Steve JObS’ greateSt achievement
november 2011
8 Things You
Should Know
About Windows 8
iPhone 4S: Readers’ Choice:
Is It Worth Your Favorite
The Upgrade? Digital Cameras
THE 25 BEST
AnDroID
APPS
Top Tools for
u Productivity
u Social Networking
u Entertainment
... And Much More!
november 2011 vol. 30 no. 11
52 Cover STorY
ThE 25 BEsT ANDrOID APPs
Your Android device will be so much cooler and more useful once you’ve loaded
it up with the right apps. our list includes the best apps for reference and utility,
productivity, entertainment, social networking, and more.
feATureS
66 rEADErs’ ChOICE: 80 8 ThINGs yOu shOuLD
CAMErAs AND CAMCOrDErs kNOw ABOuT wINDOws 8
Your vote is in for the top camera and The new Windows oS will feature
camcorder manufacturers, in our a number of radical improvements.
annual readers’ Choice survey. Here are eight features to look forward
to when it comes out next year.
PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011
10 24
fIrST looKS TeCH neWS
10 CONsuMEr ELECTrONICs 5 FrONT sIDE
Apple iPhone 4S Growth of personal data leaks on-
nikon J1 line; Steve Jobs’ career milestones;
bose Soundlink Wireless library book loans on the Kindle; the
mobile Speaker Windows Start menu bids adieu.
Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T)
logitech Wireless Gaming oPInIonS
Headset G930 2 FIrsT wOrD: DAN COsTA
microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 46 JOhN C. DvOrAk
“mango” 48 sAsChA sEGAN
22 hArDwArE 50 PETEr PAChAL
Apple Thunderbolt Display
maingear vybe Super Stock SoluTIonS
logitech Gaming mouse G300 86 LAPTOP BuyING GuIDE
Gateway nv55S05u before choosing your next laptop,
IrISnotes 1 for Smartphones you need to know which features
32 BusINEss come standard these days, and
HP Probook 6465b which new technologies are worth
Xerox Phaser 4620Dn the money. Here’s what to look for.
36 sOFTwArE
Windows 8 Developer Preview 96 hOw TO rOOT yOur
Windows Server 8 ANDrOID DEvICE
firefox 7 Serious tinkerers who aren’t afraid
Webroot SecureAnywhere of voiding warranties find rooting a
Antivirus way to get better results from their
vmWare fusion 4 Android devices. Here’s a quick
100 EDITOrs’ ChOICE explanation of how to get started.
PC Magazine Digital Edition, ISSn 0888-8507, is published monthly at $12 for one year. Ziff Davis, 28 east 28th Street, new York nY 10016-7940.
november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 1
DAN COsTA
5 Reasons to Upgrade
To the iPhone 4S
Y
es, we were all expecting dual-core A5 processor, 8MP camera, 1080p
Apple’s new CEO, Tim Cook, to video recording, and eight hours of battery
unveil the iPhone 5 last month, life are all needed improvements. The com-
after months of rumors and pany is still iterating and enhancing its prod-
wild speculation. Instead, we uct lines, and that is a good sign, for any tech
got an iPhone 4 with faster parts. Sigh. company. And besides, I don’t think a bigger
If the name alone—iPhone 4S—was not screen would make the iPhone any better.
indication enough that this is an incremen- What do you want, a Streak 5?
tal upgrade, there is the telling detail that
the phone looks exactly the same. No five- 2. iOs 5 Has Launched
inch screen, no aluminum casing, no tear- The way I see it, Apple is like a NASCAR
drop contouring. Hell, the iPhone 4S doesn’t team with two cars, the iPhone and iPad,
even have 4G! Sure, I am a little disappointed drafting off one another and pushing each
I didn’t get to see a shiny new gadget, but other along. The engine in both of these
Apple showed off something even more cars is iOS. Apple is rolling out iOS 5 to all
important this week: an innovation-based of its devices, including existing iPhone 4
business plan for digital domination. and iPod touch users. If past rollouts are any
Now, if you are one of those folks who just judge, this will be a swift and relatively pain-
wants a phone with a bigger screen, stop less process. This kind of thing is unfamiliar
reading now. For those still with me, here are to Android users like me who are still waiting
five reasons the 4S is worth the upgrade. for last year’s version (v2.3) of Android to
reach my handset. It will utterly befuddle the
1: The iPhone 4s Is a Better Phone millions of BlackBerry users out there who
Based on the specs alone, the iPhone 4S probably don’t even know there are multiple
seems better than its predecessor. A faster, versions of the Blackberry OS. Apple is gain-
2 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Siri, which will be built into all iPhone 4S devices,
is an amazing technology. It could fundamentally
change how we use our mobile devices.
ing market share, and it isn’t doing it with will the iPhone 3Gs (8GB for free with con-
OSX; it is doing it with iOS. tract). That’s huge! Throw in the fact that
Sprint customers will be able to sign up for
3. iCloud Is Coming Down to Earth the iPhone as well, and you could see signif-
Critics will say that Google has Google Music icant iPhone adoption growth both in the
and Amazon has Cloud-based storage, but U.S. and overseas.
iCloud will take cloud services a step fur-
ther. It isn’t just going to be a place to back 5. siri Works
up your digital life, it is going to synchronize Much was made of the fact that there was
all of those items and make them available no “one more thing” at this week’s event. I
to you from your entire collection of Apple would suggest that Siri may be that one
devices. Take photos on your iPhone and more thing. It will be built into all iPhone
they will be automatically synched to your 4S devices and, at the most basic level, it is
iPhoto photostream on both your Mac and a good voice recognition system. Beyond
your iPad. The iCloud will quickly change that, it is an interface for dealing with online
the way users interact with digital services search engines and even your productivity
and will create tremendous incentives for apps. Ask “will it rain today,” and Siri will use
anyone in the Apple ecosystem to buy even the date, local weather forecast, and your
more Apple hardware. GPS to find the answer and then tell you in
natural language. It is an amazing technol-
4. The iPhone Is Going Mainstream ogy that could fundamentally change how
Those who test the latest hardware for a we use our mobile devices. And the best
living tend to forget that average consum- part is, it works. Not perfectly, not consis-
ers pay for their technology and that $200 tently, but way better than you’d expect.
for a phone—plus a two-year contract— Apple owns it and you can, too, for the price
is actually a lot of money. Apple has long of an iPhone 4S.
been content to service the high end of the Want to learn more about the iPhone 4S?
smartphone market, but now it is aiming See our First Looks review here.
lower, and broader. Turns out the old iPhone TALK bAcK To DAn E-mail your thoughts to
4 will stay on the market (at $99) and so dan_costa@pcmag.com.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 3
Subscribe now pcmag.com/order
Take it with you.
Available on any mobile device. Anytime.
Front
What’s New from the World of Tech
Is the Internet Becoming
A ‘Privacy-Free Zone’?
It’s getting harder and harder to remain photos with friends on Photobucket and
anonymous on the Web. According to a new clue a couple dozen more into your user-
study, many sites are sending their users’ name. Keep tabs on your favorite teams
personal information to third parties when with Bleacher Report and you pass your
they do something as simple as sign up for a full name to a dozen again. This isn’t a 1984-
newsletter or change their settings. esque scaremongering hypothetical. This is
“Your Web browsing, past, present, and what’s happening today.”
future, is now associated with your iden- Researchers created an account and
tity,” Stanford University graduate student interacted with 185 Web sites that offered
Jonathan Mayer wrote in his report. “Swap a sign-up, did not require a purchase, and
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 5
frONTsIDE
had limited features so as to be practical for parties. Tom Munro, CEO of Photobucket,
the study. They were able to identify a user- said the site protects its users’ privacy and
name or user ID leaked to a third party on uses userIDs to “enhance the customer
113 of those Web sites. The top five sites that experience,” not to allow advertisers to
received the data were: comScore, Google track them.
Analytics, Quantcast, Google’s DoubleClick, The report also found that when enter-
and Facebook. ing the wrong password on the Wall Street
In a statement, a Google spokesperson Journal site, the user’s e-mail address was
said, “we’ve never attempted or wanted to sent to seven companies.
parse out personal information in any URL Federal Trade Commission chairman Jon
schema provided by a third-party site.” Leibowitz said that when private data is
Photo-sharing site Photobucket was transferred to third parties, it can have dam-
among many sites found to embed user- aging effects on a person’s life. “The bottom
names in many of its URLs. The study found line,” he said, “is that cyberspace need not
Photobucket sent usernames to 31 third be a privacy-free zone.”—Chloe Albanesius
The Work of
Steve Jobs Using funds from Arthur rock,
1978 a venture capitalist, Jobs and
Wozniak built 1,000 machines at
a local factory. They also “stole
the show,” Jobs recalled, at the
West Coast Computer fair.
1976 1980
a college dropout,
steve Jobs starts apple
computer out of his
parents’ garage. he and
partner steve Wozniak
create their first device,
the apple-1, and sell
about 200 of them, earn-
ing $20 for each one. apple computers goes
public. Jobs and Woz-
niak are millionaires.
6 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
More Proof for most brands, Apple’s rates have held up
incredibly well even as its market share has
risen, the survey said.
Apple Users Of those polled, only 6 percent said they
were thinking of dropping iOS for another
Are Loyal platform; 4 percent were undecided. As a
result, the retention rate could be as high as
93 percent, UBS speculated.
If you have an iPhone, chances are you’ll Behind Apple, Samsung and HTC did
stick with it for quite some time, according well, and were the only other handset
to new data from UBS. manufacturers to win more users than lose
Apple has an 89 percent retention rate, them. The same couldn’t be said for RIM,
according to a poll of 515 smartphone own- which dropped from a 62 percent reten-
ers, UBS Research found. tion rate to 33 percent in the last 18 months.
While retention rates appear to be falling —Chloe Albanesius
1983 1985
Jobs woos John scully scully convinces the
to apple from Pepsi. Apple board to ditch
the apple lisa is Jobs based on failing
released, costing Apple PC sales and
a whopping $10,000, becomes the new CEO.
but it has a gUI instead Jobs founds NeXT
of dos interface. It is Computer.
a commercial failure.
1986 Jobs buys the graphics
group (renamed Pixar)
apple releases the
1984
from lucasfilms for
iconic macintosh $10 million. Pixar later
commercial based creates films like toy
on the dystopian story, and Wall-e.
novel 1984 by
george orwell.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 7
frONTsIDE
Library Books Now
Available on Kindle
Amazon has formally launched its library is then transferred via Wi-Fi or USB (not 3G).
book lending program, which allows Kindle Amazon is working with OverDrive for the
users to borrow e-books from more than feature, a company that specializes in library
11,000 libraries in the United States. e-book rentals.
To borrow e-books, Kindle users visit The availability of books and the length of
their local library’s Web site and search for a loan will vary on a library-by-library basis.
the book they want. They check out using a But Amazon will send out a notice three
valid library card, and then select the “Send days before the loan is set to expire and
to Kindle” option. At that point, users are re- again after the due date has passed.
directed to Amazon.com, where they must At this point, library lending is only avail-
sign in with their Amazon account. The book able for U.S. customers. —Chloe Albanesius
The Work of Steve Jobs (continued)
1998 2007
the iPhone
Jobs
launches makes a
the imac, splash and
which is features the
marveled new iPhone
for its os, which
optimizes
1996
design and ability to set up
and connect to the Internet touch
in just two steps. functionality.
apple buys NeXt for
The iPod is born,
2001
$429 million, and with
it steve Jobs. he kills starting Apple’s
projects like cyberdog, domination over the MP3
the Newton, and player market. Combined
opendoc. employees with its iTunes store,
fear “the Jobs.” no other music player
200
has been able to make
a dent where Apple
reigns supreme.
8 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Goodbye,
Start Menu
The Windows Start menu, a “universally
recognizable element of the Windows
interface” has left the building, because no
one used it anymore.
Microsoft said it replaced the Windows
7 Start menu with a Start screen in Win-
sTArTING OVEr Windows 8’s new Start Screen.
dows 8 because the menu’s usage dipped
by 11 percent between Windows Vista and
Windows 7, with many specialized Start The Start screen is full of live tiles that
functions—such as exploring pictures— are either application launchers or widgets
declining as much as 61 percent. containing information.—Mark Hachman
2011
2010
the iPad
October 4: Apple launches
the last product over-
seen by Jobs, the iPhone
is launched,
4s. Jobs is absent at the
outselling
launch, allowing new CEO
the number
Tim Cook to take the stage
of apple’s
as Apple’s new visionary
macs.
leader.
October 5:
Jobs passes
away at
the macBook air, the age 56.
08 world’s thinnest laptop,
is introduced, featuring
an ultra-thin form factor
and weight of 3 pounds. NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 9
First
INSIDE
10 CONsuMEr ELECTrONICs
22 hArDwArE
32 busINEss
36 sOfTwArE
Apple iPhone 4s
What Most People
Want in a Phone
What do you do with your phone? Apple iPhone 4S
If you’re like most Americans, you $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB,
all with Sprint contract
make some calls, take some pho- L l l l h
tos, and send some texts. Maybe PrOs Excellent Web speeds. Terrific camera.
you kill time with some games, Solid call quality. Siri is intriguing. Lots of apps.
check Facebook or Twitter, and look things CONs No 4G. Poor social-networking integra-
tion. On-screen keyboard is quite small.
up on the Web. If that’s you, then the iPhone
4S is your phone: it’s the best cameraphone
in the U.S. and the fastest Web-browsing Pour some data into this baby, and wow, it’ll
phone, and it has finally licked the iPhone’s go. As long as Adobe Flash isn’t a key part
calling problems. of your life, the iPhone 4S is the fastest Web
Apple has killed the “death grip,” at least phone ever. It benchmarks faster than any
on the Sprint model. The phone switches Android Gingerbread phone and faster than
between its top and bottom antennas any Windows Phone.
depending on which one is receiving a bet- The great browsing speed comes in part
ter signal, which means it’ll ignore which- from the new dual-core A5 processor (the
ever one you’re covering with your hands. same one used in the iPad 2), and in part
Call quality on Sprint’s network through the from the new iOS 5. A standout feature of
phone’s earpiece was excellent in my tests. iOS 5 is Siri, which, on the surface, appears
The earpiece goes loud, there’s a touch of to be a voice-command app. Hold down the
side tone, and I didn’t hear any distortion at home button and ask it a question, tell it to
high volumes. look up a number, make a note or search for
10 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
our rAtINgS kEy:
l l l l l EXCELLENT
l l l l m VErY GOOD
l l l m m GOOD
l l m m m fAIr
l m m m m POOr
a business. But here’s the real story with Siri: backside illuminated sensor and an IR filter
it’s not an app, it’s a service. The intelligence to improve colors. The camera app loads in
is on the server side, and it will improve. No under two seconds, and it takes most pho-
actual processing is done on your phone. tos instantly. Outdoor shots are better than
That means Siri doesn’t work when you’re bright; they’re uniquely well-balanced.
offline, but it also means it can be continu- The iPhone 4S makes simple tasks easy
ally upgraded, minute by minute, without and does them very well. It brings most
touching your individual device. people what they want, very elegantly. For
Apple addresses the two biggest prob- that, it earns our Editors’ Choice for Sprint
lems with camera phones: speed and phones. The iPhone 4S is a no-brainer
dynamic range. The 4S has a larger sensor, upgrade from the 3GS. For iPhone 4 owners,
a larger five-element lens, and a larger f/2.4 it really comes down to how much you need
aperture than the iPhone 4, along with a the improved camera.—Sascha Segan
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 11
fIrsT LOOks CONsUMEr ELECTrONICs
Nikon J1
It’s Compact,
But Focuses and
Fires Like a D-SLR
N
ikon’s J1 marks the compa- Sony NEX-C3, which features a kit lens that
ny’s entry into the compact is the same size as that of a standard D-SLR.
interchangeable lens camera The J1 is a compact speed demon.
market. Nikon’s J1 is not that Although it is hindered by a just-ok 1.8-sec-
much larger than a point- ond start-up speed, autofocus speed is
and-shoot, but manages to capture sharp excellent; the camera is able to lock onto a
images and focuses and fires faster than subject in about three-tenths of a second.
many D-SLRs, even though its image sensor Shutter lag is virtually non-existent; we mea-
and lenses are much smaller. sured it at 0.04 second when the lens was
The J1’s included zoom lens covers a 3x pre-focused.
zoom range, matching the field of view of Nikon’s J1 is a very good choice if you are
the lens included with our Editors’ Choice looking for a compact camera that delivers
Sony Alpha NEX-C3. The NEX-C3’s larger D-SLR-level performance. It offers a manual
sensor packs more pixels and delivers best- shooting mode that will satisfy serious pho-
in-class low-light performance, but if you tographers, and its burst-shooting capabil-
are put off by its larger lens—which is closer ity and Smart Photo Selector mode make it
in size to that bundled with most D-SLRs— possible for almost anyone to capture the
the J1 is worth a close look. perfect shot. But some shooters may feel
The J1 measures 2.4 by 4.2 by 1.2 inches limited by its fixed rear LCD and lack of a
(HWD), and weighs 8.3 ounces without a hot shoe or accessory port, which makes it
lens. The included 10-30mm kit lens is col- impossible to use an EVF or a better flash.
lapsible, which helps to conserve some The same-priced Sony Alpha NEX-C3 offers
room in your bag. Thanks to the compact a larger image sensor, an accessory port,
optics, J1 is also noticeably smaller than the and a tilting LCD.—Jim Fisher
12 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Nikon J1
$649.95 list with
10-30mm Nikkor
lens
l l l h m
PrOs Compact size.
