The eFace 2050AF supports 720p HD video chat at a paltry 9 frames per second (some competing Webcams managed frame rates of 30 fps in high definition). Unfortunately, the limited frame rate translated into choppy video.

The unit can capture 8-megapixel still images, has a built-in microphone and an AF glass lens, and incorporates a 360-degree swivel and a 125-degree up-and-down tilt. It works in accordance with Genius’s CrazyTalk software, so be sure to load the program before plugging in your Webcam.

The eFace 2050AF is compact and circular, with a dual-hinged pop-up frame. The bottom portion anchors the Webcam to your laptop or monitor, the middle section rests on top of your screen, and the top portion holds the lens. The design is clever and sets it apart from other HD Webcams, but because the device is so lightweight, I had trouble getting it to stay in place-it felt as though it were lightly resting on the monitor instead of firmly locking to it. It’s much better suited to desktop PCs than to laptops.

Another flaw in the design involves the unit’s 360-degree rotation: What should be a positive feature of the eFace 2050 is actually a hindrance. The USB cable attaches to the back of the camera, so if you do swivel it around the full 360 degrees, the cord wraps around the device and eventually covers the lens. Also, turning the lens causes the base to detach from your monitor, forcing you to reclip, readjust, and then try to spin it again. And unlike the Microsoft LifeCam HD-6000, the eFace 2050 does not rotate fluidly; instead, it has several stopping points that produce a jarring effect that all of my conferencers commented on.

The eFace 2050’s software is stored on a CD-ROM, but setting up the Crazy Cam features can take a while. I recommend giving yourself a good 20 minutes to get the software up and running. The basic system requirements for using this Webcam are a 2,4-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, Windows XP or higher, and DirectX 9,0 or above.

The default settings on the eFace 2050 are extremely bright, and altering them to make the displayed image seem more natural results in color distortion. Despite tweaking the manual settings several times and playing around with different rooms and light settings, I never found the magic combination to eliminate both these problems. Lowering the contrast and raising the saturation a bit was the best I could do, but even then brightness and color remained problematic.

Though I noticed a delay and drag in movement, the autofocus worked accurately and subtly, free of the distracting flicker that I’ve encountered with other HD Webcams I’ve tested recently. However, the eFace 2050’s slow movement capture largely overshadows the smoothness of its autofocus.

The CrazyTalk Cam software’s special features are extensive and permit you to record and share videos and simple screenshot captures easily. The softwares avatar creation feature lets you turn any photo into an animated cartoon. You can make the image talk and add motion or sound effects (such as animal sounds or voice warping). These features are fun,but it takes effort to make the animation look crisp.

Overall, the Genius eFace 2050AF is no match for some similarly priced cameras-in particular, the Microsoft LifeCam HD-6000, which also features a 360-degree rotational swivel. The eFace 2050AF’s mediocre HD video quality, poor design, and lackluster color features keep it from being a star.

That has changed recently and has sadly left the younger generation of gamers without much of a footing in the sports world. That’s where Little League World Series 2010 (LLWS 2010) comes into the picture with its simple gameplay and easy-to-learn feature set. There’s no doubt that it’s lacking in many of the hardcore baseball areas, but as a casual title meant for newcomers to the sport, I think there just might be enough to warrant your time.

The two most complicated elements for the MLB 2K series — hitting and pitching — have been simplified significantly in LLWS 2010. They both hinge on you holding and releasing the right trigger at a certain time. For hitting, holding the right trigger starts a simple power meter that, if timed just right, will get you maximum power when you release the trigger. Pitching works in an almost identical way, but has been handcuffed further by the fact that every pitcher has the same offering of three pitches and you can only move the pitch’s location right or left. Fielding is automated, your only worry being to throw the ball to the correct base and making sure to wiggle the right analog stick to light a fire under your players’ butts (read: make them run faster). If you can’t tell by now, the gameplay in Little League World Series is extraordinarily simple with only the most basic of actions left up to the player. In other words, if you’ve never touched a baseball game before, this one is for you.

