reviews

tl;dr: You can (and should) pick up one of these things if you have a D90 or D80, and shoot vertically or need extra juice for the camera. The Nikon MB-D80/OEM model is a bit more solid, but you can't beat the Phottix's price!

Take a look at what's hanging on the neck of almost any professional photojournalist, wedding photographer, or camera guy—you'll almost always see the tank-like and bulky body of a Nikon D1/2/3/X-series or Canon 1D-series SLR. The Phottix MB-D80 takes your D90 (in my case—it also works on the D80, though) and gives it three of the tank-like bodies' functions:

1. A vertical shutter release/controls: When shooting portraits, this is immensely helpful.
2. Double the battery life: You can stick an extra Nikon EN-EL3e battery in the grip (bringing your total to 2 batt's!).
3. Look like a serious photographer: 'Nuff said.

The battery grip performs great, it can take a beating, and the shutter release and controls feel almost as good as using the controls on the camera body itself!

tl;dr: The iPad Camera Connection Kit is an excellent accessory for the iPad, allowing users to import photos from most any camera (RAW or JPEG), and connect to some other helpful devices via USB.

If you haven't already, check out my iPad review (from the first few days of use, and including some important updates).

After a few weeks' wait, people (including me) have started receiving their iPad Camera Connection kits. This little kit comes with two Dock connectors that let you either plug a standard SD or SDHC card, or a USB cable into your iPad. (Sadly, the connectors do nothing on the iPhone... at least not yet).

tl;dr: The iPad is one case where Apple has clearly hit the ball out of the park, in all aspects: usability, utility, form, function, and pure tech delight. There is a reason Apple sold almost a million iPads during it's first day on retail shelves.

Update: Here's a guide to tethering your iPad to your iPhone via WiFi. Also, see my review of the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter cable and my review of the iPad Camera Connection Kit.

On April 3, 2010, I purchased the 32 GB iPad from Best Buy. Here are some bits of information that may or may not be called a 'Review.'

Purchasing Experience

I bought the iPad at my local Best Buy (in Brentwood, MO), and decided to skip both of the St. Louis Apple Stores (they both had lines about 40-80 people long throughout the morning). Best Buy didn't have any accessories, but that was okay—I'm planning on waiting to see if there are any really nice folio cases that come out soon.

There was a flock of people (both old and young) around the Apple area in Best Buy, and they were all talking about the iPad. Best Buy had four on display, and I decided to simply go over to the cage containing about eight 16GB iPads, three 32GB iPads, and two lonely 64GB iPads (they're all WiFi for now - the 3G models don't come out until later this month.

Best Buy had a nice deal where you can get 3 $10 iTunes Gift Cards for $25, so I bought two packs, and in effect, shaved $10 off my App purchases for the day.

Out of the Box

Rather than bore you with yet another iPad unboxing video, here's a link to Engadget's story on the iPad, complete with an unboxing.

Yours truly, with yours truly's iPad.

The iPad is surprisingly heavy, but not so heavy that I couldn't imagine carrying it around almost anywhere I currently tote my folio notepad (for meeting notes, etc.). The iPad comes with a boring USB sync cable and 10W wall charger. Nothing special there.

tl;dr: Is this the SLR owner's dream pocket camera? Almost! It will do for now, but a tiny bit better lens and image sensor would make it perfect.

The Canon PowerShot G11 comes from a long line of G-series advanced-amateur digital cameras, and is very much like the most recent PowerShot G10 in all the best ways, but differs a little bit by improving on one of the G10's greatest weaknesses: the image sensor. Another major win for the G11 is the fold-out swivel screen, which comes in very handy at many of the events at which I (and many other SLR owners) will be using the camera.

Relevant Features

Let's start with a brief overview:

tl;dr: Tweetie has had a great following for some time on the iPhone, so it was a logical jump for atebits to transfer some of the goodness of Tweetie to all the desktop Mac Twitter users.

A little late to the game? Sure. Worth the wait? Definitely.

atebits today released Tweetie—a full-featured and fast Twitter client—for the Mac. Tweetie has had a great following for some time on the iPhone, so it was a logical jump for atebits to transfer some of the goodness of Tweetie to all the desktop Mac Twitter users.

tl;dr: Are you OCD about your soap dispenser? Are you lazy? Do you like having all of life's conveniences? This is definitely the soap dispenser for you! The only thing holding me back from recommending it to everyone? The price.

Isn't it beautiful?

tl;dr: The Nikon D90 DSLR is one of the best 'prosumer' digital SLRs produced in 2009. It's low-light performance is exception for the price, and it can work well as a backup body to a camera three times as expensive. The HD video mode, a first for digital SLRs, is half-baked at best.

(Above: The D90 with my favorite walk-around lens, the AF-S 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5).

tl;dr: The iPhone 3G is a great upgrade from the 1st generation iPhone, but suffers from a sluggish processor and a limited lifespan.

This iPhone review will be expanded upon in the coming months, and will grow with time—if you've ever used an iPhone, you'll know why: the thing just keeps giving more and more surprises with more use!

The Hardware

I've used the first generation iPod Touch, the first generation iPhone, and various 'smartphone' models from other manufacturers, including Palm, RIM, etc. The iPhone/iPod have something that the other models are almost always severely lacking: gripability. My hand simply seems attracted to it! It's the same way with the old iPod mini (which was, in my opinion, the most holdable electronic device ever).