Nokia’s N80 is one of the company’s new breed of high-end media handsets, and is one of the first such devices to use the new 3rd edition of Nokia’s S60 user interface. This is significant because S60 3rd edition is both far faster and attractive than prior versions, making the N80 a pleasure to use.

The Nokia N80 features a a very clean and attractive slider design.

The N80 comes in a very clean and attractive slider design. When closed, the numeric keypad is hidden within its 4.8oz, 3.8″ x 2″ x 1″ body. The 5-way directional pad controller, a pair of softkeys, a pair of editing keys, and the normal red and green call buttons are still accessible. In terms of feel and usability, the N80’s d-pad controller takes some getting use to, but the rest of the buttons and keys are all fine.

When it comes to connectivity, Nokia’s N80 has it in spades. It will work on any of the 4 GSM bands found throughout the world, and even supports 3G WCDMA networks as well - where available. But there is more to it than that. For example, the N80 supports the new enhanced GPRS system called EDGE that is available here in the US and other places, and it also supports 802.11g WiFi data for connecting to a network at high speeds when at home, the office, or a local coffee house. It is even capable of SIP compliant Voice Over IP (VOIP) service, when configured to work with a compatible provider. But that’s still not all, as the N80 supports Bluetooth v1.2 and infrared wireless connections as well.

As far as entertainment is concerned, the N80 is equally ready to go. For starters, it comes equipped with a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with a macro mode and red-eye reduction capable flash. The macro mode allows the N80 to take quality photos of people and landscapes as well as smaller, closer objects like flowers. The camera also is capable of recording fine quality video clips in MP4 format at 352×288 pixel resolution, or lower quality 3GP clips at 176×144 pixel resolution. Whether you are shooting video or stills, you hold the N80 horizontally like a digital camera. A dedicated shutter button sits comfortably under your right index finger when used in this way.

Nokia’s N80 is one of the company’s new breed of high-end media handsets.

Nokia’s N80 is also quite capable of keeping you entertained with music, too. You can load up the included 128MB miniSD memory card with music, or buy your own card of up to 2GB in capacity for many hours of music. Of course having the capacity to store a lot of MP3 files is of little use if the music player application is no good. Luckily, the N80’s dedicated multimedia button launches Nokia’s new music application, which mimics many of the features found in dedicated MP3 players, such as sorting songs by artist, album, genre, and track name. You can create and edit track lists on the N80 itself, or use Nokia’s included software. The N80 uses the de facto standard M3U format for playlists. If you manage to run out of MP3 files to listen to, you can always instead use the built-in FM radio with the included stereo headphones.

The Nokia N80 comes equipped with a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with a macro mode and red-eye reduction capable flash.

Of course no handset is perfect, and the Nokia N80 has a few shortcomings. For one, all of those high-tech features require a lot of battery power. As such, the N80 only managed 4.75 hours of talk time, and realistically will need to be recharged every other day at least. Also lacking is the quality of the voice dialing system. But if you can deal with those limitations, the N80 will reward you with more capability in a handset than could have been imagined only a couple of years ago.

Pros:

• 3.2MP camera
• Great MP3 player
• WiFi/EDGE/3G/Bluetooth

Cons:

• Weak battery life
• Poor voice dialing

–Reviewed by Michael Oryl, editor in chief of www.MobileBurn.com

Sony VAIO VGN-AR390E 17″ Notebook PC

The luxuriously designed Sony VAIO VGN-AR390E Digital Studio notebook PC provides a power multimedia computer platform for enhanced entertainment performance. But it can also be admired for its gorgeously appointed design, featuring a black exterior, sleek profile, and interfaces and ports that are easily accessible yet discreetly integrated. It’s also one of the first Sony notebooks to offer high-definition Blu-ray Disc capability, which supports full 1080p HD video as well as up to 5.1 discrete channels of uncompressed digital audio. The Blu-ray system is backwards-compatible with standard DVDs and CDs, enabling you to enjoy your digital library for years to come. Watch and record your favorite shows using the integrated dual TV tuners–both NTSC and ATSC (digital, high-def). It also features a 17-inch WUXGA widescreen LCD screen offering Sony’s XBRITE-HiColor panel technology and true 1080p resolution.

This notebook is powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which offers a 20 percent performance boost over its predecessor while using 28 percent less power–so you get the benefit of a powerful dual-core PC plus all the benefits of mobility. The dual-execution core T7200 Core 2 Duo processor provides an optimized, multithreaded architecture for improved gaming and multitasking performance, and it features a 2.0 GHz speed, lightning quick 667 MHz system bus, and massive 4 MB L2 cache. Other features include a 240 GB hard drive, 2 GB of installed RAM (maximizing capacity), NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics, built in camera and microphone for VOIP video conferencing, multi-format/dual-layer DVD±R/RW drive, multimedia memory card reader, tri-mode wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth connectivity, and HDMI output.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center. In addition to easily playing your DVD movies and managing your digital audio library, you’ll be able to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV). Vista also integrates new search tools throughout the operating system, includes new parental control features, and offers new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures.
The Basics

