Golden Ant CPU Heatsink Cooler

If you are an extreme gamer, power user or multimedia enthusiast, usually you will have a powerful PC with VGA card like NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS and AMD or Intel processor inside of it.

The heat on the PC need to circulate especially the processor must be cool to make your system run smoothly. Golden Ant CPU Heatsink Cooler Cooling Fan is one of the best cooler for your CPU. With higher airflow, static pressure and torque, your CPU will more durable and stay cool.

It’s also low start-up voltage, so it’s more save for power consumption. With excellent wind tunnel design, stable and reliable rotation make it easy for thermal heat dissipation with low noise. For the price you only pay for $33.02. Is it expensive? No I guess, because it’s more to save your processor with this cooling fan rather than using the standard cooling.

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ASUS N10Jc A1 - Atom N270 1.6 GHz - 10.2" TFT

The ASUS N10 is a 10.2-inch widescreen notebook featuring an Nvidia 9300m GS graphics card. Based on the Intel Atom chipset, the N10 is technically a netbook, but ASUS claims the N10 is a notebook due to its large keyboard, track pad and power. Dropping the Eee PC tag was the first step but does this netbook deserve to be called an ultra-portable notebook?

Aimed at the business sector, the ASUS N10 comes in a sleek light gold color and can be bought through a retailer or reseller. Buying it from a retailer will limit your choices as upgrading memory and/or hard drives or any other component will void the warranty. Buying through an reseller may let your configure components such as the memory and hard drive. It is just as customizable as any other netbook.

For this review I will be reviewing the ASUS N10JC. It was purchased at Yodobashi Camera Akihabara (retail) in Japan for \64800 ($706). Prices will vary depending on retailers and reseller.

Specifications:

* Screen: 10.2” WSVGA (1024 x 600) Glossy LED, w/Ambient Light Sensor
* Processor: Intel Atom N270 processor at 1.66Ghz
* Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
* Nvidia 9300m GS 256MB DDR2
* Memory: 1GB DDR2 PC-5300 667
* Hard Disc: 160GB 5400 rpm w/Freefall Sensor (Seagate)
* Wireless: Atheros AR92X Wireless Network Adapter (A/B/G/N), Bluetooth V2.0 + EDR
* Optical Drive: N/A
* Ports and Slots: 3 USB 2.0, HDMI,VGA monitor out, headphone jack, microphone input, 8-in-1 SD card reader (SDHC compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100, ExpressCard/34, Microphone-in, and Line-out/ S/PDIF
* Operating System: Windows XP Home SP3 + Express Gate.
* Features: Built in 1.3Mp Camera/Microphone/Fingerprint reader
* Battery: 11.1v 4800mAh 53Wh 6 Cell Lithium
* Dimensions: 27.6 cm (W) x 19.5 cm (D) x 2.99-3.71 cm (H)
* Weight: 1.40 kg with 3-cell battery
* Warranty: 2-Year Limited Global Warranty

Build and Design
The N10 shouts class. Like a drop top Phantom it demands attention while providing tranquility and comfort. The champagne gold has sparkle and shine which is accented by a chrome-looking hinge area and touchpad buttons. The gold follows suit with the black bezel with a high-gloss design which is a magnet for dust and fingerprints. The blue status lights are a bit off during the day but when dark out they give the notebook a gaming edge.

A close look at the glossy surface that shows dust and fingerprints

The N10 feels solid like a small notebook should. It can be held by one hand though it is heavier, bigger and thicker than a traditional netbook. The chassis is composed completely of plastic.

Bottom to top: Vostro 1500, Asus N10,
Casio EX-word XD-SP6700, Sharp 922SH
15.4”, 10.2”, 4.9”, and 3.5” Screens

The screen when twisted does flex but is easily in the acceptable range and does beat out many notebooks. A downside is the N10 was designed without a latch to keep the lid closed. The hinges feel like they move a little too easily but at the end of the day unless shaken vigorously the screen holds the angle you set it at.

Like a business notebook the battery sticks out the back rather than underneath like other 10.2 inch notebooks. Nevertheless the major upset for me in the build quality was the battery. When I had opened the notebook from its packaging the battery had been chipped and taped up by the factory. I received a replacement and learned how it could have been chipped during shipping even while packed protectively. After receiving the replacement battery I had dented it with my hand. Yes, by grabbing the battery I had dented it. I am a strong guy but I should not be able to dent a notebook battery with my hand. I have honestly never seen such poor plastic on a PC component that is so essential to the notebook. I lack the words to describe how disappointed I am in the build of the battery.

Display
The glossy 10.2” WSVGA LED backlit screen reflects like a mirror. Unlike many netbooks ASUS decided to go with a glossy screen. For outdoor use it is generally recommended to have an antiglare screen in order to view the screen. The backlighting on the screen can become ridiculously bright. I have no troubles using the notebook in direct sunlight without having to boost to maximum brightness. There is some reflection due to the gloss but if you do not get headaches from the reflections of glossy screens in general it should not be a major issue. For general use at home I recommend you turn the brightness down, otherwise the colors begin to wash out.

I personally found the screen to lack vividness. I feel the color is a bit dull and lacks liveliness. When ASUS decided to market the N10 as a notebook one would expect they would offer a higher resolution choice but the limiting WSVGA resolution may make some web pages hard to view and multi-tasking virtually impossible.

Speakers
The N10 features a pair of Altec Lansing speakers. The sound was not exactly what I had expected: quiet maximum volume, lack of crispness, bass, and energy. They are not terrible by any means but display that this notebook is intended to be portable. In short if you care about quality, headphones are a must.

Performance and Benchmarks
Using an Nvidia 9300m GS was a bold move by Asus. The 9300m GS slots in between the 9200m GS and the 9400m GS, all which beat out Nvidia’s 8400m GS in terms of performance. It is enough to play general games though in the N10 the card is bottlenecked by the Intel Atom processor.

A major feature of the N10 is its ability to play 1080p Content, and HDMI makes the deal even sweeter.　One catch is that the 1080p content you plan on watching must support DXVA or it will have trouble playing smoothly. DXVA will take load of the Atom processor and use the dedicated 9300m GS to accelerate the video. The software for playback is also a bit picky due to this.

