GeekSugar

Hot Gadget Predictions For 2008

GeekSugar — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:16:56 PST

Wondering what's going to be hot and not-so-hot in the upcoming year? Here are some of my gadget predictions for 2008!

OLED Televisions: Surprisingly OLED TV's weren't overly popular in 2007, even though they created quite the buzz with their super-slim design, energy saving technology, and exceptional screen quality. I can't help but think they are going to make a huge comeback in '08. Be sure to stay tuned for Samsung's latest prototype, a 31-inch OLED TV.

More Sleek and Stylish Storage Devices: For those of us who carry our portable storage devices on us 24/7, keep your eyes peeled for some fun new USB flash drives in '08. Check out these new flash drives from PQI called the Traveling Disk i201 which come in strawberry, pink, banana yellow, and blueberry blue colors. Storage capacity ranges from 1GB to 4GB.

Portable Media Players: Now that downloading movies off the net has become so quick and easy, more and more people will be investing in portable media players. Philips new flash based personal media player is fresh on the scene and is going to be a hot buy. With 2, 4 or 8GB capacities, a 3.5" LCD display, built-in speakers, and a five hour video life, you can't help but wish you got one for Christmas!

Fashionable and Functional Gadget Accessories: Gel cell phone cases became a growing trend towards the end of '07, so I'm sure we'll see more colors and designs in '08. With the debut of Kodak's chic new camera cases which were also a hit, you're guaranteed to see alot more custom-designed carrying cases for electronics throughout the year.

eReaders: With the release of Amazon's Wireless Reading Device, the Kindle last November, I couldn't help but get absorbed into the eReader frenzy. These handy devices are simple to use, lightweight and can hold over 200 book titles. . .It's time to say good-bye to our paperbacks and hello to the world of electronic-paper in 2008!

Geek We Love: The Father of the MP3 Player Market

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:11:05 PDT

Although Kane Kramer developed the first MP3 player in the 1970s, it wasn't until 20 years later that MP3 players hit the consumer market. For that we have Nathan Schulhof to thank. In the early 1990s, he envisioned a "portable device [that] would allow the selection, retrieval, storage, and playback of audio content delivered to the device via the Internet."

The founder and CEO of Audio Highway, Schulhof has been dubbed the "father of the MP3 player industry" for creating, patenting, and introducing the Audio Highway Listen Up MP3 Player in 1996. The first of its kind to be introduced to the public, the Listen Up Player had a retail value of $299 and held up to 60 minutes of digital audio files. To give you some perspective, today an iPod Classic ($250) stores up to 40,000 songs.

Even though the player was not mass-produced (only 25 devices were made), it still received a lot of buzz and recognition in the tech world. The player won an Innovations Award at the Consumer Electronics Show in 1997 as well as a People's Choice Award at the second annual Internet Showcase Conference in 1998.

See how Schulhof feels about Apple's success.

Google Drive and 4 Other Cloud Storage Solutions

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:48:01 PDT

After years of speculation about a storage product, Google announced today its cloud storage solution - Google Drive. In an effort to seamlessly blend use for those already entrenched in Google Docs, documents are automatically built into Drive so that files can be collaborated on in real time. Users can give feedback on anything shared, including PDFs or video files, not just Google Docs; all users are then notified of the latest comment.

Drive can be installed on both Mac and PC platforms and a Drive app is available now for Android phones and tablets. We're hoping the iOS app is on its way. The cloud industry standard of a free 5GB of storage is the basic Drive account, with paid upgrades of 25GB for $2.50 per month, 100GB for $5 per month, or a huge 1TB for $50 per month. Any upgrade to a paid account includes the storage in your Gmail account boosting to 25GB.

Of course, Google Drive is only the latest product for cloud storage needs. Here are four more solutions for storing budget files or photos from your around-the-world vacation.

Dropbox - Arguably the leader in cloud storage, Dropbox has won customers with the user-friendly ability to sync files across multiples devices and act as a hosting tool for large media like hi-res images when sending them through email isn't an option.
iCloud - Stores 5GB of anything and everything for free for all iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Mac users. It has some limits and only stores media purchased through iTunes, but for Apple devotees it's an effortless option.

Discover two more cloud solutions after the break.

Google Play: Syncing and Storing Your Music, Movies, and EBooks in the Cloud

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:04:47 PST

Google introduced Google Play today, which wirelessly syncs and stores all of your music, movies, apps, and ebooks that you buy from the Android market, Google Music, and the Google eBookstore across numerous devices. Google Play will make it insanely simple to streamline your media experience. For example, you can start a book on your Android tablet and pick up where you left off via your phone, or start a movie on your Chromebook and watch it later on your Internet-connected TV. If you download a song from Google Music, it will be instantly available across all of your devices, without storage or membership fees.

There will be some changes you need to know about though - as of today, the Android Market, Google Music, and Google eBookstore will become part of Google Play, changing their app names to the Google Play Store, Google Play Music, Google Play Books, and Google Play Movies, but you can access all of these in one place online through the Google Play website. You'll still have access to your purchased apps and media, store up to 20,000 songs for free, and be able to log in with your Google account. You can even pay for your purchases through Google Wallet.

Check out Google's cool demo video of the service and tell us what you think of the new Google media ecosystem after the break.

Best Apps and Tools For Serious Photographers

Kristy Korcz — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:21:19 PST

Serious photography requires a serious camera, but that doesn't mean you have to be chained to a laptop or desktop to process them. Paul Pierson, app designer and photo nerd, tossed his laptop aside for six months in order to find out if the iPad and iOS apps could handle a professional photo work flow. He found that the iPad is actually quicker and more efficient in processing photos than the traditional setup of a computer and Photoshop software, not to mention a lot less expensive.

