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Top 10 Must-Have Gadgets

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:01:31 +0000

A gadget is a small technical object known as appliance or device, which has particular function, but is often thought as novelty. They are invariably regarded as cleverly and more unusually designed as compared to standard technical objects at the time of their invention. There are quite a lot of online stores, which provide wide spectrum of gadgets such as LED gadgets, solar gadgets, USB gadgets, Christmas gadgets, pet gadgets, MP3 players, mobile phones, Bluetooth gadgets and GPS devices. Even the first atomic bomb was named as the gadget by scientists of Manhattan project tested at Trinity Site. In software industry, the term refers to PC programs, which provide services without needing independent application to be launched for each one, but instead run in an environment that manages multiple gadgets. There are plenty of implementations based on existing software development techniques such as form input, JavaScript and several image formats. Instead of trying to compare gadgets across multiple categories, we present them in alphabetical order, as when you get right down to it, we think they are all must-have ones.

Apple iPad 2

Apple iPad 2 is the current and 2nd generation of iPad, tablet PC designed, engineered and marketed by Apple. It serves mainly as platform for visual and audio media including books, web content, periodicals, presentations, movies, games and music and is offered in two shades: black and white. The iPad 2 was revealed 2nd March 2011 and started marketing it by website and retail stores on 11th March 2011. It is noticeably thinner and offers rear and front facing cameras, FaceTime video chat, faster processor and 3G options for both Verizon and AT&T. The iPad 2 refines an already excellent product with marathon battery life, vast application catalogue and intuitive interface.

The Apple iPad 2 was unveiled globally in 25 nations in 2011, which include Austria, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Finland, Greece, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Netherlands, Poland, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Sweden. The company announced that iPad 2 will be revealed in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and other nations in April 2011. The redesigned tablet gets rear and front facing cameras that allow FaceTime video calls with iPhone 4, 4th generation iPod Touch and Macintosh computers. The 0.3 MP front camera shoots VGA-quality at 30 frames per second video and VGA-quality still photos. The 0.7 MP rear camera can shoot 720p high definition video and features 5x digital zoom. Both shoot photo in 4:3 full screen aspect ratio. The rear camera shoots video in 16:9 widescreen to match 720p standard.

Apple iPhone 4S

Apple iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed and designed by Apple Inc. It is now in its 5th generation and combines 3.5 inch touchscreen iPod, internet communicator and mobile phone. It attains exterior design of previous model, iPhone 4, but offers plenty of enhanced software updates and hardware specifications compared to its predecessor. Incorporated hardware and software enhancements support the introduction of functions and new UI by Apple. Highlights include voice talking and recognizing assistant known as Siri, personal PC independence, enhanced camera system and cloud sourced data.

The Apple iPhone 4S was revealed at Let’s Talk iPhone event of Apple in the month of October 2011 in Cupertino, California and was marketed in United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, Australia, France and United Kingdom. It was also revealed in 22 more European, Asian and American nations such as Singapore, Ireland and Mexico. The iPhone 4S is mainly a combination of handheld PC, cellphone, digital/video camera, GPS and music player all in one package powered by rechargeable 1432mAh lithium-polymer battery. It is supported by online infrastructure where secondary and media applications can be acquired to run on device.

Apple MacBook Air

Apple MacBook Air is one of the fastest ultraportable laptops in the market with high speed Thunderbolt I/O port and backlit keyboard. It is available for the price of $999 and comes equipped with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-2467M processor, 2GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM, 64GB solid state drive, Intel HD 3000 graphics card and OS X 10.7 Lion operating system. It is designed and engineered for thinness and is also quite lighter as compared to other models, featuring glossy LED backlit display and large keyboard along with large trackpad, which responds to iPad-related Multi-Touch gestures like swiping, rotating and pinching. With the introduction of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, its multi-touch trackpad also supports handwriting recognition of Chinese characters.

