New iPod Dock/Pico Projector?

Lately, I’ve been noticing that companies are beginning to couple certain devices into one convenient device. I’ve especially been seeing this within the projector field. Everywhere you can find phones with projectors, cameras with projectors, and now an iPod deck with a projector. Optoma, a manufacturer of DLP and pico projectors, has just recently announced their new Neo-i. The company says that the Neo-i is the world’s first all-in-one iPod sound dock to feature a built-in pico projector. This is definitely an odd combination, but it could be extremely useful at times.

Although the Neo-i is technically not a portable device, it is very easy to move from place to place. It measures in at 8.9 x 12.8 x 3.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.5 pounds. The device features a variety of inputs including a VGA, an A/V jack, an Audio Out, an HDMI, and a DC jack. It also comes with a 16-watt speaker system that provides some great sound including a nice bass reflex for an iPod dock. The docking station of the Neo-i uses Apple’s 30-pin connector. This means that you can use your Apple iPod, iPhone, or iPod Touch with the device, and that the station will charge whatever device you are utilizing. The HDMI and VGA ports even allow you to connect devices like your laptop, Blu-ray player, or Apple TV to the Neo-i. There is also an accessory kit that is offered that will allow you to connect your iPad to the docking station.

Optoma allows you to control your iPhone or iPod from the device with an IR remote that they include with the dock or from the backlit control panel on the top of the Neo-i. You are also able to display the artist name or song or video titles by utilizing the projector, which is awesome. The projector built in to the oval shaped dock is a 50 ANSI Lumen Pico projector. It utilizes LED backlight behind the device's 0.3” WVGA DLP color wheel. This means that the device has a low enough power draw to run on batteries alone. The pico projector can deliver up to a 854 x 480 pixel resolution in its 16:9 format. Its image can be projected at any size from 5 to 120 inches, and it features a contrast ratio of 2000:1.

Unfortunately, the Neo-i iPod Dock/Pico Projector will not be available for sale until sometime in mid-December. It will be selling for $449.

I think that this new technology from Optoma is fantastic. Optoma has been producing projectors for quite some time, so it’s not too incredibly hard to believe that they decided to integrate a projector into an iPod dock. It makes sense. I think it’s a great combination and something that will definitely be a hit with iPod and iPhone users. It’s also going to be released just in time for the holiday season. I think that Optoma will do well with this new product, but I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Get an Apple Laptop Rental today from Rentacomputer.com. Call us at 800-736-8772.

New Nook Color at Barnes & Noble

On Tuesday, October 26th, Barnes & Noble released their first major brand color e-book reader. In the past few months, other companies like Literati and Pandigital have released their own color e-book reader devices, but Barnes & Noble is the company that really got things right.

The device has been dubbed the Nook Color. The classy e-book reader features a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 LCD screen from LG surrounded by a black bevel that offers customers over 16 million different colors. The device weighs under a pound, runs Android 2.1, features built-in Wi-Fi, 8GB of memory, and a microSD card slot that allows users to add even more memory to the device. The battery life of the device comes in at about eight hours, which is a lot less than many of the other e-book readers available as of now.

At the time of the launching of the device, Barnes & Noble’s bookstore will have more than two million books available and over a hundred periodicals. These periodicals can either be subscribed to or purchased as single issues, which is a nice touch.

There are several new things featured in the Nook Color that have not been included with the previous devices in the Nook line. One of these fantastic features is the “Nook Kids” section that offers a variety of different children’s books. Children are given the option to either read the book to themselves or have the book read to them out loud by the e-book itself.

Other great features include the social integration option. It allows users to easily send a quote or status to Facebook or Twitter while reading a book. Also included with the Nook Color is the LendMe feature. This allows users to lend a book to a friend and see the books that your friends have that you might like to borrow. Obviously there are restrictions put into place by the publishers, but no matter what, this is still a really cool feature.

You can expect to have a wonderful reading experience with the Nook Color. The screen is bright and extremely responsive, and navigation is incredibly simple with the device. There is one single button at the bottom of the device that works as the home button. It allows you to go to the home screen or to help navigate books and apps.

The bugs are still being worked out of the Nook Color, but it really does give you a pretty darn good experience. The software found on the Nook Color is definitely much better than the software found on the original Nook. Right now, loading books and apps is rather slow, but flipping through the pages of the books or swiping across the screen is very quick and responsive.

Barnes & Noble says that they will continue to sell the original Nook, which has had a large firmware update that worked out many of the kinks that had been the complaints of many customers. The Nook Color will be available on Friday, November 19th. It will be sold at Best Buy, Walmart, Books a Million, and online for $249. If you’re looking for an e-book reader, the Nook Color is definitely one to keep on your list of possibilities.

