Cisco Internet Phone Adapter with 2 Ports for Voice-over-IP PAP2T-NA - VoIP phone adapter Lowest Price!

August 6th, 2010 by jaron9973815

Cisco Internet Phone Adapter with 2 Ports for Voice-over-IP PAP2T-NA - VoIP phone adapter

Cisco Internet Phone Adapter with 2 Ports for Voice-over-IP PAP2T-NA - VoIP phone adapter Lowest Price!

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List Price: $65.99

Amazon Price: $49.99

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Cisco Internet Phone Adapter with 2 Ports for Voice-over-IP PAP2T-NA - VoIP phone adapter Description:

Subject to customer authorization by Linksys.

The Linksys PAP2T Internet Phone Adapter enables high-quality feature-rich VoIP (voice over IP) service through your broadband Internet connection. Just plug it into your home Router or Gateway and use the two standard telephone ports to connect analogue phones or use one of the ports for a fax machine.

  • Brand: Cisco
  • Model: PAP2T-NA
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 2.50″ h x 6.10″ w x 9.90″ l, 1.10 pounds

Features

  • Former Linksys Business Series
  • Two standard telephone ports for analog phones or fax machines that serve as separate lines, complete with unique phone numbers
  • Call Waiting, Cancel Call Waiting, Call Waiting Caller ID
  • Caller ID with Name/Number (Multi-national Variants)

Customer Reviews:

Best for when you need two VOIP lines4
Are you ready to jump into the exciting world of VOIP? Freedom and cost savings are there to be had, but be aware that this market is still in a developing stage, and if you are not a techie, you are strongly advised to not buy a product like this and simply sign up with a VOIP provider who will include the equipment as part of the package. This will insure you have the best support in case anything goes wrong.

If you’re still reading, you should be nevertheless aware that the configuration screens for these type of devices are obscure and take a bit of a learning curve. There is a full manual in searchable PDF which you will likely need to refer to, but when you do, it is very good.

Now, after all that, if you need a dual line or dual channel VOIP ATA (analog telephone adapter), let me heartily state that this is your product. I own one and love it, and have read many reports from other satisfied users. What is a channel? Well in the wonderful world of VOIP, a channel is an active call. Many providers, when you pay for an incoming phone number (aka DID, or Direct Inward Dialing number), give you two or more channels. What does this mean? If you have two phones hooked up to this unit, but are only paying for one DID, if you are on one line, the other will automatically ring if someone calls you. Conversely, if someone is actively calling on one channel, you can pick up the line on the other channel and make a call. I have not yet personally tried this but I have been assured that such things are possible.

Your VOIP provider should be able to help you get it configured correctly. Linksys (they bought out Sipura, who is the de-facto standard for VOIP ATA’s) is very well supported by most VOIP providers.

Note: if you only need one VOIP line and channel, I would recommend the Linksys 2102 or 3102 instead. The 2102 includes a router (should automatically handle port-forwarding issues). The 3102 has a POTS (plain old telephone system) port (so you can call into the unit and call other countries cheaply from your cell phone, although Google Voice is just as good for this) and also allows you to register to more than one VOIP gateway at a time, allowing you to configure your dial plan for the cheapest provider to whatever countries you call to most.

Pretty good device - ignore the 1 star reviews4
You need to know what you’re doing to really get the most out of this device, but really, this device works fine. I own several of them and use them for my business and home.

To get it to work, you need to sign up for a SIP account with a VOIP provider, like Voip.ms, Voicepulse, Vitelity, or Callcentric.

I suggest updating the firmware as soon as you receive it, as there are frequent useful firmware updates.

To respond to some of the one star reviews:

Of course the device doesn’t work with Vonage, it’s not supposed to! Vonage doesn’t use SIP!

Of course the device died when you plugged the wrong power adapter into it - it fried the circuit board. You could make that same comment about hundreds of devices.

UPDATE: While I still think this device is good, I now recommend purchasing a Linksys SPA-2102 instead, due to a new firmware update from Linksys. It’s worth the extra $[...] or $[...] bucks for the ability to tweak DTMF detection.

It works!5
The adapter needs to be connected to a VoIP phone service and high speed internet in order to work. I have the phone service through my home based business and it works fine. What’s great about the adapter is that it’s portable. I can take it anywhere in the world and plug it into a a high speed internet router or modem, plug my phone into it, and it will ring when someone calls my home number. What’s even better is that I don’t pay an arm and a leg for the service. This adapter is indeed the wave of the future.

50 Foot 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Extension Cable-Retail $17.99! Sale Only $3.35!

August 6th, 2010 by jaron9973815

50 Foot 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Extension Cable. 50 Foot 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Extension Cable

Product: 50 Foot 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Extension Cable-Retail $17.99! Sale Only $3.35!

List Price: $17.99

Amazon Price: $3.35
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Compare Prices on 50 Foot 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Extension Cable

Extend the reach of any MP3 player, CD player, computer or audio device with this 3.5mm stereo headphone and auxillary extension cable.

  • Brand: Generic
  • Dimensions: 3.00 pounds

Features

  • Use to extend any 3.5mm headphone or computer speaker cable
  • Two Stereo 3.5mm (1/8″) connectors
  • Male and Female connections for stereo input and output
  • 50 feet long
  • Made with quality.

handy item to have….5
Lets you vacume the house or chase the wife around the living room while lost in your own little private world!!!!

A Great Product With Many Uses !5
I bought these to plug in a Recording Device thats on the other side of the Room , Instead of Running Wires all over the place , your just running one wire . You might loose alittle sound , But not enough to Worry about , its Great if You Need to plug in Something Quickly

Audio cable5
This product is in my opinion absolute comparable to audio cables which are sold by Radio Shack at a substantially higher price.

TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter TEW-647GA Black Discount.

August 6th, 2010 by jaron9973815

TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter TEW-647GA Black

TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter TEW-647GA Black Discount.

Compare & Purchase TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter TEW-647GA Black at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $79.99

Amazon Price: $52.97

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TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter TEW-647GA Black Description:

The Wireless N Gaming Adapter (TEW-647GA) connects your favorite Ethernet-ready gaming console to a lag-free wireless n network. No need to locate your gaming station near an Internet connection cut your cables and start winning with highperformance wireless n. Setup is quick and simple, with no drivers to install. Works with Nintendo Wii , Xbox , Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 and 3. Connect multiple gaming consoles wirelessly and play head-to-head or challenge others over the Internet in multiplayer mode. The latest in wireless encryption ensures wireless security. Advanced Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology reduces wireless dead spots. Wireless Protected Setup (WPS) lets you integrate other WPS devices into your secured network quickly.

