Rosewill - Pellucid HD Series High Speed HDMI cable (6 FEET)

The cord is exactly what I needed and is of good quality. Worked well with my TV and Converter to my Mac.

This item was exactly as I expected. No problems. I received it quickly and the recordings I'm making seems to be fine.

Buy Rosewill - Pellucid HD Series High Speed HDMI cable (6 FEET) Now

This cable was very inexpensive, and it did exactly what it was advertised to do. I would recommend this to anyone in need of a HDMI cable.

Read Best Reviews of Rosewill - Pellucid HD Series High Speed HDMI cable (6 FEET) Here

ARKON CMP214 Windshield and Dash Mount for Cameras with 1/4 20 Screw Thread

I really like this product. I am a horrid photographer but I often need photos to accompany my articles. This car mount for my camera has improved my photos 100%. It works on either the dash or on the window. It adheres very strongly, has incredible tilting abilities, both the hinged arm and the head itself where the camera goes. Holds the camera securely. I am impressed with the product and pleased with the price. I highly recommend this for anyone who has to take photos on the fly or just wants to take a video of a car trip.

Our family was planning a road trip, and I wanted a suction mount for my camera that I could attach to the exterior of my car to take family pictures wherever we went. (see my picture in the gallery) I didn't need anything fancy, and I didn't want to spend too much money. This suction mount was exactly what I was looking for.

The suction cup is strong and held my little point-and-shoot camera with no problem. If necessary, it could probably hold my DSLR too, but I didn't need to do this. The adjustable arm locked just fine and was easy to use. The part that attaches to the camera adjusted by friction and was handy in helping to point the camera in the right direction.

I did not mount the camera on the interior windshield, but if I did the camera would be upside down because the adjustable arm is not long enough.

I'd buy it again and would recommend this suction mount to anyone who needs a simple one.....and the price is reasonable.

Buy ARKON CMP214 Windshield and Dash Mount for Cameras with 1/4 20 Screw Thread Now

I bought a dash camera from DealExtreme some time ago, and the rubber suction on the dash mount melted on a hot day. So I bought this one to take a chance and see if it will melt during hot (90F-100F) Southern California days. We've been having 90F+ weather for 2 weeks now, and with that the windshield and inside of the car gets even hotter under the sun. This mount is still going very strong under the heat punishment. Seems like the rubber suction is made of higher quality material. I suction the mount onto the windshield directly so I'm not sure if the included adhesive pad will withstand the same heat.

Pro:

Suction doesn't melt under the hot sun (90F+ weather).

Sturdy mount. No abnormal vibration from camera footage.

The tightening knobs have not come loose after extensive use.

Con:

Doesn't give you as much flexibility on height and angle as some other dash mounts. You just have to 'settle' with a configuration that works best.

Read Best Reviews of ARKON CMP214 Windshield and Dash Mount for Cameras with 1/4 20 Screw Thread Here

This mount can be used also for Garmin nuvi. The camera screw adapter can be removed to expose the ball which works with the Garmin swivel mount.

Want ARKON CMP214 Windshield and Dash Mount for Cameras with 1/4 20 Screw Thread Discount?

I paid a little over 6 dollars for this product so I expected something that was pretty cheap. I only wanted it so I would be able to film in my car without having to hold my camera. (something I figured I wouldn't need to be excellent quality) When it arrived I found it to be VERY sturdy and the suction cup is VERY strong. All of the hinges tighten really well and stay in the position you put it. The price and quality are excellent! Def. recommend this one!

Save 49% Off

Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I've used higher-end ProSumer camcorders for a while and virtually every other generation of video camcorder since 1980. I recently used a Sony HC3 HDV handheld but gave that to my daughter when I got this HV30.

The HV30 has a great picture and all that. So I think I'll focus on what's either really cool, or a bit off-putting for a buyer.

Really Cool:

Video quality is the best you can find on today's one-chip HDV camera. Some 3-chip cameras have a better color depth but many 3-chip cameras actually have a worse picture. They did a great job.

It plays other Canon HDV tape. I own and use a XH A1 3-CCD canon HDV camera and the HV30 plays its tapes even better than the XHA1 seems to. That's great because I can save the A1's guts for a few more years.

It has virtually every output port you could wish for (today). HDMI, Component (yes Component!), Composite, USB and Firewire. Its very complete.

It worked with Apple FinalCut Pro without any trouble. I can't even get he XHA1 to work with it without screwing around with it for a while.

It has a mic input jack which Podcasters love, but I and other have been having trouble with it. I believe Canon didn't make a simple mic jack but some kind of phantom powered mic this or that, which hobbyist would not really use. So to make it work, and this is the tip, you have to go into the menu and turn on an option, then go into a different menu and adjust the gain and/or volume. Oops, maybe this should be a "not so cool" item.

The Not so Cool.

The ergonomics are poor. My hand doesn't feel comfortable holding it no matter how I adjust the hand strap. I've never had this issue with any other camera.

The Record start/stop button is in the wrong location. They put their goofy "joy stick" right where a person's thumb falls while holding the camera, so you're instinctively pushing on the joystick instead of the start/stop button while filming. The worse part, the Joystick is really crap as an interface element.

Noisy camera. The camera makes noise when you move it (shake it) it makes noise when you zoom and it makes a ton of noise when you insert or eject a tape.

Poor image when filming motion. If you're filming a scene and you move the camera, you are going to get streaking of the image. Why? I believe/assume its because unlike Canon's great D-SLR cameras in low light, their video equipment doesn't have the lower ISO (low light) capability that Sony's or everyone else has. Not sure why, but it seems to be a consistent theme with Canon. Fortunately it has a built-in light useful for those birthday parties but not much else.

The Bottom Line

For the under $800 it costs, its worth it if you're filming your vacations, holidays, birthdays and whatnot.

If you're a podcaster and want something with every connection known to man, its more than worth it for the HDMI and mic jacks alone.

If you wish you could afford the Canon XH A1 or better and want nearly as good a picture, this is the camera for you.

If you simply want a tape drive for your XH A1, this is actually cheaper than a commercial CANON HDV tape drive.

The bottom, bottom line is Sony had lost its way and CANON's HV30 is the current champ in the hand-held HDV camcorder race. I like sony better, but I don't like getting nickeled and dimed to death. You buy the Canon HV30 and you'll be happy with the results.

Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I'm very happy with my Canon HV30. I rate the picture quality, color quality, low-light ability, white balance all excellent. The zoom control is a little close for my fingers and I found myself holding the camera less firmly (ie with the tips of my fingers rather than my whole hand) which would be wearisome on a long shoot, but tripods are still the best way to shoot video for steady pictures. On the other hand the anti-vibration correction seems to help a lot.

The total package is good, not excellent and includes a battery with a nice contact protector that doesn't look like it will fall off (unlike the protector plate on the Elura and Optura that has to be taped on because it is so loose.) The plate keeps the battery from discharging on the keys in your pocket or bag. It also includes a charger which will also operate the camera without the battery, which is very handy. This is only good, because it won't charge the battery unless it is in the camera, so you can't charge while shooting with another battery.

The package also includes a remote control (see above) that frustrated me the first time I used it and seems to be of marginal utility. However, all of the minor problems with the package can be remedied with an add-on accessory. The camera is what does the work and it is excellent.

I've had this camcorder only one week. It was a busy week with kids graduation and parties and night club rock concerts on the video agenda but I learned a lot shopping for this camera and using it all week, so maybe my story will help you.

First, why miniDV rather than flash, hard disk or dvd? I already have two mini dv cameras, a Canon Optura and an Elura. These have given me good service and images that were the envy of my Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic-owning friends. The only brand I compare to Canon is Sony (for similar consumer equipment). I rejected the flash and DVD models because the recording time is too short. DVD, in particular, is a rip-off with just 15 minutes for a $10 disk.

This kind of short recording time is OK if what you want is to capture 1 or 2 minutes of magic moments and have them immediately available to put in a player. Personally I find the tape just as good for instant replay on the built-in video screen. It takes a couple minutes longer to rewind the tape.

The hard drive models have a recording time advantage that initially attracted me, but the transfer issue is what made me decide to stay with a minidv. Ultimately all video has to be transfered to another medium to be used and archived. I have been transfering my minidv tapes to computer hard drives and dvd for years.

Transfer is a tediuos, time-eating process that has caused me to spend more upgrading my computer and software than I spent on the cameras. Yes, I can make DVDs with my video; I can make YouTube videos; and I can put my own video stuff on my iPod and Zune. But it takes a lot of time to get the results I want.

Why tape? It's cheap and convenient. Video takes a lot of disk space to store the original and then to edit and render into other formats. I buy the cheap tapes but I only record them once. I can carry 2 or 3 which give me 2 or 3 hours recording time. The real restraint is the batteries. Once I have the image on tape I don't erase it. I can play it immediately if I want to, but the ultimate goal is to transfer it to hard disk for editing and archiving. The real godsend is the recent plethora of cheap 500 GB (now 750 and soon 1TB) external USB hard drives. The transfer time is a chore; so is the indexing.

Tape is patient. I can do it on my schedule. With a hard disk, it can get full at a time that is inconvenient to transfer but I need to do some more shooting. Then I would have to consider the dreaded DELETE of something I shot. With tape I can postphone transfering and editing for months without impairing my camera readiness. After I transfer, I still have the tape.

