Tech Gadgets Reviews

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jul 12th 2008 at 3:52PM

So many of you are probably still in your jammies, reveling in the afterglow of yesterday’s purchase, repeatedly opening Maps on your glossy new iPhone 3G and watching in exaggerated wonderment as your location is determined with frightening speed and accuracy. Others might be standing in a line snaking hundreds of bodies long into your friendly local Apple Store, reading this post from the comfort of your Motorola RAZR V3 and realizing that these are some of the last moments you’ll be using a physical keypad. Still others are bemused by the fuss — but whatever your stance on the phone, it’s pretty hard to ignore the buzz that’s floating around in the aftermath of day zero. Here are some of the goings-on we’re tracking:

• The masses of humanity continue to collect. Massive stock shortages don’t seem to be an issue (yet), but patience is not a virtue we hold dear to our hearts, so we really can’t blame these people.
• Some buyers are reporting a yellow tint to their screens — probably not enough to notice without another unit side-by-side for comparison, but real nonetheless. Of course, the first iPhone suffered from the occasional crappy backlight, bum touchscreen, or negative black, so we wouldn’t be surprised if a few lame displays made it out of the factory floor for this model as well; we’re following up with Apple on this and we should have more for you later today.
• We took the iphone 3G on a decent drive around New York, and found its tracking to be impeccable. In a situation where we might have veered off the path following Google Maps directions, the blue blip kept us right on track. Despite what you’ve read (we’re looking at you, Mr. Pogue), we see no technical reason that the aGPS can’t provide turn-by-turn directions, provided there’s software to take advantage of it.
• There are some complaints floating around about 3G reception, but it’s been just fine on our review units around the world so far. How’s it treating you out in [your location here]?
• iphone-dev has a video up of BootNeuter going about its business on a first-gen iPhone that’s been upgraded to firmware 2.0, and the process is looking as slick and painless as ever. Unlockers who haven’t shelled out for the 3G, commence your salivating.
• MobileMe seems like it’s up for the moment, but don’t breathe too hard lest you bring the whole thing down again.

Update: We just spoke with Bob Borchers, senior director of product marketing for the iPhone, and he had some very interesting info regarding the “yellow screen” phenomenon we’ve been hearing about. According to Bob (and Apple), the screen’s color temperature has been purposely altered on the new iPhone to produce warmer, more natural tones, sharper images, and deeper blacks. The company says that 1st gen iPhone screens appeared colder and less defined, and they made some adjustments for the new models. In our opinion, what he says is right on — the screens do look better on the iPhone 3G versus the older variety. What do you guys think?

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds

by Nilay Patel, posted Jul 12th 2008 at 5:29PM

Move over, Elon Musk — the Tesla owners club is about to get bigger. The upstart electric-car company announced the delivery of the first nine production Roadsters to customers in California earlier this week, with several more to follow at the rate of four per week, and the plan is to start building 100 a month by December, when that new transmission is ready. That’s pretty ambitious, but Tesla’s brought in some big guns to help make it happen — the company just hired Mike Donoughe as EVP of Vehicle Engineering and Manufacturing. Donoughe is fresh off a 24-year stint at Chrysler, where he was most recently in charge of revamping all of the company’s mid-size sedans. Word on the street is that Donoughe could have written his own ticket at any major carmaker, so it’s interesting that he landed at Telsa, where he’ll be working on the Model S as well as the Roadster. Oh, and there’s a new Tesla store in Menlo Park, in case you were looking to blow a quick $100K in Silicon Valley — aren’t we all?

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Filed under: Transportation

While the whole mobile phone industry is busy with the hype built up by the release of the iphone 3G, HP has quietly made available its new Windows Mobile smarthphone, the HP iPaQ 910. This smarthphone which has a striking resemblance to a Palm Treo is now available for $499.99 at HP’s website.

Like we said before, the iPaQ 910 is loaded with high-end features including a 2.4-inch touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA for connecting to the web at 7.2 Mbps, 3.0-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, built-in Google Maps and GPS, 128MB of RAM, and a 416 MHz Marvell PXA270 processor.

The iPaQ 910 runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and is loaded with various Microsoft programs including Office Mobile, Office Outlook Mobile and Internet Explorer Mobile.

Product [HP] Via [IntoMobile]

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Looking forward to the new iphone but haven’t picked yours up yet? Joel Evans was in line for a few hours in the NYC flagship store during Apple’s meltdown yesterday so he did a quick unboxing on the counter while he was waiting for the servers to come back.

The video is just a bit over two minutes because things could started to work at any time and there were still a lot of people in line. Joel covers the high points, gets us a look at the black 16GB model, and makes it clear just how crazy things were in Apple’s stores yesterday…

Thanks to Vince from Slashgear.com for all the help!

There’s a new kid on the Webmail block - GMX.com. GMX Internet Services, Inc. claims to have over 10 million Internet mail accounts, and has attracted 100,000 users in the beta testing of their new webmail service. Built with a lot of AJAX features, the GMX interface resembles Outlook and Hotmail more than Gmail or even Yahoo Mail, and sports 5GB of storage.

Here are my initial thoughts where I compare GMX mainly to Gmail as that’s my primary webmail client.

GMX’s interface isn’t as responsive as Gmail, not that it’s slow, but being a technical user who sometimes can click and type faster than some slow computers can respond, that’s a negative. However, if you’ve ever used any kind of e-mail client before, you’ll find it relatively easy to get up to speed on this one.

There are no ads visible, although that could change if this service really takes off. Obviously Gmail is funded by ads, but they rarely bother me, and I even sometimes find them useful.

GMX’s #1 feature that they tout is their 7 layers of spam and virus checking. Now they are not clear on what those 7 layers involve, and there’s very little that you can do to change the settings except to have blacklists and whitelists of e-mail addresses and to turn off the spam protection. I don’t understand why that’s an option.

