Electronics archive
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
VIDEO REVIEW: Nobu N8 In-wall Touchscreen Computer
Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Here is the video review of the Nobu N8WTS10 (I know it’s a long name, try memorizing it!). Overall, this is a great product. I know a lot of people have suggested a Tablet PC or a UMPC over the Nobu, however, those units are not design to be used 24/7 and are not rated ...Read
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
VIDEO REVIEW: Planet Waves Cabling System
Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
If you are a musician you’ve probably heard of D’Addario & Company, Inc. They acquired the Planet Waves line in 1998 and I think it was a smart investment. Planet Waves really revolutionizes the way one terminates audio/video cables… I have a full video review, so check it out! For more information check out Planet ...Read
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
ESPN’s Gift Guide Online!
Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007
ESPN just launched their Gift Guide in time for some holiday shopping… you might see some familiar products as I was a contributing member. There are also some other cool gadgets like the Eye-Fi and SleepTracker that you can buy your loved ones — or yourself… Enjoy!Read
Saturday, October 27, 2007
MAVROMATIC’s TOP 5 GADGETS OF 2007 / HOLIDAY BUYERS GUIDE
Posted: Saturday, October 27, 2007
I know the year in not officially over, but there is really nothing that would change this list unless a V2 Windows Media Extender under $200 is released before the end of the year — not gonna happen. Everything on this list is under $1000 and is an actual gadget I purchased and used this ...Read
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
AEQ PAW 120 Digital Recorder / Interviewed On Kiro 710 — Seattle Ranks #3 For Blogging
Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I was interviewed by a local radio station here in Seattle today to talk about blogging. A report came out today stating that 13% of Seattleites are bloggers — very impressive. It’s great being contacted by the media and all, but, the highlight of the interview was checking out what kind of gear the reporter ...Read
Sunday, May 27, 2007
ViewSonic Network Media Player NMP-500 — Does Flash, Not Silverlight, Yet.
Posted: Sunday, May 27, 2007
I’ve received many emails from people asking if I know of a good media player for digital signage/dashboards/kiosks. I just found out about the Viewsonic NMP-500 and it looks like a winner — both in price and features. The ViewSonic NMP-500 Network Media Player is IP-based with MPEG-1/2/4 video stream capability as well as supports ...Read
Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 - The Most Expensive Headphones Ever!?
Posted: Sunday, May 27, 2007
Granted, I typically don’t post many products here on Mavromatic that are not of the higher end quality, but come on… $1,669.00 for a pair of headphones is a bit outragous. The Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 headphones are indeed special since the cans themselves are made out of striped Ebony wood, which provide “superb acoustic characteristics” and ...Read
Monday, May 7, 2007
R.I.P — Portable Media Center
Posted: Monday, May 7, 2007
It was back on June 12, 2004, when I wrote about the release of the Portable Media Center platform. Today, Chris Lanier reported via Jason Tsang’s blog that David Bono, a Microsoft employee, in the microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter.portable newsgroup announced that Microsoft is no longer licensing the PMC software. Well, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to ...Read
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Early Adopter From A Young Age.
Posted: Sunday, February 25, 2007
I was going through a bunch of old boxes my parents brought over. Besides the old Transformers and Starwars toys, some of the boxes contained papers of all the electronics I wanted or owned. This box is full of memories… it contains electronic and car magazines from 1988. I’ll probably post a few of these ...Read
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
REVIEW: MSN TV 2 Internet & Media Player
Posted: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Years ago, I remember designing websites that needed to work on WebTV, it was a real pain, the available screen real estate was/is around 544x372 pixels. The only person I knew that had one for testing was my neighbor, an elderly Czechoslovakian man that uses MSN TV to check online newspapers from his home ...Read
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
VIDSTONE Serenity Panel — For The Person That Had All The Cool Gadgets
Posted: Wednesday, October 26, 2005
So my blog is filled with gadgets, some might think they are gratuitous, but for the few that salivate at every new post, well, this next product is for you, er, when you have left this gadget filled world.The VIDSTONE Serenity Panel is a 7” LCD Panel that can be attached to almost any upright ...Read
Monday, October 10, 2005
TactaPad - Tactile, Immersive, Two-Handed Input Device
Posted: Monday, October 10, 2005
This isn’t exactly like the input device from Minority Report, but it’s in the right direction. The idea is that you can use your hands at all times and it does it in a very unobtructive way by overlaying your hands as transparent shadows — the opacity and color is controlled by you. The TactaPad ...Read
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Touchscreens that Touch Back
Posted: Tuesday, September 13, 2005
