Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

Every laptop on the market includes some alternative to a mouse whether it be a touchpad, track point or the now rarely seen trackball. (I still miss them.) And while those options are a great alternative when you don’t exactly have a lot of desk space at your disposal (like when on a plane) they’re just not as comfortable to use as an actual mouse.

So for years manufacturers have been producing smaller, more compact mice specifically designed for use with a laptop while you’re on the go. In recent years they’ve even managed to cut the cord and today I’ll be looking at a wireless notebook mouse from Logitech called the VX Nano. While the mouse itself has a fairly basic design the real innovation here is what Logitech has managed to accomplish in shrinking the USB wireless receiver. Not only is it ridiculously small but I really don’t know how a USB receiver could actually get smaller and still be usable.

Frequent readers of the site might recall that our own Shane McGlaun already gave us a first ‘hands on’ look at the mouse shortly after it was released but I’m here to provide a more in-depth review complete with additional photos right after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s no secret that I’m the type of person who takes very good care of their gadgets and while at times it might border on paranoia in the end it usually pays off when I get bored with the device and want to sell it for a decent return. It’s also no secret that while the iPhone was one of the most anticipated gadgets to come along since the invention of gadget blogs it’s also turned out to be one of the most fingerprint prone devices I’ve ever touched.

So even before I asked the salesperson at the Apple store if they had any iPhones in stock I first made sure they had screen protectors available since I had no intentions of even touching the phone until it was properly protected. While at the Apple Store I was also tempted to buy a protective case for the phone but being a fan of WaterField Designs I figured I would wait and see what they were cooking up instead.

Thankfully after only a brief wait the company released their iPhone Smart Case and iPhone Suede Jacket Case which I had the opportunity to take a look at. If you’ve been in the market for a case for your iPhone and haven’t been that impressed with what’s available at the Apple stores you can check out my full review of WaterField Designs’ offerings after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Ian Chiu

Seems the LCD industry has been trying to convince S&P 500 companies to put a second or third monitor on their employees’ desktop. Well, their customers’ IT representatives haven’t been so keen on spending many sleepless nights upgrading thousands of video cards on their PCs. Of course, that’s a market begging to be filled right there and new start-up DisplayLink is doing its bit with an improved USB video card solution that combines a lossless decompression engine, 32MB DDR and a 16-bit graphics co-processor. Basically the data used to stream across PCI Express is now flowing through the USB pipe into the monitor.

So far, IOGear, LG, Samsung and Toshiba have shown interest in this solution. Samsung has raced to be the first to ship a 19″ monitor with USB interface in addition to DVI and VGA. Also unique to this solution is the ability to daisy-chain up to 5 additional monitors via USB. Everything USB has taken a good look at the SyncMaster 940UX 19″ LCD and was quite pleased with the 2D performance. As DisplayLink employs lossless most of the times, text and image clarity are preserved. However, you can notice the lines are more pixelated during full-screen video playback in PowerPoint when the video chipset switches to lossy compression.

Samsung’s SyncMaster 940UX makes for a wonderful monitor in a typical office environment, with great color accuracy, sharpness, and even backlighting to boot. The pixel response time of 15ms+ may not be the best for hardcore gamers, although weekend warriors and light movie watchers will find it more than suitable. The scalable USB interface promises and delivers with its ease of setup and hands-off driver installation, and can keep up with most video tasks albeit with some artifacts and occasional frame drops. Just don’t expect the USB interface to play nicely with 3D games and CAD design programs.

[Samsung SyncMaster 940UX USB Monitor Review @ Everything USB]

By Andrew Liszewski

I actually upgraded my trusty Nokia E61 to the HTC S710 over a month ago and while I really wanted to write a full review of the phone I haven’t had the time thanks to my ‘day job.’ Thankfully Thomas De Maesschalck over at DV Hardware did have the time to write one and overall he gives the phone an 8.5/10. For the specifics you can read his full review but here are my own impressions of the S710 after playing with it for a month now.

While the E61 was one of the best phones I’ve ever used I decided I wanted something a bit smaller and more importantly a phone with more 3rd party applications. Even after being out for over a year the list of apps available for the E61 was pretty dismal. At the same time I still wanted a dedicated keyboard so when I saw the S710 with its nifty slideout keyboard I knew it was the perfect fit.

So far the phone has been pretty good. Having been away from mobile versions of Windows for many years I can’t comment much on the upgrades made to Windows Mobile 6 but like most MS operating systems there have been a few hiccups here and there. Definitely more than the E61 ever had. On the plus side though there’s a mountain of 3rd party applications available which I really like. As for form factor for what the S710 is capable of it’s still remarkably small and pocketable. It is a bit on the heavy side but at the same time it tends to make the phone feel more solid than anything. And I have to say I’m especially impressed with what HTC has been able to pull off in only a few short years. The company entered an already crowded cellphone market and as far as I’m concerned are now producing some of the best Windows Mobile phones available.

For the complete specs on the S710 you can check out the product page on the HTC website.