Fast, accurate
autofocus. Good
low-light performance.
Built-in flash. Silent
operation.
CONs Pricey. Fixed
LCD. No accessory port.
Slow-motion video is
not high-def. Limited
lens selection.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 13
fIrST LOOkS CONSUMEr ELECTrONICS
Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker
Small,
Wireless
Speaker,
Huge
Sound
Bose’s latest audio creation, because of its top-notch portable design,
the SoundLink Wireless Mobile durability, versatility, and most of all, its
Speaker, uses Bluetooth to stream strong audio performance, it earns our Edi-
audio from any device it can pair tors’ Choice award.
with, be that a mobile phone, MP3 The rectangular SoundLink measures 5.1
player, tablet or laptop. In a year full of new by 9.6 by 1.9 inches and weighs 2.9 pounds.
speaker docks that use Apple’s AirPlay to Its size and flat, almost hardback book-like
stream audio from iPhones, iPods, and iPads, shape make it ideal for packing. There is
Bose took the all-inclusive route by using no included remote control, but since your
Bluetooth instead of AirPlay. And that’s a streaming device acts as its own remote,
good thing, especially since Bluetooth audio this hardly matters.
streaming has improved considerably over Bose rates the battery life for a full charge
the past couple of years. The SoundLink is at about three hours of high volume lis-
small, but gets quite loud, and its built-in pro- tening and eight hours at moderate levels.
tective cover doubles as a stand. Throw in a When you plug the system in, the battery
portable build and a rechargeable battery, charges.
and you’ve got a great portable sound sys- From a pure audio performance stand-
tem. At $300, the SoundLink isn’t cheap, but point, the SoundLink offers considerable
14 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
power for its size. The SoundLink is built Bose SoundLink Wireless
Mobile Speaker
around four neodymium transducers to
$299.95 direct
handle the mid- to high-frequency range, l l l l m
and two passive radiators to take care of the PrOS Strong audio performance. Portable and
bass frequencies. The radiators face each built with sturdy materials. Clever design uses
protective cover as a stand when speaker is in
other inside the shell of the system, which use. Can wirelessly stream music from virtu-
makes them cancel each other’s vibra- ally any compatible Bluetooth device—not just
tions out—a clever way to both add a bit iPhones, iPods, and iPads.
more low -end response and make sure the CONS Expensive for a portable speaker system.
Song beginnings get clipped when skipping or
SoundLink doesn’t rattle or dance across un-pausing. Not for audiophiles.
the tabletop on songs with heavier bass.
Thanks to some digital signal process- works with more than Apple products, the
ing, the speakers don’t distort, even at Bose SoundLink is the best option we’ve
maximum volume. However, this means the tested. If $300 is more than you care to
low frequencies, particularly, get slightly spend on a portable audio speaker system,
sculpted in a way purists won’t like, but for however, the Logitech Wireless Boombox,
casual listening or parties, it’s ideal. If you while not nearly as compact, is a good deal
want solid portable wireless audio that at $150.—Tim Gideon
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 15
fIrST LOOkS CONSUMEr ELECTrONICS
Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T)
The Best
Smartphone
Available
For AT&T
The long-awaited Samsung Gal-
axy S II is finally available on AT&T,
and it’s a doozy. Very similar to the
unlocked version released earlier
this year, as well as to the Epic 4G Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T)
Touch for Sprint, the Galaxy S II has a rich, $199.99 list
l l l l h
beautiful screen and a blazing-fast dual-
PrOS: Fast. Beautiful screen.
core processor. Throw in a plethora of useful Incredible battery life.
features and outstanding battery life, and CONS: HDMI out requires an adapter.
you’re looking at the best smartphone avail-
able for AT&T right now.
At 5 by 2.6 by .4 inches (HWD) and 4.3 deeper, and you can still see it outdoors.
ounces, the Samsung Galaxy S II is sleek, The Galaxy S II is also a good voice
thin, and comfortable to hold, albeit a touch phone. Reception was average, though
large. Most of the phone’s size is dedicated calls sounded great in the phone’s ear-
to its beautiful, 4.3-inch, 800-by-480 Super piece—rich, clear, and natural. The speaker-
AMOLED Plus screen. This is lower resolu- phone also sounds good but volume is on
tion than the 960-by-640 retina display on the low side. Calls made weren’t as impres-
the iPhone 4, but there’s no denying the sive. Voices were somewhat thin and grainy,
incredible richness of Super AMOLED Plus. and background noise cancellation was just
Colors here are more saturated, blacks are average.
16 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
The phone uses AT&T’s HSPA+ 21 net- everywhere, from browser to gaming to sys-
work and 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. The phone tem performance. It only places second for
also works as a tethered modem or Wi-Fi Adobe Flash performance, running closely
hotspot with the right service plan. Down- behind Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip.
load speeds averaged 3Mbps down, while Apple’s iPhone 4 is the Galaxy S II’s clos-
uploads were around 1.5Mbps up. Those est competition. If you’re focused on apps,
speeds are decent, but no match for the it may still be your best choice, as the Apple
blistering speeds on Verizon’s or AT&T’s App Store is home to more than 500,000
LTE networks. (AT&T doesn’t have any LTE apps. But the Galaxy S II has more pow-
phones yet.) Battery life, at 11 hours 7 min- erful hardware, a better camera, incred-
utes of continuous talk time, was stunning. ible battery life, and an equally beautiful
The Galaxy S II uses the same processor display. The iPhone 4 is still an excellent
as the unlocked Galaxy S II and the Epic 4G device; it’s just that the Galaxy S II is more
Touch: Samsung’s new 1.2-GHz dual-core forward-looking. And while the iPhone 5
Exynos processor. Right now, the Exynos may be just around the corner, the Samsung
benchmarks better than any other pro- Galaxy S II is your best bet on AT&T right now.
cessor we’ve tested. It’s ahead of the pack —Alex Colon
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 17
fIrsT LOOks CONsUMEr ELECTrONICs
Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930
A Wireless
Headset With
Terrific Range
You can’t beat the convenience of and even use the headset as a wired device
wireless headphones. Instead of a when the battery runs low.
cable running from your head to The G930’s range is impressive. In our lab
the computer, the headset con- tests, the headset kept a strong connec-
nects wirelessly to a USB trans- tion for a good 40 feet, reaching the full dis-
mitter, letting you listen to movies, music, tance of which Logitech claims the G930 is
and games or communicate via Skype capable. It beats the Creative Sound Blaster
through the headphones and microphone Tactic 3D Omega by a solid 10 feet, and
while you move around freely. With laud- destroys the Plantronics GameCom X95’s
able audio quality, excellent range, and a range by 30 feet.
clever design, the Logitech Wireless Gam- The G930 packs an impressive amount
ing Headset G930 is one of the best we’ve of gaming power for a wireless headset. I
tested, easily justifying its $160 price tag played a round of Team Fortress 2 with the
and earning our Editors’ Choice for wireless volume set to full and my ears were filled
gaming headsets. with the sounds of screams and explosions.
The transmitter can fit into any USB At maximum volume, rockets and bullets
port and work with the headset, but it can had satisfying force without distorting, and
also fit into the USB port on the included the action sounded clear.
pseudo-hub. The hub is a puck-shaped cir- For a headset, the G930 sounds great for
cular device with a long USB cable, a long movies and music too. I listened to several
microUSB cable, and a USB port in the episodes of the Ricky Gervais Show, and
middle. You can plug the hub in, plug the both Karl Pilkington’s dull drone and Ricky’s
transmitter into the hub’s port, and then use hyena-like cackling sounded clear and crisp.
the microUSB cable to charge the headset On the more musical side, Gogol Bordello’s
18 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Logitech Wireless
Gaming Headset
G930
$159.99 direct
L l l l m
PrOs Long range.
High-quality audio
output. Handy controls
on the headset. Can be
used while charging.
CONs Bass isn’t par-
ticularly powerful.
Immigraniada had a satisfying if not partic- With great sound, excellent range, and a
ularly overpowering sense of force behind functional design, the Logitech G930 is our
the driving drums and low, thrumming bass. Editors’ Choice wireless headset, and an
The drums started to distort at the maxi- ideal pick for any gamer seeking rich audio
mum volume, but for comfortable listening without cables. Its range and audio qual-
levels, music sounded very good. The bass ity edges out the competition including the
isn’t particularly strong, though, which is Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Omega,
also an issue with the Omega. plus it’s $40 less expensive.—Will Greenwald
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 19
fIRST LOOkS CONSuMER ELECTRONICS
Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango”
A Smartphone OS
For Beginners
M
icrosoft Windows Phone Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango”
7.5, otherwise known as Free
L l l h m
“Mango,” is sweet. It’s full
PROS Many, many new features. New groups
of people-centric features feature helps you make sense of busy social
that make it easier to stay networks. Multitasking.
in touch with friends and family, to commu- CONS Doesn’t support WiMAX, LTE, or dual-
core processors. Local Scout is a failure.
nicate, and to share ideas. It’s easier to use
than Android, and in many ways slicker than
Apple’s iOS. But since it doesn’t support new Groups option in the People hub. With
most forms of 4G or the latest hardware, Facebook and Twitter added to your phone
it may not get the phones or promotion it book, you’re probably going to have a lot of
deserves. contacts. Groups help you make sense of
Mango brings dozens, if not hundreds, them. I don’t use Facebook because I find it
of new features to Windows Phone. It has overwhelming, but Mango makes me want
a much better browser, limited multitask- to use it again. I set up a Family group and
ing, Twitter and LinkedIn integration, a ter- saw only the updates and photo albums
rific interface for creating ad-hoc groups from my family; a Work group showed only
of friends, better ways for apps to give you updates and photo albums from colleagues.
useful information, the option for Wi-Fi hot- We move in multiple circles, and Mango lets
spot mode, and much more. your phone reflect that.
Windows Phone 7 has always been activ- The new IE9 browser brings Windows
ity-centered rather than app-centered. Its Phone up to par with the latest browsers
hubs let you focus on ideas like “people,” on other platforms. It still doesn’t support
“pictures,” or “music” rather than about Flash, but it handles HTML5 and has solid
which particular app or service you need at performance, though its benchmarks fell
the moment. below those of the latest Android 2.3 and
My favorite new Mango feature is the BlackBerry 7 phones on our tests.
20 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
What’s not so ripe about Mango? Unfor-
tunately, Microsoft’s hardware spec is
behind the times, which will prevent Mango
from getting much traction. The OS doesn’t
support LTE or WiMAX, which means that
neither Verizon nor Sprint will promote it
with enthusiasm. It doesn’t support dual-
core processors, the current state of the
art, or the latest GPUs. And it only allows an
800-by-480 screen resolution.
Still, Mango is a world-class operating
system, and I think many people, especially
smartphone newcomers, would prefer it to
market leader Android and to the declin-
ing BlackBerry OS. Now Microsoft needs
to focus on the other aspects of the phone
experience—hardware, marketing, and
sales—to make sure that this Mango doesn’t
rot on the shelf.—Sascha Segan
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 21
fIrsT LOOks HArDWArE
Apple Thunderbolt Display
High Quality,
At a High Price
You don’t have to be an Apple Apple Thunderbolt Display
fan to appreciate the new Apple $999 direct
L l l l m
Thunderbolt Display, but you will
PrOs Sleek design. Lots of connectivity
need to have a Thunderbolt-ready
ports. Good image and color quality.
Mac desktop or laptop to use it, Impressive audio output.
and be willing to shell out close to a grand CONs Reflective screen. Expensive.
for the privilege. This 27-inch beauty is the
first display with Thunderbolt I/O technol-
ogy, and its connectivity prowess makes it looks exactly like the Apple Cinema Display.
an ideal docking station for Thunderbolt- The 27-inch, 2,560-by-1,440 resolution IPS
enabled MacBooks. It also delivers bright, (in-plane switching) panel is housed in the
accurate colors and excellent image detail. same silver aluminum cabinet and is sup-
Its flaws—a relatively slow response time ported by the same angled stand which
that produces some motion artifacts, and contains a smooth, easy-to-maneuver tilt
a glossy screen coating that can be very mechanism. The cabinet holds a FaceTime
reflective—are minor when you consider HD camera as well as a 2.1 audio system
the overall package. (two speakers and a subwoofer) that deliv-
Thunderbolt technology is a dual-chan- ers 49 watts of rich, crystal clear sound with
nel I/O solution that delivers twice the I/O incredibly deep bass response.
performance (10Gbps) as USB 3.0 using a One of the many cool features of this
single cable. According to Apple, Thunder- display is that once you plug in the regular
bolt is up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 power cord you can power up and charge
and 12 times faster than FireWire 800. All of your laptop with the monitor’s MagSafe
that bandwidth allows users to daisy-chain plug. Also around back are three USB (2.0)
multiple peripherals and still achieve good ports, a FireWire 800 port, a gigabit Ether-
I/O throughput. net port, and a Thunderbolt port.
Design-wise, the Thunderbolt Display As with most IPS panels, the Thunder-
22 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
bolt Display delivers very accurate colors. Dark grays were well defined right up to the
Swatches from the DisplayMate Color Scales very darkest shade, which was slightly com-
test scaled uniformly from dark to light, with pressed and indistinguishable from black.
no evidence of tinting or over saturated reds, There’s a lot to like about the Apple Thun-
greens, or blues. The panel’s inky blacks derbolt Display. It is certainly more expen-
gave the colors some pop as well. Gray- sive than most 27-inch monitors, but no
scale performance was also quite good, par- other monitor can do what it does, at least
ticularly on the light end of the scale where not yet, and that’s why it earns our Editors’
every shade of gray was displayed correctly. Choice.—John R. Delaney
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 23
fIrST LOOkS HArDWArE
Maingear Vybe Super Stock
A Blazing PC for
Gaming or Work
T
he new sub-$2,000 Vybe
Super Stock reminds desk-
top gamers that Maingear is
as good at going little as it is
at going big. This cousin to
Maingear’s bulky but powerful flagship Shift
and its upper-midrange F131 packs lots of
performance and useful features. You don’t
get every amenity possible at this price, but
you do get a significant jolt to your gaming
without a shock to your bank account.
This PC’s component stock is pretty
impressive. At its heart is an Intel Core
i7-2600K processor, the most powerful
in Intel’s second-generation Core (aka
“Sandy Bridge”) line. But as this Vybe is a
Super Stock, Maingear hasn’t left the CPU
at its default 3.4-GHz clock speed; the
company has overclocked it to a sizzling
4.8GHz, which has the expected positive
impact. In terms of memory, there’s 8GB mode, handle graphics.
of G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 RAM; you can Overall, you won’t have to worry too
add two more DIMMs for a total of 16GB, much about the Vybe Super Stock being
though the motherboard supports up to underpowered. It delivered the expected
32GB. Two 1GB EVGA video cards based outstanding results in our benchmark tests,
on the Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti chipset, in productivity as well as gaming appli-
running in Scalable Link Interface (SLI) cations. It scored a healthy 5,642 in the
24 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Maingear Vybe
Super Stock
$1,798 direct
l l l l m
PrOS: Superb all-around
performance. Powerful
components. Easily
upgradable.
CONS: Limited, slower
storage. No Blu-ray drive.
No front-panel USB 3.0
port.
Futuremark PCMark 7 full-system test, and (DX10) and DX11 titles pose it no serious
it took a mere 57 seconds to convert a video challenge. Its scores in our 3DMark 11 DX11
file in Handbrake and 2 minutes 20 seconds benchmark, of 12,777 at the Entry preset
to apply a dozen filters and effects to an and 2,912 at the Extreme preset, bear this
image in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Its 9.20 out as well.
score in our CineBench R11.5 rendering test If you are desperate for the beefiest gam-
was a hefty one. ing desktop there is, demand the highest
Of course what really matters with a sys- details at the highest resolutions, and don’t
tem like this is gaming. The Vybe Super mind paying more for the privileges, you’re
Stock’s frame rates of 113.4 frames per sec- better off with something like the Digital
ond (fps) and 54.1fps in Crysis, and 210.8fps Storm ODE Level 3. But if you have a hard
and 90.7fps in Lost Planet 2, in both cases pricing limit of about $1,800, or if you think
respectively at 1,280 by 720 with medium you can live with some eye candy dialed
details and at 1,920 by 1,080 with higher- back, the Maingear Vybe Super Stock is a
level details, show that both DirectX 10 terrific choice.—Matthew Murray
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 25
fIrsT LOOks HArDWArE
Logitech Gaming Mouse G300
The Perfect Mouse
For Casual Gamers
T
he Logitech Gaming Mouse Logitech Gaming Mouse G300
G300 isn’t for the hardcore $39.99 direct
l l l l m
gunslinger. It’s more in tune
PrOs Customizable lighting. Polls up to
with the casual Call of Duty 1,000Hz. On-board memory. Ambidextrous.
player who is looking for bet- Nine programmable buttons. Mouse sensitivity
can go up to 2,500dpi. Supports up to three
ter performance and features than he’d get game profiles. Great for first-person shooter
out of a standard computer mouse. Its bud- players on a budget.
get price tag makes it an easy choice for CONs Configuration software fairly basic com-
pared to others. Mouse feels a little light and
first-person shooter players on a budget,
hollow.
and gamers who may not appreciate why
you would possibly want to spend $129.99
on a gaming mouse like the Razer Mamba the left- and right-click buttons.
