Disable Wi-Fi:

If you are not using Wi-Fi, turn it off or else it will keep looking for signals and the battery will be used in this process. Wi-Fi also puts extra strain on the internal hardware of the computer. So if you are not using it, then turn it off and the iPad resources will remain free. For switching it off, go to Settings and from there click on Wi-Fi option. By default, the Wi-Fi is switched on, on your iPad.

Decrease the brightness:

Reduce the brightness of the screen if you are fine with it. This is applicable to even laptops so you should pretty much know what we are talking about. By default, the iPad comes at 50% brightness and things are pretty much visible even when take it lower than that. If you are listening to music or reading e-books, you won’t need high brightness and hence you can totally switch it off.

Close unwanted applications:

iPad is based on iPhone OS but supports multiple applications. Just like a standard computer, you can listen to music, work on office documents, watch a movie, etc. at the same time. If you don’t want these apps, simply turn them off. This is because the processor works harder if more applications are running and hence consumes more battery. If you are on low battery, we would recommend opening up apps that you really need and keep everything else closed.

Disable sounds:

By default, the iPad plays sound for various activities like e-mail notifications, dialog box closing prompt, etc. Even the onscreen keyboard makes a sound when you press a key. If you disable these, the battery life is preserved for other activities. For doing this, all you have to do is go to Settings > General > Sounds. You have five difference increase/decrease options or you can simply turn it off.

Disable Location Services:

You can turn off Apple iPad’s location services; this feature gives you information about your location and you can use it wherever you need it. This is used mainly in Maps application where different search places and locations can be found along with distance from you location. The location will be updated continuously if you are connected to the internet and hence this will eat in to your battery juice. So, it is better to disable it.

Disable push notifications:

Applications such as IM+ sends Push Notifications when you get a new message. You get a tiny box on the display. If you have switched off the display, the notification will cause the screen to light up and will again switch off, after some time. This will consume the battery. If you disable all these notifications, you will save on the battery life

Increase the updates interval:

Some applications on the Apple iPad are designed in such a way that they look for updates after a specified time interval. By default, this interval is set at one hour and advanced users keep it at 15 minutes. We would recommend you to increase the interval if you don’t need the updates because looking for updates taxes the battery a lot.

Finally, remember the standard battery ethic that you should recharge the battery after it discharges fully. This increases the battery life. iPad battery is not user-replaceable, so you need to ship the device back to Apple for replacing the battery.

Alienware M11X

ust when you thought Alienware laptops were desktop replacement notebooks, here they are with an ultra portable Netbook. This laptop will crush the idea that 11 inch screen Netbooks are not capable of playing games. I have reviewed this Netbook in my labs and my jaw dropped when I saw what it had to offer. It is definitely not as fast as the step up 17 and 15 inch notebooks by Alienware but it is currently the best for gaming in 11 inch Netbooks. Speaking of latest gadgets 2010, this has to be somewhere in top ten

Apple iPad (16GB)

iPod on steroids, that is what they have to say about the iPad. People say that iPad is far from a computer but I think it is a great (and sexy) way to access your e-mails and browse Web while you are traveling. Not to mention the turning heads that you will experience when you flaunt this device in your local coffee shop. If you are looking for latest gadgets 2010, this will be hard to ignore.

Palm Pre Plus

If you are in the market looking for a cell phone, this is the best bet till now. It is improved on the Pre (its, predecessor), the performance and design have been revamped in order to give you a better user experience. I also liked the whole set of new features that the phone had to offer. This phone is available from Verizon Wireless and costs $149.99 with a two year contract and after $100 mail in rebate.

Audioengine 5

This is a computer speaker set, it costs $325 and according to me, this is the best quality that you can get for the given price. It liked the simple styling yet sophisticated sound that this set had. My only complaint here is that the speaker are quite big and might look intimidating next to your computer. But if you don’t mind that, and want stellar sound quality for your computer, then get this set.

HTC Droid Incredible

A cell phone that lives up to its name. This now my current favorite not only in smartphones, but also in latest gadgets 2010. It is really fast, thanks to Verizon’s 3G network. The features of Android 2.1 are enhanced and I was drooling on the 8 MP camera quality. For storing your data, you get a humongous 8 GB internal memory. Other goodies include 3G, GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. This smartphone costs $199.99 with a 2 year contract and after $100 mail in rebate.

