scattered technology news

Powermat Wireless Chargers (Review) 0

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

Verizon Wireless MiFi 2200 (Review) 0

Although just about everyone has internet access at home, people still enjoy the freedom remaining connected while on the go. Even with WiFi hotspots around every corner, many still prefer to use 3G network for their own personal network. USB modems have been a popular solution, but they have limitations. Most require installation of drivers and leave a device sticking out of the side of your laptop. Although most new laptops offer configurations with broadband cards built in, those are even more limited since only that device will be able to utilize the network. Fortunately the MiFi 2200 came to the rescue earlier this year, introducing a personal 3G-powered WiFi hotspot.

Novatel MiFi 2200 Specifications:

• Network: Verizon Wireless CDMA
• Wi-Fi Mode: 802.11b/g
• Security: VPN & WEP/WPA/WPA2
• Size / Weight: 3.5″ x 2.3″ x 0.4″ / 2.05 oz
• Connector: microUSB
• Battery Life: 4 hours use / 40 hours standby

Hardware: 5/5 stars
The MiFi 2220, developed by Novatel, is about the width and height of a business card. It’s 3.5 inches wide, 2.3 inches tall, and just 0.4 inches thick to be exact. While weighing just about 2 ounces, it packs both a CDMA and WiFi antennas inside. There’s a power button on the top that lights up green when it’s on. A microUSB connector, for charging the device, resides besides another green LED indicator that displays WiFi activity. On the bottom, there’s a sliding back door that reveals a battery pack. Other than that there’s not much else to say. It’s light weight and compact enough to take with you.

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Haier Video MP3 Player (Review) 1

Haier America recently released their very own portable media player. It’s a simple music, photo, and video player available in 4 and 8 GB capacities. I didn’t expect much when I picked it up, but for the price it packs quite a punch. It even has a FM radio and voice recorder built right in. There’s no question, this device can’t compare to the quality of an Apple iPod Nano or Microsoft Zune, but it’s an affordable alternative which deserves a quick look.

Haier HV18A Specs:

• Capacities: 4GB and 8GB
• Screen: 1.8″ LCD Color Display
• Music Format: MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV
• Video Format: .SMV (huh?)
• Other: FM Radio & Microphone
• Connector: Mini USB 2.0
• Price Range: $45-$60

The Body: 4/5 stars
The design of the Haier media player is very simple. The face is slightly elevated, and the edges curve off into the side. Below the 1.8″ screen, the player includes touch sensitive buttons for the menu, volume, left/right, and “ok”. All these keys light up blue and are embedded into the body. That unfortunately means buttons are difficult to find when you aren’t looking at the device. The built in microphone and the power button slider, which also locks the device, are on the left side. There’s a small reset pinhole on the right side, which I hope doesn’t need to be used. Despite the player’s sleek and simple look, the glossy finish and mirrored back makes it a great finger print magnet. I found myself cleaning off the front constantly just to be able to see the display. The sliding key also had a few issues since it’s too small. If you have large hands, it’s hard to be able to slide and hold up for a few seconds to get it to turn off or on. But once again, for the price, I was pleased with the design. Read More

Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch (Review) 1

As someone who has become accustomed to the touchpad on the Macbook Pro, I was a little nervous going back to a tablet. The only one I’ve ever used before had an enormous body and a small work area, while the lag was just too much to be useful. I soon realized the times had changed when I first un-boxed the Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch.

Tablet
The tablet itself is incredibly thin – about the size of a number two pencil at its thickest, with beveled edges for a more comfortable wrist-rest. The four side-buttons are large, accessible, and as I later found after installing drivers, configurable to a certain extent. An LED indicator located between the buttons lights up white when the device is on and changes to a warm orange color when the stylus is within range. I found the small red tag on the side of the device to be a little obnoxious, but it’s supposed to store your pen after use. It can easily tucked away under the device if it’s too annoying.

The drawing area is very generous with an area about 3.5 times that of my Macbook’s touchpad. The Bamboo’s matte texture that feels paper and though I was nervous to test the amount of pen pressure it could handle, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it could handle quite a bit. Read More

Quick Look: Powermat Wireless Chargers 0

The Powermat is neat little gadget that lets you charge your devices wirelessly. The current model lets allows charging up to three devices at a time. Supported gadgets include Apple iPods/iPhones, Nintendo DS/DSi, and a few BlackBerry devices. A power block extends support to micro-USB, mini-USB, LG/Samsung phones, and a few other devices. The folks over at Powermat stated that kits for other popular devices will become available in the near future. For now, here’s my quick demo:

I’ll be publishing a few in depth review in the coming days, so check back soon!

Links: Powermat.com | Vimeo Link

Update: Read Our Full Powermat Review

Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 0

The Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 is a portable mouse for notebooks that boasts a long battery life and plenty of customizations. It has an ergonomic build and a stylish design with a new innovative technology behind the scenes. It’s a reliable piece of hardware available at a great price.

