Fabrice Grinda

Doing a few Speedtests, this was the slowest upload speed on the Galaxy Nexus. In one of the tests it did over 13,000 kbps in upload speed!

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The wives and girlfriends of my friends have been asking me for recommendations so I decided to share the analysis for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season :)

Cell Phone: Galaxy Nexus by Samsung on Verizon

The Galaxy Nexus is actually the reason this blog post comes somewhat late in the holiday shopping season. Despite predicting a year ago that ultimately Android would beat out iOS as the dominant mobile platform, I did not jump ship to Android until yesterday when the Galaxy Nexus came out. Android phones, the Galaxy Nexus included, do not match the slickness of the iPhone 4S interface, the quality of its applications and the quality of its digital camera.

However, the iPhone 4S proved to be a huge disappointment. I was hoping for a larger screen, LTE and longer battery life, but instead all they released was essentially Siri and a better camera. Siri works surprisingly well but is really gimmicky. Ultimately, the Galaxy Nexus was the phone I needed. Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) closed the gap significantly from a UI perspective (though Google still has work to do to fully catch up).

More importantly, the switch to Verizon’s LTE network is revolutionary. I feel the same way I felt when I moved from dial up to broadband! Given that I essentially only use my cell phone to browse the web, text and as a mobile hotspot to give my notebook computer Internet access on the road and in hotel rooms, the speed increase is game changing. I also prefer the larger screen for web browsing and chatting. The screen is not nearly as good as the screen of the Samsung Galaxy SII, but it’s still amazing. Besides none of the calls I have made so far have dropped! I was so frustrated with my iPhone 4 on AT&T, I almost broke it several times. Once it dropped the call 10 times in a 20 minute conversation (and still drops calls daily).

Note that I am hanging on to my iPhone 4 to use when I travel abroad given AT&T’s much better global roaming agreements. AT&T also recently introduced a $199.99 per month 800Mb international roaming data plan that has proved a god send in many far flung places around the world!

Digital Camera: Canon Powershot SX230 HS

I am very sensitive to weight when it comes to digital cameras yet want a huge zoom to take great sports shots. This comes in handy while kiting, skiing, etc. would allow you to take great pics of your kids playing soccer :) To be specific, I need a camera that fits in my pocket in all circumstances which is why I am not recommending any of the SLR cameras because experience suggests you end up not taking them with you all the time. This is why I am recommending a high-end “super zoom” compact camera: the Canon Powershot SX230 HS.

You can get it for $199 on Amazon. It has an amazing 14x optical zoom, a 3” LCD and supports HD video. It’s also much better in low light than most “super zoom” cameras.

You can read the full review at: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q311travelzoomgrouptest/page17.asp

Computer: Sony Vaio Z (with the new 13” Macbook Air as a runner up)

If you are ready to splurge, the Sony Vaio Z is hands down the fastest compact notebook on the market right now. Its specs and speed are second to none: 2.5 pounds, a 13” 1080p (1920*1080) screen, a Core i7 processor, a 1Gb AMD Radeon HD 6650 graphic card, a superfast 256Gb Raid 0 SSD hard drive (with a 512Gb option), 8Gb of memory, an external Blu-ray burner, and a 5 hour removable battery with the option for a 10+ hour extended battery. Buy it directly on Sony.com to get the options you want.

If you are a Mac lover, the new 13” Macbook Air is the computer to get. It has the best design of any notebook on the market. Unfortunately, it only has a 1.8Ghz dual core i7, a 1440*900 resolution screen, you can only install up to 4Gb of memory, its 256Gb SSD drive is superfast but slower than the Sony’s Raid 0 256Gb SSD drive, it has a much slower Intel HD 3000 graphic card, and a non-removable battery. It’s not nearly as good as the Sony, but if you are wedded to Mac OS, this is the notebook to get until the next Macbook Air refresh.

Game Console: Xbox 360 – with Kinect if you have kids

A few years ago my recommendation would have been different. The Wii was definitely the console to get for kids and families. For hardcore gamers the decision between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 mostly came down to which exclusive franchise games you preferred (Gears of War or Halo vs. Drake Unchartered). For the most part the Xbox had the edge: it had more and better exclusive games, a better multiplayer experience and better graphics despite worse specs because it was easier for developers to make games for the Xbox. Many hard core gamers actually got both the Xbox and the PS3, both to use the latter as a Blu-ray player and for its exclusive games.

Last year, with the introduction of the the Kinect and the Playstation Move, the Wii’s advantage with kids and casual games has fallen by the way side, especially considering its increasingly dated graphics. The PS3 has also closed the gap with the Xbox. Its online experience has improved, the roster of exclusive games has increased (Gran Turismo 5, Heavy Rain), and developers are finally figuring out how to make use of its processing power and games now have equivalent graphic quality to those of the Xbox 360 and in some cases surpass them.

However, for Xbox 360 remains the console of choice. It has still has by far the best online experience both for multiplayer gaming and watching movies – be it on Zune or Netflix, the controller fits better in your hand and it’s a better deal. If you don’t have kids, you don’t need to buy the Kinect unless you want to do great video conference calls from your living room. Just get the Xbox 360 with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, LA Noire, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City and Gears of War 3. If you have kids, definitely get a Kinect with Fruit Ninja!

Video Game: Lots of Great Choices!

There are so many great games that came out this year it’s too hard to come up with one recommendation, so I will recommend a few games so you can pick based on the genre you like best.

• Multiplayer First Person Shooter: Modern Warfare 3

  In a way Modern Warfare 3 is disappointing as it only makes very small evolutions to Black Ops. Black Ops was just as good, but I started tiring of it. I am happy to be presented with new leveling up options, new maps and a few new game modes. Despite the lack of real changes, the game retains the best in class multiplayer game mechanics of its predecessors and remains the multiplayer first person shooter to play!

• Third Person Shooter: Uncharted 3 & Gears of War 3

  Both Uncharted 3 (PS3) and Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360) continue in the fantastic footsteps of their predecessors. The graphics are amazing and their storylines are shockingly touching and compelling. The coop is tons of fun as well though the multiplayer is nowhere near as interesting as the one of Modern Warfare 3.

• Role Playing Game: The Elder Scrolls V, Dark Souls and Witcher 2

  2011 was an amazing year for RPGs. The Elder Scrolls V continues The Elder Scrolls tradition of first person role playing in huge universes with a seemingly infinite number of side quests and takes it to the next level. I found the story and gameplay even more compelling than in Oblivion!

  Dark Souls is just as amazing and may well be the hardest RPG ever made. I actually have a slight preference for third person RPGs over first person RPGs and adored the gameplay and mechanics. Be forewarned though that the game is so tough that you may find it frustrating. I would only recommend it for expert RPGers.

  As for Witcher 2, it’s by far the best PC-based RPG of the year: phenomenal visuals, absorbing and exciting story where the actions you take have fundamental ramifications for the other characters and overall storyline.

• Adventure Game: LA Noire & Batman Arkham City

  Neither of those is a real adventure game in the traditional point and click sense of the word like the Sierra games of yore. However as that genre has unfortunately essentially died, they represent the next evolution of adventure games and are really adventure / action hybrids. They are in the Grand Theft Auto mold, but with adventure elements: clues to look for and interviews to conduct (using the clues as evidence) in the case of LA Noire and puzzles to solve in the case of Batman.

  LA Noire is closer to the traditional adventure genre, but is designed for modern audiences as you can progress through the game even if you miss most of the clues and mess up most of the interviews. In many ways the game reminded me of the Police Quest series by Sierra, but with modern graphics and a LA Confidential type mood.

  As for Batman, the adventures and explorations in the city of Arkham make this game extraordinary. My one reservation is that the game is too easy, which is also the reason Red Dead Redemption is not on the list. The game is amazing, but was so easy even on the hardest level that I tired of it.

• Strategy Game: None!

  The lack of great new rich and deep RTS was a huge disappointment. I still long for a game matching the strategic depth of Rise of Nations with the tactical unit control of Company of Heroes. Unfortunately no RTS even came close in the past few years and there is none I feel I can recommend.

  As for turn based strategy games, none have shone since last year’s Civilization V.

