gadget news and reviews

Sennheiser-Adidas CX 680 (Review) +

This year at the Consumer Electronics Show, Sennheiser unveiled a new line of headphones in a collaboration with the famous Adidas athletic company. The new sporty lineup consists of the CX 680 in-ear earphones, MX 680 earbuds, OMX 680 ear clips, and PMX 680 behind-the-head headphones, all of which are aimed at active users. These new models have many innovative features that I wish other ultra-portable headphones would offer. Sennheiser was gracious enough to give Skatter Tech a pair of the CX 680s, the most expensive set in their new lineup. So will the new CX 680s grab Rookie of the Year or be sent back to the farm leagues? Let’s take them to the field.

Packaging & Items
Purchasers of the new CX 680s are greeted with a clean-cut and professional looking packaging that conveys a confidence for their upcoming sporting activities. The Adidas logo prominently stands ready in the upper left hand corner of the packaging while a less conspicuous Sennheiser logo appears opposite the boxing ring in the lower right hand corner. Information on the packaging touts features such as water resistance, passive noise blocking, DuPont kevlar reinforced cables, and a vast multitude of accessories. The crisp sound of ripping open the perforated strip on the bottom gives you anticipation of the great match to come like watching one of Rocky’s montages. Read More

Project Voldemort: Building An i7 Gaming Rig +

When I first set out to build a gaming computer I had to sit down and ask myself a few questions. They were questions such as, “How much do I want to spend?” and, “What am I trying to achieve exactly?” These questions and a few simple others led me to the final question, ”What’s dark, snake-like, powerful, and intimidating looking?” AHHHHH! RUN! IT’S GODZILLA… and Lord Voldemort. I decided that instead of building a monsterous and rampaging Godzilla of a computer that a tidy and composed, yet just as powerful “Lord Voldemort” of a computer would suit my style better. My Voldemort computer would need to be powerful, stealthy, and sleek while still having that element of intimidation to strike fear in to those who see it. I progressed with these goals in mind to take the next step of collecting the various horcruxes I would need in order to raise the Dark Lord (without actually killing anyone, of course). Read More

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3 Earphones +

No stranger to the audio world, Audio-Technica is a major player in today’s high-end consumer and professional market. Reaping in a well deserved Innovations Design and Engineering Award at this year’s 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Audio-Technica is spearheading the active noise cancelling market with the brand new ATH-ANC7b QuietPoint headphones. While Skatter Tech wasn’t able to acquire this award winner for review just yet, Audio-Technica did graciously provide us with their ATH-ANC3 active noise canceling earphones. If you’re thinking, “Earphones? Did you guys just settle for cheap, low-end, earphones?” While that might have been your initial thought, the sound that followed was quite impressive.

Packaging & Accessories:
The ATH-ANC3 comes packaged in a neat and professional looking box which displays the earphones and active noise control unit through a plastic window. The box advertises, “Up to 85% noise reduction (20dB) of background noise,” and displays a little diagram of how the active noise cancelling technology works. We know this product is for users who are always on the go, citing pictures of an airplane, commuter train, and office desk on the packaging. Read More

CES 2010: Innovation With NVIDIA +

2010 is looking to be a very exciting year for dominant graphics card maker Nvidia as they release a plethora of new products aimed at driving future trends, starting today. From increasing the threshold of desktop graphics to dramatically changing the way users can experience the mobile revolution, Nvidia has put a significant amount at stake in their predictions for the coming trends. From what we at Skatter Tech have seen this year at CES, Nvidia looks to have a solid lineup and will definitely be a major player.

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang gave a private press conference in which he announced three new and exciting technologies Nvidia and partners will bring to market over the coming year. Read More

Shure SE310 Earphones (Review) +

Walk into any recording studio in America and you’ll shurely find the name Shure scattered around you on various pieces of professional equipment. Bad jokes aside, since 1925, Shure has been synonymous with high-end audio products and has seen great success from microphones to personal monitoring systems. To offer the common audio lover their professional sound, Shure released the SE series of IEMs (in-ear-monitors) derived from their professional e-series, now named SCL. Today, I’ll be looking at the SE310 earphones placed right in the center of Shure’s SE-series lineup.

