Pros
- Can help in the time it takes to remove dust and scratches on a photo particularly in organic backgrounds
- Greatly improves the quality of portraits in less time than usual PhotoShop tools
- Improves productivity
Cons
- Learning curve to understanding the best way to use these filters (’how to’ examples come in handy here)
- Takes time to work into existing processes if you use PhotoShop everyday
The Bottom Line
Alien Skin has a good set of filters here. If you use Photoshop on a regular basis, and are able to take the time (as with any tools) to understand their functions these filters can really improve your work process and speed up results.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Using Photoshop every day, there are always ways to improve the process of image manipulation and touch up work. Alien Skin has developed these filters to help in that arena. Everything from major image repair to the skin tone improvements — these filters can find their way into your process in provide results.
Pros
- Easy to use (Very intuitive software)
- Quick project creation (fast photo upload; no account to set up or other front end hassle)
- Built in guidance (set page margins “goof proof” your design)
- Great creative flexibility- able to do full page spreads (see photo) and more
- Quality product delivered to your door
Cons
- Not compatible with Mac
- Only supports Internet Exlorer (ActiveX required)
- Lack of spell check
The Bottom Line
If you’ve been looking for a product that delivers quality while being easy to use, try RocketLife. A focus group ranked RocketLife far superior to other mainstream competitors (CVS, Kodak Easy Share Gallery, Shutterfly, and Snapfish) in every category and overall. Save yourself the hassle and make RocketLife your first choice.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
RocketLife may be relatively new to the market, but their products are top of the line in the internet photo processing arena.
Beginning with an amazingly well thought out software package for book creation, you can literally create a book product in a matter of two minutes with their standard templates. That’s right, there’s no account to set up, no password to create, none of that front end hassle. You just choose your product, upload your photos and play. Which means you get more done in less time.
Pros
- Yahoo! Local integration
- Send2Car
- Traffic updates to route
- Clear and loud speaker
- User added modules
- User customizable
Cons
- Large and bulky unit
- Huge mount
- Sometimes quirky routing
- No zoom on turns
- No multi-stop routes
- Weak battery
- Expensive monthly service fee
The Bottom Line
Dash Express positions itself as the first smart GPS that can help you avoid congestion and get you to Point B faster than any other navigation system available today. Its use of Yahoo! Local, Send2Car, and DashApps make this the most feature rich and advanced GPS ever; however, when you lose your Internet connection, it’s one of the most basic and lackluster GPS’ that could sit on your dash.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Conditional)
Full Review
When I first heard about the Dash Express and it’s ability to communicate to the Internet and other Dash Express GPS devices for a more accurate look at traffic, I was fascinated with it. GPS devices for the most part have lacked any leaps in features and this was the jump I had been wanting to see for some time. You can imagine how excited I was when the unit arrived a week later at SvenOnTech headquarters. After registering the Dash online, would it rise to the heights I had been waiting for or would it be just another well crafted marketing campaign?
Pros
- Simple to use
- Excellent address voice input
- Premium display
- Customizable
- Clear and loud speakerphone
- Extensive POI
- IQ Routes works well
Cons
- Short battery life
- Gas prices not accurate
- Sometimes quirky routing
- RDS-TMC not useful outside of large metro areas
- No dedicated address voice input button on remote
The Bottom Line
In a crowded GPS field, the TomTom sticks out of the traffic like a big yellow school bus. It will not only get you to Point B but it’ll get you to Point B in a way the competition only wished it could do.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Strong)
Full Review
SvenOnTech has tested many TomTom’s all the way back to its Palm offering nearly six years ago. We’ve always loved its easy to read interface and have been impressed with the features offered by the Holland-based navigation company. Always trying to do something different than the other guys, TomTom has continued to improve its devices from integration to Eclipse radios to including hands-free Bluetooth speakerphone. So what did the Dutch come up with for the GO 930? Address voice input. Oh ya, now we’re talking…literally.
