Most people agree that when it comes to your iPod the Bose sound dock is the best set of speakers you can find. The only downside of the first iPod soundock is that it has an enormous power supply and A/C cord that limits its use as portable speakers. The new sound dock portable from Bose solves this problem. Its portable speaker system has all of the power and sound quality you’d expect from Bose and it’s portable. This great portable sound and the Bose name comes at a high price…if you pay retail for the speakers you’ll have to fork over $399.

The soundock portable is available in both glossy white and black. It has a very compact design and measures just 12 inches by six inches by 5 inches. The speakers weigh just over five pounds and very closely resemble the original sound dock. There is one distinguishing feature in that the dock your iPod plugs into swivels and can rotate into the unit’s body when traveling.

The Bose sound dock portable shares a simplistic design with the original model and has no physical controls except for the volume controls. The included remote has eight buttons used to operate playback, volume controls, your play lists, and the unit’s power. The remote is small and simplistic; however, its rubberized buttons have a slight lip making them easy to operate by touch. This infrared remote allows you to control your iPod from nearly angle in the room.

On the back of the soundock you’ll find only two connectors. There are no USB ports or video connections, only a power connector and analog input. The sound dock is powered by a lithium batter pack that gets you about 8 hours of normal use or 3 hours at the highest volume setting. As lithium-ion batteries go this is pretty good considering the quality of sound and Bass response you get from the speakers.

The only thing I don’t like about the sound dock’s design are the built-in volume controls. They are clumsy and not very sensitive to the touch. When your iPod is plugged into the dock the batteries are charged at the expense of play time if your charger is not plugged in. The carrying handle also serves as the speaker’s Bass port which Bose cleverly calls the wave guide exit.

Bose hid an LED light behind the speaker grill that flashes when you use the included remote control and flashes to let you know when the battery needs charging. If you forget to charge the unit for fourteen days the only way to turn it on again is by plugging the charger in…this feature probably generates a lot of support calls for Bose. There are no dock inserts included in the box. If you lost the inserts that came with your iPod you can buy replacements from your local Apple store. The sound dock has a power cord winder that makes it easy travel with your speakers; however, the plug is a tad large and bulky. With it’s $399 retail price tag the soundock portable is a tad expensive; however, you can find better prices shopping online with free shipping. There is an optional carrying case for the portable sound dock but you’ll have to shell out sixty dollars more if you want one.

Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Starting Thursday, the full-length, hour-long show will be distributed on YouTube, *CBS* Audience Network, *Yahoo*, MSN, *AOL*, *Netflix* and *Amazon* Unbox and television-centric sites such as TV. The move is contrary to most broadcasters and cable nets, which use online video for promotional purposes after a program has aired on TV, Showtime believes that by promoting the unaired episode on YouTube and on the portals, it will be better positioned to drive subscriber acquisition, in addition to building buzz for the network’s brand and the show itself. Access will only be available to subscriber of NTT East and NTT West, the former telecoms covering Eastern and Western Japan. The webisodes, filmed at Sundance Film Festival, feature actors, including Josh Hartnett, Jason Ritter, Josh Lucas, Morena Maccarin and more improvising short films. Read more

[Tags]episode, show, site, tv, access, comments, itunes[/Tags]

For example the program allows to watch iTunes video on Zune as easy as DRM protected WMV on iPod. You can also convert WMV to AVI for home DVD players and decode RealVideo format to iPod video. MelodyCan is a video to audio converter as well. It can extract audio from your favorite movies and video clips. If you are going to convert video to audio, just set either MP3 or AAC encoder for video files in MelodyCan settings. Read more

[Tags]video, audio, melodycan, convert, easy, ipod, itunes[/Tags]

More cars are coming equipped with sophisticated multimedia navigation systems that help turn interiors into something approximating state-of-the-art sound studios. The two companies, each at the high end of its field, have collaborated on developing a simplified multimedia navigation system that comes standard with the Scaglietti. Surprisingly, this is Bose’s first automotive “audio system” or as they’re now called, “head units” or “media systems. Simple as it may be, the Bose system also is smart - the tuning knob senses when someone is reaching for it and responds by enlarging the text on the screen. Rotate the outer part of the knob and the system will organize the available stations by genre such as rock, classical, talk, or news on AM-FM, TV, and satellite bands. One of the “musts” on the design list was the ability to recognize and play almost every optical disc available - including CD, DVD (both audio and video), SACD, and digital storage formats MP3 and WMA - and then play them through the Bose system’s 5. Read more

[Tags]system, , bose, audio, navigation, systems, digital media players[/Tags]

