mophie juice pack air

By: Joel Evans http://www.geek.com

If you have iPhone, One day starts with me using my iPhone to check your email and the weather, and then you perform some quick browsing of various websites and RSS feeds. Later you use the iPhone to make phone calls, send some texts and then even as a GPS when driving to a destination that you haven’t been to before. day ends the same way it began–some emails, surfing, videos, twittering, etc.. Basically, my iPhone gets about 18 hours of use a day.

Because of my usage pattern you are always looking for ways to maximize the iPhone’s battery life. In the past you have reviewed the RichardSolo 1800, Powerstick, Kensington Mini Battery Pack and Charger, and even the original Mophie juice pack. While all of these solutions work, they tend to not be something you can leave on your iPhone at all times. Granted, mophie’s solution could but it’s a bit bulky.

Mophie must have been aware of its bulkiness because the company recently released the mophie juice pack air–an ultra thin, lightweight rechargeable external battery for the iPhone 3G. This is no ordinary battery, though. At first glance it looks more like an iPhone case than a battery and that’s because the folks at mophie have concealed the battery inside of a protective form-fitting case.

For your test you took the mophie juice pack air out of the box and separated the two pieces of the case. you then put my iPhone into the bottom part of the case and then put the top of the case on and slid it down until it locked in place. This created a form fitting environment for your iPhone, identical to many hard shell cases. Then turned a switch on the bottom of the case to green and your iPhone started charging.

There are many unique features of the mophie juice pack and you have listed a few below:

• The case that holds the battery is very thin and looks and feels just like a regular case for the iPhone. The added bonus is that in addition to the case you get a rechargeable battery. The battery itself is a rechargeable 1200mAh lithium polymer battery which is good to recharge for over 500 full cycles
• The juice pack will drain itself first, leaving you a fully charged iPhone
• There are four LEDs on the back that show you how much power you have left in the juice pack air
• You can sync and charge your iPhone at the same time using the juice pack air
• You can shut off the battery portion of the juice pack air and just use it as a case and engage the battery only when you need it

As you can see, there are a bunch of features integrated into a very small design. The biggest feature, though, is the battery, which can go standby for up to 270 hours, talk time for up to 4.5 hours on 3G (up to 9 hours on 2G), audio playback for up to 20 hours, video playback for up to 6 hours, and internet use for up to 4.5 hours on 3G (up to 5.4 hours on Wi-Fi).

While you found a lot to like about the mophie juice pack air, you did find one con: the charging mechanism. The juice pack air comes with a USB cable and can be charged via a computer or any “works with iPhone” wall-plug style power source with USB out. This is a great option but you would have also liked it if mophie had included a usb to AC plug.

Other than the one negative, you fully recommend to buy the mophie juice pack air. It’s currently sold out but the company expects to have more available in the coming weeks.

Even though you are not a fan of cases for your devices, the fact that you can take your iPhone with you everywhere and have more power just a flick of a switch away makes this a must-have in your book.

SanDisk slotRadio Player Bundle

By: Joel Evans http://www.geek.com

when we want to work out and not have to think about which songs you want to take with you on your music player? How about if you just want some music to “chillout” to? If either of these sounds like it could be your nirvana, then the SanDisk slotRadio Player may be the device for you.

We first brought word of the SanDisk slotRadio Player back in January and previously reviewed the slotMusic Player, which features the same slotMusic playback mechanism.

Now the slotRadio Player is shipping and we’ve been putting it through its paces for a few weeks and have detailed our experience below.

The SanDisk slotRadio Player is a music player that comes with a slotRadio mix card that’s preloaded with 1,000 songs from artists on the Billboard charts. The slotRadio mix card is actually a specialized microSD card so you can use your own microSD card, too, once you’re done listening to the 1,000 tunes (more on that later).

The slotRadio Player itself is a very cool looking device. It’s made from die-cast aluminum and features a 1.5-inch OLED screen. It also offers a built-in FM radio which can display the song and artist as well as call letters from participating radio stations. As for navigating the player, you are presented with left and right navigation controls that can be triggered by pressing to the right or left of the screen. This allows you to go through different genres / playlists. Once you find a genre you like you can pause the song in that genre or skip the song entirely. You can also navigate left or right again to switch to a different genre. The slotRadio Player also has a clip built-in for clipping it to yourself for working out, walking around, or just enjoying your music and ships with both a USB cable and a plug that lets you charge the slotRadio Player in a standard AC outlet.

