A lot has happened behind the scenes here at Skatter Tech since we nearly vanished since earlier this year. Some pending issues were preventing us from publishing any new content without running into legal issues. Everything has been resolved and we’ve good to go. This has been the longest downtime we’ve had since Skatter Tech was launched in 2004. Things are only getting started and we’ve already got a ton of content lined up that has been waiting to be published. So get ready, we’re back!

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Specifications Speaker Type:

• Dynamic MicroSpeaker II
• Sensitivity (at 1kHz): 105dB SPL/mW
• Impedance (at 1kHz): 16
• Frequency Range: 22Hz-17.5kHz
• Cable Length: 18 in. (45 cm)
• Warranty: 2-Years
• Price (MSRP): $119

As always Shure provides a kit with a variety of earpieces to ensure that the buds comfortably fit into your ear canal. The earphones have a modular cable which can extend from just 18 inches to 54 inches with the extension. Shure provides a 2 year limited warranty on these earphones, so rest assured that if they happen to fail or cause problems, you’ll be able to have them replaced. The headphone jack is a standard 3.5mm pin, which will fit into any standard computer, laptop, cd player, or digital audio player.

The earphones will become available for purchase in Spring 2009. Although the expect sale price is $99, it should be available for cheaper through many retailers. We’ll be getting a unit to review as soon as we can, so check back for a full review! Meanwhile checkout our review of the Shure SE110 and the SE210.

Links: Shure.com SE115

In terms of codecs, the Ibiza supports playback of DivX, H.264, and MP4 for video. For audio, it works with AAC, MP3, and WMA. It can also display JPEG and PNG images.

The Ibiza Touch has a 2.8-inch WQVGA display with vibration feedback, is available in 8GB to 32GB NAND Flash capacities, Bluetooth with stereo headphone support, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, a mini-USB 2.0 port, and much more. The battery life can withstand playback of up to 15 hours of audio, 6 hours of video, or 10 hours of streaming content over WiFi.

We don’t have too much more details, however we will try to get a hold of a unit for review in the near future. I personally am quite excited about downloading podcast wirelessly without the need of a computer and DivX support. Check back for more details!

Links: Haier Ibiza

Sony VAIO P Series Specs:

• Processor: 1.33GHz Intel Atom
• Hard Drive: 60GB HDD, 64GB SSD, or 128GB SSD
• Memory: 2GB 533MHz DDR2
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Basic
• Graphics: Intel GMA 500
• Built-in Webcam & Microphone: Yes
• Keyboard / Mouse: Reduced Standard / Pointer
• Display: 8-inch 1600 x 768 LED
• Wireless: WiFi b/g/n & Bluetooth 2.1 & WWAN
• Expansion Slot: Memory Stick & SD Card slots
• Audio: Speakers and 1 Headphone Jack
• Ports: 2x USB 2.0 & Expansion I/O Connector

My initial response on first glancing over the specifications might have been that a lot of it was quite impressive. Although Sony’s PR folks were quite serious about not advertising it as a netbook, we’ll still call it one since it has a Atom Processor. Although the starting price might set it far away from other “netbooks,” but I’ll get to that later. First off, this is probably one of the few portable laptops I’ve come across that doesn’t have a crappy resolution. Sony managed to squeeze 1600×768 pixels into a 8-inch wide screen display. It’s great for those with decent vision, however will be a pain for many to see. And yes, I do know that text size can be changed in a second. But point being made, for those who can see, is the ability to view more content on the display than any other netbook. In fact the most common resolution for a 13-inch laptop is still 1280×800. Next, the SSD options offer plenty of storage space for multimedia. The P Series sports WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth, and optional 3G Mobile Broadband through Verizon Wireless. The large spacious keyboard makes typing easier than on many other portables.

The most unique feature is probably the built in GPS module which functions independently of 3G card, so no service is required. Your laptop now functions as a turn-by-turn navigator and applications such as Google Earth should be able to pinpoint your exact location. The other neat feature is the “instant OS” which borrows the UI from the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. It allows quick access to music, movies, photos, and a web browser without needing to start up Windows Vista.

Sony claims a 4 hour battery life with the standard capacity battery and a 8 hour capacity with the extended battery. Units will be available in red, green, blue, white, and black. Sony is now taking pre-orders on SonyStyle.com. Pricing starts at $900 for the lowest-end model. It will become available in retail stores next month. We will be getting a unit in a few weeks, so check back for an in-depth review!

Links: Sony Style P Series

Phil Schiller, the SVP of Marketing at Apple, filled in for Jobs. He began by presenting a lot of new software applications that would soon become available to Mac users: iLife ‘09 and iWork ‘09.

Let’s start with the applications included in iLife ‘09. The new version of iPhone features Facial Recognition, which will automatically scan through your entire library and tag people in each image once you assign a name to a face. Users will then have the ability to browse through their photos by “Faces” to find every instance that a person appears throughout your entire photo gallery. iPhoto will now also support Geo-tagging, which will take coordinates from GPS enabled imaging devices such as the  iPhone (or Blackberry Storm) and assigns locations to where they were taken. A built-in interactive mapping tool, based on Google Maps, will allow browsing through your photos by locating them as pinpoints on a map. Finally users will also have instant way of uploading images directly to Facebook or Flickr. Tagged faces will be tagged on Facebook while Geo-tagged images will be noted on Flickr. iMovie ‘09 and GarageBand ‘09 also received upgrades which add new functionality. iLife ‘09 will be included on all new Macs, but if you have an older machine it will become available for $79 this month.

Next up was iWork ‘09. Keynote ‘09 now offers the ability to create advance transition effects with simple commands.  The program will be able to support displaying 3D graphs and charts. A new iPhone and iPod Touch application will also become available for 99 cents, turning your portable device into a remote control. Unlike a standard clicker, the application will display presenter notes and slides, which many speakers may soon adore. Pages ’09 and Numbers ‘09 also received upgrades. Apple also announced iWork.com, which allows users to easily upload and share their documents online with others. iWork ‘09 is now available for $79 in retail stores; however it will only run you $49 if you buy it at the time you purchase a new Mac.

