Manifest Tech Blog

Belkin USB Hub and Mini Surge Protector

2008-05-12T02:00:00Z

USB is not just about data connections any more -- it's also becoming the standard way to power up your portable devices as well. When you plug in to your computer to sync with a MP3 player or PDA, you're also feeding power over the same cable to recharge your device. Some portable devices now even don't bother to include a wall charger in the box -- instead they include a USB cable and a USB wall adapter. This trend makes it a lot easier to travel with multiple devices, since you don't need to bring a separate custom wall charger for each device. Instead, just pack up the USB data cables for your products that use custom interfaces (like the Apple iPod), and add a standard mini-USB cable for devices that just use the USB interface (or even micro USB for small devices like Bluetooth headsets). Yet while you then can charge these devices from your laptop when you are on the road, this still can get clumsy when you are dealing with multiple devices -- for example, when you need to charge a mobile phone and Bluetooth headset while you are using a USB mouse and storage drive. Again, Belkin comes to the rescue with two clever ideas to manage and power multiple USB devices (see previous post). The Belkin Swivel USB Hub splits one USB connection into 4 ports (all high-speed USB 2.0) -- so you can access and power multiple devices at the same ($29 list, around $19 retail). It also includes a power adapter if needed for power-hungry devices.
Yes, you can find smaller hubs (but with an additional connecting cable), and larger hubs with more connectors -- but this Swivel Hub is travel sized, and has a handy two-way adjustable swivel connector. Rotate it sideways so you can still access additional USB connectors on your system, angle it up along the side of your system for easier access when you're inserting and removing devices, or fold it down to lie flat for storage. And for powering multiple devices, the Belkin Mini Surge Protector / USB Charger provides three AC outlets, plus two powered USB outlets, all with surge protection ($25 list, around $19 retail).
The USB outlets are for power only -- they do not serve as a hub for transferring data. The product includes a mini-USB cable to charge many compatible devices, or else you can use the custom connector cable that came with other devices. The hub also has a rotating plug which locks at each 90 degree position. See my Portable Power Accessories Gallery for other power systems, battery packs, and universal chargers that offer adapter tips for a wide variety of portable devices -- including cell phones, music players, cameras, and game machines -- so you can charge them all from USB power. Also see my Portable Peripherals and Accessories Gallery for more fun devices, organized by company.

Find the Belkin Swivel USB Hub and Mini Surge Protector on Amazon.com

Belkin Washable Mouse and Mouse Trap

2008-05-09T05:00:00Z

I enjoy covering digital media -- software and home electronics and portable devices -- but it's also fun to take time out for more prosaic accessories and peripherals. So let's start with the humble computer mouse, now available in sexy and colorful designs, wired and wireless, and even airborne with gesture controls with the Logitech MX Air Cordless Laser Mouse (see previous post). Then there's the extensive Belkin line of accessories and connectivity devices, for home theater and for more mobile devices from laptops to iPods. For example, the Belkin Washable Mouse is water resistant, to battle the gunk that accumulates from long-term handling, especially on shared devices ($29). For the family room computer, for example, just hand-wash under a faucet to clean up the inevitable spills of sticky juice and icky peanut butter fingers.
The Washable Mouse fits smaller hands, and is tapered at the front and raised at the back. The top is enclosed with a smooth surface, with the left- and right-click buttons recessed underneath. You scroll by vertically stroking the middle scroll pad (and horizontally on Windows Vista) -- a blue light shines to acknowledge the movement. Click both buttons simultaneously for a center-click action. Then use the Belkin Mouse Trap to carry your mouse around the house ($19). Zip it up into a half-circle to store and carry your mouse and other small items, and then unzip it into a handy circular mouse pad.
For example, use the Mouse Trap to stabilize your movements when you use your laptop on slippery or rough surfaces like a glass table or bedspread. It's also hand-washable, and comes in exotic colors -- chocolate/tourmaline, steel/burnt orange, dove/tarragon, dove/peony. Mmmm ... See my Portable Peripherals and Accessories Gallery for more fun devices, organized by company.

