Tame Your Technology - Computer Repair Zone

Back in the bad old days of video tapes I bought myself a camcorder off Ebay. Even second hand it cost me almost $100. It was dented and tired but was all I could afford. Worse, the results were terrible, and those tiny tapes kept getting eaten. After a few weeks I gave up and binned it.

Fast forward to today, and the new Flip Mino camera, which is a camcorder the size of a cell phone, uses no tapes and produces some truly amazing results.

The Flip camera is a truly attractive piece of technology and is small enough to fit into a pocket or bag so you can always have it ready. Ever since I bought my own a short while ago I have been carrying it everywhere and it’s amazing how often it has come in handy.

You see, I’ve had digital cameras for years. I have a Fuji digital SLR at the moment and while the results are spectacular (and it takes video) it’s so huge and cumbersome that sometimes I just can’t be bothered with it.

With my new Flip, while the quality isn’t quite as good, it’s so small, lightweight and easy to use, I find myself using it far more. In a word - it’s just plain fun!

The Flip camera has an hour of video recording time on it. Videos are downloaded easily onto your PC using the built-in plug that goes straight into your USB port (no messy wrires required!). It is also in this way that you charge the camera. A couple of hours and you’re at full power redy for a day of filming.

Of course, having just an hour of film and needing to be charged up through a computer, it’s not a great camera to take on vacation for a few weeks with you, but for a day out, it’s perfect.

I’ve made more videos in the last few weeks than the last few years put together. So if you’re looking for a simple, fun, sexy camcorder, the Flip camera may be just what you’re looking for.

More information at this new Flip video camera site.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Since the introduction of the Apple iPhone last year, competing phone manufacturers have been scrabbling to stay ahead of the wave. The original iPhone, and more recently the 3G version, have both sold out in stores shortly after launch proving how popular this model is.

Luckily for competing manufacturers like Samsung and LG, it’s not perfect, and taking the general theme of a large, touch-sensitive screen then improving on the iPhone’s limitations has managed to create a number of phones that, whilst that may not have the street cred of the iPhone, are actually better phones to use with more impressive features.

Take for example the LG Viewty. LG of course are known for their stylish phones like the classic “chocolate” that was so popular a few years ago.

This new model (you can shop for LG Viewty deals here) features the same touch screen, but with a massively improved camera. We’re talking a 5 mega pixel beast - that will allow printing of pixel perfect pictures up to A4 in size, coupled with a flash which is also pretty uncommon in camera phones these days.

This is therefore a handset that is as much camera as it is phone, and infact will replace most common digital cameras of today altogether if you so want it to.

Increasingly users are demanding Internet access on their handsets though the old 2G networks can be painfully slow to load today’s web pages - especially as there are so few “mobile friendly” pages currently. Of course, this slow speed also covers the old iPhone, though they have finally introduced a 3G version which should speed up Internet access. LG though seem to have gone even further for their customers and the LG Viewty boasts HSDPA speeds meaning that it is almost bradband speed internet in HSDPA areas - and so runs considerably faster than competing products (including the iPhone).

Lastly, you’re not limited to O2 as you are in the UK as LG’s latest baby is available on all UK networks giving you further choice.

So it would seem that so long as you don’t mind the lower street cred of the LG Viewty (though LG is still viewed as a “cool” brand by the younger generation) you would do very well to take a closer look at the LG Viewty and you can find out more from a number of genuine reviews at this LG Viewty review page.

Popularity: 50% [?]