Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Car Gear, News

Tagged: MP3

Kia Rio and Spotify Want to Know What’s Your Best Songs to Play With Your Windows Down? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 15, 2012 at 1:00 pm.

Ringtones for your phone is nothing new, but how would you like to customize the “ringtone” of your doorbell? The MP3 DJ Doorbell from Swann gives you that power. The wireless system is comprised of a speaker unit and a push button doorbell unit that attaches to the outside of your door. Insert an SD card (not included) and use the included software to edit your favorite songs to play any part of the song as the “ringtone”. When the doorbell is pressed it sends a wireless signal to 330ft/100m to the speaker unit. The speaker is powered by 3 AA batteries (not included) and the doorbell is powered by a 23A battery (included). You can even use the speaker unit as a stand alone MP3 player as the SD card can hold up to 600 songs (2GB) – 10000 songs (32GB). The Swann MP3 DJ Doorbell is priced at $49.99.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, News

Tagged: MP3

Swann MP3 DJ Doorbell Gives Your Front Door a Ringtone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 13, 2012 at 1:00 pm.

Let’s be real here, OK? iTunes has never been a great program where sound quality is concerned. Steve Jobs famously said that music was in Apple’s DNA.  That may be, but I wouldn’t call Apple an audiophile company. Despite that, I use iTunes every day mainly because it’s just so darned easy, plus it does sound good enough.

And there lies the problem. We learn to settle for inferior audio either because we don’t know better or it’s too complicated to deal with. But what about the rest of you? It’s not lost on me that each link in the audio chain can be – and often is – not cheap. Sometimes it can be outrageously expensive. Everyone just knows that good audio costs. That’s a given. Or is it?

As it turns out, there is a way to improve audio quality a bit without breaking the bank, or even denting it. If you listen to music on a Mac (sorry, no Windows yet), and use iTunes, there is an app/plugin that can increase the resolution – and quality – of your music. It’s called BitPerfect and it costs a whopping $5 in the Mac App store.

Before I go further, let me state that The Gadgeteer is not an audiophile site, and I am not going to get into charts or esoteric terms to show off. There are other very good audiophile sites where you can get as much info as you could ever want. I’m just trying to provide a little educational nudge towards improving audio.

One of the fun ways to improve your audio is to increase the bitrate of your music (called upsampling) or just start with higher resolution (high res) files. When I say high res, I am not talking about 128k MP3 files ripped from CDs, bought from iTunes or “ahem,” acquired online. I mean files that are at the very least, 256k AAC from iTunes on up to really high res 96khz/24 bit files.

If you’re eyes are beginning to glaze over right about now, what this simply means is that the higher the number, the more music you can hear with less distortion. Everything just sounds better.

Tim Murison has singlehandedly done what Apple has so far refused to do: make iTunes sound better. Tim wasn’t satisfied with what he heard, so he developed BitPerfect. He wasn’t the first. There are other programs that improve the audio quality of iTunes, but they completely take over the player and are prohibitively expensive. BitPerfect works within iTunes. It’s invisible. Once you install it, you can forget that it’s there.

BitPerfect performs a lot of complicated maneuvers behind the scenes to improve the sound right out of the box. However, if you are curious and adventurous, the app allows almost infinite variations. The point though, is that you don’t have to do anything once installed.

Tim has also written an extremely helpful manual that explains in detail what I am purposefully glossing over. I highly recommend reading it before buying.

This is not a review of BitPerfect. I bought it late last year and have used is almost every day when listening to iTunes. I can say that BitPerfect will make your music sound better. How much better depends on your source material.

Note: I also use an external digital audio convertor (DAC) all the time as a headphone amp. A DAC is a very good sound card that bypasses the one in your computer. While a DAC can dramatically improve audio quality, they can also be expensive. However, whether you decide to use a DAC or not, BitPerfect still makes music sound better.

For $5, you can’t go wrong.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, News

Tagged: Audio, iTunes, MP3

BitPerfect High-quality Audio Player for OSX originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm.

As headphones become more popular as an audio accessory and fashion statement, some companies have been able to adapt to this evolving market better than others. Some lean more towards the design while others cater to the audiophile crowd. V-Moda has tried to have it both ways. With the over-ear (circumaural) Crossfade LP, they succeeded in pleasing both groups. However, many people prefer a smaller, on-ear (supra-aural) headphone design. V-Moda could have just made smaller Crossfades – and the Crossfade M-80s do look like that – but V-Moda went farther. Here’s a spoiler for you: The new – and smaller – M-80 headphones are better in almost every way.

The whole package feels well made. According to V-Moda, much of the headphone is made to military specs with kevlar wrapped one-button (universal) or 3-button (Apple only) cables and a reinforced steel headband wrapped in microfiber faux-suede. The M-80s can be bent and twisted severely with no lasting effects. They are made to take a lot of punishment.

The original Crossfade LPs are more comfortable than these newer Crossfade M-80s over extended periods, which I think is more the result of the over-ear design as opposed to on-ear. The M-80′s pads are made of memory foam which are good at forming to the shape of your ears. However, on my head, they begin to feel tight after about 3 hours. I know many people don’t wear headphones for that long in one sitting, but I do, so if there are any comfort issues, I feel them. That’s not to say that the M-80s are uncomfortable. As long as the listening times are kept below a few hours, they feel just fine. I also had to extend the earpieces as far as I could to get a proper fit. This has been an issue for me with other brands, as well. If my head size was any larger, then the M-80s wouldn’t fit.

The exoskeleton case is looks practically indestructible, and it is tough. Short of stomping on it, this case will protect the M-80s from just about any mishap. It comes with a carabiner, so you can easily hook it up to a backpack without it taking up interior space.

While there are similarities between the Crossfade LPs and the M-80s, that similarity ends once you hear them. The thing that separates the two more than anything is plain ole’ bass. The Crossfade LPs have more of it. They aren’t bass monsters (pun intended) like the Beats headphones, but bass is more prominent then with the M-80s. In some instances – like Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock and Roll” – the highs become overpowered by the bass on the LPs. There’s a better balance among the frequencies with the M-80s. I also noticed that the volume needed to be turned up a bit on the M-80s to equal the loudness of the LPs.

The high definition version of Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s classic “The Girl From Ipanema” has a fantastic soundstage which the M-80s exploit. It’s easy to imagine the placement of each instrument as you listen to the swish of the drum brushes complimented by Getz’s smokey saxophone. The nightclub feel of the song is palpable. Part of the reason for this is what V-Moda calls Bliss Noise Isolation. It uses ports and sound channeling to give a more open soundstage similar to what open-back headphones give but still allowing the almost total isolation of a closed-back headphone design. While I prefer the wide soundstage of genuine open-backed headphones, the M-80s come quite close.

The excessively bright vocals on John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” border on harsh with the M-80s. That can be an issue with some older recordings as they generally are recorded with lighter bass than a modern mix would be. That’s not always the case though because the song, “Operator,” from Manhattan Transfer’s 1975 debut album, has a perfect balance of Alan Paul’s slightly reverbed lead vocals over backup harmonies from the other three members. This kind of song allows the M-80s to shine. All of the audio detail in this song is extracted for maximum effect.

The Crossfade M-80 headphones are an evolution of the Crossfade LPs. If you have the LPs and are happy with them, then save your money. However, I would recommend the M-80s over the LPs if you own neither. The M-80s superior accuracy is hard to ignore. If you are still trying to decide between cheaper headphones or spending a little more, here’s a clue: When you listen to good headphones, you don’t have that desire to turn them up in order to get as much out of them as possible. Good headphones are able to bring out all that aural goodness without resorting to harmful volume. That’s the tragedy of cheap headphones and earphones; that inherent need to use volume to mask deficiencies. Over time, it can cause real damage to hearing. It’s something to consider.

The Crossfade M-80s are not cheap, but given how good they sound and how tough they are made, they look like a bargain.

V-Moda sells the True Blood V-80 headphones which are themed after the HBO vampire show, “True Blood.” With the exception of a different color scheme and a blood-vial styled zipper pull, the V-80 and M-80 headphones are identical.

V-Moda also offers customized headphone shields – those metal plates covering the headphone ear-cup. For a little more money, you can pick a different headphone shield color or upload your own design for a customized look.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Audio, Crossfades, Headphones, iPhone, iPod, Kevlar, M-80, MP3, V-Moda

V-Moda Crossfade M-80 Headphones Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 7, 2012 at 11:00 am.

Check out this cute audio player in the shape of two of our all time favorite Star Wars characters R2-D2 and C-3PO. The R2-D2 shaped player has a 2GB capacity, that will allow storage of up to 500 songs which can be played with or without the C-3PO shaped earphones. There aren’t many extra details about this product, but from the image, it looks like there’s a color LCD display built into the back of the player for media navigation. If you want to listen some Cantina Band tunes, you can grab one of these players at ToyS R Us for $44.99

[Via 7 Gadgets]

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, News

Tagged: MP3, Star Wars

Let R2-D2 and C-3PO Serenade You originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 8, 2011 at 10:00 am.

SanDisk just announced a new addition to their popular Clip family called the Clip Zip.  This ultra portable mp3 player comes in 7 different colors and is available in both 4GB and 8GB versions.  Colors for the 8GB version are limited to grey and black.  The Clip Zip is priced at $49.99 for the 4GB version and $69.99 for the 8GB version.

Its many features includes:

• Easy clip on, Easy Go
• 1.1″ full color screen with new graphical user interface and album art display
• Voice recording with built-in microphone
• Play or record FM radio stations
• AAC Compatible (DRM-free iTunes)
• Expanded memory slot (microSDHC up to 32GB)
• User-friendly interface
• Versatility meets affordability.
• AAC Compatible (DRM-free iTunes), MP3, WMA, secure WMA, Ogg Vorbis, and FLAC. Rhapsody Music trial offer (CD & insert)

I personally own a Clip+ mp3 player and can’t wait to try out the big brother Clip Zip.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, News

Tagged: clip, MP3, sandisk

SanDisk’s new Sansa Clip Zip originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 25, 2011 at 9:00 am.

With all of our MP3 music, digital pictures, digital videos, not to mention e-books, wouldn’t it be great to house all of them in one device? Oh wait, there is…

Introducing the 8″ inch Cinepal Personal Media player (APMP10F)  from Aluratek. This media player has the ability to play your music, show your photos, play your videos, and display your e-book titles. Although it can’t browse the web or download media like an iPad or a Motorola Xoom, it still has its finer points.

The Cinepal has an excellent screen display and resolution. With its 8″ inch screen, watching movies was enjoyable, and with fast action scenes, it was just as impressive. All in all, watching movies on it was quite enjoyable. The size of the Cinepal is compact enough to carry in a backpack or even a purse but big enough for decent movie viewing. With its slim profile, it fits just about anywhere. I have even kept it in my car’s glove box in case my kids wanted to watch a movie or video  during a long drive.  I would compare its size to a Nook or a Kindle.

With its compact size, it’s a perfect for traveling whether by plane, train or car.  It’s even better as an alternative to a DVD player since there are no moving parts. And since the Cinepal has an SDHC slot, which is expandable to  32GB, you can put a lot of content on it.  Bad news though, no SD card is included in the box. I would be happy if Aluratek even threw in a 512 MB SD card.  Some cell phones nowadays come with a 4GB or a 8GB card. The Cinepal does have 4GB’s of internal memory, so you can still put on a few compressed videos on it even if you don’t have an SD card yet. Beats carrying around a stack of DVD’s.

Surprisingly, the Cinepal is capable of supporting numerous video formats. (See photo below)

Now, videos are not the the only thing that the Cinepal can be used for. With its screen resolution of 1280×768 for videos, viewing photos look just as pleasing. Keep in mind that if your pictures, or movies for that matter, are of low resolution then what you see may not be very crisp.  Unfortunately, the Cinepal does not up convert videos. It does, however, have settings that allow you to change the video’s aspect ratio.

