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August 31, 2004
Apple Unveils New iMac G5 Computers
And they're the flattest desktop PC's ever, at just 2 inches thick. The latest G5 processor is housed behind a flatscreen, giving the newest iMac a style almost reminiscent of their best-selling iPod. Worldwide distribution begins this September at prices ranging from $1300 to $1,630. Click below for more images of this beautiful PC.
The G5 iMac profiled next to a docked iPod.
Posted by Hector at 08:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Gear Live Playlist: Chronic Future, Lloyd Banks, Keane, Jolie Holland, and Jeff Buckley
This week Playlist takes a look at a couple of the albums that everyone seems to be adding to their collections in Lloyd Banks "Hunger For More" along with "Lines In My Face" from Chronic Future. In addition, we give you our next pick Collection Essential pick - be sure to pick this one up!
NEW RELEASES
Chronic Future – Lines In My Face
I think we all remember the rap-rock glut that was 2001-2003. Bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, 311 & Kid Rock stormed on the scene fresh from growing up in the suburbs, carrying their N.W.A. albums and yelling “F*** The Man”. A few years later, here comes Chronic Future, with an incredible video for their first single “Time and Time Again” but a formulaic sound that really does nothing for me. It almost seems like emo, rap and rock were thrown in a blender and “Lines In My Face” came out. Lyrically, this album is much more sophisticated than its rap-rock ancestors, but the gimmick of starting a song slow and then coming in with crashing drums and thrashing guitars wears thin quickly. Overall, the strong point is their single “Time and Time Again” and the rest just sounds the same, it’s been done, so a 6/10.
Lloyd Banks – Hunger For More
The latest release from 50 Cent’s G-Unit, Lloyd Banks can definitely hold his own. Banks chose to go with more obscure producers on this album, and was rewarded by great beats and production that sets him apart. Banks raspy voice and smooth flow coupled with those beats helped make “On Fire” and “I’m So Fly” radio hits, and for good reason. There are disappointments on this album though. “I Get High”, featuring guest spots by 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg, ends up being a mediocre ode to toking up, not exactly an original sentiment. The other guest heavy song, “Warrior Pt. 2”, is far better, featuring incredible beat, great lines by Eminem and 50 Cent and a hook by Nate Dogg. All in all, Bank’s solo debut is very solid, with a bunch of singles that will get lots of spins on urban radio. I am going to give “Hunger for More” and 8/10.
BEST RECENT RELEASES
Keane – Hopes & Fears
The first time I heard about Keane, they were rocketing up the British charts with “Somewhere Only We Know”, which sounded like a softer version of all the modern rock coming from the U.K. Once I heard the album, I realized their gimmick: Keane has no guitar on any of their songs. Can a rock band without guitars still be a rock band? Well, yes and no. This album is amazing, drawing a lot of comparisons to Coldplay, Radiohead and Travis. But is it a rock record? Who really cares, it is a good record. “Somewhere Only We Know” is starting to get spins in the U.S., and “Can’t Stop Now”, “Bend and Break” and “We Might As Well Be Strangers” can’t be far behind. Keane makes you forget about the lack of guitars by rocking out on piano and drums, and even a beat box now and again. Give this album a listen.
Jolie Holland – Escondida
This album is definitely the most interesting that I have reviewed here. Jolie’s voice sounds like it should be coming out of a 1930’s Victriola, a Prohibition era voice with 2004 lyrics. Holland’s backing music is provided by jazz musicians, but her songs range from jazz to folk to country. Holland’s update of the old Irish folk song “Mad Tom of Bedlam” is amazing, but the definite standouts on this album are “Old Fashioned Morphine” and “Damn Shame”. There is not a weak song on this album, and if you are looking to broaden your musical horizons beyond modern rock radio, this is definitely a place to look.
COLLECTION ESSENTIALS
Jeff Buckley – Grace
In my opinion, “Grace” is the closest the world has come to pop perfection, to sonic brilliance. I am not saying that it is the best album ever, but it is nearly impossible to find a flaw in what was, tragically, Jeff Buckley’s only major label release. Following his death in 1997 at age 30, there have been several posthumous releases, but “Grace” is Buckley’s masterpiece, 10 tracks that are his legacy. “Mojo Pin” sets the pace of the record, soaring through all four octaves of Buckley’s range and showing how lofty and majestic pop music can be. The incredible calm of “Hallelujah” makes it one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded, with the ability to move a person to tears. The maturity of Buckley’s lyrics betrayed his age, how can you be so profound in your late 20’s, how can you have experienced enough to pen these poems? Even though Jeff Buckley cannot claim credit for “Hallelujah”, it was written by Leonard Cohen, Buckley can claim credit for lines like “Kiss me out of desire, not consolation, you know it makes me so angry, because I know with time, I will only make you cry” in the amazing track “Last Goodbye”. Another amazing lyric comes from the incredibly beautiful “Lilac Wine” when Buckley sings “I think much more than I want to think, I do things I never should do, I drink much more than I ought to drink, cause it brings me back you”. But I saved the best for last, my favorite track on this album, “Lover, You Should Have Come Over”. It is what is right with pop music, it is beautiful, it is well written, easy accessible, and sticks with you long after the radio stops playing. One line “Too young to hold on, too old to just break free and run” is kind of fitting, Buckley was at that point, in between youth and greatness, obscurity and legend, which makes it so much more tragic that “Grace” is the only album we will ever get.
Posted by Andru at 08:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 30, 2004
Game Boy Advance SP Price Drop Imminent
According to major game retailers Electronics Boutique and Gamestop, the early copies of pricing materials received by the company indicate that the price of the Game Boy Advance SP handheld game system is set to drop. This isn't unexpected, as the Nintendo DS handheld is set to debut in the United States in the month of November somewhere below the $200 mark. So what is the expected cost of the GBA SP after the price drop? A very consumer friendly $79.99 seems to be in order - a $20 price drop from it's current $99.99 price point.
Posted by Andru at 10:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Editorial: What Makes a Great Videogame?
As Gear Live braces itself for the onslaught of games approaching us this Fall, we thought it would be a good thing for to reflect on what is it that makes a videogame great? What things do we look for in our reviews, before making a recommendation? What factors are more important than others? Interested to know? Click on the link find out!
September is almost upon us, and it felt like a perfect time to discuss what aspects of a game would make it worth your hard earned dollars? In this article you will find that I have listed these factors in increasing order of importance.
Before reading further, you should know that not every game excels in every category. In fact, many of my favorites fall terribly short in one or two of these. In other words, not every great game will exceed in all categories. But the more of these “bases” you have covered, the better off the game will be! Also, we're focusing mostly on the single player experience for now. There'll be an editorial on multiplayer games in the future.
Now, on to the piece…
SOUND
A good game is one with appropriate sound effects and music…one where the spoken dialogue isn’t grating to the ears. The music fits in with the mood of the game, and helps to create the full experience. It helps if the tunes are memorable, well composed, and catchy. One of the best examples I’ve heard is SSX3. You can hear the difference between snowboarding on ice, versus packed or soft snow. The music is funky, catchy, and makes you want to get in there and groove down the slopes. The overall sound has excellent positional-surround qualities, and I love how the music dims when you catch air, only to explode back into the track as soon you land on the slopes. Most excellent indeed! A game with 5.1 positional capabilities is always a great touch, as evidenced in the recently released creepfest, Doom3.
Examples: SSX3, Doom3
GRAPHICS
A great game is one that can suspend your sense of disbelief. You feel like you are living out what is happening on screen. The visuals make your heart pulse, your fingers grip the game-pad tighter…your eyes are more focused, your lips tighter. This is because you believe in what is happening before you. When you see a great bail animation in a skating game, you wince because it looks painful. With great graphics, you connect to the character on the screen, you feel a sense of actual accomplishment as the game progresses…not like you’ve just moved some geometrical shape from point A to B.
Examples: Splinter Cell Series, Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, Fable
ORIGINALITY
A game publisher should feel really good about the times when they are seen as the originator. Suddenly every subsequent game that comes out is viewed as a copycat of the original. Sometimes originality comes from combining two or more game genres into one, as seen in Jak II, or the GTA series. Sometimes it’s adding one fresh ingredient to an already established formula, like in Namco’s Crisis series, where you can duck behind objects, and now select different kinds of shooting weapons, in an otherwise on-rails shooter. Why would anyone want to buy the same game twice? Give us a new fun experience, and we will love you for it.
Examples: Tetris, Jak II, Time Crisis Series, Rez, Dance-Dance Revolution
PRESENTATION / STORY
Not every great game necessarily has to have a magnificent story-line. But when there is a story, it is presented to the player in a seamless and well-thought out way. Players need menu systems that are intuitive and free of clutter. They need quick loading times, easy-to-read HUD’s, easy to navigate inventory-control. The more items or abilities in a game, the harder it is to organize them in a way that makes sense. Some game developers will let you customize the button layouts or the menu screens, which helps.
Examples: Final Fantasy X, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
PLAYABILITY
How fun is the game to play? Is it varied enough that you can sit and play it for hours? Does the progression of the story bring out emotion for the player, whether it's elation or sadness? Does your character develop or gain new and exciting abilities over time? Does leaping or kicking, or steering, affect the player at the gut level, making them marvel at the results of their actions? Do the physics feel realistic, or are they perhaps a tad exaggerated for some extra “edge”?
A game with great playability will make you tune out every other distraction in the room. You may catch yourself thinking and planning your next move even when you’re not playing. You can be in the shower the next morning, thinking of a strategy for the next time your hands wrap around that controller. A great game will reward you with a feeling of accomplishment, like you’ve achieved the impossible, and looked ultra-cool while doing so.
