The while thing folds flat when you need to fix something and the screen lifts up to revel the inside. Inside the Z1 packs some powerful hardware. Every Z1 will have a power processor, starting with the low end which includes the Intel Core i3 3.3 GHz, all the way up to the most powerful model which includes the Intel Xeon E3-1280 3.5 GHz.

The Z1 also supports up to 2 2.5″ hard drives or one 3.5 drive.

The graphics are also really powerful, starting at with integrated Intel HD 2000, and going up to an Nvidia Q4000M graphics card.

I am really excited about the possibilities that this new workstation will provide.

HP Z1 Workstation Profile

HP Z1 Workstation Laid Back Half Open

HP Z1 Workstation with Autodesk 3DsMAXD Screen

HP Z1 Workstation with Solidworks Ampd Screen

HP Z1 Worsktation Back View

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Do you spend too much money on tickets and concessions at movie theaters? Have you ever wondered how you could better put that money to use? If you took every dollar you have ever spent at a movie theater, you could undoubtedly buy yourself a new television, stereo system, and even a DVD or Blu-ray player. You would probably also want to have Direct tv installation for your home theater, because this service is another easy and affordable way to bring your favorite shows into your home. Think of your living room theater as an investment. It may cost you money upfront, but in the long run it will be one of the cheapest ways to have great entertainment right at your fingertips.

Not only is remodeling your living room into a fantastic home theater the perfect way to save money, it is also a great way to make your home party-friendly! If you love inviting people into your home and throwing great parties, a living room theater will work wonders for you. There is no better way to entertain guests than by bringing them into a comfortable sitting area complete with a gorgeous high-quality television and any movie they could ever wish for. If you want your friends and family to love visiting your home, remodeling your living room could be just what you need.

And of course, it is important to remember that remodeling your living room with a new theater system is not as difficult as it sounds. There are plenty of sources to help you get all the information you need, and there are plenty of professionals available to help you make the right decisions. After you have decided to build your home’s theater system, you will be sure to find all you need for success!

Features

• Two-sided RF remote control with 4-way D-pad navigation and a full QWERTY keypad
• SD Card Reader
• Innovative design
• HDMI out
• 2 USB 2.0 ports
• Ethernet and 802.11n wireless

Design

The look of the Boxee Box is definitely unique. It looks like a partially-sunken cube, which may be cute, but not all that efficient. I would have preferred something flatter, or thinner, so that it could more easily be hidden away. Right now I cannot hide the Boxee Box behind my TV without the TV being really far away from the wall.

Front

The entire outside of the Boxee Box is extremely simple. The top has a single power button, and the right side has a single SD card slot. The back is where the connectors are, but even that is very sparse. On the back is 1 Ethernet port, 1 HDMI out, 1 Optical Audio out, 1 pair of Analog audio out, a power port, and 2 USB ports.

Back

D-Link also included a optical, and analog audio ports. These can be useful if you have run out of HDMI ports in your receiver. You can instead run the HDMI to your TV and one of the audio types to your receiver. However, it would seem better to provide these ports in a dongle cable (http://img.bestdirect.ca/images/AVERMEDIA/MTVHDDVRR/MTVHDDVRR_1.jpg) so the Boxee box could be made more compact. If D-Link could get it down to the size of the Apple TV, that would be really great.

The design of the remote is also quite unique, and this is a good unique. The remote is double sided, with some simple controls on one side, and a full QWERTY keyboard on the other. The remote is also very lightweight so you arm does not get tired while holding it. The only change I would probably make is to include a back button on the front side of the remote, instead you have to press the menu button and go all the way back to the beginning.

Remote

Performance

Installing the D-Link Boxee Box was a snap. I simply plugged in the power, HDMI, and an Ethernet cable, and turned it on. Once it started up it immediately detected an update and started downloading it. Once the update was done it went directly to the main screen and was ready to be used.

Home

I got the Boxee Box because I wanted to replace my PC, which I used to play recorded TV and ripped DVDs, so playing local content is really important. So when I saw the main menu and it listed things like Shows and Movies I thought this might just work out. However, before I could play local media, I had to tell the Boxee Box where that media was located. This is done in the settings, which at first is not easy to find. It is represented by a small gear that appears when you press the menu button on the remote.

Settings

However, after adding the files I was disappointed to see that they did not show up in the Movies, and Shows lists. Instead, I had to go to the Files list to find them. Later, I discovered that the Movies and Shows menus had a sub menu called files. I suppose this is where they are suppose to appear, but only the Movies list worked. Their must be some criteria that I am not getting on my recorded TV because I never could get any files to appear here.

Files

Shows Menu

Movies Menu

Watching DVDs was simple and easy. I never had any trouble with the movie not playing smoothly or anything. However, watching recorded TV was a bit of a challenge. It seems the Boxee Box is able to decode some formats of recorded TV really well, and others not so well. In Windows XP and Vista the recorded TV format was .dvr-ms, but in Windows 7 Microsoft changed it to .wtv. The older format plays just fine on the Boxee Box, but the new format does not. So I had to find another program that would convert from wtv to dvr-ms. This wasn’t a huge issue since it is built into Windows 7, but it was something I had to manually start for each show and that was a pain.

Files

Files

Even though I could not get any of my own files to appear in the Shows, or Movies menus there was plenty of online material. The Boxee software pulls shows and movies from several different sources, some are free and others are not. Several times I found a movie that I wanted to watch, but when I clicked on it, I discovered that it required a paid account with some website. This was annoying for a while until I discovered that I could turn off the paid shows. When you are in the Shows or Movies screens you can click the top right button (it looks like 4 circles), and it will bring up a menu with free and premium sources that you can check or uncheck depending on what you want. I unchecked all the premium sources so I never had to worry about accidentally clicking on a movie that cost money.

Shows

Movies

Sources

Another Screen on the Boxee Box is called Apps. This screen lets you install a small specialized app that can assist you in finding and using media.

Apps

The other screens on the Boxee Box are Friends and Watch Later. I suppose these can be useful but I didn’t use them much. When I want to watch a show I watch it right away. Also I don’t really care what others are watching, so sharing with friends does not make sense.

Friends

Watch Later

Watch Later

Support and Warranty

The D-Link Boxee Box comes with a 1 year warranty. Considering that their are no moving parts, I am really disappointed. I would think a much longer term would be appropriate.

Conclusion

So far I am happy. I cannot quite say the Boxee Box is perfect, but with a little bit of learning and tweaking it is serving its purpose. I would certainly change the design to be more flat so that it could hide behind or under a TV better. Also the menus need to be more customizable. I would like to be able to sort the DVDs and put them into seperate lists for kids and adults without having to move the actual files (like a play list). However, for $180 I think I can live with some flaws.

Sleek and Innovative Design Caters to RPG Gamers Improving Speed and Accuracy

WALNUT, Calif. (October 30, 2011) – AZiO Corporation, a computer peripheral company specializing in consumer peripherals and gaming equipment has announced the release of a new mechanical gaming keyboard that will enable gamers to take their gaming prowess to the next level. The Azio Levetron Mech4 Gaming Keyboard offers a streamlined design that allows gamers to improve their speed and accuracy with easy-to-reach macro keys allowing for the trickiest and complex gaming moves.

The unrestricted modular customization and ultra-durable keyboard designed for heavy combat, appeals to gamers who thrive on role playing or other online multi-player video games. The Levetron Mech4 Gaming Keyboard has several attractive features including a Cherry mechanical switch with an extended lifespan of 50 million keystrokes and a dedicated macro trigger at a finger’s reach. Highlights also include anti-ghost keys to allow for simultaneous key strokes, a mechanical linear design for rapid pressing, and special seals and drainage gutters for a complete water resistant layout to prevent spills from ending the life of the keyboard.

“The most accented and probably greatest notable feature of the Levetron Mech4 Gaming Keyboard is the modular configuration, specifically the detachable numeric keypad,” said Wilson Tang, Marketing Vice President at Azio Corporation. “By allowing the numeric keypad to be attached to either side of the keyboard, gamers can use these keys as additional macro keys, customize them for extra functions, or simply use them as a standard numeric keypad to improve your game and win!”

SPECIFICATIONS

• Interface: USB
• OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7 (all versions)
• Switch Type: Mechanical (Cherry MX Black)
• Keyboard Macro Keys: 5 Keys x 2 Sets (A/B)
• Modular Macro Keys: 6 Keys
• Switch Lifecycle: 50 Million
• Cable Length: 6 feet, Braided with Gold Connectors
• Keyboard Dimensions: 7.75” x 18.50”x 1.60” inches (LxWxH)
• Numerical Keypad Dimensions: 6.75” x 5.50” x 1.60” inches (LxWxH)

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• PC with built-in USB ports
• Windows XP, Vista, or 7
• CD ROM for software installation

The Levetron Mech4 Gaming Keyboard has an MSRP of $109.99 and is available online at www.ncix.com and www.cyberpowerpc.com in the U.S. and Canada. For more information regarding this product and other AZiO products, please contact AZiO directly, or visit www.aziocorp.com.

About AZIO Technologies

AZiO is the leader in quality connectivity for the home and entertainment industry for over half a decade. The company is primarily focus on supporting consumers with highest customer satisfaction and quality offerings of connectivity products for the overall consumer solutions. With many categories such as Specialized Keyboards, Wi-Fi Network connectivity’s, Durable High Quality Cables, and State of the art Hard Drive Enclosures manufactured and shipped, AZiO is the only company to proudly stand behind its product offering Life time warranty.

Levetron Developed in March 2011 by a league of gamers within AZiO. These gamers decided that playing game cannot just be a hobby but to vision this hobby into a goal by designing the tools to win. First Levetron Gaming Keyboard was design to fit the amateur gamers affordability with luxury and performance. October 2011, AZiO Advanced Levetron Mech4 is to exclusively launch through NCIX U.S., NCIX Canada, and CyberPowerPC.

Based in Southern California, AZIO Technologies can be reached by calling (626) 330-8042. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.azio-tech.com or e-mail us at info@azio-tech.com.

Features

A new twist on business computing:

• Use the pen or the pen and finger touch (with multi-touch gesture support) to easily navigate applications, turn pages and complete tasks.
• 12.1-inch diagonal WXGA UWVA LED display with multi touch. Additional optional include Outdoor View display with multi-touch for easier viewing in natural light

Built for work on the go:

• Lightweight, yet rugged design with aluminum surface meets military standards (MIL-STD 810G) for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude and high temperature
• Extensive wireless connectivity options—HP Mobile Broadband, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WLAN and Bluetooth
• Global Positioning System (GPS) identifies your location around the world and guides you where you need to go

Smart solutions for mobile security and productivity:

• Access and modify e-mail, calendar, contacts and websites without waiting to boot up using HP QuickWeb
• Hard-drive data is protected from drops and sudden impact with HP 3D DriveGuard
• Enhanced security with integrated TPM chip and HP ProtectTools software—data encryption

Better designed for you and the environment

• Reduced environmental impact thanks to smarter power management, the optional HP Long Life Battery solution, greater recyclability and fewer substances of concern

Design

Because the 2760p is designed for the traveling business person, and can be used as a tablet or laptop, it is important that is has a usable, yet rugged design. The HP EliteBook 2760p is lightweight, rugged, has an aluminum surface, and meets military standards (MIL-STD 810G) for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude and high temperature.

