Guy Low Price Electronic: 16 Jan 2011

Sunday, 16 January 2011

Three-wheeled Scooters

You definitely get what you pay for, but at the price for this scooter I would have expected more.

An adjustable handle bar, so as your child gets older it can adjust in height.

The wheels are high quality and the turning is a great design.

But honestly, at $70 is a little high. At $50 this would fly off their shelves.

A good choice overall. mini kick Scooter - GREEN

I recently ordered this for my son's third birthday and it's been a huge hit. His older brother (5 years old) has one as well, but is at least a year away from outgrowing it.

The first few days, he had to work a lot on going straight as he learned how to use his weight to steer. Within a week, he was flying up and down the sidewalk and steering / braking like a champ. Helmets are a necessity, while the scooter is very safe and stable, once they master it they really can pick up speed!

Pros:

Good size range - my very petite 3 year old can handle it, his 5 year old brother rides the same size scooter as well

Quality - apart from some very minor fading, the two year old scooter is in the same great condition as the new one. They get heavy use, stay on the porch, and look great!

Play value - The boys ride these daily, my oldest has used his for two years so far. Really, what toy lasts for 2 years anymore?

Cons:

Compared to other scooters, they're pricey. The quality justifies the cost though, in my experience.

Doesn't fold - It would be nice to be able to toss these in a suitcase, but that's a rare need for us. Compared to other scooters that do fold, this is a much better quality.

We just gave this scooter to our 3 year old son. He wanted a green scooter for his birthday & this was perfect. He learned how to ride it within 1 day. The scooter is very sturdy and very easy for him to maneuver. He "scoots" up & down our driveway & turns without toppling over. Perfect size for his little feet & he has grasped the idea of using the break. Having the 2 wheels in the front & the one wheel in the back seems to be a wonderful feature. I definitely recommend this scooter. It's been worth every penny!

Got this for my son's third birthday. It took him two days to get used to it, and on the third day he was very comfortable riding it. By the fifth day he learned how to steer because the steering mechanism on this scooter depends on how you lean when you make the turn. This is different concept than other scooters. The only suggestion for improvement is to have better instructions for assembly which were not very clear. Example, they have an allen wrench included in the box but it is for another model. No wrench required to assemble this model. Just push the tab and insert it in the base. Overall, my son loves this toy and it was a good purchase.

Can't say enough good things about this scooter. Got it a couple of months ago for my 2-year-old based on all the great reviews here. It's lived up to the hype. My son was zipping along on this with very little practice in a very short amount of time. Now he can do tight little maneuvers and loves experimenting with his body weight -- leaning to one side, sitting low, standing up high -- to see how he can change his momentum. Today he was trying to do wheelies on it, obviously without much success but still great fun for him. He mostly rides it indoors because it's winter, but the wheels are super-quiet and don't mark our wood floors at all. Some friends were over today and were eyeing it for their 4-year-old son -- they say he hardly got into his Radio Flyer scooter because it stops going as soon he stops pushing with one foot. That's never been a problem with this Mini Kick. I highly, highly recommend it!

This is the second scooter I bought for my kids. I love how durable is. I had in the past the Radio Flyer scooter, which was much slower, less durable and very hard to turn.

This, instead, is much easier to turn and narrower so my little ones can stand on one foot while pushing/propelling themselves with the other foot.

It is a quality product and your kids will love it!

This scooter is incredible. It is surpassable the best scooter available. Due to its ease and sturdy wheels, even a 2.5 year old could ride it. When your child is comfortable enough to go faster, this scooter will allow them to keep up with other kids and or parents as well. I cannot say enough about Micro scooters. My older son had this scooter when we lived in London to keep up with me walking and now I have the green scooter for my other son. Yes, it is even worth paying the higher price!

My son loves his scooter! This is the best scooter, the two wheels in the front make it really stable and easy for him to use. It's on the expensive side, but it's the only one I found with the two wheels in the front, others have two wheels in the back, which is less stable. Every kid on the upper west side is riding one of these!

My 3yo daughter just got this and has had a blast learning to ride it. She still doesn't really understand the bodily mechanics of making it zoom around and steering, but she's learning and enjoying it all the while. It balances itself very well- one thing she doesn't have to worry about.'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Canon Powershot  a1200 - elph, point and shoot

Visit Store Now !!

I have my Powershot A2200 for about two weeks now. I was a little concerned about the mixed reviews but I thought I would take a chance. I have and love my Canon G10 but did not want to carry it everywhere with me. I needed a little camera to carry with me and not worry about. I purchased my Powershot A2200 for 129. and could not complain about that. I liked how you can move through the different modes quickly and I especially liked the live mode. I am an artist and it is very important for me to control color and contrast and I can easily do that in the live mode. I understand the problems some of the other reviews complained about especially the blurriness. I too had blurry photos when I first started using it. This camera has a learning curve - it is a very sensitive camera and you have to become familiar with it and choose the mode ( program, live , auto ) that is best for you. Also there are several options to control in the focus of the camera. I suggest you become familiar with it to improve your results. This is a good camera for someone like myself that is familiar with using cameras and want options for controlling images. If you just want to point and shoot and not think about it - this may not be the best choice. I am really impressed with the photos I have taken. I mainly use the live mode - it is a very flexible mode - shooting well in low museum light and even out of a fast moving car. Given what I received for this cost I am very pleased. I love my little light canon camera. Canon Powershot A2200 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Red)

I purchased this a few days ago to replace an older camera, and I love it. All of my test shots have turned out beautifully when I uploaded them, and the new fish eye and miniature settings are fun to play around with.

My only concern is that the flap that covers the a/v out ports now opens in a new way, so that the pieces holding it on are under a bit of strain when it's plugged in to your computer.

Canon cameras have always been the best for the money, not this one. Although the camera has numerous features that are attractive there are two issues that detract, Lag time and battery life. When the battery is freshly charged the lag time is comparable to the SD line of cameras. After ten to 15 shoots the lag time gradually gets too long. I would not recommend using it for shooting pictures at a sporting event. The battery is a lithuim-ion, same as the SD series. However, it is rated at only 740 mAh compared to 940 mAh on the SD series. On a recent trip the battery died after seven hours of usage. Today the battery monitor said I had used 1/3 of the capacity in 2.5 hours. Unfortunately, I did not use it extensively and learn of the battery problem until after the 30 day period or it would go back to Amazon. I recommend spending the extra money on the SD series or buying a different brand.

I had a heavy DSLR and wanted a smaller camera to take to the park or just on small trips. I found this one at the store for a really good price, and bought it. I have never had a Canon camera before, but let me tell you this... I love it! They have won my sastisfaction! It is a good "beginner" camera, and takes wonderful photos. I love all the effects like fisheye, minature, poster ect. Its a some-what small camera I can fit in my pocket and take just about anywhere. I would reccommend it to anyone interested.

