TV on the go

There’s a device out there just to watch television shows on. And I don’t mean the television. A device is made every month catering to a specific type of media. Netbooks are laptops that focus primarily on Internet access. The TwitterPeek only lets you access Twitter. Now FloTV let’s you watch television shows on a small 3.5-inch screen.

In case you’re uncertain, that’s small. And you’ll have to be willing to dish out $250 for the first six month and an additional $8.99 a month after. And you have to commit to 3 years of service. Buyer beware. This is technology, which means that in a year something better will have come along. After all, an iPhone was $500 two years ago and the new iPhone cost $200. In another two years the iPhone should drop even further in price.

The best bet for someone looking to watch TV on the go is to spend the same amount of money on a netbook. Then you’ll be watching TV online with the option of also being able to check your e-mail, do some online shopping or finishing up work for your job or your class. Even better, if you take into account how much money you would be spending per month for something like FloTV maybe you might want to save up a few months and spring for an actual laptop, which is another technology that has become much cheaper as the years go by.

A Toshiba laptop actually costs as low as $449. If you do the math on FloTV you have to pay $250 to buy the device and for the first six months and then another $270 for the next three years. Now you’re saving $70 and you have a fully functioning laptop.

A lot of these one-note devices will become obsolete in a few years if not a few months as the technology becomes so commonplace that the price drops.

Some holiday shopping

Getting cool gifts for people is difficult. Getting tech gifts for people can be even more difficult because of the price tags attached to everything. But now that Thanksgiving is over and the leftover turkey is finally out of your fridge you can start looking for those gifts you still haven’t bought for the upcoming holidays.

On the low end:

For someone into fitness there are two cool options out there: The Nike + iPod kit and the Fitbit.

Now Nike + iPod is initially cheaper at $29, but it works with a Nike+ shoe, otherwise you should buy the pouch for the shoe sensor. This kit is nice because you can go online where your results will post and, thanks to the nature of competition, you can try to be better than others.

Fitbit is $99 and can automatically synchronize with your computer within a certain distance of it. Fitbit is also small so it can slip into your pocket or clip onto your clothes. The device also monitors your sleep patterns and soon it will also be connected socially online.

In the middle:

The Flip Video camera can be bought from as low as $149. It’s cell phone-sized camera records videos and can capture still images from the videos. Also, it has a built-in USB connector so you don’t need wires and cables to connect to a computer.

The high end:

There are so many to count, so I’ll give a general nod to smartphones and netbooks. These are expensive.

Smartphones, like Droid, Blackberry, iPhone, etc. are usually around $150-$200, but I’ve added them into the “high end” category because to make a smartphone really worth it the monthly fees for e-mail and Internet will really get the price up.

Netbooks are so convenient, especially for the person who doesn’t want something too big but wants to be able to get online. The Toshiba Mini NB205 is small with a 10 inch screen but it has a long, 9 hour battery life. And it’s $400.

Another neat netbook is the Litl. The screen flips so it can be used like a regular laptop or stood up like an easel or picture frame. However, this is pricey and will run you $700.

Waiting for the tablet explosion

When I first heard about tablet computers I didn’t know what they were and I didn’t see the purpose. But slowly tablets are becoming the newest technology that people are keen to get their hands on and companies all want to create one of. Tablets, for those who don’t know, are touchscreen computers and all sorts of companies are making them, such as Intel and Dell, Apple, and TechCrunch.

I can’t help but wonder if tablet computers, while interesting, might be obsolete almost as soon as they become big. With how much phones are able to do and the affordability of netbooks, tablets might have no place in the market. Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch and the creative force for the CrunchPad, had one thing in mind when he began to conceptualize his tablet “a very thin and light touch screen computer, sans physical keyboard, that has no hard drive and boots directly to a browser to surf the web.” It seems as though tablets are a mix between smartphones and netbooks; the size and capabilities of netbooks with the physical attributes (namely being touchscreen-based) of most smartphones.

They do look nice though.

The CrunchPad is thin and sleek. It seems that netbooks and tablets will eventually merge together to become one. And I believe that all computers and phones will have touchscreens a few years down the road. It can’t be denied that touchscreens are the technology of the future, they cut down on bulk and can actually make working faster (provided the touchscreens are top of the line and not just average). Some day we might all be just like the characters of Star Trek.