The iRiver PMP-100 series: A product with the typical strengths and weaknesses of Korean technology

With portable video increasing in popularity, more people are looking at portable video players, sometimes called PVPs. They may also be referred to as a portable media players or PMP's. This review is about the iRiver PMP-100 series, which includes the PMP-100, PMP-120 and the PMP-140.

Like a lot of hardware from Korean companies, this product has great hardware but terrible user navigation, atrocious support and extremely poor software. The PMP-120, which is the unit I reviewed, definitely earns two big thumbs down for a number of reasons. First off, the unit exhibits many limitations that simply shouldn't be present in a portable video player. For example, you can't use the fast-forward function in any movie longer than about 650 megabytes, which is maybe a 35- or 40-minute video. If you try to fast-forward any video longer than that, the unit just ignores you.

Speaking of buttons, the PM-100 has a maddening button interface that serves more as a brainteaser than actual video navigation. You have to randomly press buttons until you find your way out of the video in order to get into a different video that you might want to watch. I'm not sure what kind of psychotropic drugs the creator of the PMP was on when they decided to put these buttons in this particular arrangement, but I hope that person has since gone through a serious detox program.

The software that comes with the PMP-100 series from iRiver is about the worst video conversion software I've ever seen. It's extremely slow and renames all your files with a pre-pended word "converted" so that your original file names aren't conserved. Also, the video conversion software has a unique feature I haven't seen anywhere else: The longer the video plays, the more the audio and video get out of sync. So, if you picked up a copy of, say, "Oceans 12" and converted it to play on your iRiver device, you might see Brad Pitt's mouth moving and then, four or five seconds later, you'll hear his voice.

The iRiver PMP series also boasts that it is firmware upgradeable. This is loudly proclaimed in the manual and in various marketing materials. However, nearly two years after its original release in the United States, guess what? There is absolutely no firmware available for the PMP series. The company has done nothing to improve the product in 24 months. In fact, the best firmware is developed by open-source developers who don't even work for the company, like the Rock Box project that you can see at RockBox.org. Chances are, the Rock Box firmware will be far better than anything iRiver will develop.

Is there anything good about the iRiver PM-100 series? Yes, the battery life is much longer than that of the current iPods that play video, for example. You can get several hours of video out of these units, which gives you more opportunities to watch Brad Pitt's mouth move. The screen has excellent display qualities, but as I've said before, Korean companies are very good at hardware while falling flat when it comes to software navigation drivers. The PMP-120 or 100 series also has a blazing fast USB 2.0 interface, so the videos are copied to the unit's internal hard drive very quickly. This speed is indeed quite impressive, and the storage capacity on the unit is also tremendous. The units come with 40 Gigabytes of storage on an internal hard drive, which gives you plenty of space for several movies so that you can take them with you and watch them on the go.

Getting back to some of the downsides of the unit, it doesn't sync with Windows Media Player, and it doesn't play any videos unless they go through this lousy converter that ships with the unit. It seems like the unit doesn't really have a broad compatibility with anything else. It's pretty much a stand-alone, proprietary video player, and you have to suffer through the iRiver software to get videos onto the device. The iRiver support team responds to emails after approximately three weeks, with very short sentences offering no real help. Almost two years after the unit's introduction, the frequently asked questions page is no longer than a single page.

The bottom line on this unit is that it confirms what I've been saying about technology from Korea. Avoid it at all costs. Don't go with any products made in Korea until quality control measures are significantly upgraded from that country. I've seen one device after another made in Korea -- sold in the United States -- fail the quality control tests. These products somehow manage to combine great hardware with atrocious software and user navigation.

At this time, I can't recommend a better video player because I think the market is just shaping up right now. The Sony PlayStation portable, or PSP, is in many ways a better video player, although it has its own limitations, which will be covered in another review. For now, keep your eyes open for new products. Personally, I would stick with products made in Japan, including products from Apple, Creative or other companies that have a good reputation for quality control. For the time being, I recommend that everyone avoid any products made by iRiver, other than their IFP 700, 800, and 900 series MP3 players and recorders, which are, as I've said many times before, outstanding MP3 devices.

About the author:

Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,500 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a maker of super bright LED light bulbs that are 1000% more energy efficient than incandescent lights. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and pursues hobbies such as Pilates, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening.

Review of Sony DVDirect: A standalone DVD burner and video capture device that works flawlessly

With all the video content consumers are creating today, there is a need for a device that will burn DVDs in real time from a video feed. Ideally it would be stand-alone so it does not require a personal computer for ripping or capturing video and then burning it to DVD. Sony has come out with such a device called the Sony DVDirect Stand-Alone DVD Burner. Priced at a little over $200 retail, this device allows you to feed it a video and audio stream, which is then burned to DVD in real time.

The selectable inputs include "Super-Video," which is the super VHS; composite video, which is an RCA connector; and even the Sony i.Link, which is a 4-pin firewire connector found on video cameras. With all of these options, you can burn a DVD with this device from almost any imaginable source, including a video camera, a VHS player or another DVD player. You can use it to make DVD copies of your home videos directly from your camera or VHS, make DVDs of VHS movies that you may have purchased before DVD, or even to make temporary copies of feature movies that you own for traveling or other personal purposes. There are some anti-piracy issues that I will discuss here, but first let's take a look at whether this DVDirect product really does what it promises to do.

There are a couple of areas to consider here -- Is it easy to use? Do the buttons work? Is the menu easy to figure out? My answer is that the product is very easy to use. The user interface makes sense, the buttons work well, and the LCD status display is easy to read and gives you the information you need in order to operate the device, including whether or not it is picking up a signal.

Outstanding audio / video quality
The second concern is the quality of the DVDs that are created on the device. I was astonished at the quality of the images and sound that were achieved, even when I didn't have it on the highest quality setting.

When you're burning DVDs with this device, you can choose high-quality play, standard play or super long play. These give you either one, two or four hours of video on a DVD. Even on the two-hour setting, which is just medium quality, I found the video to be impressive. On the highest quality setting, it's outstanding. The compression used on this device, MPEG-2, works very well. It's smooth, and the audio stays synchronized with the video. This may seem like an obvious point, but on some devices, especially if you're using software, you can end up with movies in which the audio and video are completely out of sync with each other, and that's no fun. But on the Sony DVDirect device, the audio and video stay in sync exactly the way they should.