Aside from watching movies, the Cinepal has the capability to play MP3 files.  Surprisingly though, the Cinepal has only one speaker.You would think that this being a media player that it should have two speakers for stereo sound.  Although the volume can get loud, the sound depends on how the video or MP3 was recorded. A higher bit rate had  a better clearer sound and low bit rates had average sound. A mono speaker just doesn’t give it that full audio experience. It does have a headphone plug so you’ll be able to use your headphones or some added stereo speakers. On another note, at least the speaker is on the front facing you. I have seen some media players and DVD players that have their speakers in other places, like the back of the unit.

As much as I enjoyed using the Cinepal for the music, movie, and photo function, I don’t see myself using it as an eBook reader since it only supports TXT files and not more popular eBook files such as PDF, DOC, EPUB, or PDB. I’ll stick to my Nook if I want an eBook reader. I have even used my HTC EVO as an eBook using the right app that can read the popular files of course like Aldiko or Cool Reader.

The Cinepal is equipped with a Lithium Ion battery that has lasted between 4 and 6 hours depending if I’m watching movies back to back or just listening to music.

The physical dimensions of the Cinepal are 8.6 inches x 5.25 inches x .5 inches, and it weighs in at 2.35 lbs. It comes with an RCA audio cable, component cables, power adapter, USB cable, MiniUSB  to USB 2.0 cable, headphones and manual.

The MiniUSB to USB 2.0 cable is useful if you want to plug an external hard drive or flash drive to the Cinepal MicroUSB port.

The Cinepal has slots and ports on the left side:  USB port, SDHC card slot, HDTV jack, headphone jack, and Power plug. The HDTV jack only supports 720p out to an HD TV.

On the front face of the Cinepal is the Power Button, Play/Pause Button, Menu Button, and Return Button There is also a main Power Button on the right side of the Cinepal.

On the back is a small pull-out arm so you can have the Cinepal stand while you are watching it. It’s good to use if you connect the Cinepal to your HD TV.  Too bad there is no remote control included. It just makes sense if you want to use this media player as a source player to have a remote control for it.

The Cinepal connects to an HD TV via the included  component cables. Although the component cables had a good picture quality I’m sure there are plenty of people who would much rather have an HDMI for the highest HD picture quality.

I did notice that there is a small square sensor-type button on the front of the Cinepal just under the Menu button. It looks like it could be the IR for a remote control. I checked the Aluratek website for any replacement remotes but couldn’t find any. However, there is a newer version of he Cinepal that has a remote control. It has a screen size of 8.9″ inches and comes in a black color. Unfortunately, for being a newer and bigger model it only has a screen resolution of 1024×600.

With all that the Cinepal can do as a media player, its slim size and light weight it is a perfect companion for traveling or to just have when you want to get away and relax with a movie, a book, or just listen to some tunes and view some photos. Without any moving parts it is perfect for young and old alike and so easy to use.  This is definitely something I would have in my arsenal of gadgets and would recommend to anyone looking to buy a media.  They should at least try it and see what they think. I think chances are they will be very pleased with this media player.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, eBook Readers and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Movie, MP3, multimedia, player

Aluratek Cinepal 8″ HD Personal Media Player Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 28, 2011 at 6:57 pm.

In today’s connected home we take pictures digitally, listen to digital audio on our MP3 players, and download and watch digital movies on our HD TV’s.  All of these digital media files take up a copious amount of space and the growth of these files is outpacing our ability to store and protect them.  Thankfully, storage has become relatively inexpensive – a 1TB hard disk drive can be purchased for well under $100 and the pricing on 2TB hard disk drives is starting to move in that direction as well.  Not that I can tell the future, but I expect to look back on this article in a year or two and see a 3TB or a 4TB hard disk drive priced at the levels of a 2TB hard disk drive today.

Within the digital home you may want to share your media with others inside and outside of our homes.  To make this possible many vendors are offering home storage systems to store and protect your digital media lifestyle.  These devices connect to your home network and enable you to store and share your media with your family through PC’s and connected devices, such as home theatre systems, digital media extenders, xBox 360, PS3, the Apple TV, and even with friends and family outside of our homes through cloud based services.  Also, with several of the products you can backup your data to cloud based backup services so if there was to be a fire in your home, or a virus outbreak your precious data would be protected.   These services aren’t free, but when you think about your important family albums that are all digital what are they worth to you?  It is a small cost in those terms.

Another other use that I have found for these systems is sharing files between my various home PCs and Macs – instead of dumping files to a USB Memory Stick and Sneakernetting them from place to place I can copy files to my home digital media storage system (NAS Device) and share files among all of my computers.

Having used a number of these digital media storage systems over the past several years I have had to go through the buying process; working through my own requirements, researching and evaluating the options in the market, and finally selecting the right system for my usage.   In an attempt to make your purchase decision easier I wanted to share some thoughts on how to select the right product for your environment.  I am not going to attempt to recommend a specific product because your requirements will likely differ from mine, rather I am going to encourage you to explore many of them by taking a moment to think about what you want to be able to do today and in the future with your digital media.  From my perspective, the worst thing that you can do is buy a product that doesn’t fit your needs and then return it or use it only to have buyer’s remorse.  So, take the extra time and do the research;  laying out your requirements clearly and then buy what best meets your needs – take the time to read reviews online and download and read the product manuals – there are some real gems to be found within the product manuals as well as in the online communities and forums for these products. Unless you live alone you should also talk with your family members to understand how they intend to use the product.  For example, if I was buying something for my mother, it would have to be super-simple and seamlessly integrated with her computing experience as she is not a techie, not even close.  She would need the system to automatically backup her Mac using Time Machine and that would be all that she uses the system for – she rents her digital media through DVDs at RedBox and Blockbuster.

There are several considerations to think about when looking at digital media storage systems, including:

1. Who is going to, and how are they going to use the system?

If you are only storing pictures then you need one type of digital media storage product, like adding a USB connected hard disk drive to your wireless router, which is an option on many of the wireless routers on the market today.  If you are going to be streaming digital media as well accessing your pictures then you may need a totally different system.  Finally, if you are going to stream media throughout your house then you need to think about getting a system with multiple drives, a good bit of memory, and a fast connection to your network.  Now, you are going to ask why?   There are a few reasons why, including:  streaming media requires a good bit of consistent performance, more than you are going to get from a single drive system with a slow connection to your network.  A single hard disk drive can generate between 4-6Mb/s of consistent performance – that is from a SATA-2 drive.  While the vendors of the hard disk drives will claim higher levels of performance, these are usually burst modes and are not consistent, which is what you need to stream media.  Imagine you are watching a HD movie or streaming high quality audio, how much performance do you think that you need?   If you encode your video at 480p, standard DVD, then you are going to need approximately 3 Mb/s of consistent performance to replay the video.  Also, you need to make sure that your home network can support the performance of the streaming media.  Don’t rely on Wi-Fi alone, you may need to physically wire your components together with Gigabit Ethernet to get the best consistent performance.  And, if you are looking at streaming 1080P video then you need to look at 50 Mb/s of consistent performance, which means that you will need to look at striping across several hard disk drives in a RAID configuration.  This is what you need to stream HD quality video from your HD Video Camera or Blu-Ray quality video.

What is RAID?  RAID is an acronym that means Redundant Array of Independent Drives, in other words data is stripped across a number of drives and the performance of the drives is combined, thereby increasing the performance as well as providing resilience and reliability in the case of a single drive failure, using a parity drive.  This article is not about RAID, nor am I going to go into detail on parity configurations, but suffice it to say that many of the vendors that provide these systems have created their own RAID configurations that maximize the available amount of storage from the stripped drives as well as protect your data in case one of the drives fails.  Also, many of the systems offer hot-swap drives enabling you to replace a failed drive on the fly without shutting the system down and they will automatically restore the protection of the system while restriping the data onto the new drive.  While the restriping process is occurring the performance of the system will be degraded because the resources of the system are being used to restore the resilience of your data.  For larger hard drives this can take a day or more depending on how much data is stored on the system.  If you want to read all about RAID I would suggest visiting Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

2. Price

There are products available for under $100 to several thousand $ and everything in between.  And, what you spend depends on what you want the system to do.  Some of the sub $100 systems only use one hard disk drive which can be problematic if the drive dies and you haven’t backed it up.  Many of the systems will come with a single drive and several empty drive bays so you can customize your system based on capacity by adding drives.  Before adding drives to a system make sure that you check the vendor’s website to ensure that you are using tested and supported drives – don’t want to compromise your warranty, or more importantly your data.  Vendors test the drives to ensure that they are compatible and work with their suppliers to work out issues with the drives by upgrading drive firmware, or in some cases disqualifying a drive all together.

3. Physical size of system

Single drive systems are the size of a textbook from college.  You remember textbooks, right?  The larger systems with multiple drives will take up the size of a breadbox.  I always wondered how big a breadbox was and the answer is, approximately 12 inches by 6 inches high and deep – a bit bigger than a large loaf of bread (According to Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadbox).  The size of the system from a physical perspective does not take into account the airflow that these systems need to ensure they stay cool, so make sure you read the manual and place the system in a location where it gets the proper airflow.  I put my system in my home office closet next to my network printer where it has a good deal of airflow and central access to power and networking connections.  Many of the systems have an information panel on the front of the system that will show you the status of the system as well as used and available capacity.  One other important feature on many of the digital media systems is physical security and many include a standard Kensington style locking slot.

4. Look and Feel

Now, I am all for aesthetics and I want my system to look “cool” , but that is something that is very personal and I am going to leave to each of you to determine what you think “cool” is.
The vendors have designed the systems to look like they would fit into any home technology environment – some of them even look like books on a bookshelf, while others look like small versions of servers.  Most of systems have access lights to show drive access as well as management displays on the front of the main unit so you can see what is going on in real-time.

5. Environmentals (Airflow, thermals, sound, and more)

This is an important part of selecting a system and I was surprised when I purchased my first system to find that the fan in the system made so much noise that I had to place it out of the way behind a door to ensure that I would not hear the sound of the fan.  Further, the system got hot, we are talking hotter than I thought it should and it would burn my fingers if I left them on the system for too long, so I had to put some insulation under it to keep it from burning the shelf that it was on.  I read online that these were known issues with the system, and I should have done more research before buying the system.  My second system was not only quiet, because I checked, it ran cool, and it used 1/10^ththe amount of power that the first system used.  So, in upgrading I not only got a better system in every way, I got a system that delivered on the environmentals.  Finally, one feature that I really liked on the new system was that it automatically shut down the power based on a user selectable calendar for each day of the week and weekend day, meaning it turns off automatically and drops from full power utilization to only a trickle when it is powered off, only to restart early in the day and be ready for my usage when I need it.   Also, the current system that I am using has the ability to remotely monitor a connected UPS.  What does this mean?  If the power to the system is interrupted and the UPS kicks in the system will monitor the UPS and before it gets powered down inadvertently the system will shut itself down cleanly.  By cleanly shutting down the system you avoid having to clean the file system, and no, I am not talking about taking about a toothbrush and some cleaner and physically cleaning the system, I am talking about the RAID program replaying a log to ensure no data was lost when the power was interrupted and market the file system super-bit clean.  Did I use enough techno-babble in the last sentence for you?  If you want to know more about this process you can look it up on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journaling_file_system

6. Capacity and Expandability

Most of the systems on the market today start with a single 1 or 2TB hard disk drive and can easily be expanded by adding multiple hard disk drives.  Adding drives is a simple operation of removing a drive carrier and installing a new hard disk drive per the vendor’s instructions and installing the drive back into the system.  The system will automatically recognize the drive and stripe the data across it, or you may have to configure the system based on the performance and capacity options that you want to have for your specific environment.  Usually, drives need to be added one at a time and the process of getting to the maximum capacity may take time and some of the systems on the market will right-size the drive based on the capacity of the first drive installed, so if you install a 1TB drive and then want to add 2TB drives, the capacity of the 2TB drives will only be seen as 1TB.  To fix this one would need to backup all of your data and then start with all of the same capacity hard disk drives.  Other systems on the market will take whatever hard disk drive capacity you throw at it and build a RAID configuration delivering the maximum capacity to you.

