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Motorola S305

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:27:39 -0400

Motorola S305

Picture this: You're walking down the street, listening to music on your MP3 player, and notice an open sewer drain a few feet ahead. Your phone rings, you've been waiting for this call all day. You scramble to take off your earbuds and find somewhere to place the wires to prevent tripping on them while walking, but you also need to grab your phone or-- too late, you missed the call... and because you weren't paying attention for those few moments, fall into the sewer drain as well.

Poor you... if only you had the Motorola S305, the call wouldn't have been missed and a skull fracture could have been avoided. Read on, dear friend, and see how Motorola is changing the way you take calls and listen to music in the digital age...Motorola ROKR S305

The S305 is Motorola 's latest entry in the A2DP ring. It's small, lightweight, and can connect to your MP3 player and phone at the same time. The best part is that it does this all wirelessly. In fact, the only time it needs a wire is for charging, which shouldn't be often considering its battery's life is rated for 6.5 hours of talk time, 6 hours for music playback and 100 hours of stand-by time.

You just pair the headphones with your mp3 player or phone, press the play button on the headphones, and you're jamming to your tunes... until that important phone call comes. Instead of pulling off the headphones and taking a dip below street level, the headphones will pause your music and give a distinct ring to let you know a call is coming in. Just press the Send/End button on the headphones and the call is connected. Once you're call ends, the music resumes by itself. This is true wireless freedom.

All of the S305's controls are housed on the right headphone in a clockface orientation. Convenient for righties, not so much for southpaws. We loved the call quality the S305 provided, and music came out crisp and clear. Our only gripe is that Moto decided to use a Micro-USB cable for charging instead of the more common Mini-USB. As Micro-USB becomes more common, and replaces Mini-USB as the norm, this will become a non-issue.

BOTTOM LINE: If you're looking for a low priced set of headphones that is comfortable, stylish, and gives you an incredible bang for your buck, you'll find no better than the S305.

Nurse?

SanDisk 8GB Micro SDHC

Mon, 19 May 2008 17:11:12 -0400

SanDisk 8GB Micro SDHC

ENIAC is known as the world's first true computer. It contained 17,468 vacuum tubes, 7,200 crystal diodes, 1,500 relays, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors and around 5 million hand-soldered joints. It weighed 30 tons, was roughly 8.5 feet by 3 feet by 80 feet, took up 680 square feet, consumed 150 kW of power and stored a maximum of 200 bytes... Less data than this paragraph contains.

Fast forward 64 years, and we have the SanDisk 8GB Micro SDHC which holds 8 billion bytes (yes, with a b). In the ever shrinking world of data storage technology, high capacity MicroSD cards have been a breakthrough for consumers. Make the jump to see how SanDisk has crammed the most storage into the tiniest space we've seen yet.1 8GB Micro SDHC, or 5555 floppy disks... Your choice...

Looking at the image above, it's amazing when you realize it would take over five thousand of those floppy disks to fit all the data you could hold in that tiny little memory card. From digicams, to phones, to MP3 players, MicroSD is becoming more recognized as the standard when it comes to taking your data with you, especially when you take into account the ever-decreasing cost of flash memory. Why bother burning to pesky CDs when you can just move files to and from a card that's a fraction of the size with ease?

In our tests, we clocked this cute card at an average read speed of 4.6MB/sec which is actually a good bit faster than the advertised Class 4 rating. The only drawback to memory cards getting smaller is that the possibility of losing them becomes bigger. Considering this card alone could store hours of music, hundreds of photos (thousands, depending on the quality), and a DVD worth of data all at the same time, it's important to keep your eye on these little gems as they are getting easier and easier to misplace, which is a big problem if you're the type to store sensitive data on portable media. In the end though, we love how much storage SanDisk has crammed into this little chip, and see "the right size" as a buyer's opinion. If you want to keep your data safe in the micro-sized world of technology, the key is to have good organization skills.... and a pair of tweezers...

