Summary - This is a good buy if you are looking for a LED Television with 3D and internet capability.
Background - This television is mounted on the provided stand and placed on top of a media chest. The television sits above the seated viewers. Replaces a 5 year old 40" Sony Bravida LCD panel. Connected to a HD TiVo and a Sony Blu Ray.
Set-Up - Fast and easy. The manual is adequate, but not excellent. The "Pro" video set-up is a nice feature and gets the picture looking its best quickly. The HDMI cables come out of the back of the television at a right angle on the left side rear. Placement is not optimal since HDMI cables have a tendency to be stiff and sharp bends are not recommended. There is enough room to make the gentle bend and align the cables, but tie wraps are a must for more than one cable.
Stand - Basic. Swivels right to left, but a tilt feature should have been included. See comments about 3D for explanation. A cable management slot on the stand would also have been nice to clean-up the cables for those who are not wall mounting.
Picture - Sharp and clear. No motion artifacts. Superior to the Sony it replaces, but this was expected due to the technology improvements since the purchase of the Sony.
Sound - Decent for ultra-thin panel televisions. If you are looking for audio quality, I recommend an external amplifier and speakers. For normal viewing, the sound is acceptable and voices are clear.
3D Blu ray - Comparable to my expensive active 3D television without the flicker and associated issues. Although the picture quality is not as high, I challenge most viewers to tell the difference. As stated in other reviews, there is some ghosting if the television tilt does not point the television straight at the viewer (A tilting stand would have been a nice feature for LG to add, but alas, it only swivels!). To the right and left of the television, there is no degradation of the 3D experience.
2D to 3D - This television does a superior job of converting 2D into 3D. It seems to excel when the film has depth of field and the less action, but the overall experience is very good. Based on my prior experience with my Active 3D television, I expected far less and found this to be a compelling 3D experience.
Internet TV - Linked to Amazon.com quickly and easily. Netflix was also excellent. Some buffering issues left me wishing that the television stored more of he content locally as the video streamed. Web Browsing was less than adequate and I did not find it a useful experience, with the television not always responding to the commands of the remote. Apps are limited and it made me wonder why someone does not develop an Android based television or a iOS based television so that there could be more Aps to access.
Remote - The standard remote is decent and well laid out, but unless you own LG components, you will have to have multiple remotes. A learning remote would have been a nice feature. Key back-light is dimmer than I would like.
Magic Wand Remote - Think Wii controller for a television. Similar to other people, I had trouble with the response of the remote and found it worked best when I was sitting straight in front of the television. I felt that the software could use further optimization and I don't see this currently as product differentiation and I would not buy this television for this capability alone.
Recommendation - I would recommend this television and I am satisfied with the purchase. View original review here
The new Kindle with Special Offers ("KSO") arrived today - this review reflects my preliminary observations after using it for about two hours. A better, more-reflective review should (in my opinion, at least) be based upon a couple of weeks of use of loading it up with lots of books, deleting said books as they are read, loaded up again, etc. Not to mention a few games here and there like Scrabble. Please check back after a couple of weeks and I will update this review to reflect how "time tells" on this device. I am also writing this from the perspective of being a long-time Kindle user vs. someone brand new.
From an overall perspective, considering the pricing at $79 vs. close to $200 for the "regular" Kindle with 3G ("K3G"), this one is a hands-down bargain. If you have wanted to get your kids a Kindle to encourage reading as well as sharing of books but hesitated because $200 is a lot of money to risk with a child, maybe at $79 this is your price point. From a size standpoint, it is 1/3 of an inch less in width and 1 inch less in length than my K3G I've had for about a year now, and while noticeably thinner than the K3G I can't tell you how much as I can't see the well enough to count the millimeter lines - take my word for it, it is noticeably thinner. And lighter.
