GizmoSpy » review

Klipsch iGroove SXT WWI iPod Speaker System

GizmoPaul — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:27:36 +0000

Since releasing the Klipsch SXT back in 2007, Klipsch have been renowned for their great design in speaker systems for the iPod range. Now with the updated Klipsch iGroove SXT WWI they have really got a speaker system compatible with all the latest iPods and iPhones. The WWI has a firmware update from the previous models which lets iPhones know that the product is a compatible device and therefore you will be able to charge the latest 3Gs without it saying it is an incompatible device. Klipsch have added a 1000mA rapid charge circuit to the system, so you can quickly recharge your iPod or iPhone.

The Klipsch iGroove SXT offers exclusive Klipsch horn technology and bi-amplification for which means class-leading high-frequency clarity and bass performance. The design and technology is everything you would expect from Klipsch speakers, Its sleek and elegant and high performing making the most of all the power, detail and emotion of your music on your iPhone or iPod. The Klipsch iGroove SXT WWI has also been updated with bi-amplification and active crossovers.

Now you can Dock, charge and play iPhone and iPod in any mode and without any interference. You no longer have to switch the iPhone into Airplane mode to eliminate some interference as with its predecessors. The SXT WWI comes with a wireless IR remote as before and can be connected to a TV/Monitor to view video content via a S-Video output. Also on this speaker system is an alarm clock with instant wake functionality.

The Good
The SXT WWI is great now that it is fully compatible with the latest iPod and iPhone range. This makes it an excellent speaker system for any room and you expect the usual high quality sound that is synonymous with Klipsch products before it. The iGroove SXT is now bi-amplified, which means each driver is individually amplified, a feature that virtually eliminates distortion and significantly improves sonic performance.

The Bad
To be honest we can’t actually think of any bad points. Klipsch have ironed out the compatibility problems which were the only previous bad points.

Conclusion
Klipsch have done it again. We love this speaker system. The sound and performance is second to none in its class of quality iPod and iPhone speakers. We have literally been dancing to the beat of this great product.

Klipsch iGroove iPod Speaker System

GizmoPaul — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:25:58 +0000

Klipsch are a well respected brand in speaker systems and this iGroove product is a fantastic speaker unit packing a good punch in the speaker market. It’s stylish look and design and audio quality make it ideal for any living room. The iGroove plays all the dockable iPods and iPhones including the 5th generation Nano, the 3rd generation Touch as well as the iPhone 3G / 3Gs. It also comes with a neat cradle allowing you to play any MP3 player through a connection to the headphone socket.

The iGroove comes with a neat remote control allowing you to control the speakers and limited control to the iPod. The iGroove is a true two-way audio setup, featuring dual 2.5-inch fiber-composite woofers in a ported enclosure, dual 1-inch MicroTractrix Horn-loaded tweeters and a built-in iPod dock. To ensure an optimal and precise dispersion pattern, the exclusive MicroTractrix Horns are formed into the speaker baffle, a design that offers the lowest diffraction and maximum release of energy into the listening area. The iGroove is nicely curved to complete the stylish look. On the base unit are a volume control and the power button.

The Good
Having tested this out we found that the sounds was indeed excellent from this set of speakers. The sound more than filled a decent sized room and would be ideal for listening to at home or for parties at home or in a hall. We have used it for home listening and a party and it more than copes with both. At home we have 2 Nano’s and an iPhone and it’s great to be able to easily plug any device in and play the contents.

The Bad
We did find that our model would not charge the latest iPod nano (5th generation) or an iPhone 3Gs but this wasn’t a problem if you have enough charge in the iPod or iPhone at the time of playing.

Conclusion
Our overall satisfaction levels were high with this product. A good set of speakers for the home and they look stylish on any sideboard. They pack some power which is great for parties.

