Lifestyle

Apple may overwhelm the MP3 market, but the stock earbuds included with iPhones and iPods have always been a frowning point for those devices. It’s the buds! They’re like cheap diapers: sound leaks all over the place, they’re uncomfortable and achy, and, for the most part, you can (and should) toss ‘em.

Weeks ago I would have recommended that iPod users buy a new set of headphones, but, thanks to a product called yurbuds, there’s a very solid middle option now.

Billed as “custom-sized earbud enhancers”, yurbuds are silicone tips that slip over your iPod earbuds and help them sit in your ear more comfortably. An added benefit is that they make listening with in-ear buds much better by reducing the amount of volume you need to hear your music and by improving the way the audio is delivered to your ear.

Yurtopia was kind enough to lend us a few pairs when we met them last month, and since then, my primary headphones have been a pair of white buds covered with a set of size 6 yurbuds. Here’s why.

Toys “R” Us has been selling netbooks for a little while, which makes sense as small computers are great for small people. We’re all curious kids inside—and we’ll take any excuse to visit a toy store—so we headed off to the Times Square Toys “R” Us last Friday to check out what they had in stock.

Since we’ve recently been testing out the service and techie know-how of various stores’ staff (see our “Retail Salespeople Completely Ignorant About Netbooks” article for a few quotations from your favorite big box store), we had a few questions for the staff in charge of the netbook booth.

Given our past experiences with Costco, Staples, WalMart, and Best Buy, we fully expected the Toys “R” Us staff to stare at us blankly and then possibly spout off some complete nonsense about their netbooks. To our surprise, they didn’t.

SquareTrade, an independent warranty provider for electronics, released a study today on the reliability of laptops broken down by price and by manufacturer. The first part of the survey doesn’t contain any groundbreaking news: netbooks and budget laptops malfunction at a greater rate than their higher-priced counterparts. The second part is a bit more intriguing and reveals that the manufacturers on top of the market don’t necessarily make computers that last.

SquareTrade divides notebooks into three categories based on price: netbooks (under $400), entry-level ($400 – $1000) and premium (over $1000) and, using data from the laptops they cover, show that over a year netbooks have a 20% higher malfunction rate than entry level and a 40% higher rate than premium laptops. They project that over three years, 25.1% of netbooks will malfunction while only 20.6% and 18.1% of entry-level and premium notebooks will. So far netbooks fail at a greater rate, but why is that?

JanSport, venerable maker of backpacks and other outdoor gear, announced a new line of bags not too long ago: the Career Collection. These bags will not only provide a comfortable home for your notebook, but also aim to help you speed through security. Nice! Being a bag connoisseur, I thought I’d give two of the bags — the Rush Hour and the Curbside vertical messenger — a test drive under some of the most strenuous conditions I could imagine: rush hour on New York City’s subways.

One of my favorite aspects of both these bags is the padded bit for the shoulder strap. JanSport makes them much longer than most bags I’ve used, which meant I didn’t have to reposition it much as I pulled the bag on and off. The strap’s large buckle regulates the length on one end of the strap only and isn’t meant for quick adjustments. But it’s sure to keep the strap at your optimal length no matter how much you tug on it.

Can a bag have too many pockets? Read on to find out…

The holidays have rolled around again and no matter how much or how little this recession is squeezing your budget, it’s always good to know where to find the coolest gadget gifts for the least amount of money, right? We think so. To help you shop for cool presents within your means, check out our Best Gadget Gifts for Under $50, $100 and $200 lists:

Best Gadget Gifts for Under $50 — my favorite gadget on this list is the USB Retro Wooden Speaker + MP3 Player Cube. The combination of old school-looking technology and modern convenience. It even comes with a little remote.

Best Gadgets Gifts for Under $100 — Verizon Wireless’ MiFi 2200 portable hotspot is the perfect gift for someone who needs the convenience of wireless access anywhere but doesn’t live in an area where free wireless hotspots are easy to find. Connect multiple devices to one hotspot for one monthly data charge.

