This Windows Phone 7 device has an innovative design with a slide-out speaker

All Windows Phone 7 devices have minimum hardware requirements such VGP-BPS13 as a 1-GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, and 720p video recording, so many people wondered how manufacturers would make their phones VGP-BPS13A/B stand out. In HTC's case, the company went with a unique a slider design with a speaker in the place where a QWERTY keyboard would normally be found. Available for $199 on AT&T, we like the idea of a phone with strong media capabilities, a kickstand VGP-BPS13A/S for watching movies and TV, and a big speaker that can fill a small room with Zune tunes. HTC also bundles an app that delivers some of the VGP-BPS13/Q company's Sense goodness. Still, the Surround must compete with the identically priced Samsung Focus and its brilliant Super AMOLED screen. Assuming you like what WP7 has to offer, which device is the best choice?

Design

The Surround weighs a hefty 5.8 ounces and measures 4.7 x 2.4 x 0.5 inches. The phone VGP-BPS9 feels well-crafted, with hard black plastic on the back and aluminum accents on the sides. The bottom half of the phone slides out a half-inch to VGP-BPS8 reveal the silver speaker grille, which is perforated with tiny holes. Several people we showed the phone to were perplexed that the speaker didn't extend further. "That's all there is?" was a common reaction. A solid metal kickstand is on the opposite side of the phone so VGP-BPS9A/B you can prop up the device on a table or desk.

The top of the Surround has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a sleep/power button, the right side VGP-BPS9/B has a volume rocker and a dedicated camera button, and the bottom has a microUSB charging port.

Display

The 3.8-inch capacitive LCD on the Surround screen VGP-BPS9/S looks good, with strong, accurate colors and nice contrast. It has a resolution of 800 x 480, so text and pictures were easy on the eyes. However, the screen looks a little dull next the Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Focus, another AT&T Windows Phone 7 device, VGP-BPS8A not to mention the category-best iPhone 4's 960 x 640 Retina display. Still, an episode of "30 Rock" streaming over the Netflix app looked VGP-BPS2 decent on the Surround.

Audio

When slid open, the Dolby-powered speaker on the VGP-BPS2A Surround is activated. The default sound on the speaker is Dolby Mobile, but there are two other options that can be accessed by pushing a small square button on the speaker. When the button is pressed once, it enables SRS WOW HD and when pressed twice, it activates no VGP-BPS2B effects at all. Both Dolby and SRS claim to offer audio enhancements, but we surprisingly found that the "no effects" option offered the most VGP-BPS2C volume and clarity. The song "If I Ever Feel Better" by Phoenix is a danceable rock song with guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums. good battery With Dolby Mobile or SRS WOW HD, the song sounded flat and it was hard to differentiate the subtle changes of the drum beats and key changes. With no sound "enhancements," the song came alive with pulsing bass and sony battery guitar licks.

In lieu of the button on the speaker, users can also select between the Dolby Mobile, SRS, and no effects audio profiles using the HTC VGP-BPS13B/B Sound Enhancer app. There's also an Equalizer which has presets (such as bass booster, treble VGP-BPS13B/Q booster, and more) but that's only available when using headphones or external speakers.

The overall volume of the speakers was enough to fill a small room, but not "take the party to another level," as HTC claims on its website. Oddly, games were much louder than music, but when the speaker is right in front of your face, it's not necessary to blast it. While VGP-BPS13/B it doesn't have as much treble and bass, the speaker on the Samsung Focus got almost as loud for music and video.

When using a pair of good headphones with the 3.5mm jack on the Surround, music VGP-BPS13A/Q sounded full, clear, and generally excellent.

SMK Link's PadDock 10

This rotating iPad speaker dock produces good sound for the price vgp-bps21a and will encourage you to use Apple's slate more.



The beauty of the iPad is that it's easy to vgp-bps21/s pick up and start using anytime, whether you want to look up something on the web, play a quick game, or watch a movie or TV show. You'll get even more out of your investment if you store it inside this clever accessory. SMK Link's PadDock 10 ($99) is a sturdy Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery stand with two 3-watt speakers that provide impressive audio oomph for the price, letting you stream music from your iTunes and apps Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery such as Pandora from across the room. And when paired with apps such as ABC.com or Hulu Plus, the PadDock 10 can turn your Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery iPad into a nice little TV for the kitchen. You'll even fire up slideshows more often, since the dock both charges and syncs your device. We have a few complaints, but overall the PadDock 10 delivers.

Design

The PadDock 10 consists of a sturdy table stand topped by a four-pronged, grapple-like frame that holds the iPad in place. The holding Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery frame turns a full 360 degrees, so you can use apps in landscape or portrait mode, and you can tilt the iPad forward or Sony VGP-BPS13 battery back for the best viewing angle. The accessory elevates the iPad approximately 10 inches above the table surface, putting the device vgp-bps21/b in an ideal position to tap the screen when sitting on our desk. The PadDock weighs 3.4 pounds and it's base is 7-inches wide so it's light and small enough to move from room to room with ease. It's not collapsible though, so expect to keep the stand at home or in vgp-bps21a/b your office.

