Are you sick of the iPad, but you actually really like the idea behind it? I created a list for you with the best iPad alternatives. A lot of them could actually outperform Apple’s new device in many ways:

Kindle

The Kindle will probably continue to have an advantage concerning the reading ability. Unfortunately book publishers already shift to Apple’s model, which causes book titles to increase in price. Maybe some good old competition might be good, because books I couldn’t get on the Kindl are suddenly showing up. Before you decide getting yourself an iPad wait a little bit, because Amazon will bring out an new version of the Kindl, which will hopefully close the gap between Kindl and iPad.

HP Tablet

If you enjoy working with Windows the HP Tablet might be a good alternative for you. Apparently it will have a dual-core processor and multi-tasking will be supported. One big disadvantages is the battery time. It won’t last as long as an iPad or a Kindl. Experts estimate the HP Tablet to cost about $600.You have to add another 60$ per month for the internet connection. As you can see the HP Tablet can get a little bit expensive. Don’t forget to consider that all the common Windows applications are included.

MSI Tablet

This is another tablet prototype running Android and powered by the Tegra 2. Apparently it is a little bit thick and heavy, nevertheless we shouldn’t forget about the 10-inch screen. Nice!

Notion Ink Adam

Last but no least I present you Notion Ink Adam another tablet running on Android and powered by the Tegra 2 chip. It is a 10inch tablet from the indian start-up company Notion Ink. It uses a screen technology that combines a full color multi-touch LCD display with a low-power reflective mode, which will help you to better read in the sunlight. Apparently the Notion Ink Adam will come out in the second quarter of this year with a price between $300 and $800.

Tablet computers are not new, but have so far been unsuccessful. On Wednesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled his new version of the Tablet concept. Months past with thousands of speculations, without any official indication by Apple that the product even exists.

It is a small computer, which integrates many functions, but without really replacing a regular computer. Let’s call it a multimedia player with minimal storage capacity. In essence it is primarily designed for reading books, newspapers and magazines, surfing on the Internet, playing games, and enjoying movies, music and photos. The iPad does indeed resemble a large iPhone or iPod touch.

The Key Facts:

The iPad is measuring 9.56 x 7.47 x 0.5 inches and weighing 1.5 pounds.

The device features a bright LED-backlit multi-touch-enabled 9.7 inch display with a resolution of 1024 x 768. Unfortunately it is not a 16:9/10 aspect ratio display.

The rechargeable battery is built-in and can last for about 10 hours. As usual it is not user-replaceable.

Inside, you’ll find a Apple processor clocked at 1GHz. There are three different storage versions existing 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB.

Apple will bring out two different models consumers can choose from a Wi-Fi model and a Wi-Fi plus 3G model. Each of theses models support the tree different storage versions.

This brings us to one question? What do we need an iPad for?

The iPad is only inexpensive with very little memory and no UMTS connection. T-Online, meanwhile, offers the Apple iPad with UMTS support for pre-order in its online store. The 16-gigabyte device will cost 629 euros. I recently bought myself an IBM ThinkPad T42 second ware for 170Euro and I am pretty sure it’s as good as an iPad. If you are interested in getting yourself one have a look at this shop.

As you can see T-Online transfers the American dollar prices one-to-one into the euro. The two other variants of the iPad, with 32 or 64 GB storage space can be preordered for 729 and 829 Euro. Unfortunately a delivery date is not out yet.

No multitasking. No flash. You are just able to connect yourself to iTunes - so there will be an extra charge. Free streaming deals are often not available because the iPad does not understand Flash. The most attractive legal and free multimedia offerings are also not available in Europe because they are not easily available here this is why we have to pay for everything.

If you lie down and want to watch a movie you’ll need accessories. Good for Apple and other producers who can supply us with the latest accessories from now on. 680 grams compared to the iPhone, smartphones and even Amazon’s Kindle (small: 289 grams, big: 560 grams) is too much.

The surcharge for UMTS variants will probably turn out higher than for common netbooks. The small hard disk, however will force us to rely on streams.

Where’s the Web cam for video calling? The range of ports is a bad joke: No USB, no HDMI, no slot for memory cards. If you want more you need to buy expensive accessories. Don’t forget you have to carry all these accessories around with you. At the end the iPad won’t necessarily weigh 680 gram, but 1 kilo plus.

