Filed under: Cellphones

It was only a matter of time before ole Walty got his hands around Sprint’s still-not-official Touch Diamond, and we can’t say that the conclusion he drew is at all shocking. As Mossberg has done so often, he mentions Apple’s darling just as much as the topic of the review itself, and while he seemed impressed with the hardware, it was the software that suffered the brunt of his attacks. He proclaimed that “despite its handsome TouchFLO 3D software and animated icons, the device failed to disguise the frustrating interface of Windows Mobile often enough for [his] taste.” Beyond that, he also found room to gripe about the “cramped” keyboard, which he felt was “next to impossible” to use with just his fingertips. On the plus side, he did give the browser a decent amount of praise, but if you were looking for support from this critic before picking up the forthcoming handset, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

[Via phonescoop]

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Filed under: Cellphones

It was only a matter of time before the WSJ (Katherine Boehret, in this case) got their hands around Sprint’s still-not-official Touch Diamond, and we can’t say that the conclusion she drew is at all shocking. As Mossberg and his partners so often do, Katherine mentions Apple’s darling just as much as the topic of the review itself, and while she seemed impressed with the hardware, it was the software that suffered the brunt of her attacks. She proclaimed that “despite its handsome TouchFLO 3D software and animated icons, the device failed to disguise the frustrating interface of Windows Mobile often enough for [her] taste.” Beyond that, she also found room to gripe about the “cramped” keyboard, which she felt was “next to impossible” to use with just her fingertips. On the plus side, she did give the browser a decent amount of praise, but if you were looking for support from this critic before picking up the forthcoming handset, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

[Via phonescoop]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Well this was bound to happen. Ahead of schedule, Walt Mossberg has turned his official review of the new iPhone 3G, and we’ve got the recap. On the whole, Walt stays mostly positive about the device; he likes the form factor (which he wants to stress really hasn’t changed much), says the 3G speeds are a big improvement over EDGE (no kidding?), and informs us that the audio quality and phone reception are — thankfully — improved all around. Downsides? There are plenty. Mossberg takes issue with AT&T’s new pricing policy, which he finds steep, says he only squeezed 4 hours and 27 minutes of talk time out of the battery, and gripes that you can only sync Exchange or personal calendars and contacts — not both. If you’re like us, you’ll probably want to just read the whole thing. Too lazy? Check the video after the break.

Update: David Pogue of the New York Times has also turned in a kinda-sorta review of the iPhone 3G, though it reads more like an overview of its features than a honest-to-goodness critique. He also makes passing reference to the GPS antenna being “too small” to function as a proper GPS, which makes roughly zero sense to us. Feel free to figure it out on your own.

Update 2: Can’t forget Ed Baig of USA Today, who says the new model is “worth the wait” (not to say we have any option at this point anyway, seeing how hard it is to find an original anywhere). He seemed to have trouble picking up 3G service in some locations, though it’s not clear whether that can be chalked up to technical issues with the handset or a lack of coverage where he was testing. Like the others, Baig discovered a noticeable improvement in audio quality and a noticeable hit in battery life when hooked up to the 3G network. Gotta pay to play, we guess.

Continue reading Walt Mossberg reviews the iPhone 3G, isn’t that impressed (now with more David Pogue and Ed Baig!)

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Filed under: Cellphones

It’s a given that Mr. Mossberg has a thing for Apple’s gear. In his opinion, it’s simply a better choice for his mainstream readership. It’s also obvious that Spring and Samsung are intent on besting the capabilities of the first generation iPhone with their new Instinct. Still, we can’t help but to giggle like Japanese school girls when his review of Samsung’s Instinct turns into a preview of the iPhone 3G. By our quick count, he mentions “iPhone” 31 times to just 19 mentions of “Instinct.” His bottom line as you’d expect is that the “ok” Instinct simply can’t compete with the iPhone. Then again, the iPhone 3G can’t be used on Sprint’s network… or anywhere else until July 11th.

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Filed under: Cellphones

While talking up web as a video delivery medium at a Beet.TV executive summit, Walt Mossberg casually yet confidently mentioned that the iPhone will be going 3G in 60 days. Of course, it doesn’t take an illustrious position as tech pundit to the masses to figure out a 3G iPhone is just around the corner: price cuts, stock shortages and word from Ralph de la Vega himself have rapidly narrowed down the launch window, but a semi-guarantee from Uncle Walt is certainly icing on the cake. The video snippet is after the break, or hit up the read link for the whole thing.

