Here at ESH we have been steadily going to trade events for the last year. Katsucon, Anime Boston, CES, E3, a bunch of big events that helped us meet some great people and take some fun pictures. It really has been a blast getting to learn more about the industries we love from the inside.

With half of this year behind us already, and digital 2009 looking us square in the face, I've decided it's time for us to grow up here a bit. Get a little more advanced in our coverage of stuff. And it starts now.

I am starting a new series in July of reviews on some gadgets. We keep talking about being a review spot for videogames, tech gadgets, and anime, but rarely cover gadgetry. Part of that is due to that fact that not a lot of companies want to part with review units to small to medium-ish us, and the other part has to do with picking where to focus our gadgetry reviews. ESH not Engadget. We aren't even in their league, so why would Dell want to send us their new laptop to review? It is because we're not Engadget that a review unit should swing our way. We speak to a different audience, but one just as passionate. I'm amazed and floored on a daily basis by the number of people that visit this site, and just how tech-savy you all are. You rock. But I digress. I have picked a focus for my initial journey into serious gadget coverage, and I think it's one we will all enjoy. Digital SLR cameras.

If you are a devoted fan of the podcast you know that both Panda and I share a passion for photography. We get it honestly from our Dad who was a Canon camera nut, and while Panda has been fiddling around in the darkroom with film photography I have gone the digital route. Many of the images you see in my posts or wallapers we offer up here on the site I have doctored or created in some fashion or another through Adobe Photoshop. I play around with digital point and shoot cameras when I am on the road, and have recently become enamored with DSLR cameras.

Over the next three months I am going to be researching DSLR cameras from three different companies: Nikon, Canon, & Sony. Each month is going to be a new camera, with a post each week about some particular feature that I like or don't like about that particular product. At the end of the three months, I am going to crown a winner, a "Best of the Best" if you will out of the three. And that winner is going to be the DSLR that we use in the future to photograph events we cover here at ESH.

The Best of the Best is also the one that I recommend to you guys and gals out there looking to move up from your own point and shoots to something a bit more substantial. Digital photography is a big deal these days. Everyone wants to take as many high quality digital pictures as possible and store and organize them easily. I know how important the pictures I take on family vacations, gatherings, or getaways with friends to me are, and imagine that you place the same value on yours. If we didn't love digital pictures, I doubt that places like Flikr, Deviant Art, or Picasa would exist, let alone thrive.

I promise to provide you guys with as much candid, hands-on info I can give you, and not just parrot back press-kit copy. The invitations to participate have been sent to Nikon, Canon, and Sony, so now it's just a waiting game to see who steps up to the plate.

Let Best of the Best: DSLR begin.

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Did you ever wonder if there was a reason to own a PSP? Well, they might have actually found one.

I found this information when doing one of those web surveys. It's identical to the GPS add-on promoted by Sony for the Japanese market at CES this year, shown in the color photo here from Joystiq, except for that little thing sticking out of the top of the PSP.

A Global Positioning System for the PSP would be just what the doctor ordered for the long-failing portable gaming system. There still aren't any decent games for the thing, and that UMD movie fiasco has been a bust for everyone concerned.



The survey I filled out was mainly concerned about pricing the thing. At what price point would I consider it too cheap? What price point would I consider it just right? What price point would I consider too much? Basically, the Three Bears school of surveys.

Well, apparently the Japanese currently pay the equivalent of $51 U.S. for the thing -- which I think is probably too cheap for the American market. Anything under $89 on this side of the continent is considered a toy. And more than $139 is probably too much.

And I would probably have hopped on this thing last year -- until the iPhone came out. I've found the pseudo-GPS in the iPhone fits my needs very well. The iPhone triangulates the positions of multiple cell phone towers and WiFi base stations to determine the current location. On a recent trip halfway across the country, along I-40 through Arkansas and Tennessee and then up I-81 through Virginia, I was able to determine my approximate position most anytime I wanted (except when I was in the most mountainous regions of Virginia).

Sure, true GPS is better than faux-GPS, but I wasn't hunting for lost treasure -- I was just trying to get a fix on my current position along a major interstate so I could find the next Jack-in-the-Box restaurant down the road. In concert with Google Maps, my iPhone directed me to the fast food joint just fine.

According to the survey, the PSP unit has most of the features you'd expect in a GPS: turn-by-turn navigation, 3D clity maps, voice prompts, detour recalculation and route redirection. It even has a pedestrian/bike mode for those who aren't necessarily restricted by off-ramps. In addition, it has a holder you can install in your car.