Opening up the box, the only thing that is included is the KSO, a USB cord, and a one-page instruction sheet that shows you what the various buttons do. One noticeable difference I like (so far) is the on/off control is a button vs. a switch. Let's see how that holds up for durability. The right and left page turn buttons are on both sides of the Kindle which is pretty handy, and the only other buttons you have are the five way controller, back, menu, home, and a new "keyboard" button to activate the keyboard. One thing that is a little annoying is with the included USB cord - there is no adapter plug to charge it into a wall socket: you either supply that yourself or plug it up, for example, into your computer to charge. I guess they had to cut 25 cents out of the manufacturing costs somewhere, and that was one of the places.
The display is crisp and dark. Looking at the display side-by-side in the same location of an eBook against my K3G, the text on the KSO is much darker. Considering the K3G after a year of use is still darker than my Kindle 2, I think that is saying something - you want to be able to read what you're supposed to, right?
As mentioned above, you press a special key to activate the keyboard. To change letters or numbers, you need to move the 5-way controller and individually pick your letters and numbers. I find that to be a little bit of a pain in the neck as you click a bunch of times to pick, for example the letter "l" then click a bunch more times to pick the letter "a." I think I have cured my "Scrabble" addiction on the Kindle so I don't use the keyboard very much, but that may bother some people who use the keyboard frequently. With this method, however, you run away from the graphite K3G issue of letters constantly being rubbed off and not being visible.
If you like the text-to-speech feature of previous Kindle models or listened to music with your previous Kindle, please be aware there are no speakers nor is there a plug for headphones.
Web surfing speed with the wireless only on with my K3G is about the same as with the KSO - my test was hitting the main pages of the mobile websites of Fox News, CNN, and Google. I pushed "go" or "enter" at the same time on each and did not see a visible difference in the load speeds start to finish. I did try to check one of my Google email accounts on both but it crashed on both - that has been a continuing problem checking email with your Kindle for some time now.
One last thing to point out - if you order one (or have ordered one), you probably saw the option to add a cover. The "official" Amazon cover is not available for about a month, but there are some available from third parties. I didn't order one because of the ship date, but I sure would like one as I like the feeling of thinking I am actually holding a book.
Reading over this review, it might seem a little negative - that is not my intention at all, but more of a comparison of what I am used to vs. what we have with this version of the Kindle. I actually love it, and think it will help explode the ebook revolution even further as they get in more people's hands. If you have not purchased a Kindle before due to price, and this one is in your price zone, I would strongly recommend this one! View original review here
The Special Edition Xbox 360 250GB Console with Kinect. Kinect brings games and entertainment to life in extraordinary new ways-no controller required. Easy to use and instantly fun, Kinect gets everyone off the couch moving, laughing, and cheering. See a ball? Kick it. Control an HD movie with the wave of a hand. Want to join a friend in the fun? Simply jump in. Wi-Fi is built-in for easier connection to the world of entertainment on Xbox LIVE, where HD movies and TV stream in an instant. Xbox 360 is more games, entertainment, and fun.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #142 in Video Games
Color: Black
Brand: Microsoft
Model: S7G-00001
Released on: 2010-11-04
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
Platform: Xbox 360
Number of items: 1
Dimensions: 10.60" h x 10.39" w x 2.95" l, 6.30 pounds
Features
Jump, dodge, and kick your way through exciting adventures set in a variety of exotic locations with Kinect Adventures
Xbox 360 console includes built-in Wi-Fi for easy connection to Xbox LIVE, and comes with matching black controller and headset
Get off the couch and into the game by using your body as the controller with Kinect
Control your Xbox 360 with a single gesture or wave of the hand
Connect with friends and family with easy and interactive gameplay, video chat, and more
Just received this phone - truly a work of art (and science)!
Bought this version because of the international warranty, and the box label repeats the international warranty phrase. The included instructions are in Spanish, as this is an "SA" version, which apparently means South America.
When you first turn the phone on, everything's in Spanish, however one can tap right on the first screen to change everything to a different language, and I changed it to English.
Lots of positive reviews on this phone already on the web - mine would be superfluous, and a bit premature since I've only had it for about 22 hours.
Everything's great so far - and it's especially easy to integrate it with Gmail - no surprise there with Google behind the scenes!