General start up was snappy and the Atom processor beat out my expectations. It has run anything I have thrown at it. Microsoft Office 2007, Adobe Photoshop CS3, and iTunes all run. The only issue I find is the lack of memory. At 1GB one would expect it s enough to run Windows XP nice and smooth, however I notice while attempting to run multiple tabs in an Internet browser or rendering some of the heavier filters in Adobe Photoshop CS3 the notebook tends to hang and possibly freeze.

Games tend to be quite playable. Everything from Grand Theft Auto San Andreas to Crysis will run on this 10.2” notebook. Do not expect great frame rates from newer games nor high settings. I recommend you visit www.youtube.com where there are many videos of how specific games run on the N10.

Heat and Noise
With its dedicated graphics card and small form one would expect it to be a hot little notebook. I was startled; when using the notebook in class or in the library it made little no zero noise, and heat overall while running graphic benchmark software was quite low. To be specific, in a room that was 18C every component was at or below 50C. The bottom does get warm and at times the keyboard and palm rests may heat up as well, but it is not a major issue. The hard drive does cause a bit of vibration which is more annoying than the heat.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard shown here is a Japanese keyboard. Many Japanese keyboards feel cramped and messy. A Japanese keyboard is the same size as an English keyboard but keys such as the space key are spit up into multiple other keys in order to fit more functions that are required. I can honestly say it is the best Japanese keyboard I have ever typed on. Everything was easy to reach without making mistakes.

With large fingers I find it difficult to type on many keyboards and impossible to type on most netbook keyboards. But with the sharp edge key design I found it very comfortable and easy to strike individual keys.

The Synaptics touchpad is rather large for a netbook. It is a full sized touchpad that beats out some notebook touchpads. Asus did cut a corner on the touchpad. Part of the outer edge of the touchpad is actually non-responsive; the actual touchpad appears to be smaller than the space provided.

Input and Output Ports

Right side:
USB 2.0, Headphone(S/PDIF) out, Microphone in, VGA out, Ethernet (10/100/1000) AC power jack　and ExpressCard 34 slot. The ExpressCard slot dummy can be used to store an SD(HC) Card

Left Side:
Wireless On/Off, two USB 2.0, HDMI out, Graphics Toggle switch, Kingston lock

Front:
SD/MMC/MS/Pro Card reader

Back:
No I/O ports

Wireless
The N10 features an Atheros wireless card. With compatibility from A to N this card connects to almost anything. It is quite easy to get it going and has decent range. The Bluetooth so far has been a bit confusing but does work.

Battery
The ASUS N10 features switchable graphics: To conserve battery power, the N10 has the ability to switch from the Nvidia 9300m GS to the integrated Intel GMA950. The 6-cell battery in the N10 pushes just over the 7 hour mark. I was able to get 7 hours and 11 minutes by switching to the Intel GMA 950, turning off Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, and dimming the screen. I am actually quite satisfied. ASUS does sell a 9-cell battery for the N10 if desired.

Operating System and Software
This specific model comes with XP preloaded. Unfortunately it is full of bloatware. Much of it is not needed and can be easily removed by the user. There is a hidden recovery partition which can clean install XP in 5 minutes flat. All drivers would be loaded and the bloatware as well. Asus does provide Recovery disks for those who would like to install XP via external optical drive without installing the bloatware.

Like many other recent ASUS products, Express Gate is included. It did not feel very “express” as it was slow to get going. The resolution is rather off from the actual resolution of the screen making the image rather blurry. It is not a very attractive OS as it is hard to generally read content. It is possible to connect to the Internet, use Skype, and a few other apps when booting up with Express Gate.

Customer Support
I had initially received the notebook in used condition. Part of the chrome was scratched as well as imprints and scratches on the screen, bezel and stickers peeling. The battery had already been installed in the notebook and it was cracked and re-taped by the factory.

I had several calls with ASUS Support here in Japan and every time the same man answered. It appears there is only one person on shift making call waits pretty long. Furthermore the operator was rather impolite, unhelpful and did not really care about what was being said. I had told him about my issue and was sent to the store where I had purchased the notebook.

There I was told there was nothing that could be done. I instantly began to get annoyed and started to point everything out. Eventually the manager came and said he will call Asus to see what he could do. An hour later he returns and says the operator was Mr. X, the same man which I had been talking to in the past. I was told that I could get a replacement battery and that was it.

I pointed out the legitimate evidence that the notebook appears to have been used previously and the employee and manager agreed but I was told to contact Asus though not recommended. I was told if I did indeed contact ASUS I would lose the notebook and may end up in a trial as they do not replace systems with any cosmetic blemishes upon arrival.

I must say I am quite displeased and disappointed by ASUS’s business practices here in Japan. They are surely not “No.1 in Quality and Services.”

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Gateway MD7818u Review

The Gateway MD7818u is part of a new affordable notebook line that shares most of its components with the high-style MC series. This notebook offers many of the same features as its more expensive brother; like the touch-sensitive hidden multimedia keys, classy styling, and excellent build quality. To lower the cost Gateway removed some features that not everyone needed, like the leather palmrest, all-glass display, and backlit keyboard. Does this new notebook still impress us as much as the MC7803u? Read our review to find out.

