Android Phone as a Remote For YouTube on Your Computer

For ages, YouTube-watching posture was essentially this: slumping forward over your computer and squinting your eyes at a clip. But Google’s been trying to make things more comfortable, first with Leanback and now with the YouTube Remote app for Android.

The new app, YouTube Remote, pairs Android devices with any screen playing YouTube Leanback, be it a TV set via Google TV or just a trusty old computer. Then you can search for videos on your phone, beam them to Leanback, and control their playback right from your smartphone. Setting it up’s a snap:

YouTube Remote creates a virtual connection between your phone and YouTube Leanback. To ‘pair’ your phone with your Leanback screen, simply sign into YouTube Remote on your Android phone, and to YouTube Leanback on your Google TV or computer with the same YouTube account.

AMD Radeon HD 6870

When it was announced in late 2009, the ATI Radeon HD 5870 ushered in a trifecta of key graphics-card innovations. Along with the concurrently launched Radeon HD 5850, it was the first card to support DirectX 11 for improved graphics in next-generation games. With DisplayPort, DVI, and HDMI connectors, it allowed users to connect up to three screens to one card for more-immersive gaming. Plus, its impressive raw performance made it the most powerful single-chip graphics card on the market—until, that is, rival Nvidia launched its first DirectX 11 card, the beastly GeForce GTX 480, in early 2010.

Now, roughly a year after the launch of the Radeon HD 5870, AMD has put to bed the ATI brand that it has been using since acquiring the graphics-chip company in 2006, and it's rolling out a pair of second-generation DirectX 11 graphics cards: the AMD Radeon HD 6870, and the AMD Radeon HD 6850. While the more-mainstream Radeon HD 5700-series graphics cards will continue to be manufactured and sold, AMD says that the HD 6800-series cards will replace its Radeon HD 5800 series. This last move may seem surprising once we get to our performance-benchmark tests, but first let’s tackle what’s new with these cards.

First of all, with 3D movies breaking records in theaters and 3D HDTVs finding their way into early adopters’ living rooms, AMD has finally added support for true 3D (in this case, stereoscopic 3D) gaming with this latest line of cards, as well as support for 3D Blu-ray. Nvidia has had its own GeForce 3D Vision kit available for its graphics cards since early 2009. But while Nvidia’s 3D technology uses active (that is, powered) shutter glasses, necessitating expensive, bulky frames and a USB breakout box to make it all work, ATI’s 3D-gaming technology, dubbed HD3D, uses passive glasses, which should be less costly and less bulky. This is the same technology used in a few recent 3D-centric monitors, such as the Zalman ZM-M240W Trimon display we tested this summer. (Some 3D HDTVs are also supported).

Gateway One ZX6810-01

The recent rash of cheap, underpowered all-in-one (AIO) “nettop” PCs powered by Intel’s Atom processor (such as Lenovo’s C300) or AMD’s low-voltage CPUs (like the MSI Wind Top AE2010-02SUS) has lowered our expectations of just what a typical all-in-one is capable of. Those systems, after all, aren’t capable of much more than basic productivity apps, standard-definition video playback, and Web browsing. They can’t even handle Hulu.com playback without stuttering. So when Gateway’s One ZX6810-01 arrived in our labs, we were initially impressed by its large 23-inch, 1080p (1,920x1,080) screen, but we weren’t expecting to be blown away by the PC's performance.

As soon as we started testing the PC and perusing its hardware list, however, we realized that the ZX6810-01 was a different beast entirely. Underneath its unassuming glossy black plastic shell, this system is arguably, as of this writing, the most powerful all-in-one PC on the planet. The $1,399 model we tested houses a four-core, 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Quad 8200 CPU, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and a surprisingly capable Radeon HD 4670 graphics card (much more on that later). Plus, it had a 64GB Samsung solid-state drive (SSD) for programs and the OS (Windows 7 Home Premium), and a 1TB hard drive (huge for an AIO) for media storage. Other much-appreciated extras include a TV tuner and remote, a multi-touch-capable touch screen, and a wireless keyboard and mouse. About the only component this system seems to lack is a Blu-ray drive—the slot-loading optical drive is, sadly, a plain-old DVD±RW.

Apple iPod Touch (Fourth Generation, 2010 Version)

The Apple iPod Touch, since its release in 2007, has ruled the portable-media-player waves like Britannia. It's by far the best designed, most feature-packed, and easiest-to-use media device on the market. But now that Apple's iPhone and iPad have so successfully edged in on its domain, does the iPod Touch still have a viable place in the media-consumption market? We would answer that question with a resounding yes. To an extent, the new iPod Touch is the iPad, but even more portable. And it's the iPhone, without the worry of reception issues (and not, entirely, without the phone). To put it simply: The 2010 iPod Touch is as close to perfection as any portable media player has come yet.