I considered the Sony HDR-HC9 and the older Canon HV20 vs. the Canon HV30. I was tempted by the 6MP in the Sony and also by the low prices on the HV20. I saw a deal on an HV20 for $520 but it was gone before I made up my mind to settle for it. Ultimately I was looking at $999 for the Sony or $771 for the Canon. The HV30 had 30p mode and the $228 savings provided a budget for extra batteries and other goodies.

So am I happy? Yes.

My wife used it at my kids' graduation. Perfect color and detail, oohs and ahs from everybody. My wife just uses automatic mode with the lcd screen hanging out. I took some mobile shots in my car, one-handed through the windshield. The anti-vibration mode works great, as does the autofocus. During this shoot there were times when the camera was looking almost directly into the sun. The meter responded quickly and closed down the aperture, but the resulting scene was a little dark (not too bad, actually). There is a back-light compensation button that could have helped but I didn't think about until later.

Then it was off to a night club. I took a recharged battery, not totally topped off because of numerous replays of some of the recent shooting. The lighting was typical dim night club ambiance with flashing disco lights on the dance floor and stage. My plan is to film the whole show.

I have plenty of tape but just the BP-2L13 that came with the camera, which the manual rates at 75 minutes using the viewfinder, or 70 minutes using the LCD. I also know that new Li-on batteries need to be recharged a few times before they reach their full capacity.

47 minutes of continuous filming is what I got, using the viewfinder. The image in the viewfinder was bright and easy to see. I wear bifocals but I was able to hold the camera several inches from my face and still see the edges of the viewfinder screen enough to frame the picture I wanted. My Optura and Elura both had decent viewfinders, but many was the time when I just pointed the camera and hoped my framing was ok because the image was so dim. The HV30 is really a huge step up.

I haven't had enough experience with this camera to fiddle with the focus and white balance while shooting so I left it on automatic. The colors of the spotlights were changing very quickly and I was panning the stage and the crowd, zooming in and out. After the battery died I took it off and held in my hand to warm it so after the show it gave me a few more seconds of shooting. Considering it wasn't topped off on the charger and it was only the first time it had been cycled I wasn't that disappointed. I just ordered a BP-L24H rated at 145 minutes recording time on the viewfinder from Amazon for $99 with some of the money I saved over buying the Sony.

The images were fantastic. I've shot in light like this with my Optura and ELura and there were always dark shadows with almost no detail. The Vixia showed great detail in the shadows. The automatic white balance reacted in a pleasant way to the red, orange and blue spotlights. Occasionally, on a wide shot of the band, while I was panning, the lead singer would be washed out from the bright spot on him while the rest of the band was in shadow but the overall effect made him look rather god-like which was cool. When I zoomed in the aperture closed down and I got excellent skin color and detail on his face. The anti-vibration did a great job because most of the images were pretty steady even though I was handholding and the crowd was bumping me often.

The sound was the only detail that keeps this from being perfect. The sound started out OK for the first few numbers, but as the night went on and the playing got louder, there was a lot of distortion because of the overloading. The band used big Marshall amps and I was standing 3 feet in front of an eight-foot high stack of speakers so it is to be expected. For a more acoustic or quieter show the automatic limiter would have been fine. Next time I won't stand in front of the speakers.

At home I hooked it up to the HDTV with the HDMA cable, tuned to the HDMA input with the TV remote and fired up the camera with the included remote control. The remote is a little skinny thing that does't provide any feedback when you select a function. My bedroom is less than 15 feet long so it couldn't have been more than ten feet to the camera. I had to get up and check the display in the camera to make sure the tape was rewound. This would be strictly an experimental item to be used at close range in a shooting situation.

On batteries: I have bought the "compatible" batteries and been burned many times. On my Canon sure-shot the compatible batteries would be charged (Charger light is green) but the battery would run the camera no more than 5 minutes. Same problem on my phones. For my Optura, I bought three "compatible" batteries and they worked fine. YMMV.

For editing, I've been using Ulead Visual Studio 11.5. The HV30 doesn't come with any software for movie editing or even transfering to disk. The included CD has software to transfer still pictures to a computer, but you don't need it. I verified that the HV30 is recognized automatically as a digital camera when you plug in the USB cable to the computer running XP.

I didn't install the Canon software, but I did install a miniSD chip (not included) and take some pictures. There is a different button to snap still pictures which I missed the first time I took a picture. Even if you have the switch on the still position, it starts the video tape recording if you press the camera start button. The three megapixels doesn't maake for a great picture but it may come in handy. This isn't one of the feaatures that attracted me to the camera but it may come in handy.

It copied my video from the camera and I edited it into a DVD. My Visual Studio 11.5 edits and burns AVCHD, but I haven't got a player that will read AVCHD anyway (other than my computer). I'm waiting for the Blue Ray burners to come out at reasonable cost, then I'll probably get some software that burns those. My computer is a quad-core Pentium with 4GB RAM.

If you read all the way to the end you are really a glutton for detail like me. I don't really care if you buy this camera or not. You should buy the camera that is right for you and your budget. If I felt I could afford it, I'd get a 3CCD profesional model with interchangeable lenses. I'd hire a grip to carry my equipment and set up and hold the boom mikes. I'd get some professional grade editing equipment too, like Avid. I'd get one of those business disk duplicators that print the labels and burn the disks while I sleep. OK, I'll stop.

Buy Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Now

I've had the HV30 for about 1 week now, and so far I think it's great.

I previously used the Sony TRV38, another very capable camcorder. The HV30 comes in a slick, black color and is slightly smaller than my Sony TRV38.

I have three young kids, so I take tons of video mostly indoors. The HV30 has very good low light capability. There's some grain in the darker videos, and the shutter speed also slows (you can see the stuttering movement in the video when taking in very low light). However, you can still see faces clearly. One cool thing I like about this camera is that it has a manual controlled LED light that can add about 3 feet of light when it's too dark. Sony has that 0 lux Night Shot that works in complete darkness, but the colors change to green and black and makes the eyes look scary. I prefer the LED light feature on the HV30 over Sony's Night Shot.

You can select from 5 different shooting modes:

1. DV (regular)

2. DV (wide screen)

3. HDV (high definition wide screen by default)

4. HDV 24P (cinema mode)

5. HDV 30P (progressive mode)

Although I don't have a high definition TV yet, the colors in every mode looked great on my regular TV. The 24P and 30P modes give the video a "movie look and feel" (thus the name cinema mode), and this is cool just to have. I look forward to shooting something all in 24P or 30P and showing the DVD to family/friends. I'm sure they'll be amazed that my home videos don't "look" like home videos.....and this is all due to the camcorder modes.

You can take photos using the HV30 (saves onto mini SD card). You can use the camcorder as a stand-alone digital camera (3 megapixels), and there's even a flash on the camcorder for the digital camera. You can also take still photos while you're recording video. I use this to take photos while recording only because it's a nice little extra thing to have. The pictures are not all that great but not bad either. It's definitely a bonus that both video and still pictures are built into this one camera. I would still recommend a dedicated digital camera to take better quality still photos.

I backup all my videos to DVD because it's easier to watch that way. I prefer the miniDV tapes because it stores "pure" video and information like the time and date. I just started doing a little video editing using Sony Vegas software....and that seems to be a nice software package. The final video on the resulting DVD looks great.

I thought I would stick with Sony products, but so far I am enjoying the Canon HV30 and have no regrets.

I will probably be adding more to this review as I use the camera more.

Update April 7, 2008

Still liking the camcorder because of the 24P and 30P modes. You can really see that difference in the images compared to regular mode. Your video editing software must support HDV (high definition video) in order for you to edit any high definition stuff. Sony Vegas Movie Studio doesn't have it, but the Vegas Movie Studio Platinum edition DOES have it. Make sure to buy the right software if you're going to do editing.

I noticed that the sound is a little soft. Maybe there's a setting for this, but another possible reason is that the Canon's HV30's microphones are on the top of the camcorder facing up compared the my Sony TRV38's microphones on the front facing forward. This does not bother me too much.

There's an automatic lens cap which makes protecting the lens very convenient. No more fussing with a lens cap or having it dangle in your videos.

The package does not include a neck strap...you would think Canon would throw in a strap for a $900 camcorder. I bought a regular Canon strap at a local shop for $18. I think this is worth to have to keep the camcorder secure.

The battery is a cheap one and keeps a charge for about an hour or less. Since a miniDV tape is 1 hour, it would be prudent to get a better battery just to be safe. Canon makes an extended battery for about $60.

Read Best Reviews of Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Here

Everything you read about this camera is true. I owned one for a couple of days and the picture was extraordinary... the camera was a breeze to use...

And then I turned up the audio. Whoa. What's that humming?!

Now, I had seen plenty of reviews (even on the older HV20) warning of a little tape noise in the audio. I own two other Mini DV cameras, and you do hear a little bit of the mechnism working. But this is different. It's disruptive. And I'm not alone in my thinking here. Do some digging and you'll find a few other reviews cropping up online with this complaint now.

If audio's not a big deal to you, or you plan on using extrenal mics, I'd say this is still an insanely great camera for you. But if you're getting it to grab baby's precious moments or anything like that, I have to strongly warn against getting this due to the tape noise in the audio. I consider it a deal-breaker.

On the upside, I'd like to note that I got a great deal on this camera using one of Amazon's partners on here, Butterfly Photo, and they were prompt, courteous, and easy to deal with when I returned the camera. Recommended. I'll likely be using them again to order my new camera (gonna give the HF100 a try instead... possibly an ever-so-slightly less perfect picture quality, but most reviewers are saying no moving parts = prestine audio and for me that makes it a far better overall final product.)

