It seems like everyone is out to get the iPad these days. But who can blame them? In the last decade Apple has been responsible for bringing in technology that was not only functional but extremely cool and trendy. Although they come in for criticism from various quarters, Apple still remains the ideas company to beat.

Motorola is not directly competing with the iPad in every aspect, but it does seem to be taking a serious effort at capturing a significant part of the tablet market. Currently everything on the newswires about a Motorola and Verizon partnership to develop a tablet together is officially a rumor. However, according to inside sources the device could debut as early as fall this year.

The tablet is rumored to run Android as its OS and feature a 10 inch screen. The main objective of this tablet will be to give users access to Verizon’s FiOS cable service. This alone will be an attention grabber because it will allow users to access a pay TV service, something that the iPad and Apple do not offer. Apple has long been wooing the major content owners for a service like this but has been completely unsuccessful. The company is working on a streaming service that is cloud based, but no one knows when or if it will be released.

The Motorola tablet is supposed to be lighter than the iPad and also thinner. It will also feature two cameras (front and back) and the missing link from the iPad, Adobe Flash.

Many people like to keep themselves abreast with the current news and events. Having the facility of listening to talk radio shows has become quite popular for such people. However, the usual run of the mill radio stations offer nothing more than gibberish and put up a talk show which can be described as more quantity and less quality. Moreover, many people find that the usual radio talk shows concentrate only on the local events and regional news. Certain professionally managed online radio services have now come up with excellent facilities to cater to the increasing demand of people to be informed on all global matters.

The radio was invented with an aim of enhancing communication. Well, what other way to communicate than to share one’s favorite music with friends and family. Tuning in to your favorite online radio station can be a great way to enjoy your music in the company of friends and loved ones. Many folks find these online radio services to be a pleasant relief from their daily work related stresses. You should tune in to hear their favorite music during lunch breaks or even during your hectic schedule at work.

Live and streaming radio has become increasingly popular with the young generation and is becoming a craze. The fun and excitement of listening to online radio stations has had a spillover effect on the older generation because of the introduction of religious and other programs aimed at entertaining them.

Almost every one of us has listened to a radio at some point of time or the other in this lifetime. There are some jocks that we take a fancy to or some kind of programming that we find fascinating. In most cases, it is the most popular music that is released from time to time.

With people’s preferences differing widely, it is not uncommon to see radio stations with different niches such as jazz, rock, pop and talk radio as well.

However, in the last few years, with the advent of the internet (specifically Web 2.0) with specialized application offering more than just information in the form of text, internet radio stations have also begun to spring up for a large audience.

While the internet seems to encourage copyright violations, music online has gotten a bad name, especially music that is downloadable either directly through search engine results, P2P clients or through using torrent software that enables you to download entire albums at will, and if it is available.

Internet radio, of course, still remains to be the most legal way to listen to music online while expanding its listener base exponentially, thanks to the wide expanse of the internet.

With countless legal issues still going against people who share music as well as other forms of media online, the concept of online radio still continues to work within the legal limits and because of this, will continue to grow in the years to come.

After weeks of rumors and non-committal statements from the manufacturer, LG has finally ’spilt the beans’. This week LG announced that the LX9500, which it plans to release in May, will be the first HDTV in the world to feature 3D as well as an LED backlit LCD screen.

The upcoming model will be available in two varieties, a 47-inch and a 55-inch version. Both models will be packed to the brim with features like 3D, HDMI, USB 2.0 and integrated Skype software. It also features TruMotion 400 Hz (480 Hz) and a dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1. The 3D glasses used to watch TV employ the shutter glass technique, which means each lens is blocked out alternatively in relation to the refresh rate of the TV. This also enables it to add more depth to the image. The good news about the glasses are that they are USB powered, so all you have to do is leave it plugged into the TV or PC and the batteries will be charged. Once fully charged, the batteries are expected to run for 40 hours allowing for uninterrupted viewing.

The TV also supports the new Multi Picture Format, which means that users can plug in their 3D cameras directly into the TV and view what they’ve shot without having to go to a computer to convert them. The LG TVs are expected to hit the Korean market first in the coming months, so as to get the jump on their main competitor, Samsung. European and U.S. consumers will have to wait till May for LG’s launch. So far, the unofficial word is that the TVs will be priced along the $4,000 mark.

