Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital

Customer Ratings:

This lens is THE lens to own if you want to shoot indoor sports. The newspaper I work for has me out on a lot of volleyball, hockey and basketball beats, and this lens does not come off my camera. I have taken this lens out to soccer games and baseball games but use it mainly as back up. If you want to shoot these sports you'll want something up in the 300-400 range. Soccer especially.

The 2.8 aperture is a must for these low (and orange/brown) light situations. I was using a 200mm f4 but fell just short of being able to freeze the action perfectly without any blur. The little bit of extra light makes a world of difference.

I shoot with a D80 and find that I can keep my ISO down around 400 and be very comfortable with the results. In my situation (newsprint) I could go as high as 800 and be alright with it, but the glass in this lens lets me keep it low.

If you are in the fence, pick this lens up. For under 1000 bucks you can't beat it. It's ultra wide, and doesn't lose any sharpness at 2.8.

The only situation where you should not buy this lens is if you own a D40 or D40x. These bodies will not support the AF function of this lens, and seeing as how this is a great medium tele sports lens, not having AF would make this lens a bust.

They make a version with a built in motor that will communicate the D40 and D40x but it'll cost you close to 800 more.

As a side note this lens is heavy (as are most 2.8 tele lenses) There is a lot of big glass in this lens and after an hour or so of shooting hand held you will really want a mono pod. This lens has a great tripod shoe, so don't be afraid to throw it up on mono and go to town, your arms will appreciate the help

One final note. If you are undecided about this lens because it does not have any sort of optical stabilization or vibration reduction consider what you will be using this for. If you are shooting sports or action you wont need and it wont use it. If you are shooting from a tripod or good mono pod, you wont need and wont use it. The VR is only good in handheld situations when the object you are photographing is stationary.

This lens is a 5 star lens

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Final Cut Studio - Old Version

Customer Ratings:

I have been a Mac fanatic for years, and have been with FCP since v1.0. For the record, I am currently editing a series of complex one-hour docs now, one of them with FCP and another on Premiere, and am a corporate trainer on FCP. No editing package is perfect, and I can produce a perfectly good rant about Premiere's deficiencies, but on the balance I don't like working on FCP. (For the benefit of the Mac police, Windows 7 has been rock-solid, as much as I dislike working with it.)

To me, editing a complex project is like playing chess. When I am releasing the mouse button I am already thinking several moves ahead. With FCP, however, you have to hover over each edit. I can never quite get on a good creative roll because I am constantly diverted by having to manually perform some niggling little task that other editors do automatically, and the three-point editing model here practically demands you treat it like a linear editor. All the little things that you need automated aren't and all the big things you don't want are. The constant weight of little distractions makes for a long editing day.

Even if you disagree with everything I've said which is fine, we all work differently no serious editor can deny that FCP's browser is, well, terrible. Media management is a pain. It's inconceivable that the v1 browser is still with us. There is no icon view with comments, a miserable icon list view, icons do not automatically or conveniently arrange themselves (and when they do long file names prevent a clean arrangement), folders are poorly designed, long file names do not wrap or abbreviate, there is no indication if a clip has been used on the timeline. Yes it's true that you can perform an awkward clip search, which must be repeated for each edit (not does it address the bin you are working in but rather the entire project) but this is telling of the entire design. Functions that should be at your fingertips take a myriad of steps to accomplish. PLEASE Apple look at the browser in ANY competing project and GET A CLUE.

I would also add that this program does not play well with others. Unless you are going to import into the program direct from your source files, forget it. It won't read the most common file types. Even Apple's own .mov requires rendering. AVCHD? Not a chance. Not even mpeg4's. The last show I did had multiple file formats we gave up and moved to Premiere on a PC. It just was not worth the endless rendering and megafile sizes.

The good news is that FCP does the job and is reasonably stable (but not perfect), but I have found Apple's support team to have a poor knowledge of the product. If you like it, more power to you. But I'd rather keep my mind on the script or the client and not be absorbed with the constant hair-splitting details one must manage to operate this software. Isn't getting your mind off the interface what Apple's supposed to be about?

