These brevity reviews are all about quick and short evaluations of gadgets. So to begin swiftly, the Nhill Heist by Crumpler is a sleek backpack designed for urban ninjas, smart people, myself, corporate dudes, and the Gizmodo guys. During my tests of the Nhill Heist throughout Manhattan (and school), I found the back to be incredibly slim, light and brilliant.
This is an official Aperture Science hoodie that retails for $60 from our friends at ThinkGeek. On the front, the iconic Portal 1 and 2 character slipping in between space, is 100% cotton, two front pockets, has ribbed cuffs and bottom. Wearing it is a very comfortable experience, despite the smallest size looking like a medium-sized hoodie when you make comparisons to other hoodies. Now, what I think is the most special about this hoodie is the back: it proudly displays the “Test Candidate” that you are when you wear a Portal 2 hoodie (or would if you were actually part of the game, in which case I’d like to steal your position).
Its craftsmanship and sewing is on point, and for that it gets a high score, and recommendation from your’s truly, as well as everybody else that’s going to want one by reading this brevity review.
Score: 9.9/10
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This is Android 4.0. The first time I ever laid eyes on it in person, I was intrigued by how Android changed so much, so quickly. Only then did I realize that the Galaxy Nexus was built perfectly around it, for instance, having no touch capacitive buttons to perform functions; everything is done using the 720p HD, 4.65-inch Super AMOLED screen. Then it was soon realized that the 1.2GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM was more than adequate to keep the system running at full speed and smoothly transitioning with all the animations and effects seen in Ice Cream Sandwich. Then came the 10MBps+ 4G LTE speeds on Verizon. And then lastly, I soon found out that the cameras (both the front 1.3MP and 5 megapixel back-facing) were both built perfectly around the software, to the point where recording 1080p HD footage can be taken with speed, all the while taking photos while recording, thanks to Android 4.0.
If only all Android manufacturers could perfectly sync the software to the hardware, per the way Apple has for so many years. This is why I will say right off the bat, that the Galaxy Nexus is one of the best Android phones ever produced, and it deserves the 9.5/10 I’m bestowing upon it Read the full review after the break!
For the love of — oh, this is the BlackBerry Bold 9900 on T-Mobile USA that retails for $299 on contract. Its changes from the earlier Bold it replaced, the 9780, are needless to say, very vast. Each and every Bold 9900 on T-Mobile contains a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, a 2.8-inch TFT LCD multitouch screen (640 x 480, on 286 ppi pixel density), 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording, 768MB of RAM, a decent 8GB of built-in memory, BlackBerry OS 7, NFC support, is 10.5mm thin, and weighs 130 grams. Aesthetically, it is one of the most beautiful phones ever created. It is meant for truly productive person. Kudos RIM.
BlackBerry Bold 9900 Gallery
As for the 5 megapixel camera with no autofocus (really, RIM?) and 720p HD video recording: passable. It’s decent, and the sacrifice of the AF means zero-shutter lag photography, along with extra smooth HD video if image stabilization is enabled. And why is there no front-facing camera, RIM?
BlackBerry Bold 990 Camera Shots
After all that fluff, there is not anything noteworthy of the Bold 9900: it does BBM, has one of the best smartphone emails programs out there, can handle general tasks with ease (like web browsing), an amazing backlit keyboard, an optical trackpad, and “4G” HSPA+ speeds up to 14.4MBps, which on T-Mobile are actually pretty decent for most modern tasks. What the review is here to actually say, is why hasn’t there been major improvement of the BlackBerry operating system? At the very least give it the refinement (not slight tweaks) seen in its competitors: iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. We’re seeing the same incompetent menus from years past on the App World, restarting the device to update apps, occasional crummy UI interfaces, BlackBerry Maps is laughable, and a boring lock screen function.
Phone calls are of exceptional quality, with one of the best earpieces and speakerphones in the industry. Sadly, compromise had to be made somewhere (!): the battery life has been shortened somewhat due to the faster processor, so expect 10-20% juice left at the end of the day when in consistent usage of the email, Twitter, web, Facebook, BBM, and camera apps — anything more and you might find yourself in a sticky situation.
There is no need for RIM to replicate its rivals here, but at the very least they need to try to live up to consumers’ needs, not only of the business sector (of which RIM is slowly losing its grasp on as well. And no, this doesn’t mean including Twitter and Facebook apps on the phone from the first boot; they still suck. What is even more disturbing is that I’m find myself paraphrasing things I said in the Bold 9780′s review, the predecessor of this smartphone. Besides the design, screen, and camera, not much has changed here.
Collectively, I’d recommend the overpriced Bold 9900 to those in the die-hard user sector that require its functions, but with the increasing amount of enterprise capability on iOS and now Android 4.0 devices, it won’t be long before the BlackBerry gets enough bruises that it grows moldy. In other words, avoid the Bold 9900.
Score: 6.8/10
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This is the Nokia Lumia 710.
