|
TechToysMag
|
Written by Gary M Kaye
|
|
Tuesday, 06 December 2011 16:36 |
|
MacBook Air Finally Gets Some Competition This season thin is in. After almost four years as perhaps the sexiest computer on the market, the MacBook Air is facing a number of competitive super thin, fast, lightweight travel machines called Ultrabooks. And don’t give all the credit to the manufacturers. It was chipmaker Intel that came up with the design standard for these beauties. And while Intel does supply the chips for the MacBook Air, no doubt the company figured it could sell even more chips if the makers of Windows PC’s had their own version.  We looked at four of them, almost any one of which I’d happily use as my travel machine. And the similarities are far greater than the differences. All are industrial works of art, with thin cases. They all have a 13.3” glossy HD diagonal screen, however the Asus Zenbook also has an 11” model. They all come in under 3 pounds, though the Toshiba Portege Z380 with a magnesium case seems to have the lightest version at 2.5 lbs. They are available in various flavors of Intel’s i3, i5, and i7 core processors. They have solid state drives (SSD’s) and can be set to do a virtually instant startup. All have one USB 3.0 port and mini HDMI.
Stress Test While these machines have a lot in common, there are a few marked differences. We put all four through a tough battery life test, running nonstop full screen video streaming of episodes of West Wing – a tougher assignment than a normal cross country airline trip. The Acer was the first to give up the ghost, after 3:36. The Lenovo died after 4:29. The Toshiba 4:45. The winner, the Asus Zenbook at 5:15. All the machines boast a significantly longer battery life, which is quite credible for things like web surfing, or working on documents. Our test was extreme. Only the Toshiba has both an Ethernet port and a VGA port. Toshiba also has an available backlit screen. The Asus ZenBook with its brushed aluminum case and keyboard may be the prettiest of the group, and comes with a Bang & Olufsen sound system. Lenovo has a high quality SRS sound system as well and claims 30 days of standby battery life. Here’s some of the advertised pricing, though you may be able to do better: Acer Aspire S3 $900 – $1300 Asus UX31e Zenbook (13.3”) $1090 – $1400 UX21e (11.6”) $1150 Lenovo Ideapad U300s $1049 – $1485 Toshiba Portege Z830 $929 – $1429 From a technical perspective, all four of the machines will do a solid job, and look a whole lot better and feel a whole lot lighter than any Windows machine that’s probably in your backpack now. |
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 February 2012 07:07 |
|
|
Powerbag. You’ll Get A Charge Out Of This |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by Gary M Kaye
|
|
Wednesday, 14 December 2011 12:43 |
|
To me a power lunch used to be taking the time to charge my iPhone. Not any more. Meet Powerbag (www.mypowerbag.com) , which makes a line of backpacks, messenger bags, and briefcases that come with a rechargeable battery and wires and connectors to charge a handful of devices while you’re on the go. One of the features that separates these from some of the other power packs on the market is that they are stylish. Unless you have x-ray vision, you couldn’t tell that these are geek gadget friendly.
I tried out their Business Class backpack. It has a nice big padded compartment that will hold a 16” laptop. The compartment unzips so you can put the whole thing through the airport scanner without having to remove the computer. It has two large zipper compartments that will hold your gadgets. One contains the battery and USB connector. Another compartment has an Apple connector, a mini-USB, and a micro-USB connector. There are some smaller zipper compartments that will hold earbuds, a smartphone, and other things you might like to get to quickly. Powerbag claims its battery has enough juice to give the average smartphone four full charges before you need to recharge the backpack . I found the battery did a great job of charging an empty cell phone in just a few hours.
The Business Class sells for $180. Other backpacks range from $140 to $170. For anyone who travels and is constantly fumbling for chargers, wires, and plugs, this is one great solution. |
|
Last Updated on Thursday, 05 January 2012 13:24 |
|
The Droid Razr, fast and sleek |
|
|
|
|
Written by Ryan Lange
|
|
Tuesday, 06 December 2011 07:18 |
|
 I've had my hands on the Droid Razr for a few weeks now and it is a pretty slick phone. Considering the success of the original Razr, the Bionic version has quite a bit to live up to.
