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Samsung's 'tank-like,' AMOLED-screened TL500 compact camera reviewed
Another player has entered the high-end compact camera fold, and this time it looks like Samsung is in it to win it. The TL500 (aka EX1) is a 10 megapixel shooter with a larger than usual 1/1.7-inch CCD backing up a 24 - 72mm 3x zoom lens that will take you all the way down to F1.8. In the Photography Blog review, that lens earned the camera one of its few criticisms, starting very wide but not offering enough magnification on the other end of the scale. A lack of 720p video recording is another bummer, but other than those two it's basically all positive, with the build quality and controls earning high marks, and the resulting images (helped by full manual exposure controls) looking as good as you'd expect. The camera isn't particularly reasonable at $449, but it does at least deliver on everything it promises.
Viliv's N5 UMPC finally reviewed, deemed worth the wait
We wouldn't say that Viliv is always tardy with its product releases, but neither would we say that we're particularly surprised the N5 UMPC is only now making its way to retail seven months after being announced. It's a Windows 7-toting, clutch-sized device packing specs that are at least seven months old: a 1.3GHz Atom Z520 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 32GB SSD. Despite that, performance is said to be good, capable of handling 720p and even 1080p video without a hitch on its 4.8-inch, WSVGA display. Build quality is said to be "superb," the optical thumbpad thing is apparently a respectable mouse replacement, and 3G wireless (in addition to 802.11b/g and Bluetooth) is quite easy to enable. Unfortunately we're still not sure what Viliv is going to charge for this, but we're told it'll be appearing for order in the very near future.
Shooting around with the Nikon D3S: the field review
Nikon's D3S didn't exactly emerge out of nowhere, but the DSLR's boosted ISO ceiling of over 100,000 (102,400, if we're being precise) has certainly shaken up the industry. Nikon claims that it's set a new bar for low-light performance and raw speed in the crowded DSLR arena, and we were tickled pink when given the chance to see if this thing was worth its weight in gold. Now, the master photogs over at DP Review have already broken down the nitty-gritty details in an exhaustive 34 page critique, but for those just looking for a little insight -- and perhaps a short answer to "should I buy this?" -- we've got exactly what you're looking for. Head on past the break for two distinct takes on Nikon's most capable shooter yet -- and some thoughts on how Nikon's latest monster professional cam will radically change the consumer camera as well.
HTC Aria review
It's sort of hard to believe, but AT&T finally has an Android phone worth paying attention to. Mind you, the AT&T compatible Nexus One is easily the best Googlephone on America's largest GSM operator, but this is the first one that the company has bothered to brand and sell on a subsidized plan within its own stores. Pundits could argue the reasons why forever, but considering that the carrier's doing all it can just to keep up with the demand for iPhones, it's hard to imagine that AT&T has been longing to pursue Android with reckless abandon. Believe it or not, it's been over 1.5 years since T-Mobile gave the world the first taste of a mobile OS that would soon rival (and surpass) the other options already on the table, but outside of the forgettable Backflip (and the nowhere-to-be-found Aero), there's been no Android to speak of on AT&T. HTC has somehow managed to break down the blue and orange walls, piercing the heart of a hardened operator and squeezing a delightful mid-range Android smartphone into a lineup that's about to be monumentally overshadowed by the iPhone 4. So, is the HTC Aria worth the $129.99 that you'll be forced to pay on a 2-year agreement when it ships on June 20th? Read on to find out. %Gallery-95473%
OCZ Enyo USB 3.0 SSD gets reviewed: seductively speedy
OCZ's Enyo USB 3.0 portable SSD is still a fortnight or so away from hitting typical sales channels, but that hasn't stopped PC Perspective from picking one up via alternative means and putting it through its paces. We already knew that this would easily be the sexiest USB 3.0 SSD to hit the streets this year (okay, so we're assuming, but we're willing to bet a handful of Microsoft Points!), but now we know it'll also be one of the fastest. When tested alongside a USB 3.0 Super Talent thumb drive in a reasonably potent Core i7 desktop, critics found that read / write performance was downright stunning, with sustained read speeds hitting 195MB/sec and write speeds reaching as high as 220MB/sec. 'Course, the lofty price means that this beaut couldn't be recommended to all, but it's certainly nice to have the option if you're still looking for ways to spend that tax refund check. Video's after the break, y'all.
