Canon EOS-1D Mark II 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
by Canon Cameras US
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $6,499.99 -- our price: Too Low To Display
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Canon's EOS-1D Mark II (successor to the original EOS-1D) is the ultimate professional digital SLR. Nearly doubling its predecessor's resolution to 8.2 megapixels, it also offers an improved shooting buffer for continuous shooting 8.5 frames per second at full resolution--making it the world's fastest digital SLR (as of January, 2004). It also features a faster DIGIC II imaging engine, a rugged yet lightweight weather-resistant magnesium alloy construction, capability for custom and personal presets, and dual storage slots for CompactFlash and Secure Digital cards.

Optics and Resolution
Canon's newly developed single-plate CMOS sensor with 8-channel reading technology delivers exceptional image quality, with approximately 8.2 million effective pixels (8.5 million total pixels) and a generous 28.7 x 19.1mm image size. The sensor's 3:2 aspect ratio is the same as in 35mm cameras, and the sensor's large size realizes an effective angle of view that's just 1.3 times the focal length indicated on Canon EF lenses. It features 3504 x 2336, 3104 x 2072, 2544 x 1696, and 1728 x 1152 pixel resolution settings.

A new on-chip noise elimination circuit eradicates fixed pattern and random noise. A low-pass filter placed in front of the sensor reduces false color and moire effects, while the infrared filter suppresses red fringing caused by sensor reflections and fog.

RAW processing
New Digital Photo Professional image processing software is provided for high-speed processing of lossless RAW files. It enables real-time display and immediate application of adjustments to images and includes a wide array of RAW, TIFF, or JPEG image editing functions, which give control over variables such as white balance, dynamic range, exposure compensation and color tone. It supports sRGB, Adobe RGB, and Wide Gamut RGB color spaces.

Digic II Imaging Processor
Canon's newly developed, state-of-the-art DIGIC II imaging engine achieves super high speed processing that results in continuous shooting of 8.2-megapixel images at 8.5 fps in maximum bursts of 40 (JPEG format) or 20 (RAW format) shots. By handling larger volumes of image data, DIGIC II also contributes to lower power consumption: up to about 1,200 shots can be taken on a full battery at 20 degrees C, or around 800 shots at 0 degrees C.

More Features
The new 230,000-pixel, 2.0-inch color TFT LCD offers nearly twice the resolution of monitors on other EOS digital models, nearly 100% coverage of JPEG images, and a new bolder typeface that simplifies reading of text menus. Photos displayed on the LCD monitor can be magnified from 1.5X to 10X in 15 increments, allowing you to check the focus and exposure of images with high precision.

You can easily tailor the EOS-1D MARK II to meet your own specialized needs:

• 21 Custom Functions with 67 settings include the removal of the ISO speed extension setting to the ISO speed extension menu, the addition of new E-TTL averaged autoflash metering, and the inclusion of AI Servo continuous shooting, which was previously a Personal Function.
• 25 Personal Functions can be installed in the camera at any time, via driver software, to meet high-level customization needs. New features include the ability to append data for data verification and the ability to apply the Quick Control Dial's ON/OFF switch to the Main Dial to prevent accidental changes to settings when shooting remotely with EOS Capture.

Other features include:

• Images can be recorded in the JPEG image format, the RAW image format, or both formats simultaneously.
• Seven Color Matrix settings are provided for JPEG and RAW images, including five factory presets that were previously available and two new settings that allow independent user adjustment of color space, color saturation, and color tone within a prescribed range.
• ISO speeds are selectable in 1/3 increments (100-1600) and may be set as low as 50 or as high as 3200 through the ISO extension menu.
• It offers 10 selectable white balance modes and a new WB Compensation function, which allows adjustment of blue/amber and magenta/green biases in +/-9 steps, as well as combined use of light-balancing (LB) and color-correction (CC) equivalent digital color filters.
• Canon's improved Evaluative Through-The-Lens (E-TTL) Autoflash system offers new averaged metering in addition to the evaluative metering available on other EOS models.
• Designed as a serious tool for professionals, the EOS-1D MARK II offers rigid magnesium alloy in the chassis and external covers (top, front, rear and memory card slot cover).

Lens Compatibility
Canon's lineup of professional EF lenses--including over 50 models ranging from 14mm ultra-wide-angle to 1,200mm super-telephoto--are compatible with the new EOS-1D Mark II (except the EF-S line). Canon's sophisticated electronic lens mount technology communicates with the camera as soon as the lens is mounted to transfer information about the lens, such as its type, f-number and focal length, thus enabling faster, more precise control from the camera.

EF lenses offer professional capabilities that meet wide-ranging needs, including such features as an Ultrasonic Motor that silently drives the autofocus mechanism with very high precision, an Image Stabilizer that automatically compensates for camera shake via microcomputer, advanced aspherical optics, fluorite lenses, Ultra Low Dispersion (UD) lenses, and Super UD lenses.

Storage and Transfer
The EOS-1D Mark II offers support for both CompactFlash Type I and II (making it MicroDrive compatible) and Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. Images can be recorded on a CompactFlash card or SD memory card alone; on both cards at the same time as a safeguard against losing important data; or on both cards, one at a time, to maximize storage capacity. It connects to PCs and Macs via FireWire (also referred to as IEEE1394, or i.Link) and USB 1.1 (which activates PictBridge printing capabilities).

Power and Size
The camera is powered by a rechargeable NiMH (nickel metal hydride) battery pack (NP-E3, included); it also requires one CR2025 for date and time settings. It measures 6.1 x 6.2 x 3.1 inches and weighs 43 ounces (camera body only without batteries; battery adds 11.8 ounces).

What's in the Box
This package includes the EOS-1D Mark II digital SLR camera body, rechargeable NiMH battery (NP-E3), AC adapter (DCK-E1), CR2025 battery, and USB and FireWire (IEEE1394) cables. The CD-ROM includes EOS Viewer Utility software for faster image preview, and Digital Photo Professional software for high-speed processing and handling of RAW images. It is compatible with over 60 Canon EF lenses (excluding EF-S lens) and the entire Canon EX series Speedlite flash range. ... Read more

Features

• Supports both CompactFlash Type I and II and Secure Digital (SD) memory cards
• Powered by rechargeable NiMH battery pack; connects to PCs and Macs via FireWire and USB 1.1
• 8.2-megapixel CMOS sensor--3:2 aspect ratio the same as in 35mm cameras
• Compatible with Canon professional EF lenses (except the EF-S line)
• Continuous shooting 8.5 frames per second at full resolution; rugged, weather-resistant magnesium alloy

Reviews (6)

Best (compromise for an) Exploration Camera
I had been waiting 3 years for any manufacturer to market a camera similar in specification to the Canon EOS1. As exploration Health, Safety & Environment advisor, work takes me to middle of the desert or the oceans. The wait was for 35mm film quality, with speed of picture taking (5 frames per second is barely enough to capture dolphins - hence the 8 + fps of the EOS 1 was desired). There was a parallel wait for an Image Stabilised 28-300 zoom lens.

Let's cut the story short. If I want a camera to bring on holiday, it would not be this one - the battery and charger are too heavy and bulky; instead I would choose the EOS20D without hesitation.

But having hundreds of failed 35mm film frames I decided not to wait any longer but to buy the EOS1D Mark II because the 1Ds Mark II is not fast enough at 4 frames a second.

With 35mm cameras, after a few seconds on the shooting, I would have to run back inside to the cabin (of a ship) to change film. If there is large enough memory card in the EOS1DII, there is no need. This camera is built with seals against the environment (and so does the 28-300mm lens). Instead of being scared of running out of film, now it is easy to keep the shutter button pressed while panning (and hoping) the dolphins do their jumps into the air.

With the 28-300mm lens attached, there is no need to change lenses either. Dolphins riding the bow wave of the ship could be captured at 28mm while those further away could be caught with 300mm setting.

It is a disappointment that the battery is not LiOn but the older NiMH. But as with any photo gear requiring a battery it is wise to have a spare, whatever the substance. I just wish Canon package a small travel size charger instead of the standard one which is very bulky. It has connections for two batteries (yet it could only charge one following the other) but most people would be happy using one battery while the other one is being charged. You just try to convince some airport officials to let you on the plane with the above kit, binoculars, laptop, mobile phone, GPS.......ext. hard disk....as hand luggage.

For work, I am committed and therefore bear the weight and troubles of hauling the hardware. But for holidays, I would choose the EOS20D with built-in flash because who would want to lug around 3 kilos all day plus flash gun and possibly a tripod?

The camera gets 4.5 stars but the battery and charger lets it down. Why just 4.5 stars ? One of the beauties I had thought with digital SLR was not having to do anything in processing, just transfer the images to the computer. Wrong. The .jpg straight out of the camera is not sharp enough. Post processing is required. Why ? Why is that necessary when the Canon S60 (which I use for different assignments (with underwater housing)) doesn't need to ? That defeats the point of having a .jpg file at 5.5 Meg when the 1.5 Meg of the S60 looks sharper straight out of the camera ? Still, there is RAW if the standard output is not suficient.

Incidentally, the EOS1DsII also produces 5.5 Meg .jpg and those also require post processing. For those of us who are not interested in working longer than necessary (me) 16.7 Million Pixels would seem a bit wasted.

I am still waiting for the camera which produces sharp .jpg files in-camera without having to post process, and can shoot at 8+ fps with a sensor size equivalent to 35mm film. Meantime I shall have to learn to shoot with RAW files and post process.