Amethyst iPig

GizmoPaul — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:52:53 +0000

Here at GizmoSpy we love all things cute and this iPig sure is that. However don’t be fooled by it’s cute appearance as this speaker system sure packs some punch in the speaker market. We bought one of these for my daughters bedroom and with the wide range of colours it will suit lots of places. We got a pink one (being a girl my daughter loves pink) to go with her pink iPod nano and she absolutely loves it.

The Amethyst iPig combines quality, performance, compatibility and unique pig shaped style into one compact iPod docking station. It has 5 speakers pumping out a good 25 watts of premium sound despite its small size. This is enough to fill any reasonably sized room. The design on the iPig is fantastic. It’s mouth lights up and flashed when commands are received from the remote control. It’s ears act as touch sensitive volume controls and the remote control is very handy. The iPig also charges some iPod devices as well.

Specification

High Quality Sound
4 speakers, a 4″ sub woofer and 25 watts of powerful sound
Adjustable Bass Control with Bass Reflex Technology
360 Degree Sound Distribution
Onboard Hi-Fi amplifier, dynamic airflow optimizer, interior dynamic cooling exchange and high sound stabilization to produce a clear powerful sound
Extensive Compatibility
iPod dock with various included cradles, standard auxiliary 3.5 mm input jack providing connectivity to most portable and non portable audio players, gaming consoles, mobile gaming devices, cellular phones, desktop PCs, laptops and various other devices
Unparalleled Design Elements
Patented volume control by touching the left and right ears
The iPig’s small footprint easily masks itself as a decorative piece and includes rubberised feet to prevent rattling
The smiley mouth lights up when the iPig is powered on and blinks when receives commands from the remote
As GREEN and RoHS product, the iPig efficiently utilizes minimal energy and is designed using environmentally friendly components and non-hazardous materials
Remote Control complete with audio controls as well as iPod menu functionality.

HP Mini 110-1130 Netbook

GizmoPaul — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:16:42 +0000

For those who wish to have computing on the go this slim and stylish offering from HP is a great choice. It is slim and compact, yet has all the power you need from a netbook. Powering this netbook is a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom Processor and it comes with Microsoft Starter Edition to give you the functionality required.

This HP Mini 110-1130 comes with a 92% keyboard meaning typing is comfortable if this is what you need. The 10.1 inch anti-glare widescreen display means the resolution is good for viewing the Internet or playing your movies on the go.

1Gb standard memory is installed which is standard for most netbooks. This will give you ample memory for running those applications which are most needed but if you want to run more powerful apps it might be worth upgrading to 2Gb. With a 160Gb SATA disk you can store a good amount of data including your latest tunes and downloads. Wireless is also included making connecting online easy on the go.

For a battery there is a 6 cell Lithium rechargeable battery which gives up to 6 hours of battery life. There is also an integrated webcam and digital microphone meaning you can stay in contact with friends online and show them where you are.

The Mini 110-1130 also comes with 3 USB 2.0 ports enabling you to connect extra disks or your MP3 player to sync to.

There is some great pre-loaded software as well to get you going. Microsoft Works (word processor, spreadsheet, calendar and database), Microsoft Internet Explorer, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Media Player, Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Player, HP Games Console with hours of free game play and Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 60 day update. Also included is a free 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 Edition.

The Good
This offering from HP is both stylish and practical. It is lightweight making it easily portable and comes with a good array of hardware and software so that you should have the tools you need to work or play on the move.

The Bad
The battery life at 6 hours can be a little inadequate. Especially if you are using the netbook for battery hungry use such as powering up external disks or MP3 players.

Conclusion
We think this is a great offering in the NetBook market. Its very easy to carry around so if mobile computing is what you need you can’t go too far wrong with the HP 110-1130.

Toshiba SD290EKB

GizmoStu — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:34:44 +0000

We got our hands on a Toshiba SD290EKB as we had heard some good things about this low budget model. Toshiba are renound for their quality products so we were exciting to give this DVD player a test run.

