2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
I was picking up some food for my dog from Pet Zone and got a packet of this new brand of treats they started getting (Zuke’s). They come in various flavors but I picked up the Peanut Butter Formula. My dog really loves it. Like crazy eyes if you don’t give me another treat right now I’m going to rip the bag out of your hand along with your whole arm kind of loves it. They also have kitty versions.
Over the weekend I picked up three different speaker docks from the Digits Apple Store to review. Even though all three do the same thing they’re not really direct competitors, either because of the price difference or because of their abilities as you’ll see in my short reviews below.
Logitech S715i
The Logitech speaker was the smallest and most portable of the three. It’s also the only one that comes with built in rechargeable batteries which makes it really convenient to take to the beach and other places where power outlets aren’t available. The speakers are loud although the sound isn’t the greatest with pretty weak bass but that’s to be expected due to the size. One thing that really bugged me about the speaker dock is that I couldn’t connect my iPhone to it unless I removed the iPhone bumper which was annoying. Overall a fairly decent speaker that doesn’t win on style or sound but is priced competitively at KD35. Personally I’d check out the Jawbone Jambox first if I was looking for portability but that also costs twice as much.
Altec Lansing iMT800 Digital Boombox
When I first pulled out this boombox from the box I was a bit disappointed. I had just finished with the Monster Beatbox and compared to it, the Altec Lancing felt very plasticky, light and flimsy. It also didn’t sound as good nor was it as pretty. But it did have some features the Beatbox lacked and one of them is the built-in FM radio tuner. If you’re a fan of Linda on the Superstation you’re going to really want this. Another feature is the fact that it has three inputs, one iPhone/iPod dock and two auxiliary inputs so you could hook up 3 iPods if you want. Finally and more importantly is that the Altec Lansing can run on 8 large D-cell batteries which actually is a useful feature. Now because of the size of the Altec Lansing I thought it was competing with the Monster Beatbox but turns out they’re currently selling this for KD34 which suddenly makes this not so great speaker dock a really great deal. It sounds a lot better than the much smaller Logitech, it also has a small digital screen that shows you details like artist and album name as well as having the ability to run on batteries if needed. I actually emailed Digits back to confirm they hadn’t mixed up with the price. Turns out they’re having an offer on these and I’m guessing because of the newer iMT810 version.
Monster Beatbox by Dr. Dre
This by far was the best sounding speaker of the three. Even compared to my Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 8 the Monster Beatbox sounded really great with a lot more deeper bass. It was also the easiest of the three to operate and it also had the most solid build. The Beatbox is pretty simple with just an iPhone/iPod dock in one corner and a volume knob on the other. To give you an idea of how big a sound the Beatbox has, I live in a two story apartment and while I was sitting upstairs Nat was listening to music downstairs and I couldn’t tell if she was listening to music off our home theater or the Beatbox (turned out to be the Beatbox). The amount of bass it gives out for it’s size is just ridiculous, it really does shake the house. I did have one big issue with the Beatbox and that is the fact the dock can’t hold an iPad. I know you’re probably wondering who would want to use an iPad as a music dock anyway and the answer is anybody who’s tried the iPad version of Spotify. I use it with my BeoSound 8 and it’s unbelievably cool so much so that while I’m home I no longer listen to my MP3’s. The iPad Spotify app is fantastic plus I prefer to keep my phone on me and not plugged into a speaker dock. But that’s nit picking a bit which is fine since this is a review. Price-wise if you’re interested in the Beatbox, Digits are selling it for KD100 to my readers. Just tell them you saw this price on my blog and you’ll be able to get it for KD100 which is around KD20 cheaper than Amazon (not including tax and shipping).
Over the weekend I passed by Avenues and noticed that Dean & Deluca was closed. I assumed they were expanding their restaurant and so I sent them an email asking about it and turns out they’re creating a new look and adding new areas for pizza and Pasta. The renovation should be completed by September which means they’re sadly going to be closed during Ramadan. I usually pass by them during Ramadan for their ready made dishes but this year I guess I’ll have to make do with my horrible cooking.
Veep
Veep is a new comedy from HBO starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elain from Seinfeld) and Tony Hale (Buster from Arrested Development). Julia is the vice president of the United States of American and she’s surrounded by a team of dimwit advisors. Super funny. [IMDB]
Continuum
It’s a sci-fi thriller and a good one which is a rare find these days. The show takes place in two timelines, 2077 and 2012. Without ruining the story too much, a few terrorists from the future end up making their way to 2012 and a female detective accidentally ends up in the past with them. They want to change the future and she’s trying to stop them. [IMDB]
Touch
Honestly I thought this was going to be a lame drama about a single father trying to take care of his disabled kid and the only reason I considered watching it is because the father is Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer from 24). But, after watching the pilot episode I’m so hooked on this show. It’s nothing like I expected it to be and if you loved the movie Magnolia you’re so going to love the pilot. [IMDB]
At first glance you might think they’re parked and hanging out in Salmiya but they’re actually in Champs Elysées. [YouTube]
They’re aiming to reopen again in Arraya hopefully in time for Eid.