I just recently bought this camera for my mom on Mother's day and it was a total waste of money! The first time she used, she loved it and the pictures came out great! We went to a concert last week and brought the camera (second time using it) and right when we turn it on THE LENS JAMMED and now it won't work. We keep receiving a message that states lens error and restart camera. Mind you, we have NEVER dropped the camera and there was no dirt or anything on the camera. It was in perfect condition! I decided to do some research to see if I could fix it myself and it turns out that a lot of their Powershot cameras have this issue and people want to charge $100 just to fix it! Might as well buy a new camera. But I'm definitely not going to buy a Canon!

This is exactly what I expect from the Canon brand. The pictures look great, and the camera is super easy to navigate. All of the photo options are fun to tinker around with. If you don't like to mess with settings, then there is an auto mode that takes pretty good pictures. For those of us that like to have more control over the picture, there is a mode for that as well. You can't really change too much beyond shutter speed, iris, and other such basics. If you want to get really in depth, then you shouldn't be shopping for a point and shoot camera. The camera is light weight and compact. If you want something to fit into a pocket while you're out and about, then this is definitely the way to go. The last Cannon I had has held up for years. The only reason I bought a new camera was for an upgrade. Cameras have more oomph now than they did six years ago! And this one was worth the hassle of upgrading! I expect another six years of picture taking with this one. - 300hs - Hd Video - Point And Shoot - Elph'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Tire Inflator - air compressor, portable 12v air compressor

Visit Store Now !!

I bought this item due to its convenience and to avoid the race of putting air in all of the tires before the time expires on my three minute gas station air pump purchase (this can be a marathon with four cars). It works well and being able to set the proper pressure for the tire is great and eliminates the additional step of putting air in and using a pressure gauge to check the psi. This can be valuable in less than desirable weather. The only drawback is removing the valve from the tire without losing too much air - I add an extra half pound to compensate. A chuck for auto and bike tires would be useful. Black & Decker ASI500 12-Volt Cordless Air Station Inflator

Got my product today, read the instructions, charged it up, unplugged it, and turned it on. LCD displayed ERR. Went to B&D website for support, it told me that division was sold to Baccus Global.. went to their website, only units with jumper cables are listed.. not this unit or anything close to this unit.

So, I called Black and Decker. They first asked if I turned it on when it was plugged in. I don't think I did, but it would be a rather simple mistake. She acted like I might have killed with such a simple action. I said 'no'. She said that it can't be fixed and I had to take to the local authorized service center for a replacement. That service center was 25 miles out of my way. I called the service center, they told me they would replace my hours old product with a refurb.. and by they way, they don't stock them so it may take 4-8 weeks.

I fiddled with the compressor and re-read both the paper instructions and the instructions at blackanddecker.com. Note: they were different (whatever that means). The on-line version indicates you can inflate a tire without setting a max pressure whereas the printed manual didn't.

Regardless, I actually managed to get a non 'ERR' screen, and actually managed to get it in PSI instead of KpA. I inflated exactly one motorcycle tire, and it worked flawlessly. However, the battery, which did charge for 4-5 hours, was flashing that it was nearly dead after only one motorcycle tire.

I plugged it in (making sure the unit was turned off first so I didn't destroy it) and walked away. Unplugged it, turned it on to see how it was, etc. I got the infamous 'ERR' on the screen. I turned it off and on several times until finally I did not get the 'ERR' display. Cool... that's not that bad. A little inconvenient, but hey, I can turn it off an on 10 times. I hooked it up to a tire to get a reading and it read something like 700 KpA I Don't deal with metric KpA, so I tried to switch to PSI. No luck. I followed the instructions to the letter and hit the + and - keys at the same time. I tried hitting them many times, holding them down for a while.... no luck. Seems stuck in KPA forever.

I disconnected from the tire. Turned the unit off, walked away for a while. Unit is charged up, not plugged in, and not connected to a tire at this point. Turn it back on, and it is taking a pressure reading of my garage of 770 KpA.

Bottom line: This unit seems flaky (at best), and I'm at my wits end. There is a 1 year warranty on the product from B&D, but I have decided to return the product and go with a simpler battery inflator with less bells and whistles. I'd hate to think that if I hit the off/on button (not the compressor run button) while plugged in that I might freak this unit out. I just get the feeling that if I got a new unit, and it worked perfectly, that it would flake out after 13 months.

Thanks to Amazon for treating customers better than the manufacturers do. I have purchased hundreds of items at Amazon, and I believe this is my first return. After dealing with B&D, I don't know if I'll ever buy a B&D product again.

One more thing: If the air hose was 6 inches longer (like my old inflator), it would be much more useable (if you get one that's not flaky). To get to a motorcycle tire over exhaust pipes, I had to hold the inflator in the air as the cord would not allow the unit to sit on the ground.

Sorry for such a long and 'sob story' review. This has got to be my longest review yet.

I purchased this air compressor for my horse trailer tires since it got such good reviews here. Since the outlet cords are never long enough to reach the trailer, I have to use cordless. I charged it for at least 5 hours per instructions - the charger light turned green. On that charge I could only get 2 psi into one tire. I recharged and tried again with the same results. Basically the battery did not hold the charge for longer than a few seconds. I didn't want to deal with exchanging it for another one so I'm on the hunt for another one.

UPDATE: I contacted Black and Decker, and they are sending me a new unit. I will update this review once it has arrived and I test it out. - Portable 12v Air Compressor - Air Pump - Air Compressor - Black And Decker'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Battery Grip - en-el3e, battery grip

Visit Store Now !!

I'll go straight to my points

PROS

- Easy to install, no brainer

- Perfect fit with the D90

- It's the closest and best thing you could get to an MB-D80 for about $70... sweet

- Works as expected

CONS

- There is a delay in response when turning the dials, but not to the point that it will annoy you.

- The material (plastic) could have been sturdier if they made it a little thicker.

- The dials of the D90 and this grip are not of the same feel.

Overall, I am still pretty satisfied with this product considering how much I paid for it. The most important thing

is, IT WORKS PERFECTLY. Zeikos ZE-NBG90 Battery Power Grip for Nikon D80 & D90

I put the Zeikos ZE-NBG90 grip next to the Nikon grip for my D200 and if you cover the names, I guarantee you can not tell them apart. The only difference is the D200 is slightly larger because the base of the D200 is wider than the D90's.(Gee,,, I wonder why Nikon didn't make them the same size???) All the controls perform the same functions with no differences in feel, operation or location. As others have stated, it matches up to the base of the D90 seamlessly. Even the holders for the AA batteries are identical... So save yourself $90, unless your name brand crazy and buy the Zeikos!!!! I'm finding many of the after market accessories for Nikon cameras are not only far less expensive but work just as well..... I'm tired of every time I buy a new Nikon camera, I have to pay their outrageous prices for new accessories, especially since it would not take much effort on the engineers part to make them compatible!!!!! It's just another way to make money and it's a rip-off!!! Do yourself a favor and buy this Zeikos grip over the Nikon Brand.... Amazon has one of if not the best price...