Also incidentally, the sensor size of the EOS20D is smaller, which means although itself is lighter than the EOS1D series camera, having to carry around an extrawide lens is not my idea of fun on holiday. The magnification ratio for the EOS1DII is 1.3 whereas the EOS20D is 1.6. This means I could still travel reasonably light (compromise) with the 1DII and 28-135mm IS lens attached. Sure it is possible to use stitching but that is more time spent at the computer and time is precious.

Any regrets ? None what-so-ever. It is state of the technology at the moment. Another benefit of using digital is that, it doesn't matter if you had been shooting ISO 100 all day. come the night if you want to shoot the rig with a moon as backdrop, just change to ISO 1600 without having to bother about "pushing2 the film in developing. It's a beauty when an IS L lens is attached. You'd need IS when there is machinery vibrations and the ship is moving with the swell ! Good job Canon. Now you need to shoe horn in a more capable CPU (to process the images in-camera), fit the 1DsII sensor into this one or this motordrive into the 1DsII and you may persuade me to part with more cash.

Series 1 from Canon, Enough Said!!
I just upgraded from a 20D, and the speed just blows the 20D out of the way!! Image quality runs about the same for both cameras since they're both 8.2MP, but how the camera gets you those images is simply amazing. Fastest shutter out there, low noise, consistent color, spot metering, multiple spot metering, weather sealing, the list goes on and on!! This camera demands the best glass, but you won't be sorry.

If your serious about photography in any field, this camera won't disappoint!! A bit pricey, but believe me, it's worth every penny!!!!

THE BEST DIGITAL
eos-1d mark II digital this camerai use two months a little hardto use because it has a lot of things.
i am not a proffecianalbut i liked very much
the pictures is the best like any camera i had. ... Read more

Asin: B0001G112O
Subjects:  1. Digital Camera (Cameras)    2. Photograph (Photography)   

Apple 1 GB iPod Shuffle M9725LL/A
by Apple Computer
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $149.99 -- our price: $149.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Features

• Compatible with Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later (Mac OS X 10.3.4 or later recommended for use with low-power USB ports) and Windows 2000 with SP 4 or Windows XP Home or Professional with SP 2
• Earbud headphones, lanyard, and USB cap included
• 1 GB model holds up to 240 songs; supports MP3, MP3 VBR, AAC, Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store, M4A, M4B, M4P), and WAV
• Up to 12 hours of battery life, with approximately 4 hour charge time
• USB 1.1 and 2.0 compatibility through integrated USB connector

Reviews (139)

ITunes suck, but you don't need it.
The player is great. I never used iTunes, but as far as I'm concerned I'll nerver have to. I hated my previous sony mp3 player because the softwere had, just like iTunes, a lot of copyright bouls***t.
When I won my shuffle as a gift, I was really supicios that I would have the same problems with iTunes. I use win98 and, as a music fan, I love winamp: it's light, fast, practical... THE FACT IS: SHUFFLE WORKS IN WINAMP AND WIN98. All you gotta do is download the win98 driver and the winamp plugin. And the best part is, it works great! All you gotta do is select the songs you want form the library, right-click and "send to ipod" (winamp is the greatest!!!) It's realible, doesn't have any copyright bouls***t and its fast. I use standard usb, and it takes about 15 min to upload 1GB.

The ipod itself is great.
+ : Practical, cool, very very light, no unnecessery cables, fine sound quality.
- : None.

Waht I think about the lack of display:
Some people think the lack of display is due economical factors. In my opinion it was a desing decision. Ipod shuffle is the best looking mp3 player on the market and a display would compromise significantly its looks. As a music fan, I know the name of all my songs, so i don't need a dyspaly to inform me that. The problem of finding a specific song can be solved by loading your songs in alphabetical order.

I love it!
I needed something that would allow me to listen to music at the gym (since I workout 6 days/week). I looked at the other options, the Shuffle fit the bill. I was originally going to get the 512mb version but opted for the 1gb model since it's not much more.

Pros:
-This thing is tiny, not much bigger than the USB thumb drives I use.
-No moving parts means no skipping while I'm on the treadmill.
-Very easy to use and install (took several minutes). The shuffle I purchased needed an update to Itunes, which was a quick download.
-Ready to use out of the box. Includes the Shuffle, headphones, 2 sets of pads, some Apple stickers, manual, CD all in a very bright green box.

Cons:
-Small enough so you don't know it's there, gotta be careful not to sit on it.

A lot of folks seem to be concerted about the lack of a screen. If I'm working out I don't need a screen. No reason to complain about lack of a screen if you look at it and see THERE IS NO SCREEN. Buy one of the other models if you need a screen.

When you register it you'll be required to enter the serial number. It's located on the Ipod itself and is tiny but it is also on the bottom of the box next to the barcodes and is much easier to read. I've seen (on other sites) people complaining about the side of the serial number on the unit. You now know that it is on the box. :)

After you install it it will need to charge, so don't plan on using it immediately.

Great iPod Alternative For Athletes Or Kids
Great for jogging, and makes the display surprisingly unnecessary. A solid, cheap, and durable alternative for kids who might not take the necessary care with a hard-drive based iPod.

(...) ... Read more

Asin: B0002ZAIM8
Sales Rank: 133
Subjects:  1. MP3 Player (MP 3)    2. Digital Audio Receivers (Stereo)    3. Gigabyte    4. 5GB    5. 5 GB    6. Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple    7. Portable Audio    8. MP3 MP 3 Player    9. Jukebox   

Maxtor A01A250 OneTouch 7200 RPM 250 GB External Hard Drive
by Maxtor
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $349.99
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Features

• Compatible with Windows 98SE, Me, 2000 Professional, XP, or Mac OS 9.1 or later, Mac OS X 10.1.2-10.1.5; 10.2.4 or later
• 250 GB storage capacity
• 7,200 RPM
• FireWire and USB 2.0 interface
• 8 MB buffer

Reviews (31)

Good device, but go with the OneTouch II with larger cache.
I have had two of these drives for over one year now, and they work flawlessly. I've tested with both USB 2 and FireWire. They are quiet and fast.

There is some great practical advice in some of the other reviews listed here, especially those regarding formatting the drive. Take the time to read those.

One thing that was not pointed out is that the power supply works globally, so you can take this with you if you travel between continents.

All this being said, at this point I would recommend going with the OneTouch II, with a larger memory cache (16 MB total). The 300 GB version of the Maxtor OneTouch II now spins at 7200 RPM (the OneTouch I 300 GB version spins at 5400 RPM), and the price per GB is lowest with this. I'll soon be looking to order another OneTouch device, and I'm hoping for even greater capacity than 300 GB when I'm in need of more space.

Second Maxtor Drive Fails
I bought a Maxtor One Touch I 200-GB drive 6 months ago.It failed completely after 4 months and I lost all my backup data, including original data not stored on my computer.

The error message read that the drive was "...not accessible.The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error."

OK, nobody's perfect.So I bought another one, this time a 250GB Model II. After 3 months,same error message, this time for one of my major folders on the drive.Data not recoverable.

Unbelievable.And I now something about hard disk drives since I work for a major storage vendor.

The Dantz backup software is very good.It means nothing, tho, if the hardware fails.

Click Click Click goes the Maxtor
I had my external Maxtor for about a year (160
GB Maxtor one touch). Now it is having read errors and I lost some data and photos. I have owned internal drives for over 8 years with no problems. Anyhow, I'm going to try a Seagate external nowbecause I like the convenience of external drives.I recommend that you Buy a Seagate!
Also customer support has a firm policy of not replacing drives after warranty which is when it will fail. So, unless you plan to use this for only 12 months, don't buy it. My posting here will give me $250 worth of satisfaction and perhaps much, much more in lost sales. They claim it's "Hot Swappable" above, well that IS TRUE...It runs very hot and you swap it after a few months with another brand. ... Read more

Asin: B0000AZW8M
Sales Rank: 7549
Subjects:  1. Hard Drives (Drive)    2. External    3. Firewire   

Garmin Talking StreetPilot III GPS Deluxe Package
by Garmin
Average Customer Review:
Electronics (22 July, 2002)
list price: $799.99
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

You don't need to buy a luxury car or spend thousands installing a multipart system to get advanced GPS navigation capabilities in your automobile. Garmin's StreetPilot III delivers all the high-end features you need--from detailed street maps and sophisticated auto routing to voice prompts and a color screen--in a compact, inexpensive, and portable package.

The Garmin StreetPilot III sports a brilliant LCD display

Setting up the unit was surprisingly simple. First we installed the software from the MapSource City Navigator CD onto our PC and connected the card reader, with the 32 MB data card, to the USB port. Then we went online to unlock one of 10 detailed coverage areas included on the disk; for instance, Area 1 covers California and Nevada, Area 7 covers New England and New York. After that we downloaded detailed maps of our city (San Francisco) and surrounding areas to the data card. We also downloaded waypoints--locations like our home, office, and other places we often visit--onto the card and inserted it into the StreetPilot III. If you don't have a USB port, you can also use the included serial cable to connect the entire unit to your PC.

The physical installation went just as smoothly. We affixed the plastic base to the top of our dashboard with the included adhesive mounting disks, snapped the StreetPilot III into place, connected it to the cigarette lighter for power, and extended the small fold-down antenna. The dashboard mount's quick release makes it easy to store the StreetPilot III when not in use or, if you purchase a second mount, lets you use it in multiple vehicles.

