Sony Ericsson HBH-IV835: This is not a pipe
Mobile Phones'I've got to break free. God knows, God knows I want to break free...' from my huge Bluetooth headset. Yes, that's right, you hear that too much mobile phone radiation is bad for your health, so you go out and buy a Bluetooth headset. The only problem is that when you get to the high street, lo and behold, the Bluetooth headsets on offer are about the size of a side-car.
Bluetooth headsets are starting to get smaller though, and some are getting so small that you don't even need a hook around your ear to support the weight. One such headset is the Sony Ericsson HBH-IV835, which as you can see, looks a lot like a mini-pipe, but we don't advise smoking with it -- we tried it and it made us ill. The correct way to use it is pop it into your ear like a Babelfish, where it sits quite happily taking your calls.
Lexmark X2470: snap-happy all-in-one
PrintersLexmark makes some fantastic printers. The P6350 offered good performance and was gentle on the pocket, and we developed an unnatural lust for the X350 -- such was quality of its prints.
So we were eager to see the X2470 -- Lexmark's latest budget all-in-one colour printer and scanner. One slight snag though -- we broke it within about 8 seconds of getting it out of the box.
It happened when we tried to install the print cartridge. The little plastic retainer clip snapped when we pulled instead of pushed (or tugged instead of shoved), but who were we to know -- the 84-page manual doesn't have a section that explains how to install the printer cartridge. WTF?
PURE Digital Chronos: DABmuda triangle
Digital RadioChronos, God of time, born from Chaos, celebrated star of Greek mythology, and now a bedside alarm clock. How far the great have fallen. Did the great God Chronos imagine that one day he would be awakening the commuter from her hazy red wine slumber and propelling her into the bathroom to the wolverine yapping of Coldplay?
We've looked at a range of kitchen and hi-fi separates DABs in the past, but this is the first bedside DAB/alarm clock combo we've laid our hands on.
T-Mobile Sidekick III: Paris Hilton beware
Mobile PhonesYesterday a blogger posted an exclusive picture of what appears to be the new T-Mobile Sidekick 3. According to these images, the third version of the chunky mobile phone with QWERTY keyboard is similar to the Sidekick II, but it's now sporting a new black section on the front, and a button on the right-hand side that looks like a track ball.
The Sidekick III may or may not make it to the UK. The Sidekick II wasn't as big a hit here as it was in the US, where it was helped along by all the publicity when Paris Hilton lost hers, much to the fury of her posh mates who started getting abusive phone calls from total strangers. Details of her contact and personal notes were leaked on to the Internet as quickly as this photo of the Sidekick III has been. Paris may now be wary of committing her life to a little electronic sidekick, but for rest of us, whose contact lists and personal notes are probably too boring to post on the Web, it may still be an attractive option.
Which camcorder format?
Dear CNET, I'm confused by all the camcorder formats available at the moment. Should I choose a hard disk-based camcorder, a DVD camcorder or a MiniDV model? I'm going nuts here!Apple and Nike partnership: A brand too far?
MP3 PlayersHere's a conundrum for you. What do you get when you mix Nike, a company that ranked just below McDonalds in a recent survey of consumer's perceptions about unethical corporations, with one of the world's most loved brands? (Apple was ranked second in a Brandchannel survey).
Cupertino is far from the clothing sweatshops of Sri Lanka or Indonesia -- but how will Apple's collaboration with Nike on the Nike+iPod Sports Kit be received by Apple's core audience of creatives? Can Apple, a company that once used Gandhi and the Dalai Lama in its advertising campaigns, slickly manoeuvre around the labour practices of Nike?
As a technology company, Apple enjoys a clean image. From the appealing mythology of its beginnings in Steve Jobs' family garage, to its current home, a sun-soaked California campus packed with long-haired dreamers, the brand seems, from the outside, like a picture of the liberal capitalist idyll. The Apple logo itself was once rainbow-coloured -- it seemed like the designers had stopped just short of a tie-dyed peace sign. Continue reading...
Intel vs. AMD: Centrino Duo/Turion 64 X2 laptop showdown
LaptopsLukewarm on the heels of Intel's Centrino Duo mobile processors (and following the news that there'll be a Core 2 Duo), AMD has just launched its own dual-core mobile chips, known as the Turion 64 X2 Mobile series. Like the Centrino Duo chips, the X2 is designed with multi-tasking performance and long battery life in mind.
We've got one of the first laptops to take advantage of the new chip. Politics dictates that we can't tell you who it's from, but luckily we can still put it through its paces to see how AMD's new mobile chip compares to the existing Intel offerings.
The X2-powered laptop (we'll call it 'Gemima') uses the fastest X2 processor in the range, the 2GHz TL-60, 1GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics adaptor. We compared it to the Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi for performance and the results make for interesting reading. Continue reading...
Motorola Scpl: Who missed English class?
Mobile PhonesImagine if Motorola ruled the world, or should I say the Wrld. Grammar and spelling would go out the window and we would all be talking in a way that some speech therapists might have trouble with. Luckily it doesn't, but the latest rumour to hit the Web suggests the mobile phone company has inflicted us with another 'Motorol-ism'. This rumour stars a new bunch of handsets called the Scpl range.