The Good

Pulling the SD290EKB out of the box we were pleased to see it was a proper full size unit, unlike some of the others at the low budget end of the market which are dinky little boxes. One of the first things we noticed was the USB connector on the front which allows connection of an external hard drive or memory stick, which when combined with the SD290EKB’s built in Divx playback capabilities allows you to transfer divx movies from your computer onto your memory stick and play them directly without the need to burn any discs at all, very nifty for a DVD player in this price range in our opinion!

It played every single recordable disc we threw at it without any problems, DVDR/W +/- CDR/W. The SD290EKB also has the ability to play MP3 and JPEG files, while we don’t particularly use these features very much there are probably many that do and it’s nice to have as a free extra. Dolby digital support is also included as well DTS.

Picture quality is excellent, it even blew our Sony PS3 out of the water in terms of clarity on divx playback. It also supports multi region playback, if you want to make the SD290EKB fully region free we managed to find the following way to unlock it:

“First of all turn on the dvd player, open the disc tray and then enter 98790. It will now change to region 0 making it able to watch all regions.”

The Bad

More of a little gripe really but there is no HDMI connector on this model, even though there are some stores quoting that there is, so if that’s your only option for hooking the unit up to your telly then the SD290EKB isn’t much use to you.

Conclusion

The Toshiba SD290EKB is almost perfect for the amount of money it costs, very simple to use and supports pretty much everything as long as you don’t need a HDMI connection. It has a multitude of features that a lot of the more expensive models have at a fraction of the price. An absolute bargain.

Samsung NB30

GizmoStu — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:35:37 +0000

Samsung have unveiled the NB30, a netbook that is designed to be more durable than it’s rivals, we’ve sent out agents in to find out what exactly is so special about this latest offering from Samsung HQ.

The Good

Right from the off this netbook feels like it could withstand a knock or two, it obviously isn’t bulletproof or built to have tanks run over it but it can survive a drop (of 30 inches according to Samsung) and has a water tight seal that can handle 50cc of water being spilt over it. The build quality is excellent, it looks and feels sturdy, there really isn’t a bone we could pick in that respect.

The lid of the NB30 is finished with a rubbery textured design that is shock, scratch and fingerprint resistant. The screen which it protects has a sharp and vibrant picture and is 10.1 inch and LED backlit, with the familiar netbook resolution of 1024*600.

The palm rest is also made from a rubberised material to offer the same protection as the lid, and the keyboard is spill resistant with the usual quality touchpad and mouse buttons below.

One new peice of ingeniouty is the free fall sensor on the hard drive, if it detects it has been dropped it will shut the hard drive down quickly so as to avoid the usual data loss and the potentially unrepairable damage to the hard drive platters, we where unfortunately not allowed to test this feature out but Samsung say it works, and works well so we have no reason to doubt them.

The NB30 comes in Windows XP and Windows 7 starter flavours, the latter of which puts the price up slightly. It is built on Intel’s latest Pine Trial platform with Intel GMA 3150 graphics and a Hyper-threaded 1.66GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and a choice of either 160GB or 250GB hard drive, with of course 802.11bgn wireless and a digital Livecam.

Samsung have stated the battery life is approximately 11 hours, although you can expect it to drop slightly under normal use, it still provides a decent time between charges.

There is talk of there being a touchscreen version as well, but we have yet to see it so we’ll keep on the lookout for that.

The Bad

The specs of this machine are pretty much the same as the majority of netbooks available today, so don’t expect a super charged experience.

The keys on the keyboard are a little closer together than expected, but it didn’t take long to become accustomed to using them.

Conclusion

We think that the Samsung NB30 could take off in a big way, particularly for parents buying a netbook for their child or even those who like having a bit more peace of mind that their machine and data have better protection in the event that the worst happens.

Even though the specs are the same as a high percentage of the netbook market the extra durability this one provides at a similar price to the rest makes it a definate worthwhile purchase.

