I just recently bought an HP TouchPad and I really like it.  Now, I can’t believe what I’m hearing.  HP is DISCONTINUING the TouchPad as well as the Veer line of phones.  It came and stayed for merely a couple of months with much fanfare and push in the retail sector with lots of enthusiasm being generated in retail training….and now I’m watching the last nails go into the coffin.  I am really disappointed.  This device despite its excellent features has a hard to time competing against Android and Apple.  So HP is probably making the decision with the most business sense.  HP is restructuring through this and also has plans of spinning off its PC business.  As a consumer, I know HP made printers.  But the main thing I knew HP for was a computer manufacturer.  I’m sad to see that go too. 

Beats, the sound technology that allows the consumer to hear the way the music was intended with the ability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound captured in the recording studio is now coming to HTC.  I first heard about beats audio through HP as some of their notebooks as well as their new TouchPad has this feature.  I’ve also had the chance to use some beats headphones while touring various electronics retailers such as Micro Center.   This system is incredible and brings sheer delight to the audiophile.  When you hear a Beats enabled device to one that isn’t – like Apple’s line of music players or even their iPad, the difference becomes quite apparent.  It’s like listening to Pandora free vs. Pandora One the paid version that brings 192kbps audio instead of the mere 128kbps.

The HTC and Dr. Dre partnership will bring a line of HTC mobile devices with the Beats audio technology this coming fall – which is practically around the corner.

I’m a happy camper with my Netflix paying $9.99 for unlimited streaming and getting 1 DVD out.  Sadly, Netflix will be changing all of this beginning September 1.  Now, I’ll have to choose between streaming or DVDs and pay $7.99 for either one or both if I want unlimited streaming and DVDs – which represents a price increase of a $6.  Sure, I have enough bandwidth for streaming, but not everything is available for streaming with many movies and titles still available only for DVD.  I admit, I’m saddened to see Netflix go this route.

Do you subscribe to Netflix?  If so, which plan are you taking / are going to take?  Unlimited Streaming, Unlimited DVDs, or Both?

Summer’s been fun, and we’ve been busy – so busy in fact that we haven’t wrote anything in a while (can anyone say too busy playing iPad apps?).  Welcome back, dear readers!  Get ready for continuations of great columns and reviews of the latest gear – we just got some really cool things in like the 3D DXG-018Y Camera which really creates new dimensions in photography.  We’ll also cover the games and apps which got us hooked and kept us from paying our JAMM dues…games like Scrabble, The Heist, Third Blade, and more! Coming up this month we’ll be teaching you how to backup your computer using  various techniques including SpiderOak cloud backup!  SpiderOak has been kind enough to provide us with some codes for some premium accounts.  Much sizzling fun is around the corner…

Recently, PhatPad for the iPad was updated to v1.2.  This $8 program is powerful in that it turns the iPad into an advanced brainstorming tool by enabling users to draw, write, and type on the iPad, then instantly share ideas via email, WiFi sync, Dropbox, or with PhatPad’s built-in presentation mode.

With version 1.2, the following features were included:

• The new Folders feature allows users to organize their documents in the folder hierarchy. The new Document manager UI allows users to create, rename, rearrange using drag and drop, and delete folders and documents. The updated Dropbox synchronization feature supports synchronization of the entire folder hierarchy.
• The new File Manager UI allows users to search all PhatPad documents for characters or words.
• File sharing feature now allows users to specify the remote access password. If the password is set, it will be required to access PhatPad documents via WiFi. The password is also required when uploading files onto the device.
• The new Autoinsert Recognition Results option allows for continuous writing in the Handwriting panel mode. When this option is on, an adjustable marker is displayed on the panel. Starting a new word on the left side of the marker (on top of the previous writing) will send the recognized text into the application and start a new recognition session.
• PhatPad now supports background playback and recording for voice notes and the remote control. The remote control can also be used in the Presentation mode while audio is playing.