But First, Simplicity

This 1998 ad with Jeff Goldblum narrating implies there are two physical steps to setting up an iMac. They skipped the mouse and keyboard cable, though. Today, an iMac is set up using just one power cable, depending on wireless networking and Bluetooth peripherals to get the rest done.

The LCD

The 27-inch iMac’s screen is practically as bright (and more contrasty) than any of the previous iMacs—even Cinema Displays—and it looks astounding. It’s LED-driven so it comes to full luminescence immediately and takes up less power. It also has better side-to-side viewing angle as an IPS tech monitor; like the iMac 24 before it, it goes 178 degrees without much change in colour accuracy or brightness. And here’s the kicker: Although it has 19 per cent more area of LCD than the old 24-incher, it has an astounding 60 per cent more pixels. That makes it more pixel dense than any of the Cinema Displays at 109ppi. And with a 2560×1440 resolution it has 90 per cent of the dot count of a 30-inch cinema display. All these stats are great. They sound great, and they make for a powerful picture. But the actual view of the screen leaves me with a positive—but slightly imperfect—impression.

The default brightness is a bit much, but of course you can turn it down. And the contrast is welcome; even my new 13-inch MacBook Pro looks yellowed and washed out next to it. But at this pixel density, which is sharper than my notebook, it’s almost too sharp, requiring me to sit closer than I would ordinarily do with a 27 inch display. I like the feeling of crispness — 16 per cent crisper than the last generation. But my eyes feel like the pictures are being delivered by a land shark holding a laser pointer straight into my corneas, and I can feel the strain within minutes. I would have to jack up as many font sizes as possible or sit as close as I do to my MacBook to make it work for long long periods of time. Maybe I’m just a wimp of a geek, but I’ve never been sensitive to these sorts of things on any sort of machinery before.

This is the iMac next to a 13-inch MBP and a Dell 2407 24-inch monitor. The iMac’s screen puts both to shame in brightness and clarity.

Apple is making a big deal of the fact this screen is 16:9. I think it looks better in this wider iteration, but it’s not an epic jump since the last gen was 16:10. You’re losing vertical pixel count here, on both the 21.5- and 27-inch models, despite added diagonal inches. Also, the glass cover is now edge to edge, without the thin silver rim around it, on the top and sides. It’s still glossy and very very reflective, despite being covered in anti-reflective coating.

I will feel guilty for mentioning this, because it’s ever so slight, but I’ll feel more guilty if I don’t mentioning it to you: The screen, when it’s white, has the tiniest bit of blotchiness to it. The backlighting is slightly uneven in my model.

My previous comparison to the 30-inch Cinema Display wasn’t for academic purposes, either. One of the most interesting features on the new iMac is that it can use its Mini DisplayPort (normally an output) as an input; that is, it can become a secondary display for notebooks or other devices. Factor in the near-identical specs to the 30-inch Cinema Display, most notably its updated LED screen, and you have absolutely no reason to buy a 30-inch Cinema Display when you can have this — but not just yet.

That’s what two full sized 1080p trailers look like on this screen.

Eager to test this shit and be the first to the internet with an image of an Xbox linked into an iMac (”World’s collide!” would be the headline, I decided), I ordered a monoprice Mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI adaptor. Unfortunately, I discovered that the inputs would not work with a PS3 or Xbox at any res, HD or otherwise. The current adaptors on the market are unidirectional, I was told, and that although theoretically the iMac can take in a display of up to its native display, it would not happen today. I’m sure someone is making a cable as we speak for this very abominable purpose of piping in Microsoft gaming to a desktop Mac — but it’s not here yet. (New cables, by the way, will include audio, which the iMac is capable of taking through its connector.) The issue is, this could take months. That’s a long time, so don’t buy an iMac planning to use it with a gaming console or Blu-ray player right away.

