Nokia Builds 3G Network in Moscow

Nokia Siemens will build Moscow's first 3G Network for MTS. This is a profitable new service from Nokia and also a new technological breakthrough for the Russian mobile phone market.Nokia Siemens Networks will collaborate with Mobile Telesystems (MTS) in order to construct the integrated 2G/3G network in Moscow. Their partnership will bring a wide range of technologically advanced services to the Russian audience. This means that, from now on, they will be able to make video calls, video conferences and also to enjoy mobile TV. Moreover, with the HSDPA, fast data access will be provided to all users of this service.

"We are happy to continue our collaboration with Nokia Siemens Networks, one of the 3G market leaders. The company won the new contest by offering the optimal solution for an integrated 2G/3G network. We are confident that our choice will secure our previous investments and improve the overall quality of the MTS network in the Moscow region", said Sergey Aslanyan, MTS OJSC Vice-President for Network and Information Technologies, with regards for the new collaboration with Nokia. It only came natural for them to choose this company as partner, as they have a long history of service providing.On the other hand, Nokia Siemens Networks has the opportunity of expanding their services to a new technological level. "Nokia Siemens Networks is happy to serve MTS as its partner to build the first 3G network in the Moscow region. Our end-to-end 3G solutions will enable MTS to concentrate on value-added services for its customers and open up new ways of further creating value for its subscriber base", Volker Ziegler, Head of the North-East Region for Nokia Siemens Networks made it clear.MTS is the largest phone operator in Russia and is already using Nokia Siemens core network, which made it a quite natural choice for this 3G expansion.

Asus Announces J502 Phone Model

Enlarge pictureAsus has just unveiled a new slider phone model, the J502. The phone brings a sum of convenient features that make it capable of answering even to the highest demands.Worthy of being mentioned, the phone has an appealing design. The lack of curves and rounded corners makes it look more like a masculine phone, although its style is appropriate for women too. The most striking feature about it is definitely the 2.4 inch QVGA display screen which is capable of supporting up to 262k colors and a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. Even more, the phone is only 14.7 mm thick, which makes it quite easy to handle.

One thing that will surely catch the interest of those picture lovers out there is that Asus J502 has a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash light. The memory is quite small, at its 24MB, so the fact that it also supports microSD cards comes as good news. The extra space will be well appreciated, as this phone is capable of handling a wide range of multimedia features.The MP3 player integrated can support a wide range of sound formats, which might prove useful especially if the memory space has been expanded. Even more, the phone can also render video images at acceptable performances.One thing that might prove to be useful is that Asus J502 also has a 80,000 words Language English Dictionary. This comes just to make sure that the user will be able to put into words all that he wants to communicate as fast and efficient as possible.Another interesting feature is that the Asus J502 phone model has data security enabled. This means that the user only has to send an SMS message in order to have the phone shut down itself, call forward, format, or lock. Long distance phone handling proves to be a useful concept especially in the case of emergency situations, when the phone has been forgotten somewhere.All features are appealing and useful, but only for the Asian audience for now. Neither a release date, nor an estimate price has been revealed for this phone model.

New Spy Shot of Sony Ericsson M610i Lizy Phone

Sony Ericsson Lizy phone model has been seen on very few occasions up to this point. From this reason, the new image that has been going by for the past few days has naturally opened the door for speculations and discussions on the phone's features.Unfortunately, there is little information available on the Sony Ericsson Lizy phone. Among the few sure things known about it is that it supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. This places it among the cellular models that offer a large amount of information to its users at fast and reliable transfer rates. Moreover, it is a tri-band phone, which supports GSM900/1800/1900 networks.

The cell phone follows the path line set by the Sony M600i model when it comes to design. Instead of plastic, it now has a metal case. Even more, it shares the same keypad with the M600 phone model, as to provide QWERTY keyboard on the number buttons. Considering its simple design, this promises to be a considerably practical phone model, that will come as great help for information transfer. Moreover, the Wi-Fi connectivity means that it can easily handle media, by downloading music, images and videos to be later listened or viewed.Sony Ericsson M610i Lizy also comes equipped with a camera and a series of features that are expected to at least match those of the M600 model. For this reason, the Lizy phone will most probably be 3G enabled and also run on Symbian OS. Media support, such as MP3, video rendering and email are also expected to be provided at high quality. Even more, it is left to see if the TFT touchscreen will also be capable of recognizing handwriting, as it was the case with the other phone model.Sony Ericsson M610i has just finished FCC testing and has been approved. A date for its release has not been revealed so far.

Apple to Kill 17-Inch iMac in Next Update?

Rumors about the next generation of iMacs have resurfaced, and after several months still sing the same song. It looks like the smallest member of the iMac family will be left behind for good.Rumors that the next generation of iMacs will have a new redesigned look, but will drop the 17-inch model started surfacing in March. After almost three years since the current design debuted, a change of looks would not go amiss. However, the decision to exclude

the smallest iMac from the update, and even potentially kill it off altogether came as a surprise. While it is quite possible for Apple to refresh the iMac line and come out with a 20i-inch model around the same price as the previous 17-inch model, many prefer the smaller sized desktop.Dropping the 17-inch iMac altogether would leave rather a large hole in Apple’s lineup. For one thing, there is the educational market, where the mini is often not enough, but a 20-inch iMac would be too much. Apple needs a cheaper, entry-level model, and the mini – while great at what it does – is considered by many as a bad choice due to the fact that it is both dated and lacking a display and peripherals.Dropping the 17-inch iMac and offering the 20-inch model for around the same price could be done, but that would mean having to upgrade the mini because the gap between the two would simply be far too large. Conversely, Apple could do something totally unexpected and drop a bomb by introducing a new model that would be somewhere between the mini and the Mac Pros, without a display, and priced around what the former 17-inch iMac used to cost. This fabled ‘Mac’ has long been awaited by loyal Apple customers and potential switchers alike, and would go a long way to improving Apple’s computer line-up.

