/ct_32_dec_11

December 2011

Great Gifts! he 16 of t s! best buy

foll w me

Tried & Tested iPod Docks and Stocking Stuffers!

Twitter For Beginners

Simply R14.95 incl. VAT

smart mobile: Nokia & Windows s match! a marvellou

Top

Reviews Printers LAPTOPS CAMERAS Tablets SOFTWARE cellphones GAMES

S o ny r e c o m me nd s Wi ndows ® 7.

Balanced Mobility Power in Mot ion . VAI O S Series

All models use Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit and come with a 3 year collect-repair-return warranty

VPC-SB37

VPC-SE17

VPC-SB28

VPC-SA36

• Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit • Intel® Core™ i5-2520M Processor 2.50 GHz with Turbo Boost • 4GB Ram / 750GB HDD • AMD Radeon™ HD 6470M 512MB Graphics • 13.3" HD Display with LED Backlight

• Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit • Intel® Core™ i7-2620M Processor 2.70 GHz with Turbo Boost • 4GB Ram / 640GB HDD • AMD Radeon™ HD 6470M 512MB Graphics• • 13.3" HD Display with LED Backlight

• Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit • Intel® Core™ i7-2640M Processor 2.80 GHz with Turbo Boost • 4GB Ram / 640GB HDD • AMD Radeon™ HD 6470M 1GB Graphics • 15.5" Full HD Display (1920 x 1080), LED Backlight

• Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit • Intel® Core™ i7-2620M Processor 2.70 GHz with Turbo Boost • 8GB Ram / 256GB SSD • AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M 1GB Graphics • 13.3" HD Display with LED Backlight

SRP: R10 999

SRP: R12 999

SRP: R13 999

SRP: R19 999

VPC-SA28 • Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit • Intel® Core™ i7-2620M Processor 2.70 GHz with Turbo Boost • 8GB Ram / 256GB SSD • AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M 1GB Graphics • 13.3" HD Display with LED Backlight • EMBEDDED 3G • Blu Ray Reader, DVD Reader & Writer SRP: R25 999

www.sony.co.za/vaio

www.connectmag.co.za

issue #32

December 2011

22

FEATURES 10 Blow your Bonus 10 pages of the ultimate gadget gift guide

22

Nokia’s Comeback Windows Phone 7 please!

26

Nintendo Nostalgia Mushroom Kingdom, the portable gaming console and more

28

Twitter for Beginners Hashtags, timelines, mentions – do you know how to tweet?

28

10

REGULARS 04 06 08 68 70 72

Editor’s Letter News Trouble-free Technobabble Tamsin the Tech Tannie Competition Disconnect

REVIEWS 38 40 49 56 58 60

First Look Top 5 Dock Round-Up Networking Software Stocking Stuffers

GAMING 62

Reviews

ed’s note

e m i t that ear! of y

T

Editor’s photo by Dan Elkabir / www.lightscapespdd.com

Subscribe now and you could win a Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR Camera. See Pg70 for details.

weeting. Who would have thought a micro-blogging service would take over the social networking space? Thanks to Twitter, the way we communicate and whom we talk to has changed completely.

From following a news story, to talking to your local bank or supermarket chain, Twitter has transformed self-expression and communication. Even if you don’t tweet, you can still get involved by following interesting people and services. Connect is here with a handy beginner’s guide (page 28) so you’ll soon know all about timelines, hashtags and trends.

The year has come to an end, and 2011 has seen so many great gadgets. To help you choose from the variety of goodies on offer, Deon du Plessis has put together a gift guide worth blowing your bonus on. On page 10, we feature 16 of the best devices of the year.

Bose, BlackBerry, Beats Solo… there’s plenty of gadget candy to look at.

Be sure to look out for Christo van Gemert’s feature on the history of Nintendo’s on-the-go gaming console, as well as the big changes happening at Nokia. There is also a round-up of iPod docks, gaming and more.

Enjoy the silly season and this issue of Connect, Tiana Cline Editor

PUBLISHER Brett Haggard brett@connectmag.co.za EDITOR Tiana Cline tiana@connectmag.co.za

REVIEWS Deon du Plessis EDITOR deon@connectmag.co.za TECHNOLOGY Christo van Gemert EDITOR christo@connectmag.co.za CONTRIBUTORS Tamsin Mackay Adam Oxford ART DIRECTOR Jason Palmer jason@connectmag.co.za

SUBSCRIPTIONS subscriptions@connectmag.co.za ADVERTISING Dorothy Haggard dorothy@connectmag.co.za Contact Hypertext Media Communications (011) 023-8001/4 info@hypertext.co.za FAX 08654 83304

Connect is a joint venture between Hypertext Media Communications and Incredible Connection

GT Portable Hard Drives. Limited Edition Inject 500 horsepower in your storage

verbatim.com

in the news...

Awesome Alpha Sony’s next consumer-level SLT offering is a monster.

The Alpha 65 has a 24-megapixel sensor, along with the ability to record video at 1080P resolution, and retains compatibility with the previous Sony lenses.

SLT cameras operate similarly to SLR cameras, but use electronic viewfinders instead of optical viewfinders. The Alpha 65 has the second generation of this technology, offering larger images, as well as better and faster auto focus. It will go up against rival cameras from Nikon (the D7000) and Canon (EOS 600D), both of which still use traditional SLR mirror systems. The cameras should be available on local shelves by the time you read this!

Hard drive pricing pandemonium Just a few months ago hard drive prices were the lowest they’d ever been.

Floods in Thailand, where many hard drive manufacturers have huge factories, have caused irreparable damage, and as a result there is a global shortage of hard drives.

Prices for 2-terabyte hard drives have jumped from R599 to more than R1 300, and prices aren’t expected to drop any time soon. Early estimates say that production and demand will only have settled by the middle of 2012. Now would be a good time to start keeping track of what files aren’t essential, and keeping an eye on your larger downloads – having nowhere to store your data could cost you, and your backup routine may also put a dent in your wallet.

Evolve in 3D Smartphone manufacturer HTC has announced its HTC Evo 3D will be sold in South Africa. The Android-based smartphone uses a 4.3” glassesfree 3D display to deliver visuals that, quite literally, pop out at you.

It’s not just all show, though. There’s a dualcore 1.2GHz processor, and two 5-megapixel camera capable of snapping 3D photos, all of which come packed in a sleek sculpted body.

Everything is presented on HTC’s brilliant Sense user interface.

The 3D phone, one of only a handful available on the market, can be had for just under R6 900, and is available from a number of service providers countrywide.

6 | connect | December 2011

Biggest fans!

The Computer Applications Technology class at Bellville Technical High School recently took a little break from revising for their end of year exams to let Connect just how much they love the magazine and how it goes a long way in contributing to their rigorous study regime.

Keep reading and good luck with the exams!

techno jargon // by Deon Du PLessis

8 | connect | december 2011

Jargon got you down?

Maybe our guide can help you get back some Geek Cred.

404 Error

Dual layer

Flame war

An error message given by a Web browser, indicating that a Web page can’t be found because it never existed, or no longer exists.

Optical discs like DVDs and CDs have at least one layer of reflective material sandwiched between 2 clear plastic discs. As the technology has matured, engineers have been able to get multiple layers of reflective material incorporated into the design, which dramatically increases the amount of data the disc is able to hold. For example, single-layer DVDs hold 4.7GB of data, whereas dual-layer discs can contain as much as 8.54GB.

When an Internet forum or comments section goes from rational, intelligent discussion to an all-out war of words between the participants, where reason, manners and social decorum go out the window, it’s called a “flame war”. Participants usually get hostile and aggressive towards one another, and hurl insults around, attempting to add fuel to the “flame” of the argument. They are entirely unproductive, but incredibly entertaining to read.

Peer-to-peer (P2P)

Killer app

When multiple computers are linked together without going through a central computer or a server, they are said to be in a peer-to-peer network. Peer-topeer software applications are used to connect computers to resources, with each computer that runs the software forming part of a bigger peer-topeer network. Examples of popular P2P software include the original Napster, a file-sharing program that allowed users to browse files stored on other peoples’ computers. When downloading anything, the program would grab little chunks of data from multiple sources rather than from a single location.

When an application is so good that it inspires millions of people to go out and buy it because they just have to have it, it’s called a “killer app”. The runon effect is that it popularises whatever platform it happens to run on. The Halo franchise qualifies as one of the Xbox 360 gaming platform’s killer apps, Sonic the Hedgehog was it for the Sega Mega Drive, and Tetris was the Game Boy’s killer app. The first-ever example of a killer app in gaming was Space Invaders, released in 1978, as it quadrupled sales of the Atari 2600 console.

Adware Software that installs itself onto computers and causes advertisements to appear randomly in a Web browser.

It’s usually attached to software that is otherwise free, as that way, people are tempted to install it thinking there is no price attached. It’s a way of supporting the development of an application through advertising, but it’s generally considered to be a nuisance, to the point where some companies have developed software that specifically removes any adware it encounters.

Boot This is the term for the process that starts up a computer. It is derived from the idiom “to pull oneself up by one’s bootstraps”, which reflects the somewhat paradoxical reality that a computer needs software to run, but it cannot run without first loading software.

The process of loading the operating system was called “bootstrapping” in the 1950s in reference to this, and it has since been shortened to “boot”.

N00b Phishing

Pwn Emerging from the gaming phenomenon that was the original Counterstrike back in the late ‘90s, this Internet slang term originally meant “to be dominated by an opponent”. It’s pronounced “own”, and, in fact, that is how it first appeared, but due to the pace of the game, mistypes often made it into chat screens, and the word slowly morphed into “pwn”. Today, getting “pwned” can mean anything from being dominated in a game, to falling down while the video camera rolls, to any kind of mishap involving people getting hurt.

“Phishing” is the act of attempting to get a person to voluntarily disclose important information like credit card numbers, ID numbers, addresses and more, which can then be used in fraudulent activities online.

It’s usually done by posing as a seemingly legitimate entity (like a bank) via e-mail. People are encouraged to click on Web links that look just like the actual page does, but these pages only capture information the user puts in for use at the real site. If you’re ever worried that an e-mail might be fraudulently phishing for your information, simply call your bank and ask.

Derived from the term “newbie”, which signifies a new player to a game, the term “n00b” is now used as an insult, and refers to anyone who is thought to be really bad at a game. Newcomers often introduce themselves to a game community as “n00bs”, but it’s more commonly used by talented players who have just pwned other players who don’t appear to have grasped the game’s mechanics yet. It’s an insult to the gamer’s gaming abilities and a great way to undermine another player’s confidence. It is usually (but not always) followed by a derogatory comment concerning the player’s mother.

www.connectmag.co.za | 9

great gifts 2011 //by deon du plessis

Yay! It’s the silly season, and we thought we’d get you in the mood with some irreverent fun: a look at sixteen amazing products designed to inspire desire. So go on and spoil yourself or a loved one and...

bl w 10 | connect | December 2011

your

W

e’d gladly spend our own money on every one of these, too, either because we loved them when we originally reviewed them, or because we’ve heard so many good things about them. A lottery win would help with some of them, of course, but that’s part of the fun.

We cover many categories, from game-playing notebooks to games consoles, and we’d be very happy to see one or all of them under the tree on Christmas morn.

Some are brand-spanking-new, while others are slightly older. The older products are there simply because, despite their age, they are still so relevant. We know from personal experience that our lives wouldn’t be the same without our Xboxes and PlayStations, for instance, and we just want to share the cheer.

We’re aware that money is on everyone’s mind at the moment, and we know that many of the products in this feature are rather blingy, but we’re also fond of a bit of fantasy – sometimes, just sometimes, it’s nice to daydream, and we hope this feature will inspire our readers to do just that. And now, it’s on with the show!

www.connectmag.co.za | 11

great gifts 2011 //by deon du plessis

Notebooks...

Dell Alienware M17x Gaming Notebook Price: R29 999.95 Website: www.alienware.com It’s big, it’s bad and it’ll blow you away. Alienware’s 17” gaming notebook will put a smile on any gamer’s face come Christmas Day, with its GeForce graphics card, Core i7 processor, and loads of RAM and hard drive space. It’s a little on the heavy side, but better a heavy and fast notebook than a lightweight but slow one. Happily, “underpowered” is not a word the Alienware M17x understands, but it definitely knows “3D”, “fast” and “responsive”. That makes it as much a joy to use for everyday tasks as it is for 3D Blu-ray playback and gaming. The only downside here is that it costs R30k, which means you may need to get creative in order to afford it. Ignoring that, this is a great way to spend that year-end disposable income!

Spec Spotlight: Intel Core i7 processor 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT460M graphics 16GB RAM 1.5TB hard drive space Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

11” MacBook Air

Spec Spotlight: Intel Core i5 @ 1.6GHz From 2GB of RAM (max 4GB) From 64GB flash-based storage (max 128GB) USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt ports 5-hour battery

12 | connect | December 2011

Price: From R8 999.95 Website: www.apple.com/za/macbookair The MacBook Air is to the modern notebook what Alessandra Ambrosio is to the world of high fashion: thin and expensive, but so achingly beautiful that you can’t help but fall in love. The Air is impossibly thin – so much so that it’s hard to believe there is much to it, but there is. It’s fast and responsive despite its wraith-like 17mm thickness, so lightweight it can be easily gripped by only 2 fingers and, best of all, it boasts a battery life of up to 5 hours. In addition to gorgeous looks and great performance, the Air also sports Apple’s new Thunderbolt port, a high-speed I/O port that can transfer data even faster than the old FireWire ports did. There is no betterlooking MacBook out there. Best of all, performance isn’t compromised to achieve its stunning looks.

great gifts 2011 //by deon du plessis

Smartphones...

