It’s probably late to make Christmas gift suggestions but hopefully this will give you an idea of what to get for an iPod user who enjoys taking self-portraits. My teenage cousins had a lot of fun playing with the underwater digital cameras they got for Christmas, and I suspect anyone who loves swimming would too. But if you already have a perfectly good iPod Nano that can capture videos, why spend for an underwater camera when you can get a convenient accessory that makes your Nano waterproof? This waterproof case from H20 Audio Capture provides 100% water protection for up to 12 feet underwater. It’s got convenient controls so you can have full access to the click wheel, as well as a removable belt clip and sport armband for easy carrying. Now if only someone could make waterproof speakers.

Available for $80 at H20 Audio.

Looking for a feature-packed media player that isn’t an iPod? Try the Creative Zen X-Fi 2! Creative Zen media players are one of the most seriously underrated gadgets in the market, and it’s hard to see why – they’re affordable, they’re durable, and the audio quality is excellent. One of the first mp3 players I owned was from Creative – I can’t remember the exact make or model but it lasted me through most of my college life. I even continued using the earphones after receiving an iPod for Christmas.

In any case, the Creative Zen X-Fi 2 comes with a 3-inch touchscreen and weighs only 6.4 ounces. The touchscreen is made of TFT LCD that can display up to 262,000 colors. Aside from supporting a number of audio formats (MP3, AAC, WMA, WMA-DRM9, WAV, Audible, FLAC (Lossless), the Creative Zen X-Fi 2 also supports a number of video formats (WMV9, MPEG 1/2/4-SP (Simple Profile), MJPEG, Photo: JPEG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, and PNG (conversion to jpeg by s/w)). And if you don’t feel like using the EP-630 earphones that come with the gadget, you can listen to your music or movie using the built-in speakers, which are equipped with Creative’s award-winning X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity Audio technology. This technology restores the quality of compressed audio, making it seem as though you are using a pair of high-end speakers rather than just built-in speakers.

The Creative Zen X-Fi 2 has 8 GB of built-in memory, but you can always insert a card into the microSD slot to expand it. Available on Amazon for only $89.99!

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There’s not a lot of innovation you can do with earbuds. Sure, there are manufacturers who create earbuds that feel more comfy than others or that make the bass sound deeper. These days, in-line volume control is probably the most advanced thing you’ll ever spot on a pair of earbuds. But with these new motion-activated earbuds from Sony Ericsson, the way we use our earbuds might change from now on.

The new MH907 from Sony Ericsson has a unique and convenient feature all audiophiles are sure to love: just pop in the buds into your ears, and the music will start playing automatically. If you take them out, the song will pause. If you get a call on your Sony Ericsson phone, just insert one of the earbuds to answer and remove it to hang up. These automatic features only activate upon skin contact, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally picking up calls while the earbuds are in your pocket or purse.

Predictably, the MH907 motion-activated earbuds are rather pricey at $55 a pair. And the biggest downside – you can only use them on a Sony Ericsson phone with a fast port connector. I suppose this is good news for those who use their Sony Ericsson phones as a music player, but for those like me who don’t, I hope someone makes a motion-activated pair with a 3.5mm jack.

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Today, Sony Japan unveiled several new Walkman models that look like complicated iPods – Sony Walkman NW-S740, NW-S740K, NW-S640 and NW-S640K (man, you’d think they would branded them with names that are easier to recall). The Sony Walkman NW-S740, NW-S740K, NW-S640 and NW-S640K have a 2 inch display and some song lyrics feature. The Sony Walkman NW-S740 and NW-S740K have noise canceling features and comes in 32GB, 16GB and 8GB capacities. Its clear that the new Sony Walkman is geared towards the teenage market, especially if you check out the rainbow candy colors. The new Sony Walkmans will be shipping out in October, but there’s no news on pricing or if Sony will export this to other countries. More information over at the Sony Japan website, if you can read Japanese.

