Tridays Rumbler

Jochen Schmitz-Linkweiler from LSL has taken care of the technical modifications. With the help of genuine Öhlins spring elements and heavy Pirelli studded tyres with dimensions of 110/80-19 and 140/80-18 the Srambler stands noticeably higher off the ground. Upside down triple clamps made especially for the TRIUMPH two-cylinder mean the right castor angle is achieved with somewhat less offset, and a  Magura-Super-Moto braking system with 4-stroke radial callipers plus a radial master brake cylinder rounds off the sporty feel of this bike. Easy to use Roadster handlebars make it ergonomical. What is great about this one-off bike is that it does not matter how much demand there is: All design and technical components can be sourced individually which means that everyone can get their own quite unique special TRIUMPH Rumbler on the road.

2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT

Nope, this isn't a better version of the SLS AMG. Well, okay, technically it is, but it's really just the replacement for MB's gull-winged supercar. The 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT ($TBA) bests its predecessor by 20 hp thanks to additional tuning of the 6.2L V8, making it a tenth quicker in the sprint from 0-60 mph — it now takes just 3.6 seconds — and also features new AMG Adaptive Performance Suspension, new, optional designo style interior packages featuring the highest-end leather upholstery with contrast stitching and diamond quilt details, and the same, rock-solid AMG Speedshift seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. It'll be available in both coupe and roadster editions, and while we're normally open-air enthusiasts, there's no way we could pass up those iconic doors.

Canon HG10 HD Camcorder

Get handheld hi-def with the ultra-compact Canon HG10 AVCHD Hard Disk Drive Camcorder ($1300; Oct.2007). The HG10 can record up to 15 hours of 1080 HD footage onto its built-in 40GB hard drive. Other features include a 10x HD Video lens, DIGIC DV II Image Processor, SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization and Instant AF. The HG10 also sports a 2.7-inch Multi-Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD, and offers the ability to capture 3.1 megapixel photos to a miniSD card.

Sony NEX-VG10 Handycam

Not content to simply let its nearly pocket-sized NEX-5 Camera shoot 1080p video, Sony's taken the next step and built an actual camcorder around its 14.2 megapixel APS-C sensor. The result is the Sony NEX-VG10 Handycam ($2,000), which Sony claims is the "world's first consumer interchangeable lens camcorder." Powered by the aforementioned Exmor sensor, the VG10 sports a camcorder-like body, with a Quad Capsule Spatial Array Stereo Microphone, 3-inch LCD, dual accessory shoes, a high-res traditional viewfinder, Memory Stick and SDXC storage, and an included E-Mount 18-200mm Optical SteadyShot lens that's augmented by compatibility with all E-Mount lenses, as well as most A-mount glass via an optional adapter. Oh, and it also shoots full 14-megapixel stills, just in case you're wondering.

Acer Iconia Tab A700 Review

This week we’ve gotten the opportunity to take an up close and personal peek at the Acer Iconia Tab A700, an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with a high definition display and the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor under the hood. This Acer device looks and feels rather similar to its predecessor, the Iconia Tab A500, but its components set it in a class all its own. This tablet has a 10.1-inch display with 1920 x 1200 pixels across it, this making it a 224ppi dense display-toting beast of a machine.

Hardware

While the display’s high definition resolution is obviously the real hero here, you’ll be glad to know that we’re now officially in an age where making a tablet that’s as thin and nice looking as the iPad isn’t so much of a hassle as it used to be. This version of the Iconia Tab is right around the same weight and shape as the A500, but here it’s got a bit more style.

The speckled back panel and the lovely detail in the glass panel up front as well as it’s surrounding plastic are all very well tuned. This tablet feels really nice to hold, as it were.
This tablet has several ports, each of them just about as far away from the others as they possibly could be. There’s a microHDMI, a microUSB, headphone jack, and a microSD card slot as well as a volume up/down button and a screen lock. The screen lock is a switch that holds your tablet in either landscape or portrait mode, and should you feel like heading down the road of the hacker, we’re sure you could find more than a few useful things to do with it in addition to its basic intent.

