Life in the Fresh Lane » Gadgets

Amazon Kindle is Back in Stock – What are you Waiting For?

Rob — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:02:07 +0000

You may not be aware of it, but recently we have all been treated to something wonderful by a little known company by the name of Amazon. Oh you’ve heard of them? Then perhaps you’re also aware that their wildly popular Kindle eBook reader sold out of stock in 5.5 hours, after its initial release to the public in November. “What’s so wonderful about that,” you ask? Well, I’ll tell you what! After months of waiting, the Kindle is finally back in stock to meet the demand of the crowds.

What’s so great about the Kindle, anyways? Well, it’s portability is one of the strongest selling points, clocking in at a brisk two and a half pounds. If you’re not sure how heavy two and a half pounds is, you probably won’t have much use for the Kindle anyways, but to put it in terms you’ll understad a little better, it is roughly the weight of a can of SpaghettiO’s. Please don’t try to eat the Amazon Kindle, it is not food.

The Kindle is essentially a portable eBook reader that you can bring with you anywhere. Amazon teamed up with Sprint to give the Kindle wireless connectivity capabilities virtually anywhere in the country. That means no more awkward stares from the owner of the local coffee shop to stop mooching off his free WiFi signal. Browse an exhaustive collection of books available for download, and even surf sites like Wikipedia free of charge. Sure, the Kindle makes reading on the go a snap, but with features like these, why even bother leaving the house? For the daring, the Amazon Kindle finally gives Tom Clancy fanboys and Danielle Steele gossip girls the opportunity to feed their craving for eBook portability. Â»Get Yours

Philips Clock Radio Will Spice Up Your Morning Routine

Rob — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:49:08 +0000

Looking to breathe new life into your old USB drive or SD card? Philips has your answer with the AJL308 Clock Radio. Not only does this high-tech drool inducer have all the features of your standard clock radio, but also a sleek 7-inch screen for your morning viewing pleasure. What’s that you say? No pleasure to be had in the morning? Think again! Just plug in your storage card of choice and this alarm clock doubles – no, triples! – as a digital picture frame, video player, and mp3 player. Oh yeah, it also tells time too, but thats clearly of lesser importance. So if you don’t exactly get your kicks chasing your alarm clock around in the morning, give the AJL308 a try. Who knows, it might just be what it takes to revive your exceptionally large Tito Puento multimedia collection. Â»Get Yours

Waking Up Still Sucks, But Clocky Can Help

Rob — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 11:00:42 +0000

I have always been amazed by stories of people that are extremely deep sleepers. I’m not referring to your average joe sheep counter who hits the snooze button every once in a while. I am talking about the people that could sleep through a rock concert as if it were a lullaby. In a way, I have to admit, I am somewhat jealous! I can only imagine what it feels like to have a full night of uninterrupted sleep! A young inventor has come to the aid of these deep sleepers, and even those people that just want to spice up their morning wake up routine. Enter Clocky, the world’s first most annoying alarm clock. Picture this: you’re laying peacefully in bed, plotting your next move for world domination, when you suddenly hear your alarm clock making these strange, loud beeping noises, something like R2D2. Just as you’re about to hit that snooze button, he’s off! Clocky rolls off the night stand, forcing you to play an early morning game of cat and mouse. Perhaps this video clip sums up the experience:

Now, I don’t know about you, but to me it seems that this would be nearly impossible to sleep through. Just look at this thing — it’s almost as though Clocky has a personality of its own! If you’ve ever wanted to get a pet, but decided against it, this is definitely your next best alternative. I just can’t help but wonder, can Clocky fetch the morning paper too? Â»Get Yours

Is the Logitech Harmony 890 the Last Remote You’ll Ever Need?

Rob — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:00:50 +0000

If you’re like me, you’ve probably accumulated quite a collection of remote controls over the years. What the hell am I supposed to do with all these remotes? Stack them on top of each other until they topple over and send some harmless child to the hospital? My favorite remote was the one that came with my after market car CD player. Yes, you heard me right, a car CD player. Honestly, if you can’t move your hand 5 inches from the stick shift to the CD player to change the song, then you need to reevaluate your ambitions in life. Anyways, I digress. It seems that these remotes are not going away any time soon, so we must embrace the solutions that are available. Of course there are standard universal remotes, but those are annoying too. Oh, you have a Toshiba DVD player? Just cycle through these 59 Toshiba 5 digit codes until you figure out which one works. 45 minutes later with zero luck, you’re desperately considering taking up reading as a hobby. No thanks. Luckily, Logitech has been perfecting their solution to this daunting problem. The Logitech Harmony 890 is designed to be the only remote you’ll need. I know I know, you’ve heard that one before. But here’s what sets it apart from the others: theres absolutely no complicated programming involved. Simply hook it up to the web based wizard, enter the model numbers of your devices, and they’ll be programmed for you. That was easy on the thumbs, right? Also, you can use “activity buttons” that allow you to perform multiple functions with the press of a button. For example the “watch tv” button could simultaneously turn on the sound system, television, and cable box, thus saving tons of time and aggravation. You can even program the remote to control other parts of your house, like lighting. To me, it is clear that this is the first remote control, might be more fun to use than the devices that it actually controls. Â»Get Yours

