Get the Latest Reviews on PC Hardware with Objective Testing Methodologies and Standards http://www.cooltechzone.com/rss/ Copyright 2006 CoolTechZone.com - A Division of iTech Media Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:14:59 -0500 Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:13:13 -0500 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.1) http://www.feedforall.com http://www.cooltechzone.com/rss/CoolTechZone.com_Logo.png http://www.CoolTechZone.com/ 0 0 Green compatible products are all the rage these days, and technology companies are tripping over one another to announce their commitment to eco-friendly devices. It sounds all nice and cute, but the reality: it's a downright marketing play. Nothing more, nothing less. http://www.cooltechzone.com/Departments/Featured_Story/Insider:_Green_Compatibility_A_Pure_Marketing_Play_200801192980/ 0758F6D1-01EB-49AE-BBD5-7DF919BE0A58 Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:13:13 -0500 A couple of days ago, we declared iPod the ultimate winner with no portable music players to take it down. However, we need to make an exception for Microsoft. As surprising as it is, at CES 2008, Microsoft's Zune is really starting to emerge as a serious threat to Apple's crown jewel. Sure, it's not going to capture the market rapidly and growth will be gradual, but Microsoft has the right ingredients. Just when Microsoft announced Xbox and its official entry in the gaming space, everybody laughed at the idea. And the joke become even hilarious after Microsoft announced its loss on a per unit basis, and how wide that was. http://www.cooltechzone.com/Special_Reports/Special_Reports/Zune:_The_Rising_iPod_Killer_200801192979/ 66435454-2D8C-4EEF-A21C-7475DA7ECC4E Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:13:13 -0500 We declared 2008 the year of Solid State Storage, but what about your standard, run-of-the-mill hard drives? What's going to happen in that part of the industry? In one word: nothing. That's right, the ever depressing industry is going to relax with normal hard drives and focus their entire attention on SSD units. It makes sense, but the price point on SSDs is not going to be low enough for mainstream adoption, at least not this year. http://www.cooltechzone.com/Special_Reports/Special_Reports/2008:_Another_Slow_Year_for_Hard_Drives_200801192978/ 4D7A85C1-FB0E-4B6D-8681-B5A7A6FD49F7 Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:13:13 -0500 As HD DVD and Blu-Ray debate tirelessly raged on at CES, some disc makers said they expect cost-per-disc for HD DVD and Blu-Ray media to fall to $5-ish levels. We were surprised to hear these numbers considering last year's figure of double digit prices, one of the halting points for new format growth. http://www.cooltechzone.com/Departments/Featured_Story/HD_DVD,_Blu-Ray_Media_to_Cost_ONLY_$5_Per_Disc_in_2008_200801162977/ C61CD74E-7C30-4B53-9EDA-4C016C212EA1 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:41:00 -0500 Toshiba took a costly hit last week at CES when Time Warner took their partnership away from HD DVD to Blu-Ray exclusively. This happened just when CES was about to take place, putting Toshiba in an awkward position. You see, Toshiba had invested a lot of capital promoting HD DVD at the world's largest tradeshow, and all of those marketing dollars went from a serious campaign to a humorous irony with show attendees mocking HD DVD. http://www.cooltechzone.com/Special_Reports/Special_Reports/HD_DVD_Future_Continues_to_be_Unknown_200801162976/ 768E1945-156D-4474-A334-69C213D5CC9D Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:41:00 -0500 Unlike previous years at CES, when everyone was trying to dethrone the iPod with their "iPod Killers," the environment was very different this year. There were no iPod Killers, and companies like Creative, SanDisk and the like were realistic in their approach. No more inflated promises, self-congratulatory comments and Apple's demise. They confirmed the situation heads on, and made appropriate comments that were easy to swallow. http://www.cooltechzone.com/Special_Reports/Special_Reports/Apple_iPod_Declared_Winner_at_CES_200801162975/ 60F348E0-D674-4FED-9FD8-8ACD447FB4CE Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:41:00 -0500 Since we had a lot of time at CES this year, thanks to lackluster exhibitors, we talked a lot about the future (like we wouldn't normally). These days, music players are a plenty, but there's nothing that's truly disruptive about them. Even the cheapest (and we mean that with utmost respect) of the bunch can display photos, playback audio/video and support in-line recording. What makes one better than the other? Audio quality could be a distinguishing factor only if mainstream consumers could hear the difference. Many of them continue to sport stock earphones, so asking them to compare audio quality between two MP3 players is stretching too much. Besides, who really buys anything other than the iconic iPod these days anyways? http://www.cooltechzone.com/Departments/Featured_Story/High-Definition_Video_for_MP3_Players_Coming_Soon_200801132974/ AA690CD7-F939-44D9-BF47-66E538A2CEF4 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:30:59 -0500 Can you say boring? My question to CEA, the organizers of CES: what happened? CES 2008 was a terrible show with nothing exciting to show for it. The mood on the show floor was dull with the same old, same old gadgetry from last year. This is supposed to be the largest and most prominent platform for the technology industry and boredom is what we got. Everything from Bill Gates' last CES appearance before his retirement to minor updates to last year's products. What a disappointment and a waste of an usually worthwhile trip! http://www.cooltechzone.com/Special_Reports/Special_Reports/CES_2008_Bores_Attendees_200801132973/ D68C5292-8841-42F8-96E8-C5F23EE258B2 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:30:59 -0500 In addition to HDTV's, solid state storage drives made their way to CES as well, albeit in limited quantity. There was a lot of speculation on the show floor regarding SSD and companies were loaded with far-fetched answers. However, we can't blame them for our insistence on them predicting the future of SSD going forward. http://www.cooltechzone.com/Special_Reports/Special_Reports/2008:_The_Future_of_Solid_State_Storage_200801132972/ F2F061C6-9351-41A2-A3EF-7B660A93285C Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:30:59 -0500 We are at a point where the technology industry is all about looks and sex appeal. At least that's what the companies are saying. We could choose to believe them knowing that a lot of consumers are demanding sleek electronics, instead of beige, boring boxes hosting the hardware, but, as you know by now, CES was terrible this year, and a lot of companies resorted to changing a few things here and there to add flair to their existing product line. That could be another factor. Either way, sexy looks were all the rage this year. And that looks to be the future. http://www.cooltechzone.com/Special_Reports/Special_Reports/Technology_Theme_of_2008:_Sexy_Looks_200801132971/ 1A5CE66E-A965-4E3D-B06F-BE601A852CA7 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:30:58 -0500