  I hope 2012 will change all that!

eReader: The Kindle

The new Kindle is great. If you are an avid book reader, ereaders are fantastic and the Kindle is the best of the bunch. I got tired of lugging books with me and switched to the Kindle and have not looked back! It’s light, easy to read in all environments and has amazing battery life. You could get away with reading a few books on the iPad or Kindle Fire, but your eyes and arm eventually tire out so if you read a lot the Kindle is the ereader to get. I tried every version of the Kindle and ended up going with the cheapest $79 option. It’s lighter than the Touch version. I also felt the Touch was not responsive enough and I hate waiting for the page to load. I used to have the 3G option in the previous version but never used it as I always have many books I am waiting to read so decided to opt out of it as well.

Webcam: Microsoft LifeCam Studio

This $99 webcam is amazing! It has a 1080p widescreen sensor, great low light quality and a fantastic microphone. If you do many Skype calls, it’s the webcam to get!

Remote Controlled Car: Traxxas E-Revo Brushless (5608)

Given noise complaints from my neighbors I switched all my remote controlled vehicles to electric. The Traxxas E-Revo Brushless truck is a monster! It’s huge – 23 inches long, 9 inches and basically unbreakable! Get it with Lipo batteries (buy two Venom 11.1V 5000 mAH 20C Lipo batteries with a Venom Pro Lipo Charger with Power Supply) and it goes 65 mph!

The car is ready to run out of the box so even if you have never assembled RC products before you should be set. Note that you need a very big space to make it run – 65 mph is superfast!

You can buy everything at ehobbies.com and on Amazon. If you break anything just type the part number on ehobbies and it shows up directly. The Traxxas folks are also very friendly and provide great support.

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The wives and girlfriends of my friends have been asking me for recommendations so I decided to share the analysis for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season :)

Video Game: Call of Duty: Black Ops

		There are lots of great games out in the market right now: Red Dead Redemption, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Vanquish and Civilization V in particular come to mind for single player fun. However in terms of pure unadulterated multiplayer fun nothing trumps Call of Duty: Black Ops. The game mechanics are very similar to Modern Warfare 2 and that’s a great thing. It’s the game to get this holiday season. It’s fantastic on all platforms, but I am partial to the Xbox 360 version
because more of my friends are on the Xbox, and I only play this game with friends. The multiplayer experience is also more competitive on the Xbox than on the PS3. The PC version is fantastic as well, but you need a super powerful computer. Besides more of my friends play it on consoles than on PC and I actually prefer playing first person shooters on consoles.

Digital Camera: Panasonic Lumix ZS7 or LX5

I am very sensitive to weight when it comes to digital cameras. I want something that fits in my pocket in all circumstances which is why I am not recommending any of the SLR cameras because experience suggests you end up not taking them with you all the time. This is why I am recommending high-end compact cameras. In this category the Lumix ZS7 and the Lumix LX5 are the best by far.

The one you should get depends on your specific use case. They both have 3” screens and HD movie recording. The ZS7 costs $250, is fully automated and has an amazing 16x optical zoom. If you take a lot of sports shots from far away, your kids playing soccer for instance (or in my case kite surfing or skiing pictures and videos), it’s the one to get.

The LX5 costs $400, has a 3.8x optical zoom and comes with an impressive array of customization options. What sets it apart is its amazing picture quality, especially in low light. If you take a lot of pictures indoors, dinner parties for instance, it’s the one to get!

Note that in many circumstances an iPhone 4 can do the trick as well. There is no zoom and a weak flash, but it’s fantastic for taking impromptu pictures and sharing them on Facebook. It even has good low light quality.

Phone: iPhone 4

I have predicted that Android will ultimately beat out iOS to be the dominant smartphone platform. Android phones are already outselling iPhones 2 to 1 and the AT&T network famously sucks in New York and San Francisco. That said, no Android phone on the market currently matches the slickness of the iPhone 4 interface, the quality of its applications and the quality of its screen and digital camera. Several phones get close and my recommendation might change with LTE Gingerbread (Android 2.3) phones on Verizon in 2011, but for now the iPhone 4 is the phone to get!

Computer: Sony Vaio Z (with the new 13” Macbook Air as a runner up)

If you are ready to splurge, the Sony Vaio Z is hands down the fastest compact notebook on the market right now. Its specs and speed are second to none: 3 pounds, a 13” 1080p (1920*1080) screen, a Core i7 processor, a 1Gb Nvidia GT 330M graphic card, a superfast 256Gb Raid 0 SSD hard drive (with a 512Gb option), 8Gb of memory, an internal DVD player (or optional internal Blu-ray player and burner) and a 5 hour removable battery. Buy it directly on Sony.com to get the options you want.

