Radio Collector's Afficionado's Resource

As one of over 140,000 attendees at CES, I from time to time felt as if I were a lemming going along with the flow from one exhibit to another for the most part in awe at the whole extravaganza. If there was any united theme it had to be centered on the conception of digital integration. It was apparent in the inter-connectivity of gimmicks in lifestyle and environments for the workplace, home, and automobile.

Microsoft’s impressive exhibit illustrated the conception of interconnectivity the best with on-going demonstrations and exhibits illustrating the integration of their software and services.

HP and other booths illustrated how digital technology may be used in each room of the house for convenience, comfort, productivity, security, and entertainment. Many exhibitors addressed only numerous distinct features of the integration possibilities. For instance there were numerous booths devoted to home security and the remote control of other home apps such as sprinklers, garage door, heating/cooling, hot tub/pool, lighting, video cameras and more. Some of the schemes even integrated the use of a Windows Mobile device as a remote controller.

One entire hall was devoted to HD TV, video applications, furniture, sound, gaming, and mounting systems. With the advent of widescreen HDTV, a whole new style of furniture and interior design has emerged along with the home theater with particular seating, sound systems, mounting, and connectivity considerations.

By the way, I think I’d put my cash on Blu-Ray as the winner of the HD format war. Unless, by the time the dust settles, there is an exclusively new format available.

There were games a good deal of with particular controllers and furniture. Judging from the cacophony coming out of a great deal of booths, the air guitars seemed to be the most popular, but that’s wandering astray from the handheld computing world–well, actually not. Hands-On Mobile of San Diego, CA, presently offers Guitar Hero Mobile.

The automobile is surely a new focus and earnings center for the integration of digital technology. Ford and Microsoft have teamed up to offer voice recognition, Bluetooth connectivity, and GPS. For assorted years Ford has offered Sirius satellite radio, but now it will combine MSN features such as emergency road service, live traffic and road conditions, gas prices, routing and rerouting.

The President of General Motors gave a keynote visual representation indicating that GM has a few tricks up it is sleeve as well. The rest of the automotive world will not be far behind.

What amuses me, however, is that all these “new” features have been share of my automobile surroundings for years, thanks to my trusty Windows Mobile appliances with a few peripherals. But, I suppose the intermediate person would prefer a more simple integration approach with everything already built-in.

Mobile Computing Devices

While I tried to take in everything, I’m sure I missed some nifty stuff because it was all just so overwhelming. However, I did try to focus on two things: new Windows Mobile widgets and UMPCs.

I found assorted new WM6 devices, which I will review exhaustively as soon as I receive the evaluation units from Asus, Samsung, HP, Motorola, and Verizon. I was astonished at how few new widgets were declared or freed for the show. I’m not sure what HTC is doing and was never competent to catch up with them, but they are getting more closed mouth now that they are working with carriers and retail under their own name. Definite picks for best new releases include the Motorola Q9h, the Samsung shi760, and a new powerhouse iPaq Windows Mobile 6 classic release.

Since my article on UMPCs when they initial emerged a couple of years ago, I have been watching to see if they would survive. While they have not and will not replace the Pocket PC, they have surely conventional a respectable niche in the market. I was delighted to see various new models available.

I will be receiving units from Samsung and Asus for review and will portion my conclusions soon. Suffice it to say for now that both companies have listened to user input and responded accordingly. You may look forward to a great deal of improvements and inventions in this evolving platform.

Apart from the big name brands such as Sony, Panasonic, and so forth, there were hundreds of booths in the Hilton and Sands venues with littler manufacturer wannabees exhibiting a great deal of treasures, but you have to dig for them. Accordingly, I found a couple of makers of great Windows Mobile appliances and a heap of genuinely innovative UMPCs, which I hope to receive for review as well.

As for peripherals for our beloved pocket pals, I found a few gems that I will make percentage of my permanent pack.

