Last posts on Gadgets

Five Gadgets No Student Should Ever Need at School

2008-08-14T08:35:00+02:00

With the cost of a higher education growing every year, you wouldn't want to see a minute of school time wasted on frivolous activities. There will be plenty of time for TV watching and game playing during school breaks. In that spirit, unrealistic as it may be, we suggest some gadgets that might be counter productive at academia. 1. High End LaptopA high end laptop like the MacBook Air or Voodoo Envy gaming laptop is almost guaranteed to be lost, stolen, dropped, damaged, or have beer spilled on it. Game machine just means easier to play games on instead of studying, why even introduce the temptation? 2. Desktop Gaming MachineIt might make more sense to leave the over-clocked, tweaked out, game machine at home and send your student off to school with a less expensive laptop. There won’t be the temptation to game the nights away instead of hitting the books and you won’t have to worry about the machine getting stolen. 3. TIVOSure, someone might be able to add a few minutes to their day by fast forwarding through the commercials but we say the less TV, the more studying. Don’t get us wrong Tivos are great products we just don’t think they belong in dorm rooms. 4. Game ConsoleMaybe they got through high school dividing time between studying and game playing but college is serious and we say leave the PS3 or Xbox at home, at least for the first semester. The only exception might be Nintendo’s Wii since you can get exercise with it and even socialize while using it. 5. SegwayOkay, so it’s long shot that you could even afford one of these but we just wanted to put a plug in for some human-powered form of transportation, namely, a bicycle.

Essential Back to School Gadgets

2008-08-12T09:03:12+02:00

Five Gadgets Every Student Needs to Avoid a Computing Disaster It's only the beginning of August but already time to start shopping for the high tech necessities every student is going to need to succeed at school. Whether you're buying someone's first laptop computer, upgrading the old one, or looking for advice on essential gadgets for today's student, Here are some suggestions for what to buy along with some tips on good deals. A Reliable Computer, seriouslyComputers don't last forever. If your student is using the old hand-me-down computer with 512 MB of RAM running Windows 98 it's probably time to upgrade. First, you’ll need to decide between a desktop and laptop, or you could buy one of each. You’ll also have to decide between Windows and the Mac OS. Mac’s can run Windows applications easily but not the other way around. A desktop can deliver a lot more performance than a similarly priced laptop. With a desktop you'll get more storage, a real keyboard, better graphics processor, bigger monitor, and more expansion options but laptops are what every student wants so what are you going to do? eMachines recently announced some new desktops including the T3656 which comes with 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive and sells for around $299.99. The T5274 has 2GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive and retails for $399.99. Hot Back to School Deal from Apple Apple launched a Back to School promotion campaign that offers a free iPod when you buy a qualifying Mac. You need to purchase both products and then submit a rebate to get up to $299 back on the iPod. A good anti-everything applicationIt's too easy for anyone, especially students to click on the wrong link and find their computers loaded up with malicious software like virus' or spyware. There are many commercial applications to choose from like McAfee and Symantec. These companies maintain expensive labs to identify and combat malware. Unfortunately, you end up paying an annual fee for these programs which can add up when you're maintaining multiple computers in a household. Fortunately there are some very good applications like ones from Avast who offer "home" versions for free. PCPitstop.com offers some free tests for anything that could adversely affect your computer. Extra InkYou can often find third party ink cartridges for sale on ebay and other places. The ink may not be the very highest quality but we’ve found them to be quite adequate for most tasks and we’ve saved a lot of money too. Just in case the ink is out of stock or too expensive you should consider upgrading the old printer to a new model. A fast, high resolution, inkjet printer can be amazingly inexpensive. Maybe it’s because manufacturers know they’ll make up for giving the printer away when you buy lots of expensive ink cartridges. The HP Photosmart D7460 is a wireless printer and it’s a fast color inkjet that gets good reviews. A mutifunction printer might make a lot of sense for a student. They can copy and scan documents and many of these devices produce high quality photo prints. The Canon Pixma MX850 that gets high marks from users .External Backup DiskIt would be a terrible shame to spend a lot of money on computer gear only to lose that important term paper(not to mention that photo and MP3 collection) from a hard disk malfunction. External hard drives that hook up to the computer through a high speed USB connection and very often include back up software can be relatively inexpensive. Removable StorageTwo forms of storage we highly recommend are flash drives and optical discs. You can get 2 GB flash drives for under $20 which will store 4 years worth of term papers. Blank DVDs not cost around $.30 each and hold over 4 GB of data. You can back up all your docs to a few of these in spread them around for safe keeping.