Pros
- Simple to use
- No PC or Mac needed
- Versatile media selection
- Great video quality
Cons
- No auto-stop recording
- No support for Mac OS HFS+ formated drives
The Bottom Line
If you have a ton of video tape that needs to be archived to a digital format to preserve those years of memories and you want to do it easily and quickly, there is no better option than the Pinnacle Video Transfer.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
A few months ago, SvenOnTech was offered to give Pinnacle’s new gadget a try. When we received it, I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical to how well this would work. I grabbed a Sony SLV-MH1F video cassette recorder out of the garage and a Western Digital Passport external hard drive from the drawer and hooked up all the cables to the Pinnacle device. I shoved in The Ten Commandments (please respect all copyright laws…this was just a test) VHS and pressed the record button on the Pinnacle Video Transfer (PVT). I used the Best video setting which Pinnacle states is a resolution of 720×576 (PAL, SECAM) / 480 (NTSC) 1.5 Mbps video and 192 kbps stereo audio 48 KHz for hard drive and flash media. The iPod’s best is 640×480 1.5 Mbps video with 128 kbps stereo audio 48 KHz and the PSP clocking in at 320×240 1 Mbps video and 128 kbps stereo audio 48 KHz.
After a couple of hours, tape one was done and I pressed the record button again to end the recording. A few lights flashed as it completed the recording process and I then had blue lights shortly after. I unplugged the Passport drive from the Pinnacle Video Transfer and plugged it into my Mac. In a newly created folder, VIDEO, lay my new recording. Affectionally titled VID00001.MP4. I double clicked it and up came QuickTime with The Ten Commandments in all its VHS to computer glory. Even though the video tape was from the 80s, the quality was very impressive. The audio was excellent as well. In fact, it was difficult to sense any loss of quality from the transfer at all. I was highly impressed. At a little less than a gig an hour, you will be able to pack a lot of videos onto your drive.
What surprised me must about the PVT was just how easy it was and how good the results were. Taking the supplied composite cables and hooking them up to the OUT on the VCR and into the PVT and then hooking up the USB cable to your hard drive was all it took. Well, that and the power cord. You select your quality and then hit record. It’s that easy. I’ve used many analog-to-digital conversion kits and they always were a pain to use. In fact, I didn’t use them after recording a few tapes to the computer because of the frustration of difficulty related to them. From Dazzle (I had the very first version and then an upgraded one) to gung-hoo video cards from ATI. In the end, it was the software that made them all suck and that doesn’t even account for the system resources it steals from your computer. No computer time for you while recording or start all over when it crashes. The PVT removes all of this burden.
Pros
- Good battery life
- Stable operating system
- Push email
- Feature rich
- Good sound
- Easy to use keyboard
Cons
- Built-in browser
- “Pearl” wheel moves cursor/selection slowly
- Menu navigation can be tedious
- No out-of-the-box Mac support
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a good, reliable, email power-house smartphone at a good price, then you may not have to look to far. The Curve 8330 is stable and a reliable phone for any corporate or Internet using user that needs to always be connected…both via voice and data.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Research in Motion’s BlackBerry started as an email communicator and grew into a smartphone. It has slowly been chipping away at Nokia and Microsoft’s market share and continues to increase that share year after year. It’s because of advancements like those found in the Curve 8330 that allows BlackBerry to continue to be delighted with its strong sales figures.
SvenOnTech received its Curve 8330 from Verizon and gave it a good using. Now, I’ll be honest, we’re iPhone users here at SOT HQ, but we went to a hypnotist to erase any memory of our use of the Apple made phone for this review. You’ll be reading a pure and untainted review. 
Seriously, we tested the Curve with as much as an open mind as possible.
The candy bar form factor is much like the other smartphones out there, half screen and half “thumb board”. Fairly new to the 8330 is the “pearl” ball-like mouse in the center instead of the scroll-wheel found on the side of the older units. Flanking its right and left are two buttons. The left side contain the Answer/Call button as well as the BlackBerry function/menu button. On the other side, you have the Return/Back and Hang Up/Home key. The right side of the body consists of volume keys (up/down) as well as the camera button. This button both invokes the camera and snaps the pictures. The other side has one button, for the voice dialing, along with one mini-USB for charging and data connection along with a jack for the hands-free headset. The top has a single button, the mute button. No buttons can be found on the bottom but rather a small hole for the mic. The back of the unit consists of an LED flash, camera, and a mirror (for self-taking portraits.) Three metal leads for charging are found on the bottom of the back of the Curve.