For my tests the slotRadio player worked without fail. I took it out of the box, plugged in the headphones, plugged in the slotRadio Mix card, and was listening to the slotRadio mix card in seconds. I also flicked the slotRadio player to FM and that’s when I noticed it showing me the song and artist that was playing on the radio–nice touch! After I was done listening to FM, I switched the slotRadio Player to PLAY mode. The player started playing music immediately and also showed a variety of animations while the music was playing. For example, during “Rock” you are treated to an animation of a rock band and while in “Workout” you see silhouettes of people running. The display also cycles between which song is playing and which song is coming next in the playlist.

I also tried to drag my own music over. According to SanDisk, there’s about an album’s worth of space available on the slotRadio Mix card. I dragged over two Billy Joel MP3s and when I wanted to access them I navigated to the “MyChannel” playlist. From there I was able to cycle through each song.

I mentioned navigating the slotRadio Player earlier in this review. One thing I didn’t highlight was the player’s inability to allow the user to go back to a song previously played. In order to hear a song that you have already listened to in your playlist, you have to cycle all the way through again. This is done for business reasons. Basically it’s a “legal thing” and that’s how SanDisk can deliver 1,000 songs so cheap. I should also mention that the songs are DRM’d and there’s no way to access them aside from playing them on the SlotRadio Player.

That said, legal or not, it’s still troubling, though most people probably won’t even be bothered by it, especially since it’s touted as a feature and it’s supposed to deliver a “laid back experience” since you can just let the slotRadio Player play the playlist or skip a song if you don’t like it.

After playing with the slotRadio Player for a while I can now see its appeal. If I just want to take a player with me for a good workout, the slotRadio Player has a workout theme already made, and I didn’t have to hook up the player to my computer to get it. This goes for many other genres / playlists. Whatever mood you’re in, there’s already a playlist ready and waiting to be listened to. If you want additional music you can purchase another slotRadio Mix card or make your own on a microSD card–it’s just that easy.

The slotRadio Player is currently $99 and comes with 1,000 songs. At that price it’s a bit pricey but when you consider that it comes with 1,000 songs, and also allows you to use your own microSD card, it’s not too hard to stomach.

Motorola Tundra VA76r

By: Joel Evans http://www.geek.com

Motorola Tundra VA76r, most of them look clunky and aren’t necessarily something that you’d want to sport as a daily phone since they lack web browsing and other multimedia features. In addition, they tend to be offered on the NEXTEL network. Well, AT&T and Motorola are mixing things up with the Motorola Tundra VA76r.

At first glance the Tundra looks just like a NEXTEL phone. It’s bulky, sports a rubber exterior, and feels like it could take a hit. But when you open it up and start using it, that’s when you realize how feature-rich it is.

Packed into an indestructible frame is a quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) 3G world phone that features a 2.2″, 240×320 262k TFT internal screen, 1.05″ 96×80 CLI external screen, stereo bluetooth (A2DP), USB 2.0, PTT, a video and audio player, 2 megapixel camera, 100MB of memory, a web browser, and a microSD card slot. There’s also some specific AT&T enhancements including AT&T’s CrystalTalk Plus technology, which performs noise cancelation (using two microphones) to allow you to hear your caller clearer, even in a noisy location.

I mentioned indestructible above. The Tundra meets 810F US Military Standards for drops, dust, vibration, humidity, severe temperatures and rain. Of course, we didn’t want to take Motorola’s word for it so we designed a series of our own tests including throwing the phone horizontally as well as vertically, and having it land on a variety of surfaces including tar, grass, and stone. We even did a real-world test at a construction site. You can see all of the tests in action below. Surprisingly, the worst thing that we experienced as a result of our field tests was a dislodged SIM card, which required reseating and then the Tundra was back in business.

As for the feature-phone side of the Tundra, we browsed to Geek.com and a bunch of other sites at 3G speed, and we also sent a bunch of texts. The best part about the feature-phone side, though, is how clear it sounds. Callers remarked how they could still hear me even though I was talking with the car window open. Below is an MP3 of me calling my voicemail with the window of my car down while driving 40 mph. In the clip you’ll hear me clearly, and won’t hear the wind at all. Then the wind comes in–I held the phone out the window–and then it goes away again. It’s really pretty remarkable how well the CrystalTalk Technology works.

