1. iPhone: The iPhone is going to take over. I recently switched to Mac, but still have a BlackBerry, and still think that in a few years iPhones will be like iPods, pretty much everyone has one and the people who don’t are few and far between. Either way, the iPhone is so much more than a phone and would be a perfect gift for anyone.
2. Nintendo Wii: With all the super cool accessories now out this year for Wii, it becomes the system of choice this holiday season in my opinion. From the super cool Mario Kart steering wheels, to the impressive realism of Tiger Woods 09′. The Wii is truly fun for the entire family.
3. Fallout 3 for XBOX 360: Being called one of the best games ever on the next gen consoles, this game is a perfect gift for any gamer. It has some of the most realistic graphics/lighting I have ever seen.
4. Blackberry Storm: Easily the most advanced Blackberry to date, however clearly a battle with the iPhone. The Blackberry brand targets a completely different demographic than who I think will be buying this phone. Before the Pearl, Blackberry’s were business phones. Then came the Pearl, a smaller phone with two letters per button. Now the Storm, an amazing touch screen phone for anyone, not just businessfolk.
5. Garmin Nuvi GPS: How did people find their way around without GPS systems? It seems everyone has one now. Personally, I never thought these things would take off like they have. This has bluetooth, MSN Direct Connect, and text to speach just to name a few features.

In late 2006 there were rumors that Apple was going to run Adsense ads in their online music store iTunes. This never happened, but obviously stated that Apple was looking to get an online presence. So, with that in mind, why shouldn’t Apple just buy digg? I mean it would at least give them something and hell most of the articles on digg are written about Apple anyways?

Someone is going to buy digg.com, now that Google showed some interest, somebody else wants it. Microsoft offered $500 million for just 5% of Internet giant Facebook, and last time I checked they had not turned a profit. Or am I completely wrong? Was it Google’s backing out on the deal that could be discouraging someone from buying them out? Social media sites like digg along with blog networks seem to be on the decline. With two blog networks closing in the last two weeks, along with many AOL blog authors forced to write free, has the social media revolution took a turn for the worse?

Of course the car companies would like to blame testing, government regulations (especially the EPA) and of course the consumer market for their faults and in the technology world the blame would go to trademarks and patents, again the government (this time the FCC) and last but not least limitations in science.

But the truth of the matter is all this is false. Yes some claims are true but I don’t think after ten years of making cell phones a company is still going to have problems with the FCC (after all they’re not releasing a new technological instrument) or GM is going to have problems with the EPA when they already know their standards. Of course the whole blame game thing is nothing new (Garden of Eden…HELLO) but it’s funny that the same companies that blame each other for stifling new technological advances are doing the same thing.

There are three major reasons why new technology is scarce including the fact that researches are scared that certain tech might be too powerful to let out in the public domain. Second is that the government likes to keep a tab on its citizens and certain of the new tech has the potential to put that “invisible” shield around its wanted citizens. But the major reason is that new technology means that researches and manufacturers have to change their way of thinking and also they do things.

An example is the computer. Back in the 80’s when the first PC’s were being released to the public for exorbitant prices many thought that this was all new. Than in the 90’s when the internet came into being the same thought was passed around. But a quick look at history proves otherwise. In fact the internet and the computer had been around for at least 20-30 years. But the US government had restricted the use to military use because it was the middle of the cold war and they were afraid that the Soviets would get their hand on the new tech and make it harder to spy on them.

Another example is the Quad Core processor. For those who are familiar with computer jargon the word has been thrown around for years. But it was not until the last 2 years that this became a reality. It was not that this technology was in testing for all that time, it was because computer manufacturers and OS publishers (Apple, Linux, and Microsoft) were not interested in creating new form factors (Intel, AMD) to meet the specifications of the new tech. this of course led us to be stuck with PC’s that were just barely giving us 512MB and of RAM and 80GB HDD.

So the buck stops at researches and developers. Yes the researches are doing their job, but they are not that likely to let the technology out of the bag unless they get a sizeable cut and since developers are not interested in doing complete overhauls more than once every decade it’s not a wonder why we are stuck with PC’s that barely give us 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD. And yet we think this is the best so far.

