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Swann Communications Digital Private Eye

Jumping on the ever growing bandwagon of do-it-yourself home security devices, Swann's Digital Private Eye is a nifty device for those after a slightly more covert surveillance system. We were disappointed that it didn't record video footage, but the still image capture worked well, and should satisfy most users.

The thing to note about this particular device is that it looks a lot like an alarm scanner, rather than a camera. The camera itself is a pinhole unit that peaks out of a tiny space in the chassis. Whenever the sensor detects movement the camera jumps into action, snapping a shot every three seconds until the motion stops. These photos are recorded onto an SD card.

The sensor itself is housed in a curved, plastic section towards the bottom and it operated really well in our testing. It has a viewing angle of about 60 degrees, and a range of about 4.5 metres. It continually picked up any hints of movement within this space, impressing us with its accuracy. Our only complaint is that whenever the Digital Private Eye detected anything, its small LED would light up, revealing to any potential suspects that they've been caught. We'd much rather no warning was given.

We felt the quality of the pictures captured was satisfactory, if not outstanding. The Digital Private Eye has a maximum resolution of 640x480, which is fairly standard for cameras of this type. The pictures won't win any photography competitions, but they are more than adequate for identifying people.

In addition to the security features, the Digital Private Eye also operates as a traditional webcam. Bizarrely however, in the default software we found no options to record video files. You can capture still images in JPEG format, but there is no option for video mode at all. This is particularly strange, considering there are options to change the speed, resolution and colour space of the footage. We tested in with an MSN webcam conversation and everything operated flawlessly. The image quality wasn't the best, with some noticeable pixilation and extremely bloated colours, but again, it was more than adequate for basic conversation. We'd recommend finding a piece of third party software if you're looking to record video files.

The Digital Private Eye connects to your computer via a standard mini-USB cable, although the process is a little strange. If the unit is switched off, connecting it will open the SD card as a removable storage device, but if device is on, it will function as regular webcam. We found this a little irritating at first, as you have to disconnect and reconnect the rather stiff cable to switch between the two modes. The device runs off AC power, although an adapter to externally connect a 9V battery is also provided.

All in all, this is a fairly useful device. Those purely after a webcam will be disappointed by the combination of pixilated video and no default video mode, but people wanting a cheap security solution will find everything they need in the Digital Private Eye.

General

Available Colours

White

Video speed (fps)

30

Wireless?

No

Software Features

Motion Detection

Number of Alarm Inputs

0

Swann Communications NightHawk 3

The NightHawk 3 is another security camera system from Swann. This package comes with three wireless cameras, a receiver and remote control. We were a little disappointed that it came with no option to record video footage, but purely as a surveillance device it operated admirably, and should satisfy home or shop owners who are looking for a little extra piece of mind.

The NightHawk package is extremely simple to set up. Each camera has the option to run from either a nine volt battery or AC power. Battery life is rather limited though, and should only be used for emergencies (assuming one can have emergency surveillance situations). This is where setup ends; there aren't any switches to flick or software to install. As soon as the cameras are powered on they connect to the receiver and the whole process is automated, taking a lot of the headache out of what should be a fairly simple task.

Offering four different connection frequencies, the receiver is well specified to fit in, even in a modern household that already contains multiple wireless signals. It transmits over a now standard 2.4Ghz connection, and the signal was strong throughout testing.

When the unit was in direct line of site of the cameras, the image was perfect, with no skipping or stuttering. The further away we moved, and the more objects or walls between, resulted in some deterioration in quality. Despite this issue, with the cameras in another room about 20 metres away, the picture was still clear, and was more than adequate for basic security purposes. It wasn't until we moved the cameras about thirty or forty metres away that the picture began to degrade to a point almost unusable. For a regular sized house or shop the range of the NightHawk will be fine. As long as the receiver is centralised, users should be able to cover a few different rooms at once.

The receiver is connected to a display using standard a standard RCA connection. The image was, for most part, quite high quality. It outputs at a resolution of 628 x 582 and offers clear, sharp edges with good detail. The colour balance was a little inaccurate, but as this is a security device rather than an entertainment product, clarity is more important than colour. On a moderate size CRT television we had no problems identify passers-by or objects.

Also included in the package is night vision capabilities, hence the name NightHawk. These activate automatically when the scene becomes too dark. The picture wasn't quite as impressive here as in full light, with a distinct lack of clarity and a noticeable darkness that obscured many details. The NightHawk has a listed range of about five metres in this mode, and this was consistent with our testing. Any more than this and users will struggle to identify the image.

The included remote control is quite nifty. It allows users to switch between the cameras easily, as well as offering loop and lock functions. Loop will automatically cycle through each of the connected cameras, displaying each for a small amount of time before moving on, whereas lock will keep it on one channel. That's really all there is too the NightHawk 3's functionality, which was a little disappointing. For a more thorough security tool, we really think recording functionality needs to be built in, or at least PC connectivity needs to be offered with software to support it. Still, at this price point it is hard to complain too much.

The system itself is fairly plain looking. The receiver is a combination of grey and silver plastic, with a rotating antenna, and it looks like a standard wireless router. The cameras have a hefty, metal body, so they are tough enough to survive outdoor mounting. Do note though that they aren't waterproof. The cameras are clearly designed to be mounted, rather than placed. Although you can swivel them to face different angles, they don't balance very well, so we'd advise that they be mounted.

General

Warranty (Months)

12

Focus Type

Autofocus

Microphone

Yes

Wireless?

Yes

Base type

Fixed

Number of Alarm Inputs

0

audioengine A5

The audioengine A5 (also known as audioengine 5) is a set of stereo hi-fi speakers. Delivering excellent quality, along with an extremely solid and sturdy design, they're some of the best hi-fi speakers we've seen to date. Everything about them screams quality - from their custom design, to the sheer power at which they're able to output sound, the A5 is a top-notch product.

Audio performance on the A5 is the best we've heard yet on a pair of hi-fi speakers. With a well-balanced range, the A5 delivers audio of any genre with exceptional clarity and definition. During testing, we were enthralled by everything from Puccini's Madama Butterfly to Jimi Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower to Outkast's GhettoMusick. From the soaring vocals in Madama Butterfly, to the throbbing bass of GhettoMusick, every note was clear, sharp and well defined. Even more impressive, the A5 is capable of maintaining this clarity at very high volumes. The only problem that we noticed during testing was that treble tended to be ever-so-slightly flat at the highest ranges. Everything else was exceptional, however, with sharp, thumping bass and a clear, crisp midrange.

One of the most impressive aspects of the A5 is the sheer power that it's capable of outputting. We found a comfortable listening level at about 25% volume, and didn't dare go much past 60% for fear of damaging our ear drums. Throughout this entire range, we didn't notice any diminished clarity - this is actually the first hi-fi system where we've hit unreasonably loud volumes before noticing distortion. The inbuilt 5" woofers deliver powerful and thumping bass, although the lack of a separate subwoofer means that you won't get that vibrating rumble.

Already impressed with the speakers' music performance, we decided to hook them up to our home entertainment setup to see how they fare for home theatre use. Again, we were overwhelmed. Watching Full Metal Jacket, every yell from Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, every thumping chopper rotor, and every gunshot and explosion, came in crystal clear. The A5 had no problems at all handling both the bass-heavy firefights and the accompanying musical score at the same time, and it easily rivaled some of the better home theatre systems that we've seen. Although they're only two-channel (ie, not surround sound), the A5 speakers should appeal to any movie lover.

