You may already be immune to those Sprint commercials that keep using the term “4G”, but the reality is that they may have a 4G WiMax network in a lot of cities, but no phones! Well that’s about to change this summer with the introduction of a new 4G smartphone.
There’s a good chance too that it’ll be an HTC running Android. Sweet! [Well, if you’re a Sprint customer] Here’s hoping that it’s a Pre/Droid/iPhone-class gadget.
Apple has just unveiled it’s long anticipated tablet device, named the iPad. iPads will start shipping in about 60 days. Here’s the rundown on it:
The iPad is geared to be a Web surfing and multimedia device, so it can handle photos, iTunes, movies, TV, e-mail, and even video games. There is on-screen soft keyboard for those apps that need it. Unfortunately, like the iPhone, there is no Adobe Flash.
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Verizon is overhauling their voice, text and family cell phone plans and throwing in a couple of unlimited talk plans starting at $70/mo, although their pricing, when you include data, doesn’t seem as competitive as Sprint or T-Mobile.
You be the judge, but remember that price alone doesn’t make a happy mobile customer – witness the unhappy iPhone AT&T folks!
Ah, here’s a good example of everyday gadgets getting IP addresses and connected to your home network in some fashion – the Withings WiFi Body Scale connects to your WiFi home network (802.11g), uploads the data which you can then view the data on a secure Web-interface. Pretty slick.
Apart from weight, include lean and fat masses, it also measures body fat % and BMI. You even share the data via e-mail, Twitter, and post to websites. There is even a free iPhone app that you can use to see your results.
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $159.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)
While we were inundated with hardware eReaders at CES, Blio took an intermediate step and made a (free) software eReader than can run on laptops, netbooks, desktops, tablets and even iPhones and iPods.
Designed in part by inventor Ray Kurzweil, the Blio is a free piece of software that you can download for your Windows machine, and that opens up and displays eBooks in full-color with options such as 3D page turning, text only mode for smaller displays, read aloud (text-to-speech), and note annotation. The Blio reader also supports audio, video and interactive media when embedded eBooks.
Blio will also be accompanied by the Blio Bookstore allowing you to add titles to your own virtual personal library that is accessible regardless of where you are or what device you’re on. The Blio Bookstore boasts over 1.2 million titles which they claim is more than any other eBookstore.
Blio reminds me a great deal of Zinio‘s excellent software reader for their electronic magazines.
Our Take
I think they’re onto something here, as well as multi-screen eReader manufacturers like Spring Design (Alex) and enTourage (eDGe), because want fewer devices, not more. Of course, peoples’ needs differ, so in my case when I travel I’m never without my laptop, so I would much rather my laptop be able to read eBooks. Blio fits the bill here.
On the other hand, my laptop is still a tad bit heavy and warm to hold open in bed, but I’m always wanting to surf the Web, but doing so in grayscale isn’t as satisfying which is why I feel those dual-screen readers are appealing and have potential. In the end, it does boil down to your own personal preferences, and you may still elect to walk around with both a laptop/netbook and a thin eReader.
In eye-catching demos reminiscent of WowWee’s Dragonfly in 2007, Parrot is showing off its AR.Drone which is a 4-propeller remote controlled flying ‘thing’. The AR.Drone features 2 cameras that you can view in real-time via WiFi, and also includes its own brain in the way of a Linux-based computer.
The AR.Drone will also ship with an augmented reality game, so you fly it as a virtual joystick of sorts. Parrot plans to offer up an iPhone app, but better yet, the source code as well so that hackers can develop even more interesting things for it. This may lead to a bright future for the AR.Drone.
Availability is tentatively March 5, but no word on pricing yet.
Video:
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AT&T announced that it plans to launch 5 new Android smartphones in the 1st half of this year (2010) [press release]. The phones will be from HTC, Motorola and Dell. Yes, Dell.
What does this say about AT&T relationship with Apple and its iPhone? Perhaps nothing, but perhaps that the honeymoon is over and Apple may really be taking its iPhone to other networks as well.
Dell is following through with their earlier announcement of an Android handset, and will be joining the ranks of the other AT&T Android smartphones.
The Dell Mini 3 smartphone [press release] is an iPhone/Droid/Nexus styled touchscreen phone that sports a 3.5″ 540×360 display, 3 Megapixel camera with flash, microSD slot, GPS and Bluetooth.
Expect availability in the 1st half of 2010.
If you follow any sort of news, you’ll know that Google announced their Nexus One phone running their Android-supported mobile OS. What’s really unique and new here is that Google is selling the handset directly, and not the carrier.
Here’s what you need to know about the phone: …
Google Releases Nexus One Android Phone – What You Need to KnowRead More »
Happy New Year to you, our readers, your friends and family. Here’s hoping that 2010 is a better year for us all.
In the meantime, while we wait another 12 months to see how things will shake out, we dare to give you our humble predictions for what’s in store gadget and technology-wise for 2010. We’re not going to go too much out on a limb with our 2010 prophecies, because we don’t want to be too disappointed if they don’t come to pass!
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