But that satellite receiver plug-in unit will probably be prone to problems of being lost or destroyed, and without the receiver, there will be no way to use the GPS software loaded into the PSP. They're going to need a more solid connector/holder/sleeve for the thing. And just how much juice is it going to take to keep the GPS operational? It might be OK in a car, connected to power via the cigarette lighter, but it's just not going to cut it on foot.

It would have been a great idea 18 months ago -- or a pretty good idea a year ago. But in 2008, it's the same old story of Sony being too little, too late.

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When it comes to listing the current sexy [and expensive] cell phone gadgets, there's no denying that the Apple iPhone is seated firmly at the top of the list. If you have an iPhone and are terrified of damaging it, then this post may be helpful for you. I'm going to review the iPhone Defender case for the iPhone by OtterBox.

There are a lot of different cases made by a plethora of different companies that serve can project your precious device in various ways. If you carry your iPhone in your pocket then you probably are looking for a case that doesn't add a lot of bulk to your device, and that will protect it from the other items you may have in your pocket. If you carry it in a bag, you may look for a case that will keep your iPhone from being dented by the heavier items in your bag, or from liquids that you carry along with you during your daily commute. After a month with the iPhone Defender Series case by OtterBox, I can say that the Defender series can be a great protective case for your iPhone. Like many of the cases that OtterBox is known for creating, the iPhone Defender is a water resistant hard case with protection in mind. It features a silicone membrane that slips over the main hard case which aids in your gripping the phone so it doesn't slip out of your hand, or off the dashboard of your car. The hard case itself is made up of two interlocking pieces that once closed leave the headphone jack and dock connector area of the iPhone exposed for easy connection to your peripherals. It's good to note that the iPhone is not dockable when in this case. The texture of the membrane is keeps the phone comfortable in your hand if you have to hold the phone for long periods of time, which you are familiar with if you've ever used the google map feature for driving directions.

The Defender comes with a hard plastic holster with swivel clip that complements the case, but add quite a bit to it's overall bulk and is the first negative thing I have to say about the Defender. While the holster is solid, and firmly locks in place as you swivel, it's hard to overlook how much it affects the footprint of the iPhone. The clip of the holster is broad and not easily swayed from the pocket or belt you clip it on. While in the holster, you will only have access to the sleep/wake button at the top of the phone, the headphone jack, and the volume controls on the side of the device. This is where my other major complaint about this particular case comes in. While a great amount of detail went into this case, you have no access to the silence switch at all while your phone is encased in it. The only way you can turn sound on and off is by using the settings controls on the phone which is tedious at best.

All in all, the OtterBox iPhone Defender Case delivers everything it promises: protection against light precipitation, bumping, dropping, dirt and dust for your 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB iphone. It is not as affordable as some of the other cases that offer similar protection, but $49.95 is a small price to pay for extra protection of your $399 or $499 iPhone.

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Here are some little bits of news that you might have missed:

Headline: Panasonic Unveils Touch-Screen Camera

Just don't touch the wrong side.

Headline: Japanese Influenced TV@ART Kabé Hits the Market

These are decorative flat panels designed to hide large screen TVs. Hold it a second. One reason anyone buys a large flat screen TV is to show it off -- not hide it! Bad timing.

Headline: Aleratec Launches USB Flash Drive Duplicator

With recordable CDs costing about a penny apiece and DVDs costing maybe a nickel in bulk, why would anyone want a mass Flash Drive duplicator?

Headline: Razer Lachesis Gaming Mouse Features 4,000 DPI Sensitivity

A 4,000 dpi computer pointing device might make a difference if it were a pen, but as a mouse? It's like drawing with a bar of fresh, new Ivory soap.

Headline: Power Supply Purchasing Guide Published

Look at it this way, it's cheaper than buying sleeping pills.

Headline: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Debuts On Wii

Sixty-four? I didn't know Kirby was so old! But as demonstrated in the graphic here, the popular character is showing his age.

Headline: Two New Distribution Amplifiers from Gefen Deliver Component Video to 1080P with Audio up to 300 Meters in Distance

Ideal for those apartment buildings filled with deaf (or soon-to-be deaf) people.

Headline: Share the Love This Valentines Day With Romeo And Juliet On Your Mobile Phone

Excerpt: "Launched in time for Valentines Day, Romeo & Juliet will test your gaming skills at every level. You control Romeo in his quest to save Juliet, who has been imprisoned by her disapproving father in his castle."

I bet William Shakespeare is rolling over in his grave about now.

