The Altec Lansing M602 is a one-piece Apple iPod speaker and dock, in the same vein as the Bose SoundDock and the Klipsch iGroove HG. Like the others, it is easy to move from room to room, but it requires AC power and can’t run on batteries. The physical design is definitely different from the others; people seem to either love it or hate it, depending on personal taste, but at $199.95 direct, it’s about $50 cheaper than the Bose and Klipsch products.

Most of the M602 is fairly flat, at 8.2 by 14 by 2.5 inches (HWD), but the base (including the iPod dock) is actually 5.4 inches deep. Housed in white plastic with silver plastic trim and a metal silver grille, the M602′s speaker array consists of three full-range drivers and a pair of silk dome tweeters. The total power output is 60 watts. The unit is easy to take from room to room because it weighs only 5.2 pounds, but it requires AC power via the included wall plug. Along the top there are buttons for power, volume increase and decrease, bass, and treble. A blue LED behind the power button indicates power status, and you can adjust the volume using the increase and decrease buttons. If you press the bass or treble button, one of the two corresponding LEDs will light up, enabling you to adjust bass and treble with the increase and decrease buttons.

The one-piece speaker unit sits a couple of inches above its stand, which also incorporates the dock. The stand comes with plenty of rubber feet but we found it a little unstable when sitting on a desk or bookshelf, particularly using the controls – situated on top of the unit – or plugging and unplugging an iPod. If you plan on wall-mounting the M602, the fact that the controls are on its top surface means that you’ll either have to place it no higher than eye-level or memorise the buttons. That said, each of the controls is replicated in the wireless remote – just make sure you don’t lose it.

As you would expect, your iPod will charge when it’s in the dock and the M602 is plugged into the mains. A pass-through port on the back allows you to sync it with your Mac while in situ. To place your iPod in the dock, you first need to fit the appropriate docking adaptor. If you don’t, the iPod will lean back against the speaker grille and rattle noisily with every bass beat. However, the adaptors aren’t included, so if you didn’t get one with your iPod, you’ll need to buy it separately. That’s quite a flaw and means if you have a fourth generation iPod, for example, you’ll either have to put up with the rattling or order an adaptor, pronto.

The universal dock on the base allows your dock connector-equipped Apple iPod to stand up in front of the speaker, using the grille as a backrest. Alternatively, you can place the included white plastic adapter over the dock and sit your non-Apple player on it, resting the player against a rubber pad on the adapter’s backrest. An included line-in cable plugs into the Aux input on the back of the unit, and you can plug the other end into any audio source’s headphone output. There are also headphone and power jacks, a composite-video output, and a mini USB 2.0 port on the back.

The Altec Lansing iMT620 inMotion Classic is a “Works with iPhone” and “Made for iPod” certified portable stereo system that includes a digital FM radio. Altec Lansing created the first portable iPod speaker and continues to push the standard with the iMT620, with special attention given to its portability, audio performance, and iPhone compatibility.

The versatile iMT620 is designed for extreme portability, letting you take your music anywhere. Compact and lightweight, the iMT620 folds to the size of a small, flat book to pack away.

The innovative handle is more than just a handle and serves three important roles: to swing up for grab-and-go transport, to swing back as a stand to securely kickback the speaker system, and to swing under in a “stowed” position. This stowed position electronically prohibits the system from turning ON and draining the on-board rechargeable Lithium-ion battery.

Since the iMT620 is sold as an iPhone stereo, one of the first things we tested was the phone-interference shielding, and we weren’t disappointed. The well-shielded entirety of the device meant we could enjoy respectable audio quality without any interruption from spontaneous bleeps and bloops. For us the speaker was great with mid-range and treble, bringing the sweet guitar-plucking action in Hotel California  right in front of us. The bass was just right for pop music in your bedroom — pretty good for a speaker of this form factor, but R&B and heavy metal fans may want to consider something more heavy duty like the Mix iMT800. Crank the volume up from the usual 16 to a maximum of 40 and you’ll have music for a small house party, but the lack of strong bass becomes more apparent with slight bass distortion above 35.

Later on we noticed an annoying bug: regardless of the previous volume setting, sometimes upon bootup the iMT620 automatically bumped the volume up to level 19 for no reason. Another problem (albeit a less severe one) was that there were times when song information didn’t get updated on the LCD screen, which you will see in the video to come. Hopefully these problems are just limited to our setup, but hey, it’s worth a mention.

