Samsung Rugby 3 (AT&T)

Built for durability and outdoor work, the Samsung Rugby 3 is a sturdy clamshell cell phone. It features AT&T's enhanced push-to-talk and noise suppression, and it comes with large, responsive, and widely-spaced buttons that make it possible to hit while wearing thicker gloves.

Pair all that with U.S. Military Standard 810G for water, dust, and shock, and you have a phone that could easily belong in a fleet for outdoor workers, the accident-prone, or people who want a high level of strength in a simple cell phone -- that is, until you hear it. Cellular call quality was unfortunately very poor, making it one to skip, since the phone does little other than look tough and make calls. The Rugby 3 retails for about $100 with a new, two-year contract.

Design and build
A fairly tall, thick device, the Rugby 3 means business. It's made of a hardened plastic material, but there's very little grip; I'd like a little more. Diagonal grooves slashed along the spines give it a greater handhold.

Closed, the Rugby 3 stands 4.1 inches tall by 2.1 inches wide by 0.82-inch deep and weighs a solid 4.6 ounces. A large speaker grill sits above a small, 1.3-inch CSTN display, which flashes the date and time, battery level, signal strength, and so on. This external display fades after a few seconds, and there seems to be no way to adjust those settings, which is somewhat typical. What's unusual, though, is that pressing the volume keys doesn't light it up again, which is a shame.

The Samsung Rugby 3 is fairly large, but also built to take some knocks.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Below the external display, you'll find a small camera lens for the 3-megapixel shooter.

Flipping open the Rugby 3 via its thick, sturdy hinge was a smooth motion I could execute one-handed. Inside, the 2.4 inch screen has a QVGA display with its 320x240-pixel resolution and support for 260,000 colors. The screen and colors are bright enough at the halfway lighting point, and text is legible, not hazy. It'll be games, graphics, and images that suffer most at this resolution.

Navigating around with the Rugby 3's excellent four-directional pad and soft keys was a piece of cake, except that I kept hitting the central select button to get to the menu, and pulled up the browser instead. D'oh.

Finding what I needed was generally smooth sailing. Shortcuts on the dial pad and navigation array are helpful for launching AT&T Navigator, a shortcuts menu, and turning the phone to vibrate mode. You can also access apps by pressing the left soft key from the home screen.

Below the dial pad, large, very responsive, and spacious keys call up large numbers on the screen. Also pleasantly wide and finger-friendly are the volume rocker and push-to-talk (PTT) buttons on the phone's left spine. On the right, you'll find a less raised speakerphone button and a combined micro-USB charging port and headset jack. I'm not a fan of this combo at all, since you'll need an adapter and since you won't be able to charge the phone while also speaking through a wired headset or listening to music. What can I say, I'm a big fan of options.

A shared charging port and headset jack means that you'll need an adapter to listen to music from a wired headset -- and you can't do that while also charging the phone.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Flip the Rugby 3 over and there's a loop for attaching a phone leash, and a flat-headed screw you can use a coin or other slim, flat object to unlock. Off comes the back panel, where you'll find your SIM card holder and a microSD card slot capable of storing up to 32GB of memory.

Features
A durable device, the Rugby 3's most valuable features are its physical assets; however, the telephonic basics are important, too. The Rugby 3 has a 1,000-entry address book that lets you create contact records and groups. There's room for the usual phone numbers, e-mail address, and preloaded ringtone (choose from nine) and a photo ID, not to mention space for notes and so on.

There's also support for Bluetooth, texting, and mobile e-mail through a whole range of providers, including Gmail and Windows Live Hotmail. You'll find a browser, AT&T Radio, and a bevy of other AT&T apps, including AT&T Navigator with turn-by-turn directions.

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TiVo Mini

With "TiVo" being synonymous with "DVR," it would not be unreasonable to think the TiVo Mini is a small DVR. It isn't one.

Instead, the Mini is another part of the company's whole-home viewing experience, joining the TiVo Stream, which streams your recorded content on iOS devices.

Similar to the Stream, the Mini feeds off of a TiVo Premiere 4 or XL4 DVR. Connect the Mini to a secondary TV and to your home network, and you'll have access to live and recorded TV, video-on-demand services (for Comcast Xfinity customers, at least), and other broadband-delivered content through the main DVR.

Basically, it gives you a chunk of TiVo DVR functionality without the need to buy an additional DVR and pay for additional services or equipment from your cable provider. But, like all things TiVo, it comes with a rather hefty list of caveats.

Setup
One of the nicest things about the Mini is that getting it up and running is simple and doesn't require any calls to a cable provider. The TiVo Mini needs three connections: power, network, and audio/video. Power is handled by a fairly small wall wart, and HDMI is used for AV (component and composite connections are available, too, but require a breakout cable with a 3.5mm plug).

Connecting to your network can be done over a MoCA connection (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) or Ethernet; MoCA, which uses your home's coax cable to stream between devices, is preferred and support is built into both the Premiere 4/XL4 and the Mini.

The Premiere 4/XL4 needs a wired Ethernet connection to your router as well as a connection to your home's coaxial wiring. If your router is nowhere near your TiVo DVR, you'll need to connect a MoCA network adapter to your DSL or cable modem (unless, of course, you have MoCA support built into your modem). You could also use a power line adapter, but, again, MoCA is preferable since it gives you a fatter pipe to meet the high-bandwidth requirements for streaming live TV. Wireless is not an option for live TV or anything else.

The Mini is controlled with a standard TiVo peanut remote that is included with the box. There is also a USB port, which can be used to add TiVo's Slide Bluetooth remote, or, should you decide to hide the box behind your TV, an IR extender. There are mounting holes on the bottom, so it can easily be attached to a wall. If you're looking to extend your TiVo experience into a bedroom or other space where you don't want a large DVR, the Mini is a way to do that.

Once connected, the Mini finds the TiVo DVRs on your network. Then, you point it to the one you want to attach to. Each Premiere 4/XL4 can support live TV streaming on up to two Mini boxes at a time. However, for each Mini, you have to surrender a tuner on the host DVR, which means you lose it for recording. In other words, if you dedicate two tuners to two Mini boxes, you'll be able to record only two programs at a time with the Premiere 4/XL4. You can add more than those two Minis, however; the DVR supports up to three HD streams, so a third could be streaming recorded content, while other units can access apps like Hulu Plus or YouTube.

The option to add more than one or two Minis will become more important when TiVo adds dynamic tuner allocation sometime in 2013. That would eliminate the need to dedicate a tuner to a Mini and, instead, a tuner would only be needed while in use by a Mini for live TV streaming. If not in use, the tuner could be released, freeing it up for the DVR to record to, or for other Minis to use.

This also means that because each DVR supports three HD streams, dynamic tuner allocation will allow up to three Minis to stream live TV. But that's still to come and if you're still confused about what the requirements are right now, the TiVo Mini FAQ page explains the current setup options.

Start streaming
Again, the Mini isn't a DVR, so it doesn't have its own storage. But, it sort of eliminates the need for a secondary DVR since it can control a tuner or two of a Premiere 4 or XL4 for watching live TV and setting things to record. You also have full access to your recorded programs, so you can start watching something in one room and then finish it in another. All without paying any fees to your cable provider for additional services or equipment like a CableCard.

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Kyocera Event (Virgin Mobile)

Though the Kyocera Event has only 3G data and is nearly identical to the Kyocera Hydro, save for not being waterproof like the Hydro, it still has enough tricks up its sleeve to be considered a reliable and decent handset.

True, the biggest incentive to buy it is that bargain price tag. At $79.99, it's one of the two best Android smartphones (the other being the Kyocera Rise) in its price range. But it doesn't hurt that it has a respectable rear-facing camera and runs Android 4.0 as well.

Design
The Kyocera Event is compact, and at only 4.1 ounces, is lightweight and comfortable to hold. With its all-plastic construction, it's not the most luxurious-feeling device, but I did appreciate its tapered edges and angled corners.

