The Specifications:

• Processor: 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• OS: Windows XP Home with SP3
• RAM: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
• Screen: 10.1-inch LED Glossy 1024×600
• HDD: 160GB at 5400RPM
• Video: Intel GMA 950
• Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g
• Battery: 6-cell Lithium-Ion
• Card Reader: 4-in-1
• Ports: 3x USB, VGA, Ethernet
• Weight: 2.65 lbs with 6-cell

The Hardware – 4/5 stars
When consumers generally think of Lenovo, they imagine an ugly business-oriented machine with that infamous red-stub mouse. That’s no longer the case when it comes to Lenovo’s new lineup of IdeaPad Netbooks. The black edition we received features rounded edges and a glossy finish that evokes friendlier feelings. Plus, with an artistic pattern on the lid, it’s clear that the IdeaPad appeals to the mass consumer market. Opening the lid has a smooth motion that reveals a simple inner layout. The power button and mouse keys have a sliver finish offering a sharp contrast from the black body. There’s three stickers representing Intel Atom, Windows XP, and Dolby Audio that I would have removed immediately for a cleaner look if this wasn’t a review unit.

For the most part, weight is evenly distributed throughout the body. Unfortunately, the 6-cell battery offsets the balance towards the back of the unit. I generally despise any unit that has an accessory that departs from the general aesthetics and style of a gadget. Fortunately the 6-cell battery isn’t required, but rather is an upgrade from the 3-cell that sits flush with the casing. The extended battery also raises the netbook at an angle making it appealing for typing on a desk, however it ends up causing discomfort when on your lap. Plus, the bulging battery is always an awkward fit in backpacks, cases, or sleeves.

I generally would complain about the glossy finish since it’s a fingerprint nightmare, however that’s the trend just about every gadget manufacturer has taken. The chassis of the IdeaPad S10-2 is quite robust. It’s definitely heavier than the Dell Mini 9, but seems stronger and definitely won’t warp under pressure. I found the “feet” on the bottom and sides of the netbook a bit obtrusive and rugged. With some tweaks, the IdeaPad could have been as clean of a design as the Dell Mini 9. I was also glad that Lenovo kindly offers easy-access to replace or upgrade hardware components such as the RAM and Hard Drive which are hidden under two screwed in panels on the bottom. Overall, it’s a great layout and from what I’ve seen at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, the IdeaPad S10-3 only gets better.

Connectivity – 5/5 stars
The S10-2 netbook offers a standard set of ports that are found on most netbooks. There’s a total of three USB ports: one on the left and two on the right side. That’s a great idea to prevent too many cables from cluttering a single side. Ethernet and VGA connectors are on the left side along with a line in for microphones and line out for headphones. On the front there are some standard LED indicators and a 4-in-1 reader that supports cards including Secure Digital (SD) and Memory Stick (MS). The AC power connector, Kensington lock, and WiFi switch are on the right side. The IdeaPad is completely on par with most netbooks on the market, there aren’t any extras or anything missing.

Keyboard & Touchpad – 2.5/5 stars
I wasn’t exactly too impressed with the keyboard and touchpad. While it’s expected that a smaller body requires reducing the size of keys, there are some issues that are worth mentioning. Lenovo decided to take a regular keyboard and shrink it proportionally until it fits on this 10-inch netbook’s body. This makes typing especially difficult for those coming from a regular keyboard and for those with large hands. I should also mention that Lenovo laptop keyboards interchange the “Fn” and “Ctrl” keys, which may take some getting used for those who aren’t familiar with their ThinkPad products. (You can apparently tweak that setting in the BIOS to switch the functionality.)

Dell, for example, tried to keep the keys as large as possible on the Dell Mini 9, but ended up running out of space and removing the entire function key row. That was a diaster for Dell, but they fortunately took a fresh approach on the new Mini 10 netbook with a keyboard that runs nearly edge-to-edge with the frame. Lenovo seems to have struggled on this S10-2 netbook, but has cleaned up their act on the new S10-3 model which features a 98% full-size keyboard. Other than those layout quirks, the keyboard does offer a quality feel and it’s still comfortable to use once you figure out where the keys are. There’s a decent amount of tactile force feedback which is an important aspect of a great typing experience.

I am also disappointed to say that I found myself frustrated with the touchpad. Even I’m aware that this is a small device, the touchpad simply seems too small. Even the Dell Mini 9, which has a frame that’s an inch smaller than the IdeaPad S10-2, sports a larger touchpad. I often felt constrained and ran into the small raised border surrounding the touchpad when making quick movements. There’s support for the pinch multi-touch gesture to zoom in or out, which is an appreciated addition. The dedicated scroll region unfortunately limits the area available for regular movements even further. Implementing a two finger scroll could potentially have saved some space. The left and right-click keys were thankfully the best part of the touchpad area. They offer a nice quick click for feedback when pressed. Both the keys are large enough for regular use and are easily accessible. Lenovo should have allocated more space for the touchpad as they have with the new IdeaPad S10-3.

Display – 3/5 stars
The display on the IdeaPad S10-2 isn’t too extraordinary. It’s an average 10.1 inch glossy screen with LED back-lighting running at a 1024 x 600 resolution. There’s nothing that truly sets it apart from other netbook screens. The display is recessed into the casing with a thick surrounding bezel. Most new laptops and netbooks manufacturers are opting for the cleaner look of an edge-to-edge display with a single piece of glass. Although this display is glossy, it isn’t too difficult to use in bright rooms, but will almost always look dull under direct sunlight. The blacks are also brought out further due to the glossy screen. If you look closely, the grid-line appearance of the pixel arrangement is more noticeable than on other displays. The viewing angles are not a problem if the IdePad is on your lap or on a table directly in front of you. However, the colors quickly begin to deteriorate if the screen is tilted forwards or backwards. Fortunately, horizontal viewing angles are good enough to accommodate a person sitting besides you.

Speakers – 2.5/5 stars
As with most netbooks which are tight on space, the speakers on the IdeaPad are into a poor location. Instead of facing the user, the speakers are currently pointing downwards. Everything sounds muffled if the netbook is on your lap, on a bed, or a sofa. However, it wasn’t much of a problem if it’s on a desk since the netbook’s “feet” create enough of a gap. But the speakers could have definitely been outfitted in a better location. There’s nothing spectacular about the audio quality and the midrange is mediocre, but it’s not a problem for enjoying Hulu, YouTube, and other web video content. They get loud enough and get the job done. The audio card is decent and if you plugin a decent pair of headphones, everything sounds vastly better. Plus, you won’t be disturbing others either.

Webcam & Microphone – 3/5 stars
There’s no better way to put a webcam and microphone to the test without using Skype. I opted to use the 4.2 beta version that supports HD-like video quality. Although this laptop only has an underpowered .3 megapixel resolution camera, I hoped to stream some quality video. Unfortunately, I found myself quite disappointed with the quality. Images were dark, grainy, and pixelated even in a bright room. It’s definitely a problem if you can’t make out a face easily. After using this, I couldn’t possibly appreciate that improvements a decent 1.3 megapixel camera offers more. As for the microphone, it was actually fairly clear for conversations. If you want a better microphone, you can always plugin either a USB microphone or an analog one into the line-in port. But for the most part, the microphone will do just fine for having a voice conversation with someone from a quiet office setting.

The IdeaPad S10-2 also came with a VeriFace facial recognition login security software. I programmed it to myself to give it a run. Although I had never tried it, I was quite impressed with the convince factor. Just sit in front of the laptop and it jumps past the Windows XP sign-on screen in just a few seconds. To test it further, I had a few friends try their faces in place of mine. I’m Indian and I was glad to see that the software immediately dismissed all three friends who were Vietnamese, Palestinian, and Caucasian respectively. I then had another Indian friend try logging in and after a few failed attempts, it randomly decided to let him in. We attempted to reproduce the occurrence, but weren’t able to do so. While VeriFace was convenient, I don’t know all the details on the platform’s security precautions and I feel we should probably give this technology some more time in the oven.

Operating System – 3/5 stars
When the IdeaPad S10-2 came in from Lenovo, it furnished a bloated version of Windows XP Home. There were nearly 55 processes running and it was a mess. Some of these apps included an older version of Symantec Anti-Virus, a trial version of Microsoft Office, MSN Messenger, some browser toolbars, and a few often unused Adobe programs. A clean install of the same operating system on a netbook generally has about 30 processes running at startup with drivers and essential programs installed. For an experiment, I opted to install Windows 7 Professional for further tests. It installed surprisingly quickly and worked seamlessly. Just about all the drivers were automatically configured. Although the Windows Index Rating was a minimal 2.0, it still managed to run Aero for translucency and effects. Surprisingly, even Windows Media Center 7 ran fairly well. The largest downside of Windows 7 is RAM consumption, nearly using twice as much as XP, there’s not much left over for programs. I would highly recommend stripping out the 1GB dimm and upgrading to 2GB if you want to run Windows 7. For the most part, Windows XP still works great for netbooks and should be able to accommodate the average user’s needs. Although manufacturers are loading Windows 7 Starter on new netbooks, I would have been happy to use XP on this netbook if it weren’t filled with nearly as much bloatware. Lenovo should consider the toll bloatware takes on a netbook’s performance and battery life.

Performance – 4/5 stars
The IdeaPad S10-2 performs on par with most netbooks on the market. The lack of a SSD might make it take slightly longer for startup or shutdown, but it was still faster at both than my Dell XPS M1530. The laptop recovers from standby in just a second or two at max. Firefox played fairly well, but would often freeze up while the CPU catches up if I had too many tabs open. The currently stable version of Adobe Flash doesn’t have GPU acceleration so 480p Hulu videos were often hard for the netbook to digest. It would begin to jitter for a few seconds every few minutes. Although programs like VLC were able to handle playing large video files smoothly, the laptop really can’t handle Full HD 1080p content yet. However this netbook works great for word processing, web browsing, and a lightweight entertainment.

In terms of raw performance, the Atom N270 processor performed on par with just about all the other netbooks we’ve tested using the same CPU. See the image above for numbers. To my surprise, the 160GB 5400RPM hard drive was faster than the 200GB 7200RPM one in my Dell XPS M1530, so no complains there. The device did begin to get somewhat warm near the HDD when stressing it with resource intensive applications, however wasn’t anywhere close to being unbearable. That fan is to take credit for that and thankfully it was fairly silent as well. Some netbooks I’ve tested have gotten awful warm and become difficult to hold.

Battery Life – 5/5 stars
I was quite impressed with how long this laptop would keep running for. With Windows 7, I achieved a little over 6 hours with brightness lowered to about 25%, volume off, and WiFi on. I spend most of the time typing documents and browsing the web. I also achieved close to the same amount when I took this along with me to the Consumer Electronics Show to live-blog a few press conference using a Sprint 4G USB modem. I should mention that the original operating system, Windows XP, offered even more efficiency clocking in at 7 hours. In contrast, my Dell Mini 9 with a 4-cell battery only offers about 4 hours of battery life. If you plan to watch a CPU intensive flash video on Hulu or heavily multitask, the 6-7 hour run-time is not realistic. But for the most part, the 6-cell 47WHr battery is quite impressive. As the next generation of netbooks are beginning to reach the 10 hour mark, I couldn’t be more excited. However, I’m still turned off by the fact that this battery obtrudes from the shape and design of the IdeaPad S10-2.

Bottom Line
A netbook is by no means a replacement to a full computer. The IdeaPad S10-2 is a great complement for students to take notes in class, for business users to take on trips, and for young children to play around. I was quite satisfied with the style, durability, and quality of this netbook. With a superb battery life, you won’t be disappointed or looking for an outlet on those long commutes or trips. While the extended battery is a bit obtrusive, the benefits of the added run time outweigh the bulk. I was upset to find excessive bloatware and would highly recommend performing a clean install with the latest drivers and programs. The IdeaPad S10-2 price starts at just $330 through Lenovo.com and the specific configuration we reviewed is available for $300 on Amazon. The laptop is available in a few colors: Grey, Black, White, Pink and designer covers. Upgrades including a boost to Windows 7 Starter, a slightly faster CPU, Bluetooth, and a few other features are available. When it comes down to it, if you need a laptop that’s compact, affordable, and durable, you won’t go wrong with Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10-2.

Buy: IdeaPad S10-2 Netbook
Links: Lenovo.com IdeaPad S10-2

The franchise has struggled to catch up with the current consoles which has resulted in clunky, awkward controls for our favorite blue hedgehog. The new Sonic games have tried hard to look great and expand on the classic gameplay, however flashy changes have proven successful. The introduction of new gameplay elements have proven as overkill, changing the franchise altogether. If any ounce of high-speed gameplay is present in the newer games, it’s only there to tease on how great the game series was. Anybody who still owns a Sega Genesis knows how Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles work at their best.

