TheBlogJoint.com » Gadgets

Blog Linker - Gadget Advisor

Vlad Akilov — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:55:16 +0000

I was searching the internet for firefox plugins when I came accross a website Gadget Advisor. They have an article about Best Extentions for Firefox. This list is massive and comes with a description of all the plugins, although some of these plugins I already knew about such as Adblock Plus and Download Status Bar, but then there are many that are useful that I didn’t know about such as IE View Lite, which allows the user to enter a website in firefox, but under IE mode, because some sites only work on IE, and vice versa, and this add-on makes it really easy to switch. So I sticked around on the site to see other posts and read about the MSI x58 Eclipse Motherboard, and another post about the Blaze Media Pro review. What I am trying to say is that how you can stumble upon to a great website by just searching for one small thing and find a great blog, I will definitely be adding Gadget Advisor to my RSS reader.

Review: Logitech Speakers X-240 2.1

John Vincent Hilario — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 21:10:34 +0000

The new speakers by Logitech model X-240 2.1 are nothing short of exceptional. With crystal-clear sound and minimal distortion, they provide your space with an awe-inspiring ambiance. The sleek design is only surpassed by its smooth sound. At $49.99, the Logitech X-240 speaker system includes two satellite speakers that give off a polished sound and a “down-firing” subwoofer with four inch drivers meaning the bass is directed down to contribute to the quality, with an adjustable bass control. The system also includes a separate control center with an integrated (stow-away) cradle for your MP3 player and even cell phone. The control center also includes a headphone jack for private listening. The system is compatible with both a Mac and PC and this supported with their supply of both Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune adapters for the cradle.What I particularly enjoyed about the Logitech speaker system — and other Logitech products for that matter – is the ease with setup, very much so a “plug-and-play” arrangement. It isn’t at all tedious to set up and you’re ready begin listening in no time. I also enjoyed being able to provide my MP3 player with these great speakers. It’s worth mentioning that your computer needs not be on for it to play, again another example of Logitech’s great “plug-and-play” feature. The set comes with an audio cable that can be plugged into any headphone jack for an experience that definitely sets the desired mood.

Specifications

Total FTC power: 25 watts RMS
Sub-woofer: 15 watts RMS (into 8 ohms, @ 100Hz, @ 10% THD)
Satellites: Left/Right: 5 watts RMS x 2
(into 8 ohms, @ 1khz, @ 10% THD)
Total peak power: 50 watts
Frequency response: 40Hz - 20kHz
Signal-to-noise ratio: >96dB
Drivers:
Satellites: 2″ high-excursion driver
Subwoofer: 4″ ported driver
Speaker dimensions (H x W x D):
Satellites: 6.9″ x 2.6″ x 3.8″
Subwoofer: 8.7″ x 5.9″ x 8.7″

Price:

Logitech: $49.99

Apple iPhone VS. LG Prada Phone

John Vincent Hilario — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 04:30:55 +0000

When word got out that LG has released a phone very much similar to that of Apple’s iPhone, one would definitely feel intrigued to check it out and see for themselves how similar the two high-tech gadgets actually are. Including their lack of catchier product names, the two have practically identical features, with their differences lying in the subtle (or not so subtle) details. Both can play music and videos; both are about 12mm thick; both come with the Edge and Bluetooth wireless data technology, a 2-megapixel camera, Internet access to check e-mail, but more notably, the touchscreen capabilities are reminiscent to that of the Blackberry. While the iPhone’s four- and eight-gigabyte versions are guaranteed to handle most mobile applications, the LG-KE850 model makes up for it with a memory slot. The LG Prada phone does however lack the Wi-Fi capability of its ‘rival’.

But let’s not forget why this new LG phone needs no captivating title; having the label ‘Prada’ on just about anything means paying a surmountable amount of money more than your rent. Prada has become synonymous with high-end fashion and with high-end fashion come high prices; and this phone is no different. The way women - and some men for that matter - buy Prada apparel and accessories to associate themselves with the prestige that is the Italian fashion company, the Prada phone seems targeted to those who are willing to go the extra mile for the eminence. However apparent the Prada phone seems to be competing with the iPhone, let’s be real here and say that their target audience isn’t exactly the same as Apple’s. To rival to that of Apple’s appeal when it comes to music, LG comes into the game with its fashion allure.