7. Integration-Interconnection

Most of the systems on the market today offer both Wi-Fi and Wired connections.  While Wi-Fi offers a simple connection without wires it sacrifices performance for that simplicity.  We have all read the performance claims of 110Mb/s for 802.11n Wi-Fi networks, but realistically the theory and reality are quite separate.  To really deliver the performance there is no way around a physical wired connection.  Sorry, you are going to have to deal with the harsh reality that technology companies don’t always tell the truth and that streaming media will take every Mb/s that you can throw at it to ensure that you get an entertainment quality experience in your home.  Also, you need to think about how many people are going to be accessing the system at the same time.  In my house we have three “Power Users” that all access streaming media at the same time.  My oldest son will be streaming media from Netflix on his Wii while my youngest is looking at pictures on my home media storage device and I am streaming home movies to my Mac.  I checked the network and we were pumping some serious I/O to the tune of 80 Mb/s.  Now, I wouldn’t say that every user in the house needed to be streaming media, but the idea is that I want them to have that capability and utilize the media when and where they want to.

The Netgear ReadyNAS also supports connecting an external UPS and monitoring it for a change in the status of the power coming into the system and will gracefully shut the system down if the power fails.  I have not hooked a UPS up yet, but am planning to do so shortly.

8. Backup – what is all of this I hear about backup?

In the 70’s and 80’s the number one concern that I heard from my parents related to their media was that they were afraid that their physical, analog home movies and pictures would get burned up in a house fire, or lost.  Thankfully, it never happened, but they made copies and stored them at another family member’s house just in case.

Today, all of those physical memories have been replaced by digital files that live on spinning media that is going to crash at some point and you will need to have a backup to ensure that you can still access your digital memories.  What are your digital photos worth to you?  Your memories?  So, why don’t you back them up?  There are many answers to that question it is too complex, or simply too costly, or I never thought about it, to name a few.  With many of the digital media storage systems on the market today they offer the ability to automatically backup the system to a cloud based backup service on the Internet.  This service is available for a fee and you can access your files securely from any other system that can connect to the Internet.  The fee is modest, under $100 per year for the average user and the pricing is based on capacity.  The system can be configured to only backup certain files or directories (folders) so you only pay for what you think is important, for example children’s pictures.  A word of caution, if you have a lot data, say 1,024GB, a full TB be prepared for a rather lengthy upload process.  You can do a quick calculation to figure out how long your upload will take by measuring the speed of your upload and then dividing your total amount of data to be backed up by the upload speed.  In most cases you are probably looking at least a week to backup a TB of data.  On some of the systems available on the market there is a USB port on the back of the system that enables you to connect a USB hard drive and backup the system.  This is a simple and inexpensive way to backup the system, but it requires you to manually backup the system and will not protect your system should you have a fire or a virus.

9. Sharing your media

Many of the products on the market today enable you to share your media, specifically your pictures, through a publishing mechanism.   By sharing a published link with those that you want to see the media they can easily and securely access the media on the Internet.  My current media storage system lets me share my pictures on the web to my family members who live in other states.   While the capability sounds great, the implementation is less than what it should be.  Picture sharing sites offer a rich experience and enable those who view shared media to order pictures and access the media in a simple and visually rich environment.  The implementations of the current media storage systems seems a bit archaic in comparison to the current set of web based photo sharing sites and I think it is a case of trying to be all things to all people instead of focusing on what they are good at and leaving the photo sharing to the photo sharing experts by creating a digital upload service where photos are automatically uploaded to the photo sharing site by the media storage system.

10. Protocol Support

For every type of media and streaming there is a protocol that you need to support it.  For iTunes, the media server needs to be able to act like an iTunes Server so iTunes clients, such as Macs and PCs can see and share all of the stored digital media.  Most of the media servers on the market today leverage open source technology to deliver many of the major protocols on the market, including those listed below:

• Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA): enables a DLNA certified device to access media on a DLNA certified server.  For more information on this process please visit http://www.dlna.org/digital_living/how_it_works/
• Time Machine:  In every apple Max with Snow Leopard there is a built in backup solution that enables you to roll back and find files in a simple to use interface and digital media systems that support the Time Machine protocol can backup Mac clients remotely and automatically on the network.  For more information on Apple’s Time Machine please visit http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427
• iTunes Server:  Instead of having to have all of your music on every system in your house you can use a digital media storage system with an embedded iTunes Server to share your music with all of the systems in your home.
• Windows Media Server:  With an embedded Windows Media Server you can stream Windows Media Files and MP3 files to any connected system.
• CIFS (SMB):  Allows you to share files between Windows and Mac systems on the network.
• AFS:  Allows you to share files between Mac clients on the network
• NFS:  Allows you to share files between Linux and UNIX clients on the network.

NOTE:  Files shared between CIFS and NFS can be seen by both systems at the same time and may leverage Samba file sharing technologies and include a locking mechanism so file ownership is kept intact and keeps you from overwriting one another’s changes to the file.

• BitTorrent:  For file sharing over the Internet a BitTorrent client is standard equipment on many PC’s – with a BitTorrent client embedded in the digital media storage system so you can offload the task of getting files off the Internet from your PC.

11. Support & Warranty

When buying anything in the technology market it is important to check out the support and warranty offerings from the vendor.  I checked through the knowledge base of the vendors that I have purchased from and found them to be chuck full of good information.  I did have a hard drive fail in one of my units and I called the vendor and they processed a RMA and cross-shipped a new drive.  Many of the systems offer three year warranties today and that is a good option to have, but you need to check on the specifics of the warranty and find out what is covered in terms of parts and shipping charges.  Also, I played “dumb customer” and called their technical support center to find out what kind of help I can expect when I have an issue and all of the vendors that I called were very supportive and knowledgeable.  As you know, calling support is the luck of the draw based on who is on the other side of the phone line, sometimes it is a great person, other times it is a newbie who is green behind the ears.  You may also want to check on how frequently the vendor updates their product’s firmware (OS platform) and how their product quality has been received by trolling through their knowledge base.  Most of the products on the market will support an auto-upgrade feature by downloading the latest revisions and installing them directly from the vendor’s website.  This is a good feature and keeps you from making a costly mistake by downloading firmware and then not upgrading the system correctly.

12. Hackability

For “Power-Users” that may read this and wonder if they can hack their systems and improve the performance, change a parameter, or add a new protocol?  The answer is most likely “Yes!”  Communities have sprung up around these media servers and offer the know-how and instructions to hack the systems, but be aware that doing so may void the warranty, or require you to reset the system to get support in case of an issue, which means that you may lose your data when you perform a system reset.  Again, read the directions on the system to know what you can and cannot do before you buy the system.

13. Simplicity-Complexity

All of the systems that I have used are relatively straightforward to setup and manage requiring a minimal amount of tech savvy.  When installed all of the ones that I have used automatically register with the DHCP Server and get an IP address.  From there, you configure the system on a management console that is usually web based.  In the case of my current system there is an application that when launched will find the media storage system and allow you to manage it securely.  All of the systems that I have used allow you to set an administrator userid and password to ensure that only you have access to manage the system.

Other Considerations: A word about copyrights; for those of you that copy music or videos that is the property of others please be aware that you are breaking the law and while I cannot condone your actions, you need to understand that your media is also property, your property, and should only be used by those that you want to have access to it or have copies of it.

So, What Were My Requirements and What Solution Did I Select?

NetGear ReadyNAS NV+ with four drives.

http://www.netgear.com/readynasvault

Other systems that I evaluated included the following:

• Buffalo Terastation
• Drobo – I could not purchase the Drobo due to budget concerns and the Drobo required an external box to connect to the network.  The initial design point for the Drobo was a better USB Storage System for Mac users doing animation and digital video.
  
• Iomega StorCenter – The Iomega seemed a bit clunky and inefficient, but did provide the best performance based on comments on the Internet.
  
• HP MediaSmart Server – This system is based on Windows Server – Home Edition and has a good deal of performance, but I wanted an open source solution so I could hack it.
  

Who is going to, and how are they going to use the system?

In my environment I have myself, a power-user who will stream media of all types, my oldest son who is getting into web development, and my youngest son who is mostly interested in streaming music.  Also, I have my parents and friends that want to see pictures of my family and significant events.    We needed a system that has multiple hard disk drives to support higher performance and delivery of media on the network and Gigabit Ethernet is a must have.  For streaming media alone we needed at least two drives to generate the performance that was required and having four drives gives me a bit of headroom when I go to a higher resolution video – not that I am going to be distributing 1080P video anytime soon – just too costly in terms of capacity and bandwidth at the moment.

Price

In 2009, when I decided to purchase a Digital Media Storage Server I had a budget of $500 for the system with all of the drives and I wanted about 4TBs of overall storage for my current and future digital media storage requirements.  This budget was based on buying a second hand system on eBay or Craiglist. If I was looking to buy a new system I would need to raise my budget a bit too around $750.  I have seen new systems that fit my needs on eBay for less that $500 and I bought my system on Craigslist with 2x500GB drives for $200.  That left me $300 to buy drives and I replaced the two 500GB drives that came with the system with 1TB drives and still have some change left over.  I bought the 1TB drives at TigerDirect, after checking the vendor’s website for supported drives.  The drives cost me $59 each and I needed four (4) of them.  So, I spent about $240 for the drives and had about $60 left, which I quickly spent to upgrade the system memory to 512MB, from the standard 128MB which resulted in an increase in performance of ~20%.  Today, you can buy 2TB drives for $69 each and double your capacity, provided they are supported in your system, which my system supports.

Physical Size of the System

This is an area where I am constrained as I needed to put the system in a closet in my office next to my laser printer.   So, the size is critically important to me as is accessibility to the hard disk drives and other parts of the system.

Look and Feel

This is an area where, admittedly, I have less of a concern as the system is going to be in the closet, but the Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ is a winner in my book as it has an industrial chrome-silver look that fits in well in my clost.  The current revision of the ReadyNas product has followed the pendulum swing back to black.  Thru the years I have found that the market moves from a gloss black outer to a more industrial look depending on what is hot in the Home Theatre market and today black is back.   The ReadyNAS has a great LCD display and four disk access lights on the front of the system that make understanding the status of the system as simple as looking at it.    The disk status lights also help identify failed drives, should a drive fail.  I would highly recommend looking at systems that show you the status of the drives and location so you don’t remove a good drive by accident and lose your entire data set.

Environmentals

I had owned a Western Digital MyBook World – 1TB NAS in the past and the single fan on the system was so loud that I had to keep the door closed on the closet that contained the system and I could still hear it.  I put some foam insulation around the WD product to help quiet it and it was still loud.  Several websites suggested replacing the main fan to quiet it down.  Instead, I sold the WD system and bought the ReadNAS NV+ which is very quiet.  With the door open I can barely hear the fans or the drives spinning.

The ReadyNAS NV+ also supports the automatic power down – power savings feature.  The system starts at 6:00am and shutdowns at 11:00pm every day.  Below is a picture of the web management tool that is supplied with the system showing the configuration screen for the automatic power down feature.