That may sound like a bold statement, but look at what the iPod Touch can do. The iPod started off merely as a music player, and the iPod Touch's siblings, the iPod Shuffle and iPod nano, still serve basically that purpose alone. The iPod Touch, however, has morphed into a music player, a video player and recorder, a tiny tablet, a gaming device, an organizational tool, and much more. And with its connection to the Apple App Store, it can serve an endless panoply of purposes, all navigated by a super-streamlined interface on a gorgeous. multi-touch screen. What's most impressive of all: This functionality all fits into a sliver that easily tucks into your back pocket, leaving nary a bump. And in this iteration, we get a slimmer design, a better screen, a faster processor, and excellent new features that include an HD video recorder and the ability to make video calls.

Gateway LT2120u

A netbook with a low price and competitive performance is worth celebrating. Add good looks and long battery life to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a worthwhile PC. Throw in some of the best Flash video playback we've seen on a netbook, and the final product is a winner. All these reasons make the $349.99 LT2120u one of our favorite netbooks this year.

The Gateway LT21 series comes in three configurations, distinguished by color: the red LT2118u; the black LT2119u; and the white LT2120u, which we tested. This netbook's sleek-yet-sensible design is professional-looking, while still managing to turn a few heads. Proportioned like its netbook competitors, the Gateway LT2120u measures 1x10.2x7.3 inches. At a wispy 2.8 pounds, this PC will travel well, without requiring you to get a massage the following day. The lid’s textured wave pattern is protected by a layer of clear glossy plastic that is easy to keep clean. The all-white keyboard stands out against the silvery plastic bezel and palm rests, both designed to look like brushed aluminum. Located to the left of the white battery bump is a unique power button, embedded into a glossy square of silver plastic and backlit by blue LEDs.

Occupying the edges of the chassis are the usual selection of netbook ports, including a five-format flash-card reader (compatible with the SD, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, and xD-PictureCard formats), three USB ports, a VGA-out port, and an Ethernet jack. As for Internet connectivity, in addition to the Ethernet jack, you also get 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. The LT2120u does not come with Bluetooth, despite the presence of a Bluetooth activation key. Embedded into the glossy screen bezel is a VGA Webcam (the resolution is 0.3-megapixel) that captures accurate skin tones when taking still images but blurs motion video. The Webcam’s sensor is overly sensitive, so waving your hand across the screen during recording causes drastic light fluctuations

Apple Magic Trackpad

In the fall of 2009, Apple released the Magic Mouse, an input device that has many similarities to the Multi-Touch trackpad on the company's line of Macbook Pro laptops: the same touch-sensitive body, and the same ability to use the swiping and inertia-based scrolling familar to anyone owning an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. It was as if Apple had taken the trackpad off of its MacBooks and made it into a mouse. Well, with the new Magic Trackpad, that's exactly what Apple did.

Measuring about 5 inches wide and 4 inches deep, the $69 Magic Trackpad is about 80 percent bigger than the Multi-Touch trackpad on a MacBook Pro laptop. In classic minimalist Apple style, there's not much to describe here design-wise. The body is slightly elevated at the back, by a cylinder in which the batteries are stored, causing this device to resemble the Apple Wireless Keyboard that ships with its iMacs. The bottom is covered in white plastic with an Apple logo in the middle. Two anti-slip grips hold the Magic Trackpad in place at the two corners below the batteries.

On top, you'll find the silver glass pad where all the action happens. You turn the device on by pressing a power button on the right side of the body. When powered on, a small green light shines in the upper right corner of the pad. On the other side is a twist-to-release door for the batterie

Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse

Computer mice—specifically, really small computer mice—have suddenly gotten a bit complicated. That’s because the moniker “mobile mice,” used to describe mice for use on the go, is no longer sufficient. "True" mobile mice (tiny mice made for use while you travel, like the Editors’ Choice-winning SwiftPoint) do exist, but now, so do big mice that shrink for carrying anywhere—like the subject of this review.

Microsoft’s Arc Touch Mouse, already termed by one wag “the Gumby mouse,” isn’t particularly small—it requires the same space to use as any conventional desktop mouse. It’s mobile, though, because it snaps flat when you’re not using it. That’s its main plus; we weren’t as enamored with how it felt, or its material makeup. (The Arc Touch will ship in early December 2010 for $69.95; Amazon.com, Best Buy, and Buy.com currently have it available for preorder.)