April Product Brief -- Part 2

by Nick Ross , David Fearon , Dave Stephenson , Barry Collins on Apr 4, 2007

Brief reviews of new products, plus updates on items we've already featured.

VIA EPIA CN 13000G C7
Continuing the steady evolution of the form factor it invented, VIA’s latest mini-ITX motherboard packs a little more punch. An integrated 1.3GHz Eden C7 processor gives it a performance boost over the C3 boards we’ve seen previously. A pair of onboard SATA connectors is a welcome addition too, making it easier to pack the board and associated drives into a small case. The CPU has a single heatsink fan, although a fanless 1GHz variant is also available. You’ll need a single DDR2 DIMM (up to 533MHz is supported) to get the system running. It’s disappointing that there’s no DVI output for the integrated graphics but it’s a good, cheap way of getting a mini-ITX system.

Overall: 4/6

Price $242, Supplier www.eyo.com.au Internet www.via.com.tw

Opera Mini 3
Browsing web pages on most mobile phones is like trying to cross Australia on a wombat – slow and very uncomfortable. Opera Mini makes surfing the web truly practical, from the most basic of GPRS handsets through to 3G smartphones. It achieves this by pre-rendering web pages on Opera’s servers, stripping out bandwidth-hogging Flash animation, resizing images and formatting text for the small screen. The results aren’t always perfect, but for checking a review on www.pcauthority.com.au while you’re out shopping or catching up on a blog on the train it’s magnificent. Version 3 includes support for RSS feeds and photo blogging, while navigation is improved by nesting cumbersome menus.

Overall: 5/6

Price Free Suppler www.operamini.com Internet www.operamini.com

Logitech diNovo Edge
Logitech’s high-end BlueTooth-based diNovo range has been augmented by what Logitech calls the most advanced keyboard ever. It’s stylish (although a fingerprint magnet), exceptionally well built, yet is barely 1cm thick and weighs just under a kilo. The keys are laptop-like, being low-profile, low-travel, and comfortable to use. There’s no number pad (despite being 410mm wide) but has a small integrated trackpad mouse. Other elements include a touch slider for volume control, brushed-metal palm rest and ‘Fn’ shortcuts which light up. It’s also rechargeable with its own docking station.

However, in desktop use we missed having a number pad and too often hit the mouse pad when typing. The trackpad isn’t accurate enough to replace a regular mouse either and the volume slider is too slow. It’s also not great for navigating through Media Center – we simply couldn’t scroll comfortably on the trackpad and there are no Media Center dedicated shortcuts. But the real killer is the price: unless style is everything, other high-end Logitech keyboards are far more practical and half the cost.

Overall: 4/6

Price $244 Supplier http://umart.net/au Internet www.logitech.com

Archos 604 WiFi 30GB
The 4.3in LCD that takes up the bulk of the front of the Archos 604 has a resolution of 480 x 272 and is impressively bright. It’s also a touchscreen, so getting around the operating system couldn’t be easier. Browsing the Internet via the built-in 802.11g wireless adaptor and the Opera web browser is a pleasant experience, while navigating songs and video is equally simple. There’s 30GB of hard disk space to play with, and it’s compatible with MP4 and WMV films by default. Battery life is adequate rather than great – 7hrs 20mins for music and 3hrs 30mins for video – enough to make a stressful commute a little more relaxed. Its only real competition is Sony’s PSP.