MSI GT627 Gaming Laptop

MSI today announced their latest gaming laptop in the form of the MSI GT627. Available with different CPUs, this 15.4 inch laptop offers a high 1680 x 1050 resolution, a 6 cell battery, Wifi b/g/n, DVD or Blu-Ray, a GeForce 9800 GS GPU with 1GB of VRAM, HDMI out, and 320GB of hard disk drive. I want to buy this gaming laptop as soon as possible. Sadly, there is no word on pricing or availability so far. [Akihabara]

DXG doubles up on compact HD camcorders

While there have been no shortage of vertical-style mini HD camcorders at CES 2009 (see announcements from Kodak, Sony, and RCA), there haven't been any pistol-grip mini HD camcorders, mainly because the most recognized maker of them, Sanyo, didn't have any announcements at the show. But fear not, DXG has you covered with the DXG-581V.

Due in the first quarter of this year for $179.99,

Sony's hard-drive-based SD camcorders get more storage, longer lens

As price and physical size of storage--both hard drives and flash memory--steadily decline, it's not a big surprise that the capacities are the first things to be tweaked on a camcorder line. Case in point, Sony refreshed its 2008 Handycam SR-series models (the DCR-SR45, -SR65, and -SR85) by bumping their storage amounts up.

Samsung Behold t919 Brushed Expresso - T-Mobile

If you’re looking for a sleek touchscreen mobile phone serviced by T-Mobile, you’ll want to be sure to check out the Samsung Behold t919.

The Samsung Behold t919 can be used to surf the internet and send and receive Email and instant messages.

The Samsung Behold also features full multimedia playback, so you can watch video and share pictures on your phone. A 5 megapixel camera/video recorder allows you to capture your favorite moments. Bluetooth streaming music provides tunes and handsfree operation. The Behold’s has MicroSD expansion to 16 GB, should you need additional memory.

The Samsung Behold operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and is compatible with T-Mobile’s UMTS/HSDPA 3G network.

For personalization, you can download ringtones and wallpapers to theSamsung Behold.

The phone can be used with My Faves service, which allows you to call five of your favorite people (on any wireless network) without using your plan minutes.

The Samsung Behold is available now.

Samsung Unvieils New Luxia HDTV Line

Samsung has just unveiled a new line of television that utilize LED-backlight technology, called Luxia. The new HDTV’s offer promise to bring a new line of high quality display, energy efficient technology and ultra thin design.

The Luxia line-up comes with a handful of new feautures including Samsung’s signature Touch of Color image display that helps produce better contrast ratios and a full range of colors with crystal clear detail. They will also come with a built in internet yahoo widget that will allow you to watch internet videos, check your mail, and view photos. Additionally the Luxia line will be one of the many new televisions coming out with a 240 Hz refresh rate, which will help make a clearer picture. Expect to see the new line-up of television to hit store shelves in the first half of 2009.

Nokia 7510 Loses Supernova Name, Heads to T-Mobile

Overshadowed by Palm’s new Pre handset, the Nokia formerly known as the 7510 Supernova made a rather lackluster appearance at CES yesterday. Exclusively headed to T-mobile, the quad-band flip phone definitely isn’t one of Nokia’s finest, but it’s a decent midrange handset.

The 7510 Supernova was originally launched as part of the Supernova line, in early July of last year. The phone included the always fun push-to-open button, 2 megapixel camera, WLAN, and some Xpress-on covers. Fast forward six months later. The new Nokia 7510 includes an always fun push-to-open button, 2 megapixel camera, WLAN, and some Xpress-on covers.

Okay, so it’s not exactly what you’d call a "new" phone, just a release in a different market. And the phone itself isn’t too bad at all: it has support for UMA, which lets you seamlessly transfer from GSM to wi-fi connections and back, a "hidden until lit" front display, expandable memory, and the aforementioned Xpress-on covers. Unfortunately, it’s still a Series 40 phone.

Officially, the Nokia 7510 will be available later this month, at T-mobile retail + online stores. But don’t count on finding any real information on T-mobile’s web site: the phone isn’t listed there, which is - how do I say this - complete garbage.

Nokia N79 Active Bundles Heart Monitor, Armband

When the economy gets tough, the tough start bundling. At least that’s the latest idea from Nokia, who recently introduced the Nokia N79 Active - a phone that comes bundled with a whole bunch of sportsy stuff.

