Nonetheless, even 5 months after the arrival of Acer Iconia Tab A501, the tablet will be one of the very selected ones to have a complete-sized USB interface, so that’s something that needs to be considered if you still are considering of buying the tablet. As we heard, the Acer Iconia Tab A501 will run Android 3.0, and as per one of Acer’s representative we’ve heard that Android 3.1 will be available through an over-the-air modify. Though, we still haven’t heard any confirmation on the availability of that update.

If you want you even could sign on for a series plan or can even opt to pay as you get service and could get 250MB for $15 and could expand your adjustment to 2GB for $25. Customers going for a two year agreement would be getting the same alternative. All that makes the Acer Iconia Tab A501 a considerable tablet for the modern consumers, but still how good will it is needs to be seen. So in the mean time do let us know what you think of Acer Iconia Tab A501 and what your expectations from it are.

Nintendo has always been putting codename on their console products. Gamecube was called ‘Project Dolphin’ till it came out in the market and Nintendo Wii was dubbed as ‘Project Revolution’. Rumors say that the name of the new console is ‘Project Cafe’. Of course, this is not the original name. The final name is likely to be ‘Stream’ but the manufacturer hasn’t made a final decision yet.

The new console isn’t going to be cheap. Nintendo Wii had a price tag of $250 and this was the reason behind its big success amongst gamers. The Stream could cost somewhere between $350 and $400.

Here are the rumors floating around on the Internet about the new gaming console -

Hardware -

• A revamped model of AMD R7000 GPU architecture along with triple core IBM PowerPC chipset that is said to be faster than Xbox 360.
• Physical size will be quite similar to that of the Xbox 360.

Controllers -

• Wiimote might die and you are likely to get a traditional controller layout having two joysticks and four button diamond layout.
• Controller might have a six inch touchscreen having 1080p resolution.
• Mobile style full length games could be downloaded or streamed on the controller.
• If the manufacturer is indeed using touch screen controllers, the price of the console will go up because touch screen technology is expensive.
• There will be support for Wiimote.

The user interface on the Samsung BD-C5500 has been redesigned and I really liked the new look. It now has a better visual appeal with wood-grain background. There are large icons for the different types of media like photos, video, music, Internet@TV. There are also 5 big icons on the top for the most popular streaming services like Pandora, Vudu, Netflix, Blockbuster, and Rovi TV listings. You can access them quickly without jumping in to the intricate Samsung Apps interface. I was disappointed to see that the icons on the top cannot be customized. This means that if you don’t like Rovi TV listings, you cannot replace it with Picasa. To sum it up, I would say that it is a small upgrade to the user interface from Samsung and it is now easier to go to the service that you’d want.

Digging deeper into the online offerings on Samsung BD-C5500, you will find access to Internet@TV which is the Samsung Apps platform. The two terms are used interchangeably by the manufacturer. You can browse through and download the new apps that are categorized in genres like lifestyle, sports, game and video. These apps are free but Samsung say that they are planning to introduce premium apps in the future. I had this player for a week and didn’t see any paid ones pop up so I can’t tell you if there is any scope of additional functionality on the platform.

The biggest attraction of this phone is that it has a transparent capacitive touch screen. It is made from solid sapphire crystal and displays the standard Android icons when you are using it. When you are not using it, the phone will be completely see through. The electronics, SIM card and the battery of the phone are located in platinum sides.

Mobiado says that this phone will easily integrate with the different functions on Aston Martin car from power door locks and GPS navigation system to safety hardware. CPT002 is made for providing wireless connectivity in the vehicle to plenty of social networking sites like FourSquare, Twitter and Facebook. The social media accounts will be automatically updated through the internet location from GPS along with the images from the onboard cameras of the car.

It is believed that Apple will be giving details about the next generation Mac operating system which is OS X Lion and next version of the mobile OS which is iOS 5. We also believe that Apple is going to put cloud based services in the iOS 5. We are expecting something like service of music locker or online storage. This might not be seen till fall, according to one source. This also means that Apple iPhone 5 will come with the new iOS 5.

