Dear Sony Ericsson,
Though we've known each other for some time, this is the first time that I've written. For the most part, our relationship has been a good one. Back when AT&T was still AT&T Wireless, the Sony Ericsson T68i was one of the very first phones I ever owned (it's so old that I can't even find the CNET review). At the time, I was the envy of my friends since I had a nifty new feature called Bluetooth. What's more, I was the very first person that I knew to have multimedia messaging.
Sony Ericsson T68
(Credit: Sony Ericsson)Though I had to ditch the T68i by the time that I arrived at CNET almost exactly six years ago (happy anniversary to me!), I continued to use your phones periodically as my personal device. And in my official role at CNET, I've reviewed no fewer than 33 of your handsets. On the whole I've enjoyed what I've seen. You've given us brilliant displays, your Walkman and Cyber-shot phones can offer fantastic multimedia quality, and you regularly introduce conversation piece models like the Xperia X1.
But after reviewing T-Mobile's recent Sony Ericsson Equinox, I no longer can overlook one of my frequent complaints. And no, I'm not referring to your unfortunate tendency to over-design your keyboards and controls at the expense of usability. Instead, I'm talking about Sony's proprietary ports and memory cards.
Now I know that you've pledged to adopt the Micro-USB charger standard, but the rest of the cell phone world is rapidly leaving you behind. Even Samsung, a company that put a different charger port on almost every phone, has largely moved in that direction already. In comparison, you're beginning to look dated and frankly, a little stubborn. So please, drop that pesky proprietary port without further delay.
On the upside, I was pleased to hear last summer that you'll be dropping the Memory Stick Micro format in favor of microSD cards. With the exception of the X1, you've stuck firmly to the costly Memory Stick Micro cards until just recently (the Equinox requires them). I'm pleased, however, that newer models like the Yari, the Satio, the Aino, the Jalou, and the Xperia X10 all use microSD. Not only will that save your customers money, but also they'll be able to transfer data onto their phones from other devices.
The W995's lovely 3.5mm headset jack.
(Credit: Kent German/CNET)Lastly, I have to ask that you stop using your proprietary headset connection and adopt a standard 3.5mm jack. I know you're capable of doing this, but I need to see more effort. One of the best features on the W995 was its 3.5mm jack. I was very pleased that I could use my own headset while listening to tunes without having to fumble with the awkward adapter. Even better, I could use more than one peripheral at a time.
You already offer great phones, but these changes will make them even better. Plus, you'll be showing your customers that you want to offer them the most choice possible. That's a small price to pay for a lot of user goodwill.
Regards,
Kent German
P.S. I'd also like to see more of your phones come to U.S. carriers--I fear that we'll never see the Google Android-powered X10--but I'll save that for another column.
(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)
In the beginning, MP3 players relied heavily on memory-card expansion slots, because built-in memory was painfully scarce. My, how the times have changed. Nowadays, internal flash chips offer up to 64GB of storage, and memory-card expansion slots--which almost exclusively take some form of SD media--are merely offered as an extra feature.
Luckily, there's a decent array of MP3 players currently on the market offering this extra, so if you're keen on the option of adding more space on a whim--or you just want to use memory cards a la MiniDiscs, swapping them in at intervals--you have plenty of worthy choices.
Japanese mobile carrier KDDI is showcasing a neat way for providing ordinary cell phones with Wi-Fi.
The trick is to integrate Wi-Fi technology on MicroSD cards, used for storage in most modern mobile phones.
At Wireless Japan 2009, now under way in Tokyo, KDDI is exhibiting two different cards manufactured by Mitsumi Electric and Renesas Technology, Japanese Web site Techon reports.
Both have a wireless LAN IC compliant with IEEE802.11b/g, a transceiving antenna, and passive components. There's no information on release date, compatibility, or battery consumption, which could be an issue, but if the product comes to market it could prove handy.
As opposed to smartphones, traditional cell phones often lack Wi-Fi for a fast Internet connection.
(Credit:
PhotoFast)
Admittedly, CompactFlash cards are no longer as popular as they were when digital photography first started. These days, most digicams use SD/SDHC media, while mobile phones mainly accept the physically smaller microSD format for storing data.
This is why I'm puzzled as to the reason PhotoFast has conceived the CR-7200, a CompactFlash card adapter capable of holding four microSD cards and combining their storage space. Given that the maximum a microSD card can now hold is 16GB, the CR-7200's capacity would be capped at 64GB.
Although manufacturers such as Pretec and Transcend have announced 64GB CompactFlash cards, they have yet to retail them. Hence, the PhotoFast adapter may be the only higher-capacity alternative for now. But these days, only higher-end dSLRs accept such flash media format so there are only limited uses for the CR-7200.
Though the PhotoFast adapter sports an "extremely high speed" label, it's not immediately clear how fast the card can read and write data. Often with flash memory, there's a tradeoff between high capacity and high speed.
According to Gizmodo, this adapter will be available for $30 in July.
(Source: Crave Asia)
For anybody who complains that Sony's Memory Stick Duo memory cards are too expensive compared with other forms of flash memory, DealExtreme has a solution. It's the StarJade SDHC microSD to Memory Stick MS Pro Duo Adapter Sleeve, which retails for a mere $2.85, including free shipping. Unfortunately, the only problem is that it's illegal (see "update" note at the bottom of the post).
