Wildview Infrared Digital Video Recorder with 24 IR Emitters, 32 MB Memory

For the amount charged, I don't believe there is a better deal than the Wildview 5.0 mp IR game camera. Sure, there are more pricey brands available with extra features that SOME of us may find necessary. After 12 weeks of use, I am pleased with the day/night picture quality of the Wildview unit. The 5mp daylight color images can be zoomed to get a closer look w/o loosing adequate picture quality. Yes, there have been a few "false" triggers but it comes with a 1gig SD card (for well over 100 images) and I have a 2gig back-up to exchange when I'm curious. The 30' trigger range is not ideal but can be overcome by setting the camera at active locations. I have obtained several sets of images, so far, of deer at about 35'-40' under clear sky in open woods. (Go figure?) My son and I will purchase additional units to monitor active mineral sites and active deer trails. These 5mp IR units are a giant step improvement over earlier models. If you're interested in monitoring an area or just curious about what's around, these are great fun and affordable cameras. Make sure the camera is about 4.5'-6' off the ground with a 1"diameter stick at the top rear for improved coverage area. Our best results have been with a 1 min. delay with 3 pictures per triggering.

This was the second WildView camera I've purchased, the first one was a regular flash model that has worked well for two years particularly through our very cold winters.

So I decided to buy this IR model. It worked great...for the FIRST TWO WEEKS. Then it quit.

Called the company. They said no problem, send it back and they'd replace it. Two weeks after I knew they'd received it, I called to find out the status on the replacement. A very nice gentleman informed me that they were on back order.

Three weeks more pass with nothing from WildView. I just called and was told it still on BACK ORDER WITH NO ESTIMATE FOR DELIVERY. They won't refund my money because I bought it from Amazon. Can't get a refund from Amazon because WildView now has the camera.

If you do buy one and it breaks, send it back to Amazon. Don't even try to exchange it with WildView. They have a serious problem in their supply chain and, quite possibly, their quality control at the factory (probably in China).

Amazon claims to still have these units in stock. WildView should buy the Amazon stock and send out the replacement units. I have to wonder just how many replacement units they have on back order.

I'm going to have to buy another camera in the interim (definitely NOT a WildView) since I have no idea how long they're going to sit on this problem.

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When I purchased this for my father-in-law I was looking for something simple to use that gave him good picture quality. I got that and more. Its very simple to use and the picture quality is great! The night pictures are crisp and clear. Suprised at the quality of this camera after I had priced more expensive models. It's very easy to use. The only thing I can say negative about it was that it didn't come with any instructions, but they were easlily found online. Great value.

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Unfortunatly the 2 cameras arrived damaged. Both cameras have the lens filter out of place. I didnt notice the problem untill I had them all set up and ready to use. Amazon promptly sent 2 replacements, they also had the same exact problem.

I think they were probably damaged during shippment. The packaging was minimal. UPS's attitude is "Who cares? its insured". I have received lots of damaged items from UPS.

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I got this camera about 18 months ago, and it's been outdoors since the day I got it. For much of that time, it's been in a semi-sheltered place, but for at least a few months it was out in the rain and snow. No problems from the exposure, although the metal latches have started to rust. I've gotten great photos and video at night and in daytime. I prefer video, because the photos can sometimes be blurry if the animal is moving fast. I can get about 85 15-second videos on a 2 GB card, and the rechargeable batteries last for about 2 weeks.

The downsides are that it is a pain to reset the clock every time I change the batteries, and it's not very easy or intuitive to set the time and date. Once the camera inexplicably erased everything on the SD card. The longer I've had it, the slower its trigger seems to be -I'm seeing a lot more videos with nothing in them, so I'm guessing the animal came and went before the camera started recording. And sometimes it shoots in infrared during daylight for no reason that I can tell, which results in a washed-out video. Cleaning the sensor usually helps with that. That's about all the problems I've had with this camera. I've been very pleased with this purchase -I was looking for something relatively cheap but still good quality to see what animals were wandering around near the house, and this fit the bill. I've gotten a lot of entertainment out of it.

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Coby DVD-R1300 5.1 Channel DVD Player/Recorder with Progressive Scan & AV Input

• Slim-line, progressive scan DVD player/recorder with 5.1-channel surround sound output
• Records to both DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW discs; plays CD-R/RW, MP3, JPEG
• Includes FireWire input on front for connecting digital video camcorders
• Connections: Composite A/V (1 out, 2 in), S-Video (1 out), component (Y/Pb/Pr) video (1 out), RF (1 in)
• Dolby Digital decoding, coaxial digital audio output

We had two other "inexpensive" dvd players that died recently and needed to replace them. This unit jumped out at me for three reasons, the ability to record to DVD, built-in TV tuner and the price. Setup was pretty simple and now the kids can watch their DVDs again. The recording quality of this unit is "ok". The unit has three different types of inputs: CABLE, RCA and S-Video, so it should work for most situtations. I gave the unit 4 stars, because it is not a high-priced or high-quality system and it met my low to medium quality device expectations.

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This Coby product arrived defective: power would come on but unit would not function. Otherwise, Coby products are great and this unit would have had great "bang for the buck". In fact, after reading the manual I have to say that this product would have been too advanced for this user.

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I purchased this unit not too long ago and find it very reliable as far as playing the multitude of discs that it features. However, upon reviewing the manual many times, I have tried to understand why the Technical Reviewer states that it can record to DVD-R and DVD-RW discs when the manual plainly states this unit can only record to DVD+R & DVD+RW discs.

Aside from that, I have found this unit very attractive and reliable. The picture quality is very good and the functions are easy to handle.

The greatest feature about this Coby DVDR1300 Player/Recorder is that it has a built-in 5.1 channel tuner which can be hooked up to your TV set. Audio cables are necessary for the sound and included with this unit.

Overall, this unit which is reasonably priced is a sure bet for anyone looking for a notably fine product and a satisfactory performance.

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HAD A LOT OF PROBLEMS AT FIRST BUT IT'S A LITTLE BETTER NOW. I HAVE HAD BETTER AND I DEFINITELY WOULD NOT PURCHASE AGAIN

Hace unos dias compre este modelo aprovechando el excelente precio, y por supuesto luego de ver algunos "reviews". Es mi primer DVD recorder, por tanto, no tengo ninguna referencia. Pero en general, hace lo que quiero: grabar programas de la tv (el tuner funciona bien) y grabar el monton de mini DV tapes que tengo tomados con mi camara sony. Me parece excelente esta funcion, con la entrada DV. Mi unica queja ahora ahora es el control remoto, poco alcance y necesita que este direccionado exactamente hacia el sensor. Ademas, no siempre responde.

Complete High End 8 Channel Real Time (1TB HD) Full D1 DVR Security Camera CCTV Surveillance System

Purchase was delivered early and arrived exactly as described.

I purchased this system to replace an older system at my house. The quality/clarity of the image is a HUGE improvement over the older cameras. I will agree with another reviewer that it does "white out" faces at night if they get to close to the camera. Fortunately, in my setup most of the cameras are high enough for this not to be an issue. For the few locations where this presented an issue, (i.e. front door), we added a motion detector light which now illuminates the area when someone/something approaches eliminating the "white out" issue. I did not spend any time playing with the camera configuration menu so I am not sure if those settings could be modified to help on this issue.

My hats off to the technical support!!! I called for help and within 20 minutes I received a call back, 30 minutes later I was viewing my cameras on my laptop and my iphone. My knowledge of router configurations is limited, therefore I have spent many hours over the years with different help desks, and this time was by far a superior experience to any other.

Good price, good quality, good technical support.

We purchased this system several months ago for our snowbird place in southern California. We have now got everything installed (did it ourselves) and up and running. Our purchase was only made after extensive research and looking at other reviews of various alternative systems. It seemed to me that the cameras supplied by GW are a cut above the average Costco/Sam's or Walmart type camera system. In fact they are built like little tanks and anything but unobtrusive. If you want something discreet these may be a little bulky but we think they are great.

Installing the cameras was not difficult if you don't mind drilling holes and stringing wiring. Hooking them up to the power box and DVR was pretty straight forward even though the instructions were lacking big time.

Once the cameras were hooked up to the DVR, we noticed how much noise the DVR fan made. This was noted by other reviewers but it is a smooth fan sound which while somewhat intrusive, we find we don't pay much attention to. Great, so now we have all cameras activated and pictures on the DVR. So far so good! That's where the fun began.

We could not figure out how to zoom the cameras or adjust the focus. The little booklet that comes with each camera makes sense only after you've figured out how to do things by some other means. I looked at the very limited number of reviews of these cameras and that is where I found the following important information:

Re ZOOM and FOCUS: !!!!!THE ZOOM AND FOCUS ARE ADJUSTED USING TWO SETSCREWS ON THE BOTTOM OF EACH CAMERA!!!!! They look like they are ordinary fastener nuts of some kind. It turns out they can be rotated with the hex key that is supplied with the cameras to tighten the mounts. Note that manually adjusting the focus is a very sensitive proposition and we ultimately set the cameras up for auto focus.

RE CAMERA SETUP: Again the instructions didn't seem to address this, but as I said earlier, it makes sense after you've sorted it out yourself. The setup is done using a black toggle switch that is located on the wiring that comes already attached to the camera. It looks like a little joystick and has "up", "down" and "left", "right" printed on it. This looks nonsensical until you realize that pushing the toggle stick straight in brings up the setup menu on your DVR monitor. After that it makes sense and you are good to go, although you will need to have someone watching the monitor to let you know what is happening. It's a little tedious but the results are worth it.

We have not finished the setup of all cameras and we note that while the night vision of these cameras exceeds the manufacturer's claims (it's nuts how good they are!!!!!!!!!!!) we find that a person approaching the camera in the dark is lit up so well by the infrared LED's that they are totally whited out. There is no doubt an adjustment for that and when we work that out, I'll update this review.

The next and most important thing for us was setting up the ability to monitor the cameras remotely from our home in British Columbia. While my wife and I are computer literate we are anything but techies. We had figured out that we needed a DDNS (dynamic domain name system) but did not know how to go about setting it up or connecting it to our laptop and DVR. Again the instructions supplied were no help whatsoever.

My wife sent GW an email and they replied with a phone number we could call (626-350-0555). When called they hooked us up with a technician and once she talked to him our problems VANISHED! He took over our computer remotely, got us signed up with a DDNS service of our choice (DYN DNS Pro) and set up everything else we needed. Voila!!!! We can now go to our laptop, type in our server name and bingo, and see the same pictures on our laptop that we can see on our DVR and do it from anywhere.

We want to especially note our appreciation for the assistance of Quyen Nguyen, the technician who assisted my wife. He was friendly, articulate and very professional and man does he know his stuff. GW Security is fortunate to have him to assist its customers. It turns out he is located near Los Angeles, not far from us in the Palm Springs area, so no worries about talking to someone offshore who perhaps does not speak English as well as they should.

In summary, the hardware all seems to be first rate despite a loud-ish fan on the DVR. Now that it's all up and running, it is very impressive. The only AND BIG downside is the failure of GW to retain a qualified technical writer to rewrite their installation and user manuals. With the greatest respect to the individual or individuals who were responsible for GW's current instructions, it is abundantly clear that English is not their first language, with the result that some of the verbiage borders on nonsense.

To GW Security: Please hire a technical writer, you have a great product and you are almost certainly hurting yourself when you frustrate your buyers with terrible documentation!

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LTS LTD2316ME 16CH New Generation Advanced Level DVR

Pro: Cheap (price wise) 16 Ch, 4ch audio, PTZ and alarm support (not used) Duel HDD capable up to 4TB (2x 2TB) small light, Many output types. Every aspect is manageable via web for headless operation. Supports external drives for backup. Recorded video looks great, very smooth and sharp (live view read below). 16 ch on motion sense only uses 200 gigs a month (2TB drive). Motion sense is very easy to set up. Recording options are plenty-full and a breeze to setup. Multiple user accounts with varied permissions. iPhone app works wonderfully. Recently updated web-server now supports chrome and safari using webkit

Con: Very deep, Hard to fit in shallow cabinets. No keyboard support, Only mouse. Live view is choppy and pixelated. Video review could use some work, Not hard, But not the easiest thing to manage. You must set DST up or time stamp on video and system time will always be off and make it very hard to find events based on time.

other: I have always chosen LTS for my DVR installs. never had an issue with the 20+ setups I have done. Solid equipment, Don't let the cheap look fool you!

NAXA Electronics Portable MP3/CD Player, AM/FM Stereo Radio and USB Input (Black/Blue)

• Top loading MP3/CD player
• AM/FM stereo radio cassette player/recorder
• Built-in USB input
• Bass boost control
• CD & MP3 programmable memory

I ordered this to replace an older boombox that I kept in the workshop.

Noticed that it kept saying there was "NoUSB". even though there was a thumbdrive plugged in. The problem was that it takes about 5 to 10 seconds to read the drive and then the menu appears.

My old boombox had a remote, which was handy when placed on an upper shelf. This unit does not have remote capability so you will have to keep it nearby if you fiddle with the knobs often or want to skip to the next song.

For the price, it is a good quality boombox with a fairly good bass sound.

I also like the aux plug in to plug in my mp3 player through the earphone jack.

It does not come with the aux cable so you need to purchase that seperately. A cable with male earphone jacks on both ends.

My shop is dusty, so I don't use the CD player. The USB MP3 playback capability is really a very handy upgrade compared to my old boombox. Find yourself a low profile thumbdrive that doesn't stick up so much if you are going to use the carry handle often.

Since it is portable, the antenna should be a rubber type instead of the metal telescoping. Just my opinion.

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Decent sound. Bought it mostly for the ability to play from a USB drive and auxiliary input which it does fine

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I'm so mad that I bought this thing. The speakers are horrible and drowned out, it sounds like you are in a cave listening to them. I got it specifically for the USB input and mp3 compatibility but I would warn people to look at other systems. This is definitely not worth $40.00. Piece of junk...

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no complaints, so far. Easy to use, compact, and sound is good for what you pay. Much more attrative than last cd player. Most are pretty ugly to have around.

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100hz~13kHz is what the manual says for its frequency response. It only puts out 1.8 watts, but it can get loud. The volume dial is extremely sensitive, and the buttons on the front of the stereo make pretty loud clacking sounds when pushed. I wish I could say it was a click sound, but its a clack. Pretty annoying if you're trying to skip over a song at night, you will wake up others that are in the room. I got this for merely a night radio sort of thing, due to it having a usb port on it. Works very nicely for this use, not so much if you want any bass or treble. Mid-range is its primary ability. Had I known about the buttons clacking as they do, often louder then the music that's playing, I might've skipped this and opt'd for one with a remote, but, it works, its useful, and I no longer have to burn cd's; so that's pretty good, not above average.

NAXA Electronics NPB-251BK Portable CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio

• AM/FM stereo radio with top loading CD player
• 16/19 track programmable memory and LED digital display
• Soft-eject CD cover and included play/pause, skip/search, and repeat function
• Telescopic antenna and Aux-in jack with dynamic high performance speakers
• 2 way power either DC battery or AC power, UL/ETL listed

Makes a good small radio. It's actually even smaller than I thought it'd be but I don't mind since it fits nicely on the small shelf by my computer. The speakers aren't wow, but sound clear and work solid for it's simplicity. It came very quickly and had no problems. My only complaint is that the radio tuner is in the back which makes it almost impossible to change stations without picking it up and turning it around. Also the antenna will only go straight up so don't expect to be able to finagle it much.

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It has very good sound for a small unit. It is very easy to operate for a child. It is used by a six year old and it fits nicely on his desk.

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Great player for the cost, My 5 month old grandson loves it! (So did his mom) It came fast and in perfect shape.

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I was looking for a Portable CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio that I could plug in headphones. The product description didn't state that you couldn't plug in headphones.

I purchased this based on the reviews. Unfortunately, the one I got performed so poorly I am sending it back. Maybe I just got a defective one....

Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Blac

Hi All.

I am comparing this camera to a Flip Mino HD....while it may not be fair, it is the only way I could give an accurate review to this product.

Box Includes:

Camera, removable battery, mini hdmi to hdmi cable (wow), usb extension cable, rubber/silicon skin, and documentation.

So it starts....the battery comes pretty charged and thus it was easy to install and get the unit running. The first set of options you are presented with are the setup for date, time, country. Here is where the first issue begins....the buttons (scroll arrows up, down, right, left) are WAY too sensitive and thus you are moving around even if you dont want to. So I start to set the date...without paying attention....and I quickly notice that the format for the date is dd/mm/yy which is primarily how the eastern part of the world uses the date. I finally figure out that my mind is lacking without coffee and I get the date and time set.... Lets move on.

The camera notifies you that you can hit the play/pause and trash buttons simultaneously to get back to the setup options. Works perfectly. In the setup menu you are presented with the following options:

Time/Date

Video Quality

Instant Record

Anti-Flicker

Tv System

Language

Most of these are self explanatory. The ones with options are as follows:

Video Quality: HD+, HD, VGA

Instant Record: On / Off

Anti-Flicker: 50hz/60hz

TV System: NTSC/PAL

Language: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portugese, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bahasa (Indonesia), Turkish, and Arabic

The main screen shows you what mode you are in (record, ready, etc), the available recording time, the mode (hd+, hd, vga), and a battery meter...these are at the top of the lcd screen. The bottom of the screen shows the date (dd/mm/year) and the current time.

When looking at the LCD the mini hdmi port is on the left hand side of the unit and the right hand side has a power button for on and off. The usb connector is at the bottom....folded into the body with a tab sticking out so you can pull the connector out. There is also a standard tripod hole.

The shooting begins....I tried taking small clips of things inside the home as well as outdoors (although with the weather up here its not worth standing outside more then 4-5 minutes :-) ). I shot completely in HD+ mode as there are a lot of units this size that do regular vga and hd.... The image quality on the lcd screen was superb...even when outside under the sun I was able to see what I was shooting. This I like. My issue still remains that the rocker buttons are way too sensitive and it was driving me nuts for a while until I was able to mentally adjust the pressure I was applying to them.

The viewing begins... I plugged the mini hdmi to hdmi cable from the camera into our 46" Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD Panel. The playback was indeed 720p/1080i as the unit should do. It was flawless and the quality of the video stunned me. I loved it. It was comprable to the Flip Mino HD. Of course, I need help with my stability...since I noticed that movement was apparent...but hey this is no image stabilization camera... HAHA!

All that being said, Creative has created a great HD Pocket Camcorder.

What I liked:

Removable Battery

8gb Storage

Build Quality

Included accessories (cables, silicon skin)

What I diskliked (which is why its 4/5):

The buttons (right left up down) are way too sensitive for my needs.

Computer Connectivity:

MAC OS X Leopard:

No drivers needed.

Showed up as a usb Volume immediately.

iPhoto automatically detected camera and came up with import options.

Video Played in Quicktime. Awesome!

Was also able to browse to the camera and manually open AVI file.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit operating systems tested)

Drivers installed automatically.

I did not need the Creative software on the device.

I was able to browse (windows explorer) to the Vado and open the AVI file in Windows Media Player. I love this functionality. I dont like cluttered software on my machine if I dont need it.

In case you are wondering...I am a cross platform user and thus I can review gadgets like the Vado and give accurate reviews. This unit would have earned a 5/5 but I am not quite there on the rocker buttons...

I hope that the review above is informative and helps you make the right decision in this category.

Quick Note for MAC Users: 01/26/09

You will probably need to install Perian to view AVI files on a mac using quicktime. You can get the software free at http://perian.org

This camera is fun, easy to use, works with PC or Mac (surprisingly good on multiple Macs!...more about that in a minute), just like the other knowledgeable reviewers wrote, and best of all it makes an XLNT 720P HD image for viewing on 40" and larger HDTV's. There are caveats to using the Vado HD, but they are few, and just simple common sense would tell you these things if it weren't for reviews and manufacturer advertising:

1) When shooting, you've GOT to hold your hand steady, and sure, or camera shake will ruin your HD movies and clips. You can use a tripod to minimize shake to the maximum amount, perhaps one of the "mini" tripods that you see here at Amazon.com. RE tripods, I found that even my Joby GorillaPod "SLR ZOOM" heavy-duty portable, flexible tripod fit the Vado HD easily, and contrary to other reviews, the USB port on the bottom did NOT get in the way of it one bit

2) This isn't a substitute for a full-sized HD camera, like my Canon HG20 AVCHD camera, but it will suffice for casual, quick takes of virtually anything your creative mind will allow, and up to a 1 hour uninterrupted HD+ quality video in true 720P/1080i HD format, with big depth of field, up to 2 x 1-hour videos of course, utilizing a full battery to the limit

3) You've got to watch out, and protect the lens, otherwise it gets to be full of dust and dirt easily, as there's no lens cap with the camera--I carry my DSLR's lens brush and air "poof" when using Vado HD which solves the problem...give the lens a quick brush off a couple times a day during shooting, just to be sure it's clean, and it's ready for action

4) Accessories are REALLY hard to get right now, but maybe that will change soon, as the camera's popularity and rave success has the manufacturer/seller (Creative Labs) scrambling for inventory on the extra battery, charger, etc. In fact, I am on the "waiting email list" at Creative Labs right now because I want to get the external charger, and an extra battery, for those days when I'm using Vado HD for more than its 2-hour battery and filming "window" of opportunity-caveat on the battery, the normal Vado battery will NOT fit in the Vado HD and function!! If you want the extra battery, it's got to be from Creative Labs at this time, and they have been out of stock for weeks now

Those things being written, the rest is just cake, candy, and ice cream-easy to write about, and describe. Here's the positive things I've found about Vado HD so far, and I'll come back and add more after I use it more...this list is compiled after just about 1 week's use, and doesn't represent even 25% of what I have in mind for using Vado HD:

1) It's just like you imagined it would and should be, using the camera that is--it's easy, fun, and with XLNT ergonomics for being so small, pretty much all-user-intuitive controls which I go into further on in the review

2) The camera makes incredible 720P/1080i HD movie/clip footage for viewing onscreen, immediately without editing, by using the supplied Mini-HDMI to HDMI Cable--it's easy to use your HDTV as a viewer/editor vs. wasting all your time downloading the video to your PC or Mac, editing it, etc.

3) A steady hand/tripod yields an XLNT clip or video movie, up to 60 minutes long it turns out (Windows FAT File System limit of 4GB of data problem), so look out for that window once you get rolling and all will work out great...of course you can make 2(two) 1-hour HD+ quality movies which equals the 2 hour "window" of Vado HD

4) To use on a Mac, as I have both PC and Mac here in my studio, it's very simple-have QuickTime Pro (yup, you've gotta upgrade if you want full compatibility with cameras like this, and for other reasons too!) support the movie, use the Export Video command, and a huge array of possibilities is there for the taking--for converting the AVI formatted film from Vado HD into an M4V H.264 QuickTime Video for iPod, iPhone, or other media device from our friends at Apple. Or you can simply import into iMovie/iDVD if you want to go full-boat and edit your footage, add music, etc.

My favorite command is just "AppleTV" command, and in a few short minutes of conversion on an Intel Mac with a lot of C2Duo horsepower, or better yet a Quad single or double CPU in a Mac Pro...but hold onto your hats Mac Heads, I even had success using my "dated" Dual Core 2.3Ghz G5, albeit one with a ton of RAM (16GB), making hour-long AppleTV movies, no editing, no hassle, just straight into ATV format and BAM! It's onscreen with great clarity, depth of field, a true HD experience quickly via Vado HD

5) On the PC, or Virtual Machine in Parallels or VM Ware Fusion, XP Pro/Vista, whatever...I tried them all and they are equally easy. The video codec automagically imports and installs itself into your Windows Client, be it WMV, Windows Movie Maker, or the Vado HD Client itself, Vado Central Software (a bit limited of course in scope, ease of use, or mechanics...but it WILL work if necessary and you don't have fancy video editing software on PC).

Now, to get specific about the controls and functions of the Vado HD, which is important in any review of the camera, let's dive right into it!

The USB 2.0 port, which is necessary to transfer video to your computer for whatever purpose you have in mind, is on the bottom of the camera, and there's a pleasant "Click" that it makes when it's open, or closed, so there's no doubt about it being in either position. I LIKE the flexible port/device USB male plug, which extends out and away from the bottom of the camera an inch so. The design is well-thought out, I think, because there are times when you might need a flexible "cable-like" function, and this provides it. As I wrote above, this does NOT compromise the fitting of a tripod!

Vado HD will take 2 hours worth of HD+ 720P/1080i movies, the default setting of the camera by the way. Then there's HD-quality, slightly less than HD+, but still good quality film, which equals 4 hours of action. Then there's VGA mode, and in this mode (640x480 pixels) Vado HD will shoot up to 8 hours of movies, and that's a LOT of capacity, where you'd need 4 batteries to fill up the camera! Wow! That's an interesting option when you simply want to film things that are not of great import, and you have a lot of it to do, but you'd need that external charger (that I want to purchase badly and can't right now!), and 3 extra batteries!

As to the controls for the camera, let me describe where everything is, and what it does...

The 1.5" x 1" LCD display, a mini-display that is amazingly sharp and well defined, has a "Ready" indicator in the top, left, to tell you the camera is set to shoot. When you are shooting video, there's a RED DOT that replaces the "Ready" indicator. To shoot, just press the "logical controller" once, and to stop, press the control once again...dead straight simple!

At the right, top of the display is the digital Video Quality Display, which is by default set at HD+, and next to it is a Battery Indicator, which shows the state of relative charge of the battery.

In the middle, at the top of the display, is the Recording Time Left indicator, which is in hours, minutes, and seconds, so it's very, very accurate as to what is left in Vado HD's flash memory.

The left, bottom edge of the display has the time, and the right edge has the digital display for the date, all simple, but important functions that you'll use over and over again while filming. The display, "mini" though it is, is XLNT! It gives you all the information necessary about Vado HD without occluding the display at all, each one being small, digital numbers and letters.

The physical layout of the camera is also ergonomically correct, with the lens at the top of the front of the case, up high next to the microphone port. The speaker (it has an external speaker which functions when viewing videos) is on the back in the lower right part of the case. To the left, in the middle of the case, is the "logical controller" as I call it, the master control for the camera. Right side, upper is the Off/On switch, which "clicks" into the case for Off or On. On the left side is the HDMI Mini-Port, and the Video-Out port...all really nicely done!

It's very simple, really, to use and describe the rest of the controls also. There's a 2.5mm button in the middle of the "logical controller", and that's the actuator for everything, the "Selector". That is what you do everything with: film "On", stop, select, and film "stop"...that does it ALL! At the edge of that button is a concave group of touch controls, up, down, left and right arrows, which take a fair press to actuate, just right actually... not too heavy a hand to use these controls. Those control the selection process once into the menus, fast forward, or backward the video clips as you wish to view them, etc...These are LOGICAL controls, and they do exactly what you think they are supposed to do, nothing complex, or "foreign" to this setup.

On the right side are the two "Function" switches, two "clickable" switches, one which selects which video clip you're about to view, the other is the TRASH button, so be careful with it when viewing videos...of course when you want to trash, or "EDIT" the video in question there's a prompt onscreen which confirms your action, so you can't be "burned" by mis-hitting that switch unless it's deliberately done. Again, easy, simple controls that do what you think they are supposed to do.

You use those two "Function" buttons on the right in tandem also. Pressed together, at the same time yields the master menus onscreen, so you can select or change the Video Quality, Time & Date, Anti-Flicker Control (50 or 60Hz filming), Language Used, and the "Instant Record" feature, which I'll explain here and now: Instant Record sets the camera into this mode...any button will actuate an instant recording session, and the "logical controller" turns it off, with 1-minute for power-off and into standby mode. Very nice feature! Just the ticket for getting a quick shot off anytime, and easily turned back off by going into the setup menu by pressing those two "clickable" buttons together at the same time, and getting into the menus.

The Default Mode for Power is 1 minute into "Ready" mode, screen off, and 5 minutes screen off will yield a shut-down of Vado HD, with a pleasant little musical tone that goes off to tell that the camera has powered off.

EASY STUFF, and right-on! These are controls that anyone can get used to in a couple minutes of use...I've just described every single function of Vado HD, and I've done it in about 200 words or so..pretty Kuhl! So that's how you control the action, initiate changes in the menus, everything except:

Play Back Video Clips, which is done by pressing the right side "clickable" switch once, and BAM! You're in "Cue Videos" mode, and the 1st one onscreen is the one you just, or last filmed. Click the controller again to move the clips up, and back, and push down again to view! Simple!!

I like everything about Vado HD's controls, it's a lot to pack into such a small place, and Creative Labs designed the camera to be easy to use, and it is. And now to describe how you use the PC functions briefly:

With a PC an AVI clip is the native format, correct? Make your movies any way, shape you want on the PC with Vado HD, and I'm not going to give a dissertation on that subject here, just suffice to say a fast CPU helps processing a ton, just like on a Mac...it IS video, not photography, and the footprint on the OS, and RAM is huge on PC as it is on the Mac OS, so the more firepower you've got in terms of RAM, and CPU power the better!

Quickly, I'll sum up by giving Vado HD 5-stars across the board. The controls are EASY to master, no room for headway here, zoom works fine with a steady hand, it's just plain simple Jane Simpleton to make great movies, and clips on Vado HD. Like I wrote, be mindful of the caveats above, especially TIME in relation to your content as it will accumulate quickly and an hour will be up before you can admit, "I'm having a great time doing this stuff!"

The LCD is clear, clean, and plenty large enough for viewing/movie making, not in direct sunlight of course, but plenty good indoors with light on the subject. Playing back clips, for viewing and editing in the camera (read "TRASH" the ones you don't like), is simple also...just one click to view, navigate with the controller up and backward in your clips, and BAM! HD video is yours for the keeping!

Vado HD is definitely the Best Bang for the $$$ right now, I mean it's so far ahead of the rest of them it hurts to try to describe all the reasons I bought this instead of anything else. You'll find that 2 hours is plenty of time to do most projects, by the way, and if it's longer, well, take your laptop with you, or netbook, you know? Download the videos into the laptop, erase the Vado HD with the Trash Icon clicker on the controls, and voila! Ready for more shooting!!

You would need an extra battery or two, and the external charger that I am dying to get my hands on and can't buy yet, but that's the state of affairs at this point. Creative Labs said on the telephone that the charger will be in stock next week, and so will be the extra batteries.

That's about it for my "guide" and critique. You Mac folks know that the latest Perian is v1.1.3, right? It has all kinds of enhancements for Mac, so be sure and download the latest driver/plug-in for QuickTime (Pro preferred), and all will be well with Vado HD and your Mac. PC people, you don't have a worry in the world as far as using Vado HD...piece of cake, and remember to not have too much fun!!

Wavey Davey/2-14-2009

Buy Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Blac Now

*** Update*** Please noteby downloading Perian you will be able to use IMovie and Quicktime. Please see the link below and download Perian and you can enjoy Vado videos on your Mac! At some point I will update the video however until then know that I was able to get the Vado HD to work on my Mac.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/perian_christopherforsythe.html

*********************************************************

The Creative Labs Vado HD Is both a great handheld video camera and one that is useless. If you are a PC owner and using Windows based software you will be well pleased. However, if you are a Mac user you will be unable to watch the videos without downloading a program such as VLC, downloading Perian, or without converting the files using a program like Roxio Crunch Win/Mac.

In my video review I compare the Creative Labs Vado HD to the Flip Video MinoHD Camcorder, 60 Minutes (Black). I will say that both cameras have their advantages the Mino has a better appearance and it works well with Macs. The Creative Labs Vado HD has more functionality, but qithout downloading Perian it is restricted to Windows based PCS.

Here are things that I like about the Vado

Three different setting for picture quality. The truth is that not everything needs to be recorded in HD. In fact, if you are uploading to YouTube HD movies can take forever. The Mino HD only has one capture setting.

I like the flexible USB connection

Large screen for a small hand-held camcorder probably about 50% bigger than the Mino HD

Removable battery I am not sure what you are supposed to do when the battery dies on the Mino HD

Wider angle of video capture the Vado allows you to record a much larger area when compared to the Mino HD.

Comes with HD cables for connection to your television.

Windows based software is intuitive and easy to use.

Areas for Improvement

You must download Perian in order for videos to play on Mac.

Compared to the Mino HD the Creative Labs Vado looks cheap.

Final Verdict -

4 Stars

Buy with confidence if you are using a Windows based PC -there is a little more risk if you are a Mac user Which camera should you buy... The Vado HD may have a slight edge for Window users if you are using a Mac the Vado is still may be a nice choice, but you may need to download Perian or use a converting program like Roxio Crunch.

Read Best Reviews of Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Blac Here

The Creative Vado HD is hands-down the best option among the current breed of three pocket-sized 720p camcorders. Sony's entry into the market segment will surely shake things up next month. Meanwhile, the Vado HD's field of view (wide angle lens) reigns supreme and makes its competitors inferior despite their other advantages.

I'm an Emmy award-winning reporter/photographer with a serious set of HD gear as my main equipment at home. I was looking for a back-up camera for use in cop ride-alongs and for home use to capture my toddler when my 3-chip Sony HDV camcorder was left behind because of size/weight/etc.

The Flip Mino HD started the whole craze and I can see its small size/price was attractive. After quite a bit of web research, including the excellent side-by-side video comparison of the Flip Mino HD and Kdoak Zi6 on YouTube, I concluded the Zi6 was superior in picture quality and features for its price point ($150).

The Zi6 is awesome. The macro feature has a fixed focal length of 2" and can take detailed close-up photos better than any camcorder of any price/size. The 60-frame mode also captures fantastic slo-mo shots at twice the frame rate of other camcorders.

However the Kodak designers clearly made a compromise on the lens. They decided since it has no optical zoom, they would "cheat" by keeping the field of view a little tighter (zoomed in) than one would expect. The result is disappointing during real-world shooting. In a car or at an intimate gathering when you're just a couple feet from your subject, the Flip and the Zi6 can't frame a head-and-shoulders shot. They get just the face with the subject's hair and chin cut off by the frame. This simply isn't practical for the vast majority of shooting situations I could envision at work and at play.

So I ordered the Vado HD from Amazon for comparison before taking the Zi6 back to the store for a refund.

The Creative Vado HD has a wide field of view with a comparable image quality found on the Zi6. The lens is superior, though the codec and compression seem just a bit lower quality than the Zi6. At low light, the Vado is darker but does not suffer from the slow-shutter-speed blur that the Zi6 imparts to achieve lower-light sensitivity. The picture is stunning for a camera this size and the HDMI output to TV is a big plus.

The Vado HD is considerably smaller than the Zi6. It comes with the 8GB of storage already built in for two hours recording time at highest quality. The Zi6 requires the purchase of additional SD or SDHC storage which is both an asset and a liability. The Vado can shoot for two hours and then you have to upload to a computer whereas the Zi6 can keep shooting until you run out of SD cards (think vacation).

I use a Mac and found the .avi files of the Vado HD just as easy to use as the .mov files of the Zi6 when editing in Final Cut Pro or viewing in Quicktime, so long as you download the free Perian plug-in. In both cases, rendering is required to import the video into a timeline.

The Vado HD can be recharged using the USB connection (lithium ion removable battery) while the Zi6 uses rechargeable AA batteries and an external charger. The biggest advantage of the Zi6 is that you can use standard AA alkaline batteries in a pinch.

But let's get back to why the Vado HD wins hands down: the wide angle lens. It not only captures MORE of the scene in a single frame, it is STEADIER. A fact of videography is that the more you're zoomed-in, the more shake is amplified in the image. Conversely, the wider the shot, the less shake appears in the image. While neither camera has an image stabilizing system, the wide angle lens makes the Vado HD appear much smoother.

The microphone on the Zi6 does seems superior to the Vado. That and the 60 frame slo-mo mode, along with the macro feature, could be the difference depending on your chosen application. I'd actually like to have both cameras in my tool kit if the budget allowed.

But the Vado HD is the clear winner for me. Add the $29.00 underwater housing good to 5m (16 feet), and you've got a great system for shooting in the rain/pool/snorkeling/exterior car mounts, etc.

Oh, you'll see a lot of reviews saying this camera is shaky -you've got to have a steady hand. It's light and the viewfinder is "screen only," meaning there's no camcorder-style eyepiece viewfinder. In my experience shooting video in Iraq, relying on a screen on any camcorder can be deceiving. As your hand moves, the screen and the background make the shot look more stable than when you're looking through a viewfinder. And that extra anchor point against an eyepiece makes the camera more solid. Finally, this is a VERY SMALL and VERY LIGHT camera. Practice shot composition and holding things steady (not walking for example, slower pans and tilts) and you'll be very happy. Add a Gorilla Pod for portable stability!

So instead of spending $150 on the Zi6 and $50 on SD cards, buy the Vado HD for the same $200 and get a better camcorder.

Want Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Blac Discount?

The Vado HD is awesome. The lens is so wide and gives the true HD feel. The colors are amazing, but definitely best in natural lighting.

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iLuv i1166 8.9 Inch Portable Multimedia/DVD Player with Dock for iPod

• Compatibility: iPod nano 3G, 4G, 5G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G; iPhone 1G, 3G, 3Gs (in "airplane mode")
• 8.9-inch widescreen digital TFT LCD screen with convenient on-screen display
• Play iPod audio/video content, DVD/CD/VCD discs, DivX/MPEG4 video, MP3/WMA audio, and JPEG images
• AC adapter and car adapter included; about 3 hours DVD video or 4 hours iPod video on a single charge
• Remote control and user friendly graphic interface

I've been closely tracking this item ever since it was announced back at CES earlier in the year and I was fortunate enough to get one of the first shipments that came out. Here's a brief look at some of my pros and cons with the item.

Previously I had bought a Philips Model: DCP850/37 DVD/iPod portable player and was very happy with it. Albeit the screen was only 7 inch, but it was relatively portable and fairly light and easy to use. Unfortunately it did not support the later generation 160 GB iPod classic, where I store most of my videos (I could only use my 60 GB ipod for the Philips) so I decided to upgrade to the iLuv i1166.

My initial impressions are the following:

The look of the iLuv 1166 is superior of the Philips. It has a nice, sleek black frame with a very nice large 9" widescreen panel on the face of the gadget. Unlike the Philips, which has the screen on the inside of the clamshell design, the iLuv's screen is on the outside, with a little stand to support it on the other side. When you open the iLuv clamshell, that is where the DVD drive and the iPod cradle is. Like most other ipod/dvd hybrids, there are different adapters you can use for your nano, ipod, itouch or iphone. One definite plus of this item is that it supports many of the current gen ipods, which was lacking in the previous model (i1155) and the other philips players. So if you're like me and you have the 160 GB classic, this is the player for you.

I was only able to test the gadget with my ipod and a test DVD. It is very easy to operate (either via remote control or the menu buttons next to the screen) and the menu options are quite simple. The menus are easy to read and it's quite nice to have a battery indicator which gives you a heads up that you're going to run of of juice soon.

The picture quality was quite nice. I ran a DVD video and also ran movies, music videos and tv shows from my ipod. The image is crisp and the 9" large screen is definitely a plus. I have yet to test the SD inputs though. But from my experience there is definitely a noticeable improvement in terms of image quality from my philips player.

There are also 2 headphone jacks that allows multiple people to watch the same video. The battery took me approximately 3 hours to charge in the first run and I ran 2 movies to drain it out as a test. After running it for about 3 hours (before falling asleep) I noticed it was working fine, so that's definitely good (vs a roughly 2.5 hour play time with my philips).

I did have a few gripes that kept me from giving this 5 stars though. First, there is an annoying lack of a chapter search for the ipod movies. So if you're watching a 2 hour movie and want to fast forward, it ain't gonna happen. That's sort of annoying if you want to try and speed through 2 movies on a long trip.

EDIT: (I switched up a few movies to test and found that the chapter search worked on one or two of the 6 I tried out. Not sure why this happened and seemed like the rewind function worked more than the fast forward. Not sure if this is another glitch like what I saw with the ipod videos, which I addressed below)

I also noticed a strange glitch in which for some reason the menu on the ipod wasn't able to read my music videos in sequential order. Say if you had multiple videos of Michael Jackson in 1 category, for some reason I couldn't access MJ's videos in the order I have it on my ipod. Rather, every time I open up one category, every single video in my ipod appears on the list regardless of category. Again, annoying but doesn't impact the performance of the item.

Also there is no video out option (one plus of my philips was that it had a video out that i could connect to my tv). Not a deal breaker for me, but it is a bit irritating for those of you who want to use the DVD option for say, an extended stay at a hotel or at your other home and don't have a DVD there.

If you're a gadget freak like me, I think you'll enjoy the item. I also recommend purchasing a cover for this item (I ordered mine from the iLuv/jwin site) as the screen seems very easy to scratch given its location on the outside of the clamshell design.

In summary:

Pros:

1. Cool, sleek design

2. Works with most ipods/iphones including current gen

3. Decent battery life

4. Huge screen, great image quality

5. Great variety of inputs (dvd, ipod, sd, usb, multiple headphones)

6. Can play in car with car adapter

7. Easy to use menu, remote control

Cons:

1. No video out option

2. No chapter search for ipod movies/tv shows

3. Kind of heavy

4. Screen location makes it potentially easy to scratch/damage

5. Gitchy menu at times (at least for me)

6. Speakers not exactly useful (tinny and not really good for playback)

But net net, it's a pretty neat item on the go

EDIT: So on extended use during a recent vacation ... I would like to add the following notes:

1. After taking extraordinary efforts to keep the screen protected (I bought a cover from jwin), I still noticed surface scratches upon repeat uses. This despite being very careful in placing the item carefully in the storage case. I also didn't drop the unit and didn't scratch it during usage so not sure where they came from but just wanted to offer a heads up about the potential for easy screen scratches.

2. I noticed the battery life was about 3 to 3.5 hours when it was used with the ipod for movies. That seemed a bit shorter than what was advertised, though I did have the crank up the volume substantially at times since it seemed somewhat low for certain movies or clips. I didn't have the brightness cranked up, but perhaps the volume at max at certain times (I was using headphones) may have contributed to the shorter battery life.

3. Video quality is excellent and having a widescreen does make the experience a lot better!

4. I tested the unit with an SD card, and it functioned just fine. Given the design, it can also serve as a nice picture frame of sorts, albeit a big clunky frame. I noticed that the slideshow of the pics also moved somewhat slow. Nonetheless plugging an SD card to view pictures were relatively easy and painless.

Buy iLuv i1166 8.9 Inch Portable Multimedia/DVD Player with Dock for iPod Now

Item feels very cheaply made and came out of the box with a cosmetic defect. Screen attracts dust and dirt like a magnet and if you even breathe on the screen it scratches. If you turn the screen even a little it becomes difficult to see and the quality is lousy unless you look at the screen dead on. Player can't recognize SDHC cards so the biggest card that can go in there is a 2GB card. That will hold one whole movie (written with sarcasm) so what's the freakin' point of the SD card slot. And, if you have updated your 2nd generation iPod touch to version 3 software it is not recognized by the device. You would think that a device that was the innovation of the year for 2009 would have been designed by individuals who were more forward thinking.

My advice is to save your money and don't buy this. That is unless all the other electronics you own are from the early 2000's. Then you should be OK.

Read Best Reviews of iLuv i1166 8.9 Inch Portable Multimedia/DVD Player with Dock for iPod Here

I recieved my iLuv yesterday. I immediately plugged it in so to charge the battery. As most of the guys I know, I used it 1st then read the instructions. This puppy is a dream come true. It played the movies in my 160GB iPod classic flawlessly. As far as the sound goes, this is the only flaw in the ointment. I plugged it in to my Bose Portable iPod dock. Hence, the sound is awesome. This is truly a match made in heaven. The screen is quite BIG. I got on line and ordered a screen saver from iLuv. This is an inexpensive must have. I screamed thru the play lists very easily and as I aid before the sound is fantastic. The remote is handy and very useful indeed. All in all, this was a gr8 purchase and it works very well. It's a keeper. I have also found the screen to be quite good for viewing the movies on my iPod. It's larger then I imagined. The color is very good and the entire viewing experience is a gr8 one on this terrific new toy..

Danny-N-Oregon

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this product although it has some great PRO's it also at the same time has many CON's it seems that it's design and construction were somehow rushed into production

you know how these companies are when a NEW (other companies') product comes out, they all wanna be first to address the new technology (IE the IPHONE)

anyway. here we go

PROS

1 it has the largest screen of all DVD players 9"

2 it has a nice remote control (most don't have remote)

3 it accepts and plays movies from IPOD/IPHONE

4 it accepts and plays movies from both USB and SD card

CONS

1 you can't flip the screen when you turn it off to protect it (it opens and closes to protect the DVD and the IPOD/IPHONE

2 the screen is very sensitive and subject to scratches, a finger nail will leave a mark

3 the remote seems to have more functions than the onboard buttons perform

4 there is no menu feature when you have multiple movies on a USB or SD card, no fast forward or jump either

5 the SD card slot only accepts up to a 2GB SD card (not HD compatible)

6 the IPOD menu's from the screen are so plain and slow reacting, not to mention hard to navigate

7 it only accepts a SINGLE format (DIVX) on the SD and USB movie inputs, and no where is it noted

what format and video encoding to use (i had to spend 3 days trying to figure this thing out)

8 the tech support is CRAP, the people who reply back to you don't even know what this product is. ALL they do is

read to you from the supplied manual (and it's crap too)

in my opinion wait for a better model to come out

JWIN is not the best of companies to create technology

my built in ALPINE DVD head unit does more than this. I did pay $1000 for it though

This product is almost there and I like it a whole lot it plays the dvd's, almost all ipods and ipod touch including the videos on your iphone and can be used as a picture viewer with an SD card or USB Drive. So for software it has it all, now for the Cons no video output, sound could be louder coming out of speakers, should have had a matte finish instead of the shiny surface because it shows to many fingerprints, the screen scratches easily and should at least come with a screen protector and the build quality seems flimsy so don't drop it cause I don't think it could take not even 1 fall and product is a little on the heavy side so basically for the price they could have put a little more work in to it but the product is definitely usable as long as you are careful. I think the next generation of this will be a great improvement because so far each one has been better than the last.

Mobilespec Bluetooth Cellular Headset With Silencer RX & Built-In Digital Recorder with Up to 10 Mi

My husband asked me to find him a replacement headset he got at a truck stop. I bought this from Amazon and told him it was almost the same model. He tried it and said he loved it. I can hear him clearly when he calls home from the on the road. Good product at a great price!

This unit worked great for one month then the charger connection failed and had to be pushed and held in place to work! How can you drive and hold this piece of junk together just to get it to work? I will try to get a refund as I don't want a replacement!

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Livescribe Deluxe Carrying Case

I own the older Pulse SmartPen (not the newer Echo) so my model is a bit bigger. That said, it has no problem fitting in this case. There's also room for a cable, and even a few pens and pencils if they are the right length.

All in all, it's a functional case, and I like it a lot better than the standard case that comes with the pen. I can toss this into my bag with my books and notebook and not worry about anything getting damaged.

I deducted two stars because the material is cheap feeling its faux leather and the texture is just not particularly pleasing. From a distance it looks like leather, which is good, but it's definitely not (nor does it claim to be, so my star reduction is not for that, but rather for the material they did use). The inside lining is a nice felt/velvety material that protects the contents well.

The second star was for the zipper and the price. I think this is a bit pricey for what you get, and the zipper is a bit difficult to get closed at times. I've had to wrangle with it more often than not. Not a huge deal, but at the end of class when I want to pack up and get going, to spend a minute trying to close the case just seems unnecessary. Take this as you will it could be user error or maybe I just have a slightly funky zipper on mine but it's worth noting.

It's definitely a step up from the standard case and if you are a LiveScribe junkie like me, you'll appreciate this addition to your repertoire.

I had read one previous review saying that the person had had problems with the zipper, but had also read positive reviews, so thought I'd give it a go. I wish I hadn't! I do like the size and compartments, but that's of no use if the zipper breaks which mine did before I even got the chance to use it. It is such poor quality but priced as if it were good quality.

I looked again at the feedback by the person who had given negative feedback about the zipper and a representative from Livescribe had written a comment suggesting that the person contact Livescribe directly so that they can help sort the issue. So I contacted them. Their response was that they could not help as it was bought through Amazon. I work for a charity outside America and bought various Livescribe products from Amazon as it is a lot cheaper. I feel like I have wasted this money and wonder if it's even worth the cost of sending it back (Amazon seems to only pay a portion of the return cost).

I do not recommend this product.

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I purchased this case and the zipper was the biggest pain it continually was stuck. I couldn't close or open the case. I emailed the company and without knowing they had a new case set to me within 2 weeks. The new case works perfect and I haven't had any issues! While I had issues with this first case, I defiantly appreciate a company that stands behind their products!!

I use this case for my 4 GB Echo pen to hold the pen, extra supplies (ink, pen tips), and cord -after having my issue resolved with the case I LOVE IT!

Read Best Reviews of Livescribe Deluxe Carrying Case Here

Honestely, I find it really hard to say anything positive about this case. The material of the case feels and looks (and smells!) very cheap. The worst element is the zipper, which is not working at all and gets stuck all the time it's virtually impossible to either close or open the case.

The inside is ok; I think the case could be smaller, too, there is a lot of unused space in the case.

Overall, my advice is to skip this one, unfortunately.

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This case is a must-have for travel, to protect the investment of a LiveScribe device. Personally, I think it's totally worth it! It looks classy (not real leather but it holds up just as well maybe better and it looks like leather), it's large enough that you won't lose it, but small enough that it fits inside my laptop tote. It holds the pen, the USB charger, the headphones, and extra ink cartridges. I was carrying everything around in a pocket in my bag, and I was worried that the little parts would get lost (not to mention my $150 LiveScribe Pulse pen!!!) so this solves that problem QUITE nicely. It also perfectly matches the portfolio, the flip notebook, and the journals... and I'm a "fashion" person, so I appreciate that. :) Love it!

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Sony Bravia XBR KDL-46XBR6 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

• 16:9 Full HD 1080p Resolution (1920x1080p) LCD Panel
• DMex compatible; allows seamless feature upgrades
• BRAVIA Sync (Enhanced HDMI-CEC)
• BRAVIA Engine fully digital video processor
• Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuit (ACE)

I got this TV a little bit over a month ago and have put in about 100 hours of viewing I would guesstimate. After that time I would say the TV has an incredible picture. Some people said the color variation was a little off but I haven't seen this. I did setup the custom picture setting by using the THX video optimizer included with newer pixar movies and star wars films. This made a big difference in overall picture quality and was very easy to do. The brightness of this display is impressive even when first turned on. The CCFL backlight seems to come to full brightness very quickly and evenly distributes the brightness extremely well. Color representation appears to be dead on with all types of media (cable, blu-ray, dvd, ps3, xbox). The motion plus feature is great when watching sports but can cause some juddering effects while watching non-sport content. The response time for video games is also a plus with no visible judders but this is with game mode turned on. The tv really does have the deepest blacks I have ever seen on a LCD panel, especially one that is not LED backlight. I have options turned on to increase blacks and increase the degree of difference between light and dark areas of the screen. Blu-rays look absolutely stunning and upconverted DVDs look pretty good. I use an external audio system so I can't really comment on the sound of the TV but I would imagine it's on par with other TVs. All in all it is an awesome TV with a very solid build and great looks. The TV has a lot of inputs which is a plus and the TV guide is great (if you would use it). The only other thing I would like is to see the TV with a glossy display to see if the color pops even more. I would definitely recommend this TV but would also recommend taking some time to setup the picture settings and experimenting a bit to see what looks best for the type of content your viewing.

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I purchased a Sony 46XBR6 from Amazon.com Sony wins hands down on Value,and Quality,over other brands.

The TV that I am replacing is a Sony (18 yrs of service and still works very good). Amazon.com is the best to deal with,not only the best price

but they sell quality items.I received my XBR in 5 days, the Free White Glove Delivery via Pilot Freight was the Best Service I ever had,They delivered to my home,ask what room did I want the Sony in.The driver offered to un-pack it. Amazon is most Honest,during shipping there was a price drop, I called customer service and within one minute they adjusted my purchase price,emailed me a credit for the lower price. And they have real live people to talk to.Very Happy with Sony and Amazon.com,"I will be back"

Read Best Reviews of Sony Bravia XBR KDL-46XBR6 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV Here

Sony xbr6, 46 inch version: very fine picture, but troublesome remote. The "Jump" function does not always work. The TV displays the message Now Tuning but the channels do not switch. This was a problem I also had with the Sony Z-series TV this summer and that is why I traded for the XBR6. A Sony repair man was sent to "professionally evaluate" the TV. He replaced the main circuit board and remote sensor. This did not solve the problem. He then told me that he cannot repair the unit by replacing any more parts. He called Sony directly from my home and told them the same. I was promised some contact from Sony. It has not happened. After several more calls to Sony, I got promises of return calls which did not come. Now I have a defective unit that according to the repair tech cannot be fixed and Sony is not responding to my concerns.

Want Sony Bravia XBR KDL-46XBR6 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV Discount?

As the title states, this set is simply amazing. This set is replacing my 32" KDL-32S3000, which was also a fantastic TV, just a little too small for my new residence.

Anyway, the color is gorgeous, and the picture quality is astounding. The sound is alright, as is to be expected from small in-cabinet speakers. Sony's PS3-esq menu system is a nice touch. The TV actually uses the second revision of it, so it makes a little more sense on this one than it did on the older models.

Feature set is great as well. Sony has a lot of nice little touches on this unit really help it stand out. The logo glows, for example, but you can shut it off. In the off setting, it still lights up when the TV is powered on or off, but it gently fades out after a few seconds. Ambient light sensor to control the brightness is a nice, as well as the built-in (and free) TV Guide (though I presume this would be less useful for folks using a cable box).

The remote is nice just like the rest of the bravia line, and it has a programmable backlight too. It will function as a universal remote, and has the buttons to control a VCR or DVD player as well.

All in all, this is a fantastic set, and I'm very excited to continue to use it.

Just got my very own last week. The picture is excellent, sound is good (though I use my surround sound), sleek look and perfect color! Can't say enough about the picture quality. I've seen comparative models at the store and they're inferior in color quality. I have Wii, PS3, DVD, hooked up to it and they all look very crisp and clear, especially the PS3 (blu-ray)!

HP iPAQ 211 Enterprise Handheld (210 Series)

The HP210 / 211 / 212 / 214 could have been a truly great product. (They're all the same product: the different numbers indicate the channel and country; i.e., 210 US Consumer, 214 Asia, etc.) But it has a few shortcomings that, in my opinion, reduce it to an average product that should be considered carefully.

First, I am a big fan of PDAs and so-called smartphones and have been using them for years. None of them are perfect. In fact, most of them are far from perfect. In recent years the smartphone category, combining the cellular phone, the PDA and a camera, has really taken off. The standalone PDA is probably an endangered species and the HP211 could be the last of its kind. The emergence of the mini-laptop like the Asus Eee and Fujitsu U810 may, in fact, be the final nails in the coffin of the standalone PDA which I think would be a pity.

HP did a lot of things right with the HP211.

The screen is absolutely gorgeous. Photos and videos shine forth in all their glory. Glare from the screen surface has not been a problem. I have not tested it in direct sunlight, but it holds up well in bright daylight. The screen does require a fairly strong touch, but it is something you become accustomed to fairly quickly. Scrolling, however, in Internet Explorer seems to somewhat difficult. You have to apply firm pressure which the device may be interpreting as repeated taps. Something makes navigation in IE more difficult than it has to be.

For those who use the inking capability, once you get the touch done, it is a great experience. The Marvell processor is fast enough to make inking a delight. If you use an onscreen keyboard like TenGo, you'll be well impressed with how responsive the screen is and how fast your input can be.

Overall, the CPU powers the device with lots of horses to spare. And it is wonderful to have all that memory available, knowing as well that you can add humongous SDHC and CF cards as well. The idea that you can add 32GB of memory with 16GB card in each slot is mindblowing.

WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities are excellent.

The four function buttons are well placed and can be reprogrammed to meet your needs. On left side is another button that starts the recording function. The on/off switch is mounted on the front near the top right corner. While it hasn't happened to me, I am afraid it can be depressed accidentally, but the auto shutdown should render that moot even if it happens.

The D-pad is a major drawback and could be a dealbreaker for a lot of people. The designers lopped off the top of the D-pad. It is smaller than the right/left and down pads and, mounted just below the screen bezel, feels funny. It is also difficult to toggle precisely which is frustrating. As I use it more, it seems to be becoming more natural, but I consider it a dumb design move. I would strongly suggest that prospective owners either try it in a store or buy from a vendor with an excellent return policy.

The other major flaw and this could be a deal-killer for a lot of people is the speaker arrangement. There are two speakers, but they do not work together at the same time. The front one is used only, as far as I know, with Skype. It has just barely adequate volume in a quiet room. If there's any kind of noise, forget it. By the way, the HP211 works very well with Skype.

The rear speaker is just plain horrible. It is inaudible even in a quiet room. It is unusable for playing back voice recordings and trying to use it for music or audio tracks on movies is unthinkable. You can also whistle goodbye to using it for voice prompts for GPS. In a unit this expensive, this design flaw is inexcusable. Making matters worse is that the headphone jack which is, thankfully, a standard 3.5mm is located on the bottom of the unit. I haven't tried it with Bluetooth headphones. one of the big pluses of a standalone PDA like this to me is the recording capability for quick notes. But if I can't hear them playing back without headphones, what good is it? Another reason for a standalone with Bluetooth is GPS. Obviously, you want GPS with voice prompts. But if you can't hear the voice prompts, what good is it?

Considering HP's legendary engineering, I am surprised these flaws made it into the final product, but they did and I think they greatly reduce the appeal of the product.

The unit is pretty big, which I appreciate because I want an ample writing surface and I have big hands. That's the good news. The bad news is that the surfaces are all slippery plastic. If you intend to use this unit without a case, I suspect it will become a casualty within a matter of days. Overall, the construction feels a little on the cheap side. Not awful, but it doesn't feel very robust either.

My primary reason for wanting a standalone PDA is to have a way (other than pen and paper) to take notes throughout the day. The HP211 fills this role well. I primarily use PhatNotes and TenGo. The HP211 screen provides an excellent inking experience with no vectoring problems. The stock Windows Mobile Notes and other applications and the letter recognizer also work well. It's a joy to have a ton of memory with the ability to expand to previously unheard of dimensions. The screen is a marvelous platform for viewing photos or videos. (The CPU, by the way, doesn't have quite enough ooomph to play video back smoothly. Using TCMP, I had lots of dropped frames.)

If I were ranking the device very narrowly, I would give it 5 stars without hesitation and then take 1 star away for the price, which I think is too high. Thus a net 4 stars. Because of the D-pad design and, in particular, the utterly useless audio, I can give it only 3 stars. Considering the high price in conjunction with these defects and I have to strongly urge that anyone considering this device consider it very, very carefully. One of the reasons I prefer Windows Mobile devices is the wide array of software available for them. The main reason for buying the HP211, on my part, was the large screen, which is admittedly much easier to work with than the one on my smartphone.

But at $400+ for the HP, there are alternatives and I suggest that they be considered. The Nokia N800 is less than half the price and provides WiFi, web browsing and email. The screen is great, though converting video for the N8*0 is dicey. The N800 offers SDHC expansion capability. The N810 adds a sliding keyboard. And both have a rudimentary camera which the HP211 should have, but doesn't. The big drawback to the N8*0 devices? They're Linux and apps are still relatively scarce.

On the whole, I think the HP211 is well suited for a notetaking function and moderately well suited for web browsing when Opera is installed. It is an adequate video platform. But the built-in speakers simply stink. The headphone jack is inconveniently placed and the D-pad is something of a design disaster.

The big problem is that there just aren't that many standalone PDAs out there running Windows Mobile 6 with a ton of memory and a great 4" screen. At half the price, I'd live with the problems. At $400+, though, I'm still wondering about it. My smartphone does everything the HP211 does: it's just smaller and more difficult to work on. Is the convenience worth $400+? I'm not sure yet, but am tilting toward saying "no".

Jerry

I've been using Windows Mobile and Windows CE products for almost 10 years. I've owned the 4700, 2595 and now the 211. My wife has the 110. I use these devices extensively and have an entire workflow planned around it. It goes everywhere with me. My requirements are such that a converged device doesn't provide much use to me: processor usually too weak, memory too little, and definitely the screen too small.

I bought the 211 about a month ago. Here are my impressions:

My first reaction was "BIG!". It is bigger than all my other devices. It's thick, more so than the 4700. The weight is ok, though. I don't think about the size any more. I've gotten used to it.

The screen does require more pressure to operate, but again, I'm used to it now and it's forgotten. I haven't noticed different pressure reactions on different screen locations.

The screen is perfect. To address previous comments about being able to see more stuff: I scan all my documents and commit to PDF. Everything. Then I sync to the 211's SD card. I have a lightweight PDF reader, and I can read PDFs easily without scrolling horizontally. I can't come close to doing that with my wife's 110, or my 2495. Yes, you can fit much more on the screen, and it's much much sharper than any other device. Yes, the unit takes advantage of the higher resolution: it's not just bigger pictures on a bigger screen, honestly. Having said that, it's up to the application to do that. Most do.

I have *not* noticed any negative performance difference between this and my previous devices. It's as fast as my 2495 and my wife's 110.

I have approximately 30 applications(!) on it. None have had compatibility issues. And because of the impressive amount of memory, I still have approxiamtely 55% of storage memory left.

Yes, there's a proprietary cable for sync and power. However, there's also a mini-USB port, so the proprietary cables aren't necessary at all. I don't travel with them. I only use a retractable mini-USB for charging and synchronization. It's really not an issue.

Battery life is better than the 4700 and the 2495.

I love the buttons. I honestly don't understand the criticisms I have read about them. I'm happy.

Bluetooth and WiFi have worked without any issues. My only complaint here is for WM6: it can't connect to my work WiFi network because WM6 doesn't support WPA enterprise.

Sorry for the rambling review. Just wanted to give my opinion on issues raised here. It's the perfect device for my requirements: no converged phone/PDA, and I don't need a camera. BTW, my employer gave me a 8525. I don't use it at all. It simply can't do what the 211 does.

Buy HP iPAQ 211 Enterprise Handheld (210 Series) Now

got this "monster" this week

the first feeling is "HUGE", my hand can hold it because I have big palm

the screen is eye candy, 4" VGA can make a quite difference, the color is very good, not "yellowish" like other HP products, the screen looks dark when the backlight is off, however, it's pretty viewable under sunlight

the buttons and d-pad are pretty comfortable to press, but up direction of d-pad is a little bit difficult to press because the bottom of screen frame, the arragement is

calendar/contacts (I changed to IE/File Explorer)

Start button (cannot to be changed)

OK and minimize/? (I changed ? to Bluetooth Manager

messaging (not changed)

the application is typical WM, but HP signature application "iTask" is no longer exist, which I can shut down an application with ease, it doesn't have ipaq backup

Monster Chinese users must read, you must use version 5.3, ver 6.0 will mess up the machine, cause it unable to boot, requires factory reset

all jacks are located on the bottom, even headphones jack, that you may want to use wireless headphones instead, luckily, the updated bt is alot more stable, almost no skip/interruption on a2dp; you can almost forget the new data port, the miniUSB can do both async and charging (1A or higher USB charger is highly recommended, the included AC adaptor has supplied charging adaptor to the data port)

the unit speed is OK, slow down a bit when a2dp is active, video is decent, with TCPMP, no slowdown on mpeg (ripped directly from VCD), Divx is fine (VGA @30fps), wmv has some hiccup

the battery is OK, VGA can use good amount of power, it is recommended to setup screeen auto-off to save power, I tested with Pocket Player, play 160-192kbps ogg vorbis, got around 7 hours when bt a2dp is active

this unit has 2 memory card slots, I put 16GB CF (A-Data) and 16GB SD-HC (A-Data), both work 100%

RF on wifi and bt is pretty impressive, can get signal easily, and give wireless headphones more range (though it's not good as class 1 bt)

this unit is a big leap from HX2495 and X51v, HX4705 users will find similar pleasure with this unit

I give 95%

pro:

HUGE VGA screen, buttons are comfortable to press, 2200mA/h battery (you can use HX4705 battery), miniUSB port, stable bt, good RF

con:

weak speaker, headphones jack is located on the bottom, no cradle included, kinda bulky

Read Best Reviews of HP iPAQ 211 Enterprise Handheld (210 Series) Here

I have been using the iPaq 211 now for a couple of weeks after upgrading from the iPaq 2755 that I purchased when it first hit the American market 3+ years ago. I haven't had a chance to really test the multimedia capability but am willing to bet the 211 will be better for MP3 and movies. Overall, it is a good devise, but not as much of an improvement over the 2755 as I was hoping for. Below is a comparison between the two devises.

Screen

2755 Bright and easy to read but type gets more difficult as it gets smaller. Web pages are really difficult to view making Internet Explorer nearly pointless.

211Even brighter in comparison to the 2755. It also has automatic brightness adjustment that actually works well. But the biggest difference is the VGA resolution on a comparatively BIG screen. Web pages, books and everything is much easier to read on this devise. I have been using my iPaqs for reading books for several years and this devise is really a pleasure for that! The on screen keyboard is also a lot easier to use, almost good enough to use with just a finger.

Processing power

2755 HP's second unit with the 624 MHz processor blew away the previous units for speed of applications and handwriting recognition. It made the unit much more useful that previous with slower processors.

211It has the same processor which is a mixed blessing. Since the 211 lacks a high powered graphics processor, it is actually slower on some tasks than the 2755 due to having a screen with 4 times the resolution. That said, it is only a little slower and only in certain aspects like initially opening a document. Handwriting recognition is actually slightly better for some reason; possibly the increased memory.

Internal Memory

2755 More than adequate for several documents and programs to be stored. Bogged down or crashed if several apps were loaded at the same time, but that was easily solved by the task manager that allowed you to close individual apps or all of them at the same time.

211 Even more memory, making easy to store loads of applications and files without issue. It does still slow down if you keep the Internet Explorer, Word and other large apps running. I couldn't find a task manager that worked like the 2755's included so installed a freeware program TMAN that works even better.

Touch screen

2755 Good but sometimes difficult near the edges of the screen. It was often hard to hand write anything due to the size of the screen and my writing style (or lack there of.) Taps and gestures were very responsive, but it was nearly impossible to use a bare finder or even a man's fingernail.

211 The screen is only about 95% as responsive in comparison which isn't that bad though occasionally annoying. But due to the screen size you can actually use your finger tip for many applications including the contact list making the 211 slightly better than the 2755 overall.

Included programs

2755 HP included the standard office mobile, image viewers, media players and a backup program. You also got Outlook on the disk for your desktop computer just in case you didn't have Office.

211Actually has less than the 2755, no Outlook and no backup software. As it comes with Windows Mobile 6, the Office apps are better than the 2755. Still, plan on purchasing Sprite Backup and Outlook if you don't already have it.

Accessories

2755 sync cable, power cable and cradle. Options include SD and CF card slots for LOTS of storage space. I have an extra battery and charger that makes it even more flexible.

211 No cradle included. Same optional card slots except that the SD can reads SDHC cards which are a lot more versatile. There is also an optional host cable that allows you to use USB mice, keyboards and external hard drives. There is also an extended battery available that can double the amount of time before charging or exchanging batteries.

Looks and build quality

2755 Looks are OK, though I never really liked the color tan/gray. Great build considering that I have been using it daily for more 3 years without any issue. Buttons are easy to use and can be programmed. NOTE; the first thing I do when I get a new electronic devise is put a screen saver on it.

211It looks great in black! Same or better build quality than the 2755. Despite being lager, it is still very easy to hold and use.

Connectivity

2755 Uses Activesync 4.5 in XP which is still my operating system of choice; sorry Microsoft but Vista totally sucks! Slow and buggy, but can be used with the included Bluetooth as well as cable.

211 Exactly the same accept that does include a standard USB mini port for sync and charging. Charging on the USB is slower but is a welcome addition.

Security

2755 Comes standard with password security and a biometric finger print reader that really works!

211 No finger print reader which is a real disappointment, but does still have the password security.

Portability factor

2755 Easily fits in a pocket and there lots of great cases available.

211 Slightly bigger to allow the great new screen, but still pretty easy to pocket. The included case is OK, but I will be looking for a nice leather one instead.

--Summery of the 211--

Pros

Very readable screen, probably the current leader for any Windows Mobile devise that can still fit in a pocket.

Very powerful with more storage options that most people will know what to do with.

Mobile Office apps are way better under Mobile 6 and very usable. I can really create a full Word document on the devise without too much effort

Battery is sufficient for the devise, allowing several hours of use before charging is necessary.

Quite stable, very few resets and nearly all the programs that I wanted to use work great including a couple designed for WinCE 3.0.

Optional USB host adapter.

SDHC comparable.

Finger touch usable in some applications.

Opera Mobile web browser 9.5 works like a charm!

Plenty of internal memory.

Easy to carry and use.

Cons

A little slower than I would have expected.

No cradle.

No Outlook or backup software.

No biometric fingerprint reader.

No independent graphic processor for the VGA screen slows it down at times.

The speaker is a little weak.

Touch screen takes a little more pressure.

Want HP iPAQ 211 Enterprise Handheld (210 Series) Discount?

My Dell Axim X50v died unexpectedly and I had to get another PDA. After using a VGA screen I could not go back to QVGA. Since there aren't too many units to select from I decided on the IPAQ 211.

Already there are some good reviews out there so just a couple of comments based on what's already been said.

1. It is big, but then the screen is incredible.

2. I didn't have any devices that already used the connector so the new configuration was no big deal. The large connector accommodates sync and charging and the mini USB does both as well.

3. As for screen tapping it is a bit stiffer than the Dell, but I've already adjusted.

4. Connecting via WiFi is a breeze compared to the Dell. It just connects quickly without a big hassle.

5. It may be a touch slower, but I'm assuming that's a result of the persistent memory.

6. I have quite a wide variety of software that I've installed with no problems whatsoever.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this unit.