From my perspective as an iPhone owner, I would have never expected to find myself second-guessing my choice – until now. That’s because it’s really hard to find a fault in the Xperia S, but we’ll come back to that later.

First of all, the display is absolutely stunning for an LCD-based implementation, and at 4.3 inches it’s feels just right in your hand. Thanks to its resolution (1280 x 720 pixels) it has a bigger ppi (pixel per inch) than the iPhone 4S with its Retina display – which means photos and videos look nothing less of amazing, which is exactly what you want to see when looking at shots taken with the camera or browsing photos on Instagram.

Benefitting from Sony’s experience in the industry, it produces very good quality shots even in low light conditions – which often is not the case with phones because of the reduced size of the sensor. For that extra bit of light when taking shots indoors or at night, the LED flash gives a helping hand. And when it comes to showing off those photos or play back videos, you can use the HDMI port.

If you’re used to listening to your tunes on your way to work or uni, then you’ll be happy to hear that the Xperia S has 32 GB of integrated flash memory, plenty enough for most journeys. We could not test this objectively but in my opinion the sound quality exceeds any phone I’ve used so far; that’s saying quite a lot because Apple has a lot of experience making iPods and they’ve used in the past some of the best DSP’s (digital signal processors) available. The Media Player is a bit rough on the edges – not as intuitive as we’re used to – but flicking through the album art on the 4.3 inch screen makes up for it. And you can always use something like DoubleTwist – which is available in the Android Store.

The Xperia S also benefits from HSDPA and WiFi capabilities – which means you’ll never spend a minute away from your friends on Twitter and Facebook; Assisted-GPS with Google Maps, bluetooth A2DP for wireless music & handsfree, 3D panoramic photos, full HD video recording, Google Voice search and a standard 3.5mm audio jack, all in a sleek black design weighing just 144g.

For one of the best phones available right now in the UK, the Xperia S does however get a low grade on build quality. The back plate which covers the SIM card holder seems rather flimsy and prone to scratches unlike the mineral glass on the front of the device. It also suffers from Android’s immaturity as an operating system, a lesser selection of applications and non-standard user interfaces. While a technological marvel in itself, it doesn’t feel like an integrated experience, but a series of undoubtedly remarkable features strung together by engineers in an effort to create a proof of concept device.

The battery life was acceptable, lasting a full day of normal usage – music, web-browsing, texts and calls. It’s not an impressive result, but most would charge their phone overnight anyway.

A good thing to note is that Sony is paying attention to Mac users – maybe the hardest crowd to sell a phone to – by releasing Sony Bridge, an comprehensive app that tries to be your one stop shop to managing your phone, be it music, photos, videos or backing up. There’s a few bugs in the code – syncing stopped a couple a times – but its understandable as the development for it did not start until very recently.

To conclude, I would say to definitely go in a store a give the Sony Xperia S a try, especially if you’re using Google products like Docs and Google Mail. People used to MobileMe and iCloud are going to miss the Calendar and contacts synchronisation, but given the openness of the Android platform I’m sure someone is already working on it.

We just got the new Xperia S from Sony. I’ve been playing with it for the last three hours, and I’m very impressed with the device so far. The interface is sleek and responsive, the hardware is just a treat to the eyes. It’s incredibly slim for a phone with its hardware specifications, the camera takes amazing pictures even in low-light. The screen is larger than on most smartphones, but not too big as to make the device uncomfortable to hold in your hand. There’s a few quirks they need to sort out in regards to the Mac syncing application (Sony Bridge) and Android is definitely less refined than iOS, but other than that there’s not much to criticise.

A comprehensive review is in the works, and will be posted soon.

In comparison with the original LG Cookie, the Fresh has a lower resolution 2MP camera, lacks a gyroscope for automatic screen rotation as well as the 2GB microSecureDigital memory card. It does however appear to have an improved touchscreen/interface responsiveness. Although better, it’s still a notch down from any iOS device, and writing a longer SMS can be sometimes a little frustrating. Depending on how slim your fingers are, you might end up calling Grandma instead of Girlfriend, and there’s no stylus to help those of us who are touchscreen impaired.

Released in April 2010, it feels like a downgrade from its older, more capable brother. The LG Cookie fresh works on 2G networks, comes in at 108 x 52.9 x 12.5, weighing 89g. It has a decent 3 inch resistive touchscreen at 240 x 400 pixels which is not that bad for showing off the admittedly low resolution snaps you’ll take with the camera. There’s no flash of any kind, or autofocus, so don’t count on it for documenting your a trip or graduation ceremony.

This phone allows you to to do pretty much everything a smartphone should do. It’s got MMS, Push Email, a web browser, Java MIDP 2.1, Calendar, widgets, even Twitter and Facebook clients. But it feels like the developers were more keen on ticking checkboxes off of a list than actually implementing usable features. If you’ve ever used an iOS, or any recent Windows Mobile device, you’ll feel like you’re trying to repair a Asgard beaming transporter with scotch tape and superglue. You can do it, but it rapidly turns into a very frustrating experience. On the other hand, you could give this phone to a teenager in an effort to curb your telephone bill. (It might motivate him or her to take a part time job in order to buy an iPhone.)

If there’s one redeeming quality to this phone, it’s the music player and the integrated FM radio, which will work even without plugging a pair of headphones in the 3.5mm jack. Buy a decent pair of in-ear headphones and a 16GB microSD card and you’ve got yourself the next best thing to an iPod Classic. You won’t be able to use iTunes to sync your music though, so if you’ve bought a lot of DRM-ed music, you’re out of luck.

The LG Cookie Fresh has a Li-Ion 900mAh battery which according to their estimates lasts for up to 390h in standby or up to 5h and 30 minutes talk time. If you want a decent phone and don’t want to invest in an iPod, then this is for you. But don’t expect more, because you’ll be disappointed.

U-Pouch

If you want to keep your iPod or iPhone safe, and have style at the same time, then you should check out the U-Pouch series from UNIEA. I’ve had the chance to get one, and I can vouch for it: it’s light, feels well built and looks great on your device. A slide in case like this one fits easily in your jeans or jacket pocket, which I cannot say for silicone or some hard cases. It’s slightly elastic, so your device will fit snuggly inside, with no risk of accidentally slipping out. It’s also very cheap, with a price tag of 19,99$ from the uniea.com store.

Sample provided by Michael Nace from UNIEA (Twitter and Facebook).

Fonera 2.0g next to an iPod touch 1st generation, a Sony Ericsson W910i, a Microsoft Arc mouse and a (standard size) 2 pencil.

Yes, believe it or not, this little stylish box will actually take the load off your computer. Whether YouTube, Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, BitTorrent, RapidShare, or Megaupload is your favourite web 2.0 app, the Fonera 2.0g will take care of upload and download, without keeping your computer turned on.

For example, connect an external USB 2.0 hard drive to the port on the back, select the torrent you’d like to download and leave it do its job. By the time you get back from work or school, the file would have been already downloaded and waiting for you. You can connect to the the router’s file server wirelessly from any Windows, Mac or Linux machine and even stream video files. The second Ethernet port allows you to connect any computers without WiFi to the Fonera (if you have more than one, you can use a cheap switch to interface).

The NAS (Network Attached Storage) functionality can be accessed by either a local FTP, a Samba share or  web interface, which goes to show how versatile this device is.

The way the router is built allows for its functionality to be extended by using small plugins, much like the ones you use in Firefox. Fonera 2.0g comes pre-loaded with a bunch of these, including one for wireless printing support, live webcam streaming, music streaming, and backup – like Apple’s Time Capsule. Adding more is very simple, by simply clicking to the + sign next to the description. The router also supports VPN, QoS and can be used in conjunction with 3G/UMTS modems.

For example, let’s say you’re at a conference or party and want to share some WiFi? An AC plug, a Fonera, your standard USB mobile modem and ta-dah: internet connectivity for the whole floor. This feature also works for people who use the internet for just email and browsing, allowing them to ditch their home wired connection and use the modem with the Fonera to provide wireless internet to the whole house. Don’t forget though, that many of these mobile modems have bandwidth caps.

The back of the Fonera 2.0g: Two Ethernet ports and one USB. You can have more ports by using connecting an Ethernet switch and/or an USB hub.

You’d expect such a feature rich device to have a gloriously complicated interface. Well, it’s beautifully simple and logically constructed. You can check out a live demo of the Fonera Web User Interface over at FON. The router itself has a simple and inconspicuous design with a white shiny finish that resembles the polycarbonate MacBook. LEDs on the front will point out the status of the power, local connectivity and internet.