(2012). And though its configuration soft- The G300 feels light and hollow in-hand
ware may look anemic to enthusiasts, compared with other mice; I prefer a gam-
beginners and everyday fans of first-person ing mouse with a little more heft to it, so I
shooters (fps) will be perfectly satisfied. don’t feel like I’m about to fling the mouse
Undiscriminating against right- or left- across the room at the slightest jerk.
handed users, the G300 has a symmetrical, The G300 is wired, and while casual gam-
ambidextrous design. The top of the mouse ers may prefer to clear out the clutter and
has a grey matte finish that’s smooth under go for a wireless solution, you won’t be able
hand, and doesn’t attract stains or smudge to get a true 1,000Hz ultrapolling rate that
marks. The sides have a black, rubberized will help keep your shots accurate and your
coating to help you get a grip during long connection stable. There is a plug-and-
or intense gaming sessions. The G300 has play functionality when you first connect
nine programmable buttons in total: right- the mouse to your PC, however, in order
and left-click, scroll button, two just below to take full advantage of the G300, you’ll
the scroll wheel, and two on either side of want to download the configuration soft-
26 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
ware off Logitech’s site. The software is only their teeth on. Its bare-bones configuration
available for Windows XP, Vista, and 7—no software keeps it simple for newbies and
Mac support. The mouse does come with users who want to spend more time play-
on-board memory, so you’ll be able to go ing and less time tinkering. On top of all this
to a foreign PC and play without having to is the low price, making the G300 a safe
download the software again—with all your investment. If you want more customiz-
pre-configured settings intact. able options in your mouse, however, check
The Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 is the out the Gigabyte M8000Xtreme or Razer
perfect mouse for casual PC gamers to cut Mamba (2012).—Natalie Shoemaker
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 27
fIrST LOOkS HArDWArE
Gateway NV55S05u
A Strong Option
For Budget
Shoppers
T
he arduous part about Gateway NV55S05u
spotting a bargain desk- $579.99 list
l l l l m
top-replacement laptop is
PrOS Low price. AMD Llano APUs surprised
figuring out whether its parts in graphics power and battery life. Solid key-
are worth your while. The board. Full-size numeric keypad. Big 640GB
hard drive.
Gateway NV55S05u, a budget 15-inch lap-
top, gets first crack at AMD’s newest Fusion CONS Trails Intel CPUs in hardcore tasks like
video and photo editing. Lacks advanced fea-
APUs (codenamed “Llano”). Though it can’t tures like USB 3.0, eSATA, and latest wireless
outperform a similar offering from Intel, this technologies.
laptop can tackle almost any task thrown
at it, lasted almost five hours in our battery it’s impressive that Gateway included this
tests, and is priced to move. Budget-con- much in a cheaper laptop.
scious shoppers: This laptop should be on Llano-based Fusion APUs are AMD’s
your radar. most powerful processors yet, with excel-
The feature set is as standard as it gets lent graphics (with the on-die Radeon HD
in this price range. It has three USB 2.0 6620G) and low-power consumption (good
ports, and no eSATA or USB 3.0 technol- battery life). This particular chip has four
ogy, which have faster transfer speeds than physical processor cores, compared with
USB 2.0. Like every other desktop replace- the Intel Core i5’s two. It sounds impressive
ment, the NV55S05u has HDMI and VGA from a marketing perspective, but its perfor-
video outputs, a webcam, and a multimedia mance scores are more in line with a dual-
card reader. Although its 640GB, 5,400- core Intel Core i3 processor. For instance,
rpm hard drive matches that of the Sam- the NV55S05u trailed the Core i5-equipped
sung RV520-W01 and Asus U56E-BBL5, Lenovo V570-1066A9U (2:00, 2.6) and Asus
28 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
U56E-BBL5 (1:55, 2.6) in processor-inten- ings that come with a low price and unfa-
sive tasks like Handbrake (3 minutes 33 sec- miliar AMD parts. Well, let me reassure you
onds) and Cinebench R11.5 (1.88). that AMD’s new Llano APU, the A8-3500,
In the past, AMD-equipped laptops suf- is every bit as capable as an Intel Core i5.
fered miserably in battery tests compared Its graphics environment is superior over
with Intel-equipped laptops, but the story Intel’s, and battery life, AMD’s biggest con-
changes with the new AMD Llano APUs. cern, was more than satisfactory. It may not
The NV55S054u scored 4 hours 54 minutes perform as well in hardcore tasks like video
in our battery test, outlasting the Lenovo and photo editing, but its low price reflects
V570-1066A9U (4:41) and coming within these shortcomings. I would still recom-
striking distance of the HP dv6-6013cl (5:17). mend the Asus U56E-BBL5 because its
The Gateway NV5505Su is the type of slight premium is accompanied by a better
desktop replacement that’ll make you looking design, more power, and better bat-
pause and wonder about the shortcom- tery life.—Cisco Cheng
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 29
fIRST LOOkS HARDWARE
IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones
Write a Note,
Send It As Email
Via Your Phone
W
ith the IRISnotes 1 for
Smartphones digi-
tal pen, you can write
notes the old-fash-
ioned way, then send
them via Bluetooth to your Android or
Blackberry smartphone and send them as
email attachments. So if you need to con-
vey an idea with a drawing, or if you simply unit, and the software that comes with it—
hate using your smartphone’s keyboard or for other digital pen applications. It works
softkeys, the smartphone connection is the with the tablet features in Windows 7 and
best reason to consider this pen. Vista, for example, to control the mouse
The IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones hard- pointer and let you use the pen as an input
ware is similar to the hardware in the IRIS- device.
notes Executive digital pen. The pens are Getting started with the pen is somewhat
interchangeable. The receiving units—aka frustrating because of its inadequate man-
the base units or memory units that store uals. Once you get past the startup issues,
the data you handwrite—are functionally though, everything works as promised—
similar, except that the version that comes for sending notes by smartphone, at least.
with the IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones adds After pairing the pen and smartphone, you
Bluetooth support so you can connect with can connect the two simply by turning Blue-
your smartphone. tooth on at the phone and base unit, call-
As you might suspect, you can also use ing up mNote, and touching the Bluetooth
the package—meaning the pen, the base icon in the program. Touch a second icon to
30 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
IRISnotes 1
for Smartphones
$129 list
L l l m m
PROS Takes handwritten notes
(as image files) without a com-
puter. Connects via Bluetooth
to Android and BlackBerry
phones.
CONS Needs separate receiver
unit along with pen.
start a note, clip the base unit to the top of Ultimately, IRISnotes 1 for Smartphones
a piece of paper, write the note, and use the works well enough for its primary applica-
Android Share command to send the note tion to be worth considering. It won’t let you
by email or otherwise. take notes and supplement them with an
Even with my admittedly poor handwrit- audio recording the way the LiveScribe pen
ing, the recognition occasionally did well does, and it doesn’t earn a recommendation
enough, as with: For example, can you mate for its handwriting recognition. But if you’d
out what I’m writing here? But more often it rather scribble handwritten notes to send
didn’t, as with another writing sample of the from your smartphone than type on keys
same text, which came out as: why I’m writs more appropriate for smurf-size hands, it’s
here? For wage, cm zw. precisely the tool you need.—M. David Stone
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 31
fIrsT LOOks BusINEss
HP ProBook 6465b
Enterprise Features
For a Low Price
T
he most appealing aspect of a HP ProBook 6465b
small-business laptop is that it $730 direct
L l l l m
includes most of the features
PrOs Fantastic screen resolution.
of an enterprise system, yet Extensive feature set. Sturdy design.
costs much less. The HP Pro- Great price. Features AMD’s latest
Llano APUs. Good integrated graphics
Book 6465b is one such example, where power.
every standard feature is accounted for, and CONs Pointing stick is stiff. Heavy.
the price is too sweet for IT managers to
pass up. As an added bonus, it’s also one of
the first laptops to feature AMD’s newest A6 peripherals. There is also a DisplayPort for
Fusion processors (codenamed “Llano”). connecting the latest business LCD moni-
Though it didn’t perform as well as an Intel tors. There are three USB 2.0 ports, and
CPU-based SMB laptop like the Dell Vostro one of them is a combo USB/eSATA port.
3350, the 6465b has enough in features to For most professionals, the internal 500GB
get IT managers interested. drive offers enough space to store your
Measuring 9.1 by 13.3 by 1.3 inches (HWD), data. The 6465b also made room for secu-
the 6465b is chunky, but it’s a sturdy lap- rity features, such as a fingerprint reader,
top. At 5.3 pounds, it’s a lot heavier than the SmartCard reader, and a Trusted Platform
4.8-pound Dell Vostro 3350 and 4-pound Module (TPM).
HP 5330M, although the 6465b ships with The 1.6-GHz AMD A6-3410MX APU has
a bigger 14-inch screen (the other two have four processor cores (quad-core) and the
13.3-inch displays). The screen’s 1,600-by- AMD Radeon HD 6250G graphics chip on
900 resolution is a rarity for its price point. the same die. It has two more processor
H P m a d e s u re eve r y f e a t u re wa s cores than the Intel Core i5s found in the
accounted for in the 6465b. There are the Dell V131, HP 5330m, and Dell 3350, though
legacy features—like a DVD burner, modem that doesn’t mean it performs better. With
jack, VGA, and FireWire port—for older a score of 3 minutes 19 seconds in Hand-
32 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
brake and 2.04 in Cinebench R11.5 tests, the
A6-3410MX APU in the 6465b performed as
well as the 2.1-GHz Intel Core i3-2310M, seen
in the Toshiba Satellite P755-S5215, which is
part of Intel’s lowest tiered Core processors.
A small business laptop shouldn’t be
measured by performance alone. In that
regard, the HP ProBook 6465b has one of
the most impressive feature sets I’ve seen in
this category, yet its price can afford you a
fleet of them without depleting your busi-
ness’ IT budget. As for AMD’s Llano APUs,
the A6-3410MX’s performed ably in our
benchmark tests, but not well enough to
overtake the Editors’ Choice Dell Vostro
3350, which runs a more powerful Intel Core
i5 processor and is priced about the same.
—Cisco Cheng
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 33
fIrsT LOOks BUsINEss
Xerox Phaser 4620DN
Beautiful Text,
Not So Hot
Graphics
T
he Xerox Phaser 4620DN is I timed the Xerox Phaser 4620DN on the
a formidable monochrome latest version of our business applications
laser printer: somewhat mas- suite (using QualityLogic’s hardware and
sive, able to handle enormous software for timing), at 10.1 effective ppm.
printing volume, and at a low Its rated print speed, based on text-only
running cost. If your office needs to print printing, is 65 ppm. (Our test suite com-
tons of text, this could be the ideal printer. bines text pages, graphics pages, and pages
But if you also need to print photos and with mixed content.) It effectively matched
graphics frequently, you should probably speeds with the Editors’ Choice Lexmark
look elsewhere. T650N, although the Lexmark is rated at
The 4620DN measures 16.5 by 18.7 by 21.3 just 45 ppm, and lagged the 12 ppm turned
inches (HWD) and weighs 76 pounds. It offers in by the OKI B730DN, with its 52 ppm rated
generous paper capacity, with a 550-sheet speed.
main tray and a 100-sheet secondary tray, In terms of print quality, the Phaser
plus an automatic duplexer, as standard. 4620DN’s output for text, graphics, and
The Phaser 4620DN is one of five mod- photos is a bit on the dark side. This served
els in Xerox’s 4600/4620 series. All mod- it well for printing text, not so well for pho-
els have a maximum duty cycle of 275,000 tos and graphics. Loss of contrast between
pages per month. The 4620DN is rated at darker shades made it difficult to distin-
65 pages per minute (ppm). The 4620DN guish between different zones in bar graphs
has Ethernet and USB connectivity; 802.11n and pie charts. With photos, although there
WiFi is available as a $200 option. I tested was good contrast in brighter areas, the
the Phaser over an Ethernet connection opposite was true of darker areas, which
with a PC running Windows Vista. suffered from a loss of detail.
34 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Xerox Phaser 4620DN
$1,599 list
l l l h m
PrOs Very good text quality. Low running cost.
Generous standard paper capacity and good
range of options.
CONs A bit on the slow side for its price and
rated speed. Sub-par graphics and photos.
The 4620DN gets kudos for a low for an office with high printing volume of
claimed cost per page of 1.4 cents, based text. Its low running cost will help to offset
on the purchase of the highest-yield car- its relatively high sticker price over time. But
tridges. Still, the OKI B730DN matches the Editors’ Choice Lexmark T650N offers
that, and the Lexmark T650N lags them by better graphics quality (though not as good
just 0.3 cents per page. text) for less than half the price, and the OKI
The Xerox Phaser 4620DN is a reason- B730DN is also faster, less expensive, and
able choice for a monochrome laser printer very capable.—Tony Hoffman
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 35
fIRsT LOOks sOfTWARE
PREVIEW: Windows 8 Developer Preview
Windows 8:
A Peek at an
Early Version
W
indows 8 is a coin with so fast that the monitor couldn’t keep up to
two very different sides: display the POST (power on self test) screen.
On one side is a tablet Microsoft seems most excited about its
operating system, with Metro-style apps—referring to the Win-
the tile-heavy Metro dows Phone 7 Metro UI. These are touch-
user interface inspired by Windows Phone optimized, full-screen affairs that only show
7. On the other is an improved version of the their menus and settings if you swipe up
full Windows 7-like desktop operating sys- from the bottom of the screen. Swiping
tem. The first is very simple and consumer- from the right side of the screen towards
oriented, and competes with tablets like the middle brings up what the company
Apple’s iPad and Google Android tablets. calls “Charms”—icons for Search, Share,
The other is the operating system favored Start, Devices, and Settings.
by power users of complex and professional When you’re running more than one
Windows programs. app, swiping a finger in from the left of the
I took an early version of the OS for a spin. screen displays a smaller view of another
The Windows 8 Developer Preview I tested running app, and if you leave your finger
was on an Intel-based Windows 8 devel- near the left side, it will resize to fill a quarter
oper preview PC. This hands-on looks exclu- of the screen.
sively at the OS running on a tablet, as that’s In this re-imagined Windows, the Desktop
all I could get my hands on when this issue is just another app that you start from the
closed. Metro Start screen. Once you run it, you’ll
The first thing I noticed is that Windows 8 think you’re right back in Windows 7. In fact,
starts up in a fraction of the time it takes any Windows 8 retains most of the advances of
previous version of Windows. The startup is Windows 7—Aero Snap, Jump Lists, Home-
36 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Groups, Explorer Libraries, Taskbar app pin- better control interfaces, and smarter use of
ning, and all the rest. the CPU for better power use are all more
Microsoft deserves kudos for such a bold than welcome. How the old-style applica-
attempt at a new dual-purpose operat- tions co-exist with their younger Metro sib-
ing system. Windows 8 not only brings the lings is still something of a question mark.
sleeker, cleaner Metro interface and apps, Stay tuned as we examine this early ver-
but it brings commendable improvements sion of Windows 8 more thoroughly. We’ll
to the rest of the operating system. Faster have a lot more to say in the coming days
startup, better security, an app store, and and weeks.—Michael Muchmore
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 37
fIRST LOOkS SOfTWARE
PREVIEW: Windows Server 8
Windows Server 8:
So Far, So Good
W
indows 8 may be grab-
bing all the headlines in
the personal comput-
ing world, but a certain
kind of IT staff is paying
as much—if not more—attention to Micro-
soft’s latest announcements in the business
world: the release of Windows Server 8.
This latest release of Server argu-
ably represents the most wide-sweeping
update to the OS since Server 2000 from
NT 4.0. The changes are not in the over-
all interface (except for in Server Manager
and AD), but under-the-hood boosts and
advancements in virtualization, clustering, force longtime Windows server admins
Active Directory management, network- to re-learn administrative tasks or have to
ing and just about every other capability in make changes to infrastructure to roll it out.
