The greatest game console of all time?

few days ago, blogger Don Reisinger made the bold declaration that the Super Nintendo was the greatest video game system of all time. The SNES was indeed a great console with lots of great games, but it’s still a leap to call it the greatest system ever made. In an industry that’s over 30 years old, that’s seen dozens upon dozens of home video game systems, simply calling out Nintendo’s second console as the best ever seems simplistic.

To a certain extent, though, Don is right. The Super Nintendo could be considered the greatest console of all time. It presented a huge leap in technology from the NES, and its superlative selection of great games make it a system I’d be proud to keep next to my TV to this day. Some of my fondest young gaming memories revolve around the SNES and the countless hours I spent in front of it. Many of my favorite games are SNES titles, and they’re still great to play today (thank you, Virtual Console, since my original SNES is long gone).  

The Super Nintendo isn’t the only choice, though. It might not even be the best choice for best console. The SNES took a huge leap forward from the NES, but it went in the same direction as the NES took from the Atari. It did everything the NES did, and it did a far better job of it, but it didn’t really offer much else. A look at some of the greatest games of the system offer enough proof of that: Super Mario World, Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Mega Man X, and Final Fantasy VI were all sequels. They’re all fantastic games, but they owe everything to the original NES games: Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, and Final Fantasy. 

Several other consoles could also be called the greatest gaming system. They all offer a great advancement from the previous generation, they all feature massive libraries of great games, and they all have a shot at beating the Super Nintendo for the superlative title. 

Nintendo Entertainment System:  Brought gaming back from the brink  

The NES helped start it all, and pulled North America back from the brink after the console gaming crash. The home video game system market almost died in 1983 and 1984, when the field became flooded with everything from Atari to Colecovision to Intellivision to Vectrex to the Bally Astrocade. There were practically more systems on the market than decent games to play with them, and people weren’t biting. The Nintendo Entertainment System helped revitalize the industry when it came out in the U.S. in late 1985.  Of course, Nintendo’s first home system wasn’t great simply because what it did to the market. The 8-bit console found dozens of great games, from franchise firsts like Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda, to great third-party titles like Mega Man, Castlevania, and Final Fantasy, to classic sports games like Super Tecmo Bowl, Super Dodgeball, and Blades of Steel. The millions of grown-up gamers who helped make the game industry so successful owe much of their childhood memories to time spent on Nintendo’s 8-bit console.  

The case against: The NES’ games haven’t aged very well. While SNES titles like Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past are still a blast to play, the original Final Fantasy,, Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda can’t readily compare. They score big on the nostalgia factor, but the SNES offers broader, deeper, prettier games that feature all the best parts of the NES titles without the ugliness or simplicity. It doesn’t help that for every great game on the NES, there were easily 10 horrible pieces of shovelware pushed out.  

Great games: Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mega Man, Castlevania, Super Dodgeball, Duck Hunt, StarTropics, Ducktales, Final Fantasy  

Sony PlayStation: Gaming made for grown-ups

If you had an NES in your childhood living room, you probably had a PlayStation in your college dorm room. While the NES helped make home video games popular again, the PlayStation helped legitimize the industry as a form of entertainment for adults, as well as kids. Titles like Resident Evil, Final Fantasy 7, and Metal Gear Solid tied great graphics with surprisingly mature and deep storytelling to present gaming experiences that adults could proudly play.  

The PlayStation really gave developers the opportunity to actually show gamers the story, not just tell them. The system’s combination of optical storage and 3D graphics let games use rendered cut scenes, voice acting, and even video footage to tell their stories. Previous systems like the SNES and NES offered dramatic storytelling at times (like the excellent Final Fantasy 7), and systems like the Phillips CD-i and Sega Saturn used optical discs to pack movies and sound into games, but the PlayStation was the first system to really take advantage of both to inject much-needed maturity into an industry that was still seen as primarily for young children.  

The case against: Like the NES, the PlayStation suffered from a deluge of shovelware that outnumbered its decent games. Like the SNES, most of the great games on the PlayStation were retreads and sequels of older systems’ games. Many of the games, like Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy 7, took their series in some great new directions, but they still didn’t offer much new besides prettier graphics and deeper stories.  

Great games: Resident Evil, Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Silent Hill, Tekken 3, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears  

Microsoft Xbox 360: Putting it all online Though it’s horribly premature to consider any competitor in the current console war the “best game system ever,” the Xbox 360 still deserves some consideration. Microsoft’s second game system has done the best job so far of connecting a home console to the Internet and bringing the entire experience together with ease and (relative) stability. After a successful test run on the original Xbox, Xbox Live has bloomed into a full-featured online service. Xbox Live Arcade offers a surprisingly large library of fun, downloadable games, from classic titles (like the aforementioned PlayStation game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) to esoteric board games (like Catan and Carcassonne).  

While online competition was once the sole purveyance of PCs, the Xbox 360 and the for-pay Xbox Live Gold service has made everything from casual death matches to sports tournaments easy to set up and execute. Previous systems, like the Sega Dreamcast, the PlayStation 2, and the original Xbox, laid the groundwork for online console play, but the Xbox 360 managed to execute it the most successfully. Voice and text chat both in and out of games, easy communication between friends enjoying different games, and a buddy list you can view and edit over the Web make the system one of the easiest to take online. Of course, the other two consoles have made available both downloadable games and multiplayer, but they don’t do it quite as well. The Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console lets gamers enjoy some of the best games from the NES, SNES, and other classic systems, and the PlayStation Network offers both new games and classic PlayStation titles for download. Unfortunately, the Wii’s multiplayer component feels incomplete and awkward, and the PS3’s library isn’t as large and its interface isn’t nearly as friendly as it could have been. The Xbox 360 simply manages to hit its mark and, like the NES and the PlayStation, take gaming forward.  

The case against: The Xbox 360 has been plagued by quality control issues since it came out, and the red ring of death has caused a great deal of bitterness. The system itself has some great games, but it doesn’t offer many truly remarkable exclusive titles; with a few exceptions, the Xbox 360’s best games are either PC ports or cross-platform titles that are also on the PS3. In certain ways, the Xbox 360 is little more than a PC in a shiny console wrapper.  

Great games: Mass Effect, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, Gears of War, Puzzle Quest, Catan, Carcassonne, Alien Hominid HD  

The final verdict:  Depends on what you mean by “greatest”  

Gaming is so subjective that there is no single “greatest” system ever. It might sound like a cop-out, but it really depends on what standards you’re using and what generation you grew up in. I loved the SNES, and would personally call it the greatest system of all time. However, the NES and PlayStation could both easily be called the best, based on the standards they set and the advances they presented to gaming. Even the Xbox 360 could be called the best, if you consider how much it’s done in terms of connecting console gamers to each other and making new games and content accessible.

In the end, it depends. My heart says SNES, my head says NES, and my hands say PlayStation (because nobody ever got Nintendo Thumb from the Dual Shock controller). Some of my best gaming memories were from the Super Nintendo, but I still have to give credit where credit is due.

Microsoft bids $44.6 billion for Yahoo

Microsoft went public Friday with a $44.6 billion cash-and-stock bid to acquire Yahoo. 

In its response, Yahoo called the Microsoft bid “unsolicited” but did not reject it.  

Microsoft’s offer, which was contained in the letter to Yahoo’s board, amounts to $31 a share and represents a 62 percent premium over Yahoo’s closing price on Thursday. Microsoft said it will offer shareholders the option of cash or stock. 

