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Why choose Blu-ray?

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Blu-ray Disc

When I was younger, I had every Disney title on VHS. Really. I remember shoving a tape into the VCR and throwing a fit when I realized that I had to rewind it. I had some good times laying on the floor too close to the television watching Beauty and the Beast, but those times have changed — I’ve learned to sit farther away.

Though our film tastes may or may not change through the years, the way we soak in our entertainment definitely does.

DVDs grew to be the popular media format in the late 90s, but a format war was on the horizon. The HD DVD and Blu-ray formats were developed around the same time, but Blu-ray was crowned the top dog in early 2008. The tech isn’t exactly new, but Blu-ray has finally gained traction in the mainstream market, with HDTVs becoming more affordable.

What now though? You might be on the fence about moving on to Blu-ray, but we’re here to help you.

“Why should I upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray?”

  • Viewing experience – It’s all about HD. The incredibly sharp picture — with about five times more detail than standard definition — and vibrant colors will sell you. Blu-ray is one of the very few ways to watch full 1080p high-definition media. Not only is the view stunning, but Blu-ray offers high quality audio to boot. Blu-ray is even jumping into the 3D viewing game — with a compatible system you can really get into your movies.
  • Extra storage capacity – With a storage capacity of up to 25GB on a single-layer Blu-ray disc, and 50GB on a dual-layer disc, the possibilities are far more than with DVDs — plenty of room for additional content and special features. This extra space brings your menus, graphics and special features to a whole new level. For example, you could bring up a menu without even pausing what you’re watching.
  • Interactivity – With an Internet connection, it’s possible to access great features, like downloading new extras, watching recent movie trailers, web browsing, and more. You can even manage your copies of Blu-ray movies and transfer them over your home network.

Here’s a quick overview of the technical specs:

Blu-ray vs DVD

Your concerns…

“But Blu-ray is expensive!”

Initially, new technologies lean toward the expensive range — and Blu-ray was a pricey format conversion from the DVD. Note, I say was! Blu-ray players and discs have become extremely affordable, and your favorite titles are even priced competitively against their DVD counterparts — and some even cheaper!

For example, in the U.S., you can find Blu-ray players for about $100 more than DVD players and tons of movies in the $15-$24.99 range (and lower!), with one of my personal classic favorites Dune at only $16.24 on Blu-ray versus $24.99 on DVD. But I digress.

I compared prices for new releases, and in general, DVD and Blu-ray prices are really neck-in-neck. There are so many different sales depending on the retailer, so it’s difficult to pinpoint. Just shop around! If you spot an expensive Blu-ray title that’s just not worth it to you, then simply don’t buy it — your Blu-ray player will still play your old DVDs.

If you live in a house with gamers, then moving to Blu-ray may make even more sense. Sony’s Playstation 3 console is already equipped with a Blu-ray player, so you can enjoy a night of Assassin’s Creed II and Star Trek in HD glory. And this technology is getting cheaper as time goes on.

“But I own a regular TV!”

Even if you have a regular TV, you can still enjoy both DVD and Blu-ray titles on a Blu-ray player. When it comes time to upgrade your TV to something HD-ready, then you’ll be ready to enjoy the full Blu-ray viewing experience.

“I already own an HD-ready TV… But I have a huge DVD collection.”

Why don’t you have a Blu-ray player already? Just because you have a DVD collection shouldn’t stop you! Most Blu-ray players will upscale your viewing experience with DVDs anyway, so you can build your Blu-ray collection gradually.

The viewing experience with Blu-ray is top notch, especially if you have a great sound system. You’ll notice the difference when you watch that Blu-ray title — imagine the first time you watched a DVD over VHS.

“But what about a new format in the future?”

This is just the nature of technology. If you never upgrade due to this logic, then you’d be stuck watching a black and white television. Your old formats don’t become useless either — people still listen to their old records today. And hey, you can still watch your DVDs on a Blu-ray player.

What are you waiting for?

The format war has been over for a while now, so what are you waiting for? You can switch over and start building your Blu-ray collection today without breaking the bank — check out Blu-ray players, listings and deals to get started.