It’s not that big of a surprise that Sonic the Hedgehog is getting a makeover, especially one that continues from the originals. After Mega Man 9 came out, it was obvious that some classic platformers just can’t be changed. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 takes the same look and feel as it’s predecessors and has high hopes of returning the franchise towards a great gaming experience. Keep an eye out for its release in Summer of 2010 on Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, and Playstation Network.

Stay tuned as we’ll try to get our copy for a full review later this summer.

Links: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Palm Pre Specifications:

• Provider: Verizon Wireless
• Operating System: Palm webOS
• Display: 3.1-inch 320×480 multi-touch
• Camera: 3.0 Megapixel Camera + Flash
• Music: MP3, WAV, AAC/AAC+
• Video: MPEG4, H.263, H.264
• Memory: 16GB internal, 512MB RAM
• Dimensions: 3.9L x 2.3W x .67D inches
• Battery: 5 hours talk time | 350 hours stand-by
• Wireless: WiFi 802.11 b/g & Bluetooth 2.1+

The Body: 4.5/5 stars
The Palm Pre Plus weighs under five ounces and looks like a smooth glossy black stone. The body has a soft feel and offers a great grip. It’s probably one of the best looking phones I’ve come across recently. It definitely offers a friendly and welcoming feeling compared to devices such as the robotic Droid. There’s a volume rocker, a switch to silence your phone, and a microUSB port on the right side. Accessing the charging/data USB port was easier than on the Palm Pixi, however it needs to be relocated to the bottom. If you are holding your phone to your ear while it’s charging, it’s a nuisance since the cable extends out sideways. I also was cautious each time I tried to open the flap that covers the port since it’s quite flimsy. It is also quite tricky to get the flap open; I found myself using nails to pry it open. I feel that Palm has a secret agenda to get us to buy their Wireless Touchstone Charger by annoying us with the charging port. The back of the phone is a rear “face-plate” that comes pre-enabled for wireless charging unlike on the original Pre. Palm also offers a variety of custom artistic styles for those tired of the all-black look. Although there’s 16GB of on-board storage, which is twice that of the original Pre, there’s still no microSD expansion. The only thing under the rear cover is the interchangeable battery pack. The 3 megapixel camera, a LED flash, and speakers are on the upper rear part of the Palm Pre. The power button and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack are on the top. The front of the phone houses the slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a gesture area, and a 3.1 inch display from bottom to top. I found the curvature of the slide out keyboard aesthetically appealing and comfortable for typing. There’s also a reflective mirror hidden behind the upper portion of the phone that becomes visible when the keyboard is extended. It definitely comes in handy for taking self portraits. I’m still fascinated with how well Palm has reinvented themselves with a new generation of hardware, but it has already been over a year and it’s time for another major release.

Gesture Area: 5/5 stars
Palm made one major cosmetic change to the Pre, they removed the physical touch button and replaced it with a touchpad that’s hidden under the casing. It now looks cleaner and simpler. It, however, almost feels as though they forgot to put something on it. This gesture area is a thin touch-sensitive slit between the display and keyboard. It’s unique and makes using the phone much more intuitive. For example, to move back a page in the browser, just do a quick swipe to the left. The pad illuminates the direction you swiped with a neat little animation. To get back to the home screen, just swipe up. The Pre Plus also lights up the gesture area to indicate that the phone is busy performing a task. It’s definitely a more intuitive take on the simple physical home key that’s prominently featured on the Apple iPhone. It’s a lot more convenient than having to double or triple tap to perform commands.

The Display: 4/5 stars
The Palm Pre Plus’s display looks stunning. The screen seems to reach out at you due to the curvature of the body. It doesn’t appear recessed into the body like the iPhone but rather runs edge-to-edge. The 3.1 inch display is about a half-inch larger than the screen on the Palm Pixi, but still smaller than the Droid and iPhone. The interface offer plenty of space for viewing web pages. It’s still unfortunately nothing compared to the Motorola Droid’s whopping 480×854 pixel display. While the Pixi we reviewed last year only had 18-bits of color, the Pre Plus features 24-bits. Despite the boost, I doubt anyone could point out the difference unless told about it. The multi-touch functionality performed accurately and responsively. It was easy to pinch a webpage with two fingers to zoom out or in. The accelerometer was also very responsive and would kick in quickly to change orientations when rotated. The gesture pad also conveniently changed from the page navigating mode to scrolling. The Sprint Palm Pixi, on the other hand, rarely rotated properly. I should point out that since this phone doesn’t feature an on-screen keyboard, you’ll have to switch back to portrait mode to type. I was also worried that the glossy finish would make reading the screen difficult in direct sunlight or under bright lights, however the ambient light sensor brightens everything up enough so that it’s not much of a problem.

The Keyboard: 3.5/5 stars
When I first saw the Pre Plus, I expected a comfortable keyboard especially since it’s a fairly premium device. However, after a few days of use, I have to say otherwise. Although the four rows of keys are decently sized and spaced out, the keyboard lacks the same tactile feel the Pixi’s keyboard offers. The buttons almost seem sticky and I had a surprisingly difficult time getting accustomed to it. The keys are too flat and don’t offer enough of a click when pressed. Typing messages on the Pre Plus took longer than it did on the Pixi. I had to exert more pressure on each key and take time to ensure an accepted input. It isn’t necessarily hard to type messages, but takes more getting used to than with other phones. It also would have helped if the phone featured a decent virtual auto-correction tool as found on the iPhone and Droid. I feel that Palm should consider revamping or entirely redesigning the keyboard on a future iteration. It’s an essential part of the phone and it’s currently lacking.

Operating System: 4/5 stars
A smartphone’s ability to properly bring a desktop-like experience to a handheld is essential.  One of those important features includes the ability to multi-task. For instance, the Apple iPhone has taken much heat for lacking that ability. Fortunately the Palm Pre Plus breezes through this with webOS 1.3.5.1. In addition, since the Pre Plus sports double the RAM, it can handle running twice as many applications at once. I managed to run nearly 10 apps at once without any issues, however having too many open can take a steep toll on battery life. Even if there’s enough RAM, the CPU will become a bottleneck as it can no longer handle all the processes. Running multiple programs definitely handled better than the Sprint Pixi that easily froze up and wouldn’t even let me make a phone call at times. The home screen, interface, and major components are still pretty much the same as with last year’s webOS. The default calendar, phonebook, contacts, and mail apps are essentially identical. The Synergy feature does an excellent job which I’ll get to in the next section. The web browser does an excellent job of rendering web pages and that’s expected since it’s called the webOS after all. The pinch to zoom works seamlessly which even the North American Motorola Droid doesn’t have yet. It’s still not as great as the iPhone’s Safari Browser, but it’s drastically superior to both Windows Mobile’s IE and BlackBerry’s browser. Moving on, the Google Maps application is wonderful as always, but still isn’t the Google Maps Navigation software found on Android devices that offers turn-by-turn directions. Verizon customers will have to opt to use the VZW Navigator which costs $10/month. A new v5.0 of the GPS software with major changes should become available in a few weeks. As for getting real work done, a built in Document Viewer lets you access Excel, Word, and PowerPoint documents. If you are ready to grab some new programs, the App Catalog has come a long way. There’s a lot more it has to offer, but it’s still far from offering numbers close to the 100,000 in the Apple App Store. Despite that, there’s a great selection of quality applications for everyone to appreciate. The UI is quite intuitive and I still love the idea of being able to “toss” a program up to close it. The home screen could better use the empty space with some sort of widgets as seen on Android devices, but you can at least customize backgrounds unlike the iPhone. Even with improved support for higher quality games, the Palm webOS probably needs some more ground-breaking features such as Synergy to truly take on competition.

Synergy: 5/5 stars
There’s one way to explain Synergy: WOW. It’s just that awesome. The Palm Pre’s webOS offers a single central interface to pull information in from a variety of accounts. These include Google Sync, Facebook, Microsoft Exchange, LinkedIn, and Yahoo. After a single login, my Calendars, Contacts, and Emails started pouring in. I definitely recommend syncing over a fast WiFi connection the first time. Instead of creating havoc with a mess of duplicate contacts and data, the Synergy technology handles it quite well. It merges duplicate contacts without destroying your data. For instance, if you have “Jon Doe” on both Facebook and LinkedIn, it will create a merged contact card. If you happen to make any changes to your contacts, updates are automatically relayed to the server. I was truly glad to see that just about all my Facebook contacts appeared along with profile photos, email addresses, and phone numbers. This was by far the easiest and most convenient way to fetch data. If most of your data is already in the ‘Cloud,’ there no reason to have to deal with manually re-entering data, Bluetooth sync, CSV sheets, or VCards. The next step would be to make this feature more powerful. Adding support for more popular web services and offering a clean way to manually select which contacts to sync would go a long way. Palm has an edge over competitors in this segment and needs to keep running with features like these.

Messaging: 4/5 stars
As for messaging, both the webOS is great. All my emails were setup for delivery with Synergy’s magic. It has great support for Gmail folders and features. When an email arrives, the phone alerts the user with a popup and a notification icon at the bottom of the screen. The same row displays alerts for texts, missed calls, voicemails, calendar appointments, alarms, and more. To dismiss an alert, you can either slide it off to the side to acknowledge that you’ve seen it or click on it to open the respective application. Composing and reply to emails and texts was an easy task. The conversation logs are neatly organized as well. The option to forward items often comes in handy. Copy and paste saves the hassle and time of having to remember and retype things. The only thing that would have improved the experience would have been a better predictive text tool and spell checker that will both speed up typing and correct typos.

Call Quality + Network: 5/5 stars
The Palm Pre performs on par with most smarphone devices. It wasn’t as amazing at eliminating external noises such as the Droid, but still got the job done. I was clearly able to hear the party on the other end and vice versa. I almost always had a decent number of bars throughout the Sacramento and Davis area. Verizon’s network didn’t drop just one call since I had this phone, which was rare in my opinion. I’ve humorously seen the iPhone running on AT&T try and repeatedly fail to make calls from the same areas even though the device reported full signal. I was always able to communicate without issues. I found the ability to call someone by simply starting to type their name while on the home screen a convenient method instead of scrolling through the contact list. There’s a clean list that displays all incoming, outgoing, and missed calls. I also was glad to see that you could delete specific items from the call history, which I can’t do on the iPhone. 3G data reliability was also pretty great, which I’ll get into more details in the Hotspot section. However, if you for some reason can’t fetch a strong signal, you can always opt to use WiFi.

Multimedia: 3.5/5 stars
The Palm Pre Plus streamed videos impressively well from YouTube. I was a bit dissappoitned to find that VCast wasn’t included on this phone. I truly enjoyed having the Sprint TV streaming service available to enjoy ESPN on the Palm Pixi. Considering the price of a data plan, that should definitely be thrown in. I copied some video podcasts and MP4 movies over the device. Some appeared in the video application, but others with certain codecs didn’t. I was further disappointed to find that some files that played just fine on my iPhone didn’t play past a few frames. The video formats are a bit limited at the time and could sure use some improvements. As for music, things were a lot better. Although iTunes sync support is not reliable since Apple keeps disabling support, programs such as Windows Media Player get the job done. If that doesn’t work for you, simply connecting it as a mass storage device with any machine and dragging files onto the device will work just fine. The phone also supports Bluetooth AD2p stereo profiles for devices such as the Jabra Halo, Altec-Lansing BackBeat, or Nokia BT-905. Speaking of music, Pandora worked quite well with this phone. Especially great since I can let it run in the background unlike with the iPhone. I had it connected to my car’s stereo through an AUX jack. It streamed music impressively well without any major pauses for buffering. While it’s still no iPod when it comes to multimedia, it should be able to replace the need for an additional MP3 player for most consumers.

Camera & Camcorder: 3.5/5 stars
The Pre Plus sports a 3.0 megapixel camera, which is a step up from the 2 megapixel camera on the Pixi, but no match versus other smartphones. The phone once again entirely lacks the ability to record videos. A v1.4 webOS update should become available this month that will enable video recording and editing amongst other new features. Getting back to the camera, it fails to impress. I was disappointed to see how long it took for the camera to start up. Once it was up and running, it was actually fairly responsive and the interface was simple, clean, and easy to use. However, it falls flat in terms of custom settings. I was only able to enable, disable, or set the flash to auto. There are no other special effects, filters, resolution settings, or anything else. Browsing through your library of photos was slow to load. Sliding images to the left or right to get to another one would take a moment to render. However, zoom in and out with the pinch gesture was smooth and quick. I was glad to see that I could email, MMS, or upload photos to Facebook right from the gallery. It’s a neat addition, but it’s unfortunate that the camera isn’t better. The colors were decent at best. Bright objects became easily over exposed. Images that aren’t taken in anything less than a brightly  lit area appear grainy. The flash helps with close up head shots in dark settings, but is still not bright enough. Fortunately the turnaround time for snapping each image was fairly quick. But the fact remains, it lacks features even inexpensive or free flip phones have. There’s a lot of work Palm needs to put into this element of the phone.