The Zeikos matched well with the D90 and worked as advertised. No problems setting it up or operating it. Handles wells and it does not feel as if it is going fall out of your hand, and it looks good attached to the D90 as well. It is also cost less than the Nikon's, and basically works for less. At this point, I have got to give a five.

Initially I was reluctant to order this product at less than half the cost of the OEM grip. Also in the past I have had some negative experiences with third party battery grips. There were only four customer reviews. However the reviews were very positive and touched on issues that would be important to me. So i took the plunge and the grip arrived today. Most impressive!! Excellent build quality. Clearly they didn't cut corners in terms of materials used. it is not a bantam weight, cheap feeling grip. It fits the D 90 perfectly. The rubberized grip surface on the front and part of the bottom is a really nice touch. The controls look and feel like those on the Nikon grip. They have done an excellent job aesthetically. The grip looks like it belongs with the camera. You also get individual battery readings just as with the Nikon grip. There doesn't seem to be a way to select which battery is in use. The manual does not deal with this issue. When both batteries are in use the grip does display the weaker battery differently, but at this point I don't know what that means in terms of which battery is "active". I guess the worst scenario is that it draws from both batteries simultaneously and that is not a disaster in terms of total power availability. The bottom line is that I am delighted with the grip. It is more than I expected and exactly what I had hoped for.

This is not an accessory like a fancy lens or a software program that is going to radically change the pictures you can take. But it is an accessory that is going to make shooting easier in a lot of ways. To that end it should be an accessory that solves a few problems and doesn't create new ones. Further it shouldn't drain your bank account and put that exotic glass even further from reach. I think this grip satisfies both criteria.

What does it solve?

1. Lens no longer tips downward when camera hangs from neck strap. Droopy lenses get no respect!

2. Battery power no longer runs out just as model starts smiling or cloud decides to blow off.

3. Frame rate increases enough to catch a tortoise in a full race mode.(At least on my camera.)

4. People no longer confuse you with a contortionist when you are trying to take a portrait.

What problems did the designers solve in advance for me?

1. Which battery is getting low? You can see the charge of both batteries in the camera LCD.

2. Where does the camera's battery cover door go? There is a slot the door goes in. Its internal to the grip so it can't be lost.

3. What if I hit the shutter on the grip by mistake? There is a lever to disable the shutter on the grip.

What are my general notes:

1.The command dials and shutter on the grip are responsive in a satisfactory way. I am not feeling there is any delay as mentioned elsewhere.

2. The unit only attaches at the tripod mount of the camera. I'm going to add some cloth tape to the seam where the camera and the grip meet; just to control any flexing forces.

3. The plastic isn't as tough feeling as my camera body. But if the two fell I'd say the body only has a 10% better chance of surviving than the grip. Since I bought this grip for 1/2 the price of the others and 1/3 the price of the Nikon grip I'll just buy another one if the 10% ever comes true. - En-el3e - Battery Grip - Zeikos - Battery'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Weather Radio - weather alert, weather

Visit Store Now !!

This radio arrived (and was set up) two days before very heavy thunderstorms with hail and high winds hit my area. It was early evening and the weather looked sunny and clear outside, when this thing goes off for no apparent reason. I thought it was a mistake or false alarm, but when I turned on the cable weather channel the radar showed a huge thunder storm rapidly forming in the West and moving my way. It's very late in the Spring season right now for a storm like this and I wasn't expecting any harsh weather. I had time to get the cars under cover, find the cat & put her inside and bring in the outdoor furniture cushions before the storm hit. In our neighborhood, we lost some big limbs a few trees and some cars were damaged by hail. Fortunately, I had no damage.

The instructions are not very complicated and the set-up was much, much easier than that required for a VCR or TIVO. It has battery back-up in case the power goes off and doesn't take up a lot of space on the night stand or dresser. Also, you can program which alerts you want to hear and limit the alerts to those applicable to only the County you live in. This really cuts down on unnecessary alarms. For example, though we are in an area that can have flash floods, I don't need this warning because I don't go out in heavy rain or flooding anyway. A warning about a storm only is sufficient. I think I might get this radio as a gift for some elderly friends and relatives of mine. It's a good and very unobtrusive watchdog. First Alert Public Alert Radio with S.A.M.E

This radio can be programmed not to sound alerts which are unimportant to me. For example, I don't want to hear flash flood warnings as I am not in an area prone to flooding. Basically, what I really want are tornado warnings when issued for three specific counties in Tennessee and one county in Kentucky. This radio can do that. (There are some alerts which cannot be blocked, but these are rare, for example a chemical hazard warning.)

The radio is fairly easy to program. It took me about 30 minutes to get everything the way I wanted it. It runs on AC power and has backup power provided by 4 AA batteries (not included). Overall, I rate this as a very effective, well-designed product, and I have just purchased some additional units for friends.

This little unit is easy to set up and has the SAME functionality which is important to me since I didn't want to hear warnings for places that weren't near to me. Other units I looked at had extra options like AM/FM radio but I didn't need those features. I just wanted something that would wake me up if a tornado was coming my way. This will warn you of many other things and you can set what you want to be notified about. Follow the instructions, it's pretty easy. It also will take rechargeable NiMH or Ni-Cad batteries and keep them charged. Or, you can switch it to accept Alkaline. The battery backup is important to have. Great unit, no complaints.

Let's get to the point. What you want in a weather radio is for it to work when it's supposed to and be easy to set up. This one does that. I have programmed a Midland WR-300 for my In-Laws, and it was a long winded pain. They still can't figure out how to use it. I own an Oregon Scientific WR-103... an equal P.I.T.A. to set up, and you can't shut off the weekly test siren, which is an irritant to us day sleepers. You also can't mute the frigging beeps each time a button is pressed. Surely someone can come up with a more pleasant tone for this purpose.

Anyway, the First Alert is really easy to set up, and much more intuitive to use. I can mute the weekly test siren, and still the radio will notify me through the display if recent tests have failed. I can mute the irritating button beeps, and easily select which alerts I want to hear. This radio also holds your settings even without power, so you never have to reprogram after the first time. It has battery power in the event of power loss, and it will even charge the on board batteries when plugged in, alkaline or NiMH. You will appreciate that feature if you've ever had a radio that lost it's settings during a power outage.

What makes this radio deal even sweeter is that it's almost half the price here than it is at the Shack. Buy this one!

We really like this First Alert Weather Radio. We bought a Midland first, but couldn't get a signal no matter where we put it. We had a First Alert for years that was great and lasted several years, but we bought the Midland because at the time we couldn't find another First Alert. After the Midland mistake we searched and found this First Alert Public Alert Radio. We get a good signal and receive all of the alerts and warnings that we need. We live in North Texas and need a reliable weather radio for the scary Spring weather. I recommend this First Alert!