Bundles are generally a very bad idea, at least for the consumer (see: Nintendo Wii bundles). Most of the time you end up with extra crappy junk that you wouldn’t have bought on your own but now you’re stuck with. The good news is the Nokia N79 Active isn’t a bad bundle. At 375 euros, it’s not ridiculously priced (compare to retail price of 350 euros for the stock N79), and it comes with some decent stuff:

Polar WearLink Bluetooth heart rate belt

"Sporty" Headphones

Armband

4GB memory card

You also get the latest version of Nokia’s Sports Tracker software.

For those of you who need a memory refresh, the N79 is the next iteration of the N78/N82, a candy bar loaded with a lot of good stuff: 5 megapixel camera, dual LED flash, A-GPS, 3.5 mm audio jack, stereo speakers, you name it.

Netflix ready HDTVs coming soon

In 2007, Netflix introduced instant streaming movies for the PC, then devices that were capable of displaying that content on a TV started appearing, like the Xbox 360, Roku player, and certain Blu-Ray players.

Now Netflix is partnering with LG to release TVs that are capable of playing movies from a Netflix account without an external device. All that is needed is a Netflix subscription and an ethernet connection.

The new models are being shown this week at CES 2009, and LG already has 2 honoree awards at the convention. They will be available in spring 2009.

Sort-of Awesome: LG’s GD910 Watch Phone

Watch phones are just one of those cool, futuristic ideas that usually end up being completely unpractical in the real world. So of course I drooled all over LG’s latest creation, the GD910.

LG has done away with the old-school "calculator watch" button style in favor of just one small (1.43 inch) touch-screen with three buttons on the side. That’s good and bad. On one hand, the entire watch is fairly svelte (13.99 mm thin), so it doesn’t feel like you’re strapping a brick to your wrist. But now you have to deal with a tiny touch-screen, which could be a serious problem.

The GD910’s full set of features is pretty limited (as is getting any hard specs on it), but it’s definitely got the necessities: voice dialing, speech recognition, text-to-speech, Bluetooth, camera, and music player. And 7.2mbps HSDPA, apparently.

Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition Goes The Way of the Dinosaur

Today we bid a fond farewell to the Nokia N810 WiMax Edition, unveiled nine months ago as a revolutionary, next-gen internet tablet. Maybe too revolutionary.

According to Reuters, Nokia has officially "ended production ended production of its only mobile device using the U.S.-centered WiMax technology, another blow for the struggling wireless technology." The N810 WiMAX Edition (was) a touch-screen tablet with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, based off of the original N810.

Not dead yet: Sony rolls out two DVD-based Handycams

I'm sure there are still people out there that want to record standard-definition video directly to DVD. Sony, however, has made its latest DVD Handycams sort of bridge products between the past and present.

The DCR-DVD850 (available in February for about $430) is a new "Hybrid Plus" model able to record video to 3-inch DVDs, Memory Stick flash media, or its 16GB of internal memory.

Deal: Refurbed Plantronics Bluetooth Headsets for $14.99 Shipped

So this Plantronics Discovery 630E Bluetooth headset used to be a cool $119.95. Now it’s refurbished and marked down to $14.99. Deal?

Even though it’s pretty cheap (even for a refurb), it’s got some decent features: 15 hours of talk time, a carrying case that can also charge the headset with an included AAA battery (also comes with an AC charger), and a weight of 9 grams. You also get a case and some extra ear tips. Not too shabby.

Samsung Eternity a867

The Samsung Eternity a867 has been getting mixed reviews in recent weeks, despite offering a decent array of features. The phone is relatively inexpensive, and gets the job done, but that doesn’t mean everyone is a believer. You can find the Samsung Eternity a867 through most dealers, at a cost of around $150 when you sign up for a calling plan.

The phone has a 3.2 inch touch screen with haptic support. The phone uses the TouchWiz User Interface. With this UI you can customize the phone through the use of widgets. The phone also comes with a 3.0 megapixel camera that supports video sharing and much more.

Nokia 6208c Phone (Obligatory Chinese Stylus Phone)

In what is starting to become a yearly tradition, Nokia recently announced its latest stylus-driven smartphone, the 6208c. Heading to, you guessed it - China. Read the whole preview for a look at the 6208c’s fun features like a 3.2 megapixel camera and bamboo slip detachable stylus.