Windows Server. So far, Windows Server 8 appears to
Of course, Windows Server 8, which many achieve both goals. Here’s a rundown of
speculate will be released in 2012, is still in some of the most impressive features we’ve
pre-beta developer code. Whether or not it seen in our early peek at Server 8:
gets the thumbs up depends on its address- New Deployment Options: Server 8 can
ing two major needs. The first: revamping be deployed in three modes: Full GUI (the
the OS to meet the demands for cloud com- interface, on boot up, is not discernible from
puting, virtualization and the continued Server 2008 R2), Full Server without parts
“consumerization of IT.” The second is to of the graphical shell (namely Explorer
make certain that sweeping changes won’t and IE removed), and Server Core—which
38 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
is a bare-bones install in which PowerShell Server Manager’s New Look: In a UI that
is used for management. While you could is a bit reminiscent of Windows Phone 7—
deploy server core in 2008 R2, Server 8 and definitely influenced by Windows 8 cli-
allows you to do something new: move back ent—Server Manager has a new tile-based
and forth from a full graphical interface to design. A clean and modern dashboard
the core without having to reinstall. allows admins to perform multi-machine
PowerShell: Microsoft is strongly advo- management.
cating using the greatly expanded Power- Server 8 is looking to be a well-engi-
Shell over the GUI for many tasks in Server neered, future-facing business OS that will
8. Using PowerShell only requires a core be able to meet the tech needs of business
installation, which make the OS very light- for quite some time. How business technol-
weight and able to run efficiently on lower ogy responds to it will be interesting to wit-
spec’ed machines. ness.—Samara Lynn
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 39
FIrsT LOOks sOFTWArE
Firefox 7.0
Still Lean, Fast, and
Easy to Customize
L
ike its recent predecessors, Firefox 7.0
Firefox 7 doesn’t add a whole Free
L l l l m
lot visually that users will notice,
PrOs More efficient memory usage and faster
but unlike versions 5 and 6, it startup than previous versions. Panorama tab
does add something that will group organizes sites. Excellent standards
support. Cool bookmark organization with
cause many users to rejoice: Better use of
Panorama. Pinned sites for all-the-time ac-
memory. According to Mozilla, Firefox 7 cess. Syncing for tabs, history, passwords and
cuts memory use by between 20 and 50 more. Graphics hardware acceleration. Cross-
platform.
percent. This, along with improved startup
CONs Update breaks some extensions. Still
times makes a compelling, open browser trails Chrome and IE9 on some benchmarks.
choice even more attractive. Lacks client-side tracking protection like that
of IE9. Lacks Chrome’s built-in Flash, PDF
Firefox’s latest interface brings it in line reader, and Instant page view. Trails Chrome
with the trend of “less is more”—less space in HTML5 support. No new-tab page helpers.
Slower startup than Chrome and IE9.
taken up by the browser frame and con-
trols and more space for Web pages. The
page tabs have moved above the address gestions from your history and favorites
bar, and, as with Opera 11, there’s just a sin- whenever you start typing, was pioneered
gle menu option in the form of the orange by Firefox and copied by all other brows-
Firefox button at top left. You can re-enable ers. The Firefox version now adds a handy
the standard menus by hitting the Alt key. new twist: When one of its suggested sites
Firefox is one of the last remaining brows- is already open in a tab, you can click on a
ers to still use separate address and search “Switch to tab” link, preventing you from
boxes, which is good for those who like to unnecessarily opening more tabs.
keep those two activities separate. That For the past few years, Firefox has lagged
doesn’t mean, however, that a search won’t behind the competition in its startup time,
work in the address bar, aka the “awesome especially after a reboot. Firefox 7 goes a
bar.” That tool, which drops down sug- long way towards remedying this. On my
40 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
2.6-GHz dual-core laptop, after a reboot
Firefox 7 improved cold start time to 5.1 sec-
onds from version 6’s 8 seconds—a 64 per-
cent improvement. It still trails Chrome’s 4.2
seconds and IE9’s 2.4 seconds, however.
As for its general performance, Firefox
remains slightly behind competitors on
the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark. On
Google’s JavaScript benchmark, Firefox’s
performance on this test continues to creep
up, though it still has some catching up
to do with Chrome. And on Mozilla’s own
Kraken JavaScript benchmark, Chrome has
actually overtaken the test maker’s own
browser, Firefox.
Firefox may no longer be the fresh new
darling among Web browsers, but its mak-
ers continue to add new standards support,
interface enhancements, and improvements
to underlying systems. The project’s devel-
opers have built a beautiful, responsive,
compatible, secure, and flexible piece of
software. Google Chrome, however, remains
our Editors’ Choice because it is faster and
more capable, offers built-in Flash and PDF
support, nifty Instant page display, and more
HTML5 support.—Michael Muchmore
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 41
fIrST LOOkS SOfTWArE
Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus
A Tiny Program
With Killer Instincts
It’s hard to imagine how such an Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus
incredibly effective antivirus pro- $39.95 direct
l l l l h
gram could come in such a minus-
PrOS Installer and program are incredibly tiny.
cule package. But the installer of
Very fast scan. Perfect score in malware-block-
Webroot SecureAnywhere Anti- ing tests. Very good score in malware-removal
virus takes less than 600 KB, as does the tests.
installed program. CONS Bonus antiphishing protection less effec-
tive. Bonus security tools too advanced for the
How can Webroot be so tiny, while other average user.
antivirus programs can take nearly a giga-
byte of disk space? The answer is twofold. That didn’t matter for most of the test sys-
First, its handling of malware is almost tems, but two of them really needed the
entirely cloud-based. It uses only the tiniest cleanup server to remove widespread virus
local database of especially virulent threats. infestations. I put those on hold until the
Second, the product was totally rewritten back-end systems were entirely ready, at
using the most economical coding prac- which time Webroot scanned and cleaned
tices possible. them without incident.
As you might imagine, installing this com- After running all the full scans, I hap-
pact program takes just seconds. Enter your pened to leave one of the test systems run-
registration code, click “Agree & Install,” ning. Coming back to it, I noticed it had
and in seconds it’s installed and running a run another scan and found more traces
scan. On my infested test systems the initial to remove. It turns out that the product’s
scan finished in about five to fifteen min- behavior-based detection catches some
utes, depending on how badly infested the threats immediately, but it may need to
system was. On a totally clean system, it fin- monitor others for a little while before it
ished that scan in less than two minutes. detects the behaviors that let it flag them
I started my testing before Webroot’s as malicious.
back-end virus-cleanup server was active. Webroot’s detection of 94 percent of the
42 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
threats is the best detection rate among Internet connection, thereby depriving it of
products tested with the current sample its “brains,” it still did a decent job once the
collection. Panda Cloud Anti-Virus 1.5 Free connection was restored.
Edition previously held that record with 91 In my malware removal tests Webroot
percent. came in behind Norton AntiVirus 2012, but
Webroot also turned in the only perfect ahead of all the rest. Alas, I can’t refer to
malware blocking score I’ve ever encoun- independent lab tests because Webroot is
tered in my years of testing. Its minuscule so totally new that it hasn’t been tested. For
local client works with an immense online now, Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus
behavioral database to detect and reme- shares our Editors’ Choice along with Nor-
diate malware threats. Even when I cut the ton AntiVirus 2012. —Neil J. Rubenking
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 43
FIrsT LOOks sOFTWArE
VMware Fusion 4
Giving Parallels
A Run for its Money
Mac users who want to run Win- VMware Fusion 4
dows on the OS X desktop have $49.99
L l l l h
two terrific products to choose
PrOs Runs Windows and other operating sys-
between—VMware Fusion 4 and tems on the OS X desktop. Tight integration of
Parallels Desktop 7. Both have Windows apps with OS X. Low-clutter, custom-
izable integration between Windows and OS
recently been updated to run smoothly
X. Works well with legacy applications under
under OS X 10.7 Lion, and you can’t go Windows XP. Simple setup.
wrong with either. The two programs are so CONs Very slightly slower than Parallels Desk-
close in features that, on paper, they seem top in some functions.
almost impossible to tell apart. But there
are real differences between the way they the files on your OS X desktop (for exam-
each implement an almost identical-looking ple) also appear on the Windows desktop;
feature set, with the result that demanding and use Windows applications to open files
and experienced users may tend to prefer or links on your OS X system or vice versa.
Fusion; while beginners may tend to prefer Fusion has the clear advantage in reduc-
Parallels. ing desktop clutter. When Windows is sus-
Fusion 4, like Parallels, lets you run Win- pended or shut down, Fusion lets you use
dows either in full-screen mode, with the its menu-bar menu to select a Windows app
Windows desktop in an OS X window, or in that you want to launch. (And you have the
a mode that Fusion calls “Unity.” This last option of leaving the Fusion menu bar icon
mode runs Windows applications in their displayed in the menu bar even when Fusion
own window on the OS X desktop and puts is closed.) With Parallels, in contrast, if you
the icon for the Windows app in the OS X want to launch a Windows app your Win-
dock. Also like Parallels, Fusion lets you dows system is suspended or shut down.
drag and drop files between OS X and Win- You’ll need to click on the icon for that app
dows; optionally share one or more folders in a special folder of shortcuts to Windows
between both operating systems, so that apps, which Parallels optionally installs in
44 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
the OS X dock. This folder is cluttered with Windows system with other machines,
programs that you probably don’t care then Fusion is probably the better choice.
about, such as Microsoft Screen Magnifier, It’s also the better choice if you’re using
COM Surrogate, and Windows Host Pro- legacy apps under Windows XP in an emu-
cess, and the whole experience seems fairly lated system, because, in my tests, Fusion
sloppy. Fusion’s menu bar gets the job done handled those apps more reliably. But this
more efficiently. is one situation where a Mac user gets two
If you only care about running a Windows superb products to choose from, and you
app or two on your Mac, then either product can’t go wrong with either. It’s a close call,
will work fine. If you’re in a corporate setting but Fusion gets our Editors’ Choice award.
or you expect to network your emulated —Edward Mendelson
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 45
jOhN C. DvOrAk
Our Hoarder Mentality:
Blame the Hard Disk
W
hatever happened to These languages may seem arcane, but
the idea that comput- they kept people in the game with the com-
ers were programmable puter. They allowed people to maintain con-
tools and users were the trol over the machines rather than become
ones who programmed passive victims to the new computing appli-
them? This idea has fallen by the wayside as ance.
users have slowly evolved into passive con- Now I do not think it is a bad thing neces-
sumers of products and content. The situa- sarily that a user subscribes to a digital mag-
tion has been exacerbated by the so-called azine like this one, and spends countless
tablet revolution and the common predic- hours using his fingers to flip virtual pages
tions that tablets and handheld mobile just like a real magazine. The subscriber can
phones will be the dominant computing put an entire collection of 100 magazines
devices of the future. and 1,000 books onto his iPad, and have
This trend is a disaster on many levels. But them with him at all times, in the backpack.
have we tried to understand its genesis? But I have yet to find an instance whereby
When the industry got its start in the I’m having a conversation with a friend who
late 1970’s everyone could program a lit- suddenly pulls out the iPad and says, “That’s
tle bit. The programming languages were remarkable, since there was an article in the
everywhere. Fortran was taught in schools. Atlantic about that exact same topic. Let me
People could learn BASIC at home. There pull up the article for you!” Never happens.
were useful specialized languages such as And if it did happen why couldn’t the article
SNOBOL and COBOL. RPG-II and APL were be as easily pulled off the Web?
commonly discussed in the literature. The Essentially the entire personal computer
overall number of interesting languages was movement has been usurped away from
remarkable. actual computing to massive storage. I’m
46 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Once the hard disk and storage in general began
to dominate the computing landscape, it actually
set the stage for the pack-rat phenomenon.
now a mere archivist rather than someone Facebook is about connections and stor-
programming a useable tool. age. Your history is stored on Facebook.
What are some of the hot Web sites? Flickr,
Blame the Storage Companies SmugMug, Picasa, Photobucket. All about
About 15 years ago the hard disk makers storage.
began to break Moore’s Law, whereby it was This is changing the nature of America
determined that computing power roughly and the world. Everyone is a pack rat. It’s no
doubled every 18 months. As Moore’s Law coincidence that TV shows such as Hoarders
was improving the capability of computers, and American Pickers have risen to promi-
the hard disk industry was mostly doing the nence. And when in history did we see huge
same thing. It was doubling disk capacities mega stores that have nothing more than
every 18 months. storage containers?
One year I began to notice that the capac- At some point sociologists will finally
ity was doubling every 12 months. IBM notice this phenomenon. They will try to do
research said that this was done to step up a chicken-and-egg analysis regarding this
the competitive landscape. Because of the preoccupation we have developed to col-
advancement in storage the entire comput- lect, categorize, and keep junk. I can assure
ing industry became storage-centric. The you they will miss the fact that the evolution
computers were less of a tool and more of of the hard disk from 1980 to the present
a container. No wonder nobody knows how was preparing our brains for the transition.
to code anymore. What they know is how to And I think once the hard disk and storage
store things. in general began to dominate the comput-
So everything is about storage. Cloud ing landscape it actually set the stage for the
computing is about storage. Pad computing popularization of the pack rat phenomenon.
has become popular because of storage. So here we are. I have to stop writing
about this and clean closets. Thank you Al
The iPod and the Packrat Mentality Shugart, the father of the modern hard disk.
If you think of the reemergence of Apple You’ve ruined society for good.
with the original iPod, what do you think
DvOrak uncensOreD Can’t get enough of
about? You think about the various devices
John’s rants? Check out his blog, www.dvorak.
and their storage capabilities. “You can store org/blog, where he targets technology and oh, so
your entire music collection!” much more.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 47
SASCHA SEGAN
Kindle Fire’s Strength:
A Clear Purpose
T
h i s holiday season, most browsing experience. E-reading solutions,
Americans won’t be buy- and a complete communications solution.”
ing Samsung Galaxy Tabs or Really? Is it really time for an optimized
Acer Iconias. They’ll be buying environment with solutions? No. It is time
Amazon Kindle Fires. That’s to get your e-mail and read books. Also,
because Amazon has learned a lesson other nobody knows what “augmented reality” is.
Android tablet manufacturers haven’t: Tell
buyers what you’re supposed to do with the The Tyranny of Choice
darn thing. I love the Acer Iconia Tab A100, but when
The Fire’s $199 price will be a big compo- you boot it up, it isn’t clear what you’re sup-
nent of its success, but it’s not the only thing posed to do with it. The standard Android
that makes the Fire compelling. If you’re try- Honeycomb home screen is pretty bare; it’s
ing to introduce a new product category to yours to configure, which means it’s yours
Americans—and even with the iPad around, to sit stupefied in front of while you’re over-
tablets are a new product category—you whelmed by the tyranny of choice.
have to explain to people why they want it, Yes, I know that none of you reading this
in clear terms, without overwhelming them. column is ever overwhelmed by the tyranny
This has been a big problem for Android of choice. You exhilarate in choice and are
tablet vendors so far because Android tab- angered when anyone restricts your choice.
lets do everything, and they appear to be But you are the early-adopter elite. Most
marketed by engineers. Take this Samsung other people want more hand-holding.
Galaxy Tab commercial. It says something that the most successful
“It’s time for an optimized e-mail environ- Android tablet so far in the U.S. has been the
ment. Augmented reality and navigation Barnes & Noble Nook Color. At $249, it isn’t
services with a large display. A full Web- the cheapest Android tablet; you can get
48 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
The Kindle Fire has a very smooth and
simple purchase-and-use path. Boot,
choose from a curated list of options,
buy something, enjoy.
less-expensive tablets at your local general do next. When you start it up, here’s what
store. But the Nook Color explains its pur- you see: the words “Newsstand, Books,
pose clearly: Read some books. Music, Video, Docs, Apps, Web.” There are
seven things to do here, and the list starts
The Android Tablet Horror with the least perplexing and abstract.
Android tablets’ problems are compounded I can use this for news, books, and music.
by how many really bad ones are out there. Great! I’ll get some fun color picture books
I’ve recently had tablet vendors show me for my kid. Maybe eventually I’ll buy an app.
“e-reading tablets” with screens so poor, it Apple’s iPad commercials have explained
looks like they have a privacy film over them, apps to me.
and cases so shabby, they feel like they could Every one of those words ties directly into
fall apart within weeks. Right now consum- a store, so it’s easy to get content for the
ers perceive the tablet market as “the iPad” tablet, another strike against most Android
and “everything else,” and these bargain-bin tablets, which at best separate their stores
tablets just tarnish the image of everyone in and players into different apps. And Ama-
the “everything else” department. zon, as many people have said, probably
Amazon understands this problem, and already has your credit card on file.
seems to understand that the Amazon The Kindle Fire has a very smooth and
brand evokes a lot more confidence than simple purchase-and-use path. Boot,
the Android tablet brand does right now. choose from a curated list of options, buy
Amazon, to most consumers, means effi- something, enjoy. It’s different enough from
ciency and nearly immediate gratification of the successful iPad in size, usage, and price
their shopping desires. Android, if anything, that this holiday season may finally see us
means a level of geekiness that begins to go from a one-tablet nation to a two-tablet
scare off many non-geeks. zone. Anyone else trying to break through
with a tablet should take a lesson from Ama-
Here’s What To Do zon here. Tell us what it’s for.
The Kindle Fire eschews the Android moni-
STAY PHONE-SMART Keep up with the latest
ker, and Android’s range of user-configu- on smartphones by reading Sascha’s column at
rable icons, for clear instructions on what to go.pcmag.com/segan.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 49
PETEr PAChAL
Greatest Achievement
of Steve Jobs
T
hey say that most geniuses technology. You can’t start with the technol-
who achieve incredible things ogy and try to figure out where you’re going
when they’re young spend the to sell it,” Jobs said to an irate questioner
rest of their lives struggling to at his first WWDC appearance as Apple
meet that standard. Not Steve CEO in 1997. Jobs’ philosophy goes deeper
Jobs. Even after laying the groundwork for than just an understanding to put customer
the personal computer in the 1970s, his best experience first, though—he also saw that
work was arguably in the last ten years. Jobs that experience had real bearing on people’s
may have passed on, but his influence on lives.
technology will be felt for at least another
ten, and probably much more. What Technology Was really All About
There are certainly the products—the Technology didn’t have to be about people
iPod, iPhone, and iPad were all revolutionary sitting behind a desk doing what’s generally
in their own way, and I’ll get to them in a min- thought of as “work”; it was teenagers try-
ute—but Jobs’ greatest achievement was ing to find new music, grandmothers brows-
more broad. He took the functional, sterile ing family photos, or people wandering a
practice of “computing” and made it human. strange neighborhood looking for Thai food.
