HardwareGeeks

iOS 7 first look and first impressions

Andy Lutzky — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:38:23 +0000

After a full generation of innovation and cutting-edge products, one could argue that Apple became so good at what they do that they gave themselves a Microsoft problem.

Huh? For those who remember (or for those who weren’t around yet), let’s take a trip back to the Microsoft of the mid-90’s. Their products were widely considered the best in the industry by a wide margin; even their failures, at the time, were viewed through rose-colored glasses and forgiven. (Windows Millennium Edition immediately comes to mind.)

Gradually, they faced product pressure from two fronts: on one hand, an inability to continually drop groundbreaking innovations to their bread-winning products since they became so good and were so far ahead of any competitors, and on the other, a reluctance to stray too far from what works for fear of messing with the goose that laid its golden eggs. When you can’t keep bringing the lumber to your PC product and you don’t totally refocus to mobile out of worry for your business model and relationships, you get to where Microsoft is today; the king of a shrinking kingdom and an also-ran in the race that matters most. Stannis Baratheon, if you will. (minus the fire priestess)

Applying that narrative to Apple of today could come off as lazy, but parallels exist. Apple created the modern smartphone era, has ruled the space since their entry and set the pace for the industry through their forward-looking hardware and software update cadence, winning untouchable consumer confidence in the process.

Harkening back to the “Droid Does” campaign of 2009, all Android has done to chip away at Apple’s lead is to simply be everything Apple is not: a nearly 100%-open operating system and ecosystem with thousands of hardware styles from which to choose. Somewhat shrewdly, this approach recruited the hardware vendors—Motorola, HTC, Samsung, etc.—to play a part in the innovation of Android, as one could argue Apple is competing against Google’s update cadence, openness and mass adoption as they are Samsung’s marketing muscle and feature-gasm, as well as HTC’s hail-mary of industrial design.

Apple—now potentially in second place in the industry they kinda sorta created—faces its Microsoft problem. They can’t shake up their formula too much, as they might alienate their millions of passionate users that are already very familiar with how to use their product. On the other hand, they have to do something—some kind of step forward if they don’t want to be left behind.

Is iOS 7 big enough of a step forward to keep them marching in this multi-front war? Keep in mind, we’re looking at a beta version intended for developers. The final look may vary by this fall, when Apple will introduce the consumer-ready version. However, this beta provides us an early look at what position Apple’s position could be by that time, when I imagine they’ll announce a new iPhone and iPad to potentially address the hardware competition. With that, let’s begin.

Lock screen

Your first reaction: the font. It’s…different. Very. And…slide to unlock? Where’s the little arrow telling me how to unlock? Apple now believes you’re smart enough to figure out this whole “mobile” thing on your own. And it’s so…clean! It’s so much less…boxy! Indeed—and these three concepts pervade every change in iOS 7, arguably having the biggest impact on the design approach Apple took in this update.

A long-untouched piece of real estate—save for the addition of notifications—the lock screen earns a much-needed boost to its functionality. Look hard, and you’ll see nearly transparent arrows at the top-center and bottom-center. From the top, you can now access notifications from the lock screen, either representing a welcome addition to accessibility or a potential security risk, depending how you look at it.

From the bottom, a swipe-up—from the lock screen or anywhere in iOS 7—opens up the all-new Control Center, which we’ll tackle in a minute.

Another welcome addition to the lock screen: you can now open directly to any notification on the lock screen by swiping it—whether it’s new or not—or simply unlock your phone to your last state by swiping at the bottom.

Also, you get a new icon for when you plug in your charger. AMAZING, MAGIC!

Control Center

In Control Center, Apple delivers functionality that will make many iOS users jump for joy, yet functionality that Android phones (and others) have enjoyed for quite some time.

Swiping up from the bottom of the screen at any time opens up Control Center, an easy-access spot to toggle many popular switches for your iPhone. Along the top, you can set to airplane mode, toggle Wi-fi, Bluetooth and Do Not Disturb, and lock your screen orientation into portrait mode. In the middle, you can toggle the brightness via a slider. Just beneath that lets you access music playback controls, be it from iTunes, Spotify or other playback apps with track control. Continuing south, you can quickly toggle your AirDrop discoverability settings—making you discoverable to everyone, just your contacts, or to no one at all—and also quickly enable AirPlay, streaming whatever content you’re playing to an AirPlay-compatible device if one is set up. Along the bottom, you can quickly turn on the flashlight, access the Clock app (for alarm clock, stopwatch, etc.), the calculator, and the camera.

The camera button is curious—it’s redundant, but also purposefully in the same exact spot that the camera has been quick-access-able on the lock screen for quite some time. Apple likely took the latter path, opting for usage continuity over packing more quick-access buttons into Control Center.

Everything here works as advertised. The flashlight is bright, and having quick access to brightness controls is just as wonderous as it sounds. It makes you wonder why such an idea didn’t make its way into iOS sooner.

One design nit here, which recurs throughout the OS. I’m surprised Apple opted to allow both circle icons and square icons in the same space, especially in such close proximity of each other. I think I get it—circles are for toggles and squares are for apps (save flashlight?)—but it’s very un-Apple to put so many differently shaped “things” into the consumer’s face at once. The combination of all the shapes, and words, and sliders, and text-free icons, and…if I didn’t tell you this screenshot came from an iPhone, it might just remind of you of Android.

OK, I get it, unlock the phone already

The icons…they’re different! I’m first to admit that I’m not a design dynamo, nor will I ever be. I guess the above is what “flat icons” means. They look nice. (I really like new Safari icon.) But, let’s center our expectations here—they’re app icons. No one buys phones for app icons or a background parallax effect, and if Apple keeps pacing one design overhaul every 5 years, I’m sure some Android manufacturer (or Google itself) will introduce a similarly beautiful iconography soon, to join the litany of beautiful Android iconographies out there currently.

A few details:

When I handed the phone to a friend, his first reaction at the new icons: “they’re really bright colors.” The greens and blues and reds are undoubtedly sharper and “louder” in iOS 7. It makes the gray of the Camera icon look drab in comparison.
That said, I can’t tell if there’s any rhyme or reason to the coloring scheme for the app icons. Phone and messaging are “green,” while Mail is “blue” and Music is “red”…all good so far… but then, why are Photos and Game Center both white? And why didn’t Video change? That logo looks ancient in comparison.
The Photo app icon saw, by far, the biggest overhaul, getting a sort of colored-pinwheel adaptation. No problem with that. However, how and why did they decide on the Game Center icon? Even if anyone can explain how four bubbles makes anyone think of social gaming, I could see the average consumer quickly confusing the Game Center app with the Photos app. I know that sounds ridiculous to us technophiles, but I would be stunned if the final Game Center app icon looked like that.
And yes, the Newsroom icon is really how Folders currently look: a drab, gray box. I’d be similarly surprised if this were the final design for Folders.

Worth noting: while the Setting app referred to Spotlight search, it could not be accessed on this beta build. It’s entirely possible that Apple is simply holding that till the consumer release.

Freshened up

Unnoticed, undiscussed (or simply just un-demoed) at WWDC was the new keyboard for iOS 7. It works just fine; the biggest difference (at least in the beta) is jumping back to apps that won’t be making calls to this new keyboard likely until the consumer release of iOS 7 in the fall. After using the new keyboard, the traditional iOS keyboard looks positively ancient comparison—though I’m unsure if it’s simply because I’ve used it for so long and something new just feels…new.

That’s how I view many of the design changes within iOS 7: simply refreshed. This isn’t a bad thing—many of the core apps hadn’t been touched for years and were long overdue for a change of clothes. In some cases, a re-design may have come with the addition of a feature here or there, or even an update to animations (as you’ll see all throughout iOS, and something which my screenshots can do no justice).

The calendar is a great example: it certainly looks better, and I’m inclined to give it a chance simply based on how nice it looks, but I’m not sure it did anything to unseat Sunrise.

I love the “Collections” concept that debuts in the Photos app. As demoed on stage at WWDC, our on-phone photo galleries have been like endless scrolls pretty much since iPhone’s allowed us to take pictures. This concept works as advertised. You can sort, view and scroll through your photos organized by year or location. The introduction of any organization would have helped, but this was executed well.

The camera app, in addition to its new filter feature (because what’s a camera these days without a filter), earned itself a little design refresh as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that the font within this app (and a few others) isn’t yet final; within a few places on the phone, the all-caps approach forces the iPhone to refer to itself as “IPHONE”—a self-inflicted misbranding hari-kari that I doubt Apple will commit.

I’ll likely face disagreement over this one, but I bundle Safari and Mail into the same category. They both look clean and beautiful and simple as ever. However, Apple achieved this by merely adding look and functionality that other browsers and mail apps have showcased for quite some time. Crucially, Apple did little to unseat Google’s apps as my defaults for web browsing and mail. Further, mobile Safari faces the same challenge desktop Safari does: Chrome wins because if its hooks into my favorite services, not for a few milliseconds of performance. Until Safari can check that box, it won’t earn any more of my browsing time.

Multitasking

My conversations with friends and folks in the industry led me to believe that Apple’s new approach to multitasking—at least from a looks and usability perspective—has raised a few eyebrows. It works very well, due in no small part to changes in how iOS handles background apps. It’s a breath of fresh air after years of the “shaky red x to close apps” that has been part of iOS since time immemorial. Best of all, this new multitasking mode lets the user see a small preview of what’s going in in the app, a nice adjustment favoring increased functionality.

And hey, the swipe-up-to-close is intuitive. It feels so familiar! In fact, I think I’ve seen this before…

Sure, this is a mechanic that a now four-year-old OS first conceived, and has been aped by BlackBerry, now Apple, and who knows who else. It’s worth noting, as I mentioned during WWDC, that tech history has shown that the industry and consumers will forgive copying, as long as you do it better. It’s rich irony, however, that Apple—at one time, an aggressive defender of its IP and UX concepts—now revives the webOS zombie from the dead. I wonder if a) Palm/HP ever patented that mechanic, and if so, b) if it’s among the patents that HP recently sold to LG. If so, LG could have some beef.

App Store

The App Store is one of several exceptions to the “freshened up” argument. In addition to a cleaner, white-based redesign, the App Store added a feature called “Near Me,” another wrinkle to address the ongoing challenge of new app discovery. Of course, without many other phones in the area having access to such data yet, we won’t see how well this feature works until iOS 7 is available to the general public.

Another intriguing addition is the “Wish List,” which allows you to keep track of apps you’re interested in without buying them. Presumably, this will allow you to figure out where to spend your hard-earned coin or keep track of changes in pricing. It would be cool, eventually, to have the ability to share your Wish List with friends, Amazon style.

At this point, it’s worth noting how Apple allows users to access some of these new features. Within the App Store, the three-rowed line in the upper-right hand corner of the screen shoots you directly to your Wish List. I can’t say for sure if that’s a design hint that Apple “borrowed” from Android directly—and even still, Apple is using it a bit differently—but in our own travels across Smartphoneland, we’ve seen this iconography and “extra functionality here” behavior before, which is why I presume Apple just went with what consumers know. But, again: we’ve seen this before.

Confusingly, Apple applies this same three-lined icon elsewhere in iOS, but to mean different things. For example, within other places in iOS, the three-lined button informs the user that this line can be manually reordered by dragging the corresponding three-lined space:

Again—I’m surprised that Apple would allow such an oversight, and to the average consumer, this dual behavior from the same icon could lead to confusion. Such UX ambiguity is unbecoming of Apple.

iTunes Radio

There’s no other way to say it: the long-rumored implementation of an integrated music streaming service—called iTunes Radio—is simply fantastic, and puts the major players in this space in immediate check and potential jeopardy.

It works like how you imagine any media service from Apple should work: flawlessly executed and seamlessly integrated with iTunes. A user can choose from stations provided by Apple or create their own based on a favorite artist or genre. If you like that song, album or artist, one press of a button takes you to the corresponding area of iTunes (for a potential purchase, might I add). Music streaming was as fast as it needed to be. I can fast-forward tracks I don’t like (though not without limits) And best of all: this service is free.

In its current form, iTunes Radio is more Pandora-killer than Spotify-killer, though it’s not far from the latter. Spotify still offers great value to power users that can pay less than $10 a month to save as many songs as they want for offline listening, without having to spend much more buying those songs individually. Spotify still does have maddening holes in its music lineup (you think Eddy Cue played Led Zeppelin by accident at WWDC?) but an argument can still be made for similar services.

Pandora, however, is in trouble. Functionally, iTunes Radio delivers exactly what Pandora has done so well for so long (if not 95% of it), and boasts tighter integration with Apple services. Further, Apple knows Pandora runs the roost in a very lucrative playground, of which Apple certainly wants a share of the pie.

Most disturbing to Pandora, however, should be section 10.2 of the Apple App Store approval guidelines, which says, “Apps that look similar to apps bundled on the iPhone, including the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBookstore, will be rejected.” Pandora now faces a crushing decision: when they update their app to take advantage of all the new guidelines of iOS 7, they will be reviewed with this lens (and almost certainly, Apple will be waiting for their re-submission). If Apple finds them in violation of this guideline, they will be removed from the App Store entirely. If they choose to not update their app with all the goodies of iOS 7, they will look decidedly old and clunky in comparison to iTunes Radio and will be left a “zombie app,” never again to be updated for fear of being thrown out.

Summary

Consider this a speed-walk through a beta product; there’s a ton I did not address in depth and I expect quite a bit to change/be added by the fall. However, this beta provides excellent context to consider Apple’s approach to its competition. As such, we have three, equally critical directions from which to judge iOS 7.

iOS 7 vs. iOS 6: Though beautiful and a drastic design departure from previous generations, iOS 7 is largely an iterative update over its predecessor. Aside from AirDrop and iTunes Radio—which has killer potential—there won’t be many feature additions that will make people chomp at the bit for how it will change their lives. I also believe voice-only FaceTime could be a gigantic move against companies like Facebook that offer voice-only calls.

Here’s a question: how is Apple going to accelerate adoption of Passbook, a service with massive potential that’s little more than an afterthought now? Passbook was billed as a game-changing addition to iOS 6—added, if you’ll recall, during the height of the Google Wallet craze—but was left completely unmentioned during WWDC. At this point, you have to wonder about the future of Passbook, which thus far has been a huge missed opportunity.

It’s those kinds of innovations–or the lack thereof–that has left iOS and Apple in the position they’re currently in. The mobile consumer has now been through two, possibly three, smartphone upgrades in their lifetime. They saw Apple lay the smartphone industry to waste when they jumped to the iPhone 3G, and again when they advanced from iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4. The introduction of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 may have been neat, but golf-clap worthy compared to the previous two examples. You have to wonder if the innovation curves for iOS and iPhone are flattening out.

iOS 7 vs. Android: I can’t count many scenarios that would make any consumer choose iOS over Android if they weren’t already. If you’re the rare iTunes user with an Android phone, then iTunes Radio could be a compelling reason to go all-in with iOS and ditch your other music services. Other than that, what did Apple add to iOS 7 that a consumer can’t get elsewhere? I can perform voice-over-Internet calls with many other services, including Facebook and Google, which both have large user adoption. I can filter photos with, gosh, nearly every photo-taking app on Android (and iOS, for that matter). Android users have long enjoyed more robust app discovery options than iOS, and many Android power users likely scoff at Apple’s addition of “Popular Near Me” as a means to better compete in discovery. iOS in the Car is an extremely exciting addition, but like Passbook, one that relies on other companies to integrate—in a space where Ford (and even Microsoft) enjoy years of head start. And heck, you could argue Control Center is a direct lift from select Android devices. More troubling for iOS, many Android phones now have access to services like Siri, that in some cases are more powerful and flexible.

Combine that with the Android fanboy fodder (and heck, even Windows Phone and webOS) for, at best, using their OS as inspiration, and at worst, straight-up lifting design cues and functionality, and the argument for iOS becomes more difficult.

Put simply, the wins for iOS are getting fewer and fewer. The feature offering for iOS 7 and an iPhone 5 now looks particularly shallow when compared with the over-featured Samsung Galaxy S4. It’s possible that some of these differentiators could swing back Apple’s way with a new iPhone, but considering we’ve yet to see Apple’s “evolutionary” refresh to the iPhone 5, it would be surprising for Apple to simply jump up to an iPhone 6.

iOS 7, in a vacuum: If you could design iOS from scratch, and better adjust its design and usability to completely fit today’s smartphone user, would the result be iOS 7? At one time, iPhone’s and iOS had no comparison; it worked really well, looked beautiful and no one was even close, so it was easy to imagine that “this is how it should be”. That’s obviously no longer the case. Is today’s user more drawn to rich photos on their homescreen rather than icons, like with the HTC One? Or perhaps they want huge text with an oversized OS that takes a “flow” approach to usability versus icons? (yes, some people really do love Windows Phone 8.)

The answer, obviously, varies from person to person. However, I can’t stop asking myself if iOS 7 is merely window dressing on an OS designed for 2008. It clearly still works; hundreds of millions of people around the world use it every day and love it, and it does many things well. That said, consider how drastically Samsung and HTC have evolved their design philosophies since Gingerbread; since the big, orange background of HTC Sense. When you look at it that way, the overall delivery of iOS 7 hasn’t changed that much from the early days of iOS, and you could argue that what did change in iOS was inspired (to put it kindly) in part by what Samsung and HTC have done so well.

With even more Android super-phones on the horizon, like the long-rumored Motorola X-Phone, few would be surprised if Android continues to deliver haymakers to Apple in the coming months. That would leave Apple in a precarious position: how do you keep innovating without completely forsaking what got you there?

Perhaps Tim Cook should call Steve Ballmer to learn from his own mistakes.

AMD drops new desktop CPUs at E3, breaking its own GHz record in the process

Andy Lutzky — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:15:05 +0000

While Intel’s Haswell launch may well be setting the tone for PC hardware manufacturers, AMD wants to remind you that it still offers the only 8-core desktop CPUs in the industry. And after setting the GHz record last fall, they’ve bested themselves with today’s update.

AMD took to E3 to announce the two newest eight-core members of the FX family, the FX-9590 and FX-9370. Both feature AMD’s latest “Piledriver” modular architecture, while the former will run at 5 GHz in its max turbo mode (meaning that it can dial up its hertz-age under necessary conditions, as high as 5 GHz). The FX lineup has traditionally been a favorite of the gaming audience, and this update likely continues that trend, as both of these CPUs are “unlocked”–meaning it’s relatively easier for a hardware tinkerer to crank, tighten and tweak how the FX CPU behaves if you’re feeling brave enough to toy with it.

While today’s announcement focused on system integrator editions (aka the ones you’ll see OEMs like HP put into their stock systems this summer), I expect AMD to come back later this summer or early in the fall to introduce the full, updated FX component lineup for standalone purchase, and likely at a pretty affordable price. Full PR below.

AMD Unleashes First-Ever 5 GHz Processor

Enthusiasts get unbelievable PC performance with new AMD FX-9000 Series Processor

Los Angeles — E3 — June 11, 2013 — AMD (NYSE: AMD) today unveiled its most powerful member of the legendary AMD FX family of CPUs, the world’s first commercially available 5 GHz CPU processor, the AMD FX-9590. These 8-core CPUs deliver new levels of gaming and multimedia performance for desktop enthusiasts. AMD FX-9000 Series CPUs will be available initially in PCs through system integrators.

“At E3 this week, AMD demonstrated why it is at the core of gaming,” said Bernd Lienhard, corporate vice president and general manager, Client Products Division at AMD. “The new FX 5 GHz processor is an emphatic performance statement to the most demanding gamers seeking ultra-high resolution experiences including AMD Eyefinity technology. This is another proud innovation for AMD in delivering the world’s first commercially available 5 GHz processor.”

“AMD continues to push the envelope when it comes to desktop capabilities and power performance,” said Wallace Santos, CEO and founder of MAINGEAR. “In unveiling the world’s first 5 GHz 8-core CPU, AMD continues to lead the way in innovation while providing our customers with a best-in-class experience. We are thrilled to be part of this exciting launch.”

The new 5 GHz FX-9590 and 4.7 GHz FX-9370 feature the “Piledriver” architecture, are unlocked for easy overclocking and pave the way for enthusiasts to enjoy higher CPU speeds and related performance gains1. Additionally, these processors feature AMD Turbo Core 3.0 technology to dynamically optimize performance across CPU cores and enable maximum computing for the most intensive workloads.

AMD was the first to break the 1 GHz barrier in May of 2000 and continues to set the standard in technology innovation including the first Windows compatible 64-bit PC processor and the first native dual-core and quad-core processors. AMD also introduced the first APU (unifying CPU and Radeon™ graphics on the same chip) and the first x86 quad-core SoC, continuing forward with HSA architectures and programming models.

The new AMD FX CPUs will be available from system integrators globally beginning this summer. Two models will be available:

FX-9590: Eight “Piledriver” cores, 5 GHz Max Turbo

FX-9370: Eight “Piledriver” cores, 4.7 GHz Max Turbo

Next Up In The Haswell Parade: Digital Storm’s VIRTUE Gaming Tower

Andy Lutzky — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:00:27 +0000

Though Intel coined the phrase “tic-toc” originally to explain their own CPU launch and update cadence, you could easily apply the same label to the PC industry as a hole: Intel makes a move, and refreshes from hardware vendors won’t be far behind.

Following Intel’s introduction of their 4th generation of CPUs (codenamed Haswell) last, it’s now the PC vendors’ turn to showcase how they’re going to take advantage of this new horsepower. First up: Digital Storm.

Today, Digital Storm announced its VIRTUE gaming PC, an all-new mid-sized tower that exclusively features quad-core, 4th-gen Intel CPUs. With systems that range from $1500 to more than $3000, the VIRTUE will also be an NVIDIA-only tower, cramming NVIDIA GTX 600 and/or 700 series graphics, up to a 6 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN.

So, what kinds of Haswell are we talking about here? The VIRTUE comes in four different models, or “Levels” as Digital Storm calls them. Digital Storm claims the CPUs at all levels are overclocked all the way up to 4 GHz and as high as 4.4 GHz. At the entry level, the Level 1 features a solid setup for a gamer on a budget (Core i5 4570 and a GeForce GTX 660, for $1500). If you’re feeling particularly virtuous, you can plunk down $3300 for the Level 4 and take home a Core i7 4770K and that coveted GeForce GTX TITAN.

In terms of looks, the VIRTUE follows a similar design language as other enthusiast desktops in the Digital Storm lineup (and at the same time, takes a more conservative approach than their other “gaming” desktop PCs). The VIRTUE is housed in a gunmetal-esque brushed aluminum and steel chassis, meaning it certainly won’t look out of place in any setup. Under the hood, the VIRTUE can hold dual video cards (likely talking dual SLI in this scenario it seems), two hard drives and four SSDs. Worth noting: the VIRTUE comes stock with liquid cooling, up to five fans (depending on configuration) and a 240mm radiator to keep this bad boy cool.

Digital Storm tells me the new systems are available starting today, and they’ve set up a dedicated landing page for the VIRTUE with more info and images. Full configuration details (JPG), PR and images below.

Digital Storm Unveils VIRTUE – A Higher Standard in PC Gaming

FREMONT, Calif. – (June 11, 2013) – Digital Storm today unveiled VIRTUE, a performance gaming PC that exemplifies the system builder’s commitment to excellence and its customers.
The stunning mid-tower desktop features a brushed aluminium and steel exterior, benchmarking crushing components and a large, upgrade friendly interior despite its relatively compact
footprint.
“We noticed there are not many pc manufacturers designing mid-tower gaming systems with the same ardor and attention that ultra-tower PCs receive,” said Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm’s
Director of Product Development. “As its name suggests, VIRTUE represents a higher standard of PC gaming, both in terms of aesthetics and performance.”
The VIRTUE release comes on the heels of two major component launches, Intel’s 4th Gen Haswell CPUs and NVIDIA’s GTX 700 series graphics cards, disproving the notion that a big desktop tower is required to house and cool a system as powerful as VIRTUE.
“We strive to deliver a superior gaming experience with all our systems but knew we needed to raise the bar with VIRTUE,” said Kuruppu. “With two big component launches on the horizon it
required a bit of patience, but being able to offer our customers faster, more efficient systems that run both cooler and quieter was well worth the wait.”
VIRTUE supports all that bleeding edge hardware with an impressive liquid cooling system featuring up to five fans and a massive 240mm radiator. This allows VIRTUE to cool even the
most demanding configurations, such as the Level 4 VIRTUE’s overclocked Intel Core i7 4770K CPU and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN 6GB graphics card, with ease.
The new mid-tower was designed with future upgrades in mind. With room for dual video cards, two hard drives and four SSDs, the VIRTUE can hold an impressive payload.

New Update Enables Dropcam iOS Scheduling and Location-based Camera Control

Michael Reyes — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:22:20 +0000

Dropcam today released a new version of its iOS app for iPhone and iPad enabling users to now set a schedule for their Dropcam HD camera. The new update will also allow the camera turn itself on when you are not home and turn itself off when you are.

The new features will work on the Dropcam HD, Dropcam Echo, and Dropcam Original.

Sorry Android users, no word when these or if these features will be enabled for the Android OS.

Download the App

The Need for Encryption

Michael Reyes — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:00:50 +0000

In today’s society, the technology for circumventing security protocols seems to be advancing faster than the protocols themselves. Every day, some new hack or gimmick comes out and puts your data at even greater risk. Professional data-thieves have never had as many resources at their disposal as they do now. As a result, more and more people are finding out about the importance of data encryption the hard way. With all of the tools available to hackers these days, it only makes sense to protect you and your data using any means at your disposal.

Using Encryption Services

There are a lot of companies out there specializing in the protection of secure data. They use a wide range of security techniques to protect data, including many different methods of data encryption. When data is encrypted, it is transformed into an extremely complex code. The code itself is completely unreadable and useless to anyone without the encryption key. The encryption key is the one thing that quickly and easily deciphers the code to bring out the information within it. Higher degrees of encryption provide more protection than lower degrees, and are much more difficult for hackers to break.

Having your data properly encrypted by a data security company such as Venafi can be one of the best safety precautions you take when protecting data. Of course, you want to keep hackers from ever getting so close to your data that encryption is necessary. However, if reasonable security measures fail, a high level of encryption can be a saving grace.

Common Sense Encryption

It’s important to keep in mind that you still want your data to be readily accessible to anyone who actually needs access to it. This is why companies like Venafi recommend the use of an enterprise key management system. These systems use a single key that can unlock an encrypted set of data. The key can be shared with as few people as you feel need access to the information. This will allow them to access the encrypted data without putting the data itself at any risk.

Take Data Security Seriously

As computer networks develop, there are many opportunities for businesses to become more streamlined and efficient. However, there are also many more opportunities for data thieves to gain access to sensitive information. If you want to keep prying eyes away from secure files, proper encryption is a must.

File Conversion Adds Efficiency to Business communications

Michael Reyes — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 03:54:46 +0000

Efficiency is the most significant characteristic that gives a business entity its competitive edge. It will win or lose the competition with optimized supply chain management and efficient cash flow. The results of efficiency are cost effectiveness and maximized profits.

Every phase of the business should be evaluated periodically to determine how efficiently the tasks are being performed. New products and methods are constantly changing, and the wise entrepreneurs stay alert to find better products that improve efficiency.

Communications must be swift and timely. Since information that arrives too late has no value, businesses should take every opportunity to expedite communications. File conversion is one area that can increase efficiency and effectiveness of business communication. Since many documents are in Word format, a business may find it convenient to share those documents in PDF format. By converting Word to PDF files, a business entity may achieve the following:

A new feature in PDF files allows similar editing styles found in Microsoft Word. Similar editing features of two packages decrease preparation time for document conversion.

Voice input

The creation of PDF documents using voice input is available. You may also use voice input for sticky notes.

Web-based collaboration allows editing, document and screen sharing, live chat and voice sessions.

PDF files are made available to everyone who needs to share and edit the same documents using web-based technology. There are many new features in converting programs from Word to PDF and PDF to excel. These features will increase efficiency in communications. Increased efficiency means more profits.

Cloud technology

Although most users are unaware of the differences between web and cloud operations, there are some differences. PDF files can be shared and edited by anyone who has permission to work in the cloud area.

Digital Rights Management, fax and email

Digital Rights Management is a system that marks files as the property of certain people. Those without permission are locked out. PDF files can be faxed and emailed.

Excel Spreadsheets

There are many spreadsheet applications that businesses find invaluable. By converting PDF to excel, every formula and format is available.

Table formats are retained.

Voice input is available.

Files may be shared in either web or cloud.

Batch conversion is possible.

PDF tables and images may be converted to Excel

5 Helpful Android Tutorials

Michael Reyes — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 01:55:42 +0000

Getting started with an Android phone, if you are switching from iOS, or if you’ve never owned a smartphone before, can be challenging. The Android platform is user friendly, but it’s long list of features and settings simply take some getting used to. High-quality video tutorials for Android phones can be found on YouTube. Here are the 5 most helpful Android tutorials on the site. The tutorials should be applicable to most Android users, including those with prepaid cell phones.

The Android Market

This tutorial gives entry-level users an introduction to the Android Market — the equivalent of the Apple Store for former iPhone owners. It provides instructions for creating an account, browsing through the market, and installing apps and games.

Android Contacts

This tutorial is also aimed at beginning users. It details the basics of the Android contact system, and includes instructions for adding contacts to your phone. It’s created specifically for the Droid, but the instructions are applicable to Android phone.

Battery Life Tips

This tutorial is also created specifically for the Droid, but is applicable to other Android phones as well. It explains the operation of the Android Power Control Widget and provides tips and tricks for maximizing your Android phone’s battery life.

Android Keyboard Settings

Not happy with the default Android keyboard layout? Try this tutorial, which gives an overview of Android’s default keyboard settings and how to adjust them to your tastes.

Advanced Task Killer Overview

This Android video tutorial provides an overview of the Advanced Task Killer app – an important app that works similar to the Windows Task Manager, giving you the option to view and cancel running applications.

Rooting an Android Phone

This advanced Android tutorial is designed for users who want to root their Android phones. Rooting — also known as applying superuser permissions — gives you greater control of the Android OS and lets you install custom ROMs and remove default carrier applications. Users should take great care when rooting a phone, as it’s possible to permanently brick the phone, rendering it useless.

Gazelle.com Lined my Pockets with Greenbacks

Michael Reyes — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:39:37 +0000

As a tech reviewer, I have purchased loads of computer hardware and peripherals to test out, and after testing I just box up and stick in a storage closet.

Most of the time I eventually donate them to friends and family or give it away. A few weeks ago a friend recommended I sell what no one wanted on Gazelle.com. I had a few monitors, some old cell phones (blackberry and android), and a few other things.

So I went to Gazelle.com, entered the items I had 12 in total was given a 565 dollar quote. I accepted the quote, about an hour later one prepaid shipping label arrived in my inbox. Not enough as my 12 items needed three different boxes. Contacted their support via live chat and they sent me three more right away.

While I was packing up my first four boxes, I found four more things I could sell Gazelle, one of which was a LCD monitor. For that monitor I purposely put the adapter with the first set of shipments. I did this to test Gazelle, and see how they handled mixed matched product shipments. Mixed matched as in, product in a box for one set of shipments, but belonging to another shipment. .

I mailed my now 5 boxes off to Gazelle on a Thursday morning. On Saturday I received emails from Gazelle saying they had received my shipments. On Monday I started to receive emails that my products were accepted. Except for three.

One was a cell phone, which I won at a contest and had a “not for sale” sticker under the battery. I hadn’t noticed it as I never used it. The second was for a brand new Samsung monitor, that they claimed didn’t work. (We will get back to that in a few) and the third was for the monitor which I shipped the AC adapter in the wrong box, and it was rejected because they didn’t receive the adapter.

I knew the adapter had arrived as the tracking indicated it had been delivered. Gazelle.com indicated they also received items that were in the same box as the adapter. So I waited 2 days. On the 2nd day I received an email asking me what to do with the monitor, if I wanted them to recycle it or send it back. I then contacted support via live chat and on twitter informing them about the adapter. With in 2 hours of my DM to their twitter account they accepted the monitor.

Payment was made to my PayPal account the following day. A total of 3 days after it arrived but 1 day after they accepted the monitor. The Samsung monitor they rejected also arrived via FedEx that afternoon.

This is what Gazelle.com shows for the rejected monitor.

As you can see from the above image, everything from my answers to their inspectors answer matches with the exception of wheatear or not the monitor is fully functional.

Well I immediately tested the monitor when it arrived back here, and it worked. I was worried if it was damaged during shipping and that is the reason it didn’t work anymore. But it works and it works great. I actually just sold it to my neighbor for $75 which is $25 more than Gazelle was offering.

Overall Gazelle is great, their inspections are pretty accurate, they pay promptly and they keep you up to date on what they have received. I definitely would suggest you check them out before trashing your old gadgets.

10 Reasons We Aren’t Ready for “The Cloud”

Michael Reyes — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:38:32 +0000

Before I get into my 10 reasons we aren’t ready for cloud computing, almost everyone has a different opinion on what it is.

Some companies, have told me that cloud computing is accessing your files from any network regardless if it is an internal network or not. Others have said it has to be an external network, and then there are those who talk gibberish when talking about clouds.

What the cloud is to me? It’s the network we access websites, applications, email and files from. This website/blog is hosted in the cloud, that email you read or are about to read was sent through the cloud. The cloud has always been there, but we called it a network. But because “NETWORK” doesn’t sound cool some marketing folks came up with “The Cloud”.

But “The Cloud” in the past year has become more generalized and it means, an off site networked location you can store your files and access applications from.

So what are the 10 reasons why we aren’t ready for the cloud?

Reason 10 and the biggest reason: We currently don’t have the infrastructure for it. Until everyone, even those of you in the middle of no where, in the central part of the US OF A, has FIOS type speeds that are constant we as consumers won’t be ready. Companies aren’t ready either until they can guarantee near 100% uptime. Yes that is more than 99.9999999999%. No one should ever notice any downtime, especially if they are paying a premium for it.

Besides me is anyone else tired of seeing the word buffering while watching movies online?

Reason 9: There needs to be regulations in place to protect the consumer, in the event a cloud storage company goes bankrupt, or is raided by government officials. We need assurances that in the event a company goes bankrupt, we are able to gain access to our files within a reasonable amount of time, and if the government raids a cloud storage company because some A-Hole is doing something illegal, people who have files on that server that are not part of the probe should be able to get their files in a timely manner.

Reason 8: Pricing, needs to come down a bit and be less confusing. I’m talking to you amazon. Sure services like Dropbox exist and and offer free storage but, people are going to need a lot more than what the free version of Dropbox offers.

Reason 7:Along with having the government put regulations in place to protect our data, they also need to force companies like Dropbox to make sure our content is secure and our privacy is protected. I mentioned Dropbox because they were the ones who pretty much removed the requirement for a password a few months back.

Reason 6: Cloud Storage companies need to cater to every device. If companies want us to use their service, they should support every platform. If I have a PC an iPhone, a Android based Tablet and a Blackberry for work. There should be an app for every single device and or the ability to access my files via a web browser from those devices that don’t have a dedicated app. Some of these services have apps for all but one device, and that one lone device can’t view their website properly.

Reason 5: There isn’t internet everywhere. If you are using Apps that are in the cloud, what happens when you are on an airplane with a deadline. Guess it will have to wait for you to land. Sure there is internet available in most airplanes now, but you try to use the web on an international flight, it isn’t happening.

Reason 4: It isn’t easy to share your files that are in the cloud. Sure they try to make it easy but it’s not easy. I’ve tried Dropbox, Box.net, Western Digital products, Seagate Products, I’ve tried pogo plug and Ditto. They aren’t easy, they require too much of a learning curve and most people don’t want to have to earn a college degree in file sharing to share their files.

Reason 3: Most people aren’t comfortable having their private files somewhere that isn’t controlled 100% by them. People are too paranoid and with the security problems some of these cloud storage providers have had, and the privacy policy some have had, do you blame them for being paranoid?

Reason 2: To time consuming, even the ones that automatically backup a folder or folders, it’s just too time consuming to make sure our files are being placed back into the cloud.

Reason 1: The average user just doesn’t understand it, and what they don’t understand they tend to avoid.

Agree or Disagree with me that’s how I see it and that is why I think we are not ready for “The Cloud”.

Free Public Beta Norton Identity Safe

Michael Reyes — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Starting today Symantec is allowing everyone to help them test their new service called “Norton Identity Safe”. The service will allow you to store your passwords in the cloud, so that you don’t have to remember them.

According to a survey conducted by Symantec 38% of us write down our passwords on a piece of paper. Not smart as anyone can gain access to it.

The software is available for free during the beta test at http://identitysafe-beta.norton.com.

The software is available for PC, iPhone, iPad and iPod.

5 Tech Companies That I don’t See around in 2020

Michael Reyes — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:19:28 +0000

In the year 2020 I predict that the following list of companies won’t be around anymore. I think these companies won’t be around simply because either they are irrelevant or just have a bad business model.

First on the list is YAHOO. I think in 2020, Microsoft will own Yahoo and it’s search engine integrated into BING and it’s email will work on Hotmail.com. I think if Microsoft keeps the Yahoo brand around they won’t keep it for more than 5 years before it’s finally killed off.

Second on the list is Best Buy. They are doing right now the exact same thing Circuit City did. They are expanding too fast in areas they are not needed. Everywhere in my immediate area where there was a Circuit City there is now a Best Buy. These stores are almost always empty when I go. I literally have 4 Best Buys with-in 3 miles of me. Just have one HUGE store instead of 4.

Third on my list and maybe a shocker for most is AMD. I just find the company boring, and while the video card division is great their CPU division leaves a lot to be desired. Sure the APU’s are great but does anyone want a netbook? They have NO IDEA how to market anything. Any one know what the slogan for AMD is? DUM DUM DUM DUM. Oh wait that’s Intel. I know I will take a lot of heat for this one.

Fourth on the list is T-Mobile. I don’t think T-Mobile will go bankrupt I just believe they will be bought out by a 3rd party. I think a lot of people think it might be Sprint and I agree. I just hope this deal goes a lot better than the Sprint Nextel merger.

The Fifth and final company on the list is Hulu. They are not relevant anymore. Most cable companies now offer prime time shows on demand to compete with Hulu and Netflix. Plus with Hulu you don’t get the content as fast as other VOD services. Plus if I have to see commercials I don’t want to pay 8 bucks to watch it.

That’s my list, do you still see them around 8 years from now? By the way I wanted to make this list 6 companies and add Oracle. But I am not sure if they will be out of business in 8 years.

iPads Top Holiday Gift Lists

Michael Reyes — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:37:42 +0000

For kids of all ages, tablets and electronic gadgets are becoming the gift of choice. No longer do we see swarms of angry mobs in the toy section during Christmas time. They have moved over a couple of sections at Target and are now occupying the electronics section. While this might frighten the employees working in big-box retail electronics, it is driving up sales on expensive items and making a fortune for companies like Apple and Samsung.

While it may seem like the iPad 2 and other popular mobile devices should be relegated to older, more responsible people, they are the number one item flying out of stores and into the hands of young children. Traditional brands like Crayola are not relying on the sales of their physical products as much as they are on selling apps specifically geared towards children. The ColorStudio HD application allows young children to use the iPad as a toy. This is a particularly smart and crafty marketing move because in a weak economy, parents are going to be looking to save money by purchasing things they and their children would want together.

Children are looking forward to receiving tablets because they are completely interactive, easy to use, and loads of fun. This is an ironic contradiction because adults want to use tablets for the exact same reasons. While the older crowd will want to do such tasks as e-commerce and reverse phone lookup with their devices, the major technology companies have certainly struck a nerve with the base human instinct.

According to TechBargains, a collaborative site for finding the best deals on electronics, about 64 percent of consumers want to purchase a tablet for this holiday season. The much hyped Kindle Fire is also receiving excellent reviews because of its low price and relative ease of use. The current line of gaming consoles are not selling well because major companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have plans to launch new products sometime within the next year or two. If you are looking for a great deal, purchase the current line of gaming systems. Just be forewarned that they will become obsolete in a few years.

With all of the hoopla surrounding electronics, scammers are running rampant and taking advantage of anyone looking for a good deal. While a good deal of consumer products may be taking cash from people, a more altruistic guise is also aimed at stealing money. According to the Better Business Bureau, more scams posing as charities are looking for money than anything else. Shopping for products on sites like Amazon and eBay is a tried and true way to make sure you do not run into some kind of charitable diversion while doing your holiday shopping

If you are on the fence about purchasing a tablet during the holiday season, don’t feel bad about disappointing anyone. Prices are sure to fall after the holiday because the industry is constantly evolving. If you are looking for a clever way to bring members of your family closer together, a tablet might be your best solution.

Amazon to Address Kindle Fire Problems

Michael Reyes — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:54:26 +0000

For those who have recently purchased the brand new Kindle Fire, you may have noticed a lack of proper hardware and software features on the tablet. While the price is dramatically lower than most Android powered tablets or the iPad, it is being criticized by techies as a second-rate piece of equipment. While most non-technical users will find their Kindle Fire to be an excellent distraction, they may be carrying the stigma of a novelty gift more than an actual tool capable of performing powerful functions.

According to CNN, Amazon is hoping to release an operating system upgrade that will fix some of the major issues facing the Kindle Fire. The update will fix some of the problems related to the responsiveness and speed of the touchscreen, as well as give users greater control over the interface. Because the tablet doesn’t feature many external buttons, this upgrade needs to come as soon as possible.

USA Today reports that the tablet has a one-click purchasing system which makes accessing the Amazon market simple. While this may sound convenient, it is quite dangerous if given to a child or teenager who doesn’t know how to properly manage money.

One of the major selling points of the Kindle Fire was the specialized cloud service Amazon was going to provide for it. The digital realty trust they built combines with the specialized Silk browser built specifically for use on their tablet. This is supposed to make it easy for recommendations and access to purchased media content. The major downfall for Amazon came when their browser didn’t work efficiently and provided clunky and unresponsive service.

Another fault Amazon had was their reliance on Wi-Fi connections instead of a constant 3G or 4G network. While offering to store all of your media files in a cloud, Amazon neglected the fact that people might use their devices when not at a hotspot. This gives people who purchase their content directly from the online retailer a huge disadvantage when it comes to playing their content on the go. If you are at an airport, you may have to pay to watch your own movies.

At the end of the day, people are going to purchase to Kindle Fire because it is so much cheaper than the iPad and virtually foolproof. Expect people who didn’t catch onto the wave of fire sale HP tablets to purchase the Kindle Fire in droves. If you are looking for a gift for your child, but worried about possible damage, the Kindle Fire is probably your safest bet if you put privacy and security controls on.

Spartacus Take Up Arms Facebook App

Michael Reyes — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Starz today has launched a new Facebook interactive experience called Spartacus “Take up Arms”, and for those of us who love the Spartacus series, we will now have a place to get our daily dose of Spartacus until the series starts on the 27th of January.

Fans like me of the series will be able to team up with one of the lead characters (Spartacus, Lucy, Cirix, etc) and join their cause. Once you join their cause you can invite your friends to play along and so you can complete challenges and earn points.

Each week you’ll be able to win prizes such as DVD’s and other Spartacus goodies. There will be one Grand Prize winner who will be whisked away to New Zealand for 8 days to check out the Spartacus set.

For more information visit the Spartacus Take up Arms Facebook App.

Deal of the Day: HP Envy 17 $1099.99

Michael Reyes — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:16:47 +0000

I love the Envy Series from HP they are probably the best consumer notebook that isn’t made by Apple, and today we found an amazing deal for you. $400 off the Envy 17 with an Intel 2nd Gen Core i5 Processor, 6 GB of DDR3 memory, a 750 GB HDD and of course a 17.3” full HD LED back-lit display. It’s a powerful little machine.

This is an amazing deal if you are looking for a high end notebook snatch this one up before the deal ends.

Price break down:

$1,499.99 – $400 coupon code: NBS3697 = $1,099.99 with FREE shipping. Upgrade to Core i7 starts at $100.

Find the Blackberry Asterisk and Win Prizes!

Michael Reyes — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:46:19 +0000

If you are in NYC sorry only NY, and you spot the icon to the left from now until the 17th of December, you may have just won a prize! Scan the bar code near the asterisk and find out if you have won a brand new Blackberry Bold 9900/9930 smartphone. They are also giving away Blackberry accessories and gift cards for coffee, they didn’t specify if it was Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts but I am hoping its Dunkin!

Radiris from CuteGeek.com said she will be on the hunt for the symbol, since she just won a Blackberry Playbook, and she wouldn’t mind a matching blackberry smartphone.

Facebook = Google

Michael Reyes — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:48:31 +0000

A lot of people I know have stopped using Google for one reason. They feel Google knows too much about them.

Today on Twitter Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the acquisition of Gowalla by Facebook and said “We’ve acquired Gowalla. I’m ecstatic and can’t wait to have access to thousands of users’ location data.”

So will these same people who left Google, and yes people have stopped using google, also start leaving Facebook for the same reason? I personally don’t mind the acquisition I don’t use Gowalla, but it’s really scary to see a CEO of a company say publicly he is ecstatic to have access to thousands of users location data, especially after they just settled a privacy complaint with the FTC.

What do you think?

Weekend in Rhode Island with MLG

Michael Reyes — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:21:42 +0000

Last weekend, I was able to take a mini vacation and catch the MLG Nationals thanks to at&t and their brand ambassador program. With a Sony Ericsson Xperia play in hand I covered the event for you guys. Click here to see the coverage.

I was really excited about this trip, as I was going to be riding up on Amtrak, a 2 hour 50 minute ride. But as soon as I got on the train and realized all the scenery I had seen a dozen times on the drive up to Boston I quickly became bored. But thanks to AT&T I didn’t stay bored for long, as I had the Xperia Play with me which came pre-loaded with games and I entertained myself playing Battlefield 2 and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. Game play on the Xperia is amazing thanks to the Playstation certified controls. I also played with it on the ride back and not once did my battery go dead!

For those who didn’t follow my live tweets and updates on Facebook, here is the rundown of what happened. The first two days Friday and Saturday it was just watching gamers compete for the top spot in Halo and StarCraft. It was quite interesting to see how intense the competition got between individual players and teams. Again check my twitter feed for pictures from the event and note that they were taken with the Xperia Play. It takes great pictures.Thanks to AT&T I was able to get behind the scenes access to MLG and was able to interview some top-tier players such as TLO who is one of the most famous players of StarCraft 2 and has a huge following, and Bravo a top-tier Halo coach whose team came in 6^th place and won $14,000.

On Saturday the Make a Wish foundation showed up, and a kid named Austin who is terminally ill had his wish granted. Austin wanted to play against some pro gamers and he did and kicked butt! It was one of the most touching moments at the event. I would of missed this if I hadn’t been hanging out at the Sony Ericsson booth downloading some free games onto the Xperia Play AT&T gave me.

The final day was awesome, I can’t remember who won the Halo Competition because no one really cared about Halo, all eyes were on StarCraft two and Lesnock won it all. He also lost and he was one game away from elimination, but in New England he did as the 2004 Boston Red Sox and did the unthinkable. He won it all! The 16 year old drop out took home a $50,000 check! Congrats too him.

Now let’s talk about the Xperia Play, great phone! I have been mainly on AT&T’s 3G network and with the Xperia Play I was able to experience their 4G network for the first time, and it was superfast! The call quality on the phone was also great and I loved the UI for the device. Most of the time when I get an android device I am quick to modify its look and feel, but with the Xperia I didn’t even bother.

As you can tell from my tweets, YouTube videos and Facebook status updates the phone takes great pictures and videos. I love the phone!

Overall my weekend in Rhode Island was awesome, I got to meet some great people such as Faro from empirestategamer.com, cool people from Both at&t and Sony Ericsson. I wouldn’t mind catching the MLG Nationals in person again, really fun and cool experience!

I was sent to the MLG event in Providence and provided with a Sony Xperia courtesy of AT&T, however all thoughts and opinions on the mater are my own

Microsoft “Year of the Dragon” Mice

Michael Reyes — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:12:15 +0000

Microsoft today showed off three new mice they have created with the help of two Chinese artist to celebrate the 2012 Chinese New Year. The three mice are limited edition so if you like them snatch them up.

