Apple has unveiled the latest version of its popular Tablet PC, the iPad 2 – boasting a 33% thinner and upto 15% lighter design, combined with a new dual-core A5 chip, promising improved graphics, and a faster & better user experience, with 2 cameras, HD video – the Apple iPad 2 release date has been set for 25 March 2011.

iPad 2 – Dual Cameras

The new Apple iPad features a set of dual cameras – a front facing camera lets you shoot VGA quality photos and record video at 30 fps (frames per second) and enables users to make FaceTime video calls over WiFi to other iPad 2 owners, iPhone 4 devices, the new iPod Touches and Apple Mac computers.

There is a better quality rear facing camera on the iPad 2 tablet that enables HD video recording (720p) at 30 fps with audio and the still camera features a 5x digital zoom function to get closer to your subjects.

Owning the newer iPad with 2 cameras opens up new possibilities for communication and entertainment, particularly when utilizing the wide variety of iPad applications that push the creativity and fun factor even further, such as the iPad Photo Booth app.

iPad 2 Photo Booth

The new camera photo manipulation software app Photo Booth comes built in with the latest iPad – demonstrating a slew of fun, artsy and even weird photo distorting effects live on the display – but moreover, the Photo Booth app shows off the capabilities and power of the new dual core A5 chip, enabling such improved graphics processing, as it displays a 9 panel screen preview each with a unique photo effect that updates and changes as you move in real-time.

iPad 2 Multi Touch Display

Pinch, tap and swipe on the multi-touch display that detects the movement of your fingers by sensing the electrical fields as you touch the screen.  The iPad is fully controlled by your touch, from browsing the web, to tapping out an email or reading an eBook – the iPad 2 Multi-Touch display screen is both intuitive and a joy to use.

iPad Smart Cover

The new iPad 2 and the iPad Smart Cover were designed with each other in mind – both feature built in smart magnetic technology that  enables the two to work together in clever and innovative ways.  For example, the iPad Smart Cover fits neatly over your iPad to protect the display – fold back the Smart Cover and your iPad wakes up instantly and ready to use! Close the cover again and it puts your iPad back to sleep.  What’s more, the iPad Smart Cover can be folded over itself into the perfect iPad stand for those times when you want to watch a movie, play some games or browse the web.

The iPad Smart Cover comes in 10 vibrant colour choices, including 5 of which are made in a rich, aniline-dyed Italian leather.

iPad 2 Games

With the introduction of the new dual core A5 chip on the latest iPad 2, it does twice the work, faster and with up to 9x faster graphics performance the iPad 2 is able to offer an even better gameplay experience with smoother and more improved graphics on the high resolution 9.7 inch iPad display.

Combined with the built in accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, and a compass that all work together – the iPad knows your every movement, allowing for an added dimension and sense of realism from new iPad applications and games.

Apple iPad 2 Built In Apps

iPad – 10 Hour Battery Life

The new iPad may be thinner and lighter on the weighing scale, but with the power-efficient A5 chip, the iPad 2 can still offer a generous 10 hour battery life that lets you do more of what you love, for longer.

Related Sites

• Apple iPad 2 (Official UK Site) [Apple.com]

The CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is without doubt the event of the year if you’re into gadgets. It’s where techheads go to get the lowdown on what’s hot and what’s not in the world of consumer technology. More than that, it’s the place where you’ll find all the movers and shakers, i.e. what’s going to be big the coming year and beyond. This year’s CES 2011 show took place in Las Vegas at the beginning of January and from the products on display, it was clear what the big three consumer trends are going to be this year: Internet TV, 3D and PC tablets.

Internet TV

Sony was there showing off their Google TV, demonstrating that Internet TV has finally come of age. Certainly, we will be seeing media streaming, iPlayer and all sorts of apps appearing on TVs this year. But it won’t be just on TVs, these new services will be shared across phones, media players and Blu-Ray players. And what will be crucial will be a way of sharing information across all these devices. So it’s just as well that Netgear was there with their latest home Wi-Fi router on display, specially designed to handle all the new technology and devices that we’re connecting to the Internet from our homes.

