Vertical Technology Blog

NetBlender has BD Touch technology that will work directly with BD Live and allow your iPhone or iPod Touch to interact with your Blu-ray player.  BD Touch would utilize the geo location features of your iPhone, the 3D sensors and easy to use QWERTY keyboard to enhance your experience.  This opens doors for you to enjoy a large amount of data trading between your gadgets.

You could keep detailed lists of your Blu-ray collection and get movie suggestions that match your taste.  While the movie is playing, trivia and extra information about the movie can be displayed.  Games and other features could definitely enhance things for you as well.  All of these things can happen as the Blu-ray is playing.

Also, your iPhone can be morphed into a lovely remote control for your Blu-ray player and keep things easily controlled from afar as you enjoy your collection.  It works over a WiFi connection, so no matter where you are located, if you have that, you can enjoy BD Touch technology fairly easily.

For a flashy yet useful GPS system you need to look at the Dash Express.  Utilizing neat plug-ins like MyDash, allows you to customize your experience with the GPS system so that you get what you need at your fingertips.

With two-way connectivity, Dash taps into Yahoo! Local search, among other choices, and allows you to find the location of almost anything.  Most GPS systems come pre-loaded with static locations marked up but you can customize what you are looking for with this setup.

Dash Express also will work to get all the information off the Dash Driver Network and match it up with other sources of data to give you the most up-to-date and accurate feel for what’s coming up ahead as you drive.  Traffic conditions can rapidly change and the Dash will let you know quickly so you can re-route.

This also has a neat feature called Send2Car that allows you or someone you contact to send an address straight to your Dash from any computer.  Two-way connectivity certainly makes this product stand out from the rest.

With this Neoprene Charger Organizer Bag, your wire woes will be no worry. Are you wasting your precious time untangling cords to all your gadgets, headphones and chargers?

If you travel often on business or just carry your music and gadgets everywhere you go, you’ll love the features of this handy bag. It has six fleece lined pockets and you carry it via the handle on top. It’s made of wetsuit grade neoprene to keep your gadgets safe from the drizzly days and any light impacts.

Completely machine washable and sized at 10″ x 11.5″, you will look stylish and organized with this cute bag. Spend just $30 on the bag, or if you are planning to give it as a gift, add only $4.50 to your order total and the item will arrive all boxed and bowed up with a navy blue box, green grosgrain ribbon and light blue crinkled shred filler to match the product site colors.

Redesigned and sleek, the iRiver Clix plays your music, videos and displays photos with 2GB to 8GB of storage and a bright 2.2″ AMOLED screen. 

It supports music subscription services so you still have an open door for purchased music to be added and it has a built-in digital FM tuner in case you want to get local tunes.

Fast USB transfers and it comes with iRiver earphones, an install CD, quick start guide and the USB cable so that you’re ready to transfer your favorite songs to it.

Video players are usually a second thought, right after MP3 players. Typically you buy an MP3 player that includes video options, not one that focuses on video first. I got to review the Ice player by Latte Communications from ThinkGeek.com and I think it has some great features, with video coming first.

The 2.8 inch display is a good size and you can adjust the brightness and most all settings for video playback. It’s also expandable with a miniSD card so you can carry with you more movie choices. The player has a visual display when you play MP3’s that’s clear and the sound is very nice, especially when you toy with the on-screen equalizer.

With 2GB of storage to start with, you’ll have plenty to keep going without expanding it right away. There is an integrated speaker but I chose to use the headphones, although I did use the speaker for sharing a bit of a song with my son. I couldn’t get the FM radio to get a good signal inside my house, but outside it did much better. I don’t typically listen at home anyhow, it’s a portable player for that reason, right?

I don’t do voice recordings often, but it does have that option for quick reminders or voice notes. It was easy to use and charged up via the USB port, also, the moving of songs from my laptop to the device was just a drag-drop experience. Super easy and thin (pictured by my Motorola RAZR) you can carry this device most anywhere.

If you don’t want to spend uber-dollars on a laptop this season, but you have an IM-er in the house, you might want to take a look at other options for them.  Zipit’s Wireless Instant Messaging system is a neat idea for people in that category.

With audio playback and photo viewing available, you can enjoy a host of fun features this baby has to offer.  The Zipit has a few pre-requisites, you must have existing IM accounts (those are free with MSN, Yahoo and AOL/AIM) and a wireless connection either at home or a hotspot abroad.  This makes IMing free, with no monthly fee or pay per use bills coming in the mail.

The photo sharing requires a miniSD card for storing, but many digital cameras need those so this would pair up well with one of those.  The audio offers Internet Radio or again, the miniSD card for storing your favorite songs.  You use the Zipit Wireless site for themes and extras, to help you personalize the screen, and you’re ready to chat!