05. 1.2008
Posts on my hunt for a cool MP3 player-plus-Web-access that was also less expensive than the iPod Touch brought in comments suggesting other ways to shop. Knowing that the appetite for shopping tools is near-insatiable in these precincts, I have now gotten around to checking those suggestions out.
For my trial runs on all the sites I have searched the Archos 605, an MP3 (and video) player with Web access and a touch screen that has gotten splendid reviews but lists for $200 less than the comparable Touch. (It appears that I am getting one for my birthday because this morning my SO asked for the model number. Goody.)
John wanted me to try out the shopping site he co-founded, Bountii.com, which covers electronics and accessories for same. On the basis of my one tryout, this seems like quite a nice place to shop. It found all the retailers of the 605 that had turned up on Google and CNET, and then some.
I was devastated when I saw that one of them was selling the 605 for a dollar less than the best price I had found. But a lovely feature of Bountii.com is that it lets you compare taxes and shipping costs as well as the item's price. So it was easy to tell that, with taxes and shipping, the "low" price was actually several dollars more. Whew!
Bountii.com is a clean design, well-organized and intuitive to use. A big section of the site covers price drops, and you can track them easily by adding it to your feed reader. I am too ignorant to comment on what powers the searches, but - whatever it is - it's clearly excellent. Oh, and one last bit of praise: Bountii is very fast. I plan to come back.
Posted by Tam
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Tags: shopping
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04.21.2008
The new pink and silver Panasonic Lumix DMC FS20P is a 10 megapixel digital camera with 30mm wide-angle lens, 4x optical zoom, Intelligent Auto Mode and 3.0" Diagonal Intelligent LCD - which translated, means it's easy to use, has a huge screen, great resolution, and handy features to quarantee a great photo. As a camera is only as good as it's lens, this is covered by a Leica, one of the best makers of lenses.
Continue reading "Pink Panasonic Lumix camera - take photos like a pro"
Posted by Evan
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Tags: pink
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03.26.2008
"CARRY WITH FUNS" (Look for this one as a giveaway in this week's Popgadget Drop email. Not a subscriber yet? Takes only a second to sign up here.)
You can't help but smile when you see an E.Square Bag - the bright colors, the cheeky designs - but hiding under all that fun is a meticulously crafted, functional bag. I've been carrying my MacBook around in it for a week, and it's comfortable (has a padded shoulder strap which I've come to learn is essential for a 13 lb.laptop). It sports padded pockets for all your electronics, plus essential outside pocket for easy access to travel docs.
Kristina Kim, who founded the company with her husband says they "put fun prints on the bags in order to add splashes of colors" into our lives. "We know the designs are very bold and in very eye-catching colors, no one would ever think to have YELLOW on a laptop bag, but we did it and together with some other bold colors and big retro flower prints. AND hey! It's working and actually is very very well received in the market. So, we know tech cases (are) missing some colors, we will continue to put fun prints and bold colors on the bags."
Continue reading "Laptop bag bonanza - best of the best, part 2 (one of these could be yours for free)"
Posted by Evan
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03.13.2008
TVs certainly have gotten better looking -- at CES we saw huge flat screens that transformed into paintings, ones with "invisible" bezels or highly decorative bezels, meant to compliment the decor. Not to mention the ones that sank into pieces of furniture and completly disappeared, my personal favorites.
This 20" LCD HDTV from VIZIO caught my eye when it won the presigious RED DOT award for its elegant design. With a depth of 3.6, the 20 screen is ultra-slim and well suited for home offices, kitchens, bedrooms (dorms?), and smaller rooms. Since it's High Definition with "integrated standard and high definition NTSC/ATSC/clear QAM digital tuner including 1080i and 720P you can enjoy the HD already offered by cable and satellite channels."
Originally offered with a beautiful piano black bezel wrap-around, you now have the option to buy it in white for a limited time.
Specs you need to know:
- Widescreen HD functionality featuring 1366x768 high definition resolution
- One HDMI input, RGB computer conection (great for use as a PC monitor), and 8ms response time.
Not bad for $399.
[Try our Interactive Buying Guides to find the right tv for your lifestyle.]
Posted by Evan
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03.12.2008
I swear, my favorite 4 letters spell "SALE!" And one of my favorite organizational sites, See Jane Work, is having a big sale so I just had to share. Stock up on colorful stationery, handy desk collectors, magazine holders in different flavors, the popular "Mom Agenda," totes, Allex scissors . . .
But get there fast since the goodies won't last!
Posted by Evan
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02.14.2008
If you love your Microsoft sweetie so much that you purchased a surprise special edition Red Valentine’s Day Zune - you know, the one with the engraved heart on the back - you may have received the following love letter from Microsoft:
We wanted to provide you with an update on your order status. Due to some issues in our fulfillment center there remains a chance we will miss getting your Zune to you by February 14th. We are working hard to get your order to you as quickly as possible and we currently plan to ship your Zune within the next 3-4 days. Once your order is in transit, we will send you a shipping confirmation with a link for tracking.