Two Wireless Mobile 3500 Mice, feature artwork designed by Nod Young, who was inspired by the Dragon Ball Z cartoon. My girlfriend would love his mice as she loves Dragon Ball!

Artist Lin Xu incorporated a five-finger claw into his design on the Arc Touch Mouse. The five-finger claw symbolizes nobleness.

The Wireless Mobile Mice 3500 are available now for $34.95 in both the red and gold (designs are the same), and the Arch Touch Mouse will be available soon for $69.95. No exact date as to when it will be available. All three mice would make great holiday gifts too!

For more information visit the Microsoft Hardware Blog.

Give the Gift of Getting Paid

Michael Reyes — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:55:24 +0000

If you have an iPhone or Android device you most likely know about the free credit card processor Square.

Square which became popular due to the iPhone television commercials allows users to accept credit card payments on their iPhone, iOS or Android device. You can easily set up discounts and coupon codes through their web interface, and quite a few people I know use the service to sell things. There is a coffee shop near me that uses it exclusively.

Everything is free from the service to the card reader. Now you can gift the reader to a friend or a family member.

What better gift to give this holiday season in this economy than the gift of getting paid? The cost of the reader is free, but there is a cost to gift wrap it click here for more info. Gift wrapping will cost you $1 to gift wrap it.

Deal of the Day: 12.5” Lenovo ThinkPad E220s

Michael Reyes — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:26:55 +0000

Due to the holidays and what we made a long weekend, we haven’t brought you a deal of the day since the day before Thanksgiving, but it’s never too late to start again and we restart with a great product for a great price.

The 12.5” Lenovo ThinkPad E220s Core i5 Ultra-Slim notebook with 4GB of memory, a 128 GB SSD is only $832 with free shipping. All you have to do is use coupon code “CyberMonday”. Yes we know its Tuesday but it still works!

Price breakdown: starting at $1699 – $720 instant savings – 15% coupon code (Expires November 29) = $832.15 with FREE shipping

Past Deals.

We Rely too Much on Broadband.

Michael Reyes — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:53:35 +0000

I was speaking to a friend in the UK today who is stuck on dial-up because her broadband service hasn’t worked in a week. She’s going crazy because of it and I have teased her. I know very unfriendly of me.

Well after I made fun of her, I went back to browsing the web when the unimaginable happened. I LOST MY CONNECTION. I rebooted my router to no avail, I checked my cables and made sure my wi-fi signal was strong which it was.I then ran over to the modem and to my dismay, the “Online” button was blinking, which means no connection.

I was lost, I had no idea what to do. I had mobile broadband but screw 4G I wanted my 30 Mbps cable connection.

I really felt lost, and had no idea what to do. I couldn’t watch netflix, hulu or anything I was stuck. I began to realize the pain my friend was probably in unable to get online for a week. I felt bad for making fun of her.

Ten minutes later my broadband connection returned and I felt whole again, and I realized we rely too much on broadband the internet controls us. Tweets are as valuable as the all mighty dollar.

My nephew can’t live with out broadband either, he literally cried because he couldn’t get on Xbox Live.

What will we do with out the world wide web.

Pantech Pocket for AT&T

Michael Reyes — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 02:40:43 +0000

Pantech has come out with a new android smartphone (Gingerbread 2.3) for at&t called the Pocket, and I am starting to think they should have called this smartphone the Pocket Tablet, the huge screen gives it a form factor that resembles that of a miniature tablet running android. When the phone arrived on my door step a week ago, my girlfriend was the first person to see it and since then she has switched from Boost Mobile to AT&T because of it. I haven’t even played with it yet and probably never will because trust me she isn’t giving it up. She also said the phone reminded her of me, unique and chubby.

The Pantech Pocket features a 4” 1280x720p HD touch screen which is about 20% wider than other smart phones with similar sized screens, a 5 megapixel camera. It doesn’t come with much internal memory but it is expandable up to 32GB via microSD. Battery life is advertised as 3 hours of talk time and 250 hours of standby time. Girlfriend claims she was able to talk more than that.

The first thing my girlfriend said when she saw the phone was “OMG It looks like a mini tablet” and she loved the size of the screen. She fell in love with the phone faster than she fell in love with me. She also loved the fact that the buttons under the screen were actual buttons and not touch buttons. She likes to feel when she’s pressing any button off screen.

Another thing she loved about the large screen was how beautiful pictures and movies looked on it, but what good is great video if you don’t have great sound. The speakers on the Pocket were awesome as well and delivered quality sound, sound so great and clear that I could clearly hear it in another room. She also loved playing her favorite games on it such as angry birds and this puzzle game, I forget the name.

Something else my girl friend quickly noticed and liked about the phone was the rugged grip it has. The first thing out of her mouth was “It doesn’t need a case!” She’s right the Pocket is encased in what appears to be a rubberized type case which is very durable. We’ve dropped it a few times and no scratches or dings what so ever.

She mentioned that the phone was super fast, it didn’t lag like her other android smartphone that a company we won’t mention made. “cough”samsung”cough”. The internet on the phone was super fast as well, I guess we can credit the at&t 4G network for that.

The camera on the phone is a 5 MP Camera but the still pictures were sort of grainy especially when zooming in. However videos recorded on it were very nice and shot in 720p HD.

Overall the phone is fantastic and my girl friend is making me give it our 5 Star Must Have award and ya know what it deserves it.

The Pantech Pocket Tablet I mean Pocket is available from at&t wireless for just $49.99 with a 2-year contract.

Dlink Whole Home Router Video Preview

Michael Reyes — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:46:00 +0000

Shot this video yesterday of the Dlink Whole Home Router 1000. This bad boy is able to give me wi-fi signal where I could not get a signal before. It also kind of looks cool too.

Check the video below, if you have red and cyan 3D glasses watch it in 3D!

Holiday Gift Guide!

Michael Reyes — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:02:35 +0000

Happy Holidays everyone, it’s that time of the year my favorite time of the year its CHRISTMAS!

So again this year we bring you the top ten gadgets your GEEK wants for Christmas. Some items are marked with this image “” it simply means it made the Cutegeek.com Holiday Gift Guide as well.

The first item on the list, also made our list last year and as you can tell by the icon it made the CuteGeek.com gift guide this year. Tthe Xbox 360 with Kinect. The Kinect is the most amazing game console on the market, it does what I think Nintendo wanted to do with the Wii and PlayStation wanted to do with those ice-cream cones of theirs.

The Kinect turns you into the controller which sounds as fun as it is. With the Xbox 360 Kinect there is no need to hold onto any controllers and or tie those controllers to your wrist, because as you, your body is the controller. You can use the movement of your hands to scroll through various screens, your body to control the characters on-screen and your voice can tell the Xbox what to do.

It is my favorite product this year, and that is why it made our list, the CuteGeek.com list and both list last year. It also made Radiris Diaz from CuteGeek.com “What I want from BestBuy.com” list.

The Xbox 360 with Kinect is available from various retailers, such as Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Buy.com, eBay.com and more!

The next and number two on the list is the Jawbone Era which also made the CuteGeek.com holiday list. The Jawbone Era is one of the best if not the best Bluetooth headset on the market. What makes it the best is the “NoiseAssassin” feature which really works. The Noise Assassin feature kills any background noise around you making it easier for the person you’re talking to, to hear you. You won’t be asked to repeat yourself when you use the Era.

It also has HD audio. High Definition audio will play your music and videos in full spectrum. It is like having a mini theater in your ear.

There is even an android app to help you save battery of your Bluetooth device. It’s also available in 4 colors, check them out the four colors in the image to the right.

The Jawbone headsets are available at BestBuy.comfor $129.99.

Number three on the list is something you’ll find at ToshibaDirect.com, is the 21.5” DX1210 All in 1 PC. The DX1210 is a powerful all in one PC with Touchscreen display. Thanks to the Intel Core i7 processor inside the 1210 you, and everyone else who uses it won’t have a problem gaming, watching movies and doing what ever else you may need to do on your PC.

The DX1210 comes with a wireless keyboard and Mouse, that match the DX1210 perfectly. The system will pretty much match any home décor. I know guys like me don’t really care how something looks but the ladies will love the DX1210 as it will look great next to anything.

Number 4 on the list is the remedy for a problem many geeks face, and that’s getting Wi-Fi to every corner of their home with out multiple routers or extenders. Dlink has a solution for that, at least it was a solution in my case. The Dlink Whole Home Wi-Fi Router 1000, is a wireless N router which is capable of delivering a Wi-Fi Signal throughout your entire home.

I live in an apartment and using another Dlink router and a Netgear Extender I had 3 dead zones on my wireless network. After removing those routers and using the Dlink Whole Home. My dead zones are dead no more although the signal in those areas aren’t the strongest. I am even able to get signal outside of my home up to have a block away.

The Whole Home Router 1000 is available at Amazon.com.

Fifth on the list is that phone everyone wants, the iPhone 4s. I doubt I have to tell you how great it is or how easier it will make your life so I won’t. All I will say is I think Sprint has the best package for it.

Oh the iPhone 4s how beautiful you are! Again SPRINT has the best package for it, so if you are going to get one and you can, I say go SPRINT!

Sixth on the list is for the lazy geek in all of us, and it’s the MINT Hard Floor Cleaner. All we have to do is put a cloth onto the Mint Robot and it will clean our floors. We do have to pick up the big things but since its so cool to have a Robot clean for you, we are sure to get off our butts and out of our desk chairs to set the MINT Hard Floor Cleaner to clean our floors.

My floors have never been cleaner, and guess what CuteGeek.com will be giving one away in the next few days so visit their site if you want to win one.

The MINT Hard Floor Cleaner is available at Amazon.com.

Now for the seventh item on the list, and I guess we can say this is some shameless self promotion by me and it isn’t even a tech gadget. But what Geek wouldn’t want a book written by me?

I wrote a book and its available on Amazon.com It would make a great stocking stuffer. You can buy the book directly from me at Reyes Books, or from Amazon.com. A kindle version and Nook version are also available.

Now that I pimped my book the 8th and 9th item will help you read eBooks and why not buy an eBook reader to read my book? The Amazon Kindle Fire and the Barns and Noble Nook color are both great eBook readers. Julliette over at CuteGeek.com loved the Kindle Fire and last I checked she reads tons on it, and I love my Nook color but the Nook Tablet would be hot to have! I think it’s a toss-up between the two and suggest if you want to get an eBook reader for someone ask them which of these two they would want.

Kindle Fire available at Amazon, Nook Color and Tablet at Barns and Noble.

Now the 10th item on the list is the Samsung Solid State 830 drive. It’s also probably the geekiest thing on the list.

The 830 series drive will add so much performance to the geek in your life PC that he will get things done faster. So if you are his or her gf/bf they will have more time to spend with you!

Also if you buy a new Samsung Solid State 830 drive, you will get a free digital download copy of Batman – Arkham City! I have played the game and it is AWESOME!

The Samsung SSD 830 is available at Amazon.com.

Happy Shopping, and Happy Holidays…Be sure to shop around!

GeekDad Saturday

Michael Reyes — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:24:16 +0000

At the wired store this coming Saturday 26th of November GeekDad Ken Denmead invites us all to a free DIY (Do it Yourself) event, with a guest appearance by Snoopy! The event is sponsored by T-Mobile, Pringles and Peanuts. Admission is free and it sounds like it will be fun. Again it is this Saturday … Continue reading »

Deal of the Day: Dell Inspiron 17R Camera Bundle

Michael Reyes — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:35:24 +0000

Todays deal is a great one, a 17.3″ Dell Inspiron 17R-2nd Gen Core i5-2430M 2.4GHz Dual-core Lapotp w/6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Adobe Elements 9 & Canon ELPH 100 HS Camera for $699.99 with free shipping (normally $849 – use coupon code XKB$BBDRVS1G28. Notebook, great software and a camera for $700!

This is a great gift for a family on a budget, get the bundle, give the notebook to your kid or keep for yourself and the camera to someone else! Great idea huh?

Price break down: $927.99 – $178 off – $50 coupon code = $699.99 with FREE shipping. Coupon code: XKB$BBDRVS1G28

MLG Star Craft Champion Leenock

Michael Reyes — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:19:01 +0000

Congrats! I watched the entire match and itw as awsome, Leenock almost lost it and won it. Reminded me of the 2006 Red Sox or was it 2004.

Here is a picture from the Award Ceremony.

Leenock won 50,000 dollars USD.

Day 3: MLG National Championships

Michael Reyes — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:40:44 +0000

Today the champions will be crowned, and the prizes given out. Everyone including my self are super excited.

Will tweet from the event and hopefully get you some pictures on twitter that will blow your mind.

Just want to thank at&t for giving me the chance to cover the event as an at&t brand ambassador.

MLG National Championship Day 2

Michael Reyes — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:14:56 +0000

It’s day 2 of the Major League Gaming Championships in Providence Rhode Island and today is going to be a busy day for a lot of gamers who will battle it out for $100,000.

I have my badges and I am headed to the show floor now, I want to keep an eye on the Halo Reach competition. If anyone is at the show stop by the Sony Ericsson booth and check out the Xperia Play, that phone rocks!

Follow me on twitter @Hwgeeks for live updates.

MLG Makes Dream Come True!

Michael Reyes — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:34:15 +0000

MLG Rhode Island Day 1

Michael Reyes — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:30:31 +0000

Today was my first day at the MLG event here in Providence Rhode Island, and I have to say I am impressed with the intensity of the gamers.

While at the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for at&t booth I was able to catch up with two of MLG’s most popular gamers, Bravo and TLO. Myself and Faro from empirestategamer.com interviewed both, and had fun at the same time.

We hope you enjoy the videos!

Bravo

TLO

On My Way To Rhode Island

Michael Reyes — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:20:34 +0000

I am currently on my way to Providence Rhoide Island to attend a Major league Gaming event sponsored by at&t.

at&t hooked me up with a brand new Sony Ericsson Xperia Play so that I can tweet my butt off and keep you guys up to date on whats going on at the event. Oh and yeah play games on it! Haven’t stopped playing Crash Bandicoot on it since I got it!

Right now I will end this post with a picture of me. I am sad because I am going to miss my girlfriend, but I am sure I will have loads of fun!!!

AOC Launches Aire Pro

Michael Reyes — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:01:45 +0000

Each and every time AOC launches a new monitor I fall more and more in love with the company. Today they announced their new Ultra-Slim Aire Pro monitor with a might I add sexy aluminum brushed finish. (Pictured below)

“The Aire Pro is a high-end, high performance LED IPS panel display that is extremely versatile and ideal for both home and work settings,” said Robert Velez, AOC Marketing Manager. “Along with its award-winning design and excellent image quality, the Aire Pro also offers environmentally friendly features that help to reduce energy consumption and costs.”

SPEC HIGHLIGHTS
•    Ultra-thin LED IPS Monitor (9.6mm thin)
•    Multiple I/O Ports (2 HDMI)
•    Viewable Image Size: 23”
•    16:9 Aspect Ratio
•    WLED Backlight
•    Brightness: 250cd/m²
•    50,000,000:1 DCR
•    5ms Response Time
•    Two built-in speakers
•    Screen+ Technology
•    e-Saver Feature for low power consumption
•    Eight OSD languages including English, Spanish, French and more
•    iF Design Award winner

Deal of the Day: Lenovo G470

Michael Reyes — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:52:51 +0000

Todays deal is for the Lenovo G470 Core i5 notebook pc. The system features a 500 GB HDD, 14” screen, 2.4 Ghz processor and 4 gigs of memory. The price ain’t that bad either at only $529.

Lenovo in my opinion has become one of the best notebook and desktop pc makers around. They build quality machines and I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually over took HP in market share.

Price breakdown and options:
Core i3, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD drive | $799 $499 with FREE shipping | Use $150 Coupon code WEEKLYDG470 | Model 432839U (left-most)

Core i5, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD drive | $899 $529 with FREE shipping | Use $220 Coupon code BLACKFRIDAYDEAL6 | Model 432826U (third from left)

Core i5, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Blu-ray drive | $999 $599 with FREE shipping | Use $250 Coupon code BLACKFRIDAYDEAL7 | Model 43282UU (2nd from right)

Heading to MLG in Providence!

Michael Reyes — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:48:29 +0000

I will be in Providence Rhode Island this weekend covering the MLG gaming event! Pro Gamers Galore!

I will be there part of the at&t ambassador program with a brand new Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, and will be live tweeting and blogging as much as I can at the event. So visit the site as much as you can for pictures from the event!

Heading to MLG in Providence!

Michael Reyes — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:47:45 +0000

I will be in Providence Rhode Island this weekend covering the MLG gaming event! Pro Gamers Galore!

Deal of the Day: 23" Dell U2312HM LCD Monitor

Michael Reyes — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:54:33 +0000

Todays deal is a nice one! The Dell U2312HM UltraSharp 23-in 1080p IPS-panel LCD Monitor with DisplayPort is an amazing monitor and today is the last day you can get it for just $239.00 with free shipping.

The monitor features 4 built in USB 2.0 ports, and an anti glare coating. It also has a 8ms response time.

Price break down: $319 – $80 off = $239

Click here for past deals.

Vivid Entertainment Threatens to Sue HTC

Michael Reyes — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:21:52 +0000

Vivid entertainment the porn people who made us want to pour bleach in our eyes when they released the Paris Hilton Sex tape and broke the hearts of millions of Kim Kardasian fans when they released her sex tape. Has threatened to sue HTC (popular smart phone maker) if they do not change the name of the HTC Vivid to something else.

Vivid (the porn company) claims that users may think that they are behind the phone. Vivid gave HTC until Monday to change the name.

I guess Vivid thinks if they can get some millions from HTC they can buy my sex tape!

Verbatim Unveils 2nd Gen Mobile Keyboard

Michael Reyes — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:41:15 +0000

Today Verbatim showed off their 2nd gen mobile keyboard that will work with any tablet or any mobile phone running iOS or Android, with a Bluetooth connection.

The keyboards feature a soft-touch key for silent typing, and this new version of the keyboard also features smart keys for easy copy and paste, undo and device controls such as brightness levels.

For more information head over to Verbatim.com.

Deal of the Day: Dell Vostro 260

Michael Reyes — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:31:09 +0000

Today we bring you a deal for those Small Business users in need of a new desktop PC.

The Dell Vostro 260 features a Core i5 3.1GHz Quad-core Mini Tower w/4GB RAM, Win 7 Pro & 20-inch LCD Monitor, is available for only $559.00 when you use coupon code “3FPCVR24X0STBF”.

The system also comes pre-installed with Adobe Acrobat X Standard a $299 value.

Price break down: $818 – $219 off – $40 coupon code = $559 + $8 shipping

Farmville Plush Toys Available @BestBuy

Michael Reyes — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:16:44 +0000

Zynga the maker of the popular Facebook games CityVille and FarmVille, introduced in time for the holidays FarmVille Plush Toys. The plush toys are limited edition collectibles which will be exclusively available at Best Buy. You can pre-order now.

Each collectible blind box will be sold for $9.99 contains 1 of 8 collectible plush toys chosen at random (oh fun!), a 10 farm cash card and an exclusive in-game animal.

If you buy a $25 dollar FarmVille game card you can get the above for just $0.99.

Players who collect all 8 will earn an in-game Super Orchard.

Deal of the Day: HP Pavilion G7-1260us

Michael Reyes — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:07:13 +0000

We here at HardwareGeeks.com have teamed up with LogicBuy to bring you a new cool deal every day of the week and we did it just in time for the holidays! Santa’s coming soon!

We start today with the HP Pavilion g7-1260us notebook pc. The g7 which I have used and love, features a LED backlit 17.3-in HD display, an Intel Core i3-2330M 2.2Ghz dual core processor, a 640GB hard drive, 4GB of memory (more than enough), SRS Premium sound, built in Wi-Fi and of course Windows 7 Premium. It’s a PC not a Mac.

This system would make the perfect gift for anyone especially that high school or college student in your home, or just for every day use in the home. Heck the price is so low it would also make a great first notebook for the youngin in the home.

The price $629.99 – $200 in rebates = $429.99 plus you get free shipping. $50 of the $200 rebate is a mail-in rebate.

Who says you have to wait for Black Friday or Cyber Monday to get a great deal? Click here for more information on the deal.

MAINGEAR Offers 2nd Gen Core i7 Extreme Edition

Michael Reyes — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:01:00 +0000

MAINGEAR today announced that their SHIFT, F131, and Quantum SHIFT desktops will be available with the newly released 2nd generation Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition Processors and the MAINGEAR exclusive Audio Engine.

The SHIFT, F131, and Quantum SHIFT are the perfect desktops for power users. creative professionals and hard core gamers. Infact I wouldn’t be surprise if some of the MLG Gamers who are participating next week in “MLG Providence” want one of these systems under their Christmas tree next month.

The three desktops are available now, for more information head over to http://maingear.com .

WIRED Store Opening again in NYC for the Holidays

Michael Reyes — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:44:44 +0000

For the 7th consecutive year WIRED will have a store open in NYC for the holidays where every possible gadget you’d ever want will be on display and for sale!

Last year I was able to visit their store in the Meat Packing District of NYC and I had a blast, this year it will be in the heart of NYC Times Square! I can only imagine how crowded and fun the store will be.

The store will officially open on the 18th of November and will remain open until the 24th of December from 12pm – 7pm (It’s times square should be open until 1am). It will be closed on Thanksgiving day.

Newegg Halloween Promo

Michael Reyes — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:21:29 +0000

Today hundreds of NewEgg.com customers received a special gift from Newegg.com. 12 dozen eggs, and in those 12 dozen eggs there was 1 orange egg with a prize ranging from a 5 dollar gift card to a beanie.

Some even luckier NewEgg customers will get a special GOLDEN egg which contains a $1000 gift certificate!

Newegg wanted to inform its customers that their Black Friday is all of November!

Firmware Update for GoFlex Satellite

Michael Reyes — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:02:10 +0000

GoFlex Satellite owners rejoice improvements to your favorite wireless hard drive are among us.

The new firmware which is version 1.2.0.012 will improve performance of the drive, also add new sorting options for albums, adds a Photo Slide Show with music and enhanced playlist support, and also music cover art will be viewable!

The update doesn’t include the feature I was hoping for which would allow a user to be on the internet while connected to the GoFlex Satellite but hopefully that feature will be available in the next update.

You can download the firmware here.

MAINGEAR to offer Intel Core i7 2700k Overclocked

Michael Reyes — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:01:00 +0000

MAINGEAR announced today that they will offer the the new Intel Core i7 2700k in their Shift and F131 desktops.

The i7 2700K is a quad-core processor with a clock speed of 3.5GHz and 3.9GHz Turbo boost. The chip also integrates the CPU, Graphics and memory controller, and PCI express all on one chip.

MAINGEAR is able to overclock the 2700K to 5GHZ and beyond according to their press release.

The price of the F131 and Shift with the 2700k is $1228 and $1985 respectfully. I wish I could afford one. More information on both systems here.

Review: ClarityOne Earbuds

Sufian Siddiqi — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:46:47 +0000

No matter what device or smartphone you are using these days, a great pair of headphones is always one of the accessories that makes that experience a whole lot better. I’ve tried out many headphones and earbuds trying to find the perfect pair that will provide crisp sound and help with noise cancellation. I found that with the ClarityOne Earbuds.

In my line of work, I have to concentrate on design, code, and requirements generation. Having a loud office provides an environment where it’s sometimes hard to think about what I’m doing. These earbuds provide a crisp clear sound quality that let me get lost in whatever I’m hearing and because of the light-weight design and long cable (it comes with a 48″ cable), I’m able to move around my workspace easily and sometimes even forget that I’m wearing them! Best of all, I no longer hear the conversations, whistling, and failed attempts at singing of my coworkers!

One of the added benefits of these earbuds is that they also come with a touch sensitive track on the cable that allows you to play, pause, and move around your music playlist. There is also a built-in microphone for those users who are using the earbuds with their smartphones. In my tests callers were able to hear my voice with clarity — they couldn’t tell I was using the earbuds.

At $129.99, these earbuds are a bit pricey, but they are well worth the amount of money if you’re looking for amazing sound quality and great noise cancellation.

What you get in the box:

3D Stereo Earbuds
Travel Case
3 sizes of custom silicone tips
Light-weight microphone with call answer/end features

Technical Specs:

Sensitivity: 110dB SPL/mW
Frequency Range: 15Hz – 20kHz
Jack Plug: 3.5mm stereo gold plated
Cable: 48″ tangle free cord
Transducer: 7.5mm neodynmium magnet
Impedance: 8ohm

5 Best Routers for AT&T Internet Users

Michael Reyes — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:58:20 +0000

Setting up your router for an AT&T Internet modem is a very simple process. Routers are used when multiple computers in the same household want to be able to connect using the same connection. To get started, plug-in the router near the cable modem. Then plug the Ethernet cable supplied with the AT&T modem into the router. When the router blinks, this will indicate that the router is syncing with the modem. From here, just click the wireless icon on the computer in order to connect to the router and then the Internet. Once a website loads, you know the router works correctly. First time setting up your home network and you need a router compatible with AT&T’s service? Check out these top five.

Credit MrVJTod on Flickr

1. MediaLink Wireless N Router – 150Mbps
The MediaLink wireless N router is the current best offering for people who are new to home networking. It offers an easy setup install guide that will walk you through the process of setting up the router and securing it. It’s also designed to be compatible with a wide range of operating systems, including XP, Vista, 7, and even Mac OSX and Linux. Secure wireless technology is also supported, with WPA, WPA2, and WPS all available. The device is also backwards compatible with older wireless networks, so devices that run on the 802.11b/g networks will function perfectly with this router as well. 150Mbps is top of the line when it comes to speed.
2. Linksys WRT54GL Wireless G Router – 54Mbps
The Linksys WRT54GL is a highly popular Linux based router that offers built-in port switching with a wireless G access point. It also offers WPA2 encryption, which may not be compatible with any older devices that only support WEP encryption, such as the Nintendo DS. The speed is considerably lower than wireless N routers, but it still offers a good way to connect all of your computers to one network while protecting them underneath a powerful SPI firewall.
3. ASUS RT-N56U Wireless N Router – 300Mbps
The ASUS RT-N56U is one of the better wireless N routers available on the market as it offers speeds of up to 300Mbps wirelessly. It also has Giga Fiber support, which means the Gigabit FTTH protocol, allows for full HD movie downloads in around five minutes. It includes four ports for hardwired computers and is backwards compatible for b/g/n wireless technology. It also has five antennas which are capable of directional signaling, meaning it is capable of delivering the best possible signal without consuming any more power than usual.
4. Linksys E1200 Wireless N Router – 300Mbps
The Linksys E1200 is also an advanced router that is designed for allowing you to connect all of your devices, including computers and printers. The router can maintain speeds up to 300Mbps, putting it on par with the ASUS above in terms of speed. It also features a broad coverage pattern with MIMO antenna technology that is designed to use as little power as possible for the best signal. Security protocols supported include WPA/WPA2 and the famous SPI firewall present on most Linksys models is included here as well. It also has the option to create a separate password protected access point for visitors so they may access your network but not your data on your various computers. Also included with the router is Cisco’s easy start guide, making this one of the better higher end routers for beginners. Parents concerned about children accessing the network after bedtime can use Cisco’s Parental Lock to limit when the network is active.
5. Linksys E1500 Wireless N Router With SpeedBoost - 300Mbps
This higher end Linksys router supports only wireless N technology, though with speeds up to 300Mbps. It also features the same MIMO antenna array as the Linksys E1200, but also allows you to maintain higher speeds on devices further in your network by its patented SpeedBoost technology. Four wired ports are included for devices, and unlimited wireless connections are available. Visitor password access is also included, so you can allow visitors access to the Internet via your network without sharing all of your important documents and data. Security protocols that are supported include WPA/WPA 2 and the router comes with Cisco’s easy set up guide for getting started quickly.
Overall, each of the routers listed here are sound devices that will allow you to create a home network for your AT&T Internet connection. If you experience any problems, there are numerous support channels available on the Internet listed for each of these models, so do not hesitate to ask for support should you run into any hang ups.

This is a guest article by Ruben Corbo, a writer for the website Broadband Expert where you can find high speed internet providers in your area and compare prices on different deals for AT&T Internet and other great providers. When Ruben is not writing he is composing and producing music for short films and other visual arts.

Own a Blackberry Free Apps Coming your Way

Michael Reyes — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:24:52 +0000

Because of the service outage last week, Blackberry has said it will give its users free premium apps valued up to $100. The apps will be available starting October 19th and will remain free for 4 weeks. Blackberry has also said enterprise customers will get one free month of Technical Support.

Millions of Blackberry customers around the world were left with out email for up to a day,

So if you have a Blackberry check the App World starting Wednesday for those free Premium Apps!

First 8 Core Desktop CPU made available by AMD

Michael Reyes — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:20:47 +0000

AMD today launched the AMD FX Family of CPUs which includes an 8 core desktop CPU. For those familiar with AMD code names this chip was codenamed “Bulldozer”, and it’s price isn’t that bad at $245 USD.

“AMD FX CPUs are back with a vengeance, as validated by the recent feat of setting a Guinness World Records® title for „Highest Frequency of a Computer Processor,‟” said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and general manager, Client Group at AMD. “While overclockers will certainly enjoy the frequencies the AMD FX processors can achieve, PC enthusiasts and HD media aficionados will appreciate the remarkable experience that AMD FX processors can provide as part of a balanced, affordable desktop system.”

Starting today, the below AMD FX CPUs will be available from global retailers. Additional AMD FX CPUs and systems based on the AMD FX processors will be available for purchase following the initial launch.
 FX-8150: Eight cores, 3.6 GHz CPU base (3.9 GHz Turbo Core, 4.2 GHz Max Turbo), $245 suggested retail price (U.S.)
 FX-8120: Eight cores, 3.1 GHz CPU base (3.4 GHz Turbo Core, 4.0 GHz Max Turbo), $205 suggested retail price (U.S.)
 FX-6100: Six cores, 3.3 GHz CPU base (3.6 GHz Turbo Core, 3.9 GHz Max Turbo), $165 suggested retail price (U.S.)
 FX-4100: Four cores, 3.6 GHz CPU base (3.7 GHz Turbo Core, 3.8 GHz Max Turbo), $115 suggested retail price (U.S.)

TeleNav GPS Navigator 7.1 for Sprint Android Devices

Michael Reyes — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Today at CTIA TeleNav announced TeleNav GPS Navigator 7.1 for Sprint Android devices. The new Navigator was designed to help people who are always on-the-go people run errands around town.

Navigator 7.1 features a new home screen, called “My Dashboard” which gives quick access to all the things they need to know, like their current location and real time traffic. The home screen is pictured to the left.

Navigator 7.1 also features improved map options and car icons that can be customized giving your GPS a bit of personal flare.

There are also now widgets for Navigator, something it lacked and something I welcome since I love widgets.

Other Key Features

Find out where to go, how to get there and what to do when you get there with TeleNav GPS Navigator 7.1.

· Favorite and Recent Destinations: Drive to your favorite and recent destinations more quickly and easily with one-touch access on My Dashboard

· Daily Commute: Current drive times based on live traffic right on the home screen

· Live Traffic: Save time with live traffic updates that automatically reroutes you around traffic jams or road congestion

· Local Search: Search 22 million Places and get user-generated ratings and reviews to quickly decide where to go

· Local Reviews: Rate and review your favorite Place all from your phone

· Gas Prices: Search up-to-date gas prices by location and price to save money

· Voice Search: Stay safe and keep your hands on the wheel with voice-activated commands

· Local Weather: Get real-time weather and seven day forecasts for your current location

· Voice Guidance: Clear, easy-to-understand driving directions spoken by a real human voice

Check out the following video for a cool demo.

Norton 360 v6 Free Public Beta

Michael Reyes — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:26:55 +0000

Symantec today announced the public beta for Norton 360 v6, what I consider the best full featured security suite available today.

New in Norton 360 v6 is Norton Identity Safe in the cloud, which allows you to maintain your passwords in the cloud and access to them from any PC, Norton Management a new web management which allows you to remotely control some of Nortons feature, along with other under the hood improvements.

Norton 360 v6 is available for download for free at http://us.norton.com/beta

MyTunes App Review

Michael Reyes — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 19:16:18 +0000

I am always suspicious when I hear of an APP that can improve a device with no additional hardware required. It’s like the modern day snake oil trade, and suckers fall for these so called apps all the time.

So when I heard about the MyTunes App from SRSLabs I immediately thought what a load of crap. I love SRSLabs but I honestly thought they were trying to pull a fast one on me and others who might find the app.

But I was wrong, the APP worked great and my music did indeed sound a lot better. It was as if I got myself some expensive head phones for free! My DRM music didn’t work on it, and after a conversation with support at SRSLabs I learned it was because DRM music isn’t supported, but who has DRM music now a days anyway? It’s 2011 not 2001

The APP which is free offers several features that you can unlock for $4.99 (well worth it) that will come in handy.

The WOW HD feature allows you to easily switch between all types of headphones with out losing that crisp clear audio. You can be on your headphones one moment and then connect to a Bluetooth speaker system the next and still get that excellent sound.

There is a Normalizer which works great. As you know some songs are louder than others, the normalizer feature maintains the volume from song to song so you don’t have to fiddle with your volume controls all the time.

There is a EQ feature, DJ Transitions which I used and loved using at a recent party. Makes you look like a top dollar DJ.

My favorite feature was driving mode, which is a super easy and quick to use UI for when you drive. LOVED IT!

Overall the MyTunes app from SRSLabs is great, it’s not snake oil it’s the real deal.

Get it from the Apple App Store Now! Free to download but $4.99 to unlock all features and yes it’s worth the $4.99.

WD Launches WD TV Live Wi-Fi with Spotify

Michael Reyes — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Today WD announced the newest WD TV Live which features a 1 TB built in drive, Wi-Fi and the first media hub for the television to deliver a Spotify app for your music listening pleasures. Premium subscription with Spotify required.

Along with Spotify, users of the newest WD TV Live which features a new UI will have access too NetFlix, Hulu Plus, Blockbuster, CinemaNow, Pandora, Youtube, Facebook and more.

The new WD TV Live is available starting today at the WD Store, for $99.99.

Toshiba Thrive 7

Michael Reyes — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 05:02:52 +0000

Today I got to play with the new Toshiba Thrive 7 which will be available at the start of December.

The Thrive 7 is a android based tablet with a 7inch HD Screen, and just like it’s big brother the Thrive it will feature loads of ports that most tablets lack all be it in mini or micro size. (Mini USB and HDMI and microSD)

The Thrive 7 will have a 2MP forward facing camera and a back facing 5 MP camera. It is about half an inch thick and light weight. It had the same look and feel as the Thrive.

Again the Thrive 7 will be available in December, pricing hasn’t been confirmed but it will be under $400.

Toshiba Thrive 7

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Unboxing the Galaxy Tab 8.9

Michael Reyes — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:38:06 +0000

Radiris Diaz and I attended the Galaxy Tab 8.9 event today at the Samsung Experience located in the Time Warner Center in New York City.

At the event executives and product managers showed off Samsungs new line of Galaxy devices, from the Tab 8.9 to the Player 4.0 and 5.0. (Players are similar to iPod Touch devices).

Check out a video of Radiriz unboxing the device.

VIA Sues Apple

Michael Reyes — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:58:33 +0000

“VIA has built up an extensive IP portfolio consisting of over 5,000 patents as a result of significant investments in world class technology research and development,” commented Wenchi Chen, CEO, VIA Technologies, Inc. “We are determined to protect our interests and the interests of our stockholders when our patents are infringed upon.”

VIA today announced it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple claiming they have violated three of their patents.

The patents in question are US Patent No. 6253312, Method and apparatus for double operand load, US Patent No. 6253311 & 6754810, Instruction set for bi-directional conversion and transfer of integer and floating point data.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Stylish new Drives from WD for Mac

Michael Reyes — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Today WD announced two new drives for the Mac, the My Passport Studio and the My Passport for Mac.

All I can say is wow…why aren’t WD drives designed for the PC as stylish as the mac versions? I’ll tell you why because from what I am told Apple works closely with OEMs to deliver stylish products that compliment their systems. The drives have an all metal design, and the performance every mac power user needs.

The My Passport Studio offers up to 1TB of storage, two FireWire 800 ports which will allow for super fast data transfer and a USB 2.0 interference.

The My Passport for Mac is thinner than the studio but just as durable, and also available in up to 1TB of storage. But unlike the studio there is no FireWire Connectivity just a USB 2.0 connection.

Both drives are now available at the WDStore.com and are priced from $99.99 for the 500 GB My Passport for Mac to $179.99 for the My Passport Studio 1TB.

Pantech Android & Quick Messaging Phones

Michael Reyes — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:20:36 +0000

I am a huge fan of Pantech, really huge fan. They make some of the coolest quick messaging phones on the market and they always blow me away with the price tag they attach to them.

Pantech in my opinion makes quality phones with out the hefty price tag, and I have never had any issues with any of their devices. Some have lasted longer than my iPhones and other smartphones. So don’t knock Pantech just because of their low priced phones.

I recently had the pleasure of playing with two Pantech Quick Messaging phones and a flip phone all of them for the at&t network. I have to say if I couldn’t afford my iPhone I would definitely use anyone of these devices as my primary device. Their android powered phone the Crossover for example is just as powerful as some phones priced $199 or higher.

Lets talk about the Pantech Crossover first. It’s a durable looking device that I really liked a lot, but quickly had it taken away from me by my nephew who fell in love with the design of the phone and it’s ease of use. It’s also one of the most affordable android smartphones on the market.

It features a 3.1 inch touchscreen color display, a 3 Mega Pixel camera, GPS, powered by a 600 Mhz processor and 2GB of memory, which is expandable with a microSD card.

I loved using the phone, at first I thought the screen was a little too small but it was great! I liked the rugged design it had, made it feel sturdy.

My 14 nephew quickly stole the phone from me, lost my sim card and put in a GoPhone sim card he had, and used it non stop. He loves the phone and is happy it isn’t an iPhone because he claims “iPhones are played out”.

I normally would say a Pantech phone is a great first phone for a pre-teen or teen and a great phone for an older person but the Crossover is definitely great for anyone any age.

Now onto the Pantech Breeze III, a basic flip phone that my mom loves. She uses it and loves it because of its big buttons and it was very easy for her to learn to use. I personally don’t care for flip phones anymore I think they are so 2001’ish but my love loves her Breeze I , II and III. (Currently using the III).

Her favorite feature of the phone, are the voicemail, and message indicators on the outside of the phone. Yes the phone has a screen that can be used to alert you of those types of messages, but when the indicator is lit she can tell she has a message or voicemail right away.

She also likes the three programmable buttons the breeze III has. She’s programed them with my number, my sisters number and her doctors number. To her it’s faster than speed dial and a lot more easier.

Overall the phone is great, and perfect for new cell phone users or older users who have not so great vision.

Now onto my favorite of the three, and while I loved the Crossover I adored the Pursuit II. It’s lightweight and overall ease of use made the Pursuit II my favorite.

The Pursuit features a touchscreen and a slide out full qwerty keyboard display, great for those of you like me who have fat fingers and have issues typing on a small screens keyboard.

The Pursuit has all the messaging apps you’d want from AIM to Yahoo and it’s 2 mega pixels camera takes great pictures. However I do wish the camera were 3 or 4 mega pixels.

It’s a great phone for someone who doesn’t want all the bells and whistles of a smartphone along with those whose just need a basic phone. It will be great for first time cell phone users.

All the phones listed above are fabulous and available form at&t. The Crossover will cost you a whopping $0.00, the Breeze III and the Pursuit II will cost you $49.99. All require a 2 year contract the Crossover also requires a $15 a month data plan. More info at http://wireless.att.com

Samsung Chromebook now at TigerDirect.com

Michael Reyes — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:20:10 +0000

Samsung today announced that it’s Series 5 Chrome book powered by the Google OS is now available at TigerDirect.com. The Chrombook was designed for people who purely love the internet and want a 100% cloud experience, because once your offline you’re pretty much out of work.

“We are excited about broadening the availability of this great product, which offers on-the-go consumers Samsung’s design and engineering expertise combined with Google’s simple, secure Chrome operating system with Tiger Direct,” said Scott Ledterman, director of mobile PC marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division.

Two versions of the Chromebook will be available at TigerDirect.com, the wi-fi and 3G version which will run you $499 and the Wi-Fi only model which will cost you $429.

Samsung Series 5 Chromebook

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Google + Open to the Public

Michael Reyes — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:42:05 +0000

I joined the G+ Bandwagon when it first opened and you needed an invite, few weeks later I was bored of it and so were a bunch of my friends, and we crawled back on all fours to Facebook.

Today Google has announced that Google + is available to everyone, and quite honest I don’t really care but incase you do and you haven’t been invited already head over go Plus.Google.com to sign up.

Logitech Harmony Link

Michael Reyes — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Today Logitech unveiled the Harmony Link, a device that will turn your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or your android powered device into a Harmony Remote. The device is pretty much an IR blaster that communicates with your iOS or Android powered device via your wireless network and sends the commands from those devices to your television or any other device you may have such as Blu-Ray player, Xbox 360 etc.

I was able to check out the Link a few months ago at a event here in NYC, and it was a pretty cool device, and it worked flawlessly with the iPad and android smartphone I tested it on.

Your iOS or Android must download a free app from logitech which will be available in the iTunes App store and on the Android Market Place in October.

The iPad app allows for channel customization and multiple iPads can connect to the device with it’s own set of channel preferences.

On the iPad you also get channel guide information which is provided by Rovi.

The price for the Harmony Link is $99.99 and also will be available in October.

Gears of War 3 Launch Party NYC

Michael Reyes — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:07:28 +0000

Radiris Diaz from CuteGeek.com and I attended the launch party for the much-anticipated Gears of War 3 at the best buy theater in New York City’s Times Square.

The line of fans waiting for the game went around an entire city block as Best Buy and Microsoft gave away prizes and gifts to those who were in line. Some were even given upgrades to the front of the line, so they could be one of the first to buy the game and others were given bags with the Gears of War 3 logo on them.

I had a chance to play with the game, it was cool but the demo I had didn’t have any bad guys and there was no way for me to reset it which sucked. But the graphics and game play were amazing.

After I played the game, I toured around the theater and was able to get some pictures taken. Check them out and let us know if you picked up a copy of the game!

Gears of War 3 NYC launch

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Gears of War 3 Launch Party

Michael Reyes — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:21:49 +0000

I will be attending the Gears of War 3 Launch party tonight with Radiris Diaz from CuteGeek.com and we both plan to live tweet the event. We probably won’t stay for the entire party but enough to get all the cool info you probably want to hear about.

So follow me @HWgeeks and Radiris @CuteGeek on Twitter!

HP Expands Display Line

Michael Reyes — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:22:50 +0000

A few weeks ago here in NYC I was able to get a look at some of the new displays HP announced today. These displays offer some of the best picture quality I have seen from a computer monitor.

Due to the technology HP uses on their monitors you can look at them from pretty much any angle and still see what’s displayed, unlike traditional LCD’s which look dark or black when looking at them from an odd angle.

“Design, animation and gaming professionals push the limits of display technology every day simply to do their jobs – and HP has met their needs with a wider range of solutions than ever before. HP offers customers robust displays and innovative, interactive digital signage products that are the new face of retail and hospitality.” said Jun Kim Vice President and General Manager of the HP Display Business unit of the Personal Systems Group. (Ok HP you guys need to trim the titles of your execs).

The new monitors are the HP Z42740w, ZR2440w, ZR2240w and the ZR2040w. These displays are LED Backlist IPS panels. As Jun Kim said above, they are geared to gaming, and animation professionals. They would probably also work as home displays for film editors etc.

I was able to check them out in person a few weeks ago and as I said above the picture quality is the best I have seen, but they are also some of the most stylish monitors I have seen. Check out the slide show below so you can see for yourself how sexy they are.

HP also announced their HP Compaq LE220x display for businesses. It’s thin and great for any business on a budget.

Logitech Beefs up Tablet Accessory Line

Michael Reyes — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Today Logitech unveiled two new accessories that they how will improve your tablet and or smartphone experience with the new Logitech Wireless Headset and Wireless Boombox.

“Consumers are at the heart of all the tablet and mobile accessories we’re creating,” said Azmat Ali, Logitech vice president of mobile and tablet products. “We know people love their iPads and Android tablets. One of the things they do most is use them to enjoy entertainment content – whether that’s watching a movie on Netflix, sharing music, or listening to an audio book on the go. Our lineup of accessories has an option for everyone that can make entertainment even more enjoyable.”

I had the chance to play with both products a few weeks ago at a press event here in NYC, and I have to say they both were great!

The wireless headset for example was super comfortable, and the sound quality it produced was amazing.

The Boombox also delivered crisp clean sound, and it didn’t product and sound with static as some other small speakers sound.

The Wireless Headset should be available soon for $69.99 in both the US and Europe and the Wireless Boombox will be available also this month for $179.99.

HP Ink Challenge

Michael Reyes — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:18:30 +0000

HP Is still looking for people to participate in their ink challenge.Those who would like to participate must be willing to complete a few task for HP. HP will provide you with a printer, ink and paper. To sign up, just shoot an email to hpinkchallenge@hp.com and simply tell them you want to participate. Also tell them HardwareGeeks sent … Continue reading »

AMD Breaks Record

Michael Reyes — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:01:00 +0000

AMD today announced that it has achieved the Guinness world Record for the “Highest Frequency of a Computer Processor” by overclocking their upcoming 8-core AMD FX desktop processor.

“The record-breaking processor speed that resides in the AMD FX CPU clearly
demonstrates performance gains for the new AMD ‘Bulldozer’ multi-core architecture,
which will provide x86 computing power for this CPU and future AMD Accelerated
Processing Units,” said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and general manager,
Client Group at AMD. “Along with world-record frequencies, the AMD FX processor will
enable an unrivaled enthusiast PC experience for the money – extreme multi-display
gaming, mega-tasking and HD content creation.”

The AMD FX CPU, which is set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year, was able to achieve a speed of 8.429 Ghz. AMD Set the record on August 31st 2011 in Austin Texas by “TEAM AMD FX”. The previous record was 8.308 Ghz.

Congrats TEAM AMD FX!!!

Here are some pictures from the event.

The Personal Cloud from WD

Michael Reyes — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

We always hear about the cloud, but what is it really? “The Cloud” is just a fancy term for a server that host your documents and allows you to access them from anywhere on pretty much any device with a web browser.

Hosting your documents to “The Cloud” can be expensive, Amazon S3 charges $0.14 per GB for the first TB. What exactly will you be paying? Not really sure could be 14 cents or it could be $140 a month. They you have to worry about how many request you make and how much data is transferred the entire thing can get down right confusing.

WD wants to make “The Cloud” easier to understand, more affordable and best of all your own.

So today they introduced their WD 2go and WD 2go Pro mobile apps for the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and or android powered devices that work in conjunction with their My Book Live personal cloud storage drive.

The apps will allow you to sync your content automatically, share your content via email and even print documents. (email and print pro version only). You also can secure your data by requiring a pin to access it. Screen shot below is of sharing via email, pro version only.

I was able to play with the app on both the iPad and iPhone and it works wonders. A lot of apps are really slow to respond when accessing data they tend to lock up momentarily and I did not notice that problem with the WD 2go Apps.

The My Book Live personal storage drive is available in 1, 2 and 3 TB size are also compatible with DLNA/UPnP devices like your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii, allowing those devices to locate your My Book Live and stream its content.

Even if you don’t use the WD 2go Apps with the My Book Live it’s a wonderful investment. The ability to simply stream content to your DLNA enabled devices is worth every penny.

WD 2go (free download) and WD 2go Pro ($2.99 USD) are currently available for download from the iTunes® Store and Android Market. My Book Live personal cloud storage is available at select U.S. retailers and online at the wdstore.com. MSRP is $159.99 USD for 1 TB, $199.99 USD for the 2 TB, and $249.99 USD for 3 TB.

