Kicker zKICK ZK500 Digital Stereo Speaker Dock For Zune

Specifications

• Speaker Design: 2- Way
• Woofer Size, in (mm): 5 (127)
• Tweeter Size, in (mm): 3/4 (20)
• Tweeter Design: Silk Dome
• Passive Radiator Size, in (mm): 6 x6 (152 x 152)
• RMS Power, Watts @ 1% Total Harmonic Distortion: 2 x 20
• Effective Frequency Range, Hz: 50-20k

What's In The Box

• Kicker zKICK ZK500 Digital Stereo System
• Dock Adapters to fit Zune 30GB, 80GB, 4GB and 8GB
• 1/8"Stereo Aux Input Cable
• Instruction Manual
• Remote Control

Pros:

• Rotary control is super easy to use.
• Auxiliary input accepts audio from any audio source.
• Seriously clear treble and impressive bass in a small package.
• Charges Zune player while docked.
• RCA Composite outputs for audio & video output to TV. (4GB/8GB Zune excluded)
• Multiple dock adapters to fit any Zune.
• Looks like something you would see in The Batcave.

Cons:

• AC power only - no batteries.
• Rear transport handle is a little too short for a good grip.

Conclusion

The Kicker zKICK ZK500 for Zune uses 5" Full-Range Drivers, 3/4" Silk Dome Tweeters and an innovative 6" square passive subwoofer to deliver the best sound we've ever heard from our special edition Halo3 Zune. Setup and connection to a television is a breeze, and with an auxiliary input jack you can connect just about any other audio device to the ZK500.

Price is $249

Toshiba Satellite Pro U400

The Satellite Pro U400 it is 13.3" notebook gives business users or standard consumers another notebook option if they really like the size and features of the Satellite U405, but don't want the "Look at Me!" glossy finish.

Toshiba U400 had the following specifications:

• Windows XP Professional (SP2)
• Intel T8100 Penryn (2.1GHz) Processor
• 13.3" WXGA 1280x800 TruBrite Display (Glossy)
• Intel X3100 Integrated Graphics
• Intel Pro 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g) and Bluetooth V2.1 +EDR
• 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
• 160GB 5400rpm Toshiba Hard Drive
• DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• Stereo speakers
• Fingerprint reader
• Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 12.4" x 9.02" x 1.08" /1.38" with feet
• Weight: 4.61lbs with six-cell battery
• 75W (19V x 3.95A) 100-240V AC Adapter
• 6-cell (4800mAh) Lithium Ion battery
• 1-Year Standard Limited Warranty
• Price as configured: $1,049.99

The U400's stylish design features a 2-tone color scheme of matte silver on black. Many of the traditionally-square notebook features have been softened with round edges. The overall style is carried onto the keyboard and touchpad areas with both reflecting the shape of the notebook itself. Once the factory stickers are removed from the palmrest areas, the notebook's design blends into a cohesive whole.

The 13.3" WXGA screen found on the Toshiba Satellite Pro U400 rates average, and came with no problems or defects. The screen was dead/stuck pixel free during our review period, and was sealed well enough to prevent any major backlight leakage. The screen backlight was powerful enough to allow comfortable viewing in an office setting with as low as 40-50% backlight brightness level. The backlight levels were even throughout the screen, without any backlight bleed showing through, even on the lower edge of the taskbar.

he keyboard found on the Satellite Pro U400 was very good for a notebook of this size. The keyboard stayed in place while typing, even under heavy pressure. Very little sagging was present during our testing, although the left side did have a smidgen more movement than the right side.

The touchpad rated average with accurate finger tracking use, but lacked many customization features. Although the touchpad was a Synaptics model, the menus did not allow for any adjustment for sensitivity, scrolling, or additional functions. The lack of scrolling was my biggest complaint, since no notebook on the market right now lacks that ability. The touchpad buttons were smooth and easy to trigger, with a shallow and soft click when pressed.

Speaker performance on the little Satellite Pro U400 is rather weak, with really dinky speakers located in front of the screen hinges. They work well for mild music listening or system notifications, but lack all low and midrange audio. The better alternative choice is using a nice pair of headphones and the headphone jack.

Port selection was about average for a notebook of this size, although it would have been nice to see S-Video or HDMI. Toshiba teased us with a blank HDMI port location, possibly hinting at a future model that offers it, perhaps with dedicated graphics as well.