3D or not 3D? That is the question

While many of us are still considering whether or not to invest in a 3D TV, it came as no surprise to anyone that 3D dominated many of the stands at this year’s exhibition. As well as the latest range of 3D TVs from Toshiba and Sony that don’t require glasses, the big trend this year was in 3D camcorder and still camera launches from all the big names, as well as a 3D mobile phone. The first 3D laptops from Toshiba and Sony even put in an appearance.

Take a Tablet

The final big trend at this year’s CES was Tablet PCs. Around 100 tablet devices were launched at this show alone. Blackberry’s Playbook seemed to be the one that most were eager to queue up to see. With a seven-inch display, a dual core processor, front and rear cameras, as well as a HDMI port, it’s not hard to see why Apple has their work cut out with iPad 2.0.

Lenovo came out tops in terms of innovation with their device that could be transformed from a laptop running Windows into a tablet running Android. Tablet computing might have been born in 2010 with Apple’s iPad, but 2011 is certainly going to be the year it comes of age.

What was increasingly evident at this year’s show was technology is now all about getting access to information wherever you are. As our lives become increasingly linked to technology, more and more electronic manufacturer’s seem to be putting the focus on getting all the devices in our lives talking to one another. And from this year’s show, clearly, 2011 is going to be a very big year for technology in the home.

Creative Labs announce the launch of the ZiiO entertainment internet tablets in a 7-inch and 10-inch model, based on the Android operating system, with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The Creative ZiiO tablets are touchscreen based entertainment devices that allow you to watch movies, play games and enjoy music, powered on the Android operating system, enabling you to send emails and browse the web.

Creative ZiiO Key Features

• 7-inch ZiiO features 16.8 million colour display, while the 10-inch model has a 262K color display.
• Connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.1 EDR (with apt-X and A2DP) and  are Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g capable for internet connectivity.
• Creative highlights  the X-Fi Audio Enhancements (X-Fi Crystalizer, X-Fi Expand) for superior sound quality, with audio support for MP3, AAC, WMA9, FLAC, OGG, ADPCM, MIDI, WAV, Audible Format 4
• Video Support includes: H.264, MPEG4, WMV9, MJPEG, MOV, AVI, MKV
• Creatize ZiiO supports JPG, BMP, and PNG images, and there is a HD Video-Out port enabling you to connect the device to a large HD TV for example, for high definition playback on the big screen.
• Other built in features include a front facing VGA camera, built-in microphone and built-in stereo speaker.
• ZiiO is bundled with an Accelerometer, a motion sensor that can auto-rotate the display as you turn the device on its side into landscape format (or back to portrait).
• Creatize ZiiO battery life includes playtime of up to 25 hrs (MP3 music), and up to 5 hrs (for video playback)
• Expandable memory options, with a microSD slot on the 7-inch ZiiO and a SD card slot on the 10-inch ZiiO model allowing up to a total of 32GB memory.

Creative ZiiO Options & Pricing

The Creative ZiiO 7-inch tablet comes in white with a 480 x 800 resolution, while the 10-inch ZiiO model is black and features a 1024 x 600 resolution display – with both models available in 8GB and 16GB capacities.

• Creative ZiiO 7 inch 8GB – £199.99
• Creative ZiiO 7 inch 8GB – £219.99
• Creative ZiiO 10 inch 8GB - £249.99
• Creative ZiiO 10 inch 16GB – £269.99

Perhaps what is most notable about the launch of the Creative ZiiO is that the entertainment tablet is competitively priced at nearly half the price of the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab internet tablet pc devices.

Creative ZiiO Images

Toshiba joins the Tablet PC market with the release of the Folio 100 Tablet powered by the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, offering a cheaper alternative to both the Apple iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab devices.

