Louieville Tech

Price Trends: 55" 1080p LCD HDTVs

2010-07-06T16:52:00.006-04:00

Big screens require a big budget, so if you're in the market for a super-sized LCD, you should expect to pay upwards of $1,000. However, recent deal data suggests relief could be coming in soon. Back in May we saw a 55" 120Hz LG LCD go for $999 (free shipping), the lowest price ever for any brand-name 55" 120Hz set.

In addition, in June we listed a $989 55" 240Hz LCD, albeit from a third-tier brand (ProScan). Still, we hope these manufacturers can push their name-brand counterparts to price these coveted TVs south of the $1,000 mark.

*55" 60Hz sets were not included in any of this data.

Previously:
Price Trends on 42" LCDs
Price Trends on 46" - 47" LCDs
Price Trends on 52" LCDs

Price Trends: 52" 1080p LCD HDTVs

2010-07-02T16:55:00.009-04:00

Unlike their 42" and 46" counterparts, 52" LCDs are currently on the rebound with most prices pointing up. 60Hz and 120Hz sets have been neck and neck for the past few months, but they've recently spiked above the $1,000 mark. On the high end of the spectrum, 240Hz and LED sets are comfortably above the $1,500 mark, although prices on LED sets recently took a dive (and from the looks of our June data, it appears the trend will continue with prices dipping even lower).

It's worth noting that we haven't listed any 52" 3D LCD deals. In fact, we've only listed one 52" 3D TV deal and that was for a plasma TV. The majority of big-screen 3D HDTV deals fall under the 55" category, which we'll take a look at next week.

Previously:
Price Trends on 42" LCDs
Price Trends on 46" - 47" LCDs

(Best deal for a 50" plasma in May: $599)

Price Trends: 46" - 47" 1080p LCD HDTVs

2010-07-01T16:59:00.007-04:00

46" and 47" TVs are quickly becoming the new standard for HDTV owners. Fortunately, that means an abundance of deals on these sets. On the entry-level side, both 60Hz and 120Hz displays are virtually neck and neck price-wise, so there's no reason to settle for a 60Hz set.

If you want to future-proof your TV (and who doesn't), 240Hz and LED-backlit TVs are dropping in price with deals for the past two months comfortably coming in below the $1,000 mark.

However, it's worth noting that the price drop on LED-backlit LCDs is being led by 3rd-tier vendors, particularly ProScan. A set from Vizio, Toshiba, or Sharp still sits in the sub $1,200 range. Meanwhile, 3D LCD HDTVs in this size category have taken a massive drop (all of them from Samsung), although the cheapest 3D TV is still $466 over the price of the most affordable LED TV.

Previously:
Price Trends on 42" LCDs

Thoughts on Hulu Plus

2010-06-30T16:08:00.006-04:00

After countless rumors and leaks, yesterday Hulu finally announced the first wave of its new premium service — Hulu Plus.

The new service will cost $9.99/month and grant you access to a deeper library of content than what the current free version of Hulu offers. In other words, you'll not only get current shows and episodes, but entire back catalogs with every episode from every season. And here's where it really gets interesting, Hulu Plus will be available as a free app for the Apple iPhone and iPad, for the Microsoft Xbox 360 (coming in 2011), and Sony Playstation 3. In addition, it will be built into select Sony and Vizio television sets and Blu-ray players. (At launch, only Samsung TVs with access to the Samsung App Store will be able to download the Hulu Plus App.)

The free version of Hulu will still be around, but for serious TV junkies, Hulu Plus promises hours of TV available any time from a handful of mobile and living room devices. However, I personally think Hulu Plus is a horrible deal. Here's why:

Advertising
The current version of Hulu has embedded ads, albeit short and not as many as traditional TV, but it's a free service, so you really can't complain. Hulu Plus on the other hand is not free and yet it will also include ads. Now you could say, "I pay for cable TV, and I still get ads," but cable TV gives you access to tons of shows from various networks. Hulu Plus will only grant you access to shows from ABC, Fox, and NBC. (And with ABC wanting to break off and do its own thing, I wonder how that will affect Hulu's content.)

Value/Money
Personally, I think $9.99/month is expensive. Very expensive. That's $119.88/year that you could otherwise pocket. What bothers me the most is that Hulu Plus is not an answer for cable cutters. Like I said above, the majority of content will come from three networks so if you're a fan of Iron Chef, International House Hunters, or Dinner Impossible, Hulu Plus is essentially useless. (And let's not get started on sports, news, or music stations, none of which you'll find on Hulu Plus.)

Furthermore, do you really need access to every episode of 30 Rock, Family Guy, The Office, etc. That's a lot of content and I bet most subscribers won't get the most from their money. Instead, you'll end up paying your monthly cable bill and paying an additional $10/mo. for Hulu Plus. You're being milked for access to content you most likely won't watch. And if you do watch it, do you really want to watch it from an iPhone or iPad (as great as those screens may be)?

Google TV
Hulu Plus will launch with Samsung as its HDTV partner. Interestingly enough, Sony (which is partners with Google on its Google TV initiative) will also get Hulu Plus embedded into its TVs and Blu-ray players. Even the PS3 will get Hulu Plus (late July) beating Microsoft's Xbox 360 to the punch. The difference here is that Google TV will be free, whereas Hulu Plus is not. It's too early to tell which company will offer the better service, but to our wallets, Google TV + the non-subscription version of Hulu sounds a lot better than Hulu Plus.

Netflix
A lot of the back catalogs that are available on Hulu Plus are also available via Netflix and the latter only charges $8.99/mo. for unlimited streaming (that also includes the rental of 1 DVD out at a time per month). There's no point in having both Netflix and Hulu Plus and cable TV.

That said, Hulu Plus does have some notable features. The fact that most of its content will be HD (720p) is a huge plus. The flexibility of watching content on your TV, computer, or mobile is also very intriguing. Enough to pay $10/mo. — probably not.

Price Trends: 42" 1080p LCD HDTVs

2010-06-29T16:32:00.008-04:00

Some good news to report on the LCD front. Prices on 42" LCD HDTVs are all on the decline, with the exception of two categories — 60Hz LCDs and 3D LCDs. The latter is understandable, given the newness of the technology, but it's a bit surprising to see deals on 42" 60Hz LCDs on the rebound. In fact, 120Hz and 240Hz LCDs are cheaper than 60Hz LCDs.

Meanwhile 42" LED LCDs have dropped dramatically, thanks to a push from 3rd tier vendors like ProScan (you can actually buy a 3rd tier LED LCD for just a few bucks more than a name brand 60Hz LCD). But fear not, brand-name LED LCDs are not that much costlier. Missing from the action are 42" 3D LCDs. (The majority of 3D TV deals we see are for screens 46" and up.)

Here's where the prices stand as of May. (S&H is included when applicable.)

42" 1080p LCD HDTVs
60Hz: $635
120Hz: $499
240Hz: $588
LED-backlit: $649
3D: N/A

(best deal for 42" Plasma in May: $469)

Swype Review

2010-06-28T16:09:00.005-04:00

I've been using Swype for just shy of two weeks now and while there are a lot of things I like about it, there are just as many things I can't stand about it. Here are a few of my likes and dislikes about this virtual keyboard app. (I tested it on a Motorola Droid smartphone.)

Pros
* After the first day or so with Swype, you realize you actually do type faster when using it. I'd say I'm at least 25% faster with Swype than my otherwise hunt and peck typing.

* It's fun to use. For me personally, that's a huge plus. The iPad is just a tablet, but it's fun to use. Android is just another smartphone OS, but it's fun to use. Likewise with Swype. Swiping your finger across a virtual keyboard is a lot more fun then tapping along a virtual keyboard.

* It makes typing with one hand simple. Huge plus!

Cons
* Your fingers must to be dry to use Swype. While that may sound obvious, let me explain a bit. It's currently summer in NYC with temperatures rising up to 92 degrees Fahrenheit. If your phone's screen (or your finger) is even the slightest bit humid or damp, Swype will be a pain to use because your finger won't glide on the phone's surface. It'll just smudge along. Likewise if there's a mist in the air or if it's slightly drizzling and your screen gets even the slightest drop of rain, Swype will be annoying to use.

* Although Swype supports different languages, you must set the keyboard to that language for it to recognize certain words. This is a huge setback because I text in both English and Spanish and having to drill into the settings and toggle between languages each time I want to type in a different language is tedious and a major drawback.

* Swype is quick when you type words that are already in its database. If you like inventing words or abbreviations as you text, you'll find that Swype slows you down. This to me is the app's biggest flaw. When you type a word not found in its catalog you have to thumb through suggestions the app thinks you're trying to type, but if none of them are correct, you then have to type the word out yourself and save it so that the app remembers it. I constantly make words up, so I found this very annoying. You're essentially typing the word out twice. Once to see if it's in Swype's database, and again to insert it into Swype's database if it's not.

Overall, I like Swype. It's a lot of fun, and depending on how you text, you'll find it does speed up your ability to text. But for me personally, I invent new words with every e-mail I send and having to "save" those words in Swype's catalog slows me down to the point where I might as well just continue with my hunt and peck typing. I'll give Swype a few more days before uninstalling it for good.

Deal of the Day: eBook Reader Edition

2010-06-21T17:08:00.003-04:00

Barnes & Noble kicked off the week with a big surprise. The company announced a price cut on its nook eBook Reader slicing the price from $249 to $199. In addition, B&N announced a new Wi-Fi only nook that will sell for $149. Personally, I find that $149 nook very tempting. I got the chance to play with the nook back at CES and although I didn't like the interface, B&N has updated the firmware and I'm hoping it's gotten better (and faster) since then. Regardless, $149 is still a great price for a name-brand eBook reader.

Not to be outdone, Amazon quickly reacted to B&N's price cut with a price cut of its own, slashing the price of its Kindle 2 to $189 (a $70 price drop). Not only did Amazon steal B&N's thunder, but they also managed to undercut them with a $189 3G and Wi-Fi eBook Reader.

Like I said, I personally find the $149 nook reader more appealing and here's why. Both the nook and the Amazon Kindle 2 are entering their silver years and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a Kindle 3 or nook 2 for the holidays. As a result, I'm less inclined to spend over $150 on an aging eBook Reader. Nevertheless, you can compare the two (and some other) eBook readers in our eBook Reader Cheat Sheet.

OpenTable: Eating out on the cheap?

2010-06-17T17:22:00.004-04:00

Living in NYC, it'd be a sin not to take advantage of all the restaurants the city has to offer. Only bad thing is that living in NYC also means eating out can get expensive very quickly. So I decided I'd try a little experiment. I'm going to use OpenTable to try and rack up as many rewards points as possible and see if that makes eating out any cheaper at all.

OpenTable is a free online service (there are also iPhone and Android apps) that lets you make reservations at select restaurants in select cities via the Internet. You can make them in advance or in real time (the latter is kind of cool, 'cause it lets you search for restaurants with no wait time while you're out and about). The other cool thing is that OT offers a rewards program for frequent users. You get 100 points for standard dining reservations, or if you make reservations at select restaurants you get 1,000 points. What do those points earn you? You get dining checks, which you can then use when you eat out. Here's how the rewards system works:

2,000 OpenTable Points = $20 OpenTable Dining Cheque
5,000 OpenTable Points = $50 OpenTable Dining Cheque
10,000 OpenTable Points = $100 OpenTable Dining Cheque

OT is not new and there are plenty of other ways to save money while eating out, but I figured I'd start off with OT since a friend told me they saved a good amount of money via OT. I'll follow up in a month and see how many (or little) OT points I've managed to collect.

Deal of the Day: Swype Beta for Android for free

2010-06-16T17:43:00.004-04:00

This one is for all you Android fans out there. Swype is offering a beta of its app for free. Swype is a new way of using your virtual keyboard. It lets you spell words by simply tracing your finger on the corresponding letters without ever lifting your finger from the virtual keyboard. A lot of people say it helps them type faster. I got a preview of this at CES and I gotta admit, I was and still am very skeptical about this app (why do I want to re-learn using my keyboard), but I downloaded the app anyways.

A few minor things you should know before installing Swype:
1)After registering online, it might take a few minutes to receive the Swype e-mail (which contains the download link).
2)You'll have to allow your Android phone to install 3rd party apps to DL Swype (you can switch it back after).
3)You'll have to set "Swype" as your default keyboard.

Otherwise, the download is quick and easy. So far, using Swype has felt like playing a geeky "word" game, which is a good thing. I'm not as fast with Swype as I am touch-typing, but I've only been using it for 10 minutes. We'll see how this goes.

Deathwatch: Boxee Box

2010-06-14T16:55:00.009-04:00

Last week, the folks at Boxee announced that their Boxee Box — which was shown at this year's CES and set to debut this month — is being delayed till November. While it wasn't one of my favorite CES streaming devices, I did have my eye on it because I liked the updates Boxee had been making to its software and of course, the more options people have, the easier it will be for them to cut cable.

But now with this delay and the Google TV announcement, I fear Boxee will be DOA. Making matters worst is the fact that the Boxee app itself has taken a turn for the worst this past month. (At least it has in my opinion.) It still runs smooth and it's still nice to look at, but I'd say more than 75% of the app/channels available are channels I don't care about. Onion Network, Justin TV, College Humor, LoL Cats, these are channels I never want to see on my living room TV. And you're going to charge me around $200 (that's the price point Boxee is giving) for this? No thanks! I'll stick with Roku.

As horrible as this may sound, I feel that Boxee is going the way of Joost, and we all know how that turned out. Furthermore, if Boxee does indeed ship its Boxee Box in November, it will go head-to-head with Sony, Logitech, and Google as they roll out Google TV. Boxee vs Google & Co. — that match won't last a day. Not to mention Microsoft and its Xbox 360 is getting a nice overhaul and some new content (ESPN3) around that timeframe too.

Unless Boxee can get their stuff in order, get some good solid content, and ship their device before fall, I'm giving up on them. Google, Hulu, and Roku are just a few of the companies you're competing with, and so far, Boxee hasn't given me any reason to wait it out for them.

Price Trends: Blu-ray Players

2010-06-10T15:47:00.008-04:00

Chances are, when you think of cheap Blu-ray players you think of models from Insignia, Memorex, or Curtis Mathes. And while these manufacturers do indeed make the most affordable Blu-ray players (some of them hitting as low as $50), big-name manufacturers like Samsung and Sharp are also pumping out affordable Blu-ray players, many of which easily fall under the $100 mark. And these Blu-ray players aren't their first gen players either, but rather players with BD-Live and Netflix streaming.

3D Blu-ray players on the other hand are still prohibitively expensive. March marked their debut on dealnews, but even the best 3D Blu-ray player deal is still at least $100 more expensive than its non-3D counterpart. (3D players are marked in red in the above chart.)

So unless you own a 3D LCD TV and are thirsting for 3D content, there's absolutely no reason to jump on the 3D Blu-ray player bandwagon. Instead, time your purchase and you could get a solid Netflix-streaming model for well under $100. Check out our Blu-ray player deals here.

iPhone 4 = Meh

2010-06-08T17:00:00.007-04:00

It's official, the new iPhone 4 was announced during yesterday's WWDC keynote. Almost everyone is praising Cupertino's latest smartphone, but I'm not sold on it. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I haven't had any hands-on time with it (maybe that will change my opinion), but here's a rundown of the phone's main features and why I'm meh on them:

Apple A4 Processor
The brains behind the iPhone 4 is the same processor (or a close relative to) the CPU found inside the iPad, the A4 Cortex processor. This is great news, as many people love the iPad's speedy responsiveness. However, I'm baffled as to why Apple is being so tight-lipped about the CPU's specs. We know that the Samsung Wave runs a very similar chip to the iPhone 4, but that's pretty much it. I'm just curious to know how fast this CPU can run. Regardless, the A4 on the iPhone 4 is a good thing.

