[MobileRatty] tag: sort

Verizon BlackBerry Storm Getting Mixed Reviews

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:02:23 +0000

BlackBerry Storm from Verizon

The Verizon BlackBerry Storm goes live tomorrow, but lots of reviewers are getting their mitts on early units. Most impressions have been good up to this point, but it seems that given some time to really tinker, reactions are a little more mixed.

Going into this review, we really wanted to love this phone. On paper it sounds like the perfect antidote to our gripes about the iPhone, and in some ways it lives up to those promises — but more often then not while using the Storm, we felt let down or frustrated. Ultimately, this could be a great platform with a little more time in the oven, but right now, it feels undercooked — and that’s not enough for us. - Engadget

The BlackBerry Storm is not perfect, but, in my humble opinion, it is the best BlackBerry yet. … There were definitely some bugs with my review unit. Lag was a recurring issue all over the place. Perhaps Verizon Wireless and RIM will be able to fix the lag with a firmware update, but perhaps not. That’s something you might want to ask of your local Verizon retailer. - PhoneScoop

Overall we have to say this is the best phone to hit the market since the iPhone. Readers should note we will not compare the iPhone to the Storm since the iPhone is clearly not a full fledged business messaging device. If you are in the market for a new phone the Storm definitely has to be on your holiday list this year! Great job RIM! - Mobility Today

We still think there’s room for improvement, especially polishing up the calendar and address book to make them look as crisp and modern as the main menus and media player apps. But even with these minor complaints, we have no trouble declaring the BlackBerry Storm the most compelling BlackBerry phone to date. - infoSync

When I played with the BlackBerry 9530 last month, the OS was still very much a work in progress. Based on these reviews most of the issues have been solved; these impressions, though predominately positive, are just shy of expectations. It looks like the overall experience could be smoothed out a bit, but there are still firmware upgrades on the way. What do you guys think - overhyped? Undercooked? If you’re looking for video reviews, be sure to check out our updated BlackBerry Storm Video Roundup for the latest.

Related News from IntoMobile:

Review - ezShot Gun For Wii Misses Its Mark

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:02:14 +0000

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

One of the things I like about my Wii is that I can easily turn my Wiimote into a gun without the need to drop a bundle of cash on another accessory. Generally you shell out just a few bucks and get a plastic frame, which is fine with me. I personally have two different ones in my collection (the official Wii Zapper and the Nyko Perfect Shot), however, I’ve recently acquired a third. I decided to take my new ezShot Gun for a spin, and found it to be the most disappointing of any gun I’d used yet.

I have a long list of complaints about this particular product, which seems strange considering it’s mostly just a hunk of plastic. One thing I love about my other two guns is that inserting and removing the Wiimote and Nunchuk takes almost no time at all. In the case of the Wii Zapper, which actually takes advantage of the Nunchuk, Nintendo paid attention to the fact that there is a cord that runs between the two devices. This is something that ezGear seems to have missed. First, there’s no place that the cord is specifically designed to run, I just sort of tucked it between the Nunchuk and the side of the handle, which made it sit sort of funny. Then you’re left with all of this excess cord, which you just let dangle out of the bottom of the handle. I love how this isn’t actually shown in any of the pictures. Hit the jump for the rest of my review.

So yes, inserting the Wiimote and Nunchuk is annoying, but that’s nothing compared to removing them. Here’s something that will help you to understand just how painful the process is. Go grab your controllers, and disconnect the Nunchuk from the Wiimote. It’s pretty simple, just squeeze the sides of the plug, and pull. Unfortunately, with the ezShot gun, it’s almost impossible to squeeze on those little clips to release the plug. I tried unsuccessfully for several minutes before giving up and using some makeshift tools to do the job. This is a huge problem for me, since I’ve never had to use any sort of tools with any of my Wii accessories, and really don’t ever want to. I’ve done my best to show you just how the plug is positioned in the picture below. You can see that there is very little room to insert the two necessary fingers to squeeze the clips.

