Windows Phone Game Review: LeaderFlip

I really had no clue on what to expect when I first started playing the Windows Phone game LeaderFlip
. It's a jumper game where you jump various world leaders as high as you can in an effort to reach the moon.
Now you might say, "Joy, another jumper game" but LeaderFlip
was surprising fun to play. You have enough bonuses to help boost your way up the screen (some in a rather creative way) to keep things interesting. And in the end, while I don't see playing LeaderFlip for marathon sessions, it's not a bad time waster for short bits.
The main menu for LeaderFlip
has options to view the developer's website, Facebook page, contact information and to rate the game listed beneath the world leader's mugshot (Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel). Below the mugshot you have options to play the game, shop the store for bonus items, view the online leaderboard and equip your character with items purchased at the shop.
Game play with LeaderFlip
is like every other jumper game in the Marketplace. Tap to start your jump and tilt your Windows Phone left/right to steer your character up the screen. In jumping from platform to platform, there are some rather unique bonus items. A pint of beer will give you the shakes, a whoopee cushion will give you a boost up the screen, a stick of dynamite will blast you higher, and a green pepper will give you gas that will boost you higher (sound effects and all).

You also have platforms that halt your jumps and to resume your ascent, just tap the screen. Finally, there is a propeller hat that if hit, will send you back down the screen.
The goal is to jump as high as you can and if you miss a platform, you fall to earth and the game ends. Now I've jumped a distance as high as 300 and have yet to find the moon that is mentioned in the Marketplace description and the only world leader playable is Chancellor Merkel. There's not a help section, which would have been nice, to explain when or if you get to advance to additional leaders. If the German Chancellor is all you have available, LeaderFlip
is not a complete loss because the game is a fun time waster.
LeaderFlip
does have a novelty feel to it but it also has an entertainment value that seems to grow on you. There is a trial version available to let you try before you buy and the full version of LeaderFlip is currently running $.99.
You can find LeaderFlip
here at the Windows Phone Marketplace.
View the original article here

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Posted in: LeaderFlip,Phone,Review,Windows

Acer Aspire S5 review: is this innovative Ultrabook worth $1,400?

With dozens and dozens of Ultrabooks on parade, you'd be forgiven if one skinny laptop with an ultra-low voltage processor started to look like the next. Even so, it's tough to forget the Acer Aspire S5: of all the ultraportables we've seen these last nine months, this is the only one with a motorized port cover. Yeah, that one. It's an intriguing product, to be sure, and the stakes are especially high given that $1,400 price: you'd have to really enjoy that form factor (and everything else) to choose it over some less expensive ultraportable. So is it worth it? Is that drop-down door anything more than a gimmick? Questions for the ages, and ones we'll tackle in our full review after the break.

Back in January when it was announced at CES, the S5 was touted as the "world's thinnest" Ultrabook, at 15mm (0.59 inches) thick. Nearly seven months later, we're not sure the S5 still qualifies for that title (the 13-inch Samsung Series 9 widens to 0.5 inches), but no matter: it still cuts a skinnier figure than most of the Ultrabooks we've tested. In contrast to last year's Aspire S3, which costs about half the price, the S5 marks an improvement in craftsmanship, with magnesium alloy now covering the lid, bottom and palm rest.

No doubt, it feels sturdier than the S3, but the build quality is still unremarkable compared to other Ultrabooks, especially other high-end ones. You might argue, for instance, that the S5's plastic keyboard deck and bezel are part of the reason it weighs a light 1.35kg (2.98 pounds), but the Series 9 is made of unibody aluminum and still weighs about four-tenths of a pound less. Ditto for the new MacBook Air, which weighs 2.96 pounds, or the metal-clad ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A, which comes in at 2.86 pounds. We could go on, but you get the point: the S5 feels durable, but lacks the design flair you'd expect from a premium machine.

Obviously, the conceit of the S5 is that most of its ports are tucked behind MagicFlip, that motorized drop-down door on the laptop's rear edge. Ignoring for a moment how annoying it is to have all the key sockets located back there, it's a pretty good selection of ports: in addition to two USB openings, it has Thunderbolt and full-sized HDMI sockets, both rarities for Ultrabooks (heck, Thunderbolt ports on PCs are rare, period). Not all the openings are hidden, though: on the notebook's right edge, you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the power button and memory card reader sit on the left. Thought you'd find the power button on the keyboard deck? That space is home to the button controlling the drop-down door (much more on that later, of course).

Since Acer released its first Ultrabook last fall, the company has unveiled two more models, each of them marking a step up in overall quality. But one thing's remained constant: that flat, cramped keyboard. The keys here are quite lacking in travel, though they're easy enough to master. All told, they're no shallower than the ones on the Series 9, which we neither loved nor hated. The problem is, unlike Samsung's layout, which is fairly well-spaced, the S5's arrangement gets mighty crowded, especially toward the periphery were many essential buttons lie. The Tab key is tiny, for instance, as are Caps Lock and the four arrows, which you could easily miss if you tried to hit them without looking. Also, this keyboard isn't backlit, though you'd probably expect it to be on a machine this expensive.

As much as we wish Acer would re-think its Ultrabook keyboards, the company at least got the trackpad right. The large pad responds smoothly to one-finger navigation, as well as multi-touch gestures like two-finger scrolls and pinch-to-zoom. Occasionally, the cursor would stop short on the screen before we got to whatever it was we meant to click on, but we mostly carried on without many incidents. We'd also add that the built-in touch button is easy to click and makes a quiet, low-pitched sound when pressed.

Given how pricey this machine is, you'd expect Acer would have gone all out (or at least met us halfway) when it came to display quality. A high-resolution screen would seem to be in order. IPS quality, too, or perhaps one of those Shuriken panels with the narrow bezels. Instead, what we have here is a run-of-the-mill, garden-variety TN screen with 1,366 x 768 resolution. Everything about this display is common, from the standard resolution, to the reflective finish, to the width of the bezels. It would've been fine on an $800 system, but given that you can find lovely, higher-res screens on the MacBook Air, HP Envy Spectre 14, Samsung Series 9 and the entire ASUS Zenbook Prime family, we don't understand why Acer cut corners here. (Actually, we do: this could be a trade-off to going with a more complex design and a RAID 0 SSD configuration, but we're not sure either of these was worth settling for a mediocre screen.)

The sound coming out of the Dolby-enhanced speakers is a bit tinnier than we're used to, which is quite the feat. Aside from a metallic sound, we were able to make out a faint, buzzing distortion even at medium volumes.

One other interesting thing to note before we sign off on display and sound quality: the S5 is one of the few Ultrabooks we've tested recently that does not include Intel's Wireless Display technology. If you had no intention of streaming 1080p video to a big screen, carry on, but it does seem like an odd omission from what's supposed to be a high-end machine.

Acer Aspire S5 (1.9GHz Core i7-3517U, Intel HD Graphics 4000)Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2012, 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000)MacBook Air (2012, 1.8GHz Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 4000)Note: higher scores are better

At $1,400, the S5 comes with some top-shelf specs to match its lofty price tag, including a 1.9GHz Intel Core i7-3517U CPU, 4GB of RAM and -- here's the kicker -- dual 128GB, LiteON-branded SATA III SSDs arranged in a RAID 0 configuration. Cutting straight to the chase, this is the speediest disk performance we've logged on any laptop, of any size. We actually ended up running ATTO more times than usual because we initially couldn't believe the scores: at their best, the two SSDs reached peak read speeds of 875 MB/s and writes as fast as 700 MB/s. In real-word use, those numbers are matched by a 12-second boot-up. And yes, our scores landed in this ballpark every time we ran these tests. No flukes here, kids.

For those of you who are curious, Acer confirmed to us that you cannot switch to a RAID 1 configuration: in the BIOS, you'll see options for RAID, along with IDE and AHCI.

When we switched to our other standard benchmarks, the S5 still notched some stellar numbers, though this time they fell a little more in line with other top-performing Ultrabooks. For example, its score of 12,895 in PCMark Vantage falls less than 600 points short of the 2012 MacBook Air's high mark -- hardly a dramatic difference. Likewise, its score of 5,071 in 3DMark06 is among the highest we've seen from an Ivy Bridge machine. Not that that's saying much: even with the default settings (read: 1,024 x 768 resolution) Call of Duty 4 chugged along with frame rates in the twenties -- just good enough to be playable.

In practice, pressing a button to expose key ports is more tedious than innovative. Imagine, for instance, that you want to connect a portable hard drive. You can't just plug it in; no, you need to press the button, wait a second or two for the door to open and then reach around to the back of the laptop to find the USB socket. If you can't do it by feel, you'll have to turn the laptop around so you can see the ports -- an awfully big hassle just to plug in a peripheral.

One thing we weren't aware of when we first got hands-on with the S5 is that the motorized door will open on its own to expose the vents when the machine gets too hot. And yes, we mean "when," not "if." We first experienced this within minutes of unboxing our system -- installing a program and running Chrome was enough to trigger the overheating mechanism. It happened again about 30 seconds into a game of CoD 4. The good news is that the machine stayed tepid enough that we could use it comfortably for extended periods of time, but in exchange for cool operation you'll have to put up with a good deal of fan noise.

To be fair, once the ports are fully exposed, it shouldn't have much bearing on your ergonomic experience and obviously, we'd all rather our machines not overheat. Still, as brief as this interruption is, it can be distracting to feel your computer rise beneath your fingers while you're trying to work. And there is, of course, an easy solution for that: just build the ports into the sides of the laptop and not worry about laying claim to the "thinnest Ultrabook" title.

