Toshiba Folio Tablet PC

Toshiba tablet PC is the most ideal computer form factor to be released soon.  Toshiba is known as a brand offering great ‘concept’ devices.  Toshiba tablet computer is comparable to that of the iPad, Courier and also the Nintendo DS – a mixture of tried and tested unique qualities that are certainly a cut above the rest.  Toshiba tablet PC may be pretty costly to some, but consider this reason – nothing is sold in this size that offers great quality as well as amazing functionality.  This Toshiba tablet innovation is essentially a pound and a half mini laptop coupled with input devices. The most spectacular aspect of the Toshiba tablet PC is the two 7 inches 1024 by 600 pixel touch screen that is housed in a mini clamshell package that measures about 7.95 by 4.84 by 1.2 inches.  This touch screen tablet PC weighs only 1.55 pounds totaling to about 1.8 pounds when you include the four cell battery. The Toshiba tablet PC is pretty handy.  This can actually fit inside a woman’s purse even with other accessories. The CPU as well as the motherboard of the Toshiba tablet PC can be found on the top unit which is actually the reverse of other kinds of clamshell computers.  The top of the Toshiba tablet PC actually gets warm but it is manageable enough for you to handle.

One of the things worth considering when it comes to the Toshiba Tablet PC is the amazing touch screen of this tablet computer.  This screen is based solely using TrueBright technology from Toshiba.  You can be certain of efficient laser sharp brightness, accuracy and effectiveness when viewing videos as well as photos from different angles.  Note not to use the Toshiba Tablet PC out in under the sun because of the gloss of the screen.  It is best to use the Toshiba tablet PC under a shade. Both the keyboard and mouse are accessed manually using the button located on the bottom screen.  Al you have to do is press the button one time so that it can toggle the keyboard and twice when you want to toggle the mouse.  The keyboard and mouse option of the Toshiba tablet PC is able to provide a haptic feedback on the screen as well. The keyboard of the Toshiba tablet PC is endowed with six various layouts that you can configure for maximum size as well as features basing on the task that you have to do. 

It is easier to encode using the Toshiba Tablet PC rather than its other counterparts.  The track pad of the Toshiba tablet PC is not that efficient, but caters immensely when it comes to precision.  It works best when you are using difficult software like the Windows 7 especially when you have smaller screens.  A Toshiba Tablet PC is equipped with a megapixel web camera, two internal microphones, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a micro SD slot and a USB 2.0 port.  Note that there is no video output when it comes to the Toshiba tablet PC, but you can view other media using a projector or an external monitor when you use the USB port. The Toshiba tablet PC is definitely a cut above the rest when talking about tablet computers.  It is equipped with all the features that any tech savvy enthusiasts would want to consider.  Toshiba tablet PC is your alternative when it comes to the battle of tablet computers. [Source: http://www.toshiba-tablet-pc.com]

 

 

Motorola Xoom Tablet

Motorola Says Rooted Xoom Tablets Eligible For LTE

Motorola XOOM™ Fact Sheet

Motorola XOOM™: Redefining the Tablet Experience
Motorola XOOM is redefining what a tablet experience can be as the world’s first device to run Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Google’s powerful operating system designed specifically for tablets and featuring the latest Google Mobile Innovations. Motorola XOOM also comes with support for Adobe^® Flash^® Player, allowing you to browse the web with full access to Flash sites, videos and games. Enjoy all of this on the Motorola XOOM’s 10.1” HD widescreen display, enabling HD video content that’s richer and clearer than ever before.
Beyond the Next Generation
Motorola XOOM is uniquely equipped to support an always evolving tablet experience. Offering 3G wireless access that can be upgraded to super-fast 4G LTE, and powered by a dual core processor with each core running at 1 GHz, delivering up to two GHz of processing power, Motorola XOOM delivers performance that’s twice as fast at web browsing as the leading competitor on the market today. Thin, light and powerful, it’s easy to hold, easy on the eyes and goes anywhere you do with the connectivity and performance to support the latest features, software and functions as soon as they’re released.
Surf. Watch. Play. Connect.
Motorola XOOM is the first tablet to feature the latest Google Mobile innovations, including Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction, access to over 3 million Google eBooks and Google Talk with video and voice chat. And as a gamer, you can experience Motorola XOOM’s rich graphics at lightning-fast speeds with games that leverage the built-in gyroscope and accelerometer.
Work with Ease
Motorola XOOM lets you stay connected to work from anywhere through the country’s largest 3G network from Verizon Wireless. You can check personal or Exchange corporate email, view calendars and even send meeting notices. Not to mention that information is brought straight to your home screen with live, scrollable widgets. Open documents, spreadsheets and presentations, edit them on a virtual QWERTY or the Motorola Bluetooth® Wireless keyboard, and send them back lightning fast.
Power Accessories beyond the Charger
Motorola XOOM has a wide range of accessories to expand its power and capabilities. The “smart docks” are no longer just a place to charge your device; they make Motorola XOOM a portable play and work station that fits your lifestyle. The Standard Dock can be used for watching video content or listening to music through external speakers as the device charges. The Speaker HD Dock allows you to send HD content directly to your TV or blast your tunes without attaching external speakers.
Create and Share
Motorola XOOM is ready to document your adventures. It includes a rear-facing 5 megapixel camera with flash that captures video in 720p HD. View and edit your photos and video immediately, then display them on the 10.1” HD screen or on any HDTV with HDMI connectivity. Post your creations straight to YouTube, Picasa, and Facebook® or engage with friends and family through Motorola XOOM’s front-facing 2 megapixel camera designed for video calling. [Source: http://mediacenter.motorola.com] 