Okay, with all that out of the way, we can dive into the phone itself. When a button is pressed on the front, you are greeted with the menu screen. A single row of icons line the bottom with an information screen on the top. Time, date, new emails, missed calls, and such are found here. To the very top you’ll find signal strength and battery condition. Moving the ball around allows you to navigate the icons. Pressing the BlackBerry menu key brings up three more rows of icons and allows you to drift down further to see more items if needed. Ranging from email, games, settings, multimedia, productivity applications, to Verizon specific applications such as its GPS-like VZ Navigator, you’re always an easy roll from any application. Because of the ball, you’re able to always safely get to any part of the phone with a single hand. Pressing down on the ball opens a selected item.
The two main strengths of the Blackberry, email and phone use, are easily navigated to by either simply dialing a phone number from the thumb board or by rolling the ball to the email icon and pressing down. Making and receiving calls is very simple and requires little effort from the user. That should be the goal of all smartphones. Browsing your mail is just as easy and very manageable on the Curve’s email interface. The long list of SvenOnTech’s email was readable and using the ball to navigate and open a message was a piece of cake. Rich text or HTML formatted messages are stripped of its formatting and laid out in a very to easy read format. Reading, composing, and reply to email was never a difficult task. With push-email, the BlackBerry was always fresh with messages where even my iPhone struggled to keep up with emails from yesterday!
Pros
- Extends iPhone life nearly 2x
- Light weight
- Small
- Easy to use
Cons
- Slow recharge times
- No color-coded cord
The Bottom Line
With no removable battery on the beloved iPhone, when there is an absolute need for longer lasting power, there really is no better choice than the Mybat External Battery for the iPhone.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
When the iPhone was released, much was made of its internal battery and the inability to swap it out with a fresh one when needed. While Apple tried to douce the critics flames with some ritzy Silicon Valley bottled water with its assurance of long lasting battery life, many ignored the claims. To Apple’s credit, for the most part, the iPhone holds up pretty well, especially when compared with other like phones. However, if you’re on a long flight and are watching a lot of movies, don’t expect to make a long phone call on the way to baggage claims. I know there has been times where I had a full day of calls, email, and minor web browsing and my battery was less than 20% at only six hours. An extra battery would have been nice to have laying around. That’s where Mybat comes in.
Pros
- Places laptop in ergonomic position
- Light
- Built-in USB hub
Cons
- Fans seem to have little effect for CPU cooling
- No fan on/off indicator
- Bottom tabs block front-loading media
The Bottom Line
While we were a surprised to find little to no effect in cooling of our MacBook Pro, the Lapworks Attaché Laptop Desk does make nice for putting your laptop on the desk in an ergonomic position. The USB ports are an added plus, as well.
Ratings
Recommended
Maybe
Full Review
SvenOnTech first reported on Lapworks a few months ago. Lapworks offered to send us one for testing and we said yes. Shortly after we posted about the Lapworks, we had it on our test bench. It comes with a short “jumper” USB cable that gives power to the small fans on the unit when the laptop is on. A trance-like blue LED indicates power is being sucked slowly from your laptop when its switch is at the ON position. We placed our first-generation MacBook Pro on it, plugged in the USB cable, and turned on the fans. This was our first bout with a con. While the blue light is cool and all, it’s really not very practical. Instead of blinking or just coming on only when the fans are on, you have no idea if the fans are on. We couldn’t find any marked indicator for off or on near the switch either. So, up came the MBP and a visual inspection was made on the fans. Nope, off. “Click,” sang the switch when we moved it and the fans started twirling silently. Back went the laptop onto the Lapworks and we opened smcFanControl. It told us that our Apple notebook was running a steady 117℉. We made sure the default fan speed was enabled only allowing the fans to speed up when the temperature rose. We then walked away and let the Lapworks do its job.