Want Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Discount?

I've spent the weekend shooting and editing with my Canon HV30, and overall, I'm very pleased with it. The image quality and color reproduction (when you switch "vivid" on in the settings) is superb. It's small, lightweight and the controls make sense. In a couple of hours I was able to put the manual away and know what I was doing. Low light performance is pretty good, with just a bit of noise all the way at iso 1600 (outside at night). It shoots very well indoors in normal lights and the auto white balance works perfectly as well.

It isn't all perfect, however. The manual focus control is inaccessible and sloppy. Thankfully the autofocus is very accurate and doesn't do a lot of hunting for what to focus on. The other problem is the zoom control. It is WAY too sensitive. You can set it for variable speed, but the slightest tremble in your finger causes a bump in the speed. I think I can learn to handle it. I'll just have to be very aware of keeping a light touch. I don't think I'll be able to work with the manual focus.

The camera doesn't come with a firewire or USB2 cable to connect to a computer. You need to buy that separately. But I was able to download hidef video effortlessly to iMovieHD using a Mac without any other installed software.

The built in microphone sucks. Definitely get Canon's optional shotgun mike Directional Microphone DM-50. That will handle just about any sound situation you run into. Also count on getting an extra battery pack or two. The included battery won't shoot long enough to fill an hour long tape. There are different sizes of batteries. Get the biggest one you can afford, along with the outboard charger, so you can be charging up the next battery while you are shooting. Also get at least four blank DV tapes to work with. You don't want to switch framerates, resolutions and aspect ratios on the same tape if you can help it.

Your whole kit, including all the accessories will fit in a very small camera bag. Pretty slick. And the quality of the movies you'll shoot will amaze you. Played back on a hidef screen, this camera is capable of producing very professional looking video.

Save 18% Off

PalmOne Zire 72 Special Edition Handheld Silver

I had a Palm III followed by a Palm V and I was pretty pleased with both these older model PDAs. After some study, I opted for a Palm Zire 72 and I am very pleased with the features.

Important to me, the Zire 72 has Palm's suite of information management applications and the ability to edit Wordand Excel-compatible files and synchronize with Microsoft Outlook (Windows only). This is one reason I got the Palm; my Blackberry is not good as a PDA and I love the easy-to-use and fast PalmOS.

The Zire 72 features:

1-megapixel image resolution (1280 x 960 pixels

32 MB of memory --64 MB in the special edition

Video capture with sound

Digital

Voice recording capability.

Wireless Bluetooth connectivity to connect to the PC or your Bluetooth-enabled phone

4.8 ounces wieght

Palm OS 5.2.8 Operating System

Software

USB cable for linking to PC

Slot for SDI memory card

16-bit 320x320 TFT screen capable of 65,000 colors.

Capabilities Rundown:

PIM and software:

Zire 72 features Palm's suite of information management applications for expenses and note, and it has the ability to edit Wordand Excel-compatible files and synchronize with Microsoft Outlook in Windows. Our own company email system will support the Palm and Pocket PC while it will not be supporting the Blackberry Enterprise System anytime soon. So the Outlook support is very important.

Bluetooth:

The Bluetooth seems designed for devices to enable mobiles, LAN and PC connections to give web capability. It would be clunky, in my view, to connect via a cell phone, so I'd love to see WiFi. But this feature can be added with a $99 card put into the SDI slot. Bluetooth is not as easy to configure; the set-up wizard seemed to be a bit difficult and there are only a few cell phone models included in the preset configurations. If you can get the 72 connected, you can use it to dial numbers, send SMS, MMS and e-mail, and browse the web using the Web Pro 3.5. Or you can opt for a WiFi card and surf at MacDonalds and Starbucks. Phones that are listed:

Sony-E T68i

Sony-E T610

Nokia 6310i

Nokia 3650

Siemens S56

Not a super list.

For PC interfacing or Palm-to-Palm there still is an infrared port.

Egonomics:

Complaints were made about the blue paint on the regular edition flaking off. I have the special edition with the silver body and this is not an issue. The control is a rectangular navigating button. The screen has the familiar Palm division between screen and stylus pad below. The Graffiti 2 was easy to use--the letters are almost exactly like written print, as long as you know where to begin the the letter, but that's practically intuitive. The sensitivity and accuracy of the stylus-pointing is a huge improvement over the very early Palms like the PalmV.

My system came with a Cordura nylon case, very nice quality and a huge improvement from the old flimsy leatherette flaps of early days. Without a case, you have to get something to cover the screen. The stylus is the same type of rod that attaches to the side by sliding into a slot.

MP3:

You need a SDI card (Secure Digital card) to load MP3 songs with RealPlayer onto the system for playing back with MP3. These are not hard to find, you may even have one floating around the house (we did.) Drag-and-drop songs onto the card on your PC, put card in Palm and go. There is a headphone jack.

There are "speakers" (tiny) and a voice recorder. Great for memos.

Camera:

The 1.2 megapixel camera has onboard adjustments for contrast and light (I needed to take down the exposure for a shot of my deck at dawn.) Digital zoom. No cover for the camera lens. The resolution was ok. The memory will hold about 85 shots, and you can move them to the SDI (optional) card. No flash.

Software:

The installation CD comes with Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm, plus a calculator, a reader-Documents To Go which allows you to read Microsoft Word and Excel. It's recommended to download AvantGo to add internet features. Sites such as www.palmsource.com, www.freewarepalm.com, www.palmgear.com, www.download.com have many free or inexpensive applications for the PalmOS.

There is no manual, it's on the CD.

Summary:

For a PDA, this is about perfect. To be perfect, they'd have to include WiFi and or a better phone setup list for the Bluetooth. I am quite thrilled with the Zire 72--it does what I want it to do, mainly be a PDA and keep my appointments and handle some data. The camera and MP3 are nice for travel.

I am in love with my new Zire 72 PDA... BUT... I bought the special edition because I read all the reviews about the paint rubbing off the regular, blue Zire 72. I have had my PDA for just over a week now, and already the painted lettering on the top ('palm one' and 'zire 72') has cracked and mostly rubbed off. It's not a big deal -the unit is user friendly and works great, and it still looks nice, but I can't believe that this $300 item already looks worn when it is almost brand new and has been used carefully and moderately. Still a great choice, I think, but just a warning...

Buy PalmOne Zire 72 Special Edition Handheld Silver Now

Zire 72 is an excellent device with minor problems. For the price its a bargain and will ensure Palm's market share stays high.

Pro's,

1. Its a Palm, with a stable version of Palm OS.

2. Looks good and feels solid in hand.

3. Superb screen and extremely clear.

4. mp3 playback is very good.

5. Uses standard mini USB jack, not propreitary Palm connector.

6. Fast performance. Don't compare raw MHz between PDA's, this one's faster than 400MHz PPC's.

7. Available memory is a lot for a Palm.

8. Good software bundle and Bluetooth (chear up Sony Ericsson or Powerbook users)!

9. Speaker is suprisingly good at playing mp3's (64kpbs sounds great).

10. Camera is better than cell phone ones, 1.2 mega pixel.

11. Stylus is very ergonomic.

12. Silver looks better than blue edition, IMO.

Con's,

1. Down button is hard to press, ironically that's the most used button on Zire 72. The 5 way navigator is poorly designed and cheap plastic.

2. Case is slippery (on positive side it looks like the paint won't come off like on the blue edition).

3. Battery life is just slightly better than Pocket PC's, needs charging frequently.

4. Included charger is not a world charger and is bulky.

5. No bluetooth or Wifi but atleast it has SDIO slot.

6. Weak alarm sounds (think this can be fixed?) and no vibrate only mode.

7. Packaging in plastic box is tough to open and not eco-friendly.

8. Battery is not user replaceable. (dead Palm after 2 years? but same with most PDA's)

Overall Zire 72s is an excellent device and you can't go wrong with this one. Much more easier to use and reliable (Palm OS) than PPC's. Highly recommended!

Read Best Reviews of PalmOne Zire 72 Special Edition Handheld Silver Here

The Zire 72 silver Special Edition version I purchased last month has proved its worth on a daily basis. The PDA starts up instantly, more quickly than my old Dell Axim, and is overall very quick and responsive and easy to navigate for calendaring and contacts. Games play very smoothly, and the display is crisp and bright under most lighting conditions. The camera and video recording capabilities are fun and entertaining extras that are handy for the occasional spontaneous and candid snapshots of my friends. And I purchased the Tom Tom Bluetooth Navigation kit, which transforms it into a very effective navigation system for my car. The voice recorder, which isn't even available on the flagship Tungsten T5 is very useful too I can easily capture lectures, meeting minutes, everything right onto the 512MB SD memory card I use with my Zire. Its truly a definitive 'digital assistant' in every sense of the term. Very good buy I highly recommend it.

Want PalmOne Zire 72 Special Edition Handheld Silver Discount?

My Zire 72 Silver ed developed a terrible high pitched buzzing noise after about a month. This noise has rendered it very annoying to use. I have to turn it off after seconds. I then found out this is a common problem described all over the web for Palms with high res screens. I have called Palm, and the technician admits it is defective. I demanded an exchange, and they wanted to charge me $40 for an "expedited exchange". It's either that or I can send my unit in for repair and wait weeks. "Sorry, company policy" he said.