Wireless TouchPad from Logitech

Michael Reyes — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Today Logitech unveiled their new Wireless Touchpad, which allows you to point, scroll, swipe and zoom in and out of pictures with ease.

“The Logitech Wireless Touchpad is perfect for people who want to surf the Web in a more fun and natural way,” said Rory Dooley, Logitech’s senior vice president and general manager of the Control Devices business unit. “It lets Web surfers flick through websites and effortlessly scan long pages – making browsing easier than ever.”

The multi-touchpad which I had the chance to play with briefly a few weeks ago in my opinion kicks ass! It has a large surface that gives your fingers plenty of room to roam. You don’t feel like your limited to a small square area like you are on a notebooks touchpad.

The Logitech Wireless touchpad will be available later this month in Europe and the US, and will have a suggested retail price of $49.99. For more info head over to http://www.logitech.com

Norton One

Michael Reyes — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:46:18 +0000

Today Symantec announced Norton One a personalized service that allows users to select a combination of solutions that will work best for them and their connected devices.

“Norton continues to expand our business with our Norton Everywhere initiative, delivering solutions that are focused on the individual, wherever they go and regardless of the device they’re using,” said Janice Chaffin, group president, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec. “Norton One is a one-of-a-kind, new model that will address the security and service challenges that consumers face today.”

The service which is expected to be available in the first half of next year (2012), will essentially allow a user to protect their PCs, Mac, and mobile devices, from one account. The user can then easily add or remove devices and even free up a license, if it’s no longer being used.

For more info visit http://www.symantec.com

Pioneer Helps Car Owners Upgrade

Michael Reyes — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:24:09 +0000

Pioneer today released the first video of a four-part series that will help car owners install after market speakers and navigation systems. The idea of the videos are to show car owners it’s easy to do and nothing to be afraid of.

You can find the videos at www.pioneerelectronics.com/makeitsimple.

SRS Labs Audio Essentials

Michael Reyes — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:33:48 +0000

SRS Labs recently came out with a new software tool called Audio Essentials. The software allows you to enhance your computers audio profile.

Once the software is installed you can pretty much do anything you want to customize the audio on your computer. I tried the software on my desktop and laptop computer.

On my desktop I already had decent sound with my powerful speakers, but when I enabled the various pre-set sound profiles the Audio Essentials software offers, I did notice a big improvement.

On my laptop the improvement was amazing. The speakers on my laptop leave a lot to be desired yet with the software installed and using the pre configured profiles, it was almost as if I had plugged in my desktops speakers into my laptop.

Music sounded better, movies sounded better and games sounded better.

There is also a feature called TrueVolume that allows you to maintain the same audio level with all your media files. Works great if you have some files that sound louder than others. You don’t have to worry about lowering or raising the volume.

Overall it’s a great tool and its free! There is also a paid version that allows for more customizing.

For more information head over to http://srslabs.com features listed below.

Audio Essentials (free) features:

Intuitive User Interface – Advanced AV receiver look and feel
Enhanced audio playback for 2-channel speaker systems
Music Configuration – Tunings specialized for music
External Speaker Configuration – Output specialized for external speakers
Internal Speaker Configuration – Expert tunings for internal laptop speakers
SRS TruBass® – Maximizes bass response capabilities according to speaker size
Full-function stereo peak meter – graphically displays audio activity for 2-channels

Audio Essentials Complete ($29.99) includes all of the (free) features plus:

Advanced matrix surround sound decoding for surround sound speaker systems
Virtualized 360 degree surround sound over headphones
SRS TruVolume® – Volume leveling and volume maximization
Movie Configuration – Optimizes the playback of movie content
Game Configuration – Optimizes the playback of video games
Presets for several popular speaker configurations

Full-function 5.1 peak meter – graphically displays audio activity for 5 channels

HP Updates Pavilion dm1

Michael Reyes — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 06:18:11 +0000

Today HP introduced an updated version of their sleek and stylish Pavilion dm1 and guess what? It’s gotten even sleeker and more stylish than before.

The new dm1 features up to 11.5 hours of battery life, rapid on (when in sleep mode) an 11.6” LED display with a built in HD webcam, HP Beats by Dr. Dre Audio. The Pavilion dm1 will be powered by an AMD E-Series APU or an Intel 2nd Gen Core processor.

The Pavilion dm1 also has a nice super sexy and super soft design, in fact the new paint job is so soft on the dm1 that it feels almost like a babies bottom. Seriously.

You can also easily access, the internals of the system with no tools, which is a plus in my book.

Depending on the model of the dm1 you get, your system will come equipped with HP CoolSense a tool that can determine the position of the notebook and cool it appropriately, HP QuickWeb, which gives you quick access to the internet with out fully booting the system, HP ProtectSmart a security service and HP SimplePass which allows you to easily access your password protected sites with a swipe of your finger.

For more information on the Pavilion dm1 visit http://shopping.hp.com/go/newfromhp

HP Has an All-in-One PC for Everyone

Michael Reyes — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:25:39 +0000

HP today announced a plethora of All-in-One Pcs with everyone in mind. There are new TouchSmarts, to just plain ole non touch all-in-ones, and they are all reasonably priced.

“The popularity of the all-in-one form factor continues to grow, and HP’s contribution to this market is significant. We continue to expand our portfolio to remain the global leader in Windows-based all-in-one PCs, introducing innovation that matters to business customers and consumers alike.” said Todd Bradley Executive VP of the HP Personal Systems Group (PSG).

The new Omni series PC (All-in-One PCs with no touchscreen) have a starting price of $399.99 and will be available on September 11th with other models available on the 21st. They feature a HD display with HP LinkUp. I was able to test them out a few weeks ago and they all performed well. While I liked the performance of the Omni systems I felt their design left a lot to be desired. It was almost a throw back to the original TouchSmart systems which had that messenger bag look and feel.

Then there are the new HP TouchSmarts which feature a new TouchSmart interface that does not obstruct your taskbar. Allowing you to work on both your desktop and via the TouchSmart interface simultaneously. The TouchSmarts have a starting price of $699 and will also be available on the 11th of September. The three TouchSmarts that will be available will feature beats by dre audio, HD displays and a new elegant design.

But there just aren’t All-in-Ones for consumers. Small business users now have a TouchSmart designed specifically for them. The HP TouchSmart Elite 7320 is equipped with what you’d expect from an HP consumer TouchSmart but with all the features you’d get from the HP business side. HP also announced the HP Pro 3420 All-in-One business system with no touchscreen. The 7320 will be available starting the 21st of September starting at $850 and the 3420 in October starting at $599.

Slideshow:

More Desktop APU’s Available from AMD

Michael Reyes — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:48:51 +0000

Today Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced the availability of the AMD A4-3300 and A4-3400 APUs for desktops. APU’s are hybrid chips that double as the processor and GPU.

The A4-3300 and A4-3400 have a starting price of just $70 making them extremely affordable and great for entry level PC’s and All-in-One pc’s which a lot of OEMs are focusing the majority of their efforts on as of late.

Both APU’s are available now from Amazon.com and other e-tailers and retailers.

In order to use an AMD A Series APU you will need a FM1 motherboard with AMD Vision Engine Control Center driver 11.8.

The AMD A4-3300 APU operates at 2.5GHz (CPU) and 444MHz (GPU) with 160 Radeon™ Cores, 1MB of L2 cache and a TDP of 65W. With a suggested retail price of $75.00 (U.S), the AMD A4-3400 APU operates at 2.7GHz (CPU) and 600MHz (GPU) with 160 Radeon™ Cores, 1MB of L2 cache
and a TDP of 65W.

For more info visit: http://www.amd.com

Seagate First Manufacturer with 4TB Desktop Drive

Michael Reyes — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 04:01:00 +0000

Segate today announced they are now shipping a new 4TB GoFlex Desk external hard drive, the highest capacity drive in the industry and the latest in the GoFlex line.

“Yet another industry first for Seagate, we have reached a new high-capacity in the 3.5-inch hard drive form factor. At Seagate, we are committed to pushing the limits for our customers and will continue to adapt and innovate our products based on customer needs,” said Patrick Connolly, vice president and general manager of Retail products for Seagate. “This latest GoFlex® Desk drive offering with its new industry-leading capacity point is a statement of our continued commitment to meet consumer needs.”

The new Seagate 4TB GoFlex Desk has a super small footprint and will take up very little space on your desk. I have had one for a little over a week now and its like having nothing at all on my desk.

The Seagate GoFlex Desk 4TB is a USB 3.0 desktop drive with a removable base, that will allow you to easily swap out the drive with another smaller or larger drive when they become available or replace the base units adapter with a Firewire, e-Sata or other type plug your little heart desires.

The drive has a new elegant industrial design that looks a lot better than the original, it almost looks like a metallic book with some LED’s under it. Those LED’s are a storage indicator, the 4 bars alert you to the amount of data on your drive, each bar equals 1/4 storage space.

I have the USB 3.0 version of the drive, and read and write speeds are super fast, it’s also very silent. I hear no fans, hard drive platters spinning, so it will work great with any media center PC in a living room where you don’t want a noisy peripheral.

With the 4TB of storage the new GoFlex Desk has to offer I doubt I will need a replacement for a long time and at the $249.99 price tag not a bad investment either. The PC version is available now from Seagate.com, there is a Mac Version available for the same price with Firewire 800 and USB 2.0 as an option available at apple stores by the end of the month.

Norton Launches 2012 Products

Michael Reyes — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Today Symantec announced the availability of their 2012 Norton Internet Security and Norton Anti Virus security programs, and also announced a bunch of new products which are part of their Norton Everywhere initiative which aims to put a Norton Security product on every connected device.

The 2012 version of Norton Internet Security and AntiVirus were designed to improve on what I think is the best security suite on the market and I had the pleasure of seeing those improvements while I participated in the beta and at a workshop earlier this year.

Symantec has improved, Download Insight, SONAR, Norton Identity Safe and the UI on both products making them more intuitive and easier to use. They have also created what they are calling Norton Management, which allows you to manage the status of your Norton product remotely via a web browser.

Norton Management is perfect if you are like me and want to keep an eye on your mothers AV software. It also will allow you to release a key when you uninstall Norton from a system so that you can reinstall it on a new system. Something you couldn’t do before and annoyed many users.

Norton will also release in the coming weeks Norton Tablet Security. An app that will help you protect your Android tablets from security threats, and protect your privacy from apps that may request too much info.

A tool available now for free is Norton Anti-Theft Beta which will allow a PC user to quickly lock and remove valuable information from their system in the event it’s ever lost or stolen. You can also use the software to remotely activate a webcam and spy on the thief or person who found your notebook.

Finally Norton Online Family one of my favorite tools from Norton is now available on Android and iOS devices. So now parents can know what their kids are up too from their mobile device.

Toshiba Shows off Portégé Z830 Ultrabook

Michael Reyes — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Today Toshiba showed off their new Portégé Z830, the first ultrabook Toshiba has released using the new 2nd gen Intel Core processors. The Z830 weighs only 2.5 pounds and features a 15.9mm thin profile. Which basically means its super light and super thin!

Along with the Intel Core processors the Z830 will feature DDR3 memory, 128 GB Solid-state drive, a full size LED backlit display, spill resistant keyboard, and constructed with a durable magnesium alloy casing which is reinforced with a honeycomb ribbed design.

The Portégé will be available in November 2011.

Portégé Z830

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

30 Years of Excellence HP 12c Calculator

Michael Reyes — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:41:20 +0000

Today the HP 12c calculator has turned 30, a calculator so great and powerful that there are rumors in the industry that Texas Instruments used the 12C to verify that their calculators gave our the correct answer.

The HP 12c calculator was the first calculator to offer a landscape layout, computations more accurate than federal standards and extremely easy to use. So easy and so accurate to use that 30 years after its launch it is still used today by financial experts around the world. It’s also really fast at computing, and from what I have heard up to 150 times faster than the competition. Oh and some users also report a battery life of 20 + years.

To celebrate HP is now offering a 30th anniversary edition of the HP 12c calculator. The limited edition calculator will come in a cool black gift box and have a production number engraved on the back. HP hasn’t said how many will be made.

HP has also re-launched the HP 15c Scientific Calculator, which was first launched in 1982 and discontinued in 1989.

The HP 12c Financial Calculator is available now at HP Home & Home Office for $79.99.

The HP 15c Scientific Calculator is expected to be available at HP Home & Home Office in September for $99.99.

I want one!

Samsung Introduces Series 7 Laptop Line

Michael Reyes — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:15:08 +0000

Today Samsung announced the Series 7 notebook. A notebook with what I think is a sleek design that will wow pretty much everyone. The series 7 is one sexy machine.

The series 7 will be available in 13 and 15.6 inch configurations and offer Samsung Max Screen technology, they will also be powered by Intel Core i5 or i7 processors and available with 6 or 8 GB of memory. Yes that is right, they start with 6GB of memory more than enough in my book.

Other features on the series 7, a 1.3 MP camera, 750 GB HDD, and the available configurations will be also feature AMD Radeon HD or Xeymour graphics. Of course they will run Windows 7. For more information be sure to visit http://www.samsung.com

Lenovo Launches two Android Tablets

Michael Reyes — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:42:07 +0000

Today Lenovo showed off their new tablets running the Android operating system with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a Lenovo product. There are two new tablets in total the IdeaPad K1 for consumers, and the ThinkPad tablet for business users.

Lenovo is known for building up an operating system and delivering a unique experience, while other OEMs simply give you a generic experience. I first experienced that uniqueness with their Edge 420s ThinkPad.

When I first learned that Lenovo was customizing the OS for their Android tablets I was a bit concerned. I have witnessed some companies try to customize android and just create an unstable mess. I think those who have left the OS with little to no customization are delivering a more stable experience. While on paper all the customizations Lenovo was putting together sounded great and exciting. But would the OS remain stable? That was the question I had and the answer I received it today when I was able to play with the machine.

From the demos I saw and from playing with the tablet I can tell you at least from my 2 hour experience with them, that they are indeed very stable and once again Lenovo has added a level of uniqueness to an OS that no other OEM has been able to do and keep the OS stable.

The Lenovo tablets are designed to be durable and just like some of their notebooks, the tablets are protected with corning gorilla glass, which is very difficult to scratch or every break the screen.

The tablets are designed for work and play, the tablet is pre-loaded with various applications and games such as angry birds. For those movie lovers you will also have Netflix pre-installed and on the full HD screen you’re sure to enjoy watching movies on it.

One of my favorite apps that I tested out on the Tablet was the Notebook app, which worked in conjunction with the included stylus. (Stylus not available with all models). You could easily write notes in your hand writing in pretty much any language. You can draw and even insert images into your notes. You can then easily email or SMS those notes too someone.

The stylus added that extra precision when you tab on an item. If you have big fingers like me you know how difficult it can be sometimes to tap on an item that’s really thin or small. If you get the stylus option you get that extra level of precision when you need it.

I also checked out the Autodesk drawing app and while it cost $299 (on sale until September 1st then goes up to $499) it’s an amazing app to have if you love to draw. Since the tablet is pressure sensitive when using the Stylus with the Autodesk drawing app you can draw dark lines by simply applying more pressure to the screen.

If you love gaming, you’re going to love the fact the tablet has an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. The graphics and game play I saw in demos and experienced myself at the event blew me away.

The tablet also has a SD slot, a USB port and two cameras. The forward facing camera is 2MP the back camera is 5MP. It took great photos. There is also a keyboard accessory that turns your tablet into a notebook and I thought was pretty cool. The Keyboard accessory will cost you $99.

I think I am going to bug the guys and gals at Lenovo for a review sample, I definitely want some time alone with it.

The tablets are both available now in 16 and 32 GB configurations. Both run android 3.1 have beautiful HD Displays, with HDMI out, dozens of apps pre-loaded. Both tablets start at $499.

For more information visit: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/products/tablets/

Getting Comfy with Logitech Touch Lapdesk N600

Michael Reyes — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +0000

There is a reason we don’t call notebooks “Laptops” anymore, and that reason pretty much has to do with the heat generated by notebooks now a days. You literally can burn something.

While that story is from almost 10 years ago notebooks today generate a lot of heat and might still burn something. Yet we still place it on our laps while we work comfortably in bed, or on the couch while we catch up on episodes of Doogie Howser on HuLu. I’ll be the first to admit my lap does get warm and the notebook either ends up on the end table or coffee table.

I always considered getting a cooling pad but most I saw required they be on a flat surface and well my laps not flat. There were also lap desk but I am in love with using a mouse with my notebook and most lap desk offered no space for me to use my mouse. Then I got my hands on the Touch Lapdesk N600 from Logitech.

The Touch Lapdesk N600 is a lap desk with a built-in large multi-touch touch pad that slides out and while there isn’t much room to use a mouse I’ve fallen in love with the touchpad so much so that I have no idea where my wireless mouse is anymore.

There are also buttons to the left of the Touchpad that allow you to quickly increase or decrease your systems volume. With more and more notebooks losing dedicated volume buttons it’s a big plus for the N600 to have the volume control buttons where they are.

The Lapdesk N600 is very light in weight and you barely feel it on your lap.I haven’t weighed it but defiantly feels less than a pound. You connect it to your system via a wireless dongle and it’s powered by 4 AA batteries.

I found it extremely comfortable to use, and even gave one to my girlfriend who loves using it as well. Getting use to the touchpad though takes a few days but once you’re use to it you will love it.

If you are left-handed, sorry the N600 isn’t for you. My sister who is left-handed could not get the hang of it since to use the touchpad you are forced to use your right hand.

Overall the Touch Lapdesk N600 is great and the $54.99 price tag is affordable in my book.

For more information on the N600 head over to it’s product page on Logitech.com.

HP Introduces HP Pro 3400

Michael Reyes — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:42:14 +0000

Today HP announced a newly designed business desktop PC. The HP Pro 3400 Microtower Desktop PC. The system is aimed at corporate customers looking to save space but still offer their employees the processing power they need.

The 3400 is powered by a 2nd gen Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors, up to 1TB of storage and up to 4GB of memory.

The starting price for the 3400 is $421.00 making it an affordable system for any sized business.

The 3400 also comes pre-installed with HP Protect tools and a trial of Norton Antivirus.

If you want to upgrade the system in the future you can as HP claims on a blog post that the system comes with open memory slots and PCI-e slots, so that you can upgrade when ever you’re ready.

As you can also see from the image to the right, the 3400 features a new design and is a lot more compact that your traditional business pc.

The systems are available for buy now, and you can find out more about them by clicking here.

Check-in With TomTom Go Live 1535

Michael Reyes — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:01:59 +0000

Today TomTom announced the launch of the words first GPS with apps. The new TomTom Go Live 1535M will allow you to check-in to your location via Twitter, check hotel availability via Expedia, get restaurant reviews from Yelp and destination tips with TripAdvisor.

You will also have access to the most up to date traffic information, Gas Prices and more. I have used a TomTom Go Live device for sometime now (Not the 1535) and the traffic and other information it delivers to you will have you driving like a local in the most unfamiliar of locations.

“By giving people the most up-to-date traffic details as well as relevant local content provided by travel apps, TomTom is bringing a new level of connectivity to drivers by providing information in the most effective platform available,” said Tim Roper, president of TomTom, Inc. “We are excited to expand TomTom HD Traffic services onto our new range of connected devices at a more affordable price, as it can dramatically reduce time spent in traffic for our customers.”

The Go Live 1535 will also offer hands free calling, an integrated mount, free lifetime map updates. The Go Live 1535 is also priced affordably at just $249 with a 12-month subscription to the live services. Not really sure how much the services will cost after the first year.

If you own a TomTom Go Live 2535 M like I do, you will also be able to take advantage of the new apps, as an upgrade to your devices software will be available later on this fall.

For more information head over to TomTom.com and if you want to buy one you can do so over at Amazon.com and most major retailers like BestBuy.com.

[poll id="2"]

Perfect Gift for the Female Geek

Michael Reyes — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:57:00 +0000

Yesterday Radiris Diaz from CuteGeek.com jokingly suggested that I should get my girl friend a Vibrating USB Stick that has yet to be launched. It’s called the Duet and is available for pre-order now from LoveCrave.com.

The Duet is a waterproof multi-speed vibrator with 8 or 16 GB of storage and will have a MSRP of $139.99 – $349.99 depending on the model you buy. The 349.99 model is 16GB and has 24kt gold.

I think it’s the perfect gift for any female friend or significant other, but Radiris over at CuteGeek raised some interesting points. She wondered if you would feel comfortable handling someone else’s sex toy, if they were to hand it to you so you can retrieve a file from it? I think it depends on who that person is but there is an eww factor.

Other than the eww factor it’s a great idea and the people behind it are going to make a load of money. I think I will be getting my girl friend one when they are available. Plus when you think about it, how often do you hand someone your USB Drive to retrieve a file, it’s more of a personal storage device and a personal toy. So the eww factor is really non existent.

For more info head over to http://www.lovecrave.com

Reworking HardwareGeeks.com

Michael Reyes — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 05:49:30 +0000

For the past 9 years we have been a community, we were large than small than large again then small. I have made many friends, actually scratch that I consider you guys family. MacGuy, Skinnylegs, VeraBlue, Bubba, Joe (with your many sns) Alpha, Sufian, Phantom, Mike, Aristole and everyone else I can’t remember right now. You guys are like family and even though I haven’t met most of you, feel free to ping me if you need anything.

Over the past year the forums saw a decline in legitimate traffic, while the blog/news/reviews portion of the site saw a hefty increase. Over the past four months because of that decline in legitimate traffic on the forums, the ad revenue generated and used to pay for our hosting bill was not enough to sustain them with our current host.

So I decided to kill the forums like HP killed the TouchPad, with a twist. I do plan on bringing the forums back but mainly as an archive, as I feel it still has tons of valuable information.

Over the next few months we plan to transform HardwareGeeks.com into a technology hub, with an updated design, and more exclusive content and contest. We plan to have more video reviews and interviews. I have made tons contacts in the tech industry and I plan to start using them more often. We the forums gone and the stress of the hosting bill gone I think I can accomplish that. As many of you know I just acquired a girlfriend (Gisselle). I know acquired is the wrong word to use but I acquired her and she has some ideas that I actually think are great ideas for the site and even considered implementing some of them myself.

So why the generic wordpress theme? Well since the move was a quick one, we didn’t have time to have one made and funds are a little low, but we will have someone get started on one soon.

I would also like to invite those of you who have been with us for a long time, to blog with us. We have not yet implemented it but plan to implement a pay for post model where we share ad revenue with you. If you are interested in this, you should already know how to contact me. If not Michael@hardwaregeeks.com is my email.

For those of you who want to help up in funding a design or help pay our hosting bill. You can send donations for our design to our Paypal or you can send a donation directly to our host.

Also don’t forget to follow me on twitter! http://www.twitter.com/hwgeeks

New Microsoft Touch Mouse Artist Edition

Michael Reyes — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:03:24 +0000

A few months back Microsoft showed off some lovely artist edition mice, that our sister site CuteGeek.com had a chance to check out.

Today Microsoft announced a new addition to the Artist Edition line, with the Touch Mouse Artist edition. It is a mouse that features multi-touch technology that allows you to use gestures, and provides a faster navigation experience. I have used a Microsoft Touch mouse for about a week now and it’s the best thing ever. Using two and even three fingers to at a time just makes navigating and working easier, at least for me.

The Artist Edition version of the mouse features a laser etched design by New York based artist Deanne Cheuk. Deanne designed the design for the mouse with the way our fingers interact with it, along with other forms of inspiration.

Check out the video below to see how the artist was inspired and how the mouse was laser etched.

Three new Blackberry Curve Smartphones

Michael Reyes — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 05:19:43 +0000

Today Research in Motion, the makers of Blackberry Smartphones announced three new Blackberry Curves. The 9350, the 9360 and the 9370.

The new Curves feature a slimmer design, GPS and Wi-Fi, 5 MP camera with built in Flash (video recording supported), MicroSD/SDHC slot supporting up to 32 GB memory cards and all will run the new Blackberry OS 7.0 which features better web browsing, voice activated universal search, smoother navigation and pre-loaded with the premium version of documents to go.

The BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones are expected to be available in Canada this month and from other carriers around the world beginning in September.

AMD Updates C and E Class APUs

Michael Reyes — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 05:12:36 +0000

AMD today updated it’s E and C APUs for all-in-ones, value notebooks and ultrathin systems and refreshed their E-350 APU. The update inproves HD graphic capabilities on the chips and boost performance. The updated APUs will also increase battery life on mobile platforms. With the update the new APUs will support DDR 1333 memory and support for HDMI 1.4a.

AMD has shipped more than 12 million APUs with over 5 million of those being from the E and C series.

The updated APUs are available starting today.

We are Updating the Look and feel of our site

Michael Reyes — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:16:07 +0000

Please pardon the mess while we fix up our site.

HP Ink Challange

Michael Reyes — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:56:00 +0000

Do you print a lot? Do you think cheap ink is better? Do you think ink is just money down a printer nozle? If so then HP wants you.

HP is searching for 100 participants who would be interested in doing assignments, which you can do at home or at work and some may even require family participation. Participants will be given an HP printer, different types of paper and refill ink supplies. You also get to keep everything they send!

If your interested email HPInkChallenge(A)hp.com with basic contact information and they will send you a follow up email to discuss the challenge.

AMD Announces Availability of AMD A6-3500 APU

Michael Reyes — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:48:00 +0000

Today AMD announced the availability of their newest APU the A6-3500. The A6-3500 is a desktop chip that will deliver HD quality graphics, and supercomputer-like performance to quote AMD’s press release.

The A6-3500 is a tri-core 32 bit processor with more than 300 Radeon cores, allowing it to enable DirectX11 at a discrete level. The A6-3500 has a MSRP of $95.00 and is available now. The chip operates at 2.1 Ghz and 2.4 Ghz with TurboBoost on the processor side and at 444 Mhz on the graphics side. The A6-3500 is designed for use on FM1 motherboards.

For more information on the A6-3500 click here.

Review: Toshiba Thrive

Michael Reyes — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:11:00 +0000

When I first saw the Toshiba Thrive tablet at CES in Las Vegas back in January 2011, I could tell it would be a hit. It offered features that no other tablet offered. Features like a full size USB Port, HDMI port, and a SD slot, also the ability to access the battery and swap it out and 5.0 MP camera along with a forward facing camera that I must say works great with Skype. All those features made it stand out from the rest of the tablets on display at the event. Not to mention the 10.1” widescreen LED back-lit display. The features the Thrive offers are ones that we give up for granted and try to live without when using a tablet but quickly wish we had. Hence why I think the accessory market for tablets is so big.

One of the reasons I have heard from various OEM’s as to why they omit USB ports and SD Slots on their tablets is because of weight and limited space. Toshiba proved those OEMs wrong. While the Thrive weighs 1.6 Lbs. its evenly balanced and feels like it weighs a lot less. It is thicker than some other tablets but not by much.

When the Thrive arrived on my door step a little over 3 weeks ago I was excited, I had been waiting for it since January. The first thing I noticed was how responsive it was. In all honesty in my opinion it is the most responsive android based tablet I have used. A week before I received the HP Touchpad and I quickly abandoned the Touchpad in favor of the Thrive I also began to heavily neglect my Blackberry Playbook which I loved (mental note must find it might be under the couches cushion).

The Thrive is very easy to use and easy to get started with. So easy in fact that I handed the Toshiba Thrive and the HP Touchpad to my mom. She learned how to use the Thrive a lot faster than the Touchpad and simply preferred the Thrive. Her reasons the same as mines “Ease of use, light weight and big screen”. She loved playing angry birds on it, and she also used it a lot to play web based games. She loved the fact it was so light in weight, she has carpal tunnel syndrome and she tends to drop anything heavy. She never feared dropping the Thrive. Other tablets she’s either dropped or almost dropped them, most she is even too afraid to hold.

I used the Thrive everywhere I went. I have a Clear Spot 4G modem and have internet everywhere I go. I used the Thrive on the beach, on the train (when not underground) in the park everywhere I have gone I’ve used it. I also got my hands on a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard for Android devices and have since stopped carrying my notebook around. The Thrive has more than enough power for my traveling work life. I purchased the Documents to Go app and used that along with Google Docs and Microsoft SkyDrive to get my writing work done. I tried using it with Microsoft Office Web Apps but it doesn’t seem compatible.

The Thrive is more than just work for me; I use it for Music with Spotify. The sound quality is amazing, thanks to the built-in SRSlabs technology. When the SRSLabs settings are enabled the Thrive produced stunning sound.

It also came pre-installed with the Toshiba Media Player which allows you to easily access computers on your network and view their content be it music, movies or pictures. I even gamed on it. I like my mom loved playing Angry Birds on it along with Need for Speed, Plants vs. Zombies and Stupid Zombies. The HDMI port also allowed me to easily play those games on a big screen TV.

The HDMI port also came in handy when writing up a document. If I was at my desk I simply connected a monitor to the Thrive and I was quickly able to work on a bigger screen.

You can also customize the look of your Thrive with different colored backings. It comes with a black backing but other colors can be purchased separately.

Overall the Thrive is my favorite tablet, it’s easy to use, and fun to use. While Toshiba really didn’t change much of the Android UI they did go to lengths to include software that made the entire tablet experience easier.

The Thrive has a starting price of $399 which makes it one of the most affordable tablets on the market and my favorite! For more information visit http://ToshibaDirect.com

Glasses free 3D with Toshiba

Michael Reyes — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:07:00 +0000

Today Toshiba announced the availability date and pricing for the new Qosmio F755 3D the words first glasses free 3D laptop. Toshiba says it will be available later this month and my guess would be next week. So if you are interested in the new F755 you will be able to order one from ToshibaDirect.com for $1699 once available later this month. The F755 will come with a Toshiba Blu-Ray player, easy switching between 2D and 3D content on a 15.6 inch full HD TruBrite screen.

“The Qosmio F755 3D laptop is not just a breakthrough in mobile entertainment, but a great example of Toshiba’s ongoing commitment to turning technology innovation into real, usable products,” said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. “We are excited to bring this cutting-edge technology to consumers, as there’s really nothing like it. The unique capabilities of the laptop’s 3D display make enjoying 3D content both convenient and hassle-free. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”

I had the chance to test out the technology earlier this year at CES and it was pretty sweet. Even at an angel the content to me appeared to be in 3D. I didn’t really get to play with the system just view 3D content so can’t really say how it performed.

Here are some images of the machine provided by Toshiba:

Seagate Hard Drive to Feature SafetyNet

Michael Reyes — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:34:00 +0000

Seagate today showed off their new GoFlex Turbo performance USB 3.0 drive which features SafetyNet a data recovery service that is a great add on for users who just don’t backup. The GoFlex Turbo also features a hard drive with its RPMS clocked at 7200 and can handle transfer speeds that are super fast thanks to USB 3.0.

“With this new GoFlex® Turbo performance drive, it is our aim to provide more peace of mind for the people who choose Seagate to back up and store their valued digital assets,” said Patrick Connolly, vice president and general manager of Seagate’s retail product group. “When our products are used as a backup to a primary system or even as supplemental storage, people should know that they can get a further layer of assurance that their data will be there when they need it.

The SafetyNet service will be included with all new GoFlex Turbo drives at no additional cost for the first two years. How does SafetyNet work? Well it isn’t a cloud based back up service if that is what you are thinking. It’s more of a specialised team of data recovery specialiest working for you for free for 2 years. If your hard drive goes bad for whatever reason, the service will help you recover the data. They will first attempt it remotely and if that doesn’t work you’ll ship it to them and they will attempt to recover it for you. Normally services like this cost $100 + per attempt.

For more info on the new GoFlex Turbo Drive and SafetyNet visit http://www.seagate.com

Power Slice Review

Michael Reyes — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:29:00 +0000

I recently got my hands on a power slice charging station. The power slice charging station allows you to charge up to 4 devices at once. Essentially replacing that power strip full of charges for every electronic device you have.

The Power Slice is sold in pieces, the base station and then you purchase up to three slices you connect up to the base station. These slices have various different ports to charge your multiple devices. My power slice came with an iPhone/iPod slice, a microUSB slice and a miniUSB slice. These three slices allow me to charge my iPhone, Blackberry and my clear internet hotspot simultaneously while only using one one outlet. The power slice also has a USB port that allows you to charge devices that don’t require a lot of power. It warns that the USB port will not charge a smart phone but I have been able to charge my Samsung infuse using that port. So in total 4 devices charging at once.

It’s also a nice looking device. Just look at the image below. It’s something you can place on a corner table. The way it positions my iPhone for example allows me to quickly access my music. It looked so cool that I attached portable speakers via the headphone jack on my iPhone and listen to music while I charge it.

It also seems to charge my devices as quickly as the original plugs do, with a lot less clutter.

Overall with the style, ease of use and just out right coolness the power slice in my opinion is a must have for any technology junkie like myself.

For more info on the power slice visit http://www.powerslice.com

Review: HP WiFi Mouse

Michael Reyes — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:40:00 +0000

I love to use a mouse with my notebook, but the problem with many wireless mice is they either rely on bluetooth technology that not all notebooks have or require a dongle that sometimes are smaller than a dime and take up a valueable USB port.

I have so many wireless mice with missing dongles, that it’s become a waste of money. But HP is putting an end to that with their Wireless mouse that uses WIFI. No dongle needed! Every notebook has wifi so you can use the HP wireless mouse regardless of the maker of your notebook provided its running windows 7 and your network adapter is Windows 7 certified.

The setup is super easy you simply install the included software and bada bing you have a wireless mouse with no dongle.

I have been using mines for weeks now and there is litterally no log that I can detect. There is the occasional hiccup but I only experienced those when switching between different wireless networks.

There also doesn’t seem to be interfearence between the WiFi mouse and other wireless devices. My home is cluttered with wifi signals and I’ve never experienced any sort of interfearence. With the exception when I had 2 notebooks both using the same WiFi mouse on at the same time.

Overall the WiFi mouse from HP is a MUST HAVE especially if you like using a mouse with your notebook. The mouse is portable and you don’t have to worry about losing any dongles and no dongle will take up one of your few USB ports on your notebook.

The WiFi mouse will run you $49.99 and can be purchased directly from HP.

Would you give up sex, or your Smartphone?

Michael Reyes — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:41:00 +0000

Telenav the software GPS maker commissioned a survey that concluded that we are all more likely to give up some of our life’s pleasures for our smartphones.

For example 40% of iPhone users said they would give up their toothbrush for a week instead of their phone. As an iPhone user I’d give up my toothbrush for my phone but that doesn’t mean I won’t use my girlfriends instead oh wait that’s gross either way. By the way of all the people questioned in the survey only 22% actually said they would give up their toothbrush for their phone but 40% of those were iPhone owners.

What about sex, would you give up sex for your phone? One third of those questioned would. 70% of those were women. More than half of those questioned would give up caffeine or go without exercise for a week.

It’s amazing what some of us would give up for our phones. What would you give up?

I personally think I could live with out my phone, for example when I am with my girlfriend I shut it off, when I go to bed I shut it off, I think we all need to shut off our phones more and just relax.

To view the full survey visit: http://www.telenav.com/about/pr-summer-travel/report-20110803.html

One Month with the HP TouchPad

Michael Reyes — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:04:00 +0000

I will be the first to admit it I own an iPhone, owned an iPad but could care less about Apple. On the other had I really like HP and I think Palm is ok. So when the HP Palm aquasition was announced a flurry of thoughts ran though my head. Countless product designs ran through my head as I thought about the first Tablet tablet from HP would most likely run WebOS. (Their first true tablet ran Android instead damn those printer people).

When Palm first showed off WebOS on the Pre i loved it, it had a bit of a learning curve and took a bit to get use too, but I liked it. Then they updated it and made it better I was stocked.

So when the July 1st release date for the TouchPad was announced I was excited, I couldn’t wait. I knew WebOS was a great mobile OS, I was a bit familiar with it and I was excited that a company I like was coming out with a Tablet.

The Sunday before the release and the day off loads of reviews started popping up on the web about the touchpad, and I resisted I didn’t read them. Although from titles and chatter on twitter I could tell the intial impression of the Touchpad was negative. But I blocked out all of those reviews and refused to read them. Instead with a clean and open mind I unboxed the TouchPad. I thought it looked great.

So I started to use and my initial impression was; sluggish and heavy. The WebOS software seemed to me like a beta, and you know what it may just be that a beta which is understandable it wouldn’t be the first time a company pushed out beta software as final. Microsoft did it with Windows Me and Windows Vista. HP even admitted there were problems with the software and promised an update. I was kind of hopping the Update would of hit the airwaves by now but it’s been a month and no update yet.

But other then the occasional sluggishness and the weight of the device, the Touchpad is an amazing piece of Technology. I may get shot by the apple faithful when I say this but I really enjoy how the calendar and email are set up on the Touchpad, much more intuitive and easier too use than on the iPad and Android tablets I’ve used. I really like that everything is litterally at my finger tips, especially in landscape mode.

I personally like quick access from my email to my calendar, and with the fanned display I can switch quickly between the both with out having to exit out of my calendar or email to enter my email or calendar. I guess that is what you call true multi-tasking.

Something else I noticed when multi-tasking with the Touchpad was it handled multiple apps open with out bogging down the system. Try that on an android powred tablet, you won’t enjoy the experience. On the Touchpad it was as if only one app were open even if there were a dozen open. Only the multi-tasking on the Blackberry Playbook comes close to what the HP TouchPad delivers.

Browsing the web with the TouchPad is fun, since it supports flash you see everything on a webpage minus java, but then again who uses java anymore anyway? I was able to play some flash games on the TouchPad, however resource intensive flash games such as Farmville and Cityville didn’t work correctly.

There were also minor bugs with some webpages, and random black boxes would appear.

After about 2 weeks of having the Touchpad, I was getting a hang of things and after waiting for just as long Amazon finally released their Kindle App and HP their Movie App. I was particularly interested in using the Kindle App I love to read. I was a bit disapointed that HP was claiming the Kindle App was already available when it was not but when it finally was available I was happy. The app however is still in beta and is a tad bit buggy. After figuring out its quirks I finally was able to start reading. I mentioned earlier that the TouchPad is a bit heavy, however when using it as an eBook reader that weight came in handy. It felt comfortable and I did not fear dropping it like I do when holding a thinner ligther device. Felt like I was holding a book.

The Movie App was pretty cool too as you can rent movies straight on your TouchPad and view them on it. The screen quality and the beats by dre sound are amazing.

I also used the MightyMeeting app which allows you to have conference calls sort of like Live Meeting and WebEx on your TouchPad. That app worked flawlessly and it allowed to hold meetings with some of the girls over at CuteGeek.com while I relaxed on my sofa in my home.

The TouchPad has a built in front facing camera. Sadly you can’t use it to take pictures but you can use it for Skype. It worked pretty well although initiailly I was confused as it took me to the dial pad to make a phone call. But once I figured out that is what it was supposed to do and le tthe app do its thing the video and sound quality weren’t that bad.

There is however a need for more apps that take advantage of the camera.

Overall I think the TouchPad is great, it does need some work especially on the software side, but from my understanding HP is working on a software update an update that is desperately needed. I have no doubt in my mind that the sluggishness I experienced and others have experienced are not hardware related if they weren’t I wouldn’t be able to multi-task as heavily as I am.

Battery life is great, I forget to charge it for 3 to 4 days at a time and it’s always have enough battery to allow me to do what I want and need to do. Kudos to HP Palm for that!

The TouchPad gets our 4 Star Editors Choice Award for August 2011, 1 Star short of our 5 star. Maybe we will give it that other star once we have played around with the TouchPad when the software has been updated.

Thrilling 3D with the LG Thrill

Michael Reyes — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:49:00 +0000

Back in January in Las Vegas I witnessed 3D History when HP and Monster cable live streamed in 3D the “Earth, Wind and Fire” concert from the Venetian Hotel. On July 25th 2011 I witnessed 3D history again when AT&T invited Brand Ambassadors like myself to witness the filming of a “Janes Addiction” concert in NYC.

While the filming in 3D itself may not be a history making event, the fact that the LG Thrill 3D 4G phone was used to film the event was. Hundreds of men and women lined the balcony’s at the Terminal 5 Club with the cameras in hand filming every moment of the concert with the LG Phones. It was quite a site and quite an experience.

I also was able to briefly play with the phone, and it works pretty much like any other android phone. It was also very quick thanks to the dual core processor that powers it. The 3D Camera was easy to use and configure and it was fun taking 3D pictures and videos with it. Sadly the pictures I sent myself from the device all show as 2D. I was later told I needed to select an option to send as 3D when I sent myself the pics. Oh well maybe if I get to play with it again I can show you what a 3D image looks like.

Overall the event was great, and the phone is great too. I suggest you head over to an at&t store and check one out for yourself and for more info online click here.

Best Buy and TiVo Team Up on Connected TV’s

Michael Reyes — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:53:00 +0000

Best Buy today launched a 32 inch and a 42 inch connected television under the Insignia brand with the help of TiVo. The televisions which are priced affordably will be available on BestBuy.com and Best Buy stores nationwide for $499 and $699.

On the new Insignia televisions you can access loads of connect via Youtube, Pandora, Netflix, CinemaNow and more.

Additional product features and technical enhancements include:

LED: Thin, elegant design and energy efficient, a perfect fit for modern households

1080p/120Hz: Stunning picture quality with full HD and clearer fast motion

Enhanced audio: Music and dialogue never sounded this good from a flat panel TV, enabled by Audyssey and SRS

Rocketboost-ready: Wireless, uncompressed digital audio input to the TV or output to speakers such as the Insignia Soundbar and the Rocketfish Outdoor Speaker

For more information visit: www.bestbuy.com/insigniaconnectedtv.

Toshiba and Intel Launch Social Experience

Michael Reyes — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:35:00 +0000

Yesterday Toshiba and Intel launched a new campaign called “The Inside Experience” with academy award winning photog Mauro Fiore and D.J. Caruso, director of Disturbia just to name a few. They are filming a new concept film that will allow us to participate in it via social networking sites.

Basically during the airing of the show, which will be released in episodes on July 25th – August 4th, users will be able to tweet clues, to one of the characters (Christina). The editor of the film will then incorporate tweets into the show that best fit the story line.

Also one lucky viewer may win a chance to appear on the show! Yesterday a YouTube online casting call opened up. The person with the winning video submission will be cast into the show. How cool is that? Too bad I suck at making videos (just watch some of my unboxings).

For more information visit: http://www.theinsideexperience.com and follow Toshiba on twitter @ToshibaUSA oh and follow me too @HWGeeks

Update I am also told you should follow @TheInsideExp

Dropcam Echo Review

Michael Reyes — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:12:00 +0000

For those of you who follow me know I travel a lot, according to my TripIt.com stats I traveled 116 days last year. That’s nearly 4 months’ worth of travel time. When I think about it that now I realize how much time away from home I’ve spent.

All my trips are 2 to 3 days long, quick trips but never the less my home is empty with the exception of my dog. I do have an automatic dog feeder and water bowl so she is fed and she also has a doll that when played with says “You’re a good dog” in my voice.

Since I live in an OK neighborhood with very few break ins I never really worried about the security of my home, however I recently had a minor break in and since then I have become really security conscious. I have since signed up renters insurance, I have added a second dead bolt to my door and the bars on my window are now locked. I only had some external HDD’s stolen luckily they were backed up to a NAS and nothing too personal were on them.

With my new found security consciousness, I had been looking at product such as Logitech Alert which I already had and reviewed but stopped using because well those HUGE plugs started to annoy the crap out of me and I didn’t like having to pay to view my cams stream online.

While working on a travel guide, I was asked to check out Dropcam, and it peeked my interest. Drop cam is a wireless camera that allows you to view it online, from a computer, or even your iPhone or Android powered device. (Tested on iPhone 4 and Samsung infuse 4G worked great on both)

Set up was super easy, it was so easy to set up that I actually thought I did it wrong but I didn’t. I kid you not it took less than 5 minutes and I was viewing the camera online for FREE. There is a DVR option that cost $8.95 for each camera you have.

I used the camera to keep an eye on my dog, I always was interested in seeing what she did while I was away. I now feel bad leaving her alone as she tends to just sit and lay near the door waiting for me to come home. She only moved for the Roomba which is scheduld to sweep every day, and to use the wee wee pad, eat and drink. She even slept by the door.

The picture quality and sound quality were great. I was really impressed with how well it worked and the ease of setup and use. Dropcam definitely makes security easy.

The cost of the Dropcam is $199 for video only and $279 for video and audio. The online service is free unless you get the DVR option which is $8.95 a month.

For more information visit: http://www.dropcam.com

Review: Novero Tour

Michael Reyes — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:18:00 +0000

When I first saw the Novero Tour, my first impression was “THROW BACK”. I started to remember my good old Walkman and my first CD player with the over the head headphones.

Those were the days, where you had to hold your music player in your hand because it was too big to fit in your pocket, and guys carried purses (cd carriers) full of CD’s and Cassettes. The days where if you went jogging you didn’t have to worry about your ear buds falling out of your ears, and you lost an extra pound or two because of the weight of your music player.

Those were the days, but those days aren’t over just yet Novero has brought the over the headphone back to us without WIRES and it doubles as a cell phone headset.

The Novero Tour which was launched earlier this year is a stylish over the head ear bud / Bluetooth headset. The first day I got my hands on the Tour I was excited I wore it everywhere and everyone I walked by asked me about it. I started to get a bit self-conscience thinking people were making fun of me, but then people started to ask me where they could get one and I kid you not, 2 of my neighbors purchased one and rock them more than I do mine.

The sound quality for music from the Tour is amazing, and so is the call quality. People I spoke to on the phone also understood me clearly and never asked me to repeat myself, well with the exception when I was at a party and I couldn’t even hear myself speak.

I really loved the Tour and still am using it almost daily. It works with every phone I have, although the iPhone has issues streaming music via Bluetooth. It streams it but from time to time it starts to stutter. But that is the case with any Bluetooth headset and the iPhone, I could not duplicate the problem on any other handset.

Overall the Tour is great, and if you like the security of an over the head headphone that looks great, I suggest you check it out over at Novero.com.

Avoid Dropbox

Michael Reyes — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:59:00 +0000

Today I recieved an email informing me of a change in the Terms of Service for the Dropbox service. Normally I would just delete the email but after some recent security issues I wanted to read it, maybe there would be something that would reassure me and make me feel more comfortable using their service.

What I found horrified me instead. I have no idea if these lines of text in the TOS are new or not but because of them I will not use the service. Click here to view the TOS and below are some lines from the TOS that concern me. (FYI Blog Post from DropBox click here, a lot of upset people)

By using our Services you may give us access to your information, files, and folders (together, “your stuff”). You retain ownership to your stuff. You are also solely responsible for your conduct, the content of your files and folders, and your communications with others while using the Services.

That basically says they can use your stuff.

By submitting your stuff to the Services, you grant us (and those we work with to provide the Services) worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable rights to use, copy, distribute, prepare derivative works (such as translations or format conversions) of, perform, or publicly display that stuff to the extent we think it necessary for the Service. You must ensure you have the rights you need to grant us that permission.

This means, they have permission to share your stuff even if you don’t want it shared, and they are begging you not to upload content that would get them sued by a music label if they shared it.

If I were you I would stay away.

If you need a service like dropbox, use Live Mesh from Microsoft http://get.live.com or Box.net http://box.net. If you know of another service please post them below.

PayPal Eliminates Money Market

Michael Reyes — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:42:00 +0000

{EAV_BLOG_VER:eb0a5f3db65a12b1}

I use PayPal a lot, and I often would let money I did not need right away sit in the account to collect that Money Market dividen. However effective 7/29 Paypal will be eliminating Money Market. BOOOOO! Below is an email PayPal sent to its customers.

Hello First Last,

Thanks for using PayPal and the PayPal Money Market Fund. Unfortunately, we’ve decided to close the Money Market Fund, effective 7/29/11.

What does this mean for you? PayPal will transfer any undisbursed dividends you’ve earned into your PayPal account within 7 business days after we close the fund. Don’t worry; you don’t have to do a thing.