I've had the 'First Alert Public Alert Radio with S.A.M.E' for about two months now and it continues to surprise me - in a good way! I had been using an ancient hand sized portable alert radio for the last 8 years and this is a HUGE improvement.

Pros:

- SAME technology that works. Not being woken up for a severe thunderstorm on the other side of the state is priceless.

- When an alert activates the radio, the tone sounds, the alert plays, and then the radio returns to standby until the watch/warning is updated. However, a light continues to flash red or orange depending on the type of alert. This is a really nice feature - I have a dog that would be driven nuts by the sound so I always had to turn my old radio off when I left for work and then reprogram everything when I got home. I can leave this radio plugged in and programmed.

- Easy to understand features/directions as long as you read the owners manual (for me it took about 10 minutes total for set-up).

- You can deactivate alerts. I live in MN and am not all that concerned about Hurricanes. :-) The alerts I do have programmed function beautifully.

- Nice size. Smaller than my CD alarm clock and reception comes in loud and clear without the antennae up.

- You have the ability to turn OFF the tone that sounds whenever you push a button. Surprisingly, this was one of the main reasons I chose this unit over its competitors.

- Decent volume control - on the lowest setting I can hear the alert throughout my single level townhome.

Cons:

- While I like the size, I do wish that it was a tad smaller. This is just my personal preference (and a sign of how much I like it) since having it slightly smaller would allow me to bring it camping.

- The system stores several alert messages, allowing you to scroll through them if say you missed one while you were at work. A 'delete' button would have been very handy (like an answering machine).

Overall, I give the unit a solid 4.5/5 stars. It has great features (though I think there's always room for improvement) and it's a fairly inexpensive way to gain peace of mind. - Weather - Same - Weather Alert - Weather Radio'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

32 Gb Flash Drive - transcend, 32 gb

Visit Store Now !!

I purchased this for use with my new Canon T2i. I use it primarily for shooting full resolution 1080p video, although I shoot stills as well.

The camera choked on the class 4 chip that I originally purchased, but with this one, it is amazing. I can shoot rapidfire 18 megapixel stills (I've tested it up to 30+ shots in a row), and there is no lag. I've never had an error when shooting hi-def video.

Highly recommended! I'm buying another one. Transcend 32 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card TS32GSDHC10E

I bought this card for my Canon T1i. The card I had been using before ordering this one was a Kingston Class 6 micro sd card and it worked well enough for the type of shooting I did. Class 6 was the card speed that Canon recommended when I bought my T1i (Class 10 cards were not yet available) and it seemed fast enough for the way I used my camera - isolated single photos taken at Medium (8 MP) or Large (15 MP) jpg settings and 1280 x 720 video. And while I ocassionally took continuous photos, I had never much exceeded 5-10 photos in a row and had never run into a problem with my Class 6 card.

When I first saw the Class 10 cards I did some experiments with my camera. How many continuous Large photos could I take before the camera slowed down? It turned out to be about 30. And how many RAW photos could I take before the camera slowed down? It turned out to be about 9. SInce I did not generally take any photos in RAW and never needed more than about 10 continuous photos at Large, the Class 6 card seemed more than sufficient for my needs. But I wondered about the speed of the Class 10 cards enough that I finally bought one.

It turns out that the Class 10 card is sufficiently fast that there does not seem to be a reasonable upper limit on single Large photos. I have taken 60 on continuous without an issue. And although I still cannot take more than 9 RAW photos on continuous with the Class 10 card, when I am finished taking those photos the camera no longer displays a Wait - writing pictures screen. The RAW photos get written from the built-in memory to the card so quickly that the camera does not need to display the Wait screen.

So this card is fast! Given the way I take photos this purchase was unnecessary, but still I am glad I bought it. I know I will not run into a situation where speed is an issue with this card.

I will be writing this review for both SanDisk Extreme SDHC class 10 8gb and Transcend SDHC class 10 16gb.

I bought SanDisk class 10 and Transcend class 10 for my new Panasonic LX5. I got both card because no one really did a comparison with a compact camera and I was just going crazy trying to see if there is any big difference between the 2 cards.

SanDisk Extreme package box indicated it's water proof, x-ray proof, shock proof, temperature proof. I am not ready to spend $50 to see if it really stand up to it's words. And I don't think normal people would go through the extreme condition in taking pictures or videos.

Cut the story short, I really want to see if there is any difference in writing performance between the 2 cards in a compact camera. There is a continuous burst mode in LX5 and the manual indicated it is only limited by the condition of picture environment and performance of the SD card. Within the mode there are 2 different settings:1) speed priority or 2) picture/quality priority. The shutter speed is much faster with speed priority compare to picture priority.

I first formatted both cards out of box then put each card in series of test(3 rounds each setting for each card) shooting at the same object under same lighting condition. The results:

Speed Priority:

SanDisk Class 10 8gb

22-33 shots before camera stopped to allow the card to catch up with writing.

Transcend Class 10 16gb

22-24 shots before camera stopped to allow the card to catch up with writing.

Picture priority

SanDisk Class 10 8gb

34-46 shots before camera stopped

Transcend Class 10 16gb

27-33 shots before camera stopped

It seems that at a higher shutter speed, both cards performed very similar under the same shooting condition. But at a slower shutter speed the SanDisk definitely out perform Transcend. I hope this little experiment satisfied anyone with curiosity like me. Transcend definitely is a bargain with 16gb and almost half of the price compare to SanDisk. But I am going to use SanDisk Extreme as my primary card and Transcend as backup or on a second camera to ensure i would not miss any shots.

OK. this card was around $47 for a class 10 16gb. The other card i bought was a Sandisk class 10 8gb for the around same price. I did a 10 sec stop watch test on both cards with my Rebel T1i on raw and the Sandisk was only faster by 1 shot in a 10 sec burst. to me it seems trivial to pay 47 bucks for a Sandisk 8gig when you can get 16 gigs for the same price. yes i know, the Sandisk is good for arctic and desert temperatures... but i live in western NY... not Antarctica or the Sahara. If your looking for a good card, with more gigs for your buck, the Transcend is well worth it. - Class 10 - 32 Gb - Memory Card - Transcend'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Pedometer - walking, exercise

Visit Store Now !!

I would get up from bed in the morning, sit in the car while i drive 30 minutes to work, then sit in a cubicle for most of the day, drive back home, then sit in front of my TV or computer for the rest of the night till I retire to my bed. Not alot of walking. To be honest, the main reason why i was inclined to purchase this was from watching Super Size Me ( if you havnt seen it, I suggest you do) so I decided to see how much walking I actually do and it wasnt good-- a mere 2500 steps a day, which is about a mile. Just to put things into perspective, the average newyorker walks around 4-5 miles a day. I've had this pedometer for about 2 weeks now and I've worn it everyday without fail. After 2 weeks, I'm very happy with the performance and features of this excellent little device.

