Thermaltake has taken a dive into the gaming world with their new set of peripherals with the Tt eSPORTS series. This week I got to use the Thermaltake MEKA G1 Mechanical keyboard, which is one of two keyboards currently in the series. The MEKA is a great keyboard, with excellent response time, USB 2.0 inputs, and my favorite feature – “clacky” mechanical keys. Let’s get to the review.
The MEKA G1 comes equipped with two mounted USB 2.0 ports, as well as onboard headphone and microphone jacks to make connecting your peripherals faster and more efficient. The keyboard comes with a removable palm rest, which I found very comfortable and stylish. Another great feature of the G1 is the heavyweight military-grade 1.5m braided cable that leads to a PS2 connector, as well as a USB connector. These features alone make the MEKA G1 more than a standard mechanical keyboard right out of the box.
Weighing in at just a bit over three pounds, the MEKA G1 won’t budge when under pressure. The keyboard has seven multimedia keys that make it perfect for controlling any videos, music, or PC volume as easy as a button press. I was very pleased with the way the G1 performed, as its quick response made it great for my fast-typing fingers. The keys offered a nice “clacking” sound (which I have come to love), and have a resistance to them that makes typing more manageable for me, since I work with typing a lot.
Now I don’t necessarily see where the G1 would provide an advantage in the gaming world, except for the fact that the resistance put up by the keys makes it harder for your fingers to slip. I switched to the G1 from a Steelseries Zboard, and I do have to say that I prefer this one over the Zboard. Mechanical keyboards like the MEKA G1 just fit me better than the normal ones you can find everywhere else. I’ve found that I am quicker on the MEKA, which is good when it comes to games like WoW where you constantly switch between a chat window and controlling a character. The ergonomics and feel of the keys just seem to make me get around the board quicker than when I am using a normal keyboard, or one like the Zboard. Also, since the MEKA weighs as much as it does, I don’t have to worry about it sliding all over my desk while I am trying to use it.
My verdict is simple. The MEKA G1 is a perfect mechanical keyboard, and I think it will set the standard for more in the Tt eSPORTS series. The G1 is sitting at about $139.99 which is right in between some of the pro gaming keyboard out right now. With the price tag it has, the MEKA offers the same high performance qualities that you expect from a mechanical keyboard for a cheaper price. When put to the test, the MEKA does the job, and it does it well. If you’ve got the cash to spend and you’re looking, definitely consider picking up the Thermaltake MEKA G1 mechanical keyboard for yourself.
The technology exists to make most of our compact gadgets even smaller than they already are. But unfortunately there’s a point where things get too small for human hands and fingers to operate. And that’s exactly what I thought the first time I saw the Swiftpoint mouse, which has been around for a while, but only recently available in North America. It’s smaller than even the smallest of travel-friendly mice offered by the likes of Logitech, and I wondered if its compact design traded functionality and usability for portability.
But it turns out my concerns were completely unfounded, and after only a few days the Swiftpoint has not only become my travel mouse of choice, but it’s even starting to encroach on my Apple Mighty Mouse’s territory for day-to-day use. I’ll explain why in my full review after the jump.
I first came across the Swiftpoint mouse online a month or so ago, but when I discovered they’d have a booth at CES I decided to hold off writing about it until I had the chance to play with it in person at the show. I liked the idea behind it, but like I already mentioned, I had my reservations as to how usable it could really be given its size. But when you first start using the Swiftpoint you instantly realize that the designers have put a lot of thought into its ergonomics and usability, and not just “how do we make this thing smaller?”
The photo above is actually a shot of the front of the mouse, and when using it the red rubber textured grip ends up on its left side. But given how small it is, you don’t use it like a traditional mouse where your hand basically covers the whole thing. Instead, you kind of hold the Swiftpoint as if you were holding a stylus or a pen, as pictured below.
So you really only end up holding it with the tips of your fingers, which not only actually feels rather comfortable, but also feels like you have finer control than with a larger mouse. There’s a reason designers prefer to work on a PC using a Wacom tablet and stylus, myself included, and the Swiftpoint provides a surprisingly similar user experience. I still wouldn’t use it for heavy Photoshop or Illustrator work, but it’s certainly better than relying on just your laptop’s touchpad. The mouse is also incredibly lightweight making it easier to move and slide around with just your fingers, but I can’t help but feel that even just a little more weight would have provided some much appreciated resistance when using it. But maybe that’s a personal preference derived from using larger and heavier mice my whole life.
On the top of the Swiftpoint you’ll find the left and right mouse buttons arranged in a vertical orientation instead of side-by-side, but it feels completely natural and is a non-issue. There’s no middle mouse button though, so if you’ve come to rely on that for certain applications this isn’t the mouse for you. You’ll also notice a perfectly positioned rubber scroll wheel on the right side of the Swiftpoint. While it doesn’t have the ‘fly wheel’ capabilities of Logitech’s mice where you can disengage the ratcheting mechanism and give the scroll wheel a good spin to navigate a long page, its half-sphere shape means if you angle the Swiftpoint just right you can actually drag it along a flat surface to quickly spin the wheel and scroll a page.
Instead of Bluetooth the Swiftpoint comes with its own USB receiver which plugs into your PC for wirelessly connectivity. And while it’s not the smallest receiver available today, there’s a good reason for that. It also doubles as a miniature charging dock!