Retina Display
I have no doubt that the iPhone's new display is better than the 3GS', but hearing Steve Jobs call it a "Retina" display makes me feel like he's selling me snake oil. Ok, so it has a 960x640 resolution (4x that of the iPhone 3GS) packed inside the same 3.5" screen. Personally, I'd rather have a larger screen than one with more pixels. Bragging about this new display feels like bragging about a 32" 1080p LCD. (Yeah, it's 1080p, but on a screen so small, will you notice the difference?) Your photos and text may look sharp on the new iPhone, but will you notice a difference on video or will the phone simply upscale video to 960x640?

Battery Life
Standby time: Up to 300 hours
Internet Use:
Up to 6 hours on 3G
Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 40 hours

When it comes to smartphone battery life, only one thing matters — how long will this smartphone let me surf the Web? If Apple's specs are reliable (they tend to be conservative with their battery ratings), then this is pretty damn nice and a huge plus for the iPhone 4. But again, there are so many factors that contribute to a phone's battery life. A smartphone that can last 2 full business days on one charge with a fair amount of use would definitely impress me.

HD Video Recording & Editing
The iPhone finally got a front-facing camera for making video calls. The feature is called FaceTime and it will only work via Wi-Fi from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4. (However, the door is open for other companies to develop apps that could make it work with other non-iPhones.) In addition, the rear camera got an LED flash and bump to 5MP. It can also do 720p video at 30fps. For an extra $4.99, you can download the iMovie app, which will let you edit your videos directly from the phone. Definitely welcome upgrades, but nothing we haven't already seen or nothing to wow about.

Design
I don't see why people are so excited about the iPhone's "new" design. Don't get me wrong, I've liked the iPhone's looks since day one, but the new iPhone doesn't look that much different than the 3GS. Sure, it's thinner (which is great), but otherwise, it looks like an iPhone.

Personally, I'm just not sold on the new iPhone 4. Is it a horrible phone? Of course not, and I would definitely recommend it if you're trying to consolidate gadgets or if you have an iPhone 3G. Otherwise, I just don't see what all the fuss is about.

Price Trends: 10" Windows Netbooks

2010-06-03T17:02:00.005-04:00

We railed on netbooks during this week's podcast. In the face of the iPad and all these do-it-all smartphones, we generally felt you could get by without one.

That said, it's interesting to see that deals on netbooks have hit an all-time low (matching the best deal we saw during Black Friday). Prices have hit the $200/$199 mark consecutively for the past three months, and early June data shows the trend will continue. I'd still pass on a netbook, but like I said — that's an all-time low. So if you're in the market, now's the time to look.

Tablet Wars: Everyone vs Apple

2010-06-02T16:20:00.011-04:00

I've never been a fan of tablets. In fact, when Microsoft and Toshiba first launched their Tablet PC I remember attending the launch event and thinking — why? That said, I never wanted Apple to make a tablet either. Tablets were just awkward in my opinion. And then of course I spent a few minutes with the iPad and found myself more open to the thought of owning one. Don't get me wrong, the iPad has some serious limitations, but it's fun to use.

So naturally, all of Apple's competitors are now suiting up for a full-on tablet war. Dell has been working on its "Streak" device while this week Asus debuted its Eee Pad EP121. This 12" tablet will pack an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV processor and run Windows 7. It's intended to be a hybrid e-book/entertainment device and it'll even pack a 2-megapixel webcam, but unfortunately those are the only details Asus is releasing. For me, that's just enough info to say "pass." I like the design of the Eee Pad, but the last thing I want is a tablet with Windows 7. For me, Microsoft will only taint someone's tablet. They had their chance. Unless they have something new to offer (and Windows 7 doesn't count), step aside.

If anything, I'm more excited about the news that the Lenovo Skylight will be paired with Google's Android OS. That's another tablet I could see myself buying and one that I think could better challenge the iPad. So what it boils down to is this — I don't want a slow, pokey OS on my tablet. I want it to be fast and do as many things as I want it to do (understanding that there might be limitations). So far Apple has shown what it can offer. Now it's time for Google's Android to take the spotlight.

Netflix on Roku Update

2010-05-28T16:44:00.005-04:00

Roku has officially started rolling out its new Netflix update for its Roku family of players. What's cool about this update is that it finally allows you to browse, search, and add streamable Netxlix movies to your Instant Queue directly from your Roku box. (Prior to the update, you had to log on to your Netflix account via your desktop/laptop and add movies that way, which was a bit of a hassle — especially if you don't have your computer in front of your TV.)

Now with the update, you can just browse movies and add them straight from the Roku box. This gives the Roku boxes (and the Xbox 360) the upper hand in Netflix streaming, since they're the only devices that allow you to do this.

The update is expected to roll out to all Roku players this week and next week. Here's a quick video I shot of the dashboard. (Sorry for the film grain, shot this using the Motorola Droid.)

Price Trend: 55" LED LCD HDTVs

2010-05-27T16:20:00.008-04:00

The final installment in our LED LCD Price Trend feature, today we're taking a look at price trends on 55" LED LCD HDTVs. But first a quick note. If you're wondering what happened to our price trend on 52" models, well, the truth is there just weren't many deals on 52" LED LCDs. Deals on 55" models, however, are everywhere.

That said, this past March 55" LED LCDs hit an all-time low of $1,575. Prices crept up a bit in April, but still remained under $1,800 for the fourth consecutive month. So if it's a large-screen HDTV you're after — this is the category you'll want to keep an eye on.

Price Trend: LED LCD 40" - 42"
Price Trend: LED LCD 46" - 47"

Price Trend: 46" - 47" LED LCD HDTVs

2010-05-26T16:30:00.004-04:00

Continuing yesterday's price trend on 40" and 42" LED LCD HDTVs, today I'm posting the price drops on 46" and 47" LED-backlit LCDs.

Deals on these TVs have been on a steady decline since April 2009. We saw a slight uptick shortly after the holidays (typically bad months to purchase a new TV), but then immediately fell into another steep price drop. Early May data shows that prices will drop by at least another $70, putting these TVs comfortably under the $1,000 mark. (Something tells me we can also thank the recent flood of 3D HDTVs for the price drop on LED LCDs.)

Deal of the Day: Sony Dash for $180 shipped

2010-05-26T15:53:00.004-04:00

Good through May 31, Crutchfield is offering the Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer for $180 with free shipping. That's the first deal we've ever posted on the Sony Dash (which I've been coveting since CES). I almost pulled the trigger, but then realized it's only $20 off Sony's price, which is great (money saved is money saved, right), but I'm personally hoping for at least $50 off before I bite the bullet.

On the flip side, if you want to spend even less, HP is offering its 10" DreamScreen for $150 shipped. This model is older than the Dash, so I'd personally go for the Dash, but either way, both are on sale at the moment.

Price Trend: 40" - 42" LED LCD HDTVs

2010-05-25T17:17:00.002-04:00

Unless you've purchased a new TV in the past few weeks, chances are your current set is starting to show its age. Built-in apps, wireless streaming, and touch-screen remote controls are just a handful of new features you'll find in today's TVs.

TV technology has also changed. By now you might have heard of LED LCD TVs. This LCD backlighting technology is better than traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamp-based backlighting (CCFL) because it allows for thinner TVs, it's more energy efficient, and it results in better picture quality. (Check out our HDTV primer for further details on these TVs.)

Initially, LED-backlit sets were broken into two camps: Full-array LED-backlit sets with local dimming and edge-lit LED LCDs. Full-array LED sets with local dimming allow the individual LEDs (which are arranged throughout the entire back panel) to turn on or off as needed. This luminance control greatly improves the TV's contrast ratio.

Meanwhile, edge-lit models, which feature LEDs only along the edges of the screen, don't offer local dimming, but do allow for extremely thin cabinets (since the LEDs are only along the edges of the set). Although many people loved the thin designs, some consumers complained that edge-lit LED LCDs suffered from poor color uniformity. As a result, full-array LED sets with local dimming provided the better picture, even though they were slightly thicker than their edge-lit counterparts.

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show both Samsung and Sony unveiled edge-lit LED LCDs capable of local dimming, marrying the best of both technologies. These sets have yet to be put to the test, but it's something to keep in mind as you browse through LED LCD HDTV deals.

That said, above we listed the best deals (shipping included when applicable) on all types of 40" and 42" LED LCD TVs. As you can tell, the first steady stream of deals hit in September. Prices are currently falling and early May data shows they will fall at least another $50 next month.

Click to see the latest deals on all 40" and 42" LED-backlit LCD HDTVs.

Want List

2010-04-28T16:05:00.009-04:00

My lust list for the week....(in order of lustiness).

HTC Droid Incredible
There's only one thing stopping me from buying the Incredible. The fact that last night Verizon Wireless had an online special where I could buy one Incredible (for free) and get a second one for free. I don't know if that was a price mistake, but I didn't bite. And the reason I didn't bite is because I was viewing this from my Motorola Droid just before going to bed and fell asleep shortly after. Argh!! This afternoon the offer was gone. I'd now have to renew my 2-year contract and pay $99 for a new Incredible. Not bad, but I'm gonna wait till launch day, cross my fingers, and hope for another 2-for-1 deal.

Sony Dash
I fell in love with the Dash back at CES. Design-wise, it looked great and I've always wanted a bed-side tablet/alarm clock. I especially like that it streams Netflix (what doesn't nowadays) so I can fall asleep every night while watching a movie! (Or I can use it to surf Verizon Wireless' website before going to bed and fall asleep just as I find a good deal.)

Sennheiser CX 680
I need a pair of earbuds badly. I'm currently using Zune buds w/ my iPod (don't ask) and they're falling apart on me. PC Mag said these are the best gym earbuds you can buy, but the cheap part of me refuses to pay over $30 for a pair of buds. The reason? I sweat like mad and I know they won't last me more than a few months. A quickie Web search shows me that the cheapest (as of 4/28) price for these buds is $90 at B&H Photo Video. That's almost the price of an Incredible!

Apple iPad
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everyone wants one. Add me to the list. Although I'll say this, my desire to own an iPad decreases with each day. If/when I do get one, I will try my hardest to be productive with it using cheap and/or free apps only. I refuse to let Apple's cash cow (iTunes) have its way with my wallet.

Droid Incredible

2010-04-19T11:23:00.003-04:00

For the past few months I've been using the Motorola Droid as my main phone. I love it. It's fun, responsive, has awesome apps, and I'm a huge Android fan. Well, now Verizon is trying to tempt me with it's new HTC Droid Incredible.

Design-wise, it looks so much nicer than the Moto Droid. Even on the hardware side, it's got a speedier 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8MP camera, and an OLED screen. It also has HTC's Sense UI on top of Android 2.1. The only thing stopping me from getting this phone is HTC's Sense UI. It's essentially an overlay that runs on top of Android and I've used it in the past on other HTC phones, but I hate that it could potentially prevent me from getting the latest Android updates (since HTC would have to update Sense so that it could play nice with new updates).

The phone is due out next Thursday. I will swing by a Verizon store to check it out.

Weekend Picks #11

2010-04-19T10:51:00.003-04:00

Food, Inc.
This is one of those documentaries that will completely change the way you look at things. Prior to this film, I don't recall every paying attention to where the food I eat comes from or how it's processed, but after watching this docu I feel like I'll be asking those questions all the time. The docu takes an in-depth look at the few companies that dominate the food industry, how animals are treated (mistreated), and how said companies are raking in profits while U.S. farmer in debt. To be honest, it made me want to give up meat again.

Road to Guantanamo
This docu-drama is about three British detainees wrongly arrested for two years at Guantanamo Bay. It's extremely difficult to watch because they're tortured and beaten on a daily basis. (Even though they're innocent.) I felt the first few minutes of the film were a little confusing in that you don't quite know what's going on. But once they reach Guantanamo, the acting is so intense that you forget these scenes are re-enactments. I don't have much else to say about this film other than it's very disturbing and difficult to watch.

iPad-less

2010-04-12T11:37:00.003-04:00

So this past weekend I tried purchasing a 16GB Apple iPad. No luck. All of the NYC Apple Stores were sold out. Even the Apple Store in Edison, NJ was out of stock. One thing I found interesting, each of the NYC Apple Stores told me to return the next day, as if they were expecting new stock. Made me wonder if they were intentionally limiting the number of 16GB iPads they sold per day. (Forcing people to buy the 64GB version.) Who knows. Point is, I decided I'd save a few bucks and wait for the first refurbs to arrive. So in the meantime, I remain iPad-less.

Weekend Picks #10

2010-04-12T11:15:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow May Never Come
So this past weekend I watched my second Bollywood film, Tomorrow May Never Come (Kal Ho Naa Ho). In an nutshell, it's a movie about two guys who fall in love with the same girl. Sounds very cliche, but this is unlike any Hollywood film I've seen. It has a great story line, lots of twists, and it quickly goes from a light hearted comedy to a somewhat melancholic drama. (I personally like movies like that.)

It's long. 3 hours long. And it has lots of music in it, which I would normally hate, but oddly I seem to enjoy it in this movie. In fact, I liked all of the music scenes. Highly recommend it. Just one caveat. I didn't like the first 20 minutes of the movie. It was shot in a style reminiscent of Family Guy with lots of quick cuts and flashbacks. It made the movie feel....irreverent. Oddly, the director only does that for the first 20 minutes.

Summer Hours
I didn't hate this movie, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it to many people. (And I probably wouldn't watch it again.) It's a French film about three siblings who upon their mother's death, inherit her country house, which is filled with personal memories and tons of valuable collectibles/paintings. The movie essentially asks the question: "what makes a work of art museum-worthy and when is it just a work of art?" It also looks at the differences between generations. To the mother, all of the works in the house were valuable. To some of the siblings (and their children) it was just a house filled with memories. Like I said, it's a very slow movie with no real "drama," but it does raise some interesting points. I imagine someone who's into art would enjoy this movie most.

TV Deals: 42" 1080p LCD

2010-04-07T15:25:00.005-04:00

So last month we looked at the cost of 42" 1080p LCD HDTVs ranging from 60Hz to 3D. For March, I'm happy for to report that prices have dropped across the board. The only category that saw a slight increase was the 42" 60Hz LCD category. (These TVs actually went up $40.)

That puts 120Hz LCDs at just $30 more than an entry-level 60Hz LCD. Obviously if you're in the market — you'll get more out of your money if you go 120Hz.

Meanwhile 240Hz TVs dropped $200 and LED-backlit LCDs dropped $100. 3D TVs remained obscenely high. So here's where the prices stand (as of April 7, 10) for a 42" set.

42" 1080p LCD HDTVs
60Hz: $539
120Hz: $569
240Hz: $799
LED-backlit: $899
3D: $1,800

(42" Plasma: $480)

On the brink of buying an iPad

2010-04-06T16:18:00.006-04:00

I think I may cave in. After scoffing at the idea of an iPad, today's podcast sold me on Apple's tablet. At first I thought $500 was an absurd amount for a tablet. But now that I've read all the reviews and listened to first-hand accounts of people with iPads — I think this is the "ultraportable Mac" that I've been looking for.

My goal is to turn the iPad into a MacBook Air-like computer. Whether or not that's possible, I don't know. What I don't want is a novelty item. I want something I can use at home while watching TV, yet something that I can take with me on trips to stay connected. Something I can use to file a story, yet something I can kick back with and play a few games on. Most importantly, I want something that's better than a netbook.

So this is where I stand. Tomorrow is the NYC Marathon lottery. If I get accepted, no iPad. If I don't get accepted, I'll buy an iPad.