“We have great respect for Yahoo, and together, we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers, and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online-services market,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement.  

Yahoo said in a responding statement that its board “will evaluate this proposal carefully and promptly, in the context of Yahoo’s strategic plans, and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders.”  

The deal comes as Microsoft and Yahoo have both struggled to compete against Google. Microsoft didn’t mention Google by name in its announcement, but it did indicate that its acquisition bid was aimed squarely at its rival.  

“Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player, who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition,” Microsoft said. “Together, Microsoft and Yahoo can offer a credible alternative.”  

In a conference call Friday morning, Ballmer said that Microsoft and Yahoo “really do share a vision for the potential of online services.”  

Microsoft said in its statement that it believes that it can get all of the needed regulatory approvals and that the deal, if ultimately approved by Yahoo shareholders, could be completed in the second half of the year. 

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research, said it’s “clear that there is increased pressure on Microsoft from Google, and they recognize that. Way back when, Yahoo wasn’t that interested in a Microsoft deal. What a difference two years make. Microsoft has a pile of money, and Yahoo has experienced problems of its own. Ballmer, in the past, has historically not loved these types of deals. It is indicative of how different the world is now.

“ Gartenberg added that the deal “absolutely” makes sense. “But there is a lot to be done in the details. Getting this deal done might be the easiest part. The real challenge is what happens when they finish the deal. This is not a panacea–the details will be what matters,” he said.  Rumors that Microsoft was interested in Yahoo have bubbled up from time to time, including the past two springs, on the eve of Microsoft advertising conferences. 

The move would be by far the largest acquisition ever for Microsoft. Its largest prior deal, also in the online-advertising space, was last year’s $6 billion deal to acquire Aquantive. Asked on the conference call why Microsoft still needs Yahoo after buying Aquantive, Ballmer pointed to Yahoo’s reach with consumers.  

“Certainly from a consumer perspective, there’s no better way to increase scale and capacity than this acquisition,” Ballmer said.  

Microsoft also pointed to the intense investments needed in data centers and technology needed to compete with Google.  

“Scale matters,” said Kevin Johnson, president of the Microsoft division that houses Windows and online advertising. “Some of the scale economics can kick in rather rapidly.”

Ultimately, Ballmer said, the deal should help Microsoft become profitable in online advertising.  

“We’ve been losing money,” Ballmer said. “Our plan would be to not lose money in the future.” In a letter sent to Yahoo’s board late Thursday, Microsoft confirmed that it has had talks with Yahoo since 2006 but that its suggestions of an acquisition had been rebuffed.  

“In late 2006 and early 2007, we jointly explored a broad range of ways in which our two companies might work together,” Microsoft said. “These discussions were based on a vision that the online businesses of Microsoft and Yahoo should be aligned in some way to create a more effective competitor in the online marketplace. We discussed a number of alternatives ranging from commercial partnerships to a merger proposal, which you rejected.”  

The letter goes on to say that an offer in February 2007 was also rejected. Although at one time, Microsoft was open to other kinds of partnerships with Yahoo, the company says now it just wants to own Yahoo outright.

“While a commercial partnership may have made sense at one time, Microsoft believes that the only alternative now is the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo that we are proposing,” Microsoft said in the letter.  

In the conference call, Ballmer said that when Microsoft first talked to Yahoo more than a year ago, it believed that a merger would have benefits to both companies. “We believe now in those benefits more than ever,” Ballmer said.  

The public offer follows Yahoo’s disappointing earnings report on Tuesday, which sent the company’s shares down. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang said Tuesday that the company is facing “headwinds.” He also announced 1,000 layoffs.  

Terry Semel, Yahoo’s former CEO, who left that position last summer but remained as nonexecutive chairman of the board, left the company altogether on Thursday. 

Microsoft’s move validates Yahoo’s value and could bring out other prospective buyers, said Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Land. However, Microsoft doesn’t have enough of a plan as to how it would integrate Yahoo into the company, he said.  

Unlike with Microsoft’s Aquantive and Tellme acquisitions, Microsoft and its Live brands have a lot of overlap with Yahoo, including e-mail, portal, advertising, and search.  

“Microsoft suffers in that they are conflicted over two different brands, and now they’re going to have to be conflicted over three,” Sullivan said. “If Microsoft wants to be a leader in search, this is a way for them to climb up and be No. 2 against Google. And it validates that Yahoo isn’t a loser. It’s a company that’s worth a lot of money.”  

A merger might give Google some extra competition, but it wouldn’t unseat it as the top search provider, and it would take some time to convince advertisers that they would do better on a Microsoft-Yahoo platform over Google’s highly successful ad business, said Mark Mahaney of Citigroup.  

“If Yahoo wants to remain independent, it will need to show investors that it is willing to take radical, value-creating steps,” and outsourcing search to Google is one of its few options, Mahaney wrote in a research note.

Imran Khan of J.P. Morgan Securities thinks that regulators will approve the deal.  

“Yahoo is better off inside a larger company with (a) strong balance sheet and technology,” Khan wrote in a research note. A merger of Microsoft and Yahoo could give them the scale, in terms of search traffic, that they need to compete against Google and provide a boost on the ad side, he added.

“A combination of Yahoo’s relationships (with DSL providers), and Microsoft’s applications and devices, could create a very well positioned potential competitor,” Khan wrote. Microsoft’s financial advisers are Morgan Stanley and The Blackstone Group.  

By Ina Fried

New Playstation 3 this autumn?

According to a particularly well-informed insider, it seems that the Big S is prepping an all new PlayStation 3. The new incarnation is supposedly slimmer, lighter weight, and sexy as hell.It’s not as if Sony haven’t got a history of making things slimmer and, er, lighter: The PSP shed a lot of its weight last summer, the original PlayStation ended up as the minuscule PSOne, and the PlayStation 2 re-incarnated as the PSTwo, which was an all-round sexier piece of kit to boot. Roll on PSThree? 

Specs-wise, we’re probably looking at the same machine with stacks of space and the trusty Blu-Ray player on board. The new PS3 is a proper looker: if it’s anything like the illustration our team of designers have come up with, then we’re looking at one hell of a sexy piece of kit.We wouldn’t be at all shocked if the much-touted 160GB PS3 is in fact this slimmed down puppy. 

Sony has peddled out their usual line of ‘not commenting on rumours and speculation’, but that is exactly what they said before they dropped the size zero edition of the PSP.For now, that’s all we have. But rest assured we’ll be pounding the phones and keeping our ears pricked for any news as soon as we get it. 

Like the pictures we’ve got here? Then you’ll love the ones we’ve got in T3 magazine. This little beastie looks a hell of a lot better in full, glorious, glossy high-definition print than on a pesky computer screen!

The Panasonic R7

The Panasonic R7 offers an unrivaled 2 pound usability experience. Its diminutive 9.0(W) x 7.2(L) x 0.9~1.6(H) inch footprint accommodates a 10.4″ XGA TFT and a 17mm keypitch keyboard–giving you a much larger keyboard and screen than anything in its weight class. The 8 hour standard battery life is remarkable (even when reduced to a real world 4-5 hours of use). The R7’s utilization of the latest ultra-low voltage Intel Core Duo processor helps to give long battery life while delivering significant performance.

But it is not all about being pretty.