Flip UltraHD

Mini camcorders are for people who don’t care much about video quality and hate carrying a full fledged camcorder around. I recommend this because of its capability to shoot 720p video (which is high quality for its class), AA rechargeable battery base, and for its easy to use interface. If you are shooting videos for putting up on YouTube, get this device.

LG Infinia 47LE8500

This is for videophiles, the picture quality is something I have never seen yet in any other TV. The black shades are the deepest I have ever seen and the shadow detail too is superb. Color accuracy was commendable and the off angle viewing was better than other LCD TVs. The cost of this TV is $2,429.99 – $2,699.99 but let me tell you, it is worth every penny.

It is just March and still for latest gadgets 2010, we have got lots of device. I will recommend digging deeper in the pockets and purchasing these gadgets if you are a gizmo freak.

Direct uploads & downloads, widget support, AOL Instant Messenger, 1.3-megapixel camera, refined design over its predecessor

Thumbs Down:

Sluggish performance; no video recordings; lacks Bluetooth and Cellular technology

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

The Sony Mylo 2 is a Web tablet that has inbuilt speakers, digital camera, display, keyboard and touch-pad. It has 1GB internal memory and its memory expansion slot accepts Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo cards up to 8GB. The supported wireless interfaces are IEEE 802.11 b and g.

The 3.5 inches touch-screen display has 800×480 pixels resolution. The 1.3-megapixel camera features macro function. The still capture formats are JPEG, PNG, and BMP. The supported audio formats are ATRAC3, WMA, MP3, and AAC.

The additional features are Web browser, email, instant messengers, and Internet voice calls. The pre-installed software are Adobe Flash Lite 3, Yahoo! Messenger, Access NetFront, and Google Talk. The input devices are QWERTY keyboard, joystick, and stylus through touch-screen.

The connector set includes 1×USB – Mini-USB Type B, and 1×Headphones – Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm. The maximum operating temperature is 95°F and minimum is 41°F.

Accessories supplied inside the package are remote control, reference material, software disc, headset, USB-cable, carrying case, and power adapter. You can buy the screen protector for $19.99, charging cradle for $29.99 and two faceplates for $20.

Razzle Dazzle:

The Sony Mylo 2 is 2.6 inches long, 5.2 inches wide and 0.8 inch thick and weighs 6.8 ounces. It looks like a toy, but is a bit heavy and thick. Sony provides a soft carrying case with the Mylo 2.

Inside Dope:

You may remember the Sony Mylo – a small Wi-Fi messaging device. Now, Sony has released its successor – $299 priced the Mylo Communicator 2. It has a new look and more features such as direct downloads/uploads, widgets, camera, AIM, and YouTube app. It has a better design than its predecessor the Mylo. Will it be enough to attract you, especially youngsters? No as the cellular technology is not present there. However, Sony is not trying to provide a cell phone in form of the Mylo 2. You can buy the Apple iPhone, Helio Ocean, and T-Mobile Sidekick LX at the same price with calling and other more features. Then why should be buy the Sony Mylo Communicator 2? The Mylo 2 has various upgrades over its predecessor. If you are not interested in buying a smartphone, then you can buy the Mylo 2 with an entry-level cell phone.

The 3.5 inches touch-screen of the Sony Mylo 2 has 800×480 pixels resolution. It is one of the greatest assets for the Mylo 2 as it exhibits impressive sharp pictures. It is a pleasure to view pictures, watch videos, and surf Web sites on such a nice screen. The touch-screen is quick responsive, but you can use included stylus for better precision.

The user interface looks good with self-explanatory menus. The touch-sensitive controls make the menu navigation very easy. The Back, Display, and Option buttons are on the left side; while the Home pages, Mylo, and Info are on the right side. You can tap the screen to add the widgets on the Sony Mylo 2. These widgets are quick ways to access the functions and other menus. A joystick is also there on the left side for scrolling through menus, and you can press it for selection.