Everything about the design of these speakers has been geared towards delivering the best possible audio quality, and what's more, it's been done without compromising aesthetics. Coming with a solid black or white casing, the speakers are actually quite heavy, and even at the highest volumes, the rugged design prevents noticeable distortion from vibration. Audioengine has really gone all out with the design here, even to the point of using a Kevlar woven composite in the woofers (Kevlar is the material used in a lot of modern body armour). Although we weren't able to do any tests to determine whether or not the woofers are bulletproof, the sheer amount of volume they're capable of producing without distortion is testament to their durability.

The back panel of the main speaker is a simple affair, with power outlets, copper wire outputs that go to the other speaker in the pair, and 3.5in stereo input jacks. The volume knob is located on the front of the unit, although there's no separate knobs for treble and bass, and no remote is included, which may be slightly irritating, especially for users planning to use the A5 as home theatre speakers.

Overall, the audioengine A5 is one of the best hi-fi systems we've seen thus far. Capable of handling anything from opera to R&B to movies, it comes highly recommended to any user in the market for high-quality, powerful stereo speakers.

Audio & Speakers

Number of speakers

2

Audio Type

Stereo

General

Length (mm)

197x2

Width (mm)

178x2

Height (mm)

254x2

Warranty (Months)

36

Weight (kg)

6.4 (left) 4 (right)

Samsung SP67L6HX

More and more we are astounded by just how large televisions can get. With the recent announcement at CES2006 of a 100 inch LCD television by LG-Philips, the mind becomes awash in amazement at how far people will go to get the biggest, the best and the most outrageous televisions that the imagination can conjure.

In that vein and in our own attempt to understand the bandwagon, we have been reviewing every massive screen TV we could get our hands on. The latest is the biggest we have reviewed yet. At 67 inches, the Samsung SP67L6HX towers over our viewing environment and makes us question the validity of something so huge. However, there is something so very alluring about it and watching movies on a screen of this size is sublime.

In many of our DLP television reviews we have been known to mention a unit that we saw at the 2005 Home Entertainment Expo. That unit was the SP67L6HX. It is the DLP unit by which we tend to compare all others. It is that good. However, a visual assessment at an Expo and formal testing are two different things and while the unit holds up well, it is far from perfect and suffers in a few areas that slightly taint it from achieving perfection.

Design

Samsung tend to have one aesthetic which they apply to most of their televisions. Thankfully, it is a rather attractive one with smooth curves introducing the matte black bezel to the top of the unit. The speakers are placed neatly above the stand, running along the bottom of the unit with a slight gap between the speaker and the screen. This design screams sophistication and quality, two elements only equaled by the performance of the unit.

The right side of the system sports the primary operation buttons which are all clearly marked and hidden from a front side view of the unit. The right side also houses a single composite/S-Video connection as well. The rear is a sea of input connections with two component inputs, two composite/s-video inputs, a 15 pin D-Sub connector with an accompanying audio-in jack, a HDMI port with RCA audio for use with DVI signals and the TV tuner. The rear panel also has a video out connector as well but this is only limited to composite video.

Interface and Customisation

We looked at the television's feature set and the corresponding menu navigation and felt that the options and calibrations were quite simple to use, if not a little limited. While playing back a DVD there were only three aspect ratio options to choose from and, while 16:9 seemed like the right option to choose, movies in 1.85:1 appeared with black bars more akin to 2.35:1 films. The 16:9 mode constricted the image, making it a higher aspect ratio than it was meant to be. Switching to "Zoom" mode corrected this, but this workaround still looked a little off. The other mode to choose from was 4:3, but seriously, who watches that anymore?

Within the image sphere the calibration options were very basic with contrast, brightness and sharpness together with the usual tint options. We would have liked to see further customisations to this including individual calibrations of the colour elements. However, since most people would only use the basic options anyway, this isn't a huge problem.

When calibrating audio, the SP67L6HX has quite a few options. Sound can be manipulated via a number of pre-set modes that automatically equalise depending on the visuals you are viewing. There is also a graphic equaliser and a few virtual surround options that can enhance the audio dramatically, should you require it.

Speakers

The speakers of the SP67L6HX are exceptional with good range and high performance in both the mid-tone and high treble ranges. They are slightly lacking in bass but not too much and since they hold together very well at high volumes, these bass issues are more than reasonable. Most people who intend to buy a 67 inch television would probably already own a home theatre system, so the speakers aren't a selling point but they are definitely worth noting since they are another element of this unit that we found surprisingly well implemented.

Standard Definition Testing

We tested the DVD playback on the Samsung and were fairly satisfied by the results. DVDs looked reasonably good on this unit although they did tend to lack a certain level of definition due to the scaling in combination with the limitations of DLP technology.

We performed our informal tests by running the lobby scene from The Matrix and the T-Rex attack from Jurassic Park. These tests are excellent for detecting visual aberrations in any television unit due to the difficulties presented in properly displaying their unique visuals. The Matrix is awash in green and for many televisions this becomes a problem. The Samsung had a slight discolouration problem when trying to display the finer smoke particles in the scene but from a comfortable viewing distance this didn't present a serious detriment. However, there was a particularly disheartening level of noise as a result of the scaling but it wasn't as bad as many other DLP televisions we have reviewed.

In our Jurassic Park test the SP67L6HX walked away unscathed. The night scene, harsh on many televisions, was displayed beautifully. In this scene, many televisions tend to show stepping on skin tones but the Samsung showed no such problem. The definition in fine details, such as the pebbled skin of the T-Rex, was also rather good.

Unfortunately, our formal tests with Digital Video Essentials showed a few problems with this television. There was a slight amount of noise in the lower grey registers but these were negligible. The colour block tests and SMPTE pattern tests were both displayed well, with no inaccuracies. Curiously, there was severe noise in blacks which weren't apparent in our other DVD tests. The value of still pattern tests is that fundamental elements used to create an image can be tested independent of any movement. In a film like BladeRunner, where dark and near-black scenes are common, a problem like this will become annoying quickly. However, it appears as though the noise problem doesn't become as prevalent in motion as it is in still images. We tested a handful of other films and found that they looked about as good as you would expect for 576i images on a natively 720p television.

High Definition Testing

We connected the unit to an Xbox 360 and ran FarCry Instincts: Predator. We use the Xbox 360 because it outputs in High Definition and as such is an accurate assessment as to the HD capabilities of a television. We are happy to report that the SP67L6HX displayed images at 720p and 1080i at a high level of clarity with bright accurate colours.

Connecting to a PC

Connected to a PC, the Samsung performed at an acceptable but far from impressive level. It lacked the clarity of an LCD TV under the same conditions and text tended to have a somewhat low level of definition. While text could still be read, we wouldn't recommend replacing your monitor with this 67 inch television. The primary use for connecting a television of this size to a PC would obviously be to watch video content with a simple desktop drag. To this end, the Samsung works quite well.

We tested the PC connection with DisplayMate Video Edition and were not surprised. There was a lack of definition in many edges, particularly around fine details. However, colour block tests showed no serious colour reproduction issues and the greyscale tests revealed only a minor amount of noise in mid to low level greys.

Watching TV

Unfortunately, while the dual tuners work reasonably well, they are only analog and as such can't produce a very good picture. In order to get a reasonable looking image from them you need to have a near-perfect signal or the free-to-air television will look mediocre. However, since the unit has a dual tuner, it has a Picture in Picture feature which works very well. While watching one channel you can watch another in a box on the corner of the screen. While this is not a new feature and many televisions have implemented it before, Samsung should be commended for including it nonetheless as it adds value to an already good unit.

Final Words

A final issue to discuss is the degree to which this unit suffers from Rainbow Effect. Rainbow is a side effect of DLP technology that can cause rainbow flashes of colour across the screen for some viewers. We were worried that it would be a downfall for the SP67L6HX but it was fairly minimal. For someone that is susceptible to it, there is a little of the effect but since the Samsung has a 7 segment colour wheel, they seemed to keep it down to a minimum.