Nokia Booklet 3G

GizmoStu — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:40:53 +0000

Yes you did read the title correctly, Nokia have dipped their toe into the netbook market and brought us the Nokia Booklet 3G. So does the mobile phone company cut the mustard in the computer world or should they stick to what they’re good at? We’ve sent our agents in to bring us a full report.

The Good

The new Nokia Booklet 3G certainly makes a good first impression, it has a certain Macbook-esque look about it with an aluminium chassis that also doubles up as a heat sink enabling Nokia to do away with a fan and vents. The fact that they have used aluminium does mean the netbook weighs a bit more than most (1.2Kgs) but this is far from a bad thing, it feels much studier and better built than a lot of the recent netbooks on the market. The outer lid has glossy plastic which isn’t interchangeable unfortunately but does come in 3 different colours, black, silver and blue, of course the glossy finish tends to attract fingerprint marks so you’ll be glad to hear that Nokia even include a little cloth to keep the Booklet 3G spick and span.

Lifting the lid reveals a 10.1 inch LED backlit display, which in fact is very easy on eye, it runs at 1280 x 720 which provides a good amount of screen real estate for a netbook. Just above the screen is a built in 1.3MP camera and beneath is a chichlet style keyboard, the keys are very comfortable to work with, if ever-so slightly smaller than the norm but we didn’t find this to be a problem with our chubby digits. The mouse trackpad we were very impressed with, it is only a basic touchpad and doesn’t support all the fancy pinching and twisting gestures, but still was very easy to use and a good size.

There are plenty of connection options on the Booklet 3G, consisting of three USB sockets, headphone jack, HDMI output and a SD card reader all found on each side. Nokia have also decided to integrate a GPS chip which we thought was a nice touch and not often found in other netbooks/laptops, while it doesn’t work brilliantly inside a thick walled building it does work nearer to a window or while strolling outside, it accurately tracked our location and we could plot destinations with ease. It also of course offers connectivity via Wi-Fi and even bluetooth, but the Nokia Booklet 3G really comes into it’s own with it’s built-in 3G.

The Booklet 3G has a SIM card slot on the side which allows you to connect to the 3G network in those times where a Wi-Fi hotspot isn’t available. Installation is a breeze and as soon as you insert your sim card, Windows 7 picks it up and has you connected via 3G in no time at all. You can currently use a SIM card from any network as the Booklet 3G isn’t locked into one or the other, but this may change if they start to offer a subsidised model in exchange for a mobile broadband contract.

Battery life on Nokia’s offering is truly excellent, lasting a good 7/8 hours under load, under normal use you could easily expect it to last a good 12 hours+ between charges which should be more than ample for those on the go.

The core of the netbook is an Intel Atom Z530 running at 1.6GHz combined with 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a 120GB hard drive

The Bad

Even though the low power Intel Atom CPU provides the system with excellent battery life, it does suffer a bit in the performance stakes, if you try and have too many applications open at once it will start to struggle. That being said the same is true for most netbooks using the Intel Atom chip, but in the price range in which this one lies a little more would have been nice.

Nokia have bundled in Windows 7 as well, but only the starter edition unfotunately, while it does the basics very well you won’t find any of the bells and whistles to be found in the more advanced editions.

Conclusion

For it’s price tag the Nokia Booklet 3G certainly looks the part, just let down slightly by it’s ability to multi-task. If it’s style and looks you are after then this is your baby, but if you want more performance bang for your buck then keep shopping around.

Samsung N130 review

GizmoPaul — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:52:58 +0000

The Samsung N130 10.1 inch Netbook is a great model from Samsung in the netbook range. Its usability, low price and long battery life help it stand out from the crowd in a tough market.