Pros
- Excellent quality and build
- Premium leather
- Confidence in protection
- Reasonable price for the package
Cons
- Attaching clip to belt a bit difficult at first (Pouch)
The Bottom Line
With a ocean of cases to choose from, one can get easily tangled in sea weed looking for that perfect case. Rise above the vegetation and ride the crest of the wave with what we believe is the best of iPhone cases.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Apple has built in an incredible peace of hardware with its iPhone and while built to take some abuse, it doesn’t mean it can take daily bumps, nicks, and hits. If you’re one that treasures your phone and desires to keep it looking like the day you stood in line for hours and hours to purchase, then you’ll want to place that baby in a case. But what case? Like its cousin the iPod, the iPhone has growing plethora of choices and narrowing it down to a quality product is becoming difficult. Here at SvenOnTech, we’ve definitely have stumbled over the poor choices, so we think we’ve got a good foundation of what’s worth your time…and money. Having gone through three poorly made Belkin Holsters and the reviewed Griffin Elan Holster, we know what doesn’t work. Let’s just say after owning these two brands of holsters that just plain sucked, we’ve become a little jaded with our cases. So, when we walked around Macworld last January, we did so with a chip on our shoulder and only one company seemed to make us stop long enough to give it an unbiased look.
The Sena booth was more or less an end-cap near the main entry doors of the South Hall at Moscone. In fact, we almost passed right by it because the booth was so small. Thankfully the small display table caught this tough-sale and I stopped to take a closer look. I met Kris Scott, Sales and Marketing Manager of Sena Cases, and she proceeded to show me the various offerings Sena had. I was immediately impressed with the quality of the leather and designs. Sena agreed to send SvenOnTech a few cases to give a try and review and that brings us to this present moment.
![iPhone FMJ [SC-FMJI] : Skullcandy](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2176/2333933962_64712022b6_m.jpg)
Pros
- Rich sound
- Comfortable foam tips
- iPhone compatibility
Cons
- Remote button difficult to enable
- Price
- Ear gels not as comfortable as foam tips
- UPDATE: Remote button hangs on collars
The Bottom Line
Skullcany is known for hip looking and rich sounding headphones. It ventures into the iPhone realm with great success bringing all of its skull experience to make some very nice earbuds for your iPhone candy adventures.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Way back in May of 2004, SvenOnTech first introduced the world to Skullycandy with its SkullCrushers review. Man, did we love those babies. In fact, we still use them four years later! So when I met with Skullcandy in January and got a sneak peak of the FMJs, I was very excited. Skullcandy sound was coming to the iPhone!
SvenOnTech has used the FMJs for a solid two weeks and it is what we’ve come to expect from Skullcandy. While not crushing our skull, it does rock ‘em. The bass is great with an asterisk, that is. Alice Cooper’s Brutal Planet took its toll on the FMJs when the volume exceeded about 65% (R&B EQ setting) but at the lower end, it sounded great. tobyMac’s Hype Man struggled at the R&B setting but jaaaammed in Hip Hop and Bass Booster preset. Mat Kearney’s Undeniable shined at nearly every EQ setting on the iPhone. Because Skullcandy is about rich, deep, sound, I had to throw KJ-52 at the FMJs and Say What You Want did what it wanted when it came to getting funky but never slapped the ear drums with sloppy sound. I pushed the FMJs with You Can Still Come Back. With its full rich spectrum of tones and yet bass heavy, I just kept loving what Skullcandy put in my ear, baby. By the way, the volume was all the way up at the Hip Hop EQ setting for all of KJ’s selections. Ouch, my ears hurt after that test. (Any thing for you readers!) I tested other thrashers to the ears such as Project 86, Styx, and Night Ranger. Okay, the latter two aren’t thrashers, but they use to be considered such. 
Pros
- Small and lightweight
- Comfortable even with prolonged use
- Good sound
- Versatile charging options
Cons
- Tad too quiet
- Static issues when phone is on opposite side of ear placement
- Tone indicators need to be more obvious for each function
The Bottom Line
Plantronics continues to take a very good Bluetooth headset and make it better. With improvements to sound and volume quality, the Discovery 665 is one of the better headsets available in the sea of hands-free options.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
I’ve been using Bluetooth headsets (BTh) since they became available here in the United States in 2002. My first review of a BTh was the Jabra FreeSpeak and I compared it to offerings from Motorola, SonyEricson, and Plantronics. The Discovery 665 has come a long way since that comparison and I must say, I am much more impressed with this BTh than I am of pretty much everything since that review.
Plantronics prides itself with its headsets noting most predominatingly that it was the first headset used in outer space being used on the NASA moon landings. Still currently used at NASA, Plantronics brings its space-aged technology to regular Joe’s like you and me. The Discovery was the first Plantronics headset to really go the extra mile. I picked up the first model, the 640, two years ago and was pleased with it then. My only issue was it was tone heavy and the volume too low. So I moved onto other headsets, including those by Apple (review) and Jawbone, yet never really ever being satisfied.
