Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet (16GB)

A bit about me first I am a techno-nerd. I LOVE gadgets. Large, small, you name it. After eyeballing many tablets, including the iPad, Xoom, Samsung and others I chose the 64GB Blackberry Playbook. Why? For one, because it is the right size. I can put it in my purse and carry it about with me. More reasons it has spectacular graphics true 1080p HD and it supports flash. It has a camera and an HD camcorder. It has a solid feel in your hands, the touch screen is very responsive and intuitive. After playing with it for a short span of time I now zoom from app to app. One of the (many) things I find amazing is that the tablet does not lag while running many concurrent apps I'm not talking small apps, but processor intensive ones. The battery life is pretty good too I've played for over 10 hours before I had to recharge it. The screen is spectacular I said that already didn't I?

One thing I have read on various sites is that there aren't "many apps" available. HELLO it is new just released actually. How many apps were there for the iPad when it first came out? New apps appear daily and this summer it will run Android apps. That just exponentially increased the quantity of fodder for app hounds like me. The Android apps will be available through Blackberry App World. Read more about this on Android Central. Angry Birds anyone? It's also a boss gaming tablet for you gamers out there.

I have a huge iTunes library. One of the reasons I purchased the 64GB version was for the music. RIM made it so easy to import tunes from iTunes. First download Desktop manager and install. Plug in the Playbook. It installs the drivers and voila! It sniffs the installed iTunes and asks you what you would like to sync to the Playbook. I also read a lot of technical magazines I get electronically. I have these saved off to a folder on my PC. Now I copy them to my Playbook and read them where ever I am.

I can connect to the internet a few ways with the wireless ability it has, or tethering to my mobile phone or, if you have a Blackberry running version 5 or above you can use the Bridge to gain access to the internet while about. I have scratched just the surface of this amazing tablet. It has so much more I could talk about.

I love my Playbook. I am so glad I waited for its release. WOW

Update 7.01.2011

I've had the Playbook for over two months, use daily and have taken it with me everywhere I go. As such, I have more information and thoughts to share.

My Playbook recently traveled to Universal Studios and Disney's Magic Kingdom. Beautiful pictures and video were captured. I am a camera fiend my Nikon D80 was left at home by an oversight and panic (withdrawal is more like it) set in. I must say that my Playbook saved the day. Would this completely replace my Nikon? For me, no. I am a lover of SLR/DSLR's. However it does a very nice job rendering photographs in a pinch. I shot beautiful 1080p video as well.

Apps I have 183 apps so far on my Playbook and the choices available increases daily.

The browser is something to behold on this thing. It is fast, renders pages beautifully and the flash content looks incredible. As the Playbook supports flash, a great deal of things can be had directly via the browser without the requirement of an app.

RE: the noise about the 'too small' power button non-issue really. You turn the Playbook on by swiping the screen from top to bottom. If the timeout is too long, you can alter this through the settings. About the only time you ever have to touch the button is to turn it on from a total power down. It's more an issue of a habit to use a button than anything else. Once you drop the button desire, the puny size is perfect.

RE: the noise regarding it wasn't ready I've used my tablet daily for well over two months and I haven't encountered a single issue. No freezing, nothing at all. Ask me how many times I've had to reset my iPod or my PC/laptop?

RE: the noise regarding the immediate OS update as a software engineer I appreciated the fact RIM had an update issued right after the tablet shipped. That means they fixed/added new features that the initial install didn't contain. This doesn't mean the OS wasn't ready it was. They just were able to roll out an update soon after the release. How often is iTunes updated??? How often is Windows OS updated? Why is RIM bashed for a standard process? Ah, the Bizarro World we live in...

I own the iPad 1. I like it. I don't love it. The apps are great. But it is large and cumbersome. It doesn't really multi-task. And I hate the way it handles email. I use a Blackberry Torch phone. I love the way it handles email. And the apps are very good. Fewer. But very good.

So it was with some trepidation and excitement I bought the Blackberry Playbook. The trepidation was because of the advanced reviews which universally panned it. I looked at it, held it, and bought it. And I will tell you it is one piece of stunning equipment.

The build is much better than the iPad. In fact it is extraordinary. The screen is absolutely stunning. The machine loads the applications fast but NOT as fast as you see on the commercials. The browser blows the iPad Safari browser out of the water. It is very fast and of course has Flash. The camera front and back are very good.

But do you know what makes this tablet? The OS. It is extraordinary. You bring out Apps with a touch. You scroll through open apps by beginning at the left or right bezel and swiping toward the center. The context menus are opened by swiping down when the application is open. See a subtle alert in the top left hand corner, swipe diagonally from the the bezel to the center and viola there is a notification of your email. To wake it up swipe from the top bezel to the bottom. No more clicking a darn button. Thank you Blackberry. That alone was genius.

As I said I carry a Blackberry so through the Blackberry Bridge it tethers to my Torch. Emails and files. Everything, except the apps (different OS of course) is available on my Playbook. And I don't have to add on a data plan for 3G. A 3G phone Playbook is coming out in the summer they say for those who do not carry Blackberry phones.

I am waiting for the following apps Dropbox (although I can transfer files in and out via the web), a free hand note taker and a better PDF program or a more beefy Adobe Reader app. And I am sure they will come.

Now to the reviews: They claimed the OS was not finished. Not true. They claimed multiple shutdowns and freezes. Not true. They poo-poo'd tethering through Blackberry Bridge. OK I am saving myself $30 a month up here in Canada or $360 a year in not having a 3G capability under a separate plan. And the tethering is flawless for both email and web surfing since the Playbook comes with a Bridge Browser that uses your phones' plan. So a person saves $360 a year and it gets criticized? Unbelievable! The apps. Yes there are fewer but there are new ones appearing everyday and they are above average and to my mind are as good as or better than the iPad. The negative reviews are baffling; truly, truly baffling.

I couldn't wait to get the iPad. I was enchanted. With the new iPad 2 I wasn't enchanted. In fact it is anything but.

The Blackberry Playbook on the other hand is simply astounding. I throw it in my briefcase. And away I go. I pull it out at a meeting or airport and it is understated and private. Will it take its rightful place in the tablet market? Not if jingoistic reviewers have their way. But it should. It should if build, function, cost effectiveness, reliability, and fun mean anything to anybody.

Buy Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet (16GB) Now

If you're like me then you've probably been waiting for a while for RIM to enter the tablet market with their long-overdue BlackBerry Playbook. RIM's been touting a couple of features that were a first for any tablet at the time namely two cameras, one front and one back, HD output and a mini-HDMI port, along with finally releasing the new QNX OS (which RIM badly needed).

Well, unfortunately for RIM, they once again took their time getting this to consumers, and the end result is once again a whole bunch of those new features aren't really new anymore. IPad 2 introduced the two camera system for Apple, and I believe the new Galaxy 2 tablet coming out in a few months will have it as well. A bunch of tablets are also now HD-capable, and a bunch also have HDMI ports.

Anywho I picked this device up today from Best Buy, and to sum it up in a sentence: classy, but expensive.

For a more detailed review, here goes ---

PROS:

1) The OS. By George, RIM finally has a decent OS!! If anyone has ever had or messed around with a Blackberry phone, one of the biggest gripes you'll have is that the OS is just... well, crappy. OS 5 and 6 were big improvements but they still each leave alot out (like the browser god, does Blackberry's browser suck at times), especially when you check out an IPhone or Android phone. The QNX is RIM's newest OS, and I hope they move their phones over to it ASAP. Clean, snappy, and doesn't actually use all that much memory if you delve into the settings of the device. I will add, though that as soon as I turned on my device, it had to update the OS. Nice RIM already pushing out updates.... Doesn't bode well, but we'll see.

