iPhone 5 Rumor Review

iPhone 5 Rumor Review

July is half over and still no sign of The Next iPhone.

The iOSsphere has been seething over conflicting rumors about when It will be announced, and released, about unbuttoning, panning, and the masses who still long for whatever it is Apple will be announcing soon or not so soon but, whenever, not soon enough.

First an award: This week's "Most Creative Use of Pure Puffery in Advancement of Rumormongery" goes to the TFTS website. The site ran a "story" about the fact that an iPhone 5, or iPhone5/4S, or a prop or a fake (it used all these terms) appeared in the hands of a fictional CIA spy in the USA Network show "Covert Affairs."

SLIDESHOW: Inside iOS 5

"Of course we wouldn't necessarily call a poor TV prop a source, especially one that's featured in a TV show that has nothing to do with reality," writes Chris Smith.

Of course we wouldn't necessarily let that stand in the way of writing a story about it, especially one that has nothing to do with reality. We're dealing with rumors, after all. TFTS even posted an image captured from the TV screen of this fake marvel.

So even though it has nothing to do with reality, it is at least a real fake.

"It's pretty clear that we're looking at an iPhone," Smith notes, missing his own point that it's a TV show prop. "We also have what appears to be an edge-to-edge display, a feature that's expected [i.e., rumored] to be part of the next-gen iPhone."

As he says, "That's definitely an odd choice for a product placement" and "one has to wonder whether Apple has approved this message in any way." One does indeed. Smith seems concerned, even outraged, that Apple would let this happen. "So how can Apple sit by and allow such a monstrosity to be shown on TV, especially since the next iPhone may very well have certain similar features to the one presented on 'Covert Affairs.'"

It says something about something that Smith or anyone else would notice a smartphone when the show's lead character, a novice CIA spy named Annie Walker, is played by Piper Perabo.

iPhone 5 is arriving: in fact, on August 16.

Gekko, a British firm that specializes in retail sales optimization, posted an ad this week on behalf of its client Apple for "full-time iPhone Sales Staff for an exciting project to work 5 days a week (Tuesday-Saturday) for the period 16th August - 29th October within key retail stores."

And that can only mean one thing, according to CNET UK, which was sent a link to the job posting by a tipster: "It sounds as if Apple is looking to bolster its sales staff, and the only reason we can think is that there's a big product launch on the horizon."

And that, in turn, can only mean one thing: the launch of the iPhone 5. What could be bigger than that?

iPhone 5 is not arriving soon.

That's because the Magical A5 dual-core, Apple-designed CPU is overheating.

9to5Mac reports this rumor while encouraging readers to ignore it: "We're taking this one with a healthy dose of skepticism (and so should you) ..."

But "purely for the sake of the discussion" or page views, it reports, "Straight from Chinese-language site Sohu.com comes a story of an iPhone 5 delay blamed on the A5 chip overheating."

There's an "if" here: "If machine translation [i.e., the use of Google Translate] is to be believed, that's why Apple pushed back the next iPhone launch from the usual June-July timeframe into the late August-early September timeframe. The story has it that Apple's silicon team is facing difficulties keeping the dual-core A5 chip cool in the iPhone's tiny enclosure where space and battery are at premium."

Worriedly, 9to5Mac wonders, "If there's any substance to this story, what then (if anything) will Apple release come this Fall?"

That would be the mythical iPhone 4S, a "modest upgrade" to the current iPhone 4, designed to keep customers happy until the Apple chip boffins figure out how to make the cool chip actually ... cool.

Internally, AT&T confirms release date for iPhone 5. Kind of.

Here's the quoted portion of the purported AT&T memo: "All customers enrolling in MI must be advised of the pending MRC increase from $4.99 to $6.99 [...] This occurs on October 4, 2011, in conjunction with a new tier, Device Tier 3, that is $199. iPhone and other devices will move to this tier on October 4, 2011."

This is something most of us would just blankly pass over, but the keen minds at Uberphones plumbed the depths to read the tea leaves.

MI stands for "mobile insurance" and MRC stands for "mobile recurring charge." Admittedly, knowing that doesn't help much, either. But Uberphones says the memo "may have accidentally leaked the date" of iPhone 5, since it's widely expected to be announced in September (unless you believe other rumors; see above).

"This seems like quite a coincidence," according to Uberphones.

But we all know, we just know, that when it comes to Apple, there are no coincidences.

iPhone 5 may be almost completely unbuttoned.

Or at least you won't have to use them, buttons being so unvirtual.

The newest release of the iOS 5 beta release has an upgraded "AssistiveTouch" capability, as part of the platforms "accessibility" feature, according to 9to5Mac. But this has Big Implications.

"The feature takes the previously available custom gesture support to the next level and brings a new control panel," the website says. "This control panel is an accessibility feature -- but also has applications as a replacement for the iPad and iPhone's hardware buttons."

A swipe activates the control panel, causing what the story calls a "heads-up-display type of menu" to appear. With that menu, a "user can rotate the screen orientation, control the device's volume, 'shake' the device (is an API for developers in applications), lock the display and more.

"We realize that this is an accessibility-feature, but this is something that can come in handy for just about anybody. Apple has started to wean off the need for home button usage for iPad users, and this accessibility-feature can technically turn into a replacement for all of the iPad's (and iPhone/iPod touch's) hardware buttons."

iPhone 5 panoramic camera will require manual intervention!

Gadget site T3.com says it dug up more details in the iOS 5 beta code that show how the phone's expected panoramic camera will work. The panoramic feature was first noted after Apple unveiled iOS 5 in June.

The latest beta code reveals that to use this photo enhancement, "users will need to pan their device from left to right, 'tap the Camera button to begin' and 'keep the arrow on the center line.'"

Next: detailed instructions on how to pan from left to right.

Spreading the magic: iPhone 5 for Sprint and T-Mobile users.

Having deigned to released iPhone 4 on Verizon this year, Apple might be equally gracious to the remaining NotQuiteAsBig Two mobile networks.

"While we remain uncertain regarding the next-generation iPhone's specs and features, we believe the most noteworthy change could be the device's ability to run on more networks, specifically Sprint and T-Mobile in the U.S," said Piper Jaffray stock analyst Chris Larsen, in a research note reported on by CNET.

"A move to all four national carriers would greatly expand Apple's ability to reach the masses, critical at a time when smartphones running on Google's Android software have overrun the market," according to CNET. "Adding Sprint and T-Mobile would increase Apple's addressable market by 30 percent, Larsen said."

Speaking of the masses, Apple plans to sell 25 million iPhone 5 units in 2011.

So that would be in the three- to five-month period that the phone actually is on sale, depending on which availability date you like (see above).

This estimate comes from a Wall Street Journal story via iPhone5Released.com. The Journal cited "unnamed sources at Apple's suppliers," one of whom said "Apple's sales estimates of the new iPhone is quite aggressive. It told us to prepare to help the company meet its goal of 25 million units by the end of the year. The initial production volume will be a few million units ... we were told to ship the components to [Taiwanese] assembler Hon Hai [technically, its Foxconn subsidiary] in August."

The website says Apple sold 3 million iPhone 4 units in the first three weeks of its release last year and in the most recent quarter, sold 18.65 million iPhones, including some number of older 3GS models.

