theVooner's weblog

A weblog for theVooner.com where the best cool gear and gadgets get reviewed.

last modified Jul 15, 2003 at 1:45

Friday, October 31, 2003

Microsoft Mouse/Keyboard

Ok, so it's not the greatest of gadgets. But the new Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard is actually pretty cool. I think it's pretty impressive that a company like Microsoft would actually get into making something like Keyboards and Mice. I was in the market for one to go with my new TR2 when I stumbled upon a whole new line of these things. There are so many options out there, especially in Asia. But I like these the best. The new wireless ones are great though the old ones had some problems. Still, the shape, look, and design look the best to me.

Happy Halloween all!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 5:39 | 2 comments

Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Sony Ericsson Z600 - Out and in my hands!

Well, I guess I just couldn't help myself again. I walked into the mobile phone mall and saw the Z600 on display. Once it was in my hands, I just couldn't let it go. So I got one.

First impression: yeah its pretty fat, but the screen is pretty nice. It's a marginal but very visible difference to the T610 screen.

Can't complain... I have a new phone!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 5:48 | 0 comments

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Dell DJ Digital Music Player

So assuming you're in the market for a big MP3 jukebox player. Would you buy a Dell one? The Dell DJ Digital Music Player is an iPod-like device that holds MP3 files. Still, I feel that Dell is a little late to the game. With heavy competition from versions like the Creative Zen, Philips, Toshiba Gigabeat, etc. not to mention the king of MP3 jukeboxes -- the iPod, I wonder how well Dell will do in this market.

Even more amazing, theVooner doesn't own one yet. Which is why I still write about it. One day, I just might buy one. If I did, I'd still say I'd probably get an iPod!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 21:07 | 0 comments

Monday, October 27, 2003

Nokia Clamshell 7200

Nokia announced that it was launching its clamshell designed 7200. Nokia has long been known NOT to design clamshell mobile phones and its first foray into this design is rather unique. I have a love hate relationship myself with this type of design. I am though relatively disappointed that this is only a dual band phone. That's probably one of the first things I look at now when I buy a phone.

While we are on the subject of phones, I just got word that the Nokia 6600 is about to ship. It's very possible that I could have this phone next week if I wanted. But it looks really fat and somewhat strange. I don't know if it's something I really want. With X'mas almost here, the number of new handsets is likely to rise and I think patience is warranted.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 18:02 | 0 comments

Friday, October 24, 2003

Sony Ericsson T630 Mobile Phone

Well my current favorite mobile phone, the T610 just got replaced with a new model. The T630 is essentially just a cosmetic upgrade. There are a few new bells and whistles (like a new game, Apple iSynch capability, and the ability to improve pictures) but really, it looks like the same phone. Still, I'm sold. I want one. I like the idea of a flash attachment for the camera but really, this could have been built-in like so many models in Japan and Korea.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 10:19 | 2 comments

Thursday, October 23, 2003

Sony T1 Digital Camera

Has Sony been reading my reviews/Blog? Well, they certainly read my mind. I wanted a small, thin digital camera with high resolution and a large LCD. Well here's the T1! Like my Casio Exilim, the T1 is a credit size digital camera with 5 Mega pixels and a 2.5" LCD screen. That works for me! The big downside is that it will cost me an arm and a leg to now have to buy new Memory Stick Pros. Casio... are you listening... where's the upgrade to the S3?

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 2:17 | 2 comments

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

Hitachi new Plasmas

I have waiting and waiting for prices of the awesome Hitachi Plasmas to fall. Well they did. Why? Because the new models are out. Hitachi has two new Plasmas (32" and a 42") that is supposed to incorporate its new "Crystal Face" screen. The screens have a higher luminance (1000 vs. 900) and a built in tuner. They also have a lower MSRP which is very interesting. Now I'm really torn. Which one do I buy? I guess I'll have to see them in person to decide.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:11 | 0 comments

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

Creative MuVo2 1.5Gb

The Creative MuVo2 1.5Gb is a very nice MP3 product. Shaped smaller than a MD, the MuVo2 has more than enough space for your music needs. This in my opinion is the perfect amount of space for an MP3 player. My own 128MB player is completely inadequate while I have always wondered if a 40Gb iPod is just overkill. Arguably, with 1.5Gb you don't even need an external slot for additional memory cards (why would you need to stick in an additional 256MB card when you have 1.5Gb!). The Creative Zen Xtra player is also a really nice product that could give iPod a run for its money, especially with for Windows users. The Zen Xtra also is a backup hard-disk. Nice. With up to 60Gb of space, these new products keep pushing the envelope in terms of capacity.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:13 | 0 comments

Monday, October 20, 2003

New Review - Casio Exilim S3

Wait... is that a ...?? Yup, I finally got off my lazy bum and wrote a review. I know I've been bad and many of you have pointed it out, but I finally put out a review. It's not that I haven't been buying any gadgets. It's just that I've been well... lazy I guess. Anyway, there are more to come and I promise I'll get them up.