The Scpl range, which is supposed to be pronounced "scalpel", will apparently be slim handsets that are based on the Razr. We've seen a few leaked pictures on the Mobile-Review forum of a phone said to be called the Motorola Canary, which we thought might be the Razr's successor, but we weren't overly impressed.
New Super Mario Bros.: Sneak preview
Games and GearMario made his first appearance in 1981's Donkey Kong arcade game. In the years since, Mario has changed professions (from carpenter to plumber), his name (from Jumpman to Mario), temporarily moved home (from The Mushroom Kingdom to Brooklyn), tried his hand at professional go-karting (Mario Kart), practised medicine (Dr. Mario) and regressed to infanthood in the form of Baby Mario (Yoshi Touch & Go). Now, in New Super Mario Bros., Mario is on strong form. We got our hands on a pre-release copy of the game and a new Nintendo DS Lite (lovingly imported from Japan) to play her by.
At first we're reminded of Super Mario World on the ol' SNES, but a few minutes of gameplay reveals some inspired new additions to the game. A more potent variety of mushroom is now available. This is significantly bigger than the mushrooms Mario's eaten in the past, and it causes him to grow to a ludicrous size. For the purposes of this blog, we will be calling this state of super-size Super Super Mario. When you're in Super Super Mario mode, Mario takes up almost the entire screen on the DS and will smash and grab his way through the landscape. It's a wonder to behold.
Speedball 2 -- Brutal Deluxe: Mobile mayhem
Mobile PhonesWhile Crave was lost in a storm of products, an email was sent to us regarding somebody's love of a mobile phone game. At first we ignored it and continued to partake in our 'outrageous consumer electronics diagnosis' (see the latest Crave Podcast). Then the email flashed up again and we noticed that the subject line had the word 'Speedball' in it.
The game our Crave reader was referring to was Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe and for those of you unfamiliar with the ultra-violent, futuristic world of Speedball, it's a cross between rugby and ice hockey. You're in command of a five-player team called 'Brutal Deluxe'. In order to win the game you have to play matches against other teams in a metal arena with a metal ball. Win games and you win money to cybernetically improve your players.
LG MFJM53: Embalmer's delight?
MP3 PlayersIf this LG MFJM53 MP3 player is an iPod killer, then why do we have a carton of embalming fluid ready for its arrival? The embalmer never lies. In this day and age, the iPod killer soon becomes the iPod killed. RIP MFJM53, and you're not even born yet. Harsh words? Prejudiced even? Unabashed sullying of a fine product that has every chance of slaying the iPod? Mark our words.
Let's go back to school. LG, take a seat and listen. First off, you've called this MP3 player the MFJM53. Who in their right mind will recall that name? You can imagine the scenario. A kid, who for the purposes of this demonstration we will call Timmy, walks into Dixons. Timmy is well excited. Timmy is going to buy himself an MP3 player. He's seen the LG MFJM53 online and this is the player he wants. Now we join Timmy in the shop:
"Hello, I would like the LG MFX9... er, LG MFJE... er, the LG MFJ8... argghhh! Give me an iPod." Continue reading...
HP iPaq hw6915: Swiss Army handheld
HandheldsBeing at the cutting edge of the gadget world has its drawbacks. Our love for anything with an LCD screen means we can barely walk under the weight of our iPods, mobile phones, sat-nav kits, PDAs, laptops, games consoles and digital cameras. If only there was some way to combine them all...
Frustrated by our failed attempts to Superglue all the aforementioned items to each other, we've resorted to using the brand new HP iPaq hw6915 Mobile Messenger. It's all our tech dreams come true. It incorporates a quad-band mobile phone, TomTom-powered GPS satellite navigation, 1.3-megapixel camera and Wi-Fi-ready PDA in one BlackBerry-shaped package.
The iPaq hw6915 uses Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone Edition, so it offers a wide range of usage possibilities. It comes with Mobile versions of MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and though its integrated alphanumeric keyboard is a little on the small side, it's perfect for typing short documents, emails and instant messages. Continue reading...
Crave Podcast 7: Is DAB all that? 
CNET UK PodcastThe latest Crave Podcast is here -- tune in for talk of Chocolate phones, intelligent hearing aids and the Truth about digital radio as we take to the airwaves with the latest batch of piping hot tech chat. Lock and load those 'Pods people, it's audio time...
The latest Crave Podcast includes an update on the news from E3 as Chris Stevens, Rory Reid and Andrew Lim talk to special guest star GameSpot UK's editor Phil Elliot, and give you the lowdown on their high hopes for new gaming technology. But don't take my word for it, check it out here. - MP
HP Pavilion DV2000/S7500: Stars of Cannes 2006
LaptopsWhen someone says 'got any plans for the weekend?' you can usually assume they're making idle small talk to fill an awkward silence, or planning to burgle you while you visit granny. But not HP.