At the end of the testing process, the Samsung SP67L6HX faired rather well. We already held the unit in high regard after seeing it at the 2005 Home Entertainment Expo and while it isn't quite as good as our first assessment, it is still one of the best DLP units on the market. The Toshiba 62CM9UA is slightly better than this unit with better image quality and excellent performance under PC connection. However, it costs $1000 more - so when deciding which unit to get, the size of your wallet should be your only consideration.

Audio & Speakers

Audio Type

Virtual Surround

Display

Display Technology

DLP

Display Brightness

550 cd/m2

Contrast ratio

2500:1

Screen size

67.0 in

Screen Resolution

1280x720

Aspect Ratio

16:09

General

Length (mm)

1584

Width (mm)

502.5

Height (mm)

1144.5

Weight (kg)

47.5

Miscellaneous

Remote Control

Yes

Sleep Timer

Yes

Multimedia Features

Remote Control

Yes

Power Options

Power Supply

AC Power

Television Features

Analog TV Tuner

PAL, PAL-B/G, PAL-D, PAL-I, PAL-K, PAL-M

DTV Display Format

480i (SDTV), 480p (EDTV), 575i, 575p, 720p (HDTV), 1080i (HDTV)

Picture in Picture

Yes

Teletext

Yes

Stand

Yes

Wall-Mountable

No

Wired Connections

Wired Terminals / Ports

Audio (RCA) Input, Component Video Input, Composite Video Input, Composite Video Output, D-Sub, HDMI Input, Line In, S-Video Input, TV-Tuner

Number of Audio (RCA) Input Ports

1

Number of Component Video Input Ports

2

Number of Composite Video Input Ports

3

Number of D-Sub Ports

1

Number of HDMI Input Ports

1

Number of Line In Ports

1

Number of S-Video Input Ports

3

Number of TV-Tuner Ports

1

Philips 42PFL7532D

The Philips 42PFL7532D is a 42in LCD TV with a native resolution of 1366x768. It can accept video signals in resolutions ranging from 480i through to 720p and 1080i. The proprietary Philips technologies of Digital Natural Motion and Pixel Plus 2 are also employed, but unlike other models in Philips' range, it does not use Ambilight. For explanations on all these technologies, check out our review of the Philips 42PF9831.

Our testing showed high quality images in standard and high definition modes, but there were a few problems with the unit overall, most of which could be worked around. The most frustrating element of this unit, in comparison to other Philips TVs we have reviewed, is the connectivity at the rear of the device. While the types of signals it accepts are consistent with other flat panel TVs on the market, the way it accepts them is not. The component connectors are present, but rather than have an accompanying RCA audio connector, there is a 3.5mm headphone-style jack and no RCA to 3.5mm stereo adaptor is provided. Similarly, the unit uses SCART for two of its connectors. SCART is a connection type that is largely used in Europe and is found on very few devices in this country. While a SCART adaptor is provided, only one is provided and it only converts to composite video or S-Video. What this boils down to is that if you buy this TV, you can't just take it home and plug in your devices without buying extra cables.

To test the high definition capabilities of this unit, we connected an Xbox 360 using a Component connection and ran gaming and HD-DVD movie tests at resolutions of 720p and 1080i, respectively. In both sets of tests, the image quality was excellent. However, for the gaming test, some calibration was required due to irreparable over-sharpening, some pixelation in high-detail areas and moments of odd jittery motion. This calibration, oddly enough, involved switching off Digital Natural Motion, Pixel Plus 2 and Digital Noise Reduction. We also had to reduce the sharpness as there was excessive over-sharpening by default. Finally, we increased the brightness and maxed the contrast to 100. This gave a stunning result where motion was natural and textures were highly detailed without any pixelation. Colours were reproduced accurately and the black levels were rich without backlight discolouration. If you plan to play video games with this unit, you will not be disappointed. There was some very slight pixelation along some curved edges, but if you are sitting at a comfortable viewing distance, this wont be a problem.

For the HD-DVD test, we viewed the Empire State Building finale from King Kong. Since they are technologies designed for movie viewing, we turned on Digital Natural Motion, Pixel Plus 2 and Digital Noise Reduction for our movie tests. The image quality was top-notch with no pixelation at all, high detail and no contrast stepping. There was a little noise in the clouds at the beginning of the scene, but no more than most panels we have reviewed, and not enough for it to be noticeable when watching it from the comfort of your couch. The colour was accurate, the whites were pure and the blacks were convincingly dark. Overall, in this test and the gaming tests, we were more than satisfied with the performance of the unit. The image quality wasn't quite as crisp and clean as other high-end units on the market, but it was certainly of a high calibre.

Standard definition mode was tested using our Digital Video Essentials (DVE) DVD and by viewing the Lobby Scene from The Matrix. Digital Video Essentials is a series of still calibration images that are an excellent way to check from problems in a unit at a fundamental level. During the grey bars test, we detected a moderate level of noise in low grey, which suggests that the panel can potentially have issues displaying dark shades of colours. This was particularly noticeable when we watched the Matrix footage as darker areas tended to have an elevated level of noise over the usual interpolation artefacts. The DVE greyscale showed a slight green discolouration at mid-grey, but we couldn't see any evidence of this translating to actual image quality degradation. There was no discolouration during the Matrix footage or during the DVE colour tests, but we did experience noticeable over-sharpening and noticeable pixelation on curved edges. While the image quality was acceptable in standard definition, it was not the best we have seen and was slightly less detailed than what we usually see when viewing standard definition content.

Harking back to the connectivity issues we experienced, another bewildering design choice is the exclusion of a D-Sub port on the rear panel of the unit. This doesn't mean that it doesn't support a PC input - the support is there. However, to connect a PC you have to have a special cable that has a VGA connector on one end and five video cables on the other. These are then connected to the Component port and the two ports below it to achieve PC connectivity. We have never seen a TV with this kind of PC connection and since this special cable is not supplied, we were unable to test the unit in PC mode.

Another quirk we discovered was with respect to the auto scaling of 4:3 and 16:9 video signals. When viewing the HD-DVD film Full Metal Jacket, the image would randomly zoom in and crop the sides of the image, then a few seconds later, zoom back out. This could be a fault of the TV, or a fault of the source material, but it was easily corrected by manually setting the TV to 16:9 'widescreen' mode.

The 42PFL7532D has a piano black gloss finish and is rather attractive. The stand doesn't come pre-assembled, but putting it together isn't too complicated nor time consuming. Like other Philips TVs, the 'smart' initial setup procedures are excellent and involve very simple-to-follow instructions on how to set the TV to settings that are favourable to your style of viewing. The speakers do a good job but are by no means exceptional. The bass is a little lacking at times and the high treble registers are limited in range. The sound works well when viewing films with good element separation, but lacks enough body to really pack a punch.

While the image quality is high and the sound quality is good, the connectivity options on this 42PFL7532D, as well as the required calibration time, can make it seem user-hostile. While it does have some user-friendly features, like the simple setup procedures, there were too many odd or frustrating issues than we would have liked. If you're willing to overlook them, then this TV might well be the one for you.

