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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-11

October 11th, 2009

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VholdR ContourHD 1080p Full HD Wearable Camera

October 11th, 2009

ContourHD 1080p Wearable Camera | Gadgets for MenSkiers, 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.

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Posted in Christmas Gift Ideas, Gadgets for Men, Unusual Presents | Tags: | No Comments »

The Altec Lansing iMT620 inMotion Classic

October 11th, 2009

iMT620 iPod Dock | gadget gifts for menThe 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.

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Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor

October 9th, 2009

Forerunner 305 - Gadgets for menForerunner 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.

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Posted in Christmas Gift Ideas, Gadget Clock, Gadgets for Men | Tags: | No Comments »

HTC Hero Android G3 A6262 Smartphone

October 8th, 2009

HTC Hero-gadgets for menHTC Hero is another great-looking Android phone coming to the neighborhood near you in a couple of days. It is very sleek-looking; made of metal. Like many other phones, it has touch screen and virtual keyboard. The absence of real keyboard makes it thinner than the predecessor. The phone is 0.57 inches thick. The virtual keyboard itself is pretty intuitive. The phone display has the usual 320×480 HVGA resolution.

HTC Hero White | gadgets for menWhat is exciting about HTC Hero is customization on steroids. You can customize your home screen with all kinds of widgets which you can see at a glance. Good bye bulky menus. But don’t stop there! Personalize the widgets themselves selecting size and design that fits your personality. If you are giving it as a gift, personalize it to fit the person you are giving it to and be sarcastic or romantic.

HTC Hero Black | gadgets for menThe phone has a new profile feature – Scenes. With Scenes, you can create personalized profiles and switch between them depending on your mood. Who needs a mood ring if you can have a mood phone, which also can ring depending on your mood?

Change the perspective you look at things. In your inbox view all your conversations, collections of notes and documents (including email attachments). Your photo album connects to Facebook and Flickr.

All your social networking connections are integrated, of course. It plays music (dah!), and has a web browser. The feature integration is seemless and simple. HTC Hero consolidates all different ways you communicate into one display when you view people: you see different ways to get in touch as well as all your interactions. It is a breeze to check for social network updates and event notices as well as the latest pictures your friends uploaded to a photo sharing sites.

Dialing is simplified. Dial a number or first few letters of their name. Search will look through everything – even your Twitter posts. The phone has stereo Bluetooth, Windows Mobile, built-in Google maps, GPS, wi-fi.

The camera is a little underpowered – 5mpx. The trackball in the middle of the phone serves like the sutter. When using a phone camera, you have to have a finger on the trackball to take a picture. It is a little uncomfortable and results in camera shakes.

All in all, the phone is very modern-looking and fast. User interface is fantastic. The phone is packed with great features. It is pricey unlocked: $669.91 in black and $621.10 in white on Amazon. It looks like it will be $179 on Sprint with a contract.

HTC Hero Android G3 A6262 Smartphone will be available on October 11.

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Posted in Gadgets for Men, Girlfriend Gift Ideas | Tags: | 2 Comments »

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-05

October 4th, 2009

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Zune HD Video MP3 Player

October 4th, 2009

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:

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Roku digital video player

October 4th, 2009


This is an awesome present for a person who enjoys watching movies. Roku Player is a tiny box. It works with any TV, unless it is a family earloom. Installation is very simple – connect it to your television via cable (HDMI or component) or wi-fi and you are good to go. You have to have an internet connection too, of course, because Roku box will use it to stream video directly to your television.

You need at least 1.2 Mbps to watch movies instantly on the Roku digital video player with decent quality. The faster your connection, the better the quality (although this rule-of-thumb peaks out at about 5mbps). Roku will automatically detect your bandwidth speed and adjust the streaming so there are no interruptions. The experience is like watching a DVD: you can watch, play, fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume play later.

Roku Player integrates with Amazon Video on Demand as well as Netflix. If you have a Netflix account you can watch Instant View movies. Any movie you can buy or rent on Amazon, you can buy or rent on Roku. If you buy a movie on Amazon, it is always in your library and you can watch it at any time on your Roku. Selection? 50,000+ movies and TV shows.

You have 3 buttons: Netflix, Amazon, and Major League Baseball. Yes, for $20 (currently) you can watch any game, even when the game is over. You can fastforward, rewind, or watch the game live. The unique feature though is that you can pick play-by-play announcers too – home team or away team. That is something a true fan can appreciate. And if you have enough bandwidth on your internet, you can watch games in high definition. Roku supports all HD formats except 1080.

