Gadgetator

How to keep up with news in a post Google Reader era

2013-06-29T23:24:00.000-06:00

Google Reader, Google's RSS feed reader and aggregator, will be shutting down on July 1, 2013, leaving its moderately large fanbase in the dark. What Google Reader did is allowed you to subscribe to RSS feeds from your favorite sites, and read them all in one place. You could use this for news, webcomics, or any other site that offered an RSS feed. With Google Reader gone, (former) users are looking for alternative ways to aggregate your favorite news sources into an easy to read stream.

One of the reasons Google Reader is shutting down is because many users have stopped using RSS entirely. Using RSS feeds made sure that you saw every article from whichever feeds you subscribed to. People are no longer so set on seeing every post from every source. They are becoming more used to dipping into the pool of news every once in awhile, looking for something interesting. Flipboard is a free service that can be used to browse news and interesting articles. Flipboard offers both iOS and Android apps, and allows you to flip through news and other articles in a beautifully laid-out, magazine-like fashion. With Flipboard you can add categories, such as tech, sports, travel, or just plain news. You can also add accounts, so the stories shared by people you follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ will be available there as well. Even if you prefer the Google Reader way of making sure you see every post from every source you follow, Flipboard is a nice way to dip in every once in awhile and find something you may not have seen otherwise.

If you do like the Google Reader approach, there are several alternatives that are purely RSS readers. One of the most popular is Feedly. Feedly originated as an RSS reader that used Google Reader as the back-end . It offered a faster, prettier design, while offering the same functionality as Google Reader. Since the announcement of Google Reader shutting down, the folks at Feedly have been working on moving over to their own back-end. Now, Feedly is a service that can run completely independent of Google Reader, although you still need a Google account to sign-in. Feedly has a universal web app that can be found at cloud.feedly.com, as well as apps for iOS and Android. Feedly is free to use, as are the apps.

Both Flipboard and Feedly integrate with a service called Pocket, which allows you to save articles to read later. Pocket is also a great free service, and offers Android and iOS apps.

So, although we'll all miss Google Reader, at least we have some great alternatives that will make catching up on the news easier than ever.

Mac OSX Mountain Lion is Out: How to Get It

2012-07-25T08:45:00.000-06:00

Click here to learn about all the great new features in Mountain Lion.

Apple, the creator of the Macintosh computer and the operating system that runs on it, Mac OS X, has released the latest version of their OS, Mac OS X Mountain Lion, or 10.8. Mountain Lion was originally revealed back in February, but is finally available for download today at a cheap price of $19.99.

Now lets get started. First, you have to make sure your Mac is compatible with Mountain Lion. Here's a list of the models supported:

iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)

If your Mac fits into any of the categories above, you're set. If you're not sure whether or not your computer fits the requirements, here's an easy way to tell. First, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen.Choose "About this Mac", and then click "More Info". Your Mac's type and date should appear.

Once you've made sure your hardware is ready, make sure your software is as well. If your Mac is running Lion, you're set. If you're running Snow Leopard, make sure you're updated to the latest version of Snow Leopard.

Now that you've made sure you're able to get Mountain Lion, it's time to go out and get it. Head over to the Mac App Store and search for Mountain Lion, or click here to be directed to the Mountain Lion page, and then click "View in AppStore". When the Mac AppStore opens up, click "Buy". Mountain Lion should begin to download. Being that it's an entire operating system, the download may take a few hours. Once the download is done, follow the onscreen instructions, which should be simple. When you're done, you have Mountain Lion. Congratulations.

Any other questions? Problems with the install? Comment away below, and I will respond.

Google announces new apps for iOS (UPDATE)

2012-06-28T11:41:00.000-06:00

Google previewed a few new iOS apps at its developer's conference today, called Google IO, that will be rolling out on the App Store later today.

Google's popular web browser, Google Chrome, has long been a desktop app for Windows and Mac. It recently became available for Android devices, and today is available for iOS, on both iPhone and iPad. The iPad app looks extremely familiar to the desktop version, and the iPhone version shares the same design concepts as well. The app will support incognito browsing, and well as tab syncing between devices.

(UPDATE: Google Chrome is now available on the Apple App Store here.)

The second iOS app they showed off is Google Drive. Google Drive is an online file storage system that has been available online for a while, but is only coming to iOS today. The app supports text recognition in images, so you can search through scanned receipts based on the text in the image. Drive also supports image recognition, so you can search through pictures based on the contents of the image.

(UPDATE: Google Drive is now available on the Apple App Store here.)

More news is sure to come out from Google IO, so stay tuned.

Apple launches separate Podcasts app

2012-06-26T15:11:00.001-06:00

It was expected that Apple would take podcasts out of the iTunes app on the iPhone and iPad, and release a standalone app for podcasts in the latest version of their mobile operating system, iOS 6, which should be released this fall. Although Apple hasn't yet gutted podcasts from the iTunes app, they have given them a standalone app, straightforwardly called "Podcasts", ahead of the iOS 6 release.

The new Podcasts app allows you to surf through their podcasts catalog, and stream or download podcast episodes. The long-awaited subscribe feature is also included, and it allows you to receive any new episodes of a podcast directly.

You can view podcasts that you have downloaded in a grid or list format, and tap on any to start playing it. Once you do start playing a podcast, you have a few options. In a video podcast, you can skip back 30 seconds, fast-forward or rewind, and play the video at different speeds. Audio podcasts offer some more features; you can skip forward 30 seconds, skip backward 10 seconds, play it slowly, normal, or fast, and even set a sleep timer.

Another feature introduced in the Podcasts app is called "Top Stations", and shows the top five podcasts in certain categories, which you can easily swipe through. You can also change between viewing audio and video podcasts.

The new Podcasts app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store at this link, and runs on the iPhone or iPad, on any device running iOS 5.1.