We turned the unit on and in less than a minute it locked onto the GPS satellites and displayed a map of our current location on the clear, bright, easy-to-read color display. As we drove along, it displayed our position and direction on the map, the name and address number of the street we were on, and even the name of the upcoming cross street. The two zoom buttons let us get a very detailed street-level view or a broad overview of our current position, and the menu button allowed us to customize the display.

By using the ‘find’ key, points of interest such as attractions, restaurants, banks, intersections and many more are easily located and routed to. Simply choose the destination from the list and press ‘route to it’. The Streetpilot III will calculate the best route and talk you through to the destination. The crisp, colorful LCD makes checking out your destination easy--even before you leave! This screen displays your possible destination of the St. Louis Zoo as well as local restaurants and emergency medical locations. It’s easy to become familiar with services provided even when you’re 244.1 miles away. Try that with a paper map!

The trip computer screen calculates all the travel data for your trip with incredible accuracy, while verbal instructions inform you of the next turn. Valuable information like distance to destination and time to destination are constantly updated--perhaps even putting an end to the question ‘are we there yet?’ Routes can be displayed several ways such as this turn by turn instruction screen, which highlights your next turn to make. The distance to go and time to go information gives driver’s the forewarning and confidence to watch for the approaching turn. The smooth verbal instructions will let you know when the next turn is approaching.

The fun really started, though, when we used the StreetPilot's routing capabilities. Using the arrow buttons, we input the intersection of a store we'd never visited, and within a minute it calculated the most direct route. The voice navigator told us where to go and when to turn, and it was simple to monitor our progress both on the map and on the text display. We knew the exact address of our next stop and entered it into the unit. The StreetPilot then guided us onto the freeway and successfully to our second destination, telling us exactly where to stop along the street and even on which side of the street the store was located. To get home, we just accessed a waypoint with our home address that we'd preprogrammed on the PC.

Even if you don't know exactly where you're going, the City Navigator maps include points of interest, such as restaurants, shops, and parks. For instance, the StreetPilot can find the closest fast-food restaurant and present you with a list of nearby options.

Testing in San Francisco, we did lose satellite lock a few times in extremely hilly areas or in areas with very tall buildings. We think this was due mainly to the fact that the unit's antenna is inside the car; an external antenna option is available for less than $100 that should solve the problem.

Once you use the StreetPilot III for a while, it's hard to imagine driving solo again. Whether you're planning a road trip or just need help getting around town, it's an extremely helpful companion that's cheaper and easier to install than anything else currently available. --Ken Feinstein

Pros:

• Compact, portable design
• Easy-to-read color screen
• Auto routing and voice prompts

Cons:

• Optional external antenna will get better satellite reception in some cities than the built-in antenna

Note about review: This review was written using the original version of the Garmin StreetPilot III. The deluxe version includes a 128 MB data card and full unlock access to all maps on the City Navigator CD-ROM.

What's in the Box
StreetPilot III with portable antenna, PC interface cable, dashboard mount, portable Mount (bean bag mount), external speaker with 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter, owner's manual, quick reference guide, USB data card programmer, Americas Autoroute Basemap, MapSource City Navigator North America CD. ... Read more

Features

• 16-color display with backlight for dim lighting
• Compatible with optional Garmin MapSource software for downloading maps and waypoint data
• GPS receiver with turn-by-turn navigation
• Includes MapSource City Navigator CD-ROM with street-level maps and points of interest; full unlock capability for US and Canada
• Automated voice prompts tell you when to turn

Reviews (77)

Nice, but a bit confusing
My first GPS was a very old style that gave you longitude and latitude only.No roads.No water.Nothing.So the jump to the SP III was a big one.

Had to struggle a bit to download the info (updated from the website) onto the unit.Tough for this first timer to get the hang of it initially, though it gets easier with time.Working with the unit alone is a bit more complicated as naming waypoints and such can take a bit of doing using the toggle switches.But again, I'm still new at this and am looking forward to working with it a lot more in the near future.

My plan is to use it to have a constant knowledge of the location of gas stations between my home outside Philadelphia, and Sturgis SD for my motorcycle trip out there in August.I'm attempting to complete the 1,700+ mile ride in under two days and will need to stretch out my gas stops as much as I can.It's currently mounted on the dash of the bike for me to get used to it and play with its functions during my daily commute.

I agree with others regarding its unnecessary rerouting when I've never strayed off course.Strangely, it even gives different directions although I don't change the route I take on a daily basis.Rerouting calculation takes a bit, but I seem to remember that the calculation time can be adjusted through the menu.Unfortunately, it also continually gives me a slower route than the one I know is faster even though it's set for highway use and the fastest time.Perhaps I can adjust the pre-set surface street and highway speeds to get it to work more appropriately.Less than 5% of the time, the crossroad names are incorrect.

My other issue is the interference the unit seems to be getting from time to time from my satellite radio that's mounted on the handlebar less than a foot away from the dash-mounted GPS.

I thought this GPS would be able to take me right to where I wanted to be, using the most efficient route, ALL BY ITSELF.If I have to set up specific waypoints on a specific route in order to get it to follow what I know is the fastest way, the unit is of no value to me.The only good point is that I didn't pay over $500 for it.

Garmin StreetPilot III: A driver's best friend.
I admit it. When driving, I used to get lost...all the time. That was before I bought Garmin's StreetPilot III Deluxe. With this amazing portable GPS (Global Positioning System), now I never get lost and you won't either. With its crystal clear voice prompts and colorful, easy-to-read, non-reflective display screen, it will deliver joyful, stress-free driving.

The StreetPilot III gives you clear, automated voice instructions, alerting you to necessary turns, distance to upcoming turns, and distance to final destination. In addition, the map page also displays your current direction, speed, and even counts down the seconds to your next turn. The GPS receiver continuously tracks and uses up to 12 satellites to compute and update your position every second. With downloaded maps from the included "MapSource" CD-ROM, you get comprehensive, street-level detail. There is no Internet access required and no service charges and monthly fees.

Just enter an address, intersection or point of interest using the rocker keypad, and the StreetPilot III automatically calculates a route and provides turn-by-turn directions to that location. If you accidentally, miss a turn, don't worry; the unit automatically recalculates the route to get you back on track. It also can store up to 500 locations of your choosing called, "waypoints".

The screen's map scale allows you to zoom in 900 feet or zoom out to 6,100 miles! The screen color actually changes at sunset from a daytime mode to a nighttime mode.

The one flaw with the unit is that you have to enter in a specific street number to an address in order to route it. It won't calculate the route without the street number. Fortunately, most addresses do have street numbers.

I recommend buying the Deluxe version because it includes the following:

* 128 mb datacard (instead of standard 32 mb datacard).

* Full "unlock" access to all maps contained on the CD, which is virtually of all of North America.

* Beanbag mount. This great accessory secures the StreetPilot onto a non-slip, portable, support base which allows you to securely place the unit on top of your dashboard without slipping or moving. The StreetPilot literally locks securely onto the "beanbag" mount. While locked in place, the StreetPilot can also tilt and rotate.


INSTALLATION:
First install the "MapSource" CD-ROM software into your computer. It's easy; just load the CD-ROM in the drive and sit back. When prompted, enter a custom code that has been included in the box. This code "unlocks" all areas of coverage within the United States and Canada. No additional unlocks are required.

Once you've downloaded the software into your computer, a map of North America appears in a window. You zoom way into the land areas you'll eventually want your StreetPilot to cover. Land areas are separated into quadrants of varying size. Each quadrant uses a specific amount of ram depending on the complexity of the roadways within it. As you tap on each quadrant, the program instantly lets you know exactly how much ram it consumes. At the same time, it instantly updates the total, letting you know how much of the 128 mb of total ram you've used.

The 128 mb of ram that's included in the Deluxe version, is enough to include all the roadways within numerous states. For example, I was able to save onto the StreetPilot, all of NYC, Long Island, Connecticut and most of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and almost half of New York and New Jersey.

Once you've chosen your coverage, you now transfer this information from your computer to the 128mb data card included with your StreetPilot III deluxe. Simply connect the included "USB data card programmer" cable (like a smart card reader) to a USB port on your hard drive, push the tiny data card into the other end of the programmer and it transfers all the information from your computer to the data card. Remove the data card from the progammer and slip it right into the bottom of the StreetPilot. Your done!

"POINTS OF INTEREST":
In addition to addresses, the StreetPilot III also routes to specific "points of interest". Within each point of interest, are many categories. Within each category, you will find a multitude of establishments within close proximity of your location. The StreetPilot will even give you the distance from your present location to each establishment. Once chosen, it will route you to that specific establishment. The following is the complete list of the points of interest with their respective categories:

FOOD & DRINK - American, Asian, Barbeque, Chinese, Deli/Bakery, International, Fast Food, Italian, Mexican, Seafood, Steak/Grill, French, German, British Isles, Specialty Food Products, Other

LODGING - Hotel/Motel, Campground/RV Park,

ATTRACTIONS - Amusement/Theme Park, Museum/Historical, Library, Landmark, School, Park/Garden, Arena/Track, Hall/Auditorium, Winery, Place of Worship

ENTERTAINMENT - Live Theater, Bar/Nightclub, Movie Theater, Casino, Golf Course, Skiing Center/Resort, Bowling Center, Sports/Fitness Center

SHOPPING - Department, Grocery, General Merchandise, Shopping Center, Pharmacy/Chemist, Convenience, Apparel, House and Garden, Home Furnishings, Specialty Retail, Computer/Software

SERVICES - Auto Fuel, Auto Repair, Post Office, Bank/ATM, Dealer/Auto Parts, Marina/Boat Repair and Storage, Wrecker Service, Parking, Rest Area/Tourist Info, Automobile Club, Car Wash, GARMIN Dealer, Personal Service, Business Service, Communications, Repair Service, Social Service, Utility, Truck Stop, Other

TRANSPORTATION - Auto Rental, Air Transportation, Ground Transportation, Transit Service

EMERGENCY & GOVERNMENT - Police Station, Hospital, City Hall, Court House, Community Center, Border Crossing, Government Office, Fire Department




COST: I paid $740.00 plus $18.00 for shipping & insurance. (Mfg. Part No : 010-00232-10). At the time this is written, you can buy it from www.ecost.com for $739.99 plus shipping. It seems like a lot to pay, but compared to the cost of built-in GPS systems, it's significantly less expensive. Plus since it's portable, you can transfer it to any vehicle.

