AH - New ELECTRONIC and GADGETS

Microsoft is set to release a version of its Windows operating system that is honed for use on tablet computers built using power efficient processors. According to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, the new version of Windows will be compatible with ARM processors that currently dominate the mobile market. No target launch date has been mentioned. The WSJ expects Windows tablet to be available no less than two years from now. Currently, Windows exclusively supports Intel's x86 architecture targeted at desktop computers and optimized for blistering speeds, but not power efficiencies essential for battery powered mobile devices. ARM chips have targeted mobile devices from the outset. Microsoft on Tuesday, December 21, announced that 1.5 million smartphones using Windows Phone 7 OS, launched just six weeks ago, have been shipped to distributors already, meeting the company's expectations. Microsoft wrote the Windows Phone 7 OS from scratch, after phasing out i...

NVIDIA's Tegra 2 SoC featuring dual core Cortex A9-CPU at 1MHz is expected to become a hot favorite amongst tablet manufacturers in 2011. The chip can power smartphones as well as tablets. LG Electronics on December 15 unveiled the Tegra 2 powered LG Optimus 2X, the world's first smartphone with a dual-core processor. Based on its research, Citigroup recently reported that Samsung has placed a sizeable order with NVIDIA for Tegra 2 chips in the first half of 2011. Samsung earlier relied on its own Hummingbird SoC to power its Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets. Citigroup's Glen Yeung points out that Tegra 2 is the "reference design" for Google's upcoming Android "Honeycomb" that the company says will feature full support for tablets. Samsung's decision could well have been influenced by Google's support for Tegra 2. Ambrish Srivastava, a semiconductors analyst with BMO Capital Markets, expects NVIDIA chips to power a numb...

For all those music lovers, here’s another ultra cool gadget waiting for you, the TEAC Aurb , which not only plays nice with your iPhone and iPod but also doubles itself as a CD Player and an FM Radio . The TEAC Aurb is not cheap but it’s worth expense for it can offer an ultimate musical experience. Compatible with all iPod and iPhones most available, it boasts some pretty good audio quality, featuring a retractable iPod/iPhone dock, a top-mounted CD player and auxiliary/USB inputs for you to play back MP3 and WMA files from memory cards and CDs amongst others. Besides, it ain’t no shy flower, belting out 100 watts of power through its dual 32mm tweeters and 89mm woofers. Plus this black little player looks absolutely cute, so having it in your room for New Year’s party is a must!

The yellow-and-black combination is no longer associated with bees once Sponge Bob Square Pants stepped into his own, so the new Y+B headphones will grin not sting. As long as you don’t mind wearing two too-happy perfect-to-the-last-detail Sponge Bobs on each side of your head, these headphones will brighten your outfit and your days. Fitted with a characteristic wire slider as well.The paltry price ($9.99) is an additional incentive to drop hesitating.

Here’s a cool – and fairly cheap – design that lets you wear a truly unique watch on your wrist. Actually in this case the disparate quality of your watch depends solely on yourself; but if you have that streak of a true artist in you, forget about stumping up whooping thousands for the pleasure of sporting Swiss watches. Instead you can pay up just £7.99 for the Paper Watch and get to work on it! The Paper Watch is an uncommon digital timepiece whose case is made from extra durable paperlike material that you can look on as a blank sheet ready to see where your fancy will take you, whether it will be just doodles, curves or more figurative drawings. Your name, an effigy of your amulet, the inscription from the Tolkien Ring of Power – anything will do fine! By the way, the strap is made from the same material lending itself to your artistic aspirations too.

If a watch for you is not a traditionally recognized timepiece but another accessory that adds color and arty charm to your outfit, you should check out the Dot Watch . This concept wrist watch is simple and ingenious at the same time that will surely appeal to those who opt for unusual designs and total divorce from olde worlde appearances. The Dot Watch presents a single strap that embraces your wrist comfortably. A PVC-based sheet runs over it; it can be stretched or removed. The final touch of this simplistic for-all-sexes-alike design is one dot that stands out on the colorful background. And what about the time, you wonder after you’ve taken in the general appearance of the gadget . Well, here comes another clever feature of the Dot Watch. The central dot is actually the end of a cylinder that is pressed against the covering sheet from the inside. It is the main controller which must be pressed to make two other cylinders come up and become likewise visible. The o...