Your 2011 tax documents will continue to be available on the Fund Summary page in your PayPal account throughout 2012. You’ll receive a tax statement from PayPal only if you’ve earned $10 or more in dividends in 2011.

Thanks for your understanding,

PayPal

I bet eBay still has all of our PayPal money in some kind of Money Market account, they just don’t want to SHARE the wealth.

Forward with Ford

Michael Reyes — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:16:00 +0000

Last week I spent a few days in Dearborn Michigan visiting the Ford Motor Company, and I have to say it was probably the best few days I have had in a long time.

The first day of the event I was treated to a dinner which followed a speech by Malcom Gladwell, who in 2005 was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people, and author of “The Tipping Point”. He spoke about how the work force of today and CEO’s of today demand more for their time than the work force of old. It was a pretty interesting speech and somewhat pro-union. I personally didn’t expect to hear a pro-union speech at an automaker event.

The second day we were invited to attend three sessions. I selected Aging Population, Safety for all ages and Living green.

FIRST SESSION:

“Aging Population” I know you are probably saying “BORING” but it actually was probably one of the most informative sessions of all. During the session I learned about my parents’ generation and how older people are more active today and healthier than ever. I also saw technology Ford wants to implement into cars, such as a seat that monitors your vitals, and ability to sync with your medical devices such as glucose meter.

Can you imagine, being able to check your sugar without taking your hands off the steering wheel or eyes off the road? What if your sugar was high after you checked it and the car recommended certain steps to lower it and if those steps didn’t work it suggested you pull over and dial 911? Ford is working with WellDoc to possibly make that happen sooner than you think.

SECOND SESSION:

“Safety for all ages” A session where I was pretty familiar with all technology being shown. From MyKey which allows parents to control the speed of the car, volume of the stereo and mute the stereo unless the autos occupants have theirs seatbelts on. Great safety feature if you have teenage kids.

I also heard more about intelligent vehicles which I wrote about a few months back here. A technology that is 3 – 5 years away. Just imagine less traffic, less accidents it’s like having an air traffic controller in your car. Intelligent vehicles are the future and the future is in this decade, and Ford is leading the way!

THIRD SESSION:

“Living Green” The living green session was my favorite, I think it had to do with all the green candy they were giving out. Green M&M’s, Green Rock Candy, Green Jolly Ranchers and so on. I also heard Ed Begley Jr. speak the actor from movies like “Pineapple Express” and TV shows like “St. Elsewhere”. He also had a reality TV show called “Living with Ed”.

I had no idea he was a green freak, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. He explained that being green isn’t as expensive as some make you think it is, he made it seem that yes it might cost more but at the same time it will last longer and save you tons of money. Being green leaves your pockets lined with green is what I got from him.

Ford also showed us their soon to be available 100% electric car and told us they have teamed up with Best Buys Geek Squad to install the charging stations in your home. Definitely not a car for an apartment dweller but I would definitely get one if I could have a spot near my apartment to charge it.

All in all the sessions were great and I learned a lot, however it was the last day of the event where I had the most fun. I was able to hang out with Judie Stanford from GearDiary.com and Helena Stone from ChipChick.com and we were able to get live demos of the Intelligent Vehicles, I was able to go off-road driving in an Explorer with Judie from Gear Diary. If your curious as to what a Ford Explorer looks like when sliced down the middle check the picture tot he left.

I also was able to drag race an F150’s against Judie (I lost), and the best part of all we got to see a crash test live, something reserved for government officials and dignitaries. Dummies survived. Ford made a video of the crash test and as soon as it’s made available I will share it with you all.

I want to thank Ford for inviting me out to visit their facilities it was an experience I will never forget. I got to meet some great people like Yvonne Kai from HeyDoYou.com, and Leaura Luciano a beauty and fashion blog who you can follow on twitter @LeAuraLuciano and her blog Ever so Popular.

A special thanks to Chris from Gas 2.0, Helena from chipchick and Judy from GearDiary. I twisted my ankle pretty badly while out in Michigan and they helped me get around. Oh let’s not forget Jeff from Geekazine.

Review: Novero Lexington Bluetooth Headset

Sufian Siddiqi — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:52:01 +0000

Novero is well known for making stylish Bluetooth solutions for Bentley, BMW, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, and accessories for ladies. They have recently released the Lexington, a stylish Bluetooth headset meant for men.

I’ve been using the Lexington for a few weeks and want to share with you what I think of the device (check out the unboxing video I posted a few weeks ago to see what comes in the box!). The headset weights approximately 15 grams and is black with a brushed steel metal clip that has the Novero logo etched in it. The logo also glows when the device is on. The device has three buttons: two volume toggles and a multi-function button. It also comes with a charging cradle that is made of Italian leather and holds enough power for four full recharges of the headset.

Pairing

Pairing the device with my HTC Thunderbolt and iPhone4 was very easy. All I had to do was press the multi-function button on the headset for a few seconds until the LED started flashing blue/red and pair with the phone without any code. One problem I kept encountering with the Lexington while it was idle (no active call in progress) would repeatedly disconnect and reconnect with my phones every 2-3 minutes with the device beeping every time it happened.

Call Quality

Call quality was decent. I could clearly hear the folks on the other end of the call, but they frequently reported that my voice kept cutting out.

Usage

The headset looks great, and comes with six different shaped/sized earpieces. Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems I experienced with the Lexington was that it would keep falling out of my ear. On many occasions, while driving my car, the headset would just fall off and land under my seat. I think the reason for that is because of the added weight of the metal clip that is on the front. Yes, it looks really cool, but it’s not really practical. The rounded earpieces that come with the device were either too large/flimsy or too small to fit in my ear. The rectangular-edged earpieces were the only ones that would hold the headset in my ear, but they were very uncomfortable to wear. Novero should have included an over-the-ear holder for this headset. It would have helped keep the headset from slipping away.

Based on my experience with the headset, I give the Novero Lexington a 1.5/5 stars (for the cool look). If you’re interested in purchasing it, the Lexington can be yours for $199 from the Novero online store, SAKS.com, and some other boutique outlets.

ICANN New Open Domain Policy

Michael Reyes — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:42:00 +0000

Today ICANN voted to change the way we visit websites, they have pretty much allowed for any word to be a generic top-level domain (gTLD) starting in 2012. What is a g? You may know them as .com, .net, .org and .edu. There are currently 22 top level g’s.

So what does this really mean? Well when you visit us for example. If we chose to we could have a g of .geeks. So you could type “http://hardware.geeks” and navigate to us as if you visited http://hardwaregeeks.com.

While that sounds cool I don’t really think its practical, it’s going to cause a lot of confusion even if people are made aware of the change. I personally think the current g’s will rule for a long long time and “.com” won’t be going anywhere. However I do believe companies will snag up a personalized g and we here at HardwareGeeks.com may even snag one up as well, but I don’t expect companies to tell you to visit “http://hp.hp” (Hewlett Packard) or “http://amd.amd” (Advanced Micro Devices).

I think the perfect use for these personalized top-level domains would be for reassuring a customer that they are on your site. For example banks could use the personalized TLD to let users know that they are logged in and browsing securely. For example: “Bank.com” when you are not logged in, and “Bank.Bank” when you are logged in and viewing your accounts. Or it can also be used to confirm a link belongs to a particular government agency or corporate entity, might help limit fraud and phishing attacks.

I believe .com, .net, .org, .edu and the other g’s will rule for many many more years to come, and while I see a use for open domains, I just don’t see people visiting company.trademark or company.company. Now if we didn’t need to enter a g and could visit a corporate website by simply typing in “companyname” into our browser then I’d consider this huge news, but in my opinion this is more of a money grab by ICANN than a actual benefit to end users.

Turn your WD Passport into a Fortified Passport

Michael Reyes — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:12:00 +0000

Today Western Digital announced the WD Nomad a rugged yet stylish looking case for your portable My Passport drives. The Nomad is a polycarbonate case with anti-shock cushioning that will protect the drive from damage, if you drop while climbing a mountain or drop it into a river while hiking.

You never need to remove the drive from the case once your drive is in it. The Nomad becomes its new enclosure and permanent enclosure until you decide to replace thed rive inside or simply remove it if you no longer want it inside the Nomad. By the way it also meets Military Spec. (MIL-STD-810G)

WD Nomad rugged case is compatible with My Passport drives including My Passport Essential™, My Passport Essential SE, My Passport Elite™, My Passport for Mac®, and My Passport SE for Mac.

The WD Nomad rugged case is available now at WD’s online store and select U.S. retailers. MSRP is $29.95 USD.

As you can see from the image below, it looks cool!

What to get your Geeky Pops this Fathers Days

Michael Reyes — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 06:50:00 +0000

Dad, Pops, Big Guy…we all call him by different names and say them with different inflections as our relationships with our fathers evolve. He was once our infallible hero, then our mentor, our buddy and often our guiding light, sometimes our shoulder to cry on and often our security blanket. He defined what manhood was until we knew enough to define it for ourselves.

Father’s Day gives us a chance to say “hey, thanks for being my dad” and recognize our father’s for the men that they are, with their quirks, their ways, their interests and obsessions and all the things that makes each of our father’s distinctly “Dad” to us… So let’s for once dispense with the ties and handkerchiefs and get our pops something he really wants.

So we at HardwareGeeks.com and CuteGeek.com worked together to put a Father’s Day Gift Guide together with a few products we think your pops will love. Some of the recommendations match each of our gift guide others do not, so if your pops is a tech lover or geek, like we are, our guides for you.

First on the list is the TiVo Premiere HD. The TiVo Premiere HD will allow your dad to record his favorite shows so he never misses them. It’s even smart enough to record shows it thinks he will like. It will even give him access to movies available on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon on Demand, and Blockbuster (all require additional cost or membership).

You can even control your TiVo from your iPad, turning it into one of the biggest remotes I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.

TiVo Premiere can be purchased at BestBuy or TiVo directly for $99 (45 hour recording time) or $299 for the XL (150 hour recording time) monthly service plans start at $19.99.

Click here to find out how your dad can win a “Man Cave” from TiVo.

Second is a notebook the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 420s, a business notebook built in my opinion with the prosumer in mind. What that means is, the Lenovo Edge 420s will allow your dad to work hard and play hard.

I have been using a 420s for about a month now and for me it’s been one of the best systems I have used in a while. It will handle everything your dad can throw at it and more. It’s great for him to work on, keep up to date with family and friends on Facebook and other social networking sites, and if he travels a lot like me perfect to keep in touch via Skype with you while your at home and he’s away. Read my review on the Lenovo Edge 420s here and definitely consider getting one for your dad over at Lenovo.com.

Truly an amazing machine your dad is sure to love. Some cool accessories to go along with his new notebook should you choose to get him one would be the notebook sleeves and USB key chains with his favorite sport team logo available from Centon.com, they have official MLB, NASCAR, NFL and Collegiate branded Notebook Sleeves and USB Key chains. I have been using my Mets branded Sleeve and USB Key chain forever. The sleeve not only looks great but it will allow your dad to show off his true team spirit and protect his notebook from the occasional bump it may come across when he is traveling.

As you can tell I love the METS!!!

The Centon sleeves and key chains are available at K-Mart, Best Buy, Amazon, Buy.com and pretty much all major e-tailers and retailers. Probably my favorite product that didn’t use batteries so far this year.

Even if you aren’t getting a new notebook for your dad, the Centon Branded notebook sleeves are fantastic and a great addition in my opinion for a current notebook. The sleeves are available for 15” notebooks and the USB Key Chains are available with 2 – 16 GB of storage.

The next product to make this gift guide is the TomTom Go 2535M Live, the only GPS that I have used where you drive like a local with a genie in the passenger seat. The TomTom Go 2535M will make your dad feel like he knows everything even when driving out of town in unfamiliar territory. The TomTom Go 2535M live connects you to the 3G data network where you are at and it updates the traffic conditions constantly, “The Genie”. It also has what is called “IQ Routes”. IQ Routes basically learns how traffic patterns are at certain times of day. Depending on the time of day the TomTom Go 2535M Live will give you a different route. Essentially it gives you information only locals typically know and helps you avoid those congested parts of town when it can. It’s the only GPS that I know of that not only makes you feel like a local but gives you real time traffic info.

The TomTom Go 2535M Live is available at Best Buy and other major retailers. For more info you can also visit TomTom.com. Price of the 2535 $349 but worth every penny especially if you don’t want to get lost with your dad on that road trip across the US.

Now onto the fourth product in the guide, it’s actually two but they are similar. It’s the Virgin Mobile Broadband MiFi2200 and the Clear Spot 4G. Both are mobile broadband solutions, the first Virgin Mobile is pre-paid 3G service and the Clear Spot is post-paid 4G service starting at $45 a month. Depending on coverage where your pops travels or lives will depend on which you get. I have used both and they work great. They allow you to connect multiple devices to your mobile broadband network. I used the Clear Spot but since then they have a new device called the Rover Puck which works just as well and is pictured below.

Rover Puck | MiFi 2200

I personally recommend both, the Clear Spot works great in all major cities and since for me where I travel I only run into the occasional area with no 4G service the Virgin MiFi comes in handy and it’s plans start at $10 for 10 days for 100 MB of data. Not a lot but when you’re on the road it can be enough to get you buy.

In fact if your dad drives a lot, the Virgin MiFi might be the best solution, as I have noticed that 4G typically doesn’t line major roadways like 3G service does. That may change as the 4G network across the US grows.

For more info on the Virgin Mifi visit VirginMobile.com, and for info on the Clear Spot visit Clear.com.

The 5th product for this year’s Father’s day gift guide is the perfect gift for dads’ home office. It’s the vTech DS6521-3 Three Handset Connect To Call digital Answering system. It’s a fantastic phone system with 3 handsets that allows you to connect your cell phones to them. So when the cell rings, the phones ring and you can answer it on these handsets. It’s also connected to your land or VoIP line. It’s a fantastic setup that allows you to conserve the battery on your cell phone and take advantage of your cell phones free long distance.

The DS6521-3 also has HD Audio which improves the sound quality of calls, the phone also features voice announced caller ID, so your dad knows who is calling before he even sees the phone. It has a cool push to feature so you can communicate with other phones in the home like you would with walkie talkies.

The DS6521-3 is a great setup your dad is sure to love, and at only $99.95 (seen it cheaper in stores) is a great gift for any dad. For more info visit VtechPhones.com.

Finally the last product recomendation for dad and again I think it’s the perfect gift for his home office. It is the Toshiba SLV411 Series LCD LED with DVD combo. A 32” 720p HD television that fits into a small office area and looks beautiful in any room. I have had the pleasure of using one for a little over a month and I am impressed with it and I am sure your dad will be too. It’s built in DVD player upconverts old DVD movies beautifully and the picture quality is great. Only downside is the speakers aren’t the best but thats ok for a small office.

The 32” Toshiba SLV411 retails for $549 but I have seen it as low as $399 at some retailers. It’s available at JR.com, Best Buy, buy.com and Toshibadirect.com.

So that’s it for our Geek Dads Gift Guide, and we wish you and your dad a great fathers day. Some of you will ask why no iPad, iPhone, Xoom etc. Sure dads want those too but those gift ideas are pretty obvious we thought we would share items you might not think of on your own. We think your dad will thank us.

Motorola Photon 4G for Sprint Demo

Michael Reyes — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:34:00 +0000

Today Wendy Wick from CuteGeek.com and I were able to get a hands on Demo of the upcoming Motorola Photon 4G for Sprint. A fantastic enterprise device that will even allow users to essentially use the phone as a computer.

Seagate GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless Storage Review

Michael Reyes — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:03:00 +0000

Last month Seagate introduced the worlds’ first battery powered external hard drive, with wireless capabilities that in my opinion could revolutionize the way we transport and share our data. The Seagate GoFlex Satellite offers 500GB of storage over Wi-Fi, and allows you to easily access the data via a web browser or if you have an iOS or Android powered device an App.

I put the GoFlex Satellite to the test on a mini road trip I had. I loaded it up with all my music, movies and pictures about 420 GB. I also threw on some work related documents just in case I was bored enough to work.

Transferring all that data can take a long long time, but being that the Satellite comes with a USB 3.0 cable you can cut that time in more than half. I was able to transfer all that data over in under 2 hours. Something that could have taken as much as 10 hours on USB 2.0. since the satellite is GoFlex you can use any GoFlex cable with it from USB to Firewire to eSata. Once the data was transferred I was ready to rock.

Connecting your notebook, iPad and any device with a Wi-Fi connection is easy. You just connect to the GoFlex SSID and that’s pretty much it. When you launch your web browser the browser redirects you to the Satellite automatically, and if you’re using an App it detects it automatically.

You can now view pictures and movies and listen to music. If you have document files such as word files or PDF’s you can download those as well. Depending on what your trying to view and what your device supports, they will automatically begin to play. If your device doesn’t support the file type for play in the browser then you will be prompted to download it. I used the Satellite App on the iPad and it worked great however on the iPad, my Blackberry Playbook and my notebooks accessing data via the browser seemed much quicker.

Just an FYI if you want to secure the Wi-Fi access or change the SSID you can do so via the settings.

So back to my road trip, it was just to a village about 12 hours from New York City. I really didn’t expect to give my GoFlex Satellite much use, as I brought my wireless broadband device and I had multiple mobile phones. But on that 12 hour drive, my nephew who was in the back seat rarely said a word as he was immersed in movie after movie. My brother in law was listening to all my music on his iPhone laughing at me everytime he stumble upon another Miley Cyrus or Justin Bieber song. We had the drive plugged into the car charger so it lasted the entire trip and not once did we have issues with its streaming content.

When we got to our destination, I felt as if someone knocked the wind out of me. NO MOBILE DATA. We had 1 bar on my Blackberry Tour and no bars on any other phone I had, iPhone, Samsung infuse, LG Optimus we were mobile dataless. I thought I was going to be in withdrawal in a few hours with no data.

But the GoFlex Satellite nixed any possible withdrawal when Is was able to watch my favorite movies. Every single Star Trek movie. When I was done with movies I actually was able to finish up some reviews I had saved to the drive.

Only bad thing about the GoFlex Satellite is that if you do have an internet connection, you lose it when connected to the Satellite. However I am told by Seagate that the firmware for the Satellite is upgradeable and there are two Wi-Fi antennas in the device so they plan on enabling the second antenna in a firmware update. Hopefully it comes soon.

Overall the GoFlex Satellite is fantastic it brings your content with you without having to rely on the cloud which in my opinion isn’t as reliable as may claim. *cough*amazon*cough*.

While a lot of blogs and other reviewers are calling this the perfect iPad companion, and while I agree it is, it’s the perfect companion for any Wi-Fi enabled tablet or device but I see it as being the perfect companion for those always on the go, especially mobile businesses. Why rely on the cloud for your content when you can take the cloud with you in the GoFlex Satellite?

Unboxing Pantech Crossover for at&t

Michael Reyes — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:53:00 +0000

Just a quick unboxing video of the new Pantech Crossover for at&t. Release date will be June 7th for $59.99 with a 2 year contract. The crossover is the first Android smartphone from Pantech in the US.

National Safe Driving Month

Michael Reyes — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:54:01 +0000

In honor of National Safe Driving month, Motorola is giving those of us who take a safe driving pledge on their Facebook page a 50% off coupon to any of their Bluetooth hands free devices.

Fore more information visit their Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/motorola

Cobra Phonelynx Review

Michael Reyes — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 06:52:01 +0000

I live in NYC and I don’t have great cell phone reception in my home, so I tend to stand by one of the windows in my home or by the front door as those are the places where I get the best service.

So I needed a solution that would allow me to talk anywhere in my home. Lucky for me Cobra emailed me asking if I’d like to try out their Phonelynx. Which at first I had no idea what it was but I never say no to testing things.

When it arrived I jumped for joy as it was the solution I long sought. It is a Bluetooth receiver that connects to a traditional landline phone and to your cell phone.

So what I did was I leave my cell phone to charge by a window where I get good service at, and paired it to the Phonelynx, I then connected some old cordless phone I have to the Phonelynx and wala whenever my phone rings, the cordless phones throughout my house ring and I can answer my phone! How cool is that!

The call quality is great, it’s the same as if I were using my cell phone to talk on. I can’t tell the difference and no one else has been able to tell the difference either. It’s a fantastic product.

There is even an app for android that allows you to play with settings and even create a speed dial list.

Overall it’s a definite must have if you have poor cell reception in your home.

For more information visit: https://www.cobra.com/search/index.cfm

Logitech Releases New Color Collection Line

Michael Reyes — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 08:08:00 +0000

Today Logitech announced some really cool looking webcams and mice for notebooks. I got a chance to see them in person a few weeks back and they are cool looking. I kinda like the pink and black floral design one. Although I personally wouldn’t use it. The mice and webcam will cost $19.99 – $59.99 and will be available in retail stores later this month. Below is a list of the mice and webcams along with images.

• Logitech HD Webcam C270: Has built-in software that enhances quality with three megapixel photos and Fluid Crystal technology.

• Logitech Portable Lapdesk N315: Take your laptop from the floor to the couch to the bed and never forgo comfort with this stylish lapdesk.

• Logitech Wireless Keyboard K360: Compact keyboard with a three-year battery life, wireless connectivity, and hot keys and programmable F-Keys for instant access to favorite apps, folders and Web pages.

• Logitech Wireless Mouse M305: Offers exceptional comfort and cordless convenience with its ergonomically designed soft rubber grip and the Plug-and-forget Nano-receiver.

• Logitech Wireless Mouse M315: With Logitech Advanced Optical Tracking, surfing the Web and navigating your laptop has become easier.

• Logitech Wireless Mouse M325: Wireless mouse with up to 18 months of battery life and micro-precise scrolling to make what you do online easier.

• Logitech Wireless Mouse M515: Wireless Couch Mouse made for surfing on the couch, bed or carpet.

For more information visit http://www.logitech.com

Review: Samsung RV511 Notebook PC

Michael Reyes — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:38:00 +0000

For the past few weeks, I have had the chance to play with a really sweet system, the Samsung RV511 15 inch Notebook PC.

When I first got the system I admired how great it looked, but then I opened it and was blown even more away. The RV511 has one of the best if not the best LED backlit monitors on the market. The colors seem to just pop off the screen. It is definitely a beautiful display.

I immediately connected my portable Blu-ray player to the RV511 and started watching movies. Seriously the display is gorgeous.

The RV511 is powered by an Intel Core i3 processor 4 GB of memory and Intel HD Graphics.

But a sexy monitor doesn’t tell you if the system can handle the task you throw at it, so like every system I review I used it for a week as my day to day machine.

The first thing I started to do when testing a machine, besides making it my day to day machine, is to see how well it can handle sites like YouTube.com and Facebook, in particular the apps on Facebook such as Farmville and Cityville. I call it the Zynga test. The graphics power required to run sites like that can bring some notebooks to their knees. Especially integrated graphics. You wouldn’t believe how sluggish a system can get when playing Farmville.

But the RV511 handed it like a pro, a combination of the Intel Graphics and Core I3 processor, allowed the RV511 to handle the demands from 2 flash based games.

It also could handle my other day to day task. I installed Office 2010, adobe acrobat and my favorite twitter, messaging apps and web browsers.

I am a multi-tasking animal, I tend to have multiple outlook windows open, 1 for email the other for the calendar. I also have Word open, multiple browser windows with multiple tabs open along with Seesmic and my various messaging programs. Enough to slow a system down to the point where you’d pretty much have to close some programs to free up resources. But with the 4GB of memory offered on the RV511 it handled my abusive ways like a champ.

The RV511 has an HDMI port, so for those of you who like to watch Netflix or in my case MLB.tv on their television, you can do so by simply connecting the notebook to your television via the HDMI port. But the screen on the RV511 is so vivid you may not want to do that.

There is also a built in webcam that worked great for me when using Skype and oovoo. No problems in Live Messenger or AIM either.

Battery life on the RV511 averaged about 3 hours 40 minutes which is enough to watch a movie and a half to two movies on a cross country flight.

Overall the Samsung RV511is a fantastic system and a must have, it looks great, it performs great and has a fantastic screen.

For more information on the RV511 visit: http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP-RV511-A01US-features

Review: SRS Labs iWOW 3D

Michael Reyes — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:20:00 +0000

I love music and thus have a large collection of music that I listen to all the time. Being that I live in NY, you know how much time we New Yorkers spend on the subway… I’d much rather listen to music than the click clack of the train going down the tracks.

Until recently, well not really recently, maybe more like within the past 2 years, I had no idea what I was missing when it came to my music. The SRS iWOW opened my eyes, rather my ears, to a whole new way to experience my digital music collection.

Playing music through the iWOW, made it sound as if my music was reborn. I won’t pretend to know how the iWOW was able to make my music sound so good, but whatever it does, it does it very well. The only downside with the iWOW is that it sort of drained the iPod Classic’s battery fast. So while I could get into Manhattan with my music, I wouldn’t always make it out of Manhattan listening to my music.

So I started only using it one way and eventually stopped using it all together. I loved it! It made my music sound great, but like many small devices, I eventually lost it.

But now there is the iWOW 3D, a newer improved version of the iWOW Adaptor that I once loved so dearly. With many products, so called newer versions, are often just a gimmick and really don’t offer anything new. However with the iWOW 3D, my music sounded even better than before with the regular iWOW, hell it even sounds great on my 99 cent pair of headphones. I am not sure how to explain the difference other than the fact that with the iWOW 3D, my music sounded as if it surrounded me. Not to exaggerate, but the iWOW 3D made my iPhone earbuds sound as great as the Logitech Ultimate Ear earbuds as well as my nephew’s Beats by Dre, in fact, I’d argue that the iWOW 3D made mine sound better.

Oh, and it’s not a battery hog like the previous version. I can make both ends of my round trip into Manhattan and back and still have 50% of my battery remaining.

Overall if you love your music, you need an iWOW 3D! It works great and for me, delivered a completely immersive audio experience to the likes of which I never have experienced before.

Pantech Announces Crossover for AT&T

Michael Reyes — Tue, 31 May 2011 12:01:00 +0000

Today AT&T and Pantech announced a sporty looking new smartphone the Crossover. The crossver powered by Google Android 2.2 will feature a 3.1 inch display, slide out qwerty keyboard, 600 Mhz processor a 3MP camera and GPS. The phone will also include the All Sports GPS app and Hotspot finder app. This is also the first Android powered smartphone from Pantech in the US.

The Crossover will be available starting the 5th of June for $59.99, and is also one of the premier phones in the Dew Tours, Pantech Open which will take place July 21st – 24th in Ocean City MD. For more info on the Dew Tour visit: Pantech USA Site

For more information on the Pantech Crossover visit http://wireless.att.com we are in the process of getting our hands on one for review. We will bring that to you as soon as we can. Click read more for pictures of the device.

Review HP ProBook 6560b or as I like to call it Notebook 1

Michael Reyes — Tue, 31 May 2011 06:27:00 +0000

Luxury! That is the word that comes to mind when I look at the HP ProBook 6560b. Luxury! Yeah that’s it. It’s a luxurious machine, and it sort of looks like that limosine the president rides.

I personally can’t remember any other device that looks as rugged and luxurious at the same time as the ProBook 6560b does. It’s a beats a beautiful beast and a powerful one too. It has a nice metalic brushed finish, that feels as good as it looks. When you look at it you can tell right away its a solid machine.

Powered by an Intel core i5 processor and 4GB of memory running on Windows 7, the ProBook 6560b delivers enough power to handle my day to day activities with ease. Every machine I receive for review I like to test it by actually using it. I do not like running benchmarks as I do not believe they give a realistic view of how well a machine can perform.

So what I do is install the applications I use day to day for work, and some applications I use for play. Because we all know even when we work we try to sneak in some fun time. For those curious I install Office 2010, Adobe Acrobat, my favorite messaging programs (AIM, Yahoo, Live Messenger), web browsers (Chrome, Firefox and Opera), Seesmic and blackberry desktop manager and iTunes. As for games I make sure the latest version of Flash is installed, and I also install Star Trek Online, The Sims and WoW.

For my day to day task the ProBook had no issues, it allowed me to multi-task with Outlook, Word and Acrobat open along with my messaging programs seismic and my browsers. No lag or slowdown in any of the applications I was using.

I even with all those applications open visited Facebook.com in my browser and played Farmville and Cityville. Those two games can tax a systems resources. Farmville for example has crashed some of my notebooks. However the core i5 and Intel graphics inside the ProBook 6560b handled it like the ProBook it is.

When it came to gaming I was able to play both Star Trek Online and WoW with no issues. However with the Sims I did have some issues but then again even on my desktop I have those issues. I save the game in a networked location so it’s the same game everywhere. Big house can crash a system. When I started a new game it was able to handle it pretty well.

The ProBook 6560b comes with loads of software to help keep your system running smoothly, protected and help you save money.

HP ProtectTools is security software that allows you to manage your passwords and how you login to your system. You can literally tell the system to require a finger print along with facial recognition before you can login. You can also require your password be typed along with your finger print and or facial scan.

Pretty cool, and something you’d want if you have classified of highly sensitive information on your system.

There is even Theft Recovery software available on the system, at a cost of 43 dollars a year for the premium version which allows you to lock the system, and or to wipe its hard drive remotely. They can even determine its location and assist law enforcement in getting it back. By the way it can even do this if the systems hard drive has been reformatted. It also works with Intel AT (anti-theft) technology which will pretty much kill a system if it doesn’t call home within a specified timeframe. Some features require wireless broadband service to work. I personally didn’t try the service but it sounds cool! The service is called Computrace.

There is also software in the system to help you save money on your electric bill. HP Power Assistant monitors how much power your system is using and allows you to schedule different power settings for the system at different times. It will even display a history of power usage.

Something really cool about the system is how easily upgradeable it is, you can take the bottom of the system off and gain access to the memory, wireless card, hard drive, and even CPU. All toolless I might add. Check the picture out below to see what I mean.

When it came to battery life, depending on how I used it I averaged a little under 4 hours which seems to be typical of any notebook I use. The system is a bit heavier than others but you’d expect it from the design it has and after a while I got use to carrying it around.

My only complaint about the ProBook 6560b was it didn’t come with any HDMI ports. Sure it had a bunch of USB, and an eSata port along with a memory card reader. But no HDMI. I forgot it does have display port but come on I want to connect this bad boy to my TV and stream movies and MLB.tv to the TV in the Hotel room I may be staying in. Please HP add HDMI. Oh and one more thing but it’s minor. There is AirPlane mode on the system, enabling it will disable bluetooth, wireless and wireless boradband. Airplane mode should not disable Wi-Fi anymore there’s Wi-Fi on planes. Hopefully HP will fix that!

The ProBook 6560b is a fantastic system. Its powerful, its looks great and it has so many features that if you work in government you’d want or your boss would want you to want. As I said earlier it looks kind of like the presidential Limo, this is definitely the PC I would want the President to use in fact if I ever become President I want a ProBook built like this. I’m a nickname the ProBook 6560b NoteBook 1.

For more information on the ProBook 6560b Visit HP Business.

Winner of our June 2011 Gold Editors Choice Award.

Review: HP 100B All-in-One

Michael Reyes — Mon, 30 May 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Small business is big business for a lot of OEMS like HP, so they have lines designed specifically for the small business user. In fact some of their small business products look like their consumer products and vice versa as they from time to time share design ideas.

The HP 100B is an example of that; it’s a great looking machine in the design that the HP Touchsmart PC made so popular.

Powered by a dual core AMD processor 1.6 Ghz and with 2 GB of memory upgradeable to 8 GB. The HP should deliver enough power to handle day simple to day task, but there really is only one way to find out if it can or not. So I did what I always do, I made it my day to day machine.

But as I sat at the machine looking at it, I began to think. I won’t use the system the way it’s intended. I am going to load it up with all my apps and use it as a desktop. I may abuse the system and it won’t be fare. So I decided to let my friend who works at a clinic near me test it out. With approval from the doctor she worked for.

They mainly use only one APP in that clinic its one they had custom made for them, a portion of it is browser based but the browser is within a frame in an application. That application connects to a database they have with patient records etc. Our main concern was that the 100B was running Windows 7 and the application they were using was designed on Windows 98. But the guy that designed it said it should work and he was right it did. Didn’t even have to install it in compatibility mode.

I gave them a week with the machine and she and her co-workers loved it. The main reason they loved it was the design. It fits pretty much anywhere. They said because of its compact design it allowed them to spend more time with their patients, because previously with the desktop they had, they had no room at the counter where patients would check in. So they would have them fill out a form, and then go over to the computer behind them to access information, make appointments etc.

For them it was perfect, they did have other applications installed, but mainly just used the custom made application. But for those curious along with the custom made application they ran Word, Access and a Point of Sale service along constantly as well. Their only complain was thy couldn’t keep it.

The system to me seems like it would be the perfect machine for, a hotel where you have employees checking people in and out, or a doctor’s office where you’re just pulling up patient files etc.

It’s a definite must have! You also can’t go wrong with the $439 price tag.

For more information visit: Hp.com Business Site

Battle of the Sexes a TeleNav Survey

Michael Reyes — Wed, 25 May 2011 12:22:00 +0000

Telenav the creator of the most popular and best mobile phone GPS navigation system today released a survey that shows the various driving tendencies of men and women. 610 people were surveyed 300 of which were women.

The survey shows pretty much who drives the most, who gets lost the most and who uses a fork or spoon to eat while they drive.

Some Highlights:

• 81 percent of men indicated they have a better sense of direction than their significant other. In contrast, only 45 percent of women felt they possess a better sense of direction than their partner.

• When asked what annoys them most when their significant other is driving, the most frequent response from men was that their significant other drives too slowly. The most common response from women was that their partner follows another vehicle too closely.

• Twice as many men than women admitted that they have driven a vehicle with their knees at one point.

• When asked if they had ever groomed themselves while driving (put on make-up for women or shaved for men), four times as many women answered yes than men.

• Twenty-one percent of all respondents have eaten a meal that required a fork or spoon while driving.

For additional findings and an infographic highlighting the survey results, visit http://www.telenav.com/about/pr-summer-travel/

Hulu Plus now on Tivo

Michael Reyes — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:37:00 +0000

Earlier this month Hulu Plus made it onto the Xbox 360, and today after months of beta testing Hulu Plus has made it to the TiVo Premiere. I was lucky enough to have been in the beta and it worked well then and works well now. So update your TiVo’s software and start enjoying Hulu … Continue reading »

Livescrbe Updates Software Adds Connectors

Michael Reyes — Mon, 23 May 2011 05:51:00 +0000

Instead of boring you with typed words, I made a pencast for this announcement. The new updated Livescribe Desktop and Smartpen software allows you to share files via, email, facebook and evernote just to name a few. Because of the new connectors people who receive email from me are now lucky enough to seem y chicken scratch I call my hand writing, and my amazing voice!

Pencast below!

HardwareGeeks
brought to you by Livescribe

Logitech Launches Accessories for Tablets

Michael Reyes — Thu, 19 May 2011 05:16:01 +0000

Today, Logitech launched various products for tablets. from a case for the iPad2, Wireless Speakers, keyboard and even a mouse.

I had a chance a few weeks ago to test out the wireless speakers, and they were great. They delivered an amazing sound from the iPad it was connected wireless too. I also had a chance tot est out the Keyboard Stand for the iPad 2. It’s a keyboard that has a rest built into it so you can place your iPad on it. It is a Bluetooth device and can connect pretty much to any tablet with Bluetooth and work. I tried it on my Blackberry Playbook and it worked great. There are however buttons specifically tailored to the iPad2

They also launched a mouse for android based tablets. I wasn’t able to try it out but it sounds cool.

The Logitech Keyboard Case is expected to be available in the U.S. beginning in May and in EMEA beginning in June for a suggested retail price of $99.99 (U.S.). The Logitech Wireless Speakers are expected to be available in the U.S. beginning in May and EMEA beginning in June for a suggested retail price of $99.99 (U.S.). The Logitech Tablet Keyboard for iPad is expected to be available in the U.S. beginning May and in EMEA beginning in June for a suggested retail price of $69.99 (U.S.). The Logitech Tablet Keyboard for Android is expected to be available in the U.S. beginning in May for a suggested retail price of $69.99 (U.S.). The Logitech Tablet Mouse is expected to be available in the U.S. beginning in May for a suggested retail price of $49.99 (U.S.).

For more information visit: http://www.logitech.com/news/tablet

WD Releases iOS/Android App for WDTV Live

Michael Reyes — Tue, 17 May 2011 22:03:00 +0000

Today Western Digital announced the availability of an iOS and Android app. The apps will allow you to push content from your mobile device to your television seamlessly via your WD TV Live hub. The Apps which are free are available now in the Android Market Place and the Apple App Store.

Just think about it you can be on the west coast of the United States and the apps will allow you to send the content to a WD TV Live 3000 miles away on the east coast. No longer will you have to email a picture or video, you can simply place it on someones WD TV Live.

You can also access the content stored on your WD TV Live or MyBook live via the apps. Just think about it you’ve more than quadrupled the storage space on your iPhone and iPad when you think about it.

My Thoughts on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1

Michael Reyes — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:40:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I had my first Lenovo experience with the Edge 420s—system which I consider one of the best notebooks currently on the market if not the best. I feel that way about the Edge 420s because of its stellar design, amazing power, and computing experience that was unique and fun.

Today, Lenovo announced the ThinkPad X1, their thinnest ThinkPad to date at only 16.5mm thick. The X1 also only weighs 3.8lbs, and is powered by an Intel core i5 processor. I have been using the X1 for a little over a week as my day to day system and I have to say I continue to be impressed by that unique computing experience only Lenovo seems to deliver.

“We created the ThinkPad X1 laptop by first taking the best technologies and then engineering them into our thinnest and lightest, yet powerful machine and by finally adding our own innovations around power, durability and design for a premium computing experience,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president, Think Product Group, Lenovo. “The ThinkPad X1 laptop incorporates the features that make a real difference for business users and sets it above the rest in the industry.”

I think the ThinkPad X1 is gorgeous. Most people I know think of square laptops with no style when they hear “ThinkPad”. In fact Radiris Diaz from CuteGeek.com (formerly employed by IBM), called hers a ‘Black Lego block’. The X1 should definitely make her think twice before calling it a Lego block again, and will likely change her opinion of the ThinkPad line. The X1 has plenty of style, and its black Moss finish makes it feel as good as it looks. It’s no longer just a work notebook, it’s an everyday notebook—a notebook that you can use at work on the road and at home. Most people already have to use one notebook for both work and play; now they’ll have a reliable brand that they know will work well. And now it’s beautiful, too.

But don’t take just my word for it. Check out the slideshow below and judge for yourself. I am sure you will agree with me and say it’s beautiful.

However, as I have said in other reviews over the years, beauty alone doesn’t make a great notebook. I’d rather have an ugly notebook that can maintain my productivity than a nice one that slows me down. This is the primary reason I tend to avoid ultraportables and netbooks as my day-to-day work systems.

I ran the X1 through its paces, and have used it daily for the past week. I installed Office 2010, Adobe Acrobat, Lotus Notes, and your typical web browsers, RSS readers, and messaging programs. I also installed my favorite games: Star Trek Online, WoW, and The Sims.

Not once did I feel like the system was causing me to slow down and work less. It handled the load I threw at it like a pro. I often had WoW open and was questing in the background (especially when traveling long distances in WoW, I cheat and just set my ‘toon’ to follow someone while I work.)

I also frequent Facebook and play Farmville and Cityville. If you have ever played these games on a notebook, you know that without the right processing and graphics power, scrolling through your farm or city can be extremely sluggish, even if the browser and the game are the only programs open. The X1 had no issues with my unhealthy love of Farmville and Cityville. I’ve got both open right now while writing this up. I am also encoding a video to upload to YouTube as I type this and there are no issues with the system: no slow downs, no fan spinning so fast I can’t hear myself think, and no noticeable heat being generated. So, the ThinkPad X1 can deliver that power you need to stay productive and playful at work.

The X1 also has Dolby Sound. I talked about this briefly in my review of the 420s, and like that system, the sound that comes from the speakers of the X1 when the Dolby Theater is enabled is top notch. From Music to Videos to VoIP calls, the sound is amazing. I have a system with SRS sound and one with Beats by Dre. To my untrained ear (I won’t pretend like my ear is trained like the ear of a music producer) the audio produced by Dolby sounds the best.

As I said at the start of this review, the X1 is no longer just a work notebook. It’s great for everything. I recently took a 24 hour trip to Atlantic City and wanted to watch the Yankee Game on TV. For some reason, my hotel didn’t have ESPN. Luckily for me, I was able to watch the game on ESPN3, which I can access online at ESPN3.com.

While I love watching TV and sports from Netflix, Hulu, and ESPN3, I don’t care to watch them on a small screen. Don’t get me wrong, the 13.3 inch HD screen on the X1 is beautiful, but if I have a big screen TV at my disposal, I want to use it. My hotel did have a nice 55-inch HDTV in the room, so I connected the TV to the X1 via the HDMI port and, voila!, baseball on the TV!

Even better, the HDMI port is in the back of the X1, so I was able to sit in front of the TV comfortably watching the game while still working. Most notebooks have the HDMI port on the side, so, depending on your cable length and which side the port is on, you may not be able to watch TV comfortably while using the system. It’s little things like this that make a great system.

I know you are all wondering about battery life. While on my two-hour train ride to Atlantic City, I browsed the web and watched Netflix Instant via Clear WiFi. The battery lasted the entire two hours and still had another 45 minutes left, according to the meter on the task bar. When using the external battery slice, I was able to add an additional 45 to 75 minutes, depending on what I was doing. On average, I got 3:15 without the extra battery and 4:23 with it. You can also charge the battery to 80% in just 30 minutes, which comes in especially handy if you have a tight connection at an airport. Some say rapid charging can ruin the lifespan of a battery, but Lenovo has been able to tweak the way the battery charges so that the lifespan isn’t affected by the rapid charge. Basically, it should last as long as a battery that isn’t charged rapidly.

Other nice options include a fingerprint reader, something I love having on my notebooks. It also has a spill resistant keyboard with drains, so any liquid can just drain out. No having to flip the system upside down to get that last drop of that cherry Slurpee out! It also has Corning Gorilla Glass over the screen, so you don’t have to worry about anything scratching it.

Overall, the X1 is an amazing notebook, great for the professional on the go or the mobile soccer Mom. With that in mind, we award it our 5-Star ‘Best for Mobile Professionals’ award.

For more information on the X1 visit: http://www.lenovo.com

Also check out the video below, a quick video I made on the X1. Nothing too fancy.

Unboxing the Seagate GoFlex Satellite

Michael Reyes — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:18:00 +0000

This morning UPS dropped off the brand new Seagate GoFlex Satellite. A 500 GB Wi-Fi enabled HDD. The drive is designed for those of us who own mobiled evices such as tablets, and or phones who want to take our content with us. Check out the unboxing video below and enjoy.

You can read more about the drive here.

WD Launches 3 TB SATA Hard Drives for AV Platforms

Michael Reyes — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:50:00 +0000

Today Western Digital launched a 2.5 TB and 3 TB WD AV-GP SATA hard drives designed specifically for AV Platforms. The drives are already shipping and WD claims they will offer users 24×7 reliability and low power consumption.

“Designed to go the distance in high-temperature, always-on streaming digital AV environments, WD AV-GP drives store more hi-def audio and video than ever before with our new 2.5 TB and 3 TB versions,” said Jim Welsh, executive vice president and general manager, of WD’s branded products and CE business units. “Combine unsurpassed capacity, power-saving WD GreenPower Technology™, and performance capabilities to capture up to 12 simultaneous HD video streams with SilkStream™ technology and the drive choice is made clear in optimizing AV applications like PVR/DVR, IPTV and video surveillance.”

The drives will have a MSRP of $159.99 for the 2.5 TB and $179.99 for the 3TB. Both drives are covered by a 3 year warranty. For more info on the drives click over to WD: http://wdc.com/en/products/internal/av/

For a whitepaper on the drives follow this link: http://avlargecapacitydrives.com/

Seagate GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless Storage

Michael Reyes — Mon, 16 May 2011 10:45:01 +0000

Back in January at CES, Seagate showed me a product. I don’t recall if they had named it then or yet, but I thought it was a super cool product. The product was what is now being called the GoFlex Satellite. A 500GB hard drive with Wi-Fi capabilities. Today Seagate introduced it to the world.

Basically the GoFlex Satellite allows you to connect your iPad, Blackberry Playbook, iPod, iPhone or whatever mobile device you have to it wirelessly. You can then stream its content over to your device, or download it onto your device.

No more needing to fiddle with microSD cards or odd looking adapters that make your tablet look ugly. It’s also the great travel companion. If you are on road trip you can take it with you and up to three devices simultaneously can connect.

The only downside it seems of the GoFlex Satellite is if your device relies on Wi-Fi connectivity for its internet connection, you pretty much lose that when connected to the GoFlex satellite. However there are two Wi-Fi chipsets in the GoFlex Satellite, and I have been told by Seagate users of the device will eventually be able to connect their GoFlex Satellite to their internet and share it to whatever device is connected to the Satellite. They just need to perfect the way it would work, and it should be available in a free firmware update. Hopefully the update hits sooner rather than later.

Speaking of updates, while the person at Seagate I spoke with did not specify on what the potential of the device was he did say future firmware updates will unlock a lot of features.

I was able to play with one briefly and it was pretty sweet. Generated little heat, battery life is great. Seagate had it on all day long from 8am and I met with them at 5 and it was still going strong. However they guestimate it will give you 3 to 5 hours of battery life depending on how many users.

Users will be able to access content on the drive via a web browser or via an app which will be on the App Store for iPhone and iPad soon. There will also be PC software available to sync content to the drive via USB.

The drive has an MSRP of $199.99 and will be available at Best Buy in July, and everywhere later in the summer. There is only a 500GB configuration; Seagate said there wouldn’t be any other size. However as demand changes that might change as well.

I should be getting one this week, and as soon as I do I will post an unboxing video, and will have a review soon after that.

HP Shows off new Pavilions

Michael Reyes — Mon, 16 May 2011 05:05:00 +0000

HP today showed off a refreshed version of their Pavilion full size desktop and Slimline desktop, and also introduced a sexy system designed with the gamer in mind.

The HP Pavilion P7 Series (Full Size desktop) and Pavilion S5 Series (Slimline) have had their designs slightly tweaked, giving them a more streamlined futuristic look that I think will look great in every home. The P series will have a starting price of $299 and te S5 series will have a starting price of $329. Both series will be available with Beats by Dre and HP Linkup as options.

The big news though from HP is their new Pavilion HPE h8 series desktop. A gorgeous system which sort of reminded me of how a Cylon looked in Battlestar Galactiac. When I saw the system a few weeks ago I knew I wanted one.

The HP Pavilion HPE h8 series can be loaded with up-to 3 internal hard drives, AMD Phenom or Intel Core i7 processors, and your choice of NVIDIA or ATI graphics. I literally drooled when I saw the system HP had on display a few weeks ago. The h8 is fully loaded, the top of the system has USB ports so you can connect your phone, mp3 player etc. The top of the case also has a slight dip so you can place those same devices there.

The HP Pavilion HPE h8 series has a starting price of $599.99. Pictures of all Pavilion systems below.

HP also announced the HP x2301 a super thin LED back-lit monitor. The only bad thing about the monitor was it wasn’t wall mountable because of how thin it was.

For those wondering about release dates, the HP HPE h8 series PCs will be available on HP Home & Home Office on May 18 at a starting at $599.99 and at select U.S. retailers on June 19. The HP Pavilion p7 series is expected to be available on HP Home & Home Office on May 18 at a starting price of $299.99 and at select U.S. retailers on June 19. The HP Pavilion Slimline s5 series is expected to be available on HP Home & Home Office on June 15 at a starting price of $329.99 and at select U.S. retailers on June 19 and finally the HP x2301 consumer monitor is expected to be available on June 10 in the United States at a starting price of $279.99. The monitor is a must have!

