Consumer Reviews

If you haven’t seen the new Blackberry Curve, you’re missing one sweet smartphone! When I first heard about it, I thought to myslef “Oh great, another Blackberry that’s just like the last Blackberry”

Boy, was I wrong!

The new Blackberry Curve is sleek and powerful. I have big hands and for me, it’s a better fit and feel than the Blackberry Pearl. I’m telling you, the folks at Research In Motion have outdone their self this time.

The Blackberry Curve has more benefits and features than you can shake a stick at. I’ll attemp to rundown many of them here. For starters, it has;

• Email and Text messaging capabilities
• Instant Messenging
• Long life battery that Blackberry’s are known for
• Trackball
• Browser
• Organizer
• Setup Wizard
• Tethered Modem (oh yeah!)
• Expandable memory
• Camera
• Advanced Phone Features
• Blackberry Maps
• Media player

Didn’t I tell you this list is awesome? I’ve always walked around with my Blackberry wishing it had one or two features those “other” smartphones had, now, their owners will walk around wishing they had my Blackberry Curve!

The Blackberry Curve is a Quad Band smartphone, that means you can take this baby anywhere in the World and still be connected. Try that with you ordinary cell phone!

Want some impressive specs to go along with your Blackberry Curve, try these courtesy the Blackberry Curve site;

• Size (LxWxD): 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches (107mm x 60 mm x 15.5 mm)
• Weight: 111g
• Memory: 64MB Flash memory, microSD expandable memory slot*
• Camera: 2 MP, flash, zoom, self-portrait mirror
• Voice input/output: Stereo headset jack (3.5mm), integrated earpiece/microphone,
• integrated speakerphone, and stereo/mono headset, hands-free and serial port
• Bluetooth® profiles supported
• Notification: Polyphonic ringtones, vibrate mode, LED indicator, MP3 ringtones
• Video format support: MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.263, WMV
• Audio format support: MP3, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, WAV
• Approximate Battery Life: Standby time - 408 hours (17days), Talk time - 240 minutes (4 hours)**

* The BlackBerry 8300 accepts microSD cards; the amount of storage is determined by card capacity.
** Based on GSMA PRD TW.09 Battery Life Measurement Technique. Results may vary. Network availability and coverage affect battery life and are dependent upon a number of factors, including location and transmission environment.

It’s easy to see that this will be the phone that other Smartphone manufacturers try to imitate in the future. I think that Blackberry has finally manufactured a smartphone with everything that I want in it!

The Blackberry Curve 8300 is also very easy to personalize. You can create and change documents on the fly, download games to play while sitting on that long plane flight, track expenses, track you billing hours by downloading some simple software. Heck, you can even track your diet and exercise patterns.

The list of accessories available for the Blackberry 8300 is pretty impressive also. You can get the HS-655 headset, power station, auto charger, spare battery, skins or even a Lamb skin swivel holster. Stylin’ and profilin’ for sure!

The downside, about the only place as of this writing that you can get a Blackberry Curve 8300 is through ATT. If you don’t have ATT service, isn’t it about to change your service provider anyway? Just to be able to get a Blackberry Curve should be enough reason!

SunBriteTV has a line of all weather outdoor HDTV’s. How many of us have wanted to watch TV in the shower or during a downpour? Now we can! The SunBriteTV’s are designed for permanent outdoor installations and they come in 23 inches, 32 inches and 46 inch models.

These all weather HDTV’s were made with the back yard warrior in mind. You can install one of these HDTV’s in your Gazebo, on the Patio, poolside cabana or any outdoor venue. The weatherproof design protects the units from insects, water, extreme temperatures and scratches. As we say “It’s Bulletproof!” (figuratively, not literally)

The screen on these all weather HDTV’s does not fade in sunlight. In fact, the screens are really brite and can be seen from across the pool.  All units come HDTV Ready!

The 23 inch SunBriteTV model (model 2300HD) comes with a 1366 x 768 WXGA LCD screen that makes it just perfect for your outdoor patio or BBQ area.

The 32 inch model (model 3210HD) has a 1366 x 768 WXGA LCD screen and the 42 incher (model 4600HD) has a 1366 x 768 WXGA LCD screen.

These weatherproof HDTV’s are catching on like wildfire and finding their way to all sorts of outdoor recreational areas. Even commercial business’s such as restraunts and sports bars with outdoor patio’s are installing these all weather TV’s for their patrons.

