New Gadget 2011

When it comes to IT, Ohio's Department of Developmental Disabilities (DoDD) wants innovation. So when the agency's IT manager went looking for a way to manage the new virtual desktop infrastructure, he looked for innovative solutions. "In our agency, we know we have to innovate. And one of the ways we work is we look for innovators in the industry," says Kipp Bertke, IT manager for the Ohio DoDD, which oversees a system of support services for 80,000 people with developmental disabilities.It was...

As one of the largest hospitality companies in the world, Marriott has over 3,500 lodging properties in the U.S. and 69 other countries and territories, and a daily workload of over 750,000 new reservations. Transaction throughput must be rapid, unfailing and 24/7. If problems arise, failover must be swift and absolute.Simultaneously, business intelligence systems must be able to "right fit" pricing and accommodations for customers during transactions--and the systems must have the ability to extend...

Specializing in life insurance, annuities and disability income protection products, LV 1871 (Die Lebensversicherung von 1871 a. G. Munchen) is a mid-sized, Munich-based insurer with over 8,500 independent agents throughout Germany. Fitch Ratings gives the company an A+ rating, and agents have given top marks to the quality of the company�s products. Nevertheless, LV 1871 competes with many large players in its industry and also understands that the quality of what it does must go well beyond its...

Paris-based Ipanema Technologies is guaranteeing application performance in the cloud with the latest release of its ANS (Autonomic Networking System). In addition to native SLA enforcement for popular SaaS applications such as Google Apps, Microsoft Office 365, IBM LotusLive and SalesForce, ANS 7.0 features enhancements to SALSA, the ANS multi-tenant management platform, including central application performance dashboards (with an iPhone/iPad version) able to monitor the performance of SaaS applications.The...

Smartphones are no longer known for the sensitive devices that they are. Most of today�s new smartphones now have that higher level of toughness that makes them more ideal for day to day use. Sony may have just gone the similar path by introducing its new Sony Experia Active Smartphone.The Sony Experia Active smartphone is designed to be water and dust-resistant. Users no longer have to worry about getting their smartphones wet while answering a phone in the rain or accidentally spill water on...

As people get old, they get bothered by a lot of things. One of them might probably be difficulties in reading small texts. While vision might be affected by age, the fondness of reading may not. Technology can be one way to resolve such reading difficulties with the use of the Maggie Pro 3 Inch LCD Magnifier.The Maggie Pro 3 Inch LCD Magnifier is a digital magnifier that allows users to magnify small print into 11 times its original size. It is an electronic magnifier that may be an improvement...

When Nokia first unveiled its MeeGo-powered N9 recently, many believers of the Finland-based mobile brand hoped that MeeGo would be the start of its new era. Apparently, the company has other things in mind, as evident in its �super confidential� presentation about the �Sea Ray,� which runs on Windows Phone.In an interview with Finnish periodical Helsingin Sanomat, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop confirmed that the Nokia N9 would be the first�and only�MeeGo smartphone. He even told the paper that Nokia...

For frequent travelers, carrying around luggage is always a necessity. But the problem may sometimes come locating them in the baggage carousel along with hundreds of other luggage by other travelers. It may sometime even be unfortunate finding a similar luggage or two that can easily be mistaken for each other. In such cases, luggage problems can be prevented by using the Easy 2 Pick Wireless Luggage Finder attached to them.The Easy 2 Pick Wireless Luggage Finder consists of a luggage tag equipped...

Summer is here and you defied the recession woes just to spend a day (or two) at the beach with your family. You like to have fun on the sea, but jet skis are expensive to purchase. If you have an extra $500, perhaps you should have the AquaSkipper.This water vehicle has a patented design that uses hydrofoil wings and fiberglass spring to let you glide along the water by simply hopping onto the AquaSkipper. The hydrofoil wings have very little drag in the water, while the aircraft aluminum frame...

After unveiling the 9.7-inch WiFi-only TouchPad and a 3G/ WiFi counterpart, HP is said to be building a 7-inch version of the TouchPad that will be released in August. If you are one of many who prefer a more portable tablet, this should come as good news. The news came out from Taiwan Economic News, which reported a claim from an Inventec employee that HP ordered up to 450,000 tablets every month from their company. Among those orders, according to the source, is a 7-inch TouchPad. Whether it would...

With a lot of gadgets requiring a USB port to charge up, imagine needing to plug a lot of them but you only have one or two ports on your computer. Sure you can have a USB hub, but it could affect the computer�s performance as you use it. There are also dongles that can be plugged from the wall, but that�s one less outlet.Which is why it completely makes sense for someone to come up with a wall outlet with USB ports. ThinkGeek is selling the FastMac U-Socket USB Wallplug, which comes with two 110-volt...

