To kick off 2012 the staff at TechBargains.com is looking ahead to technology trends, products and services we believe will be big this year. With the help of our users, we have come up with our top seven predictions on what we expect to take shape in the tech world in 2012. Click here to see our 2012 Tech Predictions.

Teknmotion has brought us a set of headphones to put through the ringer. That, we shall do. These guys have been around since 2008 and have a mission oriented goal, "Our goal is to imagine, produce and deliver products that give you a competitive edge." They actually have three different headsets available, although we will only concentrate on the Intruder.

Main Features:

• 3.5 mm plugs for PC or MAC
• Breakaway cable for iDevice and Smartphone compatibility
• Two detachable microphones included: gaming and mobile
• Inline volume control with microphone mute switch
• Over-the-Ear cup design
• Foldable design for storage, and mobility
• Includes travel bag

What We Liked:

• Installation: There really is nothing to the installation. There are no drivers to install. It is truly plug and play. There is a single 3.5mm for plugging into devices like a phone, tablet, or MP3 player. There is also another adapter that allows you to plug a microphone and headphone 3.5mm jack in. Typically a PC or MAC.


• Audio Quality: These sound great for only having a 3.5mm jack. Bass isn't great but they aren't driven by USB either. Most all sounds came across crisp and audible. I found no problems with distortion. I figured this out by accident when I went to listen to my iPhone and had the sound turned to max. It sent my ears into convulsions.


• In-line Volume Control: Plugging the headphones into the inline volume control adapter allows you to fine tune the volume on your MAC or PC. If both 3.5mm plugs are connected the microphone mute on the adapter will work as well.


• Comfort: The headset rests lightly and comfortably on the head without being a burden to your neck. The ear cones can swivel 180 degrees allowing for a more variety of heads. It is a one headset fits all kind of thing.

What We Didn't Like:

• Ear Sweat: After an hour or so of use my ears began sweating a little. They didn't hurt per se; just sweated a little. This might be caused by the foamy nylon that was used. A cloth of semi-breathable material may have been a better choice.


• No Mic for Mobile Device: They tout these as being great for iPhones and other mobile phones. The only thing wrong with that is you can't talk through the MIC on the headset. It would have been nice to be completely mobile phone friendly.

Our Verdict

With everything that was said here, I really enjoyed this headset. It was mostly comfortable (what headset doesn't have a little discomfort), and sounded great. It won't win awards for its deep bass, but let's be real; they use a 3.5mm jack. I felt the pricing was great for all that you get at $60.00.If you need a headset like I described here, these would be the ones for you.

Our Score: 4 out of 5
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Christmas came early last year with the arrival of my Kindle Fire. I have never torn a box open so quickly! After two weeks of use, it is everything that I expected it to be and I can honestly say that I am not disappointed. The Fire comes with a free month of Prime membership, it has a spectacular display, it is easy to use and I have had a hard time putting it down. You will too. [Compare Prices]

Main features and specifications:

• 7" multi-touch display; 1024x600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 4.7" x 0.45"
• Weight: 14.6 ounces
• 8GB internal storage
• USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
• 3.5 mm stereo audio jack w/ top-mounted stereo speakers
• Uses Amazon Silk web browser
• Comes with Amazon Cloud storage
• 1-year limited warranty

What We Liked:

• Beautiful, Inside and Out: You may notice that people stare when you pull out your Kindle. Like a moth to a flame, you cannot help but be drawn to the Fire. With a vibrant 7" multi-touch display, reading, playing games and watching movies and shows was a joyful experience. At 14.6 ounces, this device fits perfectly in the palm of your hand and will never weigh you down. Amazon's Silk web browser is surprisingly fast and the dual-core processor allows me to do multiple things at once without waiting.


• Sufficient Storage: You get 8GB of storage on this Kindle. Some may say that this is not enough, but keeping it at 8GB is what allows Amazon to keep the price low. More storage space would mean a price that would compare to the iPad. To put this in perspective, Amazon's website says that 8GB of storage gets you 80 apps plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books. Sounds good to me. Your Amazon content is stored for free in Amazon's Cloud as well. This is probably not the best storage device when it comes to all of your office work, but it does a good job at giving you access to docs anywhere at anytime.