Identify Music with Verizon's V CAST Song ID

Verizon Wireless announced the availability of V CAST Song ID, an enhancement to the V CAST Music service that allows users to easily identify songs. With V CAST Song ID, when users hear a song, they can capture a sample of what they are listening to on their phone and the service will identify the song. V CAST Song ID also lets consumers purchase the matching full-track song, ringtone or ringback tone over-the-air right from the cell phone.To use the service, customers only need a V CAST Music-enabled phone to start identifying recorded music playing on the radio, in a club, on the street or from virtually

any music source. V CAST Song ID can identify more than four million songs, spanning almost all music genres, from the latest chart toppers to ‘80s rock classics. When the user places the phone near a music source and records a 10-second clip, V CAST Song ID names the artist, song and album title. After successful recognition, the application will determine if the song is available as a full-track song, ringtone or ringback tone and directly launch the Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Music store where the consumer has the option to purchase and download the track.Mike Lanman, Verizon Wireless chief marketing officer, commented: "Launching V CAST Song ID is yet another reason why Americans who want the best mobile music experience are switching to Verizon Wireless. At a time when some of our competitors won’t even allow you to download your music over-the-air, Verizon Wireless is pushing forward by offering Song ID for free. We’ll help you find the music you love, then make it easy for you to buy."V CAST Song ID is available as a free download on V CAST Music-enabled phones in the Music and Tones section of the Get It Now virtual store. Once downloaded, consumers can use the application for free to identify songs.

Sony VAIO FW First Look

The VAIO FW is a brand new Centrino 2 platform notebook from Sony, offering a much needed facelift, as well as a 16.4" widescreen. What sets this apart from other widescreen notebooks is the aspect ratio of the screen lets movie aficionados enjoy a video without ugly bars above and below the screen. This first look will give you a glimpse of what this notebook has to offer, in general use as well as what to expect when watching various Blu-ray titles.

Buying Choices for the Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E/H
Best Buy $999.99Newegg.com $1,099.99J&R Music and Computer World $1,149.00
view detailed pricing from 5 stores starting at $999.00rate product
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Our Sony VAIO FW review model specifications:
Screen: glossy 16.4" 1600 x 900 display
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
Memory: 4GB RAM
Storage: 320GB HDD (5400rpm)
Optical Drive: DVD+/-RW / BD-R DL
Wireless: 802.11a/b/g/n
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 w/ 256MB
Built-in web camera
Battery: 4400mAh Li-Ion Battery
Dimensions: 15.12" x 1.14"-1.45" x 10.27" (38.4cm x 2.9-3.7cm x 26.1cm)
Weight: 6.83 lbs (3.1kg)
Retail Price: $2,149
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Build and Design
The fit and finish of the Sony VAIO FW is wonderful, and the overall design is beautiful. The notebook has a streamlined sculpted look, and when opened has a palmrest and keyboard surround that looks like the graceful sloping surface of a car hood. The surface starts out flat, has a small dip, and then gracefully slopes down to the screen hinges. From working day in and day out at a ThinkPad, it is much easier on the eyes to say the least.
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Build quality is excellent, with the overall chassis feeling rigid and sturdy. Although thin at the very edges of the palmrest, you can pick the notebook up from the corner with minimal flex from the chassis. Even the super thin screen shows that quite a bit of effort went into making a durable design, as you are able to man-handle and even punch the back of the LCD panel and no ripples or distortion shows on the display.
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Screen
I have to say that my first impression of the true HD screen format was one of hatred. Another odd format I would have to get used to, and more odd screen designations to remember. I figured it would be just another gimmick ... but then I started to enjoy it. Outside of watching movies, the extra-wide wide screen is great for organizing many tasks on the screen, where a normal widescreen display just starts to feel crowded. Two documents side by side, a webpage next to a document, or even a webpage with my IM buddy list far off to the side. Of course it is nice for movies as well.
Movie Experience
True HD displays are basically what you have in your living room or TV room if you own an HDTV. 720P or 1080P screens are slightly shorter than what you usually find on a computer. For example on a WUXGA notebook has a resolution of 1920x1200, where as a Full HD 1080P screen is 1920x1080. This has to do with the way most movies are recorded, and in the end thinner or no bars at all showing up during a movie. Below I picked 3 Blu-ray titles from my collection, to give you a good idea of what you might expect to see on this screen format.
Chain Reaction (2.35:1): Almost fullscreen with 2 thin bars top and bottom that are about 1/2cm tall.(view large image)
Swordfish (2.40:1): Far from full widescreen, with almost 1 inch bars top and bottom. (view large image)
Open Season (1.85:1): Looks identical to the 2.35:1 ratio (view large image)
Ports and Features
Port selection on the Sony VAIO FW rates average, and one USB port less of perfection. Users have two video outputs (HDMI and VGA) for easy hookup to external monitors or your home theater HDTV. In some ways the design of the notebook hinders the port layout, as some curved locations which would be prime for an extra USB port end up being too small to work out. The ports and feature selection include the following:
10/100/1000 LAN
Modem
VGA
HDMI
FireWire
Expresscard/34
MagicGate
SD-Card Reader
Headphone/Mic
3 USB Ports
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Performance
System performance is one category that this notebook really shines. Even with a 5400rpm hard drive, the notebook performed quite well throughout various activities including watching Blu-ray movies, playing a few games, and installing applications. The Intel Centrino 2 platform no doubt had a hand in this, and gave us some impressive performance benchmarks. PCMark05 was into the 6,000 range and 3DMark06 was around 2,600. Battery Life
Working away from a power outlet was not a fun activity with this configuration that included a 4400mAh battery. In the balanced profile with the screen brightness set to 50-60%, I was lucky if the battery gauge indicated more than 2 hours and 40 minutes. Watching a Blu-ray movie decreased the battery life further, putting me into the range of a movie, with enough time to safely shutdown once the film ended. One thing I can say though, if you have the option to select the extended battery, get it.