Flipboard now available on Android

2012-06-22T10:18:00.000-06:00

Flipboard has been know as a great media consumption app on the iPad for a long time. It allows users to browse through personalized news in a minimalistic magazine-like design. The app became available on the iPhone more recently, and today, is available on Android devices via the Google Play store. Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet owners can also download it through their proprietary app stores.

Along with the new Android version of the app, Flipboard for iPad and iPhone also received updates. All versions of the app now support the social network Google+. In the past, a user could connect Twitter or Facebook, and news from those feeds would appear in Flipboard. With this new update, users can connect their Google+ account to the app, and items from that feed will appear in Flipboard. You can 1+ (Google+'s version of the Facebook "like") any post directly from the app, or tap to share, comment on, or reply to the post.

The latest update also adds YouTube support. Users can connect their YouTube accounts, and then browse through videos in the same Flipboard fashion. You can flip through subscriptions, uploads, and favorites, as well as browse through the Most Viewed, Trending Videos, and Top Favorites categories.

If you have an Android device, you can download the free Flipboard on the Google Play store here, or for Kindle Fire or Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. iOS users can download the updated version of the app here.

Samsung Galaxy S III hits the US

2012-06-21T10:13:00.000-06:00

The latest and greatest Android device has hit the US, a little less than a month after it reached Europe. The Samsung Galaxy S III is now available for purchase through T-Mobile. Other carriers will start selling the device within the next few weeks.

Samsung Galaxy S III - Marble White

The S III is an Android smartphone running the latest version of the mobile operating system, Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich. It features a large 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen, an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera, 16 gigabytes of internal memory, 4G LTE service, and a quad-core CPU.

Samsung has also built in some interesting features, like Smart Stay. Smart Stay won't allow the screen to dim if you are still looking at it. Another useful feature is called Direct Call. This means that if a user is sending someone a text message and decides to call the person instead, they can just raise the phone to their ear, and the Phone will automatically make a phone call to the number that they were texting. The Smart Alert feature sends a user a vibrating nudge if they've missed any calls or messages while they were away from their phone. Social Tag automatically shows your friends social information when you look at a picture of them. And finally, S Beam allows users to tap two Galaxy S IIIs together to share data, including pictures, videos, and music.

Samsung also includes a voice-control feature in the S III, called S Voice. This feature is similar to the iPhone's Siri, as it allows users to set alarms, send messages, answer phone calls, and so on. Although S Voice has longer response times than Siri, it does seem to be more accurate.

Samsung Galaxy S III - Pebble Blue

The device itself has a sleek looking design, one that Samsung says was "inspired by nature". The S III is available in two colors, marble white and pebble blue, although T-Mobile is only offering the former at the moment. The screen offers extremely bright and vivid images, with its Super AMOLED technology. The device's 4G LTE service brings fast broadband speeds. T-Mobile currently does not offer LTE, but buying the device from AT&T or Verizon will get you LTE speeds.

You can purchase the Samsung Galaxy S III from T-Mobile for $279.99 here, or pre-order it from AT&T or Verizon for $199.99.

Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8

2012-06-20T11:29:00.001-06:00

At its Windows Phone Summit today, Microsoft gave the press a sneak peek at the future of Windows Phone, their mobile smartphone operating system. The new Windows Phone operating system will be called Windows Phone 8.

Although there will be many new end user features in the new version of the operating system, Microsoft is focusing on some of the features that developers would care about in this announcement.

A large change in the latest version of Windows Phone is that the new OS will be based on the same core as the desktop version of Windows, so it should be easier for developers to write apps. This will also add some security features.

The latest version of Windows Phone will support a new hardware standard. In the past, Windows Phone only supported single-core processors. In this new version of the OS, dual-core devices are now supported. Windows Phone 8 will also support new screen resolutions, like WVGA (800x480), WXGA (1280x768), and 720p (1280x720). And finally in this category of hardware support, Windows Phone 8 will now support removable microSD cards, which will allow users to store photos, music, videos, and apps, and add more storage space to your device.

The latest version of the operating system will come with the latest version of Internet Explorer (IE), IE10. This version of IE will provide new performance and security features.

The new Windows Phone start screen

A new feature in Windows Phone will make it easy for developers to port there apps that they already wrote for other platforms. So expect more apps and better games.

NFC, a technology that allows users to transmit data from one device to another wirelessly (usually used to transmit money), will now be supported natively.

Windows Phone 8 comes with a wallet feature. This feature allows users to save and use their credit, debit, loyalty, and membership cards. The wallet feature will take advantage of the built-in NFC to allow tap-to-pay transactions.

Maps will be built in to Windows Phone 8, using Nokia’s mapping technology. Offline map support is built, as well as turn-by-turn navigation.

Microsoft is also adding many new features for businesses, including encryption, secure boot, device management, and Office.

The start screen, probably one of the prettiest features in Windows Phone, will receive an update as well as part of Windows Phone 8. The icons on the start screen now can come in three sizes; large, medium, and small. Microsoft has also gotten rid of the right rail on the side of the screen, so you have more space for apps and live tiles.

This update will be released in the fall, and, although current Windows Phones will receive an update adding some new features, the full upgrade will not support any existing Windows Phones.

In conclusion, this seems like a great update for Windows Phone. Although we don't know too much about the features an end-user would care about, we do have an idea of what the future of Windows Phone will look like.

Google launches Google Offers iPhone app

2012-06-19T15:41:00.001-06:00

Google has been serving up Groupon-style deals through their Google Offers service for over a year. They offer city-specific deals in each area they support, and allow users to buy these offers, and use them later. For example, a user would spend $15 for a voucher that can be used to buy $30 worth of t-shirts.

