Posted by admin on August 9, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The new Kindle is lighter with a sharper screen contrast. The best feature is price: It starts at $139 for a Wi-Fi only model.
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
It’s no secret I’m a Kindle fan. When the Amazon Kindle first arrived in 2007 — at $399, no less — I was amazed at how much I liked the dedicated reading device despite the built-in biases I brought to my first review. I’m a book lover, an occasional collector of first editions and I worked in the print industry. I was predisposed to dislike the Kindle.
But I don’t. And now, the third generation of the Kindle e-reader will arrive on Aug. 27 in two flavors. Both models are identical and feature a sharper 6-inch screen in a slightly smaller package, each holds 3,500 books and the battery charge can last a month.
(I talked with WGN-AM 720 morning host Greg Jarrett about the new Kindle. Listen here.)
There’s only one real difference: the wireless connection.
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Posted by admin on August 2, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The $17 Vent Gel Case for the iPhone 4
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets. (This story first appeared in Vegas Seven.)
Unless you live in a cave with poor Internet service, you know that Apple gave case makers a very big gift in the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4’s antenna wraps around the outside of the phone, so if you touch it in the wrong spot, the signal weakens significantly.
Admitting the problem, Apple is providing iPhone 4 buyers a free “bumper” to wrap the phone. Problem solved!
But who wants a bumper when there are cool cases to be had? There’s an interesting pricing trend, too. Of the cases available right now—the market for Apple accessories is valued at about $3.7 billion worldwide, so you know the explosion of options is just getting started—most are priced at less than $30.
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Posted by admin on July 21, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets. This story first appeared in Vegas Seven
The Swype typing method is arriving on more smartphones.
In the age of smartphones, two methods of typing have come to dominate: touch (iPhone) or physical keyboard (BlackBerry).
Now there’s a third option, and it may just revolutionize how we use smartphones. It’s called Swype, and the typing technique is a key feature of the Motorola Droid X, a new Android-based phone now on sale at Verizon for $200 (after contract). Swype is also available on the MyTouch 3G at T-Mobile and the Samsung Omnia II (Verizon), and there is hope that an iPhone app will be introduced.
The Droid X has put a bright light on Swype, and it should. I’ve been using Swype for about three weeks, and I dread going back to standard touch-typing when I return my review unit. (Here’s my first review of the Motorola Droid X.)
(A how to Swype video is after the jump.)
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Posted by admin on June 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets. This story was first published in Vegas Seven
The Flip Slide HD is easy for a child (and adult) to use
When networking gear maker Cisco Systems bought the Flip line of pocket-size camcorders last year for $590 million, people thought Cisco had lost its sense of good business. The nation was mired in a recession and Flip’s competition was mounting. But Cisco made a bet on what made Flip the leader in a category it created in May 2006, when the then-named Pure Digital Point & Shoot camcorder was introduced: its simplicity.
Pure Digital Technologies subsequently gave all of its camcorders the Flip brand name—a USB port “flips” up from the camcorder to download videos straight to your computer. Competitors have since been trying to create some Flip magic of their own. No luck so far.
Meanwhile, Flip products continue to improve.
The Flip Slide HD—the most full-featured product yet—was introduced in April. It is iPod-easy to use, as we’ve come to expect, so it is an ideal companion for vacations, family events or capturing video around the neighborhood. At $279, the Flip Slide HD is the priciest model to date, but several other Flip products are priced below $200.
(Sample videos are included after the jump.)
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Posted by admin on June 23, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
The Motorola Droid X goes on sale July 15
It’s a story that has become predictable this year: each month, seemingly, a brand new and very exciting Android-based phone hits the market. Last month, it was the HTC Evo. Before that, the HTC Incredible.
Now, it’s the Droid X, a new smartphone from Motorola and Verizon Wireless that is big, sexy and packed with features. The Droid X is yet another phone that represents a “new way of computing,” as Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in introducing the phone during a New York City press conference. (I viewed the event via Webcast at a Chicago press gathering to launch the phone.)
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Posted by admin on June 21, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle to $189
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
Monday may go down as a significant day in the history of the burgeoning yet challenged eReader market.
In response to what amounted to two price cuts for the Barnes & Noble Nook that sent eReader prices below $200, Amazon cut the price of its market-leading Kindle to $189 Monday afternoon, a significant shave from its $259 price point earlier in the day.
Earlier, Barnes & Noble dropped the price of the Nook e-reader to $199 (from $259) while also introducing a new model, a Wi-Fi-only version of the Nook eReader for $149. This Wi-Fi only option should be very appealing, frankly, as I think many people can live without the always-on 3G connection offered by the Kindle and top-of-the-line Nook.
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Posted by admin on June 17, 2010 · 1 Comment
The Sonos S5, Amazon Kindle and Dam Simmons' Hyperion. Good stuff for dad.
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets. This story first appeared in Vegas Seven
Father’s Day is near and you’re probably still searching for a great gift. Not sure what to get him? Well, here are some ideas for the gadget-loving dad in your life.
A Wi-Fi Blu-ray player, $200: Upgrade his DVD player, especially if it’s attached to an HDTV. A Wi-Fi-enabled Blu-ray player turns a TV into a multimedia powerhouse, with access to download movies from Netflix and music from Pandora, among other content. And don’t forget the fantastic picture and improved sound that will come from watching a Blu-ray movie.
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Posted by admin on June 15, 2010 · 1 Comment
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
A new BlackBerry touch-screen phone could be coming to AT&T Wireless
After its first disastrous foray into touch-screen devices to compete against the Apple iPhone, Research in Motion appears to be preparing a new touch-screen phone — this time to include a slide-out keyboard — to regain its lost sales momentum.
RIM introduced the BlackBerry Storm nearly two years ago, a phone so awful that it was blasted by reviewers and was such an embarrassment to Verizon Wireless that the carrier changed tactics and embraced the open philosophy behind Google’s Android operating system.
The key problem with the Storm was that RIM didn’t change it’s operating system to accommodate for a touch-screen environment. It was the same OS you’d find on a standard qwerty-based BlackBerry, and that led to a confusing and confounding touch-screen experience for BlackBerry fans who wanted the cool factor the iPhone offered.
Now, according to a report in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, RIM is heading back to the drawing board and finally looking to redesign it’s operating system specifically for a touch-screen phone.
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Posted by admin on June 14, 2010 · 1 Comment
This story first appeared in Vegas Seven
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
Summer is here, and you’re ready for some fun in the sun—but are your gadgets ready? Here are seven ideas to make your summer more tech-friendly.
The Kodak PlaySport can swim
Waterproof camera or camcorder: The Kodak PlaySport, a $150 pocket-size camcorder, works as well underwater as it does in the middle of Red Rock Canyon. It’s great for active families or for touring Paris (the city, not the hotel-casino—although I suppose it could work in either) during a rainstorm. The camera is simple to use, and videos download easily into your computer’s existing software. (But the PlaySport also ships with a software package from Arcsoft.) I’ve tested several waterproof, point-and-shoot digital cameras from Sony, Olympus and Pentax with great results. These products also shoot acceptable videos, both above and below the waterline.
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Posted by admin on June 8, 2010 · 2 Comments
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
Video chat is handled on the iPhone 4 through Apple's new FaceTime program.
This story first appeared on Appolicious.com
Despite the iPhone 4’s key new features, the battle for buyers is intensifying as several top-notch phones powered by Google’s Android mobile software are now on the market. Innovation in this arena no longer belongs only to Apple, as shoppers have a rich array of choices for phones that run apps, shoot crisp video and inform you instantly what your friends are doing.
More important, these choices come from all carriers in the U.S., not just AT&T. That carrier advantage has led to a booming first quarter for Android phone sales and product shortages are being reported by the carriers.
How is Apple responding?
New iPhone features
The iPhone 4 will offer a host of new features that should appeal to existing iPhone owners and new buyers. Primarily, the key features Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced at Monday’s World Wide Developers Conference revolve around video.