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Seeing as how Apple did it, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft decided to make their own version of the “Jesus Phone”. Move over iPhone. The zunePhone is coming.

Just over six months ago, Apple released their revolutionary iPhone upon the world and the cell phone industry has never been the same. Other manufactures have tried to follow in the footsteps of Apple since then, such as HTC’s Touch and LG’s Prada, but only one company can truly bring us the cell phone of all cell phones and that’s Microsoft. Ladies and gentlemen, Bill Gates and Microsoft proudly bring you the zunePhone.

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We're a little late on the draw this week, but it's for a good reason. After a few months of being under the weather, both NinjaSistah and Pandalicious need a little extra time off, so we're extending the time between podcasts just a tiny bit. Thus, you're getting the new program on a Wednesday (instead of the previous Monday), and the next one will be out a week from Monday (President's Day). So give this episode a listen.

In this episode, the Sistahs are together once again, as Panda makes the long trip down to ESHington for Ninja's birthday. And all that noise in the background? It's ESH Mom making the bed, of course!

The topics for this week's show: OMG Headsets and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

We know how much you love reading the rejected titles and listening to the podcast to see how we came up with them. Here they are:

After 20 Hours, Anything Would Hurt

Ears Can Be Very Sexy

Logitech Won't Be Able To Use This Endorsement

Why Ask Why (Over and Over Again)

Nintendo, WTF?

I Sense a Giant "But" Coming

I'm All About Kinks, But Not In My Games

Say "Duck Hunt" Three Times Fast -- I Dare You

Bowzer Wants Some Spaghetti and Meatballs

Don't Forget To Remember

So hunker down and enjoy episode 85: Pandalicious Likes the Mic In or Around Her Mouth. And we'll talk to you again in about 10 days.

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NinjaSistah always comes back from CES with tschotkes of dubious need. One of the favorite giveaways these days is the now-ubiquitous thumb drive, which are about as useful as floppy disks.

Truth is, most of the stuff that was shown off at CES are as worthless as the credit-card sized thumb drive she brought back. Sure, it looks all cool and thin, but you've got to clear so much space off your desk to use it that it's simply not worth the trouble.

There are a lot of other worthless things that were shown at CES. Here are some of the stuff you should just avoid:

Razer Destructor Gaming Mouse Pad: I don't mean to pick on Razer specifically, but the mouse pad is a whole class of products that you should completely avoid. Back when the computer mouse first became popular -- on the original circa 1984 Macintosh -- mouse pads were necessary if your desk had a slick surface. The little roller ball on the bottom would slip and slide, making mousing around difficult. But those roller ball mouse controllers are all gone now. The optical sensor of the new units don't need traction. They have difficulty only on a mirrored surface. So throw those mouse pads overboard -- they're just a waste of money.

Adesso WKB-3000UB Trackball Keyboard: A computer keyboard with a trackball! How 1991! Who in his right mind would want to go back to that decrepit technology? I had a trackball in an ancient Powerbook that needed constant cleaning. Once trackpads came out, I never looked back. And the newest trackpads from Apple have multi-touch technology. The only thing trackballs were good for was Millipede and Missle Command.

Mustek Wireless 15-Inch Digital Photo Frame: It's got Bluetooth and it plays MP3s and it's wireless and it's just stupid. You can get a nice, old picture frame at a garage sale for about 50 cents. You can print a nice, large image on an inkjet printer. And if you gotta have music, just unearth one of the old iPods you have hanging around the house and hide it with a tiny speaker behind the frame. You'll save a whole bunch of money.

Nyko Wireless Nunchuk: I like Nyko as a company, but to me this is a worthless product. Since I'm using both the Wii controller and nunchuk at the same time, they're never more than an arm's length away from each other. A wireless nunchuk requires that it contain batteries as well, something the wired nunchuk doesn't have. It's gotta be heavier, and it's gotta make your arms wearier faster.

XIAS USB Pen Drive: Don't let them fool you -- it's not a pen. It doesn't look like a pen. It doesn't contain ink, gel, charcoal or graphite. You can't use it to draw anything. Oh, sure, it's a USB drive. But if you're looking for a pen, don't fall for their lies. You can't ever use it as a pen.

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To paraphrase a jelly ad, with a name like Matsushita, it's got to be good. You probably don't know what Matshushita is -- it's the Japanese company that created the VHS video format and makes Panasonic products. Ah! You know Panasonic!

In a move that is probably at least 40 years too late, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., is changing its name -- to Panasonic Corporation. Duh.

It's not bad enough that the company name has always had the word "shit" in the big middle of it, but the abbreviation the company used was "Matshit." Yummy.

