Wanted to do this post for quite a few days now. Ended up getting few cool toys recently, which did change my lifestyle a bit. Boys with no Toys is a no-no
Harmony 880 Remote Control
Now that the football season is picking up the pace, between Indian Idol, Gemini TV (A must for the N to have), I needed one single magic wand to keep jumping between multiple devices, multiple rooms. tada! enter the Harmony 880 remote control.
My equipment: Panasonic 50" Plasma TV, DVR 522, Motorola Cable Box
Harman Kardon 520 Receiver, HK CD changer, Tape Deck
Bose Speakers, Panasonic DVD changer, Sony VCR, Sony Playstation
That will tell you how many remote controls sit on my coffee table. And if I am shuffling around between the multiple input devices and switching between the aspect of 16:9 vs 4:3 etc, one can imagine what a task it would be, especially with a 2 year old at home, who knows what these remote controls do !
I know there are zillions of universal remote controls out there, get one and spend a day or so to scan for codes and breeze through manuals and at the end of the day, you might still be left high and dry, still expecting more as it would not have lived up to its expectations nine times out of ten. The Harmony devices beat that scenario hands down.
The 880 comes with a USB cable, a docking station to charge the Li-ion battery - Yup! Bye bye to AAA or AA batteries ! Now you have the freedom to use them in your kids toys even more. It comes with a CD that would install the Harmony software, which pulls the device codes on a regular basis from the web.
Like one of the old Hero Honda commercials from India says: Fill it, Shut it, forget it. The Harmony remote is that easy to setup and operate. Once you note down the models for your devices and punch them into the harmony s/w, it gives you the option to set up "Activities" which is the best part of this remote. "Watch DVD" "Watch PVR" "Listen to FM" "Play Game" etc, can be set up with ease. Once the remote is updated, bingo..one click and it turns on or toggles between multiple devices, switches between video 1, hdmi 1, and other inputs that you chose to operate your inputs on.
Just love it. Its one of the best devices one could ask for. Makes life easy and watching TV or listening to music more pleasurable experience. For a person like me who is not much into shows, predominantly a HD, News and Sports guy...its totally cool and amazing to have the Harmony 880. One might wonder why spend 120 bucks on a remote control...think again, its totally worth it !
Garmin Nuvi 350Its needless to say what a device the nuvi 350 is. After a lot of deliberation and talking to my fellow 'tronics buffs, I ended up getting the Nuvi 350.
Again, for a typical NewJersian, it totally makes sense to have a GPS, and thats because, if we really calculate, on an average a normal not so crazy about driving around type of person would end up spending atleast 10 hours per week on the roads in NJ. Why? hmm...let me see...in NJ when we say "oh! we are right around the corner" it would mean a 15 min drive. When we say, "oh! Edison/Oak Tree is 40 min from my place" it means you are atleast 4 towns away. Bottom line, yes, we drive a lot in NJ just to exist, not even to live a decent social life...throw in the trips to JFK or sightseeing in the Big Apple...as we say around here...fo ge da ba dit !
Yes a GPS is totally handy and sometimes a must. No, one would not need a traffic update equipped one, coz pretty much most of the radio stations have nothing much to talk about other than traffic, weather and how convoluted the state political system is. One will have traffic analysis every 20 min atleast, encompassing reports on every major highway that cuts thru your social path.
Yes, I know I am not writing much about the device that I bought. It really would not need a review. Its pretty cut and dry when it comes to Nuvi's features and capabilities. The best part of the Garmin devices is, their pocket size. The TomTom XL was a close competitor in my quest, but as SasiKanth puts it, "It really doesn't matter dude! They are the same".
Its just surprising how few toys just elevate one's spirits, and just how few little things here and there make such a huge difference about how we deal with the day to day grind.
NO, I dont have the Nintendo Wii yet...I am not getting enuf time to play my PS2 even. Oh, and I forgot to mention the XBox with Halo 2 sitting in my basement that KK left for me, while he was busy changing his coordinates to NH.
So long folks!
