Sunday, June 04, 2006

Toshiba Satellite Laptops – Which One?

by: J Zuniga

The first decision you have to make is whether or not you will buy a satellite laptop or a traditional one. Once you have decided to purchase a satellite laptop, then you have to decide which one.

You can purchase Toshiba satellite laptops for as little as $600 and as much as $2,500. There are several models to choose from including the A100 Series, A105 Series, L20 Series, M45, M50, M55, M60, and M65 Series, and R10 and R15 Series. Each of them is unique in their own respect. Once you clearly document what you will use your new computer for, then, and only then should you begin shopping through the different models.

Most home users can get by with the M50, the beginning price Toshiba. It starts at $799.20 and goes up from there if you decide to further customize. However it does not come with Microsoft Office software. It’s inexpensive partly because it comes with an Intel Celeron M Processor 370 and 40 GB of HD. The rest of the M series is more costly. The M45 starts at $949.00, but only has the battery life of an hour. The M55 starts at $1,149.99 and is getting vastly better reviews if you look around, the M60 starts at $1034.10, and the M65 starts at $1,299.99.

The A100 series uses an Intel Pentium M780, wireless LAN, and Bluetooth capabilities, although it doesn’t come with Microsoft Office either. The A105 series is known for its light weight.

The L20 series is marketed as its value buy. It features Intel Cetrino Mobile Technology; an Intel Pentium M Processor 730 has 40GB and 256MB RAM.

The R series is a bit higher end. The R10 Tablet PC is known for its hinge design allowing the screen to swivel and lock into ‘tablet’ position easily. The R15 combines advanced notebook power with the comfort of simple pen and paper. In a few seconds, you can use a pen with very precise digital ink to write down anything you want. Very cool stuff.

Some swear by these laptops, while others haven’t noticed any big difference between a satellite laptop and a regular one. My experience has been very good, I have and R series and it's unique design is perfect for me. I also like the digital ink pen, very cool. Even though you haven’t heard much about these laptops, the buzz is picking up.

About The Author

J Zuniga is a senior editor of http://www.cheaper-satellite-laptops.com an informative site about satellite laptops. For more specific information go to







Canon Digital Camera Guide

by: Steve Gargin

Canon digital camera innovations have always been at the forefront of photographic innovations and their compact digital cameras package a variety of functions into a deceptively small Canon digital camera body. These are particularly attractive to a wide range of users because of their light weight, ease of use, high image quality and high functionality. Canon digital camera experts are highly experienced in camera manufacturer, leading-edge optical technology, ultra high-precision mounting technology, electronic device technology and color management technology amongst others. All of this experience and expertise is combined to produce the Canon digital camera PowerShot series and the PowerShot DIGITAL ELPH/DIGITAL IXUS series.

Throughout their continuing research, the Canon digital camera development team has collected a large amount of photographic data and also made broad statistical analyses of the frequency involved in taking photographs. This data led to the creation of the Canon digital camera Photographic Space which is a graphical database of information relating to the relationship between surrounding brightness and distance between a Canon digital camera and the subject relative to the focal length and position of the zoom lens when pictures are taken.

The Canon digital camera Photographic Space led to the development of a new scene-recognition technology called "iSAPS" (intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) Technology. Canon digital camera iSAPS Technology analyses the scene to be photographed and makes optimal adjustments of a number of key functions, including auto-focus, before the shutter is pressed.

The Canon digital camera iSAPS Technology closely estimates the camera-to-subject distance based on the lens focal length, zoom position and surrounding brightness which guarantees the most accurate exposure and white balance settings for the overall conditions.

At the high end of the Canon digital camera range are their single-lens reflex, or SLR, cameras. The Canon digital camera company has created ultra-high-precision imaging elements and high-performance digital imaging engines so that their digital SLR cameras possess the same ease of operation as their 35mm film counterparts but produce exceptionally high-quality images.

The Canon digital camera imaging engine, or DIGIC II, creates image data from signals output from a CMOS, or complementary metal oxide semiconductor, sensor. The CMOS sensor is really the brain of any digital camera. Canon developed the Canon digital camera DIGIC II high-performance imaging engine directly due to the increasingly high resolution CMOS sensors. With the help of a high-capacity DDRS DRAM (double data rate SDRAM) as the buffer memory, the Canon digital camera DIGIC II processes high-resolution images at ultra-high speeds.

About The Author

Steve Gargin is the administrator of http://digital-camera-reviews.helper-guru.com/camera-digital-finepix-fuji-review/index.html which is a great website dedicated to giving free advice on Digital Cameras.







Friday, June 02, 2006

No Such Thing As an HDTV Antenna!

by: Eric Gov

Over-the-air (OTA) HDTV becomes more and more popular. For someone who is used to noisy analog TV pictures, it is hard to believe how amazing a quality of HDTV broadcasts can be. In fact, HDTV channels received over the air free of charge often have better quality than the same channels received through a paid satellite HDTV subscription. All you need to enjoy OTA HDTV is a HD television with a built-in HDTV tuner and an HDTV antenna.