Available to the European public, i.e., the U.K., France, Germany and Italy, in late February, the 12-mm-thick device is set to cost €600 (euro), that’s equivalent to $775, about a couple of hundred bucks more than the 8-gigabyte version of the iPhone. Countries in Asia, i.e., Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, are next in line, expecting the phone in late March, followed by Korea in the second quarter of 2007. A spokeswoman for the company in Seoul, Korea, Judy Pae says that LG has no plans to put it on sale in the U.S..

iPhone

LG Prada Phone

Features:
Music and video player
Input method: Multi-touch
Storage: microSD card slot
GSM: Quad-band (MHz: 900, 1800, 1900)
Wireless data: EDGE + Bluetooth
Camera: 2.0 megapixels
Dimensions: 99 millimeters long by 54mm wide; about 12mm thick.

Sources:
InfoWorld
Boing Boing
Mobile Tracker
NewsFactor
Dial-A-Phone
InformationWeek

Bigger not necessarily better

Alex — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 22:26:50 +0000

Mircosoft is now throwing their name in the hat of MP3 player market. The introduction of the new Zune player and software should arrive just in time before the hectic Christmas shopping season this year November 14 should be on the sale racks. Microsoft is serious about it’s entry into the proven MP3 player market, they have dedicated a new vision to what it’s calling the connected entertainment trend. ( Leave it to Microsoft’s spin doctors to reword existing technology.)

With the Zune Microsoft is throwing everything at it including the kitchen sink with claims of wireless streaming radio, movie watching, and wireless connectivity to other Zune players and Zune community with peer-to-peer music sharing a sampling of music to near by devices, also you don’t have to wait for the additional accessories such as Car packs, Home A\V Packs and Travel packs. But just how is Microsoft proposing to do all this community sharing is still unclear, we the consumers will just have to wait and see just like so many other Microsoft products. Can anyone say windows…how many attempts did it take to get that platform correct.

The design for the Zune is a bit on the safe side getting their style queue from Apple’s Ipod the only significant difference is making the display screen larger but otherwise it’s a Zune in Ipod’s clothing. (Let’s try some originality next time Microsoft.) Or my guess is the design team at Microsoft is thinking why change a good thing. After all it is Apple’s ability to key in on function and form as the definitive in separating itself from the rest of the industry no other product looks like an Apple. With a three inch screen, 30gb hard drive and a steeper price tag of the IPod the Zune will resale for 249.99 basic colors black, white, and brown.

For now I would still stick to the tried in true Ipod because you can’t compare Apples with Zunes. It is still an unproven device wait a few years then we can sit down and have this same discussion.

And by the way whatever happened to the Rio?

Review: Think Outside BoomTube H2O1

Vlad Akilov — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 20:07:59 +0000

This is Think Outside’s ultra-portable speaker system which can be used with your mp3 player like an iPod, a cell phone, or can just be used at home with a computer or laptop. My first impressions when I received the BoomTube speakers was that I noticed they were really small, which is great for portability and also comes with a carrying case. The BoomTube has two removable speakers and a bass which is the middle tube, where the battery is located, which can playback music for upto 5 hours, which is not that bad.

Usability

So I connected the speakers charged it, and connected my iPod to it, and noticed great sound quality that came with a bang, I really didn’t expect it to be as loud as it is and the great quality, considering its a portable speaker system, with its 5 hour battery life. The one downside to these 40 watt BoomTube speakers are the Bass, even at the highest level the bass isn’t all there.

BoomTube in its carrying case

Top of the BoomTube

Final Thoughts

The BoomTube H2O1 speakers are an awesome portable speaker system, which is great in style as in sound quality. The ease of portability, which even comes with a carrying case, and how the speakers can be connected and disconnected while moving around is a great touch. And its stylish “tube look” gives it a great advantage from the rest.

Pros

Rechargable Battery
Powerful Speakers
Cool design
Comes with carrying case

Cons

Bass can be better
Too many cables

Price:

BoomTube: Direct $250.00
Newegg: $155.99

Swiss army knife now plays tunes

Vlad Akilov — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 03:32:37 +0000

And you thought the Swiss Army knife did everything, well now it does one more thing. It has a built in MP3 Player, the player holds 240 songs, and can display three lines of text on the LCD diplay including the song title and the artist name. The Swiss Beat, thats what its called, it also come with an FM radio. The Swiss Beat costs $215, and don’t forget its not just a knife, or an mp3 player, or a can opener, or a sissor, uhh you get the point.

