Finally a long awaited Apple iPad has been unveiled, but is it all it cracked out to be?  Well lets first take a quick look at what it has, and then we can look at what it lacks.  Then you cam make your own decision weather this device is for you or not.

• The device is half-inch thick and weighs at 1.5 pounds
• 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display
• Custom 1GHz Apple “A4″ chip
• 10-hour battery life and a month of standby
• Will come in flavors of 16, 32, and 64GB
• 30-pin Dock connector
• speaker
• microphone
• Bluetooth
• 802.11n WiFi
• 3G (optional) Service through ATT Wireless
• accelerometer and a compass

Just like iPhone and iTouch, the iPad is managed by iTunes.  As promissed, it can run (most) iPhone apps ether in pixel-for-pixel or or pixel-doubled fullscreen mode.  As mentioned above, 3G version of iPad will run on AT&T network, and can be had with one of the new data plans, 250MB for $14.99 or an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month (contract-free), so you can activate and cancel whenever you want.  There are no details on the international service just yet.

The iPad will come at different pricing, $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB.  A 3G option will set you back another $130,  so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) will cost you $829.  The WiFi-only model will ship in 60 days, and the 3G models will come in 90.

Now for things that everyone would have liked to see but are missing:

• There’s no multitasking.  this a a huge disappointment!
• No built in camera. Which means No video conferencing.
• iPhone OS 3.2 (why?)
• No Flash support! What aret hey thinking about???
• No memory slot for any kind of external expansion.

Well we gave you the details on what it has and what it lacks (some major lacking there), but at the end of the day it is up to you to decide whether this device is for you.  Let us know what you think.

Source:  GDGT, Engadget

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We have put together a list of gadgets that we feel would make any gadget and electronics lover jump for joy once they open their present and receive one of these:

1.  Amazon Kindle – Is a leader in e-book market.  It is very simple to use, and yet has enough gadgets to tech to impress almost any gadget geek.  There is a physical keyboard for ease of typing, and you can even browse the web 9basic text browsing).  there is plenty of content that can be downloaded directly through Amazon, paid and free, and it does support PDF format so you can upload your own documents.  

2.  Barnes & Noble Nook – This is a new e-book reader that is trying to give a very tough competition to the above mentioned Amazon kindle.  Current you can only pre-order the Nook, but some of the lucky people may actually receive it before Christmas.  The biggest difference with this device is its dual-screen interface, open format support.  If you tend to find yourself at Barnes & Noble a little much this device maybe for you.  

3.  Archos 5 Internet Tablet - Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet is not just another media player and internet device, it is also a GPS navigation.  This is a perfect gift with many features in one great package for all those garget lovers. 

4.  Apple iPhone 3GS – If you know someone who has been on the market for an iPhone but has not gotten one just yet, and you would like to be the one who can make it happen, Apple offers gift cards specifically for the phone, which makes it a relatively painless process for the one that you would like to give this perfect gift for.

5.  Motorola Droid – This is another great gift for this holiday season.  The Droid has Android 2.0, a beautiful capacitive WVGA display, 5 megapixel cam with LED flash, and OMAP3 processor.  Perfect gift for those hat would like to jump on the Android bandwagon.

6.  Lenovo X200 Multitouch Tablet – There are plenty of touch screen laptops out there, but what sets all of them apart is the Lenovo’s X200t new 12.1-inch multitouch capacitive display, 1.4GHz Intel SU9400 Core 2 Duo and 2GB of RAM just a start.  Most of these specs can be upgraded.  Not to mention that this is a sexy little tablet.

7.  Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro – if you are a MAC lover or the person who you would like to get this gift for, you may want to look in to an all new aluminum MacBook Pro. it has a very solid construction, a  very nice screen, Core 2 Duo processor and NVIDIA 9400M graphics processor.  it will be able to handle almost anything you can throw at it.  You know you can run Windows on it as well right?

8.  Canon EOS 7D – Canon EOS 7D is a big brother of the T1i.  Not only is it a really nice DSLR camera with dual DIGIC IV processors, and 18 megapixel sensor, it is also a great video camera that can shoot 1080P.  It has a great low light performance, and it will not completely break your bank (well for some of you that is). 

9.  JVC HD Everio GZ-HM400- With a  capability of full HD recording, a 10.3 megapixel sensor, and 32GB internal storage with SD / SDHC expansion, makes this camcorder a great gift.  if you are in to sports and video shooting that requires high frame rate shooting, then 600fps, 300fps and 120fps slow motion capabilities will certainly get your heart racing.  