The Toshiba Folio 100 is a 10.1-inch tablet pc featuring a capacitive touchscreen with multi-touch support that lets you tap, pinch and swipe the screen to zoom and flick through the menus.  The Folio 100 has a screen resolution of 1024×600 but also integrates a mini-hdmi output port allowing you to connect the device to a TV with full HD 1080p playback.

Toshiba Folio 100 Side View Images – Ports & Connectivity

The Toshiba Folio 100 comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options on board, while a mobile broadband 3G enabled version of the Folio 100 is expected to be released early next year in the first quarter of 2011.

Android 2.2 Froyo Platform

Powered by the Android 2.2 operating system ensures there is a wide range of apps available, although at the present time most Android applications have been optimized for smaller screen mobile devices so the large screen of the Folio 100 may not always be utilized to its fullest – this will likely change as Android application developers begin to cater for the larger screen tablet devices.

However, the Toshiba Folio 100 does have 10.1 Adobe Flash support, something which is lacking in the Apple iPad.  On the front of the Folio 100 device is a 1.3 megapixel camera for video calls (over WiFi), and there’s 16GB of storage included, which can be expanded up to 32GB with an optional high capacity SD Card.  A built in Accelerometer allows you to rotate the display, which will automatically turn the orientation of the menu interface, and this can also be locked into place, which is convenient if you are retiring to watch a movie for example.  The Toshiba Folio 100 measures 14mm thick and weighs 760g and has a stated battery life of 7 hours, calculated on the basis that you browse the web for most of the time (65%), a bit of video (10%) and some time on standby (25%).  The Toshiba Folio 100 is out now and has a retail price of £329.

So long as you haven’t been living in a cave for the past 6 months, you’ll be aware that the iPad has finally been released. There are thousands of apps already available for it, and many of these are fantastically useful. You may have heard of some of them already. We all know you can use the iPad to read books and play games, but what follows are a few things that maybe you didn’t realise it could do.

7.  Make Phone Calls

Now you can even afford to give up your iPhone, thanks to the Truphone iPad app, which allows you to wield around your brand new gadget like an enormous iPhone, even though you might end up looking a little ridiculous.

Truphone is a free VoiP application, which uses the web rather than regular phone lines. The makers state that calls to other users of Truphone, as well as Skype and Google Talk users is totally free, while the rate to call land lines and mobiles is in their words “really, really low”.

6.  Write With Your Finger

The new Writepad app is a handy little tool that allows you to take notes anytime, anywhere, without having to mess around typing. Simply use your finger like a pen and scrawl all over the screen! You can set Writepad in a blank notepad mode for taking notes at a meeting, or else you can use it while viewing documents and web pages in order to jot things down quickly and easily.

5.  Dictate Text

Going one step further than taking notes with your finger, how about having the iPad just take the notes for you? The Dragon Dictation app is the cheapest secretary you’ll ever employ, costing absolutely nothing. It uses voice recognition software to take down notes, which you can then copy paste and send as emails, messages etc.

4.  Gaze At The Stars

Astronomers will love this one. The award-winning Pocket Universe app works just like a telescope, except that it does even more! Point your iPad at the sky and the app’s built in digital compass will work out what you’re looking at and replicate that image on-screen, only with far more details than you’ll get from gazing at it by yourself. Names of stars and planets will be displayed, and clicking on any one of them brings up more additional information, and it’ll even direct you where to look in order to see special sights and events throughout the year!

3.  Watch TV

You can even use your iPad to watch thousands of your favourite TV shows and movies thanks to the Netflix streaming app. This app is totally free though you’ll need to sign up for a Netflix account for around £5 a month.

2.  Paint Pictures

Anyone looking to express their creative talents on their iPad should look no further than Brushes, one of the best illustration applications to appear yet. It allows you to choose from 13 different brushes to perfect your work, blend images, import photos for you to enhance and even watch video replays of you recreating your masterpieces. The very fact that several paintings created with Brushes have made it to the cover of Time magazine shows illustrates just how much potential this application has.