Until today, these offers were delivered on the Google Offers website, by email to subscribers of a certain city, or via a Google Offers app for Android. Today, Google released a Google Offers iPhone app that will allow users to browse through and purchase offers.

App users can see featured offers, browse through offers by category, check out offers in different cities, and view nearby offers on a map. The app makes purchasing an offer easy, and then lets you see your active offers, when they expire, and how far away they are.

Unfortunately, the Google Offers app is only available in the U.S., and Google only supports offers in selected areas. If Google does offer its deals in your city (click here for list), go ahead and download the app here.

Spotify launches streaming radio service

2012-06-19T11:13:00.000-06:00

Spotify, an online music streaming service that allows users to browse through a large catalog of music, and play any song on-demand, has announced today that it is getting the business of streaming radio. In the new Spotify iOS app, users will be able to choose a song, artist, album, or playlist, and Spotify will create a "radio" station based on that selection. The station will play songs that are similar to the selection made originally, and will alter its selections based on likes and dislikes users give to specific songs. This seems like an open attack at Pandora, which does exactly the same thing, and has been doing so for close to 6 years.

Spotify is free to use in the U.S., with premium subscriptions available, but the iOS app only offers limited features to non-paying customers. The new iOS app, which is out now, offers the new radio feature to all costumers, even non-paying ones, however, non-premium costumers will occasionally be interrupted by audio ads.

Spotify's radio service differs from Pandora is a few ways. For example, users can save songs played on the radio in one tap. They can also create new stations based on their friends shared playlists.

Radio on Spotify

This new Spotify feature can be found in their iOS app on both iPhone and iPad, which can be downloaded here.

Microsoft announces the new Surface tablet

2012-06-18T19:16:00.000-06:00

Microsoft has always been a company devoted to creating great software. They are the makers of the Windows operating system, which runs on many devices, all manufactured by other companies. The company has announced today that it will no longer rely solely on partners to create the devices that run their operating system.

Microsoft announced a tablet today, that will run on the latest edition of Windows, Windows 8. This device will be manufactured directly by Microsoft. Windows 8 is thought to be the first version of the popular operating system that is really fit for tablet devices, and it seems to make sense that Microsoft would create a device that fit well with the new operating system.

Microsoft is calling this new tablet device Surface. The Surface tablet sports a 10.6 inch screen with a 16:9 ratio, a slick design and some unique features. The design clicks nicely with the look and feel of the operating system that runs on it. Windows 8 features a design mentality called metro, which features minimalistic fonts, colors and tiles. The minimalistic approach continues on the tablet itself. The device has a nice magnesium casing and a boxy but appealing design. It also sports a built in kickstand that allows it to stand upright.

Like the Apple iPad, the Surface tablet has a cover that attaches to the device magnetically. The thing that sets Surface's cover apart is that, when open, it doubles as a touch-sensitive keyboard and track-pad that will transform the Surface into a more laptop-like device. With the kickstand open, the device will sit on a table and be usable just like a laptop. Microsoft will also offer a higher-end keyboard cover that offers a more physical keyboard-like experience.

The Surface tablet will be available in two models. The first, and lower-end model, will run on the ARM processor, and will be called the Surface RT, as it runs on Windows RT, the only version of Windows 8 that will be compatible with ARM processors. This model will weigh in at 676g., and will be 9.3mm thick. It will sport a microSD slot, a full-size USB 2.0 port, and Micro HD video, and will be available in either 32 or 64 gigabyte versions.

The higher-end model will be called the Surface 8 Pro, and will run Windows 8 Pro, using an Intel processor. It will be a bit heavier and thicker than the RT version, at 903g. and 13.5mm. The 8 Pro version will sport a microSDXC, a full-size USB 3.0 port, and Mini DisplayPort video. The 8 Pro version will be available in 64 and 128 gigabyte versions. The 8 Pro version will also have a stylus for handwriting that will lock on to the device magnetically.

The announcement of this device seems to be a step in the right direction for Microsoft. It seems like they really got everything right this time. However, there is no pricing announced yet, and that may be a large factor in the success or failure of the Surface device. There was no word on when the Surface will be available, but it can be assumed that its launch will coincide with the launch of Windows 8.

The video below was created by Microsoft to showcase some of the features of the new tablet.

Guest Post: Wondershare PDF Editor

2012-04-26T17:00:00.000-06:00

Guest post by Catherine Lee

In the business world the most widely used format for sending and receiving data is the PDF. To edit PDF documents, we need to have an editor specially created for editing PDF documents. Wondershare PDF Editor is a very useful tool used for editing PDF files easily and efficiently by using a set of intelligent algorithms. It enables users to edit PDF files like they would using a word processor, with a simple user interface. The user can understand the program easily and use this it for any business purpose. Currently in the market, there are several PDF Editors available. But how is Wondershare PDF editor different than all the others out there?

The difference between other editors and Wondershare is having the functionality of more expensive Nitro or Adobe products, nested within a scaled-down, minimalist, more intuitive design framework. You can edit and insert many objects, like images, hyperlinks, and more very easily.

The main key differences that make Wondershare PDF Editor stand out are:

User friendly interface.
Less clutter
Every feature offered by the editor is directly available to you. No need to search around the menus.

There are many unique features found in Wondershare PDF Editor. These include:

Unique Style Of Annotation: You can effectively maintain various types of elements with intelligent behavior of Wondershare PDF Editor..
The Total Text Editing feature is very useful for editing text, easy alignment, and having the Word environment.
Objects like images of any format, links, tables, and more can be easily added, modified and rendered.
One click conversion to a Word document of any format (2003, 2007, 2010).
Support for 17 languages.
You can easily split and merge PDF documents.

