Sep 03, 2010
Hey all... this is intended to be your one-stop geek nirvana for gadgets, games consoles, reviews, news and product info to whet your appetite for more things that go bleep and light up. There are so many cool gadgets out there right now that it can be very difficult indeed to keep track of everything that is coming onto the market, so we're intending this blog to be the place for you to come to find the best new gadgets at the best prices possible!

Who are the people behind this site? We're a bunch of guys and girls just like you- our everyday lives are filled with all manner of gadgets that make living easier and much more fun. There's always room for another gadget, or indeed to upgrade your current array of stuff to ensure you have the best gadgets, entertainment, news, information and living possible in today's technologically advanced world.

The geek gadgets landscape is always changing, so we hope that this blog will enable you to keep track of what's going on and find the stuff you need in your life! Let's get started.

Blu-Ray technology is all the rage. This is as a result of of the superb quality of video playback offered along with the flexibility to stream videos from various websites. The LG BD 370 is one the more reliable models on the market. It may not have all the bells and whistles of some more expensive models but it does have plenty of features for the price.

The setup is  very much user friendly and simple. You just insert the AV, network and power cords and its reedy to go.  It will play your discs with superb clarity whether they are blu-ray discs and DVDs.  the device is quick loading and runs nice and quietly.

The face of the player is made of plastic that is scratch resistant and the remainder of the body is metallic. One good thing that its rivals do not currently have is the ability to customize the interface with your tv.  There are four high definition themes to choose from.

The remote includes a few buttons that you won't use much hidden below a panel which makes it easier to deal with. There's a button assembly on the front of the player that changes colors depending on the source of the video, either blu-ray, DVD and streaming videos. The player can play a disc from where it actually stopped, even after removing the disc out of your player and reinserting it later, and that’s a really good feature.

Watching videos by streaming them from Netflix and Youtube for the player has attracted a lot of  customers. Its on-line content access is good with little wasted setup time and search time. If the user already has an account in Netflix, the setup takes only about 40 seconds and any variety of videos can then be watched for free once  the subscription fee to Netflix has been paid for. The speed at which it searches for Youtube videos is also good. You can also watch videos from Cinema too on this player, once you've registered on their website.

LG BD 370 Network Blu-ray Disc Player

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $249.95

Amazon Price: $249.95

The faux-leather finish for the remote is one thing not everyone will like, as it is considered less desirable from what the previous model could offer. Even though it is great with the present player, the video performance on DVD up conversion hasn’t improved from the previous model.

The player will not have the wi-fi option, which is once more a letdown for some people, and BD live can't be accessed from the player because it does not have any kind of internal memory. It does possess a USB port though. However the American version of the player does not allow playback of video files from the USB drive. Only photos and audio can be accessed.

The player gets an average rating of four, considering all its options, the price asked and the drawbacks above. In conclusion, it is a very good buy for somebody looking to buy a decent blu-ray player with tons of entertainment for an inexpensive price.

The Apple iPad Tablet is being hailed as the simplest way for users to enjoy the internet, email, photos, and video on a portable unit. The unit is essentially a giant iPod touch measuring in at a 9.56 by 7.47 by .50 inches.

Apple iPad Tablet: Features

The Apple iPad Tablet weighs in at 1.5 pounds and offers a 9.7 inch LED-backlit IPS touch-screen display that has a 1024x768 resolution. It comes with the iPhone OS 3.2, which is a tweaked version of the iPhone operating system designed to run on the iPad's bigger screen as well as to use all the new applications. However, for some reason Apple haven't tweaked the OS to be able to multi-task.

The same as the iPhone, and probably the principal feature that sets this device apart from a netbook, is the lack of a physical keyboard. The keyboard is on-screen but iPhone users who have had trouble with the unit's keyboard will be pleased to take note that the iPad's keyboard is a lot bigger and easier to use. Whilst not designed for word processing, the well spaced keys convert it into a viable, portable solution if you would choose to have a lighter portable unit for note taking and similar activities.

The Apple iPad comes with the Safari browser and web surfing is quite impressive and fast. The screen is large enough for one to be able to see whole web pages commencing on another without the requirement for zooming out or scrolling between the two.

The device also features a Mail application that allows for quick set up of email accounts and provides a lot of the common systems from Microsoft Exchange to Gmail and Yahoo Mail. The Apple iPad comes with another eleven preinstalled applications, namely Calendar, Contacts, Notes, Videos, Maps, YouTube, App Store, Safari, Photos, iPod and iTunes. The Maps application offers users allow you to locate practically anything in any area they wish, from eateries to bars and shops, and also it even offers driving directions between two different locations. It in essence acts like a GPS unit, using Wi-Fi triangulation to position you on the map.

Among the finest things about the Apple iPad should be how many third party applications that will allow users to customize their experience.

The Apple iPad enables you to read books and offers a good experience with color illustrations and turning pages looks totally realistic. It additionally provides allow you to bookmark any section or word a user is reading and then look up the bookmarks in a list sorted by date. It also features a very intuitive search function that will allow users to locate anything they want in a book or the nearest approximation.

With regards to multimedia content, as is to be expected, videos and photos look really stunning on the large screen. Although it isn't a substitute for an HDTV, it is quite incredible for a portable unit.

