Showing posts with label gadgets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gadgets. Show all posts
This Nokia Lumia 800 is complete with a laser-etched Batman logo, Nokia Music Mix and Nokia satnav, which, I have to say, is rather nice. However, I still don’t think this is the kind of handset Bruce Wayne would use. Some online commentators have been criticizing the design, suggesting the phone should be more exceptional.
Only forty of the handsets will be produced, so expect them to be super expensive if you intend to buy one.
Newly minted CEO Tim Cook ably helmed his first major product launch without former boss Steve Jobs, but failed to ignite the sort of excitement and buzz that the charismatic Apple co-founder once did.
Expectations were high at this critical juncture, when Android phones by Samsung Electronics and other rivals are closing in on Apple's lead and the important holiday shopping season gets started.
Investors and fans, looking to be blown away by some amazing surprise, sent the shares down as much as 5 percent before they recovered with the market to close down 0.6 percent.
Cook, who took over from Jobs in August, and his executive team showed off a device that comes with voice recognition and a better camera, but looks identical to the last phone and does little to lift the bar for smartphones.
While the gadget wasn't as tricked out as some had hoped, analysts liked its voice-enabling technology that helps users vocalize everything from stock price searches to sending messages -- more easily than on Android phones or Research in Motion Blackberries.
"It's been 16 months and all you've got is an A5 processor in the existing iPhone 4," said BGC Partners' analyst Colin Gillis. "It's a mild disappointment, but they're still going to be selling millions of units."
Some shareholders and analysts hoped for a cameo appearance by Jobs, now chairman. The pancreatic cancer survivor, who took his third medical leave in August, did not appear.
In some ways, Apple may have been a victim of its past success. Its launches are some of the hottest events on the tech calendar. Tuesday's "Let's talk iPhone" show marked Cook's unofficial debut since taking over from Jobs in August.
Analysts say it is more crucial than ever to sustain the popularity of its aging iPhone 4. Apple sold more than 20 million units in the third quarter ended June 25.
"It's kind of funny -- if they have gone and called it the 5, the stock would have been fine, but they're calling it the 4S, which is a disappointment to some," said WP Stewart portfolio manager Michael Walker.
The iPhone, which accounts for more than 40 percent of Apple's sales, has been a success since it came out in 2007, making Apple into one of the world's leading consumer electronics companies.
INTENSIFYING COMPETITION
On a brighter note, the company would seem to be making inroads into potentially pivotal new markets.
It said more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies are testing or using its iPhones and iPads, expanding its presence in a corporate market dominated by RIM. RIM shares trading on the Nasdaq stock market slid nearly 3 percent before ending 2.4 percent higher. Google shares finished 1.3 percent up.
The two-generation-old iPhone 3GS will be offered free, as long as users sign a contract. Analysts said that would help to expand its market in lower-end Asian and developing markets.
"Apple is hitting Nokia when it's vulnerable. How many billions of people in emerging markets would love to have an iPhone? These are a growing demographic," said YCMNet Advisors CEO Michael Yoshikami.
Tuesday's iPhone event took place at Apple Central -- the same venue where the iPod first was introduced years ago -- versus the larger, splashier venues of more recent choice such as downtown San Francisco's Moscone center.
Heading in to the event, many on Wall Street had questioned Cook's ability lead the company as Jobs did. In terms of stage presence, Jobs was a tough act to follow, but analysts say Cook acquitted himself well.
Twitter users were not impressed with the phone, though.
"Please note I will be selling some 'S' stickers for $0.99 so iPhone 4 owners have a cheaper upgrade option," wrote HAL9000 on Twitter.
Tomlinsonr tweeted, "I'll have a double helping of 'meh' with a side of 'whatever'."
The latest version of the iPhone comes as the economy slows and competition intensifies. People activate more than 550,000 Android-based devices -- including tablets -- each day.
Nielsen data shows the iPhone was No. 2 in the United States with a 28 percent market share, with Android at 43 percent.
Globally, iPhone shipments rose 9.1 percent in the second quarter while Nokia's plummeted more than 30 percent, handing the top spot to Apple with a market share of 18.4 percent, according to IHS iSuppli. Samsung, whose shipments grew faster, is coming on strong with a market share of 17.8 percent.