The R7 withstood 50kg (110 pounds) of weight, as well as a 30cm (11.8 inch) drop, in Panasonic’s lab tests. While this is not a guarantee that it will withstand that in the future (and it is not guaranteed to do so), it’s an impressive feat for a chassis this size. The HDD is shock-mounted to reduce the likelihood of data loss due to stress of travel.

The Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo processor (2mb on-chip cache) and 2.0gb RAM (max) provide plenty of power. The mobile Intel GM965 Express chipset with 224mb shared VRAM also provides plenty of graphics performance.

Mvix MX-780HD Media Center With Built-in Torrent Client

This is one of those little know devices that I am a huge fan of. I own and did a review on one of the first Mvix media centers a while ago, the MV-5000U. Aside from its crude interface, I thought it was a fantastic device being able to play many different formats along with DVD ISOs turning it to a true DVD jukebox. It is still one of my most used devices to this day. So you can see why I am excited to see this third gen Mvix.

The newest version, the Mvix MX-780, adds HDMI out for resolutions of to 1080p (in addition to other outputs, see after the jump). There are many different ways you can play media on the box: stream it from your computer (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), transfer it via USB as a standard MSC drive, connect an MSC drive to the USB host on the back, set it up as a NDAS network drive and drop files on, and of course add an internal IDE or SATA drive. Additionally, you are able to tune into free internet radio for music content.

 

Now onto what I found to be the more interesting feature of this media center is the soon to be built in torrent client. This feature will likely be coming later on, so don’t expect it to be included at the time or release (although it might). When I spoke with a Mvix rep he told me that the firmware programmer was finishing up the torrent client on the way over to CES on the plane, so it’s still probably beta. I also found out that they are still planning on adding more codecs with future firmware updates.

 

The 780 is not up on the Mvix site yet, but below are the specs I copied from the press release. I know the above sounds a bit like a sales pitch, but I really am a fan and think more people should know about this gem- so spread the word. I will try to get my hands on one soon for a review.

 

• Video Formats: DivX, XviD, DVD (ISO/VOB/IFO), MPEG, VCD(DAT), WMV(WMV-9), ASF(WMV-9), TP, TS, TRP
• Audio Formats: MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, PMC, AC3, M4A, DTS decoding (down-mixing / Pass though)
• Image Formats: BMP, JPG, PNG
• Subtitle Support: SMO, SRT, SUB
• Video Out: HDMI, Composite, S-Video, Component
• Audio Out: RCA, Digital Coaxial, Optical
• TV System: NTSC, PAL, Auto
• HD Support: 720p, 1080i, 1080p
• Networking: 802.11b/g (WEP/WPA), 10/100 Ethernet, NDAS
• Internal Disk: 3.5” IDE or SATA

USB: Slave (for connecting to computer) and Host (for additional storage)

An all-in-one media hub that will turn heads

As impressive as the “ITC One” media system may be, some have observed that its design doesn’t live up to its extensive functions. It’s understandable that appearance wasn’t a priority, though, given that it’s one of the few compact all-in-one systems of its kind. 

All that will change, however, if they catch on–and a company called DVico is trying to get ahead of the pack with a multimedia hub of its own. “TViX,” as it’s known, is an HD multimedia system that plays 1080p video, DVDs, and MPs while storing files on its internal hard drive, according to GadgetGrid. 

It doesn’t have a built-in Xbox and other high-end features found in the ITC One, but TViX does have a handsome cylindrical design that could easily be displayed without shame. And there’s one other important difference between the two systems–price. As in $546 vs. $25,000. That alone may make it worth a look

 

Sharp’s home theater in a stand

If all-in-one PCs and TVs are the way of the future, their stands may be following suit. Cabinet racks with integrated speakers have become almost standard fare from the likes of Sony, Yamaha, and Evesham. And now Sharp is throwing its hat into the ring too. 

The Aquos Audio AN-ACD2 touts itself as a home theater built into a multimedia stand. The system features a 2.1-channel receiver and supposedly produces 150 watts of sound, according to Akihabara News.

Its $892 cost may seem a bit on the high side, but it could be a lot worse. Flatlift’s “diamond dust” stand goes for $142,000, and it doesn’t even have speakers.

Introducing the multimedia waterbed

 

OK, so maybe $50,000 is a wee bit much for a bed, even if it does help stop snoring. Thriftier Cravers might be more inclined to go with something like a stripped-down “TV-Bed” from Gustarle, which comes with a built-in 26-inch Samsung LCD and a Sony DVD player. And it’s a waterbed.

 All this for the bargain price of $13,577, according to BornRich. Sure, it doesn’t have all that fancy sleep technology featured in the “Starry Night Bed,” but it has all the basics. After all, as everyone knows, a bed’s only as good as its TV.

Magellan Maestro 4250

The number of portable navigation systems coming out these days is pretty astonishing, but the thing is, we’re finding that when it comes to the core navigation functions, they pretty much all offer the same thing–text- and voice-guided directions, extensive POI databases, automatic route recalculation, and so forth. So in order to differentiate itself from the competition, GPS manufacturers are adding more distinct and advanced features, and in the case of the Magellan Maestro 4250, this comes in the form of voice commands. With this function, you can operate the in-car GPS device with the sound of your voice. For the most part, it worked well during our test period, and we think it’s a great safety feature. However, the functionality is a bit limited at this time, (e.g., you can’t enter addresses via voice) and you have to create a pretty quiet environment in your car for optimal results. Voice commands aside, the Maestro 4250 is a solid mid-level portable navigation system that also offers text-to-speech functionality, integrated Bluetooth, and accurate directions. It’s available now for $499.99.

Design
At 3.2 inches high by 4.8 inches wide by 0.7 inch deep and 6.8 ounces, the Magellan Maestro 4250 is more compact and lighter than the Magellan Maestro 4040. While the difference in size isn’t significant, we definitely noticed that the Maestro 4250 felt less clunky and the slimmer design makes it that much more portable and easier to slip into a bag during travels. We also like that the company throws in a soft carrying case to protect the screen and case.

Though the overall size of the system may have shrunk, fortunately, the screen size didn’t shrink. Like the Maestro 4040, it sports a 4.3-inch touch screen that shows off 64,000 colors at a 480×272 pixel resolution. Maps and text looked sharp and vibrant, and the display was readable in various lighting conditions. For the most part, the touch screen was responsive, but there were several occasions where there was a bit of a delay from the time we tapped an icon to the time the system actually registered our command. The system also froze in a couple of instances (see Performance for more).

 

The user interface is intuitive and simple to master. As with past Magellan products, the Maestro 4250 also includes the QuickSpell feature to aid in text entry. As you start to enter addresses on the virtual keyboard, QuickSpell grays out any characters that don’t match the city or streets located in the system’s database. It’s quite handy and worked well during our test period.

 

On the right side, you will find an FM antenna input, a mini USB port, and an SD card expansion slot. The power button is located on top of the unit, while there’s a reset hole on the bottom. Finally, the backside houses the speaker and external antenna jack.

 

The Magellan Maestro 4250 comes packaged with an AC adapter, a car charger, a USB cable, a vehicle mount (windshield and dash), a protective pouch, and reference material. The vehicle mount is sturdy and easy to install, but the side-mounted cable connections make the overall setup a bit of an eyesore.

