CNET iPhone Atlas - Posted Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:07:00 UTC +00:00

Creative is hitching its wagon to Bluetooth in its bid to differentiate itself in this crowded speaker accessory category and is in the process of releasing several Bluetooth-enabled iPod speaker options, including the D200 ($130). There really isn't a whole lot to this speaker. It's rather compact, measuring 3.9 inches high by 15.9 inches wide by 3.7 inches deep, and has a nice heft to it, weighing in at 3.6 pounds. Unlike the wraparound speaker grille of its step-up sibling, the $300 ZiiSound D5, this model only has cloth on the front of the unit, covering the speaker drivers. The speaker shell has a nice, glossy black finish that, as you might expect, is something of a fingerprint magnet (yes you will find yourself polishing this speaker with a cloth from time to time). From a distance, the speaker looks simple and understated, much like a small center-channel speaker in a Read More

CNET iPhone Atlas - Posted Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:43:57 UTC +00:00

The ZiiSound D5 is a higer-end Bluetooth speaker that retails for $300. As the iPhone-iPod audio docking systems move into a more mature phase, Creative is hitching its wagon to Bluetooth in a bid to differentiate itself in this crowded category. Bluetooth compatibility allows the wide range of A2DP devices--which includes iPhones, iPads, recent iPod Touch models, most recent smartphones, and many PCs--to stream audio wirelessly to the speaker. On the PC speaker side, Creative has the $130 Inspire S2 Bluetooth system, and now the company has bulked up its audio line with several Bluetooth-enabled iPod speaker options, including the ZiiSound D5, a higher-end model that retails for $300. The nice thing about the ZiiSound D5 is that it's pretty compact, measuring 3.5 inches high by 16.7 inches wide by 4.3 inches deep, with a low profile that's well suited for shelf placement. The attractively designed speaker has nice heft (8.4 Read More

CNET iPhone Atlas - Posted Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:54:44 UTC +00:00

How long before you really need to upgrade your smartphone? Let me start by saying that I bought my iPhone 3GS in October of last year and have no plans to upgrade to the iPhone 4. Luckily, while the new iPhone--antenna issues aside--has certainly been enhanced, the differences between the new model and my "old" 3GS aren't huge, especially now that I've installed iOS4. However, even if there was a big difference, I knew going in that I would largely be ignoring whatever next-generation model Apple put out because I'm not a serial upgrader. But recently I've been thinking about how long a phone (and not just an iPhone) should last. The common consensus I've heard from cell phone manufacturers is about two years, even if some carriers allow you to upgrade every 12 months (at a subsidized price), depending on your plan. With my old phone, the Sprint Mogul, which Read More