Technology Review

I’ll admit it – I jumped on the iPhone bandwagon. That sleek interface, all-in-one use of music, email, camera, and web browsing. And lets not exclude the apps, oh those sweet apps. (my current addiction is Tower Maddness) The phone was calling to me like hand held porn (and you can find that too).

My delight was insatiable, I tapped and finger pinched my way around, gobbling up Apples innovative and addicting tech candy. I held in my hand the modern day gift from Prometheus. So what does a guy do when he gets an awesome new gadget? He calls his buddies to share in the excitement. And to brag. Or at least he tries to call. The result; 3 attempts, 3 dropped connections. In today’s text explicatives. . . WTF!  How is this possible? I work in New York City, a major metropolitan area where wireless communication is as available as a dirty water dog. I should be able to make calls from the subway . . . going below the East River!

AT&T . . . Call me. We need to talk this. But do it on someone else’s service, for obvious reasons.

After my shock abated and my buddies stopped rubbing my face in a phone that’s less reliable then a stoned hippie giving directions, I began searching for a new phone for 2010. Here’s the quick and nasty of what I dug up for touch screen phones that can handle apps, music, email and phone calls.

Droid

Ever remember that Motorola StarTac? It’s the poster child of resilient cell phones for the 90’s. Well, after an interestingly long funk, Motorola has made a comeback with a new phone. The Droid is a great device with a clean and clear interface. It has a long talk time and quick response for music and internet. For those with gorilla thumbs, there’s even a QWERTY keyboard. To top it, it’s on the market for about $200 with contract. A good buy in my opinion.

Nexus One

Here’s my prediction: I see a future where “Made in China” will be replaced with “ Made by Google.” They’ll conquer everything from electronics, to kitchen utensils, to toilet bowls. Until then, they’re trying with the cell phone. This has by far one of the fastest processing speeds of all the phones out there. And the calling clarity is unsurpassed. Even better – it comes unlocked . . . but for $500 ($179 with 2-year T-mobile contract). If you’re an early adopter and a tech fiend with deep pockets, go for it!

Blackberry Storm 2

Its business, its functional, it’s a Blackberry. For the millions of Crackberry addicts that are jonesing for corporate functionality and compatibility, this upgrade from the initial Storm covers the needed Wifi and a more accurate touch/press screen. My bet is if you’re already a member of the BBM team, then you’ll stick with it. At a little less than $200 a pop, it’s a reasonable purchase for a corporate device.

Palm Pre

The Palm Treo 650 broke my smartphone cherry. I remember it with fond memories. It had limited touch screen, a camera, and an SD memory card slot. Palm’s attempt at revitalizing its once competitive cell phone segment is summed up with this baby. She’s slick and with a pull-out keypad (though smaller than the Treo’s) and performs one thing most smartphones don’t these days . . . multitask. You can check your email, your calendar and the web just to make sure you didn’t double book your Saturday night with a NY/Boston game and that tall leggy blond living across the hall. And at $150 clams, your wallet won’t be gasping for its life. 

These Budget Digital Cameras are Feature-Rich

Review by Joshua Fienberg

I’ve gone through two expensive digital cameras already this year.  The first camera to succumb to my recklessness took a wet and wild ride in my washing machine. I parted ways with my second camera in the backseat of a New York City cab in a rush to get to JFK airport. Cameras are almost disposable commodities these days, but with most upwards of $200, I can’t afford to continue destroying & losing them!

With that in mind, I set out to find the best digital cameras under a hundred bucks.

Note to Readers:  There are a lot of "toys" and junk out there in the sub $100 digital camera market.  The cameras that made it to this review are certainly not toys, nor are they junk.  In order to be considered for review, each camera met a certain performance threshold, is manufactured by an established company, and is backed by a minimum 30 days manufacturer’s warranty.

Everyone’s idea of what makes the "best" camera is different. Some folks value ultra-portability over picture quality.  Others may prefer a camera that is simple to use over one that is jam-packed with features. I took this into consideration when evaluating digital cameras that cost less than $100, and established five (5) "best-of" categories. The categories are: The Cheapest, The Most Rugged, The Simplest, The Best Photo Quality, and The Easiest to Fit in Your Pocket.

