Last minute tech gifts that will be in stock

If you have not done your shopping by now it might be a little too late for you. I am here to help you. Here are few gifts that will be in stock and easy to get a hands on last minute online and delivered on time for Christmas. That being said you should properly start getting a list together ASAP!

iPhone 4S:

By that I mean a new case, a car charger, a AppStore gift card, Bluetooth. You really have an endless amount of accessories to choose from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MacBook Air: $999

This is not for the faint of heart or wallet and better be for someone very dear to your heart.

You do however ensure it will not be regifted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MacBook Pro: $1,399

This should strictly be a you asked for it and here it is type gift. The you’re not getting anything else so don’t ask gift. The you did great in school, I love you to death, we are on the path to marriage or best brother in the world gift.

Amazon Kindle Fire: $199

Amazon has done a great job of marketing this little wonder. The fact is that this tablet is not a tablet at all. It’s a eReader first and foremost. It just happens to be robust enough to handle media and apps. Don’t get this for anyone that even hinted that they wanted iPad. It has no front   camera, heck it has no camera at all but that $199 is a great entry price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barnes & Noble Nook Color: $249

This little wonder singlehandedly saved Barnes & Noble from the fate suffered by Boarders. Although the price does seem a tad bit high now that the Amazon Kindle Fire is out at $50 cheaper and gives your Amazon Prime for free. It overall feels like a tablet first and a eReader second. Overall a great buy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acer Aspire S3: $899

Want to get someone a MacBook Air but don’t have the money for the Apple name surcharge? Say hello to the blatant ripoff from Acer. The Aspire is a dead copy of MacBook Air but running windows 7. Oh, it also lacks the light up keyboard. The other hardware is very compatible and even went configured to the max it’s still cheaper than the MacBook Air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helo TC: $50

Do you have a big kid in the house? You know the mid 20′s early 30′s type? This helicopter is controlled via an iOS or Android device. Flys pretty high and is generally just a fun toy for adults.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whitings Body Scale: $159

This is the best gift for anyone you know about to jump on that new years resolution. This scale saves profiles and can wirelessly send the results to a free app that motivates you along.

 

 

 

 

 

Zippo Outdoor lighter: $19.95

This is the gift for the quote on quote manly man. This lighter will flame up at temperatures well below zero. What someone would be doing out in temperatures that low is beyond me but they will have light and fire.

 

 

 

 

 

Wacom Inkling Pen: $199

The Light Scribe Pen was great product when it firsts came out but there were a lot of limitations. The one I have has been collecting dust for a while now. The one of the main two reasons why this pen did not take off was that it requires the of buying special paper. The second is that the pen was not able to detect pressure, which is a key for artist looking to transfer their work to the computer. The Wacom Inkling Pen has none of these issues so buy it ASAP for your budding Picasso.

 

 

 

 

 

Spalding Never Flat Basketball: $40

This is not even a holiday gift really because you should just get this for anyone you know that likes basketball based off General principle. It’s cheaper than a video game and will last longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SteriPen Freedom: $120

With this gift it will be alright to drink the water no matter where you go. The metallic green Freedom provides 8000 0.5L (16 oz.) water treatments. In 48 seconds, the germicidal UV light destroys over 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and protozoa such as giardia and cryptosporidium. One liter volumes may be disinfected by treating twice. Best of all it has an integrated battery that recharges via a micro USB port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ResQme Keychain: $10

If you fearful of getting trapped in your car than ResQMe is the key chain rescue tool that has already helped to save many lives and may just the thing to calm your nerves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kensington BungeeAir: $100

With BungeeAir, when you and your iPhone are separated, your iPhone’s screen automatically locks and sends an alert to the BungeeAir fob. The fob alarms with sound and vibration to remind you that the wireless security tether is broken and your iPhone was left behind.

Google takes on Pulse and Flipbook with Currents

Although Google has had this in the works for a while. It seems rush that it would come out on the heals of Flipboard for iPhone getting released. Never the less. The app is minimal and very functional. Google has a way with these things. The style is very consistent from iPad to iPhone. You Google login will sync your RSS between devices. My one pet peeve is that it does not have my Google Reader subscriptions preloaded.

Facebook post information on Project Spartan then takes it off; We say staged

Information on Facebook’s new HTML mobile Web interface was posted online. Who would leak such information? Facebook was the person behind its own leak. It posted the info to its own developer webpage. We are going to go ahead and say that this was staged to build more hype for the project. It’s a clear outline of Project Spartan. The only thing missing was a timeline. I mean the post even had screenshots of Web app. it has already been removed by Facebook but TechCrunch  pictures as  a  PDF file. Thank you guys

Padzilla Interactive Case turns your iPad to a 70″ touchscreen

 

This might be just a little over the top but hey, whatever. This interactive case allows you to use your iPad/iPhone with a massive screen that is multitouch capable. Shown in the video is a 70″ version but can be made in any size up to 150″. Jailbreak is not required.  This unit can be positioned vertically or in a table mode with a special mounting system from Crunchy Logistics.

