iPad (2048 x 2048)

iPhone 4/4s (640 x 960)

iPhone 5 (1136×640)

MacBook Air (1440 x 900)

This system, while not providing surround sound, gives users a rich emmersion into the world of audio clarity and true bass. The mix of good highs, excellent mids and amazing bass excite the listener and give those of us that have had a more mass produced system something to rave about. I have had several systems prior to this setup, most of which were of the Dell brand variety, and none of those systems even compare to the quality of the sound that stem from the Klipsch Pro Media setup.

While these speakers are amazing, especially when you adjust the audio settings just right, there are a few audio systems that are, in my opinion, better in certain departments. Bose makes amazing speakers as well, and their high end is far superior to the Kilipsh, however the bass on the Klipsch beats the Bose setup. All I am saying here is that there is no perfect setup, and each person should go and listen to the different systems to see which mix of tones suits their needs the best, but for the price it is hard to beat the Klipsch system.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

-the gooch

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

-the gooch

The first thing that anyone would notice would be how thin this laptop really is! Coupled with that, when you pick it up, it is a lot heftier than you might think. Some think that is a detriment, as a product so thin should be lighter as well, but I think that as a sign that Apple put enough material into the device that it won’t easily break or bend when you lift it from a corner. As a matter of fact, the aluminum uni-body design flexes very little and I can’t really notice any deflection as I can with all my other laptops.

The second thing someone might notice is that when you power up the laptop there is no sound other than what emanates from the speakers. There is no disc drive in this laptop, nor is there an optical drive. The only moving part that is within the body of this laptop is the small cooling fan that turns on automatically when the CPU is put under heavy enough load to cause it to start to heat up. In fact, there are only a few occasions that I have had this happen to me, one being when I tried the gaming service OnLive to see how it handled it. Playing the game Batman: Arkham Asylum, everything ran as smooth as it should, and I can honestly say I could do a little gaming with this computer without sacrificing much.

The inputs into the computer are exactly as you would expect from such a thin laptop, except for the Thunderbolt port on the back right of the laptop. While I have yet to purchase an adapter for it, I believe that this little port will become quite useful in the future, especially when connecting it to a monitor or even my HDTV. I am also expecting in the future more external hard drives that will utilize the thunderbolts blazing fast connection speeds, which will all but render those pesky external USB drives useless.

Opening up the Air now, we see a generously large touch-pad with a comfortably spaced back-lit  keyboard. The keyboard is very nice, the best I have ever used on any of my previous laptops. The touch-pad is another great feature of this computer, although it does have a small issue with the button underneath. The entire touch-pad is one big button, so when you depress it is acts as the mouse click. However, if you have your hand in the top center section, you cannot depress the button. It is a small design error that will effect a small number of people, only those who would depress the button with their finger at the top of the touch-pad. Please see the video review for a demonstration of this problem.

All in all, this laptop is quite amazing. Whisper quiet, fast, and a breeze to pack and carry with, I don’t have too many gripes to complain about. The only piece of the puzzle that is furred in any way is the touchpad. But then again, for how I use it I never have the problem that others tend to have. With that said, I can’t say that I see my self giving this laptop up in the near future, at least not until the future generations of this device give me something that I am missing now!

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

-the gooch

So after having my Apple TV for a few weeks now I have found several things that I love and a few things I wish they would work on.For one, I love the new ability to purchase TV Shows from Apple TV rather than have to purchase them on your computer, download and finally direct the Apple TV to view them. I also love the wonderful rendering ability of HD videos and ease to drag and drop homemade content into iTunes and find them on the Apple TV instantly. And finally, one of the wonderful abilities of the Apple TV to stream items from my iPhone with Apple Airplay. If it is one thing that Apple does well is making their devices to talk to one another very well and make connecting them very easy.

Unfortunately, the Apple TV is not without it’s problems. For one, if you don’t purchase your content through iTunes it is a pain in the but to get it to play on the Apple TV. And since I am not really into Jailbreaking my Apple items, you really can’t rid yourself of the iTunes atmosphere. While I like iTunes, I know that everyone else is not. Secondly, I do wish there were more “channels” to view on Apple TV. While they did add the Vimeo “channel” with the recent update, I would love to see a way to stream Hulu videos on the Apple TV as well, and if I were really dreaming I would also like to see Amazon Instant Video on the box as well! I think the last item is a little far fetched though!

While there are a few items that I wish were a little different, I do absolutely love my Apple TV, so much in fact I am thinking about getting another one to put in my bedroom. And if I were lucky enough to have an iPad and a Macbook, it would only add to my love for the little box with the fruit pic on top!

