Toshiba Satellite P505D-S8930

Instead of just a flat solid color, Toshiba used its Fusion Finish on the P505D with its sonic pattern in black onyx. It's a light pinstripe pattern on a glossy black background on the lid, with palm rests, and speaker surround above the keyboard. The speakers sound great by the way, far above the laptop's budget price tag. The keyboard is large and comfortable with a full number pad on the right end. The keys are flat like a chiclet style keyboard, but they float above the tray so you'll have to watch your cookie crumbs.

They're also somewhat slick, making it slightly unpleasant to type on. Due to the glossy nature of everything, the laptop collects a lot of fingerprints. Overall, Toshiba Satellite P505D is a nice looking package and is certainly what a majority of its cost went to. To the right of the keyboard is a set of backlit touch sensitive media controls, the power button, and an Eco mode key. This mode significantly cuts back on power usage by cutting back on display brightness and other nonessential features.

It also shows a line graph to prove the power savings. The 18.4 inch wide screen LCD display offers a 1.680x945 native resolution, which is not standard for a screen this size. In fact, we've never tested a system with this size screen carrying such a low resolution. More standard for this size are resolutions of 1.920x1.080 or 1.900x1.200. Despite the lower resolution, the screen is good for just about anything you'll do on it, with decent color performance, brightness, and dynamic range. If those are two things you're interested in, you'll want to search out a P500 series laptop that actually has them.

Features

• Toshiba Satellite P505D-S8930 : Average for category (desktop replacement)
• Video VGA : VGA and HDMI or DisplayPort
• Audio Stereo : speakers, headphone/microphone jacks Stereo speakers with subwoofer, headphone and microphone jacks
• Data : 3 USB 2.0, mini-FireWire, eSATA/USB, multi-format card reader 4 USB 2.0, SD card reader
• Expansion : ExpressCard 54
• Networking : Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, modem Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• Optical drive : DVD burner
  

Ports for the most part are what we expect to find on a system in this price range. Only the eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port is an anomaly, but it's a good one and has Toshiba's sleep and charge feature for charging devices even when the computer's sleeping. Also, though there are spots for HDMI and DisplayPort connections on the left side, they have been plugged up.

If those are two things you're interested in, you'll want to check out another version of the P500 series that actually has them. Toshiba Satellite P505D-S8930 is a retail only fixed configuration, so what you get is what you get. However, the memory and hard drive compartments are easily accessed through the bottom of the case. This model comes with 4GB of memory, but can be expanded to 8GB total.

Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955

Last year's Toshiba Satellite L305-S5875, which cost $675 and was housed in a nearly identical case, came with a 200GB hard drive, 3GB of DDR2 RAM, and a 1.86GHz Pentium Dual-Core T2390. Therein lies the difference : this year's L305 has a 160GB hard drive, only 2GB of RAM, and an inferior Celeron 900 processor for nearly half the cost. In essence, it has the guts of a Netbook in a 15.4 inch laptop's body (the earliest Netbooks actually used Celeron chips, before Intel release the Atom processor).

While this laptop is fine for basic e-mail, media viewing, music playing, and other simple tasks, we wouldn't recommend it for any sort of multitasking or serious mission critical computing. It's already more than a bit of a dinosaur in 2009, and it won't get any less outdated, making it a questionable investment on the other hand, Windows 7 should run fine on it (although most new Vista Basic systems are ineligible for a free upgrade), and this could be the sort of bargain a low expectations consumer is looking for.

Features

• Price as reviewed / Starting price : $349
• Processor : 2.2GHz Intel Celeron 900
• Memory : 2GB, DDR2 800MHz
• Hard drive : 160GB 5,400rpm
• Chipset : Mobile Intel GM45
• Graphics : Intel GMA 4500MHD
• Operating System : Windows Vista Home Basic SP1
• Dimensions (WD) : 14.3x10.6 inches
• Height : 1.5 inches
• Screen size (diagonal): 15.4 inches
• System weight / Weight with AC adapter : 5.92 / 6.78 pounds
• Category : Mainstream
  

The next question you may have is : "Why wouldn't I just buy a Netbook?" To that, we say: it depends on whether a larger screen and keyboard matter to you. Netbooks are considerably more portable, and an Atom processor doesn't make much of a computing difference compared with the Celeron 900 in Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955. However, many budget Netbooks have compromised keyboard sizes, and screens that might be too limiting for power users. Also, the L305-S5955 runs Vista as opposed to Windows XP. Take that as you will. We also find there's a sizable psychological factor : small Netbooks come with one set of expectations attached, while users expect larger laptops no matter how low powered or inexpensive to behave more or less like standard mainstream systems.

Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955 will never be confused for a Netbook from the outside, however. At 1.5 inches thick, it's one of the beefier nongaming laptops on the market. The muted blue gray exterior is prone to fingerprint smears, but the plastic feeling lid is solid. There's a full size keyboard with tapered keys, and six physical media control buttons that aren't backlit. Volume control, like with the similar Toshiba L505D-S5965, is operated via a wheel at the front of the laptop, under the touch pad.

Panasonic SC-BT300

Most Blu-ray HTIBs stick to traditional 5.1 configurations, but Panasonic SC-BT300 is a full 7.1 system. The system is made up of two tall boy speakers, four small speakers for the surround or surround back channels, a center channel and the subwoofer. The tall boy speakers stand 40.2 inches high, and the circular stands are 10 inches in diameter. They're big enough to dominate a room, so if space is limited you may be better off with Panasonic's step down SC-BT200. The surround or surround back speakers are a little bigger than a soup can, coming in at 3.63 inches wide by 5 inches high and 3.2 inches deep, and each features a 2.5 inch bamboo cone driver.