If you hanker after quality in everything you do, then investing in a Blu-Ray drive is worth it. Although somewhat expensive, the quality that Blu-Ray offers is so far ahead of DVD that the price is justified. When it comes to choosing a Blu-Ray drive for your PC, it is the features you should look out for rather than the brand. There are also two technologies that you should know about as well.

The first of these is High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). HDCP is a content protection method which is verified all the way through up to the point of display. This means that the Blu-Ray drive, your graphics card AND your monitor have got to be HDCP compliant. If not, you will see a less defined image or in most cases, nothing at all.

The other thing you should know about is High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). HDMI is a new type of connector that facilitates high quality video and audio transfer. This cable connects your graphics card and to your monitor. The current HDMI standard is 1.3 which supports deep color, DVD Audio, lip-sync, extended gamut, Super audio CD, Dolby TrueHD bitstream and DTD-HD Master Audio bitstream.

As you have obviously gathered by now, these are the main criteria you have to consider when buying a Blu-Ray. So when you do go out to get one make sure that:

it supports HDMI 1.3
it has the highest possible write speed
it can write all other CD/DVD formats
it has upgradeable firmware

Once you have ensured that all these options available, it is down to your personal preference in picking a brand.

As the jokes about Apple’s inadvertent naming of its newest product have slowed down, there is news that the online streaming service Hulu may be coming to an iPad near you.

Hulu’s owners are currently pondering over how they can bring an effective service to the iPad. The insider reports suggest that it will be a paid service or in other words a subscription package. While Hulu has been free so far online, there have been constant rumblings from NBC U, Fox and Disney that a premium service is somewhere in the offing.

The subscription service to the iPad, when it does materialize, will be the first step in monetizing the Hulu service. The rumors are that Hulu will eventually move onto a three-pronged approach, where it will reach consumers via the web, mobile and TV. Under this plan they intend to keep the current episodes free on the web while offering back episodes for a nominal fee while the mobile and TV services will be offered as subscriptions.

However, the first step of the larger plan still involves moving to a mobile device which currently happens to be the iPad. Unfortunately, the iPad does not support Adobe Flash, which is the medium used by Hulu and a myriad of other online video services to deliver their content. So it appears that a workaround solution has to be found. Unfortunately, for fans of the iPad and for Apple that solution is not going to appear by the time the iPad ships to consumers at the end of next month.

The Mobile World Congress trade show is set to begin soon and the big boys of the cell phone handset world are ready to come out all guns blazing. So, here is what you can expect from each of them at the trade show scheduled to take place shortly.

Nokia - Once the undisputed leader, Nokia finds itself challenged by the iPhone and the Blackberry. With its dominance reduced to 39 % of the Smart Phone market, Nokia is concentrating more on 5000 series models which are simpler and cheaper. The free satellite navigation feature that is included with all new Smart Phone models makes it unique among its competitors.

RIM - Business professionals love the Blackberry, which is reflected in the 20 % share that Research In Motion currently holds. The Blackberry Curve is RIM’s best seller due to its retail-friendly nature. Although it has a lower profit margin, the sheer volume of sales is making this model a winner for RIM.

Apple - The iPhone is still a phenomenon, even though it is almost three years since it was first released. It has been steadily growing while currently holding almost 14 % of the market share. Although no new features or developments are announced yet, Apple is focusing on is new markets. With China as the new target, expect the iPhone to challenge the #2 spot in the near future.

HTC - In response to competition, HTC will put out some lower priced models. HTC is also targeting the Chinese market and hopes the price war will go in its favor.

Motorola - After experiencing continuing losses over the past few years, Motorola is betting on Google’s Android OS to be its savior. The 14 million Smart Phones it expects to ship this year are forecasted to bring in over 50 % of revenue.

Sony Ericsson - Although it has struggled to make an impression in the Smart Phone market, it should not be surprising to note that it caters to three different OS’ - Windows, Android and Symbian. This seems to suggest a lack of focus on the part of the company. However Sony Ericsson plans for a big push in 2010, with its new Smart Phone models.