Huh? Which kind of antenna?! If you have Ph.D in Electrical Engineering and have never heard about the antenna type called "HDTV antenna", it's not because you were a bad student. HDTV antenna has nothing to do with physics and engineering. It was invented in marketing departments. Marketing found an effective trick to boost TV antenna sales. HDTV is a hot thing these days. Call essentially the same device HDTV antenna, and it sells better. It makes people to believe they must buy an HDTV model or HDTV optimized antenna to watch HDTV broadcasts. This is very far from truth.

HDTV antenna hype created a huge misconception with regard to TV antennas used for HDTV reception. This article is an attempt to clarify this issue.

Do you know what a regular antenna is? Antenna is a piece of metal designed to resonate at a specific frequency and to be responsive over a certain range of frequencies. TV antennas are designed to work either in the range of Ultra High Frequencies (UHF), Very High Frequencies (VHF) or both. Any station transmitting in the VHF/UHF frequency bands, can be picked up by a VHF/UHF antenna and transferred to the TV set.

All television broadcasts, digital and analog, are in the VHF and UHF bands. Over 90% of the HDTV broadcasts are in the UHF, and less than 10% in the VHF band. What is important from the antenna perspective is that HDTV falls in the bandwidth of a regular VHF/UHF antenna. Not HDTV antenna, not HDTV optimized antenna, just a normal regular TV antenna. What makes a signal to be HD is its content, the way a signal is modulated, and not the carrier frequency it is transmitted on. On the contrary, the antenna knows nothing about the signal modulation and content. Hence, you don't need an HDTV antenna to pick up the HD signal. An antenna has absolutely no idea what the signal resolution is. It can be HDTV, SDTV, NTSC, whatever. It is the job of a HDTV tuner and HD television set to demodulate the signal and to present the actual content on the screen.

Well, the antenna bandwidth and frequency response are not the only parameters that are important for clear TV reception. An antenna has other important electrical and spatial properties, such as antenna gain (directivity) and high front-to-back (F/B) ratio. One might assume that an HDTV antenna should be more powerful in terms of F/B and gain parameters. Does HDTV reception impose more stringent requirements on antenna gain and F/B ratio?

There is a wrong, yet widespread belief that you need more antenna gain to receive digital television. I don't know where the hell this belief comes from, cause the situation is exactly the opposite. HDTV has much better noise and interference immunity than the analog television and can produce high quality video at significantly lower signal-to-noise ratios.

Another important specification, F/B ratio, has to do with the antenna ability to cope with a multi-path signal propagation from the towers to the receiving antenna. The higher F/B ratio is, the better is multi-path rejection (also known as ghost suppression). Without going into technical details, we must say that HDTV signal is a bit more sensitive to multi-path cause it has slightly larger bandwidth. Multi-path causes dips in the signal spectrum, whereas we want to keep the spectrum as flat as possible. When signal content is spread over a larger portion of spectrum it is more likely to be distorted by multi-path. Basically, what TV equipment manufacturers are trying to do in the so called HDTV optimization is to keep the spectrum flat in the whole frequency band. It is important for HDTV antenna to have a high F/B ratio in some areas where ghosts may be a problem. The point is, however, that most directional, old fashioned and cheap TV antennas have F/B ratio good enough to handle multi-path propagation of HDTV signal and keep spectrum distortion at minimum. If an antenna can handle an analog signal, it can handle a digital signal as well.

There is nothing specific about a TV antenna that is used to receive HDTV. When choosing an HDTV antenna, check the really important parameters such as directivity, gain, F/B ratio. These specifications are important for reception of both, digital and analog broadcasts. The HDTV optimization is probably the least important factor you should take into account.

About The Author

Eric Gov is with HDTV Antenna Labs.

HDTV Antenna Labs features antenna reviews and selection guide.

For more information visit http://www.HDTvAntennaLabs.com

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Binocular Trends and Technology

By Bill MacArthur

There have been some incredible developments in optical technology in recent years. One of the most interesting new products comes from a company called Torrey Pines Logic. It has been developed in partnership with the United States Navy, and it is currently being field tested for use in Iraq and beyond. It is called LightSpeed, and it just might revolutionize battlefield communications.

The new device, developed with funding from the Office of Naval Research, is a short-range communications tool that will allow soldiers to talk on a secure channel up to two miles away, simply by looking at one another. It uses infrared to transmit audio and video data, and connects to a standard pair of binoculars. It employs the use of optical lenses to amplify the audio and video signals.

Soldiers in the field can connect headphones and a microphone to the binoculars to speak to one another, so long as they are both using the same device. The great thing about LightSpeed is that it is considerably more secure than traditional lasers or radio. Furthermore, it is extremely low power. This is important because it is less susceptible to being picked up and monitored by the other side. While it is intended for short range, line-of-sight communications, it has proven to be highly versatile in the field.

One application that has showed incredible promise is during vessel boarding search and seizure. The device can be used to transmit biometric data of passengers back to the ship. It is also ideal as a secondary communications device during radio blackouts. LightSpeed is also being tested for use in communications between submarines and aircraft, explosive ordinance disposal, and unmanned aerial vehicle landings.