WiFi & Mobile Hot Spot: 5/5 stars
This was by far one of my most favorite features. There’s a pre-installed App for Mobile Hotspot that lets you use Verizon 3G network and share it with up to 5 nearby WiFi enabled devices. The App lets you pick a network name (SSID), set a WPA/WPA2 security passphrase, or even leave it as an open network. I put it to the test with a couple of machines including an Asus netbook, Dell Mini, Apple iPhone, and Dell XPS Laptop. Mostly using a single device at a time, speeds were actually quite impressive. After several tests in Northern California (San Jose, Davis, and Sacramento), we found download speeds averaging around 1.1 MB/s and upload at 0.30 MB/s. I also noticed that even if multiple connected computers weren’t necessarily using data at a given instance, speeds did slow down a bit. Also, if you are using the Pre Plus as a WiFi Hotspot, you definitely should find a source of power as the built in battery will drain quickly. And of course with any neat feature comes a price. Enabling the Palm Plus for use as a 3G hotspot costs $40/month. That’s the same cost as it is with other smartphones. But the advantage of the Pre Plus, like a MiFi, internet access isn’t just limited to one device. You can take your iPod Touch, Sony PSP, Nintendo DSi, or any WiFi enabled device online easily.

Conclusion:
The Pre Plus definitely packs a punch and seems appealing until you look at competition. The webOS, Synergy, and the hardware are all great, but it’s definitely a notch down from what both the Motorola Droid and Apple iPhone have to offer. It’s especially in the shadows compared to the Google HTC Nexus One. If you’re a Verizon Wireless customer or planning on switching to their network, the Droid is only $50 more, offers more features, and has the same monthly fees. Although the Droid may not have the ability to host a personal WiFi Hotspot, I doubt many customers will opt to pay the extra $40 each month in addition to a calling + data + texting plans. I should note that the Palm Pre is definitely easier to use and has a friendlier feel, but I truly have a hard time recommending it over the Droid. For example, the Pre Plus requires a $10/month fee for using VZ Navigator, while the Droid has the free Google Navigator. The Palm Pre hasn’t really seen any major changes other than the new gesture pad and doubling the RAM and Flash Storage. It was a unique product and fairly decent device about a year ago when it first launched, but it has definitely begun to look old compared to newer phones. The Pre Plus is really due for a major hardware upgrade along with new cutting edge software features to stay afloat. Plus with a few disadvantages such as a mediocre camera, no voice commands, a slow CPU, and a lacking App Catalog, there’s not much it offers versus other smartphones at nearly the same price range. However I should note that there isn’t anything particularly wrong about the device. It’s a wonderful creation, has a great polish, and does what it’s designed to do but simply can’t stand up against competition. If you simply like the aesthetics, the webOS, or need the hotspot feature, then this phone won’t disappoint.

Buy: $150 for Palm Pre Plus
Links: VerizonWireless.com Palm Pre Plus

“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way”

The Hardware
The Apple iPad is about a half-inch thick, 9.56 inches tall, and 7.47 inches wide. The WiFi-only model weighs just 1.5 pounds. It sports a 9.7-inch capacitive touch screen IPS display with a 1024 x 768 pixel resolution. There’s plenty of connectivity as well, with support for WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1. It is also offered in a 3G flavor for AT&T’s network. It works well with mapping software since it has an assisted GPS module and can also use cellular towers for better accuracy. The unit comes in four storage capacities: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash storage. It runs at 1 GHz on Apple’s own A4 custom-designed processor. Like the iPhone, it of course features an Accelerometer to detect when rotated and an Ambient light sensor to automatically control display brightness. For video formats, it should be able to play just about all the formats that the iPhone and iPod Touch support, but in HD quality. Just like the iPhone OS, it supports display all the office file formats that the email client currently supports. (e.g. jpg, pdf, doc, xls, ppt) There’s no physical keyboard, but rather an on-keyboard that’s apparently large enough to type on with two hands. Apple did demonstrate a special keyboard dock accessory. There’s a built-in non-replaceable battery that Apple claims will offer 10 hours of productivity on a full charge. A regular Apple USB cable charges the device with an AC adapter or with a computer. Other than that, it has a regular 3.5mm headphone jack, speakers, a microphone, but no webcam.

The Apps
The iPad’s OS isn’t the same as the iPhone OS or even Mac OS X. It’s a special version that stands between the two. If anything, it’s more like the iPhone OS. That’s because it can run just about any App that’s currently available for the iPod Touch or iPhone. If you didn’t notice the screen’s quite larger. That means that an iPhone-optimized App won’t fit properly. Apple lets you run the App surrounded by unusually large black border in the center of the screen. If you prefer, there’s a magnify button that doubles the size of the App, however leaving you with a low-resolution program. It doesn’t seem to support multi-tasking or running multiple programs simultaneously. While that might take previous iPhone and iPod Touch owners some getting used to, the built-in programs are fortunately redesigned and well polished. Everything from the Safari web browser to mail client, photo viewer, maps, notes, calendar, contacts, and more have all be optimized for a 9.7-inch display with plenty of new features. Even multimedia support has improved with an improved iTunes browser interface for browsing and purchasing content on the go. The iPod app now has an interface that looks somewhat of a mix between the desktop version of iTunes and the iPhone player. It all seems a bit risky of a play on Apple’s part, however we’ll see how it holds up and if it plays well with customers in sometime.

iBooks
Yes that’s right, Apple did just take a stab at the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. The iPad makes for a better device than the iPhone for reading books since it has a larger display. As expected, all books will be available for purchase through a new section in the iTunes Store. Books from both independent and major publishers will be available. Apple demonstrated a “Bookshelf-like” interface for browsing through a collection of downloaded titles.

Notice: Sorry for the delay, we were having some server issues, we’ve updated the content below.

iWork
Apple also ported the famous productivity suite, iWork, over to the iPad’s keyboard-lacking touch-screen interface. Pages, Keynote, and Numbers won’t just be document viewers, but rather will allow creating and modifying documents. And of course, the entire package works seamlessly in a multi-touch environment. It supposedly supports handling Microsoft Office documents as well. Each of the iWork Apps will run you $9.99. It’s hard to tell whether being truly productive and working at a fast pace with solely an on-screen keyboard will be possible.

Pricing
As mentioned previously, the iPad will be available in two versions. The WiFi-only model will be available worldwide in late March at retail price of $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 32GB model, and $699 for the 64GB model. The WiFi + 3G model will become available in April at a slightly higher cost: $629 for the 16GB model, $729 for the 32GB model, and $829 for the 64GB model. The 3G version will surprisingly sell without a AT&T contract with two data plans offered. A $15/month plan has a 250MB data transfer cap while $30/month plan offers unlimited data. As a bonus, iPad users will have free access to AT&T’s WiFi hotspots as well if subscribed to a plan.

Links: Apple.com iPad

BlackBerry Curve 8530 Specifications:

• Provider: Verizon Wireless
• Operating System: BlackBErry v5.0
• Display: 2.5-inch 320×240 pixel TFT LCD
• Camera: 2.0 megapixel camera
• Music: MP3, WMA, AAC/AAC+
• Video: MPEG4, WMV, H.263, H.264
• Memory: 256MB internal + microSD expansion
• Dimensions: 4.29H x 2.36W x .55D inches
• Battery: 270 mins talk time | 252 hours stand-by
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1+ | WiFi b/g

Hardware
At just under four ounces, the Curve is a featherweight both smaller and lighter than an iPhone. With a rubber backing and sturdy frame, the Curve seems rugged at first touch. However, the plastic buttons on the front feel flimsy and take away from the build quality and durability. Instead of pronounced buttons like the ones found on the keyboard, the navigation and media controls are flush with the body of the phone and aren’t the most accessible.

Media keys on the top of the body provide quick access to media player controls. You can pause, play, and skip songs without taking the Curve out of your pocket. These controls can’t be locked, but the strategic location of the buttons on top of the phone might help to prevent accidental song changes. This coupled with the standard 3.5mm headphone jack provides the essentials for a decent media player.

It is clear that RIM did not make the Curve’s screen a top priority. The phone sports a mediocre 2.5 inch, 320×250 pixel display. This is not necessarily terrible, especially when you consider the fact that the iPod Classic has a similar screen size. It will seem a bit pixilated to the keen eye and those accustomed to high definition screens, and the low depth of 65,000 colors does not do much for video quality either. Battery life will suffer from the lack of proximity and light sensors, but this probably isn’t a deal breaker. The Curve’s screen does well in cafés and buses, but you can forget about reading email outside on a particularly sunny day. If you intend to use the phone outdoors more often than indoors, I would find a brighter screen.

• Build Quality – 3/5
• Navigation – 3/5
• Screen – 2/5

Touchpad and Keyboard
The famous trackball is one gripe I have always had with the BlackBerry. The old trackball often failed because dirt, oil, and grime had a tendency to collect on the sensor. RIM recently introduced an optical track pad that takes care of those issues and it’s featured on this phone. The track pad is a vast improvement over the trackball and is easily my favorite feature. It works like a combination between the old trackball and your laptop’s touchpad – just glide your finger over the pad in the direction you want to move the cursor. The web browser is infinitely easier to use because the touch pad allows you to navigate sites with a cursor rather than cycling through clickable items. More importantly, I was able to improve my BrickBreaker score by a couple thousand.

Seasoned veterans of the Curve are some of the fastest mobile typists I’ve encountered, and they swear by this layout. The keyboard has a standard QWERTY layout with 35 backlit keys, similar to the keyboards found on older Curve models. The shape of the keys and a slight bow in the layout make typing on the Curve’s keyboard almost as natural as typing on a full sized keyboard. One downside is the keys are a bit small and will take some getting used to.

• Touchpad – 5/5
• Keyboard – 5/5

Software
The BlackBerry OS has not changed much over the years, with only a few variations from model to model. This makes transitioning from BlackBerry to BlackBerry simple, but those who are new to the interface may have a tough time getting used to it. That’s not to say that a BlackBerry is harder to learn than other phones, but the BlackBerry OS is not nearly as intuitive as some of its competitors such as the Android and iPhone OS. For example, both Android and BlackBerry phones have a configurable central notification area. However, the location of the notification area on the BlackBerry OS isn’t as obvious as on the Android OS.

Although capable of displaying full web pages, the BlackBerry’s browser is seriously lacking in speed. Even on Wi-Fi, pages render much too slow to compete with other smartphones. The Curve’s touch pad, as mentioned before, does make the browser easy to navigate. Adobe mentioned in 2009 that they are working with RIM to incorporate Flash Player into the BlackBerry browser, so we may see an upgraded browser early this year.

As for application availability, BlackBerry has the basics covered with Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, document viewers, and a few useful utilities preloaded. BBM users will have to head to the BlackBerry App World to get the latest BlackBerry Messenger; oddly enough the Curve does not have it loaded out-of-the-box.

• Operating System – 4/5
• Web Browser – 2/5
• Applications – 3/5

Call Quality and Signal
Verizon Wireless customers are probably already familiar with the inability to access the Internet and make phone calls simultaneously on a single device. This impediment has lead to issues with lost email in the past. The BlackBerry Curve 8530 has Wi-Fi in addition to CDMA, so it is possible to make calls and use data simultaneously in areas with WIFI signal. The 8530 also has notable advantages over its GMRS sibling, the Curve 8520, in that it is 3G enabled and has GPS.

The phone’s signal quality is not nearly as good as other Verizon phones. The Motorola Droid, for example, had full 3G bars at my desk, while the Curve could barely muster up a single bar in the same spot. But even with full bars on both ends, the audio quality is just average. It doesn’t filter out background noise well enough to use in busy or loud areas, but in general calls are as clear as on any other cell phone.

A note for Google Voice users: the Google Voice application is currently buggy on this phone. It seems to integrate well with the address book, but your contacts do not sync regularly and outgoing calls are seldom connected successfully.

• Signal Strength – 2/5
• Call Quality – 3/5

Camera and Camcorder
Most of the new BlackBerry models have 3.2 megapixel camera, which seems to be the standard for many manufacturers. The Curve’s, however, is a measly 2.0 megapixel, fixed focus, flash-less camera. Zooming is all digital (up to 5x), so in the end there isn’t much of a zoom function at all. With only 256 megabytes of flash memory to share, the Curve’s camera system was outdated before it even hit store shelves. You will need to insert a MicroSD card to use the video camera function. The phone’s memory is expandable up to 16 gigabytes with a MicroSD card, though some users have reported problems with cards larger than 4 gigabytes.