  • Brand: Trendware
  • Model: TEW-647GA
  • Format: CD
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 321
  • Dimensions: 2.50″ h x 6.10″ w x 9.90″ l, .18 pounds

Features

  • Connect your game console to a high-performance wireless n network
  • Play online or connect multiple consoles to play head-to-head
  • Works with Nintendo Wii , Xbox , Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 and 3
  • One-touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
  • 3-year limited warranty

Customer Reviews:

Inexpensive and works as it should.5
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RU5BGY0UTYZ45 First off, I had been keeping my eye out for a cheap alternative to the 360’s wireless adapter for sometime now, and when I saw this unit as apart of Amazon’s lightning deals for $30, I couldn’t pass that up.

Before buying this unit, I was sure to peruse for reviews to see other peoples’ luck with the item and was left a bit confused on how the product would work. After playing around with the various settings and getting it to work, I want to just clear the confusion on how this will perform. Also, I have a Bachelors in Computer Networking, not that that means anything, but I have had a good bit of experience playing around with different routers/switches and while reading through the reviews I was left baffled by the varying contradicting opinions of the product.***On a side-note, these types of At Home networking devices are aimed at ease-of-use and my experience had very little effect on how much more/less difficulty I had getting the product to work other than enabling me to filter out the weaker/inane reviews of the product.

Let me clear up the marketing confusion first. This item is a Wireless adapter. IT WILL ALLOW YOU TO CONNECT VARIOUS ITEMS WITH AN ETHERNET JACK TO YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK. That means if you have a desktop with an ethernet jack in the back that you would like to be able to hook up to your WIFI without stringing it to your router, this will work. For the “gamer’s” that for some reason this item is targeting(most likely the xbox 360 owners), this item works flawlessly and comes strongly suggested given a few caveats(i.e a bit more cumbersome than Microsoft’s options Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter A/B/G Networks Only,Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter A/B/G & N Networks given that it has to be plugged into an electrical outlet).

I’ll try to give you guys a step-by-step run through of how the configuration process worked for me.

First, I plugged it into an outlet and connected an ethernet cable from my PC to the unit(for the non-techies out there, this should work the same regardless of the Operating System you’re on).

Second, I popped in the CD that came included and loaded the router setup software off of the CD. This step was a breeze given that there was no installation of anything onto your computer, as other reviewers had falsely alluded to.

Once in the router setup software, I did run into a few odd hiccups that slowed the overall process. The software was able to find the device right away and I was off and running setting up the unit, although almost every time I hit OK or Next through the prompts, I was returned with something like “Error, the changes were not made” though they were… Other than that, the setup was pretty quick and painless and should be no problem to those that dread anything techie like many of those in my family, given that they read the manual and follow the instructions. And once you have it setup to your wireless network, it’ll pretty much connect any of your devices that has Ethernet port to your wireless without having to run through the setup process again. All the settings are saved so you can just move the unit anywhere. As long as you don’t tweak anything in your router, this unit should be able to be unplugged and moved around as much as you like and still connect you every time.
**My issues with the strange contradictory error messages were solved once I upgraded to the latest firmware

As for performance, this unit has worked flawlessly for my needs. I was playing Left 4 Dead 2 and a few other games through it on my 360 and had no significant lag or difference between playing through this unit over playing it hooked up to my router with an ethernet cord. I also tried streaming a few movies from my PC, and again, it worked flawlessly while I fast forwarded/backward and skipped chapters. Though I have yet to try streaming anything HD from services like Netflix, I don’t imagine anyone would have any problems given the much more than sufficient bandwidth that this unit provides as long as you have a capable internet connection from your Internet Service Provider. I also unplugged my computer from the router and plugged it into this unit just for kicks and, unsurprisingly, it works just as it should.

The device itself is surprisingly small and sleek, though it is a bit of a finger-print magnet. Something of note too, is at the top of the router lies a Wifi Protected Setup button(WPS) that I’m guessing would make the process even easier by eliminating the need for the PC setup process if your router has support for it, mine did not, so I can’t comment on that.

Overall, I would strongly recommend this product to anyone looking for a cheap way to connect their devices up to their wireless network. Even if I hadn’t gotten it on Amazon’s sale, knowing what I know now about it, I would gladly buy this unit again. That’s my 2 cents anyways and I hope it helped.

**Update
So after about 4 months of owning this product I am still very satisfied with my purchase. I did run into a pretty frustrating problem after my house lost power. My router was reset and the Trendnet adapter did not seem to want to stay connected. After a bit of poking around, I managed to fix the issue by going through Trendnet’s provided setup software again and giving the device a Static IP. It’s been working flawlessly since. (*Of note though, this doesn’t seem to be an isolated issue, I have seen a few other reviewers state having inconsistent connection issues as well. If you get that issue, just try what I did and the device will be working the way it should in no time.)

Save Yourself the Hassle if Using on Xbox 360 - Get the Microsoft Adapter Instead2
I purchased this for one reason, it was an “N” band adapter that could be used on the XBox 360 and was less expensive than the Microsoft “N” adapter. I was, oh, so looking that the Trendnet adapter would work well given it’s price point. I wanted “N” band as I’m looking to use my XBox to stream music and videos in addition to playing games. If that’s your goal skip this adapter and get the Microsoft N adapter, sure you’ll spend a few more dollars but, as they say, you get what you pay for.

I have now been able to do side-by-side comparison on these two and can provide a summary of my experience. For full disclosure I’m using D-Link DIR-655 router with my set-up.

First, the good on this adapter:

- It will work on the XBox 360 (note comments below on performance, or lack thereof)
- It looks good with status lights to show connectivity
- It costs less than Microsoft’s “N” band adapter

However, let’s look at the not so good aspects of this adapter:

- Your connection rate will be MUCH less than if you used the Microsoft N adapter. With the Trendnet adapter my connection speed (as measured by the XBox network test) was just barely passable for TV. With the Microsoft’s adapter I registered a full connection on the graph, now suitable for TV as well as HDTV! I also used my router’s administrative status to get the actual hard reading, a 70-90 rate for Trendnet, 220-240 for Microsoft’s adapter, that’s a HUGE difference.

- You may need to make some changes to your router, I did. I had my router set for AES “Cipher Type”, by default the Trendnet required “TKIP”. I made change to my router, but later found I could login to the adapter’s administrative set-up and change this - however this is not an option when you go into the configuration screen the first time so you have to change your router to support TKIP. Time spent debugging the problem with Trendnet adapter 15 minutes, no time required with Microsoft’s adapter.

- You will need to set-up the Trendnet adapter using your PC, first installing the adapter set-up software, then configuring the adapter. I have 20 years of PC experience and given my set-up it was not as straight forward as I would have liked. I continued to run into problems where my IP address for the adapter wouldn’t show up in on my router status screen (it showed as 0.0.0.0 - that’s not right). I had to reset my router to get the IP address to show up. I found that I had to do this several other times over several days as it would revert to 0.0.0.0. I called Trendnet, they connected into my router remotely, they had no answers or suggestions. By comparison, I plugged in the Microsoft adapter to my XBox 360, selected my wireless network and entered my WPA password. Time spent setting up and debugging the Trendnet was 30 minutes, time with Trendnet Tech another 30 minutes. Using Microsoft’s adapter was about 1 minute.