When I first started playing with the Tundra I figured I’d throw it around and do some stress testing but then would send it back. Instead, I find myself using it as you would a normal phone and then occasionally just throwing it on the ground in front of people to see how they react. You’d be surprised how many people are shocked to see me toss a phone, especially since I’m known as the “mobile guy” and have personally referenced my mobile phone as one of my “kids” in the past.

The only drawback I found to using the Tundra is that there’s a delay when you first power up the phone. This is due in part to the Tundra connecting to AT&T’s PTT service. Once it’s connected, there’s also a delay when you first navigate the menu of the phone, but then it performs like any other phone.

Overall, the Tundra is a great device for just about anyone. It’s especially made for individuals at a construction site or who enjoy rugged outdoor activities like biking and hiking, but I found that just about anyone can appreciate what it has to offer.

HP ProBook 4510s notebook

Many manufacturers have started to segment their business products between those designed for large business and small/home businesses in order to better address the demands of each. Small business notebooks, generally speaking, have been dropping expensive enterprise features, as well as focusing more on versatility and keeping costs down. This often comes at the price of size and materials, but the important thing is the manufacturers are concerned with the needs of small companies who don’t have large huge budgets or dedicated IT departments.

While any notebook computer can be used for a small business we have seen companies steer buyers towards dedicated lines and away from consumer products. Lenovo has their ThinkPad SL series and Dell has their Vostro models, and now HP has their ProBook line. If you are familiar with HP’s products then you know the EliteBooks, HP’s high-end business notebooks, which are suitable for enterprise buyers as well as anyone who is concerned with features over price. The ProBooks will be a step (or two) down from there, but different from HP’s Pavilion (consumer) products. Just for clarification, the “b” series will be remain to be HP’s entry-level corporate notebooks while the “s” series will be the entry-level SMB product. There is some crossover between all these, but the ProBook will remain the most like HP’s consumer notebooks and you won’t see any enterprise features, like Intel’s vPro.

The HP ProBook 4510s starts at 5.7 pounds and runs a 15.6-inch (16:9) display. Our model shipped with Windows Vista Business 32-bit, 2GB of RAM, Intel’s T6570 (2.1GHz) CPU, and a 250GB 5400RPM disk. The computer’s 1366×768 display was powered by Intel’s integrated graphics (4500MHD) while communications go through Intel’s 5100 a/g/n WiFi as well as Bluetooth. This build will sell for $749, though our test unit (a pre-production model) had a 6-cell battery where the 4510s at this price will ship with an 8-cell.

This build is relatively low-powered for a 15.6-inch computer, and while it will satisfy the demands of most business users, some people will want more power. The ProBook can scale considerably and buyers can move up to a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor (or down to a Celeron), add up to 8GB of RAM (you’d want a 64-bit OS with that), and up to a 500GB disk also. Other notable upgrades include a Blu-ray drive, Gobi mobile broadband, and ATI discrete graphics (ATI Mobility Radeon HD430). In keeping with the small business theme there is no SSD option, but the mobile broadband is nice to see.

The outside of the 4510s has a full range of ports, just as you would expect to see on a notebook this size. These include: ethernet, VGA-out, HDMI, ExpressCard/34, four USB slots, microphone/headphone, and a card reader. There is modem hidden beneath a rubber plug (because it is so rarely used) as well as a DVD burner with LightScribe. The laptop has a 2.0 megapixel webcam above the display.

Before getting too far along it’s worth talking about what makes a small business notebook a business product–not just a repackaged consumer notebook. These features largely come down to design (understate and business-inspired), security, and reliability. On the security side the ProBooks have a few features that consumer notebooks don’t, including: HP Security Setup wizard, a device access manager (for disabling USB ports, etc.), credential manager, BIOS level password protection, and HP’s File and Disk Sanitizer. The system does not have facial detection (it wasn’t deemed to be secure enough) nor does have a fingerprint reader. As for reliability, the ProBook series has a spill-resistant keyboard and 3D DriveGuard (an accelerometer for hard drive protection).