Dell XPS M1210 Review

The Dell XPS M1210 is a new 12.1-inch screen portable laptop that features the Intel Core Duo processor, rotating 1.3MP web camera, built-in EVDO and an nVidia Go 7400 graphics card. The XPS M1210 features a new design for Dell laptops and offers possibly the best performance on the market for this sized laptop. Following is a full review of the XPS M1210.
The Dell XPS M1210 12.1" widescreen notebook

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The XPS M1210 will replace the Inspiron 710m offering that was quite a popular seller for Dell. With the M1210 the latest Intel Core Duo processors will be offered, there will be no Core Solo, Celeron or ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processor options. It's apparent that Dell wants to keep the XPS line as a performance focused series, whether it's big or small form factor.
Dell XPS M1210 Specs (bolded blue options indicate review unit config where appropriate):
Processor Options:
Intel Core Duo Processor T2600 (2.16GHz/667MHz FSB/2MB Cache)
Intel Core Duo Processor T2500 (2GHz/667MHz FSB/2MB Cache)
Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB/2MB Cache)
Intel Core Duo Processor T2300E (1.66GHz/667MHz FSB/2MB Cache)
Screen: 12.1" WXGA (Widescreen 1280x800) display with TrueLife (glossy display)
Memory Options: 512MB - 4GB (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM) (1.00GB in review unit)
Hard drive: 60GB - 120GB @ 5400 RPM or 60GB - 100GB @ 7200RPM (100GB @ 7200RPM hard drive in review unit)
Video Graphics Options:
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (with up to 256MB of shared memory)
256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 TurboCache (64MB/ up to 192MB shared)
Optical Drive Options: DVD/CD-RW Combo, DVD+/-RW with Dual Layer DVD+R write capacity
Battery Options: 6-cell 53WHr Li-Ion Battery, 9-cell 80WHr Li-Ion Battery
Wi-Fi Options: Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card Wireless, Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini Card Wireless, Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 802.11 a/b/g Mini Card
Bluetooth built-in
Wide Area Network / Cell Communication Options
Dell Wireless 5700 Mobile Broadband (CDMA EVDO) Mini-Card for Verizon Wireless service
Dell Wireless 5500 Mobile Broadband (3G HSDPA) Mini-Card for Cingular service
Ports and Slots: ExpressCard 54, 5-in-1 Memory Card Reader, Dual headphone jacks, VGA video output & S-Video with SPDIF & component video via S-Video dongle, IEEE 1394 (Firewire), 4 USB 2.0, Optional A/V Communications Package including: integrated 1.3 mega pixel rotating web cam, directional microphone, modem, ethernet,
Premium noise isolation ear buds included when AV Communication option is selected
Operating System Options: Microsoft Windows XP Home, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Media Direct software installed for quick boot up to play movies, music and view photos on your hard drive, optical drive or external storage devices
Weight: Starting at 4.4lbs with 6-cell Li-Ion battery
Dimensions: Depth 220.98 mm (8.7 inches) 11.7-inches x 8.7-inches x 1.2-inches (W x D x H)
Design and Build
The M1210 sports a new look for the Dell XPS series (view large image)
The first thing that's noticed about the XPS M1210 is that it doesn't look like any other Dell designed notebook currently on the market. That's right, no white bumpers like we see on every Inspiron machine currently in the line-up. Personally, I love the M1210 look with the black lid and silver brush keyboard and casing. The blue effects lighting on the front located silver media buttons is very nice. Overall the M1210 look is very pleasing to the eye, and certainly can be called stylish but not gawdy (like some might say the brazen XPS M1710 gaming laptop design is). The look walks a nice line between being cool yet professional.
Here with the lid closed you see the media buttons, headphone and mic jacks, and the rotating camera on the XPS M1210 (view large image)
The build of the M1210 is very good. The casing is made of a magnesium alloy material and this notebook complies with the Dell Road Ready guidelines. The lid is very solid and offers great protection to the screen, push in on the back and you won't see ripples on the LCD. The hinges are nice, rigid enough to hold the screen in place but not overly stiff. The M1210 uses a latchless lid closing design, there is no use of magnets to keep the lid down but when it shuts you can hear it snap shut and spring tension holds the lid in place and closed very well. All of the buttons on the M1210 have a nice feel and are not cheap feeling. The touchpad mouse buttons are especially nice in terms of feedback and travel.
Here is the M1210 side by side with the MacBook 13.3" screen notebook, you can see that the M1210 is thicker than the MacBook, the MacBook could certainly do with some more elevation to help air flow underneath but even factoring out the rubber feet on the M1210 it is still thicker (view large image)
Size comparison to 13.3" screen Apple MacBook (view large image)
One thing that struck me about the M1210 upon first using it is that, while being a 12.1-inch screen notebook, it can't be called an 'ultraportable'. I call a notebook that's 3 - 4 lbs in weight and 1.0" thin an ultraportable. With the 6-cell battery the M1210 is about 4.4lbs and if you're using the 9-cell it's closer to 4.8 lbs. It's not that thin either, it's about 1.2-inches thick which is thicker than my thin-and-light 1-inch thin ThinkPad T43 notebook. The word portable is certainly fair for the M1210 since it does weigh under 5lbs, but it's not 3lbs like the 12.1" screen Dell Latitude X1 or ThinkPad X60s notebook. What we're dealing with here is better classed as a very portable media and gaming entertainment machine. Due to the integrated optical drive (often left out of 12.1" screen laptops) and dedicated graphics with requisite fan cooling system, the M1210 simply had to be a bit thicker to accomodate the components it can house.
