The good: The iPod Nano has a gorgeous, superslim design with a bright, photo-friendly screen. It is easy to operate and works seamlessly with iTunes and the iTunes Music Store, which has the world’s largest selection of music. It boasts a nimble processor and system performance with no skipping, thanks to flash memory.

The bad: The iPod Nano suffers from unspectacular battery life, and though the device is durable, it scratches easily; blemishes show up more drastically on the black version. The Nano is pricey in terms of gigabytes per dollar, and its 4GB maximum capacity is not a good fit for many power users. The player skips many sought-after extra features such as FM radio and A/V-out, and it doesn’t work with Camera Connector. The USB power adapter ($29) is not included.

The Kindle Store currently carries more than 100,000 books plus newspapers, magazines, and blogs. For your convenience, you can shop the Kindle Store directly on Kindle or on your PC via Amazon.com. Either way, all titles are wirelessly delivered right to your Kindle for free. We pay for the wireless delivery charges so you don’t have to. Buy a book and we auto-deliver it to you wirelessly in one minute.

The Kindle Store provides the same Amazon shopping experience you’re used to, including customer reviews, personalized recommendations, 1-Click purchasing, and everyday low prices. Check the store often; we’re adding new titles every day.

Books
Whether you prefer biographies, classics, investment guides, thrillers, or sci-fi, thousands of your favorite books are available. The Kindle Store offers more than 90 of 112 books currently found on the New York Times® Best Seller list and we’re adding more all the time. New York Times Best Sellers are $9.99, and you’ll find many books for less. Can’t decide what to buy? Kindle lets you download and read the beginning of any book for free. This way, you can try it out—if you like it, simply buy and download with 1-Click, right from your Kindle, and continue reading.

Rainbows are just spellbinding. And my friend Kyd has her way of producing them. I don’t know why, I just like to collect diagrams like this, that - clear and simple - show how every kind of magic is done:

http://www.frontierlab.org/njp_rainbow.html

The New Japanese Papaprazzi is a collective with a critical concern for digital image storage. Where do all those trashed photos go? Are they piling up somewhere? Are there consequences to carefree dispersion of digital data?

Sony has apparently decided to continue their R&D on the Playstation console family. One of the signs is the forming of another team of experts, whose members were also the creators of the previous game consoles.

Could we be seeing the new Playstation 4 console in stores soon? Sony seems to have overcome the financial troubles of its past, and things seems to be going well with Playstation 3. So why shouldn’t they just go ahead and make it?

Some preliminary info states: the new console will be backward compatible with PS3, PS2, PS1, and even with PSP. This will be welcome by many owners of the previous models, those who would like to have another try with all their favorite games.

The project could of course have some drawbacks already built into it of course. One example is the high-end price of the Playstation product, games and accessories. The problem with system overheating, hopefully will be solved in the near future.

PS 4 will be much more compact than its predecessor, and will support all widely used multimedia formats, offer good internet connectivity, and of course we hope some excellent graphic capabilities.

Hopepully, Sony will give us soon an exciting new generation video game console.

Philips’ new Eco TV high definition television used about as much electricity as a lightbulb in a company demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show. The set flaunts power-saving features, some of which the company claims will actually improve the picture quality.

As part of the Philips Design Collection, the Eco TV delivers precision picture quality and definitive style, while incorporating lead-free components and flame retardant materials, which are safe to the environment. And yes, even the box is made from recycled material.

People’s Voice: Moto Rokr E8

Moto Rokr E8’s ModeShift technology transforms this device from phone to music player to imaging device. FastScroll navigation wheel allows for scrolling through songs, contact and image library with the slide of a thumb. Innovative technology provides tactile response when a virtual key is pressed.Instead of traditional keypad and navigation array, the Rokr features a smooth “glasslike” surface with touch-pad controls that digitally “morph” depending on how the handset is used.

As you shift from phone to music to imaging modes, the backlight on the control changes to illuminate only the relevant buttons for your current function. Talking phone offers a voice readout of text messages while dialing number or when receiving a call. Airplane mode to play uninterrupted music in the air, even without a SIM card. Other features include 2.0 megapixel camera with 8x zoom, multi-shot feature, video capture and playback, Crystal Talk™ technology, Microsoft™ music ecosystem support, 2GB internal memory, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, full HTML browser.

Car tech and GPS: Azentek builds a PC for your car

Azentek introduced a full Windows Vista in-car computer and portable entertainment system, claimed to be the first “all in one” fully integrated in-car multimedia PC, in Car Tech & GPS.