When Plantronics sent SvenOnTech the Discovery 665 in January, I have to admit, I figured it would be just like the 640 and have the same faults. When I charged it up and placed it in my ear, I was pleasantly (okay, shocked) surprised just how loud the volume was. My head-banging years in high school has done its work on my ears, so I could use it a tad bit higher, but the volume was noticeable better than the 640. I was excited to use the Discovery 665.
Pros
- Incredible sound
- Impressive price point
- iPhone compatibility
- Wall-mountable
- Remote control
- Sleek looks
Cons
- Power connector placement
- Inability to hear calls on systems speakers
- Lack of remote dock
The Bottom Line
Finally, a system you can listen to your tunes to from your iPhone without the GSM interference purging through the speakers with it’s annoying and menacing sound. Oh, did we mention the classic killer Altec Lansing sound?
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Okay, okay, I’ll admit my bias right out. I love Altec Lansing products. I have ever since those first door speakers my dad put in his Ford Ecoline 150 van back in 1985. I still can remember playing the The Theme to Beverly Hills Cop from them at the beach that summer and how rich it sounded. I blasted those babies!
Since that day, I’ve always been keen to investigate anything with the Altec name on it and more times than not, I walk away impressed. When I met with Steve Schlangen, Product Manager of Altec Lansing, in January in a private meeting room off the halls of Moscone Center during Macworld Expo, I really know what to expect from the T612. It was the first real show off of the first officially “Works with iPhone” certification speaker product for the iPhone. Schlangen called it the “rock star of the show” and when he sampled it for me, I couldn’t have agreed any more. The thing was steller in its music representation. With 60 Watts RMS and 120 peak, this thing will fill up the room with rich tones and deep bass quickly. The T612 does this easily from its pair of 3 inch drivers and 1 inch tweeters incased behind a sleek looking black grill.
Pros
- Premium sound
- Competitively priced
- iPhone compatibility
Cons
- “Heavy” remote button
- Price could be lower
- Earbud size may be too large for comfort fitting for some
The Bottom Line
Maximo strives to bring quality sound at affordable prices. While we think the price may be a bit higher than previous Maximo earbuds we have reviewed, they are still lower than those offered by V-Moda and the sound is nearly as good.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
These earbuds are the sister offerings to the already reviewed iP-HS2. Instead of stuffing the earbuds in your ear cannal, the iP-HS1s fit in your ear openings. Maximo wanted to give users an option between noise-isolation type earbuds, the iP-HS2, and those that still allow you to hear your surroundings, the iP-HS1. Since I am one that likes to block out the distractions, I was more for the iP-HS2. So I tossed the iP-HS1 to my wife and let her use them for the review period after using them for a day myself.
She enjoyed the quality of the sound and liked the button on the bottom of the earbuds wire split. She claimed it was easier to answer calls or pause music than fumbling around for the same button on the Apple earbuds which is placed near the right earbud. This was Maximo’s thinking when it designed the earbuds, as told to SvenOnTech. Unfortunately, the buttons location adds weight to the earbuds and it makes for a slight tug on your ears when movement is constant such as walking or jogging. Maximo is aware of this shortfall and is working on an improvement in its labs.
Pros
- Turns iPhone or iPod touch into external storage
- Easy to use
- Edit Notes within application
- Inexpensive
Cons
- Doesn’t play video inside iPhoneDrive application
- Inability to search Notes, SMS, or Call Log
- Can’t delete Notes
- No way to install Ringtones
The Bottom Line
If you have gobs of room, or just a wee-bit, on your iPhone or iPod touch and would like to use that as a storage device like you can with regular iPods, then you’ve just found your app, baby!
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Since the release of Apple’s first successful entry in the mobile phone market, there has been many cries for missing features. One such feature is the ability to mount the iPhone (and now the iPod touch) as an external drive like the ClickWheel-based iPods do. Three firmware upgrades later, the sniveling continues.
Ecamm, makers of some great software (we love Call Recorder for Skype) that many of you are probably already familiar with, have come to the rescue! Wiping the tears from our blood shot eyes, Ecamm has created iPhoneDrive which allows users to move files to and from their iPhone and iPod touch. But it does more than that, in short, it lets you access the devices music, videos, podcasts, photos, Notes, and for the iPhone, SMS and Call Log. You can back up your data off the phone for later use which is great if you’d like to keep track of your text messages and call logs. Ecamm makes this well priced application so much more robust than just a drive transfer application, it seems silly to just call it iPhoneDrive.