Despite disappointment online, analysts said the phone is superior to many rival offerings.
"Voice recognition has been on Google and Blackberry devices for years, but Apple will make it much more usable," said Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt.
The Kindle Fire, with its seven-inch screen, have been compared to the Blackberry Playbook - the tablet computer which has proved a failure for Research In Motion since its launch in April.
The technical specifications of the Android-powered Kindle Fire have also underwhelmed journalists, particularly the product's lack of camera and internal storage.
But according to Digital Spy, two major strengths have been highlighted that set the tablet apart from the PlayBook - its price of US$199 (RM577) and the content relationships that online retailer Amazon already has in place, including books, movies, music and magazines.
Wired.com adds: "The Fire looks awfully similar to Research in Motion's failed BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, as both are seven-inch sleek black slates. Some may also hate the Fire's lack of internal storage space.
"But Amazon, like Apple, has what all other tablet companies don't - streaming video-on-demand services, a massive library of MP3s, even its own app store. Where all other devices have failed to seriously give Apple a run for its money, Amazon seems to have the best shot."
Influential tech blog Techcrunch said that the Kindle Fire's design will work well with Amazon's extensive library of media services.
It reports: "The Kindle Fire is the device we were all waiting for and when it arrived it did not disappoint. The Fire is a seven-inch media device that plays well with all of Amazon's media services including the book store, the video store, and the music store.
"It will probably be the break-out Android tablet of this season. It's not hard to see the appeal - a price point far below the iPads but with all of Amazon's media services built-in."
However, analysts believe that the Kindle Fire will not be able to outsell the 9.7-inch screen equipped iPad 2, despite it costing less than half the price of Apple's cheapest model.
Dominic Sunnebo, of Kantar Worldpanel Comtech says: "Last Christmas there were many cheap, and in some instances below par products, but we are yet to see any polished device from a well-known brand costing under £250 (RM1225).
"In the meantime, the Apple iPad remains dominant with the latest tablet market share showing it makes up 73% of sales in the UK.'
Adam Leach, an analyst at research firm Ovum, said that pricing is key if Amazon is ever going to make a dent in Apple's dominant share of the tablet market.
"The pricing is critical to gain traction in the tablet market. Rival manufacturers have failed to attract consumers as they have matched the iPad's price point without matching its content offering," he said.
"Amazon's retail-based business model allows the company to subsidise the device on the premise that consumers will buy more from Amazon, be that physical goods or its digital content."
The new gadget, which features two 0.7-inch HD OLED panels inside, is being targeted at gamers and TV watchers who prefer solitary entertainment. It supports up to 45 degrees of tilt and would hit Japan in November for ¥59,800 ($783). Check out a promo video of the device after the break.
The N9 has no physical keys on its front to navigate to the home screen. Instead it uses a swipe gesture to give users fast access to the main application home screen, notifications, social network updates and also switching between applications.
The phone features a 3.9in AMOLED curved glass screen that's made from scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass. It has a 16:9 widescreen ratio that makes it great for watching movies on the go.
Not compromising on sound quality, the N9 has Dolby Digital Plus decoding and Dolby Headphone post-processing technology that allows users to get great surround sound from any set of headphones, Nokia said.
Internally the phone runs on the MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan operating system and features an ARM Cortex-A8 1Ghz processor that enables it to multitask between different applications without much fuss.
Nokia claimed that the phone can run up to more than 10 different applications simultaneously without showing any significant slow down.
Nokia also said that the phone has an improved web browser that loads webpages faster and supports HTML5 for access to web applications.
On the back, it has an 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss autofocus camera with a wide-angle lens. The camera app has been improved with a touch-to-focus function and better low light performance with a large f/2.2 aperture lens.
The camera is also capable of capturing HD-quality video at up to 720p in resolution.
Apart from that, it has a lot of other additional extra features like a new dedicated Drive app that provides turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation.
The N9 also comes fitted with the Near Field Communication (NFC) standard that allows the phone to easily share images and videos between devices by just touching another NFC device.
The technology also works to pair the phone with Bluetooth accessories like the new NFC-enabled Nokia Play 360° wireless music speaker with just a tap.
The N9 will be available in 16GB and 64GB configurations. It is scheduled to hit stores in the third quarter of this year but no official price has been announced.