So the company behind the BMW iDrive system is now using 3M MicroTouch ClearTek touchscreen’s and rigging them for tactile feedback. This technology works with the different sizes and types of touchscreens which are mostly used on kiosks and electronic gaming devices (casino & bar-top). The user can now perceive on-screen button press and release ...Read
Westinghouse Digital Photo Frames - All Formats
Posted: Tuesday, September 13, 2005
A few years back I bought my sister a CEIVA photo frame as a gift — she loved it. Until the frame stopped working, a couple months before the year subscription ended. I tried calling and emailing CEIVA, but it seemed no one was ever there, must be an autopilot company. The CEIVA frame should ...Read
Friday, September 9, 2005
Samsung SlimFit HDTV CRT — Less Than 16” Deep
Posted: Friday, September 9, 2005
Who says CRTs can’t be sexy — definitely not Samsung! Their SlimFit TV’s feature a new space-saving CRP (Cathode Ray Panel) technology that screams sexyness. Currently, Samsung is only offering a 30” Widescreen SlimFit TV (models TX-R3079WH and TX-R3080WH) which measure less than 16” from front to back (typical 30” CRT sets on the market ...Read
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
APC Back-UPS HS 500 - It’s Webified
Posted: Wednesday, September 7, 2005
It’s not the prettiest UPS on the market, but this UPS offers something others don’t in the same price range. The APC Back-UPS HS 500 not only provides the availability to protecting data lines. It also offers battery backup to home networking devices such as routers and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephones. It is ...Read
Monday, August 29, 2005
Sunbrite All-Weather Outdoor LCD Televisions
Posted: Monday, August 29, 2005
People should be spending more time outdoors, the only problem is you can’t take your traditional television outside without it getting damaged by the elements. That, my friends, is no longer an isssue! SunBriteTV announced today two all-weather outdoor LCD televisions at CEDIA EXPO 2005. In addition to the successful 20” LCD TV Model 2010A-Pro, ...Read
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Goodbye iPod, Hello Pioneer Airware XM2GO
Posted: Thursday, August 25, 2005
A few months ago I retired my TiVo as my primary DVR and promoted my Windows MCE 2005 box. I haven’t looked back since… I hope for the same results with demoting my iPod and going with the Pioneer XM2GO unit as my primary audio entertainment platform. Besides being able to record up to five ...Read
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Y.A.i.P.A. (Yet Another iPod Accessory)
Posted: Wednesday, August 24, 2005
So I’m finally sick of the iPod and all the junk it has brought us. What made me turn against the iPod? Target! I haven’t been in one for over 5 years until a couple days ago, when my girlfriend needed to pick up a few things for her hiking trip — I decided ...Read
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Who Thinks LCD Monitors Are Boring?
Posted: Thursday, August 18, 2005
Well, take everything you know about traditional LCD monitor design and throw it out the window. HANNspree has just turned it up a notch… yup. If you were in the process of decorating your sports room and that silver or black LCD screen you were looking at just didn’t seem to add that much needed ...Read
Thursday, July 28, 2005
TeleBlaster 1.0
Posted: Thursday, July 28, 2005
Ok, so this isn’t a monitor you’ll want to plug your new Windows Media Center into, but it can be your new modern art piece you and your drunken friends can sit around on those lonely friday nights. The designer of the TeleBlaster, Aristarkh Chernyshev, designed the TeleBlaster to “explode television”. Which brings me to ...Read
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Uniden ELBT Series — Bluetooth Cordless Phone
Posted: Saturday, July 23, 2005
I try to stay away from posting about cellular phones, mostly because the ones I really want seem to never get released, or when they do, they are old technology. I have yet to see the BENQ P50 or the HP HW6700, the two phones currently on my list. Ready to buy, yet no product. ...Read
Friday, June 3, 2005
Telemmersion System - 360º Spherical Video Capture (VR)
Posted: Friday, June 3, 2005
Unbelievable! I’m surprised I didn’t hear about this sooner, since it has been a month or so since Immersive Media (name says it all) demonstrated it at NAB. The Telemmersion System has to be one of the coolest gadgets around… and if I had $24k laying around, it would be in my gadget box! The ...Read
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Leviton’s New Acenti Collection
Posted: Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Over the last 10 years, we haven’t seen any huge design changes in the home receptacle business (that’s electrical outlets and switches for the non-technical). We have the classic duplex style, the more stylish Decora (which is the most popular in home controls), and I’d even say Lutron’s designer Maestro dimmers are still closely ...Read
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
New Blog In Town — Finkbuilt
Posted: Wednesday, March 30, 2005
You’ve seen me post a few things Mr. Steven “Lodifizzle” Lodefink has either created or brought to my attention. Now everyone has the privilege of adding Finkbuilt to their very own RSS aggregator. He is a guy that’s always doing something interesting, be it in the garage restoring his 1973 BMW 2002 or doing some ...Read
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Comcast HD-DVR Disables Fast-Forward?