Gateway MD7818u Specifications:
* Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 (2.0GHz/ 800MHz Front Side Bus/ 2MB L2 cache)
* Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
* 4GB DDR2-800 RAM (2x2GB)
* 15.6" Ultrabright WXGA (1366x768) glossy finish
* Intel 4500MHD Integrated Graphics
* 500GB 5400RPM Seagate 5400.6 Hard Drive
* 8x Multi-Format Dual Layer DVDRW and DVD-RAM with Labelflash
* Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 5100 AGN (802.11a/g/n)
* Built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam and microphone
* Ports: 4 USB, Kensington Lock Slot, Modem, LAN, 2 Headphone/Mic, HDMI, VGA, SD Card Reader, ExpressCard/54
* Power: 8 Cell Lithium Ion 48.84Whr (2.2AHr) Battery, 19V 65W AC Adapter
* Size: 1.3"-1.70" (H) x 15.28" (W) x 10.43" (D)
* Weight: 6lbs 12.4oz actual
* Warranty: 1 Year standard
* Retail MSRP: $799

Build and Design
Sharing the same body as the MC series notebook, the new MD series looks nearly identical inside and out. The only visible queues that someone familiar with both models would notice is the lack of quick launch program buttons on the left side of the keyboard, no leather palmrest, lack of backlit keyboard, and missing all-glass display. Internally they share the same chassis and alloy unibody and depending on the configuration it may or may not have a MXM dedicated graphics card. The body is built extremely well with a very durable feel and little flex. Fit and finish is excellent with no noticeable defects on our review unit.

The design is excellent, looking more like a designer notebook than previous Gateway models. The higher quality of the materials used combined with the modern design helps give this notebook a look that is usually only shared with models costing two or three times more. I like the contrasting silver and chrome trim around painted or brushed metal surface. The black glossy surface works well with the touch sensitive media buttons, completely hiding them with the lights turned off.

Display
The 15.6” WXGA display is above average with a strong backlight for easy viewing in bright environments and great color saturation thanks in part to the glossy finish. The backlight is fairly strong with my preferred brightness setting being about 50-60%. Backlight evenness is average with only a hint of bleed through the bottom edge of the panel. Contrast is excellent at the optimum viewing sweet spot, but does get washed out slightly if you tilt the screen forward or back. Under normal day-to-day use I found the limited tilting movement of the display to be inconvenient. Most displays can be tilted back to the point of almost making the screen flat with the keyboard, but the way the hinge is designed on the MC and MD series notebooks you are limited to about 20 degrees of backward movement. Viewing angles were in line with most notebooks, with a wide horizontal viewing range but limited vertical viewing. As you tilt the screen forward the screen starts to look washed out, and leaning it back colors darken and invert.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard is very comfortable to type on and is spread out well over the 16” frame of the notebook. Individual key thickness feels less than other notebooks from the odd flat shape of the key top, but it is much easier to type on than a Sony/Macbook style keyboard. Key presses are very smooth, with only a light touch needed to trigger a key. Audible feedback is minimal, with only a small click with each full press.

The large Synatpics touchpad is responsive and a breeze to move around on with a lightly textured matte finish. Sensitivity was great, easily tracking my finger with no discernible lag. The surface area is larger than most notebooks, but still falls short to the gigantic touchpad surfaces found on Apple notebooks. The buttons are wide and easy to hit with the side of your thumb while they give a mild soft click with shallow feedback.

One thing I find amazing on the MD and MC-series notebooks is the illumination on/off button they include. Using this button you can toggle the keyboard backlit (on the MC-series), turn off the touch sensitive media keys (disables them), and turn off everything else including the hard drive activity and power light. If you hate blinking or shining LEDs nothing beats a feature like this. If you are watching a movie the only source of light left is the screen.

Performance
System performance was still in line with the MC7803u in every category except gaming. Offering a very similar configuration minus the dedicated graphics card the MD7818u handed day to day activities with ease and when it was time to sit back and relax it performed flawlessly in decoding HD movies and streaming video. The MD7818u has the newest 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor, giving it a mild bump in performance over the 64nm T5800 processor with the same clock speed. If you aren’t interested in gaming, integrated graphics offers better battery performance, so that is something worth considering. The newer system also offers a larger hard drive for increased media and program storage, which also happens to be quite a bit faster than the previous 5400rpm Hitachi drive. The faster Seagate 5400.6 drive bumped average transfer speeds up by 14MB/s with a peak transfer speeds up 17MB/s.

HDTune storage drive performance results:

Ports and Features
The MD7818u is packed with external ports, but missing some common features like eSATA and Firewire. With four USB ports, I would have gladly sacrificed one for an eSata port, or even an eSATA/USB combo port.

Port List:
• VGA and v1.3 HDMI
• Four USB
• Modem and LAN
• Two Headphone and one Microphone jacks
• Multi-Card Reader and ExpressCard/54
• Kensington Lock Slot and AC Power


Front: Two headphone and one microphone jacks
Rear: Display hinge
Left:Kensington lock slot, AC power, VGA, HDMI, LAN, modem, two USB, ExpressCard/54, multi-card reader
Right: Optical drive, two USB

Speakers and Audio
Speaker performance was average with bass and midrange lacking due to the small speaker driver size. The front firing speaker design was annoying at times, getting blocked by your pants or shirt; muffling the sound coming out.

This notebook offers two headphone jacks that allow you to share a movie or some music with another person. The audio output from the jacks is great, and peak volume levels were above my comfortable listening levels.

Heat and Noise
Gateway overbuilt the cooling system on the MD series notebook, since it is designed to handle high performance components including dedicated graphics. With only integrated graphics being utilized the system barely broke a sweat during heavy loads like benchmarking. Fan noise was minimal even at what could be considered its highest speed, needing an ear up against the fan grill to hear it spinning. The very cool external temperatures listed below are shown in degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery Life
Gateway lists the battery for the MD7818u has being 48Wh, far under what we found the included battery to be in our review units. Our system had a fully charged capacity of 71Wh, roughly 48% larger than its official specification. With the system set to the Vista "Balanced" power profile, screen brightness at 70%, and wireless active the system was powered on for 4 hours and 52 minutes before it shutdown at 3% remaining. If the system was equipped with a battery rated at 48Wh the estimated time would have been closer to 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Conclusion
The Gateway MD series notebook rated very well in our testing with good performance and great build quality. The styling is nearly identical to the higher MC lineup, but offering a more budget friendly starting price as low as $649 depending on configuration. The design is stunning for a low-cost notebook, with clean lines and a very elegant layout. Hidden touch-sensitive multimedia keys and an option to completely disable all indicator lights are some of the features that really make this notebook stand out. If you love the styling of the Gateway MC notebooks but don’t want to fork over as much money, the MD series is an excellent alternative.