SUGGESTIONS:
I recommend NOT buying the eternal antenna unless you find that you absolutely need it. Initially, I read that sometimes the GPS unit may lose reception with the satellites, but so far, it hasn't. FYI: If you do find you need it, keep in mind that it conveniently magnetizes to to the top of your vehicle's roof.

Also, I bought (and then quickly returned) the Garmin carrying case. It's WAY too small. So small, in fact, that you almost have to stuff the unit into it. There's no room for the external speaker/12-volt cigarette lighter adapter.


The DELUXE package includes:
* StreetPilot III with portable antenna
* PC interface cable
* Dashboard mount
* Portable Mount (bean bag mount)
* External speaker with 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter
* Owner's manual
* Quick reference guide
* 128 MB datacard
* USB data card programmer
* MapSource North America City Navigator v4.01 CD
.Voice: Navigation instructions and warnings
.Waypoints: 500 with name and graphic symbol
.Track log: 2000 track log points
.Trip computer: Resettable odometer, timers, average and maximum speeds


FEATURES:
Basemap: Includes oceans, lakes, rivers, airports, cities, interstates or major motorways, principal and major thoroughfares, political boundaries, federal interstate highway exit information for services such as food, lodging and truck, RV and automotive service stations (U.S. only).

GPS Accuracy: Position: Less than 15 meters

Antenna: Detachable with standard BNC-type connector

Physical:
Size: 3.2H x 6.8W x 2.6D inches (8.0 x 17.3 x 6.5 cm)
Weight: 1.4 pounds (635 g)

Display:
3.4W x 1.8H inches (8.6 x 4.5 cm)
305 x 160 pixels, high contrast
16-color LCD with backlighting

Case: Rugged; fully gasketed

Power Source: 6 AA batteries or 12-volt adapter cable
Battery life: 2 to 20 hours based on backlight setting

*Update (May 8, 2003): My unit's external speaker with 12-volt cigarette lighter adapter cable was malfunctioning. After contacting Garmin, they immediately replaced the cable with a brand new one. No muss, no fuss. Garmin rates high in customer satisfaction.

Piece of s.......
I like electronic things that work.That is usually the measure of if it is worthwhile or not.This thing doesn't work.

1)Installation.The install wizzard immediately starts off with a suggestion to update your software.But you can't update the software because the wizard doesn't find any software installed.

2) The USB drivers that come with the unit don't work.The unit won't recognize it's own USB drive even though it is installed. You have to download the updated USB drivers after searching the garmin web site.

3) The unlock wizard fails with the initial installation. Tells you to reinstall the .dll.After 3 attempts, found a hidden link on the Garmin web page to update MapSource software to v6.5.

4) Saved maps, inserted batteries, plugged the unit in.A brief flash on the screen then nothing. Dead.Black screen.
Removed batteries, reset connections, reset memory card.Nothing.Unit won't even flash.

Save the money. Buy a Thomas Bros. Map book.It will be much more reliable. ... Read more

Asin: B000066TPN
Subjects:  1. Street Pilot, Street Pilot III Deluxe    2. 3, three, garmen    3. Global Positioning System    4. Vehicle Navigation, Receiver    5. GPS (Global Positioning System)    6. Units    7. map (mapping)    8. navigation   

Garmin Forerunner 201 Wrist-Mounted GPS Personal Training Device
by Garmin
Average Customer Review:
Electronics (10 November, 2003)
list price: $167.99 -- our price: Too Low To Display
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Combining powerful performance-tracking features with a GPS receiver, the Garmin Forerunner 201 offers runners and hikers a unique way to track their exercise regimens and goals. Unlike Timex's BodyLink sport monitoring system, its main competitor, the Forerunner 201 integrates the GPS receiver into a single body (BodyLink has separate housings for watch and GPS).

At first, the device felt a little bulky on my wrist, both in weight and in size (it measures 3.26 by 1.71 by 0.69 inches). But it really is light enough (less than 3 ounces) so that it felt comfortable and transparent. I did, however, position the band a bit higher up my arm to ensure full mobility of my wrist, as the length of the Forerunner tended to get in its way.

The large display--with equally large, easy-to-read characters--helps you avoid having to squint at the readout. Just a quick glance at your numbers and you'll maintain your training concentration. The six rubber buttons on the front of the chassis are easy to access (unless you're wearing bulky gloves). I easily got the promised 13 hours out of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery. At the end of the day, I'd just recharge it for around two hours and it would be ready for me the next morning.

While this is definitely a workable GPS receiver, the Forerunner is slim on overall GPS features--which is not to its detriment (think of it as a performance monitor with a dash of GPS). That said, the Forerunner was able to pick up a GPS signal just about wherever I went outside (though it had very slight hiccups in the center of downtown). But if you're looking for a full-fledged tracking device, the Forerunner isn't for you. (You'll want to start with a basic GPS unit like Garmin's eTrex.)

The Forerunner 201 has a variety of helpful tracking, monitoring, and navigational features. The History function enables you to view your workout statistics broken down by individual days, cumulative weeks, or your entire workout history (if you track different workouts during the same day, they'll be broken out as different laps). You can even view a map of your route. And much like other GPS units, you can save "waypoints" (called "locations" in Forerunner parlance) to mark the coordinates of a place you want to return to later.

Auto Menu: Timer pauses when you stop running. Auto lap logs your performance over a predetermined distance. History: Review training history by day or week.

Map: Navigate back to the start or to a stored location. Virtual Partner: Set time, pace, and distance goals, and train with a "virtual partner."

Most interesting is the "Virtual Partner" mode, which enables you to set goals for a workout which will then be completed by a digital character displayed on the Forerunner's screen. You can then see how far off the time, pace, or distance you are of your virtual training buddy's; your digital character even stops when you do (though the buddy keeps on going). I found that, unless you've got a good idea as to your pace or distance, you'll have a couple of trial-and-error training sessions to get in sync with your buddy. I cut short my first attempt after my buddy got so far ahead of me that he disappeared off the screen (which I'd like to believe was not due to my woeful pace).

I was disappointed at not having the LogBook software, which enables you to keep a journal of your exercise activities (it was not available at the time of this test). But overall, the Forerunner 201 is a very useful exercise-monitoring system that will be prized by anyone involved in serious physical training. --Agen G.N. Schmitz

Pros:

• Loaded with performance-tracking features for the serious athlete
• GPS functionality a bonus, especially in referring back to previous routes
• Virtual Partner feature offers a fun, competitive way to keep you concentrated on training

Cons:

• Lack of Logbook software at time of test
• Virtual Partner feature takes some trial-and-error adjustments

... Read more

Features

• Stores lap times, distances, and calories burned
• Adjustable wristband and A/C desktop charger with PC interface
• Waterproof; includes serial PC interface
• Calculates precise speed, location, and altitude as you workout
• Integrated mapping functions display your progress on your favorite routes

Reviews (162)

All terrain, all weather!
This thing rocks. I just received mine and after a night of charging the battery, took it for a short run. Although the initial start-up took a while to find satellites (~10mins), once locked on, it never lost track and subsequent start-ups took less than two minutes.

Contrary to what many have said here, I ran in a full-blown rain storm (Northern Virginia), through a couple heavily forested park areas and, for 45 minutes, never once lost satellite reception. The pace (on the "more" setting), picked up my pace within the first tenth of a mile and only read funky after I paused at an intersection for a car that was gunning for me.

Because of the negative comments regarding reception, I almost went with one of the glorified pedometers sold by Nike/Polar. Thank goodness a friend at work talked me into trying the Garmin first. I have absolutely no complaints!

Forerunner 201:not as good as Fitsense FS-1
Here are some lessons distilled from my two-year experiment with the Fitsense FS-1 and one-week experience with the Garmin Forerunner 201.

The Fitsense and Garmin are based on entirely different premises, and therefore have entirely different strengths and weaknesses. The Fitsense works with moment-by-moment acceleration on the ground, through the mechanism of a food-pod accelerometer. When properly calibrated (and I'll talk about calibration in a moment), it can be very accurate. I've run 5 mile races and had it register 4.98 as I crossed the line. But its accuracy depends on many things: it varies with different terrain; with an increased or decreased stride rate (it implicitly encourages you to maintain a consistent stride rate; if you slow at the end of a race, it registers less distance); with uphills and downhills (it registers more distance and a faster pace going uphill; less distance and a slower pace going downhill); and with distance (if it's 2% short, for example, then it's obviously going to cut more mileage off a longer run). In large races where many people are wearing Fitsense and other wrist-devices, it goes haywire--or at least that's what it's done for me at the St. Jude Marathon for the past two years. (Other people's food-pod-to-wrist frequencies interfere with mine, apparently.) It does a great job on forest trails and in the vicinity of tall buildings, and of course it works great indoors. Properly calibrated, it gives you an almost immediate "current pace" reading; if I want to run 800s on a loop I've worked out in a local park, it stabilizes on current pace within a few seconds. There's no lag. On the other hand, the "current pace" it actually gives may oscillate 10-20 seconds a mile. Still, when you learn to work with it, it's pretty useful. If I want to run 800s in 3:00, I can look at the Fitsense and if it registers anywhere between 5:50 and 6:10--or if it bounces back and forth--I know I'm pretty much where I want to be. The "cumulative pace" reading is extremely useful in this context; after I've gone a couple of hundred yards, the cumulative pace reading is very accurate--although, of course, if the device is only 2% off, so that it reads 3:00 when I pass the half mile marker but the device itself reads .49, it's going to tell me that I ran a cumulative pace of 5:52 or so, rather than 6:00. I can live with that. For such short distances, I care about my measured loop, not the distance registered by Fitsense.