You can slide up the front screen of the Sony Mylo 2 to access the full-QWERTY keyboard. It has spacious keys, but they are a bit small in size. While testing, the Mylo 2 does not recognize the keystrokes occasionally. We do not like that the number keys are not highlighted with a separate color.

The power/hold switch and wireless on/off button are located on the left spine, while the memory card slot and volume rocker are on the right spine. You will find the camera activation, mini-USB port, power connector and headset jack on the top. The reset button and camera lens with self-portrait mirror are on the back.

The Sony Mylo 2 has inbuilt Wi-Fi connection that supports IEEE 802.11 b/g standards. It works with WPA2 and WPA encryption. You will get free unlimited subscription to Wayport public hotspots that include 600 hotels, 70 IHOP restaurants, and 9000 McDonaldss. We really like this offer, but this is not sufficient to compensate the missing Bluetooth or cellular connection. The single drawback of cellular connection makes the Mylo 2 useless.

The inbuilt Web browser has full support for Adobe Flash Player, direct uploads and downloads. It also gives access to Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. The Sony Mylo 2 also has Web-based email accounts including Yahoo and Gmail, but there is no email application.

The preinstalled instant messengers are AIM, Google Talk, and Yahoo! Messenger. Now, its special highlight is the Skype and you can use this for making calls, but you have to buy additional subscription for the same.

The inbuilt media player supports ATRAC, AAC, WMA, and MP3 file formats. It features track information, creation of on-the-fly play-lists, album art, equalizer, shuffle and repeat modes. On the down side, the Sony Mylo 2 only supports MPEG4 video format. The media player features full screen mode, play-lists, and adjusting audio for playing back videos. You can also subscribe to RSS feeds and listen to pod-casts.

The Sony Mylo 2 has a 1.3-megapixel camera, but it lacks both flash and video-recording. The image capture options include five size, five quality options, macro mode, zoom in/out, and white balance settings. There is an inbuilt photo editor to tweak the captured images and built-in image viewer to view them. We captured some images for the testing. The overall picture quality was good. The images looked sharp with good color tones. We like that you can shift the front cover while taking the pictures.

We tested the Sony Mylo 2 at different hotspots. It did not have any problem to find and connect to the access point. The device took only few seconds for connecting to Internet. The Web sites, especially with high-graphics took some time to load. You had to wait for completely rendering the pages and then you can scroll down. There was a noticeable delay even during zoom in and out. The GSMcellualrs.com and CDMAcellulars.com opened in 15 and 20 seconds respectively.

The multimedia performance was good on the Sony Mylo 2. The music playback on the speakers was bit tinny, but we received full volume after using headset. The video playback was of better quality than others. The YouTube clips buffered prior to playback and after that there was little to no buffering during playback. The video was clearly synchronized with the audio.

The Sony Mylo 2 has 1200mAH lithium ion battery that has a life of 20 hours for music playback, 7 hours for video playback, and 6 hours of Web browsing or VoIP calls.

Nitty Gritty:

If you do not want to buy a smartphone as only basic phone is allowed in your office, then buy an entry-level cell phone and Sony Mylo 2 for advanced features. However, it does not have video recording and Bluetooth.

Now, Layar has announced the possibility to sell their experiences for publishers and producers of Augmented Reality. It has also announced the agreement with top three cell phone manufacturers for global distribution partnership. As per the company, this partnership will bring Layar equipped phone to the world market. As a result, Augmented Reality content will be available to masses on their cell phones in 2010.

Layar platform allows publishers, producers, game developers and other brands so that the customers will be engaged in real world experiences. The company has already published 375 layers and more 1200 layers are in production. More than 2000 organizations in 70 countries are taking benefits from Layar platform to develop extraordinary contents.

Layar has not revealed the names of the cell phone companies. In the middle of March 2010, Layar partners will be able to generate income from their investment in Augmented Reality. The partners can offer free and paid content via Layar platform. As per the company’s press release, Layar will facilitate global mobile payment distribution and processing in all currencies. The producers just have to focus on their contents without worrying about developing on multiple mobile platform, financial administration and mass market distribution.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a term to provide indirect or direct view of a physical real-word whose elements are virtually augmented or merged by the computer technology. In other words, Augmented Reality Browsers are providing real-world scenes on real-time basis like sports scores on TV during match. You cannot say that the currently running video is completely virtual, but it has little modifications to provide real-time broadcast

By this announcement, Layar has opened the doors of Augmented Reality for mainstream business for all.