Audio & Speakers

Number of speakers

2

Audio Type

Virtual Surround

Display

Display Technology

LCD

Colour Support

16.2M Colours

Display Brightness

550 cd/m2

Screen size

42.0 in

Screen Resolution

1366x768

Aspect Ratio

16:09

Response Time (ms)

5

Viewing Angle Vertical (degrees)

176

Viewing Angle Horizontal (degrees)

176

Miscellaneous

Remote Control

Yes

Sleep Timer

Yes

Multimedia Features

Remote Control

Yes

Power Options

Power Supply

AC Power

Television Features

Picture Modes

Letterbox, Pan & Scan, Widescreen

Analog TV Tuner

NTSC, PAL, SECAM

Digital TV Standard

EDTV, EDTV Compatible, HDTV, HDTV Compatible

DTV Display Format

576i, 720p (HDTV), 1080i (HDTV)

Adjustable Color Temperature

Yes

Picture in Picture

Yes

Teletext

Yes

In-built Speakers

Yes

Stand

Yes

Wall-Mountable

Yes

Comb Filter

3DYC

Tuner Type

Digital (HDTV)

Wired Connections

Wired Terminals / Ports

Component Video Input, Composite Video Input, HDMI Input, SCART

Number of Component Video Input Ports

1

Number of Composite Video Input Ports

2

Number of HDMI Input Ports

1

Number of SCART Ports

2

Sony HDR-UX5E

It might not be obvious at first glance, but the first generation of DVD camcorders shared a surprising amount in common with McDonald's cheeseburgers. In addition to being made from plastic, they offered consumers a similarly fuss-free product endorsed by a highly recognised brand name - and like Ronald's signature dish, they left a nasty taste in a lot of people's mouths. Although the ability to make instant DVDs was an alluring prospect, the technical limitations of the format meant that video was hopelessly compressed and editing capabilities were nearly non-existent.

Thankfully, DVD cameras have come a long way since these dubious junk food beginnings, with many models now outclassing previously superior formats. Sony's latest addition to the DVD fold, the HDR-UX5E, brings a whole swag of super-sized improvements to the table, including the ability to record for an hour on one disc in vibrant 1080i HD. Fitting snugly between the HDR-UX1E and HDR-UX7, it manages to combine the convenience of a DVD handycam with the exacting image quality of a professional camera. However, to truly get the most out of this product, you will need to upgrade your DVD player to fit in line with the next generation.

The HDR-UX5E is capable of recording footage in the new AVCHD video standard, which compresses footage more efficiency than the MPEG-2 format. Unlike previous DVD video cameras, it allows you to burn a substantial amount of high definition video onto a disc without compromising the image quality. You can therefore record up to an hour of AVCHD data onto a single DVD+R DL disc, which puts it in line with DV tapes. (If you choose to shoot in standard definition, the recording time is boosted by a further fifty minutes.)

It is important to note however, that the AVCHD format requires a Blu-ray player or other compatible device for DVD playback. In other words, you won't be able to watch your home movies on a regular DVD player. Those who've yet to make this technological leap (i.e. - nearly everyone) will need to hook their cameras up to a television via HDMI -- which kind of defeats the purpose of buying a DVD camera in the first place. If you're determined to watch your videos on an old DVD player, you can always elect to shoot footage in standard definition, but again, this diminishes the entire point of owning a HD camera. Having said that, anyone who plans to upgrade their player in the future will be able to get some use from the HDR-UX5E in the interim period.

If you want to edit AVCHD footage on a PC, you'll need some software capable of tackling high definition video. Most major editing packages offer HD support in their latest editions, including Sony Vegas Movie Maker 7, Ulead Video Studio 11 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS3. Like any DVD camera though, the HDR-UX5E is primarily designed for in-camera editing - mini DV and hard disk-based units offer a far more streamlined process in this area, which is something to bear in mind if you plan to edit a lot.

When it comes to image quality, the HDR-UX5E definitely justifies making the move to a high-def player, producing razor sharp visuals with stunningly brilliant colours. In fact, some may find the colour reproduction to be a little too vibrant, especially when using the X.V.Colour enhancer, yet those who want their footage to really pop off the screen and get noticed will be more than satisfied.

Another area in which the UX5E excels is its stills mode, which can store images to Memory Stick with a resolution of up to 4Mp. Unlike the vast majority of camcorders, the still images this unit produces are impressive enough to make 6x4in prints. While it naturally can't compete with a dedicated stills model, those after an affordable hybrid device could do a lot worse than the HDR-UX5E.

Design-wise, the UX5E is a classy looking camera that fits well in the hand. We like how the DVD drive is slightly raised above the unit's ribbed metal body, which allows you to wrap your fingers around the edge for a firmer grip. Like the rest of Sony's recent Handycam range, the majority of buttons have been replaced in favour of a touch screen interface. Personally, we're huge fans of this approach, and much prefer it to the directional sticks and rotating dials that many other vendors seem reluctant to relinquish.

In terms of modes and features, most of the usual suspects are present and accounted for, including adjustable shutter speeds, manual focus, digital picture effects, white balance modes, programmable AE modes, and a dedicated Easy button which takes care of everything on this list for you.

All up, the HDR-UX5E is a solid high-definition DVD camera - and therein lies the conundrum. The AVCHD DVD format is only worth buying if you own or intend to buy a DVD player which can support it. Anyone else is better off sticking to HD HDD or HD DV.

Audio & Speakers

Audio Type

Stereo

Surround Sound Type

Dolby Digital

Digital Camera Features

Digital Zoom

20x

Fixed Image Resolutions

1600x1200, 2304x1296, 2304x1728, 640x480

Image Sensor Type

CMOS

Viewfinder

Optical

Colour Viewfinder?

Yes

Tripod Mount?

Yes

Camer a Resolution

4.0 MP

Optical Zoom

10x

Digital Video

Digital video format

MPEG

Digital Video Camera Type

DVD

Low Lux

2

Night Shot Mode

Yes

Digital Still Shot Mode

Yes

CMOS Size

1/3" (5.9mm) 2304H

Display

Display Technology

TFT colour LCD touchscreen

Screen size

2.7 in

General

Length (mm)

142

Width (mm)

72

Height (mm)

87

Weight without battery (grams)

530

Media

Supported Memory Media

Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo

Supported Video File Formats

Motion JPEG

Supported Picture File Formats

JPEG

Playable Discs

DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD±R (+R double layer)

Video Recording Media

DVD

Multimedia Features

Built-in Microphone ( Mobile )

Yes

Power Options

Power Supply

Battery

Battery Type

Rechargeable - (Li-Ion)

Wired Connections

Wired Terminals / Ports

Video Out, mini-USB, Audio (RCA) Output, Component Video Input, HDMI Output, S-Video Output, USB 2.0

Nikon D2X

While most of us can only dream of owning a high-end digital SLR like the Canon , for professional photographers the high price tag is more than repaid in the extra power and reliability these cameras provide. While Canon owns the lion's share of the professional market, Nikon is making a very strong bid for photographers' attentions with its latest, the D2X.

With the D2X, Nikon has taken a punt on the continued usefulness of non-full-frame sensors. Its 23.7 x 15.7mm CMOS sensor packs in 12.2 megapixels of resolution, while Canon's 1Ds Mk II gets 16.4 megapixels from its full-frame, 36 x 24mm sensor.

The D2X marks Nikon's shift to CMOS sensors. Canon is on its second generation of CMOS sensors and has a clear lead in technology here, but Nikon's move to CMOS is an impressive debut. The D2X can match Canon's sensors for low image noise from the low ISOs up to ISO 800. Beyond that, at ISO 1,600 and 3,200 (which are called HI-1 and HI-2 on the D2X) it cedes ground to the Canon, but not in a dramatic fashion.

The Nikon D2X is really two cameras in one. The demands of sports photography are a little different to studio work, yet the D2X attempts to cover both bases by offering an intriguing high-speed crop mode. With this enabled, it boosts its maximum shot speed from 5 frames per second to a speedy 8fps by reducing the maximum image size to 7 megapixels (a rectangle in the focus screen shows you the area of the image captured in high-speed crop mode).

