The long awaited Blackberry Playbook tablet has finally arrived. This is RIM’s first attempt as they jump into the already crowded tablet market. I would compare them to the friend who arrives late to the party but at least they brought good beer. What makes this tablet different than many others is the small size. The Playbook is small enough to fit in your back pocket which makes it more mobile than an iPad.

The Playbook has a 7 inch LCD display with 1024×600 resolution. The screen has multi touch and gesture support. It is powered by a 1 GHz dual core processor and has 1GB of RAM. Models are available with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage.

There are two 1080p HD cameras on this device, a 3 megapixel front facing camera and a 5 megapixel rear facing camera.

The Blackberry Playbook is definitely a portable tablet due to it’s dimensions and weight. It measures 7.6 inches tall, 5.1 inches wide, is just 0.4 inches thick and weighs just 14.4 ounces. Here is a link to the product page and here are some additional pictures.

The MacBook Air is Apple’s newest entry-level laptop and it’s so super-thin and light weight you might even forget you’re carrying it. An upgraded version of the MacBook Pro, this newer model is tantalizingly sleek and slender. You’ll notice some of the differences right away. On the other hand, some things never change.

For example, take the USB ports. Apple is still sticking to the standard 2 – one on the right and one on the left. They have, however, added in a Thunderbolt connector. The excuse is, by limiting the number of ports they can create that thin, almost razor-sharp design. At it’s thickest point – the end with the hinge – it measures a mere .68 inches, tapering down to almost nothing on the front side. The MacBook Air is so thin it’s even been used to slice vegetables in the kitchen.

On the plus side, Apple redesigned the touchpad, making it larger and more refined. There’s no noise this time around and actions are more specific and defined. In other words, they’ve tightened up the float.

Apple also changed the keyboard on the Macbook Air and this is one of the best new features. Not only are the keys more durable and responsive than before, but the keyboard is actually backlit now. Yes, you can even blog in the dark now – which is really the best time for blogging, anyway. It’s about time someone recognized that fact.

The MacBook Air has a new intel Core i5 and i7 ULV processor with 4GB of DDR3 memory – the basic 11-inch model only sports 2Gig. SSDs start at 64 GB for the 11-inch and range up to a full 256GB for the 13-inch. And it has an Intel HD 3000 graphics card with stock processors. Again, toss in an extra hundred bucks an upgrage to the 1.8GHz Core i7.

The 13-inch model still has the standard 1440 x 900 glossy display with the LED-backlit panel and the 11-inch has the 1366 X 768. Both screens have nice sharp contrast and brightness and viewing angles are wider than most other machines in this class. You really won’t be disappointed watching the Kardashians wade across the screen. Or wait… maybe you will.

Standard battery testing came out at about 5 1/2 hours of life, which is also comparable to other laptops in this class and we found the 7 hours that Apple claims you’ll get to be perfectly reasonable under normal usage. So yes, you’ll be able to update your Facebook status any time.

When all is said and done the Apple MacBook Air is really an amazing machine – especially when you compare it with other machines in the same class. As for the new, thin case design you’ll have to see it to believe it. It’s almost sharp along the front edge, it’s just that thin. In fact, you can almost see through the Apple when the light’s just right.

Put OSX Mountain Lion on the MacBook Air and you’ve got a powerful laptop with plenty of iPad-like features.

I’ve been interested in purchasing a touch screen desktop for quite a while now. I figure if my smartphone can do it then my computer should be able to as well. The one I’ve chosen to review is the HP TouchSmart 300-1360.

Let’s take a look under the hood as they say. The HP Touchsmart 300-360 is powered by a 2.8GHz AMD Athlon II 240e dual core processor. It comes with 4GB of RAM and is expandable to 8GB. For storage there is more than enough, 1TB which is about 1,000 GB worth of memory. As expected the operating system is Windows 7, the home premium 64bit version.

Now for the monitor. It is a touch enabled 20 inch diagonal HD LCD Display with Brightview technology. With a built in HDTV tuner you can watch and record live TV as well with the included remote control. It will also come with a low profile wireless keyboard, a wireless optical mouse and a webcam.

