Technology Guides

There’s a huge price gap between an ultraportable and a mini-notebook. So what’s the difference and which one should you buy? 

Ultraportables

Ultraportables are the most expensive but they are coming down in price much more rapidly than their counterparts, the netbook or mini-notebook. A good example of this is Lenovo’s X61 which is priced at $1000 and offers a 12.1-inch screen at 3.6 pounds. Ultraportables in general have more power and versatility for their size and thus offer a better value package if you are willing to fork over that extra $700+ for it. Ultraportables are bigger in every aspect like weight and screen size but they make up for it by being able to do what a normal PC does like run Windows Vista and run other powerful applications. The aspect differences are small and they are getting smaller every year.

Mini-Notebooks

Mini-Notebooks are easy to love since they are cheap, small, and really cute. Especially with the release of the Asus EeePC which started it all, mini-notebooks have become really popular for those reasons. For under $500 you can get a small laptop that will do the basic things like compose a document and send an e-mail, but other than that, you can’t do much. They usually have great battery life because of the small processing power needed which is why I highly recommend it for University or College students. It will also be easier to carry around because of the weight and size, and it’ll be able to handle those long lectures. 

Conclusion

These two computer segments both have their pros and there cons, but it all comes down to what you are looking for. Both of them still have better than average battery life than the regular laptop as well as small dimensions and weight than the laptop. The ultraportable comes in at the same price point or even higher than a laptop whereas the mini-notebook comes in considerably lower. If you have the money, buy the ultraportable, but if you are looking for a temporary computer that can do the basics, stick with a mini-notebook.

Popularity: 1% [?]

You’ve now bought that expensive mp3 player and you’ve loaded all your songs onto it, yet when you go to listen to them it doesn’t come out as nice as you’d expected. That’s because you are using those crummy old earbuds the “Big Companies” gave you. Most people are foolish enough to keep on using them, but I on the other hand have myself a pair of Sony headphones that do a good job of canceling out the noise. However, they aren’t true noise canceling headphones as they just try to do the job with padded ear muffs. They do provide much better sound then your average earbuds and headphones but sadly I’ll have to give them away this summer as my brother wants them back. So today I’ll review 3 of my favourite headphones as replacements. All of them aren’t new to the game except for Creative but they are all respected brands (Creative, Sony, and Bose). They all offer different qualities: the Creative is more value based, whereas the Sony and Bose give you more, but at a higher price tag. The Sony offers over the ear headphones, whereas Bose offers on the ear.

Bose QuietComfort 3

Bose set out to make smaller, more versatile headphones when compared to its sibling, the QuietComfort 2, which is still on sale by the way. They did that but had to sacrifice a bit of sound quality, although not much to make a huge impact. The headphones offer memory foam as an offset to reduce the effect of switching to an on ear design. It does press on your ears a bit more but I find it’s a better and more comfortable fit than the over the ear since I wear glasses. Like the Sony model, the QuietComfort 3 only offers the noise canceling feature turned on, so if your battery runs out, no music. One thing to note though is that the QC3’s come with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that they say will last you 20 hours on a full charge and it comes out for easy recharging. That’s plenty for a plane trip or just walking the streets of downtown. $350.

Bose Quiet Comfort 3

Sony MDR-NC500D

These headphones are obviously bigger than the QC3 and compare in size to most noise canceling headphones like the Creative Aurvana. They offer a slick, black design, and over the ear comfort (for some). The cushy padding along the cups and adjustable band make for quality comfort but all this does not necessarily justify it’s price tag of $450. Like the QC3, you are forced to use the noise canceling feature all the time but with approx. 16 hours of battery life and options to extend it with a battery pack that support 2AA batteries, that feature shouldn’t be a worry, although I do admit, it’s another gadget to charge and not something that’s burned into our brains like charging cell phones, and even those we forgot to charge once in a while. The big plus on these headphones is the noise canceling feature that surpasses the Bose.

