PC Magazine Digital Edition Nov-2011

Steve JObS’ greateSt achievement november 2011

8 Things You Should Know About Windows 8 Readers’ Choice: iPhone 4S: Your Favorite Is It Worth The Upgrade? Digital Cameras

THE 25 BEST

AnDroID APPS Top Tools for u Productivity u Social Networking u Entertainment ... And Much More!

november 2011

vol. 30 no. 11

52

Cover STorY ThE 25 BEsT ANDrOID APPs Your Android device will be so much cooler and more useful once you’ve loaded it up with the right apps. our list includes the best apps for reference and utility, productivity, entertainment, social networking, and more.

feATureS

66 rEADErs’ ChOICE: CAMErAs AND CAMCOrDErs Your vote is in for the top camera and camcorder manufacturers, in our annual readers’ Choice survey.

PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011

80 8 ThINGs yOu shOuLD kNOw ABOuT wINDOws 8 The new Windows oS will feature a number of radical improvements.

Here are eight features to look forward to when it comes out next year.

10

24 fIrST looKS

10

CONsuMEr ELECTrONICs Apple iPhone 4S nikon J1 bose Soundlink Wireless mobile Speaker Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T) logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 “mango” 22 hArDwArE Apple Thunderbolt Display maingear vybe Super Stock logitech Gaming mouse G300 Gateway nv55S05u IrISnotes 1 for Smartphones 32 BusINEss HP Probook 6465b Xerox Phaser 4620Dn 36 sOFTwArE Windows 8 Developer Preview Windows Server 8 firefox 7 Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus vmWare fusion 4 100 EDITOrs’ ChOICE

TeCH neWS 5 FrONT sIDE Growth of personal data leaks online; Steve Jobs’ career milestones; library book loans on the Kindle; the Windows Start menu bids adieu.

oPInIonS 2 FIrsT wOrD: DAN COsTA 46 JOhN C. DvOrAk 48 sAsChA sEGAN 50 PETEr PAChAL

SoluTIonS 86 LAPTOP BuyING GuIDE before choosing your next laptop, you need to know which features come standard these days, and which new technologies are worth the money. Here’s what to look for.

96 hOw TO rOOT yOur ANDrOID DEvICE Serious tinkerers who aren’t afraid of voiding warranties find rooting a way to get better results from their Android devices. Here’s a quick explanation of how to get started.

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november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 1

dan costa

5 Reasons to Upgrade To the iPhone 4S

Y

es, we were all expecting Apple’s new CEO, Tim Cook, to unveil the iPhone 5 last month, after months of rumors and wild speculation. Instead, we got an iPhone 4 with faster parts. Sigh.

If the name alone—iPhone 4S—was not indication enough that this is an incremental upgrade, there is the telling detail that the phone looks exactly the same. No fiveinch screen, no aluminum casing, no teardrop contouring. Hell, the iPhone 4S doesn’t even have 4G! Sure, I am a little disappointed I didn’t get to see a shiny new gadget, but Apple showed off something even more important this week: an innovation-based business plan for digital domination.

Now, if you are one of those folks who just wants a phone with a bigger screen, stop reading now. For those still with me, here are five reasons the 4S is worth the upgrade.

1: The iPhone 4S Is a Better Phone Based on the specs alone, the iPhone 4S seems better than its predecessor. A faster,

2 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

dual-core A5 processor, 8MP camera, 1080p video recording, and eight hours of battery life are all needed improvements. The company is still iterating and enhancing its product lines, and that is a good sign, for any tech company. And besides, I don’t think a bigger screen would make the iPhone any better.

What do you want, a Streak 5?

2. iOS 5 Has Launched The way I see it, Apple is like a NASCAR team with two cars, the iPhone and iPad, drafting off one another and pushing each other along. The engine in both of these cars is iOS. Apple is rolling out iOS 5 to all of its devices, including existing iPhone 4 and iPod touch users. If past rollouts are any judge, this will be a swift and relatively painless process. This kind of thing is unfamiliar to Android users like me who are still waiting for last year’s version (v2.3) of Android to reach my handset. It will utterly befuddle the millions of BlackBerry users out there who probably don’t even know there are multiple versions of the Blackberry OS. Apple is gain-

Siri, which will be built into all iPhone 4S devices, is an amazing technology. It could fundamentally change how we use our mobile devices.

ing market share, and it isn’t doing it with OSX; it is doing it with iOS. 3. iCloud Is Coming Down to Earth Critics will say that Google has Google Music and Amazon has Cloud-based storage, but iCloud will take cloud services a step further. It isn’t just going to be a place to back up your digital life, it is going to synchronize all of those items and make them available to you from your entire collection of Apple devices. Take photos on your iPhone and they will be automatically synched to your iPhoto photostream on both your Mac and your iPad. The iCloud will quickly change the way users interact with digital services and will create tremendous incentives for anyone in the Apple ecosystem to buy even more Apple hardware.

4. The iPhone Is Going Mainstream Those who test the latest hardware for a living tend to forget that average consumers pay for their technology and that $200 for a phone—plus a two-year contract— is actually a lot of money. Apple has long been content to service the high end of the smartphone market, but now it is aiming lower, and broader. Turns out the old iPhone 4 will stay on the market (at $99) and so

will the iPhone 3Gs (8GB for free with contract). That’s huge! Throw in the fact that Sprint customers will be able to sign up for the iPhone as well, and you could see significant iPhone adoption growth both in the U.S. and overseas.

5. Siri Works Much was made of the fact that there was no “one more thing” at this week’s event. I would suggest that Siri may be that one more thing. It will be built into all iPhone 4S devices and, at the most basic level, it is a good voice recognition system. Beyond that, it is an interface for dealing with online search engines and even your productivity apps. Ask “will it rain today,” and Siri will use the date, local weather forecast, and your GPS to find the answer and then tell you in natural language. It is an amazing technology that could fundamentally change how we use our mobile devices. And the best part is, it works. Not perfectly, not consistently, but way better than you’d expect.

Apple owns it and you can, too, for the price of an iPhone 4S. Want to learn more about the iPhone 4S? See our First Looks review here.

TALK back to Dan E-mail your thoughts to dan_costa@pcmag.com.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 3

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Front What’s New from the World of Tech

Is the Internet Becoming A ‘Privacy-Free Zone’?

It’s getting harder and harder to remain anonymous on the Web. According to a new study, many sites are sending their users’ personal information to third parties when they do something as simple as sign up for a newsletter or change their settings.

“Your Web browsing, past, present, and future, is now associated with your identity,” Stanford University graduate student Jonathan Mayer wrote in his report. “Swap

photos with friends on Photobucket and clue a couple dozen more into your username. Keep tabs on your favorite teams with Bleacher Report and you pass your full name to a dozen again. This isn’t a 1984esque scaremongering hypothetical. This is what’s happening today.”

Researchers created an account and interacted with 185 Web sites that offered a sign-up, did not require a purchase, and NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 5

frONTsIDE had limited features so as to be practical for the study. They were able to identify a username or user ID leaked to a third party on 113 of those Web sites. The top five sites that received the data were: comScore, Google Analytics, Quantcast, Google’s DoubleClick, and Facebook.

In a statement, a Google spokesperson said, “we’ve never attempted or wanted to parse out personal information in any URL schema provided by a third-party site.”

Photo-sharing site Photobucket was among many sites found to embed usernames in many of its URLs. The study found Photobucket sent usernames to 31 third

The Work of Steve Jobs

1978

1976 a college dropout, steve Jobs starts apple computer out of his parents’ garage. he and partner steve Wozniak create their first device, the apple-1, and sell about 200 of them, earning $20 for each one.

6 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

parties. Tom Munro, CEO of Photobucket, said the site protects its users’ privacy and uses userIDs to “enhance the customer experience,” not to allow advertisers to track them.

The report also found that when entering the wrong password on the Wall Street Journal site, the user’s e-mail address was sent to seven companies.

Federal Trade Commission chairman Jon Leibowitz said that when private data is transferred to third parties, it can have damaging effects on a person’s life. “The bottom line,” he said, “is that cyberspace need not be a privacy-free zone.”—Chloe Albanesius

Using funds from Arthur rock, a venture capitalist, Jobs and Wozniak built 1,000 machines at a local factory. They also “stole the show,” Jobs recalled, at the West Coast Computer fair.

1980

apple computers goes public. Jobs and Wozniak are millionaires.

More Proof Apple Users Are Loyal If you have an iPhone, chances are you’ll stick with it for quite some time, according to new data from UBS. Apple has an 89 percent retention rate, according to a poll of 515 smartphone owners, UBS Research found.

While retention rates appear to be falling

for most brands, Apple’s rates have held up incredibly well even as its market share has risen, the survey said.

Of those polled, only 6 percent said they were thinking of dropping iOS for another platform; 4 percent were undecided. As a result, the retention rate could be as high as 93 percent, UBS speculated.

Behind Apple, Samsung and HTC did well, and were the only other handset manufacturers to win more users than lose them. The same couldn’t be said for RIM, which dropped from a 62 percent retention rate to 33 percent in the last 18 months.

—Chloe Albanesius

1985

1983 Jobs woos John scully to apple from Pepsi. the apple lisa is released, costing a whopping $10,000, but it has a gUI instead of dos interface. It is a commercial failure.

scully convinces the Apple board to ditch Jobs based on failing Apple PC sales and becomes the new CEO. Jobs founds NeXT Computer.

1986 1984

apple releases the iconic macintosh commercial based on the dystopian novel 1984 by george orwell.

Jobs buys the graphics group (renamed Pixar) from lucasfilms for $10 million. Pixar later creates films like toy story, and Wall-e.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 7

frONTsIDE

Library Books Now Available on Kindle Amazon has formally launched its library book lending program, which allows Kindle users to borrow e-books from more than 11,000 libraries in the United States.

To borrow e-books, Kindle users visit their local library’s Web site and search for the book they want. They check out using a valid library card, and then select the “Send to Kindle” option. At that point, users are redirected to Amazon.com, where they must sign in with their Amazon account. The book

is then transferred via Wi-Fi or USB (not 3G).

Amazon is working with OverDrive for the feature, a company that specializes in library e-book rentals.

The availability of books and the length of a loan will vary on a library-by-library basis.

But Amazon will send out a notice three days before the loan is set to expire and again after the due date has passed.

At this point, library lending is only available for U.S. customers. —Chloe Albanesius

The Work of Steve Jobs (continued)

1998 1996

Jobs launches the imac, which is marveled for its design and ability to set up and connect to the Internet in just two steps.

apple buys NeXt for $429 million, and with it steve Jobs. he kills projects like cyberdog, the Newton, and opendoc. employees fear “the Jobs.”

2001

8 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

2007 the iPhone makes a splash and features the new iPhone os, which optimizes touch functionality.

The iPod is born, starting Apple’s domination over the MP3 player market. Combined with its iTunes store, no other music player has been able to make a dent where Apple reigns supreme.

200

08

Goodbye, Start Menu The Windows Start menu, a “universally recognizable element of the Windows interface” has left the building, because no one used it anymore.

Microsoft said it replaced the Windows 7 Start menu with a Start screen in Windows 8 because the menu’s usage dipped by 11 percent between Windows Vista and Windows 7, with many specialized Start functions—such as exploring pictures— declining as much as 61 percent.

2010 the iPad is launched, outselling the number of apple’s macs.

sTArTING OVEr Windows 8’s new Start Screen.

The Start screen is full of live tiles that are either application launchers or widgets containing information.—Mark Hachman

2011 October 4: Apple launches the last product overseen by Jobs, the iPhone 4s. Jobs is absent at the launch, allowing new CEO Tim Cook to take the stage as Apple’s new visionary leader.

October 5:

the macBook air, the world’s thinnest laptop, is introduced, featuring an ultra-thin form factor and weight of 3 pounds.

Jobs passes away at age 56.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 9

INSIDE 10 consumer electronics 22 hardware 32 business 36 software

First

Apple iPhone 4S

What Most People Want in a Phone What do you do with your phone?

If you’re like most Americans, you make some calls, take some photos, and send some texts. Maybe you kill time with some games, check Facebook or Twitter, and look things up on the Web. If that’s you, then the iPhone 4S is your phone: it’s the best cameraphone in the U.S. and the fastest Web-browsing phone, and it has finally licked the iPhone’s calling problems.

Apple has killed the “death grip,” at least on the Sprint model. The phone switches between its top and bottom antennas depending on which one is receiving a better signal, which means it’ll ignore whichever one you’re covering with your hands.

Call quality on Sprint’s network through the phone’s earpiece was excellent in my tests.

The earpiece goes loud, there’s a touch of side tone, and I didn’t hear any distortion at high volumes.

10 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Apple iPhone 4S $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB, all with Sprint contract L l l l h

PROS Excellent Web speeds. Terrific camera.

Solid call quality. Siri is intriguing. Lots of apps.

CONS No 4G. Poor social-networking integration. On-screen keyboard is quite small.

Pour some data into this baby, and wow, it’ll go. As long as Adobe Flash isn’t a key part of your life, the iPhone 4S is the fastest Web phone ever. It benchmarks faster than any Android Gingerbread phone and faster than any Windows Phone.

The great browsing speed comes in part from the new dual-core A5 processor (the same one used in the iPad 2), and in part from the new iOS 5. A standout feature of iOS 5 is Siri, which, on the surface, appears to be a voice-command app. Hold down the home button and ask it a question, tell it to look up a number, make a note or search for

our ratings key: l l l l l EXCELLENT l l l l m VERY GOOD l l l m m GOOD l l m m m FAIR l m m m m POOR

a business. But here’s the real story with Siri: it’s not an app, it’s a service. The intelligence is on the server side, and it will improve. No actual processing is done on your phone.

That means Siri doesn’t work when you’re offline, but it also means it can be continually upgraded, minute by minute, without touching your individual device.

Apple addresses the two biggest problems with camera phones: speed and dynamic range. The 4S has a larger sensor, a larger five-element lens, and a larger f/2.4 aperture than the iPhone 4, along with a

backside illuminated sensor and an IR filter to improve colors. The camera app loads in under two seconds, and it takes most photos instantly. Outdoor shots are better than bright; they’re uniquely well-balanced.

The iPhone 4S makes simple tasks easy and does them very well. It brings most people what they want, very elegantly. For that, it earns our Editors’ Choice for Sprint phones. The iPhone 4S is a no-brainer upgrade from the 3GS. For iPhone 4 owners, it really comes down to how much you need the improved camera.—Sascha Segan NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 11

first looks CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Nikon J1

It’s Compact, But Focuses and Fires Like a D-SLR

N

ikon’s J1 marks the company’s entry into the compact interchangeable lens camera market. Nikon’s J1 is not that much larger than a pointand-shoot, but manages to capture sharp images and focuses and fires faster than many D-SLRs, even though its image sensor and lenses are much smaller.

The J1’s included zoom lens covers a 3x zoom range, matching the field of view of the lens included with our Editors’ Choice Sony Alpha NEX-C3. The NEX-C3’s larger sensor packs more pixels and delivers bestin-class low-light performance, but if you are put off by its larger lens—which is closer in size to that bundled with most D-SLRs— the J1 is worth a close look.

The J1 measures 2.4 by 4.2 by 1.2 inches (HWD), and weighs 8.3 ounces without a lens. The included 10-30mm kit lens is collapsible, which helps to conserve some room in your bag. Thanks to the compact optics, J1 is also noticeably smaller than the 12 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Sony NEX-C3, which features a kit lens that is the same size as that of a standard D-SLR. The J1 is a compact speed demon.

Although it is hindered by a just-ok 1.8-second start-up speed, autofocus speed is excellent; the camera is able to lock onto a subject in about three-tenths of a second.

Shutter lag is virtually non-existent; we measured it at 0.04 second when the lens was pre-focused.