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

AmScope 17 lbs Full-Size Professional Binocular Biological

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,900.00
Sale Price: $337.98
Today's Bonus: 82% Off

I purchased this microscope as a birthday present for my 16 year old. He has received countless microscopes, but, somehow always outgrew their capabilities. I wanted to purchase one that would carry him through college, without spending several hundred dollars. After researching several, I discovered this model and found it possessed many of the features of Celestron and other expensive brands without the cost. It arrived securely packaged within the time period promised. My son was thrilled with the clarity of the objectives and I was impressed by the quality. I highly recommend this microscope to all budding scientists!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Kodak M583 Digital Camera, Value Bundle kit w/ Case, 4GB Card

Customer Ratings:

The camera is easy to use for someone that is familiar with digital camera settings and for those who are not! If one downloads the complete manual

they will not have any problems using it. The pictures that it takes are razor sharp and I had no blurred pictures. Most of the complaints

of blurred pictures are mostly due to not pushing the shutter button halfway in order to set the focus first before finally taking the

picture. The camera itself is quite small (shirt pocket size) and the finish of the body is very glossy.

I love this camera!

The included case, memory card and battery, and other accessories are so worth the purchase of this bundle compared to the camera only!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Casio WQV3D-8BNDL Camera Wrist Watch

Customer Ratings:

I'll admit it up front: the camera watch is tons of cool, but it's expensive and you may not use it as much as you'd think. Of course, it's a watch with alarms, so at least you are not spending your hard-earned money on a gadget you would use only once every 6 months. As a watch it's pretty basic and accurate, but also pretty large, so if you have small wrists, this product will look ridiculous and ridiculously bulky on you. In other words, this is a gadget for grown men with big wrists.

Of course, the reason you'd buy this product is the built-in digital camera, which sports a resolution of 120x120. This isn't much in today's world with 6 megapixel cameras, but we are not talking a professional camera here, or even a prosumer one. 120x120 is not too bad when you remember that most webcams have native resolutions of about 170x140, so this is just a bit less refined than webcams, in a package 1/5 the size or smaller. You can take up to 100 pictures, which you'd then transfer via the built-in IR to a PC. Unfortunately, you'll need to buy a separate IR sensor and upload software kit to do this, although some online shops give this away for free.

How's the image quality? Obviously you have to keep your expectations reasonable. After all, this is a cool gadget, not the digital camera to bring when you go on exotic trips. You need plenty of light, I think it's rated at 100 lux minimum. You also need to learn not to move the watch when you press the shutter button, or the picture will come out blurry. It's a focus-free camera, so everything will be in focus as long as you are at least 1 foot away from the subject (or is it object?). Finally, be sure not to take pictures of people from an angle that's too low, because most of us don't look great with our chin in the most prominent part of the picture.

Since it doesn't have flash, you can rule out taking pictures in a bar or club; besides, do you really want to snap the moment when you are drunk and look ridiculous? Not really, in my experience. So you'll probably use the camera only occasionally. For me, I caught a few heart-breaking moments on mine on Sept. 11, when the World Trade Center collapsed. Those blurry pictures caught the frenzy moment of a country in crisis, as well as the heroic efforts of New York's bravest and finest. Of course, you can't (and don't want to) expect to run into crises like this, so you can probably use the camera to spy on that cutie in your office (don't over do it!), or catch your friends in awkward manners (and risk losing their friendship!). Anyway, you can be creative, and that's what's ultimately cool about this gadget which you can carry everywhere, even in bed.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Nokia Lumia 720 White Unlocked Quad Band GSM Smartphone - WCDMA

Customer Ratings:

Windows 8 apps are a welcome change from iOS. Among the three ecosystems, I prefer Android, Windows 8, and iOS in that order. Blackberry, what ?! For ease of use, Windows phone is really easy to use. For someone interested in a first smartphone, Lumia 720 is an excellent choice. I got access to few Windows 8 phones to review. I will try to review them, but since I have not used for a period longer than a month I am not reviewing for reliability. User interface in Windows 8 is very pleasing and this is one of best phones with awesome user experience. If you prefer great user experience over infinite hackability, aka Android, then Windows 8 phones are great choice.

Nokia Lumia 720 has Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait, 512 MB RAM (big minus?), 8 GB internal memory. microSD slot up to 64 GB which is awesome. Nokia Lumia 720 is the first time Nokia added an expansion slot for microSD (up to 64GB) into one of its polycarbonate builds. To access that slot you don't need to open the back. Like SIM card in iphones, you need one of those pins and push it to eject it and the microSIM card.

