Talking about Flash Drives feels a little bit silly on some level. I mean, either they work or they don’t work. If they don’t work you end up wasting time and money buying them. However, if they do work they end up being a very useful tool. As a college student I end up having to carry large files that include projects and papers to school with me sometimes. I cannot always print out the projects or if I can I might rather save my paper and do it at school. This means I need a reliable flash drive. I bought a few before school began and they didn’t work for me at all. I ended up tossing them out.

When I received the Mimobot I was struck by how adorable it was. It looks like a miniature Darth Vader. They don’t get any cuter than this. I put it in my computer because I needed to transfer a project over to take to a class for an interactive media presentation. When I transferred it over the first time, it transferred so quickly that I opened all of the files just to make sure that they would work properly. I was glad to see that it was both fast and accurate as all of the files transferred without any problems at all. It took seconds and I was ready to go.

If you are not familiar with the Mimobots you can look them up at the Mimobot website. Star Wars including Darth Vader, C3PO, Storm Troopers, and Wickets are just some of the options. They also offer characters from such franchises as Hello Kitty, Halo, Happy Tree Friends, and Domo among others. This is just a small selection of flash fashions offered. You can see the whole line available on the website.

The standard size for each Mimobot is 2GB, but you can get them upgraded up to 16GB. Prices begin at $25 and go up from there depending on the size that you’re interested in owning. Some might consider this pricey and it is higher than the average, but you’re also getting a chance to own something that not everyone else is going to have and it works perfectly, so it’s well worth the money. Mimobots are fun and relatively inexpensive considering how much use you can get out of them. I highly recommend checking them out and buying your favorite one!

Technorati Tags: Computers, Accessories, USB Flash Drive, Star Wars, Darth Vader, Designer Flash Drive, Product Reviews, Electronic Reviews

I’ve seen the new mouse add-ons for laptops for some time, but something has stopped me from buying one. The fact that they make them so small always kind of weirded me out. It wasn’t that I thought I would have a problem using them, I just couldn’t get over how small they were. However, I figured it was time to get over it when we received a Life Works iHome USB Laptop Mouse for review.

The setup couldn’t be easier. You just take the mini-USB plug-in and plug it in and your mouse should begin working within seconds. My computer picked up the hardware instantly and was working right away. Setup was as simple as could be and using it was a breeze. Once the computer picked it up, I didn’t have any problems.

I like the stylish look of the tiny mouse. The iHome Laptop Mouse they sent over to me is pink. I am normally not a huge pink fan, but the specific color they sent me is adorable. Beyond the look I love how convenient it is. I can toss it in my laptop bag and it won’t take up any space. Likewise, the USB hookup is so small that I can leave it plugged in the USB port and won’t even notice that it’s there unless I need to use that port for some reason.

Beyond the stylish look you have a mouse that provides standard functionality. The mouse offers a left and right click space with a scroller in the middle. As you can see from the picture, the only thing that sets this iHome laptop mouse apart from all the other products out there is the size. I got used to the size fairly quickly, but I have smaller hands. If you have larger hands than the average female you might not enjoy a mouse as small as this iHome Laptop Mouse. There are products like this on the market, but I cannot really compare them because this is the smallest, truly portable mouse that I have ever used.

According to the iHome website, this Laptop Mouse works on devices up to 20 ft away. I cannot comment on this one way or the other because I have only used it on my laptop which is generally on my lap or right next to where the mouse is scrolling. You can read more about what Life Works says about this Laptop Mouse by visiting their website.

You can buy Life Works and iHome products at most stores these days. After looking around for the Life Works iHome Laptop Mouse I found prices of around $30. This is probably my only complaint. While there are more expensive options out there, you can also find a mini-mouse for less than $30. If you are looking for something that you are only going to use occasionally then I would recommend purchasing something cheaper to save some money. However, if you will be using this for every day use then the iHome Laptop Mouse will definitely be something worthy of your purchase.