[ DV Hardware reviews the HTC S710 ] VIA [ Krunker ]

By Ian Chiu

There’s a bewildering array of choices in the digital music player market, yet everyone seems to pick the iPod nano. We think the iriver clix gen 2 is a great alternative, one that has finally caught up to and in some areas surpassed the market leader. To sum it up, the Clix has has a truly original minimalistic design, starting eith an effective D-Click navigation and not some iPod wheel knock off. It supports both MTP and UMS, plus the ability to rebuild ID3 DB from files - something that is extremely handy for those who prefer to drag and drop their music into the player. With Flash lite support, you’re guaranteed there will be a decent selection of free games. The downsides are the lack of AAC, line-in recording and slow music transfer. If the iRiver still doesn’t impress at least you’ve still got other nice choices, like the Meizu M6 SE. From the review:

Simple navigation, killer sound quality, smooth video, vibrant photos and the brightest, most vivid display I’ve ever seen on an MP3 player put the new iRiver Clix 2 ahead of the competition in most regards. Free games, FM radio and text capabilities sweeten the deal, but what really sets the Clix apart is its ability to operate in either MTP or USB Mass Storage modes with automated database rebuilding. At last, the freedom to switch between Rhapsody, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, iTunes, Mac and Linux without hassle. The only things that could really use improvement are the transfer speeds for music and the bundled headphones. Still, the Clix gen 2 is highly recommended, and finally succeeds in stealing the limelight away from the current market leader.

[iRiver Clix gen 2 4GB Review @ Everything USB]

By Ian Chiu

Well, everyone yawns at backup software and external hard drives, but it’s fairly certain everyone will also mourn at the loss of their lifetime work when a lighting strike, fire or HDD failure finally hits and obliterates everything he/she worked so hard for. Other people are smart, and actually purchase products like the Seagate FreeAgent Pro. Everything USB has taken a look at what is reportedly ‘the’ backup solution for everyone (except Mac folks). The drive ships with 750GB storage, the highly praised Memeo’s AutoBackup, 2 modules for connecting to USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and eSATA, and a 5-year warranty card. The logo and the strip on the chassis can also glow to remind you of Seagate’s brand, but this functionality can also be turned off, thankfully.

Backups can be such a chore. For the novice computer user, they’re a maze of which folders and backup schemes to pick from. For geeks, they can be slow and inefficient, seeing as they sometimes even have to rely on our memory to press a button! Rather than listen to users scream the proverbial “NOOOOOOOOOO”, Seagate has ramped up the speeds and warranty on their latest external drive, the FreeAgent Pro, and coupled it with Memeo’s powerful yet intuitive backup software.

Pros: Modular interface design; speedy eSATA interface; FireWire interface can be daisy-chained; superb AutoBackup software; silent operation; 5 year warranty.

Cons: Lacks FireWire 800; no Mac backup software; harsh warranty terms.

[Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750GB External HDD Review @ Everything USB]

By Evan Ackerman

Playaway, makers of a single-serving digital audiobook player, kindly sent us a review unit last week. Being a fan of audio and books (and free stuff), I volunteered to write it up. The particular audiobook that I’m listening to for this review is The Worst Case Scenario Handbook, read by Penn Jillette and Burt Reynolds. It retails from the Playawaydigital.com website for $34.99. Click on through for a brutally in-depth review.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Evan Ackerman

I like robots rather a lot, but I never thought I might actually be capable of building one until I ran across a website about photovore robots. Most photovores are small, solar powered BEAM (biologically inspired) bots with a solar panel, light sensors, and a tiny motor or two. In the same way that herbivores eat herbs and carnivores eat carnies, photovores ‘eat’ photons in that their light sensors tell their motors to chase bright light to ‘feed’ their solar panel. I decided to try to build one myself, and bought a small kit from Solarbotics.com.

Full review after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Ian Chiu

You want to enjoy the fullest of your DVDs’ 5.1 surround sound, to give orders to your comrades in Call of Duty and to chat with your mum in Skype. Other than adding a bulky 5.1 set and grabbing a $10 commodity headset, the Tritton AXPC 5.1 USB headset may do all these just fine without adding more cable clutter. The Tritton retails for $55 and as a USB audio device, it bypasses onboard audio that often produces an annoying hiss. The circumaural cans can effectively filter out almost all ambient noises and provide a sealed sound chamber. The mic has a +20dB mic boost feature that is proven to be extremely useful in VoIP. In movies, the 5.1 performance actually puts “…ordinary headphones to shame.” However, a significant problem lies within OpenAL, one that affects a lot of the latest game titles. For full details, follow the link love at the bottom.

Surround sound is like dual monitors and satellite radio. Once you have it, it’s hard to go back. So when your new neighbor calls the cops on you for having the volume too loud, or you’re attending a LAN party with no speakers permitted, it’s imperative to have a backup plan. Enter the Tritton AXPC gaming USB headset, offering true 5.1 surround thanks to 4 individual drivers in each cup, rumble feedback, and a detachable boom mic to keep those late night gaming sessions rocking. Did we mention it’s USB? Full review ahead.

[Tritton Audio Xtreme PC USB Headset Review @ Everything USB]