The next beneficial feature is that there's no computer required. You just plug in a video and audio source, and you're ready to go. However, there is no video monitor on this device, so unless you have a video splitter and can set up a separate screen to monitor what you're sending, you won't be able to tell where you are in the movie you're recording. This is no problem when you're transferring images from a video camera because most modern video cameras have their own LCD screens, but if you're transferring movies from VHS or DVD, then you do need to set up a video splitter if you want to monitor what you're recording.

I don't consider this to be a design flaw of any kind. The DVDirect product is not a video monitoring device; it's simply a DVD burning device that accepts an inbound video signal. It really should be up to the end user to know what he or she is sending.

Questions about piracy and copying movies
Now let's talk about the big question: Can you use it to make backup copies of movies? And the answer is that, out of the box, the DVDirect recognizes copy protection such as Macrovision and will not burn DVDs that contain this copy protection. The LCD display will tell you right up front that it is protected content, and it will refuse to record it. This is no surprise coming from Sony, which is a company that seems to be more than a bit paranoid about intellectual property, but there are plenty of ways around it for those who want to make personal backup copies of movies they've purchased.

Before I explain this, let me emphasize that I in no way intend to give readers the impression that I support pirating of movies, because I do not. I do support making backup copies of movies for personal use, especially if you're traveling, as long as you continue to own and maintain possession of the original movie. That's just my take on intellectual property based on my personal ethics, which include a respect for intellectual property. The big movie studios would disagree with this viewpoint because they think you shouldn't be able to copy a movie ever, under any circumstances. But I think that if I purchase a movie and happen to be taking a flight on which I want to watch that movie, and I don't want to risk the original movie getting lost or stolen, I should be able to make a copy and watch the copy. As long as I don't give that copy away or sell the original movie, then I believe I am staying within my code of ethics by both owning the movie and having of the flexibility to watch it when I'm traveling.

Making copies of movies that you own is your right as a consumer, as long as you don't turn into a pirate and start selling them or giving them away. The same holds true for transferring old VHS movies to DVD. You may have some good movies on VHS that you purchased years ago, and you'd like to transfer them to DVD. In my view, that's perfectly acceptable because you've already bought the movie, so you're not crossing any ethical boundaries by making a copy onto DVD.

But even though you can technically copy VHS to DVD, you may not like the results you get. The DVD will not be any higher quality than the VHS, and this is no fault of the DVDirect product, it is just an inherent weakness in the VHS medium. There's no error checking and no redundancy of the data bits since it's not digital. A VHS movie simply does not provide a very high-quality image, so don't expect miracles.

Recompression means a slight loss in image quality
There are even some quality issues when you're copying DVD to DVD, because your DVD player is decrypting the DVD video stream and converting it into an analog signal that goes out through the super VHS cable. This cable then pipes the analog signal back into the DVDirect device, where that analog signal is reconverted into a digital signal and then burned to DVD.

During this process, there is a slight loss of quality, so obviously your original DVD is going to have a higher quality playback than a copy DVD. But in my experience, the difference in quality is very subtle. Let's face it: Even original DVDs aren't perfect. It's easy to see defects in the MPEG-2 compression algorithm in scenes that have subtle gradients, such as skin tone, gray background or scenes of the sky. It's not hard to detect pixilation and compression artifacts even in original DVDs.

It's also worth noting that if you're copying a video stream from your video camera onto DVD, there is a loss of some information during the compression and conversion to MPEG-2. There is a loss of quality on any video signal that gets converted to DVD, but again that loss is very minor and these DVDs still look much better than VHS tapes.

Getting around the annoying copy protection
But back to getting around Macrovision: If you really want to make backup copies of movies you already own (see limitations below), you can buy a device that strips out the Macrovision signal or boosts the signal quality so that it removes the copy protection. The one that I recommend is made by Sima, and it's called the SCC-2. It's Sima's pro unit and runs about $150. This device not only cleans video signals and removes Macrovision copy protection, but it also greatly enhances the quality of any video source you might be using, including your own home videos or VHS tapes. It even lets you alter the color balance so you can adjust the reds, greens and blues in your video signal.

Another cool feature in this device is that it has multiple video outs so you can send one signal to the DVDirect burner and another signal to a video monitor so you can see what you're burning. The Sima SCC-2 has so far worked flawlessly in combination with the Sony DVDirect burner, and in my own tests conducted solely for the purpose of this review, I have been able to make personal backup copies of feature movies that I own with no problem and little loss of quality. Ultimately, however, I am not doing this routinely, since the backup copy does not contain any of the DVD features such as subtitles, Spanish voiceovers, scene selection and other "special features." I've found that I prefer to just use the original DVDs.

Another problem is that copied DVDs, which are placed onto DVD+R discs, scratch too easily! Original DVDs, on the other hand, are far more scratch resistant. For these reasons, my use of the Sony DVDirect is now limited solely to making backup copies of video I've filmed on my Sony MiniDV camera.

My bottom line rating on this DVDirect product is that it gets a big thumbs-up. It does what it's supposed to do. It's worked flawlessly so far, and the quality of the video it produces on DVDs is very high.

It's also worth noting that compared to capturing video on your PC and then burning it to DVD using your computer, this Sony DVDirect device is a cinch to use. It saves hours of time waiting for your computer to compress DVD files. With the Sony DVDirect device, the process is simple and quick. ith all the video content consumers are creating today, there is a need for a device that will burn DVDs in real time from a video feed. Ideally it would be stand-alone so it does not require a personal computer for ripping or capturing video and then burning it to DVD. Sony has come out with such a device called the Sony DVDirect Stand-Alone DVD Burner. Priced at a little over $200 retail, this device allows you to feed it a video and audio stream, which is then burned to DVD in real time.

The selectable inputs include "Super-Video," which is the super VHS; composite video, which is an RCA connector; and even the Sony i.Link, which is a 4-pin firewire connector found on video cameras. With all of these options, you can burn a DVD with this device from almost any imaginable source, including a video camera, a VHS player or another DVD player. You can use it to make DVD copies of your home videos directly from your camera or VHS, make DVDs of VHS movies that you may have purchased before DVD, or even to make temporary copies of feature movies that you own for traveling or other personal purposes. There are some anti-piracy issues that I will discuss here, but first let's take a look at whether this DVDirect product really does what it promises to do.

