Canon S5IS Digital Camera Our rating:

The Canon S5IS digital camera is a very versatile and user-friendly camera. It features a classic yet stylish body, contoured for a perfect fit into your hands for easy picture-taking, and a rotating flip-out 2.5″ LCD screen. The various shooting modes (Auto, Av, Tv, Manual, Custom, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Special Scene, Night Snapshot, Super Macro, Stitch Assist & Movie) stay true to the Canon line, and live up to the Canon standard. With the optical image stabilization and Digic III image-processing on top of the 12x optical zoom (48x digital) and 8.0 mega pixels, this camera is really one all-in-one package just below the quality of a digital SLR that is very hard to beat. With its zoom function and shutter in the same vicinity, as well as review control and mode switch wheel also nearby, it’s quite simple, straightforward and when necessary, speedy to take high-quality photos. The adjustable ISO settings, optical zoom and normal/macro/super macro functions make it easy to get creative and do just what you want to do with the camera instead of its functions limiting you.

I found it quite easy to learn how to use, and if I have any problems I can turn to the ever-helpful user manual or online support from Canon. The S5 IS is very sturdy, and taking videos is very easy as well, with a separate record button on the back of the camera. The video and audio quality is remarkably good. The lens is a Canon lens, and I’m quite impressed with the overall quality and clarity of the pictures I’ve taken. As an avid photography hobbyist, this camera has fulfilled all my needs, wants, and even more. It keeps surprising me with the professional quality of photos and as I continue honing my skills and becoming more accustomed to the S5IS. It only gets better and easier to use, as opposed to other cameras I’ve used that only seemed to become more problematic over time and more use. This canon has really held up in even very adverse conditions, such as rain, snow, extreme heat and bitter cold, and over time and more use. Since it takes SDHC cards, the memory availability is only limited to the cards available on the market now.

Although I’ve fallen in love with this camera, it does lack what a more expensive, truly professional digital SLR camera has, and is a bit on the large size. Also, it requires 4 AA batteries (I’ve found it’s good to use rechargeable canon NiMH batteries and a canon charger to power it as these last longer than the usual rechargeable batteries), which means it’s quite the power hog, and this makes it almost an absolute necessity to at least purchase rechargeable batteries. The lens cap is very loose, and falls off often, after a bit of research I found this is the case on most if not all models. This is a problem if you are carrying it in conditions or a situation where it could get easily scratched. However, other than these few issues, the S5IS has been a very pleasing camera to own. With it’s price of between 250-350$ dollars, it’s really the most bang for the buck out of cameras in its price and function group. It is possible to upgrade the camera hardware, so this is a great camera for anyone, whether you are a hobbyist like me, a professional perhaps looking for a second camera, a tourist or even a mom who just wants to get clear pictures of her kid’s soccer game.

RIM BlackBerry 8830 World Edition Smartphone Our rating:

The Blackberry 8830, although it looks to be a basic and even to some a boring and bulky PDA/Smartphone compared to others of its kind (and even its Blackberry siblings such as the popular and snazzy Pearl, Storm and Curve), the 8830 is set apart from the others by being both a CDMA and GSM phone. This phone is marketed especially for International businessmen and world-travelers who would benefit most from the network interchangeability. For those Sprint/Nextel and Verizon users who grit their teeth when they want to keep their phone when they change networks, or just switch out their sim card when they travel somewhere overseas with only GSM networks, the 8830 comes to the rescue. With both a CDMA function and a GSM sim-card slot, you get the best of both worlds. For the world-traveler who uses a CDMA network Smartphone, this Blackberry is a lifesaver and relieves a lot of hassle they may have had in the past when it comes to mobile networks and phones. It’s easy to use the World Edition 8830 overseas. Simply activate Sprint/Verizon World Service (by calling Sprint or Verizon, it’s free) and it will work in both CDMA and GSM countries (although the roaming fees are pretty hefty). For those who want to use a local sim-card, just switch out the Sprint or Verizon card for a local network’s card.

The Sprint version of the 8830 lacks a camera, which is a downside and a disappointment since Blackberry tends to stay on the cutting edge, but I suppose most world-traveling businessmen (who this phone is marketed for) don’t need a camera-phone to snap pictures while on a meeting in Beijing. And even though it might not have a camera, you can still fit a lot of media on the 8830 with the memory card option and SDHC capability. The audio isn’t the loudest, but still fairly good for a phone, and the video quality is exceptional. And, since the screen is 2.5 inches, you won’t be squinting your eyes nearly as much as with other, smaller phones. Of course, the 8830 also comes with the mobile internet option and blackberry email, which is outstanding and quite simple to use if you have a data package.

