Nest Thermostat
The Nest Thermostat is a lovely piece of work that brings thermostat technology forward and away from the dull, boring and antiquated units from Honeywell and the like that do no more than frustrate the average home owner. Nest brings Android and iOS apps, it learns your behaviour and above all – cuts your costs.
That’s the theory anyway. Sometimes it can be difficult to extrapolate the beautiful design from the actual functionality and true cost savings. On the other hand, any theormostat that gives me the ability to manage the temperature in my home via remote means is most definitely a step forward. Add in the obvious beauty of the unit, and it’s ability to ‘learn’ – and all in all – you’ve got a winning product.
Nest has just signed an exclusive partnership with Lowes – and looks to retail for about $249 per unit.
$249
Check it out here, at Lowes.com
Samsung Galaxy S III
While MorningLemon.com HQ are iPhone 4S users, it’s not as though we’re beholden to the device or company that makes it. Far from it, we’ll gladly use whatever is the best device for our specific needs.
The times are-a-changin’ when it comes to Android devices. Finally, Google has recognized that for Android to gain any sort of strong foothold as a brand, there must be some sort of standard interface and functionality rather than allowing manufacturers de facto control over the look and feel of the device. We’ve seen numerous enhancements in Ice Cream Sandwich that enable a level of stylistic control and device similarity that Google wasn’t able to promise earlier. Volume is the name of the game, and this is where Android will succeed – for that to happen, you have to take control and homologate the visual design of the core OS and take it away from the manufacturers, who will always lean towards gimmicky and poor design if they feel it’ll earn them a few extra points on their quarterly results.
When it comes to the Galaxy S III – you get everything you want, and more. With new and enhanced features like Smart Stay, Direct Call, Social tag, S Voice, S Beam and a 4.8 HD Super AMOLED display – you can be certain that, for right now, this is the best phone on the market.
$Depends
Check it out at Samsung.com
Nikon D3200
This is your entry level DSLR that’s anything but entry level. On a budget, but still need to rock the house with your photographic skills? Look no further, go with the D3200 – the replacement for the aged D3100. This bad boy features a 24.2 Megapixel sensor, and is fully capable of taking full 1080p Hi Def videos. Meaning, you can be a feature film director for less than a grand. Not too shabby.
You can also grab the new Nikon wireless adapter to have photos automatically and wirelessly transmitted to your Android or iOS device. You can even remotely take photos and use the D3200 as your own personal spy cam – awesome!
$699
Check it out at Amazon.com
IKEA Uppleva
Say what you will about those goofy Swedes from Ikea, but you know as well as I do – you’ve got something from them that you absolutely can’t do without. Now, after building four chairs and a table from Ikea last year, I can only imagine the level of language heavily dipped in vulgar verbosity required to build this particular item, yet, I love the ingenuity of it. This is what people want, give it to them – it’s such a difficult concept to get across to big business these days, isn’t it?
The Uppleva is an all-in-one entertainment system, it includes a cable hide-away, full HD flat screen TV, blu-ray / dvd / cd player, speakers and a wireless subwoofer. All of which will somehow magically come in a flat packed box with nefarious instructions on how to create it. Watch the video below for full details.
If I may impart a level of Ikea wisdom I have used to great avail over the years – wherever Ikea has you put two pieces of wood together sans bonding agent, add wood glue, and you will be tremendously happier with the finished product.
This looks like a winner from the Apple of cheap furniture.
$TBD – coming this fall to Ikea’s worldwide.
Check out the press release here (you’ll have to use Google to translate it.)
Hasselblad H4D-40 Ferrari Edition
Proof positive that Ferrari will put their name on just about anything, so long as it’s expensive, luxurious or limited.
The partnership between Hasselblad and Ferrari is ludicrous and neither company have any semblance of the existence of synergy between the two. This product, regardless of it’s quality, is another pathetic marketing attempt to separate you from your money based on the concept of “scarcity” and “limited edition”.
