Hi-tech Frontier

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 reviewed Dell's Mini 10 netbook certainly seems to occupy the sweet spot between the company's Mini 9 and Mini 12 offerings but, according to Laptop's review of the netbook, there may be just a few too many trade-offs for some folks. On the upside, the Mini 10 does compare favorably to most other 10-inch netbooks in terms of size and weight, and the keyboard is actually a tad larger than the one on the Mini 12, with it measuring about 0.3-inches deeper and extending right to the edge of the system. Unfortunately, Laptop found that the reworked touchpad was quite a bit more finicky than the one's on its counterparts, and Dell's decision to hold back on some features like a six-cell battery means that it doesn't quite give you the same bang for the buck as something like the Samsung NC10 or ASUS Eee PC 1000HE. References in earlier entries: Dell Inspiron Mini 10 starts at $399

Lenovo 16-inch IdeaPad Y650 Lenovo's curiously cute IdeaPad Y650 has been shipping out to multimedia lovers everywhere for just under a month now, but if you've been holding tight until a legitimate review hit the tubes, here's your sign. Computer Shopper managed to get ahold of one of these 16-inch beauties, and while it was disappointed in the lack of a Blu-ray player and 1080p screen option, it generally had positive things to say. The screen, though limited in resolution (1,366 x 768), was deemed "brilliant," and the gesture-enabled touch pad was also a joy to use. It was found to be "surprisingly light" for a machine this large, and the attractive pricing made it all the more, um, attractive. All in all, it seems the Y650 is a solid choice for those looking for decent power, good looks and a large panel, but gamers and high-def junkies should probably turn their eyes elsewhere.

HP Compaq CQ2000M nettop HP's mini-Q nettop first turned up in Taiwan way back in November, but it looks to finally be making its way around the world, and it's now shown itself in Europe in the form of the Compaq CQ2000M. There doesn't appear to be any significant changes beyond the slight name change, however, with the nettop still packing the standard issue 1.6GHz Atom Z230 processor, 1GB of RAM (expandable to 2GB), a 160GB hard drive, Intel GMA950 graphics and, of particular note, a dual-layer DVD burner. Unfortunately, there's also still no indication of a release on this side of the pond, but those in Europe can apparently grab one now bundled with a 20-inch monitor for €349, or about $440.

Samsung 1.5TB EcoGreen F2EG hard drive While it's still not nearly as capacious as Western Digital's latest green hard drive, Samsung's 1.5TB EcoGreen F2EG is still plenty roomy for most. Of course, we're still trying to decide if both "Eco" and "Green" were really necessary in the model name, but we digress. The drive sports 500GB per platter, and reportedly, it sucks down less power (around 40 percent less, in fact) than most HDDs thanks to the awesomely named EcoTriangle technology.

Sony's panorama-shooting DSC-HX1 camera handled on video If you're looking to craft an epic, 1,500 megapixel panorama image, something like the Gigapan Imager is your best bet. But, for those of us who want to capture a little wide-angle action and then move on before the tour bus abandons us, Sony's upcoming DSC-HX1 could be the solution. The nine megapixel shooter, releasing in April, comes with a unique (for the moment) panorama mode that allows it to capture 224-degree horizontal or 154-degree vertical shots automatically. Just push the shutter release and then slowly sweep the 20x lens across that wondrous vista before you. The camera internally fuses everything together to create a single 7152 x 1080 image; no post-processing required. It's demonstrated in a video below (on a quaint little diorama), and while $500 is on the pricey side for a non-SLR digi cam, if you've ever tried to stitch photos manually you might think it money well spent -- assuming it stil...

USB Robot drive is the retro Re-Animator Ahh, how cute. Mr. Robot wants you to hold his USB head. Better than taking yours, we guess. $25 and he'll harass your keys about his superior 4GB capacity.

SmartNav units control PCs with just your noggin' It's not as if there has been any shortage of conceptual contraptions conjured up to control computers with just the brain, but it has been increasingly difficult to find units ready for the commercial market. Enter NaturalPoint, who is offering up a new pair of SmartNav 4 human-computer interface devices designed to let users control all basic tasks with just their head. The AT and EG models are designed to help physically handicapped and health-minded individuals (respectively) get control over their desktops by using their gord to mouse around, select commands and peck out phrases on a virtual keyboard. The sweetest part? These things are only $499 and $399 in order of mention, so you should probably pick one up just to give your mousing hand a rest.

Gresso Lady Diamond Talk about limited run, the Gresso Lady diamond which is priced at $5500 -- and out of most people's range -- will only see 8 models made. The Lady Diamond is the twin to the Skeleton Gold Phone made by Gresso, but dressed in red, and bejeweled with 4 diamonds on the nav keys -- total rock weight, for those that care, is 0.44K. Also duplicated is the 42K sapphire crystal display and see-though back, tri-band GSM, and Windows Mobile 6. The Lady Diamond is already shipping, so if you wanted to pick up one of the eight sets, you'd better hustle.

Android Dev Phone 1 update Android Dev Phone 1 owners are pretty much expected to handle their own business when it comes to firmware updates, but those of you who like to kick it official take note: El Goog's just released Android 1.1 for for its totally unlocked version of the G1. Most of the fixes are to do with POP3 accounts, although paid apps are now supported with a catch: you won't be able to access any paid apps that use Android's hilariously weak-ass copy protection features, because the ADP1 comes rooted out of the box and thus able to read / write the folder protected apps are stored in. So yeah, ADP1 owners now have access to paid apps that don't have copy protection -- we're guessing that's not a large number. Honestly, we don't see the point of this: nothing's ever going to stop piracy, and pissing off the people willing to buy $400 unlocked phones that don't come with support doesn't seem like the best way to build brand loyalty. ...

XRoad G-Map iPhone navigation map gets reviewed While the world waits for a tried-and-true navigation app from Apple, XRoad is taking advantage of the situation by offering up its G-Map app in the interim. Kicking Tires decided to take the new software for a spin, and while the map quality took a pretty harsh beating, the overall offering was highly praised. More specifically, not every street name was present during testing, meaning that you had to rely implicitly on the turn-by-turn instructions if you weren't familiar with your surroundings. Outside of that, however, it seemed to nail all the important points. Accuracy, routing, ease of use and design were all smiled upon, and it seems critics gave the street name snafu a bit of a break with the hope of future updates solving the issues.

Sprint keeping its options open with LTE? Sprint hasn't been coy about its love and adoration for all things WiMAX, and while it obviously has a vested interest in seeing the next-gen wireless protocol thrive, even it isn't completely ignoring the possibility of dabbling in LTE. Or, at least that's the impression we get from a recent spokesman answer to a question on whether it was "evaluating LTE equipment." Speaking on behalf of the carrier, John Polivka wouldn't go so far as to confirm nor deny whether it was actually dipping its toes into LTE testing while its Clearwire buddies weren't looking, but he did affirm that "as a prudent technology development organization, [Sprint] is always collecting competitive information about various technologies / equipment to monitor and asses the competitive landscape and any potential impacts to Sprint's plans." We've already seen a few CDMA mainstays admit to siding with LTE for 4G, and honestly,...

Samsung S5230 and S5600 touchphones We're well past the point of touchscreens being relegated to the high end, and Samsung's out to drive the point home with a pair of fresh ones destined for Europe over the coming months. Starting at the bottom, the S5230 tops out at EDGE speeds but features a commendable 3-inch WQVGA display, 3 megapixel cam, microSD expansion, FM radio, and naturally, TouchWiz -- and it's all shoved into a mere 11.9mm. The real high-speed action starts up in the S5600 that we heard a bit about after MWC, where we pick up 7.2Mbps HSDPA on the 900 and 2100MHz bands -- only problem is, you've got to step down to a 2.8-inch QVGA display to get it. It'll slide into retail come May, while the S5320 gets a little bit of a jump start, hitting shelves in April.

LG KP500 Cookie When we see "Cooky," we think "kooky" -- as in, not normal, not quite right, a little crazy. Insane in the membrane, if you will. Think is, at 10.9mm thick, there's nothing crazy about wanting LG's latest domestic-issue touchphone, even if it is just a mildly-upgraded version of the KP500 Cookie available globally for the past few months. The thing's got a 3 megapixel camera, microSD slot, and a 3D-ish UI with accelerometer support just like its older brother, but the T-DMB tuner, and 7.2Mbps HSDPA give this version the edge. Throw in that big Google Cooky logo, LG, and you've won our hearts. Looks like it'll be available in June for about 590,000 won ($383, give or take) -- let's just hope it includes a dictionary.

Alltel announces $40 laptop data add-on Have a voice line with Alltel? Listen up: you're now lined up to get some of the cheapest laptop EV-DO in the business. The Verizon division (still feels weird to say that, doesn't it?) has announced today that wireless data can be yours for a mere $40 a month -- $20 less than usual -- when added as a second line as part of a Smart Choice Pack with a voice line. That gives you EV-DO Rev. A and your choice of three cards; sadly, none of those cards are ExpressCards, but hey, for $40 3.1Mbps internet, we're more than willing to cut some corners and let a USB dongle hang off the sides of our laptops. For the record, Cricket is still a smidge cheaper at $35, but this is the first time a national (well, pseudo-national) carrier has dipped this low. Makes you wonder whether the parent company is going to partake, doesn't it?

Panasonic updates its commercial plasmas down under Panasonic isn't exiting the plasma market (well, at least not yet) and if you've got a need for plasma image quality in your signage or you want input flexibility for your living room set, a Panny commercial plasma might be just the thing for you. The new TH-58PF11WK, TH-50PF11WK and TH-42PF11WK models for our friends in Australasia come with "Full HD" (FHD) 1920x1080 pixels and three user-configurable slots that can house modules for audio and/or video input; there's even a module for wireless connection. Yeah, wireless sounds nice, but we'll give the ability to tile up to 25 plasmas in a 5x5 array as the real feature you should try on for size.

Onei Solutions TV TV stands with built-in speakers aren't exactly as uncommon as you may think, but this new rig from Onei Solutions (apparently built by S&C Group) is certainly a bit more stylish than most, even it may not completely be a substitute for a standalone system. While it's not clear exactly what sort of system is packed inside, you will apparently get 15W of power from each speaker, along with a reasonable number of inputs and outputs (including two HDMI and two Toslink), a built-in VFD screen, removable speaker covers and, of course, a full-function remote control (the stand itself will accommodate TVs up to 50 inches). Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this one's available 'round these parts just yet, but folks in the UK can apparently pick one up now for £385.98, or about $530.

Neothings LightSpider HDMI v1.3 Fiber Extender Gefen has already taken the wind out of Neothings' sails somewhat with its HDMI v1.3 Fiber Extender, but if you're not quite ready to drop the coin required to take HDMI signals 1,000 feet over fiber optics, this here device may be the perfect solution. Dubbed LightSpider, this bridge can take HDMI, RS-232 and analog audio around 300 feet on a single fiber cable utilizing OWLink's Digital Light Interface technology. The company is quick to point out that the unit's integrated support for HDCP is a big win for those passing along protected material, though it won't go so far as to provide a price. Reportedly, the company will be on hand at EHX Spring to showcase it to HD junkies and home theater installers, after which we fully expect to hear more details on how to actually procure this thing.

Mitsubishi HL2750U projector We know, we could totally see you confusing "detail-oriented" with "high-resolution," but unfortunately Mitsu's not referring to those kinds of details. The HL2750U checks in with a barely respectable SXGA+ (1,400 x 1,050) resolution and a lovely 3,100 ANSI lumens for lighting up even mildly lit rooms. The 10.8 pound beamer also touts a lamp life of 5,000 hours, digital vertical and horizontal keystone correction, various lens options, Ethernet / RS-232c ports and an array of video inputs. Obviously, we'd recommend looking elsewhere for your dedicated home theater PJ, and we suspect you'll agree after swallowing the $3,995 MSRP.

Anthem flagship D2v pre-pro You did take that money set aside for your next preamp-processor upgrade out of the stock market didn't you? Better hope so if you had your heart set on the Anthem Statement D2v -- the flagship model is now shipping, complete with eight HDMI 1.3 inputs and a pair of outputs, top notch video processing courtesy the VXP silicon, and four DSP cores handling audio duties with support for high resolution audio formats and of course, Anthem's Room Correction (ARC) software. Oh yeah, and a (gulp) $7,500 price tag. Most definitely overkill, but we wouldn't expect anything less from an Anthem flagship.