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #285 in Cell Phone Accessories
Color: Black
Brand: Samsung
Model: SA-I9100
Dimensions: .33" h x 2.60" w x 4.93" l, .26 pounds
Features
The Samsung Galaxy S II is an Android Smartphone with touchscreen
I was lucky enough to wake up early today and go to Memory Express in Edmonton and they had one. Stores received a limited amount of tablets and they were all sold out within hours, including here on Amazon. I've been playing with this thing for hours now and so far I've only had great experiences with it.
The main feature for me is the remote desktop: you can access your PC, whether it's a Mac or a PC, if they're both connected to your home wi-fi connection. You can control your PC from anywhere and use all of its features. I watched a HD movie and worked on MS Word docs, everything went smoothly.
The tablet doesn't weigh much for its size and the IPS screen is amazing, it's the same screen used on the iPad 2. I'm not a person who needs to buy products made by just one brand. I like Apple and I own a iPhone 4, but when it came to deciding which tablet to buy, I went for the Transformer because it offers me a tablet/netbook function, the best of both worlds.
The tablet itself has a microSD card slot so I already have 32GB more to use it. The docking station (which can be purchased by 149.99) has 2 USB ports and 1 SD Card slot.
You can edit Microsoft Office docs on it using Polaris Office, it's great and this app comes pre-installed on it. Playing mp3s or acc files on it it's great too. You can use the app MyNet to play music from your own PC or Mac, via bluetooth.
I'm playing SNES games using SNESoid app and using a Wiimote/Classic Controller via Bluetooth and everything works great! It has native email (which Blackberry Playbook doesn't) and you can sync your calendar and contacts easily. It has full flash compatibility. For $399, there's nothing on the market with these specs. The Motorola Xoom has similar specs and it costs $200 more. It doesn't give you the option to attach a docking station with all those slots. When I buy computers, I want to be able to upload content to it easily, or transfer files from it easily as well. The Apple system is ok but needing iTunes for everything is kinda like a dictatorship. I had to jailbreak my iPhone to be able to play SNES games on it, or even listen to music on Grooveshark. That's where the Android Market comes in.
You can download any apps you want, any developer can create apps for it, it's a "free" system. It's not as wide as the App Store, but it's getting bigger and bigger by the minute. I downloaded the Kindle app and already transferred all my e-books to it (I also own a Kindle and I love it).
There are some quirks that have to be tweaked with Honeycomb 3.0 OS and that's something Google is working on. That's easy since updates will be released (an update is scheduled in 2 days). So that will improve the overall performance of the OS. But I honestly didn't have any issues with it, I really like Honeycomb 3.0 so far.
I definitely recommend this thing for people who want to use their tablets as an extension or even a replacement to their laptops. Asus has hit a home run with this one, since it costs much less than anybody else and its specs are great. It's hands down the best purchase I've had under 400 bucks.
The docking station is sold out anywhere else but I pre-ordered it on Amazon and I'm hoping to get it in a couple of weeks. I'll post a video with the combo once I get everything up and running. I'm a iOS person who's welcoming Android with open arms!
Review Update: Apr 29 2011 - Ok, so I've been using my Transformer for a few days so I'd like to add a few pros and cons to this review.
Pros: beside what's been mentioned above, I noticed that:
- multitasking is really easy on the Transformer. You can quickly jump from one app to the other, check e-mails, browse something on Wikipedia, listen to music and even have your Skype session open at the same time. I was chatting with my dad and multitasking and had no issues. The Skype app needs updates, but that's nothing to do with Asus.
- File Manager: this feature is great! You don't have to hook up your Transformer to your computer all the time to move, copy or paste files. You can create new folders and even transfer files from your microSD card straight to it. I transferred a movie from my microsd Card folder (path is root\removable to access microSD files) to my Movies folder and it was very quick. And I didn't need to plug it in in order to access or move the files.