Because of its compact size the Swiftpoint mouse features a built-in rechargeable battery, but instead of requiring some additional cables to top it off every now and then, the USB wireless receiver does double-duty. It features a magnetic nub and a couple of leads that connect to a similar set found in a cutout section of the underside of the mouse.
So besides serving as a wireless receiver and a charging station for the mouse, the USB dongle also serves as a secure dock allowing you to easily up and move your laptop with the Swiftpoint securely in tow. And speaking of charging, that’s one thing I particularly like about this mouse. On a full 90-minute charge you can expect to get about 2-4 weeks of normal use which is totally reasonable given how small the mouse is. But on just a quick 30-second charge with the battery depleted you can actually get a full hour’s use which is fantastic if you’re in a situation where you need to get work done but don’t want to sit and wait for a full charging cycle to complete.
I also like that the Swiftpoint has some simple but effective power-saving techniques to maximize its battery life. Built into the finger grips are touch sensors that know when you’re actually holding the mouse, and when you’re not. So if you happen to brush the mouse out of your way with your arm, or move it in any way without holding the finger grips, the movement won’t be detected or translated to the cursor. So besides conserving battery life when not in use, it’s also a handy way to get the mouse out of your way when typing, without pushing the cursor to the far side of the screen.
And while I chose not to use it myself, the Swiftpoint even comes with what the company refers to as a ‘Parking Accessory’. It’s basically just a clear, reusable decal that you can cut down to size and attach to the palmrest area of your laptop. In addition to providing some texture for the 1,000 dpi optical sensor to read if your laptop happens to have a polished, high-gloss finish, there’s also a thin magnetic patch that will hold the Swiftpoint when it’s placed on top of it, stopping it from sliding around or off onto the floor.
Overall the Swiftpoint mouse is a well-designed product that’s hard to fault after having had the chance to actually put it through its paces. It’s difficult not to be skeptical at its minuscule design at first glance. Particularly since we’ve all spent our lives using monstrous alternatives. But the Swiftpoint is well designed for the task it was created for, which is basically on the palmrest area of a notebook computer while it’s being used on your lap, on an airplane’s tray table or anywhere with limited desktop space. It may not be the perfect solution for everybody’s day-to-day needs, but I certainly recommend that road warriors who are not completely satisfied with their laptops built-in solutions give it some serious consideration.
Pros:
+ The smallest mouse you can buy that still remains completely usable. Even to the point of being more useful than some full-sized mice.
+ No drivers to install, perfectly plug-and-play on MACs and PCs.
+ Tiny wireless USB receiver doubles as an extremely handy charging dock.
+ Provides a user experience similar to using a tablet and stylus.
+ RapidCharge feature gives you an hour of use after just a brief 30-second charge when the battery is depleted.
+ Intelligent battery conserving features knows when you’re not actually using the mouse, just moving it.
Cons:
- It’s a little on the light side, I would prefer a bit more weight and resistance.
- No middle mouse button.
If you have any questions about the Swiftpoint Mouse you’d like answered, please feel free to leave them in the comments, and I’ll try to respond to them as best I can.
The following is a review of the black and orange Lenovo U260 IdeaPad Windows 7 notebook – a super-comfortable little businessman made for ultra-stylish checkings of online business and perhaps even the playing of some games. The very first thing you’ll notice about this laptop is that it is a fantastic shade of orange – this is one of two colors it can be, (the other being Mocha,) but that’s not the reason you’ll stick around. Nor is the most comfortable experience I’ve had with a notebook since I first started using MacBooks – use this factoid in your judgement of MY judgement, because it makes me a hard customer to sell when it comes to notebooks outside of the industrial designer brilliance employed by Apple. Note first and foremost that I think Apple’s people should talk to Lenovo’s people here if they ever plan on moving away from hard plastic and flat metal surfaces.
Hardware
This tiny notebook has a 12.5 inch LCD digital display with 1366 x 768 resolution and a matte finish. It weighs approximately 3 pounds and is 0.7 inches thick. The outer casing is a lovely shade of orange (Clementine Orange, if you’d like to get specific,) one of two colors, the other being Mocha Brown. These colors instantly say a lot about what the notebook is meant for – comfortable computing in a semi-professional environment. That is, if you’re in an environment that hates color. If you’re working somewhere that appreciates a tiny splash, then yes, this is the notebook for you. This outer casing has an almost-rubbery feel to it, a very similar feel to the inside below the keyboard. The combination of these two makes the notebook seem to already be inside a case, one you would have purchased to make your whole experience nice and, again, comfortable to the touch.
The keyboard is a sort of Chicklet shaped key experience, with a little extra swoop below each key where normally it’d be squared off. It took your humble narrator just a couple minutes to get a completely natural feel for the board before he was tapping away like crazy. The one complaint I have about the keyboard portion of this computer is the far right row. Where I’m used to being able to find backspace, enter, shift, and etc, there’s an extra row of keys crammed up the side, the arrow keys down below, part of this row. This might be a big problem for those whose jobs depend on them typing a billion words a minute, but for everyone else, it’ll just take a couple days to get used to (if you’re used to a standard qwerty keyboard, that is.)
The trackpad is refreshing. Where I found the tappability of the gigantic HP ENVY 17 3D‘s trackpad to be unbelievably sensitive, this one appears to be right on. What I mean here is that you can both track around with your finger or single/double-click on items with the same pad, there’s no need to access the buttons below unless you’d like to drag items around the screen. The buttons are oddly refreshing too, both of them relying on more of a push than a click, if you know what I mean.
