 or 4,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format3
• Holds up to 7,000 or 14,000 iPod-viewable photos4
• Holds up to 8 hours or 16 hours of video5
• Stores data via USB flash drive
• 2-inch (diagonal) liquid crystal display with blue-white LED backlight
• 320-by-240-pixel resolution at 204 pixels per inch
• Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
• Built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery

HTC Touch Diamond: An Alternative to iPhone

Because everybody is so hooked to the iPhone craze, mobile phone manufacturers continue to create and offer something close yet relatively more affordable than the Apple iPhone. The HTC Touch Diamond has a 2.8-inch touch screen, with four times the pixels of most phones. It has Vibrant TouchFLO 3D user interface, responding perfectly to your finger gestures when scrolling through contacts, browsing the web, and launching media--all vividly displayed as photos and artwork powered by the 3D graphics processor. How's that? And if you are looking for the internet connectivity that iPhone boasts, the HTC Touch Diamond also allows you to surf and download at broadband speed with HSDPA internet connectivity. It has a 3.2 mega-pixel camera for capturing moments. And of course, there's 4GB storage for your music and files. To be honest, it may be worth having more than the iPhone.



Specifications:

• Cell Phone Type: Smartphone
• Cell Network Technology : GSM
• Wireless Technology: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
• Supported Memory : Integrated
• 3.2 Megapixels
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Screen Size : 2.8 in.
• Supported Media Format : MIDI, AMR, AAC +, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC
• Messaging: MMS, E-Mail, SMS
• Digital Camera: Yes
• Network Technology: W-CDMA 900/2100, GSM 900/1800/1900
• Battery Technology Lithium Ion
• Height 4 in
• Width 2 in
• Depth 0.4 in
• Weight 3.9 oz

Texters' Mobile Phone: LG enV VX9900

The LG enV VX9900 looks like a regular candy bar phone with a standard keypad, d-pad and display on the front face. But this LG mobile phone opens like a laptop to reveal a spacious QWERTY keyboard and a large inner display that's flanked by gutsy stereo speakers. For those who want a mobile phone with a keyboard for texting but don't need all the features of a smartphone or PDA phone, let alone the more expensive data plans associated with them, the LG VX9900 enV bridges the gap.

Specifications:

• QWERTY Keyboard for Easy Messaging
• Product Line enV
• Cell Phone Type Camera, Digital Player, MP3, Video
• Carrier Verizon Wireless
• Cell Network Technology CDMA
• Wireless Technology Bluetooth
• Supported Memory MicroSD
• Megapixels 2.0 Megapixels
• Talk Time 4.1 hrs.
• Standby Time 19.2 days
• Supported Media Format MPEG-4, 3gp, MP3
• Key Functions Digital Camera, Digital Player
• Connector Types Data port
• Messaging MMS, EMS
• Additional Features Built-in Stereo Speakers, Qwerty Keyboard Layout, Text-to-speech (Text Recognition), Tty Compatible
• Antenna Style Integrated
• Colors Silver
• Digital Camera Yes
• Included Functions digital camera / digital player
• Network Technology CDMA2000 1X 1900/800
• Phone Book Capacity 1000 Names & Numbers
• Voice Dialing Yes
• Vibrating Alert Yes
• Digital Zoom 4 X
• Display Features Wallpaper, Screensaver
• Display Type LCD
• Display Resolution 240 x 320 Pixels
• Display Color Support Color
• Display Capacity (Lines) 11

Luxury Laptop for Car Lovers: Asus Lamborghini VX1

The Asus Lamborghini VX1 is the perfect laptop for car lovers and enthusiasts. It is an extreme and spectacular expression of the ASUS and Lamborghini spirit that, with the look alone, exudes power, speed, strength and beauty.


Enjoy revolutionary entertainment on the go - Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology in ASUS-Lamborghini VX1- enables breakthrough mobile performance, new high-definition capabilities and improved battery life.

Available in black or yellow, the paint job on these sleek machines takes 48 hours to apply, according to Asus, and is the similar to the type of paint used on its automobile cousins. Under the hood of the VX1 is an Intel Core Duo Processor T2500, 512MB nVIDIA GeFroce 7400, 120GB hard disk, multi-format double layer DVD burner, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and built-in 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi.