Kodak EasyShare 5300

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:24:04 -0400

Kodak EasyShare 5300

You've done it-found that unbelievable deal you've been waiting for: a low-priced printer! You heave the box off the shelf and clutch it to your chest, convinced that if you don't hurry to the counter, a salesperson will tell you it's mis-marked and won't let you have it. Then, just as you get on the line to pay, you realize you've forgotten extra ink. "Ink!" you think, still reveling in your good fortune. "How expensive can it be?" Only to find it's outrageously over-priced which more than makes up for the money you would've saved. Disappointed and angry, you leave the store, scoffing at the printer on its high place on the shelf. This hasn't been high-minded at all—you'd almost fallen for the bait and switch tactic. Almost, but not quite.

Enter the Kodak EasyShare line of printers. Kodak knows you don't like paying $5 for a TV, only to find the shipping and handling costs $5,000. This new line from Kodak offers a good price on the printer, and a better price on the ink. Read on to find out how Kodak is causing HP and Canon's panties to bunch.

As you can see in the video above... Vinny is pissed...

Like us, he doesn't like being nickel and dimed.

This printer is on par in terms of speed, and the print quality for text documents is about the same as you can expect from competitors, but where it really shines is in it's photo printing. Put some photo paper in, and you'll think it was developed by that pale kid at the photo booth in Walmart. It doesn't even need a computer to do its magic either. Just pop your memory card into it, or attach your camera to the USB port and you can print whichever pictures you like from the color screen built right in.

What really makes this printer a winner to us is the cheap ink cartridge prices ($10 for black, $15 for color) and how long the ink lasts (almost twice as many prints as those from HP in our tests).

Regain the power you should have as someone who refuses to be smacked around by the ink cartel. Show the other printer companies that you will not be taken advantage of any longer, that you know the value of a good deal, and a proportionate one at that. Finally buy a printer that appreciates your investment and gives you more for it.

NuShield Screen Protector

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:15:42 -0500

NuShield Packaging

Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Everyone needs protection, whether it's a seat belt, a life vest, or a Samurai sword. This especially holds true with electronic devices, one of the most vulnerable of which is the touch screen. Screens like the display on your PDA and the monitor you draw on with your tablet PC, are in constant danger of smudges, dirt, scratches, and even cracks from gouges! NuShield has come up with protection that is cheap, reusable, disposable, and most importantly, works well! Jump in for more details...NuShield Screen Protector

The problems are all too common. You leave your keys in the same pocket as your PSP: Hellooo Scratch City! - Your friend uses his greasy finger as a stylus on your PDA: Welcome to Smudgeville! - The coffee in your car's cup holder splashes onto the screen of your in-dash navigation system, you get the idea....

There are a range of solutions out there to protect your screen. The trouble is that it's difficult to find one without drawbacks.

Some need to have water applied to them in order to glue them onto the screen..... Water? No thanks!

Others make it hard for touch sensitive screens to track where you are tapping, which means when you wanted to press the "Save" button, you accidentally pressed the "Don't Save (and lose all your work)" button.

Still others apply like a sticker that can stretch or pull from stylus use, leave air bubbles trapped underneath the screen and make removal a sticky mess.

NuShield has created a solution that registers taps accurately on a touch screen, is non-adhesive, durable, and most importanly, protects well!

We had the chance to review the protector for the HTC TyTn II (otherwise known as the AT&T Tilt). The NuShield protector is installed by peeling off a protective plastic "skin" from the plastic screen itself, and then sliding it underneath the edges of the screen border. The protector itself is not a perfect rectangle, but rather has a "bowed" middle to help it stay in place on top of your screen.

The protector has a glossy finish which provides a smooth motion when using a stylus. Usually, a glossy finish would make seeing the screen difficult in a well lit situation. NuShield has already thought of this and has designed their screen protectors with an anti-glare coating that makes viewing the screen easy, even in brightly lit conditions.

We tried scratching it up by rapidly moving the stylus back and forth across the screen, using a fingernail as a stylus, even using keys!! No luck.... The keys did leave a tiny hairline scratch at the end of our testing, but it was barely noticeable, and didn't affect viewing the screen.