I had mixed feelings about PC World’s rave review of the Creative Zen 32GB MP3 Player . Having bought one myself a few weeks before, I too had fallen in love with the sleek design, the great-looking screen, and the ability to carry my entire music collection (with plenty of room to grow) in such a small device. If someone at Creative had finished grade school, they’d know that you don’t alphabetize every title that begins with The under T. Bookmarking is a great idea, but the Zen’s bookmarks only save your place in an individual song. That’s right, if you stop in the middle of an album or playlist and make a bookmark, going back to it will play you only the rest of that song. Creative offers this option (along with other “Play Modes”), as a global setting deep within the menu structure. Read more

[Tags]creative, zens, album, customer, decisions, design, creative zen[/Tags]

The world is getting smaller. Everything, from CDs to cell phones to computer chips, seems to be shrinking. With today’s technology, we now see nano mp3 players, about half the size of a credit card and thinner than a deck of cards, holding up to 8GB of music, pictures, and video. Due to its micro size, nano mp3 players have become a popular choice among millions of people.

Most people have at least heard of Apple’s iPod Nano. There are two different kinds of these. The original iPod Nano was built in 1, 2, and 4GB models. The new iPod Nano, however, is seen in 4 or 8GB, and looks a little different. It comes in more colors, is a different shape (wider and shorter than the first iPod Nano), and has a bigger screen, designed for watching videos. A less known nano player is Creative’s Nano Plus, which is available as a 512MB player or a 1GB player, both seen in ten different colors.

The price range for nano mp3 players goes from about $60 to around $200. Creative’s Nano Plus 512MB player runs for around $60, and the 1GB player can be found at $75. The original iPod Nano can be found for anywhere from $90 to $130, depending on the storage capacity. The new iPod Nano costs $150 for the 4GB player and $200 for 8GB.

Many people think that nano mp3 players, because of their compact size, have lower quality than regular mp3 players. While some of the nano players, such as Creative’s Nano Plus and Apple’s older iPod Nanos, have less features than regular mp3 players, in that they cannot store photos or play video files, some nano players can be found with the same features as most larger mp3 players. The new iPod Nanos not only have the capabilities to both store pictures and play videos, but it is also designed with a bigger screen than the original iPod Nano, specifically for an improved video watching experience.

As the world advances in technology, we will definitely see more increases in the quality of mp3 players. In turn, nano players will get smaller. Because people love the easy portability of their small size, they will continue to get even more popular.

Created by Raymond Sabo - http://cellphonedeals-articles-information.com/

There are probably few gadgets that were subjected to the kind of scrutiny that the iPhone has experienced. After all, this is the Jesus phone, capable of doing a lot of things we only dreamed of. But can it really live up to the hype and the hysteria?

The iPhone is quite revolutionary, pushing the edge of available technology and making a lot of things available to users. But as we all know, technology is give and take. Something’s got to give somehow. It has lots of features ordinary phones have but it also lacks some of the basics so common in ordinary phones.

First impressions last.
The iPhone is so sleek, thin and pretty that if you have big, rough hands you might be a little hesitant to touch it. It’s basically a computer in your hand. You can call, send text messages, check and send e-mails, play music, watch videos and take pictures. It also functions as a web browser and organizer. Its software is simple and quite easy to operate. Basically, with an iPhone you can function on your own without your secretary or your laptop.

More eye candy
Everything about the iPhone is pleasing to the eyes, especially its 8.9 cm screen and its functionality. The screen reacts to your touch. In fact, the iPhone only has one Home button. Everything you need to do with it, you will have to tell it by touch. Your finger can choose a command, pinch or expand the screen, open a message, flip through choices and otherwise tell your nifty gadget what to do.

Near-perfect or near-miss?
The iPhone has a lot of features an entry-level user may find intimidating. However, it is lacking a few functionalities that experienced smart phone users will miss. The iPhone’s available memory (4MB and 8MB), for example, may not be enough for voracious users of iTunes and video. It also operates 2G technology, something 3G users will find disappointing.

You will also be stuck with AT&T’s Cingular because the iPhone only operates using this provider. Every plan you buy has a lock-in period of two years. The iPhone also uses a closed platform which means every update or additional program you’ll receive will come from Apple and Apple only.

All in all, this is a must-have phone IF: a) you really do need and can use all or most of the features, b) you don’t mind spending $500 or $600 for a phone and c) you don’t mind being limited to just one service provider. The first iPhone is a good phone to have but if you can, wait for the second coming. There might better deals in the future.

[tags]iPhone, iPhone Review, iPhone features, iPhone cost[/tags]