Friday, January 23, 2009

Pac-Man Mini Arcade

I used to play a lot of video games as a kid. In fact, my first ever video game was a Coleco Ms. Pac-Man mini arcade. A few months later I got the original Pac-Man mini arcade along with Nintendo's Mario's Cement Factory (this was before the release of the 8-bit Nintendo console.)

I remember being addicted to these mini arcades and I had completely forgotten about them until my girlfriend bought one for me last week. She managed to track down a Coleco Pac-Man mini arcade — complete with the box and manual — and it works like new!! All the beeps and bops are exactly how I remembered them, but sadly, I'm no longer as good as I used to be. I struggled to get to level 2. I could blame the controls and say they're a little stiff (which they are), but I think I just need practice.

I have to admit, playing Pac-Man has left me a little nostalgic for some video game action, but I'm so out of the loop. Maybe this weekend I'll try to see what's out there. I might even give Left 4k Dead a whirl. After I beat level 2 on Pac-Man, of course.

Monday, January 12, 2009

CES Highlights: Palm Pre

Without a doubt, the biggest news story out of CES was the announcement of the Palm Pre and Palm's new operating system, webOS. The glossy phone is Palm's answer to the iPhone. It features a slider form factor along with a 3.1" LCD with a 320x480 resolution. It also has a QWERTY keyboard and a 3-megapixel camera with an LED flash and autofocus. The phone will be a Sprint exclusive before makes its way to the GSM market (Palm wouldn't comment where it would land after Sprint.) It's expected to come out 6 months from now.


I'm honestly not impressed by the hardware. It's nothing revolutionary. It's just another slider phone with a touch screen and built-in keyboard. Sure, it has an 3.5mm jack, but there's no way to expand the unit's 8GB storage and the keyboard looks a little tight. As much as I disliked the BlackBerry Storm, at least it brought a few new features to the table. The Palm Pre, like I said, is just another phone.

What did impress me was the Pre's new OS. This is what I think will make (or break) the Pre. Palm has essentially created a new OS for the Pre. It's like the iPhone on steroids. You navigate through the OS using the Pre's "gesture area," a small area that lets you pinch, zoom, and expand windows to your heart's content. The Pre's built-in accelerometer didn't lag once. It was very smooth and like the iPhone's OS, it displays inertia, so when you slide to a new page or window, items on the screen glide or bounce around. Animations are smooth rather than rigid.

The cool thing about webOS is the way it organizes information. You can perform a search on the phone and if the word doesn't show up, a new Google page will come up asking you if you want to search the Web for that term. Similarly impressive is the way the phone can display your contacts. For example, a typical address book entry will contain updates you that contact's Facebook page, AIM messages, Google messages, and more. It makes it easier for you to be abreast of that person's information.

Palm didn't utter a word on the Pre's price. Rumor has it the price could range from as little as $149 to $399. Price is anyone's guess. But one thing is for sure, this new mobile OS will put the pressure on Android, the iPhone, and the BlackBerry. Stay tuned for an updated smartphone comparo as more information comes out.

CES Highlights: Lunch

Here's one thing I won't miss about CES. When Jeff and I weren't scouring the CES floor in search of values and gadgets, we were eating lunch. Sadly, this is what our typical breakfast/lunch looked like. All of that goodness for just $11. As for the free press breakfasts and lunches — yeah, they were gone seconds after they came out.

CES Highlights: The TVs

Despite the whole economy thing, CES 2009 wasn't all that scaled down. Sure, there were some companies that pulled out, but for the most part, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Panasonic, and RCA had a full blown TV war going on. Whether it was 3D (that's Panasonic's 1/3" thick 3D TV above), OLED, or Quad HD — TVs dominated the CES floor. And as Jeff pointed out, with all of these vying 3D technologies, it almost makes you wonder if we're at the foot of yet another next-gen format war.

One thing worth noting, during our meeting with Samsung, we found out that LCDs are the company's golden child. Plasma demand is there, but LCDs are where it's at. As for DLPs, they're taking the backseat to plasma and LCD. For LCDs and DLPs, I've always been biased toward Samsung. I like their designs and the picture quality is top-notch (generally speaking). So if you're looking for a TV deal, it's worth checking out Samsung's DLPs as they begin to phase them out. They'll probably get you the most screen real estate for your buck.

Samsung's next-gen LCDs and plasmas are going to sport some cool features. Some terms worth noting:

-Auto Motion Plus: 240Hz refresh rate
-Internet@TV: this should make ditching cable subscriptions even easier. It lets you grab content from the Web (wired or wirelessly) via Yahoo's Widget Engine. Here's a video of the interface.
-Eco Friendly: The 6000 series LED-based LCDs will use 40% less power than today's LCDs
-Energy 3.0 compliant: Samsung's Series 8 plasmas will measure just over an inch thick and cut down on power by meeting Energy Star 3.0 standards.