The system requirements for running Wondershare PDF Editor are:

For Windows: Windows XP/Vista/7 32Bit

For Mac: Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6 or 10.7(Lion)

You can get Wondershare PDF Editor at Wondershare.com/pdf-editor. For Windows, it is totally free to use Wondershare PDF Editor beta with full feature for 100 days. You can also download PDF Editor beta to update it to the upcoming paid version for 50% off. For Mac, You can Try or Buy it for $49.95 (Version 1.6.0)

PressReader brings 2100+ Newspapers Directly to You

2012-04-09T15:16:00.000-06:00

The world is moving away from traditional mediums. Fast. Mail have become email. Phone calls have become Skype. And now newspapers are slowly going digital. But going to each newspaper or magazine's website or app can be difficult and inconsistent. That's where PressReader comes in.

PressReader is a multi-platform service that brings over 2100 newspapers and magazines directly to your iPhone. Or any other platform you could think of. PressReader offers apps for Android (Gingerbread or Honycomb), the BlackBerry Playbook, the Apple iPad and iPhone, and both Windows Phone and Windows 7 Slate PC. They also offer apps for both Windows and Mac, as well as legacy versions for both BlackBerry phones and Windows Mobile phones. So, yeah, they've got an app for any device you'll ever use. And all the devices you'll never use. And they're all free apps.

But what exactly does PressReader do? It allows you to subscribe to and read specific newspapers and magazines on your device. They offer over 2100 newspapers from 95 countries and 54 languages. But it's not like they're all newspapers you've never heard of, from countries you've never been to, in languages you have no idea how to read. It's not like that at all. PressReader's got some big name newspapers, like The Washington Post, the Daily Mail, and USA Today, among many others.

Playing with the iOS version of the app, I found it simple and easy to use. It has a nice slider at the bottom of the page, allowing for users to swipe through specific sections of the newspaper. You can attempt to read the newspaper straight, by zooming in on the specific article you're interested in. However, tapping on a headline will bring up the story in an extremely easy-to-read format. Any continuations of the story on a different page will appear there, right below the first half of the story, as a convenience.

The iOS app allows you to print either the screen you are seeing, or the entire page in the newspaper via AirPrint. You can use text-to-speech to listen to your newspaper, and the voices used are surprisingly un-robotic, although they can err on certain things. For example, instead of saying "10 million dollars", when it sees $10M, it would say "10 dollars M".

The service costs $0.99 for a single download of one issue of any newspaper, or $29.95 a month for unlimited downloads.

Overall, the app seems pretty nice. I found no shortage of reading material, and most of the newspapers I'm interested in were available, including my hometown paper, The Denver Post. The one paper obviously missing is The New York Times.

If you only read a couple newspapers and magazines regularly, checking to see if they have individual apps might be a good idea, as they'll be more personalized and work better with that specific paper than PressReader. However, if you read many papers regularly, or even if you just want to be able to look up an article any time someone mentions one, PressReader is a definite download.

$0.99 is not too bad for a single issue, but buying that every day might be a bit expensive. $29.95 a month is pretty expensive, and while it may be worth it if you're subscribing to many newspapers or magazines, if you just want to subscribe to one or two, it's probably too expensive. It'd be nice if there was some sort of middle ground where one could subscribe to one or two newspapers for something less than $30 a month, and more affordable than buying each issue for $0.99.

PressReader is a great service overall, there are a few flaws, but if you can get past them, PressReader could be a great way to digitize your newspapers, slowly shy away from paper, and simplify your newspaper and magazine consumption.

Google adds App Search

2012-04-09T10:30:00.001-06:00

A new option has recently appeared in Google searches, called Applications. When clicked, it searches for the query searched, but looks specifically for apps, searching sites like Apple.com (for iOS apps), Google.com (for Android apps), CNET.com, and more. You can choose from a few sites to search specifically, as to find certain apps that may be compatible with your device, or apps from a site you specifically trust.

A full-size screenshot of the new feature in action can be seen here.

Instagram finally available for Android

2012-04-03T21:02:00.000-06:00

Instagram, the extremely popular photo sharing app, has finally been released on Android. As we reported earlier, the Android version of this popular app has been in the making for a while, but hit Google Play (formerly known as the Android Market. Confusing, right?) today.

This app brings the same photo-sharing functionality as the iOS version did. It allows you to take or import a photo, a cool retro filters, and share it out for the world to see.

The app has been so popular, in fact, that Kevin Systrom, CEO of Instagram, said that it had been logging 2,000 new sign-ups a minute. Not bad.

The app can be downloaded for free from Google Play here. More information can be found at instagram.com.

Will you be downloading the free new Android app? Why or why not? Answer in the comments.

Kindle Fire Gets Updated

2012-03-28T17:27:00.000-06:00

A minor update to the Kindle Fire, Amazon's color touch-screen multimedia tablet, began rolling out to users today. Version 6.3 adds a few minor features, including a new toolbar for sharing notes and passages from inside a book. Another, more major feature, is called "Book Extras". Book Extras brings extra written content into the book you are currently reading, including glossaries or biographies. Another new feature extends the rental period for movies. The rental period now starts from when you start playing the movie, as opposed to from when it's downloaded. Textbooks will now retain formatting and page numbers, to make it easy for a Kindle-using student to keep up with the class in regard to textbook page numbers. Personal documents added to the device will now be synced with Amazon Cloud.

Rooters, do not fear. Although the update will revert the rooting process taken, the xda-developer forums already have rooting instructions for the latest update. You should be prompted to install the update on your Fire, but if you are not, you can download it from Amazon's website here.

New iPad available in Stores Friday, March 16th

2012-03-15T20:50:00.000-06:00

The new, third-generation iPad, over-viewed in this Gadgetator article, will hit store shelves tomorrow, March 16th.

If you want to get your hands on one as early as possible, waiting in line at an Apple store, as Mashable says, may not be the best choice. Apple stores will start selling the new device at 8:00 AM, local time, while 24-hour Walmarts will begin to hand out the device at 12:01 AM. The Best Buy at Union Square in New York City will also have the iPad at midnight.

