Google Nexus 7 tablet specs revealed

Leaked Google’s Nexus 7 specs show a 7-inch Tegra 3 powered Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” tablet.

According to images uncovered by tech site Modaco, the tablet is called the Nexus 7, and both thename and specifications are in line with details previously rumored.

The specs show that the Nexus 7 is a 7-inch tablet featuring a 1280 x 800 HD display with a pixel density of 216 pixels-per-inch, which is only slightly lower than the iPad 3 with its 264 pixels-per-inch screen density. The screen is covered with what is described as “scratch-resistant Corning glass” which we can assume is a form of Gorilla Glass.

The tablet features a front-facing 1.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, a micro USB port and NFC.

As expected, the Nexus 7 will run Google’s upcoming Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean” operating system, a platform about which very little is known at present.

The Nexus 7 is powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and comes with either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage and 1GB of RAM. The tablet is powered by a 4,325mAh battery offering up to 8 hours of active use.

The 8GB model will cost $199, while the 16GB device will be priced at $249. Price includes $25 credit to spend in the Google Play store, plus a copy of Transformers Dark of the Moon.

Google has begun taking pre-orders now and the Nexus 7 tablets will ship in the next two weeks

Smartphone Controlled Foam Fighters

So you have more or less tried just about any and every kind of game on your smartphone device, and are looking for a new experience? Enter the $9.99 Smartphone Controlled Foam Fighters, where it turns the virtual world into the real one, at least with some creativity and imagination on your part. Basically, this purchase will let you fly a fighter plane from the World War II era, and you are able to embark on missions such as intense dog fights, bombing runs, formation flying, as well as escorting different units of soldiers. You can opt to be part of the Axis or Allied groups, and with another 8 of your friends over a local Wi-Fi connection, there is plenty of fun and mayhem to be had.

Each plane will unlock different campaigns, and you can pick up points along the way to install upgrades to your planes – with what else but different weapons, of course! The app can be downloaded from the Android and Apple App Stores.

Point and Click Dictionary

Do you see hyperlinks around you? If you have answered in the affirmative, then you will most probably wish that the $279.95 Point and Click Dictionary is part of your arsenal when you read a tome or are fully engrossed in a new book. Basically, the Point and Click Dictionary is a pocket-friendly scanner which is capable of looking up and displaying word definitions on the go – sort of like a hyperlink to words in the physical realm. This does away with the need for you to thumb through large books or type entries, as the device can slide over reading material in a snap. There is also an integrated flip-up camera which will be able to scan any word with a single button press, and the definitions will be shown instantly.

Not only that, this little scanner that could will also deliver audible word pronunciations thanks to its built-in speaker, and the 2.4″ color LCD display at 320 x 240 resolution ought to be good enough to display definitions clearly. There are more than half a million definitions in the Point and Click Dictionary which are sourced from the Collins English Dictionary, and it also delivers translations to and from French, Italian, Spanish, and German courtesy of the award-winning Collins foreign language dictionaries. Other functions include MP3 playback, voice recording capability and a picture viewer.

Carbon Audio Zooka slide-on speaker bar for your Apple devices

We all know that Apple churns out some really spiffy looking devices, and have done so for a fair number of years already, without any hint of them stopping anytime soon. Well, if you happen to own at least one of the following – the iPad, iPod touch, iPhone or MacBook, then you might want to check out the Carbon Audio Zooka slide-on speaker bar which was specially designed as an accessory for the mentioned devices.

Of course, for anything to work in tandem with Apple’s devices, they will certainly need to look their best – or at least, flow along with the general design principles over at Cupertino. Good to know that the Carbon Audio Zooka slide-on speaker bar conforms to such lofty standards, and we shall take a closer look at just what it is capable of delivering for your ears to enjoy right after the jump.

First and foremost, we are looking at what Carbon Audio claims as “extraordinary sound quality”, where the Zooka is tipped to deliver a concert hall experience which is capable of significantly enhance the kind of music you hear, movies you watch, and games you play – amongst others, of course. Not only that, you can live in complete wireless freedom with the Zooka thanks to the ability to “project” sound via wireless Bluetooth, leaving you with the choice of placing the speaker a good 30 feet away from the primary device.

There is also an integrated microphone thrown into the mix, allowing the Zooka to work in tandem with the iPad, transforming it into a high quality speakerphone that will make your Skype and Facetime experiences a whole lot more pleasant. Of course, having said that, it will also play nice with other communication software to boot. Sporting a unique patented design, the Zooka can slide onto the edge of an iPad or MacBook without getting into the way of the camera.

To make sure the Zooka lives up to its purpose, there is also a removable kickstand that lets your iPad stand up, making it ideal for watching videos on the go without leaving your hands tired. The Carbon Audio Zooka slide-on speaker bar can be yours for $99.95 each, where it will come in nine colors including black, blue, dark grey, green, orange, pink, purple, red and teal as it rolls out sometime this August.

