Top Gadgets and Gizmos of 2008 - Survey

Welcome!

This Survey is based on some of the Hottest (or Coolest) and Most Talked About Gadgets and Gizmos of 2008.

My Survey on HOTTEST (or COOLEST) Gadgets and Gizmos of 2008 is based on several Market Research and Product Analysis. I have tried my best to present the most Authentic and Legitimate information herein and believe all of you will benefit from it. Still you are encouraged to do your own survey before going for the product(s).

The Best and Top Rated Best Selling Hottest Camcorder / Video Recorder.

Camcorders, as you know are small, portable and light and they can provide a Quality Pictures.

Digital camcorders translate the analogue information gathered by the camera into bytes of data. They are so popular because no information is lost in the recording. Video information in digital form can also be loaded onto computers, where it can be edited, copied, manipulated or e-mailed.

All camcorders come with an auto focus device, usually an infrared beam that bounces off objects in the centre of the frame and comes back to a sensor on the camcorder.

Camcorders are also equipped with a zoom lens. An optical zoom lens is a single lens unit that lets you change this focal length, so you can move from one magnification to a closer magnification.

Some camcorders also have a digital zoom. Digital zooms stabilize magnified pictures a little better than optical zooms, but you sacrifice resolution quality because you end up using only a portion of the available photosites on the CCD. The loss of resolution makes the image fuzzy.

Camcorder of the Year 2008:

Sony Handycam HDR-SR 7

Thumbs Up:

• Plenty of output and input options
• Easy to hold steady
• Sharp and vivid video ...

Thumbs Down:

• You'll need an HD TV and Blu-ray/PS3 to truly get the best
• Manual settings require diving through touchscreen menus
• Mini-HDMI cable not included -- screams of penny pinching

The Baseline:

If you've got the prerequisite high-def hardware in your lounge room and are in the market for a camcorder, get it.

The Best and Top Rated Best Selling Hottelst Car Audio System.

A Car Audio System is today considered an essential accessory in a car, especially now with the proliferation of FM channels providing a wide choice of music, witty radio jockeys, phone in programmes, etc.

The head unit, which is what you see on the car dashboard, is the most important component in the system. The head unit is the source of the audio signal. Head units come in different combinations of radio, cassette, CD and MP3 players.

Head units have built-in pre-amps., which are considered adequate for entry-level audio systems with basic speakers.

Next come the speakers. One needs to have separate speakers for different frequency bands - bass, midrange and treble. Another option is to have combination speakers with a crossover or frequency filter. For good audio, the average car requires 4 speakers - 2 in the front, 2 at the back and a single sub-woofer. That's the standard configuration for a good, loud high quality, sound system.

The third aspect of a car audio system is the amplifier. The amplifier amplifies the power output signal from the preamp. Head units have built in pre-amps but these are most often not powerful enough to drive larger speakers. This is especially true when a subwoofer is being used. Multi-channel amplifiers are very popular, with each channel driving a set of speakers.

Cabling is also important, especially when you have a powerful new amplifier to drive your large speakers better..

The Hottest (or Coolest) Car Audio System of 2008

Sony Xplod MEX-DV2000

· Detachable front panel w/ 13-segment FL display

· SAT Radio Ready, iPod® Control Ready

· CSO, EQ7

· 52W x 4 High Power

· 4-Volt L/C/R/RL/RR/Sub preouts w/ HPF/LPF

· Supplied Wireless Card Remote (RM-X161)…and more…

All Thumbs Up !

The Best and Top Rated Best Selling Hottest Speakerphone.

Motorola MotoRokr T505 Car Speakerphone

Even if you haven't done it yourself, you've witnessed other drivers doing it: reaching across the front seat to answer a cell phone. It's a bad habit, and one that you can easily rectify using a reliable in-car speakerphone such as the MotoRokr T505.

MotoRokr T505 features a giant clip that attaches to your car's visor. It's a speakerphone, not a Bluetooth headset, so it's not intended for walking around or for individual listening. It pairs with any Bluetooth cell phone, allowing you to chat hands-free while cruising down the interstate. You're not limited to using the T505 for phone calls, either: If you have a phone (or MP3 player) that supports stereo Bluetooth, you can also stream music to the device or to your car's stereo via the built-in FM transmitter. Once you pair the T505 with your phone, the device dependably reconnects the next time you get into the car.