Examples: SSX3, Metal Gear Solid Series, Yoshi’s Island, NBA Street Series
CAMERA
So many games have failed due to poor camera design. I think it’s best to list some of the more frustrating encounters: Not being able to see the enemy that is shooting or aggravating you, because they are off-screen. Not being able to see where your character or vehicle is headed because of some obstruction. Walking into a room, and having the camera stuck behind the wall of the room you just came from. When the camera is not player-controlled in these situations, we are forced to deal with a visual handicap. An even better camera system is intelligent to know for itself how and when to move around.
Bad Examples: Grand Theft Auto - Vice City, SuperMario 64
DIFFICULTY
A game has to strike the delicate balance of being challenging enough to create a sense of accomplishment, but not overly difficult resulting in smashed controllers being thrown to the wall in frustration. Difficulty should be a progressive learning experience, and not jump suddenly from being a cake-walk to an impossibility. I love the games that teach you the basics first, by forcing the player to go through a clever training mode, before launching you into more difficult territory.
Examples: Half-Life, Final Fantasy Tactics, Yoshi’s Island
CONTROL
Very closely tied to difficulty is control. The player needs to feel like they have enough control of the character to have 100% responsibility of the outcome. Otherwise a game is labeled cheap, bugged, or otherwise impossible. Control should be intuitive. The character on screen should feel like an extension of your hand, moving as gracefully and as naturally as you would imagine them to be, if not more so, in the case of non-human characters.
Examples: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Ratchet & Clank Series, Tony Hawk Series
LONGEVITY
This is it, folks…the number one, most important factor in making a game great.
A game needs to last...plain and simple. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of purchasing a game, only to have it beat within the first week, with no real incentive to replay it. There were no secret rooms to find, no special modes, no re-positioning of the challenges, nothing.
A great game is one that calls you back for more. It has endless depth, guaranteeing that with each sitting you will discover something new. One example could be a game that has so many varied tasks to it, that you can pour 50 hours into it and still not find everything.
The best fighting games traditionally have had substantial depth, not only because of the varied characters you can select, but also because the experience is so unpredictable when you have a human opponent. Everybody plays differently, so every challenge will be different each time you play against someone.
Examples: Soul Calibur 2, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
So that's what Gear Live will be looking for when it comes to great games. Hope you’ve found this article enlightening and enjoyable. Feel free to add your own comments below! We love hearing from our readers.
Posted by Hector at 05:07 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 29, 2004
New iPods Coming From HP
Thanks to a licensing deal announced back in January, you'll soon be able to aquire an HP-branded iPod, simply dubbed: "The Apple iPod from HP". The unit is pretty much a replica of Apple's latest 20-gig and 40-gig models — but will carry the HP brand instead. As part of the deal, HP will sell photo labels which will allow users to choose and print their own art, or select from a variety from artists HP has partnered with, and "wrap" the tattoo-like stickers around their iPods, for a unique look. The deal was to help Apple penetrate even deeper into consumer markets by leveraging HP's distribution capabilities.
Read More 
| Yahoo! News
Posted by Hector at 09:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 26, 2004
DVD Release List: 8/31/04
This week's upcoming DVD Releases feature quite a few that people have been waiting for. Depending on who you are, either The Passion of the Christ or South Park: The Passion of the Jew will make your want list. If not, there is always that zany Captain Kirk along with his sidekick Spock to keep you entertained.
DVD Releases for August 31, 2004
- Star Trek The Original Series - The Complete First Season
- South Park: The Passion of the Jew
- The Passion of The Christ
- Lion King II - Simba's Pride (Special Edition)
- Invader Zim Volume 2: Progressive Stupidity
- Ike: Countdown to D-Day
- Chris Rock: Never Scared
Posted by Andru at 02:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Motorola V710 Review
As most of us Verizon Wireless subscribers know, the company hasn't exactly been on the bleeding edge of cell phone technology in their phone selection. In fact, they are finally getting their first mid-range Bluetooth cell phone - the Motorola V710. Is this the phone many have been waiting for? Is it a worthy upgrade if you are a Verizon Wireless customer? Mobileburn puts the phone to the test in their review.
Read More 
| MobileBurn
Posted by Andru at 09:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 24, 2004
Intel Slashes Price of Pentium Processors
You just gotta love competition. Case in point: Today, Intel announced major price cuts on the Pentium 4 and Itanium line of processors. The high end 3.6 Ghz Pentium 4 enjoys a 35% price reduction, going from $637 to a mere $417. Okay, maybe that is still a bit steep, but there's more. The much more cost-friendly 2.8 Ghz P4 chip went from $117 to $103. Looks like it may be time to consider upgrading.
For you business server types, you will be happy to know that the 64-bit Itanium chips have also had prices dropped, such as the 1.4 Ghz which goes from $2,247 to $1,980. Don't look for a drop on the "Extreme Edition" chips, however, as they remain at $999 USD.
Read More | vnunet
Posted by Andru at 09:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 23, 2004
Head to Head: Madden 2005 vs. ESPN NFL 2K5
With the recent release of the latest iterations of two great football games, many a gamer has pondered which offered the better play experience. Of course, Madden is the old time favorite having been around for over a decade - however, Sega (now using the ESPN brand) has released a superb game at a value price. Which is better? Gear Live contributing reporter Edwin Soto takes both games for a spin to provide some insight.
MADDEN 2005 vs. ESPN NFL 2K5: WHO'S GOT THE BIGGER CUP?
It’s hard to believe that it’s that time of year again. The time where devoted fans of their franchise start to tell you which football game they own and all the reasons why they know it’s so much better than yours. So who is it this year? Well let’s start by stating who it isn’t: 989 Sports and Midway. Both developers dropped out of the football race this year. Their arcade-style games (NFL Gameday and NFL Blitz), have been popular in the past, but not nearly as much as the big boys that they left behind this year. Sewing their hearts onto their shoulder pads, both Madden and ESPN have a lot to offer. The following is a breakdown of some of the aspects that identify how different these two are. So how will you decide?
BIG, DIRTY MEN NEVER LOOKED SO PRETTY
Graphically, both games have improved their player models to the point where I can see wrinkles! ESPN’s 2k5 is a masterpiece of animated splendor. The animations go unparalleled by sports games today. The tackles are precise and coincide with whatever position the players are in. Your QB’s motions in the pocket are smooth. In previous versions of this title, the ball would go from a straight line that it is thrown in and magically land in a receiver’s hands. There’s only realistic magic here. If you man is running on target to the football and his hands are ready, expect a completion. However, if his back is turned or there’s a defender’s arm in the way, expect realistic physics-no catch buddy.
Madden handles graphics in generally the same way except for a few differences. First, let me say how beautiful the textures are displayed in Madden. They are so very well detailed, too well detailed. The farther back you zoom out the more problems there are with textures. Considering you do a lot of zooming out to check defensive zones, check your plays, move your "D" around, it can become very noticeable. Although this isn’t a huge loss, it is one of the aspects of the game that can take away from the realistic experience (if your looking for that). I also found that the QB can sometimes look more like a contortionist rather than a quarterback. Arms begin to move in funny ways and seem like they are attached to the shoulder pad directly. This is also just a minor setback, but again, it takes away from the experience.
Winner: ESPN 2K5
NEXT ON OPRAH: HOW TO CONTROL 11 MEN AT THE SAME TIME
Two games with fantastic control schemes. Both have in-depth controls for both offense and defense. ESPN’s play calling controls work very well for those whom are playing against a friend (or on XBOX Live), as you can fool your opponent into thinking that you’ve chosen a particular play when in fact you chose a play that’s not even on the screen anymore (pretty handy, eh). You can do this by simply holding on to the button that the play is assigned to while still scrolling through the playbook, then just let go to choose the play that you had originally chosen.
First Person Football adds to the fun factor in simulating that you are actually on the field. There’s nothing like seeing yourself demolish a QB into a sack from the helmet, or make that big interception, or even go for that 40 yard run through the defense. However, this is just about the extent of the fun, and really doesn’t hold any replay value (and to add it is incredibly hard to make completions this way).
The only other notable difference, in ESPN’s controls is the QB’s "in the pocket" maneuvers. You can use the right thumbstick to dodge any incoming defenders trying to sack you. Madden’s defensive controls: where this game takes on a new life. Remember the playmaker controls in previous Maddens? They are back, except on defense this time around. The use of the right thumbstick to execute devastating tackles is nothing short of perfect. This really makes the opponent think about toning down that passing game a bit. I was amazed at how much I really used this feature and how neutralizing it can be. This really makes the game more immersive and gives you what you want: control. I really hope that this continues to be a staple in future Maddens.
Winner: Madden 2005
IS SOMEONE SMASHING WALNUTS, OR IS THAT BONES CRUSHING?
Sound had been important in football since the beginning. There is no major improvement in the sound effects in general. The new insults are nice though. Both games do this flawlessly. The commentary is great in both games but as usual, it gets a bit stale. So what can you possibly improve on in this category? ESPN’s got it. How about custom stadium music? How is it custom? Utilizing the soundtrack feature on the XBOX you can actually manipulate your music to play specific clips at specific events in the game, such as a home team interception. You can create playlists for your jukebox at your crib (more on that later). Unfortunately, Madden does not take advantage of any of these features. However, at least blubbo himself is still doing the commentating.
Winner: ESPN 2K5
GO DEEP! NO, DEEPER!
How great are these games? How long can you play them? Forever. The franchise modes go well into both games. While ESPN gives you the option to plan your week full of things to assign to you players by team or position, Madden’s news clips and trading system are flawless. ESPN gives you a “Crib” to use for every profile you make. Here you can unlock things by passing certain milestones and buy stuff for your crib using crib credits you gain during gameplay. But this is not really at all useful except for unlocking players and cheats. But it’s cool to have a crib full of trophies.
