Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite
Perhaps spooked by the success of Sony’s PlayStation 3, despite its delays and hefty price tag, Microsoft has come up with an upgrade to its Xbox 360, less than 18 months after its initial launch. The Xbox 360 Elite is black instead of white, includes a 120GB hard drive (six times as capacious as the previous 360’s, and twice as big as the PS3’s), and sports an HDMI output for easier and better quality connection to HD Ready TVs.
You can buy the Elite in the US for $480, and it will be released in the UK on 24 August with an ‘estimated’ retail price £300. You can find our review of the original Xbox 360 here.
Hitachi UT42-XV700
When flat panel TVs first went on sale, it was pretty common to find them without TV tuners built in, and sometimes even without speakers. As time went on and flat panels became marketed as TV sets, we saw them start to incorporate tuners. These days, it’s pretty rare to find a screen that’s missing this vital component.
Well, you’ve found one. The Hitachi UT42-XV700 lacks a TV tuner and the reason is simple: it’s been removed to save space. Because this TV is just 38mm thick, there isn’t room for ‘extras’ — or as some might argue, ‘essentials’. So, with no tuner, this TV is more of a screen than a TV, designed to work with an external source.
Asus Eee PC 901
Ten months old is young to write an autobiography, but if the Asus Eee PC were to pen its memoirs it’d consist of three chapters. The first would be all about introducing a revolutionary new product (the Eee PC 701), the second about rapidly refining it (the Eee PC 900) and the last would detail how, in the face of several me-too look-alikes, it was reinvented again in the guise of the Eee PC 901.
The 901 is, in many ways, so much better than its peers it’s laughable, but if you have an Eee PC 900 don’t worry about upgrading. The basic body shape and size is identical, save for a few millimetres here and there in the 900’s favour. The screen, too, is the bright 1024×600 panel that we know and love.
Toshiba Satellite Pro Laptop Computers
The ideal candidate for getting the job done.
The ideal candidate for getting the job done. With a Satellite Pro laptop you can be as mobile and productive as you need to be. Enjoy affordable, fundamental business productivity features, with styling that goes well beyond basic. Toshiba Satellite Pro notebooks make it easy to convey a polished, professional image, while making short work of the day’s work load.
Now presenting a range of sizes and features.
With the Satellite Pro laptop computer series, fundamental doesn’t mean limited. They come in different display sizes to meet your mobility needs 13.3″, 14.1″, 15.4″ or even a full 17.0″. They offer a choice of dual-core processors (AMD® or Intel®), graphics components, or other convenient functions such as the USB Sleep-and-Charge port (available on select models) which allows you to charge your electronic devices via any of the three ports, and more whichever of these options suits your business situation and working style best.
Motorola ROKR E8 Mobile Phone
Sony Ericsson and Nokia dominate the music phone market, so what makes Motorola think it can muscle in on the act with its new ROKR E8 handset? We take a closer look to find out.
Sporting a pseudo touch interface, the Moto ROKR E8 offers a flash, overly large design for its music dedicated offering.
Part of the ROKR series, which in the past has offered iTunes connectivity, the new handset comes with both the mini USB for the headset and a dedicated 3.5mm jack, so you can use your own headphones, however, you have to use the supplied headset if you want to use the radio.
The candybar design is reminiscent of the old SLVR L6, but is something new from Motorola, where design has obviously taken some thought. That said, it is a rather large offering, and strangely top-heavy in the hand.
Western Digital My Passport Studio Hard Drive
The Western Digital My Passport Studio hard drive packs up to 320GB of storage into a device no bigger than a Moleskine notebook, but has Western Digital had to cut too many corners to get it to this size? We start saving files to find out.
Small, compact and silver the My Passport Studio is a simple affair. Geared specifically for the Mac market, the unit comes HFS+ Journal formatted for Mac OS 10.4.11 users and above although it can be reformatted for PC use.
Dimensions are 8 x 126.74 x 81mm and it weighs an incredibly light 180 grams. Keeping it small, there is no power brick, with power instead being drawn from either the FireWire or USB 2.0 connection.
There are no buttons on the device itself and the only notification you get that it’s on is one of four status lights at the rear of the unit.
Toshiba Camileo Pro HD Camcorder
The Toshiba Camileo Pro HD has attracted a lot of attention because of the ability to record HD in a package which appears to be great value for money. But should the price sell this camcorder to you?
Taking the popular form factor of a handheld vertical unit with flip-out screen, the Camileo Pro HD comes in where the Camileo Pro left off and we’ve found that because of the names, there is a great deal of confusion about which camera you are talking about.
It is lightweight and almost pocketable. We say almost, because it will slip into a jacket pocket, measuring 70 x 110 x 33mm and weighing in at 180g, it is not as smallest option out there.
SanDisk Sansa Fuze MP3 Player
With the world going Apple mad, can SanDisk offer some respite in the form of the Sansa Fuze? We plugged in the 4GB Fuze to find out.
From a design point of view, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Fuze wasn’t that different to Apple’s iPod nano, which this player goes straight up against. We put that down to a form factor that works: a screen and simple controller for volume, track selection, menu navigation and so on.
The Sansa Fuze doesn’t take the minimalist approach however; whilst it has slick clean lines, it has more hard buttons: you have a “home” button and a combined power and Hold slider key as well. The power slider is most welcome, because it is a positive method of powering on and off the device, unlike the iPod’s occasionally dubious press and hold technique.
Toshiba Portégé R500-11Z
This year we’ve seen quite a number of high profile notebook launches aimed at the thin and light segment of the market and while Toshiba may not have made as many headlines with its R500 series, it’s a great machine in its own right.
Weighing in at just 1.1kg, this machine is as light as some of the new breed of mini-notebooks that have been grabbing the headlines of late. It may be light and the design compact but you won’t find any compromises in performance or features.
The body is tough and feels designed to meet the needs of regular travel. You’ll also find a DVD rewriter built-in, which is an impressive piece of engineering for a notebook of this size.
Hawking Technology Wireless-300N USB Dish Adapter
“Wireless will free you from your desk” is the promise and for the most part it does, so why would you need a USB Dish Adapter for your Apple Mac? We get connected to find out.
The premise of the Hawking Technology Wireless-300N USB Dish Adapter is simple: to allow you to sit further away from your (or any) wireless network yet still connect.
Why would you need it? Well if you are thinking of moving into the garden shed to enjoy the summer sun this will be ideal if you can’t currently see your home wireless network.
As for the how, the dish looks like something that the Rebel Alliance would use. You get a mini directional (up, down, left, and right) satellite dish that connects to a spare USB port on your computer. It’s white, plain and has no buttons. It is foldable, but still large.