• 80% Thumbs Up

Top Rated Best Selling Hottest LCD Monitor.

HP w2207h 22-Inch Wide-Screen LCD Monitor

This reasonably priced, full-featured LCD monitor has good physical adjustments and offers great image quality. This reasonably priced, full-featured LCD monitor has good physical adjustments and offers great image quality.

The HP Pavilion w2207h is a 22" wide-screen flat panel Monitor with liquid crystal display LCD and thin-film transistor TFT screen. Coupling a wide screen and 720p 1080i high-def imaging, this monitor offers exceptional viewing if you (plan to) use your PC or Macintosh for viewing video. Consider adding an Optional TV Tuner Adapter to your PC and this monitor doubles as a TV monitor. Rated with a 5-millisecond response time, the display offers dynamite performance for fast-action videogame play. The HP Pavilion w2207h comes with a table stand but it is also VESA 100 compatible for use with an optional wall mount. Do more with the w2207h.

· Comfortably display two full pages of text or Web images side by side; work with wide spreadsheets, and reduce side-to-side scrolling with the wide view

· Get uncompromising performance with Digital photography, video editing, and video games

· Make games more absorbing with the blazing-fast 5 ms response time

· Create a Home-theater - the wide Format supplies optimal movie viewing of High-Definition content on your PC (via high-bandwidth digital content protection)

· Enjoy premium Sound with spatial separation via the Integrated speakers; listen privately with the integrated Headphone jack

· BriteView Technology enhances clarity and provides brilliant colors

· 1680 x 1050 factory-set Resolution at 60 Hz

· Video inputs supported: VGA Analog signal and HDMI digital signal

· Supports HDCP High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection to prevent transmission of non-encrypted High Definition content

· Plug and Play capability, if supported by your Computer system

· On-screen display (OSD) adjustments for ease of setup and screen optimization

· Display size: 22" (55.9 cm) diagonal and viewable image

· Input terminal VGA 15-pin D-type connector

· Scanning frequency: Horizontal scan range 24-82 KHz, Vertical scan range 48-76 Hz

· Contrast ratio: up to 2000:1

· dynamic-contrast ratio: up to 3000:1

· Response time: 5 ms (on-off)

· Pixel pitch: 0.252 mm

· EMI standard FCC Class B

· Mounting Standard: VESA 4-hole 100x100mm

· Unit Dimensions: Height 18.9" x Width 20.5" x Depth 11.3" (48.1x52.3x28.9cm)

· Weight: 19.8 pounds (9 kg)

· Box includes Monitor, Power cable, VGA cable, Audio cable, DVI cable, Documentation CD, 1-Year HP Warranty card

• Thumbs Up – 75%

The Best and Top Rated Best Selling Hottest Digital Camera.

Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital Camera

Sleek design, superb image capability and intuitive controls make the SD1100 a solid buy.

Canon's update of the popular SD1000 is evolutionary and cosmetic – the SD1100 IS gets a resolution boost from 7 to 8 megapixels, adds a new anti-reflection coating to the LCD screen, and, unlike its precursor, offers optical image stabilization. The SD1100 IS also sports Face Detection AiAF (Advanced intelligent Auto Focus), Canon's famous DIGIC III processor, Canon's exclusive iSAPS Scene technology, user-selectable ISO sensitivity settings from ISO 80 to ISO 1600, 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio (for HDTV display), and automatic red-eye correction. Finally, the SD1100 IS features a different lens than its predecessor.

Canon includes a lithium-ion battery and charger, USB and A/V cables, a software CD-ROM, a wrist strap, a "quick start" guide, a printed user's manual, and a 32MB "starter" memory card in the box with the camera.

The SD1100 IS provides four shooting modes:

- Auto: The camera automatically manages all exposure parameters; all the user has to do is point and shoot.

- Manual: While the SD1100 IS provides a "Manual" option, this is an auto exposure only digicam with no conventional manual exposure capability. The manual mode is actually program mode – the camera makes all exposure decisions, but users can subtly alter the look of their photos by lightening or darkening images via exposure compensation, adjust white balance to better match ambient lighting, fine-tune sensitivity, and tweak color saturation.