GMX allows you to pull in your e-mail from other e-mail accounts and an additional plus here is that that mail gets scanned by their virus and spam filters as well.

5GB is great, but so far it’s not growing like Gmail or close to the 7GB I currently have. I also hate the fact that so many operations open up new windows.

Now is a great time to get in as you’ll probably get the username(@gmx.com) that you want. Overall, GMX appears to be a pretty solid webmail service, although I can’t vouch for their reliability as of yet. However, having become a power Gmail user, what with my Greasemonkey extensions and all, I’m not even in the least bit tempted to switch.

Posted in Computers, Networking & Internet

by Paul Miller, posted Jul 12th 2008 at 1:01PM

Sony Style is running a rather large teaser on its main page, featuring a quite distinctive power button and the blurb “Performance / Style / Mobility. Redefined.” Hrm. We wonder what it could be?

[Thanks, Mathias S.]

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Filed under: Laptops

Microsoft has decided to drop the price on the Xbox 360 console by $50. You can now pick up a console bundle at a Target store for $299.99.

• Bundle Includes HD A/V Cable
• Includes Headset, Ethernet Cable, Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Console
• Features Xbox Live for the Ultimate Broadband Gaming Experience, High-Definition Multimedia Interface, Multimedia Capabilities, Rumble Feature for Realistic Gaming Experience, Wireless Gaming Capabilities, 20GB Hard Drive
• Also Functions as a DVD Player to Watch your Favorite Movies

Posted in Miscellaneous

Macally has introduced a new line of iPhone 3G accessories that will definitely enhance the looks of your spanking new iPhone 3G - assuming you actually took the trouble to line up for one. This new line will feature new design elements that fit the latest iphone snugly like a well-fitted glove, offering a tight protective shield all around. More details on the individual accessories are available after the jump.

Bella (Protective leather case for iPhone 3G) - Available in either black leather (Part #: BellaP) and white (Part # :BellaPW) to match the new dual color options of the iPhone 3G, the Bella protective leather cases features a stitch-seamed Nappa leather front with a high-density, soft and durable back panel to blend with a range of urban and casual fashion and accessories. It provides additional protection for the iPhone 3G from the inside with a microsuede interior. This case is finished off with a dark brushed metal carabiner for clipping on belts, purses and back packs. It comes with a neck lanyard and a scratch-resistant protective screen overlay. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the Bella cases for iPhone 3G are $19.99.

Metro (Protective snap-on cover for iPhone 3G) - This protective cover is made of highly durable rubberized plastic and snaps on to the iPhone 3G, locking it securely in place. The heat resistance ABS material offers a superlative surface quality, colorfastness and luster and gives the Metro a feel of rigidity, making it highly slip-resistant and comfortable to carry. The Metro’s ultra-slim design is only 1mm thick, so it complements the sleek design of the new iPhone 3G. It comes with a scratch-resistant protective screen overlay. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for the Metro case in black (part#: MetroP) or white (part #: MetroPW) is $19.99.

MClip and IceCase for iPhone 3G – These highly functional and sleek protective belt clip holsters swivel for vertical or horizontal position on the belt. Once unclipped they also act as a stand with adjustable angles for viewing video or for use with speaker phone. Both the MCLIP2P and ICECASEP were specifically designed to ensure the new curved back of the iPhone 3G would fit snuggly into the clip and hold it firmly in place. The MClip offers a stylish black rubberized finished design and the IceCase offers a hip clear design to show off the new iPhone 3G. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for the MClip (part #: MCLIP2P) and IceCase (part #: ICECASEP) cases are $19.99.

MCase (Protective slip-on leather case for iPhone 3G) – Offers an easy “slip-up” opening designed for users to easily dock the iPhone 3G without having to remove the case. This durable hard leather case protects the iPhone from bumps and scrapes. Cutouts provide easy access to all controls and ports, while the micro-suede inner lining delivers enhanced cushioning. This case also comes with an optional scratch-resistant overlay protective film covering, ensuring the iPhone 3G stays in mint condition. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for the MCase (part #: MCASE2P) is $19.99.

MSuit - Offering a flexible thicker shock absorbing silicon, ribbed surface design and included scratch-resistant overlay, this hard working silicon case provides ultimate protection for the iPhone 3G against bumps and drops. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for the MSuitP case is $12.99.

Privacy Screen Protective Overlay for iPhone 3G – Designed to ensure privacy from any angle, It offers a unique privacy screen overlay so others can’t see what is on the iPhone 3G screen of the user. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for the Privacy Screen Overlay (part #: IP-PH806) is $9.99.

Mirror Finish Screen Protector for iPhone 3G – Offers a mirror finish screen protector, when the iPhone 3G is turned off, all users see is a sleek mirror finish. When the device is turned on it looks like an ordinary screen, yet this mirror screen protector offers full time protection against dust, oil and scratches to iPhone 3G’s screen. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for this mirror screen protector (part #:IP-PH807) is $9.99.

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The iphone 3G is a worthy upgrade, but is it worth $200 and a two-year contract? In the debut episode of the Gadget Lab videoblog, Wired editors Dylan Tweney and Joe Brown debate the new features and value of the summer’s hottest handset.

Video not working? Click here to view the it: Hands-On With the iPhone 3G

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jul 12th 2008 at 8:02AM

Microsoft has had its share hits and misses as far as product design goes, but this Arc Mouse due this winter looks to be a slick little input device. Wireless and collapsible, the Arc Mouse promises to combine both portability and style for those of you on the “fashion edge” (their words, not ours). Hyperboles aside, this $59.95 optical jobby seems to be the real thing, and comes in both red and black. Look for it for the holiday season littering holiday gift guides.

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Filed under: Peripherals