Motorola Droid Razr Maxx Review: Now With More Battery Life

The Droid Razr Maxx is pretty much identical to the Droid Razr in design however it is slightly thicker and heavier. But really, the difference isn’t too noticeable. The Razr Maxx weighs 5.11 ounces and measures 0.35 inches thick while the Razr weighs 4.48 ounces and measures 0.28-inches thick. The Razr Maxx is still incredibly thin and is on par in slimness with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, also on Verizon.

The soft-touch back is made out of Kevlar, a material found in high-end speedboats, bulletproof jackets, and bicycle tires. According to Motorola, Kevlar is five times stronger than steel. Using Kevlar on a phone seems a bit, well, weird, but I was surprised with how delicate it felt and how attractive it looked.

The solid feel comes from the Droid Razr’s stainless steel core. It also has splashguard technology, which will protect it if you happen to get caught in the rain or spill something on your phone.

We’ve knocked other Motorola smartphones, such as the Photon (Sprint) and the Droid Bionic (Verizon) in the past for its PenTile displays. The Droid Razr, however, ships with a 4.3-inch qHD (Quarter High Definition), 960-by-540-pixel Super AMOLED display. According to Motorola, the Super AMOLED technology should solve some of the battery issues associated with LTE phones. This technology has lower current consumption, which helps to conserve battery life.

The Droid Razr’s display has excellent viewing angles and visibility outdoors, two trademarks of Super AMOLED technology. Blacks are very deep and whites are bright, but colors look a bit oversaturated (another trademark of Super AMOLED display technology.

I did a side-by-side comparison of the Droid Razr against the iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S has a slightly higher resolution at 960-by-640, with a pixel density of 330 pixels per inch (I could not find any pixel density information for the Razr). While I appreciated the extra screen real estate on the Razr, the iPhone 4S’s 3.5-inch display looked sharper, with better color accuracy.

As I mentioned previously, we haven’t yet lab tested Motorola’s claims that the Droid Maxx can withstand 21 hours of talk time. I did some informal tests over 4G, however and was quite impressed with the Droid Maxx’s battery life. After playing Minecraft for 20 minutes, battery life decreased only 5%. I also ran the State of the Union address on YouTube (which runs for 1:05:13) in HQ (high quality) and battery life only dropped by 20%. I played the game Madden NFL 12 (which comes preloaded on the Razr Maxx) for 10 minutes and the battery didn’t drain at all.

Not only did battery life hold strong in these games, but performance was excellent. The graphics look terrific on the Razr Maxx’s display and gameplay was smooth without any glitches. Overall, this is an excellent gaming phone. The Razr’s 1.2GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 processor scored a notable 1040 on the Vellamo mobile benchmarking app for Android (made by Qualcomm).

Call quality was very good over Verizon’s network in San Francisco. I got coverage almost everywhere I went and never experienced any dropped calls. My friends and family sounded loud and clear, with no static or distortion.

The Droid Razr runs Android 2.3.5. It isn’t a pure version of Android, but it isn’t Motorola’s busy (and often annoying) custom overlay/service, MotoBlur. It does retain some of the MotoBlur widgets. The interface is almost identical to that of the Droid Bionic, but with a few tweaks. The widgets are resizable, and you can scroll through them; in the calendar widget, for example, you can scroll through a whole day’s worth of events rather than viewing one event at a time.

Like the Bionic, you get the ZumoCast app/service, though here it has been renamed MotoCast. MotoCast lets you access remote files on your PC without having to upload or sync your files. You can access everything from PowerPoint files to your iTunes playlists on your Razr. Even though the Razr has plenty of capacity (1GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage, and a preinstalled 16GB MicroSD card), I find it nice to be able to access videos, documents, photos, and other media files without having to download them to the device or upload them to a cloud service.

Motorola is determined to solve the LTE battery life situation. Smart Actions, a new app, lets you set reminders to notify you when you should recharge your phone (for example, when you go to bed). If you forget to plug your phone in, you can set a Smart Action called “Nighttime Battery Saver,” which adjusts your phone’s network and screen settings to make your battery last longer the next day.

