Brandon Faust | Ritz Section Manager

3/08/02

Just in case you are looking for a last-minute tech toy to bring along with you on your spring break trip, we at Whim have compiled a small assortment of gadgets you may want to consider looking at. These items can make your travelling endeavours more enjoyable and/or costlier. Take a look below and have a fun-filled break in the meantime!

Note: You can click the pictures to view them at a larger size.

Samsung Yepp Hip Hop 32MB Digital Audio Player
By now, we have all heard of digital MP3 players. Samsung's newest, Yepp Hip Hop, is currently one of the leading sellers in the market. And all you have to do is download MP3's to your PC, transfer them to the player, and hit the road.

Pros Affordable! $69.99 at Amazon.com Quick PC-to-device transfers Easy-to-use software included Long-lasting battery Cons Memory too small, 7-9 songs at most (depends on sizes of songs) Remote and headphones get tangled easily The device is "too light" Memory too small, again, definitely buy a 64MB SmartCard or something

Sony SuperSlim Pro PCG-R505JS
A couple of years ago, Sony blessed us with the VAIO 505F. It was so tiny and portable, it weighed a whole 3 pounds. This year they have released a newer, less expensive, better-looking lineup, the SuperSlim Pro.

Pros Pentium III 850 MHz (fastest for its size) Nice docking station for floppy, CDRW/DVD combo, Ethernet, etc. More attractive price than previous versions Has Jog Dial feature for quicker menu navigation, instead of using touchpad Weighs less than 4 pounds Cons Drives are not "swappable" for upgrades Difficult to add more memory due to internal design Display only supports 24-bit color No ports for secondary mouse or keyboard

Panasonic PV-VM202 Palmcorder Multicam
Panasonic's latest video/image recorder has hit the shelves and it seems pleasing! This particular device is basically a transformer camera -- it can either be a video recorder or purely a digital still camera. It separates into two different devices! Megatron...

Pros Can split into two diff. devices Real neat design Still camera can be very portable Horizontal resolution of 520 lines (better than most standard TVs) Cons Taking camcorder device off doesn't really make camera lighter Easier to misplace parts when able to take it apart Still-image quality isn't the best Recorded video converts to low quality resolution for PC, 176 x 144