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Is there nothing that the iPhone cannot control? There have been cars, televisions and now a helicopter thingy. This is the coolest gadget ever. It looks like a flying cycle helmet with a  rotors at the ends of a cross frame. In the front there is a small camera that sends pictures via a wifi link to your iPhone allowing you to see exactly where you are flying. Unlike a normal helicopter this is inherently stable but has a gyroscopic balance and sensor to monitor its altitude.

So far the details are pretty sketchy but website shows video of the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) which has four rotors at the ends of a cross.

If you are any sort of tech head, then you could not have failed to see the latest product from Apple. The rumors were circulating months before the launch. In fact it was one of the most hyped product launches ever. The secrecy held until the day  before the presentation.

Personally, I was very excited at the up coming event and the prospect of desiring the latest Apple gadget to go with my Macbook and iPhone but I have to say that I my heart sank when I saw the iPad.

As soon as I saw it I thought it was ugly. The fake devices that had been created in anticipation of what it would look like all looked much better than the real iPad.

The bezel is too wide. Not only does it not fit in your pocket but it is made larger by the huge bezel. Presumably this is to stop you pressing the screen while holding it but even so.

The aspect ratio is 4:3 not widescreen 16:9. This might be more appropriate for ebooks but for watching films or video content it sucks donkeys.

It is more like a large iPhone or iPod touch than it is closer to a netbook or laptop and like the iPhone it is tied into running apps which are controlled via the iTunes store which is a step of control freakery too far.

This will put Apple in control of what you can run on your iPad essentially they will say what is allowed to run on the device and that means no Flash or anything else that does not fit into their business model.

It does not multitasking which seems ridiculous.

No camera in the front or back.

A touch keyboard is a very poor substitute for a real keyboard when typing or doing some real work and it will eat into the screen while you are typing hiding information you may want to see. This happens sometime on the iPhone.

My iphone is great and so is my Macbook but I don’t think I will be buying the iPad. It seems like it is the worst of both worlds. I don’t think that I am in the minority on this one either. iFail might be more appropriate than iPad.

Apple is set to unveil a new product at a news conference in San Francisco at 18:00 GMT. The tech media have been speculating about the event for months but secrecy has been tight. Despite this, most speculation centres around the new device being a tablet computer; a middle ground if you will. Larger than an iphone but smaller than a mac book.

There is a lot of excitment because Apple often have a new take on such devices. Many people see problems with tablets because they are comprimise between to different devices that most people already own. Another factor to take into account is the price. Apple products are cool, high fashion products and have a price tag to match. However, with the Apple brand being so well known its cool image could soon be  becoming conformist with hype that doesn’t match the reality.

One of the things hampering wearable electronics is the problem of powering them. Batteries are heavy. However  the technology of carbon nanotubes has been demonstrated by researchers at Stanford University to create a battery  made from fabrics. The method impregnates the material with carbon nanotubes. It is then pressed to even out the coating. The electronic properties do not change when the cloth is stretched or folded and is low cost.

Research is continuing to store more energy. The team even believe that by combining the technique with other electronic materials they will be able to create wearable solar cells.

Google has unveiled the much anticipated Google phone called the Nexus One today. The Nexus One is a touchscreen phone, manufacturered by the Tawanise company HTC but under the banner of Google. The phone will retail through the Google website without a contract, for £331 and will also be available on contract from T-mobile for a £112.

The Nexus One is expected to be seen as rival to the Apple iPhone which has set the benchmark in Smartphones in terms of usability and the number of applications available for their phone. However, some consider Apple to be too restrictive in the applications it allows to run on its products. For example, all applications must be vetted by Apple before they can be sold on iTunes and the reluctance of Apple to allow Flash to run on the device are limitations for  iPhone.

The specifications for the Nexus One are as follows:

• 3.7″  touchscreen
• 1 Ghz Snapdragon processor
• 5 Megapixel camera with LED flash
• GPS and compass
• Accelerometer
• Noise cancellation technology
• Voice recognition can be used with all applications
• Light sensor changes screen brightness to conserve power
• 512MB Flash memory with SD card slot (expandable to 32GB)

Firefox 4, the latest offering by the Mozilla Foundation is well into development.

GUI Master Stephen Horlander has shown concept shots of the browser which seems to be heading in the direction of Chrome when it comes to look and feel.

Tabs are now accross the top with green loading bars accross each tab.

If you are on Vista or Windows 7, Aero is fully featured with the window space now being Aero Glass which definitely improves the look of Firefox tenfold.

The menu bar has gone and the top 25% of your window is now a lot more streamlined after losing the bars.

Considering 3.6 and 3.7 are deep in beta and alpha stages respectively, don’t expect to see the release any time soon!

New tech was announced today that on paper, draw a method for battery companies to create a working prototype of a Quantum based battery to replace the standard Lithium based battery on the market.

The idea behind the theory is that when batteries get to a certain minuscule size, in nanometers, the battery helps itself lowering limitations of methods that we use today.

The batteries, again in theory will beable to hold 10 times as much, and charge rapidly in comparison to the current range of cells available on the market today.

Gadget websites around the internet have finally managed to get a hold of the latest google phone.

The HTC Nexus One is now “The Google phone” and definatly looks the part.

It comes preloaded with the newest Google offerings, such as Google goggles and Google Navigation.

The phone has no keyboard like the G1, however the phone is a lot lighter and more streamlined because of it.

The larger screen and better multi-touch functions will help soften the blow of the lack of keyboard.

Those of you in America won’t be waiting too long to get a hold of the new phone, however if you are abroad, expect the typical delays before your nearest phone provider gets a hold of them.

Is this where gaming is headed?

Now Microsoft and Sony have announced tools which allow the same interaction that the wii offers, it seems that thsi may be the way gaming is going.

Family games seem to be bigger sellers at the moment, especially in the UK where game sales are dominated by wii titles and family friendly games from EA such as The Sims / EA’s new get fit brand etc.

Are the AAA Blockbuster, big action games decling enough for big publishers to stop focussing on them? Who knows, all I know is that I don’t want to spend my free time getting fit by playing imaginery tennis.

Tesco have recently added the iPhone to their range of mobile phone products on contract.

The basic package will be £20 a month with a £222 upfront payment on the phone. It will be a responce to Orange announcing they also are offering the phone and also Vodafone, who start selling the phone in Janurary 2010.

The value for money seems a lot better than the original O2 price which is welcome now some competition has come on to the market, removing that exclusivity they once had.

With Christmas coming up, now seems like a great time to jump on the iPhone bandwagon!