The D2X's body leaves little to be desired. It is solid, with a magnesium alloy inner structure and heavy-duty plastic and rubber outer covering. You get an excellent 2.5-inch colour LCD with a clear protective cover and two monochrome LCDs for displaying settings, one on top of the camera and one at the rear, beneath the colour LCD. Control layout is superb, with all major functions quickly accessible from buttons. The essential controls are duplicated for vertical orientation shooting. The lithium-ion battery pack offers superior battery life while being comparatively light; the D2X with battery weighs 1.25kg.

In terms of functionality the D2X offers a clear and very functional menu system and a wide selection of custom functions. You can also store custom settings in four sets (called 'banks' in Nikon's parlance), which, while labelled A to D by default, you can rename with your own function-specific descriptions, making swapping between setups very easy.

We were lucky enough to be able to mount a Nikkor AF 80-200mm F/2.8 zoom lens on it and the results from a weekend sports fixture were superb. Whether shooting in RAW or JPEG, the D2X delivered crisp images that showed impressive dynamic range, oodles of detail and, thanks to its 11-point auto focus and continuous AF mode, were tack sharp even when tracking fast-moving subjects. The Nikon D2X may cede some megapixels to the Canon 1Ds Mk II but there's no denying it takes great photos.

Digital Camera Features

Camera Resolution

12.2 MP

Interchangeable Lens?

Yes

Focus Type

Manual, Autofocus

Aperture Priority?

Yes

FlashType

Built-in, External

Flash Functions

Auto Flash, Fill-in Flash, Flash Off, Red-eye Reduction Flash , Slow Sync

ISO Speeds

800, 100, 200, 400

Max Shutter Speed

1/8000th of a second

Min Shutter Speed

30 seconds

Shutter Priority?

Yes

White balance

Auto, Manual

Fixed Image Resolutions

2400x1600, 4288x2848, 3216x2136, 2144x1424, 1600x1064

Image Sensor Type

CMOS

Viewfinder

Optical

Colour Viewfinder?

Yes

Continuous Shot?

Yes

Continuous Shot Limits

5 frames per second

Bracketing Function?

Yes

Display

Display Technology

Colour LCD TFT (Active Matrix)

Screen size

2.5 in

General

Length (mm)

157.5

Width (mm)

149.5

Height (mm)

85.5

Warranty (Months)

12

Weight without battery (grams)

1070

Media

Supported Picture File Formats

JPG, Raw, TIFF

Power

Power Supply

AC Power, Battery

Battery Type

Rechargeable - (Li-Ion)

Wired Connections

Wired Terminals / Ports

USB 2.0

Number of USB 2.0 Ports

1

Sony Ericsson P1i

We've been waiting a long time for Sony Ericsson's latest addition to its P Series range of smart phones. The long-awaited P990i was released in some overseas regions, but it was scrapped completely in Australia. Finally, the P1i has arrived, a 3G capable smart phone featuring a 3.2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, an updated UIQ 3.1 Symbian operating system, and a 20 button QWERTY keyboard and touch screen.

Features

The most interesting feature of the P1i is the 20 button QWERTY keyboard. Also seen on the M600i, this unique keyboard has two letters assigned to each button. For example, the letters Q and W and symbols ! and / are on the first button. When typing on the keyboard, you press the left side of the button for Q and the right side if you want W (use the shift key if you need the symbols). The middle three rows of keys double as a standard numerical pad. It sounds complicated and does take some time to get used to; after more than a week of testing, we still only managed to type messages and emails slowly, making plenty of mistakes along the way. The small size of the keys makes typing an affair for the more dexterous users only, and can be frustrating.

The P1i uses the updated Symbian 9.1, UIQ 3.1 platform and a lot of the bugs from the previous version have been ironed out. Performance isn't lightning but it's certainly at the quicker end of the scale for a smart phone. The P1i performs well in everyday tasks, though on occasions it does struggle with multiple applications open. Potential buyers be warned; the Symbian OS (just like the P1i keyboard) does take a bit of time and patience to grasp, especially if you're used to Windows Mobile interfaces, for example.

The convenient three-way scroll wheel and back button on the left hand side is a huge help, but the most annoying aspect of the interface is moving between tabs; this requires either using the stylus (or your finger), or pressing the left and right arrow keys next to the spacebar button. The latter is rather troublesome as it moves your thumb away from the scroll wheel and back button, and slows down the user experience.

The P1i is a monster in terms of connectivity; in addition to 3G capabilities, it also features USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 (with the A2DP profile for streaming music wirelessly), and Wi-Fi 802.11b. Connectivity should be more than sufficient for most users, but our one complaint is the lack of HSDPA; this addition would have made the P1i one of the most feature packed smart phones ever released.

Equipped with 160MB of internal memory available to the end user, the P1i also has a well-concealed M2 (Memory Stick Micro) expansion slot, located on the right side of the phone. Sony Ericsson impressively includes a 1GB M2 card in the sales package for all Australian units, but the P1i supports M2 cards up to 4GB in size.

While the M600i lacked a camera, the P1i has gone all out with a 3.2 megapixel camera featuring auto focus, a flash and 3x digital zoom. It can also record video at up to 320x240 pixels. The photos produced by the camera aren't exactly on par with the K810i's Cyber-shot camera, but they are quite good for a mobile phone. In particular, the flash makes night time photography worthwhile, and we can't say this for many other camera phones on the market.

A business card reader is an excellent, if not always efficient feature of the P1i. Using the camera, you can take a photo of a business card and the information will automatically be stored in your phonebook. Unfortunately, it is a hit and miss affair, as the right amount of light is needed to be able to process the information, and we were sometimes forced to take the photo a few times to get it right.

The P1i features a range of useful applications, from the standard PIM functions like calculator, calendar, converter, stopwatch and timer to more advanced offerings like Quickoffice (for editing Word and Excel documents) and PDF+ for viewing and editing PDF files. There's also a video and music player (MP3 and AAC files supported), FM radio, sound recorder, picture viewer and MusicDJ application for editing and creating polyphonic ring tones. Unfortunately, the P1i doesn't have a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and no adapter is included in the sales package (you can purchase this separately). Files can be transferred to and from the P1i with the included, proprietary USB cable, or via Bluetooth connectivity.

The P1i supports push e-mail in addition to standard SMS and MMS messaging. Push e-mail delivers any new e-mail messages to the phone just like a normal SMS message. This means you are able to receive and access your e-mails whenever you want, not just when they are sent. We accessed the e-mail function using a standard Yahoo! account and it worked without any issues.

Design

Although the unique keyboard is fairly compact, the P1i is still a chunky size, measuring 106mm x 55mm x 17 mm and weighing 124g. It's not too big by any means, especially in smart phone terms, but it's certainly large and bulky enough to fill your pocket. We like the brushed silver and black colour scheme, as it gives the P1i a touch of class. Overall, it feels both well built and stylish, and the gloss black sides and screen surrounds are a nice touch.

In addition to the keyboard, the P1i uses a convenient three-way scroll wheel and adjacent back button, located on the left hand side of the phone. This jog dial makes screen navigation very simple; it can be rolled up or down and pressed inwards like a regular button. It is used to scroll through lists, adjust sound volume or move through a multimedia message. It's a very effective way of navigating through the phone without constantly having to reach for the stylus.

The P1i touch screen is large and clear and is capable of displaying 262,144 colours. It has a respectable viewing angle and can be comfortably read in direct sunlight, although its glossy nature does tend to reflect light, especially when indoors. The touch screen can be operated via the included stylus or even by your finger. The annoyingly small stylus is securely tucked in at the top left of the unit, and Sony Ericsson even includes a spare, so you shouldn't have to worry about losing it.