One thing I will say the camera does well is sharing. In addition to standard MMS and email sharing, the camera software takes advantage of the preloaded social networking apps by allowing you to upload pictures and videos directly to Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr. The sharing features are convenient and fast, and I hope to see more from BlackBerry in this area.

• Camera and Camcorder – 2/5
• Sharing and MMS – 5/5

Navigation
The preloaded BlackBerry Maps application has come through for me in a pinch a few times, although it could use a bit of improvement in terms of speed. It takes far too long to acquire satellites; it can take over a minute to get going, even when outdoors in areas where other Verizon phones have great GPS signal. BlackBerry Maps gives reliable directions, but it lacks voice guidance and features found in turn-by-turn navigators. If you are looking for a navigator with turn-by-turn directions, Google Maps or VZW Maps will have to do. Google Maps is normally a fantastic feature-packed alternative that easily fulfils this role, though it does not seem to use the GPS properly on this phone and gives poor approximations. Either way, the Curve won’t be replacing your Garmin any time soon. If you are looking for a phone that will fulfill that role, Android phones like the Motorola Droid and the Nexus One will impress you with a fantastic navigation interface and a huge screen.

• Navigation – 3/5

Media Player
The media player is surprisingly easy to use. In fact, the interface and workflow is in many ways similar to the iPod’s interface. It does take more effort on the user’s part to manage the library since the phone does not come with software like iTunes. The media player supports a variety of formats, including MP3, WMA9, AMR, AAC, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, and WMV9 audio and video. The 3.5mm headphone jack puts out more than adequate audio quality, considering this is a BlackBerry and not something commonly used as a primary portable music player. The external speaker can be very loud, though music sounds how you might expect it to sound on a phone: a ringtone. While I wouldn’t use the Curve to replace my iPod, RIM is taking huge steps in that direction with other models like the Storm.

• Media Player – 4/5
• Audio Quality – 4/5
• Speakers – 3/5

Battery Life
The Curve’s battery life is disappointingly short. RIM reports a 3G talk time of about 4.5 hours and a standby time of 10.5 days, but I find the latter to be a little unbelievable. I used this unit sparingly on most days and was lucky to go a full 24 hours on one charge. There were days when I could barely squeeze a full 16 hours out of it after a full night of recharging. I expected a short battery life and a daily recharge; most smartphones, even the iPhone and Droid, have notoriously short battery lives. However, I never thought it would run out of juice before I did on such a regular basis.

• Battery Life – 2/5

Conclusion
As a lower-end version of the Bold, some of the Curve’s shortcomings in terms of build quality are expected. Current BlackBerry users, especially those who have owned the Curve, will love the familiarity of the BlackBerry OS and the physical keyboard. Don’t count on the Curve replacing your MP3 player and GPS device, though it will do a great job complementing your current devices. If you frequently take photos and videos with your phone, I recommend checking out the Motorola Droid, which has all the great sharing features found on the Curve but also has a 5.0 megapixel camera with flash for higher quality images. Business users, travelers, and BlackBerry enthusiasts should take a look at the more robust models like the Bold and the Tour. If you are looking for the BlackBerry experience on a budget, you can’t go wrong with the Curve. All nitpicking aside, the 8530 is a decent smartphone and a great addition to the Curve family. If you’re ready to pick to pick one up, it’s available for $50 after signing a new two-year contract with Verizon Wireless.

Buy: FREE BlackBerry Curve with contract
Links: VerizonWireless.com BlackBerry Curve 8530

Packaging & Items
Purchasers of the new CX 680s are greeted with a clean-cut and professional looking packaging that conveys a confidence for their upcoming sporting activities. The Adidas logo prominently stands ready in the upper left hand corner of the packaging while a less conspicuous Sennheiser logo appears opposite the boxing ring in the lower right hand corner. Information on the packaging touts features such as water resistance, passive noise blocking, DuPont kevlar reinforced cables, and a vast multitude of accessories. The crisp sound of ripping open the perforated strip on the bottom gives you anticipation of the great match to come like watching one of Rocky’s montages.

Once you take the CX 680s out from their semi-complicated packaging, you’ll most definitely notice what Sennheiser-Adidas calls the “revolutionary” EarFin pieces, which are also featured on the MX 680s. These look like intimidating rubber hooks protruding from the top of the ear pieces. The EarFins are designed to lock into a fold of skin just above where you ear canal opens. This provides a secure fit to ensure that the CX and MX 680s stay put during extreme motion. This should allow you to concentrate solely on your activity instead of worrying whether or not your headphones will jettison themselves. Sennheiser-Adidas knows that not all athletes’ ears are the same and includes four sets of modular EarFin pieces. The sizes range from large EarFins to just a rubber sleeve with no EarFins at all. All the pieces are very comfortable and virtually unnoticeable while you’re wearing them. After hitting the gym, doing some running, and jumping around I have to agree with Sennheiser-Adidas: these EarFins are quite revolutionary.

The CX 680 unit consists of a durable plastic and grippy rubber casing with multiple modular components. Soft rubber canal tips, like the EarFins described above, are also included with sizes from small to large. One challenge of sport-oriented headphones is dirt and grime. Sennheiser-Adidas has implemented replaceable foam filters in the ear canal portion of each earpiece to combat this, and generously included an extra set of filters in the accessories. Another sport-oriented feature is water and sweat resistance. The CX 680’s neon yellow-green cable is very flexible, thin and lightweight. While it may seem semi-fragile at first, Sennheiser-Adidas ensures us it’ll stand the test of time with its DuPont kevlar reinforcement.

While at CES I mentioned to the friendly and sharp Sennheiser representative how it would be great if the CX 680’s cable would separate at the inline volume control unit for users who like to mount their audio player on their arm. As I was mentioning this I gave a slight tug at the area I was hoping it would come apart and to my surprise a crisp connector came out just like I had described. The Sennheiser representative gave me a confident smile and I knew they were one step ahead of me. In total, the cable with inline volume control unit comes in at 4 feet (1.2m) and is terminated in a right angle plug for a low profile. When separated, the cable is half the length at 2ft (.6m), and loses the right angle plug. Located between the Y-splitter and earpieces is a hard rubber plastic clip for cinching the earpieces  together thus preventing tangle. This clip is partially open on one side so you can completely unclip it from one of the wires for convenience.

Other accessories included with the CX 680s are a tough hook and loop nylon carrying bag, handy canal cleaning tool, and cable clip. I was surprised at the high quality of the nylon bag and found it to be water-resistant. The hook and loop enclosure is secure and won’t let anything escape. Perforated in the side is a metal grommet so you can run a lanyard through it for easier carrying. All these rugged features and accessories are backed by a fantastic 2 year warranty.

Sound Quality
Being familiar with Sennheiser’s high quality products I had an idea as to how the CX 680s would sound, but wasn’t sure whether or not the Adidas component would throw me a curveball. Listening to various music from country to hip-hop to jazz revealed some very interesting characteristics about these headphones which ended up being a pleasant difference from the great Sennheiser house sound.

One thing all great workout and sporting music has is that energizing beat to tune yourself to. Sennheiser-Adidas hit a home run in this regard. The bass impact was absolutely perfect for a sporting headphone with forceful impact while not too overwhelming. What impressed me more, however, was that Sennheiser-Adidas managed to leave in a fairly balanced bass sound as well. Most headphones with a strong bass impact tend to have a really strong bass as well, which overpowers the rest of the music terribly. Technically, the bass is decently articulate, although still has a fair amount of decay. Interestingly, the slower decay led to a more full sound overall and increased sound stage. The bass impact really outran the competition in hip-hop, club, and jazz music. In orchestral music the bass impact felt surprisingly balanced and gave that large auditorium feeling. Unfortunately the bass seemed too overpowering in rock music and drowned out the quick-moving guitars. In country music, the bass again was slightly overpowering and took emphasis away from the vocals.

Half-time break? Not for the CX 680s as they push on through the middle range of sound. If there’s one part of the sound that had the classic Sennheiser feel it was in the mids. Not too energetic, the mids seemed to flow smoothly like water. Its seamlessness contributed to a full sound without any gaps or harsh areas in it. A lot of the times I find earphones will get fairly harsh in areas, but not so with the CX 680s. Both male and female voices felt forward and clear. Horns in orchestral and jazz music were just right and had good emphasis. There wasn’t any coloring or extra texture added to the music giving a neutral and accurate sound here.

If the CX 680s drew a penalty anywhere it was in the highs. While not recessed, the highs felt much less prominent than they should have been. It’s as if the third baseman couldn’t quite throw the ball all the way to first base in time to make the out. Normally when the highs are less pronounced than they should be they also sound recessed and veiled. This should sound as if the music being played further away from you or there’s a heavy curtain/wall seperating you. The CX 680s had clarity to discount being recessed and veiled although the volume and impact wasn’t high enough.

Conclusion
Overall, the sound quality of the CX 680s dominates the first couple of quarters, gets a little tired in the second half, but still clenches the win. It’s not the absolute best player on the field, but it gives full effort and is still very enjoyable. There simply isn’t a better option in its tended market of athletes. Normal IEMs are too fragile and costly, cheap earbuds fall out too easily and sound like defeat, and regular headphones are just too bulky. All of the immense forethought that went into the CX 680s provides an eager, ready-to-go attitude out of the box. Even with a slightly high MSRP of $119.95, the CX 680s will prove their worth and functionality. I would provide you with a street price as normal, but seeing as the new Sennheiser-Adidas line isn’t for sale yet anywhere those figures aren’t available. All we can do is now wait, and eagerly I might add!

Buy: $89 CX 680 Headphones on Amazon
Links: Sennheiser-Addias CX 680

The Pre Plus also comes with some extra goodies over its predecessor. It now comes with a touch-stone enabled rear cover. You won’t need to spend extra cash if you decided to buy a Touchstone Dock. The phone now has 16GB of internal storage versus the 8GB available on its older sibling still running on the Sprint network. The phone also has double the RAM, meaning more multitasking. The hardware gesture key is now embedded into the casing and is no longer visible, but functions just the same. The Pixi Plus also has some improvements in addition to the new hotspot feature. Yes, if you didn’t guess already, that means the Pixi now has WiFi. It’s also compatible with a variety of designer rear plates that are all compatible with the Touchstone Dock.

Palm Pre Plus:

Palm Pixi Plus:

Both the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus will hit store shelves and will be available for purchase online starting January 25th, 2010. That’s just 3 days away! The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus will cost you $150 and $99, respectively. That’s, however, after signing a new two-year contract and sending in a $100 mail-in-rebate. Verizon’s also has a new promotion that runs through February that will get you a Palm Pixi Plus for free after a mail-in-rebate if you buy either of the phones first. As you can tell from the gallery of images above, our units just arrived. We’re working quickly on our reviews and hope to have them published before launch. To read our full review, stay tuned. You can subscribe to our RSS Feed or sign up for Email Subscriptions. If you haven’t heard, we’re also on Facebook and Twitter!

Links: VerizonWireless.com | Palm.com
Related: Palm Pixi Sprint Review

The New Mats:
When we last reviewed the Powermat, they had two offerings: the “Home and Office” and a “Portable” version. While we didn’t particularly have an issues with the Mats, they came up with new ones anyways. The new Home and Office model is offered in three sizes: 1X, 2X, and 3X. They can charge one, two, and three devices, respectively. While I didn’t have the chance to spend too much time with the new model, it was noticeably sharper looking and slimmer. I felt that a single charger defeated the purpose of advertising a cable-free solution since a cable would need to go to the mat anyways. You could save some cash and just plug in a single device if that’s all you need to charge. However, the dual and triple Powermats make sense.

Powermat also introduced some new Portable Mats. Unlike its predecessor that was simply a foldable version of the Home and Office model, these have a built-in high-capacity battery pack. That means you’ll be able to charge your devices without needing to be near an outlet. These will be available in single and dual capacity flavors. That’s probably as wireless as it can get with today’s technology. Powermat also mentioned that it comes with a carrying case and includes international pins to recharge anywhere.

The New Receivers:
While the Powermat is an awesome idea, it was quite disappointing to learn that you’ll need to have a special sleeve over your device. I didn’t like the idea of having an ugly bulky case over my iPhone or any device for that matter. Fortunately, Powermat has a new product that aims to solve that, the Powerpak. It’s a simple replacement battery for your current phone. You just pop out your current one and throw in the Powermat branded version. Unlike your old battery, this one is enabled for wireless charging. They will be offering batteries for HTC, BlackBerry, Nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and more devices. That means you can just place your device on the Powermat to charge without needing a sleeve or any attachments.