There are a couple of areas to consider here -- Is it easy to use? Do the buttons work? Is the menu easy to figure out? My answer is that the product is very easy to use. The user interface makes sense, the buttons work well, and the LCD status display is easy to read and gives you the information you need in order to operate the device, including whether or not it is picking up a signal.

Outstanding audio / video quality
The second concern is the quality of the DVDs that are created on the device. I was astonished at the quality of the images and sound that were achieved, even when I didn't have it on the highest quality setting.

When you're burning DVDs with this device, you can choose high-quality play, standard play or super long play. These give you either one, two or four hours of video on a DVD. Even on the two-hour setting, which is just medium quality, I found the video to be impressive. On the highest quality setting, it's outstanding. The compression used on this device, MPEG-2, works very well. It's smooth, and the audio stays synchronized with the video. This may seem like an obvious point, but on some devices, especially if you're using software, you can end up with movies in which the audio and video are completely out of sync with each other, and that's no fun. But on the Sony DVDirect device, the audio and video stay in sync exactly the way they should.

The next beneficial feature is that there's no computer required. You just plug in a video and audio source, and you're ready to go. However, there is no video monitor on this device, so unless you have a video splitter and can set up a separate screen to monitor what you're sending, you won't be able to tell where you are in the movie you're recording. This is no problem when you're transferring images from a video camera because most modern video cameras have their own LCD screens, but if you're transferring movies from VHS or DVD, then you do need to set up a video splitter if you want to monitor what you're recording.

I don't consider this to be a design flaw of any kind. The DVDirect product is not a video monitoring device; it's simply a DVD burning device that accepts an inbound video signal. It really should be up to the end user to know what he or she is sending.

Questions about piracy and copying movies
Now let's talk about the big question: Can you use it to make backup copies of movies? And the answer is that, out of the box, the DVDirect recognizes copy protection such as Macrovision and will not burn DVDs that contain this copy protection. The LCD display will tell you right up front that it is protected content, and it will refuse to record it. This is no surprise coming from Sony, which is a company that seems to be more than a bit paranoid about intellectual property, but there are plenty of ways around it for those who want to make personal backup copies of movies they've purchased.

Before I explain this, let me emphasize that I in no way intend to give readers the impression that I support pirating of movies, because I do not. I do support making backup copies of movies for personal use, especially if you're traveling, as long as you continue to own and maintain possession of the original movie. That's just my take on intellectual property based on my personal ethics, which include a respect for intellectual property. The big movie studios would disagree with this viewpoint because they think you shouldn't be able to copy a movie ever, under any circumstances. But I think that if I purchase a movie and happen to be taking a flight on which I want to watch that movie, and I don't want to risk the original movie getting lost or stolen, I should be able to make a copy and watch the copy. As long as I don't give that copy away or sell the original movie, then I believe I am staying within my code of ethics by both owning the movie and having of the flexibility to watch it when I'm traveling.

Making copies of movies that you own is your right as a consumer, as long as you don't turn into a pirate and start selling them or giving them away. The same holds true for transferring old VHS movies to DVD. You may have some good movies on VHS that you purchased years ago, and you'd like to transfer them to DVD. In my view, that's perfectly acceptable because you've already bought the movie, so you're not crossing any ethical boundaries by making a copy onto DVD.

But even though you can technically copy VHS to DVD, you may not like the results you get. The DVD will not be any higher quality than the VHS, and this is no fault of the DVDirect product, it is just an inherent weakness in the VHS medium. There's no error checking and no redundancy of the data bits since it's not digital. A VHS movie simply does not provide a very high-quality image, so don't expect miracles.

Recompression means a slight loss in image quality
There are even some quality issues when you're copying DVD to DVD, because your DVD player is decrypting the DVD video stream and converting it into an analog signal that goes out through the super VHS cable. This cable then pipes the analog signal back into the DVDirect device, where that analog signal is reconverted into a digital signal and then burned to DVD.

During this process, there is a slight loss of quality, so obviously your original DVD is going to have a higher quality playback than a copy DVD. But in my experience, the difference in quality is very subtle. Let's face it: Even original DVDs aren't perfect. It's easy to see defects in the MPEG-2 compression algorithm in scenes that have subtle gradients, such as skin tone, gray background or scenes of the sky. It's not hard to detect pixilation and compression artifacts even in original DVDs.

It's also worth noting that if you're copying a video stream from your video camera onto DVD, there is a loss of some information during the compression and conversion to MPEG-2. There is a loss of quality on any video signal that gets converted to DVD, but again that loss is very minor and these DVDs still look much better than VHS tapes.

Getting around the annoying copy protection
But back to getting around Macrovision: If you really want to make backup copies of movies you already own (see limitations below), you can buy a device that strips out the Macrovision signal or boosts the signal quality so that it removes the copy protection. The one that I recommend is made by Sima, and it's called the SCC-2. It's Sima's pro unit and runs about $150. This device not only cleans video signals and removes Macrovision copy protection, but it also greatly enhances the quality of any video source you might be using, including your own home videos or VHS tapes. It even lets you alter the color balance so you can adjust the reds, greens and blues in your video signal.

Another cool feature in this device is that it has multiple video outs so you can send one signal to the DVDirect burner and another signal to a video monitor so you can see what you're burning. The Sima SCC-2 has so far worked flawlessly in combination with the Sony DVDirect burner, and in my own tests conducted solely for the purpose of this review, I have been able to make personal backup copies of feature movies that I own with no problem and little loss of quality. Ultimately, however, I am not doing this routinely, since the backup copy does not contain any of the DVD features such as subtitles, Spanish voiceovers, scene selection and other "special features." I've found that I prefer to just use the original DVDs.

Another problem is that copied DVDs, which are placed onto DVD+R discs, scratch too easily! Original DVDs, on the other hand, are far more scratch resistant. For these reasons, my use of the Sony DVDirect is now limited solely to making backup copies of video I've filmed on my Sony MiniDV camera.

My bottom line rating on this DVDirect product is that it gets a big thumbs-up. It does what it's supposed to do. It's worked flawlessly so far, and the quality of the video it produces on DVDs is very high.

