ZBoost YX510 Cell Phone Signal Booster Review

They say when it comes to real estate it is all about location, location, location. When it comes to cell phones, it also tends to be about location. There is a growing trend of people dropping their land line phones for just their cell phone. For a lot of people it makes sense. But it only works if you have good cell phone signal where you live. So in a way, it is about location.

I have not been able to take the option of dropping my land line. While I have cell phone coverage and a signal in my house, the strength of the signal depends on which room I am in. And if I am roaming the house while I am on my cell phone, I occasionally drop calls. ZBoost has solved that problem. They are a company that does just what the name implies. They take a cell phone signal, and boost or amplify it. Unfortunately they cannot make something out of nothing. In other words, they cannot create a cell phone signal from nothing. They first need a signal to be able to amplify.

There are multiple different types of cell phone carriers. Because of this zBoost has multiple models. There are also models based on the size of home you have. The product I tested was the YX510. It works on homes up to 2500 square feet. It was simple to set up. The zBoost YX510 came with what looked a bit like a router, a long thick antenna, and a line of coaxial cable to connect the two. Depending on how much signal you get, there are a few different installation options for the antenna. For the best reception they recommend the antenna at a high point in the house such as in the attic. You can also install it next to a window on the inside of the house for a simpler installation.

I had enough of a signal so I was able to install the unit on the inside of my house. After the install, I found that the unit performed as advertised. I now have two more signal strength bars than I had before. I also am able to walk all around the house and not have a dropped call. The performance for me has been great. If you have had problems with weak signal and dropped calls in your home, I would suggest you give them a try. I certainly am glad that I did.

Speck Port Pack shoulder bag review

It can be rather difficult to keep up with all of the changes in the electronics industry. Whether it is cell phones or laptops, new and improved models continue to come out and replace the old ones. As the trends continue to bring out fancier features, a new trend has developed. It is to have models that appeal to who we are and our personalities. This started with cell phones that you could download different ringtones. Now you can get cell phones and laptops in different colors and designs. A company called Speck is continuing in the trend.

Up for review is a Speck Port Pack shoulder laptop bag. It is not your traditional looking black laptop bag. It is a great looking coffee and cream plaid colored laptop bag. And when you see it, some of you will just say “now that’s me.” And that is part of the point.

The other part of the point is the bag is also very functional as well. I think it is the perfect sized bag for a laptop. It holds more than just the laptop, but does not have too many pockets to make it too bulky. This particular laptop bag fits a 15” laptop nice and snug. It also has a lot of functionality. There is a nicely padded shoulder strap that conveniently detaches from plastic quick release tabs, and you can instead carry it from the cloth handle that stores in a zippered pocket up top.

Speck shows a lot of ingenuity in the bags design. As I mentioned above, the shoulder strap works great, but if you would rather carry it in your hand than on your shoulder, just pop off the straps and put them in the bag, unzip the pocket on the back and pull out the handle. There is also a long pocket on the back to hold a magazine or folder. Inside of the bag are two big pockets, one that is padded for the laptop, and a second section to hold whatever. There is also an interior zippered pocket. The interior pockets are covered by a large flap that also covers some exterior pockets. These interior pockets consist of a large zippered pocket, two pen holders, and two smallish Velcro pockets. One of which is a two way pocket for your MP3 player- the inside pocket holds your player and exterior see through mesh pocket holds your earbud headphones. And when you are on the go, the large flap is secured in place with Velcro and a snap-in tab. The bottom of the bag even has a couple hard rubber feet.

This is one amazingly functional laptop bag. It is fairly small in size having plenty of storage without being too big. There are some convenient features and pockets. Not only is it very functional, but it is pretty trendy with the plaid colors. It is stylish looking and will appeal to many individuals. I think many will have the same reaction as my wife. The first thing she said when she saw it was “now that’s mine!”

Video Editing Made Simple with Corel VideoStudio Pro X2

Video editing manufacturers are always trying to make video editing simpler to use, and include advanced features for the more advanced user. Corel is no different. Their VideoStudio Pro X2 is very simple to use, has a lot of features, and will make your home movies look professional. They also have the features to complement the new HD camcorders on the market today.