The iPhone was a worldwide revolution for the cell-phone community and had no competitors. Nevertheless there are thousands of alternatives for the iPad out there.

It will integrate functions, which lie more in the leisure and luxury sector. I wouldn’t call it a must have. Nevertheless it is a product attracting a lot of people who might like to have it for a variety of reasons. The main message is: it is far to early to draw any conclusions. No iPad was handed out yet to any magazines or software producers. On top of that the e-bookstore hasn’t gone online yet. I know I listed just negative points, but why do you want me to repeat the positive aspects of an iPhone.

We all know the iPhone very well and because the iPad is just a bigger adoption with some new features I only listed the negative impressions I found myself. I am not saying that the iPad is not worth buying and I don’t want to judge it. I was just quoting my impressions while watching Apples Ipad presentation and as far as I am concerned the blogger community had similar impressions.

References

It supports multitasking, cloud computing and will be easy to use. There is a lot of pressure on the iPhone OS 4.0 the new operating system by Apple. Next Wednesday Steve Jobs will enlighten us at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Of course it won’t be the only product he’ll present. At least as important as the iPhone OS 4.0 is the Apple Tablet.

Apple has invested enormous resources for the development of their new operating system. It has been long ago since the last big update came out for the iPhone.
People say, that the Apple Tablet will use exactly the same software. That would fit, because the system is already designed to be used on mobile devices and has various power saving features. It is also deeply involved in Apple’s content infrastructure, via iTunes and App Store it can be supplied with software, music, movies, videos, databases, and updates.

Multitasking

Let’s have a look at some other changes. The multitasking function might be a new feature. Instead of just using one app at a time, this function would enable us to run several apps in the background. We would be able to switch from one application to the other. Specially for programs like the Windows Messenger it would be a big advantage to be able to talk on the phone while we are chatting. Stuff like that is not possible at the moment. Unfortunately multitasking would use a lot of energy. And as we all know the iPhone already uses a lot of battery.

Multi touch

One of the most important changes is the system-wide support for multi touch gestures. These are the gestures, which can shrink or enlarge images. It don’t see any reason Apple should adopt this change. Is it really necessary that every app like WordPress and Twitter supports the zoom function? People would just get confused by the function. Every app on the iPhone is optimized and would look awful once it is enlarged. A lot of software producer already criticized this adoption.

Sync

Apple isn’t able to synchronize itself with Mozilla Thunderbird, Sunbird or Firefox. A big disadvantage as I find. There are rumors on the Internet that Apple wants to introduce new ways to sync contacts and calendar data.The iPhone already uses services like Mobile Me and Google and has access to Microsoft Exchange, but from my point of view it’s not enough.

Goodbye 2G

Apparently the update to iPhone OS 4.0 is only running on iPhone 3G and 3GS. Apple’s first generation of phones the 2G will be left out. The 2G might still get a compatibility update to version 3.1.3 and would only be from now on updated with new software if any vulnerability is discovered.

Fazit

The online community is split a half. They don’t know what is going to happen on Wednesday and rumors a getting louder and louder. OS 4.0 will have a major impact on the iPhone series and I am really looking forward to that day. As we can see a lot of these “new” features bring disadvantages along. Nevertheless OS 4.0 will definitely represent a big step forward. It is funny to see how Apple brings out new features, which are hyped although they already existed on Blackberry’s and Palms decades ago. I guess this phenomenon is called the Apply hype.

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MacBook Touch by Edwin Tofslie

Apple iPad by Chris Messina imagines

Apple NetBook (Mac Format) by Mac Format magazine

MacBook Touch Black by Isamu Sanada

Reference

Back to topic, the new WordPress application for the iPhone is working perfectly fine and it is very easy to post stuff. Nevertheless I am still missing a few options like taking photos on the go and adding photos. Still it’s a great app! What is your experience with the wordpress app?