Powermat also announced new cases for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. Apparently feedback from customers wasn’t too positive when it came to their bulky cases. Therefore, they designed a silicone receiver that’s significantly more compact. They also showed off another model that sports an extended battery in addition to wireless charging capabilities into one case. Both offer access to the USB port for syncing with a computer without having to remove the case. The extended battery case will be available in June 2010 for $79.99 and the Silicone receiver will cost $40 in April 2010.

What’s Next?
While the Powermat was a great idea, I wasn’t too sure about the future of the company after I had a chance to play with last year’s model. That was partially due to the fact that companies such as Palm were integrating the technology directly into their devices such as the Pre and Pixi. That would leave Powermat’s accessories unnecessary if other companies followed the trend. However after seeing the new Powerpak battery replacements first-hand, Powermat has renewed my confidence. They have a creative team and I can’t wait to see what other ideas they’ve got in the works. We’ll be getting these review units in the near future, so please stay tuned.

Links: Powermat
Related: Powermat 2009 Review

Admittedly, headphones are not for everyone. Some find them too bulky and overbearing, and prefer the alternative being earphones. iFrogz offers a variety of products each varying in aesthetics, style, and quality. Today I’ll be focusing on the Timbre earphones. Advertised for its sound quality and a built-in microphone, let’s see if these affordable earphones really live up to their name.

EarPollution Timbre Specs:

• Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
• Speaker Driver: 10mm
• Cable Length: 1.1m
• Plug Size: 3.5mm
• Sensitivity: 103dB
• Impedance: 16 ohms
• MSRP: $50 (Available for $26)

Build
The body of the earphones isn’t very different from what you would expect, a 3.5mm headphone jack at one end leading up to the ‘Y’ split divider towards both ear-buds. The microphone is fairly small, hanging a couple inches below the right ear-bud. The size isn’t bulky enough to get in the way, while not so small that it’s invisible. You’ll never find yourself sporadically talking into parts of the cable searching for the microphone. The cable has a rubbery feel to it and isn’t the best material for cables. It creates friction easily with clothing and other materials that easily cause it to get tugged. This will eventually lead to a torn or worn down cable. The ear buds primarily stand out since they have a wooden encasement instead of a plastic one. We’ll get to how that impacts the audio quality below. For the most part, these headphones don’t offer a sense of a quality product.

Style
When it comes down to it, there is nothing particularly vibrant and graphic about these earphones. This is unusual for EarPollution since both the CS40 and DJ Style headphones were generally flashy, offered in different styles and color schemes. The Timbre has a minimalistic design. The only color is the wood-chamber body of the ear-buds and a silver lining running up to the speakers of each bud. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, since the product intended as a headset for the iPhone and Blackberry, it should look somewhat professional. The natural wood-chamber ear-buds look unique and offer an eco-friendly tone. With this said, it really annoyed me that they stuck a black “L” and “R” on the left and right ear-buds. I understand that this makes it clear which bud is which, but did they really have to put it on the best looking part? Seriously? They could have placed it in a more inconspicuous location, making it more subtle. Overall, it is a very simple design and the wood-chamber buds offer a natural and unique look, which is still aesthetically nice despite the minor obstruction.

Sound
The term “timbre” defines sound quality and sound tone. The question is, can these earphones define the same? Honestly, although it could be better, they get it done. The Timbre doesn’t have the best sound quality, but at $30 it’s a decent pair of earphones. iFrogz advertises Timbre as having “sharp tones and rich bass.” I was kind of worried reading this, since companies like Skullcandy have turned up the bass and volume under the assumption “louder is better.” This is not the case for people who appreciate true audio quality. So, using a cheaper set, it was comforting to discover a warmer overall tone with the Timbre. There was a good amount of treble to compliment the deep bass and therefore sound quality was not bad, considering the $30 price tag. Audio did seem a bit hollow, but I’m going to guess that has to do with the wooden encasement. There was some doubt in tone clarity with a few genres like heavier metal, rock, and rap. Songs with heavy bass overall didn’t sound great but weren’t horrible. I’d place the Timbre’s audio quality about a notch below the famous Apple iPod earbuds.

Functionality
With regards to using the microphone, it works. I tested it with Skype on the computer and with the iPhone for phone calls. The Timbre doesn’t necessarily improve or worsen audio quality for phone calls. The microphone sounded at about on par with an average cell phone’s microphone. There’s no fancy sound cancellation technologies. There isn’t a button for answering and ending calls either. Many new earphones such as the V-moda Vibe and Shure SE115m+ offer that feature. It’s a single 3.5mm headphone jack, so you’ll need a fairly new phone that supports these to utilize both the microphone at headphones at once. This won’t be compatible with most laptops on the market today, however should work with some of the recently released Apple Macbook laptops.

Conclusion
The Timbre is quite different from what we’ve seen with the rest of the EarPollution series. It is a nice change of pace for the company with a minimalistic approach that many may actually appreciate. Plus with it a built in microphone, it adds extra functionality for smartphones that will come in handy. Although I believe the $50 iFrogz is asking for the product is a bit ridiculous, the $26 price on Amazon is much more reasonable. The sound quality is more or less what you would expect from a company making their way into the headphone industry. For those of you who take value in audio quality, I would definitely invest in another product. However if you like the wooden-styled Timbre and want a built-in microphone, these will do.

Buy: $26 for iFrogz Timbre
Links: iFrogz.com EarPollution Timbre

Who knew raising a powerful dark lord from the dead wouldn’t require me cutting off a hand after all? While not the most powerful and costly wizard on the block (see: Harry Potter), raising Voldemort didn’t require boatloads of money for great performance. All in all, the roughly $1800 spent on this system (including peripherals, shipping, and taxes) was a pretty good deal, especially when you consider that the components had an MSRP total of $2399.45 (not including shipping/taxes). So what makes this dark lord a great bang for the buck? Let’s fly through the details.

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz
The Core i7 line of CPUs is the first line of chips by Intel to have an integrated memory controller. This new memory controller dramatically decreases latency times by connecting the CPU directly with the memory without having to go through a northbridge first. Core i7 also offers triple channel memory capabilities, which increases memory bandwidth over the more common dual channel standard. Four physical cores and four virtual cores, from Hyper-Threading, give the Core i7 immense computing power. Intel currently has two variants of the i7 line of CPUs, one for socket 1156 and the other for the superior socket 1366.  The i7 920 is the lowest rated processor you can get for socket 1366. And why would such a powerful Dark Lord go for the lowest CPU in its class?  Because the i7 920, while the lowest 1366 CPU available, offers incredible value in its common ability to overclock to more expensive i7 speeds. Pair it with a good heatsink and even after the extra cost you’re still paying less than a more expensive model while getting the same, if not better performance.

Heatsink:

• COGAGE TRUE Spirit
• Thermalright 1366 bolt-through kit
• 1850rpm Scythe Gentle Typhoon
• Arctic Silver 5

To ensure that the Dark Lord stayed cool while lingering in the shadows I enlisted the help of the COGAGE TRUE Spirit CPU heatsink. If you’re thinking that the TRUE Spirit looks an awful lot like the Thermalright Ultra Extreme (TRUE), you’ll be comforted to know that the TRUE Spirit is the TRUE’s little brother. Compared to the TRUE, the TRUE Spirit features two less heatpipes (for a total of four), a smaller size, and most importantly, a significantly cheaper price. Performance wise, the TRUE Spirit has just slightly less cooling ability. Included with the TRUE Spirit is a 120mm PWM (pulse width modulated) fan that’s rated to move from 35-66.5CFM of air at 19.6-37.4dBA.

The Thermalright 1366 bolt-through kit offers a more stable and secure mounting solution for Thermalright and COGAGE TRUE based coolers. It helps apply more pressure ensuring better contact and heat conductivity between the CPU and heatsink. As the TRUE Spirit is far from a small cooler, the bolt-through kit offers one a good peace of mind.

The name Gentle Typhoon actually describes Scythe’s latest line of fans quite well. Despite the irony (who’s ever heard of a “gentle” typhoon?), these fans put out a strong amount of airflow at a quiet noise level. Utilizing a dual ball bearing design, the Gentle Typhoon fan series has a long lifespan as well as the ability to be mounted horizontally, which can quickly kill conventional sleeve bearing fans. High pitched fan blades give the Gentle Typhoons good static pressure, which is essential to keep the air flowing through obstructions such as tightly packed heatsink fins or filters. Some innovative features of the Gentle Typhoon fans are the ring of weights around the motor as well as small notches at the base of each propeller. The ring of weights reduces vibration and noise, while the notches create a different sound pitch that’s less noticable and thus less annoying. While these fans aren’t cheap, they live up to their name by moving lots of air at very quiet levels. I’ve chosen the 1850rpm model for my heatsink, which is rated to move 58CFM at only 28dBA.

When it comes to high performance thermal interface materials none has had as long a reputation as Arctic Silver. Now in its 5th iteration, Arctic Silver 5 effectively uses silver atoms in its paste to better transfer heat from the CPU to heatsink. Why do you need this paste between your CPU and heatsink? Unfortunately CPU heat spreaders and heatsink bases aren’t 100% flat or smooth due to machining processes. Thus a thermal paste is needed to fill the microscopic ridges and valleys for better surface contact and heat transfer.

Motherboard: Asus P6T6 WS Revolution
Asus has been a  longtime high quality manufacturer of motherboards and one of the worldls largest computer hardware OEMs. Known for their innovative designs and features, reliability, and performance Asus was very appealing for me. I chose their “WS” workstation grade P6T6 WS Revolution motherboard. While the P6T6 is pegged as a workstation board, it offers incredible enthusiast performance as well. High performance and robust overclocking abilities make for a great combination. The P6T6 utilizes an advanced phase voltage regulation design offering 16 clean and stable power phases for your CPU cores and an additional two phases for the uncore (QPI, memory controller). This is important for high overclocks. Another prominent feature is the six PCI-E 2.0 16x slots, which let you run up to three video cards in full 16x mode. PCI-E 16x slots will also accept PCI-E 8x, 4x, 2x, and 1x cards. One thing the P6T6 does not have is legacy support (no IDE, only one PS/2 slot). Other features include six SATA ports, two Marvell controlled SAS (which will also accept SATA) ports, integrated 8-channel high-definition audio, an external SATA (eSATA), crash free bios, helpful quick diagnosis card,  and a host of other innovative features.

RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 CMX6GX3M3A1600C9
Ask any computer enthusiast what a great performing, stable, and reliable brand of RAM is and Corsair is sure to be one of the answers. I picked up a 6GB (3 x 2GB sticks) kit of 1600MHz Corsair XMS3 RAM in order to utilize the i7’s triple channel capability. Corsair’s XMS line has always been a high performance product. With timings at 9-9-9-24, this particular kit wasn’t the absolute fastest, since lower is better, but then again Corsair tends to rate their products conservatively. So why did I get a 1600MHz kit when the i7 920 only runs RAM at 1066MHz? The answer is expandability. When overclocking a CPU you also alter the RAM speeds. Running higher RAM speeds results in higher performance.

Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon HD5850
ATI left their competitors in the dust when they unleashed the HD5800 series of graphics cards. It’s impressive that the HD5800 cards have lower idle power requirements, and similar load power requirements compared to the previous HD4800 series of graphics cards, which had about half the transistors of the new HD5800s. These new cards are the performance kings being the first DirectX 11 (DX11) capable GPU’s to the market. The only drawback are the cards’ huge sizes as my HD5850 comes in a a whopping 10.5 in. Another smaller drawback is the poor yields, which pushes the prices of these cards at MSRP or higher. Even though Voldemort’s HD5850 is out-wanded by the $379 HD5870 and $599 HD5970, it’s more than powerful enough to run any game at full settings at a 1920×1080 resolution. Spending the additional money for the more powerful graphics cards wouldn’t have given me any tangible benefits. The HD5850 features 1GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit ring bus which can travel in either direction, allowing for full AA and AF effects. Overclocking the HD5850 to HD5870 levels of performance shouldn’t be very difficult as this card is a HD5870 with some stream processors disabled and a slightly lower clock speed.

Hard Drive Disks: Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB
The Dark Lord called upon Western Digital’s Caviar Black line in order to remember all the people to exact revenge on. The Caviar Blacks outperform virtually of their competition with their low access times and high read/write speeds. Bundled with the Caviar Blacks is a comforting five-year warranty. I decided on the  750GB models for a RAID 0 configuration because Newegg.com had an amazing deal at the time of purchase. RAID 0 is when your computer treats both drives as one large drive (750GB x 2 = 1.5TB drive). Half the data is processed from each drive when the computer is in this configuration allowing for almost double read/write speeds. Caviar Blacks should not be used for data redundancy RAID modes such as RAID 1 or RAID 5 as their time-limited, error- recovery (TLER) cannot be adjusted. This results in less stability in those RAID modes compared to enterprise-grade drives.

