To understand the N97 mini, you have to put it into context with the original N97 it’s a “miniaturised” version of. The Nokia N97 practically epitomises the difficulty in balancing hype, consumer anticipation, cutting-edge hardware and delivery schedules: when it was first announced in December 2008 it promised a compelling package of the latest in smartphone technology, but by the time it hit reviewers’ hands in June 2009 it proved to fall well short of expectations.

Since then Nokia have pushed out a significant new firmware release that addressed many issues with the original smartphone, and of course they’ve also delivered the N97 mini, a more compact version of the N97 intended to address many of its shortcomings. We pulled no punches in our N97 review, so the N97 mini has plenty of work to do in order to impress us.

Physically, as you might imagine, it’s a smaller phone. The original N97 is 117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9 mm, tipping the scales at 150g, while the N97 mini is 113 x 52.5 x 14.2 mm and 138g. That means there’s less room for the display – which slips from 3.5- to 3.2-inches, though sticks at 640 x 360 resolution – but it also means it’s a far more pocket-friendly handset. Interestingly, there are minimal hardware concessions involved elsewhere: the N97 mini doesn’t have a sliding lens cover, but it does keep the 5-megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-LED flash, together with a front-facing camera for video calling. The GPS and A-GPS are still present, together with ambient light, orientation and proximity sensors, and connectivity doesn’t fall short either: the N97 mini is packed with quadband WCMDA 850/900/1900/2100 as well as Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, WiFi b/g, a microUSB 2.0 connection and a 3.5mm headphones socket.

Nokia N97 mini unboxing video:

You also still get the unusual form-factor, with a sliding-tilting display that is strongly spring-loaded. That reveals the redesigned keyboard, the biggest change of which is the removal of the D-pad on the left and the introduction of four regular arrow keys. We were scathing in our feedback of the N97’s keyboard, criticising its lack of travel and poor finger-feedback; the N97 mini’s ‘board is better, with buttons that are certainly more responsive than on its bigger sibling, while the missing D-pad means there’s less reaching to be done with the left thumb. Still, it’s not a home-run by any stretch of the imagination and there’s a sluggishness to the response that makes typing feel slower than on other hardware keyboards. Nokia have increased the size of the spacebar – which is still offset, and sits just underneath where your right thumb rests – and the function key is better placed on the far left rather than the far right.

Unfortunately you’re still stuck with the one-position screen angle, which is results in plenty of hand-tilting as you try to thumb-type and see the display at the best angle. The touchscreen itself uses a resistive panel rather than the currently fashionable capacitive, but is reasonably responsive and accurate nonetheless. OS is S60 5th edition, Nokia’s attempt to bring finger-friendliness to Symbian, and it remains a mixed bag. The recent firmware 2.0 update for the N97 also applies to the N97 mini, and addresses many of our original complaints, particularly in terms of the visual appeal and the introduction of “kinetic scrolling”.

It’s still not as attractive as, say, Palm’s webOS or the iPhone, and many of the menus still seem to merely be bigger – i.e. finger-sized – than they were before. Lists continue to respond differently to taps depending on whereabouts in the OS you are: settings, for instance, usually respond to a single tap, whereas lists of items (such as email messages) take one tap to select and another to open. We can partly see the logic in this, but when other platforms use the more intuitive press-and-hold to deliver the same, Nokia’s system begins to look unnecessarily fiddly.

The display aspect is less than ideal too, particularly when you’re dealing with emails. We can’t find any way to show the email list with sender and subject split across two lines, and as such you get both a sharply truncated name and very little of the subject line. It’s difficult to triage your inbox without actually going into the message itself, which adds a few unwanted steps to the process. On the plus side, the N97 mini does have extensive email account support, including the basic POP and IMAP together with Mail for Exchange, and where the E72 dropped the ball in dealing with our Exchange-like Kerio Mail Server, the mini handled it with no problems whatsoever. We did experience a couple of odd connection issues, however, where the smartphone would “forget” by which method it was meant to pull in new emails; we wish Nokia would make things a little more straightforward, using whatever the active connection is (whether WiFi or 3G) without the user needing to be so prescriptive.

Like the E72, the N97 mini’s browser supports full HTML with in-page Flash video, which means no separate app is required to play back YouTube content (among others). Of course there’s still no multitouch zooming, and instead the N97 mini uses double-tap to zoom; unfortunately webpage text doesn’t reflow accordingly, and despite the accelerometer the screen orientation doesn’t flip even if you turn the phone on its side, you have to push out the keyboard in order to get a landscape view. Still, pages render pretty much as you’d expect from a desktop browser.

Firmware 2.0 also brought with it the latest version of Nokia Maps, and as with the E72 it’s been a pleasing experience seeing what the rivals of Google Maps have come up with. The N97 mini includes a digital compass and locks onto a GPS signal quickly, while the app itself does a better job than its rival in presenting that data on-screen. Various map-types are provided, including a traffic overlay, and it’s just as easy to pull up walking directions as it is driving (though once the trial licence of pedestrian directions runs out, you’ll need to pay for the functionality). There are still no spoken guidance prompts, however, unlike the Google Maps Navigation beta for Android in the US.

Nokia have won many admirers over the past year or two with the quality of their cameras, and the N97 mini’s 5-megapixel autofocus shooter is reasonable. Our general dislike of LED flashes – which we find have a very narrow “sweet spot” outside of which they either over-saturate the subject or prove hopelessly lacking in power – is tempered by decent low-light performance with the flash switched off. Give the N97 mini an outdoor shot however and you’ll find acceptable results; we were also particularly impressed by the macro close-ups, with the phone automatically switching into the necessary mode to keep nearby subjects in crisp focus. The onboard 8GB of memory is less than the original N97’s 32GB, but slot in a microSD card and you’ll have up to 24GB to play with. You can find sample shots in the gallery below.

The camera will also shoot 30fps 16:9 aspect video in MPEG4 640 x 360 resolution, which turned out to be smooth and reasonably watchable. You can switch on the LED flash to act as a video light, though autofocus no longer works. Once you’ve shot a clip you can upload it to various media sharing sites, including Flickr and Nokia’s own Ovi gallery.

As for consuming media rather than producing it, the N97 mini has the same audio app as on the E72 only with larger, finger-accomodating icons. The interface is lacking in comparison to something like the iPhone, but it’s serviceable and there’s a link directly to Nokia’s Music Store (though not Comes With Music, which the company don’t offer on this handset) for on-device downloads. As with the N97 there’s an FM radio (which requires a wired headset be plugged in) but no FM transmitter; Nokia say the short-range transmitter – handy for in-car use – couldn’t be squeezed into the N97 mini’s reduced casing. Video playback is in a separate app, and consists of a simple folder-browsing UI for local content together with a Video Feeds browser which allows you to access streaming content.

Access to all of these apps is usually through the main menu, called up no matter where you are in the phone by pressing the single hardware button on the fascia. However, like its sibling, the N97 mini’s homescreen is made up of six rectangular widget panels which can be rearranged and edited. Among the options are standard shortcut bars – each offering room for four icons linking to your commonly-accessed apps – as well as frequent contact shortcuts, an AccuWeather forecast widget, Mail for Exchange widget and a clock with links to the alarm settings and calendar. There’s also a Facebook widget which ties into Nokia’s somewhat sluggish Facebook app. This shows galleries, wall posts and offers one-tap access to the camera and on-device gallery so as to make uploading shots easier, but is tardy in its responsiveness – especially when updating the Facebook wall – compared to similar apps on rival platforms.

Phone performance was strong, with the N97 mini tenacious with a signal. We experienced no dropped calls in all of our testing, and both parties reported clear and crackle-free audio. Battery life has proven slightly better than what you’d expect from a current-gen smartphone, capable of going two days with regular use (and judicious use of the peak/off-peak push email settings). Nokia quote up to 430 minutes of GSM talktime (240 minutes of WCDMA) or up to 320 hours of GSM standby (310 hours of WCDMA).

Build quality is better than the N97, with a sturdy case and touches of metal in the screen fascia and battery cover; we’re also quiet fans of the “cherry black” finish (though you can also get the N97 mini in “garnet”). Less impressive is the flex in the plastic screen surround up above the earpiece, though to be fair that’s our only real point of concern about the N97 mini’s construction.

Overall, then, we feel a whole lot warmer toward the Nokia N97 mini than we did toward the original N97. Its slimmed-down design and improved software have taken much of the sting out of ownership, and the compromises – the absence of an FM transmitter and the smaller onboard storage – are minor in comparison to the far better keyboard and sturdier build. Still, none of what it offers is quite a home-run in the smartphone game right now; the OS is improved but still feels drab and mildly clunky in comparison to rival platforms, and the QWERTY ‘board is a long way off the best we’ve played with in recent months.

Bizarrely, if they’ve beaten anything, Nokia have killed off enthusiasm for the N97; the two handsets will go on sale alongside each other, and the UK store even has the N97 mini at £429 and the original at £449. Having lived with the N97 mini we’re not sure why anybody would plump for the original, frankly. As for the mini itself, we must admit to being more enthusiastic about the Maemo OS and its potential than we are about this current device. Nokia obviously have some good ideas left in them, but the N97 mini feels like what the original N97 should have been, rather than a new product in its own right.

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The E72 is certainly a handsome handset, and reasonably compact for something offering a full QWERTY keyboard. It measures in at 114 x 58.3 x 10.1 mm and weighs 128g, and Nokia have been lavish with their use of metal trim: both the fascia surround and the battery cover are fingerprint-collecting chrome. Up top there’s a 3.5mm headphones socket and the power button, while the left side has a microUSB port and microSD slot hidden behind fiddly plastic covers. On the right there are volume keys flanking a voice-command shortcut button; unlike other Nokias there’s no camera shortcut. Around the back lurks the 5-megapixel camera and LED flash.

Nokia E72 unboxing video:

Of most interest to frequent messagers, however, is the keyboard, and we’ve been surprise at just how usable the E72’s QWERTY actually is. The keys are small – around the size of a tictac, in fact – but their pronounced domed pads and practically perfect tactile feel add up to a ‘board that’s incredibly satisfying to use. We’ve been switching between using the E72 and the Nokia N97 mini, and the key layout of the Eseries device is far preferable; commonly used punctuation, including @, ? and ! don’t require a shift or function modifier, and while the space bar is only double-width it’s broad enough in context.

Across the middle of the phone there’s a row of control keys, borrowing the layout we’ve already seen from the Nokia E55. Home, calendar, contacts and messaging shortcuts are sandwiched in-between the left and right softkeys and the call/end buttons, while in the middle there’s a four-way D-pad and center-select button. New to the E72 is an optical trackpad, however: brushing your finger across the center pad is recognized as directional control. We’ve had middling success with such navigation systems on other handsets but the E72’s system is reasonably useful, being neither too sensitive nor too blunt in its responsiveness. Still, you can dig into the settings and turn it off if you find it offensive.

Up top there’s a glass-covered 2.36-inch 320 x 240 QVGA display, and we’re disappointed that Nokia didn’t squeeze in something more impressive. The panel is capable of 16.7m colors, though the default business theme – which makes heavy use of coffee-shaded browns – does little to show that off. We’ll lay part of the blame at the S60 3rd Edition FP2 (3.2.3) OS; while we don’t subscribe to the increasingly common attitude that S60 deserves to be consigned to the junk heap, we do wish Nokia had put in some more effort to give users the impression they’re dealing with a modern, up to date platform.

Part of that experience is hampered by usability confusion, likely a non-issue to those staunch Nokia addicts who are upgrading to the E72 from its well-esteemed E71 predecessor, but which presents stumbling blocks to those fresh to the platform. Little things, like managing WiFi network and cellular connections, were less obvious than Android, webOS and the iPhone OS make it; mockingly obvious to those familiar with the ways of S60, but a headache to everybody else.

Since messaging is the name of the E72’s game, there’s plenty of account type support onboard. Basic POP and IMAP4 are of course accounted for, together with Nokia Messaging, ActiveSync, Lotus Notes Traveller and Mail for Exchange. Several accounts can be active simultaneously, including using different poling settings – your personal email account, for instance, can be set to check every few hours, while your corporate account is pushed – and you can pin different accounts to the homescreen depending on whether you’re viewing the “business” or “personal” layout.

In general it all works well, though we did have some issues with our Kerio Mail Server system (which usually smartphones – including the N97 mini, curiously – simply handle as an Exchange server) and the E72’s Mail for Exchange app. Unfortunately it seems this is an issue with Nokia’s implementation, rather than something Kerio can change, and we ended up using IMAP instead. If you’re planning to use the E72 with your corporate email account, it’s worth checking out what exact setup they have to avoid headaches down the line.

The E72 isn’t short on connectivity, with quadband GSM and three versions of the handset covering various combinations of WCDMA HSDPA/HSUPA. There’s also WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, together with UPnP and PictBridge support. Flash is supported in the browser, which means you can view streaming YouTube videos, and while the UI might not be as streamlined as on Webkit-based rival devices, page layouts were rendered pretty much just as on a desktop browser. Nokia Maps also has a few usability differences to the Google Maps app many are used to from their cellphones, but once you’re past the UI it’s a strong navigation offering. Copious keyboard shortcuts keep menu-surfing to a minimum, and features like easy map-panning are things we’ve longed for in Google Maps. It’s also possible to grab screenshots of the current map view, which can then be sent in emails or MMS messages. GPS locks were speedy and accurate, and there’s a digital compass with a more useful in-map display than, say, Street View on Android devices.