Although the transition to blackberry from another phone, Smartphone or PDA can take a bit of getting used to, since its menu can tend to be a bit complex and difficult to navigate, the convenient “help” functions and online guides make it clear to even the least tech-savvy folks. For those already familiar with blackberries, the 8830 features the trademark trackball as well as blackberry maps, GPS, browser, email, MMS, SMS, wireless e-mail, organizer, and corporate data access. The price is quite fair when you buy it with a new plan or decide to upgrade. Otherwise it retails around $400-600, still a fair price given the features of this one-of-a-kind PDA phone.

LG VX5500 Cell Phone Our Rating:
The LG VX5500 is by far the best cell phone I’ve tested so far. First I’ll just say that I have personally always used whatever phones Verizon will give for free when a contract is renewed, so naturally, this phone as well was a free phone from Verizon. This was the best out of the 3 others I could choose from the last time I renewed.

Since I really use no other functions than the simple phone function, and this does a great job of it, I would highly recommend it for anyone who is looking for a phone to be just that. It’s durable as I dropped it more than once and it’s still going strong. At first I noticed the battery life did not seem a reliable as my previous phone, but after 2 charge cycles it is right up where I would expect it to be. The camera on it is what you would expect from a basic camera phone, VGA quality. No technical issues whatsoever, and Verizon service is always great. The design is sleek and fits well in my pocket.

One downfall of this phone is that it does not have a simultaneous “ring and vibrate” feature, but that is a minor issue compared to the otherwise very high quality of the phone.

Overall, I was very pleased with the LG VX5500 and would recommend it to anyone looking for a basic but reliable phone.

LAN Adapter for Nintendo Wii by Datel Our Rating:
This third-party adapter for Nintendo’s Wii console is a convenient solution to the lack of ethernet port on the Wii.  It creates a high speed LAN connection via USB.  For most people, this product will probably work exactly as it should.  It is definitely more convenient to find than Nintendo’s official LAN adapter which can only be purchased online at Nintendo’s official website.  However compared to their first-party solution, this offering from Datel does have some problems.

First off, the first unit tested was defective.  That is not to say that Nintendo’s adapter is infallible, but it does not say a lot for this product.  After finding a replacement, there are still a few shortcomings for this product.  If you are on a secured network in which all devices’ MAC address must be allowed by your router, it is much more difficult to obtain the MAC address of this product.  The address is not printed anywhere on the device, and because it is not officially made by Nintendo, the address does not appear when the Wii’s system settings are accessed.  To find the MAC address of this device, it has to be connected to a PC, have drivers downloaded for it, and then have an ipconfig run.  More than an inconvenience.

Overall this product should work fine for most people, but it may cause problems and frustrations if the network is configured a certain way.  The official Nintendo Wii LAN Adapter is a more recommended solution.

Canon ImageCLASS MF 4150 Our Rating:

The Canon ImageCLASS MF 4150 MultiFunction printer simply is one of the best values in its category.  A medley of awesome features not expected on a device of this price range also serve as very pleasant surprises.  Offering duplex printing, automatic document feeding, and a miniature bypass tray so you don’t have to remove your standard paper to print envelopes or index cards, the MF 4150 is a must-have for any home or small office.

We’ve been testing out this machine for nearly a month and it has yet to jam or malfunction.  The print quality is superb and pages print quickly with a surprisingly minimal warmup time.  The controls are very easy to use for making copies or sending faxes, both physically on the printer as well as in its software.

In conclusion, we have yet to see a reason why anyone would not want to buy this printer.  So, if you’re thinking about heading out to the store to grab one of these, our best advice would be to hurry up!

Linksys WRE54G Wireless-G Repeater Our Rating:

Want better wireless signal in your house? This is exactly what you need. This device homes in on your wireless signal from your router, and then boosts it, extending the range of your wireless network.

The product itself is a small box that can either be mounted right on the outlet, or used with a provided cord and mounted on the wall, or simply set on a surface. Once mounted, all you have to do is aim the antenna straight up. Then you just hold down the auto-configure button, and it will configure itself to repeat the strongest wireless signal it can find that is not secured. If your network is secure, you must connect it to your network or use the software on the provided CD.

This is where we dock a star from the rating. The software didn’t work right at all for us. It is supposed to give you the ability to further configure your product, and to confirm that it is connected to the correct network. It also is needed to connect to a non-secure network. However, every access point scan we did failed, yet we could auto-configure to multiple networks. This was tested on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Furthermore, the software is not Mac compatible.

Once connected to your wireless network, this product significantly increases your signal strength. It increased our signal by over 300%, and we can get an almost perfect signal from one end of our house to the other – before this, we could not get signal at all in the basement, or in many areas of the house. In addition, the internet speed is retained great throughout the house. We recommend getting one of these if your wireless network range needs a boost, or you just want a more reliable wireless signal.

Apple Remote Our Rating:

The Apple remote is a necessity for your Macbook or Macbook Pro, iMac,or Apple TV. With this tiny remote, you can have the ability to control your computer and applications on your Apple computer.

The Apple remote features only 6 buttons: volume control up and down, skip left and right, play/pause, and menu. In a media application, this remote controls all of the normal functions in that application, making it simple to control your music or movies from right in front of your computer to all the way across the room.

The menu button pulls up the Front Row application on Apple computers. This gives you access to movies, music, videos, podcasts, and photos in an appealing interface, all navigated with the remote. In the Front Row, you can also access features such as the top 10 music videos or top 10 songs in the iTunes store, movie previews, and more.

Not only is it a media controller, but a presentation controller. It can also be used in other applications. Additionally, it can play media applications in a Windows Boot Camp partition.

The remote has a long range, and has a long battery life. It also is very light and small, yet large enough to not lose it easily. It works great, and is essential to get the most out of your Apple computer experience.

Intec Audio/Video Selector Our Rating:

If you’re like me, you have tons of things hooked up to your TV. You have your DVD player, video games, and anything else around. This means that whenever you want to switch over to another system, you have to hassle with all of the cables to get it working. This nifty audio/video selector takes away the hassle.

This product allows you to plug in up to 3 devices into it. Then, you use the provided cords to hook the product up to your equipment. It accepts the regular audio and video, along with S-video. Then, all you have to do it hit the switch for whatever device you want to use, and play away! It’s that simple, and this product does the job flawlessly.

Nintendo Gamecube Game Boy Player Our Rating:

Here is a perfect accessory for your Gamecube. Slap this on the bottom of your Gamecube to instantly allow it to play any Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance game on your TV!

Most every game works in the Game Boy Player. There are some games that are not fit for use in this, including tilt-sensitive games, Gamesharks, or other large games or games that interact in various ways other than normal. Also, Game Boy Video cartridges cannot be played in it for copyright reasons. The device also has a link port so you can link up and play with other Game Boys, or use accessories that use the link port.

There are many ways to play the games. You can use a Gamecube controller, or you can buy a Game Boy to Gamecube link adapter to use your Game Boy Advance/SP as a controller.

The software has a few extra features. It allows you to put a number of frames around the game screen, includes sharpening levels, and has a timer of up to 60 minutes.

This has worked flawlessly for us, and has allowed us to play our Game Boy games on a whole new level, nice and large on the television. Much better than that tiny screen – this is a must-have for any Game Boy enthusiast.

Microsoft Bluetooth Explorer Keyboard Our Rating:

This one grabs your attention pretty quickly – it’s a cool blue color with transparent keys, perfect to fit it’s bluetooth connectivity. While it looks appealing, it loses some of that lure after you use it.

Let’s start with the good stuff. First off, they keys press very nicely. We like the touch of the keys. It also has a comfortable palm-rest that can easily be taken off. All of the special keys on the top of the keyboard are helpful too. They have defaults to Microsoft programs that the keys represent, but they can be programmed to do many custom actions. The media player keys are also very useful.

What we didn’t like really took the scores down. Because it is wireless, it need batteries. This keyboard eats them like candy. Also, they keyboard tens to get caught up with lag now and then. You may be typing, and then all of a sudden it repeats a key-press for about 30 seconds. This is tragic while playing a game, and an annoyance while typing a document. This may have been from bad batteries, but at the rate that they use batteries, this is bound to happen often if that is the cause.

In conclusion, this is not a bad keyboard at all. It is very appealing, easy to use, customizable, and comfortable. However, you just might have to get past some lag issues.