Although the technology behind the LightSpeed device has been around for some time, it was not until 2003 that it first came to the attention of the US Navy. It was discovered at a tradeshow by a Navy Commander, and submitted to the Office of Naval Research's Tech Solutions department. ONR's Tech Solutions is a program that allows Sailors and Marines to suggest potential solutions to technology challenges. LightSpeed received research and development funding from the ONR in 2004, and current field testing shows incredible promise.


Bill MacArthur is ex-military special operations and is currently working as a consultant for a private security firm in the United States. He loves the great outdoors, and spends his free time at his cottage retreat. Every so often, he writes an article for http://www.thebinocularsite.com – an excellent online resource for information about Binoculars, Night Vision, Rangefinders and more.

Progressive Scan DVD Players

By Roger Sanchez

You've probably heard about progressive scan DVD players, but you may not know what exactly they are or why they seem to be the hot item that people want these days. To understand why this is the case, first you need to learn about the different technology that progressive scan DVD players provide. And then you'll need to realize that at the moment, only those who have invested in HDTV or other high performance display screens or projectors will be able to take advantage of the difference.

To start with, let's review the way that traditional motion pictures are created. In fact, the term 'motion picture' is rather misleading because no pictures actually move. Instead, still pictures, also called frames, are played in rapid succession so that the resulting display is changing so quickly and in such small amounts at a time that we perceive it as moving. You may have recreated this illusion in school or on your own by drawing stick figures or other pictures on a stack of paper, then flipped through the paper quickly. The figures looked like they were moving rather jerkily. But if you took the time to draw enough frames and move them quickly enough, you would see much smoother motion, like in cartoons.

Television is recorded in the same type of frames. Then it's broken down to be transmitted in a signal. When the signal is received by your television, it is reassembled in sections, or stripes. These stripes are reassembled in two different sets, from top to bottom and left to right across your television screen. To explain this concept more clearly, imagine window blinds that are partly open. The actual blind pieces are one set of stripes and the space between the stripes represents the second half of stripes. In a TV transmission, the stripes of set one are laid in before the second set is laid in. This is called an interlaced display. Although it sounds like it would take some time, all of this happens in the fraction of a second – 60 of the fields or stripes are displayed per second.

DVD players and DVDs have used this same technology because of the fact that TVs displayed pictures this way. But with the advent of digital and high definition television projectors, display technology has changed, leading the way for DVD technology to change as well. These high performance TVs and projector screens receive and display signals in full progressive frames instead of stripes. And 60 full frames are displayed per second. Meaning even more detail can be included in the same amount of time, resulting in pictures with less flicker or picture distortions. Progressive scan DVD players work by sending DVD signals in the same progressive format.

However, progressive scan DVD players only make a difference if they have both the source material that can be scanned into progressive signals and the display screen that can receive progressive signals. Older DVDs were most likely not recorded with progressive signals. Newer ones will have the capability, though. But as mentioned before, you have to have a television that can receive progressive signals. HDTV televisions can, and so can CRT or LCD monitors.

If you have the right kind of television, a progressive scan DVD player, and a DVD that was produced in the last 5 years or so, you can test to see if you can tell an improvement. Just switch the DVD playing setup from progressive to normal as you watch the film. Look at the outline of things, and the details of the background elements. You may just experience home video with a clarity and sharpness like never before.

Roger Sanchez reviews portable DVD players brands and models at http://www.AllPortableDvdPlayers.com - a complete portable DVD players guide where you can find tips and tricks on how to shop for a portable DVD player.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Fax Machines Guide-Some guidelines about Fax Machines

by: Anuj Sharma

A telecommunication tool that sends and receives documents or graphics via telephone lines is known as ‘fax machine’. Fax machine is basically a package of image scanner, a modem and a computer printer. Scanner is used to convert the content of physical documents into digital image whereas modem sends image data via phone line and printer is used to make a duplicate of original document.

Sometimes fax machines are used to scan documents into a computer and to take a print of documents from computer. Fax machines converts a picture into zeros and ones format so that data can be easily transmitted like normal computer data while on the other side it reads the data and translates zeros and ones back into dots and reprints the picture.

Fax machines are affordable and easy to use devices. Fax machines transmit data at speed from 4,800 bps to 28,800 bps. Fax machines with a speed of 9,600 bps transmit one page within 10-20 seconds. Several fax machines use thermal printer that needs special paper to print the best pictures. Thermal paper mostly comes in two sizes such as 8.5 inches wide and 10.1 inches wide.

Some fax machines come with vast variety of dialing features. It enables you to set a program to send a document at future time. Another important feature of fax machine is that you can send multi page document without feeding each and every page manually in the machine.

Latest fax machines are a bit faster than the old ones. You should determine quality, price and other important features at the time of purchasing a fax machine. You can select ‘fax modem’ in case you want to send faxes but not receive them. Choice of fax machines depends on your requirements.

About The Author

Anuj Sharma owns a website on Fax Machines http://www.123faxmachines.com/. Website provides information about cheap fax machines, best fax machines, fax machines reviews, and history of fax machines. Get all information about fax machines from his site

Monday, May 15, 2006

Satellite TV Dealers -- Who's The Best

by: Brian Stevens

In the world of satellite TV there are satellite TV providers -- the companies who provide satellite TV programming -- and satellite TV dealers -- the companies who sell the programming and the equipment you need to watch it.