BlackBerry Bold 9900 Price: R6 499.95 Website: www.blackberry.co.za In addition to being the thinnest BlackBerry to date, the Bold 9900 combines the traditional BlackBerry phone design with a touchscreen for the first time. Further improvements are seen in the phone’s overall responsiveness, which is as close to instantaneous as we’ve seen. This is thanks in large part to BlackBerry’s new “OS 7” operating system, which makes great use of the huge processing power of the 1.2GHz dual-core processor and the fluid rendering power of BlackBerry’s new “Liquid Graphics” visual processing technology to deliver the smoothest, fastest BlackBerry experience to date. Once you add in a 720p camera, the slightly wider-than-before QWERTY keyboard and the 9900’s solid build (the stainless steel band that goes around the phone’s edge adds quite a bit of rigidity), the Bold 9900 goes from “just another BlackBerry” to the next “must-have” device for both fans of the brand and newcomers alike.

Spec Spotlight: 5MP camera with 720p HD video recording Dual-core 1.2GHz processor with Liquid Graphics BlackBerry OS 7 Transmissive 2.8” 640 x 480 colour TFT LCD screen Up to 6.3 hours talk time

Apple iPhone 4S (16GB) Price: R7 499.95 Website: www.apple.com/iphone Apple builds on the success of the iPhone 4 with the iPhone 4S, a phone that offers more of an upgrade than implied by the simple addition of the “S”. It might not be the iPhone 5, but it comes with an upgraded operating system and new, faster hardware that makes absolutely everything the iPhone 4 used to do, even better. Perhaps more important are brand-new features like Siri, an accurate voice recognition technology that understands plain English. Want to send a text message? Say “Siri, send text to John” and boom, the phone brings up the appropriate screen and then proceeds to type out whatever you say, as you say it. Another cool feature is “in the cloud” storage called iCloud, which lets you copy all your music, photos, documents and more to the Internet. They are then made available to all of your Apple devices. It’s an evolution, not a revolution, but it’s certainly a good few steps in the right direction, and definitely the reason the iPhone 4S is the Apple phone to own.

Spec Spotlight: 16/32/64GB storage Apple A5 dual-core 800MHz processor 3.5” multi-touch Retina Display @ 960 x 640, 326 pixels per inch 8MP auto-focus camera with LED flash and 1 080p video recording

14 | connect | December 2011

Samsung Galaxy S II Price: R6 299.95 Website: www.samsung.co.za The Galaxy S II is Samsung’s fastest and most beautiful smartphone to date, with its thin build, stunning Corning Gorilla Glass and big 4.3” touch-sensitive screen.

It’s quite large as a result, but that only serves to make the Super AMOLED Plus screen, with its rich colours and excellent visibility in bright sunlight, that much more noticeable. Google’s Android OS powers the ultra-fast user experience, and the screen’s high resolution shows off the tweaks Samsung’s engineers have added to Android’s interface. Where the Galaxy S II really trumps the competition is on battery life, with a whopping 11 hours of talk time. Throw in the densely-populated Android Marketplace that’s full of useful apps and games, and you have one of this generation’s best Android phones and one of Samsung’s best products to date.

Spec Spotlight: Super AMOLED Plus 4.3” display Dual-core application processor 11-hour talk time, 18.4-hour standby time 32GB internal storage Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread) Operating System

HTC 7 Trophy Price: R5 499.95 Website: www.htc.com Microsoft might be the newest contender in the latest round of smartphone operating systems, but Windows Phone 7 is definitely the slickest of the lot.

The HTC 7 Trophy is plainly sleek device, with a 3.8” touch screen display, 1GHz processor, 8GB storage and 5-megapixel camera.

But the hardware is only half the story in this equation. This baby runs Windows Phone 7, and if you’re having flashbacks of the terrible Windows phones of yore, fret not. The new operating system has been designed from the ground up to be properly fast, stable and slick. As an experience it easily outdoes any Android phone, and beats even the mighty iPhone on creative functions and integration with online services.

Take a picture, and it’ll immediately ask if you want to upload it to Facebook or share it on Windows Live. You can even log in to Xbox Live and see what your friends are doing, or play WP7-specific Xbox games. The app marketplace is growing rapidly, as well, and that’s what secures makes the Trophy a phone to consider if you want some thing… different, but very capable.

Spec Spotlight: Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) Up to 6.5 hours talk time 3.8” touch-sensitive display Bluetooth, motion sensor and GPS built in

www.connectmag.co.za | 15

great gifts 2011 //by deon du plessis

Gaming...

Sony PlayStation 3 Price: From R2 599.95 Website: www.playstation.co.za Despite the arrival of affordable standalone Blu-ray players, Sony’s PlayStation 3 gaming console still offers the best value for money when it comes to home entertainment. Not only will it play HD and 3D movies on any supported HD TV, it also acts as a media centre that can play many of the most common music and video file formats and, most importantly, games! It’s an all-in-one entertainment solution that no modern lounge should be without, and that’s before it’s even connected to the Internet. Once it is hooked up, you gain access to Sony’s huge library of downloadable (paid-for and free) content and services available through the PlayStation Network, as well as completely free multiplayer gaming. Superb gaming graphics, support for a wide range of 3D-enabled titles plus a large number of PS3-exclusive games are just a few features that make the PS3 so much more than just a Blu-ray player. It’s a fantastic way to spend your bonus and please yourself and the family at the same time.

Spec Spotlight: PowerPC-base Core Cell processor @ 3.2GHz Stereoscopic 3D Blu-ray playback capabilities Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity 160/320GB storage options Graphics by NVIDIA

Spec Spotlight: 4GB and 250GB storage options Graphics by ATI Wireless controller included Built-in wireless networking

16 | connect | December 2011

Microsoft Xbox 360 Price: From R2 399.95 (4GB) Website: www.xbox.com With over 20 million registered users, there is always someone to play against on Xbox Live, the online component of Microsoft’s excellent Xbox 360 gaming console. Taking advantage of everything the Xbox has to offer (including multiplayer gaming) requires a fairly quick Internet connection and an Xbox Live Gold subscription, which makes it slightly more complicated and expensive to run than the PlayStation 3. For those with the resources, however, going the Xbox route is well worth the money thanks to Microsoft’s excellent support of the platform and the ever-growing amount of content available to consumers through the Xbox Live marketplace. The games, movies and demos available will take up a lot of storage, making the 250GB model the best choice.

Xbox-exclusive games include the iconic Halo series, Turn 10’s seriously impressive Forza Motorsport racing games and the pulse-pounding Gears of War titles. It might not have the multimedia capabilities of the PlayStation 3, but the wealth of content it has access to and the quality of its exclusive games easily make up for that fact.

Sony PlayStation Move Starter Pack Price: From R699.95 Website: www.playstation.co.za Sony created a new way to enjoy PS3 games with the introduction of its Move accessory, a handheld controller gadget that controls on-screen action by the way it is moved around in the gamer’s hand. This means players must use the controller to mimic the real-world motions needed to shoot guns, throw objects, swing swords, bowl, and more. In essence, they must participate in games with more than just their thumbs and fingers. With the Move, gamers are encouraged to get off their derrières and move their bodies. For the best experience, a second Move controller can be added for extra realism and finer control over on-screen bows, fists, swords and more.

It’s a great way to get families involved in gaming while also encouraging movement during playtime. There are enough Move titles to satisfy the preferences of all kinds of PS3 gamers, from shooter enthusiasts to platformer fans to dance- and fitness-game buffs, with a holidayseason line-up of new and enhanced Move titles to boot.

Popular PlayStation Move Games: Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 EyePet Sports Champions Heavy Rain Little Big Planet

Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 Price: R1 999.95 Website: www.xbox.com While other companies are content to give players a hand-held motion-sensitive controller with which to play their games, Microsoft went the controller-free route with the Kinect.

Basically, it’s a camera that watches the player and translates body motion and voice commands into on-screen action, which lets players truly interact with their games without worrying that they’re going to end up throwing something into the TV. All that’s needed is a lot of room to flail limbs around in without bumping into obstacles, and gamers can go wild with fighting games that get arms pumping, dance games that have them dancing along with the pros, and even car games that let gamers steer by simply holding their arms out as if they’re gripping an invisible steering wheel. Kinect offers a revolutionary way to play games, and is a fantastic enhancement of an already-awesome and family-friendly console gaming experience.

Popular Kinect Games: Just Dance 3 Forza Motorsport 4 Your Shape: Fitness Evolved Dance Central 2

www.connectmag.co.za | 17

great gifts 2011 //by deon du plessis

Audio...

Beats Solo by Dr. Dre Price: R1 999.95 Website: www.beatsbydre.com Beats by Dr. Dre is a high-quality audio brand, conceived of and helmed by Dr. Dre himself for the express purpose of supplying the market with headphones and speakers that deliver a sound experience close to that offered by high-end, studio-quality equipment. Beats Solo is a set of collapsible over-ear headphones for people who listen to their music when they’re on the go, with cans that form a not-completely-airtight seal around the ear that filter out a lot of external noise. They’re smaller than the Beats Studio set but they deliver a really rich listening experience, especially for fans of bass-heavy dance music. They even have a built-in microphone that can be used for hands-free calling and Internet chats. Included in the package is a second cable with in-line controls that can be used to control iPods. These are highquality headphones designed for serious music fans who value quality.

Package Spotlight: New durable headband design Built-in microphone for hands-free calls and online chats In-line controls for easy iPod and iPhone audio control Folding design and touring case Monster Clean Cloth included

Sony MDR-EX1000 in-ear Headphones Price: R4 999.95 Website: www.sony.co.za In-ear ‘buds don’t get better than this set for the same kind of cash – Sony’s excellent MDR-EX1000 in-ear headphones are stunning in terms of design, quality and sound performance. They are supercomfortable studio-level earbuds, so they’re suitable for professional applications. They’re built with a magnesium alloy housing that balances the audio while adding toughness to the product, a quality many earbuds are sorely lacking. The EX1000’s design also uses an incredibly rigid liquid crystal polymer diaphragm that lets sound pass through without distorting at all, an important quality when the music is loud. Adding to this is a large collection of silicone tips that give you the choice between sound isolation or comfort, or a bit of both, which only serve to make an excellent set of ‘phones even better.

18 | connect | December 2011

Spec Spotlight: 16mm dynamic driver units deliver accurate sound Liquid crystal polymer film for highly accurate sound Lightweight magnesium-alloy housing Comfortable and long-wearing silicone rubber earbuds Noise-isolation earbuds for effective reduction of ambient noise

Apple iPod Touch Price: From R1 999.95 Website: www.apple.com/ipod In the world of portable digital media players, there is no better device than Apple’s iPod Touch. It’s thin and beautiful, as good tech should be. But more than that, it comes with the most responsive touchscreen interface ever designed and a truly stunning screen that enhances your movie-watching experience. Just looking at it is enough to inspire the desire to own it. The iPod Touch’s sound output is up to Apple’s usual high standards and produces a brilliant listening experience, although the earphones it comes with should definitely be replaced at the earliest possible convenience. There is also tons of storage space for music files and movies formatted for the iPod. It also plays 3D games, so it has all bases covered. As a gift for yourself or someone else, the iPod Touch is an impressive present.

Spec Spotlight: 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth connectivity 3.5” multi-touch display @ 960 x 640 16/32/64GB of storage space 720p video recording @ 30fps Up to 40 hours of music playback on a single charge

Bose SoundDock 10 iPod Docking Station Price: R7 999.95 Website: www.bose.co.za When it comes to living-room audio, the looks of the system you choose are almost as important as the sound quality, and in both of these departments, Bose’s SoundDock 10 excels. It’s a heavy, silver-clad compact sound system that puts out superb sound – enough to fill a room and even power a party. The system’s body houses a subwoofer and two “twiddlers” – smaller speakers that handle the mid- and high-range sounds needed for a balanced audio experience. Together they produce impressive hi-fidelity sound, even at high volumes. If you don’t own an iPhone, you can always connect music devices using the dock’s auxiliary connectors or over Bluetooth using an adapter (sold separately). Its amazingly rich sound and high-tech looks easily qualify the SoundDock 10 as a smart way to bring great sound to your lounge.

Feature Spotlight: Life-like performance that has to be heard to be believed Deeper low notes from a newly-designed subwoofer enhanced by Bose’s Waveguide speaker technology Auxiliary input for connecting music phones, MP3 players or other audio devices Compatible with all iPhone and most iPod models

www.connectmag.co.za | 19

great gifts 2011 //by deon du plessis

Tablet PCs...

Spec Spotlight: 9.7” (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-touch display with IPS technology 1 024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi) Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Up to 10 hours of battery life 3G & Wi-Fi connectivity (SIM card sold separately)

Apple iPad 2 64GB Wi-Fi & 3G Price: R8 999.95 Website: www.apple.com/ipad If you don’t want an iPad 2, you’re either a die-hard Android fan, or you’ve just woken up from a 3-year coma and your eyes are still getting used to sunlight. For the rest of us, the iPad 2 might well be the most-desired geek gift of 2011, and for good reason – it’s amazing. It’s faster than the original iPad thanks to its dual-core processor and new graphics chip. If that alone isn’t enough to inspire that “gimme gimme” feeling, the top-end one has a whopping 64GB of Solid State memory. That’s plenty for all the media you’ll take with you on long trips. Best of all, the iPad 2’s battery lasts a seriously impressive 10 hours! Add to that Apple’s excellent App Store and incredible games like Infinity Blade, Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, and you have a recipe for Nerdvana should you decide to take the plunge.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Price: R8 999.95 Website: www.samsung.co.za iPads are great products, but for those who value flexibility over Apple’s rather rigid approach to the operating system and what it can and can’t do, devices based on Google’s Android OS are a better alternative. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 is arguably the best of all Android-based tablets, and it’s an absolute beauty to behold. It’s also super-fast, thanks to its dual-core Tegra 2 processor and 1GB of RAM, making it a real pleasure to use on a daily basis and a joy to game on. It’s also an excellent multimedia player, and the wealth of apps available on the Android Marketplace is so rich, it’s possible to find an app to do just about anything you can think of. Whether it’s a better buy than an iPad 2 depends on the buyer’s viewpoint, but we know for sure that it’s easily the best Android tablet available today.

