Apple’s tablet/cellphone/thing dubbed the iPad has generated plenty of attention for itself seeing as it’s a large jump into a market most companies haven’t thought of. Sitting between an iPhone and full-fledged tablet the iPad will certainly find some use if the company’s legion of fans have anything to say about it.

The company will be launching its iPad Wi-Fi model on April 3rd with Wi-Fi + 3G models being released sometime late next month. Pre-orders for both models of the gadget will begin March 12th, or next Friday, so get your F5 key ready you’re probably going to need it.

Source: Apple

Loading your PC with a TV tuner is one of the best ways to get some of your favorite shows on to your computer without having to rely on certain other sources, it’s also a great way to kill off any form of productivity.

The ASUS MY Cinema PHC3-150 HDTV-Tuner Card promises to bring HDTV broadcasts to your PC and even includes a second analog tuner should you live in an area where it’s still necessary. Benchmark Reviews has a look:

The recent switch from analog to digital television was mainly driven by the benefits of digital technology over its analog predecessor. Though digital television has become ubiquitous the conversion cannot be instantaneous, nor will analog technology simply vanish. During this transitional period of converting analog infrastructures into a digital foundation, hybrid devices like the My Cinema PHC3-150 Combo TV-Tuner Card will be essential. These hybrid devices work with both signal types allowing for a smoother transition.

As good an option as any for your HTPC or normal PC usage.

If there’s one thing that people want it’s access to the things that are important to them all in a central location which Microsoft has taken to heart with their upcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system.

It’ll be a major shift for the company as they’ve done away with their old way of doing things and are focusing on the “lighter side” of the smart phone market. They want to make such a great first impression that they’ve actually instituted a minimum set of requirements if handset makers want to use their next mobile OS.

You’ll have to wait until the holiday buying season to get your hands on a phone sporting the new OS but, from the early information, it looks like it’ll be shaking up the smartphone market.

Source: engadget , Windows Phone 7 Series

The Tech Report has delved into Intel’s latest press briefings and pulled out some interesting information on the company’s upcoming 6-core processors and funk stuff they have going on in their labs.

Most notable are the massive power saving tweaks Intel has put into their Gulftown design which should help keep its heat output in check. One nifty design the company is working on should be of great interest to companies wanting to interface two high bandwidth devices using nothing but ribbon cable.

Intriguing technology any hardware head should be interested in.

Apple events tend to throw a ton  of information at everyone without giving you much time to sit back and really digest what just happened, thankfully a day’s rest and some fresh eyes give you some new perspectives:

• The Apple iPad – Anand’s Analysis – AnandTech
• Insanely great? Ars reacts to the Apple iPad – ars technica
• iPad’s Identity Crisis and Apple’s A4 CPU Showstopper – Hot Hardware
• iDisappointed in the iPad – tbreak

Apple’s iPad tablet has been announced and it has everyone in a tizzy, one way or the other, on the company’s take of the future of mobile computing products. The device isn’t a full-fledged PC, instead you can consider it a larger format iPhone/Touch which will be a host to already existing apps and, of course, newer innovative uses.

The base iPad lineup will set you back $499, $599, and $699 for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions respectively which includes only WiFi support. If you want 3G functionality, aka cell tower access, will bump the base prices by $130.

Single use devices are a bit of an annoyance, there’s only so much utility you can get out of it since it’s designed to do exactly one thing. Thankfully there are those that see a chance to bring in some added functionality.

The Nitrox iConn+ iPhone Case not only protects your iPhone but it also features a built-in battery that can give it a of an extra charge while on the road. Big Bruin has the review:

Due to numerous traffic jams, we used the Google Maps App, surfed the Internet, check emailed, and I managed to get a few games of pinball played while my wife was driving. Without the benefit of a charged iPhone battery, we managed to get almost 8 hours of run-time. The same exact usage scenario was repeated on the return trip, but this time we started with both devices fully charged. When the iPhone battery meter was checked upon pulling into the driveway, we were still at slightly more than half. I continued to use the iConn+ for the entire next day without the phone powering down. By comparison, with mixed phone and application usage I usually can go an entire 24 hour period between charges. So in my testing, the iConn+ does indeed backup the claim of “doubling” the iPhone’s battery life.

Quite handy if you’re a mobile browsing fiend.

Fan controllers serve as a sort of peacekeeper whereby you can install those insane high airflow fans and tame them down to a respectable level where you can hear yourself think. Unfortunately most of them are a nightmare of dials to turn.

The NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller lets you control everything with a few touches of the finger. Overclock3D tests the controller’s prowess:

Further displays of the plus and minus abilities. Naturally it maxes out at 100%. On the other end of the scale the lowest value you can reach is 40%. Initially this seems strange, but logically it makes perfect sense. Low RPM fans will end up stopping around there, and if you want to reduce the speed of a high CFM fan below 40%, you might as well use a quiet one anyway. Thankfully NZXT have included a feature that a lot of fan controllers skip, and that is the ability to turn the fan off totally. With modern PC Chassis having multiple large fans, it’s great to be able to shut some of them up when you’re just browsing the net, or doing gentle tasks, but still have the ability to keep that graphics card cool when the gaming heats up.

A slick addition to give any case that futuristic look, even if all it does is a rather mundane task.

Getting media content from your PC or the Internet on to your TV takes a whole lot of tweaking, trickery, or the last-ditch home theater PC building in order to get it all working…thankfully some people are developing neater ways to get things done right.

D-Link drops word that they’ll be the first company to launch hardware that will support Boxee media streaming software. Their Boxee Box, yes that’s the actual product name, sports some angles while serving up your files over its HDMI output. Other features include optical (SPDIF) audio out and the odd inclusion of RCA Audio out.

A pair of USB ports are along for the ride offering up expansion capabilities, perhaps storage, and built-in 802.11n gives it enough bandwidth to do just about anything.

You can expect to see it in stores in the first half of next year, they haven’t determined its pricing yet so your guess is as good as any.

Rejoice owners of pre-Android 2.0 smartphones! Just in time for Thanksgiving, Google today announced that free Google Maps Navigation is now available for Android 1.6 (Donut) users.

The Official Google Mobile Blog has the details:

If you have a phone running Android 1.6, you can download an updated version of Google Maps from Android Market to use Navigation today. Google Maps Navigation is in beta and is currently available in the United States. Some features of Android 2.0 are not available on Android 1.6, for example, the ability to use the “navigate to” voice command as shown in our demo video.

The lack of voice support is kind of a bummer, but free is free. Go and grab the GPS-enhancing app before you start your holiday trek.

Source: Official Google Mobile Blog [via Gizmodo]