As 2008 draws to a close I’m going to take time out to look back at some of the best gadgets that the year had to give us. Without a doubt it was the year of the iPhone. The Smartphone from Apple was the most talked about device in 2008. I wonder what Apple have in store for us in 2009? We’ll find out soon enough because Macworld is just around the corner (I expect updates to the Mac Mini and the iMac range). There were other great gadgets in 2008 too, so let us take a look back.

Apple iPhone.
The must have gadget that had everyone talking. Apple introduced touch screen technology to the masses with the innovative iPhone. With it came the mobile iTunes and App stores. Access to thousands of albums and applications were a finger tap away. No doubt Apple has changed people’s expectations of what a mobile device should be.

Twitter
Not a gadget, but a micro-blogging and social networking website. Twitter really took off in 2008 allowing people to blog about what they were doing in 140 characters. Why 140? It’s to do with the amount of character that can fit in a single SMS message. It’s even got the starts twittering. Look out for Stephen Fry, Robert Llewelyn and John Cleese.

Netbooks.
Maybe one of the more surprising gadgets of 2008 were the netbooks that appeared. Sure they were around at the back end of 2007, but these nifty portable and small computers could be carried anywhere without much bother. Their ultra cheap price made sure that they would be popular with people wanting internet access wherever they were.

Blu-Ray.
The battle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray finally came to an end with Blu-Ray becoming the champion. But will it be a success? There are already services that allow us to download high definition movies straight to our computers bypassing the need for a disc all together. Is it too late for Blu-Ray to even get off the ground?

There were many innovations during 2008 and I look forward to seeing what the big technology companies have to offer us in 2009. Thinner LCD TV’s will be big I think as well as the Nokia N97 (A possible rival to both the iPhone and G1).

My favourite gadget of 2008 has to be the iPod touch that I got. It’s been absolutely everywhere with me. A truly great gadget. I have nothing more to say to you this year. We’ll start the year off with a look at some exciting upcoming gadgets. Until then, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Apple have a sale on today on their online store. I’d never heard of this one day event before, but it seems to happen every year. There are a lot of people Twittering about it, so I thought it would be a good idea to let all of you gadget lovers know about it.

The temptation to buy an iMac or MacBook today is quite intense. But, I know that in January there’s going to be an announcement by Apple which will include a new updated iMac becoming available. I could save £31 on a new 20″ iMac or nearly £61 on a new MacBook.

So if you fancy getting an Apple product for less, then today’s the day to do it.
Head over to the Apple website and grab yourself a bargain.

Back in October Steve Jobs, the Apple Inc. CEO announced a new 24″ LED Cinema Display would go on sale in November. Well, that time has arrived and the display is now available to purchase. With a screen resolution of 1,900 x 1,200, built in iSight camera and mic, 3 USB ports, integrated speakers, DisplayPort and a MagSafe adapter, Christmas has come early for many Apple fans out there.

Retailing at £649 this monitor is slightly out of my budget at the moment. Not having a MacBook doesn’t help things I suppose, but the MacBook situation might change in January depending on the announcements during MacWorld 2009 (I hear that there are new iMacs on the way).

A large display is a necessity these days if you’re in to design. Personally I would benefit from this display to aid me with my 3D Design work, which I’m currently doing on an extra monitor I’ve hooked up to the laptop. It just makes things easier, trust me. Having struggled in the past with a tiny 15″ monitor, going up to a 17″ was a dream. Going from a 17″ to a 24″ would be even better.

But alas, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have the hardware yet to justify this display. Being the good blogger that I am, I thought it was worth mentioning that the 24″ LED Cinema Display was now available for purchase.

The new 24″LED Cinema Display has a new connecting cable which allows you to plug straight in to your MacBook with ease. Sporting a MagSafe connector, USB Plug and the new DisplayPort connector means that you only have to have the display plugged in. The cables all connect up to your new MacBook and allow you to charge it via the MagSafe connector.

This is the reason so many people love Apple products. They’re beautiful and easy to use. Roll on January.

I blogged about the Brother DCP-6690CW printer a while back and mentioned that I was going to still use my current printer (which is an Epson Stylus Photo R220) because it had CD/DVD printing facilities. I got to thinking about making it wireless also because I’ve developed a dislike for unnecessary cables going in to my laptop.