The center channel is a little bigger (9.8 inches wide, 3.75 inches high and 3.2 inches deep) and features two of the 2.5 inch drivers. The sub has a 10 inch passive radiator and 6.5 inch woofer, and its footprint is also relatively small (7.1 inches wide, 14.2 inches high and 13.4 inches high). The combination receiver and Blu-ray player has a relatively nondescript look, with the faceplate featuring a reflective black finish. Toward the bottom is a flip down panel revealing an SD card slot, the auto setup mic input, additional playback controls, and a headphone jack.

One nice design touch is the pull out iPod dock just give a tug where the Panasonic logo is and a tray for the iPod is revealed. We prefer this integrated design (also found on some LG models) to the break out docks on the Sony BDV-E500W and Samsung HT-BD1250T, which cause a little more wire clutter. The included remote on Panasonic SC-BT300 is similar to the one included with the company's Blu-ray players and we're generally fans of the design.

Frequently used playback controls are given big blue buttons and the directional pad is surrounded by important buttons like pop-up menu and top menu. There is one inexplicable omission, though : an open or close button for the integrated Blu-ray player. Sure, you have to get off the couch to change discs anyway, but we prefer to hit the button before we get up so there's an open tray waiting when we get there. Panasonic SC-BT300's main receiver has a Blu-ray player built in and it offers all the functionality of Panasonic's entry level standalone player, the DMP-BD60K.

The DMP-BD60K's full review has the most detailed information, but the short story is Panasonic SC-BT300 has full Profile 2.0 compatibility, on board decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and VieraCast functionality. VieraCast is the name of Panasonic's proprietary Internet content portal, which currently offers Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, Picasa, Bloomberg stock quotes, and weather. Panasonic SC-BT300 doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi, so you'll need to make an Ethernet connection to enjoy this content. The additional content is certainly welcome particularly Amazon Video On-Demand but in our opinion, we prefer the Netflix or Pandora combination offered on HTIBs from Samsung and LG.

Samsung HT-AS730

Samsung HT-AS730 is a "component style" home theater system, which means that it's basically a full on AV receiver that's boxed up with a matching 5.1 speaker system. No DVD or Blu-ray player is included the implication being that you already have a disc player or game console on hand. The system's receiver looks slick enough, completely masked in a polished black plastic. We were shocked to see how light the entire unit was (less than 7 pounds) considering it measures in at 15.24 inches tall by 12.2 inches wide by 16.85 inches deep.

The front flap hides various controls, which can also be accessed via the remote control along with a quarter inch headphone jack and composite input. For what's an otherwise solid design, we did have a lot of problems reading the receiver's display. The dimly lit LCD is completely useless unless you're standing right in front of it. Unfortunately the dimmer button didn't help as we were already on the brightest setting. The included remote control is a bit intimidating at first, but it does give you plenty of control over the receiver and other devices should you choose to program them into the remote.

Buttons are laid out logically throughout, although the function bank at the bottom can get a bit overwhelming. It can also be programmed to control several brands of TVs and DVD players, and it can also control Samsung Blu-ray players. As always, though, we recommend getting a more capable universal remote. As far as connectivity goes, Samsung HT-AS730 has a lot to offer at least at first glance. In addition to three switchable HDMI sources, it can accommodate two component and four composite inputs as well. (Like most AV systems nowadays, Samsung HT-AS730 has no S-Video connections.)

For audio, you can take advantage of up to four digital sources (three optical, one coaxial). While Samsung HT-AS730 offers a decent connectivity suite for a home theater system, there are caveats. First off, there's no video upconversion. That means for each input type HDMI, component, or composite you'll need to run a corresponding output cable to your TV, and switch inputs there accordingly. Also keep in mind that there's a maximum of five AV sources (four on the back, plus the front panel auxiliary) to toggle between so you could have three HDMI sources (game console, Blu-ray player, and DVR on HDMI, plus a Nintendo Wii on component, for instance).

Once we mastered all of our input settings, we were upset to find that our HDMI connections were occasionally unreliable. For example, when switching between devices, we would get stuck with a blank picture. Only after unplugging and plugging in our HDMI cable were we able to see picture. We experienced this issue when switching about 30 percent of the time. Also, we found that it didn't matter what we were switching from the problem happened as long as you were landing on an HDMI input.

Samsung HT-AS730 also comes with an iPod dock that is compatible with all iPods and iPhones that have a dock connection port. We should note that using the iPhone with Samsung HT-AS730 automatically puts the device into airplane mode. There is no onscreen navigation for music playback, so while you can use the remote, you're still going to need to hover over your iPod to see what you're doing. The same is the case with iPod video playback. Additionally, the iPod must be in TV out mode for it to play through the receiver. Video quality is on average with most HTIBs we've seen with similar functionality.

Samsung HT-BD1250

Samsung HT-BD1250 is a 5.1 system the included speaker package consists of four identical smallish speakers for the front surround, a slim center channel and a subwoofer. Samsung HT-BD1250's front or surround speakers feature both a tweeter and a woofer, which is a nice plus on an HTIB system. The four bookshelf speakers sit 8.3 inches high, and have a stand built into the base. The front of the speaker has a glossy black finish, while the rest of the cabinet is matte black.