Depending on your installation methods, the external magnetic GPS antenna will give you enhanced positioning sensitivity and the vehicle speed sensor connection will help in tracking vehicles when the satellite signals get inconsistent. There is also an external dashboard or a microphone mounted on sun visor for making hands free calls. The microphone connects to the back panel of the Sony XNV-770BT; it is a home to a ton of connection points, pigtails, audio visual outputs, inputs and wire harnesses. There are two audio/video inputs, a video output, one monaural subwoofer output, two stereo audio outputs, one USB connection, one dedicated input for rear view camera (this is not included), and bus connection for external satellite radio tuner (this too is not included). You can configure the connections in a lot of ways to support the equipment that you want to use. For instance, the included thirty pin doc connection can bridge USB port and one of video inputs for iPod video playback.

There is also a tiny infrared remote control bundled with the receiver. If you are going to do the stereo installation on your own, let me tell you that the Sony XNV-770BT is of moderate difficulty. You will have to drill for mounting the external GPS module cradle, tap the speedometer of the vehicle and the parking brake sensors, route connections for GPS antenna and external microphone, and make connections for power, speakers, ground and also external amplification, if available.

The main menu of the Sony XNV-770BT has three main functions are they are spelled out by the device. These functions are BT phone, AV source and Navigation.

There is a dedicated client for managing files for PC users but Mac users will have to drag and drop content. There is a microSD card slot next to the SIM card slot. Other features on the device worth mentioning here are three megapixel camera, good quality speakers, and a VGA camera on the front. There is also a volume controls. As compared to this, Apple iPad doesn’t have a single camera.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is based on Android interface and Android has never looked so good before. It is 2.2 version of the OS but it is stacked with all the relevant apps for make it smooth and easy to use. There is Flash support too and it works as it should but in landscape mode, you will have to use the pinch-zoom actions. There is also Android Market for purchasing goods but it is not as good as Apple’s counterpart. Finding good stuff here is very hard.

The design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is really good and the touch screen exploits the goodness of the display to the maximum. Pushing the brightness level to the maximum will really take a toll on the battery life but it is totally worth it. The 1 GHz processor makes sure that things remain fast all the time.

I had the Samsung Galaxy Tab for a month and here are my experiences with it –

• Social breakfast – I wake up in the mornings with the alarm on Samsung Galaxy Tab and updated my Facebook status on breakfast table. There are some mails which I ignored and the gadget then reminds me that I have to attend a meeting at 11 am. On the way, I catch the bus and watch some old ‘Friends’ episodes.
• Walking on the street, I groove to the music on this player. The volume could have been louder but it is not a deal breaker. The bundled noise isolators are better than what I expected. It is definitely not as good as the iPod Touch though.
• I arrive at the railway station, snuggle up in a corner and resume watching the TV show that I had earlier downloaded. The videos are compressed and chunky but it still is a good entertainer.
• Now I am at my office and ready to start work. I am bitterly missing my desktop computer and it is time to get the Tab recharged. I take out the sync cable in the my pocket.
• At the meeting, I take out my Samsung Galaxy Tab and start tapping sound bites from the speaker in to Notes app. Bored with the meeting; I use the Sketcher app for drawing stuff. I start by selecting the ‘thick brush’ and start drawing the teddy bear that I have in my mind. I see someone looking over and quickly shut the app.
• Now I am off to visiting my uncle’s new house in the suburbs. I take out my buddy out of my coat pocket and download maps and satellite views through Google Nav app over the air through 3G. I also manage to mount the Tab on my dash but some might need accessories for it.
• My uncle is quite impressed with what he sees and this is familiar territory for him since he used to make computers in the 70s. It was a time when they were as big as washing machines. My aunt has no clue about the gadget but she says that it looks cute.
• At the end of the day, I am in my bed under covers and this gadget has replaced Kindle for sometime. I go through some books and the display is really easy on the eyes.

Size matters?

• Video – The screen size is not really bad for watching videos. It is smaller than the iPad and bigger than smartphones. It will keep you entertained on a breakfast table while you are munching on the food.
• Gaming – There are games like Nova which really look amazing on this screen. There is also the Android Market for purchasing stuff. I loved playing Flight Control clone Air Control.
• Multitouch – Android wasn’t made to be used on tablets when it first came out but it is still quite usable on Samsung Galaxy Tab. Swiping seems exaggerated sometimes but it is not excessively so.
• Music – This gadget definitely won’t replace a music player but it still manages to close the gap on the iPod Touch through apps like DoubleTwist installed.