It measures 4.5 inches tall and 2.4 inches wide, and has a thickness of 0.46 inch. Due to its small size, it fits easily in front jean pockets and small bags. On the left side is a volume rocker, up top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and Micro-USB port, and the right houses a sleep/power button.

Because of the Event's petite frame, it fits comfortably in front jean pockets.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

On the back is a small audio speaker, with a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash to the right of that. You can pry off the back plate using a small indent on the right of the handset to access the battery and microSD card slot, which takes cards of up to 32GB. Unfortunately, you'll need to remove the battery first to insert the card underneath it.

The 3.5-inch HVGA touch screen has a 480x320-pixel resolution and is responsive to simple swipes. However, I experienced difficulties with more precise tasks, like tapping on the URL bar of a browser, or even typing. Oftentimes, the display registered my taps inaccurately or not at all, and it'd take a few more taps for the screen to finally carry out my selection. Above the display is a notification light and below are three hot keys that light up white when in use, for back, home, and menu.

Features
The phone runs Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, and includes all the Google apps you'd expect: Chrome, Gmail, Plus, Maps with Navigation and Latitude, Local, Messenger, access to the Google Play Books, Magazines, Movies & TV, Music, and the Store, Search, Talk, and YouTube.

Other basic task management features are a native browser and e-mail client, a calculator, a calendar, a clock with alarm functions, a news and weather app, and a voice dialer. It also has an app called ICE that stores your emergency contacts and pertinent medical information, and Qualcomm IZat, a location service app.

The Event's 3.2-megapixel camera, flash, and textured back plate.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

One notable feature is Eco Mode, which is an energy- and battery-conserving module that we've seen on previous Kyocera devices. There is also a MagniFont Mode option for those who want to improve text readability by increasing the font size one level larger than the "Extra Large" or "Huge" setting that is common on Android devices.

Virgin Mobile included its own apps too. One is called MyAccount, which lets you check your phone and data plan, and the other is Mobile ID. With Mobile ID, you can customize your five home screen pages with certain preselected apps, widgets, and other items depending on which ID profile you choose. Currently, there are six available packs.

The Event also has 4GB of internal storage and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity.

Camera and video
The 3.2-megapixel camera comes with a few options like flash, digital zoom, five white balances, six scene modes, geotagging, five photo sizes (from 480x320 to 2,048x1,536), three picture qualities, five color effects, three exposure options, and six ISO levels.

Video recording includes two recording modes (MMS or Long Video, the former limited to only 30 seconds of recording time), continuous flash, all the same zooming, white balance, geotagging, color effects, and exposure options, time lapse, and four image qualities (from 320x240 to 800x480).

For such a low-spec camera, photo quality was surprisingly decent, though understandably not outstanding. Photos looked best when taken in amply lit settings. In general pictures contained a notable amount of digital noise, bright lights blew out easily, and dark hues were hard to distinguish. However, objects were still easy to make out and weren't incredibly blurred, and colors were accurate.

In this amply lit outdoor photo, the blue water and green grass are still bright, and various people can still be identified.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

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Alcatel Authority (Cricket Wireless)

On the surface, the $249.99 Alcatel Authority looks like nice option on Cricket Wireless. The smartphone runs Android and connects to Google's vast ecosystem of software and services. The phone also is compatible with Cricket's Muve Music song-rental service, putting unlimited and portable tunes within the handset's reach. That said, newer options on the no-contract carrier have come along offering more for the same price. For example, the ZTE Engage has a fresher version of Android, while the LG Optimus Regard adds to this faster performance plus 4G data. All that makes the Authority add up to an unsound decision.

Design
The Alcatel Authority lacks the stunning beauty of today's superphones, which sport breathtakingly slim designs or all-metal construction. Like its sister phone on Cricket, the LG Optimus Regard, the Alcatel Authority has a chassis made from the more mundane gray-colored plastic. In line with its sibling, however, the handset feels solidly built and, weighing 4.8 ounces, has heft that I find reassuring. I also like the faux-silver trim running around the edges of the device that adds a touch of sophistication.

The Alcatel Authority's frame is solid and has reassuring heft.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Measuring 5 inches tall by 2.8 inches wide by 0.4 inch thick, the Authority is longer yet slightly thinner than the Optimus (4.37 inches by 2.29 inches by 0.45 inch). Above the phone's screen sit a notification light, trim earpiece grille, and tiny lens for its front-facing VGA resolution camera.

Below the display are four capacitive buttons that I admit threw me for a loop at first. With stenciled-in icons for home, settings, back, and search, the keys use the old Android Gingerbread layout, which I haven't seen in quite some time.

Beyond that, you won't find many physical controls on the Authority. The left edge holds a thin volume rocker while up top sits a tiny power key near a 3.5mm headphone jack. On back of the phone is the 5-megapixel main camera with LED flash, circled by an attractive silver oblong. I think it complements the square but softly tapered lines of the handset well.

Faux-silver metallic trim adds extra touch of elegance.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

There's a long, thin speaker slot here too and the plastic battery cover sports a scale-like textured surface that grips fingertips yet repels fingerprints. A 1,530mAh removable battery lives under the cover, along with an SD Card slot that you can access without disturbing the battery.

Display and interface
With its 4.3-inch, 800x480-pixel-resolution LCD screen, smartphone newcomers perhaps will find the Alcatel Authority's display captivating. I certainly didn't. While the screen is relatively bright, its viewing angles are extremely shallow. If I tilted the handset in any direction rather than staring at the display dead-on, both brightness and color fidelity immediately deteriorated. Also, the Authority's low-resolution screen translated into blocky images and text, especially in side-by-side comparison with the 4.8-inch, 1,280x720-pixel Samsung Galaxy S3.

The 4.3-inch screen offers a low 800x480-pixel resolution.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Pressing the power button on the top of the Authority fires up the phone's lock screen. It displays a large digital clock along with date and network status. To unlock the device, you must swipe across the screen left or right, which sends you to one of the five home screens. Cricket sprinkles a default selection of apps and widgets across them but you can customize each screen with the app shortcuts and Android widgets you choose. Placed on the bottom of every screen are quick-launch icons for the phone dialer, the vertically scrolling application tray, and the Web browser.

The back battery cover sports a nice patterned texture.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Software and apps
A throwback to another era, the Alcatel Authority's Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread operating system is a blast from the past. First launched in December 2010, Gingerbread is positively archaic, given the lightning-fast development of the mobile device industry. Still, as an Android phone the Authority offers access to Google's universe of services, staples such as Gmail, Google+, Google Talk, Google Latitude, Google Maps and navigation, local search, and YouTube. For more capabilities, the Google Play store stands ready to supply additional apps and software for download.

The phone runs an older OS, Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

One thing I am truly grateful for is the Authority's lack of copious amounts of bloatware. There are apps for accessing your Cricket account and backing up your phone, Cricket 411 conducts local searches, and Cricket Navigator offers turn-by-turn driving instructions. Honestly though, you'd be better off using these apps' Google equivalents since they're both free and better-designed. I can say the same thing for Cricket's app store (called Storefront), which has a modest number of titles and background wallpapers, but can't even begin to compare to the depth of Google Play.

Cricket throws in two games titles: Block Breaker 3 and Uno. They are merely trial versions, however, and to rub salt in the wound, can't be uninstalled. There are basic organizer and productivity features, such as a calendar, instant messaging and e-mail support (including Microsoft Exchange), a calculator, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, an alarm clock, voice commands and a voice recorder, a weather app, Polaris Office, and a notepad. And if you need help remembering your to-do list, there's a handy task manager.

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Tips from a Social Media One-night Stand

A glimpse of the stage and the screen at Social Media One-night Stand in Seattle on March 18, 2013

When you write about something called Social Media One-night Stand, the temptation, so to speak, is to fill it with bad puns and jokes about its name (like I just did). But this is a post where that's the last double entendre.

Instead, I wanted to bring you social media tips and lessons from my most recent session, which is nothing more than a fancy name for an advanced social-media workshop.

I am just wrapping up a week in the Pacific Northwest. I spent time in digital offices as different as MSN News and Big Fish Games in Seattle, and the Oregonian in Portland. I learned different things at each of those places (all this, by the way, on what is a family vacation - don't ask!). 

