Posts filed under 'Reviews'
I recently got my mitts on the 2P Slim Mouse. Clearly its designed for the road warrior as its footprint is slighty larger then a credit card and just 3-4 credit cards thick. Unfortunately, its slender physique makes too many sacrafices.
Comfort
The Slim Mouse is all straight lines with no soft curves - i.e. ergonomics are lacking. Again, this is largely attributable to its slender size but still, I’d like to go more then 15 minutes without direct pressure on my palm.
Design
Its slim, there’s no doubt about that. Unfortunately, the manufacture, 2p, had to make some sacrifices to accomplish this. The USB plug is no more then the USB chip itself which makes it difficult to plug-in, especially under poor lighting conditions. The cord running from mouse to USB is very thin and often gets caught when unravelling it from its built-in spool. Lastly, it take more a then a minute to get the Slim Mouse setup for use - you have to fiddle with the USB plug and unravel the cord. I am confident that after one unspooling most users would just wrap the cord around the body of the Slim Mouse like most folks do - no one wants to insert the USB plug and then carefully wind it up insuring that the cord doesn’t get caught in the devices body.
Operation
Once plugged in the Slim Mouse seems to suprisingly well. Its appears to be optical, which is nice but pretty standard these days. As it should, the Slim Mouse has two button (aka right click). In my initial testing with my MacBook the optic wasn’t steady, but it seemed to be a fluke. I’d be worried that if I pulled too hard on the cord it might snap off - I often do this to allow for more slack.
Conclusion
The Slim Mouse is ’slim’, easy to pack away - even in your pocket although its a little heavy - comes in Blue, Pink, Silver and Ivory, and includes a 2 year warranty. Unfortunately, I’d just as soon take a portable mouse that is better suited for long term use. In fact, Google recently gave me a chatsky portable mouse that has a smaller foot print, glows when plugged in and includes a scroll wheel - plus its FREE. So would I spend $70 on the Slim Mouse? No.
To buy and more info go here.
October 1st, 2007
So I was (just bought) recently in the market for a slim (think unobtrusive to the pocket) sized Digital Camera - comes in silver or black accents. To be completely honest I considered aestheitics when making my descion. After all, who wants an ugly camera especially when our handheld gadgets, such as cell phones and mp3 players, represent who we are. After reviewing my options I narrowed it down by price and then by brand. I desired a camera under $200 just incase I dropped or lost it. That way I wouldn’t feel too guilty. I finally arrived at the Casio Exlim Z75. It boasts a slim housing (less then .8″) and aesthetically its pretty sleek.
I bought the camera through Costco (for the 90 day return policy and b/c it included a 2GB memory card) and dropped $220 including shipping and tax. I could have purchased through Amazon for less, but I wouldn’t have gotten the 90 day return and the included memory card (although I am sure buying one of them separately would still be less). I used this camera for about 1.5 weeks. Although I wasn’t totally disappointed the UI was terrible - not intuitive at all. Furthermore, the pictures were just so-so. I’ve always been a Canon fan (my first digital camera - SD100) and had some buddies in town with some older, but albeit new Canons. After playing and looking at theirs I decided to throw down the extra cash ($300 total) for the Canon SD750. Sure I paid an additional $80 but its well worth it. Pics are better, UI is far slicker, the camera senses if your all holding for vertical or horizontal shots, and not only dispays it correctly when reviewing but uploads them correctly - total time saver and again worth the money (time=money). Furthermore, the camera is pretty quick to startup, easy to setup and can be operated in Auto mode with great pictures. Another great and neat feature is its touch sensitive like scroll wheel. When touched the ‘wheel’ displays the ‘button’ on the dazzling 3″ (yes, 3 inches”) screen. No viewfinder on this puppy so don’t expect to save juice that way - although I got a good many shots and reviews out of a single charge. Another nice touch is the battery charger has the plug built-in so no need to carry the would be cord or yet another thing to lose on vacation. Video also looks fantasics on this thing. I’d recommend the Powershot SD750 to anyone looking for a mid to upper range shooter with a slim body and a kick ass UI.
July 10th, 2007
Digitalreviews got their mitts on a MoGo Bluetooth Mouse by Newton Peripherals. We featured this product some time ago, but at the time I don’t think it was available for review. DR walked away pretty pleased with the slender device and were surprised that it could feel so ergonomic given that it fits in any PC card slot for charging. According to them there’s a small version already available and they’re already lookin’ to review it. My take aways: a must have mouse for any road warrior, but don’t expect a desktop replacement…but if you did you’re an idiot and shouldn’t have a job that entitles (forces) you to travel.
March 20th, 2007
The guys (and gals) over at PCMag have got a review of the Blackberry 8800 – they gave it a 4 out 5 editor’s rating. As we would have suspected they loved the new form factor, the addition of the new ‘Pearl’ trackball, but were disappointed (as we have been) with the lack of 3G connectivity. Because of its non-3G-ness they reported that the GPS maps loaded slowly – stuttered in fact – and we’ve even heard that they aren’t all that accurate, although reports have it that updates will be provided soon to fix the GPS accuracy. PCMag’s continuous talk time: 15 hours and 19 minutes.
Head over to PCMag for the complete review.
March 7th, 2007
Jake Ludington compares the Xbox Marketplace’s HD movies
to that of HD-DVD. His verdict? Both pictures are almost identical but the Xbox’s HD movies are slightly brighter.
