Apple breaks 1 million app download mark on Mac App Store

Mac App Store in just its first day. This is pretty amazing, considering there are just slightly more than a thousand free and paid apps to choose from, so it goes to show just what kind of strength of depth that Apple has with their customers and loyalists. According to Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, “We’re amazed at the incredible response the Mac App Store is getting. Developers have done a great job bringing apps to the store and users are loving how easy and fun the Mac App Store is.” Apps in various categories such as Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, and Utilities are available, alongside a user ratings and review system to help you make a more informed and educated decision before purchase. Have you tried out the Mac App Store yet, and do you have any comments on it?

The new Nike + SportWatch GPS at CES 2011

I saw this watch from shoe giant Nike last night at the CES 2011 event Pepcom. The Nike+SportsWatch GPS uses the Nike+ sensor based in the shoe for tracking time, pace, distance, calories burned as well as heart rate.

It also has something else: a GPS powered by TomTom. This allows the watch to track “what a user does, how they do it, and then motivates the user to improve on previous performances over the each route”. After the user is completed with their run or other exercises, they can take off their watch and connect it to a PC with the built-in USB dongle. From there, data is uploaded to the NikePlus.com site for viewing of completed runs, setting new goals, as well as interacting with other runners.

I’m sure that this technology comes in handy for those that like to run. However, I can’t help but wonder why this tech couldn’t be put on a new version of an iPod nano. After all, most people are mounting their nanos on their watches anyway. Perhaps in the next version of the nano.

The new Nike watch won some awards from CES for innovation in both the Health and Wellness and Personal Electronics categories.

Razer Onza Tournament and Standard editions of Xbox 360 controllers announced

Razer certainly ain’t playing around when with a couple of new releases – the Onza Tournament and Standard editions of Xbox 360 controllers. Of course, Razer has more often than not been associated with gaming hardware for the personal computer, but not quite so with the video game console environment. Well, all of that is going to change from now on as Razer has just announced both the Razer Onza Tournament and Standard editions for Xbox 360 owners. These new controllers are high precision devices that certainly intend to deliver the best gaming experience possible for everyone who places top priority on accuracy and responsiveness when it comes to gaming. After all, there surely isn’t a fate worse than death when it comes to losing to your hated rivals online, right?

Specially built for the hardcore competitive gamer, the Razer Onza Tournament Edition will deliver superior customizability with adjustable resistance analog sticks. This is one of the main reasons why Onza’s tagline “Resistance is Futile” translates to having nothing to stand in your way for exceptional precision. Twist the analog sticks in one direction and they will be more resistant, offering a steadier control whenever you game, while doing otherwise in the opposite direction will result in quicker, fluid movements.

As for the Razer Onza Standard Edition, this model will come with Multi-Function Buttons (MFB) on the controller’s shoulders that enable the remapping of critical buttons to virtually any location under your fingertips. This will not only increase the efficiency of game control, but will also aid those with disabilities unable to reach specific functions on a crappy standard controller. In this way, Razer paves the way to enable everybody to play. Both Standard and Tournament Editions will ship with MFB, Hyperesponse technology, PC compatibility, and a 15 foot cable. Retailing for $49.99 a pop, you can place a pre-order this coming January 17th.

JVC touts a world’s first – 3D camcorder that does full HD

JVC intends to remain on the cutting edge of technology by rolling out the first consumer camcorder in the world that is capable of recording in full HD, courtesy of the new JVC-developed high-speed processor which is capable of producing a couple of simultaneous Full HD images. The model in question? The GS-TD1, where it will utilize a couple of camera lenses and a similar number of 3.32 megapixel CMOS sensors – one for each lens – in order to help it capture three-dimensional images in the manner where human eyes work. This new high-speed imaging engine is capable of simultaneously processing the two Full HD images, where left and right images at 1920 x 1080i – using but a single chip. Want to know more about the GS-TD1? Read all about it in the extended post.