How the Philips Digital Picture Frame Saved My Life

Rob — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 11:00:12 +0000

I love using my digital camera, but lately I have been falling into a bad habit. I find myself taking lots of pictures, but instead of archiving them or making prints, I’ve simply been leaving them to sit on the memory card and rot. Shameful, I know, but I have a feeling that I’m not the only one that has fallen into this crisis of digital apathy. I know I have to make a drastic change, but how? Cold turkey? The Philips Digital Picture Frame is the answer — here’s how it works. Instead of taking your memory card to have prints made, simply pop it into this special picture frame, built conveniently with a 6.5 inch LCD screen. Seconds later you’ve got animated slide shows of all your favorite pics for your viewing pleasure. This neat little gadget even comes with three additional frame designs, depending on the decor of the room. The coolest part is that you can display your frame anywhere you would a normal picture frame. Just expect it to get a lot more attention than one. Â»Get Yours

Neon Beer Signs: Not Just For the Privileged!

Rob — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:00:08 +0000

“If you booze, you lose.” Whoever came up with that was an idiot. What does it even mean? Lose what? Money? Pride? A tooth? Anyways, I am a firm believer that drinkers are indeed winners, and have very nice dental records for the most part. A couple of weeks ago, I was shopping at my local cheapo depot when I saw something that caught my eye. It was a neon Corona beer sign, just like the ones found at my favorite watering holes around town. This was odd to me, because I assumed that they were only sold to bar owners, and similar aristocrats. Intrigued, I went home and fired up my internets to discover that eBay carries a surprisingly large selection of these neon signs. Heck, they even had signs featuring the emblem’s of various pro sports teams. I think it is pretty clear that this serves as a simple reminder that drinking beer will ultimately make you a better athlete. I thought it would be neat to have one for the apartment somewhere — You know, to spice things the place up a little bit. I went for it, and chose the Corona bottle sign. Amazingly it arrived in one piece, and it is now hanging ~~beautifully~~ wickedly on my wall as we speak. So in conclusion, neon beer signs are available to commoners like you and me, boozers do not in fact lose (and if we do, we will never admit it), and if drinking beer means I will make it to the pro’s one day, then let the training begin. It’s go time! Â»Get Yours

The Creative Zen Vision W – Better than the iPod Classic for Video Watching

Rob — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:35:19 +0000

I love bringing my digital media on the road with me. Kicking back to some music or watching a funny movie can really take the pain out of those long plane rides. The iPod is great, but what if you find yourself doing a lot more movie watching than music listening? Fear not, because Creative Labs has the solution for all the videophiles out there. The Creative Zen Vision W is a portable media player with a surprisingly large screen. Just to give you an idea of how big this screen is, it is exactly the same size as Sony’s PSP gaming unit, and much larget than that of the iPod Classic. Unlike the iPod Classic, the Zen Vision W can display your movies in all their widescreen glory, boasting a generous 16:9 display format. Of course, it should go without saying that with 30GB and 60GB storage versions available, you’ll have plenty of space for all your favorite photos and music as well. The Zen Vision W is a great all-in-one media player that plays videos beautifully. If you can’t live without your Hogan’s Heroes collection, this baby is for you. Â»Get Yours: 30GB – 60GB

Got iPhone envy? Try the iPod Touch.

Rob — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 04:14:29 +0000

For many people, getting an iPhone just isn’t an option. Maybe they are stuck in a crappy contract with another carrier (we’ve all been there, right?), or maybe they just can’t justify the hefty price tag. Well fellow geeks, fear not, because Apple’s latest offering might be just what you’ve been looking for to satisfy that void on your pocket. Ladies and gentlemen, behold the iPod Touch. Looks like an iPhone you say? Well, it is, sort of. The Touch is essentially the iPhone, without the phone and camera. Whoah there, put that knife down! What if we told you that removing these two components allowed Apple to slim down the iPod Touch so much, that it is now even smaller than the iPhone. Naturally, this will free up immense amounts of space in your pocket for important things like that 5th USB flash drive you’ve been eying for your collection. Not to mention, the iPod touch can be had at a pretty slick price as well. According to the Unofficial Apple Weblog, you’ll be saving about $100 bucks, in addition to the absence of that pesky monthly cell service payment. The iPod Touch touts the same trendy touch-screen interface as the iPhone, and its built in Wi-Fi adapter will get you surfing your questionably ethical sites in no time. In summary, the iPod Touch is a great substitute for people that can’t or don’t want to succumb to the pressures of the iPhone. Spend less money, get a lot of the same features, and never stop adding to your USB flash drive collection. Â»Get Yours