Apple iPad

Two cameras for FaceTime and HD video recording. The dual-core A5 chip. The same 10-hour battery life.¹ All in a thinner, lighter design. Now iPad is even more amazing. And even less like anything else.

Thinner, lighter, and
full of great ideas.

Once you pick up iPad 2, it’ll be hard to put down. That’s the idea behind the all-new design. It’s 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter, so it feels even more comfortable in your hands.² And it makes surfing the web, checking email, watching movies, and reading books so natural, you might forget there’s incredible technology under your fingers.

Dual-core A5 chip.
It’s fast, times two.

Two powerful cores in one A5 chip mean iPad can do twice the work at once. You’ll notice the difference when you’re surfing the web, watching movies, making FaceTime video calls, gaming, and going from app to app to app. Multitasking is smoother, apps load faster, and everything just works better.

Super fast graphics.
Go, gamers, go.

With up to nine times the graphics performance, gameplay on iPad is even smoother and more realistic. And faster graphics help apps perform better — especially those with video. You’ll see it when you’re scrolling through your photo library, editing video with iMovie, and viewing animations in Keynote.

 

Battery life keeps on going. So you can, too.

Even with the new thinner and lighter design, iPad has the same amazing 10-hour battery life.¹ That’s enough juice for one flight across the ocean, or one movie-watching all-nighter, or a week’s commute across town. The power-efficient A5 chip and iOS keep battery life from fading away, so you can get carried away.

Two cameras. And a big hello to FaceTime for iPad.

You’ll see two cameras on iPad — one on the front and one on the back. They may be tiny, but they’re a big deal. They’re designed for FaceTime video calling, and they work together so you can talk to your favorite people and see them smile and laugh back at you.³ The front camera puts you and your friend face-to-face. Switch to the back camera during your video call to share where you are, who you’re with, or what’s going on around you. When you’re not using FaceTime, let the back camera roll if you see something movie-worthy. It’s HD, so whatever you shoot is a mini-masterpiece. And you can take wacky snapshots in Photo Booth. It’s the most fun a face can have.

LED-backlit display.
The view is amazing.

iPad is one big, beautiful display — 9.7 inches of high-resolution photos, movies, web pages, books, and more. LED backlighting makes everything you see remarkably crisp, vivid, and bright. Even in places with low light, like an airplane. And there’s no wrong way to hold iPad. It’s designed to show off everything in portrait and landscape, so with every turn (even upside down), the display adjusts to fit. Because it uses a display technology called IPS (in-plane switching), it has a wide, 178° viewing angle. Hold it up to someone across the room, or share it with someone sitting next to you, and everyone gets a brilliant view.

 

iOS 4.
The world’s most advanced mobile operating system.

iOS 4 is the operating system for iPad (along with iPhone and iPod touch). It lets you browse, read, and see everything just by touching the screen. It includes all the powerful, innovative, and fun built-in apps you use every day, many times a day. And it’s the platform on which more than 65,000 other amazing apps have been created for iPad. It’s highly secure, stable, and responsive, and it’s made to work seamlessly with the iPad hardware. iOS 4 is the reason no other device has yet come close to iPad.

Wi-Fi and 3G.
Two great ways to stay connected.