[Via 9 to 5 Mac; thanks, TedB]

Continue reading Walt Mossberg promises 3G iPhone in 60 days

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Filed under: Laptops

Walt’s full review of the Lenovo Thinkpad X300 is now available. As usual for the man, you also get the bonus (or burden) of a detailed comparison with Apple’s competing product which in this case is the MacBook Air. For those of you who remember Walt’s MacBook Air review, that quote — “I can recommend the X300 for road warriors without hesitation” — stands in stark contrast to Mr. Mossberg’s take on Apple’s beautiful but compromised ultra-portable. As Walt points out, the biggest differences between the two are the selection of ports, built-in DVD or second battery, and a removable main battery afforded by the X300’s relatively thick chassis. Of course, the choice of OS is also a consideration since the X300 can’t run OS X while the MBA can run Vista. Walt does lament the fact that the X300 is only offered with an SSD. As such, it’s limited to a maximum of 64GB of storage and contributes to the X300’s relatively high price tag. It starts at $2,500 with a stripped-down, half-sized battery and no DVD — $3,000 gets you the more popular full-sized battery and DVD config. Walt’s aggressive, full-size battery tests resulted in “weaker battery life” at 3 hours and 5 minutes compared to the MBA’s 3 hours and 29 minutes. That said, the Lenovo easily trumps the MBA with 5 hours and 15 minutes of juice when configured with both a full-sized and half-sized battery. The choice seems pretty clear at this point: form or function, which will it be sir?

[Thanks, Jacob L.]

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Filed under: Desktops

Turns out PC Mag wasn’t the only one fairly impressed by Dell’s entry into the all-in-one desktop arena, Unkie Walt is officially a fan, and while he won’t be giving up his iMac anytime soon, he had some warm things to say about the computer and Dell’s design direction in general. In fact, as far as actual hardware goes, Walt found plenty of things he likes better about the XPS One than Apple’s iMac, like the built-in memory card slots, TV tuner, back-lit touch controls and standard wireless keyboard and mouse. Still, Dell’s base configuration loses out on power and price to the iMac, and Mossberg still recommends Leopard over Vista, but this seems to be Dell at the top of the heap when it comes to PC all-in-ones — and a far sight ahead of the Mossberg-panned Gateway One.

[Thanks, webon]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Wireless

The short of it is that the Slacker is an intriguing concept and decent product with some serious bugginess in the prototypes — which is why it’s probably a good thing it’s been delayed until next year. Walt Mossberg has been kicking around the “blocky” player and related service, and seems to think the idea has some legs. The player is basically a portable WiFi internet radio, but it ties in closely with the free ad-supported Slacker service to give you a bit more of control over your listening experience than a traditional internet radio station. You can navigate the device with either the touch-sensitive strip beside the screen or a scroll wheel on the edge of the unit, and Walt found the sound quality good and WiFi capable. Album art, related photos, artist bios and album reviews are all included with the music and shown off on an expansive 4-inch screen, and the stations are saved to the device for offline listening. You can create custom stations based on artists you like, and if you shell out $7.50 a month for premium service you get unlimited song-skipping (usually limited to six per hour), zero ads, and the ability to pick songs to save to the device and play as often as you’d like. You can of course load your own tracks, but that sort of defeats the purpose of being a “slacker.” Mossberg thinks the formula could work as long as Slacker can work out the sub-par battery life, touch strip issues and connection problems before the January 31st launch.

[Via Orbitcast]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Mr. Mossberg just handed down his verdict on the latest series of Microsoft Zunes. Those of you who shout him down with your flaccid cries of “fanboi” will want to turn away… now. Walt considers the new Zunes a “vast improvement” over Microsoft’s first generation player. However, “it’s still no iPod.” Oh, there’s plenty to like: the Zune 80’s big display, the squircle navigator, built-in FM radio, and enhanced PC software and Zune Marketplace. Annoyances too, naturally. Notably, Walt found the included WiFi to be “nearly useless” in value while providing an unwelcome drain on the battery. In summation he says, “Microsoft has greatly improved the Zune hardware and software this time. But it seems to be competing with Apple’s last efforts, not its newest ones.” Hmm, this all sounds strangely familiar.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Desktops

We’ve seen a couple reviews of the Gateway One already, but when it comes to reviewing sleek all-in-one PCs, we turn to the master: Walt Mossberg. Ol’ Unkie Walt’s been playing with a couple slick desktops lately, and surprisingly, none of them are the iMac — although he can’t seem to resist the comparison. Walt’s got the Gateway One this week, and while he praises the machine’s design and slick power brick / I/O breakout box, he’s not particularly impressed with the machine’s 19-inch screen, processing power, or, most damningly, stability — he suffered two blue screens while testing. Add in the fact that the entry-level One is $100 more expensive than the cheapest iMac and offers a smaller screen, no built-in webcam, and a slower processor, and you’ve got Walt telling you that the iMac is still the best all-in-one out there. Up next: the XPS One.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Walt Mossberg — arguably consumer electronics’ single most feared and influential tech pundit — just unleashed poetic fury on the carrier/government cartel which has made the US “the laughingstock of the mobile-technology world.” In a glorious rant dubbed “Free My Phone,” Walt compares carrier tactics to those of the old Soviet Ministry while pummeling the “shortsighted and often just plain stupid” federal government for allowing itself to be “bullied and fooled by a handful of big wireless phone operators.” He draws further comparison to the innovation-stifling days of clumsy, black rotary phones locked to the monopolistic AT&T wires which once strangled our homes. Then, government interaction was required to break the hold; something Walt believes might be required today in lieu of a disruptive innovation. Now hit that read link and let the revolution begin!

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!