Using it with a laptop was an interesting situation. Odd, for sure, but a welcome bonus and an obvious use. Here’s how it works. You plug in a Mini-DisplayPort-to-Mini-DisplayPort cable to the iMac, which must be turned on (unlike Sony’s all-in-one, which works while off.) The iMac flickers for a second and the laptop’s picture replaces the iMac’s. Here’s where it gets sort of weird. When the iMac is acting as a monitor, the keyboard and mouse are all blocked from working, except a few keys: The pause/play, FF, RR, volume controls and brightness keys all work. They won’t display the typical volume/brightness/FF/whatever iconography, because you’re actually still looking at your MacBook. You can actually then use your iMac as a display for one computer while listening to music on another—but why would you want to? And if you were playing a game with an Xbox, you’d be listening to the game. To toggle between the iMac and the external source, you hit Command+F2.

(*The 21.5-inch iMac is not as sharp or impressive as the 27, but a fine evolution nonetheless; see chart)

Oh, one more thing: The LED display is also thinner than the traditional panel. Even so, when combined with the extra width and height, Apple’s designers are given adequate room to play with the layout and thermal properties of the iMac. Which brings us to the chassis and internals.

The Chassis

The iMac’s chassis went from all plastic to aluminium and glass in 2007. The first aluminium models were stamped out in car factories because no computer factories could work with aluminium pieces that big. Now, the iMac has even more aluminium in them with bigger cases and a seamless wraparound back made of metal instead of the black plastic cap. Despite the loss of the slimming effect of a black plastic back, the computer’s dimensions work in its favour; it’s about 1mm thinner and obviously wider, so it still feels undoubtedly skinny.

Oh, and the stand is tapered by 1.1mm on its front (as is Apple’s wont), to further hide volume.

Aside from the more flattering aspect ratios, the chin—one of the only giveaways that this is not just a screen but a computer—has shrunk by 22%. It looks much better, in my opinion. The case’s bigger size affects its internal layout, too. Apple and iFixit brought several of these details to my attention.

The most important changes are that the GPU and CPU are placed at nearly opposite ends of the case, with their own heatsinks to throw off copious heat with three very quiet fans. (The iMac’s sound profile at idle, for a stock build, is still just a whisper, less than 20dB.)

Ports: The back of the case has a Mini DisplayPort, 4 USB 2.0 ports, power plug (the machine’s only wire), Firewire 800, minijack/optical input and output, and Gigabit Ethernet. There’s Bluetooth 2.1 EDR wireless with which the mouse and keyboard interface, and 802.11 N Wi-Fi. Although the entire case is aluminium, the antenna has been cleverly hidden in a plastic Apple logo top centre on the back. Reception is a touch stronger than on my notebook.

The iChat camera and microphone (the latter of which is made up of about a dozen closely-grouped pinprick holes, like on the MacBook Pro) are situated on the top of the iMac. And despite the new model’s height they sound fine (if not a touch more distant because of the height) when compared to previous models. The top mount for the microphone keeps the sound from the new, more powerful two-way speakers from interfering with it; measured using a song and SPL meter, my notebook came in at 70dB and the iMac at 76dB at sitting distance. Louder, richer and noticeably so than a laptop, though I didn’t have an iMac 24 on hand to compare with.

The larger case allows the iMac to use four sticks of user-serviceable RAM, accessible from the bottom. (That’s useful futureproofing now that OS X Snow Leopard is shipping, and programs and the OS in 64-bit can address more than 4GB at a time.)

How About Performance?

The iMac I’m testing is a 3.06GHz Core2Duo processor with 4GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon 4670 graphics. Those are decent parts but not the highest-end quad-core i5/i7 chips or ATI Radeon 4850 GPU that will ship in iMacs in November. More importantly, the machine I have here that is shipping now is about on par with higher-end, custom-order machines from the last generation. The system benchmarks I ran earlier this week indicate that everything performs practically the same. And since we don’t have a Core i5/i7 machine to work with, I’ve included Apple’s approximations of how much boost the iMac will get from those parts — obviously, many grains of salt are necessary when reading, especially when measuring value of extra CPU cores as literal multipliers when most software still can’t leverage those channels efficiently.

