Feed: Gadget Guy Reviews - AggScore: 67.9

Why you don’t need an iPad

If you’re not one of the 55 million people who already bought an iPad or iPad 2, you might be thinking of finally giving in and picking up Apple’s sliver of tech wizardry. All the cool kids have them, everyone goes on and on about how great they are, and it sure would be good not to have to boot up the PC every time you wanted a weather report.

Don’t crack! There are still plenty of reasons  not to own an iPad. Here are ten of the best:

10. There are cheaper, more powerful notebooks

This Acer ultrabook costs less than the top-end iPad 2.

Apple wants to you believe that the age of the PC is over, and the iPad is the first significant “post-PC” product. We’re not the first to point out the irony of the iPad’s reliance on a PC to get set up – new cloud features notwithstanding.

Fact is, if you spend dollarsignr500­–1000 on a proper notebook PC, you’ll get a device that’s more powerful and more flexible than the iPad. Sure, you sacrifice some degree of portability, but maybe that’s worth it for a full keyboard, proper processing power, and expandable storage.

The PC remains the internet’s most capable interface, and until tablets like the iPad get seriously cheap – dollarsignr300 or less – it’s still worth shopping around.

9. Too small to watch movies, too big to listen to music

All movies on iPad show black bars top and bottom.

Apple introduced the iPad as the “third device” that fits between the ultra-portable iPod Touch and the MacBook Pro notebook. Traditionally, you use the pocket-sized iPod for music, and the proper computer for movies.

When it comes to AV, the iPad fits rather awkwardly between the traditional devices. It’s a pain to haul around the place when you’re listening to music, and it looks ridiculous attached to an iPod dock – if it fits at all.

Meanwhile, watching movies on the iPad isn’t ideal either. On the train, sure it’s better than nothing. But that 4:3 screen means there’s no modern film or TV show that fills the whole display – you get black bars no matter what. Well, unless you watch retro TV or inferior “chopped” movies from the ’80s…

8. Max 64GB of storage doesn’t cut it these days

This thumbdrive has as much storage as iPad 2's top model!

The iPad uses solid-state chips to store its data, and that’s great for reliability, durability and battery life. But flash memory – the tech it uses – is still expensive. The top model iPad – at dollarsignr950 – has just 64 gigabytes of storage. Spend a grand on a notebook and you can expect as much as 750 GB of hard drive space.

Think 64 GB is more than enough? Consider that high definition movies run to a couple of GB each. And if you have good headphones you’ll be encoding your music in lossless or uncompressed formats – and that means albums up to a gigabyte each. If you want to store a serious music collection, 64 GB just isn’t enough.

What’s more, you only get 64 GB on the most expensive model of iPad 2. For anyone on a budget, you might need to get by with as little as 16 GB. Apps can take up several hundred megabytes, and if you subscribe to digital magazines, you’ll need several gigabytes to hold your back issues.

It all adds up, and storage capacity is an area where PCs still have a big edge over tablets like the iPad.

7. Latest smartphones make the iPad’s screen seem unimpressive

The Galaxy Nexus has a 1280 x 720 screen.

Know anyone with a first-generation iPod Touch? Get them to show you the screen – it’s blocky and pixelated, horrible really. Point is, display technology advances quickly, and the iPad’s 1024 x 768 display is starting to get long in the tooth. In fact there’s already technology out today on smartphones that makes it look positively retro.

Let’s start with Apple’s own iPhone Retina Display. It doesn’t have more pixels than the iPad (just 640 x 960), but it mashes them down on to a 3.5 inch screen, which means a pixel density of 325 pixels-per-inch – that’s better than print. The iPad has a density of 132 PPI, the lowest of Apple’s portable devices.

What about raw pixels then? Well there’s the Samsung Galaxy Nexus with 1280 x 720, on a 4.65 inch display, and other smartphone manufacturers doing the same. And the Android tablets, with their 16:9 displays, offer more pixels and a better screen “shape” than the iPad – at least when it comes to watching movies.

