The vast majority of notebooks and netbooks being released into the marketplace today come equipped with integrated webcams and microphones, but these are obviously of a lower-quality when compared to premium standalone products. You could use the microphone that’s built into the portion above your display, but you’re probably going to pick up some wind noise and the resulting audio quality will be sub-par at best.
For people who want more professional sound, but need to stay mobile and keep things under a tighter budget, a viable option may be the Samson Go Mic. This portable USB condenser microphone is a lot smaller than the larger studio-quality microphones being produced by Samson, but they’ve included much of the same technology in the Go Mic that they put into the more expensive counterparts.
Quick Glance at the Features
The whole point of the Samson Go Mic is to give you that studio-like experience without having to lug around a giant microphone. It’s completely plug-and-play compatible with both PCs and Macs, since it can be used with generic USB drivers that your computer will auto-detect and install. It’s also very small, measuring about 7cm x 4cm x 2cm.
It has a spring-loaded clip and a built-in base, so the Samson Go Mic can easily attach to the top of a laptop or it can be placed on a desk for ease of use too. The adjustable stand lets you point the mic in just about any direction too. Other highlights include 3.5mm headphone output, 20Hz to 18KHz frequency response, and a resolution of 44.1kHz/16-bit.
Inside the box, you get the instructional manual, the Go Mic, a carrying cash, a USB cable, a couple of clips, Music Creator CD, and some other documentation. You don’t have to install the software unless you want to make use of the advanced functionality it offers.
Initial Impressions and Build Quality
Aside from its rather compact size, the Samson Go Mic is also quite impressive with the level of build quality and choice of materials that Samson decided to use here. It’s very well built and gives you a great sense of being a premium product.
There are professional-grade wind screens on both the front and back portion of the microphone, so you won’t have to worry about wind noise and other distortions when it comes to your sound recordings. The mini-USB port is easily accessed on the side and it’s right next to the 3.5mm headphone output jack. This way, you can hear what you’re recording without the sound being picked up by the mic itself.
The articulation of the stand is also very nice, giving you a grippy surface on one side if you want to use it on a desk, but the robust spring-loaded clip can be used to attach to a notebook too. On the other side, not pictured, is a switch for swapping between some different audio recording modes. I’m not much of an audiophile, in this respect, so I don’t know exactly what these mean.
So, How Does It Sound?
In addition to regular audio recordings, the Samson Go Mic USB condenser microphone can also be great for recording podcasts, having VoIP conversations, and other similar kinds of applications.
To give it a proper test, I put together a short video of me making my lunch and then I superimposed the video with audio I recorded using the Go Mic. I placed the Go Mic on my desk, about 12 inches or so away from my face, and I spoke at a regular conversational volume. As you can tell in the embedded video, the audio is very clear and crisp.
Conclusion
For people who want something better than the integrated microphones on their computers, the Samson Go Mic is a very good option. It’s just as portable as carrying around a notebook mouse and you get much better audio that the little hole in your laptop lid. The windscreens are very effective and the resulting sound is clean and crisp.
The Samson Go Mic Portable USB Condenser Microphone is listed at about $80, but you can find it on sale online for about $50-$60 through a number of different retailers.
Oh my, how the netbook market has changed. When we were first introduced to the form factor, we got rather anemic specs and tiny keyboards. These days, the lines are certainly blurring between what it means to be a netbook and what it means to be an ultraportable notebook. Further confusing the differentiation is the leaked Asus Eee PC 1201N.
Traditionally, we would say that a netbook has to stay under 10-inches in screen size, but the Eee PC 1201N has a 12.1-inch LED backlit display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. That’s the 16:9 wide aspect ratio that seems to be all the rage with multimedia-minded laptops these days.
The real appeal for this netbook, which has yet to appear on the Asus site but it is live on the site of a Chinese web retailer, is the inclusion of the NVIDIA Ion graphics chipset. That should help with video rendering, photo editing, and maybe even a little bit of gaming.
Rounding out the spec sheet, we find that the Asus Eee PC 1201N gets an Intel Atom N270 (why not the N280?), 250GB SATA hard drive, multicard reader, 1.3 megapixel camera, up to 11 hours of battery, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. The list also makes mention of Windows 7, so that leads us to believe that this won’t be ready until late next month.
The Chinese retailer has the Eee PC 1201N listed at 3504 yuan, which works out to about $513.
The days where you can just hang out next to the pool with your umbrella drink are probably numbered, unless you can find yourself in more tropical climes some time soon. Even so, the new Pure Sensia will certainly come in handy with or without the cabana boy there to bring you an iced beverage. This is so much more than just a regular old poolside radio.
The Pure Sensia will not only nab only to traditional FM radio airwaves to get the music pumping, but it will also take care of DAB and DAB+ radio, as well as Internet radio presumably through a Wi-Fi Internet connection. This thing also comes equipped with a large touchscreen display to navigate you through its different functions.
As if the musical enjoyment were not enough for you already, the touchscreen can also be used to access the built-in “widgets” for access to sites like Facebook and Twitter. You don’t need a smartphone or notebook to do that, you see.
Going further, it comes with a pair of built-in stereo speakers and a jack for audio output to something bigger if you prefer. Along with Facebook and Twitter, other “widgets” give access to Picasa, weather, news, and so on.
Do expect to spend a pretty penny on this Euro-sourced device, however, as the Pure Sensia is listed at 249 GBP. That works out to about $400 or so, which is more than ten times how much you’d probably spend on a cheap clock radio around these parts.
Some analysts are saying that the economy is finally on an upswing and things are starting to look brighter again. Many of the charitable organizations around the world couldn’t be happier, because most experienced a reduction in donations during the heat of the recession. They have to make it as easy as possible to give.
Giving back to the community and to those less fortunate than you is very important, but it can be challenging to open up our checkbooks or to break out the credit cards to do so. As such, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) has just announced that charity donations can now be sent via text message in Canada.
This comes via a relationship with the Mobile Giving Foundation of the United States and, for the time being, the functionality is limited to a small number of non-profit organizations. For now, you can send specialized text messages to donate to Plan Canada, Jays Care Foundation, Best Buddies, and the Children’s Wish Foundation.
Through the SMS donation system, donors can give five or ten bucks through their cell phones. This functionality is being targeted at a younger generation of users, since so many teens and other young people are sending so many text messages anyway. They’re looking at people in their 20s and 30s.
Not everything is completely set up yet, but Plan Canada and Jays Care Foundations are good to go. To give to the former, send HOPE to 30333. For the latter, it’s CARE to 20222.
Some analysts are saying that the economy is finally on an upswing and things are starting to look brighter again. Many of the charitable organizations around the world couldn’t be happier, because most experienced a reduction in donations during the heat of the recession. They have to make it as easy as possible to give.
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