- Widgets: Your Desktop Area (Or Asus Launcher) is very wide so you can add many widgets to it, and they're very handy. That's something that can't be done on the iPad 2. Mind you Widgets can affect the speed a bit, but nothing noticeable at all. Those people running speed tests between iPad 2 and the Transformer need to bear that in mind.
- Weight: believe it or not, it doesn't feel heavy at all for its size.
Cons: ok, so here it is:
-smudges on screen - it's a fingerprint magnet but all tablets are, so not a big deal. I'm cleaning it whenever needed using a nice cloth (the one that I use for lenses) with a bit of water/alcohol and it looks pristine after that. Let me know if you find a better way to clean fingerprints.
It doesn't need wiping on a daily basis. I looked it up and for IPS screens, the best way to clean it is to use a mix of distilled water and alcohol, but I'm using tap water. I like this thing so much that I would buy another one tomorrow if something happened to it! (wait, maybe not tomorrow, it's still sold out everywhere)
-HD video playback in Fullscreen mode using the YouTube App: ok, this might be Honeycomb-related and therefore something that can be dealt with via future updates. You might notice a bit of choppy frames here and there. I find the iOS more stable for this type of playback. But there's no problems playing HD video from your microSD card or even if you upload a HD video to the Transformer hard drive, you won't have problems watching it. There's more than enough RAM to support HD video streaming.
-charger: I'm planning on using it all the time, so the cord is not long enough. If I have it on a desk, I need a power bar or outlet really close by, to leave it plugged in if I wanna save some battery. Well, tablet + docking gives you 16 hrs of battery... so you really don't have to have it plugged in. But this suggestion could be emailed to Asus so they could release a charger with a longer cable, that would be sweet.
Other observations: Camera: not that great, it's an average camera. Am I gonna use it for super important pics? Definitely not, I got a nice camera for that. But for daily use, it's not too bad.
***UPDATE June 13*** - I've been using the TF for 6 weeks now, and I also have the keyboard dock, which I got 2 weeks ater getting the tab. I can safely say it has become my main "go to" device: web browsing, music, movies, games, word processing, reading books and comics, news, remote desktop, you name it. I still use my PC and my smartphone but not as much as I use the tablet.
- For people who wonder if light bleed gets worse as time goes by: I was lucky enough to get a unit with no light bleed other than a tiny spot (barely noticeable) on the left side of the tablet, and it's been the same since day 1. But compared to my friend's iPad, I can safely say mine has no light bleed whatsoever. Some of the newer batches got units with really bad lemons but I think this was due to ramping up the production like crazy. I heard they manufactured 300,000 units in June so I think they'll improve their quality control dept and make spanking sharp units now.
- Honeycomb 3.1: Asus was one of the first ones to release the 3.1 update and it fixed the YouTube app HD video issue (at least on mine). I think 1080p is overkill on a 10.1 inch screen so the 720p HD on the YouTube app works like a charm. Playing movies straight out of a SD card or USB drive is easy and there's no lag either, so feel free to pack lots of multimedia and play straight out of them without having to use your device's internal memory.
Touchscreen is much more responsive, browser is faster, animations flow more smoothly, full gamepad compatibility via USB, better "relationship" between dock and tablet. What really bugged me about 3.0 was that when I used the dock a lot of features seems to be toggled on/off. That has never happened after 3.1. So, overall, the update fixed a whole bunch of bugs and made the experience even better.
- Wrapping it up: battery life is great, using the keyboard to type long texts is handy... and I was able to tether the TF to my iPhone via w-fi, so now it works as a 3G-like tab. I've done both bluetooth and wi-fi tethering. Wi-fi is faster but bluetooth saves battery life. I basically do it to use Google Maps and GPS, and it's been great so far. I know they're releasing a 3G Transformer in the summer, but I don't need one since I don't wanna pay more fees to my carrier, and sign another 1 year contract just for more data plan. I can use this as a 3G alternative whenever I need a bigger screen. It works with the iPhone and I know it does work with Android devices, but I'm not sure if works with Blackberry phones. Let me know if you wanna know more about tethering and I'll be glad to help.