Looking through the speaker grille, you'll see a rare sight on an HTIB speaker both a tweeter and a woofer. The speakers aren't as small as the ones included with Panasonic's Blu-ray HTIBs, but we didn't find them overwhelming. The center channel is tiny, coming in at just 11.8 inches wide by 1.9 inches high by just 2.7 inches deep, and should easily fit under any TV. It has two unusual, rounded rectangle shaped drivers, but Samsung doesn't provide anymore information about the speaker.

The subwoofer is average size for an HTIB, but sounds bigger than it looks more on that in the performance section. The main receiver and Blu-ray player combo unit features a design that looks slick on the showroom floor, but is kind of a pain once you get it home. The front panel has a trapezoidal shape that tapers toward the bottom. It's covered with a glossy black finish, while the top of the unit is awash with Samsung's dark red "Touch of Color" it's a distinctive look, although it's a magnet for fingerprints.

Samsung HT-BD1250's speaker setup is completely manual, so it's up to you to adjust the volume levels of all the speakers and subwoofer, and calculate listener to speaker distances. We strongly recommend performing the setup because straight out of the box Samsung HT-BD1250's center channel volume was much too loud and the surround speakers were too low in volume. You'll find the manual setup located in the Sound Edit part of the on screen menu. Navigation logistics aren't the best or the worst we've seen, just follow the User Manual's instructions and you'll be fine.

Apple iPod shuffle (4th Generation)

To create the world's smallest music player, Apple moved the controls from the iPod shuffle to the earphone cord. This makes iPod shuffle smaller than ever, and the controls are right where you can reach them. So when you want to play, pause, or skip to the next tune, you don't have to fumble for your iPod shuffle just follow the cord and press a button. The VoiceOver feature lets iPod shuffle speak song titles, artists and playlist names. Apple iPod shuffle (4th Generation) is available in silver, black, pink, blue and green.

Company
Apple Computer Inc.

Site
http://www.apple.com

Spec Data

• Price as Tested : US$59.00 - US$79.00 List
• Player Type : Flash MP3 Player
• Radio : No
• Recording, Line In : No
• Video Recording : No
• Music Playback Formats : AAC, AIFF, MP3, WAV
• Storage Capacity : 2,4 GB
• Dimensions : 1.8 x 0.7 x 0.3 inches

Samsung U5

Offered in black, white, red, pink, or blue, the oblong and thin 0.81 ounce Samsung U5 measures 0.9 by 3.5 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and features a tiny, 1 inch grayscale OLED screen. The display attempts to show album art when available, but its size and lack of color work against it. (The animated characters you can assign to appear whenever the player powers up, however, make much better use of the screen.) A typical button array sits just right of the screen, with Up, Down, Back, Forward controls for navigation, playback, and volume surrounding an Enter button.

The top panel houses the mic, a Previous Menu button, and the Recordor Shift button which, when held down for more than a second, starts voice recording regardless of what menu you're in. The headphone jack and the Power or Lock buttons can be found on the right hand and lower panels, respectively, and a lanyard loop and Reset button are on Samsung U5's back panel. A minor gripe : the rounded plastic cover on the left hand side that protects the USB connector is unusually hard to remove but it could be argued that it is doing its job.

A removable, transparent plastic shirt clip and a pair of better than average low end earbuds come with Samsung U5. Samsung U5 doesn't display photos or show video, and its audio codec support isn't very robust. Only MP3, WMA, and OGG files will play on the device, but given the built-in USB connector, getting your music on Samsung U5 is a snap. Simply plug it into your PC's USB port (no cables needed) and use Windows Media Player or drag and drop files directly to the device. The US$60 2GB Sansa Clip costs $10 more than Samsung U5 but supports two more audio codecs (FLAC and Audible) and, some would say, does a little better in the sleek design department.

Samsung U5 is impressive from a sound standpoint, in that its earbuds actually have a bit of bass response and, thanks to the foam covers, stay in place pretty well. Sure, the Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170 (US$50) will sound a lot better, but there's not an urgent need to replace the included pair. Adjustable EQ, 3D, and Bass effects are also included for a little bit of sound customization, but other than tweaking the EQ to your tastes, it recommend leaving the effects off. The FM radio is easy enough to operate.

Pressing the Record or Shift button while holding down a navigation control lets you add up to 30 presets. Recording a snippet of radio is equally simple, and all recorded files as well as Voice Recorder files reside in their own folder in the Music menu. Now let's talk about the Fitness menu : it's silly. You start by setting a Daily Goal (say, burning 250 calories), providing your weight, and designating an activity (for example, Hiking).

Then you select "Performance," and Samsung U5 will start counting down how many calories you are burning and it'll let you know how many minutes are required to reach your goal. Even if, say, you set the thing down on your desk or take a nap, it will still count down the calories. Since it's not connected to any exercise equipment and can't measure your heart rate or how many steps you're taking, it's really just a stopwatch that "counts" burned calories. Perhaps it's useful as a motivational tool, but not as a scientific one.

Samsung Q2

Available in black or white, Samsung Q2 looks slick, but it won't win any body battles against the nano its 3.9 by 2.0 by 0.4 inch (HWD) frame is considerably bulkier than the skinny iPod. That said, Samsung Q2 sports a larger screen, measuring 2.4 inches with a 320 by 240 pixel resolution. (The nano's 2 inch screen boasts the same resolution, so it looks a bit sharper.) Below the screen is the now familiar array of Samsung touch sensitive controls when powered up, a central button is flanked by Up, Down, Left, and Right arrows for menu navigation, as well as a backward navigation control and a button that pulls up submenus.