Every iPad is built with advanced 802.11n wireless technology. It automatically finds Wi-Fi networks, which you can join with a few taps. iPad is also available with 3G connectivity on either AT&T or Verizon Wireless networks. So if you’re somewhere without Wi-Fi, such as outdoors on a camping trip or on the road, you can still surf the web, check email, or get directions.

Gyro, accelerometer, and compass.
iPad knows your every move.

With the built-in accelerometer, you can rotate iPad to portrait or landscape, or even upside down, and whatever you’re watching, reading, or seeing adjusts to fit the display. And now the accelerometer, three-axis gyroscope, and compass all work together. They sense which direction iPad is heading and how it’s moving. So games, maps, and other apps know your every twist, turn, tilt, and 360. It’s an epic win for gaming. And it’s just the beginning of better-than-ever iPad apps.

Video mirroring.
What you do is what they see.

Video mirroring is new for iPad and for every app, web page, presentation, video, movie, or photo you want to show a big audience. Just plug in the Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (sold separately) and your HDTV or projector becomes a bigger version of your iPad. One plug, that’s it. Everyone sees what’s on your display — even when you rotate iPad from portrait to landscape or zoom in and out on photos.

• AirPlay
• Video Mirroring

AirPlay.
Your movie-photo-music stream.

All the great stuff on your iPad — your music, photos, and video — can now stream wirelessly to your HDTV and speakers via AirPlay-enabled speakers or Apple TV on a Wi-Fi network.⁶ With just a tap on the AirPlay icon, blast some tunes, have a movie night, show off some photos, or watch YouTube. And go big.

AirPrint. Print everything wirelessly.

Print your email, photos, web pages, and documents right from your iPad over Wi-Fi.⁷ There’s no software to download, no drivers to install, and no cables to connect. With just a few taps, you can go from viewing something on the iPad screen to holding a printed copy.

Multi-Touch.
Everything’s at your fingertips.

Technology is at its best when it feels completely natural, almost like there’s no technology at all. That’s Multi-Touch on iPad. You use your fingers to do everything, so everything you do — surfing the web, typing email, reading books, and swiping through photos — is easier and a lot more fun. How does it work? When your fingers touch the display, it senses them using electrical fields. Then it instantly transforms your taps, swipes, pinches, and flicks into lifelike actions. Just like that.

[Source: http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/ ]

Samsung GALAXY Tab Opens a New Chapter in Mobile Industry

A New Smart Media Device, surpasses mobile boundaries, allowing you to enjoy more possibilities on the go
02 September 2010


Berlin, Germany, September 2nd, 2010 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in mobile technology, today announced the launch of the Samsung GALAXY Tab (Model: GT-P1000). Powered by Android Operating System 2.2, the Samsung GALAXY Tab is the first of the company’s tablet devices, representing a new category of mobile products for Samsung.
The Samsung GALAXY Tab brings together all of Samsung's leading innovations to provide users with more capabilities while on the move. Consumers are able to experience PC-like web-browsing and enjoy all forms of multimedia content on the perfectly sized 7-inch display, wherever they go. Moreover, users can continuously communicate via e-mail, voice and video call, SMS/MMS or social network with the optimized user interface.
"Samsung recognizes the tremendous growth potential in this newly created market and we believe that the Samsung GALAXY Tab brings a unique and open proposition to market. There is a new and emerging consumer demand that Samsung can satisfy since mobile is in our DNA. This demand continues to grow and develop as users tap its limitless potential," said JK Shin, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. "The Samsung GALAXY Tab has been designed to enable consumers to maximize their online experience wherever that may be. The Samsung GALAXY Tab is pushing the market in new directions and Samsung believes this is only the beginning of its innovations as pioneers in smart media devices."
A new concept of mobility for media
As a new category of device, the Samsung GALAXY Tab brings a wealth of mobile experiences. Its striking 7” TFT-LCD display delivers exciting mobile experience for watching films, viewing pictures, e-reading or sharing documents. In design, its light (380g) build provides perfect portability, with its svelte dimensions making it easy to grip and use. Supporting the latest Adobe Flash Player 10.1, the Samsung GALAXY Tab fully supports swift, seamless viewing of every single page of the web.
The 'Readers Hub', Samsung's unique e-reading application, provides easy access to a vast digital library - from classical literature to the latest bestsellers and reference materials. At the same time, Samsung unveils 'Media Hub', a gateway to a world of films and videos, and 'Music Hub', an application giving access to a wide range of music tunes.
The Samsung GALAXY Tab has made rich communication truly mobile; it presents a level of converged technology that moves beyond mobile or PC to an entirely new category. Users have new powers to consume, create and communicate from wherever they are.
Powerful, always-on communication
With 3G HSPA connectivity, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth® 3.0, the Samsung GALAXY Tab enhances users’ mobile communication on a whole new level. Video conferencing and push email on the large 7-inch display make communication more smooth and efficient. For voice telephony, the Samsung GALAXY Tab turns out to be a perfect speakerphone on the desk, or a mobile phone on the move via Bluetooth® headset.
Powered by a Cortex A8 1.0GHz application processor, the Samsung GALAXY Tab is designed to deliver high performance whenever and wherever you are. At the same time, HD video contents are supported by a wide range of multimedia formats (DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, H.264 and more), which maximizes the joy of entertainment.
While the front-facing camera allows face-to-face video telephony over 3G, the rear-facing camera captures still images and video that you can edit, upload and share, all without any hassle. As online content explodes, the Samsung GALAXY Tab is the best portable solution for every lifestyle that needs a constant connection.
The Samsung GALAXY Tab will be launched in Europe in mid September, and in other markets including Korea, the US and Asia in coming months. [http://galaxytab.samsungmobile.com]