• App Happy: The Fire comes with apps that are actually useful: Netflix, Pandora, ESPN ScoreCenter and Hulu Plus to name a few. Getting apps was a breeze too; just take a browse through the app store and select the apps you want. Just be aware that you do not have to put in your password each time you get an app, free or paid, so you may not want to let your kids have free reign with the device. In no time, you might actually fill up your storage with just apps. I also love that I can get one paid app free everyday because I try out apps that I might not normally buy and the savings add up, a win-win!


• Battery That Lasts: We tried out the Fire for a couple of weeks and without continuous hourly use, we were able to go for a couple of days without a recharge. Amazon boasts 8 hours of continuous reading (but no one is buying this device just for reading) or 7.5 hours of video playback before you will have to plug it in. A full charge takes around 4 hours.


• Lightning Fast: Whether you are getting an app or browsing the web, the Fire is fast. Period. I put Amazon's Silk to the test and had a good old-fashioned showdown between my Mac and the Fire to see which one pulled up websites the fastest. It was close, but the Fire pulled the trigger faster every time. Pulling up email was quick too, making this Kindle even more useful. I was also happy to learn that I could pull all of my email into a single inbox since, like many others, I use several different webmail accounts. My Fire was the perfect teaching tool too when I took it along with me to teach a classroom full of teenagers. Let's just say that I never want to go back to textbooks or carrying papers around ever again!


• Kid Friendly: If you have kids, this may be the device to beat all others when it comes to children's books. The colors practically pop off the page and children can definitely master their way through books and apps in no time. With a durable and scratch resistant display, you won't feel as bad putting it in little hands either. If you are anything like me though, you do not just hand over tech devices to your child without supervising them. There are no parental controls on the Fire, so sit close by when your kid wants a turn.


• The Extras: With the purchase of your Kindle Fire, you get a one-month free trial membership to Amazon's Prime services. The Prime membership includes free two-day shipping and instant streaming of movies and TV shows. I love Prime! You also get access to Kindle's Lending Library with your Amazon Prime membership, where you can borrow from an array of titles including bestsellers, all with no return date. How cool is that? The Kindle store offers millions of books, magazines and songs to choose from as well as thousands of movies and TV shows. Like I said, you may have a hard time detaching yourself from your Kindle. If you decide you want to keep your Prime membership, it will cost you $79 annually.


• Pick Up Where You Left Off: Amazon's Whispersync technology automatically syncs the last page you read, your notes, library and where you paused your movie across all of your devices. No more fast forwarding or flipping through pages trying to find where you left off, Amazon will take care of that for you.
• Affordable For All: The Fire will cost you $199, a great price for a great device. You get a lot of extras without breaking the bank. I also love that I can walk into a store and buy the Fire, instead of having to buy it exclusively from Amazon.com. I do appreciate taking a test drive before I fork over my money.

What We Didn't Like:

• Power Button: The power button for the Fire is found on the bottom of the device. So, if you are planning on setting it down on any surface in order to share your view with others, you will turn the device off. Not the most brilliant feature.


• Volume Up: You will find the speakers on the top of this device, but the sound quality is definitely not the top of the line. There were times when I had to hold it up to my ear to hear the movie I was watching.


• No Customizing: You will not be able to customize the Fire's menu, but in all fairness, the device is simple and the menu is straight forward and easy to use, so there really is no need for customization.


• Give Up A Little For A Lot: There are some things that you may be use to having that you will not get with this Kindle: there is no 3G wireless, no expandable memory, no maps, etc. Amazon had to sacrifice a little in order to keep the price low, but I think that what you get with the Fire will make you forget about all of the things you do not get.

Our Verdict:

The Kindle Fire is a brilliant little device that goes everywhere you go. It is beautiful, fast and simple. Before long, you may even find yourself looking forward to curling up with your Kindle more than a night out on the town. Oh, and do not be surprised if people ask you what it is and where they can get one after they see yours.