For the specification oriented folks, here are the numbers:

• 93.5 mm x 25.5 mm x 110 mm (excluding antenna)
• 1 USB 2.0 port that can be expanded by using a hub (preferably self-powered).
• External detachable antenna (1,5dBi)
• Encryption methods supported: WEP 64bit/128 bit, WPA, WPA2, WPA mixed with cyphers: TKIP, AES, Mixed.
• 2 SSIDs, one public (for sharing with the Fonero cummunity) and one private, for your personal use. You can disable the public signal, but you will lose you Fonero status and won’t be able to use free wifi at any Fon hotspot worldwide.
• Range 20-70 meters depending on your surroundings.

Another nice feature of the Fonera 2.0g is that you can easily replace the MAC of the router, directly from the Web UI. This is useful because some ISPs tend to lock the account to a single computer, to limit the use of WiFi unsecured networks, that tend to rack up bandwidth from all neighbours in a 50 meter radius. The firewall is another treat, with settings for enabling and disabling FTP, Samba, port forwarding, UPnP, WAN-LAN access and so on.

For the less tech-savvy, the wiki page provides walkthroughs and information an all of the features in plain english.

The Fonera 2.0g is without a doubt the swiss knife of routers and gets you free WiFi access around the world from the Fonero community. The only thing better is its bigger brother, the Fonera 2.0N, which shares the same features and adds the faster 802.11N wireless chipset. I have one, and I love it.

Thanks to Inouk from FON who kindly provided this review unit for testing.

The Arc mouse has a simple and elegant design – so much Apple-like that I was quite amazed. This review is informal and concise.

• The ‘paintjob’ is two-tone, silver and black, and is very elegant.
• It’s light, but it feels incredibly good in your hand.
• Excellent sensibility, with fast and accurate movement, even on glossy surfaces. Because the sensor is in the front, the sideways movement might feel a bit weird, but you’ll get used to it fast.
• Even though it is supposed to be a ‘on-the-road’ mouse, I’ve been using it every day and I’m impressed by the ergonomics. Out of every mobile mouse I’ve tried so far, using it for an extended time did not represent any discomfort at all.
• Uses 2 AAA batteries, not some proprietary battery/charger duo.
• The fold design saves space when travelling.
• Magnetic holder for the Bluetooth dongle, inside the mouse. The receiver is extremely small, even smaller than your thumb, and has fantastic reception: 2.4 GHz – 30 ft. Wireless Range.

The Microsoft Arc mouse is a must-have for any travelling geek. Visit Microsoft’s site for more information.

Available for both the first and second generation of iPod Touches and iPhones, the Juice Pack charges your device when inserted, while still offering protection from accidental drops and slips – with its sturdy rubberized exterior. The Juice Pack connects to your device via the 20-pin Apple dock connector, and to the computer or wall charger through a standard USB port.

When connected to a computer, the Juice Pack’s ‘pass-through’ design enables you to sync with iTunes and charge at the same time – without having to remove your iPhone/iPod from it. The enclosed battery has 1800mAh of energy and extends your battery life by a factor of 2. The lithium polymer technology of the battery is known to be more resilient to physical damage but it’s also known to have a reduced lifecycle (about 500 charge-discharge cycles) when compared to lithium-ion technology.

Photos, while they show off the design, don’t tell the full story of the Juice Pack. The iPod touch fit snuggly inside, and it started charging immediately. It adds very little to the total weight – insignificant when compared to other hard shell cases. The rubberized surface also improves handling. If you prefer another case for your device, don’t worry, you can disconnect the Juice Pack and still have a fully charged device. The integrated power distribution “instructs the iPod Touch to always drain out the juice pack first”. Fully charging the iPod touch took around 2 hours from 10%, as fast as it would charge connected to a computer.

The Juice Pack is not the average battery extender. It is by far the smartest accessory I’ve seen so far and also impresses with its simple Apple-like design and attention to details. It’s the first Apple certified battery extender for the iPhone 3G.

The Juice Pack provides you with tremendous convenience in situations when you don’t have access to a power socket or a an USB port – and is a must have for traveling or long commutes. While some have picked on the price tag for this device, I won’t, because I don’t think that’s fair. Everything about the Juice Pack suggests quality,  and it’s very clear who this company addresses with its products. People who buy Apple products look at quality and overall experience before looking at the price tag.

I highly recommend the Mophie Juice Pack. Visit the Mophie website here.