20 | connect | December 2011

Spec Spotlight: 10.1” widescreen display @ 1 280 x 800 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor 149 pixels per inch Google Android 3.1 “Honeycomb” Operating System 64GB onboard storage 3G & Wi-Fi connectivity (SIM card sold separately)

windows phone 7 //by brett haggard

Nokia is After an 8-month wait, Nokia lifted the wraps on their first two Windows Phone devices.

Connect was in London to see what the fuss is all about.

H

ello Windows Phone 7! The alliance between well-known Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia and Microsoft is a big deal, big enough that Nokia ceased work on Symbian Series 60 and Meego – the only two Operating Systems (OS) in Nokia’s stable that offered smartphone-type functionality.

While companies like Samsung and HTC have released phones running Windows Phone 7, it’s clear those companies have a greater commitment to the Android platform, Google’s mobile Operating System. Windows Phone looks great and has some impressive features, but it has failed to get the full support of the big smartphone brands – until now.

Show me the money!

If the price points, specifications and timelines Nokia spoke about at Nokia World 2011 are anything to go on, it’s going to work. The Nokia phones are aggressively priced at €270 (about R3 000) for the entry-level Lumia 710, and €450 (about R5 000) for the Lumia 800. And the best guess we can get out of anyone right now is that they’re due to arrive in South Africa during the first quarter of 2012.

22 | connect | December 2011

Shiny and new Nokia’s Lumia 800 It’s pretty much a carbon copy of the head-turning Meego-based N9, barring of course the addition of an extra hardware button (for operating the camera), three capacitive navigation buttons (used for navigating the Windows Phone OS) and a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 processor.

It sports 32GB of flash memory for storing applications, videos, music and other content, as well as an 8-megapixel camera with Zeiss optics (a Nokia trademark feature), which takes absolutely beautiful still and HD quality video. Its party piece is still its stunning chassis and curved AMOLED that is crisp, bright and beautiful.

Interestingly, the flagship phone doesn’t have a front-facing camera, which means it’s not going to be ideal for those wanting video-calling.

Available in three vivid colours (cyan, magenta and black), the Lumia 800 is all about social networking and Internet connectivity.

The Lumia 710 This is a device with slightly scaled-down hardware specifications, but, importantly, it sports the same processor used in the Lumia 800, which was a pleasant surprise. The 710 won’t blow you away in the industrial design department. In fact, it’s a pretty standard-looking mobile phone. It only has 8GB of flash memory and a 5MP Zeiss optics-powered camera. It also has a slightly smaller LCD-based screen than the Lumia 800’s AMOLED monster. But, it’s more than usable.

And at the price point, the 710 is a killer deal.

Under the hood Right now, Nokia’s Lumia range has the fastest processors of all the Windows phones available (although others will soon follow suit).

Both run the upgraded 7.5 version of the Operating System out of the box, codenamed “Mango”.

Needless to say, the beefed-up processor in the two phones makes the Windows Phone OS run like a hot knife through butter. In fact, the company is so bullish about the experience on the new Lumia, Nokia claim the Lumia range are the “first real Windows phones” the market has seen.

www.connectmag.co.za | 23

windows phone 7 //by brett haggard allows users to tap into pre-defined mixes. These can either be streamed over the air (3 hours of digital music weighs in at about 50MB of 3G data) or downloaded for offline use.

Users also have the ability to input the names of three of their favourite artists and have a custom ‘streaming-only’ radio station generated for them (similar to www.Last.fm). These custom ‘streaming radio stations’ don’t feature an option that allows users to download the content. Also integrated in Nokia Music is Gigfinder, providing the ability to search for live local music for a complete end-to-end music experience, as well as the ability to share discoveries on social networks and buy concert tickets.

Personal navigation First up, the company has bundled Nokia Drive – a turn-by-turn navigation application – with these Windows Phone handsets. Nokia’s acclaimed navigation products (the company owns Navteq, one of the leading providers of mapping data in the world) keep the user in mind, allowing for commuters to find interesting places in the city where they live. And in addition to this, the Nokia Public Transport application tracks public transportation directly on a mobile device in more than 430 cities worldwide, including up-to-theminute updates on bus and train routes for 45 cities – useful for the intrepid traveller. Another element of this varied navigation package is Nokia Pulse. This allows location-tagged updates and photos to be sent privately, adding location to conversations.

Music, maps and more It’s not just about the hardware – Nokia’s Lumia 800 and 710 are different from all the Windows 7 phones the market has seen to date.

Let the music play The most prominent differentiator, however, is that Nokia are making their music service available on the new handsets from day one, which will immediately bring content to regions where Windows Phone is available. (Microsoft’s online music store, Zune, hasn’t yet been launched in South Africa.)

On the Nokia phones sporting the funky Windows Phone 7 tile interface, the shortcut tile for Nokia Music will be placed further up on the home screen with the Microsoft’s Zune tile below. The idea is to get users clicking into Nokia’s Music offering before experimenting with Zune and finding out there’s a limited amount of value to be had in South Africa. Apart from Nokia Music being a conventional online music shop where users can access any music they’ve synchronised to the phone, Nokia Music also

24 | connect | December 2011

Sports and more Nokia have developed a new partnership with ESPN, which sees a sports news and content application being bundled with Nokia Windows phones on an exclusive basis. Even though this is more notable in the US and European markets, where ESPN is pretty big, in South Africa it will be interesting to see how easy it is to get local soccer scores and decent rugby or cricket reporting.

flashback //by christo van gemert

The history of...

Nintendo’ s portable gaming 1989 With the G&W titles enjoying huge success, Nintendo take to developing a standalone handheld console that can play many different games.

They release the Game Boy, which features the same button layout and cartridge system as used on the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System that gamers have in their lounges. It’s also one of the first game consoles with a multiplayer system – two Game Boys can be linked using a specific cable.

1980

1995

With the single-game console idea already established, Nintendo revolutionise the industry with the introduction of Game & Watch consoles. All Game & Watch consoles can be used as a watch, with an alarm clock, hence the name. Some boast dual screens (sound familiar?), and can fold in half. In total, there are around 50 different Game & Watch titles.

Despite competition from Sega and Atari, which both have handheld consoles with full-colour backlit displays, the monochrome-only Game Boy still sells more units. Its simple design, lower price and longer battery life (10 to 12 hours on 4 x AA batteries) makes it a hit – and Nintendo start offering it in many different colours, a trend that continues to this day.

2011 The gaming giant releases the 8th generation handheld games console, the 3DS. it’s a dual-screen device with 3D capabilities. In this case, the lower display retains its touch sensitivity, while the wider top display is capable of showing glasses-free 3D content. It loses backwards compatibility with previous consoles, but users have access to a vast library of content available through the Nintendo eShop, with downloadable games.

26 | connect | December 2011

2009

2006

Where previous Nintendo handhelds have been shrunken down, the company chooses to release a larger version of the DSi, now called the DSi XL. The mammoth handheld needs bigger pockets, but the larger screens, improved Web-browsing experience, better sound and longer battery life make up for it.

Attempting to shrink things down, Nintendo give the market the DS Lite. It’s more compact, something the company says is to appeal to new audiences, and features a setting for brightness adjustment on the backlit display.

2008 In a strange move, Nintendo release an upgraded version of the DS, dubbed the DSi. It has dual cameras, an SD card slot for storing game data, a faster processor and more memory.

The DSi can run all DS games, in addition to DSi-specific titles. Only a handful of these are ever released.

Before the iPod Touch was even an ‘80s sciencefiction prop, portable gaming was a reality. The first portable electronic gaming consoles were gadgets that had a single built-in game. Of these, the first was Barbie-maker Mattel’s Auto Race console, released in 1977. But the company that revolutionised portable gaming is Nintendo – and here’s its illustrious history...

1996

Late 1998

Nintendo fine-tune the Game Boy, and bring to market the Game Boy Pocket. It’s a smaller console that uses 3 x AAA batteries, but still provides 10 hours of playtime. The biggest hardware change is the use of a regular monochrome screen, rather than the green-tinted one used in previous models.

With the Game Boy platform nearing its 10th birthday, Nintendo revise the hardware. The Game Boy Color is born and gives us the same non-backlit display, but adds a colour palette with 32 000+ colours, of which up to 56 can be shown on-screen at once. Its processor is twice as fast, and it has 4 times as much memory. Happily, it retains backwards compatibility and can still play original Game Boy games.

2001 Early 1998 The biggest omission on the Game Boy, to date, has been the lack of a backlight for its display.

Nintendo finally release a model – the Game Boy Light – that uses an electroluminescent display for low-light conditions. Previously, players had to use an add-on light for illumination during play. The GB Light ends up being the only backlit unit until the release of the DS.

Three years is a long time in the tech industry, and in that time, Nintendo develop and release the Game Boy Advance. It has a 32-bit, 16MHz processor – twice as fast as the one in the Color – and a higher resolution display capable of showing more colours at once.

It retains full backwards compatibility with previous Game Boy models.

2005

2003

In an attempt to revitalise the Game Boy brand with some retro chic, Nintendo release the Game Boy Micro. It’s a shrunken Game Boy Advance, designed to give casual gamers a cheaper alternative to the DS. It never really takes off, despite its cutesy, gadgety appeal.

Nintendo start paying attention to what users want – the Game Boy Advance had a different form factor to the previous models, and users want something compact.

Nintendo introduce the Game Boy Advance SP. The same hardware as the GBA, but it can now fold in half. When unfolded, it looks similar to the original Game Boy. The GBA also has a built-in front light for night-time gaming.

2004 Nintendo release the dual-screen Nintendo DS. It boasts a touch-sensitive display that allows for new input methods, in addition to a d-pad, 4 face buttons and 2 bumper buttons.

It retains some backwards compatibility with older GB titles, but wireless networking and Internet capabilities give users access to the Nintendo Virtual Console shop, where they can buy and download older games.

www.connectmag.co.za | 27

social networking 101 //by Tiana CLine

tweet Twitter is a social networking service that allows you to answer the question, “What are you doing?” by sending short text messages called “tweets” to your friends, or “followers”.

28 | connect | December 2011

T

witter is an information network made up of 140-character messages called tweets.

It’s an easy way to discover the latest news related to subjects you care about, be it technology, politics, entertainment or anything else.

Twitter contains information you may find valuable. Messages from users you choose to follow will show up on your homepage. It’s like being delivered a newspaper whose headlines you’ll always find interesting and relevant.

To tweet or not to tweet?

At the heart of Twitter are small bursts of information called tweets. Each tweet is 140 characters in length. Connected to each tweet is a rich details pane that provides additional information, deeper context and embedded media.

You can tell your story within your tweet, or think of it as the headline, and use the details pane to tell the rest with photos, videos and other media content.

Twitter is great for both personal and business use. You can keep in touch with friends and quickly broadcast information about where you are and what you’re up to.

For business, companies on Twitter can communicate with their clients effectively and immediately. WhatsApp not working? The company sends out a tweet. Something strange happening with your credit card? Message your bank. You can also follow celebrities, magazines, politicians and more.

Getting started Visit the Twitter website (www.twitter.com) and click “Join for free” to create your account. Consider using your real name as your user name to help friends find you more easily.

Once your account is created, log in and click “Settings”. From here, you can set up your account details, manage your password, register your cellphone and IM account, configure how you receive notices, upload a photo and customise your account’s design.

You can “tweet” from your Twitter page, mobile phone, or via a thirdparty Twitter client like TweetDeck, HootSuite and Echofon.

From your Twitter page, simply enter a message in the text field at the top of the page and click “Update”.

Your tweet will be displayed to your followers, either on their Twitter page, mobile phone, or any other device which they have set up to receive Twitter updates

www.connectmag.co.za | 29

social networking 101

Find them and follow them...

Finding and adding friends to your “Twitterverse” is easy. From the Twitter website, log in to your account, visit your friends’ Twitter pages and click “Follow” underneath their photo. If your friend’s account is public, you will immediately start seeing their tweets on your page; otherwise, your friend will need to approve you before you can see their updates.

If you choose, Twitter can scan your e-mail address book in order to find contacts that are also using

Twitter. This is a fast and easy way to find your friends. Here’s how: Type your e-mail address and e-mail password into the boxes, then hit “Find friends”. Twitter does not store your login, and will not use your e-mail address without your permission.

When you see a list of the friends and colleagues found in your address book, follow them!

Follow all of them by selecting the blue “Follow All” button on the right-hand side of the results.

If you’d like to see updates only from specific people, you can choose to ask to follow your e-mail contacts individually using the grey “send request” button next to their information.

Click the ‘Next: others’ button at the bottom of the screen.

A box will pop up with your remaining contacts, who are not on Twitter. To invite them to join Twitter, check the boxes next to the contacts you wish to invite, or click “select all” at the top.

@t ease!

When you send a message with @username at the beginning, it’s understood that the message is intended for that specific user, but all your followers can still see the tweet. (For the intended recipient to see your message on their home page, they must be following you, otherwise they will only see your message on the Replies tab.)

Tweeting Terms @: The @ sign is used to call out usernames in tweets, like this: Hello @ConnectMag! When a username is preceded by the @ sign, it becomes a link to a Twitter profile.