1. THE CHEAPEST

Vivitar ViviCam 8018 The Vivitar ViviCam 8018 is quite a snappy package at $59.95.  The ViviCam 8018 does not have "optical zoom" but is equipped with 8x digital zoom.  The Vivicam 8018 has a black brushed-chrome case, and  delivers  an 8.1 megapixel picture. The lens is a fixed (no optical zoom) 7.23mm lens capable of producing bright, sharp photographs up to 13"x19" prints.

To my surprise, the Vivicam 8018 offers image-enhancing features usually found on more expensive cameras, such as Face and Smile Detection, Red-eye Reduction, AntiShake technology for capturing sharp pictures under low-light condition, a Movie Mode, and 16MB of built-in memory. Additional memory is available by using SD memory cards.

I played around with this camera in several lighting conditions, and found that it works best in outdoor settings.  The indoor and low-light image quality isn’t the best, but at $59.95, it’s a great worry-free camera to tote along with you to the bars when you’re out with your buddies.

Image quality isn’t the best, but it does take decent shots under the right conditions.

The Vivitar ViviCam 8018 does not include a rechargeable battery and is powered off a set of 3 AAA batteries.

Price: $59.95

Pros: It’s Dirt Cheap, and Takes Decent Pictures.
Cons: No optical zoom.  Pointless decorative elements on the camera casing.  1.8" LCD screen is small.

Where to Buy:

B&H Photo Video – $59.95 with same-day shipping.

2. THE MOST RUGGED

Vivitar ViviCam 5399 Another Vivitar makes the list, and this time for the Most Rugged camera under $100.  The  Vivitar ViviCam 5399 is a compact digital camera that is water resistant to a depth of 49 feet.  This camera can take a beating, and is great for swimming, snorkeling, and getting beer splashed on it at parties. The ViviCam 5399 features a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor, an 8.25mm (approx 50mm equivalent) fixed-focal length lens.

The ViviCam 5399 digital camera is really quite a step up from the Vivitar ViviCam 8018 discussed above.  The LCD screen on the back of this model is 2.4 inches, compared to the 8018’s 1.8 inches.  Images can be composed and viewed post-capture on ViviCam 5399’s 2.4" TFT color LCD screen. Like the camera discussed above, the ViviCam 5399 can also capture AVI video clips for viewing on your computer or uploading to YouTube and other online applications. Unlike the Vivitar ViviCam 8018, however, this ViviCam 5399 comes with 32Mb of built-in memory (compared to only 16), and accepts SD/MMC memory cards up to 2GB capacity.

The Water Resistant Vivitar ViviCam 5399 includes AntiShake technology, built-in flash with Red-Eye Reduction, USB 1.1 connectivity, and 32Mb of built-in memory.

The Vivitar ViviCam 5399 comes with a copy of PhoTags Express software, which enables you to catalog and archive your photos (and prevents file duplication), crop them, make color and tonal adjustments, add captions, and other image editing functions.

This camera feels like it can be tossed around without a hitch.  It doesn’t feel solid, but it does feel light weight and simple.  If you like pool parties, the beach, bar hopping with your buddies, and outdoor activities, and you want a camera along with you for ride, then the ViviCam 5399 might be the right choice for you.

Price: $74.95

Pros: It’s a Water Resistant Digital Camera that is less than $100.  Enough Said.
Cons: No optical zoom. Smallish size aperture/lens delivers mediocre image quality.

Where to Buy:

B&H Photo Video – $74.95 with same-day shipping.

3. THE SIMPLEST DESIGN and EASIEST TO USE

Samsung SL30     The Samsung SL30 Digital Camera is the easiest digital camera, irrespective of price, that I’ve ever used.  This 10.2 megapixel digital camera has a very useful 3x optical zoom lens, which  delivers a 35-105mm focal range, great for wide-angle and short-telephoto shooting.  The Samsung SL30 tops the list in price for great sub $100 cameras, coming in at $99.99, but if ease-of-use and good picture quality are priorities, then this is the camera for you.

