Apple’s App Store: 1 Billion Served

Well, it finally happened. Apple just delivered its 1 Billionth application download from the App Store, which currently features over 25,000 apps (35,000 by one estimate) built by thousands of developers. The significance of the milestone (besides just the 1 billion mark) is that it’s taken only nine months from when the App Store launched on iTunes to hit 1 billion paid and unpaid downloads.

Last summer, Apple sold one million 3G iPhones worldwide across 21 countries in the first 3 days on sale. During that same time, iPhone users made 10 million app downloads from the then newly launched iTunes App Store.

The count was at 300 million in early December, and the App Store hit 500 million downloads by January 16th. It took Apple six months to reach the first 500 million downloads. It would take Apple only three months to get another 500 billion downloads. By March, 2009, it was at 800 million. We started keeping track via Apple’s billion-app countdown at around 928,077,779. Apple also offered us a fleeting glimpse of the most popular apps ever, something the company only did once before.

Apple apparently already had a hunch of when the billion mark was going to be passed, because the billionth app celebration page was already ready to go.

Apple predicted the time when the billionth app would be downloaded: 1:24:06 AM PST on April 23. That didn’t happen.

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Kenwood SP0001 Glass Speakers

Speakers are typically made out of unattractive plastic. It’s rarely anything special and they’re more meant to blend in than to stand out. Of course that’s fine, because not every gadget you own needs to become a focal point. Although, these Japanese speakers aren’t meant to just stand aside in your home not to catch a second glance from any guests you might have. Even if you get the version without LED lights, the clear glass would be eye catching enough all on its own.

There are two different types of these speakers, there’s the type without lighting and then if you pay a little extra you can get one with white and blue LED lights. Of course no gadget would be complete without the option to make them glow. Especially blue, for some reason it seems like every gadget connected to my computer (including the computer), is capable of shining in bright blue. These SP0001 speakers only have 10W per speaker, so you might not be thrilled about the 100,000 Yen price tag that converts into about $1,000. So far though these are only sold in Japan anyway.

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Sharp Mebius comes with LCD Trackpad

It seems like only yesterday that I was discussing trackpad issues with the SmartTrack Neo. Actually, it was yesterday.

It would appear that Sharp has created a netbook with a trackpad like no other, as the Mebius PC-NJ70A trackpad is also an LCD. This four-inch screen has a resolution of 854 x 4850, and it can be used as a secondary display.

The LCD trackpad has a lot of cool things to do: like a paint program, a calculator, a piano keyboard, and a very interesting bowling game. As for the other features, the Mebius has 160GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, as well as a three USB ports, a multicard reader, and WiFi capabiltiy. The big (or should I say bigger?) screen is at 10.1 inches, with a resolution of 1024 x 600.

No doubt the Sharp Mebius is designed to compete with the rumor that Apple’s newest MacBook will come with a glass touchscreen. It doesn’t look like Apple is going to make that particular MacBook model, so Sharp stands to make a huge profit on this one.

There is no word on when this particular netbook will be released, but it is rumored to have a relatively high price at $817.

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Netgear releases Digital Entertainer Elite

Netgear is a household name when it comes to networking solutions, and they at the top of their game yet again with the announcement of a new Digital Entertainer Elite that goes by the model number EVA9150. This powerful and flexible digital media player will go down well with folks who have a streamlined mode of entertainment at home, where one is able to seamlessly stream digital content over their home networks to their respective high-definition home entertainment systems. Netgear ensures that the Digital Entertainer Elite will merge the most up-to-date video, audio and wireless technologies for home users to enjoy an unparalleled living room experience.

Features include a built-in 500GB hard drive which we believe that this 500GB will run out of space pretty soon judging by the amount of media that we love to hoard these days, but good thing it can be upgraded easily to larger capacity drives as your budget permits. Theoretically, this would make it the world’s largest capacity home video jukebox on the market - although you’ll need to perform the upgrading work yourself. The Digital Entertainer Elite is fast enough to play Blu-ray quality digital video up to 1080p, high-resolution digital photos, MP3s and recorded TV shows off from their computers or storage devices on the network without suffering from jarring images or dropped frames. In addition, the Digital Entertainer Elite also plays nice with other media-heavy Internet content including YouTube, Internet radio, Flickr, RSS feeds and videos from popular websites.