Last but not least was the new 17-inch MacBook Pro. When Apple released the new 13-inch MacBook and the 15-inch MacBook Pro late last year, the 17-inch model was left in the dark with the old body. Today Apple refreshed the design giving the 17-inch MacBook Pro the new single piece aluminum body that its smaller siblings share. Most notable about this monstrous machine might be the fact that Apple claims a whopping eight hour battery life. And the unit isn’t too bulky either. It retains .98-inches thick body throughout and weighs about 6.6 pounds making it both the thinnest and lightest 17-inch notebook on the market. The unit is loaded with a LED-backlit 1920×1080 resolution display, now offered in glossy and matte. Also has the newly introduced large glass Multi-Touch trackpad, which clicks. It can be configured with Intel latest Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.93 GHz, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and either a 320GB 7200RPM HDD or a 256GB SSD. And just like the 15-inch MacBook Pro, it comes with both the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and 9600GT for either saving battery life or for high performance, respectively. It all sounds great, but I personally don’t know too many people who are willing to spend $2,799, which is the starting price. But if you happen to be interested, units will begin to ship at the end of this month. Apple has already begun taking pre-orders.

Finally Schiller announced the new variable pricing scheme on iTunes. Previously all songs were priced at 99-cents; with the new scheme, songs will be available for download for as low as 67-cents, the standard 99-cent price, or for as high as $1.29 cents. Although Schiller claims more songs will become available at the lower price than the higher, time will show whether this will be beneficial to everyone. And as a bonus, Apple will begin to turn 8 million of its 10 million songs DRM Free, by the end of March. Those who wish to upgrade to the DRM Free tracks will have the ability to do so by paying 30 cents per song or 30% of the album price. I’m personally glad to see this day finally coming!

Overall, the entire Keynote seemed to be bummer. Other than the software, there’s wasn’t much that would excite the average Apple Fan or consumer. Unless you’ll planning on buying a notebook for nearly three grand, of course. Either way, CES in Las Vegas gets kicked off tomorrow with Press Day. Skatter Tech will be on the ground with coverage, so stick around!

Links: Apple.com | iLife 09 | iWork 09 | MacBook Pro 17-inch

With the sleuth of new games this month, it appears as though the holiday season is upon us and game publishers are starting to let loose all of the major titles. With the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 with major titles coming out: Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2, respectively, it looks like this is going to be another exciting holiday season for gamers.

Nintendo Wii:

• Shaun White SnowBoarding – Ubisoft
• Cooking Mama: World Witchen – Majesco
• Need for Speed: Undercover – Electronic Arts
• Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party – Ubisoft
• WordJong Party – Destineer
• Animal Crossing: City Folk – Nintendo
• Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars – Gamecock Media Group
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels – LucasArts
• Imagine Party Babyz – Ubisoft
• Candace Kane’s Candy Factory – Destineer
• Rock Revolution – Konami
• Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World – Namco Bandai
• Pet Pals: Animal Doctor – Legacy Interactive
• Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor – RealNetworks
• PopStar Guitar – XS Games
• WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 – THQ
• Madagascar Escape 2 Africa – Activision
• James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace – Activision
• Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors – Activision
• Monster Lab – Eidos Interactive
• Alien Crush Returns – Hudson Entertainment
• Home Sweet Home – Big Blue Bubble

Play Station 3:

• Resistance 2 – SCEA
• Tom Clancy’s EndWar – Ubisoft
• Valkyra Chronicles – Sega
• Quantum of Solace: The Game – Activision
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm – Namco Bandai
• WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 – THQ
• Mirror’s Edge – EA
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 – Konami
• Call of Duty: World at War – Activision
• Shaun White Snowboarding – Ubisoft
• Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe – Midway
• NCAA Basketball 09 – Electronic Arts

Xbox 360:

• Gears of War 2 – Microsoft
• Call of Duty: World at War – Activision
• Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 – Electronic Arts
• Mirror’s Edge – Electronic Arts
• Mortal Kombat Vs DC – Midway
• Shaun White Snowboarding – Ubisoft
• Naruto: The Broken Bond – Ubisoft
• Need for Speed Undercover – Electronic Arts
• Left 4 Dead – Electronic Arts
• The Last Remnant – Square Enix
• Quantum of Solace – Activision
• Tom Clancy’s Endwar – Ubisoft

Games List: Nintendo Wii | Sony PS3 | Microsoft Xbox 360
Purchase Games: Amazon’s Selection (ships free + no tax)

The Zune desktop software will also be getting some improvements with Mixview and a new Now Playing page which both offer new graphical and interactive ways to browse and view your library. And the new firmware will also bring support for a couple of games, audiobooks (supports Audible), and real ebooks through OverDrive. Most of those are great, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to read a whole book on a Zune. Anyways if you are interested in getting a new Zune, starting on September 16th, pricing will be set at $250 for a 120GB HDD model, $229 for a 80GB HDD model, $199 for a 16GB SSD model, and $149 for a 8GB SSD model. Apple is also rolling out new iPods today, so I might suggest holding off until the end of the day if you happen to be deciding between the two.

Links: Zune.net

The Specifications:

• Connectivity: 2.4 GHz wireless (USB Adapter)
• Power: Two AA Batteries
• Sensor: 848nm Adjustable-dpi laser
• Special: DPI Controls & Stealth Thumb Button

The Buttons: – 5/5 stars
The best part of the MX 1100 is the large amount of buttons it features without becoming overwhelming for those who don’t plan on using anything past the essential ones. The mouse is a bit larger than an average sized mouse, but is quite comfortable to use and both the left & right click buttons provide great tactile feedback. A button below the scroll wheel allows switching between a “notched scroll” and a “frictionless scroll”. The standard “notches” setting lets you feel each bump while scrolling, whereas the “frictionless” setting allows flicking through pages rapidly. The scroll wheel supports 4-way scrolling, so leaning it to either side will allow scrolling in that direction. Pushing in the scroll wheel functions as a middle-click, which is great for opening links in new tabs. A plus and minus button at the top left of the mouse allows increasing or decreasing the DPI settings to adjust sensitivity. It’s quite neat to be able to change the sensitivity at anytime without having to dig through the Control Panel. Directly above the thumb rest are the forward and backward keys. Although well placed, they were a bit too soft to offer enough feedback in my opinion. The final neat feature is the “stealth thumb button”, located in the thumb rest, which has been configured by default to launch Vista’s 3D flip interface to switch between open windows. And as always, installing Logitech’s SetPoint drivers and software will allow customizing any button to do just about anything you would like it to do.