When HP's people ask what you're doing at the weekend, what they really mean is "drop whatever you're doing -- we're taking you to the Cannes film festival in sunny southern France to (literally) party with Bruce Willis, William Shatner and Co., drink champagne on expensive yachts, take in a premiere or two, oh, and look at some new products."
We reluctantly dragged ourselves along, and can report that the event was a lavish backslapping exercise following the launch of a new ad campaign. Plus an excuse to show off by pointing out that Dreamworks (Shrek, Madagascar and the forthcoming Over The Hedge starring Willis et al) uses HP workstations to create its animated blockbusters. Continue reading...
Email on a Motorola Razr V3
I've noticed that on my Motorola Razr V3 there's an option to send and receive emails, but I'm not sure how to go about setting it up. Do you have any advice on how I can do this? Continue reading...
Tesco's £18 MP3 player: Is there no legal limit?
MP3 PlayersWe've all bought a DVD from the dusty man sat on his blanket outside Farringdon Tube, and we've all haggled our White Stripes ticket off a junkie tout -- but what if you could get something at a knock-down price without the risk of hepatitis? Tesco is the famous purveyor of all things oddly affordable, but this time it's really surpassed its own standards of cheap (price being in no way indicative of quality) with a £18 MP3 player.
Eighteen pounds?! Could this small gesture be the thin end of the hateful wedge known disparagingly as communism? Or is it the thin end of the happy wedge known as free-market capitalism? Only time will tell. One thing's for sure, this MP3 player is 128MB in size.
Samsung E900 vs. LG Chocolate phone: Slider showdown
Mobile PhonesIt's no secret that LG and Samsung are sworn enemies in the battle to be the best consumer technology manufacturer in the world. One sector where the two South Korean giants are fighting it out like Godzilla and Mothra is the mobile phone industry.
Samsung has had a great couple of years with handsets like the hugely popular SGH-D500 and SGH-D600. It's also pushed technological boundaries with phones like the impressive SGH-i300, which has a 3GB hard drive, and the SCH-B600, which features a whopping 10-megapixel camera lens.
Meanwhile LG has tried to compete with the plasticky 3G-enabled U880, and earlier this year the elusive, not yet on sale, P7200 clamshell phone, which has a 2-megapixel camera with autofocus. Fortunately, LG has now pulled its act together and designed the beautiful LG Chocolate phone, aka the LG KG800, launched in the UK last month. The phone has sold over 400,000 units in South Korea, making up around 7 per cent of the South Korean market this year. It could well be similarly successful in Europe and the US, which would bring LG to the forefront of the worldwide mobile phone market. Continue reading...
Asus Lamborghini VX1 roars into view
LaptopsCompetition for the hottest, sexiest laptop is stiff right now. After years of putting up with geriatric designs from the likes of IBM, we're now inundated by dozens of hugely attractive portables. Asus is certainly doing its bit for the cause --Â first it brought us the audacious leather-clad S6F, and now, ever eager to show Crave its wares, it's sent us the UK's first Lamborghini VX1 laptop.
Perhaps inspired by the Acer Ferrari laptop series, the VX1 is about as striking a laptop as you'll ever see. It's available in glossy black or yellow chassis, both of which have a sturdy aluminium shell instead of ordinary plastic. The lid of the laptop has a raised section that looks like the spoiler of a real Lambo', and you also get the authentic Automobili Lamborghini badge stuck on for good measure. Continue reading...
BenQ-Siemens EF81: Thin 3G clamshell phone
Mobile PhonesUnless you've been living in a bunker for the past few years you may have noticed that there're quite a few clamshell phones about the place. From 3G models to ones that flash pretty colours, like the spaceship in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you can go into your local mobile phone shop and choose from a plethora of phones that flip.
Finding one that looks good and has enough features to keep your life organised isn't that simple, though. Most people run straight to the Motorola section and pick up a Razr, but not everyone is a Motorola fan and even though we really like the Razr V3x, it's not for everybody.
There is an alternative though, and it's made by a new kid on the block called BenQ-Siemens. We had a look at its BenQ-Siemens S88 with OLED display a while back, but then we didn't see it in the shops, so we thought that maybe it had just given up and decided mobile phones wasn't the way to go.
Then we spotted the EF81 at CeBIT and we liked what we saw. It features a casing made of magnesium, anodised aluminium and hardened sapphire glass, which makes it pretty tough. Continue reading...
Black Apple MacBook: Art or fashion?
Laptops"Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time," mumbled the French poet Jean Cocteau, possibly between tokes on his notorious opium pipe. So, which is the MacBook, Apple? Art or fashion?
Since we've been salivating on our review model for a solid 22 hours now, we're tempted to believe it's art. It's noticably heavier than other laptops of its size we've seen, but it does offer a 2GHz Intel Core Duo processor, a single-layer DVD writer and an auto-parking motion sensor (for taking the read/write head off the hard disk to prevent data loss during a tumble, rather than for helping to parallel park the MacBook in Knightsbridge's hectic lunchtime traffic). Continue reading...
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