Winner: Tie
FINAL VERDICT
There’s no comparison between these two. Although EA’s Madden puts forth a valiant effort, Sega Sports really did their homework and put out a fantastic football game. Did I mention it’s only $20? Why even bother getting anything else (unless you’re made of money). In that case, by all means, go and get Madden too (although I must say after playing both games at the same time the controls got confusing).
GEAR LIVE PICK: ESPN 2k5
- Edwin Soto
Posted by Andru at 10:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
XBox Benches Several Sports Titles
Ever hear the term "Barriers of Entry?" We all knew Microsoft had an uphill battle by trying to take on software giant, Electronics Arts. The result: Microsoft recently shut down its Sports Game Studio in Redmond, Wash., signalling an end to the "NFL Fever", "NBA Inside Drive" basketball and "NHL Rivals" franchises. You may have seen this coming by the way, since EA and Microsoft had already reached agreements to allow EA's sports franchises to be playable on the XBox Live online gaming experience. In related news, Microsoft's separate studio in Utah that develops individual sports games, such as the "Amped" snowboarding title, is not affected by the staff cuts.
Read More | CNet
Posted by Hector at 06:48 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 22, 2004
Free Computers At FreeDesktopPC.com
So, while may of us have receive our free flat screen TV's and free iPods, many wondered if that was the end of the offers from Gratis Networks. Well, wait no longer - they have now launched freedesktoppc.com. Although the computers are nowhere near high end, you still get to choose from four PC models. Let the rage begin all over again. Sign up for your totally free desktop PC here. Upon complete signup, you must then complete an offer and refer 8 others to do the same.
If you are looking to gain referals, check out the Gear Live Free Desktop PC Referal Thread.
UPDATE: The site is back up, and is live (Gratis had previously pulled the site down to finish its design)!
Posted by Andru at 11:12 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Kingston USB DataTraveler Review
Does anyone even use floppy diskettes anymore? These days, thumb-drives are all the rage. Not only do they hold more memory than conventional diskettes, they're much smaller and faster. We take a look at the tiny, but affordable offering from Kingston, their 64-Meg USB DataTraveler.
Two weeks ago, I took the trip down to my local CompUSA to shop for a new LCD display for my PC. My wife and I decided to get an entirely new computer, with the monitor bundled in, as it seemed to make pretty good sense. Imagine my surprise when I took the thing home only to discover that there was no floppy drive on the case. Instead, it offered a total of six USB ports, two of which were on the front of the case. Seemed like it was a good time to start looking into USB thumb-drives.
The DataTraveler is a solid choice for people in my situation. I may not want to have to burn a CD for every bit of data I need to transfer, and emailing also has its limits in terms of how big a file your server allows. True, there are USB drives out there that can store up to 1Gig, but you’ll end up paying a lot more for it. The DataTraveler comes at a pretty attractive price: $16 to $25 depending on where you look for it online. It’s small and durable, and it simply gets the job done.
PERFORMANCE
Let’s talk about what’s most likely on your mind at the onset: transfer speed and functionality. The device actually offers 61.3 Megs of space, and it’s a solid and reliable amount of storage. When first plugging the unit into the USB port, it takes about a minute for the PC to install the necessary drivers and to recognize the device as removable storage. After that, future recognition is almost instant, maybe a couple of seconds after you plug in.
Transferring a 59 Meg QuickTime movie to the drive took about 1:12 minutes on my work PC; this was even faster at my home desktop: 45 seconds. Copying the movie back to my home PC took about 12 seconds. Keep in mind that this is using the DataTraveler to almost full capacity, so you’ll experience much faster speeds for everyday MS Office files. For example, a 24 KB Word document took less than a second to transfer from my PC to the drive. Very nice, indeed.
BUILD
You’ll note that the drive is a little bigger than a key, so it can fit comfortably in just about any pocket, another advantage it has over floppies. It feels very light, so much so that it seems like there’s nothing much stored within the gray-silver plastic shell. The drive comes with a little cap to cover the USB plug, which snaps snugly into place. There are also two blue, grip-like surfaces on the sides of the drive, to make taking off the cap a little easier. It’s good to know that it won’t slip off accidentally, as it provides just the right amount of resistance. You do need to be aware of how you place the cap on, however. You want it so that the USB symbol is facing the side that says “Kingston”. The cap still fits the other way around, but I had to squirm like crazy to be able to pull the cap off that way. You’ve been warned.
ACCESSORIES
It sounds pretty crazy that an accessory would have additional accessories itself, but that’s the case here nonetheless. First off, it comes with a small black cord, about an inch in length, that loops into a hole on the unit. This cord—which was a pain to get looped, though a bent staple helped me thread it through—is attached to a keychain-like ring, which itself is also looped around a gray shoestring-type cord. The shoestring, in turn, is connected to a small black buckle, that attaches to a long necklace, also made of the same gray shoestring. The shoestrings sport the word “Kingston” and “DataTraveler” on it, in case none of your friends know that you’re on the cutting edge of digital technology.
The necklace might help you not lose the thing easily, but what’s even more useful is the little USB extension cord that comes with the drive. It’s about 4 inches in length, and acts as an extension of the port on your PC. This is helpful if your USB port is on the back of your case, so that it’s easier to reach when you need to plug in the DataTraveler in a hurry. It’s also useful if your other ports are occupied, which would make plugging the drive directly into your case a little cumbersome. It simply adds a little reach to your ports, so that you don’t have to.
FEATURES
As you can tell from the image, the drive has a small triangular point on its surface, which lights up when the drive is connected, and flashes when it’s in use. It’s a nice reminder that the unit is in and functioning properly.
FINAL VERDICT
This is a very solid product. It does the job that it’s designed to do, and provides virtually no fuss. It’s reasonably priced, and works quickly and reliably to get your data where you need to take it. Those looking for some serious storage space, or extra frills may want to continue shopping for alternatives, but as a starter USB drive, you really cannot go wrong here. It’s a convenient, cheap, no-nonsense drive, and it passes our tests with flying colors.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Name: Kingston DataTraveler
Category: 64MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Company: www.Kingston.com
Price: $16 – 25
Posted by Hector at 06:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 20, 2004
Look Like A Fool While Bike Riding
Read More | Fossil Fool
Posted by Andru at 03:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Madden 2005 Breaks Records - Madden 2006 For Preorder
If you aren't convinced yet of the power of the videogame industry, let me introduce you to a little game called Madden 2005. The football game by Electronic Arts reached a franchise record, selling more than 1.35 million copies at retail stores in its first week alone. Mind you, this is a game that retails for $49.99. Most music artists can't even hit the 1 million mark in their first week, and CD's are a third of the price.
Listening to the requests of Madden fans, EA pumped this years version full of new features including user-created leagues, a free EA Sports Premium Pass, and the coup de grace - XBOX Live compatibility.
On a related note, retailers EB Games and Gamestop have started taking preorders for Madden 2006, which coincidentally, has yet to be announced by Electronic Arts.
Read More | USA Today
Posted by Andru at 11:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
World's First Disposable Digital Camera With LCD
The problem with current digital disposables is that you can't review the images you have just taken. Isn't that half of the benefit of going digital? Pharmacy chain CVS Corp. is looking to change all that by introducing the world's first disposable digital camera with a bright color viewing screen that you to instantly preview pictures. They will retail for $19.99. Hopefully this will convince your parents to begin considering the latest in lifestyle gear.
Read More | Yahoo News
Posted by Hector at 09:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 19, 2004
Apple Recalls Faulty Powerbook G4 Batteries
If you are the owner of an Apple G4 Powerbook purchased between January and August of 2004, you are in luck. You may be the proud owner of a laptop with a faulty battery that may heat up to the point of bursting into flames! However, if you would prefer to live on the safe side, good for you. Apple is recalling the LG manufactured batteries with the model number A1045 along with serial numbers that begin with HQ404, HQ405, HQ406, HQ407 or HQ408. You can find this information on the batteries label.
To get your battery replaced, you can contact Apple via phone at (800) 275-2273 or by visiting the website below.
G4 Battery Exchange Program | Apple
Posted by Andru at 03:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Take Your iRiver Underwater
We have received reports from our sources that iRiver and H2O Audio are set to make an announcement about a new product coming through the pipeline. Apparently, surfers, divers, waterskiers and the like have not had the ability to exercise their love of digital audio while engaging in their favorite pastime (You see, water and gadgetry don't play nicely together). However, that is all about to change.
An early press release reveals that iRiver and H2O Audio will be announcing the SV i700 MP3 player accessory for the iRiver iFP-700 series at the end of the month. What does that mean to us? Well, they are calling it the "First MP3 Player for Action Sports". Using the accessory, the MP3 player becomes completely waterproof - headphones and all. There is also an armband accessory that can be purchased, for those that enjoy swimming with two hands. We do not have any images yet, but we will post them as soon as we get them.
Talk about the new SV i700 on the Gear Live Portable Gear Boards!
Posted by Andru at 08:56 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Broadband Penetrates Into 50% of US Households
Broadband internet access has reached an important critical mass milestone: In July 2004, more than half (51%) of the American online population accessed the Internet via broadband. This is a significant increase from the 38 percent reported in July 2003. Meanwhile, narrowband access dropped 13 percent annually.