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LG Versa Modem Smartphone – New Experience

If you are aware of and follow the releases on the electronic market, you will not be surprised to find out that LG and Verizon Wireless joined their efforts and technologies to create a completely new product: LG Versa Smartphone with advanced web browsing, which will appear on March 1st, 2009. However, you will be, for sure, satisfied with its design and options, for, besides of the LG well-known quality and durability, the smartphone features some new specifications.

The most outstanding and interesting feature of this smartphone is that it comes with a QWERTY keyboard. I do not like to type on a touchscreen (a note: LG Versa has a 3-inch LCD TFT 480 x 240 touchscreen display): for me it is inconvenient. I am sure, there are many people like me, and, at last, this process is made easier. Moreover, this QWERTY keyboard may be used twofold: you can attach it to you smartphone or may leave it at home, if you do not need it.

Another characteristic, which may interest the potential buyers, is the built-in accelerometer, which allows automatic rotating of screens. It is highly convenient and, game lovers will understand me, it can be used to manage their favorite games. 2-megapixel camera of the smartphone offers you the following options: auto focusing, image editor, Face Detection technology, and, to be sure, you can record video. However, to my mind, the camera of the smartphone camera could have higher resolution. The memory capability of the LG Versa will be the following: microSD memory port with up to 16 GB and it is compatible with Verizon’s Mobile Broadband Connect that allows you to connect the phone to your PC - in this case it will serve as a modem. But you have to remember that the Mobile Broadband Connect will cost you per month and it offers just 5GB.

Concerning other characteristics, the LG Versa is not highly distinguished from other smartphones. It features Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, GPS-navigator, access to Internet, USB, etc. This smartphone will soon be available and it will cost you approximately 200$.

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Turbo NAS TS-809U-RP - 16 TB from QNAP Systems

NAS systems seem to never be ideally perfect, reliable, widely compatible or easy to use. Even though there are pretty big names in the business like LaCie, Addonics, Western Digital, etc. we still were able to find a thing or two to mend in their products. This is really annoying because NAS systems are what seatbelt is to a car driver - not the most exiting thing in a car but truly life-saving. There we are then, with a new NAS gadget from QNAP Systems - model TS-809U-RP Turbo NAS.

The presentation of TS-809U-RP Turbo NAS was held today in Taipei, so there is not much to say about different tweaks and upgrades - only very basic numbers which are impressive. Numbers in turn show not only performance of the Turbo NAS, but also grater stability and enhanced feature list. The stats are: 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2 GB DDR II memory. Storage space as giant as 16 TB of 8 SATA hard drives with hot-swapping and Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S. M. A. R. T.). Network redundancy is provided by two Giga LAN ports. The rest of the long list of NAS' features is probably less interesting, so here are best bits of it: automatic policy-based IP blocking, RAID 0/ 1/ 5/ 6/ 5+spare/ 6+spare, Online RAID Capacity Expansion and Level Migration. One of my favorite features is the "Surveillance Station" - Turbo NAS can playback live image from up to four IP-based cams. No problems with OS' ether - Windows, Mac, UNIX, Linux. Well done, QNAP!

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A Faster Web Browser - Safari 4 Beta

This month is full of launches and there is one more pleasant release: now Internet resources have become available much faster than earlier with the new Safari 4 Beta from Apple. Its launch was announced on Tuesday, but this web browser has gained controversial opinions. I want to share with you my own experience. It should be mentioned that Safari 4 downloads sites much faster than its predecessor Safari 3. As the manufacturers claim, it is due to the new Nitro Engine. While it shares some features with other web browsers, Safari 4 has some outstanding characteristics that I liked mostly.

Firstly, Top Sites, additional option of the browser, allows seeing the most frequently visited sites and, moreover, presents up to 24 of them just on one page. The most interesting feature of the Safari 4 is that you can easily find out which sites have changed since your last visit. If there is a star on the upper corner, it means there have been made modifications. The shortcoming of the Top Sites is that it is designed for mouse and you will not be able to use your keyboard to open a site page.

Another feature I liked, is Cover Flow, which enables revisiting and presenting sites as they looked when you viewed them for the last time. A related option, Full History Search allows finding any visited website by just typing a few words from the page looked for. I tried it and received the desirable result.

In general, Safari 4 Beta is not much distinguished from other web browsers. Of course, it has features that are not characteristic to Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, but one of my friends, who uses Safari 4 Beta, has been unsatisfied with its Chrome-like design and he does not like that the tabs are on the top. However, it is not a problem with everyone if you remember that you can create new tabs by clicking the + button in the upper-right corner of the Safari window and manage tabs by dragging them to the new place.

I am satisfied with the work of Safari 4 Beta, even despite its several shortcomings. I use it on Windows XP and Safari has a familiar look featuring accustomed title bar, borders, and toolbars.

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Samsung unviels I7410 OLED touchscreen with built-in projector at MWC

The Mobile World Congress 2009 is starting just after this weekend on February 16 and is anticipated not any less than CES of this year was. Three days of MWC are going to be fruitful with new and upcoming mobile phones. Here is the first one that is going shine soon. Quite literally I have to say. Samsung I7410 and Samsung W7900 is the same phone with two names - one for European market and one for Korean. Why shine? Because it will have a built-in projector, basically the same we find in home theatres but smaller of course. The rest of functions is also quite cool so we are looking forward to have more info on it when it officially comes out soon in Korea and then in Europe.

Samsung's DLP Pico projector makes I7410 and W7900 two very complete multimedia gadgets. 127 cm is the top size of possible projected image. In a sunny day this figure will be smaller but anyway this will work perfectly well in twilight. This feature will be great for a special occasion, but for every day use I7410 has enough other things stacked up. Like an OLED touchscreen or 5 Megapix camera. I'm not even sure whether it is better to watch high resolution photos projected on a wall or on an OLED display. I am sure though that Internet capabilities and Email add-ons this baby has need touchscreen favor. But on the other hand Samsung I7410 features also Power Point presentations that plausibly should refer to its Pico projector.