Smart Actions aren’t just about saving battery life. You can create different profiles (Work, Home, Workout, and so on) and set rules for each scenario. If you don’t want your phone to ring out loud when you’re at work, you can set a rule called Quiet Location so your phone automatically goes into silent mode during work hours. Overall, Smart Actions is an easy-to-use, clever app. Although you’ll have to spend a bit of time setting up the rules for each profile, once that's done, Smart Actions will make all the adjustments for you.

The 8-megapixel camera on the Razr Maxx is identical to the original Droid Razr. And unfortunately, image quality isn’t the best. All of my photos seemed to have a bit of a dark cast to them--even photos taken in natural light. Details weren't as sharp as I would have liked, either. The flash tends to blow out colors and details quite a bit, so use it only when absolutely needed.

Like the Droid Bionic and the Photon, the Droid Razr is compatible with a slew of accessories, such as the LapDock 500 Pro, a laptop-like portal for the phone. The LapDock 500 Pro has a 14-inch display and a front-facing camera. When you connect to the Webtop dock, you can access the full Firefox browser as well as lots of specially made productivity apps. Other accessories include an HD Station, a vehicle navigation dock, and a standard dock.

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Dell Launches Two XPS Laptops, One with Ultrabook Capabilities

Dell has unveiled two new additions to its XPS laptop lineup including a 14-inch clamshell that can be configured as an Ultrabook and a more high-powered 15.6-inch device. The new laptops feature thin aluminum casings, edge-to-edge displays with hardened Corning Glass, backlit chiclet keyboards and multigesture touchpads. Both of the new laptops are available now and the specs are pretty close to what leaked to a Chinese tech site earlier in June.

Shared specs between the XPS 14 and 15 include USB 3.0 ports, a mini DisplayPort, HDMI Out, a 3-in-1 media card reader, and a 1.3 megapixel Webcam. Both devices also come with an Ethernet jack, but Dell says the devices were too thin to offer a full Ethernet option. To get around this problem the company included a hinged Ethernet port that expands to fit a cable when you open it.

The XPS 14 standard configuration includes a 14-inch WLED display with 1600-by-900 resolution, dual-core 2.6 GHz Ivy Bridge Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. For storage options you can choose a 500GB hard drive, a 500GB hard drive with 32GB mSATA SSD, or a 512GB SSD. If you choose one of the SSD options, the XPS 14 qualifies as an Ultrabook, according to Dell’s chief blogger, Lionel Menchaca. Dell claims battery life for the XPS 14 is between 8 and 11 hours, depending on the configuration.

To keep the XPS 14 thin Dell decided not to include an optical drive; the laptop measures 0.81 inches thick. Despite the XPS 14's thin size you will still feel it when you throw this thing in a backpack as the weight for the base configuration is 4.6 pounds.

The XPS 15 features a 15.6-inch WLED display with 1920-by-1080 full HD resolution, a dual core 3.1 GHz Ivy Bridge Core i5-3210M or you can upgrade to a quad-core 3.1 GHz Ivy Bridge Core i7-3612QM. Standard features include a Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics card with 1GB GDDR5, a 500GB hard drive with 32GB mSATA SSD, 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a slot load DVD-RW (Blu-ray drive upgrade option available). The XPS 15 base configuration weighs 5.79 pounds and measures 0.91 inches thick.

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Sony Launches First Vaio Ultrabooks

Sony is joining Intel's ultrabook push with the new Vaio T family, which includes models with 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch screens, the company said on Wednesday.

The Vaio T ultrabooks will start shipping in May, Sony said, without elaborating on what they will cost or where they will ship.

As with many other ultrabooks, Sony has taken some inspiration from Apple's MacBook Air when it comes to choice of materials. The Vaio ultrabooks are made of magnesium and aluminium, the company said.

The 13-inch model measures approximately 226 millimeters by 17.8mm by 323mm and weighs about 1.6 kilograms with a standard battery, heavier than the 13-inch MacBook Air's 1.35 kilograms.

A configuration of the 13-inch model detailed by Sony is powered by a Intel Core i3-2367M processor.

The company didn't announce any configurations powered by Intel's new Ivy Bridge processors. The first ultrabooks with Ivy Bridge processors are expected to arrive in June.The detailed 13-inch model also has 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard disk.

There will also be configurations that use SSD flash drives and hybrid configurations that combine hard disks and SSD memory using Intel's Smart Response Technology, according to Sony.