Even a small gadget like an mp3 player can give you a modicum of trouble, dangling loosely in your pockets, getting behind or under things in your purse. Some of those tricky objects have an annoying habit of sliding out of your hand when it’s least convenient. If your media player plays up on you, it’s a good idea to consider dumping it for a device called the Skinny Player . A recent design by Chih-Wei Wang and Shou-His Fu, this portable music player doesn’t get lost among your stuff. You just stick it on your body on any place you think best for the purpose, like a band-aid. It can be peeled off and re-stuck at any instant. When the case gets soiled, you get the dirt off with a wet cloth. It can’t be any handier!

LG Electronics on Thursday, December 15, unveiled the LG Optimus 2X, the world's first smartphone with a dual-core processor. The Optimus 2X, earlier referred to as LG Star, is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 2 SoC featuring dual core Cortex A9-CPU. It facilitates faster, smoother web browsing and applications and lets users multitask with virtually no screen lag. It features a 4" screen, 8GB memory, expandable up to 32GB using a microSD; 1,500 mAh battery, 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera The Optimus 2X runs at a clock speed of 1GHz and offers 1080p HD video playback and recording with HDMI mirroring that expands content on external displays to full HD quality. The Optimus 2X can connect wirelessly to any DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatible digital device such as HD TVs for a console-like gaming experience taking full advantage of the phone's HDMI mirroring, accelerometer and gyro sensor. The LG Optimus 2X will be availabl...

Pick a full featured smartphone that doesn't expose you to high radiation level these holidays, especially for the safety of your children. The smartphone industry doesn't like to talk about radiation levels, but it should be a consideration in your choice of a smartphone. The issue of whether cell phone use, especially by children, may increase the risk of some kinds of head and brain tumors remains unresolved. Research to date has not produced conclusive results, but several large epidemiological studies have pointed to an increased risk for people who have used cell phones the longest. Radiation levels are measured as government mandated "specific absorption rate" or SAR value. The Federal Communications Commission, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other federal agencies set the maximum allowable SAR value to 1.6 W/kg in 1996 based on the smartphone industry's own recommendations. The Environmental Working Group reviewed the capabilities o...

As colds are fast approaching and (even though it’s warm enough inside) you become conscious of a desire to feel warm waves engulf you with that special cozy sensation that you can get only in midwinter, it‘s a good idea to ensconce yourself on a couch, but it’s a better idea to check out on Ion Audio’s COZ-E first. The COZ-E stops midway between a blanket and a dressing-gown – it’s a loose cover for you to snuggle under and turn the heat on – low (indicated by green light on the control pad), medium (yellow light) or high (red). If you opt to spend the evening lying down you thrust your arms into the sleeves so that the opening is in the back, if you fancy it as a robe you wear it with the opening in front, only there is no sash and it isn’t supposed to be worn all over the place, for it isn’t powered by batteries but via an electric cord. Of course you can unplug the cord and then, having moved into another part of the house, plug it again, but you’ll have to carry th...

Last week we told you about a reliable way for women to protect themselves – a Keyring Alarm, which emits a high-decibel woman’s scream. First, in case of an attack the attacker would be scared by the scream himself. Second, when others hear it, the victim would get help for sure, as this REALLY loud scream can hardly be missed. And today we are giving away the gadget. So, don’t hesitate to participate in this giveaway contest! If you want to get this cute and so useful keyring alarm , it’s easy and absolutely free – just follow the instructions below to enter the contest. Prize That Is Given Away Ila Pebble Personal Keyring Alarm, the high-decibel alarm gadget for women , in red color – just like the one in the picture. Contest Rules The contest rules a really simple. Starting from December 7, 2010 and till December 10, 2010 (10:00 pm GMT) write a comment in this post. Write at least 2 sentences, describing why you want and need this gadget. On December 11, 2010 we’ll ann...