Pros:

-very small ( a little bigger than a pack of gum)

-seems to work anywhere, pocket, purse, bag

-Counts steps, calories and distance

-split mode, which is useful when pacing a specific event during the day

-7 day memory

- auto-off turns the pedometer off when not in use and turns back on when it detects movement, which im sure lengthens battery life

cons:

-too small sometimes, I've lost this thing a few times already in the big void of my purse

-suggest reading the manual to use to full extent.

I'm very happy with this pedometer, and im even thinking of picking up a few more for gifts.

This pedometer excels beyond my initial expectations, especially consdiering that the price is reasonably lower than other similar pedometers like the Omrom. I've always been an Omrom fan but the last two i had from them ended up breaking within a month. Im actually pretty happy about this one by Ozeri. Its packed full of features and is suprisingly more accurate than i had initially expected. I guess time will tell if this one will last me but its been great so far.

I've never used a pedometer before but decided to get this to help give me some measurable figures when I work out. I've had this device for about a week and what I really like about it is I can just pick it up, put it in my pocket and just go (running, walking, etc) and it will automatically start taking measurements. I don't have to worry about turning it on and setting it up before I start. I've started just putting it in my pocket at when I'm at work and seeing how many steps I take it each and how far I've walked. It's interesting to see how much walking I do even though our office building is pretty small. I would definitely recommend this little device to anyone who works out or would like to improve their health through exercise and is looking for an easy to use, reliable product.

I have it for a couple of weeks now. Will come back later to update.

Likes:

1) Does appear to count the steps reasonably well

2) Small and easily fits into pockets

Dislikes:

1) Way off on kcals and distance, even though I had set the step length quite accurately. I have a Polar heart rate monitor and a treadmill and while the kcal reading of the heart rate monitor and the treadmill are quite similar, the kcal reading on the pedometer differ considerably with the other two.

2) Within the first week of use, the unit reset by itself and all my initial settings were lost. NOTE: Make sure you don't lose the little manual that comes with it so that you can go back and change the initial settings. Getting into the mode to change the settings is non-intuitive and you'll certainly need to follow the manual.

3) Resets the step count to zero after a week

4) A bit pricey considering the quirks and lack of features

Recommendation: Given what I know now I would not buy it.

I bought this about a month ago thinking i'd shed some pounds before school starts, but too bad that never really happend. Not exactly my proudest momment, i know but im sure most of you guys have been in my shoes :)

anyways, this pedometer is the only thing that i really kept using, even till now since all you gotta do is stick it in your pocket. this little thing is packed full of gadgetes and gizmos that that takes surprisingly accurate readings and provides you with many different data outputs such as calroies burned, total distance travelled, and of coures, the number of steps. what surprised me most is i left this in my jean pocket while it went through a full cycle wash. I luckily got it before it went to the dryer but it still works! Overall, its a small nifty gadget that's a great tool to pace your activies and half the time. Just be sure to check your clothes before you do the laundry since its so small.

Running, walking, jogging, you name it I probably do it quite often. Maintaining a fit body is a priority to me, especially being in the military.

This pedometer has proven to be durable, efficient, and cost-effective. What more could you ask for?

Highly recommended. - Step Counter - Walking - Fitness - Exercise'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Nikon Digital Cameras - best digital camera, best ultracompact

Visit Store Now !!

I have been a dedicated Nikon 35mm fan for years, but this is my first Nikon digital camera. I did debate very long between the SLR series and the Coolpix line, but in the end, the compact design and the lighter weight of the Coolpix nudged me in that direction. So far, I am not disappointed.

The menu structure is different from the Olympus menu system I had become used to, but a short session with the Nikon owner's manual quickly showed me how to access all the functions. Perhaps it is because I had used another band of digital camera for the last few years, I did not originally find the Nikon menu quite as intuitive. I had no trouble changing over however, after less than an hour or so.

The Coolpix is clearly designed as a point and shoot digital camera. Personally, I favor more of a wide angle style than what this camera delivers, but the zoom range is quite nice and very useable. Automatic modes are the default for everything. In my initial testing, I found very few photos that were not acceptable using the fully auto everything. Excellent optics and a vibration compensation system yielded very crisp hand held images. Good marks for this area.

While there is no full manual operation for the S630, there are shooting modes galore that will provide settings to isolate the subject from the background using larger apertures (portrait modes) or favor smaller apertures for greater depth of field when photographing scenic views. There is even an extreme close up mode, similar to the macro mode of many 35mm cameras. Other overrides will allow you to modify the flash effects (fill in, red eye reduction, off and others), fire bursts of shots (depending on exposure up to several per second), set automatic intervals (pre-determined) or even some in camera creative effects. While it did take some getting used to the controls, the S630 again took high marks in this area.

One of the features I really like about the Coolpix S series in general is the large, compared to my older digital camera, viewing screen. I was even more pleased to find I could superimpose a small grid as an aid in composition. I was trained on a 4x5 view camera and had a grid screen for my old Nikon F2S, so this was like coming home for me. I would have liked some intermediate lines in addition to the three by three box pattern, but even this simple implementation will prove useful.

The S630 uses an exclusive rechargeable battery. I suggest buying at least one spare battery with your camera. While the battery is rated at well over 200 exposures before needing to be recharged, I'm sure Mr. Murphy will be at the party you are photographing and your battery will die, just as you are about to snap that great celebrity photo you dreamed about taking. The S630 makes the external charger as part of your purchase package and an AC cord is an option. If you like being able to run on standard batteries, this may be less than desirable for you, but I like the rechargeable feature from an environmental standpoint. Call this an even trade.

I was disappointed in the lack of an uncompressed format to save images in. My last digital camera had a RAW format that while not used for every photograph nonetheless was used often enough I miss not having it. You do have some selection in the JPEG compression, however, so I have to be content with that. Your photos do look their best using the maximum pixel count, so you will want a high capacity card. I urge you to get at least a 4 GB card to supplement the minimal onboard memory.

Now we come to my only real dissatisfaction with the S630, and that has little to do with the camera itself. I hate the software suite Nikon supplies. I must digress a moment here. If you use a high capacity SD card, one that is 4 GB or more, you may not be able to read the card with the card reader built into your computer. While technically still an SD card, the SDHC series cards use some internal difference to break the 2 GB barrier. Whatever the reason, you should purchase an external reader capable of handling the SDHC format cards.

Without an external card reader, you need to plug the camera into your computer and use the Nikon Transfer software to transfer the images to your computer. While the plug fitting on the camera looks like a mini-USB, I could not get a mini-USB cable I already owned to fit the socket. I needed to use the Nikon supplied cable. My computer would not recognize the camera until I loaded the software. The transfer process is slow and the interface is clunky at best. I also have my own photo retouching software and do not need the software Nikon supplies. With an external card reader, the process is greatly simplified: remove the SD card, pop it in the reader and transfer the images just like any other file collection. An external reader will also provide a faster transfer speed.

All together, I found the S630 a very nice travel package. This camera will deliver some very high quality images without the bulk of an SLR. You can easily fit a spare battery, spare memory cards and the camera into a small case not even the size of a case for sunglasses. Well worth the price until you really need the versatility of a digital SLR.