Overall, the big TV manufacturers are all pushing 3D, OLED, and LED as buzz terms for 2009. As the new models begin to roll out, you can expect the older models to drop even further in price, which means we'll be listing some pretty nice TV deals by the time the Superbowl comes around.

CES Highlights: Toshiba Quad HDTV

Think you're special just 'cause you own a 1080p HDTV? Toshiba wants to blow your socks off with its Cell TV, which has a max resolution of 3840x2160 (otherwise known as 4k x 2k). I know, there's absolutely no content that can take advantage of that beast, but the 55" display can upscale anything you throw its way thanks to its Cell processor (the same type of processor found inside the PS3.) It'll even upscale Internet video (not that I'd want to see those YouTube videos in Quad HD.) The TV will come with a set top box capable of recording up to six HD streams at once. It's expected to debut in Japan later this year and in the States early next year.

CES Highlights: Green tech

Ever wonder what company makes the greenest laptop? According to Greenpeace, it's Toshiba with the Portege R600. It scored a 5.5 on a scale of 10 for its recyclability, upgradeability, and its overall use of environmentally-safe technologies such as LED lights. The laptop was given the green award during Greenpeace's press conference on the state of tech and the environment. It was the first time Greenpeace named the greenest products (rather than companies) making a difference in the tech industry.

The 12.1" ultraportable is pretty nice too, coming in at 2.4 pounds and packing an Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 1.4 GHz Processor, 3GB RAM, 160GB HDD, dual layer DVD burner, 802.11n, and MS Vista Business. That's not including it's 7.5-hour battery life.

Noticeably absent from the list of green gadgets were Apple's new MacBook Pros, Nintendo's Wii, and Microsoft's 360. The three companies (along with Asus, Palm, and Philips) chose not to participate in the survey.

CES Highlights: Microsoft Surface Table

When Microsoft first showed off its Surface Table, I wasn't completely sold on it. It was cool, but it looked very gimmicky. At CES, Jeff and I got to play around with one and it made me do a complete 180. I actually like it...a lot.

The table is very responsive and reacts to the slightest touch. At one point, there were three of us at different sides of the table. Each one of us was moving and resizing a window which was playing video (there must have been at least 30 windows playing video at the same time.) There was no lag whatsoever. I also liked that a quick pinch or squeeze shrunk the window while expanding your fingers blew the video up to half the table's size. Like I said, it's very responsive.

You can't buy the table (I believe it's sold for commercial purposes only), but it's a lot cooler than I thought it was.

CES Highlights: PowerMat

Companies have been promising wireless power mats since the dawn of time. Essentially, these mats let you drop all of your gadgets onto one pad and will recharge them all simultaneously. At CES we got to check out what could be one of the first companies to deliver on that promise, PowerMat. The folks at PowerMat have created various pads that'll let you charge anything from your laptop to your BlackBerry simultaneously. In order for the mat to "recognize" and charge your battery-drained gadget, you'll have to encase it in a special skin (around $30 per skin). The skins magnetically latch onto the mats and chirp when a connection has been established. There are specific skins for various gadgets including the iPhone and BlackBerry Curve. Other devices like laptops and digital cameras will use a special receiver like the image shown on the right.


According to PowerMat, your devices will charge just as fast as they would if you had them plugged into a wall outlet and the PowerMats are more energy efficient since they do not waste energy and only work when a gadget is placed on them.

In the future, PowerMat's goal is to have their sensors embedded into all devices. The company was demonstrating a kitchen table with sensors embedded inside. When placed underneath a sensor, the table was powerful enough to charge a KitchenAid Mixer (without any wires!). Even more impressive, during the demo, they poured water onto the table, placed the mixer on top, and then put their hand in the water to demonstrate 1)how safe the technology is and 2)to show us that the pads will only charge devices with the sensors inside them. (The KitchenAid mixer had a sensor at the botton.)

Overall, I was impressed with what they showed. We're expecting to get review units in the next few weeks. No release date has been given for the pads (I'm guessing late March) and each pad will cost roughly $100.