As for 3D, Maclife has some framerate scores from Doom 3 and Call of Duty that are not by any means exact but somewhat representative of the machine I’m using today. But again, the bottom line is that this machine that I have, shipping today, is not faster than machines equipped similarly from the last generation — they’re just cheaper for any given performance point.

But again, even if you wait for the higher end machines, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to access most of that extra power. Snow Leopard hasn’t seen many apps, besides the ones that ship with it that can take advantage of its multicore CPU and GPU technologies. Programs will come, but immediate speed gains aren’t guaranteed here if you buy the quad-core machines.

Here’s an exception: Those Core i5/i7 chips are also clocked slower than the Core 2 Duo chips on the lower-end machines, but have the ability to run single core applications at a greater clock speed. Since all four cores won’t be burning, the chip uses the spare electricity and the extra thermal overhead to dynamically and automatically overclock the core that is working: The i5 chip goes from 2.66GHz to 3.2GHz and the 2.8GHz i7 chip goes to 3.46GHz (with four cores that run hyperthreaded for up to eight virtual cores.)

Sounds fast, but we’ll dive into deeper tests in November. For now, you should be aware that if your desktop is less than 18 months old, you’d be somewhat silly to upgrade before the highest end chips from this generation of iMac are out.

What Else You Got?

The iMac replaces its old mouse with the new Magic Mouse, with a multitouch surface and 360-degree scrolling and swiping, almost like the gestures you find on a Macbook trackpad. I’ve said it before: I primarily use Laptops because I love trackpads. The gestures, fingertip precision and proximity to the keyboard make it a must have, and this mouse fixes some of those issues. (*Jason Chen reviewed the mouse and liked it but it was not without flaws. Read that if you’re considering buying an iMac, because it’s the only option Apple offers.)

The one detail I found problematic specifically with the Magic Mouse as it pertains to the 27-inch iMac is that even when the pointer sensitivity is set to the highest level, a swipe of the wrist at a moderately fast speed goes only 2/3 across the giant pixel landscape. Only by whipping my hand across my mouse pad can I trigger enough mouse acceleration to get across the screen. They should turn up the sensitivity, frankly. Software update please!

The keyboard is also changed, going from the old wired numeric keyboard, which was stamped out of the screen cutout of the chassis, with a keypad-less wireless Bluetooth model. Apple states that the keyboard’s narrow profile makes it a better fit next to the mouse. I think it also makes sense as a remote control for the computer from afar when watching media, since this is the biggest iMac ever that doubles as a monitor. But it looks a little small and out of proportion with the machine itself, since the Mac got wider and the keyboard got shorter.

Oh, the white plastic remote that used to ship with all the laptops, AppleTV and iMacs has been replaced by an elliptical, aluminium remote with black rubber buttons. It’s longer, and shaped like an iPod nano but no longer comes with the iMac. It costs $US19. I think when you buy a computer that is this expensive, they should THROW IN THE DAMN REMOTE.

The first thing I noticed when playing with the new iMac was that the screens feel bigger and wider, as they should. Secondly, I noticed the black screen and aluminum smaller “chin”. Thirdly, I noticed the wireless keyboard, which was missing the numeric keypad (compared to the wired keyboard) and the Magic Mouse. The computer itself has a few things going on that aren’t apparent at a glance.

The screen is finally LED-backlit, like the Cinema Displays. And like the 24-inch Cinema Display, it does IPS (In Plane Switching), which is great for edge-to-edge viewing without color distortion. The iMac has a new trick, too—its DisplayPort can turn it into a second screen, receiving video (but not audio) input from DVD players or a MacBook. Apple said it was HDCP compliant so it should be fine for watching Blu-rays on, via the port, via a separate player.