Iomega launches Four-Drive NAS Appliance

Iomega launches Four-Drive NAS Appliance

The StorCenter ix4-200d, the latest four drive NAS appliance announced by Iomega is available in 2TB, 4TB and 8TB capacities. It utilizes the acclaimed EMC LifeLine software, a fully-developed Linux operating environment and suite of applications that protects your data and performs valuable business tasks above and beyond simple storage, all designed to make it easy to securely store, protect and serve up data when you need it and where you want it. EMC LifeLine software is designed for cross-platform support with PC, Mac and Linux computers. It can be configured with different levels of RAID support: RAID 5 (pre-configured) and RAID 10 (both with automatic RAID rebuild), as well as JBOD. The four drives in the ix4 are user replaceable SATA II hard drives that minimize downtime. With dual Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and a high-performance embedded architecture, the ix4-200d boosts small business productivity by making data readily accessible and secure over a local network. The ix4-200d also has three USB 2.0 ports for adding printers or additional storage capacity with external USB drives.


Its features also include Device-to-Device Replication (D2D), VMware Ready Certification, Remote Access, Multiple Network Protocols,Time Machine Support, UPS Support, Video Surveillance, Print Server, Bluetooth capability and Picture Transfer Protocol. Iomega says the StorCenter ix4-200d is the ideal NAS appliance for small businesses, distributed offices and home office networks that require advanced data storage and protection features without the need for a dedicated IT staff.

RIM to use Microsoft's Cloud Services on its Playbook

RIM to use Microsoft's Cloud Services on its Playbook

RIM has announced its plan to partner with Microsoft to integrate cloud services to RIM's Blackberry devices including the upcoming Playbook tablet. The cloud-based service from Microsoft called the Office 365 is a service that has communications and collaboration products with Microsoft's latest version of desktop suite for businesses. The Office 365 includes Microsoft Office Professional Plus, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Lync Online. RIM's Blackberry devices will carry the Office 365 and the RIM's Blackberry Enterprise Servers will connect to Microsoft data centers, so that Blackberry users will have up to date information on their devices all the time.

With the Blackberry Office 365 service, companies who have been maintaining one or more Blackberry Enterprise Servers on their private servers will now have off-site data centers which will enable them to control and manage their data remotely. According to Jim Tobin, senior vice president of RIM's software and business service unit, RIM and Microsoft won't jointly manage off-site date centers, but Microsoft centers will connect "cloud-to-cloud" to RIM centers that house Blackberry Enterprise Servers. The cloud-based Blackberry Exchange Server (BES) will also support RIM's upcoming Blackberry Balance service which will allow IT departments’ access to the enterprise and BES part of the Blackberry while providing users freedom to access web or social networking sites like Facebook etc. The Blackberry Playbook will also include the Blackberry Balance service but the announcement date for this tablet is still not yet disclosed.

Lava KKT 35 with Color Matcher App Launched in India for Rs.3,950

Lava KKT 35 with Color Matcher App Launched in India for Rs.3,950

Lava has launched a budget handset KKT 35 with what it's called an innovative feature - a Color Matcher application on the occasion of Holi. The Lava KKT 35 is a dual-SIM handset with bar-form factor. It comes with a Color Matcher application to pick up any color as background and let users to use it as a home screen. The new phone comes in a slim metallic body and it features like 1400mAH battery that has a promising talk time of up to 8-9 hours. Apart from the Color Matcher application, the Lava KKT 35 includes useful features like conversation recording, answering machine, web camera and chat-style SMS.


The budget phone has a 2.4-inch QVGA TFT LCD screen supporting up to 260k colors, a camera ( supposedly VGA) with digital zoom, upto 8GB microSD support, audio (MP3, AAC, WAV, AMR, MIDI) and video (3GP, MP4 and AVI) players, Stereo FM, 3.5mm stereo jack, torch function, WAP browser, Mobile Tracker application and Flight Mode. The phone is priced at Rs.3, 950 and based on the official Lava site; the package includes a 2GB microSD card. “Color Matcher” is another example of our commitment. We understand that colors are a way of expressing ones personality and attitude. Normally consumer has a limited choice of selecting colors in a phone .With “Color Matcher” now you can pick up any color which excites you,” said Mr. Sunil Raina, Chief Marketing Officer, LAVA International.

Spice Introduces Projector Phone, M-9000 Popkorn: Also Features Analog TV

Spice Introduces Projector Phone, M-9000 Popkorn: Also Features Analog TV

Spice has launched Spice M-9000 Popkorn mobile phone, first projector phone in India. The M-9000 Popkorn is a dual-SIM phone that comes with a Projector to let you project and view the phone's contents on a large screen. The phone plays MP4, FLV, AVI, 3GP, RM and RMVB videos. Using its Analog TV feature, it will also let you watch free TV channels ( if available) in your city. The Spice M-9000 Popkorn is priced at Rs.6, 990.


As a phone, the Spice M-9000 Popkorn is a bar-phone that has some standard features for a budget phone. It features a 2.36-inch QVGA screen with 262k colors support, a 3.2 megapixel camera, FM with recording, video recording, MP3 playback, Documents Viewer, Stereo Bluetooth (2.1), Java support and WAP/GPRS/EDGE connectivity. There is 87MB of internal memory and up to 16GB of microSD card is supported. The phone's document viewer support will make the phone an ideal choice for viewing and projecting your slideshow during presentation. The document viewer supports MS Word, Excel, Power point and also PDF documents.

Spice also included some features like Incoming Call Guard, Scheduled FM recording, Wireless FM and some built-in organizers like To-Do-list, Calendar, Currency/Unit Converter, Alarm, Calculator and many more. There is also a Tripod included to make The phone comes with a 1200mAh battery which has a rated talk time of 3.5 hours and stand-by time of 300 hours.

Nokia E7 Launched in India for Rs. 29,999

Nokia E7 Launched in India for Rs. 29,999

Nokia launched the E7 smartphone today at a press conference in Bangalore. The press conference was attended by the media, bloggers and was addressed by Viral Oza, Head- Activation, Media & Online Marketing for Nokia.

At the conference, there was extra focus put on the E7’s productivity and business features such as support for Mail for Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile and Share Point Server. Nokia also reiterated their support for Symbian as a platform in spite of opting for Windows Phone 7 as their platform of choice for all smartphones in the future including those belonging to the E-series and assured that the E7 would continue to receive software support.
The Nokia E7 is a Symbian^3 smartphone with a 4-inch AMOLED display and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The display has a resolution of 640x360 and boasts of ClearBlack technology. The E7 has 16GB of internal memory and 256MB of RAM. Imaging is taken care of by an 8MP full-focus camera that can also record 720p HD videos. The E7 provides a miniHDMI port and also offers USB On-the-Go support.

The best price for the Nokia E7 is currently Rs. 29,999- a drop of more than Rs. 5,000 over the pre-order price revealed only last week. Expect a review of the Nokia smartphone very soon.

Sony Unveils New SDHC Class 10 Memory Card: Offers Up to 22MBps Read Speed

Sony Unveils New SDHC Class 10 Memory Card: Offers Up to 22MBps Read Speed

Sony India has announced the new Class 10 SDHC memory card which theoretically supports up to 10MBps data write speed. The card is compatible with a file recovery software called Memory Card File Rescue Ver.3.0 which is supposedly the world’s first AVCHD supporting file rescue software. The new Class 10 SDHC memory card offers data transfer speed of up to 22MB/s which makes it an ideal choice for burst-shooting with your camera or while shooting high resolution pictures (for faster writing speed). The fast transfer speed will not only enable faster writing speed but also reading speed - while transfering files from the card to a PC.

Featuring storage capacities of 8GB, 16GB and 32GB, the new Class 10 SDHC memory card will be avaialble in Indian market from March 2011.