App Review: Book Creator for iPad

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The app Book Creator for iPad comes highly recommend by our readers. So we thought it would be a good idea to get a hold of the developer for a little 1 on 1. For those that have not heard about this great app; 1st what? 2nd we will explain.

Book Creator for iPad is the simple way to create your own beautiful iBooks, right on the iPad. Read them in iBooks, send them to your friends, or submit them to the iBookstore. Ideal for children’s picture books, photo books, art books, cook books, manuals, textbooks, and the list goes on.

FEATURES

* Quickly add pictures from the Photos app, or grab them from the web, then move and resize them with your fingers.
* Edit text using the onscreen keyboard, and apply rich formatting to make it look great.
* Choose from all of the iPad’s fonts – over 50 to use.
* Layout your book exactly as you want it with guidelines and snap positioning.
* A quick tap and you’re reading your book in iBooks!
* Send your books to your friends over email, or sync using Dropbox.
* With your books created using the international ePub standard you know they will be readable now and in the future.
* Full support for iBooks’ fixed layout format, including double page images.

The developer and one man team over at Red Jumper Studio is the very talented Dan Amos. Here is what he had to say about the app and it’s future.

Where did the idea for the app come from?
From a trip to the London Book Fair with my wife, a YA novelist. We were struck at still have prohibitively expensive and complex it is to produce a good quality e-book.

How many developers worked on the app?
Just myself.

Will the app be on other platforms?
Perhaps Amazon’s tablet – let’s see when it arrives!

What are the future plans for the app?
I’ve had fantastic feedback from users of the app and I have a long list of requests.
Next up will be adding support for audio and video to your iBooks, along with rounding out the text and image formatting tools.

What sets your app apart from the others out there?
It’s the only tool that enables you to create fixed layout iBooks, and with its simple and intuitive interface anyone can do it!

Company Questions: How did the company come together?
Red Jumper Studio was started after leaving my role at Nokia as a Product Manager for their digital music service and the N9 device. For me this is a great opportunity to work in a fast lean way, involving my customers directly in the product’s future.

How many developers do you have not counting contracted sources?
Just myself.

What can we expect next from your talented team?

Making Book Creator the best app it can be!

Pro: Book Creator for iPad is the simple way to create your own beautiful iBooks, right on the iPad. There could not be any easier way to self publish a book at the moment.

Con: The only con I have is crashes sometimes when you try to open a created book  in iBooks. It seems to be an issue with iOS 5. There was no issue with my other iOS 4 iPad 2. I am sure this will be fixed by the release of iOS 5 to the public.

Cost: $6.99

Aye/Nay: This is a Aye. This is a great program. One of those that make you wonder “why did I not think of this?”  $7 worth it.

iTunes Link: Book Creator for iPad

How to Root an Android Device

1st thing to know about rooting is that it’s android’s way of jailbreaking. It’s not installing a custom ROM or wiping your internal storage. It’s just like jailbreaking the Apple iOS,  it only unlocks your device from the bonds of simplicity. Namely you can do a lot more with your device. The option to install a custom ROMs is one of those.

Unlike the Apple iOS for iPhone & iPad that tends to be uniform. There are 100′s of Android devices out there. That means the method for Rooting them will vary from device to device. This is how to find the one that works for your device.

 

Step 1: Backup & Update

• Back up your phone. I am not saying anything is going to happen to your phone but it’s a good idea.
• Upgrade to the latest version of Android. Go to Settings, About phone, System software updates and then press Check now.

Step 2: Which one is for me?

• There are as many guides as there are Android phones. Go to XDA-Developers forum. They will have a guide for every phone.

Step 3: Take the leap

Follow the guide and be off.

The word “AppStore” is fair to use by anyone so, says Judge

Apple’s request that Amazon stop using the word “Appstore”  has been rejected. I am very happy with that. Appstore is so generic that a win would have opened up the door to many more lawsuits.   Apple filed against Amazon in March. They said at that time that Amazon’s “Appstore” infringed on Apple’s “App Store” trademark. Amazon said that those claims were “baseless,” and Microsoft said something to that effect as well.  The Judge Phyllis Hamilton said that “The evidence does show that Apple has spent a great deal of money on advertising and publicity, and has sold/provided/furnished a large number of apps from its App Store,”

She goes on to say “However, there is also evidence that the term ‘app store’ is used by other companies as a descriptive term for a place to obtain software applications for mobile devices.” Thus  Apple’s use of the phrase “App Store” was “more descriptive than distinctive.” Microsoft and Apple are also fighting over the term — and Microsoft has said that the term “App Store” is “generic for retail store services featuring apps.” Apple’s case against Amazon is currently being heard by an appeals board.