When the S5 was first announced, one of the most common responses from our readers and editors alike was, "What happens if the motor gives out?" Acer rates the door for 15,000 cycles, tested with 50 pounds of pressure -- a claim we naturally didn't have the time or automated equipment to test. We will say that the motor makes a grating sound that doesn't inspire much confidence in the resilience of the various underlying parts. On the bright side, we appreciate that the door automatically closes when you shut down the computer or close the lid, even if you forgot to press the button to do it manually.

Samsung Series 9 (15-inch, 2012)Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2012)Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook (14-inch, 2012)Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2011)

The S5's three-cell battery is rated for up to 6.5 hours of battery life, which is shorter than what many other 13-inch Ultrabooks promise. Indeed, its runtime is as uninspiring as the performance is fast. In our standard video playback test, it barely made it four and a half hours -- a poor showing compared to the 13-inch Series 9, which lasted seven hours, and the new MacBook Air, which managed six and a half. Even middling ultraportables can outlast the S5 by at least an hour. In fact, this is, quite literally, the shortest runtime we've recorded on a 13-inch Ultrabook since we tested Acer's own S3 laptop last fall.

Though it might not be the worst offender, the S5 does come with a good deal of bloatware. Pre-installed programs include CyberLink's MediaEspresso media converter, an eBay shortcut, Evernote 4.5.2, Fooz Kids (a children's gaming platform), Norton Online Backup, Skype 5.5, Nook for PC and a trial of McAfee's Internet Security suite. And, like other Acer machines, the S5 comes with the company's clear.fi media streaming software.

Additionally, it's worth mentioning that the S5 is the first Acer laptop to support AcerCloud, the company's recently launched service that backs up your photos, music, videos and documents online. It's free, and storage is unlimited -- well, limited only by how much you can store on your local machine. You can, of course, access all this stuff remotely, provided your computer isn't completely powered off. In particular, with the help of a mobile app you can see your files on an Android phone, even if the two devices are not connected to the same WiFi network. Rather, AcerCloud attempts to create a peer-to-peer connection whenever possible and, failing that, uses a security token in the laptop to play middleman between your notebook and phone. For now, this service is only available in North America and China, but it's expected to roll out to other markets worldwide sometime in the fourth quarter.

Getting AcerCloud set up involves creating an account, a mercifully brief process that only requires you to give your name and email address, and to create a password. (Interestingly, as we progressed through the setup, McAfee popped up, asking if we wanted to grant AcerCloud access.) After creating our account, verifying our email address and using check boxes to confirm what we wanted to back up, we were up and running.

As for the warranty, the S5 is covered by a one-year plan, which is pretty standard for a consumer laptop, regardless of the price.

Though Acer usually offers its laptops in various pre-configured versions, the S5 is only available for $1,400 with the specs we tested here (a Core i7 CPU, 4GB of RAM, the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 Home Premium and 256GB of solid-state storage). As is the case for almost every other Ultrabook we review, the drives, RAM and battery were not designed to be user-replaceable. Again, that's true of most every laptop in this class, but we'd rather remind you, lest anyone wind up disappointed.

You want high-end Ultrabooks? Let's talk high-end Ultrabooks. Even for a high-end machine, the S5 is pricey; we can think of several excellent alternatives that drip quality but still cost slightly less. For starters, there's the 13-inch Samsung Series 9 beginning at $1,300, which weighs just 2.55 pounds and has a higher-quality aluminum build. The Series 9 also leads the S5 (and every other 13-inch Ultrabook) in battery life. Its keyboard is equally flat, but better-spaced. And while its performance isn't rated quite as highly, it's also capable of 12-second boot-ups. If you're willing to consider a bigger screen, you might also want to check out the HP Envy 14 Spectre or even the 15-inch version of the Series 9, which measures just 0.58 inches thick.

Though we haven't yet tested a 13-inch equivalent, ASUS' Zenbook Prime lineup also looks mighty promising. We'll refrain from breaking down every specific configuration listed on Amazon, but suffice to say we're particularly excited about the UX32VD ($1,350 at Amazon), which combines a 1080p IPS display with an NVIDIA GT 620M GPU.

For the OS-agnostic, we'll include the new MacBook Air in the high-end category: its battery life is on par with the champion Series 9, its keyboard and trackpad are comfortable and the performance is some of the fastest we've seen, even from among Ivy Bridge machines. Regarding screen quality, a pain point for Acer's S5, the Air has the same 1,440 x 900 display as past generations. That's not the absolute best you'll find -- not with the Series 9 and Zenbook Primes on the market -- but it's still a step up from the S5.

The Aspire S5 has some key ingredients that might have made it a great Ultrabook: a thin shape, an impressive port selection and blazing I/O performance. Unfortunately, though, Acer seems to have invested its energy in all the wrong places. Instead of a higher-resolution display or finer build quality, it focused on stuffing all the ports behind a door in the back -- a design choice that feels gimmicky at best, and tiresome at worst. In exchange for a skinny silhouette, it settles for a three-cell battery that barely lasts four and a half hours on a charge. Even the RAID 0 SSD configuration might well have contributed to the high price, and that's a shame since the S5 probably could have delivered strong performance even with a more standard setup. (875 MB/s read speeds? Maybe not, but that 12-second boot time? Quite possibly.)

As is, the S5 suffers from some serious usability flaws, and nothing really justifies that $1,400 price except, possibly, that screaming SSD setup. We look forward to possible redemption with the upcoming S7 series, but in the meantime we're certain you can find a better ultraportable for less money.

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Posted in: Aspire,innovative,Review,Ultrabook,worth

Beacon Audio Phoenix review: our new favorite portable speaker

We'll admit it: we're jaded. There is so much bad, middling and just okay stuff floating around in the portable speaker universe that we're tired of even thinking about it. We've had our distinct favorite -- the Tivoli iPal -- for almost 10 years now, and it takes a lot to knock it off its unglamorous, but distinctive, pedestal. And we predict that it will continue to stay there. But newcomer Beacon has a hot little number in a soft-touch red dress that we're willing to put right next to it on a slightly more diminutive pedestal. The $99, baseball-sized, Bluetooth-packing Phoenix has gotten under our collective skins, and we'd like to tell you why.
The good folks at Beacon know that looks are just as important as sound in the small speaker game these days. The muted fire truck color is handsome and the whole package feels more like a pair of OXO Good Grips kitchen shears than an overpriced Beats Audio accessory. Two sides are covered by tastefully spaced grill holes covering stereo speakers. Around back, the only ports are 1/8-inch audio in and mini-USB for charging. Up top are the transport controls, surrounded by a red and / or blue LED indicator ring to denote Bluetooth pairing / connection status or hardware line-in. The long presses used to differentiate between volume up and track skip are slightly annoying, but we didn't find ourselves using them too much anyway -- controlling on your host device is easier. A quarter-inch riser lifts the unit slightly, giving it a nice, built-in way to isolate the sound from the surface it's sitting on. If you're scared of the attention the red will bring you and your little friend, it's also available in electric blue and flat black.


The Phoenix puts out the best balance of quality and volume we've ever heard in a speaker of this size. The 180-degree speaker orientation (they face in opposite directions) isn't the best for panning cognition, but it helps to separate sounds that were meant to be heard on different speakers, which helps add to overall clarity. It's best heard from about five feet away, where the sound can be given some space to bounce around the room a little bit.
One of the most refreshing features of the Phoenix is that it seems almost completely distortion-proof. At this price level, most small speakers will get as loud as the Beacon, but we've never heard anything get as loud as the Beacon without distortion. We can't stress how important this is: most consumers will usually crank their small speakers until the sound is unbearably broken up, just to get the music to reach a little farther in space. No such worries here: as loud as we cranked the source and the on-unit volume, we heard almost none of the clipping or distorted mud that plagues nearly every other Bluetooth speaker on the market today. To the contrary, this hot little box is actually at its best at louder volumes, although we did find the high end to be slightly angular when it's loud, cutting through the bass a bit too much for our ears.


The two small speakers inside have their own character that mimics the soft-touch exterior. Reproduction is certainly not clear as a bell, but it seems to have a slightly soft-focus coloration that we began to grow fond of with time. You shouldn't be looking to buy reference-quality studio monitors at this price point or form factor anyway.


The Phoenix takes itself seriously for what it is. Smaller options like X-mini's Capsule speaker range are almost infinitely portable, but also almost not worth the trouble considering they only have slightly louder output than most devices' built-in speakers. Larger options like Tivoli's iPal offer superior loudness and quality, but they don't fit quite so easily in a carry-on already overstuffed to avoid ever-rising bag check fees. This mid-sized box does require a little spatial planning, but the sound it puts out is well worth committing the social gaffe of leaving an extra couple of pairs of socks at home to clear up room for it.
And the battery life? In a word, it's awesome. Four and a half hours on USB current will bring you to full charge. The Phoenix lasted four whole days as our primary computer output, always-on and connected via 1/8-inch. Streaming music over Bluetooth at medium to high volume, it stayed on for a staggering __ hours, bringing it into the almost completely worry-free zone of usability, a testament to the set-it-and-forget-it mantra.
Its wireless range seems slightly smaller than other devices -- it got fussy if we traveled more than 10 feet away from the source, but we're happy to sacrifice that small inconvenience in exchange for better battery life.