2) Screen. I'll give RIM credit, they did awesome here. The screen on the Playbook is nothing short of stellar. I played the movie Megamind (great movie) in HD on it, and it looked fantastic. Even better, hooked it up via HDMI to a projector, and it looked fantastic on the wall too. 7" may be a little small to people IPad's is almost 10", and so is Galaxy 2 (supposedly we'll see) but I like the 7" screen personally. I don't really need a bigger screen that's what I have a laptop for.

3) Weight. This also might be a touchy subject but again, I personally like a device that feels solid in my hands. The Playbook definitely fits this bill. Although it only technically weighs 1 pound, it feels much heavier. The construction seems excellent putting pressure on various points, the device barely bends.

4) Blackberry Bridge. Hell yeah RIM I do NOT want to pay extra for another 3G data plan. Instead, what RIM does is by tethering your Blackberry phone to the Playbook, you can use the data plan on your phone to get the internet on your Playbook and it works right out the box!! You don't even need a cable it also works via BlueTooth!! Only problem just works with Blackberry phones. If RIM updated this to work with all phones, that would make it literally perfect.

CONS:

1) Price. Jeez, 499 for the base model 16 GB. 64 GB rings in at 699. (These prices come from Best Buy). It's a nice device, don't get me wrong, but 500 bucks for the base model?? There's a bunch of cheaper options out there. Especially with the size of the device it's a little hard to justify. I hope RIM fixes this problem soon, for their sake.

2) Apps. Always seems to come back to this as well for RIM. The apps for the device at the time of this equal less than 100. Yeah, that's right. With the new OS, that means that all apps have to be rewritten to be able to work with the device and be able to handle the bigger screen. I believe the IPad has over 25,000 apps specifically made for it, and the Galaxy and XOOM both use Android and have its market to work with. Clearly RIM has an uphill battle here. Hopefully RIM supporting Flash on the Playbook will help the apps roll in, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

3) No e-mail support. As of right now the Playbook does not work with BES servers. That means no enterprise e-mail support, or ability to control the device via IT policies. You must be joking RIM. Seamless e-mail support is the main reason people get Blackberries, and you can't make the Playbook to support this?? Fail....

There's a couple other things too I can think of for both categories but these delve deeper into the enterprise features of the devices, so if you're interested, leave me a comment and I'll reply

--------------------------

The Blackberry Playbook is definitely a good entry for RIM worthy of giving some of the other tablets a run for their money. RIM has of late been really lagging behind when it comes to keeping up with the tech of the day, but with the Playbook, they've finally stepped up to the plate. As for hitting a home run ehhh, I've give them a double. The Playbook shines in a number of areas but the key feature to me is the Blackberry Bridge. This is something that I hope a bunch of other tablets start incorporating being able to use your phone's data plan on your tablet, without having to pay an extra 50 bucks for a separate one.

RIM, fix the weak spots on your device (either by updates or in the 2nd generation), and you could have a real winner here.

As far as recommendations go for the average user, if you're feeling adventurous, go ahead and get a Playbook. It's a great device at what it does, but expanding those functions are difficult, especially with so few apps. For everyone else stick with the IPad, XOOM, or Galaxy at least until the apps get rolling on this device.

-I'll update this periodically as more information and my usage time with it increases so check back every so often --

UPDATE: Someone asked me in a comment if the Playbook had a memory card slot which I forgot to include in my review. Unfortunately, the Playbook does NOT have an SD card slot although, by using the Blackberry Bridge software, you can get the SD card that's on your phone to work with the Playbook. But as far as plugging in a card to the device itself no. Thanks to J. Scheider for asking.

UPDATE (5/4/2011): RIM has announced that they'll be releasing the Video Chat app a video conferencing app that will take advantage of the front and rear cameras, very much like Apple's FaceTime. It's supposed to be part of an OS upgrade that will get released sometime this week I'll let you know how it is once I've tested it out.

Read Best Reviews of Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet (16GB) Here

"It's coming soon" is a refrain you will hear quite often with respect to the BlackBerry Playbook. I have had my 32GB wifi model for about a week. (I bought it from Staples for less than you see here.) The physical tablet is four and half stars. It is a perfect size, the screen is beautiful and the weight is ideal. It is roughly the same size as a 3d generation Kindle. Half a star deduction for the top buttons which do not feel like they are very high quality.

Included in the box are some brief instructions, a folding blade charger, a micro-usb cable, a nice foam pouch case, and a screen wipe.

There are a few negatives: (1) a lot of websites think the browser is for a blackberry phone and auto-direct you to the mobile version of their website; (2) the browser does not allow you to rename bookmarks, reorder bookmarks, or put bookmarks into folders; (3) the GPS is not yet functional it's in there, but has not been enabled by the firmware this feature is "coming soon"; (4) there are two very high quality cameras, but the software is limited only only permitting you to chat with other PlayBook users; (5) there is no Kindle App.

When linked to your blackberry smartphone via bluetooth you get a mirror of the email, contacts, calendar, to do, BBM and memo pad found on your phone. You also get access to files on your blackberry (even the microSD), but cannot open video or audio files just documents. There is something called the "bridge browser" which allows you to surf the internet through your phone's web browser and 3G connection. This is different from tethering because the carriers don't charge for it. The PlayBook also allows tethering which gives you full data access (although not to app world for some reason). Some carriers charge for tethering, some don't. Apparently AT&T doesn't even allow their customers to use the Bridge which is a HUGE drawback if you happen to have AT&T.

The lack of apps is the largest drawback. As of this writing, there is no Kindle app (a huge drawback), no Skype app, no Netflix app, and no MLB app. You cannot watch Netflix videos on the browser or your MLB.tv subscription. You CAN watch amazon instant videos. They look beautiful. The app content is neither quality nor quantity.

There is a huge amount of potential, but unfortunately a lot of that is "coming soon" and isn't there right now. When is "soon"? Nobody knows. One good thing is that firmware updates come out every few weeks and each adds functions. Since there are no carriers involved in rolling out firmware, RIM has full control and can do it quickly.

Some have mentioned problems with battery charging I haven't had that. My battery charges pretty quickly and goes to 100%. I can use it for nearly 15 hours before I get a low battery warning with about 10% left. Some have complained about the power button being hard to push. Mine is small and recessed, but I can easily push it.

The screen is absolutely beautiful.

You can use your existing blackberry charger, but it will take much longer to charge. The included charger can charge your existing blackberry (micro USB) without harm. There is also an available quick-charging stand it is expensive but works really well (I have it).

The BlackBerry PlayBook could be an amazing tablet five stars. However, it is now a bit of a work in progress at this point and I can only give it three stars as it currently stands It is only OK.

Want Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet (16GB) Discount?

OK. First off, it is a tablet with a fast dual core processor and 1GB of internal memory. So, its up to the task. The issue really is, what's the task?

I am a BlackBerry user and, truth be told, lover. However, I didn't get here by blind loyalty. I followed the advice of others and researched/used the products. So, I assume that's why you are reading this, both general user on the fence and RIM loyalist alike, for perspective.

The real deal is what can this tablet do right out of the box, independent of a BB device (AKA cell phone)? The answer is a lot but not as much as other tablets (specifically Apple or Android). The Playbook is poised to strike but lacks the refinement of options and applications enjoyed by other tablet types. For someone taking it out of the box and using it, they will find a smooth and effortless operating environment. All the menus flow and the graphics fly. No hesitation on most all switching of applications and functions. Screen orientation is fluid and not clunky. The Playbook gets a bad rap for lack of apps and, as i have mentioned, this is true. To be honest though, most people are surfing the web and checking email. The Playbook excels at these tasks with one large caveat, for email you need to use your e-mail provider web interface (mail.yahoo.com, gmail.com, aolmail.com...etc)or the mysterious "...BlackBerry Bridge." As of this posting, there is no email function native to the PlayBook nor is there an application for it.