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Posted by admin on June 7, 2010 · 2 Comments
By Andrea M. Rotondo, Luxury Safari Experts
Abercrombie & Kent launch Nile cruise on luxury dahabieh
A new Nile River cruise has launched that hearkens back to the days when dahabiehs — lanteen-rigged sailboats — were the main method of transportation on this waterway. These sail-powered vessels were used extensively up until the 19th century when steamships made their debut in the area.
The popularity of dahabiehs waned as they were slower than steamships and so fell out of favor with many. Today, these sailing ships have been retrofitted for high-end travel up and down the Nile. Read more
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Posted by admin on June 4, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The HTC Evo 4G has a 4.3-inch screen
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
I think I’m becoming an Android fanboy. For the second time this year, I’m enamored with a new Android phone. In April, I wrote this admittedly glowing review of the HTC Incredible, available at Verizon for $200
This time, it’s the HTC Evo 4G, a big-screened beauty that goes on sale Friday (June 4th) at Sprint for $200. It runs on the Android 2.1 operating system, has an 8-megapixel camera, and includes Sprint’s mobile “hotspot” application so you can use the Evo to connect a laptop to Sprint’s network. That last bit is called tethering, a feature the new iPhone will also have.
Among the Evo’s many delights — and one potential frustration — is a feature I have yet to see on a mobile phone: a kickstand. Now, you may think that’s a ridiculous feature but it’s actually awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I think every media-playing smartphone should have a kickstand.
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Posted by admin on June 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment
This story first appeared in Vegas Seven
The Sonos S5 is a digital music server for the home
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
I’ve been testing a new speaker that is just shy of the perfect music-playing device for the digital age. It lacks one teeny, tiny feature (that I will get to shortly), but before I explain that minor whine, let me tell you what makes the Sonos ZonePlayer S5 a product modern music lovers will adore.
The S5 is so many things: a wireless iPod dock, an Internet radio player, a local AM/FM radio tuner and a sweet-sounding speaker rolled up into one device. Further, if you elect to buy more than one Sonos S5—hey, the recession is coming to an end, right?—you can network them throughout your house.
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Posted by admin on May 26, 2010 · 1 Comment
The iPad version of Wired's June issue.
By Eric Benderoff, Bendable Gadgets
Apparently, Adobe software will work on the iPad after all. Sort of.
Wired Magazine’s iPad app arrived at the iTunes store Wednesday, bringing enhanced features developed especially for Apple’s newest touch-screen device. Editions are also being planned for other tablet devices, notes Wired’s long-time editor Chris Anderson. (A video demo of the app is below.)
“We can show you exactly how Pixar crafted each frame of its new movie, Toy Story 3,” Anderson writes about the cover story for Wired’s June issue.
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Posted by admin on May 21, 2010 · 1 Comment
This story first appeared in Vegas Seven
Dreaming geeks photo illustration courtesy of Vegas Seven
The infamous lost iPhone story, in which tech blog Gizmodo paid $5,000 in exchange for a next-generation iPhone that had been left in a bar, was unusual for many reasons, but the primary one is this: It was the first time in recent memory that a yet-to-be announced product from Apple made a public appearance.
As far as tech leaks go, it was a doozy. The appearance was tawdry and filled with intrigue, which made for a lot of fun on both morning TV news shows and geeky tech blogs.
Apple has since got the phone back, confirming it was indeed an iPhone prototype. Meanwhile, the ethical and legal debate concerning the selling of lost (or stolen?) property—or, in the case of Gizmodo, buying lost or stolen property—continues.
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Posted by admin on May 14, 2010 · 1 Comment
By Eric Benderoff
This column first appeared in Vegas Seven
It’s safe to say that almost everyone in America is aware of the iPhone, but if you ask a random sampling of 100 people strolling the Strip if they are aware of an Android phone, perhaps 30 will say yes.
The problem with Android is that it’s an operating system used on many different phones. And really, who among us wants to talk about operating systems? When we talk about the iPhone, we talk about how easy it is to use, we point out our apps, and we use it as a photo album to show off our kids. The iPhone is a singular product with a singular identity.