I can't stop thinking that cutting edge display, projector, 5 Megapix camera and all the rest hidden inside are not going to cure its looks. Frankly Samsung I7410 or Korean W7900 doesn't look sophisticated. However I can imagine what figures it will have on the price tag. Whatever they will be, developers should think of a way to redesign it by the moment it goes on sale. And that huge projector opening makes I7410 the thickest touchscreen at the market. Therefore I fancy thinner body with lower price but without projector.

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Tritton AX Pro Headset for Gamers with 5.1 Surround Sound

Gamers from all over the world will be happy to receive an ideal headset for their gaming experience. Creation of such headset is not an easy task, and electronic gadgets manufacturers try to solve the problem using new technologies. Tritton Company produced their AX Pro on the basis of the earlier model - Tritton AX360. The new gadget was innovated and added new technical features.

The design of the headset is quite standard: there are adjustable headphones that are covered in a gray, glossy plastic. Under the left ear cup you can find the detachable microphone.

Moreover, for the separation of front, center, rear, and subwoofer audio streams there are four drivers in each ear cup. The headset features an in-line volume adjuster in the wire of the left ear cup. Xbox 360 controller is connected from here and after it you can adjust the microphone volume as you wish. The headset comes with soft, cloth-covered earpads and an extra pair of spare leather-cushioned pads. You will need to choose the pair that suits you better. However, the headphones are quite heavy, and gamers will feel its weight during long game-play.

The technical specifications of the AX Pro Headset are:
• It features 5.1 Surround Sound
• It works with Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PC gaming
• It is compatible with devices that has a digital optical or 3.5mm analog 5.1 outputs
• It has microphone mute switch and volume control for game chat
• It features Dolby Digital and Dolby Prologic
• Noise canceling and sound isolation technology
• Excellent sound possibilities
The sound of the headset is beyond expectation: you will hear all the details of the game and experience its reality. The headset has many wires and if you do not like it, you will not be comfortable enough using it.

The advantages of the headset are: good sound quality, it is compatible with most gaming consoles; it may be used for chatting.
The shortcomings are: the headset is quite heavy, it needs a lot of wires, it doesn't operate with the Wii, and headphones require power.

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5 extra minutes under water thanks to Phantom

Again this month we are basically getting you ready for summer ahead of time. Last time, if you keep track of our posts, we introduced a Solar ChumAlong solar panel in the key of day-to-day usage. Gadget we are speaking here is quite the reversely made for leisure and fun and safety and the same time. These two funny bulbs on the picture are carriers of some extra air you might need for diving with or without aqualung. Phantom air suppliers may look stylish and sleek, but there obviously should appear questions about its practicality and userfriendliness.

Phantom came from the world of design and innovation so we probably shouldn’t be too severe criticizing it, but Ricardo Baiao – designer of the gadget, does claim this thing can save lives, so let’s see closely what it is. Technically, Phantom is claimed to carry enough air for five more minutes if your scuba is running low. Therefore Phantom is wired to the diving suit on the chest. Visibly, air supplier isn’t very big and the air in it is stored under pressures. No problems with that for the device only that diver should be instructed to handle it properly so life-and-death air doesn’t just blow away. I’ve shown the picture above to a friend of mine who is a semi-professional swimmer and he said this thing requires training mostly because of drag it provides. But as a product he liked it a lot. For a Phantom’s wish-list I’d like to suggest another connecting mechanism. If it could be used without diving suit, more people could use it hence hopefully encounter less risk to drown.

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Nintendo Wii promo at Amazon

Just a few days ago Nintendo announced DSi portable video game system - another revision of the Nintendo DS. It will appear on the shelves in stores on April 5, slightly more than a mouth from now. Nonetheless it does make buzz already. First of all, it is all about different tweaks and hardware updates but seems to be enough to stay as a bestseller.

Maybe because of upcoming Nintendo DSi, or maybe because of the global economic crisis going on, Amazon decided to do a Nintendo clearance sale. Here however we speak about Nintendo Wii console and all its peripherals.

Here is Amazon's offer: if you buy a Nintendo Wii console for 249.99 USD till the end of the month, you get a 10 percent discount on every piece of Nintendo Wii bundle. I mean really everything comes with reduced price starting with Wii Remote Controller, Wii Nunchuk and Official Nintendo Wii Wheel to all Wii based games they have at Amazon. This is a great opportunity to get yourself a full packed gaming console with accessories and be better off at the end. Overall there are more than 40 items to choose from which is, of course, too much even for the geekiest gamer ever, but feel free to buy some extra Wii Wheels or Nunchuks for playing with friends and family.

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Plantronics Discovery 655 Headset makes amendments

Plantronics Discovery 655 represents simple updating of the previous version of the firm. However the new model brings its innovations and amendments with enhanced design and optimized complete set. It occupies place of honor in the class of headset gadgets. Having an extended shape it successfully comes to the end with a little microphone that allows you contact with ears.

The main functions of the garniture are being controlled by the main button, that allows answering/finishing the calls, switch off/on of the device, call’s redialing and activating of sound set.

Additional buttons on the surface help you to control volume of the sounds and it isn’t any efforts to use them thanks to the acting relief arrows. As well as the majority of same gadgets Plantronics Discovery 655 uses DSP technology for transmitting crystal clear voice in a best way and escaping noises and echoes as much as possible. Its lightweight makes only 9 grams. It very easy recharges from your PC and includes the innovative charging pocket. It is the most appreciate accessory of the headset. It is intended to fix the device on clothes. Mini-USB socket’s mission consists in connection for recharging the device and fastens to the headset with the help of special clip. Thus the Plantronics Discovery 655 is compatible with new models of Motorola phones and different smartpnones and communicators of the new era. Cylindrical adapter is just that device which function consists in recharging the device from AAA lithium ion battery that is also included in the set. A comfortable ear loop is a very useful thing to fix the gadget reliably on the ear but you could also use the garniture without it.

I should notice that this device works enough well with the most phones and provides high quality sound. Easy to operate and comfortable for wear it approaches for business activity and road walks. We can blame to it that this headset doesn’t support usage of multiple devices at once. It is checked up on experience that Plantronics Discovery doesn’t tires your ears thanks to its design and lightweight. As to gel ear tips, the device includes 3 such of them. Choose the best size for you by your wish.