Accuracy and Transmission: - 5/5 stars
Despite being a wireless mouse, the device maintained a strong connection with the transmitter. There were no problems getting it to work from even over 20 feet away. The MX 1100 is also quite accurate, movements are almost flawless and the adjustable DPI doesn’t disappoint. Hard-core gamers will probably still complain about accuracy, but for most consumers this will end up being the most accurate mouse they have used. That doesn’t mean its bad for gaming, it was better than any of the mice I had and was excellent to use while playing a game of Counter-Strike.

Battery and Charging - 3/5 stars
The way the mouse gets it’s juice is probably the only drawback. The Mouse runs of two AA batteries and Logitech claims it will last about nine months. The mouse automatically goes into a power-save mode, however Logitech still says by using the “on/off button, you save even more power.” There is a battery indicator on the mouse that lights up when turned on, but fades away after a couple of seconds. A re-chargeable version of this mouse is available, however it can only be purchased as a part of a Cordless Desktop Wave Pro keyboard-mouse bundle. Unfortunately we can’t test the mouse for nine-months, but from experience I can say that the lifespan could be much shorter or longer based of how many hours it gets used each day.

Conclusion:
Overall, the Logitech MX 1100 is a top-of-the-line mouse and is probably one of the best ones I have used to date. It is extremely comfortable, completely customizable, and just works. If you do happen to be a “lefty” (left-handed), you are out of luck. It would be quite difficult to use this mouse comfortably with a left hand. For a retail price of $79.99, while being available for as low as $65 online, it’s affordable and offers just about everything you could ask for. I only wish it was rechargeable, but despite that most owners will be truly satisfied by what Logitech’s MX 1100 has to offer.

Links: Logitech.com MX 1100
Buy: MX 1100 For $65 (no tax + free shipping via Amazon)

Acer Aspire One Specification:

• Processor: Intel Atom N270 1.60 GHz
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 (533MHz)
• Chipset: Intel Mobile 82801 GBM
• Video: Intel GMA 950
• Storage: 2.5 inch 120GB HDD
• Card Readers: SD Card (1) & Multi-Card (2)
• OS: Windows XP Home Edition
• Display: LED 8.9 inch 1024×600 (WSVGA)
• Webcam: 0.3 megapixel camera
• Wireless: Acer 802.11b/g
• Ports: 3 USB, LAN 10/100 Mbps, VGA, & Audio in/out
• Battery: 24W 2200mAh 3-cell Li-Ion (3 hours)
• Input: 84-key Keyboard & Touchpad
• Weight: 2.19 lbs with 3-cell & 2.78 lbs with 6-cell
• Size: 9.8″ (W) x 6.7″ (D) x 1.14″ (H) inches

The Body: 3.5/5 stars
With the lid closed, the Acer Aspire One has a stylish glossy finish over its blue body. The bottom of the notebook is made of one piece of plastic except for perforations for air flow and a small cutout for access to the RAM. The external build is elegant, robust, and has a tiny footprint. The inside looks fairly good with a black keyboard and a blue surrounding, however there’s a large gap that appears between the lower and upper portion of the notebook which just looks unusual. There are two shinny orange pieces on the hinges, which stand out too much and takes away from the look in my opinion. The screen is surrounded by a highly glossy black frame which provides a nice contrast in some situations, however can become irritation when light reflects back at you. Most of the components are in the right places and are easy to access. Overall, the durability, feel, and looks of this notebook won’t be an issue.

The Screen: 4/5 stars
Like most sub-notebooks, the Acer Aspire One has an 8.9 inch display with a screen resolution of 1024×600. This resolution is just large enough to be able to view and use most standard-sized websites. I ran into occasional issues with some windows for certain applications being too large so the bottom or top wasn’t visible, but it wasn’t too bad. The LED backlit display is quite bright, sharp, and the colors produced are pretty vibrant. The viewing angles were fairly good. The colors faded much faster with slight change in either vertical direction; however horizontal angles remained intact for longer. The screen looks great for watching movies or viewing photos.

Operating System: 5/5 stars
The Aspire One is running Windows XP Home edition which is probably the most widely used operating system today. So there shouldn’t be any complains there. The machine boots up and is ready to go in about 55 seconds. Launching applications such as Mozilla Firefox takes just a second or two. With 1GB of RAM you can have plenty of applications running at once without any issues. Just about all the applications I use on a regular basis are available for download, but if you have any programs that come on a CD or DVD, you’ll need to find an external USB drive to install them. I was also excited to see that Acer had already upgraded XP to Service Pack 3, which will save everyone the time and hassle of having to install too many updates. Having run XP on a machine with a 900 MHz processor and 256 MB of RAM, I can testify that XP is a very flexible OS and will run without any issues on this laptop.

Keyboard and Mouse: 3.5/5 stars
The keyboard is large enough to use comfortably. With a bit of getting used to, you can begin to type pretty fast without any issue. I was also glad to see that the keyboard didn’t have any weirdly sized or misplaced keys as I have seen on many other sub-notebooks. The main issue I had with the usability of the notebook was the awkwardly placed left/right click buttons. The left/right click buttons have been moved to the left and right sides of the touchpad, instead of placing them below. It was quite awkward to use and I often found myself clicking in the wrong spot only to realize that there weren’t any buttons there. Most people will begin to tap the touchpad to initiate a left-click, but will have no choice but to reach over to input a right-click. If Acer had moved the keyboard up just enough to allow room for normally positioned left/right click buttons, the Aspire One would have been much easier to use.