Originally, I thought the company name was pronounced "Mat-sue-she-tah," but I was wrong. The actual pronunciation is "Mot-shoosh-tuh."

It's funny that Panasonic's slogan in the 1970s was "Panasonic: Slightly ahead of their time" -- except when giving their company a better name, of course.

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I landed [after a bit of a delay] in Las Vegas this morning, and after enduring the LONGEST TAXI CAB LINE EVER, I was able to get over to the Philips Press conference.

This year's event is not much more different than last years. The chairs were still covered with white slip covers giving the illusion of being at a wedding reception. There was a lot of talking heads, pumping up the new partnerships here and there. [Disney being one new Philips partnership meaning Philips has jumped onto the Blu-Ray bandwagon and RealNetworks being the other.]

No, the thing that I came away from the event with was the direct marketing to women that Philips seems dead intent on pushing to it's limits. In what was nearly a "did I really just see/hear that" moment, I watched as Stewart Muller Sr. VP US Sales at Philips explained to me how women shop and what we want. According to Mr. Muller, we want heart shaped Swarovski crystal encrusted USB pendants, and earbuds. Oh yeah, they "deliver high quality sound... and look great too!" Blah Blah.

Now, I'm a woman, and even I [along with the room full of nearly all male journalist who scoffed at these announcements loudly with almost with childlike glee] had to kinda laugh to myself on this one.

Philips 2008 - Pretty Pretty Princess Tech!

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It's always been my belief that the best public relations people give good phone. And here at ESH Grand Central Station, we get inundated with press releases about stuff. Of course, there are times when people just don't know when to shut up. Here are some examples...

"Red photobooks will be popular for Christmas albums and blue photobooks will work nicely to capture Hanukah celebrations." -- Denise Thomas, Vice President of Consumer Products, Peleman Industries, Inc., about PhotoBook Creator.

Of course, the color this company is worried about the most is green.

"We plan on doing multiple closed beta tests, which is quite unheard of for Korean games entering the global market. Korean games usually run one or two closed beta tests before going live with an open beta, but we are taking a radically different approach by offering the game in stages. This allows our players to greatly contribute to the shaping of the final product, and have a say in what our game will turn out to be." -- Mary Min of South Korean developer NCONY Enterprise, makers of Pi Story.

That explanation probably gives Microsoft a good idea to explain the slow adoption of Vista: It's a closed beta! That's the ticket!

"...having the standard PC case sitting next to or inside the home entertainment stand has always been an eyesore. GMC, a company based in Korea sent TWL their AVC M-1 case to review and with no exaggeration, this case and its features belong in the 'GOT TO HAVE' category. -- Matthew Homan, Techware Labs, about the AVC M-1 Media PC Case.

I don't know about you, but put woodgrain veneer on the front and this would look exactly like a 1980s-era VCR machine -- not exactly modern or high-tech.

"The emerging new market for robotics must be fueled by opening up development to a wider audience." -- Tandy Trower, general manager at Microsoft Corp., about the RoboDevelopment Conference and Exposition a couple of weeks ago in San Jose.

That reminds me that a friend of mine recently showed off his Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner to me. He flicked it on, it went about three feet in one direction, then stopped dead in its tracks. It didn't work anymore after that. I guess I'll stick with the ol' Electrolux.

"The most exciting advancement in Plasma TVs is occurring in luminous efficacy. As luminous efficacy improves, higher brightness can be achieved at the same power levels and lower power can be achieved at the same brightness levels. But the effects of higher luminous efficacy are not just limited to brightness and power. Improvements in luminous efficacy will have far reaching effects in areas including power consumption, brightroom contrast, heat, reliability/lifetimes and total costs. As a result, increases in luminous efficacy should dramatically boost the competitiveness of plasma TVs vs. competing TV technologies." -- Ross Young, founder and President of DisplaySearch, a display industry research firm.

Luminous efficacy. Luminous efficacy. Luminous efficacy. LOOM-in-nuss EFF-uh-kuh-see. When I was a kid, we just called this "purty pitchers."

"The passion and excitement our fans exuded throughout this collaborative process is just what Doritos empowerment is all about." -- Ann Mukherjee, group vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay, regarding the Doritos-branded game demos on Xbox Live.

Doritos empowerment? I've eaten enough Nacho Cheese-flavored Doritos to turn my fingers orange, but I've never been empowered by the little triangles.