Burj Khalifa Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

 

The Burj Khalifa skyscraper is a world-class destination and the magnificent centerpiece of Downtown Dubai, Dubai's new urban masterpiece.  The world's tallest building is surrounded by hotels , must-visit shopping destinations  and a world of entertainment options.Burj Khalifa lifts the world's head proudly skywards, surpassing limits and expectations. Rising gracefully from the desert and honoring Dubai with a new glow. Burj Khalifa is at the heart of Dubai and its people; the center for the world's finest shopping, dining and entertainment and home for the world's elite.http://www.burjkhalifa.ae

 

Asthmatx Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System (Breathe Easy)

The smooth muscle that lines the lung's airways, like the appendix, serves no function. When it contracts, it can pinch off airflow and cause asthma attacks. But doctors can now relax it permanently, and offer relief to two million Americans for whom no medication can stop frequent asthma attacks.
The Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System consists of an electrode catheter connected to a controller unit. A respiratory specialist inserts the electrode and zaps the muscle with a small electric current. The heat from the shock permanently relaxes the muscle to open the airway. In trials, the Alair treatment cut asthma attacks by 32 percent and hospitalizations for respiratory complications by 73 percent. It has even allowed some asthmatics who couldn't previously job more than a few blocks to run marathons. btforasthma.com

Mobilegs, The Most Comfortable Crutch

Standard crutches are hard on the body and haven't changed much over the course of history. The last major innovation was revising the basic "T" shape to the now ubiquitous adjustable A-frame—and that was during World War II. Mobilegs takes the design to the 21st century with modern materials and careful attention to ergonomic factors (which should come as no surprise given that their inventor helped design the Aeron chair). The new design provides better stability and reduces the type of secondary injuries—like nerve damage and wrist strain—associated with its predecessors. Better still, the lightweight crutches cost the same as the standard set. mobilegs.com

Dendreon Provenge, The First Personalized Cancer Vaccine

The Provenge prostate-cancer treatment uses a patient's own immune system to kill tumors. Doctors extract immune cells called antigen-presenting cells (APC) from a patient's blood and, in a lab, expose them to prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), a molecule th at only prostate-cancer cells produce. Injected back into the patient, the modified APCs seek out any cells that express PAP and instruct the patient's immune system to kill the cancer cells.
Clinical trials of terminally ill patients for whom no other treatments have been effective have shown that Provenge can extend life by four months on average, and up to three years in some cases. Scientists at Dendreon and elsewhere are working to apply the technique to other types of cancer.provenge.com

B2P MicroMagic Microbe Test , The Quickest E.Coli Test

The best way to prevent a batch of E. coli-tainted spinach from causing an outbreak—a dangerously rising trend—is to test it at every point in the system, from the farm's water supply to the field to the grocery store. The problem is, today's reliable tests move too slowly for the fast-moving food-supply chain; testers must mail a sample to technicians, who take up to 72 hours to process it.
The Thermos-size MicroMagic device lets inspectors check for E. coli on-site and at every stage of food production and preparation and it produces results in 45 minutes to 10 hours. B2P says it will launch additional tests next year for listeria, salmonella and other bacteria. [www.b2pglobal.com]

