The Tech Planet

Archive for October, 2010

I never thought that I would be reviewing a product in this price range, but I just had to with this one because people need to know about it. I pretty much just bought this transmitter off of Amazon.co.uk because it was so cheap and I was curious to see how well it worked. I am very glad that I made the decision to do so.

First of all, all of the stations that come through my iPod as are clear as they come and so much better than my car’s antenna could produce. The quality is actually comparable to digital radio stations that I have listened to in the past. That is something that I wouldn’t have believed before I used it myself.

The charger is as good as the one that came with my iPod, which is pretty cool considering it was just thrown in as a package deal with the transmitter. I now use this charger over all of my other ones because it seems to actually charge my iPod faster than them.

I guess I wish that they had made the transmitter look a little bit better than it does, but I totally understand that they focused more on its ability to pick up radio channels than anything else. If they do come out with another one in the future that looks a little bit better, I will be buying it as well. I don’t even care if they charge more. Honestly, that is the only thing that I can think of that could be considered a con.

Don’t let the price fool you or keep you from picking this little device up. It is a great FM transmitter and adds a feature that most of us wish was included with the iPod. It is worth mentioning that I also tested it out on another MP3 player and it worked just as well. I have to give myself a pat on the back for this random purchase because I use it all of the time and just love it. I still look at the little transmitter and can’t believe that it is able to do so much.

I have a lot of games files, so it was about time to take them off of my computer’s hard drive and move them onto a new external hard drive. I decided to buy the Toshiba Canvio Plus because it could hold all of my files and then some and it wasn’t ridiculously overpriced like a lot of the other ones on the market.

I expected it to take a long time to move all of my files off of my computer and onto the drive, but it honestly didn’t take very long at all. It was pretty much the same speed as when I send big files via email.

Even though the things that I cared about the most when I was looking for a new external hard drive was what went on in the inside of the device, I really like the size of the Canvio Plus because it is extremely portable. I can pretty much treat it like a flash drive because it is so small.

The backup software that comes with the hard drive is fantastic and makes it quick and easy to back up all of my files when I need to. I don’t need to use it very often, but the few times that I have it was quite easy to use.

I don’t know if it was my specific computer or not, but it took me a little while to get it to recognize the drive when I first hooked it up. If it’s my computer, then I have no complaints at all. If it just doesn’t work well with Windows 7 yet, I hope, for future customers’ sake, they include the drivers with the hard drive.

It is pretty rare that I like just about everything about an electronic product, but this one met and exceeded all of my expectations. I will definitely be buying Toshiba hard drives again in the future because I know that they will only get bigger and better.

I pretty much depend on my flash drives to get my work done on time, so when I went onto Amazon.co.uk to get a new one, I wanted to find a product that was fast and reliable. I was hoping to finally get one that I could really depend on, and I think I got just that in the 16 GB SanDisk Cruzer.

One of the things that bugs me about a lot of flash drives is that they aren’t compatible with all systems or they require additional drivers to be installed. That hasn’t been a problem with the Cruzer at all because it was built to work with any operating system.

I feel confident that the Cruzer won’t break because it has a very strong and sturdy case. I have already broken a flash drive in the past, and I like this one too much to lose it because I drop it a couple of times. Most companies put a lot more work into the interior of their flash drives, but right now it seems like this a complete product.

It’s nice to have the added bonus of a two year warranty just in case anything goes wrong with the product. I’m sure I won’t need to use the warranty, but I like when companies have that much confidence when they make something. It also shows that they actually value their customers and are willing to replace any products that aren’t up to code. I respect that way of doing business, and there aren’t a lot of companies that are willing to do it these days.

It is not the nicest looking flash drive in the world, but that’s not a very big deal for me. However, if they do make one that isn’t so plain looking, I might look into getting it.

I can’t see anyone disliking this 16 GB flash drive because it works fast, is not expensive at all, and it was built to last. I will probably buy a few more for myself so I can store more files. It’s pretty obvious that I am a huge fan of this flash drive. I think others will be, too.

I mostly bought the Roku HD player out of curiosity because a friend of mine told me that it made watching streaming shows and movies a lot more convenient than any computer program was able to. I also wanted to be able to watch things in high definition on my TV instead of on my monitor because my monitor isn’t that big. After a couple of weeks of owning the Roku, I am definitely a happy customer.

The quality of the videos looks absolutely outstanding on my television and I have yet to have a skipping issue. It is so close to full high definition video and it is easy to forget that you are actually watching streaming video. I don;t know how they made this little box capable of producing that type of quality, but I am very thankful for it.