The power button sits at the top of the left of the device in the same place it did on the A500, and if one were to compare this tablet only to that older generation, one would applaud the efforts of Acer in pushing themselves to the next level. Compared to the iPad, you’ve got a surprisingly similar feeling machine, with just about the same weight and, at a distance at least, a really similar look.

Of course the power of any tablet doesn’t rest on its single specifications alone, and Apple’s iPad certainly relies on its software to beat the crowd. So how does Acer do with their new look at Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich?

Software

Inside this machine is Acer’s selection of applications including several pre-installed games, cloud-access apps, and music apps. Google’s collection of apps are here as well, this including Google Music (not often included right out of the box) as well as the common ICS additions like Google+.

The real heroes here are the additions made to Android 4.0 ICS by Acer. There’s a brand new lovely customizable lock-screen as well as a “Ring” that will allow you several new abilities including the screenshot, the ability to flip through web browser favorites in cards, and changing the volume on-screen. This Ring could very well be the reason you purchase this device – Acer has done a great job of pushing the limits of such a collection of functionalities for the discerning Android user.

You’ve also got the built-in ability to work with a printer to print whatever you’ve got on-screen to hard copy. We suggest to take a look at which devices will function with this connectivity, but from what we’ve seen, most modern wireless printers will indeed work. Acer has connected this device to the rest of its device suite with a simple registration app – this being a good example of why you’ll certainly want to be thinking about picking one Acer machine up if you’ve picked up the other as their device family continues to become more interconnected.

The NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor inside this beast will allow you connectivity with the NVIDIA TegraZone, a place where exclusive Tegra-only applications live, and you’ll find that they look quite fabulous. Have a peek at some benchmarks taken by this device to see how well you’ll be rolling

Camera

This device’s camera is not all that different from the camera on the original A500, that also being a 5-megapixel shooter. You’ve got a 2-megapixel camera on the front as well, this as good as it was on the A500 as well for video chat. The back-facing camera does not have a flash and is able to auto-focus, but only after you’ve tapped the shutter button. Have a peek at a few pieces of media resulting from this setup:

 Battery

This device is part of a new wave of battery-conscious devices that, with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor with 4-PLUS-1 technology, is able to sleep so deeply that you’ve rarely got a situation where the device runs out of battery after having been left alone for an extended period. Instead where you’ll find battery drain is in the other normal places like mapping and streaming video. Even then you’ll have a fabulously long amount of play-time on your hands.

The Acer Iconia Tab A700′s battery will last you though several days at least if you use it intermittently, or it can last you as few as 8 hours if you’re rocking streaming video non-stop. Either way, it’s impressive.

Portfolio Case

We were also sent the new Acer Iconia Tab Series Portfolio Case – one of the strangest cases we’ve seen on the market thus far. It’s strange in that it relies on a high-powered adhesive to stick to the tablet rather than clamping on with plastic claws as any of a million other cases would. You put your tablet down on one side, pull back the adhesive covering on the other, and push that second side closed onto the back of your tablet.

The adhesive sticks as hard as you could possibly want it to, but is also somehow removable when you want as well. It’s certainly not something you’re going to be able to use multiple times, as the adhesive will certainly get weak after a couple of stickings, but this solution certainly is unique, that’s for sure. The case then also is made of some high-quality rubbery plastics with magnets inside to hold it closed and in stand mode. Interesting stuff!

Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 Review

The expansion of the Samsung realm of wi-fi-only smart devices continues with the Galaxy Player 4.2, complete with two front-facing speakers, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and a lovely display. This device is essentially a Galaxy S II at half-power and without a mobile connection – but keeping all the media-playing powers of a device deeply integrated in the extended Samsung family of Smart TVs, apps, and speakers galore. Here we’ll take a look at how it feels once again to work with the Samsung mobile media player, here in its most ideal shape and form yet.

Hardware

Unlike its slightly more massive cousin which you can see in our Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 Review, this device is extremely thin and certainly one of the lightest smart devices on the market today. The only lighter device we’ve seen along these same lines is one you can see in our Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6 Review – a tiny device, to be sure. This 4.2-inch relative of those Galaxy Players has many of the same specifications but here may well have the most ideal combination of palm-fitting form factor and media playing prowess.