- The Trendnet is advertised as “N” band, however my router only recognized it as “802.11g”(”G” band only). All other “N” band adapters on my system (3 others, now 4 including Microsoft’s) all register as “802.11n (2.4GHz)”. I asked Trendnet’s tech support why this would not show as “N”. I found their response to be quite interesting. Per the tech support, they tested the speed in their lab and achieved “N” band speeds, they therefore classified this as “N” band. This seems strange that they make their designation based on speed and this is not recognized as “N” band by my router, nor is speed anywhere near the “N” dual band that Microsoft’s adapter provides. As noted above, Microsoft’s adapter is properly recognized as “802.11n (2.4GHz)”.

- You’ll also need to have an additional A/C plug for the Trendnet adapter. With Microsoft’s adapter it’s powered by your XBox only.

My conclusion:

If you are looking for an adapter for gaming only (no streaming of music or videos), then this may be an adapter to look at.

If you are buying this to stream music and videos on network devices, based on my experience with sub-par network speeds (and not registering as an “N” band adapter), I’d look at other adapters.

If you are looking to use on XBox 360, go with Microsoft’s product, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and frustration, will easily justify the additional $$ to get Microsoft’s “N” band adapter.

Note: The unit that I used for my review was the latest hardware and firmware offered by Trendnet (HW v2.0R with FW v1.01.22). As noted above, I, like other reviews, was able to connect my XBox 360 to the network wirelessly with this adapter. What I was lacking was performance. For basic gaming the low throughput that I found with this adapter won’t matter. What I’ve failed to see in other review is their actual throughput speed. If you are streaming video you’ll want a high throughput. Trendnet didn’t provide that, my experience was the rate was about 1/3 the rate that Microsoft’s “N” adapter provided. I had high hopes this would meet my networking needs, just unfortunately fell a bit short of target for me.

Good Product for the Price - Excellent Performance Once Set Up4
After suffering for many months trying to stream DLNA content over a 54G network to my PS3, I stumbled across the Trendnet Wireless Gaming adapter. The price is great and when I received it from Amazon, I was pleasantly surprised that it was far smaller than I expected. It’s about the size of a wallet and hides next to the PS3 really well. I was a little disappointed to find that the setup required a direct connect to a PC, running a CD-ROM based setup program. There is a ROM based interface built into the adapter (which wasn’t really detailed in the documentation), but you have to run this setup first. (Some of the documentation and specifications are a bit vague; for example, I still want to know if the Ethernet port is 100 or 1000 Full) Within very little time however, I was up and running. The good part: it’s really fast! All of the delays I’d been experiencing before, with Cat5e cabling or 54G wireless, were gone. Streaming directly from Netflix works flawlessly, and streaming from my PC running PlayOn worked so much better. I am connecting it to my Belkin 802.11n Network + router. It didn’t take long, however, to discover one big issue though. Between uses, the adapter would drop off the wireless network. Didn’t matter if I left the PS3 on or turned it off. I tried setting a static IP address on the PS3 with no improvement. Each time, the only thing that worked was to disconnect and reconnect the power to the adapter, resetting it. The PS3’s DHCP request would then be passed and everything would be fine, until the next time (usually the next day). Not finding anything on the Internet, I tried a variety of settings until I found one combination that worked. I had to access the Trendnet adapters interface from a PC on the wireless network via browser, whatever it get assigned by the router, something like http://192.168.2.8. I disabled MMS- basically the Quality of Service option, and I changed the Channel Bandwidth from 20 to 20/40. Now, it stays on the network for days and works flawlessly. I’m very happy with the product now that that issue has been resolved. I’m assuming the issue was a result of a minor incompatibility between the adapter and my Belkin 802.11n draft router running on 2.4Ghz only, especially since most people seem to be having great luck with theirs. If you experience the same issue, give these settings a try.

Royal Machines RL170MX 17-Sheet Heavy Duty Cross-Cut Shredder with Auto Start/Stop and Auto Reverse 29172A Lowest Price!

August 5th, 2010 by jaron9973815

Royal Machines RL170MX 17-Sheet Heavy Duty Cross-Cut Shredder with Auto Start/Stop and Auto Reverse 29172A

Royal Machines RL170MX 17-Sheet Heavy Duty Cross-Cut Shredder with Auto Start/Stop and Auto Reverse 29172A Lowest Price!

Compare & Purchase Royal Machines RL170MX 17-Sheet Heavy Duty Cross-Cut Shredder with Auto Start/Stop and Auto Reverse 29172A at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $199.99

Amazon Price: $92.96

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Royal Machines RL170MX 17-Sheet Heavy Duty Cross-Cut Shredder with Auto Start/Stop and Auto Reverse 29172A Description:

Royal Machines RL170MX 17-Sheet Heavy Duty Cross-Cut Shredder with Auto Start/Stop and Auto Reverse 29172A

  • Brand: Royal
  • Model: RL170MX
  • Dimensions: 14.80″ h x 18.40″ w x 27.00″ l, 37.90 pounds

Features

  • Royal Machines RL170MX 17-Sheet Heavy Duty Cross-Cut Shredder with Auto Start/Stop and Auto Reverse 29172A
  • 5/32″ x 1 1/2″ shreds
  • Shreds CD’s, DVD’s, and Credit Cards
  • Full Consolewith Casters and 26 Liter Wastebasket
  • Auto Start/Stop and Auto Reverse

Customer Reviews:

Royal Crosscut Shredder RL170MX, 29172A . . . 170MX4
This is a very good machine; especially, if you are able to get it for under $130.00.

Wish List:
1. Turn off the lights after after 30 minutes of inactivity.
2. Have the LED lights up the whole center display, when lit.
3. Four all-around-type of casters (with locks like the two being used), instead of the two all-around-type casters and the two big wheels.
4. The shredding is not exactly confetti size. It is cross-cut into pieces approximately 1 ½” in length by ¼” in width. I would prefer if the length were under ½”.

Additional Information:
5. Machine weighs less than 30 lbs, not the 40+ noted in the description.
6. Shipping weight nears 42 lbs; I believe the information noted in description is reversed.
7. I could not find this machine in Royal’s website; it may be new and has not been entered.

Bad design:
8. Grab handle is a dangerous when attempting to roll the shredder by this incorporated handle. This may cause you (the user) to breaker your a finger. Solution: Do not use the handle to move the machine; move it using both hands and not the handle.
9. The Forward and the Backward arrows on the activation buttons seem to be in the wrong direction. These would be applicable if the feeding was to be done downward and extraction was to be done upward. But it is not, it is feed towards the back and extracted towards the front; therefore, it activation keys should be reversed.