If you are a Mac lover, the new 13” Macbook Air is the computer to get. It has the best design of any notebook on the market. Unfortunately, it only has a Core 2 Duo processor, a 1440*900 resolution screen, you can only install up to 4Gb of memory, its 256Gb SSD drive is superfast but slower than the Sony’s Raid 0 256Gb SSD drive, it has a much slower 256Gb Nvidia Geforce 320M graphic card, no internal DVD player, and a non-removable battery. It’s not nearly as good as the Sony, but if you are wedded to Mac OS, this is the notebook to get.

Game Console: Xbox 360 – with Kinect if you have kids

A few years ago my recommendation would have been different. The Wii was definitely the console to get for kids and families. For hardcore gamers the decision between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 mostly came down to which exclusive franchise games you preferred (Gears of War or Halo vs. Drake Unchartered). For the most part the Xbox had the edge: it had more and better exclusive games, a better multiplayer experience and better graphics despite worse specs because it was easier for developers to make games for the Xbox. Many hard core gamers actually got both the Xbox and the PS3, both to use the latter as a Blu-ray player and for its exclusive games.

In the past year, with the introduction of the the Kinect and the Playstation Move, the Wii’s advantage with kids and casual games has fallen by the way side, especially considering its increasingly dated graphics. The PS3 has also closed the gap with the Xbox. Its online experience has improved, the roster of exclusive games has increased (Gran Turismo 5, Heavy Rain), and developers are finally figuring out how to make use of its processing power and games now have equivalent graphic quality to those of the Xbox 360 and in some cases surpass them.

However, for Xbox 360 remains the console of choice. It has still has by far the best online experience both for multiplayer gaming and watching movies – be it on Zune or Netflix, the controller fits better in your hand and it’s a better deal. If you don’t have kids, you don’t need to buy the Kinect unless you want to do great video conference calls from your living room. Just get the Xbox 360 with Call of Duty: Black Ops, Red Dead Redemption, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Vanquish and Gears of War 2. If you have kids, definitely get a Kinect with Dance Central.

eReader: The Kindle

The new Kindle is great. If you are an avid book reader, ereaders are fantastic and the Kindle is the best of the bunch. I got tired of lugging books with me and switched to the Kindle and have not looked back! It’s light, easy to read in all environments and has amazing battery life. You could get away with reading a few books on the iPad, but your eyes and arm eventually tire out so if you read a lot the Kindle is the ereader to get. You should probably buy the 3G version. Even if you don’t anticipate using it, it’s useful on the off chance you get caught somewhere with nothing to read and no wifi coverage. The extra $50 is well worth the price of having the world’s largest library at your fingertips anytime, anywhere.

Tablet PC: iPad

If you have kids definitely get an iPad. They find it intuitive and love the games! If not, it depends on your use case. A few people use it as a notebook replacement in meetings or when traveling, but I don’t like typing with it and its support for Office files is not great (many PPT graphs don’t show up for instance). It’s effective as a bedside or living room web browser or to use as a video player at the gym. If you have a use case, definitely get one. If you are considering a netbook, get an iPad instead.

Webcam: Microsoft LifeCam Studio

This $99 webcam is amazing! It has a 1080p widescreen sensor, great low light quality and a fantastic microphone. If you do many Skype calls, it’s the webcam to get!

Remote Controlled Car: Traxxas E-Revo Brushless (5608)

Given noise complaints from my neighbors I switched all my remote controlled vehicles to electric. The Traxxas E-Revo Brushless truck is a monster! It’s huge – 23 inches long, 9 inches and basically unbreakable! Get it with Lipo batteries (buy two Tenergy 11.1V 5000 mAH 25C Lipo batteries with a Venom Pro Lipo Charger with Power Supply) and it goes 65 mph!

The car is ready to run out of the box so even if you have never assembled RC products before you should be set. Note that you need a very big space to make it run – 65 mph is superfast!

You can buy everything at ehobbies.com and on Amazon. If you break anything just type the part number on ehobbies and it shows up directly. The Traxxas folks are also very friendly and provide great support.

