Tech Gadget Daily

The iPad’s arrival is just days away and already a handful of reviews have trickled out on the Net.  Why we don’t have one in our hands or why we haven’t ordered one is largely due to its lack of flash compatibility.  But if you still haven’t hit the order button, or started to stand in line here is the review breakdown by our friends at Gizmodo.

WSJ’s Walt Moseberg iPad Review
USA Today’s Edward Baig iPad Review
New York Times‘ David Pogue iPad Review
PC Mag’s Tim Gideon iPad Review
Houston Chronicle’s Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus iPad Review
BoingBoing’s Xeni Jardin iPad Review
Chicago Sun-Times‘ Andy Ihnatko iPad Review
The Root’s Omar Wasow iPad Review

Replacing batteries on my remote controls is something I rarely do.  I still have the original AA’s in my Onkyo Amp remote from 2004.  For those who want to totally abandon all batteries in their living room, the Powerplus Solar Remote Control can be yours for the taking.

The remote is universal and and uses artificial light as well as natural sunlight to power the internal lithium Ion battery.  Super easy to program, you can buy one now for $15.

Read

So while the majority of us don’t have the hardware to support a USB 3.0 device, companies are still making these future forward gadgets.  PQI has a new line of USB 3.0 Hard Drives for your time capsule under the model name of H566.

Boasting 10x the transfer speeds of USB 2.0, the drives are available in 320GB, 500GB and 640GB of storage capacities and comes with the security software called Ur Fortress.  The PQI H566 is of course USB 2.0 backward compatible and measures in at 2.5 inches in length.  No word yet on pricing or availability.  Anybody care?

Read

ASUS continues their PC onslaught with a new line-up of all-in-one desktops under their EeeTop line. Every model has a wall-mountable 1-inch thick design, DVD drive, and 20-inch, 1600X900 display, with the two premium ones having multi-touch ability. HDDs range from 160GB to 500GB, RAM is either 1GB OR 2GB, and the GPUs span an integrated Intel GMA, ATI Radeon HD 5470, and NVIDIA Ion 2. The ET2010AG model features an ADM Athlon II processor., while the ET2010PNT sports an AtomD510. Looks like these would be perfect in the kitchen or office.

Pricing and availability are currently unavailable.

Read

Wireless carriers — no matter who you use, there’s always something to complain about. Sprint is trying to get their name off that list with a new 30-Day Money Back Guarantee that is apparently staying for good. The deal allows any customer to open up a new line of service for a month, and if they’re unsatisfied once it’s over, they’ll be refunded everything: the device cost, the service and activation fee…everything. Wow. Sounds like a good way to draw in new customers to me.

The new deal starts tomorrow.

Read

The iPad will be here in just a couple days — you made sure to preorder it, right? As you might be aware, the device supports Bluetooth keyboards for typing out those long e-mails, but it needs something to stand on while doing so. Apple’s selling a keyboard that has a built-in support, but what if you already own a wireless Apple keyboard?

That’s where TwelveSouth’s BookArc comes in. The aluminum-constructed device acts as a sturdy stand for your iPad that allows you to use whatever Bluetooth keyboard you want. Its design allows easy access to the iPad’s home button. Sounds pretty darn useful to me.

The BookArc’s will cost $40, but availability is stil unknown at this time.

UPDATE: TwelveSouth just reached out. The BookArc will be shipping in 2-3 weeks.

Read

Universal remotes awe me with their many buttons and awesome power, but they’re usually pretty darn expensive. Logitech is helping to fix that with its new Harmony 300 remote, which comes in at under a hundred dollars. It connects to your computer through MyHarmony.com and painlessly finds the devices you want to control. From there, you can sit back and be the ultimate couch potato.

The Logitech Harmony 300 will be on sale for $49.99 this April.

Read

Continuing in the long line of clothes with electronics stuck on them comes this cool e-mail experiment. The t-shirt lights up when a new e-mail arrives, also displaying the amount  in your inbox. The device consists of a an Arduino Lilypad micrcontroller, conductive thread, LEDs, and a Bluetooth dongle that communicates with an Android-running smartphone. Geeky resourcefulness factor? High. Chance someone will actually wear this outside? TBD.

Video after the ‘leap’ (more…)

The best way for me to wake up in the morning is to scroll through my emails.  It engages my brain, gets me reading and reminds me of all the things I need to do.  If email is the last thing you want to look at upon opening your eyes, then perhaps the Twist Alarm Clock is more up your alley.

It works just like any regular alarm clock, but in order to shut it off you must twist two of the three dials (the third dial sets the functions) to solve the math problem at hand.  To be honest, I can’t tell you what the math problem will be since the page’s description is totally unclear, but I assure you that this will definitely get your noggin in gear.

Some of the Twist Alarm Clock’s other functions include a snooze function, backlit display and the date.

You can pick one up from Japan Trend Shop for $50.

Read

The Zune HD wasn’t a huge hit upon its release, and while I doubt it will ever be as popular as the iPod family, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a nice product. Microsoft is still supporting the device and has announced a 64GB version, while reducing the prices of the 16GB and 32GB models. Maybe that will draw new customers to the sleek OLED-display device.

The new Zune comes in a wide variety of colors:  Black, Blue, Red, Green, Purple, Platinum, and Magenta. In addition, the 16GB and 32GB Zunes will now be $199.99 and $269.99, respectively. Meanwhile, the Zune HD 4.5 firmware is expected soon, and new details on it will be coming out this week.

The 64GB Zune HD hits April 12th for $349.99. (more…)