Click here to check out this video from HGTV on the SunBriteTV. (realplayer required)

The SunBriteTV weather proof HDTV also can be had with some well thought out accessories such as articulating and non-articlulating wall mounts for the 2300 and 3210 HD models. A planter/deck mount that bolts to the deick for the 2300hd and 3210hd models. Other accessories include Dust covers and water resistant remote controls plus a very cool FM wireless transmitter that allows you to broadcast the TV sound to your FM stereo system….how cool is that? These bad boys can be wired to play through your spa’s speakers or any portable FM radio.

These units aren’t cheap, but they are well worth the money. These SunBriteTV all weather HDTV’s are just what the Doctor ordered for the neighbor vs neighbor war you’ve been having with the Smith’s. Let’s see them try to keep up with you when you pop a SunBriteTV HDTV in your backyard playground!

FIND WATERPROOF TV’S ON eBAY

Who amoung us has not wanted to take some action video footage of our favorite sport and post it on YouTube or share it with others? How many of us have attempted this only to break expensive digital equipment? (guilty as charged) The Oregon Scientific ATC2K Waterproof Action Camera has come to our rescue.

Now Oregon Scientific has came out with a shock proof and water proof action camera that can take the abuse we throw at it (well, within reason, running over it with a Hummer will probaby do it in)

The ATC2K Waterproof Action Camera is shockproof and waterproof to 10 feet. From what I’m hearing, the box that the ATC2K comes in says it’s only water resistant, but test performed since have shown the unit to actually be waterproof up to 10 feet.

The ATC2K Action Cam weighs in at just under 2 pounds with a load of batteries. The ATC2K Waterproof Action Camera puts out 640 x 480 VGA video at 30 frames per second.

The ATC2K works seamlessly with most video editing software. The ATC2K Action Camera comes with a 32 mb SD card but can be easily and quickly upgraded to 2GB. ( I recommend this!)

ATC2K mounts easily to many surfaces including helmets, Cycles, vehicles, etc. and all mounting hardware is included. Heck, I bet you could find a way to strap this on your dog! (just edit those sniff & greet shots)

The ATC2K Action Camera operates with 2 AA batteries that are not included. I would run out and buy myself some recharable ones really quick. Oregon Scientific recommends Lithium batteries when the temperature falls below 32 degrees.

Here is a list of the feature for the ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam

• Full-function, hands-free, digital recording
• Waterproof up to 3 meters and shock-resistant for extreme conditions
• Mounts easily on helmets, handlebars, and other sports equipment
• 640 x 480 VGA resolution at 30 frames per second
• USB and RCA cables included for easy playback on PC or TV (NTSC)
• SD card expansion up to 2GB – onboard memory is 32MB
• Operates with 2 AA batteries, not included
• Dimensions: 4.25L x 1.75D x 2.25H (in.)

What would you expect to pay for a video camera like this? How does a price range of $89.99 to $129.00 grab ya? Yeah, it’s all this and a bag of chips! A shockproof, waterproof kickass video camera for around $100, you just can’t find deals like this everyday.

The Oregon Scientific ATC2K Waterproof Action Cam is a must have for those tech geeks amoung us who want to share videos of our conquest with the rest of the World.

FIND IT NOW ON eBAY!

The Canon Digital Rebel XTi is an upgrade of sorts from Canon’s Digital Rebel XT. The Canon XTi is known as the EOS-400D in some countries and comes with a lightweight, ergonomic body. This is Canons answer for an entry level digital SLR camera but it comes out of the box with many features and benefits of digital cameras costing hundreds more.

If you’re in the market for a digital SLR, then the Canon Digital Rebel XTi may be the digital camera for you.

For starters, the Canon Digital Rebel XTi comes either with the frame only or with a 18-55 mm lens.

Here’s a list of some of the many features you’ll get from the Canon Digital Rebel XTi;

• High performance digital SLR with 10.1 Megapixel Canon CMOS sensor and DIGIC II Image processor.
• Large 2.5-inch LCD monitor with new user interface and wide viewing angle. Fast 3 frames-per-second shooting with 27-frame burst and a 0.2 second startup time. High precision, wide area 9-point autofocus system.
• Picture Style settings for a broad range of control over color, contrast and sharpening. Print/Share button featuring advanced camera direct capabilities for greater user control while direct printing.
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System featuring a Self Cleaning Sensor Unit
• Fully compatible with over 60 EF and EF-S Lenses and a wide range of EOS System accessories
• No more LCD info display (the main LCD is used instead)
• 9-point autofocus system (versus 7-point)
• Can now take more shots in a row in burst mode (27 vs 14 JPEG, 10 vs 6 RAW)

Pretty impressive!