Bausch & Lomb Biotrue, First Sting Free Contact Lens Solution

The Review of Optometry reported in January that up to a third of new contact-lens users go back to glasses within a year because of discomfort. One of the biggest gripes was the burning sensation lens-cleaning solutions cause when they touch the eyes. Bausch & Lomb's answer is a liquid that's nearly identical to actual tears.
Biotrue is the only solution that contains the natural eye lubricant hyaluronan. It's also the first solution to match a tear's pH, so it doesn't sting. And like tears, the formula doesn't disrupt the natural alignment of proteins in the eye, as other solutions do, which reduces both inflammatory response and the chance of infection.
biotrue.com

Visioncare Ophthalmic Technologies Telescope Implant (Eyesight for the Blind)

Macular degeneration, which kills the photoreceptors at the center of the retina, robs nearly a third of Americans older than 75 of their "straight-ahead" vision. With a quick outpatient procedure, this telescope eye implant restores this vision by spreading that light to healthy cells on the retina's perimeter. It takes a few days for the brain to adjust to the implant, but in clinical trials, three quarters of users saw their vision improve from "severe impairment" to "moderate impairment"—they could once again read, watch TV and recognize faces.
centrasight.com

Earlysense EverOn, Smartest Hospital Bed

The EverOn sensor puts an around-the-clock nurse neear every hospital patient. Nurses typically check heart-rate and breath-analysis monitors of stable patients only every four hours, so a decline in health can go unnoticed in that time. Placed under a patient's mattress, the EverOn mat detects every heartbeat and breath, which it then transmits to a nurse's central computer so that worsening trends can be identified as they develop. Hospitals that tested the gear reported a 60 percent drop in patients who needed to be transferred to intensive care, and the average hospital stay dropped by half a day.
earlysense.com

Viking Systems 3DHD Vision System, The First 3D Surgery

Surgeons routinely snake endoscopes through tiny incisions in patients to perform life-saving procedures. But using one is like operating with one eye closed - its single camera offers no depth perception. The Viking 3DHD endoscope carries two cameras to provide a "left eye/right eye" feed. A monitor projects both images, which the surgeon's 3D eyewear combines into a single image with depth-of-field. Surgeons say the system makes it easier to dissect, grasp and suture, and clinical trials show that it reduces surgery times by 38 percent.
vikingsystems.com

Touch Bionics ProDigits, Most Agile Prosthetic Fingers

Roboticists have built five-fingered prosthetic arms that can allow wearers to toss a ball, but the options for people with partial hand amputations are limited to crude spring-loaded digits. The ProDigits prosthesis offers fully functional individual fingers and thumbs to the 9,200 Americans each year who lose one or more fingers, and could eventually help the 1,700 babies born every year in the U.S. with partial hand loss.
The breakthrough is miniaturization. Most full hand prosthetics stow the electronics and batteries in the palm, but because partial amputees still have their palm, Touch Bionics engineers redesigned everything to fit on the socket. Electrodes in the socket read muscle impulses to control the fingers. Adaptive programming adds functionality: Over time, patients can graduate from making a fist to typing.touchbionics.com

Orasure Technologies OraQuick HCV Rapid Antibody Test (Fastest Hepatitis C Test)

More than four million Americans are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), but three million of them don't know it because testing is expensive and results take weeks. HCV is responsible for half of all liver transplants in the U.S. yet is curable if detected before it infects the liver. OraQuick delivers a diagnosis in 20 minutes.
During your annual checkup, a doctor dips a strip coated with HCV proteins into a sample of your blood. If the blood contains HCV antibodies, a red line will form on the strip to indicate an infection.
orasure.com

GE Healthcare Vscan, Ultrasound anywhere

Trauma doctors have a saying: Time is blood. The quicker a physician can identify an injury or disease, the better the patient's chances of survival. Ultrasound can show doctors a patient's beating heart or blood flowing through a kidney, and now the Vscan, just a bit larger than a smartphone, puts the tool in every doctor's lab coat. As a doctor glides the sound-wave-generating transducer wand over the patient, circuitry inside it combines overlapping echoes into images of organs or real-time blood flow and displays them on a handheld screen.
The Vscan is already allowing emergency medics to assess internal injuries on the way to the hospital. And doctors can take a quick look at a person's heart murmur within minutes, rather than waiting hours or days for an appointment with an ultrasound technician. The Vscan could soon become as ubiquitous as the stethoscope.
gehealthcare.com

