Kindle beware: there’s a new wireless-toting ebook reader on the scene. The Barnes & Noble nook packs not only the backing of a serious retailer but some interesting design and usability features like ebook loaning, dual displays and touchscreen navigation. The mere promise has been enough for holiday demand to exceed supply, but does the nook experience live up to hype? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
We’ve had two QWERTY Nokia smartphones on the SlashGear test-bench this past week, and the surprising thing is how differently the respective user experience is. Our Nokia E72 review went live earlier today; now we turn to the Nokia N97 mini, viewed by many – for better or for worse – as the Finnish company’s second attempt at the N97. Second-time lucky or still well short? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
While many scoffed at the idea of Nokia building a netbook, the idea does have its share of merits. After all, the Finnish company knows a few things about eking out runtimes from compact batteries, and with netbooks being perhaps the most likely of computing devices to be in search of mobile connectivity, stuffing them with the sort of wireless access your high-end Nokia boasts certainly makes sense. Throw in eye-catching design and you’re onto a winner, right? Unfortunately, we’ve found the Nokia Booklet 3G falls short in other areas; check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
We may be giving Sony Ericsson a darn good scolding on the one hand for their XPERIA X10 hijinks, but we’re a little more interested by their new WebSDK for Android and Symbian Foundation devices. The Sony Ericsson WebSDK promises a metaphorical hand-holding for developers hoping to have their wares nestle up against the company’s own apps, whether that be on the XPERIA X10 or the SE Satio. It’s called Nexus, seemingly the official title for the UX platform Sony Ericsson were talking about with regards the X10.
It used to be that only the smallest, most frugal of netbooks – paired with huge, 9-cell batteries – could offer the reassurance of a full day away from an outlet. Now, with the advent of Intel’s consumer ultra-low voltage processors, notebooks that wouldn’t look out of place on a regular desk can now boast lengthy run-times too. Into the fray steps the Gateway EC5409u, distinguishing itself not only by virtue of healthy battery life predictions – up to 8hrs, Gateway ambitiously suggest – but a reasonably-sized 15.6-inch display. Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
Nokia’s Booklet 3G isn’t the only new device from the company on our test bench today; two of the Finn’s newest smartphones have also arrived, in the shape of the N97 mini and the E72. Announced back in September and June, respectively, each offers a full QWERTY keyboard and S60 OS, but in strikingly different ways. Check out our unboxing videos, live galleries and some first impressions after the cut.
We’ve seen it teased and we’ve seen the first photos, but today Dell is finally giving us the skinny (pun intended) on the thinnest notebook ever – the Dell Adamo XPS. The 9.99 mm thin notebook, which will be shipping in time for the holidays, will inevitably be compared to Apple’s Macbook Air and no doubt it is thinner, but the starting $1,800 price tag won’t make it cheaper.
After the cut: Dell Adamo XPS hands-on impressions, gallery, and video
It’s fair to say that the last time we saw excitement to this degree about a Windows Phone it centered on the HTC Touch HD, and so it seems only right that it’s the company’s successor to that handset, the HTC HD2, that is prompting such interest in 2009. Announced last month after copious rumors, what makes the HD2 special is its 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, HTC Sense UI and 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. It’s taken a while, but the HTC HD2 has finally dropped onto the SlashGear test bench, so check out our first impressions and an unboxing video after the cut.
Updated with first-boot video demo after the cut
There’s no doubting that multitouch is a key buzzword of today, and with the arrival of Windows 7 PCs gain at least software support for two-fingered control. Lenovo have responded by updating their well-esteemed ThinkPad X200 Tablet with Windows 7 and a new, multitouch-friendly display, the former as standard and the latter a paid option. Has the technology come of age, or is it a case of hype overtaking substance? Check out the SlashGear review after the cut.
Sprint and Palm have announced launch details for the second webOS smartphone, the Palm Pixi. The candybar handset – which we played with back in September – will arrive on the CDMA network in the US come November 15th, priced from $99.99 after $150-worth of instant and mail-in rebates, and presuming a new, two-year agreement.
SlashGear Japan
