Hands On: Sansa Clip+

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on October 12th, 2009

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 playerSanDisk sent us a complimentary Sansa Clip+ to check out. After using it for several days, we’re ready to share our thoughts on the device. The original Sansa Clip has been a popular choice where cheap mp3 players are concerned and the Sansa Clip+ is even better.

The design beats the original, with a larger capacity and better features. The first thing that you notice is how durable this thing is. Despite it’s tiny size, it looks and feels tough. It’s definitely more durable than your average mp3 player. And it feels natural in your hand.

Hands on: Epson WorkForce 610 All-in-One Printer

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on September 27th, 2009

Hands on: Epson WorkForce 610 All-in-One PrinterEpson’s new Workforce 610 all-in-one printer is aimed at small businesses and home offices and the like as it’s capable of handling a wide variety of jobs all in one convenient device. You might remember that when we reviewed last year’s model, the Workforce 600, we really liked it. So how did the 610 stack up? Read on and find out.

Hands on: Logitech Speaker System Z323

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on September 21st, 2009

Hands on: Logitech Speaker System Z323Good speaker systems are hard to find. Especially if you want a small form, with big sound. And bass is usually disappointing in these small systems. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been disappointed with speakers that don’t deliver. So I decided to give Logitech’s Z323 a try.

These speakers are acoustically engineered to project audio evenly in all directions, not just one. The idea is that you hear the full range of sound throughout a room. Another interesting feature is the down-firing woofer designed to deliver rich, deep bass. The two satellite speakers claim to produce warm mid-range tones and crisp high notes. You can plug in your Logitech Squeezebox, gaming console, iPod or DVD player. So what did we think of the Z323? Read on.

Hands on: ifrogz Ear Pollution Plugz

Posted in Earbuds by Conner Flynn on September 8th, 2009

Hands on: ifrogz Ear Pollution PlugzOne of the most often replaced items in our gadget collection is earbuds. You use a pair for a while and they bite the dust. So when it came time for another pair, I recently gave ifrogz Ear Pollution Plugz earbuds with microphone a try. They are affordable noise canceling earbuds, available in a variety of colors, and they offer some decent style.

They look great and have style. They are also comfortable and if you are like me and have trouble getting earbuds to fit and stay in the ear, they come with three tip sizes that should fit any ear. They feel great and actually block out almost all but the loudest noises around you.

Sporting Seven Displays with HP’s USB Graphics Adapter

Posted in Review by Darrin Olson on August 2nd, 2009

HP USB Graphics Adapter background image across multiple monitorsRunning multiple monitors on a single computer is just plain cool. At least it is for us here at the ‘Brick, and the more the better. So, when we heard about HP’s USB graphics adapters which allow you to connect multiple monitors via USB, we had to try it out. HP says a single computer can run as many as six of them and we wanted to see just how well.

THE SETUP:
We ran our testing with some pretty standard equipment. We used an HP ultra-slim desktop PC running Windows Vista with 2GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, along with six average 19″ displays and a single 20″ display. And of course six USB Graphics adapters (actually we had seven adapters but we’ll …

Hands on video of the Beanzawave USB microwave

Posted in USB by Conner Flynn on July 2nd, 2009


We first showed you the Beanzawave USB microwave last month. Well here’s the first hands on video of the Beanzawave in action. Sure,when it comes to power and size it’s lacking, but it makes up for those cons with portability and convenience.

It’s powered by onboard batteries that can be charged via USB or an AC adapter. Of course, it’s designed to work with Heinz’s very own single-serving cans of Chef Boyardee foods. We still don’t have any details on pricing or availability.

Hands on: K-box portable speaker

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on June 24th, 2009

K-box turns tables and walls into giant speakersWe told you about the K-box from Kerchoonz a few weeks ago. The portable speaker that aims to turn nearly any surface into a speaker with an emphasis on bass. It’s targeted at those who want sound on the go, but don’t want to carry bulky speakers with them.

It’s about the size of the iPhone and yes it really does turn your tables, walls and other flat surfaces into giant speakers. It works by plugging into your laptop, portable gaming device, netbook, mp3 player etc. Anything equipped with a headphone jack.

Hands on: Kinesis K3 power generator

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on June 14th, 2009

Kinesis K3 power generatorHere at the ‘Brick we’re always on the lookout for gadgets that can give us sweet gadget juice, without it costing money on our electric bills. So we checked out Kinesis’ K3 power generator. The device sports both a windmill and solar cells, plus you can charge its internal battery with external electricity sources. So you can charge its 4,000 mAh battery using a USB adapter or a car cigarette lighter if you absolutely need power on hand.

According to the company, one hour of sun and wind will give you 30 minutes of talk time on a cellphone. Fully charged, the K3 can load the battery cells for an average mobile phone five times, or an MP3 player more than ten times. It costs $100.