The controls are lightning fast and reliable unlike many touch screens and touch sensitive buttons out there. The player's right hand panel houses a Power, Hold, User, Record switch, the latter of which can be set to control various functions like photo zooming. The lower panel features a headphone jack and the connector for PC syncing, the back panel houses a mic for voice recording, and the top panel has a lanyard loop. Included in the box are better than average earbuds (if only because the foam covers assure they stay in place), a manual, and a proprietary to USB cable to connect the player to your computer.

Suspiciously absent is a CD with file conversion software typically players with limited video format support like the Samsung P3 include one. Speaking of file support : for video, the Q2 plays only WMV and MPEG-4 files. Audio support is also limited to MP3, WMA, OGG, and FLAC, but at least the last two will please fans of lossless compression. It's still a bummer not to see AAC support like the P3 offers especially now that Apple has removed all DRM from its iTunes AAC offerings. The player accepts several photo file types including JPEG, BMP, GIF, and PNG.

The aforementioned earbuds are not nearly as poor as most bundled pairs. They stay in place pretty well, offer some bass response, and don't distort at high volumes. Could your listening experience be improved by swapping them out for Ultimate Ears' US$50 MetroFi 170? Absolutely, but if you combine the Samsung earbuds with the user definable EQ (which also has standard presets like "Rock" and "Classical"), the listening experience on the Q2 isn't bad.

As always, Samsung includes some special effects, like "Audio Upscaler" and "Street Mode." My advice is to leave them alone they're merely boosting some frequencies and cutting others, and rarely do anything useful to the sound. When music is playing, you can choose to view album art or flashy and trippy screensaver animations that, despite being gimmicky, look cool.

Sony X Series Walkman (NWZ-X1051)

Wi-Fi enabled, with a touch screen and the integration of popular Web services like Slacker Internet radio and YouTube, the Walkman has evolved into a robust music and video player. There's also built-in noise cancellation, and the player comes with a pair of earphones that sound great when combined with the user adjustable EQ. My only major complaint. The Web experience isn't great Sony's browser is no match for Apple's Safari. And you don't get access to an Applications Store with thousands of titles that comes with the iPod touch.

Even so, Sony X Series Walkman (NWZ-X1051) is a well designed device that's the best non-iTunes centric player you can buy. Measuring 3.8 by 2.1 by 0.4 inches (HWD), the all black Sony X Series Walkman (NWZ-X1051) boasts a super crisp, 3 inch, 432 by 240 pixel organic light emitting diode (OLED) touch screen and a unique sparkly (but not overly flashy) body that resembles a cross cut slab of granite. The iPod touch, has a 3.5 inch screen with a slightly higher resolution (480 by 320), but the touch is also bigger than the X Series.

Because the touch's screen is larger, both devices offer similar levels of sharpness. The display consumes most of the front panel but, like the iPod touch, Sony X Series Walkman (NWZ-X1051) features a Home button that returns you to the player's main menu with one click. Included with the device better than average earphones with noise cancellation capabilities a proprietary to USB cable for moving files from your PC to the device an audio cable that uses the proprietary connection to send audio to mini jack (3.5mm) aux inputs on speakers and docks an airplane adapter a Quick Start Guide and a CD with Windows Media Player 11, Napster, and content transfer programs.

The best inclusion a coupon for 100 free songs from Sony MusicPass, something you definitely won't get that with an iPod. About those noise canceling headphones. You won't get the quality of noise cancellation from them you would from a pair of Bose QuietComfort 'phones, for example, but the level of cancellation is adjustable, and you can even choose between Bus or Train, Airplane, or Office, or you can turn it off altogether. It's important to note, however, that the feature only works with the bundled earphones. In other words, if you want upgrade, you lose the noise canceling capability. That said, Sony's user adjustable EQ allows you to sculpt the audio to sound pretty amazing using the supplied earphones.

Sony Walkman NWZ-W202

If you want a display, a radio, or the ability to use your own earphones, Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 isn't for you, but it's an elegant and inexpensive player that's ideal for the gym crowd. The controls are built into the right ear of this 1.3 ounce earphone pair, which is available in black or pink. The earpieces are roughly 2 inches long, with the actual earphones on the inside sealing your ear canal for a secure fit and solid bass response.

In addition to three sizes of ear tips and a plastic protective case, Sony also includes a stand with a hardwired USB cable for charging the player and transferring music from your computer. Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 attaches via a mini USB connection built into the stand. A magnet on the player's right ear snaps the two earpieces together when the device is not in use, automatically shuttting off the power (a clever touch), and keeps the short but rigid behind the head cable from tangling. One control, a tiny wheel on the right earpiece's bottom panel, handles most of the player's functions.

It controls play, pause, skip (forward and backward), and Zappin, the aforementioned music preview feature all depending on whether you scroll the wheel forward or backward, press it quickly, or hold it down for a second. (These controls are convenient, but you'll probably need to consult the manual at first to get the hang of things.) Next to the wheel, there's a Volume rocker, a Reset pinhole, and the mini USB connector. Inside the earpiece is a switch that toggles Shuffle unless you want the device to play your music alphabetically, you should enable it.