“it uses what’s known as feedback type noise canceling, meaning the microphone is placed near the ear rather than on the outside of the earcup (known as “feedforward”). This allows the unit to better analyze what sounds are actually coming straight at the eardrum, whereas the feedforward has to estimate what the sound will be once it reaches the ear. Thus, a feedback type can more accurately adjust to environmental noise, increasing the effectiveness of the noise cancellation.” -CNET

There’s a digital aspect to it as well where the digital equalizer and software engine analyze the outside to noise to better understand what type of noise isolation to use whether it be airplane, train, or downtown. These two features of noise cancellation, are the reasons why Sony prices this model so high.

Creative Aurvana X-Fi

This last headphone model is not necessarily the worst, but it does have the lowest price tag which will have some readers smiling. This is more of a value based buy but it has some very good features that would make it seem that you aren’t skimping on the product. The bad part of these headphones is they aren’t as portable and they let a lot of sound get out for all the world to hear. They, however do a good job at enhancing the bass through Creatives X-Fi technology and do a good job to keep other noises out. The main difference maker on this model, is that it offers the ability to switch between noise canceling feature on or off. This means you can listen to music without the feature and if you’re out of battery. I believe that these offer slightly better sound than the Sony and Bose but only because of the size. $250.

Creative Aurvana

Conclusion

From what I’ve written hear, you can probably tell what I’m going to say here. All my choices here are fairly expensive so if you are in the market for noise canceling headphones and can pay this much here is what you should buy. For buyers interested in a compact set for use with mp3 players and music phones, the Bose QuietComfort 3s’ are the way to go (Bose offers adapters for music phones). For buyers interested in a value based set of headphones and don’t mind the size, then the Creative Aurvana X-Fi headphones are for you. Finally if you are a buyer who is really picky about keeping outside noise out then the Sony set is destined for you. Happy Buying!

Popularity: 3% [?]

When my dad told me he had $55 worth of Reward Zone coupons that could be combined and did not need any minimum purchases you could imagine I was thrilled. When it came down to it though, I really didn’t NEED anything. Yeah I could pick up anything including an SD card, USB stick, video game (NHL 08), or really anything. What did spark my interest though was some Creative speakers on sale that were a bargain price of $59.99 compared to all the sets.

The Creative Inspire T10 were good looking and are 2.0. They offer great quality for the price with a unique BasXPort that doesn’t replace subwoofers but they do a good job masking the fact that you don’t have one. For me it’s a great alternative as these speakers are part of my laptop setup and the less wires the better. For all you techno geeks, it’s got dedicated tweeters for outstanding high frequency performance.

What I noticed is the easy knobs that allow easy adjusting of the volume as well as the tone. They have easy to access its headphone jack on the side and auxiliary input such as mp3 player. This is not a factor for me because I have all my music on my computer but if you want truly portable speakers then this option allows for easy connections.

My true opinion after listening to these speakers that you wouldn’t learn from the Creative website is that like all speakers they start to crap out 3/4 of the way through to full power. I don’t suggest putting it to the test but for most you halfway to full power will be enough and that’s where they truly excel. The way they differ from integrated laptop speakers is the bass and sound quality they output and for an easy listener like me they are perfect. To pick up the perfect CD for these speakers look at the review of Fabolous’s new CD, Working Hard, Playing Harder at Bebop Talk.

Popularity: 2% [?]

If you’ve seen Hitch with Will Smith you’ll have a brief introduction as to what this post is about. Although this device won’t be able to control your lighting, it will be able to focus in on one thing, your music. What I’m talking about is a Digital Music System that can surround your whole home with music with the touch of a button for a price tag of around $1000 depending on how much of your home you’d like to surround. When I first heard the price tag it actually doesn’t seem a lot but you’ll need speakers in every room you want music which can be expensive so basically all the product offers is the ability to wirelessly transmit music. The company that makes this is Sonos and has retailers offering their products in Canada and the U.S.(plus many more!)