Speakers & Headphones: 4/5 stars
The speaker is located on the bottom-side of the Aspire One. It can get loud enough and remain fairly clear, but are nothing to brag about. The main issue would have to be that everything sounds quite muffled. Everything sounds different based of whether it is being held in your hands, on your lap, or on a flat desk. As for use with a headphone jack, the audio quality is excellent and will offer exactly what you would expect out of a laptop with a built in sound card.

Microphone & Web Cam: 3/5 stars
The Aspire One has a built in microphone and webcam making it a great little VoIP device. I made a few test calls using Skype over a WiFi network and the results were good. The microphone didn’t pick up to much background noise and the web cam was just clear enough to make out faces. The webcam performs quite poorly under poor lighting conditions. Both components are low quality pieces of hardware, but will do the job for communicating when away from something better.

Ports and Expansion: 4/5 stars
The Aspire one has a fairly good selection of ports. It unusually has two memory card readers, one just for SD and the other is a 5-in-1 reader. The reason for two was originally intended for the model with the 8GB SSD model since it allowed expanding the storage onto the SD card using the Linux OS. However they carried it on over the HDD version running XP, which happens to be quite unnecessary. On the front of the notebook you’ll find a switch to toggle WiFi on or off. The right side has the audio input/output, two USB ports, and the multi-card reader. The left side has the power port, VGA port, fan exhaust, ethernet port, another USB port, and a SD card reader.

Performance: 5/5 stars
The Aspire One is a fairly fast notebook. It actually has better specifications in just about every category than the 14 inch Sony Vaio I had been using up until just about two years ago. The HD Tune benchmark tool displayed an average of 49 MB/s data transfer rate, which is excellent. The wPrime 32 CPU test took about 124 seconds to complete which is better than most other sub-notebooks with other processors. The Aspire One is fast enough to do just about all the basic things you would need to do on your laptop on a daily basis. It obviously shouldn’t be used for video editing or gaming, but is great for multimedia playback, internet apps, email, chatting, note taking, and much more.

Battery Life: 4/5 stars
The Aspire One I reviewed only had a 3 cell battery; however 6 cells are also available. Unfortunately a 6-cell will protrude from the notebook. Benchmarks always vary, so I put it to the test in a real-life situation. With WiFi enabled and the screen at half-brightness, I was able to get about 2 hours and 40 minutes of juice out of it on average. I was mainly writing articles, browsing the web, or streaming media the majority of the time. The hours I got might not be entirely similar to what others may receive based of whether they are using hardware intensive applications or not. The battery life was around what other notebooks such as the Lenovo S10 receive, however I do wish it could fit a 6-cell without sticking out like the Asus EEE 900 does. Despite that, it’s fairly good amount considering that it’s got a standard HDD.

Conclusion
After having a chance to play with a couple of other main stream sub-notebooks such as the EEE 900, the Acer Aspire One is currently my favorite. Especially impressive since due to the fairly powerful hardware specs while it’s MSRP is now just $350 for the model in this review. And as I mentioned before the notebook doesn’t lack on looks either. However, my opinion might soon change as Dell and other companies are beginning to roll out more sub-notebooks with competitive specifications and pricing. Just about everything from the operating system, the hard drive space, and speed was satisfactory. The main downsides are probably the awkward positioning of the mouse buttons and the battery life. Overall, most of you folks who are looking for a cheap portable laptop will get exactly what you are looking for and won’t be disappointed with Acer’s Aspire One.

Buy Now: Best Buy $350 | Amazon $400 | Circuit City $330 (SSD Model)
Links: Acer Aspire One | Wiki Page

The latest wave of gaming consoles to hit our local retail shelves are Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. While these two push the limits of graphic capability for a console, the lovable Nintendo Wii that has pushed on human interactivity in gaming. Gaming technologies continue to have the potential to keep advancing and impressing us. But what is in store for the PC will once again dominate all gaming consoles. Three Dimensional PC gaming has been introduced, once again, as the next advancement for this generation’s gamers to take bliss in.

Although 3D gaming has been mentioned over and over, this might truly be the year where it becomes widespread. At Nvision 08 I was able to sit down and enjoy a few upcoming PC games. Out of the five game demos available at Nvision, I was able to test out a few: Grid, Spore, and Unreal Tournament 3.  I can safely say that playing a shooter in 3D was an experience I will not forget. A whole new rush comes over a gamer when he or she jumps into an online shooter match in 3 Dimensions. It is quite exciting to experience and see the depth of bullets now literally flying by or the narrowness of halls closing in. Having a chance to play these games in 3D offers a fresh new experience and allows gamers to feel that they are a part of the game more than ever before.

Over 350 titles, which are already on the market, will become available in 3D as the new Nvidia cards begin to roll out. There won’t be any need to wait for updates or patches from developers since the new video card drivers, themselves, will support rendering those games in 3D. According to Nvidia even GeForce 8 GPUs, which are already widespread, will be able to run those games in 3D. We soon can begin to brag about owning computers capable of rendering games in 3 Dimensions; however I still have to figure out how to explain having to wear those 3D glasses.

The NVIDIA GeForce Stereoscopic 3D technology not only opens a 3 Dimensional gaming world that you can dive into, but a sharp and artistic world as well. After all, for all those Unreal Tournament players out there, imagine getting excited about having the Rocket Launcher all over again. The graphics allow for a sharp view of every shot you take, with endless weapons with different capabilities, to be clearly seen in a 3 Dimensional depth now. You can watch the bullet tear through the air and hit the wall that now appears “way out there” and still visually see everything. 3D Gaming has clearly added all new meaning to “diving into an online match” for computer games, but what about other genres of computer games, say one on the other side of the spectrum in this case, say a game that has redefined “a long time coming” gamers, and call it Spore. Playing Spore in 3D, let alone finally, was an amazing and outstanding visual experience above everything else. It truly was able to give you the feeling that you were holding a clay model of your creation, and you could tweak, move, expand, and add to it in any dimensions you wished. Playing this game in 3D, a game that requires a lot of graphical creating that is, gives the illusion that the mouse is able to move in an X-Y-Z plane rather than a boring old 2D plane that reality bounds. Playing Spore also allowed me to understand why it has been taking so very long for this game to arrive. This game, for those who are familiar with Sims, breaks the habit of just being a simulator genre game, and allows you to fully and compulsively create each creature, land, vehicles, weapons, and anything else to your personal artistic desire. I can safely say this game challenges an idea of “infinite gameplay” since you will never be done experimenting.

