Sexy Gadgets, Cool Gadgets and Concept Gadgets

You can be forgiven if you think you’ve seen this camera in these pages before. The Samsung NX11, successor to the one-year old NX 10, not only looks virtually identical to its predecessor, it’s almost the same.

As far as we can tell, the only changes have been the addition of Lens Priority, Sound Picture and Panorama modes, and a curvier, easier-to-hold grip. Samsung says that the auto-focus has been improved over the NX100′s, which was improved over the NX10′s. And it comes built-in with i-Function support – but the NX10′s firmware can also be upgraded to do the same, in short, the NX 11 isn’t so much an attractive upgrade as it is a slightly more refined version of the NX10. Read the rest of this entry »

Following a design that’s reminiscent of its predecessors, the Sony DSC-HX7V sports a fairly attractive metallic body that’s unfortunately not the most pocketable of the lot, and likely won’t fit into yours unless you’re wearing baggy pants. Nevertheless, the HX7V had the best physical handling and grip thanks to a rubberized grip on the right, making shooting a very comfortable affair. The HX7V is also one of the few cameras tested that don’t come with a touchscreen, and is instead armed with a jog-dial and some physical buttons.

Tablets are the rage today, rapidly eating into the netbook market. While they are convenient, it is often annoying to have to type out long documents on the onscreen keyboard. Asus has cleverly added a keyboard dock to its 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet powered by a 1 GHz dual core processor that enhances its overall utility.

Named the EEE Transformer, the tablet has been designed in two parts. The 10.1-inch tab measures 12.9 mm thick with a textured panel at the back. Good enough for stand-alone use, it supports a capacitive touch display and has almost all controls on the side panel including the SIM slot, micro SD slot, volume controls, mini HDMI connector and 3.5mm jack. Only the charging port is covered when connected to the dock, though the dock itself has a charging port. In addition, the dock has two USB ports and a well-spaced QWERTY keypad with shortcuts for Wi-Fi, brightness, browser, search, etc. While it weighs 640 gm, the keyboard adds around 750 gm to the total weight, which would be about what a netbook weighs. The Transformer runs on Android and not the regular Windows, so users might take time getting used to it. It managed to give us 12 hours of battery backup when connected to the dock and seven hours otherwise.

Beetel has added a new feather in its tab-cap. With the launch of an upgraded tab, the Magiq Glide, the company is trying to compete against the likes of the Reliance Tab.

Where the new 7-incher looks exactly like its predecessor is the user interface. Running on Android 2.2, the custom Ul has application tabs at the bottom—home, web, entertainment, communication and favorite. There are some shortcuts on the top right with the last icon for task manager and notifications. The kick stand at the back makes it easy to type or watch videos.

The biggest drawback of the Magiq was its resistive touch display. Rectifying past mistakes, Beetel has given the Glide a capacitive screen which makes scrolling through the main menu and even typing simpler and smoother.

The Beetel Magiq Glide has a 1GHz processor with 512 MB RAM. The overall performance was decent, but the 2MP camera and battery were average. Read the rest of this entry »

Audio is another weak point, Even with the supplied Dolby Home Theater activated, stereo imaging was vague and seemed to wander from one side to the other, Bass was utterly Lacking, and volume Levels were so Low that I kept checking the controls to make sure they were maxed out,

On the rear are two USB 2.0 ports and an HDMI connector. A lone audio jack is on the left, and an SD Card slot sits on the right. The unit has no USB 3.0 ports. Admittedly that array is only slightly worse than what you’d get with a MacBook Air, but the Air has a high-speed Thunderbolt port than can serve as both an I/O and a digital monitor connection. Like the Air, the S3-951 lacks an Ethernet jack; the only connectivity is through 802,11n Wi-Fi. Unlike the Air and most other Ultrabooks, though, Acer’s model omits Bluetooth support. Read the rest of this entry »

Of late there wasn’t much to differentiate HTC’s Android smartphones. Most of them looked similar with the only difference being their different display sizes.

Surprisingly, there is something charming about the latest entrant, the Rhyme. A small accessory named ‘Charm’ included in the box is sure to become a hit with the girls. This cube-shaped white accessory is designed to notify incoming and missed call and even SMS. It plugs into the phone’s 3.5mm jack and lights up when any of these actions takes place. So when the phone is in the handbag, the Charm can hang out and alert it owner.