Avatar: The image uploaded to your Twitter profile in the Settings tab of your account.

Bio: A short personal description of a maximum of 160 characters used to define who you are on Twitter.

Direct Message/DM: Also simply called a “message,” these tweets are private between sender and recipient. Tweets sent over SMS become DMs when they begin with “d username” to specify who the message is for.

30 | connect | December 2011

Favourite: To favourite a tweet means to mark it as one of your favourites by clicking the yellow star next to the message. You can also favourite via SMS. FF: #FF stands for “Follow Friday”.

Twitter users often suggest who others should follow on Fridays by tweeting with the hashtag #FF. Follower: A follower is another Twitter user who is following your tweets.

Geolocation/ Geotagging: The use of location data in tweets to tell people where you are in real time. It’s also called “Tweet With Your Location”.

Hashtag/#: The # symbol is used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet.

Retweet: The act of forwarding Lists: Curated groups of other Twitter another user’s tweet to all of your users, used to tie specific individuals into a group on your Twitter account. Displayed on followers. the homepage’s right side menu.

Timeline: A real-time list of tweets on Twitter.

Mention: Mentioning another user in your tweet by including the @ sign followed directly by their username is called Trending Topic: A subject a “mention”. Also refers to tweets in which algorithmically determined to be one of the most popular on Twitter at any given your username was included. moment.

Protected/Private Unfollow: To stop following Accounts: Twitter accounts are another Twitter user. Their tweets no public by default. Choosing to protect your longer show up in your home timeline. account means your tweets will only be seen by approved followers and will not URL Shortener: appear in search.

URL shorteners are used to turn long URLs into shorter URLs – useful when you have Reply: A tweet posted in reply to a character limit. another user’s message, usually posted by clicking the “reply” button next to their tweet in your timeline. Always begins with @username.

Inspired by nature Despite the fact that it’s one of the smallest bird species in the animal kingdom, the Hummingbird is agile, aerodynamically gifted and capable of flying at astonishing speeds.

It’s also one of the most versatile birds in existence, switching from a highspeed racer to an ultra-controlled hovering wonder in a heartbeat.

All of these attributes served as the inspiration for the Aspire S3 ‘Hummingbird’.

Small, light, powerful and versatile, the S3 is proof that you can have it all.

The Acer Aspire S3 ‘Hummingbird’ offers the ultimate in portability without the need for a compromise on performance.

Perfected by technology

Light weight But, just how thin and light is it? Well, at its thinnest point the Hummingbird measures a mere 13mm deep and Acer’s industrial design prowess has also in it being able to surround the S3’s 13.3-inch screen in a bezel that’s a third of the conventional size.

When it comes to weight, Acer has pulled out all the stops and covered the ‘Hummingbird’ in a Magnesium Alloy that’s coated with a unique ‘hairline finish.’

This not only results in a casing that’s far thinner than competitive offerings, but one that’s more durable.

This means the ‘Hummingbird’ tips the scales at an unbelievable 1.4kg, while still being strong enough to endure life’s everyday knocks and bumps.

Light Speed What’s under the hood? The story starts with a second-generation Intel Core processor that not only whizzes through multitasking, but is supremely power efficient. It continues with a solid-state hard disk, which once again, brings massive improvements in system performance and power efficiency to the mix.

But the story is far from finished ‘Acer Green Instant On’ allows the S3 to be placed in sleep mode in a mere two seconds, and wake from that low power state in the same timeframe.

And should the ‘Hummingbird’ be asleep for longer than 75 minutes, it automatically drops off into a deep sleep mode, which will conserve battery life for up to 50 days.

Acer Instant Connect on the other hand, saves you time when it comes to networking, remembering your favorite access points and reconnecting to them four times faster than the nearest competitor.

Ready when you are Immersed in Multimedia

Cool customer The S3 ‘Hummingbird’ is one of the most striking notebooks Acer has designed to date. And since Acer is a company known for its industrial design capabilities, that’s saying a great deal.

But, the S3’s sleek curves are not just aesthetically pleasing. They’re designed for functionality too.

The new airflow schematic employed by the S3’s design team channels cool air from the gaps on the keyboard to areas where heat commonly builds up, thereby keeping the notebook constantly cool.

Warm air is directed away from the user, towards the rear of the notebook, keeping users comfortable, even when they’re using the machine for hours at a time.

As if incorporating a high-performance processor and solid-state hard disk weren’t enough for the S3’s design team, the ‘Hummingbird’ delivers cinema quality sound with professionally tuned speakers that adhere to the Dolby Home Theater v4 standard.

It also incorporates HDMI connectivity, which allows for the notebook’s stunning visuals and audio to be easily extended onto an external, high-definition large-screen display and home theatre system.

Superior connections As with most Acer devices, the S3 also supports Acer’s clear.fi technology, which lets users easily manage, store, share and enjoy their media from any device on your network.

Rounding things out, the ‘Hummingbird’ also comes with an Crystal Eye 1.3 Megapixel HD webcam and Acer’s Video Conference Manager software, which allows for seamless text, audio and video-based instant messaging capabilities.

Acer Aspire S3

For further information please call Acer Sales on: 0861 Acer SA (223 722) or visit www.acer.co.za For regular updates visit our Acer Africa Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. *Specifications and price vary dependant on model and configuration.

Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium or Home Basic CPU and chipset: Intel Core i7-2637M / i5-2467M / i3-2367M Memory: Up to 4 GB of DDR3 system memory on board Display: 13.3” HD 1366 x 768 resolution LED-backlit TFT LCD Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 Storage: 320/500GB HDD and 20GB SSD, 240 GB, 2.5-inch form factor SSD, 2-in-1 card reader, supporting SD Card, MMC Dimensions: 323mm (w) x 218.5mm (d) x 13.1/17.5mm (d) Weight: 1.35 kg

www.girlguides.co.za

Girls with technology on the brain 24/7

product reviews // by Deon Du PLessis & Christo van Gemert

‘TIS THE SEASON

Contents

I

t’s finally here! After all the waiting (and all those annoying TV ads) Christmas has finally come! From all of us here at Connect we wish you a safe, fun and relaxing holiday season, and a Christmas morning full of gadgety gifts.

On the reviews front this month, we’ve changed things up a bit for December’s sake. Christo went through a lot of trouble to get and evaluate 4 different iPod docks, and the end result was a roundup where they all went head-to-head against one another, and were compared side-by-side to see which one represented the best value for your money. We also threw in 2 pages of “stocking stuffers”, small gifts that won’t break the bank but which will undoubtedly bring a smile to their recipients’ faces.

One of the products I was thoroughly impressed by was HP’s excellent Touchsmart 610 All-in-One desktop computer. The concept of a PC built into a monitor chassis is not a new one, but the way HP went about putting the 610 together really puts it in a class of its own.

That’s all from me for now. I wish you a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best for 2012.

Cheers Deon

While we make every effort to ensure pricing is accurate before we go to print, sometimes through circumstances we have no control over, the prices in Connect may differ from those you’ll see on store shelves. In all cases, shelf pricing takes precedence.

36 | connect | December 2011

38 40 42 44 46 47 49 56 58

First Look – Motorola Razr First Look – Sony Ericsson Xperia Play LG Optimus 3D Logitech Wireless Speaker Adapter Amazon Kindle HP Touchsmart 610 AiO iPod Dock Roundup Sitecom WLM-2500 Wireless Modem Router Ion Pics 2 PC Photo, Slide and Negative Scanner

product FIRST LOOK

38 | connect | December 2011

related

Motorola Razr NEED TO KNOW • Motorola’s new flagship smartphone • Thinnest/lightest Motorola Android phone yet • Kevlar back for durability • Splash-proof design Availability: TBA

The original Motorola Razr cellphone – so named because of its extremely thin chassis design – was without a doubt one of the most iconic cellular phones the market had ever seen in 2003 when it was released.

And so, 8 years later, it’s no coincidence that Motorola chose its thinnest, lightest and most feature-packed phone yet to revive the Razr name.

The new Razr is, of course, vastly different from the original. For starters, it’s not a flip phone as the iconic original was. It also has a bigger, touch-enabled screen – 4.3” as opposed to the 2.2” that was considered massive back in the day.

Surprisingly, it’s even thinner than its predecessor – 7.1mm thin as opposed to the 14mm that wowed folks back in 2003. Incidentally, to get the chassis that thin, Motorola had to make use of a Kevlar backplate – bringing strength and ‘weightlessness’ to the mix.

Most notably however, 8 years is a lifetime in the technology industry. So it’s obvious that the new Razr is a little more advanced in the hardware specifications department. A 1.2GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, Android 2.3.5 and a stunning AMOLED display stand out as key highlights, and as with many of Motorola’s new devices, there’s a polish that other vendors struggle to add.

The Razr has a wide range of accessories – like a collection of

products docking stations – that make it usable as a personal media device, netbook and even home entertainment hub. There are also a few clever add-ons to the Android operating system that stretch battery life and allow the technology to mold itself around your lifestyle.

The new Razr is a fitting tribute to the original iconic design with which Motorola made a splash back in 2003. It’s a truly beautiful smartphone and a device that gets Motorola back into the same soughtafter territory as the Apple iPhone 4S and Samsung’s Galaxy S II. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • 1.2GHz dual core processor • 1GB RAM • 4.3” AMOLED display • 8MP camera • Kevlar back • Corning Gorilla Glass screen • 7.1mm thin • Splash-proof coating

Pros

Cons

• Super-thin and light • Powerful processor and RAM combination • Big, bright and responsive screen • Iconic design

• Docking stations aren’t backward compatible with its predecessor, the Atrix

Overall rating

Motorola Xoom 10” Tablet

Expect the same brilliant range of docks and accessories, the same overall polish and great industrial design. But be careful – the new model is out in the coming months.

Apple iPhone 4S

Apple’s updated iPhone comes with a big specifications bump and a voice-driven personal assistant called Siri, which understands natural speech patterns.

www.connectmag.co.za | 39

product FIRST LOOK

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play NEED TO KNOW • It’s a phone and a handheld gaming console • The only PlayStation-certified smartphone • Has an integrated game pad R4 699.96

Sony Ericsson have earned themselves a well-deserved reputation as makers of quality Android-based smartphones that are less “samey” than many other handsets that use Google’s mobile operating system.

Earlier this year, the company launched a new model, the Xperia Play.

It’s a phone and handheld gaming console rolled into one, and we were very excited to get our hands on it because we heard it’s the only “PlayStation Certified” phone available. To qualify for such a powerful endorsement, we reasoned it would have to be a pretty special phone.

We weren’t disappointed.

What makes the device so fantastic is that no corners were cut on either aspect to make the other more palatable. We found the Xperia Play to be both a fantastic phone and an impressive handheld gaming console. It’s definitely the console part that makes it so amazing, but before we get onto that, let’s cover the phone portion first.

Anyone familiar with the Xperia Arc will immediately see the resemblance, as the Play’s interface is similar to that of the Arc. Sony Ericsson’s attractive skinning of Android sets their phones apart from 40 | connect | December 2011

other Android devices and, of course, the interface is as fast and responsive as we’ve come to expect.

Multiple customisable Home screens are present and accounted for, along with Timescape, Sony Ericsson’s Facebook and Twitter feed aggregator that makes those easily accessible using a handy scrolling display that resembles a stack of notes that can be thumbed through quickly for the latest updates. A multimedia screen where you can manage and play your media quickly and easily is also here, and a 3.5mm audio jack ensures you can listen with your favourite set of headphones. Sound quality is, as you’d expect, excellent.

The phone records and plays 720p movies, has two cameras (one on either side) for real-time video chats with friends, and shoots high-quality still images that are up to Sony’s usual (high) standards.

It connects to the Web using Wi-Fi or 3G, and the browsing experience is very good thanks to the wide and bright screen. The long and the short of the phone portion is that the Xperia Play is an excellent Android smartphone, and would qualify for a hearty endorsement from us as a great phone to own based on that alone.

But that’s not really why anyone should buy it. The real reason is because it’s a proper handheld gaming console, with amazing graphics and a huge library of games from which to choose. The awesomeness starts when the phone is slid apart to reveal a proper full-on controller that uses Sony’s excellent PlayStation controller layout. It has direction

related

products

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Smartphone

If gaming isn’t your thing, the Xperia Arc is a better choice as it only focuses on being a competent phone, which it does extremely well.

Apple iPad 2

keys on the left and the square, triangle, circle and cross buttons on the right. Between these lies a touch-sensitive analogue control pad that responds to finger contact for finer control (necessary for some games). It even has shoulder buttons, and is very comfortable to hold.

We were pleased to discover that the buttons have a classy, high-quality feel to them that fans of Sony’s work will immediately recognise and appreciate.

When the phone slides open, the Xperia Play app launches, taking you straight to your installed games. The phone ships with 4 games already installed – The Sims 3, Bruce Lee, Fifa 10 and Star Battalion, so there’s a good variety on offer. Each of them plays amazingly smoothly and 3D graphics are rich, high-resolution and amazingly detailed. If you tire of them, or just want a change, buying more can be done from within the app, as it connects users directly to Sony’s store. We were impressed with the number and quality of games on offer, as well as with the prices – most games weren’t even R100, and many cost as little as R20.

Because it must power so much advanced goodness, the Xperia Play’s battery doesn’t last a very long time. In fact, chances are that with some light gaming, and a moderate amount of phone calls and SMSes on a daily basis, you’ll be recharging the phone every night. Individual mileage will vary, of course, depending on how it’s used.

Overall, we were impressed. The phone’s versatility and competence

is amazing, offset only by its size, weight and battery life. These are all easy compromises to make, as in return you’re getting a brilliant phone that plays games like no other. It’s thus a fantastic choice as an upgrade for gamers and Android fans alike.