Features
The Magellan Maestro 4250 is equipped with an SiRFStarIII GPS chip and comes preloaded with Navteq maps of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska. To start planning a trip, you can enter a specific address; choose a point of interest; or select a location from your address book, recently visited destinations, or favorites list. The system has the ability to calculate routes based on fastest time, shortest distance, least or most use of freeways, and toll-free roads. Alternatively, if you don’t need directions to a specific place, you can just tap the Show Map icon to get a general overview map, which can track you as you drive around the area.

 

The system provides guidance by way of text- and voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, plus text-to-speech functionality, which Magellan calls SayWhere, so the system will speak actual street names. There’s also a simulator mode that you can turn on to view a running demo of your trip before you actually hit the road. Maps are presented in 2D or 3D mode with day and night colors and a split-screen mode that shows the map on one side and your next maneuver on the other. For those who are interested, there is a trip computer that collects data, such as average speed, trip time, drive time, and trip distance.

 

So far all of the Maestro 4250 features have been pretty standard, but the unit does stand out from its competitors for one reason: voice control. While we’re seeing this technology pop up in upcoming models, such as the TomTom GO 920, this is the first model with voice commands that we’ve actually been able to test. Unlike the GO 920, the Maestro 4250 doesn’t allow you to dictate street addresses, but you can perform a limited number of tasks with the sound of your voice. This includes rerouting; finding points of interest; routing to your home address; and getting your current location, distance to destination, and roadside assistance. You can check out the Performance section for experience with this feature.

 

Other navigation functions include automatic route recalculation, a detour function, multidestination trips, and support for traffic capabilities. Using the included car charger, which has an integrated RDS/TMC receiver, you can get real-time updates on the road conditions. Magellan includes a complimentary three-month subscription to Navteq Traffic. With it, you can find out where there is congestion, lane reductions, road work, and accidents, and the Maestro 4250 can even reroute you around the area if you have this function selected in the User Option menu.

 

The points of interest (POI) gets a healthy boost, increasing the number of entries from the Maestro 4040’s 4.5 million POI to 6 million. This includes all the major attractions, such as gas stations, ATMs, lodging, and restaurants by cuisine type, as well as more specialized categories, including camping grounds, golf courses, and movie theaters. While the database is extensive, we found some of the information to be out of date. For example, we did a quick scan of the restaurants around the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco, and found at least half a dozen listings that had been out of business for at least a year.

 

On a brighter note, the Maestro 4250 continues to offer access to AAA TourBook listings for AAA Diamond-rated lodging and restaurants, complete with information such as hotel amenities, restaurant description, and hours of operation, admission prices for certain attractions, and so forth. AAA members get a bit more benefit out of this feature since you can view listings for establishments that offer discounts to AAA members, and AAA-approved auto repair facilities. In addition, in case of an emergency, the unit will display the AAA member toll-free help number and your exact location, so you can give the operator all your information.

 

Finally, the system has integrated Bluetooth, so you can pair your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone or smartphone and use the Maestro 4250) as a hands-free speaker system. With it, you can place and accept calls, view your call history, search the device’s address book, and redial. You can also directly dial any number associated with a POI. Unfortunately, your phone’s address book and call history list does not automatically synchronize with the portable navigation system.

Performance
As we stated earlier in the Design section, we experienced some performance glitches and delays with the Magellan Maestro 4250. There was some lag between triggering a task to the time it was actually executed. The first couple of times this happened, we thought the touch screen simply didn’t recognize our tap so we pressed the icons again. This ultimately led to the system freezing, so we had to power on/off, and it got pretty frustrating.

 

For our road tests, we took to the streets of San Francisco, and from a cold start, it took the Maestro 4250 about two minutes to get a fix on our position under clear skies, while subsequent starts were almost instantaneous. The system did a good job of tracking our position on drives throughout the city. The receiver was strong enough to survive the skyscraper-lined streets of the financial district, but as expected, the signal dropped once we drove through the Broadway Tunnel. The good news is that the Maestro 4250 was able to quickly pick up our location again once we exited the tunnel.

 

We also entered our standard trip from the Maridio district (Marina/Presidio) to CNET’s downtown headquarters. The system quickly created directions, and a quick glance at the maneuver list showed that the course was accurate. The voice prompts were loud and clear, and we were pretty happy with the text-to-speech directions. The voice wasn’t too robotic and did a decent job with street pronunciations. We also like that the Maestro 4250 alerts you to upcoming turns by playing a chime. That said, there were a couple of instances when the voice prompt would tell us to make a turn right as we were passing the street. Fortunately, route recalculations were fast and accurate, but still, we’d rather have ample warning of upcoming maneuvers.

 

As for the voice commands, we found it to be useful and certainly a safer option than taking your eyes off the road to look for POI on the map screen, checking your current location, and so forth. However, it has its restrictions. First, be aware that you have to say, “Magellan” to activate the voice-command function and to get the best results, you’re pretty much going to have to turn off your radio and roll up your windows. Once we did that, the Maestro 4250 did a good job of understanding our voice commands and performed all the functions. At times, we couldn’t help but think it would be quicker to use the touch screen, but again, if you’re driving, this is a safer option.

 

We had no problems pairing the Maestro 4250 with the Samsung BlackJack II, and was able to easily make and receive calls. That said, we found the call volume was pretty low. And again, we also wish all our phone’s information was automatically synchronized with the Maestro 4250.

Futuristic watch concepts via Kanye West (?!)

In case you weren’t up on your blogsphere knowledge, ultra suave rapper Kanye West has a blog that’ll drop some knowledge on y’all (his words, not mine.) He occasionally posts one or two sentence posts about fashion, music and the latest in tech he finds appealing. That’s where we find these two interesting watch concepts.

The first, from design firm Chocolate Agency, sports the “e-paper” technology we’ve all come to know and love, albeit in a futuristic form that isn’t anywhere near ready for prime-time. (C’mon, you’ve seen the Kindle’s refresh rate.) The idea is simple: Bend the e-paper into a slap-bracelet form factor and charge the low-power display using kinetic energy from walking around. They also say if you need to extend the size of the bracelet, chuck on another magnet at the end.

The second, a concept from Gucci, seems a little more ready for prime time. Kanye was a little light on the specs, information or where he actually got the design from, but the watch looks simple enough. Looks like a bangle that retracts to reveal an OLED screen encased in plastic. Again, no release date nor real information, but we wouldn’t be shocked to see that out of Gucci’s portfolio soon.

 

The latest 57-inch HDTV…for the bathroom

 Every day sees more evidence that people are spending their entire lives in the bathroom. Take TVs, for example: No longer is it unusual to find a waterproof flat screen situated above the sink, in the shower, or pretty much anywhere else one can imagine (which we’d rather not, thank you).

Instead, it’s become a question of how big the bathroom TV is. And Aquavision has an answer, to the tune of a 57-inch LCD in full 1080p HD glory, according to Dvice, with a reflective screen that serves as a mirror when turned off. All this is getting increasingly passe as the bathroom TV market gets, well, saturated. What we really want to see is a “Pimped Out John” for the masses.  

Nokia E90 Communicator

Many moons ago, a laptop, a cell phone, and a cinder block got together for a hot three-way love fest. The product of this freaky, sweaty, and possibly illegal union? The Nokia E90 communicator — a device with some serious identity issues, but also one with some serious talent too.

