DFA’s Back to Work Back to School Picks

By Richard M. Sherwin

Despite the gloom and doom of the latest job and unemployment reports, despite the fluctuation

of gasoline prices that have turned vacations into staycations and despite the rise and fall of the stock market, nearly every consumer spending survey indicates that people are gearing up to spend a lot towards the end of the summer and early fall.

From mobile products that entertain or help families stay in touch to devices that clean, purify and generally simplify what folks do around the house, consumer retail purchasing indexes have been inching up, since last March. The index is supposed to peak by early fall with Amazon, E-Bay and every brick and mortar entity stocking up for the expected buying surge.

Here are our picks based on our gut feelings in addition to our product reviews.

Slingbox Pro: This relatively easy to use set top box has finally reached prime time status. After hooking up the smallish set top box to your Cable, satellite or even TiVo box and also to your home router/modem, the rest is now very easy. Simply download the Sling-player software to your Smart phone, IPad, Android Tablet , Notebook or netbook and you can watch your home television content almost anywhere. Using a remote control that appears on screen on your mobile device, you can change channels, pause and rewind.

If you don’t have Ethernet access in your living room , for another $69 you can purchase a Slingbox router accessory that makes connecting your computer to the Slingbox in any room a cinch.

The end result is that after a few minutes, you can take all your content with you to watch your favorite cable, local broadcast shows and even pay stations like HBO, Showtime and Starz. Whether it be in a friends home, your second home or even a hotel room that you’ve taken your mobile device with you, Slingbox will play wherever you have Internet access.

The reason we think Slingbox is now ready for primetime is that the Slingbox PRO-HD is the first ever HD-streaming Slingbox. With the Slingbox PRO-HD, you can watch and control multiple devices – including your standard or high-definition DVR, digital cable, satellite receiver, or DVD player – from anywhere in the world on your computer or mobile phone. And your high definition programming streams in HD quality for an amazing picture.

OOVOO and Skype

Either of these great, relatively free or inexpensive audio and video conferencing services is a terrific year round and world wide way to stay in touch with friends and family. Despite the talk that Skype’s new parent company, Microsoft may change pricing and availability for regular consumers and despite the fact that its customer support lacks live help lines, Skype lets you talk or video conference for free with other Skype subscribers and, if you call a non subscriber, the fee is literally pennies for minutes.
Lately we’ve used OOVOO a little more than Skype because the newcomer has the ability to record your conversation on video if you want to remember what your relatives look like. And for some businesses the recording (video and audio) becomes something like a record-keeper.
While Skype has relationships with telephone service providers and is even available on some TVs and Blue Ray players and cellular phones, OOVOO’s can conference up to six different locations on one call, has better quality and absolutely free calls to Canada. It’s a game changer for some people we know who use the service. Others consumers used to Skypes clean and ad free web page, are taken aback by the occasional pop up ads you get on OOVOO.

If you want the best audio and video with these great applications, Skype makes a easy to use web cam and microphone that you can order from their web site. However, Microsoft makes two pro quality combination web cams and microphones that will make your call seem like it’s on HDTV. The Microsoft LifeCam Studio and LifeCam HD-3000 are superb for Internet video and chatting and, if you need to record audio, still or digital video, they produce unbelievably high quality content.

ORB

Orb Networks, which has been offering low cost but usually very difficult to use Internet enabled TV devices for a few years has released Internet TV streaming software for PlayStation 3 players and Blue Ray players that have Internet connectivity. The new CD-based application (only $20) really does make it easy and affordable for consumers to watch thousands of online TV shows and movies from Hulu, HuluPlus, NetFlix, Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, Comedy Central and more on any TV. The new Orb BR (Blu-ray) software works with an Internet- connected PS3, and is easily controlled through a smart device app that becomes your remote control. The application works on a (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android phone, Android tablet. If you have a notebook or Netbook computer near your TV, you can also use that to change channels. The application, which loads easily when you put the CD in your PS3 or Blue Ray player, offers a simple and cost-effective way to enter the new world of connected TV without buying or installing any new hardware. With Orb BR, consumers can stream more than online content, including anything that’s on their PC — downloaded DivX/XviD files, home movies, photos and more. Orb BR even allows users to stream their iTunes library through their Home Theatre sound system.

The Tablet with best performance and value

The IPad remains the most overrated and overpriced of the current crop of Tablets and the Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom have yet to drop in price enough for the average consumer despite their terrific performance. That’s why we recommend the Dell Streak 7 inch WiFi only tablet.
Priced about the same as budget models from Coby and Archos, the Streak is one of the fastest tablets we’ve used and the screen is so sharp that we’ve enjoyed both downloaded videos as well as streaming video from SlingBox.