Read More | Media Daily
Posted by Hector at 05:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 18, 2004
Real Offering $0.49 Song Downloads
Competition is a good thing. Real, for a limited time, is offering songs for half the price of most digital music services. While most offer digital downloads for $0.99 USD per song (or $9.99 USD per album), Real has priced their music at $0.49 per song and $4.99 per album. On top of that, the company is using new software technology, Harmony, that will allow songs downloaded from their music store to be playable on all Apple iPods. As of now, Apple leads all other digital music services, with more than 100 million downloads sold to date.
Read More | CNN Money
Posted by Hector at 06:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 17, 2004
CyberTree CWH-900D Wireless Cellular Headset Review
The ability to use a headpiece to talk wirelessly with your cellular without Bluetooth, sounds almost too good to be true. How does the CyberTree’s new headset, the CWH-900D stack up? Find out in our review, by clicking the link below.
CYBERTREE CWH-900D WIRELESS CELLULAR HEADET REVIEW
The ability to use a headpiece to talk wirelessly on your cellular without Bluetooth, sounds almost too good to be true. How does the CyberTree’s new headset, the CWH-900D stack up? Find out in our review:
Many of you have already read through my review of the Samsung SCH-A670. One of the things you’ll notice about the phone is that it doesn’t have Bluetooth capability. I knew going in that I was getting this phone primarily for its screen, and that if I wanted to talk on the phone using a headset, there would be no way for me to do so wirelessly. I’m pretty tall too, so I’ve had bad experiences with cell phone wires that barely reached down to my belt, dashing my wireless hopes altogether.
Well, enter the CWH-900D from Cybertree. This little thing is aimed squarely at people in my situation: cell phone owners who don’t want to have to buy a new Bluetooth-enabled phone just to get wireless. It’s also aimed at folks who don’t want to get tangled up in their wires while driving/walking and speaking to their loved ones. While the phone does indeed work, and it looks stylish enough, I’m not sure that the quality of the sound and reception is consistent enough to warrant a purchase.
INSTALLATION
As you can see from the pictures, the CWH-900D consists of a base and a one-ear headset. The two things sure do look cool, and I was happy to see that the base came with a leather holder that clips to your belt. The idea is that you plug the base into your phone using its cord, and place the headset on your left ear. By the way, it can only be placed on the left ear, due to its design. The outer side of the headset looks pretty sleek, but I wondered how well the small half-moon shaped earphone would rest against the ear itself.
Sure enough I had a little trouble getting the thing on. The instruction book actually asks that you use your hand to widen the plastic hook before slipping it over your ear, which is what you’ll have to do. It’s not a simple, one-swipe affair. And if you wear glasses, you’ll probably need to take them off because they will also get in the way. As I feared, the earpiece didn’t rest tightly against my ear, and in fact the earphone itself wobbled a bit on the threshold of my ear canal.
But the way the headset looks on your head, once you’ve arranged it a little bit, is really nice. The same can be said for the base that attaches to your cell phone. I took my phone and rotated it on its clip, so that the coiled wire goes from the base right to the phone without obstructions. The fact that the cord is coiled shows that Cybertree was thinking about how the distance from the base to the phone may change, depending on the user and their phone set-up. The base and my cell both fit happily on my belt, though they do need to be somewhat close to each other.
The entire package also comes with a velcro-like tape that you could stick to say, your car’s dashboard, so that you can attach the base near a phone cradle when driving. Since I live in NYC, without a car, I didn’t have much of a need for this, but having this headset while driving may be the best time to use it.
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
HEADSET WEIGHT 23g (0.8oz)
HEADSET DIMENSIONS 10cm x 5cm x 2.5cm (4" x 2" x 1")
BASE ADAPTER DIMENSIONS 6.5cm x 4cm x 1.5cm (2.5" x 1.6" x 0.6")
FUNCTIONAL RANGE 10m (32ft)
TYPICAL TALK TIME 3 hours
TYPICAL STANDBY TIME 48 hours
TYPICAL RECHARGE TIME 2 hours
COMPATIBILITY Standard 2.5mm jack
COLOR Silver, Blue, Gold, and Cranberry
CASE DIMENSIONS 5 product units
25cm x 15cm x 15cm
(10" x 6" x 6")
FEATURES
In order for the headset to work, you must turn on a switch on both the base and on the headset so that the two units turn on, and search for each other. You will see little red and blue lights inside both pieces that will flicker on during this process. Once the connection is made, and you are in the midst of a call, the blue light on each piece will blink steadily. I found it a little confusing as to which unit needs to be flicked on first, and I still haven't exactly figured it out. You do need to make sure that the base is connected to the phone before anything.
There is a small button that is flush with the headpiece that will act as the answer or pick-up button. You depress it before making a call and you then hear the tones of your cell phone through the headpiece. I couldn’t believe that it actually worked the first time I heard it! It seemed like this was the real deal.
SOUND QUALITY
The actual quality of the sound is such a mixed bag, I am unable to draw a decisive conclusion on it. It’s a shame too, because the technology is so cool, I would love to be able to say that calls came through flawlessly.
When I first tested the unit, it was with another cell phone on the other line. I was indoors, and the other person’s voice kept dropping out. As the voice dropped, the headset would give a short beep. I was able to hear about half the conversation, and eventually was too frustrated to try again. However, I was willing to give the headset the benefit of a doubt. Perhaps my friend's phone carrier was not working at its best, and they had weak signals.
The second time I tried the headset I was completely outdoors, on a bright sunny day. I thought that this would be a fairer test, considering that signal strength would be ideal. I also decided to call a land line phone. The other side picked up and sure enough we were enjoying our conversation, with only an occasional drop in the voice, again accompanied with a short beep. I asked the other person how did I sound, and he said that it felt like I was a little further away. Switching to the phone without the earpiece, he could immediately tell the difference: closer, clearer, and no dropped voice.
I tried again a couple more times, this time back at the apartment. My bother uses the same phone cellular carrier, and he told me that it sounded perfectly, with no drops at all. He couldn’t even tell the difference when I switched to the regular phone without the earpiece. I had the same experience calling home to my wife, who said I sounded fine.
Then calling another land line indoors, I had a similar experience to the first time. The beeps that seemed to signal a loss of my own voice through the headset came frequently enough to be an annoyance. The voice coming to me would distort at times as well, as if the volume was set too high, though in reality it was set to medium volume. Again, switching to just the cell phone itself was a great improvement. You can sense my frustration, and my uneasiness about this headset. I didn't get the sense that I could rely on it consistently.
Even with the mixed results, I could make a couple of conclusions. First, the sound coming from the earpiece was not loud enough, especially if you’re walking about outdoors or if there’s some other background noise. This is partially attributable to the fit of the earpiece itself. It’s not snug like an earbud headphone, so I had to hold the earpiece to my ear with my hand to get a good solid sound. The second observation was that the strength of the connection was dependent on what came between the base and the headset. If I were to cover the base with an outer section of my shirt—-or imagine the sides of a jacket—-the unit was prone to more voice-drops.
Either way, I’m not pleased with this unit when it comes to the actual calls themselves. It appears that you need to be outdoors, with a direct line-of-sight between the base and the headpiece to get anything approaching audio consistency. Again, even then it's not as loud as you would want, and you will still experience dropped bits voice.
BUILD QUALITY
The two units, both the base and the headset, are really light…almost to a fault. You might mistake them for cheap little toys because of this. I’ve also had the things stored in my bag without the protective storage case that it comes with, and it still doesn’t have a single scratch on it. Pretty tough suckers.
CHARGING
The base and the headpiece both need to be charged with the included charger, which has a cord that splits in two so that this can be done at one time. The manual advises that you let them charge for a good 2 hours before using them, which is about right.
FINAL VERDICT
Hopefully these conclusions will help CyberTree to refine the next iteration of its product.
The CWH-900D wireless headset needs a better earpiece that will rest snugly against your ear canal so that it can transmit its sound more directly. It needs clearer instructions so that we understand the order of the boot-up sequence and the lights that accompany it. It needs to have stronger reception capability to lessen the likelihood of calls sputtering in and out. It certainly looks attractive, and the leather-like belt pouch for the base is a thoughtful touch, but the functionality leaves a lot to be desired. These problems make the unit appeal only to desperate and busy drivers with no other choice, though maybe a little wire isn’t such a bad thing if you don’t have a BlueTooth set.
Company Information:
Posted by Hector at 07:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Toys R Us Huge Videogame Clearance
Apparently, Toys R Us is getting ready for all the new videogames set to be released over the next few months (as you know, Christmas is always a great time to be a gamer). Since there should be an abundance of games they need to make space for, they are clearing out their current inventory in a major way. Click below for the absolutely HUGE list of Playstation, XBOX, Gamecube, and other games you can pick up on the cheap.
Okay, this is a permanent sale going on at all Toys R Us retail locations. It ends when they're sold out, however, it is unadvertised. You won't see any sale prices, and after asking most employees don't seem to know about it. You'll get the discount when the clerk gives you a total. If you ask for a price check, it will show as full price. The item is discounted when an actual sale is rung up.