E Ink Pearl Display 'Sunny-day e-readers'

Apple established a market for luxurious mobile entertainment with the iPad this year. But for those of us who just want to read text on a screen, e-readers have also evolved. This year, E Ink improved the chemistry of its display’s pigment particles, resulting in a 50 percent greater contrast that makes beach reading even easier. The technology, called Pearl, was developed in partnership with chipset makers, meaning smaller, less expensive hardware can perform as well as costlier chipsets did in earlier devices. It may have been the year of the iPad, but Pearl brings the cost and legibility of e-readers closer to books than ever before.
[http://www.popsci.com]

'Vicon Revue' Your life, captured automatically

The Vicon Revue, a wearable camera based on Microsoft SenseCam technology, takes typing out of status updates by creating an uploadable JPEG flipbook of day-to-day life. By default, it shoots once every 30 seconds, but five sensors make it smart enough to shoot as often as once per second when the action starts. When a dad high-fives his son at a baseball game, the accelerometer and compass feel him move, and the infrared eye sees the son; the cool, dim ice-cream parlor triggers shots of the post-game snack.
[http://www.popsci.com]

Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi Direct

Anyone who has tried to connect wireless devices has at some point been foiled by a flaky router, but Wi-Fi Direct does away with the router entirely. In the coming months, devices will be able to sync and connect to each other without one, enabling phones to stream HD content to connected televisions, PCs to send images to digital photo frames, and cameras to drive printers. Members of the Wi-Fi Alliance, including Apple, HTC, LG, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, plan to embed the software in future Wi-Fi-enabled devices.[http://www.popsci.com]

SD Association SDXC Standard (Supersize storage, shrunken)

Secure Digital, the format on your point-and-shoot’s memory card, has been the standard since 2000. SDXC, the newest iteration, makes those cards capable of holding far more than your vacation photos. By ditching the antiquated FAT32 file structure and relying instead on Microsoft’s exFAT architecture, SDXC is capable of holding up to two terabytes on a single card—enough to capture 20 days of HD footage. The format also supports transfer rates as high as 104 megabytes per second, foretelling the end of hard-drive-based HD camcorders, and allowing manufacturers to someday replace hard-disk boot drives with SDXC cards in future mobile computers.[http://www.popsci.com]

Sony NEX-5 Beauty in a small package

Olympus and Panasonic slimmed everything down when they created the Micro Four Thirds format, which tosses the space-hogging mirror box and allows for pocket-sized, lens-changing cameras. Now Sony has done even better. The company shrunk the body further, but not the image sensor. The NEX-5 has a new compact lens format, a miniaturized shutter drive and a smaller battery, but the same APS-C sensor found in most digital SLRs (about 60 percent larger than a Micro Four Thirds camera), avoiding the grainy images that occur when you squeeze too many megapixels onto a small sensor.[http://www.popsci.com]

LG Mobile Digital TV DP570MH Road-ready TV

Exercise your inalienable right to watch broadcast TV wherever you want, because LG has delivered the first receiver based on the ATSC-M/H standard. The “M/H” stands for Mobile/Handheld—the system uses the existing digital TV broadcast spectrum to beam over-the-air digital programming in a format that works with portable receivers. The TV combines a DVD player and a portable ATSC-M/H tuner, with a seven-inch LCD display. Future implementations of the ATSC-M/H format will include cellphones that pick up TV programming without using cellular bandwidth, and a receiver in your laptop computer. Thanks to LG, even in the new world of Internet television, the best on-the-go programming may still be broadcast. [http://www.popsci.com]

Powermat Wireless Charging System

This year, Powermat delivered a practical way to charge gadgets without power cords. Electric toothbrushes have used the underlying magnetic-induction technology for years, but Powermat’s system makes wireless charging widely practical. A charging pad accommodates multiple devices simultaneously, compact case adapters fit a wide variety of products, embedded radio-frequency chips communicate the device’s power requirements, and magnets align the device and the pad with a satisfying tug. [http://www.popsci.com]

Nikon D3S Bright in the dark

In impossibly dim conditions, Nikon’s D3S captures impressive images. It combines a new high- sensitivity image sensor with improved noise-reduction algorithms to make flash-free photography possible anywhere. The 12.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor has the horsepower to offer an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio that does away with graininess. And whereas most SLRs top out at an ISO 6400 light-sensitivity setting, the D3S boasts an astronomical 102,400.
[http://www.popsci.com]

