Posts Tagged ‘review’

Continue reading Apogee MiC review

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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Canon’s G1 X boasts a beefy 14-megapixel resolution and a tank-load of ambition. Its mandate, no less, is to deliver the image quality and control of a DSLR inside the discreet body of a compact, aiming to attract serious photographers who want to travel light or supplement their main kit. That’s why the G1 X houses a substantial 1.5-inch CMOS sensor, stretching to around 80 percent of the size of APS-C, along with an anti-minimalist array of dials, knobs and buttons to provide quick access to manual settings. It also explains why the G1 X is 30 percent heavier than both its evolutionary ancestor and some of its competitors, and why its price tag is equally hefty: 0, which is SLR-like in all the wrong ways. We’ve had this shooter long enough to gather our thoughts, but as to whether it deserves a smile or a snarl, you’ll have to read on to find out.

Continue reading Canon PowerShot G1 X review

Canon PowerShot G1 X review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s the Galaxy Nexus. It has LTE. It’s the phone we’ve been waiting (and waiting) for. Sure, some of our more globe-trotting members of the staff were suitably sated by the HSPA+ version that shipped a few weeks ago, but the rest of us domestic types simply need more bandwidth. Or, at least, we like to think that we do, and this 0 (on-contract) Verizon release certainly has that in spades.

However, there’s something missing: Google Wallet. That company’s attempt at reinventing commerce isn’t here and, while nobody’s saying for sure, it surely has something to do with Verizon not wanting to kneecap the Isis payment service it has invested in. That leaves us wondering: with restrictions on what apps can be installed, and some rather prominent carrier branding on the back, is this really a Nexus device at all? And, more importantly, is it a good phone? Those answers and more wait for you below.

Continue reading Verizon Galaxy Nexus review

Verizon Galaxy Nexus review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who knew AT&T’s version of the Samsung Galaxy S II had a younger, larger brother on the way? Just a hair over a month after the carrier launched its flagship Android device, it’s already set for another go-round. This one, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket, offers a larger display and “true” 4G connectivity — yes, it’s a pioneer blazing a new trail to Ma Bell’s wild and untamed frontier, right alongside the HTC Vivid. It’s time to answer the burning questions: what kinds of speeds are possible on AT&T’s LTE network? Is the series’ legendary battery life up to snuff on the next-gen network? Join us below to find out.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket review

Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This isn’t the iPhone 5. No matter how badly you wanted something slim, sleek and wedge-shaped, this isn’t it. If you went ahead and got your hopes up ahead of Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event, hopefully you’ve gotten over the pangs of discontent by now, because this device pictured front and center is the iPhone 4S. It’s a new spin on an old phone that will shock none, but give it half a chance, and it will still impress.

The iPhone 4S comes with a faster processor, a better camera, a smarter virtual assistant and twice the storage of its predecessor — if you don’t mind paying for it. Like the iPhone 3GS did before to the 3G, the 4S bumps the iPhone 4 down to second-class status, leaving those Apple fans who must have the best aspiring to own its decidedly familiar exterior. Apple says this is the most amazing iPhone ever. Is it? Yes, of course it is, but read on to see whether it’s really worth an upgrade.

Continue reading iPhone 4S review

iPhone 4S review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We always have to chuckle when laptop makers talk about making business systems look more palatable to the employees toting ‘em. After all, it’s not like we’re going to walk off the job because we don’t like the looks of that black box we’ve been assigned. Or are we? Nonetheless, laptop manufacturers are going out of their way to make their corporate systems look (and perform) more in line with their sexier consumer cousins. Take the Lenovo ThinkPad X1, for instance, a slimmed-down version of the company’s signature design — updated with a buttonless touchpad, Dolby sound, and a much-maligned glossy display. Toshiba, meanwhile, recently revamped its line of business notebooks to look like the lightweight Portege R705 — also a crossover hit.

Which brings us to the HP ProBook 5330m. This 13.3-incher has a metal-clad body and Beats Audio — a first on an HP business machine, but a staple across its consumer stable. And yet, the company’s wooing the IT guys, too, with a matte display, optional prepaid mobile broadband, Intel vPro technology, and TPM circuitry. With a starting price of 9, it scores big points for value, but can it hang? Let’s find out.

