This is turning out to be a pretty exciting year for great holiday gift options! Movies, games, products as well as a slew of trusted "relatively new" tech to keep everyone happy.

I really would appreciate it if you would "share, like, tweet, pin, post or follow" me. Please spread the word so I know there are people out there that are listening :-)




I have endeavored to put together a series of posts over the past month that highlight tons of great gift ideas. I certainly hope you found something to elicit joy and excitement for the recipient! I know I would be happy if I was on the receiving end of one of these!

Be sure to check out these posts for any gift ideas for friends, family...or something for yourself.










I hope these help! Once again, please "share, like or follow" for more great product information especially with the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) coming up next month.

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Happy Holidays,
Larry

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry

I felt compelled to write a quick note to express my complete dissatisfaction with the new Microsoft Surface tablet. I had hopes and dreams that this could be the platform to bridge my business needs while providing the portability of a tablet. While the iPad is great, there are business applications that still rely on Windows solutions and this "could" have been the solution. But as my son would say, "it is an epic fail"!

For those of you that are not aware of the Microsoft Surface, it is a tablet that leverages a streamed down edition of the new Microsoft Windows 8 operating system to compete with the Android and iPad's of the world. It has a very well designed front-end with its live-tile interface that was introduced in the latest Windows Mobile phones.

Don't get me wrong, perhaps a generation or two of software updates will come along to fix some of the issues we've seen but for now...don't go there.


Issues:
Not a fan of the new Touch Cover - This is a cool, ultra-thin magnetic snap on keyboard cover with no physical buttons. Sure it is very thin and light...at least fells like it has a similar heft to the Apple Smart Cover that really isn't smart. It just didn't cover the gap from a keyboard on the screen to the tactile nature of a real keyboard. But on the other side there is the Type Cover which is a bit thicker and 1/10 a pound heavier but has a great touch feel.

Slow-downs and/or not enough memory - Unlike an iPad that feels like you can have dozens of apps going...this tablet feels like it is slowing down after just getting a few apps going. We even keep notifications when we try to start up some apps that the Surface doesn't have enough capability to run it!

Limited library of apps - Not surprisingly, this new platform requires specific Windows RT apps and thus has a limited library today. There has also been noise in the air about some parties not even developing application support for the platform...including Facebook!

Lower resolution - In an era of high-pixel counts per inch, the 10.6" Surface display feels dated at a resolution of only 1366x768. As a point in comparison, the iPad has a smaller 9.7" display but a resolution of 2048-1536!

Hope for the future?
There is a Pro version of Microsoft Surface that runs the full edition of Windows 8. It is a good bit thicker and chunkier...really leaving the ultra-slim category but it will have more horsepower and will run the full Windows experience. Or we can wait for the inevitable Surface 2?

I ordered the new iPad last week within minutes of its order-ability. I am not happy about it but I did. Now the iPad is a great and marvelous device and I really enjoy my original iPad and I know my wife and son will continue to use it for years to come. I have also previously written several pieces about this breakthrough device including topics like "No idea why someone would buy any tablet other than an iPad" and a very detailed article on some great apps for an iOS device titled "What can you do with that new iPad".

I didn't purchase the iPad 2. There was not enough to differentiate itself...so I stuck with my original. The new iPad (what is it called anyway...iPad 3? iPad-3rd Generation?) does have enough to differentiate itself from its predecessors. Primarily the display and 4G-LTE wireless connectivity are great additions.  But I am still very disappointed in my purchase.

So where do I start? Let's talk about what is driving my disappointment since the technical specs are well known and written all over the web, I don't need to talk too much about why the new iPad "high resolution / fast connectivity edition" (note to self: gotta work up some naming convention/acronym for this version of the iPad) is cool.

Instead there is an ugly story here and it needs to get vetted.
I don't want to get too technical and geeky on you but here it goes...

