Gadget Geek

What I would like to see in the next version of iPhone.

2008-02-27T16:10:00.006-06:00

No matter how good the iPhone is at performing certain functionalities like web browsing or the ipod audio and video features, I was still compelled to give away my iPhone to my brother-in-law due to the lack of the following features.

A Ring loud enough to be clearly heard.
Lack of voice activated hands free dialling.
No functionality to transmit/receive contact information or data via bluetooth.
No persistent audible battery low warning similar to Motorola phones.
ipod video or music audio cannot be played through bluetooth devices.
Pedometer fitness functionality similar to Sony Ericsson's W580i
Zoom functionality missing in camera mode.
No video recording mode.
No TV out via headphone jack. (Although I have the cradle for connecting the iphone to my TV at home, I would still prefer the TV out via the headphone for connection to the DVD screen in my Honda Odyssey.)

The lack of 3G support is not really too important to me as I anyway prefer to use wifi for Internet browsing or watching youtube videos.

TechBargains.com

2008-02-27T10:48:00.003-06:00

I browse TechBargains.com quite frequently to check for outstanding bargains related to DVD movies, console games, media blanks and more. As a matter of fact most of my gadgets have been purchased from deals that I found on TechBargains.com PS3, XBOX360, Garmin nuvi 650, Panasonic Plasma HDTV etc.
I find the following features of the site very helpful

The Find a "new product" page is very useful to locate newly launched high demand products like the wii.
Memory Prices chart specifying the lowest prices and link to pricegrabber.com to locate websites or stores.
The Hot Picks section provides a list of best deals for digital camera, DVD players, video cards, etc.

On TechBargains.com you can find information about vendors using the Vendor Info link on the site, you can see all the deals from a particular vendor or search for deals similar to the one you like.

The best store found on TechBargains.com is Buy.com. Not only does it have free shipping on most items, it usually also has the lowest prices to be found anywhere online.

3rd generation 4GB silver iPod Nano

2007-11-16T12:04:00.000-06:00

I recently bought the new 3rd iPod nano 4GB to check out the new split user interface and was disappointed by the following shortcomings.

Aluminium front cover that is very scratch prone ( a simple wiping with the included cloth was enough to put a scratch around the click wheel)
highly polished chrome back cover that starts looking ugly with all the smudges it collects very easily
TV out no longer supported via the headphone jack (special 50$ dock and $50 apple approved cables required)
tiny 2 inch screen not too comfortable to watch a full length movie (apple should have stuck to providing video on the itouch (best size) or classic (better size) screen )
colors on the 8GB models are too dull. (I would have preferred the earlier generation shuffle colors (bright orange, bright green, bright pink etc)
Worst of all you can no longer connect your ipod nano to your computer and then play the songs on your nano via itunes.

I wanted to buy the 160GB classic for the huge storage that I would get to store and watch my extensive ipod converted video library, but the TV out feature has put me off and I would probably not be buying the classic until I read that a future update puts back the TV out via the headphone jacks.

iPhone 1.1.1 Firmware upgrade bricks hacked iphones.

2007-10-02T15:20:00.000-05:00

No matter which Apple related site you visit, the comments section seems to be filled with Apple fans accusing hackers and developers who developed non-apple sanctioned applications for the iPhone about crying unfair.

Apple is in the business of selling iPhone and ultimately their AAC locked in songs via itunes. Nobody seems to be grudging Apple the right to block their iPhone from being used on other networks (as they have a 2 year exclusivity contract with AT&T, which I believe is probably loosing Apple at lot of new customers, who want iPhone but do not want AT&T service) or the right to sell their ipod/phone locked down songs to users who want them. (If users are dumb enough to prefer buying songs that they can play only on their precious iPod/iPhone and nowhere else they should be allowed to do that, though I do prefer to be able to copy and play the same song on the multitude of portable players that I have, Sony Net MD, Sony Walkman, iPod Video 5th generation, iPhone and the list goes on)

What I however find distasteful is the fact that Apple deemed to find even innocent 3rd party applications like games (tic tac toe) etc as a threat to its monopolistic attitude about its products as now there is no way for those applications to be loaded with firmware 1.1.1 upgrade.

