This year in Tech

2011 was an exciting year for technology and the internet. Read on for the year that was.

Store it on Cloud

Cloud took off this year with Amazon and Google, Apple and others all launching their own platforms allowing users to store data such as music, photos, videos and documents online for access anywhere, anytime.

4G Downloads

Carriers around the world were rolling out the first 3GPP Long Term Evolution better known as LTE or 4G networks. Expect LTE speed to be the standard across the globe very soon.

Tablet Computers
The Apple iPad continued its market dominance in 2011. Expect more in 2012.

Ultra Light Laptops

Apple again was the first to prove that you can make a laptop ultra lightweight but pack the big features into it with it MacBook Air. Everyone else is on board now too!

Voice Control
Arguably the most exciting feature of the next generation iPhone was its virtual personal assistant Siri. Marrying voice control with artificial intelligence, Siri proved that interacting with your mobile device with speech could not only be easy but fun too.

Looking forward to an exciting year in 2012............

Food Coach FREE App

App of the week!

Fernwood's Food Coach On the GO Facebook app tallies your daily energy intake, telling you how many kilojules you have left for the day. It keeps track of your weekly exercise regime, predicting how many weeks or months away you are from reaching your goals.

Access it for FREE at www.fernwoodfitness.com.au/facebook.foodcoach.

Flipboard.com for iPhone

Flipboard is a totally new way of accessing social Web on your iPhone.

Flipboard named Apple's iPad app of the year and one of Time's Top 50 Innovations is now here on iPhone. It triumphantly replicates the functionality of the iPad app, showcasing Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr posts in a highly compelling way. Simply flip pages upwards.

It's instantly addictive and fantastic way to catch up on the go.



SQUARE for iPhone

MUST HAVE!

The free Square card reader for iPhone is one of the most brilliant innovations for business people on the go......

Square is a free app that allows you to process credit card or cash payments via a small device that connects to the top of you iPhone. This could take the place of EFTPOS terminals?

Requirements: compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

New features include searchable sales history, refund or send receipts for past transactions, customize tip percentage options.

The Square for iPhone has overall received great reviews.

Nokia Smart Phones

A new dawn for Nokia!

Two of Nokia 's smart phones make use of Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 contain a 1.4Ghz processor and 9.4cm screen. The Nokia 800 features an AMOLED screen and 8 megapixel camera with Carol Zeiss optics with 16GB internal memory. The Nokia Lumia 710 has a 5 megapixel camera and 8GB of memory. Both run on Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS.

Nokia Lumia 800

Best Business to Start in 2011

This programme claims YOU can create an iPhone or iPad App or Game in 4 weeks and hit pay dirt! If you have the ideas and can operate an iPhone you can get started with this easy step by step guide and no programming skills are required to get started. Learn more here.

What are the Top 5 Running Apps

Technology has added a geeky dimension to one of the oldest and most primal human activities.

Humans have been running for millennia but fast track to 2011 and runners, including us, are discovering the benefits these apps and other such GPS-enabled devices provide. Now we have the athlete igeek!

You probably know one, too. They're easily identified standing on a street corner waiting for a lock on a satellite signal. The athlete igeek is powerless without it for how else will he or she keep track of distance traversed, time elapsed, top speeds and total calories expended?

We looked at adidas micoach and the Garmin range of GPS watches to monitor our progress. Were we getting faster? Could we pace ourselves so we didn't run ourselves into the ground too early? The data at our fingertips offered answers to these questions and more.

Websites like Garmin Connect even display the data from other user's runs from around the world.

Many of these running apps are free but a few feature packed apps will set you back a few dollars.

What are the top 5 running apps? Here they are:

1. adidas micoach,
2. iMapMyRun,
3. Runkeeper
4. Nike+,
5. Runmeter GPS

Nikon D7000 Camera

We love the new Nikon D7000 camera. It's light, small and delivers quality. Smaller weight and size is becoming much more important to a lot of people. Shoot high-definition movies too! This camera is brilliant to hold and use. Nikon has done it again and has made the user interface more usable and streamlined.

Highlights
-  Stunning image details: 16.2 effective megapixels
-  Improved image quality and speed: EXPEED 2 image processing engine. Sometimes you want to capture the subtle tones of a sunset. Other times you want to freeze the action and the D7000 delivers both.
-  Standard ISO 100 to 6400, expandable to ISO 25600 equivalent
-  Capture Full HD 1080p D-Movie with full-time autofocus and manual exposure
-  Wide-area coverage, powerful 39-point AF. There is also 3D tracking which continuously follows moving objects within the 39 AF points.
-  Contrast AF for live view and D-Movie
- Magnesium used to make camera stronger
- 921k-dots, 170 degree viewing angle, 3-inch LCD monitor
- Twin SC card slots - outstanding!
- Great battery life

Record Sales for Microsoft Kinect

Microsoft's Kinect controller for the Xbox 360 has broken the Guinness World Record for fastest selling consumer electronics device in history. More than 10 million units have been sold by Microsoft since its release in November averaging 133,333 Kinect units a day in the first two months, along with 10 million Kinect games.