aigrow

2008-07-29T13:35:20+02:00

Welcome to aigrow. What is aigrow? If you are internet savvy and if you need everything with one single click then aigrow is the portal where you will get everything under one roof. With wide range of categories aigrow guides all visitors step by step.Now how to use aigrow? Different Categories are mentioned on home page. Look for the category you are looking for, if you get it then click on it and go to respective page, if you don’t get your desired category then use our search engine and find it. On either of two options you will succeed to achieve your choice.Moreover to know more about our exciting products and to receive our regular newsletter subscribe and get explored to more featuresHOME PAGE CATEGORIES IN BRIEFRelationship Our approach is simple which provides tons of great features to help out people in finding their right one.EntertainmentExplore yourself to enhance your Internet experience. Browse through our latest Entertainment Categories and select yours.Free download of latest movies, latest songs and moreShoppingOne of the premiere online shopping stores collections offering the most comprehensive selection of gifts.BusinessBusiness ideas are all around you.Match, Dating, Music Online Air Tickets, Finance, Debt, Games, Gadgets, Fashion, Hotel Bookings, Vacations and many Other categories are here for a list.

Thinnest Gadgets in the World

2008-07-12T11:47:20+02:00

Thin is in. Not only do thin gadgets look cool, they often use less power. Here's a collection of some of the thinnest gadgets in the world. MP3 Player If you thought the Apple iPod Nano was thin then check out this MP3 player that's as thin as a credit card. The Walletex Wallet MP3 player is about as thin as you can get and it’s waterproof to boot. It stores up to 4 GB and they claim you can get over 4 hours of play back on a single charge. Thin TV Sets This past January we saw the thinnest Plasma TV at CES, the 50" Pioneer Kuro “concept” Plasma TV. It was 9 mm thick and was displaying video (honest it was). We haven't heard any more about it since January although it might have something to do with the announcement that Pioneer is going to stop manufacturing their own Plasma TVs (they recently selected Panasonic to make the panels for them). Sony has started selling its 3 mm thick OLED TV that offers amazing image quality. Announced at CES 2008 and due to ship any day are two super thin LCD TVs from JVC. The 42-inch LT-42SL89 and 46-inch LT-46SL89 HDTVs. Both are members of the Procision family. Depth runs from 39 mm (1.5”) to 74 mm (2.4” inches) at the center of the panel. Joining the 39 mm club, Hitachi has a series of super thin HDTV sets which are part of the Director Series and the UltraVision V series. The sets are also 39 mm thick and include some impressive features like 120Hz, de-judder smoothing circuitry, and fanless ventilation. Thin Laptops: MacBook Air vs. Voodoo PC Envy (from HP) First there was the Macbook Air, so thin it fits inside a standard-size manilla envelope. The MacBook Air is an impressive laptop but can be a little on the pricey side at well over $2,000 for a decently configured model. It also lacks some useful features like an ethernet adapter (you can’t be all WiFi all the time). HP is offering a Windows-based competitior to the Macbook Air with the Envy133 which comes from the Voodoo PC group and edges out the Air’s thinness by a fraction of an inch. The MacBook Air is 0.76” and weighs just under 3 lbs. while the Envy133 measures 0.70” but weighs a tad more than the Macbook at 3.4 lbs. Both laptops offer similar features like a 13.3” LCD display with LED backlight. The big difference is the Envy133 runs Windows out of the box. Thin Cell Phones There’s Motorola’s razor thin MotoRAZR V3 at 13.9 mm thick which started the thin cell phone movement and now there are other super thin cell phones starting to appear on the scene. Nokia has a very thin cell phone coming soon called the E71. It's 10 mm thick and has all the E series features like WiFi, HSDPA, A-GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera and a front facing camera for video chat. LG will be shipping a new addition to its Black Label Series which currently includes phones like the Chocolate and the Shine. The new phone called the Secret (model number LG-SU600, we think), is made of carbon fiber, weighs 116 grams (4 oz), is 11.8 mm (.46”) thick, has a 5 megapixel camera with face detection (who needs a camera now?), 120 fps video recording and includes a tempered glass, touchscreen display. Thin Camera BenQ's new 8 megapixel T850 camera is 14.9 mm thick (at thinnest part) and includes a "swipe" gesture interface, which BenQ claims is unique among touch screen cameras. It will come in black and red and include a 3x optical zoom, 3-inch display, image stabilization and face technology. The price hasn't been announced just yet, but you'll be able to get this one in black or red when it launches in the (presumably) not too distant future. Casio’s Exilim EX-S10 is another skinny camera measuring 13.8 mm at its thinnest part. It’s a 10.1 MP camera with a 2.7 inch display.