Nokia have squeezed a 5-megapixel camera into the E72, and the optics slightly protrude from the rear panel of the phone. It lacks the Carl Zeiss lens commonly found on Nseries handsets, but there’s still an LED flash and autofocus. Normal photos in natural light are good, if a little on the cool side with regards color balance, but with reasonably fine detail and no odd fringing or the like. However despite the close-up mode setting switched on, macro shots proved blurry and disappointing. The LED flash is bright but prone to washing out nearby items; we do like being able to use it as an impromptu torch (by holding down the spacebar) however.  There are full-sized camera samples in the gallery below.

Media playback is functional if not especially appealing, with the native PMP app filtering tracks by artist, album, genre and composer (and the microSD card hot-swappable), while sound quality is reasonably once you plug in a set of aftermarket headphones. There’s also Bluetooth A2DP support, for wireless headphones, but you’ll need a wired headset plugged in to use the FM radio (it uses it as the antenna). Access to the Nokia Music Store (though not Comes With Music) is preloaded via a shortcut in the media menu (though browser based) and you can download tracks over 3G or WiFi connections. Video playback is via a separate app, which also supports streaming video feeds, and though the UI is basic it’s nonetheless functional and reasonably loud through the built-in speaker.

You’d hope a business-centric device like the E72 would perform well at voice-calls, and happily it puts in a strong showing. Basic calls revealed decent audio for both parties, while there’s a front-facing VGA-quality camera for video calling and SIP VoIP 3.0 support for compatible internet-based services. A Skype app is also available in the Ovi store (which is reasonably well populated but falls short of the iPhone App Store when it comes to ease of navigation and accuracy of search results). The voice dialling works well for a non-trained system, picking out our intended contact each time then moving through the default communication method with pauses to allow you to scroll through the list and pick something or someone different.

Battery life is rated as up to 12.5hrs GSM talktime (5hr 54m of WCDMA; 13hr 42m of VoIP) or up to 492hrs GSM standby (576hrs WCDMA; 110hrs VoIP) from the standard 1,500mAh battery. While we didn’t quite see those sort of times, we were impressed by the E72’s longevity. We’re used to charging smartphones nightly, lest they expire midway through the following day, but the E72 could happily go a couple of days in-between rejuicings. That’s with regularly polling email and both WiFi and 3G switched on; you’ll be able to eke out even more runtime by adjusting the peak/off-peak messaging settings and shutting off the various wireless radios when you’re not using them. When iPhone (and other device) owners are crossing their fingers that they’ll get through a whole day without resorting to a Mophie-style battery case, the E72 makes a strong case for itself merely on its relative frugality.

Still, we can’t imagine many mainstream users bypassing the iPhone or other eye-catching handsets in favor of the Nokia E72, and that’s a real shame. It’s one of the most successful messaging devices this side of a BlackBerry when it comes to hardware keyboard performance, pushing even successful onscreen keyboards with killer auto-correction into the shade. There may not be as much screen-space for the browser or Nokia Maps to shine, but each performs well; we wouldn’t buy the E72 for either, certainly, but neither will we particularly criticise them. The camera is a mixed bag, and falls short of the promise of Nokia’s recent Nseries cameraphones, while media handling is serviceable but not especially inspiring.

If you prioritise messaging above all else, though, and want a compact but highly usable device with a strong QWERTY keyboard, the E72 makes an excellent case for itself. We’re not convinced that S60 requires retiring quite yet – though we wouldn’t argue with a usability refresh – and spend a little time setting up VoIP and you’ve got a decent internet phone that hardly needs to step near a cellular network. Niche? Certainly, but we’ll be comparing hardware cellphone keyboards to the E72 for some time to come.

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With no wireless to consider, the spec list for the EZ Reader is pretty straightforward. The 6 x 4.1 x 0.4 inch device is smaller than the average paperback novel, and just leaves room for a 5-inch 600 x 800 E Ink display and a few rows of shortcut buttons. Onboard storage is 512MB but there’s an SD card slot content with up to 16GB cards (and a USB 2.0 connection to make transferring files straightforward). The underlying OS is Linux, running on a Samsung ARM 9 400MHz processor; it’s certainly nippy enough that any page navigation delay is a side-effect of the e-paper rather than the system itself. Battery on the unit is user replaceable and provides roughly two weeks of reading time.

As you’d hope, there’s a broad range of format support for ebooks (and other files). The EZ Reader will display ADE, PDF, TXT, PDB, DOC, HTML, FB2, LIT, EPUB and PRC ebook files, together with BMP, JPG, TIF, PNG and GIF images, while there’s also a mediaplayer that will load MP3 files and play them in the background as you read. Astak have also built in some fancy text reflowing technology which handles PDF text reasonably well, even when the original document wasn’t really intended for ebook reader use, and there’s text-to-speech which is as clunky as you’d expect (but no doubt interesting to some users).

There’s no QWERTY keyboard or touchscreen, but given you’ll only be using the hardware controls to navigate files already on the EZ Reader, rather than accessing some sort of wireless ebook store, that’s less of an issue. Both right- and left-handed use is accommodated, using either page back/forward keys (on the left) or a scroll-wheel (on the right). At 6oz it’s easy to hold in one hand, and to do so for reasonably extended periods.

What sets the EZ Reader apart from some rivals is in its reading flexibility. Not only does it come with multiple language support – including English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and more – you can install your own fonts to use rather than the default set. At least three zoom levels are available, and the E Ink panel seemed to boast better contrast than Amazon’s second-gen Kindle, with text looking blacker and more defined.

Amazon have spent big money on their Kindle UI, and the shortcomings of the EZ Reader are obvious after even a brief play. Lists are navigated via the numbered keys under the display (you bizarrely can’t use the jog-wheel on the side to scroll through them) and there’s more digging through menus than we’d like. Still, we’re guessing the sort of audience who’ll buy something like this Astak will be slightly more tech-savvy than, say, a Kindle buyer; they’ll need to understand how to side-load content, after all.

It’s easy to knock ebook readers that don’t include wireless connectivity; after all, an integrated 3G hook-up means you’re more than halfway to an eye-catching headline. Still, what it actually means is that there’s no one-click way to wireless spend money at a specific ebook store, and for many users that’s not something they actually want or need. In fact, there are plenty of reasons – cost being just one of them – where relying on the flexibility of side-loading content makes perfect sense.

The Astak EZ Reader doesn’t exactly grab the eye like a Kindle or Barnes and Noble Nook, but it’s reasonably flexible. The display may be compact at 5-inches, but that allows the device as a whole to be particularly portable; after all, just as the best camera is the one you have with you, the best ebook reader is the one you always drop into your bag as you leave the house. Our biggest disappointment is that Astak haven’t done some extra work to bring the price down: at $199 it’s close to Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s ebook reader offerings, and we reckon if the company undercut those by $100 or so then they’d have a decent competitor on their hands.

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Physically, the Booklet 3G is bordering on Apple-levels of attractiveness. The brushed aluminum chassis is solid and the plastic side-inserts feel high quality. We’re still not convinced by the plastic top plate on the outside of the lid, and would prefer plain metal, but that’s a minor aesthetic issue with a generally very good looking netbook. As you can see in our unboxing video, ports include power, one USB 2.0, SIM and SD along the right-hand side, together with power and a speaker, and HDMI, two USB 2.0 and a headset socket along the left-hand side, together with the second speaker. Underneath there’s the large removable battery and four rubber feet, with Nokia showing admirable restraint in their labelling.

Nokia Booklet 3G unboxing video:

Open it up, and there’s a 10.1-inch 1,280 x 720 LED-backlit display behind a glass panel. There’s no anti-glare coating to the glass, but it does have – on our review unit at least – a slightly fuzzy finish that’s absent on other glass-fronted laptop displays. Given the size of the lid and the aspect ratio of the LCD – which Nokia tell us is specially made for them – the panel does look a little dwarfed by the black surround; there’s a little too much blank space underneath it for our liking.

Above the display is a 1.3-megapixel webcam, while below it is a moderately cramped keyboard. The chiclet keys aren’t the most comfortable on a netbook that we’ve tried, but are still usable for pecking out emails and editing documents. The trackpad feels unnecessarily cramped, however, and the mouse buttons feel cheap and overly clicky. Integrated into the screen hinge is a row of status LEDs indicating – left to right – Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G activity, together with sleep, battery and mains-power status. Nokia have also been pleasantly lavish with their shortcut buttons, with the F-keys doubling as music track controls, volume, brightness and wireless connectivity toggles.

OS is Windows 7 – either Starter or Home Premium – and Nokia have tried to bring a little cellphone magic across too. The Ovi Suite app download store and Social Hub networking app are both available (though you need to download them separately) while tapping the power button while the Booklet 3G is powered on brings up a status window showing battery level, performance mode and shortcuts to standby, restart and power-down. An accelerometer is also embedded inside, though the most we’ve observed it doing is throwing up shake-warnings and parking the hard-drive.

You can’t knock the Booklet 3G’s connectivity. There’s the usual WiFi b/g/n together with Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, as well as GPS/A-GPS and a standard 3G modem. This last element is key to Nokia’s sales strategy, as it means they can tap into carrier subsidies; without it the Booklet 3G is around $600. Opt for a data-plan commitment, however, and in the US you can have the netbook for more like $300, assuming you’re content paying around $60 to AT&T every month for two years for their wireless data package. On the upside you can hot-swap the SIM (i.e. take it out or reinsert it without shutting down the netbook) between phones and other devices.

It’s one of the reasons the Booklet 3G is reasonably contentious, and another is Nokia’s choice of processor. Since they want to promise all-day battery life, Nokia have had to choose an especially frugal CPU, and so have picked Intel’s Atom Z530. While it runs at the same 1.6GHz as the more common Atom N270 it does promise lower power draw, hence the company claiming up to 12 hours use from the 56.8Wh battery. Unfortunately Nokia have paired it with just 1GB of DDR2 memory and a meagre 120GB 4,200rpm hard-drive, both of which fall well short of what we’d like to see on even an entry-level netbook.

It adds up to particularly uninspiring performance, and perhaps the biggest disappointment of the Booklet 3G. Out of the box, running only the 30-day trial of F-Secure Internet Security 2010, Internet Explorer 8 (which is preloaded with Windows 7) is sluggish and frustrating. Navigating even a few tabs is slow, and moving between apps in general is ponderous. Simple things – like adjusting the screen brightness with the shortcut keys – see the backlight respond and then, seconds later, the on-screen meter belatedly pop up. Trying to copy music across from another system highlighted the hard-drive’s woeful lack of speed, while 720p video could – bitrate depending – prove juddery. Considering Nokia bill the Booklet 3G’s display as ideal for 720p HD content, that’s a significant issue. We plugged in a 1080p HDTV via the HDMI connection and were impressed to see the netbook could support (with its own display shut off) Full HD; however 1080p video was a different matter, being pretty much unwatchable.

GeekBench faired no better, with the Nokia Booklet 3G’s raw benchmarking being less than impressive. The netbook managed 773 points overall, over 100 points behind Atom N270 based year-old netbooks such as the ASUS Eee PC 1000H or the MSI Wind U100.

As for battery life, that’s the Booklet 3G’s saving grace. Unsurprisingly we never saw Nokia’s 12 hours, but with WiFi switched on and the display at medium – and comfortable – brightness we saw around 8 to 8.5 hours use before needing to reach for the compact AC adapter. Media playback (with wireless turned off) varied depending on how much CPU crunching was required (there’s no discrete GPU); watch solely lightweight clips and you might see closer to 10 hours. However Flash video – even standard resolution YouTube clips – was tardy to load and chugged through power.

The subset of users to whom the Nokia Booklet 3G is suited is relatively narrow, then. While the wireless connectivity is certainly there in spades, the actual browsing experience is slower than on some smartphones we’ve tested. Meanwhile video playback is acceptable only with certain clips, which is the sort of suck-it-and-see limiting factor that makes low-power devices particularly frustrating. If you do little more than browse with one or two tabs open at most and generally need your notebook to churn out text and emails then the Booklet 3G certainly has the battery life for you; however then it’s the keyboard that rankles.

We want to love the Booklet 3G, if only because it looks so good. Problem is, once you turn it on you’re stuck with performance that even the first-gen netbooks generally exceeded, and if that’s frustrating when the Nokia is box-fresh then imagine how you’ll feel when you’re into the second year of your data contract. The downside to that clean, unspoilt chassis is that doing some DIY upgrading is almost certain to invalidate your warranty; no core part of the Booklet 3G is intended to be user-accessible. It’s tough to imagine a user who would be satisfied for the next 24 months with the Booklet 3G’s abilities, and we’re left hoping Nokia sell just enough of them to green-light the next-gen model that will hopefully up the performance.

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The X510’s case is pretty much the same as that of the EX487, which means a compact tower unit with a full front door that reveals four 3.5-inch drive bays. There are three USB 2.0 ports on the rear panel (one on the front) together with an eSATA (which will now work as a port multiplier, rather than with just one external drive) and gigabit ethernet port, and as with the EX487 the OS is Windows Home Server. Perhaps the biggest difference is that HP offer three configurations of the X510 Data Vault: a 1TB model (with a single 1TB hard-drive), a 2TB model (with two 1TB drives; this is the unit HP have sent us for review) and a 3TB model (with two 1.5TB drives). The packaging is plain cardboard rather than the Home Server’s retail-friendly color box, and inside you get the power cord, CAT6 ethernet cable and quick-start guide, together with media for software installation server recovery and PC restore.

