Samsung Q2 Flash Memory 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased the Q2 on the suggestion of a friend and as a usable way to make my .wma music library portable. I am finding that Samsung makes some very cool products and this player is an affordable example. The touch controls are fairly easy to use even for a fat finger like me. It is somewhat limited in its shuffle ability. I have not used the EmoDio support software much. I have synced it to Windows Media Player and imported music, created playlists, etc. My only real regret is not spending a few more dollars and getting the 16 GB.

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Samsung Q2 Flash Memory Portable Media Player 8GB Black

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Panasonic TC-P54Z1 54" Plasma 1080P Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my first plasma HDTV purchase. The picture quality is fantastic. This is a NeoPDP panel (single pane of glass)
The panel thinness is still amazing to me. A screen this big and this thin looks crazy.
The sound is surprisingly good... the included speakers are also extremely thin. Not huge bass, but still very good for TV speakers.
The wireless feature is nice... especially for those who want a wall mount installation. You still have the option to use an HDMI cable from the separate tuner to the panel, if you like. I am using wireless, but on a stand. The stand has glass shelves. I have the tuner component on a lower shelf. Line of sight between transmitter and receiver, for the wireless, seems critical. This may be since I have the receiver almost directly over the transmitter.
The Viera Cast is nice, except I haven't been able to get the Amazon-On-Demand to play anything. It logs in and I can access content... nothing plays. I have contacted both Panasonic and Amazon... twice and have not received a comment from either. You Tube, Picassa, Weather Channel and Bloomberg all work well. Viera Cast could be a very nice feature if they can add more content... Vudu, Hulu, Netflix, etc. would be nice.
The THX picture setting option has a yellowish hue... this seems to be inherent in the THX settings that Panasonic is using.
Pros
Picture quality
THIN screen
Cons
Price (although I did get this well below MSRP)
Amazon-On-Demand doesn't play
2/4/10
I contacted Panasonic about the inability to stream Amazon VOD content. They were able to replicate the same problem on a TC-P54Z1 at their facility. Panasonic kept me posted via e-mail about their progress with this issue. A few days later, Panasonic tech support issued a firmware update that corrected the problem. Amazon VOD content now streams through Viera Cast. Very good customer support!

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The combination of the VIERA Z1's innovative technology and aesthetic design is truly without equal. The ultra-thin profile of this sophisticated series delivers stunning picture performance and elegant style making a bold statement within any home décor

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Amphony Digital Wireless Headphones Model 2500 - Headphones ( ear-cup ) - wireless - radio Review

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(More customer reviews)These wireless headphones sound great. I have tried a couple of different 900MHz headphones and was very dissapointed in the static I would hear on them all of the time. I discovered these when looking for a pair of digital ones on the internet. These sound great and work throughout my entire house. They would get 5 stars except for a couple of minor needed improvements:
1. There is an occational clicking sound when walking around. If you are not moving, you don't hear any clicking. It isn't a big deal and doesn't distract from the music or TV.
2. The headphones are a bit tight on my head, and I think I have a normal size head.
3. The battery compartments are a little hard to open.
4. It is really hard to find a dealer that sells them.
Other than that, they are great. They have normal stereo RCA connections, but also have an optical digital connection if your receiver has optical out.
So, don't waste time with 900MHz, get these instead.


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The Model 2500 Digital Wireless Headphones from Amphony combine the best of headphone technology with the best of wireless audio transmission technology. As a result, this model achieves audiophile sound reproduction and eliminates any noise or audio distortion by using digital audio transmission.By transmitting its signal at 5.8 GHz, the Model 2500 is fully immune to interference at 2.4 GHz (wireless networks etc.). The transmitter provides fully digital audio interfaces in order to eliminate any unnecessary digital-to-analog or analog-to-digital conversion and achieves unsurpassed signal-to-noise ratio. The audio data is transmitted to the headphones without applying any audio compression or sample rate conversion. A noise-shaping filter, which is part of the headphones, removes any quantization noise from the audible frequency band.The Model 2500 features velour ear cushions to maximize comfort as well as battery charging bays to keep your headphones working at any time.