What I like most about the Samsung SL30 is the no-nonsense simple design.  There aren’t any superfluous buttons or design elements on the exterior casing.  What’s more, the camera is designed to make taking beautiful pictures, straight-out-of-the-box, a snap.  The default settings will have the user up and running in seconds.  There are very few "fancy" features to muddle things up.  The SL30 feature that I found most useful is a Digital Image Stabilization system that helps deliver sharp images, even in low-light conditions. The system compensates for the shaking of your hands in an effort to eliminate motion blur. The camera’s Face Detection system is a nifty feature that automatically focuses on faces, helping you to take better face pics of you and your pals.  This is a great feature if you want a camera to take simple, good quality shots for facebook, myspace, etc.

The Samsung SL30 ’s large rear 2.5" LCD screen allows you to easily accurately compose and review images. The SL30 also has a  very useable and handy movie mode, which records video in MPEG4 format.  The sound quality isn’t great, but it is acceptible.

Dimensions: 2.5 x 3.7 x 1" (94.1 x 62.7 x 25.2mm)

Pros: Good picture quality.  Simple to setup and use. Sleek design.
Cons: Uses up AA batteries faster than the others. 

Where to Buy:

B&H Photo Video – $99.99 with same-day shipping.

J&R Electronics – $99.99 with same-day shipping.

4. THE BEST PHOTO QUALITY

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 has fewer megapixels than most of the cameras on this list, yet has the best picture quality.  Megapixels aren’t everything.  In fact, when measuring the quality of photos that a digital camera is capable of taking, it falls pretty low on the totem poll.   Megapixel ratings are good for marketing, but not that important for bottom-line performance. The reason why the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 is the best on this list for photo quality is because of the superb quality of the lens.

Panasonic Lumix digital cameras are known for their great performing "Leica" brand lenses.  The 3x optical zoom Lumix DC Vario lens featured in this sub $100 camera is no slouch, and provides a wide equivalent focal length of 33 – 100mm on a 35mm film camera, but the 4.8x extra optical zoom and 4x digital zoom provide tremendous image flexibility for this digital..

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 Digital Camera features 8.1 megapixel resolution and offers superb image detail due to the excellent quality lens. Other features include the Panasonic Intelligent Image Stabilization system with MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) and Intelligent ISO Control compensates for the effects of hand-shake and subject movement, making it possible to capture clear, crisp photos indoors, at night, during action shots, or when taking macro close-ups.

The exterior casing of the Panasonic DMC-LS80 has a sleek ergonomic design and feel that makes taking quality shots easier.  The camera simply looks great anf feels even better in your hands.  The 2.5 inch LCD is quite bright, and makes it easy to frame and view your images and videos in all lighting conditions. The DMC-LS80 is powered by two simple AA batteries and the camera also accepts large-capacity SDHC memory cards, giving users more flexibility in shooting and recording.

Dimensions: 2.5 x 3.7 x 1.2" (62 x 94 x 30mm)

Pros: Superb picture quality.  Lots of features. Ergonomic design.
Cons: A little on the bulky side.  Not a comfortable fit in your pocket.

Where to Buy:

B&H Photo Video – $90.95 for silver, 94.95 for black – with same-day shipping.

5. THE MOST COMPACT – EASIEST TO FIT IN YOUR POCKET

Casio Exilim Z80    The Casio Exilim Z80 is last year’s model, but can be yours at a significant discount at J&R (www.jr.com).  Originally $149, it’s now on sale for $99, and has because of this recent price reduction, it has earned a place on the top 5 digital cameras under $100 list.  The camera offers pretty good image quality, and has an 8.1 megapixel CCD.  But what is most impressive about the Casio Exilim Z80 is its size.

At only 0.7" thick, 3.53" wide, and 2.03" high, it fits easily into your shirt or jeans pocket.

The Casio EX-Z80 features an 8.1 megapixel sensor and Casio’s Exilim Engine 2.0, which "delivers sharper photos and higher-quality videos using less energy than ever before-and at faster speeds, thanks to an improved signal processor." There’s a 2.6-inch monitor, face and smile detection technologies, an interesting auto shutter feature, a 3x optical zoom lens, a little over 12 MB of internal memory, and an ISO sensitivity range of 64 to 1600. The camera accepts SD, SDHC, MMC and MMCplus memory media and Casio includes a rechargeable lithium ion battery, battery charger with AC power cord, USB and AV cables, a wrist strap, CD-ROM, and basic reference material with each camera.

