If you're like me, you are probably getting tired of rising costs on everything, and look for ways to save money whenever you can.

In my informal poll of friends and family, I've found that most of us are paying $80 ~ $100/mo for cable or satellite TV, and can't imagine parting with it because the DVR is such an important part of how we live... it lets us watch what we want, when we want.

If there were a way to easily watch OTA (over the air) television using a DVR, we might be more willing to ditch cable/satellite.

The ChannelMaster CM-7000PAL looks promising enough and is getting pretty good reviews from customers. It offers an electronic program guide that allows you to preset recording schedules so you never miss your favorite shows. Users can record up to 130 hours of SD (standard definition) content or up to 30 hours of HD content. The CM-7000PAL easily hooks up to just about any TV as it includes HDMI, component and composite connectors. One of its best features is the dual tuner that lets you record two shows at once!

Overall, the CM-7000PAL is a lot like a cable or satellite DVR, but there is one major difference:

Unlike most other DVR set top boxes, there are NO monthly subscription fees.

I haven't pulled the trigger on this idea yet (mostly because there are family members I have to convince), but I may try it soon.

Check out this cool video review by a knowledgeable Crutchfield staffer:

BONUS INFO: While doing more research, one reviewer explains that the DTVpal DVR that sells for $250 at Kmart is pretty much the same thing as the ChannelMaster 7000PAL... I've not tried either unit out yet, so I don't know for sure if you lose any features with this lesser-expensive model. I've also found a forum thread with a tremendous amount of info that compares DTVpal/7000pal features to that of TiVo... you can find that at http://j.mp/dtvpal

Have any of you tried this solution? Please feel free to post your comments about your experience with it!

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Verizon recently announced that starting September 28th, they will be selling premium smartphones like the Droid X for use on their Pre-Paid service.

Reports indicate that on the PrePaid service, the DroidX will cost $395 and a $45/mo plan would provide for 450 minutes per month with no text messages.

Unlimited data to the phone would cost the same $30/mo that 2-year contract customers can get.

With Verizon's 4G service expected to roll out in 30 cities this year and more cities over the coming 12-18mos, many who want a new 3G smartphone right now, consider PrePaid service to be a smarter idea, rather than sign up for a 2-year contract. photo By 惟①刻¼

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A day later and now the archived video event is available and viewable with more browsers, like FireFox.

Check it out at: http://j.mp/b8awea

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The confirmed specs look pretty good for Samsung's Galaxy Tab:

• Android Froyo 2.2 with TouchWiz 3.0
• 7-inch 1024 x 600 pixel resolution display
• 1GHz Cortex A9 processor
• 16GB or 32GB internal storage
• microSD card expansion up to 32GB
• Front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera
• Rear-facing 3-megapixel camera with flash
• 4,000mAh battery
• 3G (most likely with Verizon EVDO)
• 5GHz dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi
• Full HD video playback

I love my 3G iPad, but I'd love it better with cameras and an SD slot...

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Gmail account holders will soon be able to make voice calls to any landline or cellphone at really low rates -- including free calls to USA and Canada!

The feature is being rolled out over time... accounts that have the feature enabled will see a new option under the chat section as seen below:

In order to be able to make the calls, users will need to install the same free plugin that allows video chat on gtalk.

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Over the weekend, electronista reported that VirginMobile prematurely confirmed forthcoming plans to provide truly unlimited mobile broadband data service with no contract, for $40/mo on VM's FaceBook page.

If this really happens, it should seriously change the mobile broadband market, and the consumers win!

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Apple posted a press release today that confessed:

"... the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong."

So the explanation for all those people who have been noticing wierd signal issues is that the new iPhone has been showing more bars than it should be.

What? you mean the signal isn't even as good as the phone has been showing us?

That means that the new iPhone is lying about how good ATT signal may be in some places.

Apple maintains that the iPhone 4's wireless performance "is the best we have ever shipped", and that the only real problem is their software has been erroneously reporting the wrong number of signal bars.

Simply. Amazing.

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Bloomberg really seems to think so.

I'd stand in line to buy a Verizon iPhone.

It will be nice to find out whether or not Verizon's network could hold up better than ATT's network has.

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http://www.simon.com/mall/?id=1248

Test Date: May 16, 2010 4:00:30 PM
Connection Type: Cellular

Download: 1341 kbps
Upload: 105 kbps
Ping: 279 ms

Not bad, considering the crowd of people here... Sent from my iPad

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In my house we now have two iPads (one 3G, one just WiFi) as well as a 3rd generation iPod Touch. Like many other folks, we also have guests over who bring their iPhones along with them, and as luck would have it, they often need to plug in their wall chargers while visiting.