Specifications:

• Processor Brand Intel
• Processor Class Core Duo
• Processor Speed 2 GHz
• Mobile Technology Intel Centrino Duo
• Installed Memory 2 GB
• Maximum Memory 2 GB
• Memory Technology DDR II SDRAM
• Cache Size 2 MB
• Processor Core Duo
• Hard Drive Capacity 160 GB
• Included Drives DVD±RW (+R DL) / DVD-RAM
• isplay Size 15 in
• Display Type TFT active matrix
• Graphics Processor NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400
• Resolution 1400 x 1050 pixels
• Wireless Technology Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• Bluetooth Yes
• Modem Speed 56 Kbps

Most Affordable, Smallest and Lightest DSLR: Olmpus E-420

The Olympus E-420, an entry level digital SLR camera is now within reach of budget-conscious enthusiasts. It's extremely portable while having the power of a DSLR and a point and shoot camera at the same time. The lightweight 10-megapixel E420 DSLR offers heavyweight technologies. Weighing a mere 380 grams (13.4 ounces), the Olympus E-420 is 20 to 40 percent lighter than competing DSLRs. Good things come in this small package, including Live View, which enables users to hold the camera away from their faces and interact with their subjects - ideal when capturing photos of children, for example.



The Olympus E-420 Digital SLR will be available in May 2008, so we have really yet to hear feedback from real users. The pack will include: E-420 Body, USB Cable, Video Cable, Li-Ion Battery Pack (BLS-1), Li-Ion Battery Charger (BCS-1), Shoulder Strap, OLYMPUS Master Software CD-ROM, Manuals and Warranty Card.



Specifications:

• Focus lock Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (single-servo AF) or by pressing AEL button (customizable)
• Focus tracking Interlocked with Continuous-AF
• Four Thirds Live MOS sensor
• 10 million effective pixels
• 11.8 million total pixels
• RGB Color Filter Array
• TTL Phase detection
• Contrast detection system (with 25mm f2.8, 14-42mm f3.5-5.6, 40-150mm f4-5.6)
• Dimensions 129.5 x 91 x 53 mm (5.1 x 3.6 x 2.1 in)
• Video output NTSC or PAL selectable
• Remote control RM-UC1 cable release or RM-1 optical remote control
• Continuous buffer: Unlimited Large, Normal compression JPEG, 8 RAW frames
• Built-in flash Guide number 12 at ISO 100 (m)
• Sync speed 1/180 sec or less. Super FP up to 1/4000
• WB fine tuning +/- 7 steps in Amber-Blue or Green-Magenter axis
• AE Bracketing 3 frames in 0.3, 0.7 or 1 EV steps
• AE Lock Exposure can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway or by pressing AEL button (customizable)
• Metering range EV 1 - 20 (at normal temperature, 50mm f2, ISO 100)

Cowon iAudio6 - Not Worth its Price?

The Cowon iAudio 6 can play and record a lot of media types but its small screen is discouraging. This mp3 player has a neat style but you have to hold it horizontally to get a good view of the small screen. It can play MP3, WMA, FLAC, WAV and Ogg Vorbis. It comes with a USB cable to synchrnize and transfer files as well as charge the battery when connected to a PC. At $230, almost the same prize as an iPod Nano, I don't think this player is worth it, but may be perfect for those who doesn't mind the small screen.



Specifications:

• Supports MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV, Moving Picture Playback,
• FM Radio Receiver and Recording, Voice Recording, Line-In Recording
• TXT (Text), JPEG (Image) File Viewer (Image Enlargement, Background Screen Designation)
• built-in 0.85 inch HDD (4GB)
• USB Host Interface
• 260,000 Color 1.3 inch OLED, Resolution 160x128
• Long Playback Time : Up to 20 hours playback(Based on company's self-test, The playing
• time may be shortened according to LCD usages.)
• Multi language support
• Play/Pause, Recording/Pause While Recording
• Next Song/Previous Song, Fast Forward/Rewind, Section Repeat
• Resume, Fade-In, AutoPlay Features
• Search Speed, Skip Speed Setup
• Volume (Digital 40 Levels)
• Various EQ and Sound Field Effects
• Clock, Alarm, Timer Recording, Sleep Function, Power Saving Shut down.
• LCD Auto Off Time Adjustment, Brightness, and Contrast Adjustments
• Easy Firmware Upgrade
• Supports ID3V2, ID3V1, FileName
• Product Info Display (Firmware version, Memory Capacity/Usage)
• Supports MAC OS (Data transfer only), Supports Linux v 2.2 or higher (Data transfer only)
• Software
• - jetShell (File transfer, MP3/WMA/WAV/AUDIO CD PLAY)
• - jetAudio VX (Integrated multimedia player software, music/video conversion feature)