You can also activate a volume limiting function by holding down both the wheel and the Volume Up button for five seconds. File support on Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 is modest but includes the essentials : MP3, WMA (including DRM files), and unprotected AAC. There's no FM radio, which is a bit of a bummer and since there's no screen, there's no video or photo file support. For a US$70 pair of earphones with a built-in player, Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 delivers nice sounding audio the above average drivers and the earphones' in ear seal produce a deeper low end response than you might expect.

On tracks with heavy bass from hip-hop act Madvillain, the low end was well defined, and the overall output wasn't muddy. On Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the strings' low end resonance gave the music real presence without overpowering the mid to high frequencies. The earphones also never distorted sound, even at the highest volume level. While it sounds a bit gimmicky, Zappin can be useful. By playing short snippets from the middle of your songs rather than the beginnings, it allows you to recognize your tracks quickly.

When you hold down the wheel for long enough, a female voice says "Zappin in." The song snippets start, and once you hear a tune you'd like to listen to, you can quickly press the wheel to start the song from the beginning. If you're in shuffle mode, a random song will play next otherwise, you'll get the next song from that album or artist, or the first song from the artist who's next in the alphabet. Sony rates Sony Walkman NWZ-W202's battery life at 12 hours, but our tests yielded only 8 hours 43 minutes, which isn't particularly impressive.

Motorola Evoke QA4

Motorola Evoke QA4 is a good looking black and silver lozenge at 4.25 by 2 by .7 inches (HWD) and it weighs 4.5 ounces. The 2.8 inch, 240x400 resistive touch screen slides up to reveal a keypad of bold, white numbers. The number keys aren't physically separated, but they're big enough for it not to matter. Motorola Evoke QA4's big selling point is its touch screen and widget based interface.

Along with the usual customizable wallpaper, you can swipe sideways on the screen to reveal a Google search box a customizable, three day weather forecast popular YouTube videos top news stories, RSS feeds, and MySpace updates. You can't download additional widgets, at least for now. Flick up on the screen to get the main menu of large, clear icons. You can enter data using the physical keypad, a virtual phone keypad, or a wide virtual QWERTY keyboard, all of which worked well.

Motorola Evoke QA4 is a very good voice phone, at least on Cricket's own network it got good reception, and calls were loud and clear. Roaming on MetroPCS, sound got a bit muddier, but the Evoke is designed to work in Cricket cities. The speakerphone was loud. The microphone didn't transmit too much background noise. Just like on the iPhone, a proximity sensor turns off the touch screen when it's close to your face. The Evoke worked with our Plantronics Voyager Pro mono and Altec Lansing BackBeat stereo Bluetooth headsets, with unusually good call quality. The vibrating alert is brief but strong, and the phone comes with 10 clear, loud ringtones.

Sony Ericsson C905a (AT&T)

The 2.4 inch screen features 240 by 320 pixel resolution and displays up to 262K colors. Below the LCD are a five way control pad and six hardware buttons. Unfortunately, the Send and End buttons are in between the others, so careful aim is required. Slide the front panel up and you'll reveal a recessed, membrane keypad finished in matte black. The keys are quiet, but a little too stiff for easy dialing. The slider mechanism itself was solid, though, and snapped into place with a reassuring chuck.

There's a built in accelerometer, which was useful for navigation as well as gaming. In short, not the most ergonomic phone on the planet, but perfectly usable. Sony Ericsson C905a (AT&T) is a quad band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM and tri-band (850/1900/2100) HSDPA handset. That means it's a true world phone with high speed data capability both here and overseas. Voice calls sounded clear and loud in both directions, with good wind resistance, although slightly on the nasal side through the earpiece. Reception was solid, with a lock on 3G even in a rural area of Massachusetts that trips up other AT&T handsets.

The speakerphone was a tad harsh but had decent volume, and Sony Ericsson C905a (AT&T) sounded fine through a Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth headset. Battery life was on the low side at 3 hours and 46 minutes. The home screen features colorful, alternating wallpapers that fade in and out every few seconds. Once you dive into the user interface, it's easy enough to get around. But that's mainly due to redundancy Sony Ericsson C905a (AT&T) features the same triple menu, jam packed system that plagues unlocked Sony Ericsson W995a.

It could use some serious editing, but at least it's responsive. There are a few nice sounding ringtones on board, and plenty of options for buying new ones or assigning your own MP3 or AAC files. The NetFront Web browser is good enough for WAP sites and offers a mouse cursor. But it made a mess of desktop sites and took forever to load them even over HSDPA. Sony Ericsson C905a (AT&T) also excels as a media device. Its GPS radio works with the TeleNav powered AT&T Navigator for voice enabled, turn by turn directions my test unit locked on to my location reasonably quickly and worked exactly as I expected.

It also hooks into AT&T Video Share, AT&T Music, and Mobile E-mail, and comes with an FM radio and an instant messaging client for AIM, Yahoo, and MSN. Sony throws in a 2GB Memory Stick Micro card and a convenient USB reader, which makes up for the fact that no one else uses this format. Music tracks sounded clear and crisp over a paired set of Motorola S9-HD stereo Bluetooth headphones. Standalone videos played back perfectly smoothly, which is something many of today's smartphones can't even manage.

Sony Ericsson C905a (AT&T) is AT&T's only camera phone with more than 3 megapixels, so it's by far the best the carrier has to offer. The 8 megapixel camera has lots of options (including face detection) and a very powerful flash for a camera phone. It lit up simulated indoor and night shots surprisingly well. But in outdoor daylight, the default exposure metering washes out bright areas and the edges of things appear just a touch soft. Thanks to the much better low light performance, this camera comes out ahead of the W995a, but I still prefer the Samsung Memoir's daylight photos. You can tweak your photos after the fact with Sony Ericsson's PhotoDJ software, which lets you alter levels, fix contrast, or add captions.