"Kids are consuming technology as fast as we can produce it. We have a responsibility to learn what it’s like to participate in our youngsters’ digital world and to help these kids to become critical and creative consumers of technology." -- Claire Green, president, Parents’ Choice Foundation, regarding the Sandbox Summit at next year's Consumer Electronics Show.

You know, when I was a kid, we were given toys in order to experience a concept called "fun." I was never asked once if I was interested in becoming a critical and creative consumer. Tinkertoys were fun. Legos were never any fun.

“The media and communications industries are in chaos. Traditional operators are fighting disintermediation with convergence, while traditional media companies search for profitable and relevant business models in this new, mobile medium. Meanwhile a completely new generation of services and end-user applications are emerging." -- Eliot Weinman, president of the events division of Yankee Group, in a release promoting Mobile Internet World, Nov. 13-15, in Boston's Hynes Convention Center.

Sounds like this quote should have begun with, "It was a dark and stormy night..."

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I hereby open the nominations for Stupid Gadget of the Year, and it should come to no surprise that the first candidate is from a company that has littered the world with plenty of stupid gadgets: Microsoft.

Microsoft, as you may remember, has brought you such Instant Junk as last year's Zune audio device, for example. It had built-in WiFi, which could have been used to wirelessly connect to a music download service. But nooooooo. The WiFi was put in there to (in Steve Ballmer's own words) "squirt" a temporary music download to someone else with a Zune. (Just try to find two people in the same room outside Redmond, Wash., with Zunes.)

Not satisfied with 2006's undisputed Stupid Gadget of the Year, Microsoft has followed up with a candidate easily worthy of repeating last year's accomplishment: the Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 (I must have missed the previous 7,999 versions of the thing).

You're going to see some stories about this thing in the media in the next few days (after which, the talk about the thing will all dry up), and most of the stories are going to be dead wrong about the thing. Most media outlets are going to say that it's the first computer mouse with a built-in Flash drive.

But they're wrong.

The mouse doesn't have a Flash drive at all. The mouse is a wirless mouse -- with a 1GB Flash drive in the transceiver of the mouse. You see, you plug in the transceiver into a USB slot on your computer, and it acts as the bridge to relay information from the mouse to the computer. And it also can store about 1GB of information.

But it's much more complicated than that -- and that's where the problems lie:

-- It's also a Bluetooth mouse. Flip a switch on the mouse and it can operate via Bluetooth, without the need for the transceiver, unless you are also using it as a Flash drive, which means you must have it plugged in anyway.

-- You can carry the transceiver around to transfer data from the Flash drive to other computers, but if you leave it in another computer, you won't be able to use the transceiver for your mouse. If the computer's not Bluetooth, it's back to a wired mouse until you get the two parts back in the same room together.

-- The batteries in the mouse hold only a three-week charge, according to Microsoft. To recharge the batteries, you have to connect a cord between the transceiver and the mouse, and that doesn't exactly make it a wireless mouse anymore, does it?

-- A whole 1GB? Really? I'm sure that was a lot of space at some point in the 20th Century, but a quick look at the CompUSA website shows a couple of different 1GB USB Flash drives for only $11.99. Microsoft is charging $100 for its Flash drive/mouse combo -- quite a premium for such a misguided product. For that amount of money you could get one of three different 8GB USB Flash drives from CompUSA and use the free, wired (No batteries!) mouse you got with your computer.

Yes, the Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 (I'll bet the guy who named this thing is getting a bonus this year!) is the first candidate for Stupid Gadget of 2007. Why not just go ahead and give Microsoft the award already? Why, there are more than three months left in the year. That gives Microsoft more than 100 days to come up with something even stupider (I'm betting on a new Zune that also dispenses three flavors of wine coolers).

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The iPhone launch has come and gone. People all over are finally able to see and actually touch what is being called “the most anticipated cell phone in history”. I picked one up and I love it, but instead of focusing on what I think, let’s flip things around.

On June 29th millions lined up outside of AT&T and Apple stores around the U.S. to purchase the iPhone. You were probably one of those people or watched the videos on YouTube of others paying big bucks for prime spots in line to get one. I was fortunate enough to get one and I can say that I have no regrets about the purchase. I will say that the phone is overpriced when compared to some other phones that do a lot more than what the iPhone does. Although you can use third party java sites to make the phone instant messenger capable, I would have gladly traded the built-in YouTube application for an instant messenger application.

What I’d like to know is now that most of the hype about the iPhone has died down, what do you guys think about the phone? If you picked one up, do you think it’s worth it? If you didn’t get one then I’d like to know why. This is your chance to let me know how crazy or smart I was for grabbing one on launch day. Let me have it people.