This is a HSPA+ device, not a LTE. HSPA+ provides an evolution of High Speed Packet Access and provides data rates up to 168 Megabits per second (Mbit/s) to the mobile device (downlink) and 22 Mbit/s from the mobile device (uplink). These are theoretical of course, and in reality one can get 6-7 Mbps down and 1-2 Mbps up.

Currently Temple Run is one of the Apps that require your device to have 1 GB of Memory hence I am surprised why the phone makers go in this route. Memory of 512 MB is not that expensive to put if they can sell in bulk. Microsoft says "Memory (RAM): Some apps and features won't work on phones with less than 1 GB of RAM. To see how much memory your phone has, check the manufacturer's website or your phone's documentation."

Screen is good, not great 4.3-inch IPS touchscreen 800 x 480 pixels at 217 ppi. I have extensively used in the past HTC Titan I and II which is pre Windows 8 (7.5) and I was surprised Windows 8 has become more buttery smooth now. This phone has Gorilla Glass 2. Glass 3 is in the making and supposed to be even better. Stating following because this is highly underrated in reviews. From Corning's Gorilla Glass specs; WHAT MAKES GORILLA GLASS SO DAMAGE RESISTANT? The unique composition of Gorilla Glass allows for a deep layer of high compressive stress (created through an ion-exchange process). This compression acts as a sort of "armor," making the glass exceptionally tough and damage resistant. Ion exchange is a chemical strengthening process where large ions are "stuffed" into the glass surface, creating a state of compression. Gorilla Glass is specially designed to maximize this behavior.

Battery is rechargeable 2000mAh Li-ion battery. (Compared to a high end Android Galaxy Note II, which has a battery of 3100 mAh Battery.) The Lumia 720 doesn't have a removable battery cover, which means you can't access or replace your battery.

Camera 6.7 MP is good enough, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11a/b/g/n, G-Sensor, Digital Compass, A-GPS &GLONASS, micro-USB. I was able to get excellent reception with Bluetooth headset, Jaybird Sportsband Stereo Bluetooth Headphone Bulk Packaging Midnight Black and JayBird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth Headphones Midnight Black All the usual smartphone stuff, facebook, twitter, music, emails etc are all excellent. It is only the third party apps that are lacking in some arenas. If you are Microsoft heavy like Office suites, Lumia phone are awesome!

Apps are limited in Windows 8 marketplace. Yes, we have heard this a gazillion times. Lumia has GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS support. I tried with Garmin Navigon app which turned out to be great in giving voice directions. App ecosystem is a chicken and egg situation. Unless more phones are sold, developers don't have incentives to write apps. Apps are less now, because people are not buying in big droves. Windows Phone is now (early-mid 2013) the third-leading mobile phone platform, more than tripling its market share year-over-year. One recent report I read Android and iOS are ahead in games with 162.1 and 37.4 million shipments in 1Q13 and Windows phone came in 7 million. This is more than double from previous year. I really hope for Windows 8 platform to surge ahead because having a 3 way competition with iOS and Android is good for the ecosystem.

Overall, for the price point this is a great phone in the Windows family. I am really surprised Nokia has been able to turnaround quickly when I thought they are out in smartphone area.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Opteka 650-1300mm High Definition Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $399.95
Sale Price: $234.95
Today's Bonus: 41% Off

I've owned this lens for about a month now, and I can honestly say that this is a great option for anyone on a budget who wants a super telephoto lens, capable of zooming past 400mm or 500mm. Normally, I suggest finding a way to get closer to your subject if it cannot be reached with a 300mm lens. In my opinion, closer is always better. However, there are times when a 300mm lens is not enough and getting closer is not an option. And in those cases, the Opteka 650-1300mm f/8-16 is an excellent alternative that is capable of producing some very nice photos. Not magazine covers, but definitely photos that you'd be proud to show to your family and friends.

This was my first experience with a manual super telephoto lens and let me tell you, it requires some practice to master. But, if you try to have fun with it and practice, you'll have it mastered in no time. Trust me, if I can do it...you can! I've used this lens on my D7000 and D90, and it works well.