Where the EX487 got a 2.0GHz Intel Celeron 440, the X510 steps up to a faster 2.5GHz Pentium dual-core along with 2GB of RAM. Setup is straightforward, though frustrating since it requires a Windows PC – that’s despite Windows Home Server being compatible with Windows, OS X and Linux machines once everything is installed. The software is pretty much identical to that of the EX487, though HP have tweaked the UI to focus more on the sort of functionality small businesses might prioritize.

That means there’s less emphasis on media streaming and sharing – though of course that functionality is still present – and more on remote access, securing data and backing up. HP refer to this as “Store it. Secure it. Share it.” and the X510 does all three, though it’s worth noting that some of the methodology is different from how a regular, less intelligent backup system might do things.

For instance, Windows Home Server will do RAID-style spanning of drives for increased data security, but it’s not the same RAID as you’ll find in regular backup systems. Instead you’re pretty much buying into the Microsoft way of doing things: new drives (either replacements or, since there are at least two bays empty, additions) are automatically installed and managed by WHS. It’s a more hands-off solution than many will be used to, and while that might strike fear into the hearts of more advanced system admins, the sort of target audience in the market for the X510 Data Vault will find it music to their ears. We’d recommend reading our original EX487 review for a run-down of exactly what WHS is capable of.

As we were with the MediaSmart EX487, we’re impressed with the StorageWorks X510 Data Vault. It’s quiet in operation, straightforward to install – assuming you have a Windows PC to hand – and, with MRSPs of $699, $859 and $999 for the 1TB, 2TB and 3TB models respectively, is priced pretty much in line with other four-bay backup servers. In fact, given the faster processor and more capable eSATA port, if you can find the X510 for a decent price we’d plump for it over the EX487, even as a home user. The packaging may be plain, but the X510 Data Vault’s functionality is anything but.

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Given that Acer acquired Gateway back in 2007, it comes as little surprise that the EC54’s hardware design and build quality are pretty much on a par with Acer’s recent Aspire consumer notebooks. It’s a reasonably stylish, if not especially eye-catching notebook, with a glossy lid that’s guaranteed to pick up fingerprints. While the majority of the chassis is solid, the keyboard does feels a little flimsy; happily the trackpad is pleasantly smooth and responsive.

Inside, Intel’s CULV processors make an appearance, in this case the 1.3GHz Pentium SU4100, paired here with 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 320GB 5,400rpm hard-drive; it comes with Windows 7 Home Premium. While we’re used to seeing the CULV chips show up in 11- to 13-inch ultraportables, it’s a little unusual for them to crop up in a 15.6-inch machine which might more regularly have a mainstream CPU. As a result, the Geekbench benchmarking results aren’t especially impressive: with an overall score of 2105 the EC54 lags slightly behind the 1.4GHz Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T we reviewed four months ago.

In use, however, the SU4100 manages to keep things moving at a reasonable pace, and while we wouldn’t want to tote the EC54 as our video crunching machine it’s nonetheless capable of simultaneous web browsing, media playback and email. Gateway have squeezed in a reasonable amount of connectivity, too, with three USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, multiformat memory card reader and audio in/out, along with a DVD drive. Still, we’d like to have seen eSATA, either as a dedicated port or a combo option with one of the USB 2.0. Wireless is standard WiFi b/g/n, but Bluetooth is an option.

The EC54’s 15.6-inch LED-backlit display runs at 1,366 x 768, and while you would be wise not to expect dramatic things from the GMA 4500MHD graphics chipset, we were at least impressed by the brightness of the panel. While it’s not specifically an “outdoor” screen, we were able – at the higher end of the brightness scale, at least – to use the Gateway outside with no visibility problems. Speakers are reasonably loud and crisp, but as you might expect lack bass.

Gateway rate the EC54 at up to eight hours runtime from the 6-cell 5,600mAh Li-Ion battery. In practice we managed around seven hours of mixed usage, made up of around two hours internet surfing, an hour’s worth of online flash video playback and four hours of Xvid video playback. That’s a decent showing for a 15.6-inch machine, and with more cautious use – or a diet of simple typing rather than video playback, along with shutting the WiFi off and dimming screen brightness – we don’t doubt that you could hit and potentially exceed Gateway’s predictions.

Overall, the Gateway EC54 squeezes into a reasonable niche among CULV notebooks, offering the extended runtime we’d expect from a smaller machine with the larger display from a regular laptop. If you’ve found yourself squinting at 14-inch or smaller models then the 15.6-inches on offer from the Gateway – while not exactly overspilling with pixels – should give your eyes a rest. With an MRSP of $649.99, meanwhile, the impact on your wallet should be pretty painless, too; however, if you err toward performance versus prolonged time away from an outlet, we’d suggest shopping around for more powerful machines that sacrifice a little battery life.

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As you’ll have seen from our unboxing and initial hands-on, the HD2 isn’t exactly a retiring, discrete device. Measuring in at 120.5 x 67 x 11 mm (4.74 x 2.64 x 0.42 inches) it’s long and broad but surprisingly thin; in comparison, the Touch HD is 115 x 62.8 x 12 mm and the iPhone 3GS is 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm, meaning they’re both a little shorter and narrower but actually minutely thicker than the HD2. In the hand it feels even thinner, thanks to the tapering curve of the backplate and the subtly bevelled edges, though it’s a reasonably hefty device at 157g (5.54 oz) compared to the Touch HD’s 147g (5.185oz) and the 3GS’ 135g (4.8oz). As for materials, HTC have used soft-touch plastic for the top and bottom rear panels, broken up by the metal battery cover; it feels an expensive, quality design, and there’s no creaking or flexing. It’s also surprisingly pocketable: we’ve been carrying it in our front jeans pocket with no issues, though it also slips neatly into a jacket pocket, predominantly because of the thinness.

HTC HD2 unboxing:

The expanse of fascia is put to good use with a huge touchscreen, the glass front of which explains some of the HD2’s weight. Considering there’s relatively little difference between the HD2 and the Touch HD face-on, the fact that HTC have squeezed in a 4.3-inch LCD versus the older phone’s 3.7-inches is amazing. As before, it runs at 800 x 480 WVGA, but this time around HTC have used a capacitive panel rather than a resistive one. That means there’s no stylus for pecking at the screen or using handwriting recognition, but HTC have more than made up for the latter’s omission with the addition of multitouch woven through Windows Mobile 6.5. Hardware controls are squeezed down to a single row running along the bottom of the display – talk/send, home, start, back and end/power – with a volume rocker on the left-hand side; unlike other HTC handsets there’s no lock/unlock button on the top edge, with the power key doubling up for that purpose.

It’s hard not to be blown away by the quality of the HD2’s LCD. Colors are incredibly vibrant, edges crisp and pictures incredibly contrast-rich. While we’ll come to HTC Sense’s UI enhancements later, the default weather display – which has migrated from being locked in its tab and now sends clouds, thunder, lightning and rain roaming across the full home pane – is mesmerizing, and the menus have a welcome splash of color compared to TouchFLO 3D’s more monochrome scheme. As for the touch responsiveness, we found the HD2 requires a little more pressure than the iPhone 3GS, but it’s a very minor difference and casual sweeping gestures feel natural and intuitive. Going back to a resistive touchscreen after the HD2, even the decent one on the Touch HD, is a recipe for disappointment.

While the excellent capacitive panel is half of the story, the HD2 owes the rest of its hardware magic to its chipset. Unlike the somewhat tired 528MHz Qualcomm processors we’ve seen in recent HTC models (both in its Windows Mobile and Android ranges) the HD2 gets a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor paired with 512MB of ROM and 448MB of RAM. This isn’t, of course, the first time we’ve seen Snapdragon on a Windows Mobile device – the Toshiba TG01 was first to market with it, though it proved less of a draw than we expected – but it’s the first time we’ve really seen the chipset shine. There’s practically no lag in moving between applications, pages and menus render instantly, and even with a dozen applications running in the background – WinMo6.5 seems as reluctant to automatically close them as its predecessors were – there’s no slow-down.

Connectivity comes as no disappointment either. The HD2 supports quadband GSM (850/950/1800/1900) and dualband HSPA/WCDMA 900/2100 in its Europe/Asia-Pacific form, though HTC promise the latter will be tweaked for US bands when it arrives in North America early in 2010. There’s also WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (with pretty much all the profiles you might want, including A2DP stereo audio) and – for the first time on an HTC Windows Phone – a microUSB port rather than the company’s own, proprietary ExtUSB connector. On the base, next to the USB port, is a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

There are also plenty of other sensors stuffed inside, with GPS, a digital compass and an accelerometer. Meanwhile an ambient light sensor and proximity sensor both cluster up by the earpiece, used to automatically adjust the screen backlight and turn the panel on or off when you’re holding it to your face during a conversation. Finally, on the back there’s a 5-megapixel autofocus camera and a dual-LED flashlight, though you don’t get a dedicated camera shortcut key.

Even with all that connectivity, even with the excellent touchscreen and decent build-quality, with Windows Mobile 6.5 alone the HD2 wouldn’t succeed. What makes the key difference is HTC’s work on augmenting, tweaking and – in various places – completely replacing Microsoft’s native UI with their own. On the HD2 it’s called HTC Sense, and it borrows much of the UI work that the company did to such good effect on the HTC Hero Android smartphone. Sense, HTC have previously explained to us, is the culmination of three or more years’ work fettling mobile interfaces, and it’s what differentiates the company as probably the key Windows Mobile licensee right now.

The Hero’s menu structure hasn’t been wholly dragged over to the HD2. Instead, much of what’s familiar from various iterations of TouchFLO 3D is still in place, only brought neatly up to date. The homescreen still consists of various tabs, navigated either by dragging the control bar along the bottom of the screen or, more simply, swiping with a finger or thumb to the left or the right. This latest version has Home, People, Messages, Mail, Internet, Calendar, Stocks, Photos & Videos, Music, Weather, Footprints, Twitter and Settings panes, most of which have been modified in some way from their previous formats. With the exception of Home you can rearrange or hide any tab.

With all the extra screen real-estate to play with, we’re glad to see HTC have reworked the panes to offer more information. The home tab gets the usual large clock with a small weather preview integrated, with a small calendar preview box for imminent events and the next scheduled alarm directly underneath. Finally, there’s a row of three user-assignable shortcut buttons, and you can drag the screen up to reveal several more. These can be linked to apps, webpages or individuals for instant speed-dial. Tapping on the main clock takes you to the world clock, while tapping the calendar or alarm boxes takes you through to either the calendar tab or the alarm control respectively.

The People, Messages, Mail, Calendar, Stocks and Internet tabs have all gained more shortcuts or bigger previews, to suit the larger display, as has the Photos & Videos tab. The Weather tab shows a full five-day forecast – today’s weather up-top, the next four days in a row underneath – and offers the same shortcut access to a weather site as previously. The Music pane is little changed but the controls are larger and more finger-friendly.

Footprints is HTC’s geotagging app, and as we’ve seen on other devices it’s a reasonably useful tool if you like to maintain a record of where you’ve been. It allows you to snap a photo – embedded with your GPS position – and then add voice notes, text and a star rating to remind you about that location at a later date. We still wish HTC would add some sort of comprehensive sharing feature, which would allow you to swap points-of-interest with other Footprints users, or even have them flagged up whenever the phone spots you’re near a Footprint memory that someone else has “left behind”.

Twitter, meanwhile, is the same HTC Peep client from Android, and it works fairly well. As well as showing your Twitter stream in the homescreen pane, you can also tap into the app and then swipe across to see @ replies, direct messages and any starred tweets that you’ve marked as a favorite. It’s possible to respond directly from Peep, as well as send direct messages or tweet your location, though you can only have one account logged in at any one time. You can also see other users’ profiles, browse their recent messages and follow/unfollow them from the Peep UI. Updates can be set to manual or at regular intervals, though the most frequent is every five minutes, and you can choose between several settings for the number of tweets to download. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Peep is trying to navigate a long list of messages; the kinetic scrolling is relatively slow, and while other apps – such as SMS or email lists – have a handy little drag-tab that you can “pull out” from the right-hand side of the screen with a quick thumb-swipe, then speedily drag up or down, there’s no such thing in Peep. If there’s a way to double-tap to speed to the top of the list, we haven’t found the right place to tap.

HTC have been steadily adding more options to the Settings tab, and on the HD2 it’s now the central place to modify most of the phone’s core functionality rather than merely a shortcut to Windows Mobile’s own menu. The settings button in the regular WinMo Start honeycomb links to this tab too, and you can then go in and play with the wireless settings, change wallpapers and how the screen behaves, and make other tweaks. Like just about all the pop-up and contextual menus we could find, HTC have reskinned the settings pages with large, finger-friendly buttons and kinetic scrolling lists, and there are plenty of easily-controlled toggle switches rather than old-fashioned check-boxes.

There are a few unusual decisions – or, dare we say, remnants of Microsoft’s handiwork – left over, however. For instance, while the Data section of settings allows you to choose how often ActiveSync updates during peak and off-peak times (from instantly, through to every four hours or manually), to actually change what are considered peak/off-peak times you have to go into ActiveSync itself, through the Start menu. Other times it’s unclear where exactly a setting is lurking; the event – new SMS, email, etc – alert dialog has toggle switches for the various sounds, but unless you tap the text itself you might never find that this particular sub-menu leads to a sub-sub-menu where you can change the sound itself.

