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This is a great HD table radio with a built in iPod dock, and perhaps
the best iPod accessory I’ve come across yet.
I was looking for a replacement for the iHome iH5 that’s
been our kitchen radio for the last couple of years. It still worked fine, but since it didn’t support charging on my
2nd gen Touch, and didn’t have a proper insert for supporting it (I hate it when your iPod is all
wimbley-wombley in the dock, I always get a vision of snapping the dock connector off while pressing the iPod’s buttons.),
I decided to replace it with a nice table radio.
I had made up my mind to go with a radio sans dock, because I was
sick of getting accessories that became obsolete every time I upgraded my iPod. I have a universal dock, and I figured I’d
just plug it in when I needed it. Then I saw the Sony XDR-S10HDiP HD Radio with dock, and fell in love.
It’s a great sounding AM, FM, HD radio with
an integrated iPod dock that supports the new iPhone 3g, Touch 2nd gen and Nano 4th gen charging requirements (as well as
all previous models), and it supports Apple’s universal dock adapters, so it will stick with you through all
of them changes.
HD radio is fantastic, and free, and most of the Boston area stations are
now streaming multicasts, giving you a plethora of crisp, clean, CD quality listening choices. Check out what’s currently available
here. My favorite so far is WZLX’s Radio Mojo Blues Channel, but there are
so many choices that for the first time ever I filled all 20 presets, and longed for more. Thank goodness it’s
also got a scan feature!
Because digital radio can carry information as well as music, the radio gives you station,
artist and song information in the display, and allows you to do iTunes tagging. Tagging is a cool feature that lets you “tag”
a song you’re listening to by hitting the tag button on the top of the radio while it’s lit. The next time you
dock your iPod, the radio transfers all the stored tags to it. When you sync, iTunes uses the information in the digital tags
to retrieve the songs for you. How cool is that? It even comes with a full sized remote, so you can tag from the comfort of
your chair.
Besides having all the bells and whistles you could ever want, this radio has excellent sound quality,
and the clarity of the HD signal makes it all the better. Plus it’s a real looker, but you don’t have to take
my word for it. Bring your iPod into an Apple retailer and plug it in for a test drive.
Note: You’ll probably
need to use the supplied FM dipole and AM loop antennas for best reception, but it’s worth it. Although you don’t
get static on digital radio, it will drop the link intermittently if you’re below 2 bars on the signal strength meter.
Get creative; I have the dipole cleverly woven up the back of the baker’s rack it sits on.
The Samsung Series 3 19” LCD HDTV is a great choice if you’re
looking for a smaller TV for the kitchen, spare bedroom or office.
The Series 3 is Samsung's entry level, or plain
vanilla line, but that’s what you want to look for in a small TV. You want the best quality for the best price, and
you usually don’t need a lot of bells and whistles.
The LN19A330 has got the same wide viewing angles (178x178)
that the higher series have, the same deep blacks and sharp picture, the same fast response time (No motion blur on Monday
Night Football!). The only place it lacks is in the “extras” department. For instance, there’s only 1 HDMI
input, no PiP, no memory stick or Ethernet ports, but this is all stuff you can live without if the TV isn’t meant for
use in a main viewing area.
It’s an incredibly small and sleek set. Because of the narrow bezel and bottom mounted
speakers, it really doesn’t take up much more space than a 15” set, but those few extra inches of screen really
make a big difference in viewing pleasure. Also, the good viewing angles are a huge plus that you won’t get in a lot
of smaller sets, and it’s an extremely important feature for a TV in a work area like a kitchen, where you’re
moving around.
It’s also light, weighing in at just 11.5 lbs., making it easy to move from the kitchen to the
patio, or down to Man Town for an extra TV on game day. It’s got an NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner, which means you get Hi Def
programming with an antenna or cable, both with or without a box, making it even more versatile.
There’s
a very comprehensive review of the LN19A330 here on Crutchfield’s
website.
While the manufacturers and big box stores are pushing the 40”
and above sets, there’s a real need out there among consumers for high quality, lower priced sets. The LN19A330 is regularly
priced at $379, but I’ve seen it on sale for as low as $349, so watch the weekly circulars. As the holidays, and the
digital deadline approaches, prices will be dropping.
If you’re looking for something just a little bit bigger,
but still a great value, check out our review of the Vizio VW26L below.
OK, I finally bit the bullet and replaced our perfectly good but outrageously
large Sony Wega flat tube TV in our bedroom with an LCD HDTV. Don't worry, the Sony has found a new home in one of the spare
bedrooms that previously had a 13 inch "whack the side when the brightness drops" TV. I'd never put my beloved Wega out on
the street.
I'd been holding off on the TV shuffle for a variety of reasons. First,
the deteriorating TV was in a spare room, so it wasn't a priority. Second, I was still relatively happy with my "big baby"
Sony flat tube, even though it ate up quite a bit of free space in our bedroom. And lastly, I haven't seen anything in the
"can't pass that up" category for LCD HDTV's.