The Hatsuden-Nabe thermo-electric cookpot turns heat from boiling water into electricity that feeds via a USB port into digital devices such as smartphones, music players and global positioning systems.
TES NewEnergy, based in the western city of Osaka, started selling the gadget in Japan this month for 24,150 yen, and plans to market it later in developing countries with patchy power grids.
Chief executive Kazuhiro Fujita said the invention was inspired by Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left 23,000 people dead or missing, devastated the northeast region and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
"When I saw the TV footage of the quake victims making a fire to keep themselves warm, I came up with the idea of helping them to charge their mobile phones at the same time," Fujita said.
The pot features strips of ceramic thermoelectric material that generate electricity through temperature differentials between the 550 degrees Celsius at the bottom of the pot and the water boiling inside at 100 degrees.
The company says the device takes three to five hours to charge an iPhone and can heat up your lunch at the same time.
"Unlike a solar power generator, our pot can be used regardless of time of day and weather while its small size allows people to easily carry it in a bag in case of evacuation," said director and co-developer Ryoji Funahashi.
TES NewEnergy was set up in 2010 to promote products based on technology developed at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan's largest public research organisation.
It also makes and markets equipment to transform residual heat from industrial waste furnaces into electricity.
The company says the pot will be used mainly in emergency situations and for outdoor activities, but also has uses in developing countries.
"There are many places around the world that lack the electric power supply for charging mobile phones," Fujita said.
"In some African countries, for example, it's a bother for people to walk to places where they can charge mobile phones. We would like to offer our invention to those people."
Once codenamed NGP, the new handheld gaming console features dual touchpads, front and back cameras (for augmented-reality gaming), GPS, an OLED screen and six-axis motion sensors. The Wi-Fi only version will sell for $249.99, while the 3G enabled model will be a little more expensive at $299.99. The Vita, which is slightly bigger than the PSP, will successively launch in the global market by the end of the year.
Jack Tretton, the president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) also used the opportunity to apologize to the public for the recent attack on the PlayStation Network, wherein some 77 million users were affected in the hacking.
The new iPad is 33% thinner at only 8.8mm than the previous one which is 13.44mm. It’s very thin that it’s thinner than the iPhone 4. It comes with a new Apple A5 processor which is a dual core cpu that is up to twice as fast as its predecessor and up to 9x faster graphics. iPad 2 also has a rear and front facing cameras that are missing in the current iPad. Also, the new iPad comes in two different colors, black and white.
Apple will be shipping the new iPad starting March 11th with the same price as the previous one starting at $499 (16GB WiFi only) and $629 (16GB WiFi + 3G).
Apparently, Lemal is the victim of an increasingly popular fraud called “brick in the box return,” where somebody purchased a real iPad, swapped it with the prop, and returned it. Walmart said they’ll continue to investigate Lemal’s claim.
Nintendo said in press conferences held in Amsterdam and New York that more than 30 games will be available during the first few months of the 3DS, which allow users to play video games in 3D without the need of 3D glasses. Games released for Nintendo’s other DS family consoles may also be used with the 3DS, the company said.
Nintendo also announced that the 3DS will have a docking station, a 3D camera, a pedometer, and a StreetPass feature that allows users to interact with fellow gamers within a specific range. For those yearning for the good old days of gaming, the 3DS also includes a feature that permits owners to play classic Game Boy games with the use of the console.
The 3DS will first be released in Japan next month, then in Europe just days before it hits North America.
Apple Inc. spokeswoman Trudy Muller apologized for the new delay, but she failed to give the reason for the setback. Apple said it is now hoping to release the white iPhone 4 by spring. The delay was confirmed late Tuesday afternoon after an app on the “Apple Store” that initially allowed users to reserve orders of the white iPhone 4 was suddenly removed.
Earlier this year, Apple had acknowledged that producing the white iPhone 4 was turning out to be more difficult that the company initially thought. The iPhone 4s black variant was released in June and the company had since then been harping about the coming of the gadget’s white version.
It’s also a unique and interesting looking mouse, so kudos to Microsoft for that. People will ask you what it is and how it works if you display it prominently, so if you like that kind of attention, this is a good addition to your stable of eye-grabbing devices.
