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What everyone is saying about Apple’s iPad

January 27th, 2010, 2:01 pm by

Apple Announces Launch Of New Tablet ComNow that the Apple iPad is official (read the details at “Apple announces its first tablet computer: The iPad“), the skinny little machine is getting all sorts of reviews from folks who had the chance to play with it and others who’ve only read about it.

Here’s a collection of observations from the Web and the newsroom:

>>This just in: Ken Brusic, editor for The Orange County Register and an iPhone user: What they did was really smart. We will order one to see how it might help us think of Ken Brusic, editor of The Orange County Registerproducing content in the future and see what our web site will look like on such a thing. The thing that I think is really smart is … instead of creating something new, they’ve created something that is really useful and continued along the same path that they started with the development community and the millions of ( iPhone and iTouch) users. I think it probably won’t be as useful as a Kindle for reading a book. eInk technology is really great for reading books because it uses so little power and the reading experience is really great. … I think magazines and newspapers will be great on the tablet. But 10 hours worth of battery life? I’ll have to see it to believe it.

► Brent Chow, Yorba Linda resident via Twitter: the iPad could rev the use of portable comps. Y buy a macbk pro when u can get a more powerful imac & ipad for about the same $

► OCMarisa on Twitter: I’ve been hoping for this. Been holding off on a netbook. I’ll get this with the 3G

► Peacekeeper357 via Twitter: Meh. Not bad, but not great. I’ll wait 4 next rev. I waited until 3G iPhone, I’ll wait on this.

► Jon Lansner, OC Register real estate blogger at Lansner on Real Estate (and an iPod Touch user): I’m not sure this is the game changer, technology wise. But packaging-wise — assuming it delivers the expected high performance — this seems like the “next big thing.” And to bring technology up a notch to the masses, It’s always been about the packaging — not the science anyway. This may indeed be the start of the  ”paperless” society many have dreamed of.

► Engadget, tech news site: “The screen is gorgeous, tilting is responsive, and the thing is super thin. Still, if you’ve used the iPhone before — and you can see the two devices side-by-side here — there’s not a lot of surprises here so far. …It’s not light. It feels pretty weighty in your hand.” (Read more)

► Leo Malone, Gadgetress commenter: Sadly it’s just a big iPod Touch. If it won’t run normal Apple laptop apps then it’s really just a toy. And when you consider it, a big uncomfortable one.

► Sonya Smith, our own beloved iGirl and major Apple user, via Twitter: The ipad has arrived. Now back to trying to sleep off this cold. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Apple mania • • • • | 33 Comments »

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 »

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 »

Fuzzy teddy bear TVs do exist!

January 6th, 2010, 1:22 pm by

Couldn’t resist taking this photo:

The 19-inch Animal Series HDTV from Hannspree in Irvine.

Yes, that’s an LCD HDTV shaped like a fuzzy, wuzzy bear. It comes from none other than Hannspree North America, which is headquartered in Irvine (and mentioned previously on this blog).

Hannspree Apple TVI remember Hannspree most for its kidilicious TVs shaped like apples, basketball and even an order of fries. When I last spoke to the company, they had decided to keep cute relegated to its boutique stores because they didn’t sell well to a mainstream customer.

But now, according to Hannspree’s press release, the company is continuing to offer the novelty TVs to “hit the hearts of those seeking a completely different approach to design in consumer electronics.”

The Apple comes in 28 and 55 inches.

Speaking of Hannspree, the company also says new 10- and 12-inch netbooks are coming out this year. Plus there will be some 8-inch animal-shaped digital photo frames and alarm clocks.

Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressFor more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010. Most recent headlines:

Posted in: Gadgets • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Popbox turns your TV into a Web TV for $130

January 6th, 2010, 12:16 pm by

The Popbox web TV device.Another contender is jumping into the pretty crowded area of Web TV in a box. Popbox, from Fremont’s Syabas Technology, is a small black box that uses an Internet connection to stream videos and other content to a home’s TV.

This device — like the Roku, the Boxee Box, networked TVs…  — appears to have many of the same content partners as everyone else: Netflix, BlipTV and Revision 3. There are also a bunch of widgets available, including Twitter, WeatherBug.

Here is Popbox’s full list of content options. The box also can stream photos, videos and other media stored on computers in the home.

And possibly due to the fact that Syabas has facilities in China and Malaysia, its partner list includes CCTV “the largest media content and television programer (sic) in China,” and MalaysiaKini: Streaming video Malaysian news and views.

When asked if it had any content partners that no one else had, the company said it was too hard to say since everyone is getting new partners all the time.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what is exactly in the Popbox when it becomes available at the end of March 2010. The box plus software is $130 with no subscription fee to maintain (other than separate fees charged by content partners). A box with Wi-Fi will be $149.

Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressFor more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010. Most recent headlines:

Posted in: Gadgets • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Sensio’s 3D video technology making more sense

January 6th, 2010, 6:36 am by

I’ve got to admit, watching 3D shows on TV is very cool. But the experience is hard to capture in print and on a blog. I stopped by chipmaker Sensio Technology’s table during a pre-CES event Tuesday evening.

The Canadian firm, which happens to be providing the 3D decoder into new 3D TVs from Irvine’s Vizio, had plenty of cardboard glasses for attendees to try on and take a peek. Images really did appear to hover out of the TV. I didn’t feel like Bono was reaching out to touch me, but his hand did seem to stretch three inches from the TV screen.

I did my best to capture the experience. The left image below is the raw 3D video on a TV. The right photo is, obviously, the same image through special 3D glasses. Click either image to enlarge.

Looking at 3D video without glasses. Sensio's 3D technology powers TV video

It made me get excited about U2 again.

Maybe 3D will be in my next TV even if I have to spring for some extra glasses?

Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressFor more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010. Most recent headlines:

Posted in: Gadgets • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • | 7 Comments »

First tchotchke of CES: The USB flip charger

January 6th, 2010, 6:23 am by

The Flipower, a Plugless USB chargerThe best part about the Consumer Electronics Show is seeing crazy new gadgets that you won’t find at a Best Buy or even Fry’s Electronics.

First up: The Flipower touts itself as a plugless USB charger, which was the first thing I spotted during the CES Unveiled Event in Las Vegas.

The Flipower, also called the Slim USB Charger, looks like a finger-sized USB card reader but instead of a card slot, there’s a USB slot. And instead of a USB prong, there’s a thin plastic power-outlet cover that flips out. Underneath the outlet cover is the sensor that sends the charge to the USB port, thus charging whatever USB device is plugged into it.

Handy? Sure, if you don’t have a spare USB port on a PC or tend to turn off your computer at night. It also outputs 5V/750 mA of power, for anyone willing to translate the effectiveness of such power.

Powertech Industrial Co. is the Taiwan manufacturer who is looking for distributors to sell the product in the United States. No price has been set.

More images below (click to enlarge):

The Flipower, a Plugless USB charger The Flipower, a Plugless USB charger The Flipower, a Plugless USB charger The Flipower, a Plugless USB charger ... in pink!

Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressFor more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010. Most recent headlines:

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

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