Tag Archives: review

Book Review: The Logic of Chance

Posted by Gsurface on May 16, 2012 No comments

eldavojohn writes “The Logic of Chance: The Nature and Origin of Biological Evolution is a comprehensive snapshot of the latest research of biological evolution. The text is written by Eugene V. Koonin, an editor for a journal and researcher at NCBI. The book, although lacking in foundational knowledge and often foregoing explanation of research, presents a comprehensive and well-referenced view of modern evolutionary research. It is heavily laden with acronyms and jargon specific to biology and evolution. As a result, reading it requires either prior knowledge or a high tolerance for looking up these advanced topics with the reward of it being an extremely eye opening and enjoyable read worthy of your time.” Keep reading for the rest of eldavojohn’s review.

BenchPrep Teams Up With The Princeton Review To Gamify Test Prep

Posted by Gsurface on May 14, 2012 No comments

For awhile now “gamification” has largely existed as a buzz word. It’s felt just as ridiculous to write the word as it is to read it. However, as Tim Chang pointed out this weekend, although it’s important to avoid thinking of “gamification as the panacea,” it’s real, it’s moving beyond media and fitness, and it needs to be taken seriously. When it comes to educational tools, gamification has real value in its ability to make learning more fun and engaging. But as with all emerging trends, it can’t be applied willy-nilly.

BenchPrep, a young edtech startup backed by $ 2.2 million from Lightbank, launched last year to convert content from big educational publishers, like McGraw Hill, into interactive web and mobile courses. While the startup expanded beyond college admission test prep in January, today it’s announcing that it is teaming up with Princeton Review to contemporize test prep for students, using game mechanics, leaderboards, and social features to make the tedious and teeth-grinding process of test prep more engaging and, hopefully, more effective.
TechCrunch

HTC EVO 4G LTE Review

Posted by Gsurface on May 13, 2012 No comments

As HTC ushers in their next generation of smartphones with their hero series of HTC One devices, so too does the impact spread to their other hard-hitting brand lines like what we’re seeing here in the HTC EVO 4G LTE. What we’ve seen of this device thus far is that it’s not just similar to

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TiVo Premiere XL4 review

Posted by Gsurface on May 10, 2012 No comments

With the recent spring TiVo Premiere update we figured it was as good of a time as any to spend some quality time with the newly-renamed TiVo Premiere XL4. The highest model in the TiVo line, the XL4 costs $ 399 plus $ 15 a month, or $ 499 for lifetime service. For the money, it records four HD shows at once with a single CableCARD and offers 2TB of storage. More tuners and space aren’t the only things that have changed since we gave the original TiVo Premiere a once-over just two years ago. No, there have been a few notable releases as well as the release of the TiVo Slide Remote and a number of TiVo companion apps for phones and tablets. How all that comes together is exactly what you’ll find out should you choose to click on through to the other side.

Gallery: TiVo Premiere XL4

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TiVo Premiere XL4 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Book Review: Fitness For Geeks

Posted by Gsurface on May 9, 2012 No comments

jsuda writes “You would think that geeks would be as interested in fitness as dogs are of TV. After all, geeks already put in hours of finger dancing on keyboards, assembling hefty code fragments, and juggling PHP programming functions. Although intended, in part, as a guide to real physical fitness the book, Fitness for Geeks, entices geeks with what they are really interested in–the science of fitness, nutrition, and exercise. In 11 chapters over 311 pages (including notes and an index) author, Bruce W Perry, describes in great detail the science of fitness and all of its components–food selections, timings, and fastings; exercising of all types; sleep, rest, and meditation; the benefits of hormesis (shocking the body with stresses); and the benefits of natural sunlight.” Read on for the rest of jsuda’s review.

Lenovo Smart TV gets first review

Posted by Gsurface on May 7, 2012 No comments

This time last month Lenovo was taking pre-orders for its K71 Smart TV for release in China, and now the first review is in. The all-round specs are impressive: a 42/55-inch 1080p IPS 120Hz panel is combined with a dual-core 1.5Ghz Snapdragon processor, five megapixel webcam, 6GB of local storage, and Ice Cream Sandwich. The

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Pelican i1075 iPad 3 Case Review

Posted by Gsurface on May 7, 2012 No comments

Today we take a look at a case from Pelican, a group known for their excellence in protecting electronics of all types, here taking on the iPad with model i1075. What you’ll see here is the Pelican brand once again representing itself with top-notch construction and finely tuned compartmentalization inside this case for everything you

