TECHNOGADGETS®
Tech & Gadgets & More
Apple’s New Stuff
Sep 1st
Well, I’m impressed. From the Shuffle to the iPod Touch, Apple has totally redone their iPod lineup. The Shuffle takes a step backwards, by bringing back the buttons consumers seem to want. A great little unit at a great little price, $49. The Nano is tiny but loses its buttons. They’ve been replaced by a multi-touch touchscreen. Select your music just like you would on an iPhone or iPod touch. Speaking of which, the iPod touch gets even slimmer, with the same gorgeous display as the iPhone 4, and the same speedy processor. The iPod touch also gets an HD video recording camera, a forward-facing camera, and the ability to use Facetime…for 2 way video communication. It also get a better 3-axis gyro for better gaming, and Game Center, which allows you to play games with your friends or strangers who you’re automatically matched with. The top of the line iPod touch is $399 with 64Gb. All the new iPods will be available next week but you can pre-order them now. iTunes gets changes, including something called Ping for music social networking. AppleTV, as expected, has been changed into a streaming device. $99 for the device, with $4.99 movie rentals but TV show streaming for 99 cents. Right now Fox and ABC are aboard. Can this someday replace my HUGE cable bill? Read more at the Apple site.
Apple’s Amazing Growth
Sep 1st
Steve Job’s press event, with updates to all the iPods, iTunes, and AppleTV, kicked off with some amazing numbers. Apple says they’re activating 230,000 iOS products every day. Remember when we were wowed with the 1 billionth app being downloaded in early 2009? Jobs revealed that the number of apps downloaded now stands at 6.5 billion. He also says they’ve sold 275 million iPods. The iPod Touch is the most popular, and it is also the most popular portable gaming device in the world. He says it’s bigger than than Sony, more than Nintendo, having more than 50% market share. As for the system that drives this stuff, iTunes has seen an amazing 11.7 billion songs downloaded and an update was announced that includes a new music social networking feature called Ping.
Pay As You Go 4G!
Aug 30th
4G is just outstanding – if you’re in an area that gets it. With that footprint growing every day, more and more of us are able to take advantage of the sizzling speed of 4G. I’ve had the chance to try 4G using Clear’s iSpot which sets up a WiFi hotspot wherever you are, that 8 devices can access. My iPhone loved it. It’s a very attractive $99 device, with service as low as $25 a month. But, even at that low price of $25, it’s not for everyone. Let’s say you only need access when you travel, and that’s about once a month. Today’s announcement of Rover, from Clear, is just what you’re looking for. It’s a high-speed, 4G, pay-as-you-go plan! For as little as $5 a day, you have a 4G connection anywhere. $5 a day, $20 a week, $50 a month. You get the idea. For those who need their 4G every so often, Rover is clearly the way to go.
FourSquare Checks In With Growth
Aug 30th
If it seems to you that FourSquare has been growing….boy, has it ever! This weekend it hit another milestone.
Low-Cost Video Conferencing Site
Aug 30th
WowWe Inc. has launched a new service designed to bring the power of video communication to the masses. iWowWe.com gives users video email and conferencing tools that are easier to use and more affordable than any other product on the market, without sacrificing quality. It allows users to communicate seamlessly with anyone, whether they have a WowWe account of their own or not. It gives them the largest video email player in the market, and HD quality video for all their communications. Subscribers have access to hundreds of compelling templates, and can create their own custom templates at no additional cost. All this is priced at $19.95 a month.
(Source: WowWe)
Verizon Higher-Speed Internet
Aug 30th
Verizon tells us today about the introduction of a 10 to 15 megabits-per-second downstream and 1 Mbps upstream service initially available to more than 4 million households and small businesses. The new 10 to 15 Mbps speed tier is the latest addition to Verizon’s existing suite of High Speed Internet speeds – 4 to 7 Mbps, 1.5 to 3 Mbps’ and 768 kilobits per second to 1 Mbps downstream for consumers, as well as similar business packages. All HSI services include a dedicated connection to the home or business over the company’s copper network, so service won’t slow down when neighbors are online at the same time.
(Source: Verizon)
Turn iPad Into A Netbook
Aug 30th
Sena makes some really great cases and their latest iPad case has an integrated Bluetooth keyboard. The iPad is just great but, as you know, sometimes you’ve just gotta have a hard keyboard. This case is stylish, offers protection, and now offers a keyboard! All for under $130 if you pre-order. It should ship in early October.
Light Up Your Remote
Aug 30th
The majority of remote controls don’t have backlighting, but most of us watch a lot of TV in a darkened room at times. Fortunately, for $10, someone’s come up with a solution. The new micro-sized L.E.D. light called the Pop-up MicroLite and it sticks on remote controls to illuminate both the buttons and text in the dark or dim lighting. Coming to retail stores, it’ll also be available on Amazon.com in October.
Chilean Miners Learn From NASA
Aug 29th
There’s a lot the trapped Chilean miners can learn from astronauts.
Verizon iPhone
Aug 29th
Once again, the latest in the long anticipated creation of an iPhone for Verizon. With Android coming on strong, it’s the smartest thing Apple can do.