ReadyNAS Management Console – showing the Power Time for Automated Shutdown and Startup

Capacity and Expandability

I needed ~3TBs of storage for my needs today and for the next few years.  I should give you some background on my media needs.  I have about 25,000 songs, each ~1MB in size, a few hundred home videos consume between 100MB-1GB each.  Additionally, I create backups each few months of my personal and work data that comes ~80GBs for each backup.  So, today, I am consuming 1.3TBs of storage and expect to consume 750GB per year of capacity.  So, with four 1TB drives, I have ~3.4TBs of usable capacity of the system.  The 600GBs of capacity is used for RAID overhead and protects me in case a drive fails, which has happened in the past and I was protected and did not lose any data and when I installed a new drive the system immediately recovered and rebuilt the data from the bad drive. The ReadyNAS system uses a Netgear version of RAID called X-RAID that creates a balance between reliability and capacity which also supports automatic expansion of the system as one adds additional drives.  X-RAID is Netgear’s proprietary “patent-pending”  solution where the “X” stands for “eXpandable” as most traditional RAID environments can only extended by relaying out the data (restriping) requiring one to delete all of the data, while the X-RAID system automatically extends the volume when a new drive is added and restripes the data to take advantage of the additional capacity.  For more information on X-RAID please visit http://www.readynas.com/?cat=54

Integration-Interconnection

The ReadyNAS NV+ is well integrated into my environment as I needed to support streaming media to a variety of platforms including:

• Apple TV with Boxee
• LG LHB-975 supporting DLNA
• Apple Mac
• Windows PCs
• iTunes

Backup – what is all of this I hear about backup?

I use the ReadyNAS NV+ as a backup target for my system and I have yet to do a full backup of the ReadyNAS, other than my main files, which I backup to another USB Hard Disk Drive, so in theory, I am protected in case I lose one set by two backups.  Netgear offers a ReadyNAS Vault Cloud Based Backup Service, but, in my opinion, the pricing is off a bit from where I expect it to be, so I am not using a cloud based service.  Also, I would like to see Netgear, or the Netgear community, which I will discuss later, offer integration with other 3^rdparty cloud based backup services like Mozy, so I can affordably backup my data to a cloud based service.  This would need to be an unlimited capacity option for me as I have a lot of data and I put value on all of it, plus I really don’t want to go through all of my data and categorize what needs to be backed up and what does not need to be, much easier to backup my entire data set.   I expect to see the major cloud based backup services offer this kind of service and integration in the near future as the home market moves from dedicated PC’s to these shared digital media devices.  One solution is leaving a computer on and using it as a shim to move the data from my ReadyNAS to the online backup service, but this could prove to be problematic as the ReadyNAS will automatically power down in the middle of the backup operation and would need to be restarted the next day, over and over again.  With a 500Kb/s upload speed I am looking at a couple of weeks to completely backup my digitial media library.  All of a sudden the upload speed is critically important and the Internet Providers caring for download speeds becomes an out of focus discussion – I need a 10Mb/s asymmetrical Internet connection at the same price I am paying now for my 9Mb/s download with 500Kb/s upload speed.  This would cut down my upload by a factor of 20X – significant.  Integration would put the control of the entire operation in my hands and support the automated power-down and power-up and remember where the job left off so it can restart without having to do so from the beginning of the data set.

I thought of buying a 2TB hard drive in an enclosure for $100+ and use it as a backup target as the ReadyNAS has a one touch backup that works with USB hard disk drives and will backup the entire system to the USB connected drive.  A nice option, but doesn’t really work when you get over 2TB of stored media/data on the system.

Also, the system included backup software for your PC’s and Mac’s on the network that simply backups your data on a schedule to the ReadyNAS system.  I tried the software for a few months and then realized that I didn’t need it as I was backing up the same directory on my PC once a month and could manually handle the task with a quick automation setup in Windows.    For my Mac’s on the network I have Time Machine setup to automatically save their data to the Time Machine on the ReadyNAS – and it is super simple to setup  and I was able to re-purpose my USB Hard Disk Drive for temp space while I edit digital video.  For instructions on setting up Mac Time Machine with a ReadyNAS check out http://www.readynas.com/?p=253

Support & Warranty

The ReadyNAS system that I purchased had a three year warranty and the latest systems from Netgear and others come with a five year warranty.  I used the warranty once and found the support team at Netgear to be very knowledgeable and fixed my problem on the first call.  Also, the Netgear online knowledge base is very good and well categorized.  I was able to resolve several of my questions without having to call Netgear using their online knowledge base.

I would not say the same for the WD MyBook World that I purchased before the Netgear – their support site was very poorly categorized and their search engine was ineffective.  When I had a drive fail in my WD product it took over a week to get a replacement and the instructions for replacement were very poor.  Thankfully, the owners of the WD MyBook World came to the rescue as they had posted copious amounts of information on the procedure and what pitfalls to avoid when attempting the operation at home – as a note, some operations that you may want to do void the warranty, so check out what you are doing before you void your warranty.  Also, understands your level of technical expertise and don’t go in over your head as you can irrevocably destroy your data.  An example of an operation that I was concerned with was when I upgraded the firmware (Operating System) for the ReadyNas from a 3.x to a 4.x revision and the main password changed and I needed to reset it to get into the system.  The operation requires rebooting the system and holding the Power button down until one of the LED flashes and the Power button is released and the system re-installs the firmware thereby resetting the password and your data is kept.  If the LED flashes twice your data is deleted and the system is reset back to the way it came from the factory – suffice it to say that I was very patient when performing this operation as I did not want to reload 1.5TBs of data from my backup on a USB Drive.  The operation went smoothly and I was able to

Hackability

The Netgear ReadyNAS has an online community of users that support each other and share knowledge as well as a group of developers whom have built 3^rdparty applications that seamlessly integrate with the ReadyNAS platform.  This one of the main  reasons that I selected the Netgear ReadyNAS product.  The ReadyNAS Community is at http://www.readynas.com/and there are applications to manage and augment the ReadyNAS product, including iPhone Apps, Picture Sharing Apps, Management Apps, and much more – some 300 Apps in total.  Some of the Apps are from Netgear while the majority come from developers in the community.  One of the more interesting Apps available for the ReadyNAS is a TIVO App that enables you to store your TIVO recordings directly to your ReadyNAS, thereby saving precious space on your TIVO.  Check it out at http://www.readynas.com/?p=4324

Simplicity-Complexity

Setup and configuration of the ReadyNAS was another reason that I selected the product for my environment – it was a simple as plugging it into Power and the Ethernet and it automatically acquired an address from my DHCP Server and I ran the RADAR application on my Mac and it found the ReadyNAS and I was able to access it, setup my network shares for my PC’s and my Mac and I was off to the races;  adding digital media and accessing it from my media streamers and on my wireless network.

The web management utility that comes with the ReadyNAS is supported on all of the major Internet Browsers on the PC, Mac, and Linux, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari, which makes it perfect for mixed environments.

There are some setup options, which you need to read the manual for, but once the system is setup it is very simple to manage the system.  Also, the system automatically checks for upgrades and will download them and install them bringing your system to a current version – a nice feature for those that like to stay current – I must admit that I am more of a get it working and stable and leave it alone kind of guy – as long as it is doing what I expect it to do why change it, or as the old adage goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

Filed in categories: Articles, Audio, Video, TV Gear, Desktop Computer Gear, Home Tech

Tagged: Entertainment, media, MP3, NAS, Storage, Utility

13 Things to Consider Before Buying a Digital Media Storage System originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 16, 2011 at 11:00 am.

They say good things come in small packages and the Rock-It Portable Vibration Speaker System is no exception. However, with its surprisingly generated vibrating “pod”  it is not without its drawbacks.

The idea behind the Rock-It portable vibration speaker system is that it sends strong vibrations through a small speaker that is attached to an object and is amplified by that object.  Basically, you connect the Rock-It to a device like an MP3 player, iPhone, smartphone, or any other media player and the Rock-It acts as an external speaker. I connected the Rock-It to my HTC Evo.However, the interesting thing about the Rock-It is that you attach it to an object such a tissue box, picture frame, jar, or even a book. And the pod, as the company calls it, sends out strong vibrations to the object and amplifies the sound causing the volume to be louder.

The Rock-It did a very good job turning ordinary objects into a speaker however, the tone was a little flat but overall a decent sound. Keep in mind though this is not gonna give your media player a Digital Dolby type sound. It is what it is. It is an external add-on speaker system. But the cool thing about it is that you can choose what you want your speaker to be.

However, choosing the right object makes a difference in sound quality. I found the best objects being a hollow cardboard box such as tissue box, cereal box. I even tried it on a box of Jif  To Go. It had a nice sound and it’s great for dipping…..

I tried it on other household items but got a lot of varying sounds from different things. The sounds ranged from shallow to muffled to low and high tone.  When I got the Rock-It and saw and heard what it did I went crazy and tried it on many things. I tried it on a wall picture, a metal can, a glass jar, several cups, my refrigerator and even on the side of my daughter’s cheek. Don’t worry, it was her idea. Doesn’t work anyways…..

The Rock-It is attached by a little sticky pad on the bottom of the pod. It has a nice low tack to it but still can hold firm. The sticky pad did accumulate some debris as you can probably see in one of the pictures but I just took a dab of water on it and wiped it as clean as good as I could and let it dry and it was good as new. Just don’t get the pod wet if you try this. It could short it out.

The Rock-It is a nice portable speaker system that you can carry around with you since it is pretty much self-contained and it is not that bulky at all.

It is operated by two AAA batteries and has a power switch that you just slide to turn on and off. It would have been nice to have an adapter to plug into a wall socket as well.

It comes with an extension connector for your media player device as well as a USB connector to plug into a computer’s USB port or a  USB plug adapter in case you don’t have batteries.

The Rock-It also comes with a few extra sticky pads in case the other ones get too dirty and over used.

As fun as the Rock-It is to use it is just as much fun to see what ordinary object one can use it on. As an external speaker system the sound was decent depending on what object you attached it to.

This is a handy little speaker system that you can take with you on a trip or just keep with you. And if you have limited space like in a dorm room or office cubicle and you want decent sound but don’t need to crank up the volume super high then this is a good external speaker to have.  I think the average person will be happy with this system but audiophiles may be a little nit-picky. Just don’t stick it to your cubicle wall. It could turn your cubicle into a self-contained speaker and I think Enrique Iglesias’ I Like It on your iPod is getting played out….

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Reviews

Tagged: MP3, portable, Speaker

Rock-It Portable Vibration Speaker System Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 21, 2010 at 4:52 pm.

StealthGuards ‘military grade’ full body skins are available for many cell phones and MP3 players for FREE, just pay $2.85 S&H. For $2 extra, get two of the same sets. The usual price for most small devices is $14.99, so it is a nice deal!

They are a precision-cut. ‘self-healing’ skin made from the material used to protect the leading edge of helicopter blades. They are thin and flexible and have just a touch of a tacky feel to them.

At regular price, they send you two sets, so you can practice one one and correctly install the second. At the special price, however, you just get one set. The free ones are just sent in a business envelope with no instructions (but they are on the website) or packaging.

Ordering is a bit tricky since cookies need to be enabled, and I could not seem to get them to take Google Chrome. Shipping time for me was about 6 days, with a weekend and a holiday in there.

The skins have a lifetime guarantee, just pay $3.95 S&H and a 30 day money back guarantee (but opened product may be subject to a $3.95 restock fee- which might make more sense at full price, but the ones I got were just tucked in a plain mailing envelope.)

I meant this as a quick news piece, not as a review (they just came in before I posted it!), but I will do an update when I actually install them.

Filed in categories: Android related, Blackberry related, iPhone, iPad, iPod related

Tagged: Android, Blackberry, MP3, Skins

StealthGuards Skins originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 13, 2010 at 3:00 pm.

Like most people in the 21st century, I own a few types of mp3 players including a few from the iPod line, the iPad, a few from Sony, and the many other electronics that have the mp3 function built-in like cell phones.  I was looking for a cheap basic mp3 player.  The Green House Kana Micro MP3 Player is like the iPod Shuffle but without the hassle of iTunes.