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This years Macworld brought news of what is sure to be one of the hottest gadgets of 2007, Apple’s iPhone. It was also announced that Cingular would be the only cell phone company carrying the phone for a long time. Douce is here to fill you in on what Cingular has planned for its release.

I’m sitting at CC’s drinking a cup of coffee and pecking away on my laptop when I hear a guy and a girl sitting one both over from me talking about Apple’s new iPhone. I’m going to use fictitious names because even though I was eavesdropping, I have no clue what their names are. I hear Pete tell Sue that he can’t wait until the iPhone comes out in June. Sue says she’s seen it and she can’t wait to pick one up either but she’s not sure if the phone will work with her T-Mobile service because the phone will be exclusive to Cingular. Pete assures her that if she just goes in to a Cingular store and purchases one at retail price then he can get it unlocked for her. Pete goes on to say that he has Cingular service but isn’t eligible for an upgrade until the end of 2008, meaning that he renewed his Cingular contract at the end of 2006 for two years and received a discount on a new cell phone. He will not be eligible for another discount for two years.

As I listen to Pete and Sue make plans to get the iPhone in June, I can’t help but snicker to myself for a number of reasons. There are a few kinks in their plans that I wanted to make them aware of but I didn’t because it was so darn funny. Here is what Pete and Sue will find out about the iPhone sooner or later, but hopefully sooner.

1. Cingular is not allowing the purchase of the iPhone WITHOUT a two-year contract. In other words, you no get Cingular service, you no get Cingular iPhone from Cingular store.
2. Even if you currently have Cingular service, if you are not eligible for an upgrade then you cannot purchase the phone. Again, no two-year contract, no iPhone. Retail purchase is not an option.

Cingular may decide to change these regulations as the release date gets closer, but as of right now, all I can do is snicker at Pete and Sue and shake my head.

Poor Pete. Poor Sue. Cingular raised that bar even higher. I hope you can jump.

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Don't call it a phone, or the Helio people will get mad at you... seriously have you seen the ads? They try really hard to make you think that the thing you are buying from them isn't a phone, but it is a phone, just don't let on that you know that I know and told you that's it's not what they know it is. Ok?

I got one of those Kickflip pho... devices in from Helio to review [because they think we're pretty kick arse] and I have to say that after I got a charger in for the thing [they kinda forgot to include it in the box] I've been having a lot of fun with the device... it not being a phone and all. I started playing around with the Kickflip the moment I got it to test how strong the swivel part actually worked. My major pet peeve with many phones that have the "swivel to reveal the keypad" feature don't use a very strong or stable swivel at all. After opening and closing the Kickflip about fifteen times I was impressed with how sturdy a flip the opening is. The device has definitely earned the name "Kickflip" as the opening swivel [i.e. flip] has some kick to it, and while the device makes the sound of a sword being removed from its sheath when you open it, the more accurate sound would be a compound "whoosh-thwang" kinda deal. What I'm trying to say is that from the get go the device feels solid and not flimsy, so that earns it brownie points to begin with.

My next step was to actually use the pho...device to make a couple of long distance calls. I found the keypad actually nice to use as the keys were backlit [good] and the numbers much larger than the letters on the keypad. This helped me tremendously as I am used to the layout on my Treo smartphone so most phones that do not have QWERTY keyboards piss me off to no end. I have no love for multitap interfaces, period. I still don't like multitap for this phone, but I understand it's not mean to be a smartphone so I'm not going to hold the multitap against Helio. The keypad layout is nothing new, nav button in the middle flanked by the call approve/deny buttons, two buttons at the top in the left and right hand corners as "menu" and "select" options. This part of the pho... device is nothing remarkable. What is worth noting are what are on the sides of the device, that's where some of the fun stuff resides when it comes to the Kickflip.

On one side of the device you have a volume up and down control, a USB port for connecting your device to your computer to sync data, and what I can only figure is a port to somehow connect your pho... device [dammit, did it again] to your TV. [Why else would the icon look like a lil TV set?] Then on the other side of the device are previous, play/pause, and next buttons as well as a camera button. These buttons by themselves don't make up much, but it's how the Kickflip lets you use them that is cool. The Kickflip can playback mp3 audio in stereo [much like the Verizon Chocolate phone] but the Kickflip did it first. Helio even provides you with a stereo headset with mic so you can listen to tunes or make calls without having to switch between headsets or give up on having stereo audio. This I like, as my major complaint about my Treo is that I can't use it to really enjoy music because my current headset is mono only. Bugger!