Today we’d like to announce one more giveaway contest from Geniusbeauty.com. We are giving away another useful gadget which is great for both men and women – Ila Sport, the pedometer, calorie counter and personal alarm in one. Like other Ila Alarm gadgets , which are being given away now too, the Ila Sport may emit a 130 decibel woman ’s scream in the alarm mode. And if you want to get it for free, participate in this giveaway contest! To do this, simply read the easy to follow instructions below to enter the contest. Giveaway Contest Rules The contest rules a really simple. From today, December 10, 2010 on and till December 13, 2010 (10:00 pm GMT) leave a comment in this post telling why you’d like to win the prize. On December 14, 2010 we’ll announce the winner. After we’ll contact the winners by email and wait for your reply pending 24 hours. In case you don’t reply during this time, then another commenter can have luck to get the prize . Please, note, that there’s only...

No matter what it’s still a good idea to always have on you some security means or other. And while some women find it quite in order to carry a taser in their shoulder holsters, others will definitely find it unladylike. If you believe your security can do with strengthening but are ready to go only for a definitely woman’s thing, you can turn your attention to the Ila Personal Alarm that derives its name from the Hindu goddess of voice. When your cries for help may even be found pleasurable by an offender with a sadistic streak, he will certainly want to put as many yards between him and the Ila Personal Alarm as he can. The gadget ’s “voice” was created around a female scream but its 130-decibel wail will be far more efficacious than anything you could produce. £19.50 is the price you must pay for shrieking guaranteed to get you help or chase away the importunate bloke.

Google officially announced its Nexus S smartphone in partnership with Samsung on December 6. Nexus S, the first smartphone based on Google's Android 3.2 Gingerbread OS, will be available on December 16 online and in-store from all Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores. It will be priced at $199 with a two-year T-Mobile contract or $529 unlocked. In terms of processing horsepower, the Nexus S features no breakthroughs. Like Samsung's Galaxy S, it features a 1GHz Cortex A8 based Hummingbird processor. It matches other top of the line smartphones with front and rear facing cameras, 16GB of internal memory and 512MB of RAM. The hardware breakthrough in the Nexus S comes in the form of a 4" Contour Display designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and along the side of your face. Gingerbread based improvements in the Nexus S include user interface refinements, Near Field Communication (NFC) support, a new keyboard and text selection tool, Internet (V...

Google will launch its Honeycomb OS next year, Andy Rubin announced on Monday, December 6 while speaking at D: Dive Into Mobile. Rubin also demoed an early version of Honeycomb on a Motorola Tablet Prototype. Google in the past has said that its Android 2.2 Froyo and Android 2.3 Gingerbread Operating Systems are not honed for use on tablet computers for various reasons such as form factor and the limited number of pixels. Its Honeycomb OS will provide full support for tablets. Motorola's prototype device is the first tablet computer known to be based on the Honeycomb OS. According to technology website End Gadget, Motorola's tablet features video chat, an NVIDIA processor and a "dual core 3D processor." It has earlier been reported that Verizon and Motorola are building a tablet to compete against Apple's iPad. The tablet will feature support for Verizon's wireless video services. The device could be tied to Verizon's FiOS Fiber to home pay ...

For all those music lovers who have problems listening music in car, there is an ultimate solution for you. Yes, Airplay, Apple’s new streaming technology that allows audio (photos and video) to be streamed from any iOS device to another iOS device. This jazzy little black WIFI box will automatically turn on when you start your car and will connect with your WIFI enabled device, streaming your music library through your stereo system. In addition to that, you will have the ability to pause, fast forward and rewind using your iPod . The PhotoFast is designed to transmit high quality sound and works with iPad , iPod and iPhone . You can get this little magical player around $299.00 in sometime soon but right now it’s only available in Japan.