Let’s be up front about it: this monstrous device at 7.4 ounces and 5.2 x 2.24 x 0.79 inches is not attractive in the slightest. In fact, the unappealing shell and sheer physical size make it a colossal pain in the ass to lug around in public. Clearly, the E90 is made to fit in briefcases—not skinny hipster jeans. Business folks and texting junkies, though, will love the full QWERTY keyboard, a feature that makes composing legalese missives, or elaborate IMs a relatively painless process. (Ever try tapping out a Google doc on the iPhone’s touch screen? Yeesh.) But even more appealing is the impressive palette of functions Nokia manages to cram into the beast: a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, 640 x 480 video resolution at 30fps, 3G compatibility, Wi-Fi, infrared, and Bluetooth connectivity, a voice recorder, GPS Navigation, push-to-talk, both Flash and (scoff) Real Player

 

No, it’s not going to tuck you into bed at night, and we’re guessing it won’t get you chicks either (really though, what gadget does?) but the E90 is definitely a good choice for those who want laptop functionality dressed up in the guise of a cell phone

Tannoy i30 iPod Speaker System

Tannoy’s latest speaker system is actually kinda sexy. Well as sexy as a speaker system can get. First off, the clever packaging makes for a fascinating unboxing experience nearly on par with an Apple product — the power cords and peripherals come in two simple black boxes labeled “the kit” and “the bits.” The i30 (nestled beneath the kits and bits) is silky smooth and glossy black with a rounded behind. Five dock adapters plus a 3.5mm jack ensure that every generation of iPod is compatible with the dock. Operation is simple: and there are no buttons that you have to worry about not pushing—simply plug it into the wall, dock your iPod, and press play. Our one major beef? The remote. It’s a cheap plastic temperamental little thing that only works occasionally from a few feet away. But that’s not a deal breaker. The i30 is still a great choice for those who need a chic bedroom accessory that also happens to deliver rich, room filling audio.

$400, tannoydigital.com

The MacBook Air: A toy with no Promise?

Over the course of the past week, I decided to wait before making my final decision on whether or not I believed Apple’s new MacBook Air would be a success or not. After evaluating the state of the ultraportable market historically (poor) and the specs Apple is doling out with this device, it seems almost too obvious that very few people will be willing to buy this junker

Let’s face it–the MacBook Air is nothing more than a gimmick to make people believe Apple is a trendsetter that knows the best way to bring “cool” products to the masses. But what everyone seems to forget is that this company already has a slew of “cool” products and there’s no need for something that’s underpowered and overpriced. 

Suffice it to say, the MacBook Air is nothing more than a toy that has no promise and will flounder in stores. Why you ask?

It’s simple.

 First off, let’s look at Apple’s current stable of notebooks. The company offers the MacBook, which is slim and small in its own right and features the same size screen as the Air. Not only that, but it sports far superior specs and is only 0.32-inches thicker than the Air when comparing them at their thickest points. Oh, and let’s not forget that it only weighs 2 pounds more and starts at $1099, compared to the Air’s $1799 pricetag. 

On the other side of things, Apple’s MacBook Pro is built with the power user in mind and although it’s much bigger than the Air, its entry-level price is just $200 more.So let me get this straight–I can have a Mac that’s barely thinner than its brother, underpowered, but admittedly “cooler” for an additional $700? Now let’s be honest–who in their right mind would spend an additional $700 on a device just because it looks nicer?Now, I know that some Apple zealots are screaming right now saying that it’s all about portability and it’s not meant to be the workhorse the other MacBooks are, but if you’re telling me that you can’t carry a MacBook around because it’s too big and too heavy, you might want to see a doctor. 

Another problem that Steve Jobs failed to address during his keynote speech is, who in the world is going to buy this toy? My guess: the diehard Apple fanboy and people with enough money in the bank that they don’t mind spending $1799 on a product they’ll use in their car or at coffee shops.

 Beyond those two groups, who else is really buying this thing? Can anyone honestly say that the average consumer will run down to their local Apple store, excited to get their hands on their first Mac, and choose the Air over the MacBook if they’re looking for something small?I can hear it now: “Hold on, so what you’re saying is that I can get a much faster and better-equipped computer that’s barely larger for $700 less? Where’s the cash register?”

And while I don’t think the lack of an optical drive is a big deal by any means, think of the average person just looking to get their hands on a Mac and listening to others tell them how it “just works.” How will they feel when they get the Air home, try to install Office and realize the optical drive is missing? Sure, they can go through the trouble of connecting to another computer in the home and pop the disc into that drive, but doesn’t it significantly reduce the allure of having a device that “just works”? 

Of course, it doesn’t quite end there. So far, ultraportable sales have been flat, to say the least, and aside from a few bursts in sales every now and then, the ultraportable market is not the best to enter if a company is looking to increase its market share and turn a profit.So why did Apple decide to get in on the ultraportable game? More than likely, it’s because the company thinks it can do no wrong. And who can tell Steve he can? Not only has the iPod been an unbridled success, but the iPhone is selling extremely well and Mac sales have never been stronger. B

ut for the first time in years, Jobs and company has committed a blunder that could have enormous consequences. Not only is the MacBook Air a glorified toy that won’t be used by the vast majority of consumers, it’s overpriced and lacking any significant benefit of ownership other than its looks and multi-touch trackpad. If you’re looking for portability, save $700 and buy the MacBook. If you’re looking to spend money, go the extra mile and find yourself a MacBook Pro. Suffice it to say, there’s no need for the MacBook Air.

FINALLY…Drobo Gets Networks

The Drobo storage device has always intrigued me as a backup server that is smarter and more flexible than the RAID box you would typically cobble together with an old PC. But without network ability it seemed like half a product: powerful storage logic shackled to lame connectivity. That’s largely been fixed with the launch of DroboShare, a companion piece for the Drobo server that allows it to be network-attached.

DroboShare is a pricey add-on at $199, but it has gigabit Ethernet and is compatible with NTFS, HFS+, EXT3, and FAT32 file architectures, the last a nice addition we lamented the absence of in our original review. Support for a maximum 8TB capacity can be accomplished today by using two separate Drobo units loaded with four 1TB drives each and connecting both to a single DroboShare.  

DroboShare is almost there. For the price, it should have pre-n Wi-Fi built in, as well. I mean come on, this is basically a gigabit NIC, USB 2.0 chip and a little firmware to translate four drive formats. That ain’t $200. And it should have a more elegant way to connect to the Drobo than a USB jumper cable. But like Apple, Sonos, and B&O, the Drobo folks are trying to harvest a cult, not a value-aware consumer. If you are sophisticated enough to appreciate the qualities of Drobo architecture you should also crave networked storage, so I imagine DroboShare will be a hit. For now, my home-built RAID boxes are working very well.

 

Turn an old notebook hard drive into a USB drive for $10.99

So you pulled that cramped old 40GB hard drive out of your notebook and replaced it with 160GB of storage goodness. Ever wonder what you should do with the leftover drive? Simple: Stick it in an enclosure and use it as a portable USB hard drive.

You supply the drive; Meritline.com has an enclosure for just $10.99 shipped (after entering coupon code HW1971413OFF, which expires 1/25). It’s compatible with all 2.5-inch IDE and SATA drives, and it includes both IDE and SATA external interfaces (cables, too). You also get a carrying case and a little screwdriver for opening and closing the enclosure. The drive itself gets powered by the interface, so there’s no need for an AC adapter. For 11 bucks you can get yourself a terrific little portable hard drive for transferring files, on-the-fly backups, and so on. Sweet.  

