Prototype Issue
Hot Summer Technology
By Erik Cho
(page 1 of 2)Gadgets, toys and everything in between to keep you busy during the Summer.
On-the-Go Tech
Magellan Crossover GPS The Magellan Crossover GPS is a handy multipurpose navigation device that will shield you from the embarrassment of asking for directions while on a summer road trip or outdoor adventure. It combines the vehicle-nav capabilities of the popular RoadMate series with topographic contour maps. The Magellan comes with an MP3 player and photo viewer in a sleek exterior that houses a 3.5-inch color touch screen and integrated eight-hour battery. More info/images: www.magellangps.com
Atlantic EGO Waterproof Sound Case Technology experts advise against putting electronic devices in water. The EGO Sound Case successfully protects your iPod from moisture whether you’re wading in a pool or swimming in the Pacific. Waterproof and resistant to corrosion from sea or chlorinated water, the EGO also floats. As well, it’s sandproof, shatterproof and monkeyproof. This clear wonder plays music and videos from your iPod (standard, nano and mini) for up to 30 hours, and features dual full-range speakers. More info: www.lovemyego.com
Samsung Ultra Video F500 Summer is about being on the go. It’s also about wearing fewer clothes. Fewer clothes means fewer pockets. With fewer pockets, how can you take your phone, media player and camera with you? The F500 is all three in one slim package. One side has a screen for call functions. Flip the phone over and there’s a 2.4-inch wide-screen LCD with dedicated media controls. The 400 MBs of internal memory, and expandable memory up to 2 GBs, are enough for you to watch about two movies on your phone. The Ultra Video plays a variety of music and video formats. It sports a 2-megapixel camera and Bluetooth v2.0. More info: www.samsung.com
Apple iPhone These days, Apple could put the letter “i” in front of any product and create huge buzz. The iPhone promises not to disappoint. It’s got an iPod, a camera and a computer-style web browser with e-mail. The iPhone sports OS X and a patented new touch screen technology to control everything. Apple excels in design, and the sleek, piano-black iPhone is no exception.
Hot in HD
Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Sony’s PS3’s got a Blu-ray drive, so Microsoft just had to make an HD DVD add-on for 360. The drive is plug-and-play and produces great detail and color. HD DVDs don’t have the capacity or the level of studio support of the competing Blu-ray, but they do offer better durability and a hybrid disc with both HD and standard DVD.
Total HD Disc If you owned a Betamax, you’re probably waiting out the hi-def format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray. The Total HD disc may be the answer to your nightmares about not finding a copy of The Karate Kid to rent. Developed by Warner Bros. and available in the fall, Total HD will have HD DVD on one side and Blu-ray on the other. Rejoice if all the studios get behind this.
Sony HDR-SR1 30GB Handycam Camcorder The hard drives are coming! You too can lead a tape-free life with Sony’s new HDR-SR1. It records high-definition video and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio directly to a 30GB hard drive. The Carl Zeiss lens with 10x optical zoom hits a 2.1-megapixel sensor. All of this, with a USB 2.0 computer interface, comes in a 25-ounce package.
Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Finally, a program for those who don’t want to take a night course to learn how to create a decent home movie of a kid’s soccer game or a steamy celebrity tryst. DVD MovieFactory 6 captures, edits and outputs in HD. It burns to both HD DVD and Blu-ray. With premade templates and Edit Room for easy polishing, MovieFactory is efficient and user-friendly.
Panasonic TH-58PZ750U Plasma TV1080i. 720p. 1080p. It’s easy to get caught up in the pixel game, but most folks don’t realize that TV color setup is just as important as resolution for providing jaw-dropping images. Panasonic’s new HDTV lineup addresses this with a new Studio Reference Mode that attempts to get close to film-editing monitors in color reproduction. They’re 1080p by the way, and available in 42-inch, 50-inch and 58-inch sizes.
Venture SHD7000 HD DVD Player It was the $30 Wal-Mart box that got a DVD player into grandma’s house. Now, the Chinese company that makes those is set to release the first bargain-basement HD DVD player. It won’t have all the bells and whistles, but it’ll meet requirements for network capability and persistent storage for faster data access. The unit promises to cost a lot less than the going rate of $400.
Game Consoles
Sony PlayStation 3 Sony’s PS3 is the Spider-Man of video game consoles, and at $600 for the premium version, it’s big budget. With the hyped Cell, the cap processor, built-in Blu-ray and standard HDMI output, it’s got great power. The PS3’s game slate promises to get more comprehensive later this year.
Xbox 360 Like Ocean’s Eleven, the 360 focuses on star power. Released a year before its main competitors, the Sony PlayStation3 and the Nintendo Wii (see reviews), the 360 has stellar games and a mature online community. Xbox 360 Elite, with a 120GB hard drive and HDMI, is upcoming, but you’ll still have to fork out extra if you want HDDVD or Wi-Fi. Microsoft hopes that the approaching Halo 2 will be bigger than Clooney and Pitt combined.
Nintendo Wii My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It’s smaller, cheaper, cuter and it’s outselling everyone. The Wii can’t compete with the graphics or sound quality of PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360, but it aims for something different. The Wii remote is the main draw. It’s a wrist-strapped motion-sensing bar that gets you off the sofa and looking dorky. There’s a nunchuck attachment—who doesn’t love nunchucks?
The Ultimate Matrix Collection/The Complete Matrix Trilogy HD DVD Boxed Sets The Matrix has had an undeniably huge impact on film technology and sunglass fashion. Now The Complete Matrix Trilogy HD DVD set ups the tech quotient with all three Matrix flicks in 1080p and the “In-Movie Experience,” which enables viewers to access interactive features throughout the film. If you’ve ever stared lovingly at the Matrix screensaver, you want The Ultimate Matrix Collection, which includes 35 hours of bonus material on five double-sided discs.
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