Motorola Droid
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)Shortly after we posted our Motorola Droid review, we received quite a few e-mails from CNET readers who were concerned about the phone's inability to support hands-free voice commands and dialing. Indeed, the readers were correct and Motorola's support forums continue to buzz with user complaints regarding the issue.
As part of our original Droid review we did not test whether the handset supported hands-free voice dialing. We apologize for that, but we've now updated the review to reflect our findings.
Below is the passage from the review:
Unfortunately, the Droid does not support Bluetooth voice dialing or commands. In order to use the Voice Dialer feature, you first must select the icon from the main menu (you can move on a shortcut to the home screen). After speaking your command, you then must confirm it via a prompt on the touch screen. Though we found the voice dialing feature to be quite accurate--it successfully picked up a command when we were a few feet away--it is not an ideal scenario for people who need to completely hands-free. We hope this omission is corrected in a future software update.
In the future, we will report on hands-free voice dialing in our smartphone reviews. As more state and local areas pass laws mandating hands-free driving, such capability will only grow more important.
I have nothing against smoking, save for the difficult odor that emanates from every part, breath, and piece of clothing belonging to a smoker. I could no more live with a smoker than I could live with a third ear perched off the end of my nose.
However, I am embalmed in a curious sympathy after reading a report from The Consumerist concerning two Mac users whose AppleCare warranties appear to have been voided due to the presence of cigarette smoke in their homes.
One, named Derek, recounts the tale of his overheating black MacBook. He took it into the Apple store in Jordan Creek, West Des Moines.
He told The Consumerist: "Today, April, 28, 2008, the Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, that has voided the warranty and they refuse to work on the machine, due to 'health risks of secondhand smoke.'"
He continued: "Nowhere in your AppleCare terms of service can I find anything mentioning being used in a smoking environment as voiding the warranty."
Derek's resulting appeal to the office of Steve Jobs bore him no joy, so he resorted to blowing some compressed air at the machine, leading it to restart its wondrous functions.
Then along came Ruth, who took her son's iMac to an authorized repair center. After five days, they apparently told her they couldn't work on it because it was contaminated with cigarette smoke and was therefore a bio-hazard.
... Read more
(Credit:
Daily Relish)
Most camera bags these days can hardly be called a fashion statement. Many look drab, though Crumpler has a couple that sport psychedelic colors. Still, at the end of the day, all these bags shout, "I'm a camera bag!"
A photographer/blogger on Daily Relish saw the need for a more fashionable alternative, and worked on a line of bags for female photographers who want both style and function. According to her, it took two years of research, including trials, before she came up with the final design.
Looking more like handbags that woman would tote along when they head out for shopping, these bags have Velcro-removable compartments so our female shutterbugs can arrange the compartments to fit their equipment.
There's just one catch. The bags aren't in production yet. But you can sign up to be on the mailing list to be notified once these stylish carriers roll off the production line.
(Source: Crave Asia)
The Samsung LNB360 performs well for a cheap HDTV.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)To a bargain HDTV shopper, the array of small-screen LCDs must seem inexhaustible and indistinguishable, but among recent models we've reviewed, the Samsung LNB360 stands out with the best picture quality. It's no home theater superstar, mind you, but it managed to beat out the entry-level LCD competition in the important arena of black-level performance.
It does cost a few more bucks than many of its competitors, and it lacks some noteworthy features (like side-panel inputs), but if you're looking for a small LCD that gives "good enough" picture for less, the LNB360 series certainly qualifies.
Read the full review of the Samsung LNB360 series.
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If you've wished you could connect your external hard drive to your computer without having to use the USB cable, now you can.
Imation announced Thursday the availability of the first wireless USB external hard drive, the Pro WX. The hard drive works just like any other USB hard drive, with one exception: it doesn't require a USB cable.
The Pro WX wireless USB external hard drive.
(Credit: Imation)Wireless USB has been under development for about five years, and some of the first products were demoed at CES 2009. This technology allows you to connect USB 2.0 devices to a computer wirelessly from up to 30 feet away with a throughput speed of up to 480Mbps.
According to Imation, the Pro WX wireless USB external hard drive offers less than that, with speeds of up to only 120Mbps or 15MBps; this is about three times slower than regular USB 2.0 hard drives. At this speed it can finish copying the entire content of a CD-ROM (roughly 800MB) in about 50 seconds. Other than that, this drive is based on the 3.5-inch desktop hard drive and offers 1.5TB of storage.
The Imation Pro WX features a sleep-mode feature to conserve energy and a one-touch, backup sync button for you to manually start a backup when needed. The device is compatible with both PC and Mac operating systems
In order to take advantage of the wireless USB, your computer needs to support this. As most computers don't have built-in wireless USB, there are adapters that you can add to the machine. It's unclear if an adapter is included with the Pro WX.
What's clear, however, is the fact that this is going to be one of the most expensive external hard drives you can find. At the estimated price of $500, about three times the price of regular external USB hard drives of the same storage capacity, I am not sure if it's worth it when the only benefit is losing the USB cable.
If you were interested in buying the Barnes & Noble Nook as a holiday gift, strike it off your list. The e-reader is now officially sold out through 2009, according to the B&N Web site.
(Credit:
Barnes & Noble)
"The hottest holiday gift is out of stock," a message at the top of the page reads. "Order the Nook today to be first in line for the new year."
If this sounds familiar, it's because last year Amazon had a similar message on its site when it stock ran out of the Kindle. However, in the case of the Nook, the company hasn't shipped a single unit yet, and it's a little unclear what day it actually will. (We've yet to receive word when we'll get our review sample).