Some in the web suggest overclocking programs to fix the problem. I've tried these and no matter what setting I've tried, the noise DOES NOT go away. Only the pitch changes somewhat. Hours wasted.

If you have this problem CALL PALM AND DEMAND A FIX!! They are well aware of this problem and sell these defective products anyway. THEY HAVE TO HEAR FROM THEIR UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS, and maybe they would finally do something.

Zire 72 otherwise performs as expected. It would otherwise get a 4 star from me.

Remanufactured Samsung DVD-V8600 DVD/CD Player w/Built-in HiFi VCR & Flash Reader

I haven'nt bought a remanufactured electronics product before, so I was a bit sceptical. But I am amazed at the crisp quality of this product. For the price, I took a chance and so far (3 weeks), I haven't had any problems. The player looks elegant with easy user interface. Product appeared to be factory sealed with a 90-day warranty.

I am giving this product 1 star due to the incapacity of the VHS player. I had it less the 24 hrs and it would not eject the tape that I and the family was watching. I called Samsung Corp. about this problem, and they told me I had to pay for the maintenance because they sold an expired warranty. I bought one from NEW Companies, but they wouldn't accept that warranty. This is the last product from Samsung, that I will ever buy. The price alone on this product is exaggerated because the product don't live up to it's potential. And plus it is supposed to be brand new/remanufactured. I'll stick with my Panasonics, or Sony's from now on.

Buy Remanufactured Samsung DVD-V8600 DVD/CD Player w/Built-in HiFi VCR & Flash Reader Now

The unit is obviously reconditioned and does not have all features of the original unit operational. Many CD's will not play on this unit but do play well on another DVD player which is very basic. This purchase was a mistake on my part but it plays commercial DVD's and tapes plus home recorded tapes.

Read Best Reviews of Remanufactured Samsung DVD-V8600 DVD/CD Player w/Built-in HiFi VCR & Flash Reader Here

Didn't work right out of the box. So, I asked for a refund. I was leery about buying refurbished and was correct.

Want Remanufactured Samsung DVD-V8600 DVD/CD Player w/Built-in HiFi VCR & Flash Reader Discount?

LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player

• Blu-Ray Disc player with BD Live and BonusView
• Netflix instant streaming ready with Netflix subscription
• Full HD 1080p output via HDMI with Cinema mode at 24 or 60 frames per second
• Superior audio performance with 7.1 channels with Dolby Digital Plus & TrueHD & dts-HD
• LG Simplink connectivity of other LG products using HDMI connection

I just received my player a few days ago, so there are definitely some out there in the market. So far, I am very impressed. Netflix setup is easy, and the quality of the streaming video is better than I expected.

Blu-Ray and standard DVD's play great.

My only nickpick so far is that standard 4x3 DVD's are stretched to fill my 16x9 screen, and there doesn't seem to be a way to turn that off. (Netflix 4x3 content is correctly displayed with sidebars.) Hopefully they'll fix this with a firmware update. Oh, and firmware updates are pretty much automatic, directly through the internet.

Update 11/23/08: This weekend, the player downloaded a firmware update. The aspect ratio problem described in the previous paragraph has been fixed!!!

Buy LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player Now

January 19, 2009 addendum -I bought this the first week of November, and I truly love it. However, in the past two weeks (January 2009), the unit started having intermittent trouble connecting via the Internet to Netflix. Finally last night, it failed to find the network connection at all. Reinitialized the unit, connected it to a new cable and known-good ethernet plug to no avail. Now not only is the unit not finding the Internet, but Network Magic is no longer finding the unit. So I called LG's tech support, which was adequate and after a little "did you buy it from an authorized dealer" (the answer was "yes" if you bought it through Amazon -but you have to have the dealer's zip code for LG to verify it, so SAVE YOUR BOXES -that's where I had to find it). I got an RME, which disappoints me. I know things fail but if it had failed two weeks later, it would have been OUT OF WARRANTY, so I highly recommend you consider buy the extended warranty on this item through Amazon. I would probably change my rating from 5 to 4 stars based on this, but "stuff happens."

This is a joy and will change your viewing habits when it's working though. The glossy black unit has a thin and elegant, understated look that should not clash with other equipment.

Setup is simple and for me required 3 cables -the power cable, the HDMI cable, and an ethernet (CAT-6) cable to my network. This unit will not work with wireless networks, as far as I know, because the streaming video quality would suffer on a large screen TV. You should also have a USB thumb drive of 1GB or over capacity for the system to download enhanced DVD content from the internet. Plug the thumb drive into the front panel (there is a hard to see door with a latch that will flick down with a fingernail) after the unit does its self-test and upgrades its firmware.

Blu ray picture quality seems quite good. As a medium, the improvement in picture from a DVD is quite pronounced. Even fast action sequences are crisp and smooth, with no artifacts on any disc I've played. The improvement in audio sound is more subtle -on most action movies, I haven't noticed it. I will await some opera or concert blu rays to make a judgment.

However, I compared regular DVD pictures to my Denon DVD player that cost about 3 times the price of the BD300, and the blacks were a little more defined on the Denon than the LG. On the whole, it plays DVDs that I use for comparison (The 5th Element, Kingdom of Heaven, Sin City) in an acceptable way, and the picture is quite crisp.

This blu ray picture loads pretty fast -about 20-40 seconds, so that is a real improvement over the earlier blu ray generation, and the remote is satisfactory if difficult to read in low light. This would be the only complaint in my book.

When you turn on the unit, and it's hooked into your ethernet network (no wireless), it automatically uprgrades its firmware and software first -once again, this was seamless and only took a couple of minutes.

Now, what makes this unit so special is the NetFlix features, which having set up your account online, you activate on the unit from a 4-character code which you input into your Netflix Account via your PC. You must select "instant view" movies from your Netflix Account on the PC before they will show up as available on the BD300. Activating blu ray discs on your Netflix account will cost you an addition $1 per month.

Having everything set up, you can select the streaming to search for your Netflix Instant View features. You select the feature, and then it gives you a choice of starting them where you left off (if you were interrupted) or from the beginning. You can also rate the feature from your BD300 or remove it from your Netflix Queue. The quality of video you will see appears in the new firmware on a fuel gauge that at its highest setting displays "HD" for high definition video. About 10% of the programming appears to be HD so far, with television series leading the way. The quality I receive over my DSL Cat-6 gigabit switched network about 10% of the time is about the same as blu ray -very high indeed. All streamed movies seem to be stereo audio only, and no subtitles are available. About 75% on the gauge is the equivalent of good DVD picture and I get that about 60% of the time. One is not concious of any tradeoffs in picture quality. A half-gauge is acceptable for all anime and many movies where there is not a lot of fast action or dark scenes, but you notice a loss of detail in those circumstances. The background can be a little blocky, but the picture will look about like regular definition TV viewed on a high-def device. Less than half-gauget has a very blocky background and darks are pixelated and un-defined. If I get less than half-gauge, I stop the movie and hit replay, and then we see if the connection speed increases. If it does, I stick with the movie. If not, I wait until another time.

You will really enjoy a Netflix subscription much, much more with this unit.

December 23 Addendum -after around seven weeks, we are loving this more and more. The regular firmware/software updates online have made this better and better. There is a fuel gauge display now on quality, and we are receiving some movies in true HD quality (I can't say for sure the limit is on the movies so offered or on the network speed), but the true HD streaming of Netflix Instant movies is awesome. I also forgot to note that it has an effective shifting screensaver that will prevent burn-in on succeptible plasma displays. It just keeps getting better and better. Thank you, LG, and especially thank you, Netflix.

Read Best Reviews of LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player Here

. The player itself is awesome, as it is really easy to setup and it has a great picture; thou the disc load time is a little long as with all Blu-ray players.

. But the major flaw is that the player itself has very minimal internal memory, according to LG's customer service it is barely enough to stream Netflix and from my experience this is only when your internet connection is fast and flawless. As I noticed when you have a connection glitch the quality of the movie you are streaming is affected as the picture is diminished and the audio can even get off; thou otherwise I was very impressed with the picture as it was equal to or better than my HD cable channels.

. This brings me to my warning that without any memory, to speak of, you are not able to use the BD Live functions which the player is supposedly equipped for. I could not figure out why I was unable to use it on any of my Blu-ray discs (that offered it) so I called LG's tech support. After about 30 minutes the tech told me that you had to have your own USB Drive with a minimum of 1 GB storage in order to use this function as the player itself is not fully equipped for it. This would not really be an issue, EXCEPT the only usb drive is located on the front of the player so there goes the sleek design that you pay all the money for as you would have the drive sticking out and completely visible at all times (or you would have to go through the hassle of plugging it in every time you wanted to use it).

Want LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player Discount?

My wife and I got in the habit of using netflix's streaming service. I just got tired of hooking up my laptop to the plasma everytime we wanted to stream. Then I saw this on LG on the netflix website. It seemed like the perfect solution as I was looking for a blu-ray player for the living room anyway. And it was!! I have now owned it for 4 weeks.

Love the easy setup. It took literally 5-10 minutes before it was hooked up and streaming netflix. The blu-ray player is exceptional. I am comparing it with my PS3 which I love as well and it is as fast if not faster at loading blu-ray discs. The quality of dvd's is truly exceptional via the hdmi. The remote control is easy to useeven my wife who is technically challenged loves it and uses it frequently with no issues. The streaming quality is goodlooks like really good SD signal, but it is fine for watching and really convenient. Once you add shows or movies to your watch it now queue online they will show up on the LG BD300 when you access the netflix from "home." The setup for the streaming involves hooking up a ethernet cable to the back of the player and putting in a code from your pc where the player tells you to (it gives you simple directions in the set up including the web address to get the code). Point being they have made it real easy for just about anyone to hook up and use this baby.

The only cons I can think of is it has no wireless solution and there are no real attachment cables worth anything in the box. You will need your own hdmi cable, ethernet and whatever else you need for your system. But those are minor as the pricing is still pretyy competitive for what the player does and is does it all very well.

I bought the LG BD-300 about a month ago from Circuit City for $349. I can't say enough about the machine. I LOVE IT! Let me tell you about the features.

First, the blue-ray player is first class. It has a very short start-up time. I have heard that other "cheaper" players can take several minutes to startup. I use a HDMI cable to connect to my 42" LCD HDTV. The picture is ultraclear. To me it seems better than the HD picture from DirecTV (and that is saying a lot). The blue-ray discs play flawlessly and easily. I used the BD-Live feature once and it was fun. Not all movies have this feature.

Then I tried my old DVDs to see how they look and I was very impressed. They seem to be almost HD in clarity. The manual says that the DVD clarity is only enhanced using the HDMI cable, so be aware of that. I bought a $25 HDMI switch on Amazon to go between my DirecTV and the BD-300. It works fine. Another option is to buy a newer surround sound receiver that has a HDMI switch built in so you switch audio and video together. This is the best way to go if you have the bucks to do it.

Now the fun part. I've had Netflix for a long time and I've watched many movies on my little computer screen. Not the best experience for movie watching. This feature will definitely change the way you use your TV. If you are new to Netflix you must select your movies online first and put them in your "instant" queue. Once you have selected some movies to watch you can choose one of those to view on your TV. Some people are upset about not being able to browse any movie from Netflix on the BD-300. But I already had movies set-up in my instant queue and I was ready to go. I have about 40 movies to choose from at any given time. Choose a variety to fit a mood you might be in. One thing that is disappointing the player does not have WiFi. I hard-wired the BD-300 to the router. This might be the best way to go in the long run because the faster the connection the better the video quality. Big difference between the highest and the second highest quality setting. This is selected automatically by the BD-300 and it depends on the quality of your broadband connection. If you have a slow DSL connection you may be disappointed.

A LITTLE ADVICE THAT CAN SAVE YOU TIME. IF YOUR ROUTER IS HAVING TROUBLE FINDING THE BLUE-RAY PLAYER -REBOOT THE ROUTER WITH THE BD-300 ON AND RUNNING. I DID THIS AND IT WORKED. I READ THIS IN A REVIEW HERE, THANKS AMAZON.COM

Audio is great! I use a fiber-optic cable to connect between the BD-300 and my receiver. It features surround sound even using the Netflix streaming. This was a surprise because there was a review here that said the BD-300 had only stereo capability. Not True!

In short, I love it and recommend it.

RCA DRC288SU Upconverting DVD Player with SD Card Slot and USB Port

• DVD player with SD card slot and USB port
• SD slot and USB port - plays AV files from SD cards, USB flash drives
• HD upconversion to view your movies in 1080p resolution
• Broad video format support - plays DivX and XviD files; Multi-format disc playback - DVD, DVD-R/-RW, DVD +R/+RW, CD, CD ?R/-RW, HD JPEG, and JPEG
• Remote control, AV cable, and battery included

I ordered this DVD player with reservation mainly because of the 2 reviews already showing. However, I have owned the RCA DRC286 DVD player which is the predecessor to this unit for a couple of years and have been very pleased with it, so I decided to give it a go anyway. The only issue I had with the item was the packaging used to ship it in. The shipping box was not nearly large enough and did not provide room for adequate padding (I sent a packaging review to Amazon). But luckily all arrived safely. I couldn't be more pleased with the unit. No, it's not a top of the line model, no it's not heavy, so yes it will slide around on a slick surface unless you use your noodle and put a simple $1.00 anti skid mat underneath it. It's a $60.00 DVD player and for the money it is a very good unit. My DRC286 unit only had a USB port and it's nice to now have both a USB port and an SD card slot. I noticed one of the previous reviewers said he had problems with playing DIVX videos through the USB port. I've tested it quite thoroughly and so far so good. No problems whatsoever. I've also had no problems at all with the responsiveness of the remote. My needs are simple. I press a button, the machine does what the remote tells it to do in a reasonable amount of time, therefore I'm happy.

Finding a reasonably priced DVD player with DIVX Ultra capabilities (not to mention including a USB port and an SD card slot) is not easy these days. So for anyone looking for a nice little inexpensive DVD player that will do what you want it to do I would definitely recommend this one.

Buy RCA DRC288SU Upconverting DVD Player with SD Card Slot and USB Port Now

Died after 31 very light days of use! The seller has a 14 day return policy period, no matter what! THought I was safe going through Amazon. Do Not Buy this DVD player!!!

Read Best Reviews of RCA DRC288SU Upconverting DVD Player with SD Card Slot and USB Port Here

My old DVD player, a Sony, works great. But I now have an LCD flat screen TV and I wanted a DVD player that would give me a better looking picture for that TV. I was in a hurry and, against my usual inclination, I leaped when I saw this RCA model. The bonus for me was that it had an SD slot which meant I could show photos straight from my camera.

As soon as I pulled the player out of the box I knew I'd made a mistake. Light as a feather and more plastic than metal. It's easily half the weight of the rock solid Sony. But the difference goes beyond the superficial.

The buttons on the RCA are grouped together in the middle instead of intuitively where you'd expect. I expect the open/close button to be next to the loading tray window. It isn't. It's in the middle of the unit. This means that unless you memorize the button placement you'll always have to look real close to make sure you're pressing the right one. I can see myself accidentally shutting this off many many times and I've already done so.

The DVD loading tray is unbelievably cheap. If you have children that will use the DVD player you definitely do NOT want to buy this. The tray is made of very flimsy plastic and feels like it will break with very little effort.

And lastly, the feature that sold this for me is underwhelming. The player is SLOW at loading pictures. There are several seconds of blank screen between each shot. This happens regardless of whether you hit the "next" button or put it into auto slide show mode. So much for showing off photos at a party.

I most definitely regret leaping to buy this before I had more time to research. I suspect I'd probably have to pay almost double what I paid for this to get the quality I had with the old Sony and I would've done so except I was naive enough to think that an RCA wouldn't feel and behave as cheap as this.

Want RCA DRC288SU Upconverting DVD Player with SD Card Slot and USB Port Discount?

Bought this as a gift for my parents. Dad is pretty savvy about electronics. This item had few instructions for set up and still does not perform properly shutting down when it wants to while you are watching pictures from the SD card. Its very disappointing and there is no 800 number to call for help. My parents don't have internet even if they did there is little to zero technical on the RCA website for this player. So mad that this gift was such a dud. The DVD player works okay and dad said the picture is high quality. That is the only reason for the second star. Really RCA you need a customer service that actually works. The one they provide online doesn't work.

Works great. Our old player had pausing issues playing to our new LED HDTV. Not with this one. Only thing is it doesn't seem to display the time of day which would have been nice.

8GB Touch Screen Ver 2.0 multi media mp3 player mp4 Video Digital Camera miniSD slot

• 2.8" 8GB Touch Screen MP3/MP4 Player PDA Ver 2.0
• 8GB internal memory.Expand memory Via optional miniSD slot. 16GB microsd tested.
• Built in Digital Camera, Video Recorder, Speaker, eBook(.txt) reader, FM Radio (earphones required as antenna.)
• Easy drag and drop computer interface.Player is not locked to one computer.Use it with several computers.
• Create up to 5 on the fly music playlists.Supports 320x240 avi video.

where do i start from...this is a sorry excuse for a media player...cheap looking and plasticky. Products like these are the reason y u should only buy apple products. the touchscreen is awful. The camera is awful, sound quality is awful. video playback is awful. If i could rate this product "no stars" i would. DO NOT BUY

Buy 8GB Touch Screen Ver 2.0 multi media mp3 player mp4 Video Digital Camera miniSD slot Now

As an MP3 player it Works great! Earphones leave a little to be desired. radio function doesn't pick up even local stations. Camera works as specified. Other functions are more or less standard offerings.

Read Best Reviews of 8GB Touch Screen Ver 2.0 multi media mp3 player mp4 Video Digital Camera miniSD slot Here

First of all,

Why there was two five star customer reviews?...

I really don't understand.

Much fuction? The Quality of fuction?

It means nothing because the LCD of gr8er1 is really,really,really bad.

The LCD is so dark, blur..etc.,

I barely can recognize the character.

Anyone who want to try to buy gr8er1 must remember what I said.

I threw it away in less than two minutes after I got the item.

$89.96 ... why did I burn it up...

Want 8GB Touch Screen Ver 2.0 multi media mp3 player mp4 Video Digital Camera miniSD slot Discount?

I am surprised that such products are being sold on Amazon. This is a below a basic grade which cannot pass quality testing.

Having said this, I am not sure what more to talk about the product performance. Just a rip-off your money.

The manual is so cheap, that it is not even legible. To make it better, this could be made available online and save the environment.

Verizon LG VX-5400 Cell Phone

Bought this phone because it was Verizon compatable and twenty dollars. It works fine and do not have any problems with it. It is no thrills but works. It is a get me by phone until I get something better. Old timey texting...Would recommend for an emergency phone or for someone that does not text or talk a hugh bit. It is my everyday phone and I only talk for maybe a hour total in a day and it is fine.

Great price and does all the things I need, very simple. I just want to talk, text, and use the calendar. Works great!

Buy Verizon LG VX-5400 Cell Phone Now

1. This phone lasts 2 weeks on stand by!!!!!

2. Water will not stop this phone!

I have had this phone for 3-4 yrs every night in my humid bathroom showers before I was informed by Customer Service Representative, that I probably should not be doing that. Humidity is the same as dipping the phone in water, I guess? well, ah, I did that too... : / ah.. ahem.

The phone has fallen in the child's bathtub and the little purse belt clip would get soaked before I realize it to remove the phone from the soaking wet purse. This phone is amazing! I have never DL games, APPS, or Music tones, but I believe they are available, I just do not know what website to visit to obtain such things? My one half complaint, is that I have trouble working the Blue Tooth (My phone has blue tooth, I do not see this listed here for some reason¿?) but the trouble could be user error or the fact that the phone was consistently next to the shower with me every night for three years. I have Never operated Blue tooth functions in my life, and I'm not even sure I have the correct password. (This: depends on your talk/data plan with verizon,) .. but My phone has no memory card to remove photos, they must be upload to Verizon Pix Place at 25 cents per photo or txt pic to a friend to email back to your PC. Other that Blue Tooth, I could not see a way to get the photos off my camera phone. It seems to have pretty good memory for the price! I have over 560 photos on my phone with more memory available. My phone is not capable of carrying MP3s, however, I am sure Zune is available "live" via the web browser, just can not DL the songs due to the somewhat less than stellar memory size.

Recently, I even accidentally left the phone out in the rain. Literally. rain. I knew it was going to rain that night. I dropped the phone! Eek! I searched and searched! I could not find the phone in the dark, as it was still in "standalone mode" for movies, church and stuff. plus it is always on Vibrate. In the morning dew/rain (I am pretty sure it did rain as predicted). There was the phone! The screen even lit up for me when I opened the phone! Wow!

Finally, I am upgrading now to a new phone for a better camera.

I love this phone though! I really do! Wallpaper on main screen and front is not static. It is set by the user. I like this phone! It's simple, yet I always find some interesting new function hiding somewhere on the list. Such as "add... graphic" of small cute yellow smiley face, or even animation to boring txts. My friend sat on and broke his smart phone. I can't help but ask "How smart is your 'Smart Phone' now, mister?" : ) no, really, I had two friends that had to repair smart phone and i phone, (the iphone actually places random calls when in my friend's pocket! ! Really!! really!!!) I never did trust those touch screens. I have crushed my LG phone by laying down, my hip, my entire body weight on my friend's carpet more than once. It keeps functioning just fine. This makes me very nervous to buy a new phone! Why would I give up such an amazing phone???????? I've held on to this phone for 3 years! I love this phone! What if my next phone is not this wonderful?

My plan was pay-as-you go, with $1 per all day internet access (only on days you use it), $1 talk all day verizon to verizon, and ten cents per text message (without incurring the $1 daily use activation fee). $15 was sufficient for my texting needs. (including many 25 photo text messages, my favorite fun...).

I believe the SAR rating was like 1.2 .... for my phone, .. this Amazon phone (although same model number as under my battery) may be some version of upgrade. I don't see the blue tooth function listed. My phone even has voice recognition Command "call ____" function. I have not used this, but it seems wonderful. I've seen my friend use this with his Iphone over the car speakers. Yes, I have the same technology on my phone. Blue tooth???....Anyway, That's pretty neat, from 4 yrs ago, technology.

Read Best Reviews of Verizon LG VX-5400 Cell Phone Here

This company's service was unbelievably great. This particular phone could not get service. I called and they sent a label and another phone immediately. However this one did not work for me either. They sent me another type and it was great. The service was fantastic.

Want Verizon LG VX-5400 Cell Phone Discount?

I bought 2 (used) cell phones (included 2 chargers...home and auto) from this supplier. Both units looked very good, but while one worked like new, the other had some intermittent operating issues. I called the vendor customer service number and a replacement phone was sent without any hassle. The replacement phone arrived the next day, along with a prepaid mailer to return the unit with the intermittent problems. I will be looking for this suppler the next time I need phone stuff.

DIGI TECH Replacement Wall + Car Battery Charger for Vivitar DVR-545 Camera

I searched for this item at several electronic stores and could not get one. As always, I went to Amazon and they had it in stock and I purchased it and it was sent quickly. This was an excellent purchase. No matter what, Amazon either has it in stock or has a referral on an item.

I absolutely love it! It works like a charm. If I'm on the road and my camera's battery is dead, all I need to do is plug it in and within a few hours it's charged. Made it a whole lot more easier for me to charge my battery.

Buy DIGI TECH Replacement Wall + Car Battery Charger for Vivitar DVR-545 Camera Now

Sylvania Video Cassette Recorder and DVD/CD Player SSD803

I purchased this unit because I still have an old TV that works great but only has a coax input. It plays DVDs and VHS great, and the picture is crystal clear for both.

SM06 DVR Sunglasses with Free 2GB TFcard provided

My first impression was these Sunglasses look great! After further looking at them, I started to think that man the plastics used on the frame was sub par but they only cost 32.20 shipped. They do pretty well in the sun light cutting the glare for me. My pc noticed them as a flash drive once I plugged them in & because I use many different flash devices there were no drivers needed to be downloaded & installed. I can't wait to see how the camera on them performs, I purchased them so I wouldn't have to depend on someone to record me flying my helis. I can have a first person view of what I'm doing & go over the video to see what caused any mishaps due to mechanical failure or pilot error. I can't wait to go flying, I'll post another review pertaining to the actual performance & video. I would recommend these at the present moment to anyone who needs a inexpensive means of recording with their hands free. If your not going to use these under sun light(in the house) just pop the lenses out, they look & feel like they'll come easily with a little persuation.

the recording was blur, colorr smear. sometimes it would record sometimes it did not. pictures that did come outhad a haze color

Buy SM06 DVR Sunglasses with Free 2GB TFcard provided Now

This product stopped working after about 10 minutes worth of recording, and the video was TERRIBLE to begin with. If I'd payed any more than 20 bucks for it, I would have returned it. Do yourself a favor and do cheep-out on this one. Go for one of the 60-80 dollar models. I'm giving this 2 stars because I still use the micro SD card and adapter that it came with, as well as the glasses case and microfiber cloth.

Read Best Reviews of SM06 DVR Sunglasses with Free 2GB TFcard provided Here

I followed all instructions for using the glasses but it does not work! The power button turns on the unit but it cannot turn the unit off, the unit does not take pictures or record at all. To turn off the unit I have to use the reset button.This glasses did not come with a CD, I went on youtube to get some help but to no avail. So far all i can do with this SN06 DVR is turn it on. What about this product tech support?

Want SM06 DVR Sunglasses with Free 2GB TFcard provided Discount?

Magnavox DV200MW8 DVD/VHS Combo Player

We bought this machine 4 years ago. My oldest son at 18mo could use it by himself. It has with stood my kids abuse and the abuse of my daycare kids. The DVD tray no longer works properly... But I had a child hang from it so really I am not bothered. The VHS portion is still going strong. I am planing on replacing it this year and yes I will be buying this one again.

We did not receive a remote that worked. I contacted the seller and sent the non-working remote back, but never received a working remote. This was wasted money when I could have bought a brand new one for a little more money.

Buy Magnavox DV200MW8 DVD/VHS Combo Player Now

i was very disappointed the dvd side stop working after a week and a half..i threw away receit so i got stuck this time..

Read Best Reviews of Magnavox DV200MW8 DVD/VHS Combo Player Here

Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder

This Sony unit is an excellent voice recorder with only a couple of negatives (resulting in a 1-Star deduction). It is not only a very high-quality product, but it's packed with many nice advanced features and options. So here are most of the unit's Positive Features, Official Sony Specs, and at the very end of this review, the Negatives.

ULTRA THIN & LIGHT: There is nothing else on the market today that even comes close to being this thin. So for this reason ALONE, it could be a great reason to buy this recorder (if you can afford the premium price that is). It is absolutely PERFECT for a shirt pocket or clipping onto a notebook (all without the bulkiness and extra weight of other voice recorders). *See my above 2 photos for a "side-by-side comparison" of my 2-year-old Sony ICD-PX820 voice recorder vs. this ultra-thin recorder.

RECORDING FORMATS:

WAV (CD quality) 95Hz 20,000Hz, 44.1 kHz/16 bit, (stereo).

MP3 192 kbps, 95Hz 18,000Hz (stereo).

MP3 128 kbps, 95Hz 16,000Hz (stereo).

MP3 48 kbps, 95Hz 14,000Hz (mono).

NOTE: 192 kbps is considered to be "FM radio" quality, or 75% of CD quality...and 128 kbps is considered to be 50% of CD quality. Also, a "WAV" format (CD quality) records at exactly 1,411 kbps, which is why the audio quality is so superior).

RECORDING TIME: The unit's 4 GB's of Internal Memory will hold...

WAV = 6 Hours.

192 kbps = 44 Hours.

128 kbps = 67 Hours.

48 kbps = 178 Hours.

(The Micro SD/SDHC card slot can hold up to 32 GB's of additional memory).