At MSN News (@msnnews), I learned about a rumors-in-the-news debunking site and a sister MSN site, MSN Now, which tracks trends in the real-time web.

At Big Fish (@BigFish), one of the world's largest makers of casual gaming software, I got a chance to see games in development (more than 2 billion PC/Mac games and 100 million mobile games have been downloaded). One Big Fish game, Fetch, was released a couple of days ago for the iPad and is currently "New and noteworthy" in the App Store; read a WSJ article by Jason Bellini (@JasonBellini) about how the game was developed (I learned a lot about the finicky games/apps business).

At the Oregonian (@Oregonian), which is the largest news organization in the Pacific Northwest, I learned how a venerable daily newspaper can also be a leader in the digital age. I also learned that an event's success can be calculated in multiple ways, as you will see from this photo:

Two signs of success of a social media workshop: Trending on Twitter and empty pizza boxes.

But the most unusual part of my itinerary was my Social Media One-night stand at the University of Washington's Communication Leadership Program, hosted by my friend Hanson Hosein (@HRHMedia) (the subject of my first CNET News post, in 2012). The event was co-presented by various journalism organizations, including Society of Professional Journalists, Asian American Journalists Association and South Asian Journalists Association, along with the Seattle Times. A Seattle social-media star, Monica Guzman (@MoniGuzman), helped me teach the workshop.

Here are some notes and items about the session, which we called #sreeattle:

* When the hashtag started trending, there was some confusion, including this tweet: "#sreeattle ? WTF?"

* This text post (video embedded below), by KING5-TV reporter Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels5), starts in an unusual way, but is extremely flattering:

* Slides from my presentation are at http://bit.ly/sreeattle and embedded below:

* Here are three YouTube videos that show all 3.5 hours of social-media insanity:

* There were almost 2,000 tweets and photos generated that night and I've taken some of the best and created a Storify, a tool that allows you to create a story out of ephemeral tweets and photos. Here's the Storify I made out of #Sreeattle.

I tracked all those tweets thanks to a new tool I showed the audience, OneQube (I'll write about it in a future post). Meanwhile, you can see one of its many features in action here: http://qub.me/2nzG1V.

* Here's another recap of the event: a roundup by freelancer Ulrike Langer (@MauiSurfer25) - she calls the night the "best social media show ever" (presumably that's a low bar); here's the German version: "Beste Social Media Show Ever."

* Amid a sea of positive tweets, including something serious like "Hard to sleep after such an inspiring talk on social media with @Sree. #Sreeattle: (that's @Mel_Fry) and something funny like "@Sree, That was the best *cough* I mean only one night stand I've ever had #sreeattle" (that's @Cynthiasaurus), my favorite is from a Twitter newbie.

Margie Doyle, who publishes hyperlocal site in the Orcas Islands, tweets under @OrcasIssues. She deliberately left her cellphone and laptop in her car so she could concentrate in the session. She ended up taking notes on paper plates:

Margie Doyle an attendee who didn't bring her phone or computer into the session, ended up taking notes on paper plates.

What are YOUR advanced social media tips? Please share them in the comments below, along with any feedback, critiques of the items above. 

NOTE: My next Social Media One-night Stand is Thursday, May 16 in NYC, but will be streamed live so you can attend from anywhere. 

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Wireless charging still has strings attached

The Powermat-Duracell booth at Mobile World Congress representing the Power Matters Alliance.

(Credit: Powermat)

As obviously useful as wireless charging is, it suffers from a Tower of Babel problem with incompatible standards and competing interests keeping it from truly going mainstream.

But the industry may yet be inching toward some level of sanity. AT&T is seeking from its handset vendors a commitment to one standard of wireless charging, CNET has learned.

The standard, known as PMA, or the Power Matters Alliance, is spearheaded by Powermat Technologies and Procter & Gamble, two unlikely leaders considering their highest-profile products are the bulky iPhone charging covers that only true power-hungry users submit themselves to using. But over the last few months, the PMA has seen a tenfold increase in membership, and its technology is used in Boston-area Starbucks, and will be used in select European McDonald's.

Having a clear and unified standard would come as a welcome relief to consumers and a raft of companies in fields ranging from automotive to furniture looking to jump on one bandwagon or another.

"Wireless charging continues to be a niche category until there's a common standard," said Daniel Hays, a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. "The hassle factor is still high."

But as much momentum as the PMA has achieved, it is far from clear whether it will be that bandwagon. In fact, this year's Mobile World Congress was all about the various alliances hawking their standard as the standard to follow.

In addition to the PMA is Qi, run by the more established Wireless Power Consortium. It's the primary standard used in current smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S4 , for instance, will support both standards, CNET confirmed.

Then there's the Alliance For Wireless Power, or A4WP, which has bet on a newer, more convenient kind of wireless charging technology and counts Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics as its key backers, but isn't expected to hit the market until next year.

I had a chance to visit each camp while at Mobile World Congress to hear their take on wireless charging, and all -- unsurprisingly -- were convinced their way was the right way.

'Smart' wireless charging
The PMA, under Powermat Duracell, had the most impressive booth presence among the three. Even at a show packed with booths big and small, Powermat Duracell was able to carve out its own presence.

Rather than the typical booth with high walls, Powermat Duracell was fairly open and brightly lit, accented by a mix of low white walls and wood accent colors. On one side sat a glass case featuring some of its Powermat iPhone cases. On the opposite end was a quasi-mockup of a Starbucks interior, complete with a wall stacked high with its coffee bags, in a demonstration of its wireless charging station.

Powermat showed off a sneak peek of its new iPhone 5 wireless charging case.

(Credit: Roger Cheng/CNET)

Near the center of the booth hung a large poster with the logos of each member of the group -- something that PMA executives are proud of. Daniel Schreiber, president of Powermat and a board member of the PMA, boasted that it is the fastest growing of the three groups, touting new additions including LG and ZTE.

Last week, Powerkiss, the manufacturer of wireless charging equipment that is installing stations in McDonald's in Europe, jumped from the Qi ship and backed PMA.

It's impressive what the group has achieved considering it's only a little more than a year old. In fact, the PMA is the primary reason for the split, with Powermat pulling out of the WPC because it deemed it too slow-moving.

"You can get nowhere with hundreds of companies," said Ron Rabinowitz, CEO of Duracell Powermat.

The PMA doesn't just promise wireless charging stations, it touts its system as one that can enable stores and retailers to better stay in touch with its consumers. Power 2.0, or the next version of its standard, will add a digital layer on top of the wireless charging connection, allowing the transfer of data.

The next version of its standard will allow a store manager to monitor how long a customer has been using a charger, and even send coupons for another drink, for example.

You can buy a wireless charging cover for the Galaxy S4.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

The knock on PMA, however, has been its need for outside accessories to enable wireless charging. Powermat designed bulky phone covers for the iPhone and Galaxy S3, and showed off a new version of its cover for the iPhone 5 at the show.

Those days may be coming to an end.

"In an effort to move towards making this a reality for consumers worldwide and in direct support for the public ecosystem rollout led by Powermat, we have asked our device suppliers to provide integrated wireless charging solutions by 2014," AT&T said in a statement sent to CNET.

AT&T has corralled nearly all of its partners, according to a person familiar with the initiative. For a company like Nokia, which has aggressively embraced the Qi standard in its flagship phones, the decision means switching technologies.

Qi, the incumbent
Walking over to the Qi booth, which is run by the Wireless Power Consortium, one can see the difference in show presence. It was less a booth and more a corner, with only two walls separating it from the numerous exhibits around it.

Its restrained presence stands in contrast to the broad adoption of Qi, which is notably found on high-profile phones such as the Nokia Lumia 920, exclusive to AT&T, and Verizon's flagship HTC Droid DNA. Verizon has its own plan to push the Qi standard into its phones this year. Naturally, Verizon and AT&T can't agree on much.

The Galaxy S4 will support both Qi and PMA, depending on which wireless charging back cover and appropriate charging pad is chosen, and whether it's available at that retailer or carrier store.