What’s more, the Digital Entertainer Elite is highly flexible as it plays nice with most major computing systems, including Windows, Mac and Linux platforms in addition to other Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices. Other features include a couple of USB 2.0 ports, direct searching and indexing on the device itself, the ability to navigate through a bunch of content across multiple PCs and devices simultaneously and an easy accessible library among others. You can have the Digital Entertainer Elite perched in your living room for $399 a pop.

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Relational Pillow concept

We love our pillows as there’s nothing quite like resting our heads on something soft and fluffy after a long hard day at the office, and the Relational Pillow concept takes things one step further as it will feature light and touch sensors fitted within. Just when you thought it could not get any more high-tech than that, you’ll be pleased to know that the Relational Pillow features Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing you to send emoticons to another Relational Pillow as long as they’re online. Sounds like the perfect gift for couples who are having a long distance relationship to bridge the physical gap with an emotional solution. We would very much like to see this concept come to life, that’s for sure.

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AQ Wireless Outdoor Speakers

Outdoor speakers are great if you hold many social functions in your backyard, but it would be better if these speakers were wireless as you will run less risk of anyone tipsy tripping over and breaking a bone (or neck) in the process. The AQ Wireless Outdoor Speakers hope to fulfil this specific need without looking out of place in most gardens.

These speakers truly do deliver with their pounding bass, sweet treble and a design that makes them look like some sort of futuristic office block - they’re shaped this way to keep the speakers water resistant in case the weather decides to spoil your mosh pit in the garden - it doesn’t do the bass any harm either, the shapes perfect for driving those deep sounds into the ground, giving you that warm earthy feeling that can only be experienced while listening to phat bass.

You can connect just about any device with a headphone or jack output to the AQ Wireless Outdoor Speaker’s transmitter, where it has a radius of 100 meters. You can pick up the AQ Wireless Outdoor Speakers for £89.99 a pair.

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Extreme sports has another lifeline in case of disaster.

Snowboarders, downhill and cross country skiers, snowmobilers, even mountain climbers now have a very comfortable too to help them survive an avalanche. If the initial tidal wave of snow doesn’t kill them, suffocating while trapped underneath the snow is certain to. Not because there isn’t any air to breathe, but because of a local build up of carbon dioxide that super saturates the area where the victim may be breathing. But the Black Diamond Avalung II uses simple misdirection to change all that.

The idea is simple. Breathe in the air that is around you and exhale your deadly carbon dioxide into the Avalung, which then distributes the Co2 away from the “fresh air intake zone,” and gives the survivor more time to wait out rescue.

And as a bonus, the Black Diamond Avalung is made of Nylon and flexible plastic making it both light and extremely comfortable to wear. It weighs all of 9 ounces and fits casually as a shoulder sling around the skier’s upper torso.

And with a price of under $120 from Amazon, it’s so affordable, that any extreme sports fanatic would rue the day to be caught without it in a worse case scenario.

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Bridgestone color electronic paper

Over here at Coolest Gadgets, we’re extremely interested to see how technology is able to aid our everyday lives in various ways, where such aid could also become a point of contention when it comes to us humans getting lazier and lazier. After all, who could deny that the introduction of escalators, elevators and travellators at shopping malls and airports have greatly reduced our need to walk? What about Segways and the remote control which further reduce our need for physical activity? Well, one thing’s for sure, not all new technology turns us humans into fat, degenerate slobs who will eventually need a robot to take care of our personal needs. Bridgestone Corp. has come up with a color electronic paper (e-paper) device that also boasts pen input support. This device will bring together the “QR-LPD,” the company’s e-paper device using its proprietary electronic powder and granular material, with Wacom Co Ltd’s electromagnetic induction type pen input tablet and a color filter.