All in all, it is a very good shredder; I only gave it four-stars because of the Wish List. Hopefully, Royal will listen to the above comments and incorporate them into this product.

Final words on this product, I would recommend to buy the 16 or 15 page Royal Shredder on four caster wheels as they have a much better design. These have side handles and are easier to move around. If Royal eventually makes a 17 or 18 sheet shredder based on the four casters and side handles design as the 160MX and 150MX, then that is the way to go, but not the RL170MX with the two caster wheels and two side wheels.

Great shedder5
The shredder had a great price and arrived on time. I’m very happy with it and it does very thing the advertisement said it would do. I would recommend it.

Tax CPA5
I ordered this shredder based upon the reviews I read and the great price. The order arrived in just two days. This shredder has exceeded my expections (1 days use). It replaces an Aurora shredder that cost 3 times as much. Go to Staples and see the shredders they sell there. They are more expensive and are rather flimsy. The Royal is a much more durable construction. A fantastic buy!

Western Digital 300 GB VelociRaptor SATA 10,000 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD3000HLFS-Retail $292.99! Sale Only $199.99!

August 5th, 2010 by jaron9973815

Western Digital 300 GB VelociRaptor SATA 10,000 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD3000HLFS. Western Digital 300 GB VelociRaptor SATA 10,000 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD3000HLFS

Product: Western Digital 300 GB VelociRaptor SATA 10,000 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD3000HLFS-Retail $292.99! Sale Only $199.99!

List Price: $292.99

Amazon Price: $199.99
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Compare Prices on Western Digital 300 GB VelociRaptor SATA 10,000 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD3000HLFS

WD Raptor has evolved! PC enthusiasts’ favorite 10,000 RPM SATA drive is now faster than ever and available in a 300 GB capacity. Engineered for maximum speed, WD VelociRaptor combines a SATA 3 Gb/s interface and 16 MB cache, to deliver performance that’s up to 35 percentage faster than its speedy older brother. With 1.4 million hours MTBF, these drives have the highest available reliability rating on a high-capacity SATA drive and are designed and manufactured to enterprise-class standards to provide enterprise reliability in high duty cycle environments.

  • Size: 300 GB
  • Brand: Western Digital
  • Model: WD3000HLFS
  • Format: CD
  • Original language: English
  • Dimensions: 1.00″ h x 4.00″ w x 5.80″ l, 1.08 pounds
  • Hard Disk: 300GB

Features

  • Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
  • ***SINGLE PACK BULK*** Western Digital VelociRapto
  • Micro-hard-drives
  • 250 GB 2.5″ Internal SATA Drive

Fast, Faster, & Fastest! Raptor 300GB Smokes The Field!5
This HD is a piece of work, and no wonder. Look at its statistics: 10K RPM, 300GB (279.5GB formatted), 1.2 Million Hour MTBF Enterprise reliability factor, 3-platter internal configuration, Icy Dock Heat-Sink/2.5″ to 3.5″ Adapter, Back-Plane ready, 16MB Cache…and best of all to go along with that 1.2Million MTBF (mean time before failure) rating it’s guaranteed to last 5-years by Western Digital’s all-inclusive Factory Warranty, the highest in the business.

I’m a big fan of WD’s Enterprise HD’s, and use them extensively when building systems, or equipping my own system for ultimate reliability and performance. The “new generation” of VelociRaptor HD’s is not only faster in all respects than Gen. No.1, its builders have tried very hard to make certain that reliability goes hand-in-hand with high performance, apparently. You can’t say enough about attention to detail here either, with that very cool Icy Dock heat-sink/2.5″ to 3.5″ carrier mounting system either.

A lot of people don’t realize that these HD’s are in reality just 2.5″ in size, truly a little dog doing a big dog’s work! So getting 10K RPM performance out of a little 2.5″ form-factor system is truly interesting to me, and I have a bit of respect for Western Digital engineering for pulling this out of the hat and making them better 2nd time around, all-around. Let me give you some statistics from HD Tune Pro’s benchmarks, and we’ll see how a fully loaded and empty Raptor 300GB performs, and perhaps that will shed some light on just how good the HD’s are overall.

Fresh formatted and empty, I tested my Raptor in my brand new OEM PC (home built, totally 100% custom-made with all high-end hand-picked parts) with HD Tune Pro, and got this kind of performance:

1) from 8KB to 8192KB block size, with 64MB file size, it *averaged* 128MB/sec Read Speed and 142MB/sec Write Speed

2) same test, loaded with Vista Ultimate 64-bit OS, and some 70GB worth of key applications and a base system of samples and key photographs for my imaging business, making it 72% open space, it *averaged* 97MB/sec Read Speed and 104MB/sec Write Speed

3) In the Benchmark Test, again loaded with the OS and applications and samples, we get 121MB/sec maximum Read Speed, 68MB/sec minimum Read Speed for an average of 101MB/sec across the volume from 0% full to 100% full, a very linear performance.

4) Benchmark Test, loaded, access time is a whopping 7.3 milliseconds (ms), Burst Rate is 152MB/sec., both range-topping figures from any HD I’ve ever tested!

That kind of performance is what makes people so happy to spend $240 or so on this HD in bulk form, more than $300 in retail boxes, and I cannot argue with their logic after installing and using a Raptor for my boot HD in the new PC build. I’ve got every new trick in the business in this PC, including the newest, latest, and greatest EVGA X58 1366-compatible motherboard, and twin companion WD “Black” 1TB HD’s in an internal 2TB RAID “0″ write/read-to volume, plus a big 4TB external RAID 6 system for movies and film, audio, and countless other high-GB-sized projects that I do, and the Raptor controls all of it tight, clean, fast, and reliably.

With all of that menage’ internally and externally in this PC, boot time would be several minutes normally, but the Raptor puts everything necessary loaded up and ready in less than a minute. I’ve trimmed the Start-Up Items to just 23 totally necessary things, where most people wouldn’t bother, and that helps with boot time incredibly, or load-time when doing a restart after installing an application or one-time venture for a project, but that is a very, very quick start-up, and you have to give it to the Raptor for pulling it off.

In addition, the Icy Dock seems to do wonders for keeping the Raptor literally cool temperature-wise, as I’ve never seen temps above 114-degrees F or 33-degrees C yet, and I’ve been doing some heavy-duty reads, writes and captures with the new PC since I finished it: ie it’s NOT had an easy time of it, I’ve been pushing and pushing the envelope with respect to performance, storage and CPU-wise both, since it was finished last week.

Anytime a HD gets better than 100MB/sec average for read-write performance loaded up with applications, key samples and storage, where it’s about 70% or so Free Space, you are styling along pretty XLNT! And this Raptor pulls that off in my new system easily, it seems.