VideoStudio Pro X2 is an all-in-one solution. With it you can make professional looking HD or standard definition movies, slide shows, and DVDs. It allows you to capture videos and photos in HD or SD from camcorders, the internet, TV, digital cameras, and mobile devices. Once you have it captured, you can edit it with the included tools and include Hollywood style menus. You have the option to output the movies to HD or standard format, onto Blu-ray, AVCHD, DVD, mobile devices, or You Tube. Beginners can let The Movie Wizard do a majority of the work.

Some of the tools at your disposal are professionally designed theme templates and DVD menus. You can also add titles, transitions, music tracks, 100’s of effect filters, picture-in-picture, and even overlay objects and animation. There is even a new feature that allows you to paint, draw or write freehand on the video. You can even make your video look like film with the NewBlue Film effects filters. And if you really want to impress, you can take your stereo sound and encode it into 5.1 surround sound. VideoStudio ProX2 also comes with Corel WinDVD, so you can watch your end result of your Blu-ray, DVD, or AVCHD movie. If you recently upgraded to an HD camcorder, you will want to make sure your video editing software is up to the task. VideoStudio Pro X2 is up to the task.

Using the software proved to be very simple. It can literally be as easy as one, two, and three. One is for capture. That is where you import the video into your computer with the software, and can choose from analog camcorder, DV camcorder, import from disc (such as DVD), and mobile device. Two is for editing. And three is for share. This is where you choose how you want to export the file and in what format. Here you can choose from create video file, create audio file, create disc, export to mobile device, DV recording, HDV Record, or You Tube share online.

For those of you that are in the market for better video authoring and editing software, Corel’s VideoStudio Pro X2 should be on your short list to check out. It is simple to use for beginners, yet has advanced features that you can grow with. It works well, and the video looks great. For a full list of VideoStudeo's specifications and features check out Corel’s website. You can also download a trial version of the software to check it out yourself. It is at http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1175714228541#versionTabview=tab0&tabview=tab0. Happy editing.

CES 2009 Coverage

CES 2009 had a lot of different items this year. There were more manufacturers coming out with Blu-ray players and more models of them. Cell phones are getting more personalized with more color and style options as well as colorful cases to match your personality. SanDisk is coming out with a new mp3 player called Slot Radio player aimed at making it easier to have music you like on your player. It comes preloaded with over a 1000 songs in 7 or 8 preset categories such as Jazz or Country. You will also be able to buy additional cards with over 1000 songs in just a one category microSD card, or buy a newly released album on microSD instead of CD. The same trend can be found for laptop cases. There were also a few 1sts at the show, such as a portable Blu-ray player from Panasonic, and a Dick Tracy type cell phone watch from LG with a touch screen and mp3 player built in. Laptops are also coming out with many smaller models thanks in part to Intel’s Atom processor.

There was also some big news coming out of the show. Just as the Blu-ray format is starting to really catch on, its days appear to be numbered. It will not be this year, and may not even be in five years, but Blu-ray’s days are numbered. The new thing may just be soon to come in the form of flash cards such as SD cards. Up until now, they have been very convenient due to their size and fairly durable since they cannot be scratched like a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray disk. But as the storage capacity has been increasing with SD cards having 32GB capacities are now available, they still do not have the capacity to be able to replace a Blu-ray disc. That will be changing in the near future with a new format called SDXC. Watch out Blu-ray. It is a new high capacity SD card that can hold up to 2TB of data. That is roughly the same capacity of 40 dual layer Blu-ray discs, and in just one small SD card! The specs are scheduled to be released here in the next few months. The new format is supposed to be backward compatible with your current SD cards, but unfortunately the new cards with not work in current SD drives found in computers, cell phones, mp3 players, and other devices currently on the market.

