Summer is here, products from January’s CES 2012 are slowly hitting the market and the Electronic Entertainment Expo is just around the corner.  Technology is changing faster and faster with each passing day.  Some of the creative technological wonders that were once a dream, are now becomeing a reality.

Case in point: over 20 years ago the popular TV Show Star Trek: the Next Generation introduced a wonderful, new technology to both the crew of the USS Enterprise and millions of viewers.  It was a hand-held electronic device that responded to users via touchscreen.  Called a “Personal Access Display Device” or, “PADD” for short (see where I’m going with this?) crew members can check status reports, take notes and even give themselves reminders.

PADD in Star Trek: The Next Generation/Deep Space 9

Since the release of Apple’s iPad (no relation to PADD) Star Trek fans have been giddy with the similarities, many hoping space exploration is just around the corner.  In recognition of the similarities the iPad and Star Trek’s PADD have, the Apple store now has a Star Trek: PADD application turning your iPad into what the PADD looked like on Star Trek.  Unfortunately, no warp speed yet.

Who would have thought 20 years ago that a fictional, super advanced technology in the world of sci-fi would become an everyday item for consumers today?  What items in the history of sci-fi would you like to see a reality?

This leap year, why not have some fun and check out our specially priced products reminiscent of this once-every-four-years event.  Choose from products like an iPad sleeve cover, or a cordless phone,  a coffee maker and more!

The Pew Research Center released information about last year’s tablet sales.  According to the latest survey, 19 percent of all adult Americans now own some form of tablet, which is double the figures from a poll conducted in mid-December. E-reader ownership, meanwhile, increased by exactly the same margin over this period, jumping from 10 percent to 19 percent.

Tablets are certainly on the rise and they are slowly becoming replacements for laptop computers.  Do you have a tablet?  What do you think is easier?

2011 brought us the rise and fall of numerous gadgets.  HP’s tablet fell into oblivion.  Apple, of course, made big headlines with the release of the iPad 2 and a combination of sighs and grunts from consumers when it released the iPhone 4s.

Personally, I made the upgrade from a two year old Android phone to an iPhone 4s so for me, that is the best gadget I have run into in 2011.  Extremely fast, with an excellent camera and sleek design, I am thankful Sprint made the move so I can finally enjoy a super powered smartphone.  When it comes to the best gadgets, what are your thoughts?

The presents are opened, all the sweets have been eaten and everyone is ready to add to their new gifts, or return the ones they got.  At Abt, we are here for all your accessory needs.  If you found yourself opening a new fancy gadget, chances are you will want to keep is safe and efficient.  Find hundreds of add-ons to your new tablets, MP3 players, TVs or more!  Get chargers, cases, screen protectors, headphones, docks and more!  Visit our accessories page and start shopping.

All things Apple.  That’s what you will find here at Abt Electronics.  From Macbooks to iPods, you will find just what you are looking for when outfitting your office, or your dorm.  Save even more money on your new purchase with our Trade in & Save program.  Just register to trade your product online, or bring it into the store.

For Apple, it’s never too soon to start working on the next generation of a product they JUST released.  According to sources, Apple is testing a new, high-resolution screen for their third generation iPad. According to allthingsd.com an industry representative mentioned, “Apple’s upcoming iPad 3 will feature an improved display to support quad extended graphics (QXGA), a display resolution of 2048×1536 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio to provide full high definition (HD) viewing experience.”

Don’t go running  to pre-order iPad 3 just yet.  Absolutely no news on a release date has even been mentioned, but rather, Apple is already thinking on how to make their next hand held tablets top of the line.

Apple hit a HUGE milestone the other day: 10 billion iTunes downloads.  That’s a billion.  An incredible feat considering the company is only 10 years old.  Originally launched on January 9^th 2001, reaching that milestone would mean about a billion songs were downloaded every year.

The 10 billionth download from iTunes was the song, “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash.  Not a bad song to reach that goal with.  You can be sure iTunes will continue to reach higher numbers of downloads as the year progresses.



As you may or may not have already ascertained from my previous blog entries, I am a huge movie fan.  Huge.  So I’m pretty excited to follow this weekends events.  January 20-24th in Park City, Utah is the CES of movies; The 11th Annual Sundance Film festival 2011.  Four days of new, independent films presented by filmmakers, to other filmmakers, movie stars and cinema freaks alike.

This year is a bit different as Sundance brings news, reviews, and juicy tid bits to those who can’t make it out to Utah through a wide range of social media outlets.  Instant access through iPhone or Smartphone applications can provide news and reviews at the touch of a button.  If you are a lucky iPad owner, you can download the Sundance application and watch streaming movie trailers and even live interviews from on location.

Canon Camera, a sponsor of the festival will be showing their collaborative film called “The Story Behind the Still.”  It is a movie created with collaborative still images as well as HD video taken with their SLR camera by contestant winners.  ”Shooting video on d-SLR cameras has become increasingly popular among filmmakers and enthusiasts. Nearly 20 percent of the overall 2011 Sundance Film Festival films were shot on HD d-SLR cameras.” (TWICE.com)

For full information, check out Sundance’s website.  Who knows what movies will be a success and hit mainstream theaters later this year.

According to This Week In Consumer Electronics (TWICE.com) Apple’s iPad had an explosion of sales since it’s release date of over 7.5 million ipads to consumers.

In addition to that, Apple’s sales continue to grow.  TWICE reports, “[The]  sales of iPhones and related products and services rose 93 percent in fiscal 2010 to $25.2 billion, matching the previous year’s 93 percent growth. The number of iPhones sold during that time rose by 93 percent to 40 million following 78 percent growth during the previous fiscal year.”

Apple’s prodcts truly are popular and continue to please consumers as well as adapt new products to new demands.  Look forward to newer generation iPads and iPhones with updated features and offerings later this year.