Continue reading HP ProBook 5330m review

HP ProBook 5330m review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A hotly anticipated smartphone with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a “Super” 4.3-inch screen, and a manufacturer-skinned version of Android 2.3 — we must be talking about the Samsung Galaxy S II, right? Not on this occasion, squire. Today we’re taking a gander at HTC’s Sensation, a handset that’s just begun shipping in Europe under a short-term Vodafone exclusive and which should be making its way to T-Mobile in the USA early next month. By beating its stablemate the EVO 3D and Moto’s Droid X2 to the market, the Sensation becomes the world’s first 4.3-inch smartphone with qHD resolution, while also serving as the debut phone for HTC’s Watch movie streaming service and Sense 3.0 UI customizations. That leaves us with an abundance of newness to review, so what are we waiting for?

Continue reading HTC Sensation review

HTC Sensation review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For years, Dell’s been teasing supermodel-thin laptops, each one flawed out of the gate: too pricey, too underpowered, and with underwhelming battery life. This time, Dell told us we’d get something different — a laptop without compromise. Recently, Round Rock killed off the Adamo and nixed the XPS 14, and then rumors started to spin — a spiritual successor would be the slimmest 15.6-inch notebook we’d ever seen, be crafted from “special materials” and yet cost less than ,000. Dell even stated that it would have an “innovative new form factor” of some sort.

The company neglected to mention it would look like a MacBook Pro.

This is the Dell XPS 15z, and we’re sorry to say it’s not a thin-and-light — it’s actually a few hairs thicker than a 15-inch MacBook Pro, wider, and at 5.54 pounds, it weighs practically the same. It is, however, constructed of aluminum and magnesium alloy and carries some pretty peppy silicon inside, and the base model really does ring up at 9. That’s a pretty low price to garner comparisons to Apple’s flagship, and yet here we are. Has Dell set a new bar for the notebook PC market? Find out after the break.

Continue reading Dell XPS 15z review

Dell XPS 15z review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 21:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As we all know, the beauty of Android stems from the fact that you get a wide variety of choices when it comes to devices and interface, though the latter can sometimes be a double-edged sword. Luckily, users who are fed up with their bloated Android UI but don’t want to (or can’t) mess around with ROMs now have another easy solution. Cooling on the oven rack is SPB’s Shell 3D app for Android, which installs as a replacement (but removable) home screen that comes with some nifty widgets (radio switches, backlight dimmer, weather forecast with a 3D chart, clock with over 60 skins, world time with a 3D globe, etc.) and resizeable folders.

As you can see above, the highlight of the show here is a cool-looking 3D carousel for switching between up to 16 panels, and you can trigger it by either tapping or horizontally dragging the bottom-center button. Whilst in carousel mode, you can also rearrange the panels, change their colors, or flick away excess panels. All of this required no manual reading on our end, so it’s safe to say that this is a pretty intuitive app. Read on to see what the performance is like.

Continue reading App review: SPB Shell 3D for Android

App review: SPB Shell 3D for Android originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The MacBook Air has never exactly been a simple product to review. Since the laptop’s launch back in the heady days of 2008, we’ve always considered it a niche, high-end product and much less a mainstream system. Originally, the wafer-thin (and somewhat underpowered) laptop sold for a painful starting price of ,799, and had its fair share of problems. Well, we’ve come a long way from Apple’s original play, with two all-new models of the Air. The first is an update to the standard 13.3-inch model priced at a significantly cheaper ,299, while the newest entrant to the MacBook family is a tiny 11.6-inch model that’s nearly the size of an iPad — and not wildly more expensive, starting at 9. Of course, over time the market for laptops of this type has gotten quite crowded, with a slew of ULV-based thin-and-lights that offer lots of options for lots of budgets. Do the new MacBook Airs have enough to take on a crowded market, or have they been bumped out of the game altogether? Read on for the full Engadget review to find out!

Continue reading MacBook Air review (late 2010)

MacBook Air review (late 2010) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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