Typical Apple, the Macbook pro’s presentation was as meticulously done as the beauty of this device. Popping the box open was a breeze and there she was, the 2010 13-inch Macbook Pro wrapped in box perfection and guarded by a thin layer of plastic. The box and the wrapping speaks of obsessiveness for perfection. It didn’t take too long to breach that. A casual observer would find the plastic and the keyboard guard in a pile.

It was cold. The slab of unibody aluminum was great to the touch. The edges were almost sharp. It felt like a slab, which after all it was. That is, until one popped the lid open, and pressing the power button the machine quickly lit up.

About this MacThe process was quiet. The 2010 Macbook pro is as quiet as a ninja. And like all virgin Macs, the registration process rolled in. It asked if it should pickup from a time machine backup, or upgrade from an existing mac. Far from the cave, the choice was obvious one that no, this wouldn’t be about migrating from one mac to the next. In less than five minutes, Mac OS X’s introduction video flew in.

Nearly a year has passed since Apple released its updated 15-inch MacBook Pro , featuring a unibody aluminum construction, SD Card slot, and a longer-lasting lithium ion battery. Now, the Cupertino-based company has  incorporated a few important upgrades under the hood to supercharge this elegant machine (starting at $1,799; $2,199 as configured). These enhancements include the long-awaited Intel Core i7 processor, capable of overclocking on the fly, and automatic graphics-switching technology that makes moving from integrated to discrete graphics mode all but invisible to the user. Best of all, even with the jump from Core 2 Duo to Core i7, Apple has managed to deliver all-day battery life. These are collectively welcome improvements, but are they enough to justify the premium? Yup.

With the new iPhone 2.0 software and the recent introduction of the iPhone App Store, extending the features of your iPhone 3G becomes almost limitless. Thousands of applications and games were developed and available for free or a fee (as low as $0.99 each). The wealth of games found in the iPhone via the App Store makes gaming on the mobile phone like the second coming of Snakes on the Nokia phone over a decade ago.
In many ways, the iPhone 3GS delivers on its promises. The battery, which could sometimes deplete in less than a day on the iPhone 3G, lasted longer in our preliminary tests, and the phone’s software ran noticeably faster. Yet, we still have some concerns. A faster AT&T 3G network isn’t going to happen overnight, and some features, like tethering and multimedia messaging, aren’t scheduled until later in summer 2009. We also struggled to see any change in call quality, which, as any iPhone owner can tell you, remains far from perfect.

So should you buy it? That will depend on how much you’ll have to pay for the privilege. If you don’t own an iPhone yet, and you’ve been waiting for the right model, now is the time to go for it. The same goes for iPhone Classic owners who never made the jump to the iPhone 3G. But, if you’re a current iPhone 3G owner, the answer isn’t so clear. If you’re eligible to upgrade at the cheapest prices ($199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model), we suggest doing so, as long as you don’t mind the required two-year contract. If you own an iPhone 3G, but are not yet eligible for the upgrade, we recommend upgrading to the new iPhone OS 3.0 operating system, and then waiting. As much as the iPhone 3GS brings, it’s not worth the extra $200 that the 16GB and 32GB models cost.

The iPhone 3GS looks exactly like the previous model. It shares the shape and the same external controls, but the iPhone 3GS is unique in a handful of ways. You can get both memory sizes in white or black, and the iPhone 3GS display sports a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating that is supposed to attract fewer fingerprints and smudges. The new model shares the same dimensions as its predecessor, but it’s slightly heavier (4.76 ounces versus 4.7 ounces), a virtually unnoticeable difference.

The first thing you’ll notice about the third-generation Apple iPod Nano ($199 for the 8GB version as of 9/7/2007) is its 2-inch display. How can you not? The display occupies more than half of the device–fitting considering that one of the big selling points of the Nano is it can now play video in addition to music. The second thing you’ll notice is its new shape: The Nano’s long, thin stick design has been replaced by a wider, stouter design that accommodates both the generous screen and Apple’s signature scroll wheel. And it delivers all this in the same impressively thin profile–about a quarter-of-an-inch thick–as the previous Nano.

The body is now a two piece affair — an anodised aluminium front with a chrome back — instead of the all aluminium version seen in second-gen unit, which we still prefer. Naturally the shiny back was a fingerprint magnet — Apple should really include a cleaning cloth with all chrome-backed iPods. Worse though was its lack of scratch resistance, after just a week the back was scuffed worse than a rugby player’s knee after sliding in for a try.

In terms of cutting edge features Apple has been behind the game for some time now. The past year has seen virtually every single other major manufacturer build in some form of video capability into their premium flash memory based players, so it’s good to see that this third generation nano has finally caught up.