At one of his legendary keynotes, he said Jobs’ insight wasn’t in seeing that tech-
Apple wasn’t just technology, that it was nology could help people do these things
“tech and humanity.” Jobs never lost sight (which was obvious), but that in doing so
of the fact that these devices served no pur- the technology needed to get out of the way
pose if flesh-and-blood people didn’t want as much as possible. Tech was a window to
to use them. content and services, nothing more.
“You’ve got to start with the customer That philosophy has been on display into
experience and work backwards to the countless Apple products, but the ones that
50 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Like Michelangelo finding his sculptures
waiting inside the stones from which he carved
them, Jobs needed only to chip
away the “unneeded bits” of technology
to reach his waiting audience.
will continue to have influence in years to he initially conceived the iPad, then decided
come are the iPhone and the iPad. Apple to build the iPhone first since the technolo-
under Jobs didn’t invent the smartphone or gies needed were easier to incorporate into
the tablet, but there’s no question it popu- a smaller, handheld device. One wonders
larized the current paradigms behind both. how today’s world would be different if
Before iOS products came, who knew so Steve Jobs hadn’t been there to kick off his
many people wanted to “mobile compute?” vision of what he ended up calling the “Post-
Jobs got to those people where others had PC era.” Sure, others may have stepped up
failed with his experience-first approach. with products, but without Jobs’ passionate
Like Michelangelo finding his sculptures pursuit of perfection, there’s a good chance
waiting inside the stones from which he we’d all be walking around with BlackBerry-
carved them, Jobs needed only to chip away esque smartphones with full QWERTY key-
the “unneeded bits” of technology (like boards. And just think: the Microsoft Courier
clunky UIs and lousy mobile browsers) to might be the leading tablet on the market.
reach his waiting audience. Would people be buying them by the mil-
lions, though?
The Universal Influence of Apple Quite simply, the smartphone and the tab-
It’s a big audience now. To date, Apple has let, as we know them today, wouldn’t exist
sold more than 100 million iPhones and 30 were it not for Steve Jobs. While the world
million iPads worldwide. It has great mar- mourns the passing of a technology icon,
ket share among smartphones and owns everyone who’s ever downloaded some-
the tablet market. More important, Apple’s thing from an app store, pinched to zoom
influence is felt throughout the entire on a touch screen, or browsed the Web on
industry—from its primary mobile com- a full-featured mobile browser has been
petitor, Android, to the touch-tile approach touched by his influence. That’s a fitting
that perennial rival Microsoft has baked tribute if there ever was one.
into Windows 8. TALK bAcK To PETE E-mail your thoughts to
Jobs has publicly told the story about how pete_pachal@pcmag.com.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 51
THE
25 BEST
ANDROID
APPS
Your Android device will be so much cooler and more
useful once you've loaded it up with the right apps. Our
list includes apps for reference and utility, productivity,
entertainment, social networking, and more.
By Jill Duffy
52 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
W
hen Google’s mobile ing about becoming an Android user, this
operating system, list of the best 25 apps should definitely tip
Android, first debuted, you off to the kinds of utilities, entertain-
cheers erupted from ment programs, social networking services,
those who defend and other apps you can expect to find in the
open-source software and reject the cult of Android Market and other places where you
Apple. They finally had alternative options can buy apps or download them for free.
for touch-screen smartphones that could The 25 apps that made our cut are those
rival the iPhone. As the Android Market that have shown outstanding performance,
(and other sites where you can download have been almost universally liked by users
Android programs) expanded, it became young and old, or have had a solid history
clear that Android would have some unique of being among the first apps we’d recom-
apps, in part due to Android’s deregulated mend new users download. Most of them are
(compared to Apple’s strict oversight of free, and a few cost a buck or two, although
iTunes and the app store) and open-source the priciest one on this list will set you back
nature. a cool $25. Left out are any apps specifically
And so it makes sense that the best designed for people who have “rooted” their
apps for Android users and their devices, phones, or given themselves more permis-
whether it’s a Motorola Droid Bionic or an sion than is intended for consumers, which
HTC Sensation, are an eclectic batch. For can void the phone’s warranty. (For more on
example, one app every smartphone user Android rooting, click here.)
needs is a strong Web browser—but the If you’re a long-time Android user, some
fastest, most reliable, and efficient one on of these apps will look familiar, although in
Android isn’t the same as what’s best on a few cases, the best apps in a certain class
other mobile operating systems. Addition- aren’t necessarily the ones that have been
ally, some of the very best apps for Android most popular for a stretch of time. Newcom-
are exclusive to the operating system. For ers are supplanting some tried-and-true
some people, app selection is what drives favorites.
their decision-making about which phone As Android apps grow, so will our list, so
to purchase in the first place. If you’re think- stay tuned for updates to this story.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 53
25 BEST ANDrOID APPS
REFERENCE or even navigate by gesture. When you
& uTILITy encounter a pesky mobile site, you can don
a disguise—for example, you can masquer-
ade as an iPad—to unlock the uncropped
Dolphin Browser HD page. Flummoxed by Flash? No more, so
free
long as you’re running Dolphin and Android
versions 2.2. The browser lacks a full sync-
ing service, but it does support Google
Bookmarks.
Google Maps
free
Dolphin Browser HD is a veritable trickster Whenever I ask people to name their five
of a mobile browser. you can change this favorite Android apps, “Google something”
Android app’s look and feel through cus- almost always makes the list. Google Maps
tom themes, add capability with Add-ons, may be one of the most popular of the
54 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Android apps from Google. A few of its sig- tips? Wikidroid pulls articles from Wikipedia
nature features, such as navigation and lay- and optimizes their display for easy reading
ers, work better on Android than most other and searching from your mobile phone. The
mobile operating systems. It’s indispensible app has elegant search functionality, too.
for finding addresses, service providers
nearby, and just for simply getting around. LastPass Password Mgr Premium
free
Wikidroid for Wikipedia
free
LastPass manages and fills in your user-
names and passwords for you automati-
cally. you’ll only have to remember one
password ever again: the one to get into
Looking up information on a smartphone LastPass, so make it strong. Another advan-
should not only be easy, but also something tage of using a password manager is it
you do frequently. Otherwise, what’s the ensures you use a different password for all
point of having so much data at your finger- the sites you visit, as recycling passwords
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 55
25 BEST ANDrOID APPS
leaves you prone to identity theft and other find their lost or stolen Android phones by
online crimes. forcing it to ring at maximum volume or
vibrate when the phone receives a text mes-
Wheres My Droid sage containing a specified phrase, such as
free
“Where’s my Droid?” The app can also tell
you the phone’s location, as long as its GPS
is enabled.
PRODucTIVITy
Dropbox
free
How many times have you claimed your
phone was stolen, only to find it, days later, If your files live all over the place—your
wedged between the couch cushions, office computer, home desktop, laptop—
muffled from ringing loud enough to hear having a dependable syncing program is
when you called it? If you’re prone to los- a must. Dropbox, the service that lets you
ing your phone, Wheres My Droid will put store your files in the cloud and access them
your mind at ease. The app helps people from anywhere you have a signal, fills that
56 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
role nicely with an Android app. It has a
simple interface, easy uploading, and swift
syncing across all accounts.
Astrid Task/Todo List
free
Evernote
free; $45 per year for optional Premium
subscription
If you weren’t an early adopter of Evernote,
Many Android users gravitate to Astrid the freemium note-taking and organiza-
because it is, quite simply, the best list tion app that syncs all your files to a cloud
maker and task manager that exists for service, there’s no shame in being a late
Android phones. Astrid has all of the fea- adopter of this outstanding service. On an
tures every list-maker needs, including due Android phone, Evernote works smoothly,
dates and alarms, and it also conveniently looks great, and, most important, integrates
syncs with Google Tasks. unfortunately, with dozens of other apps and services.
it doesn't sync with Remember the Milk, What I like best about Evernote is how it
although it used to. automates synchronization, a fail-safe mea-
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 57
25 BEST ANDrOID APPS
sure in case you forget to put your files back
in the cloud when you’re done working on
them.
Documents To Go Full Version Key
$14.99-$29.99
Business users and tech-savvy professors
(as well as serious students) need a docu-
ment-editing and creation-application suite
for their mobile devices, and Documents turns out to be a pretty invaluable tool for
ToGo is the one worth buying if you have an finding businesses nearby, especially when
Android phone. you can try the free “lite” you’re in a town you don’t know well. yelp’s
version Documents To Go 3.0 Main App mobile app has helped me find a hairdresser
first, which lets you view many of the file when I was in a pinch in Washington D.C.,
formats you’ll need (.doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, and a suitable lunch while driving through
.ppt, .pptx) but not edit them. Ohio. The quality of the reviews can be
touch and go, but for finding businesses and
PERSONAL & services, and vetting out ones that are very
COMMuNICATION poorly received, yelp’s the app you need.
Facebook for Android
Yelp free
l l l m m
free
The most comprehensive review app, yelp Social networks thrive with a reliable app,
58 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
aggregators have graced the Android Mar-
ketplace, some with pretty terrible perfor-
mance track records, but the one that works
best is Twitter’s own. Starting with version
(2.1.2), Twitter for Android adds support
for multiple accounts as well as optional
push notifications (alerts that appear on
your phone similar to an alarm or incoming
text message), two features that had been
sorely lacking prior to this release. A clean
user experience and smart design doesn’t
hurt either. Best of all, if you don’t have a
Twitter account and aren’t interested in
and Facebook for Android is undeniably
solid. The Android app has the quintessen-
tial, familiar, Facebook-branded interface,
but it also offers some unique functional-
ity that’s absent in Facebook’s iPhone app.
This includes a side-scrolling preview pane
of recently shared photos in the dashboard
area. Very cool.
Twitter
free
l l l h m
The best app for Twitter is Twitter. Plenty of
third-party Twitter apps and social media
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 59
25 BEST ANDrOID APPS
joining, you can still use the app to search
and read the site.
ooVoo Video Calls
free
l l l l m
or draining the phone’s battery. While it’s
not perfect, IMO Instant Messenger is by far
one of the lesser offenders. Another reason
Stable and reliable video chat apps for it’s better than some others is it supports
Android aren’t easy to come by, but ooVoo instant messaging across an impressive 11
is terrific. The Android video chat app sup- networks: MSN, yahoo!, AIM/ICQ, Google
ports group video, voice calls, and instant Talk, Myspace, Skype, Facebook, Jabber,
messaging—across iOS, OSX, Android, imo, VKontakte, and Hyves.
and Windows! Not only do you get solid
Android video calling, but you can practi-
cally video chat with anyone.
ENTERTAINMENT
IMO Instant Messenger
free Netflix
free but requires subscription from $7.99 per
Multi-purpose instant message apps can month
falter on mobile phones, crashing frequently l l l h m
60 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
theater times, release dates for movies and
DVDs, film reviews, and trailers in the palm
With the free Netflix app for Android of your hand. If, for example, you need to
phones, Netflix subscribers can watch any know the exact date that A Very Harold &
movie or television show from the instant Kumar Christmas will be hitting theaters,
streaming catalogue anywhere over a WiFi Movies can confirm the November 4, 2011,
signal, as well as 3G and 4G connections. release. By default, the app pulls movie
This ability to watch movies and TV shows ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, although
anywhere makes the $7.99-per-month cost you can override this feature if perhaps
of a streaming-only Netflix subscription a you don’t think The 400 Blows deserves a
little more worthwhile. The app requires 100-percent critics’ approval rating. you’d
Android 2.2 or later. be wrong, but you can do it.
Movies Angry Birds
free free
Movies, by Flixster (some people know the There’s just no denying that Angry Birds has
app better by the developer’s name), puts been the hit game across mobile devices.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 61
25 BEST ANDrOID APPS
The Scrabble-like game from Zynga, Words
with Friends, is among the most popular
mobile social games around. If you own an
Android phone but your friends are on other
devices, such as iPhones or iPads, you can
still challenge them to head-to-head word-
play, as it doesn’t matter on which platform
your opponents are playing. While some
Android users have reported stability prob-
The casual puzzle game challenges you to lems with the game, Words with Friends is
destroy structures by flinging crotchety in such high demand that most people will
little birds at it using a giant slingshot. The grin and bear it… especially since it’s free.
franchise has dozens of titles, like Angry
Cut the Rope
Birds Rio and Angry Birds Seasonal, but the
99 cents
original Angry Birds is the one to download
to your Android phone first. (Also see The
Best Free Android Games.)
Words with Friends Free
free
An addictive casual, physics game, Cut the
Rope has players solving dynamic puz-
zles that sometimes feel more like obsta-
cle courses. It’s a family-friendly game,
the kind you definitely want to have pre-
loaded on your phone if you have yackety
kids who miraculously become quiet when
engrossed in a good game.
62 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Kindle NOOK for Android by B&N
free free
Anti-Amazon book lovers might prefer
an app by Barnes & Noble for reading on
their Android phones. NOOK and Kindle
largely do the same thing (give you access
to an impressive library of books, newspa-
pers, magazines, and other things to read),
Read books, magazines, and newspapers although their interfaces and experiences
right on your Android phone without ever are different. Whether you like Amazon or
buying an e-reader. The Kindle app is by B&N is largely a matter of personal prefer-
far the most popular reading app in the ence. The NOOK feels a little more graceful
Android Marketplace because it gives you in its design, whereas the Kindle app looks
access to buy or download for free hun- more utilitarian.
dreds of thousands of books, and more than
100 different newspapers and magazines. Slacker Radio
free
And while some users have complained
that they can’t uninstall Kindle once they’ve When we in the PCMag lab talk about
downloaded the app, it is possible (but it music-streaming services, Editors’ Choice
takes a little effort). Slacker Radio always gets an extra nod. It
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 63
25 BEST ANDrOID APPS
hearts for having very good quality stream-
ing even over a 3G signal. Newcomers to the
Android arena, including Slacker Radio and
Spotify, are earning more and more market-
share every day, but Pandora tends to be
the most reliable, likely because it has a lon-
ger history running on Android.
FxCamera
free
serves up excellent audio quality, a well-
designed interface, tight lyrics implemen-
tation, and a load of customization options.
Slacker doesn’t have niche stations or deep
social networking features, but it’s still the
music-streaming service to beat.
Pandora internet radio
free
Of the music streaming apps available to
Android phone owners, Pandora steals Not every smartphone running Android has
64 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
a great camera, so get better photos with
the help of software. FxCamera adds filters
and effects, like “toy” and fisheye lens, to
enhance even modest pictures. It also helps
to arm yourself with some additional tips for
getting better photos from your phone.
ESPN Score Center
free
example). Sports fans of all stripes will find
this app useful; it covers more sports types
than most other sports and news apps out
there. It can pull game data from baseball,
basketball, American football, the sport the
rest of the world calls football (soccer), ice
hockey, cricket, rugby, and more. For stat
ESPN’s free app lets you check the game lovers, ScoreMobile is a fine option, but only
quickly, and discreetly when necessary if it has the sport you follow, as it misses a
(with your phone under the dinner table, for few, like rugby and boxing.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 65
YOuR
FaVORitE
Cameras
aNd
Camcorders
Your vote is in. Canon reigns supreme for handling most
of your photos and videos, though more and more
of you consider your phones the ideal device for
capturing snapshots these days.
By Ben Gottesman
66 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
Okay, we won’t beat around the bush. to get a better understanding of how you
CANON Is ThE PCMAG READERs’ ChOICE wIN- are actually capturing your memories.
NER IN BOTh ThE CAMERA AND CAMCORDER Nearly every respondent (99 percent) still
CATEGORIEs. in cameras, it shares the award uses a digital camera to take pictures, but
with Nikon; in camcorders, Sony also earns four out of five people are also using their
Readers’ Choice. Before you dive into our mobile phones to do so. When it comes to
analysis about which camera and cam- video, almost as many people use their digi-
corder companies are providing the best tal cameras (56 percent) as camcorders (58
products and services, consider a couple percent), and many also use their phones
fundamental questions: (43 percent).
1]
We also asked what percentage of pho-
These days, why would you buy a tos and videos were taken with each type
camcorder when so many digital of device, and we found that cameras and
cameras take perfectly good videos? camcorders are still the most popular in
2]
their respective categories. that said, a sig-
Why would you buy a digital camera nificant portion of photos and videos are
when the photos and videos taken being captured with other devices.
with mobile phones keep getting taking pictures with a mobile phone
better and better and those phones continues to increase in popularity, and it
make it so much easier to share with others? appears to be changing the nature of the
camera market. Survey respondents are
as with all PCMag.com Readers’ Choice buying fewer compact and ultracompact
surveys—this is our sixth installment for cameras, perhaps because these cameras
2011—our new camera and camcorder ques- tend to be purchased for their convenience
tionnaire helps us figure out which compa- more so than for their features, and nothing
nies are providing the best products and beats the convenience of a mobile phone.
service. We also added some new questions instead, people who chose to purchase
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 67
a camera in the last year tended toward
higher-end devices that offer features or
image-quality that their phones simply
can’t deliver. the higher-end categories
include enthusiast cameras, superzooms,
digital SLRs (d-SLRs), and compact inter-
changeable lens cameras.