[Chart via Blu-ray.com Thanks to the guys at blu-raydisc-reporter.com for providing us with some great kit]

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Posted in Technology | 1 Comment »

Girl Geek Dinners turns 5 (Guest post by Judith Lewis)

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Have you ever heard of London Girl Geek Dinners?  What started as an organisation of a few passionate women has blossomed into a worldwide network of “dinners” from New Zealand through to Toronto and now the home of that movement is turning 5 years old!

London Girl Geek Dinners really does hope to change the world.  We’d like to inspire more girls to get into tech, more women to stay in tech and more not-currently-techie women to get involved.  We run events in high schools, in businesses and in pubs with inspirational women and men talking about technology in its varied forms.  Whether discussing using computerised techniques in creating manga or digital cows, London Girl Geek Dinners appeals to a wide range of people.

LGGD is free to join and we do welcome everyone.  Our main list is on Google but we are also on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.  Men are welcome to join our groups and events but we do ask that they are the guest of a girl geek.  Most of the time our events are free to attend as well but we do rely on sponsors like SciFi London, Norton Symantec, Regent St, Microsoft, Google, HMRC and others to help us put on events.  We’re working on getting Girl Geek Dinners charitable status as well!

So what’s happening as we turn 5?  Google is our main sponsor and they will be feeding us and giving us goodie bags.  The wine has been supplied by Dinastia Vivanco  and in the goodie bags we have lovely goodies from Green & Blacks, VitaminWater and Juniper Networks. We’ve also got raffle prizes including LGGD sweatshirts and all money from the raffle will go to helping us to gain charitable status.

Excited? Want to be a member? Just pop over to http://groups.google.com/group/london-girl-geek-dinners/ and sign up for free!

Want your company to be associated with this positive organisation? Please do get in touch with us on Londonggd –at- gmail dot com and we’d be happy to talk to you about the really inexpensive ways you can get involved in sponsoring a London Girl Geek Dinner event!

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JBL IIIP On Stage Portable Loudspeaker for iPhone & iPod

Monday, June 28th, 2010

First impressions: glossy, sleek and sexy

I love my iPhone, my iPod and music. I also love any self-contained amplification system that will free my precious playlists from the sonic prison of my earphones and launch them into the big wide world where they belong. In other words, I am a sucker for a sound dock, or, as JBL define it, “a portable music loudspeaker”. I have a Bose in the bedroom, an Intempo in the living room (super cool design, gets lots of “aaahs” at parties) and a Creative Labs ‘TravelSound’ in the kitchen … so when Leila asked me to do this review, I nearly bit her hand off, as I don’t, as yet, have a sound dock for the iPhone.

What’s in the Box?

  • mains adapter
  • dock adapters + identification chart
  • remote control
  • 3.5mm stereo jack for connecting external devices
  • travel pouch
  • instruction manual

The remote comes with basic functions – no treble or bass adjustment – and the ability to navigate menus, from the top level all the way down – a breeze, although I wasn’t too fussed about the feel of the remote’s controls, which were a little too rubbery for my liking and demanded to be firmly pressed under the thumb.

What’s on the Box?

Remote Control: basic functions + menu navigation

“… for iPhone … “. There it is, right at the top - “… for iPhone … “. It’s actually part of the product’s title, so you’d believe it to be the case … wouldn’t you?

Additionally, the box is covered in photos of the iPhone (not the iPod, I checked, the ‘Call’ icon is clearly displayed) duly positioned in the loudspeaker.

Working my way down the box, the device is described variably as a “Loudspeaker for iPhone …”; “Compatible with [the] iPhone …”; and “Works with the iPhone”.

It is not, apparently, made for the iPhone, as a list of gizmos for which it is made excludes the iPhone completely.

Missing from the box is any reference to the iPhone 3GS 32GB which implies it is a) neither “for”, “compatible with” or “works with” this unit; or b) that it could just be old packaging that needs updating – but that doesn’t seem plausible, as this loudspeaker is supposed to be a new model and the iPhone 3GS has been around for quite a while now.

