E-cigarettes are safer than real ones?

An electronic cigarette, e-cigarette or vaporize cigarette, is a battery-powered device that provides inhaled doses of nicotine or non-nicotine vaporized solution. It is an alternative to smoked tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. In addition to purported nicotine delivery, this vapor also provides a flavor and physical sensation similar to that of inhaled tobacco smoke, while no smoke orcombustion is actually involved in its operation.
The electronic cigarette was invented by a Chinese medicine practitioner Hon Lik in China in 2003 and introduced to the market the next year. The company he worked for, Golden Dragon Holdings, later changed its name to Ruyan (meaning "to resemble smoking") and started selling abroad.
Source: Wikipedia

Research swayed back and forth on the health risks associated with e-cigarettes since their debut in the US about three years ago. The faux cigs, which are essentially nicotine inhalers intended to help smokers kick the actual smoking habit while still getting their dose of nicotine, the main addictive ingredient in tobacco. In the first truly comprehensive study of the somewhat controversial nicotine replacement method, researchers at Boston University's School of Public Health has found that not only are e-cigarettes much safer to "smoke" than normal ones, they may also aid in kicking the addictive habit altogether. According to the researchers, "few, if any" of the chemicals found in e-cigarettes pose serious health risks, and carcinogen levels in them are up to 1,000 times lower than in actual tobacco.

This research, of course, disagrees with the FDA's findings that essentially, the chemicals found in e-cigarettes were risky and unknowable. The FDA has yet to evaluate e-cigarettes the way that they have done with all medications and other nicotine replacement products, so we can't be sure, but it's looking more and more possible that if you just need to smoke, an e-cigarette may be a safer route... for everything but your dignity, of course. Source: engadget

Christmas Gifts Guide for Tech minded Gadget Lovers

Buying gifts for people who like technology can feel daunting. Try using this list to buy a big present or an inexpensive stocking stuffer for techies or technology lovers out there. These are some of the best and hottest electronics gifts for the Christmas season.

Great Presents for Technology Lovers

These main gifts are great as a primary Christmas present for those who enjoy electronics or gadgets.

Mobile Film Projector

With some models now available for $400 and less, a mobile projector gives big screen access with just a few small square inches. These handy devices can be used nearly anywhere and are a great present for a techie who likes to show off, or who just likes to watch movies on the go. This gadget is a useful and cool gift for the technology lover out there.

Kindle

Although many people already have a Kindle, if your techie doesn't, grab a Kindle for a nice present. This technology has been praised by almost all who use it and it is incredibly convenient for reading while traveling.

Solar Charger

These are a great gift for the gadget lover out there. It charges over 3200 devices, including PDAs, phones, MP3 players, game players, GPS units, digital cameras and multimedia players, letting your technology lover truly stay on the go at all times.

Flip portable movie camera

Flip portable movie cameras are incredibly easy to use, but that doesn't mean that technology lovers don't like them. The camera is easy to use and fun, and priced at between $100 and $200, it's a great Christmas present for that technology lover.

Telescope

Telescopes are a great gift for those who like gadgets and also like looking at the evening sky. Some are priced at about $300 or less, so you don't need to break the bank to get your techie a gift.

Gift certificate

If you really cannot decide what gadget you think the techie you're buying a Christmas gift for would like, try picking up a gift certificate for his r her favorite store. It sounds uncaring, but it may just be better to allow the person to pick out the gift he wants rather than picking up something that would go unused.

The Best Stocking Stuffers for Techies

These gifts are cheaper and work well as a gift or stocking stuffer.

Digital measuring tape

This is exactly what it sounds like – a measuring tape that records distances digitally and has the option of saving the last reading for ease of comparison.

New skin for iPad, iPod, personal reader or other devices

If the techie you are buying a present for already has an iPod, iPad, or other small personal device that could use a protective layer, consider buying a new skin for the electronic device. In particular, Moleskin ebook covers are particularly attractive for the Kindle.

Walkie talkies

Every electronics fan seems to love walkie talkies. It's a great, cheap stocking stuffer or gift for the technology lover out there.

Portable speakers

If the techie you're buying a gift for doesn't have a portable speaker, pick one up for an inexpensive present. Although the quality of these cannot compare to a traditional home-system, they are incredibly convenient, portable and are excellent at what they do for the size and price. Models are available for a wide range of prices, averaging between $15 and $200, so this could be either a cheap stocking stuffer or a primary present.

