Archive for December, 2008
DeLonghi Magnifica 3300 Esclusivo Review
We’ve been prepping this review for several months – and drinking far too much espresso. Beware. Our energy level has never been higher.
Fully Automatic Espresso Maker – DeLonghi Magnifica 3300
Have you ever looked at the full cost of your espresso habit? I found myself visiting local coffee shops an average of 6 times per week, conservatively spending $3.50 each time (I usually order smaller “tall” lattes). Over the course of a year that added up to just over $1,000. The cost plus the time involved in just getting to the coffee shop in the end limited how many espressos I was willing to enjoy in a week. And none of this figured in my wife’s own coffee habit!
For most espresso fans the financials look great immediately. Finding the right machine was next – a process which proved a little daunting.
Happily, we can report that we found at least one great option – the DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300 Super Automatic (Amazon.com).
Many Choices Out There
Prospective buyers of super automatics will find a large number of unfamiliar manufacturers. The terminology can be bewildering and most have no first-hand experience even using these types of machines in the past. Combine that with the ticket price and it’s enough to turn many people away before they get started.
We had luckily already been exposed to the awesomeness of fully automatic espresso. Friends ‘inherited’ an older hand-me-down $2000+ model from their parents. And while that wasn’t going to work for us the seed was planted and kept growing. We knew how easy it can be to make great coffee at home and having reviewed the cost of our “habit”, it was just a matter of time.
In researching options, DeLonghi repeatedly came up as building reliable effective and economical machines. After lots of feature cross-checking and carefully reading online reviews we decided the DeLonghi Magnifica 3300 – DeLonghi’s “lower-end” model (ha!) – was the right place to start.
Getting Started With Super Automatic Espresso
We were slightly taken aback by the size of the unboxed ESAM 3300. Your old automatic coffee pot is going to have a serious inferiority complex. (You probably won’t be too interested in that thing any longer anyway). We had the measurements right and it fit where we wanted it to go, but it did a day or two for it to feel “right” in the kitchen. The exterior is nicely designed and complements other appliances well. Once it started pouring great espressos the DeLonghi instantly became a member of the family.
The manual is easy to follow. We impatiently ran through the recommended cleaning cycle. A few minutes later we had loaded our first beans and water, set the dials for medium strength and medium coffee quantity and pressed the 1-cup dispense. The machine came to life and poured out an aromatic first cup of espresso with a professional-looking crema (the redish-brown layer of foam on top). Delicious!
3 Weeks Later
The beginning of our new espresso-at-home life was exhilarating but we really hit our stride after a few days with our “barista” duties. Specifically: Finding personal preferences for brew quantity and grind strength (both settings are adjusted and easy-to-remember via numbered dials on the front), expanding to latte’s/cappaccino’s/mocha’s/etc., learning to use the frothing wand (easy, but takes a couple practice cups to perfect the art). We are happy to report everything quickly became second nature and now we don’t like to imagine living without the ESAM3300.
My usual weekday routine: large Americano for the morning commute and a skinny double-shot latte (iced latte during summer) when I get home in the evening. On weekends I like to include more exotic fare, usually 2-3 espresso’s per day.
Good vs. Bad
Good
- Making great-tasting espresso is easy and fast
- Built-in grinder w/ bean storage
- Built-in, removable water container (60 oz or about 7 full cups)
- Easy to use frothing/steam wand
- Handsome, elegant appearance
- Awesome when entertaining coffee lovers
- Built like a tank
- Easy to clean & maintain
- Conversation starter
Bad
- Unit is large – make sure you have the counter space and upper cabinet clearance!
- Grinding process can be noisy (no more so than a dedicated coffee grinder)
- The grinder bypass for using pre-ground beans seems to result in weaker espresso
- Cup warmer takes too long to be truly useful
- Not for brewing large quantities of “regular” coffee all at once for a large party
Magnifica? Well, Is It?
In a word, yes. In a couple words, absolutely yes.
The DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM3300 lives up to its name and the company’s reputation. It makes great-tasting espresso (in all its forms) easy and enjoyable.
On the cost-saving front, yes, we still go to Starbucks and other local shops but only for the occasional social outing. The coffee we make at with the Magnifica 3300 at home rivals and sometimes surpasses what’s available elsewhere.
Where To Buy
The best place to buy the Magnifica ESAM 3300 is Amazon.com, who offer the lowest price we have found and sometimes free shipping. We’ve seen it at retail at Great Indoors and have heard it can be spotted at Bed, Bath & Beyond and similar stores.
Further Reading
Read product info & user reviews at Amazon’s DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM3300 page.
DeLonghi’s official ESAM 3300 page (DeLonghiUSA.com).
See additional high-end espresso machine recommendations online (CompareTheBrands.com).
Want to take good espresso-making on the road and trail? Check out something a bit more portable, namely the Handpresso Wild, a hand-pumped espresso maker you can take camping, hiking … anywhere. (GonzoGadgets.com)
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Best Digital Picture Frame? (Review of iGala Wireless Photo Frame)
The iGala Wireless Digital Picture Frame from newcomer Aequitas LLC is quickly turning heads among photo fanatics. The iGala may prove to be the best digital picture frame in a market already crowded with lackluster products. We can’t help being reminded by the iPhone in many respects – the touchscreen, the attractive uncluttered on-screen interface and internet capabilities (via built-in wireless). Oh, and the name. The iPhone was definitely on iGala engineers minds during the design process, and that’s not a criticism.