Gadget Guide for Honeymooners

2008-07-04T10:20:00+02:00

No, it’s not what you’re thinking. We’re talking about good old wholesome gadgets that newlyweds can use to make their honeymoons more memorable and fun. Camcorders Honeymooners, imagine the fun you can have video taping your favorite moments and sharing them with friends or other honeymooners. Make sure to bring along a tripod to take pictures of the two of you on the beach or in your room. Here are a few camcorder recommendations:Sony calls their new TG1 “palmcorder” the world’s smallest 1080i camcorder. It’s very small, weighing 10 ounces and is a little larger than a pack of cigarettes. It takes 3 MP stills (not a lot by today’s 8-10 MP standards) using face technology to optimize images. The titanium body makes it more rugged and able to take some rough handling. Some reviewers prefer the Sanyo Xacti HD1000 to the Sony. The Xacti gets high marks for features like 1080i video and 4 MP stills and costs around $700. The only drawback with these new flash-based camcorders is that you may have to buy extra memory cards which aren’t cheap (compared to tape or DVDs) and you ultimately have to transfer the video on the cards to a hard drive or burn DVDs. For a great all around HD camcorder that still uses good old tape, we recommend the Canon Vixia HV30. It consistently gets high marks from users and experts and it stores video on miniDV tapes which are cheap, easy to manage and easy to edit the video. We’re starting to see more still cameras that take videos and more camcorders that take high resolution stills. The Kodak Easyshare V1233 has some impressive specs, a great price, but gets mixed reviews. Complaints about ergonomics and image quality are common although some users love it. The Easyshare V1233 takes 12.1 MP stills and 720p video which could fill up your memory card fast. iPod Accessories Altec Lansing InMotion iM7 costs about $150 and gets very good ratings. Reviewers like the sound quality and design features. The only drawback is, at 10 lbs, it’s a little on the heavy side and might not be better suited to a honeymoon that doesn’t involve air travel. For a more portable speaker system check out the Griffin Technology 1202 Journi. At 5 lbs, it’s lighter than the Altec Lansing system.Possibly the best solution for honeymooners sharing music whether it’s on the plane or one the beach is a headphone splitter. The Griffin SmartShare Headphone Splitter costs about $12.00 and has individual volume controls which could be a key to marital bliss. Two Kindles Are Better Than One You can’t keep active 100% of the time, so when it’s time to relax, how about a good book or even better, how about 1,000 good books? The ultimate gadget for the well read honeymooners just might be the Kindle which now costs $359 from amazon.com. You can download individual books which will cost you $9.99 each and you can also subscribe to the major daily newspapers and magazines for additional fees. Everything is downloaded over a widely available, high speed, EVDO data network (included with the unit).

Honeymoon? Avoid these Gadgets

2008-07-02T12:04:25+02:00

There are plenty of gadgets honeymooners can take along to help their marriage start out on the right foot and grow. At the same time, there are a few gadgets we think would be better left at home. Here’s that list: iPod or Any Other MP3 Player You’re supposed to be tuning into your new partner in life not tuning into the latest Radiohead album. Unless you’re going to bring a headphone splitter or set of external speakers we recommend you make your own music and leave the iPod at home. Gameboy Marriage is serious commitment and not a game. The only games you should be playing on your honeymoon should be on the beach or in the privacy of your room. A handheld game player could definitely send the wrong message. The only reason to bring one along is if your spouse is into them too and you bring one for him and one for her. In that case, our recommendation would be the Sony PSP 2000. Laptop Computer This is your honeymoon! No emailing, no slingboxing, no game playing, no sneaking in a little PowerPoint. Leave all that stuff at home and do some gazing into your soul mates eyes instead of the computer screen. Okay, if you can be real discrete and keep it to a minimum then consider taking along an Asus Eee PC. For about $400 you can get a 4G version or a very small full-function notebook computer with a 7 inch screen that will get you online and checking email in a snap. Blackberry Phone Better to buy a throw-away, burner phone and use it only to make reservations then be tempted to scroll through incoming messages. On the other hand, you might be able to get away with something like the Blackberry Pearl or Blackberry Curve that you can both watch video on together or use the headphone splitter to listen to music. Bluetooth Headset Unless you're going to be driving in one of the states that require hands-free cell phone use, we say those things aren't going to do anything for romance unless you both have very high geek quotients or met at a tech conference. If necessary, you might be able to get away with a stylish headset like the Plantronics Discovery 925 that you both can use.

