The Titan XS comes to us from Verbatim.  This drive packs a small 320gb hard drive in a shock resistant rubber casing.  This is designed to be a handy drive for people who are on the move, and possibly a little rough with their data.  Let’s see if the drive lives up to the expectations.

Construction/features

When I got the package open, I was very surprised by the size of external drive.  The enclosure is not like anything I’ve seen or used before.  Verbatim forwent the standard small, sleek, and shiny, metal and plastic cases, and instead went with a thin rubber casing.  Also included is a short black mini-USB to USB cable to attach the drive, a thin users guide, and a promotional leaflet.

The rubber casing on this drive isn’t obnoxiously thick.  In fact, I was impressed at the size of the entire package when I opened it.  The rubber coating on top and bottom has about the same thickness as an SD card, and the side rounds out to about two to three times that.  The rubber has a smooth, almost dusty or grainy feeling to it, so there are no worries about it sticking to something or attracting fingerprints, scratches, or dust.  That said, the dull black with “Verbatim” embossed into the casing isn’t the most exciting drive to look at.  So, if hard drive appearances are your life, look somewhere else.  Those of you who want a drive that won’t stick out and works, keep reading.

To test shock absorption of the casing, I subjected the drive to a few drops from about three feet from the ground (though I wasn’t able to find a USB cable long enough to simulate the ‘perfect storm’ of dropping the drive while writing data to it).  If I dropped the drive on one of the flat sides, I heard a solid thud and that was it.  Dropping the drive onto a corner or edge, where the rubber gets thicker, makes things a little more interesting.  The drive would bounce back and skip around a little bit until it fell down flat, but that was it.  Plugging the drive back in after the test I wasn’t able to notice any ill effects from my little experiment.

A concern I have with the construction is that the casing is not the most supportive.  I found that if you apply pressure to the center of the drive, there really isn’t anything to stop you from pushing on the actual drive.  My testing found that most normal items being placed on the drive won’t affect it, but if one were to press on the drive with a finger, one of the grossest sounds known to drive owners will come from the device.  This is just a bit of warning that, while this is a rugged drive capable of absorbing a spill and tumble from time to time, it is not entirely bomb-proof.

Some users may be concerned about the rather large seam in the casing towards the end of the drive.  When I first pulled the drive out of the plastic casing I was a little worried as well.  The seam comes from the way the drive is manufactured.  It seems that the drive and USB port assembly is slipped into the rubber casing (at the opposite end of the USB port).  Then the end flap is folded over and each of the edges of the seam are glued to the drive.  Thanks to the glue and the tight fit of the rubber casing, there is no worry of the drive slipping out and ruining your whole day. (Obviously this seam doesn’t help the spill resistance of this product, though the small ventilation hole at the top and the USB port don’t help either.)

The actual drive used in my Titan XS was a Samsung HM322IX.  According to a chart from Samsung, this is a 5400 RPM USB2.0 drive with 8MB of cache that sucks up between 1.2W (standby) and 3.2W (read/write).  This drive obviously sacrifices some raw speed for the sake of form factor and power savings, but because of the USB 2.0 interface isn’t too much of an issue.    The drive performs well without any drama.  The drive is near silent when in use (the rubber casing helps absorb any extra vibrations that would be present when operating), the drive doesn’t suck much power when using my laptop on battery power, and it barely gets warm to the touch.  It accomplishes all of this while maintaining an average transfer rate at around 30MB/s, which is plenty quick for transferring files on the go, or backing up the system from time to time.

Usability/Software

The drive comes pre-formatted in the FAT32 file system.  This allows the drive to work seamlessly across whichever operating systems you choose (of course, if it is not to your liking you can quickly format it into whatever system you would like).  In my use, I was able to plug the drive into both my Windows, and Linux Mint systems without any trouble..

Verbatim also includes a few hundred megabytes of data on the drive.  In this package they included a PDF of the user’s guide, a program called Turbo USB, a copy of Nero BackItUp, and some trial links for Norton Online Backup and eMusic music downloads.  It’s nice to see that Verbatim included some software that should help enhance the use of this drive, though the extra trial offers aren’t really too exciting (it is easy enough to just clear them off the drive through a reformat or just deleting them, better than some external drive manufacturers nowadays).

After installing and running Turbo USB, you are able to check a box next to the drive you wish to apply the turbo USB settings to, then hit apply and reattach the drive.  In my experience (using Windows 7 Professional), I couldn’t find much difference between having turbo mode activated and deactivated.  Using HD Tune, I tested the drive a couple times with each turbo mode enabled and disabled, and I didn’t get more than one percent of difference.

Verbatim provides a copy of Nero BackItUp & Burn essentials.  It provides some handy features to automatically backup your system, manually backup specific files, sync different folders, and restore your system.  Obviously there is room to add more features or customizations to this program, but for the average user it provides a wonderful and easy to use starting point to perform regular backups.

Conclusion

The Verbatim Titan XS is a tough little drive that performs just as advertised.  The drive isn’t the flashiest or most attractive, but it is certainly functional and built to last (the seven year warranty is testament to this).  This drive is plenty quick enough for basic uses, but if you want or need something faster you will need to look for a different interface.  The software package isn’t too thrilling, but it is actually useful.  For students and those that are constantly in a rush – with more important things to worry about than the safety of a hard drive – this drive is a perfect fit.

Pros

- Small size
- No worries about dropping or scratching
- 7 year warranty

Cons

- Bland appearances
- Rubber casing doesn’t protect against crushing
- Not completely spillproof

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There is no doubt about it; Linksys/Linksys by Cisco (now called Cisco Home) has been a top player if not the top player in the consumer wireless router product line.  The hardware is solid, performance is great, and hackability for 3^rd party firmware is still very much a viable option for most of their wireless routers.  BUT, the one thing that has always plagued the wireless router market is its lack of ease when it comes to initial setup.  To someone that is tech savvy, setting up a wireless router is relatively painless, however to someone who is not the whole process can be very overwhelming, especially when vendors are constantly adding new features.  I don’t know of a single tech person who hasn’t had to setup a family member’s or friend’s wireless router.  Cisco is attempting to remedy this with their Valet line.

The idea behind the Valet line is that you can give anyone the router, make them run one setup program and have it do everything for you.  The Valet is something I would be willing to give to my grandfather and not worry about him having difficulties setting up.  It is for people that just want a wireless network, and want it to be secure.  This review is going to be a little different from your typical wireless router review, instead of primarily focusing on speed, wireless distance, and feature set (don’t worry they’ll still be covered), I’m going to mainly focus on the ease of setup and use since that’s what this product’s main selling point is.