Also like the iPhone, the iGala finds itself in a maturing market crowded with digital frames that may look good on the Target shelf but ultimately disappoint due to dubious photo quality, poor design and more emphasis on swappable faceplates (hey, extra revenue right?) than usability. In that context iGala’s specs are pretty impressive and we like its chances. Peep this:
- Touchscreen Interface
- Built-In WiFi wireless
- 800 x 600 Resolution
- Automatically updates photos over internet from email (Gmail) and Flickr
- Load more photos via SD Media Card or any USB drive/device
- 1GB internal memory; store up to 5,000 photos
- Auto Power Save, Alarm and Clock functions
- No PC Needed
- No subscription needed
The screen is plenty bright, sharp and nicely offset by the understated clear plastic bezel. Configuration of the unit with iPhone-esque buttons and keyboard via the touchscreen interface is a snap – you don’t want to set Flickr and Gmail configuration/url/username/password via two arrow buttons and an enter key, right?
For such a unique and powerful photo frame, the price (roughly $239 at the time of this writing) in our opinion is justified. There is really no other entry that can compete with the iGala at this time.
This is also a device that would look right at home on any executive desk and, if we may say so, would complement a high quality set of GLA-55 speakers very nicely.
LINUX provides the UI and performance muscle under the iGala’s pretty skin. So naturally we hope iGala will expand further on the nice start they’ve made. We see support for Facebook albums, TwitPic and more as smart next steps to make this the must-have digital photo frame for the well-connected geek. This would be a great project platform if it’s ever released to open source or supported by an extensible plugin architecture. But we digress.
As it stands already the iGala is a sweet looking, cutting edge picture frame that’s sending the competition scrambling back to the drawing boards. That’s going to be good for all of us.
I Want One!
Available from ThinkGeek (UPDATE: BACK IN STOCK 4/24).
VholdR Wearable Camcorder
The VholdR Wearable Camcorder
While you are booking your flight and condo at Telluride, Vail or Breckenridge, take a moment and check out the VholdR wearable camcorder. The VholdR is small and would look at home on the mountains in any weather – ride bike or ski. It boasts some impressive features:
- 640×480 resolution at 30 fps
- rotating lens with laser sights for easy aiming & calibration – it rotates in its housing to capture a level shot even when you aren’t level
- rugged design with brushed aluminum and baked fiberglass housing
- single, easy to use record/pause switch (big enough to work while wearing a glove)
- USB 2.0 transfers to PC/Mac
- video editing & sharing software included
- helmet mount included
- 2 hours battery life
- MicroSD removable memory (1GB MicroSD included!)
What’s especially impressive is the video & audio quality – check sick move below, and see more samples here [VholdR.com].
Harmon Kardon GLA-55 Desktop Speakers
Those looking for a stylish unique compact and powerful set of desktop speakers for your PC iTunes or iPod need look no further than the Harmon Kardon GLA-55 2.0 Speaker System
The way the audio controls and jacks are integrated makes this a beauty to behold (see photo below).
The GLA-55 speaker system delivers 110W (55 per channel) and near-reference quality audio performance throughout the frequency spectrum. More than a pretty face Harmon Kardon made sure that this system shares the DSP and high-end speaker components found in their line of audiophile speakers. Harmon Kardon is never known as ‘cheap’ but with all this punch laying below the surface you may be hard pressed to find regular boxy 3-way speakers with this combination of price performance and size, much less ones that look this cool.
Read more from Amazon.
LED Xmas Cards DIY Mini-Project
Here’s a fun and easy do-it-yourself project to create a unique geeky holiday gift card for the gadget lover in your life. What are called Edge-Lit Cards. All you need: ultra-bright LED, batteries, a square of clear plastic/acrylic, scissors, hobby knife, paper for the card itself and 30 minutes of time and a bit of holiday inspiration.
If we somehow find time during this busy season to make a Gonzo Gadgets card we’ll post the results here !
Read all the Project Details here [EvilMadScientist.com]
Say Hello to Gigapixel Photography
Mt. Haleakala, the dormant volcano that dominates the Maui landscape and attracts thousands of visitors every year, is getting some geek cred too.
The University of Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS program (Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System) is proudly detailing the design of a 1.4 gigapixel digital camera capable of snapping some candid photos of the night sky. The design not only has impressive stats but the utilization of a large number of small CCD’s increases data read speeds and minimizes impact of an occasional bad chip.
The primary goal of Pan-STARRS is to detect potential earth-impact objects presumably so they can call Bruce Willis and take care of the issue as only he can.
Sorry all you DSLR adopters out there – the ante has been raised by *just a bit* now. Still, Pan-STARRS probably can’t even use all the neat interchangeable lenses you bought with the kit. And we’re guessing the gigapixel camera might be a bit of a budget-buster for the prosumer out there.
Great Deals
More Resources
High Priority Thread
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