SteelSeries has sent me a pair of their gaming headphones in the past and I came away very impressed. When I originally reviewed the Siberia Neckband , I said they were loud, clear and comfortable, three things any good set of headphones are going to have. SteelSeries sent over a pair of their Siberia v2 headphones for me to try out, and I have to say the headphones are a nice improvement over the Neckband version. SteelSeries kept many of the cool features of the original Siberia headphones, while making subtle changes that make for a better listening experience.

You can read the full review here.

Also, SteelSeries sent me a release saying the headset made it into the official Grammy Awards Gift Bag that presenters get, that’s kind of cool. There’s also a new bundle for the headset you can find here.

Check out the full release after the break.

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There were an immense number of new gadgets and electronics at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas this year. I shared the five that caught my eye on eightWest Wednesday morning with Terri and Rachael.  Questions or comments? Leave ‘em in the comment section below or follow me on Twitter.

When it was released in 2008, the original BlackBerry Storm was one of the first phones to be labeled an “iPhone killer.” The Storm was also the first touchscreen phone Research In Motion (RIM) produced. It was not released to rave reviews, and the “iPhone killer” label was taken off. When I reviewed it, I loved it, calling it “one of the best phones Verizon offers.” While others lambasted the touchscreen keyboard, I said “it made me want to steal (it) onto my own phone.”

More than a year later, I’ve finally gotten to review its successor, the BlackBerry Storm 2. Click here for the review.

I want to like the Razer Megalodon headset. I really do. I stumbled upon a fantastic coupon giving me half off the $150 retail price and jumped at the chance to own them. I’d read some pretty good things in other reviews, but then some negative things in customer reviews at commercial websites. After having tried, and tried, and tried to get them to a satisfactory level, I’m sending them back to Razer with an RMA. They have been frustratingly fantastic. What didn’t work out well for me, may end up as a non-issue for you.

Read the full review here.

As promised, I’m linking all new posts from the Technology page on woodtv.com.  You can read my Palm Pixi review here.

You may have been wondering where all of the gadget and games reviews have gone lately, because the last one posted to the woodtv.com blogs was the review for the HTC Touch Pro 2.

I haven’t stopped writing, but I’ve been writing in another spot.  We recently launched a video games and technology section on woodtv.com.  You can find it here.  You’ll find links to video game and technology stories, including reviews and my latest blog posts.  You can also track my latest updates from Twitter on that page.

You may have missed some reviews if you didn’t know about the switch, which seeing as I didn’t write about it in the blogs, is likely.  You’ll find them linked below.

Torchlight successfully channels Diablo
In the world of action RPGs, Diablo and its successor Diablo II have long been the gold standard of addictive gameplay. Diablo III has been announced, but without a definitive timetable for its release, enthusiasts of the genre have a new game to keep them busy.  Enter Torchlight.

A Droid that gets to work and play
Outside of the spotlight, without all of the attention, the Droid Eris is working and doing its job pretty well. You could say that the Droid Eris is the R5-D4 to the Droid’s R2-D2.

The Droid you should be looking for
If you’re on the Verizon network, or are considering switching and want the best device available, this is the Droid you should be looking for.

In the future, I’ll be posting both the links to the tech or video game stories in the blog if they’re posted on woodtv.com’s news section.

The HTC Touch Pro2

When I took the HTC Touch Pro2 out of the box that Verizon had sent me, the first thing that struck me was its amazingly large screen. Then, while still holding it in hand, I noticed its weight. It was heavy enough to do some damage if thrown. The 3.6-inch screen, with its stunning 480×800 resolution is made possible by the ginormous size, it measures 4.57″ (H) x 2.33″ (W) x 0.68″ (D) and weighs 6.4 ounces.

Comparing the weight to the iPhone’s 4.8 ounces and the Palm Pre’s 4.76 ounces, it’s a lot heavier. You may say 1.6 ounces isn’t all that much, but when it’s a full 33 percent heavier, I say that’s a lot. The Touch Pro2 isn’t as wide as Apple’s iPhone, but it’s extra thickness and height add to its bulk. When walking around with the phone in my pocket, it felt noticeable and not every phone is. Compared to the Palm Pre, the Touch Pro2 is wider, taller, thicker and heavier.

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Moray+ earphones, a "Swiss Army knife" for gamers on the go. (Courtesy: Razer)

Razer calls the Moray+ the “Swiss Army knife for mobile audio and voice communications.” I have to say, I agree and you don’t have to worry about it cutting you, as there aren’t actually any blades.

Razer actually sent me a pair of both the Moray and the Moray+ for testing. There are some differences between the two sets of earphones, the Moray+ sports an inline microphone and the Moray does not. The Moray+ includes adapters for portable gaming, while the Moray only includes a airplane adapter. For this review, I’ll be writing about the Moray+’s mainly, but in terms of the listening experience the earbuds are identical.

