Saturday, August 23, 2008

Toyota Prius: Simply the Best Car?


(Credit: Toyota)

I just finished reading the test drive report of the 2008 Toyota Prius at Edmunds.com. After living with a 2008 Prius for half a year now, I can say that this report is spot on. Here's part of what Edmunds.com editor James Riswick has to say:

"Well, the simple answer is that the Prius is actually quite good. Given its superb interior packaging, ample features list and unbeatable fuel economy, the Prius was designed to be the epitome of practical, head-over-heart automotive choices. Its driving experience will never excite and its styling is hardly what most folks would deem attractive, yet for those who view cars as simple transportation devices, it's easy to recommend the Prius."

Most people who ask about my Prius seem surprised when I tell them that it's a car that really doesn't make any compromises. Some folks actually have a hard time believing that a car with a combined EPA rating of 46 mpg (my average for the first six months has been just over 52 mpg) is roomy enough inside to be classified as a midsize sedan and rides smoothly enough to be called "almost Lincoln-like." When people hear the name Prius, they typically lump it into the same category as infamous fuel sippers like the Geo Metro or smart fortwo, which they don't realize are considerably smaller and have lower EPA ratings than the Prius (the smart car even requires premium gasoline). The Prius is also a really fun car to drive (albeit not in a top-down, hair-on-fire, Corvette sort of way), as it becomes almost an obsession to try to squeeze just a few more miles per gallon out of its Hybrid Synergy Drive.

So is the Prius simply the best car available? That's an impossible question to answer, as it depends upon your transportation requirements, driving habits, and personal preference. I would venture to say, however, that the combination of utility, comfort, and economy available in the Prius really is tough to beat.

Review: Canon PIXMA MX850 All-in-One

Simply the Best... Home Office All-in-One
Canon PIXMA MX850


(Credit: Canon USA)

Strengths: Outstanding text quality, built-in duplexing and automatic document feeder, two paper trays, Mac (Leopard) compatibility

Weaknesses: Big and heavy, networking/sharing support could be improved, photo quality not fantastic

I purchased the MX850 as a replacement for a similar HP Photosmart 3310 that I had been using for several years with my Mac and Windows PCs. I was generally satisfied with the HP; it included built-in wireless networking and had outstanding photo quality. After upgrading to OS X 10.5 Leopard, however, the HP model was rendered useless for anything other than basic printing on my iMac, even with drivers updated for Leopard. I was very happy, therefore, to find that Canon's MX850 works flawlessly with my iMac running Leopard.

The first thing you notice about the MX850 is its size; it's considerably larger and heavier than my HP multifunction printer. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you'll want to take note of the dimensions and make sure you have room for this device before purchasing. This is likely due to the added functionality Canon has squeezed into the device. It includes an auto duplexer, automatic document feeder, and two paper trays (one at bottom front and one on the back). If you frequently scan multi-page documents, print double-sided materials, or switch between two types/sources of paper, then this machine will undoubtedly prove very convenient.

Printer output is very good, with a few caveats. Everyday printing is very speedy, and the text output of the MX850 is fantastic, giving some laser printers a run for their money. There is one caveat pertaining to duplex printing which causes duplex-printed text documents to appear dark gray instead of black. In order to reduce bleeding through on double-sided documents, the printer uses only colored inks (no black) for double-sided printing. If you prefer to print most of your documents using black ink only (which I would recommend in order to conserve the expensive colored inks), know that you won't be able to do so when printing in duplex mode. Unfortunately, the photo quality of the MX850 is not as outstanding as the text quality. It produces nice-looking (even frame-worthy) prints on photo paper, but you won't mistake them for professional prints. This is the one area where the Photosmart beats the MX850 hands-down.

The other features of this device also work very well. Scan quality is very good, and the automatic document feeder makes it very easy to scan multiple-page documents. Fax capabilities are built in as well, and I was pleased to note the inclusion of speed dial and a standard telephone-style number pad for inputting numbers.

The MX850 also includes network connectivity in the form of an ethernet port, but it would have been nice to see built-in WiFi networking included as well. Even though Canon includes fully-featured drivers for both Windows and Mac OS X, it's not possible to attach the device to a Mac and share it with Windows PCs (I was able to use Bonjour printer sharing and a generic driver to allow my Windows PCs to print to the device, but you don't have the ability to scan or to set or use any advanced device functions such as the duplexer or print quality settings).

The MX850 is clearly designed with a home office environment in mind, as its advanced document-handling abilities and unexceptional photo quality suggest. If you're looking for a full-time photo printer, then you should look elsewhere; but if your scanning and printing needs routinely call for excellent text quality, convenient duplexing, scanning multipage documents, and the flexibility offered by two paper trays, then the MX850 will fit the bill perfectly.