Barnes & Noble Nook

Barnes & Noble Nook is a lightweight and small e-book reader with high contrast, responsive Pearl e-ink touchscreen display, which provides rapid page turns. It is also comes with built in Wi-Fi for direct access to online Barnes & Noble Store, expansion slot for additional memory and long battery life. It supports e-book lending and EPUB loans from libraries, providing enhanced social networking features. The all new Nook is the most important advancement over the previous model and provides quite a few real advantages over 2010 Kindle.

The Barnes & Noble Nook comes with touchscreen with Neonode responsive zForce infrared touch technology, six-inch Pearl e-ink screen, Wi-Fi wireless connectivity, 2GB of onboard storage, 800MHz Texas Instruments OMAP 3 processor, microSD card expansion slot, battery charge lasts up to two months, runs on modified version of Android 2.1, supports EPUB, PDF, Adobe DRM, reads JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP graphic files and Price: $139.

HTC Sensation 4G

HTC Sensation 4G is a smartphone produced and introduced by HTC Corporation, which runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. Officially announced in the month of April 2011 by HTC, the Sensation was introduced in main European markets by Vodafone including United Kingdom and by T-Mobile in United States. It boasts a high quality, sleek design with gorgeous 4.3 inch qHD display, 1.2GHz dual core processor and eight-megapixel rear facing camera. Its excellent user experience and design combined with solid performance make the Sensation 4G one of the best Android smartphones yet.

As a quad-band world phone, the HTC Sensation 4G offers speakerphone, multimedia and text messaging, conference calling, video calling via Qik and voice dialing. Also onboard are Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS with Wi-Fi calling support. It comes preloaded with quite a few additional services and applications, which include Polaris Office, T-Mobile TV, Lookout, a security and backup application; Slacker, TeleNav GPS Navigator and Peep Twitter Client of HTC.

Kodak Playsport

Kodak Playsport is an excellent minicamcorder that offers good video for its class, very good sharing software and is waterproof to 10 feet. It is also called ZX3 and is able to record underwater down to 9.8 feet. Standard features on Playsport include storage media of SD/SDHC memory cards, 5.0-megapixel camera with CMOS sensor, 2.0 inch LCD display with 154,000 pixels, file format of H.264, 80 minutes per 4GB of recording time and digital image stabilization.

Like usual minicamcorders, the lens of Kodak Playsport at front are left fairly unprotected, so you will have to remember to keep it clean and safe. As compared to Zi8 model, it lacks macro option to focus on close objects; normal focus range starts at 3.3 feet and underwater at 4.4 feet. The power button is located on the right hand side of the device, while all other controls at the back under the LCD. The four-way LCD directional pad controls 4x digital zoom and changes recording modes.

Logitech Harmony 650

Logitech Harmony 650 is one of the excellent universal remote controls with great ergonomics, web programmable through Mac or Windows PCs, color LCD display surrounded by 5 contextual buttons, custom macros/sequences support and excellent overall design and button layout. The company’s line of Harmony universal remote controls include more models at reasonable price as compared to before. Except from different color schemes, the Harmony 650 has similar button layout and chassis like step down Harmony 600 and step up Harmony 700.

The Logitech Harmony 650 is roughly segmented in three different areas. The top section is conquered by before mentioned color LCD screen, which is square 1-inch-by-1-inch. You will find five buttons (one at the bottom and two on each side) to choose contextual items on screen. You can page through additional screens, multiplying offered choices. The middle section features 5-way directional pad, volume and channel controls along with quite a few standard DVR keys (Guide, Menu, Exit and Info). At the bottom third of the remote, there are standard video transport controls (pause, play and rewind) and 12-digit keypad.

Motorola Droid Razr

Motorola Droid Razr is an Android based, 4G LTE capable smartphone engineered and designed by Motorola, which introduced in Verizon Wireless in the year 2011. It is the thinnest smartphone in the world measuring 7.1mm thick at this sleekest point. It comes with Super AMOLED sophisticated PenTile display covered in Gorilla glass screen and Kevlar back plate. Powering the Droid Razr is a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor and is equipped with rear facing eight-megapixel camera that can record 1080p high definition videos.