Diamond-Studded iPhone

This iPhone is obviously the world's most expensive iPhone. It's named "Princess Plus" and it truly showcases Peter Aloisson's craze for phones and diamonds. The 17.75 carats of diamond are set in 18 carat white gold that outlines the edge of the iPhone. Half of its 318 diamonds are square-cut instead of the common round stones which makes this phone a whopping $176,400 worth. Well, there is a lesser expensive version (but still expensive nonetheless) which is a round-cut diamond only version, sold at bloody $66,150.

Here are the images, I found at Luxurylanches.

Ultraportable Convertible Laptop: Fujitsu LifeBook U810

The all-new Fujitsu LifeBook U810 has the functionality of a traditional notebook, but only half the size. It is one of the world's smallest convertible notebooks. It fits in your palm, yet it is rich with features that let you work, access e-mail, watch video, listen to MP3s, browse the Internet, take pictures, or stay connected with friends and family. It's a higher-end alternative to the Asus EEE.



It’s got an 800-MHz Intel A110 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 40GB storage, Windows Vista, 1024×600 5.6-inch touch screen, integrated webcam, Bluetooth, and 802.11b/g wireless. No optical drive but it’s barely a pound and a half. It's a Tablet PC with full pen, ink and touch capabilities.

The finish of the U810 is a dark metallic silver that gives the machine a upscale look and resists fingerprints. The attached keyboard is compact but usable, even for those of us with long nails.



Specifications:

• Processor Brand Intel
• Processor Speed 800 MHz
• Mobile Technology Intel Ultra Mobile 2007
• Installed Memory 1 GB
• Memory Technology DDR II SDRAM
• Cache Size 512 KB
• Hard Drive Capacity 40 GB
• Display Size 5.6 in
• Display Type TFT active matrix
• Resolution 1024 x 600 pixels
• Battery Life 5.5 hour(s)
• Battery Type Lithium ion
• Bluetooth Yes
• Input Devices Keyboard, Touch-screen
• Included Sound Card Sound card
• Tablet PC Yes
• Weight 1.56 lbs

Haier ibiza Rhapsody

The 30GB Ibiza Rhapsody will allow you to download your favorite music, videos, pictures, and more, with no PC connection! It is another attempt at direct wireless downloads. It was one of the sexiest designs we have seen on an MP3 player. However, to cut production costs the Ibiza lost its slick solid aluminum feel and just became just a pretty good looking player. Even though some of the design was lost, the many features and user interface remained intact.



To get the full benefit of the Ibiza Rhapsody you must subscribe to Rhapsody. If you do not, it is just another player with the inability to use half of the features. The bottom line is if you are an all-you-can- download subscription music junkie or are a Rhapsody fan, the ibiza is definitely a player to consider.



Specifications:

• Storage Capacity: 30 GB
• Screen Size: 2.5 in.
• Storage Type : Hard Drive
• Supported Media Format : Protected WMA (DRM), WAV, WMA, AAC, MP3, MPEG-4, WMV, H.264, JPEG, PNG
• Compatible OS: Microsoft Windows Vista / XP
• Max Battery Life : 10 hrs.
• Connector Types USB, Docking station, Headphones
• Power Source: Player battery - rechargeable - lithium polymer
• Recharge Time: 2.5 hour(s)
• Weight : 4.9 oz

LG Chocolate VX8500 Hypes but Disappoints

The LG Chocolate VX8500 is awesome looking and has a nice screen. It has a smooth and silky look, like a bar of fine dark chocolate. Its touch pad is superb. It is being dubbed as a music phone and its cool exterior slightly resembles the U2-inspired iPod. However, the phone has poor streaming video quality and low talk-time battery life. It doesn't have a speakerphone, which I don't mind--how often do we use the speakerphone anyway? This LG phone's stunning design, Bluetooth, digital music player, and megapixel camera is enough to make this gadget worth buying, although it doesn't quite live up to the hype when it's being advertised.