Remote Controlled Plane: E-Flite Apprentice 15e RTF

The Apprentice is a great first plane. It costs $299. It comes almost fully assembled (you essentially just need to glue the wings together) with everything you need out of the box. It’s super stable and amazingly durable. It can handle many crashes and most parts are cheap to replace (a new set of wings is less than $40). The plane can also do basic acrobatics once you are up for it (loops, inverted flying). If you have a place to fly it, it’s tons of fun!

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For a self-avowed tech geek, it took me a long time to transition to ereaders. I have an iPhone 4, an iPad, a Lumix ZS7, lots of plasma TVs, Xbox 360s, PS3s, a Traxxas remote control car, an E-flite remote control plane and tons of other gadgets. You would think I would be the perfect candidate for reading on an ereader. Yet, somehow I was addicted to the feel of the book in my hands. I could not conceive of using an ereader. Maybe this anachronism was the legacy of all the reading I had done at Princeton in a most traditional setting, but somehow I could not shed it and risked being left behind by the times.

I had tried a Kindle in the past but had never committed to it. I bought most books in both print and Kindle editions and read the print whenever possible. I found the Kindle slow and awkward to hold. It also met a premature death when I inadvertently dropped it in my bathtub. As a result until yesterday, I had not read a book cover to cover on the Kindle.

During the last few years as the amount of business travel I do has increased significantly I have tried to shed weight wherever I could. I switched from an 8 pound Dell 17” notebook, to a 6 pound 17” Macbook Pro, then to a 5 pound 15.4” Macbook Pro. This year has been even worse. I have already been on the road over 6 months so far and will be traveling all of December, so I took the weight loss up another notch. I switched to a 3 pound Sony Vaio Z and even downsized my backpack with the 2.9 pound Booq Boa Squeeze. I started using the laundry service in hotels more aggressively and now can definitely say I travel light. On a recent 3 week trip, I managed to take just a carry-on suitcase and my backpack.

On said trip, I was shocked to realize that over half the weight in my backpack was accounted for by the books I was carrying with me. The time had come to give the Kindle another try. Conveniently, Amazon had just released the new Kindle. On my current two week trip I only took 1 book in addition to the Kindle. I started reading The Garden of Betrayal by Lee Vance on the Kindle and could not put it down. I read it cover to cover as I would have a printed book. I found the new Kindle easier to read and faster than the last iteration. I did notice the page transitions and generally loved the experience. I am now hooked! From now on it’s going to be all Kindle all the time!

Slight non sequitur: I bought the 3G version despite not anticipating using it on the off chance I get caught somewhere with nothing to read and no wifi coverage. The extra $50 is well worth the price of having the world’s largest library at my fingertips anytime, anywhere.

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Given my itinerant lifestyle I end up working from many different computers. I was looking for a solution to move everything to the Cloud but only had imperfect solutions. Thanks to Microsoft Exchange I already have access to all my emails from any computer and many mobile devices. Carbonite gave me a good backup of all my files and remote access to them, but keeping files in sync between all my computers was always a pain. I would change some files in some folders at home, different files in the same folder at work and keeping it all straight was messy and complicated. I would use a mix of emailing myself the files and copying them on a USB stick, but it was manual, annoying and error prone.

I just installed Live Sync Beta and it’s amazing. It’s easy to setup and keep files in sync between many computers and on the cloud. Best of all it’s free! In the screenshot below you can see I setup syncing between my notebook and my work computer for three folders. If both computers are on, the sync is instantaneous.

The software is not without flaws:

• The interface is clunkier than it should be – I should be able to go on any folder in Explorer and right mouse click “Keep this folder in Synch with Live Sync” instead of having to manually select folders from within Live Sync.
• In Explorer there should be a little sync icon next to a folder to show that it is being synced.
• The focus on peer to peer syncing is annoying. I can see why it’s cheaper from a bandwidth perspective, but many of my computers are not on the same network. You can use the SkyDrive to sync through the cloud, but it’s limited to 2Gb and I can’t find a way to buy more storage. I would be more than happy to pay for cloud syncing.

Hopefully those will be solved in the full product release. In the meantime, if you need to keep files in sync between multiple computers, you owe it to yourself to check out the free beta!