Model Number	Media Type	Operating Class	Warranty	Price
SF-8NX	SDHC Memory Card	Class 10 (read up to 22MB/s)	5 years	Rs. 1750
SF-16NX	SDHC Memory Card	Class 10 (read up to 22MB/s)	5 years	Rs. 3400
SF-32NX	SDHC Memory Card	Class 10 (read up to 22MB/s)	5 years	Rs 6700

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate Ships With Tracking Opt-out

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate Ships With Tracking Opt-out

Microsoft launched the release candidate of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) last week, saying that the browser is now feature complete and that the final build would ship shortly. The IE9 release candidate, or RC, features faster performance, a small memory footprint, new support for additional Web standards and the opt-out Tracking Protection that Microsoft has touted as its answer to calls for a Do Not Track feature in all browsers.

Microsoft debuted IE9 in March 2010, with the first of seven bare-bones builds dubbed "Platform Previews", then followed those with a public beta in September 2010. More than 25 million copies of the beta have been downloaded in the five months since then, Microsoft has claimed.

"With the Release Candidate, we've taken to heart over 17,000 pieces of feedback about IE9," said Dean Hachamovitch, the executive who heads the IE team, in an MSDN blog post. "You will find the product has made progress on all fronts -- performance and standards, user experience, and safety and privacy."

The enhancements and additions to IE9 RC include the roll-out of Tracking Protection, an opt-in tool disabled by default that relies on published lists to selectively block third-party sites and content embedded in Web sites.

Tracking Protection is Microsoft's response to growing concern on the part of consumers, privacy advocates and government regulators about online privacy, particularly how advertisers track users' movements and their purchasing habits. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has said users should be able to block sites and advertising networks from following their movements online.

This IE9 tool relies on lists created by others to allow or block a site or ad network from tracking users. (Microsoft has said it will not generate such lists.) Groups offering Tracking Protection lists today include Abine, EasyList, Privacy Choice and TRUSTe. A page on the IE9 site provides links to the lists that are available for download.

Although Microsoft has promised to complete IE9 this quarter, it has not set a launch date for the final version. Hachamovitch said only that the polished edition would "come shortly."

Microsoft is betting that IE9 will bring back some of the users who have abandoned Internet Explorer for rivals like Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome. According to Web analytics company Net Applications, IE lost more than six percentage points of user share in the past 12 months, and at the end of January accounted for 56% of all browsers, a historic low. While IE8 now holds more than 34% of the market, the 2009 browser has been unable to stem the share bleeding. Google's Chrome, for example, accounts for nearly 11% of all browsers in use, an increase of 5.5 points in the last year.

IE9 RC can be installed on Windows Vista and Windows 7, but will not work on Windows XP, the operating system that continues to dominate the market. The release candidate can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site, or from the company's download center. The 32-bit version of IE9 RC weighs in at just over 19MB, while the 64-bit version is a 37MB download.

Also, Microsoft has published a blocking toolkit for IT administrators who want to keep IE9 off company machines when Microsoft begins serving up the browser via Windows Update. Microsoft rolls out such blocking kits -- which include both executable scripts and Group Policy templates -- prior to delivering major upgrades to its operating systems and browser through Windows Update. Last November, for instance, Microsoft published a blocking kit for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), the OS update it shipped earlier this month.

New Logitech HD Webcams & Vid HD Software For High-Def Video-calls

New Logitech HD Webcams & Vid HD Software For High-Def Video-calls

A new set of models have been added to Logitech's HD-capable webcam series. Saying it wanted to bring communication over HD video to everyone, Logitech India showcased its lineup of HD webcams and Logitech Vid HD, in Bangalore this Tuesday. Logitech says the new range of webcams will make high-definition video calling, recording and sharing a reality, with features like HD 720p video calling (1280x720), Full HD 1080p video recording (1920x1080), Logitech Fluid Crystal technology and one-click HD-uploading to Facebook and YouTube. Logitech also announced the Logitech Vid HD, a free video-calling service, and claimed it to be the easiest way to make a HD video call over the Internet, using a laptop/desktop PC.

Mr. Subrotah Biswas, Logitech’s country manager for India and South West Asia said, "Broadband adoption is a primary driver of video calling in India. HD video calling is a critical step toward our vision of a world in which video communication is as mainstream and seamless as a telephone call — for anyone, anywhere. With Logitech HD webcams and Vid HD, you have everything you need to share, connect, and see the people that matter to you in breathtaking detail that far surpasses the quality of embedded webcams." Speaking about the partner ecosystem, he said, "Our major business transactions happen through the channel in India. We are committed to supporting our partners with the right training and marketing support to further take this superior digital experience to the consumers."

The list of portable Logitech webcams shown and announced can be viewed below. Logitech offers a 2-year warranty on them all, with their respective suggested retail pricing as seen here.
Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 - Rs. 7,295 (offers Full-HD 1080p recording)
Logitech HD Webcam C510 - Rs. 2,995
Logitech HD Webcam C310 - Rs. 1,795
Logitech HD Webcam C270 - Rs. 1,695 (with Stereo headset)
Logitech Webcam Pro 9000 - Rs. 5,995 (HD 720p video calls supported)
Logitech Webcam C905 - Rs. 6,695
Logitech Webcam C210 - Rs. 1,295 (only 640x480 video recording)

WP7 Future: Multitasking, IE9, Skydrive, Twitter integration

WP7 Future: Multitasking, IE9, Skydrive, Twitter integration

At yesterday's Mobile World Congress keynote, Microsoft shed more light on future Windows Phone 7 features. CEO Steve Ballmer spoke about and demonstrated a few features that are in the pipeline as far as WP7 for smartphones is concerned. Windows Phone 7 users can look forward to IE9 browser, multitasking support, SkyDrive and Twitter integration later this year.

Ballmer said an immediate update to WP7 smartphones is due in early March, this update will bring copy paste function and enhanced performance to WP7 devices.


Multitasking: WP7 phones currently supports multitasking with only Microsoft's Zune music service while using other apps. That will change with an update to WP7 OS later this year. Microsoft demonstrated the upcoming multitasking feature in WP7 by streaming music from Slacker radio app while moving over to other apps on the demo phone. There will also be a slight tweak to the future WP7 interface, post the multitasking update, to make it easier for users to know which apps are running and switch between them.

IE9 with HTML5: A version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Web browser will also feature on WP7 later this year, and the browser will be hardware accelerated to utilize WP7 device's graphics engine. Since IE9 is HTML5 enabled, WP7 will run videos natively off the browser.

SkyDrive: Another enhancement to future WP7 phones will be the ability to login to SkyDrive. It's Microsoft's online storage service to save and access Word, Excel and PowerPoint files online, and the update will allow you to save and access these SkyDrive files from your WP7 phone.

Twitter integration: The WP7 update will integrate Twitter into the People Hub tile on WP7 phones. Right now you only see your friends' Facebook updates, in the near future you'll see their Twitter statuses as well.

WP7 phone as Xbox controller: At the MWC 2011 keynote, one Microsoft executive showcased a video where an Xbox game involved players playing with a Kinect controller and WP7 phones also used as controllers. Microsoft didn't say when the technology will be made available for WP7 phones.

Acer Announces Iconia Smart Phone, Iconia Tab A100 and Tab A500 at MWC 2011

Acer Announces Iconia Smart Phone, Iconia Tab A100 and Tab A500 at MWC 2011

After a long gap since its last announcement, Acer has announced a large screen Gingerbread-running smartphone and two Honeycomb tablets at MWC 2010. The Iconia Smart has a gigantic 4.8-inch high resolution screen and Acer called it a hybrid device - a 100% smartphone, a 100% tablet. In terms of screen size, it is only second to Dell Streak. The Iconia Android based tablets include the 7-inch Iconia Tab A100 and the 10-inch Iconia Tab A500. Both the tablets run on the new Android 3.0 for tablets aka Honeycomb.