LG - With 20 new models set to hit the shelves this year, LG has obviously geared up for a Smart Phone blitz. Over half of the models are expected to run Google’s Android OS, while some of the others will run Windows Mobile and LiMo’s Linux.

The future lies in 3D. The runaway success of James Cameron’s hit movie Avatar has brought the thrill of 3D back to the masses. As usual, when one person has put in the hard work and brought technology into the limelight there are plenty of people who find ways to capitalize on it. The latest endeavor on those lines is to bring 3D to the television unit in your home.

While there are many methods in which this feat can be achieved, this article focuses on three LCD-based technologies that we are likely to see vying for our attention.

Philips has been pioneering research in Lenticular viewing to bring 3D to your home. This technology is available right now and uses a lens attached in front of the TV to achieve the 3D effect. So, what is the advantage? You do not have to wear those silly glasses to watch a program in 3D. What is the disadvantage then? You have to sit in a particular spot directly in front of the TV to get the full effect, which means that not more than two to three people can enjoy this technology at a time.

Hyundai seems to have the most feasible idea, where TV supports 2D and 3D viewing. You will however, have to wear polarized glasses to see anything in 3D. This LCD TV is expected to hit the market soon and appears to be the economically justifiable option for consumers.

Samsung and Mitsubishi seem to have come up with the best image technology, albeit at a price. Instead of the TV doing all the hard work, all the processing is passed on to the glasses you wear. The glasses synchronize with the refresh rate of the TV, handle polarization and offer the best image quality of all three options discussed thus far. The only downside is that the glasses are expected to cost a bit more than $100 dollars per unit.

iTunes is the default music playback application that comes with your iPhone and music playback is one the major features of today’s iPhones. Here are five other ways to listen to music without using iTunes:

1. Pandora: Pandora is a web based streaming audio application that is based on the Music Genome Project and is available as a free app for the iPhone. You can listen to specific stations and rate and vote for the music that is being played. You can use Pandora when in a Wi-Fi zone as well as over 3G.

2. AOL Radio: The AOL Radio free iPhone app is ideal for those who are more accustomed to traditional radio. You can listen to any number of stations that are categorized in to genres and use the Locals feature to listen to stations near your area and mark stations as your favorite.

3. Soma FM: is another app that allows you to listen to streaming radio stations. However this app is not free. With Soma FM you can bookmark certain songs to purchase later, which is great if you come across a new song you would like to have.

4. NPR News: If you are the kind of person who loves being up to date on things and wants to listen to news the NPR News, free iPhone app will be great for you. It lists out numerous news stories that you can select and listen to. It also indicates which stories are on air right now.

5. Play music in safari: To do this, you will need to create a basic web page and add links to streaming web station’s .m3u files. Then open Safari on your iPhone and tap the link and it will start playing the music on the browsers built in QuickTime plugin. These streams will stay playing in the background as long as you want.

There are plenty more options out there on the web. The appStore itself has thousands of more programs that can be used for streaming audio. We’ve just listed the most popular ones.

In the first week of September, Opera announced the launch of their new browser, Opera 10 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Opera is one of those browsers that introduce new features before they become mainstream; such as tabbed browsing and displaying visual bookmarks. Unfortunately, credit for these and many more inventions go to other browsers. However the new Opera 10 offers less drama in terms of brand new features seen for the first time or a new interface. The new program improves on its predecessor’s performance but has little else.

So what are the new features that have been incorporated? One useful feature is that Opera has incorporated system wide spellchecking on all platforms, which means Windows users do not need to install plug-ins for this feature. The Speed Dial page is also more customizable allowing users to choose from a 2×2 grid up to 5×5 grids and select a custom background image. Opera 10 also provides a nifty thumbnail-tab feature. If you drag the bottom of the tab downwards, all the open tabs will show dynamically sized thumbnails. You can also have the thumbnail tabs on the right hand side of your screen, which is extremely useful for widescreen laptops and computers. As you add more thumbnails, the row is squeezed horizontally or vertically displaying all your tabs.

Speed tests confirm that Opera 10 is the second fastest browser coming in second only to Google’s Chrome. On the Mac however, it is the slowest browser. So whether you start using Opera on your computer largely depends on the OS you use.