Shola's Home Gadgets

The apple iphone has been out here in the UK for a while now, i haven't got one, don't really need one, as I recently won a 30GB Apple ipod from Current TV, and my Sony Ericsson K750i mobile phone while getting on in age, is still serving me well.

If you have however got an Apple iPhone and found it not quite what you expected, you can always ebay it, if not, there is another option, Blend IT!



Blending an Apple iPhone

I have just switched to an Apple MacBook for mobile video editing. In April this year I bought a compaq laptop because I had need for a mobile video editing platform. The shop assistant told me that Windows XP was no longer available, that all computer hardware now had Windows Vista installed from the factory. I'm not an early new technology adoptor, as I know from experience that there are always bugs etc to fix, but had no other option.

To cut a long story short, Windows Vista has been a pain in the backside! Crash upon crash, not many programs work correctly on Vista and it has not been as stable as my good old Windows XP PC which is over 4 years old, and I have not yet had a blue screen on it.

One of the main requirements of my laptop was to enable me to do my video editing while on the move. Unfortunately for me, this has not been possible on my Windows Vista based laptop due various compatibility issues with my video editing software. Last week, I finally gave up and acquired an Apple MacBook.

Having never used an Apple Mac before, it is a new way of life, but I'm giving it a good go, and have been able to edit a short video with Final Cut Express on it.

I have a steep learning curve ahead, especially since I've been using windows for almost 15 years, but I must confess that for my mobile video editing needs, my Apple MacBook is a perfect solution.

Some of you have been wondering if I was going to do a full review of the Sanyo Xacti C40 digital camcorder that I've been raving about recently. Well why do it when someone else has already done a full and comprehensive review, so check the link below:

Steve's Sanyo Xacti C40 review

Here is a clip I recorded during my trip to Nigeria using my compact Sanyo Xacti C40 camcorder.

Sanyo Xacti CA6 Negative review

Here are some more video clips and pictures from my Sanyo Xacti C40 digital camcorder.

Unfortunately my videos where loaded unto reveer.com which went bust!

Sanyo Xacti CA6 Negative review

I bought the Sanyo Xacti C40digital camcorder for my trip to Nigeria because I needed a small digital camcorder that was inconspicuous, had good image quality, easy to use and very portable.

At first I was considering the Nokia N93 mobile phone instead of the Sanyo Xacti C40, as it was having rave reviews for the included camera, but I could not justify the price (almost £500), and was not prepared to enter into an expensive year long contract to get it for free. The Nokia N93 would have been idea for the purpose I needed the camcorder for, with the added bonus of a mobile phone which would certainly mean that I would take it everywhere and thus have a fair quality camcorder with me always, however having had the Sony Ericsson K750i for over a year, I knew the novelty would wear off after a while, so I was not going to waste my money just for the sake of having the latest gadget when there was a cheaper product to fulfil my needs.

Having found out about the Sanyo Xacti C40, I knew this was the product for me. The specs meant it was superior in quality to the camera in the Nokia N93, was cheaper and fitted my needs perfectly. Having had this camcorder for over 3 months, I can report that it was the right choice for me, and the quality of videos produced by the camera is very good indeed. As a filmmaker, I was never expecting this camera to beat or rival my Sony DCR-TRV-355E digital camcorder, but for its weight and size, it is a very good compromise.

The Sanyo Xacti C40 served me well during my trip to Nigeria, and has been very useful since I returned to the UK as well, and the other 2 good things about the camera is that it produces excellent photos, and uses secure data cards, so I don't need to carry tapes about, as well as there is no long capture process when transferring from camera to computer for editing, as all clips are recorded in high quality MP4 format.

Find below a selection of video clips and a photo taken by my faithful Sanyo Xacti C40 digital camcorder.

Sanyo Xacti CA6 Negative review

Now that Microsoft's Windows Vista is out, manufacturers are now trying to get their new entertainment PC's into homes.

I want one of these Sony Entertainment PC's in my living room, looks very futuristic and very un-PC like.



It surely makes my Microsoft XBox 360 Media Centre media extender look outdated.

For more details, check Sony's Entertaiment PC Website.

I can't justify the price tag of the though!

The Olympus WS-200S is the digital voice recorder that I got as a christmas present.

There are 2 things that I plan to use this device for. First I will use it as a remote microphone for recording interviews when ever required for my video recording hobby.

The other use is of course for recoding audio podcasts on the move.

The olympus ws-200s has 128mb of storage space, and depending on the recording mode selected, you get up to 40 hrs of recording time.

I have already used the olympus twice, the first time to record my Christmas greeting, the second was used to record the audio I used on my New Year Video post.

I am using an external microphone with mine, this allows me to keep the device in my pocket, as well as keep my hands free while still giving me good audio both of me and anyone close to me that I might be having a conversation with, as demonstrated in my New Year Video post.

Olympus also make another model the Olympus WS-300S, this has 256MB of storage, can act as an MP3 player, which the Olympus WS-200S can not. Both devices however record to a windows media audio format (.wma), and will need to be converted to be used in a non windows media player.