Acer Iconia Smart
This smartphone offers the exceedingly large 4.8-inch screen that is only second to Dell Streak's 5-inch WVGA screen. The Iconia Smart's screen has an aspect ratio of 21:9 and it has a pixels resolution of 1024x480. The phone is powered by 1GHz Snapdragon processor and it runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Acer uses its proprietary interface called Acer UI 4.2 called "Breeze" running over the Gingerbread. There is 512MB of RAM, 512MB of ROM and 8GB of storage with up to 32GB of microSD support. It also has 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash and it captures 720p HD video at 30fps. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi b/g/n, DLNA, 3G ( HSDPA + HSUPA),HDMI and Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP Profile support. GPS with A-GPS support is also included. There are also accelerometer and gyroscope built-in.The Iconia Smart has unibody-design and it is a silver color metal-casing. Acer did not reveal the release date or price for the Iconia Smart.

The Acer Iconia Tab A100 and Iconia Tab A500
Joining the Android tablet bandwagon, Acer also announced the Iconia Tab A100 and the Iconia Tab W500. The Iconia Tab A100 has a 7-inch (1024x600 pixels) 16:9 full touchscreen display with support for multitouch and the built-in gyro meter. The tablet has a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with a 2 megapixel front-facing camera for taking photos or using it as a webcam. The Iconia Tab A100 supports Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity. There are connectivity ports for USB and HDMI as well. The Iconia Tab A100 will be running Honeycomb (Android 3.0) and it is reported to be available in April but there is no word on its pricing yet.

The Iconia Tab A500 is a 10-inch tablet running on Honeycomb to rival Motorola XOOM and the recently announced Galaxy Tab 10.1. The tablet is powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 2 dual-core processor and it can play 1080p HD video. The device supports HDMI, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. IT has a 5 megapixel camera and a front webcam. The table will go on sale in April but like the other two devices, its price is not yet disclosed.

Intel's Six-core i7-990X Extreme Is Its Fastest Desktop Chip Yet

Intel's Six-core i7-990X Extreme Is Its Fastest Desktop Chip Yet

Intel started shipping the six-core Core i7-990X Extreme Edition processor on Monday, calling it the fastest Intel desktop processor ever. The processor runs at a clock speed of 3.46GHz and has overclocking features that allow users to manually crank up the speed, Intel said. The chip includes 12MB of cache and draws 130 watts of power.

The processor's overclocking features could appeal to hardcore gamers, 3D artists and media enthusiasts, Intel said in a blog entry on Monday. In addition to manual overclocking, the chip includes a feature called Turbo Boost, which can ratchet up the clock speed to as high as 3.73 GHz, depending on the power drawn and the performance demanded by an application.

The Core i7-990X Extreme is Intel's top-of-the-line desktop processor. Intel and rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) routinely up the ante in desktop chip performance in order to gain the performance crown.

The chip is based on the old Westmere architecture (32nm fabrication process) and is not affected by Intel's recent announcement of a chipset flaw. The chipset issue is related only to chips based on Intel's latest microarchitecture, called Sandy Bridge (which uses Intel P67/H67 motherboard chipsets).

The 990X uses the Intel X58 motherboard chipset, and supports triple-channel DDR3 memory. HyperThreading (HT) is present as expected, allowing for 12 simultaneous threads on the 6 cores available.

Pricing for the Core i7-990X was not immediately available. However, the online retailer NewEgg has listed the Intel Core i7 990X at US$ 1049. That was the price at which Intel's previous flagship consumer processor, the Core i7 980X sold, before being marked down to US$ 999. The speed difference in absolute terms is very little (133 MHz, meaning a multiplier increase of one), from 3.33 GHz for the 980X as against 3.46 GHz for the 990X processor.

Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus 2011

Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus 2011
Trend Micro provides solid, simple protection against malware, but advanced users may find its lack of customizability frustrating.

Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus Plus 2011 ($60 for 1 year, 3 PCs as of 12/15/2010) finished fifth in our roundup of 2011 antivirus products. It's simple--some may say too simple--and easy to use, and it did a reasonably good job at blocking malware.

Installing Titanium Antivirus is a pretty straightforward affair: It requires you to click through only a couple screens before installation begins. But you'll need an Internet connection when you install Titanium Antivirus--the installer has to download the software before it starts installing, which adds time to the process.

As for actually using Titanium Antivirus, well, saying it's set-and-forget simple might be an understatement. When you first launch it, Titanium Antivirus touts its "Cloud" capabilities, and how you won't have to download updates--it takes care of all that for you. The main interface is extremely straightforward: A big green checkmark indicates that you're protected. There are only a few buttons--one for scanning, one for settings, and one for stats.

This super-simple approach isn't for everyone--if you like flipping toggles and tweaking settings, Titanium Antivirus isn't for you. If you can't be bothered with adjusting settings, you'll love Titanium Antivirus. The downside, though, is that Trend Micro's documentation is rather scant and provides few specifics.

In terms of detection performance, Trend Micro put up very good scores, though not quite top-notch ones. It detected 98.4 percent of samples of recent known malware--a strong result. It also fully blocked 88 percent of brand new malware attacks, and partially blocked an additional 8 percent. This puts it above average, but not quite at the top of the leaderboard (the top performer in this test fully blocked 96 percent of new malware attacks).

Titanium Antivirus also proved to be effective at disinfecting PCs: It detected all infections on our test PC, removed all active components in 80 percent of the cases, and removed all traces of an infection 60 percent of the time.

Trend Micro had a low rate of false positives overall, but it was one of only two products we looked at to flag a good file as bad using its behavioral detection engine (which detects malware based on how it acts on your PC--a good way of stopping new, as-yet unknown malware).

Overall, Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus had a moderate impact on PC performance in our tests, finishing right around average for the products we looked at. Scan speeds were a mixed bag, though: it was one of the better performers in on-access scans which kick off when you open or save a file, but its on-demand scans--which you start manually--were a good bit slower than average. This is better than the reverse scenario where on-access speeds scans lag--those scans happen much more frequently--but it can still be frustrating to deal with.

That said, Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus Plus 2011 performed well in most of our tests, and is worth your consideration.

Panda Antivirus Pro 2011

Panda Antivirus Pro 2011

Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 ($50 for one year, 3 PCs as of 12/18/2010) does a lot right: It proved to be effective at detecting and , blocking malware, and disinfecting your PC malware, but it's slow performance brought it down to seventh some speed issues bring its rank down to seventh in a tightly packed race.

Antivirus Pro's main interface is usable, but not without issues. Its status screen is functional, but sparse. If Panda finds a problem with your PC's protection, status it'll display a warning across the top of the screen. Panda is based in Spain, and I found some of the translations to be a little wonky. Panda Antivirus Pro also tends to be a little over-paranoid--it identified that tracking cookies wereas spyware. While you could make the case that a tracking cookie is technically spyware, it isn't in the same league as "true" spyware such as keyloggers, so calling it that may be a little excessive.

Panda's detection scores were good overall--and in some cases, very good. It detected 99.8 percent of known malware samples, which was the best score out ofamong the paid antivirus products we looked at. And it did a solid--though not outstanding--job at stopping new malware in our "real-world" blocking tests (where we pit it against brand new malware found online): It fully blocked 84 percent of attacks, and partially blocked an additional 12 percent of attacks. No package we looked at blocked every threat, but the top scorer fully stopped 96 percent of these attacks.

Disinfection scores were good as well. Antivirus Pro detected all infections on our test PC, removed active malware components 80 percent of the time, and removed all remnants of malware infections 60 percent of the time.

Antivirus Pro did have a little more of a problem with false positives than some of the other products we looked at; its six false positives was tied for the most among paid antivirus software that we tested, though as a percentage, it was still quite low.