One thing we liked about iPhoneDrive is it’s easy to use interface. Keeping with the already well-known iTunes look, iPhoneDrive sections off your device into Data, iTunes, and Photos. The Data section contains the Files area where it creates a folder (iPhoneDrive) and gives you access to that and other folders on the phone or iPod. Data is where you’ll also find access to Notes, Call Log, and SMS. You can also edit any of your notes from within iPhoneDrive. Yes, we said edit. Finally, Notes are now useful. The iTunes section lists all the same stuff you’d see in iTunes’ Devices section of your phone or iPods sync’ed data. Lastly, Photos gives you access to the cameras pictures and your photo library.
Pros
- Light and thin
- Best mount we’ve seen or used. Period.
- Great interface
- Good POI database
- Competitively priced
Cons
- Poor battery life
- Doesn’t specify end points location on road (left side or right side)
- Slow processor which causes delayed input
The Bottom Line
The GPS market is becoming crowded and thus more affordable. SvenOnTech has been reviewing these units for the last six years and we have to say, we are impressed with Harman Kardon’s entry into this market. We really disliked how the unit would not specify if our destination was on the left or right side of the road and how the processor would lag behind our finger presses. Other than that, this is a fine GPS.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes*
Full Review
SvenOnTech has seen many GPS units and for the most part, GPS is GPS. What separates the boys from the men is interface, accuracy, and volume. Yes, men speak much louder. Accuracy has been pretty spot on for many manufacturers we’ve tested with only poor address placement being the real major problem in this area. When it’s time to turn in a complex intersection, Harman Kardon, like most others, do this well. For the most part, addresses on the GPS-310 were pretty much spot on with the actual location.
The only dismal aspect to accuracy we found was that Harman Kardon thought it not prudent to tell us if our end point was going to be on the left or right side. When you’re in a large busy city and you’re in the left lane of four, and then you notice when it’s too late that you need to be in the right lane, well, that sucks. In one instance when this happened to us, it took us ten minutes to get back to where we had to be due to the no u-turn signs everywhere. What a frustrating thing when the whole idea of a GPS is to get you to your destination without worry. This is why you see an astrek next to our recommendation. If you can live with this limitation, then yes, we recommend it. If not, move onto another brand. (According to our contact at Harman Kardon, all three models do not give street position of your destination.)
We took the GPS-310 all over the Bay Area and Central Valley of California. We put in over 40 hours of testing into this unit, and did so side-by-side with a competitor we’ve tested (and reviewed here on SvenOnTech.) We found the GPS-310 to be more accurate and quicker, when we missed a turn, to re-route us than the other unit. In all fairness, the other unit was about a year old and a lot can happen in this industry in just twelve short months. From San Francisco, to San Jose, to Fresno, to Stockton, to Manteca, to Elk Grove, to Sacramento, to Oakland, to Pittsburgh (CA), to Walnut Creek, and beyond, the GPS-310 just did an excellent job of getting us to our destination. Again, outside of the lack of telling us, “Hey, it’s going to be on your left side,” we couldn’t have been any happier with the GPS-310.
Pros
- Small footprint
- Well priced
- Excellent protection
- Great looking hard-shell case
Cons
- Can be a bit bulky for daily “regular” use
- Gel cover some what difficult to press into accessory ports
The Bottom Line
For the person afraid of ruining their iPhone due to their vocation or because they’re just klutzy, then look no further than OtterBox. They’ll keep your iPhone protected…and in style!
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
We have reviewed other OtterBox products and when we heard that it was making cases for the iPhone, we got excited. Not because we like to trash our technology, but because we know that there are industries in which trashing is part of the job. Most in these industries don’t want to thrash a $400 phone, so this is the perfect solution for them.