Thankfully, it does refer to my model, the iPhone 3G 16GB, yet confusingly, the dock adapter guide only refers to the 1st Gen (4GB) and 2nd Gen (8GB) iPhones, which begs the question: will my iPhone even work with the dock adapter supplied? Hmm.

So where is this heading? Well, the second I insert my iPhone into the cradle on the appropriate dock adapter (fits, although a little too tightly for my liking) than my iPhone delivers the message (and I paraphrase) that this loudspeaker device is not [after all] compatible with the iPhone and would I like to turn on Airplane Mode to help with noise reduction?

For a new gizmo, it’s not the most auspicious of starts. To be honest, I think even JBL are confused as to what they have produced with this loudspeaker dock.

The iPod Classic (5G 80GB)

I tested the unit on a variety of genres to assess performance at different frequencies: Robbie Williams; Muse; Muddy Waters; Neil Diamond; Monteverdi

Ibiza? Pah! I have a IIIP ...

The amplification of this model iPod using the JBL On Stage IIIP was very impressive … so impressive, in fact, that I got quite carried away with my video review and, with a bit of editing, one video became two (the censored version and the uncensored version – more of this at the end of this review!). Robbie’s voice dripped honey on ‘Bodies’, Muse was bold ‘n’ bassy on ‘Plug In Baby’ and Muddy’s rich, baritone drawl damn near had me drooling.

It wasn’t until I reached Neil’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ that I encountered a sound that was less than perfect for a dock of this size.  This is a remastered track and there was a discernible hiss on the acoustic verses, which was  eradicated when the band kicked in on the chorus. On the plus side, the brightness of the chorus brought back memories of seeing the Big D live in concert under a starry sky a few years ago.

Then onto Monteverdi’s ‘Cantate Domino’, and a mellifluent treble transported me, in the realms of my imagination, from seat to sky and almost had me soaring with the angels.

An excellent start all round, then.

The iPhone 3G in Call Receiving Mode

Jack in the box .... external devices catered for

I have to say, I approached this with trepidation and no small degree of skepticism. I mean, having already been informed that the IIIP was not compatible with the iPhone and needed to be in Airplane Mode, my hopes weren’t high. You may be asking why I even bothered even assessing its performance without turning Airplane Mode on. Well, to put it bluntly, we are talking about an iPhone – there is a reason we are carrying an iPhone and not an iPod and that is to receive calls and IMO, any device worth its salt that is bold enough to describe itself as a “music loudspeaker for iPhone”, should, in fact, be just that. You shouldn’t have to turn your phone’s operation off in order to hear a good result. You may need to be available for calls when you are listening to the device. Airplane Mode is … well, it speaks for itself. Of course, you might choose to enter that mode to maximise battery performance for gameplay, but you should never have to put your phone in Airplane Mode to optimise the performance of an external device which claims on its packaging to be “for” the iPhone. That’s just being cheeky!

OK, rant over. The result? I was pleasantly surprised. Okay, the amplification lacked the same “oomph” on the iPhone in Call Receiving Mode, and the sound, though by no means remarkable, was pleasing to the ears. In fact, the hiss that was so noticeable on ‘Sweet Caroline’ when played on the iPod was barely perceptible on the iPhone.

There was some modulation on Muse – not enough to ruin my listening experience on the one track, but it might be an issue when listening to an entire album. The bass was cancelling out the treble and it was as though someone was playing with the volume control, turning it up/down/up/down.  This was the only truly dodgy moment of this particular test.

The sound was perfectly acceptable otherwise.

The iPhone in Airplane Mode

Music purists will like this. The bass is muted – no modulation on Muse this time – the sound even across every track. If the iPhone’s iPod had an EQ setting, then this would be described as ‘Flat’ – a pure sound, but subdued. It’s all down to musical preferences … as a rock chick who likes a good bass, I like my devices to have more power. I even listen to classical music in ‘Dance’ mode in order to brighten the sound (I sense I’ve just blown my chances of reviewing for Classic FM.) I didn’t dislike this result, but it did nothing to turn me on, either … it was pleasant. Nothing jarred. There is nothing to criticise.

Verdict

Travel pouch big enough for IIIP, Pods + accessories (but not my make up).