In the U.S.A. there are currently two satellite TV providers -- DISH Network and DIRECTV -- and hundreds of satellite TV dealers who sell their services and systems.

Due to the recent rise in popularity of satellite TV, satellite TV dealers have sprung up all over the Internet promising the best deals, the best service, and everything else under the sun. But after you sign up for their service they sock you with hidden service fees, provide you with shoddy installation, and offer zero customer service.

So how do you know which satellite TV dealers are the most reputable, will give you the best service, and will sell you DISH Network or DIRECTV's services at the best possible price?

We've spent hundreds of hours researching online satellite TV dealers. Here's a rundown on the top four dealers -- the cream of the crop:

DISH Network Satellite TV Dealers

**** Allsat (Highly Recommended)

Established in 1995, when DISH Network first started broadcasting, Allsat is one of the oldest and most reputable online satellite TV dealers. Allsat began as an offline satellite TV store, then went online in 1997.

Their prices, reputation, and service are second to none.

Allsat currently offers:

* A free DISH Network satellite TV dish
* Up to four free receivers plus remotes
* Free professional installation
* Free DVR (digital video recording) receivers
* Free HD (high definition) receivers
* Free 25 movie channels
* 24/7 customer service
* Lifetime equipment warranty
* Free bonus gifts (click on the link below to view current offers).

*** VMC (Recommended)

VMC is one of the largest and most well known satellite TV dealers in the U.S. They installed the satellite TV system in the U.S. Capitol building.

VMC currently offers:

* A free 4-room satellite TV system
* Free professional installation
* Free digital video recorders
* Free HDTV receivers
* Free 25 movie channels
* 24/7 customer service
* Lifetime equipment warranty

DIRECTV Satellite TV Dealers

**** iSatellite (highly recommended)

iSatellite is one of DIRECTV's top satellite TV dealers. Though relatively new to the satellite TV scene, they are one of the fastest growing, most respected online dealers in the U.S.

ISatellite currently offers:

* A free satellite TV dish
* Up to four free receivers plus remotes
* Free professional installation
* Free DIRECTV DVR receiver (after $99 mail-in rebate)
* Free HDTV receiver (after $199 mail-in rebate)
* Free premium movie packages
* 24/7 customer service
* One-year equipment warranty
* Special offers (click on link below to view current offers).

*** Rapid Satellite (recommended)

In business since 1999, Rapid Satellite is one of DIRECTV's highest rated satellite TV dealers. They have thousands of customers in hundreds of cities across the U.S.A.

Rapid Satellite currently offers:

* Free 4-room system
* Free installation
* Free DIRECTV DVR (after $99 rebate)
* Free HDTV receiver (after $199 rebate)
* Free premium movie packages
* 24-hour customer service
* One-year equipment warranty
* Special offers (click on link below to view current offers).

Note: For more information on current DISH Network or DIRECTV programming and subscription fees, or to order satellite TV service with a free satellite TV system, click on the links below.

About The Author

Brian Stevens is the senior editor for TheSatelliteTVGuide.com and has written extensively on satellite TV dealers.


Sunday, May 14, 2006

3 New Nokia Entry Level Phones Announced

by: Nicolas Fogelholm

Nokia today announced 3 new low-end handsets targeted at first time users in new growth markets. Nokia 2610, Nokia 2310 and Nokia 1112 were unveiled at Nokia Experience Mobility 2006 event in Chongqing, China. According to Nokia the hallmarks of the trio is Performance, quality and ease of use!

The new Nokia 1112, Nokia 2310 and Nokia 2610 expand Nokia's current portfolio of affordable low-end phones. All three models are expected to begin shipping during the second quarter of 2006. The Nokia 1112 is an addition to the popular Nokia 1100 family phones that has sold over 100 million units globally, since its introduction.

Today Nokia also announced that it is opening the licensing of the Nokia Prepaid Tracker terminal feature to other terminal manufacturers. At the same time Nokia will also license the Prepaid Tracker network feature to all GSM/WCDMA operators regardless of their current network system provider. The Nokia Prepaid Tracker was unveiled last year and a simple solution that lets prepaid subscribers keep track of their prepaid balance and call expenses.

About The Author

Nicolas Fogelholm is webmaster for http://www.about-nokia.com/.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Panasonic Batteries

by: Angela Oliver

Panasonic makes a variety of dry AGM rechargeable batteries for all types of needs. Panasonic manufactures a wide range, for any portable electronic or device needs. When shopping for replacement batteries for anything from small hand held electronics to automotives, Panasonic is a excellent choice for batteries.

Panasonic is a manufacturer of numerous battery types.12 and 6V batteries are used for heavy machinery, automotives, or marine power supplies. 4 and 8 volt batteries are used for a number of things that may require less power like digital cameras and other hand held devices. Panasonic's AGM batteries may be used in a variety of things such as wheelchairs, emergency lighting, small engines, and starters.

Panasonic is known for their qualities batteries that will last a lifetime. Panasonic batteries have a number of protective qualities. All batteries are manufactured with resistance to things such as overcharge, improper discharge, vibration, shock, and varying storage conditions. This is very important for batteries that are not used frequently and need to be ready on demand.