Microsoft will soon launch new features that allow users to bring their onscreen avatar to life with their virtual self mimicking real life movements in real time and allow easy sharing with social networking sites such as Facebook.

Google Sky Map App

Must Download.....


Point your phone to the sky. Google Sky Map will show you the stars, planets, constellations and more to help you identify the celestial objects on your phone.

Best of all this application is free!

Here is the link: google.com/mobile/skymap

Expect a Rush for the New and Improved iPad

It's the gadget every tech junkie has been waiting for. Apple CEO lifted the lid on the long awaited, highly anticipated second generation iPad at a conference in San Francisco.  The iPad 2 doesn't seek to reinvent the successful original which has sold more the 15 million units and started a race towards developing tablet computers. The new iPad refines everything that made the iPad so popular. However, a few features were added that users felt were missing from the original device.

Now available in black and white in 3G and 3G Wifi versions, the iPad2 is 8.8mm thick and weighs in at 117g lighter than the original. It now features a dual core processor and better graphics card. Cameras mounted on both the front and back of the Apple iPad 2 can be used for video calling services.

The iPad will be released on March 11 in the US and March 25 in Australia.



LeapPad Explorer and LeapFrop 2011

Since we are fans of the LeapFrog brand it's great to see LeapFrog's latest innovation to be launched later this year, a sturdy learning tablet especially designed for tiny fingers and hands. It's the iPad style toy that little kids can be trusted with not to break.

The LeapPad Explorer is for juniors aged four and above. Its features include educational games, ebooks, videos, maths and spelling lessons. We know kids will love this! We are greatly impressed to see that LeapFrog continues to make strides in making their products both educational and fun.

The device will be unveiled in New York at the New York Toy Fair this week. The technology also comes with a built-in camera, microphone, video recorder and a stylus to help perfect writing skills.

Games include a function that blows a leaf by sensing a breath. Another game flies an aeroplane by moving the device.

Analysts are describing this as one of the most exciting toys in a decade.

Check out other popular LeapFrog toys and games

Slim Scan SS100 fits into your pocket and scans full color images

If your wallet is always overflowing with expense receipts and business cards, SLIM SCAN which is as small as a credit card might be what you are looking for. Slim Scan makes full color scanning literally as fast and easy as pulling out your wallet.This small device could be ideal for the frequent flyer and business traveller. Creating digital images ensures you never lose expense receipts. Scan business cards. How many times have you wanted to return a purchase or needed to claim on insurance but could'nt find the receipt? This handy device eliminates the hassles and saves you money.

SlimScan makes full color scanning literally as fast and easy as pulling out your wallet.  With its convenient size and advanced scanning technology, SlimScan is perfect for capturing crisp clear full-color digital images of small, easily misplaced items like receipts, business cards and handwritten notes as well as pictures, articles and other printed materials anywhere, any time.

SlimScan comes with powerful image organization and management features that any busy person on-the-go will appreciate. A convenient view screen right on the scanner lets you view, zoom in and pan scanned images instantly or on-demand. SlimScan connects directly to your Windows or Mac PC through a standard USB port to upload and sync up your scanned documents whenever you’re ready.

Crafted in classy yet durable stainless steel, SlimScan’s elegant compact design sets a new standard for professional-class portable scanners that combine unprecedented convenience and the most powerful scanning functionality available. SlimScan is the only portable scanner that puts instant, one-touch scanning capabilities literally in the palm of your hand. 





For more details and information on Slim Scan SS100



The Future of Television - Satellite Direct!

Watch over 3,500 channels directly on your PC anytime, anywhere in the world.



Satellite Direct

Now there is no need to pay pay over $100 per month for Cable or Satellite TV Services. There is no hardware to install, no bandwidth limits, 24/7 unlimited access, all for a one-time fee less than one month of your monthly cable bill! Best of all you don't need a satellite dish, receiver or any other equipment to use the software. Even connect your computer directly to your TV set. To learn more about Satellite Direct  Click Here!  It's as easy as 1, 2 3!

Sony's Internet TV

Coming to a screen near you...........



The revolution might not just be televised but streamed to TVs from the internet. Sony, Logitech, Intel and Google have teamed up to produce Google TV, a service delivering streamed and downloaded TV programs, apps, and the internet to the biggest screen in your home. Sony launched a limited number of Google TV screens in the US late last year, while Logitech launched the Revue set-top box to add the service to existing TVs. Companies including Toshiba and Vizio are expected to launch new Google TV devices next month.

GOOGLE on the PC

Google hopes to challenge Microsoft's PC market dominance with its Chrome OS software, a basic operating system designed to hold most of its program data online. The software is designed to make smaller demands on computers.

Google released 60,000 netbooks this month as part of a software test, although Chrome OS is not expected to be launched to the public until mid 2011.