Review: Ice Creme M

Vlad Akilov — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 20:10:12 +0000

If you are one of the many owners of expensive gadgets, that are easily scratched or have already been scrachted, fear no more, there is a great product called “Ice Creme”, (cool name) made by RadTech. There are two versions of the Ice Creme, but I got the Ice Creme M, which comes with: 1- Polycarbonate/Acrylic Compound, 1- Acrylic Finishing Compound, 2- Optex Application/Polishing Cloths, 2- Polyester Dual-Head Applicators, 1- Bright Metal Refinishing Pad.

I used it to clean an Ipod video which had been scratched up to oblivion. First I applied the Bottle labeled A which is for the Acrylic abrasion remover, and applied a pea sized amount to the Optex cloth, and started wiping it, but be careful not to get it on the click wheel. To do that you need to use the Dual-head applicators for those tight spots. You wipe until all the scratches are gone. Once your done with that you use the Bottle labeled B to give the Ipod the finished look and surface gloss, you apply a drop of that and rub on to the Ipod, and your done.

Final Thoughts

I am really impressed with the ease of use of this product and how great its works, it totally made the Ipod look like its brand new, and the finishing polish gave it the extra glossy look, that all expensive gadgets should look like.

Price:
$20.95 for regular without metal kit
$25.95 with metal kit

Invisibility cloaks (video)

Vlad Akilov — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 01:33:11 +0000

This is true and not something out of the Harry Potter books, the invisibility cloak is uses methods that involve using a camera behind the cloak which projects the video onto the front of it, sort of like a wearable projector screen. The second technique uses nanotechnology to bend light behind the cloak in essence enabling the cloak to become invisible or see through. Below are links to the videos…

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

Review: Invisible Shield for Ipod Nano

Vlad Akilov — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 21:57:42 +0000

Almost everybody in this day in age has some type of gadget, like a cell phone, a psp, and especially ipods. However, these gadgets are prone to many scratches and smudges, especially the ipod nano. I recently got the Invisible Shield for my black Ipod nano, which is notorious for scratches. The folks over at shieldzone.com make these protective casings for almost any type of electronic device. The protective film protects the whole ipod from the front, back, top, bottom, and the sides. They even provide you with a solution spray to make the installation process a breeze, they also give a squeegee to remove any air bubbles during the installation.

Below is my iPod without the invisible shield.

Once the protective screen was on good you couldn’t even notice it was there, and I took my keys and scractched away at it, like I saw in the video over at shieldzone.com, and nothing happened, don’t believe me, take a look for your self.

Below is the iPod with the invisible shield.

Final thoughts

Very pleased with the outcome, the protective screen is not even visible, and makes my ipod look even more shiny than before I had the shield. You can get your invisibleshield at shieldzone.com, and it’s not just for ipods.

Slimmest USB Drive Packs Storage

Vlad Akilov — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 21:19:44 +0000

From PQI Taiwan comes the world’s slimmest flash drive, this baby is just 3mm thick and is no bigger than an actual credit card. You might think a Flash drive of this size will have a capcity of 512MB or 1GB max, but no the U510 holds a whooping 16GB of data. It connects to the host via USB 2.0 and is compatible with Mac and Windows. It has a built in retractable cord to maintain the slim design. The PQI U510 measures 85 x 54 x 3 mm and will be available in Iron Gray, Metallic Silver and World Cup special design with the World cup etched on the drive. Pricing and availability is not known yet.

Via (newslaunches.com)

USB Is Pumping Iron

Vlad Akilov — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 17:04:00 +0000

The size of the device changes depending on the amount of data it holds. When the device is about to blow up you will see the familiar error message on your screen: “There is not enough free space”. When swithched off the flashbag remains pumped up, so you can estimate with the naked eye how much more pics, books and music albums can be transferred into it. –>flashbag.com

Top Ten Strangest Mac Mods

Vlad Akilov — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:47:00 +0000

www.techeblog.com — “This week our editors bring you the “Top 10 Strangest Mac Mods” that we’ve come across in recent time. If we happened to miss any, please leave us a comment. Which ones are your favorites?”

Weirdest USB Gadgets

Vlad Akilov — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 04:03:00 +0000

The plethora of USB ports now offered by today’s PCs has spawned an abundance of ridiculous devices. A small culture of collectors has even emerged around odd USB gadgets, and chances are one of them works in your office, displaying his collection of eyesores proudly on his desk.
Wired News