LG Neon (AT&T)

LG Neon (AT&T) is an attractive phone, with smooth rounded corners, clean lines, and a compact form factor. Measuring 4 inches long by 2 inches wide by 0.66 inch thick, LG Neon (AT&T) is quite lightweight at 3.81 ounces. It's slim enough to fit in the pocket and feels good in the hand. The sliding mechanism is smooth yet sturdy. On the front of the phone is a glossy black finish featuring a lovely 2.4 inch display with support for 262.000 colors and a 240x320 resolution. Images look great on it and the text is very legible as well.

You can adjust the backlight time, the brightness, the font size of the menu text and the dialing digits, the menu styles, and the appearance of the clock on the home screen. LG Neon has a touch screen but only for the number keypad. The most unusual thing about the Neon's display is that it is a touch screen but only for the phone dialer application. When you press a phone dialer key on the navigation array, a virtual number keypad will show up on the display. You can then dial a number by tapping the digits on the screen.

You can also set it so that the phone vibrates whenever your touch registers, plus you can adjust the intensity of the vibration. As we said, though, the display is only a touch screen for dialing numbers; all other functions need to be done via physical keys. We weren't so pleased with this we would rather have a full touch screen interface, or a real physical number keypad, not something in between.

Underneath the display is the navigation array, which consists of two soft keys, a four way toggle with a middle confirmation key, the Send and End and Power keys, the Clear or Back key, and the aforementioned phone dialer key. The toggle can be mapped to four user defined shortcuts, and the middle confirmation key brings up the Web browser when in standby mode. On the left spine of the phone is the volume rocker and dedicated camera key, while the microSD card slot and headset or charger jack sit on the right spine. On the back is the camera lens and self portrait mirror. LG Neon has a full QWERTY keyboard.

Turn the phone 90 degrees to your right, slide the phone up, and you'll find a full QWERTY keyboard. The screen will automatically change orientation from portrait to landscape mode. The keyboard has two soft keys on the far left and right side, an orange Function key, a Symbol key, plus an OK or Back button on the bottom right. Even though the keys are laid out in only three rows as opposed to the four rows of keys on the LG Xenon, the Neon keyboard still felt spacious with plenty of room between each key. The keys are all raised above the surface and feel easy to type.

The sexiest home phone you can get Alessi Dect Phone.

Alessi phone is not just a phone but a revolution in home mobile. The design and also the look does tell it's personality.

It looks like a mouse that you use with your computer but it does goes online.

The Alessi Dect cordless phone designed by Stefano Giovannoni which comes with a 65,000 color OLED display to make you feel more at ease keeping in touch with the rest of your family and friends.

Apart from the much more interesting display compared to other phones which feature monochrome screens, the Alessi DECT phone is also equipped with preloaded backgrounds and ringtones to get you started, alongside with a huge directory to keep your favorite numbers if you happen to have a social calendar with full of activities.

5 Reasons to buy Samsung Solid Extreme Phone.

The Samsung Solid is a juggernaut of a handset; shock proof, water and dust resistance phone.
The samsung solid has a built in torch and even an SOS message to summon help at the end of you finger.
It's more than a phone but better. With though body and well design features it does makes your heart fonder.

Reason to buy a Samsung Solid Extreme Phone.

1. It can survive a head first drop of two metres directly onto concrete surface.
2. Submerge it in up to a metre for half an hour and it will still work as normal plus it's dust proof. It's overall IP rating 57 equal to Charles Bronson.
3. Press a button and walla you will have brightness.
4. For capturing pictures with better resolutions, the samsung solid sports a pokey 1.3M camera. Better than those VGA Cam's.
5. The samsung solid loudspeakers blares out tunes and hands free calls. It also has acoustic noise canceling to block out any background noise.
   

So, why wait get the Samsung solid and rest assured you are in safe hands. Let's check the specifications.

Spec's Samsung Solid Extreme:

SAMSUNG Solid Extreme Product Factsheet
Network Quad Band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Display 1.77" 262K TFT, 128 x 160
IP rating IP57
Dimensions 113 x 48.9 x 17.4mm
Weight 102.8g
Camera 1.3MP, Video recording (15fps)
Video MPEG4, H.263, 3GP
Audio Music Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC, WMA)
FM Radio
Noise Cancellation
Connectivity Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR / USB 2.0 FS
Memory Internal memory 7MB + MicroSD support
Battery Li-ion 1000mAh

A Video Review on Samsung Solid Extreme Phone

Samsung Mondi SWD-M100

Samsung Mondi SWD-M100's size. At 4.88 inches by 3.03 inches by 0.63 inch and 6.39 ounces, it's bigger than any cell phone that's crossed our desk in years. It won't fit in your pocket and it will take up significant space in a purse or a backpack. Some reviewers have rightfully griped that Samsung Mondi SWD-M100 is too big, but we don't see any way around it. And in any case, we figure that those who want Samsung Mondi SWD-M100 will know what they're getting. On the upside, Samsung Mondi SWD-M100 has a solid construction in the hand, and its slider mechanism has a sturdy feel.