The Samsung N130 comes with an Intel Atom processor which is used to increase energy efficiency to extend the battery life giving you up to 6 hours battery life making it a great model for those on the move. The N130 also comes with 1Gb of memory. The N130 is sleek and elegant making it very portable as a netbook should be but with a 10.1 inch XD display giving proper 16.9 aspect ratio it can play true wide-screen content. Although slim it packs in an ergonomic keyboard which is normal size so typing is easy and un-compromised.

Storage is a capable 160GB hard drive and the Samsung N130 also comes with a 3-in-1 card reader making it good for multi-media use. Three USB ports let you connect peripherals such as external disks, CD / DVD drives or memory sticks while 802.11n Wi-Fi provides high-speed wireless connectivity. The Samsung N130 also comes with an integrated webcam fitted above the screen.

The Good
The Samsung N130 is a great product for those that truly want a portable netbook. The great battery life makes it ideal for those who want to use the netbook for a good portion of the day without access to power. The full keyboard makes typing on this netbook easy so is very good for people who want to do a lot of typing on the move, such as chat or content writing.

The sleek design also make this netbook great for those who truly want portable computing and online access on the move.

The Bad
There are few negatives with the N130 model. The mouse can be over sensitive making it a bit annoying when hovering over as it can move the mouse. The Webcam is off to the right which means you won’t appear centrally if you are sitting directly in front of the netbook but this isn’t a reason not to buy this product, just more of an annoyance.

Spy Rating
Great netbook for those who want portability. Great battery life, good performance and a great price make this a true netbook and what netbooks are all about. Sure there are models out there with better specifications and more features but if you are looking for a netbook which gives you online access on the move with the capability you expect from a netbook then this is a great product for you.

Acer Ferrari One review

GizmoStu — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:46:27 +0000

In a similiar vein to the Italian car manufacturer with which it’s partnered, the new Ferrari One netbook from Acer is designed to be sleek, sexy and quick. But does it live up to it’s namesake? We sent our agents to check out what’s under the hood on the new addition to the netbook market.

The Good

At first glance it is obvious that some time has been spent on aesthetics, the glossy scarlet red lid sporting the ever famous prancing horse logo may not be everyones cup of tea but it certainly sets this model apart, we almost felt like cracking out the chamois leather to give it a quick buff up. Even the plastic wristrest has been made to resemble carbon fibre and a quick look underneath will reveal four rubber feet in the style of tyres.

The Ferrari One is a little bigger than most netbooks available at the moment, but boy do Acer make good use of the extra space. The keyboard is quite possibly one of the best we have seen on a notebook and for that matter a large number of laptops, the primary keys are a nice big size and the general keyboard layout is good, it takes no time at all to become comfortable and up to your usual typing speed. The mouse trackpad also allows you to use pinch, stretch or twist gestures similar to that on the Macbooks or iPhones to manipulate things on screen which is a nice touch.

The larger frame also means that Acer could sneak in a 11.6 inch screen which, when compared to the 10 inch screens of the majority of netbooks really makes a lot of difference. The larger screen also means a higher resolution than most of it’s competitors, 1366 x 768 to be exact which provides a nice workable area.

The Ferrari One is not all about style though, from the word go it’s evident that this netbook is a cut above it’s rivals in terms of performance as well, mainly helped along by the fact that it is the first of it’s type to make use of the AMD Athlon X2 L310 CPU, with two cores running at 1.2GHz each and 1MB L2 cache which easily runs the pre-loaded Windows 7 installation. Backing up the CPU is 2GB of RAM which can be expanded to 4GB if required and an integrated ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200, the latter of which is a huge improvement over the Intel integrated graphics that are shipped with most netbooks. It can even run some of the latest games, albeit at a lower performance level, but still playing the likes of World of Warcraft on this baby should be a walk in the park. It can also quite adequately handle HD streaming/playback.

Acer have gone to great lengthes to highlight the Ferrari One’s audio capability. It ships with a pair of integrated stereo speakers, and its sound card can easily handle Dolby Home Theater v3, which features Dolby Digital Live, Dolby Pro Logic IIx and, more usefully for a netbook, Dolby Headphone, which produces a fairly realistic 5.1-channel surround-sound effect.

