Fall Gadget News

Steve Jobs was all over the news lately, ranting how far ahead they are of RIM and how superior their "proprietary" system is to an "open" system, which elicited some passionate responses from the RIM, Google, and others. Can Apple hold up against the Android onslaught?Apple announced new versions of iLife, a new version of the Mac OS code-named "Lion" and new MacBooks, among other announcements like the availability of FaceTime on laptops and desktops. The new MacBooks, a 13.3-inch version and an 11.6-inch version, look a lot like netbooks, which Steve dismissed as unnecessary several months ago. They're a little on the pricey side at $999 and $1,599, but they do have solid-state hard drives (SSDs). So it looks like there’s an Apple market for small portable laptops after all.Sony's Connected Google TVThe newly announced Sony Internet TVs that come with Google TV comes in sizes ranging from 24-inches to 46-inches, and the price is expected to range from $600 - $1,400. It comes with a QWERTY keyboard-based remote and integrated mouse. People can’t wait for Android 3.0 (Gingerbread) that will supposedly make Android apps look good on screens larger than ones on smartphones. It should be fun to play Angry Birds on a Plasma or LCD HDTV. The question is, what will the controller look like?Another Google TV DeviceLogitech also announced their Google TV offering –a set top box called the Revue. It's a little on the pricey side at $299 and would be nicer if it included a Harmony remote –although the Revue remote looks okay and could make it easier to find the latest YouTube videos or stream a movie from Netflix through your Wi-Fi router. If you want to add video conferencing, you can buy the TV Cam for $150, which has a high-quality Carl Zeiss lens and dual microphones for echo reduction.Read the full article here.