Ohh Ranger! iPhone App

Michael Reyes — Thu, 12 May 2011 16:31:00 +0000

The Ford Motor Company and the American Park Network teamed up to create a cool app called Ohh Ranger! While I normally don’t posta bout random iPhone apps I wanted to share this one because I thought it was cool. Especially with summer around the corner, and a lot of folks including myself will be heading out on road trips. App will help us experience all the great parks we have in this country.

App is available on the iPhone store right now so head over and download it!

Unboxing the TomTom GO 2535 M Live GPS

Michael Reyes — Thu, 12 May 2011 02:53:00 +0000

Today I was able to get my hands on the TomTom Go 2535 M Live GPS. There was a time when I thought of TomTom as the fisher price of GPS units but over the past few years my opinion of them has changed, and they now make what I think is the best GPS on the market. Just watch the video to see how beautiful it is. I will have a full review in a few days.

New Studio Series: Artist Edition Mice from Microsoft

Michael Reyes — Thu, 12 May 2011 01:40:00 +0000

Today in NYC I attended a launch event put on by Microsoft Hardware to show off the new Artist Edition Wireless Mobile 3500 mice, part of the Studio Series.

Microsoft worked with five artist from around the world to create a collection of six mice. Each mouse has a different design from a different artist (Mike Perry has two), and their all beautiful. I am not a huge art lover but I love the Matt Moore (Blue Triangle) and the Mike Perry (Colored lines) mice. The girls from CuteGeek.com really liked the Jonny Wan mouse.

Something cool about the mice, is they actually have a soft feel to them, and feel as if you are actually touching the canvas they were painted on.

The Artist Edition collection will be available this month for $29.95. For a closer look at the patterns and additional product details, please visit the Studio Series: Artist Edition website. http://www.studioseriesartist.com/ (Having issues with it loading but thats the website)

we need better pictures of the mice.

Radiris Diaz from CuteGeek.com was super happy with her Gift Bag! Visit http://www.cutegeek.com to see what they thought. (their thoughts coming soon)

Samsung and Google introduce Series 5 Chromebook

Michael Reyes — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:10:00 +0000

Today Samsung and Google announced thie Samsung Series 5 Chromebook running on the ChromeOS. I am a huge fan of Samsung notebooks, I love their design and style, but I have a feeling Samsung will regret this product as much as Logitech and Sony regretted their Google TV products.

Key Specs:

● 0.79-inch thin case designed for comfort and mobility

● Full-size Chrome keyboard

● Oversized multi-touch trackpad

● Intel® Dual-core Processor

● 16:10 resolution

● 12.1-inch SuperBright Display – 36% brighter than standard display

● Starts up in less than 10-seconds

● Resumes instantly from standby

● Up to 8.5 hours battery life*

● HD Webcam, built-in digital microphone and stereo speakers

● Two USB ports capable of charging mobile phones and accessories, connecting digital cameras and media storage devices

● Support for removable media cards (SD, SDHC, MMC) for photos, videos, music and documents

Googles ChromeOS is meant to be simple, secure and fast, and it is fast with its less than 10 second boot time. The notebook will work largly with the cloud, so if you are someone who doesn’t always have a reliable internet connection this isn’t the product for you.

In fact the Chromebook is in my opinion a companion device for business users. I am trying to be optimistic about this product, but I can’t think of anything worth while to write about I am sure others will have better things to say.

Android Apps to power Ava

Michael Reyes — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:59:00 +0000

If you don’t know what Ava is, she at-least I think her as a female is a telepresense robot from iRobot that can be controlled by your android powered tablet or iPad. Ava is short for Avatar at least that is what I remember being told.

Today iRobot announced that they have teamed up with Google to create android apps specifically made to control Ava. The applications are being demoed at the Google I/O Developer conference in San Francisco. I now wish I hadn’t skipped the event.

“Ava is the first app-ready robot,” said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. “By tapping into an almost limitless supply of Android-based apps, Ava is poised to revolutionize how people communicate and deliver information through remote presence and other means. With the right ideas, Ava can also revolutionize how people live both at home and in the workplace.”

I personally think the possibilities are endless. A robot like Ava can revolutionize the way we do things around the home and communicate with each other. I would use Ava to stroll around my home when I am not home and make sure every things in order. Possibilities are endless.

For more information visit http:/www.irobot.com

Toshiba Portable USB Powered LCD Monitor

Michael Reyes — Tue, 10 May 2011 06:51:00 +0000

When I sit at my Desktop, I am surrounded by six monitors. The flock of monitors enables me to be as productive as I can be. I know that might sound cliché but its true I am more productive because of them. I mainly use four of the six with the other two full of desktop icons and widgets which keep me up to date on my systems health to the local weather.

I’ve really grown accustomed to my set up and whenever I travel I find myself struggling to be as productive as I am when I am home. It’s as if I don’t have enough space to put everything I want. At home I have a screen for Outlook, another form my browsers etc. On my notebook everything is on top of everything else, and I forget something may be open in the background.

I guess you can say I don’t multi-task as well with just one monitor, so when Toshiba announced a few weeks ago their Portable USB Powered LCD monitor I was stoked. So I begged one for a review loaner and they came through.

When I received the monitor I quickly made a video. Check it out.

As you can tell from the video I was pretty excited. I mean who wouldn’t be. A 14” LCD screen powered by USB! The possibilities are endless.

Soon after I received the Monitor I had a trip from JFK to FLL a 2 hour flight. I only fly Delta and it seems like the aircraft of choice for that route are the Mad Dogs. MD80 or MD90. No inflight entertainment. But at least I’d get the free upgrade to first as a Platnium. So I board the plane sit in my seat and at the sound of the beep (plane beeps three times to let you know its safe to turn on approved electronic devices) I opened up my notebook, plugged in the LCD hung it from the seat back pocket in front of me (eye level on the bulkhead) and watched myself a Blu-Ray movie.

My neighbor was JELOUS to say the least. The picture quality on the monitor is superb and there seemed to be no lab or ghosting. None that I could notice.

By the way my neighbor offered to pay me to watch the movie. Kung Fu Panda. I let him watch for free had a splitter for the 3.5 mm audio jack.

The battery life on my notebook dropped drastically when powering the LCD monitor and with 15 minutes left in the movie the notebook ceased to power it. Had to finish the rest of the movie on the notebooks screen. If only the MD88 had power ports.

When I arrived at my hotel, I setup the notebook and monitor on the desk, and while I worked that night I seemed to be in a grove getting more work done than I normally would have on any other business trip. In fact I finished up work early. I like using one monitor solely for email and my calendar. I am able to keep on top of thins much more efficiently that way, and the extra monitor allows me to do this while on the road.

Overall the Toshiba USB Powered Portable Monitor is a dream come true for any business traveler, it works great, the video quality is amazing and the uses for it are endless.

For more information visit: http://www.toshibadirect.com

Playing Angry Birds on my Television

Michael Reyes — Tue, 10 May 2011 06:14:00 +0000

I can’t wait for Angry Birds to be on the Xbox or any other console for that matter, so that I can play it on my wide-screen TV. But until then, I can still play it on my TV by connecting the Samsung Infuse 4G for at&t to my TV. Check out the video below!

Samsung Infuse 4G for at&t

Michael Reyes — Mon, 09 May 2011 04:05:00 +0000

On May 15th at&t will begin selling the Samsung Infuse 4G. The phone features a beautiful Super AMOLED 4.5 inch screen, a 1.2 Ghz processor, 16GB of internal storage, comes with an additional 2GB microSD which is expandable, 8MP Camera, 1.3 forward Facing camera and GPS running Google Android 2.2 froyo.

The phone has better battery life than the Samsung Galaxy S phones I have used, and is super fast. The only time I experienced any slowness with the phone was when enabling large Flash Sites. Check out my Video Review below.

Little update on the 4G network for at&t. They claim the network is up to 6Mbps but I have been able to get speeds as high as 8Mbps. However 90% of the time its 3 to 4 Mbps.

The phone will be available May 15th from at&t wireless, Wal-mart and Best Buy. Someone told me WireFly but am not 100% sure they will have it. The cost of the phone will be $199.99 with a two year contract, although an ad for wal-mart advertised the phone at $178.88.

HP Unleases new Consumer and Business Notebook PCs

Michael Reyes — Mon, 09 May 2011 03:21:00 +0000

Today HP announced a slew of new notebooks for consumer and business users, along with some refreshes and a super slim monitor.

On the business side, HP announced the new Probook 5330m which is the first business notebook from HP to feature beats by dre and is also only 1 inch thick. It has a gorgeous two toned brush aluminum finish which makes it a decent looking system. Also on the business side, HP announced their lightest notebook the elitebook 2560p which features a 12.5 inch HD screen and optical drive. The 2670p tablet is also back with some minor changes, but it looks as great as ever. It does however lack the business card reader which I had come to live.

HP also announced DataPass pre-paid mobile broadband. When I saw DataPass in action it was connected to the Sprint 3G network in NYC.

Not to be out done, the consumer side of HP also announced some new Pavilions and refreshed the ENVY14.

The new Pavilion dv4s feature an updated coolsense technology that HP introduced last year. The updated version of coolsense works better at managing the internal fans of the system so that it can run a lot cooler. They also have some really cool designs. View the slide show below to see them all. The dv4s also weigh under 5lbs.

HP also announced a new Mini 210, feature up to 9.5 hours of battery life, some new cool colors. The design remained the same as last year and has easy access to the system components for east upgrade.

The ENVY14 has also been refreshed, and can now be purchased with the newest intel processors. USB 3.0 and a new touch pad that features image sensors for better gesture support.

Before I show you pictures in a Flckr sideshow, I wanted to mention that on the on the Pavilion dm4, dv6 metal and dv7 metal notebook PCs, HP SimplePass with One Time Password. This software will help prevent phishing by providing a “one-time” password that is linked to each individual user fingerprint, granting more secure access to websites that store financial information.

Finally HP announced a new super slim monitor, for business users. The HP L2201x is so thin and beautiful. I was able to check it out two weeks ago and immediately thought of its portability. While its not designed to be portable it will easily fit in most notebook bags.

For more information visit http://www.hp.com

Review: OtterBox Defender Series for the iPhone4

Sufian Siddiqi — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:32:00 +0000

I had the opportunity to try out the Defender Series case by OtterBox. These cases have saved my old phones countless times, and I’d recommend them to everyone. Check out the video review posted below.

Samsung Infuse 4G for at&t

Michael Reyes — Fri, 06 May 2011 03:29:00 +0000

Samsung invited me to check out their new infuse 4G today and at&t invited me as well as part of their Brand Ambassador Program. Two invites to one event I am one lucky fellow. I got to speak with some at&t and Samsung reps, and shot a 5 minute video with Wendy Wick from CuteGeek.com for at&t. I hope they use it.

Anyway as soon as I got home, I made a quick unboxing video of the Infuse 4G, will have a full video review in a few days. So far I love the phone, it has a 1.2 Ghz processor, 4.5 SAMOLED display, which I must add is beautiful, 8MP camera and a 1.3 MP forward facing camera. One hell of a device if you ask me. Check the unboxing video below, and check back soon for the review. Device is available May 15th for $199.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 420s Review

Michael Reyes — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:28:00 +0000

If you have read my reviews over the past 8 years, you’d know I have used a lot of windows based computers in my day. So you can understand when I say no matter whom makes the system it’s pretty much always the same experience. Sure designs change, and specs improve but once you hit that power button it’s all the same, right? You have a start button, some icons and when you click on them, a window opens up. It’s all the same system to system to system. So I thought, until I met the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 420s.

I never used a Lenovo system before, sure I’ve seen them, and I’ve touched them, and I’ve played with them briefly at various events, but I never used one for more than 5 minutes. So I’ll admit it, I was a bit excited to get one for review a week ago. But at the same time I didn’t expect it to be anything but another notebook review, but it was like having a familiar but new experience. If it weren’t for the Windows 7 logo next to the touchpad, I would have guessed it was Windows 8.

I wasn’t sure why the Edge 420s made Windows seem different; I couldn’t put my finger on it, I think it was a combo of little things: like a ThinkPad logo here, a background change there, and software tailored to the system that just flowed together.

For example other OEMs love desktop widgets, Lenovo went the taskbar route. When Microsoft came out with Vista not only did they introduce the Sidebar but the Taskbar grew, and no one but Lenovo seems to have taken advantage of that extra real estate in the taskbar. Their ThinkVantage software places your Wi-Fi Signal Strength along with your Battery level in the taskbar, making both easier to view and access.

Looks pretty cool. So let’s finally talk about the ThinkPad Edge 420s.

I normally save my opinion for the end but in my opinion the Edge 420s is the most stylish business notebook on the market, it’s also one of the thinnest on the market, thinner than a nickel standing on its edge with the monitor open and it has an optical drive. It’s also feels lighter than the 4.2 lbs it weighs.

The E420s as you can see pictured to the right has a beautiful black textured finish inside and out with silver trim. Really nice feeling texture that Lenovo calls “Moss Black”

Powered by an Intel corei5/i7 processor, with support for up to 8GB of memory and a 750 GB Hard Drive you are sure to get the power and storage you need. The system I have, has the i5, 4GB of memory and 250GB HDD which is a pretty solid setup. But specs are just specs and the best way to find out if the E420s can deliver the power you need is to test it out.I don’t believe traditional benchmarks are realistic so I litterally use the machine as my own and see if it can handle my day to day workload.

I set up the machine by installing applications I use daily such as Office, Adobe Acrobat, Chrome, FireFox and various messaging programs. I also installed my favorite games, Star Trek Online, WoW and The Sims 3.

I live having the game I am playing opened in windowed mode while I work in Outlook or Word, it never hurts to quest a bit in between task. The Edge 420s handled my gaming and multi-tasking ways far better than I expected. If your curious, I normally have IE, FireFox, Chrome, Digsby, Seesmic, Word, Outlook, iTunes/Zune and Blackberry desktop along with one of the three games running. The Edge 420s handled my workload flawlessly. Just a side note, I am addicted to Farmville and Cityville on Facebook, if you play those games you know how taxing they can be on a system. Edge 420s handled my addiction well.

Now that we know it can handle my work load, it’s time to see how well the system can handle my after work life. I recently ditched cable TV, and rely on Hulu and Netflix for TV and Movies, and MLB.tv and ESPN3 for my sports. All of these services work great on the Edge 420s and when connecting the system to a TV the picture quality (PQ) was as good as you’d want it to be. I have experienced degraded PQ when connecting notebooks via HDMI to my television, but I can report the Edge 420s did not degrade the video quality at all.

The sound on the Edge 420s is amazing, the notebook sounded better than my television. From music to movies you are getting a full immersive audio experience, something that very few notebooks can deliver. Lenovo can thank DOLBY for that as they worked together to tweak the audio settings on their systems in order to deliver the great sound I experienced. There is even a home Theater Application (pictured below) that allows you to configure the audio settings and tweak them to your liking or use some of the pre-set settings. If you Skype or use any other VoIP chat software, it improves the sound quality of those conversations as well.

Overall the entertainment experience you can get from the Edge 420s is superb.

For those security conscious users like me, the E420s can be purchased with an optional finger print scanner. It also has a feature where if the webcam does not detect a face in front of it for a certain amount of time it will lock down the system. I think that’s a pretty cool feature because sometimes I walk away from my notebook and leave something important open.

So how does it detect your face you might ask? That leads us to the next feature on the E420s, the webcam. Like most notebooks now a days it has a built in webcam, which works great with Skype, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo just to name a few programs. The picture quality is great and had no complaints from anyone I webcamed with. Well not entirely true, they did complain about my hair and suggested I get a haircut.

So to recap, the E420 passed my day to day workload test and it delivers amazing sound quality. In my opinion making it one hell of a machine, one that will allow you to do whatever you need to do and get it done. It also delivers a unique experience that no other Windows based PC can. We award the Lenovo E420s our Editor’s Choice award for the month of May 2011.

For more information on the E420s and other ThinkPads visit http://www.lenovo.com

Logitech and Panasonic Partner up

Michael Reyes — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:36:00 +0000

Last year Google and Logitech teamed up for the Logitech Revue a Google TV box. As we all know that was a major flop, Google expected 18 million in revenue from its Google TV line but only saw 5 million. I am not sure if Google TV had a positive or negative effect for Logitech, but one thing is for sure because of Google TV logitech had an accessory that has allowed them to partner with Panasonic.

The accessory is, the web camera logitech created for the Revue Box. The camera has been reworked (I assume software) to work with Panasonic VERA TV’s with Skype. So now you can skype from your Panasonic VERA television with the Logitech TV Cam. The VERA television has to be a 2011 model for it to work.

The TV Cam will deliver 720p video over your internet connection. I tried it out and while at first the stream is a bit blurry, it clears up after about a minute. The camera also auto focuses so if your far away or up close you look as clear.

So what exactly can you do with the TV Cam? You can make TV to TV calls, or TV to PC calls to other skype users.

The Panasonic VERA televisions will be available later this month at various prices, the TV Cam will be available for $149.99 via the Panasonic VERA connect market.

My Thoughts on the Blackberry Playbook

Michael Reyes — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:39:00 +0000

I had my first Blackberry Playbook experience back in Febuary at a media event here in New York City. I went to the event thinking of the Playbook as a lame attempt to compete with the iPad, and while I left the event in love with it. It did take some explaining on some key issues.

It did not make sense to me that the Playbook did not come with a native email or calendar client. So at the event back in late Febuary I asked Blackberry about that.

They basically said the Playbook is a companion device, an extender to your Blackberry phone. The product manager I spoke with said “Whats on my Blackberry Torch is never on my Playbook even when I access it on my Playbook”. What he meant is, the Playbook never stores your emails, contacts, or schedule. When you conect your phone to the playbook, wala your info is there, when its disconnected bye bye information.

The Playbook is like remote desktop for your phone, it essentially turns your blackberry screen into a 7 inch screen. The way it works, makes me wonder if Blackberry is working on bridges for other phones.

Some of you may have heard that at&t has blocked the bridge app for Blackberry phones on the at&t network. The bridge app is what allows your phone to connect with the Playbook. You can circumvent the block by downloading the app from Crackberry. Why is at&t blocking it? at&t is concerned that the Playbook allows for free thethering. Which gives you and I another reason to switch to another carrier.

While I love my Playbook some claim it’s a major failure because of its lack of a native email and calendar client. They have even liken it to the Palm Foleo, and while the bridge concept for both the Foleo and Blackberry Playbook are similar, the Playbook offers so much more and weighs a whole lot less.

A lot of people knocking it haven’t even tried it or are iPad lovers, you can’t change their minds. I’d like to ask them not to knock the flash capable device that offers true muli-tasking, a device that delivers loads of power and is comfortable and easy to use. So please try one out at your local best buy. I am sure some of you will like it and I am sure some others will not.

So as mentioned the Playbooks web browser supports Flash. That means is I can go to Facebook.com, and load up Farmville or Cityville and play. If your farm or city is huge I wouldn’t as they can slow down my corei5 and corei7 notebooks so they will slow the playbook down quite a bit, however if you are paitient its playable. I myself just head over to Shockwave.com and play games there. Since most games have full screen modes you can take advantage of the beautiful HD screen the Playbook has to ofer. Because of the flash capability you have access to thousands of flash games all over the web. As I said I visit shockwave.com a lot, I even view baseball games on the Playbook via MLB.tv and my favorite television shows like House via Hulu.com, until recently when Hulu decided to blockt he Playbook. BOOOOO!!!!

No Netflix support as Netflix uses silverlight but there is a rumor the Blackberry will support Silverlight eventually. I have no idea how true that is. There also is currently no NetFlix app and I have no idea if Netflix is planning one. Hopefully they are.

For those curious a Facebook App for the Playbook will be available later this month.

While the Playbook does not have a native email client, there are various icons which link to AOL Mail, Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail. These icons open the browser and direct you to the mobile/full version of their respective websites. (You can remove the icons by holding down on them and selecting the trash can) I am able to access my Gmail and it looks beautiful. Just view the screenshots below. There are also screen shots for Hotmail, Yahoo and AOL below. Some of the sites display the mobile version while others display the full webpage.

Don’t spam my mom please

Funny thing is, the more I think about the people who have been vocal against the Playbook because of its lack of native email clients, the more I realize that many of them are hypercrits. I laugh because most of those people are CLOUD COMPUTING Afficionados who believe everything will be done in a browser. Yet when Blackberry forcues us to the web browser for email, they jump up and down and cry foul and call it a failure.

The Playbook has what I call True Multi-Tasking. What I mean by that is when you leave an app open it conintues to do what it was doing. If you are playing a game or video it will pause if you aren’t viewing it though.

The camera on the Blackerry isn’t the best but it does take decent pictures, the video quality however isn’t that great. There also aren’t any apps available yet to take advantage of the use of the forward facing cam. For a sample image of how well the Playbook takes pictures, check the image below that I took. Its the view from the BQE, of the NYC skyline. No zooming in the photo.

Click to elarge. Took this the day after I got my Playbook! Also follow me on twitter while you’re at it

The Blackberry is also pre-loadedwith apps and games. My favorite game being the Need for Speed Underground game, which by the way is the full game. You will also get the Full version of Tetris for the Playbook. There are many other games to download for free from the App World plus the hundreds if not thousands available at Shockwave.com and at other flash game websites.

For those of us who need to work on our Playbooks, there are productivty apps such as Word To Go (Word), Sheets to go (Excel), Slideshow To Go (Powerpoint) and Adobe Reader. Oh and they are free no need to buy them like on some other Tablets. I wrote 90% of this review in Word to Go on my Playbook.

If you love music like me, you can upload music to your playbook, the sound quality is amazing so is the video quality if you upload videos too it. Full HD videos look amazing!!!

There is a Music store on the Playbook where you can buy singles and albums. The service which is powered by 7Digital sells songs for as little as 99 cents and albums for as little as $4.99. You pay more for the newer stuff.

If you enjoy to read, the Playbook comes with Kobo ebook reader and ebook store. I haven’t read on my Nook Color since getting my Playbook. In fact I am giving my Nook color to my sister as a birthday gift.

Overall I think the Blackberry Playbook is an amazing Tablet, and with 50,000 sold in the first day, it will beat out the XOOM and other tablets that are on the market with the exception of the iPad. iPad will be very hard to catch up with, however if Blackberry comes out with an App to bridge other phones to it that aren’t Blackberry’s I see the Playbook being a big contender.

There are some minor bugs with the Playbook though, the one that annoys me the most is if I attach an image or file to an email. I have to wait for it to upload to the email. If I hit send it sends the email blank with out the attachment. Yes I know I could wait for it to upload, but if I want to remain productive I can hit send and move on to the next email. Sometimes it also shows you notifications when you have no new emails or any alerts. There were others but they have since been fixed in updates to the Blackberry Tablet OS.

One more thing to note, android app support is coming soon, developers would just need to repackage their apps and upload them to the Blackberry App World.

For more information on the Playbook visit http://www.blackberry.com/Playbook or if you want to buy one http://www.bestbuy.com/playbook

I award the Playbook our 5 Star Editors Choice Award!

Update: Video Chat has been added to the Playbook via an update the day after this review was posted. I have tested the video chat and it works great!

HuluPlus On the XBOX 360 Now Live

Michael Reyes — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 09:04:00 +0000

The Xbox 360 finally has HuluPlus! I am not sure when it went live but its live right now as of 5am EST. They are also giving you a free week. Turn on your Xbox and go to the Video Markeplace for more information. I will post a video of it later today for those … Continue reading »

Cars talking to Cars

Michael Reyes — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:27:00 +0000

Maybe you’ve seen the skit on Family Guy. The one where the blue car hits on the pink car, and the pink car replies that its his friend Morty and that he just had a paint job. If you haven’t view it here on Youtube.

Well today Ford Motor Company showed me some Ford Fiestas and a Hybrid Ford Edge that talked to each other. They didn’t hit on each other, but they did send each other their location and speed among other things, using what is called Channel 172. Channel 172 is basically free spectrum provided to the auto industry in 1999. The spectrum was freed up in 1993 but it was officially given to the auto industry in 1999. It’s basically wifi for cars. It’s called WAVE (Wireless Access For Vehicular Environment).

Similar to your in home wifi network, it’s based on the 802.11 standard, but while we use 802.11a/b/g/n on 2.4 MHz WAVE is 802.11p on 5.9 MHz so the two do not interfere. This is a standard all car makers are going to be using, so no matter if you drive a BMW or a KIA the cars will talk to each other.

The cars talk to each other by sending its size, speed, location and direction to the cars surrounding it, in 400 byte packets sent 10 times a second and depending on the network congestion the send rate may lower to accommodate more data. The Engineer at Ford told me they can probably communicate with up to 100 cars in a 50 meter radius.

Emergency Vehicles will also have a similar technology, but when the emergency vehicles are in emergency mode ie: speeding to the scene of an accident. Their transmissions will be able to travel further.

While meeting with Ford they gave me a demo of how the technology works. There were three cars and the car I was in was able to tell if there were cars in front of it, to the side and what lane they were in. It did this all by using the GPS signal from all the cars. If a car was in your blindspot, it would let you know. If you were entering an intersection and could not see around parked cars or a tall building, it would let you know of an oncoming car and from what direction itw as coming from.

It was a super cool demo, and I am told with in 15 to 20 years all cars will have this technology in it. They are perfecting it and right now its close to perfect. There are a few issues with it such as cars at different altitudes that may cross each other but may not collide can cause the car to think it is about to crash and will alert you and possibly even stop the car. But they are confident problems like that will be resolved pretty soon.

I really loved the demo and can’t wait for this technology to hit the road, it will save so many lives!

Kyocera Echo for Sprint

Michael Reyes — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:31:00 +0000

Yesterday at a Sprint event I was able to play with the Kyocera Echo, a cool dual screen phone that makes you think its a tablet. Check out my video below but keep in mind I did not talk during the video as I would of needed to be screaming thanks to some lound talkers behind me.

Roxio GameCap

Michael Reyes — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:40:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I got my hands on the new Roxio GameCap. It’s a video game capture device that you conect to your gaming console, be it the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or Wii. You are then able to record your game play on your PC.

Perfect for those of us who like to show us, or secretly record a family members gameplay on Kinect. You know the family member who doesn’t like to share the pictures of themselves the Kinect takes.

The GameCap is pretty simple to connect. You simply connect it to your game console via the component cable, connect it to your television via some other component cables, then connect it to your PC via USB and install the included software. It’s really simple that even my niece set it up to record some of her adventures in gaming.

It took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to properly work the software, I mean it was pretty straight forward but I think I was having a blond moment when I first fired it up. No offense to any blond people who might of just read that. I recorded a few of my gaming experiences minus those on my Xbox 360 kinect don’t want anyone seeing how I look like an ass at times. I will be uploading those too Youtube soon.

The GameCap is a pretty cool device, it can’t get any simpler than this and while its intentions is soley for recording gaming I have successfully recorded from my BluRay player, and my cablebox making it an even greater too. I have used it to record some TV shows and some movies for my iPhone and other mobile devices so I can watch them while I travel.

The price tag for the GameCap makes it one of the most cost effective solutions around at $99. For more info on the GameCap click here.

The GameCap is a definite must have for any gamer and because of that we award it our 5 Star Must Have award.

Extreme Rapid Booting from Lenovo

Michael Reyes — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:52:00 +0000

Last night I was able to see something I have never seen. While I have seen systems personally come close I have never actually witnessed a machine do what I saw a Lenovo notebook do last night. It booked up fully into windows with everything loaded in under 10 seconds.

I don’t know why I didn’t record it at the time, I think it may have been the shock of it all. At first I thought it was pure BS, after all it was a press event and I have seen so much crap pulled at these events I originally thought it might of been a television that looked like a notebook.

But then I picked it up and saw there were no wires or magic tricks. It even shut down as fast as it booted up. It was able to boot up so fast it didn’t give the Windows 7 logo enough time to form, and it shut down so fast that I don’t even think I saw the words “Shutting Down”.

Lenovo really impressed me with what they are calling Extreme Rapid Booting.

While I don’t recall the full specs of the system, I do know it was on an SSD drive and while that helped, Lenovo engineers did a lot of tweaking to the way windows boots up to make it boot up as fast as it does.

Hands on with Blackberry Playbook

Michael Reyes — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:22:00 +0000

Earlier today Blackberry had an event for the Playbook in NYC and guess what they gave one to all the attendees!!! As soon as I got home I made the hands on video below. I will probably have a more elaborate review in a few days but until then enjoy the video.

Netflix Update for Xbox 360 Kinect

Michael Reyes — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:37:00 +0000

Today Microsoft pushed an update for the Netflix app on the Xbox 360. The Update adds Xbox 360 Kinect Support. I have tried it out and posted a video below. But all I can say is “REALLY THIS IS IT?”. You are only able to use the kinect to browse through suggestions. Really LAME if you ask me. I am really disappointed in the app but I have to admit I do like where Microsoft and Netflix are going with the App. I can’t wait for it to have full Kinect control.

SideKick 4 for T-Mobile available for Pre-Order

Michael Reyes — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:35:00 +0000

Today WireFly announced that the SideKick 4 is available for pre-order through them, the SideKick 4 is expected to be available later this month.

Sidekick 4 Features:

T-Mobile’s 4G HSPA+ network makes it one of the fastest T-Mobile devices on the market

VGA front-facing camera and pre-installed T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik

Powered by Android 2.2 (Froyo)

Equipped with a speedy 1 GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor

DriveSmart from T-Mobile – a first-of-its kind service from a U.S. carrier, that helps prevent distracted driving

Group Text – Create, name, manage, and join in ‘reply-all’ group conversations

Cloud Text – Text friends or groups from a laptop or desktop, which is synced with the phone, so nothing gets lost in translation

Built-in Social – Integrates Facebook friends, Myspace friends, and Twitter followers into one address book. Allows users to post or comment directly from their contacts list and update their status to multiple social outlets from one location

Jump Key- A physical button that enables customers to quickly switch between active applications, even during a phone call

Integrated Google™ services, including Gmail, Google Maps and access to thousands of applications on Android Market

Available in matte black and pearl magenta

For more information visit wirefly.com

Unboxing: PogoPlug Video

Michael Reyes — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:04:00 +0000

Yesterday at an event here in NYC I was able to meet with the CEO of PogoPlug, we spoke of the device how it worked and he even demoed it for me. He then gave me one to try out for myself and I unboxed it last night. Full revew soon but until then check out the vdeo below.

My No Cable TV Experiment

Michael Reyes — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:33:00 +0000

So I am going a little over a month with no cable television and I wasn’t sure I could survive without it. But now that I haven’t had it for a month I find myself working more, working out more and just having more time for other things.

So I have become more active I also found myself eating healthier not sure how it started, I guess since I also have more time to cook I am experimenting with different meal choices. Recipe.com is my new favorite site. I probably sound like a reformed couch potato but I wasn’t, I hardly ever watched TV when I had cable it’s one of my reasons for eliminating it but then again it was a distraction as I always had the television on.

I still watch TV don’t get me wrong, I haven’t abandoned it. I just don’t keep it on blasting while I work since most of the time when I am working only soap operas and talk shows are on. Plus I am a 30 year old guy I have no need to watch “The View” and that copycat “The View” on CBS. I also don’t find the radio that interesting either as of late.

But at noon I do turn the TV on and watch my local news which comes in beautifully over the air and if for some reason it did not, my local ABC station streams over the internet in HD at Noon and 5PM.

When I first ordered cable one of the reasons for me doing so was the horrible antenna signal I had. I could barely pick up any channels and if I picked them up they were fuzzy. Since the switch to digital signals my over the air reception has improved 10 fold. There are still some channels that don’t come in clearly so I have Hulu to make up for that. Mainly NBC and sometimes for some reason ABC acts up.

I still use my TiVo to record my favorite TV Shows like House, Greys Anatomy and the Simpsons, but when I needed my Spartacus fix, I settled for watching it on NetFlix the day after it aired on Starz. Sometimes a few days later if I was having a busy weekend. But then again even if my TiVo recorded an episode of House I may have watched the recorded episode a few days or a few weeks later. There have been times where I have watched 4 episodes back to back in one day because I had a busy month.

I also love sports, and since my Internet Service is provided by Verizon I am able to catch loads of highlights and a bunch of live events. From Knicks basketball games to Red Sox baseball games. You can even watch Euro League basketball, Premiere League Soccer and if you have a thing for Cricket they show cricket matches on it too. The only thing they don’t do is stream sports center. They should.

I am able to watch NetFlix and ESPN3 via my Xbox 360 on my television in the living room, for the times I need t watch something on Hulu I just connect my laptop to my television via the HDMI port, but soon I won’t need to even do that as Hulu should be coming to the Xbox 360 soon. I am also thinking about ditching my TiVo service all together as Hulu is a good replacement. Half the price with 30 second ads. I can live with that.

So how much money am I saving? Well I was paying cablevision $165.96 a month. That was just for Internet and TV. I switched to Verizon and pay $29.99 plus $2.13 in tax a month for their 7mbps DSL, $7.99 to NetFlix, $7.99 to Hulu and $14.95 to TiVo for a total of$ 63.05 a month. That is a savings of $102.91 a month. That’s over $1200 a year. If I eliminate the TiVo which I am planning on doing I will save another $14.95 a month even TiVo isn’t needed in this day and age of Netflix and Hulu and come to think of it the only reason I haven’t axed TiVo yet is I have another month to go on my year commitment with them. I didn’t even realize I was in a 1 year contract with them when I signed up. I thought I was just paying for the service after I purchased the TiVo box. Just goes to show some of the things they don’t tell you at Best Buy.

I am a huge sports fan and since writing this article I purchased MLB.TV for in market NY Yankee Games for $60 a year. When I break it down its only $5 extra a month. Still my savings are over $1150 a year.

Overall I am happy with no cable, the savings are worth it and I have no sense of withdrawal. Try it out for a month or two I am sure you won’t miss the service or the bill.

With all the alternate options available for television, WTF I need cable for?

Watch the Masters Online in 3D

Michael Reyes — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:03:00 +0000

If you are a golf fan you can now watch the masters online live in 3D with the help of NVIDIA 3D Vision. Today the Masters and NVIDIA announced they will stream the masters live over the web in 3D.

What do you need?

First, make sure that your PC is up to date with the correct settings, driver and video player (below):

• 3D Vision displays

o GPU driver beta 270.51 – http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us

o Windows Aero must be OFF

o 3D Vision Video Player 1.6.9 – http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-video-player-1.6.9-driver.html

• 3DTV Play – if you have an HDMI 1.4 3D TV

o GPU driver 270.51 – http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us

o Windows Aero must be ON

o 3D Vision Video Player 1.6.9 – http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-video-player-1.6.9-driver.html

o 3DTV Play license – find out how to get one at http://www.nvidia.com/get3d

All times are Eastern Daylight Time. Check your time zone to ensure you don’t miss it.

• Thursday, April 7 2011: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EST

• Friday, April 8 2011: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EST

• Saturday, April 9 2011: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EST

• Sunday, April 10 2011: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EST

Here is the link to stream the masters.

mms://a1980.l858434369.c8584.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/1980/8584/v0001/reflector:34369

Hands on with the Samsung Prevail for Boost Mobile

Michael Reyes — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:38:00 +0000

I was never much of a big fan of Boost Mobile, in fact when I think of them I think of thugs with push to talk phones. But Boost has grown up and now offers some great phones and great service on the Sprint network.

Last night I was able to get my hands on the new Samsung Prevail for Boost Mobile and I have to say I like the phone for those users who are just getting into the smartphone face and people like my mom who want one but necessarily don’t need something super powerful. Enjoy the video below.

The Samsung Prevail will be available later this month for $179 at BoostMobile.com. You will need the $50 Shrinkage Plan for this phone.

Unboxing the Clear Spot 4G

Michael Reyes — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Earlier this week I unboxed the Clear 4G USB modem, but I have since swapped it out for the Clear Spot Personal HotSpot that allows me to connect up to 8 devices instead of just 1 to the world wide web! Why didn’t I just order the Spot 4G to begin with? Website Bug on the Clear Website informed me that it wasn’t available to me when it actually was.

Enjoy the unboxing!

Dish Network to Buy Blockbuster

Michael Reyes — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:22:00 +0000

Maybe this isn’t a shocker to some, but it is to me. I honestly expected Best Buy or Tiger Direct to buy Blockbuster, so today’s announcement from Dish Network that they expect to pay $289 million cash for Blockbuster was somewhat of a shocker, another shocker is the price tag. Ten years ago one could of argued and said Blockbuster was valued at a billion dollars. How times change.

So what caused the Best Buy troubles? Their unwillingness to change, and get with the times. Their business model was to rent rent rent from their stores. They thought the Netflix model was not the right way to go but when they realized they were wrong it was too late, and now they are being bought out. Blockbuster is the perfect example of companies not getting with the times.

Dish didn’t really offer many details on the planned aqusition, but did say it should be completed by Q2 2011. So thats pretty soon.

NetworkWorld.com Apology to Samsung

Michael Reyes — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Last week NetworkWorld.com made some bogus claims about Samsung, an article that was so horribly wrong it left a bad taste in my mouth. The article claimed falsely with bad evidence and no real investigation on NetworlWorld.coms part that Samsung notebooks came pre-installed key loggers onto their notebooks.

That evening it was learned that Samsung was not installing Key loggers but the Anti-Virus software used was giving a false positive. You can read the apology by network world here.

Seagate GoFlex Slim 9mm USB 3.0 External Drive

Michael Reyes — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:32:00 +0000

Today Seagate launched the newest external drive in its GoFlex line. It’s a 9mm thick external GoFlex drive. The drive is encased in a black anodized case which makes it look very stylish and pretty much looks great next to any notebook PC. I am kind of hoping for a white one to be made available.

I have had one for about a week and a half already, and it performs just as well as the bigger external USB 3.0 drive, with the super-fast transfer rates. To give you an idea how fast, I was able to transfer a 4GB video file in about 8 minutes.

If you have a GoFlex drive already, the adapters you have for it will work with the GoFlex slim, however you will have a tiny bit of overlap, which isn’t a big deal. The adapter for the slim also works with other bigger GoFlex drives.

I made a fun little video to show whats as thick or thinner than the drive, so check it out.

Overall the GoFlex Slim 320 GB Drive is a great little drive, with super-fast speeds provided your system supports USB 3.0 which most newer notebooks should.

Available now at Seagate.com a mac version will be available in Apple Stores come May for $99.99.

Unboxing the Clear 4G Mobile USB Modem

Michael Reyes — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:16:00 +0000

I travel a lot, and with my heavy travel I often pay 10 to 40 dollars a day just for internet. Internet at airpots, on the plane and in my hotel room. The cost ads up, and the fact that my job requires I be online is no help. So I decided to give Clear a chance. So I ordered one of their USB modems and their $45 a month service plan. Check out the unboxing below. I will have a full review in a few days.

Just an FYI the round USB drive contained the drivers for the modem.

Carnival Games: Monkey See, Money Do from 2Kplay

Michael Reyes — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:32:01 +0000

On Tuesday 2KPlay will launch a new game for kids “Carnival Games Monkey See Monkey Do”. The game is for the Kinect on the Xbox 360. While I am a huge Kinect fan I personally am not a huge fan of kid games I decided to check it out. I saw a demo and got my hands on an early copy.

On my way home I stopped at the super market, picked up some corn dogs, hamburgers and hot dogs, and soon as I got home, I cooked them, lowered the shades on my windows, closed the curtains and turned off my cell phone and began to play.

The game has 20 games to play, and while I have played them all I will only talk about my four favorite. Crash Test Dummy (Similar to Hole in the Wall), Alley Ball (Also known as Ski Ball), The Batting Cage and The Golden Roller Coaster.

The Crash Test Dummy Game you pretty much have to make your body match the pattern on the screen, the better you match the more points you receive. It’s really fun the only problem is I could never match the patters 100% correctly. So I failed miserably at it.

Alley Ball also known as Ski Ball is my all-time favorite game; in fact every time I make it out to Coney Island here in NYC I spend a good 10 to 20 dollars playing and always leave with a big prize when I cash my tickets in. Now I can play it at home and save myself the 10 t0 20 dollars. Only downside is I don’t get a big teddy bear at the end of the day. I am also pretty sure that once my mother finds out I have this game. She will never leave.

The batting cage game is my favorite of all, as I am a huge baseball fan. I think I have played it 20 today a lone, in fact every chance I get I am moving my coffee table from the middle of the living room and swinging away with my invisible bat.

Check out the video below of me playing some of the games. No you can’t see but you can see the action on screen.

The games are super fun, I enjoyed every minute of game play. It’s not just a kids game but a family game, something the entire family will enjoy. The game also makes the best baby sitter, it’s cheap and the kids will pay attention to it.

Most of the games are single player which in my opinion sucks since you tend to go to a carnival with friends and family. But there are some multi-player games. However you can’t play against friends online.

One really cool game that in the game that I haven’t mentioned is the Monkey See Monkey Do game. Basically its Simon Says. I so suck at it but it’s a lot of fun to play. Basically you do what the Monkey does.

I was told by a 2KPlay representative that they plan additional games available for download from the Xbox Live Marketplace for an additional fee. But she wouldn’t confirm what type of games or how much they would cost.

This game is a must have so if you’re a parent you should head over to your local game store on April 5th and pick it up for $49.99 oh and when you get the game and open it up. Head to the back of the manual there is a coupon for free JOLLY TIME POPCORN! Oh and check out the Monkey Barker Popcorn Pops Recipe. I tried it and I liked it!

The Game is already available for pre-order over at Gamestop.com.

Toshibas 14” USB powered Portable Monitor

Michael Reyes — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Today FedEx dropped off the brand new Toshiba 14” USB Powered Monitor, and I was so excited I made a video! Check it out below, I should have a full review in a week or two.

For more information on this monitor visit http://www.toshibadirect.com.

Samsung Key Logger? What Key Logger?

Michael Reyes — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:48:00 +0000

Yesterday NetworkWorld.com published an article that in my opinion was a bit sketchy. The article was about two Samsung Notebooks that for some reason had a Key Logger installed.

In the article they claimed that two Samsung Notebooks contained a Key Logger called Star Logger. The person with the notebooks made the discovery by scanning his system with a licensed anti virus software, they even informed readers of the article where the location of the Key Logger was. I thought the story was bogus from the start, because key information was left out and the majority of the story focused on the Sony BMG Root Kit from a few years ago and not the Key Logger from Samsung.

The entire article the first and second part just didn’t seem right, to me and others. But then others followed suit, CNET for example posted an article making the same claims and instructing people how to remove the non existant key logger.

So today Samsung finally released a statement. Yes it’s a bt late but late is better than never, and I assume Samsung was investigating the issue. Their statement reads “Reports that a key logger was installed in Samsung laptops are not true. Our findings indicate that the person mentioned in the article used a security program called VIPRE that mistook a folder created by Microsoft Live Application for a key logging software, during a virus scan.”

A quick statement which puts the blame on the VIPRE anti-virus software, and it isn’t uncommon for such software to have false positives, a year or two ago McAfee had a big one where their software removed svhost files and dozens of retailers had to close shop until the problem was fixed.

One question that Samsung has yet to answer is, why did the customer service supervisor who handled the call about the Key Logger say that Samsung indeed did install it to track users? I have asked Samsung for comment and will let you know what they say. While writing this, they replied saying they will get back to me on that question.

Samsung Notebooks have Key loggers? Mines Didn’t

Michael Reyes — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:37:00 +0000

Today NetworkWorld.com published an article part 1 of what I can only assume is a two part piece, claiming that Samsung has pre-installed Key loggers onto their systems. Two systems were tested a Samsung R535 and a Samsung R540.

When I read the piece the first thing that popped into my head was, geez I have an R540 (well had forgot I sent it back) I don’t remember having any security issues with it. I then started to panic a bit as my cousin who isn’t that tech savvy and a friend of mines who is a bit more tech savvy but still a novice, both purchased an R540 on my recommendation from best buy.

So I immediately called my cousin up, WHO DID NOT ANSWER!!!! I then preceded to call my friend who did answer. She is a bit of a security freak and is running McAfee and Microsoft Security Essentials on her system simultaneously against my best wishes. Anyway I question her to find out if she has found anything suspicious on her system. She said aside from tracking cookies and a trojan she accidentally downloaded when trying to download music from a suspicious site she hasn’t detected anything.

Since the NetworkWorld article claimed the key logger, which is named StarLogger (a $23 dollar piece of shareware) was located in the Windows folder in a Folder labeled “SL” I asked her to look for that folder which she didn’t fine. I let out a sigh of relief, but knowing she possibly missed it I was still a bit worried. So I got my hands on a Samsung Q430 to test. To see if there is a key logger on it.

So what did I do to test the system for a Keylogger? Well view the video below. Its me powering on the Samsung Q430 for the second time (first time only lasted a few seconds battery was dead), and looking in the start up folder, because according to the network world article the key logger starts up at start up, then checking the start up tab in MSCONFIG along with the services tab, then going into the task manager to see if anything out of the ordinary was running. I then opened the Windows folder where according to the Network World article the key logger resides in a folder labeled “SL”.

Before you view the video keep in mind it was a spur of the moment thing, and I just arrived home from traveling and could not find my Flip or Sony Bloggie. Wasn’t traveling far just staying with family as my place was being painted. I hate paint smell.

So I found nothing on the system, not the same systems Network World had issues with, but if Samsung were installing Key Loggers onto their systems I would suspect it would be across the board through out the entire line of systems. I guess we will have to wait for Part 2 of the Network World article to find out whats going on.

As of right now I still trust Samsung to deliver a clean system.

Update: In the second part, the article claims that Samsung Confirmed that the software was placed to track useage. I personally have asked Samsung for comment and was told they would get back to me. I still think there is more to this story.

Crucial Expands Gaming Line with New Ballistix Sport Memory Series

Michael Reyes — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:58:00 +0000

Lexar Media the parent company of Crucial Technologies today introduced tot he world the new Crucial Ballistix Sport memory for those gamers who desire the very best. I think that line sounds like a hallmark commercial.

Designed for mainstream users, gamers, and general PC enthusiasts the Ballstix Sport supports all the latest CPUS from AMD and Intel including the second generation Intel Core processors (Sandy Bridge). The new memory comes with nice looing heat spreaders in Black and Silver that in my opinion look great with any setup for those of you who are picky about how things look inside your case. I am one of those, I like things to match.

“Over the years, Crucial Ballistix memory has earned a reputation amongst gamers and enthusiasts as high-quality, high-performance, reliable memory,” said Jeremy Mortenson, senior product manager. “The Crucial Ballistix Sport series offers casual gamers an accessible, easy-to-use Ballistix memory product at an affordable price. This new Ballistix offering is part of our broader product strategy and a commitment to satisfy the needs of our customers.”

For more information on the new Ballistix memory visit http://www.crucial.com

Crazy Deal from WireFly.com $49.99 HTC Arrive

Michael Reyes — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:07:00 +0000

For those of you who want the first Windows Phone for Sprint (HTC Arrive) you can order it now from Sprint.com or WireFly.com. If you order it from WireFly.com you can get it for only $49.99 a $50.00 savings. It does however require a 2 year contract and only available for new Sprint customers. I am unsure if renewals will get the $50 discount.

For more information Click Here.

Lenovo Announces ThinkStation E30 and ThinkCentre M81

Michael Reyes — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:50:00 +0000

Today Lenovo announced a new workstation the Thinkstation E30 and a new Desktop the ThinkCentre M81 for businesses. Lenovo promises to deliver speedy boot-up and shut down times with these two systems which are powered by the latest intel processors.

“Workstation users need the kind of performance that lets them do more each minute. The ThinkStation E30 workstation builds on our strong workstation platform, combining new rapid processing for data-crunching with more vivid and intense graphics capabilities,” said Tao Gu, executive director and general manager, Workstation Business Unit, Lenovo. “We created the ThinkStation E30 workstation to offer extremely powerful processing on a software-certified solution at desktop prices.”

The ThinkStation E30 replaces the E20 and powered by second generation allowing up to 4 cores of processing power when going with an Intel Xeon processor. The E30 will also be available with an 80 or 160 SSD drive instead of your traditional platter drive with super fast SATA III connections. The E30 will also have USB 3.0. For the filmmakers out there the E30 will also be available with a NVIDIA Quadro or NVS graphics card.