Pentax's all-weather Optio W90 gets reviewed: brawn meets brain
As we've seen in the past, rugged point-and-shoots aren't necessarily the greatest pure shooters; generally speaking, compromises are made when it comes to image quality in order to manufacture a camera that can withstand an atypical amount of abuse. With that in mind, critics over at Photography BLOG went into their review of Pentax's all-weather Optio W90 with lowered expectations on the image quality front, but they actually came away duly impressed. Deeming the cam one "not just of outer muscle, but with inner strengths too," they found the W90 able to produce images "better what [they were] used to [seeing] from models that major on toughness." As you'd expect, it was able to shrug off bouts with dust, water and the occasional rude encounter with concrete, but reviewers did lament the omission of optical stabilization, and low-light performance was unsurprisingly lackluster. Still, it seems a solid overall option for those concerned with rigidity, but we'd encourage you to visit that source link before making a final call either way.
OCZ's Agility 2 SSD reviewed: despite limits, SandForce SF-1200 drive performs well
Contrary to popular belief, one solid state drive isn't the same as another solid state drive necessarily. OCZ's new Agility 2 is proof of that, boasting the final (v3.0.5) version of SandForce's SF-1200 firmware. The issue here is that Corsair's recently released Force series of SSDs are shipping (and continue to ship) with v3.0.1 installed, which -- according to SandForce -- will never be viewed as the final version ready for mass consumption. As the story goes, v3.0.1 may experience a reliability issue with a power management state, but v3.0.5 caps small file random write performance as to better separate the SF-1200 drives from the pricier SF-1500 drives. Our compadres over at AnandTech were able to put the (factory limited) Agility 2 SSD through its paces, and for the most part, it came out looking pretty decent. Critics found 5- to 10-percent performance gains when compared to Intel / Indilinx offerings, but unless you have to have the absolute best, paying extra for that bump may not be the most intelligent move. The other point here is that while the Agility 2 may be capped with the v3.0.5 firmware, at least its upgrade path is a lot clearer than the aforementioned Force; if you ever take v3.0.1 away from that unit, you can kiss that extra performance goodbye. Hit the source link for the full, drama-filled look.
Nokia N8 gets handled, survives thorough Russian preview
We heard through the grapevine back at CTIA that Nokia's elusive N8 would be announced somewhere in the wide world this April, and sure enough, it looks as if the handset has popped up over in one of Russia's eleven nine time zones. Our pals at Mobile-Review have worked their magic once more on an up and coming handset, this time landing some serious face time with the planet's first Symbian^3 phone. Despite Nokia pushing the official reveal of said OS to Q3 (from Q2 previously), we're getting an early look at what exactly is to come here -- and if this review is any indication, Nokia's woes are about to become even more woeful. In short, critics panned the new system for being little more than a polished version of what Nokia's already offering, and they clearly noted that nothing here lived up to what Android and iPhone OS currently provide. In fact, they even went so far as to wonder who is inside of Nokia purposefully dragging down the brand; granted, it's hard to say for sure how great (or not, as the case may be) the N8 is without touching it ourselves, but to say it's off to a running start would be misinterpreting things quite severely. Have a look at the source link below for more of the machine translated goodness, and don't forget to ogle a few shots of the phone itself. [Thanks, Andria]
Western Digital VelociRaptor VR200M review roundup: fast, capacious, but no SSD
