Digital Journal — As always, Digital Journal features its exclusive list of Essential Digital Gear featuring the latest and hottest digital equipment. Before you rush out to shop for new gadgets, make sure you turn to the pages of Digital Journal magazine, or visit us online for your one-stop shopping guide.
Digital Journal magazine is available in Chapters and Indigo bookstores across Canada, and at Barnes & Nobles and Hastings Bookstores across the United States. Digital Journal‘s Essential Digital Gear continues to be your wish list of must-haves.
Top 5 Best MP3 Players
| Product Name | Apple iPod | Creative Zen Micro | iRiver H10 | SanDisk Sansa e140 | Olympus m:robe 100 |
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| KEY FEATURES | |||||
| Supported File Formats | AAC, MP3, Audible, WAV | MP3, WMA, WAV | MP3, WMA, JPG, Audible | MP3, WMA | MP3, WMA |
| Storage/Songs (128 kbps) |
60GB/15,000 | 6GB/1,500 | 6GB/1,500 | 1GB (SD expandable) | 5GB/1,200 |
| FM Tuner | None | Listen and record | Listen and record | Listen | None |
| Battery Type/Life | Li-ion/15 hours | Li-ion/12 hours | Li-ion/12 hours | 1 x AAA/17 hours | Li-ion/12 hours |
| Display | 2″ LCD | 1.5″ LCD | 1.5″ LCD | 1.5″ LCD | 1.7″ LCD |
| Connectivity | USB 2.0/FireWire 400 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 |
| Dimensions (HWD in) | 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.75 | 3.3 x 2 x 0.7 | 3.8 x 2.2 x 0.6 | 2.9 x 2.2 x 0.6 | 3.5 x 2 x 0.5 |
| Weight | 6.4 oz | 3.8 oz | 3.4 oz | 1.8 oz | 3.5 oz |
| Why It’s Essential | New colour screen, charge via USB or FireWire, podcast-ready |
Available in 10 colours with 98db signal-to-noise ratio, removable battery, voice recorder |
Digital photo viewer, removable battery, voice recorder, enhanced 3D audio technology |
Add an additional 2GB via SD card slot, SRS WOW digital sound and a stopwatch |
Charge via USB, view song lyrics, touch panel control, optional in-line remote control |
| Price (CAN/US) | $519/$399 | $310/$250 | $380/$280 | $175/$125 | $310/$250 |
Top 5 Best Digital Cameras
| Product Name | Minolta DiMage X60 | Canon S2 IS | Nikon Coolpix S2 | Fujifilm FinePix Z1 | Nikon D2X |
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| KEY FEATURES | |||||
| Resolution | 5.0 Megapixel CCD | 5.0 Megapixel CCD | 5.1 Megapixel CCD | 5.1 Megapixel CCD | 12.4 Megapixel CMOS |
| Battery Type</td> | Li-ion | 4 x AA (Ni-MH) | Li-ion | Li-ion | Li-ion |
| Max. Image Resolution | 2560 x 1920 | 2592 x 1944 | 2592 x 1944 | 2592 x 1944 | 4288 x 2848 |
| File Types | JPEG, WAV, Motion JPEG JPEG, AVI, WAV | JPEG, AVI | JPEG, WAV, Motion JPEG | JPEG, RAW, TIFF | |
| Supplied Memory | 15MB Internal | 16MB SD Memory Card | 12MB internal | 16MB xD Picture Card | None |
| Zoom (Optical/Digital) | 3x/4x | 12x/4x | 3x/4x | 3x/5.7x | Depends on lens |
| Why It’s Essential | 0.5 second startup time, 5 cm macro mode and a compact non-protruding zoom lens |
Vari-angle LCD, optical image stabilization and 30fps 640 x 480 movie clips with stereo audio |
2.5-inch TFT LCD, in-camera red-eye fix and D-lighting to add light to underexposed images |
Scratch-resistant 2.5-inch TFT LCD and “Real Photo Technology” for low noise at high ISO settings |
Optional WT-2 wireless transmitter for remote camera control and up to 2,000 images per charge |
| Price (CAN/US) | $400/$330 | $700/$580 | $520/$430 | $565/$450 | $6,100/$4,900 |
Top 5 Best Camcorders
| Product Name | Sony HVR-Z1U | JVC GY-HD100U | Panasonic AG-HVX200 | Sony HVR-A1U | Sony HDR-HC1 |
