The Full Review of Nokia N8

Symbian v3 brings some improvements, just not quite enough...

The quick review of N8 has been posted on September 20, 2010. Nokia’s time in the doldrums has been well-documented, but with a revised UI and a boatload of top-end tech, it’s hoping the new N8 will catapult it back to the sharp end of the smartphone game.

With the N8, Nokia has seemingly thrown all the tech it can think of at the new handset in a bid to rival the likes of Android and the iPhone – a 12MP camera with ‘proper’ Xenon flash, XVID and DIVX support, HD video capture, Dolby Mobile sound and an HDMI-out port are just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s also got the stylish anodised metal shell and an OLED screen, along with a dedicated graphics processor, so from the outset Nokia is clearly looking to rival the big boys when comparing spec sheets.

The new Symbian^3 offers up a newer user experience, albeit one that many previous Nokia users will be familiar with.

There are now three home screens to play with, with a large number of widgets to on offer as well. However, you can’t litter the icons across the screen willy-nilly, instead being forced to put them into specific icon-based widgets.

While Symbian^3 is designed to be a more ‘next-gen’ smartphone platform, right from the outset it’s clear that it’s more of a re-tooled and re-badged version of Symbian S60 rather than a new OS.

Things like swiping across home screens and having to wait for the phone to catch up, rather than it moving under your touch, as well as having to drill through so many menus to get to some applications and options show that Symbian still has a long, long way to go to catch up with Android or iOS.

Nokia N8: Screen and camera

However, the hardware provides a number of positives – the capacitive OLED screen really shows of colours nicely, and although the 640x360 screen isn’t as impressive as its higher-res rivals, the contrast ratios are still excellent and web pages and video look crisp enough.

The display also shows up fairly well in bright light – it’s not jaw-dropping, but certainly performs better than the HTC Desire, which might as well be transparent on sunnier days. We’re also excited by the camera. If you’re a photography buff you’ll obviously prefer a dedicated DSLR or dedicated compact, but for a quick snap here and there, the combo of a 12MP sensor, Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash really offer up some crisp shots.

There are a number of options to alter your photos, including contrast and exposure correction and a variety of scene modes to improve picture quality.

Nokia has included a dedicated camera button on the N8 too, which has a staggered press to allow you to activate autofocus. Hitting this button when not in photography mode will start up the camera, but it does take a while to boot up – best hope it’s not a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot.

The 720p video mode is similarly good – not only does the noise reduction really help with elements like windy scenes, but the HD video is clear and crisp, especially when you output it to a larger TV. However, it doesn’t have the same wow factor as the iPhone 4’s HD recording, despite packing nearly identical specs.

Music is also well catered for on the N8, with a dedicated music widget and easy to user interface. When used in landscape mode, album cover flow whips along particularly well, and the on-screen music control buttons are similarly easy to hit.

The inline headphone remote included in the box is good quality too, and with 16GB of internal memory it’s easy to think this could be your dedicated MP3 player.

However, video is not as impressive – some file types (such as m4v) won’t play back correctly, and many others will play in 4:3 rather than widescreen as the pixel count is too high to stretch – despite managing to do so easily on the like of the Samsung Galaxy S or the Apple iPhone 4.

Nokia N8: internet

The browser on the N8 is supposed to have been given the Symbian^3 treatment to help take it to the next smartphone level, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

On paper it seems like it will be one of the best: pinch to zoom and Flash video support (via Flash Lite 4) promise a decent experience. But it’s a touch slower than the other mobile browsers out there (although on a par with the BlackBerry Torch) and the pinch and zoom is very laggy indeed. Plus when you zoom in the text doesn’t reform to fit the screen, so you have to scroll left and right to see the words at the right size.

Menu options are hidden two button presses away, so reloading a page is a real pain – although the Flash video generally works well, despite being a little choppy, especially on the heavier sites.

Battery is a plus point on the Nokia N8 – given it’s only got a 1200mAh battery we were a bit worried, but the low-powered 680MHz processor clearly helps push things a bit further. We easily managed a couple of days’ use with the N8, although it wouldn’t get very far into a third day; we found that the lack of internet use (due to the poorer performance) helped conserve battery pretty well, so that might change other users’ experiences.

