The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

While it may not be Nokia's first touchscreen phone (anyone out there remember the 7710?), the 5800 XpressMusic is certainly the first to come out of Finland with a mainstream appeal. What we've alternately known as the "Tube" throughout much of its development cycle is the first production device to run S60 5th Edition -- the fourth major overhaul of Nokia's ubiquitous smartphone platform since 2002 and the first to support fingers, styli, and high-res displays. Speaking of high-res displays, the 5800 comes equipped with an impressive 3.2-inch 640 x 360 resistive touchscreen to go along with its 3.2-megapixel autofocus cam, Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash, GPS, WiFi, 3.5mm jack, and a microSD slot with support for 16GB cards. It'll be available in three versions -- European HSDPA, North American HSDPA, and GSM only -- and ships this quarter in black, red, and blue for €279 (about $392) unlocked with an 8GB card thrown in for good measure.

"What iPhone did was to bring the touch element to a multi-media converged device. Since we are already the leader in converged devices in India, Nokia 5800 will be a revolutionary launch from our stable. Our touchscreen bet will have the latest features and will be packed with music." said Nokia India's MD, D Shivakumar.

The price is competitive and plays a crucial part for Nokia to gain a foothold in the touchscreen market as most high end phones like iPhone, Samsung Omnia are priced above 30k.

Microsoft Zune (second generation, 80GB, black)

Product Summary The good: The 80GB Microsoft Zune MP3 player features a 3.2-inch glass LCD; a user-friendly interface; exceptional navigation control; audio and video podcast support; a superlative FM radio with RBDS information; wireless syncing and sharing; high-quality earphones; revamped Zune Marketplace PC software; Zune Pass subscription music support; good audio quality; and a built-in composite-video output. The bad: The Zune is a PC-only device that requires its own software and still does not support older WMA-DRM9 music files; Zune Marketplace does not offer TV or movie downloads; the USB connection is proprietary; no Wi-Fi music streaming; and the EQ feature has been removed. The bottom line: The Zune has blossomed from an ugly duckling into a worthy iPod alternative. Specifications: Device type: Digital player / radio ; Digital player supported digital audio standards: WMA , WMAPro , Audible , MP3 , AAC ; Digital storage media capacity: 80 GB ; Price range: $162.96 - $399.99

Tornado-detecting dual-iPhone alarm clock

Taking a page from the boombox trend of the 1980s, iPod-docking alarm clocks are taking on an absurd amount of features in an effort to stand out from the herd. Case in point: the iLuv iMM183, a dual-dock alarm clock capable of charging two iPhones or iPods. This little bedside beauty comes with a remote control, FM radio, EQ control, aux input, and last but not least--an NOAA emergency alert system with localized weather warnings. Aside from the emergency/weather alert display, you're basically looking at the same iLuv iMM173 we saw last year. Still, the list of iPhone-supported alarm clocks is pitifully short and if you're a two iPhone family living in a hurricane zone, the iLuv has you covered.

Apple to expand DRM-free music, new pricing

Apple has cut deals that will finally enable iTunes to offer songs free of copy protection software from the three largest music labels, according to two sources close to the negotiations. In exchange, Apple has agreed to become more flexible on pricing, the sources said. Under the terms of the deal, song prices will be broken down into three categories--older songs from the catalog, midline songs (newer songs that aren't big hits), and current hits--said one of the sources. Apple has offered songs free of digital rights management protections from EMI for more than a year. But EMI accounts for less than 10 percent of music sold in the U.S.; these new deals will expand iTunes' DRM-free library to include songs from the other three major labels (Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner Music).