Sony Ericsson rates the P1i battery life at an average 3.5 hours of talk time and 250 hours standby time using a 3G network. The figures increase to 10 hours talk and 440 hours standby time on a standard GSM network. We found ourselves changing the handset every two to three days on average, which is quite good for a smart phone with this many features. A convenient dock for charging and synchronising is also included.

Data Services

Messaging Capabilities

Email, SMS, MMS

Digital Camera

Digital Zoom

3x

Video capture

Yes

Camer a Resolution

3.2 MP

General

Available Colours

Black, Silver

Length (mm)

106

Width (mm)

55

Height (mm)

17

Weight (g)

124

Main Display (Internal)

Display Technology

TFT colour LCD touchscreen

Colour Support

262k Colours

Screen Resolution

240x320

Memory

Installed memory (RAM)

160 MB

Multimedia Features

Ringtones Type

Polyphonic

Inbuilt Camera

Yes

Built-in Microphone ( Mobile )

Yes

MP3 Player

Yes

Voice Recorder

Yes

Picture Viewer

Yes

Video Player

Yes

Speakerphone

Yes

Profiles

Yes

Vibrating Alert

Yes

Java enabled

Yes

Video calling

Yes

Organiser

Yes

Stopwatch

Yes

Alarm clock

Yes

Calculator

Yes

Calendar

Yes

Phonebook

Yes

Notes

Yes

To-do list

Yes

Headphones

Yes

Video Recorder

Yes

Text Viewer

Yes

Mass Storage

Yes

Antenna

Internal

Phones

Call Lists

Missed calls, Received calls, Recently dialled calls

Power Options

Power Supply

Battery

Battery Type

Rechargeable - (Li-Ion)

Supported Media

Supported Memory Media

Memory Stick Micro (M2)

Wired Connections

Wired Terminals / Ports

USB 1.1

Wireless Connections

Wireless technology supported

Bluetooth

Seagate 750GB Pushbutton Backup

Backing up can become a headache if you have hard drives in the order of 300GB or larger installed in your system. A good external hard drive that plugs in using USB 2.0 or FireWire is the perfect solution for storing backups, and Seagate's External 750GB Pushbutton Backup is one such drive.

It's 698GB formatted capacity makes it capable of backing up large single drives or even RAID 0 arrays and its performance isn't too shabby either. It took just over three hours to back up over 24500 files (185GB of data) from the 250GB Western Digital drive in our test bed using the FireWire connection and the supplied BounceBack software.

Once installed, BounceBack can work in conjunction with the "one-touch" button on the case to automatically initiate backups. Once your drive is archived, the directories and files can be viewed in their hierarchies on the external drive (in the same structure as their original location). Within BounceBack, file restoration is simple. You can choose to restore to either the original location or to a new one.

Testing with a smaller data set (4GB), data transferred from our test PC to the external drive, using FireWire, at a rate of 22.50MBps, while data from the external drive transferred back to the PC at rate of 28.98MBps. Comparatively, copying data on a drive connected to a SATA port can achieve rates around 20MBps. The USB 2.0 connection was slightly faster than FireWire, at least for copying data from the PC to the external drive.

Physically the drive has a sturdy plastic case, which is ventilated, and is stackable. If you're looking for a simple one-touch backup system with enough space to store all your files and more, this'll do you proud.

Hard Drive

Storage capacity

750 GB

Hard Drive Type

External

Cache Memory

16 MB

RPM

7200

Interface

FireWire, USB 2.0

Hewlett-Packard Pavilion tx1000

An artfully designed ultraportable and convertible Windows Tablet PC, the HP Pavilion tx1000 is geared for multimedia. It's lightweight and has some distinctive design touches, including a unique touchpad, that make it interesting. However, its poor battery life and reflective screen make it a less-than-desirable traveling companion.

Among the tx1000's many features are a built-in Webcam at the top of the screen and a fingerprint reader set into the left of the lid. It also has a three-in-one memory card reader, three USB 2.0 ports, and a double-layer DVD+/-RW drive. Indentations in the unique touchpad enable sensors to gauge your finger's movements. A scrollbar with similar perforations sits to the right of the touchpad.

All of the ports are conveniently laid out along the sides; helpful, readily visible gray icons identify the connections so you don't have to hunt. Buttons for HP's QuickPlay software (which lets you play DVDs or music without having to boot Windows) and screen rotation occupy the area just below the screen.

Converting from notebook to slate mode is easy, and the 12.1-inch screen rotates into place firmly. One quibble: The screen jiggles a bit when the tablet is in notebook mode and if you are moving, (if you're on a train; for example), it can be a little distracting. The tablet has an easy-to-use touch screen, though HP doesn't include a stylus or a place to stow one, so you have to tap the screen with your fingertip. The screen's responsiveness is quite good, however.

Unfortunately the screen lacks an antireflective coating--strangely, it seems to have another kind of coating with a smoky hue that makes it difficult to see anything on the screen from an angle.

The tablet produced unimpressive results in our performance tests. On a beta version of WorldBench 6, the tx1000, equipped with a 2-GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 processor and Windows Vista Premium Home Edition, managed a score of 74, a middling mark. It ran down quickly on our battery tests, too, lasting just one hour and 47 minutes.

Nevertheless, it's nicely designed and comfortable to use, despite the screen glare. Just be sure to pack the AC adapter.

Digital Camera

Camer a Resolution

1.3 MP

Display

Display Technology

WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Wide Touchscreen Display

Screen size

12.1 in

Screen Resolution

1280x800

General

Length (mm)

224

Width (mm)

306

Height (mm)

313 - 387

Weight (kg)

2.4

Graphics Card

Graphics Processor

NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150

Hard Drive

Storage capacity

120 GB

RPM

5400

Input Devices

Input Devices

Finger Operated Touchscreen, Touchpad, Keyboard, Mouse

Memory

RAM Type

DDR2

L2 Cache Memory

1MB

Multimedia Features

Inbuilt Camera

Yes

PC Expansion Slots

Expansion Slots

ExpressCard/34

Power Options

Power Supply

AC Power, Battery

Battery Type

Rechargeable - (Li-Ion)

Processor

Processor

AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual Core Mobile Technology TL-60

Processor Speed

2.0 Ghz

Software

Operating Systems

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium

Wired Connections

Wired Terminals / Ports

Headphone Jack, RJ11 Phone Jack, RJ45, SPDIF output, S-Video Output, USB 2.0

Number of USB 2.0 Ports

3

Apple iPhone

Apple's iPhone is without a doubt the most wanted device of 2007, but Australians will be forced to wait at least six months for a local launch. In anticipation, our US associates have taken a thorough look at the iPhone, and despite a few issues, they like what they see.

Overview

If you want to love this much-hyped gadget, you'll find plenty to drool over. The revolutionary multi-touch navigation system really is intuitive and fun. The endless expanse of display alone is nothing short of mesmerising, with beautiful bright colours and crisp resolution. It's a great handheld video player, a decent music player and camera; its browser, while not as versatile as the one on your notebook, is still impressive. Plus, it works just fine as a mobile phone.

But there are disappointments, too. Some we knew about ahead of time, including lack of support for a 3G or HSDPA data network and the absence of instant messaging and office suite applications. Others are only apparent once you start using the handset; it can get warm with constant use, and you'll need to wipe off smudges frequently with the included cloth.

We're still iffy about the software keyboard and predictive text entry. They work reasonably well, but overall text entry is still easier with a hardware keyboard, and the iPhone may not be the best choice for people who need to compose a lot of e-mail.

We were impressed with the iPhone's durability. We tried scratching it and dropping it on everything from carpet to concrete. It survived all the abuse, with only some scratches from the concrete. And then there are the undeniably fun aspects of this super-hot gadget, from the cute icons on the home screen to the way deleted e-mail swooshes into a trashcan.