Thumbs Up:

Awesome sound quality, comes with accessories like cleaning tool, three ear tips and carrying metal box.

Thumbs Down:

Low build quality, the thin cables seem to be quite weak.

Inside the Trunk:

Accessories included – carrying pouch, 3 ear tips and cleaning tool.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Klipsch Image S4 are in-ear canal phones, with wired connectivity, response bandwidth is 10 – 19000 Hz, sensitivity is 110 dB/mW, impedance is 18 Ohm. These headphones have noise cancellation feature which blocks outside noise and hence are great when traveling in bus or trains. They are also easily portable due to the small size.

Razzle Dazzle:

Klipsch Image S4 looks cute but has thin wires so isn’t sturdy. We have seen headphone cables covered with cloth that can stand pulling and stretching. With the great sound quality that the set had to offer, we wished the cable quality was better for rough use.

Inside Dope:

Headphone belong to that category of peripherals that both at dirt cheap and sky high prices. Klipsch Image S4 is a cheap set of headphones which comes at an $80 price tag and still perform like those headphones which cost more than $100. They have noise cancellation feature which make sure outside noise stays out. If you are looking for replacement for your current mp3 player headphones, we would certainly recommend you to go for this.

The oval ear tips on the headphones feel really comfortable and soft on the ears. Klipsch gives you three ear tips, one of them is for really large ears. But even these three sizes may not fit every ear. We were lucky because the tips sat comfortably in our ears and didn’t come out easily.

Other accessories with the Klipsch Image S4 include an tool to clean ear wax and a metallic box to keep the ear buds. We think that the box was given to protect the delicate cables. The box looks a bit old fashioned, though.

Klipsch gives us a three year warranty and we thank the manufacturer for that because the cables are really thin both at the Y section as well as the section which goes to the pin. The L-plug is given to prevent breakage that may happen when the wire is connected to the plug. The cables also tangle a lot due to the thinness.

However, the lamentable build quality is made up for, by the brilliant sound quality. Klipsch Image S4 headphones gave stellar performance when we tested it in our centers. Each piece has a set of dual-magnet microspeakers and the sound quality was as good as Shure’s SE310s which costs about $250. That really shows how good the headphones are. The sound doesn’t have overpowering bass but sounds boomier. The amount of detail and quality is really impressive on this set. This set will impress all users’ right from music enthusiasts to occasional users.

We tested the set for various genres like games, movies and music quality. The Klipsch Image S4 earphones came out with flying colors in all our tests. For music we used Outkast’s “Hey Ya”, an awesome dance track. Sound quality blew us off our feet.

Nitty Gritty:

The Klipsch Image S4 earphones are the best headphones for the given price range. We would certainly recommend you to get this but be wary of the thin cables. You might ruin your set easily if you are a rough user. We still can’t believe this set costs only $80 given the sound quality.

Thumbs Up:

Down right sexy look, great bass, cables are durable,

Thumbs Down:

Mediocre sound quality, the ear plugs tend to slip out of the ear due to big triangle blocks on the other end of the plugs.

Inside the Trunk:

Carrying case.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Heartbeats Lada Gaga Headphones from Monster are binaural headphones, the connector is a 3.5 mm. You get a carrying pouch with the set. The plugs come with a 3 years warranty

Razzle Dazzle:

The looks of the headphones is just like Lady Gaga, downright sexy! It is very attractive and a lot of hard work has gone in to make sure you will make heads turn when you are wearing this and going around the streets. There are triangular blocks on the other side of the ear plugs which is the sexiest part of the pair. You get options of bright chrome, black chrome, rose red and many more. We got the bright chrome in our test centers.

Inside Dope:

Lady Gaga perhaps made sure that this pair of headphones really looks good before she gave permission for her name to be used on the set. Some might feel that the manufacturers have tried to be too fashionable but looking at Lady Gaga’s lifestyle, we completely understand. The price of these super sexy headphones is $120 but you can get it around for $100 if purchased online.

