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Thread: Cool gizmos for the hot summer

  1. #1
    Every year, the world of gadgets moves forward with better products and more features. The trend towards convergence continues with mobile phones performing many of the functions of other devices. However, there are still some great digital cameras and multimedia players out there as well. We pick five gadgets you must have this summer.



    Nokia N95
    The N95 is the latest and best in Nokia?s heavily promoted N series of mobile phones and is probably one of the most powerful phones.



    Perhaps the biggest innovation is a GPS receiver which allows you to pinpoint your exact location and, with the right mapping software, makes the phone a great navigating tool. The camera also pushes the envelope with a 5.2 megapixel resolution, a Carl Zeiss lens and auto-focus. The video capabilities are excellent with 640X480 resolution at 30 frames per second.



    The N95 comes with HSDPA connectivity which means that, with the appropriate plan, you can connect to the Internet at broadband speeds. It also comes with Symbian OS which gives you a wide choice of additional third-party software to install on the phone.



    The Sandisk Sansa:
    Apple is the unquestioned king of the MP3 player market with its iPod but its competitors have come up with some very cool gadgets which may even surpass the market leader in quality and features. Sandisk?s Sansa series of flash-based players is a case in point.



    The Sansa e200 models with capacities from 2GB to 8GB compete with the iPod Nano and have several advantages over Apple?s players. The most obvious is that they can play video on the 1.8 inch colour display. You can also listen to and record FM radio as well record voice memos. There is an additional expansion slot which allows you to increase capacity with a memory card. Recently, Sandisk has released a new model called the Sansa Connect with wi-fi capabilities which allow you to download music and photographs from the Internet.



    Creative Zen Vision W:
    As the MP3 player market slowly gets taken over by mobile phones, perhaps the future belongs to video players with large enough screens to play your movies and home videos. One of the best is the Creative Zen Vision W which comes in 30GB and 60GB models.

    The most important feature is the 4.4 inch screen with 480X271 resolution and in widescreen format which is ideal for watching most movies. The Vision can also store your photos and music files and it?s easy to connect it to your TV to watch your video and photo collection. If you get tired of your music collection you can always listen to FM radio and record any programmes that you enjoy. There is also a built-in microphone to record voice memos



    Canon A570 IS
    With new phone models like the N95 breathing down their necks, digital camera manufacturers need to innovate in order to sell cameras. Canon?s mid-priced A570IS with 7 megapixels and 4X optical zoom is a good example of a new camera with interesting features.



    The IS stands for image stabilization which reduces camera shake and produces better pictures in low light or with fast-moving objects. The second interesting feature is face detection which identifies the faces in your picture and sets the focus and light metering accordingly to produce much better photos. Face detection is part of the new Digic III image processor that comes in the 570 IS and which delivers better picture quality, faster performance and longer battery life.



    Sony Ericsson W710
    Sony Ericsson?s heavily promoted walkman series has set new standards for audio quality on mobile phones. The W710 maintains those standards and also comes with some very neat features for exercise buffs.



    The main innovation is a pedometer which measures your speed and the number of steps you have run or walked. This is used by an application called Pocket Trainer which creates and stores a whole bunch of information about your training sessions: the distance and average speed and the calories you have burnt. It?s all conveniently organized so that you can compare your performance in different sessions.



    The W710 also comes with a 2 megapixel camera and a 512 MB memory card for the expandable memory slot.

    Source: yahooindia
    http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4091/69423957gy5.jpg
    On Independence Day Here's wising our dreams of a new tomorrow come true for us NOW AND ALWAYS!

  2. #2
    cool buys for summer...except the mobile...nice information...keep sharing...



  3. #3

  4. #4
    iriver S10

    This is what the company says the S10 is: "SOUL+SLIM+STLYE=S10".


    The player is available in two capacities: 1 GB and 2 GB. And we have with us the 1GB version. Though not much (in size), let's find out if it's worth the pennies that you pay for the S10 combi.