With all this potential for 3D gaming to expand on what we already love and only bring us closer as a part of the whole experience, aside from 350 titles already announced 3D capable, this is generation of videogames on the horizon of great things.  Soon we will be able to sit comfortably in our homes, play against friends across the world in a 3 Dimensional experience, and bring ourselves closer and closer to the new wave of entertainment known popularly as Video Games.

The Navigation System will sport a new display with a higher resolution and will be LED backlit for sharper colors. It will support playback of DVD movies, but only when the car is parked. Like more cars today it has full support to allow hands free access to Bluetooth enabled phones. But as a bonus it will allow dictating numbers to dial or even saying names in your phonebook without having to program your voice for ever possible combination. The upcoming cars featuring this new system will have a 40GB HDD and two SD card readers built-in. Unfortunately the car doesn’t allow ripping tracks from inserted CDs due to copyright restrictions, however it will allow copying downloaded music from those SD cards. (MP3, WMA, & AAC supported!) Additional options for a USB port to allow use of flash drives will also be an option. The MMI system also supports adding support for Apple iPod devices or AUX analog inputs, which will probably also cost extra.

The main reason Audi was at Nvision was because their new MMI systems will be sporting Nvidia graphics chips inside the dashboards. The chips will be used to generate good looking 3D graphics rapidly. Many city centers will have 3D building models and topographical terrain maps. It looks quite similar to what is currently available in Google Earth. All the 3D content will be generated in real-time while providing turn-by-turn directions. According to the Audi rep, the graphics chip has been specially designed to withstand high and low temperatures while being able to absorb large amounts of shock, which would be important since it’s part of a vehicle. The GPS data with those 3D maps and voice prompts will apparently takes up around 25GB of data. When it comes time to upgrade to the latest sets of maps, dealers will apparently be able to simply install the updated content pack onto the Audi’s HDD.

Update (08/29/08): I previously had stated that the Audi will be using a Nvidia graphics card, however it turns out it’s just a Nvidia graphics chip. Sigmund, thanks for the correction.

Realtime Technologies
The folks over at RTT are using Nvidia graphics technologies to create real-time raytracing models of prototype cars. Jen-Hsun invited Peter Stevenson, COO of RTT, on stage to show us a live demo of a new prototype Lamborghini model. The car apparently costs over a million dollars and only 20 will become available worldwide. Changes to the virtual model can be made in real-time and is intricate enough to detail every single internal component of the vehicle, not just the exterior looks. The high quality details of the interior leather, stitching, and materials was quite impressive. Nike, for example, was able to save a couple million dollars using Nvidia to create virtual prototypes of shoes.

Nurien Software (MMO)
Next, Nvidia’s CEO introduced Taehoon Kim, co-founder of Nurien, who introduced a new Massive Multi-player Online game which is going to be released soon. It was pretty much Sims, but on steroids. (Lots of Steroids.) The game could render people in real time, simulate life-like movements, and looks damn good. Another neat feature that they mentioned was the ability to choose real videos to be playing on TV screens or uploaded photos on photo frames in virtual homes, so other players who enter your area will be able to see all of your personalized content since every component of the game is networked.

SportsVision
If you watch Football or paid any attention to the 2008 Olympics, you probably have noticed a lot of virtual graphics being added to the arena. For example in the swimming events, a line is overlaid on the screen to show the time that the contestants would need to beat to reach a world record. The graphics was added without harming the view of the athletes and this was done using GPUs to calculate fluid movement around objects. NASCAR is using Sportsvision technology to display the effects of drafting.

Photosynth
A new product Microsoft just launched a couple of days ago allows stitching multiple photos together in a virtual environment. It automatically creates reference points from objects in images and can put them together, the more photos the better. Joshua Edwards from Microsoft Live Labs previewed some samples of the Stonehenge in the U.K. and the National Archive building in D.C. in impressive detail. The best part is that anyone can create these high quality 360 virtual views of an area with just a digital camera.

Perceptive Pixel
Jeff Han stepped on stage to demonstrate the next generation user interfaces. Perceptive Pixel has taken UI graphics to the next level. He used a whopping 100-inch multi-touch display to demonstrate some stuff you can’t do with a mouse. Although he expects first practical applications to be for the military and high-end design, he expects simpler versions to reach consumers soon. And it already has with touch screen devices such as the Apple iPhone.

The Ending
I started making my way back to the expo hall, but Tricia Helfer, an actress, who’s on Battlestar Galactica and Burn Notice, was speaking about how virtual characters play a role in television. Nvidia plays a huge roll to make much of the graphics we see in Hollywood films actually be rendered and put on the big screen. It was Nvidia’s and the CEO’s first time hosting such a large event. It went pretty well and looks like it was success so far. I’ll be on the show floor covering some of the new stuff that’s being shown off. So keep checking back for more Nvision 08 content over the next two days!

Links: Nvision 2008 | Nvidia.com

Earlier this month, Lenovo rolled out the IdeaPad S10, an entry-level ultra-portable laptop. The IdeaPad S10 sub-notebook is primarily intended for those getting into computing for the first time and for those seeking a secondary portable laptop. The laptop will allow performing simple tasks such as browsing the web, accessing emails, listening to music, and running basic applications. For college students, this S10 is a great tool to take notes in class and have WiFi internet access when away from their desk especially since it is just an inch thick and weighs approximately 2 pounds.

The IdeaPad’s keyboard is about 85% the size of a standard keyboard, so typing won’t be too difficult. The 10 inch display has a 1024×600 pixel resolution making it large enough to view most web pages and since it’s LED backlit, battery life will also be conserved. The laptop has the standard WiFi b/g networks built in, however it also supports use of Mobile Broadband through the Express Card slot. The laptop also features the standard tools such as a microphone, a webcam, a speaker, audio in/out, two USB ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, and a VGA display output.