The stylish headphones are made for women and we doubt if men would buy it even if it didn’t have the name of the pop star on the set. The build of the headphone is too feminine for men, especially with the attached triangular earpieces.
While the triangular blocks on the headphones look good they are not ergonomically comfortable in the ear because the edges of the triangle blocks press against the skin of the ear and hence cause discomfort. It also makes the buds come out of the ear occasionally. The manufacturer bundles three sizes of the silicone made ear tips but none of them fit properly in our ears. You can option for buying tips including triple flanged pair and foam set. We found the foam pair really comfortable but they came out of the ears very easily while walking.

We thought the build of the cables of the pair was really strong and will be long lasting. Our bright chrome set had a white cable to it which attracted dust quite easily. The headphones drips fashion statements everywhere, it has little accents that are wrapped around the cords of each earpiece which indicate the left and right channels along with an initial which is heart outlined. The set is 46 inches long, has a Heartbeats logo and Lady Gaga signature at the Y connector. It also has a slider which keeps the cables from tangling however we don’t the cables will get tangled considering the ribbon build.

We tested the headphones for some music and also played some of Lady Gaga’s tracks. Considering the exteriors we were expecting great audio quality. However we were disappointed with the quality, it has a lot of bass but other wise the quality is mediocre.

Nitty Gritty:

If good looks are of utmost importance get the Heartbeats by Lady Gaga Headphones from Monster but be warned that even though they look really pretty, the quality isn’t good and it may not fit properly in your ear. Maybe you can gift this to your girlfriend on her birthday or something.

Ever smiled at someone walking on the streets just because the person was wearing a shirt that said something really funny? And have you ever wished to wear something like that which would catch people’s attention? Me too.

I found www.crazydogtshirts.com when I was going through the internet searching for such t-shirts. And I must say that I have found the best one. It has the best t-shirt designs that you will ever get around.

www.crazydogtshirts.com has a great collection of t-shirts for you and they are put in to groups so that you can directly jump to the one that suits you the most. The ones that must be mentioned are graphic t-shirts, offensive t-shirts, office t-shirts and best sellers. The latter has a collection of some of the best tees of the collection.

The lay out of the website is really cool and the background is neatly set up against the contrasting icons which are the pictures on the t-shirt. The site has plethora of shirts with various quotes and pictures which are all quite funny. The shirts are properly categorized so that you can directly jump to the ones that interest you the most. There are four main categories – shop by favorites, shop by category shop by costumes and shop by sale.

Shop by category is the biggest and has lots of options like junk food t-shirts, girls t-shirts, retro t-shirts, vintage t-shirts, etc. This is the biggest section among the three and you can directly go in to the category that relate to you.

Shop by favorites is a collection of some of the best ones that the site has to offer. Go through this collection directly if you don’t have much time to surf through the entire collection and want the best ones.

Shop by sale is a category for people with stiff budgets. In the $9 section there are garments which are either of the price or higher price shirts which have price slashed down. In the $6 section, the site is giving away shirts which are from the discontinued inventory but they are not poor quality or second hand garments.

Finally there is a shop by costumes sections which have costumes for Halloween. The garments are all really funny and my personal favorite was the Michael Jackson costume with a jeweled glove. You can also dress up your dog with the dog costumes shown in here.

You can also buy Pajamas for bed time wear or casual home wear from this site. The site also has Irish and drunk t-shirts but it is only for 21 years and above. Pick up the shirts for yourself or gift them to your loved ones this holiday season.

Thumbs Up:

Lots of choices for colors, the ear buds wire is covered with cloth which adds to the ruggedness, inexpensive, has extra features such as inline microphone and volume control.

Thumbs Down:

Sound quality could be better.

Inside the Trunk:

Skullcandy Smokin’ Buds headphones, Cables Included
1 x Headphones cable – Integrated – 4.3 ft, Included Accessories
3 ear tips, Carrying case.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Response Bandwidth
18 – 20000 Hz, Impedance 16 Ohm, Diaphragm 0.4 in, Magnet Material – Neodymium iron boron, Connector Type 1 x Headphones (Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm),
Limited lifetime warranty.