There’s also none of the widgets we so enjoyed in HTC Sense on the Hero, since the homescreen concept is different between Android and Windows Mobile. While you can have numerous shortcuts to applications – such as the preloaded Facebook app – you can’t add a new pane to the roster and see, say, friends’ status updates direction from the homescreen.

That’s a shame, because Facebook is the other social networking service with which HTC have done the most work to integrate. Like on the Hero, if you choose to log in to Facebook the HD2 will pull in contacts from there and intermingle them with your regular address book. Duplicates are merged (and you can manually connect any the system omits, usually only the case if people have used different names) and from each contact entry you can see their profile pictures and their recent status updates. One missing feature is Flickr integration: the Hero allows you to link a Flickr account with each contact entry, and see those galleries too, but that’s not present on the HD2.

HTC HD2 first-boot:

It’s slick, but even reskinned it’s hard to escape the fact that Windows Mobile lags behind webOS and Android for natively integrating various social networks into the core system. Still, it’s a very usable setup, and coupled with some of the contact linking systems HTC have already used on devices like the Touch Pro2 and Diamond2, which show you recent SMS, email and calls with each contact in different tabs, plus the ability to trigger new conversations by tapping on the contact’s name wherever you see it, and it makes the HD2 far easier to navigate. There’s none of that app-hopping feeling you used to get with Windows Phones.

While there’s no hardware QWERTY keyboard on the HD2, the smartphone’s vast touchscreen means that’s all but negligible. HTC’s reworked on-screen keyboard systems have been carried over from their recent Android devices, and the combination of (individually switchable) auto-correction and word prediction are fantastic. In portrait orientation the keys are ideally sized to hold the HD2 with one hand and peck with one or two fingers on the other; flip into landscape orientation – which is an almost instantaneous rotate – and it’s the perfect layout for two-handed use. Gripping the HD2 with your fingers and reaching over with both thumbs, we’ve found typing on the HTC is quicker than using many hardware keyboards.

Unfortunately, the few issues we’ve had with software on the HD2 have also related to the keyboard. On a couple of occasions we’ve seen strange lag in keys recognising they’ve been pressed: either the tap is missed altogether, or there’s a pause before the HD2 vibrates and the letter appears on-screen. Despite our testing, it’s proved difficult to find replicable situations when this happens, but it mars an otherwise incredible text-entry system. There’s also a bizarre omission of landscape keyboard support in HTC Peep, which undermines a little the HD2’s Twitter-heavyweight status.

If Footprints is to remind you where you’ve been, then Google Maps is to tell you where to go. We wish HTC had access to Google’s latest Maps Navigation beta, as debuted on the Android 2.0 Motorola DROID, but we doubt we’ll see that app – which delivers turn-by-turn directions, voice-prompts, text-to-speech and other niceties – on Windows Mobile any time soon. Instead you’re looking at the same Google Maps install that’s familiar from previous Windows Phones, though don’t underestimate how much easier it is to navigate when you’re working with a 4.3-inch display. Given that some standalone PNDs have smaller panels, that’s quite an advantage. We found the GPS itself to be reasonably accurate, while panning through the maps was only limited by the speed of our connection – the HD2 kept up with all the scrolling, pinch-zooming and screen-rotating we tried, with no delay at all.

Those gestures – and that decent lick of speed – is shared by the browser, aided by the fact that HTC have continued to shun Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer Mobile (which we found struggled to render pages correctly) and instead make Opera Mobile the default. It’s a capable browser on even compact smartphones, so give Opera 4.3-inches to play with and the HD2 web experience really shines. Zooming is impressive whether you double-tap to bring up a block of text or an image – the screen reflowing accordingly – or whether you pinch with multitouch, and pages are quick to load. We ran some comparison tests against the Nokia N900, another device with an excellent browser, and were blown away by the HD2’s rendering speed. As you can see from the table below, with two exceptions the HD2 consistently outperformed the N900 on the same WiFi connection accessing a range of common sites.  It’s worth noting that our timings ran from the moment we hit ‘Go’ to the moment the phone browser stopped loading; you could actually be reading through each page sooner than the total time taken (adverts, in particular, loaded slower than core site content).

Media playback on Windows Phones still lacks the finesse that the iPhone offers, and while HTC Sense does improve the GUI of the HD2’s PMP functionality, it’s still not as intuitive as Apple’s devices. Similarly, loading content either onto the HD2’s internal storage or, more likely, a microSD card isn’t as straightforward as iTunes makes it. This isn’t unique to the HD2 – or even to Windows Mobile – but it’s a frustration all the same. Thankfully once you’ve got your content on the handset, audio and video performance are both excellent. The HD2 manages to squeeze in a reasonable speaker, and the standard 3.5mm headphone jack outputs excellent, hiss-free audio. Video playback is as judder-free and crisp as you’d expect from the Snapdragon processor and 4.3-inch display, respectively.

Photos from the 5-megapixel camera unfortunately look better on the HD2’s display than they do when you get them off-device. We’ve criticised recent handsets from the company for failing to live up to their megapixel count, and sadly the HD2 seems to be continuing the family tradition. Daylight shots show unusual coloring, while night shots suffer by virtue of the LED flash having a relatively narrow breadth of effectiveness. On the other hand, close-up pictures are surprisingly crisp and clear, and those hoping to use the HD2 to send text off to transcription apps such as Evernote and OneNote will be impressed with the results. Touch focus works well, and the camera is quicker to lock focus than any HTC we’ve used in recent memory. There are some sample shots – full-sized and unedited – in the gallery. As for video recording, maximum resolution is 640x 480 and the results are fair, if a little short on crisp focus. We’d still recommend a Flip camcorder or similar over the HD2, but for spontaneous uploads to YouTube the video function should suffice. On that note, such uploads are made very straightforward thanks to HTC Sense’s YouTube integration.

Recent HTC phones have been strong performers when it comes to basic phone tasks, and the HD2 is no different. While it lacks the excellent speakerphone system of the Pro2 – likely because they couldn’t fit in the required microphone array and larger-than-average speaker – it’s nonetheless loud and clear. The proximity sensor, which controls the display while you’re on a call, is quick to act and very useful, and helps avoid those accidental-hang-ups when you inadvertently cut off a call while trying to flick the screen back on. HTC have also added in a few neat uses of the other sensors they have to play with; you can have the HD2 automatically increase ring volume if it thinks it’s in a pocket or bag, and you can also set it to quieten the ring if you pick up the phone, for example while checking caller ID. If you then decide not to answer, flipping the HD2 screen-down onto the desk will silence it. None of it is rocket science, of course, but it adds up to a more intuitive way of interacting with the phone.

Another example of that is the HTC WiFi connection sharing app, which turns the HD2 into a sort of MiFi. While there have been other apps on Windows Mobile and other smartphones which do the same thing – allow you to tether a WiFi client to them, and share the handset’s 3G connection – this new app is particularly more straightforward, automatically securing the connection and prompting you with a passcode. Our only reservation about it is its limit to one WiFi client connected at any time, unlike the Novatel MiFi which supports up to five simultaneously. Still, if you’re short of a WiFi hotspot and have an unlimited data plan, it’s a great way to get online in a pinch.

When we met with HTC at the HD2’s launch, one of our key concerns was the handset’s battery life. CEO Peter Chou assured us that they’d been working to ensure at least a full-day of use from a single charge, but with a relatively compact 1,230mAh battery we had our doubts. In practice, though, the HD2 has proved surprisingly capable, getting us through a day with Exchange push email turned on, frequent web browsing, some media playback, messaging and the occasional call. Nightly charges are par for the course in smartphones right now, and while we’d like a nightstand-friendly docking cradle like some rival handsets are offering, we can’t fault the HD2 for its runtimes.

Speaking of cradles, HTC may not offer a desktop dock but they are planning an in-car holder. That will grip to the dashboard or windshield and, using a replacement battery cover with a special port, hold the HD2 in portrait or landscape orientation. It’ll also trigger a special navigation-themed menu, which has proved otherwise inaccessible despite our exploration of the smartphone. The car cradle for the HD2 won’t be available until December, we’ve heard.

Similarly unclear is the availability of the HD2 itself. HTC announced earlier this week that it was already shipping in Europe, would arrive in Asia come November, and on a “major carrier” in the US in early 2010. Nonetheless, it’s still proving difficult to find, as is a price. Preorder prices in the UK are hovering around the £439 point ($730) SIM-free and unlocked, though obviously contract prices will be lower. In the US, we’d expect this to be at the top end for smartphones, which could be anything from $200 to $400 depending on carrier and wireless plan. HTC are promising more details closer to US launch.

There’s certainly a lot for the HTC HD2 to live up to. Not only does it have the legacy of the game-changing Touch HD hanging over it, it arguably represents the best chance of ongoing success for the Windows Mobile platform, at least among mainstream consumers. The good news is that it’s a tremendously capable device, though the irony is that HTC have had to throw our or rework much of what Microsoft have done in order to get the HD2 to that stage. Windows Mobile 6.5 still lurks underneath, but HTC Sense all but smothers it in a UI that’s intuitive and flexible.

It’s not a perfect smartphone – the camera, for instance falls short of what we’d expect from a flagship handset – but its strengths certainly outweigh its failings. We’d have difficulty overstating how well internet access is handled, and the HD2 could legitimately be called a MID-smartphone crossover; the combination of speed and screen size comfortably place it ahead of phone rivals. Underscoring all that is decent phone performance and the sort of build quality you’d expect for what will be a premium price. Microsoft can breathe a huge sigh of relief, because HTC have just given them the handset that bridges the gap between now and Windows Mobile 7.

HTC HD2 highlights:

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Google, so the rumors go, had quite a hand in the design and development of the DROID, and whether or not that’s true there’s no doubt that many are looking at the smartphone as the de facto flagship of the Android range. The physical design is certainly distinctive, eschewing curves for angular edges that leave the DROID distinctive. We initially compared it to Motorola’s legendary RAZR, and the DROID’s construction does certainly have a similar theme.

Pride of place is the DROID’s display, a 3.7-inch 854 x 480 capacitive touchscreen that’s incredibly bright and crisp. We’re used to AMOLED panels taking the top spots when it comes to display technology, but Motorola’s choice of LCD is particularly impressive. Switching back to an iPhone 3GS really shows the difference in screen resolution; thanks to sheer size and pixel density, it’s possible to read some PDF or Word files full page without any zooming.

As for the touchscreen, it has the lightness of touch that we’re used to from capacitive panels but – in the US DROID at least – lacks any sort of multitouch support. GSM versions of the handset for Europe will apparently get a multitouch browser, but Motorola and Verizon have held off from adding such functionality to the US CDMA DROID. We’re impressed with the screen’s toughness, though; we’ve left it in front and back pockets and there’s not a single visible scratch.

After the display, the other most noticeable hardware feature is the QWERTY keyboard. This slides out with a solid click, though lacks the spring-loading we’ve seen on other handsets. Since the DROID is so thin – 2.4 x 4.6 x 0.5 inches, so just a little thicker than the iPhone 3GS – and Motorola have given the smartphone a removable 1,400mAh Li-Ion battery, there’s very little room for the keys themselves. The ‘board looks flat and, in use, the tactile feedback matches that first impression. Keys are closely packed together with little delineation, and pressing them reveals a lack of travel that leaves us looking to Motorola’s own CLIQ and the Samsung Moment for the best Android hardware keyboards.

In a hardware design so considered, there are also some baffling layout decisions, not least the positioning of the D-pad. Seldom used – in fact both Sony Ericsson and Acer have dropped the hardware directional control from their own Android devices – it shares the same poor tactile feedback as the QWERTY but also forces the keyboard across to the left. That leaves you constantly reaching across it with your right thumb. Less annoying, but no less puzzling, are the two blank keys in the bottom left and right corners of the ‘board; considering Motorola were sensible enough to fit in shift and alt buttons on both sides, we can’t help but wonder why they didn’t use these blanks for shortcuts or the like.

Of course, if the hardware keyboard fails to appeal there’s always the on-screen QWERTY, which is available in both portrait and landscape modes (the DROID has an accelerometer to flip between the two, and the display automatically rotates when the hardware ‘board is extended). The large display means the on-screen buttons are large and easy to hit, which goes some way to making up for the fact that Android 2.0’s native auto-correct intelligence isn’t as smart as you’ll find on HTC’s Android devices.

The only other hardware controls on the DROID are a slightly-too-rigid power/lock button recessed into the top edge, the volume controls on the side and a camera shortcut; the back, search, menu and home keys under the display are all touch-sensitive. In contrast to the overly firm power key, the volume controls proved all too easy to press while extending the keyboard; on a few occasions we missed calls having inadvertently set the DROID to silent.

Unlike the Motorola CLIQ, the DROID gets none of the company’s social networking enhancements; there’s no MOTOBLUR with its homepage feed of “happenings” from Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. The general excuse is that the DROID has a more business focus than the CLIQ, though we reckon a delay in getting MOTOBLUR ready for Android 2.0 is likely another good reason. The DROID is, of course, the first handset to ship with Android 2.0, and thus the first chance we’ve had to properly play with the new UI. Although there are numerous changes, the overall experience is very similar to previous iterations and there are still gaps in functionality. Google have tightened up the animations and visual consistency of Android, though having had seven homescreen panes and numerous advanced desktop widgets with HTC Sense it seems backward to have the regular three panes and normal shortcuts on the DROID (even Moto’s own CLIQ has five homescreen panes).