Moving on.

For me, the greatest fun that I have had while using the Kickflip has been in taking pictures. Because I can hold the device horizontally like I am used to with my digital camera, and use the button on the side to quickly enter picture mode, it's extremely easy for me to take pictures with the thing on the go. Add to this that the camera in the Kickflip is 2 megapixels, can take a single image at up to a 1600x1200 resolution or a series of "snaps" at 320x240 with a flash, and ninja is a very happy little girl. I love being able to take a snapshot of things as I'm on the go because weird shit seems to happen all the time in my area. [Especially when I'm in the district] So having a camera that I can snap a picture or series of pictures with and immediately send it to a friend so they can share in my WTF? moment is just plain cool. It's at this moment of playing around with the device [haha, got it right that time] that I start understanding what Helio means when they say this thing is not a phone... and I do agree with them on that. When it comes to being a phone, the Kickflip is lackluster.

Calls aren't very clear or easy to hear [even with the volume turned all the way up] unless you are using the headset. Loading your address book to the thing requires that you use a web interface that you enter your data into to then connect and sync to your device. Quite the pain in the pooper if you already have your contacts in an existing address book and have, say, over 40 or so people with multiple phone numbers. A sync like that is no fun, to say the least. Purchasing ringtones and screensavers/wallpapers to bling out your ring are just as easy/cumbersome to purchase for the Kickflip so you get no added bonus there. You can set individual ringtones for people in your address book, which has become a lifesaver for me lately, but otherwise it is just a phone.

The saving grace for Helio is that their product is a 3G device, so data transfers to and fro are fast, and, well, the thing is cool looking... and feeling. I got interested enough in this thing to get some wallpapers and ringtones for it, and I don't even get to keep the damn thing!

Without a doubt the Kickflip has some very cool other uses than just being a phone, but what I need most out of a device that I'm going to have in my pocket is that it be a good and solid phone that I can easily get my contacts and email on... anything else is just gravy.Taking it all into account I'm going to have to give the Kickflip from Helio a 3 out of 5. One teal one because it's a sexy little device. I mean, the sound effect on opening it up is a nice little touch Helio. I'll give it a light blue candy as it's obvious that Helio has tried to make this device too cool and one white one because at it's core it's a decent phone whose future could be very bright.

Finish What You Start...

Confusing title eh? All apologies, but I think you are going to like what we are up to this time.

After recovering from my trip to CES last week I realized that we needed to add something to the regular content roster here at ESH. If you listen to our podcast then you already know that we don't just talk about video games and anime on the thing... we all let our gadget geek and puter geek show from time to time. As I was listening to the last few podcast episodes I found myself asking why we seemed to only let those sides of ourselves show during podcast recording sessions. As mom would say, "dat didn't make no sense!" So then I started a dialog with myself [as I often do] and after a few harsh words and a round of fisticuffs it came to me: we need to add gadgets to the roster on a regular basis, duh!

And lo, "Gear Up 4..." was born, sort of. We are starting to pull together the list of the type of items we want to feature in our new column and will [hopefully] be launching it fairly soon. Consider this our official letter of intention. Yeah, I like that. Welcome, to the new ESH! Home of the BEST gaming, gadgets, and anime reviews and podcast, ever.

Finish What You Start...

If there’s anything that I’ve learned from being a gamer, it’s that the games you enjoy playing say a lot about you. Here at ESH, we focus a lot of our attention on gaming and anime. Every once in a while we dip our toes into other pools like music and technology. Hey, what’s a true geek without a love for gadgets? Well what about television programs?

When my thumbs are sore from button-mashing on a console video game or I’m just too exhausted to pwn-all on World of Warcraft, I like to unwind with a good snack and a great show. Depending on what day it is, I’m enjoying anything in the realm of action, comedy, and romance. That’s right. I said romance. Even the Douce gets a little sentimental at times. I’d like to take this opportunity to get to know all of you a little better. No, I don’t want you social security number or blood type, but I’ll settle for what television programs you just absolutely can’t wait to watch every week and would kick someone out of your home to tune in for.

To get the ball rolling, I’ll list my favorites and the days I watch them. You’ll probably going to laugh at some of them but don’t worry because I’m sure I’ll do the same to yours. Ok here they are:

Sunday: Robot Chicken, Venture Brothers
Monday: Prison Break, Heroes, What About Brian, The Closer
Tuesday: Nip Tuck, Boston Legal
Wednesday: Bones
Thursday: Smallville, Supernatural, The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy
Friday: Vanished, Las Vegas, Battlestar Galactica
Saturday: Adult Swim (all of it)

There are some shows that I watch that air every day such as Attack of the Show, X-play, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. AoTS and X-play are not absolutes because sometimes they aren’t reviewing anything I’m interested in or just being too stupid to hold my attention.