Our goal is to provide a smooth customer experience for ordering, customization, and delivery. We sincerely apologize for not meeting that goal in this specific case. We will be refunding the entire amount of your order, which you should be able to see on your credit/debit card within 7-10 days. We hope you love your Zune and that you will accept our sincere apology.
(credit: arstechnica.com)
So, why not double-dip, take the refund and ssplurge on dinner or maybe even buy an iPod and do a little MS v. Apple sparring?
Posted by chrissie
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01.30.2008
Whether you're a podcasting wonder-kid, professional musician, or member of a garage-band (with secret aspirations of fame and fortune), Belkin’s TuneStudio might be the single best investment you make as an audiophile.
Belkin's TuneStudio for iPod lets you create and record high-quality digital recordings directly to your iPod, with instant playback. The 4-channel mixer allows for the input of up to four different instruments or audio sources and records at 16-bit, 44kHz quality in uncompressed WAV format, which translates as “crystal clear!”
TuneStudio’s compact and durable design is perfect for portability. Podcasters, musicians (professional and garage band alike) can record shows and sessions directly to their iPods anywhere they go.
In spite of the 29 different dials, this basic design is also surprisingly user-friendly:
* LEDs indicate master audio level, power status, peak indications, and compressor
* Compression is controlled by a single knob. And, audio is streamed though the built-in USB interface to and from a PC or Mac
* TuneStudio functions as an external sound card, allowing input and output of audio to a PC from its connectors
TuneStudio is currently compatible with:
* iPod classic (6th generation--80 GB and 160 GB);
* iPod nano (3rd generation--4 GB and 8 GB; 2nd generation--2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB)
* iPod video (5th generation--30 GB, 60 GB, and 80 GB)
Special discounted price: $249 at Belkin.com
Price: $299.99 at Amazon.
Posted by chrissie
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01.18.2008
Imagine an iPod that could support subscription music services like Rhapsody, have an FM tuner, built-in Bluetooth, and in-line encoding so you could convert your old cassettes and vinyl or rip CDs on the fly from any stereo. Lately, as much as I continue to love my iPhone, and my various iPods, the player I've been using almost exclusively is the sacrilegious (to the Church of Apple) Insignia Pilot. Combined with a $15/month subscription to Rhapsody, I've been able to download hundreds of songs without paying anything more, as well as having access to Rhapsody's "channels" which are highly customized digital radio stations.
I've been feeling so musically oppressed by iTunes lately, and it's been liberating to listen to whatever I want, even nostalgic hair metal, without having to pay for individual songs or albums. And an FM tuner, as old-time as it sounds, is great to have for news, or finding broadcasts of sporting events, or when I'm just sick of having to think of what I want to download and just want the choices made for me. I'm a complete subscription service convert, even with the knowledge that all my music disappears the minute I don't renew my service. I'd believed as much as anybody that I'd want to "own" my music, but after suffering the loss of tons of music with every iPod generation change due to the restrictive iTunes DRM, I haven't felt that security very much anyway.
A bit more about the player - it's a featherweight 2 oz, and comes with either 4 GB or 8 GB of flash memory but is expandable with SD cards, which is great. It also plays MPEG and WMV videos on the 2.4" color LCD. Battery life is great; the rechargeable goes 25 hours, but I swear it's even better than that - I can easily go a week without a charge even with seemingly constant use. It comes with wired earbuds, but is compatible with Bluetooth. If you're used to iPod navigation, the user interface may be a bit confusing at first, and while it's not that hard to get used to, it could use a simplicity makeover in future generations. Also, the player is so light, it feels insubstantial and flimsy although I haven't had any problems with it so far.
The Insignia Pilot is $110 for the 4 GB model, and $140 for 8 GB and both are available from Best Buy. Rhapsody has various subscription plans, including a limited free account, but you can get a 30-day free trial from Best Buy.
Posted by Mia
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12.24.2007
Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean we can't think Pink, as in products that donate to the Komen for the Cure. I love these CX 300 earbuds, not only because a portion of the sales goes to Breast Cancer Research, but also because they're made by Sennheiser so you know they're superior, AND because they're the perfect shade of pink.
For the discerning audiofile, the CX200 provide poweful, bass-driven stereo, plus excellent attenuation of ambient noise, meaning it cuts out most outside noise, but you can still hear a police siren. Ear adapters in three different sizes ensure a perfect fit ,which is important if you intend to use them all day as I do. Asymmetrical cable helps prevent wire tangles, though I can still do a pretty good job of winding them up.
$90 at Sennheiser and Amazon(on sale now for $60).
Posted by Evan
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Tags: earbuds pink
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