Canon VIXIA HF G10 Full HD Camcorder with HD CMOS Pro and 32GB Internal Flash Memory

Since I was a little kid with an 8mm film camera, I have tried in vain to make videos that had the look and sound of professional TV and movie productions.

I failed in many ways, many times. Sometimes due to my meager skills, sometimes due to the short comings of my cameras.

The Vixia HF G10 changes that. I can no longer blame my equipment.

Let me say now, I am not a professional video/film maker. I have had no formal training. My videos are for my own enjoyment, I record special moments and travels for myself and my family. I seldom display or publish videos on the Web.

I placed my order on Jan. 5th, the day of Canon's new product announcement. Amazon was great, as usual, and kept my pre-order updated until the camera was released. I received it last week, and was immediately struck by the quality of the images.

So far, I have just been learning about the G10, and its features. I've made some stunning video studies of my flower and vegetable garden. Whether played back on the camera's LCD screen, or on my big screen HD television, the images are sharp, clear, vibrant, and have the look of a professional documentary. In addition, the on camera microphones are far superior to any camcorder I've ever used. I have some large wind chimes near my garden and the playback of audio through my TV is astonishing. I have a Sennheiser MKE 400, but have not used it as yet, the on-camera sound is excellent.

What I like: Coming from a DV tape camera, the memory cards are the best thing since sliced bread. The 'touch screen' is very good. I did not think I would like it, but it is easy to use, responds well, and the menu system is somewhat intuitive. The Manual mode provides tons of recording and exposure options. In Programmed mode the camera will make several automated exposure adjustments as the scene or lighting changes. In Av mode the DOF control is excellent, and there are built-in ND filters available in Av mode that have already come in handy. I have not used Tv mode, but in full Manual the controls are easy to access and perform as well as my Canon EOS still camera.

Three modes of Auto focus and excellent, easy to use Manual focus. Zoom speed adjustment, very cool.

Cinema Mode: Sounds like a gimmick, works like a charm. The primary feature in Cinema Mode is a set of 9 filters for various cinematic effects. I like them all, and look forward to using them to highlight my scenes in my videos. It would be easy to over use these, I think. But the Nostalgic, Sepia, and Old Movie filters will surely get used, as will the Dramatic B&W. I'm thinking the Vivid would work on panoramic landscapes.

The whole memory card/built-in memory thing is wonderful. Transfer to a Win 7 PC is easy and fast. So far I'm sticking with the MXP 24P (true 1920 x 1080). It is the luxury I paid for, and I'm going to use it.

Things I don't need: Still photos nice but I have a great still camera. In camera editing and Decorations: just fluff to me. I guess these things have market appeal, but why does Canon add them to a camera aimed at the upper end video customer?

Things I don't like: The initial impression that the G10 is a small, cheap-looking, plastic camcorder (I got over that when I saw how it performed). The shallow angle of the lens opening prevents adding after market wide angle conversion lens; apparently the only lens that currently fits is the very expensive Canon lens. The BP808 battery is small, and you need 2, or a larger BP819. There is no separate battery charger included, so you need one of those, too. The hot shoe is the Canon mini-shoe, so you need an adapter to use after market mikes or lights, or buy the expensive Canon accessories.

My still camera is a Canon 5D Mk2. It has fantastic video performance as well as awesome still image performance. I wanted the G10 to give me more flexibility for different situations; run-and-gun, handheld kind of stuff, ad hoc filming which I find difficult with the 5D Mk2.

That's about all I can think of now. I would buy this camcorder again without hesitation. I would and do recommend it to anyone looking to take that next step up in video making.

I'll try to post a short video soon, showing some of the images from the Vixia HF G10.

Let me first start out by saying, I originally wasn't going to spend so much on a new camcorder. I had bought the Canon HF 100 a few years ago, and was fairly happy with it. It was nice, but definitely had its drawbacks. So, I started researching Canon's new line for 2011 and was torn between the M40 and G10. Having the new CMOS Pro sensor was a must. Everything I read about the low light capabilities sold me. Basically Canon went with a smaller pixel count (exactly 1920 x 1080), which in turn makes the pixels larger and better in low light shooting. I originally bought the M40 and was very happy with it, but started to realize it wasn't fitting all my needs. That went back, and I went with the G10. I have not looked back since!

People might wonder what the biggest difference is between the two, and the big ones in my opinion are the manual lens control, wide angle lens (makes a HUGE difference in my opinion), larger LCD (3.5 in. vs. 3 in.), color viewfinder, and dual recording slots that let you record to both sd cards at the same time. Boy, I wish I had this feature two weeks ago for my niece's second birthday party. My sd card got corrupted while using the M40 and I lost her blowing out her candles and eating the first piece of cake. Now, if I had the G10, I would have had a backup of it recording to both slots simultaneously.

Image quality wise, I couldn't be happier. The video quality just pops out and is silky smooth. I have made a couple videos with it and people are just in awe of the quality. I usually record in 60i because I like the smoothness. I know there are benefits of recording in 30p and 24p, but for home videos, I prefer 60i. Now if I was doing an amateur film, I'd probably go with the true 24p this camera offers. This camera has a lot of setting to meet your shooting requirements. I know a lot of people wish Canon included a 60p mode, but I honestly don't see a reason for it, at least not now. Everything I've read about it, editing 60p is a complete nightmare. No thanks.

Speaking of modes, it does have an auto, manual, and cinema options. Manual of course gives you countless options, and cinema mode offers a variety of shooting preferences such as cool, vivid, dream, b/w, etc. You can search on youtube and see demonstrations of each.

One of the big selling points for me was the wide angle lens. Now I know you can always buy an optional attachment wide angle lens for the M40, but they add a lot of extra weight and in my opinion inconvenience of carrying around more equipment than necessary. I also think by the time you add in that cost to the camera, it's not that much cheaper. I love having the wide angle lens built in and with me at all times. It's truly something you get used to, and you won't want to be without.

Build quality is exactly what I expect from any Canon product. Feels sturdy and should hold up to a lot of wear and tear. I've never had any issues with previous Canon products breaking on me, so I would expect the same from this one. I would say the only thing I don't like on the newer Canons opposed to the older models is the touchscreen. It's simply not as responsive as I would like. I'm probably spoiled on my iphone's silky smooth touch controls. I guess it's just something I'll have to get used to. The only other feature I really miss from older camcorders is night vision. I don't know why most companies got rid of this feature. I still bust out my old Sony SR45 for those occasions.

In conclusion, if you're looking for an excellent prosumer camcorder with amazing low light, controls, and options, you won't be disappointed with the HF G10. I've already ordered the DM-100 external mic (I like to do lots of outdoor shooting, so I need to eliminate the wind noise the best I can), and already have the VL-5 from my previous camcorder for better dark shooting. I think I'm set for almost all recording situations. I hope this was an informative review. Thanks for reading.

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I guess I was one of the lucky few who was able to get this camera early. I got mine 2 weeks ago and have been nothing but impressed with it. Right out of the box and in a medium lit interior room the picture was superb. I got a chance to take it out in the field for a bit and am extremely happy with it. Full manual control, a focus ring, an awesome and absolutely beautiful touch screen, what more could you ask for?

I especially appreciate the dual SD card slots and the recording options there. There are certainly going to be times where you'll want to record to 2 cards at once and that will come in handy. But the ability to also record to the internal memory and then copy the contents to one of the SD cards in the card slots is also a great option.

The other things that are not mentioned in a lot of the bullet points for this camera that I am impressed with include the waveform monitor and peaking meters which come in handy for the manual exposure and focus modes. It also does zebra stripes so you have many options to get the perfect shots without relying merely on what you see through the viewfinder or on screen. Also, when you focus, by default, it automatically magnifies the center of the screen so that you can tell exactly what is in focus. Of course that can also be turned off if it is not your preference.

It is not a very large or very heavy camcorder either. That was my only reservation at first because I tend to prefer bulkier and heavier cameras. However this thing is so perfectly balanced in the hand and so rugged feeling that I am not concerned at all with the weight now.

I ordered 2 64GB SDXC cards with mine and at full resolution video recording it is reporting around 14 hours of recording time. Awesome! I also purchased the BP-827 battery, though I had plenty of recording time out in the field with just the standard battery as well.

Hope that helps anyone who might be on the fence about buying this one. If you have a model from last year then you may not need to upgrade yet. But it was definitely time for me to ditch the tapes and upgrade from my Canon HV30 and I am glad I did!

Update June 21, 2011

I was able to take this camera on a trip last month to San Francisco, Napa Valley and Carmel by the Sea. The footage is simply amazing but I did notice a couple of issues that I want to share with others who might purchase this camera.

Issue 1) The camera uses "dynamic IS" for image stabilization by default in both auto and manual modes. It does not appear that you can change this in auto mode but you can in manual mode (and this is a prosumer camera so you shouldn't really use auto mode anyway) and I highly recommend that you change this. Use "standard IS" instead because dynamic IS tends to give you a wobble effect around the edges of your video. Google it for this camera and you'll see lots of youtube videos and threads on forums about it. It is a non-issue if you just stick with the Standard IS and we're still waiting to see if Canon fixes this in a firmware update.

Issue 2) This is not as big of an issue but I did notice that there is a bit of vignetting going on with the lens that appears to be just when I have the lens hood on and at full zoom. It's a shadow effect around the edges. I recommend just using the lens hood when you really need it and only when you know you won't be zooming in full as much.

I still maintain the 5 stars at this point because these are little things that you can easily get around and the wobble issue could likely be fixed by Canon soon anyway. It is one of those things that you deal with as an early purchaser and I have no regrets about buying this camera regardless. The footage I have made with this camera so far is absolutely stunning!

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I've had the camera for a couple of weeks and now have a weekend of shooting under my belt. I bought it in addition to an HG20 that I've had since Summer 2009. The camera looks great and is solidly built, although the HG20 feels slightly sturdier to me. In general, the camera is significantly more sophisticated than the HG20, with a lot of features that had me consulting the manual (although most aren't necessary for

every day, family-oriented filming).

The low light performance is a standout in terms of a significant improvement. You'll find clips shot indoors without special lighting are much improved (truer color, less grainy). I'm still getting used to the touch screen menus, which are a bit difficult to use sometimes and, unfortunately, cause you to smudge the LCD. Speaking of the LCD, it is a huge improvement being much larger, sharper and more vibrant than the HG20's (and with a backlighting option). I find the clarity of outside daylight shots exceptional; same assessment though for the HG20. Could be my imagination, but I find that blue skies are more vibrant.

My favorite unexpected feature is the custom button/wheel, which I use to easily adjust exposure compensation. Overall, I'm thrilled with the camera although wouldn't have minded sticking with the joystick menu system. I haven't spent much time on stills as, based on the design of the camera, I have very low expectations of them. I'm more than happy to trade suboptimal stills for much improved low light performance.

Would add that I'm a Canon guy. I've always used their stuff and been happy. That having been said, if you're not a prosumer (just do typical family stuff) but still want a top of the line camcorder, the Panasonic HDC-TM900K is a hell of a camera at an amazing price (probably a better value for that profile than the HF G10, which I consider the best prosumer camcorder on the market).

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I got an excellent price on this camera and the Panasonic HDC-TM900; so being retired with much time on my hands I decided to buy both, do a side by side comparison and then sell the one that I felt was the poorer performer. I set the Panasonic at 60P and the Canon at 24P (Canon doesn't have 60p--first advantage for Panasonic). I then burned the footage to Blu Ray disks using an LG Blu Ray burner and Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 11. I shot each scene with one camera then immediately switched to the other shooting the same scene. I shot indoors at night with just low ambient light, then in the same room the next day with sunlight coming through the windows; and finally outdoors in both cloudy and sunny conditions. First the indoor night results. No comparison. The Canon was much better. Clearer, brighter and more vivid colors. Really no comparison at all. The Canon also out performed the Panasonic the next day shooting indoors during the day. Again not even close.

the results outdoors in full sunlight where different. They were close, but I felt the Panasonic had slightly more vivid colors and better contrast. The Canon was very close and certainly also excellent. I don't think anyone would be unhappy with the results from either camera. Shooting with the sun behind the clouds I could see no difference between the cameras. Both superb.

Both cameras produced needle sharp macro footage in the sun. The Panasonic focused closer for the macro shots. Indoors, tiny print on the kitchen appliances and on soda bottles on the counter, filmed at night and during the day, was sharper with the Canon.

The Canon accepts 2 memory cards. When one is full you can have the camera instantly switch to the other so there is no interruption in the recording; or you can record to both cards simultaneously for an instant backup. Nice feature.

I decided to keep the Canon and sold the Panasonic (for not much less than I paid). It was not an easy decision, but since I do a lot of shoting indoors where the Canon was clearly superior, I felt it was the right decision. Still, the Panasonic is much more compact and has so much going for it that I just might have second thoughts. The Panasonic is also about $400 to $600 less.

10/18/11 ADDENDUM: Since I wrote the above review I had a chance to use the Canon for more extensive filming. I now have no doubts about this purchase. The results were superb in all lighting situations. It is well worth the additional money.

VideoSecu 4 Pack 150 Feet Video Power CCTV Security Camera Cables with BNC to RCA Adapter Connector

These cables are excellent. Just as described. The service from the company was exceptional. We received one short and they send the other one speedily, so we could have continued our installation without hicups.

The purchase of these cables went off without a hitch. The shipping was quick and it was packaged appropriately. I just wish the cables themselves were a little thicker gauge. But, all in all thanks and I'll be back.

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I got them because the ones that came with the OEM were too short. It worked great and I have couple of spares for replacement if needed.

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3 cables worked fine.

1 cable did not and the company tried to say it was my fault and that I did not notify them within 30 days. However, my project started 2 months after receiving the cables.

The seller would not agree to refund any amount. After much disagreement the seller only agreed to have me ship back the cables at my cost and would charge a 15% restocking fee. This would basically make the effort impractical as the cost of shipping plus restocking fee would make a near break-even situation. The issue was not caused by me, but the seller does not stand by his/her quality and then agree to replace at their cost. I suffered many hours just debugging whether it was my camera, or DVR connection, or something else that was malfunctioning. I finally had to go out and buy another cable to narrow the problem down to the malfunctioning cable. Seller has no concern over my wasted effort.

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This is a great addition to the Swann DVR 8...it allows me to cover the extra areas of my property no problem.

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Coby TFDVD7752 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

• Dual screen system allows you to share entertainment easily
• 7 inch widescreen TFT DVD
• 480 x 234 display resolution; NTSC/PAL
• DVD, DVD±R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, JPEG, and MP3 compatible
• Dolby Digital decoding
• 7-Inch widescreen TFT LCD Dual screen system allows you to share entertainment easily
• Anti-skip circuitry, Convenient on-screen display,Multiple language, subtitle, and camera angle support
• DVD, DVD±R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, JPEG, and MP3 Compatible,Dolby Digital decoding
• Digital and analog AV outputs,2 headphone jacks for private listening
• Parental lock controls,Car kit included

We have had this unit for 2 years now and has it is still running well. It has lasted longer than any other portable DVD unit that we have bought in the past. We did have to change the fuse once in the cord, but other than that no issues. It is heavily used with our long drives and no hiccups yet. Would definitely buy again.

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This DVD player system is a good deal for the money. We have used it on several trips with no issues.

Some drawbacks are needing to take it out of the headrest mount to change disks and a shared Video In/Out.

I would recommend this system to someone wanting a system for occasional use.

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I'm still amazed its working. My daughter has had it for 3 years now and it still works fine. She had dropped it a number of times, the face is scratched, BUT it still works. We bought it for her first plane ride when she was 18 months and now she is four and still loves to use it in the car or on her lap. Going to buy another one soon since she has a little brother now and you can hook them together in the car.

Got what I paid for and more!

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The second monitor stopped working the second time we tried to use it. There was sound, but no picture. Would be a good system if it worked. I am returning it for a refund.

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I read the reviews of the other Coby products but thought since this was a newer version that the kinks would have been worked out. I took it out of the box and plugged it in to the wall. It worked fine that time. Then I hooked it up in my car, and the second monitor wouldn't work. There was only sound and no picture. I'm going to spend the extra money and get a better brand. We bought this to use on vacation for the kids and I'm so glad I got it in time to check it out before we left! I won't bother with anymore Coby products.

4 channel 120 FPS H.264 Complete DVR Package with 19 inch LCD Monitor

The product works fine and was delivered very quickly but it didn't come with the monitor like it was advertised. The picture and the links are a bit shady so read what you click on.

Nokia 5200 Unlocked Cell Phone with Camera, MP3 Player, MicroSD Slot--International Version with No

This was my first cell phone and I still love it! I don't have one anymore, since mine was stolen, but I still love it. It worked great for me, especially as a first phone. It was simple and easy to use, had a good display, though not super digitally awesome. I could use it for texting and phone calls and to listen to music. The sound wasn't as great as I hoped, but using headphones made it perfect. It had a sturdy slide, although the inside LCD screen was actually kind of fragile. I ended having to buy a new one after mine "mysteriously" broke. (I slammed my backpack on top of it.)The plastic covering is lasting. I cracked mine down the side however, when i opened up the screen and then sat on the plastic covering, and it was still stolen! The screen of the phone is also kind of difficult to keep clean. But I didn't mind wiping it with my sleeve every now and then. Like other people have said, the back cover is a little hard to remove, but only because they didn't try to take it out while holding down the latch. Another drawback is the lack of flash on the camera, but that's okay. The other qualities of the phone make up for it and if you have nice bright lighting, the camera works fine. The phone also features bluetooth and other connectivity devices. It has a great battery life. The phone came to me with a charger, head phones, a USB connector cord, and a manual. Overall, I really liked the phone. I think it's a great phone to give to someone who either likes simplicity or is just beginning with cell phones. Plus, the black is a nice touch. The lilac version is also cute!

Phone IS indeed unlocked (per interrogating it from internet) and worked right out of the box. Has alot of bennies that are over my head. Only caveat is that I didn't find it as intuitive as I had hoped, but a printed manual was included and online manual also available for download. I'm happy that slide characteristic precludes unintended "pocket calls" and that audio is fine! I'm VERY HAPPY and only wish I was more sophisticated as to enjoying full features of this fine phone. You CAN'T beat the PRICE! My local ATT store chareges much more for phones that are horrible! Paid close to $100 to ATT for basic basic phone with no model # that I can see, and phone is a nightmare! Text unusable, and volume almost inaudible.

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The picture here is different from the phone I got. Though I bought it as a gift I don't know what the user thinks of it

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Philips DVT1500/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer with 2 Built-In Microphones and Dragon Naturally Speak

My wife had a nice little voice recorder that she used to record lectures when she would attend classes. It served her pretty well for quite a few years, but it has nothing on this little device. First and foremost, the device can record up to almost 2 days with the internal memory. The time it gives is literally something over 46 hours at default quality. If by some chance you need more, you can easily upgraded with a cheap micro-SD card to expand up to 32 gigs. I haven't left it running for that long straight, but I can tell the battery life on 2 AAA batteries is quite good. I've been using it off and on for a week and I'm still on full bars.

The recorder is extremely lightweight. You can put it in a shirt pocket and it's not like you'll forget it's there, but it won't be so heavy it's irritating. Set to "lecture mode" it can record a meeting pretty well even from inside an open shirt pocket, but please check applicable laws or you could be guilty of wiretapping if people don't know you're recording; I'm not joking. The display is crisp and clean and I had no trouble making out the info on the screen. Volume is extremely easy to control. The menu items are quite easy to get to. I'll get into features more in a moment, but if you're like me you're most interested in the advertised automated conversion of recordings to text.

One of the selling points for the device is that it can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking, which is one of the premier voice-recognition software programs out there, to transcribe the recordings you've made into a text file or word document. Something you should know about Dragon, even though it's probably the best software out-of-the-box, it is nowhere near perfect. The full version of Dragon is usually over $100, so don't expect to be getting full program along with this device. What you will be getting is simply the transcription module. I'm dictating this entire review using the full version of Dragon 11 and I have to make frequent corrections to make sure it doesn't interpret my speech as something odd. In order to show you what you can expect from transcription using the recorder I did the next portion of the review entirely using the recorder and then transcribing it with Dragon. I spoke slowly and clearly, but made no edits of any kind to what you see below. It should give you an idea how to set your expectations.

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The portion of the review about the voice recognition software on the computer I thought it be a good idea to let the voice recognition software write this part of the review so I'm running it through the recorder and him and ran it into the computer and we will be seeing here is exactly how it comes out of Dragon just a note Dragon 11 is the one that comes along with this record it's a stripped-down version of Dragon 11 which only does the recognition portion if you want to paint the hundred or hundred and $50 price you can get one that does the actual text-to-speech on the computer where you can talk and you do not have recorder of some kind that into it they also have Dragon 12 which is out now it's more or less the same program and schedule little bit more to it as usually get with an upgrade overall it's a 11 is just fine for anything you need

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As you can see, it leaves a bit to be desired, however this is a failing of Dragon not the recorder. I do not say this to be critical of Dragon, but just to be realistic. Converting anybody's random voice is into text is one of the toughest tasks that you can ask of a program. The fact it gets as close as it does is pretty amazing. Just don't expect perfection. If you wanted to record using some of Dragon's commands, you should be able to add punctuation, line spacing, etc. when it outputs to text.

Here are some of the specs I promised about the recorder.

* Stereo recording in MP3 format for excellent sound quality

* Zoom microphone feature for recording at distances of up to 15 meters / 50 feet

* ClearVoice for clear and natural reproduction of speech

* Voice-activated recording mode without pressing buttons (hands-free operation)

* Pre-recording feature, to avoid missing a single word

* Recording and power supply via a USB port for unlimited recordings

* Slot for microSD card for extra storage

* Highlight important parts of your recording using index marks

Organizing your recordings is usually one of the biggest problems you have with a device like this. The more you can record, the harder it is to find your recordings later. The Voice Tracer gives you several folders you can store things into that helps. One neat feature, when you're changing the various folders with the index the beep is different for each folder. It makes it easier to figure out what you're doing without looking so closely. You can also attach a normal computer headset (two jacks, not USB) to it or use an external microphone if you have a better than the one built in; both take standard 3.5mm jacks like a MP3 player uses not the 2.5mm jack many cellphone headsets use. Sorry, virtually no chance of using any cellphone headset with the recorder.

The recorder comes with minimal documentation included in the package. I've read that there's a manual included internally, but I formatted before I saw it. However, the Philips website makes it very easy to get a copy from there as well as a new firmware update. The update I did right after I received it was less than a 4 MB download, though you'll need over 50 MB free on the recorder. What you do, if you want to skip the instructions, is just get the file from their site, plug in the recorder, extract the file to the root directory (i.e. not inside any folders on the device) and then unplug it from the computer. Maybe takes a couple of minutes total and you get a few minor bug fixes, though nothing major stood out. In general, if you have a phone, mp3 player, router, etc. and it's working fine and the firmware doesn't promise some benefit you need, then I advise against updates. They often introduce slow down or more problems than they fix. Users of iPhones may know what I'm talking about. I had zero problems performing the update or using the recorder afterwards, but also noticed no benefit either.

I only have minimal complaints about this product. The first is that when you press the play button after you just recorded something you'll only play the last 2 seconds of recording. You'll have to press the back button to go to the beginning of the recording and then press play. The other minor annoyance is that the cord that comes with the device is extremely short. It's less than 6 inches long. It can make it very hard to attach the recorder to a desktop USB port. However the cord seems to be a standard micro USB cord so you should be able to replace it with something longer easily enough. That's the same type of connection the Kindle third-generation with keyboard uses. Possibly all the Kindles, I don't know beyond that particular model.

I really love this little device. I think it will be great use to me in my job and allow me to take better notes. Highly recommend.

Update 02/13/13

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I got to test out how long the batteries last this week. I recorded in the neighborhood of 11 hours and the indicator showed 2 of 4 bars remaining. I don't know how much of bar two was actually left, but a single set of batteries should easily get you through an all day meeting/class. You can record indefinitely if you leave it plugged into your laptop via USB cord. Just plug it into the computer and it goes into USB mode, then turn on the power switch like you'd normally do and it runs off the computer's power. You can even use it that way without batteries. Very cool.

I was really excited to see the Philips Digital Voice Tracer in the Amazon Vine selections. I write alot and love the idea of chatting freely into the handheld device and then having it auto transcribe my words online. As the owner of Dragon Naturally Speaking, I already have a familiarity of how powerful the software is so adding the voice tracer (which comes with Dragon) seemed like a good idea. However, I was not prepared for the learning curve.

I spent several hours going over the manual online and working with the device and still found it difficult to figure out. I did not feel the online directions were very clear and I think directions should have been included with the device.

On the positive side it is lightweight and the recording sounds crisp and clear. But it will be more hours before I can figure out how to get it to work online to transcribe my words and how to make files etc. I really think it could be more user friendly.

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Having used a recorder for focus groups, I looked forward to the Philips DVT1500/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer, using Dragon Naturally Speaking. What I overlooked was the fact that the device's limitations are such that, the only voice it will (usually) accurately record and transcribe is your own. It will record all that it hears but, it must be trained to your voice and speech pattern to be able to transcribe. So, don't expect it to transcribe the voices of others.

Opening the package and expecting to immediately use it won't happen. You must read the manual (very tiny print) and would probably profit from downloading a more readable version. You must read aloud (into the mic) the text provided (for best adaptation to your voice)any number of times. Reading aloud other text also will help the device to acclimate to your voice and speech patterns. Start-up training can go beyond an hour or more. The more time you invest in this initial period, the greater the accuracy in transcription. Like many things in life, the more you put into something, the more you get out of it.

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I am frankly amazed by this little recorder. I'm still learning. It's well worth your time to read the manual and you really must to properly accesss the myriad features available. But it's intuitive enough that you should be able to do straight voice recording and playback right out of the package (but read the manual!). This device has so many features it's hard to describe briefly . . . .

Huge 2GB of internal memory (literally days of recording time). Plug in inexpensive microSD card for another 32GB!

Excellent clear voice recording including a zoom mic feature to target the recorded source at extra range. Equally clear playback. Stereo recording capable.

Voice recognition voice-to-text capable using the Dragon NaturallySpeaking program. Not perfect and no punctuation, but is an advanced technology and certainly acceptable to provide an editable text to work off of.

Compact (enough) and remarkably lightweight.

Great battery life on 2 AAA cells . . . DAYS of record time, to match the internal memory capacity. And I really prefer these common inexpensive AAA sources, as compared to rechargables and the associated short-life, difficult/expensive replacement, and the recharging inconveniences. Can also be powered via USB.

Speaking of USB hookup . . . there is direct online support from Philips, including online updates and user info (recommended).

Voice activated capable, hands free, including a pre-record feature to avoid missing first words.

Super little unit.

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As part of my participation in the Amazon Vines program I received this product for review.

I already have Dragon 11.5 installed on my PC (will soon be upgrading to 12) and did not need to install the included software. My Windows 7 desktop recognized and installed the drivers for the Phillips recorder with no problem. Dragon imported the audio files and brought them up in Dragonpad. As I worked with it, the transcription quality got a bit better as the software got used to my voice. The intitial ones need quite a bit of editing before it was usable.

As an author, I've found that I'm better when working with the Dragon software on my computer rather than dictating and uploading it to the software. The voice recorder does work well if I am trying to do a scene with lots of dialogue where I can simulate the conversation between the characters. I will continue to work with the product and become more adept at dictation/transcription.

If you are good at dictation or want to become better at it, this is a solid product to work with.

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RCA TH1814 4 GB MP3 Player with Flipout USB and Display

• Small and efficient thumbdrive-style design keeps it simple
• Flip-out USB connection means file transfer is a snap and you never "lose the cap"
• 4GB memory - 1200 songs
• Digital volume control and track navigation make sure nothing gets between you and your music
• Includes earbud headphones

First off, if you are looking for a good MP3 player for under $100, look no further, this is about the best you will find.

Reasons to buy this MP3 player:

#1: It runs on a AAA battery as other less intelligent reviewers have explained. This is awesome if you're on a hike across Europe and have no means of charging your battery in a computer, socket, or whatever. And many AAA/AA battery rechargers will work with portable solar panels, score.

#2: It's light, compact, and will easily withstand 3 years of service so long as you don't throw it at a wall or step on it (I've owned the previous model as well).

#3: YOU DON'T NEED ITUNES, or the software it comes with, thank the heavens. I hate iTunes and originally bought the previous version of this MP3 player for the plain and simple fact that you can drag and drop music into it without needing to install the software. You will get a prompt to install software when you plug it in but it's optional.

#4: It does play audiobooks (another reviewer seems to think it doesn't), however the audibooks have to be in a standard audiobook format, they cannot be in a large (and likely pirated) WMA or MP3.

Reasons not to buy this MP3 player:

#1: It doesn't have an FM Radio like it's older counterpart (RCA TH1702 2GB thumbdrive style MP3 player)

#2: It is very small and should be kept away from babies, toddlers, and animals as some parts are removable.

#3: It is not a status symbol, no one is going to be a impressed, except for you and your wallet knowing you've saved a lot of cash and made a responsible purchase on something that works great for $25.

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I bought this yesterday(July 2 2011) and spent about an hour today messing with it before I decided to do things my way. at first glance it looks great,

usb built in flip out which means no cables.

comes with standard earbuds.

4gb capacity(3.7 if you look closer)

comes with software.

first major problem is the software. Requires your player to be connected(not through a hub but directly to the computer so that the software can detect it) as you install the software(located inside the player itself). This fraustrated me as I didn't figure this out for a good 20mins(I use all my usb ports and have 2 hubs). Creating playlists was crap. It wouldn't load a set of files with track numbers in the right order(no option to even sort by track numbers. Sending it to the player itself took forever, after reading so much about taking advantage of usb2.0 on the box/install notes this was disappointing. This may be because it was creating the playlist at the same time as sorting each mp3 into an artist folder and an album folder and more config files

I decided to treat the player like a shuffle. drop my mp3s into the music folder, set the playmode to shufflerepeatall and thats that. this is great because transfering straight to the drive was faster than the software. I don't even have to deal with multiple folders, its just a music folder with all the mp3s in it. With 4gbs to work with i could probably fit 1200 songs, i use 128kb joint stereo mp3 saves me on space keeps great quality.

I'm no audiophile so all I can say was the headphones work fine so far I keep the volumn at 15(out of 31) and I hear my songs just fine.(normalizing the tracks helps with this.

The interface is a simple, play/pause button are also the power on/off. mode button switches between repeatone,repeatall,shufflerepeatall, just shuffle, or just normal play. volumn and skip controls are near each other, its easy to feel which button to press but having big fingers I sometimes hit the wrong one heh. there's a lock button near the headphone jack so you don't accidentally hit any of the other buttons. Trying to skip to a certain playlist was horrible(manual says it skips artists then skips playlists. I had to skip dozens of artists before it hit the playlist: completely bad.) Like I said earlier i just treated it like a shuffle and did away with playlists, its too much hassle.

The USB flip out is great as holding onto extra lines is inconvenient. you can jump on any computer and just add songs to your player on the fly, really great if you're not at home and your friend has a song you've been wanting.

the only thing i'd have wanted was an armband accessory of somekind but that may add more to the price.

Overall its a good backup 4GB mp3 player for the 20-30usd you may drop for it. It uses a AAA battery that they claim lasts 30hours. I plan on testing this to see. I'll update on wear and tear as well as the battery status at various volumn settings.

Read Best Reviews of RCA TH1814 4 GB MP3 Player with Flipout USB and Display Here

I should have done a little more research on this before I paid $36 (after sales tax). Unfortunately for me, I was excited about the following features:

1. The ability to play both MP3 and WMA files: My 1100 album collection is mixed between the two formats.

2. The cordless aspect: Just plug it into an open USB port and get going

3. Built-in software: Use with any of the 3 computers I use on a daily basis

4. The size of the unit: I've been carrying a portable CD player with MP3 readability for a year and it's heavy and cumbersome. I do a lot of carrying at work so I'm constantly changing tracks/ folders everytime I bend over.

What I hate about this player is:

1. I love music as albums, not as a random collection of songs. This player works more like a shuffler. When I have 1000 songs on a player, I don't want to skip 500 times to get to one song.

2. Skipping between playlists is cumbersome. Most of the time, I would end up just going to the next track.

3. Transferring files from PC to player takes forever. I attampted to put about 80 albums (in MP3 format at 192kbps) on this player and it took well over an hour. This is in spite of the fact that I'm using a computer that is 3 months old. I tried three different options to see if I could find a better way to do this. The enclosed RCA software was by far the most tedious and least user-friendly. Windows Media was a little better but still slow. Finally, I used Windows Explorer and did drive-to-drive copying which was the best of all bad options. Still, despite my ordered arrangement of albums, the songs played out of order (and I made sure I didn't have "Random Play" or "Shuffle Play" on).

Let me put it this way: You will like this player if:

1. You have time to kill getting music on it

2. If you don't care about the order that your songs play in

3. If you want a cheap way to have portable music

That being said, my sister enjoys having this brand of player which makes sense because up until very recently, she was using an early 90s Sony Walkman cassette player as her main source of music. This is great for someone like that. However, if you like a having an anal-retentive amount of control over how your music is catalogued, played and presented, you are requested to keep looking.

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The Mp3 player is conveniently sized and easy to slide into a pocket. It runs on an AAA battery, meaning it doesn't have to be charged, you just have to have some AAAs. This combined with the USB flip-out plug for transporting mp3s means the RCA TH1814 is completely cordless, not counting the headphones of course. Ah, yes, the headphones. As with any cheap mp3 player, the in-ear headphones that come with it are kind of crappy, but they're not complete garbage.

I have some issues with the software, though. The LCD display is 6 characters long, and the text on it (Title, Author, Album) is always moving. When the screen reaches the last letter of the chain, it waits for a few seconds, then moves on to the next info piece. However for some reason the program skips the first letter way faster, and If you're listening to Adele or Jawnae or Ke$ha, the name flashes for 1/8 of a second, then goes the album, and if the album is "21" by Adele or anything else less than 6 letters, the album flashes by too and then the player takes 11 seconds to display the song. Also, there is no menu, so you can only skip forward and backward through songs, which SUX.

Then again, what can you expect from a player this cheap? Its not perfect, but for this price it's great.

P.S. All the sampler music seems to be either instrumental or in Spanish. Is the factory in Puerto Rico or something? I don't get it.

P.S.S. The EasyRip software isn't great, I just manually drag the files onto the drive.

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Love it Love it!!! stores up to 1200! Songs! very Compact and Light has a wonderful feel and fits perfectly in your Pocket its absolutely Wonderful for Jogging Long Car Rides or any occasion to fuel a wide variety of your Favorite Tunes! i Really Love the easy Flip out USB Connection all you have to do is simply Plug The Device into your Laptop or Computer and easily download all your favorite Music in a Flash! you can also Rip your Audio CD,s into the player another Awesome Feature is it has a brilliant Screen that labels Artists and Media as well as stop and Pause button and wonderful Volume Controls and more Buy this wonderful MP3 Player! that's compact light and has an amazing Battery Life! Loaded with Fabulous features to meet your Musical Needs this RCA Device is truly Satisfying in every way I Highly Recommend this to any Music Lover!

Toshiba W714 Hi-Fi Stereo VCR

• 4-head hi-fi stereo VCR with front and rear AV inputs
• 19-micron video heads deliver a clearer picture in EP play mode
• V3 chassis with unique flying preamp design gives superior audio and video performance
• Onscreen programming with icons for quick and easy programming
• Auto setup with channel memory , auto clock set

This is a very good VCRs. This is another unit I saw while shopping. Visiting audio and video stores with the kids continues to be a regular weekend pastime with us. This machine replays VHS tapes giving one of the best pictures on the market today. The picture was very good. The color alignment looked good on both the Panasonic Super-flat TV and especially the Sony Wega TV sets. Resolution was excellent. Usually a good TV set makes VHS tapes look bad. That was not the case here. For controls and features I like the jog shuttle on the remote control. It also has digital tracking which is a must-have now days. Front and rear A/V inputs are also a feature that is a must-have these days.

Buy Toshiba W714 Hi-Fi Stereo VCR Now

This is one of the better VCRs on the market this year. It plays back tapes with very good imaging having one of the best pictures around. The 19-micron video heads record and playback a sharper picture in the EP mode. Pre-recorded tapes play back with an excellent picture too. How good a picture looks is what it is all about but it also has automatic head cleaners, superfast rewind, and an auto clock set feature.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba W714 Hi-Fi Stereo VCR Here

Easy setup and operation. Great picture! I'm amazed at (the value) these days in a VCR. I remember seeing these "high-end" features (jog/shuttle, hi-fi, etc.) 8-10 years ago at 10 times the price. Good job Toshiba, and Amazon!

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I bought this VCR...through Amazon.com....There is not an extended warranty offered. My first mistake. The VCR worked for about 3 weeks. When it worked, it was great. I loved everything about it. All of a sudden no picture, just audio. I went to the Toshiba site and found a repair shop that Toshiba recommends. To make a long story short, this is the 3rd time it's been in the repair shop. They told me they replaced the board. Sounds bad. The repair shop STILL has it from the 3rd trip in March of this year. Now I'm back waiting with Toshiba to get a new VCR. The repair shop tried to pawn a used one off on me. Toshiba was very nice at first, now I'm left hanging by the manufacturer. I have an older Toshiba that still works great. That's why I bought another Toshiba.This VCR was a lemon for me. I read the customer reviews, most weren't good, but I purchased anyways.Even more reason to read the reviews.Save your money and possible headaches on this one folks.

Purchased this unit in Nov 2001. The picture is above average to great, depending on the tape (even on purchased tapes) and the flying amp does make the stills and slow motion a whole lot better.

There is one problem that I have noticed that also affect others who use the linear timing track on the tape. The quality control on some purchased tapes is so poor that this tracking track is too weak for the player to hold track and the picture cuts out very often. An example is the tape with Tommy Lee Jones called U.S.Marshals. It will play on some VCRs but not this unit. Although, other tapes play fine in this machine.

I have noticed that when this tracking problem occurs, playing the tape in Fast Forward does allow you to see the movie (no sound) but the picture is OK.

So I guess you need two VCRs to keep the bases covered.

Overall, it is a good machine.

Panasonic RR-US360 Digital Voice Recorder

After reading other reviews and shopping around I elected to buy a Panasonic RR US360. I am very happy with the ease of use, size, and clarity. However, I will NOT recommend this item to anyone due to the extreme difficulty I have had trying to download the recordings to my Dell D600 using Win 2000. What you do not learn until you have purchased and possibly used the item is that Win 2000 will not recognize the device and you are told to access it via the VoiceStudio software that comes with the item. Great, except it has not worked and doesn't recognize the USB port, much less the device. I have tried contacting Panasonic help and I strongly recommend anyone thinking of purchasing one of these to call them at 1-800-211-7262 and cycle thru the options (1,4,2,7) as given to me by the 'audio technician' to get help with the US360. The minimum wait time I have encountered is 21 minutes, but have yet to get a resolution and having been told I would be called and left my number, after 2 weeks I have yet to be called, have sent in emails via their web, and have not received any response. Panasonic again, absolutely NOT!!!! Call for yourself before buying and save yourself the frustration later.

I am satisfied with the sound of this small voice recorder. However, I cannot install the Voice Studio software onto my computer. I noticed the problem at Circuitcity.com, and thought that was associated with Windows 98. However, I am using Windows ME. I have not had any problems with any other software. Therefore, be aware that this recorder may not work on your computer as well. I am giving a two star rating because 1) the claimed selling point is not working. 2) Panasonic has terrible customer service with this product. No support information on this product on their website. No response to e-mail inquiries. Called them, I was put to wait for 40 minutes and then kicked out. Their customer service let me feel angry.

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Very good quality sound recorder for professional (but non-jounalistic) use: dictation of ones ideas, taking interviews, recording what people say at trade fairs etc...

Takes good enough recordings of very long seminars at low quality settings (up to 8 hours), good meeting recording and interviews at medium setting (4 hours) and excellent recordings at dictation setting. However the latter means only 2h20minutes so you need a portable in the neighbourhood for transferring files so that you can delete and continue recording in this mode. The quality is good without a mic but is even better with a small directional mic that one holds in the direction of the interviewees (especially in noisy environments)

The major weak point is the file transfer soft. Voice Studio recently replaced by Voice Editor is a strange software. One has to stay within the program to transfer files to and from the recorder but also between storage devices. Using simple microsoft copy/pasting of files ruins the whole storage system and audio files become unreadable. So one has to make virtual disk-structures to copy onto backup storage devices. The advantage though is that within the Software one can do a lot with the audio file and if the data is sensitive, a common thief cannot do much with a lost/stolen storage diskette since they will need the panasonic software to listen to the content.

However manipulating the files within the software is easy and has some neat functions if one has to transcribe interviews: dividing of long recordings (so that they become more easy to transcribe or organise in subject classes), gluing two files together, flags in the files etc. Conversion to WAV is possible so one can copy the recordings to CD and play the interviews again on a walkman device.

For non-professionals I find the transmission of audio files to friends via e-mail very awkward: one has to send an replay-exe with the audio files which is a bugger now that everybody has a firewall.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic RR-US360 Digital Voice Recorder Here

Practically everything I own is Panasonic rice maker, home entertainment system, vaccum cleaner, clock radios. I have three of their older voice recorders and this RR360. The device is great. What isn't great is their software. It's hideous. It's worse than hideous, it's the worst commercial software I've seen in a long time. It's the only package I know of that consistently bluescreens Windows 2000 Pro. I'd love to update it to the latest version and see if that helps, but when I use the VoiceStudio Help -> Update menu it stupidly tells me that VoiceStudio is not installed on my computer. They do not offer the software for download separately, you can supposedly only upgrade it through their menu. All attempts to contact Panasonic tech support are fruitless. The recorder uses a proprietary format and they don't release specs so you can't use it with Linux, older Windows versions or future Windows versions just the ones out now. Right now I've got a rather important 2 hour meeting stored on it that I can't upload because every time I try it bluescreens the two computers I've got their software installed on. I'm going to have to capture the analog audio as a .wav file.

I'm a huge Panasonic fan, but don't buy this one because they won't let you get to your own data and they won't respond to requests for tech support on it.

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I totally agree with Jeff. In fact, I wish he wrote his review before I purchased the RR-US360! My laptop has Windows XP and I can't download the driver either. Windows doesn't recognize the device and I can't even manually install the driver from the CD. I keep getting:

The specified location does not contain information about your hardware

Customer service is really bad! They keep you on hold for a long time and then don't even help you fix the problem. Ridiculous!

Other than the above, the voice recorder works pretty well.

DS-5000 Professional Voice Recorder

Less than 1 star

While the recorder is functional, the dictation software is not very good. endless problems, requiring frequent long calls to service line. unhelpful service people. Overall not a useful product in our experience, cannot recommend

My first one is still working great, so the rest of the office is getting them! Easy to send dictation.

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HP iPAQ HW6900 Series HW6945 HW6940 Pocket PC Smartphone Handheld

I've been using this PDA phone for 2 years now and it's excellent! I bought TomTom GPS software for it and works great. Keeps me super organized with the calendar, contacts, and task options. I used it a lot for Nursing references and drug book. Phone-wise, can't ask for more. It uses the contacts from the contact list. Phone sound quality is nice and clear. I also like to take it jogging using the Media Player. Syncing with my Outlook is a breeze. Wifi is a nice touch for airports and while away from the computer. I didn't do the data plan with the phone, but I'm sure that would be another nice option if you like that sort of thing. Overall, very happy with the product.

I am very disappointed with this product, IPAQ 6945. Battery life is frequently less than a full day. Using WIFI, the GPS, or being out of range of a cell station will drastically lower the life of the battery. I can no longer find an extended life battery. When I originally wanted to buy an extended life battery and I wondered with the sales rep how it could fit in the current battery compartment, the rep did not know. I was afraid if I bought the battery and it did not fit I would be out of luck. The rep I spoke with on the phone could not calm my fears. A good return policy would have sufficed.

The battery that shipped with the phone did not work well with the battery life indicator in Windows Mobile. Batteries from other manufacturers reported the remaining charge more accurrately.

I did have to return the phone once for service and after we got my issue back from India or Pakistan the service was just wonderful.

Once an application is started it continues to run until the user stops it or the phone is rebooted. This seems to make the system run slower and slower. The way an applcation is stopped is to go into system settings, then into memory and click stop.

With Windows xp or equivalent I am used to frequent updates of the software. I don't see any easy way to get updates installed on my phone.

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RCA Akimbo Video On Demand Player Featuring the Akimbo Service

• Download movies and programs direct to your TV
• Access the latest Hollywood movies from Movielink
• Choose from thousands of programs based on your interests
• Queue and View a personalized on-demand library
• Easy to Setup, Easy to Use

I got the Akimbo & plugged it in & connected it, no problem. The challenge I have with it is that after paying a $9.99 monthly subscription fee, I really expected to see some good content. But what I've found is that all of the good, premium shows & movies cost more--a couple of bucks individually. The shows that come with the monthly subscription seem to be lower tier national geographic/short form/special interest type of programming. It doesn't grab me as worth the monthly subscription fee & I find I'm not watching it enough to justify.

The other frustrating thing for me was that after getting it all to work initially, I had to go download the content, which basically took overnight since it's coming through my broadband connection. I'm not opposed to content being downloaded, but I what I really would have liked would have been a bunch of content preloaded on the device & "just there" so that I could get started watching!

The Akimbo UI is good and intuitive. They've done a good job integrating account management controls from the PC as well.

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For me renting movies at a video center or even netflix is a thing of the past. This thing is great, just order the movie and you will be watching in no time. No need to return the movie or late fees ever again! The other shows available for free are great too!

C2G / Cables to Go 40170 SonicWave Combined S-Video/Stereo Audio Cable (25 Feet, Gray)

high image quality i would recomend this cable to anybody, it is very consistent, the audio cables diplay sharpenes stereo sound, you can also use it as video cables for extra chanels.

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VideoSecu Wide Dynamic Range WDR 700TVL Infrared Security Camera Built-in 1/3" SONY Effio CCD DSP 9

This camera offers 700TVL resolution and very good features, with a good 9-22 zoom range. The field of depth is quite shallow so careful focus on the point you wish to capture is essential. The focus and zoom controls are internal to the device, so it may be awkward to adjust when mounted, but this does add some security to the install as well.

On my unit the IR stopped working after a couple of days of testing, but this was traced to a loose wire from the control board. Re-seating the connector fixed the problem.

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Nokia C2-01.5 Unlocked GSM Phone with 3.2 MP Camera and Music and Video Player--U.S. Version with W

The Nokia C2-01 is a feature phone. It does not do the web well. The 3G on this phone is pretty slow on AT&T when compared to the iPhone, and the interface is not touch screen. If you want those things, you should buy the iPhone. It's a cool phone, and you can play sweet games about birds and tweet a picture of the panini you are eating for dinner on Twitter, no problem.

After a week, I am in love with this phone. It takes good-enough pictures, does Gmail pretty well, has great bluetooth connectivity, and plays my music. I can tether my iPad and computer to its data connection (AT&T) at no extra cost. The data connection is not fast but it gives me the web anywhere when I want it and, more importantly, its limited connectivity/non-touchscreenness helps me forget the web when I'm with my family.

As a former iPhone user, I used to make fun of people with feature phones. Now, it seems like I'm more aware of actual life when I'm out getting my pizza party on with the wife and kids. Instead of sitting face-down in some Facebook with stuff going on around me, my phone stays in my pocket and my attention stays on what's important.

It's not the phone for everyone, but it helps me be a better dad.

If you feel distracted by your technology, but still want to retain some connectivity (for work or even with other gadgets), this is not a bad choice. And it's cheap.

It's a great phone. One of my favorite features is it's capability to sync with Microsoft Outlook using the Nokia OVI software. It is an accurate and seamless sync and the phone has the capability to hold 2000 contacts and my complete calendar.

Impressive.

Buy Nokia C2-01.5 Unlocked GSM Phone with 3.2 MP Camera and Music and Video Player--U.S. Version with W Now

First, I love this phone;It was everything I wanted, without all the "smartphone" junk and expense I wouldn't use. I didn't want to get stuck in another 2 yr contract, and have to buy a data plan with AT&T, just because I had to have a new phone. I researced for weeks, with no cell phone, ended up buying a gophone, LG Encore (touchscreen horror story!) and using it for 2 weeks before I settled on this phone. So I didn't just jump into a new phone.

This phone is great as far as sound, dialing, texting, if ALL you want is a simple phone; If that was all, I'd give it 5 stars, so if you want to get a good, plain phone, at this price, go for it. You can stop reading now.

However, if you want a phone you can use to take and then send or ever receive multimedia messages, keep looking. The camera, although a 3.2 mp takes grainy, blurry pictures.

My biggest issue with the phone is that I can't ever receive or send anything except text messages. Forget the cute Christmas pics I was supposed to have gotten from friends and relatives! I had the phone for about 3 weeks before deciding there must be a problem, since I had more than 1 person ask what I thought of the pics they had sent! This phone IS NOT UNLOCKED to receive multimedia (mms)messages. Believe me, I have tried! I have spent literally hours on the phone with AT&T tech people over the last 3 days, trying to see if it could be set to receive mms. Every tech rep was extremely helpful and made calls, searched the web, and did all they could to try and help. After the first 2 days of working to find the problem, we even decided to return the phone and get another one (Amazon advertises the phone as unlocked for mms as well as web access). I received the new phone yesterday, and after letting it fully charge, went through the whole ordeal of set-up again. Then spent another hour on the phone with a tech, same thing.

This phone WILL NOT accept, or send, multimedia messages, and you CANNOT access the web (though it is supposed to be unlocked to do that and is advertised as such), IF you use AT&T services (I can't speak for other carriers), be aware this will not work for you.

One last thought, since I'm sure many of us might assume it is AT&T's fault, since this is not their phone maybe they just don't want to put in the codes needed. I also had a conference call with Nokia. The rep I spoke to was very rude and refused to help or assume any responsibility from Nokia. I had called Nokia and been told to have the AT&T tech person do a conf call with me and they would be able to help. When I got a tech person on the phone and called Nokia back, their rep was unbelievably rude and a huge waste of time. Nokia refused to help at all. I now have to either keep a "dumbed down" phone, or go through the process of trying to find a good phone all over again! So, buyer be aware!

Read Best Reviews of Nokia C2-01.5 Unlocked GSM Phone with 3.2 MP Camera and Music and Video Player--U.S. Version with W Here

I bought the Nokia C2-01 after reading reviews and being an Old Sckool kind of guy when it comes to phones. I need a Phone to Talk and Text, I got a Laptop for the rest....

I use T Mobile Prepaid. When I first set up the phone I had a Problem. I could Not send or recieve picture messages. The only way I could get internet was through the Browser. The other functions like OVI store, Nokia.mobi, Home, and Web Services would not work.

""So here is how these Problems can be FIXED"",

I went to T Mobile online, go to bottom of the page and click on Contact Us, a new page will come up, on the top left click on Get Support Online .

Now when you do this you will need your T Mobile PIN number, NO problem if you forgot it, the Live Advisor will help you set up a new one. After all the confirmation of who you are, The Live Advisor will send you a message to the phone and with a code (1234), open the message enter the code and "ALL is FIXED", just to make sure the live advisor will tell you to take a photo and send it to yourself. Yea send it to your own phone number, I did not use my area code and it worked, I got my own picture message. After doing this my Nokia C2-01 worked 100% all issues with sending picture messages, and other functions were FIXED !

Personnaly the only time I "might" use the Web Browser is to check my Lotto Numbers, if you do the Face Book thing this phone is not for you because the screen is to small.

I also bought on Amazon the "I Talk" phone case it does the job and all opennings are perfect, there are some on ebay , But I have noticed all cases for the Nokia C2-01 mostly come from England (Royal Mail) could not find any here in the USA and there are some from China(ebay). The only thing I could find sold here in the USA are Screen Protectors, "don't forget them".

Head Set (Headphones) I bought this Nokia C2-01 new from Amazon, for the few $$$$ more why buy a used one? Anyway the phone came with a Nokia Head Set (headphones), This phone only works well with is own brand the Nokia Head Set that came with it. I have several Head Sets and my favorite Skull Candy Head Set, but they do not work well, they sound awefull, must use the Nokia Head Set !

"Volume Control", are the other people that write these reviews about poor volume control "For Real"......This Nokia C2-01 Earpiece has Excellent Volume and Excellent Volume Control settings. .....Heres what you do....go to Menu, go to Settings, go to Navigation Key and select a short cut for the Volume Control on the Navigation Key (up or down or left-right, you pick). This little phone can get loud and the Media Player there is a different volume control that works well for the Media Player.

This Nokia C2-01 is small, light and sleek, never had a problem with number keys being small for my Man hands, Has USB and Memory Card slots on the side. Head Set and Charging Jack on the top.

Camera works, 3.2 MP for 1536x2048, 2.0MP for 1200x1600, 1.2MP for 960x1280, 0.5MP for 600x800, 0.3MP for 480x640, and 0.1MP for 240x320 this is a phone not a 14.1 MP Sony Cybershot, OK....

Signal is Excellent, I work in a Hospital and never lost signal anywhere in the building. There is a Lanyard Slot on the top left side but you have to open the back cover to string it up and use it (if your into using a lanyard). Battery life is Excellent, charge last a long time. Good choice of ringtones. comes with 4 games Sudoku, City Bloxx, Brain Champ. , and Block'd .

Media player is Great for this small phone, I use a 8GB micro SD memory card , listen to music with headset or speaker, I got a usb cable and the phone sync'd up with NO problem with my hp laptop music , photos, etc..and charges

This is a Nice Simple Little Phone that gets the Job done.

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Looks great, great touch of keys, loud ring and low cost, Also very easy to use, and I can use it with my T-Mobile pay as you go plan!

RCA RP5010 Digital Voice Recorder

The RCA RP5010 is an excellent voice recorder for those on a tight budget, yet needing a long (3 hour) recording time. It is easy to use, fits in a palm and offers outstanding recording quality. As for me, I use it a lot in college for taking notes. The only con I can think of is its short battery life; nevertheless, it comes equipped with a 3VDC adapter jack a lifesaver for me.

Just wanted to make a correction: This unit DOES pause during playback. Just press PLAY during playback and it pauses. Press PLAY again and it picks up where it left off. I just tried it. The built-in clock will go through batteries if you just leave it sitting. Lots of features, but a fairly complicated menu structure.

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My first DVR. I use it for my 2 weekly customer conference calls. Both meetings last about an hour, then I transcribe action items, release schedules, etc. In the two months I've had it, I've burned through 5 sets of batteries. Not too pleased with that result. Insult to injury, I am unable to find the 3 volt adapter that it will accomodate. Not on this site, not at RCA.com, not surfing the net. Next stop Radio Shaft. 'Zon should provide access to that assessory. Be prepaired to drop coin on AAA cells.

Skip back button is very tricky, and a feature I use heavily. Hold it down long, it skips slow, hold it down longer, it goes a little faster, which is the same as the skip forward action. But, if you just tap the back button, it goes all the way back to the start of the recording! So, I'm 1/2 hour through transcription, don't hold down the tiny little back button as long as it thinks is necessary, and I must start over. Keep a very close eye on the time counter when using any of these functions so you can navigate your way back to the moment you fat-finger it.

I also pick up a terrible screech that is undetectable during recording, but ear melting on playback. Only happens at the office (tested it at home with no problem). Since I bought if only for the office, this reduces its usability quite a bit. Had to do over, I would have shopped more.

Dennis Kucinich for President!

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I think this handy little device is perfect for all of the times when I need a quick and easy way to remember things from my travels. I'd recommend this item to anyone without any reservations.

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I have had this recorder for about 3 years and have used it off an on. If you are left handed, it it better to learn to use it in your right hand as important controls are on the right edge of the device.

It has good sound quality and is reliable. Buttons on the front are a little small but you get used to them. It is worth the price.

Insignia Progressive-Scan Multiformat DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW DVD Recorder/Hi-Fi VCR Combo

• Record TV, movies or music to DVD-R/-RW and DVD+R/+RW
• 4-head hi-fi VCR provides stereo sound and outstanding picture quality in both SP and SLP recording speeds
• Progressive-scan video output maximizes the picture quality when used with a digital TV or monitor
• Plays DVD, DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW, DVD+R DL, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, DivX and XviD formats, plus VHS tapes

It is very easy to transfer VHS tapes to DVD-R disks with this unit, insert a blank DVD-R disk, start the tape, and hit the "dubbing" button, that's all. That's the good part. The bad part is that it broke after only 1 month of relatively light use. The VCR motor began making loud grinding noises and nothing would play, including DVDs. Kudos to BB, though, they "fixed" it in only 2 weeks. The unit has worked since (2 months or so), but one time it did make the grinding noises, so I am wary. Also, the picture quality is average to poor on DVD playback compared to my Panasonic CP-72S, so I keep the Panny hooked up also for playback use. By poor picture quality I mean the colors are weaker and you can see jagged edges on diagonal lines. It is certainly watchable, just not as good as 90% of players out there. In conclusion, not a bad buy for what I paid (less than half of list), use it only for VHS transfers and it is probably ok. Keep in mind LG is the old "Goldstar" brand, low end c**p mostly, but they have been successful in improving their quality and image somewhat, but apparently not on this one. If I had to pay full price, I'd consider spending a bit more and getting a better unit.

Update: January 4, 2007: unit has same problem again, motor grinds continuously. Stellar Best Buy customer service refused to provide me a refurbished or replacement unit. Given the issues and poor video quality, into the garbage it goes...

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I've used this recorder (the VCR and the DVD recorder both) for months now and I absolutely love it. Flawless recording, fantastic playback, and perfect recording. My other DVD recorders (a Centrios and an RCA) had so many issues they weren't woth keeping. The other reviewer may have had a bad unit, but needlessly insulting LG as "low end c**p" isn't very helpful.

Remember to use rewriteable DVDs to make nice custom menus for your recordings. You'd be surprised how many editing options you have for your recordings.

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I've owned this item for about a month and have had no problems with it at all.

Contrary to the experience of the other two users here the DVDs I've created (either by dubbing from a VCR tape or by recording live TV) have worked flawlessly in the other two DVD players I own. Mind you, you do need to finish a disc before you insert it into a standard DVD player, but that's to be expected. The VCR has also worked fine every time I've used it.

I also appreciate that machine has a number of inputs that allow you to use it essentially as a hub for the rest of your devices. I have both my computer and my cable box connected through composite/s-video inputs and thus never have to touch my TV remote. Also, unlike some VCR/DVD combinations only requires one set of outputs not matter what you're doing. Other DVD/VCRs only allow you to output only DVDs through the higher quality component video and coaxial audio outputs. On the contrary this device outputs everything through all of its outputs, allowing you to use only one set of inputs on your TV/Audio Receiver. Finally, this device does have both coaxial audio and optical audio outputs, so you can be flexible depending on what inputs are available on your receiver.

Finally, the timer record works quite easily and it can do both specific date and "every Monday-Friday" or "every Tuesday" recordings. I highly recommend using DVD+RW or DVD-RW discs for day to day recording it'll save you a ton of money

As another reviewer noted, the picture quality isn't quite what you'd get from a higher-end device, but given the price and the other features that wasn't enough to dissuade me from giving this device high marks.

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Bought one about 2 years ago and it was flawless. I backed up my kids vhs tapes to dvd's which of course it records them in Divx format but no big deall as my other players also does divx. About 8 months ago it got to where it wouldn't play dvd's. I opened it up and tried cleaning the laser but still had the same results. I also noticed the dvd drive itself was basically the same as a computer dvd drive and used the same cable hook ups. So removed my dual layer burner from my pc and installed it (had to design a way to mount it so it aligned up with the opening)in the dvd/vhs player. Perfect again....

Oh incase someone is wondering this doesn't play vcd or svcd out of the box but there is a hack you can do to turn that option on in a hidden settings menu and the remote (just google it) I did it in 5 mins and it works great!!!

I have had my combo player for 5+ years. I have never had an issue. I transferred over 500 vhs tapes to DVD and recorded several movies off tv. It was one of our best purchases. It is very easy to use. I also bought mine from Best Buy and would buy it again...

Intocircuit® Power Castle Series PC26000 26000mAh Multi-Voltage 5V/12V/16V/19V Laptop Smartphone T

IMHO this is a five 5 stars product.

I've been looking for a chic, huge capacity yet portable battery for a while. And Intocircuit Power Castle fits my taste. When I take it out from my computer bag, my clients would be amazed by its look. It fits my taste, actually it does fit my image. Its high-end beautiful appearance indicates good quality at first sight. More importantly, it's not pricy at all compared with those 20000mah ones.

With this power bank, now I don't have to look around for a power outlet in restaurants. I like its huge capacity—26000mAh.This one charges my HP CQ60 in about 1.5 hours (mine is a 6 cell). It allows me to comfortably talk with my clients for several hours with the laptop on.

I like that it has all-in-one compatibility, able to charge my laptop, my phone and my Ipad, so that I don't have to carry too many chargers for different devices. It's really a clever design, by just adjusting the voltage for different the electronics I want to charge.

It's said that this Intocircuit power bank is used with Li-Polymer battery cell. Its safety and reliability is one of the reasons I chose to buy it. No wonder it recharges so efficiently and doesn't lose its mAh overnight. I bought some other brand of power bank before. Totally a different experience. So I think it's important to look what kind of battery cell a power bank uses before you buy one.

It can be recharged by DC power, totally convenient. I should give it one more star.

I've introduced this power bank to a lot of friends and clients. I think if I were their agent, I could make a lot of money out of it, LOL... It improves my life. Thanks for bringing in such a quality product.

This is an excellent charger/power supply that can deliver external power to charge or operate a wide variety of devices.

Pros:

-Arrives excellently packaged in a two-layer carton. The charger itself is in the top layer. The bottom layer has three compartments holding the AC adapter, the USB charging connecting connectors and the DC charging connectors.

-Charging connectors by the score...literally. This charger includes 20 charging connectors. 11 are various 5V form factors for power output from from the USB port. 9 more are connectors for taking power from the user-switchable 12V/16V/19V DC output port.

-LONG battery life. I'm sure other reviewers have the technical skills to address the loading and performance in technical terms. While I don't possess that kung fu, I tested this in the real world by using it as the power source for a laptop. This device delivered over six hours of usable power to a laptop as I used it for normal office productivity tasks, web browsing and playing music through the speakers. Add that to the laptop's own battery life, and you're going to be juiced up for all but the longest flights.

-Looks good; brushed dark aluminum case.

Con:

-Marginally useful user manual. For example, it claims the LED lights will glow steady red when the charger has completed its own AC charging. They do not: they stay green.

Neutral:

-Weight. This weighs 1 pound, 9 ounces. So you'll be doing some risk/gain assessments before tossing this in a bag:-)

Overall, delivers what it's supposed to with great results.

Note: This item was provided at no cost for review purposes.

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My work keeps me travelling extensively especially in airports and on airplanes. I always hated having to find an open outlet in the terminal somewhere and being tethered to that outlet while awaiting my next plane. Now I don't have to anymore because I take my recharging station with me. This sleek aluminum unit fits easily into my backpack or briefcase and allows me to easily recharge my iPhone 5, laptop or my iPad 3 while I am anywhere including in the air. The unit quality is excellent and it came with all of the cords and adaptors that I could possibly need including a carrying bag. You can easily charge your phone or iPad multiple times over before this external battery needs to be recharged. Overall it was an excellent purchase and has certainly given me the freedom that I need to stay connected while traveling.

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It claims to have a 26000mah battery in it, my laptop has a 3060mah battery. Strictly math that should be a bit more then 7 full laptop charges, accounting for Inefficiencies and room for error Id be happy with 2 full laptop charges, I however get 1 full charge with maybe 30min worth to spare there after.

However I am traveling abroad and I needed it and it otherwise works!

Ps, donot switch voltages (I was trying to use 16v instead of my laptops 19v on a full battery to just power not charge, anyway I bumped it & in the way it fell the voltage switch got bumped to 19v (my laptops normal) but the change in voltage freaked my ultrabook out requiring the main and cmos batteries to get pulled and reseated before it would work again)

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Myself and family, as well as our friends, spend a lot of time doing outdoor activities. Living in very northern Minnesota, someone is always heading out with family for a weekend at a cabin, out for a hunting trip with the guys, or packing for some other kind of fishing or camping trip elsewhere. Living way up here, we're already quite a ways out from the larger cities. So when people head out even further, there is no typically electricity to hook into. If the cabins have any kind of power at all, it's a fuel run generator for running heat or lights. There's no outlets to plug anything in to. Often times there may not even be a cabin where everyone is headed out to, and we are all just bringing small RV's or pull-behind travel trailer. The camps sites rarely have any kind of electrical hookups.

However we do all still have cell phones, GPS devices and tablets we would like to charge up while were there. While the small, more portable battery packs are nice, once the power has been depleted from them, we can't recharge them until we all get back home. That's where this huge battery pack turns into a lifesaver. Everyone can recharge all their devices over the entire weekend and there's still battery life left when we get home. It could easily charge up netbooks, large tablets and even small laptops. But what we really love this huge battery pack for being able to recharge over and over again, our cell phones, GPS devices and the electronics of everyone who's out on the trip with us. My daughter can charge her Kindle Fire, I can charge my iPad mini and iPhone, my husband can charge his old flip-phone (using the charging base that came with the phone that converts to a USB charging connection) and his handheld GPS device, and we still have power left to charge digital cameras, mini video recorders or anyone else's cell phones that need charging too. With this beast of a battery pack, no wall outlets is no problem.

I've also started keeping this pack charged all the time, in case of an emergency where the power goes out. In our small town, we've had incidences even recently where the power has been out for hours, and times in the past few years where (because of bad weather) we lost it for days. Even at work, there would be no power. By having this pack charged and always ready, we have a way to keep our phones charged (we don't even have land-line phones anymore) and we can take it with us to work and let our co-workers recharge their phones should they need to. All it takes is one bad storm to knock out the power, to make this battery pack worth having on hand. It's so large and holds so much power, you'll find there's a million uses for it.

It's large, about the size of a a 7 inch tablet, only thicker. It weights as much as a book, and the brushed metal casing is very sharp looking. While we use this when we're in the great-outdoors, it has got the looks for use in the office, on a business trip or anywhere else. It comes with a TON of different adapter tips and cables for charging just about every device you can think of. It also has a USB port so you can use your own chargers that have a USB connection on one end. The battery pack has a voltage switch, so you can switch between the voltages when charging up devices like laptops. This is needed so you're not overpowering or under-powering it, which can cause damage. It's so large, it even has it's own wall adapter for recharging it, that resembles ones that come with small notebook computers. It's one mighty power bank, and so far, it's handled everything I've thrown at it!

A sample unit was provided for reviewing purposes.

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