Korg Mini-Controller

If you like to use your computer to make music, this seems like a cool idea. And this Korg controller is available many places. A midi controller is essentially a keyboard (as in piano keyboard, not a computer keyboard) that allows you to input to your computer. Many music-writing software programs allow a midi controller to input sounds. I've wanted one for years, and the price has finally gotten low enough.

But it took me all of twenty minutes to know this would not do the the job. The key action is too clumsy to feel like a piano. The time lag between key press and the note playing on the computer was 3-5 seconds. This was a total deal-breaker for me.

Gadget Girl says: It goes. Try the Aiwas LPK instead
Technology Showcase

Print your blog into a Book

These days more and more information is moving onto the web. But what happens when you want to save that information in a more permanent form? I saw the movies "Julie and Julia" and the first thing I thought about was how she reformatted that blog into the bigger version of book.

I have experimented with exporting a blog, then writing programs to reformat it. It was possible, but not very entertaining. I kept wanting more features, like text-only, or only certain posts on a topic on certain dates. Essentially I wanted to be able to query my blog for content and then print it.

Writing a book little by little, like a blog is such a great technique for breaking the task into small pieces. For travel blogs, with experiences for each day, the blog is great for creating, but so slow when you want quickly review the whole experience. So I was excited to see Blog2Print

I could see this as a great way to turn an online baby album into something that could be saved in a more permanent form.

Earbuds with bling

Crystal Earbuds - Headphones that sparkle, like Gadget Girl! Seriously, these are cute for girls of all ages who like a little bling. PBteen has a set for $20, and Neiman-Marcus ups the ante with retractable cord for $40. I got my pink pair from Amazon for $20.

I love the sparkle, and the retractable cord keeps me from spending the best year of my life untangling earbuds so that I can listen to music. I'm waiting for phone and portable audio designers to finally come up with a good place to stash the earphones. Until then the wind-up cord gets me part of the way.

Crystal Speakers for portable audio

Once you are rocking the crystal earbuds, the next obvious addition is speakers to match.   Though not the slimmest alternative, these pink sparkly speakers will make a statement.

At $20, they make a nice stocking stuffer for the girly girl on your list.  I may have to get multiples to keep them from fighting over them.

Top Electronic Accessories

Some years I don't add any major technology, but just upgrade or accessorize what I already have. Here are the things I would like Santa to bring in this category. I think this list will keep growing, but here is a start.

1. Crystal Earbuds
2. Crystal Speakers
3. Video and Audio output cord for iPhone and iTouch
4. Portable Projector - Brightbox
5. Network Attached Storage 1 Terabyte

These little electronic add-ons help me back up my computer files, rock my tunes, and share video with a group. I'm planning to hook my iPhone to the TV and share movies when we travel instead of paying hotel prices for movie rental.

Barnes and Noble Color Nook

Last year I was eager to get my hands on the first generation Nook e-reader. It was such a hit that it was sold out til mid-January for those, unlike me, who did not order fast.

This year's edition is significantly improved with it's color screen. In fact B&N and various other retailers are selling the two versions of the Nook, but the color version is only at B&N.

So what do I think? The interface design is much improved. The controls are easier to find, and there is a handy button that takes you immediately to the book you are currently reading. The screen is no longer e-ink, but back-lit. The display is crisp and pleasing to the eye, and the pages turn faster. (I am a fast reader, so I notice)

There is also a full color web browser, that is manipulated from the touch screen. I love the web browser, but the touchscreen not so much. Any screen that only does what I want one out of three times is not for me. The back-lit screen can be read in the dark, but consumes battery faster. The battery lasts 8 hours instead of 5 days.

The connection to the Internet is only on wi-fi, so you can't buy a book from just anywhere. That means when I am sitting on the plane, or somewhere the Internet is ridiculously expensive, I can't buy a book. Or I had to plan ahead to load my books ahead of time. For me accessibility anywhere is a must-have for an ebook reader.

So the bottom line is - great e-book reader plus slow touchscreen minus 3G access and long battery life adds up to a gadget I don't need. If I didn't already have a Kindle, and a significant library there, I would be thinking harder of about keeping it. So if this is your first ebook reader, I would consider this.

But I will be waiting for the next version.

Gadget Girl Says: It goes. Reluctantly.

Technology Showcase

Insignia Internet Viewer - a must for your list

The name of this device doesn't even begin to communicate what it does. If I hadn't been following the rise of "Internet appliances" through the more technical literature I would have missed it. Fortunately for me, Best Buy put it on sale for Black Friday, and most people did not know what it was. So when I came later in the day, this little gem was still available.

I think of it as a the all purpose kitchen counter Internet connection. It's something families have wanted since they realized how much information was out there, and how hard it was to get to it quickly. It has "apps" that allow you to quickly answer those questions you ask every morning. You can see headlines, your calendar for the day and week, and play the radio. My must-haves:

1. Weather in the morning - I'll never forgive our local provider for cutting out "Local on the 8s" from their programming, but this compensates.


2. Pandora Internet radio - radio stations that play only music I like with no commercials


3. Headlines - Sports, news, finance, fashion news items that I can scroll through, or drill down into


4. Calendar - even my Google calendar so I can see what is ahead for the day
   


5. Photos - Gadgets that show Facebook photos, Flickr and Picasa albums, and pictures from the thousands stored on my home network.
   

There are 1500 apps available for this including recipes, YouTube,and many others. This "chumby" platform is open to new apps being developed, and these keep appearing. Most of all - the apps are free. Not 99 cents or a few dollars, but free.

This device is not perfect. Like most computers, easy things are easy to do, and more complicated things are harder. It took me a few hours to figure out how to make the viewer see my photos on my home network. Looking at photos on Flickr, Picasa or Facebook was a snap. Streaming my iTunes library through the device is taking a little more configuration.