We thank Mark Olson from Max Borges Agency for providing this sample.

This is nirvana for every security conscious person using the internet, as the computer is physically separated from the network by the the Gatekeeper. The data flowing in is routed directly from the network adapter through the Gatekeeper, analyzed for suspicious activity, and then passed on to your computer.

My first reaction to Yoggie’s Gatekeeper Pico was of disbelief. Disbelief that a device so small could actually run a comprehensive security suite, similar in functionality to a behemoth like Norton Internet Security. And we all know what installing that does to the computer’s performance. Yet it works, and much better than I thought it would.

Inside that small case, we have a hardened Linux operating system using kernel 2.6 and running on the Freescale iMX31L processor, 128MB of RAM and 128MB of non-volatile storage.

Yoggie claims their solution has less than 1% impact on system performance and I believe them. Even the Management Console, the program which controls the settings of the device, is stored on the Gatekeeper itself and accessible via a web interface.

Yoggie did a stellar job of creating a simple to use product, even though the underlying technology is advanced and quite complicated. Normally, an end-user would not be able to benefit from all these security applications – which are primarily found in corporate environments.

Let’s take a look at the components of this security suite:

• Firewall with *stateful packet inspection, outbound port whitelist and blacklist pre-configured, Active Sync support and creation of new rules or exceptions. *By default, Yoggie allows no inbound traffic that was not initiated on the protected computer. Yoggie’s firewall is based on the Linux Netfilter/IPTables firewall.
• Snort Intrusion Detection & Prevention System with Sourcefire VRT certified rules
• Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Malware components, which update every 5 minutes automatically. The Kaspersky (or KAV) engine is well regarded by security analysts.

TOR network client, which enables you to connect to the TOR network with a simple click of a button, guaranteeing online privacy.

• SurfControl Web content filtering with pre-configured categories and rule creation. By enabling the Ads filter you’re going to get rid of almost all advertising on websites, making surfing more pleasant and fast.
• Adaptive Security Policy, a 3 stage method, using Low, Medium and High; the user can choose to manually configure the different components or adjust the security slider according to their needs from the graphical interface.
• Adaptive Security Policy

Yoggie Adaptive Security Policy uses a current risk level calculator to calculate the risk level in the specific environment at any given time. According to the calculation it dynamically increases or decreases the security level. –Yoggie KB ID #1011

• Multi-Layer Security Agent

Yoggie Multilayer security agent (MLA) receives security related events from all layers-from the packet level up to the L 8 engine. This patent-pending technology blocks attacks at the packet level as they begin to constitute a risk at the application level. The MLA monitors scanning results from the different security software and builds a puzzle to identify an attack even if it is not recognized by each of the individual subsystems. –Yoggie KB ID #1010

• VPN client & server (Pro model only) for creating an encrypted tunnel automatically when using Yoggie.
• Layer 8 Security Engine

Yoggie L-8 (Layer 8) security engine (patent pending) is a proprietary technology that defends against unknown attacks, including new viruses, spyware, worms, etc. It sits on top of the application layer and analyzes mobile code, such as JavaScript, VBScript and Java applets in order to detect malicious code based on behaviour rather than an existing signature. –Yoggie KB ID #1009

Yoggie Gatekeeper Pico comes with a color quick start guide, but I’m not sure anyone would need that because its incredibly easy to set up. Insert the supplied CD, or download the driver from the Yoggie website then just plug in the Gatekeeper. After about 15 seconds, Yoggie would have started and connected to the application on your computer. The only thing you have to do is to choose a password. This absolutely redefines ease of use when it comes to security applications.

If there’s one downside to Yoggie, it’s the fact that it can’t scan local files or removable media like USB sticks and CDs. Most of the threats today come from the internet – but if you get an infected file on a USB stick, you won’t be protected. The malware won’t be able to communicate with the outside world because of the firewall and IDS/IPS, but it could do other damage.

If you deal with physical media on a regular basis you’ll need to keep around a small portable antivirus , such as ClamWin, for quick scanning. When you purchase a Yoggie product, you will also receive a 1 year Kaspersky Antivirus license, which they recommend you use to do one final sweep before you use the Gatekeeper. You could leave Kaspersky running and enjoy complete protection from all types of threats. In my tests, Kaspersky Anti-Virus used little over 20MB of RAM and never took more than 2% CPU, so it should represent a problem even for a low powered netbook.

