MP3-playing sunglasses reviewed

HARDWARE CENTRAL sends a review of the Konica Minolta Magicolor 2430DL laser colour printer. One of the lightest in its category at around 20Kg, it is also one of the fastest both in colour and in black. At $648 though, it is nearly twice as expensive as the Magicolor 2300W which is being flogged at $300 in some places. The 2430DL comes with 256MB memory, standard Ethernet and Pictbridge compatibility.

The good lads at Techreport compares the four AMD chipset platforms currently on the market. ATI+ULI, nVidia, SIS and VIA all compete for the hearts and souls of AMD fanboyz. TR admits though that it is really just a two horse race between the ATI Xpress 200 and the nForce 4 Ultra. The first one because of its relatively high performance integrated video while the second one has the best overall availability.

Speaking of which, PCstats has tested one of the cheapest nForce 4 Ultra available, the Chaintech Zenith VNF4 Ultra motherboard. At a bargain price of around £50/$90, the board offers 7.1 audio, a Gigabit NIC, Norton AV 2005, 10 USB2.0 ports, four IDE and four SATA controllers and some thermal paste. PC Stats verdict: You can't beat it on value.

One wonders why some Taiwanese manufacturers have not come forward with this idea first - or have they? Oakley, famous sunglasses manufacturer, has launched the THUMP 256MB MP3 player sunglasses. - seen at Bonafidereviews. They are first class products with Mylar ear buds and should start a new trend, especially if somehow someone integrates a LCD in the lenses. At $499 though, you are paying for an icon rather than a product.

Convergence has taken us by storm lately. Sunglasses-cum-MP3 players, portable DVD players with screen, games and TV tuner. Archos has its PMA400 reviewed, on Tomshardware. It combines the functions of MP3 and video player and recorder, game console, PDA, ebook reader and more. It has a 30GB HDD and WiFi connectivity plus a TV out. The price, $800, might make you wink.

Chinese website GZeasy brings us an interesting comparison between the X800 and the 6800GT-based graphic cards from little known manufacturers. They introduce us to yet another motherboard maker turned video card manufacturer, Jetway. Also in the bench, the Unika PCX8028, the Powercolor X800 one and more.

Hardwarezone tests the new Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop. It is one of the first laptops I've seen featuring a 17-inch 1920x1200 pixels screen. It comes with all the bells and whistles you ought to get in a near $4000 machine. 1GB DDR2 memory, a 2Ghz P-M CPU, Geforce GO 6800 with 256MB DDR, a 7200RPM HDD and a DVD writer. Should put most desktops to shame.

Beyond3D covers the new Club3D S3 card, the GammaChrome S18 Nitro graphics card. Not exactly your dream ultra high performance card but it should still prove a worth replacement for your Radeon 8500 if your pockets are not too deep. If priced right and with the right software support, it would produce a welcomed revival, that of S3, one of the older actors in the video sector.

Corrections: VR-zone website is from Singapore, not Malaysia. A Thousand excuses also for yesterday's spelling mistakes as well as the formatting ones. µ