Scan speed was another issue: ItAntivirus Pro had some of the slowest scan speeds out of all the antivirus products we tested. It completed the manual "on-demand" scan of 4.5GB of files in 4 minutes, 22 minutes, a far cry from the 90 seconds that the top performer put up. The on-access scans--that run when files are opened or saved to disk--were also abysmal: It scanned 4.5GB of files in 7 minutes, 6 seconds--more than twice the fastest performer.

Although its overall impact on PC performance was moderate, Panda Antivirus Pro dragged down some operations significantly. Our test system booted up in 53.7 seconds with Panda installed--the slowest of the products tested (our test PC booted in 40.1 seconds with no antivirus software installed).

Panda Antivirus Pro is definitely worth considering based on the strength of its malware detection and removal performance, but keep its speed issues in mind before you decide to buy it.

Eset NOD32 Antivirus 4

Eset NOD32 Antivirus 4


Eset NOD32 Antivirus 4

Eset NOD32 Antivirus ($72 for 1 year, 3 PCs as of 12/22/2010) finishes ninth in our roundup of 2011 antivirus software. It does a reasonable job at blocking brand new attacks and it's fast, but it has trouble detecting known malware and cleaning up infections, which makes it tough to recommend.

NOD32's main interface isn't too badly designed, but it's limited in what it displays--even in "advanced mode." Where things get messy, though, is in the settings interface. Here, you'll have access to a limited set of features to adjust--unless you turn on Advanced Mode. In Advanced Mode, the settings box turns into a dizzying array of checkboxes and drop-downs, all in a less-than-optimally-designed window.

Things weren't much better when it came to detection: NOD32 detected 89.2 percent of known malware samples, which is the lowest, by far, of the products we looked at. By comparison, the average for antivirus software that we looked at was 96.2 percent, and top performers achieved over-99-percent detection ratings. Eset also lagged behind in cleaning up infections: It was able to detect all infections on our test PC, but it was able to remove all active components only 60 percent of the time, and it removed all traces of malware only 10 percent of the time. Both scores were the lowest in this test, and well behind the pack.

That said, Eset did an acceptable job at blocking brand new malware--it fully blocked 84 percent of brand new malware attacks in our "real world" testing--a decent showing, but not outstanding. Eset also had up a low false-positive rate--it flagged only one good file as suspicious.

Eset shined in system speed tests. When we triggered a scan, Eset was the fastest among the products we tested--it tore through 4.5GB of files in a mere 90 seconds. Its on-access scanner--which kicks in when files are opened or saved to disk--was also very fast, completing a scan of 4.5GB of files in 4 minutes even, an above-average result. And its overall impact on system performance was the smallest among the antivirus packages we tested.

That speed is good, but all the speed in the world doesn't mean much if a security product doesn't effectively stop malware. And given NOD32's struggles, we can't give it our recommendation.

Tablet Chaos: iPad 2 vs. Xoom vs. PlayBook vs. WebOS Slates

Tablet Chaos: iPad 2 vs. Xoom vs. PlayBook vs. WebOS Slates

It may seem like 2010 was the year of the tablet, but the reality is that 2010 was really just the year of the iPad with 15 million units sold and no real competitors for the Apple tablet. However, 2011 will be very different with a diverse variety of tablet options emerging--including some particularly relevant entries from major players.

At CES 2011, almost every tech vendor in existence made some sort of announcement or displayed some sort of prototype of a tablet. There are big tablets, small tablets, Android tablets, Windows tablets, and everything in between slated to hit the streets at some point in the not too distant future.

The tablets that stand out the most, though, are the Motorola Xoom--built to run the upcoming Android Honeycomb designed specifically with tablets in mind, the BlackBerry PlayBook--running a version of QNX rather than the BlackBerry OS, and the HP WebOS tablet--running, well--WebOS. Pit those three against the expected iPad 2, and the spring of 2011 will be a very exciting one indeed for tablets.

Let's look at the choices in more detail:

Motorola Xoom

The Xoom could be the first tablet built on Android 3.0 "Honeycomb"The Motorola Xoom is expected to be the first tablet out of the gate running Android 3.0--a.k.a. "Honeycomb". Unlike the pint-sized Samsung Galaxy Tab doomed to running Android 2.2, the Xoom will sport a 10.1-inch touchscreen. The Xoom will also have 1280-by-800 resolution, 1GB RAM, a 1GHz processor, 32GB of internal storage, an SD card slot, 3G (and maybe 4G) and 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with 720p video capture, and 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat.

BlackBerry PlayBook

RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook has a smaller 7-inch display, but it also weighs in at less than a pound. It does not run the BlackBerry OS, but is built instead on the QNX OS. It has 1GB of RAM, a dual-core processor, dual HD cameras, HD video recording, and HDMI output. The PlayBook is also quite versatile--able to play both Apple and Microsoft proprietary audio formats, and supporting both Adobe Flash and HTML5.

HP WebOS Slates

Details continue to leak out on two WebOS tablets codenamed Opal and Topaz. The Opal is a 7-inch tablet, while the Topaz is a more iPad-like 9-inch version. Based on leaked images, it appears that the tablets will have at least a front-facing camera, and a micro USB port.

These HP tablets also have the advantage of running WebOS. Despite the fall of Palm, WebOS is actually a very capable mobile OS and possibly offers the most formidable challenge to iOS when it comes to a tablet UI. HP has a media event slated for February 9 where it is expected to announce details of these tablets.

Apple iPad 2

The iPad 2 could raise the bar and take the wind out of competitor's sails.The iPad 2 starts with two distinct advantages over these rivals. First--there is already an iPad in existence and it has been a tremendous success. The culture is already established, and many companies are either already using the iPad, or are at least exploring the use of the Apple tablet for business. Second--because it is a second generation of an existing tablet, there is at least something tangible to measure it by, and a more concrete expectation that it will be available this spring based on Apple's standard annual product lifecycle.

Speculation has been abundant on the iPad 2 since the original iPad launched. Given the general user feedback, and the features and functions the competition is bringing to the tablet arena, it is expected to have dual cameras, possibly a dual-core processor, a significant bump in RAM, and possibly a massive increase in the resolution of the display.

Where does that leave us? Well, every device on this list is either vaporware or pure speculation at this point. Given the demand for the iPad, and the impending influx of tablets expected, it seems reasonable to believe that companies of Motorola, HP, Apple, and RIM's caliber can follow through and deliver sometime this year.

For businesses looking to hop on board the tablet bandwagon, the decision between the various platforms will be driven largely by the existing infrastructure and culture. An organization that has BlackBerry Enterprise Server in place and relies mostly on BlackBerry smartphones is likely to choose the BlackBerry PlayBook, while a company that has already embraced the iPhone and/or the original iPad would logically stick with the iOS platform.

One large x-factor will be cost. The features and functions of a given device, or how well it meshes with the existing infrastructure may be trivial if the tablet ends up costing twice as much as its rivals. If you are in the market for a tablet right now, it seems that it will be worth at least waiting a month for more details--hopefully including launch dates and pricing--to emerge on these different tablet competitors.

Asus O' Play HD2 Media Player

Asus O' Play HD2 Media Player
World first USB 3 Media player to transfer files at an ultra-fast speeds, Incorporates into local networks, and even works as a jukebox, with on demand browsing of stored music files.

Description

* O!Play HD2 – World’s First USB3.0 HD Media Player
* USB3.0 PC Link for rapid file transfer up to 10X faster than USB2.0
* File copying and streaming is much more speedy
o Install 3.5”HDD inside and O!PLAY HD2 could be a big
o mobile hard driver . You can transfer media from
o USB3.0 PC to O!PLAY HD2 at the highest speed.
o It’s up to 10 times faster than USB2.0!
* 3.5”HDD Storage Capacity with NAS Support
* NAS: Network-Attached Storage

o O!Play is the most thoughtful media center with server functionality
for iTunes, Samba ,FTP and BitTorrent for fast local network files
access and management without hassles. You will be able to store
and share your cherished content with family and friends.

