Fun Gadget Gifts

Posts Tagged ‘$100 – $500’

B&W Zeppelin devices are known for the sound quality, award-winning design and advanced technology. Say hello to the new Zeppelin Mini iPod sound system. It has a very compact and attractive design – perfect for smaller spaces. Attach any iPod or iPhone to the dock and you are ready to rock. A docking arm rotates 90 degrees and is handy for watching videos. If past performance is any indicator, the sound should be pretty spectacular. Zeppelin Mini has DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology to thank for it. Two digital amplifiers provide plenty of power.

You don’t need to use iPod with the sound system – you can easily stream music from your PC through the USB socket. The sound system comes with dual full-range, 3-inch glass fiber drivers, aux input jack, and a 2.0 USB port. Use a remote to change tracks, volume, and mode. Sync your iTunes and the docked iPod. You even get firmware upgrades. And if you take it to another country, it automatically adjusts to a different voltages. What can I say – B&W Zeppelin Mini is an ultimate gift for an audiophile.

The new Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Mini iPod sound system is rumored to be released in early November. Available for pre-order from Amazon for $399.95.

Bebook Electronic Book Reader is currently sold out on Amazon. The 5 inch Bebook Mini just became available in the US, priced at $199. It has the same features as the original Bebook, but smaller display. No worries – the display is crystal clear and uses e-ink technollgy. The screen refreshes quickly and menus are user-friendly. Bebook Mini lacks WiFi but still will work if you download content from you PC through a USB port.
Bebook Mini had attractive price before Amazon reduced their Kindle price to $259. Another attractive option is Sony’s $199 Reader Pocket Edition.

Skiers, boarders and bikers – all your dreams come true with this wearable camera. Shooting video on the slopes, capturing wow! moments in the terrain park or documenting a trip will be easy as pie if you use ContourHD. And did I mention, it is HD? Yes, it is the only full HD wearable camera on the market. It features four HD settings (1080p, 960p, and two at 720p) with two frame rates (30fps and 60fps) and four configurable settings (metering, contrast, exposure, and microphone sensitivity). You can upload your videos to VholdR.com and share them with your friends and family. The camera comes with video edit software.

CoutourHD camera fits nicely in the palm of your head. The body is made of aluminum keeping overall weight at 4.3 ounces. It also makes the camera water resistant. I would not attempt to use it while diving, however. ContourHD fits onto a series of mounts for your goggles, helmet, handle bars, vehicle or anywhere else you want.

The lens has a wide angle and dual lasers for alignment. Lasers! The lens itself rotates 180 degrees to accommodate different mounting positions. And the lasers will let you know where the camera is pointing and how it is oriented, since it is mounted on your head and all. Turn on the lasers and rotate the lens until they are horizontal. That’s it! You have lined up your shot.

Using the camera cannot be easier. All you need is a single (huge!) button on top of it. Slide it forward and begin recording. Slide it back when you are done. The video is captured to an internal MicroSD memory card (compatible up to a 16GB card) – 8 hours of video.

Connect your camera to the PC (or Mac) using a USB cord. Estimated battery life is about 3 hours. Re-charging takes about 4 hours.

Well, skiers and fellow enthusiasts? Are you excited? The camera will be available on November 16 for $329.99 You can pre-order it on Amazon right now.

The Altec Lansing iMT620 inMotion Classic is a very attractive portable stereo system. It is iPod and iPhone compatible and also includes digital FM radio (no AM radio). It has a battery that will give you 5 hours of music if you take the system on the road.

The angular design of the speakers is quite modern. Silver plastic runs around the edges. The quality is very good – there is no flexing or creaking. There are large buttons on top of the system to control playback, volume, and for chosing audio source. High-contrast LCD shows the song and artist information. It is clear enough to read from afar. However, you might find that you don’t use the LCD display very often.

The system comes with a remote control which is very well-designed. It repeats the controls from the top of the speaker and has additional buttons to navigate your iPod and for 4 radio presets. Unfortunately, there is no button to jump to the next album/artist. Do not try to use the remote from too far away – does not work very well. The remote itself is quite small and might not be very comfortable to use for some people with bigger hands.

Kick-stand folds up or down and will work as a handle. It is quite sturdy, but don’t use it with your iPod: there is nothing to prevent it falling out of the dock. When you swing the handle under the speakers, it will prevent the system from turning on accidentally.