As well as those very tasty new tablets, Archos has also released details of two more Android devices today � the Archos 35 Home Connect and the Archos 35 Smart Home Phone. The Home Connect is an Android-powered internet/wi-fi radio, which is very nice because we've been trying to find a decent internet radio for ages��while the Smart Home Phone is a touchscreen DECT wireless phone for the home. Here they are:These have been announced by the US wing of Archos, with the Home Connect given a price...

Leader International launched its Impression 10 tablet model. Available at an MSRP of $349.99, the I10 incorporates a 9.7-inch capacitive, widescreen IPS display that delivers brilliant color, 1024�768 resolution and wide viewing angles. Powered by a 1GHz Samsung processor, the I10 runs Android 2.2 with Flash 10.1 and features micro-SD slot, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth, 4GB flash memory (expandable to 32GB), G-sensor, USB 2.0 (one mini and two standard ports), 2MP camera, stereo output and HDMI...

The mysterious AndyPad is getting less mysterious by the day, as specs and prices of the UK-built Android tablet start to appear ahead of its launch in a couple of months time. And now we have our first photo of the device itself.It's white. Which we already knew. It looks exactly like you would imagine a white 7? Android tablet to look. You can't really tell much else, but here it is:The photo appeared on Twitter and seems to have been snapped at a business presentation, where attendees were also...

Lenovo has a couple of tablets that will join the increasingly crowded tablet market in the coming weeks, sending a note to members of its affiliate program that informs them that the IdeaPad K1 Android tablet will be announced sometime later this month (that is just a few more days left) or in early July. This might not come across as a surprise for some, since product listings for the tablet have already started showing up all over the place in recent weeks.Apart from that, the affiliate newsletter...

We brought you news last month that the Fujitsu TH40/D tablet will be arriving sometime in Q3 this year, but it seems that another delay is on the cards. According to Fujitsu, the convertible TH40/D tablet that will be powered by the Windows 7 operating system will experience a delay instead of the initial late June release date in the Land of the Rising Sun. All right, so we do know that said convertible tablet is not going to arrive anytime soon, but will there be any follow up � say, a future...

While HP's 9.7? TouchPad has yet to hit the stores (July 1st for those not in the know), it looks like the company already has a successor planned. According to reports from CENS.com, a Taiwanese Economics news website - Inventec Corp, a major manufacturer of personal computers in Taiwan, has received orders from HP to start producing 400,000 to 450,000 TouchPad tablets. But in addition to the 9.7? webOS 3.0 tablet, the company has also been reported to be supplying HP with a 7? tablet that will...

Julie got the first look at the Xoom, and did a couple of excellent posts on it including a First Looks and the full review. If you are wanting the complete run down on the tablet I highly recommend these posts. And, as always on The Gadgeteer, the comments are full of great additions as well.Julie may have received it first, but I got to spend a long time with mine, so I wanted to share my observations. Also, she did such an excellent job with the nuts and bolts, I will focus on more general observations.The...

It's a big day of firsts for Sprint. The carrier launched its first Android tablet on Friday compatible with the new 4G �Wi-Max� network. The device is also the first Android tablet out there capable of running Netflix.Unfortunately, despite being first in line for 4G and Netflix, Sprint's HTC Evo View tablet ships with the older version of Android: 2.3 (Gingerbread), not version 3.0 (Honeycomb). A future software update will bring Honeycomb, the version of Android made specifically for tablets,...

Back in January we first heard some leaked tidbits about HP's plans in the tablet space. And what we heard back then was that HP was working on two webOS-powered tablets. In the meantime, of course, one of those turned out to be the TouchPad, previously known by its codename Topaz.Yet alongside the Topaz HP was reportedly working on the Opal, a 7-inch tablet with 1024�768 resolution and dimensions close to those of the original Samsung Galaxy Tab (also a 7-inch device).While HP has managed to stay...

Hate to follow the crowd with the iPad? If so, Archos has a new pair emerging from Paris today, the 80 G9 and 101 G9. Predictably, the biggest differentiator between the two is the screen size, with the former offering an 8-inch panel with a 1024 x 768 screen resolution and the latter stepping up to a 10.1-incher (1280 x 800). Both of �em are proudly using Seagate's 7mm Momentus Thin in order to scale to 250GB, but of course, only time will tell how a power-hungry HDD will do in tablet form factor,...

