Electronics Buying Guide

Apple iPhone

If you are wanting a phone that you can also use to play your music, watch videos, surf the web and take photos, then the Apple iPhone will deliver all these and more for you. Designed to fit into a pocket or small handbag, it is very sleek and also looks good. The Apple iPhone is basically a 3.5inch widescreen iPod with internet capabilities, so that you can touch the screen controls to navigate through all your information, from eBooks, audio books, TV, music, photos and movies. You can also synchronise an iTunes library from your home computer onto the Apple iPhone. A nice feature is the Cover Flow, which is where the album artwork is displayed when you scroll through your library of music.

The way the screen works is you can just touch your finger onto the large multi-touch display to pick whatever file or folder you want, to choose a phone number or name from the address list or to select a list of favourites you might have saved. You can also synchronise any contacts you have on your home computer to make managing your address lists seamless. The Apple iPhone features a QWERTY predictive keyboard that is nice and soft which helps reduce mistakes when you are typing text messages in and also corrects mistakes for you. Also for taking fabulously sharp photos, the Apple iPhone boasts a 2-megapixel camera. Again you can synchronise these to and from your main computer. The Apple iPhone also supports internet surfing, with a rich HTML email function plus Google and Yahoo built into the browser. You can download email and search for websites of interest; you can also display a Google Map and zoom in and out to help you find wherever you need to go. If you are like multi-tasking, Apple iPhone allows you to download emails while browsing around the web. Also there are a range of widgets offered, which are small applications to receive and manage a range of information, like weather reports. A particularly cool function is the ambient light sensor, this senses when the screen needs to be at a certain light level, so that the screen is easier to read but this also helps reduce the battery being used up as fast. Another funky trick of the Apple iPhone is the accelerometer sensor; this kicks in if you are taking a photo in landscape and the phone will automatically auto-rotate to assist you. All this and you can just hold it in your hand.

BlackBerry Curve

The BlackBerry Curve series of the BlackBerry smartphones was first released in 2007. This phone went beyond the simple messaging ability of the smartphones to offer a 2MP camera and a whole range of new and better multimedia features. The phones themselves were designed to look much sleeker and smarter in order to appeal to a younger, trendier consumer. The BlackBerry Curve offers Roxio bundled software to support multimedia functions as well as fast surfing of the internet. One of the downsides of the BlackBerry Curve is that this smartphone does not have video recording capabilities. However, the camera does have quite a fast shutter speed and a built in flash for taking photos indoors or in a darker place. The quality of the images taken by the camera are really quite high and good enough for uploading straight onto your favourite social networking site.

All of the benefits offered in the BlackBerry range have been packed into the BlackBerry Curve, including fast downloading of attachments and instant messaging through BlackBerry Messenger for conversations in real time. The battery capacity provided with the Blackberry Curve is quite big which means you can continue to stay in touch through email, your social networking sites and phone calls without having to find somewhere to plug the battery in to recharge the phone. Another nice feature is the integrated GPS so that you can easily find where you are and pull up maps of where to go. The designers have also developed an updated Wi-Fi to support improved internet connections.

All of the standard features for the media system are also provided with the BlackBerry Curve, including listening to the radio, playing music, skipping or pausing a song. The phone does have pretty decent speakers for listening to music but using a Bluetooth headset will probably give you a much better quality experience. The very easy to use Trackpad is another great feature of the BlackBerry Curve that means navigation around the menu and icons is really simple. The phone also has a mode for mass storage which means you can easily drag and drop files that you want to look at or save.

The fully-sized keyboard is super easy to use (more so than the BlackBerry Pearl) and is backlit so great for using at somewhere dark. The look of the BlackBerry Curve is visually appealing with its curved edges plus it is slim and light to hold so it can slide right into a pocket or a small handbag. Perfect for on those of us who want to keep on communicating while we are on the go.

CCTV Cameras

CCTV cameras are being installed everywhere for crime prevention and detection. They're currently available at rather inexpensive price, are simple to install, and need low-maintenance. There are numerous types of scientifically difficult CCTV cameras that offer fitting surveillance solutions. Lots of CCTV cameras in use today are usually for surveillance and security purposes.