If you don't own a Blackberry cell phone, don't plan to own one or don't ever use (or plan to use) the email function then wait for RIM to deliver the impending software update to the Playbook that will carry with it a native email application like you see on all other tablets. If you do own a BB cell and use the email function then the BlackBerry Bridge is for you. The BlackBerry Bridge is a native function that runs out of the box. The bridge function is awesome and it basically extends your phone features (mail, tasks, calendar, BBM and some file management) to your Playbook. What this really means is you admin your email and such through the Playbook via BlueTooth to your phone. This is good and bad. The good is you can hop on and generate emails, appts, tasks and xfer some files. The bad is it requires a good BT connection and both items relatively close together and charged to the point they can use the BT radio. The real solution for this is RIM should allow your Playbook, via a native app not a bridge, to use your BIS or (if company sanctioned) BES information. Plain and simple. They have to conquer the one PIN per account issue that currently requires you to bridge to the phone, the device that holds you PIN to the BIS or BES services. Is the bridge function enough to entice someone to buy a BB device along with a PlayBook or enable emailing on their current BB at a price to the provider? No. To finish the thought, they should include with native email all the PIM functions (tasks, calendar, notes...etc) that provide a fluid information chain that is accessible and completely sync'd with a BB device (or other smart phone through Google apps or something).

The web experience is excellent. Fast and uses Flash. Not much you cant do. It has its tablet downsides like sometimes you get an ad or some other in window pop up that just about requires a mouse...but that issue exists on all tablets.

Unless you're a news, movie or media junky, the applications (available via a native PB application called AppWorld) will most likely fail to impress you. The news, weather and media stuff is solid. The PB comes with the music store. The store isn't as extensive as iTunes of course but there are other services you can use (BestBuy just announced a cloud based music service for PB, iPad and Android). You can rent movies from Amazon and YouTube via web. No Netflix streaming app yet for PB. The good news on the app front is the supposed addition of Android applications that will run on the PB. This happens via a virtual machine (meaning its not native Android processing on the PB so it can't be as fast for sure) so it remains to be seen how good it will be. Angry Birds is coming as well.

The final deal is what do you want? If you want a smaller tablet then this is a good one...but if you want a smaller tablet with tons of apps then either go Android or wait for the supposed Android App player that will allow PB to run them. The real deal is this tablet surfs the web with the best of them and, lets be honest, most people want that. They hate a hot laptop and want something lighter, cooler, easier and with less of a footprint. Secondly they want apps that probably enhance what they can do on the web. so if its news, media or movies, you're good.

Some people have complained about the power and volume buttons. They are a bit of a pain but you get used to using them pretty quick. Something you shouldn't have to deal with but not a show stopper.

The PlayBook is expensive and does less than the iPad; unless you actively use your BB device. Android bridges the gap in price and physical options but is still clunky in app switching and fluidity of operating environment. Final word, the PlayBook is as fluid and dialed in as the iPad as far as use and operating environment but lacks the options, a gap partially bridged by use of an existing BB device enabled for email and internet use.

5 stars for BB users who aren't app junkies

3 stars for someone buying now without a BB and waiting for native email, Android Apps compatibility (and more native apps in the BlackBerry App World) and using your BlueTooth Headset (not possible as of this posting). The PlayBook is evolving leaps and bounds with every automatically delivered software update. But should someone pay top price for a comparatively lacking product now?

these are the things i do:

Surf (native)

Watch rented movies on Amazon/YouTube (web, native)

RSS news (app)

News 360 (app)

Podcasts (native)

BB Bridge Email, BBMessenger(native) -must have BB device and email accounts configured

SSH to servers (if you don't understand this it's OK...its for techies) (app)

VNC to my home machine for admin use (app)

Video chat via ReelPortal (app)

Word, Excel doc editing (app)

File share to and from the PB on my home network (native)

Play "Need for Speed" (native) its fun :)

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NEW Tablet Keyboard for Android (Tablets)

This product is excellent and works great with my Galaxy Note 10.1 and the stand/ case works awesome for keeping the keyboard protected while in my backpack.

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DSLR Rig Shoulder Mount for DV Cameras & All DSLR Cameras, Canon 5D MK II , 7D , 60D ,600D (T3i) Ni

I bought this rig for about $150 off eBay a few months ago. I already had a rig (Gini/Magic Spider), but I liked the fact that this rig looked very versatile, and that it could pack up to fit into a small backpack. Unless you're shooting something pretty seriously, it feels kind of silly to walk around in public with a full-sized shoulder rig -for one thing, they look like rocket launchers. I can configure this into a simple handheld unit which is fairly inconspicuous but also offers much-improved stability (especially for dslrs.) If I want more stability, I can change it up into a full shoulder rig.

The build quality is quite good, and it's a very functional little gadget. It's a good balance of portability, functionality, and price.

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HP 450CBi Mobile DeskJet Printer with Battery

The HP 450 cbi is an extremely versatile printer which I use as much in my office as I do on the road! It prints both text and digital photos every bit as sharp as my larger HP Photosmart 7550. It's extremely compact for traveling. And with its dual wireless capabilities (infrared and Bluetooth), I can output to it from my laptops as well as from my PDA's.

The portable 450 uses HP's new six color ink system which, when printing digital photos, trades out the black cartridge for another three-color unit. The flip-up paper tray feeds well and holds up to forty-five pages. There's a special slot for 4" x 6" paper which makes printing snapshots as easy as making 8" x 10" enlargements. But the kicker for me was HP's claim of a 73 year photo life using HP's Premium Plus photo paper which was verified in independent testing by PC World magazine in their November, 2002 issue! (Gee, what's not to like?)

The HP 450 has a built-in infrared port on the front (and is the only model in HP's new lineup so equipped). But contrary to what's written, connecting via Bluetooth requires purchasing an optional Bluetooth Compact Flash Card directly from the Anycom.com website, which is then installed via a handy slot in the back.

I use a USB cable to print from my desktop, and very reliable 3Com Bluetooth PC cards to output from my laptops.

I print via infrared from my Sony Clie using Docs To Go and IrPrint (available from iscomplete.org). And I output from my Palm 515 by using a Toshiba Bluetooth SD card and Docs To Go and BtPrint (also available from iscomplete.org).

Even my daughter, not to be left out, prints directly to the HP 450 (via infrared) using her Palm OS-based Alphasmart Dana word processor, and she loves it!

I've carried the HP 450 with me on several business trips where it's performed flawlessly. I've taken the printer (with its portable battery) to meetings where it was also a big hit. I've even used the HP 450 in my garage -to print labels and identify all of my stuff! The capabilities of this printer are truly amazing!

The HP 450, incidentally, is a much better portable printer than the HP 350 cbi or the Canon BJC-55 I owned previously. The HP 350 was much bulkier and could only accept a single ink jet cartridge (either a 3-color or a black & white unit) at one time. The Canon BJC-55 had extremely small ink tanks; and printing from my Palm (due to very weak print drivers) was rudimentary at best.

If you're in the market for a new printer, be sure and check out the new 450 cbi from HP. It is, without a doubt, one of the most versatile printers ever invented!

I bought this printer to go with my HP Pavilion ze5200 laptop the summer before heading off to college. I knew that in college, I'd be mobile and on the run, so I was looking for a good quality printer that was small enough to fit in a dorm, but wouldn't crap out on me as I was printing a ten page paper half an hour before it was due.

It's been about nine months since I bought the 450Cbi, and I've had a really good experience. It's small enough to fit compactly on my little dorm-room desk, and every time someone walks into my room they say, "Oh! What a cute printer!" It's small and lightweight enough to throw in my backpack along with my laptop as I go to the library or student center to study, and the fact that it can be battery-powered is just awesome--I can be sitting outside in the middle of the quad, with no outlets in sight, tapping away happily on my laptop with my printer chugging out my papers beside me. The quality is fantastic, both photo and simple black-and-white, and one black ink cartridge lasted me eight months, which is amazing considering all the papers a college student has to type.

For the negative stuff: As other people have said, it has a problem with paper jamming. I've had several times where the paper has jammed, and I've had to work like the devil to un-jam it. However, nothing has broken, and all in all, it's held up beautifully considering how much I put it through, always lugging it from one side of the campus to the other. My infrared printing did suddenly stop working on me for some reason--my laptop will detect the beam and begin to print, but an error will pop up and refuse to print anything that's not a Notepad file. As well, I was also disappointed that though the printer is advertised as being wireless, it doesn't actually come with a Bluetooth card. No matter though, a parallel port cable is short, compact, and has worked perfectly fine for me. I do think that it is a little overpriced--I paid $250 for it--but for me, it's been a great a little printer and I don't regret my choise to buy it.

Buy HP 450CBi Mobile DeskJet Printer with Battery Now

I got a new laptop this year, and it came with a free Dell Printer/Scanner/Copier thing, which I was pretty excited about, but it turned out it was HUGE. Took up waaaaay too much desk space in my already cramped dorm room, so at a friend's recommendation I got the HP 450 CBi. It's amazing.

First reason it's amazing is that for day-to-day printing it is just as good, if not a little better, than any other HP inkjet I've ever had, and I've had quite a few.

Second, the portability is great. Not only is it great to be able to bring my laptop to the theatre and update paperwork, etc. on the spot, but it's even better to then be able to immediately print it out and hand it to whoever it needs to go to.

Third, it's photo printing quality is incredible. With HP Premium Plus glossy photo paper, and the #58 photo cartrige, all of the pictures I've printed on it are virtually indistinguishable from film prints.

The only cons I'd say are the capacity of the ink cartriges (and the price, but I suppose all ink cartriges are rediculously overpriced), and the overall price of the unit. However, if you've got a good amount of money to spend on a printer, need to conserve as much space as you can, and could benefit from the portability, I would highly recommend this printer.

Read Best Reviews of HP 450CBi Mobile DeskJet Printer with Battery Here

I spend a lot of time on the road and I use a lot of different types of printers. The HP is over priced for what you get. Keeping in mind you can buy a pretty nice printer for $300 today. It is much slower that advertized at 9 PPM black. It is more like 1 minute per page. That is with 30% text on a page. This is NOT good. The duplex printing requires one to manually flip the pages over. What is up with that? Print quality is good. Portability is OK, but not as nice as the Cannon i70. Ink cartridge size is good, but expensive. Infrared printing is glitchy. Quality and syle is OK. Unfortunately when a company tags a printer as a portable then the price goes up by a multiple of 200%. This is a mediocre printer that is worth about $50.00.

Want HP 450CBi Mobile DeskJet Printer with Battery Discount?

I absolutely loved the printer HP 450 when it was working, perfect printing. After a while the paper gets jammed and then it gradually stops working. I tried to get it repaired still didn't work. Then I looked on the internet and there are lots of people saying the same as me. The paper feed gets jammed its all very frustrating.

So I have purchased CanoniP90 from Amazon it's good but not as good as as the HP when it worked well.

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GSI 2-In-1 Transfer USB Connection Kit - SD Card Reader

My iPad brought up the error message "This Device Not Compatible With iPad" each time I plugged it in. I returned it and will get the product made by Apple.

Works great and you can't beat it for the price. It does what it says it does the only thing is I was hoping it would help transfer pictures to my IPAD2 using a thumb drive however it will not support a thumb drive. I can use it with the SD card.

Buy GSI 2-In-1 Transfer USB Connection Kit - SD Card Reader Now

Compared to buying the Apple SD connection for $30 this is a bargain. It also has an USB connection slot, but it will not work with Ipad II. Get message saying "not enough power to support this" But for connecting SD cards it works fine.

Read Best Reviews of GSI 2-In-1 Transfer USB Connection Kit - SD Card Reader Here

I bought this for an iPad 2 in September. It seemed to work on both the USB setting with my Canon digital camera plugged in and with the SD card setting using just the SD card for the camera. I did not use it again after that initial test. Then, I upgraded the iPad2 to ios5 just before leaving on a trip. I then tried to use this product on my iPad2 to finally load some photos in and NOW it is no longer recognized by my iPad as a compatible device!! So, I got NO use out of this. I don't think it is the fault of the product, as it did work before and something must have changed in the new operating system as it did on previous changes (Apple no doubt, wants to make cheaper, third party connectors unworkable in order to force users to buy their more expensive adapter instead), so I blame Apple for the uselessness of this product on a current iPad with current operating system, but that still makes it useless, and if you plan to use it for current devices on ios5, you should be warned it no longer works.

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I read the reviews a week after i received my product and tried to transfer my photos immediately and it worked prefectly for me. I love it because you can download your pictures directly to your ipad.

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rooCASE Neoprene Super Bubble Sleeve Case for HP Mini 311 11.6-Inch Black Swirl (Black / Red)

This is very nice case. Very padded. Absolutely great for a netbook travelling in a back pack. Just one side of the case is as padded as both sides combined of other cases (I'm looking at you swiss gear)

The outside zipper pocket is a nice touch and quite stretchy though not near as padded. The zipper has not failed in the few months I've been using it. The zipper for the main compartment is quite robust, but the zipper for the outside pocket not so much. It tends to get caught on itself if i open it to far. Not a real big deal to me personally but you might care.

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Compaq Aero 1550 Pocket PC

O.K., I will include a few things that everyone else has forgotten to include in their reviews. First, not only does the pocket pc OS (which is Windows CE version 3.0) allow you to convert and view word and excel files, you can create and change them on your ppc as well. Pocket Excel allows you use most (perhaps all) of the formulas you are used to using with the pc version of Excel, but graphs don't show up on conversion and you can't create them. Merge cell also doesn't work in Excel and doesn't translate. Word translates pretty well. I'm impressed, but if you use the draw function (tool bar), or graphs, in a pc windows doc, it wont show up in the ppc. The Aero 1550 comes with 16M of ram, but it splits this up (and adjusts it automatically) between the programs and applications, and you need three or four meg of memory for each to run most applications, so, buy a flash memory card for it (I'm planning on buying the 64M). The battery lasts a long time, but it will last longer if you close out all the programs before turning it off because the programs you open will stay open until you close them (the Qmenu is a good way). I've read reviews that insinuated that pocket pc's are complicated, PLEASE! If you have any experience working with a pc and especially MS-office, then, unless you're a gibbering idiot, you wont need any help at all. It is totally user-friendly. I wasn't even aware that it had a manual on the program cd that comes with it until two weeks after it arrived. You will receive a program cd and a Autosync cd. The Autosync is the program that allows you to convert files from pc version to pocket version and vise versa. It also comes with a directory (file) with tons of books in it. You can get other free books online, but MS still needs to come up with a secure version of READER so you can buy commercial books online. You may be aggravated that it doesn't have pocket streets on the ppc, but it is in the EXTRA's directory on the program disk. The picture viewer works pretty well, although the LCD screen doesn't show pictures clearly ( I use scanned jpg files of electrical schematics on mine, for that application, it works great.) I didn't think the MSreader program would hold much appeal for me, but it's great to carry a few novels in your pocket. You always have a large assortment of interesting books to read at your fingertips. One last note, If you're disappointed that you can't carry this calculator sized pc in your shirt pocket without the risk of it falling out, please, get a life. I rated four stars instead of five because in the four weeks I have had it, it has locked up on me three times and crashed twice (confetti on the screen). The answer, as always with Bills product, is reboot. (I gotta have a talk with that boy.) PPS, Pocket Windows doesn't have spell checker-GET OUT!

