HMH Fuse with First Interactive Full-Curriculum Algebra App for iPad
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt today announced a year-long pilot of the first-ever full-curriculum Algebra app for the Apple iPad. The pilot also represents the launch of HMH Fuse, a new mode of curriculum delivery where interactive platforms and mobile devices bring learning to life for students by moving beyond the one-way experience of a print or digital textbook. The HMH Fuse: Holt McDougal Algebra 1 app will be the most sophisticated use of the iPad’s interactive technology in K–12 learning to date.
Through the revolutionary iPad environment, students will receive feedback on practice questions, write and save notes, receive guided instruction, access video lessons and more with the touch of a finger. The app’s multi-dimensional functionality combines instruction, ongoing support and intervention, allowing teachers and students to customize learning and meet individual needs.
California Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss, Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent Christopher Steinhauser, HMH Executive Vice President of Content Development and Publishing Operations Bethlam Forsa and Holt McDougal Algebra 1 author and Williams College Mathematics Professor Edward Burger, Ph.D. joined together today at Washington Middle School in Long Beach to launch the pilot and provide students with a demonstration of HMH Fuse’s interactive technology.
“As the digital age reaches our classrooms it will transform education, allowing for teaching our students in ways not before imagined, and California is poised to lead the way,” said Secretary of Education Reiss. “This pilot project represents an important step toward embracing a more interactive learning environment that will help our fantastic teachers and school leaders meet the changing needs of California’s students in the 21st-century economy.”
In total, HMH is piloting 400 iPads across Washington Middle School and Hudson K–8 in Long Beach Unified; Kings Canyon Middle School and Sequoia Middle School in Fresno Unified; Amelia Earhart Middle School in Riverside Unified and Presidio Middle School in San Francisco Unified School District.
Pioneer New Entry Level DJ Headphones
September 8, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Gadgets, Other Accessories
Pioneer today announced its new HDJ-500 entry-level DJ headphones. They uses leather-wrapped urethane pads to provide a more comfortable user experience that is also hard-wearing. The main structure of the headphones is made of magnesium alloy. As with with many DJ-style headphones, the HDJ-500 includes a rotating arm structure that allows the user to twist the right earpiece forwards or backwards by as much as 60 degrees to keep one ear open for a crowd.
The HDJ-500s are tuned for the mixing process by boosting the low- and mid-range frequencies. Sound is delivered by 40mm diameter drivers, a thick 19 μm (micrometers) diaphragm and a copper-clad aluminum wire voice coil. The frequency range is 5Hz-28KHz with a maximum output sound level of 105dB.
The red HDJ-500-R and the black HDJ-500-K will be available in November 2010 for $125. A white model will become available in early January 2011.
Fourth-Generation iPod Touch Orders Starting to Ship
September 7, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Gadgets, MP3 Players
Belkin Debuts Cases for New iPods
September 6, 2010 by Laura
Filed under Gadgets, MP3 Players
Belkin has launched new cases for the iPod touch that make it easier to access and use your iPod. Belkin has designed these cases for the always on-the-go iPod owner to complement a mobile lifestyle and also cater to the different ways an iPod is carried. They’ve identified five main ways people carry their iPod: in a pocket, in the hand, in a bag, on themselves, and while being active.
For those carrying their iPod in their pocket, Belkin’s slim cases are easy to grip, slide in and out of a pocket smoothly, and provide impact protection from everyday drops. For those who keep their iPod in hand at all times to text, game, or check their email, our line of cases are comfortable to hold, shock-absorbing, and easy to grip. Belkin also has cases that make it easy to find your iPod within a travel bag or purse while protecting it against constant contact with other items. Belkin recognizes that people typically either carry their iPod or they wear it. While working out or when you need to keep your iPod close by for intermittent, easy access, Belkin offers a range of armbands and a clip case.
Grip Cases
Grip cases protect your iPod and come in a variety of textured designs while adding style, color, and grip-ability. Grip cases’ form-fitting design lets your iPod charge while still in the case.
