scattered technology news

Dell Refreshes Mini 10 For 2010 +

Although analysts keep debating whether Netbooks are a brief trend or whether there here to stay, they’ve still been fairly good sellers. The current generation of Netbooks running on Intel’s Atom N270 have a few drawbacks. While they are highly efficient when it comes to conserving battery life, they begin to choke during media playback. These are great for web browsing, word processing, but often can’t handle much more. That’s all about to change. Intel’s new N450 Atom processor will become available in netbooks in early January. Paired with a new graphics chip, the new processor will run faster and consume even less power. Dell’s new Mini 10 will be sporting that processor.

In addition to the new Atom processor, the 2010 refresh of Mini 10 claims up to 9.5 hours of battery life (6-cell), a new Broadcom HD media accelerator, surround sound, an optional built-in HDTV tuner, Bluetooth, and  WiFi with a GPS module. The Mini 10 is also available with Mobile Broadband as well. The current lineup looks like it will be available in 6 colors: Blue, Red, Pink, Green, Black and White. Read More

Holiday Gift Guide: Smartphones 1

This year has been all about Smartphones. Every major cell provider has one whether it’s running on the iPhone OS, BlackBerry OS, Google Android, Palm webOS, or Windows Mobile. While availability is no longer an issue, picking the right one for you is the difficult part. Since most of you out there usually wish to stay with your current provider, here’s what’s best for each provider:

Verizon Wireless: Motorola Droid

The Motorola Droid is probably the most powerful phone offered through a domestic cell phone carrier. While there may be a few critics, the majority of reviews are favorable about the Droid and tout it as superior to the famous iPhone. While I could go on about the features it sports, here’s a few for starters: Touch Screen, QWERTY Keyboard, WiFi, GPS Navigation, Camera, and plenty more. While that’s my number one choice, if you’re looking for another good alternative on the Verizon Wireless network, check out the HTC Droid Eris. It’s lighter, looks friendlier, and costs a fraction. The Eris will be receiving the Android 2.0 update that the Motorola Droid uses early next year.

Buy: Motorola Droid $150 | HTC Droid Eris $10
Links: Motorola Droid Review | HTC Droid Eris Review

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OrigAudio Speakers (Review) 4

I’m sure you’ve listened to many speakers, but you probably haven’t heard of OrigAudio. These are unlike any speakers I’ve come across. They are entirely eco-friendly, made almost entirely of cardboard, and even fold up. Once I saw this included on Time Magazine’s list of Top 50 Inventions of 2009, I couldn’t resist but to give these a test. OrigAudio was kind enough to provide us with a review unit. I’ve used these speakers for about a week. There’s some good, some bad, and here’s what I found:

Build Quality
The OrigAudio speakers arrived in a flat box. The packaging is made almost entirely from recycled cardboard. Once pulling the speakers out of the packaging, you’ll need to assemble them. As the name ‘Orig’-Audio implies, much like origami, you unfold them and shape them into cubes. There are pre-cut tabs that fit into slits and lock into place. The entire processes takes just a few minutes. There’s no need for a scissor, tape, stapler, or glue. The two cube speakers actually look quite unique and stand out from traditional ones. There’s a standard 3.5mm headphone jack that plugs right into an iPod, Zune, Netbook, or any device with a headphone jack. The cable is about 3.5 feet long. The speakers sit about a foot apart from one another. While this all seems neat, there are unfortunately a few drawbacks to the design. Since these are cardboard, they are not exactly too durable or stable. There’s an uneven distribution of weight due to the speaker being outfitted to the front face of the cube. The entire unit easily tips over with even the slightest nudge. The cardboard built also makes it susceptible to damage from water or moisture. But then again, I’ve never seen a pair of foldable speakers before. It’s easy to disassemble and pack away with your luggage when traveling. The unit we reviewed featured the Cityscape design, but the OrigAudio is also available in a few other varieties. Read More