Worst of CES Contender #2

CES was bathed in Blu-ray. Except for Toshiba's booth which was touting the company's XDE (eXtended Detail Enhancement) DVDs. (Seriously, guys. Give it up. Your format lost.) However, while Sony, Samsung, and everyone else was showing off their new thin Blu-ray players, Panasonic was displaying something else. The Panasonic DMP-BD70V. This Profile 2.0 combo deck is the first (and probably the last) unit to play both Blu-ray discs and old VHS tapes. Why? Because they can. It'll even upconvert your VHS tapes to 1080p. On top of that the dual deck can decode Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential. It's rumored to come out in March for $450, which is more than the price of a Blu-ray player and VHS deck.

CES Highlights

So after a whirlwind weekend and tons of walking, we're back from CES. But just 'cause the show's over doesn't mean we're done. There's still a lot of post-show gadgets and tech to talk about. So stay tuned for some post-CES features and blog posts.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Sony's $900 netbook

$900 clams. That's the price Sony is setting for it's new VAIO P netbook. We got to check it out today and although I was impressed with it's design, your dollar can go a lot further with a netbook from MSI, Asus, or Lenovo. So the VAIO P has an 8" LED backlit LCD with a very sharp 1600x768 resolution. No doubt about it, text and videos looked awesome on it. Jeff wasn't too wild about the keyboard, but I liked it a lot. It felt wider and easier to type with than the keyboard on the Lenovo S10 netbook I'm using now. T

The VAIO P is light — 1.4 pounds kinda light. However, navigating with the VAIO P is a nightmare. You see, there's no touch pad, instead you navigate via a nub/nipple located in the middle of the keyboard. That makes it frustratingly difficult to select text, icons, and complete every day tasks. Sure, you could get a wireless mouse, but for $900, you shouldn't have to.

Aside from that, you'll find lots of features, like 802.11n, Verizon EV-DO (monthly subscription required), GPS, a webcam, and Bluetooth. But personally, I need a touchpad. Not to mention that $900 price is insane.

CES: Day 2

So it's day two of CES and in addition to my worst of CES contender, Jeff and I got to see a ton of gadgets. We saw 3D TVs from RCA, Sharp, Sony, and Samung. We saw Sony's VAIO P netbook. We attended Greenpeace's press conference where they named the "greenest" product you can buy. We saw the new Palm Tre (watch out iPhone), we saw a ton of OLEDs, Polaroid's camera/printer hybrid, and yet more netbooks. Stay tuned as I write up my thoughts on all of the stuff we saw today.

Worst of CES Contender

For the most part, CES has some really cool stuff. But every now and then a manufacturer will let one slip through the cracks and you'll end up with a product that makes you think twice. This is my first "worst of CES" nominee care of Toshiba. It's an underwater Internet Device. It lets you check e-mail, browse them web, and stream video all while you're underwater. Cause you know, you gotta have access underwater.

Toshiba shows off their 240Hz TVs

The folks at Toshiba were showing off their brand-spanking new 240Hz LCDs. In fact, they had them side by side next to their 60Hz and 120Hz TVs. (The 240Hz set is on the far left.) Jeff and I did a quick scan of the models and concluded that there is a noticeable difference from 60Hz to 120Hz. But from 120Hz to 240Hz — it's very subtle. To the point where you have to stop and ask — is this feature worth more money. The answer — no.

MSI shows off their netbooks

MSI seriously brought its A-game to CES. This here is the MSI Wind U115 Hybrid. According to MSI, it's the first netbook that can run both a HDD and SDD simultaneously. You can get it in 8GB/80GB, 16GB/120GB, or 32GB/160GB configurations. It also has a special ECO mode that shuts the HDD off to save battery life. MSI reps told us that when paired with a 6-cell battery, it should give you up to 12 hours of battery life. Personally, I was impressed with its wide (comfortable keyboard) and its price tag. It'll start at $349 (depending on your config) when it comes out at the end of Q1. Yeah, $349 is kinda up there, but factor in the deals and this could be the "it" netbook if you're on a budget, but want something that you can actually type on.

Intel wants you to buy a MID

Netbooks are everywhere here at CES, but while Asus, MSI, and the rest of the netbook manufacturers duke it out, Intel is focusing on the next platform — the MID (Mobile Internet Device). MIDs aren't particularly new, but Intel's booth was swarming with them and during a demo, they made them sound like the netbook's evolution. Here's where it gets confusing. You see, we started off with the UMPC (think Samsung Q1) which gave birth to the netbook (Asus Eee PC) which may one day compete with the MID. Of the three, the MID is the most portable, it's meant to be a lifestyle device. A quick way for you to get online. However, I thought the ones we saw were kinda clunky. Bigger than any smartphone, but smaller than a netbook. Not to mention, most MIDs lacked a keyboard (everything is done via their touch screen, although the one in this pic has a keyboard). So where does that leave us? Confused.