Apple and the music labels have also apparently come to terms on over-the-air downloads, according to a source. That would allow iPhone owners to download songs to their mobile devices via cell networks and without the aid of Wi-Fi. Apple, which closed the deals last week, could announce the agreements as early as Tuesday at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. Apple did not respond to requests for comment. DRM-free songs are something that many iTunes users have requested for some time. However, the celebration over their appearance at the country's largest music retailer may be overshadowed by increased prices on some hit songs, which might be seen by some as an Apple surrender on pricing. Apple fans have long applauded the company for holding the line on pricing despite loud complaints from the major music labels. The good news is that the price of catalog music is falling to 79 cents per song. The labels will get an opportunity to price some hit songs for more than 99 cents but eventually those songs will drop to 79 cents, according to one source. Before iTunes users get too worked up, they should remember that song prices at iTunes haven't increased in five years. According to the Consumer Price Index, a 99-cent song in 2002 would be worth $1.17 today. Not only will new music downloads be free of copy-protection software, but Apple and the labels will begin removing DRM from music already available in the iTunes Store, the source said. However, it's unclear what will happen to songs that have already been purchased.

New HP ultraportable first to use AMD Neo chip

Another Netbook? No, not exactly. Hewlett-Packard's new Pavilion dv2 is an ultraportable, thank you. And the new Athlon Neo silicon inside from Advanced Micro Devices will try to prove that point. AMD is introducing new chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that target the no-man's land between Netbooks and notebooks. Typically, these designs are referred to as ultraportables--the most salient examples being Apple's MacBook Air, the Toshiba Portege, and the Sony Vaio TT series. So what makes AMD's platform different? In one word, price. Ultraportables fall into the boutique category of laptops: very stylish, very slim, very light--and very expensive. Usually ranging between $1,500 and $3,000. HP's notebook with Athlon Neo silicon cuts the price in half. The Pavilion dv2 will start at $699 and top out at $899 for standard configurations.

The dv2, at 3.8 pounds, is slightly heavier than ultraportables that typically weigh between 2.5 and 3 pounds. It is 0.9-inches thick, slightly thicker than more expensive ultraportables like the MacBook Air. But the Pavilion dv2 will pack features such as an AMD-ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 separate (discrete) graphics chip, a relatively large hard disk drive (HP lists drives up to 500GB), and a 12.1-inch LED screen. Features that differentiate it from Netbooks and put it squarely into ultraportable territory. AMD Athlon Neo silicon details(Credit: AMD) The dv2 will also come with WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) options as well as standard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Bahr Mahony, AMD's manager of mobile products, said in an interview that one of the few ultraportables available today with discrete graphics is the MacBook Air, but this starts at a whopping $1,800. (The Air uses Nvidia's GeForce 9400M graphics and Intel's Core 2 Duo low-voltage processors.) The Athlon Neo platform can handle 1080p HD playback and a "casual" gaming experience with realistic 3D graphics, using the optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics chip. AMD's Athlon Neo processor--formerly code-named "Huron" under the platform codename "Yukon"--runs at 1.6GHz and has a power envelope of 15 watts, comparable to Intel ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) Core 2 Duo processors that power ultraportables today. AMD's Neo does fall short in one respect, however. Currently it is only single-core, whereas Intel ULV processors are dual-core at a comparable power envelope, and, moreover, typically integrate 6MB level-2 cache memory to boost performance. AMD's Neo has only 512K of cache memory. A dual-core chip, code-named "Conesus," will come in the second half of this year, according to AMD's Mahoney. The first HP Pavilion dv2 ultrathin notebook is expected to be available from HP in the second quarter.

Lenovo ThinkPad X301

Earlier this year Lenovo released their ThinkPad X300, a great notebook for the business minded. Recently, the X300 has been updated to the ThinkPad X301 model. With many improvements from its already great predecessor, you can expect great things from the X301.

Performance : The base configuration is equipped with 2GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Due (1.4GHz) U9400 Ultra Low Voltage processor. The ThinkPad X301 achieved a PCMark Vantage score of 3157, which is 400 points higher than most ultraportables. It’s a great score, but still falls about 60 points shy of the Sony VAIO VGN-Z530N’s and almost 500 points shy of the Lenovo ThinkPad X200.