The one drawback the Nushield has is also one of it's advantages. Because it's not an adhesive solution, dust can get trapped between the screen and the shield. After about two weeks of use, the screen was cluttered with more dust than a pack rat's basement. We had to remove the shield to clean the dust off of it as well as the screen. After cleaning both the screen and the NuShield, they both looked as good as new.

Overall we are very satisfied with NuShield's solution, and intend to replace all our Samurai swords with them shortly.

SANYO eneloop

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:31:15 -0400

SANYO eneloop
Digital cameras, MP3 players, wireless controllers for your video game system... What do they all have in common? They all need batteries! But what if you're the eco-friendly type? Say you don't enjoy lugging yourself to the store to buy some more every time your precious Wiimote runs out of juice as you're about to swing a homerun? Have no fear my fellow gamers, Sanyo is here to save the day. Make the jump for more details... eneloop Rechargeable Battery
Virtually all commercial rechageables have a few common issues. As any treehugger with a digicam can tell you, rechargeable batteries don't come with any power in the batteries when you first buy them. You have to charge them up first, and then use them. "Fine" you say, "I'll just charge them up and keep them stored in my camera for later use." Not so fast Johnny, if you leave those rechargeables sitting in the camera for a week or two , all that go-juice goes down the toilet pretty fast.

Sanyo has done something pretty remarkable here with their eneloop battery line. For starters, you don't have to worry about having to charge them up the moment you leave the store. Just pop them into your MP3 player, remote control, camera, flashlight, or whatever common electronics you use that take standard AA and AAA batteries, and off you go. Better still, you can leave those batteries sitting around in your device for months and come back to it with almost the same charge you left it with. Think of eneloop as the technological offspring of standard alkaline batteries and NiMH rechargeables.

The key to all of this is eneloop's extremely low self-discharge rate.

eneloop Comparison Chart

As you can see, eneloop's will hold their charge for a seriously long period of time. After testing these batteries out for ourselves, we can say that Sanyo can walk just as well as they talk. We were very impressed with how long these batteries held their power and noticed very little, if any difference after letting them sit around for an extended period of time.

We do have one gripe though. These batteries have a relatively small total capacity. These days, you can find rechargeable AA batteries that hold as much as 2700mAh. Sanyo's eneloop AA will only hold up to 2000mAh. Still, what good is all that capacity if you have to use it up the same day you charge it?

In the end, we think Sanyo has produced a winner, and hope to see more leaps in battery technology such as Sanyo has demonstrated with eneloop.

Aiptek GO-HD

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:00:00 -0400

Aiptek GO-HD
High-Definition means a clearer, sharper, and more detailed picture.

These days, people are not satisfied with what they see on their TV screens unless they can see the fine print on that football as it's being tossed, or count how many blemishes an actor has on their face. Aiptek has stepped up to the plate, and is offering a new HD camcorder that won't burn a hole in your pocket. Click on for more info...Aiptek GO-HD Camcorder
The Aiptek GO-HD is an HD camcorder priced at $279. It's features include a 5MP CMOS sensor, 3X optical zoom with auto focus, still capture (up to 2560�1920), and a 270 degree Swivel-Reversible 2.4″ TFT Color LCD Display. The GO-HD is also one of the smallest HD camcorders around, measuring 4.5″ x 2.75″ x 1.25″ and weighing in at only about 7.5 ounces.

Other features include one touch recording, AIPTEK’s Night Shot feature, which enhances image quality in dark or low light settings (up to 4 feet) by utilizing built-in LED lights, and an included remote control. The GO-HD is equipped with a built-in charger as well, so it can be recharged via USB when attached to a PC or by attaching the AC charger cable and plugging it into a wall outlet.

This cam does have a couple of drawbacks though. For starters, it doesn't have any internal memory, so unless you have an SD card lying around, this thing is just a pretty paperweight. It also doesn't have a lens cover (come on Aiptek, you couldn't throw in an extra piece of plastic to protect that fancy lens?) which means micro-scratches can become an issue if you aren't careful when handling this camcorder. There doesn't seem to be any form of image stabilization either, so people with shaky hands might run into difficulty.