While it has no integrated game controller, the iPad 2 is a fantastic gaming platform, with a whole bunch of AAA games to choose from on Apple’s content-filled App Store.

perfect companions

NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Operating System: Google Android 2.3.3 • Memory: 512MB RAM, microSD storage up to 32GB • Cameras: 5.1MP rear-facing, VGA front-facing • Audio: 3.5mm output, TrackID music recognition app, stereo speakers, noise shield • Web: Google Voice Search, Android Market, WebKit browser • Entertainment: YouTube, video-streaming, 3D games, dedicated gaming keys • Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Google Maps, GPS, DLNA • Communication: Google Talk, Video call, Facebook and Twitter integration Pros

Cons

• Brilliant mobile gaming experience • Sturdy controller and slide mechanism • Excellent Android smartphone

• Chunky build • Battery life is relatively short • Quite a heavy phone

Overall rating

Sennheiser In-Ear Headphones Don’t insult your ears by pairing rubbish earphones with your Xperia’s excellent music abilities. Grab this set from Sennheiser and let the good tunes roll.

www.connectmag.co.za | 41

top

5

product reviews

related

products

LG Optimus 3D Smartphone NEED TO KNOW • The world’s first 3D smartphone • Doesn’t require special glasses • Dual cameras take 3D photos and movies R5 499.95

Nintendo 3DS

If you love Nintendo’s DS handheld games console but wish its graphics were flashier somehow, the 3DS is for you – it offers glasses-less 3D gaming with a wide range of games from which to choose.

Samsung SyncMaster SA950 3D Monitor

Three-dimensional gaming on PC is still in its early days, but if you own a high-end graphics card, this 3D-capable 27” monitor from Samsung will get you started.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for phone manufacturers to set their products apart from one another. LG have managed to do just that with one of their newest smartphones, the Optimus 3D, by integrating a glasses-free 3D display into the device. It’s the first smartphone in the world to have this, and the quality of the device itself as well as the 3D experience it has to offer is very impressive indeed.

The first thing we noticed about it was its size and weight. Weighing in at 168g and measuring 128.8mm x 68mm x 11.9mm, the Optimus 3D is not a small phone, and looks reminiscent of the “brick phones” of the 1990s. LG have also not done much with its exterior, as it’s very plain-looking. It’s so plain, in fact, that the most stand-out feature is the dual cameras mounted on its underside.

Why two cameras, you ask? That’s because not only can the Optimus 3D display games in 3D, it can shoot 3D movies and take 3D pictures, too.

Two cameras are needed to capture scenes from two slightly different perspectives and the resulting images combine to form the final 3D image.

This begs the question of “just how good is the phone’s 3D screen?” because what would the point be if the actual end result was rubbish, right? We’re very pleased to report that our scepticism was entirely without merit – the Optimus 3D’s, er, 3D is very good indeed.

When the phone goes into 3D mode, the screen appears to drop its resolution slightly to accommodate the switch, and the payoff is the impressive depth the visuals take on. The 3D technology LG have used is so good that it barely takes a second or so for the viewer’s eyes to adjust to what they’re seeing – no special glasses are needed at all. Games are that much more immersive and 3D photos look as if you’re holding a real, almost tangible scene in a magical box. It really is astounding, and brings new meaning to “seeing is believing”. Just hope you’re not one of a small group of people who feel a bit motion-sick when viewing 3D content…

To power all of the phone’s excellent features takes a lot of juice, apparently, as heavy use of Wi-Fi and 3D features dropped the battery level to around the

42 | connect | December 2011

half-way mark in just over 3 hours. Moderate use improved that figure a little, but if you decide on this phone, expect to recharge it every night.

When 3D isn’t active, the screen is clear and very bright and capable of some incredibly black blacks, although its surface isn’t as frictionless as we’d like, and a harder touch was necessary to make the screen respond at times.

It’s also not very fingerprint-resistant.

As an everyday phone, the Optimus 3D is pleasant to use. It’s fast, easy to operate and call quality is very good. It also has fantastic 2D features, like the ability to record 2D movies in 1 080p quality.

So, is the 3D really all that necessary? We’re torn, so we’ll go for “yes and no”. Yes, it’s necessary if you’re after the “cool factor” that inevitably accompanies owning one of the first-ever devices to do something new, and “No” if your mobile phone needs don’t include 3D gaming, photos or movies.

NOTEWORTHY SPECS • 2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 . 3G: HSDPA/HSUPA 900/1700/1900/2100 • Dimensions: 128.8mm x 68mm x 11.9mm • Display: 4.3” 3D LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16m colours @ 480 x 800 • Memory: 8GB storage, 512MB RAM. MicroSD card slot for extra storage up to 32GB • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA. Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, EDR • USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0 • Camera: Dual 5 megapixel, 2 592 x 1 944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash • Video: Yes, 1 080p at 30fps (2D), 720p at 30fps (3D) • OS: Android OS v2.2 (Froyo), upgradable to v2.3 (Gingerbread) • CPU: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, PowerVR SGX540 GPU • 3D features: Glasses-free 3D viewing, 3D Hotkey, 3D Video Stabilisation, Real-Time Misalignment Correction, Real-Time 2D/3D Conversion, 3D Depth Control Pros

Cons

• 3D capabilities are very impressive • Dual-core processor makes the phone really fast • Beautiful screen displays rich colours and deep blacks

• Quite a wide, thick and heavy phone • Fingertips don’t always glide along the screen’s surface • Battery life is a little short

Overall rating

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perfect companions

Logitech Speaker System Z906 Logitech’s refreshed speaker range includes this excellent 5.1 surround sound set that has 500W of power capable of delivering superb gaming and movie audio.

Logitech Wireless Speaker Adapter NEED TO KNOW • Streams music to speakers wirelessly over Bluetooth • 3.5mm and RCA connectors • Compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled audio device R499.95

Acer Iconia A501 3G Tablet Tablets can seem a bit of an extravagance, until you’ve owned one for a while. Then you’ll wonder what you ever did without it.

Samsung Galaxy S II Smartphone Its large Super AMOLED screen, beautiful colours and thoroughly impressive responsiveness will easily woo even the most jaded of gadget hounds.

Logitech’s new Wireless Speaker Adapter is a small box that plays music from your phone, tablet computer or notebook on just about any set of speakers. It does this without any wires connecting these devices to the adapter, by cleverly using Bluetooth technology. It’s an elegant solution, aimed at people who like the mobility of their devices but want better sound than they’re able to provide on their own.

The box is small, black and rather lightweight, with a single button on its top surface and a green light located on the side. Pairing a gadget with it is simple: once it’s plugged into the mains, the adapter needs to be put into “discoverable” mode, which is done by pressing the button on its surface. This makes it visible to other Bluetooth devices as indicated by the light that flashes when the button is pressed. All you need to do then is search for nearby Bluetooth devices on your chosen device and the Wireless Speaker Adapter will appear on the list after a few seconds.

Select it, wait a few seconds, and you’re done. Now, any sounds played by your device will be broadcast wirelessly over Bluetooth, and output to whatever speakers you have connected to the Wireless Speaker Adapter.

The beauty of the solution is you can use almost any speaker set with it. There are 2 outputs on the back of the adapter: a 3.5mm jack, which is the most common connector out there, and an RCA plug. RCA cables are used to connect some older speakers, and are identified by their red and white jacks.

The only thing to consider when streaming music to the Wireless

44 | connect | December 2011

Speaker Adapter is that the quality of the experience will be influenced by the limitations of Bluetooth technology. These include a limited range and potential interference caused by objects between the source device and the adapter. Music playback was fantastic and clear when the phone we used was left alone on a table a few feet away, for instance, but walking with it in a pocket further away and with walls between us and the adapter produced spottier results.

This is the kind of gadget we love to review: the concept is a simple and useful one, it’s elegantly executed and it just works. Best of all, it does this without costing a lot. While a dock is always going to be a better solution, it’s also far more expensive, so for music lovers on a budget, Logitech’s Wireless Speaker Adapter is a smarter and more accessible choice.

NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Compact and lightweight design • Bluetooth audio streaming • Comes with a 3.5mm to RCA cable • Tablets, notebooks and smartphones supported

Pros

Cons

• Very simple to set up and use • Compact size means it can be easily hidden • Streams music from smartphones, notebooks and tablets

• Sound performance affected by several factors • Only has 2 types of speaker connectors

Overall rating

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related

products

Amazon Kindle 3G NEED TO KNOW Kindle Wi-Fi 6-inch

The newer, entry-level version of the Kindle is smaller, lacks a keyboard and only has Wi-Fi connectivity. It still has the great e-Ink screen and access to the bookstore, so for priceconscious buyers, this is the better option.

Kindle Application

A great addition - or even an alternative - to the Kindle, is Amazon’s Kindle application which will transform your smartphone or tablet PC into an eReader, with full access to Amazon’s online store and catalogue.

• Storage for 3500 books • Two months’ battery life (based on half-day usage) • Unique e-ink screen for reading in/outdoors • Buy books and start reading in minutes R2499.95

We live in an era of instant gratification and even when it comes to old school practices like reading books, people want immediate satisfaction.

The Amazon Kindle is designed with that in mind and as such, it’s ridiculously thin, extremely light, capable of storing an entire library of books (about 3500 to be exact) and has a battery that lasts for months.

Its part piece is Amazon’s fantastic e-ink ‘Pearl’ screen, which as its name suggests actually consists of electronic ink instead of pixels like conventional screens. This means the Kindle displays text with an unbelievably high contrast level, and this is as easy on the eyes as reading a paperback.

The Kindle also has a QWERTY keyboard for searching for content and making notes – something that’s a trifle more difficult in the paper-based world.

The Kindle’s most important feature however, is its connection to Amazon’s online bookstore that’s enabled by a 3G wireless synchronisation technology the company calls ‘Whispersync.’

‘Whispersync’ allows users to browse through a massive catalogue of electronic books from any Internet-connected spot on the planet, click on the ‘buy’ button and have their purchase delivered – all within the space of a couple of minutes.

46 | connect | December 2011

And if you’re not entirely sure what you want to buy, Amazon’s got you covered. Download a free extract (usually the first chapter) free of charge and you can get a feel for the title before you spend any money on it.

There’s also the fact that generally-speaking, books are much, much cheaper in Amazon Kindle format than what they are at conventional bookstores.

Take ‘Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography’ by Walter Isaacson, which went on sale a little over a month back. Where the hardcover will set you back about R250 in one of the more popular South African bookstores, the Kindle version of the book is $15 (about R120). And there’s the added bonus of being able to buy and download the book from anywhere in the world, providing there’s cellular coverage.

Other features that will drive the ‘must have it now’ generation wild are the ability to tweet or post an extract of what you’re reading to Facebook, or access the web using the experimental web browser.

It’s still all about the books however and there’s quite simply, no other eReader that comes close.

Pros

Cons

• Thin and light with awesome storage capacity • e-Ink screen is easy on the eyes • Mind-blowing battery life

• Initial cost is high for some • Lack of a backlight means it’s not ideal in low-light

Overall rating

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5

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Lenovo IdeaCentre B300

HP Touchsmart 610 All-in-One PC NEED TO KNOW • All-in-one 24” desktop PC • Integrated Beats audio • Tilts for easy use R15 999.95

We’ve seen all-in-one desktop PCs before, but none like this one from HP. The Touchsmart 610 is finally the kind of all-in-one that we, as gadget enthusiasts and gaming fanatics, would be happy to recommend as a replacement for an ageing desktop.

This is because it’s far more than just another desktop PC that’s been snugly bundled into a compact, attractive chassis that takes up minimal desk space – it’s the all-in-one concept done right, without cutting any corners. We were surprised to discover that the Touchsmart 610 is a fast machine in everything it does, from booting up, to navigating Windows, to playing HD movies (thanks, Intel Core i7 processor). Most surprising was the fact that it can even play games, and not just Farmville or The Sims Social either – full-on 3D games at very playable frame rates. This makes the 610 a great family PC that can do a little of everything without compromising on performance, satisfying work-obsessed parents and game-enamoured kids alike.

We also really liked the machine’s aesthetics. Sure, it looks a bit more serious than you’d expect from a family-friendly PC, but none of that matters when you discover that the 610 can do what many other touchscreen desktops can’t – it tilts. Not to a small degree, either. The 610 folds down to an angle of 60 degrees; this is a far more comfortable angle when it comes to extended use, especially when compared to other AIOs that stand almost upright all the time. It takes a bit of effort to get it into that position, but that’s because the build quality is so sturdy. Once it’s in, it stays put, which is most important of all.

Tilting the screen down to its 60-degree position makes playing games with touch that much better. Ruse, the first-ever real-time strategy game to encourage the use of a touchscreen interface, runs beautifully on the 610 and is great fun to play. Doing so in the tilted position was a lot easier on the arms than when it was standing nearly vertical.

Movie playback is also smooth and beautiful on the 610’s full HD

screen. As impressive as that is, it’s not the 610’s visuals that will blow you away – it’s the sound. HP has recently teamed up with Hip-Hop legend Dr. Dre in an effort to bring quality audio to some of their more high-end products, and boy has that collaboration paid off. The system’s 20W speakers use Dr. Dre’s Beats technology and Digital Signal Processing that produce stunning sound that enhances both music and movie audio. No, it’s not louder than the average desktop speaker set, but the sound quality is amazing. That, when paired with a decent set of external speakers, produces an incredible multimedia experience that has to be heard to be truly appreciated. We were blown away.

The rest of the system’s configuration is also good: wireless and wired networking, a 1TB hard drive, multiple USB ports, a Blu-ray optical drive and a wireless keyboard and mouse are all present and accounted for.

