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.
IS THIS THE DROID YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?
Motorola has updated its DROID smartphone once again with the DROID 3 ($200-$460)—the thinnest smartphone with a full five-row, slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Frequent international travelers will be happy to know that the phone comes with global capabilities, so it will work wherever your passport can take you. Another new feature is the 8-megapixel camera capable of capturing 1080p video. The phone also has a front-facing camera for video chats on its 4-inch qHD display and runs the latest version of Android.
FACEBOOK PHONE
If you are addicted to Facebook and crave the need to share and see what others are sharing at the press of a button, well, now there is phone for that. The HTC Status ($50-$400), available from AT&T, has a dedicated Facebook share button that allows you to instantly update your status; share a photo, website, song, etc.; or check in at a location. The button also glows whenever you do something that might be worth sharing. Facebook is even integrated into phone calls—the caller’s latest status update is displayed with their name and number and there is even a reminder if their birthday is near.
MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE
Apple’s Thunderbolt Display ($999) supplies you with 27-inches of high-resolution picture, high-quality audio, and a FaceTime HD camera. This display has more to offer than just a pretty picture, however. Connect it to any of your Thunderbolt-enabled Mac devices and it becomes a plug-and-play hub. You can transform your MacBook Pro into a complete desktop workstation by daisy-chaining additional Thunderbolt devices (such as storage and audio/video capture devices) through the display, which can also charge your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air through its MagSafe connector.
STREAMING TUNES
Spotify, the award-winning and popular European music service, has arrived in the United States with a library of over 15 million songs. Easily search for what you want to hear and then listen to it instantly—music streams live so there is no waiting for downloads. Drag and drop songs to create playlists that you can share through Facebook or even create a collaborative playlist with your friends. Offline mode lets you listen to your favorite playlists even when you are not connected to the Internet. Spotify is free to download if you don’t mind ads, $4.99 a month for unlimited use with no ads, and $9.99 a month for premium which includes offline use and mobile phone use.
CONNECTABLE CREATIVITY
Sony has made some improvements to its line of alpha NEX digital cameras with the NEX-C3 ($600-$650). Once again you get the performance of a DSLR camera in a tiny package that also happens to contain a large APS-C image sensor capable of capturing 16.2-megapixel photographs. With interchangeable lenses, you can really explore your creative muscle by choosing the right lens for the right situation. Your choices don’t end there—the camera’s Photo Creativity interface lets you play around with seven functions including: Picture Effect, Background Defocus, Soft Skin Effect, Color, Brightness, Vividness, and Self-timer.