This cat and mouse game will probably keep going on for a while as hackers will ultimately succeed in finding a solution.

However if Apple keeps up with this practice they have far more to lose as they will inadvertently be causing problems for their loyal and faithful customers (who do not own a unlocked iPhone) by breaking stuff that should not have been broken etc, etc.

iPod touch

2007-09-06T16:49:00.000-05:00

yippee!!! The new wave of iPods has been announced and the iPod that a lot of people have been waiting for the past couple of years is finally here. The iPod touch, an iPhone without the phone. It has everything that I was expecting from the latest version of iPod except the storage space. 8GB and 16GB is too tiny a space to store anything other than a couple hundred songs or a couple of movies for a short trip.

I will probably need to buy both the 8GB iPod touch for the new touch features and the 160GB classic for the space.

One of my grievances with Apple has been addressed a day after they reduced the price of the iPhone and decided to reimburse all the old iPhone customer who bought theirs at the higher price with a $100 in-store coupon.

My second grievance has been the non-update of the new interface for every succeeding iPod for the earlier versions that can support the features via software updates. I never expected my 60GB iPod Photo to be capable of displaying Videos (though I still believe that it would have been possible without any hardware updates) but I still was expecting the next update to introduce the lyrics feature for songs as I have great difficult in understanding the wording of the songs without the written lyrics. Now again the new interface that has been introduced on the new nano, iPod classic and iPod touch is not being provided as an update for the 5th generation video iPods which seems to be pretty unfair and I for one will protest this by not buying the new iPods that I crave till I see something being done about this.

Playstation 3

2007-08-16T11:23:00.000-05:00

The current controversy about Madden 08 having 60fps on xbox 360 vs 30fps on PS3 seems to me like the final nail in the coffin for PS3. Even though PS3 was the first new generation gaming console that I bought next the wii and now finally the xbox 360 after the 50$ price cut and addition of the HDMI port to the premium console.

first it was the delay by 1 year to release the ps3 after xbox 360 was released
next it was the price that was keeping PS3 from catching up with the xbox 360
then it was the lack of games for it
now it seems to be the inferior programming of the games for the ps3 vs the xbox 360 ( lot of users seem to be complaining about slower screen and control response in Madden 08 on PS3 vs the game played on xbox 360)

Personally I like Sony products very much even though they are usually more expensive than the competition, but what sells Sony to me is the good looks and excellent quality of their products.

I have never bought first generation products for any non-japanese company, because I know that there will be a lot of problems with the product till the 2nd or sometimes 3rd generation avator is released. For the xbox 360 it seems to be the new premium console with HDMI that hits the sweet spot because of the quieter DVD drive, extra heatsinks and the HDMI port.

Slingbox Classic - Placeshifting made easy.

2007-07-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

I bought my Slingbox classic just before the 2006 FIFA world cup as I wanted to be able to watch the matches live when I was away from home.

I liked the simple look and design of the device but wished it was a little heavier so that the weight of the attached cables did not keep dragging it down from the entertainment tower.

Connecting the Slingbox to my DishNet box was a breeze. I used the S-Video cables (for better picture quality), the audio and the IR cables to connect the satellite box to the Slingbox. The network port was connected to the router and I was all set for the next step, which was installing the SlingPlayer software that makes it possible to view the contents of the satellite box on the computer. The setup started automatically on inserting the installation disk into the laptop. It was very easy following the onscreen steps to complete the setup. For Audio/Video setup you have to make sure you select the correct cable that you used for connecting the Slingbox. In my case it was the s-video cable. Select the device for the remote from list of available devices. For remote viewing setup, the installation was able to configure the router on my Microsoft MN-500 Wireless access point successfully.

Video quality in window mode was not bad at all when I was using SlingPlayer from inside my home network. Full screen mode did make the picture more pixilated then it would appear on a TV. Response while changing channels was extremely good.

