Archive for the ‘Gadgets’ Category

Generally speaking, most old appliances or electronic gadgets are seen as large energy users by different energy auditing bodies, making them useless these days.

But not totally worthless.

A Nintendo Entertainment System or NES was recently sold on eBay at a price of $13,105. The seller though of just earning a few bucks from the console and its five games. The bid was over $6000 after and hour and the final selling price when the auction closed was at $13000. Actually, the price is not totally related to the console itself, but on one of the games – a high valued collector’s item game called Stadium Events, 1987 release with original cardboard box. The game and the box are valued by collectors at $10000 alone.

For some months now, we have been having problems in signal reception in our condominium. Several residents are complaining about the weak signal from one of the service providers in the area. The point is that the condominium does not allow installation of personal lines for a phone or a DSL, so most residents have no choice but to use wireless devices.

Luckily, the condominium administrator allowed the service providers to install indoor antennas or cell phone repeater in some floors in the building. This increased the signal within the area and decreased the instances of having disconnection when connected to their 3G network. This was done after a series of complaints from the residents, and everyone was fortunate the all the concerns were heard and addressed to.

Late this year, we were looking for a new television. Our choice is only between Samsung and Sony because of the quality and the feedback we got from our friends and from different people around the internet.

Our budget is only $500, so what basically qualify are the 20 to 24-inch series from both TV manufacturers. Other new models exceeding 30-inch are already expensive considering that we also plan to purchase a good stand from the beautiful tv stands sold in a nearby shop.

We had our eyes on the 22-inch Sony model because of the unique design and the colorful features – seems like a large picture frame. We transfer back to the Samsung shop to inquire on the price of the 24-inch model that we initially liked.

Fortunately, the salesman introduced us to their promo – a 32-inch series 3 Samsung LCD, which costs just a $100 more than the 22-inch model. Comparing this to other 32-inch TVs from other brands and from other Samsung series as well, this is way below their prices. Of course, there are differences in quality, but then, that’s just minor from our point of view. Our goal was to have the best TV we can get from the budget that we have – and this is exactly it.

We ended up buying the said model. To our surprise, some of our friends also purchased the same kind.

Most of the cell phones available nowadays have a pre-installed subscriber identity module or better known as SIM card. This tiny chip identifies the type of network that the phone connects to. And this primarily differentiates a locked and an unlocked cell phone.

Most often than not, cell phones bought from a service provider is locked to that network. This means that the phones are programmed specifically to function only using their type of SIM card. If you insert a SIM card from other network, chances are, they won’t function. You might be able to turn on your phone and use some of its internal features, except the most basic function – and that is to make calls and send text messages.

An unlocked phone on the other hand is not tied up to any network. These are the ones usually sold in different phone shops and other electronic stores. It may be offered together with a SIM card, but most of the time, it’s a SIM card of your own choice. This is because the phone can function completely regardless of any SIM that you plug into it. It’s not depended on only one service provider. This is the primary benefit of owning an unlocked phone.

If given the chance that you own a locked phone but decided to unlock it, you can consult a local phone repair and service shop. Chances are, they will be able to unlock your phone for a small fee. There are also available tools around the web that claims to help you unlock your phone. You need to be extra careful before you follow any step. Otherwise, you face the risk of damaging your phone.. The most recommended action always is to consult an expert.

I bought my SLR camera months back. I’m not a professional photographer, just a hobbyist but I’m really satisfied with it. My canon 1000D is a bit smaller compared to its predecessors, and that’s exactly the way I want it. The battery lasts for days since I don’t use it the whole day. It came with a 4GB SD memory card because it’s considered as entry level camera. Compact flash is dedicated to professional EOS cameras. Nevertheless, the picture quality is still superior compared to other typical point and shoot cameras. As of now, I’m still learning photography techniques. If ever I choose to be serious in this field, I might consider upgrading to a professional version.

Canon 1000D EOS

Sony just released a new PSP version – the PSP Go. The design is totally different from the conventional PSP because of its sliding feature. The controls are separated from the screen. One thing I don’t like is the location of the joystick. It’s somewhere in the middle and I’m not sure if that design is good because I haven’t tried it. It’s up to the public response. If Sony won’t have substantial buys from the new design, expect another version.

For now, I think I’m going to put my money on one of the latest version of ipods because I own an old Ipod Nano for three years now. I want and iphone but I have some budget constraints, so I might be forced to buy an ipod touch, unless I figure out a way to earn some extra cash.