It’s virtually silent, as a matter of record, as my PC’s 2 x 230mm, 1 x 140mm, and 2 x 120mm internal fans make a bit of racket anyway, so I don’t notice the Raptor making much ‘clicking and clacking’ as it seeks and writes, so those worried about acoustical performance can relax! In fact, my twin internal 1TB WD “Black” HD’s (also Enterprise-guaranteed HD’s that I also endorse as policy in my business) make a LOT more noise in their RAID 0 configuration, as they are constantly asked to rip, read, and write data internally in the new PC.

The Raptor is just simply the finest boot HD system one could have in a PC or Mac, and I gave it 5 stars ***** across the board for performance, noise, and thermal efficiency. Size is *just right* @ 300GB, not too big, not too small, just right to have plenty of room for basic necessities and some applications, plus Vista Ultimate 64-bit OS (necessary if running more than 4GB of SDRAM in any PC build, or retail computer, as Windows 32-bit addressing stops @ 4GB of RAM/SDRAM) takes up quite a bit of space, more than 20GB if you load everything up but the multiple-language support.

Remarkably, my best impression of this new HD system is that it’s seamless, ie you just don’t notice its XLNT performance much, it just goes about its job relentlessly, like a little tough warrior who’s carrying a Big Dog’s burden and making light of it like the Champion it is.

My compliments go out 110% to Western Digital engineering for the “crowning touches” to the VelociRaptor HD systems, as apparently the 150GB version of this HD in its new format is also an XLNT performer like the 300GB version. They have hit it “on the $Money” this time, and Wavey Davey gives the new Raptor his official seal of approval, tested in the field 100%+ and then some in the past week-and-a-half, where I’ve been pretty brutally breaking in the new PC, just pushing all aspects of the system 24/7 as I fine-tuned the CPU, SDRAM clocking and the HD systems, all 3 of them.

After this brief period with the Raptor I honestly don’t know what I’d replace it with, if I had to! Probably just another one, its performance is so addicting…

One aside, though, for reference, and one thing about this Raptor purchase that truly does NEED IMPROVEMENT! Amazon.com, you need to have your head examined for shipping me this Raptor 300GB the way you did!! Wrapping a new HD in a simple double layer of double-bubble-wrap, and throwing it into a HD box with no foam, no layer-holder, HD-specific carrier assembly, or other type of protection is JUST PLAIN STUUUPID!

I was so paranoid about the way it was packed that I formatted it fully, checked it for bad sectors and damage 10 different ways before it was put to the test in my new system, ALL BECAUSE of the way it was shipped!

I give Amazon.com a big ZERO for THAT performance! By the way, this HD was shipped to me, here in the West, by their Arizona drop-ship “house” for HD’s and other equipment, and they were the people responsible for this shoddy, risky, stuuupid, packing job on that Raptor HD, so buyer beware if you are receiving HD’s from their “Western Operations” at Amazon.com.

I’ve got to call a Spade a Spade here, and if they publish this review, they had better publish ALL of it, because there is no excuse for risking a valuable, expensive piece of a computer build like a new Raptor 300GB HD by packing it like a novice might do it. They have to know better than that, they just have to, as professionals!

If they’ve run out of proper packing materials, they need to NOT SHIP until they’ve got the foam, the HD carrier, some heavy-duty anti-static system, you know, the usual way that a new HD is shipped from a company to the consumer.

I almost sent it back, sight unseen, never tried, just because of the way it was shipped, but I was under pressure to get the build-out completed last week, and I took a chance on this Raptor being aok fine after testing it completely, every way I knew how outside of the computer before installing it internally in the new chassis. So….

I’ll repeat it once more, as it’s been noted by others here, Amazon.com needs to step up its act, improve its shipping practices, with delicate OEM or “loose” HD’s from their shipping facilities to the buyer. The type of packing that was pulled off in my case is just unacceptable in every way, and I leave it at that. IMPROVE, or start to LOSE BUSINESS because people don’t like what you’re doing.

Wavey Davey 5-03-2009

Fast and cool, nearly perfect as a system drive, but could be a bit quieter5
Very impressive speed. Nearly 40% increase in RPM over the 7200 RPM drives is a significant improvement. The system start-up is noticeably faster. But the benefit to actual application programs varies. For example, programs that require small amount of data exchange will see minimal benefit. The speed of these programs is largely determined by the processor speed and RAM, because nearly everything is loaded into the RAM and not dependent much on the hard drive. On the other hand, applications like virus scanning which heavily depend on disk activity to access files will see the biggest benefit. I did a controlled test which showed that virus scanning is at least 30% faster with this disc than a 7200 RPM disk.

Noise could be an issue. Anyone who claims this is quiet is probably used to noisy computing environments. If you have a quiet computer in a fairly quiet room, you hear this hard drive distinctively. I have an Antec 900 with all fans running at low speed. The case is quiet but by no means silent. In this environment, the velociraptor is audible, although not terribly noisy. The noise was a bit distracting in the beginning, but I got used to it gradually and will now have to listen intentionally to hear it. To be fair, this hard drive is actually quieter than most old hard drives. But the consumer-grade hard drives have improved so much in noise in the last five years that most of them have become near silent. This hard drive is noticeably noisier than some other new hard drives I’ve seen recently.

Despite the slight noise, the hard drive is quite cool. My computer has a second hard drive (7200 RPM) in addition to this one. Both have very cool temperatures. The VelociRaptor is even 1° cooler. This is very impressive.

To those who are concerned about the small storage capacity of this hard drive, I’d say, think in terms of your true needs, not numbers. I believe this hard drive is ideal as an active system drive in a computer that has multiple hard drives. In a two hard drive system, for example, the faster VelociRaptor can be the primary hard drive for running operating system and programs, and the second hard drive can be a regular large capacity drive for data and backup. For running the operating system and programs, 150 GB is more than enough. In fact, I would argue that any more gigabytes would be a waste for a system drive. If they’re going to make this hard drive better as a system drive, I would recommend they make it cheaper, or even faster and quieter, but not larger. I have Windows 7 and tons of programs, which all together occupy only 50 GB, making the VelociRaptor more than sufficient. In fact, I could have just got a much cheaper 74 GB Raptor and still be plenty happy. For your need of greater capacity, just get a 1 TB drive as a dump drive to hold everything else including data and backup.

All in all, I highly recommend this hard drive to anyone who is building a multiple hard drive system. There is no better choice for the primary operating system drive.

WOW!5
This hard drive is FAST! Easy install into my MacPro HDD bay without needing any extra parts or cables. Yes, it was expensive, but I was tired of the HDD being the slowest part of my system (MacPro with two dual-core Xeon processors, ATI Radeon X1900 video card, and 6GB of memory). The MacPro boots up in half the time it did before, and programs launch much faster too! If you want hard drive capacity and speed isn’t the greatest need, then buy a cheaper hard drive because you can buy a 1.5 TB HDD for less money.