Although it’s petite-looking, it feels quite sturdy. The rear part of the mouse seems to be a sort of satin-finish rubber, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to crack any time soon. The front is normal glossy plastic and seems tightly put together, enough so that you won’t worry too much about crumbs getting in there. I get the feeling the rest of it will get pretty grubby, though.
The incredibly petite structure of the mouse does not, honestly, lend itself to serious mousing. Put your hand on your mouse. Now take all your fingers off except for the two on the top buttons. That’s pretty much what you’ve got to work with with the Arc Touch. There’s very little to grab onto, and where there would normally be a middle to wrap your fingers around, there is naught but air. Sure, this was the case with the old Arc Mouse, but its “body” was a little chubbier and usually your fingers could find purchase. This slimmer version gives you even less to grip, and it is not suitable for those of us with larger hands. This is a shortcoming that is pretty much apparent from the outcome, though.
The Bluetrack sensor is dead center on the front segment, and although it feels a bit far forward, that’s something you get used to quickly. Like other Bluetrack mice, this will track on almost anything; I never had any trouble on any of the surfaces I tried, from steel desk to a couple mousepads, to the wood tables at a cafe.
It tracks well, I should say, when it moves smoothly, but it doesn’t always move smoothly. If you turn over your mouse, you’ll find a number of little patches of smooth teflon, which are the actual contact points between the mouse and the mousing surface. There needs to be enough of it to spread out the weight of your hand and the resultant friction. The Arc Touch mouse has very little teflon down below, which is no surprise since the total mouse pad facing area of the mouse can’t amount to more than a square inch. The fact is there’s just too much weight being accommodated by these tiny spots of contact, and I found the mouse tended to move less than smoothly unless I essentially suspended my hand above it rather than let it rest.
That’s made difficult by the fact that all the action goes on at the very tip of the mouse; the buttons are only pressable at their tips, for about three quarters of an inch, aft of which they can’t be clicked. So your hand is pretty far up on the mouse, meaning your palm is likely resting on the top of the “arc.”
The touch-sensitive scroll pad is an interesting little creature. It works — that much can be said. Is it worth it? It contributes a bit to the flatness and uninterrupted lines of the mouse, and actually, the few gestures you can do with it are handy and reprogrammable. So yes, it’s a nice addition, and I hope to see more of it. The built-in haptic response feels kind of weird to me, but if you want to be sure you’re going up or down a certain number of “ticks,” it’s indispensable.
You can slide your finger up and down to scroll, obviously, and it works with inertia so you can “toss” the thing down to the bottom of a page. Tapping the center of it results in a middle click, and tapping the top or bottom means other button presses, by default page up and page down. It’s actually very handy, except for the fact that the top of the scroll pad is waaay up at the tip of the mouse, so you have to reach forward a bit to hit it.
I never had any trouble with the wireless, and the mouse worked instantaneously on both my MacBook Pro and my desktop PC. The USB bit is tiny and sticks to the bottom of the mouse when not in use, which is nice. I was afraid the normal bouncing around in my bag would dislodge it, but that didn’t happen. I’d still put it in a small pocket, so you don’t have to go fishing for the thing if it were to detach.
* Unique bending design goes flat for easy transport
* Bluetrack sensor tracks on nearly every surface
* Tiny wireless USB receiver
* Touch-sensitive trackpad area
* MSRP: $79.99
Pros:
* Unique and interesting design
* Trackpad thing works most of the time
* Extremely compact
Cons:
* Tiny contact areas make mouse movements less than smooth
* Gripping mouse is an acquired skill
* Far too small for those with larger than average hands
There’s no getting around the fact that the Curve 3G is nothing but a minor bump. Aside from the much-needed jump to faster mobile network speeds, pretty much everything else remains the same as the year-old Blackberry Curve 8520. The screen is still 320 x 240 pixels, the back still ruggedised and the nifty trackpad still sits pretty in the centre. The chrome finish of the original Curve returns though, adding a classier feel to what was always meant to be a basic version of RIM’s email workhorse.