HTC Evo 4G (Fastest phone)

It has a big screen, a big camera and a powerful processor, but the big news is the HTC EVO is the first 4G phone in the U.S. That means it connects to a mobile- data network—in this case, Sprint’s WiMAX—that’s up to 10 times as fast as earlier 3G systems. Surfing the Web on 4G is almost no different than doing so at a desk. The HTC EVO can download a song in seconds instead of minutes, stream high-quality versions of YouTube videos, and bring up Web pages faster than any other phone. Sprint’s 4G service currently covers 53 metro areas, with more on the way, and you needn’t fear if you wander elsewhere: In addition to its 4G antennas, the EVO packs antennas for ordinary voice, 3G data and Wi-Fi, all carefully arranged inside so that they don’t interfere with one another.
[http://www.popsci.com]

Apple iPad

After years of companies trying to cram a computer into a tablet—the resulting boxes have been too heavy, the software too sparse, the screen too small—Apple made what everyone wanted: a sleek device with a gorgeous screen and a dead- simple interface that makes you want to sit back and play. The trick? Rather than shrink a computer, enlarge a phone. By using the same multitouch gestures and App Store as the iPhone, Apple created an intimate gadget for updating your Facebook status, watching a movie, or reading a magazine. Making it look simple, though, is complicated.
The 9.7-inch high-definition screen is the best example yet of in-plane switching, in which liquid crystals are aligned to allow a wider viewing angle than regular LCDs, and its speedy one-gigahertz processor is still efficient enough to run for nearly nine hours on a single charge. Apple sold three million in the first 80 days (more than the iPod or iPhone); now companies are rushing LCD tablets to market. The iPad, something between phone and computer, is what we always hoped a gadget could be. [http://www.popsci.com]

Boeing X-37B

America’s first reusable unmanned spaceplane, the X-37B, made its inaugural trip to orbit in April, completing more than a decade of work by NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. The X-37B looks and behaves like a shrunken space shuttle, right down to its method of reentry; once it completes its mission, it will glide back to Earth and land on a runway in California. What is the mission? Sorry, that’s classified. But we do know that this kind of unmanned mini shuttle is attractive for many reasons. Because it’s smaller and doesn’t carry humans, it’s cheaper and simpler to launch. It can be reused repeatedly to ferry satellites to orbit in its payload bay. Soon after launch, amateur astronomers spotted the plane in an orbit used by observation satellites.
boeing.com

Piasecki/Carnegie Mellon Autonomous Helicopter

Previous unmanned helicopters, like the Boeing A160 Hummingbird, could operate only in obstacle-free, pre-mapped environments. In June, engineers at Piasecki Aircraft and the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University broke that barrier when they equipped an A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopter with an autonomous guidance system and tested it on an unfamiliar course in Arizona. The copter was able to map its surroundings on the go, recognize obstacles such as power lines and people, choose a landing site amid cluttered terrain, and set down safely, all without human guidance. GPS, inertial sensors and laser scanners gathered information about the environment, while onboard mapping software generated a 3-D map of the terrain. One promising application of this technology is to assist medevac helicopter pilots.
www.ri.cmu.edu

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne/Boeing X-51A Waverider

After dropping from a B-52 bomber 50,000 feet above the Pacific in May, the unmanned X-51A WaveRider destroyed the scramjet endurance record by flying at five times the speed of sound for more than three minutes. Despite five decades of research, engineers had previously never able to keep a scramjet (an engine that generates rocket-level speed by massively compressing air from the atmosphere) going for more than 12 seconds. That’s because the air that feeds combustion in a scramjet moves through the engine at supersonic speed; the challenge is to keep that air feeding the burning fuel rather than snuffing it out.
A new engine geometry and precision fuel injection made the record possible. The project, funded by the U.S. Air Force and the Pentagon’s Darpa, is a step toward developing advanced cruise missiles and cheaper space transport. pwrhypersonics.com

Eads Astrium Tandem-X Satellite

Existing satellite-generated maps of the Earth’s surface are cobbled together from multiple, inconsistent sources, leaving gaps in coverage and omitting vast amounts of detail. The TanDEM-X satellite, by working with another satellite, is set to create the first consistent digital elevation map of Earth’s entire land surface—in 3-D. Built by the European aerospace contractor Astrium for the German space program, TanDEM-X reached orbit in June and joined the original TerraSAR-X satellite, which had been in space since 2007. An EADS subsidiary will begin licensing topographic maps in 2012. astrium.eads.net