Review Week: Debt Payoff Pro

Having debt can seem like you are in the eye of a STORM. You have a job, we will call that an umbrella. Yet it keeps raining, we will call that bills. At first it was not a major problem. Just a light drizzle but soon it was too much for your umbrella to take. Bill after bill piles up and before long you’re in debt. There are many programs out there that claim to help manage and even eliminate your debt. Some are a few dollars to a few hundred. The medium for these programs have covered an equally large spectrum.

Everything from pamphlets to cassette tapes to now apps. Yet the question remains; do they work? Debt Payoff Pro by STORM is an iOS application that helps you manage your dept. It does this using the Debt-snowball method. Debt Payoff Pro will help you to payoff all your debts using the popular Debt-snowball method. The debt-snowball method is a debt reduction strategy that works best for credit cards. What you do is pay the cards with the smallest balances first then move up from there. You would use the cash you would have used on the card you paid off and add it to the minimum of the next card. Thus creating a snowball. This method is what is taught “financial experts” at the moment.

The program does a great job of helping with that strategy. It helps and by help I mean gives you the minimum you should be paying for each card. It takes all the work out of it. All you have to do is follow the very clear instructions. This app is a universal app meaning you don’t have to buy one for each device you own. The iPad version of the app is clear, easy to understand and interface takes full advantage of the larger screen.

If you have a lot of debt, no worries. No, I mean worry but not about tracking it. You can tack as many as you wish with this app. While the Snowball method is the preferred method for paying your debt off. You do however have other options that range from Highest Interest first to highest balance first. Over all there are a lot of ways not to get into the debt. The best way is to pay your bills on time oven better ahead of time. That however is not always possible. I mean we did have a recession people. When debt happens, this is the best app to mange, reduce and eliminate it.

Some of the many Features

- Supports fast app switching and higher resolution Retina displays.

- Designed for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad devices. No need to buy separate apps for each device.

- Track unlimited number of debts.

- Tracking your debt payment is as simple as highlighting the payment from the payment schedule.

- Progress bar for each debt helps motivate you toward paying off your debts.

- A complete payment schedule allows you to view the interest, principal, and remaining balance for each and every payment of the loan.

- Passcode protection to keep financial information private

.- Export your payment list and amortization schedule in HTML format via email.

- Configurable settings and beautiful debt icons to customize the application based on your preferences.

- Prevents accidental deletion of debts and debt payment tracking.

- Backup your data to your computer for safekeeping. Then restore it to your iOS device when you need to via the iTunes file sharing interface.

Pro: The app does just what it says it will do. It helps you get rid of dept, quickly and efficiently. The interface is clean and easy to use.

Con: The only con I have is that is crashes on iOS 5. I know it’s a beta. (Works great on iOS 4)  I really could not find anything at fault with this app.

Cost: $10

Aye/Nay: This is a Aye. This is a helpful program that is easy to use. $1 is worth it.

iTunes Link: Debt Payoff Pro

Minecraft is going mobile. Now you can take your addiction with you

Minecraft! That should be enough to get your attention. The block-building game is an addiction to many around the world. Now it’s headed to Android devices but not before making a pitt stop on Sony’s Xperia Play. Incase you don’t know; Minecraft is a game that has taken off. While at first just a small beta game. It has now sold well over a million even though it is still not officially released.

The game is also headed to iOS devices later this year. Sony’s Xperia Play version will have an advantage over touch screen only devices because it has a gamepad. We don’t know when the game will come out but one thing that is known is that it will be a hit.

The game will be an exclusive to Sony’s Xperia Play for a little while. That extra time will help to get the device in front of the pack of other mobile phones. It is also some good PR for Sony who could use it right now.  Mojang the developer of Minecraft is holding an event at E3 where more information and hopefully hands on playtime will be taking place. I will be there so I will keep you updated as we get more information during the event.

Angry Birds on Google Chrome too hard? This is how to unlock all levels

Angry Birds is for some an addiction. I see the game  comparable to how Super Mario defined the original Nintendo as a game system. Angry Birds legitimizes the iOS devices as a gaming platform. I am sure even if you never played the game you have heard of it. The game is about birds trying to get their eggs back from some mean pigs. Yeah, I know it sounds silly but it is a fun game that remains on the top 10 list in the AppStore. Also the game has moved into other platforms. Now that is on Chrome you can have some more hun with hacks and tricks.

Enter the following in the browser to unlock all levels

javascript: var i = 0; while (i<=69) { localStorage.setItem(‘level_star_’+i,’3′); i++; } window.location.reload();

If all that fun is too much for you, feel free to lock it up again with the following

javascript: var i = 1; while (i<=69) { localStorage.setItem(‘level_star_’+i,’-1′); i++; } window.location.reload();