BlueMic, makers of fine audio goods, has upgraded their Yeti to a more astonishing, and promising, Yeti Pro. If the Yeti Pro proves to be as good as it sounds, the internet will be ruined in a matter of days.

The Yeti Pro features not only digital recording, but also analog recording for analog junkies, in case digital is somehow not good enough anymore. It can record between 22kHz and 192kHz, which is mind-boggling audio quality. But as I pointed out to the BlueMic representative, home recorders suffer from being too sensitive to sound pollution…like the whir of a computer fan or, well, your dog breathing in the next room.

To combat this, BlueMic has made it stupidly simple to fine-tune the Yeti Pro with just two knobs on the back and a zero-latency 3.5mm jack for stereo headphones. That way, you can set up the acoustic sensitivity based on your personal sound pollution so the Yeti Pro doesn’t pick it up by accident.

I suppose if the Yeti Pro turns out to be as wonderfully sounding as they claim, I’ll need to get a new job. Because nobody will ever want to go back to the internet after all the yelling and screaming, albeit in crisp, clear and wonderfully rendered audio, ever again.

Having already reviewed the Moshi Voice Controlled Alarm Clock some months back, I knew what I was getting into.  This time around I found myself annoyed by Moshi’s inadequacies even though I like some of the core features more than the first iteration.  The whole clock radio aspect really appealed to me and controlling the clock without the voice control ended up being easier than trying to speak to the clock in a variety of stern tones.

First off, the size and visual aesthetic of the clock has bedside written all over it, and fit it nicely with my lamp and other random strewn abouts.  The LCD illuminated at 3 levels of “off-blue” brightness but I found myself desiring the in between.  The low was either too dim and hardly visible where as the brightest setting scorched the cornea and was hard to set morning eyes against.  The buttons had a mildly sticky matte adhesive feel and reacted promptly during times of snooze and other operation.

The IVR006 let you set two alarms using either the alarm or the radio.  Both require only a few button presses and are generally more pleasant than trying to set them using only the voice commands.  When trying to set up the Alarm Clock using voice commands the whole sequence must be spot for the action to actually set.  For example, saying “Hello Moshi” will prompt the clock to ask you another command inquiry and depending on the action itself it can take up to 3-4 accurate phrases to complete.  This can often be a trying task.  Anytime Moshi doesn’t recognize what you say or if she misunderstands completely you have to start the whole sequence from the beginning.  Boo.

Sometimes she simply refuses to hear you.  Other times, I’ll say my dog’s name and Moshi will think I’m talking to her.  No matter how forceful or bold you make your voice  she will shut you down.  Now believe me, If I was hard of seeing I’d be pretty disappointed in this product because the thing is, is that the clock has this ancillary voice recognition meter that is hardly discerning.  I think the idea behind the meter is to keep you aware of the accuracy of your diction but you’re never going to remember that exact pitch that made Moshi listen that one time.  Maybe future iterations will make this feature a bit more useful?

For a clock of this size, the sound wasn’t all that bad given that the positioning of the speakers isn’t of the standard variety.  There’s an AUX input for any MP3 player and I enjoyed the bedside Podcast as I laid down to rest.  The radio also sounded pretty good and was more than I expected.  You can have three radio presets and set any alarm to any one of them.  What I might not of mentioned before is that anytime to set something manually on Moshi you will get a verbal confirmation letting you know that you did it the right way.  I liked that very much considering I couldn’t depend on the actual voice control.

When rounding up this review, I can honestly say that I’m not as impressed with the Moshi IVR006 this time around.  The overall package has more to offer, but the Voice Control just seemed weak and despondent.  It was fun to show visitors’ what Moshi was capable of (when it worked of course) but I found myself totally abandoning the voice controls during my weekly regimes.  The price point is a bit high right now ($70) for me to recommend this clock because it can’t quite perform to it’s true selling point.  Other than that it does have some cool stuff going for it, but right now it’s not a complete product.

Pros:

• Attractive and small
• Radio sounds decent
• Aux in

Cons:

• Poor voice controls
• Weak LCD brightness settings
• Pricey

Buy the Moshi Voice Controlled IVR006 Digital Clock Radio here for $70!