As far as portable loudspeakers go, you’re certainly not going to get one as travel-friendly as this in terms of dimensions. It won’t weigh your case down or cause any inconvenient bumpy lumps in your suitcase. It should even fit with ease in your carry-on.

When it comes to performance, much depends on your musical preferences.

If you are going to use this system primarily with an iPod*, then I would not hesitate to recommend it. The results were excellent. The bass was extremely powerful for a sound dock of this size and there was no distortion, even at high volume. My only criticism would be that the volume could go a little higher, but then, the likelihood is you will be playing it outdoors or in your hotel room, so maybe JBL have shown some social responsibility by limiting the power of this device.

If it’s the iPhone you are wanting to purchase it for, then it really comes down to your musical tastes. If your preference is for easy listening, jazz and classical, then you should be very pleased with the quality of the output. If you’re into rock, pop, metal, punk – anything requiring a heavier bass – then you could well be disappointed … but this is a travel system, after all, and for the amount of time you will probably spend listening to it, you will probably find it adequate. If you buy it expecting an iPhone boombox you will be very disappointed, and my advice in this instance would be to shop around or invest in an iPod*, if you haven’t already got one, and take that on vacation with you, too.

JBL do need to be consistent on their packaging and printed matter – the box is out of date and is full of discrepancies and the dock adapter guide inside the box also needs updating to reflect more recent iPhone models.

I award the JBL On Stage IIIP 3 Sticky Fingers (out of a maximum of 5) – a great purchase and highly recommended.

My ToffiAppl video reviews at http://bit.ly/dhqYay complement this article – hear the system for yourself!

* Tested only on the iPod Classic 5G 80GB

Posted in Technology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

The Dell Streak

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

The new Dell Streak

Yesterday, Dell announced their plans to release their tablet called the ‘Streak’. The Streak, which runs on the Android operating system, will be out in early June and will be available on the O2 network and will be available from O2.co.uk, Carphone Warehouse and  Dell.co.uk. Data and Price plans will be released closer to launch date.

The Streak has a 5″ touch screen, 5 mega pixel autofocus camera, VGA front facing camera and 2G of internal dedicated storage (MicroSD expandable memory up to 32GB). It ships with the Android OS and the device supports over the air updates. It will support Flash 10.1 when Android 2.2 is released later on this year.

The Streak has 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth capability, keeping the user constantly connected – Perfect for mobile professionals, students and general tech geeks. I for one can’t live without the internet and the size is perfect for any bag or even pocket. The browsing is a real pleasure and the screen is extremely responsive.

As far as portable tablets go, I think this is my best experience so far. Size wise it’s perfect, the screen is responsive, it has a good, solid OS and will soon support flash, which is a must have for me. The social platforms are already integrated and with the Android Market Place, the world is your oyster! I have to hand it to Dell, over the past year and a half, my impression of boring outdated laptops has been totally overturned. Dell are certainly a company to look out for these days and if you’re looking for smart, attractive gadgets, they’re bound to have one that will suit.

Specifications:

  • Android platform complete with Android Market and Dell user interface enhancements
  • ARM-based Processor: Qualcomm’s powerful and efficient Snapdragon chipset and software platform with integrated 1GHz processor
  • 3G + WiFi + Bluetooth
  • UMTS / GPRS / EDGE class 12 GSM radio with link speeds of up to HSDPA 7.2 Mbps* / HSDPA
  • 5 MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash. Easy point, shoot, and uploads to YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and more
  • User accessible Micro SD expandable memory available up to 32 GB*. Store up to 42 movies* or 32,000 photos*, or 16,000 songs* with 32GB* Micro SD

Click here for the full in detail specifications.

Posted in Internet, Social Media, Technology | 2 Comments »

AKG K480NC noise cancelling, folding headphones

Friday, May 21st, 2010

AKG K480NC

I have to admit, I’ve never really understood why people spend so much money on headphones…. I have always limited my spend to about approx. £25, give or take a tenner. However on being sent these AKG headphones to review, I have certainly changed my mind on the matter.

They came in their folded form with a hard carrying case presented in a slick black box, making them look pretty special. The assembly was straight-forward, as you would expect, and it’s a case of plug and go.

