Then, two things happened: First, Canon came out with an updated version of the Mark II—the EOS 5D Mark III. Second, Canon reduced the price of the Mark II by $500.

Both the 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III are, inarguably, excellent full-feature SLR cameras. But now that there’s a serious 5D choice, which of the two is the better option for you? Spot Cool Stuff takes a look at the advantages of each camera:

Advantages of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a little thinner and lighter than the Mark III. But it’s biggest advantage is price. The Mark II is a full $1,300 cheaper. Yet, despite that price difference, the cameras share many similarities. But use a CMOS sensor with automatic cleaning. Both feature shutter speeds of 1/8000 to 30 seconds. Both have nearly identical exterior buttons and electronic user interface. Both shoot video in full 1080p HD.

LEARN MORE & BUY: MARK II / MARK III  |  JOIN US: TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTREST

Advantages of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III

So what does spending an extra $1,300+ above the Mark II’s price tag get you? Easily, the biggest advantage of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is the new full-frame sensor. It features Canon’s amazing gapless micro lens design—the same one that’s used in the $10,000 Canon EOS 1D-X!

The new sensor is intended to let in more light per pixel. And it successes. You can see the difference in the results. Shots taken with the Mark III stay remarkably free of image noise as you increase the ISO. We found to the noise acceptable all the way up to 3,200 ISO. In fact, the noise at a shot taken at 3,200 on the Mark III is roughly identical to the same shot taken with a Mark II at 800 ISO. That’s a rather huge performance gap.

Other updates to the Mark III make it a better camera for travel. The Mark III has significantly better weather-proofing than the Mark II. It also offers a battery life that’s about 10% longer.

The other upgrades, most of which are listed on the chart below, might or might not matter to you. Spot Cool Stuff appreciates how the Mark III has a faster start time—four times faster, in fact. Personally, we don’t place much importance on the Mark III’s slightly larger screen, faster continuous shooting (the 3.2 fps of the Mark II is plenty fast for us) and the overkill of 61 autofocus points. For other photographers, those differences might be significant.

LEARN MORE & BUY: MARK II / MARK III  |  JOIN US: TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTREST

Our Verdict

The Canon EOS 5D Mark III is 37% more expensive than the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. So is it 37% better? That depends what sort of photography you want to use it for.

If you often take photos in low light situations, or do a lot of sports or high speed photography, then we strongly suggest spending more to procure a Mark III. For such shots, the quality difference between the Mark III and Mark II is noticeable. Add in all the other upgrades we mentioned, and you’ll find the Mark III more than worth the extra cost.

That said, if you were to take a portrait shot in full light with a Mark II and Mark III you’d see no difference between the two. The experience of using each 5D model—the location of the buttons, the feel of the camera, the feature set—is very similar. In all those ways, Canon’s introduction of the Mark III is a windfall for photographers in the market for a professional quality SLR—because it knocked $500 off the price of a Mark II.

So, unless you are one of those low light or high speed photographers, we say take the discount, buy a 5D Mark II, and be confident that you’re getting an excellent SLR for the money.

LEARN MORE & BUY: MARK II / MARK III  |  JOIN US: TWITTER / FACEBOOK  |  

Purchase locally in: CANADA | CHINA | FRANCE | GERMANY | ITALY | JAPAN | UK | USA

Related posts:
Camera Comparison: Canon EOS 40D vs 50D
Camera Comparison: Canon PowerShot D10 vs Olympus Stylus Tough-8000
Reviews of the Best Cameras for Travel

LEARN MORE & BUY: MARK II / MARK III  |  JOIN US: TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTREST

Purchase locally in: CANADA | CHINA | FRANCE | GERMANY | ITALY | JAPAN | UK | USA

Read the rest on our cool websites review blog

That’s the tagline on billboards advertising the new Samsung Galaxy Note. When the company selling a product expresses uncertainly about what exactly their product is, you know you are dealing with something different.

Indeed, the Samsung Note really is something different—a new hybrid product that’s both an oversized phone and an undersized tablet. The phonelet weighs 6.3 ounces (178 grams) and has a 5.3-inch display—more than the largest smartphone and less than the smallest tablet. The Android operating system, powered by 1.4GHz dual-core processor, is capable of doing anything Samsung Galaxy tablets are (and then some). And it makes phone calls with all the functionality of a high-end Samsung smartphone.