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Prices of old iPods were dropping everywhere as new iPods were unveiled at the Apple event at San Francisco on 9-9-09. There were lots of announcements made that day, starting off with a new iPhone 3.1 update that contained a Genuis Mix, iTunes 9 support, improved 3G performance in Bluetooth. The iTunes 9 update was also made available for download to include features like iTunes LPs (to give you the illusion of buying a record minus the actual record), Genius Mixes, iTunes Extras, Home Sharing, and other updates.

Finally, the new iPods were unveiled. First up were the updates to the iPod Classic. There were early rumors that said how the iPod Classic will soon be a thing of the past, but Apple just upped its storage capability from 120GB to 160GB for $249.

I don’t know anyone who still uses an iPod Shuffle, but I suppose enough people do for Apple to add five new colors and a special edition stainless steel version. All iPod Shuffles also come with a controller that makes it easier for you to switch tracks using a headset. With just a press of a button, you can pause, play, adjust the volume, and change playlists. Apple Shuffles are selling for as low as $59 for the 2GB model and as high as $99 for the stainless steel special edition.

Finally, the new iPod Touch was unveiled. Everyone was waiting eagerly for the new iPod Touch because rumor says it would have a camera. Unfortunately, the only big announcement is that the iPod Touch would be cheaper, with the 8GB version selling for just $199, the 32GB model for $299, and the 64GB model for $399.

What did get a camera was the iPod Nano 5G. With the incredibly tiny video camera, you can now use the device to take low-def videos and pictures. For easier sharing, the Nano has been equipped with external speakers. In addition, the Nano’s display was increased to 2.2″, has 24 hours of music playback or 5 hours of video playback, and a built-in FM radio with iTunes tagging and live pause. It’s also fairly cheap too – $149 for the 8GB model and $199 for the 16GB one. I don’t need a new iPod anytime soon but I would definitely get a Nano 5G if I had to, mostly because it’s so slim and compact and because the new features are difficult to resist.

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So you’re thinking about getting an HDTV? Congratulations, you’ll be entering a world of high-res images and pictures so sharp, you’ll never see a movie in the cinemas again. If you don’t know much about high-definition technology, you’re bound to end up confused by the terms Plasma, LCD, and OLED, not to mention specs like bezel size, pixel ratios. Finally, there’s the price to consider. Let me clear up some of that confusing and explain the basics of HDTVs.

First of all, HDTV is the acronym for High Definition Television. It can give you a sharp, high-resolution image because it contains more horizontal lines than a regular TV. A normal TV has only 576 lines while an HDTV has at least 720, allowing for more detailed pictures, more vivid colors, and sharper outlines. In order to fully benefit from HD technology, you’re going to want to use your HDTV to watch HD programs and Blu-ray discs, or use a consoles with an HDMI connection, like the Xbox.

To fully benefit from the features of a HD television you ideally want to use it watch HD programmes, some of which area available free on FreeSat (such as BBC HD) and other which require a subscription (via Sky/Virgin etc). You can also use it to play Blu-ray discs on which will give you the full benefit of your purchase, and if you use a console like the XBox you want an HDMI connection to view the full detail.

To choose which type of HDTV you should get, let’s address four very important factors:

Style

If you’re after something slim and compact, an LCD HDTV is what you should get. They’re as big as plasma TVs but slimmer and lighter, which means it will take up less space. OLED screens are just as slim, but the largest OLED available is 11 inches – great for portable viewing, but not for a home theater system.

Picture Quality

OLED TVs can measure signal responses in microseconds and has cells that respond quickly to light. Among the three technologies, it has the fastest response rate. What this means is that a black OLED screen will be darker than your worst nightmare, and a bright screen will look dynamic and realistic. Plasma TVs use ionized cells that produce color, and produces better images than LCD TVs if they’re 50 inches or larger. LCDs on the other hand have the widest varieties of screen sizes and a good resolution of 1080 p, providing uniform picture quality; on the downside, they don’t offer images and color the way a plasma TV or OLED can.

Longevity

In terms of longevity the OLED is the shortest as the power consumed by the cells can only last 30,000 hours. LCD displays and plasma TVs have 60,000 hours. All three screens will eventually wear out with time – they won’t fail completely, but the picture quality will deteriorate as pixels slowly burn out.

