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All in all, the picture was satisfactory for casual viewing and significantly better and brighter than what you get from many smaller pico projectors, which simply don’t offer the same brightness capabilities. However, because the resolution isn’t all that high, the picture was definitely soft compared with what you’d get from even an entry-level 720p LCD TV. (The problem with a projector–especially non-HD ones–is that the larger the image you project, the softer the image gets).

Another caveat: the Neo-i doesn’t support 1080p input. However, 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i will work just fine. (It’s not a big deal for a non-HD projector, but it did cause us some confusion when we first hooked up our Blu-ray player, which had been set at 1080p.)

The Blu-ray image we projected was sharper than the picture from the digital copies we had on our iPhone. But though the difference was noticeable, it wasn’t huge. To be clear, when you project a Blu-ray disc with this projector, you are not projecting an HD image. It’s more like watching a DVD or perhaps a slight step down, especially as you go bigger with your image.

We didn’t expect the world from the built-in speakers and we can’t say they sound all that great (most TV speakers will deliver superior sound). But the speakers played loud enough to hear dialogue clearly enough, which is important–and a big step up from the muted sound you get from virtually all pico projectors.

Conclusion
In the end, we came away liking the Neo-i, and appreciated the convenience of the iPod/iPhone dock integrated into the unit, which is a big plus and the future of these types of “portable” projectors.

As for its value, the key question is how you plan on using it. Optoma sees it as an entertainment projector rather than a business projector, and it might have some appeal for dorm room use and trips with the kids to spots where you don’t have access to a TV but do have access to power. You could potentially use this as a bedroom or playroom projector, but with LCD TVs coming down in price, you’d get a better picture for the money from a 37- or 40-inch LCD set.

For those trying to choose between this model and Optoma’s PK301–which we consider one of the best pico projectors out there right now–that projector is obviously much smaller and is truly a pocket projector. We also like its simple, black design better.

Those pluses aside, the PK301′s built-in speakers are really tiny and don’t output nearly as much sound as the Neo-i’s speakers do. Also, to hook up your iPhone or iPod, you have to attach an optional AV cable, which is kind of pain (the PK301 has a microSD card slot and built-in media software, so it’s better to play your content off a memory card).

In the final analysis, the Neo-i clearly delivers a better projection experience than the PK301, but it is more of a full-size projector that doesn’t include a battery-powered option right out of the box.

Before buying this, I’d say you really should think about how you might use it. You can connect a computer to it, but it’s really designed first and foremost to be used with an iPhone or iPod. It won’t replace the picture quality of an LCD TV, but it is an acceptable substitute–at least on a temporary basis.

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Samsung Suede

Editors’ note: Portions of this review were taken from CNET’s full review of the Muve Music service.

What makes the 3G-capable Samsung Suede for Cricket Wireless such an interesting candy bar phone isn’t its angular design or any hardware component. Instead, it’s the music operating system inside called Muve Music (pronounced “move”), and the attached payment plan. A $55 monthly fee gets you unlimited access to music downloads, ringtones, ringback tones, and music identification, so long as your pay your bills. In addition, you also get the unlimited talk, text, e-mail, and Web browsing of Cricket’s other monthly plans.

It’s noteworthy that Muve Music, a first-of-its-kind offering, was Cricket’s brainchild, not Samsung’s. Seldom do we see such novel, big-picture ideas from carriers at all, never mind one cooked up by a regional prepaid operator known for its budget plans and phones. We were so impressed with the concept when we first saw it ahead of CES that we nominated it in a Best of CES category. Yet, after spending time with the Suede after Muve’s launch, it’s clear that the Muve Music software is a little out of tune, at least for now. For starters, the software company Cricket hired to build the OS needed more time to iron out kinks, which delayed the rollout. It’s also slow, it’s a little clunky, and it’s currently available on only one handset.

Design
Thanks to its angled silver trim and sharp chin point, the Samsung Suede looks like a wedge waiting to be hammered into soft ground. We’re not at all seduced by the top-heavy look, but the design is otherwise benign, with a black face and back, and rounded edges. There’s a neat, light-reflecting black-on-black design on the back cover that reminds us of a cross between Tetris and “The Matrix.” The handset’s dimensions–4.4 inches tall by 2.2 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick–make it a fairly petite phone without it being minute.