Honestly though, for $279, you are getting a great bang for your buck. This camcorder fits perfectly in the entry-level category, and would make a great present for someone who loves to capture life's precious moments... in excruciatingly great detail.

Logitech MX 610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 12:41:24 -0400

A lefty's best friend

Finally! A mouse for the other 11% of the world population! Logitech has been known to make great mice, but as any left-handed geek can tell you, they have been the bane of a southpaw's technological existence... Until now...Lefties Rejoice!!

Take a look at that packaging. That right there is a welcome mat made for the little guy. While most right handed people don't realize how customized the items they use every day are for righties, lefties have had to adapt through the ages. Things like the can-opener, scissors, knives, and even the English language (any lefty will tell you about the ink or pencil lead that gets rubbed onto the side of their pinky because they are forced to move their hand across the words instead of away from them) have been crafted for right handed people. In today's modern world, this phenomenon has transitioned into the stylus hole for a PDA being placed on the right side, having the numpad of a keyboard on the right side, and as of late, we have seen mice that are molded to fit into your right hand with thumb buttons that no lefty could ever hope to use with their pinky. Some computer enthusiasts and PC gamers have opted to use mice like the Razer Diamondback

Oooooh, the colors....

which has thumb buttons on both sides of the mouse to make it an ambidextrous professional gaming mouse. But what about the custom stuff for the southpaw you ask? Well you can get a left handed guitar, a left handed golf club and yes, even a left handed mouse (clicky)... but you are going to pay atleast double the price of the right handed version, just because the people in those large companies care about the dollar and not the individual customer. Up until now, I believed Logitech, who produced mice like the MX700 and the LX7 to be one of those companies.

Thankfully, Logitech has redeemed themselves by coming out with the MX 610 Left Hand.

"At last—laser precision for lefties only. The MX™610 Left-Hand Laser Cordless Mouse lets left-handed users enjoy the comfort and control of an advanced laser mouse— without compromising their natural work style."

It features:

-Performance Laser Tracking
-2.4 GHz Cordless USB receiver
-E-mail and IM Notification Buttons
-Side-to-Side Scrolling + Zoom
-Forward, Back and Volume Controls (molded for the left hand of course)

I can't speak for all the other left handed computer users out there, but I can say with confidence that this mouse will be a welcome addition to any lefty computer user's hand.

OQO Model 02

Wed, 7 Mar 2007 11:51:04 -0500

OQO Model 02

So computers are always getting smaller and smaller, but just how portable can you get? Introducing the OQO Model 02. This baby has enough kick to give you a hangover the next morning.

Read on for more Details...The most expensive model they offer comes loaded with the following:

-1.5GHz VIA processor
-60GB hard drive
-1GB of DDR2 RAM
-5-inch, 800x480 display
=Bluetooth 2.0
-802.11a/b/g WiFi
-Integrated EV-DO (Sprint)
-HDMI-out port
-USB 2.0 port

All in a neat little package that you can slip into your coat pocket. The mouse pointer mechanism is a bit outdated, though if they threw a touchpad in there, it may not have been as elegant and neat as the model available. There are also accessories for it like cases, cables, adapters, and a docking station with 3 USB ports to expand the functionality of this little gem.

Mobiblu Cube2

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:19:10 -0500

One lump or two?

Mobiblu is known for their MP3 players, but this little guy takes the cake. It does MP3, WMA and OGG like any good player should, but it's also capable of...playing videos in such flavors as WMV, MPG, and ASF when you use the included conversion software

That's right, you can watch videos on this lump of sugar... you may need a magnifying glass to do it, but it's possible. Aside from the fact that it can pull in AM/FM radio, record music from the airwaves, take voicenotes with a built in microphone, and holding a battery life of up to 10 hours... it's just darn cute!

Mobiblu Cube2