If you don't have much patience with configuring devices to talk to wireless, or connect to the Internet accounts for social network, email, calendar, etc., you might want to get some help from someone who is Internet-savvy like Momisageek. An experienced expert can zoom through those tasks that might take you hours to research and complete.

Did I mention the touchscreen? The fast response? The great-sounding audio audio? The crisp clean display? The alarm clock? The $99-169 price?

For me, this is the biggest hit of the Christmas gadgets for 2010. I've already bought two, and am shopping for more. You can find these at Best Buy branded as the Insignia Internet Viewer and as the Sony Dash Internet viewer

No matter what room of the house you put it in, it will be a hit.

Gadget Girl says: It stays. And it is my top pick to gift this Christmas.

Nextbook Android Tablet

My quest for an affordable tablet has begun. Today's review is for the Nextbook Next2.

The Nextbook Next2 is available from HSN at a very reasonable $199. Though advertised as a tablet, it really is basically a Borders-branded ebook reader. Some Android apps are available through the market, but not all Android apps.

Especially not the Kindle app.

That alone was a deal-breaker for me. Beside this very big drawback of reduced access to the Android apps, the device itself has some problems. For me, the touchscreen isn't responsive enough. Anytime I am scrolling through a list, it seems the scrolling doesn't move at all - or not without multiple attempts. The buttons are slow, but fairly consistent.

The screen is criap and easy to read, and the device is light and convenient. If you want an Borders only ebook reader and a browser, and a few app like email, calculator, YouTube, etc., it does the job. It just doesn't provide enough functionality for me to either replace one of my current devices, or bother to carry it.

It frustrates me to have a deliberately crippled device. I wouldn't accept a Windows device that only allowed me to install and load a subset of Windows programs. As time goes on this may change, or not. Without control over the apps, the likelihood of going out-of-date increases.

Gadget Girsl says: It goes as fast as I can pack it up.

Technology Showcase

Technology Showcase for 2010

Want to know about the latest gadgets before you go Chirstmas shopping. Gadget Girl is out there trying the latest and greatest and letting you know what is worth it.
Here is what is on our Christmas evaluation list.

E-book readers and Android
1. Nextbook Next Tablet
2. Pandigital Color Ebook reader
3. Barnes and Noble Color Nook
Photos
5. Eye-Fi geo-taging SD card for photos
6. Kodak Pulse digital photo frame with email address
7. Internet viewers (chumby-based)

Music
7. Korg mini Midi controller Keyboard
8. Aiwa LPK75 Midi controller
9. Aptek Midi controller keyboard

Keep watching our posts for what Gadget Girl thought was worth keeping.

Blogher Bound

My packs are bagged - no, that's not right. Well momisageek and I are bound for the big city in a car supplied by Chevrolet. Our car is the first one from the left in the picture above.
It's a Traverse crossover vehicle with Onstar and Bluetooth and loads of trunk space.
I can be a very bad packer.

iFail 4 - the iphone is returneth-ed

The magical and mystical iPhone 4 is now on its way to someone who will appreciate it more than me

The last straw was having to cut bigger holes on my favorite leather case to accommodate the camera - and destroying the integrity of the case in the process. It's not that I'm not willing to buy a new one - they just don't have enough choices available. Even the free case doesn't do it for me.

So off it goes for resale . . . and it looks like I will get more for it than I paid for it. Hmmm, I think that means I have some cash for a new gadget. Maybe the Kindle 3rd generation is in my future

If you want it, you got it - the underwhelming iPhone 4

Well my iPhone arrived. And I am so underwhelmed, that I am ready to pack it up and send it back.

It isn't the antenna problem. I always have mine in a case, so that was a non-issue. It's that the jump from 3gs with ios 4.01 to the iPhone 4.0 equipment is so small I am looking to un-spend my upgrade money.

• It has a front-facing camera. So did my Verizon phone - in 2006.
  


• You can video chat - with other iPhone 4 users on wireless. No one else in my family has the techno-love and the bucks for an iPhone. They are all using Verizon freebie phones.
  


• The improved camera - sorry, can't see it yet. Extra mega-pixels not obvious in my snapshots
  


• HD video - still not doing it for me. No zoom means I still do the human zoom cha-cha when I video.
  


• Better battery? Well the battery life was atrocious, so I always carry an external battery which will recharge the phone 3 times. I think the battery life has improved to terrible, so I still carry the external to get through the day
  


• Less dropped calls - hmmm, the jury is still out. I still have dead spots in my house.
  

Reading this I am think I am more than underwhelmed. I think I am downright disappointed.

Iphone 4 troubles brewing

Bad press for the iphone 4 is now making me happy mine is delayed. By the time it arrives I may no longer want it - or they may have fixed the issues.

Of course I NEVER use mine without a case. I don't know anyone who does, because the phone is so slippery it squirts out of your hand like a wet bar of soap.

Waiting for iPhone 4

Looks like I will be waiting 3 weeks for my instant gratification of iPhone 4 upgrade. I can't believe people spent all day trying to get into Apple's servers to order on the first day.

Of course they get their phones a week later . . .

iphone 4

First I couldn't stop mocking the functionality-crippled iPhone. Now I have one, and I want the latest and greatest.

The improvements on iPhone4 are all in the part of the phone I use the most - the camera and screen display.

Looks like ebay for my 3GS - or gazellit.

The Graveyard of Out-of-Support Toys

Last night at dinner I got into a spirited discussion with my table mates about all gadgets in our closets gathering dust. It was like taking a trip down the memory lane of personal information management (PIM) devices.

Casio Boss anyone? It is interesting how much the iPhone now resembles my decade-old HP Jornada pocket PC.