Beacon's first foray into consumer electronics has turned out very nicely. Like some sort of genetically enhanced pet, it's a pleasure to be around, fun to touch and requires little to no maintenance. It falls into the sparsely populated family of "gadgets that make our lives better," a characteristic that makes it worth far more than the hundred bucks Beacon will ship it to you for today.

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Posted in: Audio,Beacon,favorite,Phoenix,portable,Review,speaker

LG Optimus Vu review: a 5-inch, pen-enabled phone to take on the Galaxy Note

Tech companies are no strangers to the game of follow the leader -- industry imitation is, after all, the sincerest sign of a successful product. In the case of the Galaxy Note, Samsung's phablet wonder has been enjoying some unexpected popularity in markets abroad and even here in the US. But the company's ownership of that once-niche category is about to be contested by a surge of copycats, spearheaded by the stylus-toting LG Optimus Vu ($866 unlocked). It should go without saying: this 5-inch not-a-smartphone, not-yet-a-tablet has a steep climb ahead if it wants to oust or even claim equal billing with its successful opponent.
Of course, the Vu isn't launching an attack on all fronts yet as, right now it's a Korea-only affair running Android Gingerbread. (It redeems itself somewhat with an LTE radio.) Though the competition is welcome, the duel is not an even one, given the Vu's unusual mix of internals: a 1,024 x 768 HD-IPS LCD display, dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, 32GB of non-expandable storage, an ample 2,080mAh battery and a region-specific T-DMB TV tuner. But could that be enough to dethrone the current category king, or at least present a viable alternative? Join us after the break as we crack this rectangular nut and winnow out the marketing noise.

Product reviews don't usually take into account the beauty of said device's packaging, focusing instead on the actual kit in question. But we have to hand it to LG: the company deserves a solid A+ for presentation. Perhaps as a way to brace consumers for the unconventionally designed handset within, LG tucked the Vu into a narrow, rectangular box that looks it should contain some Trivial Pursuit cards. And it even opens like one too, with the case sliding upwards and off to reveal the handset, manuals, NFC stickers and a bed for the chunky stylus, with the charger and cable hidden beneath the foam.


Pull it free from its slumber and you'll immediately notice its exceptional lightness. At 168g (5.93 ounces), it not only weighs 10 grams less than the Galaxy Note, but it also cuts a considerably thinner, 8.5mm-thick (0.33-inch) profile. Those dimensional wins notwithstanding, the Vu does manage to claim a bit more in-hand real estate than we're comfortable with, as it stretches even large hands to the limit with a 90.4mm (3.56-inch) width. It's not a point that can be readily dismissed: you either possess the Hulk-sized paws necessary to cling to this phone or you don't. If you're in the latter camp, you probably shouldn't be eyeing phablets in the first place.
"And both hands, now use both hands," Ani DiFranco once famously sang and it's that particular refrain we'd advise the company to adopt in its marketing (for the betterment of consumer education, naturally). This fella requires full manual cooperation to function properly -- how else are you going to use that stylus? Which brings us to what is easily the Vu's biggest flaw: the omission of a slot for stowing the pen. Are you scratching your heads over that one? We're still bewildered. Yes, the included Rubberdium stylus has enough girth to confer a natural hold, but we would've much preferred a slimmer accessory if it could've been conveniently tucked away. Instead, if you intend to make heavy use of this device for note-taking or even stylus-guided navigation, you'll have to remember to take it with you and find a secure place to stash it. It's a quirk we've been unable to overlook -- in practice, it actually gives users a reason to forgo that accessory completely.


The Galaxy Note is the taller of the two phablets, but that's to accommodate its larger 5.3-inch screen. The Vu, at 139.6mm (5.5 inches), is not as lengthy, but the generous bezel surrounding its screen contributes to a larger and more unwieldy design. That said, its rounded edges do their best to pinch hit for lack of ergonomic fit. Neither the top nor bottom of the unit benefit from that curving, but the decision to soften the sides goes a long way in diminishing its awkwardness.
Only the right side contains any physical buttons (no dedicated camera key here) -- in this case, a two-button volume rocker. Access to the micro-SIM slot is hidden on the opposite edge and requires the use of a pin or pointed object to pry it open. There's no microSD slot to expand the device's storage, but with a healthy 32GB on board, you might not even need it. Up top, you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left, secondary mic, function button for stylus use, a sliding port for micro-USB, power button and, finally, a retractable T-DMB antenna for Korean TV broadcast reception. The front face is devoid of any branding, with only a 1.3-megapixel camera and capacitive buttons. If you ask us, LG would've done well to shrink the device down some to eliminate that wasted space. 


So, it's slim, large and considerably light -- a veritable recipe for slippage, if ever -- which is why LG took care to texturize the Vu's non-removable, plastic back. Does that mean it'll stay put when you're gesturing about in the manner of an over-caffeinated, emotionally irascible Italian? No. In fact, that non-removable backing could've benefited from deeper grooving and a rougher surface. As it is, that backplate tends towards the smooth and slick as opposed to a reassuring, frictional grip -- a sure hazard for the less-coordinated of users. LG's kept the surface scarring to a minimum with a break for the 8-megapixel shooter and single LED flash on the upper left, a large 4G LTE label located midway on the phone's top third, the company's logo a few inches below and two hourglass-like slits for the speaker grill on its left.
Admittedly, the Vu's boot sequence has something of an analgesic effect: it subdues your frustration with Google's stale Gigerbread (2.3.6) with a splashy, galactic start-up animation. It's all short-lived, though, as you'll soon be greeted by one cartoonish UX, a nondescript, TouchWiz-like experience. Thankfully, that lack of sophistication is offset by the handset's fantastic 1,024 x 768 HD-IPS display -- a great screen that could've been even better, were it not for that 4:3 aspect ratio. We applied one of the more colorful themes and were happy with the fairly even and accurate tonal reproduction -- typical of IPS panels versus common, oversaturated AMOLED screens. Viewing angles are solid, making content easily readable from a variety of angles with only some minor wash-out noticeable.

We can't take any mid-2012 phone seriously if it ships with Gingerbread -- skinned 2.3.6, at that. And though an ICS upgrade is reportedly on the way, as of this writing, this is what you're faced with when you power on the Vu. It's a familiar interface for anyone who's ever taken an LG phone for a test run: seven homescreens, a customizable dock and app drawer, power controls in the pull-down notification tray. There are no real surprises here, aside from some pen-optimized features specific to this handset. As you might expect, LG's shoveled crapware galore onto the device (localized bloat for the Korean market) and you can easily shove it out of sight should you so desire. Still, there's no option to uninstall. Buried deep within the settings menu, the company's also made some useful tweaks that give users a bit more control over the device -- an adjustable timeout for the front LED keys, power saver settings and optional aspect ratio correction for apps.
NFC with LG Tag+
After years of buzzing about the promises of NFC, carriers and OEMs appear to have finally gotten their acts together, producing smartphones enabled with both the technology as well as complementary, programmable tags (sold separately, usually). We've already seen Samsung and Sony offer these, and LG's taking a similar tack with Tag+. These stickers, two of which are bundled with the device, lie sealed in a protective envelope -- presumably, to keep them free from outside interference. Both come pre-programmed -- one for Office mode, the other for the car -- but you can easily change that using the accompanying NFC Tag+ app that comes pre-installed on the handset. In addition to Office and Car, there are additional Sleep and User modes.

Oddly, LG's separated the plain-Jane NFC app from its own profile-ready Tag+ application. There's not much difference between the two, given the proper app has an option to trigger Tag+ settings, so it makes for an odd and disjointed experience. From within the main NFC app, users can also assign tags with corresponding contact info, URLs, notes, call requests, texts and even calendar events. And yes, you can overwrite the two stickers included in the box. We tested out a few different settings and in our experience, the connection isn't always immediate. You can't really tap to touch and make the connection come to life. Rather, we found that the tech worked best when we placed the Vu on top of a sticker and left it in place. More often than not, however, we had to keep lifting and repositioning the Vu over the tag to get it to properly recognize the command we were trying to execute. As an aside, we also tested the tags with our Galaxy Nexus and had no problem picking up the associated message.

Not only did LG drop the ball in not providing a slot for the stylus, but even the manner in which LG buried the pen settings within the software presents an obstacle to wide user adoption. After navigating through four submenus, you arrive at a screen where you're faced with configuration options: delay time, pen width, pen color, screen transparency. But first -- first, you have to actually select the Handwriting keypad as your default. It's extremely unintuitive and user-unfriendly. In fact, we just happened to stumble upon it as a happy accident during our testing. What LG should've done was create a separate menu option solely for the stylus as a way of guiding intrepid owners through the setup process. 

Move past that clumsy integration and you're left to parse the actual usefulness of the stylus. Is it on par with the Galaxy Note's? Not at all. For one, the Vu doesn't incorporate a Wacom digitizer like that of its rival, which allows for pressure sensitivity and heightened precision -- instead, you're left with a plain 'ol capacitive screen. Further, there's no way to navigate through the OS using just the pen. You continually have to interrupt your workflow and use a finger to select the Android capacitive buttons. It's messy and frustrating and you wonder how this device made it out of the company's labs in the first place. If you really want to input text, you can do that from within any messaging application like email or text. It works similar to other devices -- gesture back to delete, forward to space and hook back to the left to enter. As for actual handwriting recognition, we'd give LG's software a B-. Set the delay time to its lowest -- 100ms -- and you'll be in for a maddening exercise in futility. That particular setting was so quick that the system could barely recognize the letter "T," written clearly in uppercase. Bumping the setting to 300ms improved things, although we had to test several stroke orders before we discovered the proper way to input a lowercase "i." And you can forget about apostrophes -- that's for true masochists.
Additionally, there's Notebook and Memo -- two apps LG's designed to take advantage of that Rubberdium stylus. Much like Samsung's S Note, Notebook presents users with pre-existing templates, though you can also opt to just start fresh. From here, you can select your chosen book cover color, choose a title and select your desired "paper" layout and hue. There's nothing really remarkable about it and certainly nothing inherently useful. Once you've settled on a template, you'll see menu options across the top: read-only mode, revert / forward, text, pen, eraser, as well as image, sharing and save options. You can scrawl to your heart's content, add in text boxes and background images from your gallery or take new ones and then send the note off via email or some social network.