Looking to acquire an HP Laptop Rental? If so, then try Rentacomputer.com or call 800-736-8772 to schedule a rental today.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is Coming Soon

Just recently Verizon Wireless announced that they would be offering customers the Apple iPad in over 2,000 of their stores as of October 28th. Now they have said that they will also be selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab in stores on November 11th for $599.99.

There have been many rumors and speculations circulating about the 7-inch Android tablet from Samsung. Although the tablet will most definitely be made available in Verizon stores, Samsung has said that it will be available from all four of the major U.S. carriers. Unlike Verizon, the other carriers have not come up with a concrete date or price for the tablet.

When Samsung announced that they would be releasing the Galaxy Tab in the U.K. on November 1st, more rumors began to swirl surrounding the tablet. Boy Genius said that the device would be released from Sprint for $400 sometime around November 14th if you signed up for a contract. Without a contract they claimed that the tablet would cost $600. There were also speculations that T-Mobile would offer the device for $400 with a two-year contract and a $50 rebate or $650 without a contract.

The $600 price that Verizon is selling the Galaxy Tab for is without a contract. The carrier will be offering customers a $20 per month plan that will give them up to 1GB of data each month. They are also offering data plans with the iPad that include a 3GB, $35 per month plan and a 5GB, $500 per month plan. As of October 28th, Verizon will also have a 16GB iPad bundle that includes MiFi Mobile hotspot for $629 that can allow you to connect up to five mobile devices.

I have been extremely excited about Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. As amazing as iPads may be, I have a feeling that until the iPad is updated, the Galaxy Tab is going to be even more amazing. The Galaxy Tab can do so many of the things that the iPad unfortunately cannot. It is much closer to functioning like a laptop. It does have a smaller screen than the iPad, but it features things that cannot be found on the iPad like two cameras, phone capabilities with Bluetooth, and flash video support. I think Samsung definitely added some great features to the Galaxy Tab that have been missing from the tablet industry. If I was looking for a tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab would definitely be the first I would consider. Check out more details to see if the Galaxy Tab is right for you.

Looking to acquire an HP Laptop Rental? If so, then try Rentacomputer.com or call 800-736-8772 to schedule a rental today.

Why You Should Never Be Without Your iPhone...

Public and online polling has revealed that the general public truly believes that the iPhone is the ultimate travel tool. The iPhone allows individuals to stay informed, connected, and entertained. A creative consultant who commutes weekly from NYC and London, Felicia Tumaneng, said, “I wouldn't be able to leave the country without it.”

The iPhone is the best electronic guide available right now. Here are some of the ways that you can use your iPhone as the ultimate travel guide.

In the Car
One of the great features is the new TomTom App for the iPhone. It features “navigate-to-photo,” turn by turn directions, and rush hour and traffic alerts. The TomTom App turns your iPhone into a fantastic GPS system. It is available for $39.99.

The useful GasBook app is available at the Apple store for $0.99. This app offers you the most up-to-date gas price listings at stations nationwide. It also includes a fuel log that will keep track of your vehicle’s fuel stats. This is a very convenient app to have on your iPhone.

Trapster is another great app to have in the car. It is the perfect app for those individuals who might drive a little on the speedy side. This app alerts users when they approach speed traps, red lights, speed cameras, police check points, accidents, and other roadway hazards.

At the Airport
FlightBoard is another amazing app to have on your iPhone and is available for $3.99. It gives you an interactive view of over 4,000 airport and 1,400 airline boards. You can view either the arrival or departure board from basically any airport in the world.

The FLYSmart app is free and is geared towards individuals traveling within the United States. This app allows you to not only track flights but also find restaurants, bathrooms, and clubhouses in airports across the nation.

Bored and Need Entertainment
There are thousands of games available for the iPhone at the Apple apps store. One of these incredibly entertaining games is Words with Friends. It is a game that is essentially Scrabble. It is a great game to exercise your mind and waste some spare time when you’re bored.

Recently an app was released that allows subscribers to watch TV on their iPhone. PlayOn is available for $40/year and allows users to watch Hulu, ESPN, Netflix, Comedy Central and lots of other channels right from their smartphone.

Need a Bite to Eat
There are plenty of restaurant locating apps that are available for the iPhone. Yelp is free, UrbanSpoon is free, and Local Eats is only $0.99. These are all great apps that will help you locate any kind of restaurant you want no matter where you are.

Want to Make a Payment?
You can easily pay your bills with your iPhone. Apps like MobilePay USA allow users to make payments directly from their phones. Users simply enter their account information online. The card’s information is not stored in the phone, and a PIN number is required to access the information online. It is a safe and secure app that can be very useful at times.

These are just a few of the incredibly useful travel apps offered for the iPhone. There are plenty more that can be found at the Apple apps store. It is definitely true that the iPhone is the best possible travel companion. It can assist you with so many of your travel needs. So before you walk out the door, always make sure that you have your iPhone with you.