Here is the M1210 on the right flushed against the Lenovo V100 12.1" notebook, the M1210 is slightly thicker (view large image)
Dell XPS M1210 next to the Lenovo V100 competing 12.1" widescreen Core Duo notebook (view large image)
Performance and Benchmarks
Whenever you think of a 12.1-inch screen laptop you start thinking about low voltage processors, and sacrificing performance for the size. The M1210 goes against this notion. The M1210 I have configured with a 2.16 GHz processor and nVidia graphics veritably smokes any other laptop in its 12.1-inch class. I'll go one step further, the M1210 can easily outperform a number of 17" desktop replacement notebooks being sold today.
The Core Duo processor family has proven itself as a great performer in many past reviews on this site, and Dell is offering the higher end Core Duo processor options in the M1210. Core Solo is not even an option for the M1210 -- it's high octane gas only for this machine. The hard drive offerings are impressive, with the option of a 100GB 7200RPM hard drive available -- that's right at the cutting edge of notebook hard drives on the market today. If you're a fan of lots of system RAM, the max RAM of 4.0GB should make you smile. The system under review has 1.0GB of memory, which should be ample for most users, but if you think you need more then there's plenty of room to add it.
Let's look at some benchmarks to see how the M1210 stacks up against fellow notebooks (all benchmarks are done using the stock system setup, no Windows reinstall or removal of programs).
Super Pi
Super Pi is a program that forces the notebook processor to calculate Pi to 2-million digits of accuracy. The XPS M1210 took 1m 11s to calcuate this value with its 2.13GHz Core Duo processor, here's how it stacked up to other notebooks:
Notebook
Time
Dell XPS M1210 (2.16 GHz Intel T2600)
1m 11s
Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Intel T2500)
1m 12s
Dell Inspiron 710m (1.7 GHz Pentium M)
2m 04s
IBM ThinkPad T43 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)
1m 45s
IBM ThinkPad Z60m (2.0 GHz Pentium M)
1m 36s
Fujitsu LifeBook N3510 (1.73 GHz Pentium M)
1m 48s
Dell Inspiron 6000D (1.6 GHz Pentium M)
1m 52s
Dell Inspiron 600M (1.6 GHz Pentium M)
2m 10s
HP Pavilion dv4000 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)
1m 39s
Asus V6Va (Pentium M 1.86 GHz)
1m 46s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo)
1m 18s
Notice that the former Inspiron 710m was almost a minute slower and that much larger notebooks are topped in this calculation.
3DMark05
The 3DMark05 results are very good for this sized laptop, it seems good enough to tie or beat the ATI X1400 card -- if you do a fresh install of Windows XP and tweak your system a little you could definitely raise the 2,090 score I got.
Notebook
3DMark 05 Results
Dell XPS M1210 (2.16 GHz Core Duo, nVidia Go 7400 256MB)
2,090 3D Marks
Apple MacBook Pro (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB
2866 3D Marks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60 Nvidia GeForce Go7800 GTX)
7,078 3DMarks
Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Intel T2500, ATI X1400)
1,791 3D Marks
Asus V6Va (2.13 GHz Pentium M, ATI Radeon Mobility x700 128 MB)
2,530 3D Marks
Fujitsu n6410 (1.66 GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB)
2,273 3DMarks
HP dv4000 (1.86GHz Pentium M, ATI X700 128MB)
2,536 3D Marks
Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB)
4,157 3DMarks
PCMark04:
To compare to older notebooks we ran PCMark04 on the M1210. It's a telling thing when a 12.1" screen notebook beats out the old Dell XPS 2 gaming notebook in an overall system performance test:
Notebook
PCMark04 Results
Dell XPS M1210 (2.16 GHz Core Duo)
6,033 PCMarks
Lenovo V100 (2.00 GHz Core Duo)
4,665 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron XPS2 (2.0GHz Intel Pentium M)
4,082 PCMarks
Acer Aspire 5002 WLMi (AMD Turion 64 ML-30 1.6GHz)
2,392 PCmarks
Acer TravelMate 4400 (AMD Turion ML-30, 1.6GHz)
3,104 PCMarks
Toshiba Tecra A6 (1.66GHz Intel Core Duo)
2,653 PCMarks
PortableOne SR2 (Intel Pentium M Dothan 735 1.7GHz)
3,274 PCMarks
PCMark05
For those interested, here's a link to the project details for PCMark05 results: XPS M1210 PCMark05 Results
Gaming
Half Life 2 on the XPS M1210 (view large image)
Playing 3D and higher-end type games is certainly possible on the the XPS M1210. I decided to try out Half Life 2, it ran on high-detail without issue. Some features such as Anti-aliasing were turned off and other settings weren't at their highest in order to ensure the best game playing experience given the power available, but with the settings you see from the screenshot below, the play was completely smooth.
Best settings for HL2 (view large image)
An angry guard wields his electrified club (view large image)
Ports and Input
With 4 USB 2.0 ports the XPS M1210 certainly is best in its class for number of that type of port on this sized notebook. My ThinkPad T43 is a 14.1-inch screen notebook and has just two USB 2.0 ports. In fact, the XPS M1210 is as good as or better than many larger notebooks in terms of port offerings. I'm sure some would like to see a DVI-D port on there, but that's the only missing port I think some of us would have chalked up as a nice to have. Let's take a tour around the M1210 to see what you get:
On the left side we have the modem, two USB 2.0 ports, S-Video out, Air vents and fan, wireless switch and Wi-Fi catcher, ExpressCard 54 (which is ExpressCard 34 compatible) and the hard drive access door:
Left side ports view (view large image)