Specifications – Samsung Galaxy Tab

• Screen – Seven inch touchscreen with resolution of 1,024×600 pixels
• OS – Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• Processor – 1 GHz Cortex A8
• Storage space – 16 GB internal + microSD card slot which supports up to 32 GB cards
• Camera – Front facing VGA, 3.2 megapixel camera on the back with LED flash
• Connectivity – Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n), HSDPA, 3G, Bluetooth 3.0 and A-GPS
• Battery – Five hours (rated), standby time – 63 days

Apple iPad is available in three storage sizes. 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB which costs  £429, £499 and £599 respectively. If you want 3G too, you will have to pay another £100 for it. This means the most expensive Apple iPad costs £699. 3G will need some extra money for the data plan as well.

The features of this device are the same as iPhone except for the cellular features. The size is the same as an A4 paper. It is bigger but certainly easier to carry than a Netbook. The only problem with this device is that it isn’t targetted towards any specific audience. It can deliver your e-mails and it may be also serve as a good substitute to your e-book reader.

The Apple iPad is neither as flexible or as powerful as a laptop but the iPad isn’t trying to replace it. Just like the iPod Touch or the iPhone, it tries to be a fun device for Web surfing, watching videos or listening to music that you have purchased from iTunes. Also, it is great for killing time; games look superb on the iPad. The gadget doesn’t make you wait for a long time for booting like a standard computer. Finally, this device is the most travel friendly computer I have ever seen.

If you have used an iPod Touch or iPhone before, the iPad will look very much familiar to you. The user interface is simple and has just a single button on the bottom that brings you to the home screen. On the display, there are a bunch of icons which are the various apps and features of the device.

Just like the iTouch or iPhone, you can either download the apps from the App Store of the device or download them first on the computer through iTunes and then transfer them. The iPad has a huge screen, as compared to smartphones. If you’ve ever wanted to play Flight Control on a big display or wanted to have the speed and style of the smartphone on a Web-friendly, large screen, this product will be like a dream come true for you.

A lot of iPhone apps like Flight Control have been upgraded to fit the bigger screen of the Apple iPad. Some Websites are also optimized for this device like the Gmail for iPad. It is implemented quite well and is easy to use too. However, a lot of apps are costlier than the the iPhone versions.

iPhone apps can be played on the iPad too but you won’t see it in full screen unless the pixel-doubling zoom feature is enabled. It enlarges the image but the quality is awful. You will be craving for the iPad version after a few moments.  Also noteworthy is that the Apple App store is the only source of all the apps and games.

Apple says that the iPad can replace your ebook reader. I would certainly recommend this device ahead of tiny smartphones for reading the books. However, the backlit and shiny screen cannot match the power efficiency and comfort of an E Ink display on the ebook readers like Amazon Kindle.

iBook app might look cute initially with the edges that look like a real page and the swiping of the finger for turning the pages. However, once the novelty wears, I bet you will yearn for full screen pages and a single tap for turning the pages. Apple should focus more on user interface innovations like they did with the iPhone rather than trying to imitate real like objects. On the bright side, the iPad has a few advantages for reading books as compared to the readers. For instance, the pages turn faster and hence you can flip around quickly. The books can also include video, music and other interactive elements. This device also gives you glorious full color magazines, comic books, graphic novels, etc for reading.

For getting the books, the App store is your first source. Other than that, you can get the content from Amazon Kindle app or load the books in ePub format (this includes titles from Google Books or Project Gutenberg)

The best feature of the Apple iPad, according to me, is its Web surfing capability. A lot of people use smartphones for checking out stuff on the internet but their screens are too small. On the other hand, laptops take a while to boot up and hence might turn off people with less patience. Even the iPhone’s screen is small for heaving Web-browsing.

The intuitive user interface and the multitouch screen are the two features that make the iPhone one of the best cell phones for Web surfing and they are even better on the Apple iPad. It is fun to use and starts up quickly. This gadget can be your most preferred one for replacing everything from cookbooks to newspapers.

My review model had 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity but there was no 3G. Browsing experience was faster than that of the iTouch or iPhone on the same network as it involves a lot less zooming and scrolling. I was disappointed to see that there was no Flash support and you will miss a lot on the Web till Apple gives updates, if they ever do. BBC iPlayer, Vimeo and YouTube have all been optimized for Apple’s lack of interest in Flash but there will be a few hiccup while surfing. On the flip side, you get a stable and fast browser than doesn’t tax the battery too much. In my lab tests, I got around three to four days of light use on a full charge.