The ThinkCentre M81 will be available in a Tower Form Factor or Small form factor and will offer up to 160 GB of SSD Storage. It will also feature SATA III and USB 3.0 connections.

For more information on the E30 Click Here and for more info on the M81 click here.

Images:

Android Apps to run on Blackberry Playbook

Michael Reyes — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Research in Motion just sent out a press release (They forgot what BCC means) and confirmed what had been rumored for sometime now, the Blackberry Playbook which is available for pre-order at BestBuy.com and available on store shelves on the 19th of April, will support Android Apps.

This is HUGE. This will mean the Playbook will have over 200,000 Apps available on launch day! I for one am excited for the Blackberry playbook as it will make the perfect companion for your blackberry smartphone.

To see the BlackBerry Tablet OS in action running conceptual applications from The Astonishing Tribe, please visit http://www.youtube.com/blackberry#p/c/8D8C3A23664E6761/5/uH7NKhNyygw and http://www.youtube.com/blackberry#p/c/8D8C3A23664E6761/0/mWJG-sB7H4Y

Microsoft WIll let You Know

Michael Reyes — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Microsoft now has a webpage where Windows Phone 7 users in the US can know if and when an update for their windows phone 7 device will be available. The site currently list six devices, one of which already has the update, and five others with the update being scheduled and others the update being tested.

You can access the webpage by clicking here.

I guess I won’t be seeing my Samsung Focus update anytime soon according to that schedule.

Mobile LCD Monitor Powered by USB??? Yes from Toshiba

Michael Reyes — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:07:00 +0000

Toshiba today unveiled a USB powered 14” mobile LCD monitor. When I first read the press release I had to double check the date and make sure it wasn’t April 1st. A mobile LCD Monitor in my opinion is a great tool for any mobile professional. There are countless times where I could of used a second screen while traveling, and knowing that now I can if I were to get one and its powered by a USB port is in my opinion amazing.

“The Mobile Monitor allows traveling businesspeople and students to conduct on-the-spot presentations and share content without the need for a bulky projector or having to crowd around a laptop screen,” said Paul Collas, director of Accessory Marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Life Products and Services.

The Mobile Monitor is now available at toshibadirect.com as well as a variety of major consumer electronics and computer stores nationwide starting at $199.99 MSRP.

Below are some images of the device.

April Fools Day is Coming

Michael Reyes — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:34:00 +0000

ThinkGeek.com, has put together a bunch of cool toys for the prankster in us all just in time for our favorite holiday of the year! April Fools Day. On the list of products is a pen that zaps you to a greeting card that scares you there is something for everyone!

To check out the full list of pranks available click here. I personally may pick up the Pen and the Ball that Zaps ya. I like shocking people.

HTC EVO 3D & HTC EVO View 4G from Sprint

Michael Reyes — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:13:00 +0000

Today Sprint announced its 21st and 22nd 4G capable devices the HTC EVO 3D and the HTC View 4G (first 3G/4G android tablet). Sprint has also said they both will be available soon, although no official date was announced by Sprint in its three press releases on the devices.

The HTC EVO 3D powered by the Gingerbread (2.3) version of the Google Android OS, features the US first QHD 3D 4.3-inch display and a powerful 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core processor. HTC EVO 3D also features dual 5 megapixel cameras, which can be used to capture both high-quality conventional and stunning 3D images and videos, opening up new frontiers for user-generated content, social networking and streaming video. The HTC EVO 3D will also be the first device ever to support Blockbuster On Demand.

Sprint and HTC’s first 3G/4G Android tablet together, HTC EVO View 4G, will bring HTC EVO experience into a tablet design with a 7” 1024 x 600 touchscreen display with multi touch functionality, a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (single core) and the latest version of HTC Sense. As the perfect combination e-reader, media player and portable computing device, HTC EVO View 4G offers a premium entertainment experience with HD-quality video and a rich Web-browsing experience with the ability to browse the Web on Flash-enabled sites.

Again no official date in the press releases of when the two devices will be released, just that the release will be soon.

Image of devices below.

Pre-Order the Blackberry Playbook

Michael Reyes — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:32:00 +0000

Blackberry and Best Buy announced today, that you can now pre-order the Blackberry Playbook from Bestbuy.com and the Playbook it self will be available on the 19th of April. I had the chance to play with one earlier this month.

The BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will come in three models, featuring 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage at $499, $599 and $699 respectively. To Pre-Order visit one of the following links.

U.S. – www.bestbuy.com/playbook Canada – www.bestbuy.ca/blackberry or www.futureshop.ca/blackberry

Google and Sprint Team up on Google Voice

Michael Reyes — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:29:00 +0000

Google and Sprint today announced that they have teamed up to allow Sprint wireless customers to set their cell phone numbers up as Google Voice numbers. Sprint customers when the service is fully intergrated will be allowed to visit http://www.google.com/voice and check voicemails (transcribed and audio) aswell as send and recieve text messages.

Sprint is the only carrier to work with Google Voice at the moment, the service will be available soon for all Sprint customers and all devices.

Verizon Android Users Get Verizon Navigator Free, Wal-Mart Still Tops in Search

Michael Reyes — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:49:00 +0000

The Navigation By TeleNav app is now available for fre to Verizon Android customers. The Navigation App is somewhat of a stripped down version of the Full Version which will be available for Purchase. The premium version will be available for 50% off until March 31st. By having two versions of the App Telenav is able to cater to the ocassional user of GPS and still offer a full blown feature rich product for those who may want it. For more information on the TeleNav Apps for verizon click here to read the TeleNav Blog post anouncing the Free App.

Telenav also released information it gatthered on peoples GPS using habbits, and for the second year in a row, Walmart tops the list of the most searched business using a GPS device. I personally search for Walmarts and Best Buys all the time, so I am not surprised that Walmart tops the list.

Their information also showed that people in Baltimore searched for cheap gas more than any other city. The data also showed that Pizza was our most favorite food to eat while driving. The city where drivers needed the most assistance for GPS was Los Angles (easy to get lost there even with GPS).

For the complete study, visit http://www.telenav.com

Samsung Spring Showcase

Michael Reyes — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:33:00 +0000

Samsung today in NYC had a showcase of new products at the Samsung Experience store in the Time Warner Building. The event was for press only and lucky for me I was invited and was able to check out all the cool upcoming goodies coming from Samsung.

At the event various product managers from Samsung touted their new products and every single one seemed more interesting from the next. But while I was wowed by the televisions that offer an inch more of viewing space while maintaining the same footprint, and the Galaxy Viewers along with the sexy refrigerator, washer and dryers and all the super slim notebooks and the sexy series 7 tablet, there is one thing that just blew my mind. It’s not anything you can buy but it’s something you’d get if you bought a new Samsung television. It’s their new remote with a QWERTY keyboard on one side.

I am sure you are thinking “WTF a Remote”? Yes a remote I just think it to be ingenious, how many times have we launched an app like netflix on our connected televisions and have had to press up down left right to select a letter, TIVO thought it was a good idea with their remote that has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and so did DLINK with their remote for the BOXEE BOX. But the Samsung one is the best of them yet. Why? Because depending on which side is up or down the other side deactivates. While the remote is a bit bulky thats a really cool feature that I like. I can’t wait to get a Samsung Connected TV with one. Oh on a side note 60% of all Samsung TV’s to come out this year will be 3D televisions. Check the image below to see what the remote looks like.

Pretty sweet looking remote. I think its a bit chunky but thats ok I think I’d eventually get use too it. The remote is slanted so when using the QWERTY keyboard it’s comfortable to type on.

The 3D televisions will also come with two 3D glasses. They weigh an ounce and are really comfortable. They also look futuristic. They are also charged wirelessly when you buy an optional charger that sort of looks like a top hat, you can charge 4 3D glasses at a time. The image below is of what the glasses look like.

A quick note on the televisions, they have added more apps to the connected televisions and HBO to Go is now available for HBO Subscribers with a service provider that offers the ToGo service.

While the new remote and the 3D glasses are cool, one thing that really peaked my interest was the Series 7 Tablet PC running windows 7 Home or Premium with a 10 inch touch screen. I forgot to take pictures of it in my excitement of playing with it but the device was pretty rock solid. With up to 8 hours of battery life and weighing 2.2 lbs it’s what a Tablet PC should of been when Microsoft first came up with the idea of tablet pcs. My only gripe with the series 7 was that they were made of plastic and felt a bit toyish, but then again I was using a prototype so it’s possible that they weren’t as sturdy as the final product would be.

I was also able to get a glimpse at the super slim Series 9 notebooks which I must add are some sexy looking machines. Man oh Man has Samsung come a long way and if they continue the way they are I wouldn’t be surprised to see them dominating the notebook PC (winows based) market in a few years. Their notebooks are…how should I put this “a la apple”. Below pictured is a series 9 notebook.

Pretty sleek and slim looking device, I want one for myself!

Samsung also showed off the Galaxy Tabs and while those aren’t really new they did speak of a new app for them that will allow you to watch television on them. How? You simply stream it from your Samsung Connected television. Great way to take the TV with ya into the bathroom and around your home. Yes I said bathroom, a Galaxy Tab will replace the magazine and the news paper if you can watch TV on it. I am not ashamed to say I take my Nook Color into the bathroom with me.

They also showed off some amazing looking monitors. These things were beautiful, great looking designs and they doubled as televisions 3D televisions at that. But the monitor that caught my attention the most was a monitor that doubled as a wireless docking station. You connect a USB dongle to your computer and suddenly you can see your notebooks screen on the monitor. The monitor also had 4 USB ports 2 of which were USB 3.0. So say if you connected the USB dongle to your USB 3.0 port on your notebook you would be able to use USB 3.0 devices connected to the monitor. The monitor was also a sleek and stylish device. It’s pictured below. Oh and yes that tiny little dongle connected to the notebook is what syncs the notebook to the Monitor.

Hopefully I will be able to get my hands on these to test them out and review them. I am really digging the remote, tablet (series 7) and the monitor/docking station.

McAfee Issues Warning on Japan Charity Scams

Michael Reyes — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:40:00 +0000

As we all know, Japan has been devastated by a large 8.9 earthquake, Tsunami and now face problems from nuclear power plants that were compromised by them. Tens of Thousands are dead and many are still missing.

Even though there are a lot more good people in this world who are donating to legit organizations such as the Red Cross, there are some who are trying to take advantage of our kindness by tricking us into donating to fake charities where the only person that benefits is the person scamming you.

The security software maker McAfee today released a list of things to look out for when making a donation, and we are sharing them with you to make sure you don’t get scammed.

· .Org domains are cheap. Registering does not indicate charitable status in any way. Verify that the organization is actually a registered charity by typing the URL directly into a web browser.

· Domain solicitations that arrive by unsolicited email, especially those sounding overly urgent or desperate, are very likely to be scams.

· Be aware that donation requests made via advertising banners can also be scams.

· If you’d like to help, support one of the major international organizations that have a “most in need” fund such as the Red Cross.

I recommend you make any donation to one of the following organizations: http://www.redcross.org http://www.redcross.org http://www.dmhcj.or.jp/

Seagate Unveils New Enterprise Hard Drives, SSDs

Michael Reyes — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:44:01 +0000

Seagate on Tuesday announced multiple new lines of storage products geared specifically toward enterprise customers, comprising models of both solid-state drives (SSDs) and traditional spinning hard drives.

The SSDs are new members of the Pulsar family. According to Seagate, the Pulsar.2 is the first MLC NAND–enabled SSD that’s been designed from the ground up for enterprise use. Available in capacities ranging from 100GB to 800GB and supporting both 6-Gbps SAS and SATA interfaces, it’s rated for over 10 full drive writes per day, or about 15,000 TB (or 15 petabytes, or PB) over the course of a lifetime. Pulsar.2 drives also sport advanced media management features, background media scanning, I/O error detection and correction, power loss data protection and protection information (on the SAS model only). These drives have a Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) rating of 2 million hours and an Average Failure Rate (AFR) of 0.44 percent, and come with a three-year warranty.

The Pulsar XT.2 family is even more powerful, and intended for use in even higher-performance environments. Using a 6-Gbps SAS interface and SLC NAND, it’s available in capacities ranging from 100GB to 400GB. Seagate promises speeds random reads and writes of 48,000 and 22,000 IOPS respectively, and sequential reads and writes at 360 Mbytes/s and 300 MBps respectively. It’s rated for over 35 full drive writes per day, or 25PB of data across its lifetime. It offers many of the Pulsar.2’s additional features and the same MTBF rating and AFR, but also comes with a five-year warranty.

As for hard drives, Seagate says its new Savvio 15K.3 is the highest-performing enterprise model on the market. The 15,000-RPM drive, which has a 2.5-inch form factor and a 64MB cache, is available in capacities of 146 GB or 300 GB, and shares the Pulsar.2 drives’ MTBF rating of 2 million hours and AFR of 0.44 percent. Seagate claims its average read and write times are 2.6 ms and 3.1 ms respectively on the 300GB drive, with a sustained transfer rate of 202 to 151 MBps. The Savvio 15K.3 uses the 6-Gbps SAS interface.

Another new hard drive is also a Savvio: the 10,000-rpm Savvio 10K.5, which shares the 15K.3’s form factor, MTBF rating and AFR, and cache size, but comes in capacities of 300 GB, 450 GB, 600 GB, or 900 GB. The three smaller drives have average read and write times of 3.4ms and 3.8ms respectively, and the 900 GB drive comes in just a little slower at 3.7ms and 4.1ms. All the drives boast a sustained transfer rate of 168 MBps and 93 MBps, and support 6-Gbps SAS and 4-Gbps FC interfaces.

For companies in need of drives with a lot of space, Seagate has developed the Constellation ES.2, which possesses a full 3TB capacity to go along with its 64MB cache. This 3.5-inch drive has a MTBF rating of 1.2 million hours, average read and write times of 8.5ms and 9.5ms respectively, and a sustained transfer rate of 155 MBps. Both the 6-Gbps SAS and SATA interfaces are supported.

The Pulsar XT.2 is now shipping to OEMs, and both it and the Pulsar.2 will be available to the channel beginning in the second quarter of 2011. The Savvio drives are also shipping, with first-quarter availability for the 10K.5 and second-quarter availability for the 15K.3. The Constellation ES.2 will be available in the channel in the second quarter.

Written by: Matthew Murray

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2381939,00.asp

HTC Thunderbolt for Verizon Wireless Available for Pre-Order

Michael Reyes — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 09:40:00 +0000

WireFly today announced that customers can now pre-order the HTC Thunderbolt for Verizon Wireless. The Thunderbolt is Verizons first Android powered 4G LTE smartphone and in my opinion is one of the most beautiful android devices from HTC.

It’s similar to the HTC EVO for Sprint as it has a Kick Stand to prop it up when you want to watch video streamed over Verizons fast 4G Network, a large 4.3” touchscreen and 8 megapixel camera. The thunderbolt is also powered by a super fast 1Ghz Snapdragon processor.

The device will run you $199.99 with a 2 year contract and you can pre-order it today at WireFly.com, if you use coupon code “WIREFLY4GB” (exp 3/31/11) you will get a free 4GB microSD card with your purchase.

The device will ship on the 17th so in just 2 days. For more information visit: http://www.wirefly.com/template/simpleautocontent.aspx?pageid=9700&q=thunderbolt

Wirefly Announces Pre-Sale of HTC Arrive for Sprint

Michael Reyes — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:47:00 +0000

WireFly.com one of the leaders in online mobile sales, announced that it will allow for customers to pre-order the HTC Arrive for Sprint.

The HTC Arrive is the first Windows 7 Phone for Sprint, and the latest from HTC. The arrive features a full QWERTY Keyboard that slides out, the screen of the Arrive also slants at an angle making it perfect for watching movies or videos on. I would personally use it to take advantage of the Netflix app using Sprints super fast network.

For more information and to pre-order yours click here.

Waiting in Line for an iPad 2

Michael Reyes — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:31:00 +0000

Skinnylegs one of our most loyal members just posted some pictures he took while waiting in line at the Fashion Valley Mall Apple store in San Diego California. He guesstimated that there were about 100 people in line waiting for the launch of the newest tablet from Apple which now includes built in cameras and a dual core processor.

Check out the pictures in the thread, and I am sure he will post some unboxing pictures of his iPad 2 as well.

For thow who want to buy the iPad 2 from Apple.com, it appears that the ship date has been pushed back from imediately to 2 – 3 weeks.

Review Lite-On eNAU608 Slim Exteral DVD Writer

Michael Reyes — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:35:00 +0000

Over the past few years a lot of OEMs have been trying to make your electronics more personal, HP’s slogan for example is “The Computer is Personal Again” and while we can pick and choose between colors and designs, we are pretty much stuck with what ever color and design we choose until we replace the device.

Lite-On aims to change that up a bit, with the release of the Lite-On enau608 external portable DVD re-writer you can customize it anyway you like. The writer comes with a two sided panel that you can flip over to display a heart design or a zebra pattern, but you don’t have to use that pattern you can create your own, simply remove the thin plastic cover to replace it with your own design or do what I did and load it up with pictures of family. The drive does come with software to help you create backgrounds.

The concept I think is great and while at first I didn’t care for it I really dig it now, the ladies at CuteGeek.com who I showed it off too love the idea and can’t wait for Newegg.com to have them in stock.

The drive also features LableTag which allows you to label your disc easily inside the writer, a huge time saver and a feature I have used before and really enjoyed on other Lite-On drives.

Overall the drive is great, it burns disc quickly and its slim form factor allows for easy transportation. I really enjoy the drives customizability and its portability, I take it on business trips and someone always seems to comment on how I have it customized at the time. Great way to start up a conversation in a stuffy business meeting.

For more information on the drive visit LiteOn.com

Western Digital My Passport Essential USB 3.0 1TB Drive

Michael Reyes — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 07:28:01 +0000

I recently acquired a new notebook PC with USB 3.0 ports built in, no need for a PCI-Express card or any type of peripheral to take advantage of the speed advantages offered by USB 3.0. My only problem was I really didn’t have a portable USB 3.0 hard drive. I did have desktop USB 3.0 drives but I can’t carry those around with my notebook.

So I got my hands onto the WD My Passport Essential SE portable HDD for USB 3.0. I chose it because it is an elegant drive with a sleek piano black finish that matched my notebook perfectly, I like things that match, it was also small enough to fit in my pockets. I liked the small form factor because I am often in a rush and while I may shove my notebook into my briefcase I often find myself sticking my accessories in my pockets.

I immediately noticed the speed improvement from my old Passport drive when compared to the USB 3.0 drive, transferring files were at-least 5 times faster. I was able to transfer files form my Documents folder and Music folder over rather quickly 4GB of data in less than 8 minutes. The drive which contains 1TB of storage can hold tons of music, videos and photos.

The My Passport Essential SE also comes with WD SMartWare software that allows you to easily partition, and back up to the drive. Even though I consider my self an advanced user, I found the software extremely useful, easy to use and a time-saver.

Overall the drive works perfectly, the included software is great. I may have to purchase more when this one fills up.

For more information visit http://www.westerndigital.com

Intel Releases Core vPro Business Processors

Syndicated — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 23:19:00 +0000

When Intel released its new consumer-oriented second-generation Core (AKA “Sandy Bridge”) CPUs in January, it seemed likely that the “professional” version would be just around the bend. Today Intel has introduced just that, with its new second-generation Core vPro family of processors.

Though based on the same microarchitecture as the consumer chips, and utilizing technologies such improved media handling, Advanced Vector Extensions, Quick Sync Video for energizing media manipulation, and the enhanced Turbo Boost for increasing performance when not all processing cores are being utilized, vPro processors also include a number of extras that are geared specifically towards business users.

These include a new Host-Based Configuration feature that automates the process of setting up vPro functions on new PCs. According to Intel, “thousands of computers can be configured simultaneously in a couple of minutes.” Also present is a new Keyboard-Video-Mouse Remote Control feature that lets a remote technician assist a user—now in higher definitions than ever before, compensating for jobs requiring use of HD video and larger screen sizes.

For users who rely on laptops to be their system at and away from the office, Intel has introduced Anti-Theft Technology Version 3.0, which introduces three new ways to protect systems. It lets authorized IT or service technicians completely disable a lost or stolen computer and prevent access to its valuable data, and then reactivate it later, all by using an encrypted and authenticated SMS message. The new Locator Beacon function helps authorities determine the precise location of a missing laptop using GPS technology on select 3G modems. And standby protection can require an encrypted login, so that if a laptop goes missing while it’s in standby, it’s still guarded by an extra layer of security.

Some vPro processors will also incorporate Identity Protection Technology, which reduces phishing attacks and instances of unlawful access by generating a six-digit numerical password every 30 seconds that only the proper target knows.

Intel claims that a new Core vPro i5 CPU can speed business applications by 60 percent, multitasking by 100 percent, and data encryption by 300 percent. Among the first new processor families to take advantage of these updates is the Xeon E3-1200, which Intel is calling the first entry-level workstation platform that integrates “professional-level graphics onto the processor.”

Written by: Matthew Murray

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2381609,00.asp

Maker of Best Music Video Ever Acquired by Western Digital

Michael Reyes — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:06:00 +0000

Today Western Digital Announced that it has acquired the maker of the best music video ever, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. For those of you who remember, back in 2005 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies came out with the geekiest and hippiest music video ever. Check it out below.

For more information on the aquasition visit: http://www.hitachigst.com/

iPad 2 vs. Xoom: Which Tablet Should You Buy?

Syndicated — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:07:00 +0000

The next tablet generation is upon us. The best Android tablet we’ve seen so far, the Motorola Xoom, is available now, and the very-promising iPad 2 goes on sale on next week. We’ve tested and reviewed the Xoom, and though we haven’t put the iPad 2 through its full paces in the PCMag labs yet, we did get some quality hands on time at Apple’s event. The question of the moment is simple: if you want a tablet now, which one should you buy?

On a basic level, the Apple iPad 2 and the Motorola Xoom are relatively similar. The iPad 2’s 9.7-inch screen isn’t much smaller than the Xoom’s 10.1-incher (though differing aspect ratios mean the dimensions are somewhat different). They each come with 1GHz, dual-core processors—Apple’s A5 in the iPad and Nvidia’s Tegra 2 in the Xoom. They’ve each got front and rear cameras, Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, an accelerometer and gyroscope, and access to large app markets: the iOS App Store on the iPad 2, and the Android Market on the Xoom.

But there are a few key differences between the devices, which you’ll want to consider. Most significant is the operating system: Android is a much more open, customizable system than iOS, but that has pros and cons. iOS devices tend to be updated more reliably and more frequently, since the whole ecosystem is within Apple’s control. On the other hand, you must rely on Google, Motorola, and Verizon to get your Xoom upgraded. For the tinkerer or hacker, though, Android is probably a better choice.

The Xoom is definitely the best Android tablet you can buy right now. Its dual-core processor makes it extremely fast and responsive (something other Android tablets have struggled with), and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) is designed specifically for tablets, unlike previous versions of Google’s operating system. There are some glaring omissions in the Xoom—there’s currently no Flash support, the SD card slot doesn’t work right now, and the 4G radio isn’t even inside the device yet—but despite those issues, which Motorola promises to rectify, it’s still a solid choice.

The iPad 2 is largely an incremental improvement over the original, with a number of spec upgrades and a few new features, like dual cameras. The iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than the Xoom (or the original iPad), and has upgraded computing power across the board. But the experience of using it likely won’t be much different from the original iPad—which is good or bad, depending on your taste for iOS. It will be available from both Verizon and AT&T, whereas the Xoom is only available through Verizon.

In the table below, we’ve gathered the most important iPad 2 and Xoom specs, to help you figure out which tablet is the right one for you.

Written by: David Pierce

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2381322,00.asp

Norton Issues Warning on the Following Android Apps

Michael Reyes — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:01:00 +0000

Earlier this week Norton informed the world that cybercriminals were targeting smartphones by releasing apps ridden with malware into unofficial Android Marketplaces. Now they announce that cybercriminals have actually infiltrated the official Android Market using various publisher and application names.

According to Symantec Sources 50,000 – 200,000 took place within a four day time frame when the malicious apps were on the Android Marketplace. Google has since removed the apps.

If you have downloaded one of the following Apps remove it now:

• Falling Down

• Super Guitar Solo

• Super History Eraser

• Photo Editor

• Super Ringtone Maker

• Super Sex Positions

• Hot Sexy Videos

• Chess

• Scientific Calculator

• Dice Roller

• Advanced Currency Converter

• Funny Paint

• Spider Man

More information is available here.

VTech LS6375-3 Cordless Phone System

Michael Reyes — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:01:00 +0000

Back during the holidays I went to a press event and I stumbled upon some new offerings from VTech in particular the LS6375-3 Two Cordless Handset phone system which also includes a wireless headset.

A system I thought was pretty cool, at least for me. Why me? Because it is a great looking phone system, sleek and stylish and has a modern look that I like. It is also great for those of us who have a small apartment with limited space. Sure phones don’t take up much room but when you live in a small apartment in NYC ever little inch counts.

While my apartment is small I am constantly moving around in my small apartment and sometimes into my buildings lobby and even hang out on the buildings stoop, which makes the included headset the perfect addition. However if I am screening calls it wouldn’t be handy as I wouldn’t know who is calling. For those who may need more than two handsets the LS6375-3 can be expanded to have a total of four handsets.

The first thing I checked out was how good the sound quality was, and if any of my cell phones or other wireless devices interfered or were interfered by the handsets. With my older wireless phone system I would lose internet connectivity or hear buzzing on my television when answering the phone. No such interference with the LS6375, also the sound quality was fantastic. I guess we have to credit the DECT 6.0 technology. The phone is also secured so that it is nearly impossible for anyone to easdrop into your conversation.

I also liked the built in intercom system, you can call the other phones connected to the base system. So no more yelling through out the house to get someones attention and ever since I started using the LS6375-3 my neighbors have loved me as they no longer hear me through our thin walls.

I really enjoy the LS6375 and think if you’re in the market for a new cordless phone system this is one you should seriously consider. For more information on this system click here.

For more information on VTech and their products they do have a twitter and facebook account that you can follow. http://twitter.com/vtech411 and http://www.facebook.com/VTechPhones.

VTech also launched a site last year to help consumers stay informed on the latest consumer comunication trends, that site is http://www.staygrounded.com/

I Got To Play with the Blackberry PlayBook

Michael Reyes — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 03:04:00 +0000

Yesterday in NYC Blackberry held a press event to show off their soon to be available (date unknown) Blackberry Playbook a slate device with wi-fi connectivity.

When I first heard of the Playbook last year I thought it a lame attempt to compete with the iPad, but then again I pretty much thought any tablet/slate was a lame attempt to compete with the iPad. However today my mind has been changed. I was able to get my hands onto the Playbook for a good 30 minutes uninterrupted and I was able to see how well it performed.

For the first time I handled a slate that in my opinion offered true muli-tasking. Apps continued to run in the background and they were actually running still, you could see the apps working in when in the tabbed view. Also even with multiple apps open the PlayBook continued to run quickly and seamless. I was rather impressed.

The web browsing was also superb. I loved the full browser, no mobile version of the sites and FULL I repeat FULL support. I just hope that flash doesn’t crash the PlayBook as much as it crashes my browser. I visited several websites from HardwareGeeks.com, CuteGeek.com, Amazon.com even Apple and Blackberry.com and they all worked as if I were browsing them via a full blown PC.

The Playbook also has a Mini HDMI port that will allow you to connect it to a television and or monitor and stream content to it, you can also view the screen of the PlayBook on the monitor or if the App supports it you can dedicate the monitor to one specific app so basically you’ll be able to have dual screens.

So can the PlayBook compete with the iPad and other Slate/Tablets on the market? I would say yes however BlackBerry needs to quickly load up their App store with available Apps, in this market APPS ARE KEY.

At the event yesterday I took the below picture of the lovely Zenia Duran from CuteGeek.com holding the PlayBook. Oh I must add it’s really light weight and the screen is very responsive to touch.

Barns and Noble Nook Color Wi-Fi $199

Michael Reyes — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:25:00 +0000

eBay has the Nook Color for $199 with the use of the following coupon code. “CBARNESDD”. I recently purchased my Nook Color and love it. The Nook color in my opinion is the most powerful e-reader on the market and for those android fans out there you can even run honeycomb on it.

To get your Nook Color Wi-Fi for $199 visit http://item.ebay.com/290535929095 and be sure to enter coupon code “CBARNESDD”.

Microsoft Bricks Windows 7 Phones

Syndicated — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:46:00 +0000

The above headline should never need to be written. A company should never “brick” or render any product that a customer paid for useless. The company should replace the product if this happens accidentally and pay a fine for seriously inconveniencing the customer.

And exactly what mechanism is in the phone that “bricks” it and renders it useless anyway?

Much of the updating problems stem from the halcyon days of AOL, the company that perfected the slipstream update. Back in the 1980s and 90s, when AOL pretty much owned the online segment of the industry, the system would tell you that it needed to make an update when you tried to log off. For the next 15 minutes, AOL would be plugging in all sorts of new code.

I found that this process worked well.

When users were confronted with other systems that wanted to upgrade in later years, reluctance to approve the process set in, especially when it came to Microsoft Windows and its constant need to upgrade on what became “patch Tuesday.” This was the result of various upgrades failing for various reasons. It was a little more complicated than fixing AOL.

Apple has done a reasonable job of updating Mac software on the fly. It held an impressive record of quality upgrades with minimal failures. More impressive, at least to me, is that Apple managed to incorporate performance upgrades, so the machine often improved in performance after an upgrade. Windows machines, on the other hand, seemed to continually degrade with each update, running slower and slower over time.

The knowledgeable user generally does not like the auto-upgrade idea. It just seems risky under most circumstances. This is proven every so often when an upgrade fails and has to be fixed in a panic by the company.

The most recent upgrade with the Win Phone 7 is a perfect example. We hear that the process failed on 1 out of 10 phones. This is probably a low estimate, but a 10 percent failure rate is still ridiculous, especially if some phones then became unusable.

In the first place, there’s something wrong if these software systems are so poorly designed from the outset that they need weekly (in Windows case) or even monthly updates to “fix” problems with the code. I understand that weird things happen in the field, and it’s hard to predict that dialing 0 on the phone while in a call-waiting state while surfing a flash-enabled site from an .org domain might trigger a bug. You still have to wonder how the code was structured in the first place.

With game software, for example, each developer has a set of tools that they use over time to develop the next generation of product. The longer they are in business the more elaborate and useful the tools become until some of the most amazing games in history emerge. Many of which are bug free.

Why doesn’t this happen with operating systems? The things evolve in complexity like games, but devolve in stability unlike games. What’s the difference? What changed? I’ve been told by more than a few people that the Windows code base is evolved but nobody that’s still at Microsoft knows anything about how it works. It’s become a black box. Maybe that explains it, if it’s true.

The Apple OS, on the other hand, has a UNIX kernel and is newer. The Apple iPhone iOS is newer still. That would make me think that the Windows Phone 7 OS is new too and not subject to all the historic problems of Microsoft’s spaghetti code.

I assumed too much. Phone 7 appears to be a gussied up version of Windows CE, which means it’s a lot of old spaghetti code that has been made to look good. This means risky patches. If the upgrade fiasco is any indication, I suspect there will be more of the same glitches in the future. I wish users luck if Microsoft begins patching like crazy, which I suspect it will.

Written by: John Dvorak

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380953,00.asp

Express Mouse from Microsoft

Michael Reyes — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Today Microsoft introduced a new line of wired mice called the Express Mouse. The Express Mouse is a sleek looking mouse that works on any surface with out the need of a mouse pad, and will eventually be available in five colors come June. The first two Express Mice will be available in Grey and Red starting in April.

They will be priced at $19.95 making them cute and affordable.

Microsoft today also announced that for $29.95 you can get your hands on the LifeCam HD-3000 which if I am not mistaken is the most affordable HD webcam on the market. The HD-3000 can shoot video in up to 720p format and with its TrueColor Technology can deliver vibrant colors in even the darkest or brightest of light settings.

For more information on both the Express Mouse and HD-3000 visit http://www.microsoft.com/hardware

HP Shows Off New Elite and ProBooks

Michael Reyes — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 03:59:00 +0000

Today HP announced it has revamped what I consider their stunning business notebook lineup.

The new EliteBook 8460p and 8560p feature a designed inspired by aerospace. The DuraCase design that meets military specifications enables the EliteBooks to withstand the toughest of conditions while maintaining a stylish yet work suitable design. In fact I have said in the past that the HP Business line of notebooks are even more elegant than their consumer line.

The EliteBook 8460p when properly configured can deliver up to 32 hours of battery life, 8 hours more than the 24 hours it could deliver a 3 years ago. Unlike the 6390p which delivered up to 24 hours of battery life, I have not seen the 8460p in action.

The EliteBook P series will be powered by Intel Core i7, i5 and i3 dual core processors. They will also feature USB 3.0 ports and USB 2.0 Charging ports, of course you will have your standard wireless capabilities. They will also be available with SATA drives and offer a 14 – 15.6 inch display LED backlit displays. (8460 14inch, 8560 15.6 inch).

For more information on the new HP systems visit: http://www.hp.com/

Microsoft Releases Windows 7 SP1

Syndicated — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:10:00 +0000

Microsoft announced Tuesday that Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is now available for download via the Microsoft Download Center.

Most people will get Windows 7 SP1 via Windows Update, Microsoft said. For those updating a single PC or a home PC, the company recommends that you wait for that update.

“Remember – for Windows 7, SP1 will help keep your PCs well supported by delivering ongoing updates, many of which have been made previously available through Windows Update,” Microsoft said in a blog post. “It does, however, include client-side support for RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory which are two new virtualization features enabled in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.”

Microsoft released the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 to its OEM partners on February 9, and they were made available to current customers of the Windows Volume Licensing program, as well as subscribers to Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet, on February 16.

Dynamic Memory allows Windows Server Hyper-V administrators to increase virtual machine density without sacrificing performance, scalability, or security. RemoteFX allows for the virtualization of the Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) on the server side to deliver next-generation rich media and 3D user experiences for VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructures).

Written by: Chloe Albanesius

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380743,00.asp

Microsoft Rolls Out Minor Update to Windows Phone 7, No Cut and Paste Just Yet

Syndicated — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:06:00 +0000

Microsoft on Monday started rolling out an update to Windows Phone 7 devices, though it is not the larger update promised by Steve Ballmer during his CES keynote that will include features like cut and paste.

“This update is a relatively small one,” Microsoft said in a blog post.

Monday’s update – the first for the platform – “is designed to improve the software update process itself,” Microsoft said. “So while it might not sound exciting, it’s still important because it’s paving the way for all future goodie-filled updates to your phone, such as copy and paste or improved Marketplace search.”

Microsoft will send out the update in waves. When it hits your phone, the device will display a message that says a software update is available. Connect the phone to your PC or Mac and follow the on-screen instructions. Users that installed the Zune software or Windows Phone 7 Connector might have to update that program first and then use it to update the phone.

In January, Ballmer said the first major Windows Phone 7 update will add two components: cut and paste; and improved app performance when loading and switching apps. Customers can expect to see apps and games that load even faster, he said.

Written by: Chloe Albanesius

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380726,00.asp

Norton 360 Version 5

Michael Reyes — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:47:00 +0000

Today Symantec has announced the availability of version 5 of the Norton 360 security suite, and introduced its new Cybercrime Index.

Norton 360 Ver. 5 promises to deliver top notch security to its users, and the new Cybercrime Index will keep those same users up to date with what’s going on in the cybercriminal world, so that they can know what to be on the lookout for and how better to protect themselves.

Norton 360 Ver. 5 scored a 100% score for protection in a Dennis Technology Labs test. But since I didn’t perform the test I asked Norton if I could test out Norton 360 Ver. 5 for myself and see how well it protected me. They agreed and sent me a copy.

So now that I had a copy of N360 Ver. 5 I decided to perform my own test.

The first test was installation:

For those of you who are curious, installation was quick and easy. It installed in under a minute. Yes even though Norton products have installed in under a minute for sometime now, it’s still hard to believe. So I made a video of it. From the time I click Install to the time I get to the Activate Product screen is less than a minute. Time it for yourself.

I still am amazed at how fast it installed. For those who think I sped up the video, send me your email address and I’ll invite you to my drop box so you can download the original unedited version of the file. The video above was edited to fit the youtube screen.

The Second Test was Performance:

One of the biggest issues I have with security software is, they tend to be resource hogs. Not the case with N360 ver 5. Even though N360 has loads of features the CPU usage and Memory usage was less than FireFox with several tabs open. All of the N360 components used up about 10 MB of memory and barely made a blip on my CPU meter.

In fact the System Insight feature in N360 Ver5 can help you track down resource hungry applications and will even help you optimize your system for better performance. One of the best tools it has to offer.

I continue to be impressed by how few resources N360 Ver. 5 used.

The Third Test: Does it really protect me?

So how exactly did I test the protection of N360? I did what I tell my friends and family not to do. I visited all the no no sites. Porn sites, Warez Sites, any site that I knew would try to give my machine some form of virus.

While browsing these sites N360 alerted me of malicious attempts to compromise my PC. It stopped them all.

Another way N360 protected me was when searching the web. There are so many bogus search results on Google for example that if you aren’t careful you may think your clicking onto a legit site when in actuality you are not. N360 places icons next to search results informing you if the site is malicious or not. A Red X means stay away and a Green check mark means proceed with no fear. This isn’t a new feature however in the V5 version they now indicate whether a site is secured with a VeriSign Certificate. These sites are labeled Norton Secured. If you are unaware Symantec Purchased VeriSign last year.

But that isn’t where the protection ends. The CyberCrime Index that Symantec Introduced today will keep you up to date with what threats bag guys are trying to target you with and gives you tips on how to protect yourself. I love the CyberCrime index because I always believed that an educated computer user is a safer one.

N360 offers more than just security software, it also has integrated backup software which will help you easily back up your data to DVDs, an external HDD or into the cloud.

You also will have PC Tuneup with N360. The PC Tuneup portion of the suite offers various tools to keep your system running correctly. There is a disk optimizer, a file cleaner and start up manager that will help you keep unwanted programs from starting up increasing your boot time.

Overall N360 Ver 5 is a great security software suite. It’s so great we are giving three keys away. The first three people to reply to this review will get a copy of N360. Just make sure you enter your email address in the email field.

Yellow Pages Mobile App

Michael Reyes — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 06:18:00 +0000

I am not one to really write a review on software let alone an app for a smartphone. But recently I was asked to check out the YP Mobile.

So I gave it a shot. I tend to travel a lot and I am always looking for an app that can help me easily find places, and I am a big guy I love to eat so I am also on the lookout for good restaurants and I like to see what others who have eaten at these restaurants think.

So I downloaded the YP App to my Blackberry. I have used similar apps like POYNT and YELP and while those apps were great I often found myself forgetting to use them, so I worried the YP app would just be another app that I forget to use taking up space on my phone. But I did want to try it out.

So I fire up the YP Mobile App and searched for Hamburgers I was craving a beef patty with cheese and the greasier the better. At the time I was in Cupertino California at the Cypress Hotel and the first result was a restaurant called BJ’s steak house. Was about ¼ mile away so I walked over with some friends and we had loads of fun, the burger I had was fantastic!

We also used the App to find local hot spots in the area which didn’t seem to have much of a night life according to the App, hotel staff confirmed so we ended up going to San Francisco and partied like animals thanks to the YP app.

I am not sure if YP pulls reviews for restaurants, clubs etc it list from third party services I don’t think they do but I have to say the recommendations and comments were spot on. I tend to take reviews about places I visit with a grain of salt until I visit the location, but there were a few locations I found with the YP mobile app while in San Francisco and the reviews were spot on. One of the reviews of a location said “Great food, and affordable. Beware when exiting do not go to the left head to the right”. I made the mistake of not listening. For all of you who visit San Francisco don’t pass 9th street. Keep in mind I live in NYC born and raised and have lived in some of the worst areas of NYC with out fear. I was scared once I passed 9th street in San Francisco lol.

Overall the App is great and I haven’t stopped using it since I put it on the phone a week ago, and don’t plan too. You can download it at http://www.yellowpages.com/products/ypmobile

If you are an at&t customer you might have it pre-loaded it on your phone, just look for YPmobile in your menu. The YP Mobile App is available for iPhone, Blackberry, WebOS and iPad. You can also access the mobile web version at http://m.yp.com or you can text your search term and location to 97411 and YP Mobile will text you back with three results.

Review Boxee Box

Michael Reyes — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:14:00 +0000

Last year there was so much hype over the D-Link Boxee Box that I had a feeling it was all talk, so of course I and every geek alive wanted one.

But one thing worried me, was all the hype for nothing? I didn’t get my Boxee Box on Launch day because D-Link said they would send me one to test out, it arrived a few days after Christmas and a day or two before my trip to CES. I was excited when I got it but because of the holidays and my upcoming trip I was unable to play with it until a few days after I got back from CES.

When I finally was able to open it up, the first thing I wanted to check out was:

a) How big it was

b) Will it look as cool on my TV stand as it does in pictures

c) How hard it’s going to be to set up

As soon as I opened it up I could tell that (a) and (b) were going to be ok. The Boxee Box isn’t huge and it really looked cool next to my TV on the TV stand. Sure the square shape with the corner cut off looked odd, and even though it looked a bit out of place I liked it, it looked cool. I will admit however that I did find the glow of the logo a bit annoying at first.

Set up was easy as well, all you need is to connect the power cable to an outlet, and an HDMI cable or Component cables from the Boxee Box to your TV. I would recommend using an HDMI cable. Power up the device run through the set up (the keyboard on the remote makes it even easier) and you’re ready to start using the Boxee Box.

I have used various similar products, such as the WD TV live, Seagate GoFlex TV, Google TV and other variants of the WD and Seagate devices, and I have to say for a gen 1 device the Boxee Box had a pretty solid user interface when compared to other devices I have used in the past.

While the UI was nice and looked easy, there were some areas such as the “Apps” section that was difficult to navigate back in. I found myself confused with some of the navigation but eventually got the hang of it. A great looking UI doesn’t always an easy to use one. I will note though there are only portions of the Boxee Box UI that are hard to navigate and these portions are the ones you’d least use, pretty much everything else is fun and easy to figure out and use.

So how do you get content to your Boxee Box? Simple you can either insert an SD Card, attach a HDD via a USB port or pull content form your network. Someone asked me if I needed to install software to get the Boxee box to pull content from my computers. No. Once the Boxee Box was on my network it was able to grab data from my Windows Home Server, my several PC’s etc.

There are also Apps on your Boxee Box. Apps such as Netflix. This is probably my most used app of all as it allows me to stream movies and tv shows. I am actually thinking about killing my cable subscription to the lowest possible level and just using Netflix for all of my premium content. Would I be crazy if I did that? Boxee Box would save me over 1200 a year if I did do that.

There are also apps from Pandora, Vimeo, MLB, NHL, CNN and others. There is an app pretty much for every taste.

Something I really like but some may find annoying are the constant updates. DLink wants to keep the Boxee Box fresh and working great so they update it regularly which in my opinion is a great thing.

Overall Boxee TV is a great entertainment tool, it’s cool looking, easy to set up and use and if you know how to take advantage of all the available apps you may even save your self-tons of money on your cable bill.

For more information visit Boxee.tv or http://www.dlink.com/boxee and if you want one, head on over to Best Buy to pick one up or at BestBuy.com.

By the way if you head over to Boxee.tv you can even learn how to build your own.

Seagate GoFlex TV and FreeAgent Theater+ get iPhone App

Michael Reyes — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:32:01 +0000

Today Segate announced that their Segate TV Remote Application has been approved and now appears for download on the iTunes Store. In order to use the new iPhone app you will need to download an updated firmware for your device from the Seagate.com support site.

The new App will allow for easy text entry for searching content on YouTube, Netflix and Pandora. You can also view files stored on hard drives connected to the device on your iPhone. You can even stream images on your iPhone now to your television.

The App is free so if you own, a GoFlex TV or FreeAgent Theater+ download it now!

HP Floods the Market with Goodness

Michael Reyes — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:56:01 +0000

From new notebooks to new phones HP released or announced pretty much every kind of product you would expect from them.

On Monday HP announced that it had redesigned the Touchsmart PC, for those of you unfamiliar with the Touchsmart PC it is an all in one computer with a Touch Screen PC. I have and the girls have CuteGeek.com have reviewed various versions of the Touchsmart and each time it has won us over.

This time around HP has not only improved the UI and responsiveness of the Touchsmart PC they have added a long overdue feature which allows you to recline the new TouchSmart 610 and 9300 (business version) to a 60 degree angle. I was able to use the new TouchSmart 610 for about 10 minutes and it felt more natural and comfortable to use it looking down at it and tapping at a downward angle. I was even more inclined to tap on the screen than go for the mouse.

The 23” screen is also great for watching movies on. I didn’t get to watch one but saw a trailer for a movie on one and me liked!

The system also seemed more responsive and a tad bit more sensitive than I can remember. Maybe it was a freshly calibrated system but whatever it was I loved it!

TouchSmart view from front and at 60 degree angle.

My only complaint about the TouchSmart 610 is it looks to plain. I think it’s the perfect kitchen PC and would love to have one with a stainless steel finish. But overall the 610 is a great system and it’s perfect for the kitchen and living room or as a space saver in any college student’s dorm room. “

For gamers the TouchSmart 610 will also be available with R.U.S.E a $49.99 Value.

The 610 definitely has a lot to offer and I personally can’t wait to get my hands on one for a few weeks to so I can perform an even more in-depth review.

On Tuesday HP showed off a redesigned consumer notebook portfolio that added new colors to the HP Pavilion Line. The new notebooks can also be personalized with 17 exclusive wallpapers designed by six artist from around the world.

The dv6 and dv7 also feature Beats by Dre audio, with the flip of the switch you can go from listening your typically MP3 to listening to that same MP3 the way the artist intended. But the Beats by Dre software aren’t the only audio improvements. The dv6 and dv6 now have improved o-board quad speakers. HP went a step further with the dv7 and added a subwoofer.

The dv6 and dv6 will feature a 15.6 inch and 17.3 inch HD BrightView Display respectively and each will come with a built in webcam. Both are available with second generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors and AMD Radeon 6000M Graphics.

HP then on Wednesday introduced three webOS devices. The HP Veer and HP Pre3 both smartphones. The Veer looks somewhat like smaller than the Pre3 but both offer qwerty keyboards and great displays. HP also introduced the HP touch running webOS.

Keep an eye on HP their stock is for sure going to skyrocket with these new product announcements this week.

For more information on all of these HP products check out the following links.

TouchSmart

http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/touchsmart/index.html

Pavilion dv6 and dv7

http://www.shopping.hp.com/go/newfromhp?jumpid=re_r329_hpdirect_hho

HP WebOS Veer, Pre3 and Touch

http://h41112.www4.hp.com/promo/webos/us/en/index.html

Telenav 2011

Michael Reyes — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:08:00 +0000

So I sit in the Cypress Hotel in Cupertino visiting with Telenav hearing about whats new to come to my favorite GPS app for mobile phones. For those of you who do not know Telenav powers at&t Navigator, Sprint Navigation and will also be the GPS software of choice for the new Verizon iPhone.

Most of the items being discussed are under NDA and i can’t share it with you right now but I can pass along feedback to Telenav if you guys have any feedback or a feature request for their software. Feel free to email me.

Will update you all on the trip later on but so far so good.

Some info about telenav. Over 20 million users, 22 million points of interest and quite honestly the best GPS app for any mobile device.

The Tablet Wars Are On

Michael Reyes — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 22:02:00 +0000

Motorola will come out punching during the Superbowl with a new 60 second ad to introduce the Motorola XOOM. Motorola has uploaded a 15 second teaser of the ad onto their YouTube channel. Check it out.