Posted: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
One of lost remote’s readers sent them a couple screen grabs from their Comcast HD-DVR. The problem? The darn unit wouldn’t let him fast-forward thru the commercials while it played back American Idol. This could be a fluke, but if Comcast is deliberately doing this, we all might need to pull that old VHS recorder ...Read
Saturday, December 11, 2004
K-Box DVD Ripper
Posted: Saturday, December 11, 2004
I’ve never heard of Acesonic, but if I were a gambling man, I’d bet they are real big in the Chinese Karaoke market. They make a bunch of Karaoke machines, but one in particular caught my attention. The K-Box Digital Jukebox Karaoke System. It has a built in DVD Reader and a 120GB Hard Drive ...Read
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Portable XRF Technology
Posted: Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Have you ever wondered what things are made of? Is that Apple TiBook really made out of titanium!? Is all that Bling-Bling hanging around your neck really made out of pure platinum? I found out there is actually a portable XRF analyzer that can answer those questions and more. Before I get to the product, ...Read
Monday, November 15, 2004
Fingerprint Access Hard Drive
Posted: Monday, November 15, 2004
Now this is COOL! A portable hard drive that has a built-in, fingertip-size Active Imaging Sensor on the top outer panel, which LockBox claims is the most accurate fingerprint authentication available today. The LockBox has storage capacity of up to 200GB and can function as a single hard drive or be partitioned into a maximum ...Read
Axion 10.2” LCD TV/DVD Combo
Posted: Monday, November 15, 2004
Just in time for the Holidays… Axion is now shipping a 10.2” wide-screen LCD TV and DVD player combo which will be sold exclusively at RadioShack. The price of $399.99 (MSRP) makes worth talking about, since this price point has traditionally been reserved for LCD only displays. This little display would be a nice unit ...Read
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Polk Audio XRt12 XM Tuner
Posted: Tuesday, November 9, 2004
I’ve been a XM subscriber for a few months now and I have to say that I truely love it. I find it a bit funny that I’m going back to radio… heck with access to thousands of cds and an iPod fully loaded, why do I think it’s so great? The beauty of ...Read
Thursday, November 4, 2004
Pioneer Still Makes Dual-Well Cassette Recorder
Posted: Thursday, November 4, 2004
Yes, I’m as shocked as you are… Pioneer Electronics, the leaders in digital technologies are still producing the CT-W606DR dual-well (A.K.A. Double Deck) cassette recorder. Sure, they are claiming they are making cassettes sound better with use of better digital processing, but come on. Who still has cassettes? I’d love to hear from you guys… ...Read
Monday, October 18, 2004
Flat Screen Emits SOS Signal
Posted: Monday, October 18, 2004
Ha! I was checking out CNN tonight when I noticed this bizarre headline: Flat-screen TV emits international distress signal Reuters — An Oregon man discovered earlier this month that his year-old Toshiba Corporation flat-screen TV was emitting an international distress signal picked up by a satellite, leading a search and rescue operation to his apartment ...Read
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
DTS and Dolby Mandatory Format For Blu Ray, HD DVD
Posted: Wednesday, October 13, 2004
DTS and Dolby have announced that they will be “mandatory” surround sound formats on both the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD formats. This isn’t surprising news since most of us have a surround sound processor that can play back both formats and if they selected an unknown format, well, that would make our receivers worthless and ...Read
Friday, September 24, 2004
JVC EX-A1: Wooden Woofers
Posted: Friday, September 24, 2004
20 years ago JVC prototyped a wooden woofer. However, they ran into a problem… the wood would crack. They tried soaking them in water, but nothing seemed to work. Years into the project, a JVC engineer went to a Japanese Pub and was served a soft squid. He discovered that the reason why the squid ...Read
Monday, September 13, 2004
Latest High-Definition Television Statistics
Posted: Monday, September 13, 2004
HDTV Sales/ Purchase • Half of U.S. consumers intend to buy an HDTV for their next television. Among HDTV owners, 66 percent indicate their next TV purchase will be an HDTV. Source: Consumer Electronics Association April 2004 eBrain Survey • Americans will buy between six and seven million HDTVs in 2004 – an increase of ...Read
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Carl Zeiss Lens Coming To Camera Phones
Posted: Saturday, September 11, 2004
This post is for those of you that use your camera phone on a regular basis and wish you had a better quality lens. Dialog Semiconductor, which specializes in solutions for the mobile communications market, needed the optics expertise from Zeiss. They worked out an agreement and now they are developing a camera module with ...Read
Friday, September 10, 2004
Transfer High-Quality Audio Video Wirelessly to a Display in Another Room
Posted: Friday, September 10, 2004
Have you dreamed of streaming your videos and music from room to room, wirelessly? Well, the PureAV RemoteTV by Belkin lets you view do just that. Combining proprietary technology (Air5) in the 5GHz frequency range and component-video connectivity, the RemoteTV offers the best range available without interruptions at up to 350 feet. The device will ...Read
Thursday, September 2, 2004
SANYO to Adopt HD DVD Standard
Posted: Thursday, September 2, 2004
SANYO has decided to adopt the HD DVD standard promoted in the DVD forum, an international association that brings together some 220 consumer electronics, entertainment, software and other related companies around the world. SANYO will develop next generation DVD players and recorders using the HD DVD standard, and aims to first launch in Japan ...Read
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Goodbye BoomBox, Hello SkyBox.
Posted: Sunday, August 22, 2004
So after posting about satellite radios, I broke down and bought a XMPCR. After using it for a few days, I’ve decided that there is no way I can go back to regular AM/FM radio. XM rocks! The quality and amount of music is crazy… perfect for a whole house audio source because it doesn’t ...Read
Friday, August 13, 2004
SIRIUS XACT XTR1 - “Stream Jockey”
Posted: Friday, August 13, 2004
SIRIUS has announced the introduction of yet another satellite radio device. Now, this one looks very cool, almost like a cell phone, which should make it easier to carry with you from the house to the car (and vice-versa). The SIRIUS XACT XTR1 “Stream Jockey” Plug & Play satellite radio offers a 6-line screen ...Read
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Sony DCR-DVD301 DVD Camcorder
Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Sony has updated its DVD camcorder with the DCR-DVD301. It has a big 3.5-inch SwivelScreen hybrid LCD display and can record directly to 3-inch DVD-R/-RW discs, which play in most current home and PC DVD players. The screen’s hybrid technology minimizes LCD washout even in bright sunlight and can rotate up to 270-degrees for multiple ...Read
Mazda’s Phatbox Media Player
Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2004
While other car companies are making their autos iPod-ready, Mazda is taking a different approach. They have inked a partnership with PhatNoise and will soon begin offering the PhatBox Digital Media Player as a dealer-installed accessory in all Mazda vehicles. The PhatBox Digital Media Player integrates seamlessly with existing Mazda sound systems and will provide ...Read
Monday, August 2, 2004
Toughest Memory?