Sony also promises battery power that will last a full working day -- up to 9 hours when using SSD storage -- and a deep sleep mode can be used for up 90 days without running out of power.

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New MacBook Pro: Apple’s portable iMac replacement

The long keynote by Apple execs today at the WWDC was long on new products, the most impressive being the new MacBook Pro. The 15.4-inch Retina Display pushes the portable line into the high performance realm, with powerful components packed in a MacBook Air thin frame. The new MacBook Pro is not a budget system, but looks to be aimed as a replacement system for those using a desktop system.

ZDNet has good coverage of all the announcements at WWDC, so I will concentrate on the newest in the laptop line from Apple. The starting configuration for the MacBook Pro shows the system is aimed at those needing a high-end performance laptop.

• Display: 15.4-inch Retina Display (220 ppi); 2880×1800
• Processor: Quad-core i7, 2.3 GHz , 2.6 GHz
• Memory: 8 GB
• Storage: 256 GB SSD, 512 GB SSD
• Graphics: Intel Graphics HD 4000, Nvidia GeForce GT 650M, 1 GB memory
• Ports: MagSafe 2 power; 2-Thunderbolt; 2-USB 3; HDMI; Audio; SDXC;
• Battery: 95 W/Hr Lithium-polymer; up to 7 hours run time; 30 day standby
• Wireless: Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0
• Dimensions: 0.72 x 14.13 x 9.73 inches; 4.46 pounds

The two basic configurations are priced at $2,199 and $2,799 configured as indicated above. The top model can be augmented with a 2.7 GHz processor, 16 GB of system memory, and 768 GB SSD for a healthy $3,749. The most expensive upgrade is the bigger SSD (512GB>768GB) at $500, the extra 8 GB of memory is $200 and the faster processor bumps the price $250.

The new MacBook Pro is not much thicker than the MacBook Air, but it is quite a bit heavier. That makes sense given the larger display and extra stuff inside. The weight is about the same as my 2008 unibody 13-inch MacBook, so it’s pretty light for a much bigger notebook.

The pricing and high performance configuration makes me think Apple is aiming the new MacBook Pro at users currently using an iMac at the desk and maybe a MacBook Air for a mobile system. Those two devices together can approach the price of the new MacBook Pro alone, yet given the fast performance and high-res 15.4-inch display the new laptop can be a decent replacement for the iMac or even both of those devices.

Having a single device to buy and contend with may be enough of a draw to get current iMac owners to drop them to go with the MacBook Pro. One thing is sure, based on the great Retina Display on the new iPad, the MacBook Pro screen should be a nice upgrade for many.

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Lenovo IdeaPad Y570

The 15.6-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Y570 is encased in a sturdy brushed aluminum shell and sports a cool "dot matrix" textured surface on the lid. The notebook has a smooth design throughout the rest of the notebook, and the screen bezel is glossy to add a hint of style. The exterior color is a mix between metallic gray and a plum color, but in the right light it almost looks like it's a shade of purple. The notebook weighs in at almost six pounds and its dimensions are 15.1 x 10.0 x 1.40 inches.

Overall, the Y570 is decently built and the finish will help prevent common scratches. While pressing down on the chassis you'll find that it holds strong, but if you press hard enough it will give in a few spots. Bending the corners of the display does not create ripples, but the display bows under pressure. The hinges are covered in plastic and appear to be run of the mill.

Loosen six screws to reach the memory, hard drive, and wireless card slot. The notebook can hold up to 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM (two SO DIMM slots). The base cover is extremely easy to remove and you can easily reach all of the major components if you want to upgrade your laptop.

The port selection on the Y570 is very expansive. Two USB 3.0 ports are available on select models and were included with our review unit; also included is a six-in-one memory card slot (SD, SD PRO, MMC, MS, MS PRO, xD), HDMI, VGA, eSATA, and two more USB 2.0 ports. A convenient graphics switch to manually switch back and forth between the NVIDIA graphics and Intel HD graphics is also included. 