Shield Cases
Shield cases protect your iPod while providing increased shock absorption and impact resistance. These sleek cases add no extra bulk and offer maximum protection while allowing full access to connector, buttons, and iPod screen.
Verve Cases
These fashion-inspired leather cases protect your iPod from everyday scratches and scuffs. Tailored to be slim and form-fitting, they also provide easier and more sensitive access to the home key and inputs. Made with premium leather and contrast stitching, these cases offer sleek style.
Fit Armbands
Fit armbands are designed for the active user. Made with breathable and hand-washable fabric, these cases are easy to put on and remove, and flex with you as you move about your workout.
Overlays
Belkin overlays are designed to protect your new iPod screen from everyday scratches.
Availability
Cases in select styles will be available starting September 2010 in North America and parts of Europe. Other styles will continuously be made available for purchase throughout 2010.
Ultimate Ears New 100 Series Noise Isolating Earphones
September 2, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Gadgets, Other Accessories
Ultimate Ears today unveiled its 100 series noise-isolating earphones. Each model represents one of five different music genres. Providing up to 24dBs of passive noise isolation, they also come with four sizes of ear cushions designed to provide a comfortable fit.
Inspired Design
Green Cells reflects an urban groove, Red Blossom is inspired by the singer-songwriter genre, Purple Splatter is captures reggae beats to DJs, Grey Industry is has a rock edge, and Blue Robots allegedly mirrors hipster culture.
Pricing and Availability
The suggested retail price for all variations of the Ultimate Ears 100 Noise-Isolating Earphones is $19.99. The new Ultimate Ears 100 earphones are expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in September.
Samsung Announces the Galaxy Tab
September 2, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Cell Phones, FlashFeature, Gadgets, Other Accessories
Samsung this morning finally and officially showed the Galaxy Tab, its first tablet and the first major competitor to the iPad. The device has a seveninch, 1024×600 LCD and is Samsung’s first handheld to ship with Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1 out of the box. Only traces of Samsung’s TouchWiz are evident, most customizations have been for apps tailored to the larger screen size. One such program set is Media Hub which serves as a video portal, Music Hub handles audio, and a Readers Hub.
Samsung outfits the Galaxy Tab with a rear three-megapixel camera for typical and a 1.3-megapixel front camera for video chat. It also carries full HSPA 3G by default and has either 16GB or 32GB of storage built-in anlong with a microSDHC for evenmore storage. also in the mix in Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi.
The Tab can play 720P, including newly added DivX support. There’s a 30-pin dock connector, al-la the iPad, in place of USB or video output; the port is the sole point of entry for add-ons which include HDMI and keyboard docks.
Samsung is launching its tablet first in Europe, where it will be available by the middle of this month. Launches in the US and other countries are due in the “coming months.”
New iPod Nano Loses Video Playback and Camera
September 1, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Gadgets, MP3 Players
The new new iPod nano is kind of a hybrid between the Shuffle and the iPod Touch. But will it hit the spot and be a hit?
How it changed from the Past Model
First thing you notice it that it is square, like Apple took a design que from the Sandisk slotradio. Next you notice all the previous generation buttons are missing. So is the vertically oriented landscape display and camera. In there place is a square multi-touch capable screen large enough to accommodate 4 icons - 240-by-240-pixel resolution. While it’s a bit larger than the new iPod Shuffle, it’s 46% smaller and 42% lighter than the previous generation Nano
The multi-touch display gives you full access to your music as well as other useful functionality like an FM radio, connectivity with Nike’s accessories and even the ability to view tiny photo slideshows. Up to 24 hours of music playback when fully charged and an 80% re-charge only takes 90 minutes.
Say Good-Bye to Video
Besides no longer able to shoot, the new Shuffle play does not play video, just music, audio books and podcasts. We here at ToT think the loss of video playback may hurt sales and make the previous model become an E-bay hit.
