Tendon USA, an economical online computer & AV cable distributor, sent me a few samples to evaluate. However, I’m giving them away and leaving the evaluation to you. Both cables are 4 meters - we’ve got HDMI<->HDMI and DVI<->HDMI. Leave one comment telling me which cable you could use, and when I get around to it I’ll randomly pick the winners.

Tendon tells me every cable they sell is tested 3 times (at various points in the manufacturing process) and 100% guaranteed. They’re currently running a deal on 1m HDMI cables: $5 for one, $4/ea for multiple.

Anyone else also pick up that Mio GPS for $200 (or less) recently? Frankly, I had given up hope of ever seeing any map updates on this device and was ready to ebay it… However, Mio is now taking orders for a firmware and map update DVD. At only $25, I figure I’ll give it a shot. FYI The site rejected my AmEx and a Visa gift card. Details here:

Compared to the previous map version, this version has improved road position accuracy for better map display, has added new or corrected one-way streets for improved driving directions, has added more highway exit points for improved driving directions, added more lower class roads for more routing options using back roads, and improved the over-all address match rate to help you find all the places you want to go.

For speculation and whining, head on over to GpsPassion. I don’t care if I have fewer points of interest or if I lose the ability to hack the device, as long as the Mio now actually gets me  where I’m going (efficiently). If not, I’ll take another look at Telenav (and carrying fewer devices).

True, the 700 is Nokia’s previous iteration of the Internet Tablet — But at $140, via Mobile Planet, maybe it doesn’t matter. It offers WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and, while you probably won’t get Skype compatability, it looks like many of the other new N800 software features will be available. I’m tempted…

My level of crankiness seems directly proportional to my caffeine intake, and I’ve been cutting back… Perhaps that’s why XM is also getting a second chance this week.

One of the reasons I canceled my satellite subscription last year was due to the encroaching ’80s pop onto some of my favored niche stations (Chrome, Groove). Not that I have anything against ’80s pop (my musical tastes are both eclectic and poor), but I thought the (selling) point of satellite radio is to provide unique content not commonly found on FM… Why would they dilute these musical genres?

Well before killing my sub, in January 2006, I emailed the station programmer at Chrome and this is how it played out: (more…)

As most of you know, TiVo killed the Lifetime Service option because it wasn’t exactly profitable. (Damn that reliable hardware and replaceable hard drive. ) So I find it particularly interesting to see TiVo offering up a Lifetime Service transfer with an 80 hour dual tuner Series2 for $300. I suppose TiVo wants everyone on newer hardware to experience broadband services, receive ads, and to be tabulated under Stop||Watch. You have until July 23rd to think it over.

The fine print:

Qualify current TiVo DVR
Enter the TiVo Service Number of your TiVo® DVR with Product Lifetime Service ACTIVATED PRIOR to June 15, 2003.

See the pretty picture after the break…

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A while back I had a chance to talk with Vipin Jain, CEO of Retrevo. Retrevo is a vertical search engine for consumer electronics that I first saw back at DEMOfall ‘06. I loved the idea, particularly because of the search engine’s ability to bring up product manuals for CE devices I bought in the 1990s. However, I wasn’t convinced that it could be terribly successful, given how well Google has cornered the search market.

In talking with Jain, however, I found out about a new category that Retrevo has tagged on to its search results in addition to the already-present “manufacturer info,” “reviews & articles,” and “forums and blogs.” The new category is “daily deals” and I found it quite handy a couple of weeks ago when buying a GPS system for my husband’s birthday gift. (His birthday is now past, so no secrets being revealed here.)

I’d done my research on which product to buy (the TomTom ONE) and I started searching for the best price. At first I thought I’d go with Amazon because I still had my Amazon Prime trial membership running and I could get free 2-day shipping. But then thankfully I remembered to check out Retrevo. A Retrevo daily deal saved me more than $70 on the total price. And there were no rebates to deal with, only a simple coupon code.

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Geeks.com is selling a refurb Xbox 360 for $100 off. Their listed price is $324.99, but using the code GEEKBOX2 during checkout drops it by another 25 bucks. This is the Premium/Platinum model which includes a 20GB hard drive and headset, but no HDMI. While it’s not as sweet as the deal I got (new 360, half off), this method doesn’t require lowering your credit score.

(via Gizmodo)

One of my parting gifts as Netgear’s CES Blogger In Residence was a WiFi Skype phone. But wait. There’s more! They also provided me with their new dual-mode Skype phone. Believe it or not, there’s only so many Skype phones I can use. So one lucky reader is taking the WiFi model home.

Quick summary… What I like: Wireless handset with Skype - no computer needed. What I don’t like: Battery life and lack of web browser (to sign on at Starbucks). I loaned Kevin Tofel of jkOnTheRun the phone who has written a more thorough review.

Here’s how ya win: Leave a comment linking to something we wrote in January, 2007 and tell us why you selected that as a notable topic. No two submissions can use the same post. I’ll pick a random winner sometime next week.

Update: Good news for the winner who also connects at Starbucks… A beta firmware update allows T-Mobile Hotpost authentication.