The iPods are definitely the most popular MP3 players / PMPs around. Despite them not being the best in terms of sound quality or features, they are certainly the best-selling thanks to the marketing genius of Steve Jobs, the best online music store ever - iTunes, and the loyal Apple fanbase. In this article we present before you, the best iPod Accessories (most of them are also compatible with the iPhone and the newer iPod Touch).

1. Griffin PowerDock 2 Charging Base

Price: $49

The Griffin PowerDock 2 is a charging base which you can use to charge your iPod or iPhone. It includes two built-in Apple Universal Docks and comes with a collection of Universal Dock insert adapters to ensure compatibility with almost every iPod and iPhone variant.
Features

• Two charging bays
• Base plugs into standard 120VAC wall outlet
• Heavy, brushed metal design stays put on any surface
• Charges nearly any combination of iPod models and iPhone

Specifications

• Internal power supply: 2 to 2.5 amp
• Power input: 110-120 VAC, 60Hz
• Power output: 5 VDC 500 mA to each dock well
• AC cable length: 6.0 ft./1.8 m
• Dimensions: 8.07 x 3.15 x 7.87 in
• Weight: 0.54 kg

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Just before Apple made the big announcement about the new range of iPods, Microsoft quietly slipped in its latest generation of its MP3 player, Zune. This was the third iteration of the player that Microsoft hopes will take the monopoly from Apple’s range of iPod. While there have not been major changes to the device in terms of hardware but the software has got a major overhaul. Lets look at it in detail.

Microsoft Zune specifications :

• Dimensions : 2.4″ x 0.5″ x 4.3″
• Display : 3.2″ 320 x 240 resolution
• Hard drive : Built-in 120GB
• PC interface : USB, Wi-Fi
• Radio tuner : Built-in
• Audio formats supported : WMA, WMAPro, Audible, MP3, AAC
• Photo playback : JPEG supported
• Video Playback : MPEG-4 supported
• Battery : Lithium-ion rechargeable
• Battery life : 30 hours(music), 4 hours(video)
• Games : Built-in
• Approx. price : $250

Continue reading ‘Third-generation Microsoft Zune’

The Samsung YP S2 Pebble is the newest budget MP3 player on the block. It is ultra small and light weight and has a very unconventional design and looks. It is suited for the fashion conscious will definitely have a good female following. It is priced at just $39 which makes it around 20% cheaper than the iPod Shuffle but packs just as many features or maybe even more. It is a very good player with an even better price / features ratio. Let’s check it out in greater detail.

Samsung YP S2 Pebble Specifications:

• Dimensions: 1.7 x 1.6 x 0.7 inches
• Weight: 20 grams
• Display: None
• PC Interface: USB
• Audio: MP3, OGG, WMA
• Battery Life: 10 hours
• Memory: 1GB Flash Memory
• Price: $39

Design:

The Samsung YP S2 Pebble sports a very innovative but stylish round design. It is totally rounded on top with a smooth finish. It comes in many colors - black, green, purple and red. With dimensions of just 1.7 x 1.6 x 0.7 inches and a weight of 20 grams, it is super compact. It has good build quality and can easily withstand minor shocks and falls. On the back of the player there is a basic control mechanism that allows you to play / pause and change tracks, skip forward or backward and adjust volume easily. There is also a ‘Smart’ button which allows you to change audio settings. Continue reading ‘Samsung YP-S2 Pebble Review’

Dell constantly innovates with its products to bring out gem of products. Dell Studio is latest product to be let lose from Dell warehouse recently, but does it fit into the above criteria? Well that’s exactly what we are going to do in this review. So without wasting time, lets jump in.

Dell Studio specifications :

• Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.3 GHz
• Memory : 4GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• Hard drive : 640GB, 7200 rpm
• Graphics card : 256 MB ATI Radeon HD 3650
• Optical drive : Dual-layer DVD burner
• Networking : Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n wireless
• TV Tuner : Included
• OS : WIndows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
• Approx. price : $1200

Continue reading ‘Dell Studio Desktop Review’

The Lenovo ThinkPad X200 is the latest ultraportable to escape from the Lenovo factory. The ThinkPad X200 is an update to the 12.1″ ThinkPad X61 which is quite old by technological standards. It also borrows some of the design elements from the wafer thin Macbook Air killer, Lenovo ThinkPad X300. Though not as slim and sleek in design, it does make up for the lack in design and sleekness by providing about the same amount of portability in a much lesser price. It also offers better performance and greater battery life than the Thinkpad X300. It is based on the new Intel Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform. Optionally you can also get SSD storage, Turbo Cache and 4 GB RAM which highly improve its performance. It is a superb business notebook with a good design, great performance, portability and reliability. It also runs pretty cool compared to other Centrino based laptops. In this review, we check out the Thinkpad X200 and check if it makes the cut as an affordable business portable with good features and great reliability and manages to come out of the shadow of its greater sibling, the ThinkPad X300.

Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Specifications

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40 GHz with 3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB (Centrino 2)
• Chipset: Intel GM45/ICH9-ME
• Memory: 2 GB DDR2 667 MHz
• Hard Drive: 160GB Seagate SATA 7200 RPM
• Screen: 12.1″ widescreen 1280×800 LCD, 200 nits
• Optical Drive: None
• GPU: Intel X4500 Integrated Graphics
• Network/Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300 (802.11 a/b/g/n) Ethernet Card, Verizon WWAN and Bluetooth
• Slots: 3 USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard 54mm, SD card reader, VGA out, Ethernet, headphone and microphone.
• Battery: 4 cell / 6 cell / 9 cell
• Dimensions: 11.6 inches x 8.3 inches x 1.2 inches
• Weight: 1.4 KG
• Operating System: Windows Vista Business Edition
• Optional Additions: Web-cam, Fingerprint reader, 56Kbps modem, 5-in-1 card reader

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Ergonomic series of keyboards and mice from Microsoft isn’t a new thing, and they have been hugely successful. Microsoft continues the legacy with its Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 by incorporating all the faults with previous models to take consumer satisfaction to a new high. It does not have the split in keyboard but that does not affect the ergonomics of the keyboard at all. Lets have a look at it in detail.

Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 specifications :

• Keyboard Dimensions : 16″ x 0.75″ x 7″
• Mouse Dimensions : 4.5″ x 0.75″ x 2.5″
• Wireless technology : 27 MHz Radio Frequency
• No. of mouse buttons : 2
• Mouse sensitivity : 1000 dpi
• Battery life : 6 months
• Power source : 2 AA batteries for each
• Warranty : 5-years
• Approx. price : $110

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The new MSI GX720 Gaming laptop is the follow up to the MSI GX600 Extreme Edition which was released about 9 months back with a bang. It packs much more power and is very much suited to become a desktop replacement for all the frag happy gamers looking for a good offering in a decent budget. The specs of the new MSI GX720 are almost top of the line with some slight letdowns but overall it offers a good package in an affordable price. In this review we check out its features and check out whether it is a value for money offering.

MSI GX720 Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 2.53 GHz
• RAM: 4 GB DDR2 800 MHZ
• Display Size: 17 inches - 1680 x 1050 pixels
• Hard Drive: 320 GB SATA 5400 rpm
• Optical Drive: BD-R
• Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT 512 MB GDDR3
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / g / n, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, Mobile Broadband
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0, Audio in, Audio out, Ethernet, Firewire, HDMI, Headphone, Microphone, Modem, VGA out, eSATA, 4-1 card reader
• Dimensions: 15.5 x 10.7 x 1.4 inches
• Weight: 3.28 kgs
• Price: $1800

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HP Officejet series is hugely popular among the masses and a best selling series. HP Officejet J6480 is a low cost solution for small to medium size business looking at host of features without compromising on the performance. It is an All-in-One(AIO) device that does everything from autoduplexing, faxing, scanning, auto document feeder, photo finishing and even wireless networking. All these features are hard to find in a sub $200 printer.

HP Officejet J6480 specifications :

• Dimensions : 18.7″ x 18.6″ x 10″
• Monthly Duty Cycle : 5000 pages
• Inkjet Technology : HP Thermal Inkjet
• Standard Memory : 64MB
• Supported Flash Memory : MS Duo, Multimedia Card,
  MS Pro, MiniSD, Compact Flash, SD Memory Card, XD
• Max. Copying Speed : 31 ppm(mono)/25ppm(color)
• Scanning optical resolution : 4800 dpi
• Fax transmission speed : 33.6 kbps
• Max. Printing Speed : 31 ppm(mono)/25ppm(color)
• Standard Media capacity : 250 sheets
• Power consumption : 40 W
• Warranty : 1-year limited
• Approx. price : $190

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Jabra is renowned world over for making great bluetooth headsets which encompass a range of budgets and features. The Jabra BT620s is one of their newer creations which is placed in the mid budget category. It is essentially a stereo bluetooth headset compatible with any device which supports the Bluetooth A2DP and optionally the AVRCP profile. A bluetooth stereo headset is a must have these days, for all those music addicts who don’t want to be shackled by wires. However they underperform when compared to their wired counterparts when it comes to sound quality. That is soon changing with many bluetooth headsets offering superb sound quality. In this review, we check whether the Jabra BT620s is a viable option and a good buy.

Jabra BT620s Specs:

• Type: Behind the neck
• Battery life: 14 Hours (music)
• Weight: 100 gms
• Bluetooth: Version 1.2 with A2DP and AVRCP
• Price: $50 Approx

Design:

The Jabra BT620s is a stylish and cool, behind-the-neck kind of headset. It feels very comfortable and the neckband is quite flexible. The neckband is black while the earcups are silver. The headset weighs just about 100 gms which is a bit heavy compared to many other bluetooth headsets. But they don’t feel very bulky thanks to the nice design. The build quality is quite good and can manage some amount of rough handling. All in all, a cool and comfortable design with nothing much to complain about. Continue reading ‘Jabra BT620s Review’

Rear-projection HDTVs are loosing steam to better technology in the market but still are popular among consumers due to their low cost. Samsung hasn’t stopped manufacturing them and recently brought to market the Samsung HL61A750, a 61 inch rear projection HDTV. It packs in a lot of features and has aggressive pricing to force consumers to buy it.

Samsung HL61A750 specifications :

• Dimensions : 54.7″ x 14.4″ x 37.8″
• Diagonal size : 61 inch
• Resolution : 1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
• Image aspect ratio : 16:9
• Dynamic Contrast Ratio : 10000:1
• Color temperature control : Yes
• Analog TV Tuner : NTSC
• Digital TV Tuner : ATSC
• Sound Output : Stereo, 20W
• Connectors : RCA, USB, HDMI, S-Video
• Approx. price : $1800

Continue reading ‘Samsung HL61A750 Review’