Here is an update to my 5 stars review of the older Areo 1530. I just installed the Pocket PC upgrade ROM to my 1530. I ordered the upgrade direct from compaq which makes it equivalent to the 1550. It is a flawless upgrade and information was saved to my desktop first. With more memory, sound recorder with rewind and fast forward dial, palm V can't come close to its versitility. Recent additions include a 40mb compact flash memory card, pocket pc version of Calligrapher handwriting recognition, JOT is good but Calligrapher is better. I have also added the modem. Pocket PC is a blast to use, much more user friendly than the older Win CE, and more internet friendly, downloading and reading email is a breeze. Above all, it's a more efficient operating system and less hassle to get from one place to another. The Areo's screen has more resolution than the palm V's and it can be adjusted for lighting conditions. Four shades of grey mode is best for indoor low lighting, 16 shades for moderate to bright indoor lighting and outdoors. It also has reversibility in its LCD image for better viewing with the backlight. Its best feature however is it's size, about as thin as the palm V and weighs about the same too. I would like to give it 6 stars, an extra one for the new Palm PC OS!

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The Aero is about the same size and price as a Palm V, but it does so much more. PalmOS is still a bit easier to use than Pocket PC, but I'd take 8x the RAM and all the extra capabilities in a second.

I did have one disappointment, though. I had hoped to replace my portable MP3 player with the Aero, but the audio output quality is quite poor in comparison to what you would get from a Rio or a Nomad. I'm not sure if this is a problem with the media player or with the Aero's audio out jack (I suspect the latter) but then again, the Palm V doesn't even have a headphone jack.

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I did some research before buying my first PDA and concluded the Aero was the way to go I haven't been disappointed. The screen resolution is much better than a Palm, and you don't have 25%of it wasted all the time like a Palm of Visor for the character recognition. It's so much more versatile than a Palm The ability to read and write in Word on the device has been awesome I've written reports waiting in line at the grocery store (I know, get a life)and downloaded reports from others to use. I've heard complaints of short battery life but with normal use you can go many days between charges. I was a little worried about cross-talking with Palms, but with Peacemaker software..., it's almost seamless. Don't forget about the expansion capability. You can pop in C-Flash cards (up to 128mb now!) and tote around music, books, whatever. Great value!

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Normally, I do not write reviews. However, when a product is as outstanding as this one is -I will make an exception. Having owned and used the Everex Freestyle Associate model A-10 for the past two years, I can speak with some certainty and confidence about the Compaq Aero model 1550 Pocket PC that I recently purchased from Amazon.com.

The Aero 1550 is an exceptional product. In fact, Compaq and Microsoft have made so many improvements to the pocket PC in the last two years that I hardly know where to begin. I guess I'll start by talking about some of the pitfalls and problems that I experienced with my Everex Freestyle.

When I first bought my Freestyle, I thought it was awesome. There were only a few minor drawbacks that I felt needed improving. Every time I turned the unit on it seemed to take forever to boot up. Finally, after the unit booted up there just did not seem to be very many applications from which to choose. I must have spent around $500 purchasing additional applications like: CoolCalc, Bsquare Spreadsheet, Bsquare Utilities, Grundle Palm Explorer, PowerTime, and many others. Another expense was the cost of a CompactFlash card to expand the Freestyle's memory; it only came with 4 MB, and after loading all those applications not much memory remained for contacts, calendar items, and to do lists, etc.

The Freestyle had two other quirks that needed improving. One, its screen was so dark that it was only barely usable even in good light. And, two, its battery life was pathetic -absolutely pathetic. After an all-night charge, the batteries would only last approximately two hours the next day. I put up with this for two years. Eventually, the battery life began to drop off, and finally they would not hold charge for even two minutes. The icing on the cake was trying to get replacement batteries for it. Everex had stopped manufacturing the Freestyle, and apparently they had stopped supporting it as well. I was unsuccessful at finding any batteries that would work in the Everex. And that, of course, is what led me to purchase the Compaq Aero 1550.

Compaq Computer Corp. has done an exceptional job with the Aero 1550. They have addressed every single concern that I ever had with my first Palm PC. First of all, when you turn the unit on it comes on immediately -there's no waiting for the unit to boot up. And, when you do turn it on, there are a lot more built-in applications to choose from. For example, Microsoft pocket Excel is included, which eliminates the need for Bsquare Spreadsheet. Compaq also includes their own version of file Explorer, which eliminates the need for Grundle Palm Explorer. I won't be needing PowerTime anymore either; my new Aero includes a convenient power management utility. In fact, the only application that I have added to my Aero is CoolCalc -absolutely the best add-on calculator utility on the market.

The Compaq comes with a standard memory installation of 16 MB of ROM as well as 16 MB of RAM. Compaq had the foresight to put all of these essential applications in ROM, thus preserving 16 MB of RAM for user applications, contacts, calendar items, and task lists, etc. Also, with all of these applications in ROM there is no chance of any of them ever becoming corrupted and having to be reinstalled, etc. Furthermore, I don't know about you, but 16 MB of RAM is quite adequate for my needs. That's enough memory to hold thousands, and thousands of contacts, years, and years of appointments, and a "honey-do-list" that would reach from here to the moon and back. The only reason that I can think of to add additional memory to the Aero, is if you're into downloading lots of information, or music files off the Web. That's right, I said music files. The Compaq Aero includes a Microsoft multimedia player, which allows you to download your favorite tunes into your pocket PC and play them back through stereo headphones with near CD-like quality. Compaq even includes in the documentation package information on a web site that offers tens of thousands of audio books, etc. that you can download.

Some of the other fine features of the Compaq that have just tickled me pink are: (1) its screen is brighter and sharper than any other monochrome PDA I've ever seen, (2) at only one-half inch thick, the Aero is almost exactly the same size as the ever popular TI-55-III calculator, and it's about the same weight too, (3) the Aero sports a brushed aluminum finish like the TI which is just too cool to look at, (4) it fits nicely in a shirt pocket, and it's comfortable to carry around, (5) Compaq has included a state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery pack, which charges in only three hours, yet provides approximately 14 hours of use, (6) and, last but not least, there's no extra charge for the docking cradle -Compaq thoughtfully includes one with every unit.

The short version: it's awesome, it's extreme, it's near `bout perfect! Take my word for it, or do your own research. Either way, I believe you will come to the same conclusion. The Compaq Aero 1550 is an exceptional unit that offers unmatched value for its price.

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PDair Leather Case for HTC Desire Z/T-mobile G2 - Vertical Pouch Type with Belt Clips (Black)

Protège bien le téléphone, mais mon HTC Desire Z est tombé une fois car il a glissé de la pochette. En effet la pochette n'a pas de clip pour maintenir le téléphone à l'intérieur. Il faut donc faire très attention quand votre téléphone est dans la pochette.

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Tripp Lite B116-002A 2-Port DVI Single Link Video Audio Splitter/Booster

This splitter will work for DVI-D signals. BUT BEWARE: Under no circumstances will it split or use an ANALOG DVI SIGNAL. More importantly to the average user, this means:

You CAN NOT use a DVI-VGA adapter on the output side of this box. There is no output analog signal to adapt. EVEN if you use a DVI-I (Digital & Analog) Cable as your input, the box strips out the analog and only passes the digital signal.

I found this out the hard way and had to return it. It looked like a great box that would reliably do what it does, but if you need to send a signal to something analog, (like a projector with a VGA port) This CAN'T do it.

