CES 2010 Overview

I had such a fabulous time at the Consumer Electronics Show 2010 (CES) this year. It was a huge conference and I know I didn’t get to see everything. I spent most of my time in the 3 major halls, hoping to cover all the latest in technology for you! Here’s an overview of some things I really enjoyed at the show. Posts about each one in greater detail to come!

• EnTourage Edge a ebook reader/tablet hybrid
• Lenevo Ideapad Hybrid – new laptop and tablet in one!
• Nokia Booklet 3g is Nokia’s new netbook
• Cocoon Innovations has some nice and stylish bags for all your gadgets. These bags also come with GRID-IT! organization system that I really like. New bags are not on the website yet.
• Case Mate – launched a new line called “I make My Case” where you can design your own case from famous artist’s artwork.
• (*)Speck launched some lines of iPhone/iPod Touch cases — Fitted ArstProjekt, Fitted, and Satin Skin.
• Gelaskins has some beautiful artwork for your devices.
• Tru Protection – has some very nice anti-glare screen protectors for various mobile devices.
• ZipCar is a similar to a rent-a-car service, but no attendants are needed. You just pick up the car at your reserved time and go. They now have an iPhone app where you can reserve the cars.
• AlgebraPrep is a series of new iPhone/iPod Touch apps to help students prepare for Algebra math classes.
• Parrot AR.Drone is a wifi helicopter with 2 cameras on it. You can play it with augmented reality games on your iPhone / iPod Touch!
• OnStar iPhone App – launched last at CES that lets you control your Chevy volt with your iPhone.
• Lego Universe is a new massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) coming out that uses Lego people!
• NVIDIA 3D Vision allows gaming in 3d. Supercool. More..

This is my list of fun stuff at CES 2010, what were your favorite gadgets?

Nexus One Phone and Droid

Here’s a photo I took over my holiday break. I ran into a friend/Google Employee who had the lovely Nexus One. The Nexus One is on the left, and the Droid is on the right side.

The major differences are:

• Nexus One had a newer version of Android OS which displays the photo/video galleries much nicer, smoother transitions, and better widgets than the Droid
• Hardware-wise, Nexus One doesn’t have a slide-out keyboard.
• Nexus One is only available on the T-Mobile network now, unless you buy an unlocked phone, whereas the Droid is on Verizon.
• The Nexus One is much lighter.

For more information about Google’s Nexus One phone, see their official website and check out DroidDoes.com for more information about the Droid..

I personally think both phones are very nice if you are comfortable with the Android OS. The preferred phone carrier would be the deciding factor for the two phones. Both come with the Google Maps Navigation system, so that alone is worth getting either phones. If you like the Nexus One, Verizon will get it in the Spring. If you want it now, go with T-mobile or buy an unlocked phone. ;)

Geeky Gifts for Your Holiday Shopping List

Trying to find the perfect gift for a particular geek? Lucky you, I hand-picked a few geeky items to help you with your holiday shopping list. Good luck this holiday season!

Book Geek

Kindle Wireless Reading Device
Perfect for the bookworm friend. They can carry their library with the – up to 1,500 books! This is actually something I’m saving up for. It’d be nice to be able to carry my library right in my purse. The built-in PDF Reader is perfect for my documents as well.

The Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (9.7″ Display) is also available in the US Only.

Some of my favorite books are also available in Kindle edition:

• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)
• Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
• The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Movie Tie-in Edition (rack) (Narnia)
• Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Gadget Geek

Flip Ultra Camcorder 2nd Generation, 120 Minutes (White)
Perfect for capturing the most memorable holiday moments. Currently on sale for $99, was $149.

iHome iP27BR Portable Travel Alarm Clock For ipod (Black)
I own this iPhone travel alarm clock / charger / speaker gadget and I absolutely love it! It charges my iPhone when I’m asleep and the big display of the clock is perfect when I wake up. Not to mention, my music sounds great on it. There’s a small remote to control what’s playing.

Geek Gamer

The Beatles: Rock Band (for Wii / PS3 / Xbox 360)
Geek gamers and music geeks alike would love this. It’s the perfect entertainment for any party!

Wii Gaming Console
This is my favorite gaming console! I especially love it because of Wii Sports and Wii Fit! And I can’t wait for my Wii Fit Plus to arrive!

PlayStation 3
Looking for a great Blu-Ray player? This one serves both gaming and movie viewing purposes! Adding this to my wishlist. :)

Nintendo DSi
Perfect gaming device when traveling with kids. Comes in a variety of colors. My favorite educational DS games are Brain Age and Big Brain.

Apple iPod touch 8 GB (3rd Generation)
Believe it or not, my iPhone and iPod Touch are my mobile gaming consoles! There are plenty of games in the iTunes store to keep anyone busy. There’s also productive and educational apps as well. :)

Movie & TV Geek

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy & BD-Live)
Know of a Harry Potter fan? Pre-order the latest movie for only $15.99.

