Sony PS-LX200USB Turntable

Sony ps lx200usb turntable

Hang on – isn’t vinyl dead? Well, in one sense it might be, but if you’re still holding on to stacks of LPs with no playback solution, then Sony’s latest turntable might be right for you. Not only is it a regular record player, but it’s also USB compatible, meaning that you can easily connect it up to your computer and record your LPs for digital preservation purposes.
Pros: The deck itself is easy to use, with embedded stereo outputs if you just want to playback. The supplied software has an easy-to-walk through wizard that’ll help you import audio, clean it up and then burn it to CD or cut it into MP3 tracks.
Cons: I hit a few instances where the software misidentified tracks, and outside the helpful wizard it’s very tricky getting a handle on precisely what you need to do.
Rating: 4/5 – A great way to easily bring your vinyl back to life.

Kaiser Baas 8in Signature Photo Frame

Digital photo frames can be bought fairly cheaply now, so a unit with a $269 asking price needs to be something special. The Signature Photo Frame features built-in memory, a variety of card readers, and the ability to play back music and video files.

Pros: The screen display was crisp and clear when displaying photo or video, and the variety of ways you can view material – from memory cards, USB drives or via the built-in 256M of memory – is neat.

Cons: The menus are rather dull, and not always intuitive. The built-in speakers – for music and video files – are quite tinny.

Rating: 3/5 – A good photo frame at a premium price.

MacBook 2.4GHz

Macbook 24ghz

Apple’s updated MacBook lines feature an all-aluminium body, improved graphics capability and a touchpad that does away with a conventional mouse button – the entire trackpad is one massive clickable button.
Pros: The new MacBooks run a fair bit faster than the older ones – no great surprise – and the new design is highly eye-catching. The one-button trackpad is large and surprisingly easy to learn how to use, including new gestures that quickly minimise all applications or switch between them.
Cons: At the same time Apple updated the line, prices also went up alarmingly. I’ve tested the top of the range model, but even the entry-level aluminium MacBooks are now up by around $400.
Rating: 3/5 – A great notebook but less affordable than it used to be.

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New Apple iPod Touch and Apple iPod Nano

Apple iPod Touch

Apple Ipod Touch

The new iPod touch comes with more memory and a new curvy one-piece back shell. And for those on a tight budget, Apple has dropped the price on the 8G model from $399 to $329.
You can basically think of it as an iPhone without the phone, so you will still get access to Apple’s app store, and its built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking means you can connect to your wireless network at home and download music, games and other files straight to the touch.
The screen is a large 3.5in and 480 by 320 pixels, which is ideal for movies, although the player comes with no video conversion software for this task. Battery life has improved significantly – up from 24 to 36 hours for audio, and up to six hours for video.
It also has the accelerometer feature – you’ve probably seen the TV ads where someone is playing a car racing game and turning the touch like a steering wheel to change direction.
The touchscreen interface is as simple to use as I’ve seen from a media player, but as a result of the fancy extras, it’s not brilliant value in terms of storage per dollar.
Still, it’s an excellent player for those who have the cash to spare. It gest a 4.5/5 from me.

Apple iPod Nano

apple ipod nano

Apple’s popular portable media player has had a facelift and some new features added, including a new lower price.
The 8G version is better value at just $199, but not everything is improved. The nano still delivers 24 hours of battery life for audio, but video playback has dropped from five hours to four.
Apple has gone back to the slender design of older nanos and reorientated the screen from landscape back to portrait. The major new feature is the accelerometer, a component that enables the player to measure movement. It’s also used in the iPod touch and the iPhone and it allows you to use a feature called ‘shake to shuffle’. To get a new song playing, just shake the player and it will choose a song randomly from your playlist.
Another useful feature available for users of Windows Vista or Mac OS X Leopard is a spoken-word interface, allowing the visually impaired to use an iPod by listening to the menu options.
The nano comes with Apple’s standard – but still excellent – in-ear phones, but you need to download the latest version of iTunes to make it work with your Windows XP, Vista or Mac OS X Leopard computer or notebook. I give the nano a 4.5/5.