Partial non sequitur: It’s hard to believe Microsoft had a gem like this and I had never heard of it until Daniel Rasmus mentioned it to me over breakfast a week ago. I wonder what similar products are lost somewhere in the Microsoft matrix! I also wonder what weird Microsoft politics infected this project. It seems to have had many different owners over time given the many very different blogs on Sync/SkyDrive/Live Mesh within Microsoft (all of which have been discontinued except for the official Inside Windows Live blog). Also, the product used to be focused on syncing through the cloud when it was called Live Mesh instead of through peers. I hope it becomes the focus again soon!

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I prefer backpacks to carry my notebook to keep the weight balanced on both my shoulders. After I downsized notebook, it made sense to downsize backpack.

The Booq Boa Squeeze is great. It is super light – 2.9 pounds – and very compact in addition to being well built, ergonomic and comfortable. It’s not very big, but can definitely hold a few magazines and a book in addition to the notebook and charger.

If you are trying to carry a lighter load, you can’t go wrong with this backpack!

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When my notebook was my only computer, I only bought super high performance 17” notebooks. What they lacked in portability and battery life they made up for in performance. As a game player, I especially valued 1920*1200 screens and fast 3D graphics. Windows compatibility was a must as few games are written for the Mac and games come out months if not years later for the Mac, if at all.

During the last 4 years, given OLX’s global nature, I started spending more and more time on the road. As my travel schedule worsened, I started looking for ways to shave a few pounds from my backpack. When Apple released a 17” Windows compatible Macbook Pro, I immediately switched – it had a reasonably quick Nvidia graphic card and most importantly was only 6 pounds – 2-3 pounds lighter than any other 17” notebook on the market! Unfortunately Apple never optimized its computer for Windows and I only got 90 minutes of battery out of it.

Two years ago, I decided to go down one size and moved to a 15’4” Macbook Pro running Vista. It shaved another pound off of my backpack and was a good notebook, though again it only had a 90 minute battery life under Windows.

During the past 6 months, my travel schedule has taken a turn for the worse and I spent less than 2 months in New York. I also came to the realization that I no longer needed a large screen or as fast a notebook. The transition to cloud computing means I no longer need to have a single PC to work from. With all my emails on Exchange and all my work files automatically backed up with Carbonite from my notebook and accessible from anywhere, I can work from any PC.

As a result, I now have a powerful Core i7 desktop with an Nvidia GTX 285 and a Samsung 30” 2560*1600 monitor to work and play with at home. Moreover, my game playing has largely switched to consoles. First person shooters like Modern Warfare 2 are now optimized for consoles, have much better and seamless online multiplayer on consoles, especially on Xbox Live, and have larger multiplayer user bases on consoles. I still play strategy and adventure games on PCs and am looking forward to Starcraft II and Civilization V, but the reality is those are not nearly as resource intensive as shooters.

To my chagrin, I also play a lot less than I used to for a variety of reasons, not all of which are bad: a lack of new exciting real time strategy games (where are Age of Empires IV and Rise of Nations 2?), too much work and business travel, new interests (paintball, kite surfing, etc.) and dating (funnily enough it’s much easier to play 4 hours a day every day when you don’t have a girlfriend :)

All this to say I was ready to downsize my notebook yet again. I started looking for the fastest and lightest 13” notebook on the market. To my surprise, Apple was not even in the running. Apple has been extremely slow to update its notebooks during the past few years. The new 13” Macbook Pro, despite the last update, remains underpowered with a Core 2 Duo processor, a 256Mb Nvidia GeForce 320M and only a 1280*800 screen. Worse it’s 4.5 pounds! The Macbook Air is even more underpowered and overpriced with an old Core 2 Duo, a Nvidia 9400M, the same low resolution 1280*800 screen and only a 128Gb SSD hard drive. The Dell Adamo Onyx was by far the prettiest 13” notebook, but suffers from many of the same flaws as the Macbook Air: it’s last generation hardware, has a low resolution screen, only 128Gb hard drive and does not include an internal DVD player. The same applies to the somewhat heavier and less pretty HP Envy 13. There were rumors that Toshiba was going to release a 2 pound 13” notebook, but so far it has not come out (and it does not have an expected release date either). This left the Sony Z Series as the only real option.

