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

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Mobilecast Bluetooth earphones

Japanese maker Mobilecast has a number of Bluetooth options that it has made for devices like a mobile phone and an MP3 player. In addition to offering bluetooth headsets for mobile phones with bluetooth built-in, the company has solutions (like a bluetooth dongle) for MP3 devices that will allow it to connect to MP3 players like the iPod or Gigabeat. I think wireless is great, but I just wish there were more ways it can offer two-way communication. For example, I wish there were more "remote control" options in bluetooth so you can easily skip songs, etc. I would love to leave my phone/MP3 player tucked away in my backpack while I listen to it, but have the ability to skip songs. (I'm just lazy -- I know.)

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:54 | 0 comments

Monday, July 25, 2005

Different Gigabeat Models

The iPod is still the leader in MP3 players, but that doesn't mean others have given up. Toshiba for example have more Gigabeat models to upgrade their overall line. In addition to the 60GB model, there are 10GB, 20GB, and 40GB versions. All this was in line with models that Apple put out. But I really like that they tried to "simplify" things by now only having two iPod models instead of many different choices.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:23 | 0 comments

Friday, July 22, 2005

Sony Clie PDA VZ90

Sony stopped producing their PDA devices some time back for the global market. But they're still making it for the Japanese market. The VZ90 is an interesting PDA, shaped and designed more as a multimedia device with audio, video, and picture playback. It reminds me more of one of those portable media players like Creative's Zen or one of the Archos' Video Players than a PDA. Still, it does offer Clie's PDA functionality. Too bad it's only for the Japanese market. Might be an interesting product like Palm's LifeDrive.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:42 | 0 comments

Thursday, July 21, 2005

iCruze

Monster Cable's iCruze is a pretty cool setup that allows you to replace your CD Changer with an iPod. Although some installation is necessary, the ability to do this really makes sense given how long many people spend in their cars. I like it.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 2:06 | 0 comments

Sunday, July 17, 2005

New MP3 Players...

There have been a distinctive slowdown in new MP3 models coming out to the market. Either Apple has become so dominant, that others are throwing in the towel, or there are already too many models out there and people and the market is highly saturated as sales starts to slow. I think its the latter. Apple has done a great job of dominanting the market but others seem to have slowed down a lot. But innovation and new products is the only thing that will drive sales and I hope we see more new models coming out.

Korean maker JNC has a few new MP3 players including a small model (SSF 9100) that boasts a color screen. That's probably one of the key trends to come along next with mini iPods all getting color screens and hard drive upgrades. JNC also introduced the SSF-8100 which is an ultra small player. Although the Shuffle is great, I still think it should have had at least some sort of LED display like the JNC.

My own mini which I've owned for 9 months has started to show big signs of a battery meltdown so it will be time to upgrade fairly soon.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 20:08 | 0 comments

Monday, July 11, 2005

Abkey Keyboard

A Singapore graduate student has come up with a weird looking Keyboard called the Abkey. The Abkey forces you to learn to retype on a different keyboard, but it claims that you'll be able to type twice as fast. Now if only I can think twice as fast as what I want to type...

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 9:18 | 0 comments

Friday, July 8, 2005

Nyko iPod Movie Player

For those that just can't do anything without their iPod, well Nyko has a movie Player built for the iPod that allows you to watch movies on its 3.6" screen. Complete with speakers, an extra battery, and conversion software... it just seems a little too much. There are smaller, better PVRs out there and even diehard iPod fans will probably look at full spectrum of alternatives.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 1:56 | 0 comments

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

iPaq 65xx series - Mobile Messenger

Got an e-mail from a fellow gadgeteer (thanks Ian who runs website www.everythingUSB.com) about this new iPaq. The 65xx series is touted as a Mobile Messenger and in many ways, it resembles (to me) like a Blackberry -- complete with a keyboard/thumbpad on the front of the device. Except that this uses Pocket PC. Nice. It has many of the PIM features we are used to, integrates mobile phone features and it even builds-in GPS. Pretty neat. I wonder if the square shaped screen will hurt it's functionality though? Still, this is a pretty good alternative to devices like the XDA and should be interesting to watch out for.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:03 | 0 comments

Tuesday, July 5, 2005

HTC Universal (an updated 3G handset from the makers of the XDA family)

HTC, the Tawain manufacturer that makes the XDA smartphones has come up with the first 3G Windows Mobile 5.0 device. The HTC Universal looks like a mini XDA cut in half with a split keyboard below a foldable/twist screen. Very impressive design. I wonder what it will look like in real life. Can't wait to see if I should upgrade my mini XDA!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:07 | 2 comments

Monday, July 4, 2005

Sony XYZ777 Car Video Screen

After watching an episode of 'Pimp My Ride', I was compelled to also consider installing a dozen screens in my car. Of course I haven't (and probably won't given I'm scared of the distraction it would cause while driving), but if I did, I would definitely consider this Sony Moible Car Display. The XYZ777 features an ultra thin display with a 30GB attached. You get video, audio, and GPS all built in. I just hope it becomes something available outside of Japan!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 23:46 | 0 comments