The WPC booth featured several Qi-compatible accessories.

(Credit: Roger Cheng/CNET)

In response to the PMA's charge about infrastructure, the WPC spent its time at the show announcing different partnerships. Starting this month, Toyota Avalons can be equipped with a Qi-compatible center console as an option. Next month, it will be available for the Prius as well.

Stefan Graf, director of marketing and new technology at PLDS (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions), said the company has several other car equipment manufacturers lined up as well, but wouldn't go into detail.

"We're talking to nearly everybody," he said.

The PMA's big automaker win, General Motors, will support Qi as well, Graf added.

The company's other big announcement -- that Qi would end up in European McDonald's locations -- turned out to be a non-starter after the Powerkiss defect.

Tomorrow's standard
The third group, A4WP, didn't spring for a booth at all. In its place was a small meeting room filled with an assortment of wireless charging examples, ranging from the standard charging pad to a mock automotive center console and table top. Crowded in the room were more than half a dozen executives from companies such as Samsung and Qualcomm eager to brief me.

The A4WP probably didn't feel the need yet to have a big presence at the show. The group is still working on deciding on a final brand -- the executives conceded A4WP isn't the catchiest of name -- and still needs to finish testing and certification. A commercial rollout isn't expected until next year.

Its method of wireless charging is powered by a wholly different technology called magnetic resonance that allows for more flexibility. Instead of lining up a device perfectly along a charging pad, only a small part of a device needs to touch the surface. A charging station can handle multiple devices, and can still charge even if there's a magazine or other small obstruction between the phone and the surface.

The magnetic resonance technology allows you to charge a phone even if there's something between the pad and the device. Here, the pad is both charging the phone and powering the portable light.

(Credit: Roger Cheng/CNET)

"This is the first time the industry has a serious choice available for next-generation wireless charging technology," said Kamil Grajski, president of the A4WP and a Qualcomm executive.

The demonstration was impressive. Critics, however, say it isn't as power efficient as inductive charging, which is what Qi and PMA use, and that the frequency of the signal could interfere with other equipment. The PMA, however, has said it would look at resonance charging in the future, which suggests future standard wars.

Clint Chaplin, vice chairman of the A4WP and a principal engineer at Samsung, said that while his company has joined the WPC and supports Qi, it is really backing A4WP as the standard of the future.

The potential kingmakers
Ultimately, the standards war will be won by the side that can get the right mix of wireless charging capabilities in phones and stores and cars. The PMA is confident that its deal with Starbucks, if it expands beyond the trial in Boston, could be the deciding factor.

Apple executive Phil Schiller.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Schreiber noted that the wireless Internet battles were decided when Starbucks decided to support Wi-Fi, and he hopes history will repeat itself.

Likewise, getting wireless charging capabilities in the car will go a long way toward determining which standard has some legs. Given how long consumers tend to keep their cars relative to a smartphone, many of the automakers have been reluctant to take a stand. But early adopters like General Motors and Toyota could pave the way for the rest of the industry, which is largely sitting on the sidelines.

Also conspicuously absent is Apple, which so far has refused to commit to wireless charging. While Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller questioned the need for wireless charging last year, the latest rumor has the company putting the feature into the next iPhone.

CNET contacted Apple to comment on wireless charging, and we'll update the story when the company responds.

Despite the conflicting standards and potential for consumer confusion, wireless charging does appear to be heading in the right direction.

"I think it's happening," Powermat's Schreiber said. "Once you get the momentum, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."

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Seagate Business Storage 4-Bay NAS (8TB)

Seagate's four-bay Business Storage 4-Bay NAS server is the replacement for the company's previous BlackArmor 440. Despite the name, it's a simple network storage device that both consumers and business users can benefit from. In fact it has fewer business-related features than other advanced yet consumer-friendly servers I've reviewed, such as the Synology DS413+ or the QNAP TS-469 Pro, and it's also slower.

The new server from Seagate comes in at a much lower price point, however, starting at just $400 (compared with $650 or more for the other two). On top of that it includes a powerful backup application, and has a Universal Storage Module (USM) slot that can be used with Seagate Backup Plus portable drives to offer a quick offsite backup solution.

If you're looking for a workhorse network-based storage server to use primarily for local backups and data sharing, the Seagate Business Storage NAS is a cost-effective choice. Those wanting to get more out of a NAS server should pay more for one of these alternatives.

Available capacities	Diskless, 4TB, 8TB, 12TB,16TB
RAID support	RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and JOBD
Peripheral ports	USB 3.0 (2), Gigabit Ethernet (2)
Dimensions (HWL)	9.4 x 9.7 x 14.8 inches
Weight (with four HDDs)	14.7 lbs
Features	Universal Storage Module (USM) slot, iSCSI, DLNA media server, remote access, Time Machine support (native)
Software / Apps	Seagate NAS Discovery, Seagate BlackArmor Backup 2011; mobile apps for Android and iOS devices

Design
The Seagate Business Storage 4-Bay NAS has a design typical of the average four-bay NAS server and somewhat resembles its predecessor, BlackArmor 440. On the front, it comes with a big door that opens up to a four front-facing drive bays. Each of these bay has a tray that can be easily pulled out in case you need to install or replace the hard drives, and no tool is need for the job.

The server can host four standard SATA hard drives of any capacity, so with hard drives being as large as 4TB each, the new server can offer up to 16TB of raw storage space. The server itself is available from 0TB (diskless) up to 16TB, with the cost ranging from $400 to $1,500. It's the most affordable four-bay NAS server on the market right now.

The Business Storage 4-Bay NAS' Web interface is well-organized but rather slow and simple.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

The server supports most standard RAID setups available for four-drive systems, including RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, and JBOD. (For more on RAIDs, check out this post). Since these are all standard RAIDs, make sure you pick the initial storage space that's large enough for long-term usage. This is because it's not possible to scale up the server's capacity by switching to larger-capacity hard drives without rebuilding the RAID from scratch.

Other NAS servers, such as those from Synology or Netgear, offer a way to dynamically increase the server's storage space without even turning the server off. They also let you use hard drives of different capacities.

Also on the front, the server comes with a tiny two-line-resolution LED screen and two navigation buttons. The screen show the server's status, such as its IP address, Disk health, and so on and you can use the buttons to scroll between different pages of the screen, by pressing on them once. Each page contains two lines of information. You can press and hold a button for the screen to display detail of the item. For example, pressing and holding "NetworkStatus" will display the server's current IP address, or on "Backup" will start a quick backup job.

The Seagate Business Storage can perform quick backup job via its Universal Storage Module (USM) slot, which is located on top of the tiny LED screen. Seagate's USM slot was introduced at CES 2011; it allows Seagate's portable drives to work as removable storage media, the way ZIP disks worked with a ZIP drive, but at the speed of SATA 3 (6Gbps), which is as fast as the speed of two internal hard drives when used inside a computer. When a Backup Plus portable drive is inserted into the USM slot, its contents will be shared with the entire network (with restriction options), or you can make backups of certain folders from the server's internal storage on it. You can select which folders to back up on the portable drive via the server's Web interface.

The server has two USB 3.0 ports, one on the front and one on the back. These ports can be used to host more storage or printers. You can also use the front USB port with another external storage device for the Quick Backup feature.

As a network storage device, the Business Storage 4-Bay NAS has two Gigabit Ethernet ports on the back. Only one of the port is needed but the two can be used together for either load-balancing or fail-safe purpose. Unfortunately, they can't be used together to increase the server's data rate, a feature available in some other high-end NAS servers.

I reviewed a 16TB version of the Business Storage 4-Bay NAS, and it comes with a CD that contains the Seagate NAS Discovery and Seagate NAS Backup applications. The former helps identify the server on the network (by revealing its IP address) and launch the Web interface. You can also do this by pointing a browser to the server's IP address. The latter is rebranded powerful backup software called Seagate BlackArmor Backup 2011, which is based on Acronis True Image 2011. This lets you back up an entire Windows computer and restore it to another computer or to another hard drive. For Macs, Seagate Business Storage servers support Time Machine natively.

