Palm Centro

The Palm Centro for Sprint is a slick-looking device targeted to first-time smart phone users. It features the same operating system, basic specs, and applications of the Treo 755p but in a smaller form factor. The Centro is very affordable ($99 with two-year contract, after rebates and instant savings) and has enough going for it to entice regular cell phone users to upgrade to something that can keep their life organized while offering e-mail, instant messaging, and Web browsing. The keyboard could be better, but you won't find a better smart phone at this price.


This compact phone (4.2 x 2.1 x 0.7) fits easily in your pocket and is available in two colors: a hip Ruby Red and a more elegant Onyx Black. The touchscreen measures only 2.2 inches, but it has a nice 320 x 320-pixel resolution, which is perfectly fine for the light-on-graphics Palm OS. The phone has a microSD slot on the side but isn't bundled with a miniSD Card. Even though Palm claims the MicroSD slot is external, you still have to remove the phone cover from the back of the phone to get at it. That's annoying.
On the front of the phone just below the screen you'll find a silver bar with the navigation buttons. The Centro comes with a comfortable five-way navigation key, two large answer on and off buttons, and quick-launch keys to access the dialpad, main menu, calendar, and e-mail. On the side you'll find the up and down volume buttons and a programmable key.

The stylus is a bit flimsy, and the backlit QWERTY keyboard is disappointing. Although the keys are raised and rubbery, they're too tiny for average fingers. A teen or someone with narrow fingers will likely manage with it, but the target soccer mom or average first-time smart phone adult user won't feel very comfortable typing on it until they get used to the layout.

Despite Palm's target market, the Centro isn't any easier to use than the 755p, since it runs on the same OS. In fact, the Centro comes with a couple more apps instead of fewer. But it's still easier to use than Windows Mobile-based and Symbian-based smart phones, which have steep learning curves. The Centro comes with the usual Calendar, E-mail, and Contacts applications. It also includes the Sprint Mobile Instant Messaging application, which allows you to log into AIM, MSN, or Yahoo Messenger; on our tests, the phone took an average 18 seconds to log into Yahoo Messenger. You also get the latest version DocumentsToGo Professional for viewing and editing Office files.

The 1.3-megapixel camera on the back produced run-of-the-mill pictures with its 2X digital zoom. Video capture is also available, but the low 352 x 288-pixel resolution is nothing to get excited about, On our tests, it performed poorly in dimly lit areas, which is to be expected for a smart phone.

On our Web-browser tests, CNN.com took an average of five seconds to load on the Centro's Blazer browser, making it comparable to other Sprint smart phones that use the carrier's EV-DO network. Downloading a 1.8MB application from Sprint's severs took only 35 seconds, an impressive speed for this category of smart phone.

We love the Google Maps feature, which we also saw in the Treo 755p. You can view street and satellite maps and get directions and traffic reports. Unfortunately, you still can't use location-based services to get live navigation or to pinpoint your location automatically on the map.

The Centro also comes preinstalled with the PocketTunes Deluxe (normally $39.99). This application lets you listen to your favorite MP3s, AAC files, and DRM-protected WMA tracks, which you can download to the 64MB of onboard storage when you sync your phone with your computer or by simply playing the songs stored on your microSD Card. Music playback was good, but the speaker is located on the back of the phone, so don't plan on listening to music with the phone sitting on a table.

Sprint also offers access to Sprint TV, which lets you watch live content and video on demand from the likes of CNN and Comedy Central. The Daily Show clips we watched started out decent but devolved into a pixelated mess.

During our tests, call quality was good, and like other Palm phones, this one requires an adapter to plug in 2.5mm headphones. The adapter is included in the package, but we'd recommend using a Bluetooth headset as a workaround. Stereo Bluetooth isn't an option, which is a bit disappointing.

Battery life is rated at 3.5 hours of talk time and 12.5 days of standby. That's a little shy of what we expect from most phones these days, especially with the 755p managing more than 4 hours of talk time. After talking for 20 minutes, spending two more hours browsing the Web and navigating the device, and then leaving the Centro on standby overnight, we woke up to a device that still had more than half its juice.

Specifications:

Carrier: Sprint Nextel

Form Factor: Candy Bar

Operating System: Palm OS

Fast Data Network: EV-DO

CPU: 312-MHz Intel XScale

Music Player: No

Video: No

GPS: No

FM Radio: No

Display (main): 2.2 inches 320 x 320 pixels/65,000 colors

Talk / Standby Time: 3.5 hours/12.5 days

Size: 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches

Weight: 4.2 ounces

Fujitsu LifeBook P7230

With the exception of Sony, no company has mastered the art of ultraportable laptop design like Fujitsu. The compact LifeBook P7230 is one of the most lightweight systems on the market, and it's one of the sexiest, with your choice of two colors: black or white (an extra $50). The fact that this system has an integrated optical drive makes it all the more impressive. The LifeBook P7230 comes somewhat more modestly configured than several competitive models, but at $1,899, it's worth a look if every ounce counts.

Measuring 10.7 x 7.9 x 1.1 inches, the attractive and solidly built LifeBook P7230 (see photo gallery) is slight enough to tuck into the smallest carry-on, and at three pounds, it's light enough to carry all day. With such diminutive dimensions, however, come sacrifices: The keyboard is cramped and may fatigue your fingers during extended typing stints, particularly if you have big hands. Likewise, the touchpad is tiny, and the petite mouse buttons offer insufficient tactile feedback; you'll definitely want to use an external mouse hooked up to one of the LifeBook P7230's three USB ports.

The 10.6-inch widescreen display, with its average 1280 x 768 (WXGA) native resolution, delivers adequate screen real estate, though text looks considerably smaller than what you'll see on even a 12- or 13-inch display with comparable resolution. That said, the LifeBook P7230's display is crisp and bright enough for productivity tasks and is the perfect size for watching DVDs on a plane or train.

Placed above the keyboard, the LifeBook P7230's two stereo speakers deliver the weak, tinny audio common to ultraportable laptops. There isn't much in the way of dedicated multimedia controls, though there is one programmable quick-launch button that you can set to open your most often-used application or folder.

The LifeBook P7230's notable features include an "Eco" button that toggles on a special battery-saving mode, reducing screen brightness, switching off the optical drive and wireless connection, and disabling peripherals. Also, like many other modern laptops, the LifeBook P7230's shock-mounted hard drive will better absorb the impact of a drop; however, we found Fujitsu's intelligent shock-sensor technology a bit overly sensitive; the laptop needlessly retracted the hard drive a few times during our testing. Security features include a Trusted Platform Module and an integrated fingerprint sensor, which doubles as a vertical scroll button for quickly navigating through documents and Web pages.

In addition to a DVD burner, you get one FireWire and three USB 2.0 jacks that are well distributed around the case; a VGA output, for connecting to an external display; microphone and headphone jacks; one Type I/II PC Card slot; and a 3-in-1 media card reader. Although some fairly standard business-class features such as an ExpressCard slot and S-Video output are absent, Fujitsu offers a more complete configuration that includes an integrated webcam, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and a port replicator for $2,179. The webcam option alone costs only $30, an upgrade we recommend.

Built-in networking features include Ethernet and modem jacks as well as 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi (plus an external Wi-Fi on/off switch). The LifeBook P7230's throughput of 17.8 Mbps at 15 feet and 14.2 Mbps at 50 feet signifies extremely robust connectivity. This system, however, lacks integrated mobile broadband, a feature found on a growing number of comparable ultraportables.

