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

Monday, March 31, 2003

Back from Gadget Central

I made it back from Tokyo with my wallet still intact. In fact, it was a fairly disappointing trip, gadget-wise. There wasn't anything really neat or particularly cool to report about. At the forefront of sales, digital cameras are now the premier selling item. It's practically at the front of every electronic shop, even sometimes replacing mobile phone displays. Laptops, MD players, stereos, I'm sad to report but there just wasn't anything new.

There is one massive fun thing about being in Tokyo. You do get to touch and feel almost every gadget that you want. In contrast, you are are often forced here in Hong Kong to stare at things from behind a glass wall. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun testing all the different gadgets.

Among the more interesting conclusions:

1) The Japan made Contax TVS digital camera, while a cool 5MP is big, heavy, and very slow. Sounds cool, probably takes good pictures, but until you've seen it up close, held it, and used it, it just isn't worth it.

2) The Nikon D100 on the other hand is just plain awesome! I couldn't get over how fast the focusing was (not to mention quiet) compared to the lenses I had when I had my F5. Anyway, if they don't come up with a replacement in a few months, I'm seriously considering getting one!

3) MDs are still hot in Japan and they are getting smaller. MP3 players are also big, but the same ones are hot: iPod, Nomad Zen, and the same Korean models like the MPIO brand.

4) Laptops are fairly static with no new designs or cool things to report. The desktops though have followed Sony in designing, all in one PCs that function as much as a stereo/TV/DVD player as much as a PC.

5) Mobile phones are pretty much the same as one before, but I have to say, I did not see anyone that did not own a colour handset. Unfortunately, I only saw one person that had a FOMA (3G) phone.

6) There was no new technology to report e.g. no blue laser DVD players. Every brand had a HDD recorder as well as some nice combination HDD/DVD versions, but we've seen that all before.

With the sad shape of the Japan (not to mention the global) economy, there just wasn't as much innovation or excitement in products or advertising. I'll see how my photos turn out and report more if there is anything else.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:00 | 0 comments

Wednesday, March 26, 2003

Awesome Cute ChoroQ MP3 player

For those of you that know Japanese toys (and I grew up with them) ChoroQ, the super cool maker of those tiny cute cars has just put out a MP3 ChoroQ player. Called the Music ChoroQ, it's a super tiny Beetle that plays the Memory Stick Duo card. At just over US$200, it ain't cheap. But it's way too cute to ignore and I'm going to look for it this weekend when I'm in Japan!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:45 | 0 comments

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

Truth or lie? Scam or fun?

I guess in the area of useless but potentially fun gadgets is this Handy Truster lie detector. I'm a little skeptical that it works with any degree of accuracy that it claims (84% accurate) but hey, this could be fun! For US$35 what do you want?

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 4:11 | 0 comments

Monday, March 24, 2003

Sony P10 Digital Camera is here...

The Sony P10 5MP digital camera is here! It looks very much like the P9, but it's got 5MP and a host of better features. It also comes in this really nice metallic blue color. The P10 uses the new MS Pro, comes with new modes as well as new shot options. Sounds impressive to me. Don't like the proprietary memory and battery, but oh well.

I don't know what it is about Sony, but I'm just sold on its style. Darn marketing must have brainwashed me. Anyway, I'm holding back because I'm heading of to the homeland of gadgets - TOKYO in just a few days. We'll see what models they have first before I decide.

One thing I should add, the MS Pro 1GB costs a whopping US$750 which is more than 60% MORE than what the camera itself costs. I think I'm going to get the 256MB MS Pro and try to make do with that...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 17:48 | 0 comments

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Laptop for all seasons...

With war in full scale, Derek passed along this link for the GoBook Max laptop. This baby is amazing. You can practically take a shower with it. Which leads me to wonder how long it is until we have Internet access in bathrooms and showers. For what reason? You figure it out...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:54 | 0 comments

Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Kyocera Digital Cameras

My focus for a new digital camera has taken me through many different brands. With me going to Japan next week, I have started to look into a few models from Japan like Kyocera. Kyocera makes a really cool/small 5MP camera in the S5. But the new Kyocera L4v looks really interesting. It has one of the largest LCD screens I have seen on a digital camera. With a 2.5" screen, you'll be better able to see the photos you take. Although battery life may suffer, it's certainly something that is worth looking at just to see if it makes shooting easier. The L4v takes AA batteries as well as SD both of which I'm a fan of. Unfortunately, it's only a 4MP camera. (Darn, why can't you have everything!) Maybe there's a new model in Japan with 5MP. I'll find out in a week!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:36 | 0 comments

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Brands, brands, brands.