Panasonic HDC-SD9 Camcorder

The Panasonic HDC-SD9 is the company’s third generation AVCHD camcorder that records exclusively to SD/SDHC memory cards. The improvements over its ancestor, the HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99), are numerous. The SD9 records in full 1920 x 1080 with a new maximum bit rate of 17Mbps (up from 13Mbps). The optical image stabilization has been improved, and – for the time being – it’s the world’s smallest 1920 x 1080 camcorder. If it’s a winner, we’re hoping Panasonic grants it a longer life than the six-months-old-and-already-dead HDC-SD5. But the SD9 begs the question, how small is small enough? The reduction in size has clearly begun to hurt handling. Despite this, the SD9 shows advances in image quality long awaited in the AVCHD format. It’s not a perfect camcorder by any means, but the HDC-SD9 is among the best ultra-compacts we’ve seen yet.

Nokia E63 To Hit USA, Hit You For $279

Nokia’s E63 is a mixed bag. It’s the lower-priced version of the popular E71 Blackberry-ish phone, retaining most of the E71’s feature set with some minor additions and subtractions. Here’s what you get: a 3.5 mm stereo jack and better battery life (by half an hour). Here’s what you lose: integrated GPS and 3.2 megapixel camera (it’s been downgraded to a 2 megapixel).

But love it or hate it, you pretty much have to agree the price is right: only $279 unlocked for a Series 60 smartphone with a very usable keyboard and US-compatible 3G. That’s a damn good price. On a smaller note, you also get your choice of two colors, Ruby Red or Ultramarine Blue.

The phone is expected to be available soon in the usual channels: the two flagship stores in NYC and Chicago, NokiaUSA.com, and other fine retailers (Amazon).

Sorry HDTV…. I can’t see you.

High Definition in the world of display technology usually refers to 720 horizontal lines, or more, of video format resolution.

HDTV has taken over the world of television viewing, there in most homes, all the good sports bars and by some estimates as many as 90% of new commercials are being shot with HDTV in mind. It’s not just TVs, these days if it has a screen it is more than likely HD. The problem with this is. If you are one of the third of the country that wears glasses or contacts then an HDTV may not be for you, unless of course you are up for a trip to the eye Doctor for a new prescription.

Dispensing optician Phillip Hyde recommends that if you are interested in HDTV you may first want to schedule an eye exam to make sure you are ready and able to get the full benefit from these TV's. If you have poor eye sight that is simply not correctable you may want to invest in an HDTV set just for the ease of viewing a large screen.On the bright side those who do suffer from poor eyesight might want to consider saving a little money by buying a set that’s a model or two down from the "bleeding edge" of HDTV technology. Becasue according to Phillip Hyde you most likely will not be able to see the difference anyway. But of courses it’s your money.

Slacker Radio brings BlackBerry a neat caching trick

Slacker Radio for BlackBerry, a free over-the-air download for BlackBerrys running version 4.3 and above, gratifies with crisp album art, intuitive navigation, and all the customized streaming stations you could want.

What impressed us most is Slacker's newly added feature--right now just for BlackBerry--that caches songs as they play, allowing you to essentially play back your stations offline. It only works if you've got a microSD card, mind you, but once you're set up, you'll be able to crank tunes in the background while e-mailing and otherwise futzing with your phone.

The only catch: the app currently works for U.S. customers only.

Sony HDR-SR12 Camcorder

The Sony HDR-SR12 ($1,399 MSRP) is the company’s third generation AVCHD camcorder recording to hard disk drive (HDD). The SR12 features a new CMOS sensor and DSP touted by Sony to be the best yet, along with a huge 120GB capacity. It is joined by the HDR-SR11 ($1,199 MSRP), an identical camcorder with a smaller 60GB HDD. In previous iterations, all AVCHD camcorders have failed to live up to performance expectations, but 2008 seems to be the year it’s turning around. The Canon HF10 gave outstanding performance and sharpness. The Panasonic HDC-SD9, while not as good as the Canon, exceeded the performance of its predecessors. So how does the Sony HDR-SR12 hold up to the competition? In a word … strongly. This is undoubtedly the sensor/processor package to own if you’re a Sony fan. The low light performance is excellent – far superior in noise reduction to the Sony HDR-HC9, its HDV cousin, and comparable to the Canon HF10 in1080/60i. However, the overall sharpness does not match that of the Canon HF10 in bright light, and Canon’s inclusion of multiple frame rates (60i/24P/30P) makes it a tempting offering. The manual control packages are evenly matched. Sony wins on capacity, while Canon wins on portability. It’s a tough choice. Let’s explore.