Spacex Falcon 9

When NASA retires the space shuttle next year, the only American-owned option the U.S. government will have for getting cargo to the International Space Station is to ride with a private spaceflight company. Such an arrangement became viable in June, when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 — a 180-foot, kerosene-and-liquid oxygen-fueled rocket capable of delivering six metric tons of cargo or seven astronauts to orbit—made its maiden voyage to space.
SpaceX engineers designed nearly every piece of the rocket from scratch, and made the Falcon 9 affordable enough that the company will haul cargo to space for $133 million per trip, compared with $450 million for each space-shuttle flight. SpaceX could begin regular cargo flights to the ISS as early as next year. spacex.com

Airbus Military A400M

The Airbus A400M, which made its first flight in late 2009 (after two years of delay and $7 billion in cost overruns), is built for flexibility: It can haul two attack helicopters or 116 soldiers, while remaining maneuverable enough to get in and out of the front lines quickly. The craft is powered by turboprops rather than jets, which can suck in debris on unimproved airfields. The relatively lightweight carbon-composite wings keep the plane’s weight low enough (the exact figure is a trade secret) that, when equipped with reinforced shocks, rugged tires and debris-resistant turboprops, the A400M can land on and take off from dirt and gravel runways. Yet the craft can carry 80,000 pounds, nearly twice as much as the rival Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules. a400m.com

Atacama Large Millimeter Array

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in the Chilean Andes, the most powerful radio-telescope array on the planet, powered up its first three antennas earlier this year. By 2013, engineers should finish installing at least 60 more of the 39-foot-diameter, 100-ton dishes (plus four smaller dishes). Together they will capture the narrow spectrum of radiation that can pass through interstellar dust clouds, thereby allowing scientists to observe, among other things, the gravitational collapse that initiates the birth of stars and the red-shifted radiation emitted 10 billion years ago from the far reaches of the universe. almaobservatory.org

ESA Cryosat-2

The European Space Agency launched a satellite in April that will give scientists unprecedented data about the polar ice caps and track changes in the thickness of the ice down to around half an inch — essential information for monitoring climate change. The satellite, CryoSat-2, is a second attempt; the first CryoSat was destroyed by a rocket malfunction in 2005. But ESA built an advanced replacement, with software upgrades and greater battery capacity powering an interferometric radar range-finder with twin antennas which measures the height difference between floating ice and open water.
www.esa.int/cryosat

Masten Space Systems Xombie

Vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) spacecraft made an important advance in May, when a demonstration spacecraft called Xombie, built by the Mojave, California–based firm Masten Space Systems, became the first of its kind to shut down its engine mid-flight, restart, and then land. The eventual goal is for unmanned VTVL rockets to rise to space and return several times a day, carrying zero-gravity experiments with each pass. The challenge is to carefully consume fuel throughout the trip so that the rocket has enough to land—hence the importance of Xombie’s success.  
masten-space.com

Solar Impulse HB-SIA

Zero-emission flight leapt forward in July, when Swiss pilot André Borschberg flew the solar- and battery-powered Solar Impulse HB-SIA for 26 hours, 9 minutes and 10 seconds, reaching a height of 28,500 feet before gliding back down and marking the first time any aircraft had flown overnight on energy collected during the day.
Made largely of carbon fiber, the HB-SIA weighs 3,500 pounds, roughly the same as a midsize sedan. The plane's 208-foot wingspan and its horizontal tail stabilizer are covered with 11,628 solar cells that supply electricity to its onboard electronics, four 10-horsepower electric motors and lithium-polymer battery packs. The battery packs take over from the solar panels approximately two hours before dusk, when the sun's rays become too weak to be useful.
Bertrand Piccard, the endurance balloonist who co-founded Solar Impulse with Borschberg in 2003, says he wants the HB-SIA's successor, the HB-SIB, to achieve the first solar-powered flight around the world as early as 2013. solarimpulse.com

World Wide Web Consortium HTML5

HTML5 is a new Web language, standardized in cooperation with the WHAT Working Group, that will eventually allow any browser—on a computer, phone or iPad—to present video, animation and games, without the aid of tricky software add-ons, such as Java, Flash or Silverlight. Developers will just code in what they want, and you’ll watch CNN, Major League Baseball and YouTube on any device with a browser.