On the right side we have the optical drive bay, 5-in-1 memory card reader (very handy), FireWire port, two more USB 2.0 ports and a VGA monitor out connector.

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Looking at the front you can see the optional integrated 1.3 megapixel rotating web camera, multimedia buttons with blue lights on the front, and two headphone jacks plus a mic in.

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On the bottom of the M1210 are mostly covers for access to various internals. Notice on the battery there is a charge indicator in which if you push in on it the 5 lights will light up to indicate the charge level (in 20% increments from 0 - 100%). The charge indicator works whether the laptop is powered on or not.
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Screen
The 12.1" glossy widescreen is really quite gorgeous. You'll only be able to view one window at a time comfortably on this sized screen at such a resolution, but that's part of the course with this sized notebook. The screen is extremely bright at its maximum level, if you're on battery setting brightness to half should even be quite adequate.
The screen is bright enough to be able to easily watch a movie from 10 - 20 feet away as I tested and found out (view large image)
The colors are bold and rich thanks to the glossy screen finish. However, with a glossy screen be aware that you'll get more reflection than with a matte screen as you can see with the photo at the top of this review in which the M1210 is reflecting the room it is in. All the same, in a consumer notebook it's much better to have this type of screen.
The vertical viewing angle isn't all that great, you'll need to look at the screen with a perpendicular angle to the eye to get the best and most accurate coloration. This is typical of most notebook screens though. Horizontal viewing angles are quite good, you can be off to the side and still see the screen quite well.
Audio and Speakers
This is usually the part in a review where I say "get a pair of external speakers". But I'm not going to say that. I was astounded at the sound the M1210 provided. In a 12" notebook you usually figure you're lucky to get system sounds coming from a speaker on the bottom of the notebook. I played music and watched DVDs on the M1210 and the nicely positioned forward firing 4-ohm speakers generated very good audio quality. I am so impressed that I'll say, if you're travelling, save on the bulk and leave the external speakers at home -- the loudness and clarity from these built-in speakers is more than adequate. Bravo!
The two headphone jacks is kind of a cool thing too. On a plane or in the back of a car you could fire up a movie and watch it with your fellow passenger each using your own headphones.
Wireless Communications
Dell has pulled out all of the stops in making the XPS M1210 wireless capable. Here's a quick rundown of the wireless options:
Wi-Fi Choices: Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g, Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g
Bluetooth (Dell Wireless 350 BlueTooth internal wireless card)
WWAN (Cellular Broadband internet access) Choices: o Dell Wireless 5500 Mobile Broadband 3G HSDPA (Cingular US)o Dell Wireless 5700 Mobile Broadband CDMA EVDO (Verizon Wireless US)
The broadband cellular communication addition to the M1210 is much welcomed. Dell provides the option of configuring your M1210 with an internal antenna for either EVDO or HSDPA. My review unit M1210 came configured with the Dell Wireless 5700 EVDO modem. Dell puts the cellular antenna in the screen, no ugly antenna sticking out. One important consideration, if you choose the web cam AV communications package (about a $100 option), but don't choose EVDO service at the time of purchase, you can upgrade and add WWAN later since it's just a mini-PCI card you'd need to plug in.
EVDO via Verizon is a real treat, if you have an existing Verizon wireless account it's $60 a month for unlimited data transfer and if you don't then the cost is $80 a month. You also have the option of paying $15 for 24 hour access to the Verizon EVDO network. If you're a highly mobile person EVDO can be a real blessing and keep you from fretting about where you'll find the next hotspot.
Speaking of finding wireless hotspots, Dell has included a unique feature called "Wi-Fi Catcher" located on the left side of the notebook. You can use this switch to turn off all wireless radios by putting it in the Off position, but far cooler than that, push it all the way forward and it will blink green as it searches for a Wi-Fi network and if one is present it glows solid green, if none is found it shows orange. This Wi-Fi Catcher works whether the notebook is on, off or in standby mode. So there's no need to boot up and search for wireless networks, just push this button to find out.
Battery
Instead of running battery benchmark tests I used a real world battery drain test. At 100% charge I set the screen to half-brightness and pulled the plug on the XPS M1210. I then performed various tasks such as downloading and installing Half Life 2 and playing it for a bit, surfing the web, downloading and installing 3DMark05, watching 10 minutes of a DVD, edited some photos for this review and also turned off wireless and just let the M1210 idle for some time. In doing all of this the 9-cell battery ran down to 5% charge and Windows shut the notebook down at 2h 58 mins of usage. Since the M1210 here is configured with a dedicated graphics card and faster processor and I left wi-fi on, that time isn't bad. If you had integrated graphics, wi-fi off and set your screen brightness lower you could easily achieve 4.5 hours. My test was pretty abusive in terms of using demanding programs while on battery power.
Power adapter next to the XPS M1210 (view large image)
The power adapter for the M1210 isn't exactly small, it's only somewhat smaller to those you get with other Dell notebooks, so that part of the system doesn't fall under 'ultraportable' either.
Heat and Noise
The M1210 has quite a number of vents to help with cooling. Nonetheless, when playing Half Life 2 and running 3D benchmarks things did warm up a bit. The M1210 didn't get as hot as the Apple MacBook I have (which gets to a toasty 140 F while just web surfing), but the bottom definitely got warm to the point I wouldn't want it on my lap. However, when doing normal tasks the M1210 was just fine and stayed at a very comfortable temperature. Again, if you had integrated graphics heat would be even less of an issue, if one at all.
The fan on the left side was audible but quiet when it kicked in to cool the notebook down. It only really ran during the times I was performing a lot of processor demanding tasks, in normal usage it didn't even run.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The big concern when it comes to using a smaller sized computer is whether the keyboard is going to be too cramped. The good news is that the XPS M1210 keyboard is indeed full sized, so you won't have to contort your fingers. Certain buttons such as the "Home", "End" and "Delete" keys are half-sized and the Pg-Up and Pg-Down keys are somewhat oddly located, but other than that I found the typing experience good and finding keys easy and natural.
(view large image)
The keyboard is not as firm as I would like though, it has some definite flex to it, especially on the lower right side -- things get downright mushy there. Push in on one key and some keys around it will sink. The keyboard is more conducive to light touch typing, I'm the type of person that has a pretty aggressive keystroke which is the reason I can feel keyboard flex more than others.
I prefer using a pointing stick to a touchpad, but the touchpad on this machine is really quite nice. It is very responsive and easy to feel, I love the fact it's sort of depressed and sunk in a little because it makes it easy to feel without looking (i.e., you know where the edge of the touchpad is, not like on a totally smooth and flat touchpad where you have to look). The mouse buttons are just fantastic too, the travel on these buttons is absolutely perfect, I love them. I would have liked to have seen the touchpad slightly larger, but no complaints outside of that.
The Integrated Camera and Hypercardioid Microphone
I'm a big fan of the built-in camera and hypercardioid microphone on the XPS M1210. The built-in Logitech web camera can take still pictures of up to 1.3 Megapixels and take 30 fps video at up to 640 x 480 resolution. And you're not just stuck pointing the camera at yourself, you can rotate it 180 degrees so that it can take video of whatever you're facing (or just the sky if you wish). And yes, Dell thought of the fact the world will be upside down if you rotate the camera so built-in software flips the image for you on the screen so you don't get vertigo or anything.