With camcorders, the shift is in the oppo-
site direction. Fewer survey respondents
are purchasing expensive, high-end cam-
corders, likely because so many of today’s
digital cameras are capable of capturing
very pleasing Hd video. instead, the trend
is toward small cameras that are much more
focused on ease of sharing than on features
and image quality, such as Cisco’s Flip line
(may it rest in peace), Kodak’s Play cam-
corders, and Sony’s Bloggies. Nearly 40
percent of the camcorders that you pur- CANON EOs
chased within the last year cost $149 or less. REBEL T3
and whereas the move toward higher-end
digital cameras has actually pushed the CATEGORY:
average purchase price up slightly, the aver-
age amount you’re spending on camcord-
CaMERaS
ers is plummeting, down about $200 over For years, two companies have dominated
the past 4 years. the camera market, Canon and Nikon. the
Cameras and camcorders won’t disap- two giants need to figure out how to suc-
pear tomorrow as mainstream consumer ceed as their market is encroached upon by
devices. Still, the rapid improvement and mobile phones. they also have to deal with
adoption of mobile phone cameras is going several significant competitors, including
to pressure camera and camcorder manu- old-time rivals Olympus and Pentax, as well
facturers to innovate and build more useful electronics companies, such as Panasonic,
and appealing devices. Sony, Samsung, and Casio; all of them are try-
68 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
CaMERaS :
The winners
CANON, INC.
No other camera manufacturer is as
consistently excellent as Canon, receiv-
ing top scores in several categories. Not
only are readers impressed with the
company’s products, they’re also very
pleased with Canon’s tech support,
which improved substantially upon the
good service that it had provided cus-
tomers in prior years.
NIkON CORPORATION
Synonymous with SLR photography
since the early days of film, Nikon once
again receives top marks for its digital
SLRs. the company offers superior ser-
vice and support.
ing to grab their own piece of the pie. Many PANAsONIC CORPORATION
of these competitors are pushing the enve- aside from Canon, no company is as
lope on innovation, but when it comes to sat- consistently good across as many cam-
isfying customers, Canon and Nikon remain era categories as Panasonic, an honor-
at the top and receive our 2011 PCMag.com able mention winner.
Readers’ Choice award for cameras.
Both Canon and Nikon offer diverse sONY CORPORATION
product lines, ranging from budget cam- another honorable mention winner,
eras to sophisticated digital single-lens Sony made it to the top of the super-
reflex (d-SLRs) models for consumers and zoom category, and its new compact
professionals. Canon is the most consis- interchangeable lens cameras are giving
tently excellent company in the survey. its digital d-SLRs a run for their money.
cameras received the highest overall rat-
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 69
CAMERAS
LIKELIHOOD Of BEING
REPAIR SATISfACTION
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
®
NEEDING REPAIR
RECOMMENDED
NET PROMOTER
PERCENTAGE
RELIABILITY
OVERALL †
SCORE
R
ED denotes Readers’ Choice
BLUE denotes Honorable Mention
Canon 8.6 9.0 8.3 7.3 4% 9.1 75%
Nikon 8.6 9.0 7.3 6.5 5% 9.0 71%
Panasonic 8.4 9.0 2% 8.7 59%
Sony 8.3 8.7 6.0 4% 8.5 52%
Pentax 8.3 8.8 3% 8.3 45%
Olympus 8.0 8.6 4% 8.3 44%
fujifilm 7.9 8.4 2% 8.9 63%
Samsung 7.8 8.3 4% 8.2 40%
Casio 7.7 8.3 6% 7.8 26%
GE 7.6 8.3 2% 7.7 14%
Kodak 7.6 8.2 2% 7.9 29%
HP 7.2 7.8 5% 7.2 -4%
Polaroid 6.7 7.4 6% 6.8 -13%
AVERAGE 7.9 8.4 7.1 6.8 4% 8.1 36%
70 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
LIKELIHOOD Of BEING
REPAIR SATISfACTION
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
®
NEEDING REPAIR
RECOMMENDED
NET PROMOTER
PERCENTAGE
RELIABILITY
OVERALL †
SCORE
R
ED denotes Readers’ Choice
BLUE denotes Honorable Mention
CAMERAS LESS THAN A YEAR OLD
Canon 8.8 9.2 8.1 3% 9.3 80%
Nikon 8.8 9.1 3% 9.1 75%
Panasonic 8.6 9.1 1% 9.0 72%
Sony 8.6 8.9 3% 8.8 55%
Olympus 8.3 8.6 3% 8.6 47%
Samsung 8.2 8.4 2% 8.4 53%
fujifilm 8.1 8.3 6% 8.4 33%
Kodak 7.8 8.3 3% 8.0 60%
AVERAGE 8.4 8.8 8.1 3% 8.7 60%
† Overall score is based on answers to the question “Overall, how would you rate this laptop PC?” It is not the average of the other
scores in the table.
Except for numbers indicated by a percentage, scores are based on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is best. For Percentage needing repair,
a lower percentage is best.
A blank field indicates that we do not have enough survey data to give the company a score.
®Net Promoter Score is based on the answer to the Likelihood to Recommend question. NPS is calculated by taking the
percent of respondents who answered 9 or 10 (promoters) and subtracting the percent who answered 0 through 6
(detractors). Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company,
Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 71
Nearly everyone in the
survey (99 percent) still
uses a digital camera to
take pictures, but four
out of five are also
using their mobile
phones to do so.
CANON POwERshOT 500 hs
ing in the ultracompact, compact, budget,
and waterproof categories, and it ties with
Nikon in the system camera category, which
includes d-SLRs and the emerging breed of
mirrorless compact interchangeable lens
cameras (CiLCs).
in the two categories in which Canon did
not have the highest overall ratings, enthu-
siast and superzoom cameras, it came in
second. in addition, the company had the
highest likelihood-of-recommending rating
in every category. We’re also impressed by
Canon’s tech-support satisfaction, which
CANON POwERshOT s95 improved from a respectable 7.5 out of 10 in
2010 to an excellent 8.2.
as in past years, Nikon receives very high
marks for its d-SLRs, which tied with Canon
in overall rating (9.0), reliability (9.3), and
likelihood to recommend (9.4). Nikon’s
72 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
superzoom, enthusiast, and compact
cameras are also among the most highly
regarded. Satisfaction with tech support
and repairs scores were decent at 7.3 and
6.5, respectively, but purchasers of Nikon
point-and-shoot cameras should bear in
mind that these numbers are inflated by
the very good tech support (8.1) and repair
service (7.5) that the company provides its
d-SLR customers.
Nikon just announced its entry into the
CiLC category with its Nikon 1 line. CiLC
cameras were pioneered by Panasonic and NIkON COOLPIx P500
Olympus. they feature significantly larger
sensors than point-and-shoot cameras do
but eschew the optical viewfinders found
on d-SLRs, permitting for much more com-
pact designs. By this time next year, we
should know if support and satisfaction for
the soon-to-be-released Nikon 1 cameras
will match the standard set by the compa-
ny’s d-SLRs.
While CiLC cameras are getting a lot of
attention, it’s still a nascent market, and only
one CiLC line of cameras, Sony’s NEX-series,
received enough responses to be included
in our survey results. the results were very
impressive for a new entrant, coming in just NIkON D5100
behind Canon’s and Nikon’s d-SLRs in over-
all rating and likelihood to recommend. the
Sony CiLCs reliability score is the highest
among the high end (9.4), and no respon-
dents reported that their cameras needed
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 73
repairs in the last 12 months. rich camcorders are facing stiff competi-
it’s also been a very good year for Sony tion from digital cameras. Our two Readers’
in the superzoom category—point-and- Choice-winning companies, Canon and
shoot cameras with a 10X or greater zoom Sony, make a broad range of camcorders
lens. the company’s superzooms’ overall from basic, low-cost models to very high-
rating of 8.6 was better than every other end prosumer and professional Hd units.
brand, including perennial survey favorite Canon and Sony had identical overall rat-
Panasonic. Sony also achieved good scores ings of 8.0. this is a fairly low score for top
in several other categories and receives an satisfaction. in comparison, the top-rated
Honorable Mention. digital cameras in our survey had overall rat-
While Panasonic may have lost its top ings of 8.6. (Compare the scores with newer
spot in superzooms, it wasn’t far behind camcorders, where Canon and Sony score
with an overall rating of 8.5. the company’s much higher with newer products, which is
cameras in this category had the highest typical in our survey results.) Still, there’s no
reliability rating in the category (9.1) and the one nipping at these companies’ coattails.
fewest superzooms needing repairs (1 per- the next best overall performers in the sur-
cent). Panasonic had the lowest repair rate vey, Cisco/Flip, Kodak, and Panasonic, only
across all categories (2 percent) as well. it had overall ratings of 7.5.
received the highest overall rating from our Kodak receives an Honorable Mention
readers in the enthusiast category and was for having the highest-rated budget cam-
consistently in the top tier in other catego- corders, a market category created by the
ries. For these reasons, Panasonic also gets surprisingly popular Pure digital Flip Video
an Honorable Mention. camcorders. in 2009, Cisco purchased Pure
digital in an effort to expand Cisco’s pres-
CATEGORY: ence in the home. unfortunately, things
CaMCORdERS didn’t work out the way the company had
hoped, and in april of this year, it announced
this is the first year that we’ve included that it was shutting down the Flip division.
camcorders in our reader survey. as we the Flip Video camcorders are still widely
noted at the beginning of this article, the available and actually received much higher
market is rapidly changing. inexpensive ratings than Kodak across the board among
camcorders that make sharing easy are budget camcorders purchased within the
gaining in popularity, and more feature- last 12 months.
74 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
CaMCORdERS :
The winners
CANON, INC.
Canon has been a consistent winner of
PCMag’s Readers’ Choice in the printer
CANON vIxIA hf100
and camera categories for years, and
now it can add a camcorder award to its
shelf.
sONY CORPORATION
Sony earned similar high marks to
Canon for overall rating, reliability, and
likelihood of recommending. We would
sONY hDRCx16 like to see improvement in the compa-
ny’s tech support, however.
EAsTMAN kODAk COMPANY
Kodak had the highest overall rating and
likelihood of recommending in the bud-
get camcorder category, though we are
concerned that Kodak camcorders pur-
chased recently aren’t as well regarded
as the company’s older devices.
sONY DCR-sx65
kODAk PLAYsPORT CANON fs300
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 75
CAMCORDERS
LIKELIHOOD Of BEING
REPAIR SATISfACTION
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
®
NEEDING REPAIR
RECOMMENDED
NET PROMOTER
PERCENTAGE
RELIABILITY
OVERALL †
SCORE
R
ED denotes Readers’ Choice
BLUE denotes Honorable Mention
Canon 8.0 8.6 3% 8.4 46%
Sony 8.0 8.5 6.1 5.6 3% 8.2 38%
Kodak 7.5 8.2 3% 7.8 29%
Pure Digital/Cisco 7.5 8.3 2% 7.1 6%
Panasonic 7.5 8.1 2% 7.8 20%
JVC 7.4 8.0 2% 7.5 11%
Sanyo 7.4 8.2 3% 7.4 4%
Samsung 7.3 7.9 2% 7.3 6%
Aiptek 6.3 7.5 0% 6.6 -14%
AVERAGE 7.4 8.1 6.1 5.6 2% 7.6 16%
76 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
LIKELIHOOD Of BEING
REPAIR SATISfACTION
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
®
NEEDING REPAIR
RECOMMENDED
NET PROMOTER
PERCENTAGE
RELIABILITY
OVERALL †
SCORE
R
ED denotes Readers’ Choice
BLUE denotes Honorable Mention
CAMCORDERS LESS THAN A YEAR OLD
Canon 8.7 9.2 1% 9.1 76%
Sony 8.5 8.9 3% 8.7 57%
Panasonic 8.2 8.5 6% 8.4 43%
flip/Pure Digital/Cisco 7.9 8.5 0% 7.9 29%
Samsung 7.4 8.0 0% 7.6 22%
Kodak 7.3 8.0 4% 7.7 29%
AVERAGE 8.0 8.5 4% 8.2 43%
† Overall score is based on answers to the question “Overall, how would you rate this laptop PC?” It is not the average of the other
scores in the table.
Except for numbers indicated by a percentage, scores are based on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is best. For Percentage needing repair,
a lower percentage is best.
A blank field indicates that we do not have enough survey data to give the company a score.
®Net Promoter Score is based on the answer to the Likelihood to Recommend question. NPS is calculated by taking the
percent of respondents who answered 9 or 10 (promoters) and subtracting the percent who answered 0 through 6
(detractors). Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company,
Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 77
aBOut tHE SuRVEY:
METhODOLOGY
w
e e-mailed survey invi- all cases, the overall ratings are not based
tations to PCMag.com on averages of other scores in the table;
community members, they are based on reader answers to the
including subscribers question, “Overall, how would you rate
to our digital Edition, newsletters, and this camera?”
more. the survey was hosted by Equation Scores not represented as a percentage
Research, which also performed our data are on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is best.
collection. Respondents were asked only a blank in a table indicates that we do
to rate products and services that they not have enough responses to give the
actually use. the respondents were asked company a score in that column.
several questions about their overall satis- the Readers’ Choice awards and Hon-
faction with their cameras and camcord- orable Mentions are based on subjective
ers and about the products’ reliability, as determination by PCMag.com’s editors,
well as their experiences with technical taking into account all of the ratings for
support and repairs within the past 12 each vendor.
months. Each person who completed the
survey was entered into a drawing to win Net Promoter score
a Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1 android tablet. “How likely is it that you would recommend
the survey was in the field from Septem- this company to a friend or colleague?” No
ber 6, 2011, through September 14, 2011. other question can better define the loy-
Because the goal of the survey is to alty of a company’s customers than this
understand how the vendors compare one, according to Fred Reichheld’s best-
to one another and not how one respon- seller, “the ultimate Question.” Reichheld,
dent’s experience compares to another, a fellow with the consulting firm Bain &
the category averages are based on the Company, used the answer to this question
average of each vendor’s rating, not the to help understand which customers were
average of every respondent’s rating. in enthusiastic about a company, which were
78 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
satisfied but unenthusiastic, and which siasts who will keep buying the brand and
customers were unhappy. also refer others
Companies with the most loyal custom- • Passives (score 7 or 8): satisfied but
ers (Promoters) and fewest dissatisfied unenthusiastic customers who are vulner-
customers (detractors) are creating “good able to competitive offerings
profits.” these are generally the most • detractors (score 0 to 6): unhappy
profitable in their category, according to customers who can damage the brand
Reichheld. these are also the companies— and impede growth through negative
such as Canon, Nikon and Sony—from word-of-mouth
whom we feel our readers will want to pur- We then subtract the percent of detrac-
chase cameras and camcorders. tors from the percent of promoters: Pro-
For many years, PCMag has asked moters percent - detractors percent =
readers how likely they would be to rec- NPS.
ommend a company, and we’ve used this So, for instance, 79 percent of Canon
measure as an important factor in deter- camera respondents are Promoters and
mining which companies were our Read- 4 percent are detractors, so the com-
ers’ Choice winners in their respective pany has a 74 percent NPS. at the other
categories. We now present the answer end of the scale, aiptek camcorders have
to that question as both an average and fewer Promoters than detractors (28 per-
a Net Promoter Score (NPS), which mea- cent versus 42 percent) for a negative
sures brand loyalty. 14 percent NPS. the company has more
Calculating NPS is very straightforward. customers speaking ill of the brand than
We ask the recommendation question on a promoting it.
0 to 10 scale where 10 is best. We break the Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and
answers down into three groups according NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Sys-
to the methodology’s definitions: tems, inc., Bain & Company, inc., and Fred
• Promoters (score 9 or 10): loyal enthu- Reichheld.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 79
eight
things
you
should
know
about
windows 8
The highly anticipated new Windows OS will
feature a number of radical improvements.
Here are eight features to look
forward to when it comes out next year.
By Jeffrey L. Wilson
80 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
WINDOWS 8 represents the most radical change to Microsoft’s operating
system in quite a long time--perhaps ever. The OS features a number of new
additions and improvements, ranging from a fresh “Metro” interface that was
heavily inspired by Redmond’s Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, to
one of the most talked about changes: Compatibility with non-Intel-powered
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 81
ArM CHIPS Its ability to run on ARM-based archi- NEW INTErfACE The new Metro
tectures will greatly broaden the scope of Win- live tiles, which allows users to ea
dows 8 device types, and live notifications.
architectures. This change makes it capable of running on ARM-based com-
puting devices.
For the most part, Microsoft has been tight-lipped regarding when Windows
8 will ship, how much the operating system will cost, or if it will come in sev-
eral different editions similar to Windows 7. The general consensus, however,
is that Windows 8 will launch in fall 2012, which is a timeframe based on off-
the-cuff executive statements and leaked schedules. In addition, Windows 7
launched about a year after its 2008 PDC debut, so a fall 2012 timetable isn’t
unreasonable.