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Yahoo board to ‘review’ discrepancy in CEO’s resume

Posted by Gsurface on May 4, 2012 No comments

Yahoo said late Thursday that its board will review a discrepancy in the resume of its CEO, Scott Thompson, and “make an appropriate disclosure” to its shareholders.
Computerworld News

Spotify for iPad Review

Posted by Gsurface on May 2, 2012 No comments

The folks at Spotify have brought forth the next big iteration of their mobile app, this time make specifically for the iPad (of all shapes and sizes.) Here we’ve got not just a giant version of the original iPhone app (as they so cleverly alude to in the commercial for this app), but a brand

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HTC One S Review: I Give It A Fly

Posted by Gsurface on April 28, 2012 No comments

Despite the fact that there’s no real wow factor here, it would be entirely unfair to say that HTC’s One S isn’t a great phone. It is. The hardware is some of the best I’ve seen in a long time, Sense 4 is quite nice albeit a touch heavy for my taste, and the specs are right in line with what we’re seeing on the market today.

Truth be told, anyone at T-Mobile would be lucky to have one. S. (Lawl.)
TechCrunch

Acer Iconia Tab A510 review: Is Tegra 3 enough?

Posted by Gsurface on April 27, 2012 No comments

The Acer Iconia Tab A510 houses a Tegra 3 CPU, but in a world of Transformer Primes and Pads, is having quad-core CPU enough to compete?
[Read more]
CNET News

Intel Core i7-3770K CPU review roundup: crossing the Ivy Bridge

Posted by Gsurface on April 24, 2012 No comments

Today is officially Ivy Bridge day, in case you didn’t already know. Intel took the wraps off the latest member of its processor family and the internet wasted no time putting the flagship Core i7-3770K through its paces. The 3.5GHz quad-core desktop chip comes packing not only some architectural tweaks, but a brand new integrated GPU in the form of the HD 4000. Oh, and it does all this using a brand new 22nm manufacturing process and 3D “Tri-Gate” transistors. What does that mean for you, the user? Lower power consumption, better performance and, surprisingly, unbelievably fast media transcoding. When AnandTech turned its eyes towards Quick Sync, the on-die media transcode engine introduced with Sandy Bridge, the 3770K practically buried the competition. Using Cyberlink Media Espresso the new chip turned a DRM-stripped Blu-ray of Harry Potter (130 minutes of 1080p video) into an iPad friendly format in just seven minutes without taxing the CPU.

At idle, power consumption hasn’t changed much, but when TechSpot put the pedal to the metal things looked quite a bit different. The new i7-3770K sucked down just 147 watts, which was even four watts less than lower clocked i5-2500K. And, of course, it delivered much better performance. In fact, in Bit-Tech’s tests, the only chip that was able to routinely best it was the hexa-core 3960X Extreme Edition — and even that CPU barely eked out its victories. While AMD’s offerings simply can’t compete with Intel’s on pure performance or power consumption, it does still outrun run Chipzilla’s GPU. The HD 4000 is, undeniably, a huge step forward for the Core line, but it falls just short of matching the A8′s integrated Radeon on Tech Report’s tests. For more benchmarks than your heart can handle check out the pile of links below.

Intel Core i7-3770K CPU review roundup: crossing the Ivy Bridge originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

HTC One S Review: Head-To-Head With The One X And iPhone 4S

Posted by Gsurface on April 22, 2012 No comments

I’ve been fiddling around with the HTC One S for a few days now, and I have to say it’s stolen a little piece of my heart. The hardware is just about perfect, with a 4.3-inch qHD display and a slender aluminum unibody shell, and software like HTC’s Sense 4 overlay and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich only sweeten the deal.

But, as per usual, there’s plenty to consider out there. The wide world of mobile only grows wider by the second, with hot new phones launching left and right. Just today, Sprint’s Galaxy Nexus and the LG Viper landed on store shelves, and lest we forget that the iPhone 4S and HTC’s mamma jamma One X are also ready and waiting for new owners.

So many options.