So does the Samsung Galaxy Note deliver the best features of a tablet and a smartphone? Or is it the worst of both worlds? Spot Cool Stuff takes a look:

Samsung Galaxy Note as a Phone

In terms of making and receiving phone calls, the Samsung Note is almost functionally identical to Samsung’s Galaxy S2 smartphones, of which Spot Cool Stuff is a fan. We’d describe the call quality over the 3G/4G quad-band GSM phone as “pretty good.” But two features stand out especially:

• The volume of the speakerphone—it’s appreciably louder than the iPhone or most any other Android phone. The call quality through the speaker is high too.

• The long phone battery life—you can talk over 3G on the Note for over an amazing 12 hours between charges. That compares to about 7.5 hours on the Apple iPhone 4S. Two reasons for this strong performance: 1) the Note’s large 2500mAh battery; and 2) the fact that the screen is off during phone calls. When the Note’s large, bright display is on the battery life drops considerably—you can only surf the web over 3G for around 3.5 hours on the Samsung Note compared to more than 7 hours on the Apple iPhone 4S.

The problem—and it isn’t inconsiderable—is the Samsung Note’s form factor. The Note is thin—as thin as a Galaxy S2—but the 5.3-inch screen is massive for a smartphone. It feels awkward (and looks a bit silly) holding the Samsung Note up to your ear during a phone call. The Note will fit in a medium-sized purse but not in a shirt pocket. We found that squeezing it into the front pocket of our jeans was a tight and uncomfortable fit.

In short: The Samsung Note is simply too large to be an everyday phone.

LEARN MORE & BUY | JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK |

Samsung Galaxy Note as a Tablet

The various models of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablets are fantastic—we’ve listed them as top choices in both our review of the best tablets for travel and the best tablets for students. Happily, the Galaxy Note continues Samsung’s streak of tablet excellence. Among the highlight features of the Note:

• The display. It’s very crisp and bright. The 1280 x 800 pixel resolution screen uses the same Super AMOLED technology found in many Samsung HD televisions. That makes for vivid colors; photos and videos show up especially gorgeous. Our one gripe (and it is relatively minor) is that the screen does not include the PenTile matrix structure that’s in new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. As a result, the colors on the screen will turn a bit blue-green when viewed at an angle.

• The speed and memory. The internal makeup of the Note is more like a computer than an underpowered smartphone. The touchscreen is responsive and the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system feels zippy. The Note comes with either 16 or 32GB of internal storage. We love that the Note also has a microSD slot that can accommodate cards of to 32GB. The slot is handy for moving photos and videos on/off of the Note, which brings us to . . .

• The cameras. The front-facing camera is 2MP—more than sufficient for video calling. The rear-facing 8MP camera shines. It records video at 1080p and in daylight takes photos that rival those from the superlative iPhone 4S. The length and width of the Note is similar to that of an ultra-compact digital camera, which makes taking photos and videos with the Note feel natural.

The S Pen

The highlights listed above don’t even include the most outstanding features of the Note. That would be the S Pen—Samsung doesn’t want you to call it a stylus—that you can use to write and draw on the screen.

The “S” is pressure sensitive, so the pen strokes look more natural on the screen. Hand drawn art actually looks good on the Note. (At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung had professional artists sketching people’s portraits. The results were pretty impressive).

What’s cool about the S Pen is that it is more than a gimmicky thing design to appeal to artists. Use of the pen is incorporated into many of the most used functions of the Note. Use the pen to crop images or write captions on photos. Quickly jot a sketch and share it via text, email or Twitter. Especially great is the bundled-in S Memo app you can use to take notes in any combination of voice, typed text, images and handwriting.

And unlike the Palm personal organizers of days old, the Note is intended to be used as a touchscreen. So you never need to use the stylus S Pen to use the device if you don’t want to.

LEARN MORE & BUY | JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK |

Our Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Note is clearly a better tablet than it is a phone.

As an everyday phone, we wouldn’t recommend it—the Note is simply too large. Which makes it especially unfortunate that, at least in the United States, the Note will priced as a smartphone would: overly expensive if you buy an unlocked version but a bargain if you sign up for a two-year contract with a carrier.

If you already have a smartphone and are looking to buy one and only one tablet, we wouldn’t recommend the Samsung Note either. We’d rather have a tablet with a larger screen like a Sony S, Apple iPad or one of the Samsung Galaxy Tabs.

That said, the Samsung Galaxy Note is a high quality device. And there are people for whom this hybrid would be an excellent choice. Among them:

• Travelers who don’t want to carry for a phone and a tablet on their trips.

