What’s not to love about the latest technology and the hottest trendy products? Our Cutting Edge section keeps you on the vanguard of electronic wizardry with our featured gallery of gadgets that are newly launched or coming soon to a store or website near you.
TABLETS CONTINUE TO THRIVE
Another day, another new tablet. Toshiba is getting into the game with the Thrive ($430-$580), an Android Honeycomb tablet with a 10.1-inch HD multi-touch LED backlit display. The preloaded Toshiba Media Player keeps your collection of music and movies organized in one convenient location and the built-in HDMI port lets you watch your favorite videos on your HDTV in 1080p resolution. The Thrive also has a dual-core processor and dual front and back cameras. Any butterfingers out there can take comfort in the tablet’s easy-grip finish—the back surface is slip-resistant and rubberized.
SHAKEPROOF AND SWEATPROOF
The JayBird JF3 Freedom Bluetooth Headphones ($99) have been available since April, but JayBird just upped the ante with the recent addition of secure-fit silicon sports ear cushions. These hexagon-designed, soft cushions fit within your ear to ensure the earbuds don’t fall out, no matter how hard your head shakes, so feel free to run without fear of losing your headphones. Another bonus for runners is the lack of wires and the sweatproof earbuds sure to withstand any amount of perspiration.
CINEMA-SIZED
If size matters to you, then the Mitsubishi WD-92840 ($5,999) 3D DLP Home Cinema 840 series TV is the television for you. This 92-inch television truly brings the theater experience into your living room. Not only is the screen big, but it also offers crystal clear picture, thanks to the new Clear Contrast Screen. The 840 series also comes with an immersive sound technology (IST) 16-speaker Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound system with Bluetooth Audio for a hassle-free (no wires!) setup.
WIRELESS, DONGLE-LESS, BLUETOOTHLESS
The HP Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse ($50) is the industry’s first mouse that can connect via a PC’s built-in Wi-Fi receiver. This means no more USB dongle, so the port remains free for one of your many other devices. The advantage of connecting wirelessly through Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth is extended use. The mouse has up to 9 months of battery life—more than twice that of a Bluetooth mouse. This mouse also has five programmable buttons that allow you to create shortcuts for actions such as cut and paste.
NOTHING BUT NET
The Samsung Series 5 Google Chromebooks ($429 for Wi-Fi, $499 for 3G) are built solely to let you surf the Web with instant access to the Internet— the Chromebook boots in less than 10 seconds. Everything
is stored in the cloud rather than on the device itself, so even if you lose your computer you can just log into another Chromebook to find all of your documents, apps, and settings safely saved. The Chromebook, as its name suggests, operates on the new Chrome OS, which means you need a Google account to use one and it is optimized to work with Google services such as Gmail and Google Docs.