From the moment you pop them on your ears, it’s an amenable experience. The ear-cups are an incredibly comfortable fit and the band is also padded around the top area for extra comfort.

Sound quality is fantastic and with the active noise-cancelling feature they are perfect for commuting and air travel. They’re also iPhone compatible. The headphones have been beautifully designed and are perfect for their purpose.

The AKG K480NS’s have made me enjoy my music again and I would recommend them to anyone. They generally retail around the £100 mark, give or take £20.

Girls ‘n’ Gadgets award a very well deserved 5/5.

Specs:

  • Key specifications
  • System: Dynamic
  • Design: Closed-back headphones
  • Color: Espresso
  • Frequency range: 11Hz to 30.5kHz
  • Sensitivity: 127dB SPL/V
  • Input impedance: 32 Ohms
  • Max. input power: 30mW
  • Net weight (without cable): 125g
  • Cable: 99.99% Oxygen-free cable 1m
  • Main connection: Hard gold-plated jack plug and contacts

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Posted in Technology | 4 Comments »

Pitch Perfect

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

I went along to the rather awesome Geekn’rolla event at the end of April, which, with the exception of a few volcanoes induced issues, was a great event. The tech community were out in force, proving that, despite the downturn and ascertations otherwise, innovation is still alive and kicking in Europe. There was also a huge amount of support on offer for new start ups, in the form of mentors of older ‘more grown up’ companies. This is an invaluable source for new entrepreneurs, and it was great seeing already busy CEO’s offer up their precious time to pass on the lessons they’ve learnt.

In between some fantastic talks (notably Jason Trost, Smarkets; Ewan McLeod, Mobile Industry Review; Andrew Scott, Rummble; and Morten Lund, Everbread and Tradeshift), there were sessions of three minute pitches. Much like Dragon’s Den, some rather brave entrepreneurs got up to sell their company to a panel of judges, and a dauntingly large audience. Being somewhat of a wimp myself, I thought these guys deserved a medal just for getting up there, but alas, there were only prizes for some. Here are the ones I think will rock it this year…

The judges’ winner of the three minute pitches was Cortexica, who specialise in visual search. A relatively new company founded in 2008, its first application, unsurprisingly (and somewhat disappointingly) only for the iPhone, is called WINEfind’r. Other than the limited availability, it looked very interesting. All you need to do is take picture of the label, and you’ll get prices from various merchants. You can also find out some more about it, review it etc. They created the app to demonstrate what they can do with visual search, a market which is fast growing, and one which, I think, will prove to be more and more important in the near future.

Another winner, voted by both the audience and the judges, was Graph.me. I have to be honest and say these were my favourite. Whilst there were things that needed smoothing out, I liked the pitch and I love the idea. It went live in public beta on the day of the event, so go try it out now. Basically, it allows you to graph yourself against other people – on a number of different topics. You can start a trend, and graph everything in your life, from shoe shopping to friends (and why wouldn’t you?!). You can poll others too, so you can get competitive with friends, using the Facebook Connect tool. They are also looking at apps for the iFamily, so watch out for on the move graphing coming to a town near you soon!

iGlue is a rather nifty little tool, and one which I think, could make a big splash this year. It’s got a catchy name (don’t sue them Apple) and an awesome tagline: ‘the superglue of the net.’ It allows you to search for content, then when you hover over words it gives you more detailed information, which you can chose to click through to. The way I like to think about it, is that the articles have a second skin, one which can fill you head with more knowledge than you’ll ever need – amazing. I cannot wait for it to go mainstream. These guys, unsurprisingly won one of the judges awards – and rightly so, it rocked!

Pownum also deserve a mention. A site which allows you to rate and slate companies, the idea behind this is that there is power in numbers. By having a site which companies themselves have to sign up for, the hope is that the feedback you give – either positive or negative – will have a real effect on how the company is run. Companies pay £5,000 for the ‘right to reply’ to comments, half of which goes to charity. The aim of the founders is to donate a massive £10million to charity over the next five years – for this alone, they deserve some serious credit!

