MSI WIND U210 NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER IN THE US

MSI has not yet technically released its Wind U210 laptop in the US, but it is now available for pre-order. The MSI Wind U210 is already available in the Europe; now it can be purchased in the US as well. The Wind U210 is an updated version of the Wind U200. While the U200 has an Intel processor, the U210 uses an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 1.6GHz processor. Up to 2GB of RAM can be installed on this

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.

ALTEC LANSING XT2 PORTABLE LAPTOP AUDIO SPEAKERS

Altec Lansing has released an update to its popular XT1 laptop speakers. Dubbed XT2, these speakers are sleek and come with innovative looks. They weigh very little and are highly portable.The XT2 provides good volumes with better audio clarity than the built-in speakers found on most laptops. The speakers also come with a built-in microphone for Voice over IP communication. A very useful feature

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.

DELL INSPIRON 11Z REVIEW

Dell has used the ultra-low voltage Celeron 723 and the GS45 chipset on its new netbook, the Inspiron 11z. The Celeron processor when paired with X4500 integrated graphics has a definite advantage over the Atom processors common in netbooks. Dell Inspiron 11z SpecificationsOperating system: Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 32-bit)Processor: Intel Celeron 723 (1.2GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB Cache)Chipset

LOGITECH V550 NANO CORDLESS LASER MOUSE

The V550 Nano Cordless Laser Mouse is the latest offering from Logitech known for its line of quality mice. The V550 is compact and lightweight without being undersized and flimsy. It is powered by the laser precision technology which allows for superior tracking. There is a hyper-fast scroll-wheel. This mouse also features the Plug-and-Forget Nano Receiver common with all Logitech mice. Another

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