The iMT620 system utilizes Expanded Sound Stage technology. At the touch of a button you can widen the sound field. The sound is clear and rich. Don’t look for a strong baseline however. It is a portable system, after all. The good news is that there is a wide range of volume. Radio pickup is quite good too. Interestingly, when you put your iPod into the speakers, it immediately starts playing a random song. I am not a big fan of this spontaneous entertainment.

All in all, it is a great system. But its power and sonic range makes it better for a bedroom or a kitchen, not a family room. Rechargable battery makes it easy to take the speakers anywhere you want to go and get 5 hours of music. Customers complained that the performance is spotty with iPod Touch. Another oddity is that if you are using your iPhone with the speakers and your iPhone auto locks, you will not be able to use the remote to navigate through menus: the remote is not all-powerful afterall, and will not unock your iPhone. I’d call it a work-out feature because you have to get up and manually unlock your iPhone to empower the remote control to navigate your iPhone. It does not look like that iPods got this work-out feature.

Get yours for $112.39 on Amazon.

Forerunner 305 is an ultimate gift for an outdoor person, biker, gym-goer or a runner. It is a fusion of GPS and heart rate monitor and the design is pretty nice. It looks like a watch and it fits like a watch on your wrist. It tracks you by GPS (quite accurately, I might add for a small device like that), and monitors your heart rate. It will even alert you to maximize the effectiveness of your workouts. It is bigger than a watch, but it is not for just telling time. And it would be better if the device was monitoring the heart rate, not a chest strap that then transmits the data to the device. But the strap is very flexible, quite comfortable and offers more reliable data.

According to reviewers, this is the best GPS tracking device of this size yet: takes 3 minutes to lock on your location after power up. It will not let you get lost in the trees either – tested and confirmed. And it is very easy to use. Forerunner is waterproof in case you enjoy a run in the rain. The display is smaller than previous models, but resolution is much better. The buttons are easy to use even while excercising.

Forerunner’s Training Assistant tells your precise speed, distance and pace. Choose from 3 workout modes to fit your goals. You can even excercise with the Virtual Partner to make your workouts more competitive. During your workout, Forerunner 305 will display an array of data, like calories burned, distance, elevation, grade, and heading, as well as multiple lap and pace modes. Reviewers mentioned, that pace readout varies a lot.

The 305 adds the ability to track heartrate, lap heartrate, average heartrate, and heartrate zones via the included coded heartrate chest strap. With the purchase of a separate wireless cadence and speed meter, you can also track bike performance data. Set your target zones and Forerunner 305 will monitor your workout. But don’t worry – you will not get overloaded with information. You control how much or how little data you see on your Forerunner’s display.

After your workout, download the data to your computer through a USB port and analyze it. You can use the data for route mapping and route sharing too. Use Garmin’s MotionBased service to share courses, maps, workouts. If that’s not enough, consider using Garmin Training Center software to set up your workouts the way you like them and upload them to the device. Forerunner 305 will combine Training Center data and your uploaded data to guide you through your workout for maximum results. It will tell you where to turn, which path to take because, hey, it knows which hill you need to get best results. Forerunner 305 is compatible with TrainingPeaks.com – a web service to help athletes train for an event.

A map will display current direction and path. Zoom in and out, mark locations along your route, use “go to location” feature and get routed back to the location of your choice.

Garmin Forerunner 305 is a fantastic hi-tech gift for someone who enjoys running and takes it serously. Buy it for yourself – you will never have as much fun working out as when wearing Forerunner 305. Get yours on Amazon for $139.99.

New Zune HD has beautiful design. It is virtually weightless, has a beautiful OLED screen and comes in black and platinum. The battery life is great. It holds up to 10 hours of 720p high definition video; 48 hours of standard definition video; 8,000 songs; or 25,000 pictures.

Video looks fantastic on a 3.3-inch OLED screen with 480 x 272 resolution and 16:9 display. OLED screens have gorgeous deep blacks and the Zune HD screen is noticeably better compared to other devices like Blackberry Storm or Touch. In direct sunlight the screen does look washed out, but indoors it looks spectacular.

Videos on the player are downscaled to fit the screen at 480 x 272–not HD resolution. Buy videos once and watch on multiple screens: on your Xbox 360, Zune player, and PC. The convenience of on-demand, only on Xbox 360. Shortcuts will take you directly to favorites, recently downloaded or played music, videos, and more. Quickplay cuts through the clutter and brings up front the content that you care about most.

