Genius eFace 2050AF Struggles to Keep Pace With Other HD Camcorders

As the number of high-definition Webcams grows, products need more than a low price to distinguish themselves. I took the Genius eFace 2050AF ($40 as of August 6, 2010) for a test run, and found that it fell short of the competition in design and overall performance.

08/6/2010 — Filed under: Audio/Video
Tags: Genius eFace 2050AF, webcam
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Samsung Touchscreen Media Player YP-MB2 Spotted

We’ve heard of the Samsung YP-MB2 iPod touch competitor before this, and even seen it on a rather blurry video too.

07/18/2010 — Filed under: Audio/Video
Tags: Samsung, touchscreen, YP-MB2

Panasonic to unleash 3D camcorder

Panasonic has been going camera launch crazy as of late. We were treated to our first looks at four new devices, the DMC-LX5, DMC-FZ100, DMC-FT10 and FZ100 recently.

07/17/2010 — Filed under: Audio/Video
Tags: 3D, Panasonic

Edifier — M3300SF 2,1 Speakers review

Interest in solid 2,1 speaker sets seems to have dissipated a little in recent times, a by-product perhaps of a mixture of a move towards laptops with on-board audio, and the growing number of us who sit at our computers with headphones on. However, there’s something far richer about an independent speaker set, and Edifier has priced its latest at a level that could and should tempt the curious buyer.

07/11/2010 — Filed under: Audio/Video
Tags: M3300SF 2.1, Review, sound

Airpiano gets some airtime

You and I know what a piano is, but an Airpiano? Come on now, from its name alone, how do you think the musical instrument is able to function? Does it mean you will need to blow into some sort of tube before pressing a single key on the piano will emanate sound?

Or fast forward to the 22nd century, will this piano float on air thanks to a built-in hovering mechanism? Well, it is neither of the above, although seeing the Airpiano being played in the hands of the master is truly a sight to behold as it gives you the feeling as though you were watching a graceful martial artist, musical conductor or mysterious magician at work here. Why is it called the Airpiano? The answer is simple, really, as it features an innovative interface that is activated and controlled by moving a hand in mid-air above the flat display surface — as long as you remain within range of a sensor array matrix. This is only made possible thanks to custom software, enabling one to have a huge library of tones and sounds at a one’s disposal.

There is a total of eight Infrared proximity sensors together, all of them spread horizontally across the surface of the Airpiano in order to let you play three notes depending on your vertical hand position. These sensors have the option to be specially programmed to provide up to eight control faders for altering volume, pitch, and filters among others. Custom software paves the way for MIDI mapping while Open Sound Control message assignment ensures you will be able to project a vast soundscape at your spatial command. Should there arise the need for confirmation of user action, LED lights located at the surface of the instrument comes in handy.

While it might resemble the Theremin, the Airpiano’s inventor has this to say about his pet project. «What makes it so different from a Theremin, besides the technology, is the concept of interaction. Playing a Theremin is hard to learn since every slight movement of the hand changes the pitch/volume of the generated sound. It also lacks visual feedback. The idea of the Airpiano is to keep things as simple as possible in order to achieve full control over the instrument.”

Expect a limited run of production devices to hit the market sometime in September or October for a yet undisclosed price.

07/2/2010 — Filed under: Audio/Video, Gadgets
Tags: Airpiano, musical instrument

Vizio VBR200

The Vizio BR200W is a fairly standard Blu-ray Disc player that outputs attractive Blu-ray images to an HDTV. But it stumbles at the task of upscaling DVDs. And though the player’s Internet capabilities permit you to stream videos from Netflix and Vudu, it doesn’t support YouTube playback-a feature found on competing models at roughly the same price ($190, as of May 5, 2010). We also found its physical design frustrating to use.