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Shape-shifting electric car concept controlled by iPhone

Astonishing popularity of iPhone draws attention of not gadget lovers only. Even concept makers began to use Apple's smartphone for their interesting and futuristic designs. Due to its advanced connectivity and large multi-touch display, iPhone provides excellent remote control possibilities. Many iPhone users started to develop this side of their device: there already are iPhone controlled toys, robots... And now there is real car, controlled with help of an iPhone! It is only a concept for now, which will be revealed on Geneva Auto Show. More details follow.

Rinspeed Company, famous concept design maker, is planning to release an interesting mix of modern technologies in their concept car for Geneva Auto Show. Even its name, iChange, makes it somehow related to Apple products. However, it is special not only because it is controlled by iPhone. Rinspeed representatives claim that it is the first car in the world that can change its shape according to speed. Faster the speed - slimmer the car gets. It was done for achieving better aerodynamic characteristics, and for WOW factor, of course. It has no doors, passengers and driver can enter and exit this vehicle only when the roof is raised. iPhone is used to start and stop the engine, or to control some simple actions, like raising and lowering roof.

iChange, like majority of modern concepts, is driven by electricity, and has some interesting speed characteristics: it can speed up to 100 km/h in 4 seconds, with max speed of 220 km/h. Solar panels, placed on roof, can recharge internal batteries that are used for air cooling system. iChange use Li-Ion batteries as its primary power source, no word, however, about how they can be recharged. According to the modern tendencies, it is lightweight - overall weight is only 1043 kg.

Such concepts, while have no real life implementation, can display how out new technologies can be used. iPhone (or any other phone) integration and shape shifting - these are two main ideas that are developed by iChange. Will it change the way we use and control our cars? Will it bring new tendency of shape shifting to car market? Maybe it will, maybe not. In any case, it is worth watching.

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News from MWC: Nokia will preinstall Skype on N97

The second day of the MWC 2009 is now over and we are particularly happy about Nokia's announcements. First of all, it wasn't a secret that there were going to be some introductions into Nokia's Nseries smartphones. So at the end of the day we have the N86 8MP announced for the second quarter with the price under 400 USD. But that is not all. Evenly with devices, Nokia and Skype declared they have arrived at the point, considering each other's success and future potentials, where world's foremost Internet communications experience can and should come together with up-to-date handsets. Which are initially downscaled computers in their view.

Of course, we are not fooling anyone and mobile versions of Skype can easily be downloaded and installed for a long time now. However it didn't stop Skype and Nokia to make some ballyhoo about preinstalled software. In my view the point of it is that Skype is looking forward to raise its funds on this move because required WLAN and 3G are now very common and widely spread. Anyway, the first handset with preinstalled Skype will be Nokia's Nseries flagship N97. This will happen in the third quarter and afterwards all Nseries and other models will come out with it. Policy with preinstalled soft will have few advantages for end users - primarily it means no bugs. Skype will feature address book adoption with contact info, status, chat and Skype-to-Skype calls. All free as usual. Calls to landlines, mobile phones and SMS still have to be paid of course.

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TuneUp for your iTunes

TuneUp is an iTunes software that uses Gracenote database to fix incorrect music meta data. It plugs right into iTunes to automatically clean your incorrectly labeled music. It finds your missing album cover art, it lets you know when your favorite bands are performing in concert, and provides you with the best music content on the Web.

"Your music's new best friend" Available for both Mac and PC.

After you've installed TuneUp and logged in / registered, you'll notice it has 4 tabs : Clean, Cover Art, Now Playing, and Concerts.
Clean Tab:
Drag and drop 'dirty' tracks from iTunes onto TuneUp to start cleaning them. What qualifies as a 'dirty track'? Anything with missing metadata or artwork.
On average, TuneUp will correctly identify about 85-90% of your music library. Here are a few strategies to quickly find your most troublesome tracks:

- Sort by track name, artist, or album and then scroll to songs that are missing that information
- Search for tracks labeled "Track", "Untitled" or "Various"
- Switch to cover flow/grid view and drag anything that's missing cover art into TuneUp

"Matches" are 99% correct. "Likely Matches" are 80-90% correct on average. For each album, click the drop down arrows at left to see a track-listing and album art options.
Not sure about the song’s original info? Click the play button next to a track to hear it and see its original info in iTunes.
When you're happy with it, hit save.

Cover Art Tab:
Cover Art displays possible matches for every song missing cover art in your library.
Hit save next to any cover art you want to keep.
Click an album to see 4 possible matches, select your favorite one, then hit save in the top box to save that cover to your album.

Now Playing:
Now Playing presents the web’s best content for any playing track. Find your favorite song in iTunes and hit play; TuneUp automatically displays related music videos from YouTube (click the video play button to watch them within TuneUp), upcoming local concerts by that artist, artist news, Amazon song and album recommendations, and eBay merchandise.

Concerts:
Use concerts to see which bands in your collection are coming to town and buy tickets to the show.

Additionally, TuneUp has analyze, undo, and purchasing functionality, but the simple steps above are the easiest way to get on your way to a much cleaner music collection...

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Acer presents smartphone range at MWC

I congratulate you, all smartphone lovers, with today's MWC grand opening. Only three days of non-stopping mobile phone premieres from world's best brands and, of course, ambitious newcomers in the field. Here is an interesting contender. Acer for years was developing computer gear and now they are after cell phone market cut. Four presented devices, DX900, X960, F900 and M900, are touch screens running Windows Mobile 6.1, but basing on specs they will not necesserely be in the same price category. The question now is when and where Acer will put the handsets for sale first - in Asia or in Europe?

Touch screen feature and Windows Mobile 6.1 are not the only things that unite Acer's smartphones. All of them have a microSD card slots, Bluetooth 2.0, same Samsung 533 MHz strong S3C processors and what's more important - Internet over WLAN. Networks are also basically the same. GPRS, quad-band GSM / EDGE for all of them and only DX900 lacks EGPRS.