Razzle Dazzle:

The brand name of the head phone is ultra rugged and so are the head phones. These set of headphones are nothing short when it comes to attractive looks. There are plenty of options for colors (22, infact) and you can buy any of the colors that you think will suit your personality. Some of these colors include Jamaican flag color and a model of Paul Frank. The cables of the head phones are cloth covered just like some of Nokia N series so these wires are pretty rugged and promise to go through toughest of times.

Inside Dope:

Skullcandy is not a new name in the head phone market they have been around for a while and are making good sets of earphones. The head phones as mentioned earlier come in variety of colors and there are indeed lots of colors to choose from.

The cables are covered with cloth so you don’t need to fear that they will suffer from wear and tear as times passes by. We are used to using headphones which have plastic exteriors and we have suffered a lot using them. Headphones of products such as iPod touch wound around the device when they are not in use. This reduces the life of the wire and there have been complaints that the wire tears on the end of the plug which goes into the iPod. Not only this, when the wire is wound around the iPod touch, the wire gets stretched and hence sometimes one ear piece stops functioning or the sound quality of the head phone drops.

You won’t face any problems with these sets though as they are cloth covered and give you no problems when you stretch them. The cloth covered head phones make it very thick and there is no chance that it will break or tear out unless you deliberately wrestle it with a pair of scissors.

The quality of the headphones isn’t impressive but it is not that bad either. Considering what this set is delivering at this price is quite acceptable. This head set although targeted mainly at the teenagers, it will appeal to all age groups.

The head phone also has a micro phone built in and you can use this pair with your iPhone. The iPhone has been around for quite a while in the market and although it is quite old people are still crazy about it. This is not it; the head phone is 3.5 mm jack so you can use it with any phone which has a 3.5 mm jack. Many of Nokia phones sport a 2.5 mm phone jack so you can’t use this set or you will have to use it with an adapter. We were delighted to see that the head phone goes well with the iPhone. The wire of the head phone also has a volume control keys on it.

We finally tested the head phones for audio quality and we found that it was quite good. The voice was clear while we were in calls and our voice could be heard well when we paired it up with a cell phone.

The sound quality of the music is not the best but it is good for the price that it offers.

Nitty Gritty:

Skullcandy Smokin’ Buds headphones is good considering the price and the features. Get this one to listen to music or to hook it up with your iPhone.

Sum and Substance:

Thumbs Up:

Great noise cancellation and good call quality.

Thumbs Down:

Expensive.

Inside the trunk:

Headset cable, Headset extender, Carrying Case, Headset Adapter.

Razzle Dazzle:

Nokia BH-905 is a wireless Bluetooth headset which is pretty good on the ears. The cushion of the head set surrounds your ears completely and isolates you from most external sounds. This is a great headset for audiophiles.

Whiz Kid Speaks:

Nokia BH-905 has play, pause, skip, stop on one side of the headset while the other side has switch for noise cancellation. Also there is plug, to plug the headset into a standard audio socket when wireless isn’t available. It is powered by rechargeable Lithium polymer battery.

Inside Dope:

For hard core audiophiles, wireless headsets are a strict no-no. They are willing to sacrifice wireless and go for wired headset. They say that wireless devices cannot deliver like wired ones. But this one may change their opinion.

Nokia BH-905 is equipped with noise cancellation feature that keeps out most of the noise away when you are listening to music. Noise cancellation feature can be used in crowded streets or buses or even at home when people around are talking and you want to shut them off. The headset is capable of noise cancellation but doesn’t completely isolate you from the outside noise, but manages to keep most of it away from you so that nothing can come between you and your music. The cups of the ears also completely surround your ears and the feel of the cushions on the ears is quite good.

Another important fact that is worth mentioning is the size of the headset. Would you carry this headset when you are going out? This is huge headset, if you are wearing it and going along the streets people might stop and stare at your ears to check out what you are wearing. This might seem awkward sometimes, the headset is very big. But with all the features accommodated in it, it is tough to keep the size small. This is not a device that you would use when you are working out or jogging.