But, if it bleeds, it leads.
And shooting with the world’s finest camera does the same for your images. The Hasselblad H4D-40 features a 40 Megapixel medium format sensor and Hasselblad True Focus (making auto-focus substantially easier and more accurate), and gives you access to the world’s most advanced lenses, the Hasselblad HC/HCD line. The H4D Ferrari has been specially designed to provide the ultimate in both quality and performance. Just as the cars that inspired this special camera. The Ferrari H4D-40, produced in a limited edition of only 499 cameras, provides the perfect photographic accessory to the world’s finest driving machines. Produced in the new Ferrari “Rosso Fuoco” and bearing the legendary Cavallino Rampante, the camera comes with an 80mm lens and an exclusively designed and engineered glass display box, and will enable you to document life from the driver’s seat in a way you never before dreamed possible. Click the links to the right to find out more about the Hasselblad H4D-40 or to test-drive or purchase the H4D Limited Ferrari Edition camera.
The Ferrari H4D-40 Limited Edition comes in an exclusive hand-made glass topped case. Specially designed for the Ferrari camera, this attractive case features a luxurious lining, dual storage layers, and the distinctive Ferrari Racing Shield.
$28,000 approx.
Check it out at Hasselblad.com
Logitech UE Air Speaker
We’ve all seen speaker systems designed for small spaces and personal use. There is literally hundreds of them on the market from at least a hundred different manufacturers.
I use one in my kitchen, but there’s something my kitchen system is missing, and it’s going to feature prominently more and more often in the future – AIRPLAY. Apple’s Airplay technology allows you to instantly stream your songs from your laptop, iPhone, iPod, iPad and other licensed devices to Airplay certified devices like the Logitech UE Speaker.
Here’s how it works; while in your Music app you’ll notice an icon on your device that looks like the one in the product image, a rectangle with a triangle intersecting it. Pressing this icon will bring up a list of Airplay enabled devices in the vicinity. So let’s say you want to play music on your UE Speaker and you’d like to listen to playlist from your iPhone.
Go to your Music app, click the Airplay icon, select your Logitech UE device and click play – viola – you are now listening to music on your UE speaker, in completely high fidelity, there is no loss of sound quality while the data is transferred from your phone to the speaker via your wifi network.
Sounds great, right? Yeah, I want one too. Airplay is going to very quickly become a common standard for even the most layman of folk. You have been warned.
$399
Get your UE Speaker from Logitech.com
The Mark Brothers: Cable Labels
I know you’ve got a nasty tangle of cables under, around, beside or otherwise near your desk – I just know you do. It’s ok, everyone else does too. What makes things interesting is the game of what I like to call cable-remembrance. It goes like this, ‘hmm – this one is white, I know that’s for the mac – this one is that heavy black one, that goes to the NAS, this is…well….I don’t what this is for, hmm…it goes to the printer, but the printer is plugged in over there. WTF is this for? And this? Sweet-Jesus, what does this do…?”
Yes, good times. However, fear not, my friends, for we have a solution – enter the Cable Labels from the Mark brothers.
$12 approx.
Check them out at mocha.uk.com
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
The world leader in digital single lens reflex cameras strikes again! The overall megapixel ratings haven’t changed all that much, a slight bump from 21.1MP to 22.3MP, the way images are recorded and processed, however, has changed dramatically. The brand new DIGIC 5+ Image Processor is probably the biggest improvement over the 5D Mark II camera from Canon. It allows for increased speed and power, as well as a higher ISO sensitivity and better noise reduction.
Product Features
Newly designed 22.3 Megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, 14-bit A/D conversion, wide range ISO setting 100-25600 (L:50, H1: 51200, H2: 102400) for shooting from bright to dim light and next generation DIGIC 5+ Image Processor for enhanced noise reduction and exceptional processing speed.
