TMCnet News
Tech review: Good Christmas gifts for this year and next year [The Dallas Morning News](Dallas Morning News (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 25--You've torn through your gifts, manufactured fake enthusiasm for those crummy ties and desk calendars you received, and now are grinding your teeth in disbelief that your family didn't catch all those obvious signals you were sending about what you really wanted for Christmas. Sweaters? Mugs? Socks? Books? Thanks a lot, Mr. Grinch. We feel your pain. So Dallas Morning News technology writers Victor Godinez and Jim Rossman each picked two products they wish they had received under the tree this morning, as well as one not-yet-released gadget they'd like to get next year. Victor Godinez's wish list E-books are still an evolving technology, but the Nook looks cool enough that I'd be happy to play with one now. The electronic ink on the main display is the same technology that Amazon's Kindle uses, but the real upgrade on the Nook is the full-color LCD touch-screen strip along the bottom. That second display is for browsing books you want to buy, and actually lets you see the cover of the volume. You also can digitally share your electronic books with other Nook (or PC, Mac, iPhone or iPod Touch) owners. Plus, hackers already have figured out how to add a full Web browser, since the Nook already has a free Internet connection through AT&T's 3G wireless network. Unfortunately, the Nook has already sold out. If you weren't among the first batch of pre-order buyers, expect to wait a few weeks for the privilege of handing Barnes & Noble your $259. My computer setup at home includes two aging, bulky CRT monitors side by side for a sort of faux-widescreen effect. I'd love to replace those monsters with a single, sleek, actual-widescreen LCD monitor. I've got my eye on the LG display for several reasons. It's large, with a full 1080p resolution, multiple inputs, including an HDMI input if I decide to also use the monitor as a display for my Xbox 360 and PS3 video game consoles, and a speedy 2 millisecond refresh rate to minimize motion blur with fast-moving visuals. Reviews on Newegg.com and Amazon are almost uniformly positive. The price is a mere $249 on Amazon. But this is the screen Santa would have brought me this year if I'd been just a little less naughty. What Victor wants next Christmas So-called "pico projectors" are going to be everywhere soon, but the largest application will probably be integrating the projectors into cellphones. Pico projectors now offer only low-res, blurry images. But Dallas-based Syndiant -- which makes pico chips based on a technology called liquid crystal on silicon and which was founded by former Texas Instruments engineers -- says it will be offering chips to allow high-def 720p projections from pico units by the end of next year. So imagine your cellphone being able to beam a high definition 40-inch image on the wall. It's a home theater in your pocket. Santa, baby, I promise to be good next year. Jim Rossman's wish list It's no secret that I'm hard to buy presents for. Since I get to see and use so many new gadgets at work, it's difficult for my family to surprise me with techie gifts. We're a laptop family at home, but my first choice for what I really want for Christmas is a 27-inch Apple iMac with the Core i7 "Nehalem" processor. As long as we're wishing, let's go big -- this iMac would have the 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel i7 processor, 16 gigabytes of RAM and a 2 terabyte hard drive. This configuration puts the price tag just shy of $4,000. Does anybody need this much processing power? Not unless you're animating the next Pixar movie. I'd be almost as happy with 4 gigs of RAM and a 1 terabyte hard drive, knocking the price down to an almost manageable $2,200. I love my iPhone, but my least favorite place to use it is in my house. Either I live in a black hole of wireless coverage, or my house is insulated with aluminum foil. At home, my iPhone's signal bars drop until they disappear. I'm not sure if I should blame Apple or AT&T, but at least AT&T has a solution -- the 3G MicroCell, which is like putting up a mini cell tower inside your home. This wonderful device isn't available yet in Dallas. It's being test-marketed in Georgia and the Carolinas. The $150 MicroCell uses your broadband Internet connection to tie into AT&T's cellular network. Calls are carried over the Internet, not transmitted to a cell tower. You can use MicroCell with your existing wireless minutes, or buy a separate plan for unlimited calls originating from the mini tower. AT&T's MicroCell slogan is "Five Bar Coverage In Your Home." I can only dream at this point. What Jim wants next Christmas It's the most-talked about new gadget from Apple. Yet nobody in Cupertino will even acknowledge they're working on it. If they are, I want one. My home computer is a 15-inch Macbook Pro so I'm a prime candidate to replace it with a slightly smaller tablet equipped with on-screen keyboard and touch screen. I can see it working for Internet-surfing, as an e-book reader and maybe even for flipping through The Dallas Morning News in the future. I also could see it controlling the Mac mini connected to my TV and stereo. It would be nice if Apple put wireless technology into the tablet, too. If they keep it to $999 or less, they'll sell as many as they can make. To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |