I covered the initial impressions in my last review so let’s get right to the 13.3″ touchscreen. It’s a non-glossy matte screen so glare is pretty much not an issue. Fingerprints? Not a problem, unless you’re touching the screen with your grubby little hands after a late night KFC 14-piece extra crunchy bucket binge. Screen images/text look good but there’s a certain “faded” quality that I can’t quite place–definitely not as vibrant as other laptop screens I’ve seen (an iPad it’s not) but it certainly gets the job done.

So what can you do with the touchscreen? Well, you can start/close programs by tapping; scroll through websites and menus using directional swipes; expand/shrink images using the multitouch “pinch” gesture; waste hours and hours oohing and aahing over the included touch-enhanced fish pond screensaver; or close your eyes, pretend really, really hard it’s an iPad and type messages using the onscreen virtual keyboard.

Now, this is all well and good but after using the touchscreen for a while I often found myself asking, “and exactly why would I want to touch the screen when I could easily click it with a mouse?” and, “why am I such a moron for smearing chicken grease all over the screen?” Definitely some valid questions when you consider Windows 7 wasn’t designed from the ground up to be a touchscreen OS. Sure, it’s cool using gestures to control the GUI but it gets old and tiring after a while–not so much Toshiba’s fault but more of a Windows 7 design issue, IMHO.

Application performance is decent but one would expect that with an Intel Core i5-430M processor and 4GBs of memory. Gaming performance is absolutely riveting…if you’re playing the original Doom or Pacman. In other words, this doesn’t run modern games all too well as evidenced by my feeble attempt at running the latest Command and Conquer RTS at full settings. Words such as molasses, wet paint, and “405 traffic” come to mind. Again, one would expect this due to lack of video processing power on the integrated Intel HD Graphic card.

One last thing I’m going to mention is the sound quality. The stereo speakers are actually quite good for a laptop and sound fairly decent but, again, they’re laptop speakers so don’t expect to be blown away.

To sum up, the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2010 with Touchscreen is a good multimedia-centric laptop with solid build quality, responsive touchscreen, decent application performance, and ok gaming performance. It’s a bit hefty and the fans are a bit loud but, hey, that’s what you get in a desktop replacement. If you’re thinking about buying one primarily for the touchscreen, don’t. Buy an iPad or wait until Microsoft incorporates better touch UI features.

Good day, all you GR fans. We got our hands on the new Toshiba Satellite U505 Touchscreen (literally) and here’s a few of our thoughts. My first impression after opening the nicely packaged box was, “holy five stacks of iPads, Batman!”, this thing is pretty thick! Then I realized it had a touchscreen, all kinds of glow in the dark multimedia buttons, and rather largish built in speakers with a snazzy ”Dolby Sound Room” label. “Ah, hah!”, I thought, this must be one of those rare desktop-replacing, skin-scorching multimedia laptops that’s meant to cut all blood flow to your lap. Very cool.

Build quality is excellent, I must say. The laptop body has a nicely textured finish with an almost leathery feel. When you pick it up, it just has that solid heft to it, sorta like picking up a concrete slab; you just know it’s not going to break (easily). The screen hinge is very solid as well–you’re not going to shake, rattle, or roll anything when closing the lid.

Feature-wise this thing is loaded with a very respectable Intel Core i5 processor, 13.3″ widescreen WXGA Touchscreen, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, an ultra-cool slot-loading DVD SuperMulti Drive, LED backlit keyboard, stereo speakers, webcam, and more.

My recommendation is to plonk it down on a nice, solid desk and leave it there to enjoy the performance of this very capable multimedia-centric laptop. Definitely not for the weak of mind…or lap.

Will keep you posted with updates on the touchscreen usability and performance on Windows 7.

Sony Ericsson announced the Xperia X10, their first phone based on the Android OS and running on the powerful 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The phone looks to contain a slew of snazzy features and some hefty hardware. And that’s a good thing especially if you’re trying to compete with the likes of the ubiquitous and all-knowing DROID. Check out these features:

• Quad-band GSM and EDGE
• 4.0 inches, 480 x 854 pixels (WVGA), scratch-resistant capacitive screen

To continue reading “Sony Ericsson Launches The Xperia X10, Their First Android Handset” head to PhoneDig

The folks over at BGR got their hands on the new Motorola Droid and, boy, does it looks killer, as in almost iPhone killer. Looks like Motorola is back on track with a full QWERTY slider phone that’s amazingly only slightly thicker than an iPhone 3GS. Ultra-slick design, solid construction, huge screen, fast processor, and Android 2.0 to boot? What’s not to…

To continue reading “Motorola Droid Gets Groped” head to PhoneDig

Samsung announced the launch of their Blue Earth device, an eco-friendly smartphone powered by the sun. This fully touchscreen phone is expected to be available in Sweden by the end of this month, followed by France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal, and other European/Asian countries.

So one would expect a solar-powered smartphone to skimp on features, yes? Well, it sure doesn’t look like it based on these specs:

• Quad-band GSM/HSDPA connectivity
• 3.0 inch WQVGA capacitive touchscreen
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• MicroSD slot
• Stereo FM radio
• Bluetooth with A2DP

To continue reading “Samsung To Launch Blue Earth Solar Powered Phone In Sweden This Month” head to PhoneDig

The spiritual successor to the wildly popular RAZR, the Motorola Ruby, seems to have made a reappearance as the Motorola V13. The Ruby/V13, thought to be long cancelled, seems to be back on track when it was approved by the Bluetooth SIG just yesterday.

The specs include…

To continue reading “Motorola’s V13 Is The New RAZR, But Can It Be As Sharp As The First?” hit up PhoneDig

RIM and Tivo announced the availability of the Tivo app for BlackBerry devices. Yeah, you probably perked up and exclaimed, “Wow!” but the app only allows you to view the program guide and schedule shows to be recorded. Sorry to be a downer but like most of you I was expecting to…

To continue reading “Tivo Blackberry App Now Available For Download” head to PhoneDig

It’s official, T-Mobile announced pre-order details on their newest Motorola CLIQ. The CLIQ will be available for pre-order to existing customers on October 19 through November 1. The day after on November 2nd, it’ll be available online and through retail stores to the general public.

The price? Expect it to be…

To continue reading “Motorol CLIQ Launch Date And Price For T-Mobile Officially Announced” hit up PhoneDig

Verizon and Nokia announced the Nokia 7705 Twist, a completely square phone that twists to reveal a full QWERTY keypad. The specs are anything but square, featuring a 3.0 megapixel camera, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, voice commands, and a unique Contact Light Ring (customizable to flash on a particular call or message).

The Nokia Twist will be available online on Sept. 13 for…

To continue reading “Verizon Announces Nokia 7705 Twist Launch Date And Specs” head to PhoneDig

It looks like Sprint’s “wireless revolution” comes in the form of a new “Any Mobile, Anytime” plan. The new plan does exactly what it sounds like, allowing customers unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling from the Sprint network to any other phone on any U.S. wireless carrier.

The best value is the $69.99 Everything Data plan which includes “Any Mobile, Anytime”, unlimited text/picture/video messaging…

To continue reading “Sprint Launches “Any Mobile, Anytime” Plan, The Most Bang For Your Buck Of Any Carrier” hit PhoneDig

According to rumors hitting the net, Windows Mobile 7 is scheduled to launch Q4 of 2010. Before that, Microsoft is expected to launch Windows Mobile 6.5 on October 1, 2009 and an updated 6.5 version with touch interface in February 2010.

So why is Microsoft supporting dual platforms?

To continue reading “Gadget Rumor: Microsoft Set To Launch Windows Mobile 7 In 2010″ hit up PhoneDig

It seems new photos of the elusive HTC Leo has turned up on the net. It’s a droolworthy phone going by the specs alone: 4.3 inch WVGA 480×800 capacitive touchscreen, Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Wi-Fi, GPS/a-GPS, accelerometer, 3.5mm headset jack, 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus/ dual-LED flash…

To continue you reading “Gadget Leak: HTC Leo Looks To Be The Stuff Made Of Stars” hit up PhoneDig

Sony Ericsson announced the Jalou, their newest mobile phone featuring the latest in fashionable design. The typical technical specs are all there including 3G, 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, etc; but what sets this clamshell phone apart is a highly fashionable “bling” design, as one can see from the facet-cut diamond face. Not only that but a Dolce & Gabbana special edition will be available, featuring…

To continue reading “Sony Ericsson’s Jalou Is A Fashion Phone, How Your Pronounce It Is Up To You” checkout PhoneDig

T-Mobile released the much anticipated Visual Voicemail functionality to its Android-based mobile devices. In addition, an App Pack was made available that includes popular apps such as Sherpa and Flixster. Download here.

This post is syndicated from PhoneDig

Garmin-Asus confirmed a July 27th shipping date for their long awaited Nuvifone G60. It will initially go on sale in select Asian markets and will come to the States during the second half of 2009. The Nuvifone G60, a phone with GPS-centric functions, features 3.5 inch display, quad-band, WiFi, accelerometer, pre-loaded maps of North America or Eastern/Western Europe, and more.

For those of you interested in the Windows Mobile flavored Nuvifone, the M20, you’ll just have to wait until next month, when it will go on sale in the same markets.  It too is set to arrive in Europe in the second half of this year.

Unfortunately, pricing for any market has yet to be disclosed.

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A new set of cameras from Olympus are set to release this August and they’re probably not the most eye catching gadget that you’ve ever seen. So without further a due I present the 4 new FE series camera; Fe-5020(5x zoom), Fe-4000(4x zoom), Fe-46(5x zoom), Fe-26(3x zoom).

Although they have different lens sizes, they have almost the same features. These features include a 12 megapixels CCD, 2.7-inch LCD, face tracking, auto mode, and both xD-Picture Card and microSD compatibility. Both the 5020 and 4000 have Magic Filters capabilities that enable special artistic effects to be created directly in the camera.

Another addition to the list of Olympus cameras is the Mju 7010. This camera has a bigger zoom at 7x but is quite similar to the FE-5020 and 4000 in terms of features.

Prices for the new FE series cameras are still on hold (we can expect less than $300) while Mju has a price tag of £249 (more or less, $400).

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Continuing the cat and mouse saga, Palm released the webOS 1.1.0 update for the Palm PRE, simultaneously fixing the iTunes 8.2.1 syncing issue and restoring tranquility unto the troubled world of PRE. Other updates include:

• Emoticons
• Exchange support
• NFL Mobile Live (the newest, 31st app)
• New swipe gesture to move forward through web pages

So, Apple, just how quickly will you be releasing 8.2.2?

This post was syndicated from PhoneDig

If you are looking for a new home theater-in-a-box, Samsung may have just provided you a solution: the HT-BD3252. This new and cool system has a 5.1 (1000 watts) sound system, a Blu-ray player, support for the latest HD audio codec, a microphone, Internet services like Pandora, Netflix and Blockbuster and an iPod dock (of course!).  And to keep your cord tangling to a minimum, they’ve tossed in a set of rear wireless speakers and a WiFi dongle.  The HT-BD3252 is priced at $799 and is set to be released this August.

Full specs after the ‘leap’

Power

• 1000 Watts total output power

Audio

• 5.1-Channel
• Smart Volume
• Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic II, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio
• Rear Wireless Included

Connectivity

• Wi-Fi capable with included USB dongle (802.11b/g/n)
• 1 USB 2.0 port with USB HOST functionality
• Made for iPod/iPhone with included cradle, onscreen display support, and remote control navigation
• 1 HDMI-CEC output
• 1 Composite output
• 2 HDMI-CEC inputs
• 1 Optical input
• 1 Ethernet port

Other Features

• Crystal Amplifier
• Bio Kelp Speaker Cones
• Energy Star compliant
• BD Wise
• BD Profile 2.0-compliant (BD-Live)
• Plays Netflix SD/HD streaming content (subscription required)
• Plays Pandora streaming audio (subscription required)
• Plays BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand streaming content (via firmware upgrade available in Fall 2009)
• Auto Sound Calibration (ASC) with included microphone
• Wired / wireless PC Streaming of select audio and photo files

Estimated Selling Price

• $799

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Availability
· August 2009

Metallica, one of the best metal bands ever, is releasing a customized jacket with Skullcandy speakers and yes, an iPod dock connector. Sound ironic?

Remember back in the days when prominent recording artists sued Napster for promoting piracy? Metallica was one of them. Who could have forgotten their tirades against MP3s and iTunes? Now, Metallica will promote a jacket that includes something they hated the most.

The limited edition jacket is being produced by sportswear company Sessions. The jacket will have a Skullcandy speaker and amp unit, sleeve control panel, waterproof iPod or iPhone pocket and the best part of the jacket – a limited edition Metallica art piece.

The jacket will have a price tag of $330 and will be launched August 2009.

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For all you gadget lovers who are fortunate enough to be heading back to college this August, here is a high-tech way to design a high-tech dorm room.

Design Your Dorm is a new service that allows users to virtually customize their future dorm rooms before they arrive on campus. Using the sites 3-D design tool you can view a layout of your actual dorm room and drag and drop in 3-D objects from an Amazon shopping cart. Design Your Dorm offers exact dimensions for every dorm room (by room number) at a handful of schools including USC, UPenn, UCLA and U of A, and general floor plans at almost every other school in the nation.

Above is a sample of a dorm room I designed…You may want to design something a little more practical. Then again if you are as gadget crazy as I am, you may not.