* Seamless Entertainment with DLNA
* DLNA : Digital Living Network Alliance

o Using O!Play HD2 as a client, you can display images, or play music or
video files that are stored on a device with DLNA Media Server
functionality over a network. Streaming media around the home might
require less and less effort with DLNA.

* Watch the Wonders of Digital Content with O!Play HD2
o Internet Radio, Weather ,Stock ,Picasa, Flickr
o HD2 lets you browse 20000 Internet radio Stations,
o Worldwide Stock inquiry , Internet photo sharing sites,
o Flickr ,Picasa, and weather updates directly to your O!Play HD2.
* Impressive TrueHD 7.1 Channel Aural Enjoyment
o Dolby TrueHD Decode and Pass Through Support
o Real HD Quality for both Video and Audio !
o Dolby TrueHD digital surround sound will be handled to
o take full advantage of Blu-ray Disc quality and
o with 7.1 channel audio output for theater-like enjoyment.
* Conveniently use your iPhone® as a remote

o iPhone®

* Cross Platform

o Control O!Play HD2 from your iPhone ®!

* Full HD 1080p & Comprehensive Formats Support (ISO,RMVB…)

o O!Play HD2 takes the trend to bring new HD experience to viewers in the living room. Users do not have to worry about the compatibilities of file formats. It also supports BD ISO,MKV,RMVB,H.264 …etc.

Specification
Items	Description
Supported Video formats	MPEG1/2/4, H.264, VC-1, RM/RMVB
Supported Video file extension	MP4, MOV, Xvid, AVI, ASF, WMV, MKV, FLV,
	TS, M2TS, DAT, MPG, VOB, MTS, ISO, IFO,
	TP,TRP,M1V,M2V,M4V
Supported Audio formats	MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG, WAV, FLAC, AIFF,
	Dolby Digital AC3, DTS Digital Surround,
	Dolby True HD, ID3Tag,Dolby TrueHD,
	PCM/LPCM
Supported Image formats	JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
Supported sub-title formats	SRT, SUB, SMI, SSA, TXT
File Systems	FAT16/32, NTFS, HFS /HFS+, EXT3
Outputs	Composite audio-video (AV) port
	Component port
	Optical digital audio port
	Coaxial digital audio port
	HDMI 1.3 port
Inputs	Power (DC) input
	2 x USB 2.0 port
	1 x USB 3.0 PC Link port
	USB/eSATA combo port
	Card readers CF, SD+MMC, MS+MS Duo
	RJ-45 LAN Port(10/100Mbps)
Dimensions	W x D x H:
	230.0mm x 178.0mm x 60.5mm
	Weight: 720g
Power Source	12Vdc, 3A
Power Consumption	10W
Operating Temperature	5˚C (41˚F) – 35˚C (95˚F)

Best Password Managers: Top 4 Reviewed

Best Password Managers: Top 4 Reviewed

These four password managers (1Password, Clipperz, LastPass, RoboForm) offer security anytime, anywhere

What good is a secure password program if you can't get access to your data when and where you need it?

Using a password manager application to automatically log into Web sites -- and to secure and manage all of your user IDs and passwords -- is a great help in organizing your digital life. But most password managers simply save your data in an encrypted file and then leave it stranded on one computer.

That doesn't work if you have a Windows desktop at work, a Mac or Linux machine at home, an iPad in your family room and an Android phone in your jacket. You need secure access to your data from any device, at any time, whether you're online or offline. And you don't want to have to manually update several work, home and mobile password databases every time you change an account's credentials -- something I've been doing for years.

The makers of an emerging breed of password managers are striving to provide secure online access to your passwords in the cloud and give you a synchronized, local copy of your password database on every computer and mobile device, no matter what operating systems, browsers or mobile platforms you use. (Having a synchronized local copy means you don't have to worry if the password database in the cloud goes down -- or the vendor suddenly disappears.)


For this roundup, I looked at four products in this category: Agile Web Solutions' 1Password, Clipperz from Clipperz SRL, LastPass from the company of the same name and RoboForm from Siber Systems Inc. I tested each on four different platforms: a MacBook Pro running OS X 10.5.8, laptops running Windows 7 and Windows XP, and an iPad. I also tested browser add-ons for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.
Keeping passwords secure

All four applications work by having your computer encrypt passwords and other personal data before uploading a copy to the cloud. Because the data has been encrypted locally, the vendor does not have the key to unlock the data stored in the cloud: Only you do.

You secure your password database by creating a user account name and a master password. Once you're logged in, the applications automate the process of gathering user IDs, passwords and other information as you visit each Web site. They can then automatically fill in and submit your log-in credentials each time you return to those sites.

LastPass, RoboForm and 1Password can also fill in forms using data stored in profiles. You can create "identities" that have access only to subsets of your password data (such as work-related information, personal data or data for systems shared by you and your spouse), and you can store other types of sensitive data, from locker combinations to safe deposit box numbers. The way in which Clipperz supports forms is a little more involved, requiring the use of bookmarklets and mapping fields into what Clipperz calls Direct Login links.

The local versions of these products rely on any or all of three different technologies to do the job: Native applications designed to run on each operating system, extensions and plug-ins for popular browsers, and bookmarklets that can run on any browser that supports JavaScript. Not all products support a locally cached copy of your data on every device. In some cases, a product supports a local cache on one platform but not another; others support a local copy, but it's read-only.

Support for mobile devices is more limited. On some mobile devices, such as Apple's iPhone or Android-based phones, the password management application may include a simple, stand-alone browser when it can't integrate tightly with the native browser for the device. On some platforms, some products may lack the ability to maintain a synchronized, local copy of your data.

As a category, these products are still evolving. Once you figure out the best way to work with them, however, they make securing and accessing your passwords from any device, at any time, convenient and easy.


1Password
1Password doesn't quite meet all of the criteria for anywhere, anytime, any platform access to your password data. However, it's a breeze to use and a good choice if you're in a Mac-centric household.

It will also work if you just need to synchronize passwords with a Windows machine at work and an iPhone from the road. It supports the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Palm and Android phones. But if you want access from your BlackBerry or from a Linux computer, or if you want a version that runs from a USB key, look elsewhere.

To back up and synchronize your data you'll need to set up an account with storage-as-a-service vendor Dropbox. (You can get up to 2GB of storage for free, which should be plenty for password data). Dropbox creates a folder on each computer and then synchronizes among them. Configuring 1Password to work with Dropbox is easy: You simply move your 1Password database to your local Dropbox folder.

Technically you can view your password data directly on the Dropbox Web site using a browser, but it's not an obvious process. You have to go to Dropbox, log into your account, click on the "Files" tab, and click on the 1Password.agilekeychain file, which exposes the 1Password.html file. Clicking on that brings up the 1Password "Unlock" screen so you can decrypt the file and view your password data. Because you must log into Dropbox first, you can't just create a browser bookmark to go directly to your 1Password data.

The Mac version of 1Password includes a standalone application to manage your data and a browser extension that provides access to your passwords by way of either an embedded "1P" button on the navigation tool bar or controls on a 1Password toolbar. The toolbar includes a context-sensitive shortcut button that determines what site you're currently visiting and suggests the appropriate account credentials when clicked.

On the Mac, iPad and iPhone versions, 1Password has easily the prettiest user interface in the group, and it's simple to use as well. 1Password integrates with several popular Mac browsers

The versions for the iPhone and iPad include an integrated browser. Both automatically fill in credentials but don't automatically submit them to the site. You can also copy and paste credentials into a Safari window.

