I know I recently reviewed the N800, but luck is on my side and while I was changing jobs I ended up with a new geek toy. My very friendly new manager saw our N800's and asked if there was a newer model out. He then ordered 4 of them, one for each of us and one for himself. Now we have a meeting once a week to show the team what cool things we have found out you can do with an Internet Tablet.
If you need to know more about Internet Tablets in general, read my review on the N800 here :
The N800 and N810 don't differ that much, so I'll start by summing up the differences :
N800 2 SD card memory slots - compared to the - N810 1 Mini SD memory slot + 2gb internal 'card'
N800 Only on screen keyboard - compared to the - N810 slide out QWERTY keyboard
N800 No internal GPS - compared to the - N810 with internal GPS
And that about sums it up. They look slightly different, the N810 is a little more portable as they have decreased the total size. I think this was not a smart move as the navigation 'joystick' now sits next to they keys and takes away space that could have been used very well for more keyboard space. Also the joystick is hard to reach because it is so near to the sliding mechanism. This device is NOT suitable for gaming unless you get a bluetooth keyboard with it. Which kind of defeats the purpose of getting the N810 instead of the N800. Unless you are getting it for the internal GPS which is a welcome upgrade. Google maps and Wayfinder now just work out of the box without you having to bring along a seperate GPS device. I already used this on a trip in Germany and it saved me tons of time that I would have wasted walking around Bonn without it.
The CPU speed is supposed to be the same as the N800, and although I have upgraded the N800 to have the exact same version of the OS (Maemo OS 2008), it does for some reason seem to responds slightly snappier. A little bit faster menus and program launch times. This could also be my imagination .. wishful thinking perhaps ?
While I was testing this little device, I found some good sites for software and guides (faq stuff and such)
As a day to day used device it's perfect. It can do everything you want from playing music and movies to playing games and navigating around. The obvious use for an internet tablet is of course to browse the web, and the full featured web browser seems to be able to process any webpage I have tested it on so far. Flash support is very good and YouTube movies play smoothly. The built in wifi chip is very strong and if there is any network near you, it will pick it up.
A definite wanna have for most geeks this baby .... runs Linux so you can run all your geeky things like Aircrack and metasploit.
After Bioshock was released, I was convinced it would be the best game of 2007. That was until I got my hands on Mass Effect ! This game beats any XBOX game released so far, hands down. It's a mixture of several genres; a little FPS with some RPG in the mix and a pinch of adventure added in there (shaken, not stirred). I think the mix is done so well, that if you like any of these genres, Mass Effect will be worth your while.
The game starts out with you creating your character from 6 classes. You can also modify his looks in great detail and choose a character background 'story'. These may seem like silly details, but they have been integrated into the story and gameplay in such a way that the next time you create a new character you will probably choose a completely different option so you can see how the game changes because of that. The game excels in the role playing genre because of these elements. There are some truly in depth story branches that occur because of how you have developed your character. A lot of how your character develops depends on how you react in conversations. I won't go into any detail here and would refer you to the WIKI for exact game rules, but even though this kind of system has been seen before in 'Knights of the old Republic' - it reaches an unseen level in Mass Effect.
You can play Mass Effect several times over and each time have a completely different game experience. The easiest for people who have not played role playing games (often) yet will be to choose to blast your way through as if it where a first person shooter. After that you will maybe try the route where you use psychic powers to throw your enemies around while using your team mates to attack the enemies.
That being said, I'd like to conclude by saying some things about the graphics and gameplay mechanics. The graphics of Mass Effect look at least as good as any of the latest shooters and similar games on the XBOX 360 platform. In particular the conversations with some alien races are spectacular. Even sitting beside someone who is playing the game is an enjoyable experience as the system used to choose the answers in conversations allows you to keep the story going seamlessly, in effect making it just like you're watching a movie.
Comelling story, awesome graphics, solid gameplay and high replayability value. Those are the strong points. If I'd have to point out any weaknesses in ME at all, I can only say that the game is sometimes still loading some textures but will allow you to start walking around already. Although I'm not sure that's a negative thing, since it does decrease load times - which increases the enjoyment of the whole experience.
The last few years everyone has started playing poker. Even the folks in the old peoples home seem to have swapped their sunday afternoon game of bridge for a pot of no limit hold'em. With so many new players in this field I thought it was time to start reviewing some of the equipment required for this particularly popular game, beginning with the basics, the cards.
I'll compare 2 brands of playing cards in this review. KEM and COPAG are amongst the top brands in the world for playing cards. Most people prefer KEM cards and I hope that after reading this review you will be able to make a choice for yourself. Now I can hear some of you thinking, why such a fuss about a bunch of cards ? Aren't all cards just created equal ?
By no means ! When you play a lot of cards, you want the cards to last long and not get damaged in any way as that would make single cards recognisable (oh you have the card with the bent corner again ! thats the 9 of spades). So some durable cards, but you can imagine if they become too rugid, you cannot handle them nicely anymore and shuffling becomes a problem.
So they qualities you are looking for in good cards are durability, bendability, weight, quality of image and how attractive the design looks. Please note that COPAG and KEM cards are made from 100% plastic (not just plastic coated). This makes them very durable, if you bend them they snap right back into place without any noticable wear or tear. Also, you can spill you glass of coke or orange juice on there and all you have to do is wash of the cards and let them dry. Try this at home.
The first difference you notice between KEM and COPAG is the clarity of the prints on the cards. The COPAG ones look a little pale, while the KEM cards look exremely sharp and well defined. As for the degins themselves, they don't differ much as you can see on the pictures. The shape of COPAG cards is a litte more square, while the KEM cards are more rectangular.
Now if you FEEL both these decks of cards, you will notice another big difference. KEM has very smooth surfaces on the cards but COPAG cards feel almost like they have a rough surface. Since these are both 100% plastic cards they are always quite slippery, so a little roughness is a good thing in my book. However if you're not used to handling plastic cards you will need to get used to the cards slipping out of you hands and stuff. Both decks weigh about the same, the COPAG being slightly lighter and those also bend a little easier than the KEMs'.
I hope you can now decide for yourself which cards you would prefer for your home game of texas holdem ! Stay tuned for more poker accessoires reviews and good luck at the tables.
