For testing the video quality of the Gateway FHD2303L, I connected it to my Windows Vista PC on its DVI port. DVI cable is bundled along with the monitor. This Gateway monitors was not as good as Samsung PX2370. In my black level tests, the FHD2303L crushed the dark grays and this means that the monitor will have problems displaying dark detail. I tested for this and found that it was true. I then put the Gateway FHD2303L through color tracking tests and saw a glaring green shade for movies when watched on the default settings. In the dark screen test, there was only a little bit of backlight breakthrough, on the bottom and top middle screen edges. In the motion bitmaps test, this Gateway monitors saw more streaking than the aforementioned PX2370 but I didn’t see this in my real world movie and game tests. For text, there were no problems of color and the black text looked great on white background. I could see the fonts clearly  [...]

Before I start this review, let me tell you one thing straight. This product will work only on Mac which has a Mini DisplayPort. If you own a older Mac or PC, this display is not for you. This monitor has fantastic performance and looks aesthetically appealing too. Games and movies looked great in my lab tests but I was most impressed by the way it handled the fonts. The screen has a glossy coating and the fonts have smoothness that is rarely seen and this makes doing everyday tasks a better experience. This monitor can also be connected to a MacBook Pro, it comes with MagSafe connector which can be used to charge the laptop when the monitor is connected to it. My only gripe here is that the screen is highly reflective due to the glossy screen. The ergonomics options too are quite rare, you only get a ten degree back tilt. The price of this panel is $1,000 which is a bit high considering there much cheaper monitors in the market. I won’t recommend this panel even to professionals because  [...]

Uebo M200 is a media player and if offers a lot of Internet based features like Picasa, YouTube and Flickr support along with RSS feeds and Internet radio. The remote control of this player is a bit clumsy and overloaded. I got confused with the arrow icon on the center button. The screen says that this icon is meant for the cancel feature but looking at the geographic location, you will certainly think it is the OK key. You will eventually get used to this over a period of time but I thought this was an odd situation. Just like most of the devices in this category, the Uebo M200 media player can access devices that are on the same network and then it can stream it to a television. There is no built-in Wi-Fi so you will have to purchase the wireless dongle separately. This will occupy one of the tree USB ports giving you just two free ports. I would recommend going for a wireless connection only if it is really necessary otherwise, wired connection work just fine. Uebo M200 media  [...]

Bluetooth headsets are extensively used these because they give you freedom from wires. Hence people don’t mind paying a little more money and buy them separately. I recommend these devices to my friends who love to work out as there is no danger of wires coming in the way of the equipment.  Sony DR-BT160AS Active Style Wireless Stereo Headset is the latest wireless headset to come in my labs and it has a mouthful for a model name. The model name says ‘active style’ and this will give you the idea that the set is meant for people who go jogging in the morning or fitness freaks who like to work out all the time. This device is offered in two versions – the Sony DR-BT160AS and Sony DR-BT16IK. The latter comes with a adapter for iPod. You can use the set with the Apple product even though it doesn’t have Bluetooth. The adapter does the needful. I got the AS version in my labs for testing and this review applies to both the devices since they have the same features and audio quality.

This monitor looks exactly the same like the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 and I strongly thing that this product was made to compete directly with the Samsung panel. This is a LED based computer display and the secret behind its thin profile is the use of LED technology. LED lets the panel to be really thin and gives better picture quality too. The stand of the TV is oval shaped and the panel wobbles a lot when you push it from sides. But there is no danger of it getting toppled over because the weight of the stand is distributed evenly through out the stand. I was disappointed to see that the LG Flatron E2350V doesn’t have many ergonomic options. You just get a back tilt and nothing else. The monitor can be tilted back to 10 or 90 degrees. If you push it all the way to 90 degrees, the monitor will be parallel to the wall. I don’t know why there is a 90 degree option. The stand cannot hold the display in this position, it falls down easily. There is no pivot, height adjustment or screen  [...]