Finally, there were, unsurprisingly, a lot of music start-ups pitching, which could create a battle for dominance (between themselves and current giants Spotify) in the next couple of years. All had their pro’s and con’s, but they were a pretty revolutionary, so it’s going to be interesting! First up of these was Decibel, a company which describes itself as powering the next generation of digital music. A big tagline, but they didn’t disappoint. It believes that the experience listeners now get is less than in days gone by. The argument is, that when you load a CD on to your PC, you get only the bare minimum on information, and much of it is incorrect. With Decibel, you get a whole host of information – everything from location, to composer, birth date and participants. I like to think of it as six degrees of separation for the music world – it tells you everything, so you can see who has performed on each other’s albums, and how everything is linked. It is an amazing database of knowledge, and something which many music lovers will adore.

Next up were Gigaboxx, who want to sell music to consumers via mobile. The idea is, you never want something as much as you do when you’re hearing it (this is very true), so why not enable people to do just this. Then, instead of paying at the time, the cost is just added to your mobile phone bill. So, if you’re at a gig, Gigaboxx will Bluetooth you the bands site, which (having been made by them), will work perfectly on mobile, and allow you to purchase tracks, ringtones and videos. This, to me, seems like a great idea. I know I can never remember the name of that song I heard that I loved, and by the time I do remember it, another one has come along and replaced it instead. Not only that, but we live in a mobile world – all the signs are pointing towards Smartphone’s as the future, so by basing a model around this, I think these guys can be hugely successful!

Finally, there was Musiio. These guys are very much still at the prototype stage, and were looking for investment or a technical partner, but their idea is genius. Giving the music back to artists and allowing them to connect directly with fans. This is a really interesting concept, given the constant heated debates between music companies, artists and sites like Spotify, so it’s worth keeping an eye on this, as if it materialises, it could really change things. Personally, I think if the three above joined up, they would have an amazing product on their hands!

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Posted in Internet, Social Media, Technology | 2 Comments »

Dell Studio 17 Multi-Touch Laptop

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Although it looks suave, this laptop is certainly not designed for the small-framed person. With its gigantic 17.3-inch screen in front of you, as a small person (which I am), you’ll be left wondering why it’s bigger than you are. Having said that, it does have its uses. Despite its hefty appearance and weight (they start at 3.2 kg), the screen offers a lot more than most laptops can. It boasts a wondrous Multi-Touch High Definition screen that allows you the power to interact so much more with your laptop than you ever thought would be possible.

There are no lags and there are no pixilated glitches that get in the way of you playing with the screen with your finger(s). You can do all the same functions on this laptop that you can do with your iPhone – pinch, flick, grab and zoom. In fact, it’s so quirky it allows you to use up to four fingers at once. This is especially useful when you’re playing around in the games section in the Dell Touch Zone, as they call it. You’re able to play games with your friends on the screen, at the same time, and happily annoy and battle each other. I personally quite like this feature as it takes an interactive feature and allows you to become even more interactive with those around you.

Dell Studio 17 Multi-Touch Laptop

Great audio and visuals accompany the laptop also. Sitting back to enjoy a DVD takes on a completely new meaning as you’re taken aback by the spectacle before you. Owing to the large screen, you’re able to sit much further away than usual to watch the magnificent Multi-Touch HD+ at 1600×900 TrueLife WLED display at work. Remarkably clear image accompanied by the integrated palmrest speakers of 1.5W each, plus a 3W subwoofer definitely make for a pleasurable viewing experience.

The Multi-Touch function is a great little addition to the laptop, it has to be said. Although it doesn’t really serve too much of a function other than being a gimmick (for now) it really is a pleasant change to using the mouse pad. It’s a lot quicker to close browsers and open folders, but it does leave you open to leaving gunk on the screen as you slide your fingers across it. If you’re a clean freak, this will surely wind you up.

Quite a sweet little feature of the touch screen laptop, however, is the fact that you can play instruments on it. It comes with its very own drum kit and piano, with the added extras of the cowbell, the xylophone and a few other noisemakers. Although the keys are quite small on the piano, the actual idea behind being able to play the piano on your screen is mind-blowing. The keys are just as responsive and the sound is impeccable. The drum kit isn’t as fun to play as you’re using your fingers as opposed to drumsticks, but nonetheless it definitely racks up high for novelty factor.