Built NY Laptop Backpack (Review) 1

I recently got a hold of one of an unusual and unique laptop backpack from Built NY. Unlike traditional ones that are usually bulky and outfitted with many pockets, Built NY took the minimalistic approach. Their laptop backpack resembles their popular neoprene laptop sleeves more than anything else. In fact, it’s essentially just that with straps to go over your shoulders. I’ve always enjoyed trying out innovative designs especially those that stand out. After about a month of use, here’s what I found:

What does it fit?
If you’re considering picking up one of these to replace your existing backpack, it will force you through a difficult transition. As a college student, I usually have a lot of random things stuffed into my backpack. These aren’t limited too but often include a Dell Mini netbook, graphing calculator, pencils, pens, erasers, a water bottle, textbooks, a sprial-bound notebook, headphones, and sunglasses. With the Built NY backpack, I’m forced to carry only a laptop. I could most likely squeeze in a notebook, book, or folder as well. The top of the bag unzips for access to a large compartment which fits up to 16-inch laptops. There’s also a small secondary compartment accessible from on the side of the bag for storing a laptop’s power supply. There’s also a small pocket for storing headphones or sunglasses on one of the shoulder straps. For the most part, the only thing you’ll want to be storing in this backpack is a laptop, nothing else. And there’s a reason for that: comfort and looks.

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Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000 +

Microsoft recently sent us the Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000 combo package. It includes both their latest Wireless Comfort Keyboard 5000 and the Wireless Mouse 5000. The keyboard sports a curved layout for proper posture, a palm rest, media keys, and shortcuts. The mouse has a 5-button design, uses the new BlueTrack technology, and has an ambidextrous design. Both devices offer full Windows 7 integration and customizations. After putting it to the test with daily use, there’s plenty to be liked and some issues that need to be mentioned. Read on to find out what those are. Read More

Holiday Gift Guide: Flash Drives 3

Are you looking to give someone a new flash drive for the holiday season? We’ve reviewed plenty of them and picked out a few. I’ve picked the best one in each category, so enjoy:

Backup Flash Drive: SanDisk Ultra Backup

The SanDisk Ultra Backup is a nifty little flash drive that lets you backup your documents with a click of a button. It’s a little more expensive than the average flash drive, but it offers the convince of creating a second copy of your files. Without the hassle of having to install any software, the backup tool runs right off the Flash Drive’s on-board memory, making copies of files that you select.

Buy: SanDisk Ultra Backup | Review: SanDisk Ultra Backup

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Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guide +

It’s that time of year again. Everyone’s looking to buy gifts for their family and friends for the holiday season. But when it comes to Technology, what should you buy? To help you all decide, we’re publishing a couple of Tech Gift Guides. We’ve done the research, reviewed these, and are here to save you time. Instead of having to figure out what to buy on the spot in the midst of a chaotic Shopping Mall, browse through our guides ahead of time. While this is our first time putting one of these together, we hope we can help make your holidays a bit less hectic.

Our Tech Holiday Gift Guides:

• Flash Drives
• PlayStation 3 Games
• Xbox 360 Games
• Wii Games
• PC Games
• Blu-ray Players
• Headphones
• HDTVs
• Netbooks
• Performance Laptops
• Smartphones
  
• More Coming Soon…

Be sure to Bookmark This Page and head back here every few days to view the latest Gift Guide additions. Please feel free to subscribe to our RSS Feed or sign up for Email Subscriptions to stay updated. If you haven’t heard, we’re also on Facebook and Twitter!

Best U.S. Cell Phone Carriers 1

Earlier today, Consumer Reports announced their annual survey of the best domestic Cell Phone Carriers. After taking customer surveys across 26 cities, they found Verizon Wireless to top the list and AT&T at the bottom. AT&T came in last in 19 of the 26 cities they surveyed. While Verizon and AT&T are in a heated advertising battle over the best nationwide 3G coverage, this comes as a big blow for AT&T. The middle ones, T-Mobile and Sprint came in second and third, respectively.