As for Memo, well, it's pretty self-explanatory and much more bare-bones. Rather than offer a range of templates, the app goes straight for the lined notepad look and takes handwriting-to-text input only. If you're in a rush to jot down some fleeting bit of brilliance, you'd be best advised to forego the pen and smash away at that onscreen keyboard with your thumbs. The recognition software is just too slow to recognize more than one letter at a time without producing a slew of predictive errors. And unlike its companion app, there are no onscreen sharing options here -- for that, you'll have to select the capacitive menu button below.

There's one last pen-optimized feature that sidesteps the need for either of those two apps: the ability to write notes on any screen. To do this, LG's included a button atop the device that you might mistake for a dedicated orientation lock. It's not: what it does is place the device into writing mode, snapping a shot of the screen's contents and letting you jot down whatever mumbo jumbo pops into your head. Thankfully, there's a helpful option to disable the background and replace it with a yellow sticky-note backdrop. (You can also save and share these jottings, of course.) Basically, the company's crafted this as a shortcut, albeit a convoluted one, that's meant to bypass the lack of any function keys on the actual stylus. It might've made more sense to side-mount the key on the device, but that could've resulted in a mess of unintended triggers. As it stands, LG made the best design decision it could, but with the phone's gawky dimensions, there's just no elegant way to make use of this phabletry.
Exynos, Snapdragon S4, K3 Balong -- the Vu has none of these. Instead, its chipset is an oldie, but relative goodie: a Qualcomm MSM8660 dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz, buffered by 1GB RAM and paired with an Adreno 220 GPU. On paper, that might sound like yesteryear's specs, but in practice we didn't encounter any hiccups -- not any that we've been able to replicate, anyway. Only once, when using the native browser, was handset unable to highlight and open links from Google searches, or launch webpages. A simple reboot seemed to fix that issue, and we otherwise enjoyed smooth performance: not once did we suffer a stalled transition, jittery navigation or even a delayed app launch; it all comes off without a hitch at a fluid pace. When we did get the browser up and running without fault, however, full desktop sites loaded at an incredibly slow pace -- just over 30 seconds. On the opposite end of the performance spectrum, pinch-to-zoom was perhaps the smoothest we've seen on a handset, resizing images and text with no loss in detail. 

We pitted the Vu against some bedfellows packing the same 1.5GHz Snapdragon S3 CPU and running Gingerbread: the Xperia Ion and Galaxy Note for AT&T. The results? Well, it wasn't pretty for the Vu. In fact, we could pretty much call this a resounding loss, with its graphical prowess being the only saving grace. One particularly dismal area where the Vu can't keep up is web browsing. As we mentioned earlier, it's absolutely abysmal and the corresponding SunSpider score plainly highlights that sluggishness. Its Quadrant score, on the other hand, was nearly even with the Ion's, but still fell short. In all, it was Sony's US flagship that swept our benchmarks.
The battery inside the Vu is fairly average at 2,080mAh: it fits somewhere above the Ion's 1,900mAh cell and just below the 2,500mAh power pack inside the AT&T Galaxy Note. Is that middle ground good enough for everyday use? In a word, no. Granted, we couldn't properly test its endurance on a domestic HSPA+/LTE connection given the mix of radios inside (quadband GPRS, HSDPA 2100MHz, LTE 800MHz), so we only had GPRS data (made possible by an AT&T micro-SIM) to lean on. In effect, this meant we were tethered to our home WiFi connection. We were alarmed to notice that after two hours of light browsing, the Vu's charge had dropped by nearly half. With more conservative use, you could probably eke out half a day on a lone charge. Under the duress of our formal rundown test, with Twitter syncing at 15-minute intervals, one push email account active, WiFi and NFC enabled and brightness set midway, the Vu lasted just short of five solid hours -- an extremely unworkable rating for any moderately productive user.

LG Optimus Vu
(Unlocked global version)
Sony Xperia Ion
(AT&T)
Samsung Galaxy Note
(AT&T)
GLBenchmark Egypt Offscreen (fps)SunSpider: lower scores are better

You wouldn't necessarily expect the Vu to pack a top-notch camera -- the selling points would seemingly be that screen and stylus -- yet it does. The 8-megapixel module impresses and, unlike other handsets hampered by smaller, non-HD displays, the Vu's expansive 5-inch screen doubles as a portable tableau for your photo handiwork. In practice, the sensor here is extremely intelligent when set to auto, quickly adjusting for white balance, exposure and mode based on your chosen subject. Our initial photo tour had us traipsing about New York on an especially sunny day and, as you can see in the gallery below, the resulting shots offer a lovely mix of balanced color and exceptional detail (up to 3,264 x 2,448 resolution). The custom camera app includes most of the settings you've come to expect from comparable phones: the ability to adjust scene modes, resolution and ISO, as well as add filters and take burst or panorama shots. You can tap to focus, but to actually trigger the shutter you need to press the onscreen software camera key.

With such fine photographic performance, you'd naturally anticipate similar results with HD video capture. You'd think that, and you'd be wrong. Even in a brilliant, sun-soaked setting, the Vu couldn't seem to compensate for the abundant amount of light drenching the scene. As you can see during playback, there's a noticeable bleaching that dulls detail, saps nuanced color and results in hazy video. Add to this the compressed, unnatural audio quality, and you'll want to think twice before using the Vu to record your precious moments.

There's one fantastic thing about the Optimus Vu: it's not shipping stateside. At least, not that we know of (although there have been hints it could make its way to Verizon). As a daily driver, the Vu is simply a non-starter. It's unfriendly for any real productivity and for most average-sized palms, at that. For a device that requires two hands to operate, you'd think that Rubberdium would be always at the ready, but as we've discussed, you probably won't ever have it on your person. And if you do, you'll quickly become frustrated by the stilted experience of having to switch between pen and finger to navigate the OS. In this sense, as a true phablet, it fails. It fails hard.
What's more, its merits as a cameraphone don't make us overlook the stale Android Gingerbread software and the equally dated Snapdragon S3 processor powering it all. In real-world use, most users likely won't find much fault with its speed and mostly fluid performance. Certainly, it doesn't hold a candle to the latest flagships (e.g., the Galaxy S III and HTC One X), and it also falters when pit against its sworn nemesis, the Galaxy Note. As an experimental jab at the in-betweener category, the Optimus Vu is lame and limp-wristed. It's as if LG's designers didn't take the creation of this phablet seriously. And in the end, neither should you.

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HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review: an inexpensive thin-and-light with AMD innards

HP has been fleshing out its Ultrabook lineup as of late, most recently adding the metal-clad Envy Spectre XT to the mix, but the company is also addressing the lower end of the market with its Sleekbook line, announced back in May. Confusingly, these thin-and-light systems look exactly the same as the new Envy-branded Ultrabooks, except that the Sleekbooks are less expensive -- namely because for one reason or another they don't meet Intel's Ultrabook guidelines. One such notebook, the Envy Sleekbook 6z, stands apart from the Ultrabook fold with an AMD Trinity APU -- a spec that helps keep the starting price nice and low at $600.
That's not to say that all of HP's Sleekbooks ditch Intel processors, but given the choice between and AMD- and Intel-based model we quickly chose the former. After all, the 6z is the first Trinity-powered system we've had the chance to test, so we were naturally curious to see how it stacks up against recent Ivy Bridge machines -- and we imagine you are, too. So without any further ado, let's get to it.


At 4.75 pounds, this laptop isn't a featherweight, but then again, its 15.6-inch display does make it one of the larger thin-and-lights we've seen. With a thickness of 0.78 inches, the 6z walks the line between Ultrabook and mainstream systems. The Dell Inspiron 15R is a fatter 1.18 inches, for example, while the 15-inch Acer Aspire V5 measures in at 0.9 inches. Still, it can't hold a candle to a proper ultraportable like the 15-inch Samsung Series 9, which measures just 0.58 inches. Whatever weight class it belongs in, for a $600 laptop the 6z boasts a pretty sweet design, not to mention solid build quality. The aluminum lid and keyboard deck sport a black, brush-textured finish, while the red soft-touch bottom provides a tasteful pop of color (it makes it pleasant to hold and use in the lap as well). Save for some requisite Beats branding above the keyboard and in the upper bezel, you won't find many embellishments or adornments here. All told, it's one of the more understated designs that HP has unveiled over the past few years.

For a $600 laptop, the 6z boasts a pretty sweet design, not to mention solid build quality.

While whittled-down machines make the best travel companions, we can also sing the virtues of laptops with a little more meat -- as more to love generally equals a larger selection of ports. The 6z includes an Ethernet port, one USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 connections, HDMI, and an SD card slot, along with your standard headphone out and mic jack. Optical media fans can configure the machines with an external DVD tray for an added fee.