The “Swiss Army knife” aspect of the Moray+ comes into view because included in the packaging is an adapter for your mainline mobile devices, including the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. The standard 3.5mm headset jack plugs into the adapter and the adapter into your device. Both adapters are small enough to not feel cumbersome but large enough that you won’t lose them (unless you lose a lot of things). The Moray+ works without an adapter when plugging into a compatible device, like the iPhone or Palm Pre and other smartphones. When plugging in the earphones to a PC though, you’ll want to make sure you use the included splitter. Plugging in directly did not enable the microphone on the headset.

The Moray+ earphones and carry case. (Courtesy: Razer)

The Moray+ is an “intraaural” set of earphones. You can see in the pictures, they basically go inside your ear, unlike standard earbuds which are supposed to rest on the outside. Because I’m not a professional audiophile, I review sound products like the everyman through normal use. I didn’t measure the accuracy of the frequency response, sound pressure level, impedance or max rated imput, which Razer lists on their site as:

• Frequency response: 20 to 11000 Hz
• Sound pressure level: 110 dB
• Impedance: 17 ohms
• Max rated input: 20 mW

My main criteria are based on two primary factors: “Is the sound loud?” and “Is the sound clear?” I’m happy to report the answer to both questions is yes.

For my testing, I used it on my personal phone (the Palm Pre) and for gaming on my PC. On the Pre, I used it for calls, videos and music. I prefer them in every aspect immensely more than the included headphones that came with the phone, which is to be expected. Everything just sounded better.

Watching a movie (Serenity for the curious) and listening to music were immersive. This is in part to the “passive noise isolation” employed by the headphones. Essentially, they’re little rubber stoppers that prevent other noise from getting to you. The effectiveness was exhibited when I didn’t respond to someone yelling at me in the same room. There are three different sizes included with the Moray+ so that if your ears are larger or smaller you can find an appropriate thickness. I found the medium size most comfortable for me.

Plug in to the device you own. (Courtesy: Razer)

When gaming on the PC, the results were equally impressive. Even though the Moray+ is an earphone, I still felt in competed with larger headsets. It won’t replace them, but if you’re a laptop gamer it might be nicer to have a set of earphones instead of a gaming headset.

I never had any complaints for the microphone. It seemed to work without issue while talking on the phone and while in game for team communication.

Overall, I have to say the Moray+ is a solid set of earphones that would be a great compliment to any gamers lineup. They run $59.99 at the official Razer Store. You can find the Moray for much cheaper online, but again, they lack the adapters and don’t have an inline microphone. Both sets are available in white and blue and come with carrying pouch. There are special PAX-colored editions available for the Moray+.

Have any questions or comments? Shoot me an email at matt(dot)schuler(at)woodtv(dot)com or send me a message on twitter, twitter.com/mattschuler .

The BlackBerry Tour 9630 (Courtesy: Verizon Wireless)

If you’re a Verizon user and were in the market for a new smartphone, there’s a good chance you had your eye on the BlackBerry Tour 9630.  Verizon sent a review unit over and gave me unlimited use with it.  The Tour fits the BlackBerry mold quite well, pairing with the other devices in RIM’s portfolio nicely.  There are some features missing, but for those not looking for a device with everything, the Tour could be a good fit.

When comparing a BlackBerry to all of the other BlackBerry’s, it’s important to note that for the most part, they’re in the same ballpark sizewise.  The Tour measures 4.4″ x 2.4″ by 0.6″ and weighs 4.58 ounces.  Compared to the Bold (the BlackBerry with the best keyboard experience in my opinion) it’s a touch smaller and lighter (The Bold measures 4.48″ x 2.6″  x 0.59″, 4.8 ounces).  For those looking to go even smaller there’s Curve (4.29″ x 2.36″ x 0.53″, 3.87 ounces) and the Pearl (4.2″ x 1.97″ x 0.55″, 3.4 ounces).

The Tour was not uncomfortably large or small, it fit in my pocket without being uncomfortable.  More importantly, it fits in my hand (which is pretty medium).  I didn’t have any problem with the keyboard, which is in my estimation the most important aspect of a smartphone and something each person has to try out for themselves.  It’s important that your thumbs can press the keys and that you can type on the device you own.The Tour was not uncomfortably large or small, it fit in my pocket without being uncomfortable.  More importantly, it fits in my hand (which is pretty medium).  I didn’t have any problem with the keyboard, which is in my estimation the most important aspect of a smartphone and something each person has to try out for themselves.  It’s important that your thumbs can press the keys and that you can type on the device you own. (more…)

This is what sound is supposed to sound like

When you ask a company to review a pair of $130 dollar headphones, you’re expecting a lot.   The Logitech G35’s carry a price tag that my cause some people to shudder at first glance.

Would you really think about doling out more than $100 on some headgear? (It’s actually less than that right now, because of a sale at Amazon.com)  Logitech is definitely pricing the G35 headset in to the premium product segment when it comes to gaming peripherals.  But when you survey the landscape you’ll find the G35 headset is actually quite a bit cheaper than its 7.1 competition from Razer (The Megalodon headset logs in at $150).  It’s also one of the cheapest 7.1 options available when compared to speaker setups.

I’m absolutely enamored with the G35, the features and functionality are so complete I want a pair to keep forever. (more…)