Special occasions like Mother’s Day demand special gifts to make it a memorable day. This year make you mother feel like she means the world to you. Retrevoshowcases a range of gift items all below $50to save that extra amount for the dinner. Your mom will also appreciate the fact that you could get her such useful and amazing gifts at affordable prices.
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Special occasions like Mother’s Day demand special gifts to make it a memorable day. This year make you mother feel like she means the world to you. Retrevoshowcases a range of gift items all below $50to save that extra amount for the dinner. Your mom will also appreciate the fact that you could get her such useful and amazing gifts at affordable prices.
If you love your mother and feel she deserves the best then Retrevo makes your decision easy in deciding what you should be gifting your mom this Mother's Day; and yes it’s not going to make your wallet feel light as well. Retrevobrings you a wide range of extremely affordable consumer electronics products under $100 like iPod Shuffleavailable in several colours which can store 240 songs priced under $100; you may also want to gift her an Apple iPod classicthat comes in black or white and has a big 2.5-inch colour display. The iPod’s and all the cool gadgets mentioned below are less than $100.
Mother's Day is a wonderful way to celebrate the women in our lives that have meant so much to us. With Mother’s Day right ahead, it’s obvious that everyone’s trying real hard to find that best gift for their dear mother. Here are some picks for Mother’s Day gadget gifts:
Stylish Laptops: There’s a new class of laptop called a UMPC or ultra mobile PC that might be just the right size to fit in a pocket book, fashion bag, briefcase, or even coat pocket. These devices are smaller than a laptop and bigger than a smart phone. The laptop designers at Apple think a laptop can never be too thin as evidenced by the MacBook Air. The iLife apps for creativity and organizing your life are some of the best set of utilities around
Cool Cell Phones: Our first reaction is to recommend the king or should we say queen of smart phones, Apple’s iPhone. Another good choice for a good all around smart phone is the Blackberry Pearl. It’s very enterprise-friendly for the career woman and has some nice multimedia features for viewing pictures and videos or listening to music or podcasts. Samsung’s BlackJack IIcomes in a very tasteful burgundy or wine color. It supports high speed 3G networking and runs the latest version of Windows Mobile. You can get one for free with a plan and a rebate.
For an added touch of elegance to any Bluetooth enabled cell phone check out this brand new headset from Plantronics. The Discovery 925looks like a piece of jewelry. It's light weight and uses the latest noise-control technology from Plantronics. It comes in colors and costs around $129.
Camcorders That Fit in a Pocket or Pocketbook: One of the most popular video camcorders on the market is the Flip Video UltraSeries. It stores 60 minutes of video on a pocket-sized camcorder. They make it very easy to get videos off the camcorder and up to YouTube. If you don’t flip over the Flip you can take a look at the Aiptek A-HD720P camcorder that is also very portable and pocketable.
Small and Easy to Use Digital Cameras: Digital cameras continue to add features that make it harder to take a bad picture. Face technology that optimizes the picture around flesh tones and faces, and optical image stabilization that calms a shaky camera are two essential features in a compact, point and shoot camera. The Canon SD1100fits easily in a pocket or pocket book, offers 8 MP, image stabilization and new face technology. The $300, 12.1 MP Nikon CoolPix P5100also has optical image stabilization to eliminate fuzzy pictures as well as a big 2.5 inch LCD screen, and 3.5x optical zoom.
Father's Day is coming up soon. The best time to tell him how much you love him. Each year, it's a hard time choosing unique gifts for your dad. For the sports fan, TV-watching dad here’s some TV and sports related gadget recommendations.
Dads love gadget gifts too; and especially more if it’s multi-functional camera, GPS, cool phone or electronic books. Your Dad might already have a good collection of gadgets but there’s always room for more cool gear that will enhance your Dad’s digital lifestyle. Here are some ideas of gadget gifts to give that new or expecting dad in your life.
Is your father a nerd? We know you love him but do you sometimes get a chuckle out of him for being so geeky? Does he program everything in sight, from the remote control to his computer? Is he the in-house tech support and network administrator? If “yes,” your father just might be a nerd and here are a few compatible gifts for him.
