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Top Gadget Picks
by C. FastA Must Read: Is there absolute truth?
Tech expert and audio/video store owner, John Walker sat down to talk about his favorite top gadget picks for this year.
1. Sonos
The Sonos product is a music server system manufactured by the Sonos Company. This is the first product for the company. Essentially, the Sonos is a set of two physical boxes, with one hooked up to a network or home modem and the other is wireless and free to move around the entire office or home. By attaching speakers to the wireless box, one can access and listen to music that is stored on the computer in which the first Sonos box is hooked up to.
The main advantage to this product is that it allows a person to take music anywhere in a house or office. The Sonos comes with a remote control that features a color screen that details the same files or playlists set up on the main computer. The screen provides the user with details such as the song name, artist name, file in which the song is found on the computer, and what song is to play next.
Another major advantage is that the Sonos can have up to 32 users at one time. Every user can listen to the same music at the same time. Each user needs to have their own wireless box and set of speakers to listen in each separate room.
2. iPod
The iPod is a product from Apple Computers and has become so successful that the company predicts its expected sales for the iPod in 2006 to top 23.5 million! The basic use of the iPod is to load and store data (primarily used for music storage). The iPod can store music, photos, and data that is uploaded from a computer and can be taken anywhere. The iPod allows for the user to organize and file their data.
The iPod works with iTunes, which is a music managing system on a computer. A user can save and organize data, particularly music, in iTunes on their computer and then transfer a copy onto the iPod.
Users enjoy the iPod storage abilities because it allows for them to keep a separate copy of the same data that appears on their computer. It presents a backup copy.
A major advantage of the iPod is its small size and light weight, as it is easy to carry and move around. The device is currently sold in three varieties: iPod shuffle, iPod mini, and iPod standard. It can store from 1 gigabite to 60 gigabites of memory.
3.Blackberry
The Blackberry is a fairly new product that is manufactured by a company called Research 
in Motion (RIM) found in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The Blackberry is a device that is a phone, email organizer, calendar, and Internet browser all in one. Reception is found anywhere where regular cellular phone coverage is offerred. The Blackberry is a handy device to carry and receive information on the go.
It has a color screen and a small keyboard for individuals to type memos or emails and browse the Internet. It offers a calendar to organize memos, contacts, and email addresses. This particular feature is an advantage as all contact information is stored in one place and can be modified and updated all at one time. Users can also choose a feature in Microsoft Outlook where emails can be forwarded to the Blackberry.
An interesting fact about the Blackberry is that the entire New York Fire Department and the members of the United States Congress own one. The main reason behind this is that after 9/11, after there were problems with email reception, they decided to use Blackberry's because of constant reception, regardless if there is a lack of cell phone reception.
~John Walker is an owner of National Audio Video store in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has over 20 years of experience in the gadget and technical business and is an audio/video consultant. John is married and has two children. You can visit his website at www.nationalav.com.