Video displays seemed to have the majority of the attention. Panasonic has an amazing front projector that has an internal lens setting so you can change from widescreen to cinemascope without the need of an expensive anamorphic lens attachment to the front of the projector. But most of the hype came from more traditional type displays. Flat screen TV’s using LED backlighting will soon be coming to market and with it an increase in energy savings and large increase in contrast to help make blacker blacks. Some TV’s are also getting very thin, as in around an inch thin, and some manufacturers such as Toshiba will be taking the bulk out by using a detached set-top box housing part of the circuitry previously found at the back of the TV. More are coming out with more advanced processing features, and Ethernet connections so widgets can be added. Some of you Vista users will already be familiar with using widgets. Now you will be able to check some items such as local weather and your stocks as if you were on your computer, but right from your TV instead.

3D TV was also getting a lot of attention at the show this year. There were varying degrees of success, but it looks better this year than in years past. But it appears there is no set format yet for it. Panasonic appears to be trying to change that. Their demo of 3DTV looked pretty good, but there was some content that appeared better than others. So it appears that content that was made for 3D and recorded in 3D had a much better presentation. They also showed off a Hollywood 3D video camera. It makes sense to have a set format for it, that way all the material as it comes out will be more standardized. I just hope it happens soon before too many manufacturers start creating their own. I would hate to have another format war.

This year’s show was very exciting. As you can see from the attached photos there was a lot to see. Look forward to seeing some of these products in upcoming reviews throughout the year. Some of them are already in the works. Thanks for reading.

CES 2009 Coverage coming soon

Many of you, like myself, are eagerly awaiting the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for all the news of the latest and greatest to be coming out. Well, we will be happy to provide you with some of that. Please stay tuned. It all startes 1/8/09!

Universal Blu-ray Players Are Almost Here

Universal Blu-ray players are here at last (or very soon to be). Previous Universal DVD players were ones that were true universal players. They would play CD’s, DVD video, DVD-Audio, as well as Super Audio CD. When Blu-Ray players came out, many were in eager anticipation for the new Holy Grail of a player – a new universal player that would play all of the previous formats as well as Blu-ray movies. The wait is now almost over, thanks to Denon and Oppo Digital. Both Denon and Oppo Digital have one player each to be coming to market. For Denon it is the DVD-A1UDCI, and for Oppo Digital it is the BDP-83.

The Oppo Digital BDP-83 is one impressive unit. Not only will it be a universal player, but it will also offer Profile 2.0, VRS by Anchor Bay video processing, and internal decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. There is also high definition HDMI scaling, edge and detail enhancement, and 1080p/24Hz output for both DVD and Blu-ray. On the audio side come a refined audio stage, discrete stereo outputs, and increased power and efficiency in the power supply. The BDP-83 will also be able to do direct DSD over HDMI and DSD-to-analog without any PCM conversion. The price is estimated at $499-$599 and is scheduled for release in the 1st quarter of 2009.

For those that need well, a bit more, there is the Denon DVD-A1UDCI. The price is a lot more at $3800. For the extra cash you will get 10-bit video processing from the Silicon Optix Realta chipset that is famous for its quality. The audio side is handled by the Advanced AL32 processing which does digital upsampling from 16 to 32-bits. For those of you that are familiar with it there is also Denon Link. This unit is built like a tank and very heavy. The DVD-AUDCI is the epitome of quality, and is scheduled to be available in February 2009.

Weather Direct WD-3209U 4 Day Weather Forcaster Review

In our modern day, we can use the internet for everything and access it anywhere. It started in our homes on our computers, then on our PDA’s and from there to our cell phones. Now our alarm clocks can access the internet to help make our lives more convenient. Up for review is a wonderful device from La Crosse Technology. It is the Wireless Weather Station model #WD-3209U by Weather Direct.

The Weather Station #WD-3209 is a wonderful device. Not only does it have an alarm clock, but it also uses Wi-Fi to connect to the internet to get local weather information. And it was very easy to set up. It comes with an antenna that gets hard wired to your router. You connect to the internet to register your device and program it with the nearest location to you from a choice of 40,000. So chances are your city is on the list. It also comes with a wireless adapter that you keep outside to monitor the outside temperature wirelessly. Your base station will communicate with both the adapter outside and the wireless adapter that connects it to the internet.