• Students who want a tablet for class (the S pen is ideal for note taking) and want a phone for occasional use.

• Nearly anyone in the market for a second tablet or backup phone.

If you are shopping for a tablet-phone and happen to fall into any of those groups, take Note.

LEARN MORE & BUY | JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK |

Related posts:
Reviews of the Best Tablets for Travelers / Students
Should You Upgrade to an Apple iPhone 4S
Samsung Reclaim: The Eco-Smartphone Made From Corn
Acer vs Samsung Google Chromebook Showdown

Of course, none of those offer an array of live television channels over the internet. But there is a software product that claims to: SatelliteDirect. But does the service really deliver 3,500 channels of satellite television directly to your computer? Spot Cool Stuff takes a look:

The Claims

“You could cancel your cable now,” claims SatelliteDirect, because with their software you can watch all the TV you want on over the internet.

The software is supposed to let you watch “over 3,500 TV channels” from all over the world—all without ever paying a subscription or additional fees beyond the software’s initial $49.95 cost. And if you ever need help with the software there’s a “technical team . . . always standing by to help you,” either by email or via a live online chat agent.

The Reality Behind the Claims

Over 3,500 TV Channels available on your computer

There are indeed tons of stations listed in the SatelliteDirect lineup, so many we couldn’t bring ourselves to count them all. There are channels listed from all over the world, from Afghanistan to Vietnam. Among the United States channels listed you’ll find pretty much every one you can think of—and many that you can’t. The Disco Channel? SatelliteDirect’s listing includes 3 versions of Comedy Central, 5 feeds of CNN, 6 of Cinemax, 8 of Showtime, 9 of SyFy, 10 of the Discovery Channel, 15 from HBO and in incredible 44 (!) feeds from ESPN.

The catch—and it’s a big one—is that there’s a huge difference between a channel that’s listed and one that’s watchable. We’d estimate that more than half of the channels listed on SatelliteDirect simply don’t work. Click on them and you’ll either get a blank screen or an error message.

Then there are the ads. Sometimes selecting a station will cause a 10 to 55 second ad to pop up over the viewing screen. This makes channel surfing frustrating to say the least (especially when it isn’t clear where to click to close the ad). Worse, some of the pop ups will automatically play a headache inducing video over the channel video.

That said, we did find some channels that came in cleanly: one feed from ESPN, one of BBC 2, a Bollywood movie station from India and an English-language version of Japan’s NHK, among several others. When it works, SatelliteDirect is superb. But those moments are not nearly as common as we’d like or feel they should be.

No additional fees beyond the $49.95 software purchase

The worst part about the cable or satellite TV bill is that it comes every single month. SatelliteDirect promises to charge you once for the software and then never again.

Happily, this is a promise that SatelliteDirect keeps.

The SatelliteDirect TV interface does have a “Watch Movies” tab that tries to sell you a subscription to the Full Movies software for unlimited movie streaming. But it’s a gentle upsell that doesn’t interfere with the television watching experience (such as it is).

SatelliteDirect updates are free and there are no other mandatory fees for running the SatelliteDirect software.

Responsive customer service

In our experience, and in the experience of several other people we talked to, the SatelliteDirect customer service is somewhere between sub-par and terrible.

SatelliteDirect theoretically runs a live chat service customers can use to get help. But that isn’t working at the time of writing and hasn’t been for a least the last month prior.

Since there’s no service phone number, that leaves email as the only means for customers to get help with the software. SatelliteDirect promises that they’ll get back to you in 24 hours—at least they do before you write. After you send your request, their stated response time somehow changes to 48 hours. When Spot Cool Stuff wrote for help after our SatelliteDirect software wouldn’t properly install, we didn’t hear back for nearly 72 hours. And when we did get a reply it was generic; it didn’t seem like the customer service rep really read the description of our problem.

When we contacted SatelliteDirect asking for comment, they replied by saying that their chat feature “is currently not working because some issues with the servers and the technical team are working on that.” Um, okay, but they’ve been working on it for a long time now. And the chat page doesn’t say the system is down, it says that all the representatives are “currently busy attending to other customers.”

The good news is that SatelliteDirect will most likely get back to you and solve your problem or refund your money—eventually.

Our Verdict

So is SatelliteDirect a scam or a deal? In our opinion, it’s something in between. There are no hidden costs associated with the software. But the service isn’t all that SatelliteDirect makes it out to be.