Information from apple.com

So why all this Microsoft hatred? Although Apple brought us the home computer, Microsoft was the one that made it actually do something else than making calculations and editing documents. And let’s not forget that they were the one who brought down the price from $2,000+ in the 80’s to $3-400 today. But no matter how much Microsoft has done every company keeps taking puck shots at them from big old Google all the way down to tiny Apple. The only major companies who seem to be on their side these days is of course HP, Toshiba, DELL and IBM, which is obvious seeing Microsoft was one the major reasons why these companies became the giants they are today (although IBM and Michael Dell will disagree with me).

Now don’t get me wrong. Microsoft (as with any major company) has its problems. But all this crap about Vista being the worst OS over (that title goes to Window’s ME) and this other stuff about them copying Apple (Vista has been in the works for over 7 years, way before Apple’s OS became so advanced) are just not flying because there is hardly any proof. But the major though on this matter is competition is good. Many said for years that Microsoft was unbeatable because they were the giant (Mozilla and Apple and Google proved that wrong). All three companies have taken different segments of the company and chipped away at it. But what people hardly realize is that this encourages competition which drives technology.

Take Mozilla for example. After Microsoft came out the triumphant winner in the browser wars back in the 90’s we were stuck with a lackluster internet browser that was good but not best. Than out of the ashes of Netscape rose Mozilla. While Mozilla has not posed any major competition to the giant yet Microsoft has taken notice and thus we have a more secure internet explorer and one that actually rivals and beats Firefox in many features.

Another example is Apple. Back in the late 90’s Apple was in so much trouble (after kicking Jobs off the job) that Microsoft was about to buy them out (literally), than Jobs came back and with a series of victories to his name including the iPod, iPhone, Final Cut Studios (but minus Apple TV) has set himself as one of the leading men of the digital revolution. How has this helped the consumer? Well it made Microsoft Windows just a bit better and the upcoming Window’s 7 (codenamed Vienna) will be Microsoft’s major step into an OS that is 10x more secure with better CPU and memory usage (to simplify the complicated).

But the major example has been Google. Started by two college students in their dorm, Google has moved from being just a tiny company with hardly any life to the biggest player in the advertisement industry. And with their step into the mobile platform as well as Internet based OS programs it has really put Microsoft on its toes.

So yes Microsoft has its problems but had it not been for the “bad” company you would not actually have a choice between MSN and Google, or Mac and Windows, or IE and Firefox and most importantly the choice to live a Microsoft free life. Although the latter is impossible because whether they like to admit it or not Apple, Mozilla and Google are only successful because they have someone who is better than them to compete with. Take Microsoft away and we’ll see where the technology revolution will be in the next 20 years.

1. Availability is one of the major reasons why Microsoft has become so popular. Thanks to the idea that Bill Gates had to put a computer in every home Microsoft has been seen all around the world from Los Angeles all the way to Tokyo. This means that as Microsoft moves on in the US many other countries that now use their products will move along with them.
2. Habit: we humans are creatures of habit and nothing has sown us this fact better than history. While we cannot say that a whole generation has grown up in Microsoft’s backyard it sure seems like that. Many Apple fanatics will agree with this point that the major thing holding Apple back is the fact that people do not like change. If they are used to something chances are they are going to stick with that even if something can outperform what they are currently using (not to say that Apple outperforms Vista).
3. Price: One of Microsoft’s major advantages and Apple’s big weak link. Although it might not seem like a lot it’s not impossible to see that Apple is a lot more expensive than Microsoft. Where can you get an Apple system in the sub 300’s? Yet Microsoft has been able to manufacture systems in the economic range. While they do not carry the same performance as many of the bigger systems, it’s still affordable for families, individuals and companies who might not be able to afford a better system.
4. Customizability: Ask any gamer if they would trade their Alien Ware or Dell XPS for a Macbook Pro and the resounding answer will be NO. While you might be able to get a knock off of the Apple OS X on a mobile phone (something Microsoft has done with its Window’s Mobile for years) yet you still do not have OS X tablet PC’s, gaming rigs, or dedicated systems for such things as programming, CAD or 3D animation. This gives Microsoft a huge advantage which means that Microsoft has built an OS that is able to run in a multitude of devices and thus secure itself a spot in the digital revolution.
5. Last but not least is integration. Microsoft X-Box integrates with Windows Media Center. Now you have Window’s Home Server which allows you to store all your data such as pictures movies and videos (even work documents) on a server in your own house and access it from any computer in the world (granted internet is available). And now with the addition of their new MP3 player - the Zune it’s going to be a touch challenge but its looking like Apple iPod finally has some real competition.