What has been improved, though, is power management, and you’re now able to shut down individual processes rather than relying on Android to natively do so. Considering this has been a bug-bear for all Android handsets to-date, it’s a very welcome tweak. As we’ve shown in our previous DROID highlights article, there’s now granular tracking of power consumption, with bars indicating which aspects of use – system processes, voice calls, WiFi, etc – made the biggest demands on the battery. Motorola rate the DROID for up to 6.4hrs talkative or 11.25 days standby, and in fact runtimes have been a real source of surprise for us. Even with Exchange push, Bluetooth and WiFi turned on we saw more than a full day’s use out of the DROID, and while you’ll probably end up charging it nightly there’s certainly the potential here to push through a full day and into the next if you’re stuck away from a power point. Recharging is via the microUSB port, and we’re glad to see the generic connector; Verizon have also confirmed that as of early 2010 you’ll be able to add data tethering to your DROID contract, so that same microUSB connector will be used to hook up a notebook for mobile internet access.

Android 2.0 performance is slick and impressive, thanks no doubt to the DROID’s 600MHz Cortex A8 processor. Most screen transitions are slick and lag-free, though the pull-down status pane and drag-up launcher menu both, strangely, show a little judder. Considering this appears to be the case on every Android device we’ve used, we’re leaning toward thinking this is an OS issue rather than a specific handset problem. Internet access is via the excellent Webkit-based Android browser, now updated to support HTML5 and double-tap to zoom, the latter going some way to making up for the absence of multitouch. There’s no Flash Lite support for in-page video, but we’re told that’s on the roadmap.

While MOTOBLUR may not be present, that doesn’t mean social networking is completely absent from the DROID. Android 2.0 integrates Facebook, for instance, into the contacts, pulling in any email or number information together with their latest status update and profile photo. The new OS also natively supports Microsoft Exchange for email, calendar and contacts, but there’s a split in consistency in terms of what’s kept separate and what’s merged. Exchange email and contacts are merged in with the rest – individual address book entries are combined rather than causing duplicates, and tapping on a person’s photo pulls up a floating Quick Contact bar with shortcuts for email, SMS or whatever methods are available – but the Exchange calendar is separate from the personal calendar. Meanwhile Gmail is corralled into its own app, separate from Exchange, POP and IMAP accounts.

Unlike HTC Sense, there’s no Twitter integration, though that could come in the future thanks to Google’s so-called sync adapters. New to Android 2.0, they apparently make it reasonably easy for services like the short messaging network to integrate with the smartphone’s core apps. Having played with the comprehensive Facebook client on the iPhone, we’re disappointed with how limited the Android app is right now; anything beyond the most basic of features pushes you into the browser and to the site’s mobile pages.

Google have also thrown in Universal Search, though they’ve done it in an odd, two-stage way. Tapping the dedicated button (or holding it down to call up voice-search) allows you to make internet, SMS/MMS, contact and media searches; however if you want to search through your emails you actually have to be in the inbox first. There’s also no server-side searching, which is frustrating when both the iPhone and Windows Mobile offer it.

One of the most discussed features of Android 2.0 is Google Maps Navigation, currently in beta in the US (those who pick up the non-US version of the DROID, when it launches, will get Motorola’s own MOTONAV GPS app). This adds voice prompts, turn-by-turn navigation, text-to-speech and voice-control to Google Maps with no monthly subscription or fees beyond your data package. As usual, Google Maps offers various mapping types, from the basic layout to satellite and traffic overlays, and there’s a digital compass for use with Street View.

It’s a fantastic addition and is already shaking up the standalone PND and navigation app market. There are rough edges, certainly – the voice recognition is only as accurate as most other voice control systems out there, by which we mean for every surprise success at a tricky address there’s a blundering mess-up over something straightforward – and you’ll need data access in order to download the mapping, but so far we’re seeing plenty to like.

The remaining changes in Android 2.0 are less obvious, and while that means there’s sometimes a nice surprise to be found – Object Push and Phone Book Access profiles freshly added to the platform’s Bluetooth support, for instance – it also means some elements are left wanting. The Android Market continues to grow in content, much of which is free, and thanks to the UI update in Android 1.6 is an easier, more pleasant place to navigate and download from. However, Android 2.0 still has the app limitation whereby software can only be loaded into the phone’s memory: the DROID has 512MB of ROM (and 256MB of RAM), and while Motorola bundle a (sluggish) 16GB class 2 microSD card in the box, it’s only of use for media files rather than software.

Speaking of media, Android’s PMP functionality is strongly in need of an overhaul, both in terms of the onboard applications and the way you manage your audio, video and picture content. Aside from being relatively ugly compared to other aspects of the OS’ design, the media player lacks the flexibility you’ll find on an iPhone. Managing on-device media and transferring content between your computer and the DROID still requires either drag-and-drop over a USB connection (which mounts the DROID and its memory card as an external drive) or physically taking out the microSD card and using a standalone card reader. We can’t imagine many people opting for the latter, however, as access to the memory card demands you not only remove the battery cover but the battery itself. It was enough trouble getting the battery cover to stay on anyway; we had to bend the four metal prongs outward slightly in order to keep it fixed in place. Happily, there’s a standard 3.5mm headphone socket, though Motorola don’t actually include a wired hands-free kit. Having tried the bundled headphones of more cellphones than we could count, that’s no great issue when it comes to quality sound – just about any aftermarket pair will outclass what’s usually thrown in free – but some buyers may resent it all the same.

Where Apple offer iTunes (and Palm attempt to piggy-back on it), Android still lacks a sync-software client for managing applications, music, playlists, videos and images. The Amazon MP3 store is preloaded for on-device downloads – supporting both WiFi and mobile connections, though obviously the former is usually faster – but you’re left to manage your own folder structure. It’s a reminder that the Android ecosystem is still in its infancy; while Verizon’s “iDon’t” adverts may have pulled the iPhone up on its non-removable battery and lack of multitasking, the DROID has shortcomings of its own.

Although on paper the DROID’s camera should outclass that of the iPhone 3GS – with its 5-megapixels and LED flash, versus the Apple smartphone’s 3.2-megapixels – we’ve been consistently disappointed with the Motorola’s stills. The autofocus is sluggish and has difficulty locking onto subjects, and while Google have added extra control over elements like white balance, flash and focal length, the UI is less than intuitive. Our still shots were often out of focus, or tinged with unusual color fringing, and the LED flash was bright but – like we’ve found with other such flash systems – has a relatively narrow sweet-spot between over- and under-saturating the subject.

Sample shot taken with Droid’s 5MP camera:

Video quality, meanwhile, is far more successful. Clips are recorded at up to 720 x 480 24fps and can be up to 30 minutes in length, though there’s a dedicated MMS mode which records up to 30 second clips of lower resolution suitable for media-messaging. There’s a noticeable absence of image stabilization, and it takes a steady hand to avoid motion judder, but there’s relatively low amounts of blurring and little in the way of pixilation.

Call quality has been a pleasant surprise coming from the iPhone 3GS, and we’ve had nearly a 100-percent success ratio avoiding dropped calls. Verizon’s network has offered speedy EVDO Rev.A downloads and consistent coverage, and sound quality from both the earpiece and the speakerphone were top notch. You need to turn the DROID screen-down to get the very best out of the speakers – which are mounted behind the narrow gold mesh strip along the back of the smartphone – but once you do that there’s volume to spare.

Our criticism is in the sole inclusion of CDMA radios, when the DROID would be an obvious candidate for a Verizon World Phone. Instead there’s no way to use the handset on a GSM network, not an issue within the US but making it useless – beyond WiFi access – when abroad. Motorola already provide Verizon with at least one World Phone, so we’re disappointed they decided not to – or couldn’t fit in – the necessary hardware with the DROID.

Verizon will be offering two accessories for the Motorola DROID on launch day, a desktop docking station and an in-car mount. The former holds the DROID in landscape orientation and – thanks to a carefully placed magnet – automatically triggers a desktop UI with prominent clock, date, weather widget and access to media playback and an alarm. Around the back there’s a single microUSB port for recharging/syncing, though we wish Motorola had either fitted a second battery slot or even built a battery into the dock itself, along with a speaker. That way the dock would’ve made for a handy travel companion, propping the DROID up at a video-friendly angle while also avoiding running down its onboard battery.

The in-car mount, meanwhile, uses the same sort of magnet trick to kick the DROID into navigation UI with chunky, finger-friendly buttons ideal for using while driving. There’s also easier access to voice-command, and unlike the desktop dock there isn’t a microUSB port to charge the DROID. Unlike, say, TomTom’s iPhone car kit, however, there’s no GPS receiver or speakerphone, though thanks to the DROID’s excellent onboard speakerphone the latter would be a wasted effort. Each accessory is expected to come in at $30.

All in all, the Verizon DROID by Motorola sets the bar for all new Android devices and is arguably the best Android device to date. The natural comparison is always going to be the iPhone 3GS, and while the DROID lacks the Apple handset’s finesse and polish, it’s only a few steps behind. If you’re not entirely content with your iPhone 3GS and AT&T’s service, we’d suggest giving the DROID a try; meanwhile, if you’re looking to dump your current handset or carrier, the DROID should definitely be on your shortlist. No one device will tick every box – Motorola’s camera is shoddy, and the DROID’s keyboard is nowhere near perfect – but many of the flaws we’ve identified could be addressed in Android 2.1 whenever that arrives. Verizon’s first Android handset is one of the most compelling smartphones on the market, and at an iPhone 3GS-matching $199 we reckon it’ll be a runaway success.

Verizon Droid video demo

Another sample video of Droid’s video quality

Video walkthrough of Droid’s battery usage

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The DROID’s keyboard is less spacious than that of the Samsung Moment that we reviewed earlier today, and we’re still not convinced about the positioning of the D-pad where it forces you to stretch your thumb.  Auto-correct doesn’t appear to work with the hardware keyboard as it does in HTC’s system on the Hero and other HTC Sense devices.  Backlighting is even, though, and we prefer the keys to those on the T-Mobile G1.

Battery life is the stand-out surprise at this stage, and we’re especially enamored by Android 2.0’s new gauges, which show what has been consuming the most power.  After over eight hours use, with push email and Exchange active, WiFi and Bluetooth turned on, and plenty of use, we were still seeing 30-percent remaining charge.  According to the battery app, it’s the display that’s the most power hungry component: 51-percent of the power had been chomped through by that, with voice calls at 16-percent and the Android System itself accounting for 8-percent.  Interestingly, despite reasonably heavy use of messaging and internet access, WiFi and email were both at 4-percent and the browser at just 3-percent.

An obvious way to save power, then, would be to turn the display backlighting down, and we’ll be experimenting with that over the weekend to see what sort of difference it makes.  While we’re on the subject, the 3.7-inch 854 x 480 LCD is incredibly bright and crisp, while the capacitive touchscreen is reasonably responsive.  The omission of multitouch, which has no provision anywhere natively in Android 2.0, is frustrating.

On the downside, we’ve found a few moments where the DROID seems to bog down.  There may only be three homescreen panes – another thing we’re unimpressed by, when HTC Sense offer you seven, plus fancy widgets to fill them with – but there’s some sluggishness in panning between them occasionally.  Similarly pulling down the status bar or – a common Android trouble point – pulling up the launcher menu can be a lumpier experience than you’d expect from the smoothness of the rest of the system.  We’re talking to Motorola about this, and we’re not sure if it’s an Android issue, something to do with the DROID specifically, or something else.

Another disappointment so far has been the camera optics, particularly in the still photos we’ve taken, and it’s difficult to tell whether you’re getting more value with the extra megapixels over, say, the iPhone 3GS.  Sample images have been grainy and the DROID is slow to lock focus, though the situation is better in video recording.  Android 2.0 offers a new set of photo settings to be tweaked, so we’ll be experimenting with those to see if we can improve the results.

Sample video taken with Droid – taking off from JFK airport

As for Android 2.0 itself, the new OS is less obvious in its changes than we expected from the run-up to the release, and much of the functionality seems to have been borrowed or previewed by the work HTC and Motorola have done on distinguishing their own Android handsets.  Still, that’s not to say it doesn’t work, and we’re particularly enjoying the unified inbox – which, despite the billing, still keeps Gmail separate from everything else – and the pop-up menu tapping on a contact’s name brings, offering the various ways you can communicate with them (email, call, SMS, Facebook message, etc).

We’ll be continuing to explore the Verizon DROID by Motorola this weekend in the run-up to the full SlashGear review next week.  If you’ve any questions about the smartphone that you’d like to see covered in the review, leave us a note in the comments below.  We’ll try to cover as much as we can.

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The Moment’s keyboard certainly impressed us initially, with large keys, decent travel, an audible click to let you know you’ve pressed and an offset layout that we thought better replicates that of a regular keyboard. Unfortunately, Samsung squander that head-start with the frustrating positioning of the space bar and the Fn key, which results in the bottom row of letters being unusually offset underneath the middle row. As you can see from our images, the ‘Z’ button is offset to the left of the ‘A’. It’s annoying, because so much else about the Moment’s keyboard is great, particularly the finger-room up around the number row granted by Samsung not being stingy with how far the smartphone’s screen slides up.

As for that screen, you can’t argue with an AMOLED panel for brightness and contrast. Blacks are considerably inkier than on a regular LCD TFT handset, while colors pop, and while it’s the same size – at 3.2-inches – as most of HTC’s Android range it certainly stands out. Underneath there’s an optical trackpad, which we found fiddly and prone to recognition glitches: sometimes you can manage smooth, precise sweeps, other times the pad seems to go all-or-nothing from one side to another. The Home, Menu and back keys are all touch-sensitive, whereas there are physical buttons for call/end; on the side there’s a camera shortcut key and, underneath it, a voice command shortcut. Interestingly, Samsung have replaced the usual Google voice-control app with a third-party alternative, though we found little difference in functionality or accuracy.

