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Yes, Apple announces its first tablet computer: The iPad

January 27th, 2010, 10:15 am by

Apple Announces Launch Of New Tablet ComIt’s official. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs has announced the company’s first tablet computer: the iPad.

What can you do with it? Surf the Internet, send e-mail, share pictures, watch videos, listen to music, plays games and read eBooks, Jobs told the media crowd who showed up in San Francisco for this morning’s big announcement.

This is definitely what was rumored. And it does look like a giant iPhone. Jobs went on to show numerous publications that have built content fit for the iPad including the New York Times (which also made an appearance on stage), Time and  National Geographic.

UDPATE: Some prices revealed: $499 for the 16 GB version. The 32GB is $599 and 64GB is $699. These are all Wi-Fi versions. With 3G, add $130 to each model so the prices jump to $629 $729 and $829. Data plans start at $14.99/month for 250 mb of data or $29.99 for unlimited data. AT&T is providing the service plus offering free Wi-Fi hotspot access.

Apple iPad is 0.5-inch thin

The iPad begins shipping in 60 days for the non 3G versions. The 3G versions will ship in 90 days.

>> Watch Apple’s iPad video HERE.

It has interesting tweaks on the usual computer/phone features like calendar, Google Maps, contacts. Some featured services already built for iPad: Fandango movie tickets and MLB.com‘s baseball videos.

Take the poll:
OK. You’ve heard and read the buzz. We know it’s early — hey, you can’t even buy one yet — but we have to know …

So, will you buy one?
View Results

Jobs had a whole segment on, what else, iBooks. Harper Collins, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan are some of the publishers named. It uses the ePub format, an open format so you might be able to upload your own books. According to iLounge.com, Jobs said:

Apple will go further than Kindle with a full-screen eBook reader called iBooks. iBooks has a bookshelf that inclues covers on a shelf. You can see two pages or one page at once as you prefer, and there’s a button at upper left to access the new iBook Store. Fully integrated with app to let you discover, purchase, download eBooks right on your iPad.

SPECS: It has Internet, of course. There’s also Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11n), some will have 3G wireless service built in (see prices above). All 3G models will be unlocked. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Apple mania • Computers • Gadgets • • • • • • • • | 87 Comments »

Why Michael Jackson ‘This Is It’ USB is for true fans

January 26th, 2010, 2:30 am by

'Michael Jackson's This is It' movie on a USB drive.If you’re planning to buy the new “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” movie, out today on DVD and Blu-ray, true fans may want to consider the movie on a USB drive.

It’s  not  high-definition, and it can only be played on a Windows PC. And the movie is all that is included on the 2 GB drive.

But each of the “This is It” USB drives from Fountain Valley’s Kingston Technology is numbered, up to 75,000.

Kingston, which has released three other movies on USB drives, said this one is the first that will let owners share the movie on up to 3 computers. Kingston’s previous movie USB releases, which included “Star Trek” and “Transformers,” required the USB drive to remain plugged into the computer.

“It really is new territory for us.  It’s a way for a memory company like us to work with a big movie company,” said David Leong, Kingston’s spokesman.

Leong said that the $19.99 drive targets devices like netbooks, which don’t have an optical drive. But beyond the PC, many users may not be able to watch the movie on their big screen TV or other USB-friendly player because the movie only works with Windows Media Player.

“It’s for Michael Jackson fans,” he said.

But another feature of the USB version of the movie is that it can be shared with 3 computers. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Computers • Gadgets • Security • • • • • • • • • | 4 Comments »

Prepaid BlackBerry comes to Boost Mobile for $60/month

January 25th, 2010, 11:56 am by

Now we’re talking… Irvine’s Boost Mobile added a BlackBerry phone to its lineup today — the company’s first smartphone.

Boost Mobile adds first smartphone: BlackBerry Curve 8330It’s the aging BlackBerry Curve 8330, which Sprint added in April 2008. But hey, it’s a BlackBerry, which means Web, e-mail, apps and all the regular goodies of a smartphone. Boost is teaming the Curve with a $60 per month unlimited plan using Sprint’s 3G wireless network. The phone itself is $249.99 before taxes.

This isn’t your typical BlackBerry. Boost is aiming for the youthful social networking crowd with the phone and touting its Internet features and links to Facebook, Twitter, etc.  According to the fine print (details below), this won’t connect with corporate e-mail and you can’t make conference calls. Consider it a BlackBerry on a diet.

It’s not the first time a BlackBerry has been offered to the prepaid crowd. Last March, MetroPCS added the same BlackBerry to its product line. MetroPCS was charging $50 a month at the time. New MetroPCS plans for 2010, however, now cost $60/month for the BlackBerry.

And, as most BlackBerry users know, unlimited plans with traditional wireless companies tend to cost $10 to $30 more per month.  Boost and MetroPCS plans don’t require a contract. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • Gadgets • • • • • | 9 Comments »

Vizio goes beyond TV with 6 new gadgets

January 12th, 2010, 4:31 pm by

Vizio Universal RemoteVizio conquered the LCD HDTV market last year. Now it wants a piece of the TV accessory market.