Adding a bit of spice to the mix is the inclusion of power ups and talent cards. Talent cards can be played at any time during the game to give your players certain abilities or detracting from the abilities of the opposing team. You can earn a binder full of more than 50 cards, five of which can be assigned to any one game. These cards do things like lessen the speed of the other team, increase your hitting power, and make your team run faster as well as other abilities. You can see that the development team knew that the gameplay needed some spicing up, but the talent cards don’t quite take the step needed to keep things feeling fresh after several hours of play.

The artificial intelligence could also use a bit of work, especially since the game relies on the AI of your teammates for so many crucial actions. Too often players will make bad decisions when running the bases and there’s an interesting issue when the opposing team hits the ball slowly down the first base line and pulls the first baseman from his post.

Another downer is the general lack of innovation since the game launched on Wii back in 2008. Many of the same mechanics make their way into the Xbox 360 version with little changes to speak of. At the very least the developers should have added online multiplayer support. Sadly all you get is leaderboard integration and the same offering of mini-games to play locally that we saw on Wii. That doesn’t take away from the fact that kids will find something to enjoy, but they could’ve done more to differentiate the two packages.

The only area that has seen a bump when making the transition to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is the visuals. They’ve been nicely bumped up into the HD era and enjoy more detail, brighter colors and a framerate that holds strong throughout. Granted, nothing you’re going to see should push the system, but that hasn’t stopped other games in the past from experiencing technical issues for no real reason.

Bing daddy Microsoft told The Reg it will object to Yahoo! Japan’s alliance with Google, announced this week, in a presentation to Japan’s Fair Trade Commission.

A Microsoft spokesperson said: «We plan to present evidence to the Japanese FTC explaining why we believe that this deal is substantially more harmful to competition than Google’s deal with Yahoo in 2008 that the DOJ found to be illegal.”

Microsoft told All-About-Microsoft’s Mary-Jo Foley a tie up would give Google virtually 100 per cent of all searches in the country and deliver control of all personal searches by consumers and business to the internet’s biggest search and ads company.

Earlier this week, Yahoo! Japan said it will switch to Google’s search engine from the one it had developed and would use online advertising and distribution from Google.

It’s a mirror of the agreement between Microsoft and Yahoo! elsewhere in the world, where Yahoo!’s search and ads platform is being lifted out and Microsoft’s Bing is being slotted in. The switch-over is due for completion during September and October.

Yahoo! Japan isn’t a fully owned extension of Yahoo! US. Japanese phone and internet service provider Softbank has a 40 per cent stake in the operation with Yahoo! on 30 per cent.

Yahoo! Japan has around 50 per cent of all searches in Japan, with Google on 45 per cent and Microsoft in single digits. ^®

Both the semiconductor and security industries are both trying to understand what the proposed combination of Intel and McAfee will mean, as Neil Rubenking’s poll of security vendors and my own Intel-McAfee analysis point out.

Intel invited analysts to sit in on a conference call on Thursday, and one of my sources, chip analyst Nathan Brookwood of Insight 64, participated. It’s possible that Intel representatives may be hyper-sensitive to the proposed FTC antitrust settlement; in any event, they took pains to emphasize that the antivirus industry as a whole may actually reap the rewards of such a combination.

The thinking, according to Brookwood, is that over time Intel will begin to integrate more and more security logic into the microprocessor itself. (This has been done to some extent within Intel’s vPro corporate chipset line, although more and more functionality is being sucked into the microprocessor itself.)

This, in turn, will create a degree of security within Intel processors that rivals, including AMD and Via, lack. (AMD has been suspiciously quiet since the announcement.) Intel’s argument is that those security vendors will be able to charge more for a «increased security» version of their products that ties into that security logic. And that implies that a «generic» version of the software will be left for AMD-based machines.

Keep in mind that this is Inte’s own pitch, though filtered through another source. It’s a lovely piece of marketing, when you think about it; by convincing antivirus vendors to develop «premium» products for the Intel chips, Intel can use the antivirus vendors as free marketing, planting the seed that «Intel Inside» is itself a premium brand.

But that’s the consumer retail market. Within the enterprise market, such a move almost seems like a fait accompli.

«To say that enterprise antivirus is competitive is a great understatement — it is one of the most competitive segments in technology,” Alex Eckelberry, president and chief executive of McAfee competitor Sunbelt Software, points out in Neil’s story.

