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

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Nokia N series

Nokia has been busy launching a number of new models. The latest ones announced and soon to be launched is their N-series handsets. I particularly like the N90 which is a swivel screen hanset with Carl Zeiss optics. Very nice. The N91 features a sliding keypad and looks like it was primarily built as a music/MP3 playback handset. All in all, pretty nice innovation.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 9:56 | 0 comments

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Sony Vaio Type X - VGX90P AV Server

The Sony Vaio VGX90P is a what Sony describes as an AV server designed to be integrated as part of a Multimedia platform. The PC has between 500 to 800 GB of storage for AV streaming which should be enough to record TV/video and playback all kinds of video. Now this is what I want! A really "smart" TiVo that can do much more. Can't wait till these type of products are mainstream.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 21:25 | 2 comments

Monday, April 25, 2005

Headset for PC

There really seems to be a lack of new gadgets out there. Is it me or is there just nothing really new or exciting to buy? I looked for something but I couldn't find anything interesting. So I decided to just spend some time picking up some peripherals for my PC. I thought I'd buy a headset for my laptop -- something I could use with my Skype service. There are plenty of cheap options out there, but I wanted a decent one. The nicest ones seem to be from Altec Lansing. They have a whole host of models including a very large looking high-end model (the AHS502) and a new one, the 602 that offers 3D stereo. I just thought it was too large though. There are also options from Creative and Logitech. At the end, I chose a simple one from Logitech which has turned out to be quite good. Still, I didn't satisfy my itch and I'm going shopping again later today to see if there's anything new out there.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:34 | 0 comments

Friday, April 22, 2005

Sony HDTV Video Camera

Sony's super high-end Qualia line has launched the Q002-HDR1 HDTV Video camera. It's definitely pricey at 598,500 yen but just think how amazing those home videos will be (wedding, sports, porn -- whatever tickles your fancy! Ha ha!). Definitely the new wave of things to come. Anyone who has seen a HDTV broadcast knows what I'm talking about.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 3:51 | 0 comments

Monday, April 18, 2005

Wigo USB Flash drive & Mobile Phone Charger

In what seems like one of the strangest convergence in devices, Korean technology company Wigobyte has introduced the Mvolt 200, a "Two-in-one USB Memory Stick with Emergency Mobile Phone Battery". Designed mainly for recharging Korean handsets, the device allows you to store data on it like any Flash Drive, but also charge your mobile phone for when you run out of batteries. I don't really see the connection between these two functions. Oh well, it's a cute idea I guess.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:30 | 0 comments

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Vaio Type M

I still like the stylish design of the Vaio All-in-one type M desktops. They are more than just a PC, it's more of a style piece for the home. I could easily put one of these on a table or shelf and it would have all the multimedia (music, photos, etc.) put in it as well as be an Internet hub. The new "blue" color looks really cool as well. It's certainly better than the iMac in design. The new M52/32/22 series will be out later this month. In Japan, it's a true multimedia center with the ability to watch movies, and record/watch TV. The screen is very clear and bright from the few models I've seen. I like them.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:29 | 2 comments

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Gigabeat F40

Toshiba's Gigabeat (it's MP3 Player) comes with a few upgrades in the F40 model. Upgrades in the capacity and battery life are no surprise, but I really like the nice QVGA screen which makes the Apple Photo iPod look pretty weak and small in comparison. Still, the iPod is the leader and it's hard to ignore it's appeal.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:14 | 0 comments

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Sony Ericsson W31S

A cool variant of the Sony S700, the W31S is designed for the CDMA system, but still looks pretty impressive. The focus of the new handset really is on its music capabilities. It certainly is pushing the music aspect with Sony's own service that allows you to download songs and almost gives the handset an iPod feel. QVGA screen looks pretty amazing as well. I hope we get these soon (but please, no orange accents).

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 19:39 | 2 comments

Monday, April 11, 2005

Kyocera Pocket Cosmo PDA

Kyocera has an interesting PDA called the Pocket Cosmo. The interesting thing is that it appears to be based on a Java OS. I'm sure a lot of techies will love that. Th interface looks really good... although its all in Japanese. Maybe an English version will appear soon.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:35 | 0 comments

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Panasonic D-Snap AS3

While there are plenty of MP3, photo and video options out there, there isn't a very good convergent one available. Understandbly so, most devices are good at one function or another but not capable of doing all three very well. Those that have tried in the past haven't performed very well. Sure there are plenty of add-ons now to turn things like the iPod into a digital camera, but their quality have always been less than desireable. Panasonic's D-Snap line though have always been relatively interesting. They are truly unique because they keep on building on the concept of a convergent product. The AS3 is one of it's latest products and I had a chance to see one recently. It's a very small digital camera, video, and MP3 player and honestly, it does a reasonable job of all three (the video recording quality is the least positive of the three functions). It seems mainly catered toward female users and I can understand its appeal.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:21 | 0 comments

Thursday, April 7, 2005

Nokia 8800 - A new high-end mobile from Nokia

Nokia has announced a new high-end mobile, the 8800. Priced at a rich 750 Euros (over US$950), this metallic phone is supposed to a spectacular design. The display features 262k colors but looks small (at 208x208 pixels). It's also much heavier (probably because of all that steel) at 134g versus the usual 100g for many of the phones. The camera is still only SVGA and just 0.5 megapixels which is kind of disappointing. They include two batteries with the phone as the capacity is just 600 mAH which seems on the small side even if it is a smaller screen. Since this is such a high-end phone, Nokia also includes several ring tones designed for this phone by Ryuichi Sakamato. I don't know, I just don't see it as being that great of a phone.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:24 | 0 comments

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

Sony NW-HD5 -- Another iPod-like MP3 player from Sony

Sony has introduced another MP3 player in the market. This time the lure of the new NW-HD5 is the extra long (the longest, it claims) battery life of 40 hours. The NW-HD5 has 20GB storage and comes in three colors (Silver, Black, Red). Although the design is fairly simple and plain, in a normal MP3 box form, the screen looks impressive with its reverse white lettering on black background (though it looks as if you can choose white on black or black on white). To me, the players are all very similar, but the challenge for Sony will be to see how it fights against the power of iTunes (both the software and the ability to buy music). Sony has lots of potential, but hasn't lived up to it yet.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:08 | 0 comments

Sunday, April 3, 2005

Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo Upgrades

Always seeming to lag behind, Sony has introduced a 1GB and a 2GB MS Pro Duo memory sticks. This has long been overdue as Sony is still catching up to other mediums. I have wanted a MS Pro Duo upgrade for sometime now but guess what... I've moved on. I now use a SD card Digital camera as well as an SD card equipped PDA. So I'm not too disappointed. Maybe I'll get one for my PSP...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:57 | 0 comments