It is the very first Windows Phone of Nokia’s design to make way to the United States, made possible with a contract on T-Mobile USA, where the Lumia 710 receives decent HSPA+ data speeds. Powering the Lumia 710 is a preppy, little 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor with Windows Phone 7.5 Mango and some of Nokia’s additional enhancements, including Nokia Drive (their turn-by-turn voice navigation system) and “Nokia Blue”, a new color for the famous Metro tiles that run inside of the operating system. When using the Lumia 710 for a few days I noticed that it is one of the smoothest operating smartphones I have ever laid hands upon. Plus the rubberized body with plastic feels great to hold in your hands, even though it is not of the chic polycarbonate seen in high-end Lumia smartphones.
Nokia Lumia 710 Review Shots
On the backside of the Lumia 710 is a 5 megapixel camera with a single LED flash and the capability to record 720p HD video. No doubt is it very clear and the fast shutting speeds that Microsoft has programmed into the camera app for Windows Phone Mango works well with Nokia’s fantastic past of cameras: pictures are crisp and clean, but can be prone to some ISO noise that can be seen in the photos. Same goes for the video, seen after the break when you’re finished reading the review.
Lumia 710 Camera Tests
Battery life is all day, everyday, considering that it is mostly energy-efficient and has no WiFi hotspot capability (a minus, in my opinion). Otherwise, for the low cost, the Lumia 710 is in the same ranks as the Focus Flash (identical cost), except it lacks a front-facing camera for video chats, which is a waste, considering that Skype has just been launched on Windows Phone.
All in all, I bestow upon the Nokia Lumia 710 a humble 8.5/10 as its LaptopMemo Review Score. It is currently available on T-Mobile for $39.99 (web-only price) on a new, 2-year contract. Editor’s Note: Strangely, the plans include a mobile hotspot package, but there was no app for it on the review device, so I will leave it at that.
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Price as Reviewed: $399.99 on 2-year agreement with T-Mobile
This is nothing different from the other two Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices I’ve reviewed; the WiFi model was fantastic and the Verizon 4G LTE version even more so. The sole difference about this Galaxy Tab 10.1 is that it has a rather large, conspicuous T-Mobile logo at the top right, with an even more apparent Samsung logo slapped to the bottom, making it much less of a clean slate and instead an explosion of brands on what previously was a clear and crisp black slate. Performance of the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core 1GHz processor remains the same on Android 3.2 Honeycomb with Samsung’s Touchwiz enhancements — that is, smooth and fluid, unless there are many widgets active and a live wallpaper. Battery life also remains very acceptable, at 8-10 hours of usage with the 4G HSPA+ radio turned on, which brings down average speeds of 1-10MBps.
The only downfall I really see here on the Tab 10.1 with T-Mobile is the insane amount of carrier apps and add-ons. Verizon didn’t do it, and neither did Samsung on their WiFi model, but for some odd reason T-Mobile had to be “first”. Otherwise, this Tab 10.1 passes, but just by a notch.
Score: 8.9/10
Ah, the days of PDAs. I remember those days, long ago, where a stylus or pen was used with your personal digital assistant. However, it is the year of 2012, and no one really buys PDAs — they buy smartphones and superphones and an example of this could be the new Samsung Galaxy Note on AT&T with 4G LTE. Immediately after taking it out of the box, there are two things incredibly certain: the Galaxy Note is massive and incredibly light, thin, and easy to hold (once you have become accustomed to its girth). And the S pen is no simple stylus — it supports 250 different forms of pressure for handwriting, note-taking, drawing, and photo-editing, as well as just about any Android app or apps Samsung gets 3rd-party developers on board for.
In all my days of reviewing the latest and greatest of technology, I have never quite come upon the perfect mix of natural feel (the S pen) with futuristic design and feel (the aesthetics and smooth software) than with this new addition to AT&T’s vast catalog. Read on, for the full Galaxy Note review.
This is a watch (duh). Apparently it (again) is sold by my friends at Thinkgeek (thanks for letting us check this one out, guys!) and contains Swiss movement, thus ensuring you’re always keeping the exact time and is very refined in doing so. Besides that very useful addition to the Uzi Protector’s characteristics, it also has a dose of gaseous Tritium, which is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, and its nucleus contains one proton and two neutrons. This translates to a process: electrons are put through beta decay, and when they interact with the phosphor material, fluorescent light is created; this intriguing process is called radioluminescence (see: explanation).
Thus, the Uzi Protector can be used at night, and it charges the tritium when you are at a light source, something which you can keep on doing for 20 years until the Tritium has to be replaced, and 3 years for the watch’s time battery. Plus it’s water-resistant to 200 meters. Very impressive stuff.
Uzi Protector with Tritium Gallery
As a watch, it’s fantastic. And it would be perfect for any true geek/scientist. Just keep in mind that the metal-banded version does not fit everyone’s wrist (including mine or Chelsea’s), but for $100, this masterpiece chronograph can’t be beat. And it also has the honor of the “Stef’s Top Pick” award.
Score: 9/10
Available for purchase at ThinkGeek
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