Dimensions: 2.03" x 3.53" x 0.7" (62 x 94 x 30mm)

Pros: Very compact and truly pocket size. Good picture quality.  Rechargeable battery.
Cons: Tiny included memory is worthless.

Where to Buy:

J&R Electronics – $99.95 – with same-day shipping.

Amazon.com – $99.95

Is Home Theater Any Good in Tiny Spaces?

Most of people do not live in mansions with dedicated home theater rooms.  Nope, the majority of us spend our days and nights hunkered down in smaller spaces.  And for urbanites and university students, "smaller spaces" translates into "shoe-box size."  University students and city dwellers in particular are often confined to dorm sized studios, or one and if you’re lucky, a two bedroom apartments.  If  that sounds like you, I’ll betcha that you probably view your television shows and movies in your living room, and probably even in your bedroom.  
 

The problem is that living rooms and bedrooms have traditionally not been the ideal choice for setting up a home theater.  More often than not, the living room or bedroom in smaller homes is cluttered with lots of other stuff that get in the way of home theater gear (Think: dining tables, desks, chairs, computers, that empty box of pizza you should have thrown out last week) .   Most folks in this living arrangement don’t even bother to consider installing a home theater because they assume, for good reason, that they simply do not have the space for it.  True audiophiles and home theater purists would generally agree with that assumption, but the good news is that as technology advances and home theater becomes more mainstream, we are beginning to see a convergence between consumer grade and near-audiophile grade performance.

What’s more – manufacturers realize that the real money to be made in home theater sales is not to the classes but rather to the masses.  The majority of people do not live in designer homes with home theater rooms, and the trend among manufacturers of home theater gear has been to design equipment around the mainstream population’s space restrictions.  

A few years ago, I would have scoffed at the idea of integrating a home theater setup in a dorm, small room, or bedroom.  Today, however, the idea is not so far fetched.  In fact, one can have a pretty decent setup, albeit with some minor performance limitations.

Your home theater design and solutions options for a small room will be limited, but the bottom line listening and viewing enjoyment can be quite good, and for very little money.

When considering a home theater for your dorm, bedroom, or smaller living room, you must keep a couple of integration points in mind:

1.  Television size
2.  Speaker location

Let’s dig in to the importance of Television Size first…
 

Television Size

Bigger is not always better.  I repeat, bigger is not always better (Unfortunately, nobody ever told that to my ex-wife). In fact, in smaller rooms, a smaller set is often the better choice from a viewing quality standpoint.  

In home theater integration, it is important to consider what’s called "Optimum Viewing Distance."

The optimum TV viewing distance is correlated to the size of your television set.  In other words, if you have a large screen, you’d want to sit further away from the screen than if you had a smaller screen with the same resolution, in order to realize the same clarity and picture definition

Many people considering home theater tend to shop for the largest screen that their budget will allow, when in fact, a smaller screen would provide a much more enjoyable viewing experience (and save them some dough too).  A little bit of planning is neccesary when contemplating your TV purchase.  

I stated earlier that the optimum viewing distance is directly correlated to the screen size, but there is a caveat to that statement.  There are other factors to take in to conseration, such as resolution (720p vs. 1080p), refresh rate, contrast ratio, etc.  But in a nutshell, a good rule of thumb to stick to when planning your TV purchase is the "2 to 5 Rule."

The "2 to 5 Rule" simply states that for optimum viewing, the nearest seat to the TV should be no closer than a distance equal to twice (2x) the screen width.  The furthest seat from the TV should be no further than five times (5x) the width of the screen.

What this means is that while you may be tempted to spring for the 52" LCD for your bedroom or dorm, your room would have to be big enough that  its dimensions would allow you to sit between 104" (8.5 ft.) and 260" (21.5 ft.) from the television. 

This is because big televisions have bigger pixels than small televisions.  When you sit too close, you will begin seeing pixelation in the image.  Pixelation is no fun for anyone!