Apple Patents ‘Consumer Abuse’ Sensors

Syndicated — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:18:00 +0000

Apple has patented a technique to detect whether a consumer has abused its devices, including methods to shut down the device in question and electronically report it to Apple service technicians.

Most of the “consumer abuse” in question is rather standard: the patent, approved on Feb. 1, covers the inclusion of shock, thermal, and liquid sensors into an electronic device. But it also includes detecting “tampering” with the device via a continuity sensor.

“For example, consumer abuse may include exposing an electronic device to liquids, extreme temperatures, or excessive shock (e.g., the resulting impact from dropping the device),” the background of the patent, titled “Consumer abuse detection system and method,” states. “Consumer abuse may also result from tampering which may include any interaction with the device that is not related to operating the device in a normal manner (e.g., opening the casing or housing of a device and adding, removing, or altering the internal components).”

Although the patent has been approved, there’s no guarantee that Apple or any other manufacturer will implement the techniques. But the patent does provide Apple with several options to protect itself from user-generated damage.

In almost all cases, dropping a device, exposing it to liquids, heating it inappropriately, or even opening the case voids an Apple warranty. The difference here is that Apple’s patent describes a method for detecting these events electronically, storing them in memory, and then communicating them to Apple without need for a customer’s explanation. The goal is to protect Apple from deceptive consumers.

“Often, particularly at a point of sale, personnel receiving the returned device may be unqualified or untrained to determine whether or not a device has failed due to manufacturing defects or due to consumer abuse,” the patent states. “Thus, personnel at the point of sale may often times exchange the returned product with a working replacement product regardless of the cause of failure in order to avoid potential conflicts with the customer. As a result, it is not uncommon for consumers to receive replacement products or repair services on abused products not covered under the terms of a warranty. Such erroneous replacements or repairs may be costly to the vendor and/or manufacturer of the product.”

Typically, the presence of liquids inside a smartphone or battery case is detected by the presence of a moisture-sensitive sticker, which changes color in the presence of moisture and visually tells a service representative that non-functioning phone was exposed to water – and that the fault is that of the user, not the phone.

Electronic moisture detection

Apple proposes placing two or more electronic sensors in the phone. When moisture enters the case, a circuit is formed between the two sensors, and the phone can store that information. The patent also provides for a timestamp to be applied to the event, and a method to store that information inside it.

If the damage is extensive enough, Apple’s patent also claims that the device could be turned off to protect it. When powered on again, the device could then proceed through a diagnostic procedure, either refusing to work, functioning in some limited capacity, and/or informing the user that the device must be repaired.

The patent also provides for thermal sensors – possibly one on the outside of the case to detect sunlight, and a second to detect excessive cold – as well as an accelerometer to detect shock. Similar shock-related events are detected by mobile hard drives, which can quickly retract the read/write head and prevent it from scratching the disk platter, corrupting the data stored on it.

Apple also suggests that it could create special diagnostic tools that could run over the USB bus or other I/O channel. The patent states that these tools could trigger a special diagnostic mode to download the stored abuse data, even on a nonfunctional device.

The abuse detection circuit would remain powered on, even if the main device was not. The patent also suggests that the contents would be encrypted to protect their contents.

“Such diagnostic equipment may be configured to read and analyze data stored in the abuse detection system, for example, through the dual-mode communication interface operating in a diagnostic mode,” the patent states. (Numerical references have been omitted.) “Based on the information stored in the abuse detection system, it may be determined whether or not consumer abuse occurred and/or if the consumer abuse is attributable to the damage or failure of the device.”

Finally, Apple’s patent also describes the possibility of including a tampering or “continuity sensor,” which would presumably detect when a user tried to open the case, for example, to replace a battery.

“For example, it may be useful to place one or more continuity sensors at positions on or within the device by which users are most likely to attempt to open or tamper with the device, for example, along the edges of housing or casing structures of the device,” the patent states. “The continuity sensor may be configured to provide indication to the tamper detection circuitry that tampering has occurred.”

Apple will replace a battery for users even if it is out of warranty; the company has published a list of replacement prices online. But several other battery-replacement services exist online, some of which will either perform the service for users or simply send them a replacement.

I won! I won the CES Step it Up Challange

Michael Reyes — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:48:00 +0000

This year the 2011 CES wasn’t just any old CES, it was a CES where I had been challenged by the Bluetooth Sig to walk the most. The Bluetooth Sig fitted myself and several other bloggers with a Body Media Armband. Which with the help of bluetooth wireless signals was able to sync with my iPod touch (also works with android phones) and kept track of the amount of steps I was taking while in Las Vegas along with an estimate on how many calories I was burning.

Even though I did spend over 150 dollars on cab fare while in Vegas, I also walked a lot, 63,196 steps to be exact. I accomplished this by doing a lot of walking ofcourse. For example I walked from the Pawn Stars pawn shop to the stratosphere Hotel. I walked fromt he Stratosphere to the Las Vegas Convention Center. I walked from the Wynn to the Hilton Grand Vacations at the Flamingo and Back. I walked from Caesars Palace to the Wynn and I walked both the convention floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Convention Center.

I tried to walk everywhere, not only because I was in the challenge but because I am a big guy who needs to loose a bit of weight. Because I won the challenge we will be giving away a Body Media Armband to one lucky reader, more details on that to come in the future. But for now if you want more information on the Body Media Armband visit http://www.bodymedia.com, for more information on the sponsors of the CES Step it up Challenge visit http://wwww.bluetooth.com

For more info on me winning check out the blog post in Mike’s Blog over at Bluetooth.com http://www.bluetooth.com/English/SIG/MikesBlog/Posts.aspx?ID=2091

Intel Finds ‘Sandy Bridge’ Support Chip Glitch; $1B to Fix

Syndicated — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:52:00 +0000

Intel said Monday that the company had discovered a glitch with a support chip used with its latest “Sandy Bridge” microprocessors, which will cost the chipmaker a billion dollars to fix.

Intel has halted shipments of the component, a support chip code-named “Cougar Point” that was part of its Intel 6-series of chipsets. It was found to have a structural flaw inside of it that degraded the performance of SATA-linked devices such as hard-disk drives, Intel said, perhaps 6 percent across a three-year lifespan. The glitch snuck by Intel on initial tests.

Halting shipments of the support chip will also affect shipments of the surrounding Sandy Bridge platforms. “We do believe there will be disruption of the supply chain,” Stephen Smith, vice president and director of PC client operations, said during a conference call, although he said that Intel believed that Intel could fill some of the hole with older platforms.

Intel said it had halted shipments of the chip and would issue a fix, which would fix the problem. Intel said it would deliver the updated version of the chipset to customers in late February and expected a “full volume recovery” in April, by which Intel would resume shipments of the fixed chipset at their normal levels.

The Sandy Bridge launch will be pushed a bit later into the quarter, from a few weeks in the future to ad “we need to understand from our partners how quickly they can take this new Cougar Bridge chip and get it into their pipeline,” Smith said. The delay should be measured in a “few weeks”, he added.

The affected chip began shipping on Jan. 9, and the company said it expected that few end customers would be affected. Only the “second-generation Core i5 and i7” or “Sandy Bridge” products are affected; the main Sandy Bridge processor is not, Intel said, and Intel continues to ship other Sandy Bridge components.

Intel said that a metal layer of the chip had been affected, and executives said that they “were very confident that they understood the issue”. Stephen Smith, vice president and director of PC client operations, described it as a “design related problem of a single circuit”.

“Intel stands behind its products and is committed to product quality,” the company said. “For computer makers and other Intel customers that have bought potentially affected chipsets or systems, Intel will work with its OEM partners to accept the return of the affected chipsets, and plans to support modifications or replacements needed on motherboards or systems.”

Financially, the glitch will cost Intel $700 million to replace the part, and the company said it will also cost the company abut $300 million in lost revenue. Executives said that it was fair to add the two costs together.

Intel also adjusted its first-quarter revenue projection, which is now expected to be $11.7 billion, plus or minus $400 million, compared to the previous expectation of $11.5 billion, plus or minus $400 million. Because the chipset shipped during the fourth quarter, the company reduced its gross margin by 4 percentage points from the previously reported 67.5 percent.

Separately, Intel said that it had completed the acquisition of the Infineon Technologies AG Wireless Solutions business, which will now operate as the Intel Mobile Communications group. The company also expects to complete the acquisition of McAfee by the end of the first quarter.

Written by: Mark Hachman

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2378975,00.asp

Samsung 470 Series SSD Review

Michael Reyes — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 22:55:00 +0000

For years Samsung has made hard drives and great hard drives at that, their only problem is most people don’t realize they make hard drives.

Well they do and have been for years in fact if you buy an OEM system chances are it has a Samsung HDD in it. Samsung also has made SSD’s longer than most other storage makers at that and their SSD’s are in my opinion the fastest and most energy efficient of them all.

I recently had the chance to test out the Samsung 470 Series SSD and I think I became slightly more productive on my notebook.

The Samsung 470 Series offers faster write speeds, and read times than traditional HDD’s, in other words it will load your system faster and open larger files quickly.

So how did I test this out? Well I have two identical HP Pavilion DV6 systems both with a standard platter hard drive. I replaced one of the systems hard drives with the Samsung 470 series SSD. Both systems had 4GB of memory and the same Intel Processor.

I then timed their boot up times. From a complete power off to a fully loaded desktop . The DV6 using the traditional plater drive booted up completely in 1 minute 3 seconds. The DV6 system with the Samsung 470 SSD booted up completely in 41 seconds. That is a 22 second improvement.

I followed up that test with my excel test. I have an excel document that is nearly 450 MB in size. I perform two test with this document, the first one is opening it in Excel, and the second involves me opening it in Notepad. Most machines I have used take a good 2 to 5 minutes to open the document in excel and notepad freezes and takes up to 10 minutes for it to open. Notepad just displays gibberish for those wondering.

The dv6 with the traditional platter HDD performed no differently. It took its time opening the file in excel and notepad froze and even crashed twice before it finally opened it on the third try. However the dv6 with the Samsung 470 SSD opened it in excel quickly less than 10 seconds and notepad never froze it was fun to watch, at least for me.

Because of this rapid read and write times offered with the Samsung 470 SSD I found myself opening large files without having to take a coffee break. I kid you not I do a lot of graphic work and work with large files, and prior to having the SSD in my system I would open a file walk away and by the time I got back it’s open. I use to have enough time to get a donut and a drink now I don’t. Maybe I should credit the Samsung 470 SSD for the 10 pounds I’ve lost. I can see the Samsung Ad Campaign now “Not only will we help your employees be productive, but we will help them lose weight too!”

Overall the drive worked great, and on most netbooks and notebooks it’s a simply upgrade, remove 3 screws remove old drive stick new drive in. Yes reinstalling the OS would help along with backing up your data.

For more information on the Samsung 470 Series SSD visit: http://www.samsungssd.com/meetssd/techspecs

Reports: Motorola Xoom to Cost About the Same as 32GB iPad

Syndicated — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:37:00 +0000

The blogosphere kicked up a fuss when two publications reported the Motorola Xoom tablet’s price between $700 and $800, more than the $499 Apple iPad. But the reported pricing is similar to an iPad of comparable specs.

According to alleged Best Buy documents posted on Engadget, Motorola will launch its tablet on Feb. 17. The document calls the device a “Motorola Xoom 3.0 Honeycomb 32” (suggesting 32GB of memory) and lists an in-stock date of Feb. 16. Engadget later updated the story with a source pricing the Xoom at $699.99. By comparison, Apple’s 32GB iPad with 3G connectivity costs $729. (At its unveiling at CES, Motorola said the Xoom would have 3G.)

View all 13 Slides here.

But casting some doubt on Engadget’s source is a report from Friday at Androidcentral.com. The fan forum published a pricing chart from an alleged Verizon source pegging the Xoom tablet at $799.99. However, the source notes that the price listed is a minimum advertised price (MAP), and that retailers are free to sell below that price. The device could also be cheaper if it’s subsidized by service providers (Verizon in the U.S.).

“I would not be surprised if some of these vendors would price the tablet same or above iPad price, but in long run, the price of Android tablet has to come down below current iPad price” to get significant market share, said Mikako Kitagawo, a principal research analyst at Gartner.

Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show, the 10.1-inch Motorola Xoom is the first tablet to run on Google’s tablet-optimized operating system, Android 3.0 “Honeycomb.” It includes a 2GHz dual-core processor. The Xoom will launch on Verizon in early 2011, but pricing and launch date are still unknown.

PCMag analyst Tim Gideon said the Motorola Xoom is “perhaps, the first tablet truly armed to take on the mighty iPad.”

For more details, see PCMag’s hands on with the Motorola Xoom.

Written by: Sara Yin

Syndicated:ttp://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376161,00.asp

Will Apple Survive Without Steve Jobs?

Syndicated — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:49:00 +0000

With Steve Jobs taking another leave of absence due to health issues, the question coming up is whether Apple can survive without Steve Jobs at the helm. Jobs has been the face of Apple and has represented the persona of Apple for decades. As a chief spokesman for Apple, he would be irreplaceable. When he gets up to speak, he projects his legendary status as an industry pioneer and visionary. Within the company, he is chief cheerleader to the troops, and since he has the final say on products, he sits as the heart of Apple’s final decisions about what comes to market.

But, Jobs will be the first one to tell you that Apple couldn’t be where it is today without the hard work and dedication of a powerful executive staff and thousands of workers inside Apple who put in long hours to create their great products. While he clearly has major input on products and business decisions, Apple has become so large and so successful that the overall decision process and execution no longer rests just on Jobs’ shoulder alone.

But to answer the question of whether Apple can survive without Steve Jobs, we need to view Apple in a different light. We need to look past the Steve Jobs persona and take a closer look at Apple “the machine” instead. I use the term machine loosely here because, in a way, that is what Apple has become. It’s a business that creates products, ties them to a rich eco system of software and services, and sells them through a highly effective retail experience. That combination has put Apple in a class by itself. Plus, it has driven the competitors crazy.

One of the more interesting misconceptions about Apple is that its new products were thought up and invented at Apple. However, that is not always the case. For example, the graphical user interface and the concept of the Mac were actually invented at Xerox Parc. What Apple did was package it and tie it to some important products, such as its laser printer, Adobe’s Postcript and Aldus’ Pagemaker and desktop publishing was born, which really put the Mac on the map. Ultimately, its great OS and UI along with industrial designs have made the Mac big sellers again.

The same goes for the iPod. MP3 was invented by Frauhofer-Gasellshaft, a German company, and the first MP3 player was mass produced by Diamond Multimedia in 1997. But Apple took this idea and reinvented it with the iPod. While flip phones tried to get smarter, it was Jeff Hawkins and Palm that created the first TREO smartphone that really jumpstarted the market. It took Apple to reinvent the smart phone and make it what is today, though. And look at tablets. They can be traced back to the Gridpad in 1989 and other attempts, including Microsoft’s tablet venture in 2000. Again, until Apple reinvented the tablet with the iPad and tied it to its software, services, and retail system, people didn’t take tablets seriously.

What Apple has become is a well-oiled machine that involves innovative design around devices, powerful software, and applications with great services, such as the iTune Store, as well as a world-class retail sales operation. Put them all together and you have an engine for growth that could go on for many years, even if Steve Jobs wasn’t at the head of the company. This in no way diminishes the contribution Jobs makes to the company today or even in the future. But Apple is more than Steve Jobs now and succeeds because there are thousands of people inside Apple who believe in his vision and are committed to what Apple is all about—creating great products that people want.

As for inventing new products internally, that might happen. Apple has shown that it’s highly adept at taking products that show strong mass market potential, putting its unique brand of industrial design, software, services and retail experience behind it, and using that formula to make it a hit product. That means Apple isn’t tied to only home grown inventions to thrive. It also has hundreds of patents at its disposal and can add its own innovative touches to a lot of products.

A wild example of this idea is if someone creates a flexible display and puts it into the form of a bracelet or wrist computer/smart phone. Then, let’s say the demand for a product like this shows mass market acceptance. I would expect Apple to potentially look at something like this and decide if it could do it better and get a hit product by making its own version of it tied to its eco system of hardware, software and services. This is, of course, speculation, but you get the idea. Apple could invent new products from within or reinvent existing products, like it did with MP3 players, smartphones and tablets.

Apple’s management team would be very much up to the task of carrying Jobs’ vision forward. All of the executive team have been with Jobs for at least 10 years and fully understand the way Jobs thinks, his vision, and how he makes decisions. They also understand the culture of Apple and the internal mantra to change the world with their products.

In Jobs’ message to the troops, he said he hopes to be back. Apple fans and investors hope this will happen. But if for some reason Jobs can’t come back in a full time capacity, it will be Apple’s strong management team and Apple’s well-oiled machine that will most likely keep it a strong and growing company for many years to come.

Written by: Tim Bajarin

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375964,00.asp

Report: China Poised To Sell Apple iPad 3G. Finally.

Michael Reyes — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 00:04:01 +0000

The Apple iPad 3G has passed a major regulatory hurdle in China and is expected to launch soon on China Unicom, China’s second largest carrier and exclusive network to Apple China.

According to the Wall Street Journal, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology listed a generic Apple model number “A1337” under its list of approved items, with specs suggesting the Apple iPad 3G.

Apple and China Unicom were unavailable for comment, but have declined to comment in other publications. There is no word as to when the iPad 3G will actually hit stands in China as the device has to pass several more tests.

Currently Apple offers the iPad Wi-Fi in China. It sold 125,000 units in China during its launch month in September, according to the WSJ. Meanwhile anticipation is still rife for the 3G model, to the extent that one city even organized housewives to act as mules for smuggling in the device from overseas.

But despite the numerous iPad copycats and hype, and the iPad’s success in the U.S., analysts expressed concerns over the iPad’s performance in China.

“[The] iPad 3G tablet is less attractive than iPhone 4 for China Unicom in a short term, since more pressure on its 3G network flow will be added without considerable revenue,” Zhu Jinsong, an analyst with China Galaxy Securities Co, told the China’s Global Times.

He Lin, a Gartner analyst, told the Global Times that China’s high 3G taxes might hinder the slate’s performance. Furthermore official Apple products cost around 20 percent more on the mainland than they do overseas.

Written by: Sara Yin

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376136,00.asp

Verizon’s First iPhone Commercial: It Begins

Syndicated — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:50:01 +0000

Verizon’s first iPhone commercial made its debut Thursday, with an ad that taps into the waiting game that Verizon customers have been playing for the last three years.

The 30-second spot (below) never actually shows the iPhone 4. Instead, it features a variety of ticking clocks and people waiting impatiently for their watches and alarm clocks to hit a certain time. Late into the commercial, a voice says, “To all our customers who never stopped believing this day would come, thank you.”

The logos for Verizon and the iPhone 4 then flash onto the screen with the tagline “It Begins” and 2.10.11, the date the Verizon iPhone hits stores.

For Verizon customers not willing to switch to AT&T, a Verizon version of the iPhone has been a long time coming. Analysts predict that much of the first Verizon iPhone purchases will actually be from existing customers who have been waiting around for Verizon to cut a deal with Apple.

The very first iPhone commercial aired back in 2007 during the Oscar telecast. It featured scenes from more than two dozen movies and TV shows, where the actors say “Hello” into a phone. The original iPhone then flashes on the screen with the tagline, “Hello.”

Written by: Chloe Albanesius

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376087,00.asp

AMD Turns a Profit, But Revenues Are Flat

Syndicated — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:49:00 +0000

As expected, AMD reported flat revenue for the fourth quarter, but with a $375 million profit that company executives said demonstrated a return to profitability.

AMD reported net income of $375 million on revenue of $1.65 billion. A year ago, AMD reported net income of $1.18 billion, which was boosted by a settlement with Intel Corp. At that time, AND reported revenue of $1.65 billion as well.

For 2010, AMD reported net income of $471 million and $6.49 billion in revenue. Revenue increased 20 percent from 2009.

“AMD enters 2011 with significant momentum, amplified by the successful launch of our first Fusion APUs,” said Thomas Seifert, CFO and interim chief executive, in a statement. “I am confident we can drive profitable growth based on the strength of new products we will bring to market. Our customers recognize that Fusion APUs are at the core of delivering the world’s most vivid digital experiences.”

Overshadowing AMD’s earnings report is the recent departure of chief executive Dirk Meyer, apparently because Meyer didn’t present a clear strategy to address tablets and the embedded market.

AMD released an embedded version of its Fusion chip this week, although that processor isn’t specifically designed for the tablet market.

In his stead, AMD named senior vice president and chief executive Thomas Seifert as interim chief executive. Seifert, 47, will replace Meyer, 49, as president, chief executive and a director.

At the time, AMD also announced preliminary fourth-quarter revenue of $1.65 billion, up 2 percent from the quarter before. AMD had predicted revenues would be flat during the fourth quarter, and reported a loss during the third quarter.

Unfortunately for AMD, however, revenue from the company’s Computing Solutions Group was flat both sequentially as well as year-over-year due to lower notebook and server ASPs. Operating income was $91 million, down from $164 million in the third quarter and $161 million a year ago. But graphics operating income rose to $68 million, versus just $1 million in the third quarter and $50 million a year ago. Revenue in the graphics business was flat year-over-year and up 9 percent sequentially.

Intel, meanwhile, reported robust results, reaching record highs in both net income and revenue for the fourth quarter.

AMD expects first quarter of 2011 revenue to be flat to slightly down sequentially, the company said.

Written by: Mark Hachman

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376073,00.asp

Meg Whitman, Four Others to Join HP Board in Shakeup

Syndicated — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:42:00 +0000

Hewlett-Packard said Thursday that it has appointed five new members to its board of directors, including former eBay chief executive and failed gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman.

The new directors will stand for election in March. With the new additions, the total number of HP directors will total thirteen.

The new directors are Shumeet Banerji, chief executive officer of Booz & Company; Gary Reiner, former chief information officer of General Electric Company and a current special advisor to private equity firm General Atlantic; Patricia Russo, former chief executive officer of Alcatel-Lucent; Dominique Senequier, chief executive officer of AXA Private Equity; and Meg Whitman, former president and CEO of eBay

HP also said that incumbent directors Joel Hyatt, John Joyce, Robert Ryan and Lucille Salhany are not standing for re-election at the company’s annual meeting.

“The addition of these new directors will further diversify the outstanding talents and wide-ranging experience that our directors already bring to HP,” said Raymond J. Lane, non-executive chairman of the board of directors, HP, in a statement. “Each is a widely respected and deeply experienced business leader, and together they will provide our board and management team with new insight and perspectives relating to HP’s business and the rapidly changing technology industry.”

Although Lane touted each of the candidates’ capabilities, the most famous candidate is Whitman, who helped lead eBay into a dominant position on the Web, but failed to capitalize on it to win a California governor’s race that was ultimately won by Democrat Jerry Brown.

Lane called Banerji a respected strategic adviser, and characterized Reiner as an “important voice of the customer”. Russo is an “experienced executive with extensive global business experience,” Lane said, while, Senequier is a “highly regarded and influential financier”.

“Meg Whitman is a true visionary and thought leader who brings to the HP board unique experience in developing transformative business models, building global brands and driving sustained growth and expansion,” Lane said.

Written by: Mark Hachman

Syndicated:

Larry Page to Become Google CEO, Schmidt Will Be Chairman

Michael Reyes — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:37:00 +0000

In advance of its Thursday earnings report, Google announced an executive shakeup whereby Eric Schmidt will hand over his chief executive officer duties to Larry Page, effective April 4.

Schmidt will continue on as executive chairman, while Sergey Brin will continue on as co-founder.

In a blog post, Schmidt said the shift has been in the works for some time. “Larry, Sergey, and I have been talking for a long time about how best to simplify our management structure and speed up decision making—and over the holidays we decided now was the right moment to make some changes to the way we are structured,” Schmidt said.

For 10 years, the trio have shared equally in the decision-making process, Schmidt said, and going forward, they “will continue to discuss the big decisions among the three of us.” But Thursday’s announcement clarifies their individual roles “so there’s clear responsibility and accountability at the top of the company.”

After April 4, Page will lead product development and technology strategy and take charge of day-to-day Google operations.

“In this new role I know he will merge Google’s technology and business vision brilliantly,” Schmidt wrote. “Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead.”

As executive chairman, Schmidt said he will “focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google’s global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.”

Brin, meanwhile, will devote his time and energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products.

Best Looking Netbook

Michael Reyes — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:48:00 +0000

I love netbooks, and I am a proud netbook owner. For me there is nothing like having a small computer that I can comfortably use on a 6 hour flight. But while I am a proud netbook owner I often feel like I am using a Playsckool toy computer. It’s almost as if every OEM is catering to all these different demographics but forget about business users or users who just want something sleek and simple.

Sure I can get a plain ol’ black netbook but I want something stylish as well. HP, Toshiba, Samsung and Dell they all make beautiful netbooks don’t get me wrong but only one of them makes the best looking netbook and that’s HP. Sad thing is the Mini 5103 is the sexiest netbook most consumers won’t own.

The Mini 5103 has a sleek stylish design that no other netbook comes close to duplicating. But while it’s a gorgeous machine it’s also a powerful little machine loaded with features. It’s powered by an Intel Atom Processor (N550/N475/N455) 2GB of DDR3 memory, up to a 320 GB HDD or 128 GB SSD, Wireless Mobile Broadband Option, WiFi, 10.1 inch screen, built in 2MP camera and Intel Graphics Accelerator 3150. The system weighs under 3Lbs even with the touchscreen display.

One of the first features I discovered on the Mini 5103 and liked a lot was the battery, with a simple tap of a button on the battery it tells me how much juice I have left. But even if I forget to tap there when I power up the system it shows me my battery level on the screen. That might not sound like a lot but trust me it’s a hell of a helpful tool.

So the systems powered up and the first thing I did was check how well it could handle my day to day work life, so of course I opened up OUTLOOK and started checking my email. I am an e-mail-a-holic (my max use of hyphens ever) so I am constantly checking email be it on my phone, my netbook or laptop. I get literally hundreds of emails a day and I’m not talking about spam so it’s crucial I can check them quickly.

Now you’re probably saying, “Seriously you tested Outlook on it, and that’s going to tell us if its powerful?” yes. Outlook when you are checking multiple accounts and RSS Feeds and it is loaded with plugins like Xobni and Plaxo and Windows Live and your syncing with various calendars Outlook can become a power hungry resource hogging beast that has even caused my i7 based system to stutter a few times.

So how did it handle outlook? It handled it well. I didn’t load all the plugins I normally load into outlook because I know some of them would make outlook unusable on the Mini5103 as they can even slow down my desktop. But it was able to check several accounts and sync my calendars. The 3G connection I was using on it did not appreciate the amount of data I was downloading and crapped out a few times but the Mini 5103 didn’t it handled it like a pro.

I also used Word (am writing this on the 5103 right now), PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat with no issues. The system can handle the day to day life of a business user.

It’s 2MP webcam also worked great for Skype, I was told my picture came in crystal clear.

The Mini 5103 also has a touchscreen, and while at first I did not think it was worth having a touchscreen on it especially since I can’t flip the screen around and use it as a tablet, I found myself unknowingly tapping at the screen and because of the 5103 my desktop monitor is now full of finger prints. (All you Monitor Makers out there are you listening we want Monitors with touch capabilities.)

While I found myself tapping at the screen a lot I loved the Chick-let keyboard the Mini 5103 has. I feel keyboards like these make typing more comfortable and natural.

There are some software features that I like a lot on the Mini 5103, the HP Protect Tools are in my opinion a great feature not just for business users but for any user. My favorite took from the Protect Tools suite was the credential manager. How many of you forget your passwords?

Another piece of software standard with the Mini 5103 is HP QuickSync which allows you to synch files easily with other computers, mobile phones etc.

But my favorite software feature is the HP Quicklook and QuickWeb which allows you to access your calendar or web browser in less than 10 seconds without having to boot into Windows. Both these features come in handy when you don’t have time to stop and need your information right away.

The Mini 5103 is a must have, yes it’s a business netbook but it’s perfect for consumer users as well. In my opinion it’s a shame HP doesn’t sell this on its consumer site.

For more information on the Mini 5103 visit: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06a/321957-321957-64295-3841267-3955550-4256301.html

WD Again Outships Seagate in Disk Drives

Syndicated — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:16:00 +0000

Western Digital again shipped more disk drives than Seagate in the fourth quarter of 2010, although Seagate’s stronger enterprise presence allowed it to top WD in overall revenue.

WD said Wednesday that it shipped 52.2 million disk drives, versus 48.9 million for Seagate, the third consecutive quarter Western Digital has reigned as the overall leader in disk-drive unit sales.

But Seagate pulled in $150 million in net income and $2.7 billion in revenue, versus WD’s net income of $225 million and revenue of $2.475 billion. Profitability has been historically somewhat rare in the disk-drive market, although the industry has worked hard to keep costs under control.

WD topped analyst estimates for unit sales, although Seagate underperformed. Western Digital was expected to ship 51.5 million HDD units in the fourth quarter, up 1.7 percent from 50.7 million units in the third quarter, iSuppli said on Dec 15. Seagate was expected to ship 49.5 million drives, up 0.6 percent from 49.2 million units during the same period.

“Calendar 2010 was a year of tremendous opportunity for the hard drive industry with 651 million drives shipped, that’s 330 million terabytes of storage capacity sold into a broadening set of applications and markets,”said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer of WD, in prepared remarks. “At 16 percent, this was the industry’s strongest full year unit growth in five years. Rotating magnetic storage remains the dominant technology solution for high volume, mass storage of digital content in both the consumer and commercial markets. Full-year revenue for the industry expanded by some 13 percent to $34 billion.

“However, it was also a year of significant missed opportunity as the industry’s supply/demand dynamic deteriorated as the year progressed, resulting in sharply declining ASPs, with the final quarter demonstrating a year-over-year decline in industry revenue of 7 percent on a unit increase of 4 percent, and an even sharper decline in profitability,” Coyne added.

Seagate also took a negative view, explaining in executive commentary that the quarter represented a “less than normal seasonal increase in demand for hard disk drives”, and that margins had been hurt by intense price competition. That was partially compensated for by a 12 percent increase in the marker for enterprise drives; Seagate reported a 21 percent increase, to 2.3 million drives, in business-critical applications.

But Seagate’s share of the notebook PC drive market dipped by 12 percent to 11.8 million units, and desktop drives fell 8 percent to 19.8 million units. However, Seagate also sold 4.1 million branded external drives, a 24 percent increase.

WD chief operating officer Timothy Leyden implied that hard-drive prices should continue to decline in the near term.

“While inventories in the HDD supply chain exiting the quarter were well controlled in each segment, we still believe that despite a reduction of approximately 2 million to 3 million HDDs in the PC supply chain, there is still an inventory excess of some 6 million to 8 million HDD units in the PC manufacturers’ pipeline, and this will place additional downward pressure on the HDD TAM in the March quarter,” he said.

Coyne also implied that a move into hybrid drives, which combine the attributes of a solid-state flash drive with a more traditional magnetic rotating drive, wasn’t far off.

“We’ve taken a look at and in fact shipped product into the SSD, in the client environment, and we don’t find a compelling value proposition there either for manufacturer or for customer because the economics don’t work,” Coyne said, according to a transcript by Seeking Alpha.

“The cost of the storage/performance is too high,” Coyne added. “And as we look at that client environment and look at what might be an attractive offering that combine the best of both worlds in terms of the performance of solid state with the capacity of rotating media, at a balance of the two, which provided an accessible price point, as we look out into the future where such a device would be supported by operating system capability, which it is not really supported well today, as we look at that over the next couple of years, we see an emerging opportunity for such a device family to offer performance capacity and value.”

WD has an engineering team addressing the hybrid-drive problem, Coyne said.

Written by: Mark Hachman

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376010,00.asp

Vudu Added to Boxee Box

Syndicated — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:42:00 +0000

Boxee announced Wednesday that Vudu’s on-demand HD streaming service will be available on the Boxee Box this afternoon.

The addition will come via a firmware update that also fixes some bugs and enhances the Boxee browser, the company said.

“Vudu on the Boxee Box means: access to the largest selection of HD movies on-demand, new releases (same day as DVD), thousands of movies available for rental at $2 for 2 nights,” Boxee chief executive Avner Ronen said in a blog post.

Boxee promised 1080p video at 24 frames per second and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. “It takes advantage of some crafty engineering from Vudu dubbed TruFilm, which optimizes the encoding, transmission and display of HDX movies on 40-inch HDTVs and larger screens,” Ronen wrote.

To kick things off, Vudu is offering every new Boxee Box customer a $5.99 credit towards a first rental or purchase.

Ronen also said Boxee is on track to start offering Netflix by month’s end, and promised another update about that next week.

The $199 Boxee Box started shipping in early November, with services like Netflix, Vudu, and Hulu Plus noticeably absent. Vudu was expected to arrive on the Boxee Box in November and Netflix by year’s end. Boxee also said at the time that it was working with Hulu to bring Hulu Plus to the Boxee Box, but didn’t commit to a firm date. A December firmware update provided few answers. A full run-down of the enhancements and bug fixes made in this firmware update, however, is available on the blog.

For more details, see PCMag.com’s full review of the Boxee Box and the slideshow below, as well as our round-up of available set-top boxes

Written by: Chloe Albanesius

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375998,00.asp

iRobot has new Robots for 2011

Michael Reyes — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:34:00 +0000

I am a huge iRobot fan, I own a Roomba and a Scooba named Roomberta and Scooberto respectfully, I think they are the best time savers ever especially for people who are always on the go like me.

My only problem with my roomba and scooba is that neither can get into tight spaces, like around the toilet bowl or between my hamper and tub. While yes I can get a broom and mop and sweep and mop where the Roomba and Scooba could not venture I often forget and instead of those areas being cleaned 3 to 4 times a week they were cleaned maybe once a week sometimes longer.

iRobot realized the problem some of us were having and while we aren’t getting a robot that sweeps to clean those hard to reach spots, they are making available a new compact scooba. The new Scooba 230 is a lot smaller than the current scooba at only 6.5 inches wide and 3.5 inches high and does not have any moving brushes. It has a stationary brush that scrubs the floor as it moves. But like the original scooba it lays down a layer of clean water and sucks up the dirty water as it passes.

New Scooba 230 and original 300 series side by side

The new Scooba 230 can clean up to a 150 square foot floor.

iRobot also showed off the new Roomb 700 which offers a few improvements over the previous version. First of all it looks a lot more sleek than the Roomb 560 I own and it will deliver a 50% longer battery life using the same battery previous Roombs use. It has a new vacuum bin that increases the airflow of the vacuum with out putting in a more powerful vacuum. It also uses what I can only describe as Sonar to find dirt. The Roomba 700 series is going to kick ass and I can’t wait to get my hands on one.

Both the Scooba 230 and the new Roomb 700 series will be available in the Spring of 2011 just in-time for Spring cleaning!

Apple’s Profits, Revenue Hit Records; So Do iPhone, iPads

Syndicated — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:00:00 +0000

Apple did it again, reporting record revenue and profits for the company’s first fiscal quarter of 2011, backed by record Mac, iPhone, and iPad sales.

Apple reported profits of $6 billion on revenue of $26.74 billion. Apple’s profits increased by 78 percent compared to the same period last year, and the company’s revenues by 70.5 percent. Analysts were expecting revenue of $24.38 billion.

Apple sold 4.13 million Macs during the quarter, a 23 percent unit increase; Apple also sold 16.24 million iPhones, a 86 percent increase. Apple sold 19.45 million iPods, which represented a 7 percent unit decline. Apple also sold 7.33 million iPads, versus 4.19 million iPads sold last quarter.

Apple recorded $786 million in “software, services, and other sales,” an 36 percent sequential increase and 71 percent increase in year-over-year sales.

Apple was expected to announce stellar revenues and profits, as the company has continued to deliver even in the midst of an uncertain economy.

Interestingly, the number of “CPUs,” or products, that Apple sold into the Americas dropped by 7 percent sequentially, to 1.36 million. But revenue jumped 28 percent to $9.218 billion, indicating that Apple was selling many more high-margin products. The Asia-Pacific market followed that trend, with a 13 percent jump in units to 516,000, but an 83 percent increase in revenue to $4.99 billion. Japan, however, was the opposite: units grew 37 percent, but with just a 2 percent increase in revenue.

“We had a phenomenal holiday quarter with record Mac, iPhone and iPad sales,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, in a statement. “We are firing on all cylinders and we’ve got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year including iPhone 4 on Verizon which customers can’t wait to get their hands on.”

But Apple chief executive Jobs announced he would take a leave of absence for medical reasons on Monday, leading to renewed speculation about his future role at the company. Apple did not specify exactly what health problems force Jobs to take the leave, and added that he would be involved in strategic decisions at the company.

However, chief operating officer Tim Cook will run the company’s day-to-day operations. Jobs handed the reins of the company to COO Tim Cook for medical reasons twice before, in 2004 and again in the beginning of 2009.

Numerous rumors have swirled around the successor to the Apple iPad and iPhone, with one of the latest being that Apple would include a dual-core processor inside each, known as the A5. In January, Apple and Verizon launched a version of the iPhone 4 on the Verizon network.

Apple’s guidance for the its second fiscal quarter calls for the company to record revenue of about $22 billion.

Apple will hold a conference call later Tuesday afternoon where company executives will likely avoid answering specific question about Apple’s product roadmap.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 1:51 PM PT with additional details.

Written by: Mark Hachman

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375943,00.asp

Intel Turns to Media Exec to Run Digital Home Group

Syndicated — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Intel named a former BBC new media executive to run its Digital Home Group, Intel announced Tuesday.

Erik Huggers will serve as corporate vice president and general manager of the company’s Digital Home Group and become a member of Intel’s Management Committee,, the company said. Huggers is director of the BBC’s Future Media & Technology division and serves as a member of the BBC’s Executive Board. He replaces interim general manager Brad Daniels.

Intel has run through several GM’s of its digital-home business; in 2006, Don MacDonald led the division, before giving way to Eric Kim, who led the business until just after the Google TV launch in May.

Intel representatives were not immediately available to comment.

“Erik Huggers’ proven track record of managing a variety of digital media businesses will be an extraordinary asset to Intel’s digital home initiative,” said Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini, in a statement. “Erik’s background and vision for delivering new platforms, interactive content and services to consumers are an outstanding fit for Intel, and I am thrilled to welcome such a talented person to drive this key strategic business for Intel. We look forward to him joining our team.”

Huggers most recently served at the BBC, where he was responsible for delivering BBC content over the Internet, interactive TV and mobile, helping audiences enjoy programming using a wide variety of devices from any location. That’s important, as Intel is dedicated to pushing its Atom processor into a wider range of devices; the initial Google TV Logitech Revue used an Atom.

Before his stint at Intel, Huggers led the global business development for Windows Media Technologies at Microsoft.

Written by: Mark Hachman

Syndicated: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375941,00.asp

New Brother Inkjet MFPs Handle Tabloid-Sized Paper

Syndicated — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:51:00 +0000

Brother has announced its second generation of Professional Series inkjet all-in-one machines: the MFC-J6510DW, MFC-J6710DW and MFC-J6910DW, all geared for small businesses. All three let users print, scan, copy, and fax at up to tabloid size (11 by 17 inches).

These machines allow users to handle large documents, such as spreadsheets, floor plans, graphics or blueprints. They offer an automatic duplexer for two-sided printing, and a 35-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) for copying, faxing, or scanning multi-page documents. The MFC-J6510DW has a 250-sheet paper capacity, while the other two come with dual paper trays to increase total capacity to 500 pages. They have 3.3-inch widescreen LCD displays; the MFC-J6910DW’s has touch-screen functionality.

All of the models will be compatible with the free downloadable Brother iPrint&Scan app, which allows wireless printing from or scanning to an Apple mobile device or Android Smartphone, by April 2011.

The Brother Professional Series MFC-J6510DW and MFC-J6710DW will be available in January at estimated street prices of $250 and $300, respectively, the MFC-J6910DW in March for an estimated $350.

Written by Tony Hoffman

Syndicated http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375780,00.asp

TeleNav Launches GPS Navigator 6.2

Michael Reyes — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Today TeleNav launched GPS Navigator 6.2 for at&t android devices, other carriers and devices will get the update soon but no date has been announced.

The 6.2 version of the GPS Navigator brings some key enhancements with it. You will now get Multiple Route Suggestions, which means you will have up to three route options to choose from each varying in time and distance. You will also have a new Quick Search feature which will allow you to quickly search for a POI or address with out having to navigate through various options and categories. 6.2 will slo have improved Speech Recognition and Map Overlays that include one click options to POIs near you and traffic conditions and speed cameras. They have also expanded the number of POIs listed in the software to more than 22 million.

Below are some screen shots of GPS Navigator 6.2

HP Streams Concert Live in 3D

Michael Reyes — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:29:00 +0000

Some history was made this past Friday night January 7th 2011 at the annual Monster partner awards in Las Vegas at the Paris Hotel and Casino. No it wasn’t the fact Earth, Wind and Fire got Stevie Wonder to sing with them, it was what HP was doing in the ballroom next door.

HP was streaming the concert in 3D live, a first ever. They accomplished this with the help of four HP Z800 Workstations and 12 $1,000 projectors (unknown brand) along with a special plastic screen. HP wouldn’t comment on the specs or specifics the Z800’s or any of the other compondents but told me the Z800’s would cost around $15,000 each and the screen cost more than the 12 projectors and the four Z800’s combined.

What was really cool to know was, if one projector failed the system would automatically compensate adding a layer of redundancy. I was told viewers wouldn’t even notice if there was a problem. I really can’t imagine all the processing power it would take to run this setup but knowing that you need four Z800 workstations that cost $15,000 is impressive. What geek wouldn’t want this setup?

The setup they had was amazing. Just seeing the way it was all configured was probably one of the most erotic geek moments I have had in a while .

Below are pictures of the setup.

When speaking with HP’s CTO Phill Mckinny and Carlos Montalvo, VP of HP Innovations, I was able to get a better understanding of what HP was trying to accomplish. They want to bring the concert experience to people who simply can’t attend. For example they said they would love to be able to have a basketball court sized screen and stream a Live 3D basketball game to China so people there can watch a game and feel as if they are literally at the game. They also said they are actually working with the NBA on something like that.

While watching the Earth, Wind and Fire concert in 3D I can honestly say that there were times when I felt I was in the mist of it all and then there were times when I wasn’t. HP was showing off various camera angles and some worked and some didn’t.

I really had fun watching Earth Wind and Fire in 3D and I think if they are able to do this with sporting events it will be super fun to experience as well.

CES 2011

Michael Reyes — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:25:00 +0000

HardwareGeeks and CuteGeek will both be at CES 2011 this year and we will try to bring you all the news we can. There will only be three of us at the event so we probably can’t bring it to you all but we will do our hardest to get you the most that we can. We will also be stopping at the AEE (adult entertainment expo) as believe it or not they do tend to show off some techie stuff.

We look forward to CES every year and this year is no exception. We expect a lot of new tablets to be announced along with new cell phones and televisions. We can’t wait!!!

SRS Front-Rendered Surround Sound – An Electrical Ventriloquist

Michael Reyes — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 01:08:00 +0000

As most of you already know, I love watching movies! I have a big screen TV with a Blu-Ray player that I often spend all day in front of just watching movies. There is only one problem; I do not have a surround sound system. Not because I couldn’t afford one but because I simply have no space for it. I live in an apartment in NYC… and consider myself lucky that I can even fit a couch in the living room, let alone a couch, TV and a surround sound system.

I still wanted to upgrade my sound system, but being limited on space, I needed to find a space-saving solution… so I went out and got my hands on a VIZIO VSB200 sound bar. The VIZIO soundbar features a front-rendered surround sound solution by SRS Labs called SRS TruSurround HD. I have heard what SRS Labs can do with sound before, with their iWOW audio adapter for iPod/iPhone as well my TV’s built-in audio system, so I was instantly confident in the surround sound capabilities of this soundbar. My only reservation was that I was skeptical to believe that front-rendered surround sound could compare to an actual 5.1 system.

So I connected the sound bar to my television, turned it on, enabled the SRS TruSurround HD option and put Avatar into my Blu-Ray player. When it comes to audio, I am no perfectionist. I don’t have a good ear when it comes to hearing the difference between bad or good audio unless it’s OBVIOUS. But as soon as I started turning on and off the SRS TruSurround HD option, the difference was night and day. I found myself looking over my shoulder because I was hearing sounds from behind me. It was like hearing an electrical ventriloquist throw sounds around my living room… Could this be better than a 5.1 system?

This sound bar is cool and I honestly feel like it provides a more real surround sound experience than a traditional surround sound system, especially when gaming. Black Ops never sounded so real until I played it with the SRS TruSurround on.

I won’t pretend to try to understand fully how SRS Labs makes front surround sound work, but its definitely not a gimmick. It’s not snake oil, it’s actually penicillin.

10 Last Minute Gift Ideas

Michael Reyes — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:29:00 +0000

There are only a few more shopping days left this Christmas Season and if you still don’t know what to get your loveable geek for Christmas here are 10 things that may make them happy.

The first is BuckyBalls! BuckyBalls are magnetic balls that allow you to create different shapes and just entertain yourself while your board at your desk. All my Geek Friends want a set and some even want the entire set (four different color sets black, silver, gold and plain metaltic). Buckyballs start at $29.95 but you can use coupon code “HardwareGeek” for 15% off over at http://www.getbuckyballs.com. You can find buckyballs in stores at Hallmark.

Next on the list are two items, the Netgear WNDR3700 and the WN2000RPT. The WNDR3700 is probably the best wireless N routers on the market. It has a super easy set up and have wireless network up in running within minutes. It provides a rock solid connection to all devices connected wirelessly to it. I personally use one and have yet to have an issue. Can’t say the same about my Linksys and DLink routers. The WN2000RPT is an extender. So if you get the WNDR3700 or have any other wireless router and you have a dead spot (area with no signal) the WN2000RPT will connect to your wireless router and fill in the dead spot. It’s also easy to use and delivers a quality signal. Both are a must have if your geek wants to improve or set up a wireless network. For more information on both visit http://www.netgear.com. Both products are available at major electronic stores. By the way this counts as two and three on the list.

Next on the list is the Samsung SyncMaster BX2231 LED 21.5” monitor. Every geek or geekette needs a quality monitor on their desk and the BX2231 LED is just that. It offers a gorgeous display that offers full HD Resolution. It is LED Backlit which means it also saves on energy and gives a more even colored picture. For more information on the BX2231 visit http://www.samsung.com and to get your hands on one check your local Best Buy.

For our 5th item on our last minute gift idea list, we have to mention the gift card. Nothing like giving your geek an American express Gift card so he or she can buy anything they want. But keep in mind gift cards are the easy way out!

Our next item is the Sony Bloggie Touch. The Sony Bloggie Touch is a fantastic hand held camcorder similar to the Flip but in my opinion 10 times better. Why? Because you can do both video and still photos and it has a large touchscreen on it and is dinner and sleeker than any Flip on the market. Sony may be the new comer to the hand held camcorder market but they definitely have the best one available. The Sony Bloggie Touch is available at Best Buy.

If your geek has more than one cell phone then I must recommend for them the Motorola Infiniti Bluetooth headset. I love mines and use it all the time. I am able to easily connect two phones to it at one time and regardless of which one rings it lets me knows and allows me to verbally answer or ignore the call. It in my opinion is the easiest to use and best Bluetooth headset on the market.

Next on the list is a Phone upgrade. If your loveable geek is due for a cell phone upgrade, get it for them. While the iPhone 4 is not my favorite phone on the market it is still popular among many geeks. There are also window phones and android phones that are available as well. I would recommend a windows phone but that is just me. Just visit any of the major carriers for the deals they have. But a Geek isn’t a geek unless he or she has a smart phone!

Number 9 on the list is a tablet. Be it the iPad or Galaxy Tab or the one from Blackberry. Tablets are the new hot thing that offer an all in one solution. It allows you to check email, read books browse the web and keep track of your calendar. Tablets are available from cell phone providers, best buy and apple stores. They tend to be pricey but can you put a price on the love you have for your geek?

