Voyager Legend Headset is Smarter Than it Looks

You know that moment when you’re driving to work, listening to the radio and suddenly your cell phone rings? You fumble for your phone, answer, but can’t hear anything. Frustrated, you put the handset down to then realize your mistake: the phone was paired with your Bluetooth enabled headset, which is sitting on the seat next to you.
Say goodbye to those days and hello to the Voyager Legend by Plantronics.
To fend off your daily commute frustration, the Voyager Legend uses technology that senses when you take off your headset, so it transfers all calls to your handset – and vice versa. To answer an incoming call with your headset off, keep a hand on the wheel and place the head set back in your ear. Voila!
If you’re already wearing the headset, you’ll hear the Voyager Legend announce who’s calling and you can choose to either “answer” or “ignore” just by saying so.


The new Voyager Legend isn’t just for the commuter or professional on-the-go, but anyone who wants to remain wirelessly connected to friends. The Voyager Legend boasts three precisely tuned microphones and an enhanced digital signal processor for improved clarity against ambient noises such as wind or kids chattering in the back seat.
What also grabbed our attention was the mobile apps available for Android or iOS devices, with a Find MyHeadset feature that is not seen in previous devices. Plantronics also offers apps for voice and text services as well as conference calls.
Similar products from Jabra, Jawbone or Motorola – sans the Smart Sensor technology – run about the same price as the Voyager Legend, which is one sale now at Amazon and Best Buy for $99 MSRP.
Remember, keep your hands at 10 and two and let us know what your think of this smart headset in the comments.


keep up with the newest technologies and contemplate about how these will be used in the future. On this blog I'll share my thoughts about the future of technology, based on the high Tech Road Show Blog inventions of today.

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Samsung Continues to Poke Fun at Apple with Super Bowl Galaxy Note Ad

Samsung

Image by Getty Images via @daylife’s Super Bowl Sunday television commercial advertising the company’s Galaxy Note LTE smartphone/tablet hybrid device for AT&T highlights the device’s stylus and large screen. If you missed the Super Bowl commercials, you can glimpse Samsung’s commercial in the video re-posted below:

Though the commercial is hip, fun, and does touch on a couple of the uses of the device, I am not sure that Samsung really made an emotional connection with users in the commercial. The company’s goal in its advertising and branding campaign moving forward was to create an emotive experience between consumers and the products that it makes, and I don’t really see it in the commercial. Instead, the Galaxy Note’s commercial is seen taking more punches at Apple by highlighting the key differences between Apple’s products and Samsung’s product (large screen, stylus).

The Galaxy Note was announced to debut in the U.S. on February 19 for $300 with a two-year contract on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. Preorders have already begun for the device at Best Buy stores.

keep up with the newest technologies and contemplate about how these will be used in the future. On this blog I'll share my thoughts about the future of technology, based on the high Tech Road Show Blog inventions of today.

Related articles

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• You: Samsung Galaxy Note Super Bowl Commercial - 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' by The Darkness Video and Review (sportsviews.com)
• Samsung's Super Bowl Galaxy Note commercial goes after Apple fans (edibleapple.com)
• Watch Samsung's SuperBowl Commercial (ohgizmo.com)

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 review

When we met with Samsung in late May, company representatives didn't seem entirely sure that the company would meet the rumored June 8th ship date here in the US, but lo and behold, it's done just that. The tablet's launching at noon today at the Best Buy in New York City's Union Square, and if you can't make it up to the Big Apple, it'll hit the rest of the nation on June 17th. But here's the real question: is it worth making an effort to snag it on either date? The Galaxy Tab 10.1, much like its Limited Edition sibling that we reviewed last month, is ever-so-slightly thinner than the iPad 2, a slate that most sane individuals (and competitors, for that matter) would confess is the market leader today.

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeNaturally, everyone and their sister is gunning for Apple in this space, and Honeycomb's the first mobile OS we've seen that has the potential to put any sort of damper on Cupertino's ongoing rave. By and large, the consumer version of the Tab 10.1 is the same as the device launched at Google I/O, but there's two key differences that we'll focus on here: the tamed design, and the thoroughly different OS version (v3.1 here versus v3.0 before). Head on past the break for an in-depth look into both of those, but be sure to first take a gander at our Limited Edition review to wrap your noodle around the basics.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 unboxing and hands-on

Hardware and design

You're going to hear this a lot throughout the review, but every opinion we drew from using the Tab 10.1 Limited Edition applies here. Every. single. one. Why? The consumer model is is a spitting image of the LE variant, save for the motif on the rear; the one you'll pick up this month has a glossy white plastic rear, while the LE model had a glossy white plastic rear... with an Android army adorning it. Weight's the same, size is the same, build quality is the same. It's a tremendous thing to hold, and it truly oozes quality from corner to corner.
Outside of the color scheme on the rear, nothing is different this go 'round. We promise.