Like our last review, we sent our review unit to someone whom would use it more than us wussy staffers that freak when we just put finger prints on our phone. We dropped our OtterBox Defender off to the guy that was in charge of building our house, Josiah McEachron. Josiah would not use his iPhone on site due to the fear of damage. In fact, he used another “trashy” phone instead of his iPhone! But no longer, Josiah has found bliss with otters. Here’s what he had to say:
Pros
- Premium leather
- Competitively priced
- Snug iPhone fit
Cons
- Horrid holster clip
- No holes for speaker to hear ringing
The Bottom Line
I’m baffled how such a great company like Griffin Technology could even have let this out the QA lab let alone onto the shelves of Apple Stores. It has been a long time since I’ve hated something so passionately as this case.
Ratings
Recommended
No
Full Review
It’s rare for me to so loathe a product, but man, Griffin knocked one out of the ball park on this one. I’m still stunned that this peace of junk made it out of quality control at Griffin, but what can you do other than warn consumers of a really poor made product. That’s what I’m here to do for your, folks.
After my second Belkin case broke, I gave up on them and looked for another similar holster style case. This was the best I could find at the Apple Store on Market, just blocks from the Moscone Center where Macworld Expo was being held. I was hesitant with the removable clip, but again, it was the best the store had.
Off to BART I went after paying for it and I yanked it out of the box and attempted to put the clip into the top slot (pictured). The first thing I noted was the very small tabs at the top of the clip that would cause the clip to stay in place when pinched under a metal bar under the top insert on the holster. Thing was, the clips teeth themselves where small (man, my 20 month old has larger teeth!) and it was very difficult to get those teeth behind the metal bar. Once in, though, it seemed like all was well.
The next morning I slapped the Elan Holster onto my belt and off I went to an appointment. I didn’t make it to the garage before the holster fell down onto the floor. Confused, I picked it up and noticed the holster clip was off. I looked at my belt and there it still hung. It was obvious the teeth didn’t bite well enough into the bar. So, I shoved them back in tried again insuring I had the most secure grip possible. It wasn’t good enough because it fell off my belt clip once more while at a clients office. Ugh.
Pros
- Premium sound
- Competitively priced
- iPhone compatibility
Cons
- “Heavy” remote button
- Price could be lower
The Bottom Line
With a limited selection of earbuds that work natively with your iPhone, Maximo brings nice sounds at a decent price to your ears.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
We’ve already told you about Maximo in a previous review of its standard earbud offerings. We liked what we heard so when Maximo sent us its top of the line earbuds made for the iPhone, we were quick to jam them into our ears and plug them into the silly recessed iPhone jack. Off in our day and another review.
Similar to the iM-490s, the iP-HS2s come with various sized rubber earbuds (eartips) that fit onto the headset. These help fit to your ear canal and isolate the sounds of the iP-HS2 from the sounds around your dome. When you give them a good wiggle to find that proper fit, the outside world truly fades away in the background. Like the standard iMetal earbuds, the iP-HS2s have really good bass response as well as excellent highs. Everything else in between is just as soothing. Playing a variety of music and talk, jazz, rap, rock, classic rock, and podcasts, the iP-HS2s sounded great all the way around. During certain demanding moments, such as 808 bass in those hip hop grooves, the iMetals struggled to let the ear drums kick with the boom when the volume was high. For what these puppies cost, that’s to be expected. Truth is, many earbuds at any price wouldn’t be able to handle the deep bass at such a high volume anyway.
While at Macworld, I exclusively used the iP-HS2 and it was great. I could take calls while walking through the Moscone Center easily being able hold a conversation with my callers. No one ever complained about my voice volume and I never had difficulty hearing them.
What makes these earbuds special isn’t just the fact that it plugs into the iPhone without an adapter but that it also has a remote button much like the one found on the native Apple iPhone earbuds. Like the set that comes from Apple, a single press of the button will pause a playing track. If a call comes in, the pressing of the button will pause music (if on) and answer the call. Another press ends the calls and music resumes where left off. A double press skips to the next track just like the Apple headsets.
Pros
- Premium sound
- Inexpensive
- Nice accessories (airline adapter, pouch/container)
Cons
- iM-290 not as comfortable as higher models
The Bottom Line
Sound is important and so is price. Finally, the two can meet in the name of Maximo! With any of the three models, you will be impressed and satisfied with your purchase.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
We’re all looking for those great ear buds for our iPods like those sweet Shure or V-Moda ear buds for something you can afford rather than the $100 plus ticket these two command. Well, SvenOnTech may have just found those very earbuds for you…just in time for Christmas!