Our LifeBook P7230 test unit came with Windows Vista Business (you can also configure it with Vista Home Basic or XP Professional), a solid collection of multimedia and productivity software, but a wispy array of components, the centerpiece of which was a 1.2-GHz Intel Core Solo U1400 ultra-low-voltage processor. Also on board is Intel's integrated GMA 950 graphics engine, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and a modest 60GB hard drive, which spun at a deficient 4,200 rpm (an 80GB drive is also available for an extra $100).

Unsurprisingly, these components made an unspectacular showing on our PCMark05 benchmark test, notching a relatively low score of 1,191; the laptop can handle most productivity tasks but lacks the processing muscle to elegantly manage numerous applications simultaneously. The LifeBook P7230's score of 726 on our 3DMark03 benchmark is below average for an ultraportable.

The LifeBook P7230's standard six-cell battery lasted a decent three hours and one minute on our DVD drain test. This means you should get closer to five hours of runtime when performing regular productivity tasks. Fujitsu sells another six-cell battery that fits in the system's modular bay (which costs an additional $116) that should give you another three or four hours of life.

One of the lightest notebooks on the market with an integrated optical drive, the LifeBook P7230 delivers extreme portability for a very reasonable price. We'd prefer a little more performance and the option of mobile broadband, but otherwise this mini notebook satisfies.

Specifications:

RAM Included:  1GB

RAM Upgradable To:  2GB

Hard Drive Size:  60GB

Hard Drive Speed:  4,200rpm

Optical Drive Type:  DVD±RW Dual Layer

Optical Drive Speed:  2X

Display Size (inches):  10.6

Native Resolution:  1280x768

Graphics Card:  Intel GMA 950

Video Memory:  224MB

Wi-Fi:  802.11a/b/g

Operating System:  MS Windows Vista Business

Ports (excluding USB):  Ethernet; Firewire; Microphone; Modem; S/PDIF; VGA 

USB Ports:  3

Card Slot(s):  3-1 card reader; PC Card; Type I/II

Warranty/Support:  One-year parts and labor/one-year 24/7 toll-free

Size:  10.7 x 7.9 x 1.1 inches

Weight:  3 pounds

Samsung Beat SGH-t539

The Samsung Beat is a sleek clamshell with an onboard music player, quad-band GSM/EDGE support, and a 1.3-megapixel camera for a reasonable $99. A music-friendly accessory bundle and external playback controls make the Beat a capable music phone. It also has useful extras, including a Web browser (despite its lack of 3G), instant messaging, and over-the-air contact sync, but the interface could use a lot more polish, and the keypad is tricky for thick fingers. As long as you can live without over-the-air downloads, the Beat is a decent choice.

This handset measures 3.5 x 1.8 x 0.7 inches, and it weighs just 2.7 ounces--small but cheap-feeling. On the outside of the glossy black shell is a 96 x 96-pixel OLED display, as well as iPod-like playback controls ringed by a lime-green speaker. The camera lens (with 4X digital zoom) is just above the screen, but there’s no flash. On the right side is a covered microSD slot for up to 2GB of expandable storage, as well as dedicated camera and music player buttons, the latter doubling as a Hold button. On the left are the proprietary headphone/sync connector (also covered) and volume buttons. The battery compartment on the back is secure but easy to remove.

Inside, the color LCD is bright but low-resolution at 128 x 160 pixels. The keypad is mostly smooth, which makes no-look dialing impossible, and keys are close enough together to stymie large fingers. One nice touch is an assignable shortcut key. The included 1GB microSD card comes loaded with tracks from Anisha Nicole and Natalie Williams, and you get an SD adapter, too. Also in the package is an AC adapter, a USB cable, a 3.5mm headphone adapter with built-in mic and call button, and Samsung’s own phone-friendly earbuds.

Startup time was a respectable 15 seconds, and navigation through the interface was mostly speedy, though we noticed a lag when accessing content on a microSD Card. While the menus are simple enough to navigate, the graphics are about as advanced as an old Atari, and the fonts are blocky. Options are presented clearly but not very attractively. The directional pad and Select button offer precise navigation for the most part, though we did have the occasional misstep because of their small size. On the bright side, there was no noticeable lag between menus or while texting.

Supported music formats include MP3, WMA, AAC, and AAC+--no DRM here. You can transfer files in Windows via Windows Media Player or drag and drop them onto the drive for Mac and Windows systems. Copying a 50 Cent album (about 80MB) to the memory card took nearly three minutes, which is on the slow side; you’re better off using a card reader. The phone works with stereo Bluetooth headphones, but you can also transfer files and print pictures via Bluetooth. Other extras include a world clock, a calendar, a calculator, an alarm, and a stopwatch. The Beat also does voice dialing and recording, though the former didn’t work so well in our testing. It had a tough time recognizing names that we spoke, succeeding about a quarter of the time. A few basic games come preloaded, but nothing special.

Music sounded very good through Samsung’s earbuds as well as through our own high-end Shure SE420 earbuds (via the adapter), with rich, clear sound marred only by some system noise between tracks. The external speaker is more useful for speakerphone than music listening, since bass was nearly inaudible. The music automatically stops when you receive a call, and it picks back up where it left off when you hang up. Unfortunately, neither the button on the included earbud cable nor the one on the headphone adapter can pause music; they just answer and end calls, but the music stops automatically when a call comes in.

Pictures and videos captured with the Beat looked pretty bad on the screen, so we wouldn’t necessarily bother uploading them wirelessly to my.t-mobile.com for online sharing. Our favorite feature is the ability to sync contacts wirelessly online--even with Outlook--via my.t-mobile.com. Web browsing was reasonably speedy for an EDGE device; CNN’s mobile Web site loaded in about 15 seconds.

The Beat’s call quality was acceptable, but T-Mobile’s reception is quirky. The phone showed four bars of service out of five, yet when we called repeatedly from our Verizon phone, the Beat failed to register the call about half the time. Voices were loud and clear through the included earbuds, and our own voice came through the hands-free mic clearly on our test calls. The Beat’s battery life is rated at about 6 hours of talk time and 360 hours (15 days) for standby, which is about average. For typical use, this phone needs to be charged about every other day; if you use the speaker and music player regularly, you can expect to charge the Beat daily.

If you opt for this phone, don’t expect the attractive speaker on the front to replace your boombox, and be sure to carry a real camera with you if you want to take clear pictures. Other than that--and yesterday’s user interface--this music phone offers a decent music player and some handy Web features that will satisfy bargain hunters.

Specifications:

Carrier:  T-Mobile

Form Factor:  Candy Bar

Fast Data Network:  EDGE

Internal Memory:  28MB

Memory Expansion Type:  miniSD Card

Music Player:  No

Video:  Yes

GPS:  No

FM Radio:  No

Display (main):  128 x 160 pixels/65,000 colors

Display (secondary):  96 x 96 pixels

Talk / Standby Time:  6 hours/15 days

Size:  3.5 x 1.8 x 0.7

Weight:  2.7 ounces

More Images:

T-Mobile Dash

Sexiness meets versatility in the T-Mobile Dash ($199 with two-year contract), a compact Windows Mobile smart phone that attempts to one-up both the BlackBerry Pearl, by featuring a full QWERTY keyboard, and the Moto Q, by packing in Wi-Fi. This diminutive device keeps you organized and entertained on the go, but its occasionally sluggish performance and T-Mobile's spotty network coverage prevent us from giving the Dash a top rating.