A quick comparison on Amazon for prices of microSD and Memory Stick Duo reveals that an 8GB microSDHC card costs around $20 (with shipping), while an 8GB Memory Stick Duo card comes in around $34 with shipping. (Yes, the adapter supports higher-capacity SDHC microSD cards). Step up to a 16GB card and the delta is about $25, with entry-level 16GB microSDHC cards retailing for around $50.
The description on the product page says the adapter works with a wide variety of portable electronics devices, including cameras and audio players. We can't vouch for the reliability of the adapter but we did order a couple to test out, which we now realize may have been a no-no.
Note: This adapter won't work with the new PSP Go, which uses Sony's Memory Stick Micro (M2).
Update: Mike McCarthy of SanDisk writes: "The microSD-Memory Stick adapter is illegal, unlicensed and infringes on Sony Corp patents. Maybe it's cool to promote this stuff as a 20-year-old blogger, but I thought CNET would have higher standards." As a result of Mike's comment, we have summoned some maturity and edited the post.
The Sansa SlotRadio, SanDisk's experiment in preloaded portable audio players, is now officially available through its dedicated online storefront. As we reported during the product's announcement in January, the portable, clip-on music player sells for $99, and includes an FM radio, a 1.5-inch screen, and a basic digital audio player that pulls content from removable microSD memory cards. The included memory card is loaded with 1,000 songs that have been cherry-picked from top Billboard recording artists and grouped into selectable genres such as R&B/hip-hop, rock, contemporary, country, alternative, workout, and chillout.
The Sansa SlotRadio is a $99 portable audio player that comes preloaded with 1,000 handpicked songs.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)Unlike previous portable audio efforts from SanDisk, the SlotRadio player isn't aimed at the iPod crowd. The allure of SlotRadio is it can play popular music right out of the box, with no computer required (just like a radio). In fact, a computer-shunning power outlet adapter is included as an accessory.
The SlotRadio is SanDisk's bet on a seemingly untapped market of people who want the convenience and portability of digital audio, without the fuss of downloading and transferring music using a computer. As with any music service, SanDisk faces a separate hurdle when it comes to selecting the 1,000 songs that are included with the player. To the company's credit, SanDisk has been working closely with Billboard to pull in hit songs from artists such as Akon, Brad Paisley, Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Maroon 5, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Soundgarden, The Killers, T-Pain, Kanye West, No Doubt, Kenny Chesney, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and U2. SanDisk is also selling additional 1,000-song Billboard music compilations based around different genres and decades, each priced at $39.99.
Of course, getting 1,000 songs for $40 (or $99, in the case of the SlotRadio player) doesn't come without some limitations. The songs included on SlotRadio microSD cards cannot be transferred to a computer, and each song is wrapped with DRM-protection that's only compatible with the SlotRadio player or the SanDisk Sansa Fuze line of MP3 players. Still, with the price coming out to 4 cents per song, it's a decent value proposition for people who just want to flip a switch and hear some commercial-free hits. Who knows? Maybe this could be just the thing to drag mom and dad into the 21st century.
This Targus wireless mouse is just one of the deals to be had for less than 10 bucks.
(Credit: Buy.com)Got a sawbuck to spare? For no more than 10 smackers, you can walk away with any of these five goodies. The only challenge is deciding which one to get.
- Amazon MP3 has U2's just-released new album, "No Line on the Horizon," for $3.99. iTunes price: $9.99. (If you've never checked out Amazon's MP3 store, you owe it to yourself.)
- Buy.com has a Targus Stow-N-Go Wireless Optical Mouse for $9.99 shipped. Perfect for notebooks, the mouse features a USB receiver that tucks away underneath when not in use.
- iTunes has the unabridged audiobook version of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" for just $4.95 (iTunes link).
- Meritline has a two-pack of 6-foot HDMI cables for $6.99 shipped. Enough said.
- Newegg has a SanDisk 4GB microSDHC card for $8.49 shipped--great if you want to pack your phone with music, add extra storage for photos and videos, and more.
Good stuff, no? If you know of any other great deals for less than $10, by all means, share them in the Comments! Or give me a heads-up at thecheapskate@gmail.com.
(Credit:
Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)
If you're a fan of Tom Cruise and you're sad you didn't snag a glimpse of him at the Oscars Sunday, Samsung Mobile has a consolation for you.
The company has teamed with Paramount Digital Entertainment to offer a 2GB microSD card preloaded with all three installations of the action flick "Mission Impossible" for Alltel Wireless customers who buy the Samsung Delve.
While bundling content with multimedia product is not new, this is the first time Samsung Mobile and Paramount are offering it for free.
The promotion is available from February 20 through April 16 at participating Alltel Wireless retail stores and authorized dealers. If you've already bought the Delve, you can send in a mail-in redemption card to receive the microSD within four to six weeks.
It's worth noting though, as the trilogy likely occupies most if not all of the 2 gigabytes, that you will need to watch the movies and delete them fast if you want to store any other content, such as music or photos taken by the phone, on the same microSD card.
Falling somewhere between the Discman and most standard MP3 players is SanDisk's $20 Sansa slotMusic Player, an extremely basic device that works much like the original Walkman. The music media is strictly removable, songs play in album order, the battery is alkaline, and no computer is required to use it--but the player is much smaller and music playback requires no moving parts.
This week, Donald and Jasmine make a valiant-yet-stumbling attempt to explain LaLa's new music service.
Also on tap: SanDisk's cheap new music player made especially for slotMusic albums, super sweet earphones from Klipsch, and a grab bag of MP3 players with ultralong-lasting batteries.
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