First Impressions: Samsung Behold II smart phone

Samsung Behold II

Usually successor phones bear a fairly close resemblance to their earlier namesakes. But the Samsung Behold II, $230, available Wednesday from T-Mobile, looks and behaves little like the first Behold.

While that predecessor is an advanced phone with touch screen and a 4.9-megapixel camera with advanced controls, the Behold II is a smart phone, with a larger screen (3.2 in. vs. 3 in.) and more buttons at its base for accessing the phone's more advanced features. Measuring 4.57 in. x 2.2. in. x .48 in., the Behold II is about average in size for a smart phone. It includes built-in Wi-Fi, a full Web browser, virtual QWERTY keyboard and a 2GB MicroSD storage card, which you can upgrade to 16GB. The phone runs on the Android operating system, but the older 1.5 version. That aging OS lacks the native support for Microsoft Exchange Server, Facebook, and some of the advanced e-mail capabilities built into the 2.0 version of Android found the Motorola Droid, Samsung Moment, and other phones.

Our telecom engineers are currently testing the press sample we received from Samsung, but I've already had a chance to use the phone for a few hours. Overall, I found the phone decent enough, though not up to the standard of the Droid and some of the other smart phones that have hit the market recently, which offer better performance for less money. Here are my first impressions:

Display. Its 3.2-in. active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display is pretty sharp: about 185 pixels per inch. Images seemed crisp and the colors were vibrant. Videos, including those I shot with the phone's camera, appeared smooth and sharp.

Phone controls. Where some smart phones lack hard phone buttons, and bury virtual phone controls on the desktop, the Behold has a well-located phone button on the bottom left corner of the phone. The virtual dial buttons were also easy to see and use, too, and buttons for voice mail, speed dial, contacts, and call log were conveniently displayed on the bottom.

First impressions: Dell Studio 17 PC

When Windows 7 was released on October 22, many computer models were discontinued and replaced by new ones equipped with the new operating system. We’re now testing a sizable group of desktops, laptops, and netbooks for inclusion in our upcoming computer Ratings (available to subscribers only).

For now, we can report findings for some models that are still being tested, starting with the Dell Studio 17, a 17-inch laptop.

The Dell Studio 17 retails at Best Buy for $780. With a Core 2 Duo processor and 4GB of memory, and a 500GB hard drive, performance was very good. It should be able to handle just about any task, although we don’t recommend it for 3D gaming. Battery life was better than average for a 17-inch laptop, at 4.25 hours. At 7.2 lbs., it’s not very heavy for its size.

You’d expect a generous keyboard on a 17-inch laptop, and that’s what you get. But there’s some give when you type, resulting in a squishy feel. The touchpad is large and easy to maneuver on, and it supports multitouch technology so you can use hand gestures to scroll and zoom, among other things.

Droid vs. iPhone: Them's fightin' words

A fight has broken out over last Friday's boxing-themed preliminary head-to-head comparison of the brand-new Motorola Droid and Apple's iPhone. The post has drawn scores of comments, and more readers continue to weigh in. The overwhelming majority of commenters feel our review gave short shrift to the Droid, though one reader, Robinson, noted, "this is a blog comparison not a formal CR review. So, don't trash what CR still does so well." Our testers continue to evaluate the Droid and our in-depth review will be posted in the coming days. In the meantime, some  thoughts on the issues raised by commenters:

Critics: The Droid's display is clearly better. Commenters are puzzled by why I called the display comparison a tossup even though I acknowledged that the Droid's display is bigger, boasts higher pixel density, and appears sharp and bright. (When comparing two identical Web pages side-by-side, text on the Droid's screen was noticeably sharper.) A key reason for my judgment: I wasn't able to test the Droid's display in the myriad of different lighting conditions, modes, and apps that our testers used to arrive at their scoring of the iPhone 3G S display (available to subscribers), the highest they've awarded to a phone screen. We'll see what our testers have to say about the Droid's display.

Critics: The Droid's camera is the better-equipped. I called this feature for the iPhone 3G S, in large part due to the camera's appealing interface and rich features. In addition to describing the Droid's camera as "well-equipped," I should have also have cited its flash and 16x9 (widescreen) video recording, both missing from the iPhone. Critics:

The iPhone's GPS isn't demonstrably better and costs more. On the first point, our Cars colleagues, who test GPS on all its platforms, demurred in their first impressions of the Google Maps Navigation found on the Droid, as I wrote. Since my post, there's now a full review on the Cars blog, which calls GMN only "adequate," and says the app should not be "the leading reason to purchase" an Android 2.0 phone, such as the Droid. But the review also acknowledges that the free software does "eliminate the need to pay for GPS and traffic services," including the cost of buying the pricey iPhone navigation apps and services. A couple of parting observations about the passion of the comments about this phone:

• They suggest the Droid has quickly emerged as the phone around which iPhone critics have coalesced. It's emerging as the preeminent un-iPhone or even anti-iPhone.
• The comments are further evidence that no community of observers takes a closer and more critical interest in how we test and assess than smart-phone fans. We've experienced that in the past, when we updated the methodology and presentation of our smart-phone Ratings (available to subscribers) in response to the changing nature of these devices.