System – LENOVO 0876
Manufacturer
Product Type
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Motherboard
LENOVO Base Board Product Name
Processor
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU U 470 @ 1.33GHz
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 37 Stepping 5
Processor Frequency
1.33 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
4
Cores
2
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
3.00 MB
Memory
3.80 GB 800 MHz
FSB
1.07 GHz
BIOS
LENOVO 37CN15WW(V1.01)
Inside the machine you’ll find a Intel Core i5 processor with 3.8 GB RAM and a 320 GB 5400 rpm hard drive. Graphics are handled by a “Intel HD graphics” graphics card powering a 12.5 inch LCD digital display at 1366 X 768 pixels. Viewing angles are basically perfect left to right, turn a bit darker at approximately 30 degrees up or down. Glare is taken care of by the lovely matte finish on the screen, but you wouldn’t have to be worrying about glare on such a small computer anyway, so it’s a bit of a moot point. On the other hand, if you live in a one bedroom apartment, maybe you WILL have to worry about glare because you’ll use this as your TV. No worries then though, because there isn’t any.
Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth v2.1, the left side containing headphone jack and USB jack as well as a lock port if you plan on bringing this to a convention or something like that.
Along the right you’ll find an ethernet jack, HDMI, VGA, and USB. There’s a lovely integrated web camera up and center above the screen with not quite as good quality as you’d want to be having a meeting in a professional setting, but just fine for a casual user.
The Lenovo IdeaPad U260 runs Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit) and includes a surprisingly small amount of bloatware. This list includes Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer (64 bit), Microsoft Office 2010, Windows Anytime Upgrade, WIndows DVD Maker, WIndows Fax and Scan, WIndows Media Center, WIndows Media Player, (honestly do they really have to title all of these “Windows?”,) WIndows Update, McAfee virus scan, ooVoo, and a few other things that won’t jam up your day too badly. Oh, and Smile Dock! As always, we instantly installed Google Chrome and Firefox, both of which have been working just fine for internet browsing and downloading.
Performance
This machine is made to bring with you on a short trip – definitely not coming with the computing power you’d like to have on an everyday basis, especially if you’re in a computer-centric job, this is definitely the one you’ll want to bring with when you take that trip to Mobile World Congress 2011. Unless you want to watch a DVD or insert CDs of course. Let’s take a peek at the numbers: The Lenovo U260 IdeaPad ended up grabbing a 2147 on Geekbench (a synthetic test of memory and processor performance.) This places it right around the MacBook Air (3.1) which received a 2261, and the Acer Aspire 3810T (which we reviewed in June of 2009) at 2281. Thusly, you wont find this machine winning any computing power contests, but if you’re looking for a competitor for the MacBook air, here it is, not quite as bigtime.
Benchmark Score – LENOVO 0876
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (32-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Integer
Processor integer performance
1583
2147
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
2968
Memory
Memory performance
1839
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
1868
This machine received Cinebench (v. 11.5) rating of .94fps with 1.25pts on the CPU, so again, not exactly a gigantically majestic gaming and entertainment machine. On the other hand, it works just fine with speed for everyday activities, clicking, tapping, playing videos on online streaming sites, audio’s just fine, everything’s good enough for a part-time usage machine.
Battery
The battery is not fantastic. It’ll last you right around 3 hours doing BASIC tasks – if you’re bringing this on a long flight, hope that you get a plugin by your seat. On the other hand, there’s basically no heat coming from the machine at any time. Intel’s advanced cooling technology really shines clearly here.
Wrap-Up
If you’re a Windows sort of person, and want a tiny computer to bring with you on a trip – this is the one. This is exactly what you’re going to want. If you plan on being in the field without portable power or a wall plug for hours on end, maybe consider something else. This computer takes into account the fact that Apple is attempting to rock the ultraportable market with their MacBook Air and slams directly into it with a completely reasonably sized (small, but not tiny) notebook with a completely unique feel on the outside and the in. Starting at $899 it appears to me to be right in the correct range for cost. Uniqueness, lack of bloatware, relatively decent experience for how small a computer it is, comfortable physically. Well played, Lenovo.
With the start of a new semester and a new year, we all have high hopes as students for how this semester is going to turn out; what better way to improve our grades and overall performance in school than with the help of a few great apps. These are five applications that are great for students of all ages, but especially for students in high school and college. With more than 300,000 apps readily available in Apple’s App Store, it can be a daunting process to find the ones that are really worth the memory space on your device and, more importantly, worth the money. Here are five apps that range in price from $0 to $4.99 and are, without a doubt, worth your money. These apps give you what you pay for and so much more.
First is myHomework (free) which is a great way to keep all your assignments organized, accessible and easily searchable. You can enter tests, labs, papers, presentations, readings and more for any class, and set reminders before the due date, leaving no room for “forgetting” an assignment.
There have been studies that have proven students who study with flashcards are often more prepared for tests, and with Flashcard Touch ($4.99), you can now be one of those students. With this application you can create unlimited flashcards from your own definition or numerous online definitions.
Keeping a list of things to do is an effective way of staying organized, and being organized is one of the many keys to success. With PTO, Put Things Off, ($1.99) you can add tasks, organize them by importance, and even “put them off” until a later time. As someone who loves making check lists, this app has become a must-have for me and has helped me keep track of what I need to do in a simple fashion.