We have seen a lot of cool USB designs and they have all been worth drooling upon. Manufacturers too have played a lot with the design of the USB thumb drive. They have let their imagination run wild. A thumb drive is one of the few peripherals of a computer which you carry around a lot and hence there is a lot of demand for cool USB designs. But I bet you have never heard of such a design. Check out the picture, this thumb drive has a shape a boot and looks super cool. The cost of this thumb drive is $25 which is a bit high but the manufacturer wants to cash in on the sexy design. I haven’t seen such a design on other thumb drives which is quite strange since there have been a lot of haphazard ideas been thrown at, at the thumb drive. The price of this device might be high but it will surely make you famous amongst your peers for the design. The size of the thumbdrive is 2 GB which is really low. 2 GB pen drives died quite a while ago and there are  [...]

Asus VG236H is a monitor having a 120 Hz refresh rate which makes this product compatible with Nvidia 3D vision kit. This panel is thus targeted towards gamers. For testing, I connected this monitor to the DVI port of my Windows Vista computer. The performance was good but it was nowhere close to the Samsung PX2370, my current favorite. I was concerned about the color accuracy problems and the panel also occasionally coated the screen with a green tint. You can get rid of this green tint but you have to adjust the settings a lot and it is a chore. Changing the presets increases or decreases this green tint but it was there no matter what skin tone or color temperature settings I used. Finally, I accessed the RGB values and then adjusted the green to 85. At this point, the green tint was least irritating. Also be wary of the fact that you will have to adjust the red to 94 or else the whites will appear pinkish. I put the Asus VG236H through the Black Level test and saw that the dark grays  [...]

NEC MultiSync PA271W is not your standard monitor for everyday use. It is made for professionals and the high price tag should make it clear. This screen is targeted at graphic designers or alike who yearn for great accuracy in color and need plethora of features. I was overwhelmed by the weight. This behemoth of a monitor weighs about 30 pounds which is seven pounds more than the Dell U2711 which belongs to a similar price range. The extra weight makes the NEC MultiSync PA271W really sturdy. I knocked it from the sides to see if it could withstand the jerks and wasn’t surprised to see that the monitor refused to budge at all. Regular home use monitors easily topple over with even a slight push since they are quite light weight. The wide flip stand also contributes to keeping the monitor really sturdy. The monitor is not that slick looking either, its thickness makes it a bit ugly but that is still acceptable considering all the features that it has inside. NEC MultiSync PA271W  [...]

Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 is a wireless mouse and feature wise, this pointer is quite similar to Explorer Mini but it costs less. Priced at $40 the Wireless 4000 is based on Microsoft's latest Bluetrack sensing technology. Bluetrack sensor lets you use the mouse on a wide range of surfaces which are quite challenging to traditional laser mice. If you are looking for good ergonomics, then this mouse is probably not for you. On the bright side, I thought that this mouse takes care of lots of issues that made us balk at its predecessor. That said, get this pointer if you are looking for a good travel mouse. Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 has a simple plug and play interface and installing it is quite easy. All you have plug in the mouse and you are ready to go. You get a 'Nano Transceiver' for the mouse which must be plugged in the computer while the mouse is being used. It is really tiny but there is a compartment beneath the mouse for  [...]

The Western Digital My Passport Studio is a nice portable external hard drive with 640GB storage and customizable electronic label that works even when the drive is not plugged in. It is one of the most portable and full-featured Western Digital hard drives. The Studio drive only offers USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 connections. On the down side, it does not support USB 3.0 standard and needs improvement in its FireWire performance, especially for Windows. Actually, $200 priced 640GB the Studio is preformatted for Macs and can also work on Windows computer. You can also get its 320GB and 500GB versions for $150 and $180 respectively. Noteworthy that My Passport Studio drive is available in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. The electronic label can show any 12 characters long message that is enough for depicting name of owner or drive content. It also displays available storage amount and storage gauge. The Western Digital My Passport  [...]