Nikon’s J1 is a very good choice if you are looking for a compact camera that delivers D-SLR-level performance. It offers a manual shooting mode that will satisfy serious photographers, and its burst-shooting capability and Smart Photo Selector mode make it possible for almost anyone to capture the perfect shot. But some shooters may feel limited by its fixed rear LCD and lack of a hot shoe or accessory port, which makes it impossible to use an EVF or a better flash.

The same-priced Sony Alpha NEX-C3 offers a larger image sensor, an accessory port, and a tilting LCD.—Jim Fisher

Nikon J1 $649.95 list with 10-30mm Nikkor lens l l l h m

PROS Compact size.

Fast, accurate autofocus. Good low-light performance.

Built-in flash. Silent operation.

CONS Pricey. Fixed LCD. No accessory port.

Slow-motion video is not high-def. Limited lens selection.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 13

first looks CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker

Small, Wireless Speaker, Huge Sound Bose’s latest audio creation, the SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker, uses Bluetooth to stream audio from any device it can pair with, be that a mobile phone, MP3 player, tablet or laptop. In a year full of new speaker docks that use Apple’s AirPlay to stream audio from iPhones, iPods, and iPads, Bose took the all-inclusive route by using Bluetooth instead of AirPlay. And that’s a good thing, especially since Bluetooth audio streaming has improved considerably over the past couple of years. The SoundLink is small, but gets quite loud, and its built-in protective cover doubles as a stand. Throw in a portable build and a rechargeable battery, and you’ve got a great portable sound system. At $300, the SoundLink isn’t cheap, but 14 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

because of its top-notch portable design, durability, versatility, and most of all, its strong audio performance, it earns our Editors’ Choice award.

The rectangular SoundLink measures 5.1 by 9.6 by 1.9 inches and weighs 2.9 pounds.

Its size and flat, almost hardback book-like shape make it ideal for packing. There is no included remote control, but since your streaming device acts as its own remote, this hardly matters.

Bose rates the battery life for a full charge at about three hours of high volume listening and eight hours at moderate levels.

When you plug the system in, the battery charges.

From a pure audio performance standpoint, the SoundLink offers considerable

power for its size. The SoundLink is built around four neodymium transducers to handle the mid- to high-frequency range, and two passive radiators to take care of the bass frequencies. The radiators face each other inside the shell of the system, which makes them cancel each other’s vibrations out—a clever way to both add a bit more low -end response and make sure the SoundLink doesn’t rattle or dance across the tabletop on songs with heavier bass.

Thanks to some digital signal processing, the speakers don’t distort, even at maximum volume. However, this means the low frequencies, particularly, get slightly sculpted in a way purists won’t like, but for casual listening or parties, it’s ideal. If you want solid portable wireless audio that

Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker $299.95 direct l l l l m

PROS Strong audio performance. Portable and built with sturdy materials. Clever design uses protective cover as a stand when speaker is in use. Can wirelessly stream music from virtually any compatible Bluetooth device—not just iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

CONS Expensive for a portable speaker system.

Song beginnings get clipped when skipping or un-pausing. Not for audiophiles.

works with more than Apple products, the Bose SoundLink is the best option we’ve tested. If $300 is more than you care to spend on a portable audio speaker system, however, the Logitech Wireless Boombox, while not nearly as compact, is a good deal at $150.—Tim Gideon NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 15

first looks CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T)

The Best Smartphone Available For AT&T The long-awaited Samsung Galaxy S II is finally available on AT&T, and it’s a doozy. Very similar to the unlocked version released earlier this year, as well as to the Epic 4G Touch for Sprint, the Galaxy S II has a rich, beautiful screen and a blazing-fast dualcore processor. Throw in a plethora of useful features and outstanding battery life, and you’re looking at the best smartphone available for AT&T right now.

At 5 by 2.6 by .4 inches (HWD) and 4.3 ounces, the Samsung Galaxy S II is sleek, thin, and comfortable to hold, albeit a touch large. Most of the phone’s size is dedicated to its beautiful, 4.3-inch, 800-by-480 Super AMOLED Plus screen. This is lower resolution than the 960-by-640 retina display on the iPhone 4, but there’s no denying the incredible richness of Super AMOLED Plus.

Colors here are more saturated, blacks are 16 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T) $199.99 list l l l l h

Pros: Fast. Beautiful screen.

Incredible battery life.

Cons: HDMI out requires an adapter.

deeper, and you can still see it outdoors.

The Galaxy S II is also a good voice phone. Reception was average, though calls sounded great in the phone’s earpiece—rich, clear, and natural. The speakerphone also sounds good but volume is on the low side. Calls made weren’t as impressive. Voices were somewhat thin and grainy, and background noise cancellation was just average.

The phone uses AT&T’s HSPA+ 21 network and 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. The phone also works as a tethered modem or Wi-Fi hotspot with the right service plan. Download speeds averaged 3Mbps down, while uploads were around 1.5Mbps up. Those speeds are decent, but no match for the blistering speeds on Verizon’s or AT&T’s LTE networks. (AT&T doesn’t have any LTE phones yet.) Battery life, at 11 hours 7 minutes of continuous talk time, was stunning.

The Galaxy S II uses the same processor as the unlocked Galaxy S II and the Epic 4G Touch: Samsung’s new 1.2-GHz dual-core Exynos processor. Right now, the Exynos benchmarks better than any other processor we’ve tested. It’s ahead of the pack

everywhere, from browser to gaming to system performance. It only places second for Adobe Flash performance, running closely behind Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip.

Apple’s iPhone 4 is the Galaxy S II’s closest competition. If you’re focused on apps, it may still be your best choice, as the Apple App Store is home to more than 500,000 apps. But the Galaxy S II has more powerful hardware, a better camera, incredible battery life, and an equally beautiful display. The iPhone 4 is still an excellent device; it’s just that the Galaxy S II is more forward-looking. And while the iPhone 5 may be just around the corner, the Samsung Galaxy S II is your best bet on AT&T right now.

—Alex Colon NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 17

first looks CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930

A Wireless Headset With Terrific Range You can’t beat the convenience of wireless headphones. Instead of a cable running from your head to the computer, the headset connects wirelessly to a USB transmitter, letting you listen to movies, music, and games or communicate via Skype through the headphones and microphone while you move around freely. With laudable audio quality, excellent range, and a clever design, the Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 is one of the best we’ve tested, easily justifying its $160 price tag and earning our Editors’ Choice for wireless gaming headsets.

The transmitter can fit into any USB port and work with the headset, but it can also fit into the USB port on the included pseudo-hub. The hub is a puck-shaped circular device with a long USB cable, a long microUSB cable, and a USB port in the middle. You can plug the hub in, plug the transmitter into the hub’s port, and then use the microUSB cable to charge the headset 18 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

and even use the headset as a wired device when the battery runs low.

The G930’s range is impressive. In our lab tests, the headset kept a strong connection for a good 40 feet, reaching the full distance of which Logitech claims the G930 is capable. It beats the Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega by a solid 10 feet, and destroys the Plantronics GameCom X95’s range by 30 feet.

The G930 packs an impressive amount of gaming power for a wireless headset. I played a round of Team Fortress 2 with the volume set to full and my ears were filled with the sounds of screams and explosions.

At maximum volume, rockets and bullets had satisfying force without distorting, and the action sounded clear.

For a headset, the G930 sounds great for movies and music too. I listened to several episodes of the Ricky Gervais Show, and both Karl Pilkington’s dull drone and Ricky’s hyena-like cackling sounded clear and crisp.

On the more musical side, Gogol Bordello’s

Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 $159.99 direct L l l l m

PROS Long range.

High-quality audio output. Handy controls on the headset. Can be used while charging.

CONS Bass isn’t particularly powerful.

Immigraniada had a satisfying if not particularly overpowering sense of force behind the driving drums and low, thrumming bass.

The drums started to distort at the maximum volume, but for comfortable listening levels, music sounded very good. The bass isn’t particularly strong, though, which is also an issue with the Omega.

With great sound, excellent range, and a functional design, the Logitech G930 is our Editors’ Choice wireless headset, and an ideal pick for any gamer seeking rich audio without cables. Its range and audio quality edges out the competition including the Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega, plus it’s $40 less expensive.—Will Greenwald NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 19

first looks consumer electronics

Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango”

A Smartphone OS For Beginners

M

icrosoft Windows Phone 7.5, otherwise known as “Mango,” is sweet. It’s full of people-centric features that make it easier to stay in touch with friends and family, to communicate, and to share ideas. It’s easier to use than Android, and in many ways slicker than Apple’s iOS. But since it doesn’t support most forms of 4G or the latest hardware, it may not get the phones or promotion it deserves.

Mango brings dozens, if not hundreds, of new features to Windows Phone. It has a much better browser, limited multitasking, Twitter and LinkedIn integration, a terrific interface for creating ad-hoc groups of friends, better ways for apps to give you useful information, the option for Wi-Fi hotspot mode, and much more.

Windows Phone 7 has always been activity-centered rather than app-centered. Its hubs let you focus on ideas like “people,” “pictures,” or “music” rather than about which particular app or service you need at the moment.

My favorite new Mango feature is the 20 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” Free L l l h m

PROS Many, many new features. New groups feature helps you make sense of busy social networks. Multitasking.

CONS Doesn’t support WiMAX, LTE, or dualcore processors. Local Scout is a failure.

new Groups option in the People hub. With Facebook and Twitter added to your phone book, you’re probably going to have a lot of contacts. Groups help you make sense of them. I don’t use Facebook because I find it overwhelming, but Mango makes me want to use it again. I set up a Family group and saw only the updates and photo albums from my family; a Work group showed only updates and photo albums from colleagues.

We move in multiple circles, and Mango lets your phone reflect that.

The new IE9 browser brings Windows Phone up to par with the latest browsers on other platforms. It still doesn’t support Flash, but it handles HTML5 and has solid performance, though its benchmarks fell below those of the latest Android 2.3 and BlackBerry 7 phones on our tests.

What’s not so ripe about Mango? Unfortunately, Microsoft’s hardware spec is behind the times, which will prevent Mango from getting much traction. The OS doesn’t support LTE or WiMAX, which means that neither Verizon nor Sprint will promote it with enthusiasm. It doesn’t support dualcore processors, the current state of the art, or the latest GPUs. And it only allows an 800-by-480 screen resolution.

Still, Mango is a world-class operating system, and I think many people, especially smartphone newcomers, would prefer it to market leader Android and to the declining BlackBerry OS. Now Microsoft needs to focus on the other aspects of the phone experience—hardware, marketing, and sales—to make sure that this Mango doesn’t rot on the shelf.—Sascha Segan NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 21

first looks HARDWARE

Apple Thunderbolt Display

High Quality, At a High Price You don’t have to be an Apple fan to appreciate the new Apple Thunderbolt Display, but you will need to have a Thunderbolt-ready Mac desktop or laptop to use it, and be willing to shell out close to a grand for the privilege. This 27-inch beauty is the first display with Thunderbolt I/O technology, and its connectivity prowess makes it an ideal docking station for Thunderboltenabled MacBooks. It also delivers bright, accurate colors and excellent image detail.

Its flaws—a relatively slow response time that produces some motion artifacts, and a glossy screen coating that can be very reflective—are minor when you consider the overall package.

Thunderbolt technology is a dual-channel I/O solution that delivers twice the I/O performance (10Gbps) as USB 3.0 using a single cable. According to Apple, Thunderbolt is up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and 12 times faster than FireWire 800. All of that bandwidth allows users to daisy-chain multiple peripherals and still achieve good I/O throughput.

Design-wise, the Thunderbolt Display 22 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Apple Thunderbolt Display $999 direct L l l l m

PROS Sleek design. Lots of connectivity ports. Good image and color quality.

Impressive audio output.

CONS Reflective screen. Expensive.

looks exactly like the Apple Cinema Display.

The 27-inch, 2,560-by-1,440 resolution IPS (in-plane switching) panel is housed in the same silver aluminum cabinet and is supported by the same angled stand which contains a smooth, easy-to-maneuver tilt mechanism. The cabinet holds a FaceTime HD camera as well as a 2.1 audio system (two speakers and a subwoofer) that delivers 49 watts of rich, crystal clear sound with incredibly deep bass response.

One of the many cool features of this display is that once you plug in the regular power cord you can power up and charge your laptop with the monitor’s MagSafe plug. Also around back are three USB (2.0) ports, a FireWire 800 port, a gigabit Ethernet port, and a Thunderbolt port.

As with most IPS panels, the Thunder-

bolt Display delivers very accurate colors.

Swatches from the DisplayMate Color Scales test scaled uniformly from dark to light, with no evidence of tinting or over saturated reds, greens, or blues. The panel’s inky blacks gave the colors some pop as well. Grayscale performance was also quite good, particularly on the light end of the scale where every shade of gray was displayed correctly.

Dark grays were well defined right up to the very darkest shade, which was slightly compressed and indistinguishable from black.

There’s a lot to like about the Apple Thunderbolt Display. It is certainly more expensive than most 27-inch monitors, but no other monitor can do what it does, at least not yet, and that’s why it earns our Editors’ Choice.—John R. Delaney NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 23

first looks HARDWARE

Maingear Vybe Super Stock

A Blazing PC for Gaming or Work

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he new sub-$2,000 Vybe Super Stock reminds desktop gamers that Maingear is as good at going little as it is at going big. This cousin to Maingear’s bulky but powerful flagship Shift and its upper-midrange F131 packs lots of performance and useful features. You don’t get every amenity possible at this price, but you do get a significant jolt to your gaming without a shock to your bank account.

This PC’s component stock is pretty impressive. At its heart is an Intel Core i7-2600K processor, the most powerful in Intel’s second-generation Core (aka “Sandy Bridge”) line. But as this Vybe is a Super Stock, Maingear hasn’t left the CPU at its default 3.4-GHz clock speed; the company has overclocked it to a sizzling 4.8GHz, which has the expected positive impact. In terms of memory, there’s 8GB of G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 RAM; you can add two more DIMMs for a total of 16GB, though the motherboard supports up to 32GB. Two 1GB EVGA video cards based on the Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti chipset, running in Scalable Link Interface (SLI) 24 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

mode, handle graphics.

Overall, you won’t have to worry too much about the Vybe Super Stock being underpowered. It delivered the expected outstanding results in our benchmark tests, in productivity as well as gaming applications. It scored a healthy 5,642 in the

Maingear Vybe Super Stock $1,798 direct l l l l m

Pros: Superb all-around performance. Powerful components. Easily upgradable.

Cons: Limited, slower storage. No Blu-ray drive.

No front-panel USB 3.0 port.

Futuremark PCMark 7 full-system test, and it took a mere 57 seconds to convert a video file in Handbrake and 2 minutes 20 seconds to apply a dozen filters and effects to an image in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Its 9.20 score in our CineBench R11.5 rendering test was a hefty one.

Of course what really matters with a system like this is gaming. The Vybe Super Stock’s frame rates of 113.4 frames per second (fps) and 54.1fps in Crysis, and 210.8fps and 90.7fps in Lost Planet 2, in both cases respectively at 1,280 by 720 with medium details and at 1,920 by 1,080 with higherlevel details, show that both DirectX 10

(DX10) and DX11 titles pose it no serious challenge. Its scores in our 3DMark 11 DX11 benchmark, of 12,777 at the Entry preset and 2,912 at the Extreme preset, bear this out as well.

If you are desperate for the beefiest gaming desktop there is, demand the highest details at the highest resolutions, and don’t mind paying more for the privileges, you’re better off with something like the Digital Storm ODE Level 3. But if you have a hard pricing limit of about $1,800, or if you think you can live with some eye candy dialed back, the Maingear Vybe Super Stock is a terrific choice.—Matthew Murray NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 25

first looks HARDWARE

Logitech Gaming Mouse G300

The Perfect Mouse For Casual Gamers

T

he Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 isn’t for the hardcore gunslinger. It’s more in tune with the casual Call of Duty player who is looking for better performance and features than he’d get out of a standard computer mouse. Its budget price tag makes it an easy choice for first-person shooter players on a budget, and gamers who may not appreciate why you would possibly want to spend $129.99 on a gaming mouse like the Razer Mamba (2012). And though its configuration software may look anemic to enthusiasts, beginners and everyday fans of first-person shooters (fps) will be perfectly satisfied.

