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Gregg’s Gadgets:: Power station, presentation and recycling rewards
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PowerDock
The PowerDock from Griffin Technology eliminates the need for multiple charging adapters for the same device. Two models are available to charge up to four iPods or iPhones simultaneously.
Users can choose a two- or a four-port model, which is housed in a single, tabletop-based charging solution. Any combination of different models of the Apple devices can be charged, as long as they are dockable.
It’s made with a brushed metal finish and has rubber feet so it won’t scratch counter tops and grips the surface it’s sitting on. Each dock comes with an eight universal dock adapters for most Apple iPods and the iPhone family of devices. Additional dock adapters can be purchased at the company’s website for $1.99 each.
A single AC power supply is included and plugs into the back of the unit to charge all the docked devices simultaneously. Most important, Apple has certified the charger so the charging will be proper for every device without damage.
http:/www.griffintechnology.com
Stagehand Wireless Presentation Controller
Computer accessory manufacturer Atek, Inc. has a new device for presenters with the 2.4 GHz Stagehand Wireless Presentation Controller.
A coin cell battery powers the device, which works on both Mac and Windows with its included USB receiver.
The slim, pocket-sized gadget can be carried on a neck lanyard and includes a quick release buckle for easy removal. It has a remote control wheel for controlling many of the functions and has a light on the bottom. The light can be handy to review notes while the lights have been dimmed during the presentation.
Other buttons on the controller were designed to be accessed with the touch of a finger without the need to look at the device itself. The buttons are conveniently placed and standout for easy access and also positions so the wrong button won’t get presses at the wrong time.
A laser pointer is included, along with a safety feature where users can disable the laser when not needed. This provides a nice feature for teachers and prevents the laser from being misused and pointed at someone’s eyes.
Out with the old and in with the new _ that’s just the way it is in today’s electronic world. An online option is available to get cash for the old by trading in older electronic items such as cell phones, digital cameras or MP3 players.
NextWorth.com will buy these items for money via check or PayPal, or even Target and Amazon Gift Cards. They recently announced that they now take older BlackBerry phones, digital cameras, GPS systems, video games and video game consoles for cash. This is in addition to the original iPhone and iPod categories.
NextWorth has a neat feature for some of these devices, which have no trade-in value. NextWorth provides free shipping and will then recycle the devices in the proper manner.
In a press release, NextWorth says it is expanding the categories to help recycle properly and reduce some of the 1.5 to 1.9 million tons of electronics waste every year from ending up in landfills. The company tries to get the older devices, which still function, into the hands of new users, thus extending the life of the device.
“In addition to selling some product on online marketplaces, we have a growing network of wholesale and retail buyers that purchase our product directly for resale on their channels,” said Dave Chen CEO at NextWorth. These outlets include GreatiPodExchange.com, Amazon, and Ebay.
Once on the site, there is a trade-in calculator where users select the product they wish to trade in. Next, customers answer some questions about its condition. A trade-in price is offered before any commitment is made.
A few examples; a first generation iPhone 8 GB, fully functional and light wear, including the dock station and AC adapter, will return $175.00. An iPod Nano 8 GB black fourth generation, also fully functional with light wear and including the USB cable and dock station will net $63.
Gregg’s Gadgets:: Colorful music, a universal card reader and toner cartridges
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The iHome colortunes iH15 iPod speaker system
The iHome colortunes iH15 iPod speaker system continues the company’s strong tradition of producing innovative accessories for iPods and other portable media players at an affordable price.
Like most any other iPod speaker system, The iPod just docks on the top with one of the included inserts to fit most any iPod model. It is not compatible with iPods released in 2003 or earlier.
The simple speaker system is built in a translucent cabinet, which is backlit and changes colors with the music. To activate, just press the “color” button on the top while music is played and the unit glows in colors including blue, purple, yellow, red, green, pink and orange.
Users have another choice; by pressing the color button, colors can display in five cycles to speedup or slow down the changes . If you want the music playing without the lights just hit the button to turn them off.
Other controls include on/off and volume, along with a line-in port for non-iPod MP3 players on the back. An A/C power adapter is included to power it up.
The desktop-sized system measures about 5 ½-inches cubed and houses a pair of Reson8 speakers, along with a subwoofer. All this produces a nice sound for a small compact unit.
For just over $50 this seems like a reasonable investment for those wanting to play their music without earphones imbedded into their ears. It doesn’t include a remote control and I would guess this helps keep the cost down.
SanDisk’s ImageMate All-in-One Card Reader
Today’s digital devices take a wide variety of memory cards and SanDisk’s new ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader solve the problem of needing multiple readers. This one reads almost every format. The USB 2.0 device is a portable solution for downloaded data including images, music and video to any Mac or Windows system.
