Having this music system integrated with my iTunes library and internet radio services has been great. I have had the Sonos system since 2005 and decided to expand it to another location which is the media room, and so I purchased the ZP90. A solid piece of audio hardware plugged right into my Onkyo A/V to route the sound through the Home Theater Speakers. Plugging it in and setting it up took less then 10 minutes and music was blasting through smoothly, I plugged it into the A/V using RCA cables but I’m planning on upgrading it to an optical connection when I get the cable. Overall an excellent piece of hardware for any music fan.
Pro:
- Simple Setup, Hit Mute & Plus Volume to add it to your Zone
- Compact & Small
- Quality Build Product, It feels solid.
- Full Integrated Music System – Internet Based Music (Rhapsody, Last.fm, Sirius, and more), Music File Server, and seamlessly connects to iTunes
- Connects direct to speakers or to A/V to use large speaker system
- Sonos iPod Application can control the system, or through the computer, or through the CR100 or CR200 remote
Con:
- Price – But you pay for the quality of the product.
Link: Amazon
Price: $349
Rating:
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Apple have been successful with most of their products, at about 90% of all their products have had high sales and now they are coming up with the “iSlate” or what ever else name they will choose for it.
A simple description that it is a 10 to 11 inch iPod Touch with all the application. If the iSlate has a smooth interface such as the iPhone and iPod Touch there will be a long waiting list for this product. At $1000 its not too bad, I’m assuming they will try to go below that to $900 or $800 range, because you can buy decent netbooks for that price. The anouncement is expected to take place at the end of January, and release targeted for March and as usual there will be a waiting list. The benefit in this case is they already have the huge amount of applications available which can be used with it, directly from iTunes.
Link: Gizmodo
There are some likes and dislikes to BBM 5.0, and I like that RIM tries to address these issues, so with BBM 5.0.0.55 they addressed the issue with the pictures, and cleaned up the status area and organized the groups a little. Its a simple upgrade to your current 33 version but I recommend that you do a full back up before doing any software modifications:
Improvements:
- Picture Preview, you don’t have to download to see the pictures now
- Cleaned up text in your status and chat previews
- Cleans up groups as well
Link: Download BBM 5.0.0.55
I have always been a fan of the E-Maxx R/C Truck, now with this option I would want one. Night vision camera, radio controlled crazy R/C with mounted Mini-Canon. I know I have seen some mean machines on robot wars on Discovery Channel but this machine is so cool and agile, you really have to get your aim right with it to hit the target.
A scary little beast that can cause you a lot of pain without being scene. And it can zip in and out to any location at 50 mph, the target won’t see it coming, your worst nightmare on wheels. I can see many applications for this little monster in the shaleh, check out the youtube video after the break.
Link: YankoDesign
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This I have been waiting for this package for some time now, I have been going over the details of the Canon 7D and found this great book about Halo. There is never enough Halo in this world, and at the same time I kept reading great reviews about the Canon 7D and its 720p videos. Now I just have to learn how to use it correctly to get the best of the camera. I’m curious to try the 720p video, I just need an appropriate size compact flash card to use with it. An nice early Christmas Present for myself, the best feeling when opening the packages.
The one annoying thing about the 2008/09 Lexus LX 570 & Toyota Landcruiser is that they can’t integrate with the iPod. You have to buy an aftermarket adapter to integrate into the system, and in my case I found a perfect solution which worked for me but you would expect a car as expensive as that to be able to integrate without issues. It seems Toyota heard people’s complaints, with the 2010 Landcruiser / Lexus LX 570 all you have to do is plug into the iPod into the USB slot next to the gear handle and it integrates right into your audio system with all files, playlists, and other details showing up on the screen. I have a 2009 Landcruiser so I got my solution which works for me, and my friend just purchased a 2010 LX 570 and that suv connects right away without any issues. Toyota always does this, they release a few options year after year, and if you bought the model year before then tough luck you can’t upgrade that option in your car even though its just a software thing, its good they keep upgrading but it’s annoying when it was something as simple as iPod integration, well good for all those who will be buying a new LX 570 or Landcruiser.