The 10th on the list was the 10th item on our holiday gift guide. The Xbox 360 Kinect. I don’t care if your geek is 10 or 50 he or she will love the Kinect and so will the entire family. GET ONE!!!

Pantech Laser for at&t

Michael Reyes — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:57:00 +0000

I am a huge Pantech fan, they in my opinion make some of the greatest phones around. They tend to be stylish, multi-function do everything you’d want your phones. But what is also unique about Pantech devices is they are affordable. Who else will sell you a touch screen device with a QWERTY keyboard for $99?

The Pantech Laser is no different; it is one of the coolest looking quick messaging phones available on at&t and if it isn’t the most affordable it definitely is in the top 3.

When I got my hands on the laser the first thing I did was use it to take some pictures. I had powered it up without even putting a sim card in because I really needed a camera and the Samsung point and shoot I normally use had a dead battery, oh and my iPhone I had no idea where I had placed it. So I take the Pantech power it up and use it to take some pictures of my friend’s daughter who was taking her first steps. I would share them but her mom asked that I didn’t and then some video of her crying after she fell. It was either drop the phone or let her fall. A kids got to learn one way or another right?

So any who her mom was a bit disappointed that allowed had was a cell phone to record video and take some quick shots. I promptly got my spare simcard stuck it in and sent MMS out of the pictures and video to my email. Man what beautiful pictures and video. They looked amazing. I am not sure if we set our expectations low because it was a cell phone or what but the pictures and video looked amazing. We feel we have quality pictures and video of her first steps. Thanks to Pantech for having a charged phone in the box!

So after using it at a camera something I normally test last, I used it to make a few phone calls. I held it every which way during these calls and unlike my iPhone it maintained its signal. It also had good sound quality. I then flipped on the speaker and it was nice to be able to understand what the person was saying. A lot of speaker phones are horrible and you can barely understand if you can understand at all what the person you’re talking too is saying.

The phone is a quick messaging device so of course I tested out emailing and texting on the phone. I love the qwerty keyboard. The keys were spaced apart from each other perfectly and it was really comfortable. No thumb cramps with the Laser!

I also tried out the GPS app, at&t navigator powered by telenav. It isn’t the fullest featured version of the app but it got you to where you want to go and it worked well. People say you can’t get lost in NYC but that’s not true I get lost all the time.

Overall the Pantech Laser is a great device perfect for everyone and for the $99 price tag with a 2-year commitment you really can’t go wrong. For more information on the device visit http://wireless.att.com

BuckyBalls Giveaway

Michael Reyes — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:51:00 +0000

Want some Buckyballs? I am sure you have all heard of these cool balls that allow you to create shapes and do all these cool things you possibly can think of doing with 216 of rare magnetic balls.

Just check out what you can do with the balls in the video below.

To win one of three sets of BuckyBalls, simply comment below with why you want them and we will select three people at random on Saturday the 4th of December. Your comment must be posted by 3am EST on Saturday morning to qualify. US only sorry. For 3 more chances to win visit CuteGeek.com and enter their contest.

If you don’t win use coupon code “hardwaregeek” during check out at http://www.getbuckyballs.com for 15% off your purchase.

Unboxing Motorola DEFY for T-Mobile

Michael Reyes — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 06:05:00 +0000

Got my hand on the DEFY a day or two before Thanksgiving and threw together a quick unboxing. Should have a review in a week or two. For more info on the phone before then visit http://www.tmobile.com

AOC e2243FW AireLED Monitor

Michael Reyes — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 10:32:00 +0000

Last month I was able to get my hands on the razor thin e2243FW monitor from AOC and I have to say I am pretty impressed with it. It is a stylish, sleek looking 22 inch LED Monitor with the price point of a traditional LCD of its size, actually come to think of it, most LCD’s at this size cost more.

The e2243FW is a beautiful monitor that I think mac users will love because of its white color, it sort of looks like something apple would make but didn’t. Definitely way more affordable than anything apple would make. The monitor is also razor thing, it’s thinner than a number 2 pencil.

The first day I had the e2243FW I replaced an HP monitor with a huge base. I never realized how much space it was taking up until the Razor was in its spot. I think I regained 40% of my workspace. It was like going from an old clunky CRT monitor to a LCD monitor all over again. I had room for my organizer on my desk again! I had been keeping it in my drawer.

I also have to admit that I had a blonde moment when I powered up the Razor. I couldn’t find the power button. Took me a good five minutes to locate it. The power button really isn’t a button but a touch sensitive spot on the base. It lights up only after you tap it and since its white it blends in. If you didn’t know it was there you won’t see it. I guess if I had read the manual I would of saved myself 5 minutes .

After having my blond moment I turned on the e2243FW and for some reason the edges of my mouth started to move upward and my teeth started to show. I was happy the thing was beautiful!

The picture quality was simply amazing, I immediately plopped a Blu-Ray copy of avatar into my pc and just watched it all over again. The quality really was amazing can’t stress that enough. But then again I didn’t expect anything else from the e2243FW as it supports over 16 million colors, has a quick 5ms response time, and 1080 resolution.

I also gamed with the Razor. I didn’t know what to expect never used an LED monitor to game before but there was no ghosting what so ever. I credit the 5ms response time for that. I even ran 3D mark with it and in the entire imagery test it never failed or faltered.

I know some of you are going to wonder if it supports standard Vesa mounts. It does in fact the base converts into a Vesa mount!

Overall the AOC Razor LED e2243FW is a fantastic monitor and for the $159.99 price tag you can’t go wrong, if you want one you can get one at buy.com for $147. The price is amazing, the monitor is beautiful and you’re getting a quality brand. You may not have heard of AOC but trust me a lot of big name Television and Monitor makers use their panels.

For those curios the Razor LED is also energy efficient, and has one of the lowest power usage settings.

The AOC Razor LED monitor available in a few other sizes for more info visit the AOC mini site for the monitor.

http://us.aoc.com/monitor_display/e2243fw

Seagate BlackArmor NAS FW Update

Michael Reyes — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:01:00 +0000

Seagate released new firmware for their BlackArmor NAS product and I have to say the new features are pretty impressive especially if you are a Mac owner.

The update which was released last week Tuesday delivered Time Machine Support, and iTunes server 10.x compatibility. The Time Machine Feature which I was able to try out on my Mac Mini worked great. A lot easier to set up with the BlackArmor that it was with my HP MediaSmart Server.

The iTunes server 10.x compatility worked great with both iTunes 10x on Macs and Windows, iTunes found the BlackArmor NAS and listed it. Streaming has never been easier. I have other NAS devices with iTunes server support and sometimes they are a pain in the ass to get listed in iTunes.

The new Firmware also added FTP over SSL/TLS allowing for a more secure connection to the FTP server. An upgrade to the WiDMS 2.0 media server file support. More file formats are supported. (.m4b, .mvb, .rm, .m4v, .divx, .xvid, .mkv, .mts, .flv). They have also added more language support with the firmware. So the Kremlin can even use the BlackArmor now as Russian has been added. Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Turkish, Greek and Brazilian Portuguese have also been added, but if you are reliant on the Arconis backup software you will still need to know English as that piece of software is not getting the language updates. DMS Audio and Video formats along with VMWare Certification are also included with the new update.

For more information on the update visit: http://smb.media.seagate.com/2010/11/storage-means-business/protect-store-and-get-more%e2%80%a6with-new-seagate-blackarmor%c2%ae-nas-firmware-upgrade/

Ten Things for your Geek these Holidays 2010 Holiday Gift Guide

Michael Reyes — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 01:03:00 +0000

Tis the Season to be jolly whatever your beliefs may be, this time of the year is the best. In the times we live in, and in a world where almost everyone is super busy trying to keep themselves afloat we all seem to make time for one another this time of year. It isn’t uncommon to see people lending a hand to a stranger and even finding more time to spend some extra time with family and friends. During the Holidays we tend to look past our differences and the world just seems like a happier place.

So regardless of what your beliefs we wish that your holidays are full of joy and with that we bring you or annual Holiday Gift Guide with a new twist this year. We will label some of our recommendations “Double Geek”. All this means is that our partner site CuteGeek.com also recommended the same product. Oh and be sure to check out CuteGeek.com for their Holiday Gift Guide.

We will do a count down from 10 to 1. With the 10th being the gift we think everyone would want. We will also include various stocking stuffers though out the guide which won’t be numbered.

10: Blackberry Torch for at&t

In an effort to be transparent, I am an at&t brand ambassador and was given the Blackberry Torch for free. However because the Torch is such an amazing device it’s replaced my iPhone. While the torch may not have an marketplace (AppWorld) loaded with as many apps as the Apple Marketplace for the iPhone but the apps it does have are the apps I need. It also handles emails and my appointments in a more streamlined easy to get manner than an iPhone. It also keeps me up to date with my Facebook friends and my twitter feeds. I love my Torch. The Blackberry Torch for at&t wireless is available for $99.99 with a two year service agreement from http://wireless.att.com but be sure to check out http://www.wirefly.com for deals there, use coupon code “WIREFLY2GMC4U” for a free memory card for your phone.

Stocking Stuffer for Blackberry Torch
Motorola FINITI Bluetooth Headset

9: LiveScribe Echo Smartpen

The LiveScribe Echo Smartpen is every geeks best friend. The Echo Smartpen will allow your geek to take notes and put those notes onto a computer. Will allow him or her to create pencast which basically is a podcast/blog. But it’s written down and you can actually record your thoughts and share them. The Echo Smartpen can be loaded with apps to help you solve a math problem or translate a word, and in the event your geek gets bored he or she can even use it to play games. For the geek who loves to draw there is even an App that will allow them to draw onto paper and it appears on screen in real time. Pretty sweet if you ask me. The LiveScribe Echo Smartpen is available directly from LiveScribe.com but also available at BestBuy.com and BestBuy Stores. I have also seen them on Staples.com and in Staples stores.

Some Stocking Stuffers for the Echo Smartpen
Flip Notepad | Carrying Case | 3D Recording Headset

8: Drobo FS

The Drobo FS is the perfect Geek or Geekette who needs a lot of storage and wants that storage to be as secure as possible. The Drobo FS offers a easy to use secure way to store data. Allowing up to 12.5 Terabytes of Storage (2.5 TB x 5) your Geek or Geekette won’t run out of storage anytime soon, and in the event one of those drives fails because of the redundancy the Drobo FS has, they won’t lose their data. The Drobo FS also has apps they can install onto it allowing them to host web servers etc. The Drobo FS starts at $679.99 and is available at BestBuy.com and directly from http://www.datarobotics.com

7: iPad 16 or 32 GB Wi-Fi Version (Double Geek)

The Apple iPad, doesn’t really need an explanation as to what it is and its recommendation is obvious. It is an all-in-one handheld slate device. It is your eBook reader, it is your Netbook it is your web browser it is everything you would want it to be and the thousands of apps available to it make it one of the most powerful and lucrative devices around. But why the Wi-Fi version and not the 3G Version? Simply put there is free or cheap wi-fi almost everywhere. Plus if you have a phone that supports tethering you can easily share its internet connectivity. The iPad is available at the Apple Store, Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart.

Some Stocking Stuffers for the iPad

Speck Case | Apple Case | Keyboard Dock | Pogo Stylus

6: WD TV Live Hub

The WD TV live hub in our opinion is the best companion for your television that has ever existed. The WDTV live hub brings, NetFlix, Blockbuster On Demand, Facebook, Pandora and YouTube Videos to your television. But that’s not all. It also brings the videos and pictures on your home network to the big screen in the living room. It also has a 1TB internal hard drive so you can even store the data onto the device and allows you to mirror folders on your computer on the device itself making it not only a content streamer but a backup. The $199 price tag makes it more attractive than any similar device such as apple TV and it’s easy to use user interface makes it the easiest to use. The WD TV Live Hub is available from http://store.westerndigital.com the WD TV Live Hub is also available exclusively from Best Buy.

5: iRobot Roomba and Scooba

We Geeks work a lot, we also have very few minutes in the day to do chores. After all after work we have to sit down and get onto WOW and fight the Alliance/Horde! Because Red/Blue is number 1!!!!!! Because of this hectic schedule we may not have an apartment or home that is as clean as It should be and with the money most of us make we can’t afford a maid. So why not use a robot that can sweep and mop for us? iRobot offers two such robots the Roomba and the Scooba. The Roomba sweeps and vacuums and the Scooba mops and scrubs your floor. Both are high ticket items costing $300+ each but both are well worth it. Roombas are available at Best Buy, Target and even on Amazon.com, Scoobas can be found on Amazon and Buy.com. Or you can order directly from iRobot.

4: Windows Phone 7 (Double Geek)

Any Windows Phone 7 be it the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround and LG Quantum for at&t wireless or the HTC HD7 for T-Mobile. Windows Phone 7 devices are the best devices on the market right now. Move over iPhone iOS and Android there’s a new mobile OS in town. I am really surprised that Windows Phone 7 was created by Microsoft because for the first time in the 10 years that I have been following Microsoft they finally have listened to its consumers and not business customers when creating the Windows Phone 7 OS and because of that they have created the best mobile smart phone experience ever. For more information on Windows Phone and the devices visit http://www.wndowsphone.com http://wireless.att.com and http://tmobile.com

HTC HD7 (tmo) and Surround (att)

LG Quantum and Samsung Focus both on att.

Stocking Stuffer for Windows Phone 7

Zune Pass | Motorola FINITI Bluetooth Headset

Why Zune Pass? Because Zune pass works with Windows Phone 7 and you can stream music to your phone over the wireless network.

3: iPod Touch or Zune

The new iPod Touch is great but so is the Zune. It really comes down to what you prefer. Are you more into apple or Microsoft? If you don’t own an Xbox 360 and/or a Windows Phone then get an iPod Touch if you do own an Xbox 360 and/or a Windows Phone then get a Zune and use a Zune pass to get music to all devices.

2: TomTom Go 2405/2505 TM

Earlier this month TomTom announced the best GPS Devices I have ever seen/used. Both with beautiful displays and features that most other GPS devices lack. I recently reviewed the TomTom Go 2505 so maybe that’s why its number 2 only after the Kinect but trust me it is a great GPS. It has IQ Routes which learns the roads you drive and can give you more accurate arrival times. It can even offer alternate routes depending on the time of day to help save you time. For more information and where to buy a TomTom Go 2405/2505 visit http://www.tomtom.com

1: The Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect (Double Geek)

The Kinect is the most wanted, must have game device for Christmas all geeks male and female alike will love this and it’s in so high demand that over a million were sold in the first 10 days of its sale. The Kinect allows the user to be the controller. No need to hold a remote or an ice-cream looking device in your hand, your body controls what goes on in the game. What is also so great about the Kinect is that it’s a family gift. It’s a gift that not only will entertain the person it’s given to but their entire family. In fact if you get this for your family you should put everyone’s name on the label. Xbox 360 Kinect is available alone or bundled with an Xbox 360 system from all your major e-tailers and retailers. Such as Amazon.com, Buy.com, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Target.

Some Stocking Stuffers to go along with the Kinect

Dance Central | Kinect Sports | Fighters Uncaged | Joy Ride | Zumba Fitness

So you may be wondering, hmmm they didn’t mention a certain product I wonder why.

Well if that product was the Logitech Revue (Google TV Companion Box) well while we used it and it’s an ok product. I honestly feel that Google TV isn’t really ready for prime time and honestly wouldn’t wish that thing on anyone. After all it’s the holidays wouldn’t want to ruin it for someone.

I just know the following will be asked. Wait wait you recommended the BlackBerry Torch and The Samsung and HTC Windows Phone. Why the fudge not an iPhone 4? We having been an iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 owner, I just don’t think the iPhone is the best smart phone on the market at the moment and not worthy of being on the list. Then someone will ask what about Android. Umm yeah best android phones in my opinion are the Galaxy S phones from Samsung however their battery life is horrible.

Enjoy your holidays!

Review: LIteON iHAS524

Michael Reyes — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 21:52:00 +0000

Recently I got my hands on the new LiteON iHAS524 24x Internal DVD/CD Writer with LabelTag. Lable Tag is a technology that allows you to label your disc on the writeable side of the disc with no special media required.

I thought bull crap, they say no special media but no way it works as advertised. So I quickly installed the drive which as I already said an internal drive that connects via a Serial ATA port. Once the drive was installed took about 5 minutes I fired up the PC installed the included software and started to burn every piece of music I had onto a blank CD.

The burning process was as fast as you’d expect it to be, burning 13 MP3’s to a CD shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes now a days and that’s all it took. But I didn’t really want to see how fast it could burn I wanted to see the LabelTag and man I was immediately impressed. It worked it’s as simple as that. It worked…no eject CD flip it over put it back in. It simply created the label onto the disc as simple as that. Sure I had to use the software which is pretty straight forward but it just worked. I am impressed.

There was a time where I honestly felt going LiteON was the wrong way to go. They sold nice drives and what not but they often didn’t last long, I had drives that would simply stop working after a few hours of use, no such problem with the IHAS524. LiteON has done so much to improve their product line that I am perfectly fine recommending them to the masses.

Overall the iHAS524 is a speedy writer with a cool labeling feature and I recommend it to anyone in search of a replacement DVD/CD Writer. Now if only there were a BluRay version.

You can get an IHAS524 over at Newegg for $25.99

AMD Radeon HD 6870 and 6850

Michael Reyes — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 05:07:00 +0000

Back in October AMD announced the AMD Radeon HD 6870 and 6850 and while I wanted to bring you a review sooner rather than later, however I had the cards for such a short period of time I didn’t think it would be fare for me to rush the review as I felt I couldn’t deliver an honest opinion on how the cards performed. But now I feel comfortable.

Last year, AMD introduced the Radeon HD 5800 series, the first DirectX11 cards on the market, which helped them become the leaders in gaming. After having attained that lead, with most users satisfied with the 5800 series, ATI is rushing out to shore up the midrange, with the introduction of two new cards, the ATI RADEON HD 6850 and RADEON HD 6870 GPUs, again optimized for DirectX 11 gaming.

We were able to lay our hands on reference units of these two cards.

The AMD Radeon HD 6870 & Radeon HD 6850

Built on AMD’s Bart architecture, the Radeon HD 6850 and 6870 contain several outputs: two DVI, two mini-DisplayPorts, and a single HDMI. Additionally, one of the DVI outputs is a dual-link port. You are able to run four displays out of the box! How cool is that?

50 MHz separates these two, 1 GB cards, the 6870 at 900MHz and the 6850 at 850 MHz.

The specs are as follows:

Radeon 6870

• I GB GDDR5

• Speed: 900 MHz

• PCI Express x16

• (2) DVI ports

• (2) Mini DisplayPort ports

• (1) HDMI 1.4a port

• Requires two (2) six-pin power connectors

Radeon 6850

• I GB GDDR5

• Speed: 900 MHz

• PCI Express x16

• (2) DVI ports

• (2) Mini DisplayPort ports

• (1) HDMI 1.4a port

• Requires one (1) six-pin power connector

One of the little goodies about these cards is the inclusion of the HDMI 1.4a functionality. This allows for the streaming of audio and video from 3D Blu-Ray. While none of those 3D Blu-Ray devices and media has been seen in the wild, at least you know you can use them with these cards.

One of the issues with displayed graphics is jagged edges, commonly called jaggies. Well, also introduced with the Radeon HD 6800 series is a new anti-aliasing scheme dubbed Morphological Anti-Aliasing. Using the Catalyst 10.10a driver suite, MAA defects and smoothens the jagged edges of a scene.

To adequately test these cards, we decided on using a system with an Nvidia GeForce 460 1GB as the baseline.

Testing the Radeon HD 6850 & Radeon HD 6870

Our test suite consisted of the following games:

i) Colin McRae’s DiRT 2

ii) Activision’s Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2

iii) Sega’s Aliens vs. Predator

iv) EA’s Crysis, and

v) Blizzard’s World of Warcraft

Radeon HD 6850

The 6850 ran neck-and-neck with the GeForce 460 is all gameplay. We were impressed with the ease and noise levels emanating from the 6850 during our gaming with it.

Radeon HD 6870

While the Radeon HD 6870 is the card AMD placed directly against the GeForce 460, it hardly seems fair. For in all our tests, the 6870 blew past the GeForce 460 and most of the time beat the higher priced GeForce 463!

The performance of these two GPUs leads us to believe that AMD is (rightfully) under-promising, and deliberately over-delivering.

Conclusions

These are very good GPUs. Moreover, they have been introduced at price points that definitely made their competition sit up, as evidenced by the recent price drop announced by Nvidia.

In a departure, AMD’s cloyingly low prices coupled with their strategic placement of the GPUs relative to Nvidia’s offerings is more than a show across the bows of the GeForce series. It is an outright declaration of their confidence in their pipeline.

As to these two cards, we find them not only worthy, but from a price/performance point of view, winners. The 6850 is unbeatable ar that price, and it is almost impossible for any other card to replicate the performance of the Radeon 6870 at that price.

Hulu Plus Launches Officially Today

Michael Reyes — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:08:00 +0000

Hulu Plus today has officially launched and not for the $9.99 a month preview price but for $7.99 a month. Current Hulu Plus subscribers will see a $2 credit for each month they paid $9.99. Hulu has also launched a referral program http://hulu.com/r/QDhTSg (referral link) where you can earn 2 weeks of free hulu plus service for each friend you refer.

The $7.99 a month price tag in my opinion will make Hulu more appealing. However some will dislike the service because even though you are paying you still see 5 second – 45 second ads. However if you think of it the way I do, you spend just as much time trying to fast forward and rewind when you record something on your DVR.

Will Hulu plus be a success? Who knows but the $7.99 a month price tag gives it a better chance.

Scooba from iRobot

Michael Reyes — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:04:00 +0000

I have been a huge fan of iRobot ever since I got my hands on my Roomba. I personally think it’s the bachelor’s perfect companion. You give it a name (Roomberta in my case) you tell her what to do and with no questions asked she does it. She’ll just ask you empty her tank and clean her brushes every now and then but that’s 10 minutes of work a week.

Recently on woot.com my new favorite shopping site they had the Scooba 300 on sale for an unbeatable price. The Scooba which I named Scooberto like the Roomba cleans your floor but the difference is the scooba mops while the Roomba swept.

I originally didn’t buy a scooba when I got my Roomba because regardless of all the great reviews I had read on it, I was skeptical. I honestly thought it was a gimmick and couldn’t actually clean my floors. I figured it just dropped water down and sucked it back up. But since the price on Woot.com was so good I really couldn’t go wrong and if it didn’t work I figured I could clean it up put back in the box and give it to someone for Christmas. (Yes I am Cheap )

But it worked and it worked really well. It required a bit more premeditation because I could not set it and forget it like the Roomba. But I have gotten into a habit to set it to mop up every night and my floors literally haven’t been cleaner. Even though it was doing its job, I still filled my bucket up with water and had my mop ready in case it missed a spot or two.

It even scrubs the floor with the brush that it has and it does a pretty damned good job. I recently had a party and the next day when I came to my living room was a mess. There were sticky spots all over the floor. Dried soda, juice etc. There was everything on the floor. I didn’t even sweet. I just set up the virtual walls which are sensors that prevent the scooba from passing them and put them up in a way where the scooba would be forced to stay in the living room. I set the schooba took a shower and when I got out about 45 minutes later the scooba was alerting me that its tank was empty and my living room floor was clean. Spots where previously there was sticky dry soda were spotless.

After that party my faith in the scooba grew immensely I trusted it to keep my floors clean and now I don’t even bother filling up my bucket with water in case it misses a spot because I know it won’t.

If you have a pet like I do who has a bladder issue like mines does and you awake to dry urin stains on the bathroom floor slightly off the wee wee pad, the scooba can handle those spills/stains well.

The Scooba really works, and if you’re lazy like me or just have no time to clean the money you’d spend on a Roomba and a Scooba is a lot less than you’d spend on a cleaning person. They are perfect for pretty much anyone and it is a Must Have item, wold also make fect gift.

My only wish is for the future Scooba to have some type of water connection where with a little work I can connect it to my pipes and it could fill itself with water and empty its own tank. If they have litter boxes that can do it, there should be a mopping robot that can too! Please iRobot please create a self-cleaning mopping robot

For more information on the Scooba and other iRobot Robots visit http://www.irobot.com

Netgear WN2000RPT Universal Wi-Fi Extender

Michael Reyes — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:47:00 +0000

I recently got my hands on the WN2000RPT which is a Universal Wi-Fi Range extender. Basically it locates a Wi-Fi Signal and extends it. I personally used it in my home to boost the Wi-Fi signal to the huge dead spot I had in my bedroom and it worked.

It was really easy to set up, I connected my notebook to it, accessed it like I would a router via the web browser and it located multiple Wi-Fi networks. Mines my neighbors and even the hotels down the block.

I told it to use mine and entered my WAP Key, I then created a new SSID for it and before I knew it I had Wi-Fi in my bed room, some place I hadn’t had Wi-Fi in for quite some time. I blame the thick walls of my NYC apartment.

It took all of 5 minutes to set up.

Now whenever someone comes to me and says; “Hey my neighbor has Wi-Fi and it covers all of my living room but I barely get any signal in the rest of my home, is there anything I can do?” I tell them check out the WN2000RPT provided they have permission from their neighbor. I even have some friends sharing internet over four apartments with two of these extenders it works perfectly for them. However I do not think their ISP will approve but times are tough and well you gotta do what you gotta do.

You don’t even need to have a Netgear router to use the WN2000RPT as it works with any wireless router.

Overall the WN2000RPT is a great device and if you have dead spots in your home it’s a must have! The WN2000RPT is available at etailers such as newegg.com for as little as $79.99 I suggest you snatch one up!

Review: Air Mouse Elite

Michael Reyes — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:03:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I was able to get my hands on the Gyration Air Mouse Elite. The Air Mouse Elite isn’t your traditional mouse. You don’t glide it around a hard surface but instead you use it like you would a wii-mote. You hold it in your hand and while your hand is in the air you move around and that in turn moves the arrow on your computer screen around.

When I first tried out the Air Mouse Elite, it felt awkward I kept trying to put it down on my desk. But then I just forced myself to hold it up and I got use to it. However the first few days I found myself wanting to stand up when using it. There are a few games available at Gyration.com that allows you to play games with the Air Mouse Elite and I think I wasted away a few hours of my life doing just that.

It’s a great mouse for a media center PC or for someone doing a presentation. I think I liked it the most for presentations as you don’t need to click next to forward through a power point presentation, you can just flick the air mouse and it goes onto the next slide. You can also be up to 150 feet away. The manual said 100 feet but it worked as far as 150 feet for me.

What I found the most surprising was how accurate it was. With the Wii-Mote for example any gesture you make gets you into the general area you want to be in. But with the Air Mouse Elite I found myself getting to areas I wanted my mouse pointer in easier than I thought it would be.

The mouse is elegant and looks great, it comes with a dock so you can keep it charged as long as you remember to put it back on its dock when you’re done with it. Something I forget to do.

Overall it’s a great peripheral and worth the $79.99 price tag. For more information visit http://www.gyration.com

Thoughts on the TomTom Go 2505 TM

Michael Reyes — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 06:20:00 +0000

Yesterday here in NYC TomTom held a press event to show off their latest and greatest GPS device, the TomTom Go 2405 and 2505 TM and when I first saw them I was impressed by their stylish design, especially since I never seen anything so cool looking from TomTom before.

At Wednesday’s event TomTom gave those in attendance a 2405 or a 2505, and I was lucky enough to get the 2505 which has a 5inch screen. The 2404 has a 4.3 inch screen. The 5inch captactive screen is the first time that TomTom has released a device with a screen fully covered by glass.

When I got home from the event I made an unboxing video of the device, check it out below.

After unboxing it, I decided to go out for a test drive and immediately was able to test out the Map Share feature. Map Share allows TomTom GPS users to correct map errors. In my case the error was it had my address 2 blocks away. The reason for this is because the street I live on is not vehicle accessible and 99% of all GPS devices and software show my address 2 blocks from where it should be. With TomTom mapshare I was able to correct that and submit the error to TomTom. TomTom would then verify the error on their own or another user of a TomTom Device in my area can then confirm the correction. TomTom will eventually check the change on their own by sending one of their many mapping vehicles out.

After I made the map correction, I put in an address three miles away from home for it to take me, and without realizing it I experienced the IQ Routes feature. After I started driving and it started taking me a route I thought was odd, when I was stopped at a red light I had to check the route summary to make sure it was taking me where I wanted to go.

When I saw it was taking me where I wanted to go I just went ahead and kept driving and to my surprise I got to the location a bit quicker than normal. It guided me on a bunch of side roads I never used before. On the way back from the location a few hours later it routed me back the way I normally go.

When I got home I decided to tell the GPS to take me back and instead of the first odd route it chose the route I typically took. That’s when I realized I had experienced the IQ Routes feature.

Most GPS devices estimate how long it will take you to get to a location by the advertised posted speed limit for the roads you will travel. However none of them expect for TomTom takes into account the actual speed you drive. With the hundreds of thousands of TomTom users, TomTom is able to determine the actual speed you’d drive at any given time on a stretch of road, and will give you faster route based on the time of day and not the actual speed limits posted on the route.

There is one road in Brooklyn NY where I live, it’s called Caton. From 6am – 9pm it can take you nearly an hour to go 3 blocks. The TomTom Go 2505 knows this and routes you around Caton between those hours.

The touchscreen interface on the TomTom Go 2505 is also amazing; it delivers a crystal clear picture. I wish I could watch movies or something on it while I am parked.

Another cool feature about the TomTom Go 2505 TM is that it doubles as a hands free device, so you can connect via Bluetooth your cell phone and receive and make calls.

I really do love the TomTom Go 2505 TM and recommend it to anyone who is on the lookout for a new GPS device. For more information visit: http://www.tomtom.com/en_us/products/car-navigation/

We at HardwareGeeks.com award it our 5 Star Gold Editor’s Choice Award for November!

Google Street View Helps NYPD Nab Drug Dealers

Michael Reyes — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:58:00 +0000

Police used Google Maps Street View to help nab several men accused of dealing drugs on the streets of WIlliamsburg Brooklyn. According to ABC News police began an operation to apprehend the men after people in the neighborhood complained.

Below is the street view police used. Notice their faces weren’t blurred. Violation of privacy google? Might be but hey it helped keep NYC streets safe.

View Larger Map

at&t throws private concert for Drake Fans

Michael Reyes — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:18:00 +0000

In what I think is one of the best social media promotions of the year, at&t used their at&t share facebook page to run a contest. In the contest fans of at&t had to select in which City they wanted Drake to have a concert in.

Philadelphia won and yesterday the 9th of November 2010 was the concert. If I were to guess, I’d say about 80% of the people who voted for Philly actually won tickets to attend the concert, in fact I know of at least two individuals who won multiple times. They had their parents and friends enter for them. I didn’t win tickets but was invited as an at&t brand ambassador. Even though Philly is three and a half hours away I accepted the invite rented a car and took a colleague form over at CuteGeek.com, her sister whose 18th birthday was today (11/10/2010) and my niece who is a huge Drake fan. For you CuteGeek.com fans Zenia from CuteGeek will be making her own post about the concert this week so check out CuteGeek.com for that post coming soon.

We had a blast! The intimate setting of the concert just made you feed off the energy of everyone in the theater. The concert took place in the Theater of Living Arts and we were so close to the stage that you could literally reach out and touch Drake.

Here are some pictures I took at the event. Enjoy! Also be sure to check out the at&t share fan page on Facebook.

Norton Beefs up Norton Online Family

Michael Reyes — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:47:00 +0000

Yesterday Symantec announced that they were beefing up their Norton Online Family service to allow for video monitoring, time summaries and the ability to email you weekly/monthly reports and more detailed reporting with information that goes back 90 days.

The Norton Online Family service (formerly OnlineFamily.Norton) allows parents to monitor their children’s activities online, but was limited to 7 days of data, what websites they visited, web searches, social networks and Chat conversations. The new update will allow parents to have more information on what their kids are doing online. However there is a fee for the additional features of $49.99 a year but right now you can get the service for $29.99 (not sure how long that will last). A free version is still available but with the original feature set.

I have been a huge Norton Online Family fan since it was first announced, not because of what its intended for (Helping Parents Monitor their childrens activity online), but because it allows me to prevent my mother, sisters nieces and nephews from having to call me every week because one of their PCs has a virus.I just installed Norton Online Family onto their systems and pretty much let it stop them from going to malicious sites.

For more information visit http:///onlinefamily.norton.com Symantec has also updated their Norton DNS for those of you who may want an additional layer of security http://nortondns.com/

at&t now has WIndows Phone 7

Michael Reyes — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:39:01 +0000

Today I went to the at&t store in Times Square (NYC) to check out the line at the at&t store for Windows Phone 7. I didn’t expect much of a line but when I arrived at the store there were a good 30 people in line and it grew to about 60. Not as long as the lines for the iPhone launches but it was pretty cool to see the enthusiasm for the new Windows Phones.

The above picture is of the line at around 6:20 am. The guy in the front of the line had been in line since a little before 3am to get the coveted number 1 spot. He was later interviewed by Rob Dyrdek and Mink Kelly.

Minka and Rob entered the at&t store at 7am along with the first guy in ine and they sold him the very first Windows Phone 7 Phone (Samsung Focus) that at&t has sold. For those of you who do not know. Minka Kelly is an actress and also the girlfriend of Derek Jeter and Rob is a Skater and MTV show host.

It took them about 30 or so minutes for this guy to buy his phone, they were taking pictures and video. He was interviewed by a few news agencies some national and some local. I think the guy felt a bit like a celebrity by the time it was all said and done.

At around 7:50 am they opened the store for the rest of the people in line and there was a MAD RUSH to the counters as people were buying up the WP7 phones and picking up Katy Perry tickets. Overall it was a pretty cool and fun event. I personally didn’t buy a phone I just wanted to go check out what was going on and at&t allowed me to be inside the store before it opened and allowed me to take pictures and check out the demo devices.

I should be getting an HTC Surround and when I do I will definetly post an unboxing and a review. I played with a demo Surround at the at&t store and man oh man is it amazing, its like the phone is personal again yet it also allows you to be productive with work.

Windows Phone in my opinion makes the smartphone the complete phone. Perfect for day to day personal life and day to day business life. No company has managed to bring the two together seamlessly yet keep them so distant like Microsoft has managed too with Windows Phone. If you are up for a new phone I recommend heading to an at&t store and getting a windows phone!

at&t responds to T-Mobile

Michael Reyes — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:17:00 +0000

Earlier this week T-Mobile released an ad making fun of at&t.

Today at&t responded with this statement:

Hey Fans! You may have seen T-Mobile smack talking our network (seriously TMo?) and calling their HSPA+ network “4G” in order to claim they have the largest “4G” network. Not so fast…we have 180 million folks on HSPA+ already…40 million more than they do. They also claim 200 million by year’s end, but we’ll have it to 250 million this month. So their network isn’t any bigger or faster. Just calling ‘em as we see ‘em.

Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360

Michael Reyes — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 05:34:00 +0000

“Project Natal” if you have been following Xbox then you have heard of “Project Natal” and if you haven’t it was the codename for Kinect. Since I first heard about Natal I have been excited about it, and when I was able to see it in action at this past e3 I knew I wanted it and today I finally got one after waiting in line at a Game Stop for 15 minutes. While everyone was at the Toys R Us in Times Square I was at a little known Game Stop in Brooklyn NY. Check the image below to see what I picked up.

So I got Dance Central because I honestly believe it to be the best Kinect Game available and I got Kinectimals well because I thought it was cute, shoot me. The Kinect also comes with Kinect Adventures.

Setting up the Kinect:

Hopefully by now your Xbox 360 system has the latest update, if for some reason you didn’t update, get the update now.

If you have a Regular Xbox 360, you need to plug the Kinect into a power outlet and into one of the USB ports on the Xbox 360, if you have the newer Elite version you detach the power adapter and just plug the Kinect into the back of the Orange port on the back of the 360.

Now power on the 360, you will be prompted with an alert saying that the device needs to be updated. Its a quick update.

Once that update is run you will go through some configuration. It is vital that everyone in the room you are in is silent. This set up took about 3 minutes to complete. Once complete it will take you through a tutorial on how to use gestures like how to hold out your left hand to get into the menu. It will also tell you how to use voice commands.

Once you are in the Xbox 360 Dashboard, there are two ways to access the Kinect Dashboard. You can either wave your hand left to right, or say “Xbox” then “Kinect”.

When you make it to the Kinect Dashboard, make sure you set up a Kinect ID, so that when ever the Kinect sees you, it logs you in.

Set up was really easy and took me about 10 minutes.

So how much room do you need? For one person 6 feet, for 2 people 10 feet. the closer you are to the Kinect you are the less play area you have, the further away back the more play area. While 6 feet is only recommend for 1 person, I was able to play some games in Kinect Adventures with 2 people with no problems. I also must note I was only 5 feet from the Kinect sensor so less than the recommended 6 feet and again I had no issues. However when sitting down using Kinect Video for example, the icon for the menu tends to pop up more than it should.

You need an evenly lit room, however it doesn’t need to be super bright. I have a three setting lamp in my living room and it (Kinect) works as good on the lowest setting as it did with the lamp on the highest of settings. As long as the lighting is even you should be fine.

Will it work in a dark room? It worked for me but I do not have a lot of room in my living room so my television pretty much lit up the room, so the light from the TV might of been enough light for the Kinect to work in my small room.

Game Play:

The first game I tried with the Kinect was Kinect Adventures. I had played the obstacle course a few times at E3 and other Microsoft events over the past few months and loved it then and loved it even more now.

I then followed it up with a game of Dance Central and man on my first try I nailed Lady Gaga’s Poker Face on East Beat Down!!! I Rock I know I know, got 95% on the Medium. Haven’t tried hard yet. I played Dance Central for nearly two and a half hours, I never broke out in such a huge sweat from playing a video game, even when playing wii fit plus. I was so sweaty I needed to take a shower.

A lot of people have said, there is lag with the Kinect, that MSFT needs to fix the lag issues. Well I don’t know but I didn’t notice any lag and my living room isn’t the best of size for Kinect but it played perfectly. I honestly didn’t notice any lag. At first when I was playing Kinect Adventures and I was missing some balls that were thrown at me, I thought yup theres the lag. But quickly realized it was just my timing was lousy. Always easy to blame someone or something else when your timing sucks. I suspect a lot of people complaining about lag just suck with their timing. But then again I have only been playing for 3 hours or so.

Overall I really like the Kinect and sugest if you have an Xbox 360 you get one. In my opinion its way better than the Playstation Move and Nintendo Wii.

For more information on the Kinect visit http://www.xbox.com/kinect

Unboxing the WD TV Live Hub

Michael Reyes — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 05:02:00 +0000

Quick unboxing of the WD TV Live Hub a new network attached hub that allows you to stream your content to your television. We will have a full review in about a week so check back soon. Until then enjoy the unboxing.

Review: The Sound ID 510 Bluetooth Headset Plus EarPrint App

Sufian Siddiqi — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:24:00 +0000

The Sound ID 510 is a light (weighs about 8 grams) Bluetooth headest with a real treat. It comes with its own iPhone/Android (requires Android 2.1) app (BlackBerry app is coming soon) which allows you to adjust sound levels, check on the battery level and update firmware, toggle certain settings, and also includes the ability to find the headset.

The headset has a very simple interface. There’s a single multi-function button, a toggle switch to turn the device on/off, and a touch-sensitive pad volume toggle. A micro USB port is located at the top for charging purposes. The device contains three microphones used for wind and noise cancellation. One of the neat features it includes is the “Pass Thru” mode, which, when toggled through the mobile app allows the wearer of the headset to hear all of the surrounding sound through the device when not in use, as if they were not wearing it. The battery on the headset has enough juice for five hours of talk time, and 135 hours on standby. The headset also has the capability to be actively paired with two phones.

Another useful feature is the ability to listen to music, GPS navigation, and more on your headset (A2DP compatible device required). I tested this device out on my Nexus One, which runs Android 2.2.1, and was able to clearly listen to audio that was stored on my phone using the phone’s music app, listen to music on Pandora, and other web-based radio stations, which is a major plus in my book.

While using the headset for calls, the audio quality was high. The voice of the callers were very crisp and clear, and they too had no complaints about hearing me. When not on a call, and not wanting to wear the headset, you have the option of slipping it in an included small plastic case that has a clip. The only problem I had with the headset was experienced while the headset was in the case. While in my pocket, I noticed that the phone would repeatedly dial out random numbers or trigger the voice commands option on my phone. I assume that’s because the multi-function button is somewhat accessible while the headset is in the case, and it was being pressed while in my pocket somehow. I had to make sure that I never put the headset in my pocket, which was a little irritating.

Now on to the feature that makes this headset truly unique. Sound ID has released a mobile app, dubbed EarPrint. The EarPrint app has four tabs or screens: Personal, Level, Tools, and Battery.

On the Personal tab, by moving the Sound ID icon across the screen, you have the ability to enhance the incoming sound quality. This tab is only accessible while the headset is in use during a call, listening to music, or while in “Pass Thru” mode.

The Level tab allows you to visually see the sound level, via a meter, of the surrounding environment while not on a call.

The Tools tab allows you to toggle on/off whether or not you want an in-call status indicator, noise reduction, and “Pass Thru” mode. It also features a “Find My Headset” button which will cause the headset to emit loud beeping sounds for a few seconds.

The Battery tab allows you to view the battery level of the headset, and also displays the application version, headset firmware version, and is the screen to go to if you need to upgrade the devices firmware.

All in all, the Sound ID 510, accompanied by the EarPrint app, is one of the best Bluetooth headsets I’ve used to date. The headset is available in black or white and can be purchased for $129.99 directly from Sound ID or from one of it’s retail partners. We award the Sound ID 510 our 4 Star Editors Choice Award.

Just got my Google TV

Michael Reyes — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 23:17:00 +0000

So I finally received the reviewers kit the Logitech Review, I had been anxious to get one and it was supposed to come last week so when it arrived today I was super excited. I quickly made an unboxing video probably one of the worst I ever made because I was in such of a rush to hook it up. Check the video out below.

After playing with it for about 2 hours, I have to say I am a bit underwhelmed. All it has done is basically add Netflix and Amazon VOD to my television plus Chrome so I can browse the web. Not really sure I am feeling it but maybe after using it for a few days that will change. I will let you all know what I think in a week.

Maingear X-CubeP Review

AlphaAlien — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 22:38:00 +0000

A few months ago Maingear announced their X-Cube small form factor custom Gaming PC. It struck us as interesting since most people think of ginormous computers when they think of a computer capable of hardcore gaming.

So we asked Maingear if they could loan us one to test out. We wanted to see if a small form factor PC could handle hard core gaming, especially since the system is overclockable. So they sent us one.

The system I received had the following specs:

Intel Core i5 3.2 Ghz Dual Core Processor

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 1.2GB GDDR5

8 GB DDR3-133 Crucial

Optical Drive Dual Layer DVD RW with Lightscribe

750 GB of Storage

Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

750W Silverstone Strider Plus Modular PSU

Windows 7

Pretty rock solid system from looking at the specs, but often times you get a high end system that leaves a lot to be desired. I mean after all you do need a huge system that gets so hot you can fry an egg on it to game effectively. Don’t you? I’ll answer that now. No you don’t and maingear proves that you don’t with the X-cube and its size makes it perfect for the dorm room gamer or anyone with not a lot of space.

The first thing I did with the X-cube was of course fire it up and game! Man what a gaming experience before I even attempted to overclock it gaming on it was fantastic. I played my all-time Favorite Fall Out 2, and Crysis. Graphics were flawless even with high settings. The system itself ran smoothly and silently with no issues at all.

I then attempted to run PCMark and 3DMark but for some reason both would fail to give me an accurate benchmark, not sure what was happening but after the third attempt I just gave up on the benchmarks. In hindsight I should of tried different video drivers, oh wells.

Aside for the issues running the benchmarks I had no issues with the system, as I already said gaming on it was flawless. The power the X-Cube was able to deliver in such a small form factor in my opinion is mind boggling. I was sure I would experience some sort of heating issue own the road but after using it for nearly two months no issues what so ever.

The X-Cube also made a great work PC. Running Microsoft Office and Adobe CS5 was a breeze. It isn’t as fast as my jobs workstation but man it sure rivaled it and made it very easy for me to work from home. I called out sick a few more days than I should have because of the power of the X-Cube.

Overall the Maingear X-Cube is a great system and well worth the money. It’s perfect for the Dorm Room gamer or anyone who has little to no room for a giant PC. It delivers all the power you’d want and more. There is even a 3D version for those who want that 3D gaming experience.

We award the Main Gear X-Cube our 5 Star editors Choice award. For more information on the X-Cube visit http://www.maingear.com

Moving from Personal Computers to Personal Computing

Michael Reyes — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 02:33:00 +0000

The use of a computer to process data or perform calculations. That my friends is the definition of computing and personal computing is where we are all headed.

We have a lot of OEM who focus on our needs for a personal computer, be it a notebook or a desktop. However I am unsure there is any OEM that focuses on our needs for computing. Sure sell us a notebook or a desktop that will allow us to compute but the end of the personal PC is coming.

I know I probably sound crazy right about now but think about it. Processors are able to handle so much now a days compared to a few years ago even though they technically have stalled with speed over the past four years. Our home networks are faster than ever and are only bound to get faster. What we need in our homes are servers but not your traditional servers. Servers that have the power of workstations such as the HP Z800. Just imagine a $10,000 Z800 workstation in your home. Think of all the things you can do with it, from streaming video to your TV, Gaming and so much more. Now 10 years from now that powerful HP Z800 workstation will probably cost around $800 – $1000. Well maybe not the exact same system but a system as powerful as a Z800 that will cost you $10,000 today.

I am using the Z800 as an example because I have experience with it, I have used it, I have seen how energy efficient it is, how silent it can be. It would make the perfect Home Server. Side note not all Z800 systems cost 10 grand. The starting price I believe is in the $1800 range and they can go as high as $110k it really depends on how it’s configured. However a $10,000 system with the following specs can deliver substantial power to a home user.

Dual Intel Xeon X5680 3.33 12MB/1333 6C CPU

12GB (6x2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC RAM

1.5 TB HDD x4 (6 TB total)

Liquid Cooled

Now imagine we you had a Z800 or similar system with the above specs as a server in your home, doing all the computing for you basically making it your personal computing system. A system like this in my opinion can support up to 10 average home users. Meaning at any given time all 10 users can access the system and do anything from watch TV, work on a spread sheet or even play a video game. They would do this by using extenders.

The extenders would be from an inch in size to the size of the biggest TV you can get. They would access your home server via w-fi, or via a wired network and you will be able to access everything from a personalized desktop where you can run Office, to a Media Center where you can view your photos.

We will also use Slate devices like the iPad and the HP Slate 500. But they won’t have an OS on them just a piece of software that allows us to connect to our home server.

There are also so many other devices from digital picture frames to home automation systems that can tap into the power of a home server that has the power of a $10,000 HP Z800 workstation sold in 2010. (I mention the year just in case someone 20 years from now reads this )

Now if only Microsoft, Apple or Google would create an Operating system that would allow this. Microsoft has Windows Home Server but it’s limited to just storage. Google has Google TV but it’s basically just a search appliance that searches your network. Apple well Apple has Apple TV but that really doesn’t do us any good.

We need a piece of software like Windows Server, that can be customized easily like a Consumer OS like Windows and OSX and the ability to search our files easily like Google TV can.

Whichever company that makes it will dominate in my opinion. They won’t even need to keep the OS open. They just will need to be able to support an endless number of devices. That is why I think if any company does it Microsoft will have the biggest advantage, followed by Apple and then Google. But who knows.

To see if it’s possible I ran a test. I have an AMD based system 4 cores a eyefinity enabled video card, and I can stream to the television in my living room and in my bathroom, also to a picture frame while I game. Then from my other room I am able to remote desktop to it and work on word. The system takes a bit of a resource hit and the game begins to lag but if I had the power of a system like the above configured Z800 I gurantee there would be no lag.

If this became reality think of how much money, schools for example could save, businesses etc. What do you guys think?