Ear Full

by David English on January 20th, 2007

I’m a big fan of Shure’s E500 earphones. They’re the best in-ear audio solution I’ve experienced so far. To be fair, they won’t sound as good as a similar priced set of traditional headphones (such as the Sennheiser HD 600), but who wants to lug a bulky set of headphones around the airport when you can have roughly 70 to 80 percent of the same audio quality using a one-ounce set of earphones?

Some people don’t like having ear pieces inside their ears, so you should try a set of earphones before you purchase them. Earphones also require careful positioning in order to hear the lower frequencies.

I stopped by the Shure booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and learned the company is expanding its consumer earphone line based on the success of the E500. The E500 will be relaunched as the SE530 ($449.99). The “3″ in the model number indicates that each ear piece has three distinct audio drivers that function much like a three-way speaker system (Shure refers to them as Triple TruAcoustic MicroSpeakers).

One notch down is the SE420 ($349.99), where the “2″ indicates that each ear piece has two distinct audio drivers. Being familiar with the E500′s exceptionally clear and smooth audio, I was impressed by how close the SE420 sounded to the E500.

Rounding out the product line, the SE310 ($249.99) and SE210 ($149.99) have just a single audio driver, with the SE310 featuring a Tuned BassPort for improved bass response. Sampling all four, I found each offers excellent sound for its particular price point.

Keep in mind that it may be worth spending some extra money for whatever kind of earphones, ear buds, or headphones you buy. The less expensive ones can tire you more quickly, especially when you’re traveling. There’s no point bringing your favorite music or movies along for a flight, only to have the audio become irritating after just a half hour.

Take It with You

by David English on October 9th, 2006

Need more hard drive capacity for your notebook computer? One option is a small USB-attached portable hard drive. Because they’re external, you can use them to shuttle files back and forth between your notebook and desktop computers. Capacities run as high as 160GB, which could hold plenty of whatever you want to have with you when you travel.

There’s some confusion about which of the small drives can be powered exclusively by a notebook’s USB port. Some notebooks can’t provide enough power to run some drives, and some drives require more power than other drives. As a general rule of thumb, the 1.8-inch drives draw less power than the 2.5-inch drives. And if your notebook doesn’t provide enough power to its USB ports, look for a portable drive that supplies a second cable that lets you tap two USB ports simultaneously.

Hold the Jitters

by David English on October 9th, 2006

More digital cameras are including image stabilizer technology, even when the lens is just a 3x or 4x optical zoom. As the zoom becomes longer, camera shake becomes more noticeable. So why add this technology to relatively short zoom lenses where camera shake is less of a problem?

An often overlooked benefit of this technology is improved low light photography. As the light level decreases, the lens opens up and the shutter speed slows in order to let in more light. That can cause blurring — not because you’re moving the camera too much, but because the longer exposure captures those movements over a longer period of time. With a stabilized image, the subject will shift around less, and you’ll be able to take better pictures in less-than-optimal lighting conditions.