Amazon.com Product Description

So you can have a phone in every room in the house, Panasonic's KX-TG2730 expands to offer up to eight separate handsets. Each one can act as an intercom to that room, allowing you to know what's happening even when you're at the other end of the house.

Four-line LCD panels display the name and number of callers (with subscription to Caller ID service) and provide access to a 50-number phone directory that supplies one-touch dialing. A 10-number speed dialer and convenient speakerphone are located on the base, as is a fully digital answering system that provides up to 15 minutes of message time, each with a time and date stamp.

Choose from six programmable ringer tones and take advantage of the system's toll saver feature, which allows you to check messages away from home without accruing unnecessary long distance charges.

Panasonic provides a one-year warranty for parts and service. ... Read more

Features

• 2.4 GHz operation
• Frequency hopping digital spread spectrum technology
• Expandable to 8 handsets
• Built-in digital answering system
• Caller ID with call waiting

Reviews (61)

It's not what I've expected...
I bought this phone because of its features: Caller ID, answering machine and expandable. But sorry to say I agree with most of the reviews of this phone. When I'm talking on the phone the other side of the line couldn't hear me for half of the time. I use the phone the first when I call my mom who's oversea and she said 'Why are you talking to me on a cheap phone?' It's not fun using this phone when calling long distance when I'm paying for every single minute, not even fun when I paid $130 for the phone, not at all. After reading the reviews I do realised that the caller id always have 'incoming' call and yes it is slow to show the number that's calling. I'll sure to try the method a review pointout to improve the function of the caller id. I had not have any complaint about the battary life maybe because I don't talk too long a time. If I had read the reviews before buying the phone, I don't think I get this after all.

DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE, ITS A BUMMER !!!
UPDATE!!!

I replaced original battery with Energizer Nickel-Metal Hybride NiMH 1200mAh ER-P511. This battery will make this phone one incredible talking monster (3 to 4 hrs talk time, no memory effect). Make sure you are buying 1200mAh not cheaper 800mAh which is widely avaliable. 1200mAh one will cost you $25 and I found it only in best buy.

I came across this site, because I am looking to replace the phones battery. I have been using this phone for about a year ( 11 months) to be exact, and I am very dissapointed with its battery performance. Although phone is rich in features, its battery life is terrible, terrible. From only 1 hour talk time when phone was new, it is now no more than 30min. My old phone 900Mhz analog Panasonic did not need to be charged for days, this phone takes 2 days to charge. I bought it for its digital answering system and 2.4Ghz range and good looks. My previous experience with this brand was very positive, it looks like a bad product design. This phone is a BUMMER !!!!

I like this phone
We bought this phone several months ago after 2 bum tries with other makes/models. This one provides flexibility with the expansion option and speaker phone system. Caller id is a little slow to respond but not a problem. The low rating on this product's reviews doesn't reflect the true worth of this phone, in my opinion. Obviously someone has chosen to sway the rating lower due to some deeper issue. My recommendation is to see for yourself. If you're looking for an expandable phone, buy this one from a reputable place and try it out for a few weeks. If you don't like it, return it within the store's return policy.

Junk Phone.....
As stated by previous reviews this is a junk phone. My old Panasonic 900mhz was great and worked for years after being dropped a number of times.

This phone has a horrible battery life and the individuals on the other end of the line constantly complain about you being hard to hear. I have tried everything and nothing short of shouting at the phone helps. DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE!!!!!!!!!

The Best Phone For your Buck
I have been using this phone for about 2 weeks now and I have to say that this phone is just about perfect. I have no idea why so many people have battery issues. The fact is that if your battery does not last, go out and buy energizer battery. Its NiMH (ER-P511) there is no memory and it lasts for 10hrs talk time. The only bad thing for me is that, there is no blinking light when you have missed calls. If you are thinking about buying this phone, do it, you will love it. Do not listen to the reviews. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Motorola MD681 combines powerful 5.8 GHz digital technology with strong call features, an integrated answering system, and expandability to six compatible handsets, each offering caller ID and visual call waiting. Plus, the phone includes a digital answering system with three individual mailboxes.

Both the handset and base unit offer full functionality, with full keypad, speakerphone, and backlit LCD on each. The base unit is desk or wall mountable and offers face-up handset charging, while the handset also offers convenient intercom features, three-way conferencing, VibraCall alert, and a low battery indicator. Additional call features include redial, flash, mute, and hold. The MD681 comes with everything you need to get started, and is backed by a one-year warranty. Features 5.8 GHz Digital with Multi-Handset Capability Caller ID with Visual Call Waiting on Base Station Expandable up to 6 total handsets 3-mail box digital answering machine on base Selectable Ringtones Redial, Flash, Hold and Mute Functionality VibraCall alert What's in the Box MMD681 base, one handset, NiMH rechargeable battery pack, charging transformer, telephone line cord, wall bracket, user manual, warranty information.

See a detailed view of the phone's feature.

Features

• 5.8 GHz digital signal; expandable to 6 handsets
• Digital answering system with 3 individual mailboxes
• Caller ID with visual call waiting
• Speakerphone capability from handset and base unit
• Selective ring tones and VibraCall alert

Reviews (32)

MD681, good looking, functional home office essential gadget
Negatives first: Very poor Motorola tech. support... you gotta figure this device out on your own. Finding a back-up and/or replacement battery pack was a scavenger hunt to say the least, come on Motorola... get with the program and train your customer service rep's and techies to actually understand your products! FYI; Radio Shack has a battery, P/N #23-272 (2.4V/1400mAh NiMH) and it's widely available at most stores or on the web. Overall, I like this device (great speakerphones in the handsets) I have three remote handsets, scattered about my home and office). O.K., so the answering machine is disassociated with the base operating system and remote handsets... who cares anyway! Cool blue lights for evening usage and I like the "brick style" handsets... kind of muscular instead of the ever popular feminine styled crap that's out there from the competition! This phone is for hi-tech users only... not fuddies, lackeys and techno-idiots. Buy this phone system if you are using a WiFi 2.4GHZ network to avoid transmission interference. I purchased mine 01/08/04 at Circuit City in Indianapolis... they had more cordless phones on display (and in stock) than any other retailer in the metro area.

A very nice phone
I've had this phone now for a week and have come to really like it - so much so, that I'm going to go out and get an additional handset for my home office to replace a corded speakerphone. The handset itself has a decent speakerphone built in and I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality.

Others have mentioned that the sound quality of the answering machine is poor. In my opinion, it's every bit as good as any other answering machine I've ever owned. Others have also complained that the handset and base station don't share a phone book. There's a simple solution to work around this. When somebody calls you, you simply enter the Caller ID menu and then press save on the handset and the base station. It takes about 5 seconds. The same works if you call somebody. I dialed a number and the caller ID worked in reverse, showing me the name of the person who's number I just dialed. Menu > Caller ID > Save. Done. It's that easy. I wouldn't want to enter numbers by hand on each device, but this is such a simple way to do it, I don't know who would try anything else. Spend an afternoon calling your friends and you'll be done.

The handset, while slim, fits comfortably in your hand. I was concerned about this, but it's not an issue. I've mounted the base station to a wall and while it sticks out a little bit farther off the wall than I'd like, it's less than others and after about 2 hours, it really doesn't bother me anymore.

The menu system is nice and you can even adjust the contrast of the screens. My only gripe about the phone is the ring tones. Can't any phone mfr (cell, wired or wireless) make a phone that has a good old-fashioned ring to it anymore? I had to cycle through to the 6th ring tone before I found one that wasn't annoying. Oh - you might want to make sure to set the ring tone on the phone and the base station to be the same. Otherwise, when the handset is on the base station, the rings are out of sync and the two different tones are annoying. This and only getting one battery in the box are what keep me from giving it 5 stars.

I would have no problems recommending this phone to anybody. I bought it direct at Circuit City so I could return it easier if necessary, but I'll be keeping it and ordering another handset.

dissapointed
i bought this unit and was very pleased until i had a problem.<br /> my dog broke the power pack and motorola said i cant get a replacement part. i thought why cant i buy another power pack. motorola said they do not sell replacement parts so my phone is no good now.<br /> i bought a uniden cheaper and it actually sounds better then the motorola. it was 1/3 the price

Motorola needs help with this one!!
We purchased this phone a year ago from Target and have had problems since the beginning with it cutting in and out during conversations. We can be sitting in the same spot, near the base and it always happens if we are on the phone for more than a few minutes. We have addressed the problem with Motorola, went through trouble shooting options with no success. They sent us a new phone (at our expense to ship the original phone back). Unfortunately this phone gives us the same problems!! Motorola blames our phone company...we live in a major metropolitan area with a large provider - it's not the case! I believe they were one of the first to come out with the 5.8Ghz phones and they need to improve their product as the competion is much more plentiful now. Rather than fight with the phone any longer.....I'm pitching it. MY RECOMMENDATION: DON'T BUY THIS PHONE - not worth the money!!