The newly developed “LR Independent Format” is what allows the GS-TD1 to be the world’s first consumer-oriented camcorder capable of 3D shooting in Full HD. Of course, this doesn’t mean that JVC’s new camcorder is unable to do more than that – no sir, it offers much more, boasting of different shooting modes as well, including the widely used “Side-by-Side Format” for AVCHD (3D) and conventional AVCHD (2D) shooting. The JVC 3D Twin HD GT Lens is touted to set a new standard in high-resolution lenses with extra-low-dispersion glass for crisp, high-contrast images, while multiple aspherical lenses pave the way for fine image reproduction. Other hardware specifications include round iris diaphragms which enable beautiful bokeh effect (background blurring) shooting of video and stills alike.

Apart from that, you will also find that the GS-TD1 (why do they come up with hard-to-remember model names?) will sport a 3D optical 5x zoom, Optical Axis Automatic Stabilization System for disparity control to give depth to 3D images, JVC’s BIPHONIC technology for dynamic 3D sound and Automatic Parallax Adjustment to optimize the 3D-video comfort zone. It will arrive in the market this coming March for $1,999.95, placing it well out of reach of the ordinary consumer. Oh yeah, you will also need to remember that purchasing this means upgrading the rest of your home entertainment ecosystem in order to accommodate 3D capability.

Glove Box Battery Jumper

Having a dead battery in your car is not something everybody wants, but it does happen to the best of us from time to time. Well, in such an event, you can always rely on the Glove Box Battery Jumper to help you out of a particularly tight position, and even better is you won’t need to have a friend or stranger who is willing to “lend” their car’s battery for you to jump start it. This device will help juice up your car’s battery from the comfort and safety of the driver’s seat, and to make it a whole lot more convenient, it is tiny enough to store within the glove box. The 30-volt battery will plug into your vehicle’s 12-volt lighter outlet, and is capable of jump starting your car’s battery in just 10 minutes. Heck, it is good enough to provide a two-amp “trickle” charge, even in temperatures as low as -10º F. Doing something as simple as reversing a switch will allow the device to recharge in 30 minutes from a running car. Each $34.95 purchase already comes fully charged, where it is good for up to five years of power.
   

Satarii Star has its eye on you

Do you use your iPhone often for Facetime? Well, if you’re one of the select few who does so, then you might want to check out what the Satarii Star is capable of doing. This unique device will definitely need your iPhone to remain docked within, where it can swivel around to track your movement. To make things more flexible, it allows you to dock your iPhone in either portrait or landscape mode, literally allowing you to position it where you want it. As for the second part of this setup, it comprises of a small tracking device that allows you to clip onto the subject. The tracking device will communicate with the base within a 25 foot radius, where the base can rotate up to 180 degress, aiming at the tracker always. No idea on when it will be released commercially and for how much, since this is still part of an in-development project from a team of California-based designers.

Skype to buy Qik

Skype and Qikl, two halfs of a familiar apple, are going to become one. Skyqik?

Two companies that really turned the mobile world upside down over the last few years are merging. And it’s HUGE news. No, we’re not talking Google and Apple. That would be world war III. We’re talking about Skype announcing at CES that they’re buying QIK. And considering they use similar color schemes, why not?

QIK made headlines a few years ago by making it possible to broadcast live video from one’s smartphone to the Internet. That’s very Skypelike if you think about it and Skype agrees, which is why it’s buying Qik. And skype’s goal will be to make a “a richer, more integrated experience that will allow people globally to share experiences in real-time video across different platforms.”

And with Skype’s amazing quality when 20 million of your closest friends are online, and Qik’s video capability across multiple platforms, the result will be huge. And considering Skype just published their video chat app for the iPhone, you can bet that Cupertino is paying close attention to this one.

Skype to bring Video chat to Android

Skype Video Chat for Android ... coming soon to a Droid near you.

Fresh off releasing video chat capability for the iPhone, Skype isn’t wasting time resting on their laurels, as they plan to bring it to Android sooner than you think.