Other features include an ample 250GB hard drive, more than enough for the average netbook user, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabyte ethernet. External connectivity on the Ferrari One is mostly as you would expect. It has two USB ports on the right side, along with a five-in-one memory-card reader, a mic jack and a headphone jack that also doubles up as an optical digital SPDIF audio output. The left side houses a third USB port, a D-Sub VGA video output port and something a bit different, an ATI XGP port (More about that in a minute).

The Bad

Now moving on to the things our agents didn’t particularly like (There aren’t many), firstly the ATI XGP port, it allows users to connect an external graphics card which can then output to up to four monitors. Now this sounds nice in theory, but not many are going to be willing to buy another peice of kit for something that may never be used, a nice HDMI output would have been better in our opinion.

The mouse trackpad may take a little getting used too, it is a slightly odd shape and not quite as smooth as some may have used in the past, not that this is a major issue as we quite quickly became accustomed to it but thought it best to highlight.

Conclusion and rating

While we liked the styling and bold appearance of the Ferrari One, obviously it isn’t going to appeal to everyone. But one things for sure, it’s specs and performance make it one of the, if not THE best netbooks available today. Our agents have absolutely no qualms in recommending it to anyone looking for a bit of ompf in their netbook.

Dell Inspiron 11z Review

GizmoGaz — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:03:36 +0000

Dell introduced a new line of NetBooks as they are becoming more popular. The latest gem of a model, the Dell Inspiron 11z series netbook was released towards the end of 2009, with models boasting a 1.3MHz Intel Celeron or Pentium SU4100 Ultra Low Voltage processor, ultra light design and laptop like performance. The 11.6″ HD TFT Screen makes this a little larger than the Dell Mini Series, but packs more power and performance yet is still a bargain at little over £350.

Some other features include latest built in Wifi, a 1.3MB Webcam to stay connected and optional extras soon to be available like bluetooth and mobile broadband

The Good

Like all Dell hardware, they can be customized with very reasonably priced upgrade components, but also the entry level models still prove to be very good for the average user. The Inspiron 11z has the benefit of still being a very portable and ultra light netbook weighing only 1.4kg and only 1″ thin. With a slightly larger screen, the 11.6 inch Hi-def WLED 1366 x 768 pixel display, while the Mini 10v has a smaller 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600.

Entry level models comes with 2GB 800MHz SDRAM, 160GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard drive, decent Intel processor which fares better than the Atom processors in most netbooks and the best bit of all they are extremely well priced. Because of the Ultra Low Voltage Processor the battery life is also very good giving approx 6hrs with the larger 6 cell battery. The 11z series also feature a near full size keyboard beacuse of the the larger chassis and a HDMI port unlike the Dell Mini series.

The Bad

Our Spys have informed us that some users experience problems with the touchpad, mainly because the left and right buttons are now intergrated which can be frustrating at first but think this would be one of those things to get used to. This does allow for doing a 2 finger pinch type zoom like you would on the Iphone, and some users actually prefer this.

For the full battery life you will need to opt for the larger 6 cell battery and this will also add some extra weight and size to the machine and isn’t always suitable for on the go Spys.

Spy Review & Rating

A very affordable netbook with the power of a laptop, also very stylish and lightweight design. The Dell Inspiron 11z netbook would be very suited to the average Spy or general public who is on the go with a decent battery life for researching secret missions or just browsing the internet. The added benefit of 2GB ram a decent processor and decent lcd screen will not affect the performance and allows for doing more advanced spy tasks like watching covert operations in HD or topping up our skills in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

Verdit = If you are looking for style, portable, lightweight for most basic tasks then go for the entry level. If you are after performance and have to upgrade from the entry level then you may be approaching similar prices to some best good performing laptops such as the