How important are brands in buying decisions for gadgets? It has been a common dilemma with me -- I mean why do we end up paying so much more for something with a Sony slapped on it?

Case in point, I was surfing the web looking at digital cameras when I came upon one by HP. The HP Photosmart 935 is not the prettiest of cameras, but the specs look interesting. I like the use of SD and AA batteries (though I am no longer bound by these criteria) as well as the 5MP resolution.

But hey I thought, its a HP, I mean would a geek like me buy a HP digital camera. If it were stamped Nikon, Fuji, or Sony, would I look at it differently. The lens is a Pentax so the camera could very well be built by Pentax (as others like Panasonic and Fuji also OEM their cameras for others like Leica).

It's an interesting question and point because while this is appealing on its merits, I don't know if I can really buy a HP digital camera. Weird pysche huh? I own a "HP/Compaq" laptop so why is the leap to a digital camera so different? Hmm...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 7:46 | 0 comments

Monday, March 17, 2003

Sony DSC-U20 Review Posted

Hi all! I've just put up the review for the U20. Apologise that the pictures came out so bad. I was in a hurry and snapped them with the Minolta F100 in the late night. Somehow, the room light made all the pictures turn our Orange. Anyway, I'll try to take better pictures of my next reviews. Maybe I'll just have to buy a new camera to take better pictures! Hope you like it.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 7:16 | 2 comments

Sunday, March 16, 2003

New MP3 Player

I forgot to mention that just prior to my trip, in addition to the P800, I got the big time shopping bug and bought the MPIO FL100 MP3 player. I've been playing with it for sometime and I have to say it's pretty cool!

Review of course will follow.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 8:19 | 0 comments

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

BOUGHT: Sony Ericsson P800

I need help!

Despite all my reservations, despite the way, WAY overdue launch, and despite it's price, I still bought one. Yeah!

It is an extremely complicated piece of electronic gadgetry. You will definitely need the manual. With 200 pages, it's going to take me some time to figure it out much less write up a review.

So far I have figured out that I can download web pages (though it still isn't easy to view full pages), play cool games, and listen to MP3. It took me well over 3 hours last night to install the software, connect the mobile, and convert all the contact info into MS Outlook contacts.

The coolest thing so far: the flip pad is removable! This leaves you with a super big, open screen (particularly cool for playing the games which are sideways on the screen like a gameboy). Of course you immediately run into problems like you might scratch/damage the screen too easily and you get fingerprints all over the screen as well.

The biggest disappointment: the screen isn't nearly as bright or as sharp as my Panasonic GD88.

Was it worth it? Well my initial impressions are that this is a super cool PDA/Mobile. BUT, it is big. So if you don't mind a big fat phone, this the current best one to get.

I'll be away on a business trip for a few days so I'll get to test it out.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:45 | 2 comments

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

New Digital Cameras

At the PMA show, there was a host of new digital cameras. Sony has a replacement to its mini P9 camera, the P92. It looks the same but this one is 5MP! Also, as a replacement to my old DSC-S85, there is a DSC-V1 which looks very similar except that it has a really nice Chrome body and is also 5MP. Canon, Nikon, and Minolta had updates as well, but like Sony, they were predominantly mega-pixel improvements of existing models like the Ixus and Dimage cameras. Still something to look forward to...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:30 | 0 comments

Monday, March 10, 2003

Fuji Finepix F700

In my search for the a new digital camera, Fuji has introduced one of the first 6 Megapixel consumer digital cameras that is still relatively small -- the F700. I'm hoping that other manufacturers follow-up very soon with lots of other 6MP models soon. So far, I haven't seen any, but I'm eagerly waiting.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 16:30 | 0 comments

Sunday, March 9, 2003

MP3 players -- Korean ones look impressive

Ok, in my search for a small MP3 player, I have fallen for the MPIO products sold here under the Korean brand of JNC. In particular, the FL100 model is really looking intriguing. I'm a little put off by the software of the Panasonic SD50/SD80. Also, I like the fact that the FL100 has both built-in memory and a slot for SD/MMC. It's small, but not that small. I will have to carefully take a look at it.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 20:35 | 2 comments

Friday, March 7, 2003

Sony Ericsson P800 & Nokia 7250 mobile phone

I just saw both mobile phones at one of the electronic shops. I must say, the P800 is much more attractive then I had given it credit for. The prototype I looked at before was not as well put together as the actual version. Surpsingly, I kind of like it. A lot more than I thought I would.