After a bit of looking and talking to people I’ve decided that an AirPort Express from Apple would suit my needs quite well. The AirPort Express is a gadget that lets you create a wireless network for your home, or even extend your current wireless network. But it’s more than that. With the AirPort Express you can connect it to your HiFi and play your iTunes library through your stereo. The ability to connect a USB printer to the AirPort Express is also an option. This is why it appeals to me so much.

I’m always looking for ways to simplify things around the house, and having an AirPort Express would definitely reduce the number of cables running around the place. Ever since I got my laptop last month I’ve become aware of just how many cables I used to have. The back of the PC is still like cable junction, but I’m reducing it drastically. When I get an iMac it’ll get reduced even further.

The AirPort Express is available through PriceGrabber from £56 which is great value considering what it can do. I can feel my credit card twitching in my pocket as I type this.

Today was the day that Apple revealed their line up of new notebooks. I have to say that I was highly impressed with the new features that they have introduced, but disappointed on the whole with the actual event. It didn’t make me want to get my credit card out and max it to the limit.

So, they introduced four new items earlier on today, as it says in the title; new MacBooks, New MacBook Pro, New MacBook Air and a new 24″ Cinema display.

The cinema display has a really cool feature in the form of an extra cable. But this is no ordinary cable, oh no, it has three plugs on the end; a MagSafe connector, a USB cable and a Mini DisplayPort connector. These allow you to use the new MacBooks with the new display. When you’ve hooked your MacBook up to the new display you will be able to power it directly from the cinema display. How cool is that.

The event seemed to focus more on the way that Apple have gone about engineering their new MacBooks from a single slab of aluminium to help them reduce weight and create more strength, and I have to say, the video they showed during the event was interesting. They were also showing that Apple as a company were seriously commited to reducing their carbon footprint as well as making these the greenest MacBooks ever.

No matter how you feel about Apple and Steve Jobs, you’ve got to admire them for creating such great hype about their new products. Twitter has been a frenzy of Apple activity for most of the day.
I can’t wait to get my hands on one of the new MacBooks so that I can write a review of it here for you guys. Alternatively, if someone wants to donate one, I’d be more than willing to take it from your hands.

As always, PriceGrabber has a huge range of Apple MacBook products available on their website. So your first port of call should be there.

Some of you might be aware that Apple are hosting a special event today (Tuesday) at their Cupertino headquarters in California. The purpose of the even it to show off the new redesigned MacBook and MacBook Pro.

No doubt there will be other surprises too during the event. Apple are great at creating a buzz about their new products by giving away very little about these special events. Sure, there are people out there who have a guess as to what will be unveiled on the day, but Steve Jobs and the gang really know how to work the rumour mill.

I am hoping that they will reveal more than just a redesign though. I would like to see the MacBook and MacBook Pro ranges being offered cheaper to us, the consumers. It would also be great news if Apple were to introduce faster models too.
I would love to be present at an Apple event some day. Whenever I hear that there’s going to be a special event, I always make sure to make a note of it in my planner and diary, in triplicate. I am also wondering if they will be announcing any upgrades to their MacBook Air, the thinnest laptop available. It is definitely exciting times.

We can but wait to see what will goodies the guys over at Apple have for us. Be sure to come back tomorrow to read about what exactly happened at the event.

Obviously, PriceGrabber have MacBooks and MacBook Pros available for you to buy at great prices, so why not go and have a look?

On Tuesday the 9th September, Apple had a special event. At this special event they unveiled a couple of new things. One of them was a new, redesigned Apple iPod Nano. As you can see from the picture they’re very sleek and shiny. So what exactly is new about them? Well, the new iPod Nanos come in nine vibrant colours from yellow to pink. Also there’s the Genius function. This function allows you to create a playlist by searching through your entire music collection and playing songs that go well together. Another new and quite frankly, pretty amazing addition that Apple demonstrated was the “shake to shuffle” feature. Just shake the iPod Nano and a random song from your collection will be played. This is all down to the new accelerometer that they’ve built right in. Having this new feature also lets you play games that have been specifically designed for the iPod Nano.

In addition to all these cool new features, there’s a high resolution, 2-inch widescreen display, so you can watch TV shows and videos on the new iPod Nano. This also means that you can view your favourite pictures too, whether they are landscape or portrait. Just rotate, the Nano will automatically display your picture in the correct format. The new Nano even has CoverFlow. This will allow you to scroll through and view all your album art.