PlayStation 2:
.hack 3 - $15
Aggressive Inline - $7.50
Amplitude - $15
Barbarian - $15
BofF: Dragon Quarter - $10
Devil May Cry - $10
Disgaea - $25
DDR Max 2 - $20
Dynasty Tactics 2 - $15
Dynasty Warriors 2 - $10
Dynasty Warriors 4 Xtreme Legends $15
Ejay Clubworld - $7
Fantavision - $7.50
Fighter Maker 2 -
Finding Nemo -
Freaky Flyers - $10
Frequency - $7.50
Gallop Racer 2003 - $25
Guilty Gear X2 - $15
Haven - $5
ICO - $15
King of Fighters 2000/2001 - $15
Kya -
Mark of Kri - $7.50
Metal Arms - $10
Mummy REturns - $10
Need For Speed: HP2 - $10
Okage –
Onimusha 2 - $10
Primal - $15
Ratchet and Clank Going Commando - $20
REZ - $12.50
Romance of the Three Kingdoms - $15
Rygar - $15
Savage Skies - $6.50
Secret Weapons Over Normandy - $15
Silent Hill 3 - $10
Skygunner - $25
SOCOM with Headset - $20
Street Fighter (?) - $10
Terminator: DofF - $20
Tokyo Extreme Racing 3 - $10
Unlimited Saga - $7.50-$10
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution - $10
Warhammer 40k - $10
World Rally Championship - $15
Zone of the Enders 2 - $10
XBOX:
007 Nightfire - $10
Batman: Rise of the Sin Zu - $10
Beyond Good and Evil - $10
Black Stone: Magic & Steel - $25
Blood Omen 2 - $10
Buffy - $15
Chase - $8
Circus Maximus - $12.50
Crimson Skies - $15
Deathrow - $10
Deus Ex: Invisible Wars - $10
DDR Ultramix (w/Pad) - $35
Dynasty Warriors 4 - $15
Fatal Frame - $25
Freedom Fighters - $10
Futurama - $10
Gauntlet - $15
Gladius - $15
Grabbed by the Ghoulies - $10
Hunter: Redeemer - $10
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb - $15
Kelly Slater Pro Surfing - $10
Kill.Switch - $20
Madden 2002 - $10
Marvel vs Capcom 2 - $20
Matt Hoffman - $10
Metal Dungeon $12.50
MGS2: Substance - $8
Midnight Club 2 - $10
Morrowind GOTY- $15
Moto GP2 - $20
Need For Speed: HP2 - $10
New Legends - $6
Otogi - $15
Panzer Dragoon Orta - $15
Prince of Persia - $10
Pro Race Driver $10
Roadkill - $10
Robin Hood: Defend of the Crown -
Seablade - $5.50
Secret Weapons Over Normandy - $15
Sims - $10
Smashing Drive $10
Speed Kings - $10
Sphinx - $6.50
Stake: Fortune Fighters - $10
Star Wars: Obi-Wan - $10
Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy - $15
Superman: Man of Steel - $10
Syberia - $10
Tao Feng - $10
Timesplitters - $10
Transworld Surf - $10
UFC: Tapout 1 - $10
UFC: Tapout 2 - $10
Unreal Tournament - $10
Voodoo Vince - $10
Wallace and Grommit - $20
Whiplash - $15
Whiteout - $5
Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions - $10
WWF Raw Platinum Hits - $10
XIII - $10
Nintendo Gamecube:
Big Mutha Truckas - $7.50
Black & Bruised - $15
Bloodrayne - $7.50
Blood Omen 2 - $10
Bloody Roar -
Eternal Darkness - $20
Freedom Fighters - $10
Gladius - $25
Harry Potter Quidditch Cup -
Ikaruga - $20
Lost Kingdoms 2 - $10
LOTR: Two Towers - $10
Madden 2004 - $15
MegaMan Network Transmissions - $15
Mickey Mouse -
Namco Museum - $10
Pacman Vs./World 2 - $10
P.N.03 - $10
Red Card 2003
Rogue Ops - $10
Sega Soccer Slam - $10
Simpsons Hit & Run - $20
Sims - $10
Sphinx - $6.50
Spy Hunter -
Soul Calibur 2 - $10
SSX3 - $10
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III - $10
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike Bonus Disc - $5
Summoner 2: A Goddess Reborn - $10
Super Monkey Ball - $10
Tony Hawk's Underground - $10
Wario World - $15
Worms Blast - $10
Game Boy Advance:
Boktai - $5
Bomberman Max -
Boxing Fever - $7.50
Brain Games - $10-$15
Britney's Dance Beat - $10
Cima: The Enemy - $15
Crazy Taxi: Catch A Ride - $15
Demi Kids: Light - $15
Denki Blocks! - $5
Doom II - $15
Double Dragon - $15
Dungeons & Dragons Eye of the Beholder - $10
Final Fight One - $7.50
Flinstones - $10
Karnaaj - $5
Lady Sia - $7.50
Lufia: The Ruins of Lore - $15
Monster Force - $15
Munch's Oddyssey - $10
Onimusha Tactics - $10
Pinball of the Dead - $10
Phantasy Star Collection - $10
Pokemon Pinball - $15
Star X - $5
Super Dodge Ball - $10
Superman: Countdown To Apokolips - $15
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles –
Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf - $7.50
Tiny Toons Adventures: wacky Stackers - $5
Virtua Tennis - $5
Wolfenstein 3D - $5
WWE Road To Wrestlemania X8 - $7
Dreamcast:
Bomberman Online - $7.50
Carrier - $10
Gigawing - $12
King of Fighters Evolution - $7.50
NFL 2K2 - $10
Phantasy Star Online Episode II - $10
Soul Fighter - $4
Tennis 2K2 - $5
Unreal Tournament - $3.45
Virutal Tennis - $2.50
Nintendo 64:
Earthworm Jim 3D - $10
MegaMan 64 - $25
Paper Mario - $5.30
Perfect Dark - $5
Pokemon Snap - $10
PlayStation:
Arc The Lad Collection - $35
Dino Crisis - $10
Dracula: The Last Sanctuary - $7.50
Dragon Warrior VII - $15
Final Fantasy Tactics - $7.50
Front Mission 3 - $20
Gran Turismo - $7.50
Gran Turismo 2 - $7.50
Pinobee - $5
Point Blank 3 - $7.50
SaGa Frontier 2 - $15
Time Crisis - $10
Torneko: The Last Hope - $6
Miscellaneous:
PS2 Bundle Pack - $115
X-Box Game Case - $2.50
XBOX Live Starter kit (Version 2 ONLY): 24.99 (Full 'Tetris Worlds', demo MechAssault and Star Wars)
Controller S (The big box ones ONLY) 14.99
Game Boy Advance system (non-SP) Glacier or Indigo -$35
Posted by Andru at 02:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
PalmOne Introducing New Wi-Fi SD Card
If you have the Zire 72 or Tungsten T3, you're in luck. Early September, Palm will be introducing a Wi-Fi adapter SD card for these specific models. They retail for $129, and allow you to tap into a nearby Wi-Fi hotspot for both web-browsing and sending/receiving email. The card will require at least 4MB of free memory on the handheld. Zire 71 and PocketPC users can already take advantage of SanDisk's Wi-Fi card, which is around the same price, and also offers 256 Megs of space.
Read More | PC World
Posted by Hector at 08:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 16, 2004
Sprint Adds Streaming Media To Cell Phones
Along with a megapixel camera, and camcorder capabilities, Sprint is making headway into the TV broadcast arena. With their new Samsung MM-A700 handset, you'll be able to get 15-frame-per-second streaming video. Content includes highlights from the Olympics and Sprint TV: a compilation of content from the NBC TV network, Fox Sports, The Weather Channel Interactive, and other sources. The service is $9.99 a month, with the option to add on additional premium channels at $4.95 each per month. Sprint's new MM-A700 handset is $399.99, or $249.99 after rebate with a two-year agreement.
Read More | PC World
Posted by Hector at 06:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 12, 2004
Gear Live Playlist
Gear Live Music Columnist Greg Norton brings us his newly formatted weekly article, which will now be titled Gear Live Playlist. Within, Greg takes a look at the latest releases as well as the essentials you need to have in your music collection. This week he looks at The Hives, The Cure, and the good rambler himself, Bob Dylan.
Hello readers, I have decided to change the way I do my music column. I am still going to review new releases, but now I am also going to point out what I think are great albums from the last few months, and some classic albums that I think deserve a place in every collection. Feel free to drop me a line if you agree, disagree or just want to talk music. I hope you like it, and I look forward to your feedback.
NEW RELEASES
The Hives – Tyrannosaurus Hives
Swedish rockers The Hives return with the follow up to their very successful 2002 debut “Veni Vedi Vicious”. The retro garage rock is definitely back, and lead singer Howlin Pete Almquist is still trying to shout down every other voice in rock music. “Tyrannosaurus Hives” is a more mature album than “Veni Vedi Vicious”, but definitely lacks the break out hit that was “Hate To Say I Told You So”. “Walk Idiot Walk” is the first single off this album, but lacks any real emotion, which is indicative of this album, and leads this CD into mediocrity. Because every song sounds the same, “Tyrannosaurus Hives” gets a 6/10.
The Cure – The Cure
The thirteenth studio album from the Cure, and the first in four years turns out to be one of their best. The band that helped inspired the Emo movement spiritually, if not musically, has come back to claim the throne of the angst-ridden, crying-out-for-love uber band. The extremely distinctive voice of Robert Smith is amazing, going from haunting on “Labyrinth”, to pop on “The End Of The World” and “alt.end” and even pure rock on “Never”. On a side note, tell me “alt.end” doesn’t prove that The Cure is the official band for Internet geeks like ourselves? All in all, “The Cure” gets an 8/10.
BEST RECENT RELEASES
Ben Kweller – On My Way
Released in April “On My Way” is the follow-up to Kweller’s critically acclaimed debut “Sha Sha”. The maturity displayed on this album is remarkable, especially in the Dylan-esque “On My Way”, definitely one of my favorite songs right now. “On My Way” is definitely a stylistically varied album, ranging the folksy swagger of “On My Way” to the hard rock of “The Rules” which is a great song with the great chorus “Show me all the rules girl, I just wanna get ‘em wrong”. The standouts on the album are definitely the slower songs, such as “Believer”, “Different But The Same” and the exquisite ballad “Living Life”. All in all, this album gets a 8/10.