Star Trek (Single-Disc Edition)
Who doesn’t love Star Trek?!

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2
This show will have you laughing for hours! Happy geeks watch The Big Bang Theory. :)

Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray]
Great movie for the whole family!

The Guild: Seasons 1 & 2
Great and funny show about a group of online gamers.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
A musical about heroes and blogging!

(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar (feat. Felicia Day)
Awesome song about online gaming.

Geek Traveler

ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook – 10.5 Hour Battery Life

Know of a geek who’s always on the go? Why not make their luggage lighter with this netbook? It’s only 2.9 lbs, $335.56, and has a 1.3 MP webcam and 10.5 hours of battery life. It’s actually small enough to fit in a purse. ;) Available in black and blue.

Photo Geek

Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD
Canon Powershots are just amazing. I love the size and quality of photos taken from them. This one has a nice big viewing LCD and 3x optical zoom, and comes in a variety of colors. Available for $149! Also, for a limited time, the camera will come with a free 4 GB SD memory card!

XShot Camera Extender – Black (XS2379)
Perfect for taking pictures when no one is around. Also a great gift of the geek traveler.

Joby GP1-EPEN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod (Pink)
I absolutely LOVE my gorillapod. It’s perfect when I want to record videos (especially time lapsed ones) or take a timed photo. Get creative and put your camera on a bike or tree for different angles. It comes in a variety of colors.

Transcend 8 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card
Perfect for the super shutterfly! He/She will never run out of memory again! Just make sure their camera takes SD cards before buying!

Geek Wardrobe

Well, geeks need clothes too. Here are a few items that speaks their language!

OMG Pwnies Tee – my favorite ladies’ geek t-shirt.

There’s No Place Like 127.0.0.1 T-Shirt – because there is no place like home!

Geek Love Poem T-shirt – because you’re the CSS to my HTML!

SQL query – laughs.

Newbie – for the geeklings!

Creative and Artistic Geek

Wacom Intuos3 6 x 8-Inch Pen Tablet
Although there’s a higher model of the tablet, I think this model is great for the money. I personally use this model on a day-to-day basis and I love it. The Wacom Intuos4 Medium Pen Tablet is also available for a bit more.

Cricut 29-0001 Personal Electronic Cutting Machine
This personal cutting machine is perfect for the paper crafters and scrapbookers. No computer is required for operating this.

Still can’t pick a gift? Why not get them an Amazon Gift Certificate and let them pick themselves! They’re perfect for purchasing mp3s, Kindle books, or anything on Amazon. iTunes Gift Certificates are awesome as well!

La Crosse Technology Power Battery Charger on Sale!

Amazon has the La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger on sale for $24.99 today only. Its usually around $33-$35. We use it for charging the AAs on our Canon SLR and Nintendo Wii remotes. The nice feature with this charger is that it has a display on how much of the battery is actually getting charged. For instance, we had a batch of batteries that are rated at “2600 mAh” but only charge up to 1500 mAh. This information is useful since it would have led to a much shorter life on our camera flash. The charger also features a refresh feature to help extend the battery life.

This is a guest post written by Albert from Albertech.net.

My New iPhone 3Gs!

It’s a boy.. and a girl! @dragonal and I finally made the plunge to get iPhones tonight. We waited for a very long time. I’ve been using my iPod Touch for the past few years to test out apps, but having an iPhone is much more convenient. Now I don’t have to worry about finding wifi hotspots for certain apps. The important upgrade was actually having a camera, and the auto-focus on the new one is quite nice.

We arrived at the Apple Store (made an appointment online first of course), and they gave us a ticket and said someone will be with us soon. The moment the guy stepped away, another Apple Genius came by and took our tickets. Very fast service! After filling out the online form to get the first phone activated, the Apple Genius got a glimpse of @dragonal’s HTC Magic (G2) phone and was so excited about it. LOL He kept wanting to take it to show his friends. I guess they see nothing but iPhones all day huh? ;) Well, there’s a geek moment for you!

Then the second phone was activated. The Apple Genius mentioned something about 6 hours before everything is moved over — not surprised because the last time I changed services, it took 24 hours. Surprisingly, the moment after I was given back the phone, it was all activated and both voice + data worked. Wow. So activation probably took 1 or 2 minutes! We were in and out of the Apple Store in no time.

Afterward, we sat down on a nearby bench, downloading apps. Our phones felt naked. ;) I’m a very happy camper. Now I just need to buy accessories, like a car-charger. My iPod Touch car-charger apparently is not made for the iPhone.

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Canon or Nikon? ;)

So, which do you choose? Canon or Nikon? I was just happy to have them both in my hands. haha

Canon EOS 40D

This just came in the mail today! My newest gadget is now the Canon EOS 40D. I absolutely love it. The battery was still being charged, so I haven’t done any test shots with it yet. But I’m very excited to use it for the next wedding that I’m attending!

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