The 6z's recessed, island-style keyboard has a spacious, comfortable layout. The square-shaped keys provide a satisfying amount of travel, though we found that some keys were stickier (i.e., less likely to register our presses) than others. HP could have extended the keyboard a bit on each side to span the width of the laptop, though our fingers didn't have a hard time finding key buttons like Enter and Shift. While we would appreciate a tad more spacing between the keys, they don't feel cramped, and the recessed design feels more ergonomically sound than a flush layout. As it happens, there was no backlighting on our review unit, though it is offered as an upgrade option.
What is it about trackpads that makes them so prone to awfulness? Okay, the Synpatics ClickPad on the 6z isn't atrocious, but considering how often you interact with this part of the system, its shortcomings add up to one very prominent item on our cons list. In general, the trackpad offers too much resistance. While it often didn't register our gestures, though, it sometimes was overly sensitive, interpreting our pinch-to-zoom as a command to magnify text by 200 percent. As with other recent HP machines, too, the built-in button is a bit stiff. It also occasionally mistakes left clicks for right clicks, but for the most part it got them right.

Having a modest resolution of 1,366 x 768 doesn't automatically make a laptop display bad, and indeed, the Sleekbook's LED panel is decent for what it is. Colors on web pages and in video clips look balanced, if not especially vibrant. In a side-by-side comparison with the Lenovo IdeaPad U310, images on the 6z looked bright and crisp, while the IdeaPad's screen takes on a decidedly bluish overcast.
As you'd expect of a garden-variety LCD screen, though, viewing angles aren't exactly superb. Tilting the display more than an inch forward or moving to the left or right of center will cause some serious wash-out, but you could probably host a two-person viewing party without a problem. So no, you're not going to rave about this display, but unless you make a blind purchase, thinking you're getting a premium product, you likely won't be too disappointed.
The 6z is part of the Envy line (heck, it's made by HP) so Beats Audio is naturally on board. And marketing hype aside, that's actually a good thing. The technology offers a much better listening experience than the tinny, canned sound on most other laptops at this price. There's a limit to that boost in audio quality, though -- you won't forget that you're pumping sound through a notebook, and a more budget-priced one, at that. Still, the built-in subwoofer delivers some pleasing bass notes. Above all, though, you might appreciate the sound most of all when listening with headphones -- at least, that's the setup we ultimately preferred.
HP Envy Sleekbook 6z (2.1GHz AMD dual-core A6-4455M, HD 7500G Graphics)MacBook Air (2012, 1.8GHz Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 4000)Lenovo IdeaPad U310 (1.7GHz Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000)Lenovo ThinkPad X230 (2.6GHz Core i5-3320M, Intel HD Graphics 4000)Sony VAIO T13 (1.7GHz Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000)Note: higher scores are better
The dual-core application processing unit is one of the 6z's defining specs, since it's not every day we test a laptop that packs something other than Intel innards. And while we were eager to see how the processor and AMD's Radeon Graphics stack up against Intel-powered notebooks, the 6z's benchmark scores fall painfully short of the competition. The Sleekbook bombed the PCMark Vantage test, scoring almost 5,000 points lower than mid-range systems such as the IdeaPad U310. (In fact, these scores match what HP's own testing team has been seeing.)

The 6z's benchmark scores fall painfully short of the competition.

As you'd expect, the 500GB 5,400RPM HDD can't hold a candle to an SSD, or even the sort of hybrid hard drive you'll find in $750 and $800 Ultrabooks. All told, it notched max read and write speeds of 103 MB/s and 104 MB/s, respectively, which is pretty dismal, considering what you can get for a little more money. When it comes to graphics, though, the difference between the 6z and some mid-tier Ultrabooks is fairly negligible: HP's laptop notched 3,625 in 3DMark06, which puts it in the same ballpark as the IdeaPad U300s (3,651) and the Toshiba Portege Z835 (3,601), both with Intel HD Graphics 3000.
Anecdotally, the 6z had no trouble handling web surfing across two browsers, music streaming through Spotify and all the typing that went into writing this review. Cold-booting into Windows 7 takes 47 seconds, which should drive home the point that this is no Ultrabook, even though it's sold alongside them on HP's site. You likely won't notice the delta between the APU's performance and higher-powered Ivy / Sandy Bridge chips until you start gaming. In World of Warcraft at native resolution, the laptop managed just 20 frames per second, which is basically unplayable. In Batman: Arkham Asylum, it notched a more respectable 45 frames per second, but you'll have to accept murky, pixelated visuals as a trade-off.
Samsung Series 9 (15-inch, 2012)Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2012)Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook (14-inch, 2012)Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2011)3:41 (Optimus disabled) / 4:26 (Optimus enabled)
The Sleekbook 6z doesn't offer Ultrabook-like endurance, but it hangs on longer than most mainstream 15.6-inch systems. On our battery rundown test, which involves playing a looped video with WiFi on and display brightness set to 65 percent, the laptop lasted five hours and 51 minutes. That's roughly in line with the five hours HP got on its own video playback test, and it's a better showing than what we've saw from the IdeaPad U310 Ultrabook (4:57) and the HP Envy 15 (4:07), another 15-inch notebook.

Though the 6z carries HP Envy branding, it omits the complimentary copies of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements found on higher-end systems like the Spectre XT and the Envy 14 Spectre. That's not too surprising given this laptop's more budget-friendly price, but -- just sayin' -- it would have sweetened the deal if HP included those programs.
While you won't find those Adobe applications, you will encounter plenty of other software. The 6z comes with heaps of bloatware, including a sickening number of pre-installed games (almost 50), many of which take you to the online HP Games hub and require to you to sign into Facebook. HP also includes its full suite of utilities, such as Application Assistant, Connection Manager and Support Assistant. The 6z includes Skype, CyberLink DVD and a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security (you'll want to disable the pop-ups after first booting into Windows 7).
Our 6z comes with a dual-core AMD A6-4455M processor clocked at 2.1GHz with 4GB of RAM, Radeon HD 7500G graphics and a 500GB hard drive. That configuration will set you back $630, though the entry-level model, with the same specs save for 320GB of storage versus 500GB, costs $600. The top-of-the-line version -- with Windows 7 Professional instead of Home Premium, a quad-core AMD A10-4655 APU, 8GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD drive and a backlit keyboard -- goes for $1,040.
We have to say, HP's Sleekbook branding is a bit confusing. The 6z isn't an Ultrabook, but its weight and thickness undercut most mainstream 15-inchers, so your other options will likely be thicker, similarly priced and higher-powered or thinner, higher-powered and much more expensive. If you're looking for a 15-inch Ultrabook, the HP Envy Ultrabook 6t is one of your cheapest bets. Unlike the 6z, it ships with an Intel processor (up to a Core i5 Ivy Bridge CPU clocked at 1.7GHz), but its specs are otherwise similar: 500GB of storage, up to 16GB of memory and an optional DVD tray. The 6t starts at $800, and though it carries the Ultrabook distinction, it has the same weight and dimensions as the 6z -- along with the same aluminum design.

We have to say, HP's Sleekbook branding is a bit confusing.

It's bulkier, yes, but Dell's new Inspiron 15R, tipping the scales at six pounds and measuring 1.18 inches thick, has some more solid specs: a $600 configuration includes a Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, 6GB of RAM, 500GB of storage and the Adobe Elements and Premiere bundle that was omitted from the Sleekbook 6z. The 15.6-inch Toshiba Satellite C855D is another similarly priced option that adds some weight but offers more features. For $600, you get a Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive and a DVD drive -- all in a 5.4-pound package.
Circling back to HP's new lineup one last time, we think it's worth mentioning that the 14-inch HP Envy Sleekbook 4t offers similar specs to the 6z in a lighter, thinner package (just under four pounds, 0.78 inches), but it trades the AMD APU for an Intel processor; a $750 configuration gets you a Core i3 Ivy Bridge CPU with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. If screen size is at all negotiable, you'd be better off shelling out a bit more for this model.

It's pretty clear that HP's new Sleekbook line is targeted toward those who fancy a responsive, high-performing thin-and-light but don't want to shell out a grand or more for an Ultrabook. We appreciate the company's effort to temper features with price, and while the 6z is capable enough to handle your everyday computing needs, the underpowered AMD APU isn't a great performer -- and you can do better without spending much more, as even the Envy Ultrabook 6t starts at just $800. For what it's worth, though, folks who do opt for the Intel-approved version will enjoy the same understated design and comfortable keyboard (and hopefully soon-to-be-refined touchpad), so it's definitely worth looking at HP's Envy line anyway if the performance of this particular unit is the main thing giving you pause.

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Lenovo IdeaPad U310 review: a reasonably priced Ultrabook for the masses

For a while there, the march of Ultrabooks was comprised almost entirely of halo products: skinny, relatively expensive things designed to help Intel and its OEM partners make a good impression on the general laptop-buying public. But with 110-plus models in the pipeline, they can't all be expensive, right? By now, you may have noticed that Ultrabooks are starting to look a little less uniform: there have been larger ones, heavier ones, some with optical drives, some with discrete graphics.

Next up: cheaper ones. Just in time for back-to-school shopping season, we're seeing a wave of more reasonably priced Ultrabooks, many of them with traditional spinning hard drives and slightly heavier frames. One of these is the Lenovo IdeaPad U310, a machine that brings Core i5, 4GB of RAM and hybrid storage for $799. Oh, and its design is pleasantly reminiscent of the IdeaPad U300s, a higher-end Ultrabook we reviewed late last year. No doubt, then, it'll be a tempting option for people who can't afford to spend $1,000-plus on a laptop. But is it worth it? Let's find out.