New 61-Point High Density Reticular AF including up to 41 cross-type AF points with f/4.0 lens support and 5 dual diagonal AF points (sensitive to f/2.8).
iFCL Metering with 63 zone dual-layer metering sensor that utilizes AF and color information for optimizing exposure and image quality.
EOS HD Video with manual exposure control and multiple frame rates (1080: 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p, 720: 60p (59.94) / 50p, 480: 30p (29.97) / 25p) with 4 GB automatic file partitioning (continuous recording time 29 minutes 59 seconds), selectable “All i-frame” or IPB compressions, embedded timecode, manual audio level control while recording, and headphone terminal.
3.2-inch Clear View II LCD monitor, 170° viewing angle, 1,040,000-dot VGA, reflection; magnesium-alloy body with shutter durability tested up to 150,000 cycles, enhanced dust-and-weather resistance, and updated EOS Integrated Cleaning system for improved vibration-based dust removal.
Back to the Future Hoverboard (Prop Replica)
Unfortunately, no, you won’t hover on this particular board (boy, does that have a lot of people confused, no, folks, we, the colloquial ‘we’, as in humanity, don’t have the capability to sell hover-boards to the masses just yet…) but it does make wicked sounds! Pew-pew! Whoosh! And things of that nature.
It does have a certain je nais se quois doesn’t it? A MorningLemon appeal, if you will. It’s an officially licensed Hasbro and Universal product too.
Movie-accurate down to the smallest detail and fully sanctioned by Universal Studios, this is a 1:1 scale model (measures approximately 28″ x 8″ x 3″). Our Hoverboard includes authentic “whooshing” sounds sampled directly from the films and a deco featuring Mattel logos just like in the films. And although full hovering technology isn’t expected until 2015, be assured your Hoverboard will gently glide over most level surfaces (it will not, however, work on water).
$120
Available for Pre-Order 3/1 to 3/20 from MattyCollector.com
iPad HD
The resolution will be tabletized! Move along folks, not much to see here. Or rather, seeing is all there is to do here – far more evolution than revolution, the iPad HD eschews the more traditional numbering scheme and replaces it with an acronym even your grandma knows, HD – High Definition.
So what’s the big deal you may be asking?
Pixel Density, which, in terms of screen clarity – is paramount. The more and smaller teeny tiny little pixels you can cram into a certain area to increase it’s density, the better the optics are going to be at similar resolutions. So there you go, there’s your iPad HD. Yes, there’s a faster processor, 4G capability, upgraded camera optics and a few other niceties – but no where near enough of a change to necessitate upgrading your iPad 2. Unless you’re crazy. If you’re crazy, go ahead – have at it.
Those of you still rocking a first gen iPad? Fire up Kijiji and get that bad boy listed ’cause it’s time to upgrade.
$500
Check it out at Apple.com
Samsung Galaxy Note
I’d like to talk about the concept of both. For example, what’s better a tablet or a phone? Neither. Both. Soup, or a sandwich for lunch? Pffft! Both! Incredibly wealthy playboy, or family man with three kids? BOTH!
See, the concept of “both” is actually one I believe in quite strongly as a lifelong ethos. I believe that when given a choice between two items that are both desirable, we should not be made to choose, we should be given both. Got a job that requires you to wear a suit all the time, but you’d like to wear jeans and turtleneck a la Steve Jobs once in awhile? Find a job that allows you to do both. Both is such a strong paradigm. I believe in both, as such, I believe in the Samsung Galaxy Note – for it is not simply a phone, nor is it a tablet. It is both, and it is beautiful.
The Samsung Galaxy Note™ comes with the amazing S Pen™ to give you new ways to capture, create and share. Feel like drawing a doodle or writing a personal note in your own handwriting? Now you can. It’s pressure sensitive, so it responds with various line thickness just like a real pen.