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Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11's keyboard is permanently attached to the tablet section and when in tablet mode, it’s bulky, heavy, and awkward to hold. Thankfully, if you’d rather lay your tablet down flat or simply watch movies on it, the Yoga 11’s flexible, dual-hinge, $649 body gives you a few useful positions to choose from. Also, in laptop mode, it makes for a pretty cheap ultrabook, as long as you don’t mind being saddled with Windows RT.

If the thought of buying a device with RT causes you to wake up in the middle of the night screaming, then you may want to wait for the Windows 8 version of the Yoga 11, called the Yoga 11S, coming this summer for only $150 more. The Yoga 11S will also include a higher-resolution screen and a faster non-ARM Intel Core i5 CPU. Or, if you find 11 inches of screen size to be lacking, the 13-inch Yoga 13 may be more up your alley.

Compared with the Microsoft Surface RT, the Yoga 11 is a better lap computer and offers more ports, including two full-size USB port and a full-size SD storage expansion slot. However, the Surface's Type Cover keyboard is more comfortable, its Internet performance consistently zippier, and it’s a lot thinner and a lot lighter as a tablet.

If you’ve made your peace with Windows RT’s offerings, the Yoga 11 serves as the best RT device next to the Surface. However, it’s a better laptop than a tablet, so its appeal will depend on what you're looking for.

Finding your center
Unlike all previous Windows RT tablets, the Yoga 11's screen can’t be detached from its keyboard. The two are permanently linked via dual hinges that allow the screen to tilt back 360 degrees, until the back of the screen lays flush with the back of the keyboard. In this position, the Yoga 11 is the closest it'll ever get to feeling like a normal tablet. That is, if you don’t mind the 2.6-pound weight, 0.7-inch thickness (at its thickest), or the feel of keys on the back of your tablet while you attempt to hold it with one hand, and read the morning’s news and sip your coffee with the other. No, the Yoga 11 doesn't make for the best portable tablet; it feels heavy and awkward to hold from this position. However, it works fine once it's laid down flat.

Sure, it's definitely a tablet, but it's one of the heaviest, bulkiest tablets I've ever held. What you can't see in this pic is the muscle strain.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Weight in pounds	2.6	1.32	1.5
Width in inches (landscape)	11.7	10.4	10.8
Height in inches	8	7.1	6.8
Depth in inches	0.70	0.33	0.43
Side bezel width in inches (landscape)	0.8	0.8	0.8

You can also orient the Yoga 11 in three other ways. There’s Tent mode, or, as I like to call it, the downward dog position. OK, I don't actually like to call it that, but it feels appropriate. Here, the screen is tilted back about halfway past 90 degrees, then propped up on the top edge of the screen and bottom edge of the keyboard, with the screen facing the user. Not a bad position if using the tablet on a desk, but also not all that different from the third position that sees the keyboard lying flat, keys down, again with the screen facing the user. This was the ideal position for movie-watching, allowing you to easily tilt the screen back and forth to find the perfect position, with no keyboard futzing with your movie engrossment.

With the keyboard flat on the desk (and automatically disabled), this mode is great when watching movies and TV shows thanks to its easily tiltable screen.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The final position is also the one you’ll probably use most, laptop mode. From here the Yoga 11 is essentially an 11.6-inch ultrabook with a touch screen. That’s about 1.5 inches larger than most tablet screens and about an inch larger than the Surface RT's. Thanks to the larger screen, the Yoga 11 features a wider-than-usual keyboard compared with most tablets, and as a result is a bit more comfortable to type on. Thanks to its flat laptop bottom, the Yoga 11 is more conducive to typing from your actual lap; something I couldn't say about the Surface RT given its kickstand design. That said, however, the softer, wider keys of Surface RT's Touch Cover just plain feel better on my fingertips and is still my preferred typing tablet. One last useful note: adjusting the screen brightness on a Window RT tablet usually requires a couple levels of menu navigation, but the Yoga 11 thankfully features a brightness shortcut key that makes for a much less irritating task.

Sticking with the whole "whisper: I'm really a laptop..." motif, the Yoga 11 is packed with ports. Along its left edge sits a headphone jack, a full USB port, a full HDMI port, followed by a speaker grille, and volume rocker. On the front edge is the power/sleep button, and on the right edge is a charging port, a full SD card slot, another full USB port, and another speaker grille.

It's good for using as a tablet on a desk, looking distinctive among other tablets, and when giving couch presentations.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Windows RT is still Windows RT
Windows RT is essentially the light version of Windows 8, designed specifically for ARM processors like the Tegra 3. RT gives you access to the complete Windows 8 "Metro" touch interface, including all ARM-based apps from the Windows Store. You also get full Windows 8 versions of Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer, run through what looks like a traditional Windows Desktop interface.

What you don't get is the ability to run any other normal Windows programs. You won’t be downloading and installing Firefox, Far Cry 3, or Photoshop unless there are versions made specifically for the Windows Store.

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2013 Audi S7

The Audi A7 came out in 2011 as a stupendous tech car, featuring an always-on data connection feeding maps from Google Earth into the navigation system. Now the A7 gets the "S" treatment, which in Audi terms means a higher output engine and sport modifications.

In 2013 Audi S7 form, the body style remains the same as the less-ferocious A7. Termed a four-door coupe by Audi, the S7 sedan includes a hatchback instead of a proper trunk, with a roofline running down the back in a gradual, aerodynamic slope.

In the Glacier White Metallic paint of CNET's car, the hatch cover looked like a bunny slope, ready for a crowd of beginning skiers snowplowing awkwardly into each other.

The front is pure Audi, with a big grille running from the leading edge of the hood down to the lower fascia. Audi's signature LED parking strips underline the headlight casings, which showed off a new feature for Audi, optional LED headlights. The lights cast a nicely defined pattern and have something like 10 times the longevity of the standard high-intensity discharge lamps, while using less electricity.

Driving on a foggy night, the S7 automatically adjusted the lights so as to reduce glare, a feature that worked surprisingly well.

Power with little sacrifice
The A7's engine strikes an excellent balance between power and efficiency, but the S7 shows some near miraculous engineering. Although adding two cylinders, a whole liter of displacement, and generating 110 more horsepower than the A7's engine, the S7 only comes up short by 1 mpg in EPA tests.

The 4-liter twin turbo V-8 in the S7 produces 420 horsepower, yet can pull 27 mpg on the highway.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Specifically, Audi fitted the S7 with a twin turbocharged, direct injection, 4-liter V-8, good for 420 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. Mated to its seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, what Audi calls S Tronic, the S7 gets 17 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. That latter number is not only impressive, but appeared achievable in my testing.

Cruising down the freeway, I saw the instantaneous fuel gauge read close to 30 mpg. However, my average ended up at only 19.2 mpg, a result of the S7's Dynamic mode. More on that later.

Despite the big engine and the twin turbos, the S7 managed much more even acceleration in normal driving than the BMW 750Li I reviewed last month, which has a similar engine configuration. That difference is likely due to the S7's Comfort and Auto settings from Audi's Drive Select feature, which detune throttle response, transmission, and a host of other performance components to make the car manageable in day-to-day driving.

As a daily driver, the S7 has a lot to recommend. The cabin treated me with luxury features, from four-zone climate control to heated, power adjustable seats. I particularly like the diamond-pattern leather seat coverings. One strike against it is the plastic tray Audi embeds in the rear bench, effectively making the car a four-seater.

Real satellite navigation
The fold-out LCD in the dashboard shows off the tech star of the S7, Google Earth maps integrated with the navigation system. Although I have seen it repeatedly over the last couple of years in different Audi models, my geek guts still experience a thrill watching the car travel through satellite imagery of my surroundings. Seeing the skyscrapers of downtown San Francisco or the spectacular cliffs of the coast roll by on the S7's screen was just cool.

A recent addition to Audi's navigation system is the incorporation of Street View. When I browsed the map and zoomed in, it brought up a street-level image of the surrounding storefronts. On reaching a programmed destination, the LCD showed a little Street View image of the location on the map.