Performance and battery life

While the internals remain the same here as on the Limited Edition build (1GHz Tegra 2, 1280 x 800 resolution display, front- and rear-facing cameras), something's changed with Android 3.1. Google claimed that the newest build of Honeycomb would perform even faster than 3.0, and in practice, thingsdid seem to operate at a subtly brisker pace. Animations were a pinch quicker, and transitions were ever-so-slightly faster. Web browser performance was noticeably better, although we did see a few videos load up in a smaller window while the same video expanded out to fill the screen within Android 3.0.

But that said, we're having a difficult time aligning our real-world experience and our benchmarks. The Tab 10.1 Limited Edition (which shipped with an admittedly wonky version of Android 3.0) managed to hit an average of 1,970 within Quadrant benchmark -- a standard benching tool that was also used in ourG-Slate and Xoom review. You'd expect the streamlined Android 3.1 sibling to perform better, but alas, that wasn't at all the case. After running the same test five times on the Tab 10.1, we hit an average score of 1,540. The highest we saw was 1,546. That's off of a fresh reboot with nothing spinning in the background aside from the occasional widget update. It's as baffling to us as it likely is to you; we're guessing that Quadrant just reacts dramatically different to v3.1 than v3.0, and we're obviously eager to see if future Android 3.1 slates score lower across the board than the 3.0 devices that came before.

When we sat down to our video loop test, with WiFi on and display brightness at about 65 percent, we scored just under ten hours (again!). That's second only to the iPad 2, and by merely half an hour. Jack that brightness down a bit, and you could probably squeeze 11 hours out. The upside is that Android 3.1 doesn't seem to have a negative impact on battery life; the downside is that Android 3.1 doesn't seem to be any more power efficient than Android 3.0.

As for audio and video playback? It's what you'd expect; Music Beta streamed our cloud library sans issue over a home WiFi network, and the audio output is on par with every iDevice you've ever tested. It's not quite up there with Cowon or anything, but then again, neither is anything else in this field. Flash, DivX, MPEG4 and H.264 files all played back exceptionally well. Even 720p content seemed to cause no strain whatsoever on the system, though we'd still probably recommend transcoding any of those files you've got sitting around in esoteric containers. Again, this isn't a Cowon, so it ain't going to support everything you throw at it.

Software

At long last, the primary differentiator between the Tab 10.1 LE and the far-less-limited Tab 10.1: 0.1.Android 3.1 brings along widgets that can be resized vertically and horizontally, access to the newfangled Movies section of the Android Market, improved overall performance and support for a host of USB accessories. Unfortunately, the Movies department is only open for Android 3.1 tablets with 3G radios, hence, our 16GB WiFi test unit still showed it as unavailable. That said, we've already tested that particular aspect with a Motorola Xoom, which can be seen here.

The performance improvements, however, are here. They're subtle, sure, but you won't find us kvetching about extra speed, regardless of how minor it is. Granted, we didn't have any real qualms with performance on the Tab 10.1 Limited Edition, but it's safe to say we've even fewer qualms here. Resizing widgets worked, and worked well, but it's mildly annoying that it only supports a smattering of 'em right now -- we're hoping to see more apps updated soon to take advantage, and when that happens, homepane tweakers will no doubt find these remarkably useful. It enables each pane to be full of useful, glanceable information -- a sizable calendar prevents you from having to load the app each time, for example.

Outside of that, the software's largely unchanged from where Honeycomb began. Those anticipating a significant overhaul will be sorely disappointed, but we're thrilled to say that Google's polished up an already excellent foundation. Unfortunately, the Android Market still isn't home to many tablet applications; Apple just announced at WWDC that the App Store is home to some 95,000 tablet programs. El Goog hasn't shared its numbers in this regard, but it doesn't take an awful lot of poking around to see that it's nowhere near. Honeycomb still has a lot to prove, and it's up to developers to prove it. For now, those looking for a wealth of options will have better luck wading through the App Store, but hopefully things will be drastically different as the year churns on.