The Motorola Droid Razr features an attractive, slim and lightweight design, which is scratch as well as water resistant and comes with plethora of multimedia features, government and corporate grade security, decent battery life and WebTop functionality. It supports all of Google’s services and applications such as Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk, Latitude, Google Search with Voice, Places, Google Maps with Navigation and Google Books. It is also equipped with typical PIM and phone tools like calendar, alarm clock, calculator, file manager, task list, voice command support, speakerphone and more.

Roku 2 XS

Roku 2 XS is an ultrasmall Wi-Fi streaming media box, which provides plethora of Internet audio and video services such as Netflix, MLB, Hulu Plus, NBA, Amazon Instant Video, NHL, Crackle and Pandora. It works with standard and high definition televisions and includes Wii-like motion controller for casual gaming. With its varied spectrum of content offerings like Netflix, Pandora, Amazon, Crackle and Hulu Plus, the Roku 2 XS is one of the best all-around streaming media boxes you can get for less than $100.

In addition to HDMI output, the Roku 2 XS comes with standard-def video output through included breakout composite AV cable, so unlike Apple TV, Logitech Revue, and Boxee Box, they will work with nearly any old TV, not just HDTVs. The included Roku gaming remote with Roku 2 XS is powered by two AA batteries, and can be confused for shortened version of Wii Remote, which is included with gaming console of Nintendo. Additionally, the four-way directional pad has 10 buttons including home, video transport controls, menu, A/B gaming controls and back.

Sonos Play 3

Sonos Play 3 is a single speaker streaming audio control system that can be controlled from iPod Touch, Android Smartphone, iPhone or iPad using free application. It is quite compact and lightweight and offers good sound, elegant design that cuts down on cord clutter and can stream internet based audio and radio services, plus your own digital music collection from Mac, NAS or PC drive.

Another big part of Sonos Play 3 is that it can stream your iTunes music collection and easily connect to streaming services like iHeartRadio, Aupeo, Mog, Last.fm, Pandora, Napster, Rhapsody, Radio, Spotify, SiriusXM Internet Radio, TuneIn, Wolfgang’s Vault and Stitcher SmartRadio. The Play 3 is available in white and black models and features nice, clean design with just three buttons on top for volume up/down and mute along with single power cord coming out the back.

LG gives away 2,000 specially modified phones for the blind

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:03:47 +0000

Skipping on the HD IPS screen, dual core processor or LTE is typically not the formula which will land your handset on the pages of Engadget. However, these LG-LU2700Ss aren’t just any unglamorous cellphone; it has been specially customized for use by the visually impaired and blind. The instruction booklet is printed in Braille and instead need the constant mashing of buttons. The specifically designed handset is controlled mainly via voice commands. 2000 of these cellphones were given away as part of donation program of LG.

LG believes that technical innovation is a key to success in marketplace. Established in the year 1958, they have led the way in providing applied technologies and sophisticated digital products to their customers. With their commitment to assertive international business policies and innovation, they aim to become a worldwide leader in highly developed digital technology. The letters “L” and “G” in a circle represent the future, world, humanity, technology and youth. Their philosophy is based on Humanity. Also, it symbolizes the company’s efforts to keep close relationships with their customers across the world.

LG’s bendy plastic e-reader display to be released next month

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 05:16:40 +0000

We bend back our magazines, fold our newspapers so why not our e-readers? LG Display has revealed a new flexible, plastic display which perhaps will not let us fold tablet PCs in half, but might bring the bendy-future closer to customers. The screen known as plastic EPD (electronic paper display) supports 1024 x 768 pixel resolution and is 6 inches tall. LG claims that the screen provides users a paper like reading experience with plastic substrate, which is sleek like a mobile phone protection film. It can be bent to a 40° angle, is 1/3rd sleeker as compared to conventional e-reader screens, weighing half as much.

The company also claimed that these plastic screens are less expensive to make unlike glass counterparts. As electronic paper display gets lighter, more durable and thinner, with the launch of plastic EPD, E-Books will be able to provide certain distinctive advantages unlike smart tablets and devices, including more efficient electricity consumption and reduced eye fatigue besides lower prices. LG attempted various drop tests from almost 5-feet off the ground, and found that the displays were more resistant to damage unlike glass. It hopes to market these displays to manufacturing companies by May, so they can be revealed to European consumers at the beginning of May.