Higher PPI and more pixels mean better image quality. And who will come out with the first portable 1080p device? The fight is on.

Acer’s Aspire S3: Simply brilliant or too simple?

One of the first Ultrabooks to be announced last year, the Acer Aspire S3 aims to bring simplicity, speed, and solid state storage for a little over fifteen hundred. Does it succeed, or is it a little too simple for its own needs?

Features

Designed to be thin and stylish, the Aspire S3 continues the trend of metallic simplicity that started when Apple first unveiled its MacBook Air. The S3 features a brushed aluminium lid, with the rest of the body made up of grey plastic.

Thirteen inch laptops seems to be the main type of Ultrabook coming out, and the Aspire S3 is no different. This laptop features a 13.3 inch LED backlit screen showing a resolution of 1366×768.

Like many of the Ultrabooks being released, the specs are pretty much standard fare. For our review Aspire S3, this included a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB RAM, and a 256GB solid state drive with a little under 200GB available to you.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Windows 7 takes much of this up, with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit the operating system of choice out of the blue.

Wireless connectivity includes 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0, while wired options feature two USB 2.0 ports, one HDMI, and an SD card slot.

A 1.3 megapixel webcam is included with microphone, as well as a combined headphone and microphone 3.5mm port. Sound is provided from two speakers and the battery is a 3-cell.

Performance

Starting the computer up for the first time, you can really see the Core i5 and solid-state drive work hard, bringing the machine out from a cold boot and into Windows in under thirty seconds.

In fact, it was 22 seconds from powered down to Windows and a little over a second to bring the computer back from standby, proving just how quick the combination of parts can be, something we’d expect in an Ultrabook.

The look of the Aspire S3 is fairly subdued, and it’s a look we like. Like the MacBook Air, brushed metal looks excellent, although on the S3, it’s mostly a look. Instead of keeping with an all-metal body, Acer has only used metal on the display list, going with plastic for everything else.

While we’re a little concerned about the durability of the machine, comfort appears to have won out, the plastic providing a comfortable wrist rest.

Out of the few Ultrabooks we’ve reviewed, the S3 also wins points for having one of the better keyboards thus far. You don’t need a heavy touch with the Acer, the keys making a satisfying click with every press – light or hard.

It’s fairly obvious that the button-less trackpad has been inspired from the laptop mice Apple uses on its computers, although it’s also nice to see that Acer hasn’t forgotten about right clicking either. Multitouch gestures like pinch-to-zoom and two finger scrolling do work, though it seems to take a second or two for the drivers to notice what you’re doing and respond.

Battery life is fine on the S3, managing around five to six hours for surfing the web, checking mail, social networking, and doing the odd bit of image editing. Acer says seven hours are possible, but we think you’d have to limit yourself to mostly word processing to achieve that sort of life.

While it’s not all perfect, the Aspire S3 manages to deliver in most areas. There are some places, though, where we’re particularly fussy on, and that’s where the Acer misses out on features its competitors have in spades.

For instance, while Toshiba, Apple, and Dell are all releasing Ultrabooks with backlit keyboards, the Aspire misses out, forcing you to go without typing in darkened environments.

Connectivity isn’t really up there for being future proofed either. Acer has left you with two USB 2.0 ports and one HDMI, but that’s really all there is. While most Ultrabooks have USB 3.0 and Ethernet, we’re left wanting in the S3.

You also get an SD card slot, a nice touch, although one that is left hampered due to the fact that it’s a half-height slot, forcing you to leave an SD card half stuck out of your machine. We must admit, we’re not thrilled with the concept of having someone accidentally brush the card and break it while it’s inside our computer. We might even accidentally do it.

Acer’s choice of screen isn’t the best we’ve seen either, being adequate for most purposes, but still feeling a touch too reflective for our needs. Typing in our well-lit office, we could easily see the reflections of trees and light behind us. The resolution on offer isn’t the best either, offering a fairly standard 1366×768 HD-capable screen. We’ve certainly seen higher and Acer could have done a little better here.