Harvey Diamond…Blog Creator & Administrator

Hey Everyone!

Harvey Diamond here, and I’m back from a nice looooong break from the blog.
 
Have you become frustrated with what’s going on in the tech game?   It seems that many manufacturers are often doing one of two things:

 (1) They either rush to release products and software before their competitor(s) and therefore, don’t take the time to test it and make sure it’s really up to par, or…

(2) They don’t bother creating and selling quality products because they feel most people will quickly buy a newer product before they get a chance to realize how much the old one sucks!  Either way, don’t fear – we still have quite a few companies that take the time to provide quality and innovative products. – the kind of things savvy, and even not-so-savvy consumers can depend on.  I’m here to update you on it all.
 
I know I’ve kept you all waiting long enough, so don’t hesitate to delve into these latest tasty tech topics….

Logitech diNovo Mini

The Logitech diNovo Mini is a Media Center remote control that features a full QWERTY keyboard and looks good on the coffee table

 

The big keyboard is much cooler than typing on the numeric pad of the remote, but it looks bad on the coffee table. Heck, even the MCE remote looks kind of ugly.

Then the diNovo Mini came. Closed, it looks like a pebble that looks good even in a minimalist loft… Open it and there is a full QWERTY keyboard, a directional pad and a few Media Center buttons. It is neat, comfy in the hand and functional. The directional pad has two modes (switchable via a button): directional pad for navigating menus or touch pad to emulate the mouse.

After trying it, I can say that I like it a lot, and I have no problem saying that anyone that uses a keyboard and a mouse on a semi-regular basis should take a look at the diNovo Mini.

 

V-Moda Vibe Duo

Apple doesn’t make it easy to replace the headset that comes with the iPhone: The phone’s headset jack is infamously recessed so deeply into the casing that most standard plugs are too short to connect. That’s a shame considering the Apple headset’s mediocre sound quality. A number of people report problems, too, with the fit – the shiny white earbuds have a tendency to fall out, even if your ears are not the size of Dumbo’s.

Surprisingly, alternatives are still hard to come by. Some four months after the iPhone’s debut, only V-Moda has presented a stereo headset specifically designed to play with Apple’s new star. Not only does the “Vibe Duo” offer a guaranteed-to-work plug, the recently updated model – look for “vdb-nero” on the box – also sports a button next to the microphone that allows answering phone calls with one click, meaning you won’t have to take the iPhone out of your pocket. A nice touch, and potentially a real boon if you happen to be roaming in seedy areas of town.

You can also play or pause music and skip ahead to the next song by double-clicking the button, just like on Apple’s iPhone headset. Priced at $99.95 in the U.S., the Vibe Duo has quickly become a popular choice among early iPhone adopters who paid $200 more than everybody else and received Steve Job’s $100 guinea-pig store credit in return. That way, you end up paying sales tax and nothing more. Unfortunately, to my ears, that’s still more than the Vibe Duo is worth.

The first problem is sound quality:

I found these earbuds dull and bass-heavy, muffling voices and sucking the air out of acoustic and electronic music equally. Moreover, no matter which size of the provided plastic earpieces (small, medium or large) I tried for optimal fit and sound, the second problem remained noise: The cables dangling from my ears constantly generated unwelcome sound effects – scratching and popping, for example, whenever the cord scraped against my jacket. Even walking added an audible thump, in rhythm with my step. And while these may be common issues with headphones that sit in the ear-canal, ultimately it hardly matters if it spoils the fun in your music. Similarly, talking on the phone with this headset can be disconcerting. The microphone works well, picking up little ambient noise, but when you speak you’ll barely hear your own voice. It’s like talking while wearing ear plugs because the Vibe Duo does not play back anything you say.

Music sound quality, granted, is a matter of taste, and judging from user reviews posted on the Apple Store website, plenty of buyers seem to like the Vibe Duo’s characteristics. To put things in perspective, let me compare these earbuds with a few other headphone models. Where Denon’s AH-D1000 allowed Amy Winehouse’s vocal cords to sparkle and shine, the Vibe Duo tended to compress her tonal range to a narrow corridor. Same thing with Canadian singer Feist, whose little gem “Mushaboom” came across as appropriately breezy on my Sennheiser PXC 250 headphones but sounded nasal and leaden on the Vibe Duo.

 

To compare earbuds with earbuds, I pulled out my Bang & Olufsen A8 headphones and found them to be superior as well. Bands like Kaiser Chiefs and Hard-Fi showed a liveliness they were missing with the V-Moda headset, which had a tendency to muffle the music and take the edge off guitars and drums. R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe fared a little better but still seemed to be sitting in a tunnel and singing with unusual restraint. The biggest bang the Vibe Duo delivered for the buck was a fat bass line. In this aspect, the V-Moda earphones clearly trump Apple’s own.

 

If that’s not quite enough to make you want to spend $99.95 (or a certain voucher), the other option is to fork over $9.95 for Belkin’s “iPhone Headphone Adapter” or $39.95 for Shure’s “Music Phone Adapter.” Both allow you to use any headphones or headset of your choice, and the Shure adapter even features a built-in microphone. But the Belkin looks less-than-elegant, and Shure’s model adds quite a bit of cable to your headphones. Clearly, there is still plenty of room for improvement.

 

Sony Mylo 2

With the “Put the fun of a PC in your pocket” tag line, Sony is going after the “young adults” crowd. The company thinks that there are not many devices that would allow students to have good “mobile entertainment” (as defined below), without paying an expensive wireless subscription fee. This is true and that’s the idea behind the Mylo 2.

Although the original Mylo did not have the success that was hoped by its maker, Sony has learned a lot, and it designed the Mylo 2 to address the weaknesses of the first one. In this review, we will put the Mylo 2 to the test and share our thoughts with you. Feel free to ask questions, share your opinion or write your review (if you own the Mylo 2) in the comments section at the bottom of the article page. Every device is engineered to solve a problem, and the Mylo 2 has been built to provide “good” mobile entertainment and communications. For Sony, that means:

• Desktop-like web browsing
  • Including Flash games and web video
• Good email support
• Broad instant messaging support
• Social Networks
• VoIP

Improvements over the first Mylo

Mylo	Mylo 2
WiFi B (11Mbps)	WiFi G (54Mbps)
320×240 display	800×480 touch display
No back-lit keyboard	Back-lit Keyboard
No camera	1.3 Megapixel Camera
No customization	Removable faceplate
No file upload/download	File upload/download supported
No widgets	Widgets supported
No RSS	Intgrated RSS reader
$349	$299
	5.16 x 0.82 x 2.55″

Physical description

First, let’s take a quick look at the device too see how it looks and what are its physical properties and functionalities. Mylo 2 has about the same size than its predecessor. It is slightly on the bulky side, and is even larger than a Nokia N93i, but it is a definitely a pocket device. [photo gallery]A few user interface (UI) elements are visible from the outside: a joystick on the right provides 4 directions + click on the left side of the screen. A microphone is located on the right. On each side of the display, there are a few touch elements:

• Options: the equivalent of a “menu”
• Disp: toggles the application UI elements (menus, buttons) to reduce the clutter on the screen
• Back: go back to the previous screen
• Info: opens a “task manager” to switch from one application to the next
• Mylo: brings you to a Netvibes-looking page that contains Widgets
• Home: back to the main menu

QWERTY keyboard

The keyboard slider feels solid, much more than most smartphones that I have seen, except for the i-mate 9502. The keys are flat, but surprisingly they have a good tactile feedback. The key spacing is large enough to avoid mistyping issues common to smaller keyboards. Finally, it is a backlit keyboard, which is indispensable when texting in dark conditions. Overall, I am happy with it.