Here you’ll find a device with Android 2.3 Gingerbread – certainly not the most advanced software available from Google or Samsung for that matter, but enhanced in several ways that make it equitable in a few choice ways. You’ll be able to see all of the applications you’ve got open at once by holding down the physical center button on the front of the phone. Access Google search by holding down the menu button. Turn the entire device on, the display off, and adjust the volume from the right side of the device, this handset having both its power and volume buttons sitting right under your thumb – if you’re right-handed, that is.

The two speakers on the front of this device remind us that Samsung has begun moving to this sort of model. We’ve seen this same cue on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 as well – have a peek at our Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Review to see how we enjoyed this feature just as well there as we did here. The vast majority of smartphones working with exterior speakers have been on the back, made to bounce sound off of the palm of your hand and reserve space on the front of the phone for screen space. Here Samsung is making it clear that this is not a smartphone, but a device made to play games, play music, and play movies first and foremost.

The Galaxy Player 4.2 has a display that’s right on the sweet-spot for what I’d consider a perfect screen size. Most adults with mid to large-sized hands should be able to reach the entirety of the device’s display with their thumb without needing two hands to do it, and the ideal location of the power button and volume button only adds to that ideal media-controller situation.

This device is able to connect with DLNA displays with the app called AllShare, Bluetooth devices with Bluetooth 3.0, and of course wi-fi internet. You’ll be connecting to your computer for media transfer with the free desktop-connected app Samsung Kies, and your USB connection is 2.0. You can play AVI, MP4, 3GP, WMV, ASF, MKV, and FLV videos as well as MP3, WMA, Ogg, FLAC, AAC, and WAV audio files. Inside your basic Music application you’ve got a sound levels controller called SoundAlive which has a set of presets such as Rock, Dance, Jazz, and Auto – and there’s a couple of customizable sets as well.

Software

Here we see Samsung’s most advanced version of media-player-ready Android 2.3 Gingerbread with TouchWiz enhanced for a rapidly evolving Ice Cream Sandwich-heavy environment. It’s unclear why this device does not simply have Android 4.0, but perhaps it is just that – updating this device mightn’t be so simple. It’s not extremely necessary to have that newest version of Google’s mobile OS for media and game playing, and that is what this device is made for without a doubt.

Below you’ll get a glimpse of how quick the Galaxy Player 4.2 works with its installed software, and we’ve got a couple of benchmarks here as well for you to compare with the rest of the smartphone and media player world.

Hands-on

Sound Quality

Samsung has never disappointed with their ability to place excellent speaker systems in the smallest of devices, and this is no exception to the rule. Through the earbuds included with the Galaxy Player 4.2 or through higher-quality headphones, you’ll not be let down by the headphone jack on this machine. The same is true of the two impressive speakers on the front of the device, each of them perfectly strong enough to use in a crowded bus station or on your own in the darkness.

Camera and Battery

This device has a front-facing camera good enough for basic video chat, a back facing camera with 2-megapixels imaging quality power, and both are fairly good. Compared to the kings of the smartphone world, they’re not so fabulous, but for taking photos for Facebook or Twitter, you’ll be fine. Have a peek at a few examples below and behold all 2 megapixels of fury.

Battery life on this device is fantastic if only because there’s no mobile data to be sucking it down hours after hour. We’ve gotten at least a day’s use out of this smart handset if not a day and a half after web browsing, streaming video over Wi-fi, and playing music through the whole test. The Galaxy Player 4.2 is a very well-balanced device as far as battery life goes, that’s for sure.
Wrap-Up

If I had to choose one Galaxy Player from the whole lineup released or announced thus far to work with, this would be it. The Galaxy Player 3.6 is just a bit too small to want to work with, and the Galaxy Player 5.0 is much too thick to want to have anything to do with. The only misgiving I’ve got with this particular model is the slightly less than stellar lighting in the buttons on the front of the device. This seemingly out-of-character feature does not look great, but does not hinder the operation of the device in any way.

Here at $199 this may well be the best deal on the mobile market if you’re not in the market for a tablet-sized device. Later this year we might be seeing sub-$199 tablets at 7-inches with next-level processing power. For now, $200 with no contract for an entertaining device such as this with Android is a fairly decent price. Find shops both online and offline to purchase this device through Samsung and gain entertainment in excess.