1.  Use It As A Cash Register

Our final feature showcased today is probably the most unusual one that anyone could imagine, yet perhaps it’s also the most useful one yet! Shop owners will be blown away by the potential of the free Square application, which transforms your iPad into a hi-tech cash register that’s able to recognise finger signatures, generate SMS and email receipts, calculate VAT and upload every sale onto an accounting dashboard to keep track of what you’ve sold. And if you buy the separately sold credit card swiper, you can even take credit card payments!

Research In Motion (RIM)  has unveiled its plans for the Blackberry PlayBook as the first multiprocessor tablet PC, featuring  a 7-inch LCD capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support.  The BlackBerry Tablet OS offers multitasking capability, allowing users to run multiple applications simultaneously while switching between them.

Multimedia & Gaming

Marketed as the “fastest tablet ever” the BlackBerry PlayBook features a 1 GHz dual core processor, and 1GB RAM, pushing the device as a multimedia and gaming platform, including support for flash content via Flash 10.1 and supporting Adobe AIR applications.

Compact Size – Bulky Features

The PlayBook is an ultra thin and portable tablet, measuring only 10mm thick and weighing an airy 400g.  The 7 inch display has a  1024 x 600 resolution, and the WSVGA screen will playback 1080p HD video. The BlackBerry Device comes with a HDMI port, has wireless capabilities via 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1, while the company intends to offer 3G and 4G versions of the slate in the future.

Video Conferencing

There’s video calling support via the built in Dual HD cameras, which features a 3MP camera on the front of the device and a 5MP rear facing camera sensor.

The BlackBerry PlayBook release date has been set for early 2011 in the U.S. and following international markets shortly thereafter by mid 2011.  Although not officially confirmed, the PlayBook device is rumoured to be made in a 16GB and 32GB version.

The tablet battle is well and truly on. The Samsung Galaxy Tab, a 7-inch Android slate is set to be released on the 1^st November and looks to be the first real contender for the Apple iPad. But what is it about this newcomer that is going to give Apple a run for its money?

Size Isn’t Everything.

The most obvious difference between the two machines is that the screen on the Galaxy Tab is smaller. Although the iPad has an extra two inches, resolution is more or less the same at 600×1024 – more than ample for a screen of this size. However, Samsung’s device weighs in at less than half that of the iPad.

Calls and Connectivity

Like the iPad, the Galaxy Tab has 3G/HSDPA, but unlike the iPad, it also has the ability to make and receive calls via a Bluetooth headset, which, incidentally, is Bluetooth 3.0, as opposed to Bluetooth 2.1 on the iPad. The Tab wins this round hands down.

Expand Your Memory.

When it comes to storage, as the iPad has no memory expansion capabilities; you’re stuck with whatever memory your device came loaded with. On the other hand, the 16GB on the Galaxy Tab can be expanded via its micro-SD slot which can add up to 32GB extra memory. That’s a lot of movies and music.

Say Cheese!

One of the big gripes about the iPad is the lack of a camera. The Galaxy Tab comes with not one, but two cameras: a 3MP on the back with flash, plus an additional front-facing 1.5MP for video calls. Another win for the Galaxy Tab.

Staying Power.

The iPad wins out on battery life with 10 hours compared to the Galaxy Tab’s 7 hours. There simply isn’t the room in the Tab for the Li-ion cell that’s in the iPad.

Functionality.

Performance-wise there’s very little between the two. Both have 1Ghz processors. Sure, the Android doesn’t have as many applications as the Appstore, but it does have 10.1 Flash support, which could give you a lot more functionality. What’s more, the Tab has full multi-tasking.

The Bottom Line.

Now, let’s get down to the real nitty-gritty – price. Even though it’s not officially out yet, the price of the Galaxy Tab has already been falling. From £799, the Tab is now set to retail at under £600. However, that’s still as much as the most expensive iPad model. That said, if you need to make calls you’re going to need phone functionality too. And adding the cost of an iPhone to the cost of the iPad blows all financial considerations out of the water. You could make serious savings by simply buying a Galaxy Tab with its already included additional functionality.