While it's only a matter of time before solid state storage becomes cheap and reliable enough to replace magnetic media for good, companies like Western Digital are still finding ways to keep those platters a' spinning. Take this new WD VelociRaptor VR200M, for instance. Critics agree that while it doesn't offer anywhere near SSD levels of performance, it's certainly the fastest rotational SATA drive ever tested -- 15 to 30 percent improved over the last generation of VelociRaptors, depending on the benchmark -- and at roughly 50 cents per gigabyte for the three-platter, 600GB WD6000BLHX ($329), it offers more capacity than any SSD you could hope to buy without refinancing your third vacation home. Reviewers note that with a 15mm drive height, you still won't be dropping one of these speed demons in your new laptop, and your desktop might be better off with a cheaper 7200RPM drive paired with a similarly inexpensive SSD, but if you're looking for that single drive that does it all, the new VelociRaptor is your best bet. Hit the links below for the full skinny, and a deep, deep dive into the fascinating world of IOPS, read speeds and write times. Read - TechReport Read - AnandTech Read - PC Perspective Read - HotHardware Read - Tom's Hardware Read - ExtremeTech Read - LegitReviews Read - StorageReview Read - DesktopReview
Motorola's Motonav TN765 navigator gets reviewed: a widescreen PND done right
Motorola doesn't exactly have a huge foothold in the portable navigation market, but it's not like the TomToms and Garmins of the world really need to keep on keepin' on sans any legitimate competition. Originally revealed at CES (and once again at MWC), the Motonav TN765 is one of the most bizarrely designed GPS units we've ever seen, taking on a Philips 21:9 Cinema type of layout in order to provide an ultra-widescreen view that can't easily be found elsewhere. Now, the 5.1-inch device is on sale in the US for around $270, and we've collected a number of reviews from those who've had the ability to whiz around town with one adhered to the windshield. For the most part, critics were duly impressed with the wide variety of features (Bluetooth handsfree calling, text-to-speech, voice dialing, auto map zooming and a litany of live data reports informing you of the local weather forecast, gas prices, etc.). Previously, Motorola's PND efforts weren't exactly lauded, but this guy's different -- most everyone found the robust feature set and stunning user interface to be more than satisfactory, with the main detraction being the intermittent MotoExtras service and dodgy reception in dense, urban areas. Hit up the links below before pulling the trigger (or switching on the safety, as it were).
ATI Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition review roundup: novel, but not for everyone
We've been fortunate enough to spend a bit of time with an Eyefinity setup before, but up until now, it's been somewhat of a hassle to get a fully functional six-screen setup into a consumer's home. Today, AMD is taking the legwork out of the equation with the introduction of the Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition, a standalone GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and innate support for pushing a half-dozen panels at once. Outside of that, it's essentially the same card that we saw last September, and based on the cadre of reviews that we rounded up, the doubled memory bank doesn't do much to boost frame rates. What it does do, however, is enable six-screen gaming. Unfortunately (though understandably), this type of gaming scenario is only meant for a select segment of users, and many critics found the novelty wearing off exceptionally quick. In fact, it wasn't long before NeoSeeker became fed up with the bezels ruining the experience, and just about everyone agreed that you needed to sit a good half-mile away to really enjoy it. Either way, we'd encourage you to hit up Hot Hardware's collection of videos before biting the bullet, buying up an extra five LCDs and then regretting it for the rest of your Earthly life. Read - Hot Hardware Read - AnandTech Read - NeoSeeker Read - Rage3D Read - PC Perspective Read - TweakTown Read - FiringSquad Read - Tom's Hardware Read - ExtremeTech Read - Hexus
Microsoft's budget 720p HD-5000 LifeCam reviewed (video)
A week after becoming a reality, Microsoft's LifeCam HD-5000 webcam has been given the review treatment by Mobile + Netbook and, while it delivers what looks to be generally excellent quality video, it doesn't score perfectly high marks. For one thing, this cam does not feature onboard hardware encoding, which resulted in 40 percent CPU utilization for this tester when recording at 720p on a Core i5 750 processor -- ouch. This also means that the cam will not be usable for Skype HD, as that service requires onboard hardware encoding. But, other than some slow focus issues, the camera delivered quite good quality and color and, at just $50 MSRP (we're seeing them for $40 online), it's still quite a bargain.
