Gadget,Ink: February 2008

MacBook Air: Ultra Thin, Ultra Portable

Posted by Simpur | Posted in Apple, laptop, Notebooks, reviews, Ultra-Mobile PCs | Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008

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Apple seems to have a habit of introducing innovative products at the Macworld Conference & Expo, which is held every year.. 2006 saw the fast Intel-based iMacs introduced, and last year the world got excited at the unveiling of the long-awaited iPhone, arguably the most innovative cellphone ever created.

This year was no different. There had been calls for an ultra-portable Apple laptop by the Mac faithful beforehand, but when Apple's CEO Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air, all expectations were very much exceeded.

It's been an eagerly-long wait since its January introduction for the MacBook Air to reach our Bruneian shores, but when AV Electronics finally launched it last Monday, it was indeed definitely worth it.

MacBook Air Ad

The MacBook Air is unbelievably thin (fits in an office envelope!), and yet surprisingly tough and sturdy. Its design is without doubt revolutionary, and will definitely make you want one. Seeing photos of this amazing device will already make you crave for one, but you really have to see and hold it in your hands to really appreciate how great a gadget it really is. Even having the notebook on your lap is a surreal experience at first because of the lightness of the device, it's just very hard to believe that they managed to fit a computer into such a small piece of aluminium!

Thinness, design, and weight aspects aside, the MacBook Air is also packed with great features, and powerful performance.

The glossy, 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display is a joy to look at, giving you vibrant images and rich colours at full brightness the moment you turn it on.

Apple has also incorporated a full-sized, full-featured keyboard, just like the ones on a MacBook, onto the MacBook Air, but went a step further by adding backlit key illumination.

A built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the keyboard and display when you move into places of different brightness, making the keyboard light up and reducing the display's brightness making it easier on the eyes.

Apple has also incorporated a track pad with brilliant multi-touch technology, made popular by the iPhone and iPod Touch. Not only can you use the track pad to move the cursor around, but you now can even pinch, swipe, or rotate to zoom in on text, advance through a photo album, or adjust an image with ease.

Performance-wise, the MacBook Air features a more-than-generous 2GB of RAM, twice more than the standard built-in to most current laptops. It's also packed with a 1.6GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, all of which makes working with your favorite applications a breeze. With up to 5 hours of battery-life, this gadget will be a sure hit with frequent travelers and businessmen.

This gorgeous device sports an 80GB hard drive, and you even have the option to upgrade it to a pricey, but technology-advanced 64GB solid-state drive, which gives you super-fast data access.

The thinness of the MacBook Air, however, means that it had to compromise on some usually-built-in features, an Optical DVD/CD drive. But with Apple's innovativeness, we never really thought that this was much of a problem. Other than having the option to purchase an external SuperDrive, which connects via USB, Apple has introduced a cool feature called Remote Disc. For those few times when you need to install software on your notebook from a CD or DVD, Remote Disc lets you wirelessly use or “borrow” the optical drive of a Mac or PC in the vicinity, so you can have full access to its optical drive.

There are a lot more features packed into this stunning device, like its built-in iSight camera, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, and the tons of creative and productive Apple software bundled into it, making us crave more and more for it!

A guided tour to the MacBook Air

The Apple MacBook Air is available at AV Electronics in Kiulap for B$2,988.00.

Aliph Jawbone: Noise is Nothing

Posted by Simpur | Posted in Aliph, Bluetooth Headsets, reviews | Posted on Thursday, February 14, 2008

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In the world of mobile communications, many users stay with the simple earbud headsets that come with their phone. While this may save you some money, you're usually stuck with poor sound quality, and sometimes unmanageable earpiece wires that tangle ever-so-easily. Fortunately, there are alternatives in the market, Bluetooth headsets are widely available here, offering you a wireless way to talk on your mobile phone from a headset. Simply 'pair' the devices together, and you're good to go.

Now anyone who's used standard Bluetooth headsets before will be able to tell you that besides the advantages of being 'wireless' and having the slight 'cool' factor, the sound quality isn't that great, especially to the people who receive their calls, as they're susceptible to hearing their surrounding's noise.

Aliph's Jawbone, however, offers an outstanding mix of comfort, style, and performance that's far superior to other headsets.

The Jawbone's design is without doubt strikingly-sexy, and it's unsurprising that it was recently featured in an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Even the box it comes in when you buy it looks like it fell off a designer's shelf!

The Jawbone was also dubbed, among other feats, as the 'Wearable Device of the Year' by the popular American website Engadget, due to its extremely comfortable fit which lets it slide on and off with ease.

Besides the Jawbone's design and style, most of the accolades come from the technology behind the device, a military-grade noise cancelling feature they call Noise Shield. This technology has resulted in numerous awards including being called 'The Highest Rated Bluetooth Headset. Ever" by the popular tech company CNET.

Not only does it virtually eliminate all background noise from your call, but as your background changes it also seamlessly adjusts the speaker output so you can hear your caller’s voice better. The Jawbone’s intelligent system of sensors, software, and ergonomic features allow you to use your mobile phone in any environment without shouting, or even straining to hear. No matter where you are, it will automatically adapt to your surroundings, which in turn results in a clear, and uninterrupted conversation.

The Jawbone’s sound technology was optimized for The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Department of Defense’s research and development agency, to maximize communications clarity in the most hostile conditions. In other words, it makes communicating in a war-zone, with gun-fire and helicopter noise around you, simple. Its voice activity sensor technology can identify precisely when its user is speaking and separate his or her voice from background noise.

Watch the Jawbone in action..

After using this sleek device for more than a month, we still haven't found any flaws, in both the sound quality and it's design. The 'hidden' buttons on the headset are easy to use, and work like a charm.

The Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset comes in three colours, Black, Silver, and Red and is available in Brunei at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its price, please click here.