Initial Impressions:

It’s sexy!  The routers feature Cisco’s new UFO design (yes I know, the lack of external antennas sucks), and are using the color scheme of some of Cisco’s newer enterprise gear, silver and grey.  I’m personally a big fan of the color scheme.  The enclosure is solid, and looks very attractive.  It has gigabit Ethernet ports, 802.11N WiFi (2.4GHz only), and the 2×3 antenna configuration.  The only differences between the Valet and the Valet Plus is the Valet has 10/100 Ethernet ports and a 2×2 antenna configuration.  Hardware is identical with regards to flash memory, ram, and CPU.  The router doesn’t come with much, an Ethernet cable, power cord, and the Easy Setup Key.  The Easy Setup Key is what configures the router and your computer (more on that in a bit).

Play Time:

Configuration could not be simpler, you pop in the Ease Setup Key (1GB Cisco Branded Flash Drive), and run the setup file.  It proceeds to step you through plugging both your power and internet connection and from there automatically configures your router for WiFi with WPA encryption and literally that’s it.  It’s a two step process.  The easy setup will even add your access point information into windows and automatically join your machine to the network.  Once you’re done, it will inform you of your SSID and password.  The password it generates is actually pretty complex, but unfortunately is also the password to the web interface, probably not the best idea, but given who this router is designed for, chances are they’ll never access the web interface anyway.  If someone wants a little extra control they can change the key and even set parental controls.  But if you don’t care about any other features, you’re done.

The Valet also allows you to configure a guest network.  This generates a second SSID and key to give to folks who may only need temporary access to your network, it also allows you specify the maximum number of guests that are allowed to connect.

The web interface should you choose to use it is accessible in the same manner as any other Cisco router, and looks virtually identical.  It will however it will bring up a prompt informing you that using the web interface may break compatibility with the Easy Setup Key (ie changing the password, SSID, etc.)

As far as performance is concerned, with an extremely close connection between my computer and the router, I was actually able to push in the ballpark of 90mbit/sec to 100mbit/sec during large file transfers.  Smaller file transfers were obviously considerably less in speed but I still was receiving between 50mbit/sec and 60mbit/sec file transfers.  Not bad at all for an N router.  File transfers over gigabit obviously scream, 600mbit/sec seemed to be the average for large file transfers.  Wireless range was great, I had no problem covering my entire 2400 sq ft house that has pretty thick walls, plus the backyard. Just as a quick mention for the power users out there, 3^rd party firmware is still very much a work in progress, so much that I didn’t even bother to install dd-wrt, mainly because I didn’t have an extra jtag header to solder on just in case I really broke things.  But, one plus about these is the increased CFE size from 16k to 32k which is a godsend for the real power users that have some pretty insane firmware configurations.

Conclusion:

What can I say, overall the router is awesome; it’s a piece of cake to install.  I would have absolutely no problem giving this router to a non-tech savvy person and not worry about them having difficulty configuring the router.  If you are a power user however, stick to Cisco’s Linksys E1000 and E2000 models and save some money.  They are identical to the Valet and Valet plus respectively with the exception of the Easy Setup Key and sexy color scheme.  3^rd party firmware is still a work in progress for those interested, just give it time.  But honestly, that’s not who these routers are targeted for.  I highly recommend them.

Pros

+ Extremely easy setup
+ Look
+ Performance

Cons

- Encryption key is used as the web interface password
- $150 is a little pricey for a router that doesn’t have dual band or storage link support.
- No external antennas

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The Casio EX-FH20 is an exciting megazoom camera with high speed capabilities and can currently be found at a considerable discount from MSRP.  Today we are going to take a look at what else the EX-FH20 brings to the table.

Special Features (from Casio)

• High-Speed Movie – Video Capture at up to 1000 fps
• High-Speed Burst – Up to 40 fps at full resolution
• 20X Optical Zoom – Incredible zoom with digital stabilization
• Prerecord CS – High-speed recording of action that occurs before you press the shutter button
• High-Definition Movie – DVD-quality video
• Flash Continuous Shooting – Continuous shooting where lighting is dim
• Move in / Move out – Continuous shutter functions triggered by the action
• Face Detection

First Impressions

I got some mixed feelings when I first cracked open the packaging for this camera.  On one hand, the included extras with this product are a bit on the slim side: USB and AV cables, a strap, some batteries, a CD, manuals,  and the camera itself.  On the other hand, the camera has a wonderful solid, comfortable feel to it – and I was very excited after reading the specs sheet – so I was very eager to find out how it would handle.

The documentation is pretty basic.  There is a very brief quick start guide included that will help users who have never used a digital camera before.  The guide explains how to load batteries, a memory card, and snap basic photos/videos – all this info is stretched to fill a two sided poster-sized sheet.  The basic reference guide provides about 35 pages of info about most features of the camera, though it is quite bulky because Casio includes support for 21 languages.  For more in-depth information about the camera a manual is included on the CD along with Adobe Reader and a Youtube uploader for videos from the camera.  I was a little disappointed that Casio did not include any more exciting software to make use of the videos, or any other software really.

The camera is very comfortable to use, even with the compact size, thanks to the weight and shape of it.  Though I wouldn’t mind if the camera was a little bit taller to provide some support for my pinky, it is quite bearable.  The LCD on the back is roomy, bright, and clear.  Additionally the electronic view finder is a nice touch that works very well (especially when it gets really bright out).

This camera functions pretty well as a simple point and shoot.  The user is given different scene settings (accessed through the “Best Shot” menu), or the ability to choose all the standard settings in a camera of this sort (ISO, exposure, white balance, etc). Unfortunately, the quality of photos from this camera leaves a little bit to be desired.  It is very difficult to get totally crisp results consistently with this camera.

The camera gives you plenty of options when it comes to focusing.  There is the standard AF, a couple macro settings, and an option to manually focus.  The AF works pretty well.  The camera lets you choose between spot, free, or tracking for the AF area.  Each of the modes seem to work pretty well –as long as in tracking mode the camera doesn’t choose something random you don’t care about to focus on. The macro settings seem to handle themselves pretty well without much drama (though a little bit of the same AF lag).  MF is kind of awkward on this camera.  You can tap the left and right directional buttons to change the focus and the screen zooms to a small box in the center of the photo, allowing you to change the focus until you are pleased with it.  It generally works pretty well, but if you are already zoomed in a bit and are not using a tripod, the image almost gets too unbearably shaky to use this feature.

High Speed functions work very well if you can make some sacrifices.  For starters, you will need to live with a lower resolution for these advanced features.  In 40fps continuous shooting mode the camera maxes out at 7 megapixels (and dropping down to slower rates, such as 30fps, only brings that up to 8MP).  The pre-record function works great.  It helps you capture a moment by automatically prerecording photos when you focus, and saving a certain number before you fully depress the shutter button.  This certainly helps when first using the continuous shooting mode and when you are trying to capture events where you don’t know quite when the action will begin.