If that’s true, then eking out a few more dollars per seat will certainly be worth it, especially if Intel is helping to fund development with «marketing dollars» or merely development tools. And any IT director worth his salt will surely investigate the possibility of improved performance, especially if he has already committed to a stable of Intel-based PCs.

Granted, this could all be taken out of context. Naturally, I put a request for comment in to Intel. Representatives said Thursday that they did not have any executives available for comment, possibly because I wrote about Intel’s security focus months before.

Still, it’s an interesting future direction for the company, and a direction that Intel might have to carefully walk, given the FTC’s scrutiny.

Occupying the typical «Extreme Edition» real estate of $999, it remained out of the grasp of any but the most enthused enthusiasts, meaning its capabilities wouldn’t be realized by most for a while yet. It wasn’t long until AMD offered its own six-core CPU with a price better aimed at mainstream buyers, but its performance couldn’t compare to that of the Core i7—980X. How long until we saw a six-core Intel chip that more people could afford? The answer has now-sort of-come with the Core i7—970.

In terms of specs, it’s a near-exact mirror of the Core i7—980X. Both have been built using the same 32nm manufacturing process, packing about 1,17 billion transistors on a 240mm2 die. With six cores ready for 12 threads, a 12MB L3 cache, and a 130-watt TDP, the Core i7—970’s slight speed differences (3,20-GHz core clock versus the Core i7—980X’s 3,33 GHz; 3,46-GHz Turbo Boost speed compared to 3,6 GHz) don’t look particularly significant on paper. The biggest difference between the processors is the unlocked multiplier the Core i7—980X has and the Core i7—970 doesn’t.

As the Core i7—970 is priced at $885 (list), it might not seem like you’re getting a scintillating bargain with the newer chip. So the question becomes: Can you live without the unlocked multiplier? If you can, the Core i7—970 would seem to be a worthwhile way to save a little money and still get most of the performance benefits of the Extreme Edition chip. But do you? That’s what we wanted to find out. So we popped a Core i7—970 in one of our test beds to see whether the reality matched the theory.

The carrier recently sent out representatives with Epic 4G in hand to preview this smartphone for Brighthand before the August 31 launch date. Read on for my initial impressions.

BUILD & DESIGN

The first thing that jumps out about the Epic 4G is the four-inch Super AMOLED display. It looks amazing. The black levels are incredibly deep and the colors vibrant.

The comparison between the Epic 4G’s Super AMOLED and the EVO 4G’s LCD is reminiscent of SDTV to HDTV — Super AMOLED is that good.

Also impressive is the speaker. Cranked up all the way, you could hear the YouTube video from outside the conference room where Sprint’s Mark Elliott demoed the device. It’s no wonder Sprint and Samsung are marketing the Epic and other Super AMOLED-sporting Galaxy S devices as portable entertainment centers.

Elliott even furthered the pitch by claiming in conversation the Galaxy S is geared toward video and entertainment, while the EVO 4G is great for «everything else.”

Keyboard
Another key difference between the EVO 4G and the Epic 4G is that the Epic has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard in addition to a virtual keyboard and Swype technology. The EVO 4G only has an on-screen keyboard.

The Epic’s slide-out QWERTY is a chiclet-style keyboard, commonly found on Lenovo, ASUS and Sony netbooks. Chiclet keys resemble the chewing gum of the same name, and are flat with straight edges, resulting in small spaces between the keys. Personally, I prefer the chiclet style as it reduces errant key entries caused by my chubby digits.

The Swype text-entry system is an interesting technology found on handful of Android phones, including some of Verizon’s Droid models. As the name implies, users can input text by swiping their finger across the screen, moving from key to key. It doesn’t work in real time, so the inputted text only appears once the swiping is complete.

There is a slight learning curve to the technology, especially for those used to pecking away on a virtual keyboard. But I found it to be both novel and useful, quick and accurate too. It won’t replace the physical QWERTY as my preferred text input method, but it’s a solid option.

Look and Feel
The Epic 4G has a bit more width than its Galaxy S cousins, the Samsung Captivate and Samsung Vibrant — as well as the HTC EVO 4G — owing to the slide-out keyboard, but I wouldn’t call it thick. It also felt a tad heavier than the EVO, but it is probably only an ounce or two difference, and it’s definitely not heavy. It won’t cause muscle strain or your pants to sag if carried in a pocket.