Meanwhile—and with a lot less fanfare and media attention—the Android mobile operating system (backed by Google) is available on several phones from each major U.S. wireless carrier, giving the platform significantly more reach than the iPhone.
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Posted by admin on May 13, 2010 · 3 Comments
By Eric Benderoff
This column first appeared in Vegas Seven
The HTC Incredible is remarkably fast
For the past week, I’ve been using a touch-screen smartphone that is simply the best phone I’ve used in some time—and I’m an iPhone owner.
The HTC Incredible (available April 29 from Verizon Wireless, $200 after contract and rebate) carries a name filled with expectations, and I can say, the phone delivers on its boastful identity.
This slim, light phone is exceptionally fast, opening and closing apps in a snap. It is also the fastest phone I’ve used over a wireless network, connecting to the Internet so quickly it was as if I were using the computer in my home office. (An even faster phone is right behind the Incredible, when HTC introduces the Evo, a phone that will run on Sprint’s 4G network.)
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Posted by admin on May 13, 2010 · 1 Comment
By Eric Benderoff
This story first appeared in Vegas Seven
Looking to take a vacation away from technology? Good luck. These days, it takes a lot of discipline to turn off your Blackberry or iPhone and get away from it all. Even a week-long camping trip to the Valley of Fire State Park doesn’t mean you’ll be without access to e-mail anymore. OK, it can be tricky to get cell reception, but there’s no need to go without power.
Here’s a look at some products you can use to enjoy the great outdoors, from solar-powered chargers to wireless, portable speakers. These products don’t require a tent to enjoy; they’ll work just as well on your porch or at a tailgate.
Let’s start with solar-charging devices: You can now find cases, stand-alone chargers and even backpacks to provide iPhones and other gadgets with the necessary juice to keep them going.
One of my favorite new products is the Novothink Surge ($80), available for the iPhone 3G and 3GS and iPod touch. The Surge is a solar-powered case that provides a charge by harnessing visible sunlight. The case has a hole in it that allows users to clip it to a belt or backpack with a carabiner (those things once reserved for mountain climbers that people clip to belt loops and often use as key chains). The clip makes it relatively easy to keep the case exposed to sunlight if you’re biking, jogging, hiking, or otherwise enjoying the outdoors.
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Posted by admin on March 29, 2010 · 1 Comment
By Eric Benderoff
I recently had a demonstration for one of the best sound systems I ever heard. And it was built into a TV.
The Bang & Olufsen BeoVision10 is the best-sounding TV I’ve ever watched
The BeoVision 10 is a 40-inch HDTV from Bang & Olufsen, the high-end Danish electronics maker. Bang & Olufsen considers itself a company that specializes in sound, so when it builds a TV, it thinks of sound first.
This is a great strategy today, as home entertainment offers many sensory inputs. Thanks to high-definition television, video is stunningly clear. And, combined with a proper audio set-up, sound can compliment the images to provide an experience so thrilling you may never want to leave the living room.
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Posted by admin on January 26, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff
Even though Nokia foresaw a huge market for GPS services on mobile phones when it bought Chicago digital mapmaker Navteq in late 2007 for $8.1 billion, I’m pretty confident it didn’t plan on offering free turn-by-turn driving directions on Nokia phones. At least not so soon.
Nokia offers free turn-by-turn directions on its smartphones
But that’s exactly what Nokia announced Thursday, saying 10 of its smartphones can now operate a GPS-based mapping service at no charge. Predictably, the stock prices for Garmin and TomTom — the top makers of stand-alone, dashboard-mounted GPS units — fell sharply.Those stock prices dropped hard in Oct. 2009 as well, when Google grievously wounded the stand-alone GPS market with the launch of the Motorola Droid, which runs on Google’s Android software platform and is sold by Verizon Wireless. The service is called Google Maps Navigation, and the Droid was the first phone to offer its free turn-by-turn driving directions. By the end of 2010, I would guess at least 20 mobile phones and perhaps 50 or more, will offer such a service — for free.
Whether or not Nokia’s move to offer free mapping on its smartphones — the product is called Ovi Maps — will help Nokia stop its share slide (can you say iPhone?) remains to be seen. But it’s undeniable that this trend will continue, and reach more and more smartphones.