Find the Belkin Washable Mouse and Mouse Trap on Amazon.com

CyberLink PowerDVD 8: Enhanced Movie Experience

2008-05-07T21:00:00Z

CyberLink has released the latest version of its well-known DVD player software, CyberLink PowerDVD 8. As you might expect, this new release adds support for the latest buzzwords in high-def video and audio formats, including Blu-ray Disk playback -- with an online patch to support the full Blu-ray Disc Profile 2 (BD-Live), with picture-in-picture display, networking, and advanced interactivity.
Plus there's AVCHD and MPEG-2 HD video, and HD audio up to 7.1 channels with Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD. However, the DVD player market is getting rather mature, as these applications are already well-refined for DVD and even general-purpose media playback. PowerDVD supports scads of media formats, provides fun options for video and audio enhancement, and offers helpful features including power-saving playback for notebooks, frame capture, and bookmarking for favorite scenes. What more could it do? So the next step for CyberLink was to go beyond playback features, and instead augment PowerDVD to enhance the overall movie experience by taking advantage of your computer's storage and Internet connectivity. After all, when you pop in an audio CD on your computer, it automatically looks up the album and artist information, and helps you organize and manage your entire collection -- why not the same for movies? So CyberLink developed the MoovieLive.com website to store and sync shared movie information with PowerDVD. When you play a DVD, PowerDVD downloads and displays Movie Information, which you also can edit and update with your personal ratings and reviews. As you watch DVDs, PowerDVD also updates the list of your personal Movie Collection. You can share your collection (like a playlist of favorite songs), and add other movies that you're interested in from MoovieLive. You also can get creative with Movie Remix -- mash up scenes from a movie and then add your own creative animated graphics and subtitle text overlays, plus audio clips and voice-overs. And, of course, you can upload and share your remixes on MoovieLive, and download remixes that others have posted -- though since the remix references the movie, you can only play them for DVDs that you own. MoovieLive is a great idea for the next step in watching DVDs -- taking advantage of the local computer and the wider Internet to enhance the movie-watching experience. However, this initial implementation in PowerDVD 8 is frustrating because the online movie database is only generated by PowerDVD users -- CyberLink did not link the site into a pre-existing DVD database to automatically load movie information. So until the population of users grows significantly, you can type in database fields yourself, or rely on partial uploads you may find from other users. See my full article for more on these new features, and on how CyberLink has done a good job of refining the PowerDVD interface to make it very accessible for both quick playback and hands-on exploration of a disc: Enhanced DVD Movie Watching: CyberLink PowerDVD 8

Microsoft Zune Update - TV Show Downloads

2008-05-07T20:00:00Z

Microsoft has announced new software features and content for the Zune online store, music community, and Zune Pass monthly subscription service. The Zune video store is expanding to include downloads of more than 800 episodes of popular television shows that can be downloaded and synced to a Zune device.
The TV shows, from sources including Comedy Central, MTV, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon, Starz, Turner, Ultimate Fighting Championship and VH1, are priced at launch at 160 Microsoft Points per episode (approximately $1.99). The Zune online store now offers more than 3.5 million tracks, two-thirds of which are available in pure MP3 format, 800 television shows, 4,800 music videos and 3,500 audio and video podcasts. The “Zune Social” music community Web site has had more than two million users join in its first five months, so music fans can discover new music, browse each others’ playlists, and comment on their discoveries and tastes. Members of the Zune online music community get a free, customizable Zune Card, a playlist which automatically reflects the songs played on a Zune player or Zune PC software. Previously, this only resided on the Web, but now has become portable. Consumers with the Zune Pass subscription now have the ability to take what their friends are listening to from the Zune music community on the go via Zune Card personal playlists. The Zune Pass subscription allows access to millions of tracks for $14.99 per month. The new updates to the Zune online music community include drag and drop syncing of Zune Cards to a Zune device -- subscribers get the full tracks on their Zune, while nonsubscribers have full album information and artwork. There are also social networking updates for sharing and searching Zune music community profiles, posting artist and albums reviews, earning reputation badges, and connecting via Windows Live. Zune Pass subscribers can set up automatic, real-time feeds of the music their friends are listening to. The Zune software also has been updated based on customer feedback. Users now can browse their video collection by genre and series, edit track or album information quickly via multi-select and drag-and-drop, sort by genre, sync to multiple Zune players simultaneously, and enjoy gapless playback both on their Zune device and in the Zune software. Press releases: May 5, 2008 - Zune Expands Beyond Music to Deliver Integrated All-in-One Entertainment Experience New software updates bring popular television shows to online store, enhancements to online music community and subscription service. May 5, 2008 - Zune Community Brings New Shared Experience to Music Spring release adds features that inspire people to explore, discover and discuss their favorite music See my Portable Media Players Gallery for details and comparisons to other players.

