All new Gadgets

Sony Ericsson W580 and Z750 unveiled

2007-03-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Sony Ericsson W580 is the third slider of the company and it is again a Walkman branded mobile much like the previous ones - the Sony Ericsson W850 and W830. At only 14 mm thickness, the Sony Ericsson W580 is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera, a 2" 262K TFT display with a QVGA resolution, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and is additionally enhanced by a Memory Stick Micro M2 memory card slot (512MB card included). This quad-band Walkman phone comes with a twist though - besides all the music goodies it also features a pedometer and some sports-oriented applications much like the Sony Ericsson W710 does. Besides the form factor it is in fact functionally identical to the latter. The Sony Ericsson W580 will be available in Q3 2007.
The second new mobile is the Sony Ericsson Z750 clamshell. It follows the high-gloss design line of the fashionable 3G-enabled Sony Ericsson Z610. The Sony Ericsson Z750 is the first HSDPA-enabled mobile of the manufacturer and additionally has quad-band GSM/EDGE network support. Other than that the Sony Ericsson Z750 boasts the same hardware characteristics as the Z610 - such as a 2 megapixel camera and a secondary VGA video calls camera, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, and a Memory Stick Micro M2 memory card slot (128MB card included). New features include a FM radio and an enhanced resolution of the 2.2" 262K TFT display plus the Z750 is the first phone based on Sony Ericsson’s Java Platform 8 (JP-8), supporting a range of new Java programming features. The Z750 comes with The Sony Ericsson Z750 will be available in Q3 2007.

HD DVD Laptops

2007-03-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

The battle between the leading high definition video formats—HD-DVD and Blu-ray—keeps getting hotter, and with more and more titles being released each month, the quest to quench your high-definition thirst can now be satisfied by a laptop. Imagine being able to watch some of your favorite high-definition movies in your office, in your dorm room, or on the go. In a scenario where space is of the utmost importance, why not combine a powerful laptop with your living room experience? You can allocate all that money you're saving for an HDTV to something more meaningful, like that new leather office chair. Furthermore, these HD screens are not married to your entertainment system or nailed to a wall. If you feel like taking it to another location, well, you can. As far as Blu-ray laptops go, the Sony VAIO VGN-AR190G is the only one on the market. HD-DVD laptops, on the other hand, are more readily available, thanks to vendors like HP, Acer, Toshiba and Asus—all big proponents of integrated HD-DVD drives in laptops. While they won't replace your plasma television—HD laptops are laptops first—you'll find they're a great tool for things like gaming, 3D design, video and photo editing, and watching HD DVD movies. They even have video output ports (HDMI or DVI-D), so you can treat your laptop like a set-top player and view those HD-DVD movies onto your 50-inch plasma screen. The HP Pavilion dv9000t is probably your best bet if you're looking for a reasonably priced HD-DVD laptop ($2,395). It integrates an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of RAM for optimized movie playback. HP even developed its own playback software, QuickPlay 2.3, which lets you play your HD-DVD titles without booting Windows. The Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 gives you a comprehensive set of AV features and a gorgeous 1920-by-1200 resolution screen. It's currently the only HD-DVD laptop that can support 1080i and 1080p formats. Both the Toshiba and HP have brightly-lit 17 inch-screens, but let's say that's not enough. The Acer Aspire 9805WKHi offers a gorgeous 20-inch, CrystalBrite display—though at 17.1 pounds, you might want to ask for help before moving it.

The new PS 3

2007-03-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

The Playstation 3, love it or hate it, is the newest, most desirable tech toy. This holiday season will find many unfortunate parents and fans left longing for this large black box. So, what's the big deal? We're going to take an in-depth look at the system from every angle and tell you exactly what to expect…The most readily apparent place to start looking at the PS3 is on the outside. Depending on your model (20 or 60 gigabytes), there will be a few different inputs, but they're otherwise similar. The only difference between the models as far as input is concerned is the memory card reader that can be used to display slideshows and such. The slots for the memory card reader are hidden behind a small door on the left side, next to the disc drive opening. They are exposed by flipping up the left side panel on the 60GB version of the PS3. Otherwise, the models are basically the same with the exception of the silver fascia on the 60GB version. The front of the PS3 has 4 USB slots for charging and pairing controllers. To “pair” the controllers means to associate that controller with your specific PS3, for, I guess, households with multiple PS3s.... Unlike the 360, the PS3 requires that your controllers be plugged in to the unit when you first pair them. Though a little inconvenient, you also have to re-pair them after any firmware updates. Once the controllers are paired, however, you don't have to do it again. Next to the USB ports you’l find two LEDs, one indicating WLAN access, and the other for HDD activity. Now, let's flip it around to the backside.

Originally, Sony planned to only include HDMI with the more expensive 60 GB model, but then (wisely) decided to include it in both packages. This is good news for anyone with a HD TV, especially one that supports 1080p. With that in mind, the PS3 has 3 outputs on its backside, along with the network and power cable input. Also found on the back is the standard Playstation rocker switch that turns on and off the master power. The other outputs on the back are the usual proprietary Sony cable connection, so if you have old PS2 cables you want to use (such as PS2 component cables), then you don't have to buy any new equipment. Also present is an optical sound output port which, of course, allows for surround sound output via an optical cable. Not exactly what everyone was expecting, according to the original mock ups which showed 2 HDMI and 3 Ethernet ports.