We'd also like to point out a huge, huge issue with using the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in conjunction with OS X. For whatever reason, Android File Transfer still hasn't been updated to support this slate, which means that you cannot (easily) use your Mac to transfer files onto your device. We have to wonder what Google was thinking when it fundamentally changed how Macs could interface with Android; our Nexus One (Android 2.3) simply pops up as an external drive on the desktop of a MacBook Pro, while Honeycomb devices require a dedicated piece of software that may or may not work. Blech. We're hoping Google updates AFT in the hours ahead; otherwise, you can expect the forums to come alive as Mac owners struggle to make contact with the $500+ slate they just bit on.

Camera

No shocker here -- the 3MP rear camera on the Tab 10.1 impressed us just as much as the camera on the Tab 10.1 Limited Edition. We still aren't sold on using a slate to take photos, and we still aren't overly impressed with the image quality here. It's hard to knock something that most folks aren't going to take advantage of, though, so we'll just let the below sample shot gallery speak for itself.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 camera sample shot gallery

Wrap-up

The conclusion we came to after using the Tab 10.1 Limited Edition mimics the conclusion we've drawn here: this is the best Honeycomb tablet to date, and lucky for you, this one's available to purchase! Only time will tell if the Android Market will prove to be as well-stocked as the App Store, and if you're willing to wait, this here slate provides a world-class Gmail experience, better handling than the iPad 2 (in our humble opinion, anyway) and a higher resolution display.

The 16GB WiFi model will hit for $499 -- exactly in line with the iPad -- while the 32GB variant will demand $100 more (we're still awaiting word on 3G prices). If you're sold on Android, and you aren't too concerned with having an LTE radio in your tablet, there's really no need to look elsewhere. Of course, the impending release of iOS 5 makes it awfully hard to ignore just how good the iPad 2 will be this fall, but who's living in the future, right?

We'd still prefer Music Beta to be more more like iTunes in the Cloud, and we'd love a microSD slot, but we can't help but applaud Samsung for pushing Android tablets to a level they've never reached prior to now.

Related articles

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Ban In Australia Overturned (techieinsider.com)
• Australian Court Halts Apple's Ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (pcworld.com)
• Australian court denies Apple appeal, Samsung Galaxy Tab sales ban lifted (slashgear.com)
• Apple Wins Australian Ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 [Samsung] (gizmodo.com)

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RIM BlackBerry PlayBook

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A tablet with a business brain and an appetite for multi-tasking

http://uk.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet

RIM is taking on Apple and the Android brigade with its own OS and the off-putting tagline of “The world’s first professional-grade tablet." RIM’s punting the Playbook to its traditional business market then, you might think, but twin HD cameras, access to 7 Digital’s excellent music store, superb video on the multi-touch, high-res, 1024x600 screen, a web browser with support for Flash 10.1 and “hard core gaming” are not the stuff of dry accountancy seminars. With a 1GHz dualcore processor and 1GB of RAM, N Wi-Fi and the promise of 4G access (where available, ie: not here) this thing should really fly…

BlackBerry PlayBook video

San Francisco, CA -- Research In Motion (RIM) redefined the possibilities for mobile computing with the unveiling of its new professional-grade BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet and BlackBerry® Tablet OS.

Perfect for either large organizations or an "army of one", the BlackBerry PlayBook is designed to give users what they want, including uncompromised web browsing, true multitasking and high performance multimedia, while also providing advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a breakthrough development platform for IT departments and developers. The incredibly powerful and innovative BlackBerry PlayBook is truly a game-changing product in the growing tablet marketplace.

"RIM set out to engineer the best professional-grade tablet in the industry with cutting-edge hardware features and one of the world's most robust and flexible operating systems," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. "The BlackBerry PlayBook solidly hits the mark with industry leading power, true multitasking, uncompromised web browsing and high performance multimedia."

The Tablet You'll Want to Take Everywhere

This beautifully designed and incredibly powerful tablet is ultra portable, ultra thin and super convenient for both work and play. Measuring less than half an inch thick and weighing less than a pound, the BlackBerry PlayBook features a vivid 7" high resolution display that looks and feels great in your hand. With such a unique mix of utility, performance and portability, you'll want to take it everywhere.