Just like they say don’t mix drinking and driving, now it’s about the cell phone. No wonder, it isn’t safe to be answering calls or texting a message while driving, but with a handsfree, you can however be on the safer side. Here are some recommendations for going handsfree in your car:
Okay, the kid finally made it through school. Graduating high school is a wonderful accomplishment. Praise your kid by giving gifts that he’ll cherish forever. Here are some recommendations for today's generation of gadget savvy grads that will save you enough money to pay for the gas to get to the ceremony.
Earbuds for MP3 Players: Skullcandy earbudshave a high cool factor and only cost around $25. Earpollution D33 Earbudsare also cool, they come in colors and are even cheaper at $19.95.
USB Flash Drives: USB Flash drives can come in handy for the high school grad going off to college or a college grad heading into the real world. They can be used for backing up documents or transporting files to and from the library. You can get an 8 GB drive like the Kingston DT1000/8GBfor around $30. Many 4 GB drives go for even less at around $20.
Bluetooth Headsets: A Bluetooth headset is not only a practical and economical gift, it could just keep someone from getting a ticket. Many states now have laws that make it illegal to talk on a phone while driving without using a hands-free device like a Bluetooth headset. You can even go a step further and get a stereo Bluetooth headset that makes it possible to listen to music in stereo on your phone or MP3 player. The Plantronics Voyager 510is a popular Bluetooth headset that gets high marks from users.
Gift Cards for Gadgets: For more flexibility, consider a $50 gift card from someplace like Amazonor BestBuy.
There are plenty of gadgetshoneymooners can take along to help their marriage start out on the right foot and grow. At the same time, there are a few gadgets we think would be better left at home.
No, it’s not what you’re thinking. We’re talking about good old wholesome gadgets that newlyweds can use to make their honeymoons more memorable and fun.
Buying and owning an HDTV can be challenging. There are many things to consider and problems to avoid. Here's a list of some common mistakes for buyers and owners of HDTV sets.
Things That Go Well With iPhones
Planning on trading in your old worn out first generation iPhone for a brand new iPhone 3G? Well you might as well post your old case and other accessories on Craigslist because many of them won’t work on the new iPhone. Because the new iPhone is a little thicker in some parts and thinner in others and shaped slightly differently around the edges many of the old cases and docking stations won’t work. On the other hand if you're one of the many people who showed up at the AT&T or Apple store on July 11th and are now a proud owner of a new iPhone 3G (despite our cautions), here's a list of iPhone accessories we like:
Headsets
Although the iPhone headphone jack is no longer recessed you still can't use most off the shelf headsets (earphones with microphone). You need to either use an adapter for your earphones that adds a microphone and controls like Griffin's SmartTalk or use a headset made for the iPhone like Griffin's $39.99 Tunebuds. For a little more audio fidelity Etymotic's hf2headset + earphones also works with the iPhone, will cost you around $180 and gets high marks for reviewers for audio quality.
You can still use your favorite headphone with the SmartTalk from Griffin. The SmartTalkincludes a noise canceling microphone with a control button that lets you play, pause, or skip forward or backward while you’re listening to your music or podcasts. You use the button to answer calls or send them to voicemail.
Extra Battery Pack
One complaint about iPhones is that you can't carry around an extra battery to use when you run out of juice. The current mophie juice packis a popular product that adds many hours of talk time, listening time, and standby time. Unfortunately the current version doesn't work with the iPhone 3G but mophie promises to have an iPhone 3G version out soon.
Cases Galore
iPhone case come is all styles. Belkin offers a wide variety for iPhone 3G casesincluding the Silicone Sleeveand the Armband Plus.
Griffin announceda line of iPhone 3G casesincluding a hard shell case called the nuFormwhich allows you to dock your iPhone without taking it out of its case. The new TopSkinand Flippcases from PDOare made specifically for your iPhone 3G. ezGear has two new ezSkin casesmade with a dirt repelling silicon outer covering that allows easy access to iPhone connectors. They also include a protective covering for the iPhone screen.
