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26
Feb

Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition Review

By Taylor 4 Comments
Categories: Laptop and Reviews

Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition Review

A question I’ve often been asked – how do I run two monitors using the single video port on my laptop? In 2005, Matrox answered that question with their DualHead2Go Analog solution. The small box allows a computer with a single VGA port (and enough graphics horsepower) to drive two external VGA monitors up to 1280×1024 pixels, the common resolution for 17 and 19 inch LCD monitors. In early 2007, Matrox released the second iteration of its product, the DualHead2Go Digital Edition. This new model allows for two monitors to be connected via DVI and provides support for higher resolutions as well.

Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition Box

Matrox, a Canadian graphics company known better in the professional imaging and architecture fields for their graphics products, created the DualHead2Go Digital Edition with the goal of high quality dual head capabilities for computers with only one (or two, in the case of a 4 or 6 monitor setup) video output.

See more. Do more. Be more productive.

This external multi-display upgrade is a compact box which sits outside your system and connects to the VGA output of compatible notebook or desktop computers. The multi-display configuration delivered by DualHead2Go Digital Edition permits working with multiple full-screen documents or applications simultaneously—eliminating the need to constantly open, close, or minimize applications. It is the ideal solution for professional and business users looking for a simple and cost-effective solution to quickly increase their productivity.
Through patent-pending technology, the operating system detects the DualHead2Go Digital Edition as an ultra-widescreen monitor which is then split into two or more standard resolutions compatible with the attached displays. DualHead2Go Digital Edition also enables support for high resolution panels, offering a stretched desktop of up to 3840×1200 (or dual 1920×1200)1 across two displays.

A big thanks to Matrox for providing us with a sample for this review!

Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition DVI Ports

We looked at the dual port solution, but there is a tri-port product called the TripleHead2Go available as well.

Initial Reactions:

It works! Anything else here should be preceded with the fact that the DualHead2Go very much works as advertised, and with little hassle. I will say that the software aspect of things does work more naturally in Windows, with the maximize function understanding the separation of monitors where the Operating System couldn’t. Mac worked well for the most part, but it lacked the sophistication of the Windows software.

Matrox Dual Head 2 Go Digital Edition

Installation:
Installation is not hard, but it has occasional moments of frustration. In Windows, it was very easy. Using the supplied driver disk, the installation went smoothly and we were up running dual (and triple) monitors in no time. When testing with a Mac, it often required a restart before anything would take hold (even though the software had given confirmation that the resolution was applied) and the software often was just unresponsive, which was frustrating. We later used version 1.1 of the Mac software, which was recently released and comes as a great improvement to the original shipping drivers and control panel. It also adds official support for 20” widescreen panels.

We tested using a pair of 15″, 20″ and 24″ monitors powered by an Apple Macbook Pro. Initial testing was carried out on a Sony Vaio laptop but the video card was found to be inadequate for full range comparison testing. The Macbook Pro was using OSX 10.5 Leopard, Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows XP through Bootcamp. It has the nVidia 8600m-gt video card and a native resolution of 1440×900. The 15″ monitors required VGA adapters to connect, but the others had DVI native connections that matched the DualHead2Go.

Matrox Dualhead2Go Digital Edition Installation

Image Quality:
With a product like this, aimed at professionals, image quality is often going to be an important point. With that said, image quality is good. Using properly calibrated monitors and the “adjust image quality” button in the Matrox panels, the image quality is good. Its not great – I could notice a difference between a direct DVI connection from my laptop to a single monitor, versus the VGA to Matrox to DVI configuration that the DualHead2Go employs. I’m a little curious as to why there isn’t an all-digital, non-converted product of this nature available but for what it is, the image quality is between good and great. (Editor’s note: this is actually due to the fact that non-dual link DVI connections do not support the required resolutions to power two monitors combined; as well as the widespread presence of VGA connections on laptops). Definitely usable for almost any application, and I found photo editing to be up to par as well. The sharpness and clarity were also good, but not spectacular. I would say that this is a very reasonable compromise for the actual functioning operation of the product, but it should be noted.