The aperture of FZ28 can be made to vary from f/2.8 to f/4.4. The minimum view distance can be as low as 1cm. The high speed single point autofocus feature is complimented by multi-area focus system. FX28 also has a face detection capability of 15 faces per image. There are also many features available after detecting the face of a person like its possible to make the FZ28 autofocus on a single person even when he is moving around the scene.  

ISO sensitivity ranges from 100 to whopping 6400 in high sensitivity mode. Shutter speed can also be controlled manually. There are also many preset white balancing modes along with the manual mode. FZ28 also has an intelligent exposure system which adjusts itself according to the scene and thus captures natural-looking images and also suppresses blocked shadows and blown highlights. There are 37 screen modes available. Thus, there is one screen mode for every situation that you can imagine, so even you don’t know the correct manual settings you can just select an appropriate screen mode according to the scene.  

Like every good camera, FZ28 also has a red eye reduction feature. The most interesting feature of this camera is that there is an image leveling function which detects whether the camera was tilted at the time of image capture and FZ28 crops and enlarges the image if the camera was tilted. Further, there is an intelligent option available for all novice users. You can just select the intelligent option and camera would automatically adjust the aperture, ISO settings and all other things. Images captured using the intelligent option are as good as those captured by professional photographers. 

FZ28 uses secure multi media cards for storing images and it also supports the latest SDHC types. FZ28 has 50MB in-built memory. Connectivity can be established through USB 2.0, NTSC video output, and HD component video output. It has a 710mAh, 7 volt battery. Bundled software includes everything free that you could find from adobe and other image processing companies. Panasonic does not want to increase the cost of the unit on this ground.

There were different players available on the market for all these formats, like the most recent MP4 player. But as already discussed technology never stops growing from good to better and from better to best. Now we have the next generation MP5 players. Yes has unveiled the new MP5 player known as the YES YMP-91. This MP5 player is capable of playing any format released so far.  You must be thinking that no media player of any sort is capable of playing Real media or RMVB format as RMVB as a variable bitrate format. But the MP5 player can play even the RM and RMVB formats. The biggest benefit is that you can combine any two formats. Like you can combine a AAC audio with a RMVB or a AVI video and the video produced after that is an undefined format till now (as it was not possible to do so), and now its possible with software bundled with the YES YMP-91 MP5 player. The output format produced by this combination is known as MP5 format. 

There is no media player available with expandable memory slot. But YES YMP-91 MP5 player has a built-in SD, MMC card slots which allow users to extend the 2 GB memory capacity of the MP5 player that features a compact and slim design with a 3-inch high definition LCD display.  

The device supports a most wide range of digital formats including MP3/WMA/AAC/FLAC/APE/RM/RMVB/JPEG/BMP etc. You can also view your pictures in a slide show. 

The player comes in black and offers a playing time of 16 hours for audio and 6 hours for video. It also features FM Radio, a voice recorder and comes bundled with a manual, earphones, USB cables and installation CD. 

Product Manager of YES said “YMP-91 is just not like any other MP5 player which is build on false statements. The gizmo being pocket and user friendly satisfies everybody’s demands. Seeing the current growth in the MP5 player market, the product will easily generate mass popularity and acceptance, also gadget freaks who likes to be first one to try will Love this product. Even those who are using the MP4 players, for them, YMP-91 is a nice upgradation as they can use a better technology for more applications at a lesser price.”  

The YES YMP-91 MP5 player is very affordable and comes for just USD $225. At such a cheap price, many music lovers will immediately switch to the YES YMP-91 MP5 player. 
 

Will the touch screen devices ever stop coming? Apparently not, and LG is determined to unseat Apple as the king in the touch screen phone department. But instead of coming out with just one superb device LG has taken a different approach and released a bunch of formidable devices that lack one major thing: Multitouch input and a killer user interface.

The Dare is one such device. Just released on “The Network” (Verizon) the Dare hopes to challenge not only the iPhone but also the just released Samsung Instinct (Sprint’s version of the iPhone which is selling like hot bread).

DESIGN:

The design of the phone is reminiscent of all the touch screen devices that have been released lately. The device has a 3 inch display and only three dedicated keys. It is comparably smaller than the iPhone and even the Samsung Instinct which beat it in terms of screen size. The device carries a nice stainless steel border which gives it a nice grip and weighing 3.76 ounces it’s pretty light yet does not feel like a cheap piece of plastic. The devices screen supports 240×400 pixel resolution and 262,000 colors. Not exceptional but still very good for its class.