Speaker Systems, Who Knows?
We're not sure which first generation iPhone speaker systems with iPhone docking capabilities will work with the iPhone 3G but chances are they won't since the old Apple docking station doesn't even work with their new phone. Although the connector is still the same even though the shape of the iPhone has changed.
One speaker system we like is the new Altec Lansing T612which provides 60 watts of power through 4 speakers. One nice feature is that it doesn't play that annoying GSM cell phone noise.
iHome makes an interesting clock radio for the iphone called the iP99BR. It's also immune to GSM noise. As of the time of this report we don't know if iHome has plans to make their current iPhone productscompatible with the iPhone 3G.
New Apple Dock
The iPhone 3G doesn’t come with a dock and the old iPhone dock won’t work with the new iPhone so if you want an Apple iPhone 3G dock you'll need to buy one. The new dock will include USB charging, syncing and audio out.
Stay Home and Watch HDTV
Last month we reported on several ways to save gas this summer including buying a GPS with traffic info and gas prices. Since that report was published the price of gas has risen over a dollar a gallon along with the price of everything else. After much internal discussion we can only re-emphasize the conclusion that the best way to save gas is to not drive. Seriously, this may very well be the summer of the stay-at-home vacation and while you're staying home, why not watch HDTV? Look at it this way; a week-long road trip vacation is going to set you back at least $2,000. For that kind of money you can get a nice big LCD or Plasma TV that you'll be able to enjoy all year 'round.
Summer Olympics HDTV Extravaganza
There’s no shortage of good HD programming. The summer Olympics start in a few weeks and NBC has promised that this is going to be a premiere HD event with over 1000 HD cameras recording over 3500 hours of HD Olympics coverage. And before you know it, the fall TV season will be starting up including Monday night football. If you haven't watched football in HD you have been missing out on the visual treat of viewing players' tattoos in detail and checking out all the good looking babes (and guys) in the stands that on SD just look like one big blurry mass of people.
1080p vs. 1080i
We've been known to recommend 1080i/720p sets for good value. In fact, they're still good values and if you're looking at something smaller than 32 inches most people can't tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p at those screen sizes. Furthermore, all programming comes in over the air on cable or satellite at 1080i or 720p so a 1080p is really unnecessary. On the other hand, with less expensive (maybe) Blu-ray players on the horizon, upconverting DVD players and game consoles all driving 1080P on HDMI outputs, we say it's a good idea to future-proof your HDTV set purchase with a set that supports 1080P.
HDTV Suggestions
Here are some suggestions of HDTV sets that will cost lest than a week long vacation and still leave you with enough cash for maybe one fill up.
The Olevia 747iis at the top of LCD value list. For around $1,500 you get a 47" LCD TV that does 1080p and gets high marks from experts and users for image quality. Second on the value list is Sony's BRAVIA KDL 46V3000which also does 1080p and costs around $1,600. It gets generally favorable reviews with some mention of blurring on fast action scenes. For a real bargain you should consider a 720p Vizio LCD TV. The 37" VX37LHDTVgoes for well under $1,000 while the better rated, 32" VX32LHDTVwhich gets very good reviews costs around $600.
If Plasma is your choice then consider the Hitachi P50T501, 50" Plasma HDTV that does 1080p for a very affordable $1,300. Samsung offers the Samsung FP-T5884a 58" 1080p Plasma TV for around $2,300 and LG has a 60" Plasma for about the same price called the LG 60PC1Dwhile the top-rated Panasonic TH-50PZ77U, 50 inch plasma will cost you around $1600.
Projection TVs are probably going to disappear eventually as big LCD TVs become better and cheaper but you can still get a lot of HDTV for your money. Unfortunately part of that bigness comes in size for example, you can get the Samsung HL-S5687W, a big 56 inch rear projection TV that runs 1080p for less than $1000. You can get the Sony BRAVIA KDF-46E3000a nice LCD-based projection TV for around $900.