Click on the video above to see an example of how the XPS M1210 camera does capturing a busy intersection with cars speeding through. The resolution and clarity the camera provides for the video is actually very nice. I imagine everyone can think of a way they might be able to use this camera in their work and lives. Whether it be the typical video chat / Skype (Dell included Skype on the M1210) or if you're in school and would like to record your lectures on video, it's an easy thing to do. Just push the quick launch camera button on the keyboard and then click on the "Record Video" button on the screen and the camera starts recording. Hit stop and the video file is dumped into your My Pictures folder (you can customize where video files and pictures get stored).
To make things better for using the camera, the microphone rotates with the camera and is a type of microphone called "hypercardioid". This means the microphone is very good at picking up sounds in front of it and blocking out ambient noise from the rear and immediate sides. It's especially good at picking up sound from a distance too, so even in a lecture hall you should be able to capture what a lecturer is saying from a distance provided the microphone is pointed in the direction of the sound source.
Conclusion
I've had just a ton of fun with the M1210. I get to play with a lot of notebooks with the work I do, and believe it or not that can actually get tedious when you see one laptop after the other that's just kind of the same. The M1210 is different though, it's a 12.1" laptop that's designed to be powerful and fun. You can game on it, comfortably watch and listen to movies on it, use it to record video, be highly mobile and connected with the EVDO option and to top it all off the look is really great. I love the black lid and blue accent lights. It's certainly one of the thicker 12.1" notebooks out there, but the goal was not to be the thinnest and lightest in the category, but rather the most functional and well equipped. I think Dell accomplished that, the XPS M1210 offers the most fun and most possibilities in a 12.1" screen form factor of any such notebook on the market.
Pros
Dedicated nVidia Go 7400 graphics in a 12.1" screen form factor makes gaming a possibility
Optional EVDO built-in is a very nice option
Excellent rotating web camera and software gives you many possibilities for usage, not just recording yourself
Great design! Build is also overall good
Excellent selection of ports available, 4 USB 2.0 ports for this sized laptop is great
Good touchpad and mouse buttons
Nice screen
Cons
Keyboard flex on the right hand side detracts from the typing experience and overall feel
Very thick for a 12.1" screen notebook, not exactly "ultraportable" since it's 4.5 lbs + with the recommended 9-cell battery
Can get a bit warm when gaming

99 High Paying Keywords

The Secret Is Out!