Matrox Dualhead2go

Usability:

We tested the DualHead2Go Digital Edition with a number of applications and tested a variety of scenarios. Included were web browsing, photo editing, word processing, file management and gaming.

Across the board, things went well. It was excellent having so much real estate when it came to web browsing, and the ability to open 5 or more pages in a Word document is very useful.

Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition Windows Vista

Software:
The software is very capable, but it’s not perfect. In Windows XP and Vista, things feel very polished and features like snap to each monitor work wonderfully well. In Mac OSX, this is obviously a newer development and it caters to a smaller market, so the product is less polished but it is still very functional. Since OSX’s window maximize feature is barely functional to begin with, it’s not surprising that the snap to feature is not entirely functional.

Quirks:
For whatever reason, if you’re running a Mac, don’t expect to run two 15”, 20” or 24” monitors alongside your open screen. In our testing, we discovered that the only way we could get the build in display of our 15” Macbook Pro to work alongside the dual monitors properly was when running two 19” widescreen LCD monitors that had the same vertical resolution as our 1440×900 resolution laptop screen. Otherwise, the image would be skewed and distorted. This contributes to the lack of sophistication on the Mac side, as we were required to run our computer in closed-lid mode for it to operate normally. However, under Windows we did not have this problem and were able to successfully run a triple-monitor setup with the laptop display and our other pairs of LCD monitors.

Matrox Dual Head 2 Go

Closing Observations:
If you need more screen resolution then your laptop and just an external monitor can offer, you really don’t have much of a choice in the way of solutions. Docking stations provide a much less elegant option and USB video cards are often crippled and slow, and this is where the DualHead2Go shines. If you’re buying it for a Mac, make sure to install the latest drivers from Matrox’s website before anything else.

Through the testing, I found that a 20″ widescreen LCD monitor is the sweet spot, where performance is still good but image quality is also up to snuff. I would recommend a Dell 2007WFP LCD monitor for use with the DH2G.

For these reasons alone, the Matrox Dualhead2go is definitely worth a look. However, its also worthwhile on its own merit. The product works very well and even if you did have an alternate capacity, I would still recommend it providing that you are willing to deal with a few small quirks in an otherwise excellent product.

02
Feb

Dell 2007WFP 20″ LCD Monitor Review

By Taylor 4 Comments
Categories: Reviews

Dell 2007WFP 20

Released in late 2004, the Dell 2005FPW received positive reviews for its image quality, numerous inputs and lots of options. However, one of the main complaints was that it was simply ugly. In typical Dell fashion, it lacked any style whatsoever. Employing a thick, black bezel and an awkward looking circular stand, it was hardly a design piece. Enter the Dell 2007WFP, the next generation 20’’ widescreen Dell LCD. Released in early 2006, it brought the acclaimed quality of the 2005WFP into a gorgeous package and did so at a very competitive price.

Dell 2007WFP LCD Monitor Review

The 2007wfp is not without controversy. In an apparent cost-cutting measure, Dell created a “lottery” of sorts with the 2007wfp; randomizing which panel was used. Early production runs used the excellent LG.Philips S-IPS panel, but later models began to feature Samsung built S-PVA panels. The S-IPS panels are the same as those used in the expensive Apple Cinema Display, but the S-PVA that began to be used was a much more mainstream panel. The panel type is apparently random, although late models (revision A04 and later) generally do not ever have S-IPS panels.

The model used for this review is a LG.Philips S-IPS panel.

Features:
The Dell 2007WFP does not skimp on inputs. Where the Apple Cinema Display only has a single DVI input, the 2007wfp includes a VGA input, a DVI input, a S-Video input and a composite video input.
Other interesting features include picture-in-picture, which is admittedly limited to one computer input and one non-computer input.
Tilting is an excellent feature. The 2007WFP is able to rotate 90 degrees and the software (should be) is able to make your display show in portrait. In Mac OSX, there is a setting in the Display Preferences setting window to adjust the rotation.
Dell 2007WFP LCD Monitor Review

Design:
The Dell 2007wfp’s design is a major improvement over the dull look of the 2005wfp. Out is the round, matte black and in is a gorgeous silver and black contrast with pronounced corners and a more “boxy” design. That is not a bad thing at all; it looks much better then the round 2005fpw bezel.

The stand of the 2007wfp is both nice to look at and very functional. It is built to route all cables in an attempt to reduce “cable clutter” that results from loose wires.
Quality:
The Dell 2007wfp uses the same internal panel, with a few small tweaks, as the overwhelmingly well-regarded Apple Cinema Display. If you do end up with a S-IPS panel, then you have an excellent model. Calibration and a few OSD adjustments bring it up to par with much more expensive LCD monitors in terms of color accuracy and graphic performance. Dell backs up the build quality with a strong 3 year warranty (better then Apple, unless you buy the additional AppleCare).

Dell 2007WFP LCD Monitor Review

Price:
You can’t argue with the price of the 2007wfp. Dell officially asks a slightly steep $400 MSRP, but the street price is significantly less, around $300. At the latter price, it’s a very good deal and an excellent pick up. For anyone except a Getty photographer or a print designer, its more then good enough in terms of accuracy and image quality.

Dell 2007WFP LCD Monitor Review

Try to find an older model if you are in the market for a 2007wfp. A revision A02 or A03 with a confirmed LG-Philips S-IPS is the best bet in terms of quality, but all the revisions make for excellent monitors.

26
Jan

Apple iPod Touch 16GB with 1.1.3 Upgrade Review

By Taylor 0 Comments
Categories: Apple, Guest, Mobile and Reviews

Guest review written by Sam Hulse (samhulse.co.uk)

Basics
For people who already have phones on reasonable contracts (or for Crackberry lovers), Apple introduced the iPod Touch. And lets be honest, most people (especially those less tech-savy) don’t actually know the difference between the iPod and it’s bigger brother the iPhone. Lets face it - there’s not much difference - apart from the obvious lack of ability to make phone calls, send texts or take pictures.

Apple iPod Touch Review

 

Storage
Despite being the same price, the iPod does benefit from having twice the storage capacity of the iPhone; and let’s be honest with such a device boasting so many features: it does help to have room for some actual content. Storage wise the iPod Touch is sufficient but for those who like to take all of their music with them wherever they go the Touch probably isn’t a sensible choice.

Basic Applications
The music library is nicely organized, a customizable dock allows quick access to your music depending on how you like to browse (by Artist, Song, Album, Genre, Playlist etc) and the coverflow feature is definitely a good touch though it doesn’t have much of an everyday use. Videos are of decent quality and play fit nicely on the 3.5″ screen and the YouTube video application is a nice feature also, but again usage of this particular feature is limited in everyday life unless you’re an unashamed YouTube fanatic. The iPod Touch as standard also comes with Calendar, Clock (with World Clock, Alarm, Stopwatch and Timer features), Safari, iTunes Store and Contact Applications.

Extended Applications (Update)
Unfortunately the update which allows iPod Touch users to have the Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes applications comes at a price (unless your iPod was shipped with firmware 1.1.2, iPods shipped with firmware 1.1.2 or (1.1.3 from now on) can get the update free), However this update is beneficial to the iPod. The Mail and Contact applications work together - so having the Contacts application on there now has a purpose. The notes feature is also very handy. The ability to have multiple home screens and to add websites to them, along with the rearrange feature is another great bonus to the 1.1.3 update.

Conclusion
However, the iPod does have a few annoyances. The metallic back of the iPod scratches very easily. Many of the features including most of the new Apps rely on WiFi, so if you’re out and about and not in a WiFi hotspot you can’t use the Maps feature to find new locations or directions, which does limit the usefulness, the weather won’t be updated and you can’t download new emails. The iPod has an “intelligent” dictionary and will auto correct mistakes while you’re typing. It learns about common mistakes you make and picks up on your writing style, but also gives you the option to cancel these changes before they are made but this can slow typing down, and abbreviations like “lol” are automatically capitalized to “LOL” no matter how many times you press cancel on the auto correct, and there isn’t a way to edit this in the iPods dictionary.