At 3.2-megapixels, the Moment’s camera does little to stand out. There’s autofocus and an LED flash, but images are often mediocre with high levels of noise that the contrast-rich display did little to disguise. Android 1.5 has little in the way of camera control – white balance, color effect, macro focus and scene support doesn’t come until Android 2.0 – and Samsung have made no noticeable attempt to go halfway with their own app tweaks.

That given, it’s a surprise how long the camera takes both to start up and to grab shots. The Moment is sluggish to boot into camera mode, even with the dedicated shortcut key, and there’s more lag in-between pressing that button to take photos. It’s hard to tell whether the issue comes from the autofocus – there’s no focus indicator on-screen – or elsewhere, but it means that unless you’re shooting a stationary object (and are yourself very still) you’re likely to end up with unwanted image blur.

Once you’ve taken a shot, Samsung have preloaded an app which will automatically upload each picture to Facebook, YouTube, MySpace or Photobucket, though it’s a case of all-or-nothing; there doesn’t appear to be a way to flag certain shots for upload. If you only want to share one or two images then the standard Android gallery app offers its usual upload/messaging shortcuts.

Samsung’s hands-off attitude to Android spans the entirety of the OS, leaving the Moment pretty much stock when it comes to OS 1.5. Social networking integration is a matter of using the regular, standalone apps, rather than seeing contacts from Facebook or Twitter statuses integrated with Android’s own address book. This lack of augmentation and the Moment’s 800MHz processor add up to a smoother user experience, though it’s not the earth-shattering improvement over the 528MHz chipset many other Android devices still use. Put it side by side with the Verizon DROID by Motorola and you can see the result of Android 2.0’s extra tweaking; despite the Motorola DROID having a slower processor in terms of core clock speed, it still feels nippier than the Moment. Our hope is that, since there’s little in the way of modification, Samsung should be able to push out an OS 2.0 update for the Moment sooner rather than later.

As it stands, though, it’s a mixed bag. The Webkit-based browser is decent – though the Moment’s capacitive touchscreen lacks multitouch zoom (and double-tap zoom is an Android 2.0 feature) – and Google Maps does as you’d expect (though, again, the latest Google Maps Navigation beta with turn-by-turn directions is a 2.0 addition); Sprint Navigation is preloaded, though there’s a subscription fee involved. The carrier’s Sprint TV, NFL and NASCAR apps are also present, with both EVDO Rev.A and WiFi connections for media streaming.

Exchange support is via Moxier Mail, which is reasonably flexible and supports both local and server searches. Unfortunately the stock Android media playback apps aren’t anything special, though at least the Moment has a standard 3.5mm headphone socket (frustratingly underneath a port cover); minimal onboard storage is augmented via microSD card, though you’ll need to remove not only the battery cover but the battery itself in order to switch it out.

The battery itself – a 1,440mAh Li-Ion pack – recharges via micro-USB (again, covered by a frustrating port flap) and is rated for up to 5.5hrs talktime. With regular use we managed more than a full day on a single charge, though not quite to the point where we could reliably rejuice every other day; the Moment always complained of low battery midway through the second day. Turning off push email and GSP might eke out a little extra standby time.

QWERTY-packing Android smartphones are certainly a little rarer than their touchscreen-only counterparts, but we’d still have second thoughts about picking the Samsung Moment. While its AMOLED display is bright and clear and its keyboard pleasantly expansive (once you’ve retrained your fingers to deal with its offset layout) its stock Android 1.5 OS pales in comparison to what other manufacturers are doing to distinguish their rival handsets. Most damning, though, is the price: Sprint will ask $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and presuming a new, two-year agreement when the Moment arrives on November 1st. That’s perilously close to the $199.99 of the Verizon DROID by Motorola, and right now we can’t find enough to recommend the Samsung over the new Motorola.

Screen Test (It’s Capacitive) & Photo Gallery

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Most elements of the new multitouch ThinkPad X200 Tablet remain the same as its predecessor. That means you get a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor, paired with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 160GB 5,400rpm hard-drive, WiFi b/g/n and Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics. The 12.1-inch LED-backlit display runs at WXGA 1,280 x 800, and is mounted on a sturdy central hinge that rotates 180-degrees and allows the screen to fold flat against the keyboard for slate-style use. As with most ThinkPads we’ve tested, the keyboard is a triumph of usability, though you’ll have to be satisfied with a trackpoint nub mouse as there’s no room for a trackpad.

Our X200 Tablet came with a non-standard configuration, however, so it’s worth bearing in mind that our Geekbench benchmarking results won’t tally with what you’ll see from the custom configurations on Lenovo’s site. The review X200 Tablet has a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo L9600 processor, paired with 3GB of RAM, and scored 2528 in Geekbench.

Like on the T400s, Lenovo have introduced SimpleTap with the multitouch screen option on the X200s, the company’s shortcut menu and finger-friendly launcher. Triggered by tapping a red on-screen shortcut button, SimpleTap includes volume and brightness control, entering sleep mode, switching on and off the keyboard light and activating the webcam as standard; however you can also add any application or shortcut, much as you would a desktop shortcut in Windows. The launcher wizard is clever enough to pick a default icon – whether for an app, a file, a folder or a website – though you can override this with your own preference, and then you can rearrange the icons as you see fit (or allow them to auto-arrange).

SimpleTap makes far more sense on the convertible X200 Tablet than it does on the T400s, though, simply because for at least part of the time you’ll be using the notebook in slate orientation. That means the keyboard and trackpoint stick are out of reach, and you’re already tapping at the display with your fingers. On the T400s, in contrast, we found it often seemed counter-intuitive to lift our hands from the keyboard and reach over to tap the display.

Unlike the T400s, however, the X200 Tablet doesn’t support more than two fingers of multitouch control, a limitation it seems of the Ntrig capacitive panel Lenovo have used. What you do get, though, is both finger- and pen-input, since the capacitive layer sits on top of a Wacom active digitizer. This works with the included (battery-free) stylus, automatically shutting off the finger-touch layer when the pen nib is nearby and capable of controlling the mouse pointer by hovering the stylus over the display surface together with tapping for selection and launch. Pen-input is also used for handwriting recognition in Windows 7 – there’s no scrawling into the TIP (tablet input panel) with a fingertip – and while accuracy of conversion isn’t 100-percent, it’s still better than XP Tablet Edition’s first attempts. Some applications, such as Microsoft’s own OneNote, allow you to leave your text as handwritten but still search through it as if it were typed.

Unfortunately, not all software is as capable, and that goes for not only pen- but multitouch-input too. Windows 7 adds native multitouch support at an OS level, and the included Windows 7 Touch Pack – which consists of three games, a screensaver and a gallery app – does a reasonable job of showing off the functionality, but once you’re back in Word or Internet Explorer there’s no special support for the new capacitive panel.

As an alternative, Lenovo are also offering an optional “SuperBright Outdoor Viewable” display that boosts brightness to 400 cd/m2. As you might hope, opting for the SuperBright panel does indeed make the X200 Tablet more resistant to sun glare and reflections; however it’s disappointingly not available if you opt for the multitouch screen. You should also budget for some extra weight if you choose to go multitouch, since the capacitive panel pushes the Tablet’s weight up to 4.2lbs.

You could argue, then, that the SuperBright display is the upgrade to go for on the X200 Tablet. Not only do you not sacrifice non-keyboard control – after all, you still get the active digitizer and pen – but if you’re a true mobile user you’ll appreciate being able to tote and use the ThinkPad wherever you are, no matter whether you’re stood in a stockroom or outside in the garden. It’s more expensive, though; Lenovo are asking $125 for the multitouch upgrade and $175 for the SuperBright upgrade, on top of the “Elite” X200 Tablet (which starts from $1,609), and $200 and $250 respectively on top of the entry-level model (which starts from $1,529). It’s easy to find the price sliding above $2,000, simply by upgrading CPU ($75 for the 1.86GHz SL9400), RAM ($30 or $65 for 3GB or 4GB respectively) and storage (a 128GB SSD is $380). Bluetooth and Mobile Broadband are also cost options.

Still, $1,689 is the cost of entry for the multitouch X200 Tablet, and you’re getting a sturdy, reliable machine that’s all set for what we keep getting told is the next phase in finger-control. How relevant that is to you depends very much on what you plan to do with your notebook, of course, and though we’d argue multitouch makes more sense on the X200 Tablet than it does on the T400s, it’s still taking a niche device into an even narrower market. What it does, the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet does very well, and Windows 7 is a considerable improvement over clunky Vista, but consumers desperate for finger-friendly touchscreens might be better saving their money until the inevitable surge of capacitive-bearing web tablets arrive in the months after the new OS’ launch.

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Much of the Storm2 is the same as you find in its first-gen predecessor, though thankfully none of the particularly contentious aspects are left unchanged. The Storm2 has the same 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.5 inch dimensions as before, and tips the scales at 5.6oz, but the casing is altogether more streamlined thanks to a switch to touch-sensitive keys underneath the screen and reduced gaps between the LCD and the bezel. There are other less-visible changes, such as the speaker moving from the back to the base of the Storm2, making for louder, clearer speakerphone use, and the battery compartment having a less fiddly latching system.

Happily one of the original Storm’s best features – its LCD display – hasn’t been changed, and the 3.25-inch 360 x 480 panel on the Storm2 is brilliantly bright, color saturated and crisp. RIM’s original SurePress system, though, let the Storm’s display down. In an attempt to replicate the physical sensation of hardware keys, RIM designed their first-gen touchscreen to flex with pressure, hitting one large, central button. While certainly distinctive, it proved ergonomically unpleasant, difficult to press in the corners and prone to mis-clicks. The issue was compounded by lackluster auto-correct software that fell way behind what was on offer in the iPhone 3G.

With the Storm2 9550, RIM has replaced the mechanical SurePress system with an entirely new one, this time based on four piezo-electric buttons equally spaced out under the touchscreen layer. This instantly addresses the uneven click plaguing the first-gen Storm, with the screen now pretty much evenly responsive no matter where you press, and it’s also far more responsive. Because mechanical SurePress had to factor in the time for the display to bend and righten, typing ended up slower as you waited for each button press to be registered. RIM have been able to add key rollover and some basic multitouch to the onscreen QWERTY on the Storm2, in fact; you’re able to hold down Shift and click a letter you want capitalized, for instance, and two-thumbed typing is speedier since you don’t have to wait for each thumb-press to be registered and the screen to “reset”. There’s sensible copy & paste control, too, using one finger to mark the beginning of the highlighted section and another at the end.

The auto-correction software has also had a much-needed reboot, and now does a much better job of spotting and tweaking spelling errors. To be honest, while it’s a night-and-day improvement over the original Storm, we’re still not 100-percent convinced that SurePress offers a knockout blow against rival touchscreen keyboards. Nonetheless, it now no longer feels like the potential deal-breaker of the old system, and that’s a strong point in the Storm2’s favor.

Elsewhere, RIM has addressed our other key complaint about the first-gen model: the software. The intervening months have seen many unofficial Storm OS builds and very few official releases, culminating in BlackBerry OS 5.0 which was launched along with the Storm2. It’s a real improvement compared to the state in which the Storm originally shipped, and the Storm2 moves quickly between applications and now supports threaded inertial scrolling, text messaging, and gets a new browser. The latter is not yet WebKit based – unlike what you’ll find on Android, iPhone and other platforms – but does see speedier JavaScript and CSS along with Google Gears support.

Unfortunately, the more eye-catching features we’re seeing on rival devices aren’t yet in place, so there’s no multitouch zooming and no in-browser Flash video playback. We roasted the Storm for omitting WiFi, and happily RIM have added WiFi b/g to the Storm2; saying that, we found Verizon’s EVDO Rev.A network to be reasonably snappy, and certainly more stable in places AT&T’s 3G network encountered issues on our iPhone 3GS.

We praised the Storm2’s screen, and so we’re content with the line-up of media playback options RIM offer. It’s all little changed from the original handset, which means you get a slightly less streamlined interface than, say, on the iPhone, but a comparable experience to what other smartphone platforms provide. OS 5.0 now splits up music and video into different folder views, which makes for easier browsing, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack which means you can use your own earphones or, thanks to Bluetooth A2DP support, a wireless pair.

As for the 3.2-megapixel camera, while the Storm2 has a flash and image stabilization, we found shots were still blurrier than we’d prefer. Outdoor images were cleaner, but colors weren’t as accurate as with other handsets’ cameras. Indoor shots tended toward grainy, and like most LED flashes there’s a narrow sweet spot between over- and under-saturation of the subject. One welcome improvement is the speed at which the camera app loads and is ready to take a picture, which is far faster on the Storm2 than the laggardly Storm managed.

As a phone, we were impressed with the Storm2’s audio performance and ability to grip to a signal. Audio quality on either end of the call was decent, though we were told we sounded quiet or distant a few times, while the speakerphone was loud though not always entirely clear to either party. As for the battery, RIM estimate up to 5.5hrs of talk time or up to 11.2 days of standby from the 1,400mAh Li-Ion pack; with a mixture of calls, messaging, push-email and some browsing, we’ve been finding the Storm2 capable of going a day or two between charges. That’s reasonable for a current smartphone.