Want Gifts for Gadget Savvy Newlyweds?

2008-06-30T07:30:00+02:00

The wedding month is upon us and whether or not you’re going to take a chance and fly there, max your credit card out on gas to drive there, or just stay home, you’re going to need to buy a wedding gift. There are some great gadget gifts in all price ranges that will make any newlywed’s life more fun and fulfilling. Gadgets That Capture Memories Camcorders and cameras make great wedding gifts. A new camcorder should last a newly married couple well into the child rearing years. The latest crop of camcorders include some reasonably priced handheld camcorders and some consumer-friendly high definition camcorders that can fill the wide screen of an HDTV set. The Canon Vixia HF10 has a 12X optical zoom with image stabilization and records to a flash memory card in AVCHD format. The Sony HDR-SR1 records 7 hours of 1080i video on a built-in hard disk and gets good ratings. Flip Video’s $179 Ultra took the camcorder market by storm with their very user-friendly flash-based camcorder that holds 1 hour of very good quality video and fits in your pocket or pocket book. There are so many compact digital cameras to choose from the task of selecting a good camera for newlyweds can be difficult. We recommend features like optical image stabilization and face technology that make it easier to take good pictures. The Sony DSC-W170, is a fun new camera that performs some very cool image editing right on the camera. The "Smile Shutter" works with the face technology to detect "smiling" faces. The Canon SD1100 fits easily in a pocket or pocket book, offers 8 MP resolution, image stabilization and new face technology. Digital Picture Frames Just remember, you’re not losing a daughter or son….on second thought, just in case you do end up seeing less of them, there are a couple of ways you can stay in the picture and one of those is to literally put you and the rest of the family on a digital picture frame. Digital photo frames look great on a mantle or bookcase and won’t break the bank either. The Kodak SV1011 is a 10 inch digital photo frame that has built-in WiFi that can be used to manage the photos. The Pandigital PAN80-2 is an 8 inch 800 x 600 pixel frame that can store 128MB worth of images. You upload images using the card reader or USB connector. Personal Navigation Devices (GPS)Helping the newlyweds find their way in life may be more than should be expected from you however, a GPS for their car or outdoor adventures might be just the thing to help point them in the right direction. The Garmin nuvi 260 has text-to-speech (TTS) and a large 3.5 inch display and sells for under $300. The TomTom Go 920 is a popular GPS that has Bluetooth built-in for hands-free phone calls.HDTV HDTV sets are not cheap but they can be a very sensible gift in times of high travel costs when taking a vacation at home becomes more common. Don’t forget how great the Summer Olympics are going to look in high definition. If you can’t swing an HDTV set by yourself, get a few other friends and relatives together and buy the newlyweds their first HDTV set. The Syntax Olevia 747I is a 47 inch LCD TV that does 1080p and gets very high ratings and very good reviews. The 42 inch Vizio VU42LF, does 1080p and can be purchased for well under $1000. Roomba Vacuum Cleaner Some people treat these little creatures like pets. The iRobot Roomba 4150 is the entry level Roomba vacuuming robot but for less than $200 it could go a long way toward matrimonial bliss. Gadget Gift CardWhy not let the newlyweds have the pleasure of selecting a gadget for themselves. Just get a gift card from your favorite gadget seller like amazon.com, Best Buy or Circuit City and let them pick out their own gadget. The wedding month is upon us and whether or not you’re going to take a chance and fly there, max your credit card out on gas to drive there, or just stay home, you’re going to need to buy a wedding gift. There are some great gadget gifts like, camcorders, digital cameras, GPS, HDTV etc will make any newlywed’s life more fun and fulfilling.