Archive for the 'Gadgets & Technology' Category

Canon Powershot SD1000 Digital Camera

According to comScore, online spending was up considerably this year…19% over 2006 sales. While I didn’t partake in any online shopping or fall victim to the long lines around Best Buy and Circuit City, I was definitely front & center for the action on “Black Friday” night.

I’ve been in the market for a number of things this year. But because I curbed my spending after opening RETOX, my hands were tied…credit cards locked away. After reading an article my friend, Danielle, wrote about how Canon is the unofficial bloggers choice for cameras, I couldn’t help but conform to the masses. Circuit City was running a Black Friday special on the Canon PowerShot SD1000. I read a few reviews, a majority of which were extremely positive, and giggled at those written by the overly critical camera geeks. At $149.99, they had me at “Hello”.

Since I’ve relied heavily on my mobile phone camera for snapshots, I’ve missed the convenience and quality of a digi. Since I purhcased the SD1000, I’ve used it frequently. The picture quality is great — relatively speaking, of course (you get what you pay for). Camera geeks can still appreciate this camera despite its lack of manual controls. And although it weighs 4.4 ounces, you definitely notice the weighty high build quality. Best of all, it’s small. It’s portability makes it perfect for capturing those “Kodak moments” like this one, which was taken with my BlackBerry camera.

Here’s a shot from my SD1000 of RETOX. I used this photo in a recent ad.

Photo taken w/no flash — RETOX BAR SAN ANTONIO

I’ve only experimented with the video feature once, and after uploading it to my laptop, I was satisfied…impressed actually. I’m convinced that this is one of the best — if not THE best — bang for the buck digis. Now all I need is a Canon PIXMA MX700 or any photo printer for that matter.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Goodbye, Samsung SCH-U740! Hello, BlackBerry Pearl!

I couldn’t help it! The frustration grew and grew. While the Samsung SCH-U740 arouses curiousities…a “crowd pleaser” if you will…I had a hard time warming up to the phone.

My main concern initially was whether or not I would be able to effectively use the “cramped” QWERTY keyboard. I have large hands; but the only character I had issues with was the “P”, which is located near a raised lump in the phone. The keyboard definitely caters to obsessed IMers. I hated the fact that I couldn’t find the parenthesis buttons. I like using smileys.

Using the Internet browser proved frustrating as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 9% [?]

iThink iPass On iPhone

Steve over at HMTK.com recently posted a pic that provides yet another cynical look at the iPhone suggesting its lack of functionality. In my humble opinion, the iPhone is certainly an example of great marketing. Prior to the iPhone launch, I made small comparisons to the LG Prada phone…such as “the iPhone won’t be able to do this, but the Prada phone can”. I was quickly convinced by Brian Lam that my comparisons were nonsense. Fine. I still can’t stand the undeserved hype the iPhone is receiving. It’s cool…yes. But that’s it. So, here’s a comparison I should have been making that ISN’T nonsense…to the Nokia N95. Ok…maybe a little less nonsensical.

You can check out more comparisons of the Nokia N95 to the Apple iPhone on the SymbianGuru blog, including a variety of Mac/PC video spoofs (N95 vs iPhone).

iWPhone WordPress Plugin and Theme
While roaming around on the Internet yesterday, I stumbled upon a WordPress Plugin that caters to iPhone users.

The iWPhone WordPress Plugin and Theme automatically reformats your blog’s content for optimized viewing on Apple’s iPhone. It detects the iPhone’s User Agent and serves up the content with the special theme only to iPhone visitors, all other browsers will view your WordPress blog with your current theme.

You can download this plugin on ContentRobot.

By the way, thanks to the lovely Meleah for her inspiration for the title to this thread.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Blaise Aguera y Arcas of Microsoft Live Labs Demos Seadragon

Blaise Aguera y Arcas of Microsoft Live Labs demos a new technology called photosynth though its recently acquired Seadragon software. at the annual TED Conference. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It began in 1984, and The TED Conference is held annually in Monterey, Mexico. Content has expanded to include science, business, the arts, and global issues. In this particular video, using photographs of like Notre Dame (among others) from various places around the Web, Blaise Aguera y Arcas wows the crowd with the amazing abilities of Seadragon.