• Processor: The Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 processor has a 2.0 GHz processor speed, super-fast 667 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and an enormous 4 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system’s performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.) The Intel Core 2 Duo processor has two computational execution cores in a single processor, providing greater system response when running multi-threaded applications simultaneously with no significant increase in power consumption. It’s optimized for multitasking and is ready to support the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. It can simultaneously run multiple demanding applications–such as graphics-intensive games or serious number-crunching business productivity applications–while downloading music or running virus-scanning security programs in the background. Some of the advanced Intel innovations of the Core 2 Duo processor include:
  • Smart Memory Access: Improves system performance by hiding memory latency, thus optimizing the use of available computer data bandwidth to provide data to the processor when and where it is needed.
  • Advanced Digital Media Boost: Effectively doubles the execution speed for instructions used widely in multimedia and graphics applications.
  • Dynamic Power Coordination: Coordinates Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology and idle power-management state (C-states) transitions independently per core to help save power.
  • Deeper Sleep with Dynamic Cache Sizing: Saves power by flushing cache data to system memory during periods of inactivity to lower CPU voltage.
• Hard Drive: The 240 GB hard drive (4200 RPM) is one of the largest drives available on a notebook PC (as of March 2007)–perfect for storing large multimedia libraries for use on the road. This Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data–akin to FireWire and USB 2.0.
• Memory: The 2 GB of built-in memory (PC5300, DDR2 SDRAM, 2 x 1 GB) maximizes the capacity for this machine, enabling you to effortlessly handle a wide variety of multimedia tasks right out of the box. It also offers a top-of-class 667 MHz speed.
• DVD/CD Drive: This Sony notebook is capable of playing back Blu-ray Disc movies in stunning clarity, as well as playing your current library of purchased and burned disc content. It’s also capable of burning HD Camcorder content in its original 1080p high-definition resolution and can store a massive amount of data on a single disc (25 GB single layer disc to 50 GB on a double layer disc). This desktop also comes with a secondary standard DVD-ROM drive. The BD drive offers 1x speed for reading and writing BD-R/RE discs and 1.6x BD-ROM read speed. It also offers the following write speeds for standard DVD and CD discs: 2.4x DVD+R DL, 2x DVD-R DL, 8x for single-layer DVD+R and DVD-R, 4x for single-layer DVD+RW and DVD-RW, 8x for both CD-R/RW, and 5x for DVD-RAM.
• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 86-key keyboard (2.5mm stroke and 19.05mm pitch) and electro-static two-button touchpad.

Screen, Video & Audio
This notebook offers a 17-inch screen with a stunning widescreen 1920 x 1200-pixel resolution for true 1080p. And thanks to Sony’s XBRITE-HiColor panel technology, the flat-panel screen will deliver dazzling colors and sharp images whether displaying a DVD movie, television show, or web content. It delivers deep blacks and bright whites, true-to-life color, and razor-sharp detail. And with a glare filter and anti-reflective coating to minimize reflection, you’ll experience a beautifully clear image. Video is powered by the Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT graphics card, which was chosen by PC World magazine as one of the 100 Best Products of 2006. It provides up to 399 MB of dynamically allocated shared RAM/video memory for high definition gaming and home-theater quality video. It features NVidia’s PureVideo technology–which provides great picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and precise image scaling for video content. It also offers full support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 and true high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting. And it’s ready for the next step in graphics processing–SLI technology (Scalable Link Interface)–which delivers twice the performance of a single GPU configuration by allowing two graphics cards to run in parallel.

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion
This notebook has an integrated tri-mode Intel 3945ABG wireless LAN, which is compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and Wi-Fi hotspots) as well as 802.11a networks (which has a higher throughput, but more limited range–great for closed office environments). With the Bluetooth connectivity, you can communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and cell phones. It also includes a next-generation ExpressCard 34 card slot (in addition to a standard Type II/I PCMCIA slot), which lets you take advantage of thinner, faster, and lighter expansion cards for even more advanced wireless, networking, storage, and security features. You get an excellent offering of connectivity options:

• 3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals–from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 HDMI output (for connecting to a compatible HDTV or home theater receiver for uncompressed digital audio and video via a single cable)
• Video input: 1 RF, 1 S-Video
• Video output: 1 VGA, 1 S-Video
• 1 ExpressCard/34 slot
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II, CardBus support)
• Memory Stick/Memory Stick DUO slot (with MagicGate functionality)
• Secure Digital memory card slot (compatible with MMC cards)
• 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack
• 1 S/PDIF digital audio out (for connecting to a home theater receiver for 5.1-channel surround sound)

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems). Operating System
Windows Vista Home Premium is the operating system for users with advanced computer needs, and it includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center for watching DVD movies and accessing your digital audio library. You can also use Windows Media Center to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV) and to access new kinds of online entertainment content. Computers that include Windows Vista Home Premium and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access key data even when your computer is off. It is also easier than ever to share files between other PCs in your household and to manage your laptop computer settings to more securely connect to your favorite WiFi hotspot.

Every edition of Windows Vista provides the essential tools and technologies to help protect you whether you are browsing the Internet, connecting to a wireless network, or just reading e-mail. All editions of Windows Vista include new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures long before you have lost any important personal data. And, all Windows Vista editions include parental control features that allow you to manage and monitor your family’s use of games, the Internet, instant messaging, and other activities.

Preloaded Software
Includes Sony Click to DVD (for easy DVD creation), Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office 2007 Student and Teacher Edition (60-day trial), Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007 (with 60 days of Live Update).

Dimensions & Weight
This notebook measures 16.4 x 11.8 x 1.32 inches (WxDxH) and weighs 8.4 pounds.

Power
It’s powered by the VGP-BPS2C rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of between 1.5 and 3.0 hours (depending on usage).