If you'd like to get a feel for what it's like to use this lens, here's something to try if you have a 300mm lens at home. Setup your camera as follows:

-Attach the 300mm lens to your camera and set it to 300mm

-Set your camera to Manual Mode (M).

-Set your aperture (F-stop) to f/8

-Turn off all image stabilization (IS).

-Turn off Auto-focus so that you have to focus manually. Focusing manually is one crucial part that really takes practice.

Now, pick a subject (about the size of large bird) about 30 yards away, focus on the subject (manually, of course), and take a few photos using only ISO, shutter speed, and white balance settings to get the results you want. As you try this on a few different subjects, with different lighting each time, you'll start get a good idea of what it's like to use this lens .......... and really start to appreciate all the work your camera does automatically! Personally, I think most people have unrealistic expectations for this lens. If you want pull in a hawk from ¼ mile away, forget about it.......Buy a telescope!

On the down side, there is some purple fringing in certain situations, and yes, the lens is a bit heavy. But, that should be expected.....it is a large telephoto lens. Also, handling this lens takes some getting used to. Just carrying the lens while it's attached to your camera can be a challenge at first because the lens will extend or "creep" if the zoom lock is not fastened properly. I've found it best to hold the lens horizontally, never vertically. Beyond that however, there's not much to complain about. This is a simple lens with no on-board electronics. It's easy to use and offers a lot of flexibility. Once you have the lens on a tripod the hardest part is focusing accurately and getting the exposure right.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

1080P HD USB HDMI SD/MMC Multi TV Media Player RMVB MKV

Customer Ratings:

i have a patriot media player. This one is 1/3 the cost and i thought that I would try it. The media player arrive 11 days from China to my house.

This thing plays everything a patriot media player plays and more. There was one file that I test that does not play on my patriot media player but it plays on this one. But, Unlike the patriot, this one is made out of very light plastic case and looks flimsy. But it's not a big deal as long as it works. The good thing is that this one has buttons on top of the media player. I tested it and I was able to browse and navigate thru the files without the remote YEAH!!!. The patriot and the asus media player basically becomes useless without the remote. This one still works without the remote. A big plus.

The remote has all the buttons that i needs like ff, rev, play, pause, stop, zoom, etc.... it is a full function remote.

The manual is practically useless. I cannot understand a darn thing out of that manual. It looks as if it was originally written in chinese and then ran thru a free on-line english translator. Bad grammar that one could not understand.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Nokia N9 16 GB Unlocked GSM Phone with MeeGo OS, 8MP Camera

Customer Ratings:

Having owned and used an iPhone 3G for the past 3 years, I thought it was time for an upgrade. With fierce competition in the market from many manufacturers eyeing the throne for "Smart Phone" king with their splendid products, it was not going to be an easy task. I had settled for three contenders that I had thought were worthy of consideration. They were: Apple's iPhone 4S, Samsung's Galaxy S2 and Nokia's N9.

Having owned an iPhone 3G, I didn't feel that iPhone 4S was considered an upgrade to my experience. Yes, there have been major advancement in the processor, the screen display is wonderful, the multitasking issue has been answered, and many features that you may know of. But, the experience and look, well to me, is still the same. And Apple's control over the OS mars the experience. It was until you performed the jailbreak that things started to get fun.

The Samsung Galaxy S2, is a monster of a phone. It does everything apart from shaving your beard. Yet, there was always this doubt when deciding to go and purchase it. The Android UI, in my opinion is clunky. It's not very well layered as the iOS. Then the issue of future upgrades. With Apple you're in the loop, as for Android, you are compelled to purchase a new phone or read the numerous forums on how to install the upgrades manually, which is a task.

However, with the Nokia N9, I was taken aback with its beautiful & simple design. There are no buttons apart from the lock & volume rocker on it's side. A cover is included in the box, to shield and protect the N9 from the bumps & blemishes. And it does not hinder the design nor obstruct the beautiful swipe gesture. The quality of the phone is great. You may at first be intrigued by the small button at the top of the phone that secures the sim card compartment and how to get it to open. It was frustrating at first. I even thought you are required to be double jointed to get the thing to open. But once you understand the design it all makes sense.

