Review: Harman Kardon Soundsticks II

The Harman Kardon Soundsticks II are an incredible set of speakers, coupling power and clarity with a stylish design. Minutes from opening the box you will have thumping bass pouring out of these speakers. They will fill up a room and make it feel like you are immersed in the music. The two 10 watt speakers can be angled up or down so that the sound can be perfectly manipulated to provide you with the best listening experience. On top of that, the booming 20 watt subwoofer can be turned up enough to make your floor shake, easily reaching those frequencies you never thought existed. The volume control buttons on the tweeters work on contact, and muting them is as simple as touching both at the same time. These Soundsticks not only sound great, but they also look super stylish. The subwoofer looks like a futuristic spaceship, and when its plugged in, a small blue LED glows brilliantly in the dark. The speakers look like they are made of glass, and aren’t so large that they will dominate your workspace, yet they look stunning next to any display. The only downside to these speakers is that there is no volume level display to show you how much more you can pump up the sound, but this is easily overcome by keeping your speaker volume level and just adjusting the volume on your computer.

I was thoroughly pleased with my experience with the Harman Kardon Soundsticks II, and anyone looking for some quality computer speakers that provide power without compensating for style should consider these first.

Sound Quality:  5/5

Ease of Use:  5/5

Aesthetics:  5/5

Price:  3/5

Overall:  4.5/5

Price: $169.00

The Magic Mouse is here!

We finally got our shipment so come in and get yours for $69.

Fall Sale UPDATE:

This is an update of the previous post regarding the Fall Sale here at the Illini Apple Center.

$50 off of the 13” MacBook Pro (2.26 GHz) and the 15” MacBook Pro (2.53 GHz)!

The older generation of White MacBooks are still on clearance at $799 until supplies last.

We’ve also got a few models of the fourth generation iPod nanos in stock. Remember, if you purchase a fourth generation iPod, you can receive 50% off of a case for it!

Make sure you stop in to take advantage of these great deals.

It's the LAST DAY of the fall sale!

This is your last day to come in and get $50 off of 13” MacBook Pros and $100 dollars off of 15” & 17” MacBook Pros!

Remember, the previous generation of white MacBooks (2.13 GHz) is at a clearance price of $799!

Blue Snowflake Microphone

Small, portable and affordable.  How much more can you ask for in a consumer-level, condenser microphone?  The Snowflake is a USB mic, making it perfect for plug and play situations.  With no unnecessary drivers to install, plugging the mic into my MacBook and starting to record right away was a breeze.  I found this mic to be ideal for recording voice-overs for home movies, podcasts and demos for the aspiring musician.

With a frequency range of 35Hz-20kHz and a fairly flat response across these frequencies, it can be used in almost any situation, but vocals seem to be the best applicant for this mic.  The Snowflake is a cardioid shaped mic which helps give it direction during recording.  Recording levels did seem a little lower than I had hoped, which might have been caused by the fact that it’s a USB-condenser mic, meaning it receives its power from the computer.  But with that aside, the recording was clear.  Vocals were much warmer and fuller in comparison to my internal, laptop mic.

Overall, I was very satisfied with the Snowflake.  I found it very convenient to be able to plug this mic into my laptop and start recording right away without having to install drivers or deal with external interfaces.  With the only accessory being a USB cable, setting up this mic couldn’t be simpler.  I would definitely recommend this mic to anyone doing consumer level work.  Anyone looking to do a professional recording without having to spend thousands, should look at the higher end Blue microphones such as the Snowball.

Sound Quality: 4/5

Portability: 5/5

Price: 4/5

Overall: 4.3/5

Price: $59.00

Design Your Way contest ends tomorrow!

Submit your Tucano sleeve design to the Design Your Way contest by midnight tomorrow (Oct. 23) for your chance to win a trip to Tucano’s Headquarters in Milan, Italy!

Go to this website to submit.