The ability to shoot 40fps on a camera of this size and price is very impressive and certainly one of the top selling points.  It is a shame that the continuous shooting mode suffers from the same issues as using this as a point and shoot: poor image quality, however in CS an even lower resolution makes the problem worse.

Video performance on this camera is also something of a mixed bag.  On the one hand, 720p shooting works very well (particularly in good lighting), and the ability to shoot in high-speed modes is very  appealing; the camera offers 30-210fps, 210fps, 420fps, or 1000fps modes.  It is certainly impressive to see a camera offer these speeds at such a low price and in such a convenient package.

However everything has its cost.  The video starts getting quite grainy/noisy when recording in low-light settings.  Also, there is an option to disable optical zoom when recording – for a good reason.  If you attempt to zoom while recording, it takes a considerable while to refocus (the time it takes to refocus is under a second, but it is extremely unpleasant to look at a screen full of blurriness while zooming and waiting for the AF to take effect).  If you wish to work around this problem and disable optical zoom while recording, the results aren’t much better.  The camera instead uses digital zoom while recording, causing loss of detail when used extensively.  Also, the digital zoom functions in noticeable blocks, where the camera slowly jumps up step by step, rather than fluidly from no zoom to full zoom.

The high speed filming mode also leaves quite a bit to be desired.  For starters, high speed recording is done at extremely low resolutions (480×360 for 210fps, 224×168 for 420fps, and an extremely awkward 224×56 in 1000fps mode).  Also, when using these modes, it is very important to consider lighting.  If the lighting is at all sub-optimal, these modes will produce video that is extremely dark and sometimes completely black. (This is probably obvious, but it is a concern the user must consider whenever thinking about using these features.)  These low resolutions make these modes, while very cool, not the most useful for anything beyond an occasional gag.

Another issue I had with this camera is that it chews through the four AA batteries pretty quickly.  In my experience, with even light use I had to change batteries every week or two.  I imagine the poor battery life is largely due to the hefty amount of processing this camera has to do, particularly when recording such high rates of photos and video frames. Obviously the batteries will not last as long if you use the advanced high-speed features more often, but they were just too tempting for me to resist for long.

Sample Images & Videos

Here are several still images taken with the Casio EX-FH20.  Click any of the images below to view the full size image.

Here are a few sample videos of the EX-FH20′s high speed video capabilities:

Conclusion

This camera packs some big high speed features, and is well constructed.  However, the actual functions and bonuses included with this camera leave a little to be desired.  I would recommend anyone shopping for a camera in this range to look for a camera with better still photo performance, unless the high speed functions are absolutely crucial.  I was a little disappointed that this camera had such impressive features, but turned out to be so unimpressive.  If Casio would have started with a nicer camera and added slightly fewer features and less processing power, I feel that this camera could have been a real winner.

Pros

- 40fps continuous shooting with pre-recording
- High-speed video recording capabilities
- 720p video recording with proper lighting
- construction and feel

Cons

- Still photo performance
- Slow AF
- tiny high-speed video resolution

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For the most part, Bluetooth headsets all seem to offer a similar set of features.  However, Motorola’s newest headset, the H17txt brings something new to the table; the ability to read text messages to the user as soon as they are received.  With more and more states restricting texting and cell phone usage while driving, it only makes sense for a feature such as text to speech to be added to a Bluetooth headset.

Features/Specifications (As Provided By Motorola)

• Easy on: Text messages will automatically by played over your H17txt with MotoSpeak every time your handset is activated.
• Incoming text message sender ID: Always be in the know about who in your phonebook is trying to text you without having to take your hands off the wheel with sender ID announcements.
• Auto-response message: Determine if you want to send an automated text message to callers informing them that you are driving and will call back when available or pick a more personalized message to send
• Translates 150 text acronyms: Acronyms such as lol, btw and l8r are translated when the text message is read aloud, so you will never miss the meaning of a message
• Up to 5 hours of talk time and 7 days of standby time
• Multiple handset enabled
• CrystalTalk noise cancellation technology
• Automatic volume adjustment

Packaging

The H17txt I received was part of a press kit and did not come in a retail package so the contents may vary slightly.  That being said, included with my H17txt was a charger, manual, as well as 2 different ear hooks and 2 different sized ear buds.

First Impressions and Usage

Turning the H17txt on is as easy as flipping open the boom mic.  This is a great little feature because I don’t like to wear a Bluetooth headset at all times but prefer to talk on the phone using one.  When I get a call, I was able to quickly flip open the mic and then answer the call using the headset.  This is not something that is not as easily done when a headset must be turned on by pressing and holding a button.

The Motorola H17txt is light weight and extremely comfortable to wear.  Like the older Motorola H700, the H17txt simply sits on your ear instead of inside your ear.  I found that even during vigorous activity, the ear clip was able to securely hold the H17txt.

If you prefer the in-ear ear bud Motorola was nice enough to include 2 different sized in-ear ear buds.  However, because of the way the ear hook attaches to the headset, the ear hook cannot be used in conjunction with the in-ear ear buds.  This leaves the H17txt dangling completely by the ear bud.  While I did not have a problem while testing, I would personally feel more comfortable knowing that an ear hook was holding the headset in place as well.

MotoSpeak

To use the H17txt’s text to speech capability, the user is required to install the MotoSpeak app, which is currently only available for Android and Blackberry.  Unfortunately this leaves a huge market of iPhone users as well as those with dumb phones unable to benefit from the H17txt’s text to speech functionality.  While I can understand dumb phones not being supported, I sure hope that iPhone support is in the works.

For this review I used the Android app on my Motorola Droid. I found the MotoSpeak app to work very well when it came to reading text messages.   While the voice did sound a little synthesized, it was not bad.  However, I found 2 downfalls with the app itself.  The first negative is that the app did not read emails, but this may be a security issue or limitation of the phone OS  The second downfall is perhaps the biggest.  The free (included) version of the MotoSpeak app only reads up to 25 words per message.  While generally I did not find this to be a problem, there was instances where it was annoying.  In order to have anything over 25 words read, the user must purchase the pro version for $13.95.  Maybe it is just me but I don’t understand why I should have to pay $14 for the “pro” version of an app to be able to gain full functionality out of a headset I just purchased for $100

Performance

Audio quality of the Motorola H17txt was on par with the other Bluetooth headsets I have tested.  Most of my time testing this headset was spent in my car with the a/c turned on.  A lot of previous headsets I had tested had a hard time dealing with air blowing from car vents but with this headset, it was not that much of a problem.  In all normal everyday situations, some background noise was transmitted but it was not overbearing and did not detract from the conversation.

In terms of battery life, the Motorola H17txt did slightly better than other headsets I have tested.  I was able to consistently get about 4 hours of talk time out of the H17txt.

