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March 23, 2009
A Flat HDMI Cable from Atlona
Last month I wrote a blog about an interesting HDMI cable with a locking mechanism. Very clever. 
Today I would like to introduce you to another unique HDMI cable that, while not for everyone, could be a great problem solver. Atlona has a line of HDMI cables that have all of the top specifications. For those that are interested, Atlona's HDMI cables are certified HDMI 1.3b, which is as good as it gets. These cables are well made, the cable itself is every flexible and only 4mm thick. (That's less than 2/10 of an inch thick -- 0.157 inches to be precise.)
This could be the perfect solution if your cable/satellite box, AV receiver, DVD player and other equipment are on one side of the room and the TV on the other - run the HDMI cable under the carpet. Or stick it on the wall next to the baseboard molding and paint the cable.
Atlona cables also have another advantage. Most HDMI cables are 50 feet or less, but Atlona's are available in lengths up to 66 feet.
Prices range from $39.99 for a 1 meter cable - about 3 feet - to @229.99 for a 20 meter (corrected from 10 meters; Scott, thanks for catching my typo) -about 66 feet, cable.
If you need a longer-than-normal HDMI cable or a very thin, flat cable check out Atlona's.
Posted by Bob Gatton at 9:05 AM | Comments (2)
March 17, 2009
Where are you buying electronics?
Consumer Electronics retailing is a tough way to make a buck. I have been in the CE industry for over 20 years and have seen many once successful retail companies go out of business.
In the late 1980's I worked for The Federated Group, it was a chain of about 60 stores in California and Texas. In a couple of years it went from being one of the most successful retailers of electronics to being liquidated. Other now defunct CE retailers include:
- Highland Appliance,
- CMC,
- Tweeter
- The Good Guys!,
- Nobody Beats the Wiz,
- Silo,
- CompUSA,
- Lechmere,
- Rex TV and Appliance,
- Crazy Eddie,
- Pacific Stereo,
Early this year Circuit City went bankrupt; closing 567 stores and laying off over 30,000 employees. Did they make some mistakes along the way? Sure, but maybe its a symptom of a change in the way that people buy consumer electronics and other products.
This is not a scientific polls, but many of my friends have recently purchased new televisions, computers and other products. Did most of them buy them at Circuit City? No. Best Buy? No. The majority of my friends purchased their new toys from big box discount stores (WalMart, Target) clubs (Sam's Club, Costco, BJ's Wholesale) or from internet merchants (Amazon, Buy, and Tiger Direct).
These merchants offer great brands at aggressive prices and if you buy online, sometimes you don't have to pay sales tax. And many CE products, particularly televisions, are now much easier to ship, they are less bulky and weigh less than old tube televisions.
My recent CE purchases have been from Costco, Tiger Direct and Amazon. Where are your buying your consumer electronics?
Posted by Bob Gatton at 7:35 AM | Comments (4)
March 1, 2009
The Flashlight-er
Last week I wrote about a couple of gadgets that I didn't find that useful. Here is one that might make the cut.
Do you have a flashlight in your car, I do. I checked the flashlight I currently have in my car. I hadn't used it for at least a year and, of course, the batteries were dead. The Flashlight-er is a product that solves this problem.
The Flashlight-er is a small -- about 4" by 1" -- rechargeable flashlight with three bright LED lights. Plug it into the cigarette lighter socket in your car, and leave it there. When you need a flashlight, take it out and the light automatically turns on. Since you store it in the cigarette outlet, it is always fully charged. Cool.
When you pull the Flashlight-er out of the socket the light comes on. There is not an on/off switch; to turn the light off you put it back into the socket. At first I thought that this was a big negative -- but in actual use, I think that it is the right way to go. For me, if it had an on/off switch, after I used the flashlight I would probably turn it off. Then the next time that I needed the light, the batteries might be dead. Without a switch you are almost forced to put the Flashlight-er back in the cigarette lighter socket.
With a full charge I got about 45 minutes of usable light.The three LEDs continued to produce light for several hours, but the intensity of the light decreased.
On the end of the Flashlight-er there is a powered USB port. Besides being a flashlight, it can power and charge portable electronics, including many cell phones, MP3 players, etc.
The Flashlight-er is $29.95. I like it. I would like it even more if it was $14.95, but it is still a clever product.
Posted by Bob Gatton at 8:17 AM | Comments (5)