Designed by HTC, the Dash is one of the sleekest smart phones around. It's nearly as thin as the MOTO Q (0.51 inches versus 0.47 inches) and weighs only 0.1 ounces more (4.2 versus 4.1). More importantly, this device feels better in the hand, thanks to its soft-touch texture and larger four-way navigation button. The keys are packed very tightly together, but they offer excellent tactile feedback. We also like how you can type special characters by just pressing and holding a key, as opposed to using an Alt/key combination.

The Dash boasts a bright, 2.4-inch display with 320 x 240-pixel resolution. It provides more than enough room for looking up contacts, surfing the Web (when Windows Mobile 5.0 doesn't mess up the formatting), and checking e-mail. To the right of the screen are two touch-sensitive volume controls; these take some getting used to but worked fine once we changed the tap speed to Fast.

The left side of the device holds the power button, and on the back side, underneath the cover, is a slot for a microSD Card. At least you don't have to remove the battery to insert a card. The 1.3-megapixel camera lens is located above the battery cover, complete with a tiny self-portrait mirror.

To help you stay connected, this smart phone packs in three wireless radios: GSM/EDGE, Wi-Fi, and stereo Bluetooth. We especially like the Comm Manager utility, which makes it simple to toggle each connection on and off. From this same screen you can also access the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings, activate ActiveSync for syncing with Outlook, turn the ringer on and off, and beam info to other nearby devices. Unlimited data costs $29.99 per month, which inlcudes T-Mobile Hotspot access.

Like other Windows Mobile 5.0 phones, the Dash manages your contacts, calendar, and tasks, but T-Mobile's intuitive setup wizard makes it especially easy to get e-mail wirelessly. Unlike the Moto Q, the Dash lets you enjoy instant messaging out of the box using your choice of AIM, Yahoo, or ICQ. Unfortunately, our experience didn't exactly feel "instant," as it took an average of 25 seconds to sign onto Yahoo and anywhere from 4 to 40 seconds to send and receive messages.

Web browsing wasn't much faster over T-Mobile's EDGE network. It took us about 50 seconds to download the entire New York Times homepage. The BlackBerry Pearl, which rides on the same 2.5G network, is faster because it uses a more efficient Java-based browser. Switching over to Wi-Fi on the Dash helped, but it still took a rather pedestrian 27 seconds for the same page to load.

In fact, the Dash was a little bit sluggish overall. We experienced a number of delays when opening and closing applications, and when we tried to open an e-mail while the device was downloading new messages, the device crashed, forcing us to reset. Some of the blame goes to the relatively pokey 210-MHz TI OMAP processor (compared with the Moto Q's 312-MHz Intel XScale CPU), but the Windows Mobile 5 OS itself also continues to be flaky.

Note that this isn't the more robust Pocket PC version of Windows Mobile, either; it's the Smartphone edition, which means you don't get a bundled Notes application, and you can't edit e-mail attachments. Yes, you can view Office docs with the included ClearVue suite, but it was impossible to see a Word file without zooming in. And even then we couldn't see all of the text within the margins, requiring us to scroll from left to right.

The Dash fares better as an entertainment device. Its Windows Media Player 10 Mobile software allows you to listen to your own MP3s or tunes you've purchased from any online PlaysForSure service. And thanks to its stereo Bluetooth support, we could enjoy our tracks wirelessly using Motorola's HT820 headphones.

The 1.3-MP camera takes pretty sharp pictures for a smart phone, providing plenty of details in shots, even if they were a bit washed out. What makes the Dash stand out as a camera phone is how easy it is to share your shots and low-res video footage; clicking on the envelope icon after you're done recording takes you directly to an MMS or e-mail message prepopulated with your photo or video attachment.

As a phone, the Dash is just adequate. During our tests, it delivered decent volume but only mediocre audio quality. We noticed a slight gurgling on the line during most calls. T-Mobile's network continues to lag behind other carriers when it comes to coverage, but at least the Dash's signal strength wasn't any worse than the BlackBerry Pearl's.

On the plus side, the new MyFaves feature gives you unlimited calling to the five U.S. numbers you call most often, with plans starting at $39.99 per month. You can even customize the Today screen to display the pictures of those five people for easy, one-click dialing.

T-Mobile rates the Dash for five hours of talk time and nine days of standby time. In our tests, this smart phone lasted about a day and a half, but that was with the Dash set to automatically retrieve new e-mails every 15 minutes and with intermittent use of the Wi-Fi connection.

Overall, typing on the Dash is easier than on the BlackBerry Pearl, and the Dash offers faster Web surfing (when you're in a hotspot). However, these perks are nearly outweighed by the phone's less-than-snappy performance.

Specifications:

Carrier:  T-Mobile

Form Factor:  Candy Bar

Operating System:  Windows Mobile OS

Bluetooth Type:  Bluetooth Stereo

Fast Data Network:  EDGE

CPU:  210-MHz TI OMAP

Internal Memory:  64MB RAM, 32MB available for users

Memory Expansion Type:  TransFlash/MicroSD

Music Player:  No

Video:  Yes

GPS:  No

FM Radio:  Yes

Display (main):  2.4 inches (320 x 240 pixels, 65,000 colors)

Talk / Standby Time:  5 hours/9 days

Size:  4.4 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches

Weight:  4.2 ounces

AT&T Tilt

As AT&T's premiere Windows Mobile 6 device and the only phone with a unique angle-up display, the Tilt has a lot to offer power users. The device supports BlackBerry Connect (a first for an AT&T phone), has built-in Wi-Fi and HSDPA connectivity, and features a sharp 3-MP camera. This do-it-all gadget also doubles as a GPS navigator, just like the BlackBerry 8820. The integration of AT&T's music and video services was a bit lacking on our tests, but overall the Tilt is one sweet smart phone.

Designed To Be Different
The redesign is more than just a novelty.The hefty sliding panel with a 2.8-inch touchscreen display can be used parallel to the QWERTY keypad or slanted upward to a maximum 40-degree angle. This orientation is welcome when surfing the Web and viewing documents, but we found ourselves angling the screen back down to make text messaging and composing e-mail easier. The keyboard layout is spacious and offered decent tactile feedback despite being flat. We also like that the number keys are highlighted in silver for easier dialing. Two poorly placed soft keys above the Tilt's keypad are hard to push because of their proximity to the screen.

HTC moved the phone's Send and End buttons to the top of the navigation pad beneath the screen on the sliding panel (they were on the bottom on the 8525 model). The company also introduced two small dedicated Internet Explorer and messaging keys into the mix. The perimeter of the phone is overloaded with the scroll wheel, the stylus holder, and buttons that turn the device on and off, enable the camera, activate PTT, and select onscreen icons.

Solid E-mail, Surfing, and GPS
Communication is the Tilt's strongest suit. It's the first Windows Mobile device in the U.S. to include BlackBerry Connect software (Version 4.0), enabling wireless calendar and e-mail synchronization, and it supports popular corporate systems such as IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise through the BlackBerry's Enterprise Server. You can access personal e-mail through the BlackBerry Internet Service or by using the Xpress Mail feature and receiving POP3 or IMAP e-mail. Instant messaging on the cellular network was speedy (AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo clients are on board), but we didn't like that we had to disable the Wi-Fi radio to IM in the office or at home, where the Tilt connected automatically.

Surfing speeds were generally quite good. We tested how long the Tilt took to open CNN.com, Google, and IMDB. Using Wi-Fi, even 50 feet away from the router, the sites opened in just a few seconds, and we moved through those sites swiftly and easily. HSDPA was a little slower depending on the number of bars of reception. With one or two bars, the Tilt took up to 20 seconds to load pages. But in areas of strong reception, pages loaded in five seconds or less.