 

The display is the computer

Someone I know used to say that, and it applies very well to the Mylo 2: You will immediately notice how awesome the display is, thanks to its 800×480 resolution – that’s 2.5 times the number of pixels of the iPhone’s display! (which has 480×320 pixels). With such a screen, “Desktop PC web browsing experience” starts to be true. The text on websites is readable without zooming in and out, but if you want to, it is possible to zoom. This unbelievably crisp display is the most important asset of the Mylo 2, in my opinion, and I can only hope to see more devices with a similar screen in the near future.

Computer Sync

The Mylo 2 connects to a computer as a USB Mass Storage device (like a Flash drive), or by using the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP), a protocol used by Windows Media 10 and above to access Media Players. Both protocols are mutually exclusive and in this review, we used USB Mass Storage.

Applications

Instant Messaging

Instant messaging is very well integrated in the Mylo 2. Four major IM clients are supported (AIM, Skype, YIM, Google Talk) and although MSN isn’t in the list, you can still chat with your MSN buddies from an Yahoo IM account, if you have one. All the IM clients have a similar user interface, which is convenient and consistent. I noticed that it is not always possible to filter-out the contacts that are not online, and that can be annoying if you have many of IM contacts.

RSS

A basic RSS reader has been included, and although it shows the headlines, it does not provide a preview/excerpt. You will have to follow the link and open the web browser to read the content. It is something that needs improvement. At the moment, I would still like to use Google Reader instead.

Web

Overall, the web browser is good. We have tested several popular sites like CNN, Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo, Google Maps, Digg and … Ubergizmo Everything worked fine, without needing to zoom. Unfortunately, the current browser does not work with Google Reader and Google Docs. The server returned an “unsupported browser” error. That is probably due to the Javascript support, but it is just my guess.

Flash seems to be fully supported we tested YouTube and MetaCafe. Both worked fine, even if the video playback wasn’t as smooth as on a desktop PC.

Although it is mostly OK, links are sometimes hard to click on because of the small size of the characters (when no zoom is applied). It would be necessary to improve this in the future.

Music

A powerful device like the Mylo 2 can certainly play music files. I quickly dropped a few MP3 files via USB and voila. The volume was plenty loud (there’s an option to protect from hearing damages in the settings) and the sound quality is good. The sound quality is probably limited by the default earphones, but the point is that the Mylo 2 sounds like a good MP3 player. It supports MP3, AAC, WMA and ATRAC.

The Mylo 2 does not have a standard jack (!), so you will have to use the adapter found in the box. This adds additional cable clutter, unfortunately.

VoIP

Placing calls with Skype worked like a breeze, much better than on my Windows Mobile phone, for sure. It is best to use earphones because the speaker is a little weak even when you are indoors. With earphones, it works really well and it is comparable at what you would get on a PC. (The Mylo 2 had 3/3 bars of WiFi reception when I tried)

Photos ViewingIf you have some room to spare, you can copy your favorite photos to the Mylo 2. Given how good the screen is, this device is a very good photo viewer. There is no need to re-scale high-resolution photos. We tried to view a 1728×1152 photo and the Mylo 2 did a very good job at downscaling the photo to the native screen resolution. However, a 3504×2336 photo was deemed “unsupported” by the viewer application.

Camera

The 1.3 Megapixel camera will produce photos that are comparable to a cellphone camera – probably because it is a cellphone camera. At the moment, I have not been able to record movies, and I don’t know if there is a plan to support movie recording when the Mylo 2 launches.

Video Replay

The videos provided by default in the Mylo 2 were encoded in Mpeg4, 320×240, 29.97FPS, AAC audio 48Khz, Stereo. They play smoothly, although during fast action sequences, I could see compression artifacts. I wonder if the Mylo 2 could play Memory Stick movies originally intended for the Sony PSP. I’ll have to get back to you on that. Right now, you can expect video too look like the standard 320×240 videos on an iPod.

Text Editor

The integrated text editor works like Windows Notepad. It is simple and does not support formatting, but having a notepad is always a good idea for a QWERTY device

 

Homepage

The “Mylo” button in the (vertical) middle-right of the screen brings the user to a “home page” that looks like Netvibes or iGoogle. Third party applications can be installed, and it is not yet clear if Sony will tightly control the widget application distribution. What we can say is that Widgets are downloadable from the web, or installed from a Memory Stick card.

Developers: Sony will create a developer website and provide an SDK, we will keep an eye on the announcement, and we will let you know. This has not been confirmed to us, but because you can download a widget from your PC, it doesn not look like Sony is going to try to have a tight control over the applications.

 Networking

The Mylo 2 can connect to WiFi G networks. This is quite an improvement over the WiFi B featured in the first Mylo. The main drawback with WiFi is how scarce free hotspot are (remember, Mylo 2 was trying to avoid the data subscription fee). To avoid this, Sony Mylo 2 customers will have a free access to Wayport’s WiFi network that includes 9000 McDonald’s, hotels, airports and other venues. (wayport.net)

WiFi LAN

WiFi is easy to configure. By default, the Mylo 2 scanned and connected to an unprotected network, which is probably the best behavior if you are outside of your home. If you want to connect to a particular network, you just have to enter the Network settings, choose a network and enter the password. We tried it with a WEP-protected network and it worked.

WiFi AdHoc

The Mylo 2 can also be connected with other Mylo 2 to form a peer-to-peer network. That would allow a user to listen to someone else’s music wirelessly. We do not have more than one Mylo 2, so right now, we can’t tell you how well it works, but it is reasonable to expect it to work well.

Update 1/14:This section was based on an early unit and documentation and we have since learned that the AdHoc feature has been removed from The Mylo 2 (codenamed COM-2)

Storage

There is 1GB of built-in memory, and it is possible to extend the storage by using a Memory Stick flash card (about $50 for 4GB, 8GB is the largest capacity today).

Battery life

The Mylo 2 uses a 3.7V, 1200mAh battery. After 24 hours of playing and testing it (not continuously), Less than half of the battery remained. I would say about 30%. That’s equivalent to a busy day of use (for me), in my opinion.

Accessories

• Charging Cradle
• Color FacePlate
• AC Adapter
• Extra battery and charger kit
• Screen Protector

Conclusion

I was not very excited by the first Mylo, but I have to admit that the Mylo 2 is a nice surprise. Technically, the display is brilliant and the device fulfills its goal. Creating a mobile device requires a concerted effort between hardware, software and design teams is really hard to pull off. The Mylo 2 brings a solution for having a better mobile entertainment, without paying hundreds of dollars in subscription pr year (for a slower network). The idea of cutting a deal with Wayport is excellent, because accessibility is WiFi’s weak point.

Sony has done a tremendous step forward from the original Mylo and now, we will see if consumers want to buy a connected device that is not a phone. I’m definitely not in the 18-22 group anymore, so it’s hard to guess. Although the cost of ownership of a Mylo 2 can be an order of magnitude less than using a “fruity phone” (over a couple of years), the “cool” factor of the competition should not be underestimated. Again, feel free to share your thoughts, questions and review in the comments section.