As a student who commutes to school, I know how expensive it can be to fill up your gas tank so frequently. With Cheap Gas! (free) in the blink of an eye, I have been able to find conveniently located gas stations with remarkably low gas prices, whether I am at school or at home.
Last semester a professor of mine told me listening to music increases productivity while studying. Although I’m sure he wasn’t referring to the type of music I listen to, I took that advice and ran with it. The Pandora (free) application has also become a must-have app. I’m not a huge fan of listening to the radio because they overplay songs, play tracks I don’t like, and have too many commercials, but with Pandora I can customize my own radio station for free with far fewer commercials.
You can’t go wrong with these five applications, and if you use them properly you will almost certainly feel more successful in no time. What could be better than using your phone to improve your performance in school? Click here for more apps for students.
Welcome to a review of the biggest fattest HP 3D desktop replacement notebook you’ll ever come across. Not that it’s the biggest that’ll ever be made, but when you’ve got this thing sitting on your desk, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without such an abundance of screen real-estate on what the world, up until recently, was calling a laptop computer. This is the HP ENVY 17 3D, and not only does it have full 3D capabilities and a width bigger than your humble narrator’s torso, it’s got a screen so bright it makes the real world seem yellow.
Hardware
This gigantic HP ENVY 17 3D review unit is a fabulously large at 16.38″(W) x 10.83″ (D) x1.25″ (min height) / 1.52″ (max height). It weighs in at 7.37 lbs – more than you’ll want to be carrying around in your packpack, if you know what I’m talking about (unless of course you’d like to bring it to a LAN and impress your comrades of course, then weight is never an issue.) I wouldn’t expect a 17.3″ notebook to be any less heavy than this, but hey, we’re in an age where a MacBook Air can be so small and thing that it gets thrown away with the mail on accident, so what do I know?
The casing on this machine is nothing but lovely and beautiful brushed aluminum in carbon relic. Aesthetically it’s totally lovely with a random dot pattern across the wrist area below the keyboard as well as across the top of the case, with a light-up HP in a circle in the lower left (when it’s stood up open.) There’s a generous amount of space (about an inch) of smooth depressed space around the keyboard inside with a full-sized keyboard plus number pad in black with white printing keys that are all back-lit. There’s a singular metal power button in the upper left above the keyboard, and a gigantic 4.2 x 2.5″ trackpad with some questionable clickability.
The trackpad on this machine isn’t questionable in the way that’s difficult to work, but in the way that, if you’ve never used this kind of extremely sensitive pad before, will take some getting used to. Even after a week of working with the pad (being used to a more traditional sensitivity pad) I found it much more natural to take out the ol’ mouse and connect it via USB. The pad can be clicked (right and left) and can be tapped in a way similar to a button. Because both of these can happen at the same time, lots of mistaken clicks were made. I can imagine that once you’re extremely used to this system, however, you might find it super helpful to be able to click without the extra physical depression of the pad – hello easy gaming click? Lots of mistakes made but neat after learning.
System – Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY 17 Notebook PC
Manufacturer
Product Type
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 1590
Processor
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 30 Stepping 5
Processor Frequency
1.60 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
16
Cores
0
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
6.00 MB
Memory
5.94 GB 1333 MHz
FSB
1.07 GHz
BIOS
Hewlett-Packard F.1A
Inside you’ll find a 1.60GHz Intel Core i7-720QM processor with 5.94 GB RAM and a 640GB 7200RPM Hard Drive. Graphics are handled by a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5850 graphics card. This card powers the massive 17.3″ diagonal Full HD HP 3D Ultra BrightView Infinity LED Display (1920×1080). Viewing angles are basically perfect at all angles except starting at about 20% below the screen. But heck, unless you’ve got the thing sitting at the top of a staircase and you plan on sitting at the bottom, you probably wont need to worry about this. The screen doesn’t do much for reducing glare, so that’s an issue if you’re using this machine as your television (which I hear a lot of people do these days [like my wife and I,]) but keep it away from windows and bright lights and you’ll be fine.
Connectivity includes Wifi b/g/n, external 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN RJ-45 connect, 3 USB (3rd shared with eSATA port), HDMI, RJ-45, Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner, two headphone jacks, 120 W power adapter, mini-Display Port, 1 extra SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, internal slot-load optical drive, HP TrueVision HD webcam with built-in mic, 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader, and a partridge in a pear tree. If that’s not enough ways for you to get connected to other devices and the outside world, I don’t know what’ll satisfy you ol’ stick in the mud. Every little thing you could possibly need, right?
In the box you’ll also find a pair of super hot gigantic ugly pair of HP 3D Active Shutter Glasses that employ the use of the, again, Full HD HP 3D Ultra BrightView Infinity LED Display. These come in a whole separate box and drawstring storage pouch so you know they’re trying (with success) to make you feel like they’ve put some effort into this 3D experience. There are several nosepads included and the glasses themselves are substantial to be sure.
For a video of a hands-on with this machine as well as LOTS of pics of everything that’s in the box, head over to the HP ENVY 17 3D Laptop Hands-On and Unboxing post from when we first received the package.