Because the PadDock 10 secures the iPad just below eye-level, we imagine plenty vgp-bps21 of people pairing this accessory with a Bluetooth keyboard to turn the tablet into a mini desktop/net top. The stand's base is well-weighted, so we never vgp-bps13/b worried about tipping over the PadDock 10 with a forceful tap.

A 30-pin connector, the iPad's standard interface port, is built into one of the two holding hooks that lock the iPad in place. That vgp-bps13/q means docking and undocking is a two-part process: First you have to ensure the connector is inserted into the tablet's port, and then you must vgp-bps13a/q push the opposite end of the iPad into a small clasping mechanism on the opposite hook. After a few tries, docking and undocking the iPad was quick vgp-bps13b/q and painless.

A switch to toggle between charging and syncing modes, along with LED lights to indicate which mode is active,PA3534U-1BRS is located on the right side of the PadDock 10. The two 3-watt speakers are located behind a long gray bar pa3535u-1brs underneath the iPad. The speakers face backwards and can't be seen when you're looking at the iPad's screen dead on, but that's because SMK Link designed this accessory to project sound against a wall for better amplification.

On the backside of the four-pronged holding frame and above the speakers are two ports. There's an AC port to power vostro 1510 battery the dock's speakers and charge the iPad, and a mini USB port, used for syncing the iPad with a PC.

Unfortunately, the PadDock 10's volume can only be raised or lowered via a small vostro 1310 battery wheel on the right side of the device. There's no remote control. SMK Link says the company omitted this feature because adding e6400 battery the necessary electronics would have increased the cost well beyond the $99 the company was shooting for

Syncing

To sync the iPad while it rests in the PadDock 10, the tablet must first be connected to your PC via the included mini-USB e6500 battery cable. Then the device can be switched into sync mode with a small button located alongside the same holding hook with the 30-pin connector. Once e5500 battery syncing is done, it's necessary to switch the PadDock 10 back into charge mode if you want to continue providing juice.

Charging

When not playing video or music the PadDock dell studio 1535 battery charges an iPad with 11-watts of power. If the speakers are active, 6-watts are used to power them and 5 watts are used to simultaneously power the docked device and charge it (the standard Apple adapter can charge the slate with 10 watts dell studio 1737 battery of power when the iPad is not being used). We docked an iPad with 40 percent battery life in the PadDock 10 at about 11:30 am, used it intermittently dell studio 17 battery to listen to music and watch some video for about an hour, and let it charge until 4:45pm when it hit 100 percent capacity.

Speaker Performance

The PadDock 10 uses a two-channel stereo system comprised of two oval-shaped left Dell studio 15 battery and right speakers. There's no built-in sub-woofer to cover deep low frequencies, but a passive radiator is used to deliver bass response. The Dell gd761 battery satellite speakers are set at a slight angle so that audio output can bounce off a nearby surface (say, a wall or the back of a desk) and then be reflected back at the listener. In our tests, we noticed that the PadDock 10 performed best when its speakers were Dell xps m1530 battery about 8 to 12 inches away from a wall.

We watched movie trailers, television clips, and listened to MP3 samples on the PadDock 10, Dell xps m1730 battery both against a nearby wall and on the open surface of a table. When positioned against the wall, we could hear more vibrato in the Dell CF623 battery background music of a movie trailer for the film Chico and Rita than when we pointed the dock's speakers toward the middle of the room. The same goes for hip-hop music sampled with iTunes.

Though the bass drop was noticeable when we moved the PadDock 10 away from a wall, the general audio quality was Dell KD476 battery quite good. Even at 50 percent, the volume was loud enough to parse dialogue, make out sound effects, and hear songs or background music from an acer aspire 5920 battery episode of Castle. And when we raised the volume, the show's audio filled our office conference room with sound; for instance, we had acer aspire 5050 battery no trouble hearing birds chirp while our lead characters talked during a stroll through Central Park.

The PadDock 10 also provided satisfying sound quality during music playback. When we streamed Green Day from Pandora, there acer aspire 5100 battery was real warmth in Billy Joe's voice that simply wasn't present when we used the iPad by itself. Just don't expect to use the PadDock apple a1185 battery 10 at parties. While the volume was sufficiently loud to annoy nearby co-workers, it's not enough to fill a large, crowded room. The PadDock 10 apple a1175 battery is best for playing background music or watching video content in a bedroom or kitchen

Verdict

For $99 the PadDock 10 makes for a much better iPad resting place while at home or in the office than a case. The audio output apple a1189 battery is fairly impressive given the affordable price, and when paired with a Bluetooth keyboard this, accessory makes Apple's slate a better good battery productivity device because it's close to eye level. We just wish the package included a remote control so you could change tracks and adjust battery the volume from across the room. Audiophiles may want to invest in the iLuv iMM747, an iPad speaker batteries dock that costs $50 more, but the PadDock 10 is a better multipurpose dock that adds more functionality to an already good batteries great multipurpose device.