It seems interesting that Apple would allow retailers to begin to sell the iPad before they themselves do, but it may just be another noticeable difference in Apple in the post Steve Jobs era.

Will you be waiting at a Walmart or Best Buy at midnight for the newest iPad? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Instagram coming to Android

2012-03-12T18:31:00.000-06:00

Instagram is a popular iOS app that allows you to share photos with friends and followers, as well as add cool retro-looking filters to the photos you share. Click this link to read more about Instagram.

Android users have never been able to use Instagram, as it is an iOS exclusive. Well, was an iOS exclusive.

At South by Southwest, a geek conference in Austin, Texas, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom announced that Instagram would be coming to Android pretty soon. He says that currently, the Android Version is in a private beta testing stage, and will be "coming soon".

"In some ways, it's better than our iOS app. It's crazy", said Systrom. In addition, he announced that the iOS version of the app, which was featured as Apple's iPhone App of the Year in 2011, had reached over 27 million downloads.

Although we still don't know exactly when Android users will gain access to this great service, as Instagram co-founder says, it's coming soon. So Androiders, hold on, soon you too will be able to take vintage square images.

Instagram on Android

The New iPad

2012-03-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

We've all been waiting for the next generation iPad. Rumors about it have been floating around basically since the launch of the iPad 2, and now those rumors are all either confirmed or denied. Mostly confirmed.

With the new iPad, Apple is really focusing on graphics and images. The new iPad sports a Retina display, Apple's proprietary term for a display that, when viewed at a normal distance, the pixels are not discernible. The Retina display is also found in the iPhone 4 and 4S, as well as the iPod touch 4th generation. Although the iPad has less pixels per inch (PPI) than the iPhone and iPod touch, it has a 2048x1536 resolution, making it a higher resolution than even an HDTV.

The A5X Chip

The graphics are also greatly improved, as the new iPad boasts the Apple A5X chip, a dual-core system-on-a-chip with quad-core graphics. This makes high-quality games look much better, and really works well with the new Retina display.

The third feature focusing on images and graphics is the new camera built into the iPad. The new iPad sports the same front-facing Facetime camera as the previous iPad 2, however, the rear-facing camera is greatly improved. The new rear-facing camera, or, as Apple calls it, the iSight camera, features a 5MP sensor, as well as the same 5-lens optics system as the iPhone 4S, to give much-higher quality images than the iPad 2. The iSight also allows for 1080p HD video-recording, with built-in video stabilization. The interesting thing about the new camera is that Apple is calling it an iSight camera. The iSight name was originally used for the front-facing web-cams on the Macs, and was later replaced with the name "Facetime". Until now it had seemed that the iSight brand was killed.

The three features above all really work together to give users a great visual experience on the new iPad.

The iPad now also supports 4G LTE, on both Verizon and AT&T, giving much faster wireless speeds than before. One will have to buy an iPad specifically for the 4G carrier they want to use, and the 4G iPads also support 3G, if one does not live in a 4G LTE supported area.

The features above are all known to be battery-drainers, but Apple claims the same 10 hour battery life as the previous iPads, while only making the iPad a bit heavier and thicker, at 9.4mm thick, and 1.44 pounds heavy.

Voice Dictation Built into the Keyboard

Another new feature in the iPad is Voice Dictation, powered by Siri technology. Although you won't get the same Siri personal assistant you find in the iPhone 4S, the new iPad does have a voice dictation feature built into the software keyboard, so you'll be able to dictate text instead of typing in any app.

Along with the iPad announcement, Apple announced updates to Garage Band and iMovie for the iPad, as well as a completely new app to complete the iLife suite. iMovie now allows for you to create, as the Apple press release says, "Hollywood-style trailers as you shoot HD video". Garage Band also has a new feature, called Jam Sessions, which allows a group to wirelessly connect and record music together. iPhoto, a new Apple app, allows grouping of photos and a great editing feature. All three of these apps cost $4.99 each.

The new iPad is available for pre-order now, and will be available to buy March 16th. The cost remains the same, starting at $499, so if you want one, pre-order now at Apple.com. The iPad 2 is also still available, at a reduced price of $399.

Interestingly, Apple is veering off from it's naming scheme, as they are calling the latest version of the iPad "The New iPad", instead of iPad 3 or iPad HD, as some thought it would be called. It will be interesting to see whether or not Apple continues this new way of naming devices with the next iPhone.

What do you think? Will you be buying a new iPad? Let us know in the comments.

Mac OSX Mountain Lion: Making Mac OS more like iOS

2012-02-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Apple, the creator of both the Macintosh OS, running on all Mac computers, as well as the more popular iOS, that runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, has announced yet another update to the Mac OS that will bring both of those platforms closer together.

Until July 2011, the Mac and iOS platforms were completely separate. They had no similar user interface features, the underlying operating system was completely different, and the Apple-made apps were different from Mac to iOS. In July 2011, the next version of Mac OSX, the operating system Mac computers run, called Lion, was released. Lion brought some of the best features from the iPhone to the Mac. These weren't so blatantly iOS features, but more like an iOS-like experience coming to the Mac. After that point, the two platforms became more and more alike, with some of the major Mac apps coming to iOS, and more.

Recently, Apple announced the newest version of Mac OS, Mac OSX Mountain Lion, which will be coming this summer. The main idea of Mountain Lion is that Apple is bringing the best features in iOS to the Mac, and this time they're doing it straight out. As the Apple press release says, "OS X Mountain Lion... brings popular apps and features from the iPad to the Mac..."

Officially, Mountain Lion brings over 100 new features to Mac OS X, but many of those will go completely unnoticed. Any iOS user will probably recognize most of the main features in Mountain Lion.

