iPhone 3G Review

ust over a year after Apple birthed the first iPhone, the long-awaited, next-generation iPhone 3G has arrived bearing a mildly tweaked design and a load of new features. With access to a faster 3G wireless network, Microsoft Exchange server e-mail, and support for a staggering array of third-party software from the iPhone 3G App Store, the new handset is the iPhone we've been waiting for. It still lacks some basic features but when compared with what the original model was year ago, this device sets a new benchmark for the cell phone world.

With the iPhone 3G Review, Apple appears to have fixed some call-quality performance issues we had with the previous model--in our initial tests, the volume is louder with less background buzz than before. Music and video quality were largely unchanged, but we didn't have many complaints in that department to begin with. We're worried about battery life--some early reviews indicate that the iPhone 3G lasts only a day--but we'll run full tests over the next couple of days and report our results on this page.

Price may well remain our largest concern. New AT&T customers and most current AT&T customers can buy the iPhone 3G for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. If you don't qualify for that price--check your AT&T account to find out--you'll pay $399 and $499 respectively. Either way, you'll pay $15 more per month ($74.99 total) for a plan comparable with the original iPhone ($59 per month). So, while you'll pay less outright to buy the handset, you'll make it up over the course of a standard two-year AT&T contract.

Iriver E100 Review

For a long time, the Iriver Clix stood alone as the highest-scoring MP3 player Review on CNET (it is now tied with the iPod Touch). This is both good and bad for Iriver: good, because it helped to sell more units, but bad because now the company has a stellar player against which all of its future offerings will be compared. The E100, Iriver E100 Review first true U.S. release since the second-gen Clix, falls a bit flat, but it's not the worst budget option on the market. We certainly appreciate the competitive pricing--$109.99 and $159.99 for the 4GB and 8GB models, respectively--and plethora of features, but the player suffers from irksome controls, an uninspired user interface, and sound quality unbefitting to the Iriver reputation.

Click pad irritation
We wouldn't necessarily say that the Iriver E100 completely fails in the design department, but it could definitely use some work. The main issue is the control pad--it's just bad. It's plastic and feels cheaply constructed. The center button is small and recessed, which makes it difficult to press. Plus, the buttons are slightly unresponsive, and we experienced some delays when moving between selections. Also, when on the playback screen, the D-Click orientation of the pad doesn't quite mesh with the screen above. The Portable Player Review key is play/pause--that makes sense. Then, it's surrounded by a four-way pad with arrow indicators. However, the right and left buttons don't serve to shuttle through tracks; instead, you press up to go back and down to go forward. The right arrow acts as a shortcut/contextual menu key, while the left backs out of screens/menus. It acts exactly like the pad on the Clix, but on the Clix the control pad surrounded the edges of the display, so it worked with the clarification provided by the soft "keys" on the screen. For the E100, it's not as logical, since the soft keys are nowhere near the actual controls.

Design, interface, and other features
Fortunately, the rest of the E100's design isn't quite so bad, although it has a decidedly plasticky feel. The player comes in a variety of colors--black, brown, white, pink, and sky blue--but none of them quite pop. The QVGA (320x240 resolution) screen is nice and big, measuring 2.5 inches diagonally. Its placement and the size and shape of the device makes it look a bit like a Zune clone, not that that's a bad thing necessarily. Around the edges of the player, you'll find a power button, a dedicated volume rocker, a hold switch, a mic, and a reset hole. The bottom side of the unit houses a standard mini USB port for syncing and charging as well as two 3.5mm jacks: one for headphone out and one for line-in. A microSD card slot built into the top side allows for memory expansion, while two speakers on the rear let you share the tunes. Both are nice extras, though don't expect stellar sound from the speakers.

The Iriver E100 has plenty of other features to keep you busy, although the ability to customize the interface to your liking is not one of them. We're a bit disappointed by this, since the overall interface is fairly bland. The main menu is icon-driven, but it's all gray and black, with a touch of red. We'd prefer some more color, or at least the option to change the wallpaper. Still, it's not a deal-breaker, and some users may appreciate the starkness. Other features include photo (JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF) and video (AVI, WMV) support; voice and line-in recording; a text viewer; and a built-in FM radio with recording capability, autoscan functionality, and up to 20 preset slots. We're also pleased to note that the E100 can sync with both Windows and Mac PCs.

Hoteluri Brasov / Cazare Brasov

Sinaia este un oraş în România, situat la poalele munţilor Bucegi şi cunoscut mai ales datorită importanţei sale turistice. Aici se află şi Castelul Peleş, fosta reşedinţa de vară a regelui Carol I.

Sinaia se află în judeţul Prahova, la circa 60 km nord-vest de Ploieşti şi la 50 km sud de Braşov. Amplasat într-o zonă muntoasă pe valea râului Prahova, altitudinea oraşului variază între 767m şi 860m. Beneficiind de un cadru natural pitoresc, Sinaia are statut de staţiune turistică şi balneo-climaterică.