Posted: Monday, August 2, 2004
You think your girlfriend has the longest lasting memory, do you? Well according to “Digital Camera Shopper” magazine, where they took five of the main memory card formats; CompactFlash, Secure Digital, xD, Memory Stick and Smartmedia and not only boiled, washed, dunked in cola, run over with a skateboard, but also give them to a ...Read
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Portable Media Player That Plays VOBs!
Posted: Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Now, that’s what I’m talking about! I was checking out my favorite gadget weblog, Gizmodo, this morning and noticed that they posted about a portable media player that plays back almost every format on the planet. It’s has a 30gb hard drive, and also includes flash card support. Not just CF, but SD and Memory ...Read
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Digital Music Sales Will Hit $1.7 Billion in 2009, but Won’t Replace CDs
Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
JupiterResearch, has revealed that digital music sales will more than double compared to last year, reaching more than $270 million in 2004, and will grow rapidly to $1.7 billion in 2009, totaling 12% of consumer music spending. While digital music will return the U.S. music industry to growth after four years of steeply declining sales, ...Read
Tablet PC With Combination Indoor/Outdoor Screen
Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Problem with LCD displays is that you can’t really use them outside or near a bright window. So what use is having a Tablet PC, when you can’t use it in the car or at the park? Motion Computing’s View Anywhere display is a unique Tablet PC option for users who want an indoor-viewable screen ...Read
$99 Virgin Player
Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Now, that I have your attention, Virgin Electronics has unveiled a ‘Silver-Dollar’ sized wearable MP3 player. It’s comfortable to carry against your girlfriends torso (as pictured). The Wearable 128MB MP3 player holds roughly 40 songs and includes one of the simplest interfaces ever devised. The Wearable MP3 Player doesn’t need complicated software or even a ...Read
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Apple iPhone?
Posted: Sunday, July 25, 2004
Why hasn’t Apple released a cell phone? Maybe they don’t think it fits into their “digital hub” model… well, I disagree… look at the new PocketPC based phones or the Treo 600. They can play music, take photos, even record videos! A good friend of mine, Mike Davidson, over at Mike Industries, wrote a great ...Read
The HP h6315 Comes To T-Mobile
Posted: Sunday, July 25, 2004
There are two phones I’ve been eyeing… the HP h6315 (pictured), which was co-developed with T-Mobile, and the XDA III by O2. I’m leaning more towards the XDA III because of the slide out keyboard. CNET News.com posted a story about the new HP h6315 and how it operates on a traditional cellular network but ...Read
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Soundsation - Unexpected Design.
Posted: Saturday, July 24, 2004
I’m in the process of building a house and have realized that every little detail counts. When you design or build something, it’s a reflection of you. Just the other day, I asked my girlfriend (which is an interior designer) if she liked a particular light fixture, her response was, “that is expected”. So from ...Read
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
World’s Smallest 7.2 Megapixel Camera
Posted: Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Well, I just found my next camera! I’ve been really happy with my Sony DSC-85 and I think it’s now time to move on to a smaller camera… and the winner is Sony’s new Cyber-shot DSC-P150. It takes a 7.2 mega pixel (3072 x 2304 resolution) image, is only 1” thin and sports a Carl ...Read
Tablet-Style 7” Portable DVD Player
Posted: Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Why spend your hard earned money on an over priced Portable Media Player when you can get a compact tablet-style 7” Portable DVD Player for about $300? If I were in the market for a portabe video player, I’d consider this as an option. It has a big (compared to all the other media players) ...Read
Friday, July 16, 2004
Portable Media Centers, Part II
Posted: Friday, July 16, 2004
eHomeUpgrade has just posted a review of Creative’s Portable Media Center, the ZEN. ExtremeTech has nothing good to say about it (as I did last month)… I really wanted to post the following review but didn’t want to do so until the device was officially announced and since it is available for preorder from Amazon, ...Read
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Archos Portable Media Player With Audio TiVo Functionality
Posted: Thursday, July 15, 2004
These things keeps coming out, yet I don’t know if people are actually buying them. If anyone out there has a portable media player, please post a comment and let me know what you think of it and how it’s used. Even the new Archos AV480 doesn’t playback fullscreen MPEG2 video, so once again you’ll ...Read
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Own A Segway For Only $2,995…
Posted: Wednesday, July 14, 2004
That’s right! Segway has announced the opening of 30 new dealerships, expanding its national dealer network to a total of 35 dealers in 26 states. For a limited time, participating dealers are now offering customers a $1,000 Customer Cash Certificate good on the purchase of a new Segway Human Transporter p Series model — bringing ...Read
Monday, July 12, 2004
The Only High Capacity Media Player Made in the USA?