Hands On: SmartSwipe Credit Card reader

Posted in Security by Conner Flynn on April 20th, 2009

Hands On: SmartSwipe Credit Card readerIf you’re paranoid about your credit card info while shopping online, (And who isn’t?) it just got a little safer thanks to the SmartSwipe credit card reader. You might think you’re safe online as long as that padlock icon is displayed in your browser. And you are pretty safe, but not completely, hackers can still access your personal information while it is being entered into your computer and while it is still in memory.

With this SmartSwipe card reader your info is safe becaue your card information is never stored on your computer. The device uses Dynamic SSL technology and the same level of encryption used in bank machines and ATMs.

Hands on: SanDisk slotRadio

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on April 13th, 2009

Sansa slotRadio comes with 1,000 songsWe checked out Sandisk’s new slotRadio recently. As a refresher, this player comes with a microSD memory card slot so you can have your choice of pre-loaded music. The idea is that you can get it pre-loaded with Billboard hits cards that hold more than 1,000 tracks and buy other similar cards.

Did we like it? Did we hate it? Is it filled with useless songs that are all played out? You’re about to find out.

Hands on: Griffin iTrip Auto Universal FM Transmitter

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on March 27th, 2009

Hands on: Griffin iTrip Auto Universal FM TransmitterThe iTrip is a pretty simple device. The idea is that you plug one end into your car cigarette lighter socket and the other into the earphone jack of your MP3 player, replacing your car radio with the soothing sounds of your own music collection playing through FM radio.

It’s just that simple. Just plug it in and find a frequency where you hear only static. You’ll get better results if you find one that has some neighboring frequencies with static. Then use the + or - buttons to tune your MP3 player to the same frequency. Just like that your player has replaced your car radio.

Review: OtterBox Blackberry Curve case

Posted in Otterbox, Review by Darrin Olson on February 8th, 2009

OtterBox defender case for the Blackberry Curve reviewThe folks over at OtterBox, protectors of gadgets for the active and accident-prone, gave us a chance to try out one of their defensive products to see just how well it holds up. In this case, OtterBox sent us a protective case for the Blackberry Curve, a device I have with me day in and day out.

Since the case from OtterBox is protecting something I own and depend on daily, we did not put it through the usual drops, dunks and vodka-proof trials that we would normally do. But, despite this we can tell you that this case blows away any other protective case we’ve had our hands on, for any mobile device.

Review: Clarion MiND mobile internet navigation

Posted in Review by Darrin Olson on February 8th, 2009

Clarion MiND hands on reviewThe Clarion MiND appears to be a GPS navigation device at heart, but expanded into a special type of mobile internet hybrid device packed with connectivity and applications bringing dangerously close to a mobile PC, but just not quite. The mobile device has many addition features such as an internet browser, YouTube viewer, media player, file storage, weather, news, maps and of course navigation but runs its own type of hard-wired OS that leaves little for customizations.

The MiND is basically a small mobile computer running on an 800 MHz Intel Atom processor with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (with an additional MicroSD card slot) and connects to the world via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and of course GPS. It also houses a couple of USB ports for connecting and transferring data, a headphone jack, speaker and docking port for an included dash mounting kit.

Lenovo W700ds shows off on film

Posted in Lenovo by Conner Flynn on December 25th, 2008

Lenovo W700ds shows off on filmLenovo’s ThinkPad W700ds is pretty damn intriguing. We want one. Sadly every gadget under our tree had just a single screen. So we were happy to learn that GottaBeMobile got their gadget-loving hands on one. They were nice enough to share their knowledge of the twin screened beast.

The model they have features a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme CPU, 4 GB of RAM, and NVIDIA Quadro FX3700M graphics. The primary display is a 17-inch WUXGA with a 1920 x 1200, while the secondary panel is a 10.6-inch WXGA with 768 x 1200 resolution. It still looks pretty awesome to us. You can check out the video below.

Hands On: BlackBerry Storm launching Friday

Posted in Review by Darrin Olson on November 20th, 2008

BlackBerry Storm hands on reviewAs I am sure you are all aware, Verizon Wireless is launching the much-anticipated BlackBerry Storm tomorrow. This device is RIM’s first delve into a touchscreen mobile phone and swing at taking some of the market share away from Apple and the iPhone. We had a chance to get our hands on the Storm on the eve of the launch day and had some fun playing with the touchscreen and its unique clicking technology.

Obviously the most interesting part of the Storm is the single big button of a screen so we’ll just cut to the chase. The touchscreen in general works as you would expect, sensing your touch on the glass and allowing you to scroll through things like lists, menus and across maps. What’s different about the touchscreen on the BlackBerry Storm which sets it apart from other touchscreen phones is that the glass display is like a single large, mechanical button.


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