With their entry-level MacBook sticking at $999, Apple have obviously decided that avoiding the price-race to the bottom is no way to better the last quarter’s excellent financial performance. We’ve just picked up our 13.3-inch polycarbonate MacBook review unit, and to be frank we can’t blame them; it’s a little thicker and a little heavier than the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro, but it’s also quite a bit cheaper, too.
While the new 27-inch iMacs may be Apple’s eye-catchers, especially in Apple Stores, it’s the company’s new Magic Mouse peripheral that will find its way to the most desks. By junking the trackball of the Mighty Mouse and replacing it with a touch-sensitive surface, Apple have not only catered for the demands of desktop users calling out for multitouch, but bypassed ongoing reliability frustrations of the mechanical ball. After the cut, our live Magic Mouse gallery together with some hands-on first impressions.
Barnes and Noble’s nook may not be the first wireless ebook reader we’ve seen, but with its dual displays, color touchscreen, compact form-factor and Android OS it’s perhaps the most distinctive. The nook isn’t expected to launch until the end of November, but SlashGear were at the B&N launch event in NYC today. Check out our coverage – and some first impressions – after the cut.
Updated with video after the cut
The HTC Tattoo may not have the flagship appeal of the HTC Hero, but with its entry-level positioning it has the potential to introduce a lot more users to the Android platform. HTC have kept costs down by choosing a smaller display and using a restive touchscreen, though you still get HSPA, WiFi b/g, GPS and the company’s latest UI enhancements. A Tattoo landed on SlashGear’s desk today; check out our video unboxing, first-impressions and comparison gallery with the HTC Hero after the cut.
Video unboxing after the cut
The Nokia N900 was the stand-out device from Nokia World back in September, and we’ve been tracking the Maemo 5 smartphone ever since. Imagine our surprise, then, when a pre-release N900 dropped onto the SlashGear test bench today; the hardware is final, so the 5-megapixel autofocus Carl Zeiss camera is onboard, together with HSPA, WiFi b/g, a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and you can check out our video unboxing and gallery after the cut.
SlashGear stopped by new Bluetooth start-up Nitrox today to find out what they company had planned with their first range of cellphone accessories, the X835 car-kit and X735 stereo hands-free kit. The X735, shown here, is already a RED DOT design winner, a compact Bluetooth clip with a monochrome OLED display, stereo A2DP support and a standard 3.5mm headphones jack.
Although most of our attention was on Archos’ new Android device, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a quick fondle of the company’s Windows 7-powered Archos 9 PC Tablet. Where the Archos 5 is a mobile device aspiring to desktop-style usage, the Archos 9 is a full Intel Atom Z515 1.1GHz PC packed into a 8.9-inch touchscreen form-factor.
SlashGear stopped by the Archos launch event last night for the company’s new Android-powered Internet Tablet, the Archos 5. The idea is straightforward: all of Archos’ usual media-centric abilities are there, including broad codec support and the ability to play local and network-based content, but rather than their home-grown Linux-based OS the French company has turned to Android and a custom UI shell.
Hands-on video and gallery after the cut
After announcing the Motorola CLIQ with MOTOBLUR yesterday, we grabbed some hands-on time with the new Android smartphone and persuaded one of the company’s demo team to give us a ten minute walkthrough of its capabilities. There’s plenty to like about this distinctive new addition to the Android stable; we didn’t have as much time to play as we’d have liked, but our early impression is that the keyboard is well made, sturdy and tactile, and the capacitive display responsive and accurate.
Video hands-on after the cut
Let’s be clear – if you don’t like shiny then you probably won’t be too keen on Apple’s special edition iPod shuffle. Packing the same 4GB capacity of the standard top-spec shuffle, but with a newly polished stainless steel casing, the new PMP is limited to sales through Apple Stores.
SlashGear Japan