And now with it all set up, not only will you be able to monitor the outside temperature, but you will also have your local forecast right in front of you. You will get forecasts for morning afternoon, and evening with daily high and low temperatures. Not only will you get forecasts and temperatures for the current day, but it provides a 4 day forecast. There are multi-line toggles that will give you chance of precipitation, rain amount, sunshine forecast, barometric pressure, and wind gust/speed/direction. It also tells you the time for sunrise and sunset. You can even program it to notify you with text messages or email alert or just audible alarm from the wireless display if the chance of rain/snow, hi/low humidity, or hi/low outdoor temperature is outside of your desired range.

All in all, it is a great device. And it works as it should. Weather Direct makes a great high quality product. If you are in the market for this type of product I highly recommend them. For complete specs and more details, feel free to check out their website at www.weatherdirect.com.

Canon HG10 HD Camcorder Review by Jeff Roy

You may have heard the saying, “garbage in, garbage out.” When it comes to recording video, it all starts with the image. That is why it is important to start with a good quality lens and Canon makes some of the best. Up for review is the Canon HG10 HD Camcorder. I miss the old days of the Flexizone, where there was a small little box that you could move around with a joystick and tell the camcorder what to focus on. But since then Canon has brought us many other improvements.

First I must cover some of the basic features that make this camcorder so great. Aside from the high quality HD video lens, it also comes with SuperRange Optical Image Stabilizer, an HD CMOS sensor that captures full 1920x1080 resolution, and an excellent RGB primary color filter. In addition, the HG10 has a 10x optical and 200x digital zoom, 3.1 megapixel digital camera, color LCD and viewfinder, and Canon’s own DIGIC DVII processor to handle the internal processing. Gone is the miniDV tape to record the video onto. Instead, there is a 40GB hard drive that can capture hours of video. Now there is no need to worry about whether or not you have that blank tape before you can do any recording.

To put it to the test, I took it on a great field test….my family vacation to Disneyland. With all of the bright colors and excellent tones that are to be found all around Disneyland, especially Toon Town, I figured that would be the best location to see just how good the HG10 is. Not that I should be, but I was pleasantly surprised with its performance. Having been a multiple generation of Canon user, from the old Video8 line to most recently with my Canon Optura XI, I am not a stranger to Canon’s quality. But when I first turned it on, what I saw through my naked eye and what I saw through the LCD display were the same. Even in low light situations the image came out looking good. There were even some instances when what I saw on the LCD display appeared just a tad brighter than what I was seeing with my naked eye. I was amazed at how the Canon did in lowlight performance. Lowlight has not been Canon’s forte in the past; but Canon appears to have changed that. The images that I saw did have a lot of grain in very low light, but the image was still very viewable.

Canon’s HG10 performed its recording duties admirably. In bright light situations, the HG10 performed superbly. The colors where very natural looking and the shades appeared right on with what I was seeing with the naked eye. There was plenty of saturation without appearing oversaturated. The contrast was excellent, and with the full HD 1080 sensor the detail and resolution was breathtaking. There are other manufacturers out there that use three separate chips for the colors. To save on some cost Canon has chosen to use just one chip with the RGB primary color filter. In Canon’s defense, this method appears to work very well. I have zero complaints about the image produced by using a single chip. With the advanced accessory shoe, you can use Canon’s accessories that you may already have such as Canon’s external mic or video light. I chose not to use my external mic or video light. I was initially concerned with the placement of the mic at the top of the camcorder, but I did not notice any internal motor noise as has been the case with some previous models with the same mic location. The camera felt great in my hand, more so than my Optura XI. The zoom, pause/record, and photo buttons (the ones you use the most) are all very easy to use and within close reach.

If there was one area of concern I would probably put it on the use of the AVCHD codec. When using the camcorder and panning from one area to another, I did notice slight motion artifacts around some of the images. From what I have studied, this appears to be due to using that codec. While it was not terrible, it was noticeable. When panning, I would suggest doing so more slowly to avoid this as much as possible.

Canon has done it again with bringing us consumers a great camcorder in the HG10. While it is not perfect, it does provide a great looking image! I would highly recommend the HG10 to anyone, and if you are in the market for a new camcorder I would make sure to put it on your short list. I am very sad to see it go, and I look forward to seeing what Canon has next to come out. For more information and full specs on the HG10, check out Canon’s website at http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=177&modelid=15617.

