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

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

DVD Handycam

The digital camera market has exploded in recent years as prices continue to fall and users continuing to upgrade. But the same has never been true of the Digital Video Camera market. With many digital cameras incorporating some video capabilities, video cameras have taken a back seat. Plus, the use of strange formats like Hi8, DV and and MicroMV have not helped the market grow. Still, electronic companies have been hard at work trying to find new ways for users to buy into video recorders. Mega-pixel cameras are now built-in and some are using other formats.

DVD has become medium that has grown in popularity. Discs are relatively cheap and easily accessible. Sony has a nice on, the DCR-DVD201/101 which uses mini-DVD discs to record Video images. I like the slogan: "sweet little Handycam". They are cute. But I've had a DV Handycam collecting dust for ages. I just like still photography. I don't really want to watch movies of myself. Still, I like innovation. I hope they can one day make a super high quality, super duper small Handycam. Something the size of the smaller digital cameras (like my Sony T1). That would be worth looking at...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 18:07 | 0 comments

Monday, March 29, 2004

Flash storage w/ synchronisation -- Migo

I like the concept of those small USB flash discs. I have always wanted to buy one but have not really though it was that useful given that I have way too many files to synchronise and that it still involved plugging it in without a proper synchronisation tool. I can just use a CDR for that! Well the Migo addresses that by incorporating software/tools that for all purpose gives you the ability turn "any computer into your own". Through its software, you can send Outlook e-mail, edit files, even have the same desktop feel with your own wallpaper. Finallly, it synchronizes all the updates/changes with your own computer later. Nice. Now if only they have a 512MB version...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:55 | 0 comments

Friday, March 26, 2004

Nokia 7610 - 1 MP camera phone

In a battle to get out 1-megapixel camera phones, Nokia unveiled its version, the 7610. Although the keypad layout looks a bit strange, the phone does have some design appeal. I still think the Sony Ericsson S700 looks a lot more appealing. Now its just a matter of who will get to the market first...

Interesting that I read SE took a stake in Symbian thereby potentially killing off other mobile phone makers from using the software. Hmm....

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:44 | 0 comments

Thursday, March 25, 2004

iRiver PMP-100 Portable multimedia player

Ok, so noone is really going to challenge the iPod as the undisputed king of MP3 players. Design, novelty factor, you name it and the iPod is probably at the top of the list. So you'll just have to up the ante.

iRiver is introducing a number of new devices including the PMP-100 which could challenge the iPod. How? By going truly multimedia of course with a 3.5" TFT color display. That means video, music and this one even has games! Pretty neat.

For me the critical factor is always going to be the battery life. I'm not even sure the iPod is good enough. So the PMP-100 rates itself at 4-5 hours of video playback. Will it live up to the hype? Hmm... we'll see.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:48 | 0 comments

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Sony Librie e-book reader

An interesting little device, it's a knock-down PDA that serves as a e-book reader. The Sony Librie is a device that has been out there for sometime, but probably not gained any attention. It looks predominantly for Japanese, and is monochrome. With PDAs more than capable of being a COLOR e-book reader, I guess there's not much room for this.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:47 | 0 comments

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Philips LX9000R Home System w/ DVD recorder

Philips has introduced the first home entertainment system with a DVD recorder. The LX9000R is the first system to incorporate a DVD recorder into the whole unit. Exactly what I wanted. For US$1500, the whole setup is actually half decent. I wish it would have come with wireless rear speakers as others have made. But other than that, this is certainly something I should think about going forward as it might be the right complement to my system. It's not powerful enough probably for serious movie watching... but what about in my bedroom with my new Plasma! Hmm....

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 17:46 | 1 comments

Monday, March 22, 2004

Pino Robot Alien Pet

So you don't want to waste any money on an overpriced electronic robot dog AIBO. Along comes an interesting, and more importantly, cheap robot by the name of Pino. Pino sings, talks, has emotions, just like the Aibo. But it only costs about US$50 which is worth it for the toy that it's supposed to be. Just silly gadget fun.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 2:13 | 0 comments

Sunday, March 21, 2004

Toshiba Gigabeat 21 MP3 Player

Yet another MP3 player, the Toshiba Gigabeat 21does offer one neat feature -- the docking station has an optional WLAN access which would allow you to upload and download wirelessly. I guess that's not an important feature, but is pretty cool. How soon will it be until WLAN or bluetooth are built into the iPods?