Your memos have never been so expressive
With the S Pen™, your memos have never been so expressive. You can make your own love notes, write a shopping list, crop a photo, create a vibrant multimedia memo or write something out and let the Galaxy Note™ convert handwriting into typed text. You can annotate documents – including Microsoft PowerPoint® presentations – through Polaris™ Office’s S Pen™ support. During phone calls, you can take notes directly on the screen with S Memo Lite. Plus, there are many more options and techniques with unique S Pen™ applications in Android Market.
Games and other S Pen-compatible apps
The S Pen™ opens a new world for gamers. Feel like a kid again with the preloaded Crayon Physics game, optimized for the Samsung Galaxy Note™ and the S Pen™. Downloadable games such as Sudoku, crossword puzzles and word search feel more natural when played with the S Pen™.
The pre-loaded Amazon™ Kindle™ app lets you download the latest bestseller, or use the Google Books™ app. For work, the Note increases productivity with Soonr® cloud documents, Catch Notes and virtual PC programs. Mail photo postcards from anywhere with Touchnote and remove unwanted objects from photos with TouchRetouch.
You can find more S Pen-compatible apps in Samsung Apps and Android Market™. Third-party developers can get in on the fun with their own created apps by downloading the free S Pen™ SDK from developer.samsung.com.
You haven’t seen a big screen until you see the Note
The 5.3″ HD Super AMOLED™ Screen immerses you in the action like no device can. The high-definition screen has 1280 X 800 resolution to bring you breathtaking color and razor sharp detail for every type of entertainment. HD movies and TV Shows are available in a snap from Samsung’s exclusive Media Hub HD. The videos you shoot in 1080p play back in 1080p on an HDTV with the optional HDTV Smart Adapter.
Versatile, Portable, Amazing
The Note has smartphone portability with the power of a full-sized tablet. The awesome 1.5GHz dual-core processor loads files, documents and images quickly. Apps are responsive and the Note easily handles HD movies and games without stalling.
With a thinness of only .38″ and just 6.28 ounces, the Galaxy Note™ can go where users go – from preparing a presentation on an airplane or sketching nature scenes from a park bench.
It’s more than just a phone or a tablet; it’s a new category all its own that includes a phone, camera, camcorder, sketch pad, notebook, journal, gaming console, personal media player, eReader and much more – all in a single slim device. Amazing!
Samsung Approved for Enterprise
It’s a big deal to be Samsung Approved for Enterprise (SAFE™). A device has to support the four pillars of SAFE™, including Mobile Device Management (MDM), on-device encryption (ODE), Exchange ActiveSync for corporate email/calendar/contacts (EAS) and Virtual Private Networks (VPN).
With full support for Exchange ActiveSync® v.14, you’ll be able to sync and manage work email, contacts and calendars, and IT departments can employ EAS policies to help protect company data. VPN support allows users to connect with corporate resources when they’re out of the office. Polaris™ Office, a productivity suite that’s not available in Android Market™, is pre-loaded on the Galaxy Note™, so you can open, view and edit Microsoft® Office and Google™ documents on the go.
$299 (contract required)
Check it out from Samsung.com
Almond Wireless Touchscreen Router
Rejoice networking neophytes! You’ll no longer have to struggle with whether or not the default settings for your new router correspond with your current IP and subnet. Heaven forbid you should be rocking a 10.10.10.1 when your router’s expecting the far more ubiquitous 192.168.1.1 or the nefarious 172.16.0.0′s. Nope. Now you can stare at the screen on the side of the router and wonder aloud what it all means, because unless it’s doing some sort of network recognition scanning – touch screen or no – you’re still not going to be online.
On the other hand, there’s nothing more frustrating than being on the same subnet and the friggin administration page won’t load and the IP can’t be found due to some whacked out non-DHCP IP or IP routing restriction on your current network that forces you to re-instantiate both devices so they can finally see each other – highly frustrating.
Having to, or being able to, easily “reboot” is the shackles of modern electronic design – it should be an abhorrent consideration, not the first viable solution – ya know?
Listen. Here’s the truth, the truest of the truthiest – I’ll take a touch screen on anything. Anything.