Panasonic batteries vary greatly in price because there are many different types of batteries. Depending, price can range anywhere from $50 to $400. It all depends on the technology of the battery and what it is being used for. Smaller batteries for things like handheld electronics require less power and are generally less expensive. Higher voltage batteries for auto, marine, or other equipment are much larger, heavier, and more costly.

Panasonic batteries are a one stop shop for all battery needs. When purchasing Panasonic batteries, consumers can be certain they have purchased a dependable battery that can be relied on for any type of equipment.

About The Author

This article was written by Angela Oliver for www.batteryweb.com, a retail and wholesale provider of all types of batteries and battery chargers.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Sony Mp3 Players

by: Brian Lupichuk

Sony Mp3 Players have earned the status of being one of the best players on the market. The Sony Mp3 Players are quite versatile for style, looks, and of course accessories. With the Sony mp3 players you can choose from either the Hard drive player, Flash Memory player, MP3 CD player, or the Mini Disc player. Sony mp3 players come in a good affordable price range from $100 to $300.

Lots of the Mp3 players with hard drive storage can hold up to 13,000 songs. This is perfect for those who need large storage capacity. Some players even provide rechargeable batteries, USB cords, LCD screens, and AC power adapter for charging when needed.

The Flash memory, Sony mp3 players have large storage capacity too. But flash players are smaller than hard drive players. Flash memory players range in size from around 512 MB to over 1GB. This means about 300 to 700 songs. Rechargeable batteries come with this player for up to 50 hours of music. Rechargeable batteries are so very handy and do not take long to recharge back up.

The CD Walkman is a great choice when you are considering buying a Sony mp3 player. The CD Walkman is reasonably priced for your budget, and it probably can hold all your audio music needs from you homemade CDs. And always check to make sure the CD player or mp3 players meets you needs. The CD Walkman comes with rechargeable batteries, skip protection, and some even com with accessories, software, and some with even water resistant cases. Perfect for around the pool or at the beach.

With Sony Mp3 Players you should include the Mini disc player. Lots of the Mini Disc players have functions that allow you to view and store photos as well as MP3s. This can be done with todays technogoly. Simply with combining a digital camera and an Mp3 Player. This is such a cool feature in the mp3 technology world today.

About The Author

Brian Lupichuk invites you to World of mp3 players, an information site focused on MP3 Players and other valuable information about mp3 players.Find out why more and more people are replacing their cd player with a MP3 player! Before you go to buy your new mp3 player consult http://www.worldofmp3players.net/site_map.html to help you find the right mp3 player that fits your lifestyle and budget.


Unleash The Power Of The PSP Gigapack And PSP Download Services

by: Terry Brazil

The PSP Gigapack is the most powerful handheld gaming package ever created. But not only is it powerful it is also a great value if you are looking to get the most out of your handheld gaming.

The heart of the Gigapack is the Play Station Personal handheld gaming system. The PSP is the most powerful handheld gaming device ever created. The PSP runs on a 333Mhz processor that is almost equal to that of the Play Station 2. It incorporates 32MB of main memory and 4MB of DRAM.

The screen measures at 4.3 inches. This is the largest screen size for any handheld with the Nintendo DS measuring in at 3 inches. The PSP also has a screen resolution of 480 x 272 pixels. This is almost double the Nintendo DS’s screen. This makes for a really high resolution image.

The PSP has built in stereo speakers as well as a slew of different ways to communicate with it. Among the communication methods are 802.11b wireless networking, USB 2.0, Pro Duo memory stick, IrDA, and an infra red remote.

The PSP takes UMD cartridges which is made for the PSP exclusivly. The recognized file formats are the PSP game format, UMD Audio, and UMD Video. All of these can easily be created on a computer and loaded to your PSP’s memory stick via the USB cable. This allows you to download a very large variety of files for use on your PSP.

The PSP also features a headphone and microphone jack. This allows you to talk to others while playing online. The PSP is basically a computer you can fit in your pocket. It also has a power connector to recharge the PSP’s built in battery.

The buttons consist of the standard PlayStation controller buttons with a few extras. The additional buttons are home, power, brightness control, sound mode, volume, wireless networking on/off switch, and a disk eject button.

The PSP also features parental controls. This will allow concerned parents to lock their children out of games and movies they shouldn't he seeing. This is a great feature and the PSP is the only handheld gaming device to offer it.

Sony also plans on delivering a slew of accessories to even further your handheld experience. You can also pick up the USB Camera for PSP, USB GPS for PSP, and USB Keyboard for PSP.

The Gigapack takes this outstanding gaming system and teams it up with a bunch of the added extras. Some Gigapack vary in what they give but most are the same. Included in the Gigapack is a 1GB memory stick (to hold your favorite games, movies, music, and more), PSP headphones with remote control, soft carrying case, PSP AC adaptor, PSP battery pack, travel plug (so you can charge your PSP anywhere in the world), PSP stand, USB cable, cleaning cloth, and usually two games.

You can obviously see why the PSP Gigapack is the most powerful handheld gaming package in the world. Teamed up with a great PSP download service you will have all you will ever need for handheld entertainment. Even if you already have a PSP you should at least invest about $55 on a 1GB memory stick.