The built-in TeleNav GPS system is unobtrusive in its design (a little black nub on the back of the phone is presumably where the receiver is) and is a thorough system to have on board when traveling for business. Mapping was accurate and quick, and the TeleNav offers a deep bench of features, including voice guidance and traffic alerts with rerouting. Its more management-focused attributes are base-tracking and travel timesheets. TeleNav GPS Navigator costs between $5.99 (for ten trips) and $9.99 (for unlimited trips), while the TeleNav Track service plans range from $12.99 to $21.99 per month.

Thanks to a reasonably fast 400-MHz dual-core processor and 68MB of program memory, overall application performance was pretty snappy most of the time. We experienced a bit of a lag when toggling among Word Mobile, the TeleNav GPS map, and the Instant Messaging app, and sometimes we'd tap on an icon and have to wait for a response for 10 seconds or more. This was annoying, but it only happened every once in a while.

Multimedia: A Mixed Bag
Admittedly, the Tilt's 240 x 320-pixel screen gave us very high hopes for the device's Cellular Video feature. We managed to get a few uninterrupted seconds of the hourly CNN news digest via RealPlayer, but it looked fuzzy and sounded even worse-as though it were playing underwater. We had better luck with MobiTV2 ($9.99 per month), which offers a full-screen mode. A stream of ESPN looked pretty smooth, and the audio was only slightly out of sync with the video.

AT&T Mobile Music is the device's integrated audio entertainment system and offers users a good selection of song downloads. Billboard sponsors a fee-based service with access to musicians' bios and discographies, but it's little more than a thinly veiled way to sell ringtones at an average $2.99 a pop. XM Radio Mobile, which comes preloaded on the device, is available for $8.99 per month and worked well running over both HSDPA and Wi-Fi.

We experienced lag when we surfed XM's many music channels while simultaneously composing an e-mail. Incoming calls, however, placed the music on hold smoothly and quickly resumed playing upon hangup. However, accessing the Push-To-Talk feature while listening to XM caused the Tilt's screen to stall and go blank for close to a minute. Once again, the Tilt's sound was lackluster, yet XM sounded marginally better than video did. Buyers interested in the device should treat the Tilt's music features as a bonus rather than a selling point.

The built-in three-megapixel camera has superior picture quality and a quick zoom, whereas the identically priced BlackBerry 8820 lacks a camera altogether. You'll also find white-balance settings for the Tilt's video camera and some tacky graphics that you can superimpose onto your photos before snapping them. For video, stationary filming worked far better than shooting while on the move, but the sound was poor and muffled in both cases.

Better than the Competition?
As a phone, the Tilt performed well. Call quality was clear, and calls placed during testing connected quickly and easily. Battery life is rated for 4.5 days of talk time or 8.3 days of standby. We left a fully charged Tilt on over a long weekend, and when we returned, the unit still had three out of four bars of battery life. We were then able to do a good deal of surfing, checking e-mail, and listening to music before having to power back up.

The AT&T Tilt and the new BlackBerry 8820 both have a lot going for them, but users deciding between the two should take a few things into consideration. The Tilt is for those who like their smart phones packed to the gills with multimedia bells and whistles and who need the ability to view and edit Office attachments out of the box. The 8820 is for those looking for a sleeker device that's easy to use, although it doesn't have 3G. Given that the Tilt has BlackBerry's push e-mail functionality, too, this device is a compelling option.

Specifications:

Carrier:  AT&T (formerly Cingular)

Form Factor:  Slider

Operating System:  Windows Mobile OS

Bluetooth Type:  Bluetooth Stereo

Fast Data Network:  HSPDA 

Wi-FI:  N/A

Internal Memory:  256MB ROM; 128MB SDRAM; 4GB MicroSD corporate and personal e-mail support

Memory Expansion Type:  miniSD Card

Music Player:  No

Video:  No

GPS:  No

FM Radio:  No

Display (main):  2.8 inches (240 x 320 pixels), 64,000 colors, tilting/touchscreen

Talk / Standby Time:  4.5 hours/8.3 days

Size:  4.4 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches

Weight:  6 ounces

Gateway NX570X

With a focus on durability, performance, and affordability, Gateway's NX570X has a lot to like. Starting at $649 (though our tested configuration would cost $1,203), this system doesn't skimp on design, battery life, or performance. Aside from a couple of minor quibbles, we think the NX570X is tough to beat for the price.

The NX570X doesn't look like your typical bargain-bin, mainstream laptop. The textured gray lid, brushed-metallic interior, and glowing blue status lights lend it an elegant, contemporary look equally appropriate for the home and the office. Both the scratch- and fingerprint-resistant lid and palm-rest case are reassuringly inflexible and feel much more solidly built than the average laptop.

At 14.1 x 10.4 x 1.3 inches and 6.4 pounds, the case is average sized and a little light for a mainstream notebook, though it's still a bit too heavy for regular travel. The firm, serviceable keyboard is unremarkable, but we're fond of the NX570X' textured touchpad, with its horizontal and vertical scrolling zones and its two very large, convex mouse buttons.

The 15.4-inch widescreen glossy display with a standard 1280 x 800-pixel native resolution isn't the brightest in the mainstream class, but it delivers enough screen real estate for most productivity tasks, including editing documents side by side and working in multiple windows. And while the NX570X' integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics card doesn't have enough muscle to run today's hottest games at full power, our Gladiator DVD looked lush and detailed, even during the fast-moving battle scenes. The two front-mounted stereo speakers project clear but not particularly loud audio.

In addition to a dual-layer DVD burner, which can read and burn all of the major DVD and CD formats, the NX570X has four USB 2.0 ports clumped on the right edge, and one four-pin FireWire port for connecting accessories. You'll find S-Video and VGA outputs for connecting to an external display, one Type II PC Card slot, and a 4-in-1 media card reader. The ports are clearly labeled, making them easy to access from above, but we wish the USB ports were spread out a bit. A/V aficionados will rue the absence of the dedicated multimedia controls commonly available on competitive mainstream systems.

Also included is Windows XP Media Center 2005, although you can now get the NX570X with Windows Vista Home Premium for the same price. This system is fully capable of handling Vista and includes enough graphics power to support the Aero interface. Basic users will find pretty much everything they need in terms of connectivity. The built-in networking features include Gigabit Ethernet, modem jacks, and 802.11a/b/g; our test unit also had integrated Bluetooth (a $49 upgrade). The NX570X' Wi-Fi throughput of 14.6 Mbps at 15 feet and 11.8 Mbps at 50 feet was quite good.

Gateway offers a fair degree of customization options for the NX570X, and our test unit included a competitive array of hardware. In addition to a high-end 2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 processor, we got 1GB of DDR2 RAM (upgradable to 4GB) and a small but speedy 80GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive.

These components delivered strong results on our benchmark tests: 276 on MobileMark 2005 and 1,617 on 3DMark03-proof that the NX570X will easily shoulder any productivity or processing task. That said, its integrated GPU makes it unsuitable for serious gaming and demanding graphics work.

After hours of use, the laptop became very warm, but the fan remained quiet. The NX570X' eight-cell battery, a worthwhile $40 upgrade from the standard six-cell, lasted for more than five hours on our drain tests-exceptional for a laptop in this weight and price class.

Though it lacks dedicated multimedia controls and discrete graphics, the NX570X delivers vigorous performance, terrific battery life, and a high-quality design for a fair price.

