Posts Tagged ‘price tag’

If you get a lot of business cards, you might want to take a look at this. It’s a scanner that really is a camera which takes a picture at 600 dpi. Both the document scanner and the business card scanner fold down to be portable, but then you open them up and get your information scanned.

The HoverCam is a full document and business card scanner. With their software, you can collect and organize the documents. Best part – the software is FREE. You don’t even need the scanner. Just download off their site. It works with Adobe AIR 2.0, so as long as you have a computer that can run AIR, you are good to go.

Jeffrey Powers talks with Gene on the HoverCam and how it can turn all your documents into nothing. The business card scanner is not available until later this year, but with the $80 price tag, it will be a quick addition. The Document scanner comes in 2 flavors – 2 MP for $139 and 5 MP for $199.

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I love my 2 monitor setup at home. It would be nice to have that on the laptop. While there are solutions out there, nothing has really presented a good answer until now. That is where MyCINQ comes in.

MyCINQ is a 10.1 inch USB monitor that can be set on your desk, or mounted to your laptop. You can then use it to watch Twitter, keep up on stocks, run a movie or Hulu program and a lot more. Want another monitor? You can run up to 6 MyCINQ monitors.

Jeffrey Powers caught up with Ben just before CES started to take a look at this new startup. The Monitor will be available in Q3 of 2010. There is works in getting it in HD. With a $249 price tag, these monitors can really add to a presentation, or just get more work done.

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The world of Bluetooth headsets has evolved. My first headset seemed like a monster compared to today. Still, there is a level of geekiness that supersedes the functionality the headset can give. That is why Jabra put out the Jabra Stone – a fashion – oriented earpiece for those who don’t like having a microphone stick from their face.

The stone touts one big feature – no visible microphone. The headset is designed for fashion over functionality. All black with no visible buttons.

The stone is Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR compliant. It works with Bluetooth 1.1 or better. Once charged, the device has an 8 hour talk and 12 day standby time. The headset can answer calls, do voice dialing and last number redial and can change in volume.

Jabra Stone

In the review section, I go through and talk about the functionality of this headset. Unfortunately, I can not mark this headset high. There are a lot of limitations that cause this to not be a great headset. One limitation is the $139 ($99 on Amazon) price tag. We talk about it’s charging ability, use in the ear, how carrying it around can be a hassle and if it’s “Rain Shower Proof”.

The headset does have Fashion, so those interested may want to get it. However, this headset is not that great on functionality. In this video, we talk more about the headset by Jabra.

Specifications:

• Wearing Style:
  • Designed for right ear wearing
• Bluetooth® compliance:
  • Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR specification.
• Supported Bluetooth® profiles:
  • Bluetooth® Headset (version 1.1) and Hands-free profiles (version 1.5).
  • Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
• Compatibility:
  • Jabra STONE is compatible with other Bluetooth® devices with Bluetooth® 1.1 (or higher) specifications.
• Operating range:
  • 10 meters (33 feet).
• Multiuse™:
  • Up to 8 devices – connected to 2 at the same time (Multiuse™).
  • Talk time: Up to 8 hours (up to 2h for headset alone).
  • Standby time: Up to 12 days (up to 2.5 days for headset alone).
  • Charging time: Approximately 2 hours.
• Weight:
  • STONE headset 7 grams (0.25 oz), Stone charger 26 grams (0.67 oz), total 33 grams (0.92 oz).
• Microphones:
  • SLR = 14 dB +/- 3 dB 2 pcs Omni-directional MEMS microphones.
• Operating temperature:
  • -20° C to 60° C (-4 F to 140 F).
• Storage temperature:
  • -20° C to 45° C (-4 F to 113 F).
• Jabra STONE materials:
  • Polycarbonate/Acryl Butadien Styren (PC/ABS), Polycarbonate (PC), Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE).
• Features:
  • Answer call, end call, reject call, voice dialing, last number redial, call waiting, put call on hold, volume control (Some features are device dependent)

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The next few weeks are going to be do or die for the Palm Pre. With it’s release of June 6th, we will see if this new phone from Palm is going to be able to stand up to the Apple iPhone. Especially when the new 3.0 version comes out by the end of the month.

iPhone has had a very strong showing. It knocked down Motorola’s RAZR and brought the world of Smartphones to the forefront of mobile technology. You can pretty much do anything you need on the phone from take photos, to record and listen to music, check mail and even turn your life over to this amazing device. That is, if you can afford the mobile plan.

Palm has been around for over 10 years in handheld organizers. There have been some reorganizations of the company – changing to PalmOne, for example. Nonetheless, Palm has some technologies and patents they can update and re-use to model this new competitor.

Both have Application stores. Both run 3G and have GPS capabilities. Both will have a 3.0 megapixel camera, WiFi 802.11g and Bluetooth.

Palm will have the advantage for the few who like the Tactile response with a built in QWERTY keyboard. Palm will also have a standard USB port; hopefully I can hook up my standard USB car charger to. iPhone will have the memory advantage with 16 and 32GB of memory where the Pre will only have 8 (7 GB in all reality because the OS will need a part to run).

Both will be expected to have a $199 price tag – if you get a 2 year plan with it. It’s just a question of whether you want Sprint, AT&T or if you know how to unlock the phone to use on your favorite carrier.

Of course we would be remiss if we didn’t also talk about the Windows Mobile phones, the Blackberry phones and Android. However, in the last 3 years, only Blackberry has been able to really dent the iPhone market, but they skew the numbers with their 8 versions of phones.

I already hear people talking about how they are going to make the switch. The biggest complaint for the iPhone is the AT&T exclusive contract. I know that in some parts of Wisconsin, I can’t even get service from the AT&T phone. What good is a smartphone if it’s not smart enough to connect to another tower?

I am going to weigh the options in many ways. First of all, we’ll see what happens with the Pre in the first couple weeks – if there is a major problem, it will surface quickly. Second, we’ll watch the financial reports. Palm was on the verge of bankruptcy not more than 9 months ago. They have a lot riding on the Pre. If that fails, they might be up the proverbial creek.

The Palm Pre also has another battle to worry about. That is the Sprint factor. Sprint has not been doing that well itself and they are riding on this phone to make people switch. We’ve seen companies turn around before and this could tip the scales in Sprints’ favor, but you have to remember that this could also topple like a house of cards.

Next, we’ll watch the App stores. One thing that seems to be good business is having a App store with good programs in it. Apple claims they have earned 20-25 million for the Apps alone. That is a good infusion of cash to keep things going. This will be a good infusion in the Palm company.

End result – There will be a good challenge to see who can prevail. Of course I believe that both can survive. The true tests is when Android comes out with their next phone and when Windows Mobile 7 gets released.

In the meantime, enjoy this weeks’ Bitstrips. Then answer the QOTW – Will you get a iPhone or a Pre?

This week’s review is for the CastGrabber – an internet appliance that takes valid RSS feeds and uploads podcasts to your MP3 player. This video shows you a little about how the CastGrabber works. I also talk about the good and the bad – well, more of a wishlist to this Standalone Podcast downloader.

One great feature of the CastGrabber is the fact you can connect most any type of MP3 player and get your podcasts. I connected an iPod, then a couple different generic MP3 players. Even my 64 Meg Creative MP3 player from 2002 worked like a champ!

Price tag may be a bit much and I wished it had not only wireless, but some other items I talk about in the video. Nonetheless, it’s a great “Set it and forget it” type of item.

Here is the video review for the Cast Grabber.