Nokia N8: keyboard

One major downside of the Nokia N8 is the text input. For starters, using the N8 in portrait mode means you can only use the multi-tap method – no mini QWERTY here, despite having the size to do it. In landscape mode you only get a QWERTY option, with an ill thought-out layout (and no auto-capitalisation on the ‘i’) it takes some real effort to achieve any kind of accuracy.

The main saving grace of the Nokia N8 was supposed to be the cost – but now it’s finally landed on the official Nokia website, it’s not that impressive either.

True, in Malaysia it’s only RM 1800 for a 16GB smartphone, which is almost RM 100 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S and nearly RM 400 cheaper than the same priced iPhone, but given the compromises needed to use the Nokia N8 it feels expensive.

In a straight battle, it’s hard to see who (other than devout and die-hard Nokia fans) would take a look at the Nokia N8 when the HTC Desire, iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S and arguably the new BlackBerry Torch all offer a more complete and easy to use experience.

Nokia fans will love the N8, Symbian V3 is an improvement and Nokia has certainly got the hardware right in terms of specs. But Symbian has been overtaken by other operating systems. What we'd really like to see is the N8 on Meego or Maemo 5. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nokia N8 Specifications:

OS: Symbian^3
Processor: ARM 11 680MHz
Storage: 16GB with microSD slot
Screen: 3.5-inch 640x360 capacitive OLED
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 10.2Mbps HSDPA, a-GPS, HDMI, FM transmitter
Camera (res, flash, focus): 12MP with AF, face detection and Xenon flash
Video (size and frame rate): 720p HD @25fps
3G Talk time: 350mins
Dimensions: 114 x 59 x 13 mm
Weight: 135g

The Full Review of Nokia N8

Symbian v3 brings some improvements, just not quite enough...

The quick review of N8 has been posted on September 20, 2010. Nokia’s time in the doldrums has been well-documented, but with a revised UI and a boatload of top-end tech, it’s hoping the new N8 will catapult it back to the sharp end of the smartphone game.

With the N8, Nokia has seemingly thrown all the tech it can think of at the new handset in a bid to rival the likes of Android and the iPhone – a 12MP camera with ‘proper’ Xenon flash, XVID and DIVX support, HD video capture, Dolby Mobile sound and an HDMI-out port are just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s also got the stylish anodised metal shell and an OLED screen, along with a dedicated graphics processor, so from the outset Nokia is clearly looking to rival the big boys when comparing spec sheets.

The new Symbian^3 offers up a newer user experience, albeit one that many previous Nokia users will be familiar with.

There are now three home screens to play with, with a large number of widgets to on offer as well. However, you can’t litter the icons across the screen willy-nilly, instead being forced to put them into specific icon-based widgets.

While Symbian^3 is designed to be a more ‘next-gen’ smartphone platform, right from the outset it’s clear that it’s more of a re-tooled and re-badged version of Symbian S60 rather than a new OS.

Things like swiping across home screens and having to wait for the phone to catch up, rather than it moving under your touch, as well as having to drill through so many menus to get to some applications and options show that Symbian still has a long, long way to go to catch up with Android or iOS.

Nokia N8: Screen and camera

However, the hardware provides a number of positives – the capacitive OLED screen really shows of colours nicely, and although the 640x360 screen isn’t as impressive as its higher-res rivals, the contrast ratios are still excellent and web pages and video look crisp enough.

The display also shows up fairly well in bright light – it’s not jaw-dropping, but certainly performs better than the HTC Desire, which might as well be transparent on sunnier days. We’re also excited by the camera. If you’re a photography buff you’ll obviously prefer a dedicated DSLR or dedicated compact, but for a quick snap here and there, the combo of a 12MP sensor, Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash really offer up some crisp shots.

There are a number of options to alter your photos, including contrast and exposure correction and a variety of scene modes to improve picture quality.

Nokia has included a dedicated camera button on the N8 too, which has a staggered press to allow you to activate autofocus. Hitting this button when not in photography mode will start up the camera, but it does take a while to boot up – best hope it’s not a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot.

The 720p video mode is similarly good – not only does the noise reduction really help with elements like windy scenes, but the HD video is clear and crisp, especially when you output it to a larger TV. However, it doesn’t have the same wow factor as the iPhone 4’s HD recording, despite packing nearly identical specs.

Music is also well catered for on the N8, with a dedicated music widget and easy to user interface. When used in landscape mode, album cover flow whips along particularly well, and the on-screen music control buttons are similarly easy to hit.