BATTERY TIMES: Depending on which one of the above 4 recording formats you use, the "Recording Time" on a SINGLE CHARGE will range between 18-24 Hours. "Playback Time" using the Internal Speaker will range between 10-11 Hours. Playback Time with Headphones will range between 19-26 Hours (which largely depends on the size of the headphones).

EQ: There is no Equalizer, but it does have 7 optional "EQ presets" for Playback listening, which are: Clear Voice-1, Clear Voice-2, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Bass-1, Bass-2.

MIC: Has 3 Mic Sensitivity settings: LOW (for dictation/loud sounds), MEDIUM (for small-room meetings/interviews), HIGH (for extra-large rooms/far distances).

"TRACK MARK" side button: Pressing this button at ANY TIME during a Recording or Playback sets a "bookmark" for easier locating later. You also have the option to instantly "divide" ALL of the Track Marks within a recording into their own separate files.

OTHER FEATURES INCLUDE: **Has both "Power Saving Mode" and "Stand-by Mode" options. **DPC option (allows slower or faster playback without changing the "pitch" of the voice). **Cue/Review side buttons (allows you listen to "bits of audio" while in fast-forward or rewind). **Customizable "Easy Search" (allows you to set the length of the "time jumps" when pushing the fast-forward or rewind button, and these times can be set anywhere from 5-Seconds to 10-Minutes). **Allows the option of turning OFF all the unit's "beep sounds" and/or LED lights for your secret recordings. **LCS option (this is a special noise filter that diminishes low-frequency background noises while in the recording mode, such as an air conditioner, "ruffling" of a shirt while in the pocket, outside wind, etc). **VOR option (automatically pauses a recording after a short period of silence, and the unit's "recording buffer" enables the unit to catch "nearly" 100% of the very first word spoken after a pause...as long as the mic's sensitivity is set correctly). **Has convenient Drag-n-Drop capabilities for moving recorded files around. **The unit can PLAY virtually ANY pre-recorded audio format, which include: MP3's between 32 kbps 320 kbps, VBR's, WAV's, AAC's, and WMA's. (How well it sounds as an MP3 music player using the 7 EQ presets I don't know). **The unit can double as a USB Storage Device for pictures, videos, documents, etc.

THE BATTERY: The fact is, the battery in this unit is NOT replaceable, and Lithium-ion rechargeables DO have a limited life span. So when the battery has reached the end of its life cycle, this voice recorder WILL turn into a $120 PAPERWEIGHT. Therefore, I want to talk about prolonging the life of this very expensive voice recorder, which is to say, its battery.

If Sony were to be completely transparent, their spec sheet would have to state the "minimum life" of the Lithium-ion battery...which is 300-500 "discharge life cycles". That means if you let it go completely dead before each recharge, after 300-500 recharges, the battery will have reached a permanent end to its life, and will no longer take a charge... rendering this Sony recorder useless.

So how do you get the longest life out of your recorder? Well, the highly-respected "National Institute of Standards and Technology" (NIST), has published the following results concerning their extensive studies on the life of a Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery.

Charging a Lithium-ion Battery after a...

100% Discharge (dead) = 300-500 cycle life (when it becomes 100% non-usable).

50% Discharge = 1,200-1,500 cycle life.

25% Discharge = 2,000-2,500 cycle life.

10% Discharge = 3,700-4,700 cycle life.

As you can see, a lower discharge before recharging can significantly extend the battery's life, that is to say, its relative "full" cycle lifespan. In other words, the less discharge before recharging will result in "extra" full cycles. A good rule-of-thumb might be to try and recharge the unit after a 25% discharge, which according to the Sony specs, is equal to every 4.5 to 6 hours of actual Recording Time (depending on the recording format used). It doesn't have to be "every" time of course, let's just say "more often than not". But most of all, it is very important not to let Li-ions go completely dead. There is really no faster way to shorten the lifespan of Li-ions other than letting it go completely dead before each recharge.

Also, since Li-ions have NO "memory effect" (unlike nickel-cadmium rechargeables for example, which DO have a memory effect), it is perfectly fine to charge this unit at ANY battery level. However, keeping it ALWAYS plugged-in and charging when not in use is not very good for Li-ions either. Li-ion electrons like to "move around" a bit, and they do not like being charged while at 100%. It puts sort of an "overcharging strain" on the battery, or more officially called "voltage-related stress". (This is exactly why all Apple iPads are designed with a safeguard to automatically STOP the charging current once they hit 100%, and they will not start recharging again until it drops to around 98%). BTW, all this advice goes for ALL Li-ion rechargeables, which include the Li-ion in your smartphone and laptop. However, many smartphones/laptops go into a safe "trickle-charge" mode once they hit 100%, and will then only accept a charging-current that is equal to its natural discharging rate when not in use (which makes it safe to keep plugged-in). So unplugging a Li-ion device when at 100% is not necessarily a universal recommendation...just for this voice recorder.

Various other factors contribute towards reducing the lifespan of Li-ions as well, such as the "charging current" (how many volts/mA/watts are sent out from a USB slot or a/c plug adapter)...and elevated temperatures (anything above 86-degrees Fahrenheit). However, the charging-current for Li-ions is not as critical of an issue as it is to avoid extremely high temperatures, like keeping the unit stored inside a parked car on a hot summer day for example. And lastly, whenever you DO decide to charge, always make sure the unit is turned OFF. When left ON, something called a "parasitic load" will occur, and it will confuse the charging process. A parasitic load is when the unit is actually charging & discharging at the exact same time. Nothing critical here, just a recommendation to keep in mind.

3 NEGATIVES (a 1-Star Deduction): Well, I do agree with other fellow reviewers in saying that the tiny side buttons are fairly difficult to read, locate, and push. Large fingers may have to resort towards using their fingernail tips to push the buttons..."when" you can locate the right one to push that is. Transferring 3 of the more commonly-used side buttons (FF, PLAY, REW) to the FRONT of the unit (where the Stop & Record buttons currently are) would have been a MUCH BETTER design...or at the very least made the side buttons more of an easier to "see & distinguish" color other than all black. (*See the above 2 photos of all the side buttons). A 2nd negative is that the unit WILL automatically shut down after 10 minutes of non-use while in the "Stop" mode, and there is NO WAY to change this. It's a battery-saving feature, but it really should be an "Option" for people who would like to use the recorder on a very frequent basis throughout the workday. Being forced to turn the unit back on every 10 minutes could easily become a significant inconvenience. And why they force you to do this when the unit is supplied with an incredibly long 24-Hour battery makes very little sense. Plus, on a more minor note, there is no "physical" paper manual, only a digital English manual on the CD. You could of course print-out the massive 120-page manual on your own printer, but that's a whopping 120 pages of your ink! However, I found the digital 120-page English manual to be highly detailed and very easy to understand. Though as one reviewer correctly pointed out, some features may take awhile to find in this long manual.

Well, I hope all this info helps! Yes, it has a few negatives, but overall it's a very nice, "hi-tech" looking, top-quality voice recorder, with many great features & options. With proper battery care, this Sony unit should last you many, MANY years, with absolutely no need to upgrade to a newer model.

Bill in Denver

I'm a military police officer, and for years i've used voice recorders for work (mainly for covering my butt). I've used several different types of recorders, and so far this is the BEST one i've ever had. I'ts sleek design makes it easy to place in pocket and remain hidden. the only drawback i see with it is because of it sleek design it worries me, the next time i have to get into a fight and take someone down it might break from an impact. But I've had it for a month now and its yet to break or fail on me. I highly recommend this recorder.

Buy Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Now

For several years I've been trying to be more productive with respect to academics after suffering a major illness that significantly weakened me in many areas, one of which was concentration.

I used this to record myself speaking my ideas into it. This allowed me to get all my immediate thoughts out quickly when I was reading papers for my research. And with Dragon Speak I could put those onto pages to read later.

In any event, great recorder, and I give it a strong recommendation!

Read Best Reviews of Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Here

I have the Sony ICD-BX112, PX312 and now the TX50. I also have an Apple Ipod with the feature of the voice recording. They are all good, depending on your needs. But this last, the TX50 is awesome. I've been in meetings with more than 100 people as audience, seating in the rear of the room, placing it into my pocket shirt and recording it's been amazing. And then, being able to save the recording in MP3 format, what a convenience! I highly recommend the Sony ICD-TX50.

Want Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Discount?

I purchased this recorder for meetings and it picks up even those who speak very quietly. I love that it is so thin.

Save 30% Off

LG BP730 3D 4K Upscaling Smart Blu-ray Player with Built-in Wi-Fi

• Easy access to thousands of movies, customizable apps and videos as well as browsing the web right at the click of a remote.
• Wirelessly send the audio from your TV to your smartphone so you can hear the TV without disturbing those around you.
• Perfect for playing all your 3D or 2D Blu-Ray and DVD movies.
• Integrated Wi-Fi connectivity allows you take advantage of Internet access from any available Wi-Fi connection in its range.
• Selecting features is as easy as the wave of your hand with the Magic Remote Control.

The BP730 is LG's latest high-end Blu-ray player, and at its current $200 price point, costs about a third more than the next tier down, the 530. What does that extra $70 get you? LG identifies six unique features. Two, the 2D to 3D conversion and the Miracast/NFC sharing, I can't comment on because I don't own the other electronic devices they require, though I will point out that both are available on cheaper players from other manufacturers. None of the other four exclusives impresses me much.