In races, properly calibrated, the Fitsense is, again, pretty accurate. But since it tends to register more distance--and thus a faster pace--at race paces (or perhaps at slightly increased "race stride-rates"), it may show me a cumulative pace that is 5 or 7 seconds a mile too fast. I may think that I'm right on a PR pace, then discover as I approach the finish line--if I haven't been paying attention to my actual time at each actual mile marker--that I'm lagging. What I actually do is use the cumulative pace as a general guide, but then make a point of hitting the "lap" button at each mile marker so I can go back after the race and find out what my splits actually were.

That's the Fitsense. It's a pretty good device. I calibrate the footpod by running a carefully-measured mile (measured with my accurate bike odometer) in a local park. If it reads too short of too long, I reduce or increase the CalVal a couple of points. That's at training pace. Prior to a race, I increase the CalVal a couple of points; that seems to work.

What about the Garmin?

Well, it CAN be extremely accurate, under certain circumstances. I first became aware of the device last September, when I was in the middle of the Tupelo 14.2 miler and realized that--perhaps because of the "increased stride rate during a race effect"--that my Fitsense was a full two-tenths of a mile off at the 7 mile point, and that my cumulative pace reading was, accordingly, about 20-25 seconds off. A guy I pulled even with was two HUNDREDTHS of a mile off. What was he wearing? A Forerunner 201. So I made a mental note to investigate the device. When I checked out this Amazon website, I found 150 posts about the Garmin and two about the Fitsense. The love-hate thing about the Garmin seemed to tilt noticeably towards the love, and the haters sometimes didn't seem to know how to optimize the unit. (I'm willing to believe that I haven't yet learned how to optimize it.)

The Garmin is clearly extremely accurate--more accurate than the Fitsense--on relatively flat or gently rolling courses that don't have much tree cover. I was astonished at how well it tracked with my bike odometer (without a single dropout) when I rode the Double Decker certified 10K course here in Oxford--EXCEPT for the miles in which the road narrowed and had tree cover, and/or went steeply uphill. Then it recorded less mileage.

When I ran on forest paths, however, its performance degraded severely.

The Garmin is not good--and clearly inferior to the Fitsense--in the matter of current pace, particularly quick response to current pace. When you start from a dead stop, current pace begins at 35:00/mile and slowly descends through 12:00, 11:00, down to whatever you're actually running. It takes at least 30 seconds, or maybe even 45 seconds, to register current pace accurately. So that for a particular application that's important to me--knowing what pace I'm running after the first hundred hards of a race and making small adjustments--it's distinctly inferior to the Fitsense.

Too, if you happen to pass under trees in the course of your run, the "current pace" begins to drop as signal is interrupted. This happens, I've noticed, even before the "low GPS signal" beeper chirps up. Then, when you come back out into the clear, the current pace reading sags in the other direction, to somewhat slower than you're actually running, as the device tosses all those missed hundredths of a mile (due to the momentary dropout) back into the averaged momentary pace. The phenomenon I'm talking about takes place when you set the device for "least smoothing." Of course if you set it for "more" or "most" smoothing, you notice none of this. That's because you've set your Forerunner up to be extremely unresponsive. When you set it on "most smoothing," the device is worse than useless for the sort of "repeat 800s on the road" interval work I describe above. Since ALL of its current pace readings are highly leveraged--actual current pace effectively averaged with current pace from 10 and 20 seconds ago; or rather, distance traveled in the last ten seconds averaged with distance traveled in the ten seconds before that--I want the least possible smoothing, which is to say the least possible moment-by-moment inaccuracy. This is especially true in race situations, where a momentary surge of 10-15 seconds a mile makes a huge difference in whether you're running the redline or over it.

One significant advantage of the Garmin over the Fitsense: on a flat open course, the Garmin is simply.....accurate. It doesn't need calibration. It doesn't gain or lose fractions of a mile if you slow your stride rate, or change surfaces. And as far as I can tell, it's unaffected by other nearby runners wearing wrist gizmos. So for a half marathon on country roads without tree cover--I'd go with the Garmin, if I had it, which I now do.

For forest trail runs, or for runs where I know I'm going to be dealing with tree cover or tall buildings, or for runs where my current pace is particularly important to me, I'm going to go back to the Fitsense.

There's more to say, obviously. Both devices are simply useful tools--and yes, as some have said, both can precipitate addictions! I'm continuing to experiment. I hope I've made clear that I'm willing to look honestly and the strengths and weaknesses of both devices, as I've discovered them. The Fitsense is fantastic--when it's not maddening (as it was for me at last year's St. Jude, where I simply abandoned all attempt at letting it register my mile pace (since it was registering 25% too short) and simply hit the log button at each mile marker, so I could do the postmortem with accurate splits.) From what I've seen, the Forerunner does a couple of things better and slightly more things not as well

Doesn't receive GPS signals in cities
The unit is great, but it's too finicky about picking up GPS signals.

While I'm running around Cambridge/Boston, MA, it NEVER picks up a signal.
Okay, maybe that's understandable in an urban area.But it doesn't pick up
a signal on the bridges between Cambridge and Boston, either.These are
long bridges, particularly the Harvard bridge, with no suspension
structure, nothing above the road except clear blue sky, but no GPS signal
picked up during the four minutes or so it takes to run across them.

Conversely, it picked up a signal just fine when I mistakenly left it
turned on while in my back-pack, in my house, in Woburn, MA, a suburban
area.Go figure.

How do car-mounted GPS units work in cities?Do they rely more upon the
car's known speed/direction to use dead-reckoning along the road?Or did
Garmin make compromises in the GPS signal handling in this unit to make it
fit on a wrist?

Other (minor) issues:

The manual is badly written.For every option, it explicitly spells out
the required button presses in painful details.The unit actually handles
menus very consistently: two buttons to scroll through the options; one
button to select the highlighted option (which may take you to a child
sub-menu); one button to back-out of a menu, to go to the parent menu.The
manual should have described this menu navigation scheme once, and then not
repeated it for every option, instead using the space to describe the
options in a little more detail.

The unit certainly knows the current date and time, as it's encoded in the
GPS signal, and it can be set to display the current time, but there's no
way to make it display the current date.That would have been useful.

It would be nice to turn off the GPS capabilities temporarily, for example
when you're in your basement den reviewing your past runs, and don't want
to be bothered by the warnings about a weak GPS signal. ... Read more

Asin: B0000CFYCH
Subjects:  1. map (mapping)    2. navigation    3. Outdoor Gear (Out Door)    4. GPS (Global Positioning System)    5. PDA    6. Laptop   

Dell Axim X5 400 MHz Pocket PC
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $299.00
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

The Dell Axim X5 is the ultimate handheld device, delivering style and outstanding features at an affordable price. It's powered by the Intel XScale processor at 400 MHz to help you keep up with the tasks of everyday life, and is equipped with 64 MB SDRAM and 48 MB Intel StrataFlash ROM.

The Axim X5 is equipped with Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 Premium and pre-installed with familiar applications like Pocket Word and Pocket Excel, along with a calendar, contacts database, voice recorder, and a number of other built-in features.

With an integrated Type II CompactFlash card slot and a Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard slot, the expansion capabilities seem endless. And with its removable, rechargeable battery, the Axim X5 is never tied to its cradle--simply leave a spare battery charging in the cradle, and swap your battery when it's low.

The Dell Axim X5 features a backlit, 3.5-inch, 16-bit, touch-sensitive, transflective TFT color LCD display capable of displaying 65,536 colors at 240 x 320 resolution.

The Axim X5's audio capabilities include 16-bit stereo, full duplex record and playback, and an integrated microphone and speaker. The Axim also features a headphone jack.

The Axim X5 comes with a rechargeable, removable 1440 mAh lithium-ion battery. A rechargeable, removable 3400 mAh lithium-ion battery is optional.

What's in the box

• Axim X5
• Stylus
• Sync cradle
• AC Adapter
• 1440 mAh Lithium-Ion Removable, Rechargeable battery

... Read more

Features

• 400 MHz Intel XScale Processor, 64 MB of RAM, and 48 MB ROM
• Brilliant 3.5" high-resolution transflective 65,000 color display
• Integrated CompactFlash Type II and Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard slots to add storage or wireless communication cards
• Built-in microphone, speaker, and stereo headphone connector
• What's in the box: Axim X5, Stylus, Sync cradle, AC Adapter, 1440 mAh Lithium-Ion battery

Reviews (59)

Bet Buy Ever!!!
When I first got my Dell Axim I wasn't sure what I was going to be able to do with it. I figured I could have a contacts list and maybe play some games, i had no idea what i was going to be able to do.
I now watch movies, listen to mp3's, play games, do my homework, on my Axim. I can watch oceans 11, the oc, south park, you name it. In order to get the most out of it you have to get a secure digital card, at least 512mb if you want to fit as many movies and mp3's on it as you want, but 1gb is really the way to go.