I've written previously that the MAIN reason I had not upgraded is that the iPad 2 only offered a maximum of 64 gigabytes of storage...the same maximum on my original iPad. And my memory is full. The new iPad "quad-core graphics processor will hopefully highlight better games edition" I ordered has only 64 gigabytes of storage as well. That was the maximum.

Sure I am a power-user but this problem will permeate to your experience as well no matter the type of user you are or which iPad you have. But more about me;-)

I purchase lots of apps and games. I store a good amount of documents I want handy like Powerpoints, PDFs, eBooks and the like. I have some video footage (professional and family stuff) and a good amount of photos too. I have a dozen albums of music, a few TV episodes and a movie or two depending on where and how far I am traveling.

Apple will tell you to leverage "the iCloud" for your additional storage needs. What that means is that you can store information on the internet and stream it to your device when you need it. And for 50% of the time that may work. What happens when you don't have a good internet connection? What happens if you don't have 3G or 4G cellular option and no wifi? What happens when you are on a plane or someplace without service? Have you seen cellular data fees aboard? And even if everything is working great...at the end of the day I end up spending too much time managing what I have on my device and what is in the cloud. What if I choose poorly?

It comes down to the fact that I want my information readily available on my device when I need it. After the past two or three years my needs have grown but the iPad storage has not. As it stands today, I really require more physical storage on the iPad for it to be viable for me. Many have begged for an expandable memory card type of slot...and that would be very nice. But I would have even happily paid a premium for a 96 or even 128 gigabyte configuration!

At this point you are saying...why should I care?
You should and here is why my situation is only going to get worse!

The new iPad "Quad-Core Graphics Chip Edition"...(same new iPad just trying to find a name for it) has this amazing new Retina display. Retina is a fancy name Apple came up with to mean that they have jammed a lot of pixels into each square inch of that tablet's display. It is a bit of marketing hype but you get the gist. The end results in some super fine graphics resulting in clean, crisp fonts and the like. These pixels are so smashed together tiny that they border on not being distinguishable from the human eye.

Well guess what happens with your application's graphics packages are rez'ed up to leverage that amazingly detailed display? The application file size gets bigger! 
I am talking about applications 2 to 3 times larger than their previous versions. We are already seeing this on Apple's own released software for the iPad "31 Million Pixels Edition". Check out the file sizes for Apple's Keynote app growing from 115 megabytes to 327mb and iMovie exploded from 70mb to 404mb to support the new Retina resolution version.

So it doesn't matter if you have the 1st generation, 2nd generation or 3rd generation of iPad...if you want to get the latest applications with new, cool features...you will soon see your capacity shrink dramatically. Those skimpy 16 gigabyte iPads will quickly become obsolete unless you are limited to using a handful of applications beyond what already comes with the device.

Well I still ordered my new iPad "Finally with a Decent Camera Edition". I got the 64 gigabyte version. I really hope they release one with more storage...it is going to be increasing more difficult to deal with this device if they don't lift this constraint.

I'll probably have to lean more on my Macbook Air...wait a second...is that their goal? I need the Mac to get unshackled from the iPad's limitations? I have to have two or more Apple devices to accomplish all my computing needs? Or am I just being paranoid?

I hope this tirade helps you clarify your purchasing decisions if you are in the market for a new tablet. My advice...I'm certain I will really like the new iPad and will write-up my experiences with the device soon. I will tell you, I have been using the latest generation of Android tablets...and stick to my original sentiment from last August...No idea why someone would buy any tablet other than an iPad!

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry

New Samsung Galaxy Note available on AT&T Wireless

Okay, first of all I have to say is I love the saying "shake a stick at" even though it sounds very violent. But I have to tell you, there are were so many tablets at the show I probably could have used a stick to ward off all the people hawking their tablet offerings. And many people showing a tablet really couldn't tell me why I should choose their tablet over an iPad on depth and breath of content, Kindle Fire on price, the range of form-factors by Samsung or the Asus Transformer Prime on pure horsepower and potentially it's docking keyboard.