The right side of the 2760p has a quick launch button for QuickWeb, a headphone jack, SmartCard reader, 2 USB ports, phone jack, and a Kensington lock slot. I would really like to see the removal of the phone jack, is anyone still using a dial-up modem?

On the left side is an SD card slot, the Wi-Fi switch, Firewire, and another USB port.

On the back is the power plug, Ethernet, and VGA port. Above those, on the back of the lid is a rocker switch, esc button, screen rotate button, and a small hole for ctrl-alt-delete, these are used when in tablet mode. The rocker switch will move the cursor up and down, and the screen rotate button switches between portrait and landscape mode.

As mentioned above the 2760p has a few durability features and a couple of those are found on the keyboard. The keyboard is spill resistant, and the keys are coated with a special material that prevents the print from rubbing off. I really like how the keyboard goes from edge to edge. This shows that HP is really trying to maximize the available space and make typing a comfortable as possible. They keys also have a very nice feel, and they provide good feedback when pressed.

HP also includes both a pointing stick and a touchpad. The pointing stick does its job well by providing accurate navigation, but personally I don’t like them, so I didn’t use it for very much.

The relatively small 1.25″ x 2.75″ touchpad is adequate for moving around the screen, but does not provide enough room to move around comfortably. I would prefer to remove the pointing stick and its buttons, and in their place make the touchpad a lot bigger. If you look at the picture above you can see that without the pointing stick buttons HP could make the touchpad an inch taller and wider. On a side note, both the pointing stick and touchpad buttons have a nice rubbery feel and they are easy to press.

The screen on the 2760p is a 12.1-inch WXGA resolution ultra-wide viewing angle (UWVA) display. I was very excited to see that the screen has a matte finish. I really dislike the glossy screens that seem to have taken over laptops.

Above the screen is the usual webcam, and the HP exclusive keyboard light (I only say this because I have yet to see any other laptop maker include a keyboard light). Along the top of the bezel of the screen is a flip out wireless antenna. It is spring loaded, so as soon as you flip the switch it automatically comes out like a pocket knife.

To convert the laptop into a tablet it just takes a quick turn of the screen, and then it lays flat on top of the keyboard. Be careful though, because the screen only swivels one direction. If you try and swivel the screen the wrong way it will break. It would be nice if the screen could swivel either way, but currently that is not an option. I do like how securely the screen locks into place when in tablet mode, it uses the same locking mechanism in both laptop and tablet mode.

When the the 2760p is first put into tablet mode the screen may not be facing the correct direction. As far as I could tell there was no automatic way for it to rotate to fit the way it was being held (no tilt sensor), so you may have to press the screen rotate button several times to get it correct. It would be nice if the screen would automatically change as the tablet is rotated.

Once in tablet mode the screen can be used with either your finger or the supplied pen/stylus. I found using my finger was better for most functions, but when trying to press small buttons I had to use the pen. Speaking of the pen, it is attached to the tablet with a long string. I can only assume that HP got complaints about loosing the pen, so HP made that more difficult by using a string. The string is really long, and not retractable so it gets in the way when using the computer. How hard would it be for HP to make the string retractable?

The screen is also multi-touch, so you can use up to two fingers with some programs. Unfortunately, not all programs support multi-touch so it is trial and error process to find the ones that do. HP supplies a couple games and one of them does support multi-touch.

The biggest complaint I have about the tablet is the OS. I’m sorry, but no matter what Microsoft and others say, Windows 7 (or any other version of Windows) is not a tablet OS. Many of the buttons are too small (for example minimize, maximize, and close buttons), and just try and touch any of the icons down by the clock, they are so small it is almost impossible. It would be so much better if the OS would switch to a more touch friendly interface (i.e. larger icons) when in tablet mode.

The sound is adequate, but not great. I could hear movies, but not clearly, and when I was in a noisy room I could not understand anything. The speakers are down facing, which could explain why the sound was not very clear. However, HP is in a tough spot because up facing speakers would only work when in laptop mode, and not when in tablet mode. The only solution would be to put the speakers around the edge of the display. However, I don’t know how much room there is for speakers, so it may not be possible.

Performance

To test the performance of this machine I am going to run several tests. These tests include a battery, graphics, and full system test. However, before I get to that lets take a quick look at the specs of the EliteBook 2740p.

The first test is 3DMark06. This test focuses on testing the graphics system. The EliteBook 2740p got a score of 1936. At first this seems fairly low, but as I went back and compared it to some other laptops I have reviewed it actually seemed really good. The only laptop, of similar size, that got a higher score was the Asus F6Ve.

The next test is PCMark Vantage. This test is an overall system test and does not focus on any particular system. The EliteBook 2740p got a score of 5929. Again, not a spectacular score, but when compared to other laptops of similar size it comes out near the top, with only the Asus F6Ve getting a higher score.

The last test is the battery test. To test the battery I use MobileMark 2007, with WiFi off and the screen brightness set to 50%. As you can see from the image below the laptop came in at 322 minutes (5 hours 22 minutes) of run time. This is good for a laptop this size and I am happy. I was even more surprised to see that it got exactly the same battery time as the 2740p.

As I ran these tests I paid attention to the noise level and the heat that was produced. I never felt like there was an excessive amount of either.

Support and Warranty

HP backs the 2760p with a three-year warranty and a one-year warranty on the primary battery. This includes pick-up or carry-in, and toll-free 7 x 24 hardware technical phone support. On-site service and warranty upgrades are also available.

Conclusion

I really like this laptop, it is powerful, and versatile. If you travel a lot then the EliteBook 2760p would be great because of its compact size. If you need a tablet, but you also need something more powerful than an iPad or Android tablet, the 2760p would also be a great fit. All in all the EliteBook 2760p will fill many shoes and work well in any situation. However, as tablets become more powerful, computers like this will become increasingly obsolete.

While looking around at all the different graphics cards for the upgrade I knew that I had a small budget. Because I wanted the new card to be around $150 I knew I could not get a current generation card. I wanted to get a GeForce 460 because I knew how great the performance was. According to what I read one 460 could outperform two 260s.

The card I ended up getting is the EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SuperClocked Video Card from TigerDirect and it only cost $169.99 and it has a $30 mail in rebate. I was able to sell my old card for $60 so in the end I really only paid $79.99 for this card. In addition this card comes with a lifetime warranty, a really great bonus.

Once I purchased the card and it was delivered I went to install it. The biggest concern I had is that the 260 was big card and I was worried that the 460 would be even bigger. If it is bigger I don’t think it will fit in my case.

After removing the 260 measured it against the 460 and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the 460 is actually smaller. Installation was quite easy because of the smaller size.

So was it all worth it? Did I get better performance? Well here are the results. With my original setup I measured the power usage and the performance. When idling at the login screen my computer with the 260 installed used about 184 watts and while running 3DMark Vantage it jumped up to 291 watts.

With the new setup and the 460 installed my computer idled at a slightly lower 156 watts. During the performance test it got to around 302 watts. This is slightly unexpected. I expected the power to be higher both with idle and load. So to see it lower during idle and higher under load is hard to explain. Perhaps their is some power saving feature that kicks in when the computer is idle.

For testing performance I ran 3DMark at 1280 x 1024 on the old card and got a score of 11771. On the new card I ran the same test with the same resolution and I got a score of 17800.

260 3DMark Vantage

460 3DMark Vantage

I am really happy with the upgrade. I think I got good deal on the card and I extended the life of my computer a little longer. If anyone else is in the same situation as me I highly recommend the same upgrade.

Features

• Sit pain-free for extended periods of time
• Improve your posture
• Simple to use yet extremely effective
• Better results than expensive chairs – at a fraction of the cost!

Design

There certainly is some interesting design that has gone into the BackJoy. According to the BackJoy website:

“BackJoy is definitely not just a simple cushion. There is a great deal of science and engineering that has gone into its revolutionary design. It was built to be simple to use – but that’s where the simplicity stops. It is a technological breakthrough that will improve your posture, eliminate your back pain, and change the way you feel after sitting for extended periods of time”

Their are two versions of BackJoy, the BackJoy core, and the BackJoy core with Memory foam. The only difference between the two is the Memory foam.

Both versions of the BackJoy are made out of plastic, with rather rough edges. I noticed as I would sit on a soft chair (one that compresses when I sit) that the BackJoy would scrape against the back of the chair. Over time this could cause the material on the chair to prematurely wear away. This will be especially bad for fabric, leather, and vinyl chairs and couches. To help reduce this premature wear you may want to consider sitting on the BackJoy then scooting it back against the back of your chair. This way it does not rub when you sit down. However, you would have to scoot in and out every time you want to stand up or sit down.

One handy design feature is the handle on the front of the BackJoy. This makes it easy to carry around and I am glad it is included. The BackJoy I got also came with a bag, but I never used it. Because of the rough edges I mentioned above it catches on edges of the bag and is difficult to get in and out.

Performance

Before I get into how it works I want to make a few comments about the ordering process. Ordering a product should be easy, without any tricks or traps. Unfortunately, the BackJoy ordering process is filled with both.

Once you decide how many products you want, you are subjected to multiple upsells with no way to change your mind if you click the wrong button. These offers include additional Backjoys, upgrading to Memory foam, and other nonsense. To make matters worse their is no confirmation of your order before the final purchase. When I order things I like to play around with options to see where I can get savings. When I was ordering the BackJoy I wanted to try out different options to see how much the total price would be. So I chose a few of the options thinking I would be able to see the total before I agreed to the purchase. Unfortunately, the end came too quickly and before I knew it the order was placed. When I called BackJoy to cancel the order I was told it takes at least an hour before it is “in the system” and that would have to call back. By the time the hour had passed I had completely forgotten about the order and was getting ready to go home. The next day I got an email that my order had shipped. I called BackJoy back to find out what to do and they said I had 30 days after receipt to return the items. That is when I decided to keep them for now and do this review.

So how does it work? Not so good if you ask me. I got the BackJoy Core with Memory foam. For my test I used the BackJoy core with Memory foam for an entire week. Then I went for a week without it. While it was comfortable to sit on I cannot honestly say that my back felt any better. The memory foam was comfortable to sit on, but considering the cost of the BackJoy, I think I could get a Memory foam pad for much cheaper.

I also recommend against using this while driving. Because the BackJoy has a curved bottom it causes you to be unstable and when you turn corners in the car you whole body tips. This could be very dangerous.