What’s so special about this, you ask? Well, for starters, Bridgestone has accelerated the screen refresh speed of the e-paper device to enable pen input,taking all of 0.8 seconds to refresh the display where its previous efforts of A4-sized e-paper device required around 10 to 15 seconds. That’s a whole world of improvement no matter how you look at it, and it will definitely bode well for new devices that require a fast refresh rate - something digital artists would love to enjoy.

Bridgestone has so far kept mum on further details of this technology, but it has quickened the refresh speed primarily by improving drive technologies. This will greatly enhance the device’s ability to follow the pen input and enabled it to display input texts and graphics smoothly, making it easy on your eyes in the process. The e-paper device will be powered by a passive matrix panel. No idea on when it will enter full commercial production though.

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Spion’s Portable Voice Lie Detector

Lie Detection. Apparently, it is the latest thing. Just last week, we reported on the Truth Wristband, a device that can detect a user’s galvanic response to a question, and will glow in a proper color if he or she is telling the truth.

It would appear that Spion has created a Portable Lie Detector that works by detecting the tension in the suspect’s voice. The degrees of vibration are enough to reveal whether or not a suspect is calm when answering interrogation questions.

All you need to do is ask the Spion device three yes or no questions to record the voice and “establish a baseline”. Once you have that, you can have the suspect on his or her lies. The display devil’s nose and horns will grow when a fib is told.

Believe it or not, the Portable Lie Detector can be attached to a telephone, and you can actually ask your truth-revealing questions from a mobile phone as well.

I have heard that this device is not 100 percent accurate, but it is apparently more accurate than the polygraphs that the FBI uses. I believe I mentioned this before in the Truth Wristband article, but I’m not certain how accurate those wired polygraphs are.

If you want to find out how accurate the Spion’s Portable Voice Lie Detector is, feel free to go over to the Brick House Security Web site and lay down $79.95.

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Sigma’s new Zoom is enormous

Sigma is on a roll in the digital slr world. Seems like after 20 plus years of languishing as a third tier lens manufacturer, the value base glass maker has come across a series of designs that has even Photography magazine buzzing almost every issue. So when they recently came out with a 200-500mm f2.8 lens, the reaction should have been a predictable one. Until the size became apparent. It’s HUGE.

Weighing in at nearly fifty pounds, this Sigma lens is not for anyone with a steady hand and a regular gym membership. In addition to covering the popular 200-500mm range at f2.8, it can double the focal length and still clock in at f5.6 – which isn’t too bad if one has a beefy tripod to hold it still. This Big Bertha like lens would be very popular for astrophotography, sports and wildlife shots thanks to its low dispersion glass elements for image correction. The multi-layer coating reduces glare and ghosting, and it’s specially designed lens hood blocks out annoying ambient light. There is also a built in LCD panel for live view when not looking into the camera’s SLR viewfinder or LCD. The lens is powered by a single dedicated lithium ion battery (BP_21) for auto focusing and zooming operations which would make holding this mammoth a heck of a lot easier.

But the cost is equally heavy at a hefty $28,000.

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RealRyder ABF8 Stationary Bike

I don’t have one of those stationary bikes in my house. In fact, the closest thing I have to an exercise system is the WiiFit. However, if I did have room in my place for a stationary bike, I would definitely want to have the RealRyder ABF8.

What makes this stationary bike different from all the others on the market? For starters, it feels like the user is riding a real bike. How many stationary bikes do you know that allow the rider to steer, lean, and balance?

So not only are your legs and upper body going to get a workout from this, but you will be improving your balance. A person’s sense of balance is almost just as important as exercise when it comes to physical fitness. I learned that tidbit from the WiiFit.

So, if this is a stationary bike where balance is important, what happens if you don’t keep your balance? Do you fall over? Maybe that’s why this guy in the picture looks so nervous.

Of course, if you want to have the experience of riding a bicycle inside your house. It will cost you. You should be able to purchase it for about $1,995. Yeah, I’m not certain how many bikes you could actually buy for that price.