I think HTC’s offering has better look than the Epic. The EVO is more industrial with a brushed metal back and rectangular form. The Epic is tucked inside a hard plastic shell with rounded edges. The Epic doesn’t feel cheap, but the EVO’s cool metal feels much better in hand. Also, the EVO has a novel kickstand to secure the device on a flat surface for watching videos. I would think the kickstand feature is better suited for the Epic, which is supposed to knock my «entertainment socks off.»

It seems Sprint has a lot of confidence in the new Samsung Epic 4G. As part of Samsung’s Galaxy S series of smartphones, this model is going to be the second handset with WiMAX available from this carrier, with the HTC EVO 4G being the other.

The carrier recently sent out representatives with Epic 4G in hand to preview this smartphone for Brighthand before the August 31 launch date. Read on for my initial impressions.

BUILD & DESIGN

The first thing that jumps out about the Epic 4G is the four-inch Super AMOLED display. It looks amazing. The black levels are incredibly deep and the colors vibrant.

The comparison between the Epic 4G’s Super AMOLED and the EVO 4G’s LCD is reminiscent of SDTV to HDTV — Super AMOLED is that good.

Also impressive is the speaker. Cranked up all the way, you could hear the YouTube video from outside the conference room where Sprint’s Mark Elliott demoed the device. It’s no wonder Sprint and Samsung are marketing the Epic and other Super AMOLED-sporting Galaxy S devices as portable entertainment centers.

Elliott even furthered the pitch by claiming in conversation the Galaxy S is geared toward video and entertainment, while the EVO 4G is great for «everything else.”

Keyboard
Another key difference between the EVO 4G and the Epic 4G is that the Epic has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard in addition to a virtual keyboard and Swype technology. The EVO 4G only has an on-screen keyboard.

The Epic’s slide-out QWERTY is a chiclet-style keyboard, commonly found on Lenovo, ASUS and Sony netbooks. Chiclet keys resemble the chewing gum of the same name, and are flat with straight edges, resulting in small spaces between the keys. Personally, I prefer the chiclet style as it reduces errant key entries caused by my chubby digits.

The Swype text-entry system is an interesting technology found on handful of Android phones, including some of Verizon’s Droid models. As the name implies, users can input text by swiping their finger across the screen, moving from key to key. It doesn’t work in real time, so the inputted text only appears once the swiping is complete.

There is a slight learning curve to the technology, especially for those used to pecking away on a virtual keyboard. But I found it to be both novel and useful, quick and accurate too. It won’t replace the physical QWERTY as my preferred text input method, but it’s a solid option.

Look and Feel
The Epic 4G has a bit more width than its Galaxy S cousins, the Samsung Captivate and Samsung Vibrant — as well as the HTC EVO 4G — owing to the slide-out keyboard, but I wouldn’t call it thick. It also felt a tad heavier than the EVO, but it is probably only an ounce or two difference, and it’s definitely not heavy. It won’t cause muscle strain or your pants to sag if carried in a pocket.

I think HTC’s offering has better look than the Epic. The EVO is more industrial with a brushed metal back and rectangular form. The Epic is tucked inside a hard plastic shell with rounded edges. The Epic doesn’t feel cheap, but the EVO’s cool metal feels much better in hand. Also, the EVO has a novel kickstand to secure the device on a flat surface for watching videos. I would think the kickstand feature is better suited for the Epic, which is supposed to knock my «entertainment socks off.”

PERFORMANCE

The Samsung Epic 4G runs Google Android OS 2,1 on a 1 GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, and Sprint’s Elliott mentioned at Android 2,2 is coming to the Epic soon.

In a word, it’s fast. At least the unit I used was fast. Reviews of similar Samsung devices, the Vibrant and Captivate, described the performance as acceptable, but not stellar, and mentioned that those particular handsets heated up with heavy use.

That said, I was able to breeze through home screens, launch applications, browse the web, and stream YouTube HQ videos with little to no lag, and zero heat emission. Of course, I didn’t have the time to push the Epic to its limits. Still, I was impressed with both the device and web speed; and this in an office where Sprint reception is spotty at best, and 4G coverage is nonexistent.