One other difficulty I had was sitting still. When I sit, I like to shift positions every so often to keep the blood flowing in all the right directions, and to find a more comfortable position. With the BackJoy this is very difficult to do. The BackJoy requires you to be sitting straight up and all the way back in the chair. If you are like me and you slide down in your chair, or you recline, then you will also have a difficult time with the BackJoy.

Support

BackJoy offers a 30 day money back guarantee, and a Limited Lifetime Warranty. I would say that these are really good terms. If the BackJoy actually helped my back I would really feel comfortable keeping it. It is really great to see a company that sticks behind its products.

I know that speaking to customer service reps is not always a pleasure, but when I talked to the BackJoy reps they were always courteous, easy to understand, and didn’t give me any hassle when I wanted to return the items. This goes a long way in leaving a good impression with me.

Conclusion

While the BackJoy did not work for me, you may experience better results. With their generous return policy and warranty I would not worry about ordering one just to try it out. If you have back problems and you sit a lot then I do recommend you try out the BackJoy and see if it helps you.

Features

• Full QWERTY keyboard with unique Android Function keys and touchpad
• Two USB ports
• Docking station battery
• Built-in SD Card reader

Design

The top of the dock is taken up by the keyboard, touchpad, and touchpad buttons. Along the top of the keyboard are the Android function keys. The only key that is missing is an on and off button. If the tablet goes to sleep you either have to close the lid and reopen it, or reach around to the side of the tablet to turn the transformer on and off.

The right side of the keyboard dock has a single USB port hidden behind a little door, and the SD card slot with a dummy SD card in it.

The left side of the keyboard dock has another USB port, and the charging port.

Left

I really like how the dock perfectly matches the tablet and when together they fold into a very nice looking netbook.

Performance

So how do you test performance with a keyboard dock? Their is not much to do here, as long as all the buttons work we should be happy, right? Well, this dock also includes an extra battery so I will test that as well.

I have had the dock for several weeks now and I have had very few issues. Their will be times when I am typing and the cursor will jump to another part of the screen, but I think I might be accidentally touching the touch pad with the palm of my hand. Also if I have changed the on-screen keyboard then an annoying message appears every time I dock the tablet telling me to switch back to the Asus on-screen keyboard. I prefer the Android keyboard so I ignore the message.

On to the battery test. Since there isn’t an app yet that does a battery test I had to invent my own. For this test I loaded up the Transformer with a bunch of movies and played them one after another until the battery died. I also set the screen brightness, and volume to 50% and turned off WiFi. I started the test a 7:33 am and it took all the way until 10:29 pm for the battery to run out. That is an amazing 14 hours 56 minutes. It scored way above the rest of the tablets, but this is because it is using two batteries compared to the rest that only have one.

One thing Asus could have done to make the Keyboard dock even better is to add larger speakers. The speakers on the Asus Transformer are very small and do not get very loud. If Asus had added speakers to the keyboard this would have really helped to boost the sound of the system and improve the entertainment value.

Another aspect about the dock that concerns me is the potential for scratching the screen when the tablet is docked. Asus has lined the inside of the cradle with some felt or something to help protect the screen, but it does not seem to be enough. Fortunately, I have a screen protector on my tablet and as you can see their are some marks where the tablet an dock touch. I don’t know if the screen is strong enough to resist the scratching, but I am glad I don’t have to find out the hard way.

Support

The Asus Transformer dock comes with the same lame 1 year warranty that the tablet has. I am still waiting for a company to really stand behind their products, but it does not look like Asus is stepping up to the plate. With no moving parts, this tablet should last a really long time, and I would like to see a 5+ year warranty to show that Asus has faith in the build quality of its products.

Support comes in the standard forms of phone, email, and website help. I have not needed to use phone or email support, but I have been on their website to download software and updates for the tablet. The website is fairly easy to navigate, but the software that is available is not up to date. For example, Asus released the Android 3.1 OS for the tablet about a week ago, but their website still does not have the update for download. Since my tablet has not downloaded it automatically I am anxious for the download so I can apply it manually.

Conclusion

I don’t know about you, but I am completely happy with the way the keyboard dock and tablet work together. If you are also interested in this kind of setup I really recommend you jump on it.

Features

• NVIDIA Tegra 2 1.0GHz dual-core CPU
• 10.1″ LED Backlight WXGA (1280×800) Screen
• 1.2 M Pixel Front Camera and 5 M Pixel Rear Camera
• 9.5 hours; 24.4Wh Li-Polymer Battery

The ASUS Transformer features the exact same processor as the Motorola Xoom, and the Viewsonic G Tablet. This means it is going to be powerful, fast, and snappy.

The one thing that sets the Transformer apart from the other Android tablets that I have reviewed is the screen. The Transformer is the first Android tablet to use an LED Backlit IPS panel. This happens to be the same kind of screen that the iPad 2 uses, which means it should look really good.

Design

The Front of the tablet doesn’t have any buttons, but it does have the screen, camera, and a light sensor. I really like the no button look, and how the Android 3x OS has them built into the software.

 

Front

The left side has the power and volume buttons. They are a little too close for my liking, and I find myself sometimes hitting the power button instead of the volume up button. I have learned to take my time and feel around to make sure I have the correct button before I press it.

 

Left

The right side has the Headphone jack, HDMI slot, and Micro SD slot. The ability to expand the memory is one of the best things about the Android OS and Android phones and tablets. Having a built-in HDMI slot is nice, but I rarely use it.

 

Right

The bottom has the dock port. This port is used for both charging the tablet, syncing with a computer, and docking it with the keyboard. This port is probably my biggest issue with the tablet. As a rule, I don’t like proprietary ports, it makes getting replacement cables difficult and sometimes costly, it also means I have to carry around yet another cable. Since don’t have a keyboard dock (yet), and I never plug this into my computer, I really only use the port for charging. It would have been really nice if Asus had included provided a USB port or something for charging so that I could just use the same cable as my phone.

 

Bottom

The back has the rear camera. As a side not the back of the tablet is made with a nice textured plastic. The plastic is very rugged and will take quite a bit to scratch and scuff. This is much better than the iPad 2 and its metal back, the metal back on the iPad 2 was scuffed after just a few hours of use.

 

Back

Since their will be lots of questions about how the Asus Transformer compares to the Apple iPad 2, and other tablets. So here are a few images of the Asus Transformer vs the iPad 2, and the Transformer vs the Viewsonic G Tablet.

 

Transformer vs iPad2

 

Transformer vs iPad2

 

Transformer vs G Tablet

 

Transformer vs G Tablet

I have already covered the Android 3.0 OS in my review of the Motorola Xoom, so I won’t be covering it here. However, I will briefly cover some of Asus’ customizations.

One of the most exciting new functions is the ability to take screenshots built-into the OS. I don’t know if this is from Asus or Google, but it is really nice.

Asus includes a few of its own widgets. One of them is called MyZine. This is a kind of dashboard that groups together a set of functionality. However it is not customizable and it has the word ‘MyZine’ printed across the front of the widget in big letters. Those letters cover a lot of the content and make the widget unusable.

 

MyZine

 

MyZine

There are several other more usable widgets. For example, a date widget, weather widget, and a email widget.

 

Asus Widgets

Asus also includes its own Active wallpaper. This wallpaper is of ice cubes in water and they move as you tip the tablet. It’s not really exciting, but its there. Also their are a few static wallpapers, again I don’t know if these were provided by Asus or Google.

 

Active WallPapers

 

Wallpaper

Performance

Performance testing on a tablet is just like on a PC or Laptop. There are a variety of tools available to test the CPU, memory, graphics, and filesystem. Before we get to the actual tests lets take a look at the hardware inside the Asus Transformer.

I will be comparing the Transformer against the Motorola Xoom, Droid Incredible, which is running a custom ROM, and the Viewsonic G Tablet.

The first test I ran is Quadrant, this test goes through many aspects of the tablet including, CPU, Memory, I/O, 2D Graphics, and 3D Graphics and at the displays a single score for everything. As you can see the Transformer gets a much higher score.

 

Quadrant

The next test is called PI. This only tests the CPU and it does this by making it calculate PI and reporting the time it took to complete the task. For this test lower scores are the best. As you can see the Xoom has the best time for calculating PI, but it just barely beat out the Transformer. Since both the Xoom and the Transformer have the same processor it makes sense that they would have similar scores.

 

PI

The next two tests are for graphics. The first test is call fps2d and simply draws a 2D ball that moves around the screen, the app then calculates the FPS. This time the Asus Transformer took the top stop.

 

fsp2D

Finally the last test is Nenamark, it renders a 3D video and at the end displays FPS for the video. As you can see the Transformer took the top score by quite a bit. This surprised me because the processor is the same as the Xoom ad G Tablet. I can only assume that OS updates and newer drivers are what made the difference.

 

Nenamark

On to the battery test. Since there isn’t an app yet that does a battery test I had to invent my own. For this test I loaded up the Transformer with a bunch of movies and played them one after another until the battery died. I also set the screen brightness, and volume to 50% and turned off WiFi. I started the test a 7:20am and it took all the way until 3:36pm for the battery to run out. That is a decent 8 hours and 16 minutes. It scored the lowest of the bunch, but I can’t wait to try it out with the keyboard dock because it is suppose to double the battery life.

 

Battery

Warranty and Support

The Asus Transformer comes with the same lame 1 year warranty that almost all other tablets have. I am still waiting for a company to really stand behind their products, but it does not look like Asus is stepping up to the plate. With no moving parts, this tablet should last a really long time, and I would like to see a 5+ year warranty to show that Asus has faith in the build quality of its products.

Support comes in the standard forms of phone, email, and website help. I have not needed to use phone or email support, but I have been on their website to download software and updates for the tablet. The website is fairly easy to navigate, but the software that is available is not up to date. For example, Asus released the Android 3.1 OS for the tablet about a week ago, but their website still does not have the update for download. Since my tablet has not downloaded it automatically I am anxious for the download so I can apply it manually.

Conclusion

Overall I am really excited about the Asus Transformer. My biggest complaint is about the docking port being the only way to charge the tablet. This is on par with other tablets, so it is not something I can fault Asus for. Everything else about the tablet is exceptional and I look forward to using it every day.

The price is also an amazing part of this tablet. Asus is able to provide all the features, and performance for the rock bottom price of $399. That is $100 less than the iPad 2, and $200 less than the Motorola Xoom. This really is the cherry on top and makes the Transformer the clear winner of our Editors Choice award.

Editors Choice

To upgrade my software I first went to the My Moves website where I could find the installer. Under their download section they had a link to the My Movies 4 installer for Windows 7 (which is what my main computer is) so I downloaded that one. After it downloaded I clicked install and it went on its merry way. After a few minutes it finished. The next step is to start the collection management part of My Movies so that it can upgrade the database. This was quick and proceeded without any warnings or errors.

Next I have to go and upgrade all the rest of my computers so they can also access the movies database. So next I upgrade my HTPC, and the computer in my kitchen. These are also Windows 7 machines so they did not have a problem. Next, I tried to upgrade my wife’s computer, and this is where I first ran into trouble.

