Creative Zen X-Fi3
Price: $135 (www.creative.com)
Ratings: 4 stars
Creative
– Zen X-Fi3 has typically superb sound quality.
This miniscule 8GB MP3 player is
impressively light and slips into any pocket with ease. Sound quality is
typically superb, thanks to the intelligent X-Fi technology, which enhances
your music on a sliding scale. Turning this all the way up drains the battery
faster, giving only a few hours of use, but is well worth it for the improved
experience.
You can also play videos, but the tiny
2-inch display is far too compact to enjoy a movie or even a short TV show. Other
features include a handy mic for recording reminders, and a FM radio that
automatically scans and presets stations. You can also stream music via
Bluetooth, although this too devours battery life.
Factor in the microSD memory card slot
an premium earphones that are included with the device and this is a great MP3
player for music enthusiasts.
Firebox Kuchi-Paku Lion Animal Speaker
Price: $60 (www.firebox.com)
Ratings: 4 stars
Firebox
Kuchi-Paku Lion Animal Speaker - just like any stadium-filling A-list pop idol
We’d be lion if we said we weren’t
bowled over by the Kuchi-Paku Lion Animal Speaker. The super-cute big cat not
only plays songs from any device with a 3.5mm headphone jack, but also dances
and lip-syncs along with the tunes – just like any stadium-filling A-list pop
idol.
Our leoine friend runs on three AAA
batteries and also has a built-in microphone, so you can talk to it and have it
lip-sync you in return. If you get tired of dancing, then you just squeeze the
Kuchi-Paku’s paw and it’ll stop, leaving the music playing like a regular
speaker.
At $60, this cuddly speaker doesn’t
come cheap, and we noticed some occasional interference in the sound if your
phone receives any calls or texts while using it, but overall the Kuchi-Paku is
a lot of fun and can provide inspiration for some very amusing videos.
Proporta Doodle Pad Hard Shell Case for
iPhone 4
Price: $25 (www.proporta.com)
Ratings: 3 stars
Proporta
Doodle Pad Hard Shell Case for iPhone 4
When the iPhone 4S arrived last year
instead of the mythical iPhone 5, many Apple fans were a little miffed that
Apple hadn’t updated the phone’s looks as well as its internals. But, looking
on the bright side, all of those iPhone 4 accessories will work just as well
for you if you’ve gone ahead and made the upgrade to the iPhone 4S.
This hard shell from Proporta will
offer invaluable protection to the back of your iPhone and stop everyday
scratches and scuffs that occur. The back is daubed in a ‘love it or loathe it’
doodle design. Depending on your point of view, it’ll either lend your iPhone
some kooky cool or make you look like you’ve lent your phone to a malicious
five-year-old.
The case itself is durable and has the
necessary cutouts for the iPhone’s camera lens and exterior buttons, so you can
still use it easily. Proporta also have a range of other designs to choose
from.
Nero 11 Platinum
Price: $105 (www.nero.com)
Ratings: 3 stars
If there’ one piece of software we
just can’t do without, it’s hardly media creation and burning tools like Nero
11 Platinum.
Using Nero, you can quickly browse
your music, movies and photos using the simple and intuitive Kwik Media interface,
and perform some basic editing if necessary. Then you can burn CDs, DVDs or
even Blu-rays of your content (providing your laptop’s optical drive supports
Blu-ray media).
Nero
11 Platinum allows you to share media with Google Android phones.
Recent versions of Nero have included
tons of extra features, and 11 is no different. You can back up your important
files using BackItUp, which includes 5GB of online storage to keep everything
safe. This version also allows you to share media with Google Android phones-
very useful if you use your phone to listen to music, or take photos and video.
It’s well worth the money if you enjoy your media as much as we do.