• ExpressCard slot (ExpressCard/34 and Express Card/54)
• 10/100 Ethernet
• 56k Modem
• 5-in-1 media card reader
• VGA out
• Microphone input port
• Headphone output port
• IEEE-1394 (FireWire)
• Three USB 2.0 ports

Left: VGA, CPU Exhaust, 2 USB, Firewire, ExpressCard/54, Headphone/Mic








Right: Optical Drive, 1 USB, Modem, LAN, Kensington Lock Slot








Front: 5-1 Media Reader, Volume Control Knob, Wireless On/Off






Thermal performance was above average, with the notebook running cool and quiet the majority of the time. During normal activity the only part of the system you could hear was the hard drive. When the notebook got hot enough to turn on the fan, noise was minimal, and around whisper levels.

The Toshiba Satellite U400 gives business users a solid feature list and moderate performance.

PANASONIC’S COMPACT WI-FI LUMIX DIGITAL CAMERA

UPLOADS PHOTOS TO GOOGLE’S PICASA WEB ALBUMS VIA T-MOBILE HOTSPOT SERVICE.

Panasonic introduced a new addition to its award-winning TZ-family of digital cameras, the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ50. Complete with Wi-Fi capabilities, standard 802.11b/g wireless LAN connectivity and access to T-Mobile® HotSpot service, users can upload digital photos taken with the TZ50 directly to Picasa Web Albums, a free online photo-sharing service from Google. The 9.1 megapixel TZ50 is packed with a 28mm wide-angle lens, 10x optical zoom and the ability to record HD video, making it the ideal digital camera for active users.

Panasonic uses the T-Mobile Hotspot service and Picasa Web Albums’ APIs to create a new optimal online environment and community for sharing digital photos. After taking photos with the new Panasonic LUMIX TZ50, users will be able to wirelessly send one or even multiple photos at a time, directly to Google’s Picasa Web Albums. Users can connect to standard wireless home networks. In addition the TZ50 can also connect to the T-Mobile HotSpot Service, which provides fast and reliable Wi-Fi Internet access at more than 8,800 public locations throughout the United States, including Borders® Books & Music stores, Hyatt Hotels and many major airports.

Users can simply register one email account with their TZ50, so after uploading their photos to Picasa Web Albums, they can have the URL to that album sent to the registered account. Since many cell phones and smartphones receive emails, users can register their own email address and then forward that Picasa Web Album’s URL to friends and family, without using a computer. In addition, users can browse their albums to confirm that photos have been successfully uploaded, and choose to delete uploaded photos directly on the digital camera.

When in Advanced Intelligent Auto mode, the following technologies all operate automatically; the user does not need to change any settings:

• Intelligent Exposure – Photos will no longer be under- or over-exposed. Instead, the TZ50 instantly analyses the framed image and adjusts the brightness in areas that are too dark because of dim lighting, backlighting, or the use of the flash. The camera will automatically adjust the brightness accordingly.
• Digital Red-eye Correction– Helps eliminate the red-eye problem that sometimes results when taking flash shots at night. Incorporated into the built-in flash, the camera emits a small preliminary flash before the main flash which detects red-eye and digitally corrects it.
• MEGA O.I.S. – Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and the lens system shifts to compensate, helping to prevent blurry images.
• Intelligent ISO – Determines if the photo subject is moving and changes the ISO setting and shutter speed accordingly.
• Intelligent Scene Selector – Senses the ambient conditions, recognises the shooting environment and will automatically select the appropriate scene mode from: Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode. This intuitive technology helps the consumer use the most common scene modes that are built into the camera, but often go unused, without making any manual adjustments.
• Face Detection – Detects faces anywhere in the frame and automatically chooses the optimal focus and exposure settings so that portraits come out clear and crisp. Detecting up to 15 faces, Panasonic’s Face Detection can even track a face if the subject is moving.
• Continuous AF – The Continuous AF (auto focus) system maintains focus on the subject even without pressing a shutter button halfway, thus minimizing the AF time.

Once the user is in iA mode, these multi-capable functions happen automatically, no adjustments or changes to setting need to be made. Furthermore, the DMC-TZ50 boasts Intelligent LCD function, which detects the lighting condition and controls the brightness level of the LCD in 11 fine steps, to offer a display with excellent clarity in any situation with the newly developed 460,000-dot high resolution in 3.0-inch LCD screen.