Gizm0 - Gadget Blog for the Technology Obsessed.

You were fun, iPhone, but now you’re starting to get a little heavy in the pocket - that shine is getting dusty, and you’re creakin’ like a 40 year old. Your features are getting all confused. You blank in and out cause your light sensors are broken. That EDGE data is starting to creep slower than molasses, and gosh darnit, I don’t want to see a miniature version of the NYTimes, I want to see a mobile version! Oh yeah your camera sucks and how come you can’t shoot video? Aren’t you supposed to be the illness?

Face it, we’re bored with the iPhone’s pet tricks. On to the new. We’re consumers and gadget freaks and we want more, more, more!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enter the Motorola Z10, the cell phone that knocks the iPhone out until June or so when a 3G version of the Mc phone is unveiled. Even then I might be enjoying the video camera on my Moto 210 too much to give it up. Here’s hoping the 3G iPhone has a few more tricks up its sleeve.

The Motorola Z10 has a 3.1 megapixel camera, which isn’t that great at all, but passable. Key however is the phone’s slick look and ability to shoot video.

Like Music? Peep this beauty, the Samsung SGH-i450. Featuring a full digital music player, a 3.5mm headset jack, and Bang & Olufsen speakers. The dual-slider design also offers a touch wheel for menu navigation. Slickz.

Nokia N96: the top phone for Europeans

This thing is the new champ but it sure does cost a whole lotta dough (550 euros). We’ve called it the world’s first superphone. For goodness sakes you canwatch TV on it. But peep out the price, 550 euros is like $800 or something. Still for the feature obsessed, this is the king.  As picky as we are, this thing has more features then we could ask for.  Well, let’s hope the N97 can shoot HD video!  Just kidding, the N96 doesn’t even arrive until late summer 2008!

Full specs of Nokia N96 include:

• WCDMA2100/900 (HSDPA) / EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS) connectivity
• DVB-H Class C, 470-750 MHz
• S60 3rd edition, FP2 UI
• 2.8” QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) LCD TFT display with up to 16 million colors
• 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and auto-exposure
• Dual-LED camera flash, video light, recording indicator, auto-focus assist light
• Secondary VGA (640 x 480 px) camera for video calls
• Video capture in MPEG-4 up to VGA at 30 fps
• Digital Video Stabilization
• Built-in GPS/A-GPS
• WLAN - IEEE802.11 g/b
• Stereo FM radio (87.5-108MHz, 76-90MHz) with RDS
• Hi-Speed USB 2.0 with Micro USB type B interface
• 3.5mm stereo headset plug , TV-out support (PAL/NTSC)
• Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP stereo/EDR
• 950 mAh battery with up to 220 min talk, 220 hrs standby time, 5 hrs video, 14 hrs music or 4 hrs TV playback
• Dimensions: 103×55×18 mm
• Weight: 125 g

Related posts

• Garmin Nuvifone, iPhone's Newest Competitor? (0)
• Phone of the (Near) Future: NVIDIA's superphone (0)
• Nokia N95 News Round Up (0)
• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)
• Macbook Air Battery Replacement - Not a Big Deal Afterall? (0)

By now you laptop hungry freaks are probably salivating between the ThinkPad X300 and the Macbook Air. We’ve already previewed the battle and frankly suggested you go with the lowest priced Macbook Air. $1,799 is a damn bargain for the ‘Airs. But if you gotsta hook up your shiznet, with either laptop, you’re going to end up at roughly the same price point, $3,000. With solid state, DVD, ethernet, etc., the ThinkPad X300 is clearly better configured. The DVD burner for example, is built in, and ethernet can be ordered integrated into the laptop. With Mac, its “accessorize me!” But here’s the real weak point of the Macbook Air — that darn non-removable battery. Sure you can get it replaced for “the same price as a new Mac battery” but what a horrible day that’ll be when we have to stand in line at the genius bar or something, waiting for our number to come up.

With the ThinkPad X300, batteries come in various strengths and weights, and are swappable, you know, just like back in the day. The ThinkPad X300 is also wi-max ready. Yummy!!! Of course this means absolutely nothing. There’s no wi-max signal anywhere we can think of, and we’re in New York City, but hey, at least we can say its future proof!

What this boring chart from macsource.com can’t reflect are the two aesthetic choices you have to pick from. Are you 3-day stubble cool and turtlenecky or do you rock monkey suits and a briefcase?   Like the Presidential campaign, it also largely comes down to a choice of colors, silver or black.

We have Apple’s very BMW-like silver and slick or the Thinkpad X300’s silky black, complete with a fingerprint reader and a keyword that clickity clacks. Let’s face it, the ThinkPad X300 is the more serious machine - but we wouldn’t go so far as to call it the superior machine.  It could be, if it ran on Apple’s far superior operating system.  Chance of that happening?  Don’t hold your breath.