The 21.5-incher has a generous 1920×1080 pixels, while the 27-incher has 2560×1440 pixels. 21:9 movies look better than on previous generations, because of the more correct aspect ratio, but there’s NO getting around those bars—21:9 is not even close to 16:9. But a 21:9 ratio’d screen would be weird on a desktop, no doubt. The screen is still glossy, which means glare-y.

Compared to the last generation, the 21.5-inch is 1.1mm thinner (23mm vs. 24.1), and the 27-inch is 4.4mm thinner (27.1mm vs. 31.5mm).

Oh! There’s a new remote (a $19 option), which is aluminum with black buttons, larger—like a skinny iPod nano in that same elliptical shape. It’s gray.

The larger chassis allowed Apple to do two main things over the previous generation’s 20- and 24-inch models: Fit in 4 RAM modules, for a total of 16GB max memory, and increase the quality of sound using the both acoustics of the case and better components. There’s a noticeable difference.

There’s a new SD card slot under the optical. Apple, like on the MacBook Pros, has the card sticking out a lot so you don’t forget to put it back in your camera.

The case is no longer plastic on the back—it’s the same metal frame as used on the front, meaning it’s unibody. The black back of the previous generation made the computer appear even thinner than this one. Apple has not commented so far on the relative thinness here, so we’ll have to measure later.

The other thing is, on top of Core 2 Duo configs with 3.06GHz processors, in November Apple will ship quad-core Core i5/i7 chips at 2.66 and 2.80GHz respectively. They’ll go for a lot more, but in theory, you’ll be able to take advantage of those four cores using Snow Leopard’s GDC tech. Apple said that non-multithreaded programs can take advantage of the chipset’s ability to go “turbo”; it can speed up individual cores when the others aren’t being used. This happens transparently to the user.

There are three main graphics configs in this machine, too: An Nvidia 9400m or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics solution in the 21.5-incher, with the latter being 4x as fast, according to Apple. The 27-inch iMac has the ATI Radeon HD 4670 as its low-end card and a ATI Radeon HD 4850 on the top end. Graphics cards should have an impact on general computing, once developers start writing for the OpenCL functionality in Snow Leopard, so its a bit more important for non-gamers than in previous generations of iMacs.

That’s all I can think of for now. It was a short hands on.

Apple Unveils New iMac With 21.5 and 27-inch Displays

Features LED-Backlit Displays, Available Quad-Core Processors & the New Wireless Magic Mouse

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today unveiled an all new iMac® line featuring brilliant LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all aluminium enclosure. The new iMac line, starting at $US1,199, is the fastest ever with Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for up to twice the performance.* Every new iMac ships with a wireless keyboard and the all new wireless Magic Mouse, the world’s first mouse with Multi-Touch™ technology pioneered by Apple on the iPhone®, iPod touch® and Mac® notebook trackpad.

“The iMac is widely praised as the best desktop computer in the world and today we are making it even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With brilliant LED displays and the revolutionary Magic Mouse, the new iMac delivers an amazing desktop experience that we think customers will love.”

The new iMac features stunning LED-backlit displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio, ideal for watching high definition movies and TV shows from iTunes®, or editing and watching your own videos or photos using iLife®. The new 21.5-inch iMac features a high resolution 1920-by-1080 pixel display. The 27-inch iMac features a beautiful 2560-by-1440 pixel display that offers 60 percent more pixels than the previous 24-inch model. Both 21.5 and 27-inch displays use IPS technology to deliver consistent colour across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle.

The iMac comes standard with a wireless keyboard and the new Magic Mouse featuring Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch technology. Instead of needing mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Using intuitive gestures, a user can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Mouse can be configured as either a single button or two button mouse, according to the user’s preference. The wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse work seamlessly with the iMac’s built-in Bluetooth capabilities to provide a clean, cable-free desk top.

The iMac features improved graphics across the line with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics in the 21.5-inch model, and ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics in the 27-inch model. The new iMac line now also features 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory and capacity up to 16GB across four SO-DIMM slots. Every iMac features a built-in iSight® video camera, mic and stereo speakers integrated into the thin aluminium and glass design. iMac includes built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, a total of four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire® 800 port and a new built-in SD card slot.