At this year's Macworld, Paul shared some of his favorite tools and apps to help you create a love match between your DSLR and iPad. First tip? Get a Card Reader from Photojojo ($30) so you can get those beautiful images captured on your DSLR to your iPad and, thus, your camera apps. Duh. Also you'll probably want an iPad with lots of storage - 64GB ($700), please.

Load up your iPad with the apps below for professional photographers, and experiment with more than one to create stunning images with less equipment.

Sunseeker ($5) - Helps you find where the sun is, or it will be, with the help of augmented reality. Great for landscape photos.

ioShutter ($70, coming Feb. 12) - Turns your iPhone into an intervalometer. This tool plugs into your iPhone and SLR, allowing you to fire your SLR again and again with the app and help you create beautiful time-lapse sequences.

Ollo Clip ($70) - This clip-on lens gives your iPhone or iPad an advantage with three different lenses built right in - fish-eye, wide angle, and macro.

ACDSee Camera Flash ($1) - Brings out details in underexposed images.

Snapseed ($5) - Won Apple's App of the Year because of its variety of filters, edit tools, and selective adjust tools like edge detection that applies changes to objects within the perimeter.

Ready for more? See the rest of the list after the break.

The Swiss Army Drive Packs 1 TB of Storage in a Pocket

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:49:27 PST

Introducing the Swiss Army knife that can make it through security and lock down every last digital photo, document, and video file. These days you need a little more in your pocket than a nail file and scissors, which is why Victorinox Swiss Army launched the Victorinox SSD storage devices.

Like many new products at CES, the SSD drive pictured above boasts major credentials, it's the world's smallest high-capacity storage drive available in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and one terabyte capacities. It comes with two interchangeable casings, one perfect for the plane and another that includes all the usual Swiss Army knife tools like a blade or bottle opener.

Exact availability on the cutting-edge knife drive isn't known, and it's after the break.

Zipbuds Help You Say Sayonara to Tangled Headphone Cords

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:25:27 PST

Tossing your earbuds in your bag in a rush only results in a headache later. Thankfully these headphones and earbuds from Zipbuds will prevent your cables from ending up like a rat's nest so you can grab, go, and tune in without spending time unraveling.

Compatible with your iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and other mobile devices and MP3 players that accept 3.5mm headphone jacks (like, all of them?), the Zipbuds transform into one tangle-resistant cord for easy storage. The brand-spankin' new L.A.B. Headphones (pictured here, $60–$200) are perfect for immersing yourself in your music, while the earbuds are great for everyday listening, commutes, and hitting the gym. Zipbuds has a number of earbuds available to purchase now, while the L.A.B. line will be out this Spring.

Lenovo Gets on the Ice Cream Sandwich Train With a TV

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:41:38 PST

You've probably often thought "I could use an Android-running TV in my life." Well, Lenovo has totally read your mind and announced its K91 at CES. A 55-inch 3D HDTV running Android Ice Cream Sandwich, the K91 offers full 1080p, holds a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage, and WiFi, along with Ethernet, HDMI, SD card, USB 2.0 ports. It even has a 5MP webcam to boot.

Interesting features include facial recognition, 100 pre-loaded apps, and video on-demand. The TV can even be controlled through speech or a compatible Android mobile device.

Expect pricing and availability details soon!

Acer Rolls Out Its Own Cloud Storage and Transfer Service: AcerCloud

Kristy Korcz — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:15:16 PST

Cloud storage comes in handy when you want to access photos, video, and documents away from home. While there are lots of options when it comes to storing your goods in the cloud, Acer is planning to take on the iClouds and Google Docs of the world with its new cloud storage platform called AcerCloud.

Providing a secure and personal connection, AcerCloud connects all of your devices - from mobile phones to desktop PCs - allowing you to see your pics, vids, and Office documents (including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel) from anywhere. This free service works with Windows PCs and Android devices starting in Q2 of this year (Windows Mobile compatibility expected in Q4).

In order to access documents and media on the go, you'll first need to download the three AcerCloud apps - Clear.fi Photo, Clear.fi Media, and AcerCloud Docs - on your Android device. From there, you'll have a secure connection between your mobile device and your home PCs or laptops, even if your home computer is asleep or turned off. AcerCloud cashes your media and documents, so you'll always have access. Bonus: if you make changes to any docs from one device, the results are almost immediately available to view on your other devices. Snap a pic from your phone, and you'll instantly see it on your home computer; sorta like Eye-Fi, but with a longer leash.

AcerCloud is free for all Acer customers and is expected to go live in North America and China in Q2, with worldwide availability in Q4.

Acer Introduces Aspire S5 - World's Thinnest Ultrabook

Kelly Schwarze — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:59:24 PST

Acer kicked off CES 2012 today with the introduction of the Aspire S5, billed as the world's thinnest ultrabook. With a 13.3-inch LCD display, the computer measures 15 mm at its biggest point and weighs less than 3 lbs.

Using the same Instant On technology as the Timeline, the S5 boots to full functionality in 1.5 seconds and boasts a battery life of "several weeks," according to a statement by Acer. The included Always Connect feature wakes the S5 from sleep mode via a separate device like a tablet or smartphone. AcerCloud, Acer's multiplatform compatible response to customer cloud storage, will come pre-installed on the S5.

Despite its size, the S5 does include external ports, hidden within what Acer calls a MagicFlip I/o port panel. A touch of the MagicFlip key reveals an HDMI, USB 3.0, and 20 Gbps Thunderbolt port. You heard it - Thunderbolt. The brushed black metallic cover is made of magnesium-aluminum alloy. An Intel CoreTM processor, SSD storage, and Dolby Home Theater v4 round out the S5's inner specs.

Look for the S5 to ship in the second quarter of 2012, when pricing will also be announced. Check out a first look at the new ultrabook in the gallery!