Undiscriminating against right- or lefthanded users, the G300 has a symmetrical, ambidextrous design. The top of the mouse has a grey matte finish that’s smooth under hand, and doesn’t attract stains or smudge marks. The sides have a black, rubberized coating to help you get a grip during long or intense gaming sessions. The G300 has nine programmable buttons in total: rightand left-click, scroll button, two just below the scroll wheel, and two on either side of 26 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 $39.99 direct l l l l m

PROS Customizable lighting. Polls up to 1,000Hz. On-board memory. Ambidextrous.

Nine programmable buttons. Mouse sensitivity can go up to 2,500dpi. Supports up to three game profiles. Great for first-person shooter players on a budget.

CONS Configuration software fairly basic compared to others. Mouse feels a little light and hollow.

the left- and right-click buttons.

The G300 feels light and hollow in-hand compared with other mice; I prefer a gaming mouse with a little more heft to it, so I don’t feel like I’m about to fling the mouse across the room at the slightest jerk.

The G300 is wired, and while casual gamers may prefer to clear out the clutter and go for a wireless solution, you won’t be able to get a true 1,000Hz ultrapolling rate that will help keep your shots accurate and your connection stable. There is a plug-andplay functionality when you first connect the mouse to your PC, however, in order to take full advantage of the G300, you’ll want to download the configuration soft-

ware off Logitech’s site. The software is only available for Windows XP, Vista, and 7—no Mac support. The mouse does come with on-board memory, so you’ll be able to go to a foreign PC and play without having to download the software again—with all your pre-configured settings intact.

The Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 is the perfect mouse for casual PC gamers to cut

their teeth on. Its bare-bones configuration software keeps it simple for newbies and users who want to spend more time playing and less time tinkering. On top of all this is the low price, making the G300 a safe investment. If you want more customizable options in your mouse, however, check out the Gigabyte M8000Xtreme or Razer Mamba (2012).—Natalie Shoemaker NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 27

first looks HARDWARE

Gateway NV55S05u

A Strong Option For Budget Shoppers

T

he arduous part about spotting a bargain desktop-replacement laptop is figuring out whether its parts are worth your while. The Gateway NV55S05u, a budget 15-inch laptop, gets first crack at AMD’s newest Fusion APUs (codenamed “Llano”). Though it can’t outperform a similar offering from Intel, this laptop can tackle almost any task thrown at it, lasted almost five hours in our battery tests, and is priced to move. Budget-conscious shoppers: This laptop should be on your radar.

The feature set is as standard as it gets in this price range. It has three USB 2.0 ports, and no eSATA or USB 3.0 technology, which have faster transfer speeds than USB 2.0. Like every other desktop replacement, the NV55S05u has HDMI and VGA video outputs, a webcam, and a multimedia card reader. Although its 640GB, 5,400rpm hard drive matches that of the Samsung RV520-W01 and Asus U56E-BBL5, 28 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Gateway NV55S05u $579.99 list l l l l m

PROS Low price. AMD Llano APUs surprised in graphics power and battery life. Solid keyboard. Full-size numeric keypad. Big 640GB hard drive.

CONS Trails Intel CPUs in hardcore tasks like video and photo editing. Lacks advanced features like USB 3.0, eSATA, and latest wireless technologies.

it’s impressive that Gateway included this much in a cheaper laptop.

Llano-based Fusion APUs are AMD’s most powerful processors yet, with excellent graphics (with the on-die Radeon HD 6620G) and low-power consumption (good battery life). This particular chip has four physical processor cores, compared with the Intel Core i5’s two. It sounds impressive from a marketing perspective, but its performance scores are more in line with a dualcore Intel Core i3 processor. For instance, the NV55S05u trailed the Core i5-equipped Lenovo V570-1066A9U (2:00, 2.6) and Asus

U56E-BBL5 (1:55, 2.6) in processor-intensive tasks like Handbrake (3 minutes 33 seconds) and Cinebench R11.5 (1.88).

In the past, AMD-equipped laptops suffered miserably in battery tests compared with Intel-equipped laptops, but the story changes with the new AMD Llano APUs. The NV55S054u scored 4 hours 54 minutes in our battery test, outlasting the Lenovo V570-1066A9U (4:41) and coming within striking distance of the HP dv6-6013cl (5:17).

The Gateway NV5505Su is the type of desktop replacement that’ll make you pause and wonder about the shortcom-

ings that come with a low price and unfamiliar AMD parts. Well, let me reassure you that AMD’s new Llano APU, the A8-3500, is every bit as capable as an Intel Core i5.

Its graphics environment is superior over Intel’s, and battery life, AMD’s biggest concern, was more than satisfactory. It may not perform as well in hardcore tasks like video and photo editing, but its low price reflects these shortcomings. I would still recommend the Asus U56E-BBL5 because its slight premium is accompanied by a better looking design, more power, and better battery life.—Cisco Cheng NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 29

first looks HARDWARE

IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones

Write a Note, Send It As Email Via Your Phone

W

ith the IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones digital pen, you can write notes the old-fashioned way, then send them via Bluetooth to your Android or Blackberry smartphone and send them as email attachments. So if you need to convey an idea with a drawing, or if you simply hate using your smartphone’s keyboard or softkeys, the smartphone connection is the best reason to consider this pen.

The IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones hardware is similar to the hardware in the IRISnotes Executive digital pen. The pens are interchangeable. The receiving units—aka the base units or memory units that store the data you handwrite—are functionally similar, except that the version that comes with the IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones adds Bluetooth support so you can connect with your smartphone.

As you might suspect, you can also use the package—meaning the pen, the base 30 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

unit, and the software that comes with it— for other digital pen applications. It works with the tablet features in Windows 7 and Vista, for example, to control the mouse pointer and let you use the pen as an input device.

Getting started with the pen is somewhat frustrating because of its inadequate manuals. Once you get past the startup issues, though, everything works as promised— for sending notes by smartphone, at least.

After pairing the pen and smartphone, you can connect the two simply by turning Bluetooth on at the phone and base unit, calling up mNote, and touching the Bluetooth icon in the program. Touch a second icon to

IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones $129 list L l l m m

PROS Takes handwritten notes (as image files) without a computer. Connects via Bluetooth to Android and BlackBerry phones.

CONS Needs separate receiver unit along with pen.

start a note, clip the base unit to the top of a piece of paper, write the note, and use the Android Share command to send the note by email or otherwise.

Even with my admittedly poor handwriting, the recognition occasionally did well enough, as with: For example, can you mate out what I’m writing here? But more often it didn’t, as with another writing sample of the same text, which came out as: why I’m writs here? For wage, cm zw.

Ultimately, IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones works well enough for its primary application to be worth considering. It won’t let you take notes and supplement them with an audio recording the way the LiveScribe pen does, and it doesn’t earn a recommendation for its handwriting recognition. But if you’d rather scribble handwritten notes to send from your smartphone than type on keys more appropriate for smurf-size hands, it’s precisely the tool you need.—M. David Stone NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 31

first looks business

HP ProBook 6465b

Enterprise Features For a Low Price

T

he most appealing aspect of a small-business laptop is that it includes most of the features of an enterprise system, yet costs much less. The HP ProBook 6465b is one such example, where every standard feature is accounted for, and the price is too sweet for IT managers to pass up. As an added bonus, it’s also one of the first laptops to feature AMD’s newest A6 Fusion processors (codenamed “Llano”).

Though it didn’t perform as well as an Intel CPU-based SMB laptop like the Dell Vostro 3350, the 6465b has enough in features to get IT managers interested.

Measuring 9.1 by 13.3 by 1.3 inches (HWD), the 6465b is chunky, but it’s a sturdy laptop. At 5.3 pounds, it’s a lot heavier than the 4.8-pound Dell Vostro 3350 and 4-pound HP 5330M, although the 6465b ships with a bigger 14-inch screen (the other two have 13.3-inch displays). The screen’s 1,600-by900 resolution is a rarity for its price point.

H P m a d e s u re eve r y f e a t u re wa s accounted for in the 6465b. There are the legacy features—like a DVD burner, modem jack, VGA, and FireWire port—for older 32 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

HP ProBook 6465b $730 direct L l l l m

PROS Fantastic screen resolution.

Extensive feature set. Sturdy design.

Great price. Features AMD’s latest Llano APUs. Good integrated graphics power.

CONS Pointing stick is stiff. Heavy.

peripherals. There is also a DisplayPort for connecting the latest business LCD monitors. There are three USB 2.0 ports, and one of them is a combo USB/eSATA port.

For most professionals, the internal 500GB drive offers enough space to store your data. The 6465b also made room for security features, such as a fingerprint reader, SmartCard reader, and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM).

The 1.6-GHz AMD A6-3410MX APU has four processor cores (quad-core) and the AMD Radeon HD 6250G graphics chip on the same die. It has two more processor cores than the Intel Core i5s found in the Dell V131, HP 5330m, and Dell 3350, though that doesn’t mean it performs better. With a score of 3 minutes 19 seconds in Hand-

brake and 2.04 in Cinebench R11.5 tests, the A6-3410MX APU in the 6465b performed as well as the 2.1-GHz Intel Core i3-2310M, seen in the Toshiba Satellite P755-S5215, which is part of Intel’s lowest tiered Core processors.

A small business laptop shouldn’t be measured by performance alone. In that regard, the HP ProBook 6465b has one of the most impressive feature sets I’ve seen in this category, yet its price can afford you a fleet of them without depleting your business’ IT budget. As for AMD’s Llano APUs, the A6-3410MX’s performed ably in our benchmark tests, but not well enough to overtake the Editors’ Choice Dell Vostro 3350, which runs a more powerful Intel Core i5 processor and is priced about the same.

—Cisco Cheng NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 33

first looks BUSINESS

Xerox Phaser 4620DN

Beautiful Text, Not So Hot Graphics

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he Xerox Phaser 4620DN is a formidable monochrome laser printer: somewhat massive, able to handle enormous printing volume, and at a low running cost. If your office needs to print tons of text, this could be the ideal printer.

But if you also need to print photos and graphics frequently, you should probably look elsewhere.

The 4620DN measures 16.5 by 18.7 by 21.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 76 pounds. It offers generous paper capacity, with a 550-sheet main tray and a 100-sheet secondary tray, plus an automatic duplexer, as standard.

The Phaser 4620DN is one of five models in Xerox’s 4600/4620 series. All models have a maximum duty cycle of 275,000 pages per month. The 4620DN is rated at 65 pages per minute (ppm). The 4620DN has Ethernet and USB connectivity; 802.11n WiFi is available as a $200 option. I tested the Phaser over an Ethernet connection with a PC running Windows Vista.

34 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

I timed the Xerox Phaser 4620DN on the latest version of our business applications suite (using QualityLogic’s hardware and software for timing), at 10.1 effective ppm.

Its rated print speed, based on text-only printing, is 65 ppm. (Our test suite combines text pages, graphics pages, and pages with mixed content.) It effectively matched speeds with the Editors’ Choice Lexmark T650N, although the Lexmark is rated at just 45 ppm, and lagged the 12 ppm turned in by the OKI B730DN, with its 52 ppm rated speed.

In terms of print quality, the Phaser 4620DN’s output for text, graphics, and photos is a bit on the dark side. This served it well for printing text, not so well for photos and graphics. Loss of contrast between darker shades made it difficult to distinguish between different zones in bar graphs and pie charts. With photos, although there was good contrast in brighter areas, the opposite was true of darker areas, which suffered from a loss of detail.

Xerox Phaser 4620DN $1,599 list l l l h m

PROS Very good text quality. Low running cost.

Generous standard paper capacity and good range of options.

CONS A bit on the slow side for its price and rated speed. Sub-par graphics and photos.

The 4620DN gets kudos for a low claimed cost per page of 1.4 cents, based on the purchase of the highest-yield cartridges. Still, the OKI B730DN matches that, and the Lexmark T650N lags them by just 0.3 cents per page.

The Xerox Phaser 4620DN is a reasonable choice for a monochrome laser printer

for an office with high printing volume of text. Its low running cost will help to offset its relatively high sticker price over time. But the Editors’ Choice Lexmark T650N offers better graphics quality (though not as good text) for less than half the price, and the OKI B730DN is also faster, less expensive, and very capable.—Tony Hoffman NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 35

first looks software

PREVIEW: Windows 8 Developer Preview

Windows 8: A Peek at an Early Version

W

indows 8 is a coin with two very different sides: On one side is a tablet operating system, with the tile-heavy Metro user interface inspired by Windows Phone 7. On the other is an improved version of the full Windows 7-like desktop operating system. The first is very simple and consumeroriented, and competes with tablets like Apple’s iPad and Google Android tablets.

The other is the operating system favored by power users of complex and professional Windows programs.

I took an early version of the OS for a spin.

The Windows 8 Developer Preview I tested was on an Intel-based Windows 8 developer preview PC. This hands-on looks exclusively at the OS running on a tablet, as that’s all I could get my hands on when this issue closed.

The first thing I noticed is that Windows 8 starts up in a fraction of the time it takes any previous version of Windows. The startup is

36 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

so fast that the monitor couldn’t keep up to display the POST (power on self test) screen.

Microsoft seems most excited about its Metro-style apps—referring to the Windows Phone 7 Metro UI. These are touchoptimized, full-screen affairs that only show their menus and settings if you swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Swiping from the right side of the screen towards the middle brings up what the company calls “Charms”—icons for Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings.

When you’re running more than one app, swiping a finger in from the left of the screen displays a smaller view of another running app, and if you leave your finger near the left side, it will resize to fill a quarter of the screen.

In this re-imagined Windows, the Desktop is just another app that you start from the Metro Start screen. Once you run it, you’ll think you’re right back in Windows 7. In fact, Windows 8 retains most of the advances of Windows 7—Aero Snap, Jump Lists, Home-

Groups, Explorer Libraries, Taskbar app pinning, and all the rest.

Microsoft deserves kudos for such a bold attempt at a new dual-purpose operating system. Windows 8 not only brings the sleeker, cleaner Metro interface and apps, but it brings commendable improvements to the rest of the operating system. Faster startup, better security, an app store, and

better control interfaces, and smarter use of the CPU for better power use are all more than welcome. How the old-style applications co-exist with their younger Metro siblings is still something of a question mark.

Stay tuned as we examine this early version of Windows 8 more thoroughly. We’ll have a lot more to say in the coming days and weeks.—Michael Muchmore NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 37

first looks software

PREVIEW: Windows Server 8

Windows Server 8: So Far, So Good

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indows 8 may be grabbing all the headlines in the personal computing world, but a certain kind of IT staff is paying as much—if not more—attention to Microsoft’s latest announcements in the business world: the release of Windows Server 8.

This latest release of Server arguably represents the most wide-sweeping update to the OS since Server 2000 from NT 4.0. The changes are not in the overall interface (except for in Server Manager and AD), but under-the-hood boosts and advancements in virtualization, clustering, Active Directory management, networking and just about every other capability in Windows Server.

Of course, Windows Server 8, which many speculate will be released in 2012, is still in pre-beta developer code. Whether or not it gets the thumbs up depends on its addressing two major needs. The first: revamping the OS to meet the demands for cloud computing, virtualization and the continued “consumerization of IT.” The second is to make certain that sweeping changes won’t 38 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

force longtime Windows server admins to re-learn administrative tasks or have to make changes to infrastructure to roll it out.

So far, Windows Server 8 appears to achieve both goals. Here’s a rundown of some of the most impressive features we’ve seen in our early peek at Server 8: New Deployment Options: Server 8 can be deployed in three modes: Full GUI (the interface, on boot up, is not discernible from Server 2008 R2), Full Server without parts of the graphical shell (namely Explorer and IE removed), and Server Core—which

is a bare-bones install in which PowerShell is used for management. While you could deploy server core in 2008 R2, Server 8 allows you to do something new: move back and forth from a full graphical interface to the core without having to reinstall.