I guess it is nice to have a range of competitive offerings to keep pricing in check but for the most part there were way too many companies with tablets. The good news I guess as some of these people fall out with each new wave of introductions, they will probably be selling their excess inventories at below cost and there could be an opportunity there?

But let's just dive into my primer on CES 2012 from the tablets front...

First of all, I am still sticking with my BUY AN IPAD position featured in my "No idea why someone would buy any tablet other than an iPad" article from back in August 2011 for those of you looking to get a great tablet for your couch or late-night web-surfing. My only caveat is that I am expecting a new version of the iPad to be released in the March/April 2012 timeframe and you should wait for that one if possible.

Fujitsu Arrows Tab gets credit for having one thing their competition didn't have. The tablet is waterproof! They even recommend for use in the kitchen or while in the bath tub! Okay, this is not a game-changer but at least they did something. Otherwise, it is a 10.1" dual-core Android, features a fingerprint sensor for easy unlocking and Dolby front-facing speakers. The CPU is definitely under-powered at 1ghz and the Android operating system seems to need more power than that for smooth, everyday operation.

The Lenovo IdeaTab S2 10" tablet was an attractive tablet offering that stood out from many of its competitors. It runs Google's latest edition of Android, has a very robust 1.5Ghz dual core processor and features the easiest to use keyboard dock solution we have seen, similar to the current marketing leading Asus Transformer Prime but seems to snap into place a bit smoother. The IdeaTab S2 is one of the lightest tablets on the market at 1.27 lbs and measures only 8.69mm thick. The keyboard doubles the devices battery life to nearly 20 hours as well as adds a USB and SD card reader port. Overall a nice tablet and offers a range of configurations including 3G and up to 64Gb of memory.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE is an update to one of the original Google Android tablets. The name helps you understand this is of the 7" variety that kinda falls between the larger 9"/10" category and smartphones with their 4"-ish sizes. The new Tab 7.7 has three things going for it. 1) The display is one of Samsung's Super AMOLEDs which are absolutely gorgeous to behold. Bright and vibrant is underselling how this screen glows. 2) It comes with Verizon's 4G LTE connectivity which is fast. 3) The 7" form-factor is more convient for hauling around if that is important to you. The size can also be a liability if you are looking for that extra real estate that the 10" tablets can provide.

Toshiba Excite X10 gets points for quickly changing direction on some key aspects of their tablet offerings from last year. I won't go into detail but last year's model was a beast. Way too thick and heavy. The Excite goes to the complete opposite end of the spectrum where Toshiba claims to have delivered the thinnest and lightest 10" tablet. After holding pretty much every version of tablet on the planet over the past week, I'm going to agree the 1.2 lbs., .3mm thick tablet is bordering on almost too thin. It almost disappear when held to the side. It is also amazing that such a device also includes some of the most physical port connectivity of any tablet on the market today including a USB, a micro-HDMI and a SD card slot! All in all...a very nice package. The tablet is currently sporting last year's Android operating system but Toshiba is indicating they may ship as is and offer an upgrade later. The technology inside the Excite X10 is only a dual-core but it can accomodate Google's Ice Cream Sandwich.

Asus Transformer Prime TF700 was probably the technological tablet marvel of the show. The new version features a 1920x1080 resolution Super IPS+ display versus the 1280x800 resolution of the one that just started shipping. The enhanced resolution is expected to provide for much cleaner and crisper text and smoother visuals overall. Obviously the new stunning display combined with already the leading tablet solution on the market including the Nvidia Tegra quad-core processor for lots of processing power makes for an extremely attractive offering later this year. The rear cover has been reworked to address issues with wi-fi and GPS that proved to be a problem with the original. We are assuming the new version keeps or improves upon the existing 8 mega-pixel rear-facing camera and understand the front facing cameras is updated to a 2 mp version. The Prime also features a MicroSD slot and Micro HDMI output. Other details are less clear but we'll keep our eyes peeled for information as we get closer to its launch. Rumor has it launching within the next 6 months. There is a far bit on consternation from those that already just bought a device and less than 6 months later it is being obsoleted by a much nicer version.