The Wall Street Journal, CNET, WIRED, and other publications rave about Roku player. Roku plans to add video podcasts in the future. The box is PC and Mac compatible, but you knew that already becase you do not need to connect it to a computer at all. And they have great customer service, from what I hear.

If you have a Netflix account, it is no-brainer.
You can get one on Amazon for $99.00. There is $118 package that includes cables

Specifications

  • Networking: Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) with WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support; 10/100 Ethernet (RJ-45)
  • Video Outputs: Composite video, S-Video, Component video (Y/Pb/Pr), HDMI
  • Video Modes: 16:9 HD (720p), 16:9 anamorphic (480p), 4:3 standard (480i)
  • Audio Output: Stereo (L/R RCA), Digital Optical (Toslink), Digital over HDMI
  • Remote Control: NEC protocol, supported by various universal remotes
  • Power Input: 5V, 1.5A provided by included AC adapter
  • Power Consumption: 5 watts peak, 3 watts in standby
  • Size: 5 x 5 x 1.75 inches (130 x 130 x 41 mm)
  • Weight: 11 oz (300 grams)
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Posted in Anniversary Gift Ideas, Christmas Gift Ideas, Gift Ideas for Guys, Girlfriend Gift Ideas | Tags: | No Comments »

Verbatum InSight Hard Drive

October 3rd, 2009

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:

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USB2.0 3 FAN Powered Slim Laptop Cooler Pad

October 3rd, 2009

If you are using a laptop (or notebook) you know, that the battery can get really hot. This is notebook pad is “cool” addition to your setup. It is thin and clear. It has 3 LED lit up cooling fans – in the dark room it looks like your laptop is floating on blue lights.

The cooling pad tilts your laptop slightly forward for better typing experience. The fans are quiet and do not create a twister on your desk. The fans connect through a USB port. The USB dongle has a pass-through connector that allows you to plug in another device into that port.

You cannot put it directly on your lap: the fans are exposed. But if you put it on top of a laptop pad, it works well. The pad does not have an on/off switch. It could be a neat gift for a laptop power-user.

Get Laptop Cooler Pad on Amazon.com. Price: $11.99.

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CNET top 5 Products for September

September 30th, 2009

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

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

  5. LG enV Touch

Watch the video.

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Kindle 2 eBook Reader

September 30th, 2009
The second generation Kindle is quite an improvement over the first generation device. The first one was too clunky, it was too easy to turn the pages by accident. On the new device you need to push the inner edge of the buttons, not the outside, to turn the page. The buttons are located in more intuitive places.

The original Kindle was very unattractive. In my personal opinion, it is still not as sleek-looking as a Sony Reader. But the design improved significantly. And the navigation changed. Now you have a 5 positin joystick. Using the joystick, you can navigate the cursor to any word on the page and a dictionary definition will show at the bottom. But it still takes a while to get there. I wish they had a track ball or something similar.

I wish the screen had a better contrast, I wish it was in color. Some people wish it had a backlight. Lack of the backlight does not bother me in the least. If necessary, you can always attach a book light to your device. I wish the navigation was better for the periodicals – at least as good as for books.

The advantage over books is that you can make your text larger. It is cool that you can buy and download a book from Amazon store in seconds over Amazon’s wi-fi. It is not cool that they still use proprietary document format and you cannot just transfer a text or a PDF file from your computer to your Kindle. You still need to send a document to a Kindle email address to get converted. And it will cost you too. With Sony it is way easier to transfer a document to a Reader.

Now, Kindle added text-to-speech capability. After a huge debate with Writers Guild who did not like that, Amazon allows the writers to turn off that capability on their books, if they wish. Silly. The computer-generated voice is never going to run audio books out of business. But be aware, that not all the books will be read to you.

Another handy feature is that if you have an iPhone, there is a free Kindle app available which will allow you to read any book you purchased through a Kindle store. You don’t even need to have a Kindle. But if you do, iPhone will get synchronized with your Kindle. So, if you are in the middle of reading a book on your Kindle, and then switched to iPhone to continue to read it, the iPhone will move to the spot where you left off. There is also a way to make annotations on it and save them to your web Kindle account as notes. Sweet!

A bigger, more expensive Kindle is available: Kindle DX: Amazon’s 9.7″ Wireless Reading Device. But really, why get this one? I think, it is too much money for what you are getting.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-09-28

September 27th, 2009

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New Ebook Readers from Sony

September 26th, 2009

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
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Posted in Christmas Gift Ideas, Gift Ideas for Guys, Girlfriend Gift Ideas | Tags: | 1 Comment »

Top 5 Cell Phones from CNet

September 25th, 2009

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

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