Apple today also announced that the Mac mini, the world’s most energy efficient desktop,** is now faster, offers more storage and comes standard with double the memory. Starting at $US599, the entry level Mac mini features a faster 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, a 160GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive®. The $US799 Mac mini features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory and a larger 320GB hard drive. Apple now offers a $US999 Mac mini that is specially configured with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard® Server. Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server features two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage in the tiny 6.5-inch square by 2-inch tall Mac mini enclosure.

Continuing Apple’s commitment to the environment, both iMac and Mac mini extend their leadership in green design. iMac and Mac mini meet the new, more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieve EPEAT Gold status.*** The new iMac now features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Both iMac and Mac mini use PVC-free internal components and cables, contain no brominated flame retardants, use highly recyclable materials, and feature material-efficient system and packaging designs.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilisation and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Pricing & Availability
The new 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac and Mac mini lines are now shipping and available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple authorised Resellers. The Intel Core i5 and i7 quad-core iMacs are available for order and will begin shipping this November. Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server is available from the Apple Store and Apple’s retail stores.

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $US1,199 (US), includes:
21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW);
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
built-in iSight video camera;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
four USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire 800 port;
SD card slot;
built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $US1,499 (US), includes:
21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3;
1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW);
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
built-in iSight video camera;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
four USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire 800 port;
SD card slot;
built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 27-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $US1,699 (US), includes:
27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3;
1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW);
Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
built-in iSight video camera;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
four USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire 800 port;
SD card slot;
built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 27-inch 2.66 GHz Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $US1,999 (US), includes:
27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
2.66 GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;
4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics; with 512MB GDDR3;
1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+ / -R DL/DVD+ / -RW/CD-RW);
Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
built-in iSight video camera;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
four USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire 800 port;
SD card slot;
built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Build-to-order options for the 27-inch Core i5 quad-core iMac include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor.

*Based on estimated results of industry-standard SPECint_base2006 and SPECfp_rate_base2006 rate tests. SPEC® is a registered trademark of Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC). Testing conducted by Apple in October 2009 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Intel Core i5-based 2.66 GHz units and shipping 24-inch iMac Intel Core 2 Duo–based 3.06 GHz units. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of iMac.

**Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.0 database as of October 2009.

***EPEAT is an independent organisation that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognised as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Whether you’re taken with the S5 largely depends on how you feel about Sonos in the first place. If you’ve been itching for an elegant way to play music and internet radio over your home network, and you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you’ll probably love the S5. It’s not very different from Sonos’s other products, really: Instead of plugging in your own stereo, the S5 simply supplies its own. Navigation, playback and music discovery are unchanged from previous Sonos products, so I’m going to focus on the hardware, mostly sound quality.

The receiver/speaker all-in-one is smaller than you’d expect, no bigger than a mid-sized iPod dock, and conservatively styled in white metal with a grey grille. I tested it alongside the winner of our iPod dock Battlemodo, the JBL OnStage 400p, for purely sound-specific purposes, since the actual products have a different feature set. Hardware-wise, the Sonos S5 lacks the JBL’s iPod dock (as it doesn’t really have a need for one) but does have Wi-Fi, ethernet and audio-in and -out.

It’s super easy to set up; the iPhone app discovers any Sonos hardware, which you name and then have access to from the main menu. You choose music, either from a location on the network (like a computer, or in my case an Apple Time Capsule) or from streaming services like Pandora, Napster and Last.FM. Streaming was very quick, with only a split-second lag before the song started, and streaming music (both from a saved location and from the internet) played back so smoothly you can’t tell that it’s streaming. The Sonos iPhone app is excellent, as always. Suffice to say that it’s extremely fast and easy to use, whether you’re searching through Last.FM for an artist or just streaming your own tunes from a computer.