Here are some additional pictures of the HP Touchsmart 300-360 desktop.

In 2011, two companies – both of whom were struggling in the phone market – agreed a deal which both hoped would help them to cement a foothold in the mobile phone market. This doesn’t sound like a match made in heaven but when you consider one of the parties was Microsoft, the second biggest publicly traded tech company in the world (no prizes for guessing who’s first but we will give you a clue, its Apple) famed for their role in popularizing home computing. The second party was Nokia – a fallen giant which can boast a similar claim as bringing the mobile phone to prominence (who didn’t have a 3310 in its heyday?).

With Apple making an unprecedented turnaround from an almost-bankrupt has-been to the world’s largest company (overtaking Exxon in August last year following 90% year-on-year growth) and Google successfully expanding into mobile phones, not to mention the ever-present Nokia rivals of Samsung and Sony (formerly Sony-Ericsson), life has been tough for Nokia phones. In the last four years, due in part to the financial crisis and the true emergence of Apple as unparalleled industry leaders, Nokia has lost 85% of its value, now worth just $20 billion. The word “just” seems slightly unreasonable in any context, but when you consider that Apple’s revenue for 2011 was over $108 billion and has total assets of $116 billion, you start to see the true story. Factor in that Nokia made a loss of $1.25 billion last year and its valuation is more understandable!

Microsoft on the other hand may have suffered somewhat at the hands of Apple but are still very much going strong reporting profits of $23 billion last year on revenue of nearly $70billion. However, it has struggled to break into the phone market with its Windows Phone contracts following the success of Google’s Android operating system and of course iOS on the iPhone.

What is particularly interesting is that the partnership between Microsoft and Nokia has resulted in heavy losses for the computer giants, losses that were fully anticipated by Microsoft. The reason for this is that whilst the production of the Nokia phones with Microsoft operating systems continue to lose, the million+ phones they have sold all have built in Microsoft features that will generate them more money in the long-run, namely the use of the Bing search engine which was launched in 2009 and has become the second most popular search engine, still significantly behind Google.

Many believe that Microsoft may well use their huge treasure chest of cash profits to buy their way into the mobile market, with their partnership with Nokia a potential starting point for the acquisition of the Finnish company which despite falling market share and profits remains the world’s largest manufacturer of handsets. Microsoft and Nokia individually have both also been rumored to be considering moves for RIM, the makers of BlackBerry, in the past and this could well be another possibility going forward.

Simon writes for Best Mobile Contracts who compare deals for all of the latest Nokia phones and other Windows Phone contracts.

Four thousand songs. That’s how much music you can put on the new 6th Generation 16 GB Apple iPod Nano. That’s more music than most people listen to in a lifetime and you can have it all right at your fingertips, with the click of a button. The multi-touch iPod nano is smaller than ever and it’s loaded with new feature that make it the best selling player on the market.

Just in time for those New Year’s resolutions, the new nano includes some new features to help you get fit. First, it has a hefty clip so you can wear it while you’re walking, running, working out on the weight machine or even working around the yard. And since you’re going to be getting all this exercise it also includes a pedometer to help you keep track of your progress. You can even connect and upload your data to the Nike+ website to track your progress and results.

Of course, this new 6th Generation 16 GB Apple iPod Nano syncs beautifully with the iTunes store, where you can surf through more than 13 million songs. One click and the tunes are already in your library. You’ll also have access to crystal clear FM radio.

The battery on this nano is built in and it’s a rechargeable lithium ion battery, which means you’ll have up to 24 hours of non-stop play time.

And the newest, best feature of all? The multi-touch display. Just tap once to play. Swipe your finger over the home screen to browse by artist, songs, playlists, composer, genre or album. And while you’re music’s playing you can browse album covers in the bold, high-contrast display. The buttons are gone and all navigation is completely by touch.

The one drawback on this next generation is that Apple has removed video recording and playback capability. But, seriously? Did anyone ever really use it? Maybe once a year you could bear watching a video on that tiny screen but for more robust usage you chose a different type of video player anyway.