To help, we’ve put the One S up against it’s greatest competitors, the HTC One X and the iPhone 4S, in a spec showdown. Who will come out on top? Well, my dear readers, that ball is in your court.
TechCrunch

ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 Review

Posted by Gsurface on April 22, 2012 No comments

If the ASUS Transformer Prime seemed like a masterpiece of a 10.1-inch Android tablet to you but you decided to wait and see if ASUS would release a slightly lower-cost model of nearly the same thing – you’re in luck. What we’ve got here is the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300, This 10.1-inch tablet comes with

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Review: The Ford Focus Electric

Posted by Gsurface on April 18, 2012 No comments

The automaker says soon all its cars will be compatible with gas, electric, and hybrid drivetrains.

Ford is preparing for an era when choosing whether a new car is powered by gas, electricity, or both is as simple as choosing its color is.

Technology Review RSS Feeds

Researchers out faux product review groups with a lot of math and some help from Google

Posted by Gsurface on April 18, 2012 No comments

Ever consulted a crowdsourced review for a product or service before committing your hard-earned funds to the cause? Have you wondered how legit the opinions you read really are? Well, it seems that help is on the way to uncover paid opinion spamming and KIRF reviews. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have released detailed calculations in the report Spotting Fake Reviewer Groups in Consumer Reviews — an effort aided by a Google Faculty Research Award. Exactly how does this work, you ask? Using the GSRank (Group Spam Rank) algorithm, behaviors of both individuals and a group as a whole are used to gather data on the suspected spammers.

Factors such as content similarity, reviewing products early (to be most effective), ratio of the group size to total reviewers and the number of products the group has been in cahoots on are a few bits of data that go into the analysis. The report states, “Experimental results showed that GSRank significantly outperformed the state-of-the-art supervised classification, regression, and learning to rank algorithms.” Here’s to hoping this research gets wrapped into a nice software application, but for now, review mods may want to brush up on their advanced math skills. If you’re the curious about the full explanation, hit the source link for the full-text PDF.

Researchers out faux product review groups with a lot of math and some help from Google originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Lumia 900 Review: This One’s A No-Brainer

Posted by Gsurface on April 15, 2012 No comments

Guys, this one’s such a no brainer that I shouldn’t even have to lay it all out. But I will.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is an excellent handset, comes packed with a fresh new operating system in the form of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, and thanks to a nifty AT&T bill credit from Nokia, you can essentially get this $ 100 LTE-equipped phone for free until the 21st. Repeat: for free.

Like I said, this one’s a no brainer.
TechCrunch

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 review: The anti-Kindle Fire?

Posted by Gsurface on April 14, 2012 No comments

Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 offers expandable memory, dual cameras, and a full Android experience for only $ 250.
[Read more]
CNET News

PRADA Phone 3.0 by LG Review

Posted by Gsurface on April 8, 2012 No comments

Are you a trend-setter, a dedicated follower, or a fashion disaster? That’s the question we’ve been asking of the PRADA Phone 3.0 by LG, the phone company’s third attempt at a handset suitable for the catwalk, and the first to legitimately fall under the smartphone banner. Running Android with a custom UI in Anna Wintour’s

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OCZ Vertex 4 review: Good deal

Posted by Gsurface on April 7, 2012 No comments

CNET editor Dong Ngo reviews the OCZ Vertex 4 solid-state drive and finds it one of the best on the market, especially for the cost.
[Read more]
CNET News

Review: Hands-on with the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone

Posted by Gsurface on April 5, 2012 No comments

Microsoft and Nokia are all in on the latest Windows Phone: the Nokia Lumia 900. I’ve been testing it for about a week and I’m disappointed.

FOXNews.com

Nokia Lumia 900 review: My favorite Windows Phone yet

Posted by Gsurface on April 4, 2012 No comments

With its pop-art aesthetic and satisfying specs, the $ 100 Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T is the Windows Phone I’d rather use.
[Read more]
CNET News

OCZ Vertex 4 SSD released, wins calm praise on the review circuit

Posted by Gsurface on April 4, 2012 No comments

The Vertex 4 is a big deal for OCZ, because it’s the company’s first top-end SSD to come with an in-house Indilinx controller. We first saw this proprietary silicon put to good effect in the Octane drive a few months ago, and by most accounts the controller continues to hold its own in this new performance model. The drive will ship in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB varieties, with MSRPs of $ 179, $ 349 and $ 699 respectively, which stacks up well against Intel’s 520 series. Bearing in mind that only the larger two variants have been sent out for review so far, the general feedback is that the Vertex 4 is reliable and indeed excels in certain key benchmarks like random write performance, which Anandtech described as “incredible.” On the other hand, read performance and some other real-world benchmarks were less earth-shattering, and most reviewers have been quite measured in their conclusions. Storage Review, for example, suggested that the new Vertex’s attractiveness will grow over time, as pricing gets more aggressive and OCZ’s decision to use its own controller pays dividends in terms of support and firmware tweaks. Check out the source links for all the usual benchmark graph goodness.