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| KEY FEATURES | |||||
| CCD/Pixels (total) | 3 CCD/3 MP | 3 CCD/3 MP | 3 CCD/3.3 MP | CMOS/3 MP | CMOS/3 MP |
| XLR Audio | 2 inputs | 2 inputs | 2 inputs | 2 inputs | N/A |
| Zoom (Optical/Digital) | 12x/– | 16x/– | 13x/– | 10x/40x | 10x/120x |
| Video Recording System | 1080i, 525i, 480p | 720p, 576p, 480p, 480i | 1080i, 720p, 480i | 1080i, 480i | 1080i |
| Frame Rates | 50,60 | 24,25,30,50,60 | 24,30,60 | 60 | 60 |
| Included Memory | N/A | N/A | N/A | 16MB MSD | 16MB MSD |
| Dimensions (HWD in) | 7.6 x 6.4 x 14.4 | 9.13 x 9.25 x 12.38 | N/A | 3.5 x 4.1 x 9.1 | 3.8 x 2.9 x 7.5 |
| Weight | 5.3 lbs | 6.9 lbs | 5 lbs | 1.5 lbs | 1.7 lbs |
| Why It’s Essential | 5.5 hours of battery life, 16:9 native CCD, HD quality and full manual picture control |
Interchangeable lenses and picture adjustment settings can be saved to a memory card |
P2 solid state memory recording option, 6 custom user profile settings and 3 custom buttons |
Small and compact design, histogram indicator and 2.8 megapixel still camera |
Smallest consumer HDV camera to date, built-in still camera flash and a 2.7″-wide LCD |
| Price (CAN/US) | $6,800/$5,950 | $7,800,/$5,000 | $7,500/$6,000 | $4,300/$3,500 | $2,500/$2,000 |
Top 5 Best Cell Phones
| Product Name | Kyocera KX440 | Kyocera K494 | Motorola V186M | Motorola V635 | Nokia 6670 |
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| KEY FEATURES | |||||
| Cellular Technology | CDMA | CDMA | GSM | GSM | GSM |
| Service Provider (Canada only) | Telus Mobility | Telus Mobility | Rogers | Rogers | Fido |
| Screen Type | 4K 104 x 80 | 65K 104 x 80 | 65K 128 x 128 | 65K 176 x 220 | 65K 176 x 208 TFT |
| Included Features | Walkie-talkie, GPS locator, speakerphone, scheduler | Tip calculator, polyphonic ringers, voice dialling | MP3 ring tones, TuneTracker, calculator, calendar, alarm |
1.23 megapixel digicam, PC sync, speakerphone | USB 2.0 sync, MMS, email, Web browser |
| Standby/Talk Time | 96 hrs/3.3 hrs | 180 hrs/3.5 hrs | 265 hrs/4 hrs | 235 hrs/7 hrs | 240 hrs/4 hrs |
| Why It’s Essential | Durable case design with rubber grip and detachable sport clip |
Built-in flashlight and durable rubber design | Access to exclusive MuchMusic content, MPEG 4 video playback and online multimedia storage |
MP3 player, external transflash storage up to 512MB, Bluetooth and global roaming |
Built-in 1-megapixel digital camera and included 64MB MultiMedia card |
| Price (CAN) | 230 | 130 | 150 | 440 | 450 |
Top 5 Best Applications
| Product Name | Apple OS X Tiger | Adobe Acrobat Pro | Adobe Creative Suite | Adobe Photoshop Elements | InterVideo DVD Copy |
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| KEY FEATURES | |||||
| Description | The latest OS from Apple with new desktop-search technology |
Intelligent and secure portable document authoring software | Complete and effcient design software package for the Web, print and mobile devices |
Consumer-level solution for editing, organizing and sharing digital photos |
A fast, simple DVD copy utility with support for a variety of video formats |
| Version | 10.4 | 7.0 | 2.0 Premium | 3.0 | 3.0 Platinum Edition |
| Operating System | N/A | WinXP/2K/XP Tablet/OS X | WinXP/2K/OS X 10.2.8-10.4 | WinXP/2000 | WinXP/2000 |
| Minimum Processor/RAM | PowerPC G3/256MB | Pentium or G3/128MB | Pentium III or G4/384MB | Pentium III or G3/256MB | Pentium III 600 MHz |
| Minimum Disk Space | 3GB | 460-495MB | 3-4GB | 200-800MB | 50MB |
| Target User | Macintosh users | Creative/business pro | Creative professional | Creative consumer | Film fanatics |
