Next you may think of the LG Dare, exclusive through the Verizon network. This phone is unique because it has a sensor in it that tells if you are holding it vertically or horizontally. A true standout feature with this phone is the 3.2 megapixel camera, which is amongst the best for camera phones.

BlackBerry is even on the verge of releasing the BlackBerry “Thunder” or it could be known as the Blackberry 9500 when it becomes available to the public. When this phone hits the market it will simply add to the amount of phones that could act as alternatives to the iPhone. The new BlackBerry will sport a hybrid CDMA/EV-DO. It may even come with a 4G LTE component. Verizon and Vondaphone stand to be the exclusive carriers of this impressive looking phone.

Rest assured that there will only be more and more alternatives showing up on the market. Cell phones have seen a new day and the iPhone had the largest contribution to this trend. Just like the Motorola StarTac was the first created the flip phone. A trend that saw a near end to standard phones that were, at the time, the only game in town. Boy how times have changed.

In terms of physical appearance, the new iPhone 3G is nearly identical to its first model. Significantly, the biggest change in its look is found at the bottom part, which is now completely covered in high-grade, scratch resistant plastic, as opposed to the 2G’s aluminum and plastic combination. This is actually an improvement, as it contributes to a better GPS reception, which, incidentally, is what the 3G is all about. This smartphone’s GPS functionality is not problematic, compared to other fun gadgets where you’d have to struggle with getting a signal. Reception for the 3G is expectedly much clearer. Before its release the iPhone 3G was promised to have improved sound quality and it does deliver. Only slightly taller and thicker than the 2G, the back side of the 3G is slightly curved, too. This makes handling of it a little easier.

The screen of the 3G is a bit warmer, almost yellowish, than its predecessor. And it isn’t exactly a plus factor for someone with a less-improved vision. The interface loading time is noticeably slower compared to the 2G, especially when browsing the contact apps. Although both these observations are nothing that firmware upgrade should fix.

The usual features are, of course, still there and very much handy, user-friendly and stylish. Gaming capabilities mimic a Wii-like control and some of its choiced applications are pretty cool. The iPhone 3G is both and MP3 and MP4 player with a 2mp camera that most users would love having. Its supreme web browsing function and compatibility with third-party software makes it one of the ultimate must-have fun gadgets for 2008.

Now for the critical part — the battery life. Unfortunately, the iPhone 3G isn’t quite a fun gadget when it comes to this aspect. While twiddling with the 3G over the weekend, it unbelievably only lasted a little over four hours after continuous talking, texting, web surfing, a little internet surfing and one movie. Using the 3G under normal circumstances should ease battery life to about six, eight hours or so, but one can’t help but pay close attention to it all the time. Hopefully, the phone doesn’t die while outdoors and without the convenience of a dock charger. Because it’s still a new release, Apple should have something in store to correct this inconvenience soon.

Are you thinking of buying a portable device to play both your music and video collection? If you are, then be advised — you will find that there are a variety of choices out there. They can range from simple players to complicated ones.  They carry different prices, too, which make the choices even harder.  But admittedly, the most popular and most coveted of gadgets in this type is the iPod Touch. Anyone looking to buy a digital media player would always inquire about this one first.

What are the pluses and minuses of an iPod touch? How different is it from a regular iPod?

The iPod Touch is Apple’s first widescreen display device. Most satisfied users would describe it as almost like an iPhone, stripped and diminished of its features and cosmetics. It’s not as expensive, too.

The iPod Touch’s interface is very user-friendly, even beginners will never have a hard time figuring out how everything works.  Most of the time, it only takes one tap.  File transferring from PC to the gadget is also very simple and seamless — it’s your basic drag and drop.

The gadget includes several updated applications and most everyone will agree that this is the iPod Touch’s strongest suit. With access to iTunes, your media library remains up to date with the best collections of music, TV Shows, movies, audio books or games.  The catch though is, Apple does not allow for any other software installation for this device. So others may see this as a limitation rather than a plus.

Although this is priced higher than other gadgets, the iPod Touch’s capability and capacity may well worth be the money you spend for.  The biggest concern is actually its battery life, which doesn’t seem to favor longer usage like many of Apple’s gadgets. It also has a very costly battery replacement program. If you’re thinking of getting this, you have to factor in this added cost.

The MacBook Air makes history by becoming the first thinnest laptop released in the market. But it isn’t exactly the first lightest portable computer. However, weight, size and form are important facets to someone looking to carry around a gadget like this; which is why when Apple announced the features of the MacBook Air, a lot of people were no doubt impressed by its beautiful make-up.

The problem with thin and light laptops or ultra portables like this, though, is that certain features may have to be sacrificed such as durability, screen and keyboard size, performance and battery life. How does the MacBook Air gauge when it comes to this?

In many ways, the MacBook Air is basically just a thinner MacBook. Both have identical screens and not a lot of its features have been altered for its thinnest, more stunning cousin.  Basically no thicker than about .76 inch with solid aluminum casing, the 13.3” notebook just weighs less than three pounds.  Despite its thinness, this one is actually of durable construction and should survive a lot of abuse from daily usage.

With its 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7500 processor, its performance is reasonable and adequate.  But then, the MacBook Air is the slowest computer in the current Mac lineup.  You can opt to increase this for a faster processor but it will set you back $3100. Apparently, this is the sacrifice Apple has made in order to bring this ultra-thin device to its consumers.  

The 80GB hard drive provides good storage space, when you’re travelling but it isn’t good enough to store your collection of music, TV shows and movies from iTunes. 