Firstly, iChat has been replaced with an application Apple calls Messages. Messages allows you to use AIM, Jabber, Yahoo! Messenger, and Google Talk, as well as iMessage, the free Apple service originally introduced on iOS that allows users to send and receive text messages without using SMS. Mac users and iOS users both text each other, making iMessage a fluid messaging experience. The beta version of iMessage is available as a free download from the Apple.com website.

Reminders, an app also introduced on the iOS platform is becoming a Mac feature. It allows users to create simple lists with tasks to do, as well as set a time for the app to remind you to do that tasks. A user can create custom lists, and fill them with tasks, as well as set a priority, repeat date, and add notes. With iCloud, all Reminders data is synced from the Mac the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and vice versa. Reminders had been integrated into iCal, but is now a separate and more simple app.

Notes is an app that has been on the iPhone since the very beginning, but is coming to the Mac as its own app for the first time. In addition to the simple note-taking abilities found in iOS, Notes for the Mac also allows you to add photos, videos, links, rich text, and bullet-points to make a more-robust note-taking platform. In Notes for the Mac, a user can also drag a note and pin in to the desktop.

Notification Center is another feature taken straight from iOS, and it looks almost exactly like the iOS version. Notification Center allows one to see and keep track of everything happening on the Mac. Any new emails, messages, calendar events, reminders, system updates, and even notifications from third-party apps will pop up non-intrusively at the top of the screen, and to see all of them in one glance, one can just swipe left from the right side of the track-pad, to view the Notification Center. Clicking on a notification will bring you directly to the proper place in the app.

One of iOS's least noticed feature is the ability to share photos, links, and more to various places with a tap. Mountain Lion brings this same feature to the Mac, called Share Sheets. Mountain Lion apps that integrate this feature will have the familiar share button, that, when clicked, will drop down a list of sharing options specific to that app.

Game Center, Apple's social gaming network launched originally for iOS is now coming to the Mac. Game Center allows players to play multiplayer games from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and now a Mac. Game Center also shows what games your friends are playing, and recommends new games a user might like. Game Center allows you to challenge friends in games, check out leader-boards, and earn achievements.

AirPlay mirroring, a feature found in the iPad that allows a user to hook up his device to any AirPlay supported device (such as an Apple TV), and mirror exactly whats happening on the screen, and put it on the big-screen, is now coming to the Mac in Mac OS X Mountain Lion. This can be used to play games, watch movies, or give conference presentations, all from the Mac.

A new feature that is specific to the Mac is called Gatekeeper. Gatekeeper is a security program for the Mac. Security is something that many think is not a problem on the Mac. For many years, due to the Mac's smaller market share, hackers and virus-authors kept away from the Mac, because Windows had a much bigger audience. However, with the Mac's market share slowly rising, bad guys see more potential in writing viruses for the Mac, and therefore viruses are becoming more common. Also, since there is this idea that the Mac is secure, users don't have software to protect themselves, and therefore are more likely to fall for a virus. Windows users, on the other hand, know of these insecurities, and are more likely to protect themselves. Gatekeeper is a really important feature that will help protect Mac users as malware becomes more common.

Mountain Lion is available now to registered Apple developers, and will be coming out for the public sometime this summer, but, like Apple did last time with their FaceTime app, a beta Messages app is available as a free download from the Apple website. Like Lion previously, Mountain Lion will probably be available as an upgrade for a relatively low price.

This is a major step forward in the evolution of the Mac OS X platform. Apple seems to be very set on slowly bringing Mac OS and iOS closer together. High-end users may feel that their desktop experience is dying, but all of the features found in the previous versions of Mac OS X are still there. Making Mac OS more like iOS is not taking away from the experience of a high-end user.

The iPhone and iPad seem to be very easy-to-learn platforms. Many people who could never operate a desktop computer can work an iPad fine, because of its intuitive user interface. Making Mac more like iOS can also be a great business move for Apple, because users who may never have touched a computer, but are familiar with iOS, will be more likely to get how to use a desktop computer, because of its similarities to the iPad.

This announcement not only lets us see what the next version of Mac OS X will look like, it lets us see Apple's strategy for the Mac, one that we will see in versions of Mac OS X for years to come.

Vizio's new all-in-one PC

2012-01-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Vizio, the popular television manufacturer, has always been set on making high-quality TVs at relatively low prices. Now they aim to do what they did for TVs to personal computers.

At the current Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Vizio announced a new line of personal computers, all running Windows, something that nobody would really expect from a television manufacturer. However, Vizio had been testing the waters of the more personal device market last year, when they announced their tablet device. They did not give much details as to the specs of the new devices, but CES attendees did get to play around with the new devices.

Vizio announced it's all-in-one PC. The computer is slick and has a minimalism design, and comes with a wireless keyboard and trackpad, stereo speakers, one for each side of the small base, and a remote.

The new Vizio all-in-one PC

The keyboard has a nice design, with large island style keys and a cool, modern-looking typeset. The large trackpad shares the same modern look as the keyboard. Technology blog The Verge reports that the touchpad was a bit finicky and didn't support multi-touch, but they say that those problems will probably be ironed out by the time the device is released.

The speakers are also beautifully designed. There are two individual stereo speakers, and a sub-woofer integrated into the base. Although we don't have too much experience with the device, we can assume that Vizio, also a manufacturer of home theater sound equipment, would put great care into the audio aspects of their computers.

The screen is available in 24 and 27 inch models, and is attached to a small base, where the "brains" of the computer are kept. The base has an SD card slot, a headphone jack, four USB ports, an Ethernet jack, an eSata drive, and a couple of HDMI ports. The HDMI port feature is interesting, as it allows the computer to be used as a TV, great for something like gaming or even watching regular TV (although the screen is quite small for that). However, Vizio decided not to include a TV tuner in the device, claiming that only 8% of people use the tuners in Vizio's actual television sets.