At the BUILD convention in Anaheim, California, several weeks ago, we
were able to get our hands on Windows 8’s developer’s build, and unboxed a
Samsung Windows Developer Preview PC. Here are the eight most notewor-
thy new additions to Windows in Windows 8.
82 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
o interface features TOuCH INTErfACE Among other nifty tricks, you can swipe
asily access apps side-to-side between apps, and snap an app in the background
into a sidebar next to your main app.
1]
it Runs on ArM CHIPS ing the “Computer” tile. In a similar fashion
Perhaps the biggest Windows change as Mac OS X Lion borrowed heavily from
is word that Redmond’s new operat- Apple’s iOS, Windows 8 borrows heavily
ing system will now also run on machines from Windows Phone 7. The new operating
other than those using Intel-compatible system features “live tiles,” which lets users
processors. Windows 8 will be able to run access apps and view updated live informa-
on devices powered by ARM-based archi- tion (such as notifications). In addition, Win-
tectures. This will enable the OS to run on dows 8 will offer both full and partial screen
a wide range of computing devices from views of apps, a snap feature that puts one
desktops to tablets. app in a sidebar, a Word-like ribbon comes
to Windows Explorer, and the File Manager
2]
has been streamlined.
it has a NEW INTErfACE
3]
Windows comes with several design
changes, the most notable being the it has a TAbLET-
new Metro interface, which co-exists with CENTrIC MuLTITOuCH
a more traditional Windows 7-like desktop INTErfACE
design. You switch to Metro my clicking the Touch gestures have become a vital part of
“Start” button, and switch back by click- our day-to-day experiences—you bring a
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 83
XbOX LIvE SuPPOrT By bringing Xbox Live to the CLOuD fEATurES Windows 8 u
desktop, Microsoft hopes to combine the PC gam- have SkyDrive accounts so that t
ing and console-gaming experience. their files stored in the cloud.
finger to the screens on your smart phones, and a 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) build
tablets, monitors, and other devices. Micro- without development tools, is available in
soft has showcased touch navigation in Win- the Windows Dev Center. Warning: There’s
dows 8 with side-to-side swipes between no support hotline available should you
apps (as you can in OS X Lion), a snap ges- encounter a problem, but Microsoft will push
ture that brings a running background app out fixes for major issues that may arise.
5]
into a sidebar next to your main app, and a
split-touch keyboard that makes for easier it has XbOX
thumb input when you’re holding a tablet. LIvE SuPPOrT
4]
Microsoft plans to unify its PC gam-
its DEvELOPEr’S ing and console gaming experience—hope-
PrEvIEW IS fully—by bringing Xbox Live to the desktop.
AvAILAbLE NOW Scarce details are know about what this
Microsoft recently released a developer pre- union entails, but Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb,
view, which you can sample if you wish to the director of programming for Xbox, wrote
get the early jump on Windows 8. (We did; in a blog post that “Bringing Xbox Live to
see our hands-on look by clicking here.) The Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you
download, which includes a 64-bit (x64) all the entertainment you want, shared with
build with development tools to build apps the people you care about, made easy.”
84 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
users will each ENHANCED SECurITy Among other improvements, Windows
hey c an access 8 adds full antivirus protection to Windows Defender, and it
makes sure only trusted components are loaded at boot time.
6]
it has buILT-IN users to sample software in trial periods. It
CLOuD fEATurES includes a Spotlight section of curated apps
Windows 8 features tight integra- recommended by Microsoft, as well as sev-
tion with Microsoft’s cloud-based services. eral categories such as Games, Productivity,
Every Windows 8 user will have a SkyDrive and Photography (you can also search by
account (using either a previously created name). Non-Metro style desktop apps will
account, or a new one), in which they can also be sold in the Windows Apps Store.
8]
access files stored on Skydrive just as on the
local machine. Windows 8 will also let users it has
connect to another system on which they’ve ENHANCED
linked Skydrive, giving them access to files SECurITy
on that system—even across firewalls. We know, we know....each version of Win-
7]
dows touts enhanced security. But Win-
it has AN dows 8 ups the security ante by checking at
APP STOrE boot time that only trusted components are
Similar to Mac OS X’s desktop Mac loaded, expanding Windows Defender to
App Store, Microsoft has a Windows Store include full antivirus protection, and an App
in Windows 8. The Windows Store differs Reputation protection that prevents you
from the Mac App Store in that it allows from installing dubious apps.
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 85
Solutions
LAPTOP BuyING GuIDE
What to Look for
In Today’s Laptops
Before going shopping, you need to know which features come
standard these days, and which new technologies are worth the
money. Here’s what your next laptop should have. By Cisco Cheng
G
o online or walk into any store’s thought was the perfectly configured lap-
electronics section to find a lap- top can suddenly be affected by unknown
top, and chances are you will forces, such as a price changes. We’re here
feel paralyzed at the sheer vari- to help you get back into the right mindset,
ety of laptops available. most immediately spot the trends, and finally,
shoppers have a general idea of what their bring home that perfect laptop for you.
laptop should look like and what they want
in terms of features, but are often intimi- Laptop Design is a Key Differentiator
dated by the sheer number and baffling Plastic is still the most commonly used
complexities of the laptops available, which material in laptop frames, and while inex-
have grown to include terms such as net- pensive, manufacturers have managed to
books and Ultrabooks, and small business turn them into art forms. The most common
(as opposed to enterprise) laptops. technique is a process called In-mold Deco-
but don’t lose heart. This buying guide ration (ImD)—a process made popular by
will point you in the right direction, whether HP, Toshiba, and Acer—in which decorative
you’re shopping for an ultraportable or patterns are infused between plastic layers.
something massive to replace your desk- This process has evolved into textures and
top, because your decision to buy what you etched imprints, where the patterns can be
86 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011
APPLE MACBOOK
PrO 13
Like a growing
number of laptops,
the macbook Pro
is encased in
aluminum, a more
desirable material
than plastic.
sONy vAIO
vPC-Z214Gx
This laptop has
a carbon-fiber lid,
which is used less
frequently than
aluminum and
magnesium because
of its higher cost.
felt by running your fingers over them. sis than plastic. In fact, a PC manufacturer
In the end, though, plastics are often would find it difficult to compete in this
associated with cheap laptops. What you market without using this material in many
should be on the lookout for are designs of its laptops. magnesium alloy is more com-
that employ metal. The most common of monly found in business laptops that place
those is aluminum, found in laptops such as a strong emphasis on durability (check out
the Apple macbook Pro 13-inch (Thunder- our business laptop buying guide). Carbon
bolt), Dell XPS 15z, and HP envy 14 (Sandy fiber, which was used on the lid of the Sony
bridge. They have a more luxurious look vAIo vPC-Z214GX, is yet another attractive
and can be fashioned into a thinner chas- material, but is less used than aluminum and
november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 87
sOLuTIONs LAPTOP BuyING GuIDE
magnesium, as it is expensive to make.
Bigger screen, Heavier Weight
sAMsuNG
Weight and screen size are directly cor- rC512-s02
related to one another. The cutoff point This is one of the
between a laptop that should stay perma- lightest 15-inch
laptops available;
nently on your desk and one that can be a
it’s even lighter than
commuting companion is a 14-inch wide- some 14-inch laptops
screen. There are exceptions, of course. on the market.
The Apple macbook Pro 15-inch (Thunder-
bolt) and Samsung rC512-S02 are two of
the lightest 15-inch laptops—lighter, in fact,
than some of the 14-inch ones in the mar-
ket. A 13- or 14-inch widescreen means that
you can still be productive without sacrific-
ing portability. The Toshiba Portege r835-
P50X and Sony vAIo vPC-SA2FGX/bI are
prime examples of superb 13-inch laptops.
Fourteen-inch models like the Asus U46e-
bAL5, Samsung QX411-W01, and HP Pavil-
ion dm4-2070us offer a terrific blend of
features and components, but they won’t
weigh you down. Smaller than that, you’ll be
venturing into netbook territory, which is an
entirely different category of laptops.
Get a screen larger than 14 inches and
you’ll have to contend with deeper and
wider dimensions, which your laptop bag
may not have room for. Screen sizes that
range between 16 and 18 inches are usu-
TOsHIBA
ally reserved for media centers, gaming POrTEGE
rigs, and desktop replacements, such as r835-P50x
the Acer Aspire AS8950G-9839 (18 inches) It may be only a
13-inch laptop, but
and Alienware m17X (Sandy bridge) . These
users won’t be
massive systems often have luxuries like disappointed by
high resolutions, hardcore gaming graphics, its offerings.
and a wealth of state of the art features.
88 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011
Asus u46E-BAL5
This 14-inch laptop
is rich in components
and features, while
still being attractively
lightweight.
ACEr AsPIrE
As8950G-9839
At 18 inches, this
behemoth is no
travel companion,
but it’s jam-packed
with killer graphics
and cutting-edge
features.
november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 89
sOLuTIONs LAPTOP BuyING GuIDE
What’s New in Laptop Technologies nologies have grown to include two new
even the cheapest laptops come with many ones. The first one is called WimAX, a wire-
of the features you would find on a $2,000 less broadband access technology that
laptop. Ample USb ports (3 to 4 minimum) provides performance throughputs similar
are pretty standard nowadays. USb 3.0, to 802.11 Wi-Fi, except the coverage area
which offers faster transfer speeds and spans an entire city rather than one occu-
greater connectivity bandwidths than USb pied by a house. These embedded chips can
2.0, can already be found in laptop of all literally replace your current Internet pack-
sizes. The port is usually colored in blue or age for less than you’re paying now. You can
has the letters “SS” (Super Speed) labeled find these chips in the Samsung rC512-S02,
next to it. Apple, meanwhile, is touting its Dell Latitude e6420, and Lenovo ThinkPad
Thunderbolt technology, which carries X220.
transfer data rates that are even faster than The other up-and-coming wireless tech-
USb 3.0. Look for a laptop with one of the nology is called Intel’s Wireless Display
USb ports doubling as an eSATA port, so 2.0, or WiDi 2.0, for short, which is already
you can expand storage capacity when the in its second generation (the latest version
internal hard drive isn’t roomy enough. most supports 1080p video streams, protected
of the time, you won’t even use a port like content, and 5.1 surround sound). It’s very
eSATA since most laptops nowadays come similar to a wireless version of HDmI, except
with at least 500Gb of storage (netbooks there’s no dongle or piece hanging off of the
are averaging 250Gb-320Gb). Upgrading USb port—the technology is built into the
to a 640Gb-750Gb hard drive won’t cost laptop. With WiDi 2.0, you can wirelessly
you an arm and a leg either, but do so only connect your laptop to an HDTv, without
if you’re a video junkie or an aspiring video the use of clunky vGA or HDmI cables. You
content creator. most people don’t need all do, however, need to purchase the net-
that hard-drive space. gear Push2Tv HD (PTv2000) receiver that
Although vGA is still the most common has to be tethered to your HDTv. WiDi 2.0
way to present Powerpoint slides on a big is available in laptops like the Asus U56e-
screen, technologies like DisplayPort and bbL5, Toshiba r835-P50X, and Toshiba
HDmI are better equipped to stream high Satellite e305-S1990X.
quality videos and audio. With the excep- Unless you’re talking netbooks, a DvD
tion of netbooks and sub-$500 laptops, burner is the de facto standard for internal
most laptops have an HDmI port or Display- optical drives. blu-ray drives are coming
Port. The Dell XPS 15z and Lenovo Thinkpad down in prices, and you can find one in the
X1, for example, have both. Dell XPS 15, Samsung rC512-S02, and HP
Aside from 802.11 Wi-Fi, mobile broad- Pavilion dv7-6163us, for a reasonable price.
band (3G), and bluetooth, wireless tech- of course, the lack of an optical drive
90 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011
DELL
LATITuDE E6420
In addition to offering
Wi-Fi, 3G, and blue-
tooth, the e6420 also
offers WimAX
capability. HP PAvILION
Dv7-6163us
one attractive
component of this
HP model is its
blu-ray drive.
LENOvO
THINKPAD x220
Like the Latitude
e6420, the ThinkPad
X220 also includes
WimAX as an option.
november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 91
sOLuTIONs LAPTOP BuyING GuIDE
isn’t a deal breaker anymore, especially if mize downtime. of course, you can’t put
you’re intent on minimizing weight. The a price tag on peace of mind. There are
Apple macbook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt) instances when the logic board or the dis-
and Samsung Series 9, for instance, give play—the most expensive pieces of a lap-
you everything but the internal optical top—fail, and while rare, it can cost you half
drive. A Webcam and a media card reader of what the laptop is worth. Faulty compo-
are already integral parts of any laptop or nents usually break down during the first
netbook, as video conferencing and digital year; anything after that is probably your
photography are as common as surfing the fault.
Web.
once you check off all of these standard Weighing the Netbook Option
features, you can go on to look for ones that As the competition grows more fierce in
are specific to your individual needs. the netbook category, these little laptops,
which were once considered mere Web
Buying an Extended Warranty -surfing and word-processing devices, are
most laptops are backed by a complimen- now being pegged as primary laptops for
tary 1-year parts and labor warranty. Asus everyday tasks. Had you bought a netbook
and Costco sell laptops that come with a year ago, you would have been dealt a
standard two-year warranties. The standard 10-inch widescreen, a small keyboard, and
warranty is a limited one, so it won’t cover a basic set of features. For less than $500
accidents that stem from a spilled drink, a today, the HP Pavilion dm1z, Asus eeePC
key that was scraped off by a finger nail, or a 1215n, and Lenovo ThinkPad X120e have
drop to a hard surface. extended warranties screens that range between 11 and 12 inches,
are also available. a full-size keyboard, and an HDmI port.
most laptop manufacturers also sell acci- Though smaller, the Toshiba mini nb305-
dental coverage as a separate plan, on top n600 and HP mini 5103 have the best typ-
of extended warranties that work on top of ing and navigating experience on a 10-inch
a standard one, so you might end up spend- platform.
ing close to $300 for three years of compre- You’ll also find the Intel Atom platform,
hensive coverage. Apple offers a maximum made up of the Atom processor, integrated
3-year extended warranty ($250), while graphics, and memory (usually 1Gb) in
most Windows-based laptop manufactur- many netbooks. The Intel Atom may not
ers will offer up to 4 years. be the fastest processor, but it’s the most
our rule of thumb is that if the warranty energy-efficient chip you can get on a
costs more than 15 percent of the laptop, netbook platform. The dual-core Atom,
you’re better off spending the money on dubbed the Intel Atom n550 (1.5GHz), can
backup drives or backup services that mini- be found in a handful of netbooks, including
92 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011
Asus EEEPC 1215N
With a price tag just
shy of $500, this net-
book boasts a 12-inch
widescreen, full-size
keyboard, HDmI port,
and more.
LENOvO
ThINkPAD X120E
This impressive
netbook runs on
the energy-efficient
Intel Atom
processor.
november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 93
sOLuTIONs LAPTOP BuyING GuIDE
the Asus eeePC 1015Pem, HP mini 5103, and ciency. If you desire all-day battery life, it’s
Acer Aspire one D260-1270. The fastest best to go with a low-voltage or an Atom
netbook processors, though not necessarily processor, such as those found in the HP
the most energy efficient, belong to AmD. Pavilion dm3t and netbooks, respectively.
The company has already made a strong Intel also has quad-core Core i7s for
impression in the netbook market, with its laptops, which are ideal for performance
chips performing as well if not better than enthusiasts and avid gamers. AmD has its
their Intel counterparts. own multi-core processors as well (triple-
many of these netbooks will run fine on or quad-core), called the Phenoms. most of
1Gb of memory, and many of them, espe- these processors can be found in desktop
cially the AmD-equipped ones, ship with replacement, media centers, and gaming
2Gb to 4Gb of memory. As for operating laptops.
systems, netbooks are almost exclusively Unless you’re a part-time gamer or a CAD
Windows 7, either Starter edition or Home user, most students will find that integrated
Premium (AmD netbooks ship with Home graphics is more than enough for graphics
Premium). netbook batteries start with related tasks, even more so now with Intel’s
3-cell (30Wh) units, but many netbooks are Sandy bridge technology (4 times graphics
now standardizing on 6-cell batteries. our improvement over previous version). High-
battery tests have shown that the smaller end graphics cards are terrific for 3D games,
batteries will get you anywhere from 3-4 transcoding a 1080p video, or watching a
hours of battery life on a single charge, while blu-ray movie, but like a fast processor, they
the bigger ones range between 7-9 hours. If also feast on the battery. nvidia (optimus)
your activities include trips abroad and all- and Apple (Automatic Graphics Switching)
day classes, consider looking for netbooks have technologies that leverage two graph-
that ship with 6-cell options. ics chips—an integrated and a discrete ver-
sion—and the switch is done seamlessly,
New Intel Technology Already Here depending on what application the laptop
As for the rest of the laptop market, the is running. You can find switchable graph-
most dominant processor chips come from ics technologies in laptops like the Dell XPS
Intel. For instance, you can choose one that 15z and Apple macbook Pro 15-inch (Thun-
maximizes performance or one that favors derbolt). AmD has its own switching graph-
battery life. or you can choose one that ics technology, too, although the switch is
plays to both strengths: The Second Gener- done manually, in software.
ation (codenamed Sandy bridge) Intel Core
i3, Core i5, and Core i7s are currently the Battery Life
most popular processor brands and have A big battery can be your biggest ally on a
the benefits of both power and battery effi- travel-hectic day. many laptops, including
94 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011
DELL xPs 15Z
Like the macbook
Pro 15-inch below,
the XPS 15Z offers
switchable graph-
ics technologies.