There’s also a lot of movement from the screen when you type, shuddering and shaking as your fingers deliver the presses to each key. A stronger hinge would have helped here, and we worry to think what will happen in turbulent environments including an aeroplane cabin or bus.

Interestingly, the Aspire S3 is the first computer we’ve seen in a long time that lacks a Kensington Lock port. Maybe Acer thought the S3 would be carried with the buyer all the time. Whatever the reason, you can’t lock this laptop down with one of the Kensington products.

Conclusion

While there’s a lot to like about Acer’s debut Ultrabook, it’s not all perfect. Most of the issues we’ve highlighted are easily ignored, and at dollarsignr1599, it’s dollarsignr200 less than the Apple equivalent. Windows users after a good deal will probably be pleased with Acer is offering here, but it’s not perfect.

Norton One: personalised security for PC, Mac, Android

Not everyone can be a computer wiz, and with the Internet being the dangerous place that it is, Symantec is trying to make things easier with the introduction of a new service offering yearly security with personal support.

Called “Norton One”, the service will offer security to five devices, with coverage extending to Mac, PC, and Android phones and tablets using a combination of software, including Norton 360, Norton Internet Security and Norton Mobile Security.

“It’s no longer a PC centric world,” said Symantec’s David Hall. “People have more and more devices and we need to make sure we have protection that revolves around you.”

Devices can be easily added to Norton One, even going so far as to provide a QR code for Android users to scan.

More devices can be added at a cost, but this can be done on an individual device basis, meaning you won’t have to buy a five-pack of licenses at extra cost if you only want to add two computers to your account.

The support is worth noting too, with 24/7/365 personal support, aimed at customers that aren’t confident in their tech skills. From what we were told, Norton One’s support team will even be able to remove malware on devices, provided it’s connected to the web and the Norton One account is active.

Norton One customers will also receive 25GB online backup to the cloud, allowing easy backup of the files people treasure most.

Meanwhile, Norton 360 is also receiving an update, moving to the 6th version of its software while keeping the scans fast and ranking as one of the fastest protection suites in the world. Symantec is also adding Norton 360 Everywhere to its lineup, effectively providing Norton One’s support for multiple operating systems without the personalised support.

Norton 360 version 6 is available now for dollarsignr129.99, while Norton 360 Everywhere will arrive in April for dollarsignr149.99. The Norton One annual subscription will cost dollarsignr199.99 and is hitting later this year.

Lowepro’s new bag isn’t as black as your camera bag

Black camera bags seem too be something of a staple in photography, with almost every manufacturer making them in the darkest of shades. That’s why it’s nice to see Lowepro trying on something a little more khaki with support for both laptops and cameras.

Lowepro’s Event Messenger is a new lightweight bag that throws in lens and camera compartments with padded support for tablets and laptops.

One thing to note is the colour scheme: it’s not black. Outside of Crumpler, we’re used to seeing lots of black in photography bags, and it’s nice to see Lowepro do away with that for a change. The khaki look is a touch more casual than the “professional” black colour scheme we’re normally carrying, even if Lowepro is calling it “mica”.

The Event Messenger 100 ($49) is the only model to miss out on a computer or tablet compartment.

There’s also a nice big flap covering the goods here, with velcro and a fastener helping that flap to remain secured when you’re out and about. If you need to take gear out in a quiet environment, though, the velcro can be folded back and the flap can fit over loosely, removing the annoying rip noise that velcro has.

The pricing on the bags matches the subdued look, with prices ranging from $49 to $79, values that shouldn’t put too much of a dent in the wallets of photographers. We know they have too much to spend their money on already, what with lenses and cameras and memory cards.

Ultrabooks unlikely to drop in price until next year

While we’re beginning to see more of the thin and light Ultrabook computers surface, they’re not taking the spot of the ultra-cheap netbook computers quickly, and we think we know why.

According to a new report, the problem comes down to the cost of components used just not being cheap enough yet.