The Y570 has a 15.6-inch "HD Glare" 720p display. The "HD glare" is part is really just a fancy way of saying that the notebook can display HD content on a very glossy screen; I can see my reflection perfectly when the backlight is dimmed. Anyway, the contrast ratio measures in at about 148:1, which is below average for entertainment and multimedia notebooks; the display will appear washed out when compared to other displays that have higher resolutions and contrast ratings. The panel on this notebook really isn't anything special. On the upside, the backlighting is very even.

Viewing angles are the same as every other TN panel, just average. If you tilt the display backward or forward the viewing angles are very narrow, but from side to side they're a lot better. Watching a video with a friend next to you should be no problem.

Audio is way above average with the IdeaPad Y570. The notebook has Realtek HD audio and two speakers positioned at the top left and right of the keyboard. Volume reaches good highs and lows and only sounds somewhat distorted at 100 percent. The audio driver supports voice cancellation, pitch shift, equalizer, loudness equalization and environment audio enhancements. Users will most likely not feel the need to buy any external speakers for listening to music, watching movies, and other similar activities. The only complaint we have is that the bass in songs does not sound up to par.

The Y570 has a true full-size Chiclet-style keyboard with a separate numberpad. The keys are spaced out more than usual even for it being Chiclet-style. They're also curved inward slightly, mostly for comfort because the keys are made to fit the natural curve of human fingers.

Typing on the Y570 might take some getting used to if you're not familiar with large keyboards with a bunch of extra spacing -- your hands may miss the keys by a centimeter or two, especially if you're a fast typer. I found that this was especially true for the enter key; for some reason, Lenovo designed it so that it's a lot smaller than typical. That's not to say that I didn't have a good typing experience, though. Not many typos were made and the keyboard is actually very comfortable; we just wanted to point out that some users might have to become accustomed to the size and spacing of the keys.

The Synaptics touchpad is textured (bumpy) to help with finger movement across the area. It's multi-gesture and has only one button, but two clickable areas on this one button. This results in a difficulty in pressing it in the right spot without looking because the bar itself is so big and stiff. However, it's just another thing that users will have to become accustomed to. Using the touchpad presents no problems, though; it's responsive and cursor movement is good even if you have moisture on your fingers.  

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Dell Latitude E5420 Review: Solid Office PC

The Dell Latitude E5420's overall build quality is great.It has what Dell calls a Tri-Metal design,which includes anodized brushed aluminum in the display cover, reinforced steel hinges, and a strong magnesium alloy inside the chassis. 

It also has a zinc alloy screen release to keep the display firmly in place until you slide the release bar, an LCD sealant to help prevent against scratches, and a spill-resistant keyboard. This all means that the notebook should hold up against everyday mishaps, and when compared to the rest of the world's budget business notebook lineup, it's well above average. Not only that, but the build quality is way better than last year's plastic shell on the E5410.

When pressing down on the notebook below the display, keyboard, and palmrests, it budges just a bit, but not enough to cause problems. The palmrests are a little sturdier than the keyboard and upper areas. Despite the brushed aluminum inside the display, the screen does budge when bended at the corners. The rest of the display is harder to bend - it seems the corners are the main concern here. The steel hinges are tough, and hold fast when the screen is bent back and forth. 

Stylistically, the E5420 has smooth matte surfaces encased in soft black and silver trimmings. The notebook looks professional and feels nice to the touch. And, the surfaces don't easily smudge up or collect dirt - a huge plus. The E5420 has a good, clean design to it.

The Dell Latitude E5420 can be upgraded easily. To reach the hard drive, memory slots and wireless network card, remove four screws and push the panel outward. Its removal can be done with little effort and it has two RAM slots for up to 8GB of memory.

At this price range, the E5420 should have definitely had a USB 3.0 port or two. Other than that, this notebook has a very good port selection. It has a total of four USB 2.0 ports to connect all of the essentials, a memory card reader, VGA for an external monitor, eSATA, a SmartCard reader (optional), and HDMI. There's even a docking connector port on the bottom, and you can choose from six different types of dock stations straight from the E5420's product page. The screen release is quite tough and will secure the display from opening while traveling.

The E5420 has an anti-glare/matte 14-inch 900p (1600 x 900 resolution) display and has great HD resolution, but below to average contrast when compared to most other business notebooks. When we measured its brightness, we found that it has a peak luminance of 295 nits and an average of 1.55 nits in the other direction, making this notebook have a contrast of 183:1, meaning, the contrast is average at best. However, the higher resolution sets it apart from other budget business notebooks.