Start website stock trading to boost your website trafficIncorporating high paying keywords into your site is critical to maximizing your income. Who has the time to figure it all out? How much are you willing to pay for this type of information? The secret is out: Here are 99 keywords you can use with payouts averaging $2-$100 per click:

1. Structured settlements
2. Mesothelioma
3. Acne
4. Life Insurance
5. Death Insurance
6. Bextra
7. Asbestos
8. Car Insurance
9. Dental Plans
10. Private Jets

11. Debt Consolidation
12. Credit Cards
13. Rewards Cards
14. Equity Loans
15. Equity Line Credit
16. Loans
17. Mortgages
18. Pay Day Loans
19. Cash Advance
20. Bankruptcy

21. Reduce Debt
22. Refinance
23. Jet Charter
24. Vioxx
25. Wrongful death
26. Legal Advice27. Taxes
28. Investing
29. Bonds
30. Online Trading

31. IRA Rollover
32. Refinance Quotes
33. Adult Education
34. Distance Learning
35. Alcohol Treatment
36. Rehab
37. Drug Rehab
38. Spyware
39. Cell Phone Plans
40. Calling Cards

41. VOIP
42. Weight Loss
43. Canadian Pharmacy
44. Depression
45. Spam Filter
46. Lasik
47. Facelift
48. Teeth Whitening
49. Annuity
50. Anti Virus Protection

51. Adult Diaper
52. Free Credit Report
53. Credit Score
54. Satellite
55. Anti Spam Software
56. Dedicated Hosting
57. Domain Name
58. Need Money
59. Bachelor Degree
60. Master Degree

61. Doctorate Degree
62. Work at Home
63. Quick Book
64. Extra Money
65. Eloan
66. Malpractice Lawyer
67. Lenox China
68. Cancer
69. Payperclick
70. Personal Injury Attorney

71. Lexington Law
72. Video Conferencing
73. Transfer Money
74. Windstar Cruise
75. Casinos Online
76. Term Life
77. Online Banking
78. Borrow Money
79. Low Interest Credit Cards
80. Personal Domain Name

81. Cellular Phone Rental
82. Internet Broker
83. Trans Union
84. Cheap Hosting
85. University Degrees Online
86. Online Marketing
87. Consolidate
88. Helpdesk Software
89. Web Host
90. Homeowner's Insurance

91. Yellow Page Advertising
92. Travel Insurance
93. Register Domain
94. Credit Counseling
95. Email Hosting
96. Business Credit
97. Consumer Credit
98. Blue Cross
99. Laptop Computer

Actual payouts vary depending on whose PPC program you belong to and on the amount that has been bid per click by advertisers. Still, the savvy web administrator will take good care to incorporate some of these key words and reap results higher than they ever expected.

Google Adsense Big Secrets

Is there a BIG secret to the huge Adsense checks? Yes, you've seen those screen shots of 5-figure Adsense earning ... so have I. And that made you thinking, why are some people earning those huge income, and you are not.

Whatever people may say, I only see these are the only factors that make the difference between your earning and those 'big-guns'.

1 - Adsense Placement

Yes, putting your Adsense in a special way can be the difference between 1% click-through rate (CTR) and 10% CTR. There have been some strategies outlined where you have to make your Adsense like content. You do that by removing the borders and using the same font color that you are using for your website.

Choosing the bigger Adsense format has always been recommended. It is said that the big square, wide skyscraper are the top performer. Me ... yes, I am experiencing good things with these ad formats.

Some may say differently, but I am doing well with the Ad Links too. It's those text link ads, which requires two-step clicks. I place them like a navigation link on my website, and I am doing quite OK with them.

2 - High Paying Keywords

Here's another known secret. Go for high paying keywords. If your website is about a topic where advertisers are paying high money for them, then you may get more money with Adsense.

This is common sense. When people are paying $5.00 per click on Adwords, you may get a lot of money on your Adsense. And if the ads that are showing on your website are ads that people are paying $1.00 per click, you may get lesser than a dollar per click.

Known topics where advertisers are paying top dollars are like DUI lawyers, credit card applications, web hosting ... you know the rest. And you can even go to Overture Bid Tools to guess what people are paying for certain keywords. If you come across a topic that you think might do well, you can give a try there.

Overture - BidTool

But the problem with this, high paying keywords are normally very competitive when you are trying to drive traffic with search engine optimization (SEO). So some would just go for low hanging fruits.

3 - Get More Traffic

Yep ... no secret here. The more traffic you get, the more clicks you are likely to get. And more clicks means more money. But then again, you should think about the type of websites that pull traffic.

I believe many of top earners are actually operating a community-based websites. These are like forums, photo blog service providers, blogs that has grown its readerships and maybe even dating profiles. Another way of doing this is where you build your website around user created content. You allow users to create the content, like put in comments and reviews.
These are the sites that where people keep coming back for more. The good thing is you don't have to crack your head for content. If you think you can build one like those, then go for it.
On the contrary, many are actually growing sites in smaller niches. And they go for SEO for traffic. I have to say that this is the most popular when it comes to Adsense.
You and I know there are the good ways and the bad ways to SEO - yes, the white hats and the black hats. Whatever you do, that is your choice. Some people are doing the black hats, but to them, as long as they are in compliance with the Adsense TOS, they have nothing to worry about.

To me, you do what you want and take responsibilities for the outcome. If you are doing black hat SEO, and you are making boatloads of money – then good for you.
And after that, there're the non-SEO methods. I know of some people who are doing the arbitrage method. They go for high paying keywords, and then advertise their sites for lower prices. And they make profit from the difference. It may sounds strange at first, but some actually made it work.