“By adding cameras at no extra cost to our phones, we quickly became the biggest camera maker in the world,” Anssi Vanjoki, a Nokia executive, told the New York Times. “The aim of the new new Ovi Maps is to enable us to do the same for navigation.”
You can download paid apps for your iPhone, too, but that will probably migrate to free eventually. TomTom even sells an iPhone app for $79 (it launched 3 months ago for $99).
There is a key problem with using a phone-based GPS system in your car: it will suck the battery dry within 3 hours. Therefore, you will likely need accessories to keep the phone charged will you drive. But that costs $20, not the $200 it typically costs for a stand-alone GPS unit.
Finally, it didn’t take a genius to see this coming, even before Nokia bought Navteq. Yet despite the advances in mobile software Google displayed in October and Nokia now offers, there’s another critical reason mapping is moving rapidly to the phone: government regulations.
Here’s an excerpt from a Chicago Tribune Tech Buzz column I wrote in Feb. 2007:
Last week, as I read about a parade of mobile phone-based navigation debuts at a European trade show, that thought turned into pessimism for Garmin, TomTom, Chicago’s Cobra Electronics and other makers of stand-alone global positioning systems.
In the short term, you will see healthy market gains, such as Garmin’s fourth-quarter performance, released last week, showing earnings more than doubled. Sales of stand-alone units from all makers are expected to double this year.
But long term, the momentum will swing to the mobile phone-makers, thanks, in part, to an unlikely marketing partner: the federal government.
Due to the recently enacted e-911 rules that say mobile-phone users must be able to be located by police or fire departments in case of an emergency, there are millions of phones in the United States that contain GPS chips.
Even though few of those phones take advantage of their devices’ GPS DNA so far, that’s rapidly changing.
As people shop for new phones when service contracts expire, they will see phones with bigger and brighter screens, ideal for GPS.
As we near Feb. 2010, that momentum has arrived.
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Posted by admin on January 21, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff
I’m as interested as anyone in seeing the tablet-type product Apple is expected to introduce on Jan. 27. But there is one thing I am especially curious to find out: Will people feel they really need an Apple tablet?
Apple will not be the first computer maker to introduce a tablet. Indeed, the iPod was not the first digital music player and the iPhone was not the first smartphone. Yet both products were game changers, and that is the issue I keep thinking about in regards to an Apple tablet: Will it change an industry?
I’m dubious, but I reserve the right to enthusiastically lust after one — whatever it may look like.
Artist's Rendering of Apple's New Tablet
An Apple Tablet, as reported by news outlets ranging from the Wall Street Journal to the Apple Insider, is expected to be a multimedia powerhouse that plays TV shows and movies; functions as an e-reader for magazines, books and newspapers; and will operate via touch in a manner familiar to iPhone owners (although there’s buzz a learning curve may be needed, unusual for Apple).
Also, it is expected to capture content in new ways, such as offer videos with author commentaries to accompany an e-book purchase. A virtual keyboard will be built-in — perhaps with a technology that will make the keys feel raised — and the screen will be 10 or 11 inches, measured diagonally. Like the iPhone and iPod touch, it is expected to be an app powerhouse, making it a bigger and bolder platform for a trend that is changing how people design and use software.
The price? Estimates range from $700 to $1,000.
All of that is pretty interesting but will we really need an Apple Tablet? Sure, lust will be a huge factor as it often is with Apple products and the iHype for a Tablet has been breathtaking. That obviously speaks to the brilliance of Steve Jobs as a pitchman and Apple’s reputation as a maker of desirable gadgets.
But really, will Apple’s Tablet compel you to watch TV on a screen the same size as your laptop’s and not that 42-inch high-def beauty hanging from your living room wall? Perhaps if you’re a road warrior but will you want to schlep it in your briefcase along with a laptop?
