AudiOffice iPod speaker dock
Invoxia has designed a very cool office gadget that blends acoustic fidelity, technology and design all in one. The AudiOffice is crafted out of stainless steel and uses patented technology to supposedly offer impeccable sound quality, though I haven’t tested this office gadget myself it does look like something I’d love to have! The gadget is compatible with all apple devices; the iPod touch, iPad and iPad 2 and of course the iPhone. This would be great for any office worker who needs flexibility and who loves gadgets!
Features
- In Vivo Acoustic Technology: 8 broadband speakers, 8 digital microphones.
- Full-duplex handsfree
- Background noise removal
- HD corded handset
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Incoming call reception via handsfree mobile or corded handset
- iPod Touch 4th & 3rd generation, iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, iPad 2 and iPad compatible.
- 2 USB ports
- Created and designed by invoxia Paris
Patented technology, design registered
iPad Office Furniture
Villa ProCtrl is a Dutch luxury brand who has incorporated the iPad into their office furniture designs, opening up many new possibilities for product presentations and various other office applications.
What we like the most is the fact that the iPad is incorporated directly into the desks and meeting tables. This gives the iPad a truly collaborative function, allowing the technology to be implemented in an office environment seamlessly. Not only is the design unintrusive, but such a synergy between technology and office furniture surely opens up a whole new set of exciting possibilities!
iPad 2 3D Display
As we recently reported, the new iPad 2 has been mounted with a front facing camera. Apart from allowing individuals to video chat with ease, Apple also gave developers access to the camera in the hope that they create new and exciting apps and games.
With such access a team of researchers at the Grenoble Informatics Laboratory in France have recently developed a 3-D style interface for the iPad 2. The researchers use the camera to track the user’s gaze, allowing the iPad to change the image on the tablet’s display to shift its perspective. They call this a “spatially-aware mobile display.”
HTC Flyer
HTC has just revealed the HTC Flyer which is rumored to go on sale as early as April. There have been reports that the tablet will cost in the regions of £600, but this is just speculation as no official announcement has been made. What’s more, it’s not uncommon for prices to change pre-launch.
So with the iPad 2 already out in the USA, and soon to be out in the UK, how does the HTC Flyer compare? Can it compete with the current king of tablets?
The HTC Flyer has a 7-inch Super LCD touch screen, one which is stylus enabled. The tablet will also have digital ink technology which will allow you to take notes and draw straight onto the tablet, a very innovative feature which distinguishes it from competitors. The HTC Flyer also has the advantage of supporting flash and allowing more user customization by running Google’s Android operating system. It will also have a standard USB port.
HTC Flyer Spec
- CUP Speed – 1.5 GHz
- Memory
- 32GB internal storage (can be expanded via the microSD slot)
- 1GB Ram.
- USB – the HTC Flyer will feature a USB, something which is lacking in the Apple iPad.
- Camera
- 5 megapixal rear camera with auto focus
- 1.3 megapixel front camera
Video
Check out this short teaser video for a more interactive look.
Apple iPad 2
Apple has finally unveiled the much talked about iPad 2, with the new device getting some substantial upgrades. There were many rumours flying around as to what new features the device will have, and despite big improvements there are those that are still slightly disappointed. Personally I think the new iPad 2 is a great improvement and that this version should have been the first one Apple came out with!
The iPad 2 will be thinner, at only 0.34inches, with major upgrades to the back camera and an inclusion of a front one. The battery is a 25 watt- hour rechargeable lithium-polymer which lasts up to 10 hours for Wi-Fi surfing or 9 hours of 3G surfing. It will be available in the usual 16gb, 32gb and 64gb storage capacity and feature a Wi-Fi only or 3G version.
The new iPad 2 will be available March 11th in the United States and March 26th everywhere else.
Main Specs
Display:
- Same as the old iPad, it will be 9.7inch with a resolution of 1024×768.
- Dissapppointing that the iPad 2 won’t have the Retina display technology which has proven so popular on the iPhone 4
Chip:
- 1Ghz dual-core A5 Chip.
- The graphics on the iPad 2 are supposedly 9x that of the current model. This promises to open up new gaming potential.
Camera
- Back Camera – HD video recording and 5x digital zoom.
- Front Camera – VGA Video Recording and FaceTime enabled.
Sensors
- Three-axis gyro technology, as seen in the iPhone 4.
Skype Video Calling for iPhone
Skype has just announced the addition of video calling for the iPhone Skype app. The app has been updated and is a very popular free app in the Apple App Store, working on the the iPhone, iPad and iPod devices which connect over WiFi or 3G connections. The front and rear camera on the iPhone 4 makes this a great tool for conducting business calls on your iPhone.
Is it better than Apple’s FaceTime? Facetime requires a WiFi connection, but Skype supports Skype to Skype video calls over both WiFi and 3G, and works equally well over both connections. FaceTime also requires that both parties be on an iPhone, but Skype only needs a Skype account, allowing you to connect with desktop users along with your iPhone friends. What are your views on the new Skype app?
The iPad Pillow
The iPad pillow was created by the Dutch designer Stein Bakker in an attempt to make tablets more ergonomically friendly. Though tablets allow us the freedom to work and play on the go, offering the ultimate in portability, they are often difficult to use for long periods of time. Therefore the iPad pillow seeks to solve this problem by allowing you to view your iPad in various different angles without having to hold onto it continuously. The pillow also has a slot to place your iPad into, allowing for the upright placement of the device – perfect for presentations or movie watching. The iPad pillow costs around £30.
The New MacBook Air
Apple released its new Macbook Air on the 20 October. At its thickest point it is .68-inch and weighs just 2.9lbs. It uses a complete unibody aluminum construction, has a full sized keyboard, full sized glass trackpad which is touch enabled, 13.3-inch LED display (1440×900), Core 2 Duo processor (1.86GHz or 2.13GHz ) , NVIDIA GeForce 320m and Facetime camera. Apple is also releasing a 11.6-inch version which weighs just 2.3lbs – the specifications are comparable yet the screen has a 1366×768 resolution.
The old MacBook Air was 0.76-inches thick and weighed 3lbs. Battery life on the new machine is 5 hours for the 11.6-inch model, and around 7 on the 13.3-inch model. There is no hard drive or optical drive – Apple has moved to flash storage – solid state. This means “instant on”.
The release of this new product reaffirms the importance of the Macbook to Apple. It was disclosed today that Macbook sales account for around 33% of Apples profits, at around $22 billion per year. To put this into perspective, if the Macbook was a standalone company of its own it would be 110 on the Fortune 500 list!
Check out this video for more information:
The iPad – a fancy Tampon?
Proof that the marketing strategists behind the iPad should have thought harder about their branding.