Power Supply: Corsair HX 850
Like it’s memory, Corsair has made a big name for itself in the power supply arena since its entry in 2006. Over the past year Corsair power suppliess have been getting rave reviews for their price, performance, and ease of use. I purchased the HX850 modular model, which achieves 80-Plus Silver levels of power efficiency. Even though many HX850 units achieve 80-Plus Gold levels, and are rated Gold level by the 80-Plus organization, Corsair decided to be conservative and only advertises 80-Plus Silver. Included with the HX850 is a velvet bag for the unit itself, as well as a plethora of quality modular cables in their own hook and loop storage bag. The modular interface of the HX850 means you can attach just the cables you need, allowing for a cleaning looking interior. Essential wires are hardwired to the unit for maximum performance. Cooling this high-powered unit is a large 140mm fan. Pricewise, the HX850 is a hard product to beat.

Case: Raidmax Smilodon Extreme
Dark and intimidating looking, the Raidmax Smilodon Extreme had all the features the Dark Lord was looking for in a body. The matte black exterior with eerie green LED’s provided just the aesthetic atmosphere I was looking for. The Smilodon Extreme features a full front door that opens to the right. Behind this are four 5.25 inch bays, two 3.5 inch bays and a 120mm fan. For my build I stuck my optical drive in the top 5.25 inch bay and installed a Mountain Mods 120mm fan holder in the remaining three 5.25 inch bays. The center of the door contains a metal mesh running vertically allowing airflow to the fans. The side doors fold out with the pull of a latch near the top of each door. Additionally, the door with the motherboard features a removable motherboard tray. However, users beware: should you install a heatsink too tall to clear your power supply, folding out the motherboard side door will not be an option. All drive bays utilize a tool-less mounting method for quick installation and removal of devices. Additionally the hard drive cage is also removable. I had to make some modifications for my Smilodon Extreme, which will be explained further in the modifications section. I chose not to include the crossbar “dirk tooth” piece because it wouldn’t fit with my hardware, and because it was an obstruction to the case window. Luckily this piece is easily removed.

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS-324 Dual-Layer DVD-RW Drive
The Lite-On iHAS324 is a versatile DVD-RW drive with many capabilities. It can read/write all the latest formats except for Blu-ray. Lite-On has always provided quality drives at a good price giving the buyer great value. The iHAS324 uses SATA connection and power adapters for faster data transfer and less cable clutter.

Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
Microsoft’s Comfort Curve 2000 keyboard combined all the features I wanted for my keyboard. I desired for an ergonomic design as well as media and functionality keys. The Comfort Curve 2000 places your hands at a more natural angle. I liked the seamlessness of the main keypad as opposed to the break in the MS Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. The Comfort Curve 2000 includes media and web buttons up top as well as an extremely handy calculator button to the right above the keypad. While the key’s aren’t the quietest, they aren’t obnoxiously loud either. This keyboard connects via USB connection.

Mouse: Logitech G5 rev.2
Even though the Logitech G5 has been discontinued and replaced by the G500, it is still an outstanding mouse. With a plethora of buttons such as very handy forward and back buttons, to a side tilt scroll wheel, the G5 offers quick access to many controls. Underneath the G5 is an adjustable weight cartridge allowing users to adjust the feel of the mouse to their liking. The surface is a rubbery matte coating that offers very tactile grip. Three user-adjustable DPI settings are available via the + and – buttons on the mouse for gaming. The USB cable is covered in braided nylon offering great protection.

Monitor: NEC EA231WMi
The NEC EA231WMi is the latest 23 inch monitor coming out of NEC Display Solutions. Featuring a 23 inch LG e-IPS panel, the EA231WMi offers superior color as well as much greater viewing angles than standard TN panel monitors. The convenient stand rotates, adjusts for height, and even has an integrated cable management system for a professional and clean look. Connections include DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort, as well as audio-in for the integrated speakers. On the left side of the screen are two USB ports for extra connectivity. The entire screen will also rotate 90 degrees for a portrait mode picture. Nifty features include a power saving eco-mode as well as a light sensor that auto adjusts the brightness of the screen to match your environment. Controls are easy to use thanks to a small joystick, and the on-screen display menu is very functional and natural to navigate. I noticed no ghosting while playing games and input lag seemed minimal. This monitor runs at a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 so you can experience all your media in full HD. Standard color profiles are easy to select and tests on various publications have shown that the EA231WMi out of the box has a very accurate color in the sRGB mode. At only about $339, this monitor is unrivaled in its features and performance.

Modifications and Tweaks:
While all the components of Project Voldemort were great individually, getting them all to work in conjunction with each other and helping them to meet my quiet and clean-looking requirements did warrant some modifications.

Working with the Case:
The Raidmax Smilodon case was certainly a pleasure to work with. Tool-less drive bays, fold out sides, and a removable hard drive cage all came in very handy. In order to maximize this case’s functionality some mods had to be done. As I couldn’t let Voldemort be “buried” again I had to make sure this case inhaled as little dust as possible. To achieve this, I followed SilverStone’s line of thought in their cases and implemented the use of positive pressure. Positive pressure occurs when your intake fans intake more air than what your exhaust fans exhaust. I had orginally planned on using the Smilodon’s side 80mm fan mounted on the Dirk-Tooth, but I hated how the Dirk-Tooth obstructed most of the interior and graphics card through the window. To remedy this I dremeled out the middle portion of the Dirk-Tooth. After completing this, however, I discovered that my COGAGE TRUE Spirit cooler was too wide, and obstructed the fan mount on the Dirk-Tooth. In the end I just went without the Dirk-Tooth.

The next mod to achieve positive pressure was to seal up the case’s openings. The side 80mm vent over the CPU cooler was sealed using a Mountain Mods 80mm acrylic cover and the lower Dirk-Tooth vents were covered with clear packing tape. On the motherboard side a piece of flat black paper and tape sealed the 80mm fan opening.

In the front of the case I mentioned how I installed an extra 120mm fan in a Mountain Mods triple 5.25 inch mount. Due to the tool-less design of the Smilodon, the unique mounting system wasn’t compatible with the triple 5.25 inch mount’s conventional screw holes. Also, supports for the drives on the chassis protruded into the mount. Once again the handy Dremel came forth and I made new holes and threaded them so I could mount the fan mount to the chassis. I also used the Dremel to remove sections of the mount that interfered with the chassis’ protrusions.

In order to maximize airflow and reduce noise, all unnecessary airflow obstructions had to be removed. The steel grid behind the front fan was dremeled out as well as the rear honeycomb, which was replaced by a much less restrictive 120mm fan grille.

I required dust filters to prevent dust from entering the case and burying the Dark Lord alive. After thinking about how I could mount conventional filters on both intake fans, and not liking the possibilities, a new unconventional method came to mind. Remember that perforated metal grille on the door? I looked on the inside of the door and delightfully found that it was mounted by simple machine screws. I also noticed that my used dryer sheets would work very well as a filter material. Utilizing six screws on the inside of the door I mounted two used dryer sheets to the inside, which would act as my filter material. This process is easy and affordable, since I will have fresh filter material every time I do my laundry.

Hard Drives:
Hard drives rotate at high speeds and thus create noise via vibration. In order to ensure the low noise output of this computer I needed to find a way to dampen the hard drives. The standard mounts that came with the Smilodon didn’t work well in my Western Digital Caviar Black drives and didn’t mount them effectively. The standard way of mounting the drives also caused them to protrude into the case giving it a messy look. To conquer both of these challenges I thought of a couple unconventional ways to mount them. The first way was to mount the drives backwards. By mounting the drives “cords in” no wires would be left sticking out into the case giving a much cleaner look overall. It also allowed me to move the drives into the hard drive cage more giving them a lower profile.

The second unconventional way of mounting the drives was to suspend them in an elastic material to reduce the drives’ vibrations and noise. I recalled the innovative P150 chassis, by Antec, and how it allowed users to mount their hard drives in rubber bands. While I didn’t have any elastic lying around, I did have 100 feet of paracord (also called 550 cord). Paracord is a thin shoelace-like material that can withstand 550 pounds of load. Seeing as how it was thin, way overbuilt, and easy to work with I used it as my ideal material. I devised a criss-cross pattern so that the drives would be secure from shifting into the sides of the hard drive cage. I also blocked off the front and back to prevent the drives from sliding out. When completed the hard drive suspension worked marvelously.

Fans:
Fans all create vibrations and can really make a lot of noise. I used tiny o-rings I had lying around to dampen the vibrations coming from my fans. Sticking these o-rings between the fan and the chassis gave me a medium with which to absorb lots of vibrations and thus reduce sound. I didn’t just stop with case fans however, and ended up using o-rings between my power supply and case as well in order to dampen vibrations there too. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fit o-rings between my 120mm fan and the Mountain Mods triple 5.25 inch fan mount; I was, however, able to stick o-rings between the fan mount and the chassis, therefore solving that problem. This modification was very convenient since o-rings are plentiful and cheap.

Conclusion:
Building Project: Voldemort had its ups and downs, but overall it was an educational and good experience. The performance coming from this machine is impressive, and has taken everything I’ve thrown at it with ease. Passing multiple days of intensive stress testing proved the components’ durabilities where cheaper options would have failed. If you’re looking for a similar computer, there are other parts options which will perform similarly to the ones I selected. While some of my components may be considered overkill, they add to the overall durability and longevity of the system. Should your budget not be quite as high as Project: Voldemort’s, I highly suggest looking into the Intel P55 chipset (1156 socket) and a Core i5 processor. That will significantly reduce costs. If you’re looking for even greater performance, acquiring a solid state drive (SSD) and moving up to a more powerful video card are a few options.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition held up well against competing titles like Unreal Tournament III and the original Gears of War. The game shined in its visuals and snow-themed environments along with addicting gameplay. It was an experience all in itself to simply get lost going through these lush backdrops with vibrant colors and aesthetically disturbing enemies. Lost Planet 2 stays true to the jaw-dropping visuals of the first game by including new types of environments to trek through. An unexplained rise of temperature in the plot accomplishes this. This gives way to areas such as jungles, deserts, and other diverse locations previously untouched by the series.

The enemies continue to look grotesque and it becomes a guilty pleasure to see what the next creature will look like in its own demented and beautiful way. The bosses will redefine epic for quite nicely. The most current generation of games coming out has put an emphasis on boss battles growing to immense proportions. Lost Planet 2 is no different. The demo boss alone takes up an enormous amount of space, traversing across the entire stage leading up to his encounter. Capcom assured me that each boss would be similar and continue to grow as you progress through the game and even informed me of one boss fight that you could go inside of to destroy due to its ridiculous size.

Besides the stunning visuals, the gameplay elements and new mechanics will keep you addicted and your controller busy. This time around even more character types are available and can all be customized as your experience progresses through the game. Along with the character adapting and becoming stronger, you also continue to unlock weapons and customize them in a similar fashion. Using a similar point system as its predecessor, Lost Planet 2 allows you to gain thermal energy and battle points as you play. Using these points also makes customizing your character and equipment a breeze. These RPG elements adds a lot more depth to this sequel and brings something for any veteran of any genre.

Outside the story, the multiplayer contains modes such as 4-player campaign, 16-player versus, and others included in the past Lost Planet games. With so many ways to play this game, competitive or otherwise, it’s a guarantee that you’ll be drawn into the world of Lost Planet. With Lost Planet 2 coming out this year, keep an eye on Skatter Tech for more news and a release date along with our review of the game.

Links: Capcom.com | Lost Planet 2 on Wiki

Extreme sport enthusiasts have had moments they’ve wished to capture on film whether it was the amazing ski-run or the the scene from a paraglider. Holding a normal camcorder is bulky, ties up one hand, and makes it harder to balance. Not to mention the dangers of damaging the camcorder or getting hurt. VholdR hopes to solve those issues with their new wearable ContourHD 1080p camcorder that can survive through the harshest of conditions.

