Hasta La Gadget!

With the announcement of new iPads earlier this week, Apple also quietly released a new power adapter to go with them. The company released a new 12W power adapter that’s compatible with all of Apple’s newer products, including the iPad mini and even the iPhone 5. Plus, Apple has confirmed that the new adapter charges devices faster than the previous 10W adapter.

On the product page, Apple has confirmed that the new charger will come with Retina display iPads, meaning both the 4th-gen and 3rd-gen iPads. However, you can also purchase the charger by itself for a reasonable $19. It’ll also work with the iPhone 4S, 5th-gen iPod Touch, 7th-gen iPod Nano, 2nd-gen iPad, and the new iPad mini.

Word of caution, though. While the charger will work for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPod Nano, it’s not recommended that you rely solely on the 12W adapter to charge your device up. Yes, it will charge them up almost twice as faster than the smaller 5W adapter, but it’ll also ruin the battery over time.

While Apple confirmed that the new 12W adapter will charge iPads faster than previous adapters, they didn’t say by how much. “We don’t have an exact percentage of how much faster it would charge but you should see an increase in speed,” a spokesperson said. I guess we’ll have to wait for side-by-side comparisons to pop up.

[via 9to5Mac]

Apple’s new iPad power adapter charges faster than previous version is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I’m always trying to download movies and TV shows to my iPad and Android devices, TV watching is indeed the best time killer for me. If I have to wait for my daughter’s volleyball practice, or for a doctors appointment, a little television makes the time go by so much faster. Wish I could just take my TV with me everywhere.

Check out Belkin @TV, which makes your smartphone or tablet able to tap into your home TV, so you can watch whatever it is you have on your TV (or DVR) including all your favorite shows and movies anytime, and almost anywhere. It’s like being in your living room, except you’re actually wherever it is you need to be.

So watch TV on your smartphones, tablets, PCs, and Mac computers. With @TV Plus, you can also watch anything already recorded on your DVR or you can simply record directly to your mobile device, allowing you to enjoy shows, movies, or news on your smartphone or tablet, even when you don’t have an Internet connection.

@TV is easy enough to use, simply connect your DVR or cable or satellite receiver to the set-top box using the included component or composite cables and download the @TV Plus app on your mobile device.(around 13 bucks for iOS, Android is free) The box will now transmit to your router and the web, and your mobile device will be able to receive your TV programming through a Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G connection.

Wow, quick and easy content sharing, and it turns your device into a TV remote. How cool is that? @TV is available at amazon.com for around $179 bucks and would be an awesome gift for the gadget lover in your home. Mom, are you reading this?

[ Belkin@TV plus – Your TV, Where you Want It copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

We’re here at the biggest Microsoft event in many years: the launch of Windows 8, right here on the shores of New York City with not just a press event set up for the blast, but a full-on takeover of Times Square as well! We’re expecting to see final iterations of many of the key products in Microsoft’s extended family as well as 3rd party manufacturers galore, not to mention releases of software and final details on the Windows 8 OS for the whole world. It’s here that we’ll also be watching Microsoft launch their global campaign for Windows 8 as their key system – it all begins at 11:15 Eastern Time.

We’ll be posting each news bit as it comes down the pipe, five by five. There’s also a live video of the event you can watch while you’re getting pumped up for the event as well. Microsoft will be presenting Windows 8 as a simple-to-use beautiful and powerful system – clean as that. The brand is what will be pushed here, of that you can be certain. Brand NEW hardware is unlikely today, as such a reveal would be a bit confusing for the public that’s still wrapping their heads around the fact that Microsoft does have their own tablet on the market – check our
>full review of the Microsoft Surface RT now!

Those of you interested in learning all about the final form of Microsoft’s big release here should check out our massive Windows 8 review and drop your jaw at the size of it. Be sure to read up before the big event here starts. Also have a peek at what Samsung has done to keep the eye on them for the week – it involves Kanye West (spoiler). Also keep your eye on the word Nexus today to see if Google will release any big hints on their own upcoming event next week – and be a bit suspicious of all the “leaks” thus far.