For one, the hard drive technology can be expensive, with solid state drives often used. These drives – with sizes around 64, 128, and 256GB – are lighter, faster, and require less power than conventional hard drives.

The shift to metal bodies is also making a dent, as companies scramble to come up with a lightweight metal that’s both flexible and strong. Apple has been using aluminium for years, and we’ve certainly seen our fair share of magnesium alloy on Lenovo and Toshiba, but now it seems that everyone wants a piece of the action.

Of course, some of the Ultrabooks we’re seeing don’t actually use solid state drives or metal bodies, with regular mechanical hard drives seen in some of the models as well as plastic casing.

But the premium components that make a laptop thin and light appear to be pushing back a big price drop, and from what we hear, that won’t change until 2013.

Tough Tech: Panasonic’s extreme Toughbook tested

Laptops generally aren’t designed to be dropped, and so whenever the unthinkable happens, chances are you’ll find a notebook with a broken screen, damaged case, or fried internals. And then there’s Panasonic’s Toughbook, a notebook which can survive almost anything.

Designed to be truly rugged, the Panasonic CF-C1 packs in some pretty impressive materials and design, such as a magnesium allow case, hand strap under the computer, shock-mounted hard drive, and an anti-glare screen that doesn’t break easily.

Under the hood, the Toughbook can also go the hard yards, packing in a 12.1 inch touchscreen, Intel Core i5 processor, 250GB hard drive, 4GB RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, and a weight of just under 1.5 kilograms. It even features a 56K modem, just in case you find yourself in a place where only dial-up is provided.

Testing the Toughbook CF-C1, we found it to be a surprisingly light and well built, with a responsive touchscreen. The handstrap is very handy, so to speak, the Core i5 is speedy enough, and we managed over 5 hours on the battery without any problems.

But we weren’t really sent the Toughbook to see if it was going to be a decent machine. At $3299, you kind of expect that. No, we had the Toughbook for a different reason.

So we dropped it. Again. And again. And we winced every time we did it.

The Toughbook is more than just a computer with the word “tough” attached to it: it’s really strong. From our testing, we found that you could stand on it, drop it down stairs, and even pour water onto the keyboard while it was still switched on.

Panasonic’s Toughbook series was originally designed to survive extreme work environments, such the ones members of the military or adventurers might have to endure.

From a consumer standpoint, the technology is mostly wasted on us, as we won’t ever need a laptop that can be thrown down the stairs. Still, to see that sort of technology in action is very impressive, and if you need that sort of build quality in a notebook, this is one machine that won’t just live up to your standards, it will downright exceed them.

Angry Birds hits Facebook, productivity hits all-time low

If you were already having a hard enough time averting your eyes from the iPad, iPhone, or other touchscreen device because of your love for Angry Birds, it’s about to get even worse.

This week, Rovio – the creators of Angry Birds – launched the latest version of its hit video game, Angry Birds for Facebook.

It’s pretty much the same game you’ve played time and time again, although now Rovio has added some Facebook-exclusive levels and power-ups.

With Angry Birds now on pretty much every platform including a web browser, all we can say is prepare to lose all productivity, people.

Lumia launches locally: Nokia’s new phones are here

Nokia has today unveiled two phones it plans to launch locally, with the new Windows-equipped range of smartphones heading to stores in March.

The first of the pair is the Lumia 800, a premium handset that takes the well-designed shell of last year’s Nokia N9 and gives the internals a much needed refresh, ditching the Meego operating system and replacing it with Windows Phone 7.

Like the N9, the Lumia 800 will feature an 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with Carl Zeiss lens, polycarbonate unibody phone chassis, 16GB internal storage, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, and support for microSIM. Unlike the 3.9 inch N9 though, there’s a 3.7 inch AMOLED screen with dedicated Windows buttons – Back, Home, and Search.

Last year's Nokia N9 (left) is very similar to the Lumia 800, and they should be: the casing is almost identical.