A quick look at the VholdR’s website reveals recordings of the camera in action during base jumps, mountain biking, and backcountry ski trips. The ContourHD 1080p camera mounts onto just about anything: bike handlebars, ski helmets, goggles, or even cars. It is clear that this camcorder can go places that other 1080p camcorders can not. It sports a dual laser for alignment with a 180 degree rotating lens. This ensures a calibrated shot even if it’s mounted sideways. Unlike competitors such as the Go Pro Camera, the ContourHD does not look like a boxy point and shoot camera shoved in a waterproof case. Instead, it packed in a sleek and stylish black anodized aluminum body that’s shock resistant. VholdR claims that it can hold its own through snow and all types of debris. Plus, its not bulky either, it weighs just 4.3oz. To stay compact, the camcorder uses a microSD (16GB max) for storing recordings. One charge is expected to last for capturing 3 hours of content. The ContourHD is ready out of the box since it comes packed with a 2GB microSD card.

Removing gloves to fiddle with a tiny record button on a camcorder is always a hassle. Fortunately, the CountourHD camcorder has a large sliding switch on top to begin recording. This feature should come in handy to initiate recordings while moving. It allows sport enthusiasts to focus on what they do best and less about getting their camcorder to work. Other features include a fairly accessible switch to toggle between HD and SD mode to save space. VholdR’s included video editing software offers the ability to edit recordings too. It’s a complete package, all the tools to needed to record, save, and share videos online are included.

Even if you are not jumping off cliffs or doing backflips on your bike, the camcorder can still be used as handheld device due to its compact form factor. It is not limited to any one sport or situation. The ContourHD is available in 2 models; the standard ContourHD 720p and the ContourHD 1080p. They cost $250 and $330 respectively. Keep an eye out for Skatter Tech’s in-depth review in the coming weeks.

Buy: ContourHD for $250 | ContourHD 1080p for $330
Links: VholdR.com ContourHD

Sprint’s Overdrive is the first 4G-powered mobile hotspot. All predecessors from other carriers have only supported 3G networks to date. Sprint’s 4G coverage extends only to 27 markets at this time, but they’ve announced plans to expand to Boston, Huston, New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. this year. You can check if you are in the included coverage area here. Fortunately, the Overdrive is entirely backwards compatible with Sprint’s 3G network as well. Although slower, it’s widely available nationwide.

So here’s how it works. Just press the power button and wait a few seconds for the device to turn on, connect to Sprint, and start the local hotspot. The SSID and secure key appears on the display. Just turn on any WiFi enabled device such as a Laptop, Netbook, Sony PSP, Nintendo DSi, Zune, or iPod Touch. (Even works with the iPhone’s Wi-Fi if AT&T’s network is being spotty.) The Overdrive allows up to five simultaneous connections. Portable hotspots, unlike embedded mobile broadband chips and external USB cards, offer the freedom to share internet access with more than a device.

Sprint was kind enough to lend us a 4G mobile broadband card while we were in Las Vegas for CES, one of their 4G markets. Although I’ll leave the details in the full review of the U300 4G card, speeds often reached up to 6MB/s. (Theoretically 10Mb/s!) That’s faster than many home DSL lines and is plenty of bandwidth for streaming music from Pandora, videos from Hulu, and Skype video calls.

Sprint has sent us a sample unit for a full review, but it’s still in transit. However, a couple of unique features worth mentioning now. The Overdrive has a microSD card expansion (16GB max) to create a mini network shared drive for connected devices. The LCD displays active users, signal strength, battery life, and a few more details. Sierra Wireless, the manufacturers of the Overdrive, claims a 150 foot WiFi range. In regards to battery life, it’s expected to last up to 3 hours in use and 36 hours on standby. If you run out of juice, there’s a microUSB cable to recharge the device. The device just hit stores on January 10th and will run you about $99 after signing a two-year contract and sending in a $50 mail-in-rebate.

For more details on this and to read our full review, stay tuned. You can subscribe to our RSS Feed or sign up for Email Subscriptions. If you haven’t heard, we’re also on Facebook and Twitter!

Links: Sprint.com/Overdrive

At CES 2010, Sharp unveiled a line of new products, including their new “Quad-Pixel” technology and new line of Sharp’s AQUOS televisions. Quad-Pixel technology features an additional color, yellow, into the conventional RGB spectrum. This allows for better colors such as greater gold, deeper Caribbean blues, and amazing shades of yellow. With RGBY, a user can see an impressive one trillion colors, rather than the traditional one billion with RGB. As the presenter put it, in terms of time, it would take 32 years to count one billion seconds, but 32,000 years to count to one trillion.

The quality of the images and pictures on these new LE models using RGBY looks stunning. Sharp is releasing three LE models: the LE 920, LE 820, and LE 810. The LE 920 series comes in 52-inch, 60-inch, and 68-inch (the industry’s first) sizes and feature an edge lit LED 1080p X-GEN panel. This allows for better color and more inky blacks as it prevents back light from leaking in. In addition to being only 1.6-inches thick, the Sharp’s HDTV runs at 240Hz and boasts lower power consumption. They’ve also introduced new Netflix and Twitter widgets to complement the existing ones on AQUOS Net.

What does all this mean?
From what I saw at the press conference, the quality of the images on the screen looked stunning. By introducing yellow as another pixel, the picture does appears to be “more real”. However, until I can do side-by-side comparisons of RGBY and other competitive models, it would be unwise to take sides with which TV is better. Plus, most presentations have the TVs running at max brightness in the most vivid modes possible. After hours of looking at all the new show floor models, many of them looked promising.

Sharp also announced a few new products, including a home theater system (BD-MPC41U) with a built in iPod dock and a new BluRay (BD-HP70U) player with Netflix. Sharp also unveiled a new line of innovative, energy efficient LED light bulbs. These bulbs let you change the color from yellow to white and set the brightens easily.

Links: SharpUSA.com

A new agreement between Nintendo and Los Gatos based Netflix will bring streaming movies to your TV through a Wii. The service will be available in the United States this spring at no additional cost. That’s if you are already a Netflix member, own a Wii, and have a high-speed internet connection. Netflix will be quite excited to have this new distribution medium since it’s the best-selling console on the market. Plus, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 already have access to the movie rental service. With the cheapest Netflix membership starting at just $9 per month, the option to both watch streaming movies at anytime and receive DVDs in the mail is a bargain.

To get started, you’ll need to request a free Netflix instant-streaming disc. As with the PlayStation 3, the special Netflix disc needs to be in your Wii to gain access the Netflix service. The Xbox 360 is the only console with built-in dashboard integration. Nintendo claims that the Netflix experience on the Wii should have a native feel. Customers can navigate through the user interface using the Wii’s remote controller to browse through categories, popular genres, new arrivals, or even view their instant queue.

In the battle of next-gen consoles, the Nintendo Wii has its own unique attributes. The console focuses on family gaming entertainment than anything else. With that said, it does have a handful of excellent games that could only spawn forth from Nintendo. Unfortunately it does seem a bit out of its league when put up against Microsoft and Sony. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have a larger gaming library and can also double as a household’s entertainment device since they can handle high-definition content. The Wii is trying to makeup for lost ground for the time being, but as new upgrades reach the other two consoles, it will likely be left in the dust.

Links: Netflix.com/Wii

Performance:
If you are a professional photographer, it’s a pain when your DSLR camera has to freeze up for a few seconds to wait for the data to get copied over from the cache to the memory card. It’s annoying when you realize that you finally have a great camera but the cheap included memory card is a bottleneck. Although speeds aren’t necessarily an issue for casual consumers, those making their way into professional photography will find many situations when fast write speeds are necessary. Sports games and keynote presentations are great examples of when the burst mode demands fast write speeds. SanDisk’s Class 10 SDHC memory cards hopes to solve those problems.

These cards claim theoretical transfer rates of up to 30 MB/s. After running some benchmarks, I found that read speeds clocked in at around 26 MB/s and write speeds were around 22 MB/s. A powerful Windows 7 machine took about 14 seconds to copy 50 JPEG images totaling in at 110MB over to the SDHC card. Copying over a single 100MB video file took drastically less time than multiple files that take up the same amount of space. That’s probably due to a file system delay to create a header to a new file. Overall, you won’t need a benchmark tool to tell you that this card is faster. The first time I copied some files over, I saw a noticeable difference over my older SanDisk Extreme 4GB Class 6 card.

The Extreme Class 10 SDHC is also perfect for those with new DSLR cameras that sport HD video recording capabilities. The Nikon D5000 or the Canon Rebel T1i are perfect examples. According to SanDisk, the card’s transfer rates apparently surpasses the requirements needed for HD recordings. That makes this an excellent complement for those planning to record HD videos. On another side-note, if you’re into extreme weather photography, the card apparently can operate in temperatures low as 13 F and high as 185 F.

Recovery Software:
With a premium card, it’s important to include recovery tools. Although it shouldn’t happen, memory cards sometimes get corrupted. Although cameras are designed to avoid issues from abruptly being turned off while saving images, it still happens. SanDisk graciously includes a license to RescuePRO which has a $40 value. If your card were to become unreadable, just install this program. Insert the card and let the program do its work. There’s a good chance that the program will be able to do some magic to recover those images that your standard Windows or Macintosh file system browser can’t do.

Experience at CES:
Skatter Tech was put this to the test on our Canon Rebel XSi during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Snapping images rapidly of glimpses of new products on stage and of rapidly moving sideshow presentations wasn’t an issue with this card. The entire process was smooth, the Class 10 speeds were handy. However, once I threw an included 4GB SDHC Class 2 memory card, the difference was quite apparent. The camera constantly choked up after a few shots. While a Class 10 might not be necessary for everyone, if you have an entry-level DSLR, at least consider getting a Class 6 card.

Price:
SanDisk offers four Class 10 Extreme SDHC cards in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities. The MSRP for these are $70, $119, $195, and $388, respectively. SanDisk’s pricing is usually drastically higher than what it actually ends up retailing for. For example, the 32GB SDHC card with an MSRP of $388 is actually available for as low as $219 on Amazon.com. For Class 10 cards, the 16GB and 32GB models are available for the most gigabytes per dollar, but those are a bit too expensive for the average consumer to pick up. I would definitely recommend Class 6 SDHC cards to the mass market since they are much cheaper. If you’re a professional photographer, the convenience of not having to swap cards and the ability to record HD videos and snap photos rapidly makes this worth the price. Plus, if there’s ever a problem, SanDisk includes a Lifetime Warranty.

Buy: SanDisk Extreme 32GB SDHC
Links: SanDisk.com Extreme SDHC Card Lineup

Build Quality: 4.8/5 stars
After reviewing Verbatim’s Tuff Clip, I was a bit skeptical of their definition of “Tuff”. I was in for a surprise to see how much of a punch this little flash drive packs. For starters, although quite thin, a lot of force would be needed to snap the Tuff N Tiny flash drive. It’s rohbust and shouldn’t break from daily use. It’s an inch long and about the width of a penny. (1.19 L x .5 W x .06 H inches) This flash drive will last through plenty of accidents. Since it’s so light weight, drops won’t do much damage to it. It’s even water proof and should continue to read and write after a dip. Plus, the simplicity is what stands out the most. It’s a flat rectangular piece of plastic with no excess bells or whistles, just a ring for easy key storage. On the back side, there’s four strips of metal flush into the surface for connectivity with a USB port. Even though the Pico may seem more stylish, it was slightly thicker and was often a tight fit into most USB ports. The one thing this flash drive lacks is an LED indicator to display when it’s busy. I should also mention that I often found myself trying to figure out which which way to insert the flash drive into a USB port since there’s no symbol. I unfortunatley ended up scratching the plastic side on serveral occasions.

Functionality & Features: 4.5/5 stars
The Tuff ‘N’ Tiny works like any other flash drive on the market. For real-life performance, the write speed were a little slower than I expected. Write speeds on average were around 10.5 MB/s and read speed were about 21.5 MB/s. It took about 1 minute and 15 seconds to transfer a 700MB video file to the flash drive and only 30 seconds to copy it back. The gap in read are write speeds are normal for flash drives. In comparison with other flash drives we’ve reviewed, the IronKey was faster in both read and write, but it also costs a couple times more. The benchmark speeds for this drive were faster than the speeds I previously mentioned. Our benchmarking tool, HD Tune, displayed a transfer rate of 25.1 MB/s and an access time of 0.8. The flash drive we reviewed was the 8GB model, but it’s also available in a 4GB and 2GB capacity. The drive is also fast enough for use with the Windows ReadyBoost feature to increase system performance. I didn’t notice any improvements on my PC when using ReadyBoost with this flash drive, however that’s probably because there’s not much more it probably can do if you already have 4GB of RAM. There’s also a security feature that lets you set a password for the flash drive, but it’s probably more of a gimmick. Devices such as the IronKey offer real hardware encryption to prevent unwanted eyes from viewing your files.