Street View, integrated with the navigation system, lets you see destinations on the S7's LCD.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

That imagery comes courtesy of a dedicated 3G data connection into the car, something owners will have to pay a monthly fee for after a six-month complimentary period.

Audi also used the data connection in the S7 to enable Google local search, a feature I greatly appreciate, along with apps for weather and fuel prices. However, Audi has not yet worked out a scheme to incorporate popular third-party apps, such as Pandora, Yelp, Twitter, or Facebook.

Behind the vibrant Google Earth imagery, Audi keeps a set of stored maps in the car, more typical graphic representations of the roads in plan and perspective views. Those maps include 3D renderings of buildings in downtown areas.

Fingertip search
Audi's cabin tech interface makes finding destinations with Google local search or entering addresses easier than most. The interface's dial controls a rotary paradigm for alphanumeric inputs, which is tedious to use, but two other entry methods work much better.

The revolutionary pad mounted on the center console let me trace letters with my fingertip, so I could quickly enter street names, cities, and zip codes. Voice command also worked very well, letting me say a street address and city all in a single string to program a destination.

The small touch pad on the console makes alphanumeric entries much easier than using the dial and rotary interface.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Voice command in the S7 was fairly comprehensive, letting me control navigation and place phone calls by name, but it did not let me request specific music from a USB drive or iOS device plugged into the car.

Under route guidance, I liked the instrument cluster display, which showed turn-by-turn graphics and lane guidance. The center LCD shows similar graphics, but I had to dig through the settings to get them to show up.

Audi also seems to have expanded its traffic coverage in the navigation system to cover more surface streets. However, I was less impressed with the car's routing when it sent me onto some of the most congested streets in downtown San Francisco, when there were perfectly good alternate routes that would have been quicker. To be fair, few navigation systems can equal the acquired knowledge of local residents.

For music to soothe the frustrations of driving in heavy traffic, the S7 comes standard with Audi's Bose premium sound system, comprised of a 630-watt amp and 14 speakers. I was not blown away by the sound quality from this system, finding some of the mid-range reproduction a little muddy and the highs too shrill. Serious music lovers should look into the optional Bang & Olufsen audio system, which is pricey but very enjoyable.

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LG Optimus Regard (Cricket Wireless)

Don't be swayed by the use of "Optimus" in its name, as the LG Optimus Regard for Cricket Wireless isn't out to impress. Its compact design is unassuming, its feature set is mostly entry-level, and it runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. So, in other words, it's about as far from the Optimus G Pro as you can get. Yet, those aren't reasons to avoid this affordable, easy to use, and LTE-ready handset.

The Optimus Regard costs a reasonable $249.99 for Cricket's contract-free service, which places it right in the middle of the carrier's Android lineup. You can spend quite a bit more for a fancier device like the Galaxy S3, or less for a simpler model like the Kyocera Hydro, but the Optimus Regard occupies a sweet spot in terms of value, performance, and the usual Android goodies. It's sad, though, that for such a tricked-out camera, photo quality is so poor.

Design
You could say that Optimus Regard is yet another plastic Android rectangle. Indeed, it is, but I don't mean that in a bad way. I don't expect cheap phones to offer premium or striking designs so I won't knock the Optimus Regard for being dull. It is a little smaller then I prefer (4.37 inches long by 2.29 inches wide by 0.45 inch deep), but I like that it's rather heavy (4.72 ounces). Those extra ounces give it a sturdy feel despite the plastic battery cover.

Above the display are a camera lens and sensor, while below are the standard Ice Cream Sandwich touch controls of Back, Home, and Menu. Above is a front camera lens with sensor. The main camera lens is around back next to the flash. On the left spine are the volume rocker and the Micro-USB charger port, and up top are the power control and the 3.5mm headset jack. Unfortunately, the handset lacks a dedicated camera control.

A static icon tray sits at the bottom of the display, and below that are three touch controls.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Display and interface
One consequence of a handset being compact is a smaller display, 3.5 inches in this case, an issue only compounded by a thick bezel. Four years ago, a 3.5-inch display would have been perfectly adequate on a smartphone, but in an age of apps and media, it just feels too cramped, even for a budget device. Of course, you may feel differently if you have smaller hands than I do. The resolution (480x320 pixels) on the TFT display isn't fantastic and the brightness control has a small range. Also, colors can look a little unnatural, especially in the lighter hues (the Optimus Regard supports 16.7 million of them). For a phone at this price, though, the display does its job and the multitouch interface is fast and responsive.

The display's resolution is fitting for an entry-level phone, but at 3.5 inches it can feel cramped.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

There are five home screens that you can customize with apps, folders, and widgets. Also, you can choose which icons to drop in the static tray at the bottom of all home screens. On the lock screen, I like that you get a choice of four shortcuts that will take you to the phone dialer, your contacts list, the messaging app, and the camera. Of course, you can't access those shortcuts if you protect your lock screen with a PIN. The virtual keyboard and keypad show the standard Ice Cream Sandwich design.

The Optimus Regard responds to a few gesture controls. The first action -- moving an icon on the home screen by pressing the icon and tilting the phone -- is clunky and not very useful. The other actions are better, even if we've seen them before. You can silence an incoming call, pause a video, and stop an alarm by flipping the phone over.

Features and OS
Outside of the aforementioned camera and LTE support (presently, Cricket has just three 4G phones), there's little about the Optimus Regard that stands out. I'm not criticizing, but I just want you to keep your expectations in check. In fact, it delivers the essential tools for communication and organization, which should be enough to satisfy smartphone beginners.

Though you might find the use of Ice Cream Sandwich to be disappointing, it's hardly surprising. Yes, you can argue that we're approaching the first anniversary of Jelly Bean (and that Ice Cream Sandwich is now more than a year old), but basic Android phones like the Optimus Regard are usually an OS version behind. Also, remember that the Optimus Regard hit stores last November, which is just when Jelly Bean made its first appearance in the LG Nexus 4. When you think about it, there's no way Google would have allowed a Jelly Bean- and LTE-equipped Optimus Regard to outshine its more-hyped and 3G-only sister. LG hasn't said when the Optimus Regard could get an update; technically, it is capable of handling the upgrade.

The compact Optimus Regard travels well.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Software and apps
As an Android smartphone, the Optimus Regard has all the usual Google features, including Gmail, Google+, Google Talk, Google Latitude, Google Maps and navigation, local search, and YouTube. Of course, the Google Play store has a ton of additional apps and software for download.

Fortunately, Cricket doesn't stock the Optimus Regard with too much bloatware. Aside from the usual shortcuts for accessing your account and backing up your phone, Cricket 411 performs local search and Cricket Navigator provides driving directions. Neither app delivers a better experience than its Google counterpart so I never used them outside of a brief trial. The same goes for Cricket's app store (called Storefront); it has a fair number of titles and background wallpapers, but I'll stick with Google Play.

The Optimus Regard also comes with two games: Block Breaker 3 and Uno. They are just trial versions, though, so you'll have to pay to play eventually. You'll also get a calendar, messaging and e-mail (including Microsoft Exchange), a calculator, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, an alarm clock, voice commands and a voice recorder, a weather app, Polaris Office, and a notepad. To keep everything under control, there's a convenient task manager.

Camera and media
The Optimus Regard's main camera tops out at a 5-megapixel resolution (you can downgrade to 1-megapixel images if you like). That's rather low-powered as smartphone cameras go these days, but there are many more features than I expected. Among them are three color effects, a self-timer, geotagging, adjustable white-balance and brightness meters, a 4x digital zoom, three ISO selections, seven scene modes, face tracking, and four shutter sounds plus a silent mode.

Of all the photos, this was the best. Colors were faded, but not by much.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET)

The continuous-shot mode, which takes six photos in rapid succession, is typical fare, but the time-catch mode is unusual and pretty cool. It will take up to six quick shots between the time you press the onscreen control (remember that there's no physical button) and when the shutter actually closes. Given the very short shutter lag (barely a second), you might think that the feature wouldn't reveal a lot. I noticed, however, that my hand shakes quite a bit even in that little span of time. After viewing all of the photos, you can choose which images you want to save and which to discard.