A little lighting never came amiss when you’re really tuned in to your music, and the apple shape does look pleasing to the eye; why not enjoy your favorite tunes through a music gadget like this USB Apple Speaker with Mood Lights ? A 145g lightweight affair measuring 105 x 105 x 90 mm, this cute crystal apple makes a highly decorative addition to your – oh, any room or office. It can be connected to a computer or to a 3.5mm media player and blare away happily, giving your mood a boost by sound and light alike. Only don’t forget to buy 3 AA batteries if it’s not the PC. $15 is the price for all lovers of music and apple-shaped gadgets .

Life without a pet is unimaginable for many people. Apart from anything else a pet is the best for taking your mind off things and help you unwind when you are overstressed. So what about a pet gadget that is always with you checking up on your mood and showing it cares? Here is a completely original graduation concept for all you pet lovers, fresh from design student Jens Dyvik of the Design Academy Eindhoven. It is about a pet called Ref whom you wear on your wrist. The sophisticated animal is armed with six servomotors and a box with Arduino for perfect service. It reads your heartbeats and assesses your emotional state. As stress amounts , the clever animal will raise its head and tail in a warning; it gets calmer lowering its head and curling up the tail when your excitement dies down. The idea behind this fast-reacting gadget is to keep you in touch with your emotions and get a hint when you may be overwhelmed. Hopefully Ref won’t stay a concept for long and will soo...

These new headphones designed for Standard Issue present a veritable feast of color. The juxtaposition of pink, blue, green and other bright colors creates a strikingly cheerful effect, speaking for designer Gregory Sims ’ aesthetic taste. Unfortunately, Sims omitted to give specs of his set of headphones so we cannot judge their technical suitability to our needs, but, going by their appearance, it is undoubtedly a fun gadget to have around, guaranteed to give your mood a good jolt upwards. It may easily win some contest for the brightest concept of the year.

A bunch of keys is something you will hardly leave behind you, whereas you may be more careless about alarm gadgets that you don’t use very often. It’s pleasing to know you don’t have to, but should one be necessary, it’s far more convenient to have it handy on your keyring rather than lying somewhere on the bottom of your purse. The Ila Pebble Keyring Alarm will stay with you on a key ring through your day – and night – for the comfy assurance of a high-decibel alarm gadget that won’t leave you unnoticed in your plight. 73% of women are known to grab their keys for protection, and here is the Ila with a handy button to emit an effective ear-splitting scream of help. This tactile and unobtrusive helper comes in two stylish designs.

Ila’s multifunctional device will serve well to joggers, walkers, and in general for those who like (or have to) spend a lot of time outside even after dark. The Ila Sport Pedometer Alarm contains a pedometer that can help you ensure that you do enough walking, calorie-counter for you to get the right food after you’ve exercised, and a 130 decibel personal alarm that will keep you safe even if you have been delayed until late at night. The Ila fellow-traveler also features a clock, a backlight, and can show the distance you’ve covered. Its lightweight design makes it perfectly handy either to carry in your hand or to clip on you whenever it doesn’t get in the way.

As colds are fast approaching and (even though it’s warm enough inside) you become conscious of a desire to feel warm waves engulf you with that special cozy sensation that you can get only in midwinter, it‘s a good idea to ensconce yourself on a couch, but it’s a better idea to check out on Ion Audio’s COZ-E first. The COZ-E stops midway between a blanket and a dressing-gown – it’s a loose cover for you to snuggle under and turn the heat on – low (indicated by green light on the control pad), medium (yellow light) or high (red). If you opt to spend the evening lying down you thrust your arms into the sleeves so that the opening is in the back, if you fancy it as a robe you wear it with the opening in front, only there is no sash and it isn’t supposed to be worn all over the place, for it isn’t powered by batteries but via an electric cord. Of course you can unplug the cord and then, having moved into another part of the house, plug it again, but you’ll have to carry th...