Some industry wags have criticized the unit because it uses full size SD cards, but we found that a positive because they are easier to handle than micro SDs. While some of the free content is a bit baffling (just like in Dell’s award winning new notebook computer, see below), we found that the most popular book reading Apps like Nook and Kindle and digital music and camera features were way better than the IPad.

The Notebook Computer with best performance and value

Dell, which was surpassed by HP and others the last few years in computer sales and especially in customer service, really bounced back this year by offering a thoroughly equipped notebook PC, the Inspiron R series.

From its Pro video sounding SRS (high end audio technology based speakers to its super fast graphics and video processor, this notebook outperformed our Macs and more than matched the Sony Vaio and other top multimedia based laptops. While a bit over the top with some Microsoft software add-ons (the device talks you through your actions and, instead of a bell when you have made a mistake, it actually tells you what to do), the R series also comes with some eye catching exchangeable lids/covers.

Depending on your configuration, it uses a 2nd generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options and up to 8GB of memory. It weighs less than five pounds for the smallest model and includes a 6-cell battery with a 9-cell battery option. It also features Intel Wireless Display technology for wireless projection of full 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound to your home theater and has support for Blu-ray 3D movie playback when equipped with the optional Blu-ray drive and connected to your 3D TV (HDMI 1.4 required). I’ve seen some of these selling for under $550 at Costco and BJs.

Is it Vizio vs. the rest of the world in TVs and Blue Ray Players?

Not quite yet. Vizio has won the TV sales race lately with a combination of excellent outsourcing of its hardware and software and customization of certain parts for its full line of TVs. Now this audio/video maker has launched a bevy of Blue-ray players and audio accessories with incredible pricing. However, the former big TV makers aren’t taking a back seat to this upstart CE maker anymore. They’ve lowered prices in LCD and plasma models and also expanded the use of Internet enabled TV models.

Here are our top picks from people who have purchased these TVs and have been very satisfied.

• JVC LT-46P510
• Samsung UN55C6500
• Vizio XVT553SV Tru-LED
• LG 47LV5500
• Sony Bravia KDL-40EX500
• Panasonic Viera TC-P50S30 (Plasma)
• Samsung PN51D450 (Plasma)
• Sony Bravia XBR-55HX929 (3D)
• Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 (3D)

As for Blue-ray players, we’ve purchased a $99 Vizio and a $200 Samsung (both with wifi and Internet Apps) – both booted up pretty quickly and both delivered really nice audio. So why pay more?

Internet enabled TV set top boxes

If you have TV that’s more than one year old (like most of us) but want some of the features and applications that the new Internet enabled TVs and Blu-ray players have, check these out: both Roku I and II and Logitech (Google TV) Revue are terrific, reasonably priced choices to make your older TV into an Internet enabled TV with steaming services, like Netflix, VooDoo, Amazon and my favorite audio services like Tune-In Radio and Pandora. The main difference is that the Logitech unit has some decent browsing capabilities and the Rokus seem to have 100s of very interesting but obscure TV sites.

Useful Upgrades

If you are like me, you want to take your favorite digital music, pictures and videos with you, no matter what mobile device you are switching from or too. While some replacement and original equipment SD cards and the hot micro SD cards can serve most purposes to store and play your content, we found that New Jersey-based PNY Co. makes reliable, sturdy and very fast storage cards and chips that help to bring out the best in digital content whether you are using a mobile phone, Tablet or just a plain multimedia player or even set top box.

Favorite Printer

I am fickle here because each season the top consumer printer makers seem to come out with one more feature that outdoes the rest. This year, it’s definitely Epson, the venerable printer company which recently introduced the Epson Workforce 635, an under $220 multifunction printer, scanner and fax that produces laser like color and speed. More importantly, all its features are very easy to use.

Bytes and non-digital pieces

At recent fall preview gift guide shows, there were some terrific products that I am already enjoying. Here are some of my top choices in the non high tech category:

• Soda Stream makes tap water into seltzer and soft drinks in under 30 seconds. You can customize the soda to your own taste, using more or less of the flavorings. There are no bottles to recycle as the included specially designed bottles last about two years.
  
• Got some smokers living next door? How about that melon you didn’t throw out in time? Humanscale’s ZŌN Personal Air Purifier really works. Its patented technology surrounds the user in a bubble of air that’s free of pollutants, dust and biological contaminants while boasting silent, breeze-free and ozone-free operation. A much-needed solution for improving indoor air quality, the Energy Star certified ZŌN removes more than 99 percent of airborne particles of all sizes for the cleanest possible air.