There was little image noise in our standard studio shot, but there was a dark tone overall.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET)

There's also a panoramic mode and an HDR (high dynamic range) feature. The latter features takes multiple shots in an effort to try to properly expose all areas of a photo, but it didn't make much of a difference (more on photo quality in a minute). Another quirky feature is that you can set the camera to take photos when you say "cheese," "LG," "smile," "whiskey," or even "kimchi." In case you were wondering about the country where LG is based, wonder no more.

The camera's difficulty with keeping both light and dark areas in focus is especially evident in this close-up photo of flowers.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET)

So, yes, that's a lot of features. But the problem is that even with all of them, photo quality didn't measure up. There wasn't a lot of image noise, but colors were muted and almost every photo I took was too dark, even when I was outside in bright sunlight and when I used the flash inside. You can brighten your shots with the well-stocked photo-editing tool, but that shouldn't be a requirement for every shot. What's more, even though you can tap to focus on different areas of a shot, the camera had trouble distinguishing between light and dark areas.

I took this photo in the shadow of a building. I tried focusing on different areas of the scene, but the final image was still too dark.

(Credit: Kent German/CNET)

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Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 95412VU Dusk Black 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM Processor(2.40GHz 1600MHz 6MB)

The current version of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 is a laptop that's hard not to like. A chunky, 15-inch Windows 8 machine with some real gaming muscle, sharp design, and a funky red-on-black backlit keyboard, it perfectly embodies the aesthetic Lenovo seems to be reaching for in the consumer-targeted IdeaPad line. It's not as staid as the much more traditional ThinkPad line, but instead takes basic black plastic and brushed metal and adds a sophisticated edge.

The Y500 is represented here by an impressive high-end configuration, which Lenovo says runs $1,299 -- although Lenovo is offering deep discounts as of this writing, under $900 for some excellent configurations. That's not to say the system doesn't have issues. The Nvidia GeForce 650M GPU found here is great for a mainstream laptop, but the lack of a touch screen means the system is not well-suited all the nongaming hours you're going to spend in the Windows 8 UI. The keyboard is excellent (and the red backlight gives it a nice edge), but the touch pad has an imprecise, floating feel, exacerbated by the lack of a secondary touch input on the screen.

Adding some extra kick is the system's modular Ultrabay concept. Years ago, you would see this occasionally on midsize-and-larger laptops, but today it's very rare. Where the optical drive would normally go, in right side of the system chassis, is instead a bay that can handle different optional components.

The Ultrabay accessory included in our review unit is a second GeForce GT650M graphics card -- a rarity indeed for a gaming laptop -- but you can also use the bay for an extra hard drive, an additional cooling fan, or an optical drive.

All that makes the Y500 powerful, flexible, and stylish. It's also well made, looks sharp, and is quite reasonably priced (and a positive bargain, if the current sale prices hold). If it only had a touch screen for a frustration-free Windows 8 experience, this might be my favorite laptop of 2013 to date. As it is, the non-touch screen would be a deal-killer for me if I was reaching into my pocket to buy a new laptop.

Price as reviewed / starting price	$1,299 / $849
Processor	2.4GHz Intel Core i7 3630QM
Memory	16GB, 1,600MHz DDR3
Hard drive	1.0TB 5,400rpm, 16GB SSD
Chipset	Intel HM77
Graphics	(2x) NVIDIA GeForce GT650M
Operating System	Windows 8
Dimensions (WD)	15.2 x 10.2 inches
Height	0.6 - 1.4 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	15.6 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	6.4/8.1 pounds
Category	Midsize

Design and features
It's easy to tell at first glance that this is no ultrabook. Unlike the majority of laptops we've reviewed over the past year or so, the Y500 is not trying to be a slim, MacBook Air clone. Instead this is a 15-inch portable powerhouse, with a full-voltage Intel Core i7 CPU and not one, but two, graphics cards. Even with all that, it's still hardly thicker than the average midsize laptop of a few years ago, proving that it's not just ultrabooks that have slimmed down.

The basic-black design is a matter of taste -- some people would not be caught dead with a goth-looking black laptop. But black gadgets, white gadgets, chromes gadgets, and so forth all seem to have their day in the sun and then go back out of style.

In this case, the back of the lid has a brushed metal finish, with a flat black wrist rest and black keys. That's unusual, because there's typically some contrast between the key faces and keyboard tray in a laptop. The contrast in this case, however, comes from the backlighting on the keyboard.

The outer edge of each raised, island-style key glows deep red, helping the individual keys stand out against the dark background. It's a bit in-your-face, but I have to admit I thought it looked pretty sharp -- although the fact that it's just so different from other backlit keyboards may have put a bit of a thumb on the scale for me.

The keyboard itself is similar to what we've seen on other recent IdeaPad laptops, and even some ThinkPad models. The keys, thanks to copious keyboard research and testing from Lenovo, are well-spaced, deep enough to give a satisfying click, and make the most out of the space offered, with large Shift, Return, and other important keys.

The same cannot be said for the large, clickpad-style touch pad. It lacks separate left and right mouse buttons, as many current laptops do, but the two click zones are hard to hit consistently and the entire pad feels like it's floating on top of the wrist rest -- use too light a touch and your finger slips just enough to miss whatever you're clicking on before the click actually registers.

Compounding this problem is that, because the Y500 lacks a touch screen, that touch pad is going to be your main interface with the Windows 8 UI, unless you plug in an external mouse.

While the picky touch pad and lack of a touch screen are annoying, I must applaud the Ultrabay concept. Years ago, one would very occasionally run into a laptop with swappable accessories, but I'm glad to see the idea is still around, at least in this system. The bay came with a second Nvidia GPU in our configuration, but sold-separately alternatives include an additional fan, a second hard drive, or an optical drive, which each cost between $29 and $189.

The devices are not exactly hot-swappable, so don't expect to install a game via the DVD drive, then just pull the drive out and replace it with the second GPU. Instead, you have to flip the laptop over, remove the battery, and then release a couple of latches to pull out the component that's currently in the bay. Still, it's a feature that makes your laptop more flexible, and I could see swapping in the fan, for example, to get longer battery life and better cooling while on the road.

The 15.6-inch display has a native resolution of 1,920x1,080, which is what you'd expect in a high-end midsize laptop today. The most recent Y-series Lenovo we looked at, the 2012 IdeaPad Y480, was a 14-inch model with only a 1,366x768 screen. At the time, we rightly pointed out that for a $1,000-plus midsize laptop, that was unacceptable. The better resolution on this model is much more in line with expectations.

As mentioned previously, that otherwise-excellent screen isn't a touch screen, which would greatly increase its appeal. Some would no doubt say that they don't need touch for Windows 8, or that with a few tweaks, you can stay in the traditional desktop view most of the time. But Windows 8 is built around that tile-based UI, and for a good out-of-the-box experience, trying to activate the Windows 8 Charms bar by swiping off the right side of the touch pad just doesn't cut it.

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Is Samsung scared of being too cool?

This was theater. Or something.

(Credit: Samsung Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

The little blond boy from the latest, oddly bland commercials tap-danced.

There was a mother-in-law joke.

There were actors being forced to spout lines of the same quality as reality show producers foist on overly-lipsticked, neophyte administrative associates.

Somewhere, Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd were weeping into a banana daiquiri.

Samsung's live event to launch its Galaxy S4 was bathed in all the taste of budget-free vaudeville.

As my colleague Molly Wood fulminated, the depiction of women as Stepfordian drunks was quite spectacularly myopic, ancient, and slightly tawdry.

The general level of humor had a sell-by date of September 4, 1959. How can this possibly happen to a brand that has done so much to impale itself into the craniums of the coolerati?

The answer might, perhaps, lie in the fact that much of the recent (and excellent) American advertising has been created by a cool L.A. ad agency, 72 and Sunny.