Hands-Free Driving and Music

I’m always on the lookout for a good Bluetooth headset and headphones. I found both at the Jabra booth. My bestloved is the Jabra BT8030 Bluetooth speaker and headphones. This is a first-time combining that is distinguishable of the market. You may remove the headphones, fold them out, and they become speakers that broadcast your sound with Ziree Power Bass for a breathtakingly full, rich sound environment. These are a will have to have in my mobile pack.

My only criticism of this other than as supposed or expected brilliant product is that you cannot charge it thru a USB connection. However, you may suppose up to 32 hours listening time on a single charge and up to 600 hours standby time. They weigh just underneath 11 ounces. The suggested retail price is $250, but shop around and you may in all likelihood do better.

I’m always on the lookout for a comfortable BT headset that won’t fall out of my ear that is lightweight and not too ugly. Jabra came to the rescue again with it is new JX20 Pura, an elegantly crafted tiny titanium headset designed by Jacob Jensen the widely known and esteemed Danish designer. It weighs less than a bird’s beak so that you don’t even know it’s there. You may listen to music with it too when you’re not talking on the phone.

Its charging cradle is a work of art that will grace your desktop too. You may suppose up to six hours talk time, and it may be charged in your car or thru USB as well as AC. The sound quality is superb, and there is an automatic volume control.

This classy device will set you back as much as $179, which is a bit steep taking into account that you may buy a Bluetooth headset now for as little as $30, but you get what you recompense for.

Mobile Video Just Got Better

One of my all-time bestloved apps is getting better and better. I can’t imagine life without my Slingbox and SlingPlayer for my Windows Mobile widgets which allows me to view my bestloved live and recorded TV shows anyplace in the world with no regularly every month fees.

The reason I say it just got better is that with the newly freed Pro-HD; you may watch full HD streaming and access multiple video sources. You may use it to stream HD video around your house to a desktop or laptop too. SlingCatcher will be coming soon, and it will make it possible to access your home video output from any video website on the Internet.

SlingPlayer 2.0 now comes with Clip+Sling, an application that allows you to record and send snips of videos, which is fun and exceedingly useful. Congratulations to SlingMedia for being one of the veritably modern companies in the digital universe.

Video Eyewear

I have a another pick for CES favorite-MyVu.com, which is a video looking at solution for portable devices. While this company seems hung up on iPods, it also offers a universal viewer that is supposed to work with all video output portable devices. What you get for $199 is a pair of glasses that projects video output as if you were observing it on a 27 inch screen. It’s a fantasti concept, but I’m not sure yet just what you may project. It was such pandemonium in the booth that I couldn’t get any satisfactory answers.

My observing experience was that the effigy seemed small, isolated, non-involving, and low resolution. It could be that the game I was looking at was not up to par as far as output is concerned, but what I saw left something to be desired.

Now, if you could view the output screen of your Windows Mobile device and anything that it displays in the same solution that appears in the palm of your hand, this would be a suitable gadget indeed.

My.Vu offers the Crystal 701, which is an refined and tasteful hand-free looking at eyeware device with earbuds and VGA solution and a USB rechargeable battery with up to 4 hours watching time.

There is likewise the shades 301 model with sunshades and up to 10 hours observing time. You may likewise get the Edge301, which is a more compact design for hands-free watching with earbuds and a 4 hour rechargeable battery. Check it out at www. myvu.com.

As I modern through the show, I noticed that there were other similar devices. In fact, there are a good deal of contenders in this market, but none as conventional as MyVu. Another challenger that seemed a good solution is Vuzix, a company that formulates buyer video eyewear, medical devices, and tactical display-ware for the military.

The VR920 device simulates a 62″ observing screen but costs $399.95. The uttermost model costs $999.00. What a outstanding way to heighten the mini screen on your handheld device. Clearly, this is a wining application that extends the limitations of Windows Mobile device little screens.