A complete failure
When I was given this device i assumed it would perform to all of my expectations, and at first it did, that was then, 7 months later i cannot open my contacts list under any circumstances, the battery indcator is not accurate, the device will not sync, it looses infromation of every kind at random, the camera and wireless networking acessories do not work with the product, and Dell customer service is useless. This is the second time i have had to deal with an inferior product from Dell, only to be stonewalled and lied to by their customer service, who are more interested in convincing you to buy more of their products than helping you. I will never buy another Dell product, i give this device the absolute worst rating possible because that is what it has earned.

Dell Axim X5
I purchased the Dell Axim X5 overa month ago. I am replaceing it with a palm M105. The pda does everything I need plus more. I like the option to brable to use SD or CF memory cards. One of the faults I have found on the X5 is not being able purchase PPC 2003 upgrade from Dell, found out from Dell that the Amix X5 is not supported anymore and all there call centers are outsourced. But I was lucky and was able to find a copy on Ebay . I was able to ungrade to PPC2003 with Rom A05. My X5 works better now then it did when I first purchaed it. The palm M105 was a great starter and the Dell X5 is great as an upgrade. I was able to find the Axim X5 for under $120 with shipping. If you are looking to save money check out Amazon or Ebay for a Axim X5. ... Read more

Asin: B00007GPI1
Subjects:  1. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA, Electronic Organizer)    2. Pocket PC (PCs)    3. Casio    4. Handheld (Hand Held)    5. Dell   

Epson Stylus Photo 2200 Inkjet Printer
by Epson
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $749.99
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Designed with the serious graphics user in mind, Epson's Stylus Photo 2200 is stylish and fast and comes packed with user-friendly features. With Epson's new seven-color UltraChrome inks and three times as many nozzles as the popular Stylus 2000P, the 2200 is able to print 8-by-10-inch color photos in under two minutes (in fine mode). The UltraChrome inks are formulated to resist water and light damage and to ensure longevity, all while providing more colors than any other pigment ink on the market.

The versatile 2200 makes it easy to print on envelopes, roll paper, and many types and sizes of single-sheet paper.

A maximum resolution of 2,880 x 1,440 dpi (both color and black and white) results in amazingly accurate prints. The 4-picoliter droplets are the equivalent of 2-picoliter droplets in ordinary dye-base systems, resulting in ultrafine detail and clarity. Interchangeable standard and matte black ink cartridges help you get the best quality from black-and-white prints, while the included Film Factory(TM) with PRINT Image Matching Support software ensures that prints from compatible digital cameras are true to the original image.

The 2200 supports a wide variety of paper types, including glossy, semi-glossy, luster, matte, and Epson's velvet fine art paper, as well as large-format sizes up to 13 by 44 inches. With the included roll paper holder and built-in automatic cutter, you can print borderless images easily, while a photo catcher neatly stacks multiple prints as they are cut.

Compatible with both Mac and PC systems, the 2200 comes backed with a one-year Epson exchange warranty.

What's in the Box
Printer, AC power supply and cord, seven ink cartridges (cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow, light black, photo black), roll paper holder accessory, roll paper cutter and catcher; printer cable not included

... Read more

Features

• Interchangeable standard and matte ink cartridges for black-and-white prints
• USB, Firewire and Parallel interfaces
• 2,880 x 1,440 dpi maximum resolution in black and color
• Roll paper holder and built-in automatic cutter
• Economical ink system with 7 separate UltraChrome cartridges

Reviews (65)

Great photographic printer
I am currently in college studying photography and this printer is our most common printer.

Remember, you're not going to get accurate color with ANY printer. Every printer has it's own specific range of colors it can reproduce. The key to a good printer is getting predictable results.

Hints for good results with less stress:
--> Get profiles for the specific papers you use. (If you don't have the time or equipment to do it yourself, you can find them online.)
--> Turn the printer off when not in use. (This saves the nozzles from getting clogged so much.)
--> The little red lights correspond to the inks. If the 3rd light is on, the 3rd ink is out.
--> If one of the red ink lights is blinking, go ahead and print, it's still got a bit of life in it... if the light is burning steady, change the ink.
--> This is not a document printer. Get a cheap HP for that.
--> You don't need any more than 360ppi in your image. Any more, and you're just making it slower. (Do some tests printing the same photo at different image resolutions. Try 360, 240, 180, 100, 72. See where the resolution falls off, and then you'll know what you really need for a decent print.)
--> Turn off high speed. Sometimes when printers lay ink down in both directions, it can get out of alignment. (I have never seen this, but my professor has, which is why nobody at my school even tries to print at high speed.)
--> Don't print full bleed. Well, you can, it's just better if you don't. Trust me on this.
--> To switch between photo black and matte black ink is a real hassle. You'll use an entire cartridge just to flush out the old ink. So, if you can help it, don't. I wish you could have both and just tell it which black to use, but alas, it's not perfect.
--> Use an image editing program (Adobe Photoshop is best) to make your pictures look the way you want before printing. Target your file for printing. (Meaning: make a duplicate flattened, sized, and sharpened file. Then print.)


My favorite paper is Ilford Smooth Pearl. I use it for just about everything.

For decent black and white prints, use matte black ink on Epson Velvet Fine Art, Watercolor, or Enhanced Matte papers.


The verdict:
This printer is great! When I set up my own lab, this will be my printer.

I hope this helps you with your purchase!

Epson 2200
As most of the previous reviews have stated this is a great printer and I wholeheartedly agree. I use Adobe Photoshop CS for my photos and the biggest problem I ran into was that the image on my monitor didn't quite match the printed image. This may be OK for some but being a perfectionist I had to adjust the image in Photoshop which is a hit or miss proposition (ie make the image lighter in photoshop to get a darker printed image which was satisfactory). The solution I decided on was to get color management software called MonacoEZcolor (I also got the colorimeter option) so that a color profile can be generated of the monitor and the printer. With the profiles generated you can then set the Photoshop image on your monitor to look like what the printed image will be. Unfortunately to do this I also had to purchase a scanner to profile the printer. $500 later (scanner and color management software with colorimeter) I'm getting better prints but it is costly, however if your a professional or just trying to get the best prints possible you may want to factor in color management software.

This is the center of my home photo-lab

I have used this printer for over a year now to support my hobby of ultra high resolution semi-digital photography.Using a different Epson product I scan 4x5 film negatives, creating 100 megapixel images, and then print them on my Stylus Photo 2200.I use 13x19 semi-gloss paper, and typically print at maximum quality.The results are vastly better than any photo lab I can imagine.Really -- I can't think of any way to suggest print quality improvement.

I do black-and-white maybe three quarters of the time, and when I do color it's lurid.Detail is astonishing, and I have been very satisfied with the borderless printing.The printer always warns me that it might not do as well at borderless printing, but I tell it not to worry and it always does fine.

I have used only the standard 7 inks.I've been very impressed with how easy ink cartridge replacement has been.I am glad that I have left behind the bad old days of throwing out *all* the ink because *one* of the colors ran out.The 2200 allows me to only replace the ink cartridge that actually ran out, which is even more important for the cityscape photography that I do -- in color, the sky uses a lot of cyan.

I don't know about text quality, since I've never printed any of that, but the thought makes me nervous.Like it would if someone suggested using a thoroughbred horse to pull a plow.Don't do that, it's silly.

Use this printer to make great big beautiful photographic prints of flawless quality on lovely paper.For this purpose, I really can't imagine how it could be better.

If it ever dies, I'll get another just like it.If I ever get rich, I'll get another just like it except even bigger.

Thanks, Epson.Please keep doing this.
... Read more

Asin: B000067V0A
Subjects:  1. Inkjet Printer (Ink Jet Printers, Printing)    2. Photo Printer (Photo Printing)    3. Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple   

Epson Stylus Photo 890 Inkjet Printer
by HEARTLAND
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $306.99
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

The ideal companion for your digital camera, the Epson Stylus 890 prints vivid six-color images in ultrasharp 2,880 x 720 dpi resolution with 4-picoliter ink drops--drops so tiny, Epson calls them "unvisible." Or, if you're a black-and-white buff, the Stylus 890 prints bold blacks and subtle grays. The result of all this technology is beautiful borderless prints with quality rivaling that of your photo shop. Plus, the Stylus 890 prints sharp text documents.

The input paper tray holds 100 sheets, 10 envelopes, or 30 transparency films. The 890 accepts a tremendous variety of photo papers, from glossy professional rolls to small matte. Supported paper types include single sheets of letter, legal, A4, and A6; plus 4 by 6 inches, 5 by 7 inches, 8 by 10 inches, and much more.

You have your choice of connections--either parallel or USB--and the 890 is compatible with both Macintosh and PC. There is a one-year warranty on parts and labor, and Epson includes instant exchange service for that year at no additional cost. ... Read more

Features

• USB and parallel ports; PC and Mac compatible
• Prints a 4-by-6-inch photo in 48 seconds, 8-by-10-inch photo in 1 minute, 50 seconds
• 6-color individually replaceable ink system
• 2,880 x 720 dpi resolution; 4-picoliter, variable-size ink droplets
• Supports roll paper and border-free photo printing

Reviews (42)

4 YEARS AND GOING STRONG!!
I purchased this Epson 890 in Dec. of 2001. It has worked perfectly since day one. The pictures when DPI is set to 2880 are stunning. If your having a problem with the color I have noticed you need to go to custom settings before printing and set to 2880 DPI. I have always used Epson ink & paper. Using Epson ink has to be the reason why I never had a clog. If you have a chance to still pick up this work horse refurbished jump at the chance. Good Luck!!