Specifications:

RAM Included:  1GB

RAM Upgradable To:  4GB

Hard Drive Size:  80GB

Hard Drive Speed:  7,200rpm

Optical Drive Type:  DVD+R DL

Optical Drive Speed:  8X

Display Size (inches):  15.4

Native Resolution:  1280x800

Graphics Card:  Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Video Memory:  224MB

Wi-Fi:  802.11a/b/g

Bluetooth:  Bluetooth 1.0

Operating System:  MS Windows XP Media Center

Ports (excluding USB):  Firewire; Gigabit Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone; Modem; S-Video; VGA

USB Ports:  4

Card Slot(s):  4-1 card reader; Type II

Warranty/Support:  One-year parts and labor/one-year 24/7 toll-free

Size:  14.1 x 10.4 x 1.3 inches

Weight:  6.4 pounds

Dell Latitude ATG D620

Muscling in on Toughbook territory, Dell has launched its first semi-rugged notebook, the Latitude ATG D620. With its sturdy case, data protection features, and ultrabright display, plus optional mobile broadband, this system should satisfy demanding field workers and anyone else who needs a fast Core 2 Duo notebook that can take a beating. But what separates this laptop from its competitors is the peace of mind that comes from having the same drive image and docking solutions as other Dell portables.

Weighing in at an even seven pounds, the ATG (All Terrain Grade) D620 weighs nearly two pounds heavier than the non-ruggedized D620.

However, this system feels as though it can stand up more punishment than a typical "business rugged" laptop. You get a magnesium-alloy chassis, shocked-mounted hard drive, and high-durability, scratch-resistant paint. The notebook even looks the rugged part with its black pebbled lid and hinges that resemble darkened concrete. The back of the machine also features strategically placed rubber housings that cover and protects the four USB ports, VGA, and Ethernet jacks. You won't find a memory card slot, which Dell says was excluded for security reasons at customers' requests.

Durability even permeates the 14.1-inch (1,280 x 800-pixel resolution) widescreen display, which is shock-mounted to withstand 30 percent more force than traditional LCDs. The ATG D620 also sports an ultrabright screen of 500 nits (about 2.5 times brighter than the regular D620), which makes the display easily viewable outdoors. When you're typing in the dark, two red lights glow on top of the display to light up the keyboard. The panel delivered good color saturation and generous viewing angles.

We found the spacious, spill-resistant keyboard conducive to an enjoyable typing experience, although the keys would've benefited form a sturdier feel. We liked that Dell included a pointing stick as an alternate navigation option over the standard touchpad. Above the keyboard are handy volume control buttons.

Powered by the 2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the ATG D620 turned in a very good score of 251on MobileMark 2005. The 9-cell battery included with this configuration provided 6 hours and three minutes of battery life with Wi-Fi off and 5 hours and 51 minutes with it on. (The standard 6-cell battery will save you only $19, so we recommend the 9-cell for extra runtime.) The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 produced a solid 3DMark03 score of 1,704, which when paired with the 1GB of RAM in this configuration ensures a good Windows Vista experience.

It's easy to stay connected when you're out of hotspot range using the embedded Dell Wireless 5700 Built-in EVDO Mini-Card for Verizon Wireless service, which delivered an average thoughput of 511 Kbps--good enough to load most Web pages quickly and download e-mail and other critical data in the field. (You can also opt for a Sprint or Cingular wireless WAN modem.) We also saw impressive Wi-Fi data rates in our testing, with scores of 16.8 Mbps from 15 feet and 14.3 Mbps from 50 feet. Early adopters will be happy to learn that the ATG D620 is 802.11n ready.

The security-conscious will appreciate the Wave Embassy Trust suite, Computrace anti-theft solution, TPM, and an optional fingerprint reader. The system comes with a three-year limited warranty with next-business-day on-site service. Bundled software includes CyberLink PowerDVD, Roxio Digital Media, and a free 90-day trial of Norton Internet Security.

Dell's first semi-rugged notebook is a commendable effort; the ATG D620 looks more like a reinforced Latitude than a system that's been designed from the ground up for field use, but it delivers a better balance of speed, features, and durability than other systems in its class. On the other hand, Panasonic's Toughbook CF-74, which features a 13.3-inch touchscreen and weighs a pound less, is a better bet for frequent travelers.

Nevertheless, this machine should please buyers looking for a rough-and-tumble notebook who would rather deal with only one vendor for all their mobile IT purchases.

Specifications:

CPU:  2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7200

RAM Included:  1GB

RAM Upgradable To:  4GB

Hard Drive Size:  80GB

Hard Drive Speed:  4,200rpm

Hard Drive Type:  SATA Hard Drive

Optical Drive Type:  DVD±RW

Optical Drive Speed:  8X

Display Size (inches):  14.1

Native Resolution:  1280x800

Graphics Card:  Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Video Memory:  128MB

Wi-Fi:  802.11a/g

Bluetooth:  Bluetooth 1.0

Operating System:  MS Windows XP Pro

Ports (excluding USB):  Docking Connector; Ethernet; Headphone; Microphone

USB Ports:  4

Card Slot(s):  PC Card; Type I/II

Warranty/Support:  Three-year limited warranty with next business day on-site service

Size:  13.2 x 9.3 x 1.7 inches

Weight:  7 pounds

OQO model 02

When the original OQO appeared a couple of years ago, some saw it as the solution to a problem no one had. But now, the model 01 looks like it was ahead of its time. Like its predecessor, the model 02 Ultra-Mobile PC is a handheld device that runs Windows, but the 02's addition of fast EV-DO connectivity for hundreds of metro areas around the country means the difference between a handy tool and an expensive novelty.

Other refinements, such as an improved keyboard, faster processor, and more elegant docking solution, sweeten the deal. Users who need more than a smart phone but who wouldn't otherwise tote a laptop with them everywhere will find a lot to like in this sequel.

Weighing just over a pound and measuring 5.6 x 3.3 x 1 inches, the model 02 is a UMPC that is compact enough to carry with you in a jacket pocket, briefcase, or purse. The five-inch widescreen LCD slides up to reveal a new, ergonomic, backlit QWERTY keyboard. You won't be able to type as fast as you would on a BlackBerry, but the layout provided better tactile feedback than the model 01.

The cursor is controlled via a small pointing stick for your right thumb and mouse buttons for your left. Or if you prefer, you can use the included stylus and tap the screen. It's too bad OQO didn't include a stylus holster on the device, though. The model 02 does get warm after some use, but not uncomfortably so, and it was quiet.

The 800 x 480-pixel screen is six times brighter than the model 01's display. Text and icons look fairly tiny, but OQO includes a handy zoom button, although you'll need to scroll around to see various parts of the screen. This configuration includes a 60GB hard drive that's shock-mounted and equipped with drop detect technology in case of falls. The main unit has a USB and auto-sensing audio-out/line-in/line-out headphone jack on the bottom. The only notable omission is a memory card slot.

What makes the OQO model 02 more compelling than the hot-selling Sony VAIO UX Mini PC is its embedded EV-DO Rev. O modem (with service on Sprint's network). It blows away the poky Cingular EDGE connection inside Sony's device. In locations with four or five bars of signal strength, download speeds were as high as 997.3 Kbps, and upload speeds averaged 120 Kbps. Surfing the Web was quick (25 seconds to load CNN.com, 11 seconds to load our Gmail Inbox). Even video clips over the WWAN connection loaded quickly and played smoothly. Just plan on using headphones; the built-in speaker's sound was thin and tinny.

This UMPC didn't deliver the best mobile broadband performance in areas with weaker coverage. In a location where signal strength dropped to two or three bars, the model 02's throughput dropped to as low as 23.3 Kbps; other notebooks we've been testing with Sprint Rev. O capability have maintained over 100 Kbps in the same conditions.