Redesigned iMacs May Feature Anti-Reflective Glass Displays

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:26:43 +0000

Should the latest rumors pan out, a fully redesigned family of Apple’s iMacs due for launch later in 2012 will not only arrive noticeably sleeker unlike existing models, but might also be the first of Apple’s desktops to get anti reflective screens. That is according to a brief report in which Taiwanese rumor publication claims that G-Tech is ramping up its monthly production capacity of cover glass to 3 million from 1.8 million units in an effort for supplying 25 percent or more of cover glass for the new iPad of Apple.

That would be a first for Apple desktop, as Mac manufacturer has thus far only provided anti-reflective solutions as built-to-order options on MacBook family of laptops. The last major redesign of Apple’s iMac arrived in 2009 in the form of aluminum-clad 27 and 21.5-inch models with edge-to-edge glass design. Since then, Apple has been working on a pair stunningly lighter and slimmer models which will more closely resemble the footprint of current most famous LED TVs. Independently, the company has been working for cutting the fat from devices, which ship with its industry leading all-in-one desktop with recent company filings unveiling techniques for slim-form keyboard.

Google Nexus tablet a ‘done deal,’ claims report

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:25:10 +0000

The Google Nexus Tablet is all set to go, an Android enthusiast claims; it is even cheaper as compared to Kindle Fire. Mr. Eric Schmidt, Chairman at Google stated that the company planned to market a tablet of the highest quality. According to the reports, the Mountain View based firm had reached out to Asus for designing a Google branded slate based on Eee Pad MeMo tablet. Earlier reports indicated that the Google Nexus Tablet will be available for the price range between $199 and $249. It is likely to be revealed at CTIA Wireless trade show of 2012 in New Orleans that takes place from 8th May to 10th May.

Sony Alpha A57 Focuses on the DSLR Sweet Spot

admin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:24:31 +0000

Priced for competing with Nikon D5100 and Canon EOS Rebel T3i, the translucent mirror A57 of Sony will provide impressive video options and will shoot quickly. The company has revealed its newest translucent mirror DSLR-style camera that will replace Alpha SLT-A55. The APS-C sensored, 16-megapixel Alpha A57 is designed and engineered for competing with two famous midrange DSLR models, Nikon D5100 and Canon EOS Rebel T3i. As compared to pellicle/translucent mirror DSLR and conventional DSLR cameras like Canon Pellix from ’60s, this SLT system uses fixed internal reflex mirror for driving continuous phase detection autofocus system instead of optical viewfinder.

The Alpha A57 offers full manual exposure controls in two modes, offering auto exposure adjustments and continuous phase detection autofocus, while shooting in both video mode and burst mode. Its price, video options and fast burst mode all add up for creating an enticing camera option for budget minded videographers and sports shooters. Due in April, it has body based image stabilization and will be available for the price of $800 as a kit with 18-55mm zoom lens and $700 for body only.

Samsung Securities says 7″ ‘iPad mini’ Coming in Q3 2012

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:54:04 +0000

A leaked document from the investment bank of Samsung has unveiled that the company believes Apple is planning to reveal its 7-inch “iPad mini” device in the 3rd quarter of 2012, and is interested in flexible AMOLED displays for future generations of its tablet PCs. As per a research note that discusses state of AMOLED in the industry, JungHoon Chang, an analyst predicted Apple will be revealing its 3rd generation iPad in the 1st quarter of 2012, while the new 7-inch product for the time being referred to as iPad mini” in 3rd quarter of 2012. Mr. Chang appeared to confirm use of higher-resolution IPS panels in the next-gen iPad.

He also added that Sharp is planning to design and introduce IGZO LCD panels for iPad at its 8G lab, but might not have been successful in mass producing the displays in time for so-called iPad 3. Chang also stated that Apple might yet decide for incorporating flexible panels into future iPads, if panel manufacturing companies like SMD (Samsung Mobile Display) can enhance resolution and increase yields of flexible AMOLED panels. At present, Samsung Mobile Display can produce 54 million AMOLED panels in a year, even if it converted its 5.5G line for tablet production.