According to a demo seen by some Engadget geeks at the Motorola booth at CES. The Demo was on their prototype Motorola Droid Bionic, and while it wasn’t a working demo, mind you,it was far enough along to demo the interface, show access to a caller’s contacts and initiate a call (which doens’t connect just yet) … that clearly shows that Skype is hard at work to make it happen and is comfortable enough to show it to the masses to get them psyched about it.

And considering the Droid Bionic is 4G going over Verizon’s LTE network, it’ll be lightning fast and no doubt crystal clear. Considering the news that they’re buying Qik, and having already fired a broadside square at Apple’s Facetime app, it’s clear that Skype is up to something serious for 2011.

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 document scanner is one of the world’s smallest

Fujitsu certainly wants to grab headlines by the scruff of its neck with the ScanSnap S1100 document scanner, where it is touted to be one of the smallest in the world without compromising on performance and functionality. The new ultra-portable scanner will tip the scales at slightly more than 12 ounces, cramming inside enough technology to pay homage to its larger brethren in the series despite sporting a new sleek style that allows you to easily fit it into a briefcase or purse and digitizes your documents anywhere, and at any time. Live product demonstrations of the new ScanSnap S1100 can be seen when CES 2011 opens to the public, so we’re stoked to have a look.

The ScanSnap S1100 was specially designed to see action with a PC or Mac, where it will rely on its innovative paper path system and fast front-side color scanning functionality to quickly scan anything ranging from contracts and long receipts to business cards and plastic IDs. A single USB cable is all it takes to power the ScanSnap S1100, where it will convert all scanned data into searchable PDF files while enabling you to quickly transform your paperwork into editable Word and Excel files. Apart form that, ScanSnap S1100 lets you to scan documents directly to Evernote and Google Docs cloud services, making it a snap to store your paperwork and photos from just about anywhere as long as you’re hooked to a decent Internet connection.

A single push of the button lets the ScanSnap S1100 make short work of a letter-size sheet of paper – taking just 7.5 seconds of your life, scanning it in 300dpi and color to boot. Continuous Document Feeding (CDF) will let users scan multiple-page documents into the PDF format by simply pushing the “Scan” button and inserting each page into the scanner. Once the scanning is complete, users will just need to push the “Scan” button again to end the scanning task while converting the data into a PDF. The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 can already be purchased for $199 in the US – business minded folks, how about putting this on your wish list?

BlueAnt S3 Speakerphone targets yakking drivers

We all know that talking on your phone while driving is a definite no-no, and unless you have a hands-free kit with you, doing so will only endanger your life as well as that of others on the road. Why take the risk when you can always do your part in being a law-abiding citizen (and treasuring your life as well as that of others) with the BlueAnt S3 Speakerphone? This latest release from BlueAnt Wireless comes in the form of a visor-mounted car speakerphone which will draw upon the company’s extensive experience with voice-control features, such as voice answer/ignore, caller name announce and text-message readout, all without breaking the bank – sweet words in these economically challenging times, eh?

The S3 will definitely not tarnish BlueAnt’s heritage of delivering products with superior voice quality, outstanding wind, road and background noise reduction and superior call clarity. To make matters more enticing, the new BlueAnt S3 will come with a useful auto reconnection function that makes sure the device is more than ready to handle the user’s voice commands without sacrificing battery life. It does so by reconnecting the speakerphone to the driver’s phone automatically courtesy of built-in vibration sensor.

The S3 was specifically designed for drivers who want a fully featured, value-priced speakerphone that boasts simple voice prompts, where it will be able to utilize text-to-speech technology which reads out text messages via a free, downloadable application. Not only that, the S3 is capable of announcing the caller’s name from a list of up to 2,000 mobile phone contacts whenever the phone rings.

A bunch of other standard features on the BlueAnt S3 Speakerphone will comprise of true multipoint technology for connecting and conducting calls on two mobile phones simultaneously and A2DP for audio streaming of music, podcasts and turn-by-turn directions from a GPS navigation application. It offers up to to 20 hours of talk time; and 600 hours on standby, where $79.99 will net you the S3 in the first quarter of the year alongside a two-year replacement warranty. What you see above is the S3 Compact just for reference’s sake.