The 13.3” glossy screen offers sharp colors and contrast; it even comes with a very helpful backlight. Compared to some laptops of virtually the same size, there is no graininess to this laptop. But then again this isn’t also ideal for HD video viewing.

Its keyboard pad provide excellent cushion and this area has always been perfected by Apple. There are some missing dedicated keys for the MacBook air, though, but the backlit feature is a nice touch.

Audio to this ultra thin device is actually bearable but if you’re not a fan of monospeakers then you will not find this satisfactory. The audio output, on the other hand, delivers no static and listening to sounds via a headphone or an earphone is more enjoyable.

MacBook Air carries a 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery, sealed into its body. It’s supposed to provide “5 hours of wireless productivity” as Apple says, but that isn’t quite accurate.

In conclusion, the MacBook air is definitely very impressive in design and features but the innovation has severely limited its capability. It’s a sexy, stunning gadget alright, but it’s not the most powerful one around.

1- Simple connection through a USB port on your notebook.

2- Extremely low power consumption with no need for batteries or a power adapter.

3- Ball Bearing fans for reliability that are very quiet operating at a noise volume of 26db.

4- Your choice of color standard black/silver or pearl.

5- Antec provides a 3 year warranty on this product.

This item is extremely easy to use and can accomodate any style and size PC or MAC laptop computer.  Place your notebook on top of the Antec Coolor and plug it in to a USB port with the pass-through connector that is included so you will not lose one of your valuable USB ports.  The two ball-bearing fans will spin up and provide your precious laptop with ample cool air.

Priced between $12.99-$19.99 this simple device can help you increase the longevity of your notebook computer while reducing the heat buildup that causes system crashes and hardware failure.  For such a small investment this product is well worth it and does what it was designed to do by cooling your notebook computer and the electronic parts inside.

Many people just aren’t aware of the damage that heat can cause electronic components and I would highly recommend this device to protect your expensive notebook computer investment.

POSITIVES
1- Wireless connectivity with automatic delivery of newspapers and blogs from around the world.
2- Instant download of more than 140,000 books.
3- Small, light weight form factor that easy to carry around.
4- Email documents and images to the device.
5- Integrated memory that stores approximately 200 books.
6- Rechargeable battery that is user replaceable and lasts on average for a week.
7- Free book samples that you can download and read the first chapter before deciding to buy it.
8- Built-in keyboard for notes, email and searching.

NEGATIVES
1- Wireless Internet connection limited to the United States.
2- Books, newspapers and even blogs cost money.  Most of the books run between $5-$10, which is a savings compared to buying a paperback or hard cover.
3- No back light for the screen.  You must have ample light just as if you were reading a regular book.
4- Awkward design results in various buttons being pressed while reading.
5- Price! Extremely expensive for a device that has a grayscale display.

The Amazon Kindle would be best suited for people that read a lot and want a quick and effective way to store and download a vast array of reading materials, with no need for a computer.  Travelers would also be likely to enjoy the product if they wanted to fork out the dough.  Amazon has recently dropped the price of the Kindle to $359 since it was released.

Weighing in on all the advantages and disadvantages makes me wonder how long this technology will last.  I think it is too soon to decide if the Amazon Kindle and other eBook readers will survive.  For this device to become mainstream, the price must plummet to about $100 and then I still don’t know if this would become a product every household will have or even want.  With the explosion of the Internet, the iPhone and Ultra Mobile PC’s, I would predict this device is headed for extinction.  Only time and demand will tell.

You can do everything from listen to music to go online with your iPhone. You can blog from your phone, talk to your friends and get all the latest information from the world right in the palm of your hand. Are you on Twitter? You can send messages straight from your iPhone to your Twitter using Twitterific. The new iPhone is faster, and with the apps store, you can make your phone do whatever it is you want to do. Everything from buying and selling on eBay to playing fun games. Talk about your fun gadgets!

This is more than just another phone. The cons to this new phone? None. Other than the fact you might end up playing more with your phone than actually working! Now that is a problem! The new iPhone starts at $199, which I know is no small number, but with the amount of things you can do with your new iPhone, it might just be the right price for you. If you can’t upgrade your current iPhone now, you can always upgrade your current phone, but why wouldn’t you want to buy the new iPhone 3G? It is the latest of fun gadgets in the marketplace, and you just know everyone is going to want one! You can get yours today.

This wireless data exchange concept is very similar to a few designs we’ve seen already, but Postmachina is going to be manufacturing a wireless device called Project E that holds your personal information and swaps it when it comes into contact with another, similar device. In essence, it can hold all the info on your business card, plus other data (maybe even social networking information) and transfer it to other people you meet at trade shows or other events.

After doing tests with Bluetooth, Postmachina’s director, Renato Valdes Olmos, decided to make their own set of wireless protocols in order to swap information—which can then be synced with a computer and imported into various social networking sites like LinkedIn or Twitter. If this Project E can be made robust and foolproof that it will work without even thinking about it, we could see a huge market for it everywhere. But if Postmachina can take this tech and insert it into cellphones, something people already carry on them, that would be a revolution.

Since the 1980s, cities like Guiyu, China, have been taking in electronic waste from other countries for dismantlement and processing. It’s great for other countries, but takes a huge toll on the people managing the effort because of the “metal extraction of circuit boards” and “open dumping of waste and ash residue into open water”. It’s made the well water and ground water of Guiyu undrinkable, and has to be trucked in from other villages. The lead poisoning level in children is 69%.