Specifications:

• Cell Network Technology: GSM
• Band:Tri Band
• Wireless Technology: Bluetooth
• 1.3 Megapixels
• 3.5 hrs Talk Time
• Supported Media Format : WMA, AAC, MP3
• Key Functions: Digital Camera, Digital Player
• Included Accessories: Wrist Strap, Headphones, Carrying Case
• 4 X Digital Zoom

Sleekest Lenovo ThinkPad Laptop: X300

The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 breaks new ground by packing a broad display, full-size keyboard, and nearly every feature a mobile user needs into a sleek, lightweight case. Its solid-state drive comes at a high premium and its touch pad's location makes it easy to accidentally graze while typing. However, it's extremely thin and light--has almost the same weight as the MacBook Air. It has a removable battery, a built-in optical drive, integrated WWAN, and multiple USB ports which makes this little ultra portable much more desirable from a business standpoint. It's the sleekest ThinkPad yet.




Specifications:

• Type: Ultraportable, Business, Small Business
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Professional
• Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo L7100
• Processor Speed: 1.2 GHz
• RAM: 2 GB
• Weight: 3.3 lb
• Screen Size: 13.3 inches
• Screen Size Type: widescreen
• Graphics Card: Intel GMA X3100
• Storage Capacity: 358 GB
• Networking Options: 802.11n
• Primary Optical Drive: DVD+R DL

Affordable Desktop-Replacement Laptop: Acer TravelMate 6592

The Acer TravelMate 6592 is an affordable laptop that should suit anyone looking for a capable, mostly desk-bound, system. Although it's fairly basic, the webcam is a handy extra, while fingerprint recognition is fast becoming a 'must-have' feature for business users.

The TravelMate 6592 is a desktop replacement model. The TravelMate 6592 is nominally a 'thin-and-light' laptop, but its relative bulk means it's functionally a desktop replacement. At 2.9kg you're unlikely to want to carry it very far or very often, and if you do make it a travel companion you'll need a pretty capacious bag. It plants a footprint 360mm wide by 275mm deep. At its maximum, the TM 6592 is 37mm thick.



This laptop's color scheme is no great surprise: it has a slate-gray lid section, and black innards with gray highlights that are slightly lifted from the humdrum by a few emerald-green accents.

A solid dual-action clasp keeps the lid and keyboard sections together when the laptop is not in use, and build quality is generally very good. The lid section, in particular, feels reassuringly solid. All this bodes well if you do choose to carry this laptop around.

The keyboard is distinctive because of the five-degree curve on which the keys rest. This places the outer keys nearer the screen than the inner ones, encouraging you to hold your wrists at a slightly wider angle than usual. Acer says this helps with user ergonomics, and we can confirm that this design does indeed feel more comfortable for touch typing than standard laptop keyboards.

The spread of keys is wide, with a row of two-thirds-height function keys sitting atop a row of full-sized number keys. When it comes to cursor movement, Acer offers two options. The touchpad has two enormous mouse buttons beneath it, with a central navigation pad for vertical and horizontal scrolling. Alternatively, there's an emerald-green mini joystick nestling between the G, H and B keys. A second pair of mouse buttons, with emerald green accents, sits above the touchpad for use with the pointing stick. The fingerprint sensor sits between this second pair of mouse buttons.

Above the keyboard there's space for four shortcut buttons. Two are preconfigured to launch Outlook Express for email and Internet Explorer for Web browsing. You can change these settings and also program a third personalized launcher button. The fourth button opens Acer's Empowering Technology utilities, a set of tools for managing things such as presentation mode settings, backup, security and password management.

For processing power, our TravelMate 6592 review sample had a 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, backup by 1GB of RAM (expandable to 4GB). Wi-Fi (802.11a, b, g and n), Bluetooth (2.0+EDR), infrared, Gigabit Ethernet and a 56Kbps V.92 modem are all built in.

Graphics were handled by a discrete ATI Mobility Radeon X2300-HD module in our review sample, although other configurations are available. The hard drive, a 160GB unit spinning at 5,400rpm, can be downgraded to 80GB or 120GB if necessary. The optical drive sits in a modular bay that can also accommodate a second battery or a second hard drive.

Acer's Crystal Eye webcam, which sits above the screen. The camera captures stills and video at 640x480 and 320x240 pixels. The TravelMate 6592 is reasonably well kitted-out with ports and connectors. However, there are only three USB 2.0 ports, two side-by-side on the left edge, and one at the back on the right. The left-hand side also houses a FireWire (IEEE 1394) port, an ExpressCard/54 slot, a PC Card slot, a SmartCard reader and a flash card reader that accepts SD, MMC, Memory Stick and xD media.