Weekend Picks #9

2010-04-05T11:44:00.004-04:00

When it comes to Spanish wines, everything I've ever had from Spain's Ribera del Duero region has been amazing. I have yet to find a Ribera wine that I dislike. (The wines from that area can be pricey, so comparison shop as mush as possible and when you find the cheapest price, do one more round of comparisons, which is what I normally do.)

So this weekend I had some friends come over last-minute and we had the Emilio Moro Finca Resalso 2007. It was great! Best part, it was only $11. I've had Emilio Moro wines before and they're fantastic. But again, be careful where you buy 'cause you could pay $11 like I did here or you could get price gouged at $16 like they do here.

On a different note, I tried watching this movie over the weekend (it's another Bollywood flick with high Amazon recommendations), but fell asleep 10 minutes in. Hopefully this won't become another Ikiru.

Droid 2.1 Push

2010-03-31T17:39:00.005-04:00

If you're the type of Droid owner who can't wait for updates, the folks at Droid Life have posted a step-by-step guide to updating your Droid to 2.1. It looks short and sweet, but already a number of users have run into "issues."

Personally, I don't like waiting, but the last thing I want to do is brick my phone, so unless you're the adventurous type (with a few hours to burn), it might not be a bad idea to wait an extra day or two when (hopefully) the masses will receive over-the-air updates.

3D Bundle

2010-03-25T15:50:00.004-04:00

The 3D push was in full effect here at dealnews yesterday. We listed this Samsung 3D bundle, which included a Samsung 55" 240Hz 1080p Widescreen 3D-Ready LED-backlit LCD HD Television, model no. UN55C8000, Samsung 3D Blu-ray Disc Player, model no. BD-C6900, and Samsung 3D Starter Kit, model no. SSG-P2100T. All for ::drumroll:: $3,208.

In the grand scheme of things, that is crazy expensive, especially since you can get a 55" LCD TV for a lot less, but if you're dying for some 3D action, that's actually a very good price.

The price on 3D TVs has been falling very steadily. All this makes me wonder if they'll reach the price of current LED-backlit LCD TVs. If they do, I'd probably be tempted to by the newer (3D) model. Just for the sake of having the newer model. But I'm getting way ahead of myself. I doubt we'll see those kind of discounts on 3D TVs. Right?

Weekend Picks #8: Wine Edition

2010-03-22T14:00:00.004-04:00

When it comes to wines, I'm the type that likes to find great bottles at discount prices. To date, this Chilean carmenere is my favorite budget wine. I usually get it for around $10, and yet it tastes great.

This weekend I decided to go completely budget. I got two bottles of "2-Buck-Chuck" from Trader Joe's. I got the Charles Shaw shiraz and the Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon. (Btw, the so-called 2-Buck-Chuck costs $3 in NYC. Not $2. Inflation I guess.) Anyways, I tried the shiraz Friday night. I drank it with a completely open mind, but unfortunately, I didn't like it. I wouldn't say it's the worst thing I've ever had, but it was just barely tolerable. It smelled cheap (it smelled like an old bar) and it tasted, well, cheap. Granted, this is a $3 bottle of wine, I wasn't expecting to be wowed, but I was hoping it'd at least make for a good party wine. (It doesn't. Unless you never want to have friends over again.)

Saturday night I went back to the shiraz (I had more than half the bottle left.) By then, it had gone from tolerable to plain awful. It smelled and tasted like skunk. Seriously, it smelled rancid. I took one sip and I was done. It tasted like a mix of grapefruit juice and cranberry. I poured it out. I haven't tried the Cabernet yet, but to be honest I'm not looking forward to it. Hopefully it'll taste better than the shiraz.

So, my personal review: stay away from Charles Shaw shiraz. You can find better "budget wines" (such as the carmenere I mentioned) for just a few dollars more. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a Charles Shaw that I can recommend. Stay tuned!

Deal of the Day

2010-03-18T17:22:00.006-04:00

We never see deals on the Roku HD Player, but today we saw the Roku HD Player and the Roku HD-XR Player bundled with a $20 Amazon Video On Demand Card for the price of each player alone, $99.99 and $129.99 respectively. (Both are HD, the difference is the HD-XR has a USB port and 802.11n in place of 802.11g.)

I've written about the Roku players here and here in the past. I also gave it the dealnews best pick award when comparing it to a few other streamers. So I have nothing, but praise for this box. I highly recommend it. Sure, you can stream Netflix from pretty much anywhere nowadays, but Roku offers a more than just Netflix.

Check out the deal details here.

Weekend Picks #7

2010-03-15T16:49:00.004-04:00

My picks for the weekend...

Ikiru
So I mentioned last week how I've been falling asleep every time I start watching Ikiru. Well, it happened again this wkd. 15 minutes in and I was out. Fortunately, I woke up, rewinded it, forced myself to stay up, and made it through the entire movie. Now the bad news is, I should've remained asleep. I didn't like it at all. Without giving away spoilers, here's the gist of the story. It takes place in post WWII Japan. A man who has worked the past 30 years of his life in City Hall finds out one day he has cancer. This makes him realize what a waste his past 30 years have been. He's been living the life of a robot. Goes to work, pushes papers, goes home. So he wants to do something meaningful before he passes on. I totally get that. That plot is what made me want to watch this movie. (That and the fact that it has a near perfect rating on Amazon out of 120 reviews.) But it just didn't live up to the hype. A movie with a somewhat similar plot (life/death/old age) is Cherry Blossoms, which I absolutely loved and highly recommend.

Throughout Ikiru, I just didn't care for the main character. He annoyed me, especially since he mumbles so much. I'll give the movie another try in a few months, but this initial viewing turned me off. In Japanese w/ subtitles. Streamable on Netflix.

Vengo
I'm not sure I "got" this movie. It's about two families in Spain who hate each other. But the majority of the movie (which is pretty short) is about one family and their daily routine. They wake up, plan dinner, go to a restaurant, feast on paella, sangria, and wine, and listen to a live flamenco performance. Repeat that for one hour and you have the movie. That said, the flamenco performances are great. (They're about 5 minutes long.) So if you love flamenco, this is a must-see. Just don't think of it as a "movie." It's just a long "flamenco" performance w/ some actors thrown in.

Game On

2010-03-12T16:25:00.008-05:00

I used to be an awesome gamer. Ever since I got my first 8-bit Nintendo I was the type of kid that would spend days glued in front of his NES. (Which later became a SNES, N64, Xbox, then Xbox 360.) But after Halo 2, I kinda stopped playing. And then a few years ago I played a few rounds of Call of Duty 4 against some fellow dealnewsers (and some readers) and I got destroyed. Badly. Head shots, sniper shots, close up shots — I played as if I had never picked up an Xbox controller in my life.

That said, I've been wanting to get back into gaming, but haven't really been keeping track of the gaming scene. Last time I turned on my Xbox, I had to update the dashboard and create a profile. Not for nothing, but that garbage annoys me. I miss the days of my old, black Xbox where I'd pop a disc in and immediately start playing. I'm not fan of this "create your avatar" BS on today's consoles. Just let me play my game!

However, as I mentioned in this week's podcast I am psyched about Valve/Steam's new announcement that they will support Macs. New games on a Mac?! Years ago that was unheard of! But now it's coming and you can bet I'll be checking it out. My ultimate dream is that Bungie re-releases Marathon for the Mac. I will play that 24/7. (It's my favorite all-time game ever!) And in my opinion, the best FPS game ever too.

Incoming Tablets

2010-03-10T15:02:00.005-05:00

I'm not a fan of tablets. I think they're stupid and pointless (particularly because they don't serve a purpose like say a laptop, smartphone, or even a netbook does.) That said, I'm a little shocked by the fact that I really like Dell's forthcoming tablet, the Streak.

To be honest, I really didn't give it much attention when the "leaks" first started. But after reading Engadget's and Cnet's recent posts, I'm intrigued. Design-wise, it looks great. Some might argue 5" is too small, but this could easily replace my current 15" coffee table laptop, which I only use for Twitter and Gmail anyways. And if it's cheap enough (which I'm hoping it will be), I might even feel comfortable throwing this in my backpack and carrying it with me around town.

Dell said there'd be larger sizes, but I think 5" might do the trick. I'm a Mac person, so it's a little odd I'd prefer the Dell over the iPad, but to be honest, Apple (the company) is starting to annoy me. I like their products, but their smugness is starting to show and the fact that they're trying to sell a giant iPod touch as a "magical" device is annoying me. So as long as Dell doesn't screw up the pricing, I think I'm gonna buy this sucker.

Should be an interesting spring for tablets. Especially since we also have that HP tablet to talk about.

3D Deals on the Horizon?

2010-03-09T10:19:00.006-05:00

I am 100% absolutely against 3D TVs. That said, here's some interesting news.

Last month we posted our first 3D TV deal on dealnews. (I drafted a small chart demonstrating how expensive they were when compared to other LCD TVs.) Well, recently we posted another deal on the same 55" Samsung 3D TV. And guess what? The price dropped by $485, roughly 16%. Granted, the TV is still crazy expensive (about $2,485 w/ shipping), but that's a pretty damn big price drop. Especially since this TV was just announced at CES less than 3 months ago. And it's not even out yet!

I'm still anti-3D, but I think there's gonna be an interesting "3D TV price war" between Samsung, Panasonic, and Sony in the next coming weeks. How low will they drop? I have no clue. But show me a 55" Samsung 3D TV for $1,750 (which is the price we listed last month for a 55" LED-backlit Samsung) and we'll talk.

Weekend Picks #6

2010-03-08T11:22:00.004-05:00

My weekend picks....

Bolivia
By now it's probably obvious that I'm a huge foreign movie fan. That wasn't always the case, but lately Hollywood has just turned me off. That said, this Argentine film is amazing. It's not a heavy "action" film, but boy is it tense. To better understand the movie, it helps to know a bit about South American culture. You see, Argentineans are generally stereotyped as being elitists and racist. With that in mind, this movie is about a dark-skinned Bolivian immigrant who finds work as a cook in a diner outside Buenos Aires. The majority of the movie takes place inside this diner. You see the same cast of characters come in and out and you learn how many of them are unemployed or struggling to make ends meet (this movies takes place after the collapse of Argentina's economy). And that's where the tension starts. It slowly builds from the very first scene to the end. To be honest, this would make a great play 'cause within those 70 minutes you learn so much about each character. An easy comparison is Do The Right Thing, except Bolivia (in my opinion) is tighter and goes straight to the subject matter without wasting time. Again, this isn't a fast-paced action movie. But pretty brilliant if you stick with it. Definitely recommended. In Spanish w/ subtitles.
Streamable on Netflix.

Ikiru
For the third straight weekend I tried watching this movie and fell asleep 10 minutes in. I really want to see it (it has amazing reviews), but I usually start it late and next thing you know I'm asleep. Hopefully this coming weekend I'll finally watch it.

Health bar taste-off

2010-03-04T16:57:00.010-05:00

I'm a bit of a health nut. I don't eat fast food, I rarely eat meat (seafood being the exception), and I workout regularly. That said, there are some times when you're running late and you need a quick snack. That's where health bars come in.

I've tried lots of them. Luna. Clif. EAS. Balance. My favorite to date are these Gnu bars that I discovered at Whole Foods. They're pricey, just a little under $2/bar, so I don't buy them often. But they're currently 25% off via the Gnu website (Expires 3/15/10). That's the best price I could find for them. I personally like the Espresso flavored bars as well as the Chocolate ones, but my favorite are the Raisin. As for the other bars, here's a quick review of the ones I've tried. (Some are protein bars, some are "health" bars, I'm reviewing based on taste.)

Clif: Very moist, but none of them taste like what they're supposed to. Instead they all taste like soil.
Balance: Stiff texture, little to no taste.
Luna: I found the insides of these bars to be a little too grainy and the outside layer overly sweet.
Gnu: Like eating chewy granola. Not all of the flavors work, but I like the Raisin a lot. Easily my favorite.
Met-Rx: I actually like these as a post-workout snack, but I find them to be very dry. Definitely need water to wash them down.
EAS Myoplex: These have been hit or severely miss. The Chocolate Chunk bar is way too fudgey. You could spend hours chewing on it. Not to mention high in calories. The Strawberry is good and tastes like strawberry Quik in bar form.

Winner: Gnu

Weekend Picks #5

2010-03-03T12:41:00.003-05:00

Here's what I was doing before I got sick this weekend.

Sangre de Mi Sangre
I hate movies that are cliche or overly optimistic (pretty much every movie out of Hollywood). That said, this movie bothered me a little. It was great (the story, the acting, etc.), but it might have been a little too gritty. Not Fight Club gritty, just "life is messed up" gritty. Without giving away any spoilers, it's a movie about a 20-something year old kid who illegally crosses the U.S./Mexican border to find his dad, who lives in Brooklyn. In Spanish w/ subtitles.

Trestle on Tenth
I had a birthday dinner at Trestle on Tenth over the weekend. It's a Swiss restaurant located off New York's West Side Highway. I had eaten there when the restaurant first opened and fortunately had the same positive experience again this weekend. The menu is heavy on meats and cheeses and you'll find unconventional entrees like calves' liver and duck neck, so it's probably not the best pick for a vegetarian. (They do have a limited seafood menu, I had the monkfish w/ calamari, which was good, but nothing out of this world). Unfortunately, their wine list is a slap in the face, with many prices in the $60 range. Skip the wine and get beer. They have a very international beer list — this coming from someone who hates beer. Overall, great, cozy, friendly restaurant if you're up for trying a new cuisine.

Reason #478 why you shouldn't buy pricey wine

2010-02-24T10:05:00.006-05:00

This story below is precisely why I don't spend more than $20 on a bottle of wine.

It turns out that France was selling the U.S. fake bottles of Pinot Noir. In particular, they were sold to California giant E&J Gallo Winery, who in turn sold it to consumers under the ubiquitous "Red Bicyclette" Pinot Noir label. (More wineries are also suspected of buying this fake pinot noir).

So what were people drinking instead of Pinot Noir? A mix of Merlot and Syrah, which are typically less expensive. And no one noticed the difference!! Not a single person complained. Not the "wine experts" at E&J nor the consumers. The only red flag came when someone noticed that the amount of Pinot Noir being sold to E&J far exceeded the possible supply of Pinor Noir from that region of France.

The lesson — don't overpay for your wine. This is how I save on my wine and here are some extra expert tips on how to find an excellent bottle on the cheap.

The $1 million dollar comic

2010-02-23T09:29:00.008-05:00

Every kid dreams of one day selling their comic book(s) for a million bucks, and I guess, well, sometimes it happens. The first Action Comics book (which features Super Man's debut) recently sold for $1m on ComicConnection. That's $1,000,000. Pretty crazy, huh.

I myself have a massive comic book collection from back in the day, so I visited the site out of curiosity. To be honest, I was both intrigued and turned off by the site. I was intrigued because I saw two Spider-Man comics that I think I own up for auction. (This one and this one.) But I was turned off 'cause, well, the site comes across as a little snooty.

On their "welcome" page they require buyers have a minimum of $10,000 to invest for a personal consultation. Click a little further to their "Why Sell" page, and you'll find a huge rant against eBay. While I agree with everything they say about eBay, it's not very professional on their part to trash them as openly as they do. (In fact, it just makes me wonder if eBay is a viable alternative.)

The other turn off, unless I'm reading this wrong, they charge a minimum of $100 to "grade" your comics. Seriously? $100. I think a trip to the doctor costs less than that. (I think.) Another "of note," ComicConnection takes 10% from each of your sales. (How eBay of them.) So they're getting $100k out of that $1m deal. I don't know if 10% is high or low when it comes to comic books, but it feels high to me.