Have RIM done enough with the BlackBerry Storm2 9550 to put the ghost of its predecessor to rest? You could certainly argue that merely by addressing touchscreen, WiFi and OS they’ve gone a long way in redeeming themselves. The Storm2 remains a crossover device for RIM, we feel, stepping away from its purist messaging heritage to better accommodate internet browsing and media playback; seen in that light it’s far more successful than the first-gen handset. Unlike before, the Storm2 actually feels ready for release, rather than anxiously awaiting the next firmware update.

Our remaining doubts concern how well the Storm2 stands as a prosumer device compared to its flourishing Android, iPhone and webOS rivals. Each has areas in which they better the Storm2, whether in usability, responsiveness, browser experience or media playback, but the BlackBerry does put up a decent fight. The Storm2 falls short of delivering a knockout blow, but it’s no longer undermined by its own “unique features”. RIM has certainly done enough for the Storm2 to warrant a place on your touchscreen smartphone shortlist.

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The new StorCenter is generally similar to the old model, a compact box with two 3.5-inch SATA-II hard-drives, but the design is far slicker and more suited to home use. Where the ix2 had no front-mounted ports, the ix2-200 gets a USB port, quick-transfer button (that automatically sucks the contents of a drive hooked up to that USB port onto the internal storage) and useful indicator lights. Round the back there are a further two USB 2.0 ports – which can be used to plug in further hard-drives, printers for network sharing, or Iomega’s optional Bluetooth dongle for wireless transfers from cellphones and the like – and a gigabit ethernet port, along with the power input and a Kensington lock slot. You can also see the two drive bays, now user-accessible.

One of our key criticisms about the original ix2 was that, should a drive fail – and you can set up S.M.A.R.T. drive alerts which will email you should that be predicted imminent – you needed to send the whole NAS to Iomega in order for them to switch to a replacement drive. Attempting to replace it yourself, or upgrade the stock drives for faster or larger versions, voided the NAS warranty.

The ix2-200, however, makes replacing the drives yourself more straightforward. Two screws (on the underside of the NAS) hold each in place, and once removed the caddies pull straight out. There’s no support for hot-swapping, unfortunately, but the ix2-200 will automatically rebuild the standard RAID-1 array; more concerning, though, is the fact that Iomega insist you use their own replacement drives rather than any generic SATA-II 3.5-inch hard-drive. Not doing so will void the ix2-200’s three-year warranty, and we’re disappointed that Iomega seemingly bury this tidbit in the user manual rather than making it clear on their product pages (which only say that the drives are user-replaceable).

Setup is reasonably easy, especially if you’re content with the default settings (which most home users should be). A single network connection and power connection gets the ix2-200 running, while a setup CD loaded in one of the networked computers locates the NAS and opens up the webserver-based UI. While you’d think this would be a reasonably speedy process, it took longer than you’d expect for the Iomega Solutions CD to grab the ix2-200’s IP address; however, subsequent tweaks to the settings are easily done by punching in that IP directly, rather than reaching for the setup CD.

The UI is reasonably unchanged from the first-gen model, about which you’ll hear no complaints from us. Seeing as the ix2-200 gets all the ix2’s skills and more, that means you have a choice of UPnP DLNA and iTunes media server functionality, standalone BitTorrent downloads (complete with bandwidth throttling), folder quotas, Remote Access and Active Directory support. Apple users will find the ix2-200 compatible with Time Machine for straightforward integration, while Windows users get EMC Retrospect Express Backup (with unlimited client licenses) to handle automated backups. We’re also glad to see scheduling support, which means you can copy files to and from the StorCenter at preset times to other NAS or USB drives (using rsync or CIFS). Since we’ll be the first to advocate having a regular, offsite backup of your data, scheduling can make doing that all the more straightforward.

New and notable to the ix2-200 is iSCSI support, borrowed from its bigger ix4-200d sibling, and automatic drive power management. The former is unlikely to be much use to most home users, but small offices might find its ready integration with Microsoft Server useful. As for the latter, that’s much more appealing; the ix2-200’s drives automatically spin down when not in use, and the NAS is paired with an Energy Star certified PSU. Iomega have picked a pair of Seagate low-power HDDs, which are reasonably quiet but still louder than the StorCenter’s fan.

There’s plenty of functionality on offer, and certainly, and much of it – like iSCSI – seems of limited use to the sort of home buyers who’ll be drawn in by the ix2-200’s reasonable pricing. The NAS can work with up to five IP webcams, for instance, supporting recording and monitoring without a client PC; useful, but we’d rather Iomega had made Bluetooth support standard and integrated the Bluetooth chip, rather than demanding a separate USB adapter be used.

As for pricing, the new range starts at $269.99 for the 1TB model (which, in standard RAID-1 setup, will offer 500GB of storage), then $269.99 for the 2TB model, and finally $699.99 for the 4TB NAS. Of the three, we’d plump for the 2TB, balancing space versus pricing. Compared to the ix2, the ix2-200 is a significant improvement, not least for the native Time Machine support for OS X users and the power saving functionality. The enterprise functionality may mean relatively little for the StorCenter ix2-200’s target audience, but drive redundancy and the flexibility of print and media servers, backup and cost-efficient pricing make this a successful improvement on the first-gen NAS.

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Our iMac is the entry-level 27-inch model, with a 2560 x 1440 16:9 display, 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 1TB 7,200rpm hard-drive. On the side there’s the same 8x SuperDrive as its predecessor, while graphics are courtesy of an ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB of dedicated memory. Connectivity includes four USB 2.0 ports, a single FireWire 800, Mini DisplayPort (which also supports video input; more on that later), audio in/out and gigabit Ethernet, along with WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

That’s the standard specification for the 27-incher, and it’s shared by the top-spec standard configuration of the 21.5-inch iMac. That smaller desktop has a 1920 x 1080 LCD and loses the Mini DisplayPort input functionality, while the entry-level model gets a 500GB 7,200rpm hard-drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256MB graphics. As for the top-spec 27-inch iMac, deliveries won’t start until November, whereupon buyers will get a 2.66GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor or, as a cost-option, a Core i7 chip.

You’d have to search hard to find somewhere to critique Apple on the new iMac’s build-quality and design. The black plastic back panel of the old model has gone, replaced by a gently curved aluminum plate and flush-mounted ports, and the black glass extends right to the very edge like a high-end HDTV. Newly notched out just below the DVD drive is an SD card slot, something we’re particularly glad to see given how media-centric the iMac is. Speakers are hidden under the bottom edge, and like the 24-inch Apple Cinema Display they manage to put out a surprising amount of sound. That, Apple tells us, is thanks to having more chassis room to fit better drivers in, each powered by a 17W amp. With a WiFi network connection and the included Bluetooth keyboard and Magic Mouse, the iMac can truly be a one-cord computer.

As we’ve seen with recent displays on Apple’s desktop and mobile range, their choice of panels keep getting better. In addition to native 16:9 widescreen, making them ideal for movie content, they use in-plane switching (IPS) and LED backlighting; the payoff is incredibly vivid color, huge viewing angles and impressive contrast. That given, it’s all the more frustrating that Apple don’t include – or at least offer as an option – a Blu-ray drive with the iMac. The 27-inch model, particularly, would make for the perfect HD workstation, both for consuming and producing high-definition content, and Apple’s ongoing reluctance to step up from the ageing SuperDrive is increasingly bizarre. iTunes, to be fair, offers 720p downloads, but that’s still not the 1080p quality the screen is crying out for.

We expected a strong showing from Geekbench, and the 27-inch iMac didn’t disappoint. An overall score of 4650 was bolstered by strong processor floating-point performance (6618) but held back by memory bandwidth (2253). It’ll take a shot of Nehalem to bring the iMac up to Mac Pro standards, however; the 2.66GHz Xeon Mac Pro we reviewed a few months back scored almost twice as highly as the iMac in Geekbench, suggesting that hardcore A/V and 3D editors would do best to save up for the more potent desktop.

Still, for the sort of home movie editing, photo processing and iTunes video playback that most iMac users will be doing, the standard configuration should be sufficient, and of course there’s the upcoming Core i5 and i7 models to pacify the performance crowd.

Apple’s switch to standard wireless peripherals is a welcome one, and the Magic Mouse is particularly intriguing. An attempt to bring Apple’s much-vaunted multitouch control from the MacBook and MacBook Pro trackpads to the desktop, while the whole of the mouse clicks down as with the previous Mighty Mouse, the trackball has been replaced with a touch-sensitive surface. The entire top of the Magic Mouse, roughly from the Apple logo upwards, has the same sort of touch sensors as a trackpad does, recognizing single and two-finger touch and gestures. As well as differentiating between left and right clicks, the Magic Mouse supports 360-degree scrolling, two-finger swipes to move between pages, and clicking with one finger while using a second to scroll so as to select large quantities of text.

There’s no pinch-zooming, however, which seems less of a loss than you might expect since trying to fit two-finger gestures onto the surface of the mouse while at the same time gripping it isn’t 100-percent intuitive. Still, that’s easily made up for by the support for single-finger “flicks”, which optionally offer momentum-style scrolling as on the iPhone (you can turn it off and have proportional scrolling instead, though you’ll need to delve into the system settings to do so; there’s no way to quickly switch between). It’s also worth noting that those who prefer the battery-free simplicity of wired peripherals can choose them individually as no-cost options during the Apple order process, including a choice of wired keyboard with and without numeric keypad.

Frustrations with the iMac are few and far between, to be fair; though considering the premium price they’re worth flagging up. Aside from the Blu-ray issue – which admittedly could be solved with a USB Blu-ray drive, but is hardly in keeping with the iMac’s minimalist aesthetic – we also wish Apple had fitted a TV tuner or at least offered it as an internal option. That way the iMac really could replace a standalone HDTV in a kitchen or bedroom. As it is, like Blu-ray you could use a USB tuner but it’s an extra hassle when rival PCs often integrate TV as standard.

Our other complaint comes down to taste, and as with the MacBook Pro series it relates to the iMac’s highly glossy display. There’s no option to choose a matte-finish panel, and given the sheer expanse of glass to work with it’s likely you’ll see a fair amount of reflections. The IPS-aided viewing angles did mean we could tilt the iMac, preserve image quality and avoid all but the most intrusive of reflections, but, again, we’d at least like the option of a matte display. Still, Mini DisplayPort input (when the correct cables go on sale) and the ability to have two full webpages on-screen at once makes for a convincing argument, and to be honest the iMac’s display is hard to critique.

Picking the iMac, then, is one part brain and one part heart. Apple have taken a capable computer and clad it in one of the best all-in-one designs to-date, matching it up to an eye-catching and entrancing display and paired it with intuitive, attractive peripherals. At $1,699 upwards for the 27-inch iMac (the 21.5-inch starts at $1,199) it’s not a cheap purchase, but Apple’s recent financial report has shown that there are plenty of people willing to pay a premium for high-end design and the aesthetic ease of OS X. For those buyers, this latest-generation iMac is unlikely to disappoint.

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Hold the spec sheet for the new MacBook and the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro together, and you’ll find far more similarities than differences. Both have Intel’s 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory, and an 8x SuperDrive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256MB graphics. In fact, the new MacBook gets a bigger standard hard-drive – 250GB 5,400rpm – than the Pro. Both also have standard WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gigabit Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports and Mini DisplayPort. The 13.3-inch displays on each are glossy, run at 1,280 x 800 native resolution and are vividly colored; the Pro, however, has a much broader color gamut and is significantly brighter than the basic MacBook, something to consider if you’re intending to use the notebook for graphics.

Where they differ, or more importantly how much of an impact those differences have, depends on your intended use. The MacBook has no FireWire port, no SD card slot and combines the audio in/out into a single dual-mode 3.5mm jack. Apple has also deleted the IR port, which smacks of cheapness. We prefer the MacBook’s base – now coated with a non-stick rubber, which keeps the notebook from sliding around your desk or your lap – but wish the glass, multitouch trackpad wasn’t surrounded by such a glossy palm-rest.  Like the rest of the plastic casing, it’s surprisingly prone to scratches, too, and we’re also unimpressed by the absence of an external battery gauge.

The MacBook’s keyboard remains solid and usable, and the trackpad is as intuitive (after a brief period of acclimatization) as on the Pro range. It may be bigger in all dimensions (and heavier) than the smallest Pro, but at 1.08-inches thick it’s still not a hefty notebook. The new, unibody styling has a practical as well as aesthetic purpose, making the MacBook sturdier and less prone to flex, and the screen hinge feels stronger too.

GeekBench proved that the new MacBook has the performance to match the slick style, and while those in need of heavy-duty processing should still look to the MacBook Pro line, general users should find themselves well served by the Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz processor. The MacBook scored 3537 overall, falling just short of what a 2.53GHz MacBook Pro managed less than a year ago and almost 400 points ahead of a 2.40GHz MacBook of the same vintage. In more real-world applications, Safari opened with little delay and the laptop managed several open windows, concurrent apps and simultaneous media playback with no complaint.

As the last to get the unibody treatment, the MacBook is the final model in Apple’s notebook range to lose its user-replaceable battery. Now hidden behind the soft-touch base plate, the 60-watt-hour is rated for up to 7hrs use (with wireless switched on) as well as 1,000 recharge cycles; Apple say that’s the equivalent of up to five years use. They’re also waxing about the battery’s environment credentials, and indeed the whole notebook is greener than before.