TrippLite Tech Support basically confirms all I've written.

In summary, if you want to split a DIGITAL DVI (DVI-D) signal, great box and a good price. If you need to output to an analog port, DO NOT BUY.

We've had a tough splitting problem for months in a setup we're building. Our setup has two dual display systems (4 monitors in all) one pair of standard 24" Viewsonic LCDs and another pair of proprietary OLED microdisplays that are supposed to mirror the 24" LCD screens. Initially, we used cheap, unpowered splitters that introduced lots of noise. Next, we tried powered splitters such as the Gefen 142DL. This improved our noise somewhat but still introduced artifacts (even after tuning).

Enter the Tripp-Lite. It worked flawlessly in our setup giving us a strong signal to all four monitors that we couldn't perturb not matter how hard we tried. It doesn't surprise me that they claim you can cascade three of these units. I haven't seen any splitter that puts out this clean and powerful of a signal. The only downside to this splitter is that it doesn't include EDID. Therefore, we had to insert an EDID unit between the computer and this splitter. Even with that unit and another 6ft DVI cable, there still isn't any noise on either display after splitting.

Pros: As a splitter, this device is excellent for digital signals (not analog)

It's less than half the cost of other powered splitters that, in our experience, didn't work as well.

Cons: No EDID

No Analog signal

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It does what it says up to a point. The unit cannot handle 1080p60 effectively and artifacts the screen. Everything will exhibit a subtle jitter and the screen will be unclear and lose some of its color definition. At 720p60 (59.94hz) the signal splitting works with no issue.

As the previous reviewer noted, there is (obviously) no analog support. This will not work with a VGA converter and will not pass DVI-A signals; however, that's no excuse for rating it negatively.

The Tripp Lite B116-002A DVI splitter, good but not great.

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My need was to add my 46" LCD TV to my Windows desktop PC in addition to my digital flat panel monitor so I could display PC-based photos, videos, and video streaming from my PC to the TV. For videos and photos, I had the option of copying to a USB drive and plugging it into the TV, but there were several additional steps involved, and slide shows were very slow on the TV. There were also issues of file format compatibility with the TV that didn't exist on the PC.

So, I bought the Cables Unlimited DVI-D Splitter cable. Unfortunately, it only worked when the TV source was set to the DVI-to-HDMI cable coming from the splitter cable attached to the PC. When I changed the source back to TV programming or Blu-Ray--or turned off the TV--the PC monitor went dark.

Scrounging around and seeing others suggestions, I bought a powered splitter from Amazon, the Tripp Lite B116-002A 2-Port DVI Single Link Video Audio Splitter/Booster, along with StarTech.com DVIDDMM3 3-Feet DVI-D Dual Link Cable M/M to connect the PC DVI video connector to the Tripp Lite splitter's DVI input. Then I connected the monitor's and TV's cables to the splitter's two DVI outputs. At first, huge disappointment when it didn't work. Same problems as with the Cables Unlimited splitter cable.

Then, following another reviewer's advice who reviewed the splitter cable (which, by the way, worked for him)...

I changed the video driver directed to the TV that was created in Device Manager when only the TV was connected directly to the PC, to "Digital Flat Panel (1280x1024 60Hz)," the same resolution as the PC monitor, which I believe is essential (but did not work with the splitter cable), and VOILA!! TV on/off, change TV source to some other input, all combinations and permutations work perfectly. PC monitor display is intact, and changing the source on the TV to the PC display (on my set, DVI/HDMI2), gives me a perfect split image between the PC and TV.

Hope this helps to pass my success forward to the next person.

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i needed to split my DVI signal to two monitors and found this product. It did the job well, without any loss of signal quality, and has been working for a couple of months now. Highly recommend.

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Targus PA870U V2 IR Foldable Keyboard for HP COMPAQ iPaq 3100 3600 3700 3800 3900 1900 2100 2200 43

Lo compré hace como 5 años y a la fecha funciona perfectamente con mi PDA HP. No toda las funciones del teclado funcionan a la perfección con la HP y la inserción de carácteres especiales no es sencilla, pero para tomar notas rápidas en reuniones o cursos es perfecta, de hecho la utilicé para mi maestría.

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Transcend 4GB Sd Card

I am very happy with this card, in fact it works better in my Mio C310x than my old 2G from SanDisk. BTW the C310x can NOT use HC cards. This card IS a non HC 4G SD card.

SD card worked fine for a week.

Problems arise then worsens over time for one more week then it just doesn't work anymore.

Problem is not the PDA, nor software on it. Tried to use the card on a separate flash reader/writer. Tried formatting it to FAT32, create test directory, data stays on for less than one hour.

I would refrain from buying this product.

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Works like a charm. Several weeks of perfect behavior in my Treo 700P makes me a satisfied customer. Good product at a good price and it works as advertised. It was received in a timely manner from the source vendor as well. Your mileage may vary, of course but I hope it is as good as mine, which is as good as it gets.

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I was happy at first when I got this memory card but when my phone crashed the memory card was completely wiped out. I was ok with the memory card getting wiped out but when I tried re-formatting the card my phone, computer and laptop couldnt even read the card so I ended up throwing it away. I guess You really get what you pay for.

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Worked fine at first then died after 4 days and 3 or so writes/deletes

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rooCASE Executive Portfolio Leather Case & Stylus for Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet

I bought a Kindle for my wife and she saw this case and one time she fell in love with it and decided she most have it...well that was it i had no choice so i order it and i too was impressed, she uses her case as to say it's her purse lol, over all Perfect case and fast shipping. Expect nothing less but more from Amazon

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Cocoon CPS300WH Mini Portfolio Case For Games and Digital Devices - White

I was looking for a gadget case and ultimately my decision came down to this case and the Amazon Basics Gadget Case. At the time of my purchase they were both similar in price. A combination of the Grid-It in this case and the "smell problem" that some have reported with the Amazon one lead me to purchase this case. I'm very glad I did. It is top quality and very sturdy. The zipper is heavy duty. It looks nice and holds what I want it to hold. The form factor is so-so, as I would have liked to purchase something more rectangular rather than square, but that's a minor gripe. Prospective buyers should know that there's not much room once you fill up the Grid-It. However, I was able to jam in two Kindle Fires (with low profile cases); a small point and shoot camera; an extra camera batter; a Kindle Fire charging cord; a retractable mini-usb cord; a retractable micro-usb cord, a thumb drive, ear buds and a couple of extra sd cards. It was a little difficult to get the zipper shut but I did fit it all in. Everything but the Kindle Fires, the KF charger and the sd cards were in the Grid-It.

Finally, I would keep an eye on the price of these. They seem to fluctuate wildly. I was able to get mine at about 30% off the list, and it actually went down further after that (only to go all the way back up again a few days later).

Oh, one more thing: the dimensions on Amazon were not accurate. On the product page it says 9.2 x 8 x 2 inches, which makes it sound a bit more rectangular. I don't recall exactly what the real dimensions are -something like 8.5" x 8.5" x 2" -but it is a perfect square. [Update: the dimensions have been corrected on Amazon]

Update: [3/5/11] Still love the case and the price actually dropped down below $10 for the white, gray and brown versions, so I picked up a gray one at this great price. Amazon should add more pictures. I don't think customers realize that there is a Grid-It inside the case.

the good:

sturdy: you can fit your gadgets inside without worrying about them being damaged.

design: looks real nice (i got the red one).

customisable: the rubber-band mesh inside allows you to set up your stuff and organise it the way YOU want to.

can hold quite a lot of things: i have inside an iphone charger (and cable); and iPad charger (and cable); laptop power brick; AA battery charger, and couple of batteries. everything fits very nicely inside. you do, however, need to play with the arrangement inside until you get things in the right position, but that's entirely up to you, as i've said. i suggest you start by placing your bigger items first (in my case, the power brick) and then work in all the bits and bobs.

the bad:

it's a bit bulky. yeah, it needs to be big so it can hold stuff inside, but for some reason they mounted the grid-it on a fabric in the middle, and put behind it a small pouch. it's a nice idea, but pretty useless: once you fit your stuff inside, you won't be able to use the pouch for anything but small paper items like receipts. i think that they should have attached the grid it to the bottom part, and do away with the pouch.

the ugly: it didn't arrive as well packaged as i have become accustomed to when buying from amazon. usually i get things wrapped real good, but this was just in a plastic bag inside the cardboard box, and i have a dent in the upper part of the case. as i do not know whose fault this is, i did not factor it in the overall rating. if it's the sellers' / amazon's fault than i'd reduce it to 3 stars.

