The fine folks at Akihabara News got their hands on the Sony Mylo 2. You can read my previous post on the Sony Mylo Com2 here for the full specs on the device. The Mylo 2 looks more compact than it does in photos. Akihabara reports that the device’s navigational stick is awkward to use and videos are only played back in 320 x 240 pixels even though the Mylo’s screen resolution is 800 x 480 pixels. Furthermore, the built-in camera is worthless apparently. Sony decided not to use a real image sensor in the Mylo (why, Sony? Why?). Fortunately, however, the Sony Mylo 2 is pretty speedy, as seen in the video. Web pages seem to load in a reasonable time. This isn’t a cell phone by the way. Think of it like a souped up Sidekick, minus the phone.
Not quite as rugged as the Panasonic Toughbook, the Gigabyte M700 UMPC is more consumer friendly. The M700 Features a 7-inch touchscreen display (1024×600 resolution), 1.2GHz Via C7-M processor, 2GB of RAM, up to 60GB of hard drive space, GPS, WiMAX-capable ExpressCard, and two web cams. The The Gigabyte M700 weighs a mere 1.43 pounds and comes pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium. No QWERTY keyboard, so I assume it’ll have an on-screen one when the need arrives to do some typing work.
Here’s another ruggedized computer, but this time it’s Panasonic’s Toughbook CF-U1 UMPC. This iron-clad mobile computer sports a 5.6-inch LCD, QWERTY keyboard, and Intel’s low power consumption Atom processor. It can absorb drops and impacts, so this is probably aimed at goverment and commercial users. The CF-U1 weighs a feathery 2.2 pounds and can come pre-installed with either Windows XP or Vista.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 made a big splash when it hit the market. It is supposed to be the thinnest and lightest ThinkPad notebook ever. Inevitably, it is being compared to Apple’s MacBook Air. While the X300 is nowhere near as thin as the MacBook Air, it is still pretty light weighing at most 3.5 pounds (depending on how you configure it). In addition, the ThinkPad X300 isn’t a stripped down notebook like the MacBook Air. The X300 includes an optical drive while maintaining its slim figure. Some say the X300 is therefore more ‘real-world usable’, than the MacBookAir.
Specs:
* Intel Core 2 Duo 1.2GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB
* 13.3 WXGA+ TFT (LED backlight) display
* Intel Graphics Media Adapter X3100
* Up to 4 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM
* DVD burner
* 64 GB SSD
* Bluetooth 2.0
* Wi-Fi, 802.11n
* three USB ports, VGA output, Ethernet
* Built-in camera
* starts at 2.93 pounds
* Dimensions: 12.4″ x 9.1″ x 0.73″ - 0.92″ (less than 0.73” at its thinnest)
Good:
+ light weight, but solid build quality (magnesium casing)
+ feels like a standard notebook, not stripped down
+ the display, which is LED backlit, is nice and clear
+ built-in speakers are nice and loud
+ quiet hard drive, thanks to SSD
Bad:
- expensive
- no option for a traditional large hard drive. 64 GB SSD is the only storage option.
- poor battery life (little over 2 hours)
- graphics performance is laughable
- no PC card slot or SD slot
- no FireWire port
The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 is for those looking for a full featured thin and light weight notebook. While it may not be as thin (or sexy looking) as the MacBook Air, you’ll surely be more productive with the X300. The ThinkPad X300 starts at around $2,400 and can quickly approach $3,000 depending on how it is configured.
Built like a tank is the Dell Latitude XFR D630. This is Dell’s first fully “ruggedized” laptop. It meets the Department of Defense MIL-STD 810F standards for products that operate in extreme temperatures, moisture, and altitude. The rugged XFR D630 sports magnesium chassis, sealed keyboard, and shock protection to help protect its innards.
Specs:
* Core 2 Duo processor (up to 2.2 GHz)
* 14.1-inch LCD display
* Optional SSD (up to 64GB)
* Optional resistive touch screen
* Super-bright 500nit LCD DirectVue anti-glare display
* Integrated Smart Card Reader and integrated UPEK finger print reader
* Wi-Fi, with 802.11n support
* GPS
* Weight: 8.98lbs
The Dell Latitude XFR D630 is intended for government and commercial customers. It is available now at Dell and starts at $3,899.
Taiwanese motherboard manufacturer, MSI, has developed a new CPU fan that doesn’t run on electricity. Instead, it runs off the heat emitted from the processor. MSI has decided to apply the same mechanisms of a Stirling engine into their new fans - capable converting heat into energy. Animation time! …
Measuring 82 inches, the Samsung SyncMaster 820DXn is Samsung’s “largest and most powerful large format display”. However, don’t be fooled, this isn’t just a big fancy television. The SyncMaster 820DXn comes fully decked out with an AMD Athlon64 X2 3400+ 1.8 GHz dual core processor, 4GB of flash storage memory, 512 MB of DDR2 RAM, an ATI graphics card, and Windows XPe. This allows users to display content without the need for connecting the TV to a separate computer.
The display itself features a 5000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 1920 x 1080 full HD resolution, 8 ms response time, and comes equipped with Samsung’s Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (S-PVA) technology, which gives the 820DXn a 178-degree viewing angle. Similiarly, it also sports Samsung’s DNIe PRO image enhancement technology, which provides more natural picture colors, richer contrast, and finer details.
Here’s the shocker…the price for Samsung’s SyncMaster 820DXn is $76,999 USD. Too expensive if you ask me. The PC specs aren’t that ‘high end’ and neither is the display (granted it is 1080p and 82-inches, but $77k?). But for business owners that have cash to burn, why not?
So, in case you weren’t aware of what the ‘Chumby‘ is, it’s a small computer enclosed inside a beanbag-like casing. It is capable of displaying the news headlines, stock information, email, and other Internet content through the use of ‘widgets’. It does all of this over a Wi-Fi network. The Chumby can act like a clock (or alarm clock) and also play games. The gimmick with the Chumby is that you can ’slap’ it around to navigate between widgets. However, before we get to the summary review, here’s the specs:
* 3.5-inch LCD color touchscreen
* 350MHz ARM processor
* 64MB SDRAM
* 64MB NAND flash ROM
* Wi-Fi connectivity
* Built-in stereo speakers
* Squeeze sensor
* Accelerometer (motion sensor)
* Audio support: MP3
* Two USB 2.0 ports
* Headphone output
Good:
+ Touch-screen LCD
+ Tons of widgets available (60+)
+ Capable of playing music off of a thumb drive
+ You can plug in your iPod and the Chumby will play your tracks
+ Photo viewing is admirable - you can invite friends to send photos to it
+ Software updates over Wi-Fi
+ It’s cute
Bad:
- Screen size too small?
- Mashing the Chumby to navigate between widgets is painful and slow
- Adding and managing a widget must be done on a computer, not on the Chumby
- Must be plugged into a power outlet - no rechargeable battery
- Screen is too bright to be used as an alarm clock - even in ‘night mode’
- You can’t pause podcasts
- Onboard keyboard can be hard to use
- No iPhone support
The Chumby costs $179.95 (including shipping) at Chumby.com. It is available in latte, black, and pearl (white) color. For what it does, I think it’s over priced. The Chumby needs to be constantly connected to a power outlet, which is a deal breaker for me.