At an MSRP of $2,799, the Atlas CPC-1200 is built on an Intel™ Core Duo processor and runs the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system featuring a very long list of computing and entertainment capabilities including voice recognition, CANbus integration, Bluetooth, AM/FM/Satellite Radio, HD Radio, CDRW/DVD/MP3/WMA, GPS navigation, built-in WIFI, and much more!

Computers and hardware: Lenovo IdeaPad

Computer maker Lenovo has announced a whole new brand of consumer-oriented laptops and desktops. Called IdeaPad and IdeaCentre, the lines are intended to complement the company’s flagship business-oriented ThinkPad and ThinkCentre lines. There’s a heavy emphasis on design and an obvious appeal to specific lifestyle applications, including gaming, entertainment, and easy portability.

Digital photo and video: Sony’s DSLR-A200

The A200 replaces the A100, and is Sony’s third D-SLR. Here are its notable features:

• 10.2 effective Megapixel APS-C CCD sensor with improved noise control
• Uses Minolta/Sony Alpha lens mount; 1.5X focal length conversion ratio
• Super SteadyShot sensor-shift image stabilization
• 2.7″ LCD display with 230k pixels (versus 2.5″ on the A100); no live view
• Optical viewfinder has 95% coverage and 0.83X magnification
• Full manual controls; RAW image format supported
• Autofocus performance is 1.7X better than the A100
• Same anti-dust system as the A100
• Takes up to 6 RAW or an unlimited number of JPEGs in a row at 3 frames/second
• CompactFlash Type I/II slot
• More compact body than its predecessor; flash now pops up automatically
• Optional battery grip
• Uses NP-FM500H lithium battery; 750 shots per charge; camera can provide real-time battery life percentage
• USB 2.0 High Speed support
• Shipping in February for $799 with an 18 - 70 mm lens, and $999 with that lens plus an additional 75 - 300 mm lens

Emerging technologies: Bug Labs

The Bug Labs platform Platform is totally open source, highly configurable, and designed to go wherever consumers’ imaginations take them.

It starts with a minicomputer, the Bug Base, onto which you can snap multiple modules, such as a digital camera or an LCD screen. You can then program your own software to run your custom gadget or download software.

Gaming: Nyko Wireless Nunchuck

This particular Nunchuck is compatible with all Wii games that require it when the session begins. More than that, Nyko has managed to give it a design that’s perfectly suitable for both lefties and right handed gamers. The Nyko Wireless Nunchuck connects to the Wiimote via a little wireless dongle that clicks into the controller’s accessory jack.

Once plugged in, tapping the connection buttons on the dongle and the Nunchuck syncs them together, letting the Nunchuck work as if it was physically connected to the remote. Two AAA Batteries (included) power it up for up to 30 hours of continuous gameplay.

Home audio: Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet

The Duet is so named because it’s a two-part system: a base station and the remote. The base station is a nondescript black brick that pulls audio from a networked PC or the Internet via your Wi-Fi or Ethernet home network, and outputs to your stereo from its analog or digital (coaxial or optical) jacks.

But the real innovation is the remote: beyond the ten buttons controlling standard functions (volume, play/pause, track forward/reverse), it features an iPod-like scrollwheel and a brilliant 2.4-inch color LCD screen.

That puts the song navigation where it belongs: in your hand, instead of a small LCD readout halfway across the room.

Home video: EchoStar TR-50

EchoStar’s TR-50 DVR, expected to be available in July 2008, allows analog TVs to receive digital over-the-air broadcasts and comes with an onscreen setup wizard for easy installation. The TR-50 also includes a digital video recorder, allowing customers to view, record and play back local over-the-air analog and digital broadcasts, including high definition.

Other features include up to a seven-day electronic programming guide (EPG), program search, parental locks, VCR auto-tune timers, closed captioning, reminder pop-ups for pre-selected programming, and simultaneous output from HD and SD connections as well as Ethernet, modem and USB connections to support additional functionality. Pricing for the TR-50 DVR will be established in the coming months.

MP3 and portable video players: iRiver W7

This is a MP3 player with GPS capabilities and a 3-inch touch screen. The W7 supports music, video, photos, text, an FM tuner and Flash games, an E-Dictionary, and a microSD card slot for adding more memory. The player will come in two flash memory options: 4GB and 8GB.

Televisions: Philips’ Eco TV

Philips’ new Eco TV high definition television used about as much electricity as a lightbulb in a company demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show. The set flaunts power-saving features, some of which the company claims will actually improve the picture quality. As part of the Philips Design Collection, the Eco TV delivers precision picture quality and definitive style, while incorporating lead-free components and flame retardant materials, which are safe to the environment. And yes, even the box is made from recycled material.