I love the Samsung LCD that I have in my man cave. It's part of the 53H
line, which are their top 720p models. I love the picture quality, features and the space saving bottom mounted speakers on
these TVs, but I don't love their price. A 19" 53H goes for about $400, a 23" is over $600, a 26" is over $700 and a 32" is
over $800. I wanted at least a 26" in the bedroom but I just couldn't see shelling out $700+ for a bedroom TV. Although I
would never skimp on our main TV, I'm thrifty (OK, a cheapskate) when it comes to the rest.
All the cheaper makes and models I looked at either lacked the picture
quality or the features I desired. I'm constantly checking out the TV "lineups" in the electronics stores, looking for something
that has the clarity and color of the big names, but with a smaller price, and lately one manufacturer has caught my eye.
Vizio. The picture looks as good if not better side by side with the top of the line Samsungs and Sharps, and while not feature
rich, they have a very nice assortment, including bottom mounted speakers so that the TVs don't look as big as most of the
others in their size range.
It has a variety of inputs, most notably 2 HDMI's, and the NTSC/ATSC/QAM
tuners allow you to receive HD signals via antenna as well as digital SD and HD broadcasts via cable, both with and without
a box. A little known HD factoid is that you can receive SD digital and some HD digital signals via Comcast cable without
a box if you have a QAM tuner. You won't get the high end channels in high def, but you will get PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox
in both standard and high definition, so you don't need to go adding cable boxes all over your house. The high def channels
register as 7-1, 7-2, etc., just as they would if you were using an HD antenna.
Another feature I like on the Vizios is that when you set the screen width
(aspect ratio) on one SD channel, the setting is applied to all of the SD channels. The choices are 16:9, Panoramic and 4:3
for SD channels. 16:9 stretches the picture to fill the screen, giving everything a slightly fatter look. Panoramic stretches
just the edges of the picture to fill the screen, giving you a more natural look while still taking advantage of the wide
screen. 4:3 gives you that square "regular TV" look that we're all so used to, but is an incredible waste of screen space.
On a lot of wide screen HDTV's, SD broadcasts don't look as sharp as they do on a 4:3 set, but the Vizio does a nice job of
2:3 pull-down and the picture is sharp enough to expand to wide screen and still look pretty great.
I settled on the Vizio VW26LHDTV, which Walmart has for $367. It's a lot of TV for the money. The only short comings with
this set are the lack of RCA or optical audio outputs, it has mini stereo only (the larger Vizio sets have multiple audio
outs), and the lackluster remote (no back light). These didn't influence my purchase though as my bedroom sound system has
a mini stereo input and we've also got a back lit touchscreen universal remote. Gotta have two remotes in the bedroom, his
and hers.
So I'm a happy camper. I didn't spend a ton of money, I can watch HD in
bed, we gained all kinds of space, and overnight guests will no longer have to whack the TV in the spare room to watch it.
Plus, I get to visit with my trusty old Sony whenever I've been bad...
iRobot ConnectR
Check out the latest addition to the iRobot family, the ConnectR, a Virtual Visiting Robot. It's a Wi-Fi enabled audio visual robot that can be controlled remotely from any computer with
access to the Internet or locally via remote.
Check in on the pets while your away, interact with your kids when your working late, or just scare the bejesus out of
your wife, this baby has soooo much potential.
All kidding aside, I can see this as being an invaluable tool for someone with an elderly family member who lives far away,
or just for piece of mind when you're traveling. Imagine being able to link up and take a video spin around your house. An
itty-bitty house sitter who won't raid your fridge. Too cool!
I can't wait to get my hands on one of these. There's no release date as of yet, but I signed up for the pilot program
as soon as I saw it.
On my last trip I was really pressed for time and I wasted a lot of it trying to find my way around a strange
city. Very stressful. On the plane ride home I vowed to get myself a GPS unit. Shortly after getting home I got lost going
to a meeting in South Boston and was subsequently late. That sealed the deal.
I went in search of a unit that was small enough to carry around, got good reception, had audible turn by turn directions,
a good points of interest database and was cheap. Tall order.
There are tons of GPS units out there with all kinds of bells and whistles, but I don't need bluetooth connectivity with
my cell phone or a music player. I just wanted a dependable little device that would get me where I needed to go.
The Garmin nuvi 200 is that device. Small, bright and easily readable screen that auto adjusts to lighting conditions,
SD card slot and USB port for updating maps, audible directions and a very deep list of points of interest. Banks, restaurants,
gas stations, you name it, there's a listing or 50. You can even search restaurants by cuisine or ethnicity.
Another nice feature is that you can toggle it between street and pedestrian mode, the former takes things like one way
streets into consideration, the latter throws caution to the wind.
It comes with a car charger but you'll probably want to get a wall charger and the leather sleeve,
both optional, if you plan on traveling with it.
It gets a pretty good review here on CNET. The only down side was that they thought it was over priced at $400, and they were right. But guess what?
