November 1st, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: E-book readers

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 9:21 pm

Categories: Gadgets, Holiday Gift Guide, Kindle, Sony, ebooks

Tags: Sony Corp., Amazon.com Inc., E-book Reader, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Wireless, eInk, Ebook Reader, Kindle DX, Professional Document

In the second half of 2009 we saw some major updates to the market leading ebook readers, followed by announcements of new products coming at the end of 2009 and into 2010. We now see wireless and touchscreen functionality being added to these electronic readers, as well as access to more content. With some of these readers you can now check out electronic copies of books from your local library and have access to thousands of books for free. Adobe Digital Editions PDF and ePub are becoming content standards that are rolling out across most of these readers so you won’t be limited by access to content and can look for a reader that you find functional and priced right.

I personally ordered the new Barnes & Noble Nook that is scheduled to ship at the end of November. The interesting aspects of this device include the dual displays (one small color one for library browsing and a larger 6 inch eInk display for reading), ability to loan books to others for 14 days, connectivity via both AT&T 3G and WiFi, and ability to sync bookmarks, annotations, and last reading location across multiple supported platforms. Sony also has their wireless Daily Edition PRS-900 coming out before the end of 2009. In 2010, we will see more of these readers, including the Plastic Logic QUE also powered by the B&N eBookstore.

Ebook readers are a convenient way to carry several titles with you in a small package and are perfect for the business traveler. Prices of new ebooks are now less expensive than hardback titles and in many cases can be downloaded and accessed within seconds of discovering them. Most all new releases are available in electronic format and 2010 should be an exciting year for ebook fans.

Amazon Kindle

At the beginning of 2009, Amazon updated the Kindle (often referred to as the jump from Kindle 1 to Kindle 2) with a much sleeker form factor, reorganization of controls, and more integrated memory. Amazon recently added an international Kindle to the mix with support for wireless access outside the US and then made all new Amazon Kindle devices the same US/international version to avoid confusion with multiple models. They switched from wireless access provided by Sprint to wireless access provided by AT&T in the US.

The Kindle has about a third of the front taken up by a QWERTY keyboard that you can use to look up words or search for books in your library and on the Amazon store and also enter in notes. The Kindle holds up to 1,500 books and is sleek at only 0.36 inches thick. Best sellers and new releases generally start at $9.99. Unfortunately, the Kindle has limited format support and does not support checking out ebooks from your local library. Native PDF files are not supported and must first be converted to be read on the Kindle.

The Amazon Kindle revolutioned the ebook market with the wireless capability and easy access to their content, but others have now caught up and surpassed the functionality and content access of the Kindle.

Price: $259.00 MSRP

[Check out my review and the ZDNet Reviews page for the Amazon Kindle]

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November 1st, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Digital Media Players

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 9:20 pm

Categories: Apple, Gadgets, Holiday Gift Guide, MP3 players, Microsoft, Portable gaming, Sony, Zune

Tags: Device, Apple iPod, Archos, Microsoft Zune, Apple iPod Nano, Apple Inc., Video, Archos 5 Internet Tablet, Pixel Resolution, Sony X-Series Walkman

For this Digital Media Player Holiday Guide we will be taking a look at the best devices that offer a complete music playing and video watching experience. There are still some devices that specialize in one or the other, but the capability has improved in most of them so that both types of media content can be enjoyed. Last year we looked at both MP3 players and portable digital video players in two Guides, but are merging them this year since most perform both functions well. Some of these devices can be used for web browsing, 3rd party application usage, and gaming, but we will focus on the music and video support while mentioning some of these more advanced capabilities.

You will see some of the same brand names in this Holiday Guide, but you will also see that updated models continue to improve on the media experience and for the most part you can’t go wrong with these players. You will see that the Guide is arranged in order from highest price device to lowest price device since price is a major factor when you look at one of these media players to purchase.

Archos 5 Internet Tablet

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet is powered by the Google Android operating system and is focused on the media experience with Internet browsing also being a prominent feature. Archos has been know at excelling in portable video playing capability and the Archos 5 continues that tradition. You can view HD video content and photos on the 4.8 inch 800×480 pixel resolution display. The Archos 5 Internet Tablet supports the following video formats; MPEG-4 HD (up to 720p), MPEG-48, H.264, WMV, MKV, and M-JPEG. Supported audio formats include MP3, WMA, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, and Flac. There are some optional plug-ins available to further enhance support on the Archos 5.