Our Score: 4.5 out of 5
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The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is one of the many contenders now positioned in the 7-inch tablet arena. It offers a wide array of features, including smart remote software compliments of Peel. A dual core processor makes Android 3.2 feel quite snappy and allows for seamless multitasking. With a price point of $400, the Tap 7.0 Plus comes in at the high end of the 7-inch market. Does the fast processor and unique feature set justify the price? Read on to find out. [Compare Prices]

Main Features and Specifications:

• Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) device
• 7-inch display (1024x600)
• 16GB storage (expandable with microSD)
• 1.2GHz dual core processor
• Front and rear facing cameras, HD video recording and playback
• IR blaster, supports universal remote control (Peel)
• Samsung Media Hub
• 802.11n Wireless
• Adobe Flash support

What We Liked:

• Portable Size: The Galaxy Tab 7 is a compact tablet. Unlike its 10-inch sibling, this device feels more like an overgrown smartphone or e-reader than a tablet. This smaller form factor easily gets lost in a small messenger bag. It also feels more rugged than the larger tablets and less likely to break if accidentally dropped.


• Design: The first thing you notice about the 7-inch Tab is its clean design. Up top sits a headphone jack and nothing else. On the side you'll find the wake/sleep button positioned right above the volume controls -- a placement that at first caused many interruptions during video playback when the sleep button was mistakenly pressed instead of the up volume. On the bottom sits a 15-pin dock connector similar in looks to Apple's iPod connector. On the left side of the tablet a microSD card slot sits unused, waiting patiently to be used to expand storage by up to 32GB. The Samsung logo sits squarely on the bottom of the device. Its obvious Samsung intends this 7-inch machine to be most often held in portrait orientation. Overall, it's a clean design and carries with it an expression of high quality design.
• Headphones: Included in the box you'll find a high quality pair of earbuds, complete with various size earpiece gels. The headphones also feature in-line controls for track/volume changing as well as a built-in mic for hands free calling (through any Android apps that support it).


• Cameras: The onboard cameras were surprisingly good quality for a tablet. Samsung includes a front-facing camera for video calls and "virtual mirror capability" and a back facing camera for snapping photos and recording HD video. While not up to modern smartphone standards, they do the job.


• Peel Smart Remote: Peel is a company that makes some slick software to turn smartphones into universal remote controls. Samsung conveniently installed an IR blaster and bundled the software with the 7-inch Tab. Right out of the box, you get the ability to use the Tab as a giant, touchscreen universal remote. Within a few minutes I was able to get it configured for a Sony TV and Blu-Ray player, but it could not find codes for a Yamaha receiver or a Verizon FiOS DVR. However, after failing to find the codes a contact form pops up allowing you to send the missing code request off to Peel. Hopefully these code requests do not fall on deaf ears!

What We Didn't Like

• Touch Sensitivity: The touch sensitivity is not good by today's standards. Frequent button presses were not registered and after continuous use it caused quite a bit of frustration. Typing on the keyboard is a miserable experience unless you use the Swype feature, in which case it improves dramatically.


• Bugs: Upon initial configuration, I set the Tab's brightness to about 75 percent and turned off the ambient light sensor. Yet, after about 10 minutes of use, the brightness was reset to its previous setting. This happened constantly. During a 2-hour period, the Tab crashed multiple times. Using the Netflix app was also near impossible - after three system shutdowns in less than 20 minutes resulting from streaming movies, I gave up.


• Poor Website Rendering: Browsing the web is one of the primary functions of most tablets. Yet the way the Tab renders the web was inconsistent at best. Fonts often appear squished and resizing/panning around web pages is not a smooth experience. The Tab does support Flash, but excessive battery drain and a kludgy interface left me wondering if it even mattered.


• Price: At $400, this is an expensive 7-inch tablet. For that kind of money you can get two Kindle Fires, two Nook Colors, and at the time of writing, two Blackberry Playbooks. These are all 7-inch devices, at half the cost. This isn't to say these are comparable devices, but I would be willing to wager for the vast majority of users they would not offer $200 more worth of features. It is also worth noting that for $100 more, one can have a 16GB iPad 2.


• Quality Control Issues: The review unit I was given had a white blotch on the screen. I first attributed this to the peeling off of the plastic film that sometimes temporarily causes discolorations on LCD screens, but it never went away. This is something that should have been caught before it left the manufacturing facility. Shame on Samsung for letting this one land in the hands of an end user.

Our Verdict:

The 7-inch tablet market is getting more crowded by the minute, and by less expensive contenders. That being said, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus represents the high end of the 7-inch tablet market. With a fast processor, dual cameras, universal remote support, GPS, and more -- this is a very capable device. However, coupling the poor user experience with the $400 price point will more than likely raise some eyebrows, especially among the more advanced users seeking a tablet such as this.

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5
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