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  [...]

Samsung is a big wigs when it comes to plasma and LCD TV, they make one of the best ones in the market and I don’t have much to complain about them when it comes to quality. They were the first ones to come with 3D TVs and the quality was really impressive. There is not a lot of 3D content out there in the market right now so I didn’t get to test it thoroughly. I had just one 3D disc – Monsters vs. Aliens, I used that for my tests and drooled on the screen for hours. Samsung PN50C7000 belongs to the high end line up and hence has all the bells and whistles that you’d look for in such a TV. I was disappointed to see that the manufacturer didn’t include 3D glasses along with the TV. You will have to buy them separately for $150. You probably won’t be watching the TV alone so you will have to spend at least $300 for 2 pairs of glasses. If you are going to watch the 3D content with a family, you will have to spend a bit more. Samsung PN50C7000 also comes with  [...]

If you a Mac user, notebook or desktop, then chances are that you are a style conscious person. For such people looks matter more than the performance and hence there are a few companies making stylish accessories for Apple’s computer products.Targus has come up with a new mouse and it is simply called Wireless Mouse for Mac. There’s also a Bluetooth model called Targus Bluetooth Laser Mouse for Mac. Targus Wireless Mouse for Mac runs on two AA sized batteries and there is a compartment in the pointer for storing the wireless receiver. To access it, you simply have to lift up the mouse top. The receiver doesn’t protrude too much, it only sticks a few millimeters out of the USB port so we would recommend you to have it plugged in all the time. Targus Wireless Mouse for Mac, is 1.5 inches tall (at its tallest) and 2.5 inches wide. These dimensions make it less than ideal for travel but it is not that bad either. The body curved  [...]

Pocket HD camcorders are one step below the HD camcorders in terms of video quality and they do the same thing as the higher end video recorders. These tiny gadgets shoot and upload your most memorable moments, though not in high definition. The relevant software is preloaded on to the device and through this, you can share the video clips from any computer. However, most of them don’t support Mac computers. The main advantages of a pocket HD camcorder are its compact design, low price and user friendly interface. Some of these camcorders do offer full HD resolution of 1,920x1,080 and there are the intimidating options of editing and playing too. But then these options make the mini camcorders less user friendly and the cost goes up too. Mini camcorders are made just to shoot the videos and nothing else. HD video is not just limited to high resolutions alone. You need a good lens for recording HD video (which small mini camcorders cannot house). These mini camcorders also face a stiff  [...]

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is an entry level camera from the company. At the moment, it is the only model from this manufacturer to run on AA sized batteries. For me, that is a highlight in a camera apart form a larger than standard display. This device is made for starters who are looking for easy operation and convenience. The photo quality is strictly OK but that is not unexpected at this price range. The performance is not that good either. But the camera still has some strong points, depending on how you are going to use the photos. The results are not that good but the still live up to the expectations. Controls on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 are pretty basic. You have the shutter release and power button on the top, and rest of the controls are located on the right side of the screen. You have rocker switch for 3x zoom, swtich for toggling between photo and video modes, play button for watching the movies and shots, four direction pad for navigation, and changing  [...]

Touchscreen technology is here and there are reports that it will be incorporated in computers pretty soon. It is already here on the iPad and the recently launched Dell Streak. People say that the mouse is going to die because touch screen is a much better way to communicate with the computer. But we think otherwise; mouse is certainly going nowhere. Remember that if you are using a mouse, you are not touching the screen and hence your view is not blocked. When you are using the touch screen, the view is blocked because your finger covers the screen. Accuracy is also a matter of concern on the touch screen devices. There are capacitive touch screens which offer better accuracy as compared to the resistive ones but it still cannot replace the slim mouse pointer. If the two items are placed really close to each other on the touchscreen, you might accidentally end up touching something else. This cannot happen with a traditional mouse since its pointer is really small it is almost impossible  [...]

We got to review the first version of Soundmatters FoxL Personal Audiophile Loudspeaker with Bluetooth last year, and we were impressed by its large soundstage and small footprint. We recommended the non Bluetooth model since there was some aural degradation in the wireless audio quality. It is been a year since then and the manufacturer has now given us Soundmatters FoxL v2, another Bluetooth version set which improves on the wireless quality of audio and the wireless range to is extended. There is also a built in speaker phone for portable teleconferencing. The cost of this device is $200 which is quite expensive but we feel it is justified by the high end build quality and fidelity. Soundmatters FoxL v2 looks quite similar to its predecessor and hence you might easily confuse it with the previous model. The latest model has '2' in the bottom right side. On the speaker's front, there are two 25mm dome speakers. The company calls them “Twoofer”  [...]

Panasonic has made four different models for the same product and this seems a bit too much. All four of these are entry level HD camcorders with the price range between $500 and $700. The HDC-SD60, TM60 and TM55 are based on the same internal hardware and they only differ by built in memory technology. TM55 has 8GB memory, TM60 has 16GB and SD60 doesn't come with internal memory. The TM60 model is available only on best buy. The HS60 has the maximum storage space, it comes with 120 GB internal hard disk but the design has been changed a little inorder to incorporate the big hard disk. We got the SD60 model in our labs for testing and the manufacturer says that the quality is similar in all these four devices. On the back of the Panasonic HDC-SD60K, there is a switch for selecting from playback, video and  [...]

A big 4.3 inch touch screen dominates the Motorola Droid X's surface and it looks really gorgeous. A bigger screen gives you a bigger resolution and hence you have more real estate. We don't get a lot of phones with such big screens in our labs and we were drooling a lot on it. Also remember that it is a capacitive touch screen so you dont need a stylus. The screen is very user friendly, just like your iPhone. Motorola Droid X is running on revised version of MotoBlur so the experience will be different from Clique or previous Motorola phones that you might have used. There are some changes done here and we really like this new layout. Underneath the screen, there are four physical buttons and we thank the manufacturer for this. These buttons come in really handy at times because you have to go digging inside the touch screen sometimes. There are phones which have touch sensitive buttons here but we prefer hard buttons since they are easy to press. These four buttons are home, back,  [...]

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  [...]