Inside the box, you’ll find the mp3 player, basic headphones, and Japanese instructions since it’s an imported item.

The Kana Micro MP3 Player is shaped like a usb flash drive.

There is a single button on one side to power it on and off.  Two buttons on the other side for volume control and playback controls.

Headphone jack on one end.  It even has a loop hole so you can attach it to your keys or even use it as a phone charm!

And on the USB end is a slot for a micro SD card.  The Kana Micro MP3 Player doesn’t come with any memory at all.  It uses micro SD cards and I’m sure everyone has many of those laying around from all their accumulated tech over the years.  It accepts micro SDHC as well up to 32GB.  This player supports the .mp3 and .wma format.  It also has a 2 hour built-in battery that charges from the USB slot.  And of course you can use this MP3 Player as an USB flash drive to store documents and files.

Putting the music on the player is as simple as it can get.  1) Put the micro SD card in the slot.  2) Plug it into the computer.  3) Drag and drop your music into the drive.  4) Done.

It supports nested folders so you can organize your music however you like.  There is no playlist support.  It’s just a basic mp3 player and I like it for its simplicity.

And the best thing is the price.  It only costs $15.20 from Strapya-World.  It also comes in 8 different colors.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Reviews

Tagged: MP3, Music, USB Drive

Kana Micro MP3 Player Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 17, 2010 at 5:10 pm.

Today Sony announced the new Walkman E-Series video MP3 player, which features up to 50 hours of audio playback (mp3 files at 128 kbps) and 10 hours of video playback (WMV at 384 kbps). This new player also features 2 of Sony’s own technologies: Clear Audio and SenseMe. Clear Audio is an audio technology that offers clear, deep sound without distortion, while SenseMe automatically categorizes your music tracks in your library into a variety of music channels and playlists. There’s also a Bookmark Function that allows listeners to create on-the-fly playlists. The Sony E Series Walkman will be available next month for about $70 for a 4GB memory version and $80 for an 8 GB version at Sony Style.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, News

Tagged: MP3, Spotlight Gadgets, Video

Sony Introduces New Walkman NWZ-E350 Series Video MP3 Player originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 11, 2010 at 8:23 am.

Wish you had a place to stow your iPod while running or traveling?  Koyono‘s  BlackCoat-T and -Tx line of cargo T-shirts features two specially-designed, hidden pockets that are interconnected by a single passageway.  A central zipper opening provides easy storage and removal.  Use it for an iPod an a cell or whatever combination of person portable gadgets you feel the need to have with you.  Short- and long-sleeve “T” models made from interlock cotton.  T-shirt and tank “TX” models made from moisture-wicking PowerDry®.  Available in black and white.  Prices vary by model and range from $15.95 (normally $25.95) to $22.95 (normally $32.95).

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, News

Tagged: Clothing, iPod related, MP3

Stealthy gadget storage in your T-shirt originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 29, 2010 at 9:16 am.

If you still have a car with a cassette player, the USB Cassette MP3 Player from Brando looks like an easy way to bring new life to an old school gadget. It looks like a cassette tape, but it’s really an MP3 player with an SD card slot. Fill an SD card with your tunes, pop it in this player and then insert the player into your car’s cassette deck to enjoy music through your car’s stereo speakers. Nice! Earbuds can be used to listen normally and it also does double duty as an SD card reader.

[Via GadgetReview]

Filed in categories: Car Gear, News

Tagged: MP3, Spotlight Gadgets

Brando goes a little retro with the USB Cassette MP3 Player originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 8, 2010 at 2:30 pm.

A few months ago, Dave reviewed the SanDisk Sansa Clip MP3 Player and gave it a thumbs up. As we all know, time does not stand still in the world of gadgets, even for a few months. SanDisk has recently updated their Sansa Clip player, this one is called the Clip+. Let’s check it out and see what the “+” is all about.

Hardware Specs

Capacity – 2GB, 4GB, 8GB
Colors – Black, Red, Blue
Display – OLED
Supported Audio Formats – MP3, WMA, secure WMA, Audible, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, plus audio books and podcasts
Expandable microSDTM and microSDHCTM memory card slot
Headphone – 3.5mm
Digital FM tuner with 40 presets
Rechargeable battery with up to 15 hours of continuous playback
Built-in microphone to record voice memos
Size – 2.16 x 1.36 x .60 in
Weight – .85 oz

Package Contents

Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player
USB Cable
Earbuds
Quick Start Guide

At first glance, it doesn’t look like much has changed between the previous version and this new model. It has the same basic size and button layout. The main control button has changed slightly though. Instead of being round and backlit, it’s now squarish and is not backlit. I prefer the previous look.

Of course, the clip is still there. The new one is not removable or replaceable though. Again, I prefer the previous design.

The Left side has the mini USB connector for charging and syncing and below it, is a small Volume adjustment button.

The opposite side has the earphone jack and a microSD card slot. You can put your own music on a card, or buy slotMusic or slotRadio cards and play them through the Clip+

The power button is located on the top of the player.

At first, I didn’t think that the Clip+ had a hold switch, but holding down the Home button while music is playing, puts the player into hold mode.

The menus and display do not appear to have changed between the Clip and Clip+. The the two-color OLED display (Yellow and Blue) is small but very easy to read in any type of light. Navigating the menus using the 5-way button on the front of the player is easy as well.

The Clip+ has 4 main features: Music player (including Podcasts and Audio books), slotRadio card player, FM radio and Voice recorder.

It’s compatible with Windows and Mac computers and doesn’t require any special software to load music on it. Just plug it in to your computer with the included USB cable and it will show up like a regular flash drive. From there, you can drag and drop audio files to the appropriate folders. You can also copy music to a microSD card and plug it into the Clip+. Any music copied to the player’s memory or a microSD card will show up in the list of artist and songs. Depending on how big your microSD card is and how much music you have stored on it, it can take awhile to index the music database when you plug the card into the player. This isn’t a big deal if you don’t change music every day.

One thing I did notice is that it’s hard to find an individual song if you have a lot of music stored on the device. Scrolling through long lists of songs on a device with a small display will take awhile…

What’s missing? AAC support. This isn’t a big deal for me as I save all my tunes in .MP3 format, but I know it’s important to many people.

The SanDisk Sansa Clip+ is a great little MP3 player and the built in microSD slot is a nice upgrade from the previous version. It’s what the Apple iPod Shuffle should be. It’s small, easy to use and expandable via the microSD card. Great for the gym, at work, or where ever.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: MP3

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 19, 2009 at 7:30 am.

SanDisk has just announcemented the Clip, a addition to their Sansa MP3 player line. The Sansa Clip + includes a microSD card slot, a clip to attach to clothing, FM Radio, and is available in 2-8GB capacities and 3 colors. It’s priced from $39.99 – $69.99. Full press release with more details after the jump.

Milpitas, Calif., August 31, 2009 – SanDisk^® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced the Sansa® Clip+ MP3 player. The new Sansa Clip+ MP3 player comes equipped with a new microSD™ memory card slot that enables consumers to listen to thousands of additional songs effortlessly.

microSD Card Compatibility Offers Major Music Enjoyment:

As the successor to the best selling full-featured sub-$100 MP3 player in America, the Sansa Clip+ MP3 player is fully compatible with SanDisk slotRadio™ and slotMusic™ cards, as well as any microSD card pre-loaded with music. By sliding any of these cards into the new Sansa Clip+ memory card slot, music lovers can instantly listen to premium songs and handcrafted playlists without consuming any of the device’s onboard memory.

· slotRadio cards: SanDisk slotRadio cards (starting at $39.99 MSRP, U.S. only) give consumers immediate access to some of their favorite styles of music, including Rock, Country, Oldies and Hip Hop/R&B. Most slotRadio cards contain 1,000 songs** featuring chart topping artists from the Billboard® charts.

· slotMusic cards: Consumers can also insert a SanDisk slotMusic card into their Sansa Clip+ MP3 player’s microSD card slot to plug-and-play the latest albums (on microSD card) from today’s hottest artists, as well as greatest hits’ compilations from past decades (cards start at $14.99 MSRP, U.S. only). slotMusic cards make music portable and can also be used in mobile phones with a microSD card slot that can play MP3 files, computers with a microSD USB reader or an SD card adapter, and even some car stereos with a microSD USB reader or SD card adapter.

· Custom-loaded microSD cards: Consumers have the option of inserting a microSD card loaded with their own music library to listen to —up to 4,000 additional songs¹ per 16GB card—which again adds interoperability with other devices, including mobile phones that are microSD card compatible.

Tailor made for budget and time-conscious music fans looking for the best MP3 player for the money, the Sansa Clip+ MP3 player offers outstanding sound quality; long-lasting rechargeable battery; bright, easy-to-read screen, and compact wearable design.

“We made a great product — the Sansa Clip — even better,” said Eric Bone, vice president, retail product marketing, SanDisk. “This small player packs big features, including a new microSD memory card slot that gives music lovers the ability to listen to thousands of additional songs in seconds. It’s the perfect player for travelers, busy moms, fitness buffs or anyone looking to enjoy music without the hassle of loading songs from their computer or updating playlists.”

The Sansa Clip+ MP3 player is expected to be available at sandisk.com and bestbuy.com on Aug. 31, and at other retailers nationwide on Sept. 13. The device will be available in Canada and Europe in time for the holiday season. The music player comes in a variety of capacities, including 2-gigabytes* (GB) of onboard memory for up to 500 songs¹ for $39.99 (MSRP), 4GB which holds up to 1,000 songs¹ for $49.99, and 8GB, which has an up to 2,000-song¹ capacity for just $69.99.

Consumers can show off their style by choosing the Sansa Clip+ MP3 player in red, blue or black. (Capacity and associated colors vary.)

Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player Features:

· Superior sound – one of the best sounding MP3 players on the market

· microSD expansion slot which is compatible with slotRadio and slotMusic cards and any standard microSD card

· A wearable clip for hands-free portability and effortless enjoyment of digital music on the go

· Large(1”), bright (OLED) screen with a simple user interface that makes it easy to choose playlists or songs sorted by title, artist, album, genre

· FM tuner with 40 presets for listening to sports, tuning in at the gym or your favorite music station

· Built-in microphone to record thoughts while on the go

· Equalizer mode to fine tune the listening experience

· Rechargeable, lithium ion battery with up to 15 hours of  life2 – one of the most competitive battery performances for an MP3 player of its size on the market today

· Solid state flash memory for skip-free playback of music

· Support for many music download and subscription services including Rhapsody®, Napster, eMusic and others

· Designed to work seamlessly with a wide range of music formats, such as MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and Audible files (for audio books), in both unprotected and protected files

The Sansa Clip+ MP3 player is the first Windows 7 certified MP3 player (along with the Sansa® Fuze™, Sansa® View, and Sansa® Clip portable media players). This compatibility simplifies the user experience and offers a smooth transition to the forthcoming operating system.

The Sansa Clip+ MP3 player updates SanDisk’s Sansa audio/video product family, which includes the popular full-sized Sansa Fuze MP3 player, SanDisk slotRadio™ player, SanDisk slotMusic™ player and the companion SanDisk slotRadio and slotMusic cards.

For more information on SanDisk products, visit: www.sandisk.com

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation is the global leader in flash memory cards, from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk’s product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.

_________________________________________________________________________________

* 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some capacity not available for data storage.

** slotRadio cards contain songs pre-programmed in music playlists for unlimited playback with slotRadio compatible devices only. Visit slotRadio.org for slotRadio compatible devices. Much like radio, these songs are played in sequence and cannot be rewound or rearranged, yet in slotRadio, individual songs can be skipped as often as you want. Song and playlist files cannot be copied or viewed (for example on a PC). slotRadio content is subject to change. Titles feature songs from Billboard and other music charts.