OCZ Vertex 4 SSD released, wins calm praise on the review circuit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G review

Posted by Gsurface on April 2, 2012 No comments

Maybe you’ve noticed, maybe you haven’t, but the Galaxy S 4G no longer exists at T-Mobile. Just one year ago, it replaced the Vibrant — the carrier’s first Galaxy S handset — and now the Galaxy S 4G has similarly felt the cold embrace of Father Time. Fear not, though, because it has a replacement, and it’s really quite admirable. Folks, let us introduce you to the Galaxy S Blaze 4G. If you’re curious about the rationale behind the Blaze nomenclature, its meaning is actually two-fold: first, it’s capable of accessing T-Mobile’s speedy HSPA+ 42Mbps network, and second — get this — it packs the same dual-core processor as T-Mobile’s Galaxy S II.

T-Mobile announces the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G, available ‘later this year’

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G hands-on

T-Mobile’s Galaxy S Blaze 4G lands in select stores March 21st, everywhere else March 28th

Despite these two enhancements, the Galaxy S Blaze 4G stops short of encroaching on premium territory — instead preferring to straddle the line between middle-of-the-road and high-end. Similarly, it retails for $ 200 on contract, before a $ 50 mail-in rebate. With such a lofty price, it’ll undoubtedly instigate comparisons to the Galaxy S II and, soon enough, the HTC One S. Most importantly, though, is the question of whether the Blaze 4G can stand on its own as a quality smartphone; we’re fully aware that prices change, and a vexing purchase today could become a wise decision tomorrow. With this in mind, join us after the break as we explore the latest that Samsung has to offer for T-Mobile.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G review

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Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Sense 4 review

Posted by Gsurface on April 2, 2012 No comments

Over the last year, HTC has established a reputation for fragmenting its proprietary Sense UI even within the same version of Android. Why, Gingerbread alone is the foundation for at least three different iterations (2.1, 3.0 and 3.5) of the firmware. The bump to Ice Cream Sandwich is no different, with legacy devices getting an update to Sense 3.6 and the One series (and presumably any future devices) benefiting from version 4.0.

HTC One X review

HTC One S review

Sense 3.6 preview

When we previewed Sense 3.6, we were disappointed at its similarity to previous versions and the sloppiness of its integration with key features in ICS. Even though it marked an improvement in functionality and performance, it seemed as if the OS and customized UI were at war with each other.

Sense 4.0 is a different story. It’s lighter, cleaner and much more visually appealing than older versions of the user interface, and it has the full suite of ICS goodies to go along with it. HTC also throws in its own imaging technology, dubbed ImageSense, to offer some cool new enhancements to the camera. Ultimately, HTC has successfully tweaked Sense’s design in a way that keeps the spirit of stock Android 4.0 alive, while still offering something familiar to loyal HTC fans. The tour is about to begin, so park yourself in your favorite chair and join us.

Gallery: HTC Sense 4 home, lock and notifications

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HTC Sense 4 review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC One S Review

Posted by Gsurface on April 2, 2012 No comments

The HTC One S may slot into the midrange in the company’s 2012 line-up, but HTC knows that it needs more than just average if it wants to reclaim its position in the smartphone segment. To do that, the One S delivers a slimline metal casing and ticks the big consumer draw elements of camera,

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SlashGear

HTC One X Review

Posted by Gsurface on April 2, 2012 No comments

HTC needed to hit reset on its smartphone strategy. Lulled, perhaps, by several years of leading the Android device market, 2011 brought an incredibly strong push by Samsung and a growing mismatch between the agile software users desired and the bloated, over-stylized interface of HTC Sense. The HTC One X – and the One Series

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USRobotics PalmPilot Personal review

Posted by Gsurface on April 1, 2012 No comments

It’s 1996. You might have a cellphone, but it doesn’t do much more than make phone calls. You might have a laptop, but it’s likely too heavy to carry with you everywhere you go. Or you might only have a phone that’s plugged into a wall and a PC that’s confined to a desk. That’s the environment that gave rise to the Personal Digital Assistant (or PDA), a new type of product that first arrived in the late 1980s but really came into its own in the mid-90s.