The built in accelerometer (which allows whatever is displayed on your screen to rotate according to the devices orientation) is excellent, allowing 3 directions of usability. The rotating is incredibly smooth.

Like other devices, Zune HD has an FM tuner. Unlike other devices, it is HD radio. Better sound for sure. Of course, not all stations are HD yet, but we will get there. It also works with Audible and will download your favorite podcasts. If you like a song on the radio – tag it, and buy it instantly through Zune store over wi-fi. Unlike Apple products, you can sync your Zune with your PC over wi-fi too. Another syncing option is by using Zune Sync Dock Connect (sold separately).

Microsoft offers a cool feature – Zune Pass subscription. You pay $14.99 a month for all you can download music. And every month you can download 10 songs which you will own forever (no DRM). To make sure you do not forget to download your free songs, you get a reminder every month from Microsoft to make sure you take advantage of this deal. If you don’t, they do not carry over to the next month. It can work with Smart DJ to make a playlist with some of your music and some music off the Zune Marketplace. The Marketplace selection is a little lacking, but you can get music at Amazon or anywhere else too. If you subscribe to playlists, they are updated every week.

I think, it is an excellent device. However, if you prefer apps, get an iPod Touch. But if you are into music, this is the best music player out there, in my opinion (given, you subscribe to Zune Pass).

Unfortunately, Zune HD is available in US only.

Buy on Amazon:

• Zune HD 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Platinum) for $289.97
• Zune HD 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) for $219.97

This is a very modern-looking hard drive. It has piano black glossy finish. The LCD is always on and displays a personalized drive name and available free space – even when disconnected. You can rename the drive easily from your computer. All info is updated every time you connect or disconnect it from a PC or Mac.

Simple to install, simple to use, an eye candy. Comes in 500GB ($118.99) and 320GB ($98.24) versions.

InSight hard drive is small enough to carry around in your brief case. It is also faster than a lot of similar drives and supports both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 at 5400 RPM. You have to be proficient in Drag-and-Drop technology to use it. Nero backup software is pre-installed and easy to use if you plan to back up files. Of course, you don’t really need it for backup, but it is nice to have if you prefer simplicity.

Get yours on Amazon.com:

• 500GB Portable External Hard Drive
• 320GB Portable External Hard Drive

Tom Merritt of CNET posted a video reviewing top 5 products. These are the most popular buys. Here is the CNET list.

5. ASUS Eee PC 1005HA Notebook
   
4. Apple iPhone 3GS
   
3. Sony PS3 Slim
   
2. Windows 7
   
   
1. LG enV Touch
   

Watch the video.

Jabra Halo Headset is a pretty cool new gadget from Jabra. It is very modern-looking and folds to save space and to turn it off. When you unfold the headset, push on the hinge on each side to secure the headset and turn it on. The headset does not have on/off switch.
The headphones are over-the-ear and very comfortable. Some reviews mentioned that the base could be better. But if you do not care for a lot of base, you will like them because the sound quality is excellent. The best part is that they also have dual microphones on both sides. And you can pair the headset with 2 bluetooth devices at the same time. Listen to your music and when a call comes in, the music fades and you can take the call. There are controls on the sides of the headset – you can not only adjust the volume, but control forward/back functions. Yes, it supports both A2DP and AVRCP.
Buy Jabra Halo Headset. Price: $129.99.

Sony unveiled 3 new ebook readers last month: Reader Touch Edition, Reader Pocket Edition, and Reader Daily Edition (available later this year). These products are considered to be direct competitors to Amazon Kindle – you will be able to buy books directly on the device from Sony Book Store. Daily Edition will have 3G from AT&T (available in the US only). All new ebook readers from Sony will be available for purchase worldwide.

Sony claims that it will have better book selection. They are partnering with libraries and allow library members to borrow books directly from their ebook reader. These library partnerships can make every single book available for download to the device in the partner libraries.

Sony is also partnering with Google to get public domain books. Those books are already available on the internet free of charge, but the convenience factor is huge.

The main question, however, remains – can you get the books you want? It does not matter, how many books are available as long as you can bet best sellers and popular titles.

Currently, the Sony Book Store is impressive. The prices are quite reasonable. Borrowing books is definitely a great feature that would differentiate Sony Reader from Kindle. Another Reader feature that is not available on Kindle, is touch screen. Sony uses it to change pages with a flick.

Of course, true to the tradition, Sony is unveiling their new proprietary epub format. It would be interesting to see if Amazon will start selling epub ebooks in their store.