Here’s the tale of the tape, but as we’ve said before, unless you’re a dedicated PC-guy by virtue of your corporate job, the $1,799 Macbook Air is your best bet. All specs aside, our metrics indicate that the Air will provide you with more daily gadget joy not to mention actually turn a few heads at the coffee shop. We don’t know about you homie, but if we just dropped three G’s, We’re gonna wanna see some envy in people’s faces.

The Thinkpad X300 is small and light but beautiful, it is not. No aesthetically-oriented person (e.g. hot females) will give you two shits about the mad coin you dropped on that thing. Show her the Macbook Air and the black American Express and she’ll probably just go ahead and marry you. Still, just between us gadget heads, we know Apple can do better. Macbook Air, you’re mad cool but we’re already looking for Macbook Air Pro, your bigger brother. And he better come with wi-max. Whatever that is. Gizm0 Crack House Team Delta Force, Out!

Related posts

• Macbook Air Battery Replacement - Not a Big Deal Afterall? (0)
• ThinkPad X300 Specs - MacBook Air Killer? (1)
• Macbook Air First Impressions (0)
• Macbook Air isn't the Only Ultra Portable (0)
• Macbook Air Drops Tomorrow - Buy or Not? (0)

Panasonic and Sony are always bitter rivals and while we appreciate the Panasonic HVX200, the Sony XDCAM EX-1 takes it up about 10 notches.  We love our Sony XDCAM EX-1 pro-level handheld video camcorder.   The XDCAM EX-1 knocks the socks off the Panasonic HVX200, so of course Panasonic had to step up.

Their latest offering, the MHC150 (terrible name), looks alot like the HVX200 except uglier and more generic. Their format of choice is AVCHD and the MHC150 boasts 1080p/60.  Its supposed to ship in the fall and should roughly match the XDCAM EX-1’s $6.5K pricing. We bet the specs and prices will be a bit lower grade then the XDCAM EX-1, specs which is a low budget shooter’s dream come true.

In other words, don’t get too excited about this Panasonic.  The good news is that it may be a hint of other things to come. Frankly we’d be disappointed if this was all they had to battle the EX-1 with.

Related posts

• Sony XDCAM EX-1, best Video Camera Under $10K? (0)
• Point and Shoot HD Video: Panasonic DMC-TZ5K (1)
• Nikon D60 or Canon Rebel XSi? (0)
• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)
• Macbook Air Battery Replacement - Not a Big Deal Afterall? (0)

Now that Blu-Ray has won the hi def dvd format war, its time to start that pirated movie cloning business (just kidding).  Well, if you ever wanted to, you’d probably buy something like this - the Aleratec LightScribe Blu-Ray Disc duplicator.

Using three drives and supporting high-end blu-ray lightscribe technology, this bad boy houses a trio of LightScribe-enabled SATA Blu-ray burners that can toast BD-Rs at 6x as well as your everyday DVDs and CDs at very  high speeds. You’ll also find a built-in eSATA connector and dual channel eSATA host adapter bundled in.  The cost? $3,199.  Oh well, it was a good idea while it lasted.

Related posts

• Nikon D60 pic, coming in March! (0)
• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)
• Goodbye iPhone, hello Motorola Z10 (0)
• Gizm0 Videos (0)
• What's the Best Computer Speakers? (0)

The Macbook Air is dropping tommorrow, and there’s been lots of criticism of it - not enough memory, no ethernet, no DVD burner, etc. What do we at Gizm0.com think? Hogwash. Gizm0.com takes our recommendations seriously, but yes, you should buy the Macbook Air, and quick like.

The issues they raise are b.s.:

- Memory isn’t like what it used to be. Buy a terabyte drive and keep it at home, where your precious memories should be in the first place. You could use your iPod’s 160 gb harddrive as your main harddrive, but we tend to lose things, so stick with the terabyte at home idea.

- no DVD/CD burner, well, no problem, they sell one for $99 bucks and you can keep that at home too.

- no ethernet cable, no firewire.  There’s $20 adaptors at radio shack to take care of those problems.  The idea is to keep it mobile and fashionable so that you can hang out at cafes, checking out gadget porn while cuties all around you check you out.  (oh yeah!)

If you have an office computer or desktop computer, you can keep everything there, what you get is style, mobility and Apple’s awesome OS. Go for it bro!

Macbook Air “shortcomings”

- No CD/DVD burner, not enough memory, no ethernet cable.

Related posts

• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)
• Macbook Air Battery Replacement - Not a Big Deal Afterall? (0)
• Macbook Air First Impressions (0)
• What's the Best Computer Speakers? (0)
• ThinkPad X300 Specs - MacBook Air Killer? (1)

Nikon D60 pic is here!  What do you think?  Here are the detailed Nikon D60 specs , some notable Nikon D60 specs include .18-second start up time - very handy for journalists on the run (and those who play one in the backyard).  There’s also “improved sensor cleaning system that tweaks airflow inside the camera to prevent dust particles from sticking to the 10.2 megapixel image chip in the first place.”  We like best, in-camera editing, so you don’t need to pull up Photoshop all the time.  Price is TBD but expect around $699.