I can’t help but feel incredibly let down by it Apple for charging for the iPod Applications as well, it’s a bad decision and forces people to pay extra money for something which either should have been included from the start, or come at a price for everyone. It’s not like it’s updated firmware or OS, it’s a set of applications and there is no reason to charge other than Apple wanting to make more money out of people who are already paying through the teeth. First gen users have also had to put up with a lot of bugs, updates and changes in software and still are being punished - and because of this, the iPod suffers.

The iPod is a great device, but unfortunately there are too many downsides. Maybe the next gen iPod Touch will be something special, but for now the cons outweigh the pros - just buy an iPhone.

01
Jan

Sony Slim PSP (PSP-2000) Review

By Taylor 9 Comments
Categories: Guest and Reviews

PSP Slim Review
Guest Post by Neill Silva of thelulz.net.
When the PSP unveiled itself in America on March 24, 2005, ten years after the release of the original Playstation and five years after the release of the Playstation 2, it sold a smashing 200,000 units at launch, and totaled about 500,000 units at the end of the first month. It was a breakthrough in handheld gaming devices, and would soon have many hit games to put it to the top. The PSP was great at the time, but the price was quite high at $249. In 2007, the price dropped to $169 for the console, and $199 for the starter pack, making it more affordable then ever.

Slim PSP Review
(Image compliments of Wikipedia)

Hardware:
The recent limited edition Daxter Entertainment goes for only $199 and comes with the PSP Slim, the charger, a 1 GB SD Memory card, Daxter the game, and the Family Guy: Freakin’ sweet collection. I have had three PSP’s over the span from its release up until now and I can tell you the PSP slim is a lot better than the original and to me is a very good deal even to the Star Wars pack, which only comes with the, “Ceramic White” PSP with the Darth Vader logo on back, the charger, and Star Wars Battlefront the game. Now, why get this when you could get the sparkly silver PSP with the 1 GB memory card and a whole DVD at no extra cost? I couldn’t resist.

I do not work at Sony so I don’t know if the silver and white PSP are made in the same production line, but I can tell you that the white one was just put together wrong. When I got mine it had a dent in the back, a patch of pixels that would only show green, and paint that wasn’t painted in a smooth manner. These problems were NOT existing with my silver PSP. It has such a nice paint color and I have had no regrets with my purchase. There is a few cons with the PSP Slim, but the pros outweigh the cons if you are looking to purchase the new PSP model. It does have a cheap feel to it when you hold it and makes you feel like you could easily break it in your hands, but nothing has materialized out of those concerns. The problem there is that the PSP is just so light! Even with the oddly-light body weight, I have full confidence that my PSP will have a very long lifetime. The screen is the only other complaint that I have - you must get a screen protector when you buy the slim because the LCD screen will make weird blotches if you put even the slightest pressure, but when this happened to me it went away within an hour.

Games:
The PSP plays games using the UMD (Universal Media Disk) format media, which can hold up to 1.8 GB of data. This large storage capacity makes it easy for games to be made both long and detailed. An example of this capacity is the recent Grand Theft Auto ports. Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories are both ports to the PSP of the original large format games and they play very well. It is impressive to see how well the tiny UMD holds such a large game. There are hundreds of games out on the PSP so far and plenty more will be coming and from the ones that I have played there is a lot of different games being produced and a lot more creativity coming to this system, so it is worth the buy if you are looking for fun and unique games.

Conclusion:
The slim PSP is a great buy! If you are going to get a PSP its more available now than it has ever been and the deals on content packs are great. The PSP controls do not have two joysticks or even four trigger/bumper buttons forcing companies to come up with new ways of using the controller, which creates new types of games with exciting ways to play. The PSP also has a camera now, and Internet radio in the latest (3.80) firmware. It has been able to play music since its release making it a great MP3 player and it can play good videos on the 4.3’’ 16:9 ratio screen. It has been my favorite console for a while because in my opinion the games being created on the Xbox 360 are getting old and the PSP is getting better online/WiFi support every day.