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The weather-proof Soundcast Outcast Outdoor Speaker

Spring is finally here and it’s starting to actually feel like summer might be around the corner after all. Once the weather does keep warm, you might want some music for entertaining outdoors. You could set up something indoors and just open a window, but then it’s loud inside and doesn’t sound that great outside. Instead it’s better to pick up a speaker that can withstand the weather, no matter what it may bring. Well, ok, so it might not do so well in earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, but what would?

This approximately 1000mm tall speaker is an all weather portable outdoor speaker set up for your iPod. You just put your iPod on the dock and leave it indoors, then it will transmit wirelessly to this speaker. It will do so up to 100 meters away. This is a slightly more high end speaker, so you can be reassured knowing that it will likely have great sound quality. The speaker is thankfully not affected by microwave ovens, phones or other random wireless devices. It has an 8” bass woofer and four 3” high frequency treble speakers and a 100 watt digital amplifier. It will operate for up to 10 hours using the rechargeable NiMH battery pack. This will cost you £464.89 or about $675.

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here’s nothing quite like a nice cuppa tea to sit and relax for awhile, but while you’re enjoying your blend of Ceylon, you very likely have just added that bit more to your carbon footprint.

Well here’s a way to enjoy your afternoon tea break guilt-free, and best of all, it will make your brew faster than a standard kettle.

The Tefal Quick Cup Delux has the capacity to get your tea steaming away in your mug in three seconds. That’s faster than the time it takes me to walk across my kitchen to grab the choc biscuits.

The new model has been designed to fit in with the most stylish of kitchens and will even work as a quick upgrade to your workbench from the ’70s.

Its ability to heat water so quickly means that it saves around 65 per cent of the energy used by a standard kettle. According to Tefal, this is enough to save you £80 off energy and water bills throughout the year, though how much tea you need to drink to do this isn’t mentioned.

The new model comes in either a red and black or stainless steel finish, and includes new features including an adjustable tap, anti-splash spout and drip tray, which makes it easier to dispense water into either a short tea cup or a mega-mug.

It also now has a digital reader, which tells you when you need to buy a new filter cartridge, as the old ones used to clog-up pretty quickly.

It comes with a 1.7 litre water tank which enough for a decent round of tea. For £69.99 it may just be a worthy investment to get your green credentials just that bit better, one earl grey at a time.

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USB Riff Rocker: Rock like a rockstar

What is it?
The Riff Rocker is essentially a USB controller for a game. You plug the little rocker into a free USB socket, download the two games off the Riff Rocker website, and then thrash your little fingers off.

The downloadable games come with the usual 3 difficulty settings and are based around the guitar heroes-esc format of “press the correct coloured button in time with the on screen prompt”.

Why do I want it?

Hear at GFM towers we love the Guitar Heroes series of games but have come to the conclusion that you could never really call them “portable”. This is where the Riff Rocker shines, as it is light enough to be transported by pocket and small enough to be easily hidden within a work desk.

As the games are downloadable you don’t need to worry about transporting any software and as long as the unit you plug it into has an internet connection, you will never be more than a couple of clicks away from getting your button bashing fix.

This makes it perfect for an impromptu lunchtime concert where you can wow your co-workers with your guitar fettling skills and shake off some of those office blues. Suitable for new comers and pros the Riff Rocker is easy enough to pick up and really difficult to put down.


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Roxy Fashionable Headphones designed for women

There’s some good news for the women who enjoy their tech gadgets to be good quality as well as stylish. As it turns out JBL and Roxy are teaming up to create a line of headphones specifically for women. From their teaser pic you can thankfully see that they aren’t just painting a thick coat of pink on and leaving it at that. From that one little picture, it appears that the headphones will most definitely be worth checking out. You won’t have to wait all that long to see them either, it appears that they’ll start unveiling these next month.