While I enjoy photography, I can’t say I’m a photographer. Lens lengths and quality go directly over my head. But Sony’s new NEX series caught my eye for a couple reasons — they’re mirrorless, and they’re the lightest interchangeable lens cameras in the world. Here’s what I can tell you: Specs across both cameras include 14.6 MP sensor, a 3-inch, 900,000 pixel LCD, and an ISO of 12,800. The NEX-3 has 720p video while the NEX-5 has 1080i. The NEX-3 will be available in black, red, and silver, while the NEX-5 is available in black and silver.

The included Sweep Panorama mode is interesting — you hold down the shoot button and sweep across a vista, and the camera can automatically piece the images together.  There is also an HDR mode, which is all the rage these days. Check out the PR for all the technical details.

Both cameras are available this July. The NEX-5A and NEX-3A cameras, which are supplied with SEL16F28 lens, will cost about $650 and $550, respectively. NEX-5K and NEX-3K cameras, supplied with SEL1855 lens will cost about $700 and $600 respectively.

SAN DIEGO, May 10, 2010 Sony today introduced two innovative (alpha) compact interchangeable lens digital cameras (models NEX-5 and NEX-3) that provide the quality of a digital SLR in a compact body that is easy to slip into a small purse or jacket pocket for ultimate portability.

Consumers want better picture quality in a smaller form factor. Sony has made that a reality with these cameras. The NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras truly embody Sony’s make.believe spirit, said Kristen Elder, director of Sony s alpha digital imaging business. These new cameras are the game-changers everyone has been waiting for and will revolutionize the consumer experience by offering outstanding picture quality with a totally pocketable size.

With breakthrough video performance, these models are the world s first interchangeable lens cameras with an APS-C sensor to continuously adjust focus and exposure while recording video. The NEX-5 camera offers Full HD movie capture (1080i AVCHD and 720p MP4) with Full HD 60i recording.

These cameras are perfect for point and shoot users looking to advance from snapshots to creative photography as well as existing DSLR users searching for a no compromise compact alternative.

Innovative Design

Unlike conventional DSLR models, the mirrorless construction of the new models reduces the thickness of both camera bodies to just about an inch at their slimmest point (excluding grip and mount portions). The NEX-5, constructed from magnesium alloy, and the NEX-3, with a polycarbonate casing, offer a newly developed 14.2 megapixel Exmor”! APS HD CMOS sensor. About 60 percent larger than the sensor in micro four-thirds cameras, this sensor is key to the exceptional image quality, extremely low image noise and creative defocus background effects that are familiar to DSLR users.

HD Movie Recording and Fast, Silent Autofocus

The NEX-5 and NEX-3 are the first cameras to offer the extra convenience of high definition video recording. In addition to 720p HD recording, the NEX-5 also captures

Full HD (1920 x 1080i) video in high-quality AVCHD files that can be easily enjoyed on a compatible HD television via the cameras built-in HDMI”! terminal (cable not included). The NEX-3 shoots 720p HD video as compact MP4 files. Both Sony cameras include built-in stereo microphones for high-quality audio recording.

Still and video image quality is further refined by Sony’s powerful BIONZ processor that ensures quick DSLR-style shooting response with fast, precise autofocus and minimal shutter lag. Both cameras can also capture fast-moving action with a high-speed burst of full-resolution images at up to 7fps (AF/AE fixed from first frame).

Sweep Panorama

The NEX-5 and NEX-3 are the first cameras featuring Sweep Panorama. Capturing large group shots is as easy as press-and-sweep. Sweep Panorama mode lets consumers capture breathtaking shots up to 226-degree horizontal or 151-degree vertical shots.

Both models will be ready for 3D Sweep Panorama this July (with firmware update). With 3D Sweep Panorama mode, these cameras can shoot 3D panoramic still images with a single lens. The high-speed burst of frames is stitched together using innovative processing techniques to automatically create detail-packed 3D panoramas. These files can be enjoyed in stunning 3D on compatible 3D televisions (other accessories may be required).

