If you’re thinking of getting Sprint’s Samsung Exclaim, the phone now comes with another cool function.
Scanbuy, the company that’s been at work putting its ScanLife application on camera cell phones, announced Tuesday that its ScanLife 2D bar code reader application will now be preloaded on the …
Just last summer, Toshiba’s Portege R500 was the first laptop with a 128GB SSD. A year later, Toshiba’s Portege R600 is the world’s first 512GB SSD lappie. So for this one moment, Toshiba is on the top of the world.
Design
Note: The R600 has been out for several months, we just tested their updated system with the mega SSD. So if you’ve read about the build before, you can skip down to our section on performance.
For $3,500 (as tested with 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U9400, 3GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Intel 4500MHD graphics, DVD burner, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi n), the Portege may be a bit of a disappointment right out of the box. Yes, it’s ridiculously light, starting at 2.46lbs, but that weight comes at a cost of feel. It’s plastic, and no amount of metal paint can get around that. But luckily the plastic is fairly smudge-proof and part of a “shock absorbing design” complete with “spill resistant” keyboard. In other words, the system may be more durable than a Macbook, especially with so few moving parts.
The 12.1-inch screen is technically WXGA (widescreen) resolution, though something about the system’s shape makes it look more vertical, like a 4:3 screen of yore. This is a minor point, of course, and its non-glossy screen gets just bright enough to use indoors by a window. In full-out sunlight, you can one-button switch the system into “transreflective” mode, essentially using the sun to brighten the screen. High brightness (in standard mode) is still the brightest setting, even under direct sunlight, but the transreflective setting probably uses a lot less power.
Extras, from the effective fingerprint scanner to the eSATA and SD ports, do a lot to sweeten the deal on the small, utilitarian system. And in this era, it’s straight up shocking to see an optical bay pop out of a system that’s just .77 inches thick.
Performance
The R600 runs Vista very fluidly, especially given its stature. Firefox, Windows Media Player, HD content streamed from the web—none of it will leave you waiting. But given the system’s Intel 4500MHD GPU, don’t get any fantasies of gaming.
Many will expect the computer to boot nearly instantly given the SSD—I’ve heard this expectation a number of times—but the still takes about a minute to fully load. The bottleneck here is simply not the hard drive.
How does the R600 compare to other light systems like the Macbook Air or Lenovo X301? Just as you’d expect from the specs on paper, it’s slower than the Macbook Air. But even with the same processor, it outperforms the X301.
Then you have to check out the speeds on the SSD.
Fast! This isn’t some bargain basement drive that Toshiba shoved in a laptop for bragging rights. I mean, a 512GB SSD is clearly for bragging rights, but it’s Toshiba’s biggest and fastest drive made in-house—way nicer than we see competition from Lenovo and Apple (which we believe to both use earlier gen, Samsung drives).
But what does this speed chart mean in real life? Copying a 700MB file on my Macbook Pro (with a 320GB, 7200 RPM hard drive) took 35 seconds. On the R600, that same copy may have legitimately cracked the 8 second barrier. I’d like to say that I never took the speed for granted, but I totally started taking the speed for granted. Superman doesn’t bow down and thank the sun every time he avoids traffic by flying over Metropolis, so why should I be any different?
Toshiba’s 6-cell battery is rated internally at 7 hours, 32 minutes. I found that it offers 3 hours and 35 minutes of MPEG4 playback (screen maxed bright, Wi-Fi on, Bluetooth off, performance settings normal). Our test is rigorous, and it’s pretty common for laptops to only get about 50% of their rated battery life in our real world use simulation. Of course, the computer could probably eek out another 30 minutes to an hour with less taxing processes and a dimmer screen.
I Might Buy One…In 2011
The key to remember, of course, is that the 128GB R500 ran $3,000 just a year ago. Now, their 512GB R600 is $3,500. Even with the price bump on their top tier system, Toshiba has the right idea here: Push the envelope and force the market to adapt. Keep topping the sundae with cherries and someone will be hungry enough to buy it (meanwhile those of us who aren’t will have plenty of dropped cherries to munch on).
Still, I don’t know that I’d recommend this fully stuffed R600 with full gusto. It’s simply not as beautiful as premium, small-form laptops like the Dell Adamo or Apple’s Macbook Air (side by side above), and the prices of flash storage will certainly come down (and quickly at that). But I’m glad Toshiba made the thing because, frankly, somebody needed to load a laptop with a legitimately beastly SSD first.
The huge SSD Is fast
Under 3lbs, less than an inch thick
Substantial ports and extras
For $3,500, it feels a bit like a Pontiac
[Additional benchmarks from AppleInsider and ThinkPad Forums]
We invite Natali Del Conte onto today’s show to have some fun with us, but you should’ve been there in the preshow–she went berzerko! We calm her down a little bit and she talks to us about her Palin/Twitter fallout and her upcoming appearance at Comic-Con 2009. She also dispels rumors about drugs in her undergarments, and we get to a few more exciting stories on the show!