10.   Kodak’s Zi8 HD – Zi8 pocket camcorder boasts 1080p recording, in addition to face tracking, image stabilization, a 2.5-inch LCD display, and SD card slot. YouTube uploading, and Facebook support, too.  Its a great little gift and can be purchased for under $180.

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You may not know this, but Fuel Cells are some of the cleanest and the most efficient generators of energy.  Toshiba has recently release a Dynario portable fuel cell power generator.  It weighs just 280 grams, measures only 15cm wide x 2.1cm deep x 7.45cm high and can produce enough power in 20 seconds to charge two mobile phones. The power is stored in in-built lithium ion batteries and can be transferred via a USB cable to your mobile phone or digital media player when needed.  This is a perfect book bag accessory.

Dynario has a dedicated 50 ml cartridge for refueling. A single cartridge can be used to charge approximately three times.  Fuel cells offer a more dependable and reliable charging option compared to other forms of energy like solar chargers or micro wind turbines.  The great part about fuel cells as that the only emission that it produces is water.  

Unfortunately there is a drawback of Dynario.  The cost may be a bit much for some, which at around US$275 for the fuel cell generator and $30 for 50ml cartridge of methanol.  I wonder if the cartridge can be refilled with methanol without purchasing more chargers?  However, if you are one of those people who would like to have a very reliable source of energy for an emergency situation, this may be for you.  

Another unfortunate part is that so far Dynario is only available for sale in Japan, but that may change hopefully in the near future.  

Source: Toshiba

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• Motorola Droid
• The Nook
• Dyson Air Multiplier
• iPhone 3GS
• Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
• Dell Adamo XPS
• FinePix Real 3D W1
• Casio G-Shock GW7900B-1
• Beats Solo by Dr. Dre
• Panasonic G10 Series Plasma HDTVs

Although there are many other sites that have different picks of the top gadgets of the year this should get you started if you are planning to get any gifts for your loved ones soon!

Source: TIME

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If you are considering a new Bluetooth headset, you may want to take a look at Plantronics Voyager PRO US.  

The Voyager PRO UC is a dual-mode headset that packs integrated Bluetooth capabilities and comes with a USB dongle that allows PC phone software conversations (like Skype) to take place on your headset rather than through your laptop’s built-in microphone and speakers.  Users can even stream audio over it and hear alerts when a VoIP call comes in.  There quite a few technological features that are built in to this unit including noise canceling and much more.  The only problem you may see with this unit is its MSRP.  The Voyager PRO UC headset will go for $199.95 when it will go on sale at the end of this month.

Source: HotHardware

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The TomTom Car Kit for iPhone has officially gone on sale, but there seem to be a few changes from what we have originally reported.  The original roomers have been that the car kit will have a software included with it and that it should be compatible with a new version of iPod with 3.0 software.  Well it looks like none of this is going to happen.  The official words from the Apple store and from TomTom website are as follows:

“The TomTom app for iPhone is not included with this TomTom Car Kit. The Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, but the Car Kit app only works with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.  ”

This is a little disappointing since you still have to shell out another $99 for TomTom navigation software.  You can make an argument by saying well, you get a mount, a speaker, a charger and hands free calling and all of this for just $119.95, but is it enough?  i guess its all in the eye of the buyer.  If you can justify paying $119.95 for an iPhone mount with some extra features then this toy is for you.

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A new little Fitness gadget from Fitbit is a new much talked about device.  So what is it and what does it do?  This new little gadget is a little clips that you attach to your piece of clothing, and it tracks your every movement, and sleep pattern.  It also calculates all the calories you burn during the day and night.  The device will set you back $99, which is really not so bad considering what it does.  It gathers all this information to help you determine how much physical activity you have been doing and how many calories you have burned.  But that’s not all, it also counts all the steps you took during the day, how well you’ve slept (done by internal motion detector).  

There is a little button on the device, and a small LED screen that will display all this information to you, and this will help you determine how high your activity level is.  A little flower on the display grows as your activity level goes up. 

Another really cool part is that the device comes with a base that will plug in to your PC via USB, and is wirelessly connected to your gadget.  It will automatically synchronize all the information stored on it to your computer and then the web, you just have to be with in 10 feet of the base.  The syncing software that comes with the package will take care of all of this for you. 