Mobile Scanning and Printing

I not long back submitted an article to Smartphone and Pocket PC magazine on a good deal of of the tools I commend for mobile productivity. I cited a portable scanner and printer that I undertake to keep away from toting unless I know for sure I will need them. That was before CES and my invention of an unbelievable pair of merchandise from PlanOn with it is DocuPen and petite printer.

I closely passed this booth as I had my eye on a imagination robot down the aisle when an beautiful woman asked me if I had ever heard of a DocuPen. She was waving what might be a high-tech wand at me that Harry Potter would be proud to possess. It looked like a somewhat oversized ball point pen.

The visual representation blew me away, for all you have to do is wave it over any document or graphic, and it will record it in black and white, grayscale, or 24-bit full color.

It comes with PaperPort scanning software, weighs 1.75 ounces, runs on rechargeable lithium Ion batteries and features a micro-SD elaboration card for further and added storage. A Universal Mobile Charger accessory is good for up to 55 charges when a power source is not available.

Pair the DocuPen with the PS900 Printstik by way of Bluetooth, and you have a powerful mobile solution. Of course you may likewise transmit a scanned effigy to your Windows Mobile device if you wish to use it in a PowerPoint demonstration or email it. Of course, you may print images already in your mobile device too.

The PrintStick is a mere 1″ x 1.9″ x 11″ and weighs 1.9 pounds including the thermal paper and cartridge. It prints up to 3 pages per minute on 8.5″ wide sheets. A cartridge will print 20 8.5 x 11 inches pages. Power choices include AC 120-240, DC 12/24V, and rechargeable Lithium-ion battery.

The suggested syndication price is $299 for each unit. Accessories are extra. In any case, this winning combining could be worth it is weight in gold on the road in emergency situations. I’m glad that lady waived her wand at me and that I didn’t turn into a pumpkin. Check it out at http://www.planon.com.

MagicJack

I have one more astounding little device to portion with you that impressed me even even though it is not incisively in the handheld realm. It’s the MagicJack, a distinctive VoIP solution. We’ve all heard of Vonage and Skype no doubt, but along comes MagicJack with a altogether new approach to VoIP. Imagine a little box regarding the size of a pack of strike anyplace matches with a USB male plug extending from it.

Just plug it into any PC USB jack, plug a regular analog phone into the other end, and start out talking. Local and long distance calls are free. This phone system has all the bells and whistles you would suppose from an costly landline account such as voice mail, call waiting, and caller ID. It even has call forwarding so that you may forward calls to your mobile phone, which justifies it is inclusion in this article, I suppose.

The only cost involved is to buy the device for $39.95, which includes the basi year’s service. With each account, you get an actual phone number that persons may call in the normal fashion with any phone from anywhere. Thereafter, it’s $19.95 per year, not per month, per year. Never compensate the phone company again!

Keep connected

Universal Control Mx 600 Theater 10 Device

Connect your iPod or iPhone to your car audio system with this innovative iPod control system. Stream music data from your phone and take pleasure in your music through your car audio system. Compatible with most Bluetooth phones. Talk hands-free with your iPhone or most Bluetooth phones. The EX-10 features a built-in speaker and microphone as well as a caller ID display and call log. The automatic answer function keeps your eyes on the road – not your phone.

Universal Control Mx 600 Theater 10 Device Photo

Universal Control Mx 600 Theater 10 Device Picture

Universal Control Mx 600 Theater 10 Device Picture

Universal Control Mx 600 Theater 10 Device Photo

Most helpful client reviews

9 of 10 humans found the following review helpful.
Great addition to my iPhone!
By Michael F. Wright
I purchased this unit a few months ago and just found the time to install it in my truck. I had it up and running my iPhone in no time at all. It was real plug and play. As far as the one reviewer using the FM modulator feature, if you have an AUX in jack on your stereo, you may connect directly. That is what I did, and like I said, it sounds great!

I placed mine right on the dash, just a little off center. The wires and control box are buried in my dash. There is a supplied remote control wire with a sensor on it for use with the remote. I spliced into my cigarette lighter and put a 12 volt outlet on it that I picked up at a truck stop, it too is buried in the dash. Very clean looking install.

As far as the bluetooth? I don’t use it on the Alpine. I have a Jawbone bluetooth ear piece that works much better than an external mike. Need that noise cancellation feature in my cab.

And the navigation seems to work fine. I just pick an artisan and go from there. And it is nice not having to screw around with the iPhone while driving. The little Alpine monitor looks small, but is very readable and easy to navigate.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Gets a bad rap by the Uninformed and Illiterate…
By Hoof Hearted
The Alpine Ex-10 does galore things well and a great deal of things okay. I’ve given it four stars because it is a very nice little gadget. Here’s my experience so far…

I installed it outside a Car-Toys in when it comes to 30 minutes after reading through the guide.
The instructions that come with it are very good regarding installation and the basi principles of the unit.
The colors that little screen put out (mostly blue) are very vibrant. The screen luminance may be adjusted up or down.

***BIG ONE*** There are a lot of persons bashing the FM Modulator because it has only 4 preset stations in the 88.x range. These are the illiterates I am talking about. By following the instructions and keeping down a button for a couple seconds you may seek either direction to find an unused station. You may preset 4 dissimilar stations to tune into. For example, 103.1 and 90.7 are both reasonably free where I live. I chose them in slots 1 and 2 and now if I have any problem with one I may switch to the other exceedingly easily. These presets are totally changable – all 4 of them – and it says so right in the setup guide if these humans would read them.

I was capable to sync up my AT&T HTC Fuze by way of bluetooth effortlessly. The whole bluetooth set up took with regards to 60 seconds and that includes turning bluetooth on on both devices. It syncs utterly whenever I get in the car now. I am capable to listen to audiobooks and music wirelessly over bluetooth in full stereo from my phone to the Ex-10 and then transmitted over FM to my car stereo. It’s nice and as easy to use as starting the music player on my phone.

Bluetooth calling is a bit of an issue. I haven’t set up voice dialing yet. My phonebook took everlastingly to come over onto the Ex-10 and it seems to be missing a few numbers for some reason. Answering seems easy sufficient with the remote – just hit enter. But I can’t seem to hang up as easy. Calling has been a pain, but I haven’t expended much time working on it yet either. Voice to me sounds crystal clear – I chose the external speaker which sends it through the FM Modulator to my car stereo. The other persons voice comes through my car speakers as clear as a bell. My voice though sounded a bit “tinny” and had a little “staticy” sound to it according to who I was talking to. The ease of setup was good altho with the microphone and whatnot.

Haven’t applied Ipod yet actually, but it appears to be as easy as the other things to set up and use.

My gripes are just with the remote having to point at the right spot and having to hold down my push sometimes. Also there is an occasional delay in my commands over the remote and I’ve double clicked on accident assorted times thinking the command didn’t go through. I’m still not sure how to use all the buttons on the remote in the dissimilar situations in spite of the picture on each button… There are likewise no unit controls – only the remote. DON’T LOSE THE REMOTE! =-) The cables are a bit much with how a lot of there are and how thick the power one is to the unit, but so far this has been a nice little unit. Definitly worth the price.

2 of 2 persons found the following review helpful.
Excellent little gadget. Poor reviews are from the uninformed.
By A
After having applied an FM transmitter for my iPod classic for a while, was looking for something that would make it posing no difficulty to control what I was listening to and that would make good eye candy for what was playing.. this device was it!. Setup for my iPod couldn’t have been easier, I did have to read the manual to figure out how to get back out from a list once it was chosen, but other than that, it is beauteous intuitive.
Phone setup with my Motorola Razr was simple. I don’t use that feature as much, but it wsa simple to setup.

Sound Quality over my former transmitter (Griffin Roadtrip) is a quantum leap better… no more occasional interference, better reproduction of my music library.

The only concern I have is for battery life in the remote, but so far after three months usage it seems to still be going strong.

See all 18 client reviews…