Sennheiser PXC300 Noise Cancelling Headphones Review by Jeff Roy

If you are anything like me and like to travel, you may have noticed that annoying background noise. It usually comes in the form of a constant noise in the form of a jet, car, bus, or train engine depending on how you travel. And if also like you enjoy your travel entertainment whether it be music or movies, the constant noise and get to you. Up for review today is an answer to that problem. It is the Sennheiser PX300 noise cancelling headphones.

When it comes to electronics, I tend to go with the tried and true. For that reason I have been a user of Sennheiser and their quality products for many years. The PX300’s followed along with the reputation and deliver on what they claim. It is difficult to cancel ALL of that unwanted background noise. I have not come across a product that does. But the NoiseGard Advanced technology in the PX300’s is supposed to take away up to 80% of it. From my experience on the plane, it seemed right on the money. In technical terms, it is up to 15db. I have some many brands advertise noise cancelling <200>

With an MSRP of $179.95, not only are they good to reduce the noise of your surroundings but they are also a good sounding set of headphones. The closed, supra-aural minim headphones design has a frequency response of 8-21,500 Hz. The literature I saw said it has deep powerful bass, and while I tend to be a bit of a “bass head,” the bass was not boomy and overbearing, and seemed sufficient. The PXC300’s also had a good deal of realism to them. They were a tad on the bright side, but that is how most individuals like their music. The soundstage was good as well as the imaging. I enjoyed the level of resolution they provided. Both male and female vocals sounded great, and piano sounded very natural. I listen to everything from classical to new age, to reggae, to heavy metal. I was pleased with how they handled everything I through at them. They are lightweight and comfortable, and in combination of good sound performance I would be able to wear them for long periods of time.

I am glad to see Sennheiser’s reputation still precedes them. The construction quality is very good. The noise cancelling feature works great. And their sound quality as headphones is also very good. If you are in the market for noise cancelling headphones, I would put Sennheiser on your short list. I thoroughly enjoyed them. For more info and complete specs, feel free to check out their website at http://www.sennheiserusa.com/.