- Scene: Canon's iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology produces dependably decent exposures in a variety of common shooting situations. The camera instantly matches the scene in front of the lens with an on-board database of known scene types and then compares that information with the specific scene's subject distance, white balance, contrast range, lighting, and color (just before the image is recorded) to determine the best exposure. Scene mode options include: Portrait, Snow/Beach, Indoor, Foliage, Aquarium, Fireworks, Underwater, Kids & Pets, Sunset, and Night Snapshot, plus Color Swap, Color Accent, Digital Macro, and Stitch Assist.

- Movie: SD1100 IS users can record video clips (up to 4GB in duration) at 640x480 at 30 fps. The camera can also record up to 60 seconds of fast frame rate (320X240 at 60 fps) video clips and several lower-resolution video settings. Focus and (optical) zoom are locked at the first frame. Movies can be edited in-camera (in Playback mode) and then previewed – users can then opt to save the edited video clip, the original video clip, or both. The SD1100 IS also provides a voice-notation mode that allows users to add audio notes (up to 60 seconds) to their still images.

Viewing captured images is simple – the handy slider switch (allowing users to instantly shift from shooting mode to review mode) is perfectly located directly under where the right thumb naturally rests when holding the camera. The image magnification (zoom in/zoom out) and delete functions are straightforward, making reviewing and then deleting an image immediately after capture a snap.

• Thumbs Up: 85%

Top Rated Best Selling Hottest DVD Player.

Philips DVP5965K/96 DVD Player

- Model No : Philips DVP5965K/96

- Picture/Display

Aspect ratio : 4:3, 16:9

D/A converter : 12 bit, 108 MHz

Picture enhancement : High Def (720p, 1080i), Progressive Scan, Smart Picture, Video upsampling, Video upscaling

- Sound

Crosstalk (1kHz) : 70 dB

D/A converter : 24 bit, 192 kHz

Distortion and Noise (1kHz) : 65 dB

Dynamic Range (1kHz) : 80 dB

Frequency response : 30-20000 Hz

Signal to noise ratio : 90

Sound System : Dolby Digital

- Video Playback

Compression formats : MPEG1, MPEG2, DivX 3.11, DivX 4.x, DivX 5.x, DivX 6.0, DivX Ultra

Playback Media : CD, CD-R/CD-RW, DivX, DVD, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, Video CD/SVCD

Video disc playback system : PAL, NTSC

- Audio Playback

Compression format : Dolby Digital, MP3, PCM, WMA

MP3 bit rates : 32 - 256 kbps

Playback Media : CD, CD-R/RW, MP3-CD, MP3-DVD, WMA-CD

- Still Picture Playback

Picture compression format : JPEG

Picture enhancement : Flip photos, High Definition Resolution, Rotate, Slideshow with MP3 playback, Zoom

Playback Media : DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, CD-R/RW, Kodak Picture CD, Picture CD

- Multimedia Applications

Multimedia connections : USB memory class device

Playback Formats : MP3, JPEG Still pictures, DivX

- Connectivity

Front / Side connections : Microphone

Rear Connections : Analog audio Left/Right out, ComponentVideo out Progressive, Composite video (CVBS) output, Digital coaxial out, HDMI output

- Convenience

Child Protection : Child Lock, Parental Control

Karaoke : MIC volume

On-Screen Display languages : English, Malay, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Thai

- Accessories

Included Accessories : 2 x AAA Batteries, Audio/Video cable, Power cord, Quick start guide, Remote Control, User Manual, World Wide Warranty leaflet

- Dimensions

Set Width : 435 mm

Set Height : 37 mm

Set Depth : 235 mm

Packaging Width : 490 mm

Packaging Height : 82 mm

Packaging Depth : 320 mm

- Power

Power consumption : < 10 W

Power supply : 110-240V, 50/60 Hz

Standby power consumption : < 0.8 W

- warranty : One Year Manufacturers Warranty.

• Thumbs Up: 90%

Top Rated Best Selling Hottest Gaming Device.

Sony Playstation 3 still stands unmoved at the FIRST Position (Nearest Competitor - Microsoft Xbox 360)

Sony, the actual hardware was never really going to be in much doubt. And after your first few hours in the company of the PlayStation 3, you're will surely to be impressed.

The PlayStation 3 (officially marketed PLAYSTATION 3, commonly abbreviated PS3) is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game systems.

A major feature that distinguishes the PlayStation 3 from its predecessors is its unified online gaming service, the PlayStation Network, which contrasts with Sony's former policy of relying on game developers for online play.Other major features of the console include its robust multimedia capabilities,connectivity with the PlayStation Portable, and its use of a high-definition optical disc format, Blu-ray Disc, as its primary storage medium.The PS3 was also the first Blu-ray 2.0-compliant Blu-ray player on the market.