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 21:36 | 0 comments

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

New Review Posted - Hitachi 32" PD5000 Plasma Review

Just posted up my Hitachi 32" Plasma review. I watch way TOOO much TV now!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 18:14 | 2 comments

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Affordable DVD recorders

China manufacturers have continued to show how cheap they can continue to make certain electronic devices. From TVs to DVD players, the price has always been attractive and the quality pretty good. That's why I even bought a very nice China made DVD player. Well, the China made DVD recorders are here. Skyworth and others all have models which are out or coming out. But the ones I'm looking at are made by BBK. BBK has a good selection of DVD recorders including one with a 80GB hard drive. The look pretty good and more importantly, are about 30-40% cheaper than the ones from Philips, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, and even Samsung. I like it!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 22:26 | 0 comments

Monday, March 15, 2004

Swiss ARMY USB Knife

I can't tell you how many Swiss Army, Leatherman, Gerber knives I have but it's a lot. I just love having these tools. Well, someone decided to combine a USB Flash with a Swiss Army knife -- now that's cool! The SwissMemory USB looks like us geeks will never be without both our trusty tools and our data! Nice.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:52 | 0 comments

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Sony Ericsson new handsets

Thanks to SharkyMark for helping point it out that Sony Ericsson had launched a few new handsets. I had seen the press article for the new K700 which is a very stylish mobile handset. SE is pushing it as a "dual front" handset which is based on its idea that its not just a mobile phone but also a great digital camera. From the back, the K700 does actually look like a digital camera. Although resolution is still merely "VGA" (I assume about 640k MP or even less) the addition of a flash light should help with images. 32MB of memory isn't nearly enough and as much as they want to say so, it's still more a mobile phone.

However, as I wrote last week, Sony was thinking the same. There is a GSM version of the SE So505 on the way. The new SE S700 will be a GSM handheld based on the same swivel like design. In addition, it will come with a 1.3 Megapixel camera! Wow. Even though I'm on 3G, I'll probably still buy this for my 2G handset. But the bad news is that it's not slated till 4Q this year. By then, there will be a lot of different options.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:08 | 3 comments

Monday, March 8, 2004

Sony T1 Review posted

Just to let everyone know that the Sony T1 Digital camera review is up.

Thanks,

theVooner

posted at 16:37 | 3 comments

Friday, March 5, 2004

Sony Ericsson so505is Mobile Handset

I just couldn't stop staring at this magnificent handheld. The so505is has a brilliant screen, swivel design, multimedia functions, 1.3MP camera, the list goes on. I would buy one in a second... if it weren't only meant for the Japanese market. When will the rest of the world catch up?

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:27 | 1 comments

Thursday, March 4, 2004

Hurray for Handset upgrades...

Well, to my surprise, I was told that an upgrade in the software of my 3G phone was available. So I went down to the 3G store and guess what! They replaced the phone. I haven't had it for more than a week but they replaced the whole handset so they could upgrade the software. While I got the exact same phone, I still got a new one! Pretty cool. That's customer service. We're not used to that in Asia.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:46 | 0 comments

Wednesday, March 3, 2004

Nokia Updated Communicator - 9500

Nokia has updated their Communicator model with the introduction of the 9500. This mobile phone cum PDA was one of the first have both functions. It has long since been eclipsed by the convergent products like XDA and Treo. Still, Nokia is sticking with the model and has a new version.

It's got many of the same functions as a PDA and its past communicator series. Notable improvements include built-in WiFi, Video capabilities, and a nicer 65k screen. The bad news: availibility in the 4th quarter 2004! By then, there would have been a lot of better options out there. Plus, we're 3G and this is only a tri-band GSM phone. I hope the 3G versions are on their way soon.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:53 | 0 comments

Tuesday, March 2, 2004

Archos Gmini 220 - Ain't no iPod

Archos, well known for innovative products like the cool video recorders. The Gmini 220 is a new product that is a 20GB MP3 player. It's relatively small and packs a lot of options. However, the Gmini lacks the charm and the appeal of the iPod. In particular, Archos missed a big opportunity by not putting in a much better screen. With the mini-iPod just arriving, I don't see it as a great alternative.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 20:13 | 0 comments