06/1/2010 — Filed under: Audio/Video
Tags: Blu-ray, Vizio VBR200

iMainGo 2 Portable iPhone/iPod/MP3 Player Speaker Review

«Everyone! Shhhhhh I’m trying to play a song from my iPhone…” Luckily I’m no longer that guy at social gatherings. Our super smartphones can store all of our music no problem, but let’s be real, they just don’t have the oomph to loudly and clearly play our music at a small party, or at the beach, or to a car full of people. iMainGo 2 is a portable speaker that will house almost any portable mp3 player or cell phone. It provides huge sound and easy-access protection to your music player.

In the box you get the iMainGo 2 Handheld Speaker Case, 4 AAA batteries, a removable carry strap, and a one year limited warranty. The iMainGo 2 has the auxiliary cable built in, so all you need before you can start jamming away is your music player.

Included: iMainGo 2 Handheld Speaker Case, 4 AAA batteries, removable carry strap, and a one year limited warrantee. The iMainGo 2 has the auxilary cable built in, so all you need before you can start jamming away is your music player.

Set Up:
First things first, unzip iMainGo, pop open the battery cover, and insert the 4 AAA batteries (included). Now all that’s left to do is plug in the audio cable to the headphone jack, insert your music player face down so the screen is resting against the clear plastic, strap her in, and turn it on! There is a thick piece of foam resting between your music player and the strap which secures it. This keeps your music player safe but also makes iMainGo accomodating for devices of various thicknesses and sizes. When you turn iMainGo into its «ON» state a bright green LED will glow. There is also an «Alarm» mode (for iPods only), which will turn the speakers on when your alarm goes off. Zip iMainGo back up and start cranking tunes.

Design:
iMainGo 2 has a clamshell design. The clamshell can be completely sealed shut with its zipper. When closed, the actual speaker is on one side and the mp3 player is on the other side. iMainGo 2 can stand up on its own, but it’s easier placing it mp3 player down on the surface because of the protective plastic. The water resistant exterior is made of a neoprene fabric. The speakers are made of titanium. The case only weighs 9 oz. The aux cable (non-removable), which connects to any standard 3,5mm headphone jack, is located on the inside of the case and is only a few inches long. The clamshell design makes iMainGo super portable. There’s no need to plug anything into the wall (great for camping). There are is no dedicated volume button; volume must be adjusted on the mp3 player.

Performance:
You can really crank up the tunes using iMainGo 2. It’s not ideal for a large party, but for a small social gathering with 10—12 people it should be perfect. Audio quality is certainly not audiophile-grade, but for the size of the speaker it’s got some great bang for the buck. The bass is full and the highs and mids are pretty clear even at relatively high volume. The 4 AAA batteries lasted me days. iMainGo says up to 30 hours. While the case is made of a water resistant material, there is no telling how the speakers would react to water. Also, the clear plastic that protects your mp3 player from scratches, is stitched on to iMainGo 2, making it vulnerable to water penetration. iMainGo and its speakers are durable enough to withstand drops and bumps. Your mp3 player will be protected from falls, bumps, and shock as long as nothing hits it corner-first. So you would not want to drop iMainGo on jagged rocks-ouch!

Conclusion:
Using iMainGo 2 is kind of like glueing a big speaker to the back of your mp3 player and covering it in an attractive protective casing. It’s great that iMainGo 2 doesn’t dangle off of your mp3 player with a wire. It’s also great how far it can go with just a few AAA batteries. It provides a like-custom fit for all iPods(except shuffle), iPhone, and Zune. It will also work no problem for a variety of phones. Volume must be controlled from the mp3 player, which is no problem for iPods or Zunes (although this can be somewhat cumbersome for a quick volume adjustment). The only other issue I had with iMainGo 2 is that the amount of time it took to remove my iPhone from the case is just enough time to miss the phonecall I would not have been able to answer. Other than that, for just $39,99 from Amazon, it’s an amazing product. If you’re looking for a portable speaker for one of the supported devices, iMainGo 2 should be strongly considered.

The Good: Great Price, Booming Sound, Support for variety of MP3-player and Phones
The Bad: Aux cable is short/nonremovable, no dedicated volume, inserting and removing mp3-player is a bit of a process.

05/30/2010 — Filed under: Audio/Video
Tags: iMainGo, MP3 Player