Wortmann AG is preparing to drop another semi-rugged convertible tablet PC into the market. Known as the Terra Mobile Industry Pad, this tablet PC comes with a 10-inch 1024 x 600 LED-backlit resistive touchscreen display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 dual-core processor, an Intel GMA 3150 graphics card, a 2GB DDR2 RAM, a 40GB SSD, a1.3-megapixel webcam, a spill-resistant keyboard, an SD/MMC card reader, GPS, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 6-cell battery and is pre-loaded with Windows 7 Professional 32-bit...

Samsung UK has just commented on the arrival of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet, giving the updated and enlarged Tab an official UK launch date of August 4th. Samsung's also confirmed that the Tab 10.1 will launch with the very latest Android 3.1 Honeycomb update as its OS.Which is nice.Both 3G and wi-fi versions of the Tab 10.1 will be available, while the smaller 8.9? version will arrive �later this year�. No official word on prices for us yet. Here's the press release:UK LAUNCH ANNOUNCED FOR...

Archos has been churning out the Android tablets for longer than most, but has yet to come up with a proper contender. But that MAY CHANGE thanks to its third-generation of Android devices, the Archos 80 G9 and Archos 101 G9.One's an eight-incher, the other a ten-incher, both running Android 3.1 with a stonking 1.5GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor inside. They'll both arrive in two hardware formats � a slimmer model with 32GB of flash memory, or a slightly fatter unit with a 250GB hard drive inside.We...

The limited edition Galaxy Tab 10.1 handed out at Google I/O was rooted in no time, and it looks like owners of the more widely available retail version can now thank XDA member shep211 for opening up some new possibilities on their iteration of the tablet as well. As usual, you should proceed with some caution if you decide to take the plunge, but good news is that the root can be "derooted" if you wind up having second thoughts � all the details you need are at the source link below. source: ...

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 is one of the more interesting Android Honeycomb tablets on the market, primarily because it's quite affordable, at least compared to some of the competition (cough, Xoom, cough). While perhaps not being the cheapest 10-inch Android tablet, that award probably being snatched by the Asus Eee Pad Transformer in most markets, Acer's first effort is a good one nevertheless.Back in May we heard that the Iconia Tab A500 would get updated to Android 3.1, the latest version of the...

Designed to work with practically any tablet, the InfiniteLoop is one versatile solution that can be used to keep your tablet/phone in an upright position no matter where you are; be it in your car, on your bed, at a desk. The InfiniteLoop is basically a strip made from metal and plastic, and it can be shaped into anyway you want to form a stand for your devices. It is also available as the MiniLoop: a smaller version of the InfiniteLoop that is used to hold smartphones instead of tablets.When not...

Solar-powered laptop chargers always seemed a little mis-matched. Using a trickle of Sun-power to juice a thirsty computer is a little like running you big-screen TV from a trunk full of AAA cells. But tablets, which spend much longer away from power outlets, are perfect for solar power.And the Spark Tablet Case is just the thing. The case, made from PET (recycled soda bottles), has a compartment inside for your tablet plus a bunch of mesh pockets for cables and other sundries. On the side are the...

Samsung will release the 10-inch version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab in the UK at the beginning of August.A successor to the reasonably popular original 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, it will launch with the latest version of Android in Honeycomb 3.1, specially optimised for tablets. Samsung also announced that the Galaxy Tab 8.9 will come out later this year, as the company tries to keep all the bases covered.The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is certainly a step-up in terms of power, with a 1GHz dual core...

Analyst ComScore has released some pretty humbling data covering the tablet market, showing that the world still definitely belongs to iPad in terms of current tablet market share.In its figures showing �non-computer device� network traffic during May, the mass of Android tablets were lucky to break above 1% of non-computer traffic across a variety of countries, with iPad varying between 4% in India and a whopping 33.5% in Canada.Here's a nice dry table:89% of all tablet traffic came via iPad in...

ARCHOS announced two new Android tablets. They include two for factors; the 80 G9 (8? 1024 by 768 display) and the 101 G9 (10.1? 1280 by 800 display). They also ship with the fastest dual-core processor, a CORTEX A9 OMAP4 1.5 GHz.In addition to putting the quickest processor in, they add a couple more features to stand out from the crowd. A 250 GB Hard Drive option and a 3G option that can be added after you buy the tablet.The 101 G9 is listed for $399.99 for the 16GB model, and $499.99 for the...

It seems that Sony Ericsson will be dishing out two new Xperia smartphones. Not much is known about the Xperia Ray (pictured) and Xperia Active, except that both will be Android-powered. Sources claim that the Ray could be running with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, while it is hard to tell what version of the OS is on Active.The Xperia Ray will have a bronze-ish back panel and is just 9.4mm thick. The smartphone will come with Sony�s Bravia Engine technology, which would enhance the resolution of the...

