Category: Peripherals

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Sony FM/AM Clock Radio Digital Picture Frame with iPod/iPhone Dock Review

ICFCL75IP

How's that for the longest product name in history? Oops, I forgot to stick in the model number: ICF-CL75iP. Ahhh, that's better! Wait, I forgot Dream Machine. OK, that's it.

A couple of months back I saw a pre-announcement that Sony was coming out with an Alarm Clock that had a built-in iPod/iPhone dock – YAWN! I know, who cares right? There are so many options out there, what's Sony going to bring to the table? Well there was one thing that got my attention and that's the built-in digital picture frame. This clock radio, iPod dock has a nice big 7" display. 

Rather than spending a lot of time trying to describe it, here's a video I recorded:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE0otgu9UWQ

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Apple Magic Mouse Review

magicmousehero

Apple recently introduced New iMacs, Mac minis and other goodies. One of those goodies was the NEW Magic Mouse. When I blogged about the new gear, I was inundated with requests to review the new mouse??? I thought wow, there is a lot of interest around this thing. Since I was upgrading to a new 27" iMac and the new iMacs come with the new Magic Mouse standard, this was a great way to get one early and play. Luckily Apple also released the drivers for non-iMacs a couple of nights ago. As with most products, there are things I like and things that could be better. The new Magic Mouse is no different. So let's get to the review you've been asking me for:

 

What is it?

The Magic Mouse is a Bluetooth wireless mouse with a multi-touch surface instead of the traditional multiple buttons  found on all other mice. The entire surface clicks down like any other mouse, but the top of the mouse can be used for scrolling, panning and zooming using one or two fingers. Although there is only technically one big button to click, you can setup a "Right Click" (Control-Click) using the Mouse Preference to be either on the right side or the left side (for lefties). So depending on which side of the Magic Mouse you put your finger on to click will give you different results.

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Elinchrom Ranger Quadra S Pro Kit Review

RangerQuadra

When it comes to studio strobes I’ve pretty much standardized on Elinchrom gear. I like their lights, softboxes and Skyport Wireless System for controlling it all from the camera or your laptop. Of course the only problem with my 600RX Strobes is that they aren’t really meant to be used outside or in situations where you don’t have access to power. Sure I could get a big battery pack like this one that my buddy Scott Kelby likes, but I actually wanted to go in the other direction. I wanted to have a more portable lightweight setup. Don’t get me wrong, I use my speedlights too such as my SB800’s and SB900 (especially when I’m traveling by plane), but sometimes I want more. 

 

The Elincrhom Ranger Quadra

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the Ranger Quadra kit. The Ranger series is Elinchrom’s battery operated lighting system. While the Ranger has always been cool, the Quadra kit raises the bar in portability! I was stunned by just how small this kit is. I bought the two head Pro S kit. They make two versions, the S and the A. The A is for, er um "speed" (don’t ask). Yep, the A kit is the faster of the two and would be better for fast moving stuff. Since I don’t shoot sports or fast moving objects, I went with the S Pro kit.

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Able Planet Noise Canceling Headphones – Video Review

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It’s hard to be a frequent flyer and not own a pair of Noise Canceling headphones. Love them or hate them, the Bose Quiet Comfort 2’s seems to be the choice of most frequent travelers. So needless to say I was a little skeptical when the Able Planet Noise Canceling Headphones came across my desk for only $99. See what I liked about them and what I didn’t like about them in my video review:

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Nike+iPhone – (Nike+) Shoes = Flexibility

myshoes

I’ve been a fan of the Nike+iPod kit since day one. Although I don’t consider myself to be a runner. I am a  walker and therefore like to keep track of my walking goals and progress. When the Nike+iPod kit first came out it was a two piece kit sold by Apple and Nike. What you got in the box was a sensor that went into a special compartment in the sole of your Nike+ shoes and a receiver that attached to the dock connector on the iPod nano.

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With this combination you got music while you ran or walked, voice prompts let you know your stats and distance to go and stats that would automatically get uploaded to your Nike+ account on the web each time you’d sync your iPod. It’s GREAT!

nikeinshoe 

I’m an iPhone user though

When the iPhone came out two years ago I wasn’t really interested in carrying both an iPod and my iPhone. After all the iPhone has an iPod built-in. So I kinda got away from using my Nike+ kit. Sure I was still walking, but I just wasn’t keeping track anymore. Well when I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, I was very happy to see that like the iPod touch (2nd gen), Apple had built-in support for the Nike+iPod integration. Now I could carry just the one device and I would no longer need the receiver attached to the dock connector. Cool! I still have my original Nike+ shoes and I started using them again. This is when I realized that I’m not always going to want to wear these shoes everywhere I go. I have nothing against Nike shoes (you should see my closet), but I just didn’t want to be limited to the one pair of shoes every time I wanted to walk and track my progress.