Shure includes a comprehensive package along with each pair of SE310s to offer customizations and modularity for each person. The items include a rugged carrying case, a cleaning tool, a cable extension, and a plethora tips: rubber, foam, and tri-flange tips in small, medium, and large sizes. The packaging is professional and inspires confidence for a quality product. The included tips prove very versatile and comfortable, plus they help dampen out a significant amount of outside noise. The excellent isolation will let you listen to your music in peace on public transit, at noisy family events, or even help on stage to drown out the crowd so you can focus on your live performance. (Keep in mind, it’s illegal to operate motor vehicles and bicycles with both buds in.) The cable extension is a clever way to meet the needs of those looking to hide their cords or to eliminate all the excess cables if you prefer to mount your digital audio player on an armband. Finally, the cleaning tool is quite handy when it comes to removing nasty ear wax from the sound tube of the IEMs. This helps ensure clear and unobstructed sound. Read More

Holiday Gift Guide: Headphones 1

Even before you hear the distant jingle of bells emanating from Santa’s sleigh, the one tell-tale sign that the holidays are quickly approaching is the sound of Christmas music. Whether through the radio or putting on your favorite mix of holiday music it’s a constant reminder us of the joyous days ahead. Luckily, Skatter Tech has some holiday headphone recommendations so you can get the most out of your music this season! Be sure to browse through these before giving someone a pair.

Budget: $0-$50

Koss KSC-75

Punchy, fun, and energizing, the Koss KSC-75 clip on headphones offer incredible value for the money. Utilizing the same drivers as Koss’ more expensive and popular PortaPro, the KSC-75 lets you listen to your holiday tunes with precision while on the go. The KSC-75’s have a rubber coated wire clip to secure them to your ears. This clip is bendable to be compatible with whatever shape your ear may be. While sounding fragile, the KSC-75’s are quite durable and will not cause a fit being tossed around. Sound-wise these headphones are very engaging and bright. They bring you into the music in an engaging and energizing way with surprisingly good bass impact for such tiny drivers. Mids are pronounced and forward. The only thing lacking with the KSC-75’s are slightly veiled highs. At around only $15-$20 however, the KSC-75’s have great bang for the buck!

Buy: Koss KSC-75 ($15-25)

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HTC Touch Pro2 – Sprint (Review) 6

Since the Apple iPhone debuted, there’s been a struggle for competing companies to produce a better do-it-all smart phone. After fairly successful sales of the original HTC Touch Pro, major contender HTC is back with the HTC Touch Pro2 on Sprint. After an initial glance at the specifications, it looks great. The Touch Pro2 sports features including a slide out QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen display, 3.2 megapixel camera, email client, browser, GPS, and plenty more. It seems to have all the goods, but let’s see how it stacks up and find out whether it’s the right phone for you.

The Body – 3/5 stars
HTC kept the front Touch Pro2 clean and simple. There’s a large 3.6 inch resistive touch screen, a touch zoom strip, and physical keys for Send, End, Start Menu, and Back on front. Along the sides, there’s a completely flush volume toggle button. A slot to store the stylus for the display is in the bottom right hand corner of the device. The proprietary USB charging port is right besides a standard 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom. It also supports up to 32GB microSD expansion, but no card is included, which is a bit dissapointing. If I had to describe this phone with a quote, it would be: “Business in the front, party in the back.” While not describing a mullet for once, the clean-cut front is offset by an odd array of square perforations on the back surrounding the camera and an oddly placed microphone button. Although these perforations may be able to collect dust, they’re actually openings for the fairly respectable built-in speaker. There’s a full-sized QWERTY keyboard that slides out from under the display. Once extended, the screen can actually prop up at an angle, similar to a laptop. Although it is a neat way place on a flat surface to watch Sprint TV, I felt as though it just made the entire mechanism weaker was quite awkward to use when held. I also should mention this phone is huge. It’s thicker and weighs more than just about any smartphone I’ve come across. It’s at least 0.2 inches thicker than the HTC Eris and weighs about 2 ounces more than the HTC Hero. While there’s a demographic that’s needs this type of a phone, I would imagine that most consumers would prefer carrying a more compact device.