But it has its share of letdowns. With just one 3.5mm jack on the phone, you have to decide whether you want to listen to music or let Charm do its job. Read the rest of this entry »

Released back in 2010, Aztech’s HW553 is considerably the oldest horse in our shootout, but not necessarily the weakest. Smartly dressed in a black and white shell, the HW553 caters to a wide range of 3G USB adapters, including those offered by the three major local telcos in Singapore. The HW553 does not feature multiple networking functions like the ASUS 330N3G, but does flaunt twice the number of transmit and receive antennas (2T2R) with a maximum theoretical throughput of 300Mbps. While it can also be used with ADSL and cable modems, Aztech’s broadband solution is reliant on a DC power adapter which makes it cumbersome to carry around. On the bright side, sharing of USB devices over the network is doable with the HW553.

While the mobile market is dominated by iPhones and the many Android-powered handsets out there, there is still a sizeable group of consumers sticking to QWERTY messenger phones. And while Nokia hasn’t seen very good luck recently, devices like the E6 serve to reinforce that the Finnish company can still make some pretty decent QWERTY-enabled devices. Read the rest of this entry »

Like its predecessor (the IXUS 300 HS), the IXUS 310 HS boasts curves reminiscent of a sports car clothed in stainless steel. Like most touchscreen-enabled cameras, its huge 3.2-inch screen takes up most of the real estate at the back, though sharing space with a conveniently placed playback button. The camera’s few physical controls are lined at the top and make for smooth handling, and though we lament the lack of a dedicated video button, you do get a touchscreen alternative right after starting up the screen. Canon’s user interface on the IXUS 310 HS was clean-cut and fairly straightforward, though we would prefer a screen that was a little more responsive. Read the rest of this entry »

The HP Pavilion dv6 is one of the latest notebooks equipped with the new second-generation Core i7-2630QM that features both integrated as well as discrete graphics hardware. In accordance with HP’s new design direction, some attention has also been paid to the way it looks. Dressed in a “dark umber metal finish”, the HP dv6 looks more expensive than it really is, with the finishing on both the lid and palm rest.

As far as connectivity goes, the HP dv6 isn’t lacking in any way, with the usual ports taking up residence on the left and right of the notebook. Notable inclusions are the two USB3.0 ports, and an extra audio jack –which is provided to consumers under the “Beats” brand, one of the key selling points of the multimedia machine. Sound from the quartet of built-in speakers sounded clear and sharp, and especially potent when earphones are plugged in. Read the rest of this entry »

Like the Olympus, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 is a weather-resistant, shock-proof camera, which means it comes with the same design constraints. But while it still handles less conveniently than a conventional compact camera, the FT3 handles better than its tough counterpart from Olympus.

The top plate has three of the most important controls; power, shutter and video record, conveniently located together, and differentiated via size and texture. Zoom is controlled by two buttons, and while that makes it less precise than the standard zoom toggle, it works fine for basic control. Using the FT3 is enhanced by the overlay quick menu, which quickly lets you change vital options like ISO settings.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you are wondering why the E7 looks so familiar, you have the N8 to thank. Outwardly, the former is basically a larger version of the latter, but with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Similarly, the phone sports a somber and minimalist design with well-defined curves and contours that will fit right in with the business-minded crowd. The E7 is remarkably slim considering that it comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, though feels distinctly heavier at 176g. Read the rest of this entry »

Design-wise, the Motorola Atrix spots a particularly uninspired black-themed design and isn’t likely to stand out amidst its flashier counterparts dressed in aluminum. The phone is predominantly plastic, which explains its relatively lightweight (and rather slippery) I35g body. Otherwise, the control layout on the ATRIX is fairly run-of-the-mill aside from the power/lock button, which we found to be a little awkwardly positioned. If not for the fact that it doubles up as a fingerprint scanner, we would have dismissed it as a poor choice of location – having been positioned on a sloped edge on the Atrix’s body, it makes for rather inconvenient pressing.