Samsung ML-2010D3 Toner Cartridge for Printer ML-2010 Sale-$66.26!

August 5th, 2010 by jaron9973815

Samsung ML-2010D3 Toner Cartridge for Printer ML-2010

Samsung ML-2010D3 Toner Cartridge for Printer ML-2010 Sale-$66.26!

Compare & Purchase Samsung ML-2010D3 Toner Cartridge for Printer ML-2010 at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $86.90

Amazon Price: $66.26

Click Here To Purchase At Amazon!

Samsung ML-2010D3 Toner Cartridge for Printer ML-2010 Description:

Samsung exemplifies technological determination and progressive ideals. From technology to business to the philanthropy, Samsung has become a world leader for which the possibilities are truly endless.

  • Color: BLACK
  • Brand: Samsung
  • Model: ML-2010D3
  • Format: CD
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 10
  • Dimensions: 4.75″ h x 6.25″ w x 13.25″ l, 5.51 pounds

Features

  • Toner cartridge for Samsung’s ML-2010 printer
  • Yields approximately 3,000 pages

Customer Reviews:

ML-2010d35
This product is the OEM replacement cartridge… so it works well with my Samsun ML-2010. I was worried that it would be a rebuilt or no name product commonly available at the various web sites. … and was very please that it was what I wanted … the OEM cartridge.

MD-2010D34
This product was an actual Samsung toner cartridge, so it worked perfectly with my ML-2510 printer. I have tried the “same as” cartridges before and they seem to cause too many problems with my printers. It’s worth the extra bucks to get the real thing.

OEM Samsung Toner5
Works great. Had the best price I could find that was not a generic toner.

From the Manufacturer
The Samsung ML-2010D3 Toner Cartridge is designed for use with Samsung’s ML-2010 printer. This easy-to-install cartridge is designed for cost-effective, reliable operation and sharp, professional results. This cartridge yields approximately 3,000 pages.

Buy Zeikos ZE-UV72 72mm Multi-Coated UV Filter At Amazon!

August 4th, 2010 by jaron9973815

Zeikos ZE-UV72 72mm Multi-Coated UV Filter

Buy Zeikos ZE-UV72 72mm Multi-Coated UV Filter At Amazon!

Compare & Purchase Zeikos ZE-UV72 72mm Multi-Coated UV Filter at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $24.95

Amazon Price: $4.19

Click Here To Purchase At Amazon!

Zeikos ZE-UV72 72mm Multi-Coated UV Filter Description:

Zeikos 72mm Glass Multi Coated Ultra Violet (UV) Filter to protect your original lens. Black metal rings. Packed in a hard plastic case for protection when not being used.

  • Brand: Zeikos
  • Model: ZE-UV72
  • Dimensions: 2.94″ h x .25″ w x 2.94″ l, .6 pounds

Features

  • Protects your original lens
  • Protects against Ultra Violet rays.

Customer Reviews:

Great value4
The filter is multicoated and reasonably well constructed. For the price, it’s a great value. I’ve owned Hoya filter before, and honestly can tell very little difference in terms of optical quality. The Hoya filter is better constructed with observable better workmanship. However, in case you hit the lens or drop it, both filters perform exactly the same function: sacrificial protection for the lens. You’d feel not as bad breaking the Zeikos than the Hoya.

72 mm filter4
I bought this as a protective filter for my 72mm lens. I Worked well and did not affect the IQ o fthe lens.

No Artifacts5
It doesn’t seem to affect the pictures. Since I’m using it as a shield for the lens and not for any effect, this is the desirable behavior. I’ve never dropped the lens to which this is always attached, so I don’t know how tough it is.

Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Green 4th Generation NEWEST MODEL Sale-$77.45!

August 4th, 2010 by jaron9973815

Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Green 4th Generation NEWEST MODEL

Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Green 4th Generation NEWEST MODEL Sale-$77.45!

Compare & Purchase Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Green 4th Generation NEWEST MODEL at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $79.99

Amazon Price: $77.45

Click Here To Purchase At Amazon!

Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Green 4th Generation NEWEST MODEL Description:

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1130 in Consumer Electronics
  • Size: 4 GB
  • Color: Green
  • Brand: Apple
  • Model: MC307LL/A
  • Dimensions: 2.60″ h x 3.40″ w x 1.60″ l, .21 pounds
  • Display size: 0

Features

  • 4 GB capacity for 1,000 songs
  • Up to 10 hours of music playback when fully charged
  • Clips to your sleeve, belt, or your gym shorts for music wherever you go
  • Supports AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV audio formats
  • One-year limited warranty with single incident of complimentary telephone technical support

Customer Reviews:

Headphones suck!2
The headphones that are required to use the new ipod shuffle are probably the poorest example of product design i’ve ever seen. Based on its size, portability and Apple’s marketing, you would think this would be a perfect product for exercising. That is where you would be wrong! The controls on the headphone wire are right up next to your ear, and unless you exercise without sweating, that tiny box is doomed to get filled with sweat. I bought this ipod specifically for running, but after about 3 miles the controls start acting totally erratically, randomly and constantly switching between songs and playlists, or alternatively not playing any music but just talking at me with its annoying computer voice. I can only attribute the behavior to sweat getting on the control box. Today I even tried covering the box with plastic wrap and tape, but to no avail. I was so frustrated with the ipod’s crazy behavior on mile 6 that I actually ripped the headphones out of my ears and threw them in the ditch. Not kidding. Looking for some alternative to control it, because I do really like it’s size for running, and the new playlist feature is great…but not when it’s acting crazy. I’m so irritated that Apple overlooked this crucial aspect of this product.

Worst Apple product ever1
I bought the new iPod Shuffle as a replacement for my 2nd Gen Shuffle (which I loved) which died. I already have a iPhone which I use on a daily basis. The Shuffle is just for use in the gym and when out running.

I have just returned the iPod Shuffle as I have had nothing but problems with it. The first one I bought died completely within a couple of days and was duly replaced. The replacement I was given caused me nothing but headaches and so is now on its way back to Apple. I won’t be getting another.

Each time I used it, it either stopped working, wouldn’t change tracks or kept on repeating the message “playlist 1, playlist 1…” which was so annoying that I had to stop using it and am now looking for an alternative product.
The reason it does this (so I am told) is because the controls on the headphones are not moisture-proof! Mine died on me during slow jog in which I was hardly sweating at all! So unless you are one of those people who never sweats, this product is completely useless.

I know that Apple are working with 3rd party headphone manufacturers to produce alternative headphones, but why should you have to pay more just to get headphones which actually do what they are supposed to do?

Unusable1
The only way to control this mp3 player is through controls on the headphones. I like to use my own headphones, so this unit is basically unusable.