The S10 comes with Windows XP, which is still the most popular OS, so there shouldn’t be any complains. The performance won’t be too slow for basic apps, considering that it is running a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor with 512MB of RAM. (Upgradeable to 1GB+) The notebook doesn’t sport a Solid State Drive (SSD), but rather a standard 80GB 5400RPM HDD. Laptop Mag has a video of it booting up in about 35 seconds. The only downside might be battery life. A 3 cell battery apparently provides only 2.5 hours worth of juice. The unit comes in White, Black, and Red with more choices down the road.

The laptop has current MSRP of $400 for the current configuration option. Customization will become available later on. Units are expected to reach customers by early to mid-September. As implied in the title, Lenovo is now taking in pre-orders on their website for this notebook. We’ll be trying to get a hold of a unit for review soon, so keep checking back! Dell’s mini-Insprion (aka Inspirion 910) launch seems to be imminent and rumors indicate a $300 starting price point!

Links: Lenovo.com

Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate

To be eligible for this deal, you must have university email address at a ‘.edu’ domain and must be enrolled in at least 0.5 units of course work. We highly recommend taking advantage of this deal since the next cheapest Microsoft Office bundle, the Student and Teacher Edition, costs over $80 and only includes four applications. And if $60 bucks is still too much, the next best alternative is Open Office which is an open source office suite available for download at no cost. In case you are wondering, Open Office is completely legal and is distributed by Sun Microsystems, however I still recommend Office Ultimate for $60.

Buy Now: TheUltimateSteal.com

During the Games Convention in Leipzig, Sony announced a new accessory for the PlayStation 3. This little keyboard snaps onto any SIXAXIS or DUALSHOCK 3 controller to make inputting text easier. The Wireless Keypad accessory is quite similar to what Microsoft rolled out for their Xbox 360 controller over a year ago, however it’s got a few extra features. In addition to making it easier to chat with others and use the browser, it also features a few shortcuts and a special touchpad mode. The shortcuts allow quickly accessing the friends list and message box through the XMB while in games. And the touchapad mode turns the entire face of the keypad into a touchpad to control the pointer when using the browser.

The Wireless Keypad doesn’t seem to communicate with the controller at all, but rather just clips onto it. It has to be paired directly with the PS3 using a USB cable the same way a controller is. And it’s just using the standard Bluetooth 2.0 technology that’s built into the PS3, so no additional equipment is necessary. One bummer might be that this QWERTY keyboard doesn’t seem to be backlit, which the Xbox accessory does. According to the press release the keyboard will become available in North America in November, however pricing hasn’t yet been mentioned.

Links: PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad

While retaining the same slim size, it now has a new LCD display with a better contrast ratio and can produce more vibrant colors. One major problem with the previous PSPs was reflectiveness of the glossy screen. Seeing anything out doors was almost impossible. The PSP-3000 now has “anti-reflection” technology to make it easier to view under direct sunlight. The other hardware feature that’s been added is the built-in microphone. Previously you had to purchase an accessory to be able to speak to others when using Skype or in a game. With this upgrade, you’ll have a fully functioning VoIP device at all times without any extra cables or headsets. (Just waiting on the webcam at this point!)

It is also expected that Sony will be rolling out some new firmware upgrades with new features in the near future. Unfortunately some new features will probably not be entirely backwards compatible. Sony has officially stated that the the price of the new version will be kept the same, $169 (MSRP). Some new PSP Entertainment Packs with a movie, a game, and a 1GB Memory Stick will become available later this year. This isn’t really that great of an upgrade, but it’s worth mentioning since it’s retaining the same price!

Links: US PlayStation Portable
Related: PSP-2000 Info

LG VX8560 Specifications:

• Provider: Verizon Wireless (CDMA 800MHz / 1.9 GHz)
• Form Factor: Flip phone with external display
• Display: 2.2 inch, 320×240 pixels, & 260k colors
• Media: MP3, WMA, & Unprotected AAC(+)
• Imaging: 2.0 mega pixel camera & camcorder
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, GPS, & microUSB
• Others: microSD, FM Transmitter, & 3.5mm headphone
• Size / Weight: 3.87″ H x 1.94″ W x 0.64″ D (inches) / 3.4 oz
• Battery Life: 4.5 hours talk time & 350 hours standby
• Price: $100 with a new 2 year agreement

The Body – 4/5 stars
The Chocolate 3 is fairly compact and can fit into most pockets. It is a bit too long when flipped open and will reach past most people’s ears and mouth in both directions. This is the first officially branded Chocolate phone which isn’t a slider, but rather a flip phone. It retains some elements from its ancestors such as the click wheel on the front, unfortunately it isn’t touch sensitive. The front side of the phone also features an unusually large 1.76 inch display which has a beautiful rotating interface. The camera is also on the front and allows taking self portraits using the external screen. The microSD card reader, the Music key, and lock button can be found on the right side of the phone. The left side contains the 3.5mm headphone jack, the volume toggle, voice command key, and the microUSB port. The inside of the phone is quiet basic; it has a standard numeric keypad, four way navigation, two soft keys, and the Send/END buttons. The only real downside I encountered was finger print magnet nature of the shinny metallic finish on the front side. Other than that body of the phone is well built and should last.

The Display – 3/5 stars
The 1.76 inch external display with a 176 x 220 pixel resolution looks excellent, but unfortunately only in doors. Due to the glossy finish, it is quite difficult to view outdoors or when covered with fingerprints. The 2.2 inch internal display is fortunately much better and looks quite sharp with its 320 x 240 pixel resolution. There’s nothing too impressive here, but is just fine for most simple tasks.

The Interface – 4/5 stars
Verizon once again has used their standard interface on this phone, but it’s got a couple of special themes as most phones do today. Browsing through the menu system was smooth and clean. Navigation was consistent and easy to follow. The external display has a couple of functions: music player, photo gallery, the camera, calendar, and messages. This secondary interface was actually quite polished for once. It easy to use and performed as expected. It was quite easy to take self portraits and listen to music. But regarding the internal interface, there’s not much that has changed in the past couple of years, so hopefully we’ll see something more revolutionary in the near future. All you get with this phone is the standard icon menu which opens up into the classic tabbed interface.