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Powerplus Solar Charger

Don’t you just hate it that when your life revolves around gadgets and gizmos, one of the most irritating things would be to have that particular device die on you during the most inopportune moments? Well, why not do your part and charge your cell phone as well as portable media player before heading outdoors so that you can have maximum enjoyment of said devices before returning home, but what happens when the situation is less than ideal? There’s always the POWERplus Eagle Solar Charger & Torch.

POWERplus Eagle is a powerful LED torch and solar charger rolled into one cool package. Pack it in your pocket to enjoy the freedom of mobile light and energy wherever you go! This solar charger has triple solar wings for maximum power – just fold out each wing in daylight until the internal eco friendly battery is fully charged. Once charged, the Eagle solar power charger holds enough juice to recharge a gadget such as your mobile phone and you’ll find cables and adapters to cover most phone and gadgets. There’s even a built-in LED torch with three powerful LEDs to shine a light on any emergency; select 1 LED, 3LEDs or 3 LEDs flashing.

You can pick up this nifty and potentially handy gadget for just £29.95, making important phone calls getting cut off due to a dead battery in your phone a thing of the past.

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Wii fit: Jog Game controller

How many of us have made our New Year’s resolution to work off those fats sticking around our waist like a barnacle that seems to grow larger and larger by the month without any sign of abating, and yet feel disappointed as we prefer to relax on our couches without hitting the treadmill? Perhaps video games could be used to make exercise more fun, as with the Jog Game controller for the Wii.

Jog takes you one step further into the immersive world of Wii gaming by hooking your controllers up to a waist-mounted step counter. Every time you run a step, the sensors pick it up and your onscreen character moves in the direction you’ve pointed the Nunchuk joystick. It’s that simple – just plug in and play. Within seconds you’ll be pacing, pelting along and having an all-out sprint to evade black magic zombies, score against Manchester United or knock out the Green Goblin stone cold.

The Jog will work with hundreds of existing games, and you benefit more from both exercise as well as getting an immersive gaming experience right in the comfort of the living room without having to share it with other sweaty folks from the gym. Perfect to bring the family together for a healthy and fun workout-cum-gaming session. You can pick up the Jog Game Controller for just £24.95 and start gaming to a healthier you! Just lay off the pizzas and sodas during those breaks.

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iPhone Cleaning gadget

I’d treat my iPhone once every morning with it that stick. So it’s nice and clean. Like a shower for your mobile.

clean your iphoneTouch screen gizmos are all very impressive but you have to touch them. Lots. And because your fingers are greasy, mucky and coated in a layer of unidentifiable gunk, beloved screens soon resemble windows dipped in chip fat and sprinkled with dust, dandruff and gawd knows what else. So thank goodness for the Procare Mobile Touch Screen Cleaning Kit.

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Handpresso: Portable Espresso

Handpresso has announced a Handpresso DomePod which uses ground coffee instead of ESE espresso pods. Personally we prefer less mess when making out portable espresso, but if you're a true espresso snob you're going to want to grind and use your own. The DomePod allows you to pack up your favorite Arabica, Robusta, or Fair Trade coffee instead of being able to source your coffee in ESE pod form. The patented Handpresso Domepod system makes it easy to empty the coffee grounds – a simple click on the dome is enough. You can fill 3 DomePods and take them with you in the included case.

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Sleep tight: Sound asleep pillow

The Sound Asleep Pillow is a great invention which if you enjoy listening to music and also sleeping then you will really enjoy this. The Sound Asleep Pillow has a built in speaker which you can connect to your iPod, other MP3 players, CD players and most radios.

With this you get surround sound music straight to your ears whilst you drift off to sleep or even just while you rest your eyes. If you find it hard to get to sleep this could really help having some low level music or a sound of your choice playing in the background. Another plus to this great gadget is that if you want to listen to music or the radio you can without disturbing your partner when they are asleep.

The Sound Asleep Pillow is a lot easier to get to sleep with than trying to listen with earphones in which tend to be very uncomfortable. If you would like to purchase the Sound Asleep Pillow you can now for £19.95.

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