[REVIEW] Giada Mini PC A51

 
After meeting up with Chinese-based hardware manufacturer GiadaTech (or short: Giada) at Computex Taipei. We were quite surprised when seeing their Mini PC lineup. They have a complete line of low powered; yet potent mini PC’s the size of a conventional book. A particularly thin book that is.
In this review we’ll be focusing on one of their latest “booklet” called the Giada Mini PC A51.
 
Tech specs
On top of the Giada Mini PC A51 you’ll find a card slot (SD/MMC/MS/ MS PRO), a USB …

HP Envy Spectre XT review: a sleek and speedy Ultrabook with a killer keyboard

HP Envy Spectre XT a 13inch Ultrabook

HP’s Envy 14 Spectre hit almost all the right notes when we reviewed it back in March, thanks to its high-res display, sleek metal-and-glass design and brisk performance, but a stiff trackpad and the steep $1,400 price were clear downsides. The new Envy Spectre XT, a 13.3-inch Ivy Bridge-powered Ultrabook, has a thinner, lighter profile than its big brother, and a lower $1,000 price tag to match. That’s still not chump change, though, so does the XT deserve a spot in the top tier of Intel-approved ultraportables? Join us past the break for the full breakdown.

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HP Envy Spectre XT review: a sleek and speedy Ultrabook with a killer keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Droid RAZR M review: a very good ICS handset in a small, Kevlar-wrapped package

Motorola Droid RAZR M review a very good ICS handset in a small, Kevlarwrapped package

Family trees are monstrous wonders of genetic distillation, alternately yielding grotesque and delightful offspring. And, as is nature’s wont, it’s within the strongest of these “carriers” that dominant traits are passed on, ensuring a continued legacy for a specific branch marked by beauty, brains or beastliness. And so the same rings true for the RAZR lineage: a once forgotten, but now revived brand that’s helping to define the new Motorola (as experienced through Verizon). Tucked safely under the protective wing of Google’s guardianship, the manufacturer’s embarking on a wireless renaissance and soldering that second chance at relevance to the Kevlar back of its latest Droid progeny. But as with all litters, there’s bound to be one runt and here that distinction belongs to the Droid RAZR M.

Known internally as the Scorpion Mini, this ICS handset’s barebones build can deceive the eye into believing it’s smaller than it actually is. But really, its screen is the same 4.3-inch, qHD, Super AMOLED Advanced affair as that of the original RAZR reboot — just without the considerable bezel. So Moto’s engineers have trimmed some fat, but this cosmetic overhaul also goes below the surface. Keeping it fairly current is a gently skinned version of Ice Cream Sandwich (soon to be upgraded to Jelly Bean) that’s powered by a souped-up 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 and 1GB RAM. And really, that’s about as modern as the RAZR M gets. Put down on paper, that mild spec bump might not seem compelling enough, but let us tantalize you with the device’s most attractive tidbit: $99 on-contract pricing. Yes, folks, this formidable Droid RAZR redux has a retail positioning ace up its sleeve, but does that alone warrant two years of Verizon’s chains? Can a slimmer form factor, unchanged display and faster processor lure in the style-conscious on a budget? Or are you better off holding out for its bigger bodied (and batteried) Droid RAZR HD siblings? Stick with us as we pass judgment on Moto’s little leaguer.

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Motorola Droid RAZR M review: a very good ICS handset in a small, Kevlar-wrapped package originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD review (7-inch)

Amazon Kindle Fire HD review 7inch

It was 10 months ago that we had a doppelgänger in our midst. Amazon unleashed the Kindle Fire to the world and we spent much of the beginning of our review comparing and contrasting it to the (even then a bit long-in-the-tooth) BlackBerry PlayBook. Now, finally, we can stop making that comparison — at least for this, Amazon’s current top-shelf tablet.

It’s the Kindle Fire HD and it quite handily addresses nearly every concern that we had with the original Fire. It’s thinner, lighter, faster and, yes, better looking. It’s a huge step forward from that which came before and yet it still follows very much in the footsteps of its predecessor, existing as a physical portal to a digital marketplace with an alluring selection of premium content. Is it enough of an improvement to topple our current king of budget tablets, the Nexus 7? You’ll just have to read on to find out.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD review (7-inch) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kindle Fire HD Review: Everything a Tablet Should Be—And Not Much More [Review]

In some ways, the idea of the first Kindle Fire was more impressive than the product itself. It was a $200 tablet that actually worked. That alone was mind-blowing. But after Google’s Nexus 7 bombshell—and the iPad Mini looming—Amazon has to do more than cut costs this time. The Fire HD has to shine. More »

[REVIEW] Genius Deathtaker mouse & Imperator Pro keyboard

Introduction
During Computex this year we got introduced to Genius’s new line of gaming peripherals, branded as “GX Gaming”. Genius was kind to provide us with a Deathtaker mouse and Imperator Pro keyboard. Both accessories have switchable color LED light “under the bonnet” and turned out to make a proper gaming kit.
Specifications Deathtaker mouse
“The DeathTaker is a highly specialized MMO/RTS professional gaming laser mouse from the GX gaming series by Genius. A built-in over-clocking SG …