Messenger Bag

Messenger bags are a great and fashionable way for your technology fan to carry all his or her electronics and gadgets while looking good. Some particularly well-known brands are Patagonia, Timbuk2 and Fossil.

Clocky or Tocky – Alarm Clocks

Clocky and Tocky alarm clocks are clocks that go off, jump off the nightstand, and start rolling all over the room. This is a great present for anyone who has difficulty waking up, since they'll have to scramble about the room to rescue and turn off the alarm. The alarm clocks are available for the sleepy technology fan for between $39 and $69.

Source: Suite101

Top 10 Technology Gifts & Gadgets this Christmas

Great gift ideas for the gadget lovers on this Christmas

The annual ritual of finding the perfect Christmas gift for friends and family has begun again. In this article, we outline some of the best selling gadgets which are out this Christmas. They range from e-book readers to digital cameras, and from MP3 players to mobile phones. We hope it gives you some inspiration.

1. Amazon Kindle

What is it? An e-Book reader from Amazon with a 6-inch e-ink screen. Because of the e-ink technology, text on the screen should look similar to text on real paper and you can even read it outside in bright sunlight. The Kindle can store up to 3,500 books, can read books out loud to you and allows you to purchase up to 450,000 e-Books through the built in Kindle e-book store.

Best Feature: Being able to store and search thousands of books, browse the internet and read PDF files and a battery which lasts for up to a month between charges. The 3G version should allow you to browse the web on the go for free even whilst abroad.

Perfect for: Someone who loves reading or students who want electronic textbooks. It’s easier to find relevant information with the Kindle’s search functionality and you’ll no longer need to carry around that Quantum Mechanics textbook which weighs a ton!

Price: £109 from Amazon.co.uk for the Kindle with wi-fi connectivity. For £149, you can grab the Kindle with global 3G wireless connectivity.

2. Apple iPod Touch

What is it? A personal music player with space for 1,750 songs. With the iPod Touch’s wi-fi functionality, you can browse the internet, send emails and also use the full range of applications from Apple’s “app store”. Essentially the iPod Touch is just the iPhone without the phone part! The latest version of the iPod Touch features FaceTime video calling and Apple’s Retina display.

Best Feature: The ability to connect to the internet, browse the web and the 200,000+ apps which can be downloaded from App Store.

Perfect for: Someone who loves music or playing with gadgets.

Price: £179 from Amazon.co.uk for the 8GB model. If you’re willing to shell out a bit more, you can get the 32GB model or 64GB model. Both give you dramatically more memory so you can store a lot more music.

3. Kodak Easyshare Digital Photo Frame

What is it? A photo frame with a high resolution 7-inch screen (800×600 resolution). You can insert memory cards and USB drives to view your photos straight away or you can store 4,000 pictures directly on the built-in memory.

Best Feature: Kodak has built in their “colour science technology” which should give “richer colours, sharper details and more natural skin tones”. Also the photo frame is energy-efficient and mercury-free.

Perfect for: The living room.

Price: £38 on Amazon.co.uk.

4. Apple iPod Shuffle

What is it? A small, wearable music player with 2GB storage. There’s a control pad but there’s no screen on this device – instead you can choose to have the name and artist of the currently playing song announced using the “VoiceOver” feature.

Best feature: The tiny size and the fact you can clip it onto your shirt. Just don’t lose it!

Perfect for: Somebody who wants to listen to music on the go but doesn’t want the full feature set of the iPod (or alternatively someone has no room in their pockets for yet another device!)

Price: £37 from Amazon.co.uk.

5. Flip Video Ultra-HD Camcorder

What is it? A pocket-sized digital camcorder with one-touch recording. Records 120 minutes of high definition video and can connect to your PC, Mac or directly to your high definition television.

Best feature: It captures video in high-definition 720p video and supports HDMI so your videos will look great on your new high definition TV.

Perfect for: Having in the family to record those special memories: Christmas, new year, school plays, sports days…

Price: £110 from Amazon.co.uk.