Alienware's Core i7-980X-infused Area-51 desktop gets reviewed, puts other rigs to shame
Surely you recall that snazzy new Alienware Area-51 desktop that popped up last week with Intel's flashy Core i7-980X Extreme Edition within, right? The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware have since put the stratospherically priced ($4,569 as tested) rig through its paces, and suffice it to say, there's hardly a machine on the planet that's faster than this rig today. Put simply, the test machine -- which was equipped with a pair of ATI Radeon HD 5970 cards -- bested every other gaming desktop they'd seen, with the only shortfall coming up in the HDD tests. Naturally, SSD-equipped rivals were a good bit faster there, but nothing's stopping you from swapping out those traditional platters and installing a bit of NAND yourself. Ah, why bother with the details -- if you're looking for "quite literally the fastest desktop PC on the earth," this can definitely be it with the right configuration. Hit that source link for the mind-boggling benchmarks and a hands-on video.
MSI Wind12 U230 unboxed and benchmarked, trounces netbooks of yesteryear
It's no Pine Trail when it comes to power consumption, but AMD's Congo platform is no slouch, either. TestFreaks recently received the Congo-powered MSI Wind12-U230 for review, and discovered that its dual-core Athlon X2 L335 CPU and speedy Seagate drive made neat work of last year's Atom netbooks, including the formerly formidable HP Mini 311. After shooting the requisite unboxing video and posing the slender machine for a few close-ups, TestFreaks praised the large, comfortable keyboard and touchpad, while scoffing at only four hours of net browsing as the entirety of its battery life. You'll find pics, a host of benchmarks and even CPU-Z screens at the source link; now, we just want to see how the netbook handles a contemporary competitor.
Intel's Core i7-980X Extreme Edition 'Gulftown' review roundup
Six cores. Twelve threads. A new flagship processor in Intel's stable. Here at GDC in San Francisco, the world's most widely recognized chip maker is dishing out its latest desktop CPU, and to say it's a niche device would be greatly understating things. We spoke to a number of Intel bigwigs at tonight's media event, and everyone confessed that the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition was a low quantity, high performance device aimed specifically at gamers and content editors that simply refuse to live anywhere other than on the cutting edge. Intel's planning on selling these in retail, standalone form for $999 (MSRP), while they'll soon be available in a variety of gaming rigs from the likes of Dell, Alienware and whoever else wishes to keep with the times. As for Apple? The company stated that Steve and Company "sort of call their own shots," and that we'd have to dig at Apple if we really wanted to know what their refreshed Mac Pro would hold. We chuckled, nodded in understanding, and then learned that this here slab of silicon is a bit ahead of the software out there, with Intel noting that only games optimized for 12-thread use and benchmarking utilities that did likewise would really demonstrate the performance boost. 'Course, anyone who spends a great deal of time multitasking will appreciate the extra headroom, and power users can always find ways to make use of more horsepower. Oh, and for what it's worth, the company stated that this will be its lead desktop chip for some time to come, and if you're looking for a mobile version in the near future, you can keep dreaming. As for the critics? Just about everyone with a benchmarking license managed to get one of these in-house, and everyone seems to feel (mostly) the same way. There's no denying that this is Intel's speediest consumer chip ever, but you won't find 50 percent boosts just anywhere. Yet. When the software catches up, though, there's no doubt that this chip will make even the other Core i7s look downright sluggish. 50 percent more cores and 50 percent more threads than the prior kings of the line leads to fantastic gains when serious number crunching is involved (audio and video editors, we're staring at you), with some tests showing upticks in the 30 to 50 percent range. As a bonus, the power consumption here is also extremely reasonable, with the shift to 32nm enabling it to even use less power in some circumstances when compared to the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition. Dig into the glut of reviews below if you've got a cool grand with "chip upgrade" written on it -- you'll be glad you did. Read - Hot Hardware Read - AnandTech Read - Techgage Read - Computer Shopper Read - Bit-Tech Read - PC Perspective Read - Neoseeker Read - Hardcoreware Read - TweakTown Read - PC World Read - TechReport Read - Benchmark Reviews Read - Hardware Canucks Read - Overclockers Club Read - Hexus Read - Legit Reviews
Fujitsu's LifeBook UH900 gets reviewed, notable flaws found
There's no question that Fujitsu's LifeBook UH900 is a niche device; much like Sony's VAIO P, there's just not a lot of demand for an expensive clamshell with an extremely high resolution and an exceptionally cramped keyboard. That said, there's a curious seduction surrounding this thing, and critics over at Pocketables seemed to agree. After spending some long days (and nights, don'tcha know?) with the Japanese version of this here device, they came away with a huge mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, the snappy performance and excellent portability made it difficult to put down, but the downright dreadful 2 - 2.5 hours of battery life more or less forced them to. There's also more gentle gripes about the screen color, the "toy-like" build quality and "useless multitouch." For us, that's probably one flaw too many to accept, but the forgiving among us should definitely check out the full skinny before making a final call.