The MeeGo OS is a wonder in itself. It is a well layered interface and the response is very fluid, despite the Nokia N9 not graced with a dual core processor. Yet the ingenuity of a swipe is so natural and so seamless that you're left to wonder of the simplicity of the gesture. The UI and the phone go hand in glove. To activate the phone you either press the on/off button on the side or simply tap the lock screen twice and swipe (either from left to right, right to left, top to bottom or bottom to top) you're presented with 3 home screens:

' App Screen: Screen that lists all the apps

' Open App Screen: Displays all the open apps

' Notification Pane: All your missed calls, SMS text messages, emails calendar, feeds, Skype, Facebook, Twitter & notifications are displayed here in an organized manner.

The N9 is very versatile and efficient. The battery under PSM (Power Save Mode) should last you 3 full days of regular use (making calls, sending text, emails & etc...). I had many contacts on my previous iPhone 3G, all I had to do was Bluetooth my entire contact list to the N9. That only took about 20 seconds. The Bluetooth feature was something very useful that I had sorely missed on the iPhone.

The camera is wonderful, with a plethora of options that may render your compact camera useless. There is a front facing camera, but this hasn't been brought to use yet. However, there shall be an update soon to address this matter.

Nokia have stated that they will stand by the Nokia N9 with updates and support till 2015. Since it's release last summer, there have been 2 updates so far with as stated above, one update promised for release by the end of the month to make the N9 experience all the more mesmerizing.

Yes, there may be a lack of apps when compared to iTunes & the Android market, but the Ovi Store inventory is increasing week by week. And the N9 comes with Angry Birds, NFS Shift, RF 2011, GOF2, Facebook, Twitter & Skype dedicated apps.

The Nokia N9 is a delight to see and definitely a joy to use. It should be considered if you are going to purchase a smartphone soon.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Dropcam HD Wi-Fi Wireless Video Monitoring Camera

Customer Ratings:

My review is focus on one aspect so as not to be too long, but still useful. **Please note the updates at the end**

The Dropcam is a very good, very easy to use device. Many of the top rated reviews here do an excellent job of listing the pros and cons. Also, the firmware has been updated since many of the negative reviews were posted, so there have been subtle improvements (not enough) with motion detection, and also the iOS and Android apps are now easy and great.

The best use case of this camera, by far, is indoor remote surveillance of a kids room, a family room, or a workplace.

Here's the real, overpowering negative about the device for me: it uses about 60GB of upload data capacity each month. The camera transmits its HD video feed to the DropCam cloud servers ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. The cloud service is what makes the user experience so easy, and what allows you to view your camera from multiple places, phones, tablets, all with just a userID and password. It's good in that you don't have to learn about firewalls, IP port forwarding and such just to make it work. But, that also means that it sends enormous amounts of video of a room with nothing at all happening in it. If your ISP has a quota or a limit to how much you can send per month, this camera WILL DEFINITELY USE A LARGE PORTION. In Canada and with some US ISPs, the limit is 50GB...i.e. less than this camera sends!

Lots of ISPs offer a quota of 250GB, so this camera won't put most US customers over their limit. Just know that this will soak up a good portion of your allotment.

Each additional camera will add to the bandwidth you use.

Consider that you are also downloading the video feed from your ISP, so if you are in the same place as the camera viewing it, it doubles the bandwidth used. Yep, that's right, your video goes up to the cloud server, then back down to you.

FYI, the upload rate is about 400-600 Kbps

The camera does use excellent compression, so the HD video is as compact as it can be in 2012.

If you have anything less than awesome Internet service, the camera will slow down your uploads of other stuff, like photos, attachments, etc. Upload speed is always much slower than download on consumer Internet service, and that's what this camera uses.

So, take this important point into consideration. It may still be a great product for you, but you need to know the costs. For me, I planned on using this at a lake house with slow Internet, so it doesn't work for me. I'll have to find another use for it.

****Update, September 2012

The camera has just received a software update that lets you switch between SD mode and HD mode. All DropCams that are turned on and connected to the Internet will get the update automatically. The standard definition mode uses half the bandwidth of the HD mode. Overall, there is a big improvement regarding the problem I cited in my original review. The update has other benefits in motion detection, etc.