The New Benchmark in Tablet Performance

At its heart, the BlackBerry PlayBook is a multitasking powerhouse. Its groundbreaking performance is jointly fueled by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and the new BlackBerry Tablet OS which supports true symmetric multiprocessing. Together, the abundant processing power and highly sophisticated OS enable the BlackBerry PlayBook to provide users with true multitasking and a highly-responsive and fluid touch screen experience for apps and content services.

Uncompromised Web Browsing

With support for Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1, Adobe® Mobile AIR® and HTML-5, the BlackBerry PlayBook provides customers with an uncompromised, high-fidelity web experience and offers them the ability to enjoy all of the sites, games and media on the web. For more than a decade, the mobile industry has worked to bridge the gap between the "real web" and mobile devices through various apps and technologies and, in fact, a significant number of mobile apps today still simply serve as a proxy for web content that already exists on the web. The BlackBerry PlayBook closes that gap and brings the real, full web experience to mobile users while also opening new and more exciting opportunities for developers and content publishers.

High Performance Multimedia

The BlackBerry PlayBook features premium multimedia features to support high-quality mobile experiences. It includes dual HD cameras for video capture and video conferencing that can both record HD video at the same time, and an HDMI-out port for presenting one's creations on external displays. The BlackBerry PlayBook also offers rich stereo sound and a media player that rivals the best in the industry.

BlackBerry Integration

For those BlackBerry PlayBook users who carry a BlackBerry smartphone(i), it will also be possible to pair their tablet and smartphone using a secure Bluetooth® connection. This means they can opt to use the larger tablet display to seamlessly and securely view any of the email, BBM™, calendar, tasks, documents and other content that resides on (or is accessible through) their smartphone. They can also use their tablet and smartphone interchangeably without worrying about syncing or duplicating data. This secure integration of BlackBerry tablets and smartphones is a particularly useful feature for those business users who want to leave their laptop behind.

Enterprise Ready

Thanks to the seamless and secure Bluetooth pairing experience and the highly secure underlying OS architecture, the BlackBerry PlayBook is enterprise ready and compatible (out-of-the-box) with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server. When connected over Bluetooth, the smartphone content is viewable on the tablet, but the content actually remains stored on the BlackBerry smartphone and is only temporarily cached on the tablet (and subject to IT policy controls). With this approach to information security, IT departments can deploy the BlackBerry PlayBook to employees out-of-the-box without worrying about all the security and manageability issues that arise when corporate data is stored on yet another device.

QNX Neutrino Reliability

The BlackBerry Tablet OS is built upon the QNX® Neutrino® microkernel architecture, one of the most reliable, secure and robust operating system architectures in the world. Neutrino has been field hardened for years and is being used to support mission-critical applications in everything from planes, trains and automobiles to medical equipment and the largest core routers that run the Internet. The new BlackBerry Tablet OS leverages and builds upon the many proven strengths of this QNX Neutrino architecture to support a professional grade tablet experience and to redefine the possibilities for mobile computing.

An OS Built for Developers

The Neutrino based microkernel architecture in the BlackBerry Tablet OS delivers exceptional performance, high scalability, Common Criteria EAL 4+ security, and support for industry standard tools that are already familiar to hundreds of thousands of developers. The OS is fully POSIX compliant enabling easy portability of C-based code, supports Open GL for 2D and 3D graphics intensive applications like gaming, and will run applications built in Adobe Mobile AIR as well as the new BlackBerry® WebWorks™ app platform announced today (which will allow apps to be written to run on BlackBerry PlayBook tablets as well as BlackBerry smartphones with BlackBerry® 6). The BlackBerry Tablet OS will also support Java enabling developers to easily bring their existing BlackBerry 6 Java applications to the BlackBerry Tablet OS environment.

Key features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook include:

- 7" LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support

- BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing

- 1 GHz dual-core processor

- 1 GB RAM

- Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording

- Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV

- Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA

- HDMI video output

- Wi-Fi - 802.11 a/b/g/n

- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

- Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts

- Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java

- Ultra thin and portable:

- Measures 5.1"x7.6"x0.4" (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)

- Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)

- Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.

- RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

Availability

The BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to be available in retail outlets and other channels in the United States in early 2011 with rollouts in other international markets beginning in (calendar) Q2.

RIM will begin working with developers and select corporate customers next month to begin development and early testing efforts.

The BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK is planned for release in the coming weeks and developers can register for early access at www.blackberry.com/developers/tabletos.

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