Bleeding Edge Byte 026: Big Brain Academy Review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Product Reviews, Video Games, Videocasts,

The Nintendo DS platform has simply taken off like no one could have imagined. One of the draws is the games that challenge the mind in ways that don’t involve needing to memorize button combos or require lightning fast reflexes. Some games claim to even make you smarter. In the interest of developing a sharper wit, Andru and Jake go one-on-one in Big Brain Academy for the Nintendo DS. We give you a detailed look at the game, and provide our thoughts in our full review.

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IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Picture Porter Elite: Portable Photos, Video, Music

Posted by Dave White Categories: Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews,

It fits in your hand, and it’s much more than a pretty face.

It’s the Picture Porter Elite from Digital Foci, and it’s being billed as a multimedia convergence device. You can listen to MP3s or pull in the nearest FM radio stations with the built-in FM tuner. Video functions include the digital photo album and a video player. You can see MPEGs, WMV9s, and even MJPEGs. You can see all manner of still image formats. And you can even record directly from a TV.

The resolution (320x240) is rather good for such a small screen (3.5 inches). A memory card reader accepts virtually every format. You can also print those beautiful photos directly to a PictBridge-compatible printer. Windows, Mac, or Linux? It doesn’t matter because this device can connect to computers running all three operating systems.

The two models are the same except for their memory capacity and their price tags. The 40GB model goes for US$449, and you can pick up the 80GB model for not much more, US$549.

Read More | CNET via UberGizmo

Sony NW-S205 Network Walkman Reviewed: For The ‘Active’ MP3 Crowd

Posted by Dave White Categories: Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews,

This might look like a flashlight or a microphone, but it’s the latest generation of the Sony Walkman.

The venerable music player has been reborn so many times that it’s hard to keep track of them all. This one is the most technologically advanced yet, featuring an MP3 player, FM tuner, and—amazingly enough—a pedometer. Sony calls it the G-Sensor, but a pedometer it is, able to track how long you’ve walked or run. The memory capability is a little slim, at just 2GB, but that’s still a lot of songs.

The whole shebang will set you back just US$150, and it runs well right out of the box. For those keeping score at home, the full name of the product is the Sony NW-S205 Network Walkman, and you can check out a review at CNET.

Read More | CNET

Motorola RAZR V3c: Six Months Later

Posted by Mark Harrison Categories: Smartphones, Features, Product Reviews,

About 6 months ago, with great anticipation, we picked up the Motorola RAZR V3c for Verizon.  Boy, were we ever excited!  Unfortunately, our high expectations led us to great disappointments.

Our biggest complaint half-a-year ago was the phones battery life.  That annoyance has grown into a huge problem.  Six months ago, twelve hours of marginal use cost us half of our battery life.  These days it is more like ten hours of minimal use sends the phone into the annoying Motorola “can’t turn off the stupid low-battery alert even though the phone is on silent and helps run down the remaining battery life even faster” chime.

Click to continue reading Motorola RAZR V3c: Six Months Later

Gear Live Review: iRiver clix Review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Features, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews,

We are glad to see that there are finally PlaysForSure MP3 players being released that can match up to the iPod not only in features (easy to do), but in form factor and ease of use as well (hard to do). At first glance, the iRiver clix looks like such a device. The clix is a redesigned iRiver U10, remixed with input from both the Windows Media Player 11 team and MTV, and is currently one of the only three PlaysForSure devices that is compatible with WMP 11 and the MTV URGE service. Does that make it good? We give you our full iRiver clix review after the jump.

Click to continue reading Gear Live Review: iRiver clix Review

The Bleeding Edge 017: Big Brain Academy, Motorola Q, Nintendo DS Lite

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Smartphones, Features, Handhelds, Movies, Product Reviews, Video Games, Videocasts,

In this episode, Andru and Jake go head to head in Big Brain Academy, we review the Nintendo DS Lite, and we ask you to name our new movie review show (with a prize for the winner!) Here’s the format:

HEAD TO HEAD
Nintendo DS Lite vs. Nintendo DS

UNWIRED
Motorola Q Review

HIGH SCORE
Big Brain Academy Review

THE WIRE
Seattle International Film Festival Review

: Name our new movie show, and win a 6-month Netflix subscription!

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IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Bleeding Edge Byte 021: Nintendo DS Lite Review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Product Reviews, Video Games, Videocasts,

Alright, time to show off Nintendo’s latest baby. In this Byte we put the Nintendo DS Lite up against the original Nintendo DS to look at the similarities and differences between the two models. If you have been debating the upgrade, check out the video. We give you a review of the Nintendo DS Lite, go over the pros and cons, and distract Jake from his Mario Kart session.

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IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Bleeding Edge Byte 020: Sonos ZP80 Bundle Review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Wireless / WiFi,

The Sonos ZonePlayer P80 Bundle is the first sub-$1000 Sonos package available, although it technically retails for $999 USD. If you haven’t heard, Sonos allows you to stream music throughout your household by placing ZonePlayers wherever you want to hear your tunes. Using a proprietary networking spec, ZonePlayers connect to your audio library, and can be mixed and matched. You control everything using your PC or the Sonos remote. How does it perform? We take a look in this episode.

Here’s how to get the show:
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IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Gear Live Review: Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 Review

Posted by Rob Stevens Categories: Accessories, Features, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Product Reviews,

I’ve been taking my sweet time going over this desktop set with a fine-toothed comb, using it every day to ensure that I’m giving it a fair shake. I’ve positioned the wireless receiver everywhere I can, I’ve changed the batteries, and I’ve changed wireless channels. The only verdict I can come to after several months of use is that this desktop set should probably be avoided.

I used to hate wireless keyboards, because they seemed like a needless luxury item. Unless you’re surfing the web on your big screen TV, what could you probably need a wireless keyboard for? Once I had one, I understood…a wireless keyboard is a fantastic way to reduce wire clutter, not to mention reclaiming desk space by simply moving the keyboard out of the way when you need to.

Click to continue reading Gear Live Review: Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 Review

Bleeding Edge Byte 019: SanDisk Sansa e260 Review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews, Videocasts,

In this Byte we walk you through the many features of SanDisk’s newest flagship MP3 player, the Sansa e260. Looking to capitalize on the whole “iPod doesn’t have all the features that we have” thang, SanDisk has come up with a device that has some features that are worth considering. Check out the video for our full review of this nano killer.

Here’s how to get the show:
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IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.