Maximo contacted us a few months ago and sent us all three of its ear bud offerings. The iM-290 budget earbud, the iM390 for iPods and such, and the specially Sansa designed iM-490S. The later two are pretty much the same earbud with a slight variation in look and cord attachments. Priced from $29.99, $39.99, and $49.99 (respectively,) these are true bargains for the sound they produce.
We flung the Sansa ones to our SanDisk lovin’ man, Nathan, and he gave ‘em a spin. Nathan put his SD playing Sansa to the test pulling out bass heavy music, crisp highs, and all around everyday listening. His impression? “Awesome, dude!” Ya, Nathan liked them. He also appreciated the short cord connector that allows you to shorten the iMetals and plug into the Sansa remote without creating a headphone cord length of five thousand feet.
I tried the other two and was impressed myself with them. For $30, I was really surprised how good the iM-290 sounded. I mean really impressed. Sure, they didn’t jam on the bass heavy stuff or shatter my ear drums on the highs, but dude, for the price, they certainly out did some $50 head sets I’ve heard. Lacking the nice little rubber ear pieces of the two big brothers, the 290’s do start to give some discomfort to your ear canals after long periods of use which should be expected at this price point.
Maximo recommends a “burn-in” period on all of its earbuds. So we did that with all three sets playing music at a low level for about an hour of an iPod with the EQ flat (off). After completing this burn-in stage, I placed the iM-390s in my ears and listened to iTunes directly off my Mac Pro through my Altec Lansing’s FX6021 ear phone port. I pushed the earbuds with some heavy bass (via the R&B preset EQ setting,) and I was amazed that they handled the loud music with the burden of the bass pretty well. After an hour of various genres ringing through my ears, I took them out without a tinge of soreness in my ears.
I then took the earbuds and used them on my iPod for an hour and then moved onto the iPhone with both the Monster and Shure adapters. Both the iPod and iPhone had better results than with the Mac Pro due to the lower wattage being pushed into my ears. Bass was tight, mids good, and highs decent. I found high quality podcasts such as This Week in Tech (TWiT) and CNET’s Buzz Out Loud, sounded superb with the 390s. I actually found myself in my truck wanted to hear them on my iPhone rather than via my iPod on the Alpine head unit!
Overall
There is nothing earth shattering with these earbuds. They are just excellent economical earbuds. Maximo’s Andrew Houston told SvenOnTech when he introduced us to the product the line that it was Porsche-like sound at VW prices. We liked that description so much after using them for a month that we titled our review as such. Houston hit it on the nose, or rather, ear!
The iM-290 , iM-390, and the iM-490S are true bargins for the sound. While we love the higher end earbuds we’ve reviewed in the past, I think we would all agree here at SvenOnTech that these earbuds are the first in the budget line to definitely not just brush off because of its price. These are excellent pieces of audio devices that we hope many will be able to appreciate like we did.
Price: $29.99 (iM-290), $39.99 (iM-390), $49.99 (iM-490)
Platform: Standard Mini-Stereo Headphone Jack (1/8″)
Pros
- Excellent iPod integration
- Premium sound
- Easy to use
Cons
- No power scroll feature for iPod listings
- Lack of built-in CD player
- MSRP price
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for an excellent head unit that was meant for the iPod, this is it. At an affordable street price, there really isn’t any other after-market solution this tightly tied into the iPod available to date. Add to the mix Alpine’s great looks, large buttons, and superb sound; you can’t go wrong.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
I first saw the Alpine iAD-001 at the Macworld Expo 2007 and was excited to see a head unit made for the iPod from the ground up. With its large display, iPod-like navigation (emphases on like,) and classic Alpine large buttons, I knew that this would be a winner when it hit the streets. I couldn’t wait to stick it into my vehicle.
Fast forward to late June and there arrived my Alpine iAD-X001 along with the Sirius and a Bluetooth module. I’ll be focusing on the iAD-X001 in this review, but will touch on the other two add-ons. When I opened the boxes and laid everything out, I smiled with anticipation. I couldn’t wait to plug in my 5.5G iPod into this head unit. Having used the iPod module for my top-of-the-line Pioneer AV system in my Grand Prix GTP for the past year with dissatisfaction, I was ready to put this Alpine to the test. Read the rest of this entry »