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HP Remote IR receiver (paintbrush) - For use with Picasso remote control 5070-2584 Review

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(More customer reviews)I Have been using the 5070-2584 ir receiver (and the blaster cable 5188-6055) with my HP notebook. It's great. Just follow the windows media center setup instructions and you'll have a dvr. It works with any provider's settop box. I have Directv. The photo doesn't show the blaster cable (emitter cable that goes to the settop box infra-red window). And the receiver is pretty generic. It's used on a huge number of products, so ignore the Picasso reference.

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This HP Remote is an IR receiver (paintbrush). The 5070-2584 is for use with Picasso remote control. Product Specifications: * Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard * Model: OVU422000/06 * Part: 5070-2584

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Creative Zen 32 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great choice for those people who previously limited their flash players to workout duty, or only holding a small piece of their large music collection and having to change the music on it every so often. With a 16GB capacity most people can fit their entire collection on here without difficulty, and even have room for some videos.
First impressions of this player are very good. It is extremely appealing to the eye, everyone who sees it will ask about it. It is about the size of a credit card, just thicker (less than 1/2inch). The front is a very glossy black plastic that looks great until you touch it, instantly covering it with fingerprints :) The back is a rough, cheaper feeling black plastic. Overall it has a nice solid weight and feel to it, but not very heavy. This will easily fit in a pocket.
The 2.5" screen is absolutely gorgeous. Very bright with vivid colors. The viewing angle is very good, two people can easily look at the screen at the same time while watching a movie for example. The menus are all nicely animated and intuitive to navigate. The icons and text are big clear and easy to read.
One of the big perks to having so much capacity is plenty of room for videos. This was one of the first things I've tested as it was a big reason for my purchase. First of all it DOES play Amazon Unbox videos perfectly. Transferring files was very easy (just a few clicks) and very quick. The quality of the video was great as well. The max size of videos is apparently 320x240, I have not been able to get it to play anything larger than that. If the video is smaller (for example widescreen) you have the option of playing it at the correct aspect ratio, or fill the screen (stretched out). I've gotten it to play videos encoded in Xvid and WMV format. Xvid files were encoded with AutoGK, and the WMV files were encoded with Arcsoft MediaConverter. If you synchronize with Windows Media Player, you can put in *almost any* video file and it will automatically convert the file into WMV format and then transfer to the player. How long it takes to convert depends on the type of video you're encoding, how big the file is and of course the speed of your computer.
Music sounds very good on this player, but please... get rid of the stock headphones they are horrible. Using a decent pair of headphones makes a HUGE difference. The EQ options are OK, there are about a half dozen presets and a customizable EQ. The "Bass Boost" option just made it worse in my opinion, it just distorted the sound. Otherwise it is a very even and balanced sound, very similar to the Vision:M.
The FM radio has a whopping 32 presets and the reception is pretty good. Strong stations are in stereo, weaker ones come in mono. I haven't had a chance to test out the built-in mic.
I easily transferred music and playlists onto this player from Windows Media Player and MediaMonkey, as well as protected music (WMA) from Napster. Everything was very easy, usually just dragging and dropping. The speed of transfer is probably the fastest I've seen. I've used this player on XP Home and on Vista Premium 64-bit.
Regarding the SD cards. I think its only a slight inconvenience that the memory card media isn't directly integrated with the other content. Meaning if you have videos on the SD card you don't go to the "Video" menu where all the other videos are, you have to access them through the "Memory Card" menu. Once there, you browse through the file structure like normal. If you organize the content smartly on your cards you should have no problem. And really its a small price to pay for that feature. Currently SDHC cards are up to 16GB in capacity, meaning you could double the capacity and carry around 32GB worth of content in your pocket. Amazing. I tested a Kingston 512MB SD Card and a Kingston 2GB microSD card (with adapter of course) and they were recognized and played the content without difficulty.
A quick note about the firmware. Mine came with 1.10.05. When my player turns off, it really turns off. With newer firmwares when it turns off it goes into a sleep mode for a while before it finally turns all the way off. What that means is with the older firmware each time you turn it on it has to "boot" all over again, whereas with the newer firmware you get an "instant-on" at the expense of slightly reduced battery life (since it is asleep and not off). Something to consider before you decide to upgrade the firmware.