You will have surely noticed CCTV systems in almost each bank, casino, shopping mall and huge retail outlets. Basically CCTV systems are becoming so inexpensive, most smaller high street stores also have CCTV systems for security purposes and to deter petty stealing.

Indoor CCTV: Indoor camera’s - as their name points out - are utilized for indoor security mechanism. Depending on your security wishes you can mount it at any sufficient location in the building. These are OK for security in homes, faculties, offices, hotels, and the like.

Outside CCTV: Outside CCTV Cameras are used for outside locations. They are often employed for entry and exit points with some night lighting. Outdoors cameras infrequently have hard shell vandal-proof environment and a selection of lens options. In the daytime the camera functions like a standard camera with standard colors and at night it switches to low-lux black and white mode. When visibility decreases due to no-light at night, Infrared LEDs are instantly illuminated providing full security.

Dome CCTV: Dome cameras are installed inside a dark dome and are designed in a style that they are going unobserved by visitors. They come in compact design for a cautious appearance. The thief does not know if the camera is recording. Dome type cameras are utilized in public like train line station, bus stops, and other areas where there's great gathering of folks.

Bullet CCTV: Bullet cameras are placed inside a bullet formed housing, and they are employed in home places as well as commercial places. They are little in size, have a composite design, and are really effective. They offer illuminate viewing even in darkness and are weatherproof also.

Vandal Proof Camera’s: Vandal proof cameras are used as outside video security cameras. These cameras are sheltered inside solid material and are covered by a "heart" of break-proof glass, which does not block the standard of the video recorder streams. It is difficult to wreck these cameras and this makes them good for high security. They are OK for wall or ceiling mounting and are rain and mist resistant.

Hidden CCTV: Hidden cameras are compact in size and are exploited for secret monitoring. They are often installed in public like shops, theatres, clubs, and so on. Hidden cameras have an in-built recorder that records and broadcasts at the same time. By employing an enormous number of video security cameras and networking them sundry strategic perspectives of the place can be gained.

Pan tilt Zoom Cameras: Pan-tilt-zoom camera offers the capacity to view and zoom in all directions. You will also set the camera to mechanically revolve to different fields of vision.

Cell Phones

This is the time of year when people think about gifts to get for their loved ones. One of the choruses heard throughout the country is children asking parents for the latest cell phone. No matter that their current model is only a year old, it’s ‘so out of date’… apparently! Only a decade ago, the latest cell phones were typically analogue, boasting SMS as the latest in available technology. Things have certainly moved on since those simpler times. With the advent of digitalization and miniaturization, cell phones have come of age as tantamount to hand-held computers.

The most sort after cell phones are the branded products by Blackberry and Apple. The latest models fall into the category of 3G phones, that is ‘third generation’. 3G cell phones, or ‘smartphones’, utilize mobile cloud internet connectivity, allowing real-time multimedia use. Based on the Apple iOS3 / iOS4, or Android operating systems, these cell phones are able to carry a multitude of separate applications as well as the familiar phone calling and SMS features.

3G cell phones benefit from a greatly increased data transfer speed, allowing for efficient internet download and multimedia consumption. The very latest 3G cell phones such as the Apple iPhone 4 also allow multitasking, enabling the user for example to listen to an internet radio station, access a sports application whilst a social networking link remains active in the background. 3G cell phones tend to have inbuilt GPS; this opens up many application possibilities including accurate weather forecasting, locating nearby facilities such as cinemas, and aiding navigation software.

The most contemporary 3G cell phones are the most expensive on the market, with an Apple iPhone 4 costing as much as $800 or more on a non-contract basis. However, as with most technologies, advancements tend to bring previous models down in price. This means that earlier 3G cell phones, and especially 2G cell phones, can still be bought at a very reasonable price.

The type of cell phone you buy will be directly related to your potential usage. Quite apart from a young person’s fashion accessory, cell phones should only be bought with the functionality that is relevant to you personally. For example, if you only use your cell phone to make calls and send SMS and MMS messages, there’s no point spending $100’s on the latest smartphone. Conversely, many business people find they can run their entire business on the move with a top end iPhone or Blackberry.

