The Sony Vaio X is so thin and so light, even photos don't do it justice, so we've included a video review. The half inch thick, 1.5 lb. Sony Vaio X has an 11.1" LED display, yet it looks and feels nothing like popular 11" ultralights on the market. The display is typical Sony; bright, saturated and high res and the carbon fiber body is typical Sony chic and strong. The Vaio X runs Windows 7 Home Premium on a 2GHz Intel Atom CPU with 2 gigs of RAM and your choice of a 64 or 128 gig SSD drive. It has WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth + EDR, Verizon EV-DO Rev. A and a GPS. There are plenty of ports and the notebook comes with a standard battery and an extended battery that's good for 10 or more hours. If extreme portability and stamina are your thing, the X has it in a beautiful package.
Though it lacks the coolness and innovative design of the LG Chocolate BL-40, Verizon's new Chocolate does have a full 240 x 400 pixel touch screen and a distinctive design. Like all LG Chocolate phones on Verizon, the Chocolate Touch specializes in music, and to that end it features Dolby Mobile, a 3.5mm stereo jack, an FM radio, a gig of internal storage and Bluetooth A2DP stereo. Other amenities included EV-DO, a 3.2 megapixel camera and a GPS.
Verizon and Motorola have made a big to do about their flagship Android smartphone and the Moto Droid might just be all that. It's fast, it's got a simply huge 480 x 854 pixel capacitive touch screen, it's skinny and it has a slider QWERTY keyboard. The Droid is the first Android 2.0 OS phone and it's full of the usual Google goodies like Gmail, YouTube and Maps plus built-in MS Exchange support and other amenities. The Droid has a GPS that works with Google Maps, WiFi, Bluetooth with A2DP stereo and a very good 5 megapixel camera.This review includes a video review.
Launched on the same day by Verizon, we can only imagine the Moto Droid mouthing "say hello to my little friend, the HTC Droid Eris". Were it not for HTC's growing reputation as a top manufacturer of Windows Mobile and Android smartphones, the less hyped Eris might fall through the cracks. The Eris is similar to the HTC Hero on Sprint, but with looks influenced by the HTC Touch. It has a 320 x 480 capacitive touch screen, EV-DO Rev. A, WiFi, a 5 megapixel camera, GPS and Bluetooth. It's compact and light and half the price of the Moto Droid.
Want a touch screen phone with a full QWERTY keyboard but don't want a bulky side-slider? The Samsung Flight SGH-A797 is a rare bird: it's a feature phone with a vertical slide-down keyboard and a touch screen. More pocketable and affordable than the Samsung Impression on AT&T, the Flight offers a QVGA touchscreen, 3G HSDPA, a GPS, 2 megapixel camera and Bluetooth. The touch UI is easy to use, though this isn't a TouchWiz phone.
Lately it seems like a robot invasion with new Android phones popping up a few times per month. The Samsung Moment is Sprint's second Android Google OS phone, following on the heels of the lovely HTC Hero. The Moment is for you QWERTY types: it features a slide out hardware keyboard that's roomy and has good travel. But you might not notice it at first since the vibrant and captivating 3.2" AMOLED capacitive touchscreen steals the show. The Moment has WiFi, a GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera and the usual Sprint goodies like Sprint TV, NFL Mobile and Sprint Navigation.
RIM's second generation touch screen BlackBerry is a go. The Storm2 does most things better than the first gen Storm thanks to a redesigned SurePress capacitive touch screen (yes, it still moves for better or worse), a new OS and more memory. The Storm2 is fast, stable and easy to use, though QWERTY addicts will likely do better with a traditional BlackBerry. The Storm2 is exclusive to Verizon in the US and it has EV-DO Rev. A, world GSM roaming, WiFi, Bluetooth and a GPS.
The HP ENVY 15 recalls that Voodoo Envy heritage: this is a powerful gaming and desktop replacement laptop masquerading as a high style thin and light. The ENVY 15's etched magnesium alloy casing is stunning and fingerprint resistant, its Intel Core i7 quad core CPU has trouble finding a serious challenge and the 15.6" full HD 1920 x 1080 display is a looker. The 1 gig ATI Mobility Radeon 4830 dedicated graphics card is up to the Crysis challenge. We admit, we're smitten with this high end, 5.2 lb. Windows 7 machine. This review includes a video of the notebook playing Crysis, F.E.A.R. 2 and HD movie trailers.
'Tis the season for Android phones, and this time we take a look at T-Mobile's third Android Google OS phone, the Cliq. While the G1 and MyTouch 3G on T-Mobile are vanilla Android phones, the Cliq runs MOTOBLUR on top of Android: an over the top social networking experience with support for no less than 10 types of social networks and messaging. Other features include a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3G HSDPA, a 3.1" capacitive touchscreen, WiFi and a 5 megapixel camera.
Verizon's added the Samsung Rogue to their already large selection of touchscreen phones. The Rogue is one of their best thanks to a gorgeous 3.1" AMOLED display, a good slide-out keyboard and Samsung's TouchWiz UI with widgets. The phone has EV-DO for fast data, a 3 megapixel camera, GPS, plenty of storage and a responsive touch screen. Well worth a look if you're into touchscreens and texting.