The only problem I have found so far with my Slingbox classic version is that the video output to the TV turns black and white every now and then and the Slingbox needs to be reset to bring back the colors.

I would love to buy the new Slingbox Pro as it supports connectivity for up to 4 inputs. The HD option is good as it would allow me to watch the HD channels in their original aspect ratio of 16:9.
It is the SlingCatcher that I am more interested in buying as it would allow me to watch all the video sources I have in my house on any of my TV sets without having to buy individual devices like HD tuners, DVD changers etc for every TV in my house.

I like the article on the Sling Community website about The Top 10 most wanted features in SlingPlayer which can be found at http://www.slingcommunity.com/article/22888/The-Top-10-Most-Wanted-SlingPlayer-Features

iPhone 2 weeks later.

2007-07-13T07:49:00.000-05:00

Now that the initial hype and hoopla over the release of Apple iPhone is over. A couple of things have emerged.
Those who have already bought the iPhone seem to be pretty happy with the features provided.
The rest seem to be in two camps, those that want the iPhone to be unlocked so they can use it with any network of their choice or those like me who simply want to use the multimedia features of the iPhone.
The problem I see with the unlocked phone seems to be the amount of customization required by the network provider to support the features unique to the iPhone, I don't hear anyone who talks about the unlocked iPhone talk about whether they are willing to live without the features that only AT&T is capable of providing on the iPhone.
Where I am concerned, I would be content with a iPod only version of iPhone that provides me with the following features of the iPhone.

nice big and bright 3 inch screen to watch movies
ability to change display orientation while browsing my photo collection
listen to my music collection, though I would require at least 60GB to store it
play the limited amount of games currently available on the iPod using finger touch.
a wi-fi connection with Internet browsing capability would be a nice addition.

Sony PSP - PSP1001

2007-07-12T09:46:00.000-05:00

Read an article today about the new slimmer and lighter PSP to be released by Sony in September 2007. Though these 2 changes are definitely welcome, I wish Sony would also implement a few other changes that would make the PSP a more welcome media player to carry around.

A brighter screen (similar or better than the 5th generation iPod).
An improved game load time (some games seem to take forever to load, not sure if this is a hardware or software problem)
Available in different brighter colors. (that seems to be the prevalent theme these days, even dell seems to have got into the act with 8 new colors for their laptops - my favourite color is green, hint, hint.)
A built-in microphone for voice chat during network games.
An internal hard disk or at least a small amount of flash memory to store bookmarks related to position of movie being watched, music last listened to, etc.
An improved battery life.
A faster battery charger. (The current battery charger seems to take forever to finish charging the unit)
or a USB charger that can be connected to a computer or the PS3 would be a much better option.
A better analog controller for moving around in games.

Other things Sony could do to popularize the PSP would be to

Offer the PSP Media Manager software for free (they probably need to get rid of SonicStage and use the Media Manager for all their media players)
Introduce UMD recorders similar to the Mini-Disc which never took off but I do love the 3 that I own.
Reduce the prices of UMD movies to under $10
Reduce the prices of their memory stick products (if Sandisk and other companies can afford to sell them cheaper, I am sure Sony can too)

Panasonic Plasma Display TH-50PHD8UK

2007-07-09T16:33:00.000-05:00

After waiting for a few years for the flat screen prices to become reasonable. I finally took the plunge and decided to buy the Panasonic Plasma display TH-50PHD8UK last year. After watching HD content and playing PS3 games on it for the past few months I have to agree with the majority of the reviewers who have rated this display as excellent.
Since this is professional series HD display meant for commercial users, it probably does not fit the needs of most consumers. I had to add a DVI-D terminal board and use a 5 channel HDMI switcher to connect my HDTV Tuner, Apple mac-mini and the PS3 to it.
While playing blu-ray DVDs the color literally pops out of the screen. The contrast is really good and the black does appear deep black.