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

-the gooch

When I finally got the box home, I immediately got the knife out and opened the box up. The first thing I noticed was the size of the box, amazingly tiny! I really could hardly believe my eyes, it was just so small! I plugged in my HDMI and ethernet cables that normally hook up my PS3, plugged in the unit and turned on the TV. I was greated by the standard Roku jumping logo letting me know it was booting up. After about a minute of boot up, I was welcomed to Roku and needed to setup the box. I chose the settings that were necessary and had to setup an account online to link the box to. Relatively easy, just be aware you will need to have some sort of internet device handy to signup and setup an online Roku.com account.

After initial setup, I was ready to enjoy my internet content. I first chose to watch a little bit of some TV programs from my Hulu Plus account. The Roku handled the HD content just as well as my PS3, but was a little laggy on the menus. Not a big deal, but something to note. When it came to other channels Crackle, it also impressed with the clarity of the video, however I did have a problem running the box in 1080p while running Crackle. It just wanted to blow up the video image, but running the box in 720p fixed this issue. Kind of a pain to need to switch between the two since I would rather watch my content in full 1080p whenever possible.

Finally, after watching some various online content, it was time to rock the Angry Birds game that was included with the XS model. Immediately I was reminded of the Nintendo Wii, just with less accurate movement. For such a cheap little unit, it was quite amazing. When I chose the level to start with, the unexpected happened. The box restarted. This was the first restart that the Roku 2 gave me, and I wasn’t expecting it at all. After it rebooted, I tried to play Angry Birds again and it worked fine. The same game I play on my iPhone is now available for the TV as well. Good times!

The last thing I attempted to do was to get PlayOn working for the Roku 2 as well. I made sure it was still running on my computer and went through the necessary protocols to add the private channel through the Roku website, but when I attempted to play a video through the PlayOn channel, all it did was give me errors. After trying several things, I did a search and found that PlayOn did not work with the new Roku 2 and may not be authorized in the future due to the ability to stream possibly illegal content through the software. This was the last straw, that and the fact that the box restarted 2 more times on me that very night.

So, after all the setup and my video review, I came to the conclusion that I might want to take it back. That, coupled with the idea that after I disconnect my Dish, I would no longer have a DVR to record programs off my Antenna or possibly basic cable. I came to the conclusion that what my PS3 couldn’t do, a Tivo Premier could. So, it was with a heavy heart that I made my way back to my local Best Buy store and returned the little box that could. So long Roku 2, I am not sure yet if I will miss you entirely, but I do miss the thought of having so much content in such a small package. Who knows, maybe in the future I will be back when I need a device for another room or for traveling, because you are the perfect size to take anywhere!

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

-the gooch

Mophie makes several accessories for the iPhone 4, as well as some of the past iPhones, iPods and iPads. I chose to go with the Juice Pack Plus because it essentially doubles the expected battery life of the iPhone 4. The main reason for my purchase was to keep my iPhone running and recording my GPS track while hiking on a recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. With no cell tower nearby, the battery drops off pretty quickly, but with the Mophie Juice Pack Plus, I had plenty of energy to keep my phone going all day!

Essentially, the Juice Pack Plus is a case for my iPhone 4. The iPhone slides down into the main part of the case and then the top part slides on and snaps into the bottom part. Don’t take this the wrong way, it is very easy to get your phone back out once you take the top part of the case off, it basically just slides right back out the way it went it. The fit of the case is awesome, nothing short of what you would come to expect as an iPhone user. It feels like it was made specifically for your iPhone, and holds the phone very well.

When the iPhone slides into the case, it actually slides down and onto a dock connector built into the inside bottom of the case. This allows you to charge the iPhone either from the Juice Pack’s battery or from plugging the Juice Pack’s Micro-USB port into a computer or wall charger (USB cable supplied). When plugged into the wall or computer, both the iPhone and the Juice Pack will charge simultaneously.  The Micro-USB slot can also be used to sync your phone with your computer as well. And when it is time to tell how much battery life is left in the Pack’s battery, there is a battery meter built into the bottom of the case. Push the little button, and little LED lights come on to alert you to the amount of Juice left in the Pack.

To be completely honest, the only downside to the case is the size. It isn’t that I didn’t expect it to be this large, in all fairness I thought the case would be thicker, but anything that takes away from the iPhone 4′s sexy size will always be a downfall. It essentially double the thickness of the phone, and while the Juice Pack Air would be thinner, I wanted the Plus to get the larger capacity. Truthfully, the size of the case is quite comfortable when you hold it in your hand. And if I had to purchase another battery backup case for either myself or my wife’s iPhone, there is no doubt that I will be turning to Mophie to fill my needs!

 The Rundown: (section still needs polish)

+ Doubles iPhone Battery Expectancy

+ Fits Like a Glove

+ Enhances Audio from iPhone

+ Allows iPhone to Dock in Case

+ Switch to turn Battery Backup On/Off

+ Gives iPhone Better Grip

- Makes iPhone Thicker

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

-the gooch

]]> http://thetechgooch.com/2011/07/14/more-iphone-juice/feed/ 2 http://thetechgooch.com/2011/05/31/surround-yourself-with-sound/ http://thetechgooch.com/2011/05/31/surround-yourself-with-sound/#comments Tue, 31 May 2011 02:24:35 +0000 TechGooch http://goochpicker.com/?p=317 When it comes to gaming on your computer, there are few things that can get you more into the game than a true audio experience. Throw in the ability to communicate with your friends, and you have a recipe to help make your gaming experience as good as it can get. This is where the Logitech G35 Headset comes in, and boasting 7.1 surround sound it truely gets you into the game. More after the break…

Everyones head seems to like a different type of headset. While I have tried a few cheaper headsets in the past though, the G35 fits my head better than any other. I have had an old Laptec set up, a pair of Plantronics and the Razer Carcharias, and $79 headset that I returned within 24 hours because of how unhappy I was. Each of these would be fine if audio quality wasn’t an issue, but when using the headset more often than just a few times a year, getting a headset that sounds great and has a good mic is very important.

There are few things I can say other than the Logitech G35 is a great headset with great audio quality and a good mic. The simple audio software that comes with it is also fun, but I like to keep it simple when it comes to equipment that I want one purpose out of.

I hope you enjoy the video review, and be sure to check back for more reviews! Thanks for stopping by.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

-the gooch

I know what you are thinking, it is another crap app by Microsoft. And for those of you Apple fan-boys out there that think nothing good can come from the PC giant, I beg you to reconsider. For the humble price of free, you can get a very simple to use panoramic photo stitcher that does what it advertises and allows you to easily share your creations online using a couple Microsoft sites or Facebook.

The app also stores each created panoramic photo into your default camera roll so you can easily email or mms your newly created scene to your friends without uploading it to a social media site. Given the cost, ease of use, and the fantastic rendering quality of this app, I have no other option than to give it my top of the line 5 star rating. This is one of those apps that everyone should at least try once, and I will honestly say that once you do you will forever find a use for it. Please enjoy the video!

Get the App

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

-the gooch

I searched for the proper way to mount my iPhone 4 from the moment I got it. Actually, I had an eye looking for one prior to that, but didn’t know when it would eventually hit Verizon. After getting my iPhone, the search went active, looking at every local store we have, and prowling the internet, hoping to find the right way to mount my phone so I could see it while driving and making an easy to dock charging station. Eventually I realized that most vehicle mounts are just that, mounts, and to charge your phone while in the mount you just plugged in a charger to the bottom. This was not a method that I wanted, so my search continued.

Eventually I fount a few docks that fit my description. Out of all the finalists though, the TomTom stood out as a clear champion. The RocketFish dock at Best Buy was similar, and quite a bit less ($34.99), but you get what you pay for and this dock was very flimsy and cheaply made. A couple of the other options were nice, but even more money than the TomTom, which was already at $99. So, I waited, and a visit to newegg.com gave me a better deal at $79.95, unfortunately it was out of stock at the time. I setup an alert to notify me when it reached stock status, and as soon as I received the email I was on it like a fly on, well, you know!

A few days later, I had my TomTom iPhone Car Kit, and right out of the box I was impressed. The dock is well made, easy to adjust, and came with a mounting plate to easily suction the dock to any surface. As soon as I sat in my truck however, I found an even easier way to mount it (see video). And while my truck has a navigation unit already installed, having my iPhone handy will only make it easier to navigate my way! To be honest, the best part of the dock as it relates to how I use it is that it puts the phone at arms reach and allows me to charge my phone, listen to Pandora or Stitcher radio, and still see when I get an email or text (no, I don’t read or write texts or email while driving).

A feature that I don’t really go over in the video is another great feature of the product that some of us may not need. Both of my vehicles are bluetooth equip for hands free dialing and answering, but the TomTom iPhone Car Kit is another device that can also be used this way. There is an integrated speaker on the back of the dock, and when you connect it to your iPhone it gives you hands free operation while driving. A great perk, but not one that swayed my decision due to my own necessity.

So whats the catch? Non really, the only thing you will need to use the TomTom iPhone Car Kit is a little app on your phone to allow you to dock to it. And what does this app cost? Nothing, really it is included in the price of the dock, but you just visit the app store to download the free app. This allows you to charge your iPhone from the dock and allows the iPhone to use the TomTom GPS chip that is in the dock. The cool thing about this is you can see what satellites you have a signal from and how strong that signal is, just like a standard GPS unit.

Well, I think I have said what I can say. Please be sure to watch the video review, and let me know what you think!

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMB82-V0GOs

-the gooch