NDC as Lara Croft
(Credit: Natali Del Conte)
If you’re wondering why there’s a photo of Lara Croft to the left of this paragraph, look again: it’s actually Natali Del Conte, host of Loaded on CNETTV. She’ll be at this year’s Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego, so be sure to look for that soon! We love it when Natali comes on because we always seem to bring out the dirty side of her, or so we think. Today’s show starts off a little rough because Natali just can’t seem to get the Wi-Fi in the studio to connect to her computer, so we’re warning you to brace yourselves for a classic NDC scream in the beginning of today’s show. After that, everything runs smoothly (as smooth as it can get on The 404). We get to talking about Sarah Palin resigning and the ridiculous speech that sort of made sense, but didn’t say anything. I think NDC put it best when she said that the former Governor of Alaska is very good at the art of “saying without saying.” We all watched the speech, too, and after several 17-minute viewings, I still have no idea what the heckbeans is going on. I guess she’s not so much of a Maverick after all.
Daniel enjoys the weekend with Becks and The 404
(Credit: CNET/The 404)
The next story in today’s show rundown is about the city of Boston launching a complaint-filing iPhone application. Sounds like a disaster waiting to strike, right? I’d have to agree with you. Now that all citizens of Boston have an open forum to complain, I imagine a flood of the most mundane little squawks about graffiti, potholes, smells, street lights, etc…stuff that you normally wouldn’t give a **** about. After we report on the story, we go around the table and list off a few complaints that we have with the city of New York, and if you think Boston is bad, just wait, there’s a few good ones in there. Are you listening, New York?
Finally, we want to send our thanks to our pal Daniel for sending us a very kind e-mail with a picture of what he did this weekend. He writes, “Hey Guys,
Wanted to let you know that I spent sometime with the 404 and a Becks this weekend. Feel free to post this to the blog or whatever. Really love your show, keep up the work and congrats on the sponsor.” Now if that isn’t the most ideal way to sponsor a show, I don’t know WHAT is! We jest, but we seriously appreciate pictures like these, they make our day. By the way, our new iTunes album art looks GREAT in Cover Flow!
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Originally posted at The 404
Apple’s decision to cut prices across its MacBook lineup is about to be validated, according to an analyst’s estimate.
(Credit: Apple)After several months of declining Mac sales compared against 2008 numbers, Apple looks to be back on track with its June Mac shipments, says Piper Jaffray analyst …
Originally posted at News – Apple
It’s some 60 percent smaller in size, but other than that Sony’s new VRD-MC6 DVDirect looks and acts an awful lot like the previous VRD-MC10 and VRD-MC5: it can take 1080i video with 5.1 audio off your Handycam’s drive or Memory Stick and shoot out an AVCHD DVD that plays back on compatible Blu-ray drives like the PS3. If you’re not into the all-Sony seamless end-to-end HD experience, you can also bring in SD video over FireWire, composite, or USB to churn out regular old DVDs with automatic chaptering and custom menu backgrounds, or you can go totally old-school and just drop in an SD card full of photos and MP3s to generate a slideshow. Yeah, it’s not nerd heaven and you won’t be editing Oscar-winners here, but at $230 it’s a pretty painless way for everyone else to archive and share their videos. Ships in September.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Video
Sony’s latest DVDirect camcorder-to-DVD recorder creates AVCHD DVDs with 5.1 sound originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Using a Sony Reader, a guest at Miami's Epic Hotel catches up on summer reading on the hotel’s 16th floor pool deck.
(Credit: Epic Hotel )
Open the nightstand in some hotels these days and you’ll find a Sony Reader alongside the bible. Expanding a hotel trend …
Over the holiday weekend, iPhone hacker George Hotz released a jailbreak solution for the iPhone 3GS. (To clarify: jailbreaking is not the same as unlocking, but rather a hack to allow you to run unauthorized applications. Jailbreaking, however, is required in order to perform an unlock.) The Dev-Team Blog, who regularly posts iPhone hacks and unlock tutorials, has taken the extra step and published a video demonstrating its unlock solution for the iPhone 3GS. Check it out above.
The unlock tool kit is dubbed ultrasn0w, the same program used to unlock the iPhone 3G. One warning: If you somehow obtain an early copy of iPhone 3.1, an upcoming software update for the iPhone OS, do not install it because it will kill the unlock.
Like pictures and words? iClarified has posted step-by-step tutorials with plenty of screenshots to guide you through the process. What are you waiting for? Hack away!
Via Dev-Team Blog
See Also:
Who says rear-projection is dead?
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
If the heyday of the gigantic-screen rear-projection HDTV is over, somebody needs to tell Mitsubishi. The company is the sole remaining proprietor pushing out 60-inch-plus TVs too thick to hang on the wall and too inexpensive to merit a cameo on …
Put away that bulky headset, gamers, because Razer has you covered. The company known for making the best gaming mice, keyboards, and surfaces has just announced the Moray+, an updated compact version of its Moray earphone.
With the Moray+, the product gains a lot of new functionality both for gaming and other applications. You’ll get an in-ear noise-isolating earphone with an omnidirectional microphone that’s just right for talking to friends while gaming.
The included case and compact design let you take the Moray+ anywhere. Because the mic offers exceptional voice clarity, it’s perfect for VOIP apps like Skype.
Use the Moray+ with your PC, your iPod, or any other portable. Three included adapters also let you plug in into your Sony PSP 2000/3000, Nintendo DS Lite/DSi, and devices with dual left and right audio ports. You’ll also get three flexible tips so that you can pick the one that fits your ear best.
Get the Moray+ for $59.99 from the Razer Web site.
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