Samsung Epic 4G from SprintMore to Come
The Epic 4G is loaded with features, and I barely scratched the surface with what it can do. I did not get a chance to try out the 5 Megapixel on-board camera or 720p video. Nor did I video conference, play Android games or test out data sharing with five devices via Wi-Fi. And I certainly did not get a chance to drain the battery or play with the light sensor that automatically adjusts screen brightness according to the lighting conditions.

Rest assured that all these features will be explored by the Brighthand expert assigned to review the Epic.

Epic 4G to Sprint’s Rescue?
Sprint won’t be the only 4G carrier for much longer — Rival Verizon is poised to roll out its 4G LTE network in 25 to 30 markets by the end of 2010, and AT&T (also LTE) will soon have a soft-rollout of their own 4G service.

With that in mind, it’s a problem for Sprint that it’s only current WiMAX model, the HTC EVO 4G is marked as «sold out,” on its website, and has been since late June. Customers want 4G, and if Sprint can’t provide it, they may move to other carriers with their own latest and greatest devices.

As Elliott explained, the Epic 4G should satiate some of that demand when it’s released later this month. Judging from the warm reviews the other Samsung Galaxy smarphones received and my initial impressions, the Epic 4G could well be an excellent alternative to the popular EVO 4G. Check back soon for the full review.

The Nokia E73 Mode is one of the latest devices to come from the Finnish mobile maker, and this T-Mobile-specific iteration packs a good deal of power and substance for all types of users.

DESIGN & BUILD

One of the thinnest mobile devices today (0,4 in or 10 mm), the Nokia E73 packs a QVGA (320×240) screen and a useful keyboard into a well designed package.

Nokia E73 Mode from T-MobileIt’s been a while since getting my hands on a smartphone with this form factor, and the E73 Mode reminded me instantly what I liked about what Nokia’s done here.

The hard plastic and metal casing feels very solid and high quality.

Screen
Given its enterprise-friendly leanings, the 320×240px screen isn’t going to win many beauty contests. But, it is more than sufficient for most tasks. This screen is transreflective — meaning that it fares quite well with indoor and outdoor lighting environments.

One of the pleasures during my time with this device was pulling it out to change the music track while bike riding and a sun beaming pretty heavily overhead. Not only was the screen readable, but all tasks were done easily with one hand.

Keyboard
If not careful, the E73 Mode can be mistaken for a BlackBerry. The front face being dominated by the QWERTY keyboard just tends to do that to people. But putting your fingers on the keys shows there’s a different personality to the device.

The E73 Mode uses a similar layout to the E72 (mechanically, these are very similar mobiles) and e63 models. Compared to the previous generation (the E71), the E73 Mode offers slightly more domed keys — these are easier to press — and a few additional buttons. The spacebar is made smaller to accommodate these buttons, and aside from going from one device to another, the learning curve for this keyboard is relatively painless.

PERFORMANCE

Given the pace smartphones are developing these days, the Nokia E73 Mode’s software platform is the only negative in an otherwise well-equipped device. The Symbian S60 3,2 (Feature Pack 2) platform is indeed old, but Nokia and T-Mobile seem to have pulled out more more than usual from it. Depending on where you are coming from, it can seem antiquated or about right for the times we live in.

Nokia E73 Mode from T-MobileWireless
I wanted to see just how well the T-Mobile network has been updated, and so the E73 Mode spent a lot of time streaming music via the third-party application Mobbler. Whether using the single device speaker, or the included headphones, things were fine until hitting the edge of the Charlotte metro area (that 3G to EDGE drop is a doozie). Yet, it’s only Web access that seemed to suffer on that changeover, voice calls seemed quite unaffected.

The E73 Mode also spent time in my pocket and hand during the time I was at the Uplinq conference, and performed very well.

PIM and Messaging
Symbian has a pretty robust PIM (personal information management) suite, and the E73 Mode does very well here. There’s a calendar with integrated tasks and memos; an address book with support for numerous detail fields, contact groups, and tones; and an enhanced notes app called Active Notes.

On the messaging side, there’s been little need for updated software, as the standard apps are still enough for most users. The Messaging application supports SMS, MMS, and up to 10 email accounts (POP or IMAP). Mail for Exchange is available for connecting to Exchange accounts, with support for meeting messages, searching the global address book, and mobile device administration.