Software
The HP ENVY 17 3D runs Windows 7 Home Premium which of course includes an unacceptably vast amount of pre-installed applications which we’ll more than likely never use including, but not limited to: Acrobat.com, Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0, Adobe Premiere Elements 8.0, Adobe Reader 9 Desktop Gadget Gallery, Hulu Desktop, Internet Explorer (64-bit), Internet Explorer (yes, two separate applications,) Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Security Essentials, Stardock MyColors, Windows Anytime Upgrade, and more. We of course immediately downloaded Google Chrome to use for internet, with Firefox as a backup – both of which work just excellently.
Performance
This computer is made for business and entertainment. It’s classified as a business machine, but with big pushes on both the Beats audio and the 3D capability, we know better – this machine is made to bring you the visuals and the audio. Does this mean it’s going to deliver the sweetness to gamers as well as everyday 3D Blu-Ray disk watchers? Lets let the numbers speak for themselves. First we’ll have a look at benchmarking with Geekbench, a synthetic test of memory and processor performance. The ENVY 17 3D totaled up a score of 4450, surprising considering the scores of similar machines: Acer Aspire 5745DG-3855 at 4814, Gateway ID49C at 5042, and even the smaller HP ENVY 14 at 4830.
Benchmark Score – Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY 17 Notebook PC
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (32-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Integer
Processor integer performance
4760
4450
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
4851
Memory
Memory performance
3518
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
3831
The ENVY 17 3D scored 26.94fps in OpenGL and 2.78pts in CPU. Unfortunately Cinebench was unable to complete the task, so no results there. As far as performance goes with everyday functions like opening tabs, playing video with audio, playing video and audio at the same time (on accident,) opening new games and old (Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction, just for fun,) everything went super smooth. No delays basically anywhere.
With the test package we’re working with here, we received a test copy of the 3D Blu-Ray disk Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It looks, plays, and feels fantastic. While I personally am still not convinced that 3D is the way of the future as far as personal computers goes, having 3D capability in my home, right here in front of me, is fun and impressive. As far as how the 3D looks compared to say… the movie theater? It’s better here. While the movie theater for me ends up going to the back of my mind basically right away (or giving me a headache because I don’t know what to focus on at any given point,) the 3D setup this ENVY 17 3D machine uses is top-notch. When I move my head from left to right to left, the objects on the screen move with me. They don’t react in exactly the same way they would if I were actually looking at objects in real life, but it’s close, and it’s awesome.
Games that work with 3D via the ENVY 17 3D’s ATI active shutter technology (Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty: World at War, Fear 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Mirror’s Edge, Resident Evil 5, World of Warcraft,) do not just instantly pop on. To enable the 3D tech for games, you’ve got to use the TriDef ignition application. You have to do this each time to open a 3D game. Once you’ve got your games open, however, it’s smooth sailing. Obviously playing games in 3D is going to put more pressure on your GPU than 2D games since two frames are needed where before there was only one, but it doesn’t seem to matter all that much here. NOTE that I’m always hesitant to say how well games play on computers I personally am reviewing since it’s almost certain that you, being a person who plays games on your computer in addition to doing other things during the day, wont be working with a fresh out of the box version of this machine, and should therefor take the word on performance with a grain of rice since everyone’s experience is unique. Trust the numbers!
Battery
Keep your power cord handy. This machine lasts right around 2 hours without it, and that’s only playing movies. If you plan on bringing this gigantic honker to a friends house to play some games or watch some 3D / HD action movies, bring the cord, just to be safe. Two hours isn’t long, but I really REALLY don’t think HP meant to sell this machine with battery life as a point of sale. It’s a desktop replacement after all, and how many desktops do you know that sit around without the power cord plugged?
Wrap-Up
The display is bright, the display is sharp, and the display is HUGE. This is a desktop replacement without a doubt, and you’ll never go back to a tower again if this monster is slid under your nose (that’s a bit presumptuous, I know you love building your own machines and enclosures and all that, but this is a really really tasty alternative to DIY.) You will NOT be let down by the display – in fact, as mentioned earlier on, you’ll be more let down by the colors you see in the rest of the world when you look away from the screen as they’ll appear yellowed before your eyes re-adjust.
The mousepad. It’s really difficult to get used to. If you plan on using this machine without a mouse, consider testing a pad like this out, because I’ve never experienced one like it and it can get very annoying very fast. If you HAVE tested one before and have taken a liking to it, I imagine it can become quite handy in many places. Every time I switched back to another CPU after using this, I found myself tapping my pad expecting folders and icons to open. Imagine that.
Performance seemed great all around, nothing seemed to lag or chop. Trust the numbers first, trust me second: this machine flies fast, this machine works well. As with any machine, if you bog it down with crap-ware and rip it apart with a million trillion tasks, it’ll fail like any other – if you’re smart, this machine can work wonders for you.
The machine can get hot, especially along the left side of the keyboard where the fan blows out hot air. If you’re understanding of machine heat, it doesn’t seem like it will be a giant problem. If you’re used to your machine staying cool all the time, no matter what, think twice before expecting this one to do the same. It gets hot. It does.
The HP ENVY 17 3D is built for entertainment. If you plan on needing a cpu for business only, get a smaller machine, and one without 3D capabilities. If you want to watch spectacular graphics flash before your eyes on a titanic notebook, this is the monster for you. I’m not entirely convinced that the world is ready for 3D games, but it’s sure ready for movies, and when (if ever) the 3D gaming world catches up with reality, this ENVY will be ready. Bottom line is that if you’ve got entertainment in mind and you’d like it in a desktop-replacement notebook package, this is the one for you.
