New tablets coming soon

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was held in Las Vegas earlier this month and one of the key topics was tablet computers. The Apple iPad is the current leader in this area for now, and will probably continue in the top spot for some time due to Apple’s fantastic, almost magical marketing efforts. There are some great new tablets coming out this year and I believe these devices will help continue the force of mobile computing and could easily replace laptops in the near future. Here are some of my favorites plus one smartphone that acts a bit like a laptop.

The top pick for tablets at CES was the Motorola Xoom – see image to the righ. This tablet will have a little bigger screen than the Apple iPad and weigh less too. It will run the new version of Android for tablets called Honeycomb. The Xoom will have dual core Nvidia Tegra2 processor (it’ll be fast) plus front-facing and rear cameras (the current iPad doesn’t have cameras).   The release date for the Xoom is scheduled for some time this coming April. See more below via the Motorola Xoom video:

Asus announced a few tablets at CES including the Asus Eee Pad Slider, Asus Eee Pad Transformer and the Asus Eee Pad MeMo.  The first two are comparable in size, computing power, and will also run Honeycomb like the Xoom, but also have some extras (see video below). The MeMo is a 7″ tablet with a capacitive touch screen but still runs Honeycomb. The Transformer should be out in April and the Slider in May.

The Motorola Atrix smartphone is more than just a phone. You have to see this in action, watch the video below!

TiVo News

Hulu Plus is indeed coming to TiVo Premiere sometime soon, but if you acquired your TiVo box from your cable provider, hang on. Hulu Plus and Netflix will NOT be available to those of your who acquired your TiVo from your cable provider due to licensing issues. Read more about this at ars technia.

The TiVo app for iPad is now available. This app turns your iPad into a remote control for your TiVo and allows you to manage, search, browse, and schedule – all from your iPad. See the video below for details:

TiVo Premiere has had a dramatic price drop too. You can purchase TiVo Premiere from Best Buys for $99.99. That’s a great deal for a great DVR!

Technology in 2011

What can we expect to see in technology in 2011? This is the time of year for predictions and such. As always, I want to provide information helpful to you, the average Joe consumer, so I will focus on those areas. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information:

1. Smartphones will commonly have dual core processors – the first one has already been released.
2. Android operating system on smartphones will continue to grow and become the largest smartphone OS in the United States, by market share.
3. The price on HD TV’s will continue to decline, especially for Plasma and LCD televisions.
4. 3D TV’s will improve and some will no longer require glasses
5. Tablet computers (like the iPad) will see tremendous growth this year. The iPad will have a new version released with front and rear cameras and hundreds of competing products will be released, most will be Android based but some will be Windows 7 based.
6. Car manufacturers will focus more on integrating smartphones into the vehicle. Ford has done a good job of this with the Ford SYNC system, but we will see more manufacturers do this also.
7. Laptop prices will continue to drop, but not dramatically. This will be due to tablets and smartphones infringing on this space. Remember, for most people, you should not pay more than $500 for a laptop. See my post on The Most Laptop for Your Money, for more information.
8. Android segmentation will continue – this means we will see smartphones running various versions of Android.
9. TiVo will continue to grow due to the low price and partnerships with companies like Virgin.
10. We will see the iPhone available on other carriers, in addition to AT&T

Have fun with this information and don’t take it too seriously. Happy New Year everyone!

HDMI cables – do you really need to pay more?

In short, no you don’t. You can buy a 6 foot HDMI cable from Radio Shack this week for $9.99 and you’ll have a great picture on your high definition television. I personally would not pay more to have gold plated cables or an expensive branded cable.

Remember, HDMI is going to provide the best quality picture on your HD TV, it’s digital, and it provides both audio and video. The next best quality video connection choices are as follows:

1. DVI
2. Component video
3. S-Video
4. Composite video

Google Maps 5.0 now available on Android Market

Google maps 5.0 is a significant update for Android. First, if you’re running Android 2.0 or higher, you will gain offline caching of maps and 3D vector graphics. Offline caching of maps will help Google Navigation if you lose your connection to Google. The vector graphics are much lighter weight and provide 3D rendering of maps.

Check out the video below for further details:

Great comparison of Gingerbread, Froyo and Eclair

Credit to @TheDroidGuy for this great post! Click here.

Smartphone apps for safe driving

Using your smartphone while driving can be very dangerous, especially texting. See the article here about distracted driving from Vlingo.com. Many states have laws against texting while driving and using your smartphone without a hands-free device (headset or speakerphone). Please review the following smartphone applications to help you be safe while driving:

1. Vlingo
2. Google Navigation with voice actions
3. Pandora
4. SafeCell
5. ParkDroid (ok, not for driving, but you get the idea)

Vlingo

Vlingo is free and available on most Blackberry phones, iPhones, Android phones, Windows phones and Nokia phones. The best way to tell you about Vlingo is to watch this video:

Vlingo’s InCar feature is new and can be configured to automatically turn on when it detects a bluetooth connection. It can enable SafeReader so text and/or email messages are read to you while driving. You can reply to text messages by voice, without touching your phone.

Google Navigation with voice actions

Google Navigation is currently available only for Android smartphones. This application is free and is included with most Android smartphones. You can also download it from the Android Market.

Google Navigation provides spoken turn by turn directions, traffic information, and voice search. Google voice actions extends the capability further to allow the user to text by voice, launch selected music, create an email and more. Watch the video to learn more about Google Navigation:

Pandora

OK, so maybe Pandora won’t help you be safe, but it will help the time pass and make your commute more enjoyable. Pandora is free and available on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm Pre and Windows Mobile. You setup your own “radio station” based on your music preferences and Pandora plays similar music via your smartphone. Connect your smartphone to your car’s speaker system if you can to get the best experience. See the video below for more information:

SafeCell

SafeCell is not a free application, it costs $12 per year, but you actually earn credits redemmable at many retail stores while driving safely. This application is available on iPhone and Android. To summarize, this application uses your phones GPS to determine where you are and then it knows the state’s laws for safe driving. Once you are moving over 5 mph, your phone is disabled so you cannot talk or text while driving. You then earn credits for safe driving. See the full review at GeekSugar.

ParkDroid

Once you are done driving, you need to park your car. Another app that is related to this story and can help you find your parked car is ParkDroid (available only on Android smartphones). This is a free application also. See full review here.