As soon as I clicked on the installer it gave me an error saying that I must have Windows 7. I thought, okay I need to go find the Vista installer. However, after searching the My Movies website I found that their is no Vista installer for My Moves 4. Uh Oh, This means my Wife’s and my kids computers cannot have My Moves 4 unless I pay $100 each to upgrade them to Windows 7, which I’m not going to do.

So my next thought is that I will just downgrade back to My Moves 3 and we will have to live without the new features of My Moves 4. Not a big deal. So I go out to the My Movies forum and look for instructions on downgrading the database from 4 to 3. I could not find any so I started a new thread asking for instructions. The response I got made my heart sink. Apparently the database cannot be downgraded and I am stuck using the My Moves 4 database. My only recourse is to upgrade my computers to Windows 7, redo my movies database from scratch (about 600 movies), or keep my wife and my kids from watching movies on their computers.

So my warning to you is, Avoid My Movies 4, unless all your computers have Windows 7 SP1. Yes I said SP1, it is not good enough to just have Windows 7, you must also have Service Pack 1. Apparently their is some new feature in Windows 7 SP1 that My Movies 4 cannot live without, I don’t buy it, but that is what they claim. What kind of “I can’t live without it” feature would have been introduced in a service pack?

I am also amazed that the software did not have a warning somewhere saying “WARNING: ALL COMPUTERS MUST HAVE WINDOWS 7 OR ELSE THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE MOVIES DATABASE.” This should be a big red, blinking, and making some kind of annoying sound, and make you click OK like 5 times so you don’t skip the warning. This would have saved me a lot of trouble.

I think it is fairly reasonable to expect that most people are going to have a mixed OS network. Not everyone wants, or can afford to upgrade all their computers to the latest OS. I currently have 4 Windows 7, and 2 Vista computers. Since Windows 7 and Vista are almost identical I have never had trouble installing the same version of software on either OS. In fact My Moves 4 is the only software I can think of that requires Windows 7.

So leave me feedback, let me know if you have a mixed OS network in your home, and if you have run into any other software that requires Windows 7 SP1.

The ability to play music from the cloud will be included in the Android Music App which Google has named “Music Beta”.

Hello Motorola XOOM user,

We’d like to tell you about some changes to the Music player on your tablet. The latest app update now supports Music Beta, a new service from Google. As a Verizon Motorola XOOM user, you’ve been extended an early invitation to beta test this service.

Music Beta lets you store your personal music collection online and access it instantly without the hassle of wires or syncing.

• Enjoy your music anywhere — listen on any web browser, your Motorola XOOM, or any other device running Android 2.2 or higher.
• Save your favorite albums, artists, and playlists on your smartphone or tablet so you can keep listening even when you’re not connected.
• Create your own custom playlists or build them automatically from a single song.

Amazon is currently the leader in this space, so it will be interesting to see how Google plans on competing. For example, will their be a storage cap? I have thousands of songs, and it could potentially take up a lot of space. We will keep an eye on this service as it matures.

Update: I just looked at the market page for the app and found this very interesting tidbit.
“Available in the U.S. by invitation only and free for a limited time.”

The part to pay attention to is the free for a limited time. Sounds like this will end up being a paid service.

The berries came packaged in a rather large box, but this extra size is for all the insulation, and ice pack that are used to keep the strawberries nice and fresh.

Shipping Box

Shipping Box open

The box for the Shari’s Berries is quite small compared to the shipping box.

Shipping Box open

One of the advertisements I heard said that Shari’s Berries are the biggest and juiciest berries. So I was curious to see just how big they would be. When I opened the box I was slightly disappointed. I would not consider these to be large Strawberries, these are just normal.

Box open

We recently went to Costco and bought a package of their strawberries and for the most part they are bigger than the Shari’s Berries.

Costco Strawberries

Costco vs Shari’s

So how did they taste? I would not say they were amazing, or bad, they were just normal. Actually at one point my wife removed the strawberry from the chocolate and replaced it with with a Costco strawberry, she said it tasted better.

Something else I noticed is that all the pictures on their website show the strawberries with the leaves still attached, but the strawberries I got had them all removed. We still had to be careful not to eat the top of the strawberry because even though the leaves were removed the stem was still attached and would have been unpleasant if bitten into.

Website Image

Now I paid $19.99 for 6 Shari’s Berries, and $14.99 to have them shipped. If I had just bought the Costco strawberries (about $5), and some chocolate (another $5) then we would have saved about $25 and my kids would have had a blast making our own.

One last side note, if you decide to get Shari’s berries, make sure you eat them right away. I think part of our problem is that we kept them in the fridge for a few days and they got soft. I tried to save on shipping by getting them a couple days before Mother’s day, and then wait till Mother’s day before eating them. I think this caused them to not be as fresh, and not taste as good.

If you got Shari’s Berries for Mother’s day we would love to hear from you. Please leave us a comment and tell us your experience.

Features

• 1GHz dual-core A5 CPU
• 9.7 inch diagonal, Multi-Touch 1024×768 (VGA) resolution display
• Front and Rear facing cameras
• 10 hours of battery life with Wi-Fi enabled

The iPad 2 has several features that differentiate if from the first iPad. First off is that it features a faster 1GHz dual-core processor, front and rear facing cameras, and a slightly smaller, and thinner footprint.

Design

As mentioned above the iPad 2 has a smaller footprint when compared to the first iPad. The iPad 2 weighs 1.33 lbs and the first iPad weighed 1.5 lbs. The iPad 2 has dimensions of 9.5″ x 7.31″ x .34″ and the first iPad was 9.56″ x 7.47″ x 0.5″. While these changes are not huge, they do make a difference, especially if your holding the iPad all day.

The front of the iPad 2 features the screen, the front camera, and the Home button. The screen on the iPad 2 is identical in both size and resolution to the first iPad. I do have to say that I am very impressed with the screen brightness and viewing angles. This is by far the best screen I have ever seen on a tablet. It is super bright, and I didn’t have any trouble viewing it, even from extreme angles. In fact, the screen is so bright that when reading e-books with a white background I had to turn the brightness down to 25% or else it would hurt my eyes.

Front

Screens

However, the screen is far from perfect. Apple claims that the iPad 2 has a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating. However, I am not impressed. I have reviewed a few tablets, and the iPad 2 gets fingerprints just as easily as all the others. I think the fingerprint-resistant coating is just a bunch of marketing fluff and you should not believe it. The glossy screen also has a really nasty glare that makes it hard to use outside. I think the only real way to help reduce the glare and fingerprints is to use a non-glossy screen. Hopefully this will be fixed in the iPad 3.

Fingerprints

The front camera has a resolution of 480 x 640, and 72 dpi. As you can see below the image I got from the front camera is not very high quality.

Front Camera

On the right side of the iPad 2 is the volume up and down button, and a slider. The slider is customizable, by default it mutes the sound, but it can be changed to lock the screen rotation. While the buttons work as advertised I have a problem with the placement. Because of the angle of the buttons they are impossible to click when the iPad is laying flat or leaning against a wall. In order to press the buttons you have to lift up on the iPad so you have more room. This is an unfortunate side effect of the curved edges, and I hope Apple does not make the same mistake in the next version.

Volume

On the top is the on/off button, a small microphone, and the headphone jack. The headphone jack is also on a curved surface, but Apple was smart enough to make the jack fit straight in, this at least lets the tablet lay flat.

Top	Microphone

The back is made of a very slick metal. While this makes it look cool it also makes it hard to get a good grip and I found the iPad often slipping from my fingers if I wasn’t squeezing tightly. I really liked the rubbery back of the Motorola Xoom, there was never any trouble getting a good grip on it. Also the metal is very easy to scratch if you slide it around on a desk. I have a feeling that over time the metal back will look very worn and ugly if the iPad is not kept in a case that covers the back. What’s the point of a cool metal back if you have to keep it covered?

Back

The back also features a speaker at the bottom, and the rear camera at the top. I have to say, at first I was sceptical and thought that the single speaker on the iPad would be too weak, but I am happy to say I was wrong. This single speaker performs better than any other tablet I have tested, even those with two speakers. For example, while my daughter was watching a movie on the kitchen table, I could easily understand all the words from clear across the room, about 15 feet away, and it wasn’t a quiet room either, my other kids were talking and playing with each other. Other tablet makers could certainly learn something about audio from Apple.

Speaker

The rear camera has a paltry 0.92MP, and a resolution of 720 x 960, and 72 dpi. Again, you can see in the image below that the picture is grainy and not very clear.

Back Camera

On the bottom of the iPad is the docking connector. This connector provides for charging, transferring data, outputting video and just about any other connection you could want. One thing that got me confused was charging. The cable that comes with the iPad 2 has a docking connector on one end, and a USB plug on the other. However, you cannot plug this cable into your computer and have it charge, it is only for syncing. To charge the iPad you have to use an AC to USB adapter. Apple provides one, but it is also not very well designed. It is bulky and if you try and plug it into the same outlet as another bulky plug it will not fit. This could easily be fixed if Apple would make the prongs come out on the top, rather than in the middle of the adapter.

Bottom

Plug

The iPad also has a bunch of accessories, some of them are pretty cool, and other are not. For example, I really like the Smart Cover because it provides great protection for the screen, doubles as a iPad stand, and can be used to turn the iPad on and off. Using magnets the iPad will wake up and go to sleep when you open and close the cover. However, it only protects the front of the iPad and leaves the back fully exposed.

Some of the not so cool accessories are all the proprietary cables you have to purchase. For example, if you want to hook the iPad 2 to your TV you need to buy a $39 Digital AV Adapter. Want to connect your camera to the iPad? That will cost $29 for a Camera Connection Kit. Most Android tablets have Apple beat here because they almost always include a mini HDMI, and USB plug built-in. I really think that Apple does their customers a disservice by not building these connectors into the device. iPad customers now have to carry around a bunch of extra cables and connectors everywhere they go instead of just having it built-in.

Setup and Usability

I don’t usually do a setup section in my reviews, but because setting up the iPad 2 was so frustrating I just couldn’t help myself. Normally, Apple products are known for their ease of use, but for me, setting up the iPad 2 was one of the most frustrating things I have done in a long time.

Setting up the iPad 2 is not as easy as I would have liked. I am used to using Android tablets, they don’t require as much effort, and best of all they don’t require me to install any software on my computer. With the iPad it would not even turn on until I had registered it with iTunes. This took about 30 minutes because I had to download and install the software. On the first attempt I accidently downloaded the 32bit software and it would not install (btw 64bit Windows does support 32bit software, it was the iTunes installer that refused to work). So I had to go back to the iTunes website and search for the 64bit software, Apple does not make it easy to find. After some searching I finally found a tiny link at the bottom of the download page. How hard would it be for Apple to make this a bit more visible? maybe even make it a radio button at the top of the screen to choose 32bit or 64bit. Even better, why not skip iTunes and have the registration done on the iPad itself? What if I buy an iPad and I don’t have access to a computer with iTunes for a couple hours? This just seems lame to require a computer before you can even use the tablet.