This is an agency whose principals are well-known for their work on Nike, as well as other famous brands. It's an agency that understands cool.

Its ads were created for the American market. (There is no record on its site of involvement with the Galaxy S4 launch.)

Today's little show was for global consumption.

Something odd happens when corporations decide they're going to do something for the world. They attempt to reach the lowest common denominator, one which even Mr. Bean would hate to plumb.

The folks who work in global tend to fly all over the world and leave just before the stink hits the AC.

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All they try to do is make everything as bland, as lifeless and as generic as possible. They normally have the taste level of an inebriated worm -- which is, sometimes, what they are.

This little show reflected everything that is tragic about so-called global advertising. But it doesn't mean that it will have any effect on the sales of the phone itself. (It's not as if the S3 launch event was garlanded with huge amounts of wit either.)

From what I could see, the Galaxy S4 has any number of fascinating aspects -- though I've always struggled with the perception that Samsung phones feel a little too plastic for my own leather-and-minimalist taste.

What it might mean, though, is that Samsung is scared of being too cool.

You can't be cool forever. The very definition of cool means that you shouldn't see too much of it. If everyone is cool, then no one is. This is one of the issues with which Apple is currently grappling.

So perhaps at the global level, Samsung is desperate to be all things to all people. This might be at the root of what what its global executives believe is, well, family entertainment.

If what they served up today was entertaining to you, then I am very happy for you.

But this was less fringe theater and more cringe theater.

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Sprint Force

Manufactured by ZTE, the Sprint Force is a mid- to entry-level device that comes with a very affordable $49.99 sticker price, after users sign a two-year contract.

But even with that price and the phone's positive features (4G LTE, NFC, and a nearly unsullied version of Android 4.0 to name a few), the handset is plagued by the poor performances of both its camera and audio speaker. This renders it an unsavory choice for Sprint users, especially since the carrier offers many other reliable handsets at that same sweet $50 mark.

Design
The Sprint Force doesn't break any design barriers, but it has a compact and sturdy construction that is comfortable to hold. It measures 4.88 inches tall, 2.54 inches wide, and 0.47-inch thick. At 5.4 ounces, however, it is a tad heavy, but I could still talk comfortably with it pinned between my shoulder and cheek.

On the left side are a Micro-USB port for charging and a volume rocker. On the top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and sleep/power button. Low on the right edge sits a shortcut camera key.

The handset has a 4-inch touch screen that's extremely reflective and has a narrow viewing angle in sunlight.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The back houses a 5-megapixel camera with its flash right above it. Below are two slits for the audio speaker. The back plate is made out of a matte, soft-touch plastic that's textured with small dotted indents, which helped with my grip. Using an indent at the bottom, you can pop the plate off to access the 1,730mAh battery and microSD card slot.

The 4-inch WVGA display has a 800x480-pixel resolution. Though the touch screen is responsive, it's very reflective, making it difficult to view outdoors in sunlight. Text and menu icons were crisp, but you can still see some patchiness in high-res images, especially with color gradients.

Above the display is a 1-megapixel camera and below are three hotkeys for back, home, and menu.

Features
The device runs a nearly skinless version of Android 4.0.4, and has the staple Google components such as Chrome, Gmail, Plus, Local, Maps with Navigation, Messenger, portals to Play Books, Magazines, Mobies & TV, Music, and Store, Search, Talk, and YouTube.

Basic task managing apps are uploaded, such as a native browser, an e-mail client, a music player, a video player, a calendar, an alarm, a news-and-weather app, a sound recorder, a timer, and a voice dialer.

A closer look at the device's 5-megapixel camera and texturized back plate.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Sprint also included two of its own apps. One is Sprint Zone, a help portal that lets you check your phone balance and fees. Another is Sprint ID, which allows you to customize your phone with preselected apps, widgets, and other items depending on which ID profile you choose. So far, there are 40 packs available. You'll also get a MediaShare app from Twonky Mobile, and a battery and location pinning app called Qualcomm Enhanced Location Service.

Additional features include 4GB of ROM, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC.

Camera and video
The 5-megapixel camera has flash; digital zoom; four shooting modes including macro and panorama; 16 Instagram-esque filters; a timer; time lapse; face, blink, and redeye detection; modules to adjust the exposure, contrast, saturation, and sharpness; five white balances; five ISO levels; geotagging, compositional lines, three shutter tones, five photo sizes (from 640x480 to 2,592x1,944), three picture qualities, and three anti-band levels.

The front-facing camera has all the same features except you can take photos in only two sizes (640x480 and 1,280x720), and you don't get the flash, the different shooting modes and filters, the timer, time lapse, the various facial detections, and the modules to adjust exposure and such.

Video features for both cameras include a digital zoom, geotagging, five white balances, time lapse, and four video qualities (from MMS to 720p). Only the rear camera has continuous flash.

Photo quality was poor. In outdoor environments with ample lighting, whites were blown out, and colors looked muted. Dark huges were hard to differentiate, and the focus wasn't very sharp. Dimmer indoor photos fared worse, with a high amount of digital noise and blurriness. Colors also looked washed out.

In this outdoor photo, you can see the white hues have been blown out.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

This indoor picture shows a noticeable amount of digital noise and washed out colors.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

For our standard studio shot, you can see a subtle yellow hue overlay the corners and objects that are out of focus.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

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Beyerdynamic T90

Beyerdynamic offers a broad line of headphones, but it's the company's midprice and higher-end headphones that are sought after by audiophiles and record industry pros. Needless to say, some of these models, including the flagship $1,399 Tesla T1, will set you back some serious dough.

Introduced in 2010, the T1 has a closed-back design and features the world's most powerful headphone magnets. Those ubermagnets dramatically improve efficiency and lower distortion. Every subsequent Tesla model has had a closed-back design until the T90 reviewed here was released in June of 2012. It's the first open-back Tesla model.

That's a significant change, because an open-back design allows the user to more easily hear outside sounds and also produces more spacious stereo imaging than closed-back headphones. The end result is impressive. The T90 delivers extraordinary resolution of fine detail, and since it's unusually comfortable, it's a pleasure to wear for hours at a time.

The bad news is that while it may be about half the price of the T1, it's still expensive at around $650 online. The good news: it more than holds its own in comparison with $1,000 audiophile headphones.

The T90 is the first Tesla model to have an open-back design.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Design and features
The T90 is a full-size, over-the-ear headphone. The center section of the outer earcups is covered with a textured grayish-brown fabric, which allows the user to hear outside sounds. Like every other open-back design, the T90's sound will be heard by anyone near you, so it won't be a great headphone to use in bed. The understated look is a marked contrast to the more typical high-gloss plastic sheen on Beats and other popular headphones. The T90 is hand-crafted in Beyerdynamic's plant in Germany.

The Tesla design strategy isn't just about using bigger or more powerful neodymium magnets; Tesla systems are optimized to minimize magnetic power losses that would reduce efficiency. With the Tesla headphones, a ring magnet encircles the driver; in more conventional headphones the magnet is smaller and contained within the driver.

The T90 is a very comfortable headphone.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Quality is first-rate, and when you hold a T90 in your hands it feels more solidly built and impressive than Sennheiser's considerably more expensive HD-700 headphones. The T90's plush, velvet microfiber-covered ear pads are comfy and are less likely to make your ears sweat than more common leather or vinyl 'pads. The headphone weighs 12.3 ounces, which is moderately heavy for a full-size home headphone, but we found the T90's comfort well above par.

The headphone has a much higher than normal rated impedance, it's 250 ohms, which hinders performance with portable devices and phones, but the T90 was primarily designed for home use with AV receivers and headphone amplifiers that can easily drive high-impedance headphones.

The 10-foot headphone cable, mounted on the left ear cup, isn't user removable. The cable comes fitted with a 3.5mm plug, and Beyerdynamic includes a screw-on 6.3mm adapter plug. The large faux-leather, heavily padded carry bag is the only included accessory; its beautifully finished, luxurious feel is commensurate with the T90's high-end price. Better yet, it should do a good job protecting the headphone if you need to squeeze it into a cramped travel bag.

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