These cameras provide the advantages of multi-frame capture featured in Cyber-shot cameras, including Hand-Held Twilight and Anti-motion Blur modes, which offer extraordinary low-light performance.

Simple To Use

Overcoming the complexity and intimidation that often come along with DSLR use, the NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras have a new easy-to-use interface. It makes their performance advantages and features including the techniques of creative photography simple to master for consumers stepping up from compact digital still cameras and simultaneously offers easy access to the important camera controls that DSLR users demand.

Images and camera settings are displayed on the 3-inch (diagonal)wide-typeXtra FineLCD”! display withTruBlack”! technology and 921kdot high resolution LCD that tilts up or down for comfortable viewing in any shooting position. The screen features an auto-brightness control function for excellent visibility, even outdoors. TruBlack screen technology enables an even more vivid, high-contrast view of images and camera settings.

E-Mount Lenses

Three new E-mount lenses are being introduced, including a 16mmF2.8 wide angle prime lens (model number SEL16F28), an 18mm-55mmF3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens(model number SEL1855)and an 18mm-200mmF3.5-6.3 (model number SEL18200) high magnification zoom lens.

The E-mount lenses provide the cameras with extreme compactness as well as the performance required for quiet continuous auto focus and auto exposure during HD video capture. These all new lenses are of premium construction, with brushed aluminium barrels and steel mounts. An optional LA-EA1 Mount Adaptor extends compatibility to the family of 30 lenses, plus a huge range of other legacy A-mount lenses (Manual Focus only).

Ideal for everyday shooting, the low-profile E 16mmF2.8 lens minimizes bulk, allowing the camera to easily be carried in a coat, pants pocket, or purse. This lens creative possibilities can be expanded even further by the VCL-ECU1 Ultra Wide Converter which provides a 12mm view, and VCL-ECF1 Fisheye Converter that delivers impressive curvi-linear distortion.

Featuring in-lens Optical SteadyShot”! image stabilization for clearer handheld images, the E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS zoom is a perfect travel partner. The NEX-5 and NEX-3 are available in kit form with either the 16mm prime or the 18mm-55mm lens. The E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom lens offers a powerful 11x magnification range plus Optical SteadyShot image stabilization with Active mode that is used in the most advanced Handycam camcorders.

Accessories

Both cameras are supplied with a super-compact clip-on flash that attaches via the smart accessory terminal when needed. Other optional accessories include the FDA-SV1 Optical Viewfinder plus stylish cases and shoulder straps.

As an option, the accessory shoe on both cameras accepts a compact ECM-SST1 Stereo Microphone that captures even more high-quality sound for HD video recordings than the cameras built-in stereo recording.

The new cameras accept both Memory Stick PRO Duo”! (including Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo”!)and SD (including both SDHC and SDXC formats) media (all sold separately). Sony s new Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX offers 30MB per second transfer rates that save you time when downloading images.

Pricing and Availability

The NEX-5A and NEX-3A cameras, which are supplied with SEL16F28 lens, will cost about $650 and $550 respectively. NEX-5K and NEX-3K cameras, supplied with SEL1855 lens will cost about $700 and $600 respectively. The NEX-3 will be available in silver, black and red, and the NEX-5 in silver and black.

The SEL16F28 and SEL1855 lenses will be available for about $250 and $300. (The SEL18200 zoom lens will be available this fall for about $800.)

The cameras, lenses and a range of accessories will be available in July at Sony Style retail stores (www.Sonystyle.com/retail) and at authorized dealers nationwide.

Nowadays everybody should have a pocket camcorder.  They’re fun, easy to use, and totally affordable.  JVC’s first foray into that arena arrives by way of the Picsio GC-FM1.  The Picsio, in which I will refer to is as from here on in, is extremely lightweight and is easy on the eyes thanks to its bejeweled-esque design aesthetic.

I really like the way the Picsio felt and held.  From krinkle-cut side seam to the overall way it fit in my hand, the Picsio is ready to slip comfortably into your jeans or backpack.  Aside from general aesthetics, the buttons on the Picsio were extremely flush with the body.  While they felt smooth and accessible, they often times didn’t react like you wanted them to.  The power button required a “hold” press but I could never get used to how long it actually took.  It also took longer to power up than to shut down using the same button.