Searching through videos is really easy and it is a lot faster than I expected when I bought it off of Amazon.co.uk. The menus all pop up quickly and I very rarely have to wait for more than a second to get from one page to another. That is a huge thing for me because I have owned a lot of devices that take a while to load menus and pages.

It’s also nice that I didn’t have to pay a bundle to get a product like this because I probably would have decided not to get it if it was even a little bit more expensive. Now that I have used it, though, I probably would have put way more money into it.

Everything is great when I have the Roku at my house, but I took it over to my mother’s and the quality wasn’t as good. I have heard that it is because of the internet connection, so hopefully they will figure out how to make it work better in places with less than stellar connections.

All in all, I have had a blast with my Roku and would recommend it to anyone who wants to watch their digital movies or shows on their televisions. I can’t wait to see what the future Roku will be able to do.

I chose to buy the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 off of Amazon.co.uk because I really wanted to own a 1080p webcam so I could record my home music videos in the highest quality possible. My old webcam was a good one, but the limits on quality got to me after I saw all of the other musicians online making 1080p videos. So far, this has been exactly what I wanted and has some great features that I didn’t even know it came with.

The most important thing, of course, when I bought the webcam was that it would be able to consistently make great videos with no quality loss no matter how long the videos are. That’s exactly what I got and so much more. Exactly what I see on the screen is what I get, which is not necessarily what I got from my old webcam.

Even though the fantastic video quality is what most people notice about Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910, it’s the built in noise canceling mics that really impressed me about this product. No matter how far away from the mics I am, it picks up my voice very well and I haven’t heard that annoying hissing sound that so many computer mics produce.

The design of the webcam is great, too, because I know, without even having to look at my screen, how the pictures will show up once I start recording. It doesn’t hurt that it has a sleek look as well.

As of right now, I can’t use the webcam with Skype, which is a bit of a bummer, but not enough for me to trade it in for an inferior product. As I mentioned, I use it more to record videos than anything else, but I would definitely be happy if they updated the software soon so I can use Skype with it when I need to.

I now totally understand why this is the highest selling 1080p webcam because the people at Logitech really did deliver on all of the promises they made. It’s nice to know that I won’t have to look for a new webcam for at least a couple of years.

I went onto Amazon.co.uk to find a new Blu-ray player because my old one had a lot of menu and playback issues that got to me after a while. I had quite a few to choose from, but I ended up deciding on the LG BD570 because I trust the company to make good products and in was in the price range that I had set for myself. I don’t know if I would have liked those other players, but I sure am happy I chose this one over them.

What I really like about the LG BD570 is that it is straight to the point, meaning that it has simple menus and I can tell they focused more on quality than the unnecessary features that so many other companies seem to like to pack into their products. There are quite a few cool programs that are included on it, but getting to everything that I use is just a few clicks away when I turn it on and it is fast at executing all of those clicks.

One thing that was never very important to me when it came to DVD and Blu-ray players was audio quality because I never really noticed much of a difference before. That has changed now because the LG BD570 offers better sound quality than most of the movie theaters that I have been to. I’m hearing more now in movies than I ever would have known was there in the first place.

I guess one thing that could be considered a flaw in design is that the streaming YouTube feature doesn’t have a fast forward or rewind button. I don’t know if they forgot to include this or if I’m just missing something. Either way, it’s not enough for me to take points away from this otherwise perfect product.

I have been a long time fan of LG products, and even more so now that I have used this amazing Blu-ray player. Considering it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg to buy and is also the best player that I have seen or used, how could I not be a happy customer?

I listen to a lot of music and bought the JBuds off of Amazon.co.uk because I wanted to listen to my music in the best quality possible. I had heard a lot about this product from friends and was pretty excited to get them in the mail. For once, I was not let down by my high expectations and have absolutely loved them ever since I first tried them out.

I now fully understand why so many people said that the sound quality was so fantastic because all of the music and videos that I listed to before I got these earbuds sound ten times better now. Even the bass is great, which is something that kind of surprised me considering the only headphones that had good bass before for me were the thicker kinds.

Something that was pretty important to me when I went out looking for new headphones was that they would end up being very comfortable in my ears. Past earbuds that I owned put a bit too much pressure on my ears after a little while, but the JBuds come with different sizes so that are snug, but comfortable. I can wear them all day if I want to with no discomfort whatsoever.

It is really great that they made these available in so many colors because it gave me the option to get the ones that worked with the MP3 player and everything else that I use. Considering they are noticeable when I wear them, it is nice to have good looking ones as opposed to the plain black ones I had before.