BlackBerry Curve 3G: Connectivity updates
3G is the number one new inclusion and it has to be said it makes using the Curve an altogether more pleasurable experience. Zipping around web pages is much quicker, although the browser in the BlackBerry 5 OS is still pitiful. As we found on the original Curve 8520 back in 2009, zooming is a nightmare and pages are poorly rendered thanks to the low-res screen. Get over those blocky pixels though and the load speeds certainly impress.
The speedier HSDPA also means loading up apps from BlackBerry App World is far swifter and makes this phone a bit of a winner. Other phones in its price bracket don’t have the same nous when it comes to apps, although we have to say the App World itself is very unintuitive. BlackBerry OS 6 should fix this and the Curve 3G is being primed for an update according to RIM. Why it couldn’t load it up from the get go though, remains a mystery.
BlackBerry Curve 3G: Email and messaging
Email, though, is the main focus here. But little has changed in the way the Curve handles messages. You still get integrated folders and quick access to your mail, but rivals have stolen a march on RIM. Nokia’s E-series handles mail every bit as well, and even Espoo’s C-series cells match it. The QWERTY is also an acquired taste and in an age where virtual keyboards and more capacious sliders are ever more prevalent, the Curve 3G feels uncomfortable. After five minutes on this panel, your thumbs feels more cramped than a rush hour tube train.
Nothing has changed from the Curve 8520’s multimedia offering either. The camera is still an utterly naff two megapixel version which just doesn’t stack up against myriad rivals. Even the most basic phones can offer better snaps than this. The music player remains functional though and the App World’s excellent 7Digital app makes it a fine rival to the iPhone’s iPod app. Video playback is a shocker though and is something we wouldn’t recommend trying too often. However, the Curve 3G’s battery life is stellar, lasting two and a half days before we needed to give it some juice.
Combining a resistive touchscreen with a slide out QWERTY pad, it apes older siblings such as the Nokia N97 and N97 Mini, as well as eyeing up Android rivals like the Motorola DEXT.
The similarities between the Nokia N97 and the C6 are myriad. There’s the same Symbian S60 OS, the same UI with live Facebook feeds and email, as well as direct access to Ovi and GPS. Likewise, the touchscreen is the same resistive effort as the previous Nokia flagship, with the only major difference being the fact that the keyboard doesn’t flip out laptop-style.
Nokia C6: Interface
Symbia S60, despite lagging behind Apple IOS 4 and Android for customisation and apps, remains straightforward to use. Setting up email on the homescreen is as simple as tapping in your email address and password, and it’s the same for direct Facebook access. That said, the front screen is too cluttered, especially when in landscape view. There’s just too much going on to hold your focus properly. Perhaps the C6 could have taken its cue from its candybar cousin the C5, which is far more minimal.
When in portrait mode, it’s much easier on the eye, however you’re then reliant on the touchscreen, which if we’re being honest is not up to snuff. It measures up well against the Motorola DEXT, but that’s hardly a compliment.
Resistive touchscreens are improving all the time (the LG Optimus being a good example), but this effort is average, requiring constant prods and re-prods. Sliding through menus and web pages is not enjoyable and you’ll be falling back on the physical keys and the D pad at every opportunity.
The QWERTY though, is more than decent. It took us only a few minutes to get really up to speed with it, the keys offering a reassuring thunk every time they’re tapped, with a decent bobble on each one to ensure you don’t slip onto the wrong key while tapping out texts.
There are two minor concerns, however. As with the N97 and Motorola Milestone, the D-pad on the right hand side means you’ll be stretching your right thumb across the phone to type, which can cause real discomfort. The space bar is oddly placed too and takes a while to get used to. These niggles were ironed out with the N97 Mini, so it seems strange that Espoo has fallen back on them for the C6.
Web browsing is standard, with pages rendered well by the 320 x 640, 3.2-inch screen. Zooming, however, is not great, although load times were decent over 3G. T3.com takes around thirty seconds to load fully. Flash Lite is on board, although it remains clunky and is still not perfect for watching web-based video. If you want that, you’re best off holding out for a top-end Android FroYo phone with Flash 10.1.
The speed of the device is of concern, however. Running the same 434Mhz processor as it's N Series cousins, like many S60 devices, the C6 feels sluggish, taking time to swap from portrait to landscape and offering up ugly white screens when opening apps such as Facebook. It doesn't have the same snappy vigour as rival Android efforts.