Wi-Fi and Battery Life : The 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi moves data at an excellent speed of 20.8 MB/s at a distance of 15 feet from the access point, and 18.7 MB/s at 50 feet. These are nice improvements over the 16.7 MB/s and 16.1 MB/s averages presented by the X300, and made for a pleasant surfing experience. Although the default configuration does not include integrated mobile broadband, you can add a 3G connection from AT&T ($80) or Verizon Wireless ($150), which also features integrated GPS. The X301 will support WiMAX and Ultra-Wideband technologies when they become available. When it comes to long battery life, the X301 definitely falls short by quite a bit. Its six cell battery lasted only 3 hours and a half during tests. On the same test, Sony’s VAIO VGN-Z530N lasted 5 hours. A little more should be expected out of ultraportable laptops when it comes to battery life (at least 4 hours). The X301 didn’t fare so well on all of its graphics tests. On the 3DMark03 benchmark, the X301 (which is powered by an Intel GMA X4500MHD graphics card) netted an 1812, a score that’s 400 points higher than its competitors and its predecessor the X300. However, the 3DMark06 score was 200 points less than other machines in its category. F.E.A.R was also tested in auto-detect mode, and the game ran at a miniscule 14fps. When the settings were increased to maximum, it ran at only 6fps. W.O.W ran at 27.4fps, which is okay, but it is important to remember that this is not a gaming laptop, and should not be expected to out perform Alienware, for example. Lenovo’s X301’s boot-up time was a little slower than expected. The X301, with its 64GB SSD, took about 1 minute and 37 seconds to boot-up Windows Vista, almost 30 seconds slower than the average ultraportable and 48 seconds slower than the older X300. The SSD did not disappoint and definitely lived up to its fast transfer time copying a 5 GB folder in about 2 minutes and 40 seconds, however. The SSD has a transfer rate of 32.4 megabytes per second, which is miles ahead of the 13.4 megabyte per second transfer rate of competitors using mechanical drives. If 64GB does not fill your needs for capacity, an upgrade option is available for a 128GB SSD, which costs $400.

Samsung i900 Omnia review

There seems to be a lot going on in the Windows Mobile world at the moment and we are finding ourselves inundated with great new devices to play with. This one is no exception, the Samsung i900 Omnia is a fantastic looking Windows Mobile Professional device but does it live up to all the hype and the tag of potential iPhone killer. Well first off it looks like the iPhone, it has a very similar form factor but is slightly smaller, read on for the full details. The Samsung i900 8 Gig, a standard Samsung battery as used on other Samsung Windows Mobile phones, mains charger, headset, data link cable, funky stylus and documentation. As we already know from previous Samsung reviews, they insist on using a proprietary connection for charging and headsets \ headphones. This one is no different but at least it comes with an adaptor that does give you a 3.5mm connector for your own headphones.

The phone looks as we have previously said like the iPhone, it is the same form factor with a large 3.2 inch screen, it is a very glossy looking phone and feels great in the hand, it really is a nice size and weight. Looking at it face on, there are three visible buttons, the phone send and end keys along with the now infamous Samsung mouse. For those that haven’t seen this before it is very similar to a laptop track pad, it is not a D-Pad, you stroke it with your thumb and an on screen cursor moves just like a mouse. It is the equivalent of Windows Mobile Marmite, you either love it or you hate it. I personally find it very effective and easy to use but if you do not, you can change the settings to a virtual D-Pad.

The top of the device has the usual on / off push button along with a reset button which can be handy when you have installed some bad applications and have hit a system freeze. The bottom of the device is clear with the exception of the microphone hole

The left hand side has access to a lanyard attachment while the right hand side has a quick access button for the camera application which also operates as the picture shoot button, volume up and down keys and a quick access to the shortcuts which you can see later in the software write up

Removal of the rear cover which comes off very easily for a Samsung phone you can access the Micro SD card slot, the Sim Card slot and the battery compartment