Kenwood Excelon KDC-X991 car receiver review

When it comes time to look for a new CD receiver, there are a lot of models from which to choose and from a lot of different manufacturers. And you want to make sure you get what you need. After all, your receiver is the center of your car stereo system. For that, I look for a mix of quality, features, and reputation. After all, I expect good sound, need a lot of features, and expect my deck to stay out of the repair shop. With those criteria I tend to look towards Kenwood for my deck. The model I will be reviewing today is the KDC-X991.
The KDC-X991 has a plethora of features. Along with it being a competent CD player, it has a strong tuner that is HD Radio ready with RDS, has a 4096 color display that is customizable, is Satellite radio ready, Bluetooth ready, has multiple inputs with a USB input as well as an auxiliary input. The built-in amplifier is rated at 50x4, and can be turned off to help improve the sound quality if you are using external amplifiers. There are three 5v preouts for use of external amplifiers to give them a strong signal. It even has dual zone so you can have separate sources for front and rear. It also uses what is called ODD or Offset Dual Differential. This system uses dual D/A converters. With it, the digital signal processing is isolated and controlled separately for the front channel so the channel separation is greatly improved.
When it comes to sound control, you will be hard pressed to find another manufacturer that gives you more options to custom tailor your sound. Sound management on this deck is huge! There is a custom cabin setting where you tell your deck what size the cabin is (compact, full-size, wagon, minivan, SUV, etc), the locations of the speakers, the size of the speakers, and if they use a separate tweeter as well as the size of your subwoofer, and digital time alignment is also allowed where you put in the distance from you to the speakers. There is also a built in crossover network to control the high pass and slope separately for the fronts and the rears, as well as the phase for the sub. There is also a manual position setting where you can select where the focus is to be.
Kenwood also did not leave out equalization control, and again it is all customizable. For those who do not like to do a lot of tweaking, there are the presets for Natural, Rock, Pop, Easy. Top 40, Jazz, and User. For those who want more control, there is a separate 4 band equalizer for the front and rear channels, totally adjustable for the center frequency, q factor, and gain for each band. For example for band 1 you can choose from 60/80/100/120/160/200 Hz, q factor (height of the slope) of .25/.50/1.00/2.00, as well as the gain of the band of -9/-7/-5/-3/-2/-1/0/+1/+2/+3/+5/+7/+9. If that were not enough, there is also the SRS Wow HD. I really like the Focus effect. My front door speakers are down low in the doors, and the SRS Focus helped the speakers sound as if they were much higher in the doors.
The graphic display also has multiple options to choose how you want your display to look, as well as in what color. There are display types A through E, and some gives you more information than others. You can download different short little movie clips or wallpapers. I really like the spectrum analyzer. There is also the option for a G-Analyzer display for a stopwatch, horsepower analysis, and g-force. With the display type I chose, I get the spectrum analyzer as well as the song title info. The display has 4096 colors. Even though I have seen other decks with higher resolution, it does look good, is well lit, and the angle is adjustable if you need to.
While there are some features of the deck that I do not use, such as the G-Analyzer, or the external Kenwood amplifier control (since my external amps are not Kenwood’s), I do use the majority of the features and love them! The deck almost feels like my home theater receiver when I scroll through all the input options (Standby, HD Radio, CD, Internal Memory, USB, and Auxiliary). The CD transport works great. I love the RDS radio info (station name and song title). With the external tuner, HD Radio sounds awesome. The deck can also handle satellite radio, but with my HD Radio tuner (and HD Radio being free) I have not felt the need for it.
Hooking up my Samsung 2GB MP3 player to it thru the USB connector was very simple. Once connected, it started to read the info on my player. I was glad to see the deck was able to play the songs as well as show the ID Tag info with the song title. There did appear to be a small glitch which I am chalking up to a slight incompatibility issue with my Samsung MP3 player and the deck. While it would play songs and show the song info on the decks display, I could not fast forward and skip songs. I would have to listen to them in the order they are stored in my MP3 player. If I switch inputs to say my CD player, and then go back to the USB connection later, it plays the song we left off at.
One of the new features on this deck compared with last year’s KDC-X990 is the internal memory. It has 512MB of internal memory that you can transfer songs from either a cd or your mp3 player to. You can instantly have access to your favorite songs without needing the disk or having your mp3 player connected. You select the record quality (higher quality takes up more space), and type in the song title. Additional changes from last year’s KDC-X990 are the addition of SRS WOW HD (improved from last year’s SRS WOW), the USB input, and SP Supreme. And while it does not say it on the box, according to Kenwood it is also Bluetooth ready. As an audiophile, new models coming out is always concerning, especially when you have a great sounding unit like the KDC-X990 up to be replaced. New models are constantly replacing the old ones. And as an audiophile, I was concerned that changes would be made to the new model (such as eliminating the ODD) so the sound quality is not quite as good. When I pulled out the KDC-990 to make way for the KDC-X991, I was glad to hear that this was not the case. The sounds that I heard were just as they were intended. When I listened to Manheim Steamroller, it was very crisp and clean. Vocals were very natural sounding and smooth. I have heard some say a particular manufacturer will be a tad bright, or maybe a bit warm sounding. I thought the deck was rather neutral.
I have had decks from Alpine, Pioneer, and Kenwood. I started off with Alpine, went to a Kenwood, and then went to Pioneer and am now back to Kenwood. The KDC-X991 is my 4th Kenwood Excelon deck since I went back to Kenwood and I love them. I love the features, such as the add-on HD tuner, and the sound is amazing! And the built-in internal memory is something I have not heard any other manufacturer having. I LIKE IT! Well deserved kudos goes to Kenwood for an excellent sounding product. If you like a lot of features and the ability to customize your sound, I would highly recommend giving Kenwood a look. I for one have not been disappointed I did. The features and specs touched on here are just a few. For complete specs, feel free to check out Kenwood’s website at http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Car_Entertainment/eXcelon/1-Din_CD_Receivers/KDC-X991.