Activate?

Download 32bit

Download 64bit

After installing iTunes the actual activation process required me to log into an iTunes account and fill in all my private information. Since I didn’t have an iTunes account I had to create one.

After the activation I tried to copy my music onto the device. Again Apple fails to make this an easy process. I first tried dragging mp3 files from Windows Explorer into iTunes and onto the iPad, but this failed. After playing around a bit I discovered that I had to add my music folder to iTunes, but because I have so much music it actually took a long time for iTunes to index the music and go through the album art, and get the music ready to play. After another 40 minutes I was finally able to try and put some songs onto the iPad. I say try because, at first, I was not successful. As you can see from the screen shots below iTunes shows that I have lots of space used up by music, but when I look at the music list it doesn’t show anything. Also the sync button is greyed out, so I assume that means the sync already completed. So I am confused, not very user friendly if you ask me.

Before Update

Music List

While looking for ways to fix the music problem I noticed that their was an update for the iPad. Since I was stuck not knowing how to upload music I decided to go ahead and install the update. After the update it looks like the iPad was nice enough to delete all my content. So now I have the pleasure of starting the whole process again.

After Update

This time I tried checking the box that says “Sync only checked songs and videos”. I also only checked a few songs and clicked the sync button. Finally it synced the songs. However, it still would not let me drag music onto the iPad. Things would be so much easier if I could just drag and drop music into place.

MP3 synced

Adding pictures was also very confusing. I kept looking for a place in iTunes to add my photos, so I could sync only the ones I wanted. Unfortunatly, that place does not exist. Instead you have to go to the iPad section of iTunes, and choose a folder to sync. It then bypasses iTunes and puts the photos directly on the iPad. Why can’t I just drag photos onto the iPad? it would be so much easier. Also what if I only want 1 or 2 photos from each folder and not the entire folder? These are options that are just not available in iTunes.

Sync Photos

So finally after an hour of frustration I am finally able to play music and view pictures. Now it’s time to try syncing movies, I had to cross my fingers and hope that it would not be difficult.

Fortunately, syncing movies was not hard to figure out. Like MP3s I first had to add the movies to iTunes, then sync them to the iPad, but what about playing movies? I actually have to say that I like the way the iPad displays the list of movies. As you may remember in my reivew of the Motorola Xoom, one of my complaints is that the name of the video does not display in the list of videos, and this makes it hard to know which movie you are clicking on. With the iPad the name is displayed and this is really nice. Also when you play a movie you will notice large black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. This is because the resolution of the iPad does not match the resolution of the movie. There isn’t anything you can do about this.

Movie List

Movie Resolution

Now on to buying apps. This is also not immune to setup frustrations. I chose to install the Angry Birds app because it’s free and I didn’t was to start paying money for iPad apps until I decided if I was going to keep it or not. So upon clicking on the app I wanted to purchase it first asked me to log into my Apple account. Umm, I already logged in when I activated the iPad, why is it asking me to log in again? Since their is no way around this I entered my information. At first I could not find a download button, but it didn’t take long for me to see the “free” button on the left side of the screen. After clicking the button it changed to an Install button and I had to click again. Once I clicked that button I was asked to confirm my purchase with a “are you sure” dialog box. After clicking ok, I was presented with another dialog that said the terms have been updated. After clicking ok, I was shown another dialog that actually showed the terms, these last two screens should have been combined. So I agree to the new terms, then I am asked again if I “still want to purchase the app?”, umm, do they think I changed my mind? Finally after clicking for the 6th time the app is finally downloaded. Why did I have to click 6 buttons to purchase one free app? Does that seem right to you? Fortunately, all other purchases after this only required me to click twice, but even that seems more than necessary.

One thing I noticed is that when the app is installed it is automatically added as an icon to one of the main screens. If you try and remove the icon then it also uninstalls the app. On my Android devices I have several utility apps that run automatically and only need to be setup once, so having an icon for them on the main screen is silly. For example, I have an alarm clock app that only needed the alarms to be setup once, then it runs in the backgroud. Why would I want an icon taking up space if I never need to open that program again?

Another feature that is lacking in the app install is that it only downloads one app at a time. If you have lots of apps to download or update you could be waiting a long time. With Android it downloads multiple at the same time. This is much more useful and makes better use of all the bandwidth I have at home and work.

Another thing that bugs me about installing apps is that it kicks you out of the App Store for each app. Because this is a new tablet and it doesn’t have anything on it, I want to install a lot of games and stuff to try them out. Each time I click install on a game it kicks me out of the App store and takes me to the new icon that it just installed. Now I have to flip back to the screen that has the App store icon, click it, and go back into the App store to install another app. After about the 20th time of doing this I am getting really frustrated. Why not leave me in the App store until I choose to leave? Choice is good, it makes me happy.

Also where are all the widgets? I want a weather widget on the main screen to give me a forecast. I want a fancy clock widget that shows me an analog clock for time. I want youtube, twitter, news, email, and facebook widgets showing me the latest content as soon as I turn on the tablet. It is a real pain to have to open each app, one at a time, to see if their is anything new. If the iPad is made for consuming content, it sure makes it hard to get to the content.

While playing around in the software I did find some funny things, For example, the software still calls the volume “ringer”. You can see this by muting and then unmuting the sound. I guess this is what happens when you put a phone OS on a tablet. Also the keyboard has touch-typing bumps on the F and J letters, the only problem is that they are completely useless because you cannot feel them.

Ringer

Keyboard

Last but not least is web browsing. Here is a screenshot of what my website looks like on the iPad 2. What’s up with the top of my webpage? It looks like the iPad 2 is not rendering the image behind my logo correctly. I tried refreshing it several times, but nothing helped.

Website

Performance

In this section of the review I like to run benchmarks, unfortunately there are not a lot of benchmarks for the iPad, so this will be a short section.

I found one test that is both on Android and iPad. The test is called Linpak and it tests the CPU by running different calculations. The score I got on the iPad 2 is an unbelievable 169 Mflops/s. I say unbelievable because Linpack on the Motorola Xoom only got a score of 34.5 Mflops/s. It is difficult to believe that the iPad 2 processor could smoke the Nvidia Tegra 2 processor by so much. The unfortunate thing is that both apps are made by different people so they cannot be trusted to be running the same tests. That’s too bad because I was hoping to have something to compare the two with.

Linpack

Next is the battery test. Like all the other tablets I have reviewed my battery test for the iPad is simple. I turn off WiFi, dim the screen to 50%, and play lots of movies until the battery dies. Apple claims that the iPad 2 will last 10 hours with WiFi turned on, so I should easily get more with WiFi turned off. I started the test at 10:30am and the iPad died at about 7:25pm. That is a really great 8 hours and 55 minutes, but it falls way short of the 10+ hours that Apple advertises.

Warranty and Support

Apple includes the standard 1 year warranty with the iPad. Nothing special, but as long as you take care of the device it will last much longer.

Support comes in many forms. If you are lucky enough to have an Apple store nearby you can take in the iPad and have them fix it one the spot. Otherwise you are left to email, phone, and shipping it back to Apple for repairs.

Conclusion

So what do we take away from this review? The iPad has a lot of positive features (screen brightness, viewing angles, audio quality, fast processor) but it also has a lot of flaws (low quality cameras, battery, software, button angles, slippery back, fingerprints, glare, and iTunes).

So my recommendation is, if you are already hooked into the Apple economy and iTunes then the iPad 2 will fit right in with the rest of your stuff. However, if you have been resisting the temptation to jump in, then you may want to wait a little longer. The Android platform is much more open and flexible, and with a pluthera of Android tablets on the horizon, prices will be dropping.

As for me I will hang onto this tablet for a while so I can compare it against some new Android tablets, but in the end I will sell it because it is not a fit for me.

You see my wife is currently under contract with Verizon and when her contract ends I told her we would switch her to PagePlus and I would give her my Droid Incredible. By switching to PagePlus she will get more data, text, and talk minutes for a smaller monthly fee. That also means in a couple months I need to find another phone for myself.

I refuse to be locked into an expensive two year contract with mandatory data. I currently only have 100MB of data through PagePlus and I don’t have any trouble staying within the limit. So paying more for data that I don’t need seems ridiculous.

The criteria I had for my new phone is 1) a larger screen 2) Android OS 3) Verizon compatible so I can use it with PagePlus. This really makes for a small list, and the Thunderbolt was sitting at the top, that is until I saw the price.

So why is the HTC Thunderbolt so expensive? I thought it would be interesting to do a comparison of the Thunderbolt and the Motorola Xoom, which I reviewed last month.

I realize that these two devices are not in the same class, but what I am interested in is what hardware we get for our money. When the Motorola Xoom came out everyone seemed shocked by the high price. The price was also one of the big negatives in my review of the Xoom. However, when compared to the Thunderbolt the Xoom’s price does not seem that bad.

The Thunderbolt is $50 cheaper than the Xoom, and for that $50 you get a smaller screen, lower resolution, smaller battery, single core processor, less internal memory, less RAM, lower resolution front facing camera, and only 2.4GHz wireless. That seems like a lot of hardware to give up for just $50 in savings. On the plus side the Thunderbolt has a higher resolution rear facing camera, and a preinstalled 32GB microSD card. Compared to the Xoom’s built-in 32GB this does not seem all that great.

Because the most expensive part of a phone/tablet is the screen I am really surprised that the Thunderbolt does not have a much lower price. With the Battery and CPU being the next most expensive parts, it concerns me even more. I can only assume that HTC and Verizon are artificially inflating the price in order to get consumers to buy the phone with a plan.

Why do you think the HTC Thunderbolt is so expensive?

If your interested in learning about the physical design and hardware specs I encourage you to read my previous review of the G Tablet. In this review I will only be covering the VEGAn-Tab ROM.

Flashing the ROM was really easy, and there is a thread over at XDA with very detailed instructions. Within 30 minutes I had the new ROM loaded and my testing could begin. Here are a few features of the new ROM:

Features

• Maps 5.1 with the rotation fix
• Market 2.2.11
• Updated drivers that should bump up Quadrant slightly, and significantly improves Nenamark scores
• Frame rate change from 50 to 60
• Replaced the Froyo keyboard with the Gingerbread keyboard
• Working Flash

One of the biggest problems I had with the original ROM was the lack of the official Android Market. That is why I am so happy that the VEGAn ROM includes it. In my opinion the apps in the official market are much better than on other markets.

The other problem I had with the official G Tablet ROM was the design of the screens. Even though we could switch to classic view the default Tap n Tap screens were annoying and not customizable. So even before I flashed the new ROM I still used the classic interface. With the VEGAn ROM the classic interface is the only interface.

