I Want A Home Cinema!!!

Sky HD named Gadget of the Year at T3 Gadget Awards

howclockswork — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:23:18 +0000

This is bound to split you guys down the middle!

Myself, I fall on the side of V+! So while I may be blogging about it – that’s not to say I agree with it!

But apart from my personal opinion & that of my readers – Sky HD has been voted Gadget of the year at the Garmin T3 Gadget Awards. And that’s by 54,000 people, no less!!!

Who do you suppot? Sky or Virgin?

Sony VAIO NS1 notebook & JS1 all-in-one PC

howclockswork — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:19:02 +0000

Sony VAIO NS1 & JS1

Sony rolls out more in it’s new VAIO range with the NS1 notebooks & JS1 desktops.

They are designed ‘for everyday use’, so you can read between the lines & conclude that they are not the most powerful systems that Sony have ever produced.

Yes, they are not for business professionals, designers & music producers – just for the ‘regular joe’.

Exact pricing has yet to be confirmed, but you can assume the VAIO NS! & JS1 will be competetive. After all, they are designed for home-use. Whay should you want to pay for an all-singing, all-dancing system when all you want is to browse the web & check your emails?

Details of the sytems & exact pricing will be available soon.

Related systems: Sony VAIO TT & Sony VAIO CS1.

Semicircular Bluetooth Earphones – do you hear me?

howclockswork — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:14:18 +0000

Semicircular Bluetooth Earphones

“Watch that bu….CRUNCH!”

With these Semicircular Bluetooth Earphones from Seohyun Baek, you needn’t worry about that happening!

They fit into your ear, but don’t block external noise like standard earphones do. That means there’s less chance of being run over by a bus! Surely a good thing…

They’re not availble yet though. Unfortunately, they are still in concept stage, but watch this space…

iRex 1000 Reader out now!!!

howclockswork — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:22:16 +0000

It’s official! iRex Technologies have launched the iRex 1000 series Digital Reader. This little (and it is little – 570 grams and 1.2cm deep), looks like a beauty!

iRex currently offer the iLiad and iLiad Book Edition, both targeted at the ‘Average Joe’, but this baby is for high flying business types only!

In comparison to the iLiad range, the iRex 1000 offers, to quote: “superior functionality and a 10.2-inch screen size for easy reading and referencing of documents”. The system has also been designed to synchronise easily with your PC (what else would you expect?).

Available models are the DR1000 base version, the DR1000 S which comes equipped with a stylus and the DR1000 SW, again with a stylus, but also with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

If you want to find out more, visit http://www.irextechnologies.com/products.

Get albums on SD cards… just don’t lose them…

howclockswork — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:00:06 +0000

Call it novelty if you like, but SanDisk have made some albums available in MicroSD format. Is this a good thing? No, and i’ll tell you why:

First of all, it’s tiny! Apart from the risk of losing it, most people like their physical media to be big. I don’t know about you, but I love my album art! It’s worth paying just for that! With a MicroSD album, you’ll be lucky if you can make out who the album is by!

Second – who’s got a MicroSD card reader? Anyone? Nope, didn’t think so! Oh, wait – your phone! That’s right, SanDisk are targeting people who like to listen to music on their phone but are unsure about music downloads. Sounds a little strange to me. How many people do you know who are a whizz at transferring files between phones & SD cards and doesn’t know how to download music?

Third – who likes to listen to the same album day in, day out? No one, that’s who! MicroSD cards were not designed to be pushed in and pulled out as often as a CD, so don’t expect it to last long!

I could go on, but I can’t be bothered. Needless to say, I won’t be buying one…

What do you think?

Oracom unveil a new PMP – the A9

howclockswork — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:25:14 +0000

: The Oracom A9

Korean technology manufacturers Oracom have unveiled a new PMP – the Oracom A9 – that adds something no others have managed so far: haptic feedback.

With the PMP game being upped by the likes of Apple and Archos with the iPod Touch and 5G respectively, the touch-screen wars have entered a new gadget category.

So therefore it was only a matter of time before their mobile phone counterparts were aped for video an audio playback, and Oracom believes adding haptic feedback (vibration when the correct icon is pressed) will add to the user experience.

Spec up or down?

It certainly has the right specs for the basic media player: up to 4GB storage with microSD expansion and all manner of file format playback.

But with a 2.4-inch QVGA screen, it gets outgunned by the likes of the Samsung Tocco or the LG Viewty, and these aren’t even top level mobiles.

Still, with up to 24 hours music/seven hours video, it can last longer than the new iPod Nano, and also packs an e-book reader to wile away the long hours when you’re fed up of digital sounds and vids.

And for under £100, you might want to check this out – if you live in Korea. Or you might not… who knows?

See the full article at techradar.com

A signal booster for your mobile / cell phone – will it really work?

howclockswork — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:20:39 +0000

Mobile Phone Signal Booster

Not sure if i’m posting this because I like it, or because I think it is crap! Maybe a bit of both. I like it because it is crap!

Let’s be straight. It probably doesn’t work very well & would probably be a waste of £2.95, but you know, I am really tempted to try one.

The amount of times I’ve been stuck with no reception on my mobile/cell phone, stood on a window sill, pressed up against the window, sending a text message with the phone in the air… you know the drill

I would love see if this thing actually works! About a year ago I went camping in Wales & for the whole weekend I didn’t have any signal. You don’t realise how much you rely on you phone until you can’t use it! Maybe I should go back and give this baby a try? Or, maybe not…

If I do, i’ll be sure to let you know, but don’t hold your breath!

Turn off that Mickey Mouse music!!!

howclockswork — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:51:39 +0000

Mickey Mouse MP3

You may have seen these knocking around the internet over that last year. It seemed to disappear recently… until now!

The iRiver S11GB (or M Player) is now available in the UK for £29.99 (from advancedmp3players.co.uk)

Officially endorsed by Disney, the M Player comes in the shape of our favourite cartoon mouse – Mickey. It comes in a range of colours.

The image may be deceptive, but this MP3 is very small indeed.

I like the unique controls on the M Player. To adjust the volume or skip to the next track you just twist the ears – fantastic!!!

It currently comes with 1GB of storage, which is roughly enough for 200 – 250 tracks.

It may be a novelty, but it also comes up to scratch as a standard MP3 Player & would make a great present for any child (big or small…)

The humble audio cassette returns…

howclockswork — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:52:56 +0000

How long is it since you used a cassette tape? For me, it has been too long! Yes, the quality was rubbish. Yes, it was i nightmare when the tape got all tangled up. Yes, if you didn’t like the song it was a pain fast-forwarding & trying to guess when to stop… the list of annoyances goes on…

But there are great memories too! And the nostalgic factor has to count for something!

Well, here’s what I found today – A cassette sticky tape dispenser! Neat or what? I think so!

Why this blog exists…

howclockswork — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:38:13 +0000

Well, if the name of the blog didn’t give it away… I Want A Home Cinema!!!

That’s right, I want a home cinema system in MY house! At the moment, it is just a dream, but I hope with the help of this blog (and the ad’s on it) I will soon be able to realise that dream!

So what is there for you, the reader, you may ask?

Well, while this blog has been created with the sole purpose of making me money, I would also like it to be a valuable resource for any technology/gadget hungry folks out there. Who knows, it may even transcend it’s selfish purpose…

So, I beg you… please come back!!!