Great performer on more than photos!
This is my third Epson printer, purchased in June, 2001, just before a trip to Italy where I planned to take lots of digital shots. The first Epson lasted me 4½ years, and the second one, a Stylus Color 800 (refurbished) is still going strong as my everyday "workhorse" for non-photo applications after 4 years. After poor HP experiences, I am absolutely sold on Epson.
When this printer is given Epson papers to work with, it produces the most stunning (and lightfast) photos imaginable.I've actually taken some of the same digital images to a local drugstore and printed on their Kodak machines, and BOY, are mine superior!
Well worth the price even though it has been superceded by faster models with individual ink tanks.
I've heard fairly often that this is an ink drinker, but that hasn't been my experience. As long as you set the proper settings in the printer options panel depending on the job, they'll last a reasonable length of time.
This one will keep me happy for a few more years, I trust.

Was OK while it worked
I had this printer for about one year.
The GOOD:
The inks are really good and long lasting. You can drop water on them one minute after printing and they won't fade.
The printer accepts many different kinds of paper sizes and printing media.
The drivers have lots of settings and you have enough flexibility to be creative.
The BAD:
The drivers have lots of settings and you never know if you have chosen the right one, and at times, when the collors are wrong and any setting seems to be wrong, after you go through tons of ink and paper, you might have to do as I did, take the pictures to a photo shop, in a few minutes, at a fraction of the cost when you add the waisted paper, ink and time.
Printing is very slow. A real picture of 8x11 takes "forever" (10-15 min). (How can they claim that the printer is fast? Fast comparing with what? Drawing the page by hand?)
The ink cartridges clog constantly and one every other page comes out with random tiny red lines across. Customer support didn't want to talk to me unless I paid, and then they just told me to take the printer to a repair shop (After 20 minutes of waiting and paying the fee, the service call was over in about 30 seconds). Waist of money and time calling customer support. A repair shop will charge to diagnose and repair the printer (change the printer heads and allign them) more than what a new printer costs today.
I have no choise but to buy a new printer now.
Oh, and another thing, in one year I mingled with it enough to get acceptable pictures out,but I could never get on the paper the same collors that I would see on the screen. I got some special pictures with all the basic collors and different mixings, and to save my life I could not set the printer to reproduce those collors. I waisted days and nights downloading upgrades and changing settings, I bought the printer's tech book (I am an electronics engineer by trade, so I HAD to read the manual :-)).
Guess what... I am looking at Canon and HP now. ... Read more

Asin: B000059RA2
Subjects:  1. Ink Jet Printers, C394011, SP890    2. 890, Inkjet, Color Printer, Epson    3. Stylus, 980, ink-jet, Epsen    4. Photoprinter    5. Inkjet Printer (Ink Jet Printers, Printing)    6. Photo Printer (Photo Printing)   

Apple Computer M7600LL/D AirPort Card
by Apple Computer
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $99.00
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Features

• Features 2.4 GHz frequency for better range and connection quality
• Access your home or business network with wireless technology
• Reach speeds up to 11 Mbps
• Easy plug and play PCMCIA installation
• Roam up to 150 feet from your access point

Reviews (19)

If only it worked
Switched to Mac? Switch back.

I built an 802.11b network for the PCs in my house. I set up everything and had it working and tested for a few weeks before tackling the Airport install. Since I'm not usually a Mac user, I thought I'd make sure everything else was working first.

Well, it was the right decision. 8 months later, my Airport card still does not work. I put it in our iBook, and it's recognized, but there is an error message that locks up all the wireless applications and configuration, so the Airport is useless. Yes, I have the right OS version, and I've gotten the latest drivers and applications, but nothing works.

I'll try again, sometime, but it's just really hard to get psyched up for hours and hours of beating your head against the wall, trying to get something to work.

Hey, it might work out of the box for you. If you have an older iBook, though, I'd prepare for a struggle.

Wireless rocks!
Like everything Apple makes, it was trivial to install and setup.End of story.

The real glory is being able to carry my iBook all over the house and use it everywhere.Combine that with the great battery usage in the iBook, and I am finally not tied down!

Go Mac, and do it without wires.You won't regret it for a single moment.

Make your PC friends jeleous
What a wonderful investment this Airport card (and the base station) was! I can walk anywhere in the house and even into the garden out back with my Powerbook and remain connected to the Internet. I take the computer everywhere, and at this moment (as I write from the living room while watching Discovery-Italia) my Internet connect utility tells me I have been connected to the Internet for the last 2,000+ hours! Almost three months! And that's despite taking the computer wherever I want it to go, up to 150 feet (half a football field) from the base station. It stays connected when the compuer is in sleep mode, when it restarts, turns off. There is no reduction in connection speed, I never get cut off and it effortless to operate. If I could somehow keep the battery charged without plugging it in, my Powerbook would be cableless for life!

I will give my five stars one caveat, because while the card is not difficult to install, opening the computer to do so does require an unusual and specific five-sided Allen-wrench-style tool that is not easy to find (hint: go to a store that repairs cellular phones). I am told that newer computers (mine is a Titanium Powerbook from late 2001) can be opened with a simple small screwdriver, but you'll want to look at the bottom of the computer to see if this will effect you -- do you have or can you get the tools to take that whole panel off? Perhaps an Apple dealer can do this service as well (though the card is billed as installable in the home) but here in Italy I did not have that choice. But even though I was a bit frustrated by this problem, the beauty and utility of the whole Airport technology easily makes up for it, hence the perfect score and the enthusiasm.

Another side note: the Airport works in desktop computers as well as laptops, but I'm not sure what the advantage to using it in a desktop would be, since portability of the Internet connection doesn't seem to be of any value if you can't move the computer. Yes, it would save one cable out of the back of the machine, but that hardly seems worth the price of the card and base station. And it does allow several computers to be connected to one broadband line, but the same thing can be achieved with a splitter and a few feet of extra cable that would cost less than $15. It isn't billed this way, but I really see this as hardware for laptops rather than desktops. ... Read more

Asin: B00005RD8T
Sales Rank: 22354
Subjects:  1. Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple    2. Apple    3. (Mac)    4. (Macintosh)   

Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router
by Linksys
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $69.99 -- our price: $49.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

In the past, people creating a home network had to choose between string ing cheap Ethernet cable all over the house or spending tons of cash on a slow, unreliable wireless system. Products like the BEFW11S4 wireless four-port cable/ DSL router from Linksys have changed all that. This unit works as an Internet ga teway, traditional four-port Ethernet hub, and wireless Ethernet hub; is easy to install; and is relatively inexpensive. With the Linksys cable modem and wireless Ethernet adapter we tested with the unit, everything worked like a charm with next to no configuration hassles.

The BEFW11S4 is chunkier than a standard Ethernet switched hub, but is so versatile that a little extra bulk is acceptable. Basic installation involves little more than plugging in the power cord and connecting the Ethernet output from your cable or DSL modem to an input port on the back of the device. Four Ethernet ports on the back accept connections from computers with standard network interface cards, while two antennas on the back handle the unit's wireless capabilities. The standard ports operate at up to 100 Mbps, while the 802.11b technology allows for wireless transmissions at up to 11 Mbps. That's not the blazing-fast performance you'd get from more expensive 802.11a or 802.11g wireless products, butis more than enough to handle Internet connection sharing, LAN gaming, and normal file transfer duties.

This product's forte is Internet connection sharing, as it serves as a single point of contact for every computer attached to a home network. All your ISP sees is one IP address sending and receiving Internet traffic, even though several computers on the other side of the BEFW11S4 might be accessing the Internet at the same time. The other nice thing about this setup, as opposed to standard Internet connection-sharing software, is that no particular PC must be turned on before the others on the network can access the Internet. As long as the BEFW11S4 is running, any PC can get on the Web.

Although the device is surprisingly easy to set up, a Web-based interface is available that lets advanced users access security settings, permissions, and a variety of other options. It is easy to use and can be accessed by any PC on the network without having to install special software. The unit itself provides plenty of feedback, as it is equipped with several LEDs that indicate the status of each standard connection, along with the wireless signal. There also is an uplink port on the back that lets users add more hubs, switches, or other devices as their network grows.

The router performed as expected in tests, providing fast 100 Mbps speeds to two basement computers using the standard Ethernet ports and a steady 11 Mbps signal to a third PC located upstairs and about 40 feet laterally from the base transmitter. The strength of the wireless signal is entirely dependent on the conditions in which the device is used, but most home users shouldn't have a problem reaching any one room of their house from any other room.

Perhaps the only drawback to the BEFW11S4 is that if installation doesn't go as smoothly as it did for us, configuring the device could be difficult for novice users. It's designed to be a plug-and-play unit, but there are hundreds of seriously advanced settings lurking under that friendly façade that can really mess things up if they are not configured properly. The good news is that most users likely won't have any problems, and once the BEFW11S4 is set up it works so smoothly and seamlessly that you'll forget it's there after a while. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Easy installation, seamless operation
• Makes it very easy to share an Internet connection
• Powerful configuration options for those who want to get their hands dirty

Cons:

• Wireless Ethernet adapters to connect to a PC must be purchased separately
• 802.11b transmission speeds are pokey compared to more modern standards

For more information on the differences between an Access Point and a Router wit h Access Point, see the following table:

See a comparison diagram of the different wireless technologies.