Sound quality was actually very slightly disappointing, in that it didn’t totally blow me away. It sounds quite good, don’t get me wrong, and played far louder (without audible distortion even at its highest setting) than the JBL OnStage 400p, but on the whole I preferred the JBL. Though the Sonos is packing two tweeters, two mids and a subwoofer, bass wasn’t nearly as full and rich as on the JBL. EQ can be tweaked via the remote (iPhone/iPod Touch or Sonos controller), but its stock setting was a little jarring on the highs and slightly thin-sounding compared to the JBL. At low volumes, the difference wouldn’t be noticeable, but blasting Discovery’s “Orange Crush” showed a distinct difference between the two.

I don’t want to imply that the S5’s sound quality is lousy in any way: It’s definitely above-average for an all-in-one system, and I was impressed with the lack of distortion and clarity. But I kind of expected to be wowed, and I wasn’t. That doesn’t mean it’s not an interesting and worthwhile product, but it could be better.

The S5 worked flawlessly with other S5s, able to play different songs simultaneously—but if you want one to stop playing its song and join in with another S5 to play in tandem, it can do that too, and sync perfectly. It’s pretty cool and worked well, but I’m not sure why you’d need two all-in-one units to play the same song at the same time in different rooms.

I really like the Sonos S5 as a speaker for a room where you don’t want a full stereo—like the kitchen, say, or the back porch. It’s great to be free from wires yet still have access to all of your music, and services like Pandora. If you already own an iPhone or iPod Touch, it’s actually a solid deal, provided you’re sold on Sonos: The ZonePlayer 80 costs $US300, but for $US100 more you can get a portable (and pretty decent) speaker with the S5.

But the question I was left with: Is it worth the $US160 premium over the JBL OnStage 400p? I’m not sure, really. The S5 is a more elegant solution, certainly, but a lot of users just want a quick-and-dirty playback device, and the S5 is too refined for that. If you’re already a Sonos devotee, the S5 is an interesting and affordable addition to the lineup, but if you aren’t sold on the whole concept, I don’t think the S5 will change your mind. [Sonos]

Coming after the HP TouchSmart’s jugular, the Vaio L will have all the multimedia goods and seems to be packed with new Sony multimedia software that brings Sony TV to your PC. [Sony]

VAIO L Series Puts TV, Internet and Blu-ray Disc Movies One Touch Away

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2009 – Sony today unveiled its new touch-enabled, multi-media machine- the VAIO® L Touch HD PC/TV.

With the VAIO L Series’ multi-touch screen easy access to your PC, HDTV, DVR- your entire entertainment hub- is readily at your fingertips.

Equipped with a 24-inch (diagonal) WUXGA (1920×1080) widescreen panel, the unit displays high-definition content in Full HD resolution.

Select models feature a Blu-ray Disc™ optical drive so you can enjoy high-definition movies. A rewritable BD drive for recording, storing and playing back personal content on high-capacity BD media is also available.

“The L Series is the ultimate multi-media hub- it’s your PC, HDTV and DVR in one compact, stylish device,” said Mike Abary, senior vice president of the VAIO business group at Sony. “And with cutting-edge features such as multi-touch, it’s ideal for media lovers who appreciate HD performance and cutting-edge technology.”

Select models feature a built-in tuner so you can connect to your digital cable TV service and Over-The-Air (ATSC) HD TV signals (antenna required) and watch television on your PC

An optional HDMI™ input is available, so in addition to the unit’s built-in HD features you can connect a compatible HD cable box, satellite receiver or PLAYSTATION®3 (all sold separately) via a single cable and enjoy HD entertainment without powering on the PC.

And with built-in DVR capabilities and up to a terabyte of storage, you can create a personal entertainment library with up to 100 hours of HD television.

It comes with Windows® 7 Home Premium or Professional 64-bit operating system. Leveraging these new operating systems, the L Series is able to offer new functionalities such as a touch screen display enabling you to do anything you could do with a mouse with the touch of a finger.

