gadget news and reviews

HD Radio (Review) + Insignia Portable Player 7

While downloaded MP3s and streaming services such as Pandora have gained traction amongst consumers, radio is still a popular solution to many. More recently, HD Radio has been gaining more buzz as it offers CD quality audio, but with no monthly fees unlike Sirus XM Satellite Radio. I’ll be discussing the HD Radio service and the Insigina Portable Player that iBiquity, the company behind HD Radio, was kind enough to grant us.

HD Radio Service
Founded in 1998, iBiquity Digital Corporation set out to create an In-Band On-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast system and today their product is called HD Radio. The technology offers a variety of benefits over the traditional analog radio. The receiver converts an analog radio wave signal into a digital one and even provides Program Service Data (PSD) such as a song’s title, artist, and album. If you are tuned into a weather or traffic station, it can even display condition alerts or simply a text advertisement during a commercial break. Read More

Holiday Gift Guide: Performance Laptops 1

High end laptops are getting better than ever. This holiday season is a great time to find a good deal on one. I had a chance to browse through a variety high end laptops when I was on the search for one for myself. I’ve picked a few of my favorites. They include a few ranging from sub-$1000, to over $2000. While some of these might just be overkill for the average Joe, I’ve done my best to pick these based of quality, features, and the best bang for the buck.

< $1000: Dell Studio 15

The Dell Studio 15 is a great pick for an affordable performance laptop. For about $700 this 15 inch notebook with a default configuration features Windows 7 Home Premium, a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500 MHD, and a 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive.  You can even customize the appearance of the case. This a great deal for someone looking for an affordable entertainment center.

Link: Dell.com Studio 15 | Buy: Dell Studio 15

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Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX (Review) 2

Last year Skatter Tech reviewed Logitech’s VX Nano mouse, which had an awesome battery life, was compact, responsive, and even came with a case. Logitech’s Anywhere Mouse MX lives up to its name. The Logitech Anywhere MX mouse is the next iteration of the product. It fixes many of the issues the original faced, has a better build quality, and even throws a few punches at competing products with the ability to work on glass. As the name implies, it truly can function just about anywhere.

Hardware – 5/5 stars
The form factor of the Anywhere MX is quite similar to the VX Nano. The MX feels as though it weights nearly twice as much mainly due to the use of 2 AA batteries rather than 2 AAA on the preceding model. The workmanship is excellent, just as it almost always is with Logitech products. From the minute you pick it up, you’ll know that it’s a high end quality product. The parts that previously had glossy plastic on the VX Nano are now covered with a chrome trim on the Anywhere MX. Scratches and fingerprints aren’t nearly as visible anymore. There’s a sliding cover which doubles as both the power switch and as a cover to protect the sensor from damage when in the “OFF position”. Other than that, there’s a large door on the bottom that reveals the batteries and a holster for the tiny USB Logitech Unifying receiver. Read More

Powermat Wireless Chargers (Review) 2

Cables, cables, cables. Everyone hates them. With more gadgets in our everyday lives, cables have become a large mess. Today, we arrive at the Powermat. It is a simple accessory that lets you charge all your gadgets wirelessly. Although the technology behind it, electromagnetic induction, has been around since the early 1800s, it has only reached consumer electronics recently. Simple household electronics such as the Philips Sonicare toothbrush, have used this wireless charging technology for sometime. With the Powermat, we can now charge just about any gadget: iPods, Blackberry, and Nintendo DSi.

Using Powermat is quite easy. There’s only one cable needed to power the Powermat itself. Gadgets can be placed on any of the three magnetic charging spots on the device. It plays a futuristic sound and display an LED indicator to verify that it’s charging. If you begin to get annoyed with the sounds once the “coolness-factor” fades, there are buttons on the back to adjust the volume and indicator brightness level as well. An additional powered USB port has been conveniently added to the back to charge legacy devices that don’t yet have support for the Powermat.

Here’s when it gets tricky. The devices you own just don’t charge on their own if you place them on the Powermat. You’ll first need to place them in special Powermat sleeves. There are a number of receivers offered, however we were provided with three: iPod Touch Sleeve, Nintendo DSi Sleeve, and iPod Dock. Their website reveals sleeves for other devices including popular models of the RIM Blackberry. The Powermat representative we spoke with stated that many more accessories for popular gadgets are on their way. Read More

Dropbox, File Syncing Made Easy 2

How do you get your files from one machine to another? Most of you probably use a USB flash drive or email files to yourself. That hassle is a thing of the past with Dropbox, a new web service. After a one-time setup, your files will be accessible anywhere whether it’s on your laptop, your phone, or even through a web browser. Plus, the basic version of the service, only limited by space, is entirely free!

Setting up Dropbox is easy. Just visit GetDropbox.com and download the installer for Windows, Macintosh, or Linux. The program will prompt you to register for an account if you are a first time user. A folder named “My Dropbox” will automatically be created. If you have a second or third computer, install Dropbox on those and login with the same username and password. If you have an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, grab the free Dropbox App from the iTunes App Store. Next just copy any files or folders into the “My Dropbox” folder. Assuming that you are connected to the internet, the files placed in there will automatically be synced to and stored on all your other computers. If you add, delete, or modify files, the changes are relayed over to all your other devices.

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Kensington Mini Battery Pack (Review) +

Since Apple’s iPods and iPhones stole the spotlight a few years ago, a huge market has emerged for accessories. While most of these tend to be funky looking cases, cheap chargers, or portable speakers, there are a few unique accessories that will help deal with some frustration Apple’s products cause. For example the latest iPhone 3GS iteration has been known for it’s extremely poor battery life. And if you own an iPod Touch you are well aware that there isn’t a removable battery to swap out when the device runs out of juice. Kensington fortunately offers a simple and viable solution with their new compact Mini Battery Pack and Charger for the iPhone and iPod.

As the name suggests, this product is the portable version of Kensington’s larger Battery Pack and Charger for iPhone and iPod. While the larger version offer a more powerful battery, the unit is almost the size of an iPhone and requires a cable to connect to your device, which is a bit messy. On the other hand, the Mini Battery Back is only about one third the size of its counter part and plugs directly into your devices dock connector. It clings on well enough that you can continue to use your device while it’s getting charged. The unit is roughly the width and thickness of an iPhone but is only two inches tall, small enough to slip away into your pocket or purse. An included plastic cap prevents dust from building up on the dock contacts and also doubles as stand. It is supposedly suppose to be able to hold your device upright to watch a movie, but it’s quite flimsy and I wouldn’t count on it. Irrespective of that small quirk, it doesn’t deter from the quality of the rest of the product. Kensington also includes a USB cable, which winds up itself, for charging the battery pack. Read More