The web based dashboard is a fairly complete yet simple to use and view your information.  You will be asked to input your age, height, weight, and gender, and by all this information, all of your dashboard output will be calculated.    The dashboard will breakdown all of your activity levels, the highs and lows of your daily routine, as well as the intensity of your workout.  You can log all your nutritional info, all the meals that you had, and based on that Fitbit will calculate how many calories you burned during the day, how much your caloric intake was, and this in turn will give you the idea what your caloric intake should be (depending on your goal, weigh loss, weigh gain).  Inputting your food selection is very easy, because Fitbit has already integrating all the nutritional facts for many food types, even fast foods. 

Sleep paten monitoring is probably the coolest feature.  All you have to do is wear this device during your sleep, and in the morning you can get you snapshot of how well you slept.  Fitbit tracks all your motion and movements that your body makes while you sleep.  It can tell how long it took you to fall asleep, how many times you woke up, and the actual time you were asleep vs. the time you were in bed.  

This is a nifty little device that can be very helpful for many people.  Take a look for yourself at Fitbit.com

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ZUNE HD AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER TODAY

MICROSOFT’S NEW PORTABLE DIGITAL MEDIA PLAYER AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE PRE-ORDER AT AMAZON, BEST BUY, WALMART and MICROSOFT STORE

REDMOND, Wash. – Aug. 13, 2009 – Zune HD, the next generation of Microsoft Corp.’s portable digital media player, is available now for pre-order and is set to hit store shelves on Sept. 15. The player, available in 16GB and 32GB capacities, is the first touch-screen Zune and includes powerful playback technology to give you a different way to experience media on the go. Combined with unparalleled PC software and online services such as Zune Pass, Zune provides a rich and meaningful connection to music, videos, podcasts and more.

Pre-order Zune HD in 16GB Black and 32GB Platinum through http://www.zune.net/zunehd from Amazon.com, Best Buy,Walmart and Microsoft. Beginning September 15, at http://www.ZuneOriginals.net, both 16GB and 32GB capacities of Zune HD will be available in five different colors with the option to customize your player with one of 10 new engravings.

WHAT: With a sleek and stylish design, Zune HD is the first to combine these features:

• Built-in HD Radio™ receiver. Allows you to listen to higher-quality sound than is available from traditional radio channels, as well as access additional programming through HD2 and HD3 multicast channels from many of your favorite local FM radio stations at no extra cost.

• HD video output capabilities. Supports HD video playback from the device through a premium HDMI A/V docking station (sold separately) directly to an HD TV in 720p, making it easy to enjoy better-than-DVD-quality video on your own big screen at home.

• OLED touch screen. Allows you to easily flip through music, movies and other content. The 3.3-inch glass screen and 16:9 widescreen format display (480×272 resolution) offer a premium viewing experience.

• Built-in Wi-Fi. Allows for browsing, streaming or downloading new music from Zune Marketplace.

• Internet browser. Full-screen Web browsing, optimized for the multi-touch screen with zoom-in and zoom-out gestures.

• Accessories, at home and on the road. Zune HD and AV Dock charges and syncs players while playing supported 720p HD videos on HDTVs. Play HD Radio, music and podcasts from your Zune HD device through your car stereo using the Zune Premium Car Pack.

WHY: Pre-order now to be one of the first to experience the new Zune HD’s advanced design,innovative technology and rich multimedia capabilities powered by the NVIDIA Tegra™ chip ultra low-power HD processor.

PRICING: Zune HD 16GB: $219.99 (estimated retail price); Zune HD 32GB: $289.99 (estimated retail price)

WHEN: Pre-order starting Thursday, Aug. 13. Purchase in stores on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

WHERE ONLINE: http://www.zune.net/zunehd

WHERE IN STORE: Place a pre-order in person at Best Buy beginning August 16. If you want to sneak a peek, visit select stores in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., areas on August 22 and 23

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So your normal USB hub is not cutting anymore?  Cambrionix has a solution for you! 

They have developed a 49 ports USB hub that requires its own ATX-2 power supply!  And that’s not all.  It carries a hefty price tag as well, a $650 worth of USB ports.  Is it worth it?  Well, I don’t know, but I guess this not up to me to decide.

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This is the fastest radio-controlled car in the world, built by Nic Case. It beats every world record for radio controlled cars less than 3 feet long.

It goes at an astounding 161mph.  This RC car is 30mph faster than the previous world record holder. There is already a new car in the works that should be able to reach the speeds in excess of 200mph.

Source:  DVICE

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