1 Approximation based on 3.5 minute songs at 128 kbps. Approximations: results will vary based on file size, resolution, compression, bit rate, content, host device, pre-loaded files and other factors. See www.sandisk.com

2 Based on continuous playback at 128kbps MP3; actual life and performance may vary depending upon usage and settings; battery not replaceable.

SanDisk’s product and executive images can be downloaded from

http://www.sandisk.com/corporate/media.asp SanDisk’s web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com

SanDisk, the SanDisk logo and Sansa are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Sansa Fuze and slotRadio mark and logo are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation. slotMusic mark and logo are licensed by SLOTmedia Group LLC. microSD mark and logo are trademarks of SD-3C LLC. Rhapsody is a trademark of Real Networks, Inc. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder (s).

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for new product introductions, applications, markets, and customers that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate.  Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or there may be a slower adoption rate for these products in new markets that we are targeting, these products may not perform as expected, these products may not be available when expected or at the prices expected, and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.  We do not intend to update the information contained in this press release.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: MP3, Sansa, Spotlight Gadgets

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player Announced originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 31, 2009 at 1:19 pm.

Here’s a great MP3 player for toddlers.  It’s easy to use for both parent and child, it has an external speaker and it’s durable.  I had been searching for a music player just like this, it’s like the SweetPea Toy Company read my mind.

I purchased the SweetPea3 MP3 player for my three year old daughter in January 2009.  I was looking for a MP3 player with an external speaker and the ability to add any songs I want to it.  I only found one other MP3 player with an external speaker, the Sansa Shaker by SanDisk.  I got to try one that my co-worker purchased for her daughter and I think it is a neat machine, but it’s a little complicated for a toddler.

There are all sorts of reviews raving about this product; their fan page on FaceBook has nothing but positive comments. Here are a few reasons I like the SweetPea3 MP3 player.

1. It has an external speaker.
2. The volume control is in the Settings Menu so that the child cannot change it.  For what it is, the speaker quality is good too, the music does not sound not distorted or tinny.
3. It has a headphone jack which has its own independent volume setting in the Settings Menu.
4. There are only three buttons on the unit.  My three year old can turn it on and off and change the songs and even my nine month old twins seem to enjoy pushing the buttons and changing the songs.
5. Plays MP3 or WMA format  (it does not play licensed music from subscription services or music purchased from iTunes)
6. Compatible with both PC and Macintosh computers.

Song 7 is playing

Speaker level goes up to 10

Turns off after 20 minutes (or whatever you program it for)

Additionally, there are three play lists in the Setting Menu.  I have dedicated one to audio books, one to everyday music and one I have relegated as a junk folder (songs to be organized at a later date). There’s also an auto off feature that can be adjusted from 5 – 120 minutes (see photo above).

The player connects to your computer using an USB cable and music is easily copied to the player by drag and drop.  If you want to move a file to Play list 3, drag and drop it there.  Very simple.

Here’s my only “complaint”, the player is fairly expensive for a fixed 1 GB MP3 player.  The cost is $59.95 + $9.95 shipping, plus a currency conversion fee (~5%) from your credit card if you reside in the US (the company is in Canada). So the grand total is $70.00+ for a 1 GB MP3 player.  By comparison, the Sansa Shaker is around $25.00 and it takes a removable SD card.

I highly recommend the SweetPea3 MP3 player.  Sometimes a good product is worth the price and this is one of those times.  I’m just hoping that my twin boys will share their sister’s when she outgrows it.  Otherwise I’m going to have to buy another one.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Kid Gadgets

Tagged: Kids, MP3

SweetPea3 MP3 Player for Toddlers Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 26, 2009 at 5:30 pm.

I thought this was a joke, but Joachim Bean at The Unofficial Apple Weblog actually ordered one. Although it says 5GB ( yea, 5 GigaByte ) on the Apple store page, the receipt he received says 10GB. Did they find a shipping crate of these in some warehouse? Why would they suddenly offer them for sale? And I also didn’t see any mention of warranty, if I missed it please let me know.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: iPod, MP3

‘New’ 3G iPod For Sale at Apple Store? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 21, 2009 at 7:40 am.

Last winter I reviewed the slotMusic player from Sansa. I thought it was an ok player for $20, but the lack of display and CD music cards made it less than desirable. Now we have another option with the slotRadio player. It includes a display and can play preloaded cards with 1000′s of songs as well as cards with your own songs. Is it worth $99 though? Let’s see.

Hardware Specs

Capacity: Zero on-board memory, includes slotRadio™ card with 1000 songs
Screen Size: OLED 1.5″ landscape
Colors: Silver
Expansion Slot: microSD/SDHC
Headphone Jacks: 1
Radio: FM tuner with presets
File Support: MP3, WMA
Connection: USB 2.0
Battery: Rechargeable up to 13 hours
Product Dimensions: 2.0 x 2.0 x .60 inches including the Clip
Product Weight: 1.3 oz

Package Contents

Sansa slotRadio player
slotRadio mix card with 1000 songs
AC Adapter
Earbuds
USB cable
slotRadio card case
Silicone sleeve for player
Quick Start Guide

The slotRadio player has a metal casing and a matte plastic top with two membrane style buttons on either side of a mono OLED display that move from genre to genre on slotMusic cards, or album to album if you put your own music (folders) on a microSD card.

The bottom edge has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB connector for charging the internal battery.

The top edge has a power/FM radio selector switch and the microSD slot.

On the left side are the volume adjustment buttons.

And on the right side is the next song / pause button. Press the button once to skip to the next song or hold it to pause playback. There isn’t a Previous song button though…

On the back is a large square metal clip.

The clip is pretty strong and looks like it’s meant as a belt clip. But it seems weird that if you did clip it to your belt, that the headphone jack is then pointing down. Oh well.

When you flip the switch to Play, the mono OLED display will spring to life with some simple animations that show the current genre along with the band name and song name scrolling across the bottom. It will also scroll the band and next song name.

Then the screen will go black and just show the band and song name across the bottom for a few seconds whenever a new song starts.

The player that was sent to me also included a slotMusic card with a mix of music genres including Rock, Country, R&B/Hiphop, Contemporary, Alternative, Workout and Chillout. There are supposed to be a 1000 songs on each card, so I haven’t tried to count how many are in each music type. The collection is decent and includes newer and older stuff. The cards are priced at $39.99. Currently there are only six different cards available: Rock, Country, Hip Hop / R&B, Oldies, 80′s & 90′s and Daily Mix.

The whole idea is that you buy these cards instead of downloading music. The cards have some kind of DRM because when I tried to read one with my Mac, it would not show the music files.

You can also put your own .MP3 or .WMA files on a microSD card and the slotRadio player will play them. It will show the album name and song name as well.

Sound quality is good. No complaints there. I am also happy to report that if you pause a song and then turn off the player and even go play the radio and then come back to play music, it will start from where you paused it.

The other feature built into this player is an FM radio that appears to be RDS capable. One of my local channels (not shown here) displays the call letters and song names as they play. Nice. You can seek channels as well as set presets. Reception is actually pretty good.

So is the Sansa slotRadio player a winner? Well, it’s definitely a step above their $20 slotMusic player due to the display and FM radio. But, I think the $99.99 price tag is about $50 too high given the fact that it doesn’t have any built in storage of its own, no previous track feature and no song shuffle feature. The idea of the slotMusic cards is interesting, but I really don’t see them taking off. I think people want to put their own music on a player. They don’t want to pay for stuff that they might not like. I’d rather have the Sansa Clip instead. It’s smaller, has a previous track button, FM radio, display, shuffle, voice recorder, 5 band equalizer, playlist creator, and you can get the 4GB model for about $60.

What is your favorite inexpensive small MP3 player and why?

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: MP3, Radio, RDS

Sansa slotRadio Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 10, 2009 at 2:30 am.

My name is Claire, and I have a problem. With digital audio player addiction. I swear, I have like forty of the things. I don’t use many of them…just my iPhone, and my old 60GB fourth-generation iPod jolts me awake to the melodious sound of DragonForce every morning. That doesn’t stop me from collecting more and more players, though…so when Julie offered me the FreeStyle Audio SoundWave waterproof MP3 player, how could I resist?

Turns out that resisting would have been pretty easy, had I known what I was in for.

I wanted to like this thing, I really did – the waterproof feature meant that I could take it in the hot tub or to the beach without worrying about it getting damaged, whereas I generally keep my iPhone in a Ziploc bag in such situations. While that’s a nice feature of this little guy, it’s just not enough of a reason to buy it.

With that in mind, let’s see what we have here…

What’s in the box

The SoundWave comes with everything to get you started:

• 2GB MP3 player
• 3.5mm-to-USB charge and sync cable
• Waterproof earbuds
• Earbud covers in various sizes
• Elastic armband
• “Floater” black vinyl thingy (I have no idea what this is actually for)

On the outside

At first glance, the SoundWave is pretty unassuming – it’s small, blue, and has rubber-coated buttons and a very tiny OLED display. It has little textured grippies on the side and a belt clip on the back. Strangely, even though the clip has a little note printed on it that it’s not meant to be removed, there was a second belt clip in the box.

This is all fine and dandy, until you go to use the SoundWave for the first time (after, of course, charging the non-removable battery via an available USB port on your nearest computer).

It turns out that those little rubber-coated buttons are a real pain in the butt to press down. They’re simply too small, and the rubber that covers the buttons isn’t raised enough to find it easily with your thumb. Not only that, but I had to press down hard to get a press to register. I quickly discovered that pressing down with the tip of my fingernail seemed to work best.

While this is bad design in any situation, one needs to remember that this player is specifically designed for active use in the water. I would given up a little of its compact size in order to have usable buttons – not to mention that other miniature players (the Sansa Clip and iPod Shuffle 1G/2G come to mind) have fully usable buttons in a compact form factor.

It’s also worth mentioning that there is no discrete audio control on this player. This is a huge mistake in my opinion – a music player must have an easily accessible volume control. Instead, you have to press the “Vol.” button and then use the track skip/search buttons to change the volume.

Thankfully, while the very mediocre earbuds are waterproof themselves, the 3.5mm tip that plugs into the SoundWave appears to be pretty standard – it doesn’t have a rubber sheath or anything, so I’d imagine you can use a different set of earbuds or headphones with this player without impacting its waterproof capability.

On the inside

As mentioned, the SoundWave is waterproof. It also sports 2GB internal storage, and FM tuner, and, oddly enough, an assortment of preloaded tracks. I have since discovered that I’m not a big fan of Led Zepplin, Van Halen is as awesome as I already knew they were, and The Police’s “I’ll Be Watching You” is actually pretty creepy when you think about it. Incidentally, The Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus” was also included – side note: watch Magical Mystery Tour if you get a chance. It’s…interesting.

You don’t just get a variety of classic songs, either – I also got to hear tracks from everyone’s favorite train wreck, Britney Spears, as well as Ricky Martin and Kelly Clarkson. I’m not entirely certain that the SoundWave ships preloaded with music, however – the only player I’ve ever purchased that came with (undoubtedly not-quite-legal) preloaded music tracks was purchased straight from China on DealExtreme, so this could have just been how my demo model shipped.

Music commentary aside, let’s see what this thing is like to use.

Using the SoundWave

Per my earlier observation, the little tiny buttons were obnoxious to press down. Not only that, but they’re only “labeled” with a little raised icon on each one – difficult to see, and difficult to use. I had to read the manual to figure out how to navigate the player’s menus, which was a little annoying.

The SoundWave shows itself as a run-of-the-mill removable drive, so you can drag-and-drop songs onto it to your heart’s content. You can also use Windows Media Player to sync it with your media library.

Once you get songs loaded up and the battery fully charged, you can start listening to your music in waterproof bliss. Kind of.