Snow Patrol – Final Straw
“Final Straw” is one of those rare occurrences when not a single bad song causes you to skip to the next track. “Final Straw” reminds me of Coldplay’s first release “Parachutes”, a solid cd that gives a hint of greatness to come. Particular high points include the radio hit “Spitting Games”, the powerful “Run”, the chugging of “Wow” and my personal favorite “Chocolate”. Although this isn’t Snow Patrol’s debut, it feels like they have turned a corner with this release, and hopefully their “A Rush Of Blood To The Head” is on the way.
COLLECTION ESSENTIALS
Bob Dylan – Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
For my money, it gets no better than this album. I am coming out guns blazing saying that “Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” is the best album I have ever heard. So, now you know where I stand, let me tell you why. Right off the bat, some of the biggest songs in pop history show up on this album, “Blowin’ In The Wind”, “Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall”, and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”. The best song on the album, one of the best songs ever written, the classic “Masters Of War” is still amazingly relevant today. Give it a spin, you will know exactly what I mean. This album is one of the reasons that several colleges recently started teaching Dylan’s lyrics as poetry. The track “Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall” is the best breakup song I have ever heard, and if you aren’t sick of “Blowin’ In The Wind”, give it a spin, there is a reason it is so often played. On this album you get funny Bob Dylan “Bob Dylan’s Dream”, the angry Bob Dylan “Masters Of War”, the loving Bob Dylan “Corrine, Corrine” and remorseful Bob Dylan “Girl From The North Country”. Like I said, my favorite album, one of the best ever, that is why it deserves a spot in your collection.
Posted by Andru at 11:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
HDTV Olympic Coverage is Slow-Going
We're slowly getting there, but this year's Olympics will only be seen with some limitations for HD subscribers, estimated to be around 2.5 million people. Interestingly, there are about 5 million HDTV sets out there without HD receivers. In other words, people are buying the sets, but aren't yet flocking to a cable or satellite HD subscription. You can find out more about how HDTV's work here.
Read More | Wired News
Posted by Hector at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 11, 2004
Sharp Unveils New 3D Display
The new LL-151-3D provides a new way to view 3D images without the hassle of special 3D glasses. The display acts as an LCD monitor, which, at the touch of a button, will switch into 3D mode, allowing software programs designed to display graphics in 3D to become much more immersive. The LL-151-3D cannot translate 2D images into 3D on its own, but requires special software for this operation to work.
Read More | The Register
Posted by Hector at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tablet PC's Are Still A Bitter Pill to Swallow
Looks like tablet PC's just aren't catching on the way they were expected to, due to the complex applications requirements of the US workforce. Lower prices would also appear to help. The latest market data shows that notebooks continue to out-ship tablets by more than 100 to one.
Read More | vnu.net
Posted by Hector at 05:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 09, 2004
Microsoft Releases Windows XP Service Pack 2
The bad news: The update is 80 megs large. The good news: It will help protect your system from cyber-attacks by installing a built in firewall, among other things. Microsoft plans to use the improvements found in Service Pack 2 on future iterations of the Windows platform. They're also urging users to turn on the automatic update function on their systems, so that current and future updates may be slowly downloaded with minimal disruption to your normal computer activities.
Read More | CNN
Posted by Hector at 12:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
JAKKS TV Games Interview
By now you’ve heard about JAKKS TVGames line of interactive entertainment products. You’ll even find a review of their excellent Ms. Pac-Man TVGame right on our front page. Recently, Gear Live had a chance to speak with the great folks at the company for an inside scoop at how this product line came about, and what can we expect in the future. Click below to read the interview!
THE COMPANY
Describe your role at JakksTVGames.
Anne-Marie Feliciano: I am the Corporate Communications Manager handling product publicity, special events, investor relations and a host of other duties including handling publicity for TV Games, by far my favorite JAKKS’ product!
How did the idea of the Jakks TV Games line begin?
Anne-Marie: JAKKS is a highly acquisitive company and in 2001, we acquired Toymax Inc. At that time they were working on a product called TV Games – a plug and play controller that contains multiple retro-themed games. After the acquisition was completed we recognized a blockbuster hit in TV Games and worked further to develop the line before fully launching it to the public. For example, we made sure that TV Games based on retro titles were housed in authentic-looking controllers such as the Atari 2600.
Looks like Jakks Pacific is larger than just JakksTVGames. How big is the Company?
Anne-Marie: JAKKS has over 4700 SKUS of product, in over 15 brands and from all categories, including art activities to back-to-school, action figures to vehicles, and dolls to slumber bags. Our products are offered by retailers internationally and JAKKS employs over 300 people worldwide.
UPCOMING PRODUCTS
What else are you working on now? Any other arcade games, or other publishers, or titles from the 16-bit era?
Anne-Marie: We have some upcoming Fall titles from EA, plus Mortal Kombat and Spider-Man. Also check out our website at www.jakkstvgames.com! [Editor's Note: The EA classics NFL '95 and NHL '95 are both headed to stores this October, in one and two-player versions] We also have licensing agreements signed with Lucasfilm for Star Wars, Capcom, Midway and Marvel for upcoming 2005 TV Games titles.
Are there any plans with Nintendo or Sega?
Anne-Marie: JAKKS has many, many plans for the future of TV Games. We do not disclose details until we issue an official announcement.
How difficult was it to acquire the rights to reproduce these games?
Anne-Marie: Luckily, our licensors are just as excited about TV Games as we are! Licensing deals are lengthy processes but so far everyone has been on board!
Are there any games you haven't been able to license or get for your collections that you would like?
Anne-Marie: We’re working on getting as many top gaming and entertainment properties as fast as we can! So far everyone is excited about TV Games.
Do you plan on releasing any game collections for the lesser known and failed systems of the late 80's and early 90's? Such as the Turbo Graphic 16 or Neo Geo?
Anne-Marie: Again, JAKKS has many, many plans for the future of TV Games. We do not disclose details until we issue an official announcement.
How about a Commodore 64 collection? Or a Colecovision Collection?
Anne-Marie: Same as above! Check out www.jakkstvgames.com for upcoming titles!
Would there be any plans for a steering wheel controller with only driving games? What about a lightgun?
Anne-Marie: JAKKS is exploring all top licenses and types of controllers for TV Games!
Why wasn't Kaboom licensed for use with the paddle controllers? Any chance of seeing the paddle re-released at a later date with it added?
Anne-Marie: We are constantly seeking rights for as many games as possible that fit in with TV Games. We’ll keep you in the loop!
Can you give us any details on the Spiderman TV toy and when it might be released?
Anne-Marie: Now this I can talk about! Everyone’s favorite web-slinger is back with Spider-Man TV Games. Players assume the role of the neighborhood crime fighter and battle sinister enemies including the Green Goblin, Rogue and more. Players’ skills as the web-slinging hero will be put to the ultimate test with 5 action packed games inside one controller.
· action-packed Spider-Man games in a single cool controller (see attached image for your use!)
· 5 games include: Streets of the City, Doc Ock Horror, Green Goblin’s Escape, Venom’s Vindication and Rogues Gallery
· Spider-Man TV Games launches in October.
Going back to Mortal Kombat, what will the controller be like: arcade style or more like that of a console?
Anne-Marie: We’re still in the process of finalizing the controller. I’m hoping to have a product image in a month.
DESIGN
What was the most challenging aspect of reproducing these games?
Petro Piaseckyj, JAKKS’ Senior Producer for TV Games: A couple of challenging aspects - taking the code that was done on different hardware and porting it to the current hardware; dealing with old code that no one has looked at a long time; and successfully communicating between the factory, developer, hardware provider and getting it all to work together and properly.
Do any of the classic games include extra features, like updates or unlockables?
Petro: We did a line by line port of the original games, if the original game had secrets and unlockables, then they’re in the game. Our goal was to recreate exact replicas of the original game.
Were some games easier to convert than others?
Petro: They all have different challenges, none were specifically easier than others.
PURCHASING
What retail channels have you targeted for these products?
Anne-Marie: The best part about TV Games is that they appeal to such a wide demographic. You can find TV Games (and our preschool line of TV Games Kids) in traditional toy and electronic stores such as Toys R Us and Target, Circuit City and Best Buy, Game Stop and Electronics Boutique, as well as non-traditional outlets such as Musicland, Urban Outfitters, Bed Bath & Beyond and more.
What is the market you are targeting for the product?
Anne-Marie: TV Games can literally be played from ages 8-80…anyone who loves videogames but are sick of the violence and complexity of today’s games, anyone who remembers the classic games from the past, men, women, old and young…there’s literally a TV Games for everyone!
Are you surprised at how large the demand has become for your products?
Anne-Marie: We knew from the start that TV Games would be huge but yes, the speed and devotion that consumers and retailers have for the product was a happy suprise
Finally, which JAKKSTV Game is your personal favorite, and which are you looking forward to most?
Anne-Marie: I love SpongeBob SquarePants TV Games! I’ve always loved the character and the 5 SpongeBob games in the wacky-looking controller, such as “Bubble Pop” and “Super Chum Bucket” are so addicting! I can’t wait for the release of World Poker Tour! Believe it or not, I love card games, especially Texas Hold ‘Em. I also love watching the World Poker Series and Celebrity Poker on TV so I know I’ll love WPT TV Games. I can even play with friends!
Many thanks to both Anne-Marie Feliciano and Petro Piaseckyj for their time and insights. Also, thanks go to our loyal readers for submitting their questions.
For more information on the JAKKS TV Games visit their website at www.jakkstvgames.com.
Posted by Hector at 06:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 06, 2004
New High End Accessories Available for palmOne Products.