PowerShell: Microsoft is strongly advocating using the greatly expanded PowerShell over the GUI for many tasks in Server 8. Using PowerShell only requires a core installation, which make the OS very lightweight and able to run efficiently on lower spec’ed machines.

Server Manager’s New Look: In a UI that is a bit reminiscent of Windows Phone 7— and definitely influenced by Windows 8 client—Server Manager has a new tile-based design. A clean and modern dashboard allows admins to perform multi-machine management.

Server 8 is looking to be a well-engineered, future-facing business OS that will be able to meet the tech needs of business for quite some time. How business technology responds to it will be interesting to witness.—Samara Lynn NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 39

first looks SOFTWARE

Firefox 7.0

Still Lean, Fast, and Easy to Customize

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ike its recent predecessors, Firefox 7 doesn’t add a whole lot visually that users will notice, but unlike versions 5 and 6, it does add something that will cause many users to rejoice: Better use of memory. According to Mozilla, Firefox 7 cuts memory use by between 20 and 50 percent. This, along with improved startup times makes a compelling, open browser choice even more attractive.

Firefox’s latest interface brings it in line with the trend of “less is more”—less space taken up by the browser frame and controls and more space for Web pages. The page tabs have moved above the address bar, and, as with Opera 11, there’s just a single menu option in the form of the orange Firefox button at top left. You can re-enable the standard menus by hitting the Alt key.

Firefox is one of the last remaining browsers to still use separate address and search boxes, which is good for those who like to keep those two activities separate. That doesn’t mean, however, that a search won’t work in the address bar, aka the “awesome bar.” That tool, which drops down sug40 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Firefox 7.0 Free L l l l m

PROS More efficient memory usage and faster startup than previous versions. Panorama tab group organizes sites. Excellent standards support. Cool bookmark organization with Panorama. Pinned sites for all-the-time access. Syncing for tabs, history, passwords and more. Graphics hardware acceleration. Crossplatform.

CONS Update breaks some extensions. Still trails Chrome and IE9 on some benchmarks.

Lacks client-side tracking protection like that of IE9. Lacks Chrome’s built-in Flash, PDF reader, and Instant page view. Trails Chrome in HTML5 support. No new-tab page helpers.

Slower startup than Chrome and IE9.

gestions from your history and favorites whenever you start typing, was pioneered

by Firefox and copied by all other browsers. The Firefox version now adds a handy new twist: When one of its suggested sites is already open in a tab, you can click on a “Switch to tab” link, preventing you from unnecessarily opening more tabs.

For the past few years, Firefox has lagged behind the competition in its startup time, especially after a reboot. Firefox 7 goes a long way towards remedying this. On my

2.6-GHz dual-core laptop, after a reboot Firefox 7 improved cold start time to 5.1 seconds from version 6’s 8 seconds—a 64 percent improvement. It still trails Chrome’s 4.2 seconds and IE9’s 2.4 seconds, however.

As for its general performance, Firefox remains slightly behind competitors on the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark. On Google’s JavaScript benchmark, Firefox’s performance on this test continues to creep up, though it still has some catching up to do with Chrome. And on Mozilla’s own Kraken JavaScript benchmark, Chrome has actually overtaken the test maker’s own browser, Firefox.

Firefox may no longer be the fresh new darling among Web browsers, but its makers continue to add new standards support, interface enhancements, and improvements to underlying systems. The project’s developers have built a beautiful, responsive, compatible, secure, and flexible piece of software. Google Chrome, however, remains our Editors’ Choice because it is faster and more capable, offers built-in Flash and PDF support, nifty Instant page display, and more HTML5 support.—Michael Muchmore NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 41

first looks SOFTWARE

Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus

A Tiny Program With Killer Instincts It’s hard to imagine how such an incredibly effective antivirus program could come in such a minuscule package. But the installer of Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus takes less than 600 KB, as does the installed program.

How can Webroot be so tiny, while other antivirus programs can take nearly a gigabyte of disk space? The answer is twofold.

First, its handling of malware is almost entirely cloud-based. It uses only the tiniest local database of especially virulent threats.

Second, the product was totally rewritten using the most economical coding practices possible.

As you might imagine, installing this compact program takes just seconds. Enter your registration code, click “Agree & Install,” and in seconds it’s installed and running a scan. On my infested test systems the initial scan finished in about five to fifteen minutes, depending on how badly infested the system was. On a totally clean system, it finished that scan in less than two minutes.

I started my testing before Webroot’s back-end virus-cleanup server was active.

42 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus $39.95 direct l l l l h

Pros Installer and program are incredibly tiny.

Very fast scan. Perfect score in malware-blocking tests. Very good score in malware-removal tests.

Cons Bonus antiphishing protection less effective. Bonus security tools too advanced for the average user.

That didn’t matter for most of the test systems, but two of them really needed the cleanup server to remove widespread virus infestations. I put those on hold until the back-end systems were entirely ready, at which time Webroot scanned and cleaned them without incident.

After running all the full scans, I happened to leave one of the test systems running. Coming back to it, I noticed it had run another scan and found more traces to remove. It turns out that the product’s behavior-based detection catches some threats immediately, but it may need to monitor others for a little while before it detects the behaviors that let it flag them as malicious.

Webroot’s detection of 94 percent of the

threats is the best detection rate among products tested with the current sample collection. Panda Cloud Anti-Virus 1.5 Free Edition previously held that record with 91 percent.

Webroot also turned in the only perfect malware blocking score I’ve ever encountered in my years of testing. Its minuscule local client works with an immense online behavioral database to detect and remediate malware threats. Even when I cut the

Internet connection, thereby depriving it of its “brains,” it still did a decent job once the connection was restored.

In my malware removal tests Webroot came in behind Norton AntiVirus 2012, but ahead of all the rest. Alas, I can’t refer to independent lab tests because Webroot is so totally new that it hasn’t been tested. For now, Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus shares our Editors’ Choice along with Norton AntiVirus 2012. —Neil J. Rubenking NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 43

first looks SOFTWARE

VMware Fusion 4

Giving Parallels A Run for its Money Mac users who want to run Windows on the OS X desktop have two terrific products to choose between—VMware Fusion 4 and Parallels Desktop 7. Both have recently been updated to run smoothly under OS X 10.7 Lion, and you can’t go wrong with either. The two programs are so close in features that, on paper, they seem almost impossible to tell apart. But there are real differences between the way they each implement an almost identical-looking feature set, with the result that demanding and experienced users may tend to prefer Fusion; while beginners may tend to prefer Parallels.

Fusion 4, like Parallels, lets you run Windows either in full-screen mode, with the Windows desktop in an OS X window, or in a mode that Fusion calls “Unity.” This last mode runs Windows applications in their own window on the OS X desktop and puts the icon for the Windows app in the OS X dock. Also like Parallels, Fusion lets you drag and drop files between OS X and Windows; optionally share one or more folders between both operating systems, so that 44 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

VMware Fusion 4 $49.99 L l l l h

Pros Runs Windows and other operating systems on the OS X desktop. Tight integration of Windows apps with OS X. Low-clutter, customizable integration between Windows and OS X. Works well with legacy applications under Windows XP. Simple setup.

Cons Very slightly slower than Parallels Desktop in some functions.

the files on your OS X desktop (for example) also appear on the Windows desktop; and use Windows applications to open files or links on your OS X system or vice versa.

Fusion has the clear advantage in reducing desktop clutter. When Windows is suspended or shut down, Fusion lets you use its menu-bar menu to select a Windows app that you want to launch. (And you have the option of leaving the Fusion menu bar icon displayed in the menu bar even when Fusion is closed.) With Parallels, in contrast, if you want to launch a Windows app your Windows system is suspended or shut down.

You’ll need to click on the icon for that app in a special folder of shortcuts to Windows apps, which Parallels optionally installs in

the OS X dock. This folder is cluttered with programs that you probably don’t care about, such as Microsoft Screen Magnifier, COM Surrogate, and Windows Host Process, and the whole experience seems fairly sloppy. Fusion’s menu bar gets the job done more efficiently.

If you only care about running a Windows app or two on your Mac, then either product will work fine. If you’re in a corporate setting or you expect to network your emulated

Windows system with other machines, then Fusion is probably the better choice.

It’s also the better choice if you’re using legacy apps under Windows XP in an emulated system, because, in my tests, Fusion handled those apps more reliably. But this is one situation where a Mac user gets two superb products to choose from, and you can’t go wrong with either. It’s a close call, but Fusion gets our Editors’ Choice award.

—Edward Mendelson NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 45

john c. dvorak

Our Hoarder Mentality: Blame the Hard Disk

W

hatever happened to the idea that computers were programmable tools and users were the ones who programmed them? This idea has fallen by the wayside as users have slowly evolved into passive consumers of products and content. The situation has been exacerbated by the so-called tablet revolution and the common predictions that tablets and handheld mobile phones will be the dominant computing devices of the future.

This trend is a disaster on many levels. But have we tried to understand its genesis?

When the industry got its start in the late 1970’s everyone could program a little bit. The programming languages were everywhere. Fortran was taught in schools.

People could learn BASIC at home. There were useful specialized languages such as SNOBOL and COBOL. RPG-II and APL were commonly discussed in the literature. The overall number of interesting languages was remarkable.

46 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

These languages may seem arcane, but they kept people in the game with the computer. They allowed people to maintain control over the machines rather than become passive victims to the new computing appliance.

Now I do not think it is a bad thing necessarily that a user subscribes to a digital magazine like this one, and spends countless hours using his fingers to flip virtual pages just like a real magazine. The subscriber can put an entire collection of 100 magazines and 1,000 books onto his iPad, and have them with him at all times, in the backpack.

But I have yet to find an instance whereby I’m having a conversation with a friend who suddenly pulls out the iPad and says, “That’s remarkable, since there was an article in the Atlantic about that exact same topic. Let me pull up the article for you!” Never happens.

And if it did happen why couldn’t the article be as easily pulled off the Web? Essentially the entire personal computer movement has been usurped away from actual computing to massive storage. I’m

Once the hard disk and storage in general began to dominate the computing landscape, it actually set the stage for the pack-rat phenomenon. now a mere archivist rather than someone programming a useable tool.

Blame the Storage Companies About 15 years ago the hard disk makers began to break Moore’s Law, whereby it was determined that computing power roughly doubled every 18 months. As Moore’s Law was improving the capability of computers, the hard disk industry was mostly doing the same thing. It was doubling disk capacities every 18 months.

One year I began to notice that the capacity was doubling every 12 months. IBM research said that this was done to step up the competitive landscape. Because of the advancement in storage the entire computing industry became storage-centric. The computers were less of a tool and more of a container. No wonder nobody knows how to code anymore. What they know is how to store things.

So everything is about storage. Cloud computing is about storage. Pad computing has become popular because of storage.

The iPod and the Packrat Mentality If you think of the reemergence of Apple with the original iPod, what do you think about? You think about the various devices and their storage capabilities. “You can store your entire music collection!”

Facebook is about connections and storage. Your history is stored on Facebook.

What are some of the hot Web sites? Flickr, SmugMug, Picasa, Photobucket. All about storage.

This is changing the nature of America and the world. Everyone is a pack rat. It’s no coincidence that TV shows such as Hoarders and American Pickers have risen to prominence. And when in history did we see huge mega stores that have nothing more than storage containers?

At some point sociologists will finally notice this phenomenon. They will try to do a chicken-and-egg analysis regarding this preoccupation we have developed to collect, categorize, and keep junk. I can assure you they will miss the fact that the evolution of the hard disk from 1980 to the present was preparing our brains for the transition.

And I think once the hard disk and storage in general began to dominate the computing landscape it actually set the stage for the popularization of the pack rat phenomenon.

So here we are. I have to stop writing about this and clean closets. Thank you Al Shugart, the father of the modern hard disk.

You’ve ruined society for good.

Dvorak uncensored Can’t get enough of John’s rants? Check out his blog, www.dvorak. org/blog, where he targets technology and oh, so much more.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 47

SASCHA SEGAN

Kindle Fire’s Strength: A Clear Purpose

T

h i s holiday season, most Americans won’t be buying Samsung Galaxy Tabs or Acer Iconias. They’ll be buying Amazon Kindle Fires. That’s because Amazon has learned a lesson other Android tablet manufacturers haven’t: Tell buyers what you’re supposed to do with the darn thing.

The Fire’s $199 price will be a big component of its success, but it’s not the only thing that makes the Fire compelling. If you’re trying to introduce a new product category to Americans—and even with the iPad around, tablets are a new product category—you have to explain to people why they want it, in clear terms, without overwhelming them.

This has been a big problem for Android tablet vendors so far because Android tablets do everything, and they appear to be marketed by engineers. Take this Samsung Galaxy Tab commercial.

“It’s time for an optimized e-mail environment. Augmented reality and navigation services with a large display. A full Web48 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

browsing experience. E-reading solutions, and a complete communications solution.”

Really? Is it really time for an optimized environment with solutions? No. It is time to get your e-mail and read books. Also, nobody knows what “augmented reality” is.

The Tyranny of Choice I love the Acer Iconia Tab A100, but when you boot it up, it isn’t clear what you’re supposed to do with it. The standard Android Honeycomb home screen is pretty bare; it’s yours to configure, which means it’s yours to sit stupefied in front of while you’re overwhelmed by the tyranny of choice.

Yes, I know that none of you reading this column is ever overwhelmed by the tyranny of choice. You exhilarate in choice and are angered when anyone restricts your choice.

But you are the early-adopter elite. Most other people want more hand-holding.

It says something that the most successful Android tablet so far in the U.S. has been the Barnes & Noble Nook Color. At $249, it isn’t the cheapest Android tablet; you can get

The Kindle Fire has a very smooth and simple purchase-and-use path. Boot, choose from a curated list of options, buy something, enjoy. less-expensive tablets at your local general store. But the Nook Color explains its purpose clearly: Read some books.

The Android Tablet Horror Android tablets’ problems are compounded by how many really bad ones are out there.

I’ve recently had tablet vendors show me “e-reading tablets” with screens so poor, it looks like they have a privacy film over them, and cases so shabby, they feel like they could fall apart within weeks. Right now consumers perceive the tablet market as “the iPad” and “everything else,” and these bargain-bin tablets just tarnish the image of everyone in the “everything else” department.

Amazon understands this problem, and seems to understand that the Amazon brand evokes a lot more confidence than the Android tablet brand does right now.

Amazon, to most consumers, means efficiency and nearly immediate gratification of their shopping desires. Android, if anything, means a level of geekiness that begins to scare off many non-geeks.

Here’s What To Do The Kindle Fire eschews the Android moniker, and Android’s range of user-configurable icons, for clear instructions on what to

do next. When you start it up, here’s what you see: the words “Newsstand, Books, Music, Video, Docs, Apps, Web.” There are seven things to do here, and the list starts with the least perplexing and abstract.

I can use this for news, books, and music.

Great! I’ll get some fun color picture books for my kid. Maybe eventually I’ll buy an app.

Apple’s iPad commercials have explained apps to me.

Every one of those words ties directly into a store, so it’s easy to get content for the tablet, another strike against most Android tablets, which at best separate their stores and players into different apps. And Amazon, as many people have said, probably already has your credit card on file.

The Kindle Fire has a very smooth and simple purchase-and-use path. Boot, choose from a curated list of options, buy something, enjoy. It’s different enough from the successful iPad in size, usage, and price that this holiday season may finally see us go from a one-tablet nation to a two-tablet zone. Anyone else trying to break through with a tablet should take a lesson from Amazon here. Tell us what it’s for.