It’s early days to judge battery performance, but with a mixture of media playback, browsing and email we found the MacBook good for between 4.5 and 6 hours. Playing video files that were heavy on CPU or GPU decoding dropped that down to around 4hrs. We’ll continue testing over the next week or so, as the battery conditions, but as with the unibody MacBook Pro we’d be surprised if everyday use brought you near the quoted 7hrs runtime.

If you’re weighing the new MacBook or the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, unless you require high color accuracy (in which case you’re likely using a larger, external display) right now we’d plump for the MacBook. Apple will inevitably roll out an updated Pro range reasonably early into 2010, but as it stands you’re getting pretty much the same key specifications in the MacBook, only for $200 less. That’s a fair chunk of money, and while you don’t get the SD card reader or the FireWire port, you do get a larger hard-drive.

Some of Apple’s decisions smack of conscious range delineation – are the home users picking a MacBook any less likely to want an SD slot to shuffle over photos from their digital cameras? – but right now we’d take that $200, spend a few bucks on a USB-SD adapter and settle down with what’s turned out to be one of the best entry-level notebooks Apple have produced.

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As we mentioned in our unboxing and initial hands-on article last week, the Tattoo hardware feels a lot like that of its entry-level Windows Phone counterpart, the HTC Touch2. Measuring 106 x 55.2 x 14 mm and weighing a scan 113g, it’s lightweight and makes a minimal dent in your pocket. Up front there’s a 2.8-inch 240 x 320 resistive touchscreen, while inside there’s a 3.2-megapixel fixed focus camera, dualband HSDPA (900/2100MHz) supporting up to 7.2Mbps downlinks and 384kbps uplinks, quadband GSM and both WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0. There’s also a true GPS receiver, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and HTC’s ExtUSB connector which is compatible with mini-USB.

That connectivity is roughly on a par with HTC’s more advanced Android devices, and leaves the Tattoo in no shortage of spec sheet prowess, at least. In the hand, though, it’s a less impressive experience. While the plastics are solid and creak-free, the display lacks the brightness and vivid colors of, say, the Hero; it also shows a greenish tint, though that’s only particularly noticeable when you have both handsets next to each other. The drop in resolution – most Android devices have used HVGA rather than QVGA panels so far – is disguised to some extent by the smaller panel, but there’s definitely less desktop space to fill with HTC and Android icons and widgets.

Still, the resistive panel is reasonably responsive to finger-touch, though requires a firmer press than we’re used to. HTC’s excellent auto-correction comes to the rescue of the on-screen keyboard; while we were obviously making several mistakes in each tapped-out sentence, the Tattoo deciphered our intent with a surprising degree of accuracy. Flipping the phone to the left automatically rotates the Tattoo into landscape orientation, making it surprisingly good for two-thumb typing. HTC have replaced the trackball with a simpler D-pad, the narrow raised edge of which hides the directional buttons with a large center-select. It’s not quite as useful as the trackball (and doesn’t light up) but it’s an acceptable substitute. We found ourself missing the multitouch of the Hero in the browser, where it’s a return to the floating zoom buttons, but since nobody has bothered adding pinch-zoom to Google Maps the experience there is little different.

Android 1.6 brings with it a few notable changes, the most obvious of which is the universal search bar that can pull up results from all through the system. A single click of the hardware search button triggers a search box for the currently active app; a second click searches the entire phone. The new OS version also brings with it the latest build of the Android Market, Google’s download store. Content available for the Tattoo is markedly different – more specifically, there’s less of it – from the Market experience on other Android handsets, because developers have to bring their apps up to speed with the smaller display size. Up until Android 1.5 only HVGA panels have been natively supported, but that all changes in 1.6; unfortunately, third-party apps don’t automatically accommodate to the new displays, so it might be a while before the Tattoo gets the same range of software as the G1, Magic and Hero now enjoy.

In use, though, the Tattoo is reasonably speedy, with its Qualcomm MSM7225 528MHz chipset keeping things moving. It won’t win any awards for speed, but neither does it demonstrate the lag many complained about with the initial Hero release. Onboard memory is limited to 512MB ROM and 256MB RAM, but there’s a microSD card slot (under the battery cover, but not under the battery) to expand that; you still can’t install apps to a memory card in Android, however, so pick your software wisely. As for the battery itself, HTC rate the 1,100mAh pack for up to 342 minutes WCDMA talkative or 520hrs standby; with careful use we eked out a couple of days from a full charge, but like most smartphones we’re playing with lately you’ll likely be recharging every night.

The Tattoo’s 3.2-megapixel camera isn’t its strongest feature, though like with the HTC Touch2 the absence of autofocus does significantly reduce delay between pressing to take a shot and the image being captured. Indoors, you’ll need good, balanced lighting for best results (and even then stills are average), while outdoor shots fair a little better. Low-light is pretty much a no-go, either for stills or video, though once you’ve taken them it’s an easy matter to upload to YouTube, Picassa, Facebook or Flickr.

As a phone, voice call quality is decent. We noticed a little echo at times, and the speakerphone isn’t as crisp at high-volumes as on other recent HTC devices, but it’ll do in a pinch. HTC Sense neatly pulls in Facebook profile photos for those contacts you’ve linked in the Tattoo’s address book, and shows them whenever there’s an incoming or outgoing call.

The HTC Tattoo, then, is serviceable but not especially exciting, lacking the sparkle or distinct design of the Hero. What will make the difference is pricing; in the UK, carrier Orange are currently offering the Hero free on 18 month contracts of around £35 ($57) or above, while the Tattoo Ink (as they call the new smartphone) is free on a mere £20 ($33) contract. When the Tattoo begins to show up on prepaid plans, we’d expect it to be reasonably affordable contract-free too. HTC are hoping to pull some favor among those who like to customize their phones, with interchangeable front and back covers and a website where you can create your own.

While the first handful of Android devices were tasked with showing the platform’s high-end potential, the HTC Tattoo – like the Huawei Pulse – now fleshes out the budget end of the market. That fits in perfectly with Google’s initial goal for Android, a free OS that makes cheap phones cheaper but that’s also capable enough for flagship devices. Feature-phones watch out: Android is gunning for you now.

HTC Tattoo unboxing & overview:

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Jabra’s position is that you don’t need a boom for decent audio pickup, and to prove it they’ve sliced the Stone down to the bare minimum. A tight, pinched in loop, it has an ear hook that twists round, over the top of the ear and down to the canal, broadening as it goes, and with a small rubber-clad speaker on the inner edge. Build quality is very high, though given the fixed nature of the ear hook this is a headset for the right ear only.

Like other Bluetooth headsets we’ve seen recently, the Stone comes with a combination case/charger that can be used not only to store but also recharge the earpiece. In fact, this charger is where the Jabra gets its name from; when clicked into place, the Stone resembles just that, a stone. The internal battery in the Stone itself is good for up to 2hrs; it relies on up to three top-up charges from the 6hr battery in the case to reach Jabra’s quoted 8hrs runtime.

On the downside, there’s no easy way to charge the headset portion directly: it uses a proprietary connection with the charger (the latter has a more typical microUSB port for the AC adapter), and if you lose, misplace or forget it then you’re stuck with 2hrs and no more. Standby time is rated as up to a healthy 12 days – headset in charger, and both from fully charged and actively paired with your phone – and it takes around an hour to recharge the headset completely. An optional hook allows you to clip the charger to your belt for ready access.  The belt clip is made from a flexible plastic so that it can hook onto a variety of materials — best used on coats, jackets, etc.

Like the HALO stereo Bluetooth headset we reviewed last month, Jabra have used a mixture of touch-sensitive and actual buttons for controlling the Stone. The Jabra logo is, in fact, a multi-purpose button – powering on or off requires a long hold, a single tap answers or ends a call, and clicking twice in rapid succession redials the last number – while sliding your finger up or down the header adjusts the volume. There’s support for voice dialing, if your cellphone supports that, together with the Bluetooth A2DP stereo profile; the Stone will combine the stereo tracks into a single, mono track for one ear, but it’s handy for quickly previewing a song or YouTube video. Multiuse (aka Multipoint connectivity) means you can have two devices paired at once, and there’s a discrete battery and Bluetooth status display rather than a cluster of bright blue, blinking lights.

Comfort levels proved very high, a combination of the Stone’s light weight (0.25oz), balanced design and the over-the-ear design not leaving the headset supported solely by an in-ear plug. While there’s no boom arm, it’s still not the most discrete of headsets – it’s pretty noticeable slung over your ear – but at least it’s not too ostensibly “space age”.

As for sound quality, given our exceptionally positive experiences with Plantronics (which resolutely do use a boom) recently we were skeptical of quite what Jabra’s Noise Blackout Extreme DSP might be able to achieve. Jabra claim up to 24dB of ambient noise reduction (twice that of their original system), using twin microphones and some clever processing that works out the direction of noise, background chatter and traffic based on sound delay between the pickups. How exactly it works we don’t quite know, but work it does. Sound quality in loud areas is high, with the Stone managing to deliver not only speech of the wearer but intonation and other nuances; in short, you sound less roboticized than with other systems. Similarly wind noise is sliced out of the conversation, with callers reporting little in the way of either background hiss, volume jumps or lurches, or cut-outs that can plague cheaper headsets.

Together, that adds up to a very successful Bluetooth headset, one that manages to deliver sound quality we’d associate with a full-boom rival and the comfort of a much smaller device. The lack of a non-proprietary port on the headset itself – meaning you have to carry the charger “stone” – is a potential frustration, as is its limitation to the right ear, but if you’ve rejected other headsets for being too obvious or too “call center” in their design then the Jabra Stone’s sleek shape could solve that without impairing audio quality. Priced at $129 when it arrives exclusively at AT&T stores from November 8th, it’s the same cost as the Plantronics Discovery 975 and the Jawbone PRIME; both are distinctive and well performing, but we’d plump for the Jabra Stone for its surreptitious style and excellent audio quality.

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What dissuades most users from setting up remote access is the hassle of network settings. Home broadband connections often charge extra for static IP addresses, meaning the string of digits you have to remember in order to access your home network can change without you necessarily realising it. That, together with NAT firewall confusion and concern over just who has access to your shared files, is often enough to scupper any half-hearted intention to open up a NAS.

Seagate get round this by using Pogoplug’s technology, or more accurately by squeezing a Pogoplug adapter into the dock itself. Pogoplug, first announced back at CES in January, is a combination hardware/software system that makes sharing USB drives over the internet straightforward through an online interface. The basic Pogoplug adapter looks like an overgrown wall-wart, with a single USB port (for the hard-drive) and an ethernet port. Register the adapter at their site and, by tapping in your account details from any internet-connected computer, you can access the files on the drive and even stream audio/video content.

To that basic system Seagate add a far more streamlined dock design, which takes a standard Seagate FreeAgent Go drive slotted in almost perpendicularly, together with an extra three USB 2.0 ports (two on the rear, by the ethernet port, and a third on the side) to add extra external storage. Setup is incredibly simple – at least for the basic functionality – requiring only that power and ethernet connections be made, a FreeAgent Go drive docked, and then stopping by the online registration site to create a user account. A single green LED lights up to show that the dock is online.

From that point on, when you remember you want a copy of the presentation you were working on at home, would like to show your parents a slideshow of holiday snaps, or fancy listening to the new album you’ve downloaded, it’s a simple case of visiting the site and logging in to remotely access your content. You can share directories, too, either by automatically emailing out links – with read or read/write permissions – or via an RSS feed. There’s also an iPhone application, and various levels of integration with social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The $99.99 sticker price of the DockStar includes a year’s worth of Pogoplug service (though no FreeAgent Go drive, which start at $89.99 for 250GB); after that period you’re looking at a further yearly subscription of $29.99, and that’s where we can’t quite follow Seagate’s thinking. A basic Pogoplug adapter is also $99 and demands no subscription fee; the DockStar throws extra USB connections into the mixture, but that’s nothing you couldn’t add to the Pogoplug by virtue of a USB hub. The user experience for both is the same.

Our second headache came with trying to access the FreeAgent across the home network, rather than through the Pogoplug interface. While you can certainly log into the drive via Pogoplug from one of your home computers, gaining file access that way, it would make far more sense to connect directly via the dock. Unfortunately Seagate’s documentation is less than comprehensive in explaining how this is set up (though the outer packaging does refer to it); in short, Samba SMB shares are established and managed via the DockStar account page online, rather than via a local interface. After you’ve done that, machines on the same local network will be able to access the DockStar-docked drives as if they were a traditional NAS; moreover, you’ll be able to do that without an active subscription.

It’s arguably something that home users – at whom the DockStar is so obviously targeted – wouldn’t especially want to do, but it’s a hiccup in what was otherwise a relatively streamlined setup process. When you’re selling your product on the virtue of simplicity (and if you’re demanding a service fee then we reckon that’s exactly what you should be delivering) then every aspect of it should be so obvious. You could give your tech-naive parents the DockStar to set up and they’d probably have only minor difficulties getting the Pogoplug service activated, but local network sharing would likely be beyond them. A default active Samba share for the whole volume, shared with the same password as used for the remote access, would be one obvious way around the situation.

In the end, though, it’s the subscription charge that sticks in our craw, not least because it’s so obviously been added by Seagate rather than demanded by Pogoplug. Given Seagate’s visibility in retail stores most buyers of the DockStar are unlikely to ever discover that they could have had pretty much the same user experience without tying themselves into a yearly fee, and that feels unfair. If you’re desperate to avoid the wiring required by plugging a USB hub into a Pogoplug then the Seagate is the neater solution, but we reckon most people – like us – would decide that $30 saved each year was enough to forgive it that.

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