Ultimately you get what you pay for. There are certain cell phones to avoid at all cost, however low their cost may seem. Imported 3G imitations of cell phones such as the iPhone or Blackberry are available from online auction sites for a fraction of the retail price in the USA. However, don’t be drawn in. These products may look like the real deal but they suffer from limited to zero functionality and are a mere shadow of the real thing. You’d be much better off buying a lower spec but genuine cell phone product than one of these cheap knock-offs.

eBook Readers – the modern way to read a book

An eBook reader is an electronic device which stores a wide range of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and is an electronic book reading machine. The benefit of an eBook reader is that you can access a huge number of books, just as you would if you went to the local library, but the eBook means you can do this in the privacy of your own home and at any time you choose to.

Some of the best things about eBook readers are how easy they are to use, how portable they are and that they are truly beneficial for the environment. An eBook reader is deigned to download or upload books that you would like to read, so instead of lots of paper being used to produce a normal paper book the eBook reader saves all those trees. When you are going on a long trip or on holiday, eBook readers are perfect because you do not have to stack heaps of books into your case or bag, you can simply chose the ones you want before you go.

There are a range of eBook readers available on the market, produced by different companies. It is probably a good idea to go to a local electronics retail outlet and have a play with some of the different models before you choose which one to buy. There are also quite a few sites on the internet that have completed reviews of the different eBook readers and they also provide a comparison between the types.

The things to consider when looking at purchasing an eBook reader include design, content, battery power and any extra features. In regards to design, different models will use touch-screens or backlit LED screens as well as a voice prompt. It is important when you look at the design that you are comfortable reading the screen, that the font can be increased or minimized to a size that suits you and that the font style is easy for you to read.

Some eBook readers will come with lots of books already loaded through a special service and other models might only have a few different titles available for you. So content can be really important if you don’t want to keep going back to purchase more eBooks. There is also nothing worse than a computer running out of its battery right at the crucial moment and eBooks are no different. If you are in the middle of a gripping novel you want to be assured that your battery life will last. So check how long the memory is and how long it takes to charge up the battery again. Lastly, all the added extra features can make a big difference both to cost of the eBook reader but also to your enjoyment. Some eBook reader models offer different levels of gray-scale as well as being able to change the text to audio so you can listen to the book rather than read it.

HTC Phone Touch

In a land where miniaturization rules, the HTC touch phone is king. That may come as a surprise to Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, as his iPhones seem to be the smart phones that everyone talks about. Admittedly Apple products do have a certain branded panache, but if you want a product that is smaller and has better functionality than the Apple offerings, an HTC Touch Phone is the one to go for.

One of the main difficulties with the iPhone is its reliance on Apple’s own mobile operating system, the iOS3/4. For reasons known only to himself, Steve Jobs has placed himself in direct conflict with Adobe over his refusal to use Flash in any of his internet mobile devices. This is madness. Over 70% of video content on the internet is powered by Adobe Flash; what’s the point of having a comprehensive internet smart phone where 70% of the video won’t load? HTC make great play in their touch phone support of Flash, with their operating system based on Microsoft Genie. HTC touch phones are marketed at pocket PC’s, showing the positionality of the product on the mobile phone market.

It seems that an HTC touch phone is an internet tool first, a personal organiser second, and only then acts as a phone and an SMS tool. HTC are very proud of their flat screen technology, and almost everything is done via this touch screen. Menus can be scrolled and flicked, and the technology enables the easy use of your finger and nail rather than the rather small stylus to interface with the device. Unfortunately the developers the HTC touch phone must have been asleep when they were working on the SMS system. The small screen estate is not big enough to use just a third of it to host the virtual keyboard, so however small your fingers are it’s impossible to type a message using anything but the stylus. Typing your SMS messages in this way is time-consuming and frustrating, especially if you’re used to being a superfast texter. This is perhaps the only failing of this otherwise fantastic piece of mobile kit.

The latest HTC touch phone boast a host of useful interactive tools. A lost phone on silent lurking secretly in your home can be found by going online. Simply visit HTCSense.com and make your phone ring! This is really useful if you’re phone slips down the back of the sofa or under the bed… Photos and video can be streamed wirelessly to your DNLA-enabled TV directly from your HTC touch phone. Other features include built in geo-location with maps, giving you easy navigation on the go.

In all the HTC touch phone series is the most advanced ‘pocket computer’ smart phone collection on the market. To view the range of HTC touch phones, including the latest HTC Desire HD, visit www.htc.com.

iPod Touch

The iPod Touch has been designed by Apple Incorporated and was launched in the market in 2007. The iPod Touch is an addition to the Apple iPod range and presents an iPod with wireless access ability to Apple’s online store and the iTunes online store. This was the first of the iPod line to have this capability. The iPod Touch is a media player and a personal digital assistant as well as the latest version is a mobile with Wi-Fi applications. Additionally the iPod Touch also comes with a large multi-touch screen.

In 2008 a second generation iPod Touch was released which included volume controls on the external package of the device, a smoothly contoured profile, the capability to connect a microphone and speakers already built-in. In addition, this iPod Touch incorporated Bluetooth support. In 2009 the third generation of iPod Touch was launched. This generation included a significantly larger flash memory of up to 64GB. However an owner of an iPod Touch does not have the really useful features provided in an iPhone, being the GPS receiver and built in camera. Late 2010 saw the unveiling of the fourth generation of iPod Touch. This device features two cameras, one camera is for FaceTime and the other camera in the iPod Touch is for video recording and taking photographs. A gyroscopic sensor that has three-axis incorporated means the iPod Touch can recognize which direction it has moved in, how fast this has happened and how far it has moved. External earphones and microphones with a controller can be used with the second generation iPod Touch and are provided with the third and fourth generation iPod Touches.

The iPod Touch is often thought of as the poorer cousin to the iPhone. There are a stack of applications and benefits that are provided with iPhone that are not provided on the iPod Touch. For example, iPod Touch owners are often charged when they receive new updates of iOS which the owners of iPhones are not charged for. The iPod Touch is a rectangular shape that is very slim with smooth edges. The multi-touch screen is glass and covers most of the top of the iPod Touch to maximise the screen area. All of the models of iPod Touch come with standard software applications, like photos, music, videos, iTunes, calendar and YouTube. The later iPod Touch models have the ability to access email, weather and stocks software and Wi-Fi. The iPod Touch does need to be connected to a computer that runs either Macintosh or Windows operating systems. The iPod Touch is connected via a USB port.

MP3 Player – Portable Music Entertainment

An MP3 Player is a portable machine that plays MP3 files and has become very popular in the last few years for people who want to be able to take their music wherever they go. The music that the MP3 plays has been stored at a very small scale inside the device. An MP3 audio file is a special digital file which has been reduced in size and made more compact. An Apple iPod is a form of MP3 player that has come to dominate the MP3 player industry and market. In most cases MP3 players are very easy to use and can fit easily into a pocket, wallet or handbag.

The biggest benefit that a MP3 player has over its predecessors, including cassette tapes, CDs and records, is that it is so convenient to use and easy to carry around. Also MP3 players can be personalised to reflect each person’s own musical tastes. This can include individual songs of choice as well as personally created playlists, which is a group of songs for used for certain occasions. The MP3 players carry thousands of songs and they are designed to be easily connected to a computer so that new music can be conveniently downloaded onto the MP3 player.

The MP3 players come in a range of capacities as well as sizes. Some of the smallest of the MP3 players have a flash memory which is very small and compact and as a result uses a very small amount of power. They also have a very long battery life and when the power is off the stored information is saved. One of the downsides people find with the flash MP3 players is that the capacity for storage of songs and playlists is very limited. There are MP3 players that have been designed for have a much larger storage base so that hundreds of thousands of songs can be recorded and then played. However, the device is consequently usually quite a bit larger in size and far less compact than the smaller MP3 players.

The MP3 player is extremely light weight and as a result is very easy to carry around. With technology changing all the time the MP3 players are constantly being updated to include new technology that will benefit the listener. Today’s MP3 players include additional options such as video conferencing, viewing of photographs, a calendar function as well as mobile and internet access.

The rapid increase in the popularity of this kind of way to listen to music has seen a demand for MP3 players that are no longer portable and can be used at home. These are also known as a ‘media center’ or a ‘digital hub’ and are similar to a computer and a stereo. Often these hubs will have wireless connections and can access a range of devices to allow full integration of home music entertainment.

Nintendo Wii

Nintendo had interesting beginnings. Still based in its original Kyoto, Japan, Nintento started life in 1889 as a firm producing ‘hanafuda’ cards (a type of playing card). The company went through a few curious incarnations before becoming the household name it enjoys today. Believe it or not, the company famous for the highly successful Nintendo Wii even opened a chain of ‘love hotels’ before starting its lucrative electronics operation in 1974. Nintendo struggled with various gaming ideas and devices until it struck gold in 1981 with the release of ‘Donkey Kong’, followed in 1987 by the release of the first handheld gaming device, the Gameboy.

Today the console gaming industry is huge, generating revenue of $20 billion during 2009. Within the home console gaming market, the Nintendo Wii is an enigma compared to its rivals. Released in 2007, the Nintendo Wii has placed in direct competition to other seventh generation gaming consoles such as the Sony Xbox 360 and the Microsoft PlayStation 2. The Nintendo Wii has enjoyed immense success, breaking all records for monthly sales during December 2009 and passing both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in September 2010 to become the best-selling gaming device on the market.

There are two features of the Nintendo Wii that make it unique amongst its competitors. The first is the wire-free hand set used to play games on the console. The hand set is a multisensory device enabling it to detect speed and directional movement. It is therefore perfect for playing sports games such as tennis or golf. Second person fighting games take on a whole new dimension with the use of the Nintendo Wii hand-sets, and as the console has increased in popularity, developers have become increasingly imaginative with their gaming ideas. Other popular peripheries for the Nintendo Wii include the Wii Balance Board, opening up the possibilities for activity-based games such as dance and exercise. As with other seventh generation consoles, Nintendo Wii has WiFi connectivity that facilitates internet multiplayer gaming.

There were rumours that a new Nintendo Wii console would be released during 2010. These rumours were proved to be unfounded. However, a press release on 19th September confirmed the arrival of the new Nintendo Wii console during the spring of 2012. It’s interesting that Nintendo have decided to release their new Wii console during the same period that other manufacturers are planning similar launches, most notably Apple with the next generation iPad. As with all cutting edge new technology, they won’t be cheap, so perhaps it’s a good idea to start saving right away...

Photobooks

Society is inundated with cameras, millions of people carry digital cameras in their cell telephones. Before the digital revolution, photographs needed to be taken on cameras using film stock. The price of film and development made everyone less trigger-happy with their cameras, but with digital technology the worry no longer exists.

So what do you do with the mountain of photos on your telephone or digicam? Some people upload everything onto networking sites like Facebook. Nonetheless if you have special sets of photos you will like to print them off correctly. An excellent alternative option to a classic style album is a photo book. These are put together using your digital photos to make an individualized photo book of individual memories. A photo book is a terrific way to make a glamorous souvenir of your special occasions. Marriages, Christenings, birthday parties, graduations or college promenades would all look fantastic presented in a photo book. Making your own photo book could not be faster. Net services permit you select the photo book size up to A4, and include up to an amazing one hundred pages holding a large nine hundred photos. A number of style papers are available on which to place your photos alongside a couple of different cover designs.

Some online photo book services also offer you the selection of hard or soft covers. Making your photo book is a technique of uploading your photo files to the site, preparing them how you wish, proofing the results then putting in the order. The web company will then produce your unique photo book which will arrive in the post a couple of days later on. Aside from its clear private use, there are professions where a photo book could be a really handy promoting and PR machine. Graphical designers, interior designers, designers, web developers, pro photographers and artists could all benefit from assembling their work into a photo book portfolio. Scholars in creative humanities disciplines might profit from a photo book to document examples of their work for moderation.

Anywhere a top notch image record is needed, an inexpensive and simply made photo book is the right choice. Eventually there's small point in taking a gamut of photographs if they go to remain on your camera or mobile telephone.

The price of printing off individual photos has the risk of those photos languishing in the base of one more shoebox of past memories.

If you are going to print out your photos, a photo book is a good idea. Not only will it give you the chance to edit your collection to pick the best photographs, it implies that you could have a wonderful object in the form of book thru which to skim at your leisure.