Precision and Responsiveness
Microsoft’s new Mobile Mouse 4000 works on both PCs & Macs using the USB 2.4 GHz wireless receiver. It features Microsoft’s new and advanced BlueTrack Technology, which is the biggest selling point for the device.  The BlueTrack Tracking Engine diverges from the typical wireless laser mouse. It uses an advance incoherent Blue LED.  With a wider beam and high angle optics, it can track on even granite, marble, and glossy surfaces. So I put it to the test. And it worked on my black mouse pad, a somewhat glossy desk, the carpet, and even the textured wall. It worked just as advertised. The next time you are at a coffee shop and decide to use a shiny magazine as your mouse pad, you can be assured that this mouse won’t fail. This is a great improvement from the last generation of mice, but competitors are already another step ahead. For example, competing products from Logitech sport a new technology called Darkfield that work even on glass. Although the Mobile Mouse 4000 can not match that feature, it is also a much more affordable device and won’t disappoint.

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Kensington Mini Battery Pack (Review) 0

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

SanDisk Ultra Backup (Review) 0

Last week, we reviewed the SanDisk Cruzer and today I bring you a review of the SanDisk Ultra Backup. As implied by the name, the flash drive has a built in backup utility and a physical button to initiate a backup instantly. If you don’t have a true backup solution, this is an excellent tool.

Just like the standard SanDisk Cruzer, the Ultra Backup model retains a the same traditional form factor. The Ultra Backup is a bit larger the standard Cruzer, but makes up for the size difference with faster data transfer speeds. I copied copy a 465MB file over to the drive in about 30 seconds writing at speeds reaching 15MB/s. Copying a 700MB file off the flash drive also took 30 seconds with a read speed of about 24MB/s. The USB connector recedes into the plastic casing when not in use. A pleasant orange LED flashes when data transfer is in progress.

The best part of this flash drive is the backup utility that doesn’t require installing any software. The entire application resides and runs off the flash drive itself. The first time the Backup Button is used to launch the utility, a quick setup will automatically determine what files should be included in the backup. The interface is user friendly for even the most novice computer users. If you wish to further customize what should be included in the backup, there’s a easy configuration tool to select types of files such as text, music, videos etc. The data is also organized on the flash drive retaining folder structure, which makes things easier when retrieving a file. Read More

SanDisk Cruzer Flash Drive (Review) 0

A USB flash drive is a basic and almost essential gizmo just about anyone should own today. Flash Drives come in millions of varieties including truly ultra portable ones such as the Super Talent Pico or with high grade security such as the IronKey. The SanDisk Cruzer on the other hand is a traditional USB flash drive that’s affordable, offers large storage capacities, and simple to use.

The SanDisk Cruzer model for 2009 retains the traditional form factor of a flash drive. The unit looks simpler and stylish compared to the previous generations. The unit seems durable and will survive plenty of handling. The USB connector recedes into the plastic casing when not in use. The white button used to slide the USB connector in and out lights up orange when connected and blinks when data transfer is in progress. Coping a 700MB video file (DiggNation HD Podcast) over to the flash drive took about 1 minute and 20 seconds. Read speeds on the other hand were much faster, I copied  the same file back to my computer in just 20 seconds. This variation between write and read speeds are expected and normal for average flash drives on the market, high end drives ones will offer much faster write speeds. Read More

Altec Lansing BackBeat 903 (Review) 0

Doing away with wires has been a continuing trend for over a decade. From radios, TVs, and mobile phones to today’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology, just about every gadget we use is doing wireless. Portable media players such as the iPod and Zune offer the freedom of taking our music anywhere, however headphones still keep us tied down. However with Altec-Lansing’s BackBeat Bluetooth Wireless Headphones, the future closer than ever. Most smart phones such as the Apple iPhone, Palm Pre, and RIM BlackBerry all support the technology. Bluetooth Headphones aren’t entirely new, we reviewed the Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones over a year ago, but there a few issues with it. They were bulky, sounded mediocre, and uncomfortable. On the other hand, the BackBeat 903 headphones are lightweight, offer a great battery life, and sound great.

The Body – 4/5 stars
The BackBeat 903 headphones weigh 34 grams and rest behind the ear when worn. An 8 inch cable connects the two pieces together behind the neck. The ear pieces are slightly adjustable, allowing extending vertically and sniveling horizontally. There are a call and a play buttons on the left and right ear bud, respectively. A volume switch, which also controls track navigation, is under the right ear piece. The power button and standard micro-USB charging port are on the left ear piece.

Comfort – 4/5 stars
The headphones fit and felt a lot better than both the Kensington Wireless Headphones and the Motorola S9. They still don’t come anywhere close to the comfort a traditional pair of ear buds or over-the-ear headphones offer. These tended to slide off quickly with too much physical movement. Even with adjustments, these just wouldn’t work for me if I were to go for a jog, but would work just fine in an office room situation. To give these a second chance, I asked a couple of friends to give them a try. Just about all of them had no complains about the fit and were overwhelmed by the truly wireless headphone technology. In fact, they wanted to buy a pair too.

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