There are a few PSP download services on the market and I have tried most all of them. The one I am most satisfied with and use on a daily basis is PSP Download Services. They offer a ton of benefits to get the most out of your PSP.

Although you can find PSP files for download on the Internet for free they are usually fairly speratic. It may take a few hours just to locate what you are looking for and a lot of the time the file may be taken down. This happens a lot if the game has not just recently been released. The same is true for PSP movies that can be found for free.

I strongly suggest you use a PSP download service. This way you will not waste away hours just to find out that the file you are looking for has been taken down. With a download service you simply search for what you are looking for and it will come back with a list of results. You are usually guaranteed to find what you are looking for. For instance PSP Download Services offers an amazing 20+ million files. You will always find exactly what you are looking for.

Depending on who you choose you may have a monthly download limit or even a monthly bandwidth limit. Others may give you a content limit so you can only get a certain amount of say games or movies in any given month. You will never experience any of these problems with PSP Download Services. You will always get UNLIMITED PSP game, movie, music, mp3, software, screen savers, background image, themes, e-books, and more.

PSP Download Services also runs on the world fastest network and uses a download excelerator. That means that you can use this great service even if you only have dial up. What this mean for you is that your downloads that usually take a matter of hours will only take you a matter of minutes with PSP Download Services.

You will also get step-by-step instructions on how to use this great technology. Even a complete computer novice can use this service with no problems. Even if you do get caught up on something you can always call technical support. They will also give you the file transfer software needed to load your PSP full of your favorite titles.

Now that I have packed you full of wonderful information on how to get the best out of your PSP the choice is yours. Quite simply it is a no brainer. How could anybody ever go wrong with a PSP Gigapack and PSP Download Services. There is no way for you to loose. Even if you end up wanting to try another download service they offer an unconditional 60 day money back guarantee.

Don’t hesitate though act now and get your own piece of handheld gaming heaven. This is only high tech device you will ever need. You can surf the Internet, chat, play games, watch movies, talk with friends, listen to music and mp3’s, read e-books and much more with this astonishing piece of hardware and PSP Download Services is its perfect match.

About The Author

Terry Brazil
www.guruofinfo.com

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Digital Cameras – Quality Vs. Size

by: Sara Wells

When looking to purchase a new digital camera there is always the debate between size and quality within the range of your budget. No matter what the budget, the choice will have to be made between a smaller size, more portable camera and a higher resolution camera with more features. Making the choice between the two is simply a matter off considering what the camera’s purpose.

Digital camera users who plan to use a camera for simple point-and-shoot purposes will want to focus their budget on a small, portable camera. These individuals are most likely using their camera to document travels, family events, and personal experiences for their own memory. The photos don’t need to be or a super high resolution because they will not be blown up to poster size, but will remain 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 in a frame on the mantel. It is important to consider that when size is traded for quality, while the photos will be higher quality, users may be less inclined to take photos as the size of the camera becomes a hindrance to taking it along for the fun.

Photographers who are more interested in the end product will want to sacrifice size for a higher resolution camera or one with more features and/or accessories. The bulkier high-resolution cameras or digital SLRs will be the better choice for users who are taking artistic or professional photographs. Even the amateur artist, will want to invest in quality over size to produce the kind of photos that can be enlarged to show detail. Cameras used for professional shots, whether to be displayed in a portfolio, brochure or website, will also need to be of higher quality, and it will be worth hefting the extra weight to get the higher-end photos.

Knowing the type of photographer you are, will help you make the right choice in cameras. When you have an idea of what characteristics are most important to you, take the time to shop, read the reviews, and compare the various cameras in your price range.

About The Author

Sara Wells is a successful writer for http://www.camerapieces.com.
She provides information and details on cameras and accessories http://www.camerapieces.com on her website.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Guide To Buying A Mobile Phone

by: Paul Smith

If you already have a mobile phone, you can switch to a different network and take your phone number with you, although you may need a different handset. You could get a connection with a new number, using your existing handset.

Networks

When you buy a phone you need to choose a network - O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-mobile are mobile phone networks. Each network is a collection of radio towers all over the country, linked together and transmitting people's conversations.

A mobile phone service usually comes as a package, made up of the phone itself and access to a network. There are five main mobile phone networks in the UK - O2, T-Mobile, Orange, Vodafone and most recently '3' with its growing third generation network which can support mobile video. Other operators such as Virgin and BT Mobile use the 5 main networks and there are many airtime resellers dealing with one or all the networks. They offer two ways of using their services; by "pay as you go" or by monthly line rental. If you do not intend to make a great number of calls from a mobile phone, a pay as you go package may suffice but any reasonably regular use (especially during business hours) probably warrants a monthly package - which package will depend on the volume of calls you anticipate making.

You don't need to put pen to paper for most mobile phone contracts nowadays, but they are still legally binding. Contracts can be 'signed' over a website or over the phone.

The network should be the first thing you choose when you're starting out. Your choice of network will decide where you get good coverage, and how good the customer service is. Some networks have better coverage in particular areas than others, but customer service varies from day to day, depending on demand.

Price plans

Next, decide whether you want a pay as you go phone or a traditional contract arrangement.