Who’s next to step up and list their favorites and must-sees’. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I got The O.C. on my list. How much worse can yours be?

Finish What You Start...

We finally got some cash together and figured we ought to hit a big convention/tradeshow and CES was the obvious choice. CES is the Consumer Electronic Showcase, basically anything and everything electronic that companies could possibly want to sell to you [the consumer] make their debut here. CES has been going strong and growing strong since 1967, so to say that we are excited to become part of this rich tech history would be a slight understatement.

Now you might be saying to yourself, "Why is the ESH crew going to CES? Isn't it just a bunch of TV's on display?" It's a valid question to ask, but it ain't accurate. CES is actually the show that COMDEX and even the former incarnation of E3 were modeled after, and while there will be a lot of new TV technologies introduced at the show there will also be lots of home theater setups, sounds systems and components, wireless technologies, and even video game related items that will surface from the show. I think as gamers sometimes we forget that getting our hands on the latest and greatest game stuff isn't limited to just a console, or piece of software.

No matter who you are you have a gaming rig that you use, be it just a 23" TV or an elaborate setup containing a 7.1 surround sound system, 42" flat screen LCD TV, a chain of UPS', several gaming consoles, a harmony remote, and a theater style seating arrangement. [Huge sigh] With that said, one of the things that you will start seeing around ESH will be our takes on different components that you may or may not want to add to your rig, so it only makes sense to us that we start by going to CES. We are going to be looking at different audio setups, home theater systems, peripherals for both computer based and console based gaming, LCD TV's [this will come in handy for those of you wanting to upgrade that tiny little 25" TV to something a little sexier] mobile gaming, and gaming in general. And we can't forget portable media stuff, mostly because they won't let us. We'll be on the look out for the hottest new gadgets at the show that will help you get the most out of your iPod, portable video player... hell we'll even take a look at stuff for the Zune while we're at it. We are committed to covering your electronic needs, but only in the good way.

While CES is not E3, Microsoft and Sony are going to be there, and there is going to be a separate "video gaming" section on the tradeshow floor, so we aren't going to be forgetting our roots any time too soon. It just seems to us like it's time to take that next step forward in covering the whole spectrum of gaming life, that I think sometimes gets overlooked. You can't use a game console without having a TV to hook it up to. You can't hear the games without some kind of sound system hooked up to [or built into] that TV your connected to, and you have to have some place to park your ass in order to play and enjoy those games you are playing... and in January, NinJaSistah and Evermore are going to bring you some first hand accounts of the new toys you'll want to add to your rig from CES.

This will be one time that what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay there!

Finish What You Start...

It's just about that time of year again folks: Turkey Day [a.k.a. Thanksgiving] is next week, which marks "Black Friday" or as most people know it "The Angry Mob That Goes Shopping The Day After Thanksgiving."

The amount of cool gadgets, gizmos, and games about to hit the market as well as television advertising to guilt you into buying stuff you don't need will overwhelm you. That's why Evermore has been hard at work creating a gift guide based off of previous posts and opinions we have on stuff to help steer you towards getting the right gift for the right person... every single time.

Our hopes are to help all of you awesome and busy people with a way to avoid being stepped on, waiting in line for hours just to get a gift card, or ending up buying socks for a person because the stores you went to were out of stock on the item you really wanted to get. This year, why not shop from home, over the internet... delicious mug of egg nog in hand? I've been doing it for a few years now, and I have to tell you, it sure beats having to try and find parking at the mall between now and January 10th.

But if you are going to shop on the internet, how will you know what is a good buy, and what is a bad one? How will you know which video game titles to stay away from? Or what sub $15 DVD is worth purchasing? That's where our gift guide comes in handy. If you have an anime fan, gamer, or general techie type person to buy for, our new gift guide is a great resource for picking out a gift that won't be re-gifted!

We are proud to announce the launch of the ESH Gift Guide... holiday edition. And as an added bonus for you our treasured visitor, we've added sort options just for you. [*sort feature and bomb guide configuration only available through the wonderful browser that is FireFox. Alternative gift guide option available for IE upon page request.]

So visit the gift guide, and start your holiday shopping from the calm and relaxed environment that is your home or office... don't be like me and actually have to go out to the "stores" next Friday. :: shudders at the thought ::

Finish What You Start...