Best Gadget Gifts Under $200 — eReaders are hot this holiday but aren’t always wallet-friendly. Sony’s Pocket Edition Reader has a great e-ink screen that, while smaller than the average eReader, still provides more lines of text than an iPhone or iPod touch.

2009 has been a good year for notebooks from widescreen desktop replacements all the way down to netbooks. New operating systems for both Macs and PCs, batteries lasting longer and longer while getting thinner, and new chips to make everything run better made for great selection this year.

We did our best to test every one of the dozens of notebooks and netbooks released, and after all those months of work we’re ready to reveal the laptops we’ve deemed the Best Notebooks of the Year. We chose a winner and finalist that represent the best in class in seven categories:

• Thin-and-Light
• Budget
• Netbook
• Ultraportable
• Business
• Gaming
• Touch

The laptops that made our list not only embody new innovations in hardware and software, but surround them with designs that are attractive and comfortable to use for extended periods. It’s this combination of cutting-edge components, aesthetics, and ergonomics that separates the best of the best from the also-rans.

Click here to see which notebooks won the day in their respective categories. Did your favorite make the list?

Laptops are our constant companions, and a good bag is essential for the ultra mobile amongst us. There are a ton of functional laptop bags in the world, but how about something for people who don’t want to look like they’re carrying a notebook? Or something that looks as good on an arm as a favorite purse?

We’re giving away a 10 or 15-inch Isis Dei Riviera Noir Notebook Bag to one lucky winner this week. Get a stylish companion to your mobile life or win it for a loved one who needs a bit of flair. Contest ends November 23, 2009 at 11:59AM ET. Click here to enter.

As we mentioned in order recent battery life post, the HP Mini 311 with Windows 7 did get less battery life than its XP-bearing sibling. However, that’s not the whole story of this updated netbook. Though there is a loss in longevity, users gain 3G connectivity if they buy the system from Verizon Wireless. At $199 with a two-year contract, the benefits could outweigh the drawbacks.

The Mini 311 still has the NVIDIA Ion LE Graphics chips are responsible for processing all images sent to your computer?s display.
Learn Moregraphics chip and 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, but comes with 2GB of RAM instead of just 1. It’s also not hampered by Starter Edition as HP thankfully opted to load it up with Home Premium. While overall performance didn’t blow us away, graphics performance scores went up.

Click here for the full benchmark scores and our impression of the 311’s 3G capabilities. It may be worth shelling the $59.99/month for some users, but others aren’t going to look too kindly on spending over $1,000 for a netbook over time, even one that approaches notebook performance.

Yesterday the New York Times’ David Pogue called Verizon Wireless to the carpet for what he sees as another example of the company’s price gouging, this time centered around millions of users’ accidental data usage. Both Verizon customers and an employee reported that 1MB data charges (which cost $1.99) appear on bills even if the phone user hadn’t intended to download data.

“They configure the phones to have multiple easily hit keystrokes to launch ‘Get it now’ or ‘Mobile Web’—usually a single key like an arrow key. [...] We cancel these unintended requests as fast as we can hit the End key, but it doesn’t matter; they’ve told me that ANY data–even one kilobyte–is billed as 1MB. The damage is done.”

The Verizon employee says that everyone at the company is aware of this problem but won’t do anything about it because it generates hundreds of millions in revenue. Even customers who have data blocked are still hit with the fee when they accidentally hit these phone keys. They’re charged for receiving the message that data has been blocked.

We asked a Verizon Wireless representative for their side of the story. Click here for their response:

Unless you have a whole family of Scrooges, it’s a safe bet that a few people on your list love music and movies and pictures. So why not indulge their media-centric habits by tying a bow around a brand-new portable media player? A few years ago giving a PMP that wasn’t an iPod would very likely result in rolled eyes or perhaps a grudging mumble of thanks. Thankfully this year’s offerings are just as desirous, maybe even more so. Of course Apple’s PMP is still a favorite of millions. If the media maven on your list isn’t likely to let go, you can always give the gift of a speaker dock.

Click here to browse our entertainment holiday picks