It's getting increasingly easier to look cool while still being high-tech. PalmOne just began to offer some fashionable accessories for their various handhelds and smartphones. The new high-end Persona accessory line is making its introduction with some quality personalizable leather cases. The Vaja cases offer a nice variety of colors, along with the option to emboss your name on the back cover or the inside lid.
Read More | Palm Infocenter
Posted by Hector at 11:06 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 05, 2004
Fresh2 Odor Eliminating Light Bulb Review
When I started the Gear Live site, I was excited to bring the latest technology news to our readers, and that meant reviews of the hottest gear. But I never thought I would be doing this. You see, I have been testing what, in all honesty, is just a great peice of technology. It isn't an MP3 player, cell phone, or even a high tech cooling device. Nope - this is a light bulb.
FRESH2 ODOR KILLING LIGHT BULB REVIEW
Before you click away, hear me out. You see, Gear Live gets excited about the better gadgets out there that we feel everyone should own, and it turns out that this is one of those gadgets. You see, the Fresh2 bulb has a very unique feature that has to be seen - or smelled - to be believed. When you turn on this bulb, Fresh2 claims that within 10 minutes it will begin the process of deoderizing the air in the room it is placed in. Intrigued? So were we.
We asked Fresh2 to send us a couple of bulbs that we could put to the test. When they arrived, the first thing we noticed was the interesting sprial shape of the bulbs. Feeling the actual bulb, it felt like smooth plastic - almost slick. I put one of these bulbs in the living room, and the other in the bathroom. Poor bathroom bulb. It was going to have a hard time proving itself.
Before getting into the odor-killing properties of these bulbs, let me tell you that they are BRIGHT. Despite being a 23-watt Compact Flourescent Bulb, these things shine without making you cry when the energy bill shows up. So the first test was passed...it works as a lightbulb, and does it well.
My living room is right next to the kitchen, so normally when something is cooking, you can smell it in the next room for a while after it has been done, and devoured. I figured I would watch for this while testing the product. Obviously the bathroom is, well, the bathroom. I don't think I need to go into too much explanation there. However, I was monitoring the success of the Fresh2 light bulb in there as well. I got some surprising results:
While using the Fresh2 bulb, I could still smell food cooking in the kitchen, while it was cooking. However, once it was done, the smell was gone within 15 minutes. I mean, there was just a very slight hint of the food. A few minutes after that it was just gone. It wasn't a fluke either, as it happened time and time again. If the light was off, say during the morning, the results were not the same. So the Fresh2 bulb did its thing.
In the bathroom, I didn't expect as much success. After all, people keep things that smell good in the bathroom to counteract the things that smell bad. I am talking sprays, potpourri, lotions, candles, and whatever else people can think of. The Fresh2 bulb does not smell good. Don't get me wrong, it does not smell bad either. It simply smells like nothing; and that is what the bathroom smelled like after about 10 minutes of Fresh2 treatment. Absolutely nothing. No matter what happened in there, the Fresh2 left it smelling like a regular old room.
FINAL VERDICT
Well, the Fresh2 bulb did exactly what they said they would do, but not exactly in the amount of time they advertise. Hey, I don't mind waiting an extra 5-10 minutes for the desired results. It is a rarity to find combo devices that work well at both things they are trying to accomplish. The Fresh2 lightbulb is one of those rarities.
MORE INFORMATION:
Fresh2 Site: www.fresh2.com
MSRP: $19.99 USD - 2 Bulbs
Posted by Andru at 10:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Playstation 3 to Support Blu-Ray Disc
Back to the next generation format wars, Sony has made it known that the PlayStation 3 will officially support the Blu-Ray disc format. What exactly does this mean? For starters, this gives Blu-Ray its own major corporate contender supporting it. This is good press for Blu-Ray, especially after Microsoft announced HD DVD capabilities will be natively supported in Windows Longhorn. Blu-Ray discs can hold about 27 GB of data per side, which means the PS3 will be capable of high-definition movie playback. This opens up a whole new playing field on the gaming front. Now let's see if Microsoft follows suit and announced HD DVD support for the next XBOX.
Read More | CNET News
Posted by Andru at 09:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 04, 2004
Archos GMini 400 Revealed
On the heels of our Archos GMini 200 review, the new (and seemingly much improved) Gmini 400 has been revealed for the first time. This time the digital audio player features a full color LCD screen - a much welcomed addition when compared to the grayscale screen of the previous model. In addition, the GMini 400 will also play video, displayed on its 2.2 inch LCD. Finally, the player will also display images. Obviously, Archos is coming in hard with this player. I would expect this one to be the one to watch, provided the advertising is there.
RELATED:
Archos GMini 220 Review | Gear Live
Posted by Andru at 10:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 03, 2004
JAKKS TV Games - Ms. Pac-Man Review
Remember the good old days of gaming? When controllers didn't have a myriad of buttons, levers, and joysticks, but rather a simple handle and a red button? If not, then I must be getting old. Either way, Jakks Pacific / Jakks TV Games has been hard at work developing simple ways to get your retro game on. We review the Ms. Pac-Man TV Games unit - check it out by clicking the link below.
MS. PAC-MAN JAKKS TV GAMES REVIEW
Last year, Jakks Pacific release the Namco TV Games unit. Immediately,
it flew off shelves, and became an elusive treasure to gamers wanting
to relish in the joyful delight of yesteryear. After all, arcades were
big in the 80's, while home consoles were more a luxury rather than
the neccessity they have become to gamers today. Of course, a perfect
arcade translation of Pac-Man didn't hurt either. Well, if you have
still been on the look for the Namco joypad, stop it. Jakks Pacific
has released something that I consider to be an even greater treat.
This time, Ms. Pac-Man is the star.
If you havent yet played a Jakks TV Game joypad, let me explain how it
works. Basically, Jakks packs five games into a controller. You
connect it to your TV using the RCA cable supplied. Turn it on, and
you are gaming. Simple, and oh so sweet.
On the Ms. Pac-Man Jakks TV Games unit, you actually have four other
titles to choose from at the menu screen. Aside from Ms. Pac-Man, you
also get Galaga, Xevious, Mappy, and Pole Position. All perfectly
emulating their arcade counterparts.
Playing these games reminded me of how wonderful gaming can be. Note
that I said gaming, referring to the art of playing a challenging
video game which kicks your tail every chance it can. Beautiful
graphics, 5.1 surround sound, and HDTV is not required for enjoyment
here. These games are all about the (frustratingly difficult)
challenge.
THE GAMES
Since Ms. Pac-Man is the main feature here (and rightfully so), we
will examine her game in a bit more detail than the others. First, the
look, sounds, and cutscenes are all pretty much a direct port of what
gaming old timers used to stuff quarters into. It is that good.
However, the joystick doesnt seem to be as responsive as its arcade
counterpart. What I mean is, there are times when you want Ms. Pac-Man
to turn a certain direction to avoid a villian, only to watch her take
a turn for the worse because she didnt go where you wanted her to. It
doesnt happen all the time, but when it does, it can be very
frustrating. Other than that, the alternating maze boards, fruit, and
ghosts who are a lot smarter than their Pac-Man alternatives all
abound.
Looking at the rest of the games, its easy to write them off as
"filler", but they too offer up quite a bit of fun. Galaga and Xevious
are a little too similar for my personal tastes, but that may just be
me. I really dont need two aircraft shoot-em-ups on one unit. Mappy,
seems like a mix between the original Mario Bros. game, and Pac-Man.
You basically guide Mappy across a few multi-leveled platforms to grab
various items without getting hit by one of the bad guys. And then
there is Pole Position - one of my favorite retro games of all time. I
just loved sitting in that arcade drivers seat as a kid, trying to win
the races using the steering wheel.
Jakks wanted to keep that steering wheel feeling alive, and after I
figured out how the game worked after about 30 minutes, I liked it.
You see, the joystick is also an analog controller. Instead of pushing
to the left or right, you swivel the joystick itself to the left or
right, as if you are screwing and unscrewing it. It works very well -
I just wish Jakks would have made it clear that this is how this game
worked. I tried many a time to get my car to turn by using the
joystick the normal way, and it just wasnt happening.
Some games allow you to input your initials so that you can see your
name in lights, but once you turn off the unit, that gets erased. It
seems that the feature isnt there for anything other than the
nostalgia purposes.
FINAL VERDICT
All in all, the unit is solid. It requires 4 AA batteries for
operation, and that is pretty much it, aside from yoru TV. It keeps
things simple with just the joystick and two buttons, and is a
definate must buy both for retro gamers, as well as the little ones
growing up nowadays. In my opinion, Jakks TV Games Ms. Pac-Man is a
great way for all gamers to get to know their roots.
MORE INFO:
Jakks TV Games
MSRP: $19.99 USD
Posted by Andru at 09:34 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
BoomGear MP-800 MP3 Player Review
BoomGear offers a variety of digital mp3 music players, and accessories. We recently had the chance to try out their 256Mb flash-based offering, the MP-800. How does it stack up in the crowded digital player arena? Find out in Hector’s review by clicking the link below.
BoomGear MP-800 MP3 Player Review
The first thing you’d notice about this player is how small it is. It looks like something you’d attach your house-keys to. In fact, you can see from the screens that it really isn’t that much bigger than a key itself. I have pretty big hands, so the player can be concealed pretty easily, leaving others wondering what the little gadget is. It’s a flash-based player, which contains no moving parts, so the small size may not be too much of a surprise.