The PlayStation 3 was first released on November 11, 2006 in Japan, November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 23, 2007 in Europe and Oceania.Two SKUs were available at launch; a basic model with a 20 GB hard disk drive (HDD) and a premium model with a 60 GB HDD and several additional features (The 20 GB model was not released in Europe or Oceania.)Since then, several revisions have been made to the console's available models and has faced stiff competition from the other seventh generation consoles.As of December 20, 2007, the PS3 is in third place in home console sales for its generation.

• Thumbs Up : 90%

The Best and Top Rated and Best Selling Hottest Laptop.

- Sony Vaio VGN-AR11S (Pick of the Year)

Toshiba dominated the Laptop market for a long time. Now it looks like that's all about to change. Sony has finally decided to embrace Media Center, placing it at the heart of its latest range of multimedia notebooks and the results are pretty impressive.

VAIO VGN-AR11S - This machine is notable for a number of reasons, like the inclusion of Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition, the implementation of a Full HD compatible 17in screen, but most important of all, the fact that nestling in the left side of the chassis is a Blu-ray re-writable drive.

Unless you're really not into technology, you would have heard about Blu-ray. This is one of two competing formats (the other being HD DVD) which have been designed to deliver high definition video. However, like DVD before it, Blu-ray is also very handy for backing up and storing massive amounts of data.

So, with a single layer Blu-ray disc, you'll be able to store 25GB of data, which is quite useful in these days of 10-megapixel digital cameras, not to mention the recent introduction of affordable high definition camcorders like the Sony Handycam HDR-SR7.

Although this Blu-ray drive can burn dual layer discs, offering close to 50GB of storage space, the media wasn't available yet for me to test this. I did however burn 20GB to a single layer re-writable Blu-ray disc, which the drive managed in one hour 20 minutes. That may seem like a long time, but you have to remember that I'm talking about a huge amount of data. Not to mention that an average DVD writer will take around 14 minutes to write 4.5GB of data to a DVD+RW disc, so that's not a bad performance from first generation Blu-ray hardware.

• Thumbs Up: 70 %

Today, nearly every phone in the market has at least a few sophisticated features like - calendars, games and even downloadable applications. Then there are phones that bring you voice and data, all together.

- RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120 (Next Best is: RIM BlackBerry Curve 8320)

And it offers the full BlackBerry experience — email, browser, text messaging (SMS and MMS), instant messaging, organizer applications and more. Small, smart and stylish.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone has all the features may need:

Stay in Touch - Always (You will get Addicted to this)

• Wireless email: Send, receive, forward and reply to messages, and view attachments in popular file formats
• Advanced phone features: Speakerphone and Voice Activated Dialing, user-definable convenience keys and dedicated Send, End and Mute keys
• Instant Messaging: Connect with your IM contacts using popular applications like Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk
• SMS and MMS: Send text messages and images in an instant

Enjoy Life (After all life is to Enjoy)

• Media player: Listen to your favorite songs and watch video clips
• Camera: Capture the moment in perfect clarity with the built-in zoom and flash
• Video recording: Record video clips and share them right away via email or MMS

Find the Info You Need (Office in Palm)

• Browser: Navigate and browse websites with a roll and click of the trackball.
• Organizer: Synch and store your calendar data, address book and more.
• BlackBerry Maps: Get directions and view maps while on the road.
• Corporate data access: Access your vital corporate databases and applications from anywhere.

Maximize Convenience

• Wi-Fi support so you can connect to virtually any Wi-Fi network
• 64 MB of built-in memory and expandable memory via microSD card
• Bluetooth capability for hands-free dialogue.
• High-resolution, light-sensing screen
• SureType keyboard technology in a QWERTY-style layout for fast text and email composition.

Enterprise friendly

For larger corporate and government organizations, the BlackBerry Pearl smartphone works with BlackBerry Enterprise Server to provide users and IT managers with advanced security and easier access to corporate information.

Unlike traditional mobile phones, the BlackBerry Pearl smartphone can be centrally managed and supported by IT departments using BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Wireless push delivery of email and data, remote address book look-up and single mailbox integration are just a few of the features available.

• Thumbs Up: 90%