Even with the Apple headphones, the controls don’t work very well. Do yourself a favor, and get a different product. I don’t know what Apple was thinking.

Amazon.com Product Description
iPod shuffle is jaw-droppingly small and enormously colorful in black, silver, pink, blue, and green. And even more brilliant, the VoiceOver feature tells you what song is playing and who’s performing it. It can even tell you the names of your playlists, giving you a new way to navigate your music with the controls located on the earphone cord. Clip a 2 GB or 4 GB iPod shuffle to your sleeve, running shorts, or backpack and take up to 1,000 songs wherever you go.

Clip a 4 GB iPod shuffle to your sleeve, running shorts, or backpack and take up to 1000 songs wherever you go. Click to enlarge.

Smaller than ever at just 1.8 x 0.7 x 0.3 inches. Click to enlarge.

Set to shuffle or play in order, then control from the headphones. Click to enlarge.

Even more colorful in gleaming pink, blue, green, black, or silver. Click to enlarge.

iPod shuffle: The First Music Player that Talks to You

The World’s Smallest Music Player
To create the world’s smallest music player, we moved the controls from iPod shuffle to the earphone cord. This makes iPod shuffle smaller than ever, and the controls are right where you can reach them. So when you want to play, pause, or skip to the next tune, you don’t have to fumble for your iPod shuffle–just follow the cord and press a button.

The First Music Player that Talks to You
VoiceOver will surely be the next big hit on your iPod shuffle. Say you’re listening to a song and want to know the title or the artist. Just press a button, and VoiceOver tells you. You can even hear the names of your playlists. And when your battery needs charging, VoiceOver tells you that, too.

Easy-Access Controls
The controls are located on the right earphone cord. With command central strategically placed in this more convenient location, you can navigate your music–and activate the VoiceOver feature–without taking your eyes off your run, your ride, or whatever you’re doing. iPod shuffle includes these easy-access controls, but you can also use headphones with similar controls from manufacturers like Scosche, Klipsch, V-MODA, and Belkin.

Your Music Library … to Go
iPod shuffle is now available in both 2 GB and 4 GB capacities. So you have plenty of room to store hours and hours of music–up to 1,000 songs with the 4 GB model.2 That’s a load of essentials for your workout or commute. And there’s room for multiple playlists and audiobooks, too.

Multiple Playlists
You’ve probably made multiple playlists in iTunes. One for your commute. One for the gym. One for just chilling out. Now you can sync playlists on your computer with iPod shuffle, and play the perfect mix for your activity or mood. VoiceOver tells you the name of each playlist, so it’s easy to switch between them and find the one you want without looking.

Let’s Talk Color
The anodized aluminum enclosure makes iPod shuffle sleek and durable. It’s even more colorful in gleaming pink, blue, green, black, or silver. And making its debut: the special edition iPod shuffle in polished stainless steel (Talk about rock star treatment). Even the iPod shuffle clip rocks. It attaches securely to your shirt, jacket, workout gear, and backpack, making iPod shuffle the perfect fashion tech-cessory. And yes, there’s still room for personalized engraving.

Multiple Languages
A French love song. A Spanish bolero. An Italian cantata. Your music library has songs from all over the world. That’s why VoiceOver speaks 20 different languages. So it can tell you song titles and artists in the correct languages.

To Shuffle or Not to Shuffle
The shuffle switch has three positions. Flip it to the left, and you’ll hear your music in a refreshingly random way. Flip it to the middle, and your songs play in order. Or flip to the right to turn iPod shuffle off.

What’s in the Box
Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Green (4th Generation), Earphones with Remote, iPod shuffle USB Cable (1.8 inches/45 mm), Quick Start guide

Canon PG-40/CLI-41 Cartridges and Glossy Photo Paper Combo Pack 0615B009 Sale-$34.99!

August 4th, 2010 by jaron9973815

Canon PG-40/CLI-41 Cartridges and Glossy Photo Paper Combo Pack 0615B009

Canon PG-40/CLI-41 Cartridges and Glossy Photo Paper Combo Pack 0615B009 Sale-$34.99!

Compare & Purchase Canon PG-40/CLI-41 Cartridges and Glossy Photo Paper Combo Pack 0615B009 at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $47.99

Amazon Price: $34.99

Click Here To Purchase At Amazon!

Canon PG-40/CLI-41 Cartridges and Glossy Photo Paper Combo Pack 0615B009 Description:

Canon genuine inks and papers are designed to work perfectly with your Canon printers to give you optimum performance, allowing you to create all you can imagine - picture the possibilities.This pack includes one PG-40 Black, CL-41 Color tanks and one Photo Paper Glossy 4×6 pack.

  • Color: WHITE/RED
  • Brand: Canon
  • Model: 0615B009AB
  • Format: CD
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 1.00″ h x 7.00″ w x 8.00″ l, .71 pounds

Features

  • Lower profile of FINE Cartridge for east replacement
  • ChromaLife100 system: Create long lasting, beautiful photos when used with genuine Canon photo paper
  • Generation Green: Environmentally conscious products with the next generation in mind
  • 100% recycle paper board packaging

Customer Reviews:

great5
Its cheaper than the usual, interms of shipping and cost of each item.
great buy.

Canon PG-40/CLI-41 & Photo Paper Combo4
Ink cartridges are commodities - you buy ‘em when & where you get the best price. In this case, Amazon’s special pricing made the cartridges cheaper than usual & the photo paper was a bonus!

Canon PG-40 / CLI-41 Cartridges and Glossy Photo Paper Combo Pack4
Assuming your printer uses these cartridges these are a decent value compared to buying them seperately and you get bonus free glossy photo 4×6s. You cannot find a better deal or package on canon inks for this printer than this. The only reason I give this 4 stars instead of 5 is that canon ink is expensive and not a “great” value; but these cartridges have the print heads inside them and for that reason alone I feel that I had better buy the genuine product. Go for it!

Sony MHS-CM5 bloggie HD Video Camera Violet NEWEST MODEL Discount.

August 2nd, 2010 by jaron9973815

Sony MHS-CM5 bloggie HD Video Camera Violet NEWEST MODEL

Sony MHS-CM5 bloggie HD Video Camera Violet NEWEST MODEL Discount.

Compare & Purchase Sony MHS-CM5 bloggie HD Video Camera Violet NEWEST MODEL at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $199.99

Amazon Price: $189.95

Click Here To Purchase At Amazon!

Sony MHS-CM5 bloggie HD Video Camera Violet NEWEST MODEL Description:

Capture HD MP4 video and 5MP images and upload them directly to the Web with the Sony bloggie camera.