Nokia’s recommended retail price for the Lumia 800 is $699, with the phone available in four colours – white, black, cyan, and magenta – and heading to all major telcos from March.

Playing with the Lumia 800 today, it’s easy to see that Nokia has done a lot of work here. We originally loved the unibody hardware of the N9 and in the Lumia 800, it’s just  as striking – the single-colour one-piece body looks absolutely superb. Likewise, it feels robust, and is nicely reassuring in the hand.

In use, the screen provides a very clear display, and Windows Phone seems to perform very well. We didn’t see speed issues from our brief play, but time will tell if this is an exceptional phone, and we look forward to reviewing it in more detail soon.

The Lumia 710 held on the left, alongside the Lumia 800.

Nokia is also launching a mid-range handset alongside the Lumia 800, with the Lumia 710 aimed at a more budget focused audience, heading to the Optus and Virgin networks for $379 in March.

This handset won’t feature the same one-piece design, adopting a more common multi-piece plastic body, albeit one with a slightly rubberised back. The specs are understandably lower in the 710, with a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, 3.7 inch AMOLED screen, 8GB storage, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, and microSIM.

While this phone isn’t in the same league for looks, it does feel just as quick in the hands as the Lumia 800. That’s no surprise, mind you, as both handsets take advantage of the same 1.4GHz processor and 512MB RAM, making them very close – if not identical – in performance.

There was no difference in speed using the Lumia 710.

A third Lumia is also expected – the Lumia 900 – with 4G LTE connectivity, although Nokia was pretty quiet on the subject,  giving GadgetGuy only a “no comment” at this time.

Coming off the back of the Nokia partnership with Microsoft, the Lumia range of phones launched today offers Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, featuring the “Metro UI” look that appears on the Xbox 360 and on the forthcoming Microsoft Windows operating system – Windows 8.

Now in version 7.5, Windows Phone features tight integration with Windows Live Messenger, Xbox Live, and Microsoft Office. Nokia is also throwing in a few extra things to help strengthen Windows Phone, with Nokia Maps working as the GPS mapping solution and Nokia Drive providing turn-by-turn voice navigation for more than 100 countries.

A music service is also being thrown in, with Nokia Music and Mix Radio providing free streaming for over 14 million tracks and caching on offer in case Internet connectivity will be lost.

Nothing says “Happy Valentines Day” like a Doodle

The people at google are celebrating Valentines Day the best way they know how: with a Google Doodle. This year’s Valentines replacement for the Google logo even comes with music and an animation.

For today only, Google’s main search page featured a cute little animation of a boy trying to impress a rope-skipping girl.

The animation plays back where the Google logo normally is, all to the soundtrack of Tony Bennett’s “Cold, Cold Heart”, and is a cute way to celebrate Valentines Day.

It’s not the first time Google has celebrates Valentines Day with a Doodle – Google’s way of making its logos more artistic – with V-Day Doodles stretching back the 2000 Doodle above.

Sony opens a library, lends you 3D gear for free

A new service by Sony Australia will offer 3D cameras, movies, and games to owners of 3D TVs of all makes.

From February 8, Sony Centres across the country will feature a three-day loan program where owners of 3D TVs can rent gear to help them see the benefit of 3D. On offer are four Sony cameras – including the recently reviewed Sony NEX C3 – two PlayStation 3 titles in 3D, and seven Sony Pictures Blu-ray 3D movies.

Interestingly, the program is open to owners of all 3D TVs and not just models from Sony, affording anyone with a 3D TV a way of trying out 3D cameras or content without plonking down a wad of cash.

“The Sony 3D Library is there to help people make the most of their 3D TV by offering any 3D TV owner the opportunity to create 3D memories they can touch and the chance to trial a 3D product before buying it,” said Neil Stow, the Retail Marketing Manager of Sony Centre. “Personal footage is the latest content that can be experienced in 3D, as well as 3D movies and 3D games.”

Credit card details are required when you check something out, but don’t worry, you’re not being charged, with Sony telling us that customers will be charged the recommended retail price of the product if it’s not returned.