The 4K upscaling may be nice for video quality enthusiasts who have very large TVs, but most ordinary consumers won't see enough difference to warrant the added cost. The slot load design seems more like the opposite of a perk: even though there's a light to indicate where the disc goes in, lining it up is a pain, and the player takes longer to "grab" the disc than it should. It's sleek and all, but not practical.

I feel the same way about the "Magic Remote," which is magic in that it includes pointer functionality. Whether that really deserves the label "magic" in the year 2013 I don't know. The voice-control introduced on more recent models of the remote might be more deserving of the term, but despite a confusing product description, that feature is NOT included in the remote that accompanies this Blu-ray player; all you get is the pointer, which works adequately but may cause trouble for people whose fine motor control isn't great. Switching back and forth between the pointer and button-based controls can eat up time, and the arrow buttons on the remote feel a bit cheap and click-y; I imagine their function might become inconsistent over time. It's not a bad remote, but unless you prefer pointing and clicking through menus to having a full array of buttons, it's not going to wow you either. I gather it also works with LG TVs, so if you own one that's something to consider. Buyers who share my frustration with having only one button each for fast-forward and skip-to-next-chapter (and, by the same token, only one for rewind and skip-to-last-chapter) take heed: this is one of those remotes. You have to hold the buttons down to fast-forward or rewind.

Then there's the web browser. It loads reasonably quickly, but navigating the web through a pointer is inherently tricky, and even with the scroll bar included on the remote this just isn't a useful feature. Video and audio don't seem to work, which further hinders things. I suppose if you're watching a movie and want to check your email without turning on your laptop, opening your phone, or activating one of the other half-dozen Internet-friendly devices you have, the browser might come in handy, but like most of the other features it's hardly something that deserves to be treated as a worthy exclusive for a high-end model.

So this isn't a player that's likely to be worth the extra cost. But what if, for you, it is? Say you want 4K upscaling, which as of this writing is as cheap on this model as on any competitor's. How well does the machine work? Setup is easy enough, though irritatingly the quick start guide has no text, only images, which can be followed but aren't quite idiot-proof. There's no print manual, only an included CD-ROM that also features the software used to stream content from personal computers. (You can also get the PDF manual and software online.) I downloaded and installed the latest firmware with no trouble. As a player of BDs and DVDs the BP730 seems solid. Load times are ten seconds or less (sometimes almost immediate), as compared to twenty seconds or so on my older LG BD630. The time-elapsed display on the front of the machine has large white numerals and is very easy to read from a distance, a big improvement on the cramped yellow numerals from the 630. On my woefully-inadequate 26-inch TV the video and audio quality seem fine, with maybe a slight uptick from the 4K upscaling. The various internal menus are easy to navigate. It's with the online streaming video that you get problems.

As noted in other reviews, there's no Amazon Instant Video app yet, which is disappointing given the increasing prominence of Amazon's streaming service. The other biggies, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and YouTube, are present, but performance is a mixed bag. Netflix works fine, but YouTube needs to buffer an awful lot, and flashes up a very visible white "Loading" message every time it does; once the service cut out on me entirely. Hulu Plus is all over the place. Once it loaded almost immediately and played a range of videos with no trouble. Once it loaded, but playback was so jittery I had to shut it off after less than a minute. Every other time, it's hung up on the player's loading screen, and eventually the player popped up a message that the service wasn't working. At this point it's fair to say that unless my machine is somehow defective, Hulu Plus is broken on the BP730. I've used all these services on other devices in the same time-period, so there's no obvious connection problem on my end. Of the other video and social networking apps, the only one I've tried is Twitter, which works very well, but tweeting, like web browsing, just isn't much fun on a Blu-ray player. I did try streaming stuff from my computer's hard drive to the player, which didn't work well, but since my computer is old and erratic I can't be sure that's a problem with the player rather than the laptop. I should probably mention that during one of those attempts the player froze entirely, and had to forced off by holding down the remote's stop button for a few seconds.

Given the lack of impressive high-end features and the (at present) limited, poorly-functioning streaming service offerings, it's hard to recommend this player unless you're a fan of LG who wants 4K upscaling capability. As I continue to use the player, I'll update this review to note performance changes, new features, new issues, etc. If you have questions about any aspect of the player, feel free to ask, though without a 3D TV or a smartphone I can't comment on features that require those things.

Buy LG BP730 3D 4K Upscaling Smart Blu-ray Player with Built-in Wi-Fi Now

I was hoping this blu-ray player would be a good replacement for a Sony player I was using for the last year... However, after calling Amazon, this device is not supported yet... I was told that they don't know when it will be supported since it would involve support from LG. THis is a deal breaker for me because I do not use Netflix or other video streaming.

The big thing with this device is the "smart remote" where you can point and click your way through the menus. I found it clunky and difficult to use... Not a huge improvement over using a keypad.

It does have browser capability... I was able to log into yahoo mail to retrieve my registration link that I needed to register with LG.

I didn't like the LG Registration process... Particularly their wanting my credit card info so they could charge a dollar and then credit it back before I even had tried to request any paid content...

In short, this is a big disappointment.... Without being able to access my amazon video content, it is virtually worthless to me. I suspect that in a few months LG and amazon will get it together... In the meantime, I guess I will be going back to the Sony that I really don't like eithe.

[NCJVR]

Read Best Reviews of LG BP730 3D 4K Upscaling Smart Blu-ray Player with Built-in Wi-Fi Here

I really hoped this would be the one for me. Seems like the only BD player with wireless remote and I wanted an LG model to match my 3D television. I need to utilize the Simplink system sharing remote control between devices. I found myself often restarting the player, my amplifier or worse yet popping the batteries out and in just to to operate the BD player. I didn't upgrade the software since the other reviewer mentioned it caused him difficulties. I found the menus and apps to be pretty basic. At least it has Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and 3D upscaling. Wireless and wired connections worked fine for me. I've had this player 3 weeks but its just not up to my expectations and I'm returning it. It seems worth half its price.

Want LG BP730 3D 4K Upscaling Smart Blu-ray Player with Built-in Wi-Fi Discount?

Not sure why such bad reviews. I bought this unit at Best Buy for the same price as the Pioneer "Elite" BDP-62FD that normally retails for 400 bucks. The Pioneer was on sale at Magnolia for 1/2 price ($200) and now I know why. In a word, pathetic.

The Pioneer was a great CD Audio player, that is if I could get it to turn on without having to unplug the main power source to reset it frequently.

I returned the Pioneer unit and bought this LG BP730 for the same price at Best Buy (Not Magnolia area), about $211 and some change.

After initially hooking it up to power, HDMI and Network (cable) and uploading the latest firmware, the thing has been working like a charm. I like the front loading mechanism and the touch sensitive buttons on the front that are hidden when the power is off (also a touch button). It comes with a "magic" remote, basically a mouse type controller. It works great with my 55" LG Smart TV and bonus, I haven't had to reset the power on it yet. Just make sure if you do the firmware update that you let the until site for a long while until it turns itself off. I've read that some folks turned the power off in the middle of an upgrade a bricked their unit. This is because they probably didn't RTFM. It is a 200 dollar LG that beats a 400 dollar Pioneer for reliability right out of the box. The interfact is light years ahead of the Pioneer old-school folder structure that didn't even display correctly and it was way slower than the LG when streaming. The LG is also thinner.

Anyway, if you have to choose between these two, this guy is honest and shows you first hand the lameness of what should be a premium item. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDQQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DTUO_lGAEmjw&ei=U0WlUbLIOZOE9gTM9YDgCw&usg=AFQjCNG3WL460bdHYIU5uNw32g_D9MVMqg&bvm=bv.47008514,d.eWU

I am happy with my LG BP730 so far, love the Android AV3 app that facilitates the "Private audio" mode. You can use your phone or tablet (better have a fast processor for no skipping/delays) to listen to the disc with the volume off. Great at night if you want to listen loud but don't want to wake the neighbors. It was much more impressive that the Pioneer unit I bought from "Magnolia" which is supposed to sell premium home theater gear. The Pioneer was giving all kinds of erros on my files and the error message were in broken English. I know that LG is foreign, but it looks like they pay better attention to their system's written words for language.

My only complaint is that it doesn't have the Media Link to work with my Plex NAS, but no biggie for me, as My LG TV has that. No I am not an LG rep., I just happened to have bought an LG TV and after my search for a 3D blu-ray player, also went with an LG, it works. I'd give 5 stars if they include Media Link so I don't have to switch back to my TV to play music. Also, for those folks that don't know, the Amazon app is in the latest firmware in the "Premium" section. Internet "Audeo" app is cool too. Enjoy!

One last tidbit, the LG has 4K upscaling and a great 3D picture and built in Wifi. The "Elite" Pioneer needs a wifi adapter and doesn't have 4K.

Without extending this too much further, know that I first purchased the latest Sony 3D blu-ray player they sell at Costco (BDP-BX510) before either of these two units, and it wouldn't even power on! Took it back the very next day. LG BP730 was the 3rd time charm for me.

I bought this because my Sony BD player is a piece of junk. This player seems to cure the problems I was having with the Sony unit, like slow loading, disconnecting randomly from the TV, skipping, stalling etc., so a big improvement just in basic operating conditions. I thought I saw that this had an Amazon on Demand gizmo in it, but I don't see that in the product description now. It doesn't have that, so that's disappointing. I haven't seen any other problems being described in these reviews yet. We'll see I guess. I'm hoping they keep updating the capabilities through the wireless connection.