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This is a nice case for carrying cords, power supplies, etc. The webbing works well, and I really like that it has a fairly solid form. Everything stays in place, and the case goes in and out of my travel bag easily.

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I bought this item not to hold games but to store stuff like my iPod and chargers that I have thrown in my glove compartment in my car. It looked more economical to buy this than just the Grid It and it worked out beautifully. The case is study and I feel quite happy that my stuff are protected and organized. It is so much easier to put my hands on things. Great buy.

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I was looking for a a case to hold all my chargers and technological gizzmos in one place. Didn't even know that these existed but was happy to find them.

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PDair VX1 Black Leather Case for Archos 70 Internet Tablet (250GB)

A fantastic case. Even though this was the case for the Archos 70 250GB model it fit my 8GB model perfectly. I'm glad this one works because I like the stitching on the 250GB case much better than the 8GB case. I was skeptical ordering from this merchant but it arrived from Hong Kong after maybe 10 to 12 days. It was definitely worth the wait. The leather seems high quality with an nice felt lining. Highly recommended.

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Mini I6 2.4G Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad and IR Remote-[Black]

This keyboard fits my needs for use with an HTPC. Most of the time I use a programmable remote, but this keyboard is handy for advanced use and maintenance purposes. The range is not bad when the battery is fully charged but is does decrease a bit when the battery gets low. Basically it does what I need and that's what I wanted.

One thing to look out for: COUNTERFEITS. There are vendors who do not sell the real thing. They are shipping a "3 in 1 mini keyboard"

It looks like the Rii branded one (for the most part). It is not the same thing. It is far inferior in quality. I originally ordered one and got a fake. It couldn't handle certain key combinations and had a range of 5ft with line of site. This is not the case with the true Rii branded product. It handles all the key combos I have tried. The signal is good enough to use from the couch and through some furniture that is in the way. The USB dongle does need to go on the front of the HTPC though.

The Rii brand keyboard will come in a box with their branding and a sticker that has a scratch off strip. You will find a number under the scratch off strip that can be verified through their site (). Just type the number into the the search box next to the "looking for truth" button. The fake I originally received did not have the branding or the verification number. It was packaged in a very similar box but lacked those features. The remote should also have the Rii brand on the back side. The fakes won't.

I think this is a great product that doesn't always get the best reviews thanks to the fakes being shipped. Having said that, I did get a dud Rii keyboard that worked great if plugged in and powered by the USB port. I exchanged it and have not had any problems. Overall I'm happy with the keyboard now that I have a real one.

I bought this remote specifically for my boxee box. The remote which came with the boxee box was always kinda broken, the buttons stuck, and it only got worse with time. I couldn't RMA only the remote, you had to send the whole boxee box setup back, so I didn't because I was using the boxee most everyday and had given away my old WDTV Live and didn't want to go through all that hassle. I also didn't replace the boxee remote because paying $50 for that little thing with a cool-in-concept but weak-in-execution keyboard on the back is IMHO craaaaazy. That thing probably cost a couple bucks to make and $20 at retail should be plenty large of a profit margin for it, at the most.

So when I saw the Rii i6, I was stoked. It looked like it could serve as basically a superior version of the boxee remote, with a keyboard on one side that didn't totally suck, and was backlit, and a remote like dpad on the other side with a few programmable buttons. I would use the dpad remote side the vast majority of the time for controlling my boxee and when once in a while if I needed a keyboard for searching I could flip it over.

The Rii i6 feels pretty good in my hand, when I first got it I was more then satisfied taking it out for the first time, it's light and not enormous; I have pretty big hands though and tend to prefer physical interfaces that are rather full figured. The main knock I have on its looks is the prominently displayed and plenty ugly white FCC / Electrical / Made in China markings it has on the remote side of this remote. Did I mention these markings are ugly? They are. Though I suppose you can see this clearly from the product images before purchasing so you know what you're getting.

After I first took the remote out of it's box I plugged the tiny usb receiver into my boxee box and gave it a whirl. Unfortunately what I soon realized is out of the box it wasn't going to work the way I wanted it to. This is because the remote side of the remote is infrared only (as far as I can tell, the Rii website is atrocious and the documentation is sparse, if someone would like to correct me in a subsequent user review me please do). The boxee box doesn't have a built in infrared sensor, its remote is RF only. The keyboard and trackpad side of the Rii worked fine, but as is the remote side of the remote was useless for controlling the boxee box. Lame.

For a while then I used the keyboard side of the remote to control my boxee. The main downside of this is you have to use two hands. The buttons used to mimic the original boxee remote are the escape key on the upper left side of the remote, and the enter key on the right side of the remote, and the directional keys under the trackpad. Not very intuitive but, you can get used to it. My one real complaint about the keyboard side of the remote is how the backlight works. It doesn't automatically turn the backlight on when you use the remote, you have to manually press the 'turn on light' button. Maybe this is configurable somewhere, perhaps if you're using it with windows (somehow I doubt it). But that's how it's currently working for me. Also when the RF side of the remote is sleeping it doesn't seem to wake up easily with a regular button press, it's as if you have to deliberately press and hold a button for it to wake out of sleep mode.

Undeterred in my efforts to make Rii my ideal remote I bought an infrared remote w/ sensor for my boxee box: the Rosewill RRC-126 Media Center Infrared Remote Control. I figured I would use just the usb infrared sensor and throw the actual Rosewill remote in a drawer. When I got the Rosewill and plugged in its usb infrared sensor into the boxee it worked right away, the Rosewill remote seemed to control boxee fine, though I didn't use it much past a few seconds of testing. As a quick aside the Rosewill infrared sensor seems like it's not that great in terms of sensitivity and receiving angels other than pointing straight at it, and it's usb cord is short, too short in my case.

I programmed the Rii i6 with the infrared signals from the Rosewill remote, it's pretty easy and I was able to figure out without the manual. It has two modes you can activate with the bottom two mode buttons, which allows the dpad and other keys to be configured in two different ways. This is pretty cool. After programming the Rii it seemed to work just fine and I threw the Rosewill into a drawer in addition to my Receiver remote which I no longer needed thanks to mode 2 (sweet). And away I went.

Did I say the it seemed to work just fine? It didn't. There's a delay. A big one. I suspect this is a combination of delays coming together to make a huge delay when using this remote in this fashion. The Rii seems to have a serious delay for it's infrared side (the RF side seems snappy), then perhaps the Rosewill infrared usb sensor into the boxee has a small delay, and then the boxee box itself isn't exactly lightening fast. Bottom line is, for me anyway, the Rii in this configuration is unusable. The delay is serious and constant, and the combination of the Rii remote and the Rosewill infrared sensor, hard to say which deserves more of the blame then the other, makes line of sight a regular concern. If you're not pointing the remote almost directly at the sensor there's even more delays / unregistered button presses.

