November 19th, 2009

Users should be smug, and why the Apple iPhone makes you feel smarter

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 3:05 am

Categories: Apple, Feature, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone original

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Inc., MAYA Design, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Andrew Nusca

Manufacturers build an awful lot of complexity into their gadgets, but very few of them take pains to hide it — leaving users confused, bewildered and angry.

Who the heck wants to page through a 300-page instruction manual?

That kind of attitude can hurt a company’s bottom line when customers return products before bothering to figure out how to use them.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

MAYA Design’s Mickey McManus says products should be so intuitive that a customer feels silly explaining to another how it works.

And by silly, I mean smug — as in, “Isn’t it obvious?”

That’s why the Apple iPhone is so popular…it appears so obvious to use that you feel a little smug using it.

On SmartPlanet’s Smart Takes blog, McManus explains why such innovation is necessary as technology grows more complex and our brains stay exactly the same. Who doesn’t want to be a little smug?

November 11th, 2009

ZDNet's Ultimate Black Friday 2009: Deals, steals & specials guide

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 9:02 am

Categories: Black Friday, Consumerism, Feature, Gadget Gal's Daily Deals, Holiday Gift Guide, Toybox Highlights

Tags: Sony Corp., Nintendo Co. Ltd., Sony PlayStation 3, HDTV, Digital Camera, Microsoft Xbox 360, Microsoft Xbox, LCD, Camera, Nintendo Wii

Black Friday is almost here.

Yes, it’s that time of the year again — the time when retailers across the U.S. mark down products to bargain levels to kick off the holiday shopping season, move goods off the shelves and move the year’s profit needle from red to black.

And, you know, force Americans to wake up at ungodly hours after the previous day’s Thanksgiving meal to make financial decisions far too early in the morning.

But fear not. ZDNet’s Ultimate Black Friday guide for 2009 will digest all those rumored sales specials for you by gadget category — so you can find the electronics and gadgets you’re looking for in one spot.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving…until you pass out.

Read the rest of this entry »

October 30th, 2009

Trick or Treat: Five spooky gadgets and accessories for Halloween

Posted by Rachel King @ 5:59 am

Categories: Feature, Toybox Highlights, Uncategorized

Tags: Speaker, Accessory, Skull, USB Flash Drive, USB, Rachel King

If orange isn’t your favorite color, there are plenty of other quirky, spooky ways to spruce up your gadget collection this Halloween. Here are five gadgets and accessories that would otherwise be considered odd, if it weren’t time to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve.

1. Ideal Case iPhone covers: Ideal Case has released a special set of Halloween-appropriate iPhone protective covers called the Demon series. The pointy-eared cases, available in black, devilish red and another that glows in the dark, the 100% silicone cases are compatible with both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, starting at $14.99.

2. Skull USB Drive: If you’re looking to scare your co-workers, just stick a human skull into the side of your computer. This 2-gigabyte USB stick is just plug-and-play with both Mac and Windows OS, and for only $20, it’s something you can at least use all year! Read the rest of this entry »

October 29th, 2009

Trick or Treat: Five fun orange gadgets

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:00 am

Categories: Feature, Toybox Highlights, Uncategorized

Tags: Hard Drive, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Apple iPod Nano, Camera, Gadget, Keyboards, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Digital Music, Memory, Digital Media

With Halloween just a few days away, it doesn’t hurt to get in the mood a little with some pumpkin-colored gadgets for the Fall holiday. Here are five orange treats to go with your costume this weekend:

1. Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1: If you either want to record your child’s first trick-or-treating experience or all of the best moments at a Halloween party or parade, this attractive Sony Webbie is a frugal option. Far cheaper than its competitors like the Flip UltraHD or the Kodak Zi8, the Webbie HD MHS-PM1 is typically available under $150. While its quality hasn’t been reviewed as highly as the other previously mentioned cameras, it does shoot HD footage at 720p and 1080p. Not to mention it also features a swiveling lens and a memory card expansion shot for more recording time. [Check Prices]

2. Samsung DualView TL225: Attracting a lot of hype in the last few months for its dual-screen design, this 12.2-megapixel, orange and black pocket camera is a innovative and perfect for any party or parade. On its touchscreen navigation menu, photographers can select between another of special preset functions, including night portrait, children, dawn and “perfect self-portrait.” [Check Prices]

Read the rest of this entry »

August 3rd, 2009

Dead-Finger Tech: Google Maps

Posted by Jennifer Bergen @ 7:24 am

Categories: Feature, Google

Tags: Google Inc., Google Maps, DFT, Web Site Development, Transportation, Internet, Jennifer Bergen

You may have noticed the term “Dead-Finger Tech” floating around the ZDNet blogs recently. No, we’re not talking about zombies. The term refers to a piece of technology that you can’t live without — the one that if it were to break, or you were to lose it, you would be beside yourself not knowing how to continue living your day-to-day life. DFT is the one object that — god forbid — if you had a heart attack and died, we’d find you clutching it.

Okay, okay; enough with the zombies and morbidness. My chosen DFT is less of an actual gadget, but is still something I’d have a hard time living without: Google Maps. I can’t stress enough how much Google Maps has helped me figure out New York City. I knew nothing about the city when I moved here — and don’t even get me started with the outer boroughs. Luckily, soon after I landed in NYC, Google Maps integrated a public transportation option, which allows you to enter an address and get directions from your starting point via subway and/or bus.

Now, I’ll keep this short because I know most of you already know the greatness that is Google Maps, but I’ll share a few more reasons with you as to why I hold this piece of DFT so dear.

Read the rest of this entry »

July 30th, 2009

Dead-Finger Tech: Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch unibody, 2009)

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 3:00 am

Categories: Apple, Computers, Feature, Laptops

Tags: Apple MacBook, Apple Inc., Laptop Computer, Apple MacBook Pro, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Andrew Nusca

When it comes to “dead-finger tech” — that is, technology that’s so integral to your life that you’d have to pry it from your cold, dead fingers — the choice for me is clear: the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro.

Read the rest of this entry »

July 1st, 2009

Toybox Ten: 10 full-featured laptops for less than $750

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 4:00 am

Categories: Computers, Consumerism, Feature, Laptops

Tags: Hard Drive, Intel Core 2 Duo, Laptop Computer, Intel Corp., Prices, Acer Aspire Timeline, Gateway NV Series, Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware

It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times — at least when it comes to shopping for a laptop.

Prices are lower than ever before, yet a dizzying amount of options are available for your next machine. And with diminutive, Intel Atom-powered netbooks creeping up on the traditional notebook segment, it’s hard to discern which system will give you enough bang for your buck.

To aid back-to-school shoppers out there looking to spend less than the $700 to $1200 range I used for my “Top 10 laptops for college students” list, here’s a list of 10 fully-featured laptops for under $750.

(And no, you won’t find any netbooks on this list.)

Read the rest of this entry »

June 25th, 2009

ZDNet Readers' Choice: Top 25 free, lightweight apps

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 10:43 am

Categories: Feature, Reader Poll

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Open Source, Site, Evernote, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Andrew Nusca

In February, I asked ZDNet readers for the free, lightweight applications they simply can’t live without. After tallying the suggestions in the comments and via e-mail — and there were an awful lot of good suggestions, believe me — here are the 25 most popular.

Read the rest of this entry »

June 12th, 2009

Top 10 affordable gadgets for Father's Day [gift guide]

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 12:33 pm

Categories: Feature

Tags: Monitor, Camcorder, Dad, Soundbar, Home Entertainment, Personal Technology, Andrew Nusca

That time of year is almost here. That’s right: it’s almost Father’s Day, and the time to has come to show your appreciation for Dad.

Why not get him a gizmo he’ll really like?

(”But haven’t I been showing him appreciation all year?” you might ask. Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean he won’t enjoy a shiny, new tech toy to play with, either.)

Whether your Dad is a technocratic BlackBerry power user who can out-text a teenager with glee — or is a curmudgeonly fellow whose latest tech upgrade was touch-tone dialing and who thinks Ubuntu is an ancient African tribe (almost!) — this year brings a fantastic crop of goods that are sure to put a smile across Pop’s face.

So if you’re in the market for a great Father’s Day surprise for Dad, here are 10 gadgets and gifts he’s sure to love (and you’re sure to afford):

Read the rest of this entry »

March 25th, 2009

Dell Adamo vs. Voodoo Envy 133 vs. Apple Macbook Air vs. Sony Vaio Z [Toybox Shootout]

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 8:55 pm

Categories: Apple, Computers, Dell, Feature, HP, Laptops, Lenovo, Netbooks

Tags: Sony Corp., Voodoo, Apple MacBook Air, Dell Computer Corp., Sony Vaio, Hewlett-Packard Co., Lenovo Group Ltd., Apple MacBook, Apple Inc., HP Pavilion

The announcement of the Dell Adamo luxury thin-and-light laptop (above) reminded consumers that yes, there exists a market in between the white-hot Netbook segment and the ever-larger desktop replacement segment. Indeed, fully-featured thin-and-light laptops are still here for those of us who need portability and horsepower under the hood (and hey, a little style, too).

But where’s the value proposition? Just how much Adamo can you get versus Air, or Envy, or Vaio Z?

Here’s a statistical head-to-head comparison to figure that out. I took similar configurations — within $260 of each other, from $1,729 to $1,999 — of the Dell Adamo, Voodoo Envy 133, Apple Macbook Air and Sony Vaio Z, with Apple’s standard Macbook, Dell’s XPS M1330, HP’s Pavilion dv3z and Lenovo’s X301 thrown in for comparison.

Here’s a look at just how much laptop these machines offer for the price, from dimensions to components to looks.

Price

Here are the suspects. For the purpose of this comparison, I tried to choose configurations as close as possible to each other. Here are the price tags on each, with additional information on the range in parentheses.

Dell Adamo: $1,999 ($2,699 also available)

• The Adamo is Dell’s new premium thin-and-light laptop.

Voodoo Envy 133: $1,899 (to $2,999)

• The Envy is a premium laptop by VoodooPC, a “craft” division of HP.

Apple Macbook Air: $1,799 (or $2,499)

• The Air is Apple’s thinnest, lightest laptop.

Sony Vaio Z: $1,739 (or $1,599)

• The Z is Sony’s thin-and-light offering for executives.

Apple Macbook: $1,774 (or $1,299)

• The Macbook is Apple’s entry-level laptop.

Dell XPS M1330: $1,749 (from $699)

• The XPS M1330 is Dell’s lightest 13-inch laptop.

HP Pavilion dv3z: $1,972 (from $679)

• The Pavilion dv3z is HP’s thinnest and lightest full-featured notebook with an integrated optical drive.

Lenovo X301: $1,999

• The X301 is Lenovo’s premier ultraportable laptop.

When it comes to flexibility, the non-luxury laptops rule. Most of the laptops positioned as “premium” products drastically limit your pricing options — the Adamo, Macbook Air and Sony Vaio Z come in only two configurations, the Envy 133 comes in four (including the most expensive unit of the bunch), and the X301 comes in three if you include its cousins, which carry different model numbers. On the other hand, the XPS M1330 and Pavilion dv3z offer myriad configurations, giving you more freedom to pinch pennies on certain parts (such as RAM) and spend on others (such as CPU). But they don’t look as sleek and are a bit chunkier (more on that next).

For the purposes of comparing as fairly as possible, I’m using the first figures, which range from $1,739 to $1,999. Let’s take a look.

Next page: How thin is thin; light is light? »