Weekly high-tech product releases: iPad, Green smartphone, retro TV, affordable HD video camera

High-tech product releases announced the week of January 27 include Apple's iPad, the latest green-phone from Sony Ericsson, an Android-powered phone for social networking, a TV that will take you back to the future, entry-level laptops bursting with color, an affordable HD video camera from JVC and the 2010 line up of new digital cameras from Nikon.

The touchscreen tablet everyone's been waiting for
The iPad is Apple's "most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device." The 9.7" touchscreen tablet lets you surf the web, send emails, look at photos and videos, listen to music, read and download books, access around 140,000 applications available on the App Store and much, much more. Prices range from $499 for the 16GB WiFi model up to $829 for the WiFi & 3G 64GB model. WiFi models will begin shipping in late March. 3G models will start shipping one month later in April.

Green Windows phone for heavy texters
Sony Ericsson' Aspen is the next addition to the company's line of eco-friendly handsets. The device will appeal to heavy texters and business users who regularly rely on Microsoft Mobile Office software. The Aspen is the first mobile phone to run on Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS 6.5.3 and packs in a-GPS, Google Maps, a 3.2 megapixel camera with a 4X digital zoom, a media browser, social networking tools, Bluetooth and a touchscreen. The handset will be available in selected markets in the second quarter of 2010. No pricing information was released.

Android-powered smartphone with built in social networking homepage widget
The long-awaited Motorola DEVOUR is another addition to Motorola's Android-powered smartphone line up. The phone comes with a touchsensitive navigation pad, 3.1 capacitive touch screen, Motorola's social networking Happenings Widget (MOTOBLUR), full QWERTY keyboard, aGPS, remote wipe, an 8 GB microSC card (that comes pre-installed) and Bluetooth. The Motorola DEVOUR will be available in March. No pricing information has been provided but industry insiders believe the phone will be cheaper than Motorola's DROID.

A retro TV that will take you back in time
LG is introducing a product that is somewhat of an oddity these days; the LG Serie 1 TV is a 60's inspired cathode ray tube TV complete with chrome legs, "space age" styled shell and antennas. For those of you who like to reminisce, you will be able to adjust the volume and change the channel with old school TV knobs (while your kids sit on the couch and turn the sound up with the included remote). LG has totally gone old school with the Serie 1 TV - to the point of including settings that enable you to change the colour of the 4:3 aspect ratio screen image into black and white or sepia tones. The very kitsch unit is only available in Korea at a price of €150.

Affordable laptops with a splash of color
Sony has introduced a colorful lineup of entry-level notebooks to its VAIO E Series. The glossy, translucent and lightly patterned laptops are equipped with a 15.5-inch widescreen display, option Blu-ray Disc ROM drive, HDMI output, built-in webcam with face-tracking technology and a hard drive that will store up to 500GB. Sony's VAIO E Series will be priced at around $700 and will be available in the beginning of March.

Feature-rich HD video camera at a low price
JVC's new EVERIO GZ-HM340 high definition camera captures perfect videos even in low light settings and shaky conditions. The camera is equipped with JVC's Advanced Image Stabilizer, time-lapse recording, auto record feature, 16GB of internal Flash memory, SD/SDHC card slot, face detection, one-touch uploading to Facebook and a 20x optical zoom. The camera is priced at $499.95 and will start shipping later in the month.

A full line up of high-performance Digital cameras
Nikon released not one but seven new cameras in its COOLPIX range this week. The Nikon COOLPIX P100 is the company's flagship Performance Series. The P100 features a CMOS sensor, a 26x super telephoto optical zoom lens, stereo sound recording, an in-camera high dynamic range (HDR) function, night landscape mode and a high-speed sport continuous mode. The P100 retails for $399.95 and will go on sale in March.

The 14.2 megapixel COOLPIX S8000 Digital Camera is the thinnest camera in its class. It comes equipped with a 10x zoom, high resolution 3" LCD screen and HD video recording. The camera is priced at $299.95 and will be available in February.

On the other end of the scale Nikon's COOLPIX L22 is priced at a nice $129.95. The affordable camera offers a 12 megapixel resolution, 3.6x zoom and a 3.0 inch LCD screen. The camera will be sold from February.