I'm still curious what a few of my old comics can fetch. Like every other kid, I have "that issue where Venom kills Spider-Man" and that "collector's issue" which has "collector's issue" written all over it. But I also have some 60-cent and 50-cent comics that might be interesting to sell. Stay tuned!

Weekend Picks #4

2010-02-22T16:24:00.007-05:00

Under the Munka Moon Selection by Alice Russell
Bluesy, jazzy, soulful. This CD is awesome. It's from a UK-based performer by the name of Alice Russell. I discovered her this weekend via Slacker. Her voice instantly got me. Classier than Winehouse, better than Joss Stone. To be honest, they're not even in Russell's league. (They just happen to be two other UK "soul" singers.) But Russell has such a stronger voice, She pours her heart out in almost every song on this CD. My personal favorite songs are Sweet is the Air, which has a gorgeous bossa nova-like sway and Hurry On Now, which sounds like the kind of song you would've heard back in the 60s inside a smoke-filled jazz club in Harlem.

Like Stars on Earth
It's not often I watch the same movie twice within a 2-week timespan. In fact, it's not often I watch the same movie twice within a month. But I watched Like Stars on Earth again this past weekend. I thought maybe this time around I'd like it less or it'd feel "less special," but man was I wrong. If anything I liked it more. Brilliant movie. It's not a nail-biter and it's not a thriller, it's just an excellently written, excellently shot Bollywood film about childhood.

Panasonic to customers: Buy a new TV

2010-02-18T16:51:00.005-05:00

Panasonic has been committing a bunch of blunders these past few days. It all started when some folks at the AVS Forums noticed the black levels on their Panasonic plasmas were deteriorating. (Get the full background story in this week's podcast.)

And now comes news from CNET that old Panasonic TVs with Viera Cast will not be able to stream Netflix movies like the new 2010 models. Likewise the new Skype app, which will come pre-installed on Pannie's 2010 TVs, won't work with the older sets. On the flip side, Panasonic said that old Viera Cast models will get the Fox Sports, Twitter, and Pandora updates that the new models will come with natively.

Still, it's a bit of a bummer regarding Netflix since we've been led to believe by manufacturers that all of these Web-enabled TVs are fully firmware upgradeable. Not to mention Netflix can be found on pretty much every Web-enabled TV (both new and old) out there. Once again the early adopters are getting burned. Take heed, TV shopper.

Weekend Picks #3

2010-02-16T09:46:00.005-05:00

My picks for this past President's Day weekend.

Electric Shadows
I liked this movie a lot, but I felt it had a slow beginning. Set in China, it's about a little girl whose father abandons her. To replace the void, she relies on movies and dreams of being a famous movie star. The story is told via flashbacks and it's not until it gets into her everyday life that it's actually compelling. (She's bullied in class, makes various sacrifices for her family, etc.) The ending ties everything together perfectly and makes up for the "slow" beginning. Overall, great movie. It's short — about an hour and 30 minutes — but stick through the slow start and you'll get a nice payback/ending. Chinese with English subtitles.

Vampires in Havana
I have to admit, it was the title and artwork of this movie that attracted me to it. Otherwise, I never would've seen it. It's a cartoon about a vampire scientist, Wolfgang Amadeus von Dracula, who discovers a formula (called Vampisol) that allows vampires throughout the world to walk in the sunlight. He tests it on his young nephew, Pepe, and it works so well, that as he grows up, Pepe doesn't realize he's a vampire. The scientist, who lives in Cuba, wants to give this formula to the world for free.

Now, here's the conflict. There are two vampire families (more like mafia families) in the world, the European family in Dusseldorf and the American family in Chicago. The Chicago family has created a network of artificial "beach" theme parks specifically for vampires, so they're afraid Vampisol will hurt their profits. Meanwhile, the European family wants to steal the Vampisol formula so they can sell it and make a killing with the profits. All craziness ensues. In retrospect, the cartoon is very political, but it's still a very fun flick. Spanish with English subtitles.

Casa Julia Carmenere
This is a great value wine if you like reds. It's a carmenere from Chile (as most camreneres are.) You can usually find it for no more than $12. (I usually pay $10.) It has a nice fruity flavor without being overly tannic or dry. It's a great "party" wine when you have friends over (so far all my friends seem to love it) and it's also a great "weekend" wine if you're craving some red.

3D Arrives!

2010-02-10T14:12:00.010-05:00

Today we posted our first ever 3D TV deal on dealnews. It's for Samsung's 7000 Series, which were announced last month at CES. (There's no ship date, but the TVs are available for pre-order.)

A few weeks ago I stated why I'm anti 3D, and this chart here is yet another reason. Based on the LCD TV deals we've listed here at dealnews, it shows what you can expect to pay for a 42" LCD HDTV in the following categories (listed below). See that purple star all the way up top. (Click on the chart to enlarge.) That's the entry-level price for a 40" 3D LCD TV. Ouch! So here's where the prices stand (as of Feb 10) for a 42" set.

42" 1080p LCD HDTVs
60Hz: $499
120Hz: $700
240Hz: $999
LED-backlit: $999
3D: $1,800

(42" Plasma: $515)

NES Flashback

2010-02-10T00:44:00.007-05:00

Wednesday is going to be a non-stop snow-fest here in New York City with up to 18" of snow expected to fall when all is said and done. Back when I was in elementary school that meant one thing. Snow day! Which in turn meant 24 hours (or as many hours as my parents would allow) of non-stop NES games.

Unfortunately, adults don't have snow days, but that doesn't mean we can't reminisce! I stumbled upon this video on YouTube the other day. I was a huge Wizards & Warriors fan as a kid and I'm proud to say I beat both games (I also beat the GameBoy version, Fortress of Fear). To this day, I think Ironsword (Wizards & Warriors II) had the best music of any NES game I ever owned. Closely tied with Ninja Gaiden II (I still get goosebumps watching that intro!)

So here's to the snow days of the 1980s and 1990s. Now those were games.

Weekend Picks #2

2010-02-08T11:06:00.007-05:00

Latest Netflix rental and claypot casseroles galore....

Like Stars on Earth
This is quite possibly one of the best movies I've ever seen. Period. It's also my first Bollywood movie. The plot is simple. It's about a boy with dyslexia. The thing is, nobody knows he is dyslexic and no one really knows what dyslexia is, so his teachers think he's lazy, his parents berate him, and well, the world just writes him off as a failure. That's the simple plot. But as you're watching the movie, you realize the director/writer is saying so much more. It's about adults and how out of touch they are with the world. It's about parents and how they impose their own dreams and aspirations on their children. It's about work-life, and how conditioned people are to their weekly routines that they don't even realize they've stopped living.

I can't say enough about this movie. It's amazing. Tear-jerker too, not so much in a sad Old Yeller kinda way, but more of a "wow, that was a beautiful scene/message that reminded me of my childhood" kinda way. Oh, it's also a semi-musical. Personally, I despise musicals 'cause I feel the music disrupts/slows down the story. Not in this case. It actually works. There are one or two moments where the movie feels happy-go-lucky (I hate overly optimistic movies), but the writer did a great job and it doesn't feel Hollywood-ized. In Hindi with English subtitles. Worth buying, not renting.

Yummy Noodles
There's nothing fancy about this place. And despite the name, they don't really specialize in noodles. But the clay pot rice dishes here are great. Nice big portions and they're generous with the seafood/meat. (They're easily shareable and most are under $9.) The place is in Chinatown at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge so you'll see more locals than "trendsetters." And my favorite part — it's very cheap.

So you want a new 42" LCD...

2010-02-04T15:57:00.010-05:00

Each month I update our price trend features. If you haven't seen them, they're like a geek's version of the stock market. For gadgets, naturally.

We track the prices for 60Hz LCDs, 120Hz LCDs, 240Hz LCDs, LED-backlit LCDs, plasma TVs, netbooks, 15" Core 2 Duo laptops, and Blu-ray players. That's a lot of prices (and a lot of info) to take in at once. So we usually chop up the charticles so as to not inundate anyone with too much info. (No one wants to read a messy Excel chart.)

I finished updating the batch today and it got me wondering. If I was in the market for a 42" LCD TV, what would be my cheapest option? Well, that's where this chart comes in. (You can click on it to make it bigger.) It shows you the price trends for 42" LCDs. All kinds of them.

So the cheapest 42" LCD you can buy is a 60Hz panel. They are hands down the most affordable LCD. (At least when comparing 42" screens, believe it or not, but they're not the most affordable panel when dealing with other screen sizes.) But how much more would I have to pay for a 42" 120Hz LCD? 240Hz? LED-backlit LCD? As you can see, the price difference between 60Hz vs 120Hz is small. From 120Hz to 240Hz is also negligible. But to forgo a 60Hz panel for an LED-backlit panel....well, that's gonna cost you. A lot.

There is some good news though. If you look at the deals for 240Hz sets, they're on a collision course with 120Hz LCDs. (Why get a 120Hz set when in a month a 240Hz set might cost you the same?)

So in closing, here are the ending LCD deal/prices for the month of January. And just for kicks, I also added the best deal we saw for a 42" plasma in January.

60Hz: $499
120Hz: $600
240Hz: $715
LED-backlit: $1,050

(Plasma: $495)

Gazelle coupon

2010-02-03T12:37:00.004-05:00

Quick update today. I got an e-mail from Gazelle and they're currently offering (until Feb. 20th) a 10% bonus coupon if you use code "210GIFT" during checkout. So if your gadget fetches you $100, with the code you'll get a total of $110. Not enough to retire on, but, hey, it's bonus money.

I've reviewed Gazelle here and then later followed up here for those of you who don't know what the service is all about. Sadly, I don't have anything that I can sell at the moment. At least I don't think I do. I'll have to hit up the old gadget closet tonight to find out.

Weekend Picks #1

2010-02-01T15:49:00.009-05:00

Over the weekend I had an idea for a "Monday" post. Every Monday, I'll write about places, movies, music, food, stuff I did over the weekend and whether I think it's worth your money/time. So, this weekend's picks are:

Maria Full of Grace
This movie is about a young Colombian girl who agrees to become a drug lord's mule in order to make money, provide for her family, and make ends meet. The movie got rave reviews, but I wasn't too wild about it. It was interesting, but to me it felt like the director/writer was so intrigued by the "mule" concept, that that's all he focused on. Maria, the main character, lacked, er, character. Not to mention the movie felt a little too optimistic for such a serious topic. Worth seeing if you find the mule concept interesting (or know little about it), but don't believe the hype. In Spanish w/ subtitles.

Kinamand
I don't think you can buy this DVD in the U.S., but this movie is available for streaming via Netflix. Watch it! It's one of the best movies I've seen. It's a Danish movie about an older man (a plumber) whose wife one day divorces him. During the divorce process, the plumber befriends Feng, the owner of a local Chinese take-out restaurant. They become good friends, and Feng asks the plumber to marry his sister so she can remain legally in Denmark. The movie starts off very lighthearted, it has a few funny moments, but then takes a very dark twist. I love how it deals with the topics of marriage, immigration, racism, and love. Recommended 100%. In Danish with subtitles.

Sweetgrass Winery Maple Smash
Over the summer I went to Maine with some friends and we went to this winery called Sweetgrass. They made a really good gin in-house. I'm not a gin drinker, I actually dislike gin, but their gin was great. Well, a friend of mine recently came back from Maine and bought me a bottle of Maple Smash. It's a blend of Maine maple syrup with brandy. In a word, it's delicious. I don't know if they deliver (I have a hunch they don't), but if you're lucky enough to live in Maine, you must try this.

Apple iPad: My thoughts

2010-01-27T23:44:00.017-05:00

Well, it's finally over. After months and months of hype, Apple finally announced it's new iPad tablet. Here's why I found it hard to defend the iPad during this week's podcast and why I will probably tell most people to stay away from it.

1)Netbook vs iPad
Jobs took a huge swipe at the netbook industry during his keynote saying that "netbooks aren't better than anything." What I find funny is that the iPad is essentially Apple's version of a netbook. (Just like Sony's VAIO P is Sony's version of a netbook.) And the surprising part is that a netbook can run circles around the iPad. For instance, I can take a Lenovo S10 to CES (as I did earlier this month) and blog, read my Twitter feed, stream music from Slacker, and charge my iPod touch — all at the same time. Can you do that on the iPad? No. Unfortunately, you can't multitask. And even if you could, would the 1GHz Apple CPU prove any better than Intel's latest Atom? Or even Qualcomm's Snapdragon? Sure, the iPad might provide a better UI — the iPad's OS looks gorgeous — but I need to do multiple things at once. I need to be productive. The iPad prevents me from being productive. It's a MID (Mobile Internet Device) minus the multitasking.

2)Why do I need it?
On paper, the iPad's specs do not disappoint. It's 0.5" thin, it weighs 1.5 pounds, and it has a 9.7" 1024x768 LED-backlit LCD. My question is, what does it replace? If I want to make calls, it won't replace my smartphone. If I want to create or consume content, it won't replace my laptop (you can't multitask, remember). So why do I need one? Apple has simply created one more gadget for people to carry, and personally, the last thing I want is one more device in my backpack.

You could argue this is a "coffee table" computer and I can totally see myself keeping this in front of the TV so I can Tweet or Facebook while I watch Iron Chef, but will I ever turn my 42" HDTV off so I can watch a program on my 9.7" screen?

Likewise, I don't see myself leaving my pocket-friendly iPod touch at home so I can play games on the iPad's larger screen while waiting at the dentist's office.

3)iPad as e-Book Reader
I love books. But after CES, my interest in e-Book readers has skyrocketed. Jobs touted the iPad as an e-Book reader that can do more than just read e-Books. But if you look closely at this picture (taken by the folks at Engadget) you can see some of the pricing for those iBooks. I checked them against Amazon's Kindle Store. They were all overpriced.

*True Compass: A Memoir (Apple: $14.99 / Amazon: $9.99)
*Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace w/ Marriage (Apple: $12.99 / Amazon: $9.99)
*The Piano Teacher (Apple: $9.99 / Amazon: $9.47)
*I, Alex Cross (Apple: $12.99 / Amazon: $9.99)
*I, Sniper (Apple: $10.99 / Amazon: $9.99)
*Three Cups of Tea (Apple $7.99 / Amazon: $7.50)

Granted, those may or may not be final prices for those iBooks, but as it stands now — Apple's iBook Store will be painfully expensive. I'm no fan of the Kindle, but if I read a lot of books, why would I want to line Apple's pockets with my money?

4)"Unbelievable Price"
This is the part that bugs me the most. Apple is patting itself on the back for its "affordable" iPad price. While it is "cheap" (for an Apple product), it's still more expensive than your typical netbook. Even the entry-level iPad is significantly pricier than the Barnes & Noble Nook. You could argue that those are dedicated e-Book readers while the iPad is more. Fair argument. So let's compare it to Spring Design's $399 Alex reader, which can also play movies (on it's smaller screen), stream music, browse the Web, and download apps (from the Android App Store.) The iPad is still $100 over.

And from the preliminary looks of the iBook Store, chances are you're not going to save money on ~~eBooks~~ iBooks. So where is this unbelievable price?

I mentioned on this week's podcast that I will probably buy an iPad. However, the more I think of it, the less I can justify spending $499 on the iPad. I don't need it, and as someone who reviews tech/gadgets and keeps an eye out for the best gadget deals, it's almost impossible to justify this purchase for the average consumer.

On the flip side, it will be interesting to see what developers can do with the iPad. And it will be even more interesting to see iPad version 2.0. But until then, this is just a smart device designed to make Apple richer than it already is. It's a smokescreen to get users buying on Apple's iTunes/App/iBook Store.