The inline headphone remote included in the box is good quality too, and with 16GB of internal memory it’s easy to think this could be your dedicated MP3 player.

However, video is not as impressive – some file types (such as m4v) won’t play back correctly, and many others will play in 4:3 rather than widescreen as the pixel count is too high to stretch – despite managing to do so easily on the like of the Samsung Galaxy S or the Apple iPhone 4.

Nokia N8: internet

The browser on the N8 is supposed to have been given the Symbian^3 treatment to help take it to the next smartphone level, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

On paper it seems like it will be one of the best: pinch to zoom and Flash video support (via Flash Lite 4) promise a decent experience. But it’s a touch slower than the other mobile browsers out there (although on a par with the BlackBerry Torch) and the pinch and zoom is very laggy indeed. Plus when you zoom in the text doesn’t reform to fit the screen, so you have to scroll left and right to see the words at the right size.

Menu options are hidden two button presses away, so reloading a page is a real pain – although the Flash video generally works well, despite being a little choppy, especially on the heavier sites.

Battery is a plus point on the Nokia N8 – given it’s only got a 1200mAh battery we were a bit worried, but the low-powered 680MHz processor clearly helps push things a bit further. We easily managed a couple of days’ use with the N8, although it wouldn’t get very far into a third day; we found that the lack of internet use (due to the poorer performance) helped conserve battery pretty well, so that might change other users’ experiences.

Nokia N8: keyboard

One major downside of the Nokia N8 is the text input. For starters, using the N8 in portrait mode means you can only use the multi-tap method – no mini QWERTY here, despite having the size to do it. In landscape mode you only get a QWERTY option, with an ill thought-out layout (and no auto-capitalisation on the ‘i’) it takes some real effort to achieve any kind of accuracy.

The main saving grace of the Nokia N8 was supposed to be the cost – but now it’s finally landed on the official Nokia website, it’s not that impressive either.

True, in Malaysia it’s only RM 1800 for a 16GB smartphone, which is almost RM 100 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S and nearly RM 400 cheaper than the same priced iPhone, but given the compromises needed to use the Nokia N8 it feels expensive.

In a straight battle, it’s hard to see who (other than devout and die-hard Nokia fans) would take a look at the Nokia N8 when the HTC Desire, iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S and arguably the new BlackBerry Torch all offer a more complete and easy to use experience.

Nokia fans will love the N8, Symbian V3 is an improvement and Nokia has certainly got the hardware right in terms of specs. But Symbian has been overtaken by other operating systems. What we'd really like to see is the N8 on Meego or Maemo 5. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nokia N8 Specifications:

OS: Symbian^3
Processor: ARM 11 680MHz
Storage: 16GB with microSD slot
Screen: 3.5-inch 640x360 capacitive OLED
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 10.2Mbps HSDPA, a-GPS, HDMI, FM transmitter
Camera (res, flash, focus): 12MP with AF, face detection and Xenon flash
Video (size and frame rate): 720p HD @25fps
3G Talk time: 350mins
Dimensions: 114 x 59 x 13 mm
Weight: 135g

The Full Review of Nokia N8

Symbian v3 brings some improvements, just not quite enough...

The quick review of N8 has been posted on September 20, 2010. Nokia’s time in the doldrums has been well-documented, but with a revised UI and a boatload of top-end tech, it’s hoping the new N8 will catapult it back to the sharp end of the smartphone game.

With the N8, Nokia has seemingly thrown all the tech it can think of at the new handset in a bid to rival the likes of Android and the iPhone – a 12MP camera with ‘proper’ Xenon flash, XVID and DIVX support, HD video capture, Dolby Mobile sound and an HDMI-out port are just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s also got the stylish anodised metal shell and an OLED screen, along with a dedicated graphics processor, so from the outset Nokia is clearly looking to rival the big boys when comparing spec sheets.

The new Symbian^3 offers up a newer user experience, albeit one that many previous Nokia users will be familiar with.

There are now three home screens to play with, with a large number of widgets to on offer as well. However, you can’t litter the icons across the screen willy-nilly, instead being forced to put them into specific icon-based widgets.

While Symbian^3 is designed to be a more ‘next-gen’ smartphone platform, right from the outset it’s clear that it’s more of a re-tooled and re-badged version of Symbian S60 rather than a new OS.

