I just recieved a package from Amazon and it was two products I was really waiting for:
- D-Link DIR-655
- Gyration – Home Theater PC Remote
My Router:
I have had my Netgear WNR854T for a little over 8 months now and it has been great, the first set of reviews were happy about it but there were some bad reviews later. I didn’t think much of it since my router was working fine and doing all that I want. I got it mainly because it was the only commercial Gigabit-Wireless Router, Gigabit wired connection and it has wireless. So after all this time I came home to find it dead, and not operating at all. I tried restarting it and trying to connect to it without any luck. It was basically dead and I was left out of options, I was lucky to have an old Linksys wireless router in the closet that I put in its place but the wireless signal wasn’t that good so I ordered the D-Link DIR-655 instead since it was getting a lot of good reviews.
Remote:
After setting up the HTPC in the basement I noticed the short comings of conventional Mouses and Keyboards, so I decided to get a product to satisfy my needs. Currently I don’t surf on the HTPC even though you can, but the mouse would only work at most 1.5 meters away. So after doing some research I chose the Gyration HTPC Remote since its motion sensing, if you move the remote in the air the mouse on the screen moves which is fantastic. Its much more practical for the purpose and works no matter how far you are away.
Sony has packed a lot of features into this Media Center, its a 200 disc Blu-ray/DVD/CD changer with a 500 GB hard drive. A very unique glossy black media tower with 1080p capability and able to stream to any tv with an XMB menu. It can burn Blu-ray dics, and can stream music to devices such as Vaio computers and PS3. It has power video and audio capabilities such as HDMI, component video, optical, coaxial, and analog outputs, touch-sensitive controls, Ethernet and backlit. It is supposed to be priced around $3500 and to be released on Oct 07.
Link: UnCrate
There has been a huge amount of hype regarding the iPhone, and a lot of people are trying their best to do everything possible to unlock the iPhone. I think the iPhone is a great Apple product with great features, but not to be used as a phone. While in the states I burrowed my friend’s iPhone for about a week to try it out and see what all the noise was about.
What I liked:
- Google Maps is fantastic when looking up places, finding address’s and information, checking locations. Perfect integration with Google maps.
- The camera takes really nice pictures and presents them clearly.
- The Tilt feature works great
- The OS is very smooth without any hitches.
- Music organization is great just like any iPod
- Stock Market, Weather, and Calendar work great.
What I didn’t like:
- Trying to type out the numbers when your doing any other task is very difficult.
- The touch pad for sms’s works great but only when you are looking directly at the screen.
- If you have more then 40 numbers stored on your phone good luck finding it, it isn’t the easiest to go through even though each contact is presented nicely
- Web surfing is a bit slow sine it doesn’t have 3G
I think its a great product and a step in a different direction, but it isn’t the best phone. If you like Apple Products then you will love this piece but it isn’t for everyone.
Towards the end of my trip I was getting all the requests for things that people wanted. I was more then happy to get what people wanted but I got a sudden flood of Apple Products and I didn’t even know some of them.
Some people asked me for the iPod Touch, and some asked me for the iPod Nano. I told them whats the touch, and I told the other person you can get the Nano in Kuwait whats so special about the one in the states. And in both replies I felt like I insulted them by not keeping up with the latest products released by Appl, and when I looked at it I was surprised how many new products Apple came up with and the Apple iPod Touch does look really really cool. The Nano has been redesigned and looks great.
I was riding and driving in Palo Alto a lot since it was close to one of my friend’s work. I decided to pass by that Apple Store, its turns out the iPod Touch won’t come out until October from what the sales person told me but the new Nano was there and it looks great.
After I was done this is the list of Gifts/Items I picked up:
- 1 MacBook 2.16 Ghz
- 3 iPod Nanos (Red, Black, and White)
I tried getting the iPhone but the Sales person told me I have to have an AT&T contract but it turns out the sales person was wrong or he misunderstood my question so I didn’t pick any up. One thing is for sure the new iPhones are really the new “IT” thing for everyone.
Apple has done a great job making buying an Apple a unique experience, all the details were taken care of where we were standing from a hand held device. There was no register and we didn’t have to go to a counter. He brought the items out and slid my card, and then brought me the receipt and thats it. I was out the door, one day I shall buy an Apple for myself, I just don’t know when.
It seems other mobile phone operators are picking up the iPhone and they have agreed to Apple’s requirement of sharing 10% of calls and data transfer revenue from the customers with the iPhone. The deals are being made with T-Mobile Germany, Orange, and O2 in Europe. Whats interesting is that this phone has so much appeal to them that they would share the revenue for it to get access. There has yet to be a mobile phone provider who would be able to do something like that.
People are just waiting to unlock the iPhone if possible, but there hasn’t been a successful story yet which can be mass produced.
Link: Engadget
The best audio accessories are always for the iPod and Logitech has gone all out for this little system. It has motion-activated backlit controls, motion-sensing snooze alarm so you can turn it off with the wave of a hand, an auto-adjusting LCD that automatically dims at night. Great extra features and great sound all for $250.
Link: UnCrate
I think this machine was meant to be a joke but some how they made it. Even the idea of an electric motorcycle is something that I find repulsing, and I want to have a sit down with the Yamaha engineer and ask him what he was thinking. The point of motorcycle is to feel the engine rumble and feel the vibrations of the engine to get a feel for the soul of the machine, batteries don’t vibrate!
This machine packs some interesting features, it has a top speed of 19mph and can travel up to 40 miles. It can glow in the dark and has an iPod docking station which may lower the 40 mile range. I think it would be better off living as a toaster.
Link: Crave
I’m planning on upgrading my current A/V receiver since it doesn’t meet my needs and currently there are a lot of options out there. A few features which are important to me at this point is the capability to upscale to 1080p, at least 3 HDMI inputs, 7.1 Channel, multizone, and the latest audio/video processing. Currently there are a lot of choices out there and they choices just keep increasing. Now HDMI 1.3a has become standardized but each one of these machines has a little extras which are different then other machines, but they all are fully featured.
HDMI: 4in/1out
Price: 480 KD
HDMI: 6in/1out
Price: 480 KD
HDMI: 5in/2out
Price: To Be Released in November
HTC has be coming up with a lot of good products over the past year and now these two UMPCs are about to be released with some really interesting features. Where do you draw the line between a really smart phone or a really small laptop, but this is bound to attract certain types of customers. I think HTC makes some really interesting products, and they do pack some punch for their size.
HTC Advantage X7501:
Features
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 Standard with Direct Push Technology
- 624 MHz CPU
- Built-in 8GB hard drive with miniSD expansion slot
- Laptop-style experience with a huge 5-inch touch screen display and detachable QWERTY keyboard
- Always “onâ€, connect to your office, watch videos or listen to music anywhere
- Built-in GPS
- Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
- 3 megapixel camera with auto focus and flash
- HTC VueFLOâ„¢ for easy navigation
- TV or VGA Out lets you output screen contents to an external viewing device
Price: TBD
HTC Shift:
Features
- 7-inch widescreen display
- 30-gigabyte hard drive
- QWERTY keyboard
- Microsoft Vista Business OS
- Windows Media Player 11
- Tri-Band UMTS/HSDPA
- Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0
Price: $1500
Nokia 6110
Price: 150 KD
Nokia N95
Price: 185 KD
Sony Ericsson P1
Price: 210 KD
Nokia E-90
Price: 300 KD