Gene and Steve’s favorite item… the Apple iPad will start taking pre-orders on March 12 and will start shipping on April 3.  I wonder if people will line up for this like Steve hopes… or if it will be just ho-hum.

“Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.”

[Via]

I remember, not long ago, when a 256MB thumb drive was considered substantial… now they have 256GB thumb drives available.  I sound like my Grandpa.  The Kingston 256GB DataTraveler holds a full 256GB’s on one tiny flash drive, amazing.  The bad part, it costs more than your netbook… yours for under $840 here.

Coca-Cola released a new energy drink in the Netherlands called Burn.  I personally think most, if not all, energy drinks taste like piss… so I am not too interested in the contents of the can.  However, until I taste it I reserving judgment… maybe Coca-Cola Burn is super yummy.  But the resealable lid is kinda cool… assuming you are a sissy and can’t finish a simple can of energy goo.  Just kidding… I actually like the idea of a re-closeable can.  Watch the awesome un-released commercial after the break.

[Via]

Wii Fit nuts who want to add some cardio/weight training to their Wii gaming/workouts should check out the Riiflex Dumbbells.  The Wii dumbbells slide over the Wii-mote and Nunchuk controller adding a full 2 pounds for each hand.

The Riiflex Wii Dumbbells are made from strong polycarbonate with a soft rubber cover (for better grip) so that you don’t end up throwing your heavier Wii controller through the TV.

The 2-pound Riiflex Wii dumbbells are available now for $29.99 here.  Riiflex plans on releasing a 4 pound set in the future.

The company also has plans to release 4-pound (1.8kg) dumbbells at some point in the future so you better get into training now.

“The ketchup packet is one of those things that has stayed exactly the same since before I was born. After all, it fulfills the duty that is required of it. It holds your condiment until such a time that you’re ready to add it to your food. Well at some point Heinz decided that they could do better, and undertook the task of reinventing the ketchup packet. The end result was essentially a cross between the old packet, and the little plastic containers that you get BBQ sauce in at McDonald’s.

It does seem to make perfect sense. When you grab a burger and fries through the drive-thru, where do you put the ketchup that you’re going to dip your fries in? Maybe on a napkin, or even the wrapper for your burger. Either way, you’re increasing the risk of somehow getting it on your clothes. Now you can tear off the whole top and dip your fries in, or just tear off a part of it and squeeze the ketchup onto your sandwich.  So simple, yet so brilliant.”

[Via]

“Nokia has announced Ovi Maps as a FREE download with turn by turn navigation available now at the Ovi Store.  The new version of Ovi Maps includes high-end car and pedestrian navigation features, such as turn-by-turn voice guidance for 74 countries, in 46 languages, and traffic information for more than 10 countries, as well as detailed maps for more than 180 countries.

In conjunction with this announcement, Nokia has now launched the Ovi Maps Racing app, also free (for a limited time).  Ovi Maps Racing allows you to grab your location and set up a track to race around your (virtual) neighborhood.”

OK here is my iPad rant whine.  When it comes to Apple and All Things Mac, I am a little like Agent Fox Mulder from the X-Files – I want to believe!  But the Apple iPad product announcement left me seriously underwhelmed. I was watching Steve present his Magnum Opus and hearing the vacuous sucking sound – we waited so long and this is it?!  The positive stuff was there too – its slick and cool looking -yay.  It reminds me of other things I love like my iPhone 3GS – yay!  It has serious potential – yay!  That said I just felt like a kid who was looking forward to Christmas all year long only to get a really bitchin pair of socks…  So without delay read on for my WTF moments from the iPad presentation.

• No Camera!!!  Really Steve? REALLY?!?!
• No Multitasking – *checks the calendar* WTF?
• No Flash Support – I understand Apple’s hard on for Adobe, but the iPad was supposed to offer almost sexual level of gratification for browsing the Web. Not!
• No 720p Resolution – *taps foot* seriously, what’s with the 1024×768 rez?

I mean this wasn’t exactly a total “mene, mene, tekel upharsin” moment but I found the whole thing lacking.  Here’s hoping for the version 2.0.

Viewsonic is getting serious about the portable media player business with it’s latest gadget the MovieBook VPD550T.  The VPD550T comes with a 5-inch LCD touch screen (800×480-pixel resolution), 8GB of memory, microSD expansion slot, and an HDMI output capable of full 1080p.  Read on for more details.

Because of the hefty price tags attached to most portable media players (Archos, Cowon, etc…)… sales have been slow.  Honestly, how many people do you know that have a portable media player?  Looks like Viewsonic may have figured this out with their $199 price point.  The MovieBook VPD550T will support  DAT, MPG, MPEG, VOB, MP4, MOV, AVI, DVD Video, ASF, WMV, MKV, TS, RM/RMVB, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC ,OGG, FLAC, APE, AC3, and DTS formats.  Image and ebook content will also be able to be viewed on this gadget.  Expect battery life to be about 20 hours of audio and 4 hours of video.

Until my iPhone or iPod gets 1080p this isn’t a bad addition to the gadget pile.  The VPD550T is expected to hit in late March or early April.

When on your home turf you know where to find your favorite espresso… but what about when you travel?  Get yourself a Stelton Simply Espresso which is the world’s smallest battery powered espresso machine.  Read on for details and video.

The Simply Espresso was designed for Stelton by Nielsen Innovation, a French tech company.  The battery operated espresso maker is supposed to be very easy to use and actually reaches pressures of 16 bar like the big machines.  At just 9 x 3 inches this stainless steel portable espresso machine will fit in your smallest of luggage bags.

Golf has never been one of my strong points.  My golf games usually involves a cart and several beers.  Maybe a if I put away my 3 wood and use this air powered golf ball launcher my long game would improve.

The golf ball launcher uses an air compressor and shoots the ball about 300 yards.  When the product is ready for purchase, expect to pay around $800 here.