Gadgets Archives - Page 35 of 78

Kindle On The Fritz? Remove The Cover.

Here’s a weird one… Should your 3rd generation Amazon Kindle begin spontaneously shutting down, fail to reliably power up, sprinkled with a dash of page sync issues, the culprit is most likely your official Amazon Kindle Leather Cover. Apparently, Amazon has been aware of this issue since at least late last year… and the cover is … Read more

Google TV Scheduled For A Summer Reboot

I’d like to suggest an update to this Google TV FAQ, as the schedule has clearly been blown (and by any or most objective measures, Google’s initial foray into television services has been a failure).

Expect many more applications after we open the Android Market on Google TV in early 2011.

“Early 2011” has obviously come and gone while Google TV has remained largely stagnent. Yeah, it provides a few nifty tricks, like that video overlay, and there’s tons of potential. But the interface remains a mess and a large percent of the web video we want to get at is blocked (by the providers). And then there’s all the apps. Rather, the lack of.

That’s the bad news. The good news, unveiled at Google’s developer conference this week, is what looks to be a significant reboot of the Goole TV platform this summer. Based on Android 3.1 (Honeycomb), and as reported by NewTeeVee, the new experience more efficiently directs folks to the features they’re seeking… including a full blown application Market. As you can tell from the screengrabs, the refreshed UI appears at once both more sophisticated and more streamlined. I only hope early adopters of original Sony and Logitech Google TV hardware and rewarded for their gamble with an update.

Unboxing the Logitech Alert Video Security Kit

Over the years, we’ve surveyed a number of video monitoring kits – including Archerfish, Vue, and Dropcam. While all have brought a number of novel software enhancements or distribution methods, they’ve all also bundled disappointing low resolution cameras. Given my positive experiences with Logitech’s Google TV video conferencing camera and after catching footage of this iPad app in action, I reached out to Logitech’s PR firm to take a look at the Logitech Alert security solution.

Off the bat, it’s clear their HD video capture hardware is in a different league – both fit and finish and actual streaming. Additionally, while I’d have preferred a wireless camera it’s probably a smart decision to bundle Powerline network adapters for efficient setup and reliable connectivity. Unfortunately, Logitech camera placement options can’t match the extremely flexible Vue cameras. Yet, at the same time, the batteries won’t die before I get around to reviewing the product… as there are none to mess with.

On the software front, I was a bit bummed to discover that Windows is required for initial setup. But once complete, video can be accessed via a Mac OS X browser or mobile app. Indeed, I’ve already sampled live video of the sunroom via my iPhone. And I wonder who could have possibly left our vacuum torn up like that. ;)

Jabra Cruiser2 Bluetooth Speakerphone Review

It’s been almost exactly two years since I picked up the solar-powered LG Bluetooth hand-free gadget. For the first few months, I used it extensively in the car – very rarely needing to plug it in for supplemental juice. But the speakerphone eventually ended up collecting dust on the desk for quite some time, as I reverted back to my most favored Jawbone Prime, which has the right mix of style, comfort, and performance. As my car talk time began to increase several months ago, I pulled the LG out of cold storage. In 2011, its audio performance on either end is probably never stellar. More annoying is the tiny power button that needs to be held down a second or two and no standby mode. And, thus, my search for a replacement began.

Unfortunately, solar power speakerphones really haven’t taken off the way one would have hoped — there just aren’t too many options. So I settled on the more traditionally charged Bluetooth units, with two in particular standing out: The BlueAnt S4 and Jabra Cruiser2. They both run about $70 these days, and I was leaning towards the BlueAnt given its potentially useful voice control and styling. Yet, I came across the Jabra on a Costco run this week… and an impulse purchase ended the debate.

Battle Lines Drawn: Microsoft & RIM Vs. the World

It was free PlayBooks for all at the BlackBerry World Conference keynote presentation today, but that was hardly the biggest surprise of the morning. Taking the stage right after RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis was Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. That’s right, the CEO of Microsoft held court at a BlackBerry conference. Why? To announce a new alliance of course. RIM is now working closely with Microsoft to integrate Bing search at the OS level on BlackBerry devices. Eric Zemen, aka @phonescooper, captured the rather odd video (above) showing how the Bing-on-BlackBerry experience will work.

If there’s one clear conclusion to be divined from Ballmer’s appearance today, it’s that the mobile battle lines have been drawn. Microsoft signed an agreement with Nokia just last month to shore up its OS position with Windows 7. Now it’s supporting RIM in the mobile OS world in order to further its mobile search interests. Bizarre? Yes. But also very calculated. Microsoft was late to the mobile game, and now it’s aligning left, right, and center in order to combat Google and Apple in the space.

You can place your bets now on whether Microsoft’s mobile strategies will work. Certainly the company is taking a scatter-shot approach to the market, but that doesn’t mean one of those shots won’t hit.

In the meantime, here’s a sampling of some of the greatest tweets covering the RIM conference this morning – from the hilarious to the insightful:

Revisiting The Google TV

Logitech Revue Google TV

We aim to serve. And, by request, the Logitech Revue Google TV was dusted off for a quick look at HBOGo. At least that was the plan…

Like CrunchGear, I originally had a difficult time constructing our Logitech Revue, er, review headline and ultimately settled on the Star Wars inspired ‘A New Hope’ – as there was a whole lot of anticipation ahead of Google TV’s launch. Indeed, I was pretty fired up when the $300 box arrived, courtesy Logitech.

Without doubt, Google TV features the very best television-based web browsing experience. And the Logitech Revue IR blaster functionality is the most powerful I’ve come across. But this is the provence of geekdom, and not really suitable for the civilians amongst us. They’d only wonder why watching TV requires a (wireless) keyboard and touchpad while searching the couch crevices for a traditional remote that just doesn’t exist. Heck, the unexpected delight of discovering something new on a daily basis even became a frustration for a geek like me as it turns out the interface and keyboard interaction are both a mess. And, like so many other half baked products, our Google TV review unit was banished to the Land of Misfit toys (aka the basement cupboard).

The Asus Transformer – A Netbook Replacement?

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 is launching in the US and Canada on April 26th as one of the first Android tablets with docking keyboard to grace our fair shores. (Brad Linder notes the Acer Iconia W500 Windows 7 tablet with keyboard is also on its way.) You may remember our excitement at CES 2010 over the Lenovo U1 hybrid tablet/laptop. Alas, that device still hasn’t made it to store shelves here, and it’s not clear that it ever well. The Transformer, on the other hand, promises much of what the U1 did, along with some 2011 upgrades.

If you’re looking for an Android tablet, the Transformer is beating out a lot of its more well-known competitors in review circles. According to Laptop Magazine, the Asus tablet compares favorably to the Xoom and G-Slate for battery life (about 8.5 hours detached, or more than 10 hours with the dock), and edges out both (just slightly in the G-Slate’s case) in a CPU benchmark test. Basic specs include the Android Honeycomb OS, a 10.1-inch display, Wi-Fi connectivity, a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1GB on-board RAM with expansion room to 2GB, and on-board memory of 16GB (for $399) or 32GB (for $499) with support for microSD cards.

What most excites me, however, is the Transformer’s potential as a netbook replacement.

PopBox Not Dead Yet; Adds 3D & MLB.TV

We haven’t heard much lately out of Syabas, the company behind the $130 PopBox media appliance (and Popcorn Hour). When announced, back at CES 2010, I was pretty fired up given their lineage and the demo I received. However, the streamer launched later than planned… with a variety of performance issues and lacking previously advertised premium content, … Read more