A few friends of mine were raving about their Sony Z Series so I checked it out. The Sony Z Series has it all: a powerful Core i7 processor, a superfast 256Gb Raid 0 SSD hard drive (with a 512Gb option), a 1Gb Nvidia GT 330M graphic card, 8Gb of Ram, a long battery life, an internal DVD player (or optional internal Blu-ray player and burner). It even has a 1920*1080 HD screen, a rarity in a 13” notebook! It’s only 3.04 pounds. It’s blisteringly fast, boots Windows 7 in record time and I have been able to get 5 hours of battery life out of it with the default battery! I also hear you can get up to 9 hours of battery life with the large capacity battery which adds 0.3 pounds to the weight of the notebook. In any case, the battery is changeable so you can take a spare with you.

I got the black carbon fiber case which I found to be most elegant. My only complaint is that I have not been able to get it to run my 30” monitor in 2560*1600 (I max out at 1920*1200 on external monitors).

In any case, it’s the best notebook on the market right now so if you are looking for a lightweight high performance notebook, look no further.

Buy the VPCZ1290X now!

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After my last digital camera met its untimely demise by falling in water, I started looking for a new digital camera. I have historically been a fan of the Canon Digital Elph series (Canon SDxxx) as they are extremely compact (around 5 ounces) and take beautiful pictures automatically with essentially no need to meddle with settings. However, I found repeatedly found myself frustrated by the limited zoom (around 3-4x optical depending on the camera) and the inability to zoom in videos.

My objective was to find a point-and-shoot camera that had a much better optical zoom, was easy to take pictures with and remained light. With such requirements, the range of cameras to look at was rather limited and Panasonic TZ5 rapidly rose to the top of the list. It’s a $240, 9 megapixel digital camera with a 10x optical zoom and a 3” LCD weighing slightly over 7 ounces. As I was about to buy it, Panasonic released the ZS3.

The ZS3 is essentially the next version of the TZ5. It’s a $400, 10 megapixel digital camera with a 12x optical zoom and a 3” LCD weighing 7.2 ounces. The camera is the best compact digital camera I ever used! The 12x zoom is unparalleled in a compact digital camera and works wonders. The optical image stabilization works extremely well whether you are zoomed in or not. You can even take effective pictures while walking. The automatic context detection setting automatically and intelligently figures out the context of your pictures – sceneries, low light, etc. – and adjusts accordingly. Picture quality is great. Video quality is also amazing – the best I have on a compact digital camera. Videos are taken in 720p in AVCHD and also have great sound quality. You can even zoom in and out while taking videos.

Note that you can easily convert AVCHD to AVI or other formats using Handbrake. You can also play back AVCHD in Windows Media Player by installing ffdshow then Haali Media Splitter.

If you are not price sensitive, this is the camera to get! Alternatively, for $160 less you can get the Panasonic TZ5. If you value size and weight over zoom, the best compact digital camera is the $240 Samsung SL820. It’s a 5.5 ounce, 12 megapixel digital camera with a 5x optical zoom, a 3” LCD and 720p video support.

The Panasonic ZS3 is the camera for me, but you can’t go wrong with any of these 3 choices. Enjoy!

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I am posting this from 30,000 above ground level thanks to Gogo Inflight available on select American Airlines, Virgin America and Delta flights (I am currently on American).

It’s $12.95 for the entire flight (and I got an extra 20% discount with a coupon from Gogo at the boarding of the flight). The connection has been very stable, disconnecting briefly only once during turbulence. I downloaded over 100Mb worth of files at a sustained 80kbs with peaks of 120kpbs.

I can’t wait for the service to be available on all flights!

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As both a movie buff and an avid gamer, I have both an Xbox 360 and a Netflix account. The November 19 revamp of Xbox Live brought Netflix “Watch Now” to the Xbox 360 and I love it!

There is no beating the instant gratification of watching TV show episodes one after the other. I took advantage of the opportunity to watch most of Season 1 of Jericho and Heroes in 2 days!

I had fears the video quality would be low, but it’s actually very good, even on a 58” screen.

Now they just need to expand the library to include all their movies and the service would be fantastic. To truly satisfy the road warrior in me, they should also allow me to watch movies from anywhere in the world on my laptop (after all, I have a US billing address). I would be willing to pay more for those two features – say $19.99 / month.

In fact if they did that, they would no longer need to ship DVDs, I would be satisfied by the Video on Demand (VOD) service.

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