So much potential, but some annoying problems
This is a great phone with some really annoying problems. I know it's been said before, I read all about how you can't sync the handset address books with the base. Now that I'm using this, what an incredible frustration! Motorola, pay attention: Add this easy feature as an option people can use to sync the handset with the base. This is a great phone, really nice reception, very clear, easy to use, nice backlighting, feels great, etc. But the lack of sync drives me nuts. Now that we own the base + 1 additional handset, my wife wants to upgrade the whole house. But I'm definitely not going to program the phone list 5 times. The other problem I've heard mentioned before is the quality of the answering machine. It does sound awful, it's way overcompressed on both the inbound and outbound messages. I also wish there was an "auto-redial" feature when the line is busy. Lots of cell phones have this now.

If you don't get easily annoyed by small details, this is a wonderful phone, but for those people who really want to feel like they got their money's worth on this expensive of a phone, hope Mot fixes these problems for the MD682. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Motorola MD671 combines 5.8 GHz digital technology, a stylish silver design, plenty of functions, and even expandability to six handsets, making it perfect for busy households. With dual keypads, dual displays (full graphic), and dual speakerphone capability, the MD671 also offers the convenience of caller ID and visual call waiting, so you always know who's calling.

The MD671 includes one handset to get you started; it houses a wealth of great features. Selectable ring tones help identify callers, while three-way conferencing and convenient intercom functionality help you stay connected. Additional handset features include redial, flash, mute, hold, and a built-in battery meter with audible and visual alert signals that let you know when power is running low. The MD671 comes with everything you need to get started and is backed by a one-year warranty. Features: Caller ID with visual call waiting Full keypad in base Redial, flash, hold, and mute functionality 5.8 GHz digital signal, expandable to six total handsets What's in the Box MD671 base, handset, NiCD battery pack, charging transformer, telephone line cord, wall bracket, user manual, warranty information

See a detailed view of the phone's feature.

Features

• 5.8 GHz digital signal; expandable to 6 handsets
• Caller ID with visual call waiting
• Speakerphone capability from handset and base unit
• Selective ring tones and VibraCall alert
• Redial, flash, hold, and mute functions

Reviews (24)

Best is not always perfect
We had a failure of the base unit for our Siemens Gigaset 4210 system, which made the whole system inoperative. Although this system is still under warranty and will be repaired, we never liked using it. Therefore, we decided to replace that system with a different one. We considered 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz cordless phones. We did not have any requirements for extraordinary range or wireless LAN compatibility. The choices were numerous, but our final selection of a new Motorola MD671 system resulted after a compromise of our requirements.

Our needs seemed to be simple, but just try to satisfy them in a cordless phone or phone system. While researching our choices, we came across a review that stated "... if these features are available in a cell phone, why can't I have them in a cordless?" We strongly agree with this remark, and we feel that the manufacturers should get their cell and cordless design teams talking to each other to exchange some of the good feature ideas.

Our requirements for multiple phones or a phone system:
• Speed dial or memory dial
• Long battery life
• Ability to operate during a power failure
• Phonebook sharing among the handsets and base (system phones only)
• Clear, easy-to-read display
• Good sound quality
• Solid feel and comfortable to use
• Speaker operation in all handsets
• Voicemail notification (FSK light)
• Caller ID

We did not have requirements for other features, such as intercom, so other reviews may be helpful when considering those features. We also did not want to get into a phone or system with an answering machine.

After using the Motorola MD671 system for a few days, I can provide some pros and cons, from our perspective. You can see that it is a mixed bag that did not meet all of our requirements.

PROS
• Very simple to set up and use. The menu is limited and intuitive. It is the polar opposite of our former Siemens phones. What a joy to see Motorola keep it simple.
• The buttons have a good spacing, although they are small and hard to read, and a nice rubbery feel.
• 1400 mAh NiMH battery should have long life and does not need the discharge cycles that a NiCd battery does. It should have about 50% longer life than the Panasonic 850 mAh NiCd batteries.
• The battery meter shows small increments of change, unlike the other phones that we tried. For example, our former Siemens handsets show remaining battery capacity in three discrete segments.
• A spare battery pack can be inserted into the base unit to keep the phone system working during a power outage. Motorola estimates that the unit will operate for about 2-1/2 hours. No base-unit functions will operate on backup battery power, but the handsets will be fully functional. Note that handset batteries can be interchanged in the base unit for longer power-outage operation.
• Sound quality seems indistinguishable from most corded phones.
• Speakerphone operates great. It has clear sound, and it is full duplex, although you will not see that it is in the user's manual.
• Display uses large characters, making it easier to read, possibly even without your glasses.
• Handsets have a rubber edges, which provide a comfortable, "grippy" feel. The handsets feel great in the hand and on the ear, and they have a solid, well-balanced feel.
• Simple volume switch located on the rubber edge of the handset.
• Easy to mute while using the handset.
• Voicemail light works great. Not only does the base unit flash, each handset flashes when there is a message waiting.
• Small antenna looks good, never gets in the way, and is less of a temptation to our bird.

CONS
• Each handset and the base operate independently. Therefore, when a missed call is registered on the display, it must be cleared from each handset and base to have a "clean slate" waiting for the next set of calls. Likewise, each CID register must be independently cleared. It would be more convenient to have an action at one unit affect the whole system.
• Blue backlighting is a little difficult to read. Perhaps white or a light shade of green would be easier to see.
• User's manual is too brief. It does not include some of the features of the phone, such as pressing a letter on the keypad to quickly go to the start of that section of the phonebook.
• No phonebook sharing, which means that you need to key in phonebook entries into each of your handsets and the base individually. This feature could be good for families with multiple teenagers, who each want to have their own phonebook that cannot be changed by another handset.
• No one- or two-number speed dial. This one I just can't understand, because cell phones and most other cordless phones have it. On this phone, you either need to scroll through the phonebook (you can use the shortcut described above) or sign up for speed dial from the phone company. We did the latter.
• Handset does not stand up in a "normal speakerphone orientation." However, the belt clip and the battery cover keep the speaker off of a surface adequately to lay the phone down, buttons up. In this position, it will never fall over while using it.
• Information is hard to find for this phone. For instance, the Motorola site compares their cordless phones, and they say that this model has speed dial (it doesn't) and does not have redial (it does).
• If you like to cradle your handset on your shoulder, this phone may be too slim.

Overall, we think that we found an excellent cordless system, but we will have to use it longer to really have an adequate experience base for comment. If this phone had shared phonebooks and speed dial, we would "be in cordless heaven."

Good phone for the money
I was looking for a phone in the 5.8 GHz frequency band so as to reduce the interference with a home wireless LAN.
After using the phone for a few days I can provide some pros and cons.

PROS:
> Long battery life...thanks to a 1400 mAh Nickel Metal Hydride battery. Compared to our 2.4 GHz PANASONIC with NiCd batteries this is a marked improvement in battery life. On standby the battery lasts 3-4 days.
> Sound quality comparable to other cordless phones
> Range: Works about 500 feet away from base
> Simple setup
> Ergonomic design
> Spread spectrum technology. Makes eavesdropping harder
> Handset speakerphone in addition to speakerphone on base
> Choice of ringer tones

CONS:
> If another phone in the house is in use the speaker on the base blinks with this blue light. Motorola said it cannot be turned off. The LCD display message "Extension in use" is sufficient ...the blue light is really not required
> Not a true 5.8 GHz phone. Motorola informed me that the handset to base uses 2.4 GHz but the base to handset uses the 5.8 GHz band
> Separate Caller id. To delete the calls in your caller id list you have to delete them from the base and handset separately.
> User manual is too short. Missing: Technical specifications, detailed explanations of some features

All things considered this phone is a good buy.

Close to landline quality
Great phone with superior reception and voice quality. Stylish and more compact then the picture reflects. Large display on the base. My only complaint is that I have to clear the caller ID's for the handset and base independently. Would be nice if I could do both at the same time. Might be one of the pricier models, but worth it!

This is a great phone!
I like this phone a lot more than I expected. It was easy to set up and it's easy to use. This is probably my fiftieth cordless - okay, it's more like my tenth - I go through phones for some reason. It ranks at the top.

Great phone, easy setup & expandability
So far, the best cordless phone we've had. This phone has a nice, solid feel, uncluttered keypad, and the display is large, bright, and easy to read. We bought ours together with one expansion unit (MD61). Setup of the expansion phone was simple as well.

Sound quality on both handsets is perfect throughout the house...no noise, etc.

My favorite feature is the speakerphone capability on the handsets. You can turn it on and off in the middle of a call, set it down on a table and continue your conversation hands-free, and it is especially handy when dialing into our phone company voicemail, or getting messages from work.

If they had asked me, I would only offer these design improvements:

1. It would be nice if the handsets could stand upright on their own when not in the cradle, so the display would be more visible if you had it sitting on a table;

2. The wall mounting bracket causes the base unit to tilt upward too much when it's on the wall. This can make the display less visible from a distance or if we're sitting down at the dinner table. I fixed this minor issue by placing three wood shims behind the mounting bracket, to tilt the top of the unit forward so that it is somewhat more vertical.

3. The handheld units are straight, and fairly slender which makes it difficult to hold the phone between your cheek and shoulder (i.e. hands-free). But if you need to use both hands to do something else while talking, you can just punch the speakerphone button and set the handheld down to continue talking. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Garmin's eTrex Vista GPS receiver is smaller than its popular eMaps, but far more powerful. The Vista offers more memory, more features, and more convenience than any other GPS hardware in this price range.

Don't be fooled by the product's small screen. Although smaller than the display used in products like the eMap, it has a higher resolution, letting it show more information more crisply. Small text can be difficult to read from a distance, but there are "big number" options available to make important data like your speed easy to read.

It's this configurability that makes the eTrex Vista so special.

	 
Map page (shown with optional MapSource topo detail).

You can easily set it up to suit your needs, regardless of the situation. Menu choices are highlighted and confirmed with a small joystick near the top of the unit, providing an elegant interface for navigating a formidable amount of options. Our only complaint is that the joystick used to access all the product's features is offset to the left, making it nearly impossible to control using only your right hand. When the joystick is held in your left hand, however, every control is within easy reach of your left thumb, freeing your right hand to hold a flashlight, walking stick, lantern, or anything else.

This GPS unit's diminutive size and weight, not to mention its rugged design, make it an ideal hiking companion. It's waterproof in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes and is generously coated with shock-absorbing rubber. The barometric altimeter keeps a historical record of your ascents and descents, graphing elevation changes so you can easily track your progress.

	 
Elevation page

The ability to store waypoints, points of interest, routes, and other information means you can blaze your own trail and always find your way back to camp.

Best of all, 24 MB of internal memory makes it possible to store an enormous amount of data from Garmin's optional MapSource CDs, turning the eTrex Vista into an interactive road atlas. The memory isn't expandable, but 24 MB is enough to store street-level data for entire states in some cases.

A serial cable is included for transferring the maps from your PC to the GPS unit, but it's terribly slow. A USB connector, sold separately, transfers data in a fraction of the time.

The eTrex Vista was very accurate in testing, especially in a car on the open road. Accuracy diminished somewhat when the device was used in heavy tree cover or a dense urban area, but not enough that you're ever going to get lost or miss an exit. Used side-by-side with an eMap, the eTrex Vista kept up in update speed while displaying even more information on the moving map than the eMap did, cementing its position as perhaps the best all-around handheld GPS unit money can buy. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Small and light without sacrificing features
• 24 MB of integrated memory stores reams of detailed maps
• High-resolution screen displays sharp text legible even at extremely small sizes

Cons:

• Can't be used one-handed when held in the right hand
• Smaller display is hard to read from a distance, as when the device is placed on a dashboard

Features

• Global positioning system (GPS) receiver with barometric altimeter, electronic compass, and Americas base map
• Store more maps and different types of data (marine, roads, and more) with 24 MB of storage; PC cable included
• Accuracy to less than 3 meters with WAAS correction data
• High-resolution liquid-crystal display for easy reading
• Compatible with optional Garmin MapSource software; includes serial PC interface

Reviews (75)

Better Than I Thought
I'd like to start this review by saying that I'm a Registered Maine Hunting Guide with years of expirience navigating in the back country and plenty of expirience using different brands of GPSs. That said, I nearly didn't buy this GPS after reading some of the reviews for it, I'm glad I did.
I recently returned from a 2 week hunting excursion in Northern Maine in unfamiliar territory. The Vista greatly aided me in knowing exactly where I was at all times. I purchased the Map Source Topo program for it and loaded my maps. I had room for all of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire in it. While all the newer logging roads weren't on the map, a lot of them were.
The electronic compass is a neat feature and saves you from getting out your regular compass when orienting yourself, but I do like a regular compass better.
As I was all ready familiar with Garmin GPSs, this GPS was very easy for me to use. To many convienient features to list. This GPS did everything I wanted it to and then some. Battery life was exceptable and the only time I had any problem with reception was during a heavy snow storm while in fairly heavy tree cover.
A friend of mine has the Garmin Legend GPS and while it is less money he was only able to load about half of the state on it. So for more money and features the Vista is the way to go.
The small "shirt pocket" size, the topo map and all the other great features make this a "Must Have" for any back country traveler.
If you're looking for a GPS to use in your vehicle, pick a different model, the small size of this unit that makes it great for hand held use makes it to small to use effectively in your vehicle.
All in all this GPS is great in my opinion, it is absolutely perfect for me and my uses. Great quality, easy to use, convienient features, small size, fast updates. Have I left any thing out? If you're a hunter, hiker or back country traveler this is the GPS for you.

Not very useful.
I ordered this GPS unit for a trip out west to several National Parks. I also ordered the very expensive National Parks West maps from Garmin. I downloaded the maps for several of the parks I was to visit, so that I would get detailed trail maps once I got there. Once at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I went to use my eTrex Vista with the "detailed" map and all I got was a rough location of the city I was near. Clearly the detailed map did not download properly, or when I entered map info for one park it overwrote the information I downloaded for other parks. The only park listed was the last park I downloaded and I never ended up going to that park, so my purchase was a complete waste of money. If you are completely incapable of reading a map, perhaps this unit can be of use to you driving down the road, of course it barely receives a signal from within a car, you have to get out and hold the unit if there are any trees or buildings around. The screen is also too small and not in color, and the batteries don't last long enough. I have stock in Garmin, so I suppose I should not bad mouth them too much, but if I could return this unit to Amazon, I would.

GARMIN HAS GOOD RECEPTION
I own 3 GPS receivers and I will say Garmin did an excellent job. The receiver is much more sensitive to satellite signals than my other GPSs. Just don't expect too much from this small unit with tiny screen and very slow CPU for screen refresh. It will drive you nuts to use it for street navigation. It is suitable for back trailing in the mountains. For street navigate, I strongly suggest that you hook this unit up with a laptop but make sure that GPS is set to NMEA and the software GPS setting is also correct. Conclusion, don't street navigate with this unit alone and don't buy a no brand GPS under $90 because you will not be happy with the reception.

Eddy

A poor offering by Garmin
This expensive (for gps units) includes the PC Cable but DOES NOT include the ability to comunicate with your PC. After waiting 17 minutes for customer service I was told that I had to purchase a $29 software to be able to download my waypoints to my computer. I don't need extra maps - I only want to download my waypoints.

In the waypoint view - over half of the display is the flag symbol and the co-ordinates are so small as to be practically useless in the field.

This is my fifth Garmin product and in the past have been happy with the performance. I give this a 1 as it is little better than a $99 unit.

Great GPS Unit And A Great Price!
Another reviewer here said it best: don't let the misleading negative reviews of this product prevent you from taking a good look at the Garmin eTrex Vista. (Honestly, what are some of these people wanting to do with a GPS device? Fix a waypoint on a specific part of a cow patty in a farmer's field somewhere?)

This is the first GPS handheld I've purchased after carefully reviewing other models from other brands at a local store with true "hands on" comparisons. I thought the Garmin products were by far the most intuitive and user-friendly of the GPS handhelds I played with. Great features and an excellent value for the money. (...)

Looking at the less expensive eTrex Legend and the Vista and wondering which to buy? Well, the Legend is great but it lacks the Vista's electromagnetic
compass or air-pressure altitude indicator if that is important to you. It also has much less memory capacity (8MB) for storing detailed Mapsource maps.

I have loaded my Vista with topo maps from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and it took up all 24MB of memory (of course, it really is a lot of detail we're talking about here). I would think that the memory capacity of the Legend could be a significant limitation if you are looking at getting into extra topo or metro guide maps. If you have no use for extra maps or an electromagnetic
compass and altimeter, then the Legend might be the way to go.

Personally, I think the Vista represents a better overall value for the dollar.

Ignore the naysayers and compare the GPS units for yourself. I'm very happy with the Vista and would have made the same purchase if I had to do it all over again. ... Read more

Features

• Ultra-Compact and Lightweight -- the Smallest Flash Media Card Available
• Provides High Read/Write Speeds Necessary for Today's Newest Digital Cameras
• Rigid Memory Card Construction for Exceptional Durability
• For all xD-Picture Card Compatible Digital Cameras

Reviews (5)

Works great in my Olympus C-8080 8 mega pixel camera
This card works perfectly in my 8 megapixel Olympus C-8080 digital camera.

At the camera's highest resolution setting of 3264x2448 pixels with minimal JPEG compression (SHQ in Olympus terminology), I am able to shoot and store 130 pictures. This is approximately 3.9MB per image on average.

At 640x480 pixels with 'normal' JPEG compression, this xD card fits 5324 pictures. It's also very fast and well worth the money and convenience.

I also have the 256MB xD card as a bsckup in case I fill up the entire 512MB xD card before downloading the images to my laptop PC.

SO many pictures
In my Fuji F700 camera this card will hold 343 6mp images, and almost twice that at 3.2mp. Can't wait to take my camera on vacation this summer. The nice thing about such a large card is you absolutely never feel like taking a picture would be a waste of space. It'll also hold (not at the same time obviously) about 7-1/2 minutes of 640x480 video with sound.

Transfer rates are blisteringly fast, too. And since the F700 comes with a docking station, I doubt I'll ever have to take the card out.

Fast and Tiny
I use it for my 8 MP digital camera, and I'm pleased with how quickly it receives image data. Its miniscule size is both an advantage & disadvantage: so small it's easy to lose, but it's equivalent to 4 rolls of 36 exposure 35mm film.

The Size To Get!
I own three Fuji cameras, an S602Z, S5000 and S7000. I've already reviewed the xD 128MB card here, shooting down the CF crowd who trashed Fuji's xD format as 'non standard'.. hey, does it make sense to cling to an obsolete 'standard'? xD has every advantage over CF.. far lower power consumption (for your CF card snobs, that means that your batteries drain a lot faster than mine), is smaller than a postage stamp, writes blazing fast.. a couple, three seconds for a RAW file, even TIFFs write faster than on my old San Disk 256MB CF cards that I had used in a Nikon 990 and in my s602z... I use the xD in the s602z with a CF adapter, it's faster. ... and now Fuji projects size increases up to 8 GIGABYTES.. on the xD card. Can you say 'TIME TO LOSE THE MICRODRIVE!' 1GB xD card is coming out real soon. This is a better technology than the old CF cards, and since there are no mechanical parts, there's no reason to use a Microdrive.. I mention this because the Fujis have a CF II slot for a Microdrive. What's a Microdrive.. a HARD DRIVE. What happens to all hard drives.. they're mortal. They die. Something to consider, when you can acheive the same storage easily with a couple (soon, ONE) xD cards. In actual use, I just leave my 512 xD in the camera when I transfer photos, this way I never touch it. The price is right, the technology superior. There's also at least one USB xD Flash memory device.. I bought one, and now use an xD card to carry files around from my PC. You can swap the xD cards in and out of the USB flash stick, very nice, so now I can boot Linux off of an xD card that's smaller than a postage stamp. Wow, think of the possibilities.

Don't even think of not getting one of these!
Besides being a super-fast media format for your digital cameras, it is a convenient size for vacations and travelling.
Why fill up small cards & miss a shot, or have to carry around a pocket full of smaller capacity cards? Plus, the price per meg beats getting a bunch of the smaller cards.
Do take care, though, in handling, as the card is delicate & only about the size of a postage stamp.
I use this for my Fuji S5000 and haven't had to worry about missing a photo op. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Olympus xD-Picture Card is compact for smaller and more stylish digital devices. It's powerful for amazing memory capacity now, and increased memory capacity in the future. It's durable, making it a media you can trust with your most valuable data. And it's versatile, for unprecedented device flexibility. Olympus xD-Picture Cards--the most advanced digital media cards ever for the best digital images yet. Nothing's impossible.

Quickly and easily transferring images and data to a computer is a cinch when the Olympus xD-Picture Card is used with any xD-compatible product. And it's just as easy using non-xD devices as well, thanks to a number of groundbreaking adapters that will be available, including a CompactFlash Adapter, SmartMedia USB Reader/Writer, and PCMCIA/PC Card Adapter.

Designed with the most advanced storage technology available, the Olympus xD-Picture Card system meets the memory capacity needs of today, while also being readily available to fulfill the increased memory capacity needs of tomorrow.

Olympus xD-Picture Cards are the only xD cards that support the Panorama function found on most Olympus digital cameras. ... Read more

Features

• 256 MB storage capacity
• Ultra-compact 0.97" by 0.98" by 0.67" size
• Designed for maximum durability
• Compatible with most products that use xD cards
• Supports the Panorama function found on most Olympus digital cameras

Amazon.com Product Description

SanDisk's Cruzer Mini makes data transfer fast and simple. It's hi-speed USB 2.0-certified for data transfers at up to 480 Mbps (also compatible with USB 1.1, at a more modest 12 Mbps). Its 512 MB capacity lets you store important data, pictures, music, and other files on a device little bigger than a few sticks of gum, then readily transfer them to your laptop or desktop. Making an important presentation? Walk into the room with your laser pointer and a Cruzer Mini.

The Cruzer Mini offers higher storage capacity than floppy disks and other removable media, faster transfer rates, and better file security through CruzerLock. CruzerLock encrypts your individual files, keeping them safe and secure from prying eyes. Simply choose a personal password, select the file that you want to encrypt, and let CruzerLock do the rest. (CruzerLock is Windows-only; local administrator privileges required for Windows 2000 and XP.)

For most users, the Cruzer Mini is plug and play, with no drivers required. (A Windows 98SE driver is available online at sandisk.com.) Many USB flash drives obstruct the port adjacent to it, making it difficult or impossible to use two USB devices at once. The ultra-small, ultra-thin Cruzer Mini won't cramp your style--no matter how tight things may get.

Two additional color caps and a removable neckstrap let you personalize the Cruzer Mini to fit your style.

What's in the Box
Cruzer Mini, 2 extra color caps, a neckstrap, a user's manual, and warranty information. ... Read more

Features

• High-speed, compact, USB flash drive for storing or transferring data, pictures, music, etc.
• High, 512 MB storage capacity; USB 2.0-certified for fast data transfer (compatible with USB 1.1)
• Small size and easy to use--just .79 x 2.6 x .48 inches (W x H x D)
• PC and Macintosh compatible, no drivers required for most systems (Windows 98SE driver available online)
• Thin design does not obstruct dual-stacked USB ports found on most computers; includes 2 extra color caps and a neckstrap

Reviews (3)

Very Convenient, But...
I've had some problems with data becoming corrupted in my 128MB version. Whether this is due to the components found within the flash drive or whether it's being exposed to a strong magnetic field or radiation from sun storms that're doing it is beyond me. But a device like this needs to be ultra reliable to be effective. Mine hasn't given me any problems lately.

Can't live without it!
I use this Cruzer constantly. It truly makes my files mobile and gives super flexibility. No signs whatsoever of daat corruption.

Cruzer Mini Series a Failure
Total corruption in under 20 uses. Tech support wants you to buy their recovery software for $40 which "may or may not" work. I've found bad reviews for this item all over the web, and SanDisk does not address the issues.

There are people that have had a good run with these, but there is a very large unrecoverable failure rate. If you care about your data, do yourself a favor and check out another company for this type of hardware. I've had better luck with Iomega Zip drives, and that's REALLY SAYING SOMETHING. ... Read more

Features

• 512 MB of internal memory for up to 17 hours of MP3, WMA, and OGG music files
• Extended battery life up to 40 hours on one AA
• Built-in FM tuner and voice recorder
• Record music from any audio source (no PC required)
• USB 2.0 for fast transfers

Reviews (2)

Absolutely fabulous
The sound quality is the best I've ever heard from any piece of audio equipment. That's saying alot since the unit weighs less than the AA battery that powers it. With half a gig of space, this thing stores about 16 hours of CD quality music or 32 hours of radio quality music, in something roughly the size of a lighter. Being flash memory based, it won't skip like a CD player or Ipod. It needs better earphones though and the armstrap, although of high quality, only fits women (I can't even get it over my forearm, let alone my bicep *flex* One thing not mentioned anywhere is the microphone is extremely good. The unit will record about 33 hours of high quality sound, making it perfect for students who like to record lectures (the unit has a mode specifically designed for this). Again, this is amazing, considering the size and cost of the unit.

Best flash player ever bought...
I was willing to pay extra for extra features w/ this player and those extras are worthwhile. What the descriptions and iriver site doesn't tell you that this player has a clock and timer.

Joystick does not look like the picture on Amazon or iRiver's US site. It looks like the iRiver North European site: irivernordic.com You can also get a USB Mass Storage (UMS) firmware from that site but I haven't tried it yet.

Alarm function just plays the last played MP3. The timed radio recordings work great but I don't know how to stop it, yet. Look at the manual from iriver's website and see the features for your self as I'm limited to 1,000 words on this review. Sound quality is great and volume even greater. Can go up to 40 but plays loud enough at 20 setting. EQ settings and 3D settings sound really nice, even on the included headphones. The headphones don't have too much bass so I used different ones. Can also adjust battery display setting for alkaline or rechargeable. I hated how previous players displayed inaccurate battery life because they base it on alkaline batteries.

Line-in and radio recordings sound great because I am able to record up to 320bps compared to others like the Samsung that can only go up to 128bps. Recordings are in *.rec format that the included windows utility can convert. The windows utility shouldn't be taken lightly. You can enter,label,& save all your radio station presets from it to save time. The radio reception is alright but what do you expect from such a small device? PLL? I use my home stereo which gets great reception from a Cable TV adapter and use the line-in recording.

The supplied armband is very well made and looks nice. People w/ humangus muscles or just fat arms can't get it around their arms though.

The only cons I see are:
If hold is not in place it is easy to accidently delete radio station presets and other settings. Once you set it don't forget to lock it as there are many options to change.

Can't copy songs from player to computer w/ the included software since there is no official US UMS support. Their version of DRM? ... Read more

Features

• 5-band user programmable equalizer with 5 preset sound modes: Jazz, Rock, Classic, Dance & Latin
• Compliance with ID3 tags - Plays bit-rates up to 320 kbps & VBR for MP3
• Smart Play functions: Normal, Repeat & Shuffle
• Solid state construction with no moving parts
• Voice Recorder

Reviews (43)

Big time Value for Money
Since I'm only 15 and don't have a saturday job or anything, this Nex ia (I got the + model) did exactly what I wanted for a mere £59.00 I bought the player with 4 batteries and a charger and Sennheiser earbuds and the sound quality is AMAZING. I bought the player off www.advancedmp3players.co.uk and the service was great. Because my cashflow is very limited i found this to be a complete bargain and I conveniently already owned a 128mb Cf card for my digital camera. There was a problem with the joystick 'up' but I sent it back and the replacement was fine. Overall, I think this Mp3 player is the best value for money possible and the sound quality is just so much better than i expected off such a cheap product.

Pros: Looks soooooooo sweeeet!!, Easy to transfer mp3s and WMA files, good inline remote, incredible sound, feels solid ( i like my technology to feel like it has some substance and is not made of polystyrene) and perfectly weighted, amazing value
Cons: Poor software (I don't see the point), Manual included is not full comprehensive, have to download the PDf off the cd to read all the instructions, unreliable joystick, awful FM radio.

Good player, a few flaws
The player is pretty good in general. The sound quality is excellent, fairly easy to use. The firmare was a bit buggy but Frontier Labs now has an upgrade on their site. I just downloaded it and it offers a few fixes. Hopefully, they improved on a generally good product. Among the flaws are the memory card door that just wouldn't stay closed, the battery indicator that is virtuallty useless - the player goes dead with the indicator showing the battery 75% full. And absence of a belt clip on the pouch. The download time through a USB port is pretty long, but then I have a 512 meg CF card that takes 10-15 min to fill. I bought a CF card PCMCIA laptop adapter which is much faster for loading files. The player also doubles as a protable storage device - you can drag and drop any files on it. Also, a bit bulky for jogging.
Overall, very versatile device with great basic functionality and sound quality. CF cards now come up to 1 Gig, giving plenty of storage on an industry standard memory card.

Great value for mony
I can't quite agree with the other reviews of NEXIA. Mine player functions as I had expected. It plays MP3, great sound, FM works ok, Recording is clear, LCD is large and informative. The battery life is adequate, about 10 hours. For less than $100, I think its great value for money.

Great sound & simple to use
I bought this NEX IA over other MP3 players because it uses Compact Flash memory cards which I have plenty of. At first I was a little hesitant,but after I got it, I did not regret. The sound just blew me away. It was loud and the sound is crisp and clear. I listen to a lot of jazz and its important that the higher and lower end of the sound spectrum is clear and loud. This the NEX IA delivers convincingly. Its little larger than I wanted but its really no big deal as I can leave it in my pocket. The jog dial is easy to use and with the remote I never really need to take it out of my pocket. Overall, I highly recommend this player. Easy to use, inexpensive and great sound.

Nice player. Non-existent support.
This is a pretty nice MP3 player, unless you need service. The FM reception is awful, but I knew that from reading other reviews before I bought mine. The MP3 player is quite nice. It sounds good, is easy to connect to the computer, and takes Compact Flash, which is rare in an MP3 player.

Then the CF card that came with it went bad. I've sent email and left voice-mail at least 8 times over the last month, and I haven't heard a word in response. I consider myself lucky that it's just the CF card, since I can replace that quite easily myself (which I've done). If the player itself were to break during the warranty period, I'd be completely out of luck.

I'll buy from a company that stands behind their products next time. ... Read more

Product Description

CITIZEN CD-230, CD PLAYER WITH DIGITAL AM/FM TUNER AND 56 SECOND ... Read more

Features

• 1-year full-replacement warranty
• Portable CD player with integrated AM/FM digital tuner
• Bass boost system enhances low frequencies for fuller sound
• 56-second anti-shock protection guards against bumps and jostling
• 20-track programmable memory; includes headphones and AC adapter

Reviews (2)

Bad product - Do not buy it
I never recommended anybody before not to buy a product. I recieved this item today and When I tried to open and use this product, the top opening cover is not opening completely and CD is not turning on (Though Radio is working OK). At first I suspected damage due to packaging/shipping. I closely examined and found that the top opening plastic cover is made delicately and not correctly sitting on the base. A small test of pusing the cover when closed reveals the movement by sideways. Even though the price is low, it is a waste of time to gamble than buying a market tested durable product that works. I am disappointed.... Especially If you buy it online return process is time consuming, discouraging and a real pain.... And I need to reconsider my online buying practice too...

Excellent buy, with a ONE YEAR guarantee
Amazon's site says this gadget goes well with some brand of Secure Digital memory card. I don't understand the connection. I think it goes better with a Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/ Tank. Here's my review anyway:

Good:
1~ Easy, logical control layout; no function lock but the control buttons are stiff and snappy enough to make accidental changes unlikely
2~ Good display, not too small to read (better by far than Sony D-NF400)
3~ Rubber feet and line-out jack for non-slip use with kilowatt amp and speakers
4~ Batteries load from back without removing the CD, the battery cover is attached, and there's a tape tab for removing batteries easily
5~ Shock resistance memory buffer works well
6~ Reasonably good FM and AM reception, despite absence of local/distant selector (Sony D-NF400 is far superior but 3X the price and has fussy control layout) Auto-tune works well
7~ Y2K compliant

Bad:
8~ Recharging feature is "dumb" type and not timed; user must be careful to disconnect charger at the proper time or batteries may be ruined by overcharge (true of NiCd and especially true of NiMH cells; the more they're "cooked", the more capacity they lose and the sooner they short internally). Fortunately the user may switch off the charge function and still use the adapter without charging the batteries in the device.
9~ Headphones supplied are somewhat small, inefficient, and nasty-sounding. This may be of no consequence to an unhelmetedBadonkadonker. Substitution with excellent bargain Philips HS500 cans shows that the machine is capable of excellent sound.
10~ Seems more susceptible to electromagnetic interference than other similar machines from Philips and Sony. This shows up in CD as well as radio, but is only objectionable within three feet of a computer, ballasted light, or other radiation emitter. ... Read more

Product Description

PER DIG 1.5GB MP3 PLAYER ... Read more

Features

• Playback of MP3 and WMA with DRM support
• Includes 1" 1.5 GB hard drive, earbuds, USB cable, and rechargeble battery
• Stores up to 375 songs
• USB 2.0 port for quick transfer
• 13.5 Hours of continuous playback

Reviews (21)

good bang for the buck
I bought this before travelling to Cancun to have some tunes for the beach and was really pleased with the performance. It arrived the day I was leaving and I very quickly and easily transferred about 100 songs right before leaving for the airport. It's pretty easy to use and quality seems pretty sturdy. The only thing I would change is instead of the little joystick control on the front, Perception should have made the silver ring around it the primary control module (a la iPod) it would make the handling so much easier. Also, you might want to invest in earbuds with volume control... it picks up where the player's volume may fall a bit short. Overall I am very pleased with this player, especially for the price!

Broke down within 2 months
It often gets stuck and i have to use a pin to reset this thing.
Now I can not turn it on even though I charged it full.

The rebate system that this company employs never works. I bought two of this but never got the $30 rebate for any of them eventhough I mailed everything.

Great Value
This player, while it does have some of the shortcomings described in other reviews, is also one of the best values in mp3 players on the market right now. The user interface is easy, it has been very reliable for me and the sound is very good. I am thrilled with the purchase as is a friend of mine who also bought one. It has never given me any problems, skipped, or otherwise misbehaved.

faulty piece delivered
I bought this MP3 player by seeing very good deal ( 1.5 GB Mp3 player for just $65).
However, the device never worked. First time itself, it got froze (after charging). I navigated the manufacturer's site for trouble shooting. With the great surprise, they have exactly mentioned the same problem that I was facing and its resolution too.
But, their resolution never worked. I contacted customer care, and after hearing my problem and effort to trouble shoot the device they just told me that send back device for replacement or for refund.
I was disappointed. I assume that there are faulty pieces launched in the market, and manufacturer/seller were knowing about it. That's why such a costly MP3 player came with such a great deal.
With my bad luck, I am the person who got the faulty piece.

I would strongly not recommend anyone to buy this product as there MAY be a chance to receive the faulty piece.

It's defintiely not a I-Pod
I bought this on Amazon for $65 (includes rebate) + free Philips multi-media speakers so at that price - it is a very good deal.But I would never pay the full sticker (approx $120) for this MP3 player.The thing only works well if you let it play songs continuously without interruption.It freezes if you fiddle with the controls too much and the only way to get it unstuck is to hit the reset button so carry something thin and sharp with you at all times.Also, the rubber cover on the USB port no longer covers once you use the port so now if just flaps around.This happened the 1st time I transferred songs.The Play/Pause button is on the side so if you hold the player like I do, you'll accidentally pause in mid-song very frequently.Also, the controls are not intuitive - it takes some getting use to.Final word - if you want a quality MP3 player, get something else that will set up back at a couple hundred $.If can live with the quirks AND you get a deal like I did, go ahead and give it a shot. ... Read more

Features

• 600 x 600 dpi resolution, laser printing and faxing
• 6 pages per minute print speed
• 30-sheet automatic document feeder
• 33.6 Kbps modem speed, up to 3 seconds per page
• USB interface; 1-year warranty with exchange

Reviews (1)

Great little machine
I've owned the Canon L80 for about a month now. I find it to be a great laser fax machine, and it also doubles as a fine copier for small jobs when collating and a flatbed copier are not needed. For my small office needs, this Canon works perfectly for me. ... Read more

Features

• 5-band user programmable equalizer with 5 preset sound modes: Jazz, Rock, Classic, Dance & Latin
• Compliance with ID3 tags - Plays bit-rates up to 320 kbps & VBR for MP3
• Smart Play functions: Normal, Repeat & Shuffle
• Solid state construction with no moving parts
• Uses Removable CompactFlash or Microdrive Memory Cards

Reviews (43)

Big time Value for Money
Since I'm only 15 and don't have a saturday job or anything, this Nex ia (I got the + model) did exactly what I wanted for a mere £59.00 I bought the player with 4 batteries and a charger and Sennheiser earbuds and the sound quality is AMAZING. I bought the player off www.advancedmp3players.co.uk and the service was great. Because my cashflow is very limited i found this to be a complete bargain and I conveniently already owned a 128mb Cf card for my digital camera. There was a problem with the joystick 'up' but I sent it back and the replacement was fine. Overall, I think this Mp3 player is the best value for money possible and the sound quality is just so much better than i expected off such a cheap product.

Pros: Looks soooooooo sweeeet!!, Easy to transfer mp3s and WMA files, good inline remote, incredible sound, feels solid ( i like my technology to feel like it has some substance and is not made of polystyrene) and perfectly weighted, amazing value
Cons: Poor software (I don't see the point), Manual included is not full comprehensive, have to download the PDf off the cd to read all the instructions, unreliable joystick, awful FM radio.

Good player, a few flaws
The player is pretty good in general. The sound quality is excellent, fairly easy to use. The firmare was a bit buggy but Frontier Labs now has an upgrade on their site. I just downloaded it and it offers a few fixes. Hopefully, they improved on a generally good product. Among the flaws are the memory card door that just wouldn't stay closed, the battery indicator that is virtuallty useless - the player goes dead with the indicator showing the battery 75% full. And absence of a belt clip on the pouch. The download time through a USB port is pretty long, but then I have a 512 meg CF card that takes 10-15 min to fill. I bought a CF card PCMCIA laptop adapter which is much faster for loading files. The player also doubles as a protable storage device - you can drag and drop any files on it. Also, a bit bulky for jogging.
Overall, very versatile device with great basic functionality and sound quality. CF cards now come up to 1 Gig, giving plenty of storage on an industry standard memory card.

Great value for mony
I can't quite agree with the other reviews of NEXIA. Mine player functions as I had expected. It plays MP3, great sound, FM works ok, Recording is clear, LCD is large and informative. The battery life is adequate, about 10 hours. For less than $100, I think its great value for money.

Great sound & simple to use
I bought this NEX IA over other MP3 players because it uses Compact Flash memory cards which I have plenty of. At first I was a little hesitant,but after I got it, I did not regret. The sound just blew me away. It was loud and the sound is crisp and clear. I listen to a lot of jazz and its important that the higher and lower end of the sound spectrum is clear and loud. This the NEX IA delivers convincingly. Its little larger than I wanted but its really no big deal as I can leave it in my pocket. The jog dial is easy to use and with the remote I never really need to take it out of my pocket. Overall, I highly recommend this player. Easy to use, inexpensive and great sound.

Nice player. Non-existent support.
This is a pretty nice MP3 player, unless you need service. The FM reception is awful, but I knew that from reading other reviews before I bought mine. The MP3 player is quite nice. It sounds good, is easy to connect to the computer, and takes Compact Flash, which is rare in an MP3 player.

Then the CF card that came with it went bad. I've sent email and left voice-mail at least 8 times over the last month, and I haven't heard a word in response. I consider myself lucky that it's just the CF card, since I can replace that quite easily myself (which I've done). If the player itself were to break during the warranty period, I'd be completely out of luck.

I'll buy from a company that stands behind their products next time. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Enjoy your favorite movies wherever you roam with Panasonic's portable DVD-LS50 multiformat DVD player. Featuring a 7-inch screen, the 16:9 aspect ratio DVD-LS50 enables you to watch movies in widescreen format or conventional 4:3 formats such as letterbox and pan-and-scan. The LCD can be manually adjusted to a variety of different angles that can accommodate a wide range of viewing positions. The DVD-LS50 also features built-in stereo speakers, a rechargeable battery with a battery life of up to 3 hours, audio output for Dolby Digital and DTS, and a remote control.

In addition to DVD video discs, the DVD-LS50 is compatible with DVD-Audio, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, video and audio CDs, MP3, WMA, and CD-R/-RW discs. It also supports HighMAT (High-Performance Media Access Technology), a technology codeveloped by Panasonic and Microsoft that improves the method of storing, arranging, and playing back digital photo, music, and video collections on recordable discs, such as DVD and CD recordable media.

With the high-speed, 5-step Smooth Motion Scan feature, you'll get crystal-clear forward and reverse scan at 100 times normal speed at its highest setting. The Cinema Mode function lessens glare, providing colors that are more cinemalike, and picture resolution that is gentler to the eyes. It also improves the visibility of details in dark scenes by automatically adjusting picture contrast, and helps to suppress color smearing as well. The Dialogue Enhancer feature increases the center-channel volume relative to other channels, making movie dialogue easier to hear and understand.

The DVD-LS50 has 1 composite A/V out and a 3.5 mm headphone minijack. It offers advanced virtual surround sound, headphone surround sound, and optical digital audio output for Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound--making this road warrior a complete solution for your home theater as well.

Tech Talk
Dolby Digital: Digital audio compression technology developed by Dolby Laboratories that provides the same 5.1 discrete channels of high-quality digital audio found in Dolby Digital cinema audio systems. Because all of the channel data are recorded discretely, Dolby Digital offers good channel separation and little sound deterioration due to the digital channel data processing. It conforms to 5.1-channel surround sound. The rear channel is stereo, and there is a discrete subwoofer channel.

DTS: Digital audio compression technology developed by Digital Theater Systems that conforms to 5.1-channel surround sound. The rear channel is stereo, and there is a discrete subwoofer channel.

What's in the Box
Panasonic DVD-LS50 portable DVD player, remote control, batteries for remote control, rechargeable battery, and AC adapter. ... Read more

Features

• Portable DVD player with 7-inch screen; measures 7.5 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches (W x H x D) and weighs 1.8 pounds
• Adjustable LCD screen; Cinema Mode lessens glare; dialogue enhancer increases center-channel volume
• Compatible with DVD-Audio, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, video and audio CDs, MP3, WMA, and CD-R/-RW discs
• 1 A/V out and headphone minijack
• Dolby Digital and DTS surround-sound output (for use with compatible A/V receiver and speaker system)

Reviews (8)

Poor Quality or Bad Engineering
For the price I expected a better built product. I unpacked the unit and thought to myself that I better hold onto the receipt.... within 24 hours the screen went nearly black. Not sure why, I was running the unit off a car adapter AC Power Supply. We shut off the car while the player was in pause, and it never recovered... I would think that a portable unit should be able to handle interupted power supply issues.. As far as I'm concerned, its Junk. We'll be returing it Monday.

GREAT PRODUCT
I just recently purchased the panasonic dvd ls 50 after doing extensive research on the web. There is no doubt that this unit is a bit more expensive than others with similar sized screans. However, the price difference is insignificant when one considers the quality of this unit both in terms of picture and construction. I just used the unit on transcontinental flights from Orlando Florida to Seattle Washington and it worked extremely well, didnt skip once during the flight despite some heavy turbulance. The only negatives are the battery life is short and an extra battery is necessary. Also the headphones are not that loud over the engine noise but a good pair of noise cancelling phones might negate this problem. In all an excellent machine

Very good product
I really like the Panasonic DVD-LS50. I've had it for a couple of days now. The picture is very sharp and the features are great. I highly recommend it. The only drawback is that the Battery doesn't last very long (approx 1.5 hours with th emonitor turned on to its brightest setting).

The Best Portable- Bar None!!!
Panasonic portable DVD players have the sharpest, clearest screens around! I bought a Toshiba to replace my old Panasonic, but what a piece of junk! The contrast was too high, and it skipped with the slightest bump! I saw the panasonic LS50 and was enamored. It plays DVDs, DVD-Rs that my Toshiba locks up on, MP3s in files (I like to put artists on one disc and then categorize them in seperate files by year of album release.) It plays DVD Ram, JPeg files (The Toshiba won't play any Jpegs over 300 dpi, this one does at least up to 600 dpi!,) and the flip screen is the coolest. I can finally watch a movie holding the player flat! Awesome! It has 2 headphone jacks, the 7" screen is crystal clear, No volume dial to move by accident- buttons are used, the only down side to this amazing player is that it doesn't offer a line in to use it as a monitor like my old Panasonic and Toshiba. (I use this feature when recording to my Panasonic DVD recorder.) The speakers sound great, as usual for Panasonic!The player is not heavy even with the battery. It is very hard to make this player skip! Panasonic is simply the best!!! The price is one third what I paid for my old 5 inch Panasonic years ago- what a steal!!!

My first DVD player
I just received this player on June 24, 2004. Since then I have watched several movies on it. I can't get over the crispness and clairty of the picture. It is so awesome!! You forget that you are watching a seven inch screen. We rode with it on the dashboard of our truck. Hitting bumps and potholes as we went. The player never skipped once.
I researched and read many reviews on other players. I am so thrilled that I decided on this one. I should receive my free carrying case in the mail shortly. That will be really nice to have.
If I had to give one negative about the DVD player, it would be that it is hard to see during the day. But this could be true for all DVD players. ... Read more

Features

• Scans text and graphics at up to 200 x 200 dpi
• Scan text and images up to 8 inches wide and 36 inches long
• Dual-roller guiding system for smoother scans
• 2 MB of flash memory; automatic USB-powered battery charging system
• Windows compatible; USB interface, cable included

Features

• Up to 108 Mbps with AirPlus Xtreme G products
• Advanced Firewall and parental control
• Backwards compatible with all 802.11b and 802.11g products
• Increased Security with 802.1X and WPA
• Features robust security to protect the wireless network from intruders

Reviews (171)

Excellent product !!!
I was a little reluctant on buying this product, having read previous reviews of non full compatibility with 802.11b products. Finally, I decided to take my chances.

Needless to say that within 15 minutes the router was set up and running. I tested it with D-Link DWL-650+ (802.11b) wireless PCMCIA card as well as with DWL-G650 (802.11g)wireless PCMCIA card. In both cases it worked just fine !! And the most important, my IPAQ 5455 (802.11b) was connected with the network seamlessly in both cases. (Maybe the last firmware patch from HP has something to do with this). Unfortunately, I could not test it with 802.11b cards of other manufacturers.

Now, I can place a DVD in my desktop computer and watch it wirelessly on my laptop at full motion, while at the same time I am downloading my email at my IPAQ. Isn' t that amazing?

However, there is a strange thing happening, which the technical support of the company has not been able to help me solve up to this moment: while the windows XP of my laptop recognize the wireless card (DWL-G650), configure it properly and I can access my local network, as well as the Internet without problem, the D-Link utility which accompanies the card cannot see it. (These computers are so unpredictable things after all ;-).

I would highly recommend this product !!

Pay a Few More Dollars for a Better Design and Support
Full Disclosure: I have just decided to buy a Linksys unit after hours on hold/talking with D-Link tech support who couldn't solve an apparently simple WEP setup problem. On the other hand, I have owned several wireles router products, and have been setting up Windows networks for 7 years.

The Good:
* Well priced
* Units reasonably good looking
* If all you want to do is set up a simple, non-secure wireless connection, D-Link works just fine.

The Bad:
* Confusing setup screens make secure wireless connections difficult to set up (since security is now required, weight this difficulty heavily).
* Poor manuals and web site resources make configuration and troubleshooting difficult.
* Poor technical support. They do offer phone support, but the techs seem as clueless as most beginner customers.
* Upgrading your unit is made more difficult by D-Link's practise of making multiple, near-identical units with subtle but critical differences between them. So you have to look at pictures on their site to figure out which model you really have.

The Ugly:
* D-Link's level 2 tech support finally said that they can't help when users don't use D-Link products on *BOTH* sides of a wireless connection. So, if you have built-in wireless capabilities in your Dell, IBM, Apple, ....., laptop, might want to buy another router.

Bottom line - buy something else.

can't handle browser idle time (poor support)
Installation was easy and everything looked great. Until I tried to access the internet via my browser the next morning ("page cannot be displayed"). All ideas of the helpdesk how to fix it didn't change anything (we exchanged about 20 emails) so that they agreed it was a hardware problem. I returned it and got the next one with the same problem. The answer of the helpdesk this time: don't use ZoneAlarm. And if this is not the problem, then it must be Windows XP. Unfortunately, shutting down ZoneAlarm didn't fix the problem. So the problem must be Windows XP in their opinion. That's an easy excuse because nobody can prove anything and I got stuck with my router and my problem. So I returned it.

Conclusion: if you have a dial-up connection and don't stay connected while being idle, this is a good product. If you have a cable modem and don't shut down your computer all the time, try a different router.

Fast w/ good range, but sometimes I lose connection..
bought this wireless router along with the DWL-G650 wireless card adapter and overall it pretty good. it is quite fast, no complaints there, and has great range (i can use it in any room in my house, even downstairs). the only compliant i have is that once in a while, my laptop loses connection after it has been on standby or has been powered off. its easy to fix (i just unplug the router for a few seconds and plug it back in) but its just annoying since the router is in another room and i have to walk over there. i'd say this happens on average, once every couple days. its not so inconvenient that i'm returning the router, but if it worsens at all, then i probably will (i bought the router and card together from costco, which has a good return policy). it's a pretty expensive router, so while i haven't had many problems at all, you may be able to find a better deal for your money elsewhere.

good product
lo conectè a mi modem zyxel y ya tenia internet en mi laptop, si funcionò en 5 minutos... i recommend this product ... Read more

Features

• 61 touch-sensitive keys with 100 songs built-in
• Yamaha power adapter and keyboard stand included
• Separate woofers and tweeters deliver sounds with clarity and precision for more lifelike instrument voices
• Enhances sound quality with sophisticated digital effects like Harmony, Reverb, and Chorus
• General MIDI and Yamaha XGlite make for great sound

Amazon.comProduct Description

Don't be fooled by its slim, 1.7-inch chassis: Zenith's DVB318 DVD player delivers big-time entertainment. The firmware-upgradeable DVB318 handles most media formats and delivers them to both standard- and high-definition TVs. Play your MP3 and WMA CDs, homemade DVDs, JPEG image CDs, and of course your commercial DVDs--all will look and sound great.

Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the DVB318 is set to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. A special video processing circuit upconverts all DVD signals to high-definition 1080i (more than a thousand lines of horizontal resolution) for use with compatible televisions. And, if you're using a DVI-compliant high-definition set, feed your TV the DVB318's DVI (digital visual interface) output for a direct digital connection between your source and your monitor.

The unit also performs progressive scanning at slightly lower resolution. Referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, progressive scanning creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts. Composite- and S-video outputs bring compatibility with nearly any television.

A single set of left/right analog-audio outputs channel audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's digital-audio outputs (1 each coaxial and optical) for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver. The player's onboard 96 kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog audio converter ensures optimum decoding of all disc formats.

If you don't have a surround receiver or six-channel speaker setup, you can still make every movie night the ultimate experience: the player simulates surround sound through two speakers (even the stereo speakers on your TV).Other features include CD-ROM-upgradeable firmware (for compatibility with future formats and features), full-motion picture zoom (4x to 16x), random and repeat playback, closed-caption support, and accommodation for interactive story (and multi-story) DVD programs.

What's in the Box
DVD player, DVI cable, S-video cable, stereo analog audio/composite-video interconnect, remote control, battery (AAA x 2), operating guide, registration card, warranty card. ... Read more

Features

• Slimline DVD player with 1080i HD output and DVD, DVD-RW, DVD+R/+RW, CD, CD-R/RW, WMA-, JPEG-, and MP3-CD playback
• Progressive-scan technology produces superior, crisp, clear images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs
• Moveable zoom allow user to view images in greater detail; 4x to 16x range
• DVI, component-video, S-video, and composite-video outputs
• Measures 16.9 x 1.7 x 9.4 inches (W x H x D)

Features

• Built-in write-protect switch prevents accidental data loss
• Data transfer rate up to 2 Mbps (average)
• Average write speeds of 1.5 Mbps
• Low power consumption is easy on batteries
• Compatible with Windows XP, 2000, 98, 95, NT; Macintosh OS and OS/2 Warp

Reviews (3)

Great memory for the Dell Axim X3
I needed more memory on my Axim and had previously used Kingston memory (for a PC) with no problems. The 512 MB SD card has worked flawlessly for over a month and a half so far.

Great product!
I've used all kinds of memory cards over the years and this is by far the best company to buy products from. SanDisk is the WORST. I wouldn't buy their products if it were half the price. Anyway I use my memory card in my PDA and have had no problems. With the SanDisk I had all sorts of problems with files being erased or not properly written. Other good memory products are Viking and MicroTech.

An excellent storage device
I bought it for my Minolta Dimage Z1 digital camera. The camera has high speed auto focusing and it works well with the SD chip. I wasn't sure about it at first, having read a lot about Sandisk's problems. Thought maybe it was just an OEM version of Sandisk. I was going to buy a Lexar or a Panasonic, but thought I give the Kingston a try. Had it for more than a month now with over a hundred pictures, it has performed perfectly. Also, 512MB will last forever. Never a need for more space. . Kingston has tranditionally done well in all their products. Kingston SDRAM memory chips have always been very reliable. ... Read more

Features

• Compatible with 802.11g and 802.11b networking devices
• Delivers 10/100 Mbps (auto-sensing) WAN and LAN connections and interoperability with 54 Mbps (802.11g) and 11 Mbps (802.11b) devices over a 2.4 GHz band wireless network
• Automatically detects and configures your ISP type, Exposed Host (DMZ), MAC address authentication, URL content filtering, logs, and e-mail alerts of Internet activity
• Powerful WEP encryption (40/64- or 128-bit), MAC address control, and parental controls
• Compatible with Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Mac OS, NetWare, UNIX, or Linux

Reviews (228)

Satellite Internet Wireless Link to Home Computers
I purchased the WGR614 along with a Netgear WG511 54 Mbps wireless PC Card from Amazon. I use it to connect from my High Speed 2-Way DirecWay Satellite connection wirelessly to my Dell 8000 and Dell 8200 laptops, and my old Gateway desktop in my home. I purchased it primarily because I was told that some other 54 Mbps brands did not allow both b and g cards to be accessed at the same time on the same system. I installed the new g card on my 8200 with no problems at all but then when the entire system was up after about an hour I found that when using the g card on either of the laptops the other with a b card would not work. After a great deal of help from tech support we found that there is a conflict between the DirecWay DW6000 and the router. Both are addressed by http://192.168.0.1. We solved this by changing the address code for the router to 10.0.0.1 and BINGO everything was perfect. I highly recommend these products and the NETGEAR tech support system. They are the best money can buy at this time. I also found Amazon's service very good and responsive, and besides, they offered the lowest price (after rebates) I could find on the Web.

High hopes - Disappointing performance
I purchased the WGR614 along with a 802.11g NetGear notebook adapter and a 802.11b NetGear adapter for a PDA. What should have been a very easy installation and setup turned into endless frustration. While configuring the router is fairly simple, getting devices to connect to your wireless network is problematic, even when using ONLY NetGear products. Connectivity is spotty, often requiring configuration changes on the remote devices EVERY time you try to connect. The adapters seem to have a hard time finding the wireless network and remembering those settings for later. The Windows XP wirless settings experience the same problem trying to access the network. Attaching 802.11b devices, even when the router was setup to accept them, proved to be even more difficult. In most cases, particularly when using devices from other companies like Linksys or DLink, it was a HUGE headache to get them onto the network, and I am a network engineer. I believe a normal lay person would have thrown the router out the window long ago.

My opinion: spend the extra money and purchase a Linksys or Microsoft wireless network equipment (yes, it works very well). You'll have fewer headaches and all the benefits that are present in the NetGear equipment.

USELESS AND CRAPY PRODUCT-DO NOT BUY
Netgear product really sucks. Do not buy any products form NEtgear. There are thousands of users of this product and all compalins about dropping network connections. And to top that off, they charge shipping to replace the router. I would never buy a product from Netgear again. The products are unreliable and really crappy.

Good product , clear interface, minor annoyances
I bought this product and used it with dell true mobile wireless
class B card on Comcast cable modem.The installation was very easy and i got it up and running in 6 mins.The package includes a datasheet that informs you about the settings for different internet providers. The software interface is one of the most well organized interfaces I have seen, with context help on a panel on right for every setting.You can use this router for both B and G cards. All said there is one minor issue that kept annoying me. The wireless signal keeps dropping for a second once for every 4 mins.This does not interrupt my browsing but its irritating to see the "network cable unplugged" icon on the lower left of screen. I got around this by removing the icon my modifying a registry setting. Overall a good product.

STAY Away Please
PLease do not buy this thesse people are awful they send you to talk to damn Indians when you call for support and if ova 90 days theyll charge ya linksys nice american support and they even helped with a product that isnt thiers buy linksys trust me ... Read more