Pre-pay, where you pay (usually by buying vouchers) before you make calls. There is no risk of a high bill, but sometimes this is an expensive option, adding vouchers can be inconvenient and you may run out of credit during an important call.

Pay as you go packages are useful if you only expect to use your mobile occasionally, and are cost effective if you expect to receive a lot of calls, but not to make many. But you should be aware that some companies set an expiry date on their credits, meaning that the credit must be used in the time allocated.

Contract - where you get a bill each month, but the call charges are usually lower, and there are more facilities offered.

With rental you pay a monthly fee in the same way as you would for a land line. Many monthly rental packages include some inclusive call minutes or talktime

Monthly line rental costs from around £6, with a wide range of call-plans available. Look at several to work out which is best for you, and to ensure you spend the least amount of money relative to the use you expect to make of the service. Spending more on your monthly call-plan will result in more inclusive minutes, and calls made with inclusive minutes tend to be cheaper then calls made outside of the call-plan Generally, paying higher line rental gets you cheaper call charges

Before you commit yourself, check whether you can change contracts later as your usage and circumstances may change.

When you buy a phone, it is subsidised by the network or service provider, the higher your monthly fees the cheaper the phone will be. A mobile phone can be included 'free' when bought as part of a subsidised package, but without the subsidy even a basic model would cost at least £70, and you could pay £300 or more for the latest models with WAP access, GPRS and Bluetooth or other mobile data features. Expect to pay more for the handset with a pay as you go package because you are also getting a line but without a monthly rental charge and minimum contract.

Choosing the handset

There are lots of different phones to choose between. Read the Handsets section before deciding.

Once you have seen all the information here, and decided what you want, find a good mobile phone shop mad4mobilephones.com offers excellent value, superb service, and provided you with this information!

See the mad4mobilephones.com web site for information about the wide range of phones available.

Some users are far more interested in gadgets than others, as a general rule you should get a phone with as many feature as you think you will need. If you think you need lots of features then there are plenty of mobile phones to suit you.

You should also be careful before opting for some of the pay-as-you go deals. Some use phones that skimp on features for the sake of cost cutting.

Look for a phone with good battery life, the phone should get you easily through a full day or weekend of normal use.

The most important thing is to choose a good mobile phone shop, mad4mobilephones.com can provide you with some good deals, check out the site for more information.....

About The Author

Paul Smith is director of www.mad4mobilephones.com - a UK mobile phone shop. See http://www.mad4mobilephones.com for more guides and articles.

info@mad4mobilephones.com

Home Theater - Plasma TV VS Projectors

by: Jakob Culver

Many homeowners are struggling with an important, electronic question: What is the ideal display for my home theater? Many people have fought this debate, but I'll try to make clear some important considerations.

The most important detail to consider when deciding between a projector and a large plasma television is ambient light. A room with lots of windows presents a problem for a projector because every little bit of ambient lighting degrades the projected image. The ideal environment for a projector is one where you have total control over the lighting. If your home theater uses a projector, you are limited to using it when you can eliminate other light. A plasma screen can be used anyplace, anytime.

Assuming your home theater has blackout curtains, or exists deep underground; let's examine differences between a plasma television and a projector. One advantage of a projector is that you can get a much larger picture than is available in plasma. Projectors can produce images comparable to an 81-inch screen and larger. This just isn't possible with a plasma screen. However, plasma's have the advantage of not needing any amount of space. A projector must have a long enough corridor to project its image on the wall or screen. To get an 81-inch or greater image, you need a decent distance between the projector and the target. Second, a projector's image is dependent on more than the quality of the projector; you must be projecting onto a specialized surface or you lose detail. A top of the line HD projector with a very high native resolution would be wasted if you were just projecting the image onto a wall. You need an equally high quality screen with features such as a matte finish to eliminate reflection and glare. A plasma display requires no additional equipment.

Overall, a projector has the potential of creating a beautiful image, but it needs too much to work effectively. If you're creating a private movie theater with lighting control and an investment in a screen, mounting equipment, and blackout curtains, then a projector is your piece of equipment. For everyone else, I suggest a plasma television.

About The Author

Jakob Culver is founder of the website www.plasmatvarena.com providing information, articles and reviews about plasma tv's. To find more articles like this one visit the site http://www.plasmatvarena.com/.

© Millennium Online Marteting Pty Ltd

This article may be reprinted for use in websites provided that the information box is kept intact. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: millenniumonlinemarketing@hotmail.com.

Customize Your Mobile Phones Through Free Ring Tone Downloads

by: Tony Brings

Customizing your mobile phone is one of the things we enjoy doing. Not only that we are giving our phones that good look, we are also making it as if it is our counterpart. From the hard covers and the backlights up to the different mobile applications installed in our phone, we make it as personal as possible in order to fit it in our standard way of living.

And luckily for us, different wireless specialist especially in wireless mobile application are trying to give different promotions like free downloads of ringing tones in order to lure their potential customers to purchase different mobile phone products and avail of a mobile phone service provider.

Well, let us discuss how we can avail of such freebie for our mobile phones.

Before downloading ringing tones, take into consideration two important factors:

1. Capability of your phone - Although having the same functions of sending SMS (short massaging service) or MMS (multimedia messaging service) and making and receiving voice calls, mobile phones still differs on its capabilities especially in software application.