1996 also saw the release of the first PDAs developed by USRobotics subsidiary Palm Inc., the Pilot 1000 and 5000, which had more in common with today’s smartphones than many of their contemporary devices. They had a touchscreen with only a few physical buttons at the bottom. They had apps you could download. They could sync data with your computer. And they were small and light enough to carry with you at all times. They just didn’t make phone calls.

A year later, Palm released the slightly upgraded PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional (with 512KB and 1MB of RAM, respectively), and the ensuing years would see a regular stream of new devices — not to mention an acquisition by 3Com, and a new spate of Palm OS products from Handspring, a company founded by the folks behind the original Pilot.

But it’s those first few devices that come to mind when someone mentions “Palm PDA,” and with good reason — they set a mold that wasn’t deviated from much until Palm made the jump into smartphones.

Gallery: PalmPilot Personal review

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USRobotics PalmPilot Personal review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Spectrum Review: This Is One Ugly Sumbitch

Posted by Gsurface on March 27, 2012 No comments

The LG Spectrum has spent a long while with me. In fact, LG’s asking for it back, saying that my review period has come to an end. I didn’t get around to the full review until now because (to be perfectly honest with you) I didn’t really want to sit down and talk about the LG Spectrum for X amount of hours.

True, there’s nothing necessarily “wrong” with the phone. It’s got solid specs, performs alright (I guess), and has a downright gorgeous display. But at the same time, there’s a long list of issues that I have with the phone, and most center around design.
TechCrunch

Apogee MiC review

Posted by Gsurface on March 24, 2012 No comments

It’s no secret that a few of us here at Engadget HQ have an affinity for mobile recording tech. Perhaps you could blame some of our fledgling amateur music careers, but at any rate, we love to get our hands on tech that allows us to lay down tracks on-the-go. It’s also no surprise that Apogee would offer up another product that would look to do just that. As a complement to the outfit’s Jam guitar adapter, the Apogee MiC is the latest foray into mobile recording. Much like its guitar specific counterpart, the MiC is both iDevice and Mac compatible and its compact stature won’t take up precious real estate in your travel pack. But, as you may expect, staying mobile comes at a premium. So, is the $ 249 price tag a deal breaker for the MiC? Is it a small price to pay for adding a solid microphone to your mobile recording setup? Journey on past the break to find out.

Gallery: Apogee MiC review

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Apogee MiC review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Mar 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

iFrogz Boost NearField Audio speaker Review

Posted by Gsurface on March 24, 2012 No comments

This little piece of hardware is a fabulous wonder of the modern wireless age – and it doesn’t just work for iPhone, it works for any tiny speaker that wants to be amplified! The iFrogz Boost NearField Audio speaker is a little brick – it weights in at next to nothing, is made mostly of

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SlashGear

Toshiba AT200 review

Posted by Gsurface on March 23, 2012 No comments

This waif of a tablet certainly took its sweet time getting here. We first laid eyes on this lightweight beauty last August and while it still hasn’t landed in the US just yet (under the guise of the Excite 10 LE) we’ve brought in the international version — already in stores in the UK — to test out the hardware, which appears to be identical. On first appearances, it’s an attractive sliver of a slab, due to the magnesium alloy body, of which there isn’t much. Measuring in at just 7.7mm thick, we’re talking RAZR-scale thinness and a 1.18 pound weigh-in that embarrasses 7-inch devices. Despite this, we still have a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP processor, running Honeycomb 3.2 on a 10.1 inch touchscreen. But surely, sacrifices must have been made, right? Well, it looks like it’s a financial cost that has to be paid. The 16GB version is currently on sale for £399, matching the new iPad in the UK, and likely to arrive in the US at around $ 530, pricing itself quite a bit above existing, similarly-specced, Android favorites like the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Are you willing to pay a fair chunk of change extra to skim a few millimeters off your tablet profile? Is it worth it? The full story is right after the break.

Gallery: Toshiba AT200 review

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Toshiba AT200 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

14-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook review (NP530U4B-A01U)

Posted by Gsurface on March 20, 2012 No comments

Samsung unveils 13- and 14-inch Series 5 Ultrabooks, starting at $ 899 (hands-on)

Samsung unveils redesigned Series 5 laptops with 13- and 15-inch displays, starting at $ 1,399

Toshiba shows off 14-inch Ultrabook, we go hands-on

Pop quiz: which of the following is being marketed as an Ultrabook? Behind door number one, we have a 2.5-pound wisp of a laptop with a 13-inch screen, Core i5 CPU and 128GB SSD. Next up there’s contestant number two, a 3.94-pound notebook with a 14-inch display, 500GB hard drive, and DVD burner. If you guessed the latter, well, congrats on reading that headline correctly, though we’d understand if you said that first option sounds like the Ultrabook.

