Tag: SUMMERREVIEWS

Well this was bound to happen. Ahead of schedule, Walt Mossberg has turned his official review of the new iPhone 3G, and we've got the recap. On the whole, Walt stays mostly positive about the device; he likes the form factor (which he wants to stress really hasn't changed much), says the 3G speeds are a big improvement over EDGE (no kidding?), and informs us that the audio quality and phone ...

As anyone who has used noise-canceling headphones on a plane can doubtlessly confirm, they make the experience of flying a whole lot less unpleasant. While these sound-blockers can't do much to combat the shrieking baby in the seat next to you (or its shrieking parents, for that matter), they all but remove the low roar of the engines, the hum of the fans, and various (and usually) incessant ...

BBQ season is nearly upon us. That means a cooler full of beer, meat (or veggie burgers) on the grill, and a five year-old portable stereo outside connected to insanely long, orange extension cord. But this wireless outdoor solar speaker may help you say goodbye to bulky tangled extension cords forever. The five-watt speaker has an Earth-friendly solar panel that keeps it ...

We were lucky to get a couple of days to play around with the sexy, new Lenovo U110 ultraportable laptop. It's only 2.3 pounds and, as you can see, small enough to fit into the teeniest of backpacks. It's also one of the slickest looking notebooks we've ever laid our eyes or hands on, with oversized keys that make typing surprisingly smooth (for such a small laptop). Handling-wise, ...

What it is: The latest installment in the free-roaming, crime-spree-filled video game series, 'Grand Theft Auto IV' is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated title of all time -- of this year, anyway. And, with the bevy of perfect scores being applied before and since its release, it stands to possibly be the most highly rated game of all time as well -- again at least until some other new ...

Contrary to popular belief, plenty of high-quality camcorders -- even HD ones -- are available for less than $500. digg_url ='http://www.switched.com/2008/04/01/best-camcorders-under-500/'; We test drove a bunch of them, and discovered that we liked some better than others. You can check out our top picks in the video above, and our list of favorites includes a range of recording formats ...

Hype Check: Palm Centro What it is: Palm's Centro smartphone is the PDA pioneer's longest leap yet into the world of consumer phones, sporting the functionality of the larger Treo 755p in a smaller candy bar form factor. It has a full QWERTY keyboard, and supports all the features (and third-party applications) Palm users have come to enjoy. A version of the Centro has been out on Sprint, but ...

While the yet-to-be-invented GPS-enabled remote control will be Man's crowning technical achievement, the Zoombak Advanced GPS locator gets pretty close in the awesome department. The 2.5-oz. device is small enough to fit in your pocket, yet it's powerful enough to send location updates to the Web for five days without a recharge. Watch the video for a demo of how the Zoombak works. ...

When we first reported about the upcoming launch of Dr. Dre's Beats high-end headphones, we expected a mix of both parties' aptitude for doing things big and right. We got a chance to take the new skullpods for a test run last night, and our expectations were spot-on. Sound Quality Without getting too technical, we can confidently say that the Beats handled all the frequencies thrown at them ...

It may look a little strange, but the $600 B&W Zeppelin sounds perfect and sets a new standard for acoustics and ergonomics in the all-in-one iPod dock category. ...

Hype Check: Amazon Kindle Last week, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the Kindle, a new electronic book reader that has quickly become one of the hottest gifts of the holiday season (in fact, the device's first run sold out in a mere 5 and a half hours!). We got our hands on one and have been busy browsing, buying, downloading and reading e-books, -magazines, -newspapers, and blogs for the ...

Whether your giftee wants to rock out at the club or work out at the gym, V-Moda's Vibe (and iPhone-compatible Vibe Duo) makes a great choice. Sound quality is higher than many (much) more expensive models (the bass is pretty booming), and the buds fit very snugly in your ears. These $99 buds are also made of solid metal -- unlike your chintzy iPod headphones, which we've broken countless pairs ...

Ideal for cycling enthusiasts who are also safety-conscious (which they should be at the speeds they're going), the new iH85 speaker system ($80) from iHome is a nifty alternative to noise-blocking headphones. It's simple -- just dock your iPod to the circular device, which you then drop into your bike's drink holder and presto, the little bicycle boom-box blasts tunes that you can easily (and ...

If you ever rent vehicles while traveling, you know that you can tack on an additional $10 a day or so for an optional GPS unit that gives you turn-by-turn directions. Most rental car companies are beginning to feature this option, but the Big Two -- Hertz and Avis -- offer it in almost all of their locations. Not surprisingly, the GPS offerings by Hertz and Avis are different. Which is ...

Welcome to the first in a series of posts in which we give much-anticipated new gadgets or services a test drive and tell you whether or not they live up to the hype. Today, we set our crticial eyes on Verizon Wireless's VCAST Mobile TV. What it is: VCAST Mobile TV provides live and continuous TV broadcasts right to your cell phone. What's on TV: Right now, participating networks include NBC, ...