In addition to the various hard drive capacities, the Archos 5 has a microSD card slot with support up to 32GB, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, FM receiver with RDS, and FM transmitter. There are a couple additional accessories to extend the functionality of the device to your TV as well.

With the Google Android operating system you will find that many third party apps seen on Google Android smartphones also work on the Archos 5 Tablet.

Price: $499.99 MSRP for 500GB unit, $399.99 for 160GB, and $379.99 for 32GB Flash drive

[Check out review pages for the 500GB and 32GB models]

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November 1st, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Personal Navigation Devices

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 9:19 pm

Categories: GPS, Gadgets, Holiday Gift Guide, On the road

Tags: MSN, Device, TomTom, Garmin Ltd., Maps, Traffic Alert, Garmin Lock Anti-theft Feature, TomTom Go 740 LIVE, GPS, Bluetooth

Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) were very popular in 2008 and last Christmas we saw a number of manufacturers vying for the consumer dollars. I see quite a few people with these mounted in their cars and am not sure the market is as hot for PNDs as it once was. The iPhone brought attention to the fact that it, along with many other smartphones, can serve as more than capable GPS navigation devices. We also recently heard the news that Google is rolling out a free GPS navigation solution on the Google Android platform. That said, if you really need to get somewhere and don’t have a paper map it is more comforting to rely on a dedicated GPS navigation solution than a phone whose battery might die in the middle of your trip or a device where a cell phone carrier signal is required to get your maps.

Looking through the latest reviews on ZDNet, it looks like Garmin and TomTom are the two main players left standing in the PND market. There is some limited connectivity with some of these solutions that is provided via the FM radio frequency via the MSN Direct service, but please be aware that Microsoft has announced that MSN Direct service is ending on 1 January 2012. I am not sure what Garmin and TomTom will do with devices that support MSN Direct, but the devices we will look at here are good to go for another couple of years. Let’s take a look at the entry level and high end of the spectrum from both of these manufacturers in this GPS Holiday Guide.

Garmin Entry Level

Garmin Nuvi 205W

The Garmin Nuvi 205W has a 4.3 inch widescreen 480×272 pixel resolution display so you won’t miss out on that next turn. Maps are preloaded on the device with an optional SD card for storing more data. It is a fairly sleek and slim device (4.8″W x 2.9″H x .8″D and 6.1 ounces) so it is easy to take with you in your pocket or purse to keep it safe from thieves.

The device is a bit limiting as far as PNDs go with no spoken street names, no lane assist, no real-time data, and Garmin Locate functionality.

Price: $189.99 MSRP with online price around $140

[Read the review]
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November 29th, 2008

Holiday Gift Guide 2008: Portable digital video players

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 7:47 pm

Categories: Gadgets, Holiday Gift Guide, On the road

Tags: Hard Drive, Device, Archos, Digital Video, Video, ARCHOS 7, ARCHOS 605, COWON A3, Corporate Communications, Digital Media

A couple days ago I posted my Holiday Guide for MP3/audio players and a couple of commenters asked where ARCHOS and Cowon were on the list. I tried to stay focused on audio focused devices in that guide, although many digital media players today can play both audio and video. This guide focuses on devices that have the primary function of video playback, that similarly can also play audio.

While the iPod touch and even the Microsoft Zune are very good digital video players that many find better than a dedicated personal video player, I am not including them in this guide because the focus of those devices is music first so you can check them out in the MP3 player guide if you are interested in them.

The digital video players covered in this guide have good multi-format support, compelling hardware, and some other unique features. These video playing devices are good devices to have for commuters, business travelers, and those that want to enjoy video content away from a large TV at home. Keep in mind though that you can also use your iPod, Zune, iPhone or even PSP for enjoying video on the go too.

ARCHOS 7

There seem to be two main companies focused on leading the digital video player market and the one company who has devices that I have personally seen and used for a bit is ARCHOS. Their newest devices is just now hitting the streets and is actually marketed as an Internet Media Tablet. The ARCHOS 7 is the premier product in the ARCHOS lineup. The device has a large 7 inch 800×480 pixels display with 16 million colors and provides support for WMV, AVI, MPEG4, DiVX and Flash video formats. You can stream video content stored on your PC to the ARCHOS 7 via WiFi. YouTube video support is also included.

The ARCHOS 7 comes with either a 160GB or 320GB hard drive, runs a Linux OS, has an integrated 802.11 b/g WiFi radio, USB 2.0 port, supports music playback (MP3, WMA, OGG, and AAC) and image viewing (JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF). You can also use it to browse the web with the integrated Opera browser and Adobe Flash player. The integrated kickstand and stereo speakers allow you to enjoy video content on the go.

There is an optional DVR Station available that lets you use the ARCHOS 7 to schedule and record TV shows right to the device hard drive and then playback on the ARCHOS or a larger TV, which could be useful in a hotel room.

There is also a 5 inch display model with the same features, called the ARCHOS 5 that comes in 60GB, 120GB, and 250GB hard drive sizes.

Price: $449.99 for 160GB and $549.99 for 320GB

[Read the review (320GB][Read the review (160GB]
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November 26th, 2008

Holiday Gift Guide 2008: GPS personal navigation devices

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 10:25 am

Categories: Gadgets, Holiday Gift Guide, On the road

Tags: Device, TomTom, Garmin Ltd., Navigation Device, Traffic Update, Bluetooth Radio, Lane Assistant Pro Feature, TomTom GO 930T, GPS, Handhelds

As a person who travels for work quite often and as a father to daughters who play sports all over the place, a GPS navigation device is an essential piece of equipment for me. Most of my mobile phones have GPS receivers and they work well in a pinch, but it is a much better experience to have a large screen dedicated navigation device and these are quite popular today with prices that are very reasonable. There are also high end devices packed with features and I’ll present the latest high end and lower end devices from the major GPS manufacturers in this guide.

There is one new device that actually has a constant internet connectivity (Dash was another that recently left the hardware business) so you can get real-time traffic updates, map and data updates sent wirelessly, and the latest and greatest search data via the internet. One of the best features of this connected device is the ability to send destinations to the device via a web interface from your home or office.

Other GPS devices use the MSN Direct network to send data (movie times, gas prices) one way to your device. Then there are others that focus just on navigation and mapping functions, which are the core functions in these GPS personal navigation devices. Some cars have them integrated, but for the rest of us we can now buy one priced from US$100 to US$300 and be completely satisfied with the experience. Let’s take a look at a few of the best devices on the market today.

TeleNav Shotgun

I posted a review of the TeleNav Shotgun and continue to use it as my primary navigation device. The name may sound a bit strange at first, but it sure brings back the days of my teenage youth when we had defined and strict rules for claiming the “shotgun” position in the car. The TeleNav Shotgun brings the well-known TeleNav software (found on mobile phones from US carriers with different branding, such as Sprint Navigation or AT&T Navigator) to a dedicated device.

The hardware is fairly well designed with a soft touch rubberized body, large 4.3 inch 480×272 pixel touch screen display, and microSD card slot. A SIM card is inserted and included for wireless connectivity. The device focuses on navigation and points of interest (POI) with over 11 million loaded on the device. Real-time traffic updates are downloaded from the internet and provided to you on the device as part of the subscription service (fees range from US$9.96 to US$11.99 per month, depending on length of your contract). All the other GPS devices provide traffic and info via FM in a one-way form of communication while the TeleNav Shotgun provides two way communications for live searches and even more to come.

I personally find the capability to send destination addresses to the device through a web browser at my home or office to be an invaluable wireless feature. I can send a month’s worth of soccer field locations to the device and never have to worry about printing up maps or getting lost. The gas price feature is also quite handy to use for finding the lowest price around you when you need it or finding where the closest diesel station may be found.

If you purchase the TeleNav Shotgun on Monday, 1 December you can also get six months of service for free as part of their Cyber Monday deal.

Price: $299.99 with three free months of service

[Read my first impressions article][Check out my image gallery][Read the review]
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