Indeed, Samsung’s Series 5 Ultrabooks are a tad plumper than most, and look especially oversized next to the Series 9, that other ultraportable we’ve been describing. But it’s not just Samsung using loose parameters to decide what counts as an Ultrabook. If Intel’s own forecast is correct, half of the 75-plus models that go on sale this year will have 14- or 15-inch screens, and we’ve already seen a sampling of contenders from HP, Acer and Toshiba. The idea, say PC makers, is to lure in a more old-fashioned kind of customer, shoppers who aren’t quite ready to ditch their DVD drive, and who aren’t keen on stepping down to a too-small screen. At the same time, these laptops are thinner and lighter than similarly sized laptops, last longer on a charge and hold the promise of faster performance — three reasons manufacturers can get away with charging more than they would for a plain ‘ol laptop.

In a nutshell, that’s the value proposition behind the 14-inch Series 5, which costs $ 949 and comes bearing a Core i5 processor, 500GB hybrid hard drive and, of course, a DVD burner. But do the benefits of a bigger Ultrabook outweigh the annoyances? And how does it compare to regular 14-inch laptops that aren’t classified as ultraportables (and that don’t command the Ultrabook tax)? Let’s find out.

Gallery: 14-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook review (NP530U4B-A01U)

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14-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook review (NP530U4B-A01U) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

Review: Bad Apple

Posted by Gsurface on March 20, 2012 No comments

As the company caters less to the demands of artists and other creative professionals, the quality of its products is slipping.

Apple’s 1997 “Think Different” marketing campaign was one of its most memorable ever. Billboards and banners featured huge black-and-white portraits of performers, artists, scientists, and political leaders whose outsider ideas eventually became mainstream. The implicit message was that Apple’s “insanely great” products were for quirky rebels who would one day dominate the world. The photo of Steve Jobs on the cover of his posthumous biography would have fit right in.

Technology Review RSS Feeds

FAA to review ban on gadgets in airplanes

Posted by Gsurface on March 19, 2012 No comments

The Federal Aviation Administration may be looking to reverse its ban on electronic devices during airplane takeoffs and landings, according to a new report.

FOXNews.com

Time to Review FAA Gadget Policies

Posted by Gsurface on March 19, 2012 No comments

Nick Bilton, Lead Technology writer for The New York Times Bits Blog, called the FAA to complain about its gadget policies on flights and got an unexpected reply. Laura J. Brown, deputy assistant administrator for public affairs, said that it might be time to change some of those policies and promised they’d take a “fresh look” at the use of personal electronics on planes. From the article: “Yes, you read that correctly. The F.A.A., which in the past has essentially said, ‘No, because I said so,’ is going to explore testing e-readers, tablets and certain other gadgets on planes. The last time this testing was done was 2006, long before iPads and most e-readers existed. (The bad, or good, news: The F.A.A. doesn’t yet want to include the 150 million smartphones in this revision.)”

Wacom Intuos5 touch review

Posted by Gsurface on March 18, 2012 No comments

It’s no secret Wacom has a firm grasp on what it takes to make great graphic input devices. Fresh off of its introduction of the Inkling last Fall, the outfit recently unveiled the latest member of its high-end pen tablet line, the Intous5 touch. Essentially, Wacom took what made the Intuos4 a great addition to any designer or illustrator’s workflow and refined it, with this latest iteration sporting a new rubber-coated shell. It also implements touch gestures — much like those on the fresh Bamboo models — which can be customized to speed up tasks you need to be complete on the regular, preferably without the aid of a mouse.

Sure, a new matte black suit and the ability to navigate Adobe Creative Suite without a pen seem impressive at first glance, but is the new model worth investing northward of $ 229? Are you better off sticking with the Intuos4 you splurged on a while back? Let’s see.