Gatekeeper consumes very little energy, under 2W, so it won’t be a burden when you’re using your laptop. In fact, you’ll probably notice that the battery lasts longer because you don’t have a software security suite running on your computer.

The integrated Kaspersky anti-virus engine can’t scan more than the first 10 MB of any HTTP download. What if you download a file, 60MB, that contains a virus? Would you be protected? I’ve asked this question to Gil Bodov, Director of Technical Support:

Yoggie will scan the first 10MB of each file, where most viruses will already be caught regardless of file size. Beyond that, even for the rest of the file, regardless of its size, everything will be passed through the other engines, IDS/IPS, Layer 8 etc. which also include virus signatures. This means you’re still getting a decent level of security even though the AV engine itself doesn’t actually scan the entire file. Still, if you want to have the most secure setting, you can simply block downloading files bigger than 10MB. In addition, Yoggie recommend using the Bonus Desktop AV software (Kaspersky) we provide in the package for a second line of defense (or any other updated AV software).

It is my conclusion that the Yoggie Gatekeeper Pico coupled with a lightweight antivirus is the best protection you can get at the moment for a Windows based computer.

Yoggie products are also available for ExpressCard, home networks, Macs and small businesses and won several prestigious awards from PCMag, ComputerWorld, RSA and CES.  We thank Avi Dardik , VP Product Management for providing this sample. Visit Yoggie.com.

You know the old saying, that appearances can fool you? Well, if you thought the IronKey is just another USB drive, you’d be very wrong. Jump in for the full review.

From IronKey, Inc., founded in 2005, an elite team of experts from big names such as GeoTrust, PayPal, RSA Security and VISA just to name a few, developed an amazing product that enables end-users to protect their privacy and data with something as small and portable as an USB stick.

Tough on the outside, smart on the inside; that would be a sentence to characterize the IronKey perfectly. The sensitive components of the USB stick, the memory and the cryptographic chip, are protected by the metal alloy shell and by epoxy-based filling. This means you can drop the IronKey without worrying about destroying it, and it also means it is water-proof.

The epoxy has another benefit: once it is hardened, it’s nearly impossible to conduct a physical attack on the IronKey in order to retrieve the memory chips. Which, without adequate computing power, would be completely useless since the IronKey can detect a physical attack and initiate a self-destruction sequence that permanently removes the keys from the cryptographic chip. This auto-distruct sequence is also enabled after 10 consecutive failed password attempts. The IronKey has successfully passed 140-2 tests required by the U.S. and Canadian government:

FIPS 140-2 validation is the benchmark for security within government departments and agencies. Government purchasing agents must purchase products validated for FIPS 140-2 in preference to non-validated products. To achieve validation, the IronKey underwent stringent testing by an accredited independent lab, earning the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 Level 2 certificate number 938 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Canadian Communication Security Establishment (CSE). –IronKey Press Release

In addition, IronKey also passed FIPS 186-2 – which ensures an correct implementation of “RSA, AES, SHA-1 and SHA-256 standards for digital signature generation and verification” and FIPS 197 – “certifying IronKey’s correct implementation of the AES algorithm and its various modes”.

All the information on the IronKey is safely stored, encrypted with AES 256 keys generated the first time you plug in the IronKey – not even IronKey’s employees know the keys to your data.

After the initial setup, which comprises of picking a password then waiting for the IronKey to generate the encryption keys and install the software, you’ll be welcomed by a password prompt each time you plug the device on. Various options let you choose what the next automated action will be: open the IronKey control panel, an Explorer window with your files or viewing your online IronKey account.

The IronKey comes with a free service called ‘Secure Sessions’, a secure Password Manager and a hardened version of Firefox.

• The Secure Sessions feature encrypts and routes all your web-surfing through the Tor network – ensuring anonymity online as well as protecting you against local password sniffers.
• The Password Manager remembers password you entered for various websites. This way, there’s no need to worry about keyloggers monitoring your keystrokes – the password is entered automatically for you. It also lets you generate strong passwords that are automatically remembered. This may be helful for those not familiar with GRC’s Perfect Password Generator.
• Currently, the IronKey comes with Firefox 2.0. They are currently working on some compatibility issues with Firefox 3.0. I’m not really sure how their version of Firefox is hardened, but I immediately installed NoScript, AdBlock and CustomizeGoogle. These 3 extensions easily allow you to block ads, flash and scripts from running – 90% of online threats.