Messaging & Contacts – 4/5 stars
The Chocolate 3 is a fairly decent phone for messaging. Although it has just a numeric keypad, the software allows text, picture, and video messaging. The standard Verizon Wireless Mobile IM client for AOL, MSN, and Yahoo is also available. Email can be accessed through either the WAP browser or the Mobile Email client. The phone supports 1000 contacts with plenty of extra fields for extra numbers. The Chocolate also has the standard call history views for displaying missed, incoming, and outgoing calls.

Music Playback – 4/5 stars
Since the VX-8560 is a music phone, you would expect it to do quite an excellent job at playing music. Although this might be the best Chocolate 3, there has not much improvement that has been made in this area over the past couple of years. To start listening to music, you can just hit the Music key on the side, which will quickly launch the player. As always you can browse your library in different by Albums, Artists, Genres, Songs, or Playlists. There were also some preset equalizers which may help some music sound better. The Chocolate 3 supports pushing the music app into the background allowing performing other tasks. The music is also automatically paused and resumed when a call is received. The player flows between the external and internal display smoothly. So if you start playing a song with the phone open, the interface will move over to the external display when closed. Overall it is a fairly decent player for a phone, but once again there was room for a lot of improvement.

FM Transmitter – 5/5 stars
Lots of people still don’t have an auxiliary port or an iPod connectors built into their vehicles. Most of those people use a FM transmitters to listen to music from their portable device on their stereo. The Chocolate 3 doesn’t need any extra accessories to broadcast music on a station since it’s got that component built right in. All you’ll have to do is find an open frequency, set it on the phone, tune into that channel. The quality was pretty good during most test runs. It is obviously not comparable to Satellite Radio, CDs, or a wired media player; however this is probably the next best thing for many. The only downside might be that battery life takes a steep hit when using this feature. LG claims 24 hours of transmitting FM if the phone is placed into the “music only” mode.

Syncing Music & microSD – 4/5 stars
The LG Chocolate 3 supports up to 8GB microSD cards, which is great for those planning to use it as their music playback device. 8GB cards have also come down in price and can be purchased for as low as $30 through some major online retailers. When you connect your phone to your machine using the included microUSB to USB cable, you can enter the data or sync music mode. The data mode will turn the microSD card into a mass storage device so you can add or remove content directly onto it. The sync music mode will allow syncing media with Windows Media Player 11. Unfortunately Vista users will have no choice but to install the horrid V Cast Music Manager to get the phone working with WMP11. If files are placed directly into the music folder, the phone will manually re-index them the next time the music player is started. So to put all of that together, the phone can be synced as a media player device, a mass storage device, or by using a microSD card reader.

Speakers + Headphones – 4/5 stars
The 3.5mm standard headphone jack is the main feature that gives the Chocolate 3 the ability to call itself a music phone. Users of this phone can now plug-in their own headphones without the need of any additional adapters or a special headset. The playback quality is decent. Audiophiles won’t even consider it; however the majority of people probably won’t be able to tell the difference between the Chocolate and an iPod for instance. The speaker is quite loud and is fairly clear; however I probably would never use them for listening to music. As for the speakerphone functionality, it works just great.

The Camera – 2.5/5 stars
This phone wasn’t really made for taking pictures, but nonetheless it has a simple camera for snapping photos occasionally. It’s got some basic features such as changing brightness, resolution, digital zoom, and some color effects. Nothing is too interesting. The LCD screen which is the view finder will only display a small portion of a picture that is being taken, which is often annoying. The image quality was mediocre; my two year old LG enV was on par if not better than this phone’s camera. The only neat feature might be the ability to take self portraits using the large external display since the camera is already facing you. The phone can also record videos, but those are also not too pretty. One improvement was the gallery which offers many more options on ways to handle the images you have taken. Overall imaging is an extra feature; the music playback is the main focus of this phone.

Extras – 4.5/5 stars
A small feature which I loved was the power supply that was included with the phone. Instead of providing an addition data cable, the power supply is actually a USB cable in disguise. The cable can be unplugged from the head and can be plugged into a USB port to charge or sync data. As for software extras, the phone’s got the standard extra goodies such as Get It Now, WAP Browser, Bluetooth tools, Clocks, Calendar, Calculator, Tip Calculator, Alarm Clock, Notepad, Voice Commands and more.

Conclusion
This phone is a major improvement over the previous two Chocolate phones; however it now has a new form factor which may not be appealing to the owners of the previous models. This is an excellent mid-range phone and will not disappoint. Those who are looking for a high tech phone probably won’t find this too satisfactory. As mentioned before this is a perfect fit for those who are also looking for a phone that can playback music while on the go. The phone is available in stores and online for around $100 with a new two year contract. If you are eligible for upgrade you should be able to knock off $50!

Buy Now: LG Chocolate 3 for $69 (special via Amazon)
Links: Verizon Wireless

Early this morning, Dell announced over seven new models to their Latitude lineup during their press event. Although each of the models has some amazing new features such as their 14-inch laptop with 19 hours of battery life, I’ll be focusing on their 12-inch Latitude E4200 which weighs just 2.2 pounds. Dell has taken a whole new approach to everything from battery life, hardware, security, software, and style before building these machines and it is all looking pretty good.

Starting with the tech specs, this laptop has got just about all the latest circuitry. The Latitude E4200 uses the Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage Processor running at 1.4 GHz which is the first aspect to conserving battery life. Next, the 12.1 inch WXGA LED backlit display and the 128GB Solid State Drive, which supposedly performs better than a standard 7200RPM HDD, also demand less power than their traditional counterparts. Since this laptop comes with a flavor of Vista, most consumers will demand a good amount of RAM. With the new chipset, the E4200 Latitude has 1GB built-in onboard and supports up to 4GB in the extra slot. In addition to the standard goodies that come with most laptops the notebook also has USB port with “PowerShare” which allows charge devices even when the laptop is turned off and an eSATA port for high speed data access to external storage. The laptop is completely networked with Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g/n, Mobile Broadband & GPS, and Bluetooth 2.1. Every Latitude series is also compatible with a set of newly designed docking stations. You definitely won’t be left in the dark with lack of ports, however one thing this laptop does lack is a built in optical drive.