With a name like the U310, you might expect this guy to be a modified version of the U300s we reviewed last year. And you'd be mostly right. Like the U300s, the U310 isn't so much wedge-shaped as book-inspired. The chassis is evenly thick throughout (about 0.7 inches) and the sides have some subtle scooping, making the closed laptop look like a bound book with pages stuffed between the two covers. Is there any ergonomic benefit to that? Surprisingly, yes: the fact that the lid protrudes slightly when shut makes the notebook especially easy to open.

Other details have carried over from the U300s, too. There's the spun metal power button, for one, which glows white when the machine is powered on. The bottom side is also fairly clean, save for a vent stretching across it. Four rubbery feet help protect that metal surface from nicks and scratches.

The big difference is in the build quality. While the U300s is fashioned out of a single piece of aluminum, the U310 makes do with a metal lid and bottom cover, with plastic coating the bezel and keyboard deck. (As if to emphasize the difference in target audience, the U310 is offered in a less serious color palette, including "Cherry Blossom Pink," "Aqua Blue" and a more staid "Graphite Gray.") In any case, for a system constructed largely from plastic, the U310 still looks and feels good. The entire keyboard deck has a matte finish with a slightly metallic sheen, which makes it resistant to both scratches and unsightly fingerprint stains. All told, the homeliest part of the laptop might be the bezel, which is made out of glossy, reflective plastic. Truly, it's the biggest tell-tale sign that this is a budget machine and not a premium system.

Another other major differentiator? The U310 is slightly thicker than the U300s and heavier too, at 3.75 pounds (versus 2.95). Still, that extra girth means room for some additional ports -- namely, an Ethernet jack and HDMI output. (The chassis actually widens slightly where the Ethernet connection is, suggesting Lenovo really didn't have much room to spare here.) In addition, you'll find three USB ports (one 2.0, two 3.0) and an audio jack. Finally, there's an SD reader, which was inexplicably missing on the higher-end U300s.

Is there a company that knows more about keyboard design than Lenovo? For years, legions of touch typists have been choosing ThinkPads purely on account of those tactile keys, and though the engineers designing IdeaPads work in a completely different division, you have to imagine some of that keyboard know-how has trickled over into the consumer side of the house.

Actually, let's clarify that. The AccuType keys you see here aren't the dense, pillowy buttons used on ThinkPads of yore. Rather, they're very similar to the island-style keyboards you'll find on newer ThinkPad laptops, which just made the transition to a new layout. That caveat aside, the shape, pitch and overall feel of the keys is comparable to what you'd get on a ThinkPad. Particularly after testing Ultrabook after Ultrabook with shallow keys, it's refreshing to get hands-on with something whose buttons actually move when you press them. They also have a slightly textured finish, which makes it that much easier to anchor your keys while you're typing.

Nonetheless, this is not a perfect keyboard. For one, as stocky as the individual keys are, the underlying panel isn't nearly as sturdy -- we could feel the deck give a little as our word-per-minute rate started to pick up. More importantly, though, the pleasant spacing between the keys seems to come at the expense of non-letter buttons, such as Enter, Tab and Caps Lock. All of these auxiliary keys are undersized, and, particularly if you're not used to the layout, you might find that your finger lands on the Delete key when you meant to hit Backspace.

The U310 has a spacious glass clickpad that responds surprisingly well to pinch-to-zoom. It even fares well with two-finger scrolls, though we noticed that thanks to the slick, low-friction surface, scrolling wasn't as deliberate and controlled as on the Samsung Series 9, which we happened to be testing around the same time. Happily, though, because the pad offers so little friction, it's easy to drag the cursor across the screen with one finger. Also, that line demarcating the right and left click zone makes it less likely that this pad will mistake one kind of click for the other. All told, our biggest request would be better palm rejection: as is, you might notice the cursor jumping around the page, even when you didn't intentionally move it.

We claimed earlier that the glossy bezel might be the most obvious sign this is a lower-end system. That's not strictly true: we weren't taking the display into account. The 13.3-inch panel here has a 1,366 x 768 resolution, which is standard across almost every laptop in this size and price class. Truth be told, the pixel count didn't bother us, and we don't think it'll be a dealbreaker for students who just need a machine for web surfing, Facebook and paper writing. If anything, we struggled the most with the viewing angles -- that glossy finish means you might have to fiddle with the screen angle before settling in to type with the notebook in your lap. We particularly noticed this while trying to work in a harshly lit office, but even then, cranking the brightness helped a good deal. The only issue then, of course, is that you'll be draining the battery life even faster than usual (much more on this later, obviously).

Like so many other current Ultrabooks, the U310 has Intel's Wireless Display technology built in. We'll refer you to this older review for a walk-through of the setup and streaming quality, but suffice to say it's an easy way to either mirror your desktop on a larger screen or stream 1080p video. Just be prepared to spend an extra $100, or so, on a compatible set-top box.

As you might expect, the speakers here push out rather tinny sound, but then again, we're not aware of many machines in this price or size category that can do much better.

Lenovo IdeaPad U310 (1.7GHz Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000)Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2012, 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000)MacBook Air (2012, 1.8GHz Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 4000)Sony VAIO T13 (1.7GHz Core i5-3317U, Intel HD Graphics 4000)MacBook Air (2011, 1.7GHz Core i5-2557M, Intel HD Graphics 3000)Note: higher scores are better

As of this writing, we've only tested one other low-end Ivy Bridge Ultrabook with a hybrid hard drive, so it's perhaps a little early to say the U310's performance is typical, per se. Still, if a comparison with an $800 Sony VAIO T13 is any indication, the U310's scores fall in line with similarly configured machines. In PCMark Vantage, for instance, the two are separated by less than 200 points. And in the disk benchmark ATTO, the U310's 500GB hybrid drive managed read rates as high as 114 MB/s and top writes speeds of 79 MB/s. (The T13 notched a similar 131 and 92.5 MB/s.)

In real-world use, the drive helps the machine boot in 20 seconds, coming in slightly ahead of Lenovo's 25-second claim. That's about on par with other Ultrabooks, only trailing by a second or two. Not a material difference, if you ask us. We were also impressed by how relatively cool the laptop runs, even on its bottom side, but in exchange you'll have to put up with a fair amount of fan noise coming out of the vent on the left-hand side.

Like most other Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks, the U310 makes do with integrated graphics -- specifically, Intel's HD 4000 solution, which comes part and parcel with new Ivy Bridge chips. We already knew it provided a sizeable boost over the HD 3000 graphics used in Sandy Bridge machines, and indeed, the U310's 3DMark06 score of 4,549 falls within the (admittedly very large) range of scores we've seen from just-released Ultrabooks. In fact, it widely beats the T13, even though they have the same graphics.

Samsung Series 9 (15-inch, 2012)Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2012)5:32 (Mac OS X) / 4:12 (Windows)Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook (14-inch, 2012)Samsung Series 9 (13-inch, 2011)

This might be a good time to consider where, exactly, you'll use your new laptop. If you think you'll be dragging it to class, you might actually care which Ultrabooks top that battery life table you see up there. But if you expect to camp out in the dorm, or find an outlet in the library, then you might not even notice you're getting an hour less battery life than the kid next to you. Take all that into account if you're considering the U310: its 46Wh battery lasted roughly five hours in our standard rundown test, which entails looping a video off the disk with WiFi on and the display brightness fixed at 65 percent. That's a good 40 minutes less than the similar VAIO T13, and even that's not the longest-lasting ultraportable we've tested.

Still, it's always worth emphasizing that our battery benchmark is a grueling one, and with less taxing use, you can expect the machine to hold out a bit longer. While writing this review, we worked unplugged for about three hours, and the battery drained slowly enough that when we finally did plug the machine back in, we were hardly in danger of the machine dying mid-sentence.

Admittedly, when it comes to bloatware the bar for Windows machines has been set fairly low (unless you go out of your way to buy your PC through Microsoft, which sells cleaner systems). By that metric, the U310's pre-installed software load is fairly modest: third-party apps are limited to Absolute Reminder, ooVoo for video chats and McAfee Antivirus Plus. Granted, those McAfee pop-ups can be difficult to ignore until you give in and activate the dang software.

Lenovo also included some apps of its own, but these are far easier to tuck away and forget about. These include YouCam webcam software, Smart Update, EasyCamera and OneKey Recovery. There's also VeriFace if you want to use that 720p webcam for face-recognition-based log-ins. Pretty harmless stuff.

As for the warranty, this shouldn't surprise anyone, but it's worth clarifying: you get one year of coverage, the same deal you'll get with almost every other consumer laptop.

Though the specific configuration we tested goes for $799, the U310 actually starts at $750 on Lenovo's site. The interesting thing about the U310 is that it doesn't pretend to be anything other than a budget-friendly Ultrabook. Get too demanding regarding your specs and you'll just have to step up to the U300s, or some other high-end machine. In addition to that Core i5 CPU we tested, it's available with a 1.8GHz Core i3-3217U processor. Otherwise, the included RAM maxes out at 4GB, the resolution is fixed at 1,366 x 768 and the most capacious storage option is that 500GB hybrid hard drive we tested (there are also 320GB and 500GB HDDs available without the 32GB SSD added on).

It's a great time to buy an Ultrabook, especially if you've been waiting for prices to drop. Over the next few months, you should be able to pick up an Intel-approved ultraportable for as low as $700, so you should have plenty of reasonably priced options besides the U310. Perhaps the most promising is the Sony VAIO T13, which starts at $770, offers an extra hour of battery life, a lovely metal design and a pleasing number of configuration options.