Find the Microsoft Zune 80 GB and Zune 8 GB on Amazon.com

Sneakernet PC Videos on TV: SanDisk Sansa TakeTV

2008-05-04T04:30:00Z

(with Josh Page) It's a wired world -- or actually getting more wire-less. We're connected at broadband speeds, theoretically able to electronically access our data from the vast cloud of the Web, but yet we still need to physically carry our digital stuff around with us -- music and videos in the iPod, contacts on the cell phone, calendars and documents in the PDA. Sneakernet is still very much alive, as we use USB flash drives to carry and share the vast digital debris of our lives. Having our personal materials right there at hand or in our pocket is often still a lot faster and more reliable than trying to set up a shared networking connection between two arbitrary devices. In the same way, home networking was supposed to bring effortless convergence to sharing media within the house -- watching Internet video from the PC on the TV, live TV on PCs and portable devices, and accessing recorded programs from any device, from living room to bedroom to office. Yet the promise of acronyms like DLNA and UPnP is still being developed (see my Consumer Home Media Gallery), and many homeowners are not thrilled about becoming the IT and networking support staff for multiple PCs and multiple devices, much less consumer electronics devices. Which brings us back to sneakernet, as the approach used with the SanDisk Sansa TakeTV (also www.take.tv) for transferring PC-based videos onto a TV screen. Yes, there are adapters for hooking up SanDisk and other media players for scaling up portable clips on a TV, but the TakeTV is designed specifically as a portable device for watching TV-res clips. The TakeTV comes in three parts: a Player unit with a USB port that you plug in to your PC to copy video clips (like a USB flash drive), the TV Cradle that plugs into the TV with standard A/V connectors, and a small remote control that is stored as the cover of the Player unit. To watch your PC clips on TV, then, just drag and drop to copy them to the Player unit, as you would with any USB flash storage device. Then sneakernet the Player unit over to your TV and plug it in to the TV Cradle, and use the remote control to access the on-screen menu to select the clips to play. The TakeTV works much like a media player, except that it has no manual controls or earphone jack (since you use the remote control), and is designed to store and play higher-res TV video, up to full standard-definition 720 x 480/576, NTSC and PAL. Unlike most media players, however, it does not support a variety of common formats -- the videos must be MPEG-4, as AVI, DivX, or XVID. It's designed for watching full-screen programs or videos that you've edited, and not miscellaneous low-res Web clips. The TakeTV components also are small and light enough to move from one TV to another as needed. The Player unit docked with the remote control is 4 5/8 x 1 1/2 x 1/2 inches, and the TV Cradle is a little longer at 5 3/8 inches -- plus the A/V cables (composite video, S-Video, stereo audio) and the power adapter. The set up time from first opening the package to watching a video on television was roughly ten minutes, making the TakeTV ideal for quick and convenient video sharing for sharing your PC videos as a big screen experience. The SanDisk Sansa TakeTV is available with 4 GB of storage for $99, and 8 for GB $149 (for 5 to 10 hours video, based on 720 x 480 MPEG-4 video at 1.5 Mbps. with 128 Kbps audio). See my Consumer Home Media Gallery for more on PC / TV media capture and transfer.

