Coby CSMP88: A 3D Soundbar Speaker System Reviewed

I've been in the market for a compact yet good sounding speaker system for a while now. I wanted something not too expensive either. I have a Bose Wave Music System hooked to my Mac Mini at my workstation and I love the sound. Getting another one wasn't practical and besides, at $500, it is way too expensive for my budget. I did some research, visited my local electronics stores and talked to a few people about my options. Then, I stumbled upon the Coby CSMP88 Multimedia 3D Soundbar Speaker System. Here is a quick review.

iOS Car Integration

I currently have an after-market Sony car stereo system installed in my car and it gets the job done. The biggest reason why I went out and got an after-market stereo put in was to be able to have iPod integration. My car stereo didn't come with it and it doesn't have a USB port either. The Sony system works well and I connect my iPhone to it each time I'm in the car to either play songs in my iPod, Pandora or the SiriusXM Satellite Radio app.

Possibly, A Photography Blog?

I am thinking of starting a photography blog. I do a lot of traveling, to both near and far places and always have my camera with me. Well at least my iPhone 4 which has a pretty awesome camera. This idea is still in the planning stage. I am wondering about how to construct my blog page and how do I get my pictures up there.

The best way, probably, is to

My iPad 2 buying experience

Yes it's March 11, 2011! But before this iPad 2 launch day arrived we were all hit by the shocking news about the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan which triggered Tsunamis and warnings in 20 different countries worldwide. A couple of the harbors here in California were affected from the wave of destruction that originated a whole Pacific Ocean across. It's been a day full of mixed emotions and the loss of life in Japan is a terrible thing. Unfortunately this day will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

The earthquake made the launch of the iPad 2 a little subdued for me but I was still excited to get mine.

iPad 2: A Competition Killer!

Apple has just finished unveiling the iPad 2 this morning at an event in San Francisco where, despite being on medical leave, Steve Jobs made a surprising appearance and introduced the device. It was good to see Steve looking good and healthy. I think he is absolutely crucial to sustaining Apple's wow factor.

iPad 2 is here. March 11, 2011 is the big day (photo from Apple.com)

Motorola Xoom: First Impressions

An initial BestBuy SKU listing for the Motorola Xoom shocked me because the new tablet was reportedly going to sell for $1099. Then there were reports suggesting that wasn't going to be the final price of the item and Motorola themselves came out and announced that the 3G version (upgradeable to 4G/LTE) of the tablet would be priced at $799. Now that price looks a lot better compared to four digits but is still a little steep. Especially with a whole bunch of other competing tablets on the way. 

Setting Up the Roku XDS

I just found out that Amazon is offering free videos on-demand for their prime members. "Unlimited, commercial-free, streaming of over 5,000 movies and TV shows", the website promises. The reason why I mention this is because I bought the Roku XDS player from Amazon yesterday and one of the free channels on it is Amazon Video On-demand. So that, along with Netflix and many other video streaming services, makes the Roku box a good buy.

My Roku XDS Digital Video Player has arrived!

I finally decided to buy the Roku XD|S Video Player. I had initially contemplated buying a lower model (Roku XD) but decided to get the XD|S instead because the USB port may open up more possibilities in the near future. I've also learned that MLB has a channel on there which would allow me to watch baseball on my TV. With baseball season just around the corner, it seemed like the right time to buy it.

A Non-iOS Tablet Dilemma

If you've been catching up on the latest tech news over the last few weeks you would have noticed the rapid increase in tablet talk around the web. Numerous companies have introduced their tablets and each one promises features unique in some way. Truth be told, the tablet market has been dominated by the iPad for over a year now and it's about time something other than an Apple device stepped up to the plate.

I've had the iPad since it was launched in 2009 and

The HP TouchPad looks promising

HP has unveiled their tablet at a press event yesterday. It's called the TouchPad and I have to tell you, some of the features on this thing are really interesting. This looks like a genuine iPad-competitor (hate to use that term but that's the way it's always going to be). HP has also come out with two smart phones in the Veer and Pre 3 which are supposed to work in sync with the TouchPad.

I'm back! What did I miss?

I'm finally back from my eagerly awaited trip to Southeast Asia and boy did I have a good time! It was mainly meant to be a leisurely vacation and it turned out great. I made it back to the US just in time for Super Bowl XLV. I'm happy the Packers beat the Steelers, although it really didn't mean much to me (my 49ers... maybe next year?).