Samsung Galaxy Note was probably my favorite tablet-ish device at the show. I say "tablet-ish" because the Note is of a new 5.3 inch format. Noticeably bigger than a smartphone, can be held in one "big" hand and can be put in a coat pocket and the like. Another great addition is the included "S Pen" which looks like a traditional stylus except is offers 256 degrees of pressure sensitivity allowing for a whole new level of interaction with your device. Ink on your notes or drawings on the screen can change based on the pressure you apply. Push harder and get a bolder, thicker like for highlighting text or for marking up your documents. The device does run an older operating system (Gingerbread/Android 2.3) but all-in-all this was a really different product and nice based on my initial interactions with the device. The device also features the eye-candy HD Super AMOLED display technology from Samsung and AT&T's 4G LTE connectivity.

Apple's iPad 2 was not at the show in official form but it was VERY well represented by halls full of accessories across all different consumer electronic categories. If you walked around at CES you would understand why I am still strongly advocating the iPad. I am talking about Apple's AirPlay compatible devices like speakers, AV receivers, routers and televisions linked up to an AppleTV. Docks, stands, portable chargers with Apple's connector and don't get me started on cases! Now I am still advising that you wait until the rumored iPad 3 gets announced in the coming in roughly the next 60-90 days. But the iOS eco-system of peripherals and apps dwarves the competition and is the only viable solution in the tablet marketplace today unless you have a very specific application or use that one of the other tablet solutions provides. An example is the unique size form-factor of the Samsung Galaxy Note or if you want to take a shower with your Fujitsu Arrows Tab.

I should mention that there is a slew of new Ultrabook (very small and lightweight) laptops that are leveraging the innovations in the shrinking of electronic components for tablets and smartphones into a laptop form-factor. I will cover laptops and their innovations in another piece but there is this category that starts blurring the full PC operating system based solutions with these tablets while tablets move the other way with keyboards and the like. Both platforms have unique advantages and you'll need to evaluate based on your needs which route to go but it does get tricky here in the middle. I'll do a piece in the near future trying to describe this blurring in better detail.

The Microsoft 8 tablets will be coming out later this year and show a fair bit of promise. I'm holding my judgement until I can have some more time to play with one for a while. I am intrigued by the Metro interface and if Microsoft can get the hardware and application support, it might start bridging the gap from tablet to PC. More on this as they get closer to launch.

One last tablet just an FYI...

One-Tablet-Per-Child is the One-Laptop-Per-Child organization's latest effort to develop solutions for economically challenged countries. This solar powered tablet for children is in development but looks very promising for helping to get educational and informational solutions to the farthest reaches of the globe. While still in development, the goal of this extremely worthwhile product effort is to make each tablet for around $100. Quite a worthy cause and great concept!

For additional details, check out my 2012 Consumer Product Trends, some additional summaries like this one for other product categories at WouldntMind.com and specific key product details coming out of CES 2012 at WouldntMind.com News Page.

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry

So you've got the kid's holiday wish lists taken care of but what about that friend, special person in your life or family member that is hard to shop for? Don't you want to get them something special? One rule of thumb I have for getting friends and family gifts, is I look for something that is on the borders of "would like to have", "Wouldn't Mind it" but have "lived without it" until now. Well the following is a list of the cooler stuff out there that might fill that void and make someone very happy to "receive it".

In a past WouldntMind article about managing your thoughts, notes and ideas I discussed the Livescribe Echo ($99-199 depending on your internal storage needs) which is a combination smart-pen, audio recorder and specialized digital dot paper. When combined, the information written on the paper is also saved digitally in the pen for later download into your PC or Mac. I received the latest version of this pen last Christmas and it is always at hand at any meeting or time that I want to jot down something. This makes a great holiday gift for someone looking to get better organized or handles a lot of information.

