Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

YouTube has always been the scourge of those of us who like to watch really good looking video.  Not just the quality of the content, but the actual video quality.  It first started out with high quality videos that were a pretty big step up from the normal quality.  Now, the site is taking the quality up in two ways.  First with video and also with sound.

Possibly the biggest improvement to those who care most about the poor video quality is the availability of HD video.  To be more precise, 720p HD video.  It might not look much different than the high quality in the standard YouTube video screen, but put it in fullscreen and there is a definite improvement.  It looks just about as good as the 720p trailers from Apple. 

Find out how YouTube has improved its sound quality after the break.

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Sections: Web, Websites, Online Music/Video, Google

And with SanDisk, the hits just keep on coming.  They have the 1GB, the 2GB, the 4GB Sansa Clips, and now the 8GB flash-based player.  It may be teeny-tiny in size, but it certainly isn’t in the capacity of songs this baby can hold.  Try up to 4,000 on it’s rechargeable battery which will run for 15 hours.  Not bad, eh?

The player obviously gets its name from the clip it sports on the back.  It lets users attach it to their clothing, backbacks, etc., which is great for when you are on the go.  However, if you want to detach the clip, you have that option as well.  Another nice thing about the Sansa Clip is that is has an OLED color screen, which lets you pick which songs you want to listen to; you don’t have to listen at random.  More after the break.

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Recently, Holux has added a new GPS to their mix of GPSmiles - the new one being the GPSmile 62.  This new GPS comes loaded with many cool features making it a high-end GPS. 

It comes with a 5 inch WQVGA touch screen, with 16:9 aspect ratio.  In addition, it can act like a media player because you can also play videos and listen to some music on the go.  The video component would be especially nice coupled with its 5-inch screen.  Find out more features after hitting that “More” link below.

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Company: Able Planet
Product: Clear Harmony NC200 foldable headphones
Price: $99.99
Pros: Portable and neat foldable design.  Easy to take anywhere.  Also comes with in-line adjustable volume to make music even louder.  Soft and comfortable to wear.
Cons: Sound isn’t the best unless you are using the Noise canceling.  Virtually no point in using headphones unless you are going to use the noise canceling. 
Overall: Decent product and good for it’s price.  4/5.

The above was just a quick summary of my findings when I played around with Able Planet’s Clear Harmony NC200 headphones.  Keep reading for an in-depth review of the ease of setup, the audio clarity, the good, the bad, and my final thoughts on the product as a whole.

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This cool site, sayhear.org has offered up four numbers to call in, one for each party (sorry, it’s only Republican, Democrat, 3rd Party) and one for non-voters.  Folks are anonymously calling in and leaving a simple message that we can listen in on.  It is unbelievably enlightening to hear what chords have struck with other voters in other parts of the country.

For every bitter non-voter there is a passionate voter.  For every passionate voter there are ones voting out of fear.  It is just amazing to listen to this as it feel almost like voyeurism.  I hear anywhere.

Josh Spear says it best when he says “think twitter + politics + audio.“  The site is as addicting as it is comforting because at the end of today (assuming no court controversies ala 2000) we’ll have to reach across the aisles, across states and across streets.  The site affirms we are all just people who like to get excited about ideas.  And after an ugly slugfest, it is good to know that in this anonymous site, some honesty and reality still exists.

If you could extrapolate this into an exit poll, Obama is winning by a 7 to 1 margin at 4:30 PM on the east coast.

Give a listen: [Sayhear.org] via [Josh Spear, Trendspotting]

• Obama is a Mac user
• YouTube testing HD video and improved audio
• Verizon employees suspended for accessing Obama’s call records

Sections: Web, Websites

You may know of Dane-Elec has one of the main distributors of Meizu’s M6, which is a phone similar to the iPhone.  Now, they have decided to venture into the PMP market themselves and they recently introduced 4 of their first PMP’s - the Music Mediatouch, the Music Touch, Music Pix and the Music.  Definitely some interesting names for PMP’s, in my opinion.

First, let’s talk about the Music Mediatouch.  It comes with a 4.3-inch touch screen with 480 x 272 resolution, TV out, FM Tuner, and support for many audio and video formats including AVI, WAV, and MP3.  It also comes with support of WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, JPG, GIF, and BMP.  The Music Mediatouch will be available in 2 models, a 4GB and an 8GB.  The 8GB will sell for 150 Euros, or $202.  I imagine the 4GB to sell a bit less than that.

Plenty more details after the break.

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Recently, Nokia has announced a new Bluetooth headset called the BH-804.  Now, if you’re wondering why Nokia is making a splash out of this new product instead of busying itself with a more newsworthy mobile phone, hold your horses folks because the BH-804 boasts something which made it worthy of this coverage.  The BH-804 according to Nokia does not only provide crisp and clear audio quality but it happens to be Nokia’s smallest Bluetooth headset ever.

More details after the break.

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Sure, it might be somewhat common knowledge, but the European Union is saying that MP3 players could be ruining our hearing.  According to an EU report, listening to music at 89 decibels for more than five hours a week, young people could damage their ears within five years. 

Not only would they not be able to hear you with their headphones in, but their hearing would be about the same without the music.  According to the EU report, up to 10 million people with MP3 players can suffer from this hearing loss.

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Today, MySpace unveils the all-new MySpace Music alongside new BFFs: EMI Music, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group (NYSE:WMG), and Sony ATV/ Music Publishing. 

Users can do all the playlist making, swapping, downloading, streaming, etc. to their hearts’ desires.  Expect to be enticed by MySpace Music partners McDonald’s, Sony Pictures, State Farm, and Toyota.  We can expect free downloads from Mickey D’s, State Farm playlists and Toyota Tuesdays where anything can happen.

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Sections: Audio, Web, Web 2.0, Websites, Online Music/Video

Sonos may have trouble on its hands if Creative’s newest products, the Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Notebook and the Creative Wireless Receiver work as promised. The X-Fi Notebook is an ExpressCard that fits into your laptop. Well, some of it does—there is a rather large piece that juts out of your laptop.

Creative’s X-Fi line claims to improve audio quality using algorithms.  I have yet to test these claims.  Whether the X-Fi Notebook improves the audio or just sends out your lousy lossy mp3s, the cool thing is that it can wirelessly send your audio out to up to four Wireless Receivers.  You could create a multi-zone set-up using Creative’s latest offerings.  The Receivers are just that – you will need to hook them up to powered speakers to listen to audio.

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