Again, its all there, just not as clean as many people might be used to with some other devices. That being said, if an IT department supports multiple devices, what comes out of the box with the E73 is about as close to the BlackBerry experience as it gets.

Web and Multimedia
Where Nokia’s E-Series devices have consistently gotten better over the years has been in the web and multimedia areas. Not that they used to be unable to perform, just that these areas were not focused on. This changed a good bit with the Nokia E72, and is refined a good bit more with the E73 Mode.

Nokia E73 Mode from T-Mobile USAOn the web side, there the versatile Webkit-based Nokia Browser. Running at version 7,2, it features significant improvements to the rendering engine when compared to a recently updated Nokia № 97 and X6, and an update to the Flash Lite plugin (version 4).

I must say that I was impressed every time I opened up the browser — no Symbian device had ever responded that well, especially on pages with several JavaScript pop-ups or non-mobile-optimized AJAX. Nokia even tweaked the default font-size to make it readable without adjustments.

Using the various number shortcuts for things such as typing in a link, making a bookmark, or zooming out for a page overview to navigate longer/wider pages made for a pleasing browsing experience. I was genuinely surprised. And T-Mobile’s 3G network didn’t give me any reason to frown.

Besides the browser, there’s the Google Mobile Apps and YouTube apps, and link stubs for Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. As with other E-Series devices, the multi-protocol IM application is also included (Windows Live, AIM, GTalk, MySpace IM, and Yahoo compatibility).

Other Apps and Impressions
Other apps on the E73 Mode include a currency/measures converter and support for encrypting both the phone memory and memory cards.

In terms of location-based apps, there’s Ovi Maps, Where (a location-based search engine), and TeleNav. I preferred Ovi Maps for most searches, though I could see the appeal of Where for some inquiries such as «what’s going on this holiday weekend.”

When I was at the Uplinq conference, I enjoyed demonstrating the included Multiscanner application, which is able to read business cards (mostly) well. The E73 Mode’s 5 megapixel camera was a big help here, though cards which are a more artistic than informational fare are hard for this application to use.

The E73 Mode isn’t free of the odd or welcomed carrier addition. Visual Voicemail makes a welcomed appearance here. The Ovi Store application supports carrier billing — so one should be mindful of the .99 cents here and there apps, themes, and media which can be downloaded.

Nokia E73 Mode from T-Mobile USALastly, the Switch mode came in handy, but only when I remembered that it was there. It would make so much more sense if Switch — an application which changes the homescreen, theme, and sounds — could act on a more contextual or automated fashion. I fear that its usefulness will be appreciated, but lost when someone forgets that its there.

Camera
An important part of the Nokia E73 Mode’s multimedia abilities is a 5 megapixel camera. Besides some noise in pictures with heavier greens and reds, I saw nothing but quality shots throughout.

The Share Online application is included, making for a quick upload to Flickr, Ovi Share, or Vox photoblogs, while a third party application Shozu is able to export to even more services.

With the E73 Mode’s relatively low resolution screen, it’s advisable to make sure to check your pictures on a larger screen before posting them, as some shots look much better on the smaller screen than in near-actual size.

Battery
With normal use, I was charging the E73 Mode’s 1500 mAh battery every other night. Nokia has done very well to wring out all kinds of efficiency from the hardware, without increasing the weight, while increasing the software performance.

Besides, the fake application will also try to remove legitimate packages from the likes of Microsoft, AVG, Zone Labs and Norton even if users fail to comply with the bogus request to uninstall authentic quality security software. Certainly, the true anti-virus application will black such activity. But if your definition bases are obsolete the attack may work.

If successful, AnVi Antivirus will download fake anti-virus software that warns of multiple imaginary security threats in a bid to trick victims into purchasing worse-than-useless software.

It runs Google’s Android OS 2,1, and costs just $100 with a new two-year contract with Verizon Wireless, or just $50 if purchased on the carrier’s website.

BUILD & DESIGN:

The basic design aesthetic for the Ally is modern and functional. It’s black, and it is very solidly built. It’s about the same size as the HTC Droid Incredible and other premium phones, but somewhat thicker due to the QWERTY keyboard under the display. There is absolutely no «wiggle» whatsoever when you slide out the keyboard, and it locks firmly open when you slide up the display.