Performance

So now on to the performance testing. I ran all the same test on both the original ROM and the VEGAn ROM. As you can see from the results below the VEGAn ROM took the top spot in all the tests.

fps2d

Neocore

Quadrant

The ROM is not perfect. The biggest problem I have with the new ROM is that all the wallpapers are messed up. Wallpapers that worked just fine with the original ROM are fuzzy and yucky in VEGAn. However, VEGAn includes some of their own wallpapers and those look fine. So far I have not been able to find a resolution and so I am left with not using a wallpaper and just going with a solid color background.

Conclusion

I am much happier with the G Tablet now that I have the new ROM. It does not fix the bad viewing angles with the screen, but it helps make it more bearable. The VEGAn crew are also working on a new version of the ROM that is rebased on the Gingerbread (2.3.3) version of Android. I am very excited about this because it will allow the tablet to stay relevant for a while longer. I am hoping that eventually we will see some Honeycomb ROMs coming out, but so far XDA has banned all talk of Honeycomb.

The R Series has a number of optional extras available at the point of purchase, including the choice to equip it with a high capacity battery which will reportedly keep it going for 13 hours on the trot.

The R Series will make use of Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, depending on which model you pick and you can even load it up with 8GB of RAM to go hand in hand with the multi-core CPUs.

Perhaps the most important feature on the list of potential options for the Inspiron R Series is the ability to playback 3D Blu-Ray movies if you have a compatible TV. With the HDMI output you can enjoy 3D content without having to invest in a separate player, which suggests that Dell is convinced that the current 3D technology has a degree of longevity, even if it is only for the next few years during which the R Series will gradually be pushed aside for the next best thing.

Above the display an HD camera will enable high quality video chatting online and the R Series laptops will have a selection of USB 3.0 ports to enable high speed data transfer and peripheral control.

Intel Wireless Display Technology is built into the range, allowing you to connect to a compatible display or projector to showcase presentations and videos in full 1080p with support for 5.1 surround sound straight out of the box.

Although the Dell Inspiron R series laptops sound like a businesslike bunch, they are compatible with interchangeable lids. These multicoloured plastic shells can be swapped out at any time and you can buy a design to suit your style or mood if you are not satisfied with the basic option provided at retail.

The interchangeable lids is definitely a gimmick which will have relatively limited appeal, but it is nice to see that Dell is willing to take into account the desires of the young and fashion-conscious even when it builds such capable laptops.

The Dell Inspiron R series is going on sale at a starting price of around £480, although you should expect to see this rocket upwards as you improve the specs. There should be a decent amount of laptop deals to reduce the price so shopping around is something that fans of these devices should consider.

I should first start out by saying that Apple certainly does not need me as a customer. They are a very successful company without me as a customer, and they will continue to be successful long after. I am sure they sold millions of iPads on Friday and not having me buy one means nothing to them. However, in addition to not selling me an iPad they also lost a chance to make a convert.

I have never bought an Apple product before, in fact you could say I have been anti-apple, I have gone out of my way to support their competitors even when it meant I had to pay more, or settle for less functionality. Despite this, I was excited about the release of the iPad 2 and I wanted to compare it to the Android tablets I have been reviewing. However, instead of having an iPad to play with today I am left frustrated by Apples inability to meet the demand of their customers. Weather on purpose or not, I don’t know, the simple fact is that when I went to buy an iPad I couldn’t find any.

It is possible that they will restock in a week or two, but if it is anything like the Wii it could take months, or years before they are easily obtainable and I don’t have the attention span to wait that long. Even if I ordered one online it could take a month before they have any to ship. By that time there will be new technology that will have taken away my attention and I will not be interested in the iPad anymore. However, if I had gotten a iPad on Friday it is quite possible that I would have been so blown away with it, that all other tablets would have seemed like silly toys. Now the possibility of that is remote.

So instead of a review I am left with nothing but a sense of disappointment and frustration. If the stores in my area manage to get them in stock soon I may go get one and still do the review. However, I am not going to waist my time calling around all day just to find one. I will probably call a couple stores on Monday, but if I don’t find anything I will move on to other projects and the iPad will be forgotten about.

So to all those who managed to get an iPad 2 on Friday I say congratulations. Please share your experience with us and tell us all about what we are missing. Maybe that will be enough to keep our excitement levels up. Otherwise the rest of us will just look forward to the next big announcement. Personally I am waiting for the Xoom WiFi version and the inevitable price drop. I am also considering a Nook Color that I can root into, what I’ve heard, an awesome tablet.

Update:
I finally got my hands on an iPad2 and I posted my review. Go ahead and read it and tell me what you think of my conclusions.

This review has been updated. HP sent me a new machine and I retested it. Please read the update at the bottom of the page.

Features

• Streamline your enterpriseFeatures unique to the HP Compaq 6000 Pro, you get integrated collaboration tools, DisplayPort output to create a dual display setup, and an integrated 6-in-1 Media Card Reader to easily transfer files, videos, and more..
• Save space, remove clutterThe integrated design and reduced footprint leave your workspace free of cables that come with having separate hardware components. Its commercial design means it’s built to withstand your demanding environment.
• Integrated, flexibleWe didn’t forget the flexibility with a choice of proven Intel® processors, hard drives up to 1 TB, and DDR3 memory up to 8 GB. Slots for optional wireless solutions and VESA mount brackets allow for a flexible workspace.
• Easy setupJust unpack, place, plug in, and get to work. No need to hassle with connecting multiple components. Work comfortably with the 21.5” diagonal high-definition LCD display that tilts and swivels for optimal placement.
• Security, your wayThe standard embedded TPM 1.2 compliant security chip and USB Port Disable feature enhance your businesses current data protection and system access security measures.

Design

Because the HP Compaq 6000 sports a large 21.5″ LCD display it is not a small machine. It measures approximately 15″ x 21.5″x 2″ if you don’t include the stand. The stand adds an additional 9″ to the depth. The total weight is about 20 lbs so you aren’t going to be carrying this around under your arm.

The front of the PC is mostly all screen with only a webcam at the top and a power button at the bottom.

Front

Web camera

In addition to being used for video conferencing the webcam could also be used for logging into the computer. The PC uses facial recognition software to detect the user. The facial recognition software is very flaky. When it worked it would do a good job, but a couple times when I tried to use it I would get a message saying it could not find a camera. A couple other times it would just display the password box and not give any message at all.

On the left is an SD card slot, Firewire port, 2 USB ports, a microphone, and headphone jack.

Left

The right side is the DVD drive, screen brightness up and down buttons, and a hard drive activity light.

Right

The back has additional connectors which include a display port, power plug, 5x USB, Ethernet, 2x PS/2 ports, and a speaker out jack. Honestly, I am surprised to see the PS/2 ports as those were made obsolete over a decade ago by USB. I don’t know why HP is determined to keep this old and useless technology alive.

Back

For the most part the screen is really beautiful, and it does a great job of displaying all the images, video, and programs I could throw at it. It is also large enough to display many programs at the same time, this is great for productivity.

The HP Compaq 6000 also comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. The keyboard was a little warped and would wobble on my desk when I pressed buttons. This would make an annoying sound, so out of desperation I tried bending the keyboard back into shape. After a few tries I actually got it to lay flat and it did not make the banging noise anymore.

Performance

Here is a quick look at the specs for this machine

When I first got this PC I wanted to set it up as quickly as possible. In the past when I have tested All-in-one PCs I have simply had to plug them in, however, it was not that easy with the HP Compaq 6000 Pro.

When I plugged in the PC and turned it on, nothing happened. I was completely stumped. The Image below represents the entirety of the instructions that I received. As you can see they are less than useful. It is just a bunch of images, without a single word of explanation.

Instructions

It was the instructions in #3 that gave me the most confusion. Step A, B, and C seem to be asking me to remove a back panel, and step E has me put it back without any modifications. This seemed silly so I skipped it initially. This time I followed the instructions and removed and replaced the panel. When I turned on the PC, it actually turned on. Being the ever curious person that I am I had to find out why. So I turned it off and removed the back panel again. Upon further inspection I found a little switch. This must be what was triggered when I removed the panel the first time. So now that I know what made the computer work, I for the life of me cannot figure out why this switch is even needed. It seems like a useless thing to force users to take the PC apart before it will turn on.

Switch

Once the PC was on, the first thing I did was setup my wireless network, and start downloading updates for Windows. I also got a popup that said Java needed to be updated. While those updates were going I started surfing a few websites. When the updates were done I closed the browser and closed the update Windows. At this point the machine froze up and would not respond to anything. I eventually had to hold down the power button to get it to shutoff. When I turned it on again I could hear the Windows start-up sound, but I could not see anything on the screen. My first thought was that the screen somehow broke, so I tried restarting it a few more times to see if anything new would happen, but nothing I did worked. My next thought is to try and get it to boot into BIOS by pressing Esc on the keyboard. So I turned it on again and this time started pressing Esc repeatedly, but to my surprise the screen turned on and I could see the boot-up process. I stopped pressing Esc and it booted into Windows just fine.

So after getting it started and working I started getting ready to do my testing. One of the first things I like to do is take a screenshot of the desktop so I can show you guys how it looks directly from HP and what stuff they load on it. So I pressed the Print Screen button on the keyboard, pasted it into Paint, that is when I remembered I needed to plug in my USB stick so I could save the image. No sooner did I plug in the USB stick then the machine froze up again. I am really starting to get frustrated with this machine. So once again I had to hold down the power button to get it to shut down, but fortunately this time when I turned it back on the screen did work, almost. I say almost because it got all the way to the ‘Starting Windows’ screen and the screen froze again. I could still hear the Windows starting sound in the background and when I pressed the power button I could hear the shutdown sound so I knew the computer was not frozen, just the screen was. This is my first time having a screen freeze when the computer was working fine.

Desktop

So one more time I restarted the computer to see if it would work. This time it booted up fine, but I noticed that the display settings were lost and had defaulted to 800×600. So maybe it was not the screen that was having problems, maybe it was the video card. So I went and checked the display adapters to see what was listed. What I found was that this computer had two display adapters. I noticed that both an Nvidia and Intel adapter were listed. I wonder if somehow the two are getting confused. So I decided to disable one of them and see what happened. So first I tried disabling the Intel adapter, the screen flashed a couple times, but it came right back. So I re-enabled the Intel adapter and tried disabling the Nvidia adapter, this time the screen went completely black and would not come back, oops. So once again I had to hold the power button down to get it to turn off. However, this time when I turned it back on it made a loud beeping sound and the power light flashed orange, double oops. This time the power button didn’t turn it off, so I pulled the power cord and let it sit for a bit and plugged it back in. This time it booted up fine and when I checked the display adapters I noticed that the Intel adapter had disappeared completely. Maybe it was some kind of phantom adapter and not really there. So maybe things will be better now that there is only one adapter showing up.