APPLE MACBOOK
PrO 15-INCH
Its battery may not
be removable, but
it’s big and holds
an impressive charge.
netbooks, are sold with multiple battery easily surpass the 10-hour mark. It’s always
options. Apple laptops, on the other hand, a good idea to look into additional batter-
have non-removable batteries, but they’re ies, especially if you spend more time on the
bigger than the average ones. In this case, road than you do in the office or at home.
figure out where battery life ranks in the You should also look at the battery’s capac-
grand scheme of things. For instance, main- ity, which is usually measured in Watt-hours.
stream laptops come with a 6-cell battery Two batteries claiming to be 6-cells can have
option, which lasts between 5 to 7 hours on different capacities. A big battery is accom-
a single charge, while ultraportables and panied by some heft, but the weight gain is
business laptops tend to have multiple bat- worth it if it means you can leave the system
tery options that, when used in tandem, can unplugged from dawn ’til dusk. ■
november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 95
sOLuTIONs ANDROID DEVICEs
Android Rooting:
What You Should
Know Before
You Try It
serious tinkerers who aren’t afraid of voiding warranties find
rooting a way to get better results from their Android devices.
Here’s a quick explanation of how to get started.
By Jill Duffy
W
hile putting together a to the lowest level of Android’s Linux sub-
list of the best Android system.
apps, I asked dozens Warning: If you didn’t pick up on the
of Android devotees clues above, rooting isn’t for everyone and
what were their favor- can have serious repercussions. While it’s
ites, and a few fired back a short list of apps perfect legal, it can void your phone’s war-
“for root users.” ranty (more on that below). And if you don’t
rooting an Android phone is kind of like know what you’re doing or aren’t careful,
jailbreaking an iPhone. In laymen’s terms, you could potentially destroy your phone.
it means you’re cracking open the hood to rooting also opens up more security risks
access parts of the operating system that because you can download apps that have
were intentionally locked to prevent you access to files that would normally be hid-
from messing them up, or doing anything den from them.
to your phone that the manufacturer or car- So, if you’re perfectly happy with your
rier doesn’t want you to do. A slightly more Android phone as is, there is no reason to
technical explanation is to say that root- root it. If you’re a tinkerer and understand
ing means giving yourself “root access,” or the possible ramifications, then there are
greater privileges, or administrator control, several reasons you might want to root.
96 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011
WHy ROOT ANDROID? dures could cause irreparable damage. Just
The purpose of rooting is to make the as important, not every rooted phone will
most of the device that you own by getting be able to do what you might have been
around the limitations that the manufac- hoping it would. For example, not every
turer or carrier has put in place—and again, rooted device has an unlocked bootloader
many of those barriers were put in place to (necessary to flash roms), so make sure
prevent you from accidentally destroying you understand what you are getting into
your own device. and exactly what you want the outcome to
Here are some examples of what a root be if you root your phone.
user can do: 2. Read or watch the how-to beforehand.
• Access the flash memory chip, make sure to read or watch the entire tutor-
which you need to do if you want to ial before you begin, because there are
modify the Android OS or replace it often steps that are crucial that may appear
with a customized version out of order. For example, sometimes you
need to disable antivirus software on your
• Make the apps on your phone computer at a certain step for the rooting
run faster process to go smoothly.
3. Learn how to un-root. rooting is
• Remove pre-installed apps to free reversible on most phones—again, check
up space whether yours is before you even begin.
So before you root, make sure you know
• Turn the phone into a 3G/4G WiFi how to undo it. Just as it’s important to
hotspot without paying an extra fee. read the complete instructions before you
start rooting, it’s a good idea to figure out
There are many other reasons to root, too, how to reverse it before doing anything,
but the ones listed here are certainly among as well. because rooting may void your
the most popular. phone’s warranty, you’ll have to revoke the
root access anytime you need to take your
TIPs fOR ROOTING phone in for service.
1. Be phone-specific. This tip comes first 4. Power up. never tinker with anything
for a reason. It’s crucial that you look up less than a full battery. one of the most dev-
information for your phone, and not just astating things that can go wrong while in
for Android across the board. Look for root mode is running out of battery mid-
tutorials that are specific to the make and way through installing a custom oS or rom
model of your phone, as well as any com- (read-only memory, or the phone’s inter-
mon problems. The rooting process varies nal memory where your apps are stored).
by phone, and following the wrong proce- If your Android dies before the new system
november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 97
SOLUTIONS ANDrOID DEvICES
is installed fully, it’s extremely difficult to
repair and restore the phone.
5. Stay away from extremes. root users
will be enticed to push their phones past
its previous limits for maximum perfor-
mance—a phone that works faster. but
remember, the phone makers put limits on
your phone for a reason, in this case, to pre-
vent the phone’s processor from overheat- rOOTZWIkI This forum categorizes rooting
ing and burning out. root users who know topics by device brands.
what they’re doing bypass these limits, but
should set new limits or other failsafe mea- resources will be invaluable, do bear in
sures to keep the phone from overheating. mind the other tips outlined in this article.
If you don’t know how to manage these set- remember that even the most helpful
tings, don’t tempt fate by trying to turn your guy on a forum isn’t necessarily a techni-
phone into a lightning-fast machine. It’s cal writer, and his tutorial may be out of
pretty fast already. order or not specify which specific phone
6. When in doubt, ask for help. If at model he has in hand, or take for granted
any point in rooting or unrooting you some other assumption. Comb through
get stuck, search for help because you’re the advice you find meticulously before
likely to find it. Android root users have you decide to take it.
been known to hang around a few help- If you’re looking for tutorials to walk you
ful hacker forums, such as xda-developers. through rooting, try Lifehacker’s guide to
com and rootzwiki.com, where you can rooting Android devices.
find answers to your questions and solu-
tions to your problems. While these online 7 APPS fOr rOOT USErS
Deciding to root your phone shouldn’t be
a split-second decision. But ultimately,
it’s your phone, you own it, and you can
do what you want. So if you do root your
Android, here are seven starter apps
you’ll want to download. You’ll need the
first and second apps immediately in
order to actually do anything with your
root access, but the other apps are all
xDA-DEvELOPErS.COM This is a helpful optional and can be downloaded in any
hacker forum that covers Android rooting. order.
98 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION november 2011
ROM MANAGER
suPERusER ROOT ExPLORER TITANIuM Lets you manage
Lets you manage fILE MANAGER BACkuP ROOT and install roms
superuser (root ($3.80) backs up all your from your SD card,
user) permissions; Shows you the apps, removes and organize and
this is the first app files you can bloatware, and perform backups
a newly rooted now access as a otherwise helps and restores.
phone needs root user; this is you manage apps.
installed on it. the second app
a newly rooted
phone needs on it.
sETCPu fOR ROOT usERs
Changes the CPU settings for
ADfREE ANDROID WIRELEss TETHER overclocking (going faster than
removes most fOR ROOT usERs the limit) and lets you set thresh-
ads from your Turns your phone olds (like a temperature) to tell it
browser and apps. into a mobile when to stop; works only on select
hotspot. phones.
november 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 99
Editor
Editors’ Choices
in Key Categories
For the complete
reviews of these
products and more
Editors’ Choices check out
go.pcmag.com/editorschoice
DEskTOPs DEskTOP rEPLACEMENT sTANDArD INkjET
Dell XPs 15z $1,534 direct Epson WorkForce 60
MAINsTrEAM
$129.99 direct
Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5) NETBOOk
$750 direct samsung NF310-A01 $400 street ALL-IN-ONE
BusINEss
HP Photosmart estation
BuDGET/VALuE
$399 direct
NEW Gateway DX4860-uB33P Dell Vostro 3350 $741 direct
$599.99 list kodak EsP C310 $99.99 direct
Lenovo ThinkPad T420s
$1,518 direct MFC INkjET
MIDPrICED
Brother MFC-j6710DW
HP Pavilion p6727c-b $749.99 BuDGET
$300 street
list Asus u56E-BBL5 $649.99 list
PHOTO PrINTEr
GAMING/MuLTIMEDIA TABLETs Epson stylus Photo
Digital storm Black Ops Enix MAINsTrEAM
r2000 $499.99 direct
Edition $3,267 direct Apple iPad 2 (Wi-Fi + 3G) 64GB PrOjECTOrs
$699 direct
NEW HP Pavilion Elite h8-1050
$1,299.99 direct BusINEss NEC Display solutions
NP-M300Ws $1,099 direct
ALL-IN-ONE Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Tablet
$1579 direct Canon rEALis sX80 Mark II
Apple iMac 21.5-inch
$3,999 direct
(Thunderbolt) $1,199 list sTOrAGE
HP Omni 100 $559.99 list POrTABLE
sCANNErs
TOuCH-sCrEEN seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Canon Canoscan LiDE110 Color
HP Touchsmart 610-1150y ultra-Portable Drive (500GB) Image scanner $59.99 direct
$1,199.99 list $99.99 list
DOCuMENT sCANNEr
DEskTOP Xerox DocuMate 3115
BusINEss
Western Digital MyBook $399.99 direct
HP Compaq 4000 Pro studio Edition II $430 list
$549 direct NETWOrkING
NETWOrk-ATTACHED sTOrAGE
NETTOP
synology Diskstation Ds1511+
Acer revo rL100-ur20P Western Digital My Passport
NAs $900 list
$569.99 direct Essential sE $159.99 list
LCD MONITOrs Cisco Linksys E1200
LAPTOPs & NETBOOks Viewsonic VX2258wm Wireless-N router $60 list
$339 street Netgear N750 Wireless Dual
MAINsTrEAM
NEC Multisync PA301W Band Gigabit router
Asus u46E-BAL5 $699.99 list $130 street
$2299 list
CONsuMEr uLTrA-LOW VOLTAGE
HP Pavilion dm3t $625 direct NEW Apple Thunderbolt Display HDTVs
$999 direct
uLTrAPOrTABLE PLAsMA
HP Pavilion dv7-6143cl $999.99 PrINTErs samsung PN51D8000
list $2,299.99 list
MONOCHrOME LAsEr
GAMING LCD
Brother HL-2270DW $150 street
Alienware M17X (sandy Bridge) sony Bravia kDL-46EX720
$2,254 direct COLOr LAsEr $1,439 direct
Dell 2150cdn $399.99 direct
MuLTIMEDIA LED
Acer Aspire As8950G-9839 Lexmark X548dte LG Infinia 47LW5600
$1,499.99 direct $1,749 direct $1,699 list
100 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2011
s’ G
GAMING OFFICE & PrODuCTIVITy
BLu-rAy PLAyErs
samsung BD-D5700 $199.99 list sony Playstation 3 120GB QuickBooks Premier Edition
(Ps3 slim) $299.99 direct 2011 $399.95 list
DIGITAL CAMErAs Nintendo 3Ds $249.99 list Microsoft Office for Mac 2011
COMPACT $119 list
Canon Powershot s95 GPs DEVICEs
$399.99 direct Office 2010 Professional
Garmin nüvi 2350LMT $499 direct
COMPACT, INTErCHANGEABLE LENs $229.99 list
Basecamp Free
sony Alpha NEX-C3 $649.99 list E-BOOk rEADErs
TurboTax Premier Online (Tax
D-sLr year 2010) $49.95 direct
Barnes & Noble Nook Color
Nikon D300 $1,800 street $249 direct Google Docs (summer 2011)
Nikon D5100 $899.99 list Barnes & Noble Nook Touch Free
suPErZOOM reader $139 direct
IPHONE/IPAD APPs
Nikon Coolpix s9100
$329.95 direct HEADPHONEs Zite (for iPad) free
Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear ooVoo (for iPhone) free
DIGITAL VIDEO CAMErAs
Headphones $179.95 list Flipboard (for iPad) free
sony Bloggie Touch 8GB (MHs-
Ts20/s) $199.99 direct
BLuETOOTH HEADsETs Photogene $2.99 direct
Aliph jawbone Era $129 direct
sony HDr-sr11 Note Taker HD (for iPad)
shure sE215 $119 list $4.99 direct
$1,099.99 direct
NEWLogitech Wireless Gaming
DIGITAL PHOTO & VIDEO ANDrOID APPs
Headset G930 $159.99 direct
ooVoo
VIDEO-EDITING sOFTWArE
CELL PHONEs free
CyberLink DVD suite 7 ultra
$129.95 direct AT&T MuLTIMEDIA
NEW samsung Galaxy s II
PHOTO EDITING
from $199.99 with contract Adobe Acrobat X from $199 list
Adobe Photoshop Cs5
Extended $699 to $899 list sPrINT Adobe Photoshop
NEW Apple iPhone 4s Elements 9 $99.99 list
Aperture 3 $199 direct $199 list CyberLink PowerDirector 9
POrTABLE MEDIA PLAyErs Motorola Photon 4G $99.95 list
$199.99 list Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1
Microsoft Zune 120GB $249 list HTC Evo 4G $299.99 list $299.99 direct
Apple iPod touch (4th LG rumor Touch Apple iTunes 10.4 Free
generation with Camera) 8GB, $79.99–$279.99 list
$229 direct Apple iLife ’11 $49 direct
T-MOBILE
Apple iPod nano (5th gen.) HTC sensation 4G $199 list sECurITy
16GB, $179 direct
T-Mobile G2x With Google ANTIVIrus
$199 list AVG Anti-Virus Free 2012 Free
sPEAkErs/DOCks
VErIZON WIrELEss Norton Internet security
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air HTC Thunderbolt suite 2012
$599.95 list $249 street $69.99 direct for three licenses
NEWBose soundLink Wireless NEW Motorola Droid Bionic Norton AntiVirus 2012
Mobile speaker $299.95 direct $299 list $39.99 direct
NOVEMBER 2011 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 101
® Editor-in-ChiEf, pC magazinE nEtwork Dan Costa
Editor, pC magazinE digital Edition Stephanie Chang
dirECtor of onlinE ContEnt, EXECUtiVE prodUCErVicki B. Jacobson
nEwS dirECtor Peter Pachal
CrEatiVE dirECtor Chris Phillips
homE pagE Editor Don Sears
fEatUrES Editor Eric Griffith
SEnior fEatUrES writEr Chandra Steele
fEatUrES writEr Jennifer Bergen
managEr, onlinE prodUCtion Yun-San Tsai
prodUCErS Mark Lamorgese, Whitney A. Reynolds
nEwS EditorS Chloe Albanesius (East Coast), Mark Hachman (West Coast)
www.pcmag.com rEportErS Leslie Horn, Damon Poeter, Sarah Yin
CommErCE prodUCEr Arielle Rochette
aSSiStant Editor Meredith Popolo
Utility program managEr Tim Smith
aSSiStant dESignEr Jackie Smith
ContribUting EditorS Tim Bajarin, John R. Delaney, John C. Dvorak, Tim Gideon, Bill Howard,
Edward Mendelson
pC labS managing EditorS Sean Carroll (software, security, Internet, business),
Wendy Sheehan Donnell (consumer electronics), Laarni Almendrala Ragaza (hardware)
lEad analyStS Cisco Cheng (laptops), Samara Lynn (business, networking), Michael Muchmore
(software), Matthew Murray (DIY, components), Neil J. Rubenking, (security),
Joel Santo Domingo (desktops), Sascha Segan (mobile), M. David Stone (printers, scanners)
SEnior mobilE analySt Jamie Lendino
analyStS Jim Fisher (cameras), Tony Hoffman (printers, scanners), Jeffrey Wilson (software,
Internet, networking)
jUnior analyStS Alex Colon (consumer electronics), Jill Duffy (software, Internet, networking),
Will Greenwald (consumer electronics), David Pierce (consumer electronics),
Natalie Shoemaker (hardware), Brian Westover (hardware)
inVEntory Control Coordinator Nicole Graham
Staff photographEr Scott Schedivy
SEnior ViCE prESidEnt, digital SalESEric Koepele 212-503-5250
ViCE prESidEnt, markEting and SalES opErationS Marcella Regniault 212-503-5464
markEting managEr Lindsay Garrison 212-503-5270
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ziff daViS inC.
ChiEf EXECUtiVE offiCEr Vivek Shah
ChiEf opErating offiCEr Steven Horowitz
ChiEf finanCial offiCEr Andy Johns
ChiEf tEChnology offiCEr Joey Fortuna
gEnEral CoUnSEl Stephen Hicks
SEnior ViCE prESidEnt, ContEnt Dan Costa
SEnior ViCE prESidEnt and gEnEral managEr, data SolUtionSBennett Zucker
SEnior ViCE prESidEnt, bUSinESS dEVElopmEnt Anurag Harsh
SEnior ViCE prESidEnt, digital SalES Eric Koepele
ViCE prESidEntS Larry Chevres (engineering), Kathleen Kincaid (product development),
Marcella Regniault (marketing and sales), Archie Rosenblum (technology)
dirECtor Joseph Mirabella (Licensing)
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