Posted: Monday, July 12, 2004
Digital Mind Corp is taking a different approach to marketing their new (to the US) DMC 800. They are touting it as the “Only High Capacity Ultra Portable Music Player Made in the Unites States”… is that typo the way they get out of being liars? There has to be a MP3 player that is/was ...Read
Jaguar Offers Limited Edition Black iPod
Posted: Monday, July 12, 2004
It’s official, every auto manufacturer is getting on the iPod bandwagon, to be different (ha!). Jaguar (the auto maker) is offering visitors to its X-Type Web site the opportunity to win a limited edition black Apple iPod. Unlike the iPods Unite promotion that was a joint venture with Apple and VW, this seems like a ...Read
Garmin’s New Pocket-Sized Street Navigator
Posted: Monday, July 12, 2004
I’d like everyone to stand up and welcome the Garmin Quest — an ultra-portable GPS navigator. It’s about time someone released a full featured GPS unit that’s only 4.5” wide, 2.2” high, and only .9” deep. And that’s just the beginning… the Quest features auto-routable, turn-by-turn, voice-prompted navigation with fast automatic off-route and detour recalculation. ...Read
New LCD Monitors From NEC
Posted: Monday, July 12, 2004
You can’t really compare these to the new aluminum displays Apple released couple weeks ago, but if you’re looking for economical displays that aren’t black or beige then these might be something you’d be interested in. NEC has announced a new line of thin-frame LCD displays with a two-tone silver cabinet design. The new monitors ...Read
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Alpine’s iPod Control Interface
Posted: Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Alpine has announced that it will ship the Alpine Interface Adapter for iPod (model KCA-420i) in late September. The KCA-420i will enable control and playback of the iPod music library from any of Alpine’s 2004 Ai-Net in-dash head units. The solution allows you to control iPod playback using the head unit’s front panel buttons or ...Read
Sony’s Super-Compact DCR-HC1000 3CCD Camcorder
Posted: Wednesday, July 7, 2004
I’ve only owned Sony camcorders… a total of five. The one I currently own is the TRV-950, and it’s great! This was my first 3CCD camera, because in the past, they were way to big and now after using it for about a year and a half, there is no turning back to a single ...Read
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Sony’s MicroVault PRO Reaches 2GB
Posted: Tuesday, July 6, 2004
What’s small, yet can hold a massive amount of data? Give up? Sony’s new Ultra-Portable, USB-enabled, 2GB memory vault that uses a 1-inch hard disk drive wrapped in a brushed-silver design. The USD2G measures only 2 x 2.75 inches, is only 1/2 inch thick. WOW. To keep this device looking sleek, Sony designed it so ...Read
Monday, July 5, 2004
The DVX-POD 7010… 7” of Viewing Pleasure
Posted: Monday, July 5, 2004
I don’t get excited about portable media players anymore (read Portable Media Players). But the DVX-POD 7010 is worth discussing because it actually seems like the company that designed it wants to release a usable product. It’s the first media player that has been announced that even has screen I wouldn’t mind spending 2 hours ...Read
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Introducing The World’s Smallest Portable Audio Device, The Sony NW-HD1
Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Look out iPod Mini… Sony has released what they call “the world’s smallest portable audio device” built with a 1.8-inch, 20GB hard drive. The silver NW-HD1 model weighs less than 4 ounces and can store up to 13,000 four-minute songs (that is if you record them at 48kbps… expect about 9000 at >128kbps). The internal ...Read
More Home Entertainment Stats…
Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2004
According to the just-released 2004 Ownership and Trend Report from The Home Technology Monitor: — 4% of TV homes report owning a DVR (such as TiVO) — a figure that has doubled in the past 6 months; — 6% have an HDTV set, up 50% versus six months ago; — 18% a VCR/DVD dual deck; ...Read
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
The Future of Converged Home Entertainment?
Posted: Tuesday, June 29, 2004
The problem with all this new technology is that us geeks don’t account for the rest of the population. So, what we think is cool and something that should catch on, might not be what the rest of the population wants. Example, I’m wiring my new home so I can control it from anywhere ...Read
SONY’S New Three-MegaPixel Camcorder
Posted: Tuesday, June 29, 2004
I was just talking to a good friend of mine, Mike Davidson, about 3-megapixel cameras being in cellphones, and once that happens there will be no need to carry a standalone digital camera anymore. We’re not quite there yet, but Sony is heading in the right direction with the new Sony DCR-PC350 MiniDV Handycam which ...Read
Seabourn Yachts Are Wi-Fi Hot Spots
Posted: Tuesday, June 29, 2004
If you are the type that plans vacation destinations based on 24 hour internet connectivity support, then today is your lucky day. Beginning this summer, the ultra luxury, all-suite cruise ships Seabourn Pride, Spirit and Legend are being upgraded to create one continuous accessible wi-fi “hot zone” throughout each ship, allowing you to connect to ...Read
Monday, June 28, 2004
Restore Your Old Photos With An EPSON Perfection Scanner
Posted: Monday, June 28, 2004
Everyone has old family photos laying around ready to be scanned in and imported into iPhoto. But, one of the problems is restoring those old photos… why would you want to have old dusty photos mixed in with your prestine digitals? Well, EPSON will be releasing a few new scanners that should help matters. The ...Read
Sony 23” Widescreen Display
Posted: Monday, June 28, 2004
If you are looking for a larger desktop display that can deliver native 1920x1200 resolution, then the new P234 by Sony may be the answer. It features 500:1 contrast ratio and also comes with Sony’s ErgoBright technology. The P234 also has an ambient light sensor that can be activated to automatically adjust display luminance based ...Read
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Bluetooth Bar Code Laser Scanner With Fuzzy Logic
Posted: Thursday, June 24, 2004
I use a CCD barcode scanner to enter my DVD collection into DVD Profiler. I’d love to be able to enter in the codes wirelessly… so I will be ordering Socket Communications Cordless Laser Bar Code Scanner. The Cordless Hand Scanner features a powerful Class 1 Bluetooth radio, so you can stay connected to your ...Read
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Why The Slow Adoption of DVD Recorders?