It doesn't click into place at either end, but we slipped it open and closed a few times without hearing any squeaks. On the other hand, the kickstand on the Mondi's rear face feels a tad flimsy it's easy to knock Samsung Mondi SWD-M100 down if you hit it from the left side. The battery cover is also a bit tricky to pry off, but that's a minor point. Samsung Mondi SWD-M100's biggest design attraction is its 4.3 inch display. With support for 16 million colors (800x480 pixels), it's both bright and vibrant with sharp graphics, colors, and photos.

You can change the font size and the brightness and you can assign photos from the camera as wallpaper. The touch screen is responsive, and you can align the interface if you wish. Most icons and touch buttons are big enough for you to use your finger, but you'll need the stylus for the window scroll bars. We found it easiest to use the stylus constantly. The touch screen offers vibration feedback and you can adjust the intensity. As previously mentioned, we're not thrilled that Samsung chose Windows Mobile 6.1.

For the uninitiated it can be a nightmare to find your way around, but even longtime Windows Mobile users will find it clunky and archaic. For instance, we encountered our own frustrations with searching for files and accessing certain settings. Samsung masks Windows Mobile somewhat with a customizable TouchWiz widget bar and an attractive top level "bubble" interface that shows your messages, e-mails, VoIP calls, and appointments.

We also like the Samsung designed menus that display your contacts and Opera browser bookmarks in a Cover Flow like design that's reminiscent of the iPhone's. Once past those screens, however, the familiar Windows Mobile interface greets you. Not only is it a letdown, but it's also rather schizophrenic. For example, behind the Samsung designed menu that you can customize with your favorite features, you'll need to access the standard Programs menu to access additional features.

It's the same story with the Settings menu you can access some options through an attractive Samsung menu, but you must access the Windows Mobile page to get other options. The experience is jarring and somewhat frustrating. You can enter text in a number of ways. Besides the full physical keyboard behind the sliding face (we'll get to that in a minute), there are two on screen keyboards and three options for entering text using a graffiti method. The first keyboard comes courtesy of Samsung. It features large buttons that allow you to use your fingers and eight additional keyboards for numbers and symbols.

The space bar is small, but we could tap away rapidly. On the other hand, we don't like that the keyboard pops up automatically each time you tap a text entry field. It even appears if you have the slider open. There's also a tiny Windows Mobile keyboard that takes up just a quarter of the display we can't imagine why you'd want to use it. The graffiti options Transcriber, Block Recognizer, and Letter Recognizer are easy enough to use.

Samsung Reclaim SPH-M560

Samsung Reclaim SPH-M560 largely resembles other square texting phones such as the Samsung Propel. We didn't love the odd slider shape when we first saw it, but we admit that's it's grown on us. It may not be pretty, but it certainly is functional as it accommodates the full QWERTY keyboard. Samsung Reclaim SPH-M560 measures 3.9 inches by 2.37 inches by 0.59 inch and weighs 3.5 ounces. It's also portable, it has a comfortable feel in the hand, and the slider mechanism feels sturdy.

In fact, if you hadn't told us, we'd never guess that it's made from recycled materials. And we have to admit that we like the green color. Not only is it appropriate for the eco friendly image, it's also attractive and unique. Samsung Reclaim SPH-M560's 2.6 inch display supports 262.000 colors and has a 320x240 pixel resolution. It's not particularly eye popping, but it's bright and it shows colors and graphics well. You can adjust the brightness, and the backlighting time.

The icon based menu interface is simple and intuitive and we like that the Reclaim supports Sprint's One Click interface (see our Samsung Highlight review for a full description). The navigation array is quite nice. You'll find a large circular toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, Talk and End and power buttons, a speaker phone shortcut, and a back control. Though most of the controls are flush, the spacious design makes them easy to use and accessible. The alphabetic keyboard lies below the sliding face.

The top of the keys isn't set too close to the slider so you should have enough room to tap away. As on many cell phones, the alphabetic keys share space with numbers and symbols, but the arrangement doesn't feel too crowded. The number and Function keys are conveniently marked in green. You'll also find a shift and symbol keys, shortcuts for the e-mail and texting apps, back and enter buttons, and a control for emoticons.

On the left spine you'll find a 3.5 millimeter headset jack (nice!) and a large volume rocker. On the right spine is a camera shutter, the microSD card slot, and the charger port. The latter uses a standard Micro-USB connection, which we welcome. The camera lens and self portrait mirror are on the rear of the sliding face. You must have the phone in the open position to snap a photo. Samsung Reclaim SPH-M560's single speaker sits on its back side.

Samsung Solstice SGH-A887

Samsung Solstice SGH-A887 offers a trim design with rounded corners. It's not quite as angular as the Samsung Behold or the Eternity, though it lacks the Highlight's color choice and patterned back side. We wouldn't call it stylish, but it's not unattractive either. It measures 4.3 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.5 inch and weighs 3.3 ounces, which gives it a comfortable and sturdy feel in the hand. The 3 inch display is just big enough, though we wouldn't want it to be any smaller.

With support for 262.000 colors and 400x240 pixels, it has a pleasant resolution that shows colors and graphics well. It won't knock your socks off, but it's suitably bright and vibrant for phone of this caliber. Samsung's TouchWiz interface gives you instant access to a variety of features, though we wish its customization options were more extensive. The icon-based menu interface is simple and intuitive.

Permanent touch icons on the bottom of the screen open the dialpad, the phone book, and the main menu. The dialpad and QWERTY keyboard are unchanged from previous Samsung touch screen models. The dialpad features large alphanumeric numbers for calling and sending texts using T9 predictive text. The keys are somewhat small, but you can use T9 here as well. Basic punctuation is surfaced on the primary keyboard, but you must click through to a second keyboard for numbers and symbols.