The player boots up with FreeStyle’s tagline, “Take Your Music There” scrolling across the OLED display. You can then navigate to the FM tuner, the digital equalizer, the settings menu, and (of course) your music.

This is another area where I think the SoundWave falls a little short. They tried to fit way too much information on that teeny-tiny display.

Let’s take a look at the Sansa Clip:

When a track is playing, you get some basic info…

• battery life
• track number/total tracks
• song info – artist, title, album
• graphic bar showing position in song relative to length of song
• repeat
• shuffle

Hit the center button the player, and you can see a nice-looking graphic visualizer of the currently-playing track.

Not so on the SoundWave…instead, a playing track shows you the following:

• thin graphic equalizer bar
• song title
• track number
• total tracks
• bitrate
• file format
• equalizer setting
• battery life
• current position in song
• length of song
• a cryptic icon indicating the repeat mode

And, best of all, the top left corner of the screen is completely wasted with a music note icon. You can see the two side-by-side below:

Not only that, but the display itself is lower-resolution than the one in the Sansa Clip, so text is overly large on the song title (and scrolls by interminably slowly – it shouldn’t take half the duration of a song just to see the whole title).

Most of the information displayed is completely unnecessary, like the bitrate, file format, and equalizer setting. Even the repeat icon is unclear in its meaning, because the SoundWave has multiple repeat options (normal, song, folder, artist, etc.)

The menu structure is odd – there’s no clear way to get to the repeat settings while a song is playing, and there’s no apparent way to move back and forth between levels in the menu structure while a song is playing. I had to read the manual just to figure out the basics of the player, which is pretty inexcusable in 2009.

After trying to futilely navigate through the player for a few minutes, my thumbs started getting sore from having to press down so hard on the buttons to get them to respond. I eventually gave up and rather irritatedly threw the thing on the floor so I could finish writing up this glowing review.

I wanted to like this player. Really. Sandisk has proven that you can use a tiny screen on a tiny player and still have spectacular usability, even for the most noobish of users. Freestyle, unfortunately, didn’t come through. At all.

And, at $89.95 MSRP, I would recommend you save your money and just buy a Sansa Clip (buy.com has 1GB refurbs for $15 shipped) and a box of snack-size Ziploc bags (about 99 cents if you buy generic).

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: DAP, MP3

Freestyle Audio SoundWave Waterproof MP3 Player Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 5, 2009 at 9:55 am.

I have been using my second generation iPod Shuffle for years now. I primarily use it running and during tasks that would put my Touch in harms way. My Shuffle has truly been a trooper… I have dropped it, washed it, sweat on it, etc. It continues to keep putting along. That said, I tried out the third generation Shuffle for about a week when it first came out. My oh my, did it disappoint me. However, the experience did get me thinking about what was out there that could tempt me away from my trustworthy running companion. My searches led me to the SanDisk Sansa Clip, a small, lightweight mp3 player with a boatload of features, an actual screen and great bang-for-the-buck price point.

The Sansa Clip is relatively small, seems like SanDisk could have packaged it in a quarter the volume.

Package Contents

• Sansa Clip MP3 player
• USB 2.0 Cable
• Earphones
• Quick Start Guide
• Installer CD
• Clip Attachment

Hardware Specifications

For a plastic device, the Clip is well made, a quality device. On the front of the Clip there is the main control wheel, center button, and a small home button. The control wheel looks like it should have scroll functionality (like on the iPod) but clicks in four directions; up for play/pause, down for the menu, and left/right for reverse/forward skip. The center button clicks whatever is selected on the screen. The home button is an excellent feature that allows you to quickly get to the main screen if you are lost in the sub-menus.

The left side of the device has the standard mini-USB port and power/lock control switch. Both of which are great features that SanDisk engineered into the Clip. The non-proprietary input/charging is a definite plus with all the mini-USB cables and chargers I have in my world. The lock function is also nice so that the device is not accidentally tweaked while I am running or working out.

The right side of the device has the volume control and headphone jack.

The only item to mention on the top and bottom of the Clip is the tiny microphone hole on the back-top of the device.

The Clip’s clip is made of plastic and the spring is stiff enough to keep the device attached to your clothes. The clip is the most breakable part of the little mp3 player. Thankfully, the clip is replaceable in the event that happens.

The earbuds SanDisk includes with the Sansa Clip are good enough for exercising and (at least) on par with the standard iPod earbuds.

With its small but effective screen, large capacity, and great overall functionality, it seems like the Clip’s design could easily have been the evolutionary path of Apple’s 3rd generation Shuffle.

I am fairly certain I could not break the Clip by crushing it in my hand (although, I am not sure it would pass Julie’s creak test). The Clip probably could not take as much punishment as the Shuffle but is hardy enough withstand the riggers of most situations. While its not as tough as the 2nd & 3rd generation Shuffles, it more than makes up for this in features and functionality.

Considering its size and relatively low cost, the Sansa Clip is incredibly feature rich. The little screen does not support photo or video files but does provide you a great deal of information and control. The one inch screen is relatively large (considering the size of the device), bright, and very clear.

Along with its screen, the Clip has a built-in FM radio tuner with support for up to 40 preset stations, a built-in mike and voice recorder, ability to make on the go playlist, and an adjustable five-band equalizer.

From the Mac side of the house….

The Sansa Clip is both Mac and Windows compatible. On my Macbook, the device appears as a external hard-drive and allows you to easily drag & drop mp3 files into the Music folder. This makes getting files onto the mp3 player a snap but does not allow you to create playlists to keep the 4gb of music organized. I consulted the internet to see if there were any suggested applications that would enable me to make this happen.

I tried XNJB and iTuneMyWalkman to name a few. Some of these applications got me part of the way to my objective and a few failed completely. I was becoming pretty frustrated with the whole process wishing for the simplicity of iTunes and my Shuffle.

The only thing that saved me was trying to connect the Clip to Windows 7 running in Parallels and use Windows Media Player to manage my music and playlists. This worked relatively seamlessly. The music and playlists synced with the player perfectly.

Running with the Clip….

Now that I had all my running tunes on the Clip, it was time to take it out for a test drive. I prefer running with an extremely lightweight music player, so it is not noticeable and doesn’t bother me during my workout. I ran with a Nano for a while but definitely thought the Shuffle was an improvement in terms of weight and experience. The Clip meets my running preferences as well as any other player I have ever used. Plus, it has the huge benefit of being able to select which song I want to play next (via its screen) and keep music types organized (via playlists). Using the controls while running took a few outings to get used to, but after that they were as easy to use without looking as the Shuffle.

Overall experience….

Other than lack of AAC support, I have nothing but praise for the Sansa Clip. This feature packed, tiny little music player is an incredible bang for the buck. The 4gb version of the Clip can be found for three quarters the cost of the most recent Shuffle. The 8gb version (of the Clip) goes for the same $80 that Apple is charging for its button less, screen less player. If you are looking for a small, inexpensive mp3 player, I highly recommend considering the Sansa Clip.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: Audio, DAP, MP3

SanDisk Sansa Clip MP3 Player Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 26, 2009 at 2:30 am.

Swimming laps in the pool back and forth-back and forth.  As you’re swimming you hear the splashing of waves against the lane barriers and sides of the pool. Exhaled bubbles rush past your ears in loud succession.  If you were running, you would be listening to your favorite tunes, picking up the pace with each new song, rather than listening to your breathing and nearby road noise.  In fact, like caffeine, music is indisputably a performance enhancing “drug.”  To help pick up the pace of your swimming workout, Finis (pronounced fin-ees) applied a revolutionary technology to the lap pool to deliver the SwiMP3v2.  The SwiMP3v2 allows the lap swimmer to bring their favorite music into the pool with them with surprising audio quality.

The SwiMP3v2 is the second version on the market from Finis, but substantially lighter and more streamlined than the first.  The unit consists of two “earpieces,” though counter intuitively these pieces do not go over the ear and may be better referred to as speakers.  Theses speakers actually go over the cheekbone forward of the ears, underneath your goggle straps.  The speakers themselves actually use bone conduction (used in the professional diving industry to communicate with SCUBA divers for decades) in this new application to the lap pool.

Your ears hear in two ways: through the air via the outer ear, and through bone conduction to the inner ear.  Have you ever put on ear plugs at a loud concert, to find that you can still hear the music (though not as loudly), no matter what level of hearing protection you put on?  Sound is actually vibrating your skull and making its way directly to the inner ear, vibrating the fluid and creating the sound you hear despite the ear plugs.  Dive medics use this physiological phenomenon in combination with a tuning fork to actually distinguish between inner and outer ear problems related to diving.   A tuning fork is placed near the ears, then placed directly on the skull in several locations to determine which is louder.  In a person with normal hearing, above-water through the air sound conduction is louder than bone conduction.  What all this means for you, the swimmer, is that you can actually hear your music below the water based on a well developed technology that Finis first applied to the pool in 2004.

Bringing my favorite music into the water turned out to be easy.  As an iTunes user, I connected the device to my Mac by pulling off the USB protective cover and connecting the device directly to my computer (no patch cords needed).  I then proceeded to drag and drop music files onto the device from an iTunes window to the SwiMP3v2 window.  Connecting it to a pc was just as easy.  The Finis website contains “walkthrough” instructions for iTunes on the Mac and pc, as well as for software they provide.  I found that the 256 MB storage capacity was ample to transfer my normal running mixes, and left the device connected to my Mac to fully charge the battery, which took only one hour, though the manual indicates the lithium ion battery can take up to 3 hours to charge, if fully expended.  I also found some great instructions on creating “beats per minute” music mixes to tailor the music to your specific workout in the product video, which is probably nothing new to regular iTunes users.  Once fully charged, the battery has 8 hours of life in it out of the box—more than adequate for a swimming workout.  I ejected the unit just like any removable drive once I had moved my desired music, and charging was complete—indicated by the green light ceasing to flash—indicating a full charge.  Lastly before the pool, I switched the unit to shuffle play by holding down the “next / vol +” and “next / vol -“ together.  The unit was ready to get wet!

Before donning the unit, as in low visibility polluted water diving where you can’t see anything as you move through pea-soup water, I visualized the controls so I could “see” them in my mind’s eye and find them without needing to stop my workout and take off the goggles to actually see them.  No one likes to “break the pace” once their workout has started!   With the control speaker on my left check, the volume controls are forward, and the power button is located towards the back of your head.  Pressing the volume up/next button quickly advances to the next song, while holding it down for at least a second adjusts the volume, and so on.  The volume button towards the top of your head intuitively will increase volume, while the one closer to your feet lowers it.

When donning the unit I found that no adjustments were necessary for my goggles to put them on.  I simply placed my goggles on normally, and slip each earpiece upward and under the goggle strap, pulling them back down with a fingernail underneath the strap clips to allow the straps under each clip to secure them.  Once the straps were all the way under the clips, the speakers over my cheekbones, I would tuck the USB dongle.

I typically tuck the USB dongle under the strap behind my head to ensure the unit is as streamlined as possible, and it doesn’t flop around.  Interestingly, the web site notes that if you lose your USB port cap, that the unit still won’t be damaged in the pool by fresh water exposure, though I can tell you in working with underwater audio and photo electronics that salt water would do a number on it eventually.  The cap’s only purpose is to keep the electrical connection dry so you may sync or charge the unit with your computer without a lot of drying beforehand (and of course the aforementioned corrosion if you are a salt water swimmer).

Swimming with the unit surprisingly did not involve any time consuming goggle strap adjustments during my workout.  Once the speakers were in place, they stuck to the side of my cheeks well, and never fluttered in the current—even when doing flip-turns, pushing off quickly from the side of the pool, or high cruising speeds from use of fins.  Volume adjustment was a little tricky, as it seemed to get louder when under the water (without any air between the speakers and my cheekbones) versus being exposed to the air.  Sound quality was very crisp and clean below water, but when breathing with one speaker out of the water, sound on occasion would become muffled or slightly distorted.   At the right volume level, I could hear my music well during turns and laps, above and below water.