SanDisk designed the device to be efficient and fast, and they have certainly achieved that. It’s capable of reaching speeds up to 34 megabytes per second, depending on the memory card used and computer.
Among the formats it supports are SD, SDHC, miniSDHC, microSDHC, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro Duo, xD and CompactFlash memory cards. This should cover most any digital camera, cell phone or media player having the option of removable memory.
It measures about 4.5 x 1.5 x .5-inches so it packs easily into any laptop bag. An included metal stand easily attaches to the reader with a magnet attached to the bottom of the reader itself. All this adds up to a space saving and stylish looking device.
When I plugged it into my Mac, with a SanDisk Extreme IV CompactFlash card inserted into the reader, it showed up on my desktop instantly and didn’t require any drivers or downloads. Just like any other card reader images are downloaded with a drag-and-drop method.
www.sandisk.com $29.99
Imation Corp. has announced the availability of Earthwise remanufactured toner cartridges. The cartridges are designed for the environmentally aware and cost-conscious users.
They are said to perform to specifications of the original cartridges produced by the original manufacturer, while also offering up a 50 percent savings of the original cost.
Monochrome HP-Compatible, Color HP-Compatible and Monochrome Canon-Compatible cartridges are available in the Imation Earthwise line of fax toner and laser printer cartridges. Each unit has a recycled plastic shell; a new printer drum and toner along with other reconditioned or replaced parts. Once completed, the cartridge is then packaged in a carton with no less than 80 percent post-consumer recycled materials.
Prices range from 41.99 to U.S. $265.59, depending on the model.
Gregg’s Gadgets:: Wireless printing, earbuds & video
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The Epson Artisan 800
The Epson Artisan 800 5-in-1 printer (copy, fax, printing, scanning and Wi-Fi) is so good you almost wish it were a 50-in-1.
In addition to the 5-in-1, the model includes direct printing on CD/DVD media, a multiple storage tray for different paper sizes, ultra hi-definition printing with Epson Claria ink and two-sided printing.
Giving the printer a workout was simple because it did all the work. Prints were by far the best I’ve gotten from an all-in-1 desktop unit and they were done wirelessly.
Epson Clara ink is a combination of six color, dye-based inks. Along with outstanding quality and fade-, scratch-, smudge- and water-resistant, they can last up to 200 years when stored in a photo album. Given that information, I don’t expect to see if Epson is accurate, but you never know. Claria cartridges are also expected to deliver about 60 percent more prints than standard ink.
The back of the unit has ports for networking, power and USB connections. A top loading paper system holds up to 30 sheets for copying or faxing. Connections on the front allow media cards and USB thumb drives to be used directly for printing. Editing can be done on the LCD screen.
The unit also has a 7.8-inch touch panel, which swings out with the press of a button to angle for easy view. A 3.5-inch LCD to control everything rests right in the middle of the panel. Since everything is controlled here, there are only two other controls on the front; power and a CD tray eject button.
As I’ve said many times, I’m not one to be over impressed with printing times – the quality is more important. Just assume that today’s printers will print faster than yesterday’s.
For Artisan 800, Epson tests showed printing of color and black text pages at 38 pages per minute while 4×6-inch photos can be finished in as fast as 10 seconds.
Atomic Bass Earphones
Atomic Bass Earphones from Radius are a solid choice for reasonably priced sound. The company recently updated them and the new line has Y-style cable wire along with a redesigned outer aluminum casing. All this provides a better fit, especially for small ears.
With a $39.99 price point, these earbuds give bass lovers 32 ohms of rated sound, which adds up to a more efficient sound requiring less battery usage. I’m one who likes the bass sound and these surely came through with that.
Style was definitely considered when these were designed. A redesigned gold-plated plug comes in a stylish aluminum casing in six colors: black, blue, green, red, silver and violet. Three sizes (S, M, and L) of silicone caps are included to ensure the proper fit.
These earbuds are also built with an angle, so they fit securely in the ear for active lifestyle users – and to deliver the sound. The angle forces the music to penetrate all way into the ear, for clear sound and deep bass. They can be put into your ear in three different angles combined with the three sizes of caps give multiple solutions to get the proper fit.
Also redesigned and upgraded with most of the same features are the Atomic Bass Earphones ($49.99) for the iPhone 3G.
These feature a built-in mic on the cable for cell phones. In addition music can be controlled with play, stop and skip functions.
www.radiusearphones.com Sony HDR-TG5V Handycam
Just in time for the summer travel season, Sony has announced the HDR-TG5V Handycam, a portable, high-definition camcorder.