Although the 1.5-GHz Via C7M processor is certainly faster than the Transmeta CPU that crippled the OQO model 01, you shouldn't expect to do more than run productivity apps on this device. The model 02's performance numbers were low; its 69 score on MobileMark 2005 is less than half than what Sony UX delivered. On the other hand, the model 02 booted up faster than its predecessor, and it opened and closed apps faster.

We were quite pleased with the model 02's four hours of battery life. To get that endurance, however, you'll need the double-capacity battery ($199 and included in this configuration). Those who work in short spurts can get by with the standard battery, which lasted for 1 hour and 54 minutes in our tests.

If you want to use the model 02 as your primary PC, OQO sells a sleek black docking station that includes a slot-loading optical drive and a metal arm attached to hold the main unit, which is a lot more elegant than the snaking cable littered with ports on the model 01. The $299 version of the dock includes a DVD/CD-RW drive, and the $399 version comes with a DVD burner (or $349 as an add-on at the time of purchase). The docking base has three USB ports, an auto-sensing headphone jack (since the main unit's jack is blocked when docked), a LAN port, and an HDMI and VGA port to attach a full-sized monitor. OQO charges $19 for an HDMI-DVI adapter (and one is included with the docking station) and $29 each for HDMI-to-HDMI, HDMI-to-DVI cables.

Bundled software is limited to the Microsoft Origami Experience, a collection of utilities designed to show off what a UMPC can do, and OQO's own Manager and Wireless Dashboard programs. The OQO we tested included Microsoft Office Small Business Edition ($300) and ran Windows XP, but a Vista version will be available soon.

Clearly, the OQO model 02 isn't right for everyone. Those who need more power and creature comforts and don't mind carrying a larger machine should spend the two grand for an ultraportable. But if you want a constant PC companion without the anchor of a laptop bag, the model 02 might be just what you're looking for. It doesn't have the Sony UX' bells and whistles-such as two cameras and a fingerprint reader-but having the ability to connect at high speeds virtually anywhere makes this the best UMPC yet.

Specifications:

CPU:  1.5-GHz VIA C7M ULV

RAM Included:  1GB

Hard Drive Size:  60GB

Hard Drive Speed:  4,200rpm

Optical Drive Type:  DVD+/-RW DL

Display Size (inches):  5

Native Resolution:  800x480

Graphics Card:  VIA VX700

Video Memory:  128MB

Wi-Fi:  802.11a/b/g

Bluetooth:  Bluetooth 2.0

Mobile Broadband:  EV-DO

Operating System:  MS Windows XP Pro

Ports (excluding USB):  Docking Connector; Ethernet; HDMI; Headphone; VGA

USB Ports:  1

Warranty/Support:  One year parts and labor/toll-free and online support Monday through Friday 6 am to 6 pm (Pacific), and Saturday 8 am to 4 pm (Pacific).

Size:  5.6 x 3.3 x 1.0 inches

Weight:  1.2 pounds

More Images:

MOTORIZR Z6tv

When Verizon introduced its V CAST video download service almost three years ago, the deliverable content revolution launched a full-scale sortie on our mobile devices. With the new MOTORIZR Z6tv, Motorola's first U.S. phone to include V CAST Mobile TV, the revolution is not only televised; it's in real time. While viewing and listening quality were impressive, the vastly varying reception gives a whole new meaning to "location-based services." (View Z6tv photo gallery.)

The latest phone in Motorola's RIZR brood, the Z6tv retains the same sturdy slider design as former Z3 and Z6 models and keeps its V CAST music and video download services intact. The phone's sleek finish is classic, albeit pretty smudgy after we held and fiddled with the unit to watch TV. It's still light and slim enough to fit unobtrusively into a pocket or a purse, and the firm keys offer that cool blue Motorola glow that gives the Z6tv a modern edge.

Unlike previous generations, however, the Z6tv offers Mobile TV. Powered by the FLO TV service from MediaFLO USA, Mobile TV lets NBC News junkies, American Idolizers, and Heroes worshipers watch real-time television programming on the Z6tv any time of day. For now the service offers live television shows and content from CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2GO, and Nickelodeon. And the shows look really good, too-most of the time. But if you're going to spend the monthly $13 to $25 it costs to use Mobile TV service on the Z6tv, you better make sure you live in one of the few cities that actually provides the service.

For right now, the V CAST Mobile TV service is available in 23 states and in an ostensibly arbitrary collection of cities therein. Subscribers in Corvallis, Oregon, and Brownsville, Texas, can watch Dora the Explorer on a Z6tv, but if they try to tune in to 24 in San Francisco, or CSI: Miami in Miami, they're out of luck because Mobile TV service is not available in those major markets. Verizon has plans to expand to more service areas (its Web site offers an e-mail alert system to tell users when their city comes online). But in the indefinite meantime, buyers of the Z6tv who live in Houston, San Diego, or Boston will have to wait a while to watch Mobile TV.

Luckily for us, the service is available in New York City. One Wednesday night at 9 p.m., we tuned in to watch Bionic Woman, NBC's moody reboot of the hit 1970s series. The show's broadcast was steady and continuous for its duration, and the hour of viewing used only one bar of battery life. The sound was also surprisingly crisp (and was even better when we wore headphones). At one point, we could clearly hear simultaneous squealing tires, explosions, and crashes through the Z6tv's speaker.

Areas of darkness didn't show up well on the phone's two-inch screen. Scenes shot in shadow looked muddy and blurred, and we found ourselves trying in vain to angle the phone to be able to keep up with the show's action. On the other hand, when we switched to a brightly lit episode of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, we had no problem seeing the image. We even read baseball scores scrolling across the bottom of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption.

One thing we like about Motorola's interface design on past RIZR phones is its economy in keypad designation. The Z6tv is no exception. Access to the camera now shares button real estate with Mobile TV on the left side of the sliding face. Tap once quickly to access the program guide, or hold it down for a second to snap pictures or record video with the two-megapixel camera. The Z6tv also has the ability to take and view photographs and videos in portrait or landscape mode-a nice touch that, combined with the very good image quality of the camera, makes picture-taking with the Z6tv superior to many other midrange camera phones (with the exception of the Sony Ericsson W580i Walkman).

The Z6tv comes with other nice features, including the optional VZ Navigator service, with access to over 14 million locations; and stereo Bluetooth support for wireless music and video enjoyment. Another sweet design perk is the Z6tv's button lock, which prevents unwanted tune-skipping and video-stopping while on the go. The Access button for downloading V CAST music has also been relocated to the Z6tv's left side next to the volume control. Text messaging, instant messaging, and finding and dialing contacts are all still easy to do using the main menu and keypad. All of our test calls connected quickly, sounded clear, and remained sharp.

We think users (within available service areas) will be jazzed about the overall high quality that V CAST Mobile TV has to offer on this slider. There's enough variety in the programming on the few channels currently available to satisfy dial-flippers, and the Z6tv's other features round out the phone's profile nicely. In the end, this is probably a device best suited for parents and domestic travelers. Being able to soothe restless youngsters in the minivan with Nickelodeon or getting breaking news from MSNBC while stuck in traffic make the V CAST Mobile TV capability worthwhile. But if soccer practice isn't in the service zone and your travel plans take you out of range, you'll need to find some other form of entertainment.