If you’re thinking like me, you’re probably worried about the stick getting infected with auto-run type malware after the device is unlocked; fortunately the IronKey team has thought about that and apparently figured out a solution:

The patent-pending USB AutoRun anti-worm malware protection is available immediately on newly purchased IronKey Basic, Personal and Enterprise devices. Existing customers of IronKey Personal and Enterprise devices can remotely update their software and firmware to add this critical new security capability to their devices.

I can’t say that this is 100% effective, but I can say that I used the IronKey on a malware infested computer and nothing caught on when I ran a scan at home.

Like any USB stick, you can install portable applications such as: Chrome, Notepad++, Pidgin (Open-Source Multi-Protocol Instant Messenger Program) and VLC. The nice thing about the IronKey is that you don’t have to dig through the file system to find the launchers – you can easily integrate them into the IronKey Control Panel.

You can also automatically update the firmware for the IronKey, configure proxies and preferences for Firefox. An useful feature, Lost and Found, lets you customize a message that is shown every time the device is plugged in. If someone finds your IronKey, chances are that you’ll get it back, especially since they can’t re-use it.

There’s also an online part to the IronKey experience. Here, you can choose whether or not you want to backup your password in case you forget it, remotely disable lost devices or configure the security warnings. There’s also a feed of recent activity which will let you know if someone accessed your data without your knowledge.

The IronKey proved to be very useful to me. I can now securely check my email from potentially malicious computers, on the go; take with me even my password list or PayPal account information without being afraid that someone will recover that information. While this device certainly is more relevant to the business crowd, there are a lot of uses for the average guy and I strongly recommend this product to anyone who who thinks that security matters in this world. Go to ironkey.com.

IronKey works with Windows, Mac and Linux, altough some features may not be available on the latter platforms. For more information visit the IronKey Library.

We thank Katie Mason from Nadel Phelan, Inc. for providing the IronKey review unit.

Since the recession is in full swing I thought it may be useful to check out some ‘budget’ earphones.

First of all, let’s talk a bit about the technical specifications. The CX 400 II Precision:

• Have a small form factor and weigh just 5g.
• Use a symmetrical 1,2 soft rubber cable with inline analog (slider) volume control; It isn’t exactly precise but it does the job. It comes in handy in cramped situations, on the bus, when you just don’t have enough space to take out the iPod.
• Have a gold plated 3,5mm jack which work with the iPhone with no additional adaptors. The jack’s plastic enclosing is elastic although it doesn’t seem to offer much protection for the wire at all.
• The Neodymium magnet dynamic speakers are shielded by steel mesh caps.
• In the package we got: 6 sets of elastomer fittings, a clip attachment, cable winder, leather-like  carrying case.

I liked the small form factor of these headphones, as well as the ‘titanium’ metallic finish; I also appreciated the extended ear adaptor set – it makes a huge difference, from noise isolation to bass. If we take out of consideration the jack – which has no apparent protection for the cable – these are very well designed headphones.

I would have liked to see an asymmetrical cable which provides, in my opinion, a better experience.

The sound quality is good – crisp highs, solid bass, but not so well on the midrange. Apple and Etymotic perform better – but nothing noticeable listening to day-to-day rock in noisy environments. Here are the official numbers:

• Range: 17-22,000Hz
• Impedance: 16 ohms
• Speaker Type: Dynamic
• Acoustic Pressure: 114dB

Check out more technical information over at the product page. As always, a question for the readers: What would you like to see reviewed next?

We thank Linda Irvin –Product Management and Mareike Oer -PR for providing this sample.

And guess what makes this hard shell case special? Firstly, it’s for those lucky geeks who got the new aluminum MacBooks, and second, it’s got a leather-like texture on the outside that actually feels soft. Quite a feat if you ask me, because this case is made entirely from hardened plastic.

I got the chance to play a bit with it and I was impressed by the fact that it was extremely easy to put on – it is held in place by small insertions – which means you just pop it in and you’re done. Usually, hard cases won’t fit perfectly and have an annoying jiggle – but not the Haptique: small, round, black rubber pads surround the display shield to reduce movement between the laptop and the case. You can notice an attention to details: since the case has its own rubber grip stands, they indented the spot where the MacBook ones will fit.

Another common plague to this kind of cases is inadequate ventilation – a problem which the Haptique designers solved by including 2 ventilation ports – seated beneath the fans. They were also careful not to block the rear exhaust.