Verizon's got a blockbuster Windows Mobile 6.5 touchscreen phone in the HTC Imagio. The phone features a 3.6" display with HTC's TouchFLO 3D UI, a slim and sexy design and Mobile TV. That's broadcast TV over the air, not streaming video, and it works well. The Imagio also has V Cast Video and Music, a capable non-streaming media player, YouTube, WiFi, Bluetooth, EV-DO Rev. A and a GPS. If that's not enough to keep you entertained, it has a 5 megapixel camera too. We like. This review includes a video review.
AT&T's first Windows Mobile 6.5 Pro smartphone is here with HTC's TouchFLO 3D goodness. This small and light full-featured smartphone features a 3.2" resistive touch screen, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus lens, very good video playback performance, WiFi, Bluetooth and a GPS all at a reasonable price. It's the close relative to the HTC Touch Diamond2 sold overseas. If you're looking for an HTC WinMo phone with the latest OS that won't break the bank or your pants pocket, the Pure is worth a look. This review includes a video review.
The HP Mini 311 is the first US netbook to feature NVIDIA ION graphics. That means accelerated 3D graphics and video which translates to a netbook than can finally handle iTunes video playback, DVD quality movie playback and even HD video. Not only that, it's a decent gamer if you can live without Crysis and make do with F.E.A.R. 2. The Mini 311 comes with Windows XP (Windows 7 will be available come Oct. 22), an 11.6" LED display, the usual Intel Atom N270 1.66GHz CPU, and HDMI port, a 160 gig hard drive and a gig of DDR3 RAM that's upgradable to 3 gigs.
The third generation Instinct brings HD video recording at a remarkable 1280 x 720 pixels and a capacitive 3.2" touch screen to the standard Instinct formula. It has a fun, intuitive and attractive user interface and it works with every service Sprint offers: Sprint TV, Sprint Radio, Sprint Navigation, NFL Mobile and Nascar. The 320 x 480 display now sports the same resolution as the iPhone 3GS and HTC Hero, while the 5 megapixel camera puts it at the high end of US camera phones. But the HD sells for more than several compelling phones in Sprint's own lineup? Is it worth it?
Microsoft keeps trying to find something that will tempt the world away from their iPods. The Zune HD is a stunning piece of hardware: on the outside it's metal and glass while inside we have the impressive NVIDIA Tegra processor with video chutzpah aplenty. This 2.6 ounce media player, available in 16 and 32 gig capacities, can play HD 720p video no problem. That's pretty compelling but the 3.3" capacitive multi-touch OLED display really steals the show-- you must see it to appreciate it. The Zune HD has WiFi, a web browser, WiFi syncing, an HD FM radio and it supports applications and games (this hardware begs for killer 3D games!). Oh yes, it plays music too.
AT&T's last to the race with their version of the HTC Touch Pro2 Windows Mobile Pro smartphone, but they're the first to offer it with Windows Mobile 6.5. The Tilt 2 boasts the same feature set as the Touch Pro2 on the 3 other major US carriers, but it ships with the newer Windows OS for phones and changes the keyboard layout a bit. It has an 800 x 480 touch screen, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and an awesome slide-out and tilt QWERTY keyboard.
This is Nokia's new top of the line Bluetooth stereo headset. It features active noise cancellation, a rare feature on Bluetooth headsets. The BH-905 looks like a classy set of headphones and it sounds as good as it looks, at least when used with phones. It doubles as a wired stereo headphones with included removable cables.
This stereo Bluetooth headset is one of the best looking we've ever seen, and would fit in well at the Museum of Modern Art. Better yet, it sounds good too and has better than average outgoing voice quality for phone calls. This 3 ounce headset folds for travel.
Don't want a touch screen, but you do want a small and affordable ebook reader that's great for novel reading and the like? The 5" Pocket Edition looks slick and it works with Google books, library books in ePUB and PDF formats as well as Sony's wide selection of online store books. At $199, it might be time to take the plunge into digital books.
Let's face it, it's not so easy to look chic and cool wearing a Bluetooth headset. If the Borg look isn't for you, but great audio quality is, then Motorola's H790 has you covered with a stunning slim design and CrystalTalk technology.
Another year, another nano. The 5th generation iPod nano looks a lot like the 4th gen model, but it adds two very cool features: a VGA video camera and (finally!) an FM radio. As always, it's available in a wide range of invigorating colors.
We've selected the best camera phones from among our in-depth reviews of models available in the US from carriers and unlocked in the US. The phones feature high megapixel ratings, good autofocus lenses and camera-centric features. And they take very good photos too!.
They come in many forms and run a variety of operating systems, but they all offer the best brains and features for the money. Be it touch screen or QWERTY-hardware heaven, you can count on these to get your email, work on Office docs and use the web in full HTML glory.
Like to text and send email but find t9 text entry on a number pad about as much fun as getting a filling? These affordable QWERTY messenger phones help you to stay in touch with the written word but won't cost you an arm and a leg. Most don't even require a smartphone data plan. Of course, for high end email needs, the BlackBerry is hard to beat, but we take a look at the alternatives here.
The iPhone really started the touch screen craze, but it's not the only game in town. You might want a higher resolution camera, or a cheaper data plan than the iPhone offers. Or maybe you don't want to use AT&T. We take a look at the top touch screen phones on all carriers at a variety of prices.
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