Posted: Wednesday, June 23, 2004
JupiterResearch announced that, according to its recently released report, “DVD Recorders: Assuming the Functionality of the VCR,” consumers do not fully understand the benefits of the standalone DVD recorder and this will lead to continued slow sales. Based on a JupiterResearch consumer survey, 6% of online consumers currently own a standalone DVD recorder with 7% ...Read
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Are All LCDs Created Equal?
Posted: Tuesday, June 22, 2004
I’d say, no… but if you are willing to pay $6500 for a report from DisplaySearch, you can get the real answer and a bunch of stuff you probably don’t even care about. The report provides comparisons of four TVs supplied by leading consumer electronics brands: Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Sony and against two ...Read
HDTV Coming to a Hotel Near You
Posted: Tuesday, June 22, 2004
I found this interesting, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations that are requiring all TVs to include digital television (DTV) tuners by 2007 applies not only to consumer sets, but also to TVs installed in hotel rooms. So that means you’ll be enjoying HDTV while on vacation too! I think this may also be the ...Read
Monday, June 21, 2004
Will Your Next Gadget Be Fuel Cell Powered?
Posted: Monday, June 21, 2004
Have you ever wished that a particular device run a few hours longer? I know I have, especially my iPod… MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. is aware of this problem and has introduced a new technology called Mobion. Mobion is based on patented direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology that will some day power portable devices ...Read
CMYK Based Displays
Posted: Monday, June 21, 2004
The basic color elements of television has not changed much since 1954… the RGB system used then is still in use today, but a Israeli company called, Genoa Color Technologies has added one to three more primary colors such as yellow, cyan and magenta, that expands the visible color gamut from 55 to 95 percent. ...Read
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Memorex Introduces New Double Layer DVD+R Discs
Posted: Thursday, June 17, 2004
At $12.99 (MSRP) a disc, this new dual layer technology isn’t hottest thing to hit the market, but since Memorex is going to be producing DL DVD-R, hopefully we will see the prices of these discs hit the $1 range with in six months. Dual layer discs allow us to record four hours of DVD-quality ...Read
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Napster Offers Free MP3 Player
Posted: Wednesday, June 16, 2004
It seems like Napster is trying everything to get people to use their service again… uh, why not just offer free music? That’s what they are kind of doing… they have announced a new promotional campaign that will put a free MP3 player in the hands of every new annual Napster subscriber. Available from Napster.com, ...Read
The Ultimate Fathers Day Gift!
Posted: Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Pioneer Electronics has created the ultimate Father’s Day gift, outfitting a Belding golf bag with cutting-edge mobile entertainment gear. It was designed specially for PGA pro Jerry Kelly and includes all the gadgets any dad would need for a weekend road trip. He can plot a route to every golf course in the country with ...Read
‘Deep-Dive’ Underwater Personal MP3 Player
Posted: Wednesday, June 16, 2004
For get about the iPod! This MP3 player is going where no MP3 players have gone! iRiver and Diver Entertainment Systems announced the H2O Audio DV series that builds on iRiver’s iFP-300T series flash player only these players are fully submersible to depths of up to 200 feet! Now you can listen to Britney Spears ...Read
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
WeatherTech STX7000 Storm Tracker
Posted: Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Since father’s day is just around the corner, I thought I’d post something that any father would like… or at the very least a dad that is a Meteorologist. Discovery Channel store has a Storm Tracker that is a highly accurate weather center that forecasts approaching storms and weather trends from 12 to 20 hours ...Read
Three Small, Affordable, Easy-to-Use GPS Handhelds
Posted: Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Magellan has introduced the all-new eXplorist series. The eXplorist 100, eXplorist 200 and eXplorist 300 (pictured) deliver more advanced features, more powerful performance and more value. Each waterproof model comes in a different vibrant color, blue for the 300, yellow 200 and an orange exterior for the 100. These GPS units use the TrueFix technology, ...Read
1080p Video Camera with Hand-Crank Attachment
Posted: Tuesday, June 15, 2004
The Kinetta is a digital cinema camera that records 1080p images at any frame rate up to 60 fps. One of the coolest features about this camera is the hand-crank attachment, it allows you to vary the frame rate based on the cranking speed. The video is recorded onto a removable cartridge that holds an ...Read
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Portable Media Centers
Posted: Saturday, June 12, 2004
If you check out the product specs of the ZEN, you will notice that it only plays Windows Media Video 7, 8 and 9, Windows Media Audio 8, Windows Media Image, MP3, JPEG and TIFF files. Great, but this is suppose to be a Portable Media Center… right? A device that syncs up and plays ...Read
Friday, June 11, 2004
20” Glasses-Free 3D Monitor
Posted: Friday, June 11, 2004
Forget about the new rumored aluminum Apple Cinema Displays… StereoGraphics has just announced the release of the SynthaGram 204. It’s a 20” Glasses-Free 3D LCD monitor! The SynthaGram 204 falls into StereoGraphics’ mid-range monitor line with high resolution (1600 x 1200) and has a new stylistic design and takes advantage of new advances in glasses-free ...Read
Wednesday, June 9, 2004
High-Tech School Busses
Posted: Wednesday, June 9, 2004
Wow, even school buses are looking cooler and the children in High Point, N.C, were the first to take a ride on the all-new school bus to be manufactured in a new $39.7 million Thomas Built Buses plant in High Point. The company officially opened its state-of-the-art plant today and were joined by business, ...Read