LG Ally from Verizon WirelessOverall the Ally would be a good choice for an older teen or a fumble-fingered adult, because it seems much sturdier than some of the other current smartphone options.

Even though it’s a bit thick compared to other phones, it still feels good in the hand and is definitely pocketable. However, if you’re a lady who dresses professionally for work, you may prefer to keep the Ally in your purse or briefcase to avoid the bulge in your dress slacks; folks in more casual attire won’t mind keeping the device in their pocket.

Display
The display looks nice, though perhaps not quite as sharp and blow-you-away gorgeous of other recent devices like the Incredible. Photos look good, though YouTube video was slightly disappointing and grainy.

The screen isn’t terribly bright either, which means that it will work fine indoors, or in low light conditions, but is almost completely unusable outside in normal to bright sunlight.

LG Ally from Verizon with Google Android OSKeyboard
The Ally has one of the best physical keyboards of any of the phones I’ve reviewed. It usually takes some practice for me to become proficient, because every mobile keyboard is different, and they all have their quirks. But the keys on the LG Ally are large, well-spaced, and have good feedback so you’re not constantly checking the screen to see if you’re hitting the right key. They’re illuminated for use in low light conditions as well.

I like the fact that this is a four-row keyboard, with a separate number row. My only small complaint about the keyboard is that the text for the alternative keys like punctuation isn’t quite as easy to read as it is on other keyboards I’ve tried. I’m sure that some more time with the device will give me the opportunity to learn where everything is so that I won’t have to look anymore. though I have to be honest — I’m not too worried about punctuation when I’m texting or emailing.

Other Buttons & Controls
There are four physical buttons underneath the display: call, home, menu, and disconnect, plus pressure-sensitive back and search buttons.

There’s a four-way navigation panel on the lower right side of the keyboard that I really like — it makes navigation a breeze.

The headphone jack is on the top, the volume buttons and charging port are on the left, and the (fully accessible) microSD slot and camera button are on the right side.

PERFORMANCE:

The LG Ally is quite responsive, which is nice — there’s nothing worse than having to wait for my calendar or email to load. I didn’t have any trouble with the touchscreen either — where I tapped was where I intended to tap, with no problems launching the wrong app, etc.

LG Ally from Verizon WirelessThe Ally is currently running Android OS 2,1, which is both powerful and easy to use.

Wireless/Call Quality
Although my initial call quality testing produced good results, more extensive testing has changed my opinion. Some of my test calls to landline phones sounded good, while others suffered from very poor sound quality with a great deal of background noise. At times there was some annoying clicking in the background.

I experienced the same mixed results when calling other mobile phones, and I was unable to piece together a pattern that explained the results. I typically get very good coverage and call quality from Verizon; my personal phone, the LG Dare, always gets good reception and the voice quality is good.

Wi-Fi works well, and I didn’t have any connectivity issue with any of the networks I tried.

LG Ally from Verizon with Google Android OSProductivity
Calendar and contacts apps are included with the LG Ally, but no task management or note taking applications.

A calculator and clock are also included, but the real star here is ThinkFree Office. The app allows you to view PDFs and Microsoft Office documents, whether they are located on your phone or in your Google Docs account. I was able to edit a spreadsheet from Google Docs, but was not able to edit a couple of my word processing documents, and I’m not sure why.

The Google Maps function works flawlessly, as expected. The app was able to pinpoint my location with a good degree of accuracy and speed, and the turn-by-turn spoken directions were accurate.

Other productivity apps are available for purchase in the Android Market.

Entertainment
The Android OS web browser performs well with quick page loads and smooth scrolling. Even very complicated web sites with lots of ads and sidebars look good; if you need to zoom in on a particular area you can double tap the display and the text is automatically resized to fit the screen.

The LG Ally’s voice search feature worked surprisingly well, with accurate voice recognition. Even though this model has a very nice keyboard, voice search can help save a lot of time.

The music players works great, and the sound quality and volume from the external speaker are good.

The Socialite feature aims to improve the social networking experience by integrating your Twitter and Facebook feeds into one unified stream of information. It works well, though it could stand to be faster loading updates.

A standalone MySpace app is also included, as is the Amazon MP3 app and the Android Market, where you can download free and paid games and apps to personalize your phone. Whether you want to add music or applications to your phone, the buying process is simple and downloads are fast.