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #158 in Camera & Photo
  • Color: Violet
  • Brand: Sony
  • Model: MHS-CM5/V
  • Dimensions: 2.28″ h x 5.51″ w x 6.69″ l, 1.00 pounds

Features

  • 1920×1080 HD recording w/5MP still images
  • 2.5″ LCD3 (230k pixels) with full-screen playback
  • HDMI output
  • Built-in PMB Portable software for easy upload to web
  • Comfortable Gun Style

Customer Reviews:

Here is a review5
Amazon is obviously filled with fake reviews from either fanboys or competing company employes. I bought this camera, and even reviewed it, compared it to other cameras like the Kodak zi8 (search google for “letsfindjesus bloggie” to find videos of my review). The Sony is the best under $200 camcorder on the market. Its auto focus is quick, the colors are rich and accurate, and the mono mic actually sounds good. It has a built in usb plug (which is also used to charge) and pretty good face detection. The still camera (unlike the pocket cams) actually takes decent 5 megapixel photos. It has a playback speaker which is loud enough. The 5X optical zoom is smooth, and the digital zoom is well… a digital zoom. Bottom line, for the price the picture quality and build is mighty good.

There is some negatives, I listed them below, none are deal breaking.. more of a wish list. The biggest feature missing for me is Steady Shot (image stabilization) on the 1080p and 720/60 frame modes. The Kodak zi8 has this, but it looks like crap on 1080p so I guess I would rather not have this feature if the hardware is too slow to process the steady shot. Which is why im guessing Sony didnt include this feature on the higher quality modes.

Pros:

-Very acceptable video quality
-Good sounding mic
-GREAT accurate colors
-5X optical zoom
-for once a decent still camera
-quick zoom
-SD memory card capable and Memory Stick Pro Duo
-Record and upload.. its in a format that just.. Works.
-Mac and PC friendly

Cons:

-Battery lasts a little over an hour (buy an extra!)
-Steady Shot is only on 720P (30 Frames/sec) and VGA
-lens cap instead of hardware lens open/close
-mic is mono (but its not bad)
-no manual focus
-low light (like all low cost camcorders) isnt the best, and the focus is slow/struggles in low light

Great camera for non-techies.4
I bought the CM5 after trying out a couple of other HD camcorders. I just wanted a basic, easy-to-use camcorder that films in 1080p and was easy to upload to YouTube, Facebook, etc. This camera met all those requirements. It is very easy to use, takes great quality video and uploading to YouTube was a snap with the included software. I’ve never been a BIG fan of Sony’s imaging products because they use the Memory sticks but this camcorder will accept either the Memory sticks OR SD cards. It was easy to setup. The camera has software built-in (like the Flip does) but it also comes with a more feature filled version that you can install on your computer. It transfers and uploads easily. The only drawback is that it won’t stand up on its own whereas, based on the location of the flip-out USB connection, you would “think” that it should. It has froze a couple of times but not while recording, only when trying to turn it off. I had to pop the battery out and back in and it worked fine again. Certainly not a deal-breaker for me. The mic is good also despite being a mono mic. The camera has an image stabilization feature but it is NOT available at 1080p. That being said, I did not encounter too much shaking (that wasn’t my fault) when filming in 1080p. Nice things about this camera vs the Flip (as that is obviously what it’s trying to compete with): it films in 1080p/30fps (no Flip does that), it has removable memory (SD or Memory sticks)so you can bring along extra memory, and it has a removable battery (so you can bring along an extra battery without having to recharge it). The view screen is a little hard to see unless it’s angled right at you. Other than that, I really like the camera. If you are a non-techie that wants an easy to use camera that films in 1080p, you should get this camera.

Great everyday camera.5
For those of you that think $200 will get you results of a $1500 video camera, you can forget that! For the price, this is an excellent camera. It’s small, easy to use, starts up quickly, and takes great video. It does struggle in low light, but most cameras do. The picture looks great on my Sony 1080P TV.
A great feature the camera has is the ability to zoom while recording. Many point and shoot cameras do not allow.
As for it being 1080P. Of course it’s not Blue Ray quality 1080P. But the resolution is there. It does have a sharper picture than the 720P Sony DSC-W290.
This camera is worth every penny. And this is coming from someone who installs home theaters for a living.
As for the review about the 1080P complaint. You need to learn that it’s more marketing than anything. There is a difference between low cost 1080 sensors and expensive 1080 sensors. Yes it shoots great videos. No it’s not as good as a high end $125,000 piece of equipment. And yes you will get better video if you spend $1500.
As for taking still images, it’s your average camera phone quality. But that’s what the DSLR is for.

From the Manufacturer
Easy and intuitive operation brings HD movie right at your fingertips, anywhere, anytimeEasy and intuitive operation brings HD movie right at your fingertips, anywhere, anytime
The MHS-CM5 bloggie is all about simplicity and ease of use. Forget about having to change shooting modes as the full auto shooting will help users to get optimum image quality in various situations, both outdoor and indoor. Besides, the positioning of the buttons is also very well thought out. Simply push the video button to shoot a movie, and the photo button to snap a picture. For viewing, turn the camera sideways and press play to enjoy what you have just shot on the 2.4″ LCD. At the viewing position, the conveniently placed directional joystick makes browsing easy. Despite its small size, the bloggie is capable of producing high quality 1920 x 1080 HD movies and 5 Mega pixel still photos that are ready to be viewed on virtually any PC or Mac, or to be uploaded to various websites for sharing. Its slim profile hardly takes up any space in your pocket or handbag, giving you a higher chance to capture the unexpected that is worth to be blogged and bragged about.

No hassle upload to various websites with embedded software and built-in USB arm*
Besides intuitive shooting, uploading cannot be easier with the embedded software (PMB portable) and built-in USB arm. First, connect the camera by plugging the USB arm into your computer (PC or Mac). Second, choose the contents and upload destination using PMB portable. Lastly, click “send” to upload. The beauty of the combination of the embedded software and a built-in USB arm is that you can upload from any computer with a USB terminal. Furthermore, you can also charge the battery via the built-in USB arm, saving you the trouble to bring a dedicated charger. At last, you can upload on the go, at an internet cafe near your hotel when you are out traveling, or at your friend’s apartment using her computer.
*In cases when location of USB terminal of PC causes difficulties to directly connect via the built-in USB arm, it is recommended to use the bundled USB support cable. 

Get better footages with Face Detection, SteadyShot, and 60p mode
Despite its playful nature, this HD snap camera is a serious camera when it comes to camera features. With Face Detection, faces of your friends will be correctly exposed even in difficult lighting conditions. Furthermore, you can also get stable footages with SteadyShot* image stabilization technology. More choices give more flexibility. Besides the 1920×1080 30p mode for maximum resolution, you also have a choice to use the 720 60p mode when shooting fast moving objects such as a skateboarder or your pet running in the park. The extra frame rate will ensure silky smooth video compared to the conventional 30p frame rate.
*Not available in 1920×1080, 720×60p, and still photo mode.