Behold the advertised use: connecting this projector to an iPod (or an iPhone, iPad, etc.) This is the AAXA L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector “Week With” review, an extended look at this lovely little device and how it fares in the hands of your humble narrator. Today’s entry is the final of several posts, this one both showing how nice the device works with Apple products (an iPod Touch 2nd generation, to be exact,) and finally what our final verdict is on if you should get one for yourself.
Attachments
If you plan on plugging your iPod Touch or other Apple product into this projector (or any other, for that matter,) you’re going to have to buy at least one more cord. I decided on the standard Apple Composite AV Cable. This cable is available from the Apple store or several other locations such as Target. Incidentally, this cord will end up being useful for those of you whose iPod cord is on its last leg (like mine was) since it also connects via USB. This cord connects easily to the AV cord included in your projector’s box. As you may know if you’ve been following along with these reviews, the most obviously simple ways to utilize the projector are by plugging in a USB flash drive or by transferring files to the internal memory of the projector itself. You’ll need to have your own USB cord (not included in the projector package) to transfer and/or your own flash drive to work with in these cases. It’s important to remember that you’re probably not going to be able to use this projector straight out of the box unless you’ve got these cords already handy (or don’t mind stopping by your local electronics store.)
iDevices
As noted, the demo you’re about to see is done with a 2nd gen iPod Touch. It’ll end up working basically exactly the same for any other iDevice from that generation forward, I can’t speak for anything behind. When you’ve got the gigantically long Apple-official cable connected to the quite-short AV cable included with the projector, you’ll probably want a couple of twist-ties or a rubber band handy so you’re not tripping over yourself. Once you’ve got it all in your hands, you should be set to go to watch videos. It’s important to note that without hacking your iDevice, you’ll only be allowed to project videos. No gigantic Angry Birds for you.
Adjustments and Angles
If you’ve ever been in a classroom setting with one of those gigantic projectors with infinite buttons, you’ll be used to perfectly sharp images and lots of adjustments available for the size and shape of the picture. This is not that. This projector requires that you physically move back and forth to get the image to be bigger or smaller, and there’s basically no adjustments to be seen as far as if you’re trying to shoot the image up on a wall at an angle – straight on is the only way if you’re trying to make sure your box is perfectly boxed.
Wrap-Up
We’ve seen this projector in action for over TWO weeks now (extended because of the wacky holidays) and have only been disappointed by a few things: battery time, the loudness of the fan (which is basically always on,) and image breakdown. The image breakdown (which you can see if you take a look back at the first demo,) can be excused by the fact that this only seems to happen when playing a video file that wasn’t necessarily meant to be played outside its dvd confines (aka it wasn’t the best quality in the first place,) but still, imperfections in translating a video might be foremost in your mind when your buying a projector made for that single purpose.
The battery time and loudness of the fan are things you’re going to have to deal with whenever you use a projector, especially if you’re talking about one as small as this that you’re going to be carrying around in your pocket. This device is definitely fun, transports with great ease as its tiny and weighs basically nothing, and I can think of a dozen different ways to use it without even brainstorming that hard.
Is it worth the price? You betcha. Are you going to be able to use it in a professional setting? Depends on what profession you’re in. If you’re a freelance artist looking to show off your wares in odd places – yes! If you’re a businessman looking to project weekly earnings and charts – maybe not. This is not a big projector you’re going to use to show movies to crowds of people, but the cool factor is definitely here. If you want to be pro, go bigger (AAXA has lots of more substantial, but less mobile projectors if you wish,) if you want to be totally cool, buy the L1 v2 Laser Projector. Do it NOW!
The eco-friendly company TRTL Bot, has given us a snazzy new iPhone 4 case that is made entirely of recycled plastic. This is a follow-up from the 3G/3GS case they’ve made in the past. This version provides an extremely useful credit card holder on the back part of the case. You can only fit about two plastic cards in there, despite me trying my best to play chubby bunny with credit cards.
This recycled plastic makes for a rather hard case, and protects your iPhone in all the right places. A snug fit makes this a great case for moderate protection. You will need a screen protector as it doesn’t come with one, but seeing as you get a mini wallet out of your phone case, is there really much room to complain?
This case comes in either white or black and will only set you back about $35 if you buy it directly from the company.
Back in July we reviewed a handful of Powermat accessories, including their Receiver Hard Case for the iPhone 3G & 3GS. While we liked the convenience of being able to just set the iPhone down and have it start charging, it came at the cost of a fairly bulky case plagued by an inductive coil on the back that stuck out like a sore thumb.
But half a year later not only do we have a new and improved iPhone, but also a new and improved Powermat case to go with it. And let’s just say ‘improved’ is an understatement. From our own testing we found that Powermat has addressed most of the issues with their case designed for the 3G & 3GS, and left us with a wireless charging solution for the iPhone 4 with minimal compromises. More after the jump.
Except for an extra, necessary little bit that hangs off the bottom of the phone, the Powermat case for the iPhone 4 looks pretty much exactly like any other third-party hard case you’d find for it. There’s the appropriate cutouts for accessing the volume and mute buttons, and a hole for the camera on the back. And while it might seem odd to point out how normal the case looks, you have to remember that this one doesn’t just protect the iPhone 4. It also adds some unique functionality. And seeing it in context with its predecessor will help you understand why ‘normal’ is so important in this case.