Technorati Tags: iHome, Computers, Mouse, USB, Mid-Size, Mini, Life Works, Product Reviews, Electronic Reviews

I can look back now and say that I should have been backing everything up. The reality is that in three out of four of those instances I was backing things up. I admit that the first time I had to learn the hard way, but the other times it was more a matter of my not backing things up as much as I should be. I have an external hard drive these days and I do weekly backups to make sure that I don’t lose anything. Still, it is possible that I could lose something. With this in mind, I am always on the lookout for the next best thing in computer safety.

The Rebit is considered to be ridiculously simple in terms of backup safety. The company contacted me for a review and it sounded so good that I couldn’t wait to try it out. I received a 320GB Rebit backup system with the ability to use it on multiple PCs. This is literally an out of the box solution. The instructions are like “plug it in.” The only other step once it is plugged in via the USB cord that is provided is to click Start Protecting this Computer with Rebit when the prompt asks you to make a choice after plugging it in.

That’s seriously all it takes. When you plug it in the first time your system does a complete copy over to the Rebit. This is going to take a while, but it’s done in the background so you shouldn’t even notice it going on. From there, any chances made to your computer are copied to the Rebit as they are made. This ensures that you never lose any sensitive data.

If you run more than one hard drive you might need another backup solution because Rebit only handles the main C drive. That being said, the average person isn’t running two internal hard drives so this isn’t going to be an issue for the average person. This is about the only complaint that I could think to bring up and it’s not even really a complaint. It’s more an observation that doesn’t even actually affect me or my buying decision. I know it will affect some people though so it’s worth the mention.

I am happy to say that I have not had to use my Rebit to restore anything, but if that time comes it’s seriously as easy as opening the Rebit and dragging the folders I need to the newly formatted system. Of course, if I didn’t reformat and only lost a file, thanks to the real time backup, I could just as easily retrieve that from Rebit, too. This fact alone makes it nearly invaluable to any serious computer user that works on their computer or uses it for school.

With this in mind, Rebit is fairly cost effective. They offer a number of options for every pocket book. You can get the complete systems in various sizes and for single PC or multi PC use. You can also buy just the software and hook it up to your own external hard drive and save a few bucks that way. The 320GB system runs about $100, which is nothing to complain about.

For the amount of security it offers and the relative ease in which it provides it, this product is a definite must have. You can check out the various Rebit products at the Rebit Website. We highly recommend you pick one up for yourself and any serious computer user on your gift giving list.

Technorati Tags: Rebit, Security, Computer, Software Review, External Hard Drive, Ridiculously Simple Backup, Holiday Review, Highly Recommended

When Sony approached me to test out the Sony Mylo Com-2 (the Mylo for short) I actually had never heard of it. I admit, thanks to a number of full-time blogs that some very cool electronics pass me by, unless they are thrown at me. The Mylo was one of those electronics that I was given the chance to review. The best way to describe the Mylo is as a personal communicator. Instead of focusing on telephone-based communication, the Mylo handles most things internet based, which makes it a handy dandy tool in this day and age.

Using Wi-fi you can hook up just about anywhere. I believe the website states that you can enjoy free Wi-fi at more than 9,000 restaurants and public establishments. If you’re running a router in your house, you should also be able to hook up there, as well. This is not entirely necessary, but if you’re watching a movie or doing something else and do not want to be bothered with a computer, it is nice to have the option of using your Mylo.

Look/Appearance:
The Mylo is a sleek rectangular device with rounded edges that comes in either black or white. The black one was sent to me and I have to admit, I am a sucker for black electronics. A qwerty keyboard is used to handle typing. The keyboard is tucked under the device and can be slid out when you are ready to type. The Mylo comes with a case that is black with white edges. The Mylo label is etched into the center of the case on one side and on the other side there is a mesh holder where you can keep your headphones and stylus.

The screen is a decent size for what the Mylo is used for. Anything bigger and Sony could have run the risk of making an overly clunky gadget. The screen is not too glossy, which can have a tendency to get on my nerves, so that was another plus. Overall, the design is attractive, which only adds to the appeal.