U.S. airlines are prohibiting passengers the use of electronic items on board. As the New York Times reported on Sunday, several airlines have already confirmed that their passengers have to spend on future flights to the USA the last hour sitting in front of the landing. People wouldn’t be able to go to toilet or to walk around.
In addition, it is going to be forbidden for passengers to access their personal belongings in the womb. On top of that the hand baggage will be limited to a piece. Similar restrictions are already being reported by U.S. domestic flights.
If such measures are actually standard, this is likely to anger several airlines that have invested in recent years, some substantial millions to modernize the entertainment systems of its airlines to make available wireless Internet access throughout the flight.
Seven U.S. airlines including American Airlines, Delta and Virgin America offer the flight Internet system from Aircell on board their machines, with which one can go at least within the United States during the flight to the Web.
Other airlines lure passenger with an other method. Passengers can connect their devices to the in flight entertainment systems. For example, Singapore Airlines new Airbus A330 is equipped with a system from Panasonic, which allows access via the in-seat screens  to the content of iPods. iPod movies can be viewed  on  big screens, iPod music can be heard through the headphones of the on-board system – and incidentally also the battery is loaded. At least six other airlines have similar systems already in use.

One thing is clear safety plays  an important role for airlines and that is one of the many reasons why we are going to be limited in our freedom on board. I reckon it’s a good price to pay. Back to the roots: leave the kindl at home and let’s read a good old book. I wish you a pleasant flight!

References

I just love the japanese! How often have I been in a sleeping bag jumping around the flat, because I was to tired and lazy to get out of it. And now they created the perfect sleeping bag. Why haven’t I come up with such an idea? You’ve got a mobility that you could never have with a traditional sleeping bag, but what sense does it make if it comes without hands? I hope next time they’ll do better.

The Japanese Snuggie is an instrument of pure laziness and I love it!

References

According to Internet reports Apple has ordered components for the new iPhone 4G. The production order received the Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn, which has already built all previous iPhone models.
This emerges from a Twitter message from Eldar Murtazin, editor of Russia’s mobile website MobileReview, who is well-informed in the industry. Unfortunately there are no details because of the fitting of the new iPhone model. End of October there were already first rumours about the next generation of iPhones. Accordingly, the iPhone 4G should be equipped with the LTE network standard and will be presented in summer 2010.

LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the project name of a new high performance communication system. It is the next step toward the 4th generation of radio technologies which is needed to surf on the go. Where the current generation of mobile telecommunication networks are collectively known as 3G ( that is why it’s called the iPhone 3G), LTE is marketed as 4G.

What comes next 5G? I have to admit that 3G is already fast, but I wouldn’t mind something more efficient. It would allow us to perform more tasks on the go. I am looking foward to some online streaming in good quality!

It is also reported that the new iPhone model has already been tested in San Francisco.

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They are back!

They are back!

1000 of kids were feeding, playing and killing them everyday and now they are back! The Tamagotchi!

The new Tamagotchi ID from Bandai actually looks exactly like the old one, with the difference that it is equipped with a 1.44 inch colour screen. You will be able to purchase it from the 23^rd of November on only in Japan for a price of 38 euros. They will be available in six different colours: pink, blue, white, yellow, green and purple. On top of that they’ve got a great feature: You can by new accessories, rare items and mini games over your cell phone and transfer them via infra-red to your Tamagotchi.

I think it’s a fantastic idea, but what cellphone still supports infra-red? What about Bluetooth or WiFi? I think Bandai overslept the trend. Specially in Japan where they have the latest generation of cellphones I really doubt that there are a lot of cellphones left with infra-red.

Our cellphones are powerful enough to play any kind of simulation and there are all sorts of games you can by just for a few euros. What’s the point of buying a Tamagotchi?

Bandai probably focuses on children and therefore it’s ok. Kids are going to be happy with this product, specially now that your pet is in colour. If you want to get a few more informations about these cute little pets you should read this article.

The Tamagotchis even have their own TV-Show on you tube. Of course produced by Bandai!

References

Marshmallow-Blaster

Yesterday night I surfed randomly around the Internet and look what I have found: A Marshmallow Gun! The Executive Marshmallow Blaster Elite fires of course marshmallows. The gun is kept completely in a fake carbon fiber-look and is stowed in a special case, that of a manager (or a pro-marshmallow assassin). The gun costs $ 55 plus expenses and you can buy it here.

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