It's also worth noting that compared to capturing video on your PC and then burning it to DVD using your computer, this Sony DVDirect device is a cinch to use. It saves hours of time waiting for your computer to compress DVD files. With the Sony DVDirect device, the process is simple and quick.


About the author:

Mike Adams is a natural health author and technology pioneer with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored more than 1,500 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a maker of energy efficient LED lights that greatly reduce CO2 emissions. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NewsTarget subscription database. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, Pilates and organic gardening. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org

Consumer Alert: Prestige Camera generates customer complaints from questionable business practices

(NewsTarget) Complaints against Prestige Camera are cropping up all over the internet at sites such as the Better Business Bureau, Digital Photography Review, and RipOff.com. Customers allege shady practices such as trying to up-sell substandard warranties, chargers and camera cases for more than their standard market price. A UV filter, for example, was offered to one customer for $29 when it is available at BHPhotoVideo.com for just $8.95. The company has also allegedly removed included parts from cameras and tried to sell them to customers. Consumer advocate Mike Adams placed an order with Prestige Camera, and said that when he tried to cancel the order, the staff hung up on him.

According to one review by Matt Knowles, a Prestige Camera customer reporting at Aesthetic Design and Photography, the company has a host of techniques they use to squeeze money out of consumers. Knowles himself came across Prestige Camera while looking for a Pentax Optio W10 digital camera. He ordered the model from a seemingly unattached site called DigitalSaver.com, and soon received an email asking him to call them and verify his address.

When Knowles called the number, he quickly realized that it was just a technique for the company to up-sell when the man on the other end of the line offered him an extra battery. The man claimed it was a Pentex brand battery with twice the life of the battery that came standard with the camera, at a seemingly bargain price.

The camera arrived with a non-Pentex battery that was rated with less life than the battery included with his camera, and cost more than three times for what it should have retailed. Knowles contacted Prestige Camera and discovered he could only return the battery for a fee that totaled slightly less than what he had paid for the battery in the first place.

For all the complaints against Prestige Camera, their ratings at consumer sites such as ePinions, Shopper.com and DigitalSaver.com are stellar. Their entry at Reseller Ratings, however, suggests that the company is padding their reputation through false positive reviews. A note on the site says that reviews for Prestige Camera have been disabled because more than 50 false positive reviews from the company had been detected and repeatedly submitted.

Knowles noted that DigitalSaver.com gave the company a five star rating, but further research revealed no way to actually participate in the rating system, nor any explanation as to how they were compiled. Additionally, all the listed businesses were owned by the same company, suggesting the web site is not an independent reseller.

Adams and Knowles agree that it pays to be skeptical of a company's ratings and search the internet for real-world experiences with a company before purchasing consumer electronics. If you feel you have been the victim of fraudulent practices of Prestige Camera or any other business, contact the FTC and the Better Business Bureau to register a complaint.

Be aware that Prestige Camera may also does business under the following names:
A&M Photo World
Broadway Photo
Cameratopia
Digital Liquidators LLC
Ghu, LLC
Preferred Photo
Regal Camera
Tronicity

http://www.newstarget.com/020780.html

Small electronic devices could be powered by wireless resonant electromagnetic energy, physicists say

(NewsTarget) A group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have outlined a system that could power devices such as laptop computers and MP3 players from a remote location, without wires.

Renowned physicist and engineer Nikola Tesla theorized a similar device in the 19th century, even going so far as to build a 95-foot antenna known as Wardenclyffe Tower in New York, but he ran out of money before it could be used.

A working model of the MIT system has yet to be built, but the researchers said that it should work if their computer models and mathematical calculations are correct.

"There are so many autonomous devices such as cell phones and laptops that have emerged in the last few years," said researcher and MIT assistant professor Marin Soljacic. "We started thinking, 'It would be really convenient if you didn't have to recharge these things,' and because we're physicists we asked, 'What kind of physical phenomenon can we use to do this wireless energy transfer?'"

The team decided that the best way was to incorporate "resonance," which occurs when energy of a certain frequency is sent to the object in question. Soljacic noted that two objects resonating at the same frequency "tend to couple very strongly." The phenomenon can be observed in the case of musical instruments.

"When you play a tune on one, then another instrument with the same acoustic resonance will pick up that tune, it will visibly vibrate," he said.

The team is considering electromagnetic waves instead of acoustic vibrations, but such waves -- which include radio waves, infrared and X-rays -- tend to scatter in all directions, wasting energy into open space. As a solution, the team is looking at a special class of "non-radiative" objects with "long-lived resonances." These objects bind energy that is applied to them, turning it into "tails" of energy and preventing its escape.

"If you bring another resonant object with the same frequency close enough to these tails then it turns out that the energy can tunnel from one object to another," Soljacic said.

Along with Tesla, other scientists have attempted wireless energy transfer. One method tested was the use of lasers, but they require uninterrupted line of sight, making them impractical for use around the home. A U.K.-based company called Splashpower has been developing recharging pads that use electromagnetic induction -- a process currently used for electric toothbrushes -- to charge devices.

Splashpower co-founder James Hay said that wireless power was something that consumers would love to have, but noted that the transfer of power was only half the battle.

"There are a number of other aspects that need to be addressed to ensure efficient conversion of power to a form useful to input to devices," he said.

"The question in all this, though, is what are the health consequences of being in the same field as a resonant wireless energy field?" said Mike Adams, a consumer health advocate. "With mobile phone radiation already known to reduce the sperm count of otherwise healthy men, we have an obligation to look more closely at the health implications of wireless technologies before unleashing them onto consumers."

The MIT work conducted by Soljacic and his colleagues Aristeidis Karalis and John Joannopoulos will be presented at the Physics Forum of the American Institute of Physics in San Francisco on Nov. 14.

http://www.newstarget.com/021079.html

Product review: The MH-C9000 WizardOne NiMH battery charger from Powerex

Thanks to new technology, modern NiMH rechargeable batteries now have higher capacity and last longer than alkaline batteries. That's why smart consumers all over the world are turning to NiMH rechargeable batteries in all the common sizes: AA, AAA, D, C and 9V. Each one replaces 1,000 throwaway alkaline batteries, yet can be recharged for the cost of a little electricity (mere pennies) instead of spending $1 - $2 for each disposable alkaline battery.