The Illini Apple Center Fall Sale

Until supplies last:

$50 off 13” White MacBook

• 13” White MacBook 2.13GHz $949 $899 (Retail Price $999)

$50 off 13” MacBook Pro

• 13” MacBook Pro 2.26GHz $1099 $1049 (Retail Price $1199)

• 13” MacBook Pro 2.53GHz $1399 $1349 (Retail Price $1499)

$100 off 15” and 17” MacBook Pro

• 15” MacBook Pro 2.53GHz $1599 $1499 (Retail Price $1699)
• 15” MacBook Pro 2.66GHz $1849 $1749 (Retail Price $1999)
• 15” MacBook Pro 2.8GHz $2099 $1999 (Retail Price $2299)
• 17” MacBook Pro 2.8GHz $2299 $2199 (Retail Price $2499)

(No custom orders. In stock only. No MacBook Airs.)

Check out our Specials Page for more details.

Calling all University of Illinois student artists and designers!

Be a part of the design elite! Design the new Tucano sleeve for the 13” MacBook Pro and your design could be selected for Tucano’s Limited Edition Folder Art Collection 2010.

You can win a trip to Tucano’s headquarters in Milan, Italy!

Check out the website for more details and come on into the Illini Apple Center to get a feel for existing Tucano sleeves before you start designing your own.

iPod touch, 3rd Generation: Review

New Features: 2/5

Welcome to the new iPod touch! This third generation looks remarkably similar (identical?) to the last generation. Surprisingly, the update is too insignificant to make this iPod appear at the top of consumer’s holiday wish list. Although, the few key changes will ultimately please the masses:

- 50% faster ARM processor

- Twice the RAM, now with 256MB

- Double the capacity, with 32GB or 64GB

- Firmware update to iPhone OS 3.1.1

Performance: 4/5

With speed and time-saving in mind, this iPod certainly curtails any former complaints dealing with application or system load times. The new touch in every facet of operation operates more smoothly and quickly. Syncing completes sooner and the iPod starts up in about half the time it took to start up a generation ago. Think of this update as Snow Leopard was for Leopard, an under-the-hood overall performance boost.

Play: 4/5

It wouldn’t be an iPod without games. From the beginning, Apple has steadily increased its emphasis on gaming. One restatement from the former release, “The funnest iPod ever” has resurfaced and is again the tag-line for this release. With more than 30,000 gaming titles to choose from: Major categories such as single-player, epic-story, multi-player, and simulation; there is bound to be many games to satisfy any gaming craving; over 30% of which are free to download and play! Of course, the iPod still plays music seamlessly, as well as movies and TV shows. Most notably, with the new preloaded 3.1.1 software, you can listen to your music while playing all your games!

Productivity: 4/5

Typically, when you think about iPods, music and gaming comes to mind. Many professionals, as well as general audiences, are increasingly using an iPod touch for work related tasks. This is because the iPod touch can been seen as Apple’s only PDA. With fully functional wireless internet, getting online, receiving/sending email, checking the weather or the market, planning events, or even just finding your way, is so easy, even a baby could do it. Many applications are available for managing productivity, from daily finances, to unit conversion, to sharing workloads with your co-workers: You can even manage and view iDisks provided by MobileMe!

Price: 5/5

During Steve’s keynote speech, he said that $199 is the magic price that everyone wants to pay. Essentially nixing any changes coming to the 8GB iPod touch. To clear up any confusion, the performance increase presented in this new generation of touches can only be found in the upper two models, the 32GB and 64GB. With that being said, “The new touch is the most affordable iPod ever!”

- 8GB iPod touch for $199

- 32GB iPod touch for $299

- 64GB iPod touch for $399

Overall: 3.8/5

Ultimately, this iPod revision is a success. Lower price points, twice the storage, and faster load times are features everyone can appreciate. Although the update lacks new bells or whistles, there is still good reason to go out and buy one of these glamourous devices; assuming you do not already have one.

Raffle Schedule

We’ve got a final list of items to give away tonight at Mac For Life from 5pm to 8pm. We’ll be giving away items every half hour at the various stations, so head over to 512 E. Green for your chance to win:

5:00 - Skullcandy Headphones

5:30 - Blue Microphone Eyeball

6:00 - Livescribe Pen 1GB

6:30 - M Audio Torq

7:00 - Wacom Intuos4 USB Tablet Medium

7:15 - Flip Pure Digital Ultra Series

7:30 - GRAND PRIZE - MacBook Pro 13” 2.26GHz