LG Ally from Verizon with Google Android OSCamera
The 3,2 megapixel camera on the Ally takes acceptable photos in good conditions, but there are some issues with the picture quality.

The camera flash is quite strong and helps to fill in slightly shady areas to help even out exposure, but results were somewhat mixed. Some of the worst exposure problems came up during regular daylight photography while I was outside.

Certain areas of a photo would come out nicely, but if there was strong contrast between the subject and the background, the final results were often overexposed.

The zoom is a nice feature, but the results were less than satisfactory. Zoomed photos are very grainy and of relatively poor quality. Even worse, my LG Dare is a couple of years old now and also has a 3,2 megapixel camera, but takes much better photos.

For those reasons I wouldn’t suggest that you rely upon the Ally as a general purpose camera; it will work well enough for photos you might otherwise have missed, but you won’t be taking any prize-winning shots with this device.

Battery Life
Battery life is quite good; I am able to go for at least two days between charges, and sometimes a bit longer, if I don’t use the camera too much.

Even after relatively heavy usage with several phone calls and web browsing sessions, plus some photgraphy, I had no problem getting through the day and no real anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to finish the day before getting home to plug it in and recharge.

CONCLUSION

LG Ally from Verizon WirelessI really want to like the LG Ally more than I do, but it’s hard. I like the overall design of the phone, it’s very solidly built, and the battery life is better than I expected. Unfortunately the display is fine indoors, but unusable outdoors, and the voice quality and camera are somewhat disappointing.

The price is quite reasonable, however, so if you’re a bargain-conscious consumer you should still consider the Ally. It’s a solid contender for less than $100, though if you have the opportunity you should try it out in a Verizon store before taking the plunge.

Pros

* Really nice keyboard
* Solid construction
* Excellent battery life

Cons

* Inadequate screen brightness
* Disappointing camera
* Call quality issues

The 13,3- inch laptop accommodates three USB plugs (one a USB/eSATA combo), headphone/microphone jacks, an HDMI plug, a VGA plug, an ethernet port, a memory stick port, an optical drive, a 128GB solid-state drive, a Core i7 620M running at 2,67GHz, and 4GB of RAM-all tucked into a 12,44-by-8,94-by-0,66-inch frame weighing 3,2 pounds (the rear of the unit fattens out to a width of just over 1 inch). That’s power to spare for most on-the-go users, as reflected in an excellent WorldBench 6 score of 128. Factor in a battery life of almost 6 hours, and you have the makings of a pretty awesome ultraportable laptop.

The screen is a reasonably good LED-backlit matte LCD, filling out a resolution of 1366 by 768 easily enough. Colors were good, but the R700 struggles to fill large black areas in video. The Intel HD integrated graphics solution is more than adequate for playing modest video; it even playing through the HDMI port without difficulty. Horizontal viewing angles are excellent, but vertical viewing angles most certainly aren’t. The audio can’t fill a room, the speakers get a bit shrill at high volume, and there’s no bass to speak of-so rely on the headphone jack instead.

The laptop’s black plastic interior complements its black metal lid. The «Toshiba» emblazoned on the lid itself, and the two hinges provide silver accents. Almost everything feels very sturdy, and the keys have remarkably little flex. The display lid, however, is a bit too thin and flexible.

The R700’s gigantic touchpad invites occasional accidental contact, but none of the touchpad responses I triggered slowed my work on the machine significantly. If it does become an annoyance, you can tap a handy little button between the keyboard and the touchpad to deactivate the touchpad altogether (or to toggle it back on).

Unfortunately, this laptop has three major drawbacks. Foremost among these is the keyboard, whose Chiclet-style keys are incredibly far apart and mushy to the touch. Second, the powerful technology packed in the small space generated quite a bit of heat along the left edge and bottom of the machine. And third, the fan used to dissipate the heat was noisy. For me, these shortcomings made using the R700 less comfortable, but they weren’t deal breakers.

The R700 is a fantastic machine for a specific niche: laptop users who want to combine lots of power with extremely light weight. If you want to change the specific components, Toshiba makes it very easy to customize your machine when you order it (I would drop the solid-state drive in favor of a bit more storage on a traditional hard-disk drive, for example).