Available in 7 colors starting next week the new multi-touch iPod nano comes in 2 capacities: 8GB for $149 and 16GB for $179.
Sony Updates its E-Reader Lineup
September 1, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Gadgets, Other Accessories
Sony revamped its entire Reader lineup today. The five-inch Pocket Edition, six-inch Touch Edition and seven-inch Daily Edition all now use touchscreens and fix a common problem of glare with e-paper touchscreens: the new models have a single touch and display layer that should be easier to read without glare. They also use E Ink Pearl panels that update faster, produce a higher contrast and help extend the battery life.
The entire line has significantly more capacity and now more clearly differs based on feature set. The Pocket Edition has 2GB of storage, four times more than before, and handles ePub, PDF, Word and plain text. Moving to the Touch Edition adds both Memory Stick Duo and SD card slots as well as a headphone jack for playing AAC and MP3 audio. Neither of the smaller models has Internet access.
The Daily Edition, the flagship model, now has Wi-Fi in addition to its free 3G and should last up to 27 days without any wireless on charge. It has 4GB of memory and is intended for downloading periodical as well as traditional books.
Both the Pocket and Touch Editions should be available now for $180 and $230. Sony doesn’t ship the Daily Edition until the fall, when it will sell for $300. Sony has also promised to follow in the footsteps of competitors and produce both Android as well as iOS apps to continue reading on non-Sony hardware.
- Sony Reader Pocket Edition
- Sony Reader Touch Edition
- Sony Reader Daily Edition
Creative New Headsets
September 1, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Gadgets, Other Accessories
Creative has introduced two new gaming headsets and two headphones. The high-end Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Alpha and Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Sigma gaming headsets feature THX TruStudio Pro technology and customizable profiles. The two new full-size headphones include the HQ-1600 and HQ-1450.
Thanks to THX TruStudio Pro audio technology, the Tactic 3D headsets can produce sound that seems like it’s coming from above, below, in front of and behind the gamer, unlike regular 5.1 or 7.1 handsets. Each also gets customizable TacticProfile settings that can be set individually or taken from pro gamers. A VoiceFX features lets users morph their voices into in those of in-game characters during the game or in VoIP chats.
A detachable noise-cancelling microphone is also included. The Alpha has 40nm Neodymium drivers while the Sigma replaces them with 50mm units and the headband for a steel one.
Creative HQ-1600 and HQ-1450
The Creative HQ-1600 headphones use 40mm neodymium drivers and weigh just 6.3oz. Their headband is adjustable, while the ear cups have soft leatherette cushions.
The HQ-1450 headphones trade some performance for style, and are available in red, blue, green or black. They have 30mm Neodymium drivers and weigh just 2.5oz.
Price and Availability
The Sigma will be priced at $90 and the Alpha at $60 when they arrive later in September. The HQ-1600 ship at the end of September for $40, while the HQ-1450s arrive Mid-September for $30. All four will be displayed at the IFA in Germany.
Back to the Button, The New iPod Shuffle
September 1, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Gadgets, MP3 Players
The new iPod Shuffle goes back to the button look, yet it is smaller than before. Its main body is crafted from a single piece of aluminum and it comes in silver, blue, green, orange, or pink.
Along with up to 15 hours of battery life, iPod shuffle gives you 2GB of storage capacity, multiple playlists, Genius Mixes (New), podcasts, and audiobooks, too.
VoiceOver
Listening to a song and want to know the title or the artist. Just press the new VoiceOver button on top of your iPod shuffle, and it gives you the info. You can even use VoiceOver to hear the names of playlists and switch between them. And if your battery needs charging, VoiceOver tells you that, too.
VoiceOver speaks 25 different languages. So it can tell you song titles and artists in their native tongues or any language you choose.
Genius comes to iPod shuffle.
Activate Genius in iTunes on your computer, and it automatically finds songs that sound great together. Then it creates Genius Mixes, which you can easily sync to your iPod shuffle.
Price and Availability
The new shuffle costs $49 and can be order today from Apple for shipment one week from now.