Let me be up-front and tell you that this is not the perfect player. In fact, a lack of expected features left me a little disappointed. On the other hand, if I were to receive it as a gift, I'd still be happy for what it does offer. You see ,up to this point, I’ve burned CD’s and played them on a regular CD Player. But when I loaded up a batch of random songs, and popped in my favorite earplugs, my eyes grew wide open with the sound this thing poured into my head. I could barely believe that I was going to leave all my CD’s home this weekend, and use this teeny “key chain” as a replacement. It wasn’t until I got used to the controls that I noticed the lack of play options. More on all that later.
INSTALLATION
The box comes with a mini CD to that allows you old-timers to install the USB drivers on to your system, and then reboot. Anyone with anything higher than Win98 should have the USB drivers automatically load on to your machine. Once installed, you system will recognize the player as a generic removable drive. We can’t overstate how important that is: You won’t need to convert files or go through some separate software just to load songs on your player. You just drag and drop them to your player's window. Simplicity itself. Songs took about a minute each to add on from my older system, but on my newer AMD 3000+/512 RAM, they took about 10 seconds each.
THE LCD SCREEN
The screen has the standard fields of information on it during song playback: volume level, battery, repeat mode, artist, song, time-remaining, track number, and EQ mode are shown. The screen is hard to see in anything but direct light, so I find myself adjusting the volume for the "glow" of the screen to come back on when I want to read anything. There is a protective plastic covering over the screen which peels off. Doing so took away the scratches I initially thought were on the screen itself. Either way, under the settings menu, you can change the color of the screen-glow from yellow, to green, to a deep red. Pretty cool stuff, though the red makes the text a little harder to see.
SOUND QUALITY
This is really the charming “little player that could” if I've ever seen one. I thew everything I could find at it—-R&B, Rock, Hip Hop, Instrumentals, Salsa--and songs were clear as a bell without even adjusting the EQ. They also had just the right amount of bass. My previous player had the mega-bass boost that always drowned out the vocals, so I appreciated the range the MP-800 was capable of. This thing goes pretty loud too...enough to be painful. Trust me, it has you covered in terms of playing all your favorites without a hitch. Very nicely done. The included AAA battery lasted me about 8 hours. There is support for MP3, WMA, and LRC formats.
PLAYBACK OPTIONS
Here is where the MP-800 stumbles a bit. And perhaps it’s just a case of me having my expectations set too high. With a digital player, I expect to have the ability to make songs fade in from one to another for continuous play. I expect to be able to hear the track as I fast forward or rewind it to my favorite spot. I’m looking for the player to cycle songs randomly within a given genre of music, or at least within a folder I create. I want the machine to be able to make note of songs that are played most frequently, and have an option to play the “top ten” or favorites, when I ask it to, or even better, play the lowest requested songs, to keep the song playback fresh over extended periods of time.
Well, guess what? The MP 800 does none of these things. It is a "meat and potatoes" player, and while some of you may be okay with that, I can’t accept being this limited when you’re dealing in the “limitless” realm of digital music files. Yes, it plays random songs, but when it does, it will jump from folder to folder. This means you’ll hear a slow song followed by thrashing rock without warning, and are forced to skip to the next random track more often than you would like.
OTHER FEATURES
If you get tired of listening to all of your recorded tracks, you can shift over to the built in FM tuner. How come there’s no AM on most players? I didn’t miss it, but some people might. You can record a song while it plays on the tuner, but you’ll have to wait until you’re back on the PC’s removable drive window to rename it with a recognizable “label”, or to move it to a separate folder. Until then it stays stored under the “data” tree of the player, along with any voice recordings that you can also make. It’s nice to see that it shows you how much recording time is left as you’re making either voice or FM recordings. Also, when you press the "FM" button during playback, the unit will transmit the song over an FM frequency that appears on the screen, so that you're able to hear it over a nearby receiver. This option could come in handy, though I would recommend you plug the unit into a receiver through its headphone out, as the sound is richer and fuller this way. Without a direct line-in, the broadcast was a little tinny.
THE CONTROLS
The mini-joystick on the side of the device controls volume (up/down) and track advancing or skipping (left/right). This makes sense since this they’re the most frequently used control adjustments you’ll make. You can switch over to the FM tuner by pressing the FM button on the top of the player, and you can pause your recorded tracks by pressing the play/pause button. This latter button also functions as a power switch when held down. You can also lock the player via a small switch to prevent accidental inputs.
When pausing a song, you can press the joystick “in” to bring up the list of songs in the folder your playing from. On that screen you can select left/right to see your folders, and up/down to scroll through all your tracks. Again, the player will not let you select a “play all tracks in this folder” option. It seems to store all your songs in one huge folder during actual playback, so you’d need to pause the song and access this “folder” menu if you want some real control to your music.
ACCESSORIES
The player comes with a USB cord, which you’ll need to add or delete songs to the system. It also comes with a cord for recording from another source outside of FM or the mic, which should come in handy. The mini-CD has the drivers and also a utility for crafting a small black and white custom logo to show up on your screen.
And finally you have the earplugs. Why on earth don’t mp3-players come with good plugs? Surely, the designers assume we already have better plugs for our CD-players. These accursed things barely fit snugly in your ear. They sound tinny compared to my other plugs. And worse yet, the cord is literally about 2 feet long! At that length you can’t even reach the player to your pocket! Shame! I thought this was a mistake, and maybe the cord would elongate from the metallic pipe near the end, but no such luck. End rant.
FINAL VERDICT
I really wanted to forgive any little shortcomings that would come up with this player, because it did feel liberating to leave the CD’s at home and carry everything around in something so small. But the lack of playback features really made it tedious to select the kinds of songs I wanted to hear. You can’t play songs in only a given folder or genre, and that really puzzled me.
This is not a bad player, by any means, because it does get the job of installing and playing songs done. But if I had my choice out of all the flash-based players in the market, I would do a little more research before I personally select this one. It’s not bad, but just not the best. We at GearLive give it a 7/10, since BoomGear appears to be on a good start.
Ordering Information:
Website - www.Boomgear.com
Pricing - $219 MSRP
Posted by Hector at 08:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 02, 2004
ColorWare PC iPod Color Mod Review
So you have been staring at your plain old white iPod for months, and are jealous of those with the multi-colored iPod mini's. Is there any hope for those of us who want to "Think Different" than Apple does regarding the iPod's plain white body? Being that ColorWare PC is around, now there is. Check out out review of ColorWare PC's iPod painting services by clicking the link below.
Whether you love or hate the device itself, I think everyone would agree that the actual design of the iPod is very eye-catching...maybe even alluring. The white and silver body with the touch sensitive exterior (referring to the 3rd Generation model) is one of the prettiest pieces of gadgetry I have ever used. When iPods were first introduced, very few were in circulation, so sighting them on the streets wasn't a common occurrence. However, since iPods became Windows-compatible, you can now see them just about everywhere. Our unique, white and silver beauty had lost some of the charm that its rarity brought with it.
When the iPod mini was introduced, many clamored over the colors introduced to the iPod line. Those of us who actually didn't see how spending $249 on an iPod with only 4 GB just to add some color were left out in the cold, with our plain iPods. ColorWare PC has now brought us hope, as they attempt to allow us to bring back that rarity and uniqueness that we first experienced with the iPod so long ago.
We sent a 3rd Generation iPod over to the folks at ColorWare PC, and asked them to give it the royal treatment. In this case, royal meaning paint it and send it back in one piece in a timely fashion. They assured us that everything would be fine, and off the iPod went. ColorWare PC offers 20 different colors to choose from to color your iPod for $49 - and if you don't like any of them, they will do a custom color for an extra $99. Feeling adventurous, we chose the color Caution (bright yellow).
The Caution Colored iPod
About a week later, the iPod returned. As I opened the box and removed the iPod, I was immediately impressed. The job ColorWare PC did on the iPod was so natural that it literally looked like I just purchased a yellow iPod from the Apple Store. It is that good. I examined the edges a bit to see if there was any dripping, chipping, or any other defects. There were none.
The iPod is free of any defects.
This was almost too good to be true. I then turned the iPod on, and attempted to navigate the menu's. Surely the touch sensitive scroll wheel would be affected by the coat of paint plus an extra layer of clear coat - right? Wrong. The iPod operates flawlessly.
There really is not much more to say about the job ColorWare PC did on the iPod. It looks, feels, and operates wonderfully and the service was top notch. I contacted customer service once while the iPod was "in the shop", and they got back to me within a day. When it shipped back, they emailed me again just to let me know.
The scroll wheel still operates perfectly.
If you really like the white color of the iPod, but want to try out these services, ColorWare PC also paints game consoles (Playstation 2, XBOX, and Gamecube), as well as Apple laptops. For all you new iPod owners, ColorWare PC will soon be offering coloring services for the new 4th Generation iPod. We will try to get reviews on the console coloring services as well as that of the newer 4G iPods.
FINAL VERDICT
All in all, ColorWare PC did an outstanding job of handling the entire process. From pre-order questions, through the great paint job, to the top-notch customer service. I am impressed, and thusly, ColorWare PC becomes the first to earn the perfect 10 out of 10 from Gear Live.
WEBSITE: www.colorwarepc.com
Posted by Andru at 09:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Doom 3 Hitting Stores Tonight
It took nearly fours years, but at long last we'll know what kind upgrade work our PC's really need. Sales for the title are projected to reach about 4 million. This year's iteration is supposed to focus on the single-player experience, guiding your marine through somewhat of a re-creation of the original, with upgraded graphics and incredible environmental lighting techniques. Sales begin tonight at midnight, kicking off what could be one of the greatest FPS seasons ever with Halo2, Half Life 2, and Metroid Prime 2 Echoes all slated for release this year.
Read More | USA Today
Posted by Hector at 06:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack