jessica's blog

The QUE, a proReader from Plastic Logic designed for business professionals, will be sold at Barnes & Noble stores next year, it was announced this week. Rather than being a standard e-reader, the QUE supports document formats most business users need such as PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel documents and more.

QUE is the size of an 8.5 x 11 inch pad of paper, about a 1/3 inch thick, and weighs less than many periodicals. It features a shatterproof plastic display, is wireless-enabled, and has the largest touchscreen in the industry (at this time). Read more

TomTom's car kit for iPhone is now available on the TomTom web store and Apple online store for about $120. A bit pricey (in my opinion), considering you have to purchase the TomTom iPhone app separately for $100. However, you will save money by not having to pay monthly fees for GPS service on the iPhone.

The TomTom car kit for iPhone includes a secure mount that docks the iPhone on the windshield or dashboard. It can be docked in either portrait or landscape mode, and is easily removed with a twist.

It also has a built-in GPS receiver to reduce signal drop, and a built-in loudspeaker and microphone for hands-free calling while driving. Music from your iPhone can also be played through the AUX OUT port over your car stereo (cable not included), and it charges your iPhone while docked.Read more

LG returns to Cricket with the announcement of the LG HELiX. The HELiX features a 2.0" internal color display, a smaller external color display, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, one-touch speakerphone, and a large keypad.

The HELiX is available in silver and pink and supports Cricket's unlimited wireless features, such as talk, text and picture messaging and Mobile Web. The LG HELiX is available today for $139.99.

"LG HELiX is a reliable and user friendly phone that boasts a variety of features making it easy to stay connected with family and friends," said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy and marketing for LG Mobile Phones. "LG HELiX is a perfect handset to reintroduce LG phones into the Cricket handset lineup."

For more information visit www.mycricket.com.

Roku has added the Roku SD and Roku HD-XR to their instant streaming player lineup, the company announced this week. They now have three models available, the SD, HD, and HD-XR. All players deliver instant entertainment from Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand and MLB.TV.

The new Roku SD player connects to the TV using the included Yellow-Red-White video/audio cable. In addition, the Roku SD player incorporates Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) and an Ethernet port for broadband connectivity. The new Roku SD is priced at only $79.99 and can be purchased at www.roku.com or www.amazon.com.Read more

Polk Audio this week announced a new speaker made to be used with music video games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero. The HitMaster speaker includes two 2.5" x 5.5" horns with two 1" neodymium tweeters surrounding a 6.5" woofer and it weighs about 13 lbs.

"Rock Band and Guitar Hero are a blast, but what impresses me the most about these games is the extraordinary attention to the quality of the recording masters themselves," commented Mark Suskind, Vice President of Product Line Management for Polk Audio. "But with all this attention to the quality of the soundtracks, most games are played through standard TV speakers, which are dismal at best.

"That's where HitMaster will make a difference. Unlike other stage monitor gaming speakers, HitMaster is designed to bring a real-on stage presence to game-play, with sonic output that is worthy of the Polk brand," said Suskind.

Polk Audio's HitMaster gaming speaker will be available early next year for $99.99. Get more information at www.polkaudio.com.

Today Eye-Fi announced their Wi-Fi enabled digital camera memory cards will now send videos directly to Facebook. Eye-Fi users can now alert Facebook friends via newsfeed updates anytime they upload photos or videos to more than 25 sharing sites, including Flickr, Snapfish and Picasa... all without even turning on a computer.

To celebrate, the company just launched "The Eye-Fi Haunted Video Contest" for a chance to win an Eye-Fi Share Video card and an Eye-Fi Connected Casio camera. Starting today, upload your favorite Halloween video memory through Eye-Fi's Facebook page. Contestants can then invite members of their social network to vote for the best video and on Friday, November 13 the winner will be announced. For more information and the full rules, visit www.eye.fi/halloweencontest. Read more

JVC today announced the availability of a new entry-level Blu-ray player. The new XV-BP11 not only plays Blu-ray discs, but adds playback of the AVCHD format, the high definition format widely used for HD camcorders, including JVC's HD Everio line.

JVC XV-BP11 Features

• Playable Discs: BD-Rom, BD-R/RE, DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, Audio CD, CD-R/RW
• Playable Formats: AVCHD, WMV, JPEG, MP3, WMA, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital plus, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS HD Master Audio/Essential

Best Buy has announced the Little Buddy Child Tracker to its' Insignia product line. Little Buddy allows you to keep tabs on your child at all times by slipping this little device into their backpack or lunchbox. It combines GPS and cellular technology to give you real-time location updates via computer or smartphone. Simply log onto Insignia's GPS Locator website to see a map of their exact location, so you know they haven't wandered off.

You can also customize the device to a specific location and time for where your child is supposed to be — for example, in school — and the device will alert you with a text message if your child leaves the designated area during that time. You will also receive an alert when the battery is running low. Do you have more than one child? Multiple Little Buddy's can be used to monitor other members of the family as well. Read more

SANYO has two new audio systems for your iPod, the DMP-P1 Cube Alarm Clock Radio with an iPod docking station, and the DMP-692 Dual Dock Music System.

The DMP-P1 Cube Alarm Clock features AM/FM PLL digital tuning with programmable alarm and iPod dock for recharging and playing. Wake up from either a song on your iPod's playlist, radio station or a buzzer mode. The radio also has sleep and snooze modes.

The DMP-692 Dual Dock Music System features AM/FM digital stereo tuners with dual programmable alarms. Just like the Cube Alarm Clock, you can wake up from either a playlist on your iPod or iPhone, radio station or a buzzer mode. It also has sleep and snooze modes. With this model, you can charge two iPods or an iPod and iPhone simultaneously. It also includes an integrated, rear-mounted, passive subwoofer for additional bass response and is a fully functional sound system in addition to a standard alarm clock. A remote controls the iPod/iPhone or AM/FM radio.

Both models are available through the SANYOStore.com website as well as retailers, with a suggested retail price starting at $39.99 for the Cube Alarm Clock Radio and $89.99 for the Dual Dock Music System.

Paradigm is now shipping the Special Edition (SE) Series speaker line. The SE series features the SE1, a bookshelf speaker, the SE3, a floorstanding model and the SE Center and SE Subwoofer, all with real wood veneer cabinets. Paradigm Special Edition (SE) speakers let budget conscious consumers get high-end sound, as expected from the Paradigm name.

SE 1 Bookshelf

• Two-driver 2-way bookshelf/stand-mounted:
• 5-1/2" M-ICP mid/bass, 1" H-PTD dome
• Estimated $299 MSRP