Find the SanDisk Sansa TakeTV on Amazon.com

SanDisk Sansa Video Players -- Fuze and View

2008-05-03T03:30:00Z

SanDisk has made a nice business expanding from its roots in flash memory with its SanDisk Sansa line of MP3 music and now video players. With lower prices for larger capacity, it's quite feasible to use memory-based players for video clips -- like the Apple iPod nano, with 4 GB for $149 and 8 GB for $199, playing 340 x 240 videos on a 2-inch screen in an amazingly thin design. Meanwhile, SanDisk has developed a common look across the Sansa line, with clean black designs with rounded edges and blue highlights -- including a thumbwheel controller framed by a glowing blue circle. The older Sansa e200 from way back in 2006 has been joined by the larger-capacity Sansa View and the new smaller Sansa Fuze. The new players are thinner, with a simpler thumbwheel and button, and support higher-capacity microSDHC cards. SanDisk Sansa e200 - 2 GB $99, 4 $119, 8 GB $149 1.8" screen, QCIF+ 3.50 x 1.70 x 0.52”, 2.6 oz / 20 hours music SanDisk Sansa Fuze - 2 GB $79, 4 GB $99, 8 GB $129 1.9" screen, 220 x 176 3.1 x 1.9 x 0.3 in., 2.1 oz / 24 hours music, 5 hours video SanDisk Sansa View - 8 GB $149, 16 GB $199, 32 GB, $349 2.4" screen, 320 x 240 4.29 x 1.95 x 0.35", 2.9 oz / 35 hours music, 7 hours video The View's screen has a portrait layout, great for scrolling though long menus when you have a large library of clips or lots of photo thumbnails, and with plenty of room to show song information with the album art. But when you display photos and videos the screen flips to landscape orientation so you can hold the player on its side for wide-screen images -- and the backlit button icons cleverly switch orientation to match. These players all include a built-in microphone, FM tuner, and voice/FM recorder. And they all include a card slot for additional removable storage --1 or 2 GB microSD cards ($19 and $29), plus the newer players add 4 to 8 GB with the new microSDHC cards ($49 and $139). The newer players directly support JPEG photos; various forms of MPEG-4 video; and MP3, WMA, secure WMA, WAV, and Audible audio; plus subscription music from sources including Rhapsody. The Sansa View also plays H.264 and WMV videos. While the older e200 used the Sansa Media Converter application to transfer photos and videos, you can transfer media to the View by simple drag and drop (if already in supported formats), or through media management software including Windows Media Player (to include album art and convert formats as needed). See my Portable Media Players Gallery for more information on portable players, from music to video, flash memory to hard disk, tiny to widescreen.

Find the Sansa Fuze and Sansa View on Amazon.com

LaCie Portable Hard Drives

2008-05-02T03:00:00Z

I love flash drives for carrying data files, saving photos, and quick backups when travelling. But for long trips, and especially when I'm shooting video, it's definitely worth bringing along a portable hard drive for the much greater storage and faster transfer rates. For example, check out the LaCie product line for a nice selection of colorful and fun designs, to find your preferred capacity and size, using hard drives that are only 1.3" to 1.8" to 2.5" around. Each has built-in USB connectors with short cables that also power the drive. Starting small, the LaCie USB Key Max is shaped like a credit card, and comes in black or day-glow orange. Two years ago, LaCie used this design to offer 4 and 8 GB of hard disk storage for $99 and $149. Today the same size and weight holds up to 40 GB. (LaCie prices are list, retail are lower.) Credit card:     LaCie USB Key Max 30 GB $109, 40 GB $139. 1.3" drive, 3.34 x 2.16 x 0.23 in., 2.1 oz.
The LaCie Little Disk, designed by Sam Hecht, has several models that share the same clean design, black with glossy finish, with a removable end cap to access the extractable USB connector. The smallest Little Disk 30 / 40 GB uses a 1.3" drive to provide up to 40 GB of storage in a box that you can wrap in your fist. Match box:     Little Disk 30 / 40 GB 30 GB $119, 40GB $149 2.64 x 1.69 x .67 in., 3 oz.
Or double the size with the LaCie Little Disk 60 GB to move up to a 1.8" drive with 60 GB, still in the same price range. Or double the size, and weight, again (but with about the same thickness) with the LaCie Little Disk, 80 - 320 to use a 2.5" drive, offering serious capacities of 80 up to an impressive 320 GB -- starting at $80 and up to only $159. This larger size is also available with dual USB / Firewire (1394) interfaces. Cigarette case:     Little Disk 60 GB 60 GB $129 3.15 x 2.52 x.71 in., 4.44 oz. Shirt pocket:     Little Disk, 80 - 320 GB 80 GB $79, 120 GB $89, 160 GB $99, 250 GB $139, 320 GB $159 5.08 x 3.19 x.71 in., 6.88 oz.
You still can't beat flash drives for their tiny size and ruggedness. But hard drives offer significantly more capacity at similar prices, and better performance. High-performance flash drives from companies like SanDisk offer read speeds around 15 - 25 MB/sec and write speeds around 10 - 18 MB/sec. In comparison, the Little Disk hard drives spin at 3600 to 5400 rpm, with burst transfer rates up to 30 - 35 MB/sec. See my Portable Storage Gallery for details and comparisons on flash memory cards, USB drives, and hard disk storage.