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Day Pack Reviews: Camelbak Urban Assault & XL 5

Camelbak is company not short on innovation. Bringing to market a line of very handy and convenient hydration systems has benfitted us all. We got a first look at two brand new packs from Camelbak, the Urban Assault and Urban Assault XL. The Urban Assault packs at first looks like an intimidating, menacing, ready to kick some butt pack. Loaded with features and hidden surprises, the Urban Assault is prepared for your day.

The Camelbak Urban Assault packs are constructed of a middle-ground 500D Cordura. As stated before, Cordura is pretty much the best material you can use, and at 500D the Urban Assault combines a good balance of strength to weight ratio. The zippers are genuine YKK and surrounding them is a rubbery flange meant to help keep water out. Camelbak had the right idea when they made their zipper pulls as well. The zipper pulls are made of cord with a plastic tube around them. This offers the flexibilty and silence you need, while offering the rigidity and strength required to open/close the zipper. Located on the back is a very intimidating, yet comfortable looking design. Three large foamy pads are arranged in an ergonomic design and allow for ventilation. The organization of the pads keeps the weight off of your spine and moves it to the sides and lower parts of your back. On the shoulder straps is some dense 15mm EVA foam. All of the side release buckles on this pack were made by ITW Nexus which is an industry leader in tough buckles. Read More

Day Pack Reviews: Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack 5

Tactical Tailor is a company that truly knows what “tough” is. Founded by a US Army scout sniper, Tactical Tailor has the expertese and experience in what a tough pack requires. Tactical Tailor’s Enhanced Day Pack exhibits this knowledge throughout from the materials used for construction, a “KISS” attitude, and the inclusion of almost everything you need, without everything you don’t.
Constructed of mil-spec 1000D Cordura no other pack in our lineup contained such a rugged material. Cordura is a type of nylon developed by the DuPont company. The Cordura brand is now owned by Invista. Cordura is 3x more durable than normal polyester and 2x as durable as normal nylon. Both inside and out the Enhanced Day Pack is made of this almost bomb proof material. All zippers on the Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack are genuine YKK and pull smoothly. There aren’t any flanges near the zippers to get caught making it very hassle-free. On the shoulder straps a nice amount of 1/2″ thick foam is spread throughout. Along your back is 3/8″ thickness foam in a 1000D Cordura enclosure. This pack doesn’t have a true internal frame-sheet per say, but the sturdy foam in the backing keeps the pack’s shape nicely and is a suitable substitute.

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Day Pack Reviews: High Sierra “Grid” +

High Sierra’s grid is a light-weight sporty backpack that does not disappoint. It has a range of bright, yet not gaudy, color mixes and is very nicely styled for the active day-adventurer. Loaded with functional pockets, the High Sierra Grid makes separating your goods easy and convenient. This pack excels when you need something mobile and comfortable on the fly.

The High Sierra Grid is constructed of 600D “Duralite” material. This is a type of polyester that is incredibly light. While the Duralite construction isn’t as strong as some of the other ballistic nylon and cordura materials used in the other packs, the significant weight savings of Duralite are certainly appreciated. The Grid uses a “waffle-weave” construction which while not necessarily adding more strength, is more aesthetically pleasing and stands out as something different from the other packs. The back of the Grid uses very soft padding covered in vapel mesh. This padding has plenty of play and and is quite comfortable. The same padding can be found generously on the S curve shoulder straps. One interesting thing about the rear padding configuration is the large gaps it leaves around the sides of your back while wearing the pack. This allows for generous amounts of airflow and ventilation. On the inside, the Grid disappoints. A much thinner and weaker material is used. Looking at the stitching in some areas just screams, “cheap!” Looking at the laptop compartment elastic top keeper we see how it’s only held on by a weak cross stitch which isn’t very re-assuring. Where the stitching is most disappointing is the front pocket. The accordian like wings that fold out to hold your items are very poorly stitched and appear as if they’ll rip from the slightest persuasion. Nowhere on this pack are there any signs of double-stitching. While it seems the outside of the pack is sturdy enough with the standard stitching, the extra added peace of mind from double stitching would be nice to see. One thing that is appreciated is the internal frame sheet located in the back adding rigidity and protection for your laptop. Read More