Robot Operation

2010-01-26T16:04:00.005-05:00

I absolutely love my Roomba 540. It's easily one of the top 3 gadgets I own. (If you want to call it a gadget.) I got it for Xmas and I've used it multiple times now. It cleans my bedroom, living room, kitchen, essentially my whole apartment. And it does a damn good job at it too. (Much better than my old Dirt Devil, which barely sucked up dirt.)

I've read about people growing attached to their Roomba and I can see why. It's so damn cool. It's a robot for crying out loud! And lately I've even caught myself anthropomorphisizing my Roomba. Not to the extent where I'm dressing it up in French maid outfits, but to extent where I find myself worrying about it like I would worry about, oh, I don't know, my two dogs. I make sure it's well fed (connected to its dock), clean, and that it gets exercise at least once every other day ("exercise" means cleaning my apt). Like I said, it's just so awesome. And then it happened. The biggest scare ever. Roomba started showing signs of sickness.

It all started this afternoon while I was having lunch. I set my Roomba loose and within minutes I noticed Roomba was making "uh-oh" noises. (It only makes those noises when something is wrong.) So I'd restart it hoping it was nothing, but seconds later, same thing. I gave it a quick clean thinking that would solve things, but it didn't. That's when panic start to set in. Could something serious be wrong with Roomba? It hasn't even been a year!!

I quickly looked up the symptoms on the iRobot website and lo and behold I found the solution. I did exactly as the video instructed and after a 5-minute robot operation Roomba was up and running. (How's that for customer service!) Now Roomba is happily cleaning my apartment.

I'm debating getting my Roomba a partner. The floor-mopping Roomba. My apartment isn't that big, so it'd feel a little silly, but I'm sure Roomba wouldn't mind the extra company.

A word of advice

2010-01-21T01:01:00.005-05:00

Guard your credit cards. Seriously. Guard them as if your life depended on them. I recently had my debit card number stolen (how, I have no clue) and the schmuck who stole it went on a $1,300 shopping spree at their local Walgreens. Luckily my bank (Chase) managed to flag it, but the damage was already done and now I have to set up a new account, fill out paperwork describing the fraudulent charges, and transfer all of my bills to my new account.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. But it is a major inconvenience. And for what it's worth, I thought I was doing a pretty good job guarding my card. I would never use it at shady stores (both online and on the street). I would steer clear of street-side ATM machines. I would always enter a random sequence of numbers upon finishing a withdrawal from an ATM. I was very careful with it. But not careful enough. So guard your cards, folks. You can never be too paranoid/careful.

It's a trap! (Sorta)

2010-01-15T16:12:00.005-05:00

Starting Monday, Verizon Wireless will offer a new set of Unlimited Calling and Texting plans. (You can check out the details here.) While the new plans lower the price of unlimited calling and texting, you should check your current plan closely before making the jump. Here's why.

I've been a Verizon customer for a long time now (probably over 10 years). I'm currently on a family plan and we pay $150 (including taxes & surcharges) for 700 combined minutes and unlimited texting with 5MB of data. In the past few years, I cannot remember a single time we went over our minutes. We don't even come close to it. I text more than I call, but I'd still say I give my phone light to moderate use. (I don't have a landline.)

Now let's look at the new family plan. $149.99 for unlimited text and calling. That doesn't include the surcharges and taxes. And there's the catch.

If you've never gone over your minutes, this new plan will cost you more per month. Remember, Verizon offers free nights, free weekends, and free Verizon-to-Verizon calls. So depending on when and how often you make calls, you might not need the "unlimited" part. It's really just a play on words — who doesn't like "unlimited."

However, if you're just barely making it under your allowance, then obviously this plan is great and it will save you money.

Personally, I wish it were truly "unlimited" and included data as well.

5 reasons 3D will bomb

2010-01-12T17:17:00.007-05:00

We railed on 3D TVs during today's podcast, and you know what, the manufacturers deserve it. They deserve it for trying to force consumers into buying new, expensive 3D sets. Personally, I will not recommend a 3D TV to anyone. (Unless we see some incredibly low prices, which I highly doubt). Here's why I'm anti-3D:

1)Price: Right now you can buy a brand-name 120Hz LCD HDTV for roughly $600. (Don't believe me, take a look for yourself.) Even 52" models have finally hit the sub-$999 mark. If you just bought a new TV this holiday, why on earth would you want to drop two- or three-thousand dollars on a new 3D set.

2)Quality: Most of the 3D TVs I saw at CES last week looked good, I won't take that away from them. But how will my eyes feel after watching 3+ hours of consecutive 3D? Especially since I'll be wearing 3D glasses on top of my prescription glasses. And what about movies with subtitles. Text looked a little fuzzy in 3D. How will it look after staring at it for 2+ hours?

3)3D Glasses: Apparently, few 3D TVs will include 3D glasses out of the box. So what happens when you invite friends over to watch a 3D movie and they don't have glasses — or worst — they don't have 3D glasses that work with your TV (since they're all using different technologies.) Chances are, these glasses will be expensive, so I don't see people buying multiple glasses just to have lying around the house. Not to mention, many of the glasses require that you charge their batteries. Imagine watching a movie and having your glasses die out mid-movie. Not cool.

4)It's failed before: 3D TV is not new. Mitsubishi and Samsung released 3D DLP HDTVs years ago and guess what, they never caught on.

5)Content: Ok, so ESPN will broadcast some World Cup games in 3D and Discovery and Sony are planning a 24/7 3D network, but aside from that, what else is there to watch in 3D? Do you want to watch the 11 o'clock news in 3D? Food Network in 3D? You could get Samsung's upconverting 3D TV, which upconverts your current content to 3D, but I'm sure that will be absurdly expensive. 3D Blu-ray players are another option, but again, chances are your wallet will pay dearly for it.

The way I see it, manufacturers are jumping onto the 3D bandwagon because of Avatar. It's made millions of dollars, people have loved the 3D effects, and well, if you're going to hawk 3D products, now is the time. I'm thinking of getting a new LED-based LCD HDTV this summer, but this much I'll tell you — it won't be 3D.

Post-CES

2010-01-11T17:26:00.007-05:00

It's nice to be back home after the madness that was CES. Looking through my bag I realize I have a ton of press kits/flash drives. That means I have lots more news/posts to dish out. I'll roll them out throughout the week. Also, check out our podcast this week as we talk about what we saw at CES. In the meantime, here's are a few of my personal winners and losers of CES.

Winners

Vizio: Absolutely loved their new lineup of TVs. Their pricing is extremely aggressive. Of all the Internet-enabled TVs out there, it looks like Vizio has the best offering and the most intuitive interface. (I'm basing this on the demo we saw.) Vudu, Amazon VOD, Netflix, the list goes on and on. I also liked their Internet Tablet Alarm Clock. It has a built-in iPod dock, which is kinda cool.

Spring Designs: They claim Barnes & Noble stole their design/idea for the Nook, and by the looks of their Alex e-Book reader, it's not a far-fetched idea. Whether or not it actually happened is up to the courts to decide. Either way, the Alex reader was one of my personal favorite products at CES. Dare I say, the best e-Book reader I saw. Why? Well, it has the looks of the Nook (except smaller and lighter), yet it's faster and the bottom LCD screen can actually be used to surf the Web.

Samsung: I'm a big fan of Samsung's LCD HDTVs. Their design is flawless and the picture quality (for the most part) is solid. Their new line of CCFL-based LCD HDTVs and LED-based LCD HDTVs is gorgeous. The 9000 series features a touch-sensitive remote with a built-in LCD (think iPod touch). Pioneer used to be my "premium" line of HDTV. Sadly, they stopped manufacturing their plasmas. I think Samsung is my new Pioneer.

Sony Dash Internet Viewer: Yes, it's another alarm clock/Web tablet, but for whatever reason, I really like Sony's Dash, which runs the Chumby OS and will have access to Chumby's free apps and apps from Sony.

Losers
Asus: I've said it before and I'll say it again, I like a lot of Asus' products. But I feel like they had nothing new to show at CES. More netbooks, more net tops, etc. They invented the netbook. It's time they take it to the next step. And a tablet netbook, in my opinion, is not the next step.

Barnes & Noble Nook: My biggest personal disappointment at CES was the Nook. Amazing design. Nice display. But this e-Book reader is not intuitive at all. Not to mention it lags horribly.

Boxee: Too little too late. Also too pricey. Boxee is up against Roku and their Roku Player. They need to have better (lower) pricing. If I can get a $79 Roku box, why would I spend $200 on a Boxee Box?

CES: Heading home

2010-01-09T04:57:00.003-05:00

Feels like we just got here, yet already it's time to head home. We'll be flying back to a cold, cold NY on Saturday and shaking off jet lag on Sunday, but there's still a lot more to post and talk about, so stay tuned for more CES-related news and roundups.

CES: Vizio's 2010 line up (Part 1)

2010-01-09T04:11:00.003-05:00

I'm dividing my Vizio post into two because Vizio has a ton of new products slated for 2010. Here's a quick rundown of some:

E-Series
This is their "everyday" (budget) series of HDTVs. Many of them will feature a 120Hz refresh rate although none of them are Internet-enabled. They'll be sold at Target and Walmart.

M-Series
Their mid-tier offerings. This is where things get interesting. These models are available in 55", 47", and 42" sizes. The 47" and 55" models will come with VIA (Vizio Internet Apps), meaning they'll give you access to tons of Web apps. **All** TVs with VIA will feature both 802.11n and an Ethernet port. To my knowledge, they're the only company offering this. (Most companies require you to buy a dongle for wireless support). All of the M-Series TVs will also have a 120Hz refresh rate and edge-lit LED backlighting. (Edge-lit lighting allows for a thinner profile — in this case 2"). The 55" and 47" models will also come with a Bluetooth universal remote with a built-in sliding QWERTY keyboard.

Of all the Internet-enabled TVs, Vizio's VIA apps have impressed me the most. In addition to the usual apps like weather and Twitter, VIA also offers Vudu, Netflix, and Amazon VOD. You have absolutely no need to ever leave the house again. The interface looks very clean and intuitive. You press the VIA button on the remote and a dock pops up on the bottom of the display. You simply select the app you want, launch it, and depending on the app, it'll show up as a column (that's how Twitter shows up) or take up the entire display (in the case of Vudu, Netflix, etc).

Headphones
Yup, you're reading that correctly. Vizio is branching out into the headphone biz. (As you can see from the adjacent pic.) They'll connect to any Bluetooth audio source and some of them will include a built-in LCD on each earpiece. The LCD will display album cover art or any other image you want it to show. They're expected to debut in the next 3-4 months.

Mobile TVs
Vizio is also coming out with its own line of portable/mobile TVs. They'll range in size from 7", 9", and 10". All of then are LED backlit. There's also a 24" Wi-Fi Portable TV.

Premium HDTVs
On the premium side, Vizio will debut a 56" quad HDTV. It'll have a 3840x2160 resolution. Obviously, there's no quad HD content out there, so Vizio will be aiming this model at photographers looking to view their high-res digital images on a TV. No details on pricing or an exact release date.

There will also be a 58" LED-based Cinema TV with a 21:9 display. This aspect ratio eliminates the black borders you currently see when you're watching a DVD, so the entire screen displays your movie. It also has a slightly higher resolution of 2560x1080.

CES: Plastic Logic Que -- how much would you pay for an eBook reader?

2010-01-08T03:50:00.007-05:00

There are probably more eBook readers than there are journalists here at CES. (Jeff has a great rundown of everything we've seen so far on his blog.) I agree that the biggest disappointment is the Barnes & Noble Nook. Nice design, but it's slow and not intuitive at all. Same goes for RCA's Lexi, which although only a mock-up, it was the worst mock-up I've seen in my 10+ years covering tech.

I'm a little shocked that the Amazon Kindle is nowhere to be found. (Granted, we haven't covered all of CES yet, but so far it's a no-show.)

So of all the eBook readers we've seen so far, I think Plastic Logic's Que is the one that has intrigued me the most. It's not my favorite (I don't have a favorite), but it's got my attention. They described it to us as a "portable briefcase," so I got the sense they're aiming for a slightly more "sophisticated" consumer. (As opposed to the Kindle who wants the Dan Brown-Harry Potter-Stephen King fan.)

The Que is about the size of a standard piece of paper (8.5x11") and it features a 10.7" display with a 960x1280 resolution and 8 levels of gray scale. That's the largest screen we've seen, although not the best resolution. (Check out our eBook comparo here.) The $649 version will come with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 4GB of on-board memory. The $799 version adds access to AT&T's 3G network (so you can make wireless purchases from anywhere) and bumps the storage capacity to 8GB. Both of them are powered by Barnes & Noble's book store.

The e-newspaper they demoed it with looked very nice. You can write notes on the screen, highlight text, etc. Most importantly, it was snappy. It responded relatively quickly to my gestures/touches. The big slap in the face is the Que's price. Even if it were perfect, $649 is absurd.

It's on pre-order now and slated to come out mid-April. If you're heart is set on an eBook reader, you could wait it out and see if the Kindle or the Nook come down in price as the other eBook readers infiltrate the market. Fat chance that'll happen, but, you never know. However, Apple is announcing some tablet-super-device later this month and if it has any eBook-reading capabilities, you can be sure Amazon and Barnes & Noble will react. But that totally depends on what Apple's rumored "tablet" can do.

Which bring us back to square one. What's the best eBook reader out there? My honest opinion is none. Stick with paper. But we still have one more day at CES and tons of eBook readers to discover, so who knows what we'll see tomorrow.

CES: Sony's Dash -- let the deals roll in

2010-01-08T03:20:00.005-05:00

I have a weak spot for these new souped up Web-capable digital photo frames. I know they're overly glamorized and expensive, but in some cases, they're pretty cool. Back in September HP announced its 10" DreamScreen for $299. Since its Sept release date, we've seen it drop to $150 on Black Friday and $180 back on Dec. 7th. In other words, the deals on this frame came in pretty quick considering how new it is.

I'm hoping the same will happen with Sony's new Dash Internet Viewer. It's a souped up frame that runs the Chumby OS so you have access to over 1,000 free Chumby apps. Add to that Sony's own Sony Music and Sony Pictures apps and you got yourself an app-happy picture frame. It's got a 7" screen, built-in Wi-Fi, supports multiple user profiles, stereo speakers, a headphone jack, and can also support multiple "channels." So you can create a "bedroom" channel that might have access to the 5-day weather forecast and Slacker on the homepage. Then you can have a "kitchen" channel that maybe has YouTube access or Netflix access on its homepage. So essentially, it is what you make of it.

It's shipping in April for $199. If the HP DreamScreen is any indication, we might see deals on this little wedge come June to early summer.

CES: MSI does dual touch-screen laptops

2010-01-08T01:05:00.005-05:00

You're looking at MSI's 10" dual touchscreen laptop prototype. The bottom half works as a touch-sensitive keyboard while the top half works as a touch-sensitive display. On paper, I think this is awesome. Who wouldn't want a dual touchscreen laptop? But seeing it locked up in it's glass chamber there I started thinking — what the hell would I use this for? Isn't a tactile keyboard so much better? For reading digital magazines or online newspapers, yeah, it's cool. But aside from that, I couldn't think of any other real-world uses for it.

That said, I did like it's smaller sibling here which has two 7" touch-screens. Don't ask me why, but I could see myself working with this one. Maybe the smaller form factor sold me.

Both of them would be built around Intel's Atom processor, so don't get any fancy streaming ideas 'cause we all know how that would turn out. Both also feature SSD drives instead of hard disk drives. Like I said, they're concept products, so no word on when or if these will ever see the light of day. But the fact that these are based around the Atom processor makes them pretty useless in my opinion.