Overall, bringing my music into the pool seemed to shorten how long my workout seemed to be—even though my workout duration remained the same.   The end of my workout seemed to come much faster!  As with running with a music player, my speed improved considerably.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Musical Gear

Tagged: MP3, Swimming, Waterproof

Finis SwiMP3v2 Waterproof MP3 Player Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 12, 2009 at 1:57 pm.

Handsfree/Bluetooth call phone device AND an FM transmitter that can handle any MP3 player, SD.MMC cards, and USB thumbdrives? PLUS 2 remotes- a ‘normal’ one and one for the steering wheel? All this and cool blue LED lights, too? The Merconnet Bluetooth Car Kit certainly aims high, and with Julie’s great review of the Merconnet Bluetooth FM Transmitter Speakerphone. I had high hopes!

The nicely packaged unit includes:

• FM29B Transmitter
• Wireless Remote (with preinstalled battery)
• Steering Wheel-mounted Remote (with preinstalled battery)
• Stereo patch cord- 3.5mm male to male about 8″ long
• Manuals for transmitter and steering wheel remote (also available on-line)

The FM transmitter part works beautifully. It is pre-set to 95.5FM and can be adjusted anywhere between 87.5 and 108FM. The frequency is adjusted in small steps with buttons on the main unit or either of two included remotes. Clarity is excellent, and I say that as someone who has been unsatisfied with every other FM transmitter I have tried. Searching for a new frequency is just a matter of finding some clear air on the radio, and then holding any of 8 buttons (4 on the steering wheel remote, 2 on the other remote, 2 on the transmitter) up or down until the frequencies match.

The Bluetooth hands-free phone part is not bad. Paring it up is pretty straightforward even though the instructions are in mangled English (basically- get your phone looking for a Bluetooth device, then press and hold the pairing button on the transmitter while keying in the code- it would be easier if you had a spare hand, but is not bad.  The sound is good on my side (with factory speakers), but the callers report that the sound on their end is poor- not too surprising considering the small mic in the transmitter. It can even transmit music from your phone if it is ‘a2dp’ compatible, which the Centro sadly is not..

Music? The good news is that when it finds the music, it plays nicely. You are basically playing it over an FM radio, so you are not going to get CD quality out of it, but it is pretty clean sounding. The unit is even smart enough that it found my music tucked away on the SD card- not in any special folder. The bad news is in two parts- finding music is limited to skipping ahead or back (a la the ‘iPod Shuffle’), which is annoying if you have many songs loaded. The bigger bad news is that I was never able to get my iPod or any music on a flash drive to play. Don’t look to the instructions to help- the mangled English is not very helpful. I have no idea of the problems were something I was doing wrong, or a flaw in the unit- but nothing I tried, and no other USB or MP3 player I tried worked. Arrgh.

Let’s look at the components for a moment as I calm down.

Merconnet FM Transmitter playing an SD card

The main transmitter is well-built- solid, simple. There are several blue LEDs that make it attractive as well. The gooseneck is reasonably strong and it holds position well. It is not strong enough to hold it in position as you press the buttons, but not bad. The styling is good- although I could wish that the LEDs on the face were the actual buttons, but that is not a big deal.

Merconnet Handheld Remote

It comes with two remotes, a typical 20 button remote that does pretty much everything, including directly selecting a new frequency or song to go to, and a ‘steering wheel remote’. The normal remote is OK- it does not look like it was designed by the same people who made the transmitter, and there is not much documentation for it, but these are fairly minor nags. Supposedly, you can use the keypad to dial your phone- but that has not worked for me yet, and speed dialing is more convenient.

Merconnet Steering Wheel Remote

The steering wheel remote is, to me, a pain. It starts with the awkward documentation (sample: Thank you very much for using our products, it is a nevol and Portable infrared steering wheel remote contro.) and is followed by the annoying installation. I found it was always in the way, tended to move as I tried to push buttons, I could not remember what button did what without looking, and some buttons are small and close together. You do not need this remote, but if it worked properly, it would be safer than the other remote. I mean- come on! One of the keys is labeled as “undefined keys” and does not seem to do anything!

The steering wheel remote also looks like it was designed by someone else, and there is supposed to be a quick-release feature to allow you to remove the remote when you don’t need it in the way. On mine, the release was distorted or mis-cast and did not release the remote until I shaved it down a bit.

Merconnet and iPod

OK- one of the BIG SELLING POINTS of this thing is its music abilities, so here I am with the iPod plugged in (using the included 7 inch cord- so short I need to balance my iPod in the cupholder thingy). The iPod is on and playing- it is plugged into the only hole in the transmitter, and there is absolutely nothing happening. Pushing the button that tells it to take a call (if it does not do it automatically, which it always did for me) and interrupt the music does nothing, and the instructions and website have no helpful advice. The troubleshooting guide does not even mention the jack, but does offer the helpful advice to make sure the volume is not at 0.

Hate the steering wheel remote, hate the instructions, hate the fact that I cannot hook my iPod into it. Other than that, I actually like this unit, and the fact that it retails for only $69.99- which would not be bad, even with the remote and directions, if the music part worked.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Car Gear

Tagged: Bluetooth Gear, Car, FM Transmitter, MP3

Merconnet Bluetooth Car Kit Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 4, 2009 at 2:00 am.

Whenever Apple updates one of their products, it always seems to create a lot of buzz. When the third generation iPod Shuffle was announced a couple of weeks ago, the buzz was almost as audible as a hive of bees. Why so much attention for a sub $100 MP3 player that doesn’t even have a display? Well, we are talking about an Apple product, aren’t we? Buzz doesn’t always mean that a product is a good one though, so let’s take a closer look at this little digital audio player.

Hardware Specifications

Capacity: 4GB
Audio formats: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
Size and Weight: 1.8 inches (45.2 mm) x 0.7 inch (17.5 mm) x 0.3 inch (7.8 mm), 0.38 ounce (10.7 grams)

Package Contents

iPod shuffle
Earbuds
USB charge cable
Quick start guide
Mini Apple stickers

Family portrait Left to Right: First gen shuffle, second gen shuffle, newest shuffle

It’s fun to see how the shuffle has evolved over the years. If I’m being honest (wow, I sound like Simon Cowell from American Idol), I think I’d pick the 4 year old original shuffle as my favorite. If only because it has a built in USB connector for charging. I also liked the second gen shuffle because of the metal case. The latest iPod shuffle seems to almost be a merging of the two. It retained the metal body, but has reverted back to a vertical form. No USB connector though. Darn…

Available in Black or Silver, the anodized aluminum shell has a brushed finish, with a completely plain front. The sides are rounded and the whole device feels like a solid metal bar.

Flip the shuffle over and you’ll see the chrome pocket clip with a frosted Apple logo. Gah, I really wish Apple would fire the person / people that are responsible for using chrome accents on their products. Yeah, I have a personal issue with chrome…  Excuse me for a moment while I polish my smeary fingerprints off the clip for the billionth time.

Ok, I’m back. The clip is a strong one. It should have no problems staying attached to whatever you decide to attach it to.

There is only one switch and one connector on this player, and both are located along the top edge. The stereo earphone jack is a standard 3.5mm size, but you won’t be able to use any old earbuds with this shuffle. More about that in a minute.

The switch has three settings. Off, On with sequential playback and On with shuffled playback. Although you can’t see it in the image above, there is a tiny battery status LED between the earphone jack and switch.

How do you charge the shuffle? The same way that you charge the previous version, through the 3.5mm headphone jack. This time there isn’t a small dock included though.

Instead, you get a short USB cable. One end has a USB connector and the other end has a 3.5mm plug.

Plug it in and it charges the internal battery and syncs content with iTunes. On a full charge, you can expect up to 10hrs of play time. The short USB cable won’t take up much space in your gear bag, but the fact that you have to carry around a proprietary charge cable when you travel, is a bit annoying.

If the charge / sync cable annoys you, then the fact that you can’t use your own fave earbuds with the shuffle will probably really put you in a bad mood. Let me back up though… You CAN use any old earbuds / earphones / headphones that you like with this new iPod shuffle.  But (and this is a big but), if you do, you won’t be able to adjust the volume, pause, skip songs, use the VoiceOver feature or pretty much do anything except listen to music. Why? Because all the user controls are built into a small inline controller on the included earbuds.

The controller is a 1.125 inch long plastic piece that hangs about 4.5 inches from the end of the Right earbud. It has 3 switches built into it, one on each end and one in the middle. Each switch is activated by squeezing it. The end switches adjust the volume, and the center switch allows navigation between songs and playlists. The center switch also provides pausing and the VoiceOver feature.

If you opt to use the VoiceOver feature (it is an optional download during the initial setup and has to be downloaded through iTunes), it will announce the name and artist of the currently playing track. To activate it, you just hold down the center switch on the  controller for a couple of seconds. If you continue to squeeze the center switch, you’ll hear a male voice speak the names of the playlists, which will allow you to switch to the desired list. It’s kind of a neat feature, but I’d rather just have a small LCD display…

Out of the box, the shuffle has 3.77GB of available space, with no option for storage expansion. Audio quality is not unlike other digital audio players that I’ve tested. They all start to sound alike after awhile – especially with stock earbuds. I don’t have any complaints about the sound quality and find listening to music through this player to be enjoyable. I clip the player to my jeans pocket while I’m sitting at my desk or walking around and have not have any problems with the shuffle in the time that I’ve been testing it. The switches all worked as indicated. Dave Rees has had a different experience though…

I use my Shuffle solely for running and working out. I have used a 2nd Gen Shuffle since they came out; its form factor, lightweight, and controls are ideal for running. That said, the sleek design of Apple’s latest Shuffle tempted me so much I bought one the first day they were available at my local Apple Store. I got it home, charged it, and loaded it with my favorite running tunes. Since it was dumping down rain (Seattle), I did my first few runs on my treadmill/running machine….a very controlled environment.

During these runs, after a while, the volume progressively maxed-out. Additionally, the remote would fail to respond (aka, I attempted to lower the volume but to no avail) to any input at all. I used my first 3rd generation Shuffle 3-4 times (each time with the volume maxing out and the remote becoming unresponsive) before returning it back to the Apple Store. The Genius Bar person very nicely gave me a brand new Shuffle, earbuds, and sync cable. So, my hope was that my first Shuffle was defective and the issue was not how the new design of the Shuffle interacted with my running.

I got my second Shuffle all charged & good to go. I was 5 minutes into my run when the volume went to max and the remote failed to respond…. I tried it several times and the same thing happened each time. My theory is that since the remote control bumps against my neck as I run, it caused the + volume to continuously be activated. Thus not allowing other input to be given because the + has been hit so many times that other inputs are not accepted.

This was so frustrating, I returned my second 3rd generation with no regret at all. And was glad to be done with it and extremely happy to go back to my 2nd generation shuffle, which has better controls with none of the hassles.

It would be interesting to hear from other people that have purchased this latest shuffle and also run with it. Have you noticed the same problems that Dave has?

Although I’m a big fan of Apple products, this is one that I’m going to suggest skipping unless you love Apple’s stock earbuds and don’t plan on running with it. I wonder what we’ll see next year with next gen player…

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: iPod, MP3, Shuffle

iPod Shuffle 4GB Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 2, 2009 at 8:37 am.

Check it out, there’s a new iPod shuffle. Now with 4GB, a smaller size and controls that are located on the earbuds instead of the player. One cool new feature is called VoiceOver. At the touch of a button, a voice will tell you the name of the song and the artist. Pretty cool! You can get one for $79.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Apple, MP3, Shuffle, Spotlight Gadgets

Spotlight Gadget – New iPod shuffle originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 11, 2009 at 9:04 am.