DX900 is the least equipped of four. Sharing the same 2.8" VGA TFT LCD touch screen display with X900, it hasn't got its camera. 3.2 MP for X960 and 3MP dead for DX900. But in the meanwhile DX900 is the only one to hit a double SIM card slot.

Just like the first pair, M900 and F900 have the same screen, but in their case it is a whole inch bigger 3.8" WVGA TFT LCD touch screen. F900 however has a poorer 3 MP camera while M900 is a far ahead with an auto-focusing and flashlighting 5 MP gadget.

Mind you also that Windows Mobile 6.1 Acer installs on its fresh handsets is now waiting for its descendant - WM 6.5. That makes us eager to find out whether they are WM 6.5 capable, or are they priced reasonably if they don’t.

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Best quality and luxury design - Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 headset

Japan Company Audio-Technica designs and manufactures usual and noise canceling headphones, wireless and wired microphones, mixers, range of different electronic products for professional and home use.

New Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 wired headset is truly a step to perfection. Wide known for their exceptional comfort, Audio-Technica as well never sacrifice the quality. This way they beat two aims, delivering both comfort and sound quality. ATH-W5000 is a new improved model, it is perfect headset for watching TV, gaming, listening to music.

This gadget comes with specific design, wood shell is something what distinguish it from another models, closed design make you feel little bit isolated from the world, providing with great comfort and sound quality. About this luxury headset we can say three things: it works really great, looks fabulous, and price is really good. It comes enveloped also with taste, luxury and rich, hard shell case, natural Spanish skin, expensive ebony wood, 24 carat gold, high- end electronics

Main features:
Ebony housing for excellent acoustic, ultra comfortable soft leather ear pads, 53mm neodymium magnet drivers, high quality Oxygen free copper coils for best signal, easy magnesium frame, damping system for best bass reproduction, special cable with elastomer which keep the wires free from meshing, comes with protective case for safe storage, gold plated connectors for best corrosion protection, low noise and best conductivity.

Main specification:
*Features double air damping System
*Driver diameter - 53mm
*Frequency response - 5 - 45,000 Hz
*Sensitivity - 102 dB/mW
*Impedance 40 ohms
*Max input power 2000mw
Summary: this gadget will satisfy the most scrupulous user, who is damned to enjoy:
*Excellent, rich, precise acoustic characteristics
*Who is fond of craftsmanship things made of expensive materials
*Who wants ultra comfortable and light weighed luxury headset (only 340 grams)
*For people who can permit to pay 4 - digit price for that excellent gadget

It is quite expensive to experience new sound level, extreme comfort and fit. Tremendous power, astonishing design, excellent output.
High price for really good thing.

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MIT students develop energy recovering shock absorbers

Great news for car industry was found on the Web. The fashion and necessity of making cars environmentally friendlier has now enhanced onto suspension parts. While lots of petrolheads dislike motors with severe catalysts and poor fuel feed and particularly electric motors that don't do better than a diesel but cost a fortune, making suspension parts generate electric energy while driving will not interfere with what is called active driving. That's true - shock absorbers are now capable of turning dumping energy into electricity. The innovation belongs to MIT students who have united into Levant Power Corp. and set to bringing the concept to end users as soon as possible.

As it turns up, suspension - is an energy wasting vehicle's part. When it dumps and rebounds, it loses kinetic energy the car had before, so it needs to accelerate after bumps hence use more fuel. MIT shocks do not prevent this from happening, but they manage to make use of this process. Concept shocks are hydraulic, and the liquid inside them is pushed through a turbine when the piston goes upwards. Such a way electricity is generated. The suspension is controlled by a computer and is automatically adjusted considering speed, surface, etc. In fact a very common suspension and it claims o be even smoother over rough surfaces.

You might thing this could be tricky fitting shocks with a generator of electric energy. If it goes wrong, does it turn into a gocard? Happily - no. Even if all electronics shut, MIT shock absorbers do not lose its primary functions.

The achievements of regenerating shocks are great. Developers say they can cut 10 percents of fuel consumption. They don't say too much about it, but this is probably achieved by removing standard generator every car has. Now MIT students test their energy harnessing system on a heavy Humvee. SUVs and heavy trucks appear to generate more energy than family saloons so they are going to be first to profit from the novelty.

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Solar ChumAlong with sunflower principle

Start getting prepared for summer days today, because now we can have one more solar gadget to play with. This is Solar ChumAlong solar panel which is not a breakthrough of course. We have seen a lot of these things along summer seasons, liked them frankly speaking. Solar ChumAlong is a bit different however. It has borrowed some of its features from huge and expensive solar power stations and yet has missed some everyday needed stuff. So ChumAlong is a compromise for free of charge solar energy but not a great whole-rounder with 400 USD price tag.

Solar ChumAlog has only one very strong feature to differentiate it from the other solar panels. Just like a sunflower, ChumAlong follows the sun as it moves along during the day. How important that is? Well, in a perfectly sunny day it can produce up to 50 percents more power than it would gather in static. Overall solar tracking system produces plus 30 percents to average figures. Making this possible made ChumAlong this expensive. Positioning requires a special Micro-controller Technology, worm gear axis shaft and optical sensors. And there we are, 400 USD for a portable solar panel. It is also easy to adjust and light to carry, but it has some drawbacks also. Solar ChumAlong is capable of producing 5 W only. And probably the worst thing is that the device doesn't come with a battery which you will obviously need, hence add at least another 30 USD for 12vdc battery expenses.

I can only advice Solar ChumAlong for those who know in advance that they will be able to leave the thing in the sun for the whole day. Active use can make it pay for itself in one season period if it hopefully doesn’t break down. In rest - a great thing for all your electronic gadgets.

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Amazon launches Kindle 2

Amazon, one of the largest online shopping companies, made an interesting release November 2007. It was an electronic reader device, made using new technology for text display - E-Ink. At the time of its launch, amount of electronic reader devices based on E-Ink was not as big as of today, and this type of display had a great WOW factor. We have already reviewed first generation of Amazon Kindle, so if you're interested you can read about it here. Why would we remind it? Because it is time for Amazon to launch the new, improved version of its E-Ink reader - named Kindle 2. What should we expect from the second iteration of Amazon's portable book reader?


While first model was pretty innovative for the times it entered the market, you would expect the same situation with its successor - and you will be totally right! Kindle 2 looks and feels much more modern than its predecessor. It is almost unbelievable thin - its thickness is 0.36 inches, which is almost as thick as most magazines. It has a rounded edge design and tapered back like iPhone and iPod Touch use - new design fashion, or just a move towards better usability? Anyways, it feels much more slim and comfortable to use from now on. Overall, design was greatly improved. Kindle 2 now looks like a slim and modern tablet device, not like a white behemoth from the 90's with many rough edges like the first one. The button placement is also a great step forward; 5-way navigation controller makes this navigation a lot easier and intuitive. Battery life was also improved; it now has 25 percent more capacity - which means approximately two weeks of reading on one battery charge. Of course, it all depends on how often you read, so these numbers may vary.

On the hardware side, there also are many improvements. While Kindle supported only special EVDO wireless networks, Kindle 2 can use widely growing 3G networks for connectivity. In less than 60 seconds you'll have ordered book right on your device and no need for searching Wi-Fi hotspots. Of course, books must be purchased on the Amazon online book shop first. Speaking of this shop, they have over 230,000 of books in different genres, many newspapers and magazines - all this variety of literature can be easily accessed via 3G network. Amazon's politics on wireless service include no wireless bills at all - Amazon pays for your 3G connection (maybe price of unlimited wireless plan is included in the Kindle 2 price). All of the purchased books are stored at the Amazon's servers, so you don't need to have them all on the Kindle - you can always re-download them later. However, why would someone delete a book when with 2GB of internal capacity Kindle 2 can hold up to 1,500 books at a time?

Some can ask, why would they need space for 1,500 books loaded? 2GB is a huge amount of capacity for text books. But it makes sense when the new feature of Kindle 2 comes in - audio books support. It has 3.5mm headphone slot, so any headphones will do. Audio books can be quite big, so 2GB will not be enough for storing 1,500 of them - however, if you can always re-download them from Amazon, why you'll need for storing them all in one place? Another interesting implementation of audio-out feature is Text-to-Speech function. It gives a choice between reading text by yourself, and listen how Kindle 2 reads it for you. Of course, automatic text reading cannot be better than usual human-made recording, but if you want to listen to your favorite book while on a go, or your eyes need some rest - it will be the best option.

Of course, this device has its flaws. Due to its strict dependence on Amazon services, it can be used only in USA. Emerging from the first sentence, almost all books available on Kindle is in English, so this device will be useful to the English-speaking audience only. Another downside of this device is inability of using storage cards to expand its internal memory - some users will have 2GB of internal memory not enough for their tastes. However, taking in consideration that first Kindle was a successful product, its successor has all chances to become a bestseller. It is announced to launch in 24 February, 2009, estimated price 359 dollars.

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New v20.0.0.12 firmware for 1 million 5800 Xpress Music army

An iPhone beating 5800 Xpress Music handset from Nokia, a whole cool million of sold devices are now going to have a firmware update. Nokia has a very own story of firmware updates. Some are left behind without any notice and some are welcomed as a lifesaver for pricy smartphones which were not working properly. In turn, 5800 was doing fine most of the time and now, well, it is going to be even better. The new firmware v20.0.0.12 is aimed to do some minor adjustments for faster overall performance, add some new features and that is about it. 11 MB update pack is available via Nokia PC Suit or OTA.

The new features we where previously talking about refer to 5800's camera. With v20.0.0.12 it will have highly anticipated Geotagging - very good or an active tourist. Then there is a sort of a business feature. Dictionary application seen on E71 has now moved to 5800 with support for multiple languages. Another important fill in for handset - app. update application also previously seen on some Nokia mobile phones. Media content has been revised a bit so now it runs flawlessly for 5800 on the Web in flash and FLV formats. v20.0.0.12 makes search enhancements as well. On the standby screen all phone data you have is also searched for keywords. All these come in an arrangement of interface changes and speed improvements. Especially noticeable is how fast the screen rotation is.

The only issue so long is lock code after update - the previous one may not work as the first lucky v20.0.0.12 testers say. Rumors advice to type in "12345". If it works please note that in your comments.

A tip for those of you who don’t know how to update or verify their current firmware version: type *#0000# - this is how you get to the update screen. "Check for updates" button will be there as well as current firmware version number.

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Very efficient Sharp Aquos D Series - is that what you want?

TV is a sort of gadget that will not loose a piece of its popularity until something better is invented. It is mostly entertaining and hardly ever particularly useful, but we can't just say "no" to it. This is how an ordinary TV becomes a great thing for environmentalists to worry about. But usually they don’t manage to do it faster then developers do because saying about a TV: "This one is environmentally friendly", they guarantee themselves good sales. The latest "green" LCDs now are Sharp Aquos D series models, but as we think, they are not cutting edge, they are too late I'm afraid.

Sharp will let Aquos D models flow in the Japanese market on February 20th. There will be three of them differing mostly by their size: 32" for 1556 USD, 26" for 1230 USD and 20" for 1007 USD. The 32 inch model has better contrast ratio - 3000 : 1, and the other two models both have 1500 : 1. The part of Sharp's work on new Aquos D models that viewer will actually see is also 1366 x 768 resolution, 450 cd/m2 luminance, HD quality, and so on, and so, on. But the main part of Aquos D, the side that developers are showing off, is hidden behind the screen and shall never be seen until you look at how much you have to pay for electricity this month. Aquos D will save you more that 50 percents of average expanses on the same-sized LCD. This is not only economical, but green because it doesn't use that much electricity born in difficult labor. And the plastic is also less damaging when recycled.

However, even though no one can deny a huge work made by Sharp, they didn't beat OLED technology because they didn't have a chance. They got close to it with efficiency measures, but are far away with performance. It is clear now that OLED is the future by any standards, why then to go much further with LCD?

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