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This credit card-sized ZEN has a stunning 2.5-inch color screen and is perfect for music, videos, and photos. Enjoy up to 8,000 MP3, WMA, or AAC songs; watch up to 120 hours of videos; and share hundreds of photos with your friends. Even expand your portable music, video, or photo collection by adding additional content through the convenient SD memory slot. The ZEN player also is available in 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB capacities.

Credit Card-Sized Player Supports 16.7 Million Colors View your album art, videos, and photos on this 2.5-inch razor-sharp TFT display. Your favorite photos will burst to life in 16.7 million colors on the fresh, new ZEN-patented user interface. The TFT display works under sunlight and allows everyone to watch your home videos and vacation slideshows from any angle.

Truly a Multimedia Player ZEN is the first Creative player to support the unprotected AAC format, so you can enjoy all your favorite CD tracks that you've ripped through iTunes software. ZEN also supports iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes store, in addition to MP3 and WMA music tracks. It is also compatible with music subscription services such as Napster To Go and Rhapsody.

ZEN also supports audio books from Audible.com. Download your favorite books to keep everyone entertained on long road trips, or download daily news reports every morning and listen to the news during your morning commute.

Watch purchased or rented movies and TV shows from online services like Amazon Unbox. Share home videos, or load your TivoToGo recorded movies and TV shows.

Plus, share your collections of latest photos in 16.7 million colors. Instantly turn your slideshows into attention-grabbing multimedia extravaganzas by adding your favorite song to the slideshow.

Expandable Memory Need more space? Add additional storage capacity with the built-in SD slot and easily play new music, videos, or photos on your player. With SD cards to go, carry virtually unlimited amounts of your digital library, anywhere you go.

FM Radio In between your tunes, use the built-in FM radio to keep yourself up-to-date on world events, sports scores, or traffic reports. Or tune in to the program airing on the gym's TV while running on the treadmill.

Battery Life Enjoy up to 30 hours of your songs or 5 hours of video on a single charge--over a full day of music. Or 10 episodes of Scrubs!

What's in the Box Creative ZEN 32 GB player, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, installation CD, and quick start guide.

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TomTom GO 930 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've owned Garmin's for more than 5 years and I currently own a NUVI 760. I've heard the great news about the TOMTOM 930 with IQROUTES, lane guidance, and the HOME feature so I decided to buy the 930 so I can give it a spin and compare it to the NUVI 760 with MSN DIRECT.
TOMTOM Pluses:
Arrival time -
The arrival time with IQROUTES are MORE accurate than Garmin's. The NUVI keeps updating the arrival time during the trip. I compared the arrival time from the start and the TOMTOM was more accurate. TOMTOM is constantly collecting the travel times and updating their database. When you sign in to the HOME program the IQroutes from your trips are uploaded to the TOMTOM server.
Routes:
If anyone writes a review about a GPS and states that routes are 100% accurate then they are lieing, I have not found the perfect GPS with perfect routes.
The routes on both the 930 and the NUVI 760 have been identical. With the 930 I see minutes left on the trip, time left, and arrival time. I can even tell the 930 what time I would like to arrive at my destination.I can AVOID any of the roads on my trip. You CANNOT avoid roads on the NUVI 760.
TRAFFIC:
I'm using traffic on the 930 through my ATT Tilt phone and it seems to work and it is accurate. It uses my Tilt to access the traffic on the TOMTOM server through the Internet. If you have cell coverage you should have traffic data.
MSN Traffic on the 760 is not accurate and the avoidance feature does not work that well. The bad thing about the MSN Direct feature is that it does not have good range. I live in Chicago and the service does not work in many of the outlying suburbs.
PLUSES:
Iqroutes are more accurate than the NUVI.
Lane guidance works in my area.
Avoiding roads on your trip.
Being able to correct street names, closed streets, one ways, and many other errors is a big plus.
Traffic works well.
The GPS chip has not lost reception. I've lost the signal numerous times on the NUVI.
More information on the 930 screen than on the 760.
TOMTOM minuses:
The screen is hard to see in sunlight.
The maps are not bad since I loaded the Garmin map look on the 930. I even have the magenta route line on my 930.
The battery does not last more than 1 hour.
The Text to speech does not work all the time. The street names are not pronounced as good as the NUVI.
You don't get the constant reminders that the NUVI 760 provides. Sometimes I don't think that I drive the 930 with my eyes close. With the 760 you can close your eyes and not miss a turn.
I cannot locate an address by ANY city like the NUVI. Sometimes the 930 cannot locate an address if it thinks it's in a different city. You have to input the surrounding city names to get the correct address and route.