STAY PHONE-SMART Keep up with the latest on smartphones by reading Sascha’s column at go.pcmag.com/segan.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 49

peter pachal

Greatest Achievement of Steve Jobs

T

hey say that most geniuses who achieve incredible things when they’re young spend the rest of their lives struggling to meet that standard. Not Steve Jobs. Even after laying the groundwork for the personal computer in the 1970s, his best work was arguably in the last ten years. Jobs may have passed on, but his influence on technology will be felt for at least another ten, and probably much more.

There are certainly the products—the iPod, iPhone, and iPad were all revolutionary in their own way, and I’ll get to them in a minute—but Jobs’ greatest achievement was more broad. He took the functional, sterile practice of “computing” and made it human.

At one of his legendary keynotes, he said Apple wasn’t just technology, that it was “tech and humanity.” Jobs never lost sight of the fact that these devices served no purpose if flesh-and-blood people didn’t want to use them.

“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the

50 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

technology. You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where you’re going to sell it,” Jobs said to an irate questioner at his first WWDC appearance as Apple CEO in 1997. Jobs’ philosophy goes deeper than just an understanding to put customer experience first, though—he also saw that that experience had real bearing on people’s lives.

What Technology Was Really All About Technology didn’t have to be about people sitting behind a desk doing what’s generally thought of as “work”; it was teenagers trying to find new music, grandmothers browsing family photos, or people wandering a strange neighborhood looking for Thai food.

Jobs’ insight wasn’t in seeing that technology could help people do these things (which was obvious), but that in doing so the technology needed to get out of the way as much as possible. Tech was a window to content and services, nothing more.

That philosophy has been on display into countless Apple products, but the ones that

Like Michelangelo finding his sculptures waiting inside the stones from which he carved them, Jobs needed only to chip away the “unneeded bits” of technology to reach his waiting audience. will continue to have influence in years to come are the iPhone and the iPad. Apple under Jobs didn’t invent the smartphone or the tablet, but there’s no question it popularized the current paradigms behind both.

Before iOS products came, who knew so many people wanted to “mobile compute?”

Jobs got to those people where others had failed with his experience-first approach.

Like Michelangelo finding his sculptures waiting inside the stones from which he carved them, Jobs needed only to chip away the “unneeded bits” of technology (like clunky UIs and lousy mobile browsers) to reach his waiting audience.

The Universal Influence of Apple It’s a big audience now. To date, Apple has sold more than 100 million iPhones and 30 million iPads worldwide. It has great market share among smartphones and owns the tablet market. More important, Apple’s influence is felt throughout the entire industry—from its primary mobile competitor, Android, to the touch-tile approach that perennial rival Microsoft has baked into Windows 8.

Jobs has publicly told the story about how

he initially conceived the iPad, then decided to build the iPhone first since the technologies needed were easier to incorporate into a smaller, handheld device. One wonders how today’s world would be different if Steve Jobs hadn’t been there to kick off his vision of what he ended up calling the “PostPC era.” Sure, others may have stepped up with products, but without Jobs’ passionate pursuit of perfection, there’s a good chance we’d all be walking around with BlackBerryesque smartphones with full QWERTY keyboards. And just think: the Microsoft Courier might be the leading tablet on the market.

Would people be buying them by the millions, though?

Quite simply, the smartphone and the tablet, as we know them today, wouldn’t exist were it not for Steve Jobs. While the world mourns the passing of a technology icon, everyone who’s ever downloaded something from an app store, pinched to zoom on a touch screen, or browsed the Web on a full-featured mobile browser has been touched by his influence. That’s a fitting tribute if there ever was one.

TALK back to PETE E-mail your thoughts to pete_pachal@pcmag.com.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 51

THE

25 BEST

ANDROID

APPS

Your Android device will be so much cooler and more useful once you've loaded it up with the right apps. Our list includes apps for reference and utility, productivity, entertainment, social networking, and more.

By Jill Duffy

52 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

W

hen Google’s mobile operating system, Android, first debuted, cheers erupted from those who defend open-source software and reject the cult of Apple. They finally had alternative options for touch-screen smartphones that could rival the iPhone. As the Android Market (and other sites where you can download Android programs) expanded, it became clear that Android would have some unique apps, in part due to Android’s deregulated (compared to Apple’s strict oversight of iTunes and the app store) and open-source nature.

And so it makes sense that the best apps for Android users and their devices, whether it’s a Motorola Droid Bionic or an HTC Sensation, are an eclectic batch. For example, one app every smartphone user needs is a strong Web browser—but the fastest, most reliable, and efficient one on Android isn’t the same as what’s best on other mobile operating systems. Additionally, some of the very best apps for Android are exclusive to the operating system. For some people, app selection is what drives their decision-making about which phone to purchase in the first place. If you’re think-

ing about becoming an Android user, this list of the best 25 apps should definitely tip you off to the kinds of utilities, entertainment programs, social networking services, and other apps you can expect to find in the Android Market and other places where you can buy apps or download them for free.

The 25 apps that made our cut are those that have shown outstanding performance, have been almost universally liked by users young and old, or have had a solid history of being among the first apps we’d recommend new users download. Most of them are free, and a few cost a buck or two, although the priciest one on this list will set you back a cool $25. Left out are any apps specifically designed for people who have “rooted” their phones, or given themselves more permission than is intended for consumers, which can void the phone’s warranty. (For more on Android rooting, click here.)

If you’re a long-time Android user, some of these apps will look familiar, although in a few cases, the best apps in a certain class aren’t necessarily the ones that have been most popular for a stretch of time. Newcomers are supplanting some tried-and-true favorites.

As Android apps grow, so will our list, so stay tuned for updates to this story.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 53

25 best android apps

Reference & utility Dolphin Browser HD free

or even navigate by gesture. When you encounter a pesky mobile site, you can don a disguise—for example, you can masquerade as an iPad—to unlock the uncropped page. Flummoxed by Flash? No more, so long as you’re running Dolphin and Android versions 2.2. The browser lacks a full syncing service, but it does support Google Bookmarks.

Google Maps free

Dolphin Browser HD is a veritable trickster of a mobile browser. You can change this Android app’s look and feel through custom themes, add capability with Add-ons, 54 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Whenever I ask people to name their five favorite Android apps, “Google something” almost always makes the list. Google Maps may be one of the most popular of the

Android apps from Google. A few of its signature features, such as navigation and layers, work better on Android than most other mobile operating systems. It’s indispensible for finding addresses, service providers nearby, and just for simply getting around.

tips? Wikidroid pulls articles from Wikipedia and optimizes their display for easy reading and searching from your mobile phone. The app has elegant search functionality, too.

LastPass Password Mgr Premium free

Wikidroid for Wikipedia free

Looking up information on a smartphone should not only be easy, but also something you do frequently. Otherwise, what’s the point of having so much data at your finger-

LastPass manages and fills in your usernames and passwords for you automatically. You’ll only have to remember one password ever again: the one to get into LastPass, so make it strong. Another advantage of using a password manager is it ensures you use a different password for all the sites you visit, as recycling passwords NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 55

25 BEST ANDrOID APPS

leaves you prone to identity theft and other online crimes.

Wheres My Droid free

find their lost or stolen Android phones by forcing it to ring at maximum volume or vibrate when the phone receives a text message containing a specified phrase, such as “Where’s my Droid?” The app can also tell you the phone’s location, as long as its GPS is enabled.

PRODucTIVITy Dropbox free

How many times have you claimed your phone was stolen, only to find it, days later, wedged between the couch cushions, muffled from ringing loud enough to hear when you called it? If you’re prone to losing your phone, Wheres My Droid will put your mind at ease. The app helps people 56 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

If your files live all over the place—your office computer, home desktop, laptop— having a dependable syncing program is a must. Dropbox, the service that lets you store your files in the cloud and access them from anywhere you have a signal, fills that

role nicely with an Android app. It has a simple interface, easy uploading, and swift syncing across all accounts.

Astrid Task/Todo List free

Evernote free; $45 per year for optional Premium subscription

Many Android users gravitate to Astrid because it is, quite simply, the best list maker and task manager that exists for Android phones. Astrid has all of the features every list-maker needs, including due dates and alarms, and it also conveniently syncs with Google Tasks. unfortunately, it doesn't sync with Remember the Milk, although it used to.

If you weren’t an early adopter of Evernote, the freemium note-taking and organization app that syncs all your files to a cloud service, there’s no shame in being a late adopter of this outstanding service. On an Android phone, Evernote works smoothly, looks great, and, most important, integrates with dozens of other apps and services.

What I like best about Evernote is how it automates synchronization, a fail-safe meaNOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 57

25 best android apps

sure in case you forget to put your files back in the cloud when you’re done working on them.

Documents To Go Full Version Key $14.99-$29.99

Business users and tech-savvy professors (as well as serious students) need a document-editing and creation-application suite for their mobile devices, and Documents ToGo is the one worth buying if you have an Android phone. You can try the free “lite” version Documents To Go 3.0 Main App first, which lets you view many of the file formats you’ll need (.doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx) but not edit them.

personal & communication

turns out to be a pretty invaluable tool for finding businesses nearby, especially when you’re in a town you don’t know well. Yelp’s mobile app has helped me find a hairdresser when I was in a pinch in Washington D.C., and a suitable lunch while driving through Ohio. The quality of the reviews can be touch and go, but for finding businesses and services, and vetting out ones that are very poorly received, Yelp’s the app you need.

Facebook for Android

Yelp

free

free

l l l m m

The most comprehensive review app, Yelp

Social networks thrive with a reliable app,

58 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

aggregators have graced the Android Marketplace, some with pretty terrible performance track records, but the one that works best is Twitter’s own. Starting with version (2.1.2), Twitter for Android adds support for multiple accounts as well as optional push notifications (alerts that appear on your phone similar to an alarm or incoming text message), two features that had been sorely lacking prior to this release. A clean user experience and smart design doesn’t hurt either. Best of all, if you don’t have a Twitter account and aren’t interested in

and Facebook for Android is undeniably solid. The Android app has the quintessential, familiar, Facebook-branded interface, but it also offers some unique functionality that’s absent in Facebook’s iPhone app.

This includes a side-scrolling preview pane of recently shared photos in the dashboard area. Very cool.

Twitter free l l l h m

The best app for Twitter is Twitter. Plenty of third-party Twitter apps and social media NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 59

25 best android apps

joining, you can still use the app to search and read the site. ooVoo Video Calls free l l l l m

Stable and reliable video chat apps for Android aren’t easy to come by, but ooVoo is terrific. The Android video chat app supports group video, voice calls, and instant messaging—across iOS, OSX, Android, and Windows! Not only do you get solid Android video calling, but you can practically video chat with anyone.

IMO Instant Messenger free

Multi-purpose instant message apps can falter on mobile phones, crashing frequently 60 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

or draining the phone’s battery. While it’s not perfect, IMO Instant Messenger is by far one of the lesser offenders. Another reason it’s better than some others is it supports instant messaging across an impressive 11 networks: MSN, Yahoo!, AIM/ICQ, Google Talk, Myspace, Skype, Facebook, Jabber, imo, VKontakte, and Hyves.

ENTERTAINMENT Netflix free but requires subscription from $7.99 per month l l l h m

With the free Netflix app for Android phones, Netflix subscribers can watch any movie or television show from the instant streaming catalogue anywhere over a WiFi signal, as well as 3G and 4G connections.

This ability to watch movies and TV shows anywhere makes the $7.99-per-month cost of a streaming-only Netflix subscription a little more worthwhile. The app requires Android 2.2 or later.

theater times, release dates for movies and DVDs, film reviews, and trailers in the palm of your hand. If, for example, you need to know the exact date that A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas will be hitting theaters, Movies can confirm the November 4, 2011, release. By default, the app pulls movie ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, although you can override this feature if perhaps you don’t think The 400 Blows deserves a 100-percent critics’ approval rating. You’d be wrong, but you can do it.

Movies

Angry Birds

free

free

Movies, by Flixster (some people know the app better by the developer’s name), puts

There’s just no denying that Angry Birds has been the hit game across mobile devices.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 61

25 best android apps

The casual puzzle game challenges you to destroy structures by flinging crotchety little birds at it using a giant slingshot. The franchise has dozens of titles, like Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Seasonal, but the original Angry Birds is the one to download to your Android phone first. (Also see The Best Free Android Games.)

The Scrabble-like game from Zynga, Words with Friends, is among the most popular mobile social games around. If you own an Android phone but your friends are on other devices, such as iPhones or iPads, you can still challenge them to head-to-head wordplay, as it doesn’t matter on which platform your opponents are playing. While some Android users have reported stability problems with the game, Words with Friends is in such high demand that most people will grin and bear it… especially since it’s free.

Cut the Rope 99 cents

Words with Friends Free free

An addictive casual, physics game, Cut the Rope has players solving dynamic puzzles that sometimes feel more like obstacle courses. It’s a family-friendly game, the kind you definitely want to have preloaded on your phone if you have yackety kids who miraculously become quiet when engrossed in a good game.

62 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Kindle

NOOK for Android by B&N

free

free

Read books, magazines, and newspapers right on your Android phone without ever buying an e-reader. The Kindle app is by far the most popular reading app in the Android Marketplace because it gives you access to buy or download for free hundreds of thousands of books, and more than 100 different newspapers and magazines.

And while some users have complained that they can’t uninstall Kindle once they’ve downloaded the app, it is possible (but it takes a little effort).

Anti-Amazon book lovers might prefer an app by Barnes & Noble for reading on their Android phones. NOOK and Kindle largely do the same thing (give you access to an impressive library of books, newspapers, magazines, and other things to read), although their interfaces and experiences are different. Whether you like Amazon or B&N is largely a matter of personal preference. The NOOK feels a little more graceful in its design, whereas the Kindle app looks more utilitarian.

Slacker Radio free

When we in the PCMag lab talk about music-streaming services, Editors’ Choice Slacker Radio always gets an extra nod. It NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 63

25 best android apps

hearts for having very good quality streaming even over a 3G signal. Newcomers to the Android arena, including Slacker Radio and Spotify, are earning more and more marketshare every day, but Pandora tends to be the most reliable, likely because it has a longer history running on Android.

FxCamera free

serves up excellent audio quality, a welldesigned interface, tight lyrics implementation, and a load of customization options.

Slacker doesn’t have niche stations or deep social networking features, but it’s still the music-streaming service to beat.

Pandora internet radio free

Of the music streaming apps available to Android phone owners, Pandora steals 64 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Not every smartphone running Android has

a great camera, so get better photos with the help of software. FxCamera adds filters and effects, like “toy” and fisheye lens, to enhance even modest pictures. It also helps to arm yourself with some additional tips for getting better photos from your phone.

ESPN Score Center free

ESPN’s free app lets you check the game quickly, and discreetly when necessary (with your phone under the dinner table, for

example). Sports fans of all stripes will find this app useful; it covers more sports types than most other sports and news apps out there. It can pull game data from baseball, basketball, American football, the sport the rest of the world calls football (soccer), ice hockey, cricket, rugby, and more. For stat lovers, ScoreMobile is a fine option, but only if it has the sport you follow, as it misses a few, like rugby and boxing.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 65

YOuR FaVORitE

Cameras aNd

Camcorders Your vote is in. Canon reigns supreme for handling most of your photos and videos, though more and more of you consider your phones the ideal device for capturing snapshots these days.

By Ben Gottesman

66 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Okay, we won’t beat around the bush.

Canon is the PCMag Readers’ Choice winner in both the camera and camcorder categories. In cameras, it shares the award

with Nikon; in camcorders, Sony also earns Readers’ Choice. Before you dive into our analysis about which camera and camcorder companies are providing the best products and services, consider a couple fundamental questions:

1]

These days, why would you buy a camcorder when so many digital cameras take perfectly good videos?

2]

Why would you buy a digital camera when the photos and videos taken with mobile phones keep getting better and better and those phones make it so much easier to share with others?

As with all PCMag.com Readers’ Choice surveys—this is our sixth installment for 2011—our new camera and camcorder questionnaire helps us figure out which companies are providing the best products and service. We also added some new questions

to get a better understanding of how you are actually capturing your memories.

Nearly every respondent (99 percent) still uses a digital camera to take pictures, but four out of five people are also using their mobile phones to do so. When it comes to video, almost as many people use their digital cameras (56 percent) as camcorders (58 percent), and many also use their phones (43 percent).

We also asked what percentage of photos and videos were taken with each type of device, and we found that cameras and camcorders are still the most popular in their respective categories. That said, a significant portion of photos and videos are being captured with other devices.

Taking pictures with a mobile phone continues to increase in popularity, and it appears to be changing the nature of the camera market. Survey respondents are buying fewer compact and ultracompact cameras, perhaps because these cameras tend to be purchased for their convenience more so than for their features, and nothing beats the convenience of a mobile phone.

Instead, people who chose to purchase NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 67

a camera in the last year tended toward higher-end devices that offer features or image-quality that their phones simply can’t deliver. The higher-end categories include enthusiast cameras, superzooms, digital SLRs (D-SLRs), and compact interchangeable lens cameras.

With camcorders, the shift is in the opposite direction. Fewer survey respondents are purchasing expensive, high-end camcorders, likely because so many of today’s digital cameras are capable of capturing very pleasing HD video. Instead, the trend is toward small cameras that are much more focused on ease of sharing than on features and image quality, such as Cisco’s Flip line (may it rest in peace), Kodak’s Play camcorders, and Sony’s Bloggies. Nearly 40 percent of the camcorders that you purchased within the last year cost $149 or less.

And whereas the move toward higher-end digital cameras has actually pushed the average purchase price up slightly, the average amount you’re spending on camcorders is plummeting, down about $200 over the past 4 years.

Cameras and camcorders won’t disappear tomorrow as mainstream consumer devices. Still, the rapid improvement and adoption of mobile phone cameras is going to pressure camera and camcorder manufacturers to innovate and build more useful and appealing devices.

68 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

CANON EOS Rebel T3

CATEGORY:

CAMERAS For years, two companies have dominated the camera market, Canon and Nikon. The two giants need to figure out how to succeed as their market is encroached upon by mobile phones. They also have to deal with several significant competitors, including old-time rivals Olympus and Pentax, as well electronics companies, such as Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, and Casio; all of them are try-

CAMERAS : The Winners Canon, Inc.

No other camera manufacturer is as consistently excellent as Canon, receiving top scores in several categories. Not only are readers impressed with the company’s products, they’re also very pleased with Canon’s tech support, which improved substantially upon the good service that it had provided customers in prior years.

Nikon Corporation

Synonymous with SLR photography since the early days of film, Nikon once again receives top marks for its digital SLRs. The company offers superior service and support. ing to grab their own piece of the pie. Many of these competitors are pushing the envelope on innovation, but when it comes to satisfying customers, Canon and Nikon remain at the top and receive our 2011 PCMag.com Readers’ Choice Award for cameras.

Both Canon and Nikon offer diverse product lines, ranging from budget cameras to sophisticated digital single-lens reflex (D-SLRs) models for consumers and professionals. Canon is the most consistently excellent company in the survey. Its cameras received the highest overall rat-

Panasonic Corporation

Aside from Canon, no company is as consistently good across as many camera categories as Panasonic, an honorable mention winner.

Sony Corporation

Another honorable mention winner, Sony made it to the top of the superzoom category, and its new compact interchangeable lens cameras are giving digital D-SLRs a run for their money.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 69

RELIABILITY

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

REPAIR satisfaction

PERCENTAGE NEEDING REPAIR

LIKELIHOOD OF BEING RECOMMENDED

Canon

8.6

9.0

8.3

7.3

4%

9.1

75%

Nikon

8.6

9.0

7.3

6.5

5%

9.0

71%

Panasonic

8.4

9.0

2%

8.7

59%

Sony

8.3

8.7

4%

8.5

52%

Pentax

8.3

8.8

3%

8.3

45%

Olympus

8.0

8.6

4%

8.3

44%

Fujifilm

7.9

8.4

2%

8.9

63%

Samsung

7.8

8.3

4%

8.2

40%

Casio

7.7

8.3

6%

7.8

26%

GE

7.6

8.3

2%

7.7

14%

Kodak

7.6

8.2

2%

7.9

29%

HP

7.2

7.8

5%

7.2

-4%

Polaroid

6.7

7.4

6%

6.8

-13%

AVERAGE

7.9

8.4

4%

8.1

36%

70 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

6.0

7.1

6.8

net promoter score

R ED denotes Readers’ Choice blue denotes Honorable Mention

®

OVERALL †

cameras

LIKELIHOOD OF BEING RECOMMENDED

3%

9.1

75%

8.6

9.1

1%

9.0

72%

Sony

8.6

8.9

3%

8.8

55%

Olympus

8.3

8.6

3%

8.6

47%

Samsung

8.2

8.4

2%

8.4

53%

Fujifilm

8.1

8.3

6%

8.4

33%

Kodak

7.8

8.3

3%

8.0

60%

AVERAGE

8.4

8.8

3%

8.7

60%

Nikon

8.8

Panasonic

net promoter score

8.1

OVERALL †

9.2

®

PERCENTAGE NEEDING REPAIR

9.1

8.8

REPAIR satisfaction

80%

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

9.3

RELIABILITY

3%

Canon

R ED denotes Readers’ Choice blue denotes Honorable Mention

CAMERAS LESS THAN A YEAR OLD

8.1

† Overall score is based on answers to the question “Overall, how would you rate this laptop PC?” It is not the average of the other scores in the table.

Except for numbers indicated by a percentage, scores are based on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is best. For Percentage needing repair, a lower percentage is best.

A blank field indicates that we do not have enough survey data to give the company a score. ®Net Promoter Score is based on the answer to the Likelihood to Recommend question. NPS is calculated by taking the percent of respondents who answered 9 or 10 (promoters) and subtracting the percent who answered 0 through 6 (detractors). Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 71

Nearly everyone in the survey (99 percent) still uses a digital camera to take pictures, but four out of five are also using their mobile phones to do so.

CANON Powershot 500 Hs

CANON powershot s95

72 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

ing in the ultracompact, compact, budget, and waterproof categories, and it ties with Nikon in the system camera category, which includes D-SLRs and the emerging breed of mirrorless compact interchangeable lens cameras (CILCs).

In the two categories in which Canon did not have the highest overall ratings, enthusiast and superzoom cameras, it came in second. In addition, the company had the highest likelihood-of-recommending rating in every category. We’re also impressed by Canon’s tech-support satisfaction, which improved from a respectable 7.5 out of 10 in 2010 to an excellent 8.2.

As in past years, Nikon receives very high marks for its D-SLRs, which tied with Canon in overall rating (9.0), reliability (9.3), and likelihood to recommend (9.4). Nikon’s

superzoom, enthusiast, and compact cameras are also among the most highly regarded. Satisfaction with tech support and repairs scores were decent at 7.3 and 6.5, respectively, but purchasers of Nikon point-and-shoot cameras should bear in mind that these numbers are inflated by the very good tech support (8.1) and repair service (7.5) that the company provides its D-SLR customers.

Nikon just announced its entry into the CILC category with its Nikon 1 line. CILC cameras were pioneered by Panasonic and Olympus. They feature significantly larger sensors than point-and-shoot cameras do but eschew the optical viewfinders found on D-SLRs, permitting for much more compact designs. By this time next year, we should know if support and satisfaction for the soon-to-be-released Nikon 1 cameras will match the standard set by the company’s D-SLRs. While CILC cameras are getting a lot of attention, it’s still a nascent market, and only one CILC line of cameras, Sony’s NEX-series, received enough responses to be included in our survey results. The results were very impressive for a new entrant, coming in just behind Canon’s and Nikon’s D-SLRs in overall rating and likelihood to recommend. The Sony CILCs reliability score is the highest among the high end (9.4), and no respondents reported that their cameras needed

NIKON coolpix p500

NIKON D5100

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 73

repairs in the last 12 months.

It’s also been a very good year for Sony in the superzoom category—point-andshoot cameras with a 10X or greater zoom lens. The company’s superzooms’ overall rating of 8.6 was better than every other brand, including perennial survey favorite Panasonic. Sony also achieved good scores in several other categories and receives an Honorable Mention.

While Panasonic may have lost its top spot in superzooms, it wasn’t far behind with an overall rating of 8.5. The company’s cameras in this category had the highest reliability rating in the category (9.1) and the fewest superzooms needing repairs (1 percent). Panasonic had the lowest repair rate across all categories (2 percent) as well. It received the highest overall rating from our readers in the enthusiast category and was consistently in the top tier in other categories. For these reasons, Panasonic also gets an Honorable Mention.

CATEGORY:

CAMcorders This is the first year that we’ve included camcorders in our reader survey. As we noted at the beginning of this article, the market is rapidly changing. Inexpensive camcorders that make sharing easy are gaining in popularity, and more feature74 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

rich camcorders are facing stiff competition from digital cameras. Our two Readers’ Choice-winning companies, Canon and Sony, make a broad range of camcorders from basic, low-cost models to very highend prosumer and professional HD units.

Canon and Sony had identical overall ratings of 8.0. This is a fairly low score for top satisfaction. In comparison, the top-rated digital cameras in our survey had overall ratings of 8.6. (Compare the scores with newer camcorders, where Canon and Sony score much higher with newer products, which is typical in our survey results.) Still, there’s no one nipping at these companies’ coattails.

The next best overall performers in the survey, Cisco/Flip, Kodak, and Panasonic, only had overall ratings of 7.5.

Kodak receives an Honorable Mention for having the highest-rated budget camcorders, a market category created by the surprisingly popular Pure Digital Flip Video camcorders. In 2009, Cisco purchased Pure Digital in an effort to expand Cisco’s presence in the home. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way the company had hoped, and in April of this year, it announced that it was shutting down the Flip division.

The Flip Video camcorders are still widely available and actually received much higher ratings than Kodak across the board among budget camcorders purchased within the last 12 months.

CAMcorders : The Winners Canon, Inc.

CANON vixia hf100

Canon has been a consistent winner of PCMag’s Readers’ Choice in the printer and camera categories for years, and now it can add a camcorder award to its shelf.

Sony Corporation

SONY HDRCX16

Sony earned similar high marks to Canon for overall rating, reliability, and likelihood of recommending. We would like to see improvement in the company’s tech support, however.

Eastman Kodak Company

Kodak had the highest overall rating and likelihood of recommending in the budget camcorder category, though we are concerned that Kodak camcorders purchased recently aren’t as well regarded as the company’s older devices.

SONY DCR-SX65

KODAK PLAYSPORT

CANON fs300

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 75

8.2

38%

8.2

3%

7.8

29%

7.5

8.3

2%

7.1

6%

Panasonic

7.5

8.1

2%

7.8

20%

JVC

7.4

8.0

2%

7.5

11%

Sanyo

7.4

8.2

3%

7.4

4%

Samsung

7.3

7.9

2%

7.3

6%

Aiptek

6.3

7.5

0%

6.6

-14%

AVERAGE

7.4

8.1

2%

7.6

16%

Sony

8.0

8.5

Kodak

7.5

Pure Digital/Cisco

76 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

6.1

6.1

5.6

5.6

net promoter score

8.6

®

LIKELIHOOD OF BEING RECOMMENDED

3%

8.0

REPAIR satisfaction

46%

Canon

R ED denotes Readers’ Choice blue denotes Honorable Mention

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

8.4

RELIABILITY

3%

OVERALL †

PERCENTAGE NEEDING REPAIR

camcorders

LIKELIHOOD OF BEING RECOMMENDED

76%

Sony

8.5

8.9

3%

8.7

57%

Panasonic

8.2

8.5

6%

8.4

43%

Flip/Pure Digital/Cisco

7.9

8.5

0%

7.9

29%

Samsung

7.4

8.0

0%

7.6

22%

Kodak

7.3

8.0

4%

7.7

29%

AVERAGE

8.0

8.5

4%

8.2

43%

net promoter score

®

PERCENTAGE NEEDING REPAIR

9.1

REPAIR satisfaction

1%

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

9.2

RELIABILITY

8.7

OVERALL †

Canon

R ED denotes Readers’ Choice blue denotes Honorable Mention

CAMCORDERS LESS THAN A YEAR OLD

† Overall score is based on answers to the question “Overall, how would you rate this laptop PC?” It is not the average of the other scores in the table.

Except for numbers indicated by a percentage, scores are based on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is best. For Percentage needing repair, a lower percentage is best.

A blank field indicates that we do not have enough survey data to give the company a score. ®Net Promoter Score is based on the answer to the Likelihood to Recommend question. NPS is calculated by taking the percent of respondents who answered 9 or 10 (promoters) and subtracting the percent who answered 0 through 6 (detractors). Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 77

About the Survey: Methodology

W

e e-mailed survey invitations to PCMag.com community members, including subscribers to our Digital Edition, newsletters, and more. The survey was hosted by Equation Research, which also performed our data collection. Respondents were asked only to rate products and services that they actually use. The respondents were asked several questions about their overall satisfaction with their cameras and camcorders and about the products’ reliability, as well as their experiences with technical support and repairs within the past 12 months. Each person who completed the survey was entered into a drawing to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet.

The survey was in the field from September 6, 2011, through September 14, 2011.

Because the goal of the survey is to understand how the vendors compare to one another and not how one respondent’s experience compares to another, the category averages are based on the average of each vendor’s rating, not the average of every respondent’s rating. In

78 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

all cases, the overall ratings are not based on averages of other scores in the table; they are based on reader answers to the question, “Overall, how would you rate this camera?”

Scores not represented as a percentage are on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is best.

A blank in a table indicates that we do not have enough responses to give the company a score in that column.

The Readers’ Choice Awards and Honorable Mentions are based on subjective determination by PCMag.com’s editors, taking into account all of the ratings for each vendor.

Net Promoter Score “How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?” No other question can better define the loyalty of a company’s customers than this one, according to Fred Reichheld’s bestseller, “The Ultimate Question.” Reichheld, a fellow with the consulting firm Bain & Company, used the answer to this question to help understand which customers were enthusiastic about a company, which were

satisfied but unenthusiastic, and which customers were unhappy.

Companies with the most loyal customers (Promoters) and fewest dissatisfied customers (Detractors) are creating “good profits.” These are generally the most profitable in their category, according to Reichheld. These are also the companies— such as Canon, Nikon and Sony—from whom we feel our readers will want to purchase cameras and camcorders.

For many years, PCMag has asked readers how likely they would be to recommend a company, and we’ve used this measure as an important factor in determining which companies were our Readers’ Choice winners in their respective categories. We now present the answer to that question as both an average and a Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures brand loyalty.

Calculating NPS is very straightforward.

We ask the recommendation question on a 0 to 10 scale where 10 is best. We break the answers down into three groups according to the methodology’s definitions: • Promoters (score 9 or 10): loyal enthu-

siasts who will keep buying the brand and also refer others • Passives (score 7 or 8): satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive offerings • Detractors (score 0 to 6): unhappy customers who can damage the brand and impede growth through negative word-of-mouth We then subtract the percent of detractors from the percent of promoters: Promoters percent - Detractors percent = NPS. So, for instance, 79 percent of Canon camera respondents are Promoters and 4 percent are Detractors, so the company has a 74 percent NPS. At the other end of the scale, Aiptek camcorders have fewer Promoters than Detractors (28 percent versus 42 percent) for a negative 14 percent NPS. The company has more customers speaking ill of the brand than promoting it.

Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 79

eight things you should know about windows 8 The highly anticipated new Windows OS will feature a number of radical improvements.

Here are eight features to look forward to when it comes out next year.

By Jeffrey L. Wilson 80 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

Windows 8 represents the most radical change to Microsoft’s operating system in quite a long time--perhaps ever. The OS features a number of new additions and improvements, ranging from a fresh “Metro” interface that was heavily inspired by Redmond’s Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, to one of the most talked about changes: Compatibility with non-Intel-powered NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 81

arm chips Its ability to run on ARM-based architectures will greatly broaden the scope of Windows 8 device types,

new interface The new Metro live tiles, which allows users to ea and live notifications.

architectures. This change makes it capable of running on ARM-based computing devices.

For the most part, Microsoft has been tight-lipped regarding when Windows 8 will ship, how much the operating system will cost, or if it will come in several different editions similar to Windows 7. The general consensus, however, is that Windows 8 will launch in fall 2012, which is a timeframe based on offthe-cuff executive statements and leaked schedules. In addition, Windows 7 launched about a year after its 2008 PDC debut, so a fall 2012 timetable isn’t unreasonable.

At the BUILD convention in Anaheim, California, several weeks ago, we were able to get our hands on Windows 8’s developer’s build, and unboxed a Samsung Windows Developer Preview PC. Here are the eight most noteworthy new additions to Windows in Windows 8.

82 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

o interface features asily access apps

touch interface Among other nifty tricks, you can swipe side-to-side between apps, and snap an app in the background into a sidebar next to your main app.

1]

It Runs On ARM Chips

Perhaps the biggest Windows change is word that Redmond’s new operating system will now also run on machines other than those using Intel-compatible processors. Windows 8 will be able to run on devices powered by ARM-based architectures. This will enable the OS to run on a wide range of computing devices from desktops to tablets.

2]

ing the “Computer” tile. In a similar fashion as Mac OS X Lion borrowed heavily from Apple’s iOS, Windows 8 borrows heavily from Windows Phone 7. The new operating system features “live tiles,” which lets users access apps and view updated live information (such as notifications). In addition, Windows 8 will offer both full and partial screen views of apps, a snap feature that puts one app in a sidebar, a Word-like ribbon comes to Windows Explorer, and the File Manager has been streamlined.

it Has a New Interface

Windows comes with several design changes, the most notable being the new Metro interface, which co-exists with a more traditional Windows 7-like desktop design. You switch to Metro my clicking the “Start” button, and switch back by click-

3]

It Has a TabletCentric Multitouch Interface

Touch gestures have become a vital part of our day-to-day experiences—you bring a NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 83

xbox live support By bringing Xbox Live to the desktop, Microsoft hopes to combine the PC gaming and console-gaming experience.

finger to the screens on your smart phones, tablets, monitors, and other devices. Microsoft has showcased touch navigation in Windows 8 with side-to-side swipes between apps (as you can in OS X Lion), a snap gesture that brings a running background app into a sidebar next to your main app, and a split-touch keyboard that makes for easier thumb input when you’re holding a tablet.

4]

Its Developer’s Preview Is Available Now

Microsoft recently released a developer preview, which you can sample if you wish to get the early jump on Windows 8. (We did; see our hands-on look by clicking here.) The download, which includes a 64-bit (x64) build with development tools to build apps 84 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

cloud features Windows 8 u have SkyDrive accounts so that t their files stored in the cloud.

and a 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) build without development tools, is available in the Windows Dev Center. Warning: There’s no support hotline available should you encounter a problem, but Microsoft will push out fixes for major issues that may arise.

5]

It Has Xbox Live Support

Microsoft plans to unify its PC gaming and console gaming experience—hopefully—by bringing Xbox Live to the desktop.

Scarce details are know about what this union entails, but Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb, the director of programming for Xbox, wrote in a blog post that “Bringing Xbox Live to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy.”

users will each hey c an access

enhanced security Among other improvements, Windows 8 adds full antivirus protection to Windows Defender, and it makes sure only trusted components are loaded at boot time.

6]

It Has Built-In Cloud Features

Windows 8 features tight integration with Microsoft’s cloud-based services.

Every Windows 8 user will have a SkyDrive account (using either a previously created account, or a new one), in which they can access files stored on Skydrive just as on the local machine. Windows 8 will also let users connect to another system on which they’ve linked Skydrive, giving them access to files on that system—even across firewalls.

7]

It Has an App Store

Similar to Mac OS X’s desktop Mac App Store, Microsoft has a Windows Store in Windows 8. The Windows Store differs from the Mac App Store in that it allows

users to sample software in trial periods. It includes a Spotlight section of curated apps recommended by Microsoft, as well as several categories such as Games, Productivity, and Photography (you can also search by name). Non-Metro style desktop apps will also be sold in the Windows Apps Store.

8]

It Has Enhanced Security

We know, we know....each version of Windows touts enhanced security. But Windows 8 ups the security ante by checking at boot time that only trusted components are loaded, expanding Windows Defender to include full antivirus protection, and an App Reputation protection that prevents you from installing dubious apps.

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 85

Solutions laptop Buying guide

What to Look for In Today’s Laptops Before going shopping, you need to know which features come standard these days, and which new technologies are worth the money. Here’s what your next laptop should have. By Cisco Cheng

G

o online or walk into any store’s electronics section to find a laptop, and chances are you will feel paralyzed at the sheer variety of laptops available. Most shoppers have a general idea of what their laptop should look like and what they want in terms of features, but are often intimidated by the sheer number and baffling complexities of the laptops available, which have grown to include terms such as netbooks and Ultrabooks, and small business (as opposed to enterprise) laptops.

But don’t lose heart. This buying guide will point you in the right direction, whether you’re shopping for an ultraportable or something massive to replace your desktop, because your decision to buy what you

86 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011

thought was the perfectly configured laptop can suddenly be affected by unknown forces, such as a price changes. We’re here to help you get back into the right mindset, immediately spot the trends, and finally, bring home that perfect laptop for you.

Laptop Design is a Key Differentiator Plastic is still the most commonly used material in laptop frames, and while inexpensive, manufacturers have managed to turn them into art forms. The most common technique is a process called In-Mold Decoration (IMD)—a process made popular by HP, Toshiba, and Acer—in which decorative patterns are infused between plastic layers.

This process has evolved into textures and etched imprints, where the patterns can be

apple macbook pro 13 Like a growing number of laptops, the Macbook Pro is encased in aluminum, a more desirable material than plastic.

sony vaio vpc-z214gx This laptop has a carbon-fiber lid, which is used less frequently than aluminum and magnesium because of its higher cost.

felt by running your fingers over them.

In the end, though, plastics are often associated with cheap laptops. What you should be on the lookout for are designs that employ metal. The most common of those is aluminum, found in laptops such as the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Thunderbolt), Dell XPS 15z, and HP Envy 14 (Sandy Bridge. They have a more luxurious look and can be fashioned into a thinner chas-

sis than plastic. In fact, a PC manufacturer would find it difficult to compete in this market without using this material in many of its laptops. Magnesium alloy is more commonly found in business laptops that place a strong emphasis on durability (check out our business laptop buying guide). Carbon fiber, which was used on the lid of the Sony VAIO VPC-Z214GX, is yet another attractive material, but is less used than aluminum and november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 87

solutions Laptop buying guide

magnesium, as it is expensive to make.

Bigger Screen, Heavier Weight Weight and screen size are directly correlated to one another. The cutoff point between a laptop that should stay permanently on your desk and one that can be a commuting companion is a 14-inch widescreen. There are exceptions, of course.

The Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt) and Samsung RC512-S02 are two of the lightest 15-inch laptops—lighter, in fact, than some of the 14-inch ones in the market. A 13- or 14-inch widescreen means that you can still be productive without sacrificing portability. The Toshiba Portege R835P50X and Sony VAIO VPC-SA2FGX/BI are prime examples of superb 13-inch laptops.

Fourteen-inch models like the Asus U46EBAL5, Samsung QX411-W01, and HP Pavilion dm4-2070us offer a terrific blend of features and components, but they won’t weigh you down. Smaller than that, you’ll be venturing into netbook territory, which is an entirely different category of laptops.

Get a screen larger than 14 inches and you’ll have to contend with deeper and wider dimensions, which your laptop bag may not have room for. Screen sizes that range between 16 and 18 inches are usually reserved for media centers, gaming rigs, and desktop replacements, such as the Acer Aspire AS8950G-9839 (18 inches) and Alienware M17X (Sandy Bridge) . These massive systems often have luxuries like high resolutions, hardcore gaming graphics, and a wealth of state of the art features.

88 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011

Samsung RC512-S02 This is one of the lightest 15-inch laptops available; it’s even lighter than some 14-inch laptops on the market.

Toshiba Portege R835-P50X It may be only a 13-inch laptop, but users won’t be disappointed by its offerings.

Asus U46E-BAL5 This 14-inch laptop is rich in components and features, while still being attractively lightweight.

Acer Aspire AS8950G-9839 At 18 inches, this behemoth is no travel companion, but it’s jam-packed with killer graphics and cutting-edge features.

november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 89

solutions laptop buying guide

What’s New in Laptop Technologies Even the cheapest laptops come with many of the features you would find on a $2,000 laptop. Ample USB ports (3 to 4 minimum) are pretty standard nowadays. USB 3.0, which offers faster transfer speeds and greater connectivity bandwidths than USB 2.0, can already be found in laptop of all sizes. The port is usually colored in blue or has the letters “SS” (Super Speed) labeled next to it. Apple, meanwhile, is touting its Thunderbolt technology, which carries transfer data rates that are even faster than USB 3.0. Look for a laptop with one of the USB ports doubling as an eSATA port, so you can expand storage capacity when the internal hard drive isn’t roomy enough. Most of the time, you won’t even use a port like eSATA since most laptops nowadays come with at least 500GB of storage (Netbooks are averaging 250GB-320GB). Upgrading to a 640GB-750GB hard drive won’t cost you an arm and a leg either, but do so only if you’re a video junkie or an aspiring video content creator. Most people don’t need all that hard-drive space.

Although VGA is still the most common way to present Powerpoint slides on a big screen, technologies like DisplayPort and HDMI are better equipped to stream high quality videos and audio. With the exception of netbooks and sub-$500 laptops, most laptops have an HDMI port or DisplayPort. The Dell XPS 15z and Lenovo Thinkpad X1, for example, have both.

Aside from 802.11 Wi-Fi, Mobile Broadband (3G), and Bluetooth, wireless tech90 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011

nologies have grown to include two new ones. The first one is called WiMAX, a wireless broadband access technology that provides performance throughputs similar to 802.11 Wi-Fi, except the coverage area spans an entire city rather than one occupied by a house. These embedded chips can literally replace your current Internet package for less than you’re paying now. You can find these chips in the Samsung RC512-S02, Dell Latitude E6420, and Lenovo ThinkPad X220.

The other up-and-coming wireless technology is called Intel’s Wireless Display 2.0, or WiDi 2.0, for short, which is already in its second generation (the latest version supports 1080p video streams, protected content, and 5.1 surround sound). It’s very similar to a wireless version of HDMI, except there’s no dongle or piece hanging off of the USB port—the technology is built into the laptop. With WiDi 2.0, you can wirelessly connect your laptop to an HDTV, without the use of clunky VGA or HDMI cables. You do, however, need to purchase the Netgear Push2TV HD (PTV2000) receiver that has to be tethered to your HDTV. WiDi 2.0 is available in laptops like the Asus U56EBBL5, Toshiba R835-P50X, and Toshiba Satellite E305-S1990X. Unless you’re talking netbooks, a DVD burner is the de facto standard for internal optical drives. Blu-ray drives are coming down in prices, and you can find one in the Dell XPS 15, Samsung RC512-S02, and HP Pavilion dv7-6163us, for a reasonable price.

Of course, the lack of an optical drive

Dell Latitude E6420 In addition to offering Wi-Fi, 3G, and Bluetooth, the E6420 also offers WiMAX capability.

HP Pavilion dv7-6163us One attractive component of this HP model is its Blu-ray drive.

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Like the Latitude E6420, the ThinkPad X220 also includes WiMAX as an option.

november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 91

solutions laptop buying guide

isn’t a deal breaker anymore, especially if you’re intent on minimizing weight. The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt) and Samsung Series 9, for instance, give you everything but the internal optical drive. A Webcam and a media card reader are already integral parts of any laptop or netbook, as video conferencing and digital photography are as common as surfing the Web. Once you check off all of these standard features, you can go on to look for ones that are specific to your individual needs.

Buying an Extended Warranty Most laptops are backed by a complimentary 1-year parts and labor warranty. Asus and Costco sell laptops that come with standard two-year warranties. The standard warranty is a limited one, so it won’t cover accidents that stem from a spilled drink, a key that was scraped off by a finger nail, or a drop to a hard surface. Extended warranties are also available.

Most laptop manufacturers also sell accidental coverage as a separate plan, on top of extended warranties that work on top of a standard one, so you might end up spending close to $300 for three years of comprehensive coverage. Apple offers a maximum 3-year extended warranty ($250), while most Windows-based laptop manufacturers will offer up to 4 years.

Our rule of thumb is that if the warranty costs more than 15 percent of the laptop, you’re better off spending the money on backup drives or backup services that mini92 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011

mize downtime. Of course, you can’t put a price tag on peace of mind. There are instances when the logic board or the display—the most expensive pieces of a laptop—fail, and while rare, it can cost you half of what the laptop is worth. Faulty components usually break down during the first year; anything after that is probably your fault.

Weighing the Netbook Option As the competition grows more fierce in the netbook category, these little laptops, which were once considered mere Web -surfing and word-processing devices, are now being pegged as primary laptops for everyday tasks. Had you bought a netbook a year ago, you would have been dealt a 10-inch widescreen, a small keyboard, and a basic set of features. For less than $500 today, the HP Pavilion dm1z, Asus EeePC 1215N, and Lenovo ThinkPad X120e have screens that range between 11 and 12 inches, a full-size keyboard, and an HDMI port.

Though smaller, the Toshiba mini NB305N600 and HP Mini 5103 have the best typing and navigating experience on a 10-inch platform.

You’ll also find the Intel Atom platform, made up of the Atom processor, integrated graphics, and memory (usually 1GB) in many netbooks. The Intel Atom may not be the fastest processor, but it’s the most energy-efficient chip you can get on a netbook platform. The dual-core Atom, dubbed the Intel Atom N550 (1.5GHz), can be found in a handful of netbooks, including

Asus EeePC 1215N With a price tag just shy of $500, this netbook boasts a 12-inch widescreen, full-size keyboard, HDMI port, and more.

Lenovo ThinkPad X120e This impressive netbook runs on the energy-efficient Intel Atom processor.

november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 93

solutions laptop buying guide

the Asus EeePC 1015PEM, HP Mini 5103, and Acer Aspire One D260-1270. The fastest netbook processors, though not necessarily the most energy efficient, belong to AMD. The company has already made a strong impression in the netbook market, with its chips performing as well if not better than their Intel counterparts.

Many of these netbooks will run fine on 1GB of memory, and many of them, especially the AMD-equipped ones, ship with 2GB to 4GB of memory. As for operating systems, netbooks are almost exclusively Windows 7, either Starter Edition or Home Premium (AMD netbooks ship with Home Premium). Netbook batteries start with 3-cell (30Wh) units, but many netbooks are now standardizing on 6-cell batteries. Our battery tests have shown that the smaller batteries will get you anywhere from 3-4 hours of battery life on a single charge, while the bigger ones range between 7-9 hours. If your activities include trips abroad and allday classes, consider looking for netbooks that ship with 6-cell options.

New Intel Technology Already Here As for the rest of the laptop market, the most dominant processor chips come from Intel. For instance, you can choose one that maximizes performance or one that favors battery life. Or you can choose one that plays to both strengths: The Second Generation (codenamed Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7s are currently the most popular processor brands and have the benefits of both power and battery effi94 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011

ciency. If you desire all-day battery life, it’s best to go with a low-voltage or an Atom processor, such as those found in the HP Pavilion dm3t and netbooks, respectively.

Intel also has quad-core Core i7s for laptops, which are ideal for performance enthusiasts and avid gamers. AMD has its own multi-core processors as well (tripleor quad-core), called the Phenoms. Most of these processors can be found in desktop replacement, media centers, and gaming laptops.