Getting the most out of your NiMH rechargeable batteries, however, requires having a good battery charger. Today's best chargers do much more than simply recharge the batteries; they can also test the battery capacity, "refresh" batteries to bring their performance up, and break in new batteries to maximize their capacity right from the start.

I searched the entire battery industry to find a NiMH battery charger for AA and AAA batteries that I could openly recommend. It took a year of searching, and almost everything I found out there was junk. Some battery chargers actually HARM your batteries. The "quick charge" chargers are the worst. Some of them burn up your batteries with too much current, permanently reducing their life. I've seen quick chargers destroy NiMH batteries in just a few months.

The truth is that quick charging batteries destroys them and reduces their capacity. The best way to charge a battery is with slow current -- the slower, the better. I recommend 200mA (milli-amps) for all NiMH batteries except 9V, which should be charged at 50mA. Blasting batteries with very high current in order to "quick" charge them will overheat the battery and permanently alter the internal chemistry in a way that reduces total capacity. So avoid quick chargers. They're mostly just a marketing gimmick.
Finding a high-quality battery charger
Quality NiMH battery chargers are hard to find. I searched the market for well over a year to find one that I could recommend. Most of what I found was very disappointing. Typical chargers on the market suffer from serious drawbacks such as a lack of safety features, a lack of battery analyzer functions, hard-to-read displays, difficult operation and poorly-written manuals.

But I persisted in my search and finally found what is clearly the best consumer-level battery charger available in the marketplace today. It's called the WizardOne MH-C9000 and it's made by Maha Energy (Powerex). It features an incredible backlight display that resembles the brightness of a plasma TV screen. It has advanced, independent circuitry for charging, discharging, capacity testing and refreshing any capacity of AA or AAA NiMH batteries.

Full disclosure: I liked this battery charger so much that I bought hundreds of them from the manufacturer and now sell them at www.BetterLifeGoods.com , where you'll also find Powerex NiMH rechargeable batteries that work with the charger. To maintain my journalistic integrity on this product, I'll give you both the pros and cons of the MH-C9000 later in this review (see below).

Offers features simply not found on other battery chargers
This charger makes your rechargeable batteries last longer and perform better, so you get more out of your investment in any NiMH battery you own, regardless of the manufacturer.

With the Wizard One MH-C9000 charger, you can:

• Charge any NiMH AA or AAA battery simply by inserting it and walking away (no button pressing required, but if you want, you can also control the charge current).

• Analyze any NiMH AA or AAA battery to determine its actual capacity in mAh (milli-amp hours). This is like testing how much fuel is in your gas tank. It reveals the actual power capacity of the battery and tells you how long it will last when you use it.

• Break-In any NiMH AA or AAA battery to raise its capacity ceiling and maximize real-world performance. Can also be used to "wake up" seemingly dead batteries and revive them back to their peak performance.

• Discharge any AA or AAA battery to find out how much power it was storing. This lets you test both NiMH or Alkaline batteries to see what their true capacity really is.

• Cycle any NiMH AA or AAA battery to "exercise" it back to its maximum performance.

For each of these modes, if desired, you can select the charge and discharge rates, giving you total control over the treatment of each battery (this charger has advanced, independent circuitry to control each battery separately). For example, you can select charge rates from 100mA all the way up to 1000mA, in increments of 100mA. Or, you can just let each mode run on automatic, using default settings.
Advanced safety features protect your batteries AND your home
The WizardOne MH-C9000 comes with outstanding safety features built right in. It senses both voltage and temperature changes, and it automatically shuts off any battery that behaves outside normal, safe parameters. If the battery temperature gets too hot during charging, for example, the MH-C9000 immediately cuts off the current to it, preventing it from getting any hotter and forcing it to cool off. How many chargers do you know if with that kind of safety feature? (Most battery chargers operate on a "charge and pray" principle, meaning they just slam your battery with a certain amount of current for a certain period of time, regardless of what's happening with the battery temperature or voltage.)

But the MH-C9000 features truly advanced safety circuity. The charger's "Refresh" mode, for example, automatically rests one hour between charge and discharge cycles in order to keep the batteries at a low temperature (which also preserves battery life). And just to make sure each battery is safe to charge, the WizardOne MH-C9000 analyzes each battery's internal circuitry with an "impedance check" that rejects non-rechargeable batteries (so you don't end up trying to charge batteries that should never be recharged in the first place).

From my extensive research on battery chargers, I have not found a safer charger on the market. In fact, most of the cheaper battery chargers you'll find in retail stores are downright dangerous. Did you know that many low-cost chargers have no temperature or voltage sensing abilities whatsoever? That's a recipe for a fire hazard. If you're going to charge batteries in your home, especially at night or when you might be away from your house during the day, be sure to use a battery charger with advanced safety features that can prevent fires.
How this charger can save you real money in battery costs
Here's something that very few people know about batteries:

• Today's best NiMH rechargeable batteries actually out-perform the most popular Duracell and Energize alkaline batteries!

It's hard to believe, but true. I've done the tests. I bought fresh packs of Duracell, Energizer and other brands, then tested them in a $600 battery analyzer that was calibrated with another $300 worth of electrical equipment. The results astounded me:

• Cost to buy a new Duracell Coppertop "PowerPIX" battery: $2.24
• Actual discharge capacity: 1792 mAh (tested at 270ma discharge rate)

• Cost to recharge a Powerex NiMH AA 2700 battery: 2 cents
• Actual discharge capacity: 2635 mAh (also tested at 270ma discharge rate)

In other words, a quality rechargeable battery provides more power than a Duracell Coppertop for less than 1/100th the cost!

(You can reproduce these same results on the MH-C9000, by the way. Test the batteries yourself and see!)

Using alkaline batteries, in other words, is an enormous waste of money and natural resources. Throway batteries are bad for the environment. If you care about saving money, or protecting the planet, or conserving natural resources, NiMH rechargeable batteries are clearly the only way to go. Even if you're not concerned about the environment, throwing money away is still a bad decision for financial reasons. Why spend two bucks on a fully-charged battery when you could spend two cents?

It's like this: If you drove up to a gas station selling the exact same gas at two pumps, but the pump on the left was two cents per gallon and the pump on the right was two dollars per gallon, which gas would you buy for your car?