Conclusions

The Motorola H17txt by itself is a pretty impressive headset.  While it really doesn’t boast any specific noise cancellation features like the Jawbone or Motorola HX1, it did a respectable job when it came to background noise cancellation.  It was also comfortable to wear and had a longer than average talk time.  However, it is not perfect.  My biggest complaints with the H17txt had to do with the MotoSpeak app.  Motorola has excluded themselves from a rather large market of phone users simply by not supporting the iPhone with the Motospeak app.  While iPhone users can still use the basic Bluetooth features of the H17txt, they cannot take advantage of the text-to-speech feature provided by the MotoSpeak app.  To me this is one of the biggest selling points of the headset.   Also in order for users to hear text messages longer than 25 words, they must purchase the “pro” version of MotoSpeak for an additional $14.  While most of the text messages I normally receive fall under this 25 word limit, it is an issue of principle.  When I already spent $100 on a headset, the last thing I want to do is spend an additional $14 to gain full functionality.  These are all things that are easy enough for Motorola to change and I sure hope they do.  Despite these downfalls, I would not have any problem recommending this headset to anyone searching for a safer alternative to looking at their phone to read text messages.

Pros

+ Reads text messages as soon as they are received
+ Comfortable to wear
+ Flip open boom mic makes it easy to quickly turn on headset when receiving a call

Cons

- No iPhone support for MotoSpeak app
- Does not read emails
- Free version of MotoSpeak app only reads up to 25 words
- Pro version of MotoSpeak app costs an additional $14

The Cooler Master Storm Scout is a midsize-tower LAN/Gaming computer case with all of the associated bells and whistles. The “gaming case” identity seems to be doled out to just about any case with lights and fans nowadays, so let us try to evaluate what makes this case more suitable for these purposes.

Features/Specifications

(From Cooler Master’s website)

• Model SGC-2000-KKN1-GP
• Available Color Black/All-Black Interior
• Material Steel, ABS Plastic, PC, Mesh bezel
• Dimension (D)489 x (W)219 X (H)495.5 mm
• (D)19.2 x (W)8.6 x (H)19.5 inch
• Weight 8.7 kg / 19.23 lbs
• M/B Type Micro-ATX/ATX
• 5.25″ Drive Bay 5 Exposed (without the use of exposed 3.5 inch Drive Bay)
• 3.5″ Drive Bay 5 Hidden
• 1 Exposed (converted from one 5.25 inch Drive Bay)
• 2.5″ Drive Bay 1 Hidden (converted from one 3.5 inch Drive Bay)
• Cooling System Front: 140mm Red LED Fan x 1; 60 CFM; 30,000 hrs life expectancy (included)
• Top: 40mm Fan x 1 (included) or 120mm Fan x 1 (optional) (NOTE: The review case came with a 120mm fan. An 80mm would fit, but I think 40mm is a misprint)
• Rear: 120mm Red LED Fan x 1; 44 CFM; 35,000 hrs life expectancy (included)
• Side: Acrylic window; supports 120mm x 2 (optional)
• Expansion Slots Standard x 7, Special x 1
  Power Supply Standard ATX PS2 (optional)
  Included Accessory 1.8 or 2.5 to 3.5 inch mounting bracket for SSD or HDD

Packaging

The case is packaged in a cardboard box completely covered by glossy photos and product marketing. I was somewhat surprised that the retail box was sturdy enough to survive the mail; I received the package with just a shipping sticker on the box and no extraneous packaging. The box has all expected specifications and photos of the case at different angles, and a large graphic of a soldier in a gas mask. Inside, the case is in a plain plastic bag to prevent scratches and keep it clean in shipping, and some polystyrene foam.

First Impressions

My first impression came before I even opened the box; when retrieving the package from the grossly-uninterested PO-box personnel, I realized that the case weighs quite a bit. The manufacturer says it weighs almost 20 lbs, so if you are planning on ordering online, make sure to double-check shipping rates. The change was even more dramatic for me since my previous case was advertised to be specifically light with it’s all-aluminum construction.
Once I got the case out of the box, it became immediately apparent that this is a very sturdy build. The case is mostly steel with, ABS plastic pieces and a polyacrylic window.

It was very easy to install my motherboard into the case, there was plenty of room around it for hands and cables, and there is a removable hard drive tray. One thing I noticed though, was that since motherboard power connections are generally at the top, my PSU cables were only barely long enough to reach. Make sure to check the length of your PSU’s cables before putting your system together in this case.

Since the case is tool-less, it uses plastic clips instead of screws to hold in expansion cards (PCI, PCIe , etc.). These made it very difficult to fit in my graphics card, and since it can’t clip down with larger cards, I do not feel that it is held in securely. I also had a slight problem with the tool-less 5.25” drive bays. Inserting a drive is extremely tight, leaving scratches on the sides, and ripping off the “warranty void” sticker from my CD-RW (maybe not a concern for something so old and out of warranty, but worth a consideration for those of you hoping to keep your optical drives pristine). Also, it isn’t immediately clear how the locking mechanism works, and once you figure it out it requires quite a bit of force to apply the lock.

The front panel has a large square button in center for power, a very small round button above that for restarting, and a moderately sized round button in the center for the lights. The button for the fan LEDs is just right, but the power button is way too easy to press not only because of its large size and slight protrusion of the bezel, but because it is very sensitive to pressure. I have turned on and off my computer numerous times when I was trying to plug in/remove headphones, USB, or eSATA devices from the front panel. The restart button on the other hand is very small and I have a hard time pressing it with my (small and bony) index finger. The light button activates the red LEDs in the front and rear fans, these LEDs are not excessively bright like some are, but aren’t completely hidden either.

Gaming/LAN features

The most prominent LAN feature on the case is the steel reinforced ABS carrying handle/frame on the top of the case. This is a very sturdy handle, and does a good job making the movement of the case as graceful as lugging a tower around can be. Although it isn’t intended to serve as such, I occasionally find myself sitting on the top of the case and an impromptu chair or stool. While I only weigh about 120 lbs, I am fairly confident that a normal person could safely sit on the handle without risk of damaging it.

It is not only the handle that is thick and well-built, the whole case is very sturdy, including the poly window, adding our second item to the list of “LAN Features.” Even lugging this case around regularly, with all of the associated bumps and accidents, this case should stand up to the abuse. The tight fit of 5.25” drives and vibration dampened screws on the 3.5” slots only add to the security and stability.

When showing off your computer to other enthusiasts, cable management is critical. Thankfully, the Cooler Master Scout gives you ample opportunity for a clean cable arrangement. Holes in the motherboard tray are perfect for routing cables behind, and if you are careful, the back panel’s flare out gives lots of extra room for cable bundles.

