This is my first (late?) post of 2008! I finally got a few minutes to present you the ‘gadget’ of the year: iPhone Touch. First I wanted an iPhone like almost everyone, but since I can’t take photos with it, it couldn’t replace my actual phone so I decided to wait for the next iPhone generation. Until now, I used my phone to listen to music, sometimes also my Zen (Creative Labs) and/or my PSP. But the iPod Touch had it all (minus the camera, of course): the wonderful multitouch interface is exactly like on the iPhone, the 3.5-inch multitouch widescreen has a resolution of 480-by-320, there is a Wi-Fi version of the iTunes Music Store (so I can buy songs by just clicking on them) and you can use it in vertical mode, or turn it sideways and the video is presented in widescreen mode. In horizontal mode, you can also view the excellent Cover Flow feature and move the covers as if thumbing through a virtual vinyl collection. And Safari, Youtube, photos, podcasts…
The hefty price is really worth it. It is incredibly thin at just 8 millimeters and weights only 120 grams (4.2 ounces). Seriously, I bought a lot of stuff in my life and wasted a lot of money buying things I used for only days or weeks. Now I don’t spend my money the way I did when I was ‘young’ (although I wasn’t rich enough to play ducks and drakes…) and the iPod Touch is definitely the kind of purchase I will not regret. I will not throw it away anytime soon, nor leave it in a drawer…
Talking about ‘new stuff’ and gadgets, I carefully followed CES 2008 event which took place in Las Vegas this week. And some hi-tech products totally fired my enthusiasm. First, Mitsubishi Laser TV: a 65-inch rear-projection set, it is said to produce vivid colors far beyond current HDTV standards. Mtube, the smallest PC in the world: a Linux-based UMPC with a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen, 1Ghz VIA CPU and 8GB of storage, 8.5 x 8.5 x 2cm. The 3D Plasma Screen built by Samsung is also promising, it uses DLP technology but it still is flat. I remember watching Johnny Mnemonic and more recently Minority Report, I was hoping someday I could use a multitouch interface like Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise did. Now we can. But for a 3D screen like in Paycheck, I think we will have to wait a little bit more. Movies often are ahead of technology and this is why I enjoy Sci-fi movies so much. I will post something about the genre as I am still captivated by Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey…
Below a pic of my ‘Samazed’ iPod Touch !