Less than a year after it's release it's down to around $200. Never be an early adopter.
Chumby
Looking for something different for your favorite geek? Check out Chumby.
I recently saw a Globe review
of cool gifts that mentioned Liveboard’s blue tooth enabled baseball scoreboard and Ambient Devices’
datacast driven stock and weather displays. They both make cool gifts for
the connected set, but Chumby takes the idea to a whole new level.
It’s a small wifi enabled device with
a color touch screen that gives you an interactive window on the internet anywhere in the house. You set it up with your pc,
downloading widgets for the tasks you desire it to perform. Track something on eBay or Craig’s List, get updated news
and scores, receive incoming email, make and send ecards, use it as a digital picture frame linked to your Flickr account.
It's even a clock radio and iPod player and charger.
You can set it up anywhere, all you need is power and wifi. Stand
it on a counter or stick it to the fridge with the provided magnets. This thing is the Swiss Army Knife of networked gadgets.
And get this, the company even encourages you to hack it. They’ll give you all the hardware and software specs
and even show you how to change it physically by customizing its enclosure. You can have your own little Franken-Chumby!
It
gets decent reviews
and is a perfect gift for that friend or loved one that never wants to be
off the grid.
It hasn't "officialy" been released yet, but you can be part of the pilot
program for 179.95
Apple iPod Nano (3rd generation) with video
There’s a ton of MP3 players out
there in all shapes and sizes and just about every price range, but I think this year’s pick of the litter is the 3rd
gen. Nano with video. I’ve had the Nano with video for a little over a month and I’ve been completely won over
by the little fatty.
I’ve always favored the flash based
iPods and MP3 players for their reliability and portability, but I’ve had to make sacrifices in functionality for those
benefits. Small storage capacity, small or nonexistent screens and no video capabilities are a few notable examples.
The Nano with video has doubled its storage
capacity and screen size and is now capable of playing video, all the while sticking
to its original price points of $149 and $199 and actually getting smaller. Yes,
I said smaller. The new square shape of the Nano gives it the illusion of being larger than the previous versions, but simply
gave the designers the right shaped casing for the new larger screen. Check out the side by side pics of my 1st
and 3rd gen Nanos.
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The larger, sharper screen really enhances
the cover flow experience as well as the quality of the pictures I keep stored on it. The Nano has always been more than a
music device for me; it’s also become my “electronic wallet”. I store pictures and contacts on it and the
new screen has made viewing them a much more pleasurable experience. I think the true promise of iPod multi-functionality
lies in the integration of music, storage and web apps, and should exclude the cell phone portion. When I need a cell phone,
I usually really need it, and I don’t
want the battery blinking on its last tick because I’ve been goofing on the web or listening to music.
I’m not a huge video nut but the
new Nano also allows me to download Vodcasts, TV and movies. My current favorite is the NFL weekly highlights videos. I’ve
also started experimenting with converting personal digital video to the iPod via software such as Handbrake. This will make
it a great tool for sharing family videos.
So, the 3rd generation Nano
with video gets the berryjooks “best music player to give or get this holiday season” award based on the following
criteria:
Bang For The Buck Factor: 9 out of 10
Increased disk capacity, larger screen and video capable at a slightly lower cost than previous models.
Performance:
8 out of 10
The jury is still out on battery life and
durability, but I’ve been pleased with both so far.
Interoperability:
7 out of 10
Most of you’re old devices will work
with the addition of a new size insert. The exception is third party video docks.
Coolness Factor:
8 out of 10
Very slick little device. I’d give
it a higher grade here, but I’m saving that for the next gen Touch!
Speaking of coolness, there are some very nice clear acrylic
cases by several manufacturers that snap in place over the Fatty, protecting it but also allowing it to be seen in its entire
electronic splendor. iLounge is a good place to get a look at them. As with all iPods, you’ll want to protect its finish right from the start.
ASUS Eee PC
How
about a reasonable but fully functional laptop? The Asus Eee PC is a close cousin to the Laptop for Every Child device but is a very slick
computer that can be used by all. It's small and light and comes with a web cam, wifi, Open Office and either a Linux or Windows
operating system (the Windows model will be out in December '07) . It's flash based so there's no hard drive, boots up
and shuts down really quickly, and according to all the reviews on the tech sites and, more importantly, the
user reviews on Amazon, everything works right out of the box with no configuration necessary. Does it get any better than
that? Why yes it does, the price is just $399!
It's got a 7" color screen which is great for "on the road" applications. When you're home you can plug in a full sized
monitor to the VGA port. There's not a lot of free disk space, only about 1.5 gb, but for mail and word processing apps it
doesn't need much. Plus it has 3 USB 2.0 ports and an SD card slot, so thumb drives, memory cards and portable disks can solve
that problem.
This is the perfect device for students or road warriors alike. I'm thinking this might even be a good solution for
someone like my 83 year old dad. Easy to use, hard to hose.
Check it out.
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