Other non-SEO methods are like posting at forums, writing articles and doing press releases on their websites.

I have also heard about a strategy where you create an e-course with email, and then send your subscribers to a web pages that contains the lessons and of course, Adsense. This way, you can capture one guy, and probably make money from him/her over and over again.

4 - It's a Numbers Game

All in all ... Adsense is a numbers game. If you find something that is working for you, to make more income is just to do it again and again. For the black hat SEOers, they just build more and more websites.

Unless you successfully build and grow a community-based website, you may want to build more sites. If you build one site that is making $100 a month, then 10 sites would give you $1000. But then again, I would say, you are bound to have sites that will just flop. So out of 10, maybe 3 is doing great, 4 is just so-so, and another 3 just flopped.
If a so-so site makes $30 a month, and a great site is doing $300 a month, with just 10 sites, you might be making $1020 a month.

Just like I said ... it's a numbers game.

Google Adsense Tips - Earn More Money

Google Adsense is perhaps the easiest way to attract advertisers from across the globe to your website. Just submit your website to Google for approval. If Google likes what it sees, it will place contextual ads linking to products likely to appeal to the readers. Each time a reader clicks a link, the advertiser pays Google a small fee, and Google splits that with you.

Now - How to Make Money with Google Adsense ? Here are The best Google Adsense tips for making more money (profit) from Google adsense program.

B. Never modify the Google Adsense HTML code.

C. Don't ask your friends or visitors to click on your Google ads. Do not include incentives of any kind for users to click on ads. Don't label the Google ads with text other than "sponsored links" or "advertisements.".

D. Don't click on your own ads - Google is much smarter than you think. You should not reload your pages excessively. If you are testing your website layout with Google adsense, follow some precautions. Or you can use the unofficial Google Adsense Sandbox Tool that is accessible from Firefox, IE and other browsers to see what kind of Google ads will be served based on content (website address URL) or keywords.

E. Don't place ads in pop-up windows, error pages or even empty pages.

F. Don't start a "adsense asbestos" or "home equity loan rates" website merely to make money from accidental clicks (accidence). You will never make money out these "made-for-adsense-only" websites. Instead, write on topics what you are passionate about. Don't waste your money on high-paying adsense keywords lists.

H. For long articles, CTR improves if ads are placed somewhere in middle of the content - visitors read the long content and then they are looking for more resources.

I. Use Text Ads instead of Image Ads as users get more options. If you still want to display image ads, consider ad formats that support image ads- Choose either the 300x250 medium rectangle or the 160x600 wide skyscraper- or both, if you display multiple ad units on a page.

J. Google Ads without background color and borders always perform better. Make the border color and background color same as your page background color.

K. Always put ads above the main fold. Make sure that the ad unit with the highest clickthrough rate is the first instance of the ad code that appears in the HTML. Since the first ad unit is always filled before the rest, you want to make sure that ad unit is located in the best placement on your page.

L. Try setting the ad link URL color to a lighter shade. If your text is black, you may make the adlink as light gray.

M. Go Wide - The large rectangle is the best paying adsense format (336x280) - The Google Adsense Publisher team also feels that the best formats are the wider ones - the ad formats that contain the widest individual ads. Try using the 336x280 large rectangle, 300x250 medium rectangle, or 160x600 wide skyscraper.

N. Placing images next to ads or above ads does help in attracting user attention.

O. Blend AdLinks with other navigation links or place horizontal adlinks at the top of your webpage. AdSense publishers are permitted to click on link unit topics on their web pages, provided that they do not click on any Google ads on the resulting page.

P. Organize an Adsense Party for your friends and colleagues - Request them to navigate your website, watch their activity - it will provide vital clues about which regions on your website draw more user attention. Try putting ads near those areas. (Thanks Darren)

Q. You can put upto 3 adsense units on a page. Try putting a large skyscraper on the right navigation sidebar of your website. That area is close to the browser scrollbar. You can also add 2 AdSense for search boxes, 1 adlink unit and 1 referral button per product (i.e., 1 AdSense referral button and 1 Firefox plus Google Toolbar referral button).

R. The first few lines of your content are an important factor for determining what Ads are served on your webpage. That's the right place to put keywords in bold (strong or <> tags) or header tags (h1, h2, etc).

S. Always select the setting to open Google Adsense search box results in a new browser window, so you won't lose your visitors. Click the Open search results in a new browser window checkbox and this add target="google_window" to your form tag.

T. Maximum people think the search box is on the top right corner. So you know where to put it.

U. Don't syndicate full content. If people can read everything from the newsreader window itself, why would they visit your website where your ads are.

V. Use URL channels to determine performance of individual pages. I track my most popular pages with Google Analytics, Statcounter and create a channel for each of the URL. You can even track Adsense Clicks with Analytics

W. For low CTR pages, try changing titles or adding more content to get better focused ads.

X. Block low paying advertisers with Filters. Why to loose a visitor for 0.01 cents. Use Overture or Google Adwords Keywords tool to discover keywords that are less popular with advertisers.

Y. The AdSense for search Top Queries report shows you what your users are looking for, by listing the 25 most common searches conducted through your AdSense for search boxes. Use this report to identify additional topics to add to your site, or to keep track of your most sought-after information. Focus and improve that content.

Z. Not everyone has a RSS reader. Use RSS to Email services like FeedBlitz, websitelet or Rmail to let users subscribe to your website by email.