The Casio Exilim S3 is still my favorite mini-digital camera right now. Still worth a look until a new S4 or something comes out.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:34 | 0 comments

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Sony Vaio TR2

I just couldn't helped myself. I got an e-mail that orders are being taken for the TR2 and I clicked through to the website. I was staring at the screen, just happily clicking along when what before I had time to seriously consider it... I had placed an order. Online purchases are almost too easy aren't they? With a 12-month interest free program, everything got really easy. It also was cool that online, you get a special 1GB version which might be necessary given that the memory is shared with the video ram. I was a little annoyed though that this version (non-Japan) does NOT come with Bluetooth built in. That would have been nice. I guess it wasn't enough of a deal breaker though. I would have like to have had a recordable DVD drive too, but it was just too appealing. I should get it in about 3 days! YEAH.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:20 | 0 comments

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Nokia N-Gage and 6600

Nokia is currently rolling out its N-Gage handsets which are more like Gameboy's then they are mobile phones. With a host of games, the N-Gage is clearly targetted at teenagers and younger. I had a chance to play with one over the weekend and while I thought the games themselves were pretty good, I was disappointed with the screen. With a mere 4,096 color screen, the N-Gage is actually disappointing to look at. Gameplay was reasonable, but it doesn't have a chance against a standalone like a Gameboy Advance.

I like that it has a lot of pretty neat features, like Bluetooth connectivity, PIM, radio, real media player, etc. But I was also disappointed that it didn't have a built-in camera. That's a pretty fun feature as well and I would think teenagers use that function quite a bit as well. All in all, I think the N-Gage is a pass. While I saw quite a number of young teenagers looking at it with eagerness, and I guess if I were that age, I might be interested as well, but it's not something I would look at now. Maybe if you have kids...

The Nokia 6600 though is set to be the first high resolution screen (65k colors) Nokia phone. Although it looks really fat, it does seem to have some appeal. It's got a VGA camera with video recording capabilities. It looks like it even has a MMC slot for expanded data. Must admit I'm interested although at 122 grams, this would be slightly heavier then existing handsets.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:37 | 0 comments

Monday, October 13, 2003

Nokia 7600 handset

Nokia is slowly moving towards the 3G market with a number of new handsets. One of the first is the 7600 which is both a 3G and a GSM handset. What makes the 7600 unique is its radical design which makes it look much more like a square PDA than a mobile phone. While I like the way Nokia are thinking, I'm worried that this form my lose over to function and that users will not warm to it. Still its nice to see technology looking forward and the features are pretty cool.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:43 | 0 comments

Saturday, October 11, 2003

17" Laptop PC screens

I have started to see a number of new 17" laptop PC screens come into the market. HP's new Pavillion ZD7000 is one example of these new laptops. Several other manufacturers, like Toshiba too are introducing 17" laptops. Pretty cool. At least the PC can now compete with the Powerbook models. Still, they aren't of the UXGA quality screen that I'm using right now. But I like the idea of a big screen and am tempted to look at one.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 8:59 | 0 comments

Thursday, October 9, 2003

Sony Home Theatre System DAV-DS1000 w/ wireless rear speakers

I've always been wanting to upgrade my current home theatre setup. What bugged me the most about rear speakers is that they clutter up the whole house with cables running everywhere. Still, somehow, the wireless technology has not been good enough for most manufacturers and even now, not many good wireless speaker systems exist.

Well Sony has thrown in their creation, the DAV-DS1000, which provides wireless connection for the rear speakers. And, importantly, these are not whimpy rear speakers but full size ones. I like it. There are two downside to this system: 1) the DVD players is not very good. I want the DVD recorder as an option, but I don't think that will be possible because its an integrated setup, and 2) where am I going to fit the speakers?!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:20 | 0 comments

Wednesday, October 8, 2003

Sony PSX

No way I could not talk about the PSX. I know I want one. Recordeable DVD drive, PS compatibility and a built in hard-drive. Can't wait.

I'll have to wait though for a few months as the guys here crack any encryption/limitation to the recorder/PS drive. A nice X'mas present to myself!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 4:16 | 0 comments

Tuesday, October 7, 2003

New Sony CLIE's TJ25/TJ35

Sony has introduced another line of low-budget CLIE's. Costing between US$200-250, the TJ series is a relatively thin, but fast PDA. It is relatively attractive because of teh price and I'm sure this will help Sony gain back some momentum after new models from HP (like my 2210/2215). But it's still Palm OS and I'm still not thrilled about that. Until Sony moves away, as nice as the CLIE is, I won't be a big fan.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 4:28 | 0 comments

Monday, October 6, 2003

Xelibri Mobile Phones

Xelibri, the rebranding effort of Siemens that has come with those quirky (although pretty funny) ads has a few new phones lined up for this winter. I wrote previously that I wasn't a very big fan of the phones because they were so low-tech. Although they looked really nice, they were just lacking in any function. These new models look as if they are trying to address that. Unfortunately, I still don't believe that by building such unique designs, you can fit in the functionality of the mobile phone that we want. I don't see how it would fit in a camera, large color display, MMS/SMS, etc. Still, its a nice idea though...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:34 | 0 comments

Sunday, October 5, 2003

Sony Ericsson P810/P900 mobile phone

Several websites have now been talking and writing about the upgrade to the P800. There are some pictures of the new P810/P900 that make it certainly look very interesting. Although it still looks very big, I do like the upgrade in both the screen resolution (looks like 65k colours finally) and what seems like both an upgrade in the camera resolution, and the ability to take video images! Pretty neat. I can't wait to learn more and see the real thing.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:42 | 0 comments

Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Sony MSV-A1 portable AV player

Sorry just got back from vacation!

Sony's new MSV-A1 is a small portable TV and VCR that is no larger than a MD player. This "mobile AV player" records information on a Memory Stick, and can playback video from the MS. Impressively, the antennae is actually built into the headphones so you can watch TV on while listening to the player.

Sony looks like it's trying to eclipse other AV products. Similar to the idea of the Archos, and other products like the one being produced by Microsoft although the A1 looks like it lacks a hard drive. Still at 135g, its no heavier than today's mobile phones. Pretty neat. But I'll stick to my PDA with a 1GB CF card for watching AV files, thanks.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 18:55 | 0 comments