Conclusion:
The Tuff ‘N’ Tiny exceed almost all of my expectations. The size simply makes this device stand out. It’s quite convenient since it’s thin enough to even slight into your wallet if you wish not to attach it to a key chain. The write speed was a little slower than I most brand name flash drives, but considering the size, it’s far from having to be categorized as slow. The durability and size are the biggest features of the Tuff ‘N’ Tiny. Unlike most flash drives that will begin to wear down, show scratches, and eventually crack or break, the Verbatim Tuff N Tiny won’t. That being said, just be careful not to loose it. Fortunatley the bright purple Barney-like color helps it stand out when on your desk. Overall, I found myself highly satisfied with Verbatim’s Tuff ‘N’ Tiny and I strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a new flash drive. You can find it in three different storage capacities for a fair price: 2GB Orange $17, 4GB Green $20, and 8GB Purple $26.

Buy: Verbatim 8GB Tuff ‘N’ Tiny
Links: Verbatim Tuff ‘N’ Tiny

No stranger to the audio world, Audio-Technica is a major player in today’s high-end consumer and professional market. Reaping in a well deserved Innovations Design and Engineering Award at this year’s 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Audio-Technica is spearheading the active noise cancelling market with the brand new ATH-ANC7b QuietPoint headphones. While Skatter Tech wasn’t able to acquire this award winner for review just yet, Audio-Technica did graciously provide us with their ATH-ANC3 active noise canceling earphones. If you’re thinking, “Earphones? Did you guys just settle for cheap, low-end, earphones?” While that might have been your initial thought, the sound that followed was quite impressive.

Packaging & Accessories:
The ATH-ANC3 comes packaged in a neat and professional looking box which displays the earphones and active noise control unit through a plastic window. The box advertises, “Up to 85% noise reduction (20dB) of background noise,” and displays a little diagram of how the active noise cancelling technology works. We know this product is for users who are always on the go, citing pictures of an airplane, commuter train, and office desk on the packaging.

Moving into the packaging, we find a fair amount “extras” bundled with the earphones. We were pleasantly surprised with Audio-Technica’s forethought into all the accessories. Included with the ATH-ANC3 earphones is a 1.6 foot long (.5 meter) extension cable, cleaning tool, airline adapter, soft rubber tips, AAA battery, and a rather large nylon carrying case to store all the included goods. The rubber tips are softer than the ones included with most earphones and came in small, medium, and large sizes to suit various ears. We found these very comfy and enjoyable. For those that like storing their audio player in a backpack or near the belt-line, the 1.6 foot long extension cable will prove helpful. To further protect your earphones, Audio-Technica includes pre-inserted filters at the openings of the sound canals. This helps prevent dirt and debris from getting in. Should something manage to get in, the cleaning tool helps remove any earwax that builds up over time; I guarantee that it will be handy. The airline adapter will take the two mono lines from the airplane and combine them into stereo sound for the ATH-ANC3 earphones. Audio-Technica even includes a AAA battery so you can start enjoying the active noise cancelling abilities as soon as you open the box. The nylon case has internal storage nets for accessory organization. We even found that it’s the perfect size to carry your iPod Touch in addition to the ATH-ANC3 earphones.

The main components consist of the ATH-ANC3 earphones mated to the active noise cancelling unit. Combined they total at  3.3 feet (1 meter) in length. Design-wise, these earphones are more of a ”half in-ear-monitor.” Despite sitting in your ear canal, they are too shallow to earn the in-ear-monitor label.  A clip behind the active noise cancelling unit helps distribute the weight since it houses the heavy AAA battery. There’s an “ON/OFF” slider to enable the active noise canceling feature and a “monitor” button, which temporarily disables it when held down, allowing you to hear your surroundings. The wire is soft and flexible, but was thankfully robust. All of the plastics seemed durable and suited to last for years.

Sound Quality:
Based on previous encounters with earphones, we weren’t expecting a lot coming from active noise canceling devices. However, we were truly impressed with the ATH-ANC3’s performance. While active noise cancelling has been known to slightly degrade audio quality, the difference was barely noticeable due to Audio-Technica’s excellent implementation. We instantly noticed that the highs had definition and articulation which earphones and smaller headphones generally lack. Cymbals were crisp and clear to the point where we thought for ourselves, “Why can’t all earphones do this?” Needless to say, the highs were very enjoyable, despite being slightly recessed.

With the good highs coming from the ATH-ANC3s, we were also glad to hear quality bass. Being a high-end professional audio company, Audio-Technica knows the innate importance of a well balanced sound. That’s just the impression we were left with listening to the low-end of the ATH-ANC3s. The bass had a good depth, a nicely punchy articulation, and the perfect amount of synergy with the mid and high range. It was quite pleasing to hear a quality bass that wasn’t over emphasized by any means. If we could change one thing, we would have preferred slightly more impact in the bass. Feeling the “thud” and beat of the music enhances the experience. That doesn’t by any way mean the volume or intensity of the bass, but rather the actual physical kick that you feel running through you.

The sweet spot for these earphones came in the midrange. To be exact, the lower midrange. Male voices and lower midrange instruments came through beautifully. They gave off a rich sound filled with passion. While rich, the sound wasn’t altered by feeling colored or warm, yet you could tell it had been well tuned. Moving a little higher, the upper midrange was the only area where these earphones didn’t impress us. High female voices tended to get a bit harsh during climaxes in the music and didn’t have as rich of a sound as male voices. We also found them to feel slightly veiled and airy as if they could have used a bit more substance and prominence. Even with these shortfalls, the upper midrange maintained the rest of the sounds’ separation and articulation.

Overall, the ATH-ANC3 earphones carry on a great Audio-Technica house sound. The overall experience is neutral, yet not boring or tediously analytical. There’s no major emphasis on any region of the frequency range and this lends to a very balanced and well-rounded sound. Being earphones, these don’t have a stellar sound stage. However, as we’ve been consistently saying, these are definitely better than most earphones.

Noise Cancelling:
Seeing as the active noise cancelling unit is one of the primary features of the ATH-ANC3s, we thought we might elaborate on it a bit. With the one AAA battery that Audio-Technica provides, the active noise cancelling unit is still reasonably light and shouldn’t be an issue for those that don’t like extra baggage. On the box, Audio-Technica claims up to 85% of noise reduction. Listening to the these on the plane ride back from CES in Las Vegas, we can say that Audio-Technica’s figures sound pretty accurate. Unfortunately, while not listening to music, the attenuated sound of voices is still easily distinguishable. Passively, we estimate around 5-10dB of isolation, which isn’t much. If you are looking for complete passive attenuation, grab a full in-ear-monitor. Without music playing, we found that the active noise canceling gave everything an underwater feel. When trying to drown out ambient noise, the result leaves you feeling as though you are wearing a full fishbowl over your head.

Conclusion:
The AudioTechnica ATH-ANC3 QuietPoint Earphones are a strong player in the active noise cancelling earphone market. With an MSRP of $169.95, the price may seem a bit high, but street price seems to hover around $60 on Amazon.com. At this price the ATH-ANC3s are quite a good deal and easily earn Skatter Tech’s recommendation. Although intended for commuters or frequent fliers, these earphones will serve equally well in a home setting. The ATH-ANC3’s excellent performance has gotten us excited to get our hands on the brand new ATH-ANC7b headphones we saw at CES.

Buy: ATH-ANC3 for $50-60 on Amazon
Links: Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3 QuietPoint Earphones

Mozilla Labs has developed a new add-on for Firefox called Weave. It syncs your Firefox history, open tabs, bookmarks, and more to the “cloud.” If you own multiple computers, and have Weave installed on them, then any changes to your browsing history, saved passwords, bookmarks, and even the tabs you had open will be reflected on all of them. Unfortunately it does not support syncing of add-ons, so your extensions, themes, and plugins will not be synced. Despite that, it’s still a great tool. Plus, since all the data is synced with the cloud, you can use Weave as a backup utility for Firefox as well. It’s especially handy in the case of a PC crash or when reinstalling an operating system.

Weave is similar to another add-on for Firefox called Xmarks, formerly Foxmarks. While Xmarks is cross-platform application that keeps bookmarks synced on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari; that’s all it does, bookmarks. The ability to save open tabs, saved passwords, browsing history and even ‘Awesome Bar’ data makes Weave truly appealing. I have been using Weave since the early beta days without any problems and just recently it has been upgraded to version 1.0 RC2. It’s definitely getting closer to the 1.0 release. I recommend that anyone with multiple machines give Weave a try!

Links: Mozilla Labs | Mozilla Weave

EarPollution CS40 Comfort Series Specs

• Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
• Speaker Driver: 40mm
• Cable Length: 1.6m
• Plug Size: 3.5mm
• Sensitivity: 115dB +/- 3dB
• Impedance: 32 ohms +/- 15%
• MSRP $40 (Available for $20-$25)

Style ★★★★✩
Usually it’s hard to give a concrete rating to Style since different people can appreciate different looks. However, with the CS40’s simplistic style, you can definitely find your pick and have the style grow on you. There are five color schemes to chose from and each come with the EarPollution logo on each earpiece. iFrogz has more stylish headphones available such as the DJ Style which I recently reviewed. iFrogz allows customizing your headphones with varying graphics, color schemes, material, and even fur. Although some of these other headphones were much bulkier, they did leave the CS40’s feeling naked and bare. Even though it would have been nice to at least have more color schemes available, the minimalistic approach of the series has less focus on presentation and more on functionality.

Body ★★★★✩
This was one of the most impressive aspects of the CS40 headphones. Unlike the DJ Style, these were more minimalistic in shape and size. The retractable headband is pretty thin compared to most headphones. The largest parts of the device are the earpieces. You won’t feel overwhelmed wearing them or when going out. In fact, at times you can even forget you’re wearing these. The EarPollution CS40 are also incredibly portable. Packing them with luggage is a breeze since the earpieces fold into the headband. When purchasing headphones over earphones, the additional bulk is expected. Plus they will be less subtle and more difficult to transport. However, with the CS40’s, users will be pleasantly surprised in its compactness and minimalistic build. The cables from both earpieces aren’t all that thick. Having a durable cord can definitely help the longevity of the device since the CS40’s are meant to be carried around. In general the Body and Size work together in making this product compact and sleek, but when it comes down to it the question is can this small package prove to be comfortable?

Comfort ★★★★✩
Spoiler Alert: CS40’s are extremely comfortable. Yeah I know… like it hasn’t been emphasized enough. But hey, iFrogz knows what they are doing when they repeat it over and over in the campaigns. Honestly it’s hard to imagine any headphones with “pillows” attached to them being uncomfortable. That’s more or less was these are. It’s quite an experience to use these headphones for the first time with the rubber cups and foam-like material being a cushion between your ears and your music. They work well and are big enough to cover your whole ear comfortably, rather than being too small or too big and feeling awkward. There is unfortunately one flaw in this design. The leather-like encasing around the cushion easily begins to get warm. Sure it’s nice in the winter because it acts like earmuffs, but in warmer weather, these could get uncomfortable quick.

Sound ★★✩✩✩
So it’s clear at this point that these headphones are compact, minimalistic, and comfortable, but are they good headphones? Without good sound quality, the headphones can look and feel amazing but that’s as far as they’ll go. To put it bluntly; these headphones feel like you are wearing a pillow on each ear. These may feel comfy, however these headphones also sound like you are wearing a pillow on each ear. Seriously, it sounds like you have a speaker on the other side of a pillow. It simply feels like it’s behind a veil. Plus, the delivered audio gets jumbled due to the padding. The quality is grainy and direct, reminding the user that they listening from a direct source, rather than experiencing the music as if it surrounds you– like quality headphones should. While the headphones try to emulate a strong bass, the same effort isn’t put into producing highs. This results in treble becoming indistinguishable from middles. The fact that the sound is louder overall makes it hard at times to distinguish one tone over the other. Once again, the obstructing padding makes everything more complicated. It would have been great if more effort could have been put into the sound quality and not leave them sounding like a set of free, airplane headphones. It left me wondering, why not spend $10-15 more and purchase better ones?

Conclusion
Overall, the iFrogz CS40 headphones are good for casual users. They prove to be comfortable and compact, making them convenient to carry around. It’s guaranteed everyone can appreciate its smart, simple style. It still keeps a unique look with a single color scheme complimented by the EarPollution logo. When it comes down to it though, the sound quality won’t impress. There was just way too much bass and not enough of the treble to match. It is true that these are cheaper headphones, but weighing the options was tough since you could even buy a better quality EarPollution set at about the same price. If the sound quality was better, these would have been “go out and buy now” headphones, but unfortunately they rely heavily on their compactness and comfort compared to their competition. If you want a pair of headphones for casual, expendable use, then these are some of the most comfortable and affordable ones out there.

Buy iFrogz EarPollution CS40: Blue | Black | Pink | Red
Links: iFrogz.com EarPollution CS40