The Solstice's accelerometer works across many applications. As with other Samsung touch screen phones, you can switch between the keypad and keyboard by rotating the phone to the left (rotating it to the right will result in an upside down keyboard). The handset also offers a motion detection feature that will automatically mute a call or an alarm tone when you turn the phone and place it face down on a surface. The display is responsive, whether you're selecting icons or scrolling through long lists.

You can adjust the intensity of the vibrating feedback and change the display's calibration. As for other customization options, you can change the display's wallpaper, brightness, backlight time, font type, and greeting message. Three physical buttons sit below the display a Talk button, a back control, and the End and power key. The calling controls are flush, but the back button is easy to find by feel. The volume rocker rests on the left spine while a combined headset or charger jack and camera shutter sit on the right spine.

The jack is proprietary and you can use only one peripheral at a time. Also on the right spine you'll find a control that opens a shortcut menu for the browser, the games menu, the music player, the messaging app, and the dialpad. There's also a command to end any open application. The camera lens and self-portrait mirror rest on the phone's back side and the memory card slot is inconveniently located behind the battery.

Pharos Traveler GPS 137

The GPS enabled smartphone offered the advantage of coming with its own navigation software and maps, which eliminated the need for fee based location services and a cellular connection. Unfortunately, the benefit of this was lost on the clunky software and the device's sluggish performance. We had higher hopes for Pharos Traveler 137. After all, the smartphone features a sleeker design with a full touch screen (perfect for viewing maps) as well as a faster processor and more memory.

In addition, it offers 3G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 5 megapixel camera. Sadly, Pharos Traveler GPS 137 also let us down with its inconsistent performance and navigation capabilities. The device could be extremely slow at times, and directions weren't always accurate, so it's really hard to justify paying $600 for the phone. If Pharos can make the performance improvements, the company could certainly give the competition a run for its money.

Pharos Traveler 137 is a sleek and attractive device, with a nice clean and streamlined design similar to other candybar style, touchscreen smartphones like the Samsung Omnia. The device measures 4.6 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide and 0.5 thick and weighs 4.9 ounces, so it's a pocketful but has a nice, solid construction and soft touch finish on back. The real attention grabber is Pharos Traveler GPS 137's display. It measures 3.5 inches diagonally and displays 65.000 colors at a sharp 480x800 pixel resolution.

Images and text looked extra clear and vibrant on the screen, and the larger display definitely made it easier to see and read maps compared to the Traveler 127. Adding to goodness, Pharos ships the smartphone with the Spb Mobile Shell 3.0, which provides a lot more information in a more user friendly and attractive interface than the standard Windows UI. The Spb Mobile Shell features three sliding panels the center panel and default home screen, features the mainstays, such as your calendar, messages, time, weather, and so forth, while swiping the touch screen to the left will bring up an Apps panel, and the right panel offers your multimedia features.

Along the bottom of every panel, you also get one touch access to a Favorites page of all your, you guessed it, favorite programs, a Contacts (also customizable by favorite contacts), a handful of Settings, and a button that lets you scroll through more panels in a 3D carousel view. To enter text into Pharos Traveler 137, there is an onscreen portrait and landscape QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard is a bit cramped in portrait mode, but you can use the included stylus for more precision, and the keyboard provides haptic feedback. As a Windows Mobile device, you also get the older, more traditional input methods, such as Block Recognizer, Letter Recognizer, and Transcriber.

Samsung WEP470

Samsung WEP470 is a cheap headset and it makes no pretensions otherwise. Measuring just 1.7 inches long by 0.75 inch wide by 0.43 inch thick, Samsung WEP470 is blocky and rectangular and won't call too much attention to itself thanks to its size and dull looks. Right on the front of the headset is the multifunction call button. It sits just above a thin line that houses the LED indicator. The button is big enough and is easy to press. The volume rocker is on the left side while the charger jack and power switch are on the right.

The dedicated power toggle makes it easier to power the headset on and off, instead of having to hold down the multifunction button like on most other headsets. When you turn the headset over, you'll find a simple, small earpiece that sits just at the opening of the ear. There's a rubber coating around it so it feels comfortable. We would have appreciated different sizes of ear bud covers for different size ears. Even though Samsung WEP470 does fit comfortably, it doesn't feel very secure. We definitely recommend using the included optional ear hook for additional stability.

We paired Samsung WEP470 with the Apple iPhone 3G. The pairing process was very smooth and we didn't even need to enter the PIN pairing code this may depend on your phone, though. The call quality was quite good for the most part. On our end, we heard our callers just fine, but we did encounter intermittent static buzz. Still, their voices sounded natural and volume was good. On their end, callers could hear us loud and clear most of the time. This was especially true in a quiet office environment, where background noise was minimal.

In a moving vehicle, though, callers said they could hear a bit of background hum. Similarly, it didn't cut out all the environmental noise when we were in a busy cafe. Samsung WEP470 also does not do well with wind noise conversations were close to impossible in particularly windy conditions. However, in most normal everyday situations, Samsung WEP470 did just fine with noise and echo canceling.

Callers also said voice quality was natural and almost of landline quality in the best situations. Samsung WEP470 features the normal capabilities to answer, end, and reject calls, as well as last number redial, call mute, and the option to transfer calls from the headset to the phone and vice versa. It has a rated battery life of 6 hours talk time and 8.3 days standby time.