WD's first SiliconEdge Blue SSD launches, gets reviewed
Remember when Western Digital picked up SiliconSystems for a song during the height of last decade's Great Recession? Here we are a year later looking at the first fruit of that relationship, as WD has just introduced its first consumer-oriented solid state drive in the SiliconEdge Blue and its enterprise-ready SiliconDrive N1x. Both 2.5-inch families feature a native SATA 3.0Gbps interface along with read speeds as high as 240 - 250MB/sec and write rates peaking at around 140 - 150MB/sec, and the former has already hit the test bench on a number of occasions. For those considering the upgrade, you should probably dive into those links below -- most everyone came away feeling that the SiliconEdge Blue was a wee bit underwhelming for the price, with Hot Hardware noting that the "Micron C300 and Intel X25-M were measurably faster overall," and the lofty MSRP just left 'em looking for more. Here's hoping for a price drop and / or a SiliconEdge Black, eh?
SilverStone HDDBoost gets reviewed, okayed for purchase by most Earthlings
SilverStone's HDDBoost is an interesting, if not completely unique, offering. It's a relatively inexpensive (around $45) option for boosting performance in older machines, but it still requires the purchase of a decidedly not inexpensive SSD. For those with one already on hand (not to mention a traditional HDD), it allows you to have a RAID-type setup that provides peace of mind and a performance boost when it comes time to boot or load an application. Critics over at HardwareCanucks found that this little doohickey actually provided a noticeable increase in speed when coming from an older HDD-based setup, but those already using a WD Black Edition or Raptor probably "won't see much of a difference in terms of load times." They also point out that users should certainly use second-generation SSDs if picking one up, and if you've been searching for the next big breath of life to send to your aging desktop, you owe it to yourself to peek the full writeup.
Microsoft's SideWinder X4 reviewed: a decent choice for the budget gamer
Microsoft's anti-ghosting claims were recently put to the test by the good folks over at Tom's Guide, and if you've been holding off on pulling the trigger to make sure it really lives up to the hype, you can finally cut loose and part ways with your hard-earned Greenbacks -- maybe, anyway. For those unaware, Microsoft designed the SideWinder X4 to handle up to 26 key presses at once (it's a "pro gamer" thing, we're told), but it also allows for macro recording and profile / mode switching. According to the critics, the X4 is a step backwards in terms of design, particularly when compared to the flagship SideWinder X6 (which can be had for around $40 right now). Essentially, they could only really recommend it for those that actually do have ghosting issues when gaming, though they confess that said crowd is a relatively tiny one. But hey, don't take our word for it -- hit the source link and discover the truth for yourself.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV survives marathon 33 page review
Canon's EOS-1D Mark IV has been slinking around at retail availability for some time now, and while we brought you plenty of sample imagery from the camera over a month ago, it's taken awhile for the thing to get the full review treatment. Digital Photography Review has finally done the deed, dedicating a whopping 33 pages to Canon's low-light, 1080p wunderkind. It's that last new feature, video, that the review finds fault in, with the same jellyvision we've seen on other HD-shootin' DSLRs (seemingly no worse here than elsewhere), but the review feels that the movie mode here doesn't feel sufficiently integrated with the camera. Meanwhile that low-light, high-ISO shooting performance is impressive, but not quite up to the performance of the Nikon D3S. Everything else, though, seems to be a nice evolution over the older Mark III -- if you have a similarly advanced budget.