Touchscreens are progress in comparison to web based administration portals that, let’s be honest, absolutely suck. Progress is always a positive thing.
So I say bring it on Almond! Bring on the touchscreen routers! Feed me diagnostics! Show me statistics! React when I touch you!
$TBD – better not be north of $200
Pre-Order is available here from Securifi.com, supposed to be released by Spring 2012 – so, fairly soon.
Playstation Vita
PS3 capable gaming on the go? Yes, please. Dual analog sticks? Yes, please. Rear touch panel? Yes, please. Quad core, OLED display, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, touch screen and motion sensors – YES PLEASE!! Hyper-expensive memory card that’s required if you really want to enjoy the thing? I am disappoint, Sony.
That’s ok, I’ll overlook it this time considering all the other improvements you’ve made over past failures. Game changer? Almost. They’ve taken the Apple approach of giving consumers what they want, but just couldn’t keep it up when it came to the memory card, that’s when old-Sony reared it’s ugly head. Unfortunate, but something we can move beyond.
Multi-touch 5-inch organic light emitting display (OLED) as the front display Multi-touch pad on the rear of the device Dual analog sticks Two digital cameras (front and rear) Software titles on small, Vita-specific flash memory-based cards Three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer and electronic compass Advanced and fast Wi-Fi connectivity Free PlayStation Network access, including trophy support and new Vita features “LiveArea” and “Near” Vita can play PSP titles, minis, PS one classics, video and comics from the PlayStation Store
Technical Specifications
CPU – ARM Cortex-A9 core (4 core) GPU – SGX543MP4+ External Dimensions – Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection) Touch Screen – 5-inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors, OLED Multi touch screen (capacitive type) Rear Touch Pad – Multi-touch pad (capacitive type) Cameras – Front camera, rear camera Game Media/Storage – New Vita-specific dedicated flash-based game medium; dual slots, one for the new game medium, the other is for storage media to be utilized for personal content and download content Sound Built-in stereo speakers Built-in microphone Sensors – Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), three-axis electronic compass Location Built-in GPs Wi-Fi location service support Keys / Switches PS button Power button Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left) Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square) Shoulder buttons (Right/Left) Right stick, Left stick START button, SELECT button Volume buttons (+/-) Wireless communications IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1) (Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode) Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP) Battery – Internal/embedded (not removable) * Connectivity subject to Wi-Fi availability coverage limitations. ** 3G functionality and coverage requires purchase and activation of an additional AT&T data plan. Connectivity subject to 3G coverage limitations.
Product Description
Sony’s PlayStation Vita, previously codenamed “Next Generation Portable”, is the successor to the PlayStation Portable hardware series. Vita retains the familiar general form of the PlayStation Portable hardware series while dramatically improving on virtually every aspect of its use with powerful and exciting new features including: dual touch pads at the front and rear, dual cameras at the front and rear, dual analog sticks, a 5-inch OLED screen, six-axis motion sensors and a three-axis electronic compass and exceptional built-in connectivity via Wi-Fi. Taken together this makes for a handheld gaming device that truly signals the entry of handhelds into the world of Next-Gen gaming.
$249.99
PlayStation Vita – WiFi from Amazon.com
Karlsson Tube Flip Calendar Wall/Table Clock
Take a trip down retro lane with the Karlsson Tube Flip Calendar clock. It has a very 60/70′s chic appeal to it, especially with the flip functionality built in to the clock. If an area of your home needs an eye catching piece, why not add a flip clock? Ease of use and functionality wise, what could be a more winning addition to your comfy abode?