Will it be better for reading e-books — and as easy to buy content — than the very fine Kindle? And if the Tablet is an app machine like the iPhone and iPod touch, will Apple allow book-reading apps to play? The Kindle iPhone app is an excellent companion to the Kindle and it would certainly be optimized to take advantage of the Tablet’s new capabilities. If Apple is positioning the Tablet as an alternative to the Kindle (plus Barnes & Noble’s new Nook, Sony’s Reader line-up and a bunch of others), how will it treat the competing book-reading apps it already allows for the iPhone?
Amazon isn’t waiting to find out, as the Kindle has been opened to third-party developers.
Again, I’m quite excited to see this new Apple product. But based on what we know right now — or at least what we think we know — I don’t see it as a game changer. I think it will be ultimately viewed as laptop alternative Mac fans will adore.
On the other hand, an Apple Tablet may become the sexy status symbol its heritage suggests, proving that whether we need one or not, we all will want one.
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Posted by admin on December 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff
One of the hottest trends in home audio is to create surround-sound environment without stringing speakers across the house. Thanks to an explosion of products known as sound bars and single-cabinet speaker systems, it has become pretty easy to add a quality sound system without ruining the decor.
If you’re looking for a holiday gift the whole family can enjoy, these audio products are worth your consideration. Better, they are easy to set up.
I’m hesitant to say these systems provide great sound, however, since they do not include the rear speakers that best emulate a theater-like experience. That said, these smaller systems are quite nimble — appropriate for the living room or a bedroom — and deliver a big, defined sound that makes watching DVDs or TV a more robust experience. When buying a new flat-panel TV or DVD player, most people don’t consider that the experience is greatly improved by sound. Watching movies on the high-definition Blu-ray format, in particular, is thoroughly enjoyable with proper audio.
Now, thanks to recent innovations in sound packaging, a sound system is easier than ever to attach to your video equipment.
Sound bars are long and thin and look like short poles. They are designed to mount underneath your TV, especially if you have a wall-mounted set-up. Like most audio products, prices can vary significantly. Some models include built-insubwoofers while others do not. Also, with most products, you still need to connect the product to an audio receiver, but again, this is changing and some models can plug directly into your TV.
Sound bars come from top audio makers like Denon, Yamaha and Polk Audio. Even Vizio, known for making affordable flat-screen TVs, has jumped into the game with a lower cost, well-reviewed model.
Zvox Zbase 550
I don’t have a wall-mounted TV in my house, so I use a single-cabinet speaker system from Zvox, the Zbase 550. My TV sits on top of the unit, a slim rectangular box only 3.5-inches tall. With the TV on top, the black Zbase looks like it shipped with the TV. The sleek box has no controls. It comes with a remote — not very good, unfortunately — but it is a snap to set-up audio controls through theTV’s remote.
I bypassed my audio receiver to set up the Zbase, a convenience. I plugged the Zbase into the Blu-ray player already connected to my TV. Zvox developed a technology it calls “PhaseCue” to create a virtual surround sound. It sounds amazingly good and set-up took less than 15 minutes.
The best part of sound bars and single-cabinet speaker systems is the do-it-yourself aspect to the set-up. While many people have a dedicated room for a true home theater experience set up by a professional — with viewing chair and rear speakers — these systems are designed for the everyday rooms in your house — a bedroom, the family room — where stringing speaker wire is a hassle and unsightly.
It is a sound-plus-style solution, one the whole family will enjoy on movie night.
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Posted by admin on December 8, 2009 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff
Bowers & Wilkins sells an iPod speaker called the Zeppelin that is perhaps the best I’ve ever heard. Indeed, it is included on my favorite things list.
The Zeppelin Mini
In November, B&W introduced a less expensive model called the Zeppelin Mini. Like its predecessor, the Zeppelin Mini looks great. Unfortunately, the sound is not as memorable.
In most respects, comparing the Zeppelin Mini to the Zeppelin is not fair. The Zeppelin sells for $600 and has three amplifiers, including one for bass, that fill a big room with terrific and precise sound. Everything about the Zeppelin is big: it weighs 16.5 pounds, it is 25-inches long and its eye-catching design (it actually looks a bit like an airship) will elicit compliments from guests.