I’ve seen some cases that do not obstruct the view of the mighty Apple logo, either by cropping a circle around it or including a second transparent material. I personally agree with the designers’ decision not to continue that tradition – the result is quite elegant.

Here are some close-up pictures of the most important parts of the case:

If you want to look closely – click on the picture.

You can see the texture of the the outside in this close-up of the Uniea logo.

Uniea is relatively new to this space – but clearly has its aim on quality. They recently established a partnership with Barnes & Noble to distribute their entire product line via the books.com website in addition to uniea.com.

The Haptique is a must-have for any MacBook owner – and especially college students or people who travel a lot; it’s a great no-frills way of protecting your MacBook from scratches, wear and the occasional misfortunate drop.

I’d like to extend my thanks to Michael from Uniea, who, unlike most of the PR representatives I’ve talked to, was very helpful and responded in a timely manner.

La Fonera next to an iPod touch, a Sony Ericsson W910i and the AC adapter.

Share Your WiFi

Before we jump in, lets familiarize ourselves with the company. Fon was started in 2006 by a well-known entrepreneur, Martin Varsawsky and is currently backed by Skype, Google and BT (British Telecom). The company hopes have as much as a million active routers by 2010 – which would mean extensive WiFi coverage for metropolitan areas and city centers – for free.

A map of active routers in Manhattan, New York available here.

The concept is quite simple: you share a fraction of your internet bandwidth at home and in return get free access to other routers around the world. If you don’t have a Fonera router you need to buy a cheap day pass or watch an ad to surf the net. And, if the owner of the router lives near a popular location such as a Starbucks – he can even earn money from the 50% cut Fon gives on every Pass sold.

Hardware: La Fonera

While the device itself looks unimpressive compared to the goal it’s trying to achieve, to share your internet connection securely, it is really a feat of engineering and design. When I opened the package I was impressed to see a very small device – no larger than an iPod touch or classic – with a simple white design that might have very well been created in the Apple labs.

In the box you’ll find a power adapter, the omni-directional detachable antenna (2dBi with RP-SMA connector) and a white flat standard Ethernet cable. The cable comes in handy if you need to connect the router to the computer for diagnostics or to the cable modem, Ethernet switch, etc. You can use any Ethernet cable with the La Fonera – it auto-negotiates transmissions even without a crossover cable. I was a bit disappointed that the router offered only one Ethernet port, making network  attached storage devices useless without an additional network switch.

The Fonera is built by Accton with an Atheros chipset which offers 802.11b/g for a maximum of 54 Mbps with WEP/WPA/WPA2 authentication and AES/TKIP encryption. The device measures 93.5 mm x 25.5 mm x 70 mm (excluding antenna).

You can easily configure the router from a Web-based interface, by connecting to the private signal (SSID). The interface is clearly laid out and instructions are available if the network fails for some reasons – including clearly written troubleshooting tips. Power users will certainly find that some of the settings on more advanced DD-WRT routers are not available through the standard official firmware. They can, however trick the La Fonera into using a hacked version which unlocks a wealth of new settings, such as the useful bridge mode and advanced statistics.

You wouldn’t expect much range from a little antenna – but the La Fonera did quite well covering my apartment, with no black spots and enough throughput to sustain a feature film streaming in SD, in XVID format and a DVD mounted on a virtual drive and shared via the network.

One annoying thing about the La Fonera is its closed DNS system – the router is set up to use FON’s DNS servers and cannot be changed; this disables PPTP VPN solutions and can cause some privacy concerns. This is necessary for the Free WiFi function to work properly.

The La Fonera isn’t the only router offered by Fon; they also have the La Fonera+ which offers an extra Ethernet port and the La Fonera 2.0 (currently in beta) which offers  2 Ethernet ports, an USB connector and a platform for developing and running applications such as bit torrent and photo uploads – an innovative feature for a router. They also plan on including compatibility with USB HSDPA modems, storage and printer sharing via the USB port.

We’ve got invites for reduced priced routers – so send us an email an we’ll send one to you.

Conclusion

La Fonera is a decent router, for a very small amount of money. FON’s innovative business model could dramatically change the way we think about WiFi and internet access. At the end of the day, it’s all about consumer choice – and if this proves to be as successful as its creators want it to be – it will definitely bring a lot of value to its customers. Go to FON.