Specifications:

Carrier:  Verizon Wireless

Form Factor:  Candy Bar

Fast Data Network:  EV-DO

Internal Memory:  40MB

Memory Expansion Type:  miniSD Card

Music Player:  No

Video:  Yes

GPS:  No

FM Radio:  No

Display (main):  2 inches, (240 x 320 pixels, 65,000 colors)

Size:  4.2 x 1.8 x 0.6 inches

Weight:  3.7 ounces

Sony Ericsson W580i Walkman Phone

Designed for active users, Sony Ericsson's Walkman W580i phone packs a good music player and plenty of other features into a sleek, durable slider. This handset is the first from the company to offer Shake Control, a feature that allows you to change tracks simply by shaking the phone. Like its predecessors, it also includes stereo Bluetooth, Web browsing, a two-megapixel camera, and fitness applications. And while it skips out on 3G connectivity, you get plenty of bang for you buck for $79.99.

At just 3.3 ounces and half an inch thick, the W580i fits easily in a pocket. Its bright two-inch screen takes up most of the front surface, with six buttons and a four-way touch pad filling the lower third. Thanks to the phone's tough plastic shell, the phone feels sturdy in the hand and is low-maintenance enough to take along to the gym. We like the big Play/Pause button in the middle of the navigation control, but we found the area around it too narrow.

The W580i sports an attractive backlit keypad and comes in three color combinations: gray/blue, white/orange, and black/orange. A two-megapixel camera is located on the back panel beneath the slider. As an added touch, that panel is decked out in a coordinating accent color. There are even cool LED lights on the side of this slider, which glow different colors depending on the theme you choose.

The phone booted up quickly, and its interface way easy to use; you can navigate your way through most of the software using just two soft keys and a return button. For added convenience, there's also a Walkman and a shortcut key. Every time you turn the phone on, you'll be asked to choose between Normal mode and Flight mode. The latter disables the FM radio and all connectivity features so as not to cause any disruption while in the air. The phone supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, and eAAC+ music formats.

The W580i is the first phone in the Walkman line to include Shake Control, and as promised, it's easy to use. Simply hold down the Walkman button while music is playing and flick your wrist. When done correctly, the phone will vibrate slightly. In general, we liked this feature and found it very intuitive, regardless of whether the phone was open or closed.

In addition to Shake Control, the Walkman packs some older features as well, including TrackID, which records small clips from the included FM Radio and identifies the title and artist. The W580i also includes several Fitness functions: a pedometer, calorie counter, and running meter, which tracks distance, time elapsed, and average speed.

The W580i offers excellent sound quality: All of our songs sounded loud, clear, and full in tone. You can manually adjust five equalizer modes: normal, bass, mega bass, voice, and treble boost. Unfortunately, the volume settings return to their default each time you boot up the phone. Downloading songs with the proprietary USB cable and bundled Disc2Phone software was a breeze. The phone has 12MB of internal memory and comes with a 512MB Memory Stick Micro-enough space to hold about 120 four-minute MP3s. If you like, you can use a card with as much as 4GB of space.

We might like the FM radio even more than the Walkman player, however. Even with TrackID disabled, the phone displayed the artist's name while a song played. Users can save up to 20 favorite stations, which is useful, since you can skip through stations only in ascending order.

The W580i supports stereo Bluetooth, but we also recommend using the bundled headphones and hands-free adapter. The headphones' padded earbuds blocked out so much external noise that even the lowest volume setting was loud enough in an office environment. The adapter (which attaches to the headphones via a 3.5mm jack) includes a mic and button for answering and ending calls. When you receive a call, the music automatically pauses.

Despite its small size, the phone's 262,000-color screen is bright and crisp. Annoyingly, the screen goes dark after a short period of time, even if you're actively using the phone. We like that the phone comes with two games: Lumines Block Challenge and The Sims 2.

The W580i's camera held up well in low light, although our pictures and movies appeared slightly pixelated. Our video clips showed minimal latency, but the sound was barely audible, even with the microphone enabled. We also wish you could use the 4X zoom for photos and not just video. However, the camera wins points for its customizable features: You can shoot pictures in black-and-white or negative, record video in Night mode, adjust the white balance, and choose from one of four shutter sounds.

Even better is the phone's picture blogging feature, which lets you upload photos to a mobile blog. Once you capture and upload your first photo, the phone automatically creates a mobile account on Blogger.com that you can find in your browser bookmarks. Uploading is easy but sluggish. You can also edit your captures right on the phone and use the PhotoDJ and VideoDJ apps to create slideshows and movies set to music.

If you're looking for fast data speeds, look elsewhere. Loading Laptopmag.com on this phone's EDGE data connection took 34 seconds, and loading the images on CNN.com took 20 seconds. Without images, the phone loaded these sites in ten and five seconds, respectively.

As a phone, the W580i was occasionally unreliable. The voice quality was loud and clear, but our first call-to another AT&T phone, no less-was dropped within 30 seconds. However, our subsequent calls to land lines and other cell phone carriers went uninterrupted. The phone is rated for nine hours of talk time and 15.4 days of standby, which seems about right to us. After two days of idle use with intermittent texting, game-playing, and radio-listening, our battery life was down to one bar out of four.

The Sony Ericsson Walkman W580i is one of the few phones that offers excellent music quality for a budget price. For just $79, you get volume, bass, and enough features to entertain athletes and road warriors alike. We love the Shake Control and the included high-end earbuds. If you can deal with the small buttons and not-so-speedy Web browsing, you'll get your money's worth and then some.

Specifications:

Carrier:  AT&T (formerly Cingular)

Form Factor:  Slider

Bluetooth Type:  Bluetooth Stereo

Fast Data Network:  EDGE

Internal Memory:  12MB

Memory Expansion Type:  Memory Stick Micro

Music Player:  Yes

Video:  Yes

GPS:  No

FM Radio:  Yes

Display (main):  2 inches (240 x 320 pixels, 262,000 colors)

Talk / Standby Time:  9 hours/15.4 days

Size:  3.9 x 1.8 x 0.5 inches

Weight:  3.3 ounces

Alienware Aurora m9700

Alienware doubles down on the critical components and stocks up on features to deliver excellent gaming performance and superior multimedia functionality with the Aurora m9700, the first 17-inch laptop to simultaneously run two graphics processing units.

The Cyborg Green m9700 overshoots Alienware's extraterrestrial design aspirations and lands in Kermit the Frog territory; we prefer the subtler Saucer Silver and Conspiracy Blue models. That said, the glowing alien-head ornament and rubber-grip embellishments are eye-catching, and the sturdy hinges and scratch-resistant case are built to last. Measuring 15.7 x 11.8 x 1.9 inches and weighing 9.5 pounds, the m9700 is too heavy for regular travel, though it's certainly compact enough for LAN parties and occasional trips.

Large enough to accommodate a dedicated number pad, the m9700's keyboard is responsive and comfortable to use. The touchpad, on the other hand, is a disaster: With the same glossy finish as the rest of the case, it resists the drag of your finger. What's more, the m9700 forgoes two mouse buttons, leaving you to press on the very ends of one long one. It's an unpleasant arrangement, and we recommend using a USB mouse instead.

The 17-inch widescreen display serves up vibrant colors and rich images, and graphics pros and those who work in multiple windows will revel in the vast amount of real estate the WUXGA native resolution provides. In addition to two loud stereo speakers on the front edge and a passable subwoofer underneath, we appreciate the m9700's trio of dedicated jacks for hooking up to a 5.1 sound system.