Things like swiping across home screens and having to wait for the phone to catch up, rather than it moving under your touch, as well as having to drill through so many menus to get to some applications and options show that Symbian still has a long, long way to go to catch up with Android or iOS.

Nokia N8: Screen and camera

However, the hardware provides a number of positives – the capacitive OLED screen really shows of colours nicely, and although the 640x360 screen isn’t as impressive as its higher-res rivals, the contrast ratios are still excellent and web pages and video look crisp enough.

The display also shows up fairly well in bright light – it’s not jaw-dropping, but certainly performs better than the HTC Desire, which might as well be transparent on sunnier days. We’re also excited by the camera. If you’re a photography buff you’ll obviously prefer a dedicated DSLR or dedicated compact, but for a quick snap here and there, the combo of a 12MP sensor, Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash really offer up some crisp shots.

There are a number of options to alter your photos, including contrast and exposure correction and a variety of scene modes to improve picture quality.

Nokia has included a dedicated camera button on the N8 too, which has a staggered press to allow you to activate autofocus. Hitting this button when not in photography mode will start up the camera, but it does take a while to boot up – best hope it’s not a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot.

The 720p video mode is similarly good – not only does the noise reduction really help with elements like windy scenes, but the HD video is clear and crisp, especially when you output it to a larger TV. However, it doesn’t have the same wow factor as the iPhone 4’s HD recording, despite packing nearly identical specs.

Music is also well catered for on the N8, with a dedicated music widget and easy to user interface. When used in landscape mode, album cover flow whips along particularly well, and the on-screen music control buttons are similarly easy to hit.

The inline headphone remote included in the box is good quality too, and with 16GB of internal memory it’s easy to think this could be your dedicated MP3 player.

However, video is not as impressive – some file types (such as m4v) won’t play back correctly, and many others will play in 4:3 rather than widescreen as the pixel count is too high to stretch – despite managing to do so easily on the like of the Samsung Galaxy S or the Apple iPhone 4.

Nokia N8: internet

The browser on the N8 is supposed to have been given the Symbian^3 treatment to help take it to the next smartphone level, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

On paper it seems like it will be one of the best: pinch to zoom and Flash video support (via Flash Lite 4) promise a decent experience. But it’s a touch slower than the other mobile browsers out there (although on a par with the BlackBerry Torch) and the pinch and zoom is very laggy indeed. Plus when you zoom in the text doesn’t reform to fit the screen, so you have to scroll left and right to see the words at the right size.

Menu options are hidden two button presses away, so reloading a page is a real pain – although the Flash video generally works well, despite being a little choppy, especially on the heavier sites.

Battery is a plus point on the Nokia N8 – given it’s only got a 1200mAh battery we were a bit worried, but the low-powered 680MHz processor clearly helps push things a bit further. We easily managed a couple of days’ use with the N8, although it wouldn’t get very far into a third day; we found that the lack of internet use (due to the poorer performance) helped conserve battery pretty well, so that might change other users’ experiences.

Nokia N8: keyboard

One major downside of the Nokia N8 is the text input. For starters, using the N8 in portrait mode means you can only use the multi-tap method – no mini QWERTY here, despite having the size to do it. In landscape mode you only get a QWERTY option, with an ill thought-out layout (and no auto-capitalisation on the ‘i’) it takes some real effort to achieve any kind of accuracy.

The main saving grace of the Nokia N8 was supposed to be the cost – but now it’s finally landed on the official Nokia website, it’s not that impressive either.

True, in Malaysia it’s only RM 1800 for a 16GB smartphone, which is almost RM 100 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S and nearly RM 400 cheaper than the same priced iPhone, but given the compromises needed to use the Nokia N8 it feels expensive.

In a straight battle, it’s hard to see who (other than devout and die-hard Nokia fans) would take a look at the Nokia N8 when the HTC Desire, iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S and arguably the new BlackBerry Torch all offer a more complete and easy to use experience.