The stylus, a bit different here as there is no place to store this actually inside the device like we are used too, instead it comes with a lanyard and you just let it dangle from the phone like a bit of phone bling. Not sure I like that idea. The stylus itself is pretty nice, its roughly 2 inches long in it’s closed state, pull the top part off and the stylus extends to about 3 inches but it is solid not like the cheap telescopic stylus’s we have seen on other devices

Positives : - Widgets and touch friendly additions - Accelerometer - 5 Mega Pixel Camera - Form Factor - HSDPA 7.2 mb/s - GPS Negatives : - No haptic feedback on the keyboard - Signal strength suspect at times - Strange screen resolution - Loose stylus and no where to store it - Proprietary connectors - No spare battery this time Samsung

Review of Apple MacBook (Core 2 Duo 2.16GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, SuperDrive, black)

The good: Upgraded CPU for the same price; same great design; built-in Webcam and remote control; adds 802.11n support. The bad: Cutting-edge features are absent, including Intel's new Santa Rosa platform and LED-backlit displays. The bottom line: Apple's rightfully popular 13-inch MacBook gets a decent incremental upgrade, but we're still looking forward to the next version.

Price range: $1,497.48 - $1,799.89

Review of Alienware Area-51 m17x

The good: Highest-end components; imposing design; fantastic performance. The bad: Starting configurations are overpriced; touch controls are a bit wonky. The bottom line: If you're looking to drop some major change on a show-off gaming laptop, it's hard to do better than the Alienware Area-51 m17x, a mean-looking, high-performance black slab.

Product Review : Dell Inspiron Mini 9

The good: More configurable than other Netbooks; good battery life; XP and Linux OS options. The bad: Some awkward keyboard compromises; no SSD options larger than 16GB. The bottom line: Dell's entry into the Netbook market means it's time to take these low-cost, low-power PCs seriously. The Inspiron Mini 9 is an excellent example of the form, if not radically different from the competition. Specifications: Processor: Intel ATOM (1.6 GHz); RAM installed: 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM; Display: 8.9; Storage: 4GB ; Graphics Processor / Vendor: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950 ; OS Provided : Ubuntu Linux version 8.04.1 ; Price range: $349.00

Product summary : Acer Aspire 5735-4624

The good: Bargain-basement price; decent performance; 16:9 display will appeal to movie lovers; does Draft N Wi-Fi. The bad: Flimsy, plastic chassis; clacky mouse buttons; somewhat low screen resolution; keyboard feels a bit cramped because it must make room for separate number pad. The bottom line: A mainstream laptop at a Netbook price, the Acer Aspire 5735 provides the basics plus a movie-friendly 16:9 aspect display.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Review

You're hearing it here first, folks: The long-awaited Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 will be available in the United States on November 28 for an unlocked price of $799.99 through Sony Style stores. Go ahead, we'll give you a second to catch your breath from the sticker shock. For the last couple of days I have been playing around with what could arguably be the best Windows Mobile phone in business – Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1. From the packaging to the diminutive USB charger to the sleek finish of the device itself, the whole X1 experience is flawless. It is a well-designed smartphone that is very well-engineered. It is no different than Sony VAIO laptops or Bravia TVs, and as such it’s no surprise that it’s expensive: $799. The device is going to be available in the U.S. starting Nov. 28 on Sony’s web site, Sony Style. It comes with a very comfortable slider keyboard, great connectivity options (WiFi, 3G, Quad-band GSM etc.) and is a multimedia powerhouse. The phone comes with a 3-inch WVGA display with resolution of up to 800 X 480 pixels screen, which means it can play back videos in almost DVD quality and makes it easy to play 3D mobile games. I love the photos taken by the 3.2 megapixel camera and the music playback is solid and clear. X1 has a pretty decent battery life — and yes, it beats the pants off the iPhone 3G battery. It got about 8 hours on AT&T’s 3G network — ahead of my iPhone — but lagged the Android G1. However, it had better GSM standby and talk times. But again, battery usage differs from person to person. One thing I hate about the device is that it lacks built-in memory, but the good news is that it can take up to 32 GB in a memory card. What will surprise you the most is that this phone is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1. Despite the torturous Windows Mobile interface, I found myself liking this device, which shows that with some creativity and lots of imagination, even Windows Mobile can stand up to assaults from Apple’s iPhone, RIM’s ( s rimm) Blackberry and Google’s Android. Of course Windows Mobile means that the phone syncs with Microsoft Exchange over the air. It can read documents, spreadsheets and presentations natively. I was surprised by how nimble the phone feels — I have yet to use another Windows Mobile phone that comes close to X1. The device gives you many ways to interact with the contact touch, full QWERTY keyboard, 4-way key and optical joystick navigation and panels. It is the panels which are awesome and function almost like how the applications are accessed on the iPhone. Well, we've actually had the smartphone for a couple of weeks now and have a few thoughts about it. So before you start saving your pennies or start looking for an alternative, read our full review of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 for all the details and check out our hands-on photo gallery.