Finally get pumped up about the gigantic Times Square takeover that Microsoft has let fly a bit early – a full on mega Star Screen that’ll be covering the whole of the center of the modern world. Microsoft is pulling out all the stops with this one, then hitting the afterburners to blast forth unto the next generation for their brand – this is about to be big, big stuff.

Microsoft Windows 8 event: we’re here! is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Besides spending some time with the Canon EOS M, I also got to test out the Canon 6D, a new full-frame offering from the camera-maker that’s set to arrive later this year. The $2,099 DSLR lowers the barrier to Canon full-frame ownership, and actually has a few tricks up its sleeve that the more expensive and extremely capable 5D Mk III doesn’t even offer.

The big one is Wi-Fi built-in, which is only possible with the 5D3 via an add-0n transmitter that costs nearly $800. Using the 6D’s Wi-Fi, you can transmit images to an Android app, which Canon’s Chuck Westfall demoed at the event, in order to browse through your pictures, transfer photos to your device and even change camera settings. An iOS app is coming soon, which, like the Android app, will be a free download. Eventually, the plan is also to make it so that the 6D can communicate directly with Canon’s Wi-Fi-enabled printers, too, meaning you’ll be able to print from camera without using any intermediary.

While Wi-Fi makes post processing a much easier task, the 6D really shines when you’re shooting, too. The silent shutter mode is absolutely whisper quiet, and while still audible in a silent room, nature and street photographers, and those hoping to be less auspicious in a crowd will definitely appreciate the significant difference between it and the standard shutter sound on any DSLR.

The 6D also feels incredibly solid, even though it isn’t quite as rugged and weather-resistant as the 5D3, and with the attached Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II lens it wasn’t overly heavy, but definitely has a premium, weighty feel compared to the 60D and 7D. The control layout is slightly tweaked from the 5D3, and should make it much easier for those stepping up to a full-frame DSLR from entry-level devices like the Rebel line.

When this camera was initially announced, my only qualms about putting down a pre-order were around the AF system. Now, based on my experience, those qualms are gone. The 6D may only have one center cross-type AF point, compared to the 41 cross-type points on the 5D3′s AF system, but Westfall actually said that AF speed on the 6D could potentially outperform the 5D3 in low-light situations using that single cross-type. With image quality, too, Westfall said that the 6D should be on par with the 5D3 at lower ISOs, but should outperform at higher ISOs, thanks to larger pixels on the full-frame sensor.

I didn’t get much chance to check out the 6D’s video-shooting capabilities, but it seems to perform well enough there, too. I’m a still shooter at heart, however, and the 6D seems to be an amazing camera for photography in every respect, especially for those graduating to full-frame after lots of experience on more affordable APS-C entry-level DSLRs.

The Canon 6D is scheduled to hit retail shelves by December, though I’m told Canon is pushing to maybe bring it out even earlier. This would definitely make a great stocking stuffer for the prosumer crowd, so hopefully we’ll see it sooner rather than later.

You know, there are times when we are truly left wondering just how come some fads actually take off in such a big way, and remain for a long time to come. The same goes with games as well, who would have thought that a title like Minecraft would actually be able to make such a splash, that it has become one of the best selling titles on select platforms as well? If you know that you are a huge fan of Minecraft (or know someone else who is), then perhaps you might want to give the £12.99 Minecraft Mug a go.

Don’t be a miserly square, place a pre-order for one of these ceramic puppies, and you know for sure that each time you take a sip from your Minecraft Mug, it serves as a reminder that at the end of the day, work at the office is going to cease, and you can always retire back home to enjoy more building sessions in Minecraft. In fact, it could even help you daydream of your next Minecraft project, now how about that? This is an officially licensed product, so have no fear of being accused of purchasing a bootleg copy by your jealous peers.

[ Minecraft Mug copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]