What I haven’t mentioned yet is that the new iPod Nano is beautifully curved. This alone makes me want to go out and buy one.
The battery life is impressive too, with 24 hours for music playback and 4 hours for video. All this packed into a device that’s less than half an inch thick. It’s the thinnest iPod ever. The new Nano comes in 8Gb or 16Gb capacities and costs from £109

If you can’t wait for the new iPod to become available on PriceGrabber, then have a look at the existing range of Apple Nanos that are available to buy today.

I think it’s always a wise move to buy good protection for your most expensive gadgets. Especially if that gadget happens to be an iPod touch. It’s not a gadget that you buy and put in the corner of the room or place neatly on your desk. If you’re like me, you’re constantly picking it up, putting it in your pocket and putting it back down again. As you may or may not know, the iPod touch has a metal body - it’s shiny and scratch free when you take it out of the box. I’d like for mine to stay that way.

So how do you protect it? Well, my suggestion would be for you to buy a silicone sleeve case for it. The one I’d go for on PriceGrabber is the Belkin iPod Touch Silicone SLVE and, at less than £10 you can’t go wrong.
Under ten pounds to protect a prized piece of technology isn’t much. You’ll be glad you did. Once that metal casing starts to get scratched there’s not much you can do to restore it. OK, it might make the iPod touch a bit thicker, but it’s going to protect it really well from knocks, bumps and heaven forbid, a drop. It’s made of tough silicone, so it has a bit of give in it. Enough to protect the iPod from an accidental dropping.

So my advice to you if you’re planning on buying an iPod touch for yourself or as a gift. Buy the Belkin iPod Touch Silicone SLVE sleeve too. You’ll be glad you did.

I’m going to take time out from blogging about gadgets because I’d like to bring Twitter to your attention. I discovered this website some time ago from Leanda Ryan who’s a graphic designer based in Manchester.

The tagline for Twitter is “What are you doing?” and that’s it. You have 140 characters and it’s no coincidence that it’s the same amount of characters that you can fit into one text message, because you can send “Tweets” via text. Twitter is a micro-blogging site where thousands of people post about what they’re doing throughout the day. But in my opinion it’s more than just people blogging. It’s a social networking site too and I have made many friends through it. You can follow me on Twitter by following this link. I personally follow quite a few designers and web developers, not to mention a whole host of fellow gadget nerds. It’s a list that’s growing on a daily basis. I dare say that I’m hooked on the site and not a day goes past when I don’t visit.

If I was to mention a gadget that tied in with Twitter it would have to be the iPod Touch. I have an application on mine that allows me to post to Twitter, it’s called Twinkle and you can get it from the iTunes app store.

Twitter is the next big thing in the evolution of the internet and I won’t be surprised that we’ll see a whole host of copycat sites popping up.

I look forward to greeting you as a friend.

In my opinion, the most sought after gadget at the moment is the iPhone 3G from Apple.

But what if you only want a portable music player?

Would you go for an iPod Touch, which has a load of extra features like internet browsing, email, downloadable apps and WiFi iTunes store, or would you go for an iPod Classic?

An iPod Classic gives better value for money if all you want to do is listen to music.
For an 80Gb version you’ll pay between £148 and £186 which is phenomenal value for the amount of storage you get.
80Gb will hold approximately 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video.
Yes, the iPod Classic also plays videos.
With a crisp and clear 2.5 inch backlit display, the iPod Classic is a must have gadget in anybody’s home.

Whether you’re going travelling or just want to listen to music on the move, it doesn’t get much better than an iPod Classic.
Sure there are other music players available, but not many can boast as much storage, battery life and style as an iPod.
And speaking of battery life, the iPod Classic comes in with an impressive 30 hours of music playback per charge and 5 hours of video playback.
To fully charge the battery takes 4 hours, but there’s a fast charge option which will charge 80% of the battery in 2 hours.

As I mentioned, if you’re going travelling and want a great music player that’s durable and robust, then you really shouldn’t look any further than an iPod Classic.
Planning on going to the beach this summer (when it arrives)? You’ll want to take some music with you right? What better way to carry your entire music library about?

At the end of the day, not only does the iPod Classic look good, but it feels good too.