Affordability:
In this economy, the affordability of the Mylo is largely going to depend on who you are and what you do. This probably isn’t going to be something you buy for a teenager, though it may be a much wiser choice than a cell phone for them. You can pick up the Mylo for around $300 at Amazon.com. Other stores should have it, as well and I am sure that prices vary some, but this is the main ballpark.

What this means is that it is a pretty expensive toy. If you’re using it for more than a toy though, it may be worth your while. It’s ultimately going to depend on your use. I use it for email and Instant Messenger communication while I am out, since I currently am void of a Blackberry or an iPhone, which makes these methods of communication a snap through your phone. If I had them, then the Mylo may not be as important to me. However, since I don’t I get quite a lot of use from it. It keeps me in touch with the people I work with and it doesn’t cost me the extra money that buying a new cellphone mid-contract would.

The real question is would I buy it if I had to? The answer is yes. I have to admit, my Mylo has grown on me. The other day I was in the doctor’s office waiting for my mother to get into her appointment. As usual, the doctor was running late. No wi-fi meant no communication, but I still had plenty of things to keep me occupied. At the time, the game section and solitaire were keeping me occupied. Later, once I had my game fill, I moved over to the note section and wrote a to-do list, which included this review.

In that instance it was worth it to me, because I needed something to keep me occupied work wise. Even though I was unable to connect to the internet, which is the primary purpose of the Mylo, I was able to use the notepad feature to begin writing reviews. This allowed me to handle business where I normally couldn’t and made it worth it to me. The affordability factor for you will ultimately depend on what you are using the Mylo for and the amount of use you will get from it.

Specs/Features:
Some of the most attractive features include the following:
Off the computer Instant Messaging including AIM, Yahoo, and Skype: IM is so much more discreet than a telephone call and if you prefer the text element this is all the better for you. As long as you’re in a hot spot you have your choice of messengers to choose from.

Voice calling with Skype: While this is not a phone by any means, if you do wish to make a call Skype on the Mylo offers a clear, easy to use option that handles as well as a phone would.

A 1.3 megapixel camera that includes a photo-editing program: If you want to take pictures on the go, this is the perfect way to get your shot with ease. You can also edit it while on the Mylo and then transfer it to your PC once you’re done.

Technical Specs Include:
802.11 b/g wi-fi
3.5-inch 16:9 high-resolution (800 x 400 pixels) color LCD touch-screen
Slide-out QWERTY keyboard

It also is worth a mention that the Mylo supports both Adobe Flash Lite 3 and Windows Media DRM 10. There are a number of pre-installed widgets that include Facebook Notifier, My Contacts, Youtube, and Google Search.

Functionality:
I have heard a number of complaints that the Mylo freezes up if you’re using multiple programs, whether you have the additional optional memory or not. I don’t have the added memory and was curious about the naysayer claims so I decided to check it out. I popped in my headphones and turned on some music. While the music was on I turned on both AIM and Yahoo and started a conversation in both programs. I also had the internet running to check out my Twitter messages. While all of this was going on I did not notice a problem. When the messages slowed, I even opened a game. I can’t say what the problem was for anyone else, but mine didn’t freeze and has yet to cause a problem for me. The battery life is good and the system has never caused me a problem.

The Mylo functions just as it should. If you’re using it for what it is designed for you will love it. This isn’t a phone and it’s certainly not an actual computer. You aren’t going to be able to treat it like something with 360 GB and 4GB of RAM because that isn’t what it is. That being said, if you’re out at the local Panera or McDonald’s and need to get in touch with someone, this is a great way to do it. The same can be said if you need to look something up while on the go. The Mylo gives you the opportunity to have the Internet at your fingertips, which is priceless if you don’t want to pay to use it on your phone or you don’t have a phone that offers this option.

Ease of Use:
The Mylo is fool proof. Nearly anyone that knows anything about technology should be able to use it just fine. It’s just a matter of turning it on and using your stylus to navigate through the various functions. If you end up at a screen that you don’t want you just tap the back button and you’re back to the previous screen. Then you can go elsewhere.