Other times hard pressing buttons led to features I never new existed on the Picsio.  For example, nowhere in the “very basic” instruction manual does it describe being able to fast forward and rewind a movie using the directional pad whilst viewing.  I thought it should be there so through a couple hard presses I discovered that it did indeed work.  Not a big deal, but the instruction manual should have made it clear that that function was available.  Other than that, the memory card slot unhinged with an ease and precision and the SD card popped out with an expected bravado.

The sound out of the speaker straight sucked.  Totally distorted and hardly audible.  Like my complaint with the Flip Mino there should absolutely be a headphone input.  Having to listen back to audio on the Picsio was a drag.  Moving on, the recorded sound appearing on the video sounded clear and totally listenable.  The mic picked up most everything it needed to and I have no complaints in that area.

The video that the Picsio was capable of taking was rather impressive.  Maxing out at 1080p, my videos looked great on my computer and YouTube.  Image stability could have been a bit tighter, but I think that this flaw is inherent in most of these digi-pocket cams so I don’t consider it a true fault of the Picsio in and of itself.  Color and contrast was generally pretty sharp.  The lens itself could have been wider, but only a true purist would complain about that.

While the Picsio looks great in ample amounts of light, low levels come out really, really dark.  I just can’t understand why these companies can’t design a pocket cam with an LED spotlight.  Trying to record night life ends up being a real crapshoot (pun intended) without a significant light source.  This we know.

Transferring files via USB was easy and self explanatory for all you Mac types using the typical drag and drop style.  The size of your SD card will totally dictate how long you can film in 1080p.  I was using a 2GB one and it only allowed for 7 minutes of HD shooting.  Do the math, and you’ll find that you won’t be shooting Avatar 2 in one take on a Picsio.  For this type of camera that is never really gonna matter because the Picsio is designed with the YouTube generation in mind.  All your really gonna do is shoot stupid shit your friends do and whatever else happens on the street, and the Picsio is perfect for that.

The Picsio also shoots stills in full screen ratio.  Not a lot of options, but if you need it it’s there.  I really liked the Macro slider on the side of the Picsio and found it to be an essential feature that was easily accessible through the flick of the switch.

There’s no real menu to speak of, so options and modes are off the table.  It comes packed with a wrist strap and a USB cable for transferring.  Battery life was decent and will easily outlast any memory card you have jammed in there.

In the end, I liked the JVC Picsio.  Some entry level design flaws are loudly apparent, but for the price (you can get one on Amazon for $100) the Picsio is a great choice.  I’d like to see some improvements for the next iteration such as a better UI and LED spotlight to name a few so we’ll have to wait and see what JVC has planned.

Pros:

• Lightweight and pretty
• Solid looking 1080p footage
• Easy file transfer

Cons:

• No LED Spotlight
• Lacking instruction manual and UI menus
• Shaky image stability

Buy the Blue JVC Picsio GC-FM1 Pocket HD Video Camera here for $100!

Model railroaders will stop at next to nothing when it comes to immersion and realism.  I have always loved model railroading as a child and I was mildly interested when I came across the Hornby Digital Sound Toy Locomotives.

Using digital samples that pump through the train’s speakers, the sounds are taken from real life locomotive scenarios, such as passing through a tunnel or coal being shoveled into the train’s firebox.   Hornby Toy Trains will definitely add that true life touch you’re looking for.  What you’ll also be looking for is your checkbook, as these puppies cost $400 a pop.

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Change collectors behold.  This Digital Money Counting Jar might actually make you spend all that coin change you’ve been hoarding.  Simple enough, there are a couple versions out there that deal with specific currency, so make sure you have the right one in your sights before you buy.

Amazon has a couple different models to choose from that accept US currency but they all are around the same size.  Prices range from $15 to $35.

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I must have completely missed this thing at CES this year.  What is basically a digital picture frame that runs widgets, news has now reached the blogs that the Sony Dash will now be able to run streaming video from a host of websites including Netflix.

