Samsung said that transfer speeds can be up to 10.8 megabytes a second, and that one hour of video can be burned in 30 minutes. With the bundled editing software from Nero, you can create videos, slide shows or audio slide shows, burn DVDs and CDs, or back up data. But the software is limited in its audio and picture-editing capabilities. Samsung said the drive was compatible with any editing and burning software on the market today, and once your new DVD was created, it could be viewed on any computer or DVD player. The DVD burner also prints discs.
The DVD burner supports only discs with LightScribe technology, which etches images directly onto the disc. The label-making software is preloaded on the drive, which prints only in gray scale.
FINALLY, A SPEAKERPHONE MADE JUST FOR MACS
It’s a frustration that vexes many Apple users. Some products just aren’t made for Macs. Until now, Ipevo’s TR10 speakerphone was on that list.
The TR10, previously made for Skype users only, has been introduced for iChat. Marketed as the first speakerphone made exclusively for iChat use, the TR10 also acts as a personal handset and recorder, depending on how you position it. When upright, the TR10 works as a personal speakerphone. Rest it flat next to your desktop to record podcasts using Apple’s GarageBand.
The TR10 can also be toggled to handset mode for more private conversations. The speakerphone comes with echo cancellation, a 1.5m voice reception range, one-touch iChat answering and hanging-up mode and a conference option that can handle up to four calls simultaneously.
You can also use the TR10 to listen to music on iTunes. Sorry, PC users, the US$80 TR10 for iChat is Mac-compatible only.
A LIGHTWEIGHT SUCCESSOR PACKS A PORTABLE PUNCH
With all eyes on Apple last month, some other noteworthy product introductions did not get their fair share of fanfare. Take the Toshiba Portege R600 laptop.
In case you missed it, the R600 is 1.96cm thick and a lightweight 1kg, and still includes a DVD-SuperMulti drive. Unlike owners of the MacBook Air, R600 owners don’t have to give up their optical drive for portability’s sake.
The R600, successor to the R500, can run 7 1/2 hours on its battery, and features a 12.1-inch diagonal widescreen display and a centered touchpad. At US$2,100, the laptop offers a 160-gigabyte hard drive; for US$3,000, you get a 128-gigabyte solid state drive. The R600 also comes with technology that continuously checks battery life and CPU temperatures, and sees that the hard drive is functioning properly, which should help the laptop last longer.
Also of note are its LED-backlighted display, built-in webcam and microphone, 3 gigabytes of memory and Intel Core 2 Duo Processor. Perhaps you can compare apples to oranges after all.
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