As for me, the 30GB a month is still too much, so I will continue to use the available software switch to turn the camera on and off, and only enable it when I want to watch.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

K-Tek KE79CCR Avalon Series Aluminum Traveler Boom Pole

Customer Ratings:

I spent two weeks abroad with this pole. It packs easily into a checked bag and extends suitable for all my needs (one and two person interviews). The build quality is outstanding. The side exit design is a must have. I will never need a boom pole again but if I did, it would have a side exit design.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (10.1-Inch, Gold-Brown)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $399.99
Sale Price: $357.99
Today's Bonus: 11% Off

There are too many tablets these days, right?! Samsung's third generation of Galaxy Tab series is highly anticipated and for this price point phenomenal. I have been using Galaxy Tab 2 and I will compare and contrast here. I played around with review units of all sizes and I have since returned them. My reviews are unbiased and neutral! 7 and 8" are ideal for plane trips, long journeys. I had used a 7" Tablet on a long journey to listen to songs and read epub books (Aldiko) and it was a very pleasant experience. 7" form factor is lightweight, compact and great. If you are a bit experienced and can afford it, I recommend the 8". Samsung has made 8 and 7" almost same weight. In my opinion 8" is the maximum value for the money and features and hence I gave 8" a 5 star. I gave 7" a 4 star (but no means undermining it). I gave the 10" also a 4 star because of some strange feature `limitations'. In my opinion, 8" is ideal for consumer use and 10" is marketed for specific segments in business who use for spreadsheets, presentations, remote desktop like Citrix GoToMeeting.

Samsung has introduced 7", 8" and 10.1" of the Tab 3 series. They are entering all form factors. As I know they have something in 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10" lines. Woo.. All of the 7, 8, 10" Galaxy Tabs come in white and golden brown color. My preference is white color. Looks pretty!

Let's start off with salient points of all of the Galaxy Tab 3 series. I will later compare this specific 10.1in model to the previous Tab 2 version.

7-inch tablet: 1024 x 600, Marvell dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB storage or ROM, a microSD card slot (upto 64 GB), Camera: 3MP rear-facing, 1.3MP front-facing and weighs 10.58 ounces (300 grams). Android 4.1.2

8-inch model: 1280 x 800, Exynos 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1.5GB ram, 16GB of built-in storage (ROM), a microSD slot (upto 64 GB, 5MP rear-facing, 1.3MP front-facing and 10.9 ounce (309 grams) Android 4.2

10.1-inch model: 1280 x 800, Intel Atom 1.6GHz Z2560 dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, a 16GB built-in storage (ROM), a microSD slot, 3.2MP rear-facing, 1.3MP front-facing and weighs 17.99 oz (510 grams). Android 4.2

I am not going into other details like accelerometer etc as they are all standard these days, Audio support AAC, AMR, MP3, OGG, WMA/ASF, 3GA/M4A, FLAC, WAV; MP3/MP4/Music Tones; Music Player; Ringtones, Polyphonic. Video support: AVI/DIVX, WMV/ASF, FLV, MKV, MP4/3GP, WEBM; Video Player; Video Streaming. Software is current of release date, and it is expected could be upgraded as next version Android 5 Key Lime Pie. (Currently targeted for Oct 2013). Key Lime Pie's one of the main touting points is compatibility to avoid fragmentation, so I can foresee, all of these models being able to upgrade if Google keeps their promise.

The 10.1" has a physical home button so are others in the series. Also has capacitive Back and Menu buttons. 64 GB SD card is awesome! With prices plummeting for 64 GB cards, it is a great boon. Put all your music, books, photos on the SD card and you have a powerful computer in hand always! I personally use the 64 GB microSD card on my mobile devices. Get this mobileUltra (SanDisk 64GB Mobile Ultra MicroSDXC Class 6 Memory Card with SD Adapter Retail Packaging.