Popularity: 4% [?]

First Look at Microsoft’s Milan Surface Computer

Early this morning, I read a post by Jon Fortt at the Business 2.0 Blog, The Utility Belt, about Microsoft’s surface computer originally codenamed “Milan”. The Microsoft Surface as it is now referred to is meant to give certain businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, and other retailers an interactive marketing tool. Although the concept is really cool, Jon poses some excellent concerns with regard to practicality and maintenance of the Microsoft Surface.

The surface computer features some key attributes:

• Direct interaction. Users can actually “grab” digital information with their hands, interacting with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse or keyboard.
• Multi-touch. Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger like a typical touch-screen, but up to dozens of items at once.
• Multi-user. The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.
• Object recognition. Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger different types of digital responses, including the transfer of digital content.

In the following video, Pete Thompson, general manager of Microsoft Surface Computing, demonstrates how the Microsoft Surface is useful for viewing photos and how the computer might be functional in a retail setting…using a T-Mobile store as an example.

For more information on Microsoft’s latest technology, check out this article on PRNewswire. The story also includes more information regarding which retailers are already slated to use the Microsoft Surface.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Samsung SCH-U740: A New Twist In Mobile Technology

A few weeks ago, I decided that it was time to replace my Nokia 6682, which has been good to me in a year and a half. Obviously…because it took me that long to replace it. I normally have a new mobile phone every 6-9 months. The one I really wanted, the Sony Ericsson K790, is just too expensive for now. I’ve been in love with it since I saw it in Casino Royale. With the anticipation of the iPhone…and my impatience…I decided to go with the Samsung SCH-U740.

As a lurker on HowardForums.com, I’m usually aware of the latest and greatest. But I seem to have missed the Samsung despite its charm and neat looks…my attention still on the K790. It must be fascinating because I’ve never looked twice at a flip phone since my Motorola StarTac. I’m a candy bar guy. But this was neither…not really. It was definitely a new “twist” in mobile phone functionality.

The first time I saw the phone, I was browsing around ShackkDiesel’s mobile blog. He had announced that Verizon released the U740 on its website. I checked it out immediately. Ends up it was released on other sites (WireFly, LetsTalk, etc) in gold. Ewww. It was destiny that I’d waited so long. Only Verizon had it available in black…that day…for about $50 more.

Samsung SCH-U740 vs BlackBerry 8700c — picture taken with Nokia 6682

The first thing that came to mind was the QWERTY keyboard, and that it might be too small for my big hands. I read many reviews that compared the Samsung U740 to the LG Envy, which a friend of mine used to have…and another guy compared his to a BlackBerry. While the keyboard looked crowded, I didn’t flinch. Not n xpert txt msgr like me. AYKM! (Sorry…it happens sometimes.)

Now that I’ve been using for awhile, I really like it. As far as pictures, its very much like my Nokia 6682. With good light and reasonable distance, the pictures were relatively good quality for a camera phone. Close-ups get blurry (see above photo), and colors disappear in the dark…even with the flash. The U740 includes five different resolutions (1280×960, 640×480, 320×240, 160×120, and a Picture ID setting) and three quality settings (Fine, Normal, Economy). Unfortuntely, the 4x zoom doesn’t work in the 1280×960 setting.

One small frustration I have is with the battery. Samsung rates talk time at 3.5 hours and standby time of 8.3 days. In my experience, the talk time is fairly accurate. But because I use the phone often, I usually have to charge it everyday. This is where I get frustrated. Both my BlackBerry and Nokia charged from one bar to full power in about an hour or so. In that time, the Samsung goes from one bar to three [out of 4] in that time. It definitely requires an overnight feeding.

I’m still playing with all the features of the phone. For a more thorough read, check out the c|net Samsung U740 review. It includes an informative video review as well.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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