Find the LaCie USB Key Max on Amazon.com
and the LaCie Little Disk 30 / 40 GB, 60 GB, and 80 - 320 GB

Creating Music and Editing Audio

2008-05-01T04:00:00Z

Even non-musicians and beginning enthusiasts can collect, organize, mix and mash up, and create new music using today's inexpensive and accessible software tools, such as the Sony Creative Software tools -- ACID Music Studio for music creation and mixing, and Sound Forge Audio Studio for audio recording, editing, and encoding. See full article: Sony Audio / Music Studio Software Sony ACID Music Studio 7 spans music recording, mixing, loop-based creation, and MIDI processing. It's for people creating original music using loops or recording vocals, instruments, or using MIDI -- like DJs and remix artists, home recording studios and musicians, video and multimedia producers, podcast and streaming media creators, educators, trainers, and presenters.
Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio 9 is focused on the end-to-end audio editing -- recording, editing / restoration, encoding, and mastering. It includes interactive Show Me How tutorials to help step though leaning new tasks.
Or step up to a higher-end professional high-end audio production toolset like Adobe Audition 3, through the full workflow of recording, mixing, editing, and mastering audio. Audition includes waveform editing of single clips, multi-track mixing, looping, MIDI, with extensive effects and tools for audio restoration and enhancement.
See full article: Adobe Audition 3 - Professional Audio Editing and Mixing

Find Sony Music Studio 7 and Audio Studio 9
and Adobe Audition 3 on Amazon.com

ARCHOS Expands Media Player Connectivity

2008-04-28T23:00:00Z

While the Apple iPod line defines portable media players, there are a lot of other options if you're interested in alternate features, form factors, and designs -- see, for example, AnythingButiPod.com. SanDisk is focused on portable flash memory players, Creative has a broad range of models for specific needs, Samsung has developed some stylish designs with new features like Bluetooth, and the Microsoft Zune has entered the market with Wi-Fi connectivity. But if you're looking for something beefier -- a personal media player with a bigger screen and built-in speakers so you can share your music and photos and videos on the go -- then look to the Archos Gen 5 line.
ARCHOS specializes in upscale players with similar designs: widescreen, 4" to 7" screen, some touch-screen, high capacity hard disk storage up to 160 GB, and a docking station for A/V capture. But the most interesting ARCHOS 605 and 705 WiFi models have full Internet connectivity with Web browsing, media playback, and e-mail. The ARCHOS Gen 5 line was introduced last year, and this month ARCHOS has significantly enhanced the line with new firmware upgrades, plug-ins, and add-ons: Web Browser Playback of Flash 9 and WMV 9 Videos Free firmware update to enhance the Web Browser plug-in ($29), which already plays common video sites. Now supports the newer Adobe Flash 9 and Microsoft Windows Video 9 formats to view social networking sites including YouTube and MySpace, plus media on sites such as CBS, NBC, PBS, MTV, and BBC . (Free upgrade, 5/08) Web TV and Radio Plug-in Search and play Web radio and TV stations, streamed live over the Internet. Access more than 9,600 Web radio stations, 600 Web TV stations, and 110,000 podcasts. (Available 5/08, $19) TVportation Plug-in - Stream live TV Use the ARCHOS TV+ WiFi Digital Video Recorder as a streaming media server. View live home TV over the Internet, change channels. (Does not currently support recorded / stored content, or files shared over the home network.) Also can use an ARCHOS 605 or 705 WiFi with DVR Station as the server for live TV. Clients for ARCHOS 605 and 705 WiFi, Windows PCs / laptops, Windows Mobile smartphones. (Available 5/08 - free download of server for ARCHOS TV+, $49 for ARCHOS 605 and 705 WiFi) GPS In-Car Holder for ARCHOS 605 WiFi In-car windshield holder with GPS antenna. Software provides full-fledged navigation system with TeleAtlas maps. (Available 4/08 - $129 stand-alone, or $399 bundled with 30 GB ARCHOS 605 WiFi player)
See my Portable Media Players Gallery for more information on portable players, from music to video, flash memory to hard disk, tiny to widescreen.