I will compare the 10.1 Tab 3 with Tab 2. Big improvement in weight, I would like the 10in series to break lower 400 grams ground. This probably has to wait another 2-3 years. Another difference gtom previous gen is the processor. Intel Atom Z2560. Tablets are nowadays coming with Intel for their excellent power saving capabilities. Asus Fonepad was one of the first to come out with a Intel based chipset. I really am waiting for the day the 10" are even lightweight and holdable. The Tab 3 is 510 grams compared to 589 grams of Tab 2. Resolutions are same 1280 x 800 pixels, 10.1 inches (~149 ppi pixel density). The resolution is a same as in Tab 3 8" which means 8" will be sharper. I am disappointed with lower resolution on the 10". One big puzzling factor for me with the premium price the 10" has only 1 GB RAM. What the ?! Why can't they put a 2 GB RAM on this monster of a device. I really wonder what the design team had in mind. The Tab has Dolby Surround sound enhancement, it does sound good! Both have Bluetooth 4.0" and have USB Host. USB Host is one of the most under noticed features of Androids and is in my opinion one of the best features compared to iPad lines. What this means you get a USB Host cable also otherwise called OTG (On the Go) cables and plug in your USB thumb drive or other USB devices and the device recognizes it. I have used it with Alfa AWUS036H for a wireless project with Android PCAP Capture from reputable Kismet wireless. Both have same camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels and 720p@30fps. Front facing is for skype. Again camera on 8" is better, obviously Samsung thinks no one will hold a giant 10" and take pictures. True and Point taken. Another much ignored feature is the TV-out (via MHL A/V link). 8 and 10.1in supports it, whereas 7in does not. You can connect Galaxy devices to a TV to make it truly a fantastic computer. Throw in a Bluetooth keyboard and it is awesome. Leo Laporte's TwIT TV which is Internet based show has one full episode in Know How on covering this topic. Battery is humongous Non-removable Li-Po 6800 mAh battery in Galaxy Tab 3. The one in previous model was 7000 mAh, this probably explains a slight drop in weight in Tab 3 10.1". GPS was spot on and I tried multiple GPS apps. It was bright outdoors (had to crank the brightness all the way up). I personally use Navigon from Garmin and have downloaded several apps.

For me the big downer has been screen resolution and RAM Size. Intel chipset has some weirdness as not all apps works properly. Firefox does not work on Inten based Android tablets as of June 2013. All apps are written for ARM processors. So for Intel, a layering has to be added to convert apps to work. This causes some apps to crash and has some weirdness. This is definitely not to alarm, but you should be aware of this. If an app works in 8" and not on 10" it is most likely due to the chipset difference. I would have waited for Intel to come out with their own chip based tablets, markets to stabilize on Intel chipsets and them Samsung to introduce it. I am sure Intel and Samsung struck a sweet deal.

Believe me, but don't get mired in the spec game. Samsung is creating markets for all form factors and I would consider this as an exploratory stage. Just like Ford or Toyota has cars in different shapes. Sizes and price range, so are the tablet vendors now. Remember the laptop wars, 10", 12" 13", 15, 17 and even some 19" if I remember right few years ago. We used to debate endlessly which laptop sizes are better, which has better speakers and so on. The time has come to fight it out for tablets! I would say go from budget and size. If budget is not a concern, I would say go for Samsung Tab 8". 8" is a sweet spot. If budget is a concern, Tab 3 7" is awesome, otherwise get the Tab 8. If you are business user, most likely the company will give the 10" tablet.

I tried following apps and they just worked awesome. A tablet is only as good as the apps you have how productive it makes you. It's almost like the camera/lens analogy in the DSLR space. What good it is to have a great DSLR body if you have no good lens? Same with Tablet body and apps you have.

WolframAlpha (I can go on for hours praising this. This is a truly genius app powered by hundreds of supercomputers in the background. Wofram is a computational genius). Well worth the $3 price.

Withings HealthMate. (Another remarkable app great UI/UX). I am getting the Pulse device as soon as it hit stores. I have been using Fitbit and just itching to get the Pulse as I like the integrated weight/track runs in one app)

Aldiko Book Reader Premium (absolutely love it)

Amazon Mobile

Android Status

Android Central app (great and must have for Android users)

Androidify

Angry Birds (Space/Seasons)

Asphalt 7

Amazon App Store

Battery Monitor Widget Pro (a great app)

BeyondPod (excellent for podcasts, I haven't used Pocketcast, some friends say it is very good too)

Box

Car Maintenance Reminder Pro

Chrome

CloudShark Upload

CNET TV

Despicable Me Game! And weather widget (cute for kids)

Dictionary M-W Premium

Dragonvale

NAVIGON (from Garmin offline maps)

Google Navigation/Earth/Maps using a portable MiFi box

Google Currents (nice way to read News)