Vizio also announced a few laptops, but details on that are confusing. When asked about details, Vizio responded, "those are to come".

Overall, the new Vizio all-in-one seems like a great product, we still have no idea of the specs inside the device, or the price. Vizio does say that the all-in-one will be out in "Spring 2012".

Samsung's ChatON arrives in the AppStore.

2012-01-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

Samsung's SMS-free text messaging app, called ChatON, has finally hit the Apple AppStore, making it available on Android, Bada, and iOS. Blackberry, Windows Phone, and web support is still to come. Check out the app on the AppStore here, visit the website here, and read about what it does below.

Samsung is getting into the market that Apple, the maker of the iPhone, RIM, the maker of the BlackBerry, and Facebook are already in. Samsung, the maker of many popular mobile phones, "smart" and otherwise, introduced it's ChatON instant messaging service.

The ChatON service will allow users to send short messages to each other for free, including texts, photos, contacts, and calendar. The service will be available at first on Samsung devices running their "semi-smart" mobile operating system, called Bada.

A Samsung
device running Bada.

The service will later come as an app on Android and iOS devices. While the users of the Bada version will get the basic capabilities mentioned above, the users of the Android and iOS app will get some more advanced features, such as commenting on their friends profile pages, create special "animation messages", and keep track of how often they instant message.

Ho So Lee, Head of Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement, "With ChatON, Samsung has vastly simplified mobile communication by allowing users to connect to our upcoming feature phones and all major smartphones in the market. Users around the world can now enjoy easier and richer interactivity with whoever they want, in the format they want."

While the ChatON service seems like a pretty good idea, like I mentioned at the beginning of the post, Samsung is competing with some pretty big contenders. RIM's BlackBerry Messenger was recently revamped to become more "social", Apple has a similar service coming out soon on all iOS devices, called iMessage, and of course Facebook, with more than 750 million users, recently launched it's Facebook Messenger app for iOS, so Samsung's app will have to be pretty good to compete.

Samsung's ChatON service will make it's official debut later this week at Berlin's IFA Conference, and will be available in over 120 countries with 62 languages.

So, the ChatON service has a lot to compete with, but it's one of the only services available on more than one platform, with it's Bada, iOS, and Android apps. Overall, it seems like a great service, and I wish it luck in succeeding in the large world of IM services.

Check out the original article here.

Logitech Cube: Part computer mouse, part presenter, all great design.

2012-01-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

Since the computer mouse became mainstream, not much about it has. Multi-touch has probably been the latest change to the computer mouse. Until now. Computer mice were never more than computer mice. Until now.

The Logitech Cube

Logitech, the maker of many computer accessories, including keyboards and mice, wants to reinvent the computer mouse, or at least make a really cool one. They recently announced the Logitech Cube, a mouse/presenter hybrid with a really slick design.

Unlike any other mainstream mouse, the Cube is, as the name hints, a cube. It has a small and sleek rectangular design. Available in both black and white models, the Cube has a nice striped design. It uses an optical sensor at the bottom, and connects to your computer via a wireless USB dongle. The front of the device sports a on/off switch so that the device doesn't use power while not in use, as well as a USB port for easily charging the device.

To enable presentation mode, just lift the device off of the surface it's resting on, and the Cube will make the switch automatically.

No physical buttons are visible, but the entire top surface of the device is multi-touch, so the gestures you are familiar with from a smartphone will work seamlessly.

The cube will cost $69.99, and is already available for pre-order on the Logitech website.

Overall, the cube seems like a great device, with good features, a beautiful design, and a not-too-expensive price point. Now all we need is a matching keyboard so it doesn't look too out of place.

Read the press release here.

Google Currents: News made Beautiful

2011-12-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

Google recently announced their new news-aggregation application, called Google Currents. Currents allows users to browse many content providers (magazines, blogs, etc.), and add them to their Currents, where they would have easy access to their articles, as well as a beautiful way to browse what might interest you. Currents is available as a free app for iPhone and iPad, as well as both Android phones and tablets.

To add a publication, called by currents an "edition", you simply search for the content you want, or find it using the "featured" section, or from any of the categories, and add it to your currents. However, as this is a fairly new service, don't expect to find every publication that you read. Once you have added all of your desired editions, you can tap on any of them to view the content in a beautiful, minimalist design.

Publishers can add content via a simple webpage, and can choose to add more than just simple articles. Publishers can add an updating section based on an RSS feed, a photo section that pulls in from Flickr, a video section hooked up with YouTube, and even a social update section, with updates pulled in from Google+ or any other RSS or Atom feed.

Google Currents already has many great publishers using the service, including PBS, The Guardian, and Zagat, as well as many well-known online blogs. There is no cost to subscribing to any of the editions associated with Currents. Users can also import any RSS feed, as well as easily import their Google Reader subscriptions, to quickly fill the application with relevant content.

The one thing that makes Currents stand out the most from any other news service is the design. Google Currents' design is simple and elegant, making things easy to see, and making using the app an overall enjoyable experience. The one slightly disconcerting thing about the design and user interface is that, once in an edition, you can basically scroll sideways endlessly, as each article in an edition is laid out one after another, with the only thing distinguishing one article from another being the article's title. Although this works if you think of the content as a magazine, it can be confusing if you think as each article being a separate post.

Google Currents is currently not available outside the United States. It would make sense for Google to have plans to roll the service out elsewhere, but no such plans are released at this point, so those outside the United States will just have to wait and see.

Google Currents is free, so what is there to lose by trying it out? Download Google Currents for your iPhone, iPad, Android phone, or Android tablet, and, while you're at it, add Gadgetator to your list of followed editions by searching for us.

Watch the video below for more information about Google Currents.