Okay, so now that I’ve got everything installed it’s time to sit down with one of my favorite shooters, House of the Dead 2. I get it all loaded up, and as the first two zombies pop into view I aim squarely at the first’s head and squeeze the trigger. Or at least I squeezed what I thought was the trigger. See, due to the position of the Nunchuk, your C button is in the natural position for a trigger. What button does House of the Dead 2 recognize for firing? The B button. That’s the one located on your Wiimote. Sure it’s accessible, but that requires a second hand wrapped around the barrel to use. Now how many people have you seen hold a handgun with one hand on the barrel? Well certainly neither of the two people depicted on the box were doing so. Well what about Link’s Crossbow Training? No, it too requires the B button for firing, and neither of the games allowed for the button configurations to be changed.

One thing that surprised me while looking over the device was the presence of a battery compartment. Now why in the world would a simple plastic accessory need a pair of AAA batteries? Grabbing the box I looked over the features, and saw nothing. However, reading the general description I found mention of a built in laser. So I loaded up a pair of AAA’s and found the laser button on the grip of the gun. Just hold down on it, and you’ve got yourself a laser pointer on your gun. Now this would be cool, if the games I was playing didn’t already have a crosshair. I will say that it helped me recalibrate my Wiimote, and my cat took great interest in my TV while I was using it. I spent a good 10 minutes letting my cat chase the red dot all around the living room. Honestly, that was probably the most fun I had with this particular accessory.

Overall, I think the execution of this device was terrible. It’s not easy to install or remove the Wiimote and Nunchuk, and it can’t be used properly while holding it like a gun. Really, those are the only two things that matter with an accessory like this, and the ezShot failed miserably at both. I don’t recommend this to anyone, as your $25 is better spent elsewhere.

[ ezGear ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

Electric Trees Light the Hallway, Green Style

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:14:55 +0000

How would you like to be able to accessorize your tree-house, (or your regular house, for that matter,) with tree-branches of light? I would like that a lot. Yes please. Wan-jin Joo, and Hyun-Joung Yoo present the Arbre, a light-up tree whose concept makes other light-up trees look like a garbage truck unloading trash at a landfill.

Designers Wan-jin Joo, and Hyun-Joung Yoo present the Arbre

Since the beginning of the 21st century, environmental friendly design in material and shape has been getting increasingly important. So I made lightning that gives us a feeling just like nature is getting into the house literally by using tree-shape. For light, LEDs are used, while recycled plastic is used for the branch part. Arbre utilizes a module method of lighting. To use this light, the user must put the branch shaped pieces into one another. As the human inspires life into the tree, the tree releases the light through its branches.

When you take trees and make them light up like we’re at Rivendell in the springtime, you’ve got the attention of… elves. Also lots of other people! This strange and excellent an idea would only be at home in an interior specifically tailored for tree-like forms (or a [Grid-House] sort of deal.)

Or would it be at home in your home?

And more importantly:

Do you live in a tree-house, and can I visit?

Designers: Wan-jin Joo & Hyun-Joung Yoo

Samsung Manufacturing 256GB SSDs, Just Like They Promised [Ssds]

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:07:02 +0000

It was nearly six months ago when Samsung laid out their plan to manufacture an affordable, super-fast 256GB SSD by the end of the year. It sounded a little bit optimistic at the time, but as of today, they're here. Sort of. Samsung says that manufacturing has begun, but still hasn't let loose on the most important nugget: price. They have, however, elaborated a little bit on their claims of "disruptive" performance: the news SSDs will offer speed "analogous to having a 15,000rpm drive, without all of its size, noise, power and heating drawbacks." They also claim to have decreased the read/write speed gap to about 10% and dropped power consumption to a slight 1.1w. This all sounds great, it's cost that'll win the SSD war. [Akihabara]