Panasonic's Spring camcorders: Three chips and long lenses

Before the world went high-def, Panasonic made a point of upgrading many of its camcorders to 3-chip models; now it's happening again, as Panasonic rolls out its 3MOS chipsets in its prosumer 2009 AVCHD camcorders. And at 2 megapixels per chip, they're each reasonably high-resolution, as well. However, you won't see the likes of popular, older, budget 3-chip models such as the PV-GS320, at least not in the first half of the year. In fact, you won't see any tape- or DVD-based models at all from Panasonic, according to the company. Ever.

For its standard-definition clients, Panasonic now zooms out to 70X. On one hand, these stalker zoom lenses can be quite useful for recording wildlife--and Panasonic even showed footage of the moon for astronomy buffs--but is that really a mass market? And no matter how good its image stabilization is, you're going to have to shoot using a tripod at lengths like that.

As expected, the rest of both the HD and standard-def lines are more of the same: more space on hard disk models, more built-in memory for flash models (and for a couple of models, more compact), as well as some tweaks to face detection. And in the case of its everything-resistant models, the SW series, they just got a little tougher.

Canon Vixia HF10 Camcorder

The Canon HF10 is among the most anticipated camcorders in recent years, due no doubt to the outstanding reception of its HDV predecessor, the HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903). There are several key differences, however. The CMOS chip is not the same as last year’s Canon HD camcorders; in fact it’s smaller, with a higher pixel density. The HF10 records in the AVCHD format, heretofore riddled with performance problems. This is Canon’s third try on an AVCHD camcorder, and the format appears to finally be coming into its own. Full 1920 x 1080 output, a new 17 Mbps bitrate, and 60i/24P/30P frame rates make this the best AVCHD camcorder we’ve seen to date. Prepare to be surprised.

Nokia E66 NAMs Get An Update (v200.21.118)

North American E66 owners can now get a piece of the European action with the latest firmware update. Improvements include earlier loudspeaker activation (you can now turn on the loudspeaker BEFORE being connected on a call), new themes (black business, black personal, red business, red personal, for the most part kinda eh), and possible bug fixes. On a related note, the update failed to fix the camera key, which does not automatically open up the Camera application like it’s supposed to.

Pocketable flash-based SD camcorders from Sony

With specs similar to the hard-drive-based SR-series Handycams, the decision to go with Sony's new SX-series standard-definition camcorders comes down to whether you want a slightly more compact body and potentially better battery life and reliability or more storage for your money.

Two Monitors Better Than One

Is using two monitors actually better than using one? According to numerous study’s and surveys the answer is yes, and it is said to increase productivity 7% to 50%. Those are some high numbers, but lets just dig a little deeper here.

Computer users nowadays are always multi-tasking. You usually will be surfing the web with numerous tabs, you will also be instant messaging you buddies, checking your email, typing something up on word, and maybe even playing a game. Now how can you ever expect to fit all of this on one monitor, it just is not possible. This is where two monitors really comes in handy. For example you are writing a paper about a topic you researching on the internet. Instead of having to keep tabbing back to the article and then back to word you can just have the article on one screen and word on the other.

Using two monitors is so easy. A main complaint that many people say is I don’t want to have to go through the hassle of setting up two monitors and getting the right software for it to work. Well the good thing here is Windows already has a built in monitor feature that will automatically register your second monitor when you hook it up to your computer. To edit this feature just right click your desktop background and go to settings. It will show both of your monitors and it will let you adjust a number of features for both monitors.

Some computers may not support two monitors though. To check this, just look on the back of your computer and check to see if there is another monitor input (VGA or DVI) right next to where your first monitor is plugged in. If you look on the back of your desktop and you see your first monitor is hooked up to a VGA or DVI port, but you do not see another VGA or DVI port. If this is the case then you have an older video card that only has 1 hookup for a monitor. There are two ways around this: You can either buy a monitor switch box or buy a better video card that has dual monitor ports. You can buy a brand new low end card that has 2 monitor ports for around $50-$100.

Once you have two monitor inputs just plug in both monitors with either the VGA or DVI cords. If your video card has one VGA input and one DVI input then you are going to have to put on a DVI to VGA adapter on the DVI port to get it to work. This adapter will usually come with any video card you buy. Once again your computer will automatically register your second monitor once you turn it on.

In closing this is well worth the effort. I highly encourage you to give this a try and I guarantee that you will never want to go back to one monitor again. If you have any questions leave us a comment.