Launch directly into Sony’s own Media Gallery software by pushing the designated VAIO button on the keyboard and create high-quality home movies and slideshows in three simple steps. Import your photos and video, choose a theme and soundtrack, click finish and the software does the rest, generating a professional-looking movie complete with special effects- all by touching the screen.
The unit packs a powerful Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor (select models), loads of RAM, and a dedicated NVIDIA® GeForce ® series graphics for graphic-intense gaming and movies.

By utilizing built-in wireless 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi technology and your wireless router (required, sold separately), you can position the model virtually anywhere in your home and access the Internet, email or home network.

The model is ideal for anywhere space is at a premium. It has a mounting capability that allows users to attach a VESA-compatible mount (sold separately) to it and hang it on the wall of your bedroom, kitchen, office or attach to your desk.

When not mounted to the wall, the L Series features an adjustable stand to help you adjust the unit to meet your desired viewing or touch angle or simply to decrease the slant for space-saving. A wireless keyboard, mouse and remote control (select models) are included.

The VAIO L Touch HD PC/TV will start at about $1,300. It is available for pre-orders today online at www.sonystyle.com/pr/l. It will also be sold at Sony Style® stores and select retailers around the country starting next month.

It has new replaceable motor with electronic feedback control, which in theory will give you consistent speed under pressure. The speed range goes from 5000 to 35,000 revolutions per minute, and it has the obligatory backward compatibility with all your existing Dremel tips. [Dremel via ]

The Eee Keyboard’s netbook-like specs include a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 16- or 32GB solid-state hard disk, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HDMI.

The official confirmation backs up DigiTimes’ “industry sources” who not only claimed that October looked likely, but estimated the price should be around $US400-$500. Asus didn’t elaborate on cost, but fingers-crossed that it can keep things that low. And with Windows 7 debuting on October 22, hopefully the Eee Keyboard will ditch XP altogether (though it may have a Mobilin Linux option). We’ve [PC World]

The ESP 3250 (above) is similar to the ESP 3, but for the same $US130 price point it adds a multifunction card reader and a 1.5-inch LCD (the ESP 3 has no display).

The ESP 5250 (pictured up at the top), which at $US170 is $US20 more than the ESP 5, adds Wi-Fi to the mix, a welcome new feature. It also keeps the ESP 5’s multifunction card reader and shrinks the display to a 2.4-incher.

These printers both use Kodacolor, a tech which Kodak claims reduces ink costs by up to $US110 a year. Without having tested them we can’t really tell, but Kodak’s ink sure is cheaper than competitors: A three-colour cartridge for either printer costs $US15 and black is $US10. Compare that to Canon’s ink, which is $US13 per colour and $US15 for black. If Kodak’s printers are efficient, that’ll mean a lot of money saved. [Kodak]

KODAK Printers Offer Lowest Total Ink Replacement Cost in the Industry

Rochester, NY, September 2, 2009 – Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) invites consumers to print, copy, scan and save with its new KODAK ESP 3250 and ESP 5250 All-in-One (AiO) Printers. The ESP 3250 and ESP 5250 Printers join Kodak’s innovative line of printers that are revolutionizing the inkjet business by offering the lowest total ink replacement cost in the industry². With KODAK AiO Printers, consumers can print vivid colour documents and KODAK lab-quality photos³ at home for less, saving an average of $US110 a year on ink¹ compared to other leading consumer inkjet printers on the market.

“The introduction of the new KODAK ESP 3250 and ESP 5250 AiO models delivers on Kodak’s commitment to bring consumers affordable, first-class printing solutions,” says Randy Brody, Vice-President, Worldwide Marketing, Consumer Inkjet Systems at Eastman Kodak Company. “With our line of innovative and intuitive printers, Kodak is committed to providing high-quality, in-home printing with fairly-priced ink so that consumers can print what they want, when they want, without fear of the ink replacement cost.”

