I mentioned to my wife yesterday that we didn't really need all or old CDs around anymore because we have them on our iPod. She felt the iPod still didn't sound as good as from the originals. But seeing as neither of us is an audiophile, I told her I suspected it's more that we tend to play the iPod through PC and portable speakers that just don't measure up to our home stereo's system. How do you connect your iPod to the stereo? One of the simplest solutions is Kensington's Stereo Dock for the iPod. Our audio guru, Mike Kobrin, reviewed it on pcmag.com last October and gave it 3.5 stars, but at that time it was a $80 device. Through Monday, March 13th, Buy.com has the Stereo Dock for $29.99 after $30 rebate. I spoke to Mike and he said it definitely would have scored higher at that price.
The dock's probably this cheap because Kensington recently released an upgraded unit, the Entertainment Dock 500 for iPod, that hooks into your TV as well so you can watch your photos and videos. The Entertainment Dock is a nice unit, but it only got 3 stars out of Mike. It's also more expensive, listing for $99 and the best Cheap Geek price I could find on it was $69.99 at J&R. You also may want to check out Griffin's $99 TuneCenter for the iPod which adds the ability to view your music library on the TV and listen to Internet radio.
The ModooFree BT is a Rearview Mirror Hands Free Car Kit with Bluetooth. When you receive a phone call, the caller's number is actually displayed on the mirror. I don't know, sounds a little distracting to me, especially if you need to see what the car behind you is doing.
Still, it's definitely a unique idea. ModooFree says that the car kit works with all GSM/CDMA/TDMA/PDC cell phones and all cellular networks. The ModooFree BT features a 12-digit caller ID, voice announcing for incoming phone numbers, changeable ring tones, digital noise and echo suppression, a surge prevention circuit, and more.
The ModooFree Plus BT unit not only utilizes Bluetooth, but parking sensors as well. According to ModooPlazaProducts.com, the sensors, located inside the rearview mirror, can detect obstacles in the back which cannot be seen from the rearview mirror, and indicates that distance via LCD digits on the mirror.
The ModooFree was made in Korea, so there aren't many links for purchasing in the U.S. But I did manage to find two sites that are selling it between $139-$159: Backup Eyes.com and MillionBuy.com.
Poking around on the Cingular Web site after someone asked me a question about insurance, I discovered an interesting list of phones hidden on their "Equipment Protection Plan" Web page. (I'm not the only person to have noticed this, either - the sharp wits at HowardForums seem to have picked up on this.) The page is full of unreleased phone models. When I asked Cingular rep Ritch Blasi about whether the carrier would release any of these, he was noncommital. "We look at and test dozens, even hundreds of devices over the course of the year," he said. But still, the appearance of these phones on Cingular's official pages must count for something, right?
SE Helen - aka the Sony Ericsson W810, a new Walkman phone designed for Cingular HP iPAC hw6920/hs6925 (sic, and at left) - the latest version of HP's handheld iPAQ communicators Motorola V3i - The next RAZR with iTunes
Motorola E680 - A Linux-based PDA/phone that was never released in the USA Motorola A910 - Linux and Wi-Fi on this one
Nokia 7700 - A tablet-style PDA/phone that never made it in the USA Nokia Texas - No idea (and I asked Nokia); maybe the 6282, Nokia's upcoming 3G phone for Cingular RIM 7130C - A Cingular version of Verizon's high-speed Blackberry, so maybe with Cingular's 3G network on board? Samsing D807 - A slim slider phone we saw at CES Cingular 6500 - The next Windows Mobile phone, like the 2125 and 8125?
Most of my phones are loaners, which come with the usual retail packaging, but occasionally I'll get a special promotional model -- and Cingular went way overboard with this one. They want you to know they sponsor "American Idol," a show which, by the way, I despise - I think it generates a parade of bland, nearly unlistenable sub-pop with no genitals. (Think I'm joking? A group of fans has actually sued based on uncorroborated tabloid claims that one of their Idols, Clay Aiken, might have done certain grownup things they personally don't like.)
So yesterday a truly unusual package arrives at PC Magazine. It contains an utterly unremarkable Samsung SGH-X497 phone. The X497 has much in common with American Idol; it's alowest-common-denominator phone with a good set of pipes but little personality, a best-seller thanks to its low cost and reliability. But it's the rest of the stuff that sort of freaked me out:
A "do not disturb, I'm watching American Idol" sign. ("Do not disturb, Clay Aiken is in here doing things that a certain segment of his fans probably won't want to see?" [Please note that this is not what the sign from Cingular actually said. Sascha is making fun of gossipers. See his 3 clarifications in Comments, below. Thank you.--Carol Mangis] ) - Okay.
A black T-Shirt (Simon Cowell reference.) - Unbranded T-shirts are nice, but Cowell wouldn't be caught dead wearing a 50/50 cotton/poly blend.
A pom-pom. - Odd.
A container of hair gel. (Ryan Seacrest reference.) - Borderline funny, borderline a little gross.
A magnetic, legless stuffed dog. (Randy Jackson reference.) - Would be okay if the dog had legs.
A stick of deodorant (for 'stressful moments.') - Okay, that crosses the line, guys; that's just disgusting.
All of these things will remain in the PC Mag inventory for future testing. Cingular's PR crew gets points for originality, but no amount of shaking the pom-pom at the X497 will turn it into an SGH-ZX20, guys.
Born on the quietest planet NoNoyz, the Soniks aren't TV stars or characters in children's books. Nope, the Soniks are actually plush dog toys, created with Silent Squeak technology that only dogs can hear. That's right, no more listening to the painful squeaking noise coming from your dog chewing on its favorite toy.
The Sonik's ultrasonic squeaker produces a sound with a frequency range between 25,000 Hz and 35,000 Hz, which is above the audible range for humans.
Now let's meet the family. There's SubSonik and SuperSonik (the parents); UltraSonik and HyperSonik (the teenagers); and the family pets, Woofer and Tweeter. (I should consider buying one for my brother's puppy. Its squeaky lobster toy is so annoying.)
The aircraft of the future is closer than you think. It’s not the concept designs you’re used to seeing, but the Boeing 787 Dreamliner comes pretty close.
The 200 seat airplane has built-in WiFi, extra large windows, and huge aisles. The cabin is brightly lit with color changing LEDs. You can ask your flight attendant to adjust the brightness and color of the sky line cabin, depending on your mood.
And how about those shade-less windows? The “electrochromatic” windows can be darkened with the press of a button. The economy seats still look pretty crappy, but they did mention something about large lavatories.
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