One irritation on the iPad: Switch away from 1Password by clicking the iPad's Home button and you're logged out (RoboForm performed the same way). LastPass did preserve my sessions on the iPad until they timed out, regardless of how many times I switched away. The developer says it will support multitasking with Apple's release of iOS 4.2 in November, so you won't get logged out every time you press the home button.

The Windows version, still in beta, provides the same basic functions, although the pop-up user interface for Windows browsers (Firefox or Internet Explorer only) has a different look and feel. And unlike the Mac version, in Windows you need to use the browser add-on to log into Web sites. You click the 1P icon to bring up the dialog box, click the "Go and Fill Login" button, and then pick the site from a list. The pop-up dialog fills in credentials but doesn't automatically submit them unless you have checked the "Auto-Submit Logins" box (it is turned off by default).

Agile Software licenses 1Password by the user rather than the device, but you do need a license for each platform. The license for the Mac version costs $39.95. The Windows version currently costs $19.95 while it's in beta; on release, it will also cost $39.95. You'll pay $9.95 for the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch -- a $14.95 Pro version lets you install 1Password on all three iOS devices.



Clipperz
Clipperz is a free, Web-based, open-source password management service that also lets you download a read-only copy of the application and your password data

It works with any computer capable of running Firefox, Chrome or any other browser that supports JavaScript -- including my iPad running Safari. It also offers a version of the Clipperz Web site that's optimized for mobile phones and other devices with small screens.

Clipperz stores the offline copy of your password data as an encrypted HTML document. The local copy doesn't update automatically, so if you want to keep your offline copy up-to-date you will need to download a fresh one each time you update your database. It saves to a different date-based filename (e.g., clipperz_20100915.html) each day you use it; I purposefully overwrote the same file name each time so that I could open the file using the same Firefox bookmark.

Once you've set up an account, you can open either the online password vault or the local copy of your data using your user name and master password.

Like RoboForm and LastPass, Clipperz initially encrypts password data locally, on your computer, before uploading it to the cloud. Once you set up an account, you can import data (Clipperz supports five formats, including Excel and CSV) or enter your account credentials manually.

Setup involves creating password "cards" that contain the Web site address, log-in name, password and any other required data. Web sites can be grouped into categories.

It works with any computer capable of running Firefox, Chrome or any other browser that supports JavaScript -- including my iPad running Safari. It also offers a version of the Clipperz Web site that's optimized for mobile phones and other devices with small screens.

Clipperz stores the offline copy of your password data as an encrypted HTML document. The local copy doesn't update automatically, so if you want to keep your offline copy up-to-date you will need to download a fresh one each time you update your database. It saves to a different date-based filename (e.g., clipperz_20100915.html) each day you use it; I purposefully overwrote the same file name each time so that I could open the file using the same Firefox bookmark.

Once you've set up an account, you can open either the online password vault or the local copy of your data using your user name and master password.

Like RoboForm and LastPass, Clipperz initially encrypts password data locally, on your computer, before uploading it to the cloud. Once you set up an account, you can import data (Clipperz supports five formats, including Excel and CSV) or enter your account credentials manually.

Setup involves creating password "cards" that contain the Web site address, log-in name, password and any other required data. Web sites can be grouped into categories.

Clipperz lets you create simple Web password cards you can use to copy user names or passwords to the clipboard and then paste into Web site log-in fields. For each site you need to create bookmarklets to have Clipperz automatically log you in. That takes a little bit of work.

You start by dragging a link from the Clipperz Web site onto your bookmarks toolbar, where it appears as a button. To add a bookmarklet for a new card, you navigate to the target site and click the "Add to Clipperz!" button. A window pops up with code in it that you copy to the clipboard. Then you go to the Clipperz Web site, log in, edit the card and paste the text into the Direct Login field. It doesn't take too long once you get the hang of it, but the process could be much easier.

After that you can automatically log into those Web sites by logging into the Clipperz.com Web site and clicking on the site you want to access from a list. Clipperz loads the Web page in a new browser tab and logs you in automatically.

Clipperz will also work with Portable Firefox or other portable browsers on a USB drive. A Compact Edition, designed to run in the Firefox bookmarks sidebar or Opera's panel, offers read-only access to your online password data. The compact version is somewhat faster because you don't need to navigate to Cipperz.com to log in. However, to change a Web site's log-in credentials or add a new card you'll need to visit the Clipperz Web site.

Clipperz is free and there's nothing to install locally, except to configure bookmarklets. The open-source code is freely available -- if you don't trust them with your data you can always host Clipperz on your own server. But setup and maintenance of your password data is a bit more involved than with LastPass or RoboForm, and locally cached, read-only copies of your data don't update automatically.


LastPass
The developers of LastPass say they built the product from the ground up to provide access to password data on any device -- and it shows.

Once installed and configured, LastPass is a breeze to use. The application maintains a local copy of your data on any Windows, Mac or Linux machine. A single icon on your browser navigation bar gives you access to all its features.

But as with RoboForm, some setup and configuration details can be a bit involved if you're supporting more than one platform or browser, or want to add two-factor authentication. For example, when I accessed the "download" screen on LastPass.com, the site recommended a download for Firefox -- the browser I was using at the time. But there are separate downloads for each additional browser you want to use with LastPass -- and a total nine different variations of the program you can download for the Mac.

LastPass runs on the iPad and any Windows, Mac or Linux computer via a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari browsers. You click the red LastPass icon on the browser navigation bar to access the account log-in screen and a drop-down list of key features. Once logged in, you can access your database on the LastPass Web site, set up profiles, log into sites, create and access secure notes, or configure some very detailed security settings.

LastPass uses your e-mail address as your user name. Since your user ID is easily guessed, that makes it doubly important that you choose a strong password.

When you visit a Web site that LastPass recognizes, you can configure it to automatically fill in the account credentials and log you in without prompting. There are no buttons to push. Of all of the products reviewed here, LastPass had the most seamless process for automating the log-in process.

Each machine that you use LastPass on has its own encrypted, local copy of the password database, which synchronizes with a master database hosted at the LastPass.com Web site. You can also log into the site directly and view your data from anywhere, without using any browser extensions.

LastPass for the iPad keeps a synchronized copy of your password data. Because it can't integrate with the Safari browser on iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch), the app includes a simple, embedded browser of its own. A list of your passwords appears in one tab. Press on a site name and LastPass launches a new tab, loads the site and logs you in.

Other features include the ability to analyze your existing passwords for weaknesses and an option to automatically delete the passwords stored by your browsers (which are not very secure).

Once installed and configured, LastPass is a breeze to use. The application maintains a local copy of your data on any Windows, Mac or Linux machine. A single icon on your browser navigation bar gives you access to all its features.

But as with RoboForm, some setup and configuration details can be a bit involved if you're supporting more than one platform or browser, or want to add two-factor authentication. For example, when I accessed the "download" screen on LastPass.com, the site recommended a download for Firefox -- the browser I was using at the time. But there are separate downloads for each additional browser you want to use with LastPass -- and a total nine different variations of the program you can download for the Mac.

LastPass runs on the iPad and any Windows, Mac or Linux computer via a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari browsers. You click the red LastPass icon on the browser navigation bar to access the account log-in screen and a drop-down list of key features. Once logged in, you can access your database on the LastPass Web site, set up profiles, log into sites, create and access secure notes, or configure some very detailed security settings.

LastPass uses your e-mail address as your user name. Since your user ID is easily guessed, that makes it doubly important that you choose a strong password.

When you visit a Web site that LastPass recognizes, you can configure it to automatically fill in the account credentials and log you in without prompting. There are no buttons to push. Of all of the products reviewed here, LastPass had the most seamless process for automating the log-in process.