Related posts

• Sony Alpha 24 Megapixel DSLR in the Works (0)
• Rumoured Nikon D60 Feature Breakdown (0)
• Nikon D60 or Canon Rebel XSi? (0)
• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)
• Goodbye iPhone, hello Motorola Z10 (0)

Gizm0.com wasn’t too pysched that like the iPhone, the Macbook Air’s battery wasn’t designed for easy replacement, but new reports by Mac fanboys are suggesting that while its not as simple as popping out the old and popping in the new, its not all that difficult either. Apparently all you need is a single size-0 type screwdriver and “some diligence”.

According to AppleInsider, ” Once flipped upside down, the MacBook Air’s bottom cover is easily unscrewed and removed, providing immediate access to the battery cavity. From there, the battery can be unscrewed from the chassis with the same screwdriver and unplugged from the circuit board with a simple tug — it’s not soldered to the board.

The entire process, according to those in the known, can be completed by any service technician in as little as three minutes.”

Of course three minutes to an Apple Insider may be 30 or 300 minutes to me and you. As we suggested they might, Apple also announced a Macbook Air Out-of-Warranty Battery Replacement Program, which takes 5 days and will cost you $129 to get some third party retail store to do the work for you. Arghh.. Sounds annoying doesn’t it? Apple Insider suggests that because its so easy, fly-by-night websites could soon offer do-it-yourself kits.  Sounds like a pain to me, guys.

Related posts

• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)
• Macbook Air First Impressions (0)
• Macbook Air Drops Tomorrow - Buy or Not? (0)
• Macbook Air isn't the Only Ultra Portable (0)
• What's the Best Computer Speakers? (0)

Garmin unleased a plethora of Nuvis for CES.  The most feature rich may be this Nuvi 850, which sports a ton of features, an appropriately lofty $800 pricetag but no Bluetooth!

It does however make up for that wireless support by providing 4.3 inch 480×272 resolution touchscreen, rechargeable Li-on battery, speech recognitition, 3D map-view, micro-SD slot, FM transmitter, and built-in media player. You can cop this in Q2 ‘08 but for $800, we’re kinda missing that Bluetooth. Sorry guys.

Related posts

• Garmin Nuvifone, iPhone's Newest Competitor? (0)
• Goodbye iPhone, hello Motorola Z10 (0)
• Hot New Gadgets for Your Car (0)
• 3D GPS Navigation Arrives (0)
• Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 - Bad Name, Cool Phone! (0)

the Numark TTi is an ill way to pump vinyl tunes to your iPod. First of all, it looks great. Numarks aren’t Technics 1200s but they do make good stuff, and at slightly below the Technics price point. The TTi comes with an iPod dock (pictured), USB interface, and line-level output. You don’t need a computer go-between and can transfer directly to your iPod, but should you want to take that Jimmy Cliff song to your laptop or desktop, the Numark TTi comes with software for PC or Mac. Not bad for $449, and from a company you can trust.

Related posts

• Macbook Air Battery Replacement - Not a Big Deal Afterall? (0)
• What's the Best Computer Speakers? (0)
• Macbook Air vs Thinkpad X300: Tale of the Tape (0)
• Macbook Air Drops Tomorrow - Buy or Not? (0)
• ThinkPad X300 Specs - MacBook Air Killer? (1)

Peep this out cousin, that whip ain’t just a whip, its more like your personal Man Den but on wheels.  That means you can’t be content to listen to bad stock DJs on ghetto stock stereo systems.  You need the real dealz.  Well if your hearin’ me, this is what you’ll want:

Flir Pathfinder, $4,100

This thing will do your laundry and hook up your wife if you’re not feeling up to it.

Maestro Elite 5340 GPS by Magellan

This is a top of the line Magellan for about a grand.  Cop it if you feel like you need the best in GPS.

Garmin Nuvi 880, $1,000

You know Garmin can do GPS, but did you know it can talk to you now too?  You can also set it up with your mobile phone, etc.  Basically if you want to burn a $G instead of $200, cop this.

Sirius Backseat TV

Keep your ADD kids fixated for hours while you try to figure out how to get out of the Bronx Expressway.

Atlas CPC 1200

Confuse the hell out of your car passengers so they won’t dare touch your music.

Sync, a Ford/Microsoft callabo that’s actually pretty impressive.  You spit game at it, and it listens to you!  Like this “play ‘Throw Some Dee’s on It’.   Now Play ‘Tiffany’.”

Related posts

• Goodbye iPhone, hello Motorola Z10 (0)
• Garmin Nuvifone, iPhone's Newest Competitor? (0)
• Garmin Nuvi 850 First Look (0)
• Nokia N95 News Round Up (0)
• Macbook Air Drops Tomorrow - Buy or Not? (0)