If you haven’t had a chance to thoroughly read my review of the Powermat receiver case for the 3G & 3GS, I’ve gone to the trouble of photographing it side-by-side with Powermat’s new case for the iPhone 4.
Do you notice something missing on the new case? (Pictured in the foreground.) The protruding induction coil, which makes induction charging possible, is now gone. Well not completely gone, it’s just that Powermat has re-engineered it so that it’s spread out across the entire back of the iPhone 4, making it a lot thinner. Now obviously this is now possible because the iPhone 4 is flat on the back, so I feel bad knocking the 3G & 3GS case for this inconvenience. But the fact of the matter is it’s a vast improvement, and most people wouldn’t even be able to tell the case did more than just protect your phone.
Another improvement Powermat has made is how you install the case on your phone. The older case for the 3G & 3GS came in two pieces that slid together and were held in place with snug tension, but it actually wasn’t that difficult for those separate pieces to come apart. The case for the iPhone 4 now has a sort of ‘flip top lid’ where you open it, slide the phone in and then lock it in place. And the area with the ‘Powermat’ text you can see in this photo is actually made of soft rubber and works like a hinge. This new design works much better than the 3G & 3GS case, and there’s no way it’s accidentally going to fall off your phone.
Like I mentioned earlier, once installed most people will be hard pressed to tell you’re using anything other than a standard hard plastic shell on your phone. The whole package adds minimal bulk and weight to the iPhone 4, and even the extra bit at the bottom, where the case connects to the dock connector for charging purposes, is negligible.
The only complaint I still have is that because the case connects to the iPhone 4’s dock connector on the inside, the only way to sync the phone while it’s in the case is via a mini-USB port on the bottom and an adapter cable. One is included with the Powermat kit, but it’s still a bit of a hassle to have to keep it on hand, or simply not lose it.
The receiver case for the iPhone 4 works with all Powermat charging pads, including the one I reviewed for the 3G & 3GS, but the Powermat Wireless Charging System I was sent for review came with its own charging mat, the 1Xi, pictured above. It includes the same well-designed, slim power adapter I raved about last time, and while having to deal with any cables in a wireless charging solution is kind of lame, it’s just the way things have to be right now.
The 1Xi charging pad that was included with this kit is specifically designed for the iPhone 4, and the raised edges at the top and bottom provide a perfect fit when you set it down to charge. But when using the iPhone 4 on one of the other Powermat pads I soon realized why the 1Xi has such a unique design. The receiver case for the 3G & 3GS used a strong magnet to ensure the induction coils were perfectly aligned when set down on the charing pad, but the case for the iPhone 4 doesn’t have one. So perfectly aligning the phone on one of the other flat Powermat pads can be a bit hit and miss. You basically just slide it around until the charging light comes on and/or you hear the ‘powering-up’ sound effect.
There is a small alignment decal you’re supposed to stick on the flat charging pads that provides a visual indicator of how and where the iPhone 4 should be placed to ensure the induction coils line up, but I found it was just way easier and more reliable to use the included 1Xi pad instead.
Conclusions
I went into a bit more of a rant about wireless charging in my review of the Powermat products back in July, but I’ll recap here a bit. While I absolutely love the idea and convenience of wireless charging (who doesn’t?) it’s really not going to become ubiquitous, like it should be, until all manufacturers start building the requisite induction coils into their products. And while I’m sure companies like Powermat are fighting for this to happen, until that day comes these types of cases and adapters are as convenient as it’s going to get.
With some phones the aftermarket solution to wireless charging is as easy and non-obtrusive as replacing a battery compartment cover. But that option just doesn’t, and probably will never exist with the iPhone. So an all encompassing case is the only way to go. With the iPhone 3G & 3GS it ended up being a bit bulky, with the induction coil protruding out the back, canceling out the benefits of wireless charging. But Powermat’s case for the iPhone 4, which benefits from the phone’s flat back design, is a whole different story. If you’re already used to using your iPhone 4 with a hard case you’ll barely notice any difference when using this one. Except of course when you set it down on the pad and it automagically starts charging!
Pros:
+ Makes remembering to charge your iPhone as easy as setting it down.
+ The iPhone 4’s design allows for a vastly sleeker and subtler case than the 3G & 3GS.
+ Improved case design makes it easy to attach to your iPhone 4, with no risk of it accidentally falling off.
Cons:
- Still not a completely ‘wireless’ solution since the charging base needs to be plugged into the wall.
- Mini-USB connector used for syncing is a little bit of an annoyance.
- Additional charging pads for use in multiple locations around your home or office will add significantly to the cost of the system.
- Can be used with other Powermat charging pads, but positioning the phone so the induction coils properly align can be a bit tricky.
If you have any questions about the Powermat products you’d like answered, please feel free to leave them in the comments, and I’ll try to respond to them as best I can.
We know how you love to see things ripped out of their packages, so let me show you a LG Optimus U Hands-On and Unboxing for your pleasure. It’s a nice inexpensive (basically free) Android phone that comes in blue! Take a quick peek at the new-to-Android ComiXology App, see as PlayStation releases an app for both Android and iOS, and get mysterious with a strange Droid de-shelving at Best Buy. Discover Why TIME Got It Right with Philip. Check out our full fledged review of the brand-spankin-new Nexus S by Ewdison, grab a quick Google Maps 5 for Android Hands-On from Ewdison again, and take a double look at the continuation of our Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector with today’s subject: Everyday Use with yours truly. Then if you’ve got a mind for winning a free Cr-48 Chrome OS laptop take a walk over to Android Community or kick it right here on SlashGear. Win win win!