A very minor issue that I have with the JBuds is that they are not labeled Left and Right so, when I first owned them, I had to guess which ear to put them in. I don’t know why they did this, but I’ve labeled them so it’s not a problem for me anymore.

I have a feeling that I will keep these earbuds around for a long time to come no matter what else comes out in the next few years because I absolutely love the sound quality. I love the fact that I own these earbuds. That is not something that I have ever been able to say about most of my electronics.

I wanted to get a new Bluetooth adapter because the one that I previously had was a bit too in the way and I often have to switch out USB devices on my computer and I wanted the adapter to not get in the way. It was a pretty easy decision to buy this IOGear adapter because it was pretty much the only one on Amazon.co.uk that had great reviews across the board.

I did buy this adapter because of its size, but it has also been my best Bluetooth adapter yet. I use it with my headphones and my phone and I haven’t had an issue with it yet. The clarity is brilliant and loading drivers for the device was easy as pie. My Bluetooth products seem to be recognized faster than they ever had before as well.

Considering this is such a great product, I still can’t believe that I paid so little for it because there were some other similar products that are known for being less effective and cost a bit more than this one. I rarely ever find the best deals out there,k but I feel like I got a steal with this product. Because it is so inexpensive, I plan on getting a couple of family and friends this Christmas.

It does give great reception when you are close enough to it, but I kind of wish that it worked from great distances than it does. It isn’t very often where I would need to be very far from it, but it would be nice to have the option. If IOGear makes one that has a bit more range or if they update this one to do so, I will be an even happier customer.

If you want a new Bluetooth adapter for the same reasons as I did, you just have to buy this. It’s also a great idea to get it if you are just in need of a new adapter because it’s as good or better than the other ones that I have used and it won’t cost you very much at all to own.

I seem to buy all of the computers that like to get hot quickly, which is really annoying, so I finally decided to do something about it and went onto Amazon.co.uk to buy the Cooler Master. I have to admit that I was a little bit skeptical when I first purchased it because I thought it would only cool the outside of the computer, but that’s not the case at all. It is a great cooler that makes using the computer more comfortable.

Of course, the most important thing that I needed from the Cooler Master was that it was able to keep my laptop from overheating all of the time. I made sure to use the computer without it first so I could compare the difference, and boy does it make a world of a difference. My hands are more comfortable and the internal fan never runs high anymore.

One thing that is underrated about this product is the way that it lifts up to give a better viewing angle to the user. My neck and eyes are less strained now and all of the videos that I watch on my computer are more enjoyable now.

I probably should have known this before I bought the product, but I kind of wish that it worked with the bigger laptops of the world in case I ever do decide to get one. It’s too cool of a system not to have around with all of my laptops in the future.

It is just a little bit louder than I expected it to be when I bought it, but I guess it is pretty much impossible for two fans to stay completely quiet, especially when doing a job like it does. It’s honestly not too bad at all and I barely notice it when I use it.

I’m very confident that others will like the Cooler Master U2 as much as I do because it really does do the job that it is advertised to do. I can’t see anyone not liking it because it will make anyone’s laptop last a lot longer than it would without this product.

I use iTunes more than anyone I know, so I needed something that would allow me to get my shows and movies easily and watch them directly on my television. I bought the Apple TV off of Amazon.co.uk pretty much as soon as I saw it because I had a good feeling that it would do the job.

Ease of use is definitely my favorite thing about the Apple TV because I don’t have to go through all sorts of menus just to get the show or movie that I want to see. So many of the new electronics out there are great, but they assume you you know just how to use them out of the box. The people who made this product had the customers in mind, which is a breath of fresh air.

Another thing that I really like about it is that it quickly responds to my iPhone when I am navigating around on iTunes. I was a little bit worried about over hitting buttons or the device not responding when I needed it to do something. That’s just not an issue with the Apple TV. Every single time that I hit a button on my phone, it responds.

It is also very quiet, which is very important because fan noise would have probably been a deal breaker for me. None of my other devices that have fans are as quiet as this one, so it is nice to have one less distraction while I’m watching my shows.

Sometimes streams are a little bit too slow to load, but it’s not so bad where it gets really annoying or anything like that. I do hope that they update the software at some point to make it load a bit faster, though.

I definitely recommend the Apple TV for anyone who is an iTunes nut like myself because it makes the whole process of getting and watching movies and videos super easy and convenient. That’s what I wanted when I bought it, and that’s what I got. It is nice to have something work out like that for me for once.