Mouse

Logitech's The Ultra-Thin V500




We don't know when Logitech got so down with hype design, but we're not exactly complaining here. Their new ultra-thin V500 is by no means their greatest piece to date, but the diminutive wireless RF mouse is a mere 3.75 x 2.25 x 1.12-inches in size, has a four way touch-sensitive scroll panel that looks like it probably won't work all that well, a USB micro-receiver that can be stowed inside the mouse, and a little carrying case so you can take it with you. We like the focus on portability, but if they wanted it to be truly portable they'd cut it out with the USB RF receivers and go with something more commonly built-in, like, say, Bluetooth.

Ear Phones

Sennheiser's New Wireless Earphones



Some announcements make us sit up, especially when they're from a brand we like. Sennheiser has released its new wireless earphones that use Kleer technology, and the same has been showcased at CES. The MX W1 comprises two sleek earpieces (untethered right and left earphones) featuring Sennheiser's 'twist-to-fit' system to ensure a secure and comfortable fit in each ear.

Kleer's 5x-10x power advantage over Bluetooth has enabled Sennheiser to use the smallest rechargeable coin cell battery in the world, facilitating a compact, ergonomically pleasing design that will appeal to consumers. The earphones come with a small, matchbox-sized transmitter and a transport case that includes an integrated battery to recharge the earphones.

"The name Sennheiser has been synonymous with top-quality audio products for over 60 years," said Levent Gun, President and CEO of Kleer. "It's therefore a huge vote-of-confidence that this industry giant has validated our wireless audio technology with an outstanding product that we believe will set a new standard in wireless audio sound. The MX W1 represents the best our respective companies can offer to consumers in wireless earphone technology and design."

The MX W1 will be available from May 2008. No prices have been announced, but rest assured, you'll be the first to know

Headsets

Icemat Audio Black Siberia Multi Headset

Today we are looking at the Icemat Black Siberia headset, this gaming headset with a twist. These headphones are produced by Steel Series, a worldwide company dedicated to producing top quality gaming products. We will see if this headset holds up to their high standards. These headphones are available worldwide; a quick Froogle check found them to going for $54.99 this puts them in the midrange cost of headsets. Let's see if they are really worth that price tag.

In the box you get everything you need and more, the headset includes a detachable microphone as well as a stereo adapter to go from the standard mini jack connection to the ¼ jack found on higher end stereo systems. The headphone cord itself is made of a heavier gauge cord than is typically found on most headsets the length of the cord comes in at nine feet; this is quite a bit longer than your standard headphones. This allows you to route the cord around other objects such as desks and monitors making it very easy to integrate these headphones into your computer setup.

The headphones themselves are constructed from moderately lightweight plastic. While they are not the lightest weight headphones I have used the design of them is such that they are still comfortable to where for an extended period of time.

The ear cups are large enough to fit over most people's ears, the padded ring around the headphone and the concave design of the cup allows them to rest comfortably against the side of your head without putting uncomfortable pressure on your ears themselves. This also helps to isolate outside noise providing a better listening environment. The cups also have decent ventilation again providing better comfort than typical headphones.

Keyboard

XGene Trackball Keyboard

Today we take a look at another wireless MCE keyboard from Xgene. This is the second keyboard we have seen from this company. MCE keyboards have gained in popularity lately, with everything but Windows Vista Basic coming with Media center it is easy for people to get in to using their PC for TV, Movies, and Music. This Keyboard boast more features than our previous model so let’s take a look and see what Xgene is offering us this time.

Out of the box we find the same basic setup as the previous wireless keyboard. A small USB receiver as well as 2 AA batteries, there is a small basic Manual which looks remarkable like the manual from the first keyboard.

On the left side we have a full featured media control with all the features of a standard MCE remote control with an integrated scroll wheel thrown in for good measure . The scroll wheel functions just like your standard mouse wheel. Above that is a basic set of left and right click buttons.

Moving to the other side we have a full size number pad. This is something the previous keyboard lacked. But it is understandable as the previous Xgene Keyboard we looked at was a smaller more compact design. The number pad comes in handy more when you are using the keyboard for regular computer tasks. Other than keying in TV channels I have not found much need for a number pad in Media Center.

Above the number pad we have a track ball; this basically takes the place of a physical mouse.

Over all the keyboard has a good solid feel, it’s a bit larger than our other Xgene keyboard though this one is thinner.

Smart Phone

UTStarcom XV6800 (Verizon Wireless)

The good: The Verizon Wireless XV6800 smartphone brings upgrades such as Windows Mobile 6, a 2-megapixel camera, and a sleeker design than its predecessor. You also get Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and EV-DO.

The bad: The XV6800's speaker is on the softer side, and call quality could be better. The smartphone doesn't support Verizon's streaming media services, and there are some slight performance delays.

The bottom line: The Verizon Wireless XV6800 comes with most everything a power business user will need from a smartphone, but its less-than-stellar call quality gives the Samsung SCH-i760 the slight edge.

Ultra Mobile PC

Fujitsu U810

Fujitsu has developed a palm-sized computer called the U810 (or U1010). This UMPC can be docked into a docking station with an external display and keyboard to get a true desktop experience. The U810 adopts an Intel A110 processor and provides an LCD screen with 1024×600 resolution, Intel TBD video graphics, 945GU Express chipset, and 1GB DDR2 RAM.

Other features include a 1.8-inch 4200rpm hard drive, a/b/g wireless, Bluetooth, fingerprint reader, QWERTY keyboard, webcam, and Windows Vista operating system. It will be available from September with a starting price of $1000.

Video Card

EVGA e-GeForce 8800GTS 512MB


Wow another week went by and NVIDIA has already made its own card to compete with 8800GT, and it comes in the form of the new 8800GTS 512MB Edition. This comes in the wake of more than a few new releases that we have seen in the last few weeks and shows NVIDIA being more aggressive than ever in their marketing strategies. EVGA is right in step with this release like always and has cards available on the net already in time for this launch. NVIDIA did keep their word on the 8800GT 256MB cards and had stock in most of the major online stores. Everyone just plain hates a paper launch so this bodes well for them and shows better pre-sale preparation for the masses in wait.

With Christmas just a few short weeks away NVIDIA will be making a killing in the VGA sales game as even though ATI has touted they will have a new card available, it has yet to surface leaving the playing field dominated by the boys in green. At the moment NVIDIA holds the crown in both the entry level and high-end 3D VGA market and if you could peek into their overall scheme you would see they have much more up their sleeves in store for us in the coming months. Look for new chipset motherboards and VGA cards to become available at the turn of the year. Today we take a look at the new 8800GTS 512MB Edition from the folks over at EVGA. It’s supposed to be the fastest card in the sub-$400.00 market and we will have to see if it lives up to its promise.