Apple iPad 3 review

So, the iPad is dead, long live the iPad. That's also part of the deal. The retirement of the first-generation of the Apple tablet is nothing out of the ordinary. There used to be the iPad and the iPad 2. Now, we have the iPad and the iPad 2 is the backup, the second choice.

The new iPad. Here's one for you. You're Apple and you're about to launch your latest product. You want to dispel even the remotest suspicion of recycling old stuff. You want the slightest hint smothered of sequels and their questionable worth. What do you do?

Make it nothing like the old one? No, no - you're not paying attention. Pretend you're Apple. The market leader in tablets, the standard-setter in touchscreen, the king of design, the god of marketing.

Yes, it's as simple as a single stroke of divine wisdom. You get rid of the numbers. Next is wrong - new is what everyone cares about. If you're telling people they're getting the ultimate, the last thing you want them to think about is what comes later. Numbers are about the order of appearance, the new iPad is about the order of succession. In the royal sense.

Key features

• 9.7" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 2048 x 1536 pixels; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, carrier-dependent hotspot support
• Optional LTE connectivity (data only)
• Optional GPS with A-GPS support (for the 3G model only)
• Apple A5X SoC with 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor
• PowerVR SGX543MP4 quad-core GPU
• 1GB RAM
• iOS 5.1 with iCloud support and activation
• 16/32/64GB of inbuilt storage
• Weight of 652 grams (662 grams for the LTE version)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 11,560 mAh battery
• Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor
• Compatible with every iPad and iPhone app without any modifications
• The cheapest version costs less than a SIM-free iPhone
• 5MP auto-focus camera
• 1080p video recording at 30fps
• VGA secondary camera capable of FaceTime calls
• Four and five-finger gestures
• 1080p TV-output with the Apple Digital AV Adapter (purchased separately for $39), 720p video streaming
• Supports magnetic cases

Main disadvantages

• iTunes still required for uploading most of the content
• Reflective screen struggles outdoors
• Same CPU as the iPad 2
• Heavier and thicker than the iPad 2
• No Flash support in the web browser
• No standard USB port
• Non replaceable battery
• No stereo loudspeakers
• No GPS receiver in the Wi-Fi version
• No memory card slot
• No Siri
• Can get uncomfortably hot at times
• No charging while in use
• Lack of basic iOS apps - weather, stocks, clock, calculator, voice memos

The three iPads look almost exactly the same but, to be fair to the new iPad, it brings a massive upgrade. The 2048 x 1536 pixel Retina display has four times the resolution of the previous model. The bar is yet again set too high for the competition. And it's a leap worth several generations. Apple did well to make sure the monstrous screen is well covered in terms of graphic processing with some extra GPU cores too and the performance is flawless.

The 5MP camera is an improved version of the one on the iPhone 4 and the video recording is duly upgraded to 1080p. There's Wi-Fi hotspot support too but that's carrier-dependent and our Wi-Fi-only iPad naturally doesn't have it.

The long list of cons shouldn't come as a surprise. Some of them are down to Apple's way of doing things but we'll look closer at the screen outdoor performance and the reported overheating in gaming or video playback.

100MHz Logic Analyzer for iPad

So you are sick and tired of using your iPad for nothing other than playing games and as a portable media player that won’t die on you across a long haul flight. What else do you think your iPad is able to do? Well, with the right app and in the correct setting, plenty, and for those who want to take the road less traveled, here is the $389.99 100MHz Logic Analyzer for iPad. Yes sir, this might sound like Greek to some of us, but allow me to explain.

Basically, this is a logic analyzer with the real time data analysis capabilities of an oscilloscope. Most of the time, tradition dictates that a logic analyzer will record a buffer that then needs to be downloaded and searched. With the 100MHz Logic Analyzer for iPad, things have definitely changed, and I am proud to say, for the better. This device boasts of advanced triggering, decoded data which can be viewed live, doing away with the need for capturing, pausing, and viewing. You no longer need to settle for plain pictures as it is now possible to analyze data – live data, no less. Curious enough to give it a go?

Progress Tracking Scale

When it comes to the physical battle against the bulge, charting one’s progress is an extremely important move to make if you are to be as efficient as possible. However, some of us are absolutely hopeless in keeping records, such as keeping track of receipts and what not. With the $49.95 Progress Tracking Scale, perhaps you no longer have the excuse of not keeping track of your weight, as this particular device is able to do the dirty job on your behalf. Not only that, it is also capable of doing so for up to four people, now how about that?

The scale has its own internal memory that will be able to store your original weight, and it will automatically display the weight lost or gained and percentage of total weight lost or gained since the first weigh in, as well as the last time you actually stepped foot on the scale itself. All results are shown on a 3.75″ backlit LCD display, showing readings in pounds or kilograms. Time to learn how to chart a graph now, no?