You might be able to tell that we really, really liked the 610, and are happy to wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in an excellent desktop PC.

The B300 is an entry-level desktop system that takes up very little space, while offering a fairly solid everyday-computing experience.

Acer Aspire Z5610

All-in-one enthusiasts looking for a new desktop that isn’t very expensive but offers a lot for the cash might want to check out Acer’s Z5610 touchscreen AIO PC.

NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Processor: Intel Core i7-2600 • Memory: 4GB DDR3 • Storage: 1TB 7200RPM • Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • Optical: Blu-ray • Ports: 7 x USB 2.0, 1 x HDMI-in • Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth

Pros

Cons

• Fast enough for everyday use and gaming • Tilting ability makes it a pleasure to use • Stunning audio

• Not the cheapest desktop ever • Can be difficult to tilt

Overall rating

perfect companions

Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speakers PC speakers don’t get much better than Logitech’s amazing Z-5500s. They’re not cheap, but their volume, clarity and surround-sound capabilities are well worth the expense.

www.connectmag.co.za | 47

product roundup

Dock Party

By Christo van Gemert

The iPod has become synonymous with digital music and taking your tunes on the go. Apple’s music player has enjoyed enormous success, and with that has come a huge market for accessories – some of which will let you share your music, and let DJ iPod become the life of the party.

It makes perfect sense. Back in the day, you’d show up at a party with a few of your favourite CDs (or mixtapes, if you’re a bit older) and hand them to whoever was manning the boombox. Speakers were big, the pile of CDs was big, and the hassle associated with queuing up songs was… very big.

Thanks to Apple’s innovation in managing your music and making it mobile, along with very cheap storage, you can now have more than 2 000 albums in your pocket.

That’s more than enough to entertain you on a long flight, and just about enough to have a bangin’ weekend-long party. Since all iPods, iPads and iPhones share the same

dock connector, accessory manufacturers have an easy time making gadgets that work with any of these devices. One of the most popular iPod-enabled bits of kit is the speaker dock: a self-contained mini hi-fi, with powerful sound and an iPod dock connector. Plug in your pocket music player, set up a playlist, and enjoy hassle-free music playback all night long.

And with that in mind, we went and selected some of the best iPod docks you can get right now, at varying price points.

They’re featured over the next four pages in a comparative review. Each one is slightly different, but there can only be one winner when it comes to the overall bundle – read on to see which iPod dock most deserves your money.

www.connectmag.co.za | 49

product roundup

Bose Sounddock 10 The Sound

Bose is a well-known name in audio circles, and a quick listen to a few songs on the Sounddock 10 shows why. There’s a lot of power on tap (which somewhat belies the compact design of the dock), and general sound quality is very good. Listen a bit closer, though, and it’s not all peaches and cream. Back-to-back with the Beatbox, the Bose lacks some of the clarity and definition the Beatbox manages so easily. It’s almost as if the midbass frequencies get pushed down a bit, giving the sound from the Bose an overpowering bassy feel. As a result, the staccato bass guitar in Nirvana’s The Man Who Sold The World seemed to have its notes roll into one another, rather than being subtly distinct. If you turn up the volume, the Sounddock 10 will easily fill a room with powerful, defined sound, just with slightly less detail than a trained ear will notice.

The Package

Here’s where the Bose shines through. The simple, elegant design will look equally at home on a student’s desk, a dresser, or a mantlepiece. Just make sure it’s placed on a sturdy surface because it is by far the heaviest of the docks on test.

There are no extraneous buttons or lights, and the remote control is fully featured – you can navigate the entire iPod menu system from the comfort of your couch. It’s the only dock here with a video output, so you’ll be able to watch videos through the Sounddock if you have any stored on your iDevice.

50 | connect | December 2011

Our other quibble is the lack of any controls on the Sounddock. Volume, music and everything else has to be done by physically interacting with the iPod or using the remote control, neither of which is terribly convenient if you just want to power it down in a hurry.

The Value

At a lick under R8 000, it’s hard to recommend the Sounddock 10 as the dock with the best value. But it has heaps of power, great sound and comes from a good brand. And ultimately, we think that’s what you’ll be paying a bit of a premium for.

R7 999.95 Pros

Cons

• Lots of power on tap • Full-featured remote • Classy design

• Quite expensive • Slightly flat sound

Overall rating

Beatbox by Dr. Dre The Sound

Many audiophiles have reservations about the audio quality of the Beats-branded products, but there’s no denying the Beatbox is fantastic in every respect. The sound stage is excellent, so you can hear where individual instruments come from. Not only that, but sound is incredibly textured: you actually hear individual instruments – guitars being strummed, cracking vocals, and all the subtleties of a drum kit. The Beatbox also has a high dynamic range – loud instruments are loud, and quieter ones are less loud – at most volume levels. It is a bit flat at very low volume levels, and when you’ve got it cranked flat out, there might be a wee bit of distortion during bass-heavy tracks. But of this lot, it definitely sounds the best.

The Package

Finished in matte black rubber, the Beatbox looks quite plain, but it’s functional and has a rugged appeal. The speaker grill lets you see enough of what lurks beneath – 2 woofers and 2 tweeters – and a carry handle on top doubles up as stowage for the power cord and remote control. There’s also a very slick volume dial: analogue in design, but turning it will actually change the volume on your iPhone.

It’s not perfect, though. There’s no video output for connecting it to a TV, and the dinky

remote control lacks buttons to navigate the iPod or iPhone. You’re forced to select music or playlists on the device, and then use the remote for volume or skipping tracks.

The Value

It’s neither cheap nor affordable, but the Beatbox does deliver the goods. It’s great value, given the quality of the sound, overall power, and neat design. It’s relatively lightweight, and the carry handle means you can take it with you – a truly modern boombox. We give it a well-deserved 5 stars.

R5 799.95 Pros

Cons

• Superb sound quality and power • Slick volume dial • Awesome design

• Pricey • Average remote control

Overall rating

www.connectmag.co.za | 51

product roundup

Philips Fidelio 8550 The Sound

app also has an equaliser and this, as mentioned above, is where the sound can be tweaked.

Dial bass down a bit, and up the treble a touch – then it’s close to perfect.

Before we forget: the Fidelio is also kitted with Bluetooth, so any compatible device can stream music to it. And there’s a built-in battery, so you can have a properly portable boom box for up to 6 hours at average volume levels.

There are Philips iPod docks, and then there are Philips Fidelio iPod docks. The latter is what we have here, and it totally outclasses anything from the former camp. Fidelio, the name of Beethoven’s only opera, is a fitting moniker given the audio quality from this, the entry-level dock in the range.

Highs are crystal-clear and lows are relatively good. Bear in mind that this dock is about a quarter of the size of the Bose, and is also fully portable. Turn up the volume, though, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. We were, and once we tweaked the sound (more on that, below), it sounded even better.

It won’t win any awards when compared with some of the other premium kit on offer, but the 8550 is a refreshing take on the sound dock, and for more reasons than sound quality alone.

It’s portable, with a built-in battery. It boasts Bluetooth wireless streaming, there’s great sound on offer, and it has an app that makes it smart. Sure, you need a compatible device, but this is definitely one of the more innovative gadgets around. At the price we can easily recommend it.

The Package

R2 499.95

Philips deserves an award for the elegant, multifunctional design it’s managed with the Fidelio 8550. It seems to lean back a bit, but sits stably on any flat surface. The beauty is in its dock connector, which can accommodate an iPod, iPhone or iPad – the only device in this roundup to achieve this. It even has the right bits of rubber to comfortably rest an iPad. Now, despite there being buttons to control power and volume, the Fidelio is designed to work with the Fidelio app for iOS. Load it on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, and you have full control of the dock, and some additional features. It’ll stream Internet radio, offer alarm clock functionality and even show the weather. It’s a bit gimmicky and the app isn’t going to win any design awards, but it’s functional and a welcome departure from the usual dockery. The 52 | connect | December 2011

The Value

Pros

Cons

• Fully portable • Wireless Bluetooth audio streaming • iPhone-, iPad- and iPod Touch-enhanced

• Lacks a bit of bass • Sound needs tweaking through app • Not quite a party machine

Overall rating

Sony CMT-CX5iP The Sound

Sony, once masters of the portable music player (remember the Walkman?), also make a few accessories for the leading portable music player. It might seem a bit embarrassing, but the sound quality from the CX5iP is far from.

It’s balanced and detailed, if slightly flat. The C5XiP lacks the outright power of something like the Bose, but at a quarter of the price, we’d be mad to expect that. Instead, this is something you can use in the lounge, kitchen or bedroom, where modest outputs for an “everyday” audio system would be more suited. This won’t be the life of the party, but it handled a few songs at volume levels loud enough to drown out our terribly off-key sing-along efforts.

some of the bitterness away. It’ll play CDs, if you still have those, and an AM/FM tuner will let you tune into the soothing sounds of pop radio. Uniquely, in this group of four, it also has a USB port for playing music files stored on USB flash drives.

The Value

Overlook the cheap materials, and the CX5iP isn’t really a bad offering. The extra features do add value and aren’t seen in the other devices. It has good sound, and the hi-fi design might make it more appealing to traditionalists. For the money, it’s honestly not a bad piece of kit.

R1 999.95

The Package

It’s quite different from the other docks on test. We’d classify it a mini hi-fi with dock capabilities. It’s not a self-contained unit, and those separate speakers don’t clip on to make it a single entity, but it doesn’t have a conventional hi-fi design. In fact, the main unit looks sort of like a PS3. Sadly, it doesn’t share the same, solid build quality of Sony’s game console, and the low-resolution LCD display makes it feel even cheaper. The nail in the coffin is the poor implementation of the dock. It’s hidden behind a plastic panel, which doesn’t neatly fold or slide away. Instead, it just clips off and has nowhere to be stowed.

If you’re willing to forgive the acres of plastic, though, there are many other functions to take

Pros

Cons

• Lots of power on tap • Full-featured remote • Classy design

• Quite expensive • Slightly flat sound

Overall rating

www.connectmag.co.za | 53

product roundup

r ’s ito ce d E oi Ch Each dock in this roundup appeals to a different user. There are some overlaps, and choosing one over the other means making a sacrifice. Value does come into play and if money is no object, you should consider what takes priority: usability, portability, sound quality, power or design.

Special mentions should go to the Sony, for offering a CD player and radio tuner, while the Bluetooth-streaming in the Philips helps set it apart. For those who don’t have

an iPod, all of the docks on test also offer an analogue audio input, via 3.5mm jack.

All things considered, the Beatbox by Dr. Dre offers the most dynamic sound, modern design, and some semblance of portability. The Bose might be classier and louder, the Philips more portable and connected, the Sony offers more formats to play back and the lowest price. But if you want something that will impress all the time, and not come at a huge premium, the Beatbox is what we’d recommend.

Quick look...

Bose Sounddock 10

Beatbox

by Dr. Dre

Philips Fidelio 8550

Sony CMT-CX5iP

• Power: Not quoted • Inputs: iPod dock, 3.5mm audio input • Outputs: Video output • Other: Full-feature remote • Price: R7 999.95

• Power: 200W total • Inputs: iPod dock, 3.5mm audio input • Outputs: None • Other: Remote control, rotary volume dial, power button • Price: R5 799.95

• Power: 2 x 15W • Inputs: iPod dock, 3.5mm audio input, Bluetooth audio • Outputs: None • Other: Built-in battery, iOS app available, fullfeature remote, power and volume controls • Price: R2 499.95

• Power: 2 x 20W • Inputs: iPod dock, 3.5mm audio input, USB • Outputs: None • Other: CD player, AM/FM radio, remote control, built-in controls • Price: R1 999.95

54 | connect | December 2011

product reviews

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Vodafone Mobile Wi-Fi R201

This tiny, battery-powered portable router can share a 3G Internet connection between 5 devices, and lasts for up to 5 hours on a single charge.

perfect companions

Acer Iconia A500 Android Tablet Since this tablet is Wi-Fi only, a home network is needed to connect it to the Internet and important social networking services like Twitter and Facebook.

Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook This ultra-thin notebook is as powerful as it is skinny, and it’s very skinny. Help it reach its full potential by hooking it up to a wireless network.

Sitecom Wireless Modem Router WLM-2500 NEED TO KNOW • N-class wireless ADSL modem router • Designed for 2-storey homes • Family-friendly security features R999.95

Sitecom’s WLM-2500 ADSL modem router made a positive impression on us during our time with it. We discovered that it’s easy to set up, has a clean and easy-to-understand Web interface, and its wireless signal is strong enough that we’d agree with Sitecom’s marketing hype that it can easily serve a 2-storey home with network signal.

The WLM-2500 doesn’t have any protruding aerials like some models do, and that’s because the wireless antennae are internal. Even so, the router’s range and signal strength are impressive – despite 2 walls and 2 rooms being between us and the router, signal strength was still rated as “excellent”, whereas the wireless signal from a non-Sitecom router that was located even closer didn’t fare nearly as well.

Connecting it up was a doddle. We powered it up, plugged in the telephone line and connected the included network cable to our PC and were quickly assigned a network address. By following the simple instructions included in the box, we were able to access the router’s configuration page and do some basic configuration, like choosing a wireless password and encryption type, entering ADSL details and naming the network. The interface itself is lovely – nicely laid out, with easilyrecognisable categories that make it simple to get around.

The router supports “Wireless Protected Setup”, a simple 2-step process that makes it easy for new wireless devices to connect to the network, as well as the ability to specify that only known computers (identified by something called a MAC address, a unique hardware signature) can join the network. Concerned parents can even choose to block specific Internet addresses, including entire domains (YouTube.com, for example), a fairly uncommon but highly useful feature. Other, more advanced features (DynDNS support, port forwarding and more) are also supported, making the WLM-2500 a full-featured router, excellent for both home and office use.

We were concerned when unpacking the router that it had no indicator lights, but this was only because the room was well-lit and the lights

56 | connect | December 2011

that appear to indicate power, Internet and network connectivity were very faint. The router itself is quite lightweight and the plastic used in its construction feels a little flimsy, but that seems to apply to most products these days so we can’t be too hard on it. There are holes on its underside that help with wall-mounting, and it looks so plain that it’ll easily blend into homes and offices. The absence of external antennae makes it easy to stow somewhere out of the way.

Sitecom is extremely confident in the product – it comes with a 10-year manufacturer-backed warranty, which offers peace of mind for worried buyers. It’s a bit of a process to get it registered with them (just follow the directions in the box), but as long as you do that within 3 weeks of purchase, you’re covered.

While unspectacular in the looks department, Sitecom’s WLM-2500 modem router works, and works well. It’s fast, has a very good wireless signal range and is easy to use, with enough advanced features to satisfy techies who like to fiddle.

NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Automatic Firmware update • Wireless speed up to 300 mbps • WEP 64 & 128 bits, WPA-TKIP, WPA-AES, WPA2, WPA-Radius Security • 10/100mbps wired Ethernet speed • Two internal antennas • Quality of Service (QoS) • Dynamic DNS (DynDNS) • Port Forwarding • Universal Plug & Play (UPnP) • On/Off button Pros

Cons

• Simple setup process • Excellent Web interface • Good wireless signal range • 10-year warranty

• Made from lightweight and flimsy plastic • Indicator lights are very faint

Overall rating

product reviews

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Ion Audio iProfile Vinyl-toMP3 Converter

Record collections need no longer gather dust. Either play them on this handy USB turntable, or convert their audio into new digital files for easier storage and playback.

perfect companions

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Compact Digital Camera Going forward, you’ll want all your memories to be captured digitally, and Canon’s new PowerShot SX150 is an affordable and competent 14MP point-and-shoot that will do just that.

Nikon D90 For somewhat more professional consumers, Nikon’s D90 “prosumer” camera offers much in the way of fine control over shots, as well as a generous helping of quality and reliability.

Ion Pics 2 PC NEED TO KNOW • Photo, slide and negative scanner • Comes with image-editing software • Uses a USB cable for power and connectivity R1 499.95

It’s 2011, and we live in an age where it’s possible to snap a picture with a digital camera and have it uploaded to the Web for the world to see within minutes, if not seconds. In August 2011, photo-sharing Website Instagram reported that 1.3 million photos were being uploaded every day! That’s only 1 service of several. It’s clear that people love sharing images, which makes it a shame that so many old photographs and slides are lying around in homes across the globe, packed away in boxes in a cupboard.

Ion, a company quite fond of empowering consumers to convert the old into the new, have a solution: Pics 2 PC is a product that lets you scan old pictures, slides and negatives and save them as digital files on your PC. The concept is a simple one: the physical media is inserted into the device’s body, a built-in camera then takes a picture of it, which can then be edited and tweaked using the accompanying BlazePhoto 2.0 software. Digital images can be saved in any of 5 popular picture formats: JPEG, BMP, TIF, PNG and GIF. BlazePhoto 2.0 is no Photoshop, though, and as such the editing functionality is quite limited. That said, it’s perfectly adequate for basic tweaking, resizing, rotating, cropping, adjusting colour saturation and brightness and a few other functions, so it is possible to get solid results.

The software also provides several sharing options. Burn photos to CD, create a DVD slideshow from all your images that will let you show off your pictures using a standard DVD player, e-mail photos (a simple option that attaches the images you’ve chosen to a blank e-mail using your default e-mail client) and send them to a printer should you have one attached.

The installation process is straightforward, as all you need to do is connect the scanner to a PC using the included USB cable, install the driver and software, and reboot the PC. To scan photos, slides or negatives, they

58 | connect | December 2011

must be inserted into the correct plastic holders, which are themselves inserted into the Pics to PC device. 2 switches must be in the correct position – slide or photo – before the capture process can begin. We were a bit disappointed to discover that the Scan button on the device only works if the software is already on the Capture screen – without that, it does nothing at all.

While we were able to achieve fairly decent results with our test scans, it took a more advanced image-editing program (Photoshop Elements) to get them looking their best. The device itself feels very plastic and the levers that switch it from scanning photos to scanning slides are particularly flimsy. As a result, we’re not convinced it would survive the odd knock, should one ever happen.

And lastly, price – R1 499 is a lot of money to spend simply converting old photos and slides into digital files, and the accompanying software is a little too basic for the cash. Still, if you absolutely have to convert those old pics, it’s incredibly easy to do so using Ion’s Pics 2 PC product, and we can’t think of a better or cheaper way to do it.

PACKAGE CONTAINS • Pics 2 PC scanner • 35mm film and slide trays • 3” x 5”, 4” x 6” and 5” x 7” picture trays • USB cable • Software CD • User manual Pros

Cons

• Simplifies the photo and slide digital conversion process • Many ways to share scanned images • Easy installation

• Build quality could be sturdier • Image-editing software is basic • Scan button is not very useful

Overall rating

R

18V

product reviews

6 Superb Stocking Stuffers As the old saying goes, it’s not the size of the present, but the amount of thought that went into it. So, if you’re at a loss for what to get your tame techie (every family has one) this festive season, here’s a list of awesome must-haves that won’t break the bank. From headphones with crystal-clear sound, to posh cleaning wipes, there’s truly something for everyone and every budget. Get stuck in.

Verbatim 2.5” Striped 500GB Hard Drive Great for: Mobile media moguls and

audio addicts

Belkin Flip Stand For iPad Great for: iPad (and iPad 2) owners who enjoy watching the occasional video What’s the deal? Most iPad owners will agree that from a purely utilitarian point of view, it’s the best video player available today.

The only problem is, users generally have to hold their iPad at a comfortable viewing angle, when, instead, they want to fold their arms, or hold a drink and something to eat.

Portable, light and compact, the Flip Stand folds out in seconds into a sturdy base for your iPad, leaving the techie’s hands free to do what they want. Problem solved. R300

60 | connect | December 2011

What’s the deal? You can never have too much storage space and with high-definition movies taking hold all over the world, the 700MB your resident geek used to need in order to store a Hollywood blockbuster has become well over 3GB. Why not kill two birds with one stone and make their mobile media drive look the part?

Not only are Verbatim’s 2.5” Striped drives crammed with half a terabyte’s worth of capacity, they’re available in a choice of colours and adorned with a white racing stripe.

So hot. R999.95

Golla Camera Bags Great for:

Fashion-conscious photographers and trendy techies What’s the deal?

Everyone wants to look after their gadgets, and one of the best ways to keep your geek’s technology functioning the way it should is to make sure it has luggage that’s been purpose-built for protection.

But that doesn’t mean you’ve got to make them fit into the “dull grey bag” brigade.

Golla’s range of technology luggage – the product of a collaboration between some of the world’s top technology brands – is bright, colourful and fun, and designed to appeal to your geek’s inner fashionista.

Golla’s luggage is also designed for device independence, meaning owners don’t have to have one or another model of notebook, tablet or camera to enjoy what’s on offer.

Best of all, it’s priced just right and the range covers everything from small pouch-type bags, to larger photographers’ satchels and backpacks.

Dig in. From R500

Apple Magic Mouse Great for: Apple aficionados addicted to multi-touch What’s the deal? One of the most appealing aspects of owning an Apple notebook is the

way single, double and triple finger swipes and various other track pad gestures help users get around the Operating System with ease. That is, of course, if they like track pads. If they’re more of a mouse jockey, however, the Magic Mouse is an essential. Supporting all the Apple track pad’s gestures, along with conventional mouse commands, it offers the best of both worlds. R800

Griffin Smartwipes 6-Pack

Bose Triport in-Ear ‘Phones

Great for: Obsessive-compulsive cleaners with too many portable devices What’s the deal? Technology is becoming more touch-centric and that means it tends to collect – and store – dirt more readily than ever before.

But as any self-respecting technologist will tell you, they don’t want to clean their shiny gadgets with just any cloth and cleaning fluid.

Griffin’s Smartwipes aren’t just ergonomically designed so that they resemble a two-fingered mitten, they’re made of a material that’s safe for use on all forms of electronics – even smartphone, tablet and computer screens.

The best part is they’re self-moistening. Pull the little tab and a special cleaning fluid is released onto one side of the mitten. Wipe your device down with the one side, and dry it with the other.

Nothing could be simpler or more effective. R90

Great for: Audiophile geeks with a compulsion for bassy sounds What’s the deal? You only get one pair of ears and as some audiophiles will tell you, life’s too short to bombard your hearing with anything but sweet treble, mellow midrange and pitch-perfect bass.

Bose’s Triport in Ear 2 ‘phones are perfect for audio aficionados on a budget.

Their silicon tips are comfortable, their construction is solid and because they carry the Bose name, you’ll know you’re getting your geek a product that’s tried and trusted. R900

www.connectmag.co.za | 61

game reviews

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception R599.95 For those unfamiliar with Uncharted, the best way to describe it as “the best bits of the National Treasure and Indiana Jones films, with some Tomb Raider thrown in”. Except that Uncharted has got better with each sequel.

Looking at the latest iteration, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, it’s hard to believe the developers have managed to, yet again, maintain the same production values after 3 titles. There’s no slacking off, it seems.

Not only does Drake’s Deception look good – it’s easily the bestlooking game on any console – it also has excellent voice acting, animation, sound and gameplay. We’d go as far as saying this has better acting and dialogue than most Hollywood blockbusters. Things are serious when they need to be, witty comments are well timed, and a wide range of emotions is expressed by the characters. Ah, yes, the characters. Like good actors, these are what make the game so immersive and enjoyable.

Drake is a likable, but flawed, everyman, and his cohorts have their unique personalities too. The antagonists are vile people who, just by appearance and a few choice lines, easily earn your hatred.

So, like any good story, the believable characters meet a semibelievable plot. In Uncharted 3, our intrepid adventurer sets out to reveal the truth behind Sir Francis Drake’s mysterious voyage to Arabia. Of course, some treasure is involved, and it wouldn’t be an action adventure game if there weren’t some competing treasure hunters adding to the drama. The twists and turns in the story are only outnumbered by the vast, open set pieces Drake finds himself in – from claustrophobic, sprawling underground tunnels, to a graveyard in the middle of the ocean, where you can explore the rusting hulks of abandoned container ships. The environments look good, and the dramatic camera work helps you appreciate how big some of the constructions are.

One of the coolest new features, if you have the technology to handle it, is the implementation of 3D. If the killer soundtrack, great characters and amazing graphics didn’t have you convinced, the 3D mode will leave you reaching for a spatula to get your jaw off the floor.

And finally, it wouldn’t be a modern game if there weren’t some form of multiplayer. To this end, the great multiplayer features we had in Uncharted 2 make a return, with even more polish. The campaign is by far the most fulfilling part of the game, but the gratifying gunplay makes a solid base for a fun multiplayer experience. If anything, you’ll be less frustrated when playing online. Some of the scenarios in the single-player campaign are impossibly difficult, and that’s about the only negative thing we can say about Uncharted 3. It’ll need a little patience, but this is definitely in contention for “best game of the year”.

62 | connect | December 2011

NEED TO KNOW • Stunning graphics • Cinematic gameplay • Third part of Drake’s story

>>Get this<< Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 2 If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t already have the first 2 games, you have to get them and complete the collection. This is undoubtedly one of the must-have modern trilogies, for both gaming and cinema.

>>Consider this<< Tomb Raider No, not the classic from 1996: this is a complete reboot of the series that started all this 3D adventuring, starring the legendary Lara Croft. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be on shelves some time in 2012, but things are looking very, very good so far.

www.connectmag.co.za | 63

game reviews

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

NEED TO KNOW • All-new explosive campaign mode • Spec-ops survival mode • Extensive and revamped multiplayer The first Modern Warfare game, sold as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, was a welcome break from the overdone trend of World War 2-themed shooters. Ironically, this 3rd Modern Warfare installment also sees the revamped genre get a bit long in the tooth.

Fortunately, it’s the best in the series. They’ve had 4 years to finetune every little detail, and the extensive online multiplayer – which is the real reason to buy this – is grittier and faster-paced than ever.

New weapons, new add-ons and new maps make it even more varied than before.

Let’s not forget about the explosive and slick single-player campaign, though. Its dramatic setting sees Russian forces invading the US, as a dedicated band of soldiers fights back and saves the day. Yes, it’s more of the same, but at the same time it lives up to all the hype, making it an irresistible first-person-shooter title for the holiday season. R699.95

>>CONSIDER This<<

>>look out for<<

Modern Warfare 2

Borderlands 2

If you want to follow the entire storyline presented in the campaign, Modern Warfare 2 should be available in bargain bins, and give you a few extra hours of gameplay to get all the dirty details on Soap and Captain Price.

A mash-up of first-person shooting and role-playing, the anticipated Borderlands sequel (set on the planet Pandora) promises an all-new cast of characters and classes.

Battlefield 3

NEED TO KNOW • That Frostbite 2 engine • Feel the battle • Unparalleled vehicle warfare First, you’re on a speeding train chasing terrorists. Then, you’re crawling through enemy territory. After that, you’re targeting hostiles using missiles from a fighter jet. Sound good?