At the back, you'll find S-Video, DVI-D, VGA and serial ports, along with modem (RJ-11) and Ethernet (RJ-45) connectors and the power jack. The front houses microphone, headphone and line-out jacks and the infrared port. There are also two mechanical slider buttons here: one toggles Wi-Fi on and off, the other Bluetooth. The TravelMate 6592 is a comfortable laptop to work with, both in terms of general responsiveness and as far as the keyboard is concerned.

Acer says the standard six-cell battery will deliver 2.5 hours of life. You can extend this to 4.5 hours by adding an optional second battery in the media bay. Alternatively, an eight-cell main battery pack will deliver a claimed 4 hours' life with another 2 hours available from a second battery in the media bay.

Specifications:

• Processor type: Core 2 Duo T7100
• RAM installed: 1024 MB
• Max supported RAM: 4 GB
• RAM technology: DDR2 SDRAM
• Hard drive size: 160 GB
• CD / DVD type: DVD±RW (±R DL)
• Serial: 1
• USB: 3
• Firewire: 1
• PC Card: 1
• ExpressCard: 1
• Ethernet: Yes
• Infrared: Yes
• Bluetooth: Yes
• Wireless networking: Yes
• Other: Integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam
• Graphics processor: ATI Mobility Radeon X2300-HD
• Display technology: Colour TFT
• Display diagonal size: 15.4 in.
• Maximum resolution: 1280x800 pixels
• Soundcard: Intel High-Definition Audio
• Audio inputs/outputs: Microphone
• Built-in speakers: Yes
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 360x37x275mm
• Weight: 2.9 kg
• Included accessories: Docking station, media bay battery, media bay hard disk, 8-cell main battery

Luxury Flash-Based MP3 and Video Player: iRiver B20

iRiver's new DAB-sporting B20 pulls into shore with a high price. With only 4GB of memory makes it one of the most expensive flash-based players we've ever seen, and £80 more costly than a video-playing 8GB iPod nano. Slightly cheaper 1GB and 2GB version are available as well.

The big question is: Does the inclusion of DAB radio make this player worth such a premium over iRiver's 2nd-gen Clix?




Well, if you liked the look of iRiver's new Clix -- the Clix 2 to some people -- then there's a good chance you'll like the B20. It's basically a fatter version of the Clix. The innovative four-way Direct Click control lets you browse the player by physically clicking the screen. It's a nice feature, but a rough hand could pull the screen away from the player.The plastic-coated 56mm (2.2-inch) screen has a glossy finish and because of the Direct Click controls, fingers frequently touch the screen. Despite this, greasy fingerprints aren't as noticeable as they are on the iPod touch.

The 170mm telescopic aerial swivels 360 degrees and folds away to the rear. Scattered around the player's edges are physical volume controls, a proprietary USB port and a mini-USB socket.

The B20 supports MP3, WMA (protected/unprotected), OGG and Audible.com audiobooks, but it won't play WAV, lossless WMA, FLAC or AAC -- a big shame, especially considering the player's price. MPEG-4 video with 320x240-pixel resolution is compatible, though, and software comes with the player for handling video conversion. Images suffer few restrictions -- as long as your photos are in JPEG format, they'll load painlessly on the B20.



In DAB mode you're given an alphabetical list of available stations. Typical DAB data -- signal strength, radio station genre, show title, etc -- is displayed along the top and bottom of the screen. FM works in much the same way, though no show data is available. Both FM and DAB broadcasts can be recorded and a range of recording options are available. It's also possible to save recordings to miniSD.

iRiver has built in a great voice recorder, flash games (including Sudoku!), an alarm clock and a text file viewer.

For those who crave a bit of customization, the B20's advanced option menu lets you choose a variety of options. For example, it's possible to use connected earphones as the radio antenna instead of the telescopic aerial. Playback speed is adjustable, too -- good news for audiobook fans. There's also a tiny built-in speaker for out-loud listening. It's quiet, but potentially useful.

Navigating the attractive and intuitive menus with the Direct Click controls is really simple. Grandparents and technophobes, take note: even you'll be able to use this player.

No matter how slinky menus are, the proof is in the pudding, or in this case, in the sound quality. Overall, it's generally pretty decent. Video playback is as smooth as a George Clooney chat up line and high-quality MPEG-4 videos look great. The B20 offers good viewing angles, though the glossy screen can produce a bit of glare. JPEG photos look just as good -- we even got good results with a 2,304x1,728-pixel photo compressed into the B20's 320x240-pixel screen.