6/30/2009

Recently returned from 10 day trip to Japan. The camera performed flawlessly and delivered photos even better than I expected. Great available light shots, very good flash fill in, good video in karaoke bar and wonderful overall grab shots. My only complaint is I wish it had a wider wide angle, but I knew this going into the trip. Used the telephoto at maximum to capture details at the top of castles, shrines and temples; great results there made up for the lack of a wider view. Nikon Coolpix S630 12MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Titanium Silver) - Digital Photography - Nikon Coolpix - Best Digital Camera - Best Ultracompact'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Fountain Pen - fountain pen, fine point

Visit Store Now !!

I have a parker than cost $50. Comparing the two, this one isn't as nice on the outside but it writes just as well. This one didn't cost $50 so I am not afraid to carry it with me everywhere. Also being a college student I write a lot, and I have switched to writing with ONLY this pen. I don't even carry ball points with me anymore. Super easy to change cartridges when you need to and they last. I will say that I think going with a converter and bottle is much cheaper as far as refills go, but I personally use the cartridge sticks as they are easier to keep in my backpack. THe pen has a good balance and feels very natural and comfortable in the hand. I have used it to write for a hours without stopping and still use it which speaks a lot. I will say that because it is an ink pen, not gel (like ballpoint pens) that you must be aware that ink soaks into paper, as opposed to drying on top. What this means is that if you are using thin notebook paper you will probably need to write on only one side instead of two. Highly recommend if you want to try out a fountain pen. Parker IM Fountain Pen, Black Barrel, Gold Trim - 1760799

I have recently purchased the pen as a Christmas gift. The pen has not been used extensively yet, so likely my judgment might be premature. The pen is not light, I mean it has its own weight. It presents nice. Writing is smooth, the ink goes through it instantaneously. I wish it had a converter included so the ink from a container could be used instead of refills. And also other colors would be welcome (e.g. dark blue).

So far so good.

Theres not much to say. This pen does a great job at what it is supposed to do. As simple as that is, I can say that I have been looking for an inexpensive pen that was a satisfactory writing tool for some time. Parker pens are wonderful, but I had some problems with some of them after the first inevitable fall (or two). So far, this pen is working out just fine--its already been dropped too.

Once the ink got flowing in this pen, it has been great. I'll be refilling it soon. I hope that it continues to work the way it has thus far.

Definitely a quality product. Parker's determination to deliver excellence in every price range is evident in this fountain pen; however, you must remember this producy meets its expectations as a robust, anytime anywhere pen--definitely not made to compete with a $100 dollar Pelikan! Speaking of Pelikan, some Pelikan users might notice the medium nib of this pen is noticeably more narrow than pelikan medium (broad!), so dependig on your writing style, it might take a while to adjust. This pen's weight is maybe 4.5 out of 10. Obviously not the heaviest, but it does possess some heft; it is comfortable for strenuous use. Oveverall, I am very pleased with this pen, as I am comfortable taking it anyplace anywhere.

So, I just got this thing in the mail, and ran it through it's paces. It has a nice weight to it, and writes splendidly with very little force. One draw back is that it does not offer the ability to vary the thickness of a line. The nib is far from flexible, and the ink cuts out as soon as you press down on the pen. If you're looking for a calligraphy pen; this is not the pen for you. However. It is a great everyday writing pen. Good weight, nice hand feel, looks great, and a consistent line!

Ok, I just ordered this yesterday - got it in todays mail, happened to stop home for lunch, and am using it at work already today. It writes well, the weight is perfect, worked right out of the package, can't ask to have gotten it any quicker - Love it - Great all the way! Thanks!~ Can't even leave feedback yet - they tell me it's too soon! :) But Thank you Advantage Gifts! I will be ordering from you again! - Parker - Fountain Pen - Fine Point'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Mobile Phone - htc, eris

Visit Store Now !!

When I got my Eris I, of course, wanted to get all of the cool accessories that went along with it. Unfortunately, when I saw the price stickers on the phone cases, the film covers and snap-on skins I smiled a "you've gotta be kidding me!!!" smile at the salesman. What a rip-off! Twenty bucks alone for a case and it was a flimsy piece of garbage. So, I decided to poke around on Amazon and came across this. I figured for three dollars and change (item cost with S&H!) if this one turned out to be garbage as well, I'm only out a few bucks. Much to my surprise, this case is well stitched and really decent quality! I just ordered a second one to keep in the glove box as a spare. I still can't get over the price! Sometimes you just get lucky.

Note: The one I received turned out to be wide enough to hold my phone WITH the plastic snap-on shell still on the phone. It's a nice snug, sturdy fit without needing to jam it into the case. Whether this "sizing" is standard I can't say until my second one arrives and I test it as well*.

UPDATE: The second one came and the quality is as good as the first. It appears that the company places an order with the supplier and simply "takes what's available". I say this because the texture and materials used on the second are slightly different than the first (the material is smooth - lacks a "leather grain" look), the one inch by half inch strip on the side is all elastic. Still...great for the price!

*The size is the same as the first. Snug fit with the snap-on shell. GTMax Premium Horizintal Leather Pouch Carrying Case for Verizon HTC Droid Eris CDMA Cell Phone

This case for my ERIS is great, nice soft leather made very well and easily worth more than I paid for it. I would have paid $20-$25 dollars for this case had I seen it in person first. Easily the best value I've seen on Amazon, I still can't get over what a beautiful leather case this is. Buy it, you will not regret it!!!

My husband and I have been using this cover for our Droid Eris for 4 months. My husband wears his on his belt everyday. I asked him yesterday how it was holding up. He said it works great and it still looks new. I looked at it and it does indeed. We both have silicone covers on our phones and they still fit nicely in the case. I bought another one to hold my CC Witness recordable radio. It fits perfectly even with the silicone cover on it. I can even slip the ear buds in the case too. I would recommend this case. It should last at least a year and still look very nice. I've paid so much more for a case that looks a year old after a few months. This item is a steal!

Inside measurements are: 4 3/8" L; 3 1/8" W; 1/2" D.

I am very impressed by the initial quality of the item. It looks very nice and the clip is very strong so that I have no worries about it falling off. That being said after a few weeks the leather overlying the clip began to pull off from taking it on and off my belt. So, In summary good for the money but not that durable. - Mobile Phone - Htc - Droid - Eris'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

External Dvd Burner - external drive, external dvd burner

Visit Store Now !!