$150
Karlsson Tube Flip Calendar Wall/Table Clock in Black from Amazon.com
Harman and Kardon AKG Q701 – Quincy Jones Headphones
While it may be de rigueur for stars of the music scene to endorse headphones, Quincy Jones doesn’t put his name on something unless it’s exceptional. Look no further than Rashida Jones for evidence of that. Seriously though, whether it’s music, television, mixed media or headphones when have you ever known Quincy Jones to put his name on something or endorse a product simply for a payday? It’s not in the man’s nature. Further, the AKG line from Harman and Kardon itself is world renowned as a high-end product line for the discerning customer. They even come with a two year warranty for parts and labor – I can’t remember the last time I bought a product that had a 2-year warranty.
AKG gives you another option than the absolutely horrible and ridiculously overpriced “Beats” headphones from the evil company that is Monster. You know, Monster of $100+ plus HDMI “gold plated for exceptional performance” cable fame. Yes, them. Take the AKG’s instead.
“These are the only headphones I’ve heard that bring out the true sound we were striving for on records like “Billie Jean,” “Thriller” and “Give Me the Night.” It’s the best quality sound I’ve heard, ever.”
-Quincy Jones
Once upon a time, the airy, immersive soundstages of true dramatic sound were the exclusive domain of high-end speakers and microphones – that is, until AKG® became the first to engineer flat-wire technology into the headset’s voice coil. Flat, aluminum wire creates a stronger, more uniform magnetic field in the voice coil, enabling the Q701s’ diaphragm to track audio signals with unprecedented accuracy. It also allows for a lighter, smaller coil that increases motor efficiency and significantly lowers impedance, resulting in a soundstage of unequaled realism you’ll notice, especially in the lower frequencies.
The Q 701′s patented Varimotion diaphragms deliver unparalled detail and transient reponse, much like a high-end loudspeaker.
Patented AKG® Varimotion ultra precision two-layered diaphragm.
The Q701s generate accurate sound and exceptional transient response by optimizing the diaphragm to prevent unwanted vibration modes. Its stiff 80-µm center acts as the tweeter, providing a pistonic, undistorted HF response while the more pliant 40-µm perimeter handles the increased excursion required to generate perfect vibration performance in the mid- and low-frequency ranges.
Bi-wiring, high-performance cable with a 1/4-inch jack plug.
We never compromise at AKG®, and to ensure you get the best possible audio signal from amplifier to eardrum, we have engineered the same level of quality and revolutionary technology in the Q701s’ cable assembly as we have in the headset itself. It begins with true bi-wiring. Independent grounds for each motor assembly rather than a common ground result in a balanced design for maximum possible stereo separation. Then we utilize detachable, oxygen-free (99.99% OFC) copper cables, terminated with a 1/4-inch jack plug. Two cable lengths are included: 10 feet for hi-fi and 20 feet for TVs or large rooms. Also included is a stylish machined-metal 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch minijack converter.
The Q 701′s feature 3-D form ear pads along with an open-back design.
Comfortable, specially shaped 3-D-form ear pads.
The Q701s have been designed in collaboration with the award-winning Austrian design firm Kiska to embody AKG’s signature styling aesthetic without compromising functionality or comfort. Foams of different densities combine to create the Q701s’ huge, ear-enveloping, velvet 3-D-form ear pads, ergonomically shaped for a precise, repeatable fit. This shape combines with their open-back design, allowing the drivers to be aimed at the ears to produce the ideal acoustical transmission.
The padded headband fits comfortably and stays comfortable even with extended use.
Padded, leather headband with gimbal suspension system.
We’ve designed the Q701s to be comfortable and durable by wrapping the unbreakable metal arches of the Q701s’gimbal suspension system in a stylish, padded genuine leather sling. The result is a truly a luxurious fit that is never warm nor tight, allowing you to enjoy the pinpoint imaging and immersive soundscape of the Q701s for hours at a time.
Individually tested and numbered.
The Q701s are hand-crafted in Vienna by our most experienced engineers and are individually tested, calibrated and numbered. They are backed by a two-year parts-and-labor warranty.
$400
Check them out at AKG.com
AKG Q 701 Quincy Jones Signature Reference-Class Headphones (Lime) available at Amazon.com
