As much as I love my New iPad, I have to remind myself that tablets are not for everyone, or perhaps not best suited to every purpose.  Although nothing beats the new iPad for surfing the Internet and consuming media, when it comes to word processing I prefer the comforts of my laptop keyboard and screen.

Yes the "new" iPad is a  terrific device, but really, the level of hype around what is essentially a product  upgrade is uncalled for. Unless you have included a fancy new tele-portation feature (iTeleport) , or perhaps are powering the device with cold fusion (iFusion).

If you followed one of the many live blogs online this morning, you were front and center for the newest announcement coming out of Apple. Announcing the new iPad, slated to be available across Canada, US, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and Japan on March 16^th.

What’s new on the iPad? Here’s a few quick highlights from live blogging around the web:

Have you been dying to do some holiday shopping at Best Buy from a mobile device, but don’t own an iPhone? Have you been waiting to access BestBuy.ca on your Android or Blackberry, but are having to revert to your laptop or desktop? The wait is over, folks. The mobile version of BestBuy.ca has launched and is letting our customers across all platforms access our store online, 24/7.

Working from home has become a way of life for many people including high-paid executives and stay at home parents.  Because of this, work no longer lives solely in the office and the lines between work and home are becoming more and more blurred. Although working from home may seem like a drag, it doesn’t have to be with the proper tools...

How often do you eat at your computer? Probably every day, without giving it a second thought. When was the last time you cleaned your keyboard? If you’re like most people, not that often. Day to day usage on your keyboard creates a buildup of dust, dirt dead skin debris and plenty of germs that create viruses. With flu season coming up, you may want to consider giving your dirty Qwerty a thorough cleaning.



Want to avoid the hectic Christmas shopping craze this year? With Best Buy, you can! When I think of Christmas shopping, one thing comes to mind - stress. I love the holiday season, but it can get pretty insane when people (like me) leave their shopping to just before the holiday arrives.

Last week the news wires were buzzing with stories about the industry’s two leading smart phones – the BlackBerry and the iPhone. While millions of BlackBerry users worldwide dealt with service interruptions, Apple launched the iPhone 4S and iOS5. Talk about good timing … I wonder how many frustrated BlackBerry users ditched their devices in favour of the iPhone last week.

I’ve mentioned my love of all things iPhone-related in several of my posts, but to be honest, I only just installed the iOS 5 update today. I’m not really good at the whole updating thing. I’m of the mindset that once I set something up it should just be good to go indefinitely! But I digress. This morning, while I was busy procrastinating, I took some time to see what the update was all about.



Short of Christmas, Halloween is one of the times of year that I look forward to most. It’s fun, sort of spooky, and best of all, I can extend my desire to deck everything out in pumpkins and skeletons to my phone and tablet.  Scary, spooky apps are available year round, but their popularity surges right before Halloween. After all, who doesn’t want to hunt a ghost or use an Ouija board, right on your mobile device?

I recently spent three weeks in Europe – one week in London for work and two weeks in Italy for fun. Because I had to work for part of my trip, I had no choice but to take my laptop with me, which I’m pretty sure weighs about 57 pounds. Needless to say I was not thrilled with the added weight when I was yanking and manoeuvring my bags up stairs, over bridges, and across cobblestone streets in Venice while searching for my hotel. I contemplated throwing the thing, laptop bag included, into the Grand Canal.



No one likes the idea of websites tracking our browsing history to grab personal information. With the introduction of supercookies, Internet monitoring has taken on a scary direction and our already fragile privacy is even more threatened.

Cookies are a type of tracking and logging tool that stores data in the form of text on your hard drive. They were supposedly created to personalize your Web experience so when you returned to a particular website it would remember the information you entered, such as your username or previous purchases.



The camera on the smart phone has moved on from being a nice accessory to something that many rely on for daily photos. Let’s face it; you usually have your phone in your hand or your purse and it’s easy to just point and shoot. After you’ve taken the picture, you can play with any number of great apps to edit it, crop it, or create special effects.

But if the ever-increasing popularity of digital cameras are any indication, people are still turning to their high quality cameras to capture the best shots and the most special moments. The newest digital cameras let you send your photos instantly to the web, and even include digital photo editing right on the camera.





Microsoft's BUILD conference is set to begin on Tuesday, September 13 and all eyes and ears are directed their way as we anticipate the announcement of a Windows 8-based tablet.  We all knew it had to happen eventually.  The software giant has been noticeably under-represented in the mobile device market, despite being responsible for the most-used operating system on the planet.

You're not going to find me using phrases like 'iPad Killer', because it won't be.  But that isn't the role this device is intended to play and it doesn't mean that it can't be successful.  Microsoft has cemented their place in both the corporate and home consumer markets and celebrates brand recognition rivaled only by Apple.

Sony has long been since been considered one of the leaders’ in TV and video game technologies, and now they are taking their ability to create crystal clear displays and a superior gaming platform and packing all of that power into a portable computer.  The Web is abuzz today with the announcement that that the company will release the first Sony tablet computer in September, and you can be sure that pre-orders will be flooding in fast. 

If you are in the market for a lightweight, full feature tablet computer, you might want to take a look at the Viewsonic Viewpad. The Viewpad is currently available as a 7-inch tablet, and the 10pro 10.1 Dual OS version is coming soon to the shelves of Best Buy.

It feels like summer has just started, but if you are an ambitious student you probably want to get a jump on the back to school shopping rush.  And why not? This year’s lineup of high tech gadgets will have you unwrapping and putting them to good use long before you pack up your book bag and head to school. If you don’t know exactly what to put on your back to school shopping list this year, here are 5 gadgets every student needs.