Gallery: Wacom Intuos5 touch

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Wacom Intuos5 touch review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

Tweetbot for iPad Retina Quality Review

Posted by Gsurface on March 18, 2012 No comments

The most fabulous Twitter application for Apple‘s iPad has been upgraded again, this time for the 2012 iPad with its high definition Retina-quality display. This app allows Twitter users to see their timeline on the right, a menu of lists on the left, and settings all around. This app not only allows you to work

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SlashGear

Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD Retina Quality Review

Posted by Gsurface on March 18, 2012 No comments

This update to the racing game series that’s captivated the mobile gaming audience on Apple products for over a year now delivers an enhanced version of episode 6 with Retina-quality graphics and tweaks that’ll give you giggles galore. This game now brings on the same fabulous big-name collection of racing car manufacturers in addition to

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Seagate GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt adapter review: Best deal so far

Posted by Gsurface on March 17, 2012 No comments

CNET Editor Dong Ngo reviews the GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt adapter from Seagate and finds it to be the best option for those looking for a single-volume Thunderbolt storage solution on the market to date.
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CNET News

Apple TV 1080p Review

Posted by Gsurface on March 15, 2012 No comments

Apple TV was Apple’s “one more thing” at the new iPad launch event last week, but that’s not to say the smart TV adapter isn’t maturing into a comprehensive product in its own right. Now bringing Full HD to the table, as well as a streamlined interface, the third-generation Apple TV is arguably the best

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Review: Hands-on with Apple’s new iPad

Posted by Gsurface on March 15, 2012 No comments

The new iPad includes a better display, faster performance, better camera, and a snappy new operating system. Those may seem like small steps in the tablet space. But having used the new iPad for the past week, I can tell you it’s a giant leap for connected mankind.

FOXNews.com

HP Envy 14 Spectre Review

Posted by Gsurface on March 14, 2012 No comments

The HP ENVY 14 Spectre was easily one of the most promising ultrabooks we saw at CES 2012, and a few months of waiting hasn’t dampened our enthusiasm. The premium notebook combines high-end features and unique materials into a 14-inch body that’s distinct from just about everything on the market, which is something you couldn’t

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SlashGear

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Full Size Keyboard Dock Review

Posted by Gsurface on March 11, 2012 No comments

Just this past week we got our hands on the Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE, a perfectly excellent tablet from Samsung carried by Verizon and reviewed and full by us. This week we’ve got our hands on the official Full Size Keyboard Dock, as it were, and it’s looking to be the perfect companion for this

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Sony Tablet P Review

Posted by Gsurface on March 10, 2012 No comments

In a tablet market that’s flooded with similar offerings comes Sony and their Tablet P. With a unique clamshell design they can call their own that we’ve never seen from an Android this is truly a one-of-a-kind tablet. Is it worth the money or just an interesting wannabe Nintendo DS? We first heard about it

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Plextor M3 SSD review: A decent side step from the M2

Posted by Gsurface on March 10, 2012 No comments

CNET editor Dong Ngo reviews the Plextor M3 solid-state drive and finds it a great alternative to the M2.
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CNET News

Dell XPS 13 review

Posted by Gsurface on March 6, 2012 No comments

Dell’s XPS 13 Ultrabook

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook shipping now, starts at $ 999

HP Folio 13 review

You don’t have to be a marketing skeptic to agree that “Ultrabook” is a somewhat hyperbolic term for a class of devices designed a little thinner, a little lighter and maybe a little quicker than those notebooks that have come before. From a pure hardware standpoint there’s nothing particularly “ultra” about them when compared to a standard Wintel lappytop, but manufacturers are, thankfully, using this as an opportunity to raise their game on another front that’s becoming increasingly important in the world of portable computing: aesthetics.

Compared to clunky laptops of yore, many Ultrabooks mark a truly massive step forward when it comes to purity of design and Dell is showing some impressive chops with the new XPS 13. But, when you’re buckled in to coach class and it’s time to get to work, looks are less important than having a solid laptop that performs. Does the new XPS have the brawn to match its beauty? Let’s find out.

Gallery: Dell XPS 13 review

Continue reading Dell XPS 13 review

Dell XPS 13 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

A Yelp Review Of Yelp Stock

Posted by Gsurface on March 5, 2012 No comments

With Yelp stock beginning its second day of trading tomorrow morning, I wondered what a Yelp review of Yelp stock might it look like.
TechCrunch

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE Review

Posted by Gsurface on March 4, 2012 No comments

The size range of Android-based devices Samsung has made over the past year is far and away the largest any manufacturer has yet achieved, and if you’re unable to find the screen size you desire at the moment, you likely have only to wait another week or month and poof! It will appear. That said, [...]
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