Looking for a nationwide Hitachi Projector Rental? Then call Rentacomputer.com today at 800-736-8772 to get your Hitachi Projector Rental.

A Tablet Coming From Motorola

Everyone wants to go head to head with the iPad and put a little competition into the game, and Motorola is not about to be left behind. Unfortunately, it is going to be awhile before we see a glimpse of this tablet from Motorola.

The co-chief executive of Motorola, Sanjay Jha, told individuals at Motorola’s investment conference, “We want to make sure that any tablet that we deliver is competitive in the marketplace, and I think all of us will make sure that we will only deliver that when that occurs.”

I think that it is definitely a good idea that Motorola spends the time perfecting a tablet so that they can be competitive, but I also feel that they should be careful not to take too much time because they do not want the tablet hype to wear off at all.

Some are hopeful that the tablet will be released by early next year, but there are still some issues that need to be worked through. The latest build of Google’s Android is one of these concerns. Froyo, Android 2.2, Google’s mobile operating system, is not exactly one hundred percent ready for a full-on tablet. Jha stated that they simply will wait until the Google, Android software can accommodate a tablet. This is certainly disappointing but understandable.

Motorola has been supporting Google’s mobile operating system a lot lately. They have recently released several Android-based phones including the Cliq, Devour, Charm, Backflip, Droid, Droid 2, and Droid X.

Looking for a tablet now or in the near future? Check out the Kindle 3G, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, or Facetime-Compatible iPad.

In need of a PC Server Rental? If so, then call Rentacomputer.com at 800-736-8772 to schedule your own PC Server Rental.

Facetime-Compatible iPad from Apple?

According to sources, Apple is already hard at work updating the iPad. There are a variety of new features that the iPad will include, but one of the most exciting features is Apple’s Facetime video chat capabilities.

Apple will have to build a user-facing camera into the iPad. It will most likely be very similar to the built-in camera on the iPhone 4 or the newest version of the iPod Touch. Apple Insider sources are saying that this revamped version of the iPad is already in the testing phase and should be released no later than the first quarter of 2011. Apple really hopes to be able to release their new iPad before the 2010 holiday season.

The iPad has taken the world by storm. I think that these new upgrades will only cause sales to go up even more. In July Apple had sold over 3.27 million iPads. The demand for iPads was incredible when they were first released. Apple’s shipping process was disrupted for months. They were forced to delay the shipping of U.S. and international orders of the device due to the unbelievable popularity and sales of the iPad. Starting in late August, Apple finally has been able to get a handle on their iPad sales. Orders that are placed now are shipped within 24 hours.

Facetime has become one of Apple’s newest technological advances that they are incorporating in their devices. It only makes sense to include it with the iPad. Facetime is something that people want in their devices. It’s a novelty that deserves to be a part of an elegant device like the iPad. If Apple can have the newest version of the iPad with Facetime available before the holiday season, I have a feeling that lots of lucky people will be finding iPads in their stockings. I guess we’ll just have to see if Apple can get it all together by then.

Not sure if you're convinced the iPad is the tablet for you? Check out Samsung's Galaxy Tab or the Kindle 3G.

---

Looking for a Technology Rental to help you GO? Call 800-736-8772 today to reserve a Laptop Rental for your next trip.

Comparing Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Apple’s iPad

The tablet industry is booming right now. It seems that every leading technology company feels the need to release a tablet after observing the continuously growing popularity of the Apple iPad. On Wednesday, September 1 Samsung announced that they are joining the tablet movement with their Galaxy Tab. From the looks of this device, it seems that it could quite possibly give the iPad some serious competition.

The iPad has dominated the tablet industry up to this point. Why is that? Well, yes it is constructed extremely well and has incredible features, but it also is one of the very few tablets to actually make it on the market. There are a few other tablets available to date, but they don’t even come close to measuring up to the iPad. Now that the Galaxy Tab is set to be released soon, that could all change.

Unfortunately, Samsung has not given a specific date for the release of the Galaxy Tab. Representatives have said that it will be released in the United States and Europe sometime “in the coming months.” An actual working device was revealed to the public at the IFA trade show in Berlin recently. This at least gives some hope that the release date will be sooner rather than later.

So how does the Galaxy Tab compare to the iPad you might ask? Well, take a look at them side by side.


































I don’t know what you may think about this, but in my opinion, there are definitely some features on the Galaxy Tab that could give it the edge over the iPad. I guess we’ll just have to see what everyone thinks when Samsung releases the tablet. I think that Apple needs to be getting ready to release a new and improved iPad though, in case the public goes for some of the Galaxy Tab’s features that aren’t found on the iPad.

---

Looking for a Technology Rental to help you GO? Call 800-736-8772 today to reserve a Laptop Rental for your next trip.