Leaked screenshots show Galaxy Note 2 on AT&T and Verizon

Leaked screenshots show Galaxy Note 2 on AT&T, may be coming to TMobile and Sprint, too

Samsung may not have spilled the beans on US variants of the Galaxy Note II, but phablet fans have already set their sights on the usual suspects. Aiding rumors, for instance, are a collection of screenshots showing the phone running on both Verizon and Ma Bell’s networks. A BreifMobile source says that the AT&T version of the oversized handset is being tested, as are T-Mobile, Bell Canada and Sprint variations. The AT&T version is said to be a dead ringer for the international model, retaining its quad-core Exynos processor while snubbing the network’s branding. Much like Sammy itself, the source didn’t have much to say about availability — just “soon.” Can’t wait? Skip on down to the source link below to tease yourself with leaked screenshots.

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Leaked screenshots show Galaxy Note 2 on AT&T and Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Contour+2 review: the best consumer helmet camera on the market

DNP Contour2 review the best consumer helmet camera on the market

It’s been a little while since the two major players in the helmet cam industry, Contour and GoPro, refreshed their wares. Contour launched its Contour+ and Roam models last summer, while GoPro delivered the HD Hero2 late last year. As our extensive testing can attest, both companies put out great cameras, but with Sony about to get in the game with its $199 Action Cam, the pair need to raise their games — and that’s exactly what Contour is doing with the Contour+2.

This logically named follow-up to the Contour+ is a big step forward on many levels, still delivering 1080p recording while offering many design and software improvements, including the ability to use your smartphone not just as a viewfinder, but to start and stop recording, too. Plus, at $400, it’s $100 cheaper than last year’s offering — and that’s despite coming with a fully waterproof case. Join us as we put it through its paces.

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Contour+2 review: the best consumer helmet camera on the market originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo Stream transcoder review: TiVo is bringing streaming to mobile devices, starting with iOS

TiVo Stream transcoder review

Back when we first reviewed the TiVo Premiere for iPad app, there were folks who complained about not being able to stream content. It seems, though, that TiVo was one step ahead of us: back at CES the company teased a transcoder — a device that would later be known as the Stream. As its name suggests, this little box streams recordings from your TiVo Premiere to as many as four iOS devices with the help of your local network. You can also use it to transfer shows for on-the-go viewing. So is it worth the additional $129? Let’s find out.

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TiVo Stream transcoder review: TiVo is bringing streaming to mobile devices, starting with iOS originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Doxie Go Review

You know what they say about keeping track of one’s finances – you have got to start by listing down every single cent that you have spent for that particular day, and do so for the entire month before you are able to better get an idea of just where all of your money has gone to (mostly down the drain or at the local pub, of course, for those of us who have poor financial acumen). Needless to say, if you were to do so consistently for a few months in a row, the results would be more accurate as to the breakdown of your finances. Some of us prefer to take the shortcut and write down whatever we have spent for the day at the end of the day, but as I personally found out, this was not the way to go since I tend to lose my receipts, not to mention a poor memory that made me forget just how much I spent and where. Enter the Doxie Go portable scanner that, as its name suggests, will be able to get the job done wherever you are.

You can saw that the Doxie Go is ideal for folks who live out of a suitcase. After all, it is small enough to be packed into any notebook bag without missing a beat, and even more ideal would be the cordless DNA that was built into the Doxie Go. One drawback would be the reliance on battery power, but I will address that particular issue later on. Do bear in mind that cordless does not equal to wireless capability (as that would further drain its battery), but what you can do is this – first you scan whatever receipts or documents you have for the day with the Doxie Go, and before you retire for the night, you can always use the included USB cable to transfer all your day’s scans from the Doxie Go to your computer itself.

So far, I have tried to scan up to a century’s worth of pages, but right before I hit that magical number (somewhere in the early nineties, I lost count due to the lack of caffeine in my system), the Doxie Go’s battery gave up the ghost. As for the internal memory of the Doxie Go (512MB), it is touted to carry up to 550-plus document pages, but even that depends on the kind of content which you scan.

Of course, if you truly want to take the wireless data transfer route, you can use an Eye-Fi SD memory card to not only store data, but create a wireless connection to a compatible computer or notebook. If the internal memory is not enough, you can always scan directly to the SD memory card or USB flash drive.

Default scanning resolution stands at 300 dpi, although there is the option to scan your document at 600 dpi through a single tap of the power button. Adjusting the documents can be done manually if you find the (often correct) auto adjust work out of whack. The instant PDF button also makes plenty of sense, as it saves you the trouble of saving (excuse me for the lack of a better word) your document again into the PDF format. Do it once, do it right, I say.

For $199 a pop, I would recommend this if you do not have any kind of heavy duty scanning, and it is perfect if you want to keep track of receipts. Otherwise, if you have far more documents to scan and are seated behind the desk at all times, I would suggest getting a dedicated scanner instead.

Product Page

[ Doxie Go Review copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]