Teclast's upcoming 3.5-inch PMP plays media, is portable

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:55:00 +0000

So far it doesn't look like Teclast's OEM is trying to fool anyone with their new as-yet-unbranded media player, which is sort of disappointing -- we know how much you love a good KIRF. Aside from the uncommon (and theoretically stunning) 3.5-inch OLED widescreen display, this seems to be a pretty benign device. Features include capacitive touch controls, support for CMMB and DVB-T broadcasts, and if their past products are any indication you can probably expect output to TV or FM transmitter. You can expect this to ship in China under the Teclast flag eventually, but at the moment we've got no name, no price, no storage capacity, no release date -- just the above facts and one lonely picture to keep you warm on those long winter nights ahead.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Teclast's upcoming 3.5-inch PMP plays media, is portable originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:57:20 +0000

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Android App of the Day: AutoReply

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:44:48 +0000

Ever find yourself in a situation where you’re simply too busy to answer a call or reply to an SMS? Of course you do… Meetings, family functions, or perhaps your device is out of juice. Sometimes you simply can’t get to that call or message. That’s where AutoReply comes in.

Whether you are busy or simply don’t want to bother with an incoming call or message, AutoReply lets you send out an SMS message instantly to the person trying to contact you. All you have to do is define the rules within the app for replying when your Android-powered device receives a call or SMS.

Key Features of AutoReply:

Replies to SMS and phone calls received automatically
Manage your replies with easy to set rules
Define within your rules if you want to reply to the sending/calling number or to a different number.
Have more than one rule for the same sort of event

You can pick up AutoReply at Handango for only $1.99.

Related News from IntoMobile:

IcePhone, a Smartphone and so Much More!

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:18:32 +0000

Talk about flipping phones: the IcePhone flips once, and, yeah, twice! What do you say about all this? I don't even know what to call it! It's a sort of complicated smartphone. Let's look at the features of this IcePhone:

a fully featured touchscreen

a 3.1 MP camera

micro-notebook, including a desktop and a handheld mode.

large landscape screen

full QWERTY keyboard

mouse

Windows Mobile

satellite navigation via GPS

emergency first aid software

medical history storage and a 24/7 international helpline.

microSD

Bluetooth and 3G support

emailing and messaging.

The phone is already in production and it will hit the UK market in March-April of next year and it will cost you just under $1000. See it in action below:
[gallery]

via unwired

DXG-579V available in Holiday pack from Kohls

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:39:17 +0000

I have covered the affordable video camcorders from DXG before, such as the DXG-567V and DXG-569V. Now, there is the DXG-579V, an upright digital camcorder with 720p video capture and shoot still pictures up to 8 megapixels.

The DXG-579V is a vertical form factor with a 2.4 inch rotation screen. It records H.264 video, or MOV file format, at up to 1280 x 720 at 30 frames per second. The user has the option of using High Capacity SD cards.

I regularly use the DXG-569V, and I find it simple to use and easy to upload videos to YouTube. The DXG-579V looks to be a step up from the 569V, and it looks like it has some sort of weird gauge where the SD card is inserted.

DXG is offering the DXG-579V in a full holiday pack. It comes with a portable tripod, 2 GB SD card good for 2 hours of HD video, the ArcSoft TotalMedia Extreme video editing software, protective pouch, rechargeable batteries, and AV cables of viewing on the television.

This deal begins on Novemeber 28 (Black Friday) and runs until New Year’s Eve. The Holiday pack from DXG-579V will be available at Kohl’s in midnight black and classic silver, but my source did not have a price.

Source

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ DXG-579V available in Holiday pack from Kohl’s copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

MSI Wind Netron: This is what a "nettop" looks like

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:18:27 +0000

Tiny notebooks became "netbooks". Fine. Now tiny all-in-one desktop machines of the iMac/Dell XPS One pedigree, have become "nettops". MSI, maker of the popular "Wind" netbook, has announced the "Wind Neton" line of nettops, essentially flat panel monitors with little Atom-powered computers inside, perfect for browsing the web and doing basic computing tasks.

Prices will start around $400 and go up depending on screen size, with optional touch screens and operating system choices. The "M16" model has a disc-drive; the sleek "M19" [pictured] does not.

Will the "nettop" terminology stick? It might for a while, but I have a suspicion that within a couple of years we'll just be calling these sort of devices "computers", as the all-in-one PC merges with connected HDTVs.

MSI All-in-One Nettops previewed [Chinese.Engadget.com]