The Digital Rebel XTi uses the same battery NB-2LH. The battery life is reported to be down 10% over previous Canon models. This may be due to the Digital XTi’s larger LCD viewing screen.

The Review at DCRP had this to say about the Canon Digital Rebel XTi:

The Rebel XTi has all the features you’d expect from a D-SLR, plus a few more. The XTi’s resolution has been bumped up to 10 Megapixels, which is actually more than the “superior” EOS-30D — I imagine a 40D can’t be too far away. A more interested addition to the XTi is a dust reduction system, which attacks this annoyance from many angles (described earlier). In terms of shooting modes, you’ve got several scene modes, plus full manual exposure controls. While it won’t let you set the color temperature, the XTi will let you do custom white balance, WB bracketing, and WB shift. Canon bundles a fairly complete software package with the camera, including a capable RAW editor and a remote capture program, both of which are options on the Nikon D80.

The folks at TrustedReview stated this about the Canon Digital XTi;

The EOS 400D is up against some very accomplished competition, but it gets off to a running start by being a third-generation product, with a design that has evolved over several years. Physically it is very similar to the 350D, with a lightweight and compact body made of tough polycarbonate plastic over a stainless steel chassis, although it is in fact a completely new body. Build quality is very good, with none of the cheap and flimsy feeling of the 300D. The battery and card hatches have metal hinges, and although the port cover is a rubber plug it fits well and will keep dust at bay.

However, not all reviewers were happy with every single thing about the Digital XTi. Some did not like it’s small size, saying that handling was a bit clumsy with the small frame.

While the reviewers at CNET liked the Canon Digital Rebel XTi overall, they had a beef with these items;

Second status LCD has been eliminated
Slow kit lens
No spot metering
Poor exposure of backlit subjects

The folks over at HardwareZone probably summed it up best with this;

…the Canon EOS 400D is the most affordable DSLR camera among the three commanding a price of only US$799 (Body only) and US$899 (with 18-55 mm lens). It is about US$200 less than the Nikon D80 and Sony A100 thus winning our Most Value for Money award in the 10-megapixel DSLR category.

Try out the Canon Digital Rebel XTi if you’re looking for a sub $1000 digital SLR camera or are looking to get into professional photography. You can’t go wrong with the Canon Digital Rebel XTi!

The Creative Zen V Plus is a do-it-all MP3 player. Not only does it play MP3’s, but it is a FM Radio, Digital Voice Recorder, mass data file storage, video player, stores pictures and has a built in microphone. What am I forgetting?

This MP3 player is a Windows based MP3 player, so you can forget about cross compatibility with all things iPod.

The Creative Zen V can store about 2000 songs. But be careful with those music video’s. You can fill up the 4 megs of storage quick with a just a few vids of Britney Spears.

The Creative Zen V Plus comes with a 1, 2, 4 or 8 megs version. I’d choose the 8 megs if you’re into music video’s.

The list of features on this compact MP3 player is so long, it’ll leave you wondering how they fit everything into this little package.

• Scratch resistant OLED screen that shows video’s rather well. It doesn’t do too bad on the pictures either!
• The Creative Zen V Plus has 8 presets and custom settings that allow you to customize your music to fit your lifestyle.
• Line in encoding allows you to record music directly from your CD player without bothering with a computer.
• Easy data transfer allows drag and drop operation to move data from  your computer to the Zen or back.
• The Creative Zen V Plus has a One Touch Joystick that makes access to all the menus a breeze.
• PlayForSure support allows you access to Millions of songs through Yahoo Music, Rhapsody and Napster.
• Access to free podcast through the Zencast network
• A screen that can be viewed from all angles
• ZEN V Plus does much more than play music or display photos. Use it to display the time, as a handy alarm clock, or even to view your calendar, tasks and contacts. Maximize it as an external storage device that stores your important files and documents.

The reviews are in on this compact mp3 player, and people are loving it.

PC Magazine said…

It is jam-packed with features, and though the photo and video functions aren’t particularly impressive, the audio features are sure to please.

CNET had this to sa about the new unit…

The bottom line: The Creative Zen V Plus is a superb choice for anyone looking for a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with great sound quality. If you’re looking for a more sophisticated design (or have large thumbs), check out the iRiver Clix instead.

 And this review by AnythingButiPod discusses scratching…

The bottom line is you can use the Zen V outside of a case without fear of scratching it if you are not abusive with your gadgets. To fully enjoy the design and size of this player, sans case is the best way to go.

This is one solid little MP3 Player, I guess all the hype about this little music box is true!