This, and the Cooler Master Storm series of cases often include the interesting “Storm Guard” addition. This is a piece of metal with holes and hooks in it, which hangs out in an expansion card opening. It allows you to wind a corded peripheral (such as a gaming mouse or keyboard) through the case, then back out so that it cannot simply be unplugged and stolen. It is definitely a deterrent only, and not absolute security, but it requires opening the case to remove the attached devices. Unfortunately this is not useful for external hard drives or printers since those generally unplug at both ends.

Pros:

• Bottom-mounted PSU
• Good airflow
• Plenty of drive bays
• Lots of big fans (and subsequently good airflow)

Cons:

• jeez this thing is heavy
• did I mention my computer weighs 50 lbs now?
• Dust is very visible on the black case
• Power button easy to accidentally press

Conclusion

The Cooler Master Storm Scout is a great case overall. I absolutely agree that it is better suited for LAN parties than the average case, but that doesn’t detract from the case’s use as a stationary desktop either. The sturdy construction makes it very heavy, especially with my overkill PSU and ridiculous number of installed drives, but the weight is worth a case that will last through the apocalypse. If you are looking for a sturdy new case, the Cooler Master Scout should be near the top of your list.

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The Epson Stylus NX515 is an all-in-one inkjet printer with some very enticing features.  The NX515 has been around for over a year, and as a result is a good way along in its product cycle.  The printer still manages an impressive features list and an attractively discounted price.  Will that be enough to make this a good buy?

Key Features (From the Epson product overview page)

• Wi-Fi and Ethernet built in– share one printer with multiple PCs, wired or wirelessly; print, scan and share memory card files between your PC and printer, wirelessly
• World’s fastest All-in-One– get ISO print speeds of 15 ISO ppm (black), 9.3 ISO ppm (color)1
• PC-free, borderless photos in a snap– 2.5-inch, tilt LCD screen and memory card slots
• Scan directly to e-mail– send documents or photos as e-mail attachments with one touch
• Superior image enhancement tools– red-eye removal, automatic photo restoration, Automatic Photo Correction, and more
• Save time– make multiple copies (1 – 99) with one touch; instantly reduce and enlarge copies 25 – 400%
• Manual two-sided printing– a great way to save paper
• Replace only the color you need– individual ink cartridges, available in different sizes
• Truly touchable photos and documents– instant-dry ink for smudge, fade and water resistant prints
• Unsurpassed print quality– get sharp documents and photos with precision detail and more accurate color

Initial expectations/reactions

Immediately removing it from the box and the protective coverings, I noticed that roughly the whole system is made of plastic.  This helps keep the weight, and likely the price, low, but it also makes the printer feel a bit cheaper than it is.

Regardless of the materials used, the actual construction of this product is excellent.  All the hinges and moving bits are solid and do their jobs perfectly.  Additionally, I really dig the glossy-with-raised-bumps style texture for the top of the scanner cover.  It helps repel some fingerprints and other smudges while keeping a nice semi-shiny surface.  Something like this is unnecessary, but I find it’s a nice touch and helps class up the joint, so to speak.

The layout of the buttons and ports is also very simple and clean.  I have some mixed feelings about the choice to put few buttons on the printer.  On one hand, it helps create a nice, clean look and doesn’t make potential users nervous or distracted.  However, when using the system, particularly during setup, the use of menus gets a little tedious, especially while entering WPA keys for wifi usage.  Adding to the simplicity of the system, there are couple slots for memory cards and four ports: power, ethernet, USB to connect a computer, and another USB port to attach a camera.

Usability/features

Installing this printer is pretty straightforward.  Epson includes a simple and useful guide to setting up the printer with directions for USB install and a guide to installing via the network option.  The drivers provided by Epson are well made and are generally bug free from my experience.

A minor inconvenience was that the included driver CD did not include Windows 7 support.    Instead, there is a note to visit part of the Epson website to download the proper drivers.  This extra step is pretty quick and pain free, but it is an extra step nonetheless.

Printing performance for this machine is terrific.  During my testing I got around Epson’s advertised speeds (within 1ppm or so, I’ll also chalk up the difference to my timing methods).  I was very surprised to see an inkjet printer function at these speeds, though with a bit of noise as will be mentioned later.  The print quality was also very good.  Text wasn’t quite as crisp as that a laser printer will provide, especially on cheaper paper.  However, the color and photo printing results are great.

It may be worth noting that using the network mode as opposed to USB does produce some lag.  The lag is not very extreme, and this printer will likely beat most others even with this lag, but it is noticeable when transitioning from using USB to connecting to your network.

The ink used by this printer is worth a special mention.  The DURABrite® Ultra pigment ink is very impressive.  Immediately as documents or photos finish printing, the ink is perfectly dry and ready to handle; no more worries about letting the ink set or smudging photos when hastily picking up a fresh batch.  The water resistance also works just as advertised.  I placed some photos under a running faucet for a minute or so and didn’t notice any change from the ink.  The highlighter resistance also functions as intended.  I was able to take a page of text and cover it with highlighter with no streaks, smudges, or even black marks on the highlighter tip.

Printing from a memory card or directly from a camera with the PictBridge system is pretty straightforward.  Just plug in and follow the proper menus to set your desired options, and you will get some quick, nice looking prints.  At times the system feels a little sluggish, but it certainly gets the job done (and it gets the job done quicker than it would take to load up the photos on a separate PC and print from there).  Another nice feature of the memory card reader is that the files on the memory card in the printer can be read by any of the computers on the network (assuming network install).  Windows handles the memory card as a new network drive and allows painless access to the files.

Copying photos or documents gives roughly the same experience.  One simply lines up the original on the glass scanner bed, then  taps a couple buttons and out come the copies.  Coupled with the high print speed, the quality ink and scanning capabilities of this machine makes for some semi-serious copying.  The only thing holding it back is the slightly higher price for inkjet cartridges as compared to laser printers or copiers.  Though for low volume and color copying this is a very nice system.

Scanning functionality is also very effective and simple to use.  With a computer attached via USB, the system lets you scan to a file, PDF, or even to an email.  The included drivers make the whole process work just as expected, producing quick and accurate looking results.  The included EPSON Scan application certainly helps simplify the process.  One simply opens the application, goes through some initial configurations regarding where to save, what file format to use, and other choices of that nature (the number of options to go through depends on the operating mode selected).  A really nice feature of this application is that it saves your previous configurations, so the user doesn’t need to set the same settings over and over again.

The networking capabilities of this printer are very convenient.  By  running an ethernet cable  to your router or specifying an SSID and security key the system connects to your LAN.  All that is left is to install the networking drivers on your computer, and off you go.  This is very convenient for attaching multiple systems or placing the printer in a more central location where scanning and printing are both accessible.  The included scanning application, EPSON Scan, works very well even over the network.