Each machine that you use LastPass on has its own encrypted, local copy of the password database, which synchronizes with a master database hosted at the LastPass.com Web site. You can also log into the site directly and view your data from anywhere, without using any browser extensions.

LastPass for the iPad keeps a synchronized copy of your password data. Because it can't integrate with the Safari browser on iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch), the app includes a simple, embedded browser of its own. A list of your passwords appears in one tab. Press on a site name and LastPass launches a new tab, loads the site and logs you in.

Other features include the ability to analyze your existing passwords for weaknesses and an option to automatically delete the passwords stored by your browsers (which are not very secure).

The basic version is free, but if you want to use LastPass with any mobile devices other than the iPad, you'll need LastPass Premium. The $12 annual subscription fee adds support for a variety of popular smartphone operating systems, including iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm WebOS and Symbian S60. It also includes access from USB keys that can run portable versions of Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer and upgraded support (basic support is via e-mail only).

The portable browser/LastPass combination on a USB key for Windows, Mac OS X or Linux supports a local, synchronized copy of your password data. Using a USB key is good for accessing LastPass data from untrusted machines because you don't need to install LastPass locally and nothing is left behind on the machine when you finish using it. To help thwart key loggers, LastPass lets you create and use one-time passwords; you can use your mouse to click on a virtual "screen keyboard" and enter your master password that way.

The for-pay version also offers two-factor authentication using either a one-time password-generating program called Sesame or a hardware key called YubiKey. If you don't want to spend the 12 bucks, the free version of LastPass comes with a basic two-factor authentication scheme called Grid. I strongly recommend using the two-factor authentication feature on any device that travels outside of your office or home.

RoboForm
Siber Systems created RoboForm more than a decade ago to automate the process of filling out forms online -- until the CEO decided that he wanted to use it to automatically fill in user account names and passwords as well. The feature, which started as "a utility, a hobby for the CEO," is now the primary reason why people buy the product, says Bill Carey, vice president of marketing. The company claims to have more than 3 million users worldwide.

Although RoboForm supports a wide range of operating systems, browsers and mobile devices, only the native Windows version of the program offers the complete range of features. RoboForm sells two Windows versions: RoboForm for Windows and RoboForm2Go, a Windows-based application that can run from a USB key when inserted into any Windows computer. A native application for Linux is not yet available. Siber Systems plans to release a native version for Mac OS X later this year.

RoboForm runs from the Windows task bar or from a browser toolbar extension (the application automatically installs extensions for Firefox or Internet Explorer; the Chrome extension has to be downloaded and installed manually). You have to use a bookmarklet to use it with Safari, Opera and other browsers. The Firefox toolbar also can be installed into Firefox Portable Edition for use on a USB drive.

After you install RoboForm and set up a master password, the program begins asking if it may collect user names and passwords as you enter them into Web sites. (It can also import data from some sources, such as browsers.)

A pop-up window appears when you visit a site for the first time and prompts you to save the log-in credentials into a newly named passcard. Thereafter, whenever you visit that site, you can click the Login button and choose the appropriate passcard, or navigate to the site and click on a context-sensitive shortcut button in your toolbar to log in.

For example, if you're already on the log-in page for, say, Facebook, you just have to click on the button (which will say "Facebook") on the toolbar to log in. (Make sure the correct account credentials are selected -- if you have multiple accounts it presents them all.)

On each Windows computer you use, RoboForm stores an encrypted copy of your password data locally and keeps everything in sync by way of a master copy stored on its cloud-based service, RoboForm Online.

RoboForm for Windows sells for $29.95 for the first machine and $9.95 for each additional computer. RoboForm2Go sells for $39.95 per USB drive, or $19.95 if you also buy RoboForm for Windows. Software applications required to use RoboForm with mobile devices are free.

RoboForm Online is also free -- you can log into the Web site and use it without buying any other RoboForm products. You can copy/paste user names and passwords from the RoboForm Online Web site into a Web site you're trying to log into, but the process goes faster if you install a RoboForm JavaScript bookmarklet into your browser. (The bookmarklet works with virtually any browser that supports JavaScript, including those for Mac OS X and Linux systems.)

Siber Systems also offers apps for a variety of mobile phone platforms, including iPhone/iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile (up to version 6; they are no doubt working on Windows Phone 7), Palm and Symbian. These allow access to the online copy of your password data but do not include local backup copies or offline access to your data.

I tested the free RoboForm app for the iPhone on an iPad. To access your data you enter a four-digit pin instead of your master password.

Because Apple doesn't allow add-ons to Safari on the iPhone, the RoboForm app includes its own bare-bones browser window. You select the target Web site from RoboForm's list of sites and the app opens a second tab through which you log into and view that Web site. It's not the same as using your native browser, but it's workable.

I had no trouble logging into most sites but could not log into a Gmail account. Resynchronizing the data did not help. According to support manager Andrew Steed, Google treats the HTTP request I saved when accessing the Google log-in screen from a desktop differently when it's coming from an iPhone or iPad -- presumably because it normally would redirect you from Google.com to a log-in page tailored for your mobile device. To get around this, I manually entered the generic address www.google.com into the passcard's URL field, which then redirected the iPad to the appropriate log-in screen. I was able to log in just fine.

Such are the idiosyncrasies that can crop up when you're sharing a common password database across devices.

RoboForm works just fine once you're up and running, but getting all of the pieces and parts downloaded, set up and synchronized can lead to some head-scratching moments -- a point that Siber Systems acknowledges. A spokesperson says this will be addressed when a version 7 (now in beta) is released later this year.


Bottom line
1Password is a great solution for Macs -- the browser toolbar makes password entry a two-click affair, and the Mac application itself makes it easy to create and maintain passwords, identities, secure notes and other data.

However, the browser pop-up in the Windows version, which is still in beta, isn't quite as easy to use as the toolbar in the Mac version, and the 1Password application for Windows didn't let me automatically log into Web sites by double-clicking on a site, as I could with the Mac version. 1Password lacks key features for anytime, anywhere access. It's not compatible with the BlackBerry; accessing your data on the Dropbox Web site is a clunky, multistep affair; it does not offer the ability to run from a USB key; and you can't create one-time use passwords for logging into your password database.

RoboForm is a solid product for Windows, and although there's no native application for Linux or Mac OS X and no ability to store and synchronize a local copy of your password data on those systems, the browser toolbar add-in for the Mac is quick and easy to use. As with 1Password, you pay a license fee per Windows PC or USB device, which can add up if you want to use the product on several different platforms.

Clipperz is a free, but much more limited, password manager. It's Web-based, so you can access it from anywhere, so long as you're online. It allows you to store a local backup copy of your data, and it can run from a USB key.

However, the local copy doesn't automatically keep in sync, and the process of using bookmarklets to create direct log-ins for Web sites by copying and pasting HTML code between the Web site and the Clipperz Web site is a less-than-polished approach that should be automated. Clipperz does the job, but when compared to other products in this category it looks unfinished.

I consider LastPass to be the overall winner. Security products should be easy to set up and use, and as unobtrusive as possible, or people just won't use them. LastPass does well on all counts while working on Windows, Mac, Linux and most smartphone platforms.

It was the only product to automatically populate and submit my credentials to a Web site as soon as I surfed to a Web site -- no button-clicking required. It has a few nice features, such as an analysis of your existing passwords for weaknesses and an option to automatically delete passwords stored insecurely by your browsers. It can store a local copy of your data on all mobile and personal computing platforms, and it offers the added protection of two-factor authentication.

I didn't like the fact that LastPass requires your user account ID to be your e-mail address -- something that's easily guessed. Because of that, a strong master password is a must. But the price, free or $12 per year for the LastPass Premium subscription, is very reasonable.