The cups of the headset can be turned around so that it lies flat on the surface. The buttons of the phone are good and don’t need to be pressed too hard.

The Nokia BH-905 was tested with the phone calls and we were fully satisfied with the call quality. Voice at both the sides was clear and audible.

The noise cancellation feature will drain out battery sooner and  music play of rated 25 hours will drop down to 15 hours with noise cancellation.

Nitty Gritty:

The Nokia BH-905 is a good headset. The only thing that will hold you back is its price. If you are looking for a headset that has noise cancellation features, phone calling and if you don’t mind shelling out the money, then go ahead. This is it!

Sum n substance:

Thumbs up: Brilliant onscreen menus, good remote, high detail.

Thumbs down: at times there is some judder, no playback from the USB port.

Inside the trunk:
Price at launch £169.00
720p/1080i Output: Yes
No of HDMI Outputs: 1
No of Analogue Audio Outputs: 1
No of Digital Coaxial Outputs: 1
1080p Output :Yes
Weight (kg) :3
No of Composite Outputs: 1
MPN: BDP300005
Wired: Yes
MP3 Compatible :Yes
Signal-To-Noise Ratio: 105
Dimensions: 435 x 58 x 237
Remote Control :Yes

THE WHIZ-KID SPEAKS: Most of the first generation Blu-Ray discs provide little more than the pin sharp HD, and here we have the Philips BDP3000 which is loaded with features which including even downloading of discs from BD live. Apart from the low price, sleek and gloss structure and the disc tray which is hidden below the hood this one has loads to offer in terms of high definition pictures.

I agree that this one is a budget player, but that in anyway does not explain the cumbersome catering of the BD live service. It can easily stream content from live portals but again it does not have any onboard storage space to store the commentaries or the trailers. Given that fact that there is no onboard storage the importance of the USB 2.0 comes more into the picture. It can be easily fitted with a 2 GB memory stick and all the downloaded content can be easily stored into the stick.

Surprisingly enough this one doesn’t have any facility using which the user can include widgets to access the brand’s VeiraCast service.

Talking about the ports on the rear end, this one has an Ethernet port, component video out, composite video, digital coaxial audio and a set of left/right phonos for analogue stereo and HDMI output.

It also has some hi-end features like the anti-judder 1080/24p technology, compatibility with Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound and some DVD upscaling.

I must say that Philips has worked really hard to make the user interface attractive and user friendly at the same time. There are hardly any complexities and the operation is pretty much simple. Also connecting to the BD live is just as simple as plug and play, no hassles of wireless connectivity or anything of that sort.

Adding to its list of woes is the fact that the USB memory stick cannot be directly connected and also the player cant read any digital files via USB. It can easily play file formats like MP3 music, JPEG photos and DivX, AVC-HD and WMV video files. However it does not support MOV, MPEG4, WMV HD, MKV or DivX HD files.

One of its strongest points is the remote control. Its highly uncluttered and using it is a childs play which makes it one of the best remote controls in the market.

This one has done a real good job with the DVD upscalers and can easily replace any dedicated player around. It surely doesn’t reach the Blu ray Video quality but then that doesn’t stop it from providing as sterling performance. The close ups look distinct and the colour definitions are excellent with minute detailing.

Some of the Blu Ray discs take three times more the loading time compared to the standard counterparts but then there are many other rival decks which take twice as much the time.

Even in the most darkest of pictures the various shades of black can be distinguished with great accuracy. The hues are lush and accurate especially when there is a lot of colour contrast. In all this one offers some real good worth for the moolah that is being paid for it.
Coming to thee audio… though this only supports Dolby’s TrueHD 7.1 surround sound format it does quite a decent job with it. It lacks analog outputs and that’s one of the main reasons that the sound quality falls back to just basic sound. Probably that could be one of the reasons for the player to fall into the budget category.

Nitty-Gritty: One of the major drawbacks of this one is that it does not include a media-savvy USB port in the front panel. I agree that this might not have all the high end features that the other players have to offer but with a budget like that I guess that’s all they could offer. However its excellent onscreen menus and sturdy picture quality surely make it worth a look atleast.