Nokia fans will love the N8, Symbian V3 is an improvement and Nokia has certainly got the hardware right in terms of specs. But Symbian has been overtaken by other operating systems. What we'd really like to see is the N8 on Meego or Maemo 5. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nokia N8 Specifications:

OS: Symbian^3
Processor: ARM 11 680MHz
Storage: 16GB with microSD slot
Screen: 3.5-inch 640x360 capacitive OLED
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 10.2Mbps HSDPA, a-GPS, HDMI, FM transmitter
Camera (res, flash, focus): 12MP with AF, face detection and Xenon flash
Video (size and frame rate): 720p HD @25fps
3G Talk time: 350mins
Dimensions: 114 x 59 x 13 mm
Weight: 135g

Review of IE9 Beta Version

JAZZED UP: IE9, now available in beta test form, has a more minimalist look and promises to make websites load and run faster. - Microsoft Corp

The beta version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9(IE9) web browser is now available online for users to try out.

Sporting a much cleaner, less-cluttered layout than its predecessors, IE9 promises a speedier and better user experience, the company said.

It is however only available for Windows 7 and Vista operating systems. Not applicable for Win XP operating systems.

According to Microsoft, users can expect trusted and interoperable online experiences that take full advantage of Windows 7 capabilities as well as a tighter integration with the Bing search engine. It supports the HTML5 video and audio tags and the Web Open Font Format.

IE9 introduces a new scripting engine called Chakra that leverages on the common multicore processors in PCs to deliver significant performance gains.

Microsoft said Chakra has a separate background thread for compiling JavaScript and multiple threads can run in parallel, each on an individual core when one is available.

IE9 also supports full hardware acceleration of HTML5, which enables it to use the graphics processor when rendering complex pages, which takes a significant load off a PC's CPU.

On the security front, IE9 includes the SmartScreen Download Reputation feature that identifies safe downloads and will immediately alert users when it encounters untrustworthy files.

MORE SECURE: The In-Private Browsing and In-Private Filtering security features have been enhanced to give users added peace of mind. - Microsoft Corp

Meanwhile, the In-Private Browsing and In-Private Filtering security features have been further enhanced to give users added peace of mind when using the browser.

Other notable new features include a URL address box that doubles as a search bar just like in Google's Chrome browser, and Windows Taskbar integration that allows shortcuts to links or favourites to be pinned to the taskbar.

IE9 also features user alerts that are more discreet - instead of a steady stream of annoying pop-ups like in IE8, a bar will now appear at the bottom of the screen to ask users about what action to take.

Review of IE9 Beta Version

JAZZED UP: IE9, now available in beta test form, has a more minimalist look and promises to make websites load and run faster. - Microsoft Corp

The beta version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9(IE9) web browser is now available online for users to try out.

Sporting a much cleaner, less-cluttered layout than its predecessors, IE9 promises a speedier and better user experience, the company said.

It is however only available for Windows 7 and Vista operating systems. Not applicable for Win XP operating systems.

According to Microsoft, users can expect trusted and interoperable online experiences that take full advantage of Windows 7 capabilities as well as a tighter integration with the Bing search engine. It supports the HTML5 video and audio tags and the Web Open Font Format.

IE9 introduces a new scripting engine called Chakra that leverages on the common multicore processors in PCs to deliver significant performance gains.

Microsoft said Chakra has a separate background thread for compiling JavaScript and multiple threads can run in parallel, each on an individual core when one is available.

IE9 also supports full hardware acceleration of HTML5, which enables it to use the graphics processor when rendering complex pages, which takes a significant load off a PC's CPU.

On the security front, IE9 includes the SmartScreen Download Reputation feature that identifies safe downloads and will immediately alert users when it encounters untrustworthy files.

MORE SECURE: The In-Private Browsing and In-Private Filtering security features have been enhanced to give users added peace of mind. - Microsoft Corp

Meanwhile, the In-Private Browsing and In-Private Filtering security features have been further enhanced to give users added peace of mind when using the browser.

Other notable new features include a URL address box that doubles as a search bar just like in Google's Chrome browser, and Windows Taskbar integration that allows shortcuts to links or favourites to be pinned to the taskbar.

IE9 also features user alerts that are more discreet - instead of a steady stream of annoying pop-ups like in IE8, a bar will now appear at the bottom of the screen to ask users about what action to take.

Review of IE9 Beta Version

JAZZED UP: IE9, now available in beta test form, has a more minimalist look and promises to make websites load and run faster. - Microsoft Corp

The beta version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9(IE9) web browser is now available online for users to try out.

Sporting a much cleaner, less-cluttered layout than its predecessors, IE9 promises a speedier and better user experience, the company said.