6. Panasonic Lumix FS30 Digital Camera

What is it? A 14-megapixel digital camera with 8x optical zoom. The camera is equipped with a 2.7-inch screen and a 28mm wide angle lens.

Best feature: The camera features an “Intelligent Auto” (iA) mode which combines 4 different detection functions (image stabiliser, ISO control, face detection and an intelligent scene detector) and optimises those settings to give better photographs.

Perfect for: Someone who loves taking photos of those special moments.

Price: £125 from Amazon.co.uk.

7. Sandisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player

What is it? An MP3 player with 8GB internal memory (~2000 songs), a microSD card slot, FM radio and voice recording functionality.

Best feature: The price and simplicity of the device. It’s a fraction of the cost of an iPod and whilst it doesn’t play videos, browse the web or support apps like the iPod Touch will, it will play all of your MP3 files and has a built in FM radio.

Perfect for: Someone who wants a simple, straightforward and affordable device to listen to music on the go.

Price: £39 from Amazon.co.uk.

8. TomTom Start Satellite Navigation System

What is it? A GPS navigation system with pre-loaded maps for the UK and Ireland. The TomTom device gives turn-by-turn voice navigation instructions as well as displaying a map of where you are.

Best Feature: An intelligent route analysis algorithm which takes into account the time of day and the likely traffic conditions when calculating the fastest route.

Perfect for: Someone who drives a lot or is new to the roads.

Price: £90 on Amazon.co.uk.

9. Pure One DAB/FM Radio

What is it? A radio which can receive both digital DAB signals and the more traditional FM signals. You can pause and rewind live radio for up to 15 minutes and connect your iPod to it.

Best Feature: Live “pause and rewind” functionality to hear that song one more time or to skip the annoying adverts. Up to 55 DAB radio stations available in some areas.

Perfect for: The home.

Price: £45 on Amazon.co.uk.

10. HTC Wildfire

What is it? An Android-powered touchscreen smartphone with a 5-megapixel camera, Facebook integration, free turn-by-turn GPS navigation and access to 100,000+ apps on Android Market.

Best feature: The HTC Sense user interface makes this phone a joy to use. The range of applications available.

Perfect for: Anyone who loves to socialise and uses their phone for a lot more than just calling and texting. There are some really great free apps in the Android Market ranging from games to productivity tools.

Price: £186 from Amazon.co.uk SIM-free and unlocked to use on any network.  If you prefer to buy from a network (may be locked), it’s £160 on Vodafone and £190 on Three.

Source: Ten'sTechTips

KOGAN: 6" EBOOK READER WITH 1500 FREE EBOOKS

The 6″ ebook market is where all the action is these days with new models coming out, it seems, every month. Australian online electronics company Kogan, perhaps better known for their cheap tellies, has dived in with their first ebook reader, the ‘Kogan 6″ eBook Reader‘. It comes equipped with a 6″, 4 bit (16 shades) e-ink screen, 2GB of onboard storage, SD card slot and an mp3 player. Here’s my take on it.

Look and Feel

The Kogan feels very solid, with large rounded edges, a glossy front and matte, rubberised plastic back. All the buttons are on the front with the exception of the power button which is hidden around the back on the right top edge. Size-wise it’s a tiny bit smaller (and a lot more functional) than my poor smashed Kobo.

The case has a strange, rounding droop on both sides while the top and bottom, have the reverse angle creating an overhang. This unusual design makes it a little difficult to pick up one-handed as your fingers tend to slide off the edges when you grip it. I found I had to use two hands to pick it up to ensure I didn’t drop it.

 

The forward and back page-turn buttons are located on the left hand side of the screen, with a column of context-sensitive buttons running down the right side of the screen. I must confess that this is possibly the most bizarre layout I’ve ever seen. If you have large hands and hold the reader with your left hand you can just reach the page turn buttons with your thumb but it leaves you with a tenuous grip on the reader. Smaller handed people you’re out of luck. If you hold it with your right hand then you need to use your other hand to press the page turn buttons. I like to use e-readers one handed so I found this a bit bothersome. People who are happy to read with two hands probably won’t find it a problem.

 

Most ebook readers see you right with just the reader and a USB cable, but the Kogan does do quite well with included extras. There’s a quite nice folio-style, leather case and that will probably save you $40. Including a case is a nice touch and it’s quite stylish with its contrast stitching and super-easy magnetic latch.