I bought this external optical drive for my new Asus 1000h based on the well written and convincing reviews here, and even though the Targus at twice the price is always promoted along with the Asus and Acer netbooks. (My Asus rocks by the way) Just like the other reviews say, I plugged in the power cord (runs off of 1 usb) and the data cord (another of the 3 Asus usb's) and the Asus recognized it immediately and I began downloading software cd's for my new Canon dslr. Then I watched a movie dvd. That was it. Didn't need the driver cd. Also comes with a LG DVD Writer Solution DVD if you need/want it. I'm pretty picky, and this unit exceeded my expectations. It's perfect. And thanks to the previous reviewers, you were spot on and saved me almost $100. External USB 8X DVD +/-RW Dual Layer Burner for PC or Laptop

I bought this external DVD player/burner drive for my Asus Eee PC-1000HE netbook conmputer, which has no built-in optical drive. Although I don't expect to use it heavily, it has already proved its worth by making it incredibly simple to replace the hard drive in the netbook with a SSD drive. With the Asus recovery disc in the drive and a blank SSD, the netbook booted from the DVD drive, and the recovery disk did all the rest of the work in transforming the empty SSD to a fully-configured and bootable hard drive.

The drive has had no trouble reading any CD or DVD disc that I've put in it, as long as I plug in BOTH of the USB cables -- one for data, and the other to provide additional +5 volt power. As far as burning goes, so far I have only tried one burn of a DVD+R/DL disc, and was a little surprised. The discs say that they are 8x but Nero refused to burn at anything other than 2.4x speed. And the burn failed the rescan test. So then I put another of these blank discs into the Sony DVD drive on my desktop PC, and got the same results! As it turns out, the bargain discs I had bought (not from Amazon) were really only rated as 2.4x and they are apparently a lower quality than I had thought, in spite of the markings on the external packaging. So, I guess I can't blame this external DVD drive for the burn failure, it seems to be a problem with my cheap media. I will eventually get around to testing it with better blank discs, but I'm betting it will work out okay.

The drive itself it incredibly tiny, not much bigger than a couple of CD jewel cases stacked together! Along with the diminutive size comes very low weight. These are good attributes to have in a DVD drive to be used on a netbook computer. The case is fairly thin metal, so you don't want to press down on the top of the drive very hard when opening or closing the door, with a little care it should last a long time.

It is a real plus that you don't need any batteries or AC adapter to run this drive, just two USB ports on your computer so the second connection can be made to provide extra power. Some computers might put out enough current through each USB socket that you could get by with using only one port, but probably not in a laptop. If you find the use of two USB ports to be a problem, you can find small AC adapters that convert wall current to 2 to 4 USB power-only ports, and could use one of those to provide the extra 5 volt current if you are short on USB ports.

I used mine on a Windows XP system, and did not have to use any drivers of any sort to make it be recognized. In fact, as already noted, the eee PC 1000HE was able to boot from the DVD drive at a time when there was no operating system at all installed in the netbook computer, just a completely blank Solid State Disk drive, so I find it hard to believe that other OS's like Vista could not operate this device easily as at least one review has stated, but while I had zero difficulty, YMMV (and I have not tried Vista myself).

Highly recommended.

I bought this to use with my Asus 904ha netbook. It works great! It is plug and play with XP, just as the other reviewers said. It's thin and light for easy travel. Powered off of your USB, which is very cool. It burns and plays CDs and DVDs just fine. And it was super cheap, too!

I have also used it on other computers running on Vista. It worked fine on those as well.

The directions included are pretty much incomprehensible (very poorly translated...in fact it was kind of comical) But, that didn't matter, since it worked as soon as I plugged it in. And it also included a disc with drivers. Again, it wasn't needed.

I'd recommend this product. In fact, I might even buy another.

I purchased this based on the positive feedback at Amazon.com, but it worked irratically with my laptop which is only one week old and running Vista. The device wasn't plug-and-play. Instead I needed to have the driver disk in the drive when plugging it in and then Vista had to find the drive and install it. About 50% of the time the computer recognized the drive and about 50% it didn't, which required reboots until it recognized it. Unfortunately the product documentation is almost non-existant (a 3x4 one-sided index card) and there's no reference to a website for help. The disk door didn't close smoothly and needed a bit of a push which suggested to me poor workmanship or materials.

The drive would not play DVDs on my Acer Aspire One as it said Codecs were needed. I looked around the internet and after reading several tech support boards, downloaded K-lite Mega Codecs and was able to get the drive to operate. It came with some foreign-titled software (??) that I did not use. Windows XP did recognize the drive, but without downloading the needed Codecs, the drive would not have worked for playing DVDs.

It is VERY slow when writing to DVD. Much slower than the claimed 8X speed.

I bought a sony DVD burner before--for my Sony UMPC. Sony surely was good, only...expensive. After I bought Acer Aspire One (1G Ram, 160G HDD), I found out that Acer didn't have a firewire port for my Sony DVD burner. Beside of it, I didn't want to take my Acer Netbook with many AC adapters. (Sony's burner needs it. What is your propose to buy a small netbook? or UMPC?) Then, I found this DVD burner with the best price and very slim as same as Sony's. After a month uses, I can say that this DVD burner is better than Sony's. Light weight, no AC needed, fast enough. It was working well with my DELL 6400 laptop, Sony UMPC and Acer netbook. (I am a computer teacher. Surely all my toys are XP's.) I did burn a DVD few weeks ago. No problem with it! The package also gave you two software CDs. One was for the driver, but I didn't need to use it. The other was for program software (included Nero, PowerDVD...) Sorry, I cannot write English very well as same as the Manual of the DVD burner ...:) - Laptop Accessories - Dvd Drive - External Dvd Burner - External Drive'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Mario Party Ds - mario party ds, mario party

Visit Store Now !!

When it comes to virtual board games, Nintendo has really conquered that market for the past several years with the success of the Mario Party franchise. Undoubtingly, the series that started from the Nintendo 64 back in 1999, has been the dominant force in the Mario spin-off franchises. It has proven to do so well from the N64, 4 editions for Nintendo's last home console, the Gamecube, and the recent success of Mario Party 8 for the Wii, the mini-game series has still remained as popular as it has been before. The biggest glitch though has remained in the handhelds. With the faults that have occured from the Game Boy Advance edition of Mario Party, many hanheld gamers have still been anxious for something a bit more to hold on too for the party. Now, with a new version for the Nintendo DS, it has proven to be a different course.

Mario Party DS brings the popular Mario board game series to a different handheld, and does deliver. There are over 70 different mini-games that range well from the simple use of the stylus, to the button mashing we all loved from before. There are five differnet boards for you to play on ranging from Toadette's Music Room, to Wiggler's Garden, the caterpillar from Super Mario 64, and many more to play with. There are also so many games to play around with that take full advantage of the Nintendo DS like more boss battles like Hexoskeleton, where you have to knock down a king-sized Dry Bones, to his knees by kicking fruits at him, to make him spill down to the floor, or the all-new Rotisserie Rampage, where one player is spinning the meat the other three players are on top of, as you try to roast them out to dry.