DAB performance is excellent and even worked well on the move. During a 20-minute commute on a train, signal didn't drop once, though obviously this will vary from area to area. Battery life is rated at 22 hours for audio, six for video or seven when listening to DAB.

There's no question that this is a superb player. Every feature is well implemented, using the player is exceptionally simple and sound quality is terrific. However, unless DAB radio is your crucial requirement, we really don't feel the huge price tag for the 4GB is justified.

Specifications:

• Product type: Flash
• Capacity: 4 GB
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 99x49x15 mm
• Weight: 71 g
• Colour: Black
• Mfr battery life (audio): 22 hours
• Mfr battery life (video): 6 hours
• Included cables: USB
• Included accessories: Earphones; Software
• Supported digital audio standards: OGG, MP3, WMA
• Additional features: Flash games; text viewer; alarm clock; internal speaker; telescopic aerial; Audible support
• Display type: QVGA TFT LCD
• Display size: 61 mm
• Resolution (W x H): 320x240 pixels
• Display colours: Colour
• Backlight: Yes
• Image display: Yes
• Supported image formats: JPEG
• Tuner: FM, DAB
• Antenna: Telescopic
• Input type: Microphone
• Built-in microphone: Yes
• Output mode: Mono
• Headphone type: 3.5mm

Stylish iPod Dock, CD Player and FM Radio in ONE!

The Philips DCM230 is a stylish CD player and iPod dock station. The DCM230 isn't about streaming media, however, it's all about iPods. It's a bit pricey, but a couple of stand-out features could justify the cost.

There's nothing questionable about the DCM230's design. It has an exceptionally modern image, complimented by a solid build. A self-loading CD drive sits within a highly reflective front panel beneath an LCD display. The display itself is quite pleasant and functional.




A bunch of buttons sit on top and provide only some of the functionality you'll need -- you'll need the remote for the rest. And while it's fairly understandable to place a USB port on the top, sticking the auxiliary input there is not. We're not fond of scarring the face of an eye-pleasing setup with an unsightly cable. More unusual still is that the headphone socket is right around the back -- these two sockets should've been switched around.

Philips has opted for a solid speaker grille to protect the front-mounted speaker drivers. In many cases a solid speaker grille can interfere with sound, since it physically blocks the movement of air. But the DCM230's grille is perforated with thousands of tiny holes, allowing air to move relatively freely. Choosing this grille suggests elegant design was of paramount importance to Philips, but its implementation is satisfactory.

First, the DCM230 is an iPod dock. But it'll also play CDs -- both audio and MP3/WMA discs -- and MP3/WMA files stored on memory sticks. There's no support for protected WMA content or any lossless audio format, such as WAV, WMA lossless or FLAC. AAC would've been a terrific inclusion but, sadly, that's nowhere to be seen either. Navigating USB contents is tedious: it's just a case of skipping through the alphabetically organised folders, and ID3 tags aren't displayed either. Nonetheless, it's handy for quickly cueing up 2GB of music at a party.

Any iPod with a dock connector works fine with this system, including the new classic, touch, nano and iPhone, and functionality is great as long as you use the lovely supplied remote control. With it you're able to fully browse iPod menus, navigate playlists, and even add items to the 'On-The-Go' playlists. As a token of gratitude, your iPod gets charged while it's docked, even if the system's on standby. Also crammed into the reflective chassis is an FM/AM radio, a sleep timer and an alarm clock. Setting these up isn't particularly fun. The screen is dominated mainly by massive text, all upper-case and generally scrolling from right to left.

We earlier highlighted two points about the DCM230's navigation: firstly, it's very enjoyable to browse with an iPod; but secondly, when browsing USB contents or setting timers, it's anything but. So it's safe to say this is a nice system if you're an iPod owner. Our hope was that we'd hear great performance from the two 15W speakers, each backed up by reflex ports and Philips' Dynamic Bass Boost option.

With a slick design, great build and intuitive integration with iPods, the DCM230 pretty much justified its £200 price tag. There's nothing particularly outstanding here and audiophiles will immediately criticize the sub-hi-fi audio performance, which is very average. But for the casual listener and music fan, there's not much to complain about.

It's not the single most enjoyable system to operate, but with a little practice and a less critical ear, the DCM230 has the potential to please many.