Read the rest of this entry »

The MiLi Power Projector-2, while compact for a pico projector, won’t fit into your pocket as it’s a tad on the thick side. But its small size and mostly plastic construction makes it rather lightweight, making it an addition that you won’t even feel while carrying it around.

The Power Projector-2 has three I/O ports: a VGA port (for video input), an A/V port and an audio-out port, where you can either plug in your headphones, or use the supplied A/V cable to link up a source. There’s also the power button, another pair to adjust the volume of the built-in speakers, as well as one more that switches the output between the A/V and VGA source. A lens regulator wheel helps to keep your images in focus. Adjustments like keystone correction, however, were missing on the Power Projector-2. So if you’re going to be using it away from the office, be sure to try and find the most level surface possible on which to perch the projector. Read the rest of this entry »

The Samsung Galaxy S II returns as the Korean smartphone-maker’s high-end flagship device, replacing a predecessor that’s slightly over a year old. The latter first garnered attention for its patented Super AMOLED screen, later on replaced by a Super AMOLED Plus display on the Galaxy S II. That’s not all the new high-end Android 2.3 smartphone has to offer though; this beastly droid comes with an impressive 1.2GHz dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel camera, but more on that later.

The Galaxy S ll bears close resemblance to its predecessor in terms of design, this time ditching the chrome bezel in favor of plastic, with ports and buttons shifted around. The ultra-slim smartphone sports an extremely minimalist design that calls attention to its huge 4.27-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen. There’s still quite a great deal of plastic all around, but this keeps the weight to a minimum at H6g. Read the rest of this entry »

For the most part, 3D capabilities on smartphones sound like a gimmick, though HTC would disagree with their new Evo 3D smartphone. With most modern smartphones today focusing on a thinner and lighter profile, the Evo 3D presents a solid heft with a I70g weight and 12.05mm profile; if you like your smartphones solid and chunky, the Evo 3D aims to please. Read the rest of this entry »

The Nikon COOLPIX P300 keeps things simple, featuring an alluringly boxy, yet classy design that stops short of being flashy. While it is one of the bulkier cameras in the shoot-out, you do get one that sports good control layout alongside a reasonably large 3.0-inch LCD screen. Given that it lacks a touchscreen like some of the other entries in this shootout, the various buttons on the P300 are well laid out and easy to use. Handling on the P300 is also quite good, as a rubber strip up front helps users get a decent grip. The P300 also features the widest lens of the bunch at f1 .8.

Launched at the tail end of last year, the WD TV Live Hub is Western Digital’s third entry into the media player market, this time coming with 1TB of internal storage. With gigabit Ethernet, it can even function as a rather basic NAS to share content on its internal HD or via the USB ports, to your local network. Slim and sleek by design, the Live Hub won’t look out of place in your A/V setup with its low profile. WD keeps things compact by using a 1TB 2.5″ internal hard drive, thereby keeping noise and heat output to a minimum, while also ensuring that the Live Hub didn’t end up a heavy brick. With HDM11.4 support, the Live Hub also plays nice with your home theater system. The Live Hub also sports a redesigned user-interface dubbed ‘Mochi’ that offers a high degree of customizability.

At a glance, it’s easy to mistake Samsung’s RV520 for a much more expensive laptop. The textured lid almost looks like a pressed sheet of metal, and the two-tone silver and black design looks classier than its price might suggest. At only £430 inc VAT, however, it’s the second cheapest full-sized laptop in the group this month.

Get up close and there’s no mistaking the budget construction ֊ that faux-metal finish is actually just sturdy-feeling plastic. But don’t let that put you off, as the 2.41kg Samsung is actually very well built. There’s precious little flex in the lid; no matter how hard we pressed on it, we simply couldn’t make it show through to the LCD panel. Read the rest of this entry »

The Sony Ericsson Xperia arc comes as one of the latest additions to an increasingly crowded Android space, but with a fairly unique preposition: A huge 4.2-inch Reality Display touchscreen with Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine technology. Is the arc as good as it promises to be?

The first thing that strikes you about the arc is how thin it is, at just 8.7mm thick it is almost half the thickness of most phones available today. If you look carefully at the back of the phone, you will also notice that the arc stands out from the others because of its curved profile. Read the rest of this entry »