Wii - Nintendo game console

2007-06-30T15:35:00.000-05:00

Wii has finally managed to make me get my butt out of a chair while playing games. I simple love playing bowling and tennis from the Wii Sports disk that came along with the console. Have yet to try playing Zelda and Redsteel about which I have been hearing rave reviews about how the games have been developed to take advantage of Wii's innovative controller. Finally I have found a game console controller that I have no trouble using. Having grown up on PC games played using a keyboard, using a console controller like the SIXAXIS that comes with PS3 was a problem.

I just wish Nintendo had put more thought into the Mii channel, right now it just seems like other than using it to create an avatar and assign it to your remote there is little else that they do, I yet to see any Mii in the parade. It would also have been nice to be able to play audio Cd's or movie DVDs on the Wii.

I have never managed to get onto the Wii Shop channel. It just seems to hang every time, I click on the Shop channel.

I like the way the Forecast channel works. Dragging the globe around to check weather forecasts in different parts of the world is awesome.

The News channel is interesting in the sense you get to see the location on a world map about the place you are reading about.

Photo channel was not interesting at all because of the low resolution that the Wii supports (especially after you get used to watching your high-resolution photos using the PS3 hooked up to a 50" Panasonic Plasma Monitor).

Sony NW-S205F 2 GB Flash Sports Digital Music Player

2007-06-29T10:02:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back Circuit City had a good deal on the Sony NW-S205F 2GB music player which had it on sale for $59.95 and I could not resist buying it. This is a very sturdy aluminium clad lipstick sized (and shaped) music player that includes a FM Tuner, Calorie Counter, Music Pacer and a Stop Watch. It can be quick charged in 3 minutes to provide up to 3 hours of playback, which is very convenient for that train ride to work and back.
I like the fact that most of the recent personal devices like the iPod, Sony Erickson Walkman cell phones and this music player provide charging using a USB connection. I am very impressed by the accuracy of the G-Sensor that provides the calorie counter functionality. Irrespective of whether you are carrying the NW-S205F in your backpack, shirt pocket or pant pockets it still accurately records the number of steps taken and on that basis calculates the calories burned. I also like the neat setup feature which allows you to have the calorie counter reset daily.
If only Sony does away with the SonicStage software that is required for transferring music to its music player and lets users simply drag and drop music from their computer drives to their music devices. Alternately Sony should at least strive to improve SonicStage and bring it to the standard of Apple iTunes.

Honda Odyssey

2007-06-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

I recently purchased a 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L with Rear Entertainment System (RES) and was extremely disappointed with the fact that neither the 6 CD in-dash changer nor the DVD player could play my extensive collection of mp3 Cd's.
These days anything and everything that has a speaker is capable of playing mp3's whether it is the GPS navigator - Garmin Nuvi 350 or a digital photo frame let alone my 2 year old Motorola V330 cellphone or a cheap Sony portable CD player.
The 9 inch widescreen DVD screen has extremely poor resolution which makes store bought DVDs play like some low-res downloaded movie. The RES does come with A/V inputs which are inconveniently located near the 3rd row window seat. I was however able to play mp3 music as well as video from the iPod using these A/V inputs.

iPhone

2007-06-26T12:14:00.000-05:00

Well, with all the hype about the iPhone, I know I will want one when it becomes easily available even though I am not willing to switch my mobile network from T-Mobile to the "new AT&T", I hope the iPhone will still function as an expensive glorified iPod without the network service for the phone. A few years back I would have embraced the iPhone without any hesitation. However based on past experiences with multi-functional gadgets, I have realised that any multi-functional gadget though very high in geek value does little to enhance the value of the individual functions. A camera phone though useful in a few cases (like talking photos of your vehicle after an accident for insurance purposes etc) does not take as good a picture as you would like during your vacation to some exotic locale like Hawaii (and no I have personally never been there yet, hopefully soon) The iPhone according to a lot of reviews I have read about the product has the following shortfalls: too big of a screen area to get smudged with fingerprints and the oil from my face while using the phone. Very little storage space for holding all the photos, movies, and music collected over the years.