The Nokia C6 is a decent stab at bringing the N97 to a lower price point. However, it feels like something of a retread of the N97 Mini. If you want the aggregation skills of the C6, then HTC Wildfire and (albeit pricier) HTC Legend offer better skills at a similar price point. This is a decent phone, but unlikely to convert anyone to Symbian, making it a handset for Nokia fans, with the priority of texting and emailing.
Just like the previous iMac, the new version comes in two models, one in 21.5-inch and another one in 27-inch.
The 21.5-inch model boasts of three processor options: a 3.06GHz Intel Core i3, a 3.2GHz Intel Core i3, and a 3.6GHz Intel Core i5. All three processors sport a 4MB level 3 cache and support Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost.
Meanwhile, the 27-inch model gives you an option of four different processors: the same 3.2GHz or 3.6GHz chips as the 21.5-inch or a 2.8Ghz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 with a 8MB level 3 cache that supports Turbo Boost or a 2.93Ghz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 with a 8MB level 3 cache that supports Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost.
The new iMac models are now available for shipping from the Apple Store.
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal lead the unveiling of the basic touchscreen tablet, which the government hopes to sell at only $35 each, or 1/14th of the price of the iPad. The tablet can be used as a word processor, Web browser, and video-conferencing device. If things go as planned, the computer would be commercially available by next year, but first, the government must find a company that is willing to manufacture what could be the world’s cheapest tablet.
Ministry spokeswoman Mamta Varma said that a number of companies have expressed interest in the project, but the government has yet to reach any manufacturing and distribution agreements.
The tablet is aimed at boosting India’s education system, with the government planning to subsidize the computer’s prize so that students can get the device for only $20.
Nexus One was launched last January 5. At that time positive reviews showered upon the product and technology experts actually declared that it has started in the right note.
However, poor sales and customer service complaints soon followed after its release. To date, only about 135,000 units were sold.
The smartphone can be bought via online with or without a cellphone contract. It is powered by Google Android software.
Last May, Google said it would close its Web store once handset supplies were exhausted. It has now received its last shipment of the phone. Just this month, The Daily Telegraph reported in an interview with CEO Eric Schmidt that Google would not be releasing a follow up to the Nexus One.
However, Google Vice President Andy Rubin countered that the reason Nexus One was stopped was not because of sales. He said that other factors were considered such as there are upcoming phones using the Android operating system that has the capability to rival Nexus One features are coming to the market.
“There are some customers having problems with their iPhone 4s,” said CEO Steve Jobs Friday, July 16. “I apologize to them.” Before apologizing, the usually black long-sleeved mock turtleneck clad executive defended the people behind the smartphone development. “We are human and we make mistakes sometimes. We don’t know everything. But we figure it out pretty fast, and we take care of our customers.”
He actually began the conference explaining that the handset’s antenna problem is a minor issue that is featured in all mobile phones. He stressed out that only a few of the iPhone 4 users are complaining about it. By statistics, only 2% of those who bought a unit returned the product.
The problem in question is that the signal reception of the antenna fades or disappears when users grip the device in a conventional way.
As a containment measure, while the company looks for a permanent solution, he said that they would be giving a free case to anyone who bought an iPhone 4. Users who would be availing should grab the opportunity until September 30 only. Anyone who already bought a case through Apple may ask for a refund.
It’s only when you pick it up do you notice the difference. Weighing 2kg it’s considerably lighter and slimmer, but as you can see from our pictures, the footprint isn’t massively different.
Front controls are touch-sensitive: a quick tap and you can pair the controller. The black finish is a haven for fingerprints though, although once you have your Xbox 360 Slim set up, it’s unlikely you’ll be moving it very often.
Xbox 360 Slim review: Connectivity
One of the newest additions is WiFi ‘N,’ a much needed addition that frees your console being chained to the router. On boot-up the console instantly recognises it has WiFi, so simply follow on-screen instructions, enter your WEP key and you’ll be connected within a few minutes.
Downloading Monkey Island 2 Special Edition at 987MB takes around 45 minutes over a 2Mbps connection. A 61MB trailer for ‘Blacklight: Tango Down - Madness of War’ clocked three minutes. Microsoft has retained the Ethernet port, so for full-game downloads it’s probably better to use a wired connection if you're near your router.