It is however only available for Windows 7 and Vista operating systems. Not applicable for Win XP operating systems.

According to Microsoft, users can expect trusted and interoperable online experiences that take full advantage of Windows 7 capabilities as well as a tighter integration with the Bing search engine. It supports the HTML5 video and audio tags and the Web Open Font Format.

IE9 introduces a new scripting engine called Chakra that leverages on the common multicore processors in PCs to deliver significant performance gains.

Microsoft said Chakra has a separate background thread for compiling JavaScript and multiple threads can run in parallel, each on an individual core when one is available.

IE9 also supports full hardware acceleration of HTML5, which enables it to use the graphics processor when rendering complex pages, which takes a significant load off a PC's CPU.

On the security front, IE9 includes the SmartScreen Download Reputation feature that identifies safe downloads and will immediately alert users when it encounters untrustworthy files.

MORE SECURE: The In-Private Browsing and In-Private Filtering security features have been enhanced to give users added peace of mind. - Microsoft Corp

Meanwhile, the In-Private Browsing and In-Private Filtering security features have been further enhanced to give users added peace of mind when using the browser.

Other notable new features include a URL address box that doubles as a search bar just like in Google's Chrome browser, and Windows Taskbar integration that allows shortcuts to links or favourites to be pinned to the taskbar.

IE9 also features user alerts that are more discreet - instead of a steady stream of annoying pop-ups like in IE8, a bar will now appear at the bottom of the screen to ask users about what action to take.

Sharp opens books with new devices

MORE CHOICES: Models showing off Sharp's flagship e-readers featuring a 10.8in high resolution LCD display (right) and its mobile counterpart with a 5.5in LCD display for the company's Galapagos service during a press conference in Tokyo. 

SHARP announced it is joining the wave of consumer electronics companies in the e-reader and Tablet marketplace with two new Android-powered devices.

The company unveiled the Tablets during a press event in Tokyo. The two devices are flagship e-readers for the company's newly-announced cloud-based e-book and media service, Galapagos.

The first is a pocketable tablet with a 5.5in, 1,024 x 600-pixel LCD display. It is designed to be a portable "paperback book-like" device that can be easily carried. It comes with a track ball feature that helps users navigate through content and "flip the pages with one hand."

The second model has a 10.8in, 1,366 x800-pixel HD LCD touchscreen display (slightly bigger than the iPad's 9.7in, 1,024 x 768-pixel LCD display) and has been crafted as a stay-at-home consumption device. The larger screen is tailored for reading materials that require more screen real estate, such as the two-page spreads found in magazines.

The devices will be equipped with a Wireless LAN connection so users can browse through reading material from the around 30,000 newspapers, magazines and books in Sharp's new e-book store.

The devices' full colour screen, "rich graphic capabilities" and customisable Android operating system are elements that have been carefully selected for Japan's visually-rich book culture - where traditional e-readers such as Amazon's black-and-white Kindle lack the ability to display graphic novels in all their splendour.

In addition to e-books, users can also view PC data, documents, maps, images and websites on the displays. A built-in social networking service application also lets readers share comments and e-book lists with their friends while game lovers will be able to battle against the computer too.

Sharp's e-book service is due to launch in December. The company is yet to announce launch and pricing details for the two Tablets but is confident that it will be able to sell around one million units in 2011.

Sharp opens books with new devices

MORE CHOICES: Models showing off Sharp's flagship e-readers featuring a 10.8in high resolution LCD display (right) and its mobile counterpart with a 5.5in LCD display for the company's Galapagos service during a press conference in Tokyo. 

SHARP announced it is joining the wave of consumer electronics companies in the e-reader and Tablet marketplace with two new Android-powered devices.

The company unveiled the Tablets during a press event in Tokyo. The two devices are flagship e-readers for the company's newly-announced cloud-based e-book and media service, Galapagos.

The first is a pocketable tablet with a 5.5in, 1,024 x 600-pixel LCD display. It is designed to be a portable "paperback book-like" device that can be easily carried. It comes with a track ball feature that helps users navigate through content and "flip the pages with one hand."

The second model has a 10.8in, 1,366 x800-pixel HD LCD touchscreen display (slightly bigger than the iPad's 9.7in, 1,024 x 768-pixel LCD display) and has been crafted as a stay-at-home consumption device. The larger screen is tailored for reading materials that require more screen real estate, such as the two-page spreads found in magazines.