Apple iPad Tablet: Advantages and disadvantages

Consumers that purchased the unit are really happy with its overall performance with regards to multimedia content. The biggest complaints were with regards to Safari's lack of Flash support together with the lack of a camera for video chatting.

Overall, buyers were pleased with their purchase of the Apple iPad Tablet because they found that it is a handy device that can replace a laptop for certain tasks.

So then, the Apple iPad, the eagerly awaited Apple tablet, has been unveiled.  My first reaction, living as the Apple products fanatic that I am was 'I need one right now!'  as the fog faded and I started weighing the good points and bad points of the machine I believe I will have to give it rather more thought before I purchase one of them.  That's not to suggest that I won't do so, but I would like to be certain.  There's a number of points both for and in opposition to the Apple ipad device gizmo and here are one or two thoughts to ponder over, in no definite order :

Pro : The Apple iPad tablet is a marvel of creativity, sleek and light and straightforward to carry.  It is great.

Con : It has no way of protecting the screen aside from a pouch/sleeve that is unconnected to the machine itself.

Pro : It has the identical great touch-screen capabilities of the famous iPhone and iPod Touch and seems to be a wonderful item to use.

Con : It runs the phone OS rather than a full OS, which restricts what you can do with it.

Pro : The Apple products ipad device is great for enjoying films, television shows and podcast episodes and playing games along with surfing the web.

Con : it does not run flash, which may reduce the amount of use it is for browsing.

Pro : The Apple iPad tablet is a fantastic way to stay online when on the go, simple to set up and very speedy, plus the diversity of capacities means there is one for everyone.

Con : although it's fast, there are no USB ports and there isn't any means of expanding the capacity.  And, the bigger sized drives are extremely costly.

Pro : The Apple iPad is fantastic for travelling and being online when relaxing thanks to the superb UI and the marvellous display.

Con : it does not seem to be much good for carrying out any work on, which is what a lot of of us would desire out of it if taking it whilst travelling.

Pro : It offers a superb new e-reader experience for books, mags and web sites to be enjoyed on.

Con : True, but you can say the same thing about the iPod Touch, the iPhone, the Kindle along with the Sony e-reader, all of which are less expensive by an exceedingly long way.

Apple iPad MB292LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi)

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $499.00

Amazon Price: $525.00

Wireless speakers are something that loads of geeks have wanted for numerous years.  All of us can associate to the annoyance of jumbled wires or wires that are not quite lengthy enough to get to wherever you want them to go, and in recent years  there has been a noticeable uncrease  in the sophistication and consequent popularity of wireless speakers.

They're one of the most useful aspects of the unceasing upsurge in home gadgets being turned wireless, as they let you place your speakers round the home in whatever spot you choose, and so long as the signal is on and remains powerful, you can get pleasure from music from anyplace.

Wireless speakers are also a wonderful boon for your home theater setup, enabling you to place speakers around you for complete digital surround sound without having all of the fuss of the wired version.  The same goes for gamers, as these speakers are also a big lure for video games fans who love to totally immerse themselves in the games they're playing.

Wireless speakers can certainly add a brand new dimension to your home entertainment, and help you get the most out of your HDTV, Blu Ray players and everything else which has been pushing the boundaries of digital entertainment recently.

Audio Unlimited SPK-VELO-001 Water-Resistant Wireless Speakers with Remote

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $169.99

Amazon Price: $144.49

There are wireless spokesperson kits offered from all the big producers of fine audio appliances, in a variety of styles, sizes and outputs.  Wireless kit truly is creating a difference to how we utilize and take pleasure in our home leisure gear, and you can also easily jump in on the act.

Take a look at the reviews here online and you may well discover that, thanks to the numerous special offers and discounts now accessible on these appliances, you will be able to find wonderful discount wireless speakers to make use of around your house.

USB turntables are marvellous devices, particularly for those amongst us who even now retain our vinyl collections.  By way of a USB turntable, you can move those memorable vinyl albums onto your PC and amass them as digital files, as well as burning a CD copy for your own private use.

They are a fantastic item for music fans who need to sell their vinyl or shed it to make some more space at home, but want to keep hold of the unforgettable songs they grew up with.  I'm one of those people, in actual fact.  In my cumulative years I collected a large amount of vinyl albums as the format died out.  Now, those albums were just taking up room and therefore transferring them to my PCs through a USB turntable made perfect sense, as I could thus make some room at home while not losing the music.

In addition, plenty of the USB turntables that are currently offered can easily be hooked up to a regular stereo system for magnificent playback of your vinyl albums thru your main system, and you may well find that they perform this task at a much superior level than your older turntables.  Complete with software drivers aplenty, you can also hook them up to further players and digitise your cassettes, other old fashioned audio sources and even the classic vinyl 78s.

These gadgets are a big benefit to the pastime of any genuine music connoisseur who yearns for the way their memorable record albums sound, but does not want to have to deal with unreliable records or an old stylus.  And, they're a brilliant idea to help preserve old recordings for old family members to take pleasure in once more.

Sony PS-LX300USB USB Stereo Turntable System - Black

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $199.99

Amazon Price: Too low to display