28
Dec

Apple iPhone 8GB Review

By Taylor 3 Comments
Categories: Apple, Mobile and Reviews

Apple iPhone 8GB Review

No product in the history of mobile technology has garnered as much hype or fanfare as Apple’s iPod-in-a-phone, the aptly named iPhone. With an initial selling point of $600, naysayers predicted a failure because it was simply too expensive to have a widespread appeal. Clearly, that was not the case. Even with the prohibitive price, the iPhone was an undisputed commercial success and drove Apple’s stock straight up. Fast forward a few months, Apple drops the price of its overwhelmingly popular 8gb model to $400 and begins phasing its less popular (and less available) 4gb model out. After issuing a $100 credit of questionable intent to pre-reduction buyers, the “unreasonable” moniker assigned to the iPhones price suddenly becomes more realistic. And now, in January 2008, the iPhone is one of the most popular phones in the world.
iPhone 8GB Review

Large@Flickr
Hardware: The iPhone is revolutionary not only because of its unique implementation of multi-touch technology, but because Apple managed to cram a huge screen, 8gb of memory, a camera, web browsing power and a touch screen keyboard into one of the slimmest phones on the market. Apple veers off from the traditional full-chrome backside and instead goes for a more conservative and less scratch-prone matte aluminum finish. For the front, they surround the glass panel in a thin rim of chrome and accent the phone with glossy black. All in all, it’s a marvel to look at.
Apple 8GB iPhone Review
The lack of a 3g modem is a problem and one of the very few things I regret about moving from my old (3g) pda phone to the iPhone. Apple has excuses for why its not feasible, but I would gladly sacrifice much of my battery life for current-generation browsing speed. 3g is pretty much the only advantage Cingular/AT&T has over its GSM competitors and I was sad to see Apple not taking advantage of this. However, I knew what I was buying and purchased it anyways.
The headphone jack is a huge oversight and a real design flaw. Placed right on the beginning of the corner’s rounded edge, it is too deep for most aftermarket headphones! Without an adapter, the iPhone has alienated many of its buyers (who already own expensive, third party headphones). I was one of these people. Neither of my headphones (Sennheiser HD595 cans and Shure SE210 IEMs) would fit the iPhone. Admittedly, the usual suspects in the Apple accessory market (Griffin, Belkin and others) were quick to produce an adapter that allowed other headphones to circumvent the restrictive recessed jack, but this is one of those things that should have never made it past in-house testing.
Apple iPhone 8GB Review
Small flaws aside, its well built and amazingly strong. The glass is as scratch proof as they advertised it to be and I have no hesitation putting it in my pockets without any sort of case. I do have a screen protector placed on the front, but that is merely out of my own squeamish obsession with perfection. The camera is what cell phone cameras should be – it’s not perfect, and certainly not a replacement for a full featured digital camera, but it is good enough for snapshots and quick pictures with friends. I found the camera to be substantially better then my previous phone, the HTC Hermes (Cingular 8525).

Activation: Apple changed the way people activate cell phones forever when it set the iPhone to be activated on your home computer, through the bundled iTunes software, rather then at a cell phone store. This is the future of mobile products and I found it very well executed. As a launch day purchaser, I was one of the hundreds of thousands trying to activate their phones at the same time. I encountered some long waits, but was eventually successful on my first try.

Software: The software is where the iPhone breaks away from the crowd. Multi touch is nothing new (the HTC Touch versions 1 and 2 also attempt to do what the iPhone has done, but rely on the very limited Windows Mobile platform) but Apple’s software enables it to be pleasant and amazingly intuitive. Cover flow, however, is annoying. Every time I turn my iPhone on its side, cover flow springs into action. I am not a fan of it, and while the eye-candy is very nice; I find it less functional then the text piece. If there was an option to disable the in-iPod-mode cover flow, I would.
iPhone 8GB Review

Large@Flickr

Email: Email is straightforward and fairly basic. There is no push support, which is a large turnoff for business users and anyone who relies on mission critical email. For the average Joe, this is no big deal. Email can come in every half an hour and that is frequently enough for most people. The actual email display is very good and graphics come through well.

3rd party software: As with any popular device, people are always looking to get the most out of their new top. However, the iPhone is a cut above most “popular” devices; with enormous communities dedicated to opening its capabilities up sprung up across the Internet and the world.

Conclusion: For “Crackberry” junkies, the iPhone might not be the perfect fit because it lacks a true push email solution. However, for almost everyone else, it is an excellent option. Highly recommended!

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