What could be a game changer for this device, pricing is set a $200 and it will start shipping in April.  Get your dash and get your swerve on.

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The iRecord Pro is an all encompassing personal media recorder that literally has all angles covered.  From recording audio and video directly to your PC or Mac to your iPhone or PSP, the iRecord Pro also allows for unattended timed recordings.  The amount of specs on this thing is plain staggering and it should provide everything you need given the scenario.

The iRecord Pro will also charge any connected iPod.  For more information check out the iRecord Pro website and it’s available now for $260.

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Seeing a bunch of cool digital guitar controllers at this year’s CES, we apparently missed this one.  My take on the video is that the guitar and touchscreen look awesome but the sound, thanks large in part to compression, etc., sounds pretty trashy.

This MIDI controller has a full 24 frets and I’m sure is a blast to noodle on.  You can email a dude from Misa for pricing information but be sure to check out the video.

[via Techeblog]

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The You Rock Guitar is a digital guitar that works with Guitar Hero and Rock Band on all systems as well as performing like a real guitar in Garage Band, MIDI, or through headphones and amplifiers.  It’s ultra portable and actually breaks down into two pieces for easy storage.  Using GameFlex cartridges you can upload more sounds to the guitar and it even works with your iPhone.

I got a chance to use the You Rock Guitar yesterday and was impressed by the seeming endless range of applications and ease of playability.  Picking it up and playing it with bass sounds loaded was a lot of fun and while it definitely didn’t feel like a real guitar right off the bat, minutes later I felt my fingers and hands adjust to the strings and fretboard.

The strings felt more like large gauge nylon strings and guitarists will instantly either like or dislike the “action” of the spacing between the strings and how high they are set off the body of the guitar.  The fretboard felt pretty cool with the strings being embedded on the neck which worked really well.  Tapping mode, which you had to switch to, was awesome and really worked well.  My favorite part of my hands on demo without a doubt.  I didn’t get to use a pick with it and I can only finger pick so fast so I didn’t get to test the speed or the latency.

I wasn’t blown away with the quality of the samples I heard from the You Rock Guitar but the design and form factor was well though out and it felt really good despite how weird it was initially.  This product has some great potential and I hope that some more customization is implemented such as user created and shareable sounds are allowed instead of being forced to buy more and more GameFlex cartridges.

The You Rock Guitar will sell for $189.

Most digital MP3 converters we’ve seen so far have been bulky and expensive.  It’s about time we get one that is compact and more affordable.  Looking to be that remedy is the Ion Mix Meister.  Easy as Sunday morning (see the pic below), this USB music converter will effectively help newbies get all their old records and cassette tapes transformed into MP3′s.

Priced at $82, it’s great to finally see a product that cuts out the middle man as we’ve seen the pricey record player and cassette deck that will do it for you even though you already are sitting on an old one.  On sale now.

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I never thought that the day ‘monkey’ and ‘digital’ would appear in the same sentence, but finally that day has arrived.  The Digital Monkey Wrench tells you when your nut is just right or when it’s too tight.  But all this comes with a hefty price tag of $323, which doesn’t even include shipping.  Other features include a built-in LED light, ergonomic handle, some sort of buzzer to let you know you’ve over cranked and a 10-36mm diameter.

[via Crunchgear]

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Really?  Apparently not needing 3-D glasses to enjoy, the FujiFilm FinePix REAL 3D W1 camera won’t require anything more than a press of the shutter.  A 2.8-inch LCD on the back of the camera will display images in 3-D as soon as they are shot, and the camera is also capable of shooting good old fashioned 10 megaixel photos if you so choose.  The camera also features a 3x optical zoom as well as an “interval mode” that lets you shoot in 3-D while moving in a plane or another vehicle of your choosing.

Unfortunately, all these features don’t come cheap.  The FinePix REAL 3D W1 will cost around $940 US.  However, if this camera proves that quality 3-D images are capable, we will soon see that market develop and hopefully the price will go down.

I wonder what will this do for porn?

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