It’s worth bearing in mind too that if you’ve got your heart set on a slate PC for Xmas, your choice may not be so black and white, as the RIM BlackPad, and probably several other similar devices could be on the market by then too.

Samsung’s first tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab, a lighter and smaller alternative to Apple’s iPad, has been unveiled at the IFA conference in Berlin.

Weighing in at 380g and featuring a 7-inch (18cm) screen, the Galaxy Tab is smaller and lighter than the iPad, but offers the ability to make voice and video calls with the device, on top of the movie, music and book media you can usually consume on the iPad and similar tablet PCs.

The Galaxy Tab will be powered by Google’s Android operating system, and come with a storage capacity choice of 16Gb or 32Gb, which can be expanded by a further 32Gb.

The device can connect via 3G mobile networks and offers Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity options.  Music and videos will be accessible through Samsung’s “Media Hub” and e-books through its “Reader’s Hub“.

The Samsung tablet can play Flash videos and supports streaming content to an external TV.  Samsung called it “the first of the company’s tablet devices“, indicating newer Samsung tablet models will be released in the future.

The Samsung Galaxy Tablet release date will be confirmed by Vodafone who will be distributing the device in the UK from October 2010.

Dell have recently launched the Dell Streak Tablet.

With a 5″ (12.7 cm) screen, the Dell Streak tablet offers power and portability, while delivering the best internet browsing, portable navigation and social networking experience.

• Vibrant and spacious 5″ (12.7 cm) WVGA (800 x 400) display supporting capacitive Multi-Touch and featuring toughened, scratch resistant glass
• Latest ARM based 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
• Google’s Android OS with a unique Dell designed user interface
• 5MP autofocus digital camera with dual LED flash and Webcam
• Accessible MicroSD memory card for future storage expansion

The iPad is here and if you already know your way around it, you might be looking for the latest and greatest accessories to get even more out of Apple’s revolutionary new tablet. Here’s just a few of the accessories already on the market for you to choose from.

Write On!

If you’re like me and do a lot of writing, then one of the first things you’ll be on the look-out for is a decent Bluetooth keyboard like this one from Freedom. In fact, connecting your iPad to any Bluetooth keyboard paired is easy. Go to ‘settings’, click ‘general’ and enable Bluetooth. Following this, putting your keyboard into pairing mode usually involves holding down the power key on the keyboard. The keyboard will then show up under ‘devices’ as ‘not paired’. Select and follow the instructions to complete the pairing. Easy!

Protect Your Loved One.

It might seem obvious but your iPad really needs some day-to-day basic protection. Belkin do a fantastic range of grip sleeves from as little as £30. Comfortable enough to carry round while keeping your machine readily accessible. They also look quite funky. For more robust protection, Proporta has been making ultra-protective shells for PDAs for years and this iPad shell will keep your iPad in one piece and looking good. For protection out of the case, consider a screen protector by Logic3.

Stand Up and Be Counted.

There is a wide range of stands for the iPad just coming onto the market. How you use your iPad will influence your choice. The Incipio iPad Kick Stand, for example, doubles as a case that transforms into a stand to allow you to watch your favourite videos hands-free. Alternatively, Griffin Technology has a wide range of accessories for the iPad. You might like their stylish aluminium A-frame for easy reading and web browsing.

Get a Little Extra.

Let’s face it, the stylus that came with your iPhone wasn’t much use, considering it was a touchscreen phone, but the iPad is one device that really could do with a stylus. Luckily for you, Hama has a wide selection.

When it comes to charging your iPad on the way to a meeting, then this in-car charger is just the thing. Best of all, you can continue to use it during the charging process.

Finally, not exactly an accessory, but something that could come in very handy if your iPad goes missing. MobileMe is a software package from Apple that keeps all your email, contacts and calendar in the cloud and, if you ever lose your iPad, it allows you to use GPS to track it down. Simply sign into me.com and if Wi-Fi or 3G is enabled on the phone, you’ll be able to get an approximate whereabouts of your precious iPad.