My favourite gadgets this year

Not many to choose from really, but I really can't imagine living without all of these:

1. Sony Walkman NWZ-S639F (review)
It is easy to use, has great battery life, available for little of your money and deliver superb sound quality. It even comes with an acceptable pair of headphones.

2. Nokia E51 (review)
A great all around performing Series 60 mobile phone with superb built-quality and low price to match (free on cheapest contract). Brilliantly small and sexy, the E51 is a proof that enterprise phones need not be boring.

3. Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (review)
The sexy X61 continues upon the strong tradition of amazing portability, performance and built-quality of the ThinkPad X-series heritage. Still the toughest consumer level notebook on the market. Has since been superseded by the slightly uglier X200 series.

4. Sony PSP Slim & Lite (review)
With a great (if rather limited) library, amazing screen and all-around versatility, the PSP Slim & Lite is only let down by lazy developers and scratch prone display window.

5. Navman B10 (review)
Dirt cheap Bluetooth GPS-receiver with acceptable accuracy and speed in a petite package. Sadly no longer available.

Hopefully I'll spend less next year.

Zune madness

Read this reply on a Zune-related forum. Why oh why did the forumite, after reading about the issue no-less, decide to check it out on his/her personal Zune? Silly silly thing to do.

I've got both a Zune80 and a Zune30. After reading about all of that, I went and checked the Zune30. Battery was dead. After putting it on the charger, it booted up, and is promptly stuck on the Zune logo screen with the loading bar all the way full.

I'm not really sure what to do now, this was a launch unit (purchased within the first month of release), and is outside microsoft warranty and the 2yr extended warranty from circuit city.

Update: For all you unlucky Zune 30 owners, you'll be glad to know that apparently your self-bricking Zune 30 is also capable of resurrecting tomorrow once the clock resets itself. o_O

Welcoming the New Year in London

For those planning to watch the fireworks today in London, do make sure to get there early especially if you want the best view. The best view is undoubtedly directly opposite the London Eye on the Victoria Embankment just north of Westminster tube station. Also be prepared to increase your tolerance level. Despite it being a celebration, there are obnoxious and rude people who attends this as well and they boy do they love to push and shove as the fireworks show begins. This is the single biggest reason why we are not bothered to go this year, that and the cold.

Getting back to a Tube station won't be easy as many will only be re-opened at 2am. Last year (well this year), we had to walk all the way to Baker's Street. Nothing much to worry about though as we've always found walking around Central London during the New Year as a pretty fun experience. As usual free Tube transport from 23:45 till 04:30 the following day, except where the stations are closed.



While we won't be braving the midnight chill just to watch 10 minutes of crackers, we will be in London tomorrow for the London Parade. The parade will start at around 12pm in Parliament Square, passing Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and terminating on Berkeley Street, Piccadilly. Hope to see you there.

Happy New Year!

Some January sales stuff

Amazon UK

Bioshock (PS3) £24.10
Casio EX-Z100 10MP digicam £99.99
Dexter complete season one DVD boxset (recommended) £13.97 (review)
Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) £19.57
LittleBigPlanet £24.99
Mirror's Edge (360) £19.57
Mirror's Edge (PS3) £14.99
Samsung SM2032BW 20-inch LCD monitor £107.99
Samsung LE32A558P3 32-inch Widescreen 1080P LCD TV £499.99
Sony Walkman NWZ-E436FB 4GB DAP £49.75
Sony Walkman NWZ-S639F Black 16GB DAP £78.29 (review)
The World Ends With You £17.99 (review)


Richer's Sound

Sony KDL32V4000U 32-inch Widescreen 720P LCD TV £299.95
Samsung LE32A336 32-inch Widescreen 720P LCD TV £299.95

Advanced MP3 Player

Cowon iAudio 7 16GB £126.26
Denon AH-P372 headphones

iHeadphones

Denon AH-C751 IEM £89.99

Klipsch Custom-2 in-ear monitor headphones review

Klipsch's Custom-2 is a mid-range in-ear headphones, just a step up above the Custom-1 which I reviewed here. The two model share the same design cues, of which primary difference is that the Custom-2 is driven by dual KG 534 balanced armature drivers instead of the single balanced armature driver in the Custom-1. It has the same elegant housing though the Custom-2 does feature a silver accent that while signifying a slight premium over the Custom-1, which I personally did not care much for. I honestly actually prefer the more understated black finish of the Custom-1.

Frequency response: 10Hz – 19kHz
Sensitivity: 112 dB SPL/mW (1mW)
Nominal impedance: 16 ohms
Drivers: KG 534 dual-balanced armatures
Headphone weight: 13 grams
Bundled accessories: Large carrying case, airplane adaptor, five pairs of ear gels, ear wax tip cleaning tool



With a retail price of £110, Custom-2s is in direct competition with the Super.Fi 5 EB, Future Sonic Atrio M5, Sennheiser IE 6 and Shure SE310. It had a lot to live up to. As with the Custom-1, the Custom-2 performed very well within the mid-range. Vocals were forward. Rather expected from the price, the Custom-2 also outperformed its lower range brother in bass. While the bass on the Custom-1 seems restrained, the Custom-2's bass response was punchy though with slight distortion. The quantity is still lacking compared to dynamic driver based headphones or even the Super.Fi 5 EB (Extended Bass for a reason), but it should still be sufficient to all but the most ardent basshead. Performance on the highs is a tad better than the Custom-1. The separation of instruments is more noticeable and the sound stage a bit wider (though still more 'in-head' than other IEMs I have tried).



I kinda liked the Custom-2, but they do sound a lot different from the Custom-1. While the Custom-1 sound more like a budget monitor, the Custom-2 has a more fun and warm sound signature - obviously aimed at consumers. There are obvious improvements but they just do not sound alike. It would be interesting to compare them to their high-end Custom-3 IEMs (it is still on its way), which has its own dedicated woofer and tweeter. I personally would not recommend them for the usual £110 but price has recently dipped to about £60-£70. At that price level the Custom-2 is a worthy of your consideration particularly if you are keen on replacing that disgustingly awful free bundled earbuds.

+ great SQ with improved bass response
+ unique stylish design
+ very comfortable with the right tip
+ fabric cable
- excess packaging (this issue is being addressed by Klipsch)
- cumbersome to put on and remove
- microphonics

8/10

Buy now from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Dear whining politicians

What is so spiteful of Channel 4's alternative Christmas message by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that makes it so different from, say, the Pope's message of hate delivered last Monday?

Happy Holidays

Have a Happy Christmas everyone.

Go enjoy yourself.

Amazon UK: £3 (one album) of MP3s for free

Amazon UK is offering £3 of MP3s for free this Christmas and Boxing Day. As most (not all) of their digital album catalogue seems to cost £3 to purchase, this means you are allowed to legally download for free one whole £3 album. For example, The Killer's new Day & Age album. The MP3 files are encoded in either VBR or CBR with a bitrate of 256kbps, ensuring reasonable sound quality.

We've got an extra gift for you this Yuletide: £3 to spend on anything in our MP3 store on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Visit us on December 25 or 26, then just add your chosen MP3s to your Shopping Basket (you need to use the Shopping Basket rather than 1-Click) and enter code FREEMP3S at the checkout--£3 will be deducted from the total.