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TomTom's award-winning software means ground-breaking new technology for the ultimate driving experience. Switch on and go right out of the box. Just enter the address on the touchscreen or use voice address entry and start driving anywhere in the US or Canada. TomTom guides you door-to-door with turn-by-turn spoken instructions, including street names. TomTom has the most accurate maps and with TomTom Map Share technology you can instantly modify street names, street direction, and POIs on your own device. New IQ Routes gives you the fastest route every time by using actual average speeds of travel to calculate your trip rather than posted speed limits. Enhanced Positioning Technology gives you uninterrupted navigation even in tunnels or highly built-up areas. And now, Advanced Lane Guidance brings even more clarity to complex multi-lane exits so you can be even more confident on the road. The GO 930 makes driving even safer with handsfree calling. And with the Help Me! menu, there are added safety features so you can easily access local emergency providers. The TomTom GO 930 is the ultimate car navigator.

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Cisco-Linksys PLK200 Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this because my wireless quality has been declining steadily over time. I live in a large aparment building in New York City and as more and more of my neighbors get wireless devices my signal quality has been dropping. I stream music wirelessly using Apple AirPort and the quality became so poor that I could not listen anymore. Not wanting to run cables all over my apartment I thought I'd give this a try - but buy from Amazon since they have a good return policy in case it did not work.
I just plugged it in and it worked! Simple as that. If you have monkeyed around with wireless you'll appreciate that there is basically nothing else to this. And it is fast! I can now play my ripped music from my PC to my stereo with excellent quality - better than I ever got with wireless. Luckliy the AirPort can stream music using a LAN cable in addition to wireless.
The only hitch that I can think of maybe the wiring in your house/apartment. I was worried about mine living in a aparment building that the circuits may not be linked, but they were. I had no problems plugging in other rooms with different circuit breakers - since they are all on the same control panel. I guess it is possible that this is not always the case - depending on how your house is wired. For example, if you have combined two apartments they could be separate. But if they are then it does not get any easier or much faster than this.
Only downside is the very high price - it is way more expensive than wireless. You can buy a good wireless router for less than $50 and if you have a laptop you are done. This option costs MUCH more than that. For me it was preferable to running unsightly network cables throughout my apartment.
Another option for me could have been trying an 802.11n wireless to see if the signal was better. But since that is not yet a published industry standard, each vendor (DLink, Linksys etc) has they own flavor of it and so they are unlikely to work together well. So I'd probably have to completely retool my existing wireless which may be no better and may have the same problem with interference when my neighbors all move to it in a few years anyway. So I gave this a shot and I could not be happier.


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The PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter lets you turn the existing powerlines in your home or office into a high-speed network. Now you do not have to drill through the walls and climb through the attic or cellar to install network cables -- just use the wires that already run through the building! The PowerLine AV Adapter interfaces Ethernet devices to the HomePlug AV PowerLine network standard. Just plug the PowerLine AV Adapter into the wall, and connect your Ethernet-equipped device to the Adapter using the included network cable, and you have turned your whole house into network infrastructure! Attach more computers to the network by simply plugging them into the wall anywhere in the house, using more PowerLine AV Adapters.

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