The iPhone is expensive and comes with some major drawbacks. And the most prudent course would be to wait for the next version, one that'll work out some of the kinks, and we hope, be tied to a faster wireless network. But it's hard to be patient once you've seen one - the future of mobile devices is here and it's called an iPhone.

Setup

Setting up the iPhone is a smooth process. The first step, if you haven't already done so, is to install iTunes 7.3. Plugging in the included USB 2.0 dock sees iTunes immediately greet you with a screen to walk you through the activation and set-up of the iPhone.

The whole process takes 15 screens. Once complete, the iPhone is recognised as a device, and you're given a tabbed row of options for managing specific aspects of your iPhone - the same as you'd see your iPod connected to iTunes.

In fact, the entire process of setting up the iPhone - choosing what folders to sync, for example, for your music, photos, podcasts, and video - is familiar to current iPod users. And, perhaps more importantly, the process won't be intimidating to newcomers to the iPod universe.

Navigation

What's dramatically different about the iPhone is how it operates. There just aren't many pesky buttons. The phone's navigation is almost entirely accomplished via its multi-touch screen. The sole button on the face of the phone conveniently returns you to the friendly, fun home screen. A power button up top, and a ringer button and volume controls at left round out the buttons.

We fully expect terms like "slide" and "pinch" to quickly become part of the popular lexicon. These handy manoeuvres let you navigate the iPhone's multi-touch screen with ease. You slide your finger to the right to unlock the phone, and slide again to scroll through menus. We were surprised by the often dizzying speed with which you can scroll - scanning through an album of several hundred photos is effortless.

The touch screen is one of the iPhone's huge assets. Suddenly, navigating in a tight space is not only viable, but also fun and enjoyable. Aside from scrolling, there's pinching and tapping; the former for resizing screens (ie, in the Safari Web browser), the latter for selecting options and zooming in on content, such as photos.

Menus

This navigational ease applies to other elements of the phone as well. The screen has an internal sensor, and will auto-rotate content depending upon how you're holding the iPhone, and what application you're in. The main menu, with its dozen bright, colourful icons for features and applications, and four primary icons for phone, mail, Safari, and iPod below, is both visually engaging and brilliant in its simplicity.

Adding contacts is visual as well. We appreciated the high level of customisation the contacts application offers via its "add a field" option (for example, add a nickname, department, date reminders, or note). When entering contacts, make sure to hit Save, though, way at the top of the screen. The contacts application lets you exit without prompting you to save your record, which can be very annoying to discover after you've spent time entering details.

There are other flaws, too. For example, while you see a battery gauge, the iPhone doesn't give you a way to see the actual percentage (or, better yet, time) remaining in your battery's life.

Another annoyance: Tap the phone icon and the iPhone shows you the Contacts screen, not the keypad. Getting to the keypad requires another tap, and this is definitely annoying if you're not calling someone already in your Contacts list.

Call Quality

Dialling on the touch screen is easy enough for small hands, although we aren't convinced we'd be able to successfully dial one-handed, without looking at the screen - as you can when pressing tactile keys on an ordinary mobile phone. We found call quality mixed in our initial sample of calls. Most calls sounded good, with just an occasional hiss to remind us that we were on a mobile.

We love how the screen darkens while on a call, and the internal sensors reactivate it when its moved from your head. We also loved the visual voicemail feature. It is a pleasure to pick and choose which voicemails to listen to first (you either see the number, or the contact's name if he or she is entered in your address book) or to switch among voicemails with a click of the finger.

The speakerphone seemed inadequate though. Even on maximum volume, our callers sound faint, and had difficulty hearing clearly.

Camera

The 2-megapixel camera lacks any adjustments and has no zoom. Shutter lag is longer than a dedicated digital camera, or even the better camera phones we've seen. Synchronising nearly 258MB of images (approximately 392 JPEG photos) took a little over five minutes.

Photos look eye-popping on the bright, brilliant screen. Colours closely matched the originals, and we saw no issues with images being cropped to fit the screen. Most of the time, we felt the images were sharp and faithfully reproduced, but occasionally, high-resolution images lost some clarity in the conversion to the iPhone's format.

Software Keyboard and Predictive Text Entry

We found the keyboard and predictive text entry solid. It's still no match for the type of good hardware keyboard you get on a BlackBerry or Palm Treo, but it's not unbearable to use, and certainly beats any standard phone keypad. (If only Apple bundled the big instant messaging services.)

The predictive text entry works differently than it does on a BlackBerry, where you see a list of words that might be the one you're trying to type. The iPhone shows one option at a time, which changes as you enter different characters.

Sometimes the software is amazingly good at figuring out your intentions, even with a couple of mistyped characters: For example, it correctly ascertained that we were trying to type the word "predictive" even though a couple of letters came up wrong as we entered them. Other times, it just can't figure out what we wanted (when trying to type the word "company," it proposed "Compaq"). If you do see the word you want, just hit the space key and the iPhone will use it and move on.

When we first started typing on the iPhone, we thought there was no good way to move the cursor around, but we were wrong. With the software keyboard active, pressing down on the text entry area produces a bubble-like circle that magnifies the text around the cursor. Moving it with your fingertip repositions the cursor precisely where you want it and this is a very cool feature.

E-Mail

The iPhone comes with preloaded settings for Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Mac Mail and AOL mail, and support for POP3, IMAP and Microsoft Exchange mail. We easily setup access to a Gmail account and a Lotus Notes account (mail only, no calendar or contacts).

During setup you're given the option to sync your address book (Mac OS X, Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Yahoo), calendar (iCal, Outlook or Outlook Express), mail settings (Mac Mail, Outlook or Outlook Express) and your IE or Safari bookmarks. Synchronising went quite smoothly, although we had no calendar to test.

Mail, like almost everything on the iPhone's lovely screen, displays beautifully. The inbox is as handsome and functional as any we've seen, taking full advantage of the iPhone's relatively abundant screen real estate. The same goes for the messages themselves, whether they're plain text or image-rich HTML. Some may quibble with Apple's decision to segregate all accounts, so that you have to navigate to a different inbox for each one, but moving between accounts is easy and intuitive.

The iPhone automatically and easily displayed images sent as e-mail attachments, up to a point. When a colleague sent a couple of large photos, the iPhone spent quite a few minutes with a "Loading..." notification in the body of the received message. Eventually, instead of rendering two 3.5MB images, the mail client provided links that downloaded each image separately.

On a minor note, we like the way deleted messages swoosh into the trashcan at the bottom of the mail screen. It's one of the many small touches that make you feel like the iPhone works hard to justify its high-end price tag.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi setup on the iPhone went relatively quickly, although you have to get the keyboard taps just right. If the predictive text entry can help you with your WEP or WPA security codes, your codes aren't secure enough. We had to make several tries to nail a longish WPA password, but once you get it, you'll never have to input it again as the iPhone will store it. We wish Apple would have supported a 3G or HSDPA service, though, as you can't count on being in range of a Wi-Fi network when you're downloading big image files or Web pages, and Wi-Fi drains battery life very quickly.

Steve Jobs has boasted that the iPhone delivers "the real Internet" rather than a dumbed-down version. If that means the phone's Safari browser should be capable of anything a desktop browser can do, the iPhone fails to meet that standard. But it's still a sizable leap forward for mobile browsing.

Most phone browsers deal with their tiny screens by heavily reformatting pages. With Safari, pages look as they would in a desktop browser, as Safari simply shrinks them down to fit the iPhone's screen. The shrunken versions have text that's too tiny to read, so you zoom in and out on the page by pinching and pulling. Overall, this works much better in practice than it sounds like it should. The shrunken versions are legible enough to give you a sense of where to zoom, and once you've magnified the page, you can use your thumb to scroll down. (Tip: Safari works best in landscape mode, not the skinnier portrait orientation.)