The gameplay takes full advantage of the DS as you even use the stylus, and the microphone in a game like Blowdown, where you'd have to knockdown a giant whomp by blowing into the mike. The graphics have proven to work much better here, than the e-card and the GBA versions of Mario Party, and takes the gameplay to a whole new innovation, as was the case with the Wii version. Sadly though, there is one big disadvantage with the game, there are 5 boards to play on, a few fewer than the editions from the N64 and Gamecube versions. Nevertheless, it still remains big on the graphics, sound, and fun all in one. It takes a step in the direction DS owners have desired for the franchise.

All in all, if you haven't played any edition of Mario Party before for the Gamecube, Wii, or N64 days, you'll definitely love this one for the Nintendo DS. It has so much fun at a great value in gameplay, excitement, and everything you'd expect from Mario, Luigi and company in a game that is fun and loveable in the palms of your hand. I absoluetly recommend this a whole lot, so party on down.

Graphics: B

Sound: B

Control: B+

Fun & Enjoyment: B 1/2+ for solo play; A- for multiplayer action

Overall: B 1/2+ Mario Party DS

If there were ever two consoles destined for Mario Party, it's the Wii and DS. Wii owners got their version a few months ago, and now all of us DS owners are finally getting ours!

I've played Mario Party since the first one originally came out for N64 years (and years...) ago, but the DS finally gives Mario Party the platform it truly needs -- the touch screen is perfect for the minigames, but there is still a great balance between touch-screen-based mingames and 'normal' minigames.

The single-player Story Mode is interesting but I can only play it for a few turns at a time before I start going crazy watching the COM players to play through... but that's to be expected because Mario Party's success is dependent on getting some crazy friends together in the break room to play!

That being said, I was initially disappointed because there's no Nintendo WFC capabilities (only local multiplayer), but then I realized that that was probably a smart move since no one in their right mind would sit on the Nintendo WFC and play with strangers for an hour -- we'd just be starting games over and over again when people left!

So yeah... Mario Party DS is every bit a must-have for Nintendo DS as Mario Kart DS. EVERYONE who owns a Nintendo DS should at least have these two games, no excuses!

Introduction:

Mario Party DS is quite a hoot! This isn't the first time I've participated in the Mario Party series as I've also played Mario Party 7 (another game you should check out) for the Nintendo Gamecube. I shall disclose to you the plot, as well as the good and the bad points of this newest fiesta.

Plot:

It's raining sky crystals, and one falls near Mario. The next day, Mario tells all of his friends about it. During this gathering, Kamek brings an interesting note from Bowser. Apparently, Bowser wants to apologize for being a jerk, and throw a big feast for the crew. Who could resist? In other words, the characters aren't that bright (I mean, come on! Would you really go to a villain's house for dinner? Bowser has kidnapped Peach herself at least a dozen times!), and they accept the invitation. The invitation was an elaborate trap, as a big cage falls over the crew, as they arrive. Using his sceptor, Bowser shrinks the crew into "Mini" heroes, takes the sky crystal they have, and wisks them away. Now, everyone wants to be the hero, and this is where you come in: play as Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, or Toad, and travel through a garden, a piano room, a jungle, a library, and Bowser's own lair. Your goals are to outshine the other heroes, collect all of the sky crystals, and defeat Bowser once and for all. Good luck!

Bad Points:

1. Not enough girl characters. Out of all eight characters, only two are female. While this topic is on the table, there aren't as many characters (male or female) to choose from as Mario Party 7.

2. Some mini games require luck. I don't like this.

3. Some mini games just stink, and others require you to work with a COM or two (if you're playing solo). While these minigames can be fun, If your luck is bad, and your partner/partners stink, you may be in trouble. That's just not fair.

4. There are certain spaces on the game boards where you get five coins while someone else gets five coins. You get to choose who you want to be your friend. When I'm playing and someone else lands on such a space, I'm never their friend... Besides, giving coins to a COM opponent is just stupid.

Good Points:

1. Most of the minigames are fun and addictive.

2. Most of the minigames are hillarious! They really took advantage of the fact you're tiny. Rubber Ducky Rodeo anyone?

3. The boards are fun, with various traps and rules to keep you from being bored.

4. Some of the bosses may be challenging, but not to the point of frustration. They're relatively simple once you get the hang of it, and they're quite a bit of fun themselves.

5. Unlike Mario Party 7, you don't have to buy your rewards with milage points. All you do is get a certain number of points to get rewarded with something. This saves time, and helps keep away repetition.

6. The boss trophies are comical.

7. The mini games take great advantage of the stylus and the mike.

Conclusion:

That's all I can say. Overall, this is a very staightforward game that's great for dull moments. It should be noted that you don't have to save, but the game saves automatically, every time you complete a minigame (this is true in story mode as well). So when you want to quit, just play the mini game (that always occurs) at the end of the turn, wait until the end of it, and when you see the board again turn it off. Or, if the current turn isn't going well, just turn the DS off and you'll start that one turn over again (providing you've played at least one turn and minigame by this point). If you like this game, look into Mario Party 7. Have fun! - Mario - Mario Party - Mario Party Ds - Nintendo Ds Games'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information

Rotary Tool Accessories - jewelry making, bob tool

Visit Store Now !!

This set of 20 bits costs less than one high-quality diamond bit from other sources, and the bits did the job for which they were purchased.

Used them to drill two 1/8 inch diameter holes in non-tempered window glass. This must be done slowly to avoid overheating and possibly fracturing the glass. Used several different bits to change shapes in the hope of making it go faster. When done, the holes were fine and all of the bits still seemed to have their abrasive surfaces.

I've read elsewhere that a high-quality diamond bit will last for perhaps three holes like these, and that it takes about two minutes to make one hole. Well, it took about 30 minutes per hole, but more than half of that time was spent pausing to let the glass and bit cool off. Since all of the bits still have diamond grit on them, it seems likely that they'll be able to make several more holes before wearing out.

NOTE: Tempered glass probably will shatter if drilled. This window didn't have a "tempered" logo in the corner and looked normal when viewed through polarized sunglasses. Pro-Quality 20-Piece Diamond-Point Bit Set for Rotary Tool - Glass, Stone, Ceramic

These generic diamond point bits work great on my dremel rotary tool and the price for 20 of them is cheaper than buying 1 bit of the dremel brand. I use them for engraving on glass and they have been great.

One of these diamond tipped bits will run you between $8.00 - $10.00 at any retail or hardware store. This set has every bit for any project you could think of and the power to handle almost any material. It is definately worth the money. Works great on glass, metal, and stone.

I am very very satisfied.

The drill bits worked fine on soft materials such as seashells as long as I didn't put too much pressure on the bit. But on harder materials such as ceramic or stone, the diamond coating wore off very quickly, rendering the bit useless. And yes, I did use lubricant.

These bits were purchased primarily for drilling sea glass for jewelry making. Since this was my first attempt at such a project, I didn't want to spend a lot of money experimenting.

I'm still trying these out, but so far, so good. I like having the variety to play with. I am using these with a Dremel and they work great. I have no complaints. - Jewelry Making - Dremel - Bob Tool - Rotary Tool Accessories'

Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information