http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/ 351-79 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/smartphones/351-htc-inspire-4g-android-phone switched to this phone from the Samsung Captivate, which I was very happy with. Even though I have had the Inspire for less than a full day, I am already happier with it than I was with the Captivate. Although the display is not Super AMOLED, it is slightly bigger than the Captivate's and plenty clear. I love the design of this phone, the 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, Android 2.2 is significantly faster than 2.1, and I am anxious to see how useful HTC Sense is. After getting used to Swype on the Captivate, not having it is a minor issue compared to all of the other features on this phone. I would highly recommend this phone to anyone and I'll update this review after using it for a longer period of time. But for now, I love it! By the way, as far as the battery life is concerned, any smartphone will have issues with battery life if you're a heavy internet browser, video streamer, game player, or multimedia message sender. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:32:04 -0400 374-78 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/games/374-sid-meiers-civilization-v The game is different enough from the prior versions to be interesting to play. It is also similiar in play to the prior versions that you can play the game without referring much to the electronic manual. Downside - not ready for release. Regular and consistent lock-ups or crashes. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:28:56 -0400 374-73 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/games/374-sid-meiers-civilization-v Just to give this review some perspective, I've been playing the various iterations of Civ for a very, very long time. I spend endless hours on 3 and 4, balancing game commitments and my real life. When Civ 5 was announced, I didn't hesitate. I bought it immediately. In short, it didn't take me long before I realized that this new Civ was nothing like the Civ of old. I've never played Revolutions, but I've heard there is a lot of overlap. I don't know. What I do know is that this game is boring. Really, really boring. Never have I clicked the "next turn" button like I have here. Maybe it's because it takes forever to build anything...so long, in fact, that it's easier just to hoard gold and buy things. Maybe it's because expansion and/or conquest isn't really encouraged. The seemingly massive happiness hit just makes it unreasonable. So I sit there, just watching the world slowly go by. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:05:57 -0400 314-72 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/printers-and-scanners/314-canon-pixma-ip100-mobile-photo-printer This model is fairly expensive for an inkjet printer but there is an elegance about its design that appeals to me; especially when I need a versatile printer while traveling. This printer is about the same width and depth as a NETbook computer and about twice as thick. Print quality of text and color graphics on plain copy paper is excellent. Aside from NOT having separate tanks for each ink color and dual paper trays this printer offers all of the features of my larger PIXMA printer, and even better print quality, without the bulk and weight. Since I usually have access to electric power during my travels, I didn't order the optional battery pack which adds bulk, $100 to the cost and nearly 2 pounds to the travel weight. However I can see how the availability of such an accessory would be valuable to those who need it. I am pleased with my purchase. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:02:09 -0400 339-71 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/tvs/339-samsung-55-1080p-3d-led-hdtv This TV is great. Easily the best picture out there for LED's. There's only one problem. Samsung is having huge quality control issues, and from what I can tell communicating with other owners, success with this is hit or miss... and quite often a miss. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:56:44 -0400 295-70 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/laptops-and-netbooks/295-apple-macbook-pro-154-laptop First, the operating system is that much better than windows. It does take a little getting used to if you aren't familiar with Macs, but once you get a good feel for where everything is located you realize that the system is much more intuitive and geared to the user than windows. The battery life is outstanding, the processor is incredibly fast, and if you get a solid state hard drive the thing is indestructible. I can't tell you how many times I've dropped mine with zero problems. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:52:16 -0400 369-69 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/games/369-portal-2 If you like puzzle games, this is about as good as it gets. There is no other puzzle game like this, and believe me when I say you won't be disappointed. The first Portal game was just an extra; this is a full-length game. The first thing you'll notice is the inclusion of co-op which adds an entirely new layer of fun to the game. Think about what you could do with 2 portals, and imagine how you would complicate the puzzles with 4 portals instead. It's challenging and fun at the same time. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:48:08 -0400 345-62 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/home-theater-systems/345-samsung-ht-d550-home-theater-system I bought this after returning a Sony Home theater, not knowing what to expect. I read reviews on other Samsung Home Theater Systems and most of them got poor reviews. So I was very leery about buying this. Well I was pleasantly surprised. This was a lot better than expected. The size of the speakers are very deceiving. As small as they are, they still produce a wonderful sound. The system definitely sounded better once i got it home than it did in the store. This system sets up very easily. The only downfall is the length of speaker wire for the rear speakers. As with any system the wires just aren't long enough. And they have special connectors that plug into the back of the system so I had to cut and splice the wire to make them longer. But other than that this system is wonderfull! ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:22:18 -0400 374-54 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/games/374-sid-meiers-civilization-v All the detail is still there but you need to look for it rather than it being in your face; so you can run a very streamlined campaign without getting into the nitty-gritty of which tile will the city work on this turn if you want, or you can micromanage to your heart's desire. "Policies" being tied to culture is cool, and I look forward to getting further into the game. I've played one campaign so far, and found most of the streamlining helpful. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:47:37 -0400 302-52 http://demo.reviewsforjoomla.com/desktops-and-servers/302-apple-mac-mini First, the Mac Mini is so small I could hardly believe it. Since I bought it for an entertainment center I couldn't spare the space for a full desktop model. Newcomers should know that the disk drive loads differently than you may expect. There's no tray, and unlike my Playstation 3 which sucks in a disk right away, you have to push a disk about 90% of the way inside before the Mac does the rest. Looking at all the features and feeling intimidated, I noticed that this machine comes with 2GB of RAM, and had no idea if those critical of it meant I should be worried. Not once has this machine stalled in doing anything I ask of it. I can have internet radio going with multiple web pages open and it works. I can run two videos simultaneously and there's no hiccups. The DVD player works fine, though it's impractical for me since I'm using an entertainment center with a dedicated DVD player connected. If you are just an average person who simply wants a computer so you can check your e-mail, surf the net, copy and edit your photos, store your digital music, and other everyday tasks, you can't do better than this machine. ]]> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:24:11 -0400