With this new nano, Apple has done exactly what a lot of users where screaming for – they’ve made it smaller and easier to use in the gym. With bells and whistles like video gone, and features like the pedometer, the bright, easy-to-read screen and the touch control added, combined with the fact that you can sync up with Nike+ to track your workouts and results, it looks like Apple finally decided to listen to what their users were asking for. It’s impossible to look at this 16 GB Apple iPod and not take it seriously because they’ve taken away everything you don’t need and given you everything you’ve asked for.

The iPod Nano (6th generation) holds 16 gigs, which is enough for about 4,000 songs. On a single charge you get 24  hours of audio playback. The screen has a tiny 1.54 inch (diagonal) color TFT display 240 x 240 pixel resolution.

Here are some additional images

In today’s world, social networking has become an important part of our culture. Not too many people these days have some sort of social networking in which they participate. In our global world, making these connections has become even more important as well as stronger. Perhaps much of social networking’s popularity can be attributed to smartphones. These handy phones not only serve as phones but also double as portable computers to slide in your pocket. Apple’s new iPhone 4S was designed with regards to a user’s need to stay in touch as well as update social networking sites.

With the iPhone 4S, the App Store provides numerous social networking applications that are installed directly to the phone. Many of these are quite popular while a few aren’t as widely known. Facebook is probably one of the most recognized social networking site. It has enjoyed stellar growth over the years. Facebook users can easily view their news feed and other Facebook features with their iPhone 4S. The touch screen of the iPhone 4S makes it easy to post news, make comments and upload photos to you Facebook page. When taking pictures with the iPhone 4S’s new 8 megapixel camera, it is easy to send these pictures straight from the phone to one’s Facebook page.

Another widely recognized social networking application that can be put directly on the iPhone 4S is Twitter. While this is not quite as well used as Facebook, it has experienced phenomenal growth. Again, this growth can be traced back to smartphones like the iPhone 4S. Like the Facebook app, the Twitter app permits users to carry out functions they would it they were using a computer. On the main screen of the iPhone app, it is quite easy to post tweets up to as many as 140 characters. You can now order the iphone 4s at http://www.phones4u.co.uk.

The Nokia N8 is a 3G enabled smartphone that comes with a large 3.5 inch touchscreen, runs on the Symbian^3 operating system and has a 12MP camera.

Screen

The screen on the Nokia N8 is 3.5 inches and takes up much of the front of the phone. It has a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels / 16.7 million colors.

Operating System

The Nokia N8 runs on the Symbian^3 operating system. Word is that Nokia will abandon this OS and run their phones with Windows Phone 7 in the future which means that it is unlikely that you’ll see any upgrades to the software in the future.

Hardware

N8 runs with only a 680 MHz processor and 256MB of RAM. However since the Symbian OS was built from ground up to be battery, memory and processor efficient, you won’t have a sluggish system. There is 16GB of internal memory which is expandable with a microSD card.

Pictures / Videos

The Nokia N8 has a 12 megapixel auto focus camera with a Carl Zeiss lens. It has flash, face recognition, geotagging and a built-in photo editor. On the front there is a lower resolution camera for video calls (640×480 px resolution). As for the video capabilities the Nokia N8 allows you to shoot in 720p HD with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It does 25 frames per second. There is also preloaded software to allow you to instantly edit your videos right from the phone itself.

Additional stats

The NokiaN8 weighs 4.76 oz and it measures 4.47 inches tall, 2.32 inches wide and is 0.51 inches thick. As for battery life, it comes with a 1200 mAh lithium-ion battery. With it you can talk for almost 6 hours on 3G or 12 hrs on standard GSM with a standby time of 400 hours.

Other Features

• Turn by turn voice guided navigation. This also includes lane assistance, speed limit info and traffic information.
• Bluetooth 3.0 for hands free devices.
• FM radio plus FM transmitter for playing stored music over an external radio.
• Flash Lite 4 support for viewing flash movies or websites using flash.

Additional product images of the NokiaN8