Price

Although OLED screens can give you the best color and image quality in the market, they cost at least $1,000. Plasma TVs and LCD screens are equally priced, and their difference depends on the specs, which means that aspect ratio and frame rate will matter more than screen size. So if you really want more bang for your buck, go for an LCD or plasma screen, as they are more affordable, versatile, and long-lasting than OLEDs.

Last week, I talked about the new Sony Walkman lines announced at CES 2009 and expressed my preference for the wearable Walkman W series. But after looking at what the touch screen X series has to offer, I realize that there’s a lot to get excited about.

Just like its main competitor, the iPod Touch, the Sony X Series comes in 16GB and 32GB options, and can be used to surf the Internet. While its screen is half an inch smaller than the iPod Touch’s, it’s an OLED screen rather than a LED screen, meaning it has more vivid colors and better contrast. What makes the X Series completely different from other media players in the market is that it comes with digital noise canceling! The X Series’ noise canceling feature allows any 13.5mm EX headphones to block out all ambient noise. That’s right, no need for you to invest in those costly noise-canceling earphones that eventually run out of batteries.

Other fun features include the ability to subscribe to podcasts and video feeds (automatic download of new content!), built-in search capabilities, an FM radio, and hardware buttons. Supported audio formats include MP3, AAC, MA, PCM, and supported video formats include MPEG-4, WMV, and AVC.

No news on when it will be released and for how much. But unless it retails for less than $480, I don’t think it will even be a threat to the iPod Touch.

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The Lego Digital Camera looks more like a film camera, probably because it looks so colorful. But the camera is actually made out of a solid piece of plastic to keep it from being taken apart by tiny, curious hands.

What looks like a walkie-talkie is actually an mp3/PMP player, although I can’t see where the LCD screen of this thing goes. Do kids even listen to mp3s these days?

The Lego digital camera and mp3 player will cost $60 and $19, respectively. No news as to when they’ll be launched but they should be out in the market soon!

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At CES 2009, Sony unveiled two new Walkman lines – the touchscreen Sony X series, and the wearable Walkman W series. Of the two, I prefer the latter over the former because of its ergonomic design, simplicity, and portability. The Sony W series or the Sony NWZ-W202 is basically made out of comfortable 13.5mm EX headphones that offer rich sound quality. A ZAPPIN mode allows you to browse quickly through your music collection by automatically detecting and playing the chorus of each track and helping you find the song you want to listen to with just a few light touches on the jog dial. It takes only 30 minutes for the battery to get fully charged and you won’t have to plug it again until 12 hours later. The only downside is that the Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 has 2GB of storage, but then again, users might not want hundreds and hundreds of songs on an ultra-portable mp3 player.

The Sony Walkman W series is available in pink, green, purple, black, and white. No news about how much it will cost but they’re due to come out Spring 2009.

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My first pair of in-ear earphones were by A4Tech, and for a while I was really happy with them because the sound quality was fantastic and they only cost about Php 400. Unfortunately, they don’t have a very long life span – mine only lasted me a grand total of two months. Actually, the first pair I got died in five days; I was able to get it replaced for free at the shop where I bought it, but the second pair conked out in two months. It’s such a shame that the worksmanship of the product is so poor because up until they died, I was very happy with how my A4Tech earphones worked.

I’ve heard a lot about Bose in-ear earphones and how they’re probably the best in the market. Maybe it has a lot to do with how Bose was pretty much the pioneer of headphone technology and active noise cancellation. I wanted to buy a pair but changed my mind when I saw that the cheapest model cost at least Php 3,000.

In the end, I decided to get a pair of in-ear headphones from Philips instead. The one I got was the newest model, the SHE 9551/97, which has an acoustics vent to deliver deep clean bass, an angled design that provides noise isolation, and an ergonomic fit for comfortable wearing. The moment I tested out the sample unit I liked it immediately; the silicone cups felt great in my ear and the sound quality was thick and rich. This pair cost me about Php 1,699 which I think is a reasonable price for good quality in-ear headphones. And I think this will last me longer than my A4Tech ones.