More famous for their car audio equipment Kicker has now released a portable system for the home which is designed for use with a Zune portable media player. This is a powerful Zune docking station which features 40 watt stereo amplifiers, 5 inch woofers and a 6 inch subwoofer for top quality bass. Although it is dedicated to the Zune it has an auxiliary port which means you could use other MP3 players with the device.

If you do plug in a Zune you’ll find the slim remote control gives you full access to the features and with the composite video and stereo RCA outputs you could pass on audio and video to other devices. It works with all Zune models and will give you full feature access to the menu system and charge the device even in standby mode. This is a great quality system and you can order one for $169.95.

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What is a sleep coach? I hear you shout incredulously. Well it’s a device which measures your sleep patterns. You wear a headband when you go to sleep each night and the Zeo Sleep Coach measures the electrical signals produced by your brain and creates a chart which shows you a graph of the different levels of sleep you pass through each night. What’s the point? You may well wonder. For one thing the sleep coach can select a waking time for you based on a natural waking point so in theory you’ll be less groggy when your alarm goes off.

You can also upload your sleep information via an SD memory card with a USB adapter and get all kinds of advice and feedback on your sleeping patterns. If a good night’s sleep is really the key to a happy and productive lifestyle then this may prove invaluable. You’ll get a sleep rating for each night and advice on how to improve the quality of your slumber. It costs $199.

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This is a 55 inch LED backlit LCD high definition TV from Vizio. It supports a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and also offers internet access. The refresh rate is 240 Hz which is perfect action, sports or gaming and the viewing angle is 178 degrees. There are two built in 15 watt speakers which support SRS TruSurround HD for high definition sound to match the excellent picture. The big selling point of this TV is the internet access via Wi-Fi (802.11n) or Ethernet. Vizio Internet Apps allow you to access everything from Netflix to Twitter.

Connectivity options are also good with 5 HDMI ports, 1 component, 1 composite, 1 S-Video1 RF input and a D-Sub PC input. There are also digital optical audio out and 3 USB ports. There are built in TV tuners and a few other features such as picture in picture. Added to the quality image offering 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio this is an attractive TV. It will cost you about $2,000.

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This new laptop from Gateway has a 2.26 GHz Intel Core i5-430M processor with turbo boost technology which takes it up to 2.53 GHz. It also has 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. There is a 17.3 inch LED backlit display with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. There is an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator and a multi-DVD drive. It also has built in stereo speakers and a webcam with microphone.

There are 4 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA outputs and a multi-in-1 digital media card reader. It supports Wi-Fi (802.11b, g or n) and there’s an alternative Ethernet connection. It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed and it has a handy one touch backup function. A fully charged battery will give you up to 3.8 hours of battery life. This large and powerful laptop costs $679.99.

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Currently Symbian is the world’s most popular smartphone operating system and so the announcement that they have just decided to make the code base open source should be met with interest and excitement by developers. The idea is to stimulate some more development in the face of all the apps being released for Apple’s iPhone and the Google Android operating system. The software is actually owned by Nokia and was previously only available via membership in the Symbian Foundation.

The hope is that the platform will now see some development and modernisation. This move has been in the works since 2008 and with over 300 million phones shipped worldwide that run on Symbian it could lead to some interesting developments. Apparently the foundation will continue to monitor phones using the platform to ensure minimum standards are met. They claim this idea was in the works before the iPhone was released and before Android but there is no doubt Symbian has fallen behind in the popularity stakes since then and this should help them claw some attention back.

This handheld GPS device from Garmin features a 3 inch color touchscreen with a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels. It has a high sensitivity receiver which can pinpoint your location wherever you are and it is also equipped with a barometric altimeter and an electronic compass. It comes pre-loaded with topographic maps for the US and there is a 3D map view which makes it ideal for keen climbers and hikers.

You can customize the device depending on your needs and the options include automotive, marine, recreation, fitness or geocaching. You can set routes and waypoints and then exchange and share them wirelessly with other devices. The track log can store 10,000 points and 20 saved tracks. It takes 2 AA batteries and you’ll get up to 16 hours of use from them. You can also plug in microSD memory cards to add more pre-loaded maps. This lightweight portable device costs $331.15 on Amazon right now.

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If you’re into extreme sports and you want to be able to record your escapades then this is the device for you. It is a helmet cam capable of recording video and taking photos. There are three settings on offer for capturing HD footage, you can record at 1080p, 30 frames per second, 16:9 aspect ratio and with a 127 degree angle, you can record at 960p, 4:3 aspect ratio and a 170 degree angle or you can record at 720p, at 30 or 60fps. The camera is also capable of capturing 5 megapixel still shots and can be set to take them at automatic intervals.

It is shockproof and waterproof to 60 meters so you can always capture the footage you want whether mountain biking or surfing. The rechargeable battery gives you 2.5 hours of shooting time and it can be charged via USB. There is also a car charger provided. It takes SD memory cards up to 32 GB. It comes with a variety of straps and mounts for different helmets and it also comes with a USB cable, component cable and a composite video and audio cable.

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This 26 inch LCD is currently reduced to $289.99 on Amazon which makes it a hot deal. The top resolution is 720p so it is high definition but doesn’t support full 1080p. It has a contrast ratio of 12,000:1 and a dedicated game mode for fast action. The viewing angle is 178 degrees and the picture quality is great. This is ideal for a bedroom or study. It has a couple of extra features that make it more attractive, first up is the support for SD memory cards which allows you to view photos or video you shot in HD on your TV. There is also an optional iPod kit which allows you to play music and video from your iPod.

There are 3 HDMI ports and this TV can also be used as a computer monitor. The Viera Link functionality allows you to control other devices with the one remote control. It also has an energy efficient standby mode and an automatic off function.

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The latest version of the iPod Touch has a 64 GB capacity which offers plenty of mobile entertainment. The 3.5 inch screen has multi-touch functionality and a top resolution of 480 x 320 pixels. You’ll get 30 hours of audio playback from a single charge or 6 hours of video playback. It supports a wide range of formats including AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV for audio, H.264 and MPEG-4 for video, and JPEG, BMP, GIF for images.

It is capable of creating mixes and playlists for you and you can simply shake the device to shuffle. The controls are intuitive and satisfying to use. There are also loads of apps available for the iPod Touch to suit every purpose. It also has voice control capability and it can be used to surf the web or even send email. It comes with earbuds which have a built in remote and microphone. It’s not cheap though and at Amazon it will cost you $357.

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There is now a free Android app for download which gives you access to Amazon MP3 store in the UK. This provides the mobile operating system with an iTunes of its own. The Amazon MP3 Store offers access to over 9 million DRM free tracks. The store can be accessed via 3G or Wi-Fi and it is fast and efficient. The big selling point is the fact that the prices for the top 100 songs start at just 29p while they start at 59p on iTunes.

The thing is this has been available in the US for a while now and although Android devices are selling quite well the revolution overturning Apple which was predicted in some quarters still seems to be in its infancy. Reports of poor US sales for the Nexus One are surprising considering it is a top class mobile phone. Still with Android market growing day by day and frequently offering cheaper alternatives to Apple they will surely start to gain ground.