With up to 8GB Dual Channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM and at least an Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor you can be sure that this machine is going to give as good as it gets. It’s fast, very powerful and definitely worth the money. My only concern is its size – with everyone wanting their gadgets to be smaller nowadays, I’m not entirely sure this will be as popular as Dell may have hoped.

For more on the specifications or any extras you can add, please visit the Dell website.

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Dell Alienware M11X

Monday, March 15th, 2010

One of our resident boys gives us his view on the attractive Dell Alienware M11x:

Dell Alienware M11X

The Alienware mx11 is a curious little beast: a fully-powered laptop in the form-factor of a netbook, that packs more power in its graphics card alone than most device of this size can yield in toto. Alienware are, of course, famous for building brashly over-powered gaming rigs for serious gamers with big budgets. Despite its size, the M11x fits comfortably into the Alienware range.

Although the machine is only 11 inches across, it fairly bristles with fancy coloured lights and gurning alien heads, while the box and keyboard are covered in curious occult symbols that presumably say “This way up” in Alpha Centauri. This is a laptop that says “I have too much disposable income, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

From a hardware point of view, the device is almost impeccable. As with any Alienware machine, you get great build quality and a whole bunch of added extras. The M11x looks like Darth Vader’s netbook, and is reassuring weighty. The keys are rubberised (and backlit, naturally) and have a nice action to them. My only criticism of the keyboard is that it’s too small, and my arms began to cramp, but hey – it’s only 11 inches wide, so what can you expect? The built-in webcam does the job, and there are more output ports than seem possible, with both HDMI and DisplayPort alongside the VGA out. An SD card reader makes a nice addition to a well-considered spec, but there’s no CD drive. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a problem – a CD drive would be a useless encumbrance on a netbook  - but ordinarily I wouldn’t want to install Crysis on a netbook. The tight compromise between size and functionality rears its ugly head here, and while it’s not a killer, it’s an irritation.

The machine ships with Windows 7, and comes preinstalled with AlienWare’s fancy control panel, and a fascinating facial recognition system called AlienSense. This provides biometric login based on images from the webcam – not only can you use your face to sign in instead of a username and password, but the machine can lock itself if a stranger starts twiddling while you’re away. It’s not foolproof, and it refuses to let me sign in with a beard, but it’s a cool little gimmick that adds to the futuristic aesthetic of the device.

Games, however, are the raison d’etre for the M11x, and this is where the machine really does sparkle. I was skeptical that the 1.3Ghz CPU would be able to take the punishment of a serious game, but it more than makes up for it with the graphics card, and it turns out to be the right trade-off to have made. Crysis ran better than expected in medium performance mode; while the sound was screwy, I’m willing to blame the drivers, and the video was flawlessly smooth and detailed, and I was able to run Rainbow Six: Vegas II at 35 fps even at the maximum resolution of 1366 * 768 with detail turned up to highest.

It’s difficult to give an objective review of this machine, because I don’t understand who might buy it. It’s a great little toy, and I can’t fault it technically, but it’s hard to see why the world needs an ultra-portable gaming laptop – even one so beautifully executed as this. There’s no way that the trackpad is going to be useful in an Unreal match, so you’ll need to pack a mouse, and find a place to set yourself up which makes the whole concept a little moot.

That said, the M11X has enough horsepower to be a gaming rig, and it certainly looks the part. Ultimately, it’s a neat little device in search of a product – category, but if you’ve got the cash to spend on a new toy, it’s way cooler than an iPad.

Overall – 4/5

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Nexus One: The Rebirth of Cool

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Just around the time that Google Nexus One rumors began to swirl, my old Blackberry died. Coincidence? I think not, especially after having seen the Nexus One when it was unveiled at a Google press conference in Mountain View, CA.

Nexus One was meant to be mine.

