After the prematurely-released Zune HD press images yesterday, CNET had the chance to go hands-on with the latest pre-production model, and the best news (for Microsoft at least) is that they reckon it’s the best Zune yet. Gaining particular praise are the 3.3-inch OLED display, which is crisp and bright, while the browser – though lacking Flash support – works just like that of the iPod touch when it comes to multitouch gestures.
A reasonably stylish all-in-one with a sub-$400 price-tag and 18.5-inch widescreen display: too good to be true or bargain of the century? The eMachines EZ1601-01 poaches Intel’s trusty Atom processor for some desktop duty, offering a squint-free LCD and full-sized peripherals. SlashGear have been testing it out.
Earlier this year we covered the launch of HP’s latest Intel Nehalem-based workstations, and soon enough HP had a Z400 test unit for us to try out. The entry-point to the new range, the Z400 misses out on some of the more innovative design features of its bigger siblings, but arguably the most important thing – the Xeon processor – is there front and center. Read on for our benchmarks and impressions.
More of the more tempting models from ASUS’ upcoming notebook line, the ultraportable UX30, has found its way to the desk of Netbook Live, and they’ve been putting the 13.3-inch pre-release unit through its paces. Theirs is the entry-level 1.3GHz SU2700 model, using one of Intel’s CULV processors paired with 2GB of RAM and GMA X4500MHD graphics.
Sony have already confirmed that they attempted to differentiate their VAIO W netbook from rivals by giving it a relatively high-resolution 1,366 x 768 10.1-inch display, but in doing so did they undermine the Atom N270-based budget ultraportable’s overall performance? That’s one possibility raised by Computer Shopper in their review of the Sony VAIO W, describing the graphics showing as “lackluster”.
It’s been almost three years since we last mentioned a review of one of GamePark’s GP2X open-source handhelds, and as you might expect the company has made a few changes since then. The latest-gen GP2X Wiz has a 2.8-inch 320 x 240 AMOLED touchscreen, customized Linux OS with 15-second boot and is available for $180; according to Boing Boing Gadgets, if you can stomach the price it’s the best retro-gaming handheld around.
Toshiba may not have the fashionable appeal of Apple, nor the solid reputation of Lenovo, but they do know how to push the envelope. Their Portégé series of ultraportables is already slim, and was the first to offer a 128GB SSD back in 2008; now it’s the first, in the shape of the Portégé R600, to offer a 512GB SSD. Legitimate business tool or shallow one-upmanship? SlashGear decided to find out.
Samsung’s Mondi may be tricky to find for retail right now, but an early unit has dropped over at PC World for them to try out. Taking advantage of Clearwire’s CLEAR WiMAX network, the Mondi MID has a slide-out keyboard, 4.3-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen and runs Windows Mobile 6.1; unfortunately, reviewer Ginny Mies found that while the screen is “gorgeous” the keyboard is too flush to be comfortable and the OS does its usual job of making things sluggish.
Wireless video is one of those things that you really wouldn’t think would be all that hard, but high-profile retreats such as Belkin’s FlyWire are showing it isn’t necessarily as easy as squirting HDTV across the open air of your living room. Everything USB have been testing out IOGear’s Wireless USB AV Kit, and finding that you’re not so much cutting cables as rearranging them.
We first saw the Minoru 3D webcam back in October 2008, but the first reviews are only just coming in now. Crave managed to get their hands on the double-camera gadget and shot some test images and video, finding it to be a surprisingly straightforward way of getting a 3D effect.
Video demo after the cut
JP