My vacation was designed to get away from my daily routine. I didn't get on the internet a lot, except to check my mail and pay my bills. So I must have missed a lot of tech over the last month.

Internet Connections at Overseas Airports

My trip to Asia is in full swing and it's gone on well so far. This is my first blog entry from outside the United States. I have traveled to Seoul, South Korea already and had a very good 'airport experience' there. After snooping around for some decent food to eat, I ran into a Subway and had my fill. Then I sat down to checkout my options for connecting to the inter-webs.

There were a lot of open wireless connections available but I decided to stay away from those. I found one that was secure and connected to it with a login page and passkey. It seemed like being the best one to use. The next thing I did was go to www.speedtest.net to check the speed of the connection. I was wowed! Take a look...

2011: A Year for Tablets

As each December day passes by and we near the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011 (January 6-9), one thing becomes clearer. 2011 is going to be a year for tablets. Apple set the benchmark earlier this year with the extremely successful iPad and competitors are often found trying to keep up with the technology. It's only a matter of time before we see tablets that truly compete with the versatility, ease-of-use and features that the iPad promises. And then there will be the iPad 2!

NiZn Rechargeable Batteries: Eco-Friendly Technology

The Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Magic Mouse are very good devices but they consume battery power like there's no tomorrow. There is no doubt that using rechargeable batteries is the way to go as it is less expensive than using alkaline batteries and more 'green'. I came across these new Nickel Zinc rechargeable AA size batteries on Amazon and they promise to be even greener than regular rechargeable NiMH ones.

The Misery that's the 'Free Hotel Wi-Fi'

I'm back from my weekend trip to LA and it was a very picturesque drive back and forth. I had my MacBook Air, iPad and iPhone 4 with me along the way. The Virgin Mobile Mi-Fi gave me internet connectivity on the wi-fi only iPad. It was the first time I've really used the Mi-Fi since getting it last week and I was pleasantly surprised. In most instances it worked better and had faster speeds than the 'Free wi-fi' in the hotels I stayed at. Which brings me to the main point of this post.

Virgin Mobile Broadband MiFi: Initial Thoughts

The last time I went on a road trip was in August this year. Through Northern California and up the Oregon Coast to Washington State. It was a fun 10-day trip. Before setting out I had contemplated getting a MiFi device to be able to connect to the internet on my Wi-Fi only iPad while on the road. The thought of activating AT&T's iPhone 4 Tethering service had also crossed my mind but the fact that I would lose my unlimited data plan for doing so had crushed those plans. Back in August I decided to wait till the holiday season to get a mobile broadband device and to be honest it was a pretty good decision because the road trip was fun as there was lots to see along the way and the motels/hotels we stayed at had decent internet services. So I hardly missed being able to get online at the time.

Now, this coming weekend I have a trip planned to Los Angeles

White iPhone 4 and the New iPad 2

The speculations keep flowing! 9to5mac now reports that Apple has not killed the possibility of a white iPhone 4 and in fact it is very much coming by 'late spring 2011'. I'm sure this is good news for all those who felt let down when Apple announced that the white iPhone was being pushed back indefinitely.

HBO Anywhere is now a Reality!

I found out just today that HBO's streaming service, 'HBO Go', is now up and running for AT&T U-verse customers. This is great news because it means I don't have to use up space on my DVR to catch up on episodes of shows like Eastbound & Down and Bored to Death. Movies on HBO can also be watched on-demand. Look out Netflix and Hulu Plus!

Apple Mac Mini 2010 RAM Upgrade

The 2010 Mac Mini became the first Mac I've owned when I purchased it in September of 2010. I've really liked it ever since because it's small and doesn't take much room on my desk. A very nice innovation since it's a unibody machine and doesn't have overheating issues. It is very quiet too and works just like any desktop should. I purchased the 2.4GHz model with a 320GB hard drive and 2GB RAM.

Lately I have been contemplating upgrading the RAM to its full 8GB capacity. Flash player and Java have been acting up on me and I didn't exactly know if it was because of insufficient RAM. So when I opened up the Activity Monitor it showed I only had about 200MB of free RAM at one point.

iOS 4.2 on the iPad and Netflix Streaming Subscription

It's finally here! Apple released the much awaited iOS 4.2 update on Monday, November 22nd, 2010 and I'm guessing everyone who owns an iPad must have scrambled to update their device. For those at work, the wait to get home and do the update must have been agonizing. But, was it worth all the "hype"? It was, and here's why.