The Zeppelin Mini sells for $400 and, as the name implies, is not so big. It has two smaller amplifiers (none for bass), weighs 5.5 pounds and is 12.6-inches long. Like the Zeppelin, the Mini’s design is eye-catching. The Mini provides bass through a technology B&W calls “flowport,” which gives the bass driver “room to breathe,” according to the description, to deliver better sound.
For a mid-size iPod dock, the Mini does sound good. I’ve used it across my house — in the living room, the kitchen and a bedroom. It sounds best in the open spaces of my kitchen, providing a nice soundtrack for routine household work.
But so do many other mid-sized iPod docks, and that’s the issue I have with the Zeppelin Mini. Where the Zeppelin provides profound sound, the Mini is above average. For $400, I want more — I want a big sound.
I compared the Mini to another portable iPod speaker, the iPig from Speakal. Silly name aside, the iPig sings and it costs $119. It is half the size of the Zeppelin Mini yet it performs nearly as well.
In my tests, I put the Mini and iPig side-by-side and moved an iPod touch between the units. I sat roughly 10-feet away from the speakers, using each speaker’s remote to control the volume. Consistently and across a few genres (jazz, pop, rock), the Zeppelin Mini provided a slightly crisper sound, a slightly sharper treble and a noticeably warmer bass. Overall, the sound was richer — but not by $300.
From a style standpoint, the Mini looks great anywhere you put it. It has a black finish, a mirrored top and oval shape. I love the way the iPod holder (an iPhone mount is included) rotates to provide a horizontal view. Very cool. Still, it looks nothing like an airship.
For $400, you expect great sound and that’s where the Zeppelin Mini falls short. You would be much, much happier spending another $200 for the mother ship.
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Posted by admin on December 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff
Twitter.com/ericbendy
If you’re looking to discover a special jar of caviar or a pair of loudspeakers for six figures, there is a list to interest you. Lists, of course, provide a treasure trove of gift ideas and that’s why we love them. Let this list of lists provide some guidance.
To share a list of your own, please post a comment.
The New York Times has seemingly turned into a gift catalog in recent weeks and is teeming with lists.
For cooks who like technology, David Pogue, one of my favorite tech writers, and Mark Bittman, my wife’s favorite cookbook author, offer this fun video about kitchen gadgets. A top pick: An induction burner from Viking for $500.
Love antiques? This list offers six books for the antique hunter, including one tome on the techniques behind creating fake Egyptian antiquities.
Music fans will enjoy this broad collection of jazz and pop boxed sets. Artists include AC/DC, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Erasure, Hall & Oates, the Pixies and Frank Sinatra’s “New York” performances. Meanwhile, the best box set of the year comes from Ella Fitzgerald, according to this Stereophile’s Fred Kaplan.
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Posted by admin on December 1, 2009 · Leave a Comment
By Eric Benderoff
Twitter.com/ericbendy
Useful tech gifts that provide great function don’t necessarily have to come at a high price. Most people would be pleased with their home theater after splurging for a 60-inch HDTV — that’s money well spent! — but they may also be tickled by a $6 stand for watching video on an iPhone (see below). In the competitive world of gadget enhancement, there are many smart buys for some pretty useful items.
This list includes a baker’s dozen stocking stuffers for friends, co-workers and family.
Aluratek USB Radio tuner. You can use your Web browser to search the globe for interesting radio stations, or you can plug this thumb-sized radio tuner into your PC. One of my favorite products, the Aluratek USB Radio tuner can access more than 13,000 radio stations. It’s a snap to use. One drawback: it only works with Windows-based computers. $20.
Chumby One
Chumby. Love the Internet? Let it wake you up in the morning. The Chumby Classic is a Wi-Fi enabled alarm clock, Web-radio player, news source and so much more. This cushy little gadget has a touch screen and access to a ton of apps (sound familiar?) to bring the world to your nightstand. $199. A newer, less cushy version has recently been released — the Chumby One — for $99. (Review to come.)
Darth Vadar USB flash drive. Talk about a cool item to solidify your geek credentials. The Darth Vadar USB flash drive is one of many character-themed flash drives from Tyme Machines. The drives come in 4, 8 or 16 gb sizes and start at $30.
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