While the Irvine TV company unveiled its first Blu-ray Disc player, sound bar and cables last year, this year’s show had many nice surprises as well. It not only showed its latest TVs, including a 3D model and a super skinny HDTV, but it offered up a bunch of interesting TV accessories. I’ve highlighted the following, with pictures of course:

Number 1 stock artUniversal remote control with built-in LCD – Two of them are coming but the more interesting one is the XRT100 touchscreen remote control has a 3.5-inch LCD display to control the home’s entertainment system. It will work with Vizio’s upcoming (and delayed) Internet TV, as well as older audio and video devices. Unlike the Samsung Wi-Fi remote with the built-in TV display, this one works over Bluetooth. Click photos to enlarge.

Vizio universal remote control with touchscreen Vizio universal remote control with touchscreen

Number 2 stock artHeadphones with built-in LCD — Why does one need an LCD screen on a set of headphones, I’m not quite sure. But it was cool to see. Vizio added a round LCD display to the outer part of each earpiece. Users will be able to see the album cover or personal images on the screens. These are future products with no price or availability date available. Watch the video I took inside Vizio’s dark CES suite: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Gadgets • iPods • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 9 Comments »

A voice-activated remote that listens to you

January 12th, 2010, 1:27 pm by

RCA voice-controled remote, RCRV06G.Spotted at CES: I never paid too much attention to remote controls, but at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show several caught my attention. Audiovox Corp., for one, introduced a new voice-activated TV remote, the RCA Voice Control Universal Remote or RCRV06G.

All you have to do is talk to it. Besides telling it to turn on the TV, it’ll obey your command to increase the volume, start a movie, switch channels and turn everything off — 25 activities in all. You don’t even have to touch a button.

Audiovox's voice-activated remote controlI’m unsure how the remote is able to distinguish between voice commands and regular chitty-chatting since I didn’t test this out myself. But just pointing it out…

And it’s surely not the most advanced remote but for $39.99, it seems to be one that could appeal to the masses who aren’t interested in spending $100+ for the Harmony remote or the new LCD-display ones from Samsung and Vizio.

The universal remote will control up to six devices, which, apparently, requires manual set up. I guess voice-activated set up will come in version two.

More on remote control technology:

Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressFor more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010.
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Posted in: Gadgets • Video & TV • • • • • • • | Comments Off

One-third inch? Ha! Vizio TV is even skinnier

January 11th, 2010, 1:29 pm by

Vizio Blade, a quarter-inch thick HDTV prototypeConsumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressBiggest, loudest, shiniest, skinniest! That’s what makes a fun Consumer Electronics Show. And in the skinniest TV category, looks like Irvine’s Vizio may be the winner.

While Samsung unveiled the LED 9000, a one-third-inch thick TV, Vizio was showing a sample of the Blade, so named for its quarter-inch thinness.

Apologies for the mediocre images. I saw this in Vizio’s dark exhibit suite and they wouldn’t allow flash.

vizblade14 vizbladeimg_7829 vizbladeimg_7827 Vizio Blade, a quarter-inch thick HDTV

The TV is a prototype, but it works. The Samsung model hides all the electronics inside the base of the TV. Vizio’s skinny prototype cheats a bit with a fatter back. The edge of the TV is pretty skinny though.

And of course, the Samsung model is supposed to be out this year.

Vizio was a nice surprise at Las Vegas. The company came out with a bunch of crazy new stuff that I wasn’t expecting since it’s better known as a firm that sells low-priced HDTVs. More to come.

For more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010.
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Posted in: Gadgets • Video & TV • • • • • • • | 11 Comments »

Turn a cardboard box into a speaker

January 8th, 2010, 1:38 pm by

rockitimg_7615Spotted on the CES show floor: The ROCK-IT from OrigAudio. It looks like a small square case to stash headphones. But really, it’s a way to turn any empty cardboard box, hollow Tupperware or other object into a speaker for your iPod or MP3 player.

A small round ‘speaker’ pops out of the case and attaches to a cardboard box. Sound vibrations running through the device are amplified through the hollow box, just like a larger speaker. Alone, the device sounds like music from headphones you’re not wearing.

But attached to the box and it sounds like a portable speaker. The sound quality is what you’d expect from a portable speaker, but it’s a handy device if you’re traveling and don’t want to lug a sound system around.

Pre-orders are being taken at origaudio.com for $49.99. The gadget starts shipping on Jan. 18. More pics (click to enlarge):

Rock-IT portable speaker just needs an empty box. rockitimg_7616

Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressFor more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010.
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Posted in: Audio • Gadgets • iPods • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Next up in 3D: Samsung’s 3D camera for consumers

January 8th, 2010, 8:15 am by

Samsung 3D camera prototypeWith all the 3D HDTVs coming out, people will one day want to create their own 3D home movies or photos for their new TV. Samsung was one company demonstrating a prototype 3D camera at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Samsung projected images from the camera in a roped-off darkened exhibit area so it was difficult to get good pictures of the camera itself. But a sign at the entrance shows what the camera looks like (on right). With two ‘eyes,’ the camera has a left and right lens so it takes two photos simultaneously and weaves them together to create a 3D image viewed best with 3D glasses.

The camera on display was a 12-megapixel camera with HDMI outputs. As with many new gadgets at CES, no price or launch date was available on this one. It appears to be a gadget for the further future.

Samsung isn’t the only one playing with 3D cameras for consumers. Fuji has the newish FinePix Real 3D for $600.

More Samsung 3D camera pics from the show floor (click to enlarge):

Samsung's 3D camera prototype sam3dcamimg_7758 Samsung's 3D camera prototype sam3dcamimg_7757

Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressMore CES coverage: gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010. Recent headlines:

Posted in: Gadgets • • • • • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

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