Video enthusiasts can capture 1920×1080 high-definition video along with four-megapixel still digital images. It includes a nice amount of flash memory, packing in 16GB worth. This allows capture and storage of more than six hours of high definition video.
Users can vary the amount of video to be stored with the camera’s different quality settings. Memory can be added using Sony’s Memory Stick Pro Duo removable media (sold separately).
Other features include a 2.7-inch touch-panel LCD for easy access to all the camera’s controls, a built-in GPS antenna and NAVTEQ digital maps to geo-tag your videos and photos.
Expect the new HDR-TG5V camcorder to ship in May and sell for about $1,000. Also available is a travel kit, which includes a battery, travel charger and pouch, for about $100. A wide-angle conversion lens will also be available for about $100.
Gregg’s Gadgets:: iPod animals, power & software
Posted by: | CommentsWho says animals can’t speak? Get yourself an iPanda iPod speaker/docking system from Speakal and you won’t want it to shut up.
The unit ($119.99) is a desktop system that outputs 25 watts of excellent sound. It’s produced by five speakers enclosed in the unit for 360-degree sound distribution. The speakers give it facial features since they are placed and stored where the eyes and ears are, along with the internal 4-inch subwoofer. There are feet, but they act as just that, no sound coming from them.
A remote gives you full control of an iPod after docking it with the proper cradle. When the iPanda is turned on, the mouth glows from an internal LED light and blinks on any command from the wireless remote control.
The setup is simple: just plug in the power cord to the back and dock your iPod. Once the power is on, the iPod lights up. Then grab the remote to choose the tunes of choice. The remote lets you choose the song, volume, play/pause along with adjusting the treble and bass settings.
A 3.5 mm input auxiliary jack is built into the back in the event that you’re one of the few with a portable media player other than an iPod.
The sound is excellent. Here’s the company line on what’s inside how the sound is produced, “An Onboard Hi-Fi amplifier, dynamic airflow optimizer, interior dynamic cooling exchange and high sound stabilization to produce a clear powerful sound.”
Now that you have all that, just know it sounds great for a really cool looking sound system. If a panda is not your thing, there is also a similar iPig ($119.99) and iBoo ($79.99), all available in a variety of colors.
Late last year I wrote about the Medis 24/7 Power Pack, a portable, green power source for devices such as MP3 players, digital cameras, PDAs and cellphones. It can provide up to 30 additional hours of talk time for a cellphone or up to 80 hours of playtime on a portable media player (depending on the device).
Now they have come out with an emergency power kit to instantly power a cell and give the user some light in the time of an emergency. Since the Media power source doesn’t self-discharge over a long period of time, users can be ready for any blackout or situation in a car. The exact number of charges depends on the device being charged.
Once the power pack is activated, it gives out enough charging power for several charges. The included flashlight is expected to light up for about 100 hours.
The power in the device is based on Medis’ Fuel Cell Technology, which uses an environmentally friendly alkaline sodium borohydride solution. All this enables the device to work without the need of charging it.
To activate the power pack, users simply remove the safety tape and follow an easy three-step process: Squeeze it, plug it and power it. Squeezing the pack activates its power source; then you may plug the connector into the unit’s main body and plug the other end into your device to power it.
Connector tips are included for some cell phones, along with miniUSB and microUSB devices.
www.medistechnologies.com $49.99
Imagenomic has released the Portraiture 2 for Aperture. The product, which has been available for Photoshop users, gives Apple Aperture users the same digital management for digital photographers.
The recent press release announced that the software includes:
Automatic Skin Tones Mask generation and “One-click” skin retouching through a new Preset Manager, which includes image thumbnail previews, bracketing controls, custom preset creation and file sharing, notations, and visual history states;
Advanced Skin Masking controls for selecting, feathering and refining the retouching area, edges and tonal ranges of the selected mask, including real-time previews;
Enhancement sliders and settings for sharpness, softness, warmth, tint, brightness and contrast control, with the ability to apply these selectively to the mask area only or to the entire image, e.g. for adjusting lighting effects in software;
Also new are the user interface selection options, multiple image batch processing capabilities, and multi-threaded/multi-processor support for maximum retouching speed and performance.
The new release of Portraiture 2 for Aperture came from a public beta test with over 1,000 Aperture users, which included a variety of digital images from many different environments.
www.imagenomic.com, $199.95
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Note: I am beginning to experiment with guest bloggers on jimmacmillan.net. Gregg Ellman is an old friend whose gadget column is published weekly by dozens of newspapers, and now you can find it here too. Let me know what you think! Thanks, Jim