Sound System & Speaker Locations

For small rooms, the most practical solution for the sound and DVD portion of your home theater system is to go the all-in-one "home-theater-in-a-box" route.  A lot of dudes like the idea of going with separate components and high-end speakers, no matter what the size of the room for the application.  That notion can be problematic because gear that is designed for larger rooms may perform optimally at levels that would be excessive and unenjoyable in small rooms.  Remember, bigger is not always better.

Home-theater-in-a-box or HTIBs, are usually the simplest and cheapest way to get a decent home theater experience in your small room.

HTIBs come in all different flavors, but the most common configurations are 5.1 systems and 2.1 systems.  5.1 and 2.1 simply refers to the number of sattelite speakers + the subwoofer.  A 5.1 system, for example, comes with 5 speakers and 1 subwoofer.  A 2.1 system has 2 speakers and 1 subwoofer.

With 5.1 setups, the speakers include two (2) front speakers, two (2) rear surround speakers, one (1) center channel, plus the subwoofer.

2.1 configurations include two (2) front speakers plus one (1) subwoofer.  

The emphasis of 2.1 systems is convenience over performance.  A 5.1 system will provide you with a truer and better quality home theater experience, however, if you’re lacking available space for speaker locations, a 2.1 will be a better answer.

Is VUDU a TiVo Killer?

VUDU’s self-titled set-top-box has certainly made quite the name for itself since it’s debut on the market.

Whether or not that name is positive one, however, is most certainly up for debate.

Review by Joshua Fienberg

Prices Start at $149… Time to Kiss Cable Goodbye?

To discover the convenience and excitement of VUDU’s movie on-demand service, all you need is a fast Internet connection and a VUDU Player.  There are no monthly subscription costs, no recurring fees, no restrictive user agreements, etc.

Click Here for In-Depth Information on the VUDU products at VUDU.com

FEATURES OVERVIEW

Movies On-Demand
Access over 16,000 movies and TV titles from all Hollywood studios and leading independent distributors directly from your HDTV.

New Movies Weekly
Watch newly released movies the same day the DVD becomes available. No worrying about it being in-stock at the video store, or having to queue it up online. Even watch the trailer before you decide to rent or buy.

HDX™ Movies
Only VUDU gives you the freedom to choose between an instant-start HD movie and a higher quality HDX download, both offered at the same price.
Learn more

World’s Largest HD Library
With over 2000+ titles in native 1080p VUDU has the largest collection available anywhere, physical media included. Rent HD movies in native 1080p or SD movies can be up-scaled to 1080i/p resolution and get the best viewing experience on your HDTV.

VUDU Labs
Access millions of free videos and photos from popular Internet sites like YouTube, Flickr and Picasa, free On-demand television and games, plus free Internet radio from Pandora.
Learn more

Instant Convenience
Having VUDU means that you don’t need to plan anymore. With a large catalog of new releases and library titles available instantly you will never need to drive or wait for the mail again.

No Monthly Fee
Rent standard definition movies from 99¢ to $3.99, high definition and HDX movies from $3.99 to $5.99. Purchase TV episodes for $1.99. Purchase standard definition movies from $4.99 to $19.99, select high definition movies from $13.99 to $23.99.* No monthly subscription or contract.

BOTTOM LINE

The Good
Set-top box that plays Internet-delivered video content at resolutions up to full 1080p HD; solid selection of movies and TV shows, as well as adult content, for sale and rental; no monthly fees; standard-definition and some HD selections start immediately; excellent onscreen interface and scroll-wheel remote; simple setup and configuration.

The Bad
Best-quality HD content requires download queuing before viewing; can’t stream media from networked PCs; can’t transfer movies to portable devices for on-the-go viewing; no built-in Wi-Fi; rentals limited to 24-hour viewing period; impressive selection of titles still pales in comparison with the tens of thousands available from Netflix and Blockbuster; compatibility with universal remotes requires add-on dongle; box is worthless if company ever goes under.

The Bottom Line
Vudu sets itself apart from similar Internet video-on-demand boxes such as Apple and Netflix by delivering movies at better quality–up to full 1080p HD resolution and 5.1 surround sound.

To Get the VUDU Directly from VUDU’s Website