I think most consumers are gonna decide between a do-it-all smartphone (like the iPhone, Google G1, or BlackBerry Bold) or a netbook. Depending on your needs, a good smartphone should be able to save you from buying a MID or netbook.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

MSI Takes on Apple

Looks like we got another MacBook Air contender. This here is the newly-announced MSI X-Slim 320 ultraportable. This thing oozes sexiness. It has a very simple, elegant design that could pass off as a MacBook Air. It includes a full-size keyboard, a 10-hour battery (so they say), a 13.4" LCD, and it's 0.7" thick (not to mention it weighs 2.8 pounds). Here's the best part though, it'll cost $800 when it comes out in Q2 of 2009. Yup, you read correctly — $800. It won't match the Air's muscle power (the 320 is built around a 1.6GHz Atom CPU), but it's gonna be a nice steal for anyone interested in a fashionable ultraportable, especially once we start seeing deals on this bad boy. Truthfully, this is my CES crush so far.

Battle of the netbooks: Round 1 -- Asus

What is it: The masterminds behind the Eee PC are taking netbooks into their next phase, the tablet netbook. Asus' new Eee PC lineup includes convertible-style netbooks, with touch screens that can twist and fold onto the notebook's keyboard. There will be two main models. The Eee PC T91 will have built-in GPS, a built-in TV tuner, and Intel's Atom Z520 CPU (1.33GHZ, 533MHz FSB). The LED touchscreen will measure 8.9".

Next up is the Eee PC T101H. It features a 10" LED touch screen and Intel's Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz, 533MHz FSB). This model has no GPS and no TV tuner. However, both models can be configured with a HDD or SSD.

Price: Unfortunately, Asus is raising the price on its new Tablet netbooks. Pricing will start from $499.
Verdict: Though I admit to being an Asus fanboy, these new Eee PCs aren't worth the extra cash. Both Lenovo and MSI offer excellent netbooks at far less expensive price points. Sure, they're not Tablets, but the touch screen felt a little gimmicky. MSI's new Wind netbook impressed me more than Asus' offerings. (More on the Wind later.)

Netgear Internet TV

What is it: Internet-based set top boxes are pretty hot right now, so we got to check out Netgear's contender — the Netgear Internet TV. This set top box hooks up to your TV via HDMI (or component) and can stream free content from various sites like YouTube, CNN Video, NBC.com, and others. It'll even support files you get from BitTorrent. The unit we saw worked fine, but was still in prototype form. The final version will stream wirelessly or via Ethernet.

In addition to free content, it also plays nice with subscriptions from CinemaNow. Unfortunately, it doesn't support the big guys like Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Video. Not yet at least, a Netgear rep told us their goal is to stream content from those sites as well.

Price:$199
Available: Spring 2009
Verdict: At $199, the Netgear box has a lot of potential, but as far as value — it doesn't quite beat the Roku Netflix Player ($99). Nor does it offer the variety you can get from Apple TV, which is just a few bucks more. It'll be interesting to see how Roku reacts in response to Netgear's player, especially since Roku just added support for Amazon Video. Unless Netgear adds Hulu support and can bring the price down to at least $149, we'll have to stick with Roku as the budget streaming set top box to own.

Gadget bag

On a side note, I'm packing super light for this trip. Here's what I'm bringing gadget-wise:

Brenthaven Pro 15-17" Backpack for MacBook Pro
Canon Rebel XTi DSLR
Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook
Apple iPod Touch (1st Gen)
Motorola Q for Verizon (I know, my smartphone is old)
Verizon Wireless EV-DO ExpressCard Modem
Nintendo DS with Super Mario 3

Vegas!

So Jeff and I are heading to Vegas to cover the Consumer Electronics Show. CES is the tech industry's Academy Awards. Everyone who's someone (and even those who aren't) convene at the Hilton Convention Center for this massive tech orgy that lasts for 4 days. Manufacturers use the show as a platform to showcase their new tech for the coming year. There are even special "Best of CES" and "CES Innovations" awards to be won. (Past award winners include the Dell XPS, iRobot Looj, and Logitech Harmony One, to name a few.)

While every gadget blog on the planet is covering the show — we're heading out there with a different mission. We're going to bring you the tech that offers the best value for your money. Sure, we'll show you some of the cool OLED TVs and try to get up close with Sony's insanely-priced netbook — the $900 VAIO P — but we'll also keep an eye out for the best values like Vizio's sub $200 Blu-ray player, Netgear's Internet TV Player (which supports videos from BitTorent), and of course the latest on Asus' Tablet Eee PCs.

So hit that refresh button often and drop us a line if there's anything you want us to check out.