Portable

Microsoft Zune 30 GB Digital Media Player

1 Comment / Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day, Portable / By /

Microsoft Zune 30 GB Digital Media Player

It was only a matter of time before Microsoft got into the portable audio/video market, particularly since their archenemy, Apple, has made their product synonymous with MP3 player. The first generation of the Zune starts off with a 30GB drive, and a 320×240 display for viewing videos and pictures. On the audio side, it plays MP3s, WMA, AACs, and more. So what makes Zune different from its main competitor, the iPod? First, the Zune has built-in WiFi and you can wirelessly share selected full-length sample tracks, playlists, pictures or your home-grown tracks directly from Zune to Zune. Next, like other popular MP3 players, the Zune has an FM tuner. One of Microsoft’s smart moves has been to make the Zune compatible with iTunes, as well as to make a number of valuable accessories immediately available: the Zune Car Pack and the Zune Home A/V Pack for hooking up your Zune in your car or your home A/V system, respectively. Zune comes in 3 colors, black, brown and white, and is preloaded with some free music from a variety of record labels.

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Apple 80GB iPod Video Black (5.5 Generation)

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day, Portable / By /

Apple 80GB iPod Video Black (5.5 Generation)

No surprise here. Apple is back with its latest video iPod, generation 5.5. This one features an 80GB drive and a slick black exterior. New in this model: an update to the beloved Click wheel, the 320×240 (2.5″) display that’s 60% brighter, a built-in search function lets you use the Click Wheel to type out the name of the song, artist, album, audiobook, or podcast you’re looking for. Don’t have 20,000 songs to fill up this Pod? That’s ok – you can load it up with video (movies and tv shows), photos and even video games.

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MP3 Player/Pedometer/Radio

1 Comment / Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day, Portable, Sports, Health & Fitness, Outdoors / By /

MP3 Player/Pedometer/Radio

Finally, a good use of convergence! This little gizmo is great for workouts and walks and includes an MP3 player, pedometer and radio. The MP3 player has 1GB that will hold 240 songs (may not seem like much compared to 80GB iPods, but if you’re working out you probably have only a couple of workout playlists). The FM radio has 20 presets and a voice recorder allowing you to record up to 12 hours of verbal reminders. The gizmo includes a gorgeous 128 x 64 pixel OLED screen and the unit runs for 10 hours on battery.

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Airlines to get iPod hookups

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Miscellaneous, Portable / By /

This may be one of those watershed events that really propels Apple back to financial prominence. Six (6) airlines will begin offering passengers iPod seat connections next year. The connections will power and charge passengers’ iPods during flight and allow video on the devices to be viewed on seat-back displays. US Airlines include Delta, United and Continental. I really like this. But. Yes, there’s a ‘but’. It appears that this is an iPod only service. This exclusivity to a single manufacturer is short-sighted on the part of the airlines. Not *everyone* has an iPod. There are other audio/video portable devices out there. Obviously, having the right adapters for every possible device is impractical, but there is some room for making the technology more generic. Just think USB, for example.

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Tips for Buying Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Portable / By /

BlueTomorrow has an excellent guide on choosing Bluetooth Stereo Headphones. Here’s a small excerpt:

Bluetooth stereo headphones allow music lovers to truly move to their music. With a wireless connection to audio players, Bluetooth stereo headphones provide users with a completely unrestricted listening experience. Find out what you need to know before purchasing Bluetooth stereo headphones.

Source: BlueTommorrow

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Archos 604 WiFi Shipped to Stores

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Portable / By /

InformationWeek reports that the Archos 604 WiFi portable media player has begun shipping to retail stores and will probably be on sale within the next two weeks.

The Archos 604 WiFi should provide stiff competition for the iPods and Zunes providing for full file-sharing capabilities, a 4.5″ touch screen and large storage capacity in addition to the ability to surf the web and transfer digital pictures, movies and music over the network.

Using the DVR Station, the Archos 604 can even record up to 130 hours of TV programming in DVD quality.

Source: DVR Playground

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8GB iPod Nano

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day, Portable / By /

8GB iPod Nano

About a week ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the latest incarnation of the extremely popular iPod Nano. As he put it, it is the “completely remastered” Nano. It sure is. Now beefed up to 8GB, and sporting a tougher annodized aluminum shell that is available in 5 different colors, the Nano is even a touch thinner this time around. Apparently, Apple even paid more attention to the headphones; that’s good, because I tossed the ones that came with my 2GB Nano! Check out the positive review that Jason Tomczak did over at eCoustics.

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BlackBerry 8100 Pearl Cell Phone

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day, Phones, Portable / By /

BlackBerry 8100 Pearl Cell Phone

The Blackberry Pearl is the new hot cell phone on the block. We’ve already received quite a few raves about this slick little crack… uhh… Blackberry. 😉 This latest model, the 8100, brings a slimmer, lighter body, a memory card slot, voice dialing and a media player. Also included along with the batteries, are Bluetooth 2.0, EDGE high-speed data, and yeah, the most addicitive part – BlackBerry push email. This has more of a cell-phone form factor than typical Blackberry’s and doesn’t have the usual click-wheel, but instead a full QWERTY keyboard with the SureType predictive text, so you typically don’t have to type in all of the letters to common words. The 65,000 color screen is nice and large at 240 x 260, to run your browser, IM, e-mail and organizer apps. One nice feature, like the Treos, that you’ll be glad it has is phone integration with the apps, so you can click on phone numbers to dial.

Blackberry actually thought enough of this new model to give it its very own website. If you have a minute and a decent Net connection, check it out – it has a slick Flash-based presentation.

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Creative Zen V 4 GB Portable Media Player

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day, Portable / By /

Creative Zen V 4 GB Portable Media Player

Yep, we’ve certainly featured our share of iPods and (tons of) iPod accessories, but we hardly wanted to be biased. The latest Zen media player from Creative is stiff competition for Apple. The Zen V 4GB has a number of cool features under its very small belt at a price that would make Apple execs cringe. For starters, the Zen V fits in your palm, weighs in at less than 2 ounces, and includes a 1.5″ OLED screen that displays photos, menus and album art in full color. Ok, that’s all fine, but what else? How about the ability to support subscription services, synchronization with MS Outlook, a built-in microphone to let you record voice memos or lectures, and one of the best features: the ability to record directly from an audio source to the Zen without the need to rip it first to your PC. Oh yeah, this thing can run for 15 hours on a single charge.

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Icuiti DV920 Digital Video Eyewear

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Cameras and Photo, Computers, Gizmo of the Day, Miscellaneous, Phones, Portable / By /

Icuiti DV920 Digital Video Eyewear

Why squint to see all that great new portable video content — on iPod or A/V cell phones — on such puny little screens? Instead, enjoy your sports highlights or movies to the max on a virtual 42-inch LCD screen! With state-of-the-art Icuiti DV920 Digital Video Eyewear, you view video in a personal, private home theater with incredible image stability, clarity and true-color brilliance.

Icuiti DV920 Video Eyewear won a 2006 Consumer Electronics Show Design Award for forever changing when and where video can be experienced — at a price that is a fantastic value. The micro-LCDs feature 920,000 pixels with 640×480 resolution; computer games offer 1024×768 resolution. Each lens focuses independently from +2 to -6 diopters; if necessary, you can wear with your eyeglasses.

Unlike cumbersome competing systems, Eyewear is designed to be non-immersive — meaning you can still see the world around you when in use; this is important in public settings like a bar, lobby, office or airplane. You even can view confidential materials or check email privately in very public places.

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