You may wonder exactly what it is about this little device, Google’s self-proclaimed superphone, that generates buzz even amongst uber geeks. Well, dear heart, I can sum it up in two words – cool factor. It’s a concept that until now has remained firmly gripped in Apple’s grubby little hands. It’s a concept that Microsoft keeps standing on its tippy toes trying to reach, barely grazing with its fingertips. It’s a concept that Google has captured and embodied in the Nexus One.

The size of a Swiss Army keychain knife, Nexus One measures 119mm tall, 59.8mm wide and 11.5mm deep. It weighs 130 grams with the battery, 100 grams without. There is a 5-megapixel camera and video recorder with 2x zoom and an LCD flash. Talk time is about 7 hours on 3G networks. It has WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS, a touch screen display and the ability to use other apps while talking.

I know what you’re thinking, adequate, but hardly an iPhone killer.

Insert cool factor:

  • Light and Proximity Sensor – The Nexus One presumes that as the phone nears your face, you will be talking on it. It saves power by automatically dimming the display light.
  • 3D user interface and Dynamic wallpaper – Your display background is a lovely fall scene, an oak tree covered with rain droplets. Suddenly the rain begins to fall more briskly. You see the splash as they enter a puddle. Leaves float gently in the breeze before falling to the ground.
  • Voice control – Every field in any application that you can type in, can now be spoken. That’s right; Nexus One dictates your tweets or Facebook updates.
  • Cooliris media gallery – Sure, the Nexus One has the graphic slider you’ve become accustomed to using. Thanks to Cooliris, it also has the ability to sort photos by time and geolocation. Flip intuitively through your photo albums and enjoy a visually stunning panoramic slideshow.
  • Layered GPS – Type in your destination and receive turn-by-turn directions. Borrrrrrrrrrring! Add in a layer of gas stations and automatically nearby gas stations will be added to your map view. Add a satellite layer and trace your route via satellite as you drive. Add in a street view layer as you approach your direction and see what the building you’re looking for looks like.

Just before Google officially unveiled the Nexus One, Apple strategically announced that downloads from its app store had officially reached the 3 billion mark. Is the Nexus One an iPhone killer? Probably not. But at its press conference, Google announced that it was just the first in a long line of planned smart phone devices. The good buzz is already translating into sales. Barclays Capital Analyst Doug Anmuth estimates that Google might sell 5 or 6 million units in 2010. Factor in consumer’s dismal opinion of AT&T, the official U.S. iPhone service provider, and we may be looking at the Smartphone War of the Roses.

The King is dead. Long live the King.

Note: I didn’t attend the press conference in Mountain View, well…mostly because I wasn’t invited. So, special thanks to Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) who streamed the event live via Ustream.

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G’n'G Christmas Competition

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Heathrow Logo

Heathrow has launched a new gifting website www.heathrowgiftlist.com to give those travelling through the airport this Christmas some festive inspiration or perhaps a present to add to their own wish list.  It’s a great place to find the newest and coolest gifts, share ideas and get top tips on the presents with the wow factor.  Choose from gifts including the latest Sony camera in pink to a Dell mini Netbook.

For the first time ever Heathrow is offering Reserve & Collect – a free and convenient service that allows passengers to reserve items from the gift list and then collect them at the store prior to boarding their flight.
 
Making it a Christmas worth celebrating, every list created on www.heathrowgiftlist.com will automatically be entered into a great prize draw offering four lucky users the chance to win their list up to the value of £2,500. 
 
 

Amethyst iPanda iPod speakers

Amethyst iPanda iPod speakers

To celebrate the launch of the site we’re giving away 2 Amethyst iPanda iPod Speaker sets!

 
To be in with a chance of winning, answer this simple question: Which category on the Heathrow Gift List will you find the Amethyst iPanda iPod Speakers?

A) For gadget lovers
B) For kids
C) For her

To enter please email your answer to: competitions@girlsngadgets.com along with your name, telephone number and Twitter name (if you have one).

Terms & conditions: Only one entry per person. Winners to be named on 30th December 2009. Prizes cannot be exchanged for cash. Competition open to UK residents only.

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Posted in Technology | 2 Comments »

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Winner - Computer Weekly Blog Awards 2009 - Best SME

Highly Commended - Cosmopolitan Blog Awards - Best Gadget Blog 2010