Hasta La Gadget!

Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a 3-D TV out of my hat!

That trick never works, you’ll groan, and the consumer electronics industry will respond: “This time for sure!”

Gadget manufacturers will try a similar rabbit trick with tablets this year, too, hoping that the doodads they hyped a year ago will actually take off in 2011.

But, like Bullwinkle, what comes out of the industry’s magic hat might be a little different than what the hypemasters are hoping for.

3-D televisions are still as useless in your living room as they were last year, but there’s an array of new gadgets and software to let you create your own 3-D photos and video.

Tablets are poised to hit the market en masse in 2011 — just in time for Apple to release the second generation of its hit iPad.

Phones and wireless media will be seeing some seismic shifts in the coming year, too, with the advent of Windows Phone 7 and a new crop of Android phones. Although here, too, Apple will steal thunder, most likely by announcing a Verizon version of its massively popular iPhone. The real winners might be ARM and Nvidia, makers of the ultra-low-power chips inside many smartphones.

Whatever gadgets wind up dominating 2011, we’ll get a preview of them at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which Wired will cover January 4-8. (Check our CES 2011 tag page for the latest stories from the show.)

Here’s a preview of the top gadget trends that will rock CES in January — and rock your world later in 2011.

3-D Consumer Cameras

Panasonic's $1,400 3-D camera is just the tip of the iceberg. Expect lots more — and cheaper — 3-D cameras and camcorders in 2011. Photo credit: Panasonic

Thanks a lot, Avatar.

Yes, the cinematic phenomenon from James Cameron has helped usher in a new era of fascination with 3-D and all its potential consumer applications. But with little 3-D content to watch on them, and a slow economy besides, the 3-D televisions touted last year just haven’t taken off.

Instead, look for 3-D to break into a new arena in 2011: Consumer-priced cameras.

Last year, just as Avatar was building box-office momentum, 3-D cameras made few waves at CES, but offerings such as a $21,000 3-D-enabled camcorder from Panasonic were hardly budget friendly.

Camera manufacturers are more serious this time around about enabling consumers to produce their own at-home, three-dimensional media. Sure, it won’t be enough for you to act out your favorite Na’vi fanfic pieces, but it’s a critical step — and those Paris vacation photos would look great in 3-D, wouldn’t they?

Expect to see plenty of big-name manufacturers expanding on last year’s models and dazzling us with fresh ones, with price points for 3-D-capable point-and-shoot digicams hovering, for the most part, around $500.

The inherently annoying thing about shooting in 3-D is that it often requires a bit of savvy on the shooter’s part, often necessitating the shooting and re-shooting of a scene from a slightly different angle to order to let the camera generate the intended 3-D effect. Those models that can incorporate an easy-to-use 3-D functionality for those down on the far end of the digicam long tail will immediately jump out to the front of the pack.

Those 3-D camcorders should still remain prohibitively out-of-budget for most show-goers, but Panasonic has led the way so far, especially considering this summer’s release of the $1,400 HDC-SDT750. Whether the volume of new releases at CES can help the market push that price point down below $1,000 is doubtful.

Still, the tech (as it relates to consumers) is still relatively green, so we’ll look to 2012 as a potential tipping point for all you budding Cameron wannabes. Until then, you’ll have to do with the ever-expanding roster of budget 3-D pocket cams, like those from Aiptek, DXG and Viewsonic.

So yes, we’ve come a long way from the red-and-blue-lensed glasses of yesteryear, but 3-D has also encountered a newer, more tech-savvy generation of users, as well.

Unfortunately, 3-D TV penetration will have to explode over the next few months (and years, really) in order for consumers to go all-in on 3-D-capable cameras. But the beginnings of a major new art form are in place. – Erik Malinowski

Top photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

We’re about to see an onslaught of AMD Fusion-powered 11.6-inch laptops, and HP’s newly revised Pavilion dm1 is among the first to be announced, along with the Lenovo X120e. The case has been substantially hotted-up from last year’s dm1, and inside you’re looking at a dual-core 1.6GHz Vision E-350 APU, which includes Radeon HD 6310M graphics that power an LED-backlit 1366 x 768 BrightView display. 3GB of memory comes standard with a max of 8GB, and there’s a 320GB drive and an SD card reader as well as 3 USB ports, HDMI and VGA out, and an Ethernet port. Best of all, it weighs in at 3.52 pounds with a six-cell 55WHr battery that’s promised to run for “up to 9 hours and 30 minutes.” That’s a lofty claim, and one we look forward to testing in the days ahead — along with just how much real-world performance that E-350 APU really provides for the dm1’s $449 MSRP. We’ll let you know — for now, check out some hands-on shots below.

Continue reading HP revs up Pavilion dm1 with AMD Fusion, the notbook wars have begun

HP revs up Pavilion dm1 with AMD Fusion, the notbook wars have begun originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So you nabbed a webOS device over the holidays? Maybe you got yourself a Pixi or Pre Plus, or if you were really lucky, someone dropped a Pre 2 in your stocking. We know that Palm isn’t exactly ruling the roost when it comes to smartphones, but that doesn’t mean that your new device isn’t plenty powerful given the right apps and proper tweaks. In fact, webOS can stand toe-to-toe with the iOS and Android devices of the world, even if the selection of apps and hardware leaves something to be desired. So how do you turn your holiday cheer into a year-round workhorse? Read on after the break for the must-have apps, accessories, and more!

Continue reading Just got a Palm phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips

Just got a Palm phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First it was the Adamo, now it’s the Envy. HP has joined Dell in deeply discounting its aging 13-inch ultrathin, though unlike its Round Rock competitor, it hasn’t bothered to give it any spec bumps. Consequently, even with this interest-building $450 rebate, the Envy 13 loses out to the Adamo 13 in a straight spec fight — a 1.6GHz CPU, 3GB of DDR3 RAM and a 5400RPM hard drive are all either slower or smaller than Dell’s offering — but it does still have a pair of aces up its sleeve to get latecomers to part with their cash. Those include an external SuperMulti DVD rewriter and a discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 GPU with 512MB of dedicated memory. Sure, it’s not much, but then neither is the new price.

HP slashes Envy 13 price to $999 with $450 rebate originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Their names are emblazoned on electronics all over your home and office, but what did companies like Nintendo, Motorola, Sony, IBM, and HP produce before digital cameras, PCs, and cell phones were invented?

We’ve taken a look at some of today’s top tech companies before they started making what we all know them for. The list includes tires, playing cards, radios, and even comic books.