That magical, good luck date of 8/8/8 (August 8, 2008) is almost here. It’s still time to run out and get an HDTV set and upgrade your cable or satellite service to high definition. NBC has promised to make this Olympics a high def extravaganza using over 1,000 HD cameras to create thousands of hours of high def programming. Everything looks better in high def, even the commercials. All swimming finals and some of men’s and women’s gymnastics and beach volleyball will all be televised live in prime time. In addition to NBC, NBCU cable networks CNBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC and Oxygen will also televise Olympic events.
Behind the HDTV Scenes at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics has begun. As we recommended, we think you should stay at home, save gas, and watch HDTV. NBC has promised to make this Olympics a high-def extravaganza using over 1,000 HD cameras to create thousands of hours of high-def programming. For a guide to all the high def Olympics programming check out this page on HD Sports Guide. A PDF file of the complete Olympic schedule for the NBC family of networks is available here.
Slo-motion in High Definition
Contributing to the high-def experience, will be high speed, high definition cameras named the Fastcam SA1 from San Diego-based Photronwhich is integrated into a new imaging system called SprintCam V2 from i-Movix, of Mons, Belgium. The SprintCam Live 2 HDTV cameras will be recording high definition images at 5,400 frames per second which will be available for immediate slow-motion replay.
Sounds of the Olympics in 5.1 Channel Audio
Adding to the high-def experience, NBC has selected five CalrecOmega with Bluefin consoles as part of its coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. "This is the first time the games will be produced totally in high definition with 5.1 discrete channels of audio," said Bob Dixon, NBC's Director of Sound Design and Communication.
Sony HD Cameras Going to Beijing
NBC Universal will use Sony XDCAM HD systems as its primary ENG (electronic news gathering) source. The Sony PDW-700uses big 2/3 inch CCDs to records 1080i or 720p high quality, MPEG HD422 video on 50 GB optical discs. NBC will also be using Sony’s companion PDW-HD1500 decks.
The Olympics on Windows Media Center
Wavepress’ TVTonicwill put high quality video of the Summer Olympics on your Windows Media Center. Users will be able to subscribe to their favorite sports and then watch the events on any Windows Vista Ultimate or Home Premium PC.
“This service will provide a fantastic viewing experience for Olympic fans with Windows Vista Media Center,” said Wavexpress President Michael Sprague. “They can choose their favorite sports, from diving to water polo to gymnastics, and extended coverage is automatically synchronized to their PC in the middle of the night.”
Motorized HD Cameras
Camera Corpsof Shepperton, UK-based will have more than 200 HD camera systems including 18 motorized tracking systems, remote heads and large camera cranes. According to Camera Corps, “The inventory of cameras to be positioned in and around Beijing includes 39 Camera Corps HD MiniZoom, 68 Hitachi, four Iconix and four Toshiba cameras. An Abakus fisheye stadium lens will be installed above the Velodrome at Shi Jing Shan to cover the 250m-circumference cycle track. “
Special HD Olympic Programming
In addition to the thousands of hours of programming that NBC will be generating, other channels like MOJO HDwill offer a 10-Part series of high-def profiles exploring the mindsets and motivations of U.S. Olympic athletes, beginning July 28. Experts in each sport will be featured, detailing the psychological and body strength needed to compete including how to overcome injuries and setbacks and how these new competitors compare with previous champions.
It's only the beginning of August but already time to start shopping for the high tech necessities every student is going to need to succeed at school. Whether you're buying someone's first laptop computer, upgrading the old one, or looking for advice on essential gadgets for today's student, here are some suggestions for what to buy along with some tips on good deals.
With the cost of a higher education growing every year, you wouldn't want to see a minute of school time wasted on frivolous activities. There will be plenty of time for TV watching and game playing during school breaks. In that spirit, unrealistic as it may be, we suggest some gadgetsthat might be counter productive at academia.
There are many cell phones with similar features like touch screens and accelerometers but none has come close to the iPhone. There are, however, two brand new phones that we consider to be serious contenders; the new Blackberry Bold should be the darling of the enterprise crowd while the Nokia E71 offers a lot of features missing in the iPhone.