Display Adapters

Display Adapters

So the next step is testing the performance. I first went into the system settings to see what kind of rating Windows had given the system. I noticed that it had not run its performance benchmark, so I started it and let it run. When it was done I wanted to take a screenshot for the review, so I resized the window to make it smaller and the computer froze up again, this is really getting annoying. So once more I had to hold down the power button to get it to shut down. Once again when I turned it on it started beeping at me, this time however I just pushed the power button to see if that would turn it off and to my surprise it actually worked. Upon pressing the power button again it booted up just fine, but when I went to login, it froze again. What am I doing wrong?

Performance

Ok one more reboot, again a loud beeping sound, again I powered it off, but this time I got a message that said ‘One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency’ I did not want to cancel the disk check so I let the timer run, however when it got to 1 second left it stopped and froze. Out of curiosity I went and checked the display adapters, and the Intel adapter is back again.

So out of frustration I decided that I better restore back to factory settings and start this process over again. Unfortunately, HP even managed to make the system restore process a big pain in the butt. The PC I got came with 4 recovery disks. So I put in the 1st one and booted up the computer. Once the computer booted to the disk it asked if I had a supplemental disk, since I did I answered yes. It then asked me to insert it. Once it was in and I hit next I was asked a few more questions and finally the restore process began. The first thing it did was ask for disk 1 again, but after inserting the disk it searched for a second and asked for the supplemental disk again. So again I insert that disk and it finally started formatting the hard drive. It spent a few minutes formatting the disk and as soon as it was done it asked for the disk 1 again. Once this was in place it started reinstalling the software. It was about the time I inserted disk 3 that I realized that the screen had frozen again. It was stuck at 12%, but it kept opening the DVD tray and I kept putting in the next disk to see if it would actually finish. However, when I put in disk 4 nothing happened, I think I needed to press on a button or something, but since the screen was frozen I couldn’t do anything except restart the computer and restart the restore. I think my next step is going to be to take this thing apart and see if I can find a loose video cable somewhere.

So taking apart the back was a bit of a chore, and unfortunately I didn’t find any loose cables or anything else I could easily fix.

Back Open

So I started the restore process again, repeating the same steps above, but this time the screen did not freeze and I was able to complete the restore. I don’t think this could have been any more difficult or frustrating.

After that was done and the PC started up I again wanted to make sure I had the latest updates. However, this time I closely examined all the updates before downloading them. I did notice that Microsoft was recommending that I download in Intel video driver, but since this machine does not have an Intel video adapter I decided to skip that update. I am happy to say that since making that decision I have never had another problem with the screen locking up or not working. However, that is not to say I didn’t have problems.

The PC still had problems with the whole machine locking up. When performing simple tasks like watching a movie sometimes the PC would let out a loud buzzing sound and would stop responding. In addition, the PC would loose its connection to my WiFi and I would have to manually disconnect and reconnect to get it back. Finally I gave up and connected a Ethernet cable.

So now that it is finally running somewhat smoothly I started my performance tests.

The first test is 3DMark Vantage. This test focuses on testing the graphics system. The HP Compaq 6000 got a score of 1225. For a desktop this is a really low score. If you compare this to the HP EliteBook 8540w Laptop which got a score of 3412. When a laptop can get a higher score than a desktop you know there is something wrong.

3DMark

Next I tried to run Cinebench, but for whatever reason it would not start.

Another graphics test I ran is SPECviewperf 11. This test is different than the 3DMark because it directly targets the graphics system and bypasses the CPU and other parts of the computer that might slow down the graphics. Here is the official SPECviewperf 11 results page, you can compare the results below and see that this PC got a decent score.

SPECviewperf 11

The next test is PCMark Vantage. This test is an overall system test and does not focus on any particular system. The HP Compaq 6000 got a score of 5862. Again if you compare this to the HP EliteBook 8540w Laptop, which got a score of 6162, you can see that this PC gets beat by a laptop again.

PCMark

Finally is the hard drive test. This is done using CrystalMark. As you can see from the scores below it is not bad, but also not good.

CrystalDiskMark

Overall I am disappointed with the scores that this machine got. These scores are even bad for a laptop. However I have to take into account that this is a Compaq, and a fairly inexpensive one at that. For about $1000 you get all this hardware, and they have to make sacrifices somewhere to keep the price down.

Warranty and Support

HP backs the 6000 with a 3 year (onsite / parts / labor) warranty. This includes pick-up or carry-in, and toll-free 7 x 24 hardware technical phone support. On-site service and warranty upgrades are also available.

I have never had to directly communicate with HP customer support, so I don’t know how they are, but I have also never heard of any major problems. Also given the fact that this is a business class PC you are going to get a better level of support than a consumer level PC will get. HP knows how to treat their business customer really good.

Conclusion

So this machine has been nothing but problems so me. I just barely made it though the tests, and even simple things like watching movies would cause it to lock up. I am not so concerned about the low performance tests, but the instability of the system is what I have the biggest problem with. I hope that the problems were isolated to the one machine that I got and not across the entire line. If not then HP has a lot of work to do before this machine would be ready for the average user. Poor performance, poor stability, I recommend you avoid this particular model, or be ready to spend a lot of time on the phone with HP support.

Update: Because of all the problems I had HP was concerned that I got a defective machine. So they sent me another one to test out. I have had the machine for a couple weeks and I am happy to say that it has never crashed even once. In fact, I have had the machine on 24/7 since I got it and watched movies almost every night without a single problem. This must mean that the other machine was defective.

One thing I did notice is that when I ran Windows Update it didn’t find anything. HP must have read about all the problems I had and decided to run the update for me.

One other thing is that this machine did not require me to take off the rear panel before it would start. This was nice because I was able to just plug it in, and turn it on.

I reran the benchmarks on this new machine. Unfortunately, the scores did not improve. On a good note I was finally able to run Cinebench.

Cinebench

I am truly impressed with the difference between the two machines and I can whole heartedly recommend this machine. If you happen to get a defective machine like my first one, then contact HP right away and get a new one.

I have also update my scores below to reflect my satisfaction with the new machine.

Features

• NVIDIA Tegra dual-core processor T20
  Features a 1.0GHz processor speed, 600MHz system bus and 1MB L2 cache.
• 1GB DDR2 memory
  For multitasking power.
• 10.1″ high-definition widescreen touch-screen display
  Showcases movies and games in stunning clarity.
• 32GB hard drive
  Offers spacious storage.
• ULP GeForce graphics
  For lush images. HDMI output for connection to an HDTV.
• Built-in 2.0MP webcam
  Makes it easy to video chat with family and friends. 5.0MP camera allows you to capture and play back high-definition video.
• High-speed USB 2.0 port
  For fast digital video, audio and data transfer.
• Built-in 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)
  Connect to the Internet without wires.
• Embedded 3G mobile broadband technology with EVDO Rev A
  Keeps you connected. Upgradeable to 4G LTE. (Wireless service contract required; sold separately. Check with carrier for coverage area and availability in your area.)
• Bluetooth 2.1 EDR + HID interface
  Easily link with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player.
• Weighs only 1.5 lbs. and measures just 0.5″ thin
  For lightweight portability.
• Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system
  Provides a stable platform.
• Google Mobile Services
  Include Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction, access to more than 3 million Google eBooks and Google Talk with video chat.

One note about the 4G LTE upgrade. This is going to be a hardware upgrade so you will need to send the tablet back to the Motorola for upgrade. Because you have to send the device in, you could be a couple weeks without your tablet.

Design

The Xoom measures 9.8″ x 6.6″ x 0.5″ and weighs 1.5 lbs. Compare this to the iPad which measures 9.56″x 7.47″ x 0.5″ and weighs 1.5 lbs. The Xoom is only slightly smaller on only one side, and the same weight. This isn’t much of a selling point; however, the iPad only has a 9.7″ screen and the Xoom has a 10.1″ screen.

The front of the Xoom features the screen, web camera, privacy LED, notification LED, and charging LED. The web camera and privacy LED are both at the top of the screen. The privacy LED lights up when you are using the front facing camera, and it is a reminder that you can be seen by others. The notification LED is on the right side just under the Verizon logo. This LED will let you know when you have new messages or other things that needs your attention. The Charging LED is below the screen and just about the charging port. This LED is suppose to come on when the Xoom is plugged in, but I could only get mine to work if the tablet was completely turned off.

Front

One thing you immediately notice about the front is that there aren’t any touch buttons. This is done because one of the new features of Android 3.0 is that all the buttons are in the software. As you can see from this screenshot the buttons in the bottom left of the screen are back, home, and show previous apps. The show previous apps button is like what happened when you would hold down the home button of previous Android versions.

Front

One thing you may notice is that it is missing the menu button. This button only shows up when an app has a menu. For example when I load the kindle app you can see that a new button appears.

Menu Button

Because there isn’t a menu button getting to the settings is a little more difficult. Instead of pressing the menu button on the home screen and hitting the settings button. You now have to press on the clock, then press on the bigger clock, then press the settings button. for the most part the settings window is exactly the same as before.

Home

I have to warn you upfront that the screen is glossy, which makes it impossible to see outside, and it is also a fingerprint magnet. You are going to have to clean this screen several times a day.

The screen has really good display angles. As you can see from the image below, no matter what direction I turn the Xoom I am able to see the screen clearly.

Screen Angles

On the left are the volume up and down buttons. If your thinking that they are quite small then you are right. I have to hunt for them every time I need them. It think for a tablet this size they could have made these buttons a bit larger.

Volume

The top of the Xoom is a headphone jack and a little slide out drawer that holds the microSD card, and a 4G SIM card which can only be used after the Xoom has received its 4G upgrade. Obviously the SIM card will only be used if on a different network than Verizon. In this release the microSD card is also disabled until Android 3.0 supports it. The update should download automatically. I am quite disappointed that Motorola decided to use a microSD slot instead of a full size one.

MicroSD

MicroSD

The bottom has a few more items including a micro USB, mini HDMI, some kind of dock connector, and the AC adapter plug. One again the USB port is only for transferring data to and from the tablet, it will not charge the tablet. For charging you need to use the AC adapter. It is really a pain to have to carry around two cords, but I guess the bigger size of the tablet does not allow for USB charging.

Connectors

The back features camera, two speakers, and the power button. The camera on the back is much higher resolution than the one on front. This camera will be used for taking pictures and recording 720p video. Because of the size of this tablet it is not very practical as a camera, but it is nice to have the hardware just in case. The back also has a rubbery texture to it. This is nice because it is much easier to grip.

Back

Several apps on the tablet have gotten significant upgrades. One of those is the market. As you can see from the image below the market has a completely new layout. Another feature of the new market is that when you download a new app is automatically add an icon on your screen. Be warned that many of the apps in the market are not yet optimized for tablets and so they will show up really small. Other apps don’t work at all. Since there isn’t any kind of warning about which ones do and don’t work you just have to try out each one. Hopefully with time they will all be updated.

Market Home

Market App

Another app that has been reworked is the music app. As you can see it now uses up more of the screen and has much larger icons to show the album art.