Interestingly enough, the majority of iPhone owners on AT&T stated that they would buy it again if they had the choice. The real question is whether they would be willing to buy it with AT&T if it were also available through another carrier. The answer for me is: YES. Here’s why:

Just this past weekend, after spending time with family in the Bay Area (San Jose, CA), I drove back up to the Sacramento Area (Davis, CA). I had both my Apple iPhone running on AT&T and the Motorola Droid on Verizon Wireless. The Droid was able to provide voice-guided turn-by-turn directions and even display satellite and street views. My friend, also in the car, was able to multi-task and use the web browser with no issues. We randomly joked about the I Am T-Pain App for the iPhone. So we decided to buy it. It took nearly 10 tries and over an hour before it finished downloading. While I made a quick stop in the Berkeley Area, the iPhone couldn’t place calls, load Google.com in the Web Browser, or even finish downloading that App. AT&T’s network just didn’t work. It interestingly even displayed full signal, plus or minus one bar. My iPhone 3GS was fully charged and has all the latest updates. The Motorola Droid on the other hand breezed through any issues, other than for one or two brief “GPS signal loss” messages. While the unit did get somewhat warm and loose battery quickly due to heavy processing from the Google Maps Navigation App, it simply worked seamlessly with the Verizon Wireless network.

While I haven’t used Sprint’s or T-Mobile’s networks nearly as much, they are both outperforming AT&T as well. I have never heard too many complains about those two either. If you buy a Cell Phone, you should be able to make calls with it. Unfortunately that’s where the problem lies with my iPhone tied to AT&T. If I had the choice of purchasing a smartphone today, I’d definitely get the Motorola Droid no questions asked. If the iPhone were also available on Verizon, I might have a debate with myself to decide which to buy. For now, it’s probably best to stick with Verizon Wireless if you can.

Related Links: Consumer Reports

In Photos: Nokia N900 +

About two weeks ago I published a quick blurb about the Nokia N900 beginning to ship in the United States. While the phone isn’t available directly through any major domestic Cell Phone Carrier such as Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint, it’s still making plenty of buzz. The N900 sports many features that definitely are by far more advance than the Apple iPhone 3GS and the Motorola Droid. Thanks to Meric Ozturk, I was lucky enough to get a hold of a unit long enough to snap a few product shots.

While the Nokia N900 will be a major hit across Europe and Asia, there’s little chance that it will be able to compete with smart phones in the United States. Despite that, Nokia still has a large fan base across the country and many tech enthusiasts would love to pick one of these up. While I still haven’t heard back from Nokia for a review unit, call me if you’re reading this, you guys can enjoy this high resolution photo gallery. If you want to pick one up, it’s already available for pre-order through Amazon.com. You can also get the N900 through Dell.com for a little cheaper ($440) if you use Bing.com for 20% Cashback.

Links: Nokia USA N900

HTC Droid Eris – Verizon (Review) 7

Earlier this month Skatter Tech reviewed the Motorola Droid, now the flagship device for Verizon Wireless. Another phone, the HTC Droid Eris, was also announced that day, but was lost in all the attention and chaos. The Droid Eris is the Verizon Wireless version of the HTC Hero on Sprint, which we reviewed as well. We even snapped a few comparison shots to show off the visual hardware differences. While the Droid Eris doesn’t have nearly all the bells and whistles the Motorola Droid does, it’s more affordable and still has a lot of smartphone features to offer.

The Hardware – 4/5 stars
The Droid Eris is one of the best-looking smart phones I’ve come across. It’s definitely looks friendlier than the robotic Motorola Droid and cuter than it’s Sprint sibling the HTC Hero. It has an attractive soft black-coated finish and silver trims on the side. It’s fairly light weight and can slip into just about any pocket. There are four touch sensitive keys below the display: Home, Menu, Back, and Search. The inclusion of physical send and end keys are appreciated. HTC also implemented a special trackball for navigating the interface. It even lights up when notifications are available. There’s a standard 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, a 5 megapixel camera on the back, and a volume rocker on the side. I was slightly disappointed to find that the Eris uses a HTC proprietary USB cable and that microSD expansion slot (8GB card included, supports 16GB card max) was hidden behind the rear plate.

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