Find the ARCHOS 605 WiFi on Amazon.com

NAB 2008 - Trends and Links

2008-04-27T03:50:00Z

The NAB 2008 Conference (National Association of Broadcasters) wrapped up last week in Las Vegas. The NAB show spans acquisition, production, distribution, and delivery. Its historical core is high-end professional broadcast equipment, from high-end HD cameras to remote trucks with huge satellite dishes, but there's also plenty of interest for independents, especially in cameras, storage, and production software. This year's event was dampened a bit by the absence of both Apple and Avid, but added strong emphasis on emerging technologies including mobile video and IPTV. Attendance was down a notch to 105K, from 111K last year, although international attendance set a new record of over 28K people. Some highlight trends included: - High-definition cameras - More options, more affordable - DTV Transition - Countdown to the analog sunset - Digital Delivery - Cable and IPTV - Mobile TV - Broadcast to cell phones - Realizing the potential of Blu-ray - Authoring beyond studio releases - Digital formats: Encoding and compliance - Online Video: Internet clips and interactivity See my full article - NAB 2008 Summary - for copious links on Trends, Products, and further Information and media coverage.

Talk at Princeton: The Joys and Ploys of Little Toys

2008-04-24T03:30:00Z

I'll be back at Princeton this Wednesday, April 23, to talk about trends and technologies in portable consumer electronics devices. I'll have lots of fun devices to demo, working from the trends and products showcased in my Digital Media Galleries. This seminar series is free and open to the public -- Bring your lunch, but come early for cookies. The Joys and Ploys of Little Toys Wed., April 23, 2008, 12 noon (lunch)
Princeton University Lunch 'n Learn Information Technology Seminars Frist Campus Center, Princeton, NJ Update - Talk summary and podcast posted - Talk Summary - Princeton University - IT's Academic blog - Download - Princeton University - Podcast Frist Campus Center is on Washington Road, downhill from Propect Ave. and the Woodrow Wilson School, and before Ivy Lane and Guyot Hall. The talk is in Multipurpose Room B on the bottom floor -- go downstairs through the cafeteria in the A Level, and then down one more floor to the B Level -- stairs are on the east end (away from Washington) -- University map -- Google map Abstract and Bio below ... ]]> Summary: Gadget nirvana -- or device hell? So much fun, or too many choices? One integrated full-featured gadget that does it all, or separate, simple devices for specific tasks? It's a wonderful, but confusing, world at the electronics store -- for consumers as well as manufacturers. What is the industry to do? -- There's so much new technology to leverage, so many possible features to add, and so much potential in integrating multiple devices. But you can't ask customers what they want, because the new devices have not been invented yet. So instead we see a profusion of different combinations of features, form factors, and price points thrown into the market to see what sticks. Doug Dixon will explore this messy world of consumer electronics, looking at developing trends, new technologies, and colliding markets: - Connected home: Purchased content is becoming less encumbered, with DRM-free MP3 downloads and managed transfers within the connected home. But do you really want TV on your PC, or PC features on your TV? And who will control the box that bridges the two worlds, the cable company or Apple TV? - Digital TV: Flat-screen TVs are hot with consumers, and have finally reached "Full HD" resolution. But there's still major improvements coming in size, design, picture quality, and connectivity -- as well as the new OLED displays. Or is the future in mobile TV on smaller screens? - Portable and Mobile Media: Portable media players add video and connectivity, while mobile phones add media and Internet playback, both overlapping further with Internet radio, streaming video, and Web access. And both do GPS, while GPS navigators add media and hands-free phone. Now you can watch TV while reading the live map, and talking on the phone. - Photo and Video Cameras: The picture phone is becoming the dominant imaging device. But still cameras shoot better photos plus reasonable video, and video camcorders shoot HD video and great stills. We'll all be recording and recorded, especially as today's memory-based HD camcorders shrink to the size of a soda can. - Portable Storage: Storage outstrips Moore's Law, with continued re-doubling of capacity and shrinking size, with solid-state drives (SSD) starting to make sense for laptops. Yet sneakernet still lives, both for sharing, and for moving content within the home. - Wireless: There's Wi-Fi and WiMAX to the home and neighborhood, wireless mobile Internet to the PC, wireless HD video to the TV, wireless USB to devices, and even wireless power for recharging. Or you can just network over the existing power line. Or can a simple approach like Bluetooth continue to develop to really enable computers, players, phones, and headsets to share phone calls, stereo music, and controls through the air? Speaker Bio: Douglas Dixon is an independent technology consultant, author, and speaker specializing in digital media. A graduate of Brown University, and previously a product manager and software developer at Intel Corp. and Sarnoff Corp., he consults and provides expert witness services on the digital media market and technology. Doug is the author of four books and has published over 250 feature articles. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of CDSA's Mediaware magazine and East Coast Technical Editor for Camcorder & Computer Video magazine, and has contributed to DV Magazine, CNET Reviews, and the U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton. Doug has organized and presented over ninety seminars and talks on digital media topics over the past six years, for professional groups and at conferences including CES, NAB, Government Video Expo, and DV Expo. He blogs new developments and makes his articles and technical references freely available on his Manifest Technology site (www.manifest-tech.com).