Music Albums

Music Songs

The YouTube has also been reworked to take advantage of the larger screen of a tablet. As you can see it now shows the video and a bunch of other content. You can double tap the video to make it full screen.

YouTube Menu

YouTube Video

Gmail has also gotten a makeover. As you can see it now shows a list of your email at the same time that is shows the body of the email. This is much more like a desktop email app, and is much easier to use.

Email Wide

Email

The last app to get a big redesign is the Google Books app. This app now shows the books you own in a carosel that you can easily flip through. It also has a really nice page turning animation that makes it look like a real book turning pages.

Books

Book Pages

Book Page Turn

One app that did not get a significant upgrade, and I wish it did, is the Gallery. The Gallery is a very basic app for displaying pictures and videos, but one of the basic features that it is missing is the ability to display the filenames. there is a little “i” icon at the top of the screen and when clicked it will display the filename for the currently selected item, but it would be much nicer to have the names under the videos.

Gallery

Movies

Gallery Movies Info

Performance

Performance testing on a tablet is just like on a PC or Laptop. There are a variety of tools available to test the CPU, memory, graphics, and filesystem. Before we get to the actual tests lets take a look at the hardware inside the Motorola Xoom.

With a powerful processor, lots of RAM, and a boat load of memory I am expecting great things from this tablet and high marks in the performance tests.

I will be comparing the Xoom against my Droid Incredible, which is running a custom ROM, a Viewsonic G Tablet, and a Velocity Cruz table, both running a stock ROM.

The first test I ran is Quadrant, this test goes through many aspects of the tablet including, CPU, Memory, I/O, 2D Graphics, and 3D Graphics and at the displays a single score for everything. As you can see the Xoom once again gets a much higher score.

Quadrant

The next test is called PI. This only tests the CPU and it does this by making it calculate PI and reporting the time it took to complete the task. For this test lower scores are the best. As you can see the Xoom has the best time for calculating PI, but it just barely beat out the G Tablet. Since both the Xoom and the G Tablet have the same processor it makes sense that they would have similar scores

PI

The next two tests are for graphics. The first test is call fps2d and simply draws a 2D ball that moves around the screen, the app then calculates the FPS. This time I was surprised to see that my HTC Incredible got a higher score.

fps2D

Finally the last test is Nenamark, it renders a 3D video and at the end displays FPS for the video. As you can see the Xoom and the G Tablet got the same score. This is most likely because they both have the Tegra 2 processor.

Nenamark

Linpack

On to the battery test. Since there isn’t an app yet that does a battery test I had to invent my own. For this test I loaded up the Xoom with a bunch of movies and played them one after another until the battery died. I also set the screen brightness, and volume to 50% and turned off WiFi and 3G. I started the test a 6:38am and it took all the way until 3:55pm for the battery to run out. That is an fantastic 9 hours and 28 minutes. Not quite as good as the G tablets 10 hours and 20 minutes, but still a great amount of battery life.

Support and Warranty

The Motorola Xoom only includes a 1 year warranty, ugg. I can only shake my head in disbelief at this news. For $800 Motorola and its partners can do much better than a measly 1 year warranty.

Support is through the normal methods of Phone, Email, and Web.

Conclusion

The Motorola Xoom has a lot of potential, I am really excited about the new interface, and the new apps. The screen is beautiful, albeit glossy, and the performance is fantastic. however, despite all the positives I think the release was a bit premature. This is made very clear by the fact that both Flash and the SD card slot are both not working in this release. The high price, and required 1 month of data are also big negatives in my book. Also if you are really looking forward the the 4G capabilities, it will be a huge negative to have to send it off to Motorola for the upgrade.

If you are like me and you don’t want or need the data then I really don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t wait for the WiFi only version. Not only will it give Adobe and others time to fix their software, but it will be less expensive and not have the lame required data fees. It will also give online retailers time to get it in stock and hopefully we can skip the high tax rates in most states. My advice is to avoid this release and wait for the WiFi only Xoom. Or if you must have data then at least wait until the 4G is released so you don’t have to be without the tablet for several weeks.

Features

• 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 – Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU
• 512MB DDR2 memory
• 2D/3D Graphics processing
• HD Video encode and decode
• Ultra-low power GeForce GPU
• 1080p video playback processor
• 16GB internal memory (expandable up to 32GB via SD Card)
• 10.1″ TFT-LCD with LED driver system and 1024×600 resolution

Design

The Viewsonic G Tablet measures 7.75″ x 10.5″ x 0.5″ and weighs 1lb 12oz. Compare this to the iPad which measures 7.47″ x 9.56″ x 0.5″ and weighs 1lb 6oz. From these numbers we can see that the G Tablet is slightly larger and heaver, it’s not much, but it’s already falling behind its main competition.

Almost the entire front is taken up with the screen, which is how it should be. However, there is a 1″ space at the bottom, and a 3/4″ space on the sides and top of the screen. I would prefer that the screen goes edge to edge like my phone does, but that does not seem like the trend with tablets.

Front

At the right of the screen (when holding it horizontally) are four touch buttons. They are back, menu, home, and search. These buttons are super sensitive and it is very easy to accidentally press them with your palm when you are holding it. The buttons are not illuminated at all so it is impossible to see them in the dark.

At the top if the screen is a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, and in the top left corner is the light sensor. Unlike the Velocity Cruz tablet we reviewed last week, this sensor is actually hooked up and it is used to auto adjust the brightness of the screen.

The top edge of the tablet has the volume on the left.

Top

The left side has a power plug, headphone jack, speaker, mini USB, and a power button. Behind the little door is a micro SD card slot, and a full size USB port. Keep in mind that this tablet cannot charge via USB, you must use the AC adapter. For me this is a huge negative. I hate carrying around adapters and since I already have USB cables it is just more convenient to charge that way.

Left

Left

The bottom of the tablet has a docking port in the middle, and the microphone on the left.

Bottom

Docking Port

The right side is bare except for a speaker.

Right

Just like the Cruz tablet, the G tablet does not include the Google Market, but it does have an alternate. The G Tablet uses the Handango market. This is much like the Cruz market and is just a website with downloadable apps.

Handango Market

As I mentioned above the G Tablet uses the Tap n Tap interface. At first glance it looks like it would be very user friendly, but instead it is sluggish and comes with only a few widgets that aren’t very exciting. These widgets are spread around on three screens and they include things like weather, news feeds, clock, and a few others. None of these screens are customizable so their usefulness is limited. Fortunately, in the latest update Viewsonic gave us the ability to turn off the Tap n Tap interface and instead use the native android UI. The Native UI gives you 5 fully customizable screens, and it is a lot more responsive than the Tap n Tap UI.

Tap n Tap Home

Performance

Performance testing on a tablet is just like on a PC or Laptop. There are a variety of tools available to test the CPU, memory, graphics, and filesystem. Before we get to the actual tests lets take a look at the hardware inside the Viewsonic G Tablet.

The spec above reads like a wish list for a powerful tablet. I am expecting great things from this tablet and I hope that the benchmarks will validate those expectations.

So the first test I ran on this tablet is called Benchmark. It is a very simple test that goes through the CPU, Memory, Graphics, and filesystem and then displays a score at the end. As you can see from the scores below the G Tablet gets a higher score in every test. This is no surprise because the G Tablet has much better hardware than the rest.

Benchmark

The next test is Quadrant, it is very similar to Benchmark in that it test many aspects of the tablet including, CPU, Memory, I/O, 2D Graphics, and 3D Graphics. However, at the end of this test it just displays a single score for everything instead of individual scores. As you can see the G Tablet once again gets a much higher score.

Quadrant

The next test is called PI. This only tests the CPU and it does this by making it calculate PI and reporting the time it took to complete the task. For this test lower scores are the best. As you can see the G Tablet has the best time for calculating PI. This can clearly be explained by the Dual Core processor.

PI

The next two tests are for graphics. The first test is call fsp2d and simply draws a 2D ball that moves around the screen, the app then calculates the FPS. This time I was surprised to see that my HTC Incredible got a higher score.

fps2d

Finally the last test is Neocore, it renders a 3D video and at the end displays the FPS. The G Tablet just barely squeezes past the Incredible in this test.

Neocore

On to the battery test. Since there isn’t an app yet that does a battery test I had to invent my own. For this test I loaded up the G Tablet with a bunch of movies and played them one after another until the battery died. I also set the screen brightness, and volume to 50% and turned off WiFi. I started the test a 7am and it took all the way until 5:20pm for the battery to run out. That is an amazing 10 hours and 20 minutes.

So now that we are done with the hardware tests I want to share a few thoughts and experiences with you

One of the biggest selling points of Android 2.2+ is that it is able to play flash videos. Viewsonic even mentioned in their latest update that they were adding flash support to the G Tablet. However, every time I tried to play a flash video all I would get was an error. This is a big disappointment because this screen is great for watching videos on.

Flash Movie

Another issue I had while playing videos is that they do not resume. Several times when I was watching a video I had to switch away to do something else. When I went back to the video it forced me to start over. Fortunately it was not too difficult to skip ahead to my last position, but the fact that it does not remember the last position is a bummer.

The biggest problem I had with this tablet is the screen. The screen has some major viewing angle problems. As you can see from the image below there are several angles where the screen becomes dark or washed out and is difficult to see. This really only happened when the screen was displaying a dark image. When reading a book with a white background and black text the viewing angles were not as bad. This is actually very surprising to me because Viewsonic is a monitor company and I would have thought they would have done a better job with the screen on the G Tablet.

Screen

Support and Warranty

Viewsonic warranties the G Tablet for only one year, and there are no options to extend the warranty. I worry about this warranty because Tablets are for traveling and when you travel things get bumped around. It is possible that as the tablet is bumped things will comes loose over time and you may not get any help if your warranty is expired. I would really like to see a minimum of a 3 year warranty on products like this. It would really give consumers a sense of peace knowing that the manufacturer stands behind its products.

As far as support goes, Viewsonic offer the usual email, phone, and website.

Conclusion

So I really have mixed feelings about this tablet. As it stands I think there are more negatives than positives, but there is always the prospect of rooting the G Tablet and loading on a custom ROM, however that is beyond the scope of this review. So sticking just with the stock features and performance I have to recommend that you shy away from this Tablet. Even though it has a reasonable $399 price tag it is too limited to recommend. If the screen didn’t have such bad viewing angles, flash worked, and it had better performance then this would be a different story. I have a hard time recommending something that is difficult to use, and difficult to see.

My recommendation to Viewsonic is to quickly release a G Tablet 2. In this tablet all they need to do is fix the screen, and load Android 3.0 as the default ROM. This would be a fantastic tablet and if they could keep the price low it would smoke any other tablet on the market. It would also be a bonus if they would allow the tablet to be charged via USB, but not a requirement.

For now, if Viewsonic would release a new ROM for this tablet that completely replaced the OS with Android 3.0 then I would at least be happy keeping this one. Otherwise I may try loading on a custom ROM, and if that doesn’t fix things then I may have to sell it and wait for something better.