It's a no-brainer, right? You'd fill up at two cents per gallon. That's what NiMH rechargeable batteries offer you: super cheap power, plus the ability to refill the battery 1,000 times before needing to toss it. Over the life of the battery, using it for 1000 cycles, you'll spend about 2000 cents, or $20 in electricity, compared to a whopping $2,240 you'd need to buy 1,000 Duracell batteries.

Think about it: $20 vs. $2,240. How much would you prefer to spend on batteries?

Buyer beware: Not all NiMH batteries are created equal
But don't think that all NiMH batteries are the same. Most of the batteries I tested were lying about their capacities. (Powerex, Sanyo and Sony were the best three overall.) Some batteries that claimed to perform at 2700mAh only performed at 1900mAh!

A lot of NiMH batteries are just plain bad quality. They'll wear out after only a few dozen cycles instead of delivering the 1000 cycles you should expect from a quality NiMH battery.

That's why I've put my reputation behind only one brand of battery: Powerex. These batteries (which we also sell at www.BetterLifeGoods.com) are among the best I've found in the industry (and I've searched resources across Asia, the U.S. and Europe). Their 2700mAh AA battery is made in Japan and comes with an astonishing five year warranty. That's the best in the business! Plus, they're RoHS certified, meaning they adhere to strict guidelines on the reduction of hazardous materials. Click here to view / purchase our Powerex AA batteries..

So if you're interested in saving money, reducing toxic waste, conserving natural resources and being a smart consumer, check out the MH-C9000 WizardOne charger and get some Powerex NiMH batteries to go with it. You can't go wrong with this combination of outstanding technology and safety features.

The MH-C9000 is now the charger I use at home. It has replaced my La Crosse BC-900 and an entire bank of cheap chargers from Duracell, Energizer and Sony that I'm giving away to Goodwill.

Review summary for the MH-C9000 WizardOne battery charger from MaHa / Powerex
Advantages:
• Status display screen is simply amazing. Extreme brightness is achieved from a luminescent background surface that lights up evenly across the entire display (looks like a mini plasma screen).

• "Analyze" feature lets you test the actual capacity of your NiMH batteries. This is invaluable for knowing which batteries are still performing well vs. those that may be nearing the end of their life.

• Multiple safety features greatly reduce the risk of fire or battery damage. Voltage and temperature sensors work together to monitor the status of each battery and disconnect any battery that isn't operating within a normal safety range.

• Easy-to-use interface lets you quickly choose the function you want. Controls are intuitive and responsive.

• Handles both AA and AAA NiMH batteries without you having to manually choose the type. Auto-sensing technology determines battery type and charges accordingly.

Drawbacks:
• Doesn't charge 9V, C or D batteries. Only handles AA and AAA.
• Only charges 4 batteries at a time, not 8 like some chargers do.
• Does not come with a 12V car adapter.
• Expensive. Costs twice as much as typical battery chargers.

Overall:
The WizardOne MH-C9000 is a high-end battery charger for users who want advanced features (such as the ability to "analyze" battery performance) and a great deal of control over the charging, discharging or cycling of their NiMH batteries. It's a high-end charger that tells you exactly how much power your batteries are carrying, helping you weed out good batteries from bad ones. Although the price is much higher than most chargers, the MH-C9000 brings a combination of features and display technology that simply isn't available yet from anyone else.

Where to buy:
The WizardOne MH-C9000 battery charger is available at www.BetterLifeGoods.com

PowerEx batteries (AAA, AA, C, D, 9V) are also available at www.BetterLifeGoods.com

Full disclosure: Better Life Goods is directly affiliated with NewsTarget. All sales help support NewsTarget operations and provide funding for the Consumer Wellness Center non-profit.

About the author:

Mike Adams is a natural health researcher and author with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a manufacturer of mercury-free, energy-efficient LED lighting products that save electricity and help prevent global warming. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, Pilates and organic gardening. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org

NiMH battery charger showdown: Maha Energy MH-C9000 WizardOne vs. La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower

If you're searching for high-end NiMH battery chargers, you'll find the number of contending products is few. Only two consumer-level battery chargers are competing for the top slot: the La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger and the Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne battery charger. For this review, I purchased them both and conducted numerous tests over a period of several weeks. Ultimately, I liked the Powerex MH-C9000 so much that I decided to carry it on www.BetterLifeGoods.com , so keep that in mind as you read this review. Here's my critical look at both products:
The La Crosse BC-900 Battery Charger
The BC-900 offers four main modes:

• Charge: Charges the battery to full capacity.
• Discharge: Discharges the battery to empty.
• Refresh: Cycles the battery multiple times to restore better performance.
• Test: Determines the actual capacity of the battery in mAh.

If offers multiple safety features such as temperature sending, polarity detection and a way to determine if batteries are defective. Four independent channels allow you to charge batteries separately, and an LCD display shows you the status of each battery.

The features of the BC-900 sound very strong on paper, but in actually using the product, I found it to be extremely confusing, difficult to use and finicky. The display has no backlight, making it quite difficult to read, and the control buttons don't respond in a timely manner. Each time I inserted a battery, I ended up pressing the buttons several times to get the setting I wanted. Even worse, I soon learned that if you inserted a new battery too quickly after selecting settings for another battery, all your settings for the previous battery would disappear in a flash, and the charger would revert to "default" charging.

As a result, actually getting the BC-900 to analyze four batteries in a row was frustrating and tedious. Here's what I found works: 1) Insert a battery in slot 1. 2) Click the MODE button until you get the TEST feature to appear. 3) Keep clicking the CURRENT button until you get a higher current like 250mA (leaving it on 100mA, the default, can result in the test mode taking days to complete). 4) Now WAIT for the display to stop flashing before you insert a second battery. This can take about eight seconds. If you insert a second battery before the display stops flashing, then all the settings you just configured for the first battery will be wiped out.

Once the flashing stops, insert the second battery and repeat this process. If you manage to get that to work, repeat for batteries 3 and 4. Keep in mind that during this whole process, you only have a few seconds to select the settings for a new battery that's been inserted. If you take too long, the battery reverts to default settings and you have to pull it out and start over. Complicating this whole thing is that bizarre limitation that if you select 100mA for a battery in slot 1, the BC-900 will not let you select a higher current for slot 2, so you have to plan the charging currents for your batteries in advance, then sort your batteries from highest to lowest charge currents, and insert them from left to right.