SanDisk Extreme SSD Revealed

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 04:45:44 +0000

SanDisk Extreme solid state drive won’t surprise you, but it is one of the best deals among SATA-3 based SSDs in the market. With great performance, reasonable price, it makes a great replacement drive for standard desktop PC or notebook. It is 9.5mm, 2.5 inch thick solid state drive, which supports SATA 3. Like other solid state drives, it provides a great speed boost over standard hard drive, particularly in terms of shutdown times, application performance, boost and wakeup. It comes standard with connector options: SATA, SATA 3 and SATA 2; available capacities: 480GB, 120GB and 240GB and OSes supported: Linux, Mac and Windows.

Powering the SanDisk Extreme is the famous SandForce SF-2281 controller that has incorporated DuraClass technology. As per SanDisk, this technology provides security, high performance, endurance with a MTBF (mean time between failures) of two million hours and power efficiency. Fundamentally, it offers a wonderful combination of reliability and performance. Unlike standard hard drives and SSDs, the SanDisk Extreme is still quite pricier.

Samsung’s 2012 HDTV Family Prices Unveiled

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:37:03 +0000

HDGuru got it hands on the complete list of purported minimum advertised prices for 2012 range high definition televisions of Samsung, which appeared to be slightly expensive unlike its predecessors. The company is thinking of letting you additional features such as built in cameras, gesture sensing remotes and speech recognition.

LED LCD

8000 Series: ultimate micro dimming, edge lit, 3D, 240 Hz, Interactive Remote, Smart TV and 2-inch bezel

UN55ES8000 $3399

UN46ES8000 $2699

UN65ES8000 $4699

UN60ES8000 $3999

UN75ES8000 $7299

Samsung UNES7500 Series: micro dimming pro, edge lit, 3D smart TV interactive remote, 240 Hz and .2-inch bezel

UN50ES7500 $2699

UN46ES7500 $2399

UN60ES7500 $3699

UN55ES7500 $3099

UNES7100 Series: micro dimming plus, edge lit, smart TV, 3D, .2? bezel

UN50ES7100 $2499

UN46ES7100 $2199

UN60ES7100 $3499

UN55ES7100 $2899

Samsung UNES6580 Series: 3D, edge lit 120 Hz, smart TV

UN50ES6580 $2079

Samsung UNES6500 Series: 3D, edge lit, .5? bezel, smart TV

UN46ES6500 $1579

UN40ES6500 $TBA

UN55ES6500 $2619

UN50ES6500 $1899

UN65ES6500 $TBA

UN60ES6500 $2899

So, those who are wondering if these high definition televisions have gone through shelves, you might want to hit Amazon.com, one of the biggest e-tailer for newest Samsung HDTV listings.

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Features

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:39:15 +0000

In a surprising and unexpected move, Apple revealed its OS X Mountain Lion past week and enthusiasts across the world were left enthralled as the new Operating System promises to provide more than 100 new features with those, which are present in iOS such as AirPlay Mirroring, messaging application and Twitter integration. Apple unveiled the OS X Lion just 7 months ago, marketing more than 19 million copies all over the world. It has now surprised all its enthusiasts by revealing the next operating system for Mac, fusing it with iOS for providing more flexibility and features. Besides all this, OS X Mountain Lion will be providing deep integration with iCloud that allows the system for automatically configure services such as FaceTime and Mail, while iCloud Documents will automatically synchronize documents across devices.

The first registration process is to be done, similar to how you set up the account with your iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone. It will provide you with a login screen when you first install the OS, and the system will automatically set up iCloud, Mail, Calendars, Contacts, FaceTime, Messages, Reminders, Notes, Mac App Store, Game Center, Bookmarks and Documents & Data. The OS X Mountain Lion offers support for iOS-like share button, allowing users to quickly share photos, videos and text through Messages Flickr, AirDrop and Twitter Mail. It also features a similar Twitter integration like iOS integration and can get notifications for direct messages and replies sent on Twitter.