Welcome back to our “Week With” series starring the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector from AAXA. If you’d like to see this little monster being taken out of its box, head back to the Unboxing and Hands-On post – if you’d just like to see it in action, feel free to proceed below. In this first review post we take a look at everyday uses of this device from bringing it to school to keeping it at home to watch a movie on your wall (or projector screen.) Keep your eyes peeled for usability and functionality.
Hardware
If you take a look back at our original post announcing availability of this projector, you’ll see that this device is a three-color laser light source projector, one they call “revolutionary.” It also includes proprietary despeckling technology, and an LCoS imager to produce 800 x 600 resolution and 20 lumen output. It has a built-in speaker, ports for VGA, A/V, USB, and power (for both charging and using whilst plugged in,) plus there’s a headphone jack on the other side.
It fits right in the palm of your hand and all the controls are in plain sight. Once you get into working the menu, you’ll more than likely have a short learning session as the UI is slightly imperfect. But just speaking on behalf of the hardware here, everything seems really slick, all buttons extremely responsive and hearty. Once the projector is running, you’ll hear that the fan has its work cut out for it. You will hear the fan running more than 60% of the time you’ve got the device on. It’s not the quietest fan I’ve ever heard, but you’ll probably get used to it quick after you hear it.
As far as cords go, you’ll have to see what your situation is when you get to the point where you’re going to decide what to use this device for. You’ve got a few cords included in the package, but there’s definitely room for want. For instance you might want a USB to USB cord to connect the device to your computer to add files to the device’s onboard storage.
Software
Once you have the device in your hand and you’d like to start playing some movies or looking at some photos projected high up in your classroom when the teacher isn’t looking, you’ll notice that there’s no screen from whens you can see selections. Wait a second, you’ll say, of course there’s no screen, this is a projector! So you turn the device on and sure enough, the menu is staring you right in the face, right over there on the wall.
The menu is confusing. Apple didn’t design this user interface, and sure as heck Google and the people at Android didn’t take a whack at it. It’s got five different items on the screen that you can highlight – four of them around an image of your controller (same as on the device,) and two more to the right. Around the controller are Documents, Photos, Video, and Music. To access each of these, you’ve only to press up, down, left, or right. When you’ve highlighted an item, its name is also highlighted at the top of the screen. This would be great, but the rest of the names are up there too, flanking the highlighted name. Say what? Confusing, very confusing. Then to get to the other two options: Sources (Input) and Settings, you’ve got to press right two times. You’ve got to select movie, but continue moving to your right to access these two additional items. Weird. Once you’ve got it, you’ve got it though, and the confusion doth never return.
A couple of the greatest things about this device are it’s ability to play and project all sorts of files and its ability to hold files inside itself for playing without anything connected. The most convenient way you’re going to end up using this device is to bring a USB stick along with all the content you’d like to display. Your stick plugs right into the side and your files appear basically instantly.
Picture
The picture is really nice, especially for such a tiny projector. I’ve used it to watch a couple of movies in my wife and I’s living room in the dark and have had basically no complaints. There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to getting certain movies and etcetera to project at full quality, but it’s nothing a person who can read the instructions manual (a very nicely laid out manual I remind you) wouldn’t be able to understand quite quickly. The picture is bright, the picture is colorful, and the picture is always in focus. Always always always. As I mention in the video, I remember the teachers and professors at the schools I went to constantly having to set the projector up to focus on the screen. No more of that, I say.
The picture projects as well as you’d expect it to in light and dark. Projected images obviously look better in the dark than they do in the light because, you know, there’s no competition. On the other hand, this projector deals a better game than they speak of in the advertisements as far as displaying in the light goes. NOTE: In the video when you see lines (or “waves”) moving through the projected image, note that these are only the result of my video camera having a different frame rate than the projector projects. The video is indeed clean.
Everyday Use
In most instances you’ll end up placing this device down while you’re displaying the media you’d like to display. This device is small though, and was clearly designed to be brought along for presentations in the office, school, or otherwise to be held in the hand. When you do either of these, your primary concern should be the heat. This device does get pretty hot pretty quick. You’re not going to be wanting to hold the projector in your hand for the entirety of its battery life (about an hour, a little more), because your hand will thusly become uncomfortable. The device does not become so hot though that you should worry about it overheating and breaking, but don’t go wrapping it in a warm towel just to test it.
We (my wife and I) have used the projector at home now to watch a couple movies up on the wall before we go to bed. We generally like to watch terrifying horror movies so we can’t sleep for weeks, so we watched one of those and Anchorman, a comedy movie you may have heard of, and both worked out really well. We of course turned the lights down for both (got some popcorn too), and definitely recommend doing this when watching anything on the projector if you’ve got the option. Poltergeist is, of course, terrifying either way. This device is clean.
A Week With the L1 v2 Laser Pico Projector from AAXA
Take a look at all of our “Week With” posts for the L1 v2 projector in this ever-growing list right here, starting with the first announcement and ending with the final word:
