Hotstuff Gadgets for January

Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by admin in Hot Stuff Gadget Review

Every month the editors of Stuff magazine choose the latest pretty, shiny gadgets for you.

BlackBerry Bold 9700
the best button phone ever
Rtba / www.blackberry.co.za

When the iPhone arrived, some sections of the gadget world removed their hats and bowed their heads.
For them, the button was dead. But BlackBerry was conspicuous in its absence from the funeral.
It still believes in hardware Qwerty, and all of its considerable keyboard savvy has led it to the creation of the Bold 2. Building on the success of the original Bold, the 9700 combines the best bits of every previous BlackBerry, with the razor-sharp, 2.4in (5cm) HVGA display of its forebear, an updated 624Mhz processor, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, A-GPS and a slimmer, sexier, leatherette-clad shell. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, a new 3.2MP snapper and an optical thumb nub for navigation. The trackball may be dead, but the button is very much alive.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 are you Xperia-nced? Rtba / www.sonyericsson.co.za Jimi Hendrix may have taken ownership of the word ‘experience’ in that immortal song, Are You Experienced for his debut album. But Sony Ericsson are stealing it back with their Xperia line of cellphones. Arguably some of the best devices to hit the shelves in recent years, they have been hamstrung by Windows Mobile. No longer, the X10 will use Android in all its glory – on a device that is pretty impressive hardware. Stuff played with a prototype but there is enough to suggest it will not only be Sony Ericsson’s flagship phone but Android’s. Superslim with HSPA speeds, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, 8MP camera and bright and large 4in (10cm) touchscreen, it has two clever apps that integrate all your on-device and online contacts (Timescape, drawing in Facebook and Twitter) and media (Mediascape).

Acer AS57 38DZG Dimension extension from R10 000 / www.acer.co.za Right now, 3D technology is almost as popular as a cash point giving out free money. Everyone wants a piece. Whether it’s Fujifilm’s multi-dimensional snapper or cinemas showing Up in 3D, if it doesn’t pop out, it doesn’t count. Acer’s latest laptop comes with a specially-coated screen, a pair of decent-looking polarised 3D glasses and some clever TriDef Ignition software that can transform 2D pics, videos and even games into pupil-popping treats for the eyes.

Amazon Kindle International The ebook reader that may kill books forever R2 700 / www.amazon.com Amazon’s Kindle has finally hopped off the plane from the US, but it hasn’t got a working visa. It may stay here, but it’s essentially a US Kindle that’s visiting. Amazon is calling it an International Kindle, and that means you have to buy it from the US, it’ll come with a US power adaptor (although it can charge via USB), and you’ll pay slightly more than the equivalent US price for ebooks and newspapers. The increased price is for good ol’ SA VAT, of course, and also to cover the roaming charges for the built-in SIM. This allows you to buy books and subscribe to newspapers on the device itself – functionality that is currently unrivalled in SA and Europe. Full test, and opinion, next issue…

LG SL90 edge-to-edgy From R26 000 (42inch/106cm) / za.lge.com The flagship of LG’s Borderless range of LED TV’s does have The Look. The new SL90 is the only TV – so far – with a façade of a single edge-to-edge sheet of glass (borderless, get it?). It looks distinctive, drawing your eye even when it’s off. Mount it on your wall, tidy up a bit and your lounge will look like Bruce Wayne’s. There’s a choice of 42inch or 47inch screens (106 or 118.5cm), and all the required tech and fashion credentials are included in the package. It’s black on the outside, green on the inside. Yes, beneath the shiny black Batman exterior beats the heart of a Prius: the SL90 uses LED backlighting technology – lots of it. Besides being mercury-free and much more energy-efficient, this enables a contrast ratio of 3 000 000:1 for crystal-clear images. It also eliminates bulky components, leaving the SL90 an ultra-slim 29mm thin. Its 100Hz does fast-motion performance well with TruMotion processing, with excellent sound from the Invisible Speaker design. And you’ll enjoy using Bluetooth to screen pics directly from your phone.