CES: Quirky tech

2010-01-08T00:59:00.002-05:00

We've yet to travel to the hall of misfit toys (the part of the showroom floor with weird gadgets and peripherals), but this here remote-controlled fighter definitely falls into that category.

It's Digit Tronics' RCX4 Star Wars Star Stryker. A $399 remote-controlled plane. Yup, $399. Is it cool. Hell's yeah. That thing flew all over the place without so much as a hiccup. Smooth, controlled flying action. But $399. You gotta be one rich kid to afford that.

CES: Sony's XBR-LX900 HDTV -- half robot, half TV

2010-01-08T00:33:00.005-05:00

There are a ton of 3D HDTVs at CES, but I have to hand it to Sony for managing to jump ahead of the crowd. Their top-of-the-line XBR-LX900 series TV comes with a built-in proximity sensor that automatically dims the TV's backlight when you're not in the room. This in turn helps you save money/not waste electricity. Gimmicky, yes, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Sony calls it the Intelligent Presence Sensor. It's essentially a tiny camera/lens built into the TV's bezel. It use face detection to track your mug and another cool feature is that if you (or a child) is sitting too close to the TV, the backlight will turn off. (Sony's playing the "mom" role and making sure you don't ruin your eye sight by sitting too close to the TV.)

Another interesting feature is that the TV will adjust its speakers based on where you're sitting so that you'll always get a full "surround sound" effect regardless of whether you're sitting directly in front of it or off to the side. That I thought was really cool and impressed me a little more than the proximity sensor.

We saw a demo of all of this and it worked pretty well. The face detection wasn't always as smooth, but considering there were a lot of us standing in front of the TV, it did a good job at tracking most of us. When the Sony rep covered the lens, the TV slowly dimmed itself off.

The edge-lit LED TV also features 240Hz motion technology, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, Amazon VOD, and YouTube streaming, and it comes with two 3D glasses. (Word on the street has it that most TVs don't come with the glasses!) It's due out in June. When we asked how much, the Sony rep smiled and said, naturally it'll cost more than our regular TVs. In other words, start saving now.

CES: Sharp's 4-pixel TVs

2010-01-07T20:46:00.002-05:00

I like Sharp's Aquos line of TVs. Hell, I own one. But I'm not sold on their new QuadPixel technology. Basically, they're adding a 4th pixel (a yellow one) to the color scheme. The result is supposed to be a better overall image. Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference when we saw it. Looks great, no doubt, but so did every other 1080p HDTV out there. For now, this one's a pass.

CES: PowerMat redeems itself

2010-01-07T20:22:00.005-05:00

I like the concept of "wireless" charing pads, but after reviewing the current PowerMat Power Pad and Duracell MyGrid, I just couldn't recommend either. They're expensive, they require the use of various tips/adapters, and they're anything but wireless. We met with PowerMat at CES today and their new updates are pretty impressive.

Rather than continue making sleeves and cases for your gadgets (before your gadget can charge on a Power Mat, you need to fit it into a $30 sleeve), PowerMat is now making batteries. These new batteries will come with the PowerMat sensor built-in, so you no longer need to buy the sleeves/cases. Just pop the battery into your phone and you're done. You can now charge your handheld directly on the PowerMat pad without any sleeve/case. The battery shown here is for an HTC phone (I forget which one) and each battery will cost $39. Not exactly cheap, but I feel this is a better approach than what PowerMat had before.

As an alternative, you can buy the PowerPak for $69, which includes a battery and a mini PowerMat that will let you charge one device. They work with most popular smartphones, even the Droid. iPhone users will have to buy the sleeve for the iPhone, which they've now made thinner and it now doubles as a case w/ a built-in battery.

The other PowerMat product I liked is the PowerMat with the built-in battery. Again, it's like the current mat, except it has a built-in battery, so when you're on the go, you can just take the pad and that's it. No wires needed. (Of course, you'll need the wires to recharge the mat's built-in battery). But for quick getaways, it's pretty neat. This pad is $99.

Overall, the PowerMat is an expensive way to charge your gadgets. But with the $69 PowerPak, it's a little easier on the wallet and it's closer to being a truly wireless alternative than it was before. Stay tuned for reviews when we get the products.

Energizer's wireless charging pad -- still overpriced

2010-01-07T03:16:00.003-05:00

Guess who's joining the PowerMats and MyGrid's of the world? Energizer! They were demoing a prototype of their new wireless charging pad at last night's Digital Experience pre-CES show.

The main questions. Will your gadgets still require separate sleeves for charging? Yes. Will those sleeves support all of your gadgets? No, initially they'll just support the more popular ones. Will the sleeves cost extra money? Of course. How much will the pad retail for? About $100.

In other words, there's really nothing to distinguish this from Duracell's MyGrid or PowerMat's own power pad.

This I'll say, Energizer's pad looks nicer than Duracell's. Maybe even nicer than PowerMat's. But $100?! C'mon. It's due out this summer.

Hands-on w/ the Nexus One

2010-01-07T02:13:00.003-05:00

I cheated on my Droid last night. And you know what. It was worth it. Don't get me wrong. I love the Droid. But after a few minutes with the Nexus, I just don't think the Droid and I were meant for each other.

The Nexus is physically gorgeous. It's so much lighter than the Droid, but yet it doesn't feel cheap or flimsy. I'm not saying the Droid is fat or cheap, but after holding a Nexus in your hands you realize no phone should weigh over 5 ounces.

The Nexus kinda resembles the Hero/Eris to be honest. It has a tiny trackball below the touch-sensitive buttons and that's really it. Think of the Nexus as the Droid's sexier, skinnier cousin.

The Nexus is also noticeably faster. The Droid isn't slow, but thumb around the Nexus' interface and you'll notice the speed bump. And you should. There's a 1GHz Snapdragon processor in there. That's the fastest smartphone processor out there period. It's faster than my first computer! (An Apple Performa 637CD fyi.)

The screen is the same size on the Nexus as it is on the Droid, but colors seemed to pop out more on the Nexus than on the Droid. (The Nexus' screen is AMOLED, not so for the Droid.)

I guess what I'm saying is — the Nexus has won me over. If not for the Droid's useless QWERTY keyboard, I probably wouldn't have looked at the Nexus. But HTC has done an amazing job and by bringing it to Verizon, Google has found my weak spot.

Nexus One
Weight: 4.5 oz
Display: 3.7" WVGA AMOLED 800x480
Camera: 5MP, 2x digital zoom w/ LED flash
Keyboard: Virtual

Motorola Droid
Weight: 6 oz
Display: 3.7" WVGA 480x854
Camera: 5PM, 4x digital zoom w/ dual LED flash
Keyboard: Virtual & slide-out QWERTY

Coolest OLED screen you'll never use

2010-01-07T01:58:00.006-05:00

Chances are you'll never use this in the real world, (other than to wow your friends), but hats off to Samsung 'cause this is one of the coolest prototype technologies I've seen in a long time. It's Samsung's transparent OLED display. As you can see from the pic, it's 40% transparent so you can see right through the screen. Samsung claims we'll see these screens out in the real world as early as next year, but considering that large-screen OLEDs have yet to catch on, I'm a little hesitant to believe them.

Not to mention, why would you really want this? I can't imagine using a screen like this all day at work. On an MP3 player, maybe. On a laptop, I'd go crazy. Still, seeing this technology in action totally blew my mind. Expect to pay through the teeth when this comes out.

Pre-CES

2010-01-04T17:32:00.008-05:00

Less than 48 hours before Jeff and I head to CES to cover the latest and greatest in the tech world. 3D TVs were the "it" product at last year's show, so I'm curious to see what the new "it" device will be this year. (It is 2010 afterall.) E-book readers? 3D TVs again? Netbooks? Tablets? To be honest, I'm expecting it to be "all of the above."

We'll be twittering and posting away live from the show. All I need to do now is find a bag that's small, yet light enough to fit all my stuff. Not looking fwd to airport security checks.

Xmas Loot

2009-12-30T16:36:00.004-05:00

Christmas is over and I gotta say, I got some pretty cool gifts this year. Here's what I got!

Garmin Forerunner 405 Heart Rate Monitor
I've been wanting a heart rate monitor for a good while now so this Xmas my g/f got me the Garmin 405. I plan on using it every time I run, which is about 2x to 3x week. So far I've used it 3x. I love it! The target heart rate for my age is 185. I can hit 177, but I avg 164 during a workout. (I'm totally into the whole heart rate thing as you can see.) The watch itself has an insane amount features, so if you're a technophobe, this isn't for you. To be honest, I still find it a bit overwhelming, and that says a lot. But I think that'll pass once I get comfortable with all of the watch's features. So far, I love it.

iRobot Roomba 500 Series
I've been curious about the Roomba for awhile now, so for Xmas Santa (aka my parents) got me a Roomba 500 Series vacuum. (Maybe they're trying to give me a hint re: my apt's cleanliness or lackthereof?) I've only used it once so far, but it's pretty cool and does a damn good job cleaning up. This one works on carpets, tile, and hardwood floors. It's a lot quieter than my Dirt Devil and it moves pretty fast. I don't have a large apt, but aside from a few pieces of furniture, there isn't much for the Roomba to bump into, so it actually works with my space. I haven't done a "full" cleaning yet so I don't know how long the Roomba can go for (I think it claims 40 minutes).

Overall, I'm psyched about my new toys. They're both pretty tech-heavy, which I was surprised about. I guess I'm not used to receiving gadgets as gifts, but I certainly don't mind!!

Pine Trail

2009-12-22T00:54:00.004-05:00

So the next-gen Intel Atom processor finally made its debut. The new 1.66GHz Atom N450, which replaces the ubiquitous N270 and N280, is making its way inside next-gen Dell Minis, MSI Wind laptops, HP Mini 210s, and of course it's made its way into the new Asus Eee PC 1005PE.

I didn't buy a netbook over the holidays so I'm tempted to get this, especially with the amazing 10+ hour battery life that the 1005PE is now clocking, but I'm still a bit underwhelmed by the rest of the Asus' specs. Aside from the awesome battery life, here's what CNET said:

"Beyond that, the 1005PE eschews most of the recent trends in Netbook design, sticking with a 10-inch 1,024x600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, and Windows 7 Starter."

1024x600?? Seriously?! So it's the same old meh with a new processor. I'm thinking if I should just wait for the next MacBook Air to come out and get a refurb Air. All I want is a nice, super light, ultraportable laptop that lets me stream Netflix.

Xmas Shopping

2009-12-22T00:32:00.003-05:00

Every year I leave my Xmas shopping for the last minute and every year I either have to pay through the teeth for next-day shipping or I get lucky and get free shipping from all the last-minute shipping deals. This year was no different, altho I did manage to get free shipping from most of the sites.

So a few of the things I bought: I got the Samsung SMX-C10 camcorder for my uncle. I got Broadway tickets for my parents. And that's probably all I should disclose for now (I don't want to leak my Xmas gifts to anyone!)

So again, here are the stores that can still ship in time for Xmas Eve and here's a bucket-load of last-minute shipping deals.

Nook in the Wild

2009-12-17T00:55:00.003-05:00

On my way home from dinner tonite, I saw someone reading from a Nook on the train. Like I said before, I really don't want an eBook reader (at least I wouldn't spend my money on one), but man do I want one! I'm still not sure if I'd want a Nook or a Kindle though, considering the Nook has gotten panned in most reviews. I think I'm just drawn to the gadgety-ness of an eBook reader. In reality, I prob wouldn't last a week reading from one. I think.

iMac Problems

2009-12-15T00:38:00.003-05:00

So apparently the 27" iMac that I wanted to buy has been having some serious screen issues. I'm kinda glad I didn't buy it 'cause if this video here is leggit, it seems like the iMac is almost unusable. It's a little sad that Apple — who's making billions in profit — can't even get its most popular computer straight. I might just wait for gen2 before I buy. Early adopters once again get screwed.

Droid Update

2009-12-08T09:53:00.010-05:00

The Droid update has yet to push its way onto the review unit I have. So while I wait for that, I figured I'd mention a few nitpicks I've run into in the past few weeks.

*When you're on a call and the phone is next to your face, the screen dims itself to save battery life. Now let's say you take the phone off your face because you need to dial a number (like for example if you're drilling your way through an automated call) the screen is supposed to come "back to life" so you can press those numbers. That works 70% of the time. The other 30% it remains dark, so I have to quickly put the phone back on my face and remove it again till it finally realizes what I'm doing.

*The keyboard is a little slow at learning my vocabulary. When I txt, I write in shorthand a lot and every time I write "shld" the Droid fills in "Sheldon." Eventually it will learn what I'm trying to type, but it can be a little slow at times.

*The speaker sometimes stutters. I have the Droid set to chime every time I get a tweet or e-mail. 90% of the time it chimes fine. 10% of the time, the chime stutters for no apparent reason. This only happens with alerts (like tweets, Gmail) and not with music, alarms, or phone calls.

Ok, now some awesome things:

*I've gotten used to the virtual keyboard in portrait mode, which is shocking to me considering I preferred the landscape mode. I can't type as fast as I would on say a Blackberry Curve, but I can move pretty darn fast. Interestingly enough, I hardly use the Droid in landscape mode (only when using Maps or an app.)

*Some apps that are paid-only in the Apple Store are free in Android Market.

*All of the apps I've downloaded are awesome. I actually *use* them! I cannot emphasize this enough. The apps are awesome and I actually use them. On my iPod touch I find myself purging apps more often than I add. (I'll do a post later on my fave Android apps.)

*Push Gmail is great. Some people have commented that there's a delay, but I've only experienced that when reception falls (like if I'm walking into a train station.) I did notice that if you mess around with the system settings (like I did), it's very easy to disable the push Gmail feature without even realizing it. That forces you to manually refresh. So be careful not to shut off background apps that the Droid needs.

*3G is awesome. Since I got this review unit back in late October, I have been 3G-less only once, and it quickly came back up.

*The Droid has changed the way I use my cell phone. I used to shut down my phone every night, but now I find myself leaving it on 24/7. Kind of like I do with my iPod touch. I feel very connected with the Droid. It's like having a mini computer with me all the time, which is probably the best compliment one can give the Droid.

So how does Android stack up to the iPhone OS? IMO, Apple has the better interface. It's not perfect, but it's smoother. So if this were a race, Android would be 2 steps behind the iPhone OS. You hear that, Apple. Android is very close to catching up to you. It's younger. Fresher. And so close you can feel its breath down your neck. When's the last time any company did that?

Saving on vitamins

2009-12-05T21:45:00.007-05:00

Growing up I was always the fat kid in class. I wasn't into sports, I hated gym class, and I preferred spending my weekend indoors playing Super Mario Bros. than outside playing baseball. Freshman year in college I snapped out of it, lost 140 lbs., and got into a daily workout routine, which I still follow today.

For awhile, I was into the supplements scene, buying whey protein powder and post-workout shakes, but I quickly got off them. It doesn't hit you at first, but eventually you realize — "holy crap, I spent how much on protein shakes this month?!"

Earlier this year I got this juicer, which is a million times healthier and more natural. But one thing I've never stopped taking are vitamins. It's the one item I don't go budget on. This story by the New York Times is pretty interesting, in that it says you don't have to spend a lot of money on vitamins — if you need them in the first place. Check it out.

Want

2009-12-03T00:05:00.003-05:00

Man, I'm so tempted by this. Nintendo DSi with 5 pre-installed games for $134 with $6 for shipping. The only thing stopping me is that I already have a DS. Granted, it's the old, bulky DS. But I seriously have to stop Xmas shopping for myself and actually get other people gifts. Still, it's very tempting.