Couch potato's in your life without a universal remote? This must have accessory is something I can't more strongly recommend. The Logitech Harmony remotes are amazingly easy to configure using their online setup and easy to use with the combination of real and soft buttons (buttons that map to the small color display). I know that spending more than $30-50 on a remote might sound odd for some people but once you have a quality universal remote, you won't go back. Check out the Logitech Harmony 650 (less than $60)...its only limitation is that it only controls up to 5 devices. Check out their other Harmony remotes if you need to control more devices.

For your health conscious friends, what about getting them something to track their fitness efforts and keep them motivated as they set new goals. The Fitbit Ultra (under $100)is a new high-tech, wireless pedometer I reviewed in a recent Wouldn't Mind article that not only tracks your steps but it also has an altimeter to track the steps you climb and reports the whole set of information to a customized website where you can following your progress over time.

And no holiday list would be complete without some great camera options. The four I recommend cover the gambit of use cases as you might need to address...

Best Compact Travel Zoom - I wrote up the Canon SX230HS in a past WouldntMind piece if your looking for why to get this camera if you want a small camera to travel with but have a powerful zoom.

Highest Quality Pocketable Camera - My favorite Canon S95 has replaced with a new and improved Canon S100.

Best DSLR for under $500 - With the EOS Rebel T3 (roughly $479), Canon has bundled their new 12.2 mega-pixel sensor with an excellent 63 zone metering and 9 point auto-focus system. Combined, this set gives you amazing pictures for the price. The one aspect that really illustrates its position in the Canon DSLR hierarchy is the plastic body. This might not feel like a quality camera...but trust me, this is a great camera for the money! Keep in mind this camera sells for less that $500 with interchangeable Canon lens. If the person you are getting a new camera for already has Nikon gear or you can inch over the $500 barrier, the Nikon D3100 is a great update for them in the roughly $600 price range.

Best DSLR for under $1000 - From the rankings above you may have the impression that I am a Canon evangelist...and it is true that Canon is really leading the pack in quality digital picture taking through their investments in new sensor technologies and lens but there are some great options from other manufacturers. The Nikon D5100 (roughly $800) is a great example and a strong contender for this category. Featuring a 16.2 mega-pixel, 1080P high definition video recording and a very solid construction. The Canon EOS Rebel T3i with its 18 mega-pixels, HD video recording and great low-light picture handling make this a strong option in this sub-$1000 category.

And yes, the ultimate gift is an iPad 2. My only caveat is that I'm pretty sure an iPad 3 will be coming out in the late spring. Not really clear on what to expect from the new iPad.

Be sure to check out the other write ups on WouldntMind.com for other great gift ideas, like Bluetooth speakers or headphones, GPS solutions, flat-panel TVs, wireless hard disk storage for your smart-device, videogames, etc.

Okay...one last idea. Are you well-off financially? Are you getting a gift for someone really, really special? Cessna's CitationAir is running an end of the year promotion. You can get a 5-Hour Jet Card ($31,145-55,000 depending on the jet) that covers all expenses. They offer convenient payment options (wire transfer, check or credit card)!

And if you are looking for Holiday recommendations for the little ones, check out my other WouldntMind Holiday recommendations for kids.

Note: This is a work in progress. I am still churning through some other products that might make the list over the next couple days. I'll update this piece with details as they come around.

I am still looking for more great gift ideas for friends, family members or your favorite kids. Please feel free to share in the comments below if you have your eyes on something I haven't considered.

Well by now you know you should not expect the usual list of gift ideas for your boys and girls from me. My lists will skew toward the cool, new and/or high-tech. I'm probably not going to dive into that new tricycle for your toddler unless it comes with OnStar location services! But that said, let's look at what cool things a kid can ask for this holiday that I wish was around when I was a little one.

Toys R Us - Nabi Tablet

It is almost magical to watch young children take to their first experiences with a tablet computer like the Apple iPad. It comes so naturally for them, almost as easy as finger-painting and also akin to how they can naturally pick up a second language...the language of interacting with a computing device. You can only imagine what this new generation will be like brought up on such instant access, always available information at their fingertips.