Wireless networks are rapidly becoming more popular and coming down in price. Since they don't require cables, you can use the devices anywhere in an office or home, even out on the patio. There's no need to roll out an Ethernet network cable to each room of a house; you can network anywhere -- without wires. Outside of the home, wireless networking is available in hotspots at coffee shops, businesses, airports -- great when you're on the road and need to get some work done. For convenience, wireless networking is the answer. What Wireless Standard is Right for Me? Now that you've decided to create a wireless network, the next step is to figure out which wireless standard to use. Basically, a standard is a set of specifications for a device. All devices that follow a specific standard share operating characteristics, such as the radio frequency used and maximum data transfer speed. For wireless networking, there are three standards to choose from at this time: 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g To learn about the differences between the standards and select the right one for your network, click here for an easy-to-understand chart.

... Read more

Features

• Can act as a DHCP server for your existing network
• Connects to a broadband modem, a 10/100 Ethernet backbone, or wireless network
• Long wireless operating range supports 300 feet indoors and 1,500 feet outdoors
• Provides roaming, best access-point selection, load balancing, and network traffic filtering
• Configurable through your networked PC's Web browser

Reviews (987)

No problems...
I have been using it with DSL connection for the last 3 years.never had a glitch.

Don't buy Linksys!
I've had nothing but problems since getting this router, which recently came to a head in a 7-hour tech call. During this 7-hour tech call, they had me install a new version of the firmware, which resulted in the router not working at all. Linksys offered to ship me a new one, but I needed it immediately for my work. They told me I would have to pay for rush shipping EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE THE ONES THAT "BROKE" IT!! Their customer service was horrible, so I called the corporate office and found out that there was actually another level of tech support that they never even sent me to. The corporate technician was able to help me by suggesting that I simply get a different type of router (too much interference from my neighbors' wireless systems). Although they had indeed rendered my system useless, they likely would not have been able to fix the original problem. Why couldn't the original tech have just given me this information and saved me the 7 hours out of my workday? I went out and bought a Netgear router that evening, and so far, it's worked excellently. I understand Linksys is supposed to be of superior quality, but if anything goes wrong, don't expect any sort of quality tech support.

Worked for six months
Easy setup, great at first.Then it started dropping connections and acting flaky.The problem was not my DSL provider (SBC), because a direct connection to my PC always works perfectly.

Then, about three weeks after the warranty expired, it stopped transmitting any wireless signal.

Thanks, LinkSys! ... Read more

Asin: B00005ARK3
Subjects:  1. Linksys   

Linksys WAP11 Wireless-B Network Access Point
by Linksys
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $69.99 -- our price: $49.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

The Linksys Instant Wireless Access Point (WAP) serves as communicationsheadquarters for a reliable 11 Mbps wireless network. We found the WAP, used in conjunction with the Linksys Instant Wireless PC Card (and PCI adapter if the wireless card is used in a desktop PC) and a hub or switch, to be a true leader in the move toward wireless networking. In case you're confused, here's a graph illustrating the differences between an access point and a router with access point:

The unit itself is handsome and somewhat reminiscent of the rabbit-ears antenna system used on older televisions. Installing the WAP involves several steps. A USB connection allows for configuration, and installing the USB configuration software allows for monitoring and adjusting settings such as channel, IP address, and service set identifier (SSID). Connecting the unit to a hub or switch using Category 5 cable (which is not included) gives the WAP network access and the ability to begin sending meaningful signals.

The WAP has three indicator lights: Power, link, and activity. The link indicator lights up amber when a link is established with the hub, and the activity light flickers somewhat uncertainly when there is network activity. The antennas can be adjusted left and right, and we found that pointing them in the direction of the wireless computer resulted in a stronger signal.

We found the accompanying user guide somewhat lacking; it gave little guidance on how the network can be configured. And the customer service hotline unfortunately does little more than refer you to your computer's manufacturer. Those who are new to networking may want to bone up on the basics before beginning on a wireless network endeavor--plenty of resources exist on the Web and in print to guide your networking foray. But for those who are transforming an existing wired network into a wireless one, the transition will be fairly painless and straightforward.

In use, the WAP performs well: In the same room, the signal strength to and fromthe Linksys wireless network card is consistently above 95 percent. We separated the card from the access point by one plaster wall and found that the signal strength was reduced to around 80 percent. Separating them with a closeted wall pulled the signal strength down to about 50 percent. At opposite ends of the home (with numerous plaster walls between), the signal strength maintains at about 35 percent.

The rate of data transmission declines proportionately, starting at an ideal 11 Mbps and dropping to 3 or 4 Mbps at extreme distance and separation.While still reliable, the main difference in performance we noticed was in the basic data-transmitting functions: Slower copying, pasting, opening, and access of resources on other network nodes. While these speeds don't lend themselves well to intensive LAN game play, they are suitable for sharing data between resources, as well as sharing print resources.

Overall, the Linksys wireless package is optimal for those not wishing to stringcable throughout a home or office. While performance and speed are comparable toslower wired networks, this is a ready solution for those who need a world without wires, for whatever reason. This package is also ideal for those who arecomfortable with networking configurations and troubleshooting, and are ready totake the leap into wireless. --Emilie Dirks

Pros:

• Easy resource sharing that's ideal for small office and home office
• Simple installation and fairly straightforward configuration

Cons:

• Transmission speeds much lower than current fast Ethernet connections (on wired networks)
• Lackluster customer support and documentation

See a comparison diagram of the different wireless technologies.

Wireless networks are rapidly becoming more popular and coming down in price. Since they don't require cables, you can use the devices anywhere in an office or home, even out on the patio. There's no need to roll out an Ethernet network cable to each room of a house; you can network anywhere--without wires. Outside of the home, wireless networking is available in hotspots at coffee shops, businesses, and airports--great when you're on the road and need to get some work done. For convenience, wireless networking is the answer. Which Wireless Standard Is Right for Me? Now that you've decided to create a wireless network, the next step is to figure out which wireless standard to use. Basically, a standard is a set of specifications for a device. All devices that follow a specific standard share operating characteristics, such as the radio frequency used and maximum data transfer speed. For wireless networking, there are three standards to choose from at this time: 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g To learn about the differences between the standards and select the right one for your network, click here for an easy-to-understand chart.

... Read more

Features

• Router not included, so you cannot connect multiple users to the Internet
• High-speed transfer rate of up to 11 Mbps
• Range of operation of up to 150 meters indoors, up to 500 meters outdoors
• Provides roaming, best access point selection, load balancing, and network traffic filtering
• Interoperable with IEEE 802.11b (DSSS) 2.4 GHz-compliant equipment, and supports up to 32 users/nodes

Reviews (201)

Generally buggy - a popular choice for no good reason
I can't stress how much stress this device has caused. It seems that it's going to do the job properly and then insidious problems creep in that get worse and worse until everything goes horribly wrong.
Terrible support and worse companion products mean that this access point will cost you more in sweat and tears than any other piece of electronics you may own - and it's unlikely to get better due to this area of gadgetry 'moving on' to new faster standards.
Advice is - if you want to stick to cheap and cheerfull 802.11b hardware - avoid linksys kit like the plague and keep doing your research to find a good alternative.

Waste of time and money
Although the unit indicated it had power and was linked to the network the set-up software could not find it. I will have spent $16 and hours of frustration by the time I ship it back. Tech support was useless.

No More Linksys
In years before Cisco purchased Linksys, I was a loyal customer. Since then things have changed. Poor quality (I too have gone through 2 WAP-11's in less than four years), Poor support: Long hold times, out-sourced to another country and a seeming lack of focus on model design and direction (have a look at the number of WAP-11 firmware revs's and sub models and lack of firmware upgrade paths)

I'm all done. I'll be over at Netgear.

... Read more

Asin: B00005854B
Subjects:  1. Linksys   

Siemens SpeedStream Wireless USB Adapter (SS1022)
by Siemens
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
-- our price: $32.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Features

• Compatible with Windows 98, 98SE, 2000, Me, XP
• Wireless connectivity up to 11 Mbps
• Installs without opening PC
• USB-powered--needs no external power supply
• Easily integrates with other manufacturers' 802.11b compliant devices

Reviews (18)

Worked like a charm, even on older computers
I bought 2 of these, along with an SMC Barricade router/access point. I had no problem setting them up at all. I used one on a Windows 2000 laptop (an older one without network card), another on Windows XP Home. I recently moved the laptop one to an older P2 Windows 98 SE, and it recognized the network first time. The only issue I had was of my own making. I have both a home network and one using MS Groups. Still, once I figured out my problem, everything worked fine. The issue I had was strictly with directory sharing, nothing else. Highly recommend!

Fails when other wireless adapter work.
This adapter worked Ok for me under Win98.PC running 98 would stay connected while two XP PC's (Home and Pro) would frequently drop connections with SS1022.Friends brought over an iMac with a Airporte wireless adapter - it never dropped.Toshiba and Dell laptops with integrated wireless never drop.Email to support@speedstream.com (listed in their documentation) bounces.I've purchased two 50ft patch cables until I evaluate a replacement router.

This is an outstanding wireless adapter
I have installed and used three of these adapters on 2 desktop machines and 1 laptop, running Win98, Win2000, and WinXP.The adapter is extremely easy to install, the wireless utility is very informative and intuitive, the adapter has good range and looks good.I recommend it very highly! ... Read more

Asin: B0000646PL
Sales Rank: 17025