Selasa, 03 Agustus 2010

Oh, Enso -- must you really give us a reason to hope? After dealing
with what felt like a case of the vaporwares, and then being epically
disappointed with the zenPad (which is now out of stock, curiously)
that you finally shipped, we just can't muster up the courage to look
fondly upon the five new products that are gracing your webstore. That
said, those that don't mind risk taking and actually enjoy the thought
of fighting for a refund have three new MIDs / slates to ponder along
with a pair of Android-based smartphones to consider. Let's break 'em
down real quick, shall we?

* zenPad 2 ($219; shipping now): Here you have a 5-inch,
Android 1.5-based MID with an 800 x 480 resolution resistive
touchscreen, a bundled stylus, inbuilt 3G, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, microSD
slot (8GB included), 128MB of RAM, 256MB NAND Flash, a 624MHz Marvell
PXA303 Xscale CPU, integrated accelerometer, onboard GPS, micro-USB
port, 3.5mm headphone jack and a battery good for 4.5 hours of use.
We're told that an Android 2.1 update is "imminent," but we believe
that about as much as we believe BP's promise to "make it right."
* zenPad 3 ($249; pre-order): This here tablet boasts the
exact same specifications as the zenPad 2 (right down to the battery
life and resolution), but it rocks a 7-inch design that'll aid those
who can't squint hard enough to see fonts on the 5-inch sibling.
* zenPad 4 ($199; shipping now): We hate to state the obvious,
but this is quite obviously an iPad KIRF -- right down to the Home
button. You'll find a 10.2-inch resistive touchpanel with a 1,024 x
600 resolution (one that Enso swears up and down "has a fast response
and works very well"), along with Android 2.1, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, 256MB
of RAM, 2GB of storage, a microSD slot (8GB included), a 1GHz Cortex
A8 CPU, built-in accelerometer and a 2,400mAh battery that's good for
5 to 7 hours of life.
* zenPhone ($349; shipping now): So... it looks like a Nexus
One KIRF, it's called a zenPhone, yet it says it's a MID. Oh, and it's
not this ZenPhone. Whatever the case, it's got a 4.3-inch resistive
touchscreen (800 x 480), 3G HSDPA radio, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth,
256MB of NAND Flash, a microSD slot (8GB included), a 3.2 megapixel
rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 2,600mAh battery,
onboard GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and -- wait for it -- Maemo 5
running the show. Yeah, seriously.
* zenDroid ($319; pre-order): In the market for a Droid KIRF,
are you? You've come to the right place, with this one offering a
4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen (800 x 480), 3G HSDPA, 802.11a/b/g
WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, an FM radio tuner, Android 2.1 ("upgradable
to 2.2," we're told), a microSD slot (8GB bundled in), 512MB of NAND
Flash, a 624MHz Marvell PXA935 processor, 5 megapixel rear camera, 0.3
megapixel front-facing camera, a 1,500mAh battery, onboard GPS, 3.5mm
headphone jack and a micro-USB connector.



It ain't the first hearing aid to sport Bluetooth, but it's probably
the first one to make you think seriously about tossing that Loud N'
Clear you purchased in a haze at 3:30AM last year. Operating on the
2.4GHz frequency, the ReSound Alera (and the accompanying Unite
wireless accessories) actually allow those who are hard of hearing to
pipe in audio from TVs, stereos, cellphones and PCs without any funky
cables or fancy setup procedures. Better still, there's no blockage of
environmental noise, so folks can continue yelling speaking to their
grandkids while Judge Judy tears someone's soul apart in their left
ear canal. There's nary a mention of price (we're guessing that
doesn't bode well for bargain shoppers), but there's certainly a
demonstration vid hosted up after the break. Just make sure to jack
the volume to 11, cool?