6 weeks after purchasing the TF, I'm still very pleased with my device.
UPDATE August 3rd 2011 - Honeycomb 3.2 main features - I got my 3.2 update a few days ago... there's just a few things that were updated, or changed. It wasn't as significant as 3.1, but here's what I noticed about 3.2: compatibility zoom for fixed size apps - it helps with apps that are not designed to run on larger screens like 10.1 inches. I tested it and it's actually a great improvement, compared to what it was in 3.1
Media sync from SD - I already did that before, but now you can load any media straight from the microSD card (this is more for Xoom owners)
I don't think there were any changes on high def videos, I think it still outputs in 720p, no true 1080p yet on youtube and stuff, but like I said before, 720p is more than enough on a 10 inch screen.
Better hardware acceleration, updates to widgets and Movie Studio app, now Honeycomb can also run on 7 inch tablets, and some other minor ones... I'm enjoying Honeycomb while it lasts, since it will phase out in a few months (Ice Cream Sandwich is coming). Overall, I'm still having loads of fun with the Transformer! View original review here
I have used an iPhone for going on two years and I don't see that changing for quite awhile, but I was always leery of the iPad because I always thought it was just a big iPod Touch, with a better screen. Well I started to look for a tablet about 5 months ago, and thought for sure, after the big uproar about the iPad 2, that I would have one soon. Well after trying in store several times, I just wasnt blown away. It just took my iPhone bigger, it didnt introduce anything new, it didn't change anything, the UI, had some slight modifications, and apps did look better on a bigger screen, but it wasn't nothing that blew away. Then came the touchpad.
First I saw the commercial, then I found out about the open source movement inside of WebOS, and how unlike Apple, there was no cat and mouse games, Palm didn't support it, but didn't block it. I saw the UI, it was much appealing than Android, which to me looks chaotic and not the clean simplicity that we all come to expect from a google product. Although it wasn't as "nice" looking as iOS, and it didn't run as smooth as it, WebOS made up for it with true multitasking, and a clean enough looking UI to make an iOS lover happy.
Then came the specs, full web access, web developers no longer need to build a site just for the device, the device can handle anything you through at it. It has been an experience for me, who has had to manage which sites I could view on my portable device and which ones I *had* to view on my pc, now my touchpad takes care of all of it.
But enough about the pros, because there is some cons. Apps are limited compared to iOS (Not a huge con for me, give me a working Twitter client, an email client, and a couple games, and I'm happy, but I'm not everyone). The OS, has some flaws, which may be more to me learning to using the device than anything else, but the flaws are there. It seems sluggish from time to time, but an OTA update coming out soon should fix that. And it does need some improvement when it comes to handling documents, this maybe more of a personal presence but I feel any tablet should be able to handle any microsoft doc you throw at it.
All in all, I love my touchpad, and see me using it more than my iPhone for most things. The flaws are there, but are very fixable, and I have faith in HP to fix them soon. View original review here
OK. First off, it is a tablet with a fast dual core processor and 1GB of internal memory. So, its up to the task. The issue really is, what's the task?
I am a BlackBerry user and, truth be told, lover. However, I didn't get here by blind loyalty. I followed the advice of others and researched/used the products. So, I assume that's why you are reading this, both general user on the fence and RIM loyalist alike, for perspective.
The real deal is what can this tablet do right out of the box, independent of a BB device (AKA cell phone)? The answer is a lot but not as much as other tablets (specifically Apple or Android). The Playbook is poised to strike but lacks the refinement of options and applications enjoyed by other tablet types. For someone taking it out of the box and using it, they will find a smooth and effortless operating environment. All the menus flow and the graphics fly. No hesitation on most all switching of applications and functions. Screen orientation is fluid and not clunky. The Playbook gets a bad rap for lack of apps and, as i have mentioned, this is true. To be honest though, most people are surfing the web and checking email. The Playbook excels at these tasks with one large caveat, for email you need to use your e-mail provider web interface (mail.yahoo.com, gmail.com, aolmail.com...etc)or the mysterious "...BlackBerry Bridge." As of this posting, there is no email function native to the PlayBook nor is there an application for it.