How Does it Work?
The requirements of this system is you need a high-speed internet connection, router, modem, and an Ethernet cable which I’m guessing all of you readers must have. A ZoneBridge will then need to be purchased and hooked up to your router through the Ethernet cable. This acts as a base camp where all the other ZonePlayers will communicate with throughout your house wirelessly. The ZonePlayer comes in 2 different series, the ZP80 and ZP100. The ZP100 offers better sound with a 50W amplifier and is slightly bigger. Once you’ve connected your ZoneBridge with your computer, place all your ZonePlayers around your house where you want music and have speakers to connect them with. Once all your speakers are hooked up to the ZonePlayers you’ll be able to interact with all of them through a beautifully designed remote that has a 3.5″ colour screen and scroll wheel.

Features
This remote is top of the line and allows you to select playlists that run as long as you want, search artists, tracks, albums, and has different modes. One example of this is party mode where you use all of your ZonePlayers to play one track so your house is in sync. You also have the option of selecting one or some of your ZonePlayers to play music like just the kitchen or just the living room. One neat feature I found was you can select a track to play after the current one has finished.

Conclusion
If you are interested in a Digital Music System then this is definitely right up your alley. To learn more, and I highly do suggest this because the website offers many great videos on the basics and technicals of it’s product, visit it’s homepage at www.Sonos.com.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I recently purchased a Microsoft Zune with 30GB of space and very black. The packaging is very interesting and is reminiscent of Apples creativity with different flaps and openings. The packaging is very compact which makes for easy storage for later. I bought it off ebay but what was included in the box was: Microsoft Zune, Starting booklet, Product Guide(not manual), a pouch, Zune software, earbuds, and computer connection.
After charging and installing the software I decided to start loading music onto my Zune. I usually don’t like the software that comes with the product but was surprised by how easy the Zune software was. Even though it was organized in a good manner I wanted to use Windows Media Player as my playlist was ready to go. All I had to do was click Sync. To my surprise I found out that the only way you can access the Zune is through their software. My computer doesn’t recognize the Zune as well, and thus I couldn’t sync my device using Windows Media Player. Very disappointed I reorganized my music collection and changed my monitored folders for music.

The Zune software displays your music in different ways and does not lag so scrolling through all of it is a breeze. Music and videos are added very quickly when updated in the monitored folders. The Zune software is very flexible like that.
The interface is very easy to use and mimics the intuitiveness of an iPod but without the dreaded scroll wheel. The D-pad allows for easier movement up and down your list as well as side to side. For example in Music, you move down the Title of songs and to sort it differently, just click right or left and it will be sorted by albums, genres, or artists. When playing songs, the whole screen is filled with the album art and song info making better use of space than the iPod.
The size of this thing though is a little ridiculous. For such a big player though it doesn’t weigh as much as you’d think but with no curves and almost no styling cues it’s not the prettiest to look. If you are looking for something stylish stick with Apple products but if you want more functionality and you want to be unique definitely pick up the Zune. They are a steal compared to Apple products and they do the same thing plus if you have a couple friends you’ll be able to send songs between each other and you’ll have access to FM radio without an adapter.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Don’t have a laptop but still want the option to carry around multiple applications and Operating Systems? That’s where MojoPac comes in. It’s a free application that you can download onto your PC and then onto a USB, iPod, or mp3 player. It’s a remarkable application as you can then put applications such as Word, MSN, Firefox, and Photoshop and then move them along where you go and insert it into a new computer or laptop and launch those applications on the new computer.

Not only can you put applications, but you can put Operating Systems such as XP, Mac, or Linux plus you can put games such as Halo 2 and still run it on a new computer at the same performance. The drawback though is Vista is not available for transferring or being a host PC which limits my possibility for transferring but RingCube Technologies, the maker of MojoPac, is working on producing a Vista MojoPac.

Popularity: 2% [?]