Black Friday / Cyber Monday Loot

2009-12-02T00:27:00.006-05:00

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are finally over. And while I bought a few things, I didn't really buy any of the stuff on my Xmas list. I bailed on the iMac. MacMall's sale was awesome (hands down the best Apple sale I saw), but in the end the fact that the 27" iMac can't push a 30" LCD killed the deal for me. (I have a 30" Dell that I wanted to pair with the iMac.) That and the fact that even on sale the iMac was still $2,000 turned me off! But here's what I did buy (all deals are dead now):

*On Cyber Monday I got some PBS DVDs I've been wanting to buy from the Shop PBS Sale. 30% off + free shipping. My DVD (Latin Music USA — a documentary on Latin jazz) came out to $23 (from $40).

*Also on Cyber Monday I got two bottles of Quinta Da Cortezia Touriga Nacional wine. Excellent and very cheap Portuguese wine. Free shipping from Wine Library.

*Subscription to National Geographic for $10.

*APC Back-UPS Green UPS Battery Backup from Staples for $20 (more than 50% off).

*12-month Xbox Live Gold Card for $30 from Buy.com.

I wish I had jumped on the Scribblenauts deal, but hopefully it'll come around again. Still more shopping to do. Esp since everything I bought was for me!

Roku Announces New Channel Store: Adds 10 New Channels

2009-11-22T21:28:00.011-05:00

Roku threw an indirect punch at the cable networks today by giving all of their Roku Players access to 10 new channels. (The firmware updates should hit your player today and tomorrow.) The Roku Player is a very tiny set-top box (check out my review here) that lets you stream content (wired or wirelessly) straight to your TV. It started off with Netflix and it later grew to include Amazon Video On Demand and MLB.TV. Now there's a Roku "Channel Store" (with 10 new channels) that you can add to your player. (It's up to you which channels you want to add — all of the new channels are free.) Here's the line up along with a description of each channel and my quick opinion:

1)Netflix: Stream movies from your Netflix Instant Queue, subscription required.
Verdict: It started off with a mediocre selection of mostly 80s movies, but Netflix's Instant library keeps growing and now includes popular TV shows like Dexter and a much better movie selection. Personally, I've found lots of hidden gems using this channel (particularly in the indie/foreign movie dept.) This channel alone is worth the price of admission.

2)Amazon Video On Demand: Buy or rent TV shows and movies on an a la carte basis.
Verdict: For more current/popular movies and shows, Amazon does not disappoint. I don't use it often, but it's a nice complement to Netflix.

3)MLB.TV Premium: Watch all out-of-market MLB games live and On-Demand, subscription required.
Verdict: This channel's major flaw is that you can't watch local teams. I'm not a baseball fan, but I feel like you're better off catching the games for free on network TV.

4)Facebook Photos: View slideshows of you and your friends' Facebook photos.
Verdict: Cool concept, but bad execution. Navigating is clumsy and you can only view one photo at a time. Not to mention you can't even leave comments. Plus, many people use their smartphones to upload pics onto their Facebook profiles and, you guessed it, smartphone pics on a 42" HDTV look like crap. Didn't like this channel. Left me feeling like a creepy stalker.

5)Free FrameChannel Service: View content from 1,000+ channels on your TV.
Verdict: It's kind of like an RSS reader. It feeds your TV headlines/info from a variety of sources. However, it only shows you headlines, which I found kind of worthless. Imagine reading one headline and one sentence on your TV and seeing a "visit bbc.co.uk for the full story" on the bottom of your screen. It works if you're looking at weather or stocks, but stinks for everything else.

6)Mediafly: Watch podcasts and new media on your TV. Includes topics like technology, travel, kids, sports, and news. Sample shows include Sesame Street shorts, CNET Loaded, CBS Evening News, MSNBC Nightly News, CNN Daily, etc.
Verdict: This is perhaps my favorite of the new channels. It has the most potential. Only thing is their content selection feels random and you don't have access to all of the shows. (It appears you just get that week's content, no access to older archives.)

7)Pandora: Stream Internet radio on your TV.
Verdict: Cool, but I'm not a fan of Pandora and I'd rather dock my iPod touch to my stereo to listen to Slacker. Besides, my stereo sounds better than my TV.

8)blip.tv: Stream content from various channels on topics like food and news.
Verdict: Most of these "channels" were empty, so there's not much I can say. Will update later.

9)Revision3: Internet television with shows like Tekzilla, Diggnation, iFanboy, etc.
Verdict: I know a lot of the Revision3 shows, but I personally don't watch any. Might check out a few now that it's a little easier, but unless they're absolutely amazing, I don't see myself watching this channel a lot.

10)Flickr: Access your Flickr photos from your TV.
Verdict: Pretty cool, although again, you can't leave any comments on photos.

11)Motionbox: Online Community Organizer.
Verdict: I couldn't access this channel. Will write an update when I can.

12)TWiT.TV: Watch and listen to video and audio podcasts from the TWiT network.
Verdict: Nice addition, but "watching" a podcast on my TV is boring. I can't even take the TV off and leave it as background noise 'cause it's using my TV's speakers. Maybe it's just me, but I think podcasts are better when you listen to them on an MP3 player, not your TV. Otherwise, I'll be checking out the video podcasts in the future.

13)MobileTribe: Gives you access to social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, Orkut, Google, Yahoo.
Verdict: Cool concept, painfully horrible execution. I tried to access Facebook and it was horrific. The interface was beyond awkward. Something that would normally take one click (like reading all of my friends' status updates on one page) took multiple steps.

Final Verdict
Overall, I like the direction Roku is going. Access to more channels increases the Roku Player's value. However, I was a little disappointed in a lot of the new channels. I mean, if I don't care to watch a show like Diggnation on my laptop, why would I want to watch it on my TV? Another flaw is the way the channels work. You have to sign up/authenticate each channel via your laptop before it syncs to your Roku box. Major pain in the arse because I had to create multiple new "accounts" for each channel. More log-ins and passwords are not what I needed. (If you already have an account — like I did with Flickr — then you can log in via your current account.) Fortunately, once you're authenticated with each channel, you never have to do it again. The Roku Player will remember your sign-in once it's configured.

So a step in the right direction. I just wish the content (channels) were better. Vudu, CinemaNow, Hulu, etc. Those are the channels I wanted. We'll see how many of these new channels I end up keeping.

Xmas Shopping List

2009-11-18T16:18:00.010-05:00

So Black Friday is about 8 days away and I still haven't started my shopping. But I've already started brainstorming gift ideas and here's a rundown of what's on my shopping list. Not sure how many of these I'll buy on Black Friday (if any), but here's what I'll be keeping my radar on. I'm sure it'll change depending on what I see online.

1)Samsung SMX-F34 Flash Memory Camcorder
2)Canon S90
3)Xbox 360 Arcade Console
4)Acer Aspire One 10" Netbook (only if it hits the rumored $150)
5)HTC Eris (not sure if this is a good kid-friendly phone)
6)Samsung Color Laser Printer (no model in particular, just need a printer for home)
7)Flip or Kodak HD Camcorder
8)Samsung 52" LED 120Hz LCD HDTV w/ Internet@TV (don't plan on buying one, but I'll be eyeing this like a hawk)
9)Apple 27" iMac (curious if Apple will do their 5% off deal again and yes, I'm being a total guy and shopping for myself)
10)Xbox Live Gold Membership (need to renew my Xbox Live membership)

Cheap Wine Sites: Part II

2009-11-16T16:42:00.006-05:00

So back in October I mentioned two discount wine sites I wanted to check out. And while I've checked the sites every day since, I haven't bought anything. Why? Well, lots of reasons. Partially because the deals I've liked have sold out in minutes, but also because a lot of the deals have been meh. Here's my initial impression on each site:

Cinderella Wine: When it first launched, I felt like every wine on this site would sell out 10 minutes after making its debut. (Wines were announced at midnight, but now they're announced at 9pm ET.) Lately, the wines haven't been selling out, but the deals have been aimed more at the wine collector as opposed to the wine newbie who just wants to try stuff out. Nothing wrong with that, but I personally don't like paying over $30 for wine (especially if I've never tried it) and it feels like most wines here are priced $30 and up. The few that have been under $30, don't really grab my attention. I like that the site lets customers comment and that it provides ratings for each wine, but sometimes the ratings can blind you and what Wine Enthusiast gives a 92, might be a 62 when you try it. So I've been hesitant.

Wines Till Sold Out: This site has only had one deal I've liked and that deal sold out rapidly. The other wines it's listed have been obscure to me. I don't claim to know every wine out there, but I like South American, Portuguese, and Spanish wines and there haven't been many listed in the past month. The site lacks diversity in my opinion.

One thing I dislike about both sites, you must buy a minimum of 3 bottles (sometimes 4) to get free shipping. I have no problem buying 2, but 3? This makes me feel like I'm being sold wine they're overstocked with. (Which is probably the case, but when that's actually noticeable, that's not good.)

I'll continue eyeing both sites and hopefully will jump on something this week – whether or not it's something I know or have never tried before.

$150 netbook

2009-11-13T16:01:00.006-05:00

So in this week's podcast we talked about the Black Friday ads that have leaked over the past few weeks. For the most part, I feel pretty meh on what I've seen. I think the one deal (which is rumored) that I'm most psyched about is the $150 Acer netbook from OfficeMax. I've been waiting for the right netbook to come along and if this deal happens, I'm sold. Even if our laptop BF prediction of $249 hits, I'd still take the netbook for $150.

Another sale I'm waiting on is Apple's Black Friday Sale, which if past sales are any indication, will be 10% off all iPods and 5% off all Macs. That 27" iMac is tempting me.

Other than that, I've felt meh about most of the TV ads I've seen. I'm not planning on buying a new TV, but if I see a 120Hz Samsung LCD with Internet@TV, I might workout the old credit card.

XP vs Windows 7

2009-11-12T10:08:00.004-05:00

Looks like bad news for Windows 7. Both Laptop mag and the folks at Liliputing are reporting that running Windows 7 on select netbooks kills battery life by about an hour when compared to Windows XP. That's pretty shocking considering that MS said Windows 7 would improve battery life. The positive side is that it's something that can probably be fixed with driver updates. Plus, this was only tested on certain netbooks — the Toshiba mini NB205, ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, and HP Mini 311. Still, you may want to stick with XP till the problem is resolved.

Objectified: Ive on MacBook Air

2009-11-11T00:57:00.006-05:00

I was so close to Netflixing this documentary (Objectified) over the weekend, but ended up watching Oldboy instead. (Stupid me.) Anyways, stumbled upon this clip here where Apple's lead designer, Jonathan Ive, talks about the unibody design of the MacBook Air. Pretty interesting stuff.

A weekend with Roku

2009-11-09T01:35:00.005-05:00

So I streamed a few movies on the Roku XR over the weekend. I watched Audition and Oldboy (my mini reviews of the movies below). I'm pleased to say that the XR works just as well as the previous Roku box (now called the Roku HD Player). Movies buffered up in under a minute on my 802.11n network, there was no hiccuping or dropped scenes, and picture quality was solid.

Now the bad news. The Roku XR costs $29 more than the Roku HD, and yet they both perform the same. Seriously. Ok, so you get 802.11n and a USB port on the XR. But otherwise, it's all the same. For what it's worth, I tried plugging in a USB drive to see if the XR would read my media files, but I got nada. This makes me wonder, what exactly is Roku planning here? What's the point of the XR?

We already know Revision3 is coming to Roku. Leo Laporte's TWiT network is also supposedly coming. But, what else?

The folks at Roku told me they'd have some "new announcements" in the next coming weeks. (They told me this two weeks ago.) But all has been quiet on the Roku front. So for now I'd hold off on buying a Roku XR. There's no need for it. But let's see what Roku has up their sleeves. Something tells me I might be changing my mind very soon. At least I hope.

As for the movies — Audition: Creepy as hell. Loved the first half of the movie. The scenes of Asami sitting by the phone with the large, mysterious bag on the floor freaked the crap outta me and are still burned in my mind (more so than any other scene). I was disappointed in the ending though. It kinda fell apart for me. Oldboy: Why does this movie have such high ratings?? A waste of 2 hours. The plot is all over the place, it tries too hard to be "artsy/shocking," and the soundtrack annoyed me.

Roku Netflix Player now with 802.11n

2009-11-06T15:42:00.006-05:00

At the start of the year I did a feature on home-movie streamers reviewing everything from the Roku Netflix Player to the Vudu box. Since then, there have been tons of firmware updates to the players I reviewed and even a few new players.

I've been working on a follow up to that piece, and this afternoon I got the new Roku XR Player from the folks at Roku. The main difference between the XR Player and the previous player (now called the HD Player) is that the XR comes with 802.11n, whereas the previous player had 802.11g.

I never had any streaming issues with the older player, so I'm curious if the XR is worth the $29 upgrade. (They look exactly the same, minus the "XR" label.) I have some HD and non-HD movies queued up for the weekend so I'll give the XR a little test and have some feedback next week.

The smell of a new (e)book

2009-11-06T00:42:00.006-05:00

Last month I decided to get back into the habit of reading. I'm not sure why I stopped, but so far I've read:

A Spot of Bother
19 Minutes
The Mole People

I'm currently re-reading Drown by Junot Diaz. I admit, there's a nice sense of accomplishment in seeing the new books I've read join my bookshelf, and it makes me wonder — what do you feel when you finish reading an e-book? I imagine it's anti-climactic 'cause you just load up another book and continue.

This got me thinking. Since I'm not an avid reader (yet), would it be easy for me to adjust to reading on an e-book reader? I don't want one, but at the same time I'm kinda curious. If I were to get one (and that's a big *if*), I'd go with the Barnes & Noble Nook. It has the best features IMO. e-book readers still have a long way to go (the technology/DRM issue, the pricing, the hardware), but I wonder if I'm drawn to the Nook because it's a shiny new gadget or if I really think I can adjust to reading on an LCD? I think I'll play around with the Kindle app on my iPod before delving any further into this e-book reader business. Although I admit, lately I've been very curious.

Droid vs Droid

2009-11-04T16:52:00.008-05:00

If anything's gonna stop me from getting a Motorola DROID it's gonna be the HTC DROID Eris. (And I'm not an HTC fan for what it's worth.) BGR got a sneak peek at the Eris and it looks pretty damn nice. Smaller than the Moto DROID and sans the annoying physical keyboard. Now if only it'd come with Android 2.0 (Eclair). On a slightly different note, I wonder if super-size smartphones are gonna become the new trend. So far we got the Moto DROID and the king-size Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

DROID keyboard

2009-11-03T17:26:00.009-05:00

I despise the DROID's QWERTY keyboard. I can't say it enough. I despise it. I understand why Motorola included it. It was smart trying to please both sides of the camp (virtual vs real keyboard fans), but man they fell asleep at the wheel with this one 'cause it's probably one of the worst keyboards I've ever used.

1)The keys are small. You have to type with your fingernail.
2)The keys are squishy. Meaning when you type, you don't get an audible click. Just a squishy sound. As a result, it's easy to think you pressed a key, when in reality you didn't.
3)When you press a key, you can see the keys surrounding that key flex a little.
4)When typing, your right thumb must reach out over some dead space (highlighted in my pic above) to reach the keys on the left.

Fortunately, the DROID's virtual keyboard is awesome. In portrait mode, it's easy to make mistakes 'cause the keys are a bit tight. It's still useable, but I personally prefer the virtual keyboard in landscape mode. I also like that in either mode, you can type as fast as you want and the DROID keeps up with you.

How does it compare to the iPhone/iPod touch's virtual keyboard? Well, here's a side-by-side pic of what the keys look like in portrait mode and in landscape mode. That's a 1G iPod touch there btw. The iPod has slightly bigger virtual keys. Just a smidgen. The iPod also has spacing in between the keys, which makes a huge difference. That's not to say the DROID's keyboard is horrible, because it's not. It'll just take a little getting used to. For me, it's been under a week and I've already gotten used to it.