As a tool for reading Web content such as news sites, for instance, Safari is terrific. And while downloading pages over EDGE isn'tt as snappy as with Wi-Fi, it also wasn't as sluggish as we'd feared it might be. We happily browsed through sites we wouldn't even try to load in most phone browsers.

Web

Today's real Internet includes plenty of sophisticated Web applications, and its here the browser disappoints. A few of the Web 2.0 sites we tried, such as iGoogle and Flickr, worked well. But most were either a little wobbly or altogether inoperable. Google Docs and Spreadsheets worked well enough to let us view some word-processing documents and spreadsheets, but we couldn't see all our documents, or edit any of them. The Meebo Web-based instant-messenger client loaded, but we couldn't send IMs. NetVibes wouldn't let us log in; Remember the Milk sort of worked, but not as well as its mobile version. And so on.

Of course, even if an application like Google Docs worked perfectly, there'd be a limit to how much typing you'd want to do on the iPhone's tiny on-screen keyboard. Even typing URLs is a little tricky, and we struggled with passwords; it would be nice if you could opt for them to be displayed rather than asterisked out, since it can be hard to tell if you've made a typo. (Safari syncs your bookmarks from IE and desktop Safari when you connect to a computer; too bad it doesn't do the same for Firefox.)

The real Internet circa 2007 also packs a lot of multimedia and interactivity in an array of formats including Flash, Java, Windows Media, Real, and more. The iPhone's Safari doesn't support any of these and the only Web media that's likely to work in this browser is multimedia in Apple's own QuickTime format.

Music and Video

Right off the bat with the iPhone, it's clear that this isn't your father's iPod. Apple built a completely new interface for the iPhone's music player, adding touch and tilt sensitivity to elements of its iTunes and iPod interfaces.

Syncing seemed relatively slow compared to other iPods we've used. Transferring 2.2GB of music and video to the device took just over 11 minutes, for a rate of just over 3MB/second.

For the most part, browsing a music library is a joy. Tilt the iPhone on its side with the iPod app going, and it flips into Cover Flow mode to let you flick through your albums with a quick gesture of your finger. (Be sure to have iTunes update your cover art before you sync your library, as any holes in your cover art will make for some ugly blank spots in the Cover Flow progression.)

We didn't see any of the load-time issues with Cover Flow that we experience regularly in the Windows version of iTunes, though they may still exist in libraries larger than the 4GB on our test unit. Tap an album cover, and it flips around to display a list of tracks. Tap any one of those to start it playing.

Tilt back to vertical, and your volume and play controls overlay the bottom of the screen. Tap the screen to bring up a progress indicator that lets you scrub through to any point in the song. That's actually one area where the iPhone falls behind the iPod - with its acceleration-sensitive scroll wheel, you can easily pinpoint the right section of a track without any microscopic finger movements. Finding the right area on the iPhone's progress bar is much trickier, which can be a bit of a pain on longer tracks such as podcasts or full-length concerts.

While we quickly learnt where the different controls reside, it still bugs us a bit that functions like the volume slider are locked to a single orientation of the player. Still, if Apple's planning to move all of its MP3 players to this type of interface, as the continuing rumours of a touch screen video iPod would seem to indicate, the iPod's future is in good hands.

Sound Quality

We never expect much out of the internal speakers or the earbuds that come with a phone or MP3 player, so let's just get those out of the way: the iPhone's internal speakers aren't too bad. While we wouldn't want to listen to music on them, as they distort fairly quickly on any high-register sounds, they're fine for dialog-heavy video playback. The earbuds are fine, too. If you've heard Apple's classic white iPod earbuds, you'll know what you're in for here.

So what's the iPhone really sound like? If you want a quick demo, borrow an iPod nano (2nd Generation). We couldn't hear much to distinguish it from a current-generation nano on either Shure's E500 PTH in-ear phones or Sony's MDR-V900 over-the-ear headphones. In our listening tests, the iPhone held up well compared to most flash-based players. We rate its overall sound quality just behind that of Creative's excellent Zen V Plus (1GB) and almost exactly even with the current generation of iPod nano players.

Our objective audio tests bear that out, with the iPhone generating scores nearly identical to the nano. The 4GB iPhone we tested turned in a particularly strong performance on our crosstalk test, tying the Zen V Plus for the best score we've seen. It also tied the nano's impressive score on our test of maximum useable output level. These results aren't bad, but when we compare the iPhone to an 80GB iPod, there's a noticeable lack of bass with the equaliser turned off. Cymbals, guitar, and any hiss in the recording sound just a touch brighter and more prominent than we'd like, which makes for a slightly more fatiguing listening experience. Female voices in particular, such as the "Live from Austin Texas" recording of Neko Case that we used for some of our testing, sound a bit harsh compared with the better hard drive players.

Overall, the iPhone sounds quite nice for a flash-based MP3 player. One significant drawback: Though Apple built in a standard-size jack instead of the mini-headphone connector you find on most cell phones, you can't just plug in the great set of headphones you bought for your iPod. The iPhone uses a three-segment headset connector that normal headphones can't plug into, which means lots of us will be springing for an annoying adapter as our first iPhone accessory. Yuck.

Video

Here's how nice the iPhone's screen is for video: for the first time, we are looking at the videos we encoded for our iPod thinking "Boy, we really compressed the heck out of that, didn't we?" Next time we encode video, we'll have to go with some higher-quality settings. And that's where video on the iPhone gets a little tricky. Back on an 80GB iPod, the 530MB, 320x128 pixel version of Serenity we used as a demo looks just fine. Transfer it to the iPhone's beautiful 480x320 pixel display, and the low resolution really starts to show its warts. A 640x720 pixel copy of Lord of War we downloaded from the iTunes Store looked great, but at that resolution takes up 1.35GB, or one-third of the 4GB model's capacity. Even with an 8GB iPhone, TV shows are a better bet.

Once you get the video quality dialled in, though, the iPhone makes a great video player. We'll have to follow up a little later with battery tests during video playback, but every other aspect of iPhone video was top notch. Tap the screen during playback to activate it's on-screen play controls. There's an icon in the top-right corner that lets you automatically zoom in on widescreen movies if you can't stand the letterbox effect. The same progress indicator from the music side of the player lets you scrub through to your favourite parts of a video, and the iPhone showed very little lag when jumping from one point of a clip to another.

Other Features

The iPhone has a select handful of extra apps. Some are more noteworthy, for reasons good and bad, than others.

SMS messages look like emails do on the primary screen; then in conversation, they appear in fun balloon form. Unfortunately, you can't send picture messages, though. Instead, you have to send images via e-mail.

The note application is fashioned after a yellow legal pad. Tap out your notes on the keyboard, and then save them to the device, or send them via e-mail. When you do send a note via e-mail, everyone will know where it came from: the bottom of the note we sent to our phone had a "Sent from my iPhone" tag-line tacked on. The clock is full-featured, with a world clock, stopwatch, timer, and multiple alarm settings (useful if you need reminders during the day, or to set up different wake-up calls for different days of the week).

Google Maps is conveniently integrated into the iPhone, as is Yahoo's six-day weather outlook and stock data. You also get a dedicated YouTube application (separate from the iPod video playback capabilities). Right now, only about 10,000 YouTube videos have been reformatted to accommodate the iPhone's screen; the company plans to have the entire library converted by end of year, though. YouTube videos load quickly, and we found the image quality as good as (or even better than) the source material as viewed on a PC.

When we left the device paused on a YouTube video, first the screen intelligently dimmed, then the phone shut off entirely. When we came back and powered up again, the YouTube video was right where we left it. We experienced the same level of resume when using other phone features, as well.