The devices will be equipped with a Wireless LAN connection so users can browse through reading material from the around 30,000 newspapers, magazines and books in Sharp's new e-book store.

The devices' full colour screen, "rich graphic capabilities" and customisable Android operating system are elements that have been carefully selected for Japan's visually-rich book culture - where traditional e-readers such as Amazon's black-and-white Kindle lack the ability to display graphic novels in all their splendour.

In addition to e-books, users can also view PC data, documents, maps, images and websites on the displays. A built-in social networking service application also lets readers share comments and e-book lists with their friends while game lovers will be able to battle against the computer too.

Sharp's e-book service is due to launch in December. The company is yet to announce launch and pricing details for the two Tablets but is confident that it will be able to sell around one million units in 2011.

Sharp opens books with new devices

MORE CHOICES: Models showing off Sharp's flagship e-readers featuring a 10.8in high resolution LCD display (right) and its mobile counterpart with a 5.5in LCD display for the company's Galapagos service during a press conference in Tokyo. 

SHARP announced it is joining the wave of consumer electronics companies in the e-reader and Tablet marketplace with two new Android-powered devices.

The company unveiled the Tablets during a press event in Tokyo. The two devices are flagship e-readers for the company's newly-announced cloud-based e-book and media service, Galapagos.

The first is a pocketable tablet with a 5.5in, 1,024 x 600-pixel LCD display. It is designed to be a portable "paperback book-like" device that can be easily carried. It comes with a track ball feature that helps users navigate through content and "flip the pages with one hand."

The second model has a 10.8in, 1,366 x800-pixel HD LCD touchscreen display (slightly bigger than the iPad's 9.7in, 1,024 x 768-pixel LCD display) and has been crafted as a stay-at-home consumption device. The larger screen is tailored for reading materials that require more screen real estate, such as the two-page spreads found in magazines.

The devices will be equipped with a Wireless LAN connection so users can browse through reading material from the around 30,000 newspapers, magazines and books in Sharp's new e-book store.

The devices' full colour screen, "rich graphic capabilities" and customisable Android operating system are elements that have been carefully selected for Japan's visually-rich book culture - where traditional e-readers such as Amazon's black-and-white Kindle lack the ability to display graphic novels in all their splendour.

In addition to e-books, users can also view PC data, documents, maps, images and websites on the displays. A built-in social networking service application also lets readers share comments and e-book lists with their friends while game lovers will be able to battle against the computer too.

Sharp's e-book service is due to launch in December. The company is yet to announce launch and pricing details for the two Tablets but is confident that it will be able to sell around one million units in 2011.

Review: Logitech Wireless Trackball M570

Veteran trackball owners will find the M570's shape very familiar. Logitech makes this clear that it was on purpose: even on its promo page, the company showed that the design is a dead ringer in many ways for models several years old or more. There's a good reason for it, as the heavily sculpted shape is designed to fit a right hand almost perfectly. The trackball, buttons and scroll wheel all fall to hand very easily. Left-handers who can't use a mouse right-handed will want to stay away, but that's true of most trackballs.

Whether or not it's comfortable over long periods is partly dependent on your desk and mousing position. When we first tried the M570, it was actually less comfortable than Apple's Magic Mouse, which itself is known for not being especially friendly to wrists. After adjusting our position, however, we found that it was good for several hours of work.

Our chief issue over a long period is simply noise: the trackball is silent as you'd expect, but the buttons all make relatively loud clicking noises compared to some mice, including some of Logitech's own. If you often listen to music or work in a noisy office you won't mind, but it may be distracting to someone in a quiet room.

Actual motion for the trackball is pleasant; it feels much like a marble and is as price as you'd expect. Be prepared to adjust sensitivity, since your first experience will invariably result in overshooting the target. You may also need to modify your habits for selecting text or other tasks that need drag-and-drop behavior. We also liked that the scroll wheel has clear detents -- a must-have for gamers and anyone else who needs precise scrolling -- though it definitely isn't as polished and pleasant-feeling as the metal wheels on Logitech's MX and VX mice. It would have been appreciated if Logitech had tried to rival its best mice in at least this area.

Read more: http://www.electronista.com/reviews/logitech-wireless-trackball-m570.html#ixzz10sJRnHHg