It's the most responsive phone that I've had, which would make sense since it has more power on it than my work computer did have 5 years ago. It's a cool looking phone, I put an case around mine but with the superior gorilla glass, and the cool looking Kevlar backing. I feel that it may be over kill and I’ve put cases around the iPad and my wifes iPhone 4 The Wifi on the phone is actually really easy to use on this phone. When I switch from a 4g network, to a 3g network, to wireless. The transitions from each network is seamless. The phone is a work of art. It's also heavy on the pocketbook. I Motorola got this product right and for the first time I feel that there is an android phone that actually meets the iPhone on the cool factor. The price is a cool $800 if you just want the phone. With a contract your still looking at 2 bills. But is the phone worth it? Us at TechToysMag.com say “Yes”. |
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 December 2011 07:18 |
|
|
Written by Gary M Kaye
|
|
Tuesday, 29 November 2011 23:05 |
|
 Seagate Launches First 4TB External Drive
They used to say you could never be too rich or too thin. Add to that, you can never have too much memory. With the advent of digital photography and streaming audio and video, it’s easy to fill up most hard drives without even trying. When you also want to protect important files for everyone on your home network, it’s easy to understand why you’d actually want a 4TB drive.
Seagate’s GoFlex Desk is the first desktop external drive with 4 terabytes of storage. It has a new industrial design with a smaller footprint than earlier models. It includes both an activity light and a gauge that indicates available capacity. It is equipped with USB 3.0 but also works with USB 2.0 and Firewire 800. By adding Seagate’s GoFlex Home Adapter, it can be used as a network drive.
To deal with the assortment of data interfaces coming to market such as USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt, Seagate has designed a series of interchangeable interface adapters so your drive will never be obsolete. The GoFlex 4TB is Windows and Mac OS compatible. It comes with automatic backup software which also encrypts all your files. Seagate claims the drive will hold as many as 2000 full length HD movies, meaning it will even accommodate my daughter’s entire movie and video collection including every West Wing episode.
The manufacturer’s suggested price is just about $250 and we’ve been hard pressed to find any significant discounting online, but have found pricing around $220. |
|
Last Updated on Monday, 12 December 2011 07:58 |
|
Sony–Two Products, Three Views |
|
|
|
|
Written by Gary M Kaye
|
|
Wednesday, 23 November 2011 16:09 |
|
Sony Bloggie Duo, Cybershot WX9 Go Home for the Holidays
Sony, the company that for many years defined Consumer Electronics, may be struggling with TV’s, music players, and computers, but in the arena of digital photography, the company is holding a commanding position. It’s now ranked as the number two maker of digital cameras, trailing only Canon. Two of its current offerings may help explain why it’s doing so well. The Sony Bloggie Duo, a Flip style camcorder gets its name from its two screens, a rear facing 2.7” diagonal LCD and a 2.0” front facing screen if you’d like to record yourself for a blog. The camera records for two hours on a charge in full 1080p HD. It’s also capable of creating still photos. It has internal storage and an internal battery and uses a USB arm to connect to your computer where it’s easy to upload images to your favorite social networking or photo sharing site. Sony sells the Bloggie Duo (model MHS-FS2) for $170, but we’ve seen it online for $122.
Sony’s DSC-WX9 16.2 megapixel point and shoot has quickly become one of the most popular cameras in the upper range of its Cybershot line. The WX9 shoots 1080/60i HD video, and has both sweep panorama and 3D capabilities. I had been using its 12 megapixel predecessor, the WX5 and find the WX9 has some nice improvements. One of them is the three position switch that goes among still, panorama, and video modes without having to address the full menu. The camera does a great job in low light. It shoots at a pretty healthy 10 frames per second, with no noticeable delay as it stores pictures. My only beef with it is that the battery charges inside the camera, precluding you from charging a second battery outside the camera. The 5X zoom Carl Zeiss lens delivers great images, and has many of Sony’s features like face detection, object tracking, backlight adjustment and background defocus. Sony sells it for $200 but we’ve seen it on line for as low as $150. |
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 December 2011 07:20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page 1 of 11 |
|
|
|