The bigger on the Apple iPad gives you a bigger on-screen keyboard than the iPod Touch or iPhone. It works pretty well too, courtesy of the responsive and fast touchscreen. You can easily type documents and e-mails on this iPad if you are ever gonna do it. However, you might it a bit awkward to have the keyboard at the same angle as the screen especially if you are used to laptops. A better way to type is to prop the iPad at an angle on the table and then keep you fingers poised like talons of a bird with an extended straining neck. You can type while holding the iPad in one hand and typing by the other but this will slow down your speed. There is a keyboard dock accessory available if you are going to do some heavy typing.

The iPad does look like a typical Apple product with the aluminum back. The gadget is heavier than it looks at 680 grams. This can be a bit tiring to hold for a long time and this was perhaps my only turn off about the device. I would recommend you to purchase a case looking at the price and the weight of the product.

Apple iPad is a great product for gadget lovers. People who spend a lot of time online too will love it. The device offers a slick mix of games, media and apps just like the iPhone, in a bigger chassis.

Pressing the Info button on the Alpine INA-W900 will give you a GPS, Dashboard, System, and Route. In the Dashboard option, you have a digital speedometer with assortment of the trip timers and historic average speed data. The GPS button will give you information about the car’s satellite signal strength and current longitude and latitude. Touching the System or Route gives you information about map version data and current system or route respectively.

The Go to button in the menu lets you select a destination for the turn by turn guidance. The Alpine INA-W900 accepts intersection or address, search the database of POI (points of interest) by category or name, browse the address book of the users for saved destinations, or even longitude and latitude coordinates. You will also find previously selected destination for easy retrieval.

Once you select what you want, the Alpine INA-W900 will show you a map preview of destination along with a pair of virtual buttons. One of them is Go which will start the route guidance. The other one is Options which gives you plenty of options for saving the destination as Home or to the address book for retrieving it later, finding the POIs near your destination, routing options adjustments or setting the destination as a waypoint for larger trips. Travelers get a choice between the fastest and shortest route along with suboptions to avoid highways, time restricted roads, toll roads, or the ferries.

After this, the Alpine INA-W900 takes you to the map screen. The map is really good with bright colors and it is easy to read but you don’t get landmark data or 3D building which is certainly not a deal breaker but some people might miss it. You can overlay the POI icons for gas stations, restaurants, etc. I won’t recommend selecting too many categories at a time because it goes pretty crowded.

The green status bar on the top of the map shows the current street. A couple of boxes on the upper left corner shows the next turn along with distance meter and also the distance/estimated time to reach your destination. On the display’s right, there are two buttons for zooming in and out and on the upper right side, there is a button which takes you to the main menu (this is redundant considering the bezel has a physical Menu button).

Instead of Apple’s big iTunes store, you can choose from rental only subset of streaming content from Fox, BBC, ABC and Disney. You can rent an HD episode for 99 cents but I was disappointed to see that a lot of popular TV shows like Modern Family and House were not available for streaming when I reviewed the product. This holds true for CBS, NBC and most cable networks too.

On the bright side, there are two options on the Apple TV. One is that you can buy content from Apple iTunes on the computer and then stream the video content from to the Apple TV through the PC via home network. This process is a bit cumbersome and takes a lot of time. Also, buying is not an alternative here because you’d need more money. A single HDTV episode will cost you $2.99.

Another option for viewing the content on Apple TV is through NetFlix streaming. I am a huge fan of Netflix’s online streaming service as it offers unlimited viewing of movies and shows for $9 a month which is really cheap. It is finally there on Apple TV and I am glad about that. But it does feel like Apple has included this feature just to stay in the race because everyone else has already done it. The interface is different from what you’d get normally. The menus look really cool with all the animation and the viewing queue can be modified.

Apart from Netflix, Apple TV gives you access to Flickr photos, MobileMe photos, YouTube videos along with podcasts and tons of Internet radio stations. You can stream videos, music, and photos from Mac or PC through iTunes. Remember that you are just limited to the services that Apple has given on this Apple TV. You don’t have a app store unlike the iPad or iPhone so content cannot be added from third party providers.

For connections, Apple TV just has optical audio output and HDMI. You cannot connect this device to older non-HDTVs. Apple has given this device state of the art wireless dual band n Wi-Fi and for wired connections, there is an Ethernet jack.

Finally, I checked the Apple TV for video and sound quality and it was really good. The quality of picture is similar to that of a cable TV program. There is no 1080p technology here, you are limited to just 720p quality but that won’t be a problem for most users. The most important thing here is to make sure you have a really fast connection for streaming all the high end content. I really liked the design of the Apple TV and its user friendly interface.