Note: this review was done with an engineering sample that uses a development version of the firmware. While I did notice that some function were slow, like the YouTube (flash) videos, I’ll reserve my judgment for now. Potential buyers should pay attention to the performance when the Mylo 2 comes on the market. We will try to follow-up as things unfold.

 

Availability: End of January 2008, $299

Aquos X is the World’s Thinnest Production TV

The new Sharp AQUOS X series are only 1.35 inches deep, which is thinner than their old IFA bags and, according to Sharp, makes them the world’s thinnest LCD televisions in production. All of them have full high definition resolution at 37, 42 and 47 inches. What is Sharp thinning trick this time? Among other things, all the tuner and in/out connections are in a separate box, which is connected to the panel by a single cable (Ed: like my old Philips Flat TV.) The rest of the specs look very good.

 

Sharp claims a 15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (900:1 absolute) for these LCDs, and a 450 cd/m2 brightness with double-speed 120 Hz refresh rate and 176 degree viewing angle. A proprietary 12-bit processor, designed to give smooth tone variations, handles the color processing. The system has 3 HDMI inputs along with analog and digital tuners. It has a thin-profile 8-speaker soundsystem integrated in the chassis, with a 1-bit digital amplifier.

Putting about 10 pounds of electronics in the separate tuner box means that the 46 inch model weighs only about 48 pounds, which will be great for your back if you hang it. It will be available in Japan this March for ¥350,000 ($3,290) for the LC-B-37XJ1, ¥430,000 ($4,050) for the LC-B-42XJ1, and ¥480,000 ($4,510) for the big LC-B-46XJ1.

 

Mobile Power Station Loves The Sun

Imagine a solar powered handheld, and then take a look at the Mobile Power Station. Imagine no more, as this portable gaming machine does not need any batteries, drawing all its power from the sun in order to play retro games found on the NES, Gameboy and Gameboy Color eras in addition to multimedia playback capability. These ROMs must first be transferred over to an SD card before they are playable, but that’s another can of worms. I like the ability of the Mobile Power Station to charge other USB-based devices thanks to a USB-out connector, making this one handy travel tool.

It would be interesting to see future iterations, if any, support GBA games as I would like to run Boktai on it. The Mobile Power Station is a wee bit cheaper than the DS though at $123. Tough call if you ask me.

500XL Speakers A Hoot

The 500XL speakers were so-named for a very good reason – it is actually 500 times the size of the original iPod earbuds. Definitely a conversation starter be it at home or at work, the 500XL comes with an integrated amp and 3-way power, running on either batteries, a nearby power outlet or via USB. There is no word on pricing for the 500XL as at press time, but it sure as heck makes for one interesting purchase

Record iPhone, Mac sales boost Apple’s earnings

Apple recorded net revenue for its first fiscal quarter, ended Dec. 29, of $9.6 billion, a 35 percent year-over-year increase, beating estimates of $9.47 billion from analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

The company posted quarterly net profit of $1.58 billion, an increase from the $1 billion net profit from the year-earlier quarter. The company recorded earnings of $1.76 per share.

Unit shipments of the iPod were 22.1 million units, a 5 percent growth over the year-earlier period. Apple sold 2.3 million iPhones during the quarter, a sequential increase from the 1.12 million iPhones it shipped in its fourth fiscal quarter. Apple shipped 2.3 million Macintosh computers, a 44 percent growth from the year-earlier quarter.

Sales of the iPhone will continue to grow as the product enters Asia and other European countries in 2008, said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer, during a conference call to discuss the results. “We remain confident on hitting the 10 million goal for 2008,” he said.

The number of iPhones that were bought to be unlocked, so that they can be used on other networks, was significant and shows the heavy worldwide interest in the iPhone, according to Cook. The iPhone is locked to work only with certain wireless phone providers.

Asked to comment on plans to introduce 3G capabilities in the iPhone, Cook declined.

Apple is shifting its strategy around the iPod to position it less as a simple music player and more as a complete Wi-Fi and mobile application platform, Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, said on the call. The company recently introduced five mobile applications for the iPod Touch, including an application that allows users to watch movies from the iTunes store.

According to figures from IDC, Apple’s PC shipments in the U.S. grew 30.9 percent to 1.06 million during the fourth quarter last year, with a 5.7 percent market share, behind Dell, Hewlett-Packard and HP. Apple was not among the top five vendors in PC shipments worldwide, according to IDC.

Apple announced Mac OS X Leopard operating system this quarter. It started off the new quarter with a bang, announcing a movie rental service for iTunes and a skinny laptop, the MacBook Air, which CEO Steve Jobs proclaimed was the “world’s thinnest notebook” during a keynote address at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

 

A week prior to Macworld, Apple announced revamped versions of the Mac Pro workstations and Xserve servers powered by Intel’s power-efficient Penryn processors.

Asked if the MacBook Air would cannibalize sales of other MacBook products, Cook did not address the question directly: “The customer reaction has been great, and the customer orders have been strong,” Cook said. “The MacBook Air will appeal to travelers … to different kinds of people who want to access a computer wherever they are,” Cook said. The ultramobile segment is great for Apple and it will continue to pursue that space, Cook said.

 

The customer response to Leopard has also been strong, Oppenheimer said. About 19 percent of Mac OS X users have switched to Leopard, and the OS generated revenue of $170 million during the quarter, Oppenheimer said.

Apple’s international revenue grew 46 percent year-over-year, he said. Revenue from Europe was $2.47 billion, up from $1.71 billion the previous year. Revenue from Japan was $400 million, up 40 percent.

 

Apple forecast revenue for the second quarter at $6.8 billion, up 29 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. That would be lower than the $6.98 billion forecast by analysts.

 

World’s toughest phone’ asks to be tortured

The “world’s toughest phone” will take on Europe, starting with Stockholm.

The new military-spec, Bluetooth, and push-to-talk GSM Sonim XP1 is engineered for outdoor sports enthusiasts and those who work in harsh environments, certified to withstand shock, water, wind, dust, dirt, and extreme temperatures, the U.S.-based mobile Sonim Technologies announced. And not that you’ll need it, but there’s also a three-year, unconditional warranty (PDF). 

Yeah, we’ve heard all this before–how tough could it be? Well, the company is so confident that it’s invited bloggers and journalists across Europe to “torture-test” the “indestructible” mobile phone and publicize the results on its campaign blog. You can go here to watch someone tee off on an XP1 with a 9-iron. 

“The Sonim XP1 doesn’t die when exposed to the elements. It can be dropped, kicked, tossed into a toolbox or backpack,” Sonim CEO Bob Plaschke boasts. “If you’re standing on a construction site with a welding tool in your hand, or are sitting in a catamaran with a hard wind in your face, you really don’t need a fashion accessory or a multimedia monster. You need a dependable working tool like the new XP1.

“ The “world’s toughest” tour will visit Örebro, Eskilstuna, Västerås, Norrköping, Jönköping, Göteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Malmö and Uppsala before ending up back in Stockholm.‘Tis a proud day for Swedes. It was also announced today that a museum will be opened in Stockholm honoring the Swedish pop group ABBA, featuring interactive displays telling the band’s story. Break out the Akvavit.