Needless to say, this whole process is frustrating enough to make you want to throw the BC-900 against the wall and smash it into a thousand tiny pieces. It is by far the most frustrating piece of battery-related electronics I've ever owned. Sometimes, I wonder if the person who designed it had any training at all in basic user interface design. Given that most consumers can hardly manage to set the time and date on their camcorder, I think this product is far too complex for the average consumer to figure out. It left me downright angry at the La Crosse company for putting out what I considered to be such a lousy product.

For many months, this was the only consumer-level battery charger I could find that offered a test / analyze mode. But in the Spring of 2007, Maha Energy released the WizardOne MH-C9000, which was a breath of fresh air compared to the La Crosse BC-900.
The Maha Energy WizardOne MH-C9000 NiMH battery charger
In contrast to the BC-900 from La Crosse, the Maha Energy WizardOne MH-C9000 is a dream to use! The display is astonishingly bright (really, it will blow your mind when you see it), the controls are intuitive, and the buttons actually respond like you would expect them to. The unit is so easy to use that I didn't even have to unfold the instruction sheet to start using all its functions immediately.

The MH-C9000 offers the following operation modes:

• Charge any NiMH AA or AAA battery simply by inserting it and walking away (no button pressing required, but if you want, you can also control the charge current).

• Analyze any NiMH AA or AAA battery to determine its actual capacity in mAh (milli-amp hours). This is like testing how much fuel is in your gas tank. It reveals the actual power capacity of the battery and tells you how long it will last when you use it.

• Break-In any NiMH AA or AAA battery to raise its capacity ceiling and maximize real-world performance. Can also be used to "wake up" seemingly dead batteries and revive them back to their peak performance.

• Discharge any AA or AAA battery to find out how much power it was storing. This lets you test both NiMH or Alkaline batteries to see what their true capacity really is.

• Cycle any NiMH AA or AAA battery to "exercise" it back to its maximum performance.

For each of these modes, if desired, you can select the charge and discharge rates, giving you total control over the treatment of each battery (this charger has advanced, independent circuitry to control each battery separately). For example, you can select charge rates from 100mA all the way up to 1000mA, in increments of 100mA. Or, you can just let each mode run on automatic, using default settings.

After the modes run, the MH-C9000 reports the results to you in a clear, easy-to-read format. It will tell you the mAh of your battery (in Analyze mode), the capacity that discharged, the capacity charged and even the ending voltage of the battery along with the time required to charge it. The MH-C9000 gives you a lot more information than the BC-900, and it's easier to read, too. Simply click the "Slot" button and you can cycle through slots 1 - 4 to see either the current status or end results of each battery.

The MH-C9000 has all the same safety features of the BC-900, including temperature sensing, polarity detection and even a battery impedence check, making it the safest combination of NiMH charging technology you can buy in a consumer product. The instruction manual is well written with clear diagrams, and the charger comes with a three year manufacturer's warranty.

(Full disclosure: I liked the MH-C9000 so much that I bought hundreds of them and now retail them at www.BetterLifeGoods.com , an internet retail site for green living products. I had been looking for a high-end NiMH battery recharger for over a year that I liked well enough to carry. The MH-C9000 is the best I found, and that's why I decided to carry it along with a 30-day complete satisfaction guarantee. All sales help support the NewsTarget network.)
The bottom line
In my experience, there's no comparison between the two chargers. The MH-C9000 wins hands down. Although both chargers offer similar specifications, only the MH-C9000 was really easy to use. The super bright backlit display makes it easy on the eyes, and the simple, straightforward logic of the user interface means that just about anybody can figure out how to use it right away.

To be fair, the MH-C9000 is newer than the BC-900 by at least a year. Perhaps La Crosse Technology is working on a new, updated version of their BC-900 that will have an improved user interface and smarter circuitry that doesn't wipe out your settings when you insert a second battery too quickly. Personally, as the owner of an e-mail marketing software company, I would never release a product with such a poorly designed user interface. The operation of technology products needs to be simple, straightforward and intuitive. The BC-900 is none of those things, in my opinion.

If you're looking for the best NiMH battery charger on the market, go with the MH-C9000. The only drawbacks are that is doesn't charge C, D, or 9V batteries, it doesn't come with a 12V car charger, and it's more expensive than most other chargers (retailing at $69 or so). Cheap battery chargers that lack important safety features can be readily purchased for less than $20 practically anywhere, so it you just want a blind charger that slams current into a battery with no idea of the actual capacity, go get a charger at Wal-Mart or Target. But if you want a quality charger that puts you in control while maximizing the life of your NiMH batteries, go with the MH-C9000.

About the author:

Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,500 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a maker of energy efficient LED lights that greatly reduce CO2 emissions. He's also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded a well known email marketing software company whose technology currently powers the NewsTarget email newsletters. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and pursues hobbies such as Pilates, Capoeira, nature macrophotography and organic gardening. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org

Cell Phone Battery Maintenance Tips

Have you ever thought how would our mobile phones work if our phone runs out of battery in the middle of the road? We’ll find no way to contact anyone or take anyone’s help. Having a standby battery is a solution to it. A spare battery is best if you simply cannot do without your mobile phone.

When you purchase an additional mobile phone battery, you should select the battery from the manufacturer, as the battery types differ greatly by brand and model. Different mobile phones support differently designed and developed batteries. These days’ mobile phone batteries are constantly developed to have longer life and be more powerful. Mobile batteries will be introduced soon that charge to full capacity in minutes and last ten times longer than current batteries. This would be done to keep your phone working in case of any emergency. Here are a few suggestions or guidelines to cell phone battery maintenance, make sure you make the most of your mobile phone batteries:

• If your cell phone battery no longer provides acceptable performance, you should replace it.

• Never keep your mobile phone in your car during extreme weather conditions, both too hot and too cold.

• If you charge your phone daily, your cell phone battery will typically last between 12-14 months but if you charge your battery less at every 2-3 days, you maybe able to keep your battery for two years or more.

• Don’t use an unapproved mobile phone battery as your mobile phone could damage.