Elsewhere there are two new USB ports, totaling three on the back and two on the front. Looking a bit like a USB port, the Kinect port is located at the back. Older consoles are also compatible with Kinect, but this is designed to be the easiest solution, you connect the sensor to the port, without needing extra power.
One of the most welcome changes it the inclusion of a 250GB hard drive, from 256Mb on the Xbox Arcade, although the Xbox Elite comes in 120Gb and 250GB flavours, bringing far more space for storing games and movies. Unlike the Sony PS3, while you can stream content from Windows Media Player 11; you can only store content from Xbox Live Marketplace, not personal files, such as music and movies,
In the past when you’ve swapped between identical consoles (perhaps as a replacement after the red rings of death), it’s just been a question of swapping hard drives. Unfortunately the older consoles aren’t compatible with the Xbox 360 Slim, so much the same as if you are swapping between an Arcade and Elite, in order to transfer files over you need the xBox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit, altermatively you can connect a USB drive for smaller files.
Xbox 360 Slim review: Performance
Despite being smaller than its predecessor, the Xbox 360 Slim’s processor has the same specification as its predecessor. So there’s no change to game play. As you’d expect picture quality is excellent, connected via HDMI to a 42-inch plasma, colours are punchy and bold; leaping out of the screen and detail is incredibly intricate.
What’s immediately evident is how silent the console is, you can view our noise test here. But rest assured it’s barely noticeable.
Supporting 5.1 sound, we used HDMI to connect the Xbox to an amp, from which we could hook up speakers and our high def television. If you don’t have an amp, hook the telly directly up via HDMI and use the optical audio connector for your speakers. An optional component adaptor is available if you don’t have a HD TV.
Xbox 360 Slim: Conclusion
With wireless connectivity, extra storage within a stylish, near silent body, there’s no doubt that this is the best xBox ever. Gameplay is superlative, with fantastic graphics, a huge range of titles and of course xBox Live.
But while Sky Player, Zune and social networking elements are welcome, it still lags behind the PS3 as a multimedia device. You can't store your own content, there’s no BBC iPlayer and although you can playback DVDs as well as Xvid and DivX files burnt to to disc, there’s no Blu-ray drive. Microsoft would argue you can download HD content, so you don’t need it, but we’d really like to have one.
Unless the noise really bothers you, if you’re an Xbox Elite user we see little reason to upgrade, but for anyone replacing their Xbox or thinking of investing in a console, for the overall gaming experience, the xBox 360 Slim is the one to go for.
The handset was well-liked for its snazzy design and excellent 3.7 in screen which was sharp and high-resolution. But the flattish keyboard was less successful. So the new model ditches the solid keyboard, for a highly usable virtual keyboard, making the new Milestone even sleeker. There’s a gleaming metal-edged front and pleasantly tactile rubbery back and it’s noticeably slimmer than the first Milestone.
The new design isn’t entirely successful, mind, thanks to a wonky bump at the bottom corner. This seems to be largely to accommodate three little lights to show what mode the camera is in (stills, video or playback) but it is a little odd. Apparently it’s meant to make the phone feel more like a camera. Hmm. The 3.7-inch high-resolution touchscreen is unchanged and prettty good - bright, sharp and inviting – though not up to the iPhone’s standard. Though the glass screen is certainly pretty reflective, which doesn’t help when taking pictures on a sunny day on the built-in camera.
The Android operating system varies between handsets, even within versions. This phone uses 2.1 (Eclair) though it lacks MotoBlur, the social networking flavour found in some Motorola phones. This is more or less vanilla Android though there are some neater-looking icons and Moto’s trademark blood-red highlighter colour.
Although it’s not exactly sluggish (apart when you're doing lots of things at the same time), the Milestone X720 is never super-speedy, so it’s no surprise when you discover the processor powering the XT720 isn’t as fast as rivals toting the Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz chip like the HTC Desire. This one can only manage 550MHz, which is disappointing.
Surpassing its sibling, it’s certainly a good-looking phone that’s enjoyable to use, and has all the benefits of Android’s slick system and huge apps market. That corner bulge takes getting used to and if you don't mind the processor being less powered than rivals, this is a slim, efficient smartphone with excellent camera credentials.
