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Being a
gadget reviewer often feels like being at a holiday
feast. Every day, companies invite me to sample their
products, and, even though I know I should turn some of
them down, I say yes too often and end up filling my
plate (or cubicle) with more gadgets than I possibly
have the time or space to review in a year.
So this
week's column consists of three mini-reviews of some
leftover gadgets that I had once wanted to review, but
never got around to writing about because I was already
full.
BLURB.COM
BLOG TO BOOK SERVICE
Ever
worry what will happen to your amazing blog posts if the
Internet blows up? With the Booksmart service from
Blurb.com you can turn your blog into a book to keep on
your coffee table or give to a relative who doesn't like
reading on the computer.
After
installing the Booksmart software (which severely slowed
down my old laptop PC when I was using it), you select a
blog book and then you point it to your blog to
"slurp" your blog entries. The program works
with blogs on Blogger, TypePad, LiveJournal and
WordPress.com. You can choose to fill the book with all
of your posts or only certain ones. Since the maximum
length of each book is 400 pages, if you've been
blogging for a while, you won't be able to fit
everything. The software auto populates your book with
your posts, headlines and photos and you can also
manually arrange the pages if you want.
I used
the Booksmart service to make a book from my
mother-in-law's Blogger blog, and, despite the fact that
the software was very sluggish, I found it to be a
somewhat easy task. I made a 328-page 7-by-7 hardcover
color book that cost
$64
(there are cheaper options). The book itself is
beautiful, and the posts were laid out nicely without
any weird formatting. I also like that I was able to
customize the front and back covers with photos from the
blog. The only problem is that the book's binding was
very poor and it got worse each time I stretched the
covers. A Blurb spokesman said the binding on my book
did not meet the company's standards and if a customer
has this problem, Blurb will send them a properly binded
replacement for free.
NEW FLIP
MINOHD CAMERA (
$200
OR
$230
)
The
second generation Flip MinoHD has the same sleek design,
but it can now shoot two hours of HD video, it has a
bigger screen and it now has an HDMI port so you can
connect it to an HDTV. Now that iPhones and iPod nanos
can shoot video, the Flip cams may be losing some of
their luster, but since they are now made by wireless
networking company
Cisco
, we could soon see a model with built-in Wi-Fi so you
can instantly post videos online.
SPRINT
4G SERVICE
In
October, I had a chance to try out
Sprint's
4G service for cell phones and computers on a visit to
Philadelphia
and
Baltimore
.
Sprint's
4G network is only available in 26 cities, none in
Florida
, but more will be added next year.
Sprint
said its 4G service provides downloads that are up to 10
times faster than on a 3G network and is useful for
passengers riding in cars or public transportation that
want to seamlessly stream video.
To test
the 4G, I connected the Sprint U300 3G/4G USB modem
(free after rebate and two-year service agreement) to my
older
Dell
laptop, and when I wanted a Wi-Fi network, I attached
the modem to the Sprint Personal Hotspot PHS300S (
$100
with purchase of the USB modem).
I used 4G
service to stream video from Hulu.com and a Slingbox
simultaneously while riding in a car, and both videos
played seamlessly. When I've watched streaming video
with 3G
Sprint
service in the past, the video hasn't played smoothly.
If you
live in a city that has 4G and are looking to get a USB
modem, it makes sense to go with
Sprint
(if the price is right). But I might wait until there is
a 4G version of the awesome MiFi device that gives you a
personal Wi-Fi hotspot.
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