Specifications:

• Color: Silver
• Included accessories: Dock adaptors; remote control
• Supported digital audio standards: MP3, WMA
• Radio Tuner: AM, FM
• Input type: Line in
• Output type: tereo
• Headphone type: 3.5mm
• Equaliser factory preset qty: 4

Tiny, Super Affordable Laptop: Asus EEE PC 701

Meet the Asus Eee PC 701 -- an ultraportable laptop that's very affordable. The three 'e's represent Asus' vision of it being "easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play". The Eee PC is one of the smallest laptops on the market. At 225 by 35 by 165mm, it's about the size of a hardback book, and weighs 920g. Its petite dimensions give it a toy-like appearance, but this is countervailed by the pearl-white finish, which gives it a touch of sophistication. Ultimately, the Eee PC looks equally at home on the catwalk or in a child's playpen -- it is what you make of it.

Because it's so small, some sacrifices have been made. The keyboard is exceptionally tiny and the keys are very closely grouped. Whereas keys on a standard desktop keyboard have an approximate 5mm gap, the gap between those on the Eee PC is less than 1mm so it's easy to make mistakes.




There are plenty of ports scattered around the machine. There are two USB ports on the right, a third on the left, plus a D-Sub video output port for those who want to use an external display. You also get a memory card reader on the right side that supports SDHC memory cards (currently as large as 32GB). The modem jack on our review sample was blanked out, as there's no internal modem, but there's an adjacent Ethernet port so you can connect to a wired network.

Narcissists or video conferencing addicts will be pleased to note the webcam sitting above the screen. Speakers sit either side of the display, but the microphone is strangely mounted on the underside of the laptop, which affects audio quality slightly. You can, however, connect an external mic or external speakers to the audio jacks at the left side of the laptop. One final note about the design -- the Eee PC's power adaptor is proportionally as tiny as the laptop. It looks more like a mobile phone charger than a laptop charger, which is great since you don't have to lug an enormous power brick around.

The Asus EEE PC uses an Intel Mobile Celeron-M ULV 900MHz CPU, which is designed for long battery life rather than hardcore number crunching. The Asus version ships with 512MB of RAM as standard, though other resellers such as RM offer versions with 256MB of RAM. If you intend to tinker heavily with the machine or install Windows, we'd recommend getting the 512MB model. One of the machine's biggest selling points is the fact it uses a solid state hard drive (SSD). The largest model Asus supplies is 4GB, 33 per cent of which is already in use when you buy the machine. The Eee PC comes with an integrated Wi-Fi adaptor that supports 802.11b/g wireless networks.

The Eee PC doesn't use a Microsoft operating system, which is part of the reason it's so inexpensive. Instead, Asus supplies its own Linux-based graphical user interface. The laptop also ships with some 40 applications, which is arguably more than you'd get with a standard Windows laptop. It includes Firefox, Skype, OpenOffice and SMPlayer for video playback. Obviously, it being a Linux machine, users can download any amount of open source software -- so long as it'll fit on the hard drive. The Eee PC is theoretically fast enough to run Windows XP, which is great news for those of us without beards.

The Eee PC isn't as quick as most laptops but its 900MHz CPU and 512MB of RAM are just fast enough. Applications generally open a couple of seconds after clicking and it's powerful enough to edit photos without becoming a cause of frustration. It generally boots up in about 30 seconds, which is quicker than most Windows-based laptops. The Eee PC is in no way designed as a gaming machine, but it ships with a couple of Flash-type games, and runs these well.



Battery life was quite impressive. Asus claims it will last approximately 3.5 hours depending on what tasks you're performing, and this was in line with our own experience. With very light use, the machine lasted as long as four hours, though your own mileage may vary.

It's hard to fault the Eee PC, mainly because of its price. It can be difficult to use because of the cramped keyboard, but it's better than similar-sized laptops like the Toshiba Libretto. If you're in the market for a second PC, or looking for something you can take with you almost anywhere, the Eee PC is definitely worth buying.

Specs:

• Processor type: Mobile Celeron-M ULV 900MHz
• Processor manufacturer: Intel
• RAM installed: 512 MB
• Hard drive type: Solid State
• Hard drive size: 4 GB
• USB: 3
• Ethernet: Yes
• Input devices: Keybaord; mouse trackpad
• Display diagonal size: 7 in.
• Maximum resolution: 800x480 pixels
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 225x35x165mm
• Weight: 0.92 kg