Dell also just entered the budget Ultrabook race with not one, but two entries: the 14-inch Inspiron 14z and the 13-inch 13z. (To be fair, only the larger model is for sale here in the US.) Just so we're all on the same page, the 14z starts at that magic $700 price point, but the base model comes with a Sandy Bridge Core i3 CPU. To get an Ivy Bridge machine (Core i5 or i7 CPUs are available) you'll have to pay at least $100 extra. Even at the high end, you'll find the 14z is similar to the U310: it, too, maxes out at 1,366 x 768 resolution and a 500GB hybrid hard drive. Even the battery capacity is similar at 44Wh. The major differences you'll want to consider (aside from design) are the larger size, and the fact that the 14z makes room for an optical drive and up to 8GB of RAM.

And let's not forget about the world's top PC maker. HP already had two Ultrabooks in its stable -- one for business types and one for people with expensive tastes -- and it's since added a line of more affordably priced ultraportables for the everyman. And mind you, we're using the word "ultraportables" very deliberately here: in addition to Ultrabooks, HP is selling so-called Sleekbooks -- lightweight machines that, for whatever reason (thickness, AMD processors), don't fit Intel's definition of an Ultrabook. As you can imagine, the models with AMD innards are cheaper, starting at $600 (not a bad deal when you remember these are fresh-off-the-factory-line Trinity chips). All told, the Ultrabooks and Sleekbooks are available in 14- and 15-inch screen sizes, and have identical industrial designs, which is to say they're constructed from a mix of metal and soft-touch material. To further simplify things, certain configuration options are the same across the board: backlit keyboards, up to 8GB of RAM and up to 500GB in HDD storage with an optional 32GB SSD to help hasten performance.

Lastly, though we haven't had a chance to test it, we suggest you keep an eye on the Toshiba Satellite U845, a 14-inch Ultrabook priced starting at $700. Like other companies, Toshiba is offering a Core i3 CPU at that base price. Other specs, too, seem similar: a 500GB hard drive with a 16GB or 32GB SSD and a 1,366 x 768 display.

If you just read the comparison shopping section above, you know our reviews team is only just starting to scratch the surface of lower-priced Ultrabooks. That said, it would seem that the Lenovo IdeaPad U310 is a solid bet for the money: it's attractive (save for that glossy bezel), it offers a decent selection of ports and while the keyboard and trackpad aren't perfect, they still present an excellent alternative to what you'll find on many pricier machines. We also believe that the people this is aimed at -- college-bound students, families -- could be willing to forgive some of its bigger flaws. Yes, the relative heft and short battery life could be dealbreakers for a certain sort of shopper, but not for people who intend to keep it plugged in at home or in the dorm. And we definitely don't think those folks are going to grouse about a 20-second boot time, or whatever else counts for "average" performance these days. So if you're not picky (or just can't afford to be) this guy might just fit the bill.

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Samsung Series 7 Gamer review: the company's first gaming laptop makes its way to the US

Sure, thin, light and power-efficient may be the latest trend in notebook design, but one category of portable computing isn't afraid of going against the grain: the oversized gaming laptop. These big machines often flirt with double-digit weights, with screens in excess of 17 inches and the most powerful chipsets under the hood. Samsung's Series 7 Gamer is no exception, of course, weighing in at 8.39 pounds and packing plenty of power. The machine's recent US debut isn't its first foray into the market, however -- this machine first appeared in Europe late last year, albeit with an older processor and GPU. Now, Sammy has brought the rig stateside, adorning it with new parts for the New World, namely a 2.3GHz Core i7-3610QM CPU and NVIDIA's GTX 675M graphics processor. How does Samsung's first oversized gaming machine measure up? Let's find out.

If, at first glance, you thought the Samsung Series 7 Gamer was anything but a 17.3-inch desktop-replacing behemoth, you'd be forgiven. When viewed from on high, the rig's sharply tapered edges lend it a deceptively thin appearance. The illusion quickly disappears, however, when you inspect it from the sides and behold the machine's substantial, 1.96-inch-thick chassis. Still, the angled edges highlight the system's design: brushed metal, glossy plastics and clean lines. The Gamer may be built for fun, but it's all business on the outside -- meaning it avoids the siren call to cover itself in loud colors, over-designed speaker grills and "hardcore" accents. In fact, it's downright respectable-looking, which might be a welcome change for gamers who want a machine with a more professional facade.

The design isn't without its faults, however -- the glossy veneer on the lid, for instance, loses some of its charm the instant it comes in contact with human skin, collecting fingerprints like a regular gumshoe. And that chunky edge? It doesn't exactly make the most of the rig's requisite thickness, housing only a Blu-ray drive on its starboard side, flanked by a pair of USB 2.0 ports. On the other hand, the machine's left edge crams in a decent selection of connectors -- two USB 3.0 sockets, a multicard reader, outputs for HDMI, VGA and DisplayPort, Ethernet, and a spot for the AC adapter all crawl up the edge. The front and rear, however, are largely blank, save for a pair of HDD / power LEDs on the front lip and some generously sized air vents around back.

Straddling the edge of the hinge we find a set of touch-sensitive controls, including a power button and one-touch access for mute, WiFi, volume controls, LED backlighting and a few keyboard status lights. There's also a rather large graphic that says "Turbo" on it, but it isn't touch-enabled like everything else on the glossy strip -- in fact, it's isn't a button at all. No, this is a fancy backlit indicator, one that doesn't light up at all until you thumb the dedicated performance switch on the machine's right side.

Here's where things get a little too cute for comfort. The rotating toggle allows users to quickly switch between four modes: green, library, balanced and gaming. These tune the rig to save power, run quietly (disable the fans), work efficiently or crank performance to 11, respectively. The nub is actually fairly useful, if a bit stiff to turn, and the transitions between settings are quick and to the point -- at least until the dial lands on "gaming."

Suddenly, the machine's display fades to black, temporarily blinding the user while a targeting reticule overlays the screen, accompanied by a series of mechanical and digital sound effects. As the desktop comes back into view, that target finds a home in the desktop wallpaper, which darkens to match the hardcore motif that power setting so clearly requires. The notebook's exterior layers play along as well: most of the backlit keys transition from white to blue. The exceptions are the "WASD" keys, which darken to a serious red. Crimson circles now surround the power and volume controls, pulsating along with the sound coming from the machine's stereo speakers. Tread carefully, son, you're in gamer country. The whole show is controlled by (and can be disabled through) Samsung's ModeShift, which actually turns out to be a minor boon, albeit a cheesy one. (More on this later, of course.)

Overall, the Series 7 Gamer is a respectable, well-designed rig with only a hint of the stereotypically hardcore. More often than not, its clean, unassuming lines don't draw it unwanted attention -- but gamers with a flair for the flashy can change that with a flick of their thumb. At worst, it's a minor collector of grubby-looking fingerprints. All in all, that's not much to whine about.

Throw a stone in any electronics retailer, and you'll probably wind up smashing some poor machine's chiclet keyboard. That arrangement of island-style keys has become such a staple of mobile computing that it's become hard to imagine a laptop with anything else. The Series 7 Gamer eschews that fad altogether, adopting a "classic" laptop keyboard with slightly curved key caps that bump up against each other. Writing prose on the Gamer is like typing on an old Thinkpad, and it's a good feeling. Keys depress silently with minimal pressure, but push back with enough force that it never feels mushy. In truth, the keyboard isn't anything to fawn over, but as a touch typist, it's hard to find fault with something so tactile.

Gamers won't find much to gripe about either -- the very same pop that makes the rig's keyboard a pleasure to write with feels just as good in games, and the left Ctrl and Alt keys fall naturally under the pinkie and thumb. The Windows key is thankfully hard to reach while gaming, though butterfingered gamers can choose to have it automatically disabled when the rig is in "gaming mode." Despite these little nods, the keyboard remains pretty standard -- more than passable for the average gamer, but enthusiasts (and the special few who keep track of keyboard ghosting) shouldn't expect anything out of the ordinary.

Speaking of things that are hardly out of the ordinary, let's talk about the trackpad, and by natural extension, our hands. Call us mutated freaks of nature (go ahead, do it), but we have a habit of rubbing mouse sensors on laptops just the wrong way -- and not when we mean to. Like so many pads before it, the Gamer's mouser is flush with the unit's palmrest, making it easy to brush with your palm while you're pecking at the keyboard. This causes the cursor to jump, drift and even click mid-prose.

Ironically, while we were typing the keyboard portion of this review, the cursor jumped no fewer than nine times, mucking up our text and generally wreaking havoc. As always, a quick Fn combination disables the trackpad, if necessary. A slightly recessed pad might have avoided this problem, though it admittedly wouldn't have looked as slick. The pad itself actually works quite well -- it's luxuriously large, and, as previously illustrated, plenty sensitive. It even does a passable job of picking up most gestures, a minor feat for many Windows laptops. Its buttons are a bit stiff, too, but all told, the touchpad does its job well enough. Still, there's no substitute for a proper gaming mouse, so folks picking up this machine will want to accessorize accordingly.

Gaming machines are expected to be large, overpowered and brimming with attitude -- but all that means bupkes if they're packing a dim, washed-out display. Luckily, that's not the case with the Gamer's LED-backlit, 400-nit SuperBright Plus panel. This 1,920 x 1,080 looking glass definitely adds to the eye-melting experience so many gamers strive for, if only thanks to its incredible luminosity. It doesn't slack in the color department either, washing our retinas with rich, vibrant hues and dark blacks. The rig's visual fidelity fades a bit when you view the screen from too far off center, but not so much that we couldn't fully enjoy a personal screening of Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.