It was frustrating to find enough outlets for individual wall chargers and so I went looking for a multi-USB charger that had enough output power to charge multiple Apple devices, including iPads that draw much more power than an iPhone or iPod Touch.

I found one! and if you're interested in getting what I think is the best A/C adapter for any Apple device that uses an iPhone type cable for charging, you might want to check out the Lenmar ACUSB4 AC Travel Adapter

I have this device in my living room with two iPads and an iPod Touch -- all happily charging. And I still have a fourth USB outlet thats open and available for when guests come over. Not sure it can handle a third iPad but we'll find out when my nieces come over with theirs, i'm sure. Worst case scenario is I have to get one more of these.

Its worth noting that it ships with international plugs in addition to a plug for use in the USA. Very versatile!

One last thing. I also found Extra Long 6 Foot (6ft) iPhone / iPad / iPod USB Charge and Sync Cables that are twice the length of the stock cables that come from Apple. These make it much easier to stay plugged in, and still be charging.

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Test Date: May 11, 2010 1:21:30 PM
Connection Type: Cellular

Download: 2174 kbps
Upload: 220 kbps
Ping: 421 ms

A detailed image for this result can be found here:

Sent from my iPad

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Download: 1270 kbps
Upload: 247 kbps
Ping: 237 ms

A detailed image for this result can be found here:

Sent from my iPad

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Not sure when the SonyStyle site will publish my unfavorable review. Here is what it should say when it does post:

Not all features are delivered
Date: May 6, 2010
Pros: Impressive screen image and touchscreen sensitivity
Cons: The USB port is useless, for now. The speaker is not "sony" quality.
The website says you can: "Access audio, video or photo content stored on mass storage USB devices by connecting to the USB port" -- that may be true in the future, but it doesn't deliver that now. I'm disappointed because I really wanted to play my content on the Dash. This one is going back, and I might buy it again, when the USB port actually does something.

In that review I should have elaborated on my comment about the Dash's speaker not being "sony quality" -- what I meant was, the audio quality of the speaker did not impress me at all. And this is a SONY product? they should be embarassed to have something that costs $200, sound so mediocre.

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Decent speed inside living room

Best speeds are outside of house in front yard

Sent from my iPad

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Finally! the FedEx folks really had me watching my door today.
Didn't want to miss them and chase a truck all over town ;-)

Attaching a few photos to this post that show the packaging is very similar to non-3G iPad.

The only real difference is that Apple includes a special tool to extract the SIM card.
You should be able to see that tool in the photo showing contents of box.

My new 3G iPad took me about 3 minutes to register onto the ATT network but signal is so bad inside my house, I had to stand in back driveway to do it. I expected that... and I plan on doing speedtest to show ATT 3G speeds with weak signal, and signal improved by some Wilson Electronics wireless amplifiers that I will be testing.

For those curious about the process to register for ATT 3G service, check out this new Apple Support Doc

Right now, my new 3G iPad is synching up photos/music/apps/etc with my Mac Pro... so I'll report more on it, later!

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Looks like Apple is living up to the promise of delivering pre-ordered 3G iPads by "end of April"

Just barely!

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http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-doesnt-have-to-worry-about-the-hp-slate-...

Are giving the impression that the HP Slate may be vaporware - for now, anyway.

Sent from my iPad

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I'm going to spoil this for you because I LOVE excuse #1:

"it didn't work anyway, it was still on AT&T"

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According to many news sites, Apple has announced that pre-orders of the 3G-enabled iPad will reach customers on April 30th.

I can't wait to see how well the local DFW ATT 3G service performs on the new 3G iPad I should be receiving, and am curious what side-by-side comparisons with an iPhone 3GS will reveal.

Speaking of the iPhone 3GS... I (finally) bought one right before my trip to Hong Kong last April, and I took the full 30 days to evaluate whether or not I could justify it. Sadly, I've returned the iPhone and think the 3G iPad makes more sense for me, simply because I don't make a lot of cell phone calls.

I'm also hopeful that VOIP calls on the 3G iPad sound good enough to be a viable alternative to using a cell phone at all.

We'll see!

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In my review I tried to convey that one of the things that amazes me about my iPad is its speed. Whatever I want my iPad to do, it starts doing quickly. The interface keeps up with me. I am almost never waiting on my iPad (with the exception of anything that internet speed can affect).

There have been some that said the forthcoming/rumored HP Slate would be a better option than the iPad and my opinion is that anything with an atom processor that tries to run a full windows operating system, will never feel as snappy as an iPad.

Folks who recently got their hands on the HP Slate "in the wild", did a hands on review and appear to confirm my suspicions.

Check out Engadget's summary at http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/19/hp-slate-leaks-its-way-into-the-wild-meh/

And the google-translated content at conecti-ca

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