    Turn ons

    Light, Good Sound Quality, FM Tuner, Recorder.


    Turn offs

    Price, 1GB.


    Bundle


    iriver S10, Lanyard Earphones, miniUSB Adaptor, User Guide & Software CD


    Specification


    Frequency Range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz


    Output Power: 15mW + 15mW (at Max. Volume)

    Signal to Noise Ratio: 90dB


    Dimensions: 42w x 30h x 10.8d mm


    Weight: 17.5g

    Design


    The S10 player has a unique design. It looks like a digital pendant. The entire face of the player is a screen. With volume controls on one side and a Power button and reset on the other. You might be wondering how you're going to be able to navigate the player functions.


    The stereo jack of the player is at the top, and just beside it's the lanyard attachment area, while at the bottom of the player is the MIC.


    The earphones were Sennheiser and not the ones that actually come bundled with the player.


    Features


    The S10 has a neat set of all the standard features that one seeks in an MP3 player. The player supports lots of formats. Under audio formats, the player supports MP3, WMA, ASF, and OGG (including Q10). Recording is done in WAV format, while BMP is the only image format supported.


    The modes of the player are as follows: Music, FM Tuner, Image Viewer, Recorder, and Time & Alarm. The navigation of the player is very simple; anyone can get used to it.


    The confusing part is when you want to put the player on hold - for which I had to go through the manual of the player. Pressing down the UP & DOWN volume keys together for about 3 seconds put the player in hold, and doing the same releases the hold.


    The rest of it is the same as seen in the previous iriver E10 that we have reviewed. There are a few more options in the S10, like changing the screen orientation.
    Performance


    As aforementioned, the S10 we received wasn't supplied to us with the default bundled earphones. The default earphones are a combination of lanyard as well. There is no real need to worry, though, because iriver bundles Sennheiser earphones with their products.


    So the S10 performance is decent; the sound produced with the earphones was just near perfect. This player has lots of settings to offer. Like with frequency boost, you can choose to boost frequencies from 40 Hz - 400 Hz. You can also focus either on highs, mediums, or lows. These adjustments let you experience good bass or damn clear vocals. All of these are available in the SRS settings.


    If you aren't too well versed with technicalities of sound, then there's a wide range of Equalizer presets. The list of presets is Normal, Classic, Live, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Ubase, Metal, Dance, and Party. Custom EQ is also present here.


    The best part of the S10 was that the sound didn't crack even at max volume -though the max volume wasn't really all that loud.


    Moving on to other modes of the player, when it came to viewing of image files you could peacefully browse through the images without stopping the music. The FM tuner of the player was also reasonably good. You can record from the FM tuner as well - other than just doing a standard voice recording.

    Transferring files to the S10 was a breeze - no need for any drivers if you're using XP. For those still on Win98/ME/2000 etc. there are drivers provided in the CD. The CD also bundles iriver plus 3 software - but I still prefer drag-n-drop of folders.


    You can upgrade the firmware of the S10 if you find problems. There were quite a few times that the player hung and required a reset. The hang occurred at the time of starting up the player. This should be rectified the moment a new firmware is made available.


    Conclusion


    Now here comes the bummer for the S10. The iriver S10 sells for around Rs.6000 with a 1-year warranty. The player can also be found for under 6K - but for the very fact that it's around that price range, you want more than just good sound quality: the capacity should be higher. At this price, you could even get an iPod Nano.


    These days, 1GB players like Creative's Stone and the iPod Shuffle are available for much less. Other local or Eastern brands give you a 1GB player for under 3K. There are iAudio products available for less if you're looking for really good sound quality. I would say that the price of S10 puts the whole "SOUL+SLIM+STLYE=S10" down to "-S10".

    Source: msnindia
    http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4091/69423957gy5.jpg
    On Independence Day Here's wising our dreams of a new tomorrow come true for us NOW AND ALWAYS!

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