Digital Foci Keychain Pocket Album

2008-04-22T16:00:00Z

Even in the age of Web video, we still love sharing photos. And digital photo viewers make great gifts, with customized photo shows. But aren't such dedicated devices obsolete in this age of convergence, when you can carry your favorite photos on your mobile phone or media player, and access them dynamically from the Web? I like having our favorite shots always at hand on my Palm Treo -- they're great for explaining art projects or our brick in Vegas. But I'm not so happy to hand around my personal phone for others to look at, and I'm certainly not going to give it away as a gift. So digital photo viewers do make sense, with both larger screens to display in your house (see previous post), and with smaller screens for sharing and for gifts. For example, the Digital Foci 1.5" Keychain Pocket Album is a tiny viewer (2.2" x 1.6" x 0.5", 1.2 oz.), with a 1.5” color LCD screen, 128 x 128 pixels. It displays up to 74 photos from the 8 MB internal memory, and is available in black, silver, and blue for $29.
You can scroll photos manually or run a slideshow with adjustable time interval. It has a simple menu to set the slideshow duration, display contrast, and clock overlay. The battery lasts to 9 hours, and recharges using USB power (connected to your computer, or using the included AC-to-USB adapter). Digital Foci includes Photo Viewer Software for PC or Mac to convert and download photos (the Pocket Album is not directly accessible as a USB virtual disk). See my Consumer Digital Cameras Gallery for more on photo accessories.

Find the Digital Foci Keychain Pocket Album on Amazon.com

Parrot 7" Photo Viewer

2008-04-22T03:00:00Z

Digital photo viewers were tremendously popular gifts last Christmas season, as consumers were met with a flood of products from a huge variety of companies, some new to this kind of product. Unfortunately, some of these products were rushed to the market without much attention to niceties such as the menu interface, user controls, or the display quality. Then there are companies like Parrot, which has been focusing on wireless Bluetooth interfaces for applications including hands-free car kits, wireless speakers (see previous posts on Parrot), and digital photo frames. In fact, the first Parrot Photo Viewers were Bluetooth-only -- designed for receiving photos from mobile phones, or Bluetooth-enabled digital cameras and PCs. This actually made them more difficult to use for more basic users, and even people with experience with digital cameras, since you couldn't load photos via a memory card, or over a USB connection. Continuing this wireless theme, Parrot developed the Parrot DF7700 MMS Digital Photo Frame for Europe, supporting a SIM card with a dedicated phone number built directly into the photo frame. You then can load photos remotely via MMS from a mobile phone, updating the slide show on the frame sitting in your family's house to show the latest great shots from your trip. A version of that design is now available in the U.S. as the Parrot DF7220 7" Photo Viewer. There's no MMS, but it adds connectivity options for transferring photos -- Bluetooth (wireless from a camera phone or PC), mini-USB (synched from a PC) and a SD / MMC memory card slot (direct from a camera) -- all for around $126 (street price).
This is a nice design -- straightforward controls, clear menus, and swappable clip-on plastic outer frame. It automatically adapts the picture size to the screen and automatically rotates the picture when used horizontally or vertically (landscape/portrait). And you can set the on/off time, or have it power off when dark. The photo viewer plugs into wall power with a thin, white 7-foot power cord. The 10 MB internal memory holds some 300 photos, in JPEG and GIF formats. However, the color display is relatively low resolution for the 7" screen -- 410 x 234 pixels (vs. 320 x 240 for the iPod nano and classic, for example) -- so it's best for viewing across the room, and not up close like a hand-held media player. So load it up with your favorite photos and set it up on a table or a mantel -- or make a present of your memories. See my Consumer Digital Cameras Gallery for more on photo accessories.