Google Keep/Keboard/Drive/Search/Books/Voice/Hangouts

Draw Something

Ebay

Linkedin

Google Music (Awesome, I have now upto 10,000 songs halfway through Google's 20K Limit)

Tapatalk HD (awesome forum browsing app)

OverDrive Media Console: Library eBooks & Audiobooks

Microsoft One Note (legacy docs, skydrive of 25 GB is good)

Subsonic Music Streamer

Terminal Emulator (still need to use vi, yes this is it)

TweetCaster Pro for Android

Twit.Tv

Skype

Sphero (Awesome bluetooth ball game)

RealCalc Plus (Awesome calculator app)

Tweetcaster Pro (again awesomeness)

Plenty of Widgets

Ask questions, the reviews cannot do full justice. I will be glad to answer any questions and usually answer within 24 hours to any query.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Lexar High-Speed MicroSDHC 32GB Flash Memory Card with Reader

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $22.99
Today's Bonus: 62% Off

I purchased two of these cards. One for both my wife and I. Both cards used in Epic 4G phones and various computers. After 2 months both cards occasionally would come up "damaged" in android. Reformat. Rinse repeat every week. Now after 3 months one is completely dead. Cannot use the card on any device. Calling manufacturer for warranty. Both cards do not work at class 10 speeds. I will not be buying lexar equipment again.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 16x Wide

Customer Ratings:

Until this purchase I have had only Sony Point and Shoot camera's, which for the most part I have been happy with, but it was getting time to replace the old Sony and had been considering the DMC-ZS3 for some time. As I was researching that model, the DMC-ZS7 had come out to good reviews and had addressed a few problems with the ZS3. So far the camera seems nice, has worked well and performs equally well to other P&S camera's I have owned. Probably the best attribute I have seen on the camera is the zoom, it really zooms well and the pictures come out clear and focused. The biggest downside (if you want to call it a downside) is that this camera is complex with a lot of functions and very little instruction. Most things I have learned just through trail and error. I have seen other reviews about the mode dial moving easily and unexpectedly and that has happened to me, now I just remember to check it. Overall I like the feel of the camera, the weight, construction etc...I like the 3in LCD screen (although hard to see in bright light like all P&S camera's). The kit was nice with the accessories; as it was not a whole lot more expensive than just the camera.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Livestream Broadcaster

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $495.00
Sale Price: $470.25
Today's Bonus: 5% Off

Would love to give this more than 3 stars, as I've used it for several months as it basically works as advertised. No issues connecting to my verizon wifi device, or streaming in HD from a number of remote locations. I shoot mainly soccer games with this, and it is MUCH easier and simpler to use than a computer. BUT the power consumption is high and the battery life so poor that it has me shopping around for another alternative. It takes 3 AA batteries, but I rarely get more than 45 minutes of hd streaming without having to install a fresh set. That is with hiqh quality batteries. That means six batteries for each game I shoot, which adds up, plus there is no reliable battery meter on the device. It just fails when power gets too low, reboots, and fails again. Unfortunately, livestream offers no extended life battery pack and since I shoot almost exclusively outdoors,the ac adapter is virtually useless. One wonders what customer they were thinking of to make such a compact and easy to use unit and then give it such a terrible shelf-life on batteries AND provide no extended life option. Won't even complain about the slow boot times and the hard to navigate menus with the miniscule directional device on the front, as the unit still gets the job done. The poor battery performance though, is a killer.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Nikon D7100 Digital SLR Camera Body with 55-200mm VR Lens + 32GB

Customer Ratings:

Love the features of this camera. Spent a lot of time deciding between the Canon Rebel and Nikon. For my photography interests this was absolutely the best choice! Love the auto focus lens, 24 mega pixel feature and all the items in the package. This camera produces amazing sharpness and clarity of color. Took track pictures from the stands and was like I was close by with the 55-200mm lens. The Vibration Reduction is amazing as well. I highly recommend this camera!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

AmScope 40X-2000X Trinocular Biological Compound LED Microscope

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $2,000.00
Sale Price: $469.00
Today's Bonus: 77% Off

We have been very pleased with our purchase and AmScope was easy to work with. Our only request would be that clearer and more useful instructions come with the microscope. The digital camera is a great accessory for teaching purposes.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>