• A common reason for mobile phone batteries losing their energy too soon is that you often overcharge your cell phone.

http://www.nz-electronics.co.nz/supplies/article_info.php/articles_id/38

Automatically Tracking Your Car, Fleet, or Boat with GPS

There are a huge number of GPS products on the market for all sorts of purposes. For example there is a specific subcategory of GPS products tailored for vehicle tracking and surveillance- in other words, tracking a car, a fleet, or any other automobile (hey you could even track a boat, etc).

Certain product lines are sold only through authorized dealers and distributors- these are generally the higher end GPS units used by heavy industry or car rental companies.

You can consider GPS car tracking as a branch of security as well as something that can help fleet management companies or car rental facilities, etc, to manage their operations more effectively, cut costs, and find out who's slacking on the job.

Back in the day, the primary security method for your vehicle was to have one of those annoying sounding alarm systems. And more recently the security bar we place on our steering wheels when parking. Well now for those extra paranoid folks out there you now have the option of using GPS tracking in case your car ever got stolen.

Or you could always pretend to be James Bond and follow your kids around to make sure they are not falling into the wrong crowd. Those are just a few possible things you can do. It's up to you to decide what you are looking to do.

The truth is, the global climate of security is not what it used to be. Therefore the sense of having an extra peace of mind can go a long way in these uncertain times.

Please note that not all GPS offerings will be the same- depending on the extra features you are looking for, and whether you want a third party to monitor and track you vehicle or even fleet of vehicles, there may be a subscription fee involved someplace.

Keep in mind that is that not all GPS models will work the same way. For example, if you want to track your personal vehicle, there may be a certain proximity range that you must be within in order to track down the signal. Little things like this can make a world of difference in your decision on a GPS car tracking system.

http://www.nz-electronics.co.nz/supplies/article_info.php/articles_id/51?osCsid=...

GPS - Never Ending Improvements

When you purchase a GPS system, depending on the model and configuration settings out of the box, you will get a host of life changing utilities that will make your life easier and save you time and money everyday.

However, although the benefits out of the box are tremendous, the true value comes from repeated use and adding your own configurations, shortcuts, etc.

The more you customize the GPS unit to meet your needs, the more it "learns" about your preferences and requirements. You can add restaurants, stores, and anything you find during your travels that are not updated yet within the map systems.

Keep in mind that although not all data is one hundred percent accurate/updated all the time. That is always accurate enough to improve your driving and travelling efficiency. In other words, having something that is accurate 90-99 percent of the time is better than not having the tool at all.

It's something that will stay with you all the time too while you are on the road for business or while on a vacation. It almost gives your vehicle an artificial intelligence dashboard that answers to you, the captain of the ship, and provides valuable support and insights so you can focus on the important thing- getting to your destination.

http://www.nz-electronics.co.nz/supplies/article_info.php/articles_id/52?osCsid=...

GPS Trekking - Take a Hike, But Don't Get Lost!

For those looking for a portable GPS unit for on-foot activities such as hiking. Here are a few features that you should be on the look out for when making a purchase decision.

This one is obvious, but make sure there is a visual map screen where you can see where you are relative to your surroundings. Some GPS receivers only tell you your longitude and latitude position.

Make sure that the unit was designed to be rugged enough to work and last in the environment you are planning to trek at. Things such as being water proof, shock proof, and weather proof are helpful if possible.

If you plan on trekking or camping for extended periods of time, you want a GPS unit that has a long battery life relative to the time you spend outdoors.

It's important to have preloaded maps so you can find nearby roads easily and not get lost. Make sure the unit you buy supports as many routes as you think you'll need.

Waypoints are a very handy feature. Make sure that your unit supports many user-entered waypoints.

Make sure the receiver is light to carry and small enough to fit into your travelling gear. Also make sure that the screen is clear and easy to read at a glance so you don't have to spend too much time fumbling around for directions.

http://www.nz-electronics.co.nz/supplies/article_info.php/articles_id/53?osCsid=...

Shop Online For the Best Consumer Electronics Information

Shopping for consumer electronics can be difficult because you have so many options. Consumer electronics such as a new DVD player, portable audio components, an MP3 player, computer, and digital camera are often hard to buy in the store because pushy sales people hound you. It's hard enough to determine what you want from your audio equipment, or even household items, clothing, and collectibles, but when you have a sales person hounding you and pressuring your, it becomes even more difficult.

Buying consumer electronics doesn't have to be difficult. One of the best ways to buy the items you want and need is to shop online for them. There are a lot of great retailers online that can hook you up with new video games, a new computer, that digital camera you've been looking at, or gifts for your family and friends. When you shop with online retailers you don't have to deal with pushy sales people that have their own motives in selling you a particular product. What's even better is that when you shop online you can often buy the products you want and need at wholesale prices.

Not only can you purchase consumer electronics online for wholesale and outstanding prices, you can also buy collectables, as seen on TV products, clothing, household items, and more. Anything you can think of, and then some, can be purchased online. You don't have to leave home to buy the things that you want, you don't have to deal with pushy or unknowledgeable sales people, and you don't even have to get dressed if you don't want to!

Shopping with online retailers and wholesale vendors can also be beneficial if you are looking for an item that is sold out or not offered at stores in your local area. Depending on the electronics retailers and other retail stores you have in your area, you may not be able to obtain the products for your home or your personal use that you want. Often times you can get online and find a great retailer or wholesale vendor that can get you the products that you want for less than you had anticipated. Because you pay less than you had planned online, you can often purchase other items for yourself, you can spend more on gifts, or you can simply keep the money in the bank account for the next time you want to shop!

Consumer electronics are often way over priced if you shop locally. That MP3 player that you have been looking at locally may be purchased for up to 30% less if you shop online with the right retailer or wholesale vendor. The same can be said for a DVD player, portable audio equipment, video games, computer equipment, digital cameras, and more, making online shopping a great way to get the most for your money.

Before you buy from any source you may want to check out consumer electronics reviews that will put you in touch with other peoples specific impressions of the electronics items you may purchase. All of this information can be found easily online, so you know that you are buying the best product for you. When you shop locally for electronics, gifts, collectables, and other items you will be at the mercy of the salesperson you deal with. Shopping online with the right wholesale vendor or retailer will allow you to get all the information you need to make the right purchase, as well as save money on the actual purchase. Online shopping isn't just about convenience; it's about access to information and products that you cannot get in just any store.

http://www.nz-electronics.co.nz/supplies/article_info.php/articles_id/56?osCsid=...