Unless you’re a part-time gamer or a CAD user, most students will find that integrated graphics is more than enough for graphics related tasks, even more so now with Intel’s Sandy Bridge technology (4 times graphics improvement over previous version). Highend graphics cards are terrific for 3D games, transcoding a 1080p video, or watching a Blu-ray movie, but like a fast processor, they also feast on the battery. Nvidia (Optimus) and Apple (Automatic Graphics Switching) have technologies that leverage two graphics chips—an integrated and a discrete version—and the switch is done seamlessly, depending on what application the laptop is running. You can find switchable graphics technologies in laptops like the Dell XPS 15z and Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt). AMD has its own switching graphics technology, too, although the switch is done manually, in software.

Battery Life A big battery can be your biggest ally on a travel-hectic day. Many laptops, including

Dell XPS 15z Like the Macbook Pro 15-inch below, the XPS 15Z offers switchable graphics technologies.

Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch Its battery may not be removable, but it’s big and holds an impressive charge.

netbooks, are sold with multiple battery options. Apple laptops, on the other hand, have non-removable batteries, but they’re bigger than the average ones. In this case, figure out where battery life ranks in the grand scheme of things. For instance, mainstream laptops come with a 6-cell battery option, which lasts between 5 to 7 hours on a single charge, while ultraportables and business laptops tend to have multiple battery options that, when used in tandem, can

easily surpass the 10-hour mark. It’s always a good idea to look into additional batteries, especially if you spend more time on the road than you do in the office or at home.

You should also look at the battery’s capacity, which is usually measured in Watt-hours.

Two batteries claiming to be 6-cells can have different capacities. A big battery is accompanied by some heft, but the weight gain is worth it if it means you can leave the system unplugged from dawn ’til dusk. ■ november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 95

solutions ANDROID DEVICES

Android Rooting: What You Should Know Before You Try It Serious tinkerers who aren’t afraid of voiding warranties find rooting a way to get better results from their Android devices.

Here’s a quick explanation of how to get started.

By Jill Duffy

W

hile putting together a list of the best Android apps, I asked dozens of Android devotees what were their favorites, and a few fired back a short list of apps “for root users.”

Rooting an Android phone is kind of like jailbreaking an iPhone. In laymen’s terms, it means you’re cracking open the hood to access parts of the operating system that were intentionally locked to prevent you from messing them up, or doing anything to your phone that the manufacturer or carrier doesn’t want you to do. A slightly more technical explanation is to say that rooting means giving yourself “root access,” or greater privileges, or administrator control, 96 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011

to the lowest level of Android’s Linux subsystem.

Warning: If you didn’t pick up on the clues above, rooting isn’t for everyone and can have serious repercussions. While it’s perfect legal, it can void your phone’s warranty (more on that below). And if you don’t know what you’re doing or aren’t careful, you could potentially destroy your phone.

Rooting also opens up more security risks because you can download apps that have access to files that would normally be hidden from them.

So, if you’re perfectly happy with your Android phone as is, there is no reason to root it. If you’re a tinkerer and understand the possible ramifications, then there are several reasons you might want to root.

Why Root Android?

The purpose of rooting is to make the most of the device that you own by getting around the limitations that the manufacturer or carrier has put in place—and again, many of those barriers were put in place to prevent you from accidentally destroying your own device.

Here are some examples of what a root user can do: • Access the flash memory chip, which you need to do if you want to modify the Android OS or replace it with a customized version • Make the apps on your phone run faster • Remove pre-installed apps to free up space • Turn the phone into a 3G/4G WiFi hotspot without paying an extra fee.

There are many other reasons to root, too, but the ones listed here are certainly among the most popular.

Tips for Rooting 1. Be phone-specific. This tip comes first for a reason. It’s crucial that you look up information for your phone, and not just for Android across the board. Look for tutorials that are specific to the make and model of your phone, as well as any common problems. The rooting process varies by phone, and following the wrong proce-

dures could cause irreparable damage. Just as important, not every rooted phone will be able to do what you might have been hoping it would. For example, not every rooted device has an unlocked bootloader (necessary to flash ROMs), so make sure you understand what you are getting into and exactly what you want the outcome to be if you root your phone.

2. Read or watch the how-to beforehand.

Make sure to read or watch the entire tutorial before you begin, because there are often steps that are crucial that may appear out of order. For example, sometimes you need to disable antivirus software on your computer at a certain step for the rooting process to go smoothly.

3. Learn how to un-root. Rooting is reversible on most phones—again, check whether yours is before you even begin.

So before you root, make sure you know how to undo it. Just as it’s important to read the complete instructions before you start rooting, it’s a good idea to figure out how to reverse it before doing anything, as well. Because rooting may void your phone’s warranty, you’ll have to revoke the root access anytime you need to take your phone in for service.

4. Power up. Never tinker with anything less than a full battery. One of the most devastating things that can go wrong while in root mode is running out of battery midway through installing a custom OS or ROM (read-only memory, or the phone’s internal memory where your apps are stored).

If your Android dies before the new system november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 97

SOLUTIONS ANDrOID DEvICES

is installed fully, it’s extremely difficult to repair and restore the phone.

5. Stay away from extremes. root users will be enticed to push their phones past its previous limits for maximum performance—a phone that works faster. but remember, the phone makers put limits on your phone for a reason, in this case, to prevent the phone’s processor from overheating and burning out. root users who know what they’re doing bypass these limits, but should set new limits or other failsafe measures to keep the phone from overheating.

If you don’t know how to manage these settings, don’t tempt fate by trying to turn your phone into a lightning-fast machine. It’s pretty fast already.

6. When in doubt, ask for help. If at any point in rooting or unrooting you get stuck, search for help because you’re likely to find it. Android root users have been known to hang around a few helpful hacker forums, such as xda-developers. com and rootzwiki.com, where you can find answers to your questions and solutions to your problems. While these online

xDA-DEvELOPErS.COM This is a helpful

hacker forum that covers Android rooting.

98 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011

rOOTZWIkI This forum categorizes rooting

topics by device brands. resources will be invaluable, do bear in mind the other tips outlined in this article. remember that even the most helpful guy on a forum isn’t necessarily a technical writer, and his tutorial may be out of order or not specify which specific phone model he has in hand, or take for granted some other assumption. Comb through the advice you find meticulously before you decide to take it.

If you’re looking for tutorials to walk you through rooting, try Lifehacker’s guide to rooting Android devices.

7 APPS fOr rOOT USErS Deciding to root your phone shouldn’t be a split-second decision. But ultimately, it’s your phone, you own it, and you can do what you want. So if you do root your Android, here are seven starter apps you’ll want to download. You’ll need the first and second apps immediately in order to actually do anything with your root access, but the other apps are all optional and can be downloaded in any order.

ROM Manager Superuser

Root Explorer

Titanium

Lets you manage superuser (root user) permissions; this is the first app a newly rooted phone needs installed on it.

File Manager

Backup root

($3.80)

Backs up all your apps, removes bloatware, and otherwise helps you manage apps.

Shows you the files you can now access as a root user; this is the second app a newly rooted phone needs on it.

Lets you manage and install ROMs from your SD card, and organize and perform backups and restores.

SetCPU for Root Users AdFree Android

Wireless Tether

Removes most ads from your browser and apps.

for Root Users

Turns your phone into a mobile hotspot.

Changes the CPU settings for overclocking (going faster than the limit) and lets you set thresholds (like a temperature) to tell it when to stop; works only on select phones.

november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 99

Editors’ Choices in Key Categories For the complete reviews of these products and more Editors’ Choices check out go.pcmag.com/editorschoice

Desktops mainstream

Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5) $750 direct Budget/Value NEW

Gateway DX4860-UB33P

$599.99 list Midpriced

HP Pavilion p6727c-b $749.99 list

Editor Desktop Replacement

standard inkjet

Dell XPS 15z $1,534 direct

Epson WorkForce 60 $129.99 direct

netbook

Samsung NF310-A01 $400 street business

Dell Vostro 3350 $741 direct Lenovo ThinkPad T420s $1,518 direct budget

Asus U56E-BBL5 $649.99 list

HP PhotoSmart eStation $399 direct

Kodak ESP C310 $99.99 direct MFC INKJET

Brother MFC-J6710DW $300 street Photo Printer

TABLETS

Gaming/Multimedia

Digital Storm Black Ops Enix Edition $3,267 direct NEW

all-in-one

HP Pavilion Elite h8-1050

$1,299.99 direct ALL-In-one

Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Thunderbolt) $1,199 list

MAINSTREAM

Apple iPad 2 (Wi-Fi + 3G) 64GB buSINESS

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Tablet $1579 direct

sTORAGE Portable

touch-screen

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable Drive (500GB)

business

HP Compaq 4000 Pro $549 direct NETTop

Acer Revo RL100-UR20P $569.99 direct

$99.99 list

mainstream

Asus U46E-BAL5 $699.99 list CONSUMER ULTRA-LOW VOLTAGE

HP Pavilion dm3t $625 direct ULTRAportable

Western Digital MyBook Studio Edition II $430 list Synology DiskStation DS1511+ NAS $900 list

Viewsonic VX2258wm $339 street

NEC MultiSync PA301W $2299 list NEW

$2,254 direct Multimedia

Acer Aspire AS8950G-9839 $1,499.99 direct

SCANNERS Canon CanoScan LiDE110 Color Image Scanner $59.99 direct Xerox DocuMate 3115 $399.99 direct

networking Western Digital My Passport Essential SE $159.99 list Cisco Linksys E1200 Wireless-N Router $60 list Netgear N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router $130 street

HDTVs

Apple Thunderbolt Display

$999 direct

Printers

list

Alienware M17X (Sandy Bridge)

Canon REALis SX80 Mark II $3,999 direct

network-attached storage

HP Pavilion dv7-6143cl $999.99 gaming

NEC Display Solutions NP-M300WS $1,099 direct

document scanner

desktop

LCD Monitors Laptops & netbooks

projectors

$699 direct

HP Omni 100 $559.99 list HP TouchSmart 610-1150y $1,199.99 list

Epson Stylus Photo R2000 $499.99 direct

monochrome laser

Brother HL-2270DW $150 street color laser

Dell 2150cdn $399.99 direct Lexmark X548dte $1,749 direct

100 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011

plasma

Samsung PN51D8000 $2,299.99 list LCD

Sony Bravia KDL-46EX720 $1,439 direct LED

LG Infinia 47LW5600 $1,699 list

s’ G

Samsung BD-D5700 $199.99 list Digital Cameras

Sony PlayStation 3 120GB (PS3 Slim) $299.99 direct

QuickBooks Premier Edition 2011 $399.95 list

Nintendo 3DS $249.99 list

Microsoft Office for Mac 2011

compact

compact, interchangeable lens

Nikon D300 $1,800 street Nikon D5100 $899.99 list superzoom

Sony HDR-SR11 $1,099.99 direct

Digital Photo & Video

Barnes & Noble Nook Color $249 direct

Barnes & Noble Nook Touch Reader $139 direct headphones Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones $179.95 list bluetooth headsets

Aliph Jawbone Era $129 direct Shure SE215 $119 list

$129.95 direct photo editing

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended $699 to $899 list Aperture 3 $199 direct portable media Players

NEW

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air $599.95 list

Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker $299.95 direct

NEW

Zite (for iPad) free ooVoo (for iPhone) free Flipboard (for iPad) free Photogene $2.99 direct Note Taker HD (for iPad) android apps ooVoo free multimedia

Samsung Galaxy S II

Adobe Acrobat X from $199 list Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 $99.99 list CyberLink PowerDirector 9

from $199.99 with contract Sprint NEW

Apple iPhone 4S

$199 list

$99.95 list

Motorola Photon 4G $199.99 list

LG Rumor Touch

Speakers/Docks

iphone/IPAD apps

AT&T

Apple iPod touch (4th generation with Camera) 8GB, 16GB, $179 direct

Free

$4.99 direct

Cell phones

HTC Evo 4G $299.99 list

Apple iPod nano (5th gen.)

Google Docs (Summer 2011)

Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 $159.99 direct

Microsoft Zune 120GB $249 list

$229 direct

TurboTax Premier Online (Tax Year 2010) $49.95 direct

NEW

VIDEO-Editing SOFTWARE

CyberLink DVD Suite 7 Ultra

Basecamp Free

E-BOOK readers

$329.95 direct

Sony Bloggie Touch 8GB (MHSTS20/S) $199.99 direct

$499 direct

$229.99 list

Nikon Coolpix S9100 Digital Video Cameras

Office 2010 Professional

Garmin nüvi 2350LMT

Sony Alpha NEX-C3 $649.99 list D-SLR

$119 list

GPS Devices

Canon PowerShot S95 $399.99 direct

Office & productivity

GAMING

Blu-ray Players

Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1 $299.99 direct

Apple iTunes 10.4 Free

$79.99–$279.99 list

Apple iLife ’11 $49 direct

T-Mobile

HTC Sensation 4G $199 list T-Mobile G2x With Google $199 list

HTC Thunderbolt $249 street

$69.99 direct for three licenses

Motorola Droid Bionic

$299 list

antivirus

AVG Anti-Virus Free 2012 Free Norton Internet Security Suite 2012

Verizon Wireless

NEW

security

Norton AntiVirus 2012 $39.99 direct

NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 101

®

Editor-in-Chief, pc magazine network Editor, pc magazine digital edition

Dan Costa

Stephanie Chang

Vicki B. Jacobson Peter Pachal creative director Chris Phillips HOME PAGE EDITOR Don Sears fEatures editoR Eric Griffith senior fEatures writeR Chandra Steele fEatures writeR Jennifer Bergen manager, online production Yun-San Tsai Producers Mark Lamorgese, Whitney A. Reynolds news editors Chloe Albanesius (East Coast), Mark Hachman (West Coast) reporters Leslie Horn, Damon Poeter, Sarah Yin Commerce Producer Arielle Rochette assistant editor Meredith Popolo Utility Program Manager Tim Smith assistant designer Jackie Smith Contributing Editors Tim Bajarin, John R. Delaney, John C. Dvorak, Tim Gideon, Bill Howard, Edward Mendelson DIRECTOR OF ONLINE CONTENT, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER NEWS DIRECTOR

www.pcmag.com

Sean Carroll (software, security, Internet, business), Wendy Sheehan Donnell (consumer electronics), Laarni Almendrala Ragaza (hardware) Lead Analysts Cisco Cheng (laptops), Samara Lynn (business, networking), Michael Muchmore (software), Matthew Murray (DIY, components), Neil J. Rubenking, (security), Joel Santo Domingo (desktops), Sascha Segan (mobile), M. David Stone (printers, scanners) senior mobile analyst Jamie Lendino Analysts Jim Fisher (cameras), Tony Hoffman (printers, scanners), Jeffrey Wilson (software, Internet, networking) junior analysts Alex Colon (consumer electronics), Jill Duffy (software, Internet, networking), Will Greenwald (consumer electronics), David Pierce (consumer electronics), Natalie Shoemaker (hardware), Brian Westover (hardware) inventory Control Coordinator Nicole Graham Staff PhotographeR Scott Schedivy pc labs managing editors

Eric Koepele 212-503-5250 Marcella Regniault 212-503-5464 marketing manager Lindsay Garrison 212-503-5270 Advertising Office 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY 10016-7940; phone, 800-336-2423, 212-503-3500; fax, 212-503-5000; www.pcmagmedia.com senior vice President, digital sales

Vice President, Marketing and sales operations

Ziff Davis INC. Vivek Shah Steven Horowitz chief financial officer Andy Johns chief technology officer Joey Fortuna general counsel Stephen Hicks senior Vice President, content Dan Costa Chief executive officer

chief operating officer

Bennett Zucker Anurag Harsh senior vice President, digital sales Eric Koepele Vice Presidents Larry Chevres (engineering), Kathleen Kincaid (product development), Marcella Regniault (marketing and sales), Archie Rosenblum (technology) DIRECTOR Joseph Mirabella (Licensing) senior Vice President and General manager, Data solutions senior Vice President, business development

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