When I use just the Rosewill remote with it's infrared sensor the delay is reduced to the point that it's tolerable, it doesn't bother me and seems usable. This being the case I lay most of the blame on the Rii's infrared capabilities. It's too slow to offer a compelling experience. When using the infrared side of the Rii to control my receiver it seems a little better in the delay department, but it's hard to tell really because navigating a menu or interface such as boxee's UI is much more of an interactive experience than simply turning the volume up or down or changing inputs.

Being that the remote side of the Rii is the main differentiation between Rii's other models my issues seem relevant enough to warrant a 3 star rating. If you didn't want to make good use of the dpad and programmable buttons just buy one of the cheaper Riis that have only a keyboard and trackpad. It's possible when programmed for a bluray player or other device the delay won't be as much of an issue for you. For me this wasn't the case.

For now since my original boxee remote is still broken I've been using the Rii's keyboard side two handed for controlling my boxee. Which is too bad, since that's not what I bought this remote to do.

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'almost' met my needs perfectly... only three gripes (two minor)

Pro's: Works! Backlighting works great, keyboard totally usable (and I have pretty big hands) and the trackpad is surprisingly accurate/useful. Have only tested remote control but it programmed properly and worked for my TV.

Gripes: no real 'con's'... as it all works as advertised and meets my needs... three gripes thought:

1)Build quality. Very light/plasticy feel to it.. would like a bit more 'heft' and on/off switch seems fragile

2) RF dongle... I thought (incorrectly, relooking at the listing) that the 'dongle' would store onboard the keyboard (ie. a slot to hold the dongle when not being used in a computer). This is not the case... so you have a very small part that you need to keep track of if you don't leave it plugged into your PC (probably not an issue for HTPC).

3) The remote control is only 'direct' programmable... in other words, there are no 'codes' that you can type to set a remote to a system... you need to point an existing remote at this one, push a button, and capture the signal. Good if you already have a remote for the system but bad if you want to support something that you do not currently have a remote for.

Bottom line: for the price this is a very usable/cool device... would be 'perfect' if the three gripes above were solved.

Update: I obtained the remote for my Optoma projector (Pk301) and the 'remote' portion of the keyboard programmed without a hitch... very cool. With my laptop plugged into my projector, I can sit back and control/use both with ease... gotta love browsing on a 5' screen... awesome.

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On paper, this product filled all my needs for my HTPC. It was wireless, and had IR programming so I could control my TV and receiver. It does work as expected, but leaves a little to be desired in quality. The keys, mouse pad, and slider power switch on this device are not nearly as good as the Rii without IR. It works, it is just a little flaky sometimes. Other than that, I love the device, eliminated all sorts of remotes!

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The remote worked great for about 11 months, then it just stopped connecting to its receiver. Email inquiries to the manufactured are returned as undeliverable, and many other parts of their site are broken as well. Buyer beware.

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DreSuit Yuppie Series Rotating Case for iPad Mini, Magnetic Wake/Sleep Cover,Full 360 degrees rotat

One of the first things I noticed about the dreSuit case was the innovative design. Mind you, I've owned and reviewed enough cases to instantly spot the uniqueness of this one. First of all one must be aware of what PU, or bicast leather, is all about. It's a synthetic leather that is coated with a layer of polyurethane and then embossed. The result is a lovely dark gray basket-like weave with meticulous stitching along the design edges and small back flap. It's also quite easy to wipe clean and will maintain the good-as-new look provided you take reasonable care of it. This dreSuit case provides not only comfort in the hand, but also has an elegant, built-in design that adds a touch of class. The distinctive dreSuit logo is nicely blindstamped in the corner.

DreSuit is spot on with their cut-out for the iSight camera as are, by default, the wider lengthy cutouts for the lighting connector, the built-in stereo speakers, lighting port connector, headphone minijack, volume controls, mute switch, etc. The dreSuit affords the sleep/wake function many people love. The interior of this folio is lined with a complimentary light gray microfiber. The insert for the mini iPad is of a hard plastic that offers up a tight, safe fit. The depth of the iPad mini is approximately .28 inch (7.2 mm) and nestles quite nicely in this case. A lengthwise 1/2" wide band slips easily over the case with a quick flip and holds the case tightly shut. If you so desire, when not in use it can be tucked behind a small flap to prevent it from catching on anything.

This dreSuit case is definitely sturdy and it's rigid construction should hold up in the event of an accidental drop. Mind you, there are those freak accidents that do happen, especially of the crush nature, that can and do happen. I'd say this one is as good as it gets in the protection department. Now that I've covered the basics, what about that unique factor that I mentioned? Amazingly the insert rotates 360 degrees. I didn't have to remove the iPad mini or futz with anything. It simply twirls around so I could work in both the portrait or landscape modes in any one of its six positions. How good can it get? When you use this case, you're going to be adding just the right amount of class that your iPad mini deserves. It's excellent and highly recommended.

This case courtesy of the distributor with no expectation of a positive review.

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)Dresuit has done it again with a pair of really nice iPad mini-cases. They come in either a charcoal grey or a vivid red. But the best part is the little needed features. The case is PU leather with microfiber inside and out. It's easy to clean. Unlike many mini iPad cases, this one comes with an elastic strap that you can wrap around your mini to secure it form opening accidentally. All the ports are accessible.

Plus, the case is designed so that you can rotate the angled viewing positions 360 degrees, allowing for six solid angled viewing positions. The stitching is super heavy-duty and the entire case is solidly built. It is lightweight and strong enough for drops and bumps. Check out other mini iPad cases, including Apple's to compare the quality and price of Dresuit's latest.

Case generously supplied by Dresuit/Sunvalleytek for an honest review.

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DreSuit has made an inexpensive but modern and thin case that perfectly fits the iPad Mini. It has a hard protective back shell with edges that firmly grip the Mini and still allow access to all ports. This product was generously provided by SunValleyTech for review in the color red and it is a beautiful thing.

This rich color of red stands out in a bold but pleasant way among my multitude of black and grey tech items.

I like the way this lightweight case feels in my hands and the way the swivel cutout in the back shell shows off the Apple symbol on the Mini. The swivel allows for 6 viewing angles in portrait or landscape mode!

I also like the way the interior is made from a layer of microfabric that gently protects the display. Open the cover, and your iPad Mini automatically wakes up ready to work, close the cover and it will shut down to sleep, softly cushioned. Secure it with the elastic binding strap and it won't accidentally open in your purse or backpack.

Overall, this very stylish case seems more expensive than it actually is and is thinner than other PU (non-leather cases) I have owned. The design is top-notch.

Beautiful thing.....indeed.

Read Best Reviews of DreSuit Yuppie Series Rotating Case for iPad Mini, Magnetic Wake/Sleep Cover,Full 360 degrees rotat Here

Overall about 3 to 3.5 stars...I rounded down. Reason being that once you've installed your Mini into the case you're facing about double the width and this, for me, kills the point of having a small tablet. The Mini becomes just too bulky with the case. I pretty much knew this when buying the case, but got it for a killer deal so figured I'd get it just to check it out and see if I could live with it.

I've already moved on, got a nice and slimmer RooCase folio case for my Mini. The folio style case is at least 25% slimmer but doesn't do portrait in propped up mode.

If you really want portrait in propped up mode, this is a perfect case for you.

The exterior of the case screams premium and the Mini felt snug inside the case and plastic clip portion.

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should have been a nice case for my ipad but for some reason one of the corner doesn't sit and doesn't snap on my ipad. my ipad is loose and worried that it might slip out of the case. i just hope that this is an isolated case.

UPDATE: as it turned out, mine was an isolated case as when I contacted them regarding my issue they express mailed me a replacement product that fits well. Now that is what we call Outstanding Service. Jacie (customer service) was so nice and s accommodating and so helpful. I am changing my review to 5 stars *****.

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