Cubalaya Blog US

HD-DVD or Blu-Ray?

For those of you who are confused by the terms HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, let's try to sort out the mess and see what the future of home entertainment holds for us.

Right now the digital media world is in the midst of a format war. In the red corner, supported by Toshiba, HP, Microsoft and Kenwood, storing up to 30GB of high-definition video, stands the HD-DVD format. And in  the Blu corner, supported by Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and Philips, and with a capacity of 50GB, stands the Blu-Ray.

Honestly, it is too early to tell who will win this one. VHS beat Beta, PC beat Macintosh (although the Mac came back), yet there is almost no difference between these two formats, making it impossible to predict the outcome. The quality of high-definition video and sound is equally fantastic on each of them, and so far the larger capacity of the Blu-Ray hasn't really given it a big lead.

This competition has been closely linked with the Xbox 360-Playstation 3 one, as Microsoft's Xbox has an optional HD-DVD external drive, while the Sony Playstation's built-in drive uses Blu-Ray. And both of them play their respective high-definition formats quite well, doubling as complete DVD players.

In fact, the only thing that does separate them is the amount of titles released on each format. So far, Blu-Ray has a head-start, with more than 330 titles released, as compared to HD's 130. And if anything might be the deciding factor in this war- the race to release more titles just might be it.

If HD-DVD is what you want, I'd recommend the Toshiba HD-XA2, which is also very strong on playing regular-format DVDs. But if you'd rather go for a Blu-Ray model, the Panasonic DMP-BD10A won't disappoint you.

For now, though, you might want to consider a sort of compromise that will let you benefit from both worlds. The LG BH100 does this well, and will let you wait out the war knowing you'll have invested in a win-win proposition.

Cubalaya Launches a Product Review Service

To enhance the Cubalaya shopping comparison service, we have started a product review section on the site.  The reviews are mini-product reviews, giving you the short story rather than the lengthy technical description.  For instance, if you're interested in the new Nokia N95 mobile phone- you should check out its review; however, if you're not sure what you should be looking for in a DVD player, the relevant buying guide will help you figure that out.

Each product review page is divided into 3 parts:

• Ratings- the product rated according to its design, features and other attributes. Each category of products has its own specific attribute list, making product comparison easier.
• Overall Review- a written review of the product including technical details, features and other important information.
• Summary- The no-nonsense bottom line.

So far we have covered some popular products, and soon we hope to expand our reviews database and create another useful tool for online shoppers.

Furthermore, at the bottom of each review page you can find a link to full-length review from a different site.  Besides being more detailed, these sites usually have consumer reviews as well.

Last, but not least, each product has its own video review as well.  These videos give you a good first look at the product and also a visual explanation of its functions.  The following example is a video review of the Panasonic TH-42PZ700 television:

Online Payment Methods

With Amazon starting its own full-blown online payment system, PayPal and its owner eBay have found a worthy competitor.  Although some people only look to Amazon as a place to get that out-of-print long-lost paperback, it has become a shopping giant for new and used items, the latter traditionally considered eBay's forte.  An online payment system makes life much easier for private merchants, allowing them to receive their payment without going through the fuss of working with the credit card companies.

But not just the merchants benefit from this kind of system- giving personal information online, especially a credit card number or an electronic check, has always been a bit risky.  Online security has improved substantially over the years, but the fear of electronic fraud has been one of the major factors in PayPal's success.  They act as the middleman between the customer and the merchant, and keep the fomer's financial data to themselves, offering a stronger sense of security, not to mention making purchases a quicker process.  In fact, eBay determined this idea so useful to its business model that it purchased PayPal in 2002. 

And then came Google Checkout.  Waiving all transaction fees through the end of 2007, Google is looking to expand its circle of merchants during the holiday season.  While still lacking many of PayPal's features, the Google has a wide range of online stores which accept Google Checkout, allows payments through a mobile phone (soon to be extended further with the GPhone?), and, unlike PayPal, has great customer service.  And looking at the recent upgrades to the Checkout service- it seems Google takes customer feedback to heart.

GPhone vs. iPhone?

Although Google executives all but deny it, a few leaks, the recent publishing of a patent, and a lot of healthy speculation can only lead one to think that the iPhone won't be alone for very long.  When given a moment's thought, it seems that Google has the right basic applications for a successful 3G, Wi-Fi-equipped mobile phone.  GMail, Google Search, Google Video, YouTube (acquired by Google last year), Google News and Google Maps can provide a strong basis for mobile phone services such as e-mail access, GPS, video playback and web-surfing.

One thing Google hasn't done yet, though, is step into the hardware world.  But rumor has it that Samsung is handling that part of the business, leaving the Internet giant free to focus on what they do best- user-friendly operating systems.  Best of all, Google might be looking to bypass the mobile service providers and traditional payments, instead enabling the customer to pay for everything from the phone bill through parking fares to vending machines through the newly patented Text Message Payment system.

Looking at the supposed design of the GPhone, it's hard not to draw comparisons with Apple's recently released iPhone.  The iPhone is quite compatible with some of Google's services and so have they recently increased the compatibility with Google on their personal computers too, but it looks like they will be in direct competition sometime next year. 

One can only expect that the GPhone, whatever qualities it may have, will probably cost less than the hefty $500 price tag of the iPhone.