Horizontal viewing angles are narrow; colors and images start inverting within 5 degrees of the notebook being tilted forward or backward. Vertical viewing angles are much better though; they don't start to change until 25-30 degrees. Meaning, when you sit in front of the notebook in the office you'll have to keep it tilted at just the right angle to see everything clearly (it also doesn't help that the brightness measurements were as much as 25 nits brighter in some spots than in others). 

The E5420 has IDT HD audio. Oddly enough, the speakers are located underneath the notebook, which doesn't help to carry the audio up and out to the ears. The resulting effect leaves the listener feeling as though the audio is muffled. When the volume is set on a high level, there is noticeable sound distortion. But if you don't set it up high, you won't be able to hear it very well, which is a problem in and of itself. Also, there is no subwoofer, so the bass in music/other audio will be practically non-existent. If you have to do a presentation with audio for work, the notebook will probably only be suitable in smaller rooms due to the speakers' inability to carry sound across distances.

The keyboard on the E5420 is a mix between a Chiclet and traditional-style. The keys are square, somewhat raised, and flat. They also have a bit of extra spacing in between to help with key travel. The tactile feedback is above average; it's both easy and comfortable to type on. It's also spill-resistant and can be configured with backlighting for use in low-lit or dark areas. 

The E5420 uses an Alps Electric Dell touchpad with multi-gesture controls. It's considerably large and provides great cursor movement due to its smooth, wide surface area. It has two sets of left and right-click buttons that make hardly any noise when pressed. We have absolutely no complaints about it, this touchpad is excellent.

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Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Review: Beauty and the Beast

Build and Design

The U300s is thin as expected from an Ultrabook; it measures just 0.6 inches high and a tick less than three pounds.
The chassis relies not on an internal frame but on its external magnesium alloy shell for strength. While the metal feels solid, it doesn’t lend enough support; the chassis is easy to flex as is the lid. This isn’t a desirable characteristic in a well-traveled computer as it allows the internal circuit boards to flex; it can lead to premature failure down the line.

I like how the overall design of the notebook is somewhat understated. The gray metal has a matte finish and a quality look. When closed the U300s resembles a book, however those edges (around the lid and bottom of the chassis) are quite sharp. Is such a tradeoff worth the look? Not really.

Overall the design is pleasing though the chassis strength leaves something to be desired. As with most Ultrabooks, the U300s isn't easy to upgrade on your own; there are no access panels on the bottom to swap out RAM or the storage drive.

Ports and Features

Ultrabooks don't come with the a lot of ports but the U300s manages to do worse. Its lack of a media card reader is surprising and seems like an oversight on Lenovo's part. The U300s has just two USB ports (one of which is USB 3.0), HDMI, and a headphone/microphone combination jack; that’s it. It does not have a VGA port either.

Screen and Speakers
The 13.3-inch display is vanilla; it has a standard 1366x768 (720p) resolution and a glossy surface. The glossy surface has some usability issues since it reflects light which might be fine for a notebook that stays on the desk but for a notebook that’s used in a variety of lighting conditions, it’s not. The display has a washed-out look and the vertical viewing angles are too narrow as it quickly washes out when viewed more than a few degrees off-center. Despite that, I wish the display tilted back a bit further.

Two stereo speakers are located inside the chassis. They sound muffled and are rather tinny. The U300s' has a microphone/headphone combination jack which is a much better choice for audio-related activities.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The full-size keyboard is quiet and has a good layout. Other Ultrabooks we have tested have compromised on the keyboard to some effect; the U300s, other than the key travel being a bit short (distance between pressed and un-pressed positions) does rather well. The keyboard is quiet and has sufficient tactile feedback. I wouldn’t have a problem using this keyboard every day. The only feature it lacks is backlighting (the Toshiba Z830/Z835 has backlighting but the feel isn’t as good as the U300s).

The Synaptics touchpad is actually a clickpad; press down anywhere to produce a click; there are no dedicated buttons. The anti-glare surface is easy to track on. This clickpad is reasonably accurate though the amount of pressure required to create a click varies (it’s harder to press down closer to the top). At the end of the day I would still prefer a traditional touchpad with separate buttons.

    

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