Innovations in Printing Solutions

KODAK ESP 3250 and ESP 5250 AiO Printers continue to combine the latest in printing technology with low-cost, high-quality pigment ink cartridges that deliver brilliant documents and KODAK lab-quality photos³. The end result is what consumers want – an easy-to-use printer that produces exceptional prints that last a lifetime and are rated highest in water and stain resistance as well as savings on their ink replacement costs.

The KODAK ESP 3250 and 5250 Printers are designed to efficiently print with a speed of up to 30 pages per minute in black and 29 pages per minute in colour. In addition, both feature improved paper handling with intelligent paper tray systems that automatically adjust settings based on paper type and size to reduce printing errors and save time. With colour LCD display screens and memory card slots, the ESP 3250 and ESP 5250 Printers make it easier than ever to create colour and black-and-white documents and photos without a computer.

KODAK ESP 3250 AiO Printer ($129.99 MSRP7) features a 1.5″ colour LCD along with memory card compatibility, making it easy for consumers to view and print without a computer.

KODAK ESP 5250 AiO Printer ($169.99 MSRP7) is enabled with built-in Wi-Fi, offering increased efficiency and flexibility for the freedom to easily print from anywhere in the home and without cables. The printer also features a 2.4″ colour LCD and memory card compatibility to view, edit and print photos.

Quality and Performance for Less

KODAK All-in-One Printers use Kodak’s premium pigmented inks that come in a simple two-cartridge set-up, saving consumers an average of $US110 a year on ink¹. Black cartridges retail for $US9.99 U.S. MSRP7 and a five-ink colour cartridge retails at $US14.99 U.S. MSRP7. The exclusive KODACOLOR Technology embedded in each printer enables consumers to cost-effectively print crisp documents and KODAK lab-quality photos³. This technology is a combination of four key elements: pigment-based inks, micro-porous photo papers, colour and image science and a Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) print head.

Furthermore, Kodak’s Home centre Software includes the exclusive Facial Retouch feature that enables consumers to improve their personal photographs right at home by automatically reducing blemishes and enhancing facial features in just one click. Also, KODAK All-in-One Home centre Software contains an Optical Character Reader (OCR) which allows the user to scan documents that can be edited.

Both KODAK ESP 3250 and ESP 5250 Printers are ENERGY STAR qualified and include features such as manual two-sided printing and multiple-pages-per-sheet printing. In “Standby” mode, both printers use less than one watt of power. Both printers are also compliant with the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, which limits the presence of certain substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

Loaded with Windows 7, the X9613 features a multitouch screen, Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor, Nvidia GT240M graphics, 4GB of RAM, Blu-ray drive and even a second Sideshow monitor (that box you see on the bottom, we believe). But it’s the system’s glossy, touch-button and fingerprint-friendly design that would make it an aesthetically welcome addition to one’s typical array of home theatre equipment.

Announced for Europe only at the moment, the X9613 is priced between AU$2565 to AU$3250 after conversion. Luckily, these types of rigs will only get cheaper.[New Gadgets via Engadget]

That’s not crazy high-def by any means, but all up, the AE2010 looks pretty good for $US649. Compared to other all-in-ones that is. I mean, you can get pretty good laptops for that much, and cheap desktops are more upgradeable. Still, those options may not have same touchy-feely good looks. [MSI]

The IdeaCentre C100 is a 20-inch all-in-one that’ll launch at a price point of, as the Lenovo people told me, “around $US400.” It’ll have a 1.6GHz Atom, 1 or 2GB of RAM, a DVD burner and an 80GB-160GB HDD. Interestingly, the webcam and WiFi are both optional, which we suppose is one way to keep the price down.

The demo unit I saw was running Windows 7, but I was informed that they’ll be releasing it this month with Windows Vista and without a touchscreen, even though the unit is dying for one. They’ll be releasing a touch-optimised Windows 7 version come the OS’s release in October, but the price will go up to accommodate the change. We’ll update this post with more exact info when we get it, especially a specific price and release date.

Lenovo