If you currently enjoy having cable or satellite TV and are thinking of canceling that and switching to SatelliteDirect to save yourself some money, our strong advice is: don’t! You’ll be monumentally disappointed.

There are, however, two groups for whom we would mildly recommend SatelliteDirect:

1) Expats. If you live in one country and long to see television available in another, SatelliteDirect’s international offerings might be appealing to you.

2) People who love TV but can’t get cable or satellite for whatever reason. SatelliteDirect, while substantially flawed, is still steps above not having live television at all.

LEARN MORE & BUY | JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK |

Related posts:
Television That Makes You Smarter
LOST Hawaii Filming Locations
Cool YouTube Videos

So what’s a review of a face wash doing on a technology blog?

Because, to our knowledge, Chief’s Mens Energizing Face Wash is the first wash of any sort that interacts with a smartphone.

The whole idea is to help you get up and feel energized in the morning. So the Chiefs app has an alarm clock. It can be programmed to wake you with a variety of sounds. But the only way to turn it off is to use the camera on your smartphone or tablet to scan the bar code on the back of the Chief’s Face Wash bottle. (Technically, throwing the phone really hard against a wall could turn the alarm off too, but we don’t recommend trying). Assuming your face wash is by your sink, the alarm should at least motivate you to get to your energizing face wash, which should in turn invigorate you at least long enough to go downstairs and make a cup of coffee.

Sadly, the Chiefs alarm app is currently only available for Android. iPhone users are stuck with the snooze button.

LEARN MORE & BUY | JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTREST |

^† This is a massive understatement.

LEARN MORE & BUY | DOWNLOAD APP | JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTREST

Related posts:
The Best Tablet Computers for Travel
Review of the Cobra iRadar: The iPhone Linked Radar Detector
5 Cool, Creative Appcessory Toys

The boat-like, airplane-like, submarine-like, Flipper-like Seabreacher can accommodate a single operator and one passenger who sit in a waterproof cockpit in front of the craft’s supercharged rotary engine.

Not only does the Seabreacher resemble an oversized mechanical dolphin, it is designed to be maneuverable in some dolphinesque ways too. The Seabreacher can skim along the water, jump up into the air and even do barrel rolls. Check out the video below.

The operator of a Seabreacher can also make the craft dive under water by creating a negative lift on the “fins” of the craft (in a way similar to how airplanes use flaps to create lift, but in reverse). However, like a real dolphin, the Seabreacher needs oxygen—the craft can only remain completely submerged for about a minute, time enough to dive down around three feet.

So how does the Seabreacher compare to the dolphin in terms of speed? Rather similarly. A dolphin’s top swimming speed is about 35 mph (55 km/h). The Seabreacher can travel a little faster than that (40 mph) on the surface of the water and a little slower (20 mph) submerged. The submerged speed is particularly impressive when you figure that the underwater speeds of most personal submersibles don’t top 5 mph.

You don’t need any sort of special license to operate a Seabreacher. But you do need US$48,000 to purchase a standard model, or $68,000 for a high performance one.

Innespace continues working on improvements to the Seabreacher, envisioning a day when the craft could dive to 20 feet (6 meters) and swim along with groups of real dolphins. The company also sees great potential in the racing of Seabreachers and to that end has formed the Aquabatic Racing League. The racers in this league will almost certainly never be a famous or rich as NASCAR or Formula-1 race car drivers. But they’ll probably have a lot more fun.

LEARN MORE & BUY | JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTREST |

Related posts:
Swim With Dolphins at Discovery Cover: Orlando’s Un-Theme Park
Your Own Personal Submarine
The Best Waterproof Case for the iPod and iPhone
8 Highly Unusual Items You Can Buy on Amazon.com ← really!
The Best Websites for Booking a Discount Caribbean Vacation

LEARN MORE & BUY | JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTREST

Get cool animal travel ideas

The infographic, which is the first designed by Tech King, is a bit dense in terms of reading. But it is semi-fascinating to see how Windows has changed over the years.

Click on the graphic to see it full size in a new window:

JOIN US ON TWITTER / FACEBOOK / PINTREST

See more cool infographics

The publishing empire that is JK Rowling has reached a distribution deal that will allow you to carry all 4,176 pages of the Harry Potter series around in your coat pocket—provided that your coat pocket is holding an Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook or one of the handful of other compatible device like the Sony Reader.

Read the rest on our book and entertainment blog