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
New Sony Notebook Makes the Most of Small Spaces
Posted: Tuesday, June 8, 2004
A few weeks ago Sony announced the razor thin X505, a great looking machine, but a bit to expensive at $3k. But maybe there is a better alternative… I just read that Sony will be finally be releasing the Type S here in the states next month. It has a 13.3” widescreen display that uses ...Read
Polariod Instant Camera With A Digital LCD
Posted: Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Just when I thought Polaroid was dead, they come out with an all-new Polaroid Image1200 instant camera. It’s their first instant camera to sport a preview LCD viewfinder which is similar to a camcorder’s viewfinder and allows users to frame the image prior to taking the picture. The Image1200 also features true 10-zone auto-focus as ...Read
Monday, June 7, 2004
Segway Human Transporter I170
Posted: Monday, June 7, 2004
The new Segway Human Transporter i170 was released today in a new Midnight Blue color. The Midnight Blue color palette mingles dark blue tones with grey hues and sports fenders with a carbon fiber look. The Segway HT i170 is available now at the suggested retail price of $4,495. The price for a Segway has ...Read
Thursday, June 3, 2004
A Vacuum That’s Big on Suction But Small on Storage
Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2004
Who would have thought a company could make vacuum cleaners cool? Dyson, the company that invented the first vacuum that doesn’t lose suction, has release a new telescope canister vacuum cleaner. The DC11 is designed especially for homes that have limited storage space… which is weird, cause if you can afford a $549 vacuum cleaner… ...Read
Serial ATA Hard Drives Outperform SCSI Hard Drives
Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2004
The high performance capabilities of Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives were validated recently, when WD Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA drives from Western Digital Corp. outperformed 10,000 and 15,000 RPM SCSI drives from two competitors in separate independent, head-to-head comparison tests conducted by and published in the June issue of Maximum PC magazine. This is great ...Read
Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Wireless 19” Digital Picture Frame
Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2004
PhotoVu announced the PV1900 today, it’s the industry’s first 19” wireless digital picture frame. The frames can be customized so they can blend easily into almost any home or office environment and it requires no monthly subscription, additional image manipulation or software installation. You can display thousands of digital photos or other digital content stored ...Read
Flag Wrapped GEM Electric Cars
Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2004
DaimlerChrysler is providing customized GEM electric vehicles as the primary mode of transportation during the Sea Island, Ga. G8 Summit on June 8th thru the 10th. Each of the eight countries will have two custom cars that have been wrapped in the colors of the flags of the corresponding G8 leader during the summit. The ...Read
Get You SMART Car On Ebay!
Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2004
An advanced technology vehicle company ZAP is auctioning off one of the first SMART cars available in the United States on eBay. The auction has been running for less than 24 hours and has received 40 bids and is currently at $13,100.00 (at time of publishing). In May, ZAP signed a $10 Million purchase agreement ...Read
60GB iPod?
Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2004
In a few months Toshiba is going to be releasing a 60GB 1.8” drive, just like the ones used in the standard sized Apple iPod. Apple has already placed an order for this drive, so does this mean we will be seeing a enhanced iPod that does video and photo playback as well? I hope ...Read
Monday, May 31, 2004
World’s Fastest Flash Memory Card
Posted: Monday, May 31, 2004
Pretec is demonstrating the world’s first MMC 4.0 flash memory card with Read speed about 150X (22.5MB/s) and Write speed greater than 120X (18MB/s), which is the highest speed small form factor flash memory card in the world today. This card is compatible with most SD devices and is about 200% faster than the fastest ...Read
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
34” HD Color Inorganic EL Display Prototype
Posted: Wednesday, May 26, 2004
A few days ago I posted about LCD screens reaching sizes comparable with Plasma technologies. Today, iFire Technology demonstrated a high-definition 34-inch prototype display to an audience of flat panel scientists and industry peers at the annual Society for Information Display conference held here in Seattle. The 34-inch color display is the largest flat panel ...Read
NFL Team Using USB Dongle To Protect Data
Posted: Wednesday, May 26, 2004
With everything moving to a digital world, you need a way to protect documents and systems from unauthorized access. The Chicago Bears are doing just that. They chose the Aladdin eToken authentication key to protect its highly sensitive electronic play books, player contracts and scouting information. The Bears are the first NFL team to use ...Read
Jetsgo to Offer In-Flight Entertainment
Posted: Wednesday, May 26, 2004
I don’t know what all the excitement about in-flight entertainment is… I always travel with a portable device like a laptop or mp3 player and soon a Portable Media Player. Anyways, Jetsgo is offering an in-flight personal entertainment product to Canadian air travelers. The digEplayer is the world’s first completely self-contained, portable video on demand ...Read
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
iPod Night
Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
You know the iPod is really a success when Pubs host an “iPod Night”. The Collins pub, a sleek downtown restaurant and bar, will be hosting Seattle’s first iPod night. Attendees will have the opportunity to play their iPod tunes on their state-of-the-art DJ system for a ten minute “set”. The event is sponsored in ...Read
What Do You Wear While Wi-Fi Surfing?
Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
I admit, I’ve done it! And so do about 64% of Wi-Fi surfers… According to a recent survey by IOGEAR, people are happy to admit to surfing the Net via Wi-Fi in their underwear. The online poll got 478 consumers in April 2004 and 64% of the respondents admitted to connecting to the Internet when ...Read
Two New Sony XBRITE LCD Displays
Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
A common problem with LCD screens is that they are hard to read in bright rooms. Sony is about to change that with the release of two new displays that are using their new XBRITE technology. The SDM-HS74P and SDM-HS94P, with 17-inch and 19-inch viewable image sizes respectively, feature a special LCD panel, originally introduced ...Read
A Light Bulb That Eliminates Odor?
Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
That’s right, you saw it here first… The Fresh2 is an odor-eliminating compact fluorescent light bulb. A special coating of titanium dioxide is what gives Fresh2 the ability to break down odors. They dip the glass part of the bulb into titanium dioxide, which forms a thin transparent film. When the surface of this coating ...Read
Monday, May 24, 2004
Record Web Radio Stations, Legally?
Posted: Monday, May 24, 2004
With all the legal issues about sharing, ripping and burning music… now a company called Applian Technologies has created a product called, “Replay Music”. It’s a software program that allows you to capture music from pretty much any Web radio station (Rhapsody, Napster, Music Match Radio, Radio@Netscape, Yahoo Launch, AOL Radio, Shoutcast, etc), and tag ...Read
TV T-SHIRT!?
Posted: Monday, May 24, 2004
I still think this is a joke, but who knows anymore… Lost Remote posted about how this TV Shirt Company suggested that their product can be used by a weatherman doing a report with a weather map on his chest. Now when I tried to investigate this further (by visiting the company website), I noticed ...Read
GPS For Your Laptop
Posted: Monday, May 24, 2004
If you are looking for an inexpensive way to get a portable navigation system, Garmin is going to be releasing the GPS 18 soon. It’s a GPS sensor bundled with nRoute software that lets you turn your laptop PC into a powerful street navigation tool. The nRoute software is bundled with detailed MapSource City Select ...Read
Sunday, May 23, 2004
The World’s Smallest Press Kit
Posted: Sunday, May 23, 2004
This isn’t this first one I’ve seen, but it is pretty cool to get a press kit that comes on a reusable USB memory drive. The first one I saw was for a Lexus SUV and now Yamaha Marine, for its 2005 model year, is using one to pack in press releases, technical bulletins, transparencies ...Read
40” OLED Display
Posted: Sunday, May 23, 2004
AP — Seiko Epson, said it has developed the world’s largest organic electro-luminescence display, which produces clear images while requiring little power. “The company has developed an original inkjet process for depositing organic layers on large-size (thin film transistor) substrates,” Seiko Epson Corp. said in a statement. “Using this technology, Epson has now developed the ...Read
Friday, May 21, 2004
Buy a Pirated CD. Go Directly To Jail.
Posted: Friday, May 21, 2004
When I went to Greece a couple years ago, I was surprised on how open pirated CD selling was. Heck, I could buy a newly released CD with cover art from a guy coming right up to me on the beach. Back then they were still on the Drachma, which converted into about $4 a ...Read
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Toshiba 17” LCD TV/DVD Combo Unit
Posted: Thursday, May 20, 2004
I’ve never been a huge fan of combo units, but Toshiba has announced a model that’s sure to please even me. The SD-P7000 TV/DVD offers a 17” LCD TV with a 16x9 high definition screen with 1280x768 pixel resolution, perfect for viewing high definition, standard television signals and DVD movies. One of the cool design ...Read
DISH Networks Satellite Radio
Posted: Thursday, May 20, 2004
I’m starting to feel like I’m a Satellite Radio Fan Blog, but these guys are pumping out new devices faster than rabbits. Now a Dish Networks branded SIRIUS Satellite Radio receiver, the SR200, will be available through DISH Network retailers at a MSRP price of $149.95. I guess this is great for those that want ...Read
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Ferrari Digital Camera
Posted: Tuesday, May 18, 2004
If you dream of owning a Ferrari, you better start off with all the new Ferrari gear that’s been popping up. First it was the Ferrari Notebook by Acer, now it’s an official Ferrari 3.2mp digital camera by Olympus. Digital Preview has the full details about this camera, which is basically an Olympus AZ-1 colored ...Read
Monday, May 17, 2004
3-D TV.
Posted: Monday, May 17, 2004
I just read an entry over at Lost Remote about how David Hill, Fox Sports Chairman, can’t understand what all the fuss is about HDTV. “It just lengthens and broadens the picture, makes it sharper but doesn’t change it… 3-D is the answer. Not HDTV.” Well I did some research and found out that X3D ...Read
Friday, May 14, 2004
Sony To Release Video Version of Vaio Pocket Device
Posted: Friday, May 14, 2004
When Sony announced their version of the “iPod Killer” I thought for sure it would include video and be marketed as a media player. Well, today Sony announced that they will offer a video version which can play video and beam it to a TV. Imagine recording ‘The Daily Show’, then being able to take ...Read
Thursday, May 13, 2004
TERK XM Commander
Posted: Thursday, May 13, 2004
See what I’m saying… XM gadgets keep popping up! Now, TERK Technologies, the people that create antenna technology for TV, satellite, radio and mobile communications applications, are offering the XM Commander. The XM Commander is a universal satellite radio receiver, featuring a compact controller with display screen, a micro antenna, a full-function remote control, and ...