So the bottom line: physical keyboard is a train wreck. Virtual keyboard gets the thumbs up and should be an easy adjustment if you're coming from an iPhone.

Road Test: DROID as GPS

2009-11-02T12:35:00.011-05:00

View Road Test in a larger map
So I finally got around to using the DROID's Google Nav Beta app over the weekend. We used it to get from Jersey City, NJ to a restaurant in City Island, NY. It's a 26.5 mile trek that took us about 45 minutes or so each way. In a nutshell, the app is awesome and there's no reason why it can't replace your GPS.

So the app told us to drive from Jersey City, NJ to Fort Lee, NJ and then take the George Washington Bridge (GWB) into NYC. We'd then hop onto I-95 (N) which would take us to City Island. (That's the path highlighted in the map above.) It's probably the quickest way there, but our starting point was so close to the Holland Tunnel, that we took that into NYC instead. The second we veered off course, the app rerouted and gave us our new route.

Once in NYC, we had to take the West Side Highway to I-95. At one point, the West Side Highway passes by the GWB, and we mistakenly got on the bridge and drove BACK into NJ (that was our fault, not the app's). Again, the app quickly rerouted and told us to get back on the bridge and back to NYC. However, we missed our exit and ended up smack in the middle of Fort Lee, NJ. For about 5 seconds, the GPS signal was lost. I'm not sure why since we were out in the open and my Verizon phone had solid coverage. We quickly regained the signal and the app told us to get on the GWB back to NYC. Here's where things went sour for a brief moment. The app told us to make a right on a street that didn't allow rights. This caught us off guard, so we relied on the street signs to get us back onto the GWB. Eventually, the app realized we weren't gonna make that illegal right and synchronized with our driving. Once we were back on the GWB the app was flawless. As we reached our destination, the app switched to Street View and literally showed us what we were seeing with our very own eyes (this was both creepy and cool.)

So overall, we did hit a snag, but I've used other GPS units from Magellan and Mio and they too have fed me wrong driving information.

As for the DROID's 3.7" LCD. Yeah, it's on the small side (compared to a traditional GPS), but it's not horrible. It's more than adequate. The app's voice does sound a little robotic and it mispronounced a few street names, but the names were still recognizable.

We left with a fully-charged DROID (around 12.30pm) and used the GPS to and from. At the restaurant, I used the DROID to take some pics (here's a pic of the restaurant, a little grainy if you ask me) and afterwards we used the app again to find our way around City Island and to pinpoint this bakery (great cupcakes btw). By the time we got back home (5pm), the DROID's battery was down to about 20%.

On the way back, I called my DROID phone to see if it would interrupt the app. It asked if I wanted to take the call and then the minute I ended the call, it immediately jumped back into GPS mode without skipping a beat. (I wasn't driving while doing this.)

So. Would I use it again? No doubt. Would I recommend it to other DROID owners in place of a traditional GPS. Definitely.

Again, the only snags we hit were the brief signal loss and the "wrong turn" instructions. Otherwise I was very impressed with the app.

Motorola DROID quick pros/cons

2009-10-30T15:37:00.009-04:00

So we got a review unit of the Motorola DROID here at dealnews! (Our first impressions are here.) I've spent a good amount of time with the phone now and I gotta say, it's pretty damn cool. Android 2.0 is fast, Web browsing is actually enjoyable, the screen is awesome — I can go on. So here's a quick pros & cons list I've come up with so far:

Pros:
* Huge, bright screen makes it easy to touch/tap on icons/virtual buttons
* Virtual keyboard is very responsive and keeps up w/ the speed of your typing
* Verizon's 3G network has excellent coverage here in NYC/NJ area (Web pages like CNN and dealnews load in abt 5 secs)
* Google Maps Navigation Beta looks awesome (haven't used in a car yet, but I've played around w/ it)
* Verizon didn't bog down their phone w/ Verizon bloatware
* Verizon kept the Wi-Fi
* Battery life seems pretty good under heavy Web use
* It's difficult to hit the power button (this is a good thing since that's the first step in unlocking your phone)
* Web browsing is enjoyable — i.e. no errors loading pages

Cons:
* The QWERTY keyboard is meh (small chiclet keys all scrunched up next to each other)
* Motorola gave the DROID an HTC-like "chin" which forces you to extend your right thumb when typing on the QWERTY keyboard. It's a flat chin (unlike the G1's), but still a stupid chin
* The four navigation keys at the bottom of the phone are awkwardly placed — sometimes when I'm just holding the phone (like if I'm watching a YouTube clip) the palm of my hand accidentally hits a button (this is a very nit-picking con, not a deal breaker)

Droid Day

2009-10-28T10:23:00.007-04:00

It's official. The Motorola Droid for Verizon Wireless is debuting in stores next Friday Nov. 6th for $199, according to the Wall Street Journal. I'm almost 80% sure I'm going to upgrade to this phone. Especially after learning that Verizon's other Droid phone, the HTC Eris, will be running Android 1.5 (why???).

So what's the Moto Droid gonna offer? How about a 3.7" 480x854 screen, Android 2.0 (first phone with 2.0), EVDO Rev. A, GPS, Wi-Fi (wow, Verizon, you didn't cripple Wi-Fi!), Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, a 600MHz Cortex A8 processor, 5MP camera with dual LED flash and autofocus, DVD quality (720x480) video capture, and a nice 16GB microSD card. Another interesting feature is that it'll come preloaded with Google Maps Navigation application which'll provide free turn-by-turn navigation using Google Street View. (Shove it, Navigon!)

On the flip side, Boy Genius Report (which is usually spot on with leaks) is reporting that the BlackBerry Curve2 is coming to Verizon in November. And here's where my other 20% comes in. The current BlackBerry Curve has an awesome QWERTY keyboard that I've used and like. The Droid's slide out keyboard, well, it worries me. We'll see what happens come next Friday.

Watch Update Part III

2009-10-26T10:50:00.007-04:00

So remember that watch that I broke and later replaced? Well, I replaced it again. The last watch that I got was called the Seapearl. Awesome watch. But after a week of wearing it I noticed the bracelet was flimsy. It would unclasp on its own. And because it was a heavy watch, I was afraid it would come undone and fall off my hand without me even noticing.

So I took it back to the Tourneau store on 34th street Saturday morning. According to policy, they don't take back watches that 1)have been worn and 2)have been sold on sale. My watch fit into both categories so I was afraid they'd reject me.

But lo and behold — they were very accommodating. I told them the problem and they quickly offered me an exchange. I exchanged it for the Victorinox Swiss Army watch in the picture above. Same price, warranty, etc. The difference is, this watch has an additional secure clasp so it won't come undone so easily.

Here's the scary part. I wore the Seapearl watch for a week straight before bringing it back. It was in excellent condition, but I managed to make one minor scratch on the bracelet. Most ppl won't notice it, but watch geeks probably would (I guess I'm a watch geek, 'cause I noticed it.) It concerned me a little that they took the watch back and will probably sell it as new again. Maybe with a steeper discount...I hope?

Overall, here's what I learned:

1)Tourneau has a silent policy regarding trade-ins and exchanges. However, if you're good at haggling, you can haggle the price of your trade-in and the price you're willing to pay for a new watch.
2)Look at every detail of the watch you're buying. Bracelet, clasp, etc. Look for any signs it's been worn or look for scratches.
3)If you're in the NYC area, the store on 34th street has excellent customer support. They helped me pick a new watch, took care of my trade-in, and then allowed me to make an exchange. The store near Central Park inside Columbus Mall — not as friendly.

Disney's "movie cloud" looking to replace DVDs

2009-10-22T09:31:00.006-04:00

I'm really torn about Disney's new Keychest technology. In a nutshell, the technology lets you buy your Disney media once and stream it from any device as many times as you want, whether it's from your smartphone, iPod, laptop, etc. You don't own the media, but rather the "privilege" to stream it.

With so many movie-playing devices, the concept sounds very cool. So for example, I can buy Beauty & the Beast and then stream it from my cable box at home, from my smartphone when I'm on the go, from my laptop if I'm in another country, from my cousin's computer if I'm babysitting in PA, etc.

Yet the thought of not "owning" the physical media weirds me out. But I don't know why. I'm totally fine with streaming Netflix from my Roku. (Aside from Kung Fu Hustle, I can't remember the last DVD I bought). However, on the flip side, I'm not ok with paying a monthly fee to stream my music. I want to own that. Forever.

So a few things strike me about Disney's Keychest. 1)What's the price per movie? If the movie is in "the cloud," I expect it to be cheaper 2)What happens to the media if the consumer/owner dies? Can you pass the rights to your children or someone else? 3)Will there be ads anywhere in the stream? I mean, it sounds like Disney is gonna lose money with this pay-once-view-as-many-times-as-you-want plan.

I dunno. On paper this is what everyone wants. The ability to buy something once and play it from anywhere as many times as you want. So has Disney nailed down the right distribution model? I guess we'll find out more next month when it debuts.

Out with the old...

2009-10-20T12:51:00.006-04:00

Apple let loose some new iMacs, Mac minis, and MacBooks today. Pretty decent spec bumps if you were waiting for them. Personally, I've been waiting on an iMac refresh. The new 27" model sounds awesome. I kinda wish it were 30", but 27" will suffice. Compared to the old high-end models, the new high-end iMacs are a great deal. And whereas before $2,199 got you the high-end 24", now $2,199 gets you a super high-end 27" i7 iMac.

However, on the low-end, it feels like you're being cheated a bit. $1,499 used to get you a 24" iMac. Now its gets you a 21.5". Granted, the new 21.5" model has a 1TB drive, faster CPU, and so forth, but still. Why did Apple get rid of the 24" iMac?

Smartphone Shopping

2009-10-20T11:15:00.008-04:00

My smartphone is dying a slow death. It's the Motorola Q. I got it when it came out back in 2005. (It boasted Windows Mobile 5, how could I say no!) So last night I noticed my texts were stalling. The screen would freeze and they wouldn't send. It turns out my phone was freezing because I have every text I've ever sent and received since 2007. It's now 2009. I text a lot. So I started to manually delete texts. (If I do a "delete all," my phone crashes.) Like I said, I need a new smartphone. Here's what I'm thinking.

Option One: I wait for Verizon's new (and first) Droid phone. I like Android and I'd love an Android phone, but something tells me this one is gonna suck. Still, I'm curious.

Option 2: BlackBerry Tour. Awesome smartphone, only thing stopping me is that it's chunky. If it were the Curve, I'd be all over it.

Option 3: Walmart and StraightTalk just announced a partnership and they're offering a no-contract, $45 unlimited everything plan. That includes text, minutes, data, the works. That's amazing and VERY tempting, but I don't know anyone who can vouch for StraightTalk, although it's supposed to be reliable since it uses Verizon's network. Here's how my current plan and StraightTalk match up price-wise:

Verizon Family: $150/mo for 700 any-time minutes, 5MB/mo, unlimited text. (Contract)
StraightTalk: $45/mo unlimited everything. (No contract)

It sounds like a no-brainer — even with two StraightTalk plans it's still cheaper, but I'm hesitant on StraightTalk. So I think I'm gonna wait till this Droid business is resolved (I believe it's supposed to debut at the end of the month) and dig deeper into the StraightTalk / Walmart deal. I'm very open to it if I hear good things. Either way, my goal is to have a new phone come November.

UPDATE: So I checked in with StraightTalk. Turns out you have to use a StraightTalk phone to be a part of the plan. And the *3* phones they offer are the suckiest, crappiest, ugliest things you've ever seen. I might as well just make calls from a paper cup. I guess I'll wait for the Droid.

Tourneau Trade-In

2009-10-19T14:02:00.008-04:00

So I gave myself an early birthday present over the weekend. I got a new watch. I wasn't planning on it, but it sorta just happened.

I went to the Tourneau store on 34th street in an attempt to get my old, broken watch appraised and find out more about the Tourneau trade-in policy. It just so happened there was an unannounced sale going on and the two watches I liked were both on sale. One was a Tag Heuer watch called the Aquaracer. Waaaay out of my budget, but a nice looking watch. It was on sale for just shy of $900 (it was a recertified watch). The other watch (a Tourneau watch called the Seapearl) was also on sale. Before looking at either of them, I asked the salesperson (who was very nice and helpful) point blank how much they would give me for my old watch. He told me that I would first have to pick a new watch before they could give me an estimate. So I told him I wanted the Tag. (Even though I was sure I wasn't going to buy it.)

He checked with the store manager and came back offering me $275 for my old watch. Mind you, my old watch is dead. A Tag watch for under a thousand is a pretty good sale, but still way outta my budget (even recertified!) So I asked about the other watch I liked, the Tourneau Seapearl (which was new). Suddenly the value of my watch fell. They'd give me $125 for my old watch if I bought the Seapearl. I asked him why it mattered? He was honest about it and told me — the amount you get for your old watch is dependent on how much you pay for a new watch. Sleazy, but at least he was upfront about it.

In the end, I got the Seapearl (the one in the pic) on sale and minus an extra $125 for my old watch. Not bad. I asked him what they'd do with my old watch. He said they'd try to fix it and re-sell it as a recertified watch or gut it and use the parts on another recertified watch. Considering the folks at the Tourneau Store on Columbus Circle told me my watch was "unfixable," I'll be curious to see if my old watch ends up inside the pre-owned watches case.

Balloon Fight

2009-10-16T15:56:00.002-04:00

Nothing like a little side-scrolling action for the weekend. This might be my new favorite game.

PowerMat First Impression

2009-10-15T14:58:00.006-04:00

So my PowerMat review unit arrived in the mail yesterday. We got the "home" unit and the "portable" unit. Haven't put them to the test yet, but a few things to mention:

1)Design-wise, the PowerMat Home Charger is better looking than the Duracell myGrid. In fact, the PowerMat looks like a swanky horizontal mouse pad. The portable unit is a little less swanky, but then again it's meant to be portable.

2)Both the home and portable unit came with a handful of tips/adapters, which you're supposed to use to charge gadgets that aren't natively supported by the PowerMat. For instance, the iPhone 3GS is natively supported because there's a PowerMat "sleeve" specifically for the 3GS. (Granted, that sleeve will cost you a few bucks.) So for non-native devices, here's how it works. You connect the tip to your device and then the tip connects to the PowerMat adapter. You then place the adapter on the pad. Sound confusing? It is. It's a lot more tedious than I would like.

I'll test both of the units side by side to see which one is faster at charging, which one has the better construction, and which one offers the better bargain. Stay tuned!

dealnews meet up

2009-10-15T14:51:00.002-04:00

Wednesday night was the first ever dealnews Social in New York City. There were prizes, tasty food, good conversation, and lots of drinks for all. Here's what you missed out on in case you couldn't come.

iPod touch screens

2009-10-12T12:10:00.007-04:00

I have a 1G iPod touch that I love. I use it all the time, especially at the gym and on the treadmill. To save it from scratches, I paired it with one of these $15 screen protectors. The pack includes one for the front of the iPod and one for the back. Recently, however, the front screen was looking pretty grimy, so it was time for a new one. I guess I've gotten cheap over the past year, because suddenly $15 seemed steep for a screen protector, so instead I got the iPod touch version of this from eForCity for $7 shipped. They arrived over the weekend and I applied one. It's awesome. Just as good as the $15 screen from Apple, but rather than get one front and one back screen, I got 3 front screens, which is all you really need, for half the price. Applying the screen is a pain (stupid air bubbles), but after you iron it out it's all good. Thumbs up on these screens! Also thumbs up to Griffin. Been using its Reflect case for over a year and it's shielded my touch from scratches.