World Thinnest Notebook (Macbook Air)

Macbook pro is the amazing notebook due to its light weight and extra slim & Sleek design. People attract more towards this amazing thinnest laptop. I am sure this is best laptop if you talk for design and performence as well as.

Review of BenQ Joybook Lite U101:

The BenQ Joybook Lite U101 was first announced last month, and at the time it looked like another case of netbook-by-numbers. It’s only just now launched in Hong Kong, and according to these BenQ slides we may have missed a couple of distinctive features (as long as you remember that, in netbooks, “distinctive” can mean as little as an extra memory card supported). The screen is the key difference, being true 16:9 aspect rather than the more typical 16:10. That means more visible area when you’re watching widescreen content. Now while the thought of watching a movie on a netbook might be strange - after all, the U101 does only have an 10.1-inch LED-backlit LCD - it’s not so hard to imagine using them as a portable media player. In which case, you’d be even more loathe to give up any of that precious screen-estate to black bars. We also now know that the keyboard is 90-percent the size of a regular desktop QWERTY, which is still slightly behind the 93-percent of the Samsung NC10 but only a little. The WWAN option has also been fleshed out as 3.5G HSUPA (though I think BenQ mean 7.0 rather than 70Mbps, unless they’re confusing it with WiMAX) and unlike many netbooks there’s draft-n WiFi rather than just b/g. Still no word on pricing, however, nor when it will be available outside of Hong Kong.

Nokia N79 Hands On Review

Nokia N79 is not just another candybar handset by Nokia, the new Nokia N79 which is believed to have succeeded and complemented the Nokia N78 features, is basically a lot more than just that. It comes with a 5MP camera & Carl Zeiss optics supporting dual LED flash. Its lens will be protected by a sliding camera cover. It also supports Geo tagging. Nokia N79 also has a FM transmitter just like the N78, also has a 3.5 mm audio jack and dedicated music keys. The handset supports up to 24 hours of audio playback. Nokia Maps 2.0 is also on board to make use of the built-in GPS receiver and a 4GB microSD card is included in the sales package. Looks wise the device looks great, simple yet stylish it has Xpress-On like covers and its 2.4-inch display.

Review of the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is a music phone that makes us happy for a number of reasons. This isn't an iPhone competitor, which makes sense, considering the low, $50 price tag. But it is far better than most other so-called music phones on the market, and includes many features that should set the standard. We like the 3.5mm headphone jack, the included 1GB memory card, and the two-stage stereo headphones a microphone. We also liked this phone for regular calling, and found call quality and even its messaging capabilities were surprisingly good. There are phones at four times this price that don't have all these features, and though the phone lacks 3G networking and the accompanying services, when we focused simply on the music abilities, we were happy with what we heard. Release: May 2008. Price: $50. Pros: Slim design keeps the dedicated music keys, adds a 3.5mm headphone jack. Surprisingly robust messaging clients. Cons: No 3G networking means slow Web browsing, no advanced services. Transfer software needs a serious update to bring it in line with iTunes.