When you purchase the Mylo you have access to a decently written manual should you need it. However, this device, especially in basic form, is easy enough to understand without reading the entire thing. If you have a question though, it is a great way to find your answer. The IM options are going to be similar to using them on a computer. If you can use a computer and are familiar with taking pictures on a cell phone then you should be good to go. You aren’t going to find anything that is so drastically new here that you don’t know how to use it.

Overall Quality:
I love my Mylo. I use it for business and for casual means when I am on the go and don’t want to use my phone. I play games and keep in touch with whoever I need to on Twitter or through instant messages. It’s simple to use, attractive, and comes with a variety of functions that make it very useful for me. You also have the ability to add additional widgets, games, and more memory should you need to, and I am sure I will be doing all of these things in the future. If you’re in the market for a multi-use communicator beyond your average Blackberry you should check out the Mylo. It is fun, functional, and reasonably priced for what it offers in comparison to other products of its kind.

Technorati Tags: Mylo, Personal Communicator, Wi-Fi, Hot Spots, Panera Bread, McDonalds, Instant Messaging, Affordable, Sony, Com-2, Black, Sleek, IM

I had a gift card left over that Dell gave me as a promotion when I purchased my XPS (you can read more about that at my personal blog), so when the Studios went on sale I decided to purchase the 1735. The main difference between the 17s and 15s are the screen size. The price was not that different, which convinced me to go for the bigger screen. Unfortunately, things with the Studio did not work out so well. In fact, as it sits here preparing to be sent back to Dell, the nicest thing I can say is that the color was pretty. Of course, even the pretty color comes with a few flaws, including an easily scuffable cover and the ability to attract fingerprints and dust like nobody’s business.

Look/Appearance:
Dell offers you the option of choosing a number of colors or artist designs for the Studio laptops. You can choose from such colors as Black, Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Orange, Purple, Pink and a number of other colors. Depending on the package that you get, the cost for colors for a Studio laptop will either be free or $25. I opted to get the Midnight Blue. The color is more noticeable in the light and though it is blue, I wouldn’t say that it’s midnight blue. The color wasn’t exactly like the one on the website, but it was acceptable.

The keyboard was probably the nicest part of the system. Thanks to the bigger screen the keys on the keyboard offer a roomier feel to them and the inclusion of a number pad makes the keyboard feel more like a standard keyboard, which I prefer to the smaller, laptop style. Above the keyboard are a set of media buttons. These buttons work with a slight touch and control your volume (on, off, high, low, and mute), eject your optical drive, and play or pause movies that you might be watching. I found these buttons to be a little sensitive. All it took was a slight brush of the finger when I was getting acquainted with the system and my volume was going up, down, muting, and coming back on in no time. As these buttons are black, only lighting up when they are touched, they can be hard to see unless you know what you are looking for, too.

The color scheme of the touchpad is integrated into the design so it appears to be an extension of the area where it is located. This also looks nice. The mouse has the touch bar that will scroll like a mouse wheel would. Like the keyboard, the mouse worked just fine and as it was designed with the overall scheme of the laptop in mind it added to the good-looking appeal of the system.

Affordability:
Affordability is always a hard one to gauge because what is affordable to one person will be highly outrageously priced to another. So, is the Dell Studio 1735 affordable? I will say that it is not insanely priced. I purchased mine with tax and everything for $952 and change. However, when you look at the fact that you can find a number of Sony VAIOs for under $800 these days, I am not sure that I would say the Dell Studio is fairly priced. Yes you can probably afford one, but considering the quality may not be there, you would be better off paying a cheaper price and getting a better system elsewhere.