Mobile designers continue to develop and enhance further certain functions of phones, especially when it comes to mobile photography and video messaging, and ringing tones. In order to find the right ringing tone for your phone, read its instruction manual and know its specification—whether it has melody composer, and other applications needed to avail of free downloads.

2. Format of ringing tones - Ringing tones comes in different formats, depending on the nature of its sound reproduction. Advanced mobile phone models are now configured to receive polyphonic and MP3 tones, which requires high storage of memory. Once you have known your cell phone specification, be aware also of what ringing tone format to install.

Now that you are aware of the factors aforementioned, let us now proceed on how to download free ringing tones. First step is to browse which website offers free downloads of ringing tones.

Once you have found which websites are offering such freebie, determine which is the best downloading procedure is fitted on your phone depending on its capability. There are two downloading procedure available: the key press format and the WAP downloading format:

1. The key press format is the most basic, eventually every mobile phone equipped with melody composer do support this kind of downloading format. The website will posts all the ringing tones in key press format, where you will see notes and the key it corresponds on the keypad of your phone. This will produce a monotone, and it is absolutely free. Just follow the instructions on the homepage and you are in the process of having your free ringing tone played in your phone.

2. The WAP downloading format can be used as a conduit in downloading free ringing tones especially if your phone supports wireless application protocol (WAP). WAP is also called the “wireless web”. Service providers include in their wide array of services this kind of function to facilitate actual download of the tones without actually composing it. If your phone supports this application, it is recommended that you use it for downloading contents.

Once you gained access of your WAP browser, just type the address of the site where you want to download your free ringing tone. From there you follow the instructions in the page, and wait for your tone to be delivered to you through WAP.

However, downloading using this format is not very free of charge— your mobile phone service provider is imposing additional charges if you avail your WAP service. What make it advantageous is that it is relatively cheaper if you will actually download ringing tone directly from your service provider.

It is now up to you if you want to avail of such free download. After all, the directions are just there, waiting for you.

About The Author

Tony Brings is the webmaster of Cheap Electronic Center. Learn all about the newest electronic innovations and discover where to get them real cheap. http://www.cheapelectroniccenter.info.

Mini Ipod, Music And Everything In A Box

by: John Rivers

The smaller version of Apple iPod is the iPod mini. It is a small audio player. The release of this audio player was on February 20, 2004. The machine was from Windows PCs and Macintosh, and with support from Linux and other UNIX work likes. The devise got the same sensitive touch scroll pad, but instead of four touch notches, the buttons are made mechanical for easy navigation. The wheel is the “click wheel”. You must push the edge of the wheel inward over one of the four levels of the iPod for full access to one of the four labels.

There are two almost identical generations of iPod, the difference is with their battery capacity and storage. They are both 3.6 by 2.0 by 0.5 inches and weighs 102grams. The case composes of anodized aluminum. The five first generation colors of iPod were green, blue, pink, silver and gold. Because of the unpopularity of the gold version, they dropped it to the second generation. In the first generation, the button labels are colored grey, in the second generation the buttons were colored matching the color of the iPod case.

The first generation battery can last up to 8 hours. The users criticized the short duration of the battery. Because of that, Apple released the second generation claiming an 18 hours of continues play. Nevertheless, the only problem with the second generation is that they no longer contain FireWire cable or an AC power adaptor. This is the reason why the price of the device was reduced.

At the bottom of the device, you can find dock connector, specifically Hi-Speed or FireWire, which connects to the computer device. The battery of the unit is being charged when connected to the computer. It has a hold switch at the top and headphone jack and a jack for connecting some accessories. It supports AIFF, WAV, AAC/M4A, MP3 and Apple Lossless audio formats. Integration to iTunes and iTunes Music Store was retained as well, allowing for true Auto-sync between the software application and the iPod mini.

Special features:

• With 128 kbps AAC format that can hold up to 1000 songs

• Super lightweight music device with 4GB hard disk drive

• With FireWire that is used to store data

• 138 by 110 pixel resolution, 0.22-mm dot pitch

• It weighs 103 g

• Up to 25 minutes anti skip protection

• Its audio formats support AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, AIFF, WAV and audible

iPod mini accessories:

• AV connection kit- used to connect your iPod to your home stereo or television. You can now share your favorite tunes, photos and movies to your loved ones.

• Radio remote- you can listen to your favorite Fm radio stations and control it with a convenient wired remote. In addition, an earphone comes up with shorter cable that perfectly fits your remote.

• Apple remote - Universal Docks support this. It is plugged in the Dock, connect to a television or stereo and be ready for a control of everything.

• Universal dock – is convenient for home charging, it also used to connect your iPod to home audio system. It also lets you connect your iPod to television for slideshow of images.

• USB power adapter- you can charge your iPod even with the connection to your computer.

• Camera connector- use to transfer photos directly to your iPod.

• In-ear headphones- it offers quality sounds with bass response.

• USB cable- a cord used to connect your iPod to your computer.

About The Author

John Rivers is editor of Poddies Net. A Blog site featuring news, reviews, and how-to information related to the iPod.