Despite all the interesting internal features, HP made a lot of changes to the outside of system as well. It is, at first, reminiscent of the ThinkPad SL series (because of the angular design and all that gloss) but HP put its own finish on it. We see a chiclet-style keyboard, which is a major move for HP. The speakers were placed above the keyboard as well, making room for another major feature: a full numberpad. That is very rare on 15-inch notebooks, so this will be a big selling point. Other exterior perks include a metal on/off button and the use of light blue LEDs instead of green or orange. The exterior is a glossy black that some people will like and others will hate. The other color option is a matte deep shade of red called “Merlot”.

From usability standpoint, the 4510s makes for a solid desktop replacement system. It’s a bit big (1.24 x 14.6 x 9.8-inches) and heavy (5.7 pounds) to move around with you but it does well on the desktop, thanks in part to the numberpad. The cursor controls are fine, but the buttons feel quite strange–they hinge at the front so only the part towards the user can be pressed down. It’s a workable solution, but an odd design choice. HP has a lot of room on the interior of the notebook, but the opted for a clean look instead of convenient buttons, like volume and media controls. The only button aside from power is a shortcut button to the HP Info Center to the left of it. The chiclet keyboard isn’t a huge improvement from HP’s old designs, but it works well and looks great.

The ProBooks are not designed solely with performance in mind, which is why this model shipped with the processor it did and with integrated graphics. This graphics option means you won’t have a lot of power in this department, but the system will be cheaper and you will get a better battery life than you would with ATI’s discrete graphics. Performance was acceptable though and it is unlikely that anyone running typical small business applications will need much more power. Processor, RAM, and graphics upgrades are available for people that want a bit more versatility or will be doing a lot of HD video playback for example. For those interested, the PCMark Vantage score was 2782. The system was strong in productivity testing, but weak with gaming.

The 4510s uses a very nice LED-backlit 15.6-inch 16:9 display, which will be one of the nicer features on the system. If that’s not enough for anyone, there will be a 17-inch model, the 4710s which will also be available, though it will not have an integrated graphics option.

Battery life isn’t a major focus for 15-inch notebooks, but HP did their best to be competitive in this area. The stock system will ship with an 8-cell (63Whr) battery, though our pre-production unit came with a 6-cell (47Whr) unit. HP said to expect 6.5 and 5 hours from the two respectively. Our testing time with the machine was limited, but the battery seemed to be good for about 4 hours of mobile work (backlight at 50% and WiFi on). A quick calculation puts the 8-cell at about 5 hours and fifteen minutes, but we’ll really have to wait until factory machines hit the streets before we have the full picture.

On the software side the ProBook had its hits and misses. A miss was the annoying McAfee Total Protection package that came installed on the machine. It was a 60-day trial junkware that begged the user for activation after every boot, not something any business user needs to see. The software that did shine was HP’s own Protect Tools, which is a protection suite for the PC. It could use some polish in some areas, but overall it’s a very good way to protect your notebook’s security. The point of the suite is to easily lockdown your computer without any expensive third-party tools. Highlights include a BIOS level password lock, file and disk sanitizers, drive encryption, and a device access manager that can disable hardware (like USB ports).

The ProBook 4510s delivered on a number of fronts. The reasonable starting price, long list of options, and built-in numberpad will immediately win some people over, but there are some issues to keep in mind as well. It would be great to see a higher resolution display–1366×768 on a 15.6-inch display isn’t particularly impressive and an option that allows for more screen real estate (better multi-tasking) useful. The matte, anti-glare display was a nice touch, but gloss-lovers can opt for the BrightView option. Another miss, was the lack of a fingerprint reader. This was pretty surprising given how prevalent these are these days, but it was clearly a cost-cutting measure. The good news is that HP’s security software should outweigh this. A hidden benefit companies might not think to ask about–the ProBook is expected to be EPEAT Gold certified, which is not often seen at this price point.

HP’s ProBook 4510s ended up being a solid, but not particularly remarkable machine. There is a lot that they got right with the new line, and small business owners will definitely appreciate that, but there is room for improvement in a few areas as well. The low starting price of the systems limits some factors and will keep the ProBooks separate from HP’s more desirable EliteBooks but the ProBooks remain quite versatile, something some people will prefer to an aluminum palmrest or advanced docking capabilities. The ProBook 4510s will stack up well against Dell’s Vostro and the ThinkPad SL so buyers will be able to shop around and decide for themselves which is the best fit. Home users should keep an eye on the ProBooks as well, as they have most of the attributes people will be looking for and they might find uses for some of the small business features.