The Suede’s 3-inch capacitive screen is small by most touch-screen standards, but it’s about right for the phone’s size. However, it makes menus small enough to cause a squint or a neck-crane, and the virtual keyboard is shrunken in portrait mode. The screen’s 200×400-pixel resolution fits this type of phone, and looks appropriately sharp and bright indoors. Like most screens, it’s dim and hard to see in direct sunlight.

The Suede’s interface has a split personality. On one hand there’s Cricket’s unique Muve Music portal, which you access by pressing the music note button (more on this below). On the other, there’s the tired TouchWiz 2.0 OS that handles the address book, the dialer, e-mail, applications, and everything else. This version of TouchWiz, if you’re unfamiliar with it, has slide-out widget trays for transferring widgets on and off of three home screens. The entire look and feel are usable, but also slow and outdated, especially compared with more recent visual designs.

Below the screen are two touch-sensitive buttons for speakerphone and navigating back. There are also three hardware buttons, one each for Talk and End, and a larger central button embossed with a music note. This key is the gateway to the Muve Music experience.

The phone’s right spine houses the camera shutter button and another button that doubles as a lock key and voice command trigger. Up top is the 3.5-millimeter headset jack, and on the left are the Micro-USB charging port and the volume rocker. On the back is the 3-megapixel camera with camcorder and beneath the back cover is the microSD card slot. It comes preinstalled with a 4GB card that devotes 3GB to Muve Music (up to 3,000 songs) and leaves you 1GB for your own devices. If that’s not enough, you’ll soon be able to purchase an 8GB version. The slot itself can handle up to 16GB of external memory, but if you use a standard microSD card, you won’t be able to use Muve.

Muve Music
There are plenty of ways to describe Muve Music, but we think the best is as an unlimited music rental program. We say “rental,” because the music comes from one source (it’s approved by the major U.S. labels, by the way), it isn’t transferable onto a computer or any other device, and you lose access if you stop paying your monthly bill. At no point do you ever truly “own” the songs.

When you enter Muve, you’re greeted by a black backdrop that showcases five app icons. There’s the My Music library of tunes, the Get Music download store, and the My DJ app, which aggregates genre-based playlists that you can download to the phone. There’s also a version of Shazam’s music identifier that’s tailored to Muve, and the Get Social app for interacting with other users around your musical preferences. On a smaller navigation strip, you’ll see an inbox for viewing “shouts” messages broadcast by other Muve Music users, and Help and Settings options (the settings control your Muve Music profile picture and sync settings).

Navigating the music portion of the OS is mostly straightforward, but there are rough edges. Not every arrow or button is clearly labeled, which leads to some trial and error. To exit the music mode, for example, you press the End button, and not the music key that you press to get in. You can press the music button to jump to the currently playing song from wherever you are, but we’d also like to see a Now Playing ticker in the software.

It takes too many clicks to get into a playlist, and it’s difficult to edit or add to the playlist on the fly without interrupting the playback. It’s almost too easy to delete songs from Muve as a whole, and to erase entire playlists without the phone asking for confirmation. Strangely, though, deleting individual tracks from a playlist is much more difficult.

None of this is helped by the Suede’s relatively smaller display size, which makes onscreen controls tinier and harder to see and press. We wish that My DJ streamed songs over 3G in addition to downloading tracks. Muve’s player also emits an annoying, metallic beep every time it moves on to a new song. A fade out would be much better, or at least the ability to turn the beep off.

The service itself, however, is immersive enough to push past the usability snags, particularly if you’re part of Cricket’s music-hungry clientele. The music libraries are well-stocked with hits and recommended tracks, and the My DJ portal helps grab tunes by a range of genres. Muve adds all the album art and automatically organizes tracks in your library. You can shuffle songs and view links from the player to some of the other Muve features. Also, you’re able to create a ringtone or ringback tone from many songs, and the software lets you set the start point and duration before playing back a preview before you create the tone. Since tunes are all-inclusive, there’s no penalty for experimentation or for aural gluttony.

Although Muve operates separately from the TouchWiz OS, incoming calls will pause the player and give you a chance to pick up where you left off (wait a few seconds for a dialog box to appear.)

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