Check out Jake’s full comparison here.
Mediablab: Xbox Video Marketplace and HD-DVD Comparison [EhomeUpgrade]
December 19th, 2006
So if you remember, I recently picked up the new iPod Nano. Being the audio snob that I am (not a huge one, but nonetheless) I had to pick up a decent pair of headphones to compliment the 8GB Nano. Not only do the standard iPod headphones sound sub par, but fly out of your ear with a slightly aggressive nod or jostle. So I did some searching and settled on the Shure E2C in ear headphones. A few places gave them good reviews, so I figured why not. I ended up ordering the headphones from Amazon.com and signed up for a free trial of Amazon Prime, which by the way does offer 2 day delivery for ‘real’. Although the Shure’s sounded solid plugged into my computer, they distorted at high volumes on the Nano and were far from delivering a reasonable amount of bass. Sure the distortion could be attribute to the Nano small size and lack of power, but we’re not talking over the ear headphones - then I could understand. To add insult I recently read that some headphones are designed to work specifically with the iPod to offset the additional decibels. More specifically the Etymotic Research ER-6i headphones (white ones only) which are “designed specifically for use with the Apple iPod and other small portable players, offering 8 dB higher overall sensitivity and slightly more bass than the ER-6 isolator earphones.” Does this mean that all high end headphones are too sensitive for the iPods? The Shure’s fit snugly in your ear by rapping the cord over the top of your ear - a style derived from musician monitoring headphones. Because the Shure’s require the phones to be placed into the ear canal for optimal bass response they can become a bit uncomfortable after extensive or long periods of use. Final verdict: Great in ear head phones that dampen much of the outside sound, but some other in ear headphones for cheaper are a better choice.
Available at Amazon for $99.
November 21st, 2006
Retro junkies rejoice. Speck Products has a top-loading iPod stereo speaker system called the SpeckTone Retro. Sure, there are hundreds of iPod speaker systems on the market. What makes this system unique is the design.
The designers of the SpeckTone Retro have succeeded in making a product that looks modern and retro at the same time. The way they’ve paired clean modern styled lines with the nostalgic elegance of the 1950’s is very impressive. The end result is an iPod speaker system that doesn’t replicate or compete with the modern, sleek look of the iPod itself. These speakers almost feel like they could be in Lucy & Ricky’s living room.
The SpeckTone Retro sells for under $150 and has the following features:
- 28 watt output
- 4 inch subwoofer
- two 3 inch drivers
- 1/8″ mini plug auxiliary input
- Sleek & Stylish Retro design
- Analog Circuitry for rich, deep tone
- High-gloss lacquered wood cabinet
- Includes 2 free iPod skins (video & nano)
- Backlit ‘green glow’ volume knob
- compatible with the following iPods: 4G, 5G, nano and mini
The SpeckTone Retro comes in 3 high-gloss lacquered color finishes, black, white and green, and is available from Amazon.com. Thanks to the guys at iPastudio for turning us on to this.
digg story | methodshop
November 4th, 2006
So I picked up a 8GB Nano on Friday evening, bring me to my 72nd hour with the device. For the most part I am pretty pleased with the device, the new packaging - took me a sec to figure out how to open the damn thing - and its brighter screen. Battery life seems to be on par with Apple’s 20 hours, and the Nano sounds better then ever. But of course, like ever other iPod, there has to be a catch. The iPod Nano Gen 2 sports ULTRA slow - no lie - USB 2.0 transfer rates. In 10 minutes I couldn’t file the device and gave up leaving me with a half, yes HALF full Nano. My gen 1 Firewire iPod zipped right along, so as you can imagine this has left a bad taste in my mouth. Thank God for Costco and their ‘open’ return policy.
October 10th, 2006
The guys at CNet have posted a review of the Nintendo DS Lite. The liked its new slimmer format which doesn’t sacrifice feature set, and of course the dual screen touch format which was found on the previous model. They noted that the 3rd party video game support isn’t on par with Nintendo’s ‘originality and ingenuity’, the touch screen is more responsive but flimsy, and discovered that the darker models are equally susceptible to scratches and fingerprint smudges as the PSP or iPod. Nintendo DS Lite’s smaller format also leaves the Game Boy Advance games protruding from its slot (perfect fit in the original DS), but said this design flaw can be easily over looked and doesn’t impede upon gaming. Comparing battery life the Nintendo DS Lite zonked out at about 5 hours, while the original kicked it for 6 hours and 45 minutes (brighter screen sucks the juice). In closing, CNet felt that the Nintendo DS Lite’s newer brighter screen, and slimmer format is an ‘impressive’ move over the original Nintendo DS, but still not a ‘multimedia powerhouse’ like the Sony PSP.
Final score: 8/10
April 17th, 2006
Cnet took a look at Samsung’s Yepp YP-Z5 (2GB) last week and gave it an 8/10. They noted that the small Samsung player packed decent sound quality, a nice bright LCD for viewing photos and an easy to use menu. Also appreciated was the sturdy solid aluminum casing and 35 hour battery life. The main draw backs that they mentioned were the over sensitive touch pad that made control sometimes difficult and the lack of FM tuner. It should also be noted that the Yepp YP-Z5 is just slightly larger then the Nano in thickness but still went relatively unnoticed in the pocket, and all the while sports a larger screen and of course a longer battery life.
Swing over to Cnet for the full review.
March 20th, 2006
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