Archos fan-site Archos Lounge lived up to its name this week and threw down a 300,000 page review on the new Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet. We won't tear down the whole thing here, but the primary takeaway seems to be mixed. Apparently the new processor on board really souped up the thing, but Archos skimped on the software, shipping what basically amounts to a buggy beta. That's no small criticism for Archos from its number one fans, so let's hope the company gets its act together fast. The review is in French, but there's an unboxing vid after the break, in that universal language of nerdery.

Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 didn't waste any time going from its formal debut to hitting the review circuit today, and although its basic design didn't blow anyone away, it seems like an impressively put-together piece of kit for the price. Everyone laments the tiny keyboard, although it's apparently fine once you get used to it, but Notebook Review flat out says it won't cut it as a primary typing machine. PC Magazine says the 1.6GHz Atom and 1GB of RAM are enough for most tasks under XP, although multitasking is a chore; the Linux configurations seem similarly capable -- Laptop says the custom build of Ubuntu Remix is "smooth" and "sleek." The four-cell battery averaged around three and a half hours under both XP and Linux, which is decent, but several noticed that Dell hasn't made an extended battery available yet. We'd expect that to change soon, but overall it's a minor quibble -- could this be the netbook that finally makes you reach for your wallet?

Read - Laptop (3.5 out of 5)
Read - Notebook Review ("...fabulous netbook... [but] only 'your new best friend' if you're willing to overlook a few flaws.")
Read - Washington Post ("... isn't perfect, but it does offer a terrific design and a good price.")
Read - PC Magazine (3 out of 5)

It was only a matter of time before the WSJ (Katherine Boehret, in this case) got their hands around Sprint's still-not-official Touch Diamond, and we can't say that the conclusion she drew is at all shocking. As Mossberg and his partners so often do, Katherine mentions Apple's darling just as much as the topic of the review itself, and while she seemed impressed with the hardware, it was the software that suffered the brunt of her attacks. She proclaimed that "despite its handsome TouchFLO 3D software and animated icons, the device failed to disguise the frustrating interface of Windows Mobile often enough for [her] taste." Beyond that, she also found room to gripe about the "cramped" keyboard, which she felt was "next to impossible" to use with just her fingertips. On the plus side, she did give the browser a decent amount of praise, but if you were looking for support from this critic before picking up the forthcoming handset, you'll be sorely disappointed.

[Via phonescoop]

Here's the thing: Sony's VAIO Z series of ultraportables doesn't get to be a part of the X300 / Envy 133 / MacBook Air / X360 club. We like it, it's a great laptop, but it's just too chubby to count as a cake cutter. So that said, there's really little point in comparing this thing to that sort of computer -- we'll just have to judge it on its own merits.

The VAIO Z is the latest in Sony's long heritage of ultraportable computers, but lands itself decidedly on the beefy end of that spectrum. With discreet NVIDIA 9300M graphics and a Blu-ray drive, this is a full-fledged laptop (we've been testing out the $3,600-ish VGN-Z591U SKU). There's WWAN, SD and Memory Stick card readers, ExpressCard and an HDMI plug, and even the 16:9 13.1-inch screen is on the upper limit of Sony's ultraportable heritage. There's plenty of SSD inside, with dual SSD RAID option that makes no bones about this being a performer.

Surely you remember Panny's new duo of camcorders that featured the so-called 3MOS technology. No? At any rate, Panasonic's HDC-SD100 has just been reviewed by the cool cats over at TrustedReviews, and while we're not sure if all that MOS was the reason for its success, critics were generally pleased with the performance (at least in good lighting). They noted that point-and-shoot fans would likely be thrilled, but the professionals in the crowd will probably wish for a few more manual controls. Still, at the end of the day, reviewers proclaimed that if you've been "holding out for an AVCHD camcorder with the full gamut of professional features, this could be your dream come true at last." You hear that? Dream come true, son.

Be honest here, GoLive2's Stix didn't stand a chance at being taken seriously, and even when one reviewer attempted to have fun with the unashamed Wiimote knockoff, he failed epically. The Stix 200 looks strikingly like Nintendo's accelerometer-packin' controller, though this 2D-only rip was seen as "a set of slightly unresponsive, highly inconvenient arrow keys" rather than an exciting new controller. The PC games that can be played with the device are equally dreadful, and while the 3D-capable Stix 400 might be able to make up for some of the 200's shortcomings, we can't wholeheartedly say it's even worth the effort to check out after reading this review.