Specs/Features:
There are a number of upgrade options for the Studio 1735 available, but I opted to go with the standard version for most features. The specs noted that the system should have been good on its own, so I decided that I would upgrade later, if I felt it was necessary. That being said, the main specs have been listed here:

Studio 1735, Intel Core 2 Duo T5750, 2.0GHz, 667Mhz, 2M L2 Cache
3GB, DDR2, 2 Dimm
Standard Keyboard
Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440×900)
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 3650
250G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1 Year Limited Warranty

Assuming that all of these functions and components work according to plan, this would have been a system that would have been perfect for my needs. Unfortunately, the optical drive was faulty and would have needed to be replaced. It took in a Microsoft Office installation CD and would not read or eject it. I ended up losing the CD in the battle to get the laptop to spit it out. The battery life is pretty abysmal in its current state and the speakers are some of the worst I have heard, and that is putting it nicely.

Functionality:
Regardless of overall specs, price, and aesthetics this section is always going to be the most important area of your purchase. Unfortunately, I have had a few problems that have really turned me off when it comes to Dell Studio laptops. Every individual computer user is going to have a few things on their system that are more important than other things. For me, these would be sound (I love listening to music while I work) and speed (I am incredibly impatient). Other things are important, too, but these are my biggest wants/needs in a system.

The overall speed was much slower than my desktop. For reference, my XPS desktop is approaching a year old. It took a minute or two to boot up each time and get warmed up. This isn’t too bad, but I am used to it being faster. Once it went through its little warm up period, the speed was decent. I didn’t find myself waiting to do much and that’s what I am looking for in a system. I hate twiddling my thumbs while a computer crawls towards the goal. The speed could have been better, but it was passable for a basic component.

The optical drive arrived broken. You would think that they would have checked to make sure the parts worked (shipping was delayed, after all), but apparently they didn’t. I inserted a Microsoft Office installation CD only to never get it out. When I informed Dell, the return clerk informed me that those discs aren’t expensive anyway (I’m not sure where he’s buying his Microsoft Office) and if I have a code I can download Office and won’t need the CD. Needless to say, their customer service isn’t scoring any points, especially when the computer arrived with readymade faults.

The speakers were dreadful and that’s the only way to describe them. Placing the volume higher than halfway, causes the speakers to emit a static whine that is completely annoying and wholly unattractive. There is no reason that the sound could not have been decent, but these speakers are just awful. Additionally, beyond the sound quality, the volume never gets that high either. So you are stuck with hearable sound that is disgusting or less disgusting, but too quiet. Either way, these options don’t give you much to work with.

The monitor was nice, with a shiny, sharp screen. Of course, it’s important to note that while the graphics are good this would not in any way be recommended for gamers. Actually, I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone, but if I were going to, I wouldn’t recommend it to gamers because the good graphics are not good enough to do gaming justice.

Overall, this is not (or should not) be the functionality profile for a brand new laptop. This was actually sad enough for me to say that I would probably not buy a Dell ever again. Ending up with this for the price I paid would not be worth considering picking up another. I can easily go to another company and get something made with care that actually works up to its level in comparison with other systems.

Ease of Use:
If you know how to work a computer in general, the Dell Studio laptops shouldn’t cause you any problem. Everything works the same way that a standard laptop would, so everything should appear to be fine in this department. The design of the computer and the overall layout makes it easy to navigate and get to where you want to go. This is the best part of the system, though with the majority of problems encountered elsewhere, it’s safe to say that while it was easy to use, the inconvenience and impatience level remained high throughout the user process.

Overall Quality:
In case you haven’t figured it out, I cannot in good conscious recommend the Dell Studio 1735 to anyone. While I was really looking forward to getting this system, I am completely disappointed in what I received and am now considering going to Sony, HP, or another company that is more willing to work with their customers and provide a better system overall. Do yourself a favor and buy a VAIO or something else instead. Chances are, you will be able to pay less, get more, and the laptop will actually work the way that it should.

Ratings:
Look/Appearance: 3 out of 5 stars
Affordability: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Specs/Features: 2 out of 5 stars
Functionality: 0.5 out of 5 stars
Ease of Use: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Quality: Overall Rating: 2.1 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Dell, Laptop, Studio 1735, Laptop Review, Electronics, Computer, Computer Review, Dell Studio 1735, Specs, Broken, Optical Drive, Poorly Made, Piece of Junk, Don’t Buy