The machine's speakers, on the other hand, manage neither to impress nor disappoint: its stereo drivers and accompanying subwoofer are merely okay. The upside to a truly average audio experience is that you won't feel let down by a system that's trying to overreach -- music and games come through at maximum volume without a hint of distortion, and higher-pitched sounds aren't particularly tinny. On the other hand, a deep, full bass is also absent, and more subtle, complex undertones may well go unheard. Dolby Home Theater 4 is on board to stretch the speakers' capabilities a tad, but gamers looking for a virtualized surround sound trick to help them audibly pinpoint enemy footsteps won't find much purchase here. The Series 7 Gamer can certainly fill a room with sound when needed, but its onboard audio options are no substitute for a good headset.

Looking to cash in on NVIDIA's latest mobile chipset? Better hold your breath -- despite the Samsung Series 7 Gamer's impressive specs, Kepler isn't the pulse that keeps it alive. That's not to say the rebranded GTX 580M at the machine's core isn't killer in its own right. Paired with a 2.3GHz Core i7 CPU (3.3GHz with Turbo Boost) and 16GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA's GTX 675M GPU painted the plains of Skyrim at 56 frames per second, capturing its essence in the rig's native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution at ultra high quality. The seedy end of Liberty City pitched a similar average, clipping along at 50fps on high settings -- though GTA IV's score was quickly halved when anisotropic filtering was doubled to 16x. Arkham City's streets, on the other hand, were safe at 61fps -- making no concessions in quality along the way -- and Valve's premiere hat simulator Team Fortress 2 captured an insane 128 frames per second. Rebadged Fermi or not, the Samsung Series 7 Gamer is playing with power. And yes, it runs Crysis -- though not quite as well as it runs modern games. The five-year-old resource hog clocked 33fps on high settings, with maximum fidelity knocking an extra 10 points off its score.

After watching the Series 7 Gamer shrug off every gaming challenge pitted against it, we were hardly surprised to see it could survive a standard Engadget workday. Multiple browser applications, each with at least two dozen active tabs, Photoshop, two word processors, IRC clients, Twitter and Spotify all churned along without a hitch. To be honest, we expected nothing less, and we weren't disappointed. Its 7,200RPM 1.5TB HDD wasn't sluggish either, booting in under 35 seconds and waking from sleep in six -- possibly leveraging the same 8GB of flash "ExpressCache" memory as its cousin, the Series 7 Chronos. Not too shabby.

PCMarkVantage3DMark06Battery lifeSamsung Series 7 Gamer (2.30GHz Core i7-3610QM,GeForce GTX 675M)MSI GT70 (2.23GHz Core i7-3610QM, GeForce GTX670M)Sony VAIO Z (2.7GHz Core i7-2620M, Intel HD Graphics 3000 / Radeon HD 6650M)Note: higher scores are better.

Phenomenal computing power comes at a cost, of course -- that is, phenomenally lousy runtime. Like most of the machines in its category, the Series 7 Gamer suffers from short battery life. Tuned to Engadget's standard run-down parameters, the Gamer lasted two hours and 11 minutes before reaching a critical low -- certainly not bad for a 17.3-inch gaming monster, but not impressive for its class, either. The machine's own "green" mode improved matters slightly, netting an extra 20 minutes of runtime before the machine gave out -- an improvement, but still a far cry from the laptop's claimed 3.7-hour runtime. In the off chance you lug the Gamer to a LAN party and forget your AC adapter, you won't be playing much -- the machine's GPU won't run at full barrel without an external power source.

As much as Samsung nailed the hardware aspect of its first mobile gaming rig, it still leaves users to stumble over unnecessary bloatware. The serious PC gamers sighted in the machine's hardcore reticule typically know their way around a Windows machine, and will resent being babied by would-be companion software that further dumbs down Microsoft's vanilla experience. Not that its meager offerings are truly offensive -- Cyberlink's Media Suite, YouCam and a host of customer support / migration tools are hardly uncommon pack-ins, and Sammy's standard Easy Settings puts much of its own special tweaks in a single, easy-to-access location. But do we really need another launcher aping Mac OS' staple dock? Between the Windows 7 start menu and task bar, users already have ample room to pin their favorite applications or files; these launchers are, quite frankly, redundant.

As aggravating as common bloatware and silly launchers can be, real disappointment comes from lost potential. The aforementioned ModeShift manager, for instance, lets users gently tweak a handful of useful settings -- disabling the trackpad and Windows key while in game mode, for instance, or toggling color optimization for the hardcore setting -- but the depth of customization it could have offered leaves us wanting. Remember when we described the rig's fancy "game mode" transition flourish? It actually has four different animated transitions to choose from. This is fun, for sure, but we were disappointed to find the software wasn't open to creating custom themes and transitions.

After mucking around in the software's INI file, we found we could shift into game mode with a custom, Engadget-themed SWF file and choose our own context-appropriate background, but the software offers no official way to create a personal transition. Similarly, ModeShift's LED control panel is limited to adjusting brightness and timed dimming presets, leaving no option to customize the mode's color tenor beyond the blue and red accent it defaults to. Want to game with the balanced mode's white backlight? Tough. What Samsung offers is useful and functional, but we still ache for the potential tweaks we couldn't make.

A quick glance at the Series 7 Gamer's specs will tell you almost everything you need to know about configuration options: there aren't any, at least not out the door. Officially, the Gamer ships with a 2.3Ghz Intel Core i7-3610QM Processor (3.3Ghz with Turbo Boost), NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 675M, GPU, a 7,200 RPM 1.5TB hard drive with ExpressCache, a Blu-ray drive and 16GB of DDR3 RAM. Our review unit differed just slightly from this, revealing two smaller hard drives, as opposed to a single massive one. The total available space is about the same, but the distinction is worth noting -- as is the fact that both drives and the RAM can be manually serviced. Prefer a fast-booting SSD to buckets of storage? Do it yourself -- or don't. You've got options to spare.

The Series 7 Gamer is definitely one of the top performers in its class, but that $1,900 price tag is nearly as hefty as the rig itself. Still, it isn't as expensive as it could be -- deck out an Alienware M17x ($1,499-plus) with the same hardware, and you'll be paying over $2,300, even more if you opt for a GeForce GTX 680M. Likewise, Origin PC's EOS17-S racks up a $2,263 price tag when built to match the Series 7 Gamer, and can be configured with a wide range of processors and GPUs to tailor the price to your budget. MSI's recently updated GT70 ($1,550-plus), on the other hand, features the very same GPU and processor as the Gamer at a small discount, and can be had for even less with the rig's original GTX 670M intact.

Samsung carefully ascribed the "Gamer" moniker to its latest piece of kit, knowing full well that a failure to deliver would incur the ridicule of a particularly knowledgeable and opinionated customer group. Good thing, then, that the Series 7 Gamer lives up to its handle. Despite our minor gripes, we can't deny its screaming performance. Yes, it has average speakers and a trackpad that might be a large-handed person's worst enemy, but its flaws are easily outshined by that gorgeous 400-nit display. At $1,900, the Series 7 Gamer isn't the cheapest oversized rig on the market, but for Samsung, it's an excellent first foray into the category -- even if it does go a little overboard on those "game mode" transitions.

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Posted in: companys,first,Gamer,gaming,laptop,makes,Review,Samsung,Series

Windows Phone Game Review: Ape The Wall

Ximad has released some interesting games for our Windows Phone such as Bubble Birds, Pandas vs. Ninjas and De-Bugs Pool. Ape The Wall follows suit and is another entertaining game from Ximad that has hit the Windows Phone Marketplace.

The object of Ape The Wall is to guide your ape up the sides of buildings, canyons, or trees. All the while avoiding balconies, satellite dishes, alley cats, coyotes, tree limbs and various objects that mysteriously drop from above. There are two game modes and a hand full of power-ups to help you climb higher.

All in all, Ape The Wall is an entertaining game from Ximad and a nice time waster.

The main menu of Ape The Wall has options to enter the game, access the game's settings (sound/music on/off), view the high scores (Scoreloop integration) and exit the game. When you make the jump to play the game you have to game modes to choose from, Survival and Campaign.

Survival is simply that... climbing and surviving for as long as you can. The Campaign Mode has ten levels in the Urban setting that has you climbing to reach a goal.

Within each mode you have a choice of scenes to choose as well. Survival has a Urban, Forest, Canyon and a "Coming Soon" scene. The Campaign mode has the Urban scene and the other three are marked "Coming Soon".

Game play is simple. As the ape climbs, just tap the screen to have him jump from one side of the screen to the other to avoid the dangers. Along the way you can jump on eagles, airplanes and owls to fly you up the screen. You can jump on the cats, lizards and bears up the screen as well.

Overall, Ape The Wall is a fun game. Animations and graphics are nicely done, game play is challenging enough to keep you interested, and with the two game modes and multiple scenes there is plenty of gaming to prevent the game from getting stale too quickly.

The only nit I have with the game is that there are too many ads. The banner ad isn't that annoying but the transition ads can get old. You do have a skip button to shorten the interruption and I understand the need for ads but still it would be nice if you could dial it back a little.

Ape The Wall is a free, ad supported game that you can grab here at the Windows Phone Marketplace.

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Posted in: Phone,Review,Windows