Even with all these features packed in, the laptop weighs around just 2.2 pounds with the standard battery pack making it the lightest consumer laptop Dell has ever produced. If you are aiming for 16 hours of battery life, you’ll need to attach an extended battery and a new “battery slab” which attaches to the bottom of the laptop, meaning it won’t be so “lightweight” anymore. Also, for the first time, customers will have the opportunity to customize their Latitude with their choice of color: Regatta Blue, Regal Red and Quartz Pink. The ultra portable Latitude also comes with optional features such as a backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors, a contact-less Smart Card reader, a Trusted Platform Module for encryption, and a fingerprint reader. Since such a large number of laptops are stolen, another item Dell focused on was protecting data. They do that by offering hardware-based encryption to prevent data from being viewed by those without proper access. In addition they include services which will help track & locate a stolen laptops and offer the ability to remotely command a wipe all data if it were stolen.

Finally, Dell also included new instant Operating System entitled “Dell Latitude On,” which may or not be a hit. But according to Dell, it boots within seconds and offers access to email, calendars, contacts, files, and the web without having to load your full Vista operating system. This instant OS is much faster and demands much less power for performing most simple tasks such as watching a movie or listening to music. Dell claims that by using this technology along with the new low-voltage processors and new batteries their laptops can offer “multi-day battery life.” This laptop isn’t yet available for purchase, but should appear on their online store within a couple of weeks. We are also trying to get a unit for review, so check back for more updates!

Links: Dell.com – Latitude E4200

The main reason for the existence of this product is the way keys have been designed. The first time you use this keyboard you will immediately love the way it provides tactile feedback with the press of each key. I personally found the “clicking” sounds that comes with the press of each key quite irritating in the beginning, but came to like it after some time. It might be a problem in some situations, say if you are working around others or if someone in the room is asleep. If you don’t like the idea your keyboard sounding like a type writer, this is not the right keyboard for you. I can guaranty that most people who use it will find it extremely comfortable for brief or extended periods of use.

For those of you who are gamers, you might be interested in the Das Keyboard’s “n-key” rollover feature which accepts up to 12 simultaneous key presses without any jamming. I put this feature to the test by pressing all the keys in the “QWERTY” row down at once. It did indeed succeed to input them all into my text editor instantly. My $10 Logitech keyboard on the other hand constantly failed to accept over four simultaneous key presses while my laptop keyboard would jam after six. So not only does the keyboard feel and sound good, but the designers kept technology in mind making it a very accurate keyboard.

As for the visual aspect, the keyboard is pretty darn minimalistic. The Keyboard has the standard QWERTY layout and a numeric keypad with a total of 105 keys. There are no special programmable buttons or other features of any sort. There are blue LEDs to indicate the status of Caps Lock, Scr Lk, and Num Lock. The Das Professional is actually one of the heaviest keyboards I have seen to date, which may be a good thing for desktop users since it will remain steady on your desk. There are also two pop-up feet on the bottom to create an angle for typing if desired.

The Das Keyboard Professional is compatible with Linux, Mac OS, and Windows. All you need is a functional USB or a PS/2 (adapter not included) port to plug it into. The Keyboard has a high quality 6.6 foot long cable which is useful for plugging into machines far away. The two USB 2.0 ports can be used to connect flash drives, mice, or even charge gadgets. If the overall power demand is too high, the hardware automatically shuts down one of the ports to prevent full failure. Although I found it interesting to see a USB hub on such a simply designed keyboard it is none the less a neat aspect.

The Das Keyboard Professional is now available for purchase for a retail price of $129 on the company’s website. This device is definitely much pricier than most keyboards on the market. There are plenty of decent keyboards available for a much more affordable price. However if you are looking for something which truly feels comfortable for long durations of typing and is extremely accurate, this is the way to go. I have gone through many keyboards over the years and this is probably the most comfortable one I have used to date. If you know of or use a more affordable or better keyboard, please point it out.

Links: Das Keyboard

The main reason for purchasing an ultra-portable drive is to be able to carry it on you at all times without having to worry about extra baggage. The Super Talent Pico allows doing just that. The flash drive is slim enough to fit into a wallet without any noticeable bulge. Others may prefer to attach it to a key chain with the included chain. The flash drive is quite robust and won’t bend even the slightest amount even with a good amount of force. As a bonus the drive is completely waterproof so you can be sure that your data won’t be lost if it ends up getting drenched. There are no movable parts or caps, the front of the Pico fits into the bottom portion of a USB port. Not only is this drive small, but it looks pretty stylish too.

As for performance, the drive attained an average of 22.0 MB/sec transfer rate with an access time of just .8 milliseconds. The Pico-C was on par with the performance of the SanDisk Cruzer Contour which reviewed recently and was much faster than the SanDisk Cruzer Micro. Despite the tiny size, this flash drive is probably now one of the fastest drives I have used.

Regarding drawbacks, there are a few I should mention. First the drive lacks an LED indicator meaning you should always eject the drive in your computer prior to removing it since there’s no way of knowing whether any data is being transferred. Second, the drive is often tight and hard to fit into certain USB ports and exerting force might be required, which is never a good thing. Third, I noticed that with certain powered USB hubs, the drive heats up to very high temperatures making it almost impossible to hold for a few seconds. Despite these issues, the Pico won’t cause any problems for most owners.

The horribly simple packaging might worry some regarding the quality of the product; however my experience proved not to disappoint. The drive is actually quite affordable; the 8GB model I reviewed is available online for as low as $29. Super Talent also manufactures 2GB and 4GB models which are available for just $10 and $15, respectively. The Super Talent Pico (C) will produce the “wow factor” just about any time you pull it out, has a large storage capacity, great performance, and is fairly cheap so you’ll get just about everything you can ask for in this tiny package.

Buy Now: Super Talent Pico 2GB $10 | 4GB $15 | 8GB $30
Links: SuperTalent.com – Pico Information