Earlier today a fire engulfed the construction site of the new Ministry of Education headquarters building. A friend of mine was there with his camera and managed to snap these pictures. No information yet on what caused the fire.
Thanks Edgar
update: Here’s a video also taken by Edgar
[YouTube]
Over the weekend I got the following email from Aramex:
We would like to inform you of an important customs update for incoming shipments to Kuwait. As per Kuwait Customs regulations (Customs Authority 68, 2012), customs duties are calculated based on the weight, value and the customs estimated freight charges of the shipment (as per IATA published tariff).
The new customs calculation formula can be determined by using our new Customs Calculator. Please click here to access the calculator.
So after clicking on their link and downloading the excel file I plugged in the weight of the package as 1KG and the value as KD10 and it told me I would have to pay around KD4 as a customs fee. Previously any package under $100 you would only pay KD1 as a clearance charge. I have no idea if DHL have implemented this new system as well but I’ve got two packages that will be arriving sometime this week to both Aramex and DHL so I’ll post an update once I get them.
via Musaed
Thanks Ragheb
I’ve been noticing cars with these two antennas sticking out of the back. Not sure if it’s just a trend or they actually serve a purpose.
Just to be clear from the get go, this isn’t a review about the Galaxy Tab 2 as a tablet nor is it a review of Android’s new ice cream operating system. I have an iPad and I wouldn’t replace it with an Android device. The reason I got the Galaxy Tab is to replace my Archos 7 portable media player and this is what this post is about. So Android fanboys can put down their keyboards and relax.
Back in 2009 I bought the Archos 7 to use as my media player for when I traveled. Before the Archos I was watching movies on my tiny iPod screen (the classic iPod not the touch) so moving to the larger 7inch screen was a huge improvement. Not only that but my Archos also had a large 160GB drive, a replaceable battery that lasted 10 hours and would play any non-HD video format without requiring any time consuming format conversion. Over the years though I’ve started getting more and more HD files and the Archos started to choke. It couldn’t play a lot of the new formats and it also couldn’t play most of the HD stuff I threw it’s way so I started looking for an alternative.
I wanted a 7inch screen, a large hard drive, a replaceable battery and the ability to play HD files without an issue. Surprisingly I didn’t find a media player that had all that so I started being more flexible with my requirements and in the end went with the Galaxy Tab 2 with a 7inch screen. The screen size was correct, it would play any video I threw at it and the battery life was fairly decent coming in at around 6 hours of non stop video playback. But it only had 8GB of internal memory and the battery couldn’t be swapped. Two issues I figured I could solve easily. The Galaxy Tab has a microSD card for expandability and I figured I could take multiple 32GB cards with me on long trips. I also wanted a swappable battery for long trips and although I couldn’t swap the battery on the Galaxy Tab, I realized I could purchase one of those Mophie PowerStations which charge gadgets using a USB port and just run my Tab off it during long flights. Of course the Tab is also a full fledged tablet so I could if I wanted to browse the web or perform other tasks on it if I needed to.
After taking the Tab on two trips with me I’ve come to the conclusion that I made the right decision. Although I’ve lost some of the features that made the Archos 7 so great I did gain three important benefits (among others). The first is that the Tab is much lighter and thinner than the Archos 7. This makes carrying it in my shoulder bag a lot more pleasant. The second thing I also gained is a much better screen with improved visibility from all angles and better touch sensitivity. I’ve also thrown a whole bunch of video formats at it including 720p HD movies and the Tab has played every single one of them without an issue.
So if you’re looking for a great media player this is what I recommend you get. I purchased it from Amazon back in May and it cost me KD82 in total and that includes shipping to Kuwait using DHL’s Borderlinx. I couldn’t find it in Kuwait back then but they might be available here now. [Amazon Link]
“THE DREAM TEAM” – NBATV DOCUMENTARY from // KEEHS PRODUCTIONS // on Vimeo.
I just finished watching this documentary and I loved it. If you’re a fan of the NBA back in the 80’s and 90’s you’re going to love this. It’s available to watch on Vimeo but I downloaded the torrent and watched it on my TV instead. Too bad it’s just an hour long.
Anyone know who sells Drobo’s in Kuwait? I previously got mine from Amazon but paid around KD40 for shipping back in 2009 which mean it would probably cost me KD50+ with the current Aramex prices. 3gghead Electronics in Baitak Tower used to sell the Drobo for a good deal but they shutdown a long time back.
If you want to know what a Drobo is you can check out their [Website]
Update: Ended up picking up the Synology DS1511+ from Blink. They’re selling them for cheaper than Amazon [Link]