The New York Times' Bits blog has a quote from Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst at Forrester Research, explaining what a lot of us already knew: that Barnes & Noble had rushed to announce its product to compete with Amazon and it wasn't really quite ready to begin selling its device this year--at least not in huge quantities.
"Even without specific problems in the supply chain, the manufacturing process takes time for new products--it could be three months from the time they place the orders with their factories until they actually ship," Epps said.
This is probably good news for Amazon, which should have plenty of its e-readers available. But it's worth noting that if you do want to hold out for a Nook, you shouldn't have to wait too long. The B&N Web site says that if you order a unit today, you'll get it shipped to you by January 4.
Comments?
Update: After reading our piece, Barnes & Noble spokesperson Mary Ellen Keating told us she hoped folks won't cross the Nook off their holiday lists, which is why the company created a "holiday gift certificate that can be wrapped and given to the recipient."
She also noted that Barnes and Noble is "on track to ship devices that were preordered prior to today by the holidays," and that today's update only affects orders made beginning today. Also, she said that Barnes & Noble expects to have a limited stock of devices available in its highest-volume stores during the holiday season.
(Credit:
Ubisoft)
2009's big slate of holiday games got pared down when a lot of titles slipped to 2010, and those that remained have largely been released already. One of the last, Assassin's Creed II, is a sequel to one of 2007's most-hyped original IPs, a game that got good reviews and sold well but was still seen as a bit of a disappointment.
A mysterious story about near-future Templars and virtual-reality access to the memories of 12th-century assassins acted as backdrop to beautiful open-world parkour and stealth. Does the sequel surpass its predecessor? After a week of play, here's how we felt.
Scott:
Assassin's Creed II is a stealth game that's appropriately crept onto our radar after a lot of far-more hyped titles this year, and it merits some serious attention. The strange plotline of the original continues, but updates the focal setting to Renaissance Italy. Rendered in beautiful detail, Florence and other cities can be climbed around and navigated through--although in self-contained zones--and the characters this time around are a lot more lively and spicy. Famous historical figures, including a young version of Leonardo da Vinci, are great additions to the storyline, and also provide you with inventions to use in-game.
Unfortunately, it's hard to figure out the fragmented storyline, which sometimes feels about as clear as a chapter of Metal Gear Solid, but the game's missions and layout are a lot easier to dive into and play than in the original Assassin's Creed. A funky computer sim-type interface and lack of a true tutorial force players unfamiliar with Assassin's Creed to feel somewhat alienated, which is a shame considering the amount of research that's been poured into this universe.
Assassin's Creed II is, in the end, a sort of open-world game that at times feels like Grand Theft Auto set hundreds of years ago, especially in its mission-focused structure and its roster of quirky side characters. It's one of the most pleasant surprises of the year--a game that's better than its hype. However, its Dan Brown spirit and arcane framing might not be for everybody.
Jeff:
Unlike most of the gaming press, I found the original Assassin's Creed to be a trite and redundant open-world action game that had tons of potential. The cities were beautiful, the climbing mechanic was on point, but the repetition of mostly lame mission objectives almost prevented me from finishing the title.
... Read more
From left, the Torino, Incognito, and Domino.
(Credit: Kyocera)Just as the holiday shopping season is reaching its peak, Kyocera on Friday dished out three new cell phones that offer midrange features in varying designs.
The Kyocera Torino S2300 is a candy bar phone that opens to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. The style is similar to Kyocera's Wild Card, except it appears to be a bit more refined. Features include a 2.2 display, a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.1, threaded text messaging, instant messaging and e-mail, a speakerphone, voice dialing, USB mass storage, a 2.5 mm headset jack, and BREW support.
The Kyocera Domino S1310 has a simple candy bar design in bright orange. Inside are Bluetooth 2.0, a WAP 2.0 browser, support for BREW, text and instant messaging, a personal organizer, and a speakerphone.
Kyocera also introduced a new handset under the Sanyo brand. The SCP-6760 Incognito is a squat candy bar phone with a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. The feature set offers 3G, Bluetooth 2.0, a 2 megapixel camera, a microSD card slot, Sprint's OneClick user interface, and threaded text messaging.
The Incognito will be first out of the gate with a November 30 launch date for Sprint. The Domino will follow in December and the Torino will go on sale next February. Kyocera did not reveal the carrier for the Torino or Domino.
A typical ICL recording session (my foot).
Dong finally watches "The Wire" and not surprisingly sings its praises. I've been telling him it's the best show I've seen for years now and he finally takes the hint. Although, he has a bit of trouble understanding what a re-up is. Noob.
We then move to the communist empire that is Vietnam. Dong thinks that it is attempting to block Facebook from users in Vietnam, but has no real proof of this. I mean how can a government block Facebook for fear of their citizens getting "Americanized," yet continually revere KFC?
Then, via the backdrop of Linux, we ask why people like to spend their money and actually don't want things for free.
Lastly, we take the second half the episode to answer just two e-mails.
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Will this be you the day after Thanksgiving?
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)CNET News Poll
Black Friday is my favorite day of the year--not just because retailers and manufacturers are falling over each other to try to nab my holiday dollars, but because the rush at the big-box stores is hilariously insane.
Working at a Best Buy-like store for several years, I made sure to take full advantage of my tryptophan-induced coma so I'd be ready to go for the 16-hour workday ahead. In the end I was always exhausted, but also happy, as I'd helped many people get the good deals they were looking for.
We've featured quite a few Black Friday deals in the last few days as they trickle out, and we're sure many of our Crave readers are gearing up for the Super Bowl of gadget buying. So we'd like to know: what, exactly, is your strategy for tackling Black Friday this year?
Vote in our poll, and if you're planning to mark the day in a way we didn't cover, be sure to let us know in the Talkback section below.