To finish off our look at the features and capabilities of this system, I would just like to mention that listing two sided printing as a feature is  a sham as it is just putting the printed page back into the paper try.

Concerns

Installing multiple sets of drivers makes things  a little dicey in Windows.  After I installed the USB drivers alongside the wifi drivers I had some issues trying to scan.  Thankfully, removing all the drivers and reinstalling solved the issue.

This printer is also a bit on the loud side.  To get the blazing speeds out of this machine, the print head gets sent very forcefully from side to side.  As a result, there is a noticeable amount of mechanical noise coming from the system, and a bit of shaking on less sturdy surfaces.  This isn’t much of a problem for an office or home office setting, though if someone is asleep in the same room there is a good chance they will wake up.  On the plus side, the noise is in a very short duration, making the situation bearable.

The automatic photo restoration feature also leaves a little to be desired.  When copying a photo and asking the printer to automatically restore the faded colors, it certainly livens up the photo and returns it to some of its former glory.  However, the printer also crops the photo slightly, so you don’t get an exact, restored copy in return.  Some of the color choices and other changes can be curious at times, though to perfectly restore older photos it would certainly take more time, complex software, and effort.  I feel that, for the casual user, this and the other photo enhancement features can be very convenient and useful features, though power users will find these to be near useless.

The paper tray is also a little finicky.  You need to take great care feeding paper into it and make sure the paper is straight and flat.  My first test was just trying to make a copy with some paper I had sitting around that had a little bit of a curl to it.  As a result the printer just picked up the whole stack at once (around a dozen pages) and gave me a print on the first page, and a nice ‘Out of paper’ error.  This issue isn’t only with old crummy paper, unfortunately.  While printing out a six page article, I found that around the fourth page, the printer picked up two pages and each one got around half of the print.

Conclusion

The Epson Stylus NX515 is a very capable inkjet All-in-One perfect for small offices or home use.  There are a few small quirks, and the inkjet cartridges are a  little on the pricey side (though the ability to replace each color separately is very nice).  The performance of the system totally outshines these minor shortcomings.  The printer is blazing fast, the ink dries quickly and is very durable, and printing quality is very high.  All the basic features work as expected, and the whole machine is very well built.

Pros

+ Super-fast printing
+ Great ink/print quality
+ Many connectivity options
+ Smooth and easy operation

Cons

- Noise level
- Touchy paper feed mechanism
- Photo restoration defaults to cropping images

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If you’re like me, your car is a little too old to rock an auxiliary output connection for attaching your i<insert device name> or Zune.  Generally the only alternative to installing a new deck is to either use a cassette adapter or settle for an FM Tuner adapter.  While you are sacrificing quality ,FM transmits much lower than the 256k iTunes Plus you can buy, it’s often the quickest and easiest solution.  Griffin Technology iTrip Auto 2010 is Griffin’s latest FM Transmitter/Charging solution and offers some new, exciting features.

Initial Impressions:

I was very excited to receive this device in the mail; it’s fairly priced, packs in impressive feature set, and is actually fully compatible with my iPhone 3G and now iPhone 4.  .  A quick rundown of the features are as follows:

• RDS Information transmitted to the radio
• SmartScan (the transmitter selects the best station for you to transmit on)
• Free app from the App Store that allows you to control the device straight from the phone
• Toggle song playback from the device
• Programmable stations
• SmartSound
• Stereo/Mono selection

Play Time:

The first thing I did was download the iTrip app (free) from the app store (which unfortunately broke with the iOS 4 update.)  The iTrip app allows you to configure about 90% of the iTrip Auto, the only thing that I noticed it couldn’t do was alter what was displayed on the iTrip Auto display.  Setting up the device couldn’t be simpler; it’s basically plug and go.

The iTrip Auto plugs right into the phone and after plugging the other end into your cigarette lighter, the phone immediately starts charging.  Charge time to 80% is relatively quick at ~30-45mins, and, of course, quite a bit longer to finish off the remaining 20% charge.  Configuration from the actual iTrip itself was a little tedious; the iTrip Configuration App became an instant favorite as a result.  Well, until iOS 4 broke it that is.

The first option is the ability to use the SmartScan to automatically detect a frequency to transmit on.  I personally never had good luck with this feature, I do live in a metro area of over 1 million people so unutilized frequencies are few and far between, but the SmartScan rarely detected the 2 or 3 frequencies that actually aren’t used by radio stations.  It more often than not would select a utilized frequency but whose station was had a weak broadcast.   However, manually selecting your own station is a breeze, you can either use the simple +- buttons for quick changes, or you can press the tuner button to be presented with a dial to spin and tune to your preferred station.

Driving around town, I did notice quite a bit of interference depending on the part of town I was in.  Switching the transmitter to “Mono” does indeed help as described, but it’s mono sound.  Listening to mono sound is fine for voice podcasts and audio books but not for music.  The volume was also something to be desired.  I found myself having to max out the volume on my radio in order to have a decent sound come out of my speakers.  Supposedly the SmartSound is supposed to enhance this, but unfortunately all it did was mute my sound even more.  Maybe I didn’t give it enough time to kick in; it’s something I’ll have to continue to play with.

Conclusion:

Overall the iTrip Auto is a very solid product, that being said it does have some quirks to it with regards to audio interference from other radio stations, and even in some cases other transmitters from cars driving by (ie XM-Radio transmitters.) But as far as FM Transmitters go it’s one of the better ones out on the market.  It’s very well built, and interfaces great with the iPhone.

Pros

+ Size
+ Compatible with iPhone 4 and iOS 4 (with the exception of the on phone app)
+ RDS

Cons

- Weak Transmitter
- Interference was frequent
- SmartSound isn’t working as advertised

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I use a laptop as my primary computer, so an external hard drive is a must-have device for me. Seagate has provided a new drive for review that offers a small size, robust USB connectivity, and a bus-powered 5400-rpm drive.  Let’s find out what makes this drive more enticing than the competition.

Packaging

The drive is packaged in a typical plastic and cardboard aisle display box, which proved frustrating to remove. Frustrations aside, it was very protective and attractive.

In the box you’ll find the drive (available in a variety of colors, not just blue), a short mini-USB cable, and some assorted software and documentation. In addition to a set of Seagate software, a copy of the Muvee video software is included free of charge.

Drive Use

Setting up and using the drive is simple, but there is some extra functionality available. The drive looks sharp, consisting of a colored cover on a white plastic base. The activity and power lights are detailed into a design on the cover, and pulse instead of the usual flicker.

Using the drive is as simple as plugging it in to any workstation with a USB port. The drive will power up if the necessary current is available, and on a Windows computer you will be prompted to install Seagate software. Software is loaded onto the drive from the factory and will autorun.

Seagate offers an application that provides typical backup operations including incremental and selective backups. It’s not going to win awards going head-to-head with dedicated backup solutions, but it proved capable and would be valuable for single users. Additionally, the software allows you to tweak settings of the drive itself, including the status LED behaviors and the inactivity timeouts.

Performance

To benchmark the drive, both xBench 2.0 and SiSoft Sandra were used, and the data collected was averaged. Read and write speeds were measured for both sequential and random blocks, with both the maximum (256kB) and the minimum (4K) blocksizes. Drive performance was in line with other 5400-rpm drives, with sequential write speeds on the order of 25MB/s. Random sequences performed poorly with small blocksizes, but picked up nicely with large blocksizes.

Muvee

A special Seagate Edition of the Muvee software package was included with the drive. Muvee automatically makes photo slideshows given a folder of photos and a selection of music. I loaded a set of photos from a recent trip to the National Arboretum, and some sample music included with Windows 7. Muvee comes with a selection of “themes”, or visual styles for your slideshow to follow. Depending on the theme you choose, the speed and animations will change accordingly. Most themes include a set of options specific to their content for you to adjust.

Much like Seagate’s backup software, Muvee isn’t going to sweep through video production firms already using professional software. Still, it’s fun a functional for average consumers to use and provides a real service. Muvee will create a smooth video slideshow with transitions and music in a matter of minutes, and is easy to use.

Conclusions

Seagate has a real winner. The drive is attractive, functional, light-weight, and comparably priced. The line of Seagate Go drives offers a wide variety of colors, drive sizes, and accessories (docks, cases) to fit a wide range of needs. The whole series of products is priced well, and the included software adds significant value. Because the drives are bus-powered, they are restricted to 5400rpm speeds, and perform accordingly.

Pros

+ Attractive
+ Reasonably priced
+ Bus-powered convenience
+Included software is useful and/or amusing

Cons

- Bus-powered convenience means bus-powered speeds (5400-rpm drives)

The perfect mouse is an elusive creature for anyone who spends time in front of the computer. As a web designer I need a good multi-function mouse that has lots of programmable and convenient buttons. Hence my quest for a better mouse has led me to the Logitech Performance Mouse MX, and it was worthy of notice. I have found that when Logitech wants to do something well, they really pull it off, and the Performance Mouse MX is no exception.  Featuring their new DARKFIELD laser technology, the unifying receiver, 7 programmable buttons, hyperfast scrolling, sculpted shape as well as a few other surprises along the way, this mouse is definitely worth a second look.

In the Box:

• Mouse
• Logitech Unifying Receiver
• Logetech Software CD
• Micro-USB charging cable
• AC power supply
• Pouch for charging system
• Receiver extender cable
• User Documentation

DESIGN

The first thing you have to notice about this thing is the design. It is flat out sexy and stylish. For the casual observer, this may seem like a large mouse, but once you wrap your hands around this you will wonder how you ever functioned without it. For the more computer savvy among us we know that the mouse and keyboard are essentially extensions of our hands, however they never seem like natural extensions. The MX is completely different; it fits so naturally that you barely know it is there and allows your hand to rest comfortably in its curved design. The big surprise in this is that it seems to fit a variety of hand sizes, as I have very large hands myself and it fits perfectly, while my more petite brother-in-law also owns this mouse and finds it very comfortable. I do however, still recommend a wrist rest for extended periods of use.

DOES SIZE MATTER?

So about this receiver . . . it’s small and it works. I was a little skeptical about this fingernail-sized receiver doing much good as I have a pre-conceived correlation between size, power, and better. I was again pleasantly surprised. I expected to have no real difficulties with this, but this being Maximum CPU I thought it would be best to test to the maximum limit.  So I left the room and used my mouse from across the hall, downstairs, out the garage, and down the driveway all the while the mouse was moving and scrolling without any jumps or hiccups. All said, I was more than 100’ away from my laptop (well beyond Logitech’s specifications) before I was satisfied that this little guy has the juice. To top it off, the receiver is small enough to leave in your laptop.

USING THE MX

Using the included utility, configuring the mouse is a breeze, I did use the defaults at first, but I prefer to customize when given the option. By far my favorite function of the MX is the scroll wheel. There are few things I hate more than scrolling through websites to find the information I am looking for. I am a busy person and I don’t have time to scroll 15 times to get where I want to be. Logitech has what they call “Hyper-Scrolling” and they are not kidding. Of course they have the standard four-way scrolling with a programmable wheel button, but with the flip of a switch the mouse wheel turns into a no friction hyper-scrolling wheel.  I love being able to flick my finger once, go get a coffee and then site back down to find that I’m still scrolling. After several scientific tests, I found that on average I get 10.6 seconds on a single flick. I cannot express enough how much I love that small feature and how much time it really saves me in a day. Of course you can quickly switch back to the slower more precise friction scrolling when you need it at the touch of a button. As an added feature you can completely customize the acceleration-speed ratio to best suit your needs.

RECHARGING SYSTEM

As I type I am looking at my battery indicator on my MX, which has been red for a long time. I am trying to kill the battery, so I can report the battery life, but press time is upon me. On average I use the MX for about 5 hours a day, I’ve had it for just over 3 weeks, and never charged it when I first got it as recommended. Translation: 115 hours on the first use and it still has not died. When it does die, I can charge it with the included charging system that comes with a handy sleek carrying case, the perfect accessory for any cubicle dweller on the go. All joking aside, the carrying case is another example of the thought put into the total package. How many devices do you buy that include a plethora of cables and adapters that you have nowhere to go with but in that drawer, or in my case, I can’t afford to not carry the chargers with me, so they all go into my backpack. (No, its not a murse, it is in fact a Targus) It is a pleasant change to have a nice carrying pouch to keep all of my cords together in.

Perhaps you are working on your computer and the battery dies, and you cannot afford to stop and charge the batteries. Well, generally speaking that is when you have to have what we call a back-up plan. For my wireless mice I always keep a couple AA batteries around just in case. With the MX Performance, this is not a concern. The mouse instantly transforms from a wireless to a wired mouse using the included USB cable, and as an added bonus your mouse will charge while you are using it. This is also a bonus for the gamers, we know that there is a lag with wireless mice, and no matter what they say, you can feel the lag and you would have dodged that frag if you had not been using a wireless mouse. Well, ok then, use it as a wired mouse.