Sony® Reader Pocket Edition Digital Book
E Ink® Vizplex paper-like screen technology makes reading easy, even in direct sunlight. Reader Pocket has elegant, lightweight design with 5″ display. Carry up to 350 of your favorite books at a time.
This model does not have touch screen. Comes in blue, grey, and pink.

Price: $199.99

Sony® Reader Touch Edition Digital Book
Reader Touch Edition™ lets you access up to 350 (or more with memory expansion card slots) of your favorite books from anywhere. It has 6″ display with touch screen navigation, freehand highlighting and annotation.
Get books from Sony eBook Store and over one million free public domain titles from Google Books.
This model comes in black, grey, and red.

Price: $299.99

Kindle: Amazon’s 6″ Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)
Thin and light, Kindle is as easy to hold and use as a book. Kindles page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to read and turn pages comfortably with one hand. Kindle has a new easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words. Kindle is completely wireless and ready to use right out of the box–no setup, no cables, no computer required. You can read on a single charge for up to 4 days with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for up to 2 weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content. Whispernet utilizes Amazons optimized technology plus Sprints national high-speed (3G) data network to enable you to wirelessly search, discover, and download content on the go. Your books and periodicals are delivered via Whispernet in less than 60 seconds. And unlike WiFi, you never have to hunt for a hotspot.

Price: $299.00

Kindle DX: Amazon’s 9.7″ Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)
Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages.
Built-In PDF Reader: Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go.

Price: $489.00

Tom Merritt of CNET posted a video reviewing top 5 cell phones reviewed by customers. Here is the CNET list.

5. Palm Pre (Sprint)
   Despite of a crammed keyboard and bad battery life, Palm Pre makes up in style, solid web browsing, and excellent touch interface.

   Price: $99.99 from Amazon with new service plan.

4. RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 (T-Mobile or AT&T)

   According to consumers, Blackberry Curve 8900 is the best BlackBerry phone going. It has great design, faster performance and feature rich. The only thing missing is 3G.

   Price: $0.01 from Amazon with new service plan. When the deal is off, it is $399.99

3. Apple iPhone 3GS

   The usual complaints are about call quality and signal reception. However, iPhone 3GS has fantastic design, intuitive and friendly interface and amount of features like no other phone.

   Price: $299

2. Samsung Memoir T929
   This is an ultimate camera phone boasting 8.0 megapixel camera. Navigation is a breeze. Performance and features are excellent. The phone’s web browser, howerver, is lacking.

   Price: $149.99 with $200 LetsTalk instant discount

1. LG enV Touch

   This phone has great design, multitude of features and 2 displays of QWERTY keyboard. It has 3.2 megapixel camera as well. Wi-Fi is missing, but if you have good EVDO coverage with Verizon in your area, you will not miss it.

   Price: $99

(credit Engadget)

MSI Wind U100-641US is a beautiful 10 inch notebook. 9 cell battery promises 15 hours of life on a single charge. Quick specs: Intel Atom 1.6 GHz Processor, 160 GB SATA Hard Drive, Windows XP Home Edition, etc. Weighs 4.3 pounds.

3 cell notebook available from Amazon.com for under $300. 5 cell version will be shipping from NewEgg for $399.99 on October 22, 2009.

Elgato Turbo.264

High definition video is hard to work with if you do not have the right equipment. Transferring high def video to a computer or a web site or your iPod can be time-consuming. Elgato Turbo.264 HD is a great solution to speed up the process. Convert any video into all popular formats and play it on your iPhone or share on the web. The result is a high-quality H.264 file in standard or HD resolution in a small file size. Beware, however, that the quality is not as good as you can achieve using QuickTime Pro or iMovie applications.

You can process your footage as well: preview, crop, and combine clips into one movie, or batch process multiple videos. It allows you to upload video into your YouTube account. Unfortunately, it works only on a MAC. Price: $129.95.

PVT

Pinnacle Video Transfer Gadget (PVT) offers an easy way to put video on your iPod, PSP, or a USB device. Copy analog video from any source in MPEG-4 quality to any USB 2.0 storage device without using a PC at a touch of a button. Or use a PC to store your recordings.

Here is how to use PVT. Power it up, connect a USB device on one end, connect your video source on the other end.  PVT supports RSA, composite and s-video input.  Use S-video input for better quality. Press REC button to record.  Press REC button again to stop recording. That simple.  PVT can record directly to most iPods and PSP.