In contrast, I also had a chance to play with the new Nokia 7250 which is very much like the 7210 except with a camera on the back. It wasn't as good as I expected. Particularly disappointing is that when you're coming from a big color screen like the Panasonic GD88, it's hard to go to a small screen like that of the color Nokia's. The images are smaller, fonts are tiny, and the pictures are hardly visible.

Hmm... what to do? With the number of new models coming out, I will be buying so many phones this year. I must say though I am very intrigued with the P800.

theVooner@yahoo.com

P.S. as of this date, if anyone is interested, the P800 was selling for US$700 and the Nokia 7250 for US$460.

posted at 0:29 | 2 comments

Thursday, March 6, 2003

Compaq Tablet PC battery update

I have come across a very interesting problem with the Tablet PC. The pen in the Compaq Tablet PC takes a 'AAAA' battery. That's right 4 A's. It's made by Duracell so it's supposed to be readily available in stores everywhere. Except that it's still very new and I can't find the darn AAAA batteries! So what to do? The battery is going to run low in the next month, I can feel it and I want to find a new one. I've been to the shop, the Compaq service center, you name it -- no one seems to know where to get this battery. The Compaq service center even told me to just bring it in and the warranty will replace the battery for me (and the pen) automatically. Of course this wouldn't solve my problem in 3 months time when I need another battery. Oh well, I guess I'll have to go shopping this weekend.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:33 | 2 comments

Wednesday, March 5, 2003

New Sony Ericsson Mobile Phones

Before the P800 even hits the streets, Sony Ericsson has announced 5 new phones. There is one for the Japan market, 2 CDMA phones, and two GSM models: the T610 and the T310.

I must say that the T610 looks extremely cool. It's got a smallish form (like the Nokia 7210) but with a much bigger 65k color screen. The software functions, plus the built-in camera all look very good. Still, looks like this won't have a MS slot. Nevertheless, it does look interesting and the colors are quite appealing. I'll be watching out for this supposedly in the 2Q of this year. That problably means June rather April though which is still some time away. There are going to be a lot of new models between now and then.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:01 | 0 comments

Tuesday, March 4, 2003

Samsung PDA Nexio

My mobile phone provider has asked my interest in trying out the new PDA from Samsung called Nexio. Although, it doesn't have a built-in phone functionality, it does have Wi-Fi built-in and a CF slot that can allow you to attach a GSM card. While the Nexio looks cool, I haven't been much of a fan of PDAs of late. The Nexio looks like an interesting option though, compared to the XDA models. Although you could turn any PDA with a CF slot into a tri-band mobile phone.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:45 | 0 comments

Sunday, March 2, 2003

MP3 Players...

I just got back from a 2 week road trip. It was really exhausting. This time around, I didn't bring with me my PDA or my MD player. Which was a decision I later came to regret. Between the hours spent waiting in airports to the longer hours in airplanes, a music player is an absolute must. BUT, size and battery life are a key concern -- one of the main problems I have with the iPod (while the size of the machine is fine, you have to lug along the charger and recharge it after what 10 hours of use).

I have been seing a lot about the solid state MP3 players. They are super small, take 1 AAA battery, and seem perfect for what I want. But there are so many different ones to choose from. Here are some of my top picks.

Creative has the small Muvo, which now comes with 128MB built in.

If you are thinking about getting one with a memory card slot instead, I think the Panasonic SV-SD50 and its bigger brother the SV-SD80 are pretty cool. I know at least two other people that have it and it works really well. SD/MMC card, small Panasonic form, it's an option.

The Korean makers though have a number of different options. I particualrly like the MPIO brand which has both a small solid state player in the DMK model but they also have one (the FL100) which has both a built-in memory (64/128/256MB depending on the model) and a SD/MMC card slot. That might be ideal. We'll have to do a little more homework and see what's available in Hong Kong. I bet there will just be way too many different models to choose from. Ohhh... this should be fun.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 17:43 | 2 comments