| Why It’s Essential | New instant search technology and quick information apps | File searching, performance and smaller but high-quality PDF files |
New Adobe bridge and stock photos; for detailed feature improvements, see page 79 |
Quick fix and spot-healing brush tools make photo touch-ups fast, easy and enjoyable |
Dual layer support, menu skip, true 1:1 DVD copy and DVD merge to copy from multiple sources |
| Price (CAN/US) | $150/$130 | $650/$450 | $1,500/$1,200 | $120/$90 | $100/$80 |
Top 5 Best PDAs
| Product Name | Palm One Tungsten E2 | HP iPaq hx4700 | Garmin iQue M5 | PalmOne LifeDrive | Dell Axim X50v |
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| KEY FEATURES | |||||
| Display Type | 16-bit 320 x 320 TFT | 16-bit 480 x 640 TFT | 16-bit 320 x 240 TFT | 16-bit 320 x 480 TFT | 16-bit 480 x 640 TFT |
| Processor | Intel 200 MHz Xscale | Intel 624 MHz | Intel 416 MHz | Intel 416 MHz XScale | Intel 624 MHz XScale |
| Expansion Ports | SD, SDIO, MMC | SD, SDIO, MMC, CF II | SD, SDIO, MMC | SD, SDIO, MMC | SD, SDIO, MMC, CF II |
| Battery Life | 5-11 hours | 5.5 hours | 5-7 hours | 5 hours | 4-5 hours |
| Dimensions | 4.5 x 3.1 x 0.6 | 5.1 x 3.0 x 0.6 | 5 x 2.8 x 0.8 | 4.8 x 2.9 x 1.8 | 0.7 x 2.9 x 4.7 |
| Weight | 4.7 oz | 6.6 oz | 5.9 oz | 6.8 oz | 6.2 oz |
| Why It’s Essential | Brighter display, integrated Bluetooth, and smooth MP3 and video playback |
Integrated 802.11b wireless and mouse-like touchpad navigation |
Voice recorder, GPS navigation system with 5 million+ points of interest and Bluetooth radio |
4GB internal hard drive, voice recorder, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled |
Poweful CPU and video accelerator with 16MB video memory for multimedia-intense users |
| Price (CAN/US) | $300/$250 | $750/$600 | $830/$750 | $700/$500 | $600/$420 |
Top 5 Best All-in-Ones
| Product Name | Brother MFC-7820N | Epson Stylus Photo RX620 | Canon Pixma MP760 | Dell All-in-One 962 | Xerox WorkCentre C2424/DN |
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| KEY FEATURES | |||||
| Compatibility | WinXP/2000/98/ME/NT4 Mac OS 9.1-9.2/v10.2.4+ | WinXP/2000/98SE/ME Mac OS 9.1+/v10.2+ | WinXP/2000/98/ME Mac OS X v10.2.4 -10.3 | WinXP/2000 | WinXP/98+/Server 2003 Mac OS 9.x/v10.1+ |
| Maximum Print Resolution | 2400 x 600 dpi | 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi | 4800 x 1200 dpi | 4800 x 1200 dpi | 600 x 600 dpi |
| Print Speed (black/colour) | 20 ppm/ N/A | 17 ppm/16 ppm (draft) | 25 ppm/17 ppm | 20 ppm/15 ppm | 24 ppm/24 ppm |
| Maximum Paper Size (in.) | 8.5 x 11 | 8.5 x 14 or 3.5 x 44 | 8.5 x 14 | 8.5 x 17 | 8.5 x 14 |
| Buffer/RAM | 32MB | N/A | N/A | N/A | 256MB (upgradable) |
| Adobe PostScript | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Version 3 |
| Dimensions (HWD in.) | 11.6 x 17.0 x 15.6 | 11.9 x 22.3 x 17.7 | 10.5 x 19.1 x 18.6 | 11.7 x 19.7 x 17.3 | 24.4 x 20.9 x 23.2 |
| Why It’s Essential | Built-in network interface, 600-page fax memory, caller ID and 208-entry auto dialler |
View, crop and enlarge photos on the 2.5″ LCD, scan and print slides and negatives |
Duplex printing, dual paper trays, detachable scanner lid and a colour LCD |
Affordable all-in-one solution with excellent print quality and 80-page fax memory |
Network capable, internal hard disk, Energy Star qualified, solid-ink technology |
| Price (CAN/US) | $510/$350 | $400/$300 | $430/$250 | $180/$135 | $4,000/$2,800 |
Note: Prices are in Canadian funds, based
on the original MSRP; these are subject to change. Reseller’s prices
will vary.