This is probably one of the most sought after Blackberry after the other ones, everybody seems to want one. I am very comfortable with my 8900 Curve which does the job perfectly and is relatively light, but some people just don’t like the keyboard. And in my opinion the current Bold is filled with bugs and problems, so this 9700 Bold is similar to the 8900 Curve in design but with a big keyboard like the original bold and hopefully more stable software. As for a availability it is trickling in the market with astronomical prices, even buying an unlocked one from the US is a bit expensive but there are solutions.
- Kuwait Prices range from 240 – 270 KD as of today
- From Clove.co.uk you can buy it for 165 KD and shipping two day to Kuwait is 30 KD and they accept international credit cards so it goes for 195KD which is a much better price with the link below
Link: Clove.co.uk
Places such as these in Kuwait are far and few, I was invited to the soft launch of a Home Theater & Home Automation Company in Tilal Complex. I didn’t have very high expectations, but the staff asked me to pass by during the soft opening and to say my expectations were blown out of the water is an understatement. When you walk in you have 6 areas with their displays and different setups, such as dining room, outdoor area, living room, bed room and a few variations.
The setup was very nice but I’m not one who really gets impressed by just some pieces of equipment wired up nicely, what I like is the thought process that was put into designing the way they are setup and the products they choose for indoor or outdoor use. And what I liked the most is the knowledge and understanding of the people, it isn’t your run of the mill electronics store, these guys knew about sound resonance, sound deadening techniques for home theater rooms, the right equipment for the right needs and surprisingly for the shine and show their prices are reasonable. They even had some nice Optima projectors which had amazing blacks and I enjoyed watching Live Free or Die Hard. They had a very interesting home automation system which integrates with your iPod or iPhone which the they were using, not just the panels on the wall.
The home theater rooms were fantastic, they had three rooms, one was very nice with the sound and visuals, one was amazing and the third room just completely blew me away with the 9.2 setup meaning ( 9 Speakers & 2 Sub-Woofers which shook the room like an earthquake). I loved that they were showing off the highest end home theater with the Matrix. There were a few tacky things that I didn’t like but I wasn’t there for the taste in furniture, they have an amazing store and I hope it is successful and everyone should check it out to at least see some of those theater rooms with the ridiculously comfortable seats, I didn’t want to get up but there were other people who wanted to see so I had to get out of the room after forgetting that I wasn’t there to watch the whole movie.
Location:
Tilal Complex Mizanine close to the Cafe
Tel: 2482 6846
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There have been a lot of HD pocket camcorders released over the passed year with lots of specs and details, and press releases. Luckily Gizmodo took the time to test all of them in real life situations and came up with some very interesting results that I agree with. The main criteria for judging this little machines was smoothness of video during motion, image sharpness, noise, color reproduction, and quality of sound. The usual hardware specs is pretty similar between all the machines but the details here are very well thought out and tested.
Ranking:
- Flip Ultra HD
- Flip Mino HD
- Kodak Zi8
Flip has really made solid cameras and I have used them in different situations, and I have both the Mino HD and Ultra HD, but great pocket camcorders, great quality of sound and picture which are very reasonably priced, under $200. They are capable of a few improvements to make them even better cameras, but I think they have kept the amazing products they have and slowly develop it.
Link: Gizmodo
There have been a lot of games coming out for iPhone/iPod Touch, some great and some crappy. I have managed to categorize games based on the amount of time it takes for you to get bored of them. Out of all the games I played these four games have the highest quality and highest return rate, meaning I keep playing again. Also some of them can take your attention for 5 minutes, and some for hours but I didn’t get bored of them yet. Some First Person Shooter games really didn’t work out too well because I sometimes leaned so far as to fall of the chair when I’m trying to go forward and shoot around a corner, but these games are fun and kill a lot of time which they are supposed to do.
Games:
- Madden NFL – The perfect game for those who love football, season game perfect for your team
- Star Wars – For a quick game this is a perfect shooter, you get caught up with the flying and shooting
- Monopoly World – This game is addicting and you really get caught up on it!
- Command & Conquer – The classic C&C but no multiplayer, still a lot of fun.