Even though it sometimes hurts to be hit with repeated jabs, we love to hear about your hands-on experiences with and technological insights on smart phones.—Mike Gikas

Apple’s new iMacs: A closer look

The new iMac

Amid the hoopla surrounding the release of Windows 7, Apple introduced refreshed lines of iMac computers. We took a look at the 21-1/2 inch model ($1,200 to $1,500) and the 27 inch one ($1,700 to $2,000). (See how we rated previous iMac models in our desktop computer Ratings, available to subscribers.)

Both iMacs have larger displays than their predecessors (20-inch and 24-inch respectively) and come with the latest Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system. They include a newly-designed wireless “Magic Mouse,” and a wireless keyboard, both of which use a Bluetooth connection. (For a glossary of standard computer features, see our free Computer Buying Guide.)

Magic Mouse. This has a touch-sensitive top surface that senses left and right clicks and lets you slide your finger around to scroll a window’s content in any direction. Slide your finger up and down for a normal scroll, or with the “control” key depressed to zoom the whole screen for a closer look. It takes a bit of practice and some independent finger dexterity to use the scrolling, but we were able to get pretty good at it.

The mouse also lets you use a two-finger swipe to navigate back and forth in the Safari web browser, and browse album covers in iTunes and photos in iPhoto. But we couldn’t get that feature to work on either of our iMacs. Apple’s helpline wasn’t able to help us—the products are apparently too new. But we found an Oct 27th software update for the Magic Mouse on Apple’s “support downloads” website that fixed the problem when installed.

Verizon has a star smart phone: Our first impressions of the Motorola Droid

The Motorola Droid, the spunky phone Verizon recently introduced as the anti-iPhone in a barrage of clever commercials, is now in our hands as a press sample. My initial impression? The Droid lives up to its promise as one of the more capable and interesting phones of a busy fall season.

Available from Verizon on November 6 for $199, the Droid has attracted attention initially for being the first phone to offer the “free” beta version of Google Maps Navigation, which provides spoken turn-by-turn directions and other features previously available on phone only at extra cost.

Our Cars blog will be taking a closer look at Google Maps Navigation on the Droid later this week. Meantime, here are other highlights of the phone:

“Raw” implementation of the Android operating system. The Droid employs the latest, 2.0 version of Google’s Android operating system in a different manner than many other Android phones we’ve seen. Phones such as the Motorola Cliq have fine interfaces that sit over Android, and enhance its features and functionality. Droid does Android “raw,” without such customization. It doesn’t suffer for it, however. Instead, the Droid brings out the OS’s capability for personalization via the addition of widgets and other tools.

Gokivo GPS: Our review of the iPhone app

The iPhone version of the Gokivo Navigation app.

GPS software for smart phones just keeps rolling off the virtual conveyor belts at companies that develop navigation software. We’ve tested a bunch already—here’s one more, freshly reviewed: the Gokivo Navigator app.

Gokivo is a subscription-based navigation application for your Blackberry or iPhone. We tested the iPhone version, which cost $5 for the initial download plus $10 per month (a non-recurring charge) after a free 30-day trial period. The original download is small, at 2.7 MB. Unlike larger apps that charge a higher one-time fee to download all the maps onto your phone, Gokivo is server-based—like the AT&T Navigator—and loads maps and points of interest dynamically, as you need them.

The Gokivo version we tested, 4.4.2, has text-to-speech (a useful feature increasingly seen on GPS apps), real-time traffic, and the ability to play music while running the app on your iPhone, something not every iPhone app can do.

From our testers, here’s the bottom line:

Gokivo is a viable option for iPhone users seeking navigation guidance, especially those looking just for a short-term solution. But the monthly fee can quickly dwarf the cost of competing applications and even rival the prices of traditional [standalone units] after a year—but without all the features or ease of use. There are benefits to the always-current database, especially with businesses closing or changing hands during the troubled economy. But many users may not find the differences compared to the data in downloaded applications to be worth the monthly charge.

Check out the full review of the Gokivo Navigator. —Nick K. Mandle

In the CR Test Labs: Sony Vaio with Windows 7 looking good

[LOGO: Courtesy of Microsoft]

With Windows 7’s release just a week away, here’s an advance look at how some of the new Windows 7 laptops and desktops perform. We’re testing several press samples that we purchased from manufacturers.

First up is Sony’s VAIO VGN-NW270F/T, a 15.5-inch laptop with 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. It replaces the Vista-based VAIO VGN-NW125J/T that we tested, which was similarly equipped. One notable difference: The Windows 7 model uses a slightly faster 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, compared to the 2.1GHz processor used in the older VAIO.

Here’s what we found:

Very good performance. As with the Vista-based VGN-NW125J/T, performance on the Windows 7 system was very good. In fact, the new model scored about 10% higher in our application benchmark. It also performed marginally better in our gaming benchmark, but you can still expect choppy motion in 3D games. Start-up was slightly faster at 63 seconds (compared to 74 seconds); shutdown took an average of 15 seconds on both the Vista and Windows 7 laptops. On both systems, standby time was about 4 seconds and resume was about 3 seconds.