 

There’s also a mains USB charger and cable, so you won’t need a computer to recharge it if you take it away with you, and there’s also a pair of earbud earphones.

The other “killer” feature of the Kogan is the 1500+ included ebooks (stored as .txt files), scraped from the Gutenberg project. If you put all this together it means the Kogan is ready to use straight out of the box even without a computer. I think most people will do a hearty cull of the included books simply because they get in the way and it takes ages to flick through them or to search. Either that or offload them onto a PC and come back to them later as you need. Source: Redferret

Main Features----------------------

6" E Ink ScreenFeels and looks like a real book, with the freedom of E Ink

Glare-Free Screen

You can read at night with the light on, or in direct sunlight outdoors

FREE Leather case
Every Kogan eBook comes with a stylish leather carry case at no extra charge!

Multiple File Formats
The Kogan eBook Reader embraces open source and multiple file formats. You can read an eBook bought anywhere online, or even read work documents like PDFs on the go. Save on paper and money!
Sync with Adobe Digital Editions
Transfer all eBooks purchased online to your eBook reader. This is especially useful for and .EPUB and .PDF files, as well as managing and syncing your eBook library.
Quick response
No more waiting for pages to load. Turning pages on the Kogan eBook Reader is as fast as turning pages on a traditional paperback.
Long battery life
The Kogan eBook Reader battery lasts an amazing 10,000 page turns, meaning you'll very rarely be plugging it in for a recharge
Expandable memory
The built in 2GB of memory is enough to store thousands of books. But for the real book lovers who need more, the Kogan eBook Readers supports SD and SDHC cards to upgrade the memory up to 32GB.

Multimedia Playback
The Kogan eBook Reader will also let you give JPG images an E Ink makeover. It won't replace a Kogan Digital Photo Frame anytime soon, but can be used in presentations, or to display graphs and other illustrations.

Kogan's eBook Reader will ship straight to you with over 1,500 FREE Australian and International classic books preloaded on the device. Click here to see complete list of Free books

source: Kogan

Special Offers For iPhone Users Through New Official App

Visa is what makes a person’s money accessible to them in any currency at any given part of the world, as Visa branded credit and debit cards are accepted at millions of locations worldwide, as well as ATM machines for speedy cash withdrawal. Now, as the world moves to relying on smartphones for just about everything, interestingly Visa has launched its official iPhone application which is in total accordance step with other popular consumer apps as the application is heavy on deals and location-based technology.

So how exactly will Visa Mobile work? Well, users will automatically receive customized offers which will be stored in the application to be redeemed online or at stores. The application will also provide the users an easy to use map with directions for finding retail outlets where these very offers can be redeemed, as well as helping Visa cardholders locate ATMs nearby.

Initially, the company is working with around 50 chosen merchants in order to bring special deals to Visa account holders through the Visa iPhone app, some of which include merchants like 24 Hour Fitness, Meineke, New York & Company, Holiday Inn, Hard Rock Café and Zales. Users will also be able to select from categories in order to get the offers of their choice, such as travel, dining, clothing, entertainment etc. Visa Signature card account holders will also get extra special offers along with the offers that will be available to all Visa account holders.

Most importantly, this application is available for free via the iTunes App Store, and can be conveniently downloaded from here.

Do you think this app can prove to be beneficial for the credit card company and its users alike? Let us know in your comments below.

Via: Mashable

3-in-1 iPad adapter does more than Apple’s official offering

I tend to get a bit of flack from people, since I use a lot of Apple’s gadgets. It’s true that I do love the ones I have, but I’m not blind to the company’s shortcomings. One such is the lack of an SD card reader or USB port on the iPad. I’d love to see either one of those, but you have to purchase a special adapter to get either one. What’s more, is that for some reason they didn’t stick both on the same adapter. No, you have to deal with two if you want both a USB port and SD reader. Thankfully there is another option.

Rather than giving more cash to Apple, you can grab one of these 3-in-1 iPad Camera Connection Kits from MICGadget. Not only do you get a USB port and SD reader, but they toss in a microSD reader as well. Makes you wonder why Apple didn’t do this in the first place. Whatever the reason, I’d rather spend my $30 on one adapter, instead of two. source: http://www.redferret.net/