New Apple iPod Touch




touchArcade reports that the new 2nd Generation Apple iPod Touch has the fastest 3D rendering performance of all devices in its class, making it even faster than the new iPhone 3G in this regard:
The most clear difference is that fact that the iPod Touch’s processor was quietly boosted to 532MHz (up from 412MHz) with the 2nd generation model introduced in September. Meanwhile, the iPhone 3G, Original iPhone and 1st Generation iPod Touch continue to run at the original 412MHz. Though not the intended purpose, this video from Handheld Games Corp shows that the app load time of the 2nd Generation iPod Touch is notably faster than the 1st Generation model.
It seems that there are additional factors, however, as there are performance differences even found between the models that run at the same speed. The models rank in the following order (fastest to slowest) for 3D rendering, with the 2nd Generation iPod Touch being the fastest “by far”.
We love Apple's discreet way of introducing products that offer enhanced functionality like gaming without shouting "Hey look now it does this too!" from the rooftops. The new Touch is easily our favorite gadget of the year so far - with the ability to check email, browse the web, play games, view photos, listen to music and watch videos AND run cool apps we're as happy as we can be!(Image Courtesy of Apple)

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"Microsoft Surface"

Microsoft Corp. has taken the wraps off "Surface," a coffee table-shaped computer that responds to touch and to special bar codes attached to everyday objects. The machines, which Microsoft planned to debut Wednesday at a technology conference in Carlsbad, Calif., are set to arrive in November in T-Mobile USA stores and properties owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Surface is essentially a Windows Vista PC tucked inside a shiny black table base, topped with a 30-inch touchscreen in a clear acrylic frame. Five cameras that can sense nearby objects are mounted beneath the screen. Users can interact with the machine by touching or dragging their fingertips and objects such as paintbrushes across the screen, or by setting real-world items tagged with special bar-code labels on top of it. Unlike most touchscreens, Surface can respond to more than one touch at a time. During a demonstration with a reporter last week, Mark Bolger, the Surface Computing group's marketing director, "dipped" his finger in an on-screen paint palette, then dragged it across the screen to draw a smiley face. Then he used all 10 fingers at once to give the face a full head of hair. With a price tag between $5,000 and $10,000 per unit, Microsoft isn't immediately aiming for the fingerpainting set. (The company said it expects prices to drop enough to make consumer versions feasible in three to five years.)

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A video courtesy of youtube:

New Gadgets

New iPods for 2008 - 4th Gen Nano
Amazon.com Widgets
By now you've heard the news that Apple has released their new iPod nanos for 2008 and they've added some fairly impressive and fun features. The new nanos now have a "shake" feature (first seen in the Sandisk Sansa Shaker) which randomly chooses a new song each time you shake your nano. The displays are improved sporting a 2 inch widescreen with 320x240 resolution at 204 pixels, and there are two models to choose from: 8GB or 16GB. Spoken menus allow you to hear the name of the menu, song title, and artists without viewing the screen which means you can operate your nano without ever having to look at the screen. In ear headphones with microphone (sold seperately) will enable voice recording, and the new nano has a rounded case which (we assume) will make it easier to hold in the hand. Overall we're kinda impressed by these new nanos, however with Samsung's P2 and Y10 players sporting built-in Bluetooth connectivity and the Zune's wireless feature we're a little confused why Apple isn't untethering ALL their players and allowing for better unwired connectivity and accessory options.