Battery life. The NW270F/T had about 3 hours in our tests. That’s 30 minutes less than on the Vista model, but on par with many other 15-inch laptops we’ve tested.

More features. The VGN-NW270F/T adds a Blu-ray drive, a nice extra for those looking to use their laptop for entertainment.

We’ll be posting full Ratings of Windows 7 computers next month, plus more first looks over the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned. You can find our current laptop Ratings and recommendations here. —Donna Tapellini

Hands on: Nikon Coolpix S1000pj—the first projection camera

Nikon Coolpix S1000pj digital camera.
(Click to enlarge.) [ Photo: Courtesy of Nikon ]

The 12-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S1000pj is the first camera that lets you beam images or video clips onto any surface. Like any pioneering product, it's pricey at $430, twice the price of most subcompact cameras. Here's what we found in our preliminary tests:

• Decent by dim projections. Projected images, of VGA quality (640 x 480), are acceptable in quality but less crisp than the same images viewed on a computer, HDTV, digital photo frame or camera LCD. When we projected the Nikon's LED (rated at just 10 lumens) at a distance of 6¾ feet from a white surface, the farthest Nikon recommends, the 40-inch (diagonal) images were bright enough to view only if the room was dark. With the lighting merely dimmed, we had to reduce the projection distance to create an image of no more than about 20 inches, barely enough for five people to comfortably view.


• Passable sound and battery life. Sound volume for videos is a bit low. For louder sound, you must connect your own external speaker via the camera's AV out jack. And a fully charged battery will be spent after about one hour in projector mode; we recommend spending $25 on an extra battery. (You can also buy an AC adapter for $20.)

Does the Samsung Instinct HD really shoot HD video?

The Samsung Instinct HD.
[PHOTO courtesy of Samsung]

The Samsung Instinct HD, available from Sprint for $250 with a two-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate, is the first cell phone we've seen that claims to make high-definition video recordings. It also boasts a 5-megapixel still camera with flash. That camera is a step up from the flashless, 2-megapixel camera found on previous Instincts, also from Sprint, including the S30 version now in our Ratings, available to subscribers.

We’re evaluating the Instinct HD now, and will post full test results on it to our Ratings later this month. Meantime, our initial results on its imaging are promising, albeit with a few quibbles.

The new Instinct’s camera is easy to access, thanks to a dedicated camera button, conveniently located on the lower right side of the phone. Pushing the button activates the camera’s still mode. Tapping a camera icon on the upper left of the largish (1.78 x 2.66 in.) display switches the camera to video mode. Tapping again summons controls for auto-focus, exposure, and other camera functions.

The Instinct HD claims it can record video resolution of 1280 x 720p, which is a true HD format—although, as we often point out, HD format alone does not assure images of pristine, high-definition quality. To assess quality, we shot a series of videos on the Instinct and hooked it up to a 50-inch Panasonic plasma television using the optional ($30) HDMI cable.

Our findings: Color was good in the MPEG4 videos, though they lacked fine detail and texture. They blurred even more when we panned the camera to the left or right. In short, they couldn’t rival the image quality you’d enjoy from full-sized HD camcorders in our Ratings, available to subscribers.

But such camcorders are much bigger and pricier than the Instinct HD, and do nothing except shoot video and stills. The high-def video quality of the Instinct was comparable to what you’d get from a standard-definition pocket camcorder, such as the Flip. And that's still way ahead of the video we've seen any other camera phone.

First impressions: The iRex e-book reader

The iRex DR800SG (Click to enlarge.)
[PHOTO: Courtesy of iRex]

Though not without its flaws, the upcoming iRex e-book reader promises to be a viable alternative to Amazon's Kindle 2, based on my preliminary use of the device at a press event today.

As expected from previous announcements, the iRex DR800SG will cost $399, be able to download books wirelessly from the Barnes and Noble eBookstore, and have an 8.1-inch touchscreen. Today's news included confirmation that the 3G data network to which the iRex will connect to buy content is that of Verizon.

The iRex will fall midway in screen size and price between the two Amazon e-book readers that dominate the market. The Kindle 2, $299, has a 6-inch screen and the whopping (even oversized) Kindle DX costs $489 and has a 10.2-inch screen. The iRex's screen, like that of all other e-book readers now on the market is black-and-white only.

When I tried the iRex out at today's press event in New York, the clarity and contrast of text on its screen appeared comparable in quality to Sony's newest generation of e-book readers--specifically, to that of the Sony Pocket, which I placed next to it, displaying text of comparable size.

Text clarity seemed to me to fall a little short of the standard of the Kindles. However, the iRex appeared to match the Kindles for reproducing photos and graphics; like the Amazon devices, it boasts 16 levels of gray scale. And page turns were significantly faster than on the Sony, and appeared to be in the same league as the Kindles--and possibly even faster, as iRex claims.

The screen responds to touch only from a stylus; a pen-like one is provided. You can, however, also navigate using a "flip bar" that runs along the left-hand side of the iRex. I found page turns using the bar--the only practical way to initiate them--to be crisp and effortless.