Chrome OS: One Year Later

2011-12-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

I never really imagined this day coming. But it's here. It's one year after Gadgetator's first post ever. So much has happened since them, and a big thanks goes out to Leo Laporte, host of the nationally syndicated Tech Guy radio show, on which Gadgetator got it's big boost. But enough about my blog. Let's get right to what this post's really about.

One year ago, on this day, I posted an article talking about Google's announcement of the Cr48, one of the major advancements in Google's Chrome OS operating system. If you are unfamiliar with what Chrome OS is, read the article here. In that article, I promised I would post a follow up after playing a bit with Chrome OS. I never did. Until now.

A lot has happened with Chrome OS in the past year. For example, a Chrome OS screenshot one year ago (see figure 1), as apposed to a Chrome OS screenshot today (see figure 2). After actually using a device running solely Chrome OS for close to half-a-year, I have developed a new opinion, and I'm here to share that. I guess this article is an overview of Chrome OS: one year later.

Figure 1

In a short recap of what was said in Gadgetator's first ever article, Chrome OS is basically a computer that only has a web browser. When you first open it up, you get your homepage, opening a new tab brings you to a page that basically contains a grid of glorified bookmarks. To a bunch of web pages. This all sounds great and all, but there's one major disadvantage. You lose all of your native applications. No more Photoshop, Microsoft Word, or iTunes. Everything you do has to be done online. Some might say that's impossible. That this'll never work. On first sight, one year ago, that's what I said. I quote myself saying, "There are great web apps out there, but I believe that for this to be a success, there need to be more great web apps. And until we get some of the most widely used native applications online, Chrome OS will be for the very light computer user."

Figure 2

After using Chrome OS almost exclusively for half-a-year, it's apparent I've changed my mind. You see, I was kind of pushed into using Chrome OS. Google offered its Cr48 to a limited number of beta testers to get feedback for the final product. I was one of those lucky recipients.

Not wanting to just toss aside something I received for free, plus taking into account what Google actually intended for me to do with the device, I decided to give it a fair try. I never really went back.

I was already stuck in the Google Universe. I used Gmail, Google Docs, Google Reader, and many other online alternatives to native desktop apps. As soon as I switched to Chrome OS, I found it surprisingly easy to find great online alternatives to any desktop apps that I need. Because I have a "real" computer, I could even print directly from Chrome OS using Cloud Print. Of course, I gave up some conveniences, but I believe that was a fair price to pay for the simplicity I now gained. No complex files, programs messing up your system, virus issues, or any other junk that comes along with a Windows or Mac computer. I couldn't have used this as my only computer, I still use iTunes regularly, but it definitely works a great, simple replacement.

The Samsung Chromebook

Google now licences Chrome OS to manufacturers, who created their own 'Chromebooks'. Currently, both Samsung and Acer have a few models, which run from about $300-$450. At that price, it might be smarter to get a low-end Windows machine, but if you're willing to pay that price for simplicity's sake, it may be worth it. I think that, at this point, Chrome OS and the Chromebooks are great for either simple-computer users who don't want to be confused by the complexities of a "real" operating system, or to be used as a companion to a "real" computer, as Chrome OS has a clean interface, amazing boot time, and easy access to the web.

Have you played with Chrome OS or the Cr48? Did you take the plunge and buy a Chromebook? What are your experiences with Google's Chrome OS? Like it? Drop a comment below with your experiences.

iPod Nano Watchbands

2011-11-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

The latest version of the iPod Nano, the 6th generation, is a pretty cool and sleek device, but from almost the day it came out, people have been using it as a watch face. The device is the right shape and size, and has a perfect clock feature built in. But you can't use a Nano as a watch without a watchband.

The original Nano watch band was made out of a cheap rubber material, and was more like a wristband than a watchband. Soon, more and more watchbands were being sold, and the iPod Nano watch evolved from a rubber bracelet, to something you'd expect to find on a regular watch.

If you have a 6th generation iPod Nano, and want to use it as a watch, we'll go through the best bands at the best deals.

The HEX Original Watch Band

1. The HEX Original Watch Band

This is the simple, but high quality watch band. Available in nine different colors, there's sure to be one that matches your taste. The HEX features a silicone strap, an easy pop-in, pop-out design, and even has built in button controls. At $29.99, the HEX isn't the cheapest option out there, but it looks cool, functions well, and is an all-around good deal. You can pick one up at shophex.com or at Amazon.

2. The iWatchz Timepiece Leather Watch Band

The iWatchz Timepiece is a more high end watchband model, and features a beautiful leather band, unlike the HEX, the iWatchz itself doesn't cover the iPod's buttons and use buttons of it's own, rather it uses a "unique patent-pending clip system that uses the iPod Nano's own built-in clip". This makes the watch look a lot more elegant, especially if you have a Nano with a not-so-colorful color. The beautiful design, however, does not come without a price tag, and this band will set you back $89.95. The iWatchz Timepiece is sold at iWatchz.com, or at Amazon.

3. The LunaTik Lynk

Probably the most high end watchband out there, the LunaTik Lynk is an extremely elegant watchband that would easily pass for a regular watch. Made of aerospace grade aluminum, this watch band is both sturdy and beautiful. The Lynk is available in silver and blackout, at $129.95 and $139.95 respectively. The beautiful design will match even the nicest, most elaborate clothing. It is not available immediately, but can be picked up for pre-order at LunaTik.com.

In this article, we cover three great watchbands in three different price ranges. However, there are many more great watchbands that may fit your needs better. Before making your purchase decision, please check out the websites of the companies we covered in the article, to view their wide selection of watchbands. The websites are shophex.com, iwatchz.com, and lunatik.com.

Have any other watchbands you've tried and like? Tried any of the bands we covered? Like them? Hate them? Leave a comment below with feedback.