This notebook comes equipped with a first-class set of multimedia features and connections: In addition to the basics (four USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard slot, 4-in-1 card reader, and so on), you get an S-Video input and output, VGA and DVI ports, an optical audio jack, and a coaxial socket for the integrated TV tuner. Also included are Windows XP Media Center 2005, a USB infrared receiver and remote, a swiveling, 1.3-megapixel webcam set above the display, and a smattering of quick-touch controls for the dual-layer DVD burner. Although it was not available at press time, Alienware does plan to offer a Blu-ray drive option in the near future. The price was not yet determined as of this writing.

Networking features range from Gigabit Ethernet and modem jacks to 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and an Airgo MIMO radio designed to boost signals for high-performance wireless gaming. The m9700's throughput of 10.9 Mbps from 15 feet and 7.3 Mbps from 50 feet was merely average, although our testing did not involve a MIMO-supported router. While it should not stray far from the wall socket, the m9700's 12-cell battery lasted for 1 hour and 40 minutes in our drain tests-on a par with other desktop replacements.

The highlights of our top-shelf configuration were two 512MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GS graphics cards in an SLI configuration. Though they're not the most powerful GPUs on the market, they're close, and with two of them under the hood, the m9700 delivered a very good 93 fps in our F.E.A.R. benchmark using the autodetect settings (1024 x 768-pixel resolution) and held on at 80 fps with the settings maxed out. The 3DMark03 score of 22,051 was right on track for this class of system. The only system to score higher is the Vigor M59K, at 26,057, but its PCMark05 and battery rundown scores were lower.

Not surprisingly, the machine also displayed pleasingly smooth, sharp video in our testing. While gaming, the m9700's underside, keyboard, and palm rests remain cool; the back vents and jumbo AC adapter, however, will barbecue anything in their path.

For a premium system, it's disappointing that the highest-end CPU you can have onboard is the 2.4-GHz AMD Turion 64 Mobile ML44-not a bad processor, but it's not the pedigree of a dual-core Turion 64 X2 or Core 2 Duo. As a result, the m9700 notched a MobileMark 2005 score of 236-not a record, but proof enough that this laptop can handle any processing task. (Alienware plans to offer a dual-core configuration after the 2006 holiday season.) Processor aside, our m9700 test unit contained some of the best components available, including two 100GB 7,200-rpm SATA hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration and 2GB of DDR2 RAM.

If you're looking for desktop-PC-caliber gaming performance and multimedia ability in a laptop-sized package, the m9700 is a solid choice. However, we'd wait for the dual-core processor and a high-definition DVD drive option before shelling out more than four grand.

Specifications:

CPU:  2.4-GHz AMD Turion 64 Mobile ML44

RAM Included:  2GB

RAM Upgradable To:  4GB

Hard Drive Size:  200GB

Hard Drive Speed:  7,200rpm

Optical Drive Type:  DVD+R DL

Optical Drive Speed:  8X

Display Size (inches):  17

Native Resolution:  1920x1200

Graphics Card:  Dual Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GS (SLI-enabled)

Video Memory:  1GB

Wi-Fi:  802.11b/g

Bluetooth:  Bluetooth 1.0

Operating System:  MS Windows XP Media Center

Ports (excluding USB):  5.1 audio; DVI; Firewire; Gigabit Ethernet; Headphone; IR; Microphone; Modem; S-Video; S/PDIF; TV tuner/coaxial; VGA

USB Ports:  4

Card Slot(s):  4-1 card reader;ExpressCard

Warranty/Support:  One-year parts and labor/one-year 24/7 toll-free, on-site

Size:  15.7 x 11.8 x 1.9 inches

Weight:  9.5 pounds

Dell Inspiron 1501

When we last reviewed the Dell Inspiron E1505, the notebook's rich multimedia features, wireless performance, and strong battery life garnered it an Editors' Choice award. Now, Dell follows up the E1505 with the 1501 ($844, as tested here), a low-priced alternative and the first Dell machine to house an AMD processor. It's also Vista capable and Premium ready--something you're not going to find with run-of-the-mill value notebooks. The 1501 gives you solid performance at a decent price, but what you gain in savings you lose in functionality.

In terms of design, the 1501 is identical to the E1505. Both measure 14 x 10.4 x 1.4 inches and have speakers integrated into the front bezel, air vents flanking the left and right sides of the chassis, large touchpads with built-in scroll areas (that make for easy Web page navigation), 80GB hard drives, and non-offensive, silver-and-white color schemes. Although the 1501 weighs slightly less (6.4 pounds vs. 6.2 pounds), the lack of dedicated CD/DVD controls is a glaring omission, even in a budget mainstream machine. When we wanted to raise or lower the volume of a DVD or skip chapters, we had to use the software's far less intuitive controls.

The 15.4-inch widescreen produced strong colors when playing a DVD, but the viewing angles were tight on our TrueLife anti-glare display. Staying centered in front of the screen is the only way to truly enjoy the visuals, so watching a movie with a friend may be out of the question.

With the 1.79-GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-56 processor powering the machine, the 1501 churned out a MobileMark 2005 score of 196-only four points lower than the E1505's ho-hum results. We tested the machine's multitasking mettle by simultaneously running a virus scan and playing a DVD, and the E501 experienced occasional stuttering, which we attribute to the low-end AMD processor. The ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 chipset with 256MB of shared memory produced a meager 3DMark03 score of 1465, which makes the 1501 less than ideal if you wish to engage in graphics-intensive activities.

The 1501 came configured with a six-cell battery, which enabled us to go unplugged for a solid 3 hours and 16 minutes of life with Wi-Fi on, and an additional two minutes with the wireless connection off. Wireless throughput measured a robust 12.6 Mbps at 15 feet from our access point, and 13.2 Mbps from 50. This is a slight improvement over the E1505's measurements of 12 Mbps and 9.9 Mbps from the same distances.

Despite the missing multimedia controls, the 1501 offers plenty of other ports and jacks: four USB, VGA, headphone and microphone jacks, and a 3-in-1 memory card reader. This is a step down from the E1505, which featured all of those connections plus S-Video, FireWire, a 5-in-1 card reader, and optional Bluetooth. You'll also find an ExpressCard slot, but nothing for a PC Card.

The 1501 comes preinstalled with XP Media Center 2005 for convenient organization and access to photos, music, and video. It comes with Dell's Entertainment Pack for digital music, photos, and games, as well as Adobe Acrobat, Sonic, Cyberlink, Microsoft Works 8, and a six-month trial version of America Online. Unlike the Dell E1505, the 1501 cannot connect to a TV tuner, and it lacks Dell Media Direct, which means that you have to boot into Windows to access media.

Although the Dell Inspiron 1501 demonstrated stronger wireless performance than the Dell Inspiron E1505 and has a lower price point, we can't recommend the notebook over its far more functional predecessor. If you're looking for a decent machine that won't break the bank, it's worth a look. Just remember, you get exactly what you pay for.

Specifications:

CPU:  1.79-GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-56

RAM Included:  1GB

RAM Upgradable To:  2GB

Hard Drive Size:  80GB

Hard Drive Speed:  5,400rpm

Optical Drive Type:  CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive

Optical Drive Speed:  24X

Display Size (inches):  15.4

Native Resolution:  1280x800

Graphics Card:  ATI Radeon Xpress 1150

Video Memory:  256MB

Wi-Fi:  802.11b/g

Operating System:  MS Windows XP Media Center

Ports (excluding USB):  Headphone; Microphone; VGA

USB Ports:  4

Card Slot(s):  3-1 card reader; ExpressCard

Warranty/Support:  One-year/mail-in service, hardware warranty support, lifetime 24/7 toll-free

Size:  14 x 10.4 x 1.4 inches

Weight:  6.4 pounds