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Logitech Harmony Adapter for Playstation 3

harmonyps3 

Although I’ve had a Playstation 3 in my home theater setup pretty much since they introduced it, there has been one thing that has always bugged me about it and that is that there really wasn’t a great universal remote solution for it. Granted I’ve used work arounds such as the Nyko Playstation 3 remote/adapter, but it didn’t allow for 100% control over all functions such as power on/off. It also occupies one of the PS3’s USB ports. So needless to say, I was happy to see Logitech come out with an adapter that is 100% functional!

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Good deal on a Portable Hard Drive

lacierugged

 

I’m in the process of getting my oldest daughter ready to head off to college. She will need a hard drive for backup and I wanted to get her something small and portable. My search led me to the Lacie Rugged All-Terrain 500GB Hard Drive. Besides being built to take a beating, the thing that I really like about this drive is the triple interface! It has Firewire 800, Firewire 400 and USB 2. It’s also bus powered over all 3 interfaces so there is no need to plug in a power supply to the drive itself. 

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HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA Photo Backup Review

hyperdrive

If you’ve ever been the victim of a corrupted or damaged memory card that resulted in the loss of photos, you know how important it is to backup. I always travel with a notebook computer even when I go on vacation. However, if I’m out shooting on location, I don’t carry my notebook with me. It’s usually left behind in the hotel. That being said, I have been a fan of having a backup device on location with me.

I rely on my Epson P6000 Multimedia Device to backup my memory cards when I’m on the go. I really like the device and gave it a favorable review. The only thing that I don’t like about these Epson devices is the price. In my review I noted that you can bet a full blown notebook computer for what Epson charges for their backup devices. Today I’m reviewing a competitor in this important category.

 

The HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA Photo Backup Device

At the end of the day these devices combine 3 things: a hard drive and LCD display and a couple of memory card slots. Now of course there has to be an operating system and controls to be able to use the device for its intended function, but as far as hardware goes, there really isn’t that much there. That’s why I never understood why the Epson devices cost so much other than they probably felt that they could charge it if people are willing to pay it.

The HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA is a lot more "open minded". First off they use standard notebook 2.5" SATA hard drives. I’m sure Epson does too, but the difference is with the Colorspace you are free to swap out the drive yourself without voiding the warranty. As a matter of fact they even sell the base model without a hard drive so that you can put in one of the ones you may already have. Although I probably do have a hard drive that I could have used from a previous notebook upgrade, I decided to start fresh and order their next model up, which comes with a 120GB hard drive. This should be more than enough for my needs since I really don’t use these devices for long term storage. Also keep in mind that my Epson P6000 only has an 80GB drive so this is an upgrade in terms of storage.

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HyperMac External MacBook Battery Review

hypermac

Now that Apple has increased the number of MacBook models where the user is not able to change the battery, external battery options are more important than ever. No matter how long the battery lasts inside your MacBook Pro, chances are you’re going to encounter a situation where it’s not long enough. This is where the HyperMac External Batteries come in.

I’m planning a trip later this month that will involve a 6 hour flight and I want the option of using my MacBook Pro as much as possible. I don’t have the most current model with the sealed battery, but even with two batteries, it won’t be enough for this trip. So I was intrigued by the HyperMac offerings.

Rather than trying to put this review into words, I recorded this video explaining how the product works along with the results of my "worse case scenario test":

 

 

The Bottom Line

The HyperMac solution is definitely worth it if you need to get longer than a few hours of portable use out of your MacBook. If you have one of the newer MacBook products with a sealed battery, then this solution can be even more of a must have for frequent or long haul travelers.

HyperMac Batteries are priced starting at $199.95 and go up to $499.95 for the largest capacity/longest life model. Learn more about the HyperMac batteries here. 

 

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Vent mount for your iPhone

ventmount

Last week I reviewed the New Navigon Turn-by-Turn Navigation App for iPhone. During that review I didn’t have a mount for my iPhone in my car. I knew what kind of mount I would want and therefore I ordered it from Amazon. 

Here’s a short video on how the Arkon IPM129-ST Removable Air Vent Mount works.

 

 

The Bottom Line

If you need to mount your iPhone in your car and you don’t have round vents (like on the Mustang), this mount works great. It ranges from $8-$12 on Amazon and you can order it here.