The phone has a microSD slot along with a 3.2 megapixel camera which carries a LED flash.

SOFTWARE:

The software on the device is a slight improvement to most of the phones that are released on the Verizon network. While Verizon phones are known to be pretty good they do lack one major thing, a user friendly interface (thanks to V mobile). Fortunately the LG Dare improves on that.

The interface carries some nice features like the ability to arrange most used applications (such as contacts, email etc…) and even the ability to drag them to the home screen after which they can be arraigned to the users liking. You are also able to select a contact and have one touch access to either call, text or edit their details, something that is very intuitive which the iPhone lacks.

Typing on the Dare is easy and carries a few features that other touch screen devices lack, such as the ability to copy and paste text (something the iPhone lacks). Handwriting on the device is good but it’s much better to use the included stylus instead of your fingers unless you have long nails.

The proximity detector (which locks the touch display when the phone is raised to the ears (a feature of the iPhone) is very good. Also very good is the light sensor which automatically adjusts the backlight display to conserve on battery life.

PERFORMANCE:

The device’s camera is great and took excellent photographs. Call quality is good with minimal ambient noises and static. Speakerphone quality si admirable for and there is little difference in quality when on the speakerphone.

Video playback is great and the EV-DO feature is grand with webpage’s downloading in mare seconds. Sound quality is good but if you’re interested in listening to your tunes on the phone you might want to get a stereo headset.

Talk time is 4.6 hours and the standby time is 15 days.

CONCLUSION:

To sum it up the LG Dare is a great touch screen device and is proof that with each new phone LG comes closer to delivering an iPhone worthy opponent.

DESIGN:

The design is a great improvement above the first generation Mylo. While the first generation looked like a cheap plastic toy the latest generation has done away with most the plastic parts that gave the first generation of the device such a cheap feel. But that has come with a sacrifice to weight (the new device weighs 6.8 ounces). Fortunately Sony has included a soft carrying case so it can easily be slipped into a handbag or backpack without getting scratched. In terms of size the device is 5.2 inches in width, 2.6 inches tall and 0.8 inch thick. Not exactly a cell phone competitor but then again Sony is not marketing this as an alternative to a cell phone which is a wise move since the device does not support any type of cellular technology. The device carries an impressive 3.5 inch diagonal touch screen WVGA display.

Navigating the device can be done via the slide out full QWERTY keyboard, touch sensitive controls that line the screen or the joystick that is located on the left side of the device. The placement is a little awkward since most users are used to operating a joystick with the right instead of the left hand.

The slide out QWERTY keyboard is an improvement over the last one. While the keys are a bit small, the spacing helps to fix that. The only major problem with the keyboard is the number keys are not highlighted so it takes a little getting used to before typing out numerals on the system without a hitch.

For those familiar with the Sony PSP you will find that the design of the Mylo 2 is pretty reminiscent of it especially with the location off on off switch, and Memory Stick Due expansion slot (which accepts up to 8GB cards).

SOFTWARE

The software is quite easy to use and the menus are self explanatory so navigating the device is not a hassle. The device now supports widgets which makes it easier to access the devices features. The device is essentially a messaging system and comes with dedicated support for Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo. It’s kind of sad that the system does not carry dedicated support for the biggest IM service which happens to be MSN. Which means anyone who is interested in using the Mylo w and mostly uses MSN Live Messenger will have to import their MSN contacts to Yahoo before being able to.

The system also supports such things as music playback (including WMA protected/unprotected) and to top it off YouTube.

PERFORMANCE:

Performance leaves much to be desired. While music playback is good it might not be on par with MP3 devices. The system does support features such as album art and the ability to make playlists quickly. Unfortunately video performance is not so great with the device only supporting MPEG-4 at the moment. On the other hand the 1.3 megapixel camera is quite good and is worthy upgrade to the original device.

CONCLUSION:

The Mylo2 is a hard sell because with a price tag of $299 it puts it in the range of most high end cell phones (including the new 3G iPhone). With lack of support for any other type of connection other than Wi-Fi (WPA and WPA2) it’s not practical if you are interested in using your device on the road. While it does support unlimited subscription to (available at 9,000 McDonald’s, 70 IHOP restaurants, and 600 hotels) it doesn’t compensate for its lack of cellular service (even Bluetooth would have been good).

So unless you are only interested in a messenger for HotSpot access the Mylo might not be your cup of tea at the moment.