John Biggs of MobileCrunch has written an doomsday article about how BlackBerry�s days are numbered and will go the way of other mobile platforms that were bought by a bigger company, exist independently for a while, and then get subsumed. The author has listed a number of reasons why it�s over and done for BlackBerry.�BlackBerries aren�t status symbols,� proclaims Biggs. �They�re the real-world equivalent of the thick, heavy IT-department-assigned business laptop. They�re staid, boring, and unwanted...

Judge Lucy Koh has rejected Samsung�s request to inspect Apple�s iPhone 5 and iPad 3. In an 11-page document, she explained that while Samsung is entitled to �parity,� requesting for Apple to hand over unreleased and unrevealed products was a bit overreaching.While the decision sounds good for Apple, the rejection of Samsung�s motion is not permanent because the court may have to wait until the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 become available for inspection before deciding whether or not �consumer confusion�...

Digital cameras of today, even the most advanced models, lets you capture a single shot of a certain image for posterity. But for the camera of the future, it may be possible to take a single shot of that same image and then change the type of focus later on. This can give photographers a means to take a multi-focused image in just a single shot. This type of futuristic camera may now be made possible by the new Lytro.The Lytro is a camera currently in the works that may enable photographers to...

Microsoft has introduced the latest developments on its Windows Phone Mango, particularly with its new Games Hub. One of the biggest changes on the Hub is that it now features that were used to be relegated to a separate Xbox Live Extras app. This includes Xbox Live messaging, integrated achievements, and the ability to edit the user�s Xbox Live profile down to its fully animated 3D avatars. Players can even compare their achievements with their friends.The 3D avatars even move depending on how...

While the tablet market today has become one of the more competitive markets for devices out there, that doesn�t stop many companies from trying to get their own tablet versions out there. Btu while they may have all the attractive features, it seems that their expected prices may not be something that almost anyone can afford. If tablet makers would want to attract a customer base, then having a more affordable price point would surely do that. That is what Vizio did by coming up with its own...

Magellan is not gonna give up on providing a standalone GPS navigator, a category slowly being beaten by GPS apps in smartphones. It has recently introduced the Magellan RoadMate 5175T-LM, a smartphone-like device with full WVGA display, WiFi, native web browser, and AAA TourBook app complete with Diamond ratings.The RoadMate 5175T-LM can be viewed on both portrait and landscape modes, adapting to personal viewing preference. Its 5-inch high-resolution touchscreen displays free Lifetime Map Updates,...

Not liking how you would have to purchase a separate device to scan that credit card for your mobile payments? Does typing all the credit card information onto the phone too time consuming for you? Card.io has heard you! This SDK utilizes the smartphone cameras to accept credit cards. All you have to do is to pull out the credit card, get the Card.io running (which would automatically turns on the phone�s camera), out pop a little green rectangle, frame the card into it, and snap a photo.The credit...

During an event, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop asked a crowd to �put away their cameras.� Apparently, he was about to unveil something �super confidential.� As it turns out, it is a Nokia smartphone that runs onWindows Phone 7 Mango that goes by the code name �Sea Ray.� Pinch me, I might be dreaming. Of course, not everyone is foolish enough to follow Mr. Elop�s request. Within hours, leaked photos and videos of the secret phone were released into the blogosphere. The Sea Ray looks just like the just-unveiled...

Vizio's Android Tablet was first seen back in January at CES. We havn't really heard much since then, but we have stumbled upon some new details today on Vizio's first attempt at a tablet.The tablet will run on Gingerbread along with Vizio's custom interface which will be similar to Vizio's Internet App Plus ecosystem, although Vizio stated that they would be willing to switch to Honeycomb if they think it will be stable enough on the device. The device spots a 8-inch screen with 1024 x 768 resolution,...

According to Motorola's European Facebook page, the company has finally begun to launch the latest Android 3.1 update for the tablet outside of the US. It's going to be a patchy, gradual process, as ever with these things, but IT HAS BEGUN.Here's the quote from Motorola:The 3.1 update for Motorola XOOM� outside the U.S. has started. Owners in Europe can expect updates over the next several weeks until the roll out is complete. The 3.1 update for non-U.S. devices, in addition to many other improvements,...

The Lenovo IdeaPad K1 has been taking its sweet time on its trip to American shores. You may remember it was the Lenovo LePad, though the tablet has been slightly updated since we first saw it. A display placard from OfficeMac has surfaced, and its details echo those of a recent Buy.com listing for the slate. The IdeaPad K1 runs on Android 3.0, has dual front and rear cameras, a 10.1-inch screen, and 10 hour of battery life. When it hits OfficeMax's shelves � and that could be soon � it will retail...