If you don't own a Blackberry cell phone, don't plan to own one or don't ever use (or plan to use) the email function then wait for RIM to deliver the impending software update to the Playbook that will carry with it a native email application like you see on all other tablets. If you do own a BB cell and use the email function then the BlackBerry Bridge is for you. The BlackBerry Bridge is a native function that runs out of the box. The bridge function is awesome and it basically extends your phone features (mail, tasks, calendar, BBM and some file management) to your Playbook. What this really means is you admin your email and such through the Playbook via BlueTooth to your phone. This is good and bad. The good is you can hop on and generate emails, appts, tasks and xfer some files. The bad is it requires a good BT connection and both items relatively close together and charged to the point they can use the BT radio. The real solution for this is RIM should allow your Playbook, via a native app not a bridge, to use your BIS or (if company sanctioned) BES information. Plain and simple. They have to conquer the one PIN per account issue that currently requires you to bridge to the phone, the device that holds you PIN to the BIS or BES services. Is the bridge function enough to entice someone to buy a BB device along with a PlayBook or enable emailing on their current BB at a price to the provider? No. To finish the thought, they should include with native email all the PIM functions (tasks, calendar, notes...etc) that provide a fluid information chain that is accessible and completely sync'd with a BB device (or other smart phone through Google apps or something).
The web experience is excellent. Fast and uses Flash. Not much you cant do. It has its tablet downsides like sometimes you get an ad or some other in window pop up that just about requires a mouse...but that issue exists on all tablets.
Unless you're a news, movie or media junky, the applications (available via a native PB application called AppWorld) will most likely fail to impress you. The news, weather and media stuff is solid. The PB comes with the music store. The store isn't as extensive as iTunes of course but there are other services you can use (BestBuy just announced a cloud based music service for PB, iPad and Android). You can rent movies from Amazon and YouTube via web. No Netflix streaming app yet for PB. The good news on the app front is the supposed addition of Android applications that will run on the PB. This happens via a virtual machine (meaning its not native Android processing on the PB so it can't be as fast for sure) so it remains to be seen how good it will be. Angry Birds is coming as well.
The final deal is what do you want? If you want a smaller tablet then this is a good one...but if you want a smaller tablet with tons of apps then either go Android or wait for the supposed Android App player that will allow PB to run them. The real deal is this tablet surfs the web with the best of them and, lets be honest, most people want that. They hate a hot laptop and want something lighter, cooler, easier and with less of a footprint. Secondly they want apps that probably enhance what they can do on the web. so if its news, media or movies, you're good.
Some people have complained about the power and volume buttons. They are a bit of a pain but you get used to using them pretty quick. Something you shouldn't have to deal with but not a show stopper.
The PlayBook is expensive and does less than the iPad; unless you actively use your BB device. Android bridges the gap in price and physical options but is still clunky in app switching and fluidity of operating environment. Final word, the PlayBook is as fluid and dialed in as the iPad as far as use and operating environment but lacks the options, a gap partially bridged by use of an existing BB device enabled for email and internet use.
5 stars for BB users who aren't app junkies
3 stars for someone buying now without a BB and waiting for native email, Android Apps compatibility (and more native apps in the BlackBerry App World) and using your BlueTooth Headset (not possible as of this posting). The PlayBook is evolving leaps and bounds with every automatically delivered software update. But should someone pay top price for a comparatively lacking product now?
these are the things i do:
Surf (native)
Watch rented movies on Amazon/YouTube (web, native)
RSS news (app)
News 360 (app)
Podcasts (native)
BB Bridge Email, BBMessenger(native) -- must have BB device and email accounts configured
SSH to servers (if you don't understand this it's OK...its for techies) (app)
VNC to my home machine for admin use (app)
Video chat via ReelPortal (app)
Word, Excel doc editing (app)
File share to and from the PB on my home network (native)
Play "Need for Speed" (native) its fun :)