[Thanks, Robert]

The Treo Pro is the first of what is clearly a new design direction for Palm -- a shiny, black mutation of the popular Centro, but with Windows Mobile on-board and a unique marketing scheme allowing you to buy the device unlocked right at launch. Want to get the low-down, dirty news on whether or not it's for you? Then truck on over to Engadget Mobile where we've got the full on review.

Look, we know you've spent the last three or so hours toying around on Dell's build-to-order page, but be honest with yourself -- are you really willing to pull the trigger on an Inspiron 13 without taking one tiny peek at a review first? NotebookReview has snagged one of the new 13-inchers and taken it for a ride on the test bench, and overall, things are lookin' up. Reviewers found the design to be "sleek," the specifications to be "reasonable" and the price point "attractive." Beyond that, it also found the battery life to be surprisingly satisfactory, though the "cheap palm rests and noisy slot-loading optical drive" were small (albeit noteworthy) nuisances. In the end, critics summed things up by suggesting that if you're scouting "a basic mobile companion with good looks and a low price tag, then this is probably the right notebook for you." Hit up the read link for the full writeup and even a few benchmarks.

We won't say it got picked dead last in kickball or anything, but Sylvania's G Netbook Meso certainly isn't the class king. The ho hum netbook was recently reviewed over at Laptop Mag, and while critics did applaud the Ubuntu Netbook Remix operating system and relatively great battery life, the 512MB of RAM hindered performance. Additionally, the design was harshed on quite heavily, eventually leading to a perfectly middle-of-the-road 2.5 out of 5 stars. Be honest, though -- did you really expect anything different?

With all the DSLR noise going on, the EOS Rebel XS managed to sneak in without too many people noticing. The proper entry-level replacement to the XTi / 400D recently took the time to cave to Camera Labs' every request, and when all was said and done, critics didn't find too many negative points to harp on. The all-important image quality ranked very highly, and the built-in live view was obviously a boon. Granted, the fixed screen and 7-point AF system (versus the 9-pointer on the XTi) were slight bummers, but it still managed to secure an 82% (Highly Recommended) rating. Care to see how it stacked up against Nikon's D60, Sony's A200 and a Polaroid 80B Highlander? Two of the three comparisons await you in the read link.

[Via DigitalCameraInfo]

Loyal All-in-Wonder users from years past have probably been watching the progression of AMD's revised version of the card with extreme interest. After such an absence, however, we understand the need to be cautious before snapping this up for your upcoming HTPC. HotHardware recently received one of these units for testing, and while it was only deemed "entry level" in the gaming department, the multimedia performance was smiled upon. To quote, "the [card] did an excellent job presenting digital video content in a quality manner without creating excessive power consumption in order to do so." As expected, the unit wasn't recommend for everyone (read: non-TV buffs), but those who'd utilize the built-in ClearQAM support probably can't go wrong for $199. Hit the read link for a whole gaggle of test results.

Remember the Touch Diamond? Yeah, well, cherish that memory, because it may be gone by the time you get done with our quick look at Samsung's mighty Omnia. We're not saying the Sammy entry blows away HTC's -- not by a long shot -- but it's a solid competitor that makes Windows Mobile looks shockingly passable for the year 2008. Read on!

If you've been putting off that purchase of Popcorn Hour's evolutionary A-110 HD media streamer or all new B-110 motherboard, here's a decent compilation of facts and opinions to help you make up your mind once and for all. The cats over at DigitalReviews took the time to not only detail, test out and report back on the newest duo from the company, but it also revisited the original (and heralded) A-100 in order to give a better comparison. Overall, critics did tend to prefer the A-110 over its predecessor, but the minor list of changes made it a hard sell for folks teetering on upgrading. The B-110 was seen as an even tougher sell, with only the hardcore DIY crowd likely to even find it worth investigating. Nevertheless, we won't spoil the rest for you -- head on down to have a look for yourself.

[Thanks, Anton]

While Sprint and Verizon consider final monikers for the HTC Touch Diamond, some North Americans are already enjoying the thing up in the Great North. The ecstatic folks over at Mobile Syrup were able to snap up Telus' version of the WinMo 6.1-packin' handset, and of course, they put together a video review for us Americans to drool over. The 7:15 clip includes a few comparison angles with other mobiles and a full walk-through of the user interface. Reviewers found the web browsing on Opera Mobile to be a real treat, and of course, they couldn't deny the awesomeness of the 640 x 480 resolution display. You can check the review in full just after the jump, but if you're easily made envious, we'd suggest you not.

We promised you a review, and it's a review we're delivering. We tested out Sprint's AIRAVE femtocell to see if it really would improve service in a Sprint dead zone, and sure enough, the thing was pretty close to magical. Head on over to the Mobile side for the full spill.