DARKFIELD LASER TRACKING

Logitech now has several devices that utilize the ‘Darkfield Laser Tracking.’ For those of you who are not familiar with it, essentially you can track your mouse on any surface, and, as they advertise, “even glass.” Having a glass desk myself for nearly 10 years, I have always been frustrated by having to use a mouse pad because I like large tracking areas and do not take well to the confinement. So I was a little excited about the Darkfield Tracking and put it to the test; it worked great.  According to Logitech’s documentation, all the laser system needs is a speck of dust to use as a point of reference and you can track, so in theory a perfectly sterile environment could halt the function of the mouse. So as any good researcher would, I went about creating a sterile environment and tested the mouse on everything. It works. In reality we are really unable to create the kind of clean necessary to give the MX problems, and Logitech probably just has it as a disclaimer that it is possible for a surface to not work, but my vote is that it is unlikely.

SUMMARY

So what is my overall take? I love it. If you are looking for a cheap point and click mouse, this is not for you, but given the fact that you have read this through its entirety, you are clearly looking for something above average.  I have struggled with finding the right mouse to fit my needs and am tirelessly spending money on the perfect mouse and to be quite honest I was excited about the Logitech Performance Mouse MX, but skeptical enough that I waited almost a year to try it. The shape is great, the buttons are in comfortable positions, the unifying receiver works well (even though you have to upgrade to a compatible keyboard to fully utilize it). The Hyper-scrolling wheel is amazing, the flexible charging system is convenient, and the Darkfield Laser Tracking works great. All in all, a great buy for anyone looking for a mouse that is comfortable to use all day and flexible to change with your needs. As all great products, the Logitech Performance Mouse MX comes with a price tag attached to it (MSRP $109 but you can get them for around $80 if you shop around), but if comfort and flexibility is important to you, than this is a well worth investment over anything else currently on the market.

Pros:

+ Sculpted, right hand shape.
+ Flexible charging system.
+ Effortless hyper-scrolling through long pages.
+ 4 programmable thumb buttons.
+ Darkfield Laser Tracking tracks on virtually any surface.

Cons

- To fully utilize the unifying receiver you need to upgrade your keyboard.

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Motorola has, for the most part, always been known for its mobile communication products.  However, they recently decided to venture into the ever growing GPS navigation market.  Today we will be looking at the MOTONAV TN765t.   As this is Motorola’s first attempt at creating a GPS device, I am interested to see what Motorola plans to bring to the table and how they plan to differentiate themselves in an already crowded GPS market.

Specifications and Features (A Provided By Motorola)

• Up to 2 hours of battery life
• 5.1” cinematic display
• Map-centric interface with dynamic side views, smooth scrolling, and intuitive physical controls
• 3D landmarks, lane guidance, junction view, speed limits, spoken street names, and voice destination entry
• Bluetooth hands-free calling with phonebook download, voice answer, easy reply, and recognition commands
• Streaming traffic updates, local search, gas prices, weather, flight status, safety camera alerts, and more

Packaging and Contents

Included with the Motorola TN765t is a windshield mount, cigarette lighter power cord, USB data cable/charger, a USB wall adapter, and a user manual.

First Impressions

Upon powering the Motorola TN765t up for the first time, I noticed that Motorola spared no expense when it came to the included features.   In addition to the fairly common place features of Bluetooth hands free calling, spoken street names, lane guidance, etc, Motorola also included a hands free interface for navigating the TN765t’s menus.

The TN765t’s massive 5.1 inch screen was easy to see in all kinds of lighting conditions.  During the evening hours, screen will automatically dim and change color themes so the user is not blinded by the device during the night.  Also the screen is wide enough to allow 1 of several informational panes (nearby points-of-interest, GPS satellite info, trip info, etc) while still not cramping the main navigation view.  However these panes are optional and, if the user so chooses, they can be minimized.

In terms of navigating ability, the TN765t did an excellent job and believe me, I took the testing to the extreme.  Over the course of the review period, I traveled well over 3,000 miles with the aid of the TN765.  While most of this testing was done in more populated areas, there was a road trip were we traveled for 5 hours without seeing a paved road or even having any type of cell coverage.  I was a bit surprised to see that NAVTEQ included all of these roads, including a one lane dirt road which was washed out in a few places.

One minor bug I found with the Motorola TN765t was with the spoken street names feature.  Whenever it said the name of a county road, it always said the road name twice.  For example when I had to turn on County Road GG, The TN765t said “Turn left on County Road GG County Road GG”  I only noticed this problem with county roads and I am sure this is something that can be addressed with a software update.

Once your phone is connected to the Motorola TN765t via Bluetooth, the GPS can be used as a speakerphone to make and receive calls.  However, I found the call quality to be lower than most dedicated Bluetooth speakerphones.  This may be due to the placement of the device.  Most Bluetooth speakerphones clip to the sun visor which is usually around 1 foot away from the user; however, when using the Motorola TN765t, I had it attached to the windshield, which was 2 – 3 feet away from me.  The people I was calling reported that it sounded like I was far away from the device (which I was) and there was a considerable amount of background noise.

In addition to being used to make hands free calls, your phone can be used to get up to date fuel prices, weather, flight statuses, as well as search Google for points of interests and phone numbers not already on the device itself.   While in the process of updating the MotoExtra’s data, the GPS will use your phone to dial a phone number.  This sets up what is almost like a dialup connection.  It did not use any traditional data and when I dialed the phone number that was used to update the device, I received tones similar to the good old three-way handshake (the noise made by dialup modems and fax machines).  However this feature has one major downfall.  After the 3 month trial period included with the TN765t, the user is forced to pay either $49 for a 1 year subscription or $99 for a 3 year subscription.  With subscription fees like that, I would like to see the device be able to update itself via a built in wireless modem instead of having to piggyback on my phone.

While users have to pay to use the MotoExtras, a lifetime subscription for NAVTAQ traffic updates is included with the device.   The traffic updates will alert the user to upcoming traffic situations and if the user chooses the option to do so, will automatically reroute the user around the problem area.  I found this feature to work well around a lot of the major cities but failed to warn me of several construction and traffic jams while I was traveling on major highways outside of major cities.  This really isn’t Motorola’s fault though as this service is managed by NAVTAQ.

A good majority of common tasks can be completed on the Motorola TN765t with voice commands in addition to using the touch screen.  For the most part, I found the voice commands to work well.  However I did have some problems when a lot of background noise was present.

Conclusions

Overall I believe the Motorola TN765t is an excellent GPS.   Almost every feature I could think of was present on this GPS, from Bluetooth calling and voice commands to navigate the menus all the way down to traffic updates and up to date fuel prices and more.  However, this device is not perfect.  The Bluetooth call quality was not the greatest and the MotoExtra’s subscription fee is a little on the high side if you ask me.  Since this is Motorola’s first generation of GPS navigation devices, I am definitely interested to see where things go from here.

Pros

+ Great at navigating
+ MotoExtras
+ Free lifetime traffic updates
+ Voice commands
+ Bluetooth

Cons

- Spoken street names feature repeats county road names twice
- Price of subscription for MotoExtras
- Call quality not the greatest

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