Welcome to Battlefield 3’s immersive and varied single-player campaign that happens to be an addition to some first-class, competitive multiplayer action. Thanks to the new Frostbite 2 engine, the game is detailed and refined. Playing online, expect extra-large maps, destructible environments and 5 game modes: Rush, Squad Rush, Team Deathmatch, Conquest and Conquest 64.

Vehicles are a key tactical element in Battlefield and the variety (planes, trains, boats, tanks, helicopters…) makes the gameplay even better. Selling over 5 million copies in its first week on-shelf, Battlefield 3 is addictive online combat at its very best.

R599.95

64 | connect | December 2011

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012

NEED TO KNOW • Get fit at home and have fun doing it • Over 90 hours of workouts • Cardio-boxing, martial arts, boot camp and dance classes Going to the gym is so old-fashioned. Why bother when you can have a personalised workout session at home. It’s quite futuristic: using the Xbox Kinect, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 scans your body, asking you some key questions about your goals. Do you want to tone up? Are you focused on losing that muffin top?

The virtual personal trainer is crucial to your workout – they can tell you if your legs aren’t far enough apart, or if you’re out of rhythm. These details are important to ensure the exercises you’re replicating are as effective as possible.

Workouts are incredibly varied. There are the classic squats, lunges and floor exercises (yes, the Kinect can see you struggling with those sit-ups), but the game also has a variety of essential warm-up routines, dance classes and cardio-boxing. Whether you want to target your arms, abs, butt or back, every part of the body has its own combination of personalised exercises. Other great variations include a military-style boot camp, as well as yoga classes, for a little bit of zen at the end of your workout.

The game also features workouts from celeb trainer Michael George, and Michelle Bridges, trainer on Australia’s The Biggest Loser.

But there’s more! Mini games such as jump rope, wall breaker (bash those blocks) and stack ‘em up, a balancing game that works your shoulders and upper arms, are exhausting but fun.

Your Workout Buddy

Our favourite is going for a run… around the world. You’ll find yourself jogging through Wall Street in Manhattan, New York, listening to facts about the area and doing a little sightseeing as you go along. It’s innovative, exciting and exhausting all at the same time.

At the end of each session, you’ll get to bash your calories away, unlocking achievements, seeing your overall statistics and where you’re at. If you have a Kinect, cancel your gym contract and buy Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012.

R399.95

There is an online portal to store your exercise history and key stats. Here, you’ll get to see all the calories you’ve burned in workout sessions and how close you are to reaching your fitness goal. You’ll be able to share and compare results with the rest of the gaming world and see if your friends are ahead in their challenges.

>>Coming soon<< Adidas MiCoach Exercise alongside some well-known American athletes, who will guide you through a wide selection of sportspecific personalised training programs.

www.connectmag.co.za | 65

game reviews

Super Mario 3D Land

NEED TO KNOW • A full 3D platformer starring Mario • New power-ups and moves • 3D effects bring new challenges

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

NEED TO KNOW

• Wii MotionPlus combat • Defensive AI • Cinematic cutscenes

66 | connect | December 2011

Skyward Sword feels surprisingly new. That said, it is the best Wii game available right now (quite possibly the best Zelda game yet) – a must-buy.

R499.95

Get >> This<<

Five years ago, we were playing Twilight Princess on a strangely named and relatively new Nintendo gaming console. Skyward Sword marks the return of this beloved franchise, exclusive to Wii, and with it come big expectations.

What more could Nintendo possibly give to Zelda fans? Quite a lot, it turns out. Even with the Wii’s graphical limitations, the environments are beautiful to look at and the gameplay is varied. And while there may not be voice-acting, there are cinematic cutscenes and colourful characters to accompany you on your lengthy quest. Dungeons, swordplay and puzzles are a key part of every Zelda game, but it’s the integration of Wii MotionPlus that makes Skyward Sword really fun – every swing of the Wiimote is incredibly accurate. Whether you’re slashing a sword or throwing a bomb, enemies will try to defend themselves, making the combat entertaining and effective. For a game series that has been around for 25 years,

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D With amazing glasses-free 3D visuals, Ocarina of Time is the perfect on-the-go Zelda game, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a firsttime player or a regular visitor to Hyrule.

This is the first proper Mario game for Nintendo’s newest platform, and instead of being a regular side-scrolling platformer with 3D graphics, it’s a semi-open world 3D adventure title. Mario can explore the environment and run around all sorts of obstacles in the various levels. The 3D effects don’t feel forced, at all, and are sometimes used to make things a bit more challenging. For instance, one of the spitting plants in the game will gob up the screen, directly impeding your view of the action.

Mario’s got some new power-ups, too, with the fireball and Tanooki power-ups being joined by Boomerang and Propeller box power-ups.

The gameplay is really fun and family-friendly, but remains challenging enough to keep casual and hardcore gamers coming back for more.

This is an instant classic, with loads of fun appeal – we highly recommend it. R499.95

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Grab your PlayStation Move controller and make every swing, slash and dodge count for real as you battle Morgrimm’s skeleton army.

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2011/11/21 4:28 PM

tech tannie

Connecting the Technical dots one problem at a time, Tech Tannie races in, armed with nothing more than a pencil and a brain…

issue of the month: Q:

What is the difference between digital zoom and optical zoom? I want to get a new digital camera for Christmas, but I’m not sure what these features actually mean. Digital in Dowerglen

A:

If you have questions, gripes or just seek some solace, e-mail Tamsin, our friendly tech tannie at techtannie@connectmag.co.za 68 | connect | December 2011

A most excellent question, most excellent indeed. In fact, it is one of my personal missions in life to explain how these two types of zoom differ from one another.

Zoom is a lovely thing. It lets you get nice and close to things that may (certainly here in Africa) want to eat you for lunch if you get too close. Optical zoom lenses physically extend outwards and magnify your subject by whatever ratio the camera boasts. This form of zoom is much crisper than digital zoom as it physically moves closer to the subject while using all sorts of fancy technical stuff to magnify your object of desire. A digital zoom sacrifices quality as it crops your image – the picture you see in the viewfinder – and then magnifies this even further. As a result, the image becomes increasingly grainy and doesn’t really deliver good results.

Personally, I would rather spend extra money on a camera that has a decent optical zoom and ignore anything that boasts digital zoom, unless you’re buying a children’s camera, which doesn’t offer such fancy things.

Q:

I recently bought an Xbox 360 Slim console and for some reason the screen keeps freezing.

How do I stop this from happening?

It’s incredibly frustrating!

Frozen in Van Riebeeckshof

A:

Ya, the Xbox can be somewhat temperamental, hey? Mine has, touch wood, so far been a lovely and obedient little console but I know many people who have struggled with the frozen screen of doom and red ring of death. First off, when the screen freezes, see if you can get back to the Dashboard by pressing the Guide button (the big X dude in the middle of your controller) and then the Y button. If this doesn’t work, you may need to look at whether or not your console is overheating.

Make sure it is in a cool, well-ventilated area, away from other electronic devices – and away from direct sunlight. Let it chill out and relax for a bit and then try again. If this doesn’t work, try cleaning your system cache. Do this by going to My Xbox>>System Settings>>Memory. Highlight any storage device and press Y – don’t press A! – then select Clear System Cache and try doing whatever it was that caused your system to freeze the first time. Hopefully this has worked, but if you are still getting some trouble, you may have hard drive issues. To resolve this, you can follow a video on the Microsoft site (http://support.xbox.com), which I highly recommend as it shows you how to manage this tricky procedure step-by-step. Once you have followed their instructions, check whether or not your frozen screen has fixed itself. If it has, then the hard drive needs to be replaced, so get in touch with your retailer to find out what procedures they have in place for this. If every last one of these steps has not helped you fix the console, you may need to send it to be repaired. I hope, however, that this is not the case and that somewhere in this long (and obviously very helpful) essay, you have found the perfect fix. Happy gaming!

Q: A:

What is the point of an ergonomic keyboard? Is it just another scam?

Keyboard Crazy in Karoo

Actually, while the ergonomic keyboard thing may sound like a snobby marketing term for getting more money out your pocket, I am something of a convert. When I first reviewed these keyboards back in the late ‘90s/early 2000s, I found them hard to get used to. I admit I struggled to work on them.

Then, by day two, I was comfortable and happy and now I can’t use any other kind of keyboard. A part of me thinks this is a bad thing because I now struggle when using a netbook or small wireless keyboard with my tablet as I am so used to the spread-out keys

and angles of the ergonomic keyboard. On the plus side, it did reduce my wrist pain and my work speed increased. While there are actual scientific benefits to using ergonomic keyboards, I think they are a personal choice. If you like them, you should use them; if you don’t, feel free not to. There are different kinds of ergonomic keyboard as well. The Microsoft Natural ergonomic keyboard is the same design as the standard ‘flat’ layout but has extra design features to make it better for wrist and arm support, for example. The choice is yours.

Q:

I run a small business and was wondering if I really need an accounting package or can I just do it myself?

Software in Simonstown

A:

I really do recommend investing in an accounting package for any business, no matter how small. The thing is, when you move your stuff across, you soon see things you would miss if you did it all by yourself as the software has been designed to catch all those hidden costs and essentials. The initial investment may seem high, but it is well worth it if it means you don’t end up forking out thousands of rands for missing tax information or errors. Check out a package that doesn’t come with lots of extra licence fees and make sure your yearly payments, where applicable, fit into your budget.

www.connectmag.co.za | 69

NEED-TO-KNOW Specs:

• All-new 16 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor • 30x optical zoom covering 24-720mm (35mm equivalent)

• 3.0 inch tilting rear LCD with 460,000 pixels • Full resolution high speed shooting – high speed video capture at up to 320 fps

• Advanced Anti-blur technologies • 1600% wide dynamic range • Longer battery life (up to 350 frames with

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4 x AA batteries)

• Electronic Horizon level function • RAW shooting (RAW or JPEG or simultaneous RAW+JPEG)

• Full HD movie capture using H.264 (MOV) format

• New 27 mode EXR Auto mode • Colour fringe reduction and improved corner sharpness

• 360° Motion Panorama mode • Photobook Assist function

Subscribe now and you could win a Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR Camera.

Record-breaking, innovative, versatile; the new Fujifilm FinePix HS20 is all this and so much more. The latest addition to the range of Fujifilm bridge cameras represents the perfect picture taking solution for photographers who want the specification and picture quality of an SLR without the heavy camera bag and huge dent in their bank balance. With a class-leading feature set that includes a brand new EXR CMOS sensor, high speed continuous shooting capability, improved user interface, versatile video functions, 30x zoom lens and a 16 megapixel resolution, the HS20 sets new standards in bridge camera functionality and performance.

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disconnect //By adam oxford

Is it 1984 all over again?

Kinect for Windows looks great, but why are we so willing to put cameras in our living rooms?

A

little-known fact: Microsoft launched its Kinect camera rig for the Xbox 360 in November last year, and it won the Guinness World Record for ‘Fastest Selling Consumer Device Ever’. Microsoft sold 10 million Kinects in just 5 months, and its record of 133 333 units sold per day during the first 60-odd days still stands.

Kinect is an unusual and – for the time being – unique game controller. It uses two cameras and a laser projector to track the motion of players who stand in front of it, and clever software algorithms to work out which of the moving parts are fingers or legs. It’s so accurate, it can ‘read’ facial expressions to a certain degree, and there’s a microphone built in for voice recognition too.

Admittedly, it’s the kind of voice recognition that, like most others, works well if you’re a white American from Silicon Valley. But, you know, one day it might be able to handle a broad Sowetan accent or understand Xhosa. Maybe. But I digress. I saw the original press release about the record-breaking and ignored it. After all, it’s the kind of thing that tech companies put out all the time to prove they’re bigger, better, faster or just more than the opposition.

Coincidentally, I hold the world record for receiving the most press releases about records being broken in a single day: I get around 133 333 questionable statistics (like this one) passing through my inbox every 24 hours. There’s a level of cynicism in the face of such relentless marketing assaults that becomes inevitable.

Exactly a year on from Kinect’s launch, however, and I find myself giving this a lot of thought. It means Microsoft sold more Kinects than Apple sold iPads, iPhones or any other supposed ‘must-have’ piece of kit.

Nintendo took 2 years to sell that many Wiis.

All that excitement, all that goodwill from new buyers who couldn’t wait to have something genuinely amazing and unique to plug into their consoles. And

72 | connect | December 2011

then... very little, actually. Games that make use of Kinect are few and far between, and ones that are critically lauded are even harder to find.

But something important is about to happen, something the significance of which I’m not sure the industry has picked up on yet. Some time not too long after Christmas, Microsoft will launch Kinect for Windows – same device, but with a bunch of programs that work on the Windows Operating System rather than a games console.

This is big. Very big. Not only might it be much more comfortable to use a Kinect when it’s just a few feet away, stuck on top of your monitor, but Windows 8 has a brand-new interface that’s entirely designed for gestures like swiping panels around and pinch-zoom.

The Tom Cruise film Minority Report is an overused point of reference for this kind of technology, but once Kinect for Windows is out, that’s the technology we’ll have at our disposal – sliding windows around the screen, grabbing pictures and dropping them into frames and so on.

Except that Cruise had to wear a glove to use it. Kinect can track anything. Apparently, over 200 companies have been working on ways to use Kinect with their existing software packages. These range from big corporates that see it as a way to use their flashy video-conferencing suite without a remote, to surgeons, who see Kinect gestures as a way to interact with screens showing medical data without having to touch anything and thus dirty their hands.

There is one thing about Kinect that I find pretty scary, though. Once it’s plugged in, its camera is always on, and potentially always watching you. Motors move it around on vertical and horizontal planes to make sure it never loses sight of you.

Remind you of a certain famous novel about invisible surveillance using the communications gadget in the corner of the room? Perhaps I’m just being paranoid...

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