Syntax Groups was at one time best known for its motherboards. But no more – their entry into the consumer electronics field has many other companies scaling back plans, as Syntax in its first year has already captured approximately 5% of the North American LCD-TV market. Let’s see what is making the Olevia brand so successful. (more…)

Well folks, even Motorola has said the m500 isn’t supposed to be out until November – but we just found out that’s plain wrong. You heard it here first: the m500 is out and available right now… (more…)

SilverStone Technology is a leading maker of computer cases, many of which are both beautiful industrial designs and amazingly functional enclosures. Specifically, they focus on enclosures with low acoustics and good thermal distribution, and thus many of them are targeted at the growing home theater PC space – and as such, many SilverStone products have that ‘brushed aluminum’ look and feel. To match their cases, they of course need a lineup of accessories, and we’ll be starting off with one of them here. (more…)

The FIA corporate name may not be well known to consumers, but in the IT field they are a top providers of network storage solutions. The recent entry into the consumer market with the On3 device is a strategic move to grow market share, and certainly looks to be one that will pay off with time. How does a company with network storage expertise win over techie consumers? Let’s see… (more…)

When we did our initial review of the Element/SoniqCast Aireo MP3 player back in May, we knew there was some great work going on behind the scenes at SoniqCast to improve the device in an updated firmware release. Well, the new 3.x series firmware is out, and we’ve had some time to test out the latest release. Did SoniqCast get in the types of improvements needed to bump up their score? Read on and see. (more…)

Roku is a new company developing innovative networked media players, with the Roku HD1000 being their first product to market. Simply put, the HD1000 was designed to be the best consumer photo/image viewer on the market – yes, it has additional features, but my guess is the core focus was around photos, hi-definition television, and add-on LiveArt (slideshows and videos). Did Roku reach the high bar they set for themselves? Well, read on… (more…)

Element Electronics, SoniqCast, Aireo… These three aren’t names you necessarily know well, but we expect by the time we’re done with this review you’ll remember them – and want to know more! (more…)

As we looked at the portable media player market, the Gateway DMP-X20 came in high on the list to look at in the jukebox models. Gateway has really turned around in the past few years, driving deep into the heart of the consumer electronics space. What was once just a top PC company is now a hot electronics reseller. Time will tell whether they can continue to battle the established CE brands like Sony and Samsung for the hearts and minds of consumers worldwide. (more…)

There are around a dozen major players in the mobile audio jukebox space, with every company bringing its own particular spin and features into the fray as they try to win market share. Creative is a powerhouse, having models crossing every segment of the industry, and continually improving their lineup. (more…)

We thought that kicking off our reviews of high-tech displays and monitors would be best served by beginning with a desktop-oriented display first, and then compare/contrast in later reviews of TV or multimedia displays. (more…)

Antec is a well respected name in the component industry at this point. They make some very nice cases, some excellent power supplies, and the myriad of fans, coolers, and other parts and upgrades. Antec’s recent release of the Overture ‘Piano Black Quiet Media Case’ caught my eye, but I wanted to see if the beauty was more than skin deep… (more…)

How better to kick things off on the CHAITGEAR site than review a hot-selling DVD player! I was up browsing around Amazon last month and came upon Apex 2600, read a number of the customer comments, and I figured that for the price, it looked to have an incredible feature set and would move quickly (it has been the #1 ‘Most Popular’ DVD player up on Amazon for an extended period). (more…)

We should have a review unit in our hands during September, and we’re excited to give you a look at the future of portable media player technology. (more…)

(more…)With more and more companies breaking into the US (and worldwide) MP3 player market, we’re trying to branch out our coverage as well. Besteam Group of Taiwan has some cool players, and their new Nazca 1800 unit looks to be quite impressive – so we’re looking to have a unit in later in the Summer for a review.

We’re working with Digital Mind to get in and review their Xclef portable music players, and the Xclef 500 should be reviewed in the next few weeks. (more…)

We’ve just gotten in a Nikon Coolpix 3200 camera, and will be reviewing it in the upcoming weeks. So far, it looks like a simply awesome camera with a great price and an incredible wealth of features packed into a small, comfortable unit. (more…)

We’ve talked to Digital Innovations, makers of the Neuros portable music players, and will be getting in one of their new USB2 models in a few weeks for review. (more…)

Logitech, the leader in wireless input, has added Bluetooth to its technology mix, and you won’t believe what they came up with. (more…)

A great solution to high-fidelity surround audio, with DD/DTS decoding, that doesn’t require a home theater receiver. (more…)

Unfortunately, Netgear at the moment is unable to provide us with a review unit – we’ll keep trying! Until then, you’ll have to just use this brief feature overview to compare against the heavy competition. (more…)