Find the Parrot 7" Photo Viewer on Amazon.com

SIRIUS Backseat TV: Technology to Product

2008-04-20T17:00:00Z

"Are we there yet?" -- The perennial cry from the back seat that strikes fear into parents on long road trips. I remember a long ride home from Cape Cod with our toddler daughter crying the entire time, except for a half hour time-out for lunch and play in a small park. As the kids grew older we were able to get some peace with a portable tape player, and then graduated to the Nintendo Gameboy -- only to have a huge crisis when the screen broke before a trip and we had to rush to get it repaired. These days, of course, you can equip each child with a music / video player, or game machine that also plays movies. Even better, you can buy a car already equipped as a mobile theater, with iPod jacks, DVD player, and video screens for the back seat. But parents still bear the burden of planning and organizing the entertainment, and a trip still can be ruined if you leave a favorite DVD at home. The folks at Sirius Satellite Radio's advanced development team in Lawrenceville, N.J. had a better idea -- add video to the existing Sirius radio service to deliver your kids' favorite cable TV experience directly to the car. From an early concept demo in January 2002, the resulting product, Sirius Backseat TV, was announced at an event in Times Square in March 2007, hit the streets on 2008 model Chrysler vehicles in October 2007, and shipped as an retail aftermarket product in March 2008 to add the Sirius radio and TV service to your car. The service features three channels of live TV, available 24/7, from the top family networks -- Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network. The Sirius Backseat TV service is $6.99 per month, as an add-on to the Sirius Satellite Radio subscription at $12.95 per month. Adding the service to a new Chrysler vehicle costs $470 with Sirius Satellite Radio and the Rear Seat Entertainment System, plus the first year of service. The new aftermarket product, the SiriusConnect Audio/Video Tuner, model SCV1, is $299. The Sirius engineering team performed some amazing magic with the Backseat TV product -- They squeezed the video channels into the existing satellite radio bandwidth allocated to Sirius without affecting the radio service. The kids in the back seat can watch the live TV, while the parents in the front seat can enjoy the full Sirius radio experience. The product was developed by a core team of some 20 people, including a large ex-pat contingent from local companies including Sarnoff and Hitachi. They started with concept demos and prototypes, and then developed the end-to-end process and productr, from inserting video broadcasting into the satellite radio transmission to pulling a reliable signal out in a car zipping along a highway. See full article: SIRIUS Backseat TV: Technology to Product

Callpod Chargepod 6-way Charger Hub

2008-04-20T03:30:00Z

If you're tired of wrangling power cables for your various devices, especially when packing for trips, take a look at today's universal chargers -- just one power cord, plus individual adapter tips for your specific devices. You can find a wide variety of these -- small and large, for cell phones to laptops, with and without batteries. But if you have a bunch of handled devices, check out the Callpod Chargepod -- a power hub that simultaneously charges up to six devices.
Adapters are available for devices including cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, music players, PDAs, portable gaming systems, digital cameras, and other mobile electronics that operate in the 5 to 6 V range. The hub itself is small and light (around 2 1/2 in. diameter and 1/2 in. thick) -- the power brick is larger (2 x 3 1/4 x 1 1/8 in.) The hub has individual LEDs on each port, which light up when an adapter is connected (although not necessarily charging). The base unit is around $49 without adapters, or $89 bundled with a car charger and 6 popular adapters. Individual adapters are $9.95. See my Portable Power Accessories Gallery for information on power chargers and adapters.

Find the Callpod Chargepod on Amazon.com