Dude I Want That! The Strangest, Weirdest and Coolest Stuff for the Geek You Love.

Generalizing is a dangerous act- it presupposes common traits among vastly different people and doesn't provide for personality differences, wants or needs.

But, in the geek world, there are a few assumptions one can make in relative safety when speaking about the material wants of that geek-centric world:

• A state of the art computer or tablet
• A cool smartphone
• super-big HD TV
• gadgets galore

It's the last bullet point on this list that raises the topic of today's post. As a rule, geeks love non-mainstream gadgets. Things that go ping, beep or flash laser lights. Often associated with geek culture icons like Star Wars, Star Trek or comic books, uber-geek nirvana is often strewn with little machines whose intended purpose is not immediately clear. 

The shopping site Dude!!! I Want That! delivers to geeks in one place what they would otherwise spend hours looking for, have no idea where to find it (whatever "it" may be) or had no idea it existed in the first place. 

Want a hover bike? Sure.

Lollipops in the shape of a Star Wars Deathstar? Yup. 

Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit? Right over here...

Presidential Monster Action Figures? They got 'em.
(dudeiwantthat.com)

The items range from the mildly interesting to the downright bizarre. It's obvious the audience for this website is overwhelmingly male as many of the items appeal to the prurient and salacious interests of the predominantly male geek culture. 

This is a "Black Cat" costume. Don't know who that is?
You obviously don't read comic books!
(dudeiwantthat.com)

Not to worry, most of the items are just plain cool to look at. Many items are reasonably priced for what they are and some are waaaay expensive as they are one-offs or super luxurious. 

Think of this site as Amazon.com for geeks. Heck, it's just fun to browse through the offerings and imagine what it would be like to have a jet-powered Batmobile in your driveway. 

Go to Dude I Want That! here. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, the UPS guy is here with my Zombie Head Bowling Ball.

The Best of CES 2013. Electronic Heaven for Gadget Geeks.

I swear, one day I will make the pilgrimage to Las Vegas- not for the casinos, not for the shows and not for the glitz, glamor or gambling.

No, I will make my trip to the desert of southern Nevada for one reason- the massive Consumer Electronics Show. So large only Las Vegas can accommodate the attendees, the CES is the annual presentation of what's new and what's coming to the U.S. in the form of electronics, accessories, computers, phones and more.

Companies of all sizes present the latest in their offerings for the coming year and tens of thousands of attendees flock to the booths to grope, pinch, inspect and otherwise drool over a seemingly unlimited number of products.

Some of the products will be a hit, some will never be seen again and some will be vaporware (constantly promised but never seen on the open market). Newly introduced televisions like the recent 4k advances are very popular. Also,  video games, tablets, cell phones, wrist watches, software and even kitchen ovens premiere here for the gadget-hungry public.

This watch will make people beg you for the time.
(verge.com)

The media coverage for this event is also massive. Press from the around the globe descend to have a peep at everything and they report on what they see, like and want. In fact, the show "opens" the week before just to accommodate the press before the real show opens to the general public. The good news is that if you can't make the CES show yourself, there's no shortage of journalists to show you the hottest in... well, everything!

I said everything!
(unknown)

For a great look at some of the best products at the show, engadget.com , wired.com and ubergizmo.com what they think is the future consumer available electronics for the next year. 

And remember, look for me on the floor next year!

Apple iPhone 5 Rumors- The latest ones, the wierdest ones and the truth.

Apple people are hard core. They love Apple and not much else. I think many Apple people would agree Apple fanboys tend to look down on their Windows friends and pity them with a sad, slow shake of their head and a quick "You should have bought an Apple" comment.

To that end, one of the few- correct that, only topics Apple fans like to discuss is the next iteration of the iPhone franchise, in this case, the iPhone 5. Rumors abound from all manner of sources and run the gamut from the mild to the wild. Many websites dedicate giant portions of their time to reporting even the most ludicrous of rumors whispered in the hallways of tech companies worldwide.

I hear they're making one out of moonrocks, but that's just a rumor.
(apple.com)

Normally serious journalists spend inordinate amounts of effort investigating things like leaked LCD screen orders, battery company quarterly reports and overheard bathroom stall conversations. Most reputable sites report this tech gossip by prefacing it with a terse warning to take all of the sketchy information with a grain of salt.

Now, having established the unreliable nature of these rumor mills, I must admit it is fun to imagine an iPhone with a 5" screen or to think about a quad-core chip behind the iconic logo or even that an iPhone might be able to last three days because of a battery breakthrough.

I read a ton of these sites and I keep returning to the Cnet iPhone 5 Rumor Roundup for the most complete list of these way-out-there ideas for a phone made of glass, aluminum and plastic. After seeing the way some folk drool at the mention of the words "iPhone 5", you'd think it was made of beef ribs and BBQ sauce.

Hey, that's not a bad idea. Maybe I'll start that rumor myself!

Go to the iPhone Rumor Roundup at Cnet here.

The best products of CES 2012 or how I'll drain my bank account in the next 12 months.

What is the newest, best and most desirable electronics for the rest of this year? Find out in Las Vegas at the 2012 CES. However, there's just one problem...

The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show is now over. For those who don't know, the CES show is the world's largest show dedicated to introducing the world to the latest electronic offerings from thousands of companies, large and small. If you go to Vegas now, all you'll find is a huge, empty convention hall. A week ago, you would have found hundreds of thousands of geeks...er, enthusiasts seeking out the new and the best products out there.



Whatever it is, I want it.
(pcmag.com)



Not to worry, though. With all of the goodies, gadgets and electronic gee-wiz gizmos announced at the show, PCmag.com has collected together their opinion of the best and most promising products to make their debut at the show and has collected them together for your perusal. The products run the gamut from the best phone to the greatest tablet to the finest camera they could fine after four days at the show.

The list is broken into catagories like laptops, TVs and gaming, among others. It's hard to come up with a short list due to the volume of products, so the article is pretty thorough. But, if you're a gadget nut like me, the article doesn't run nearly long enough.

Go to PCmag.com here to see the what 2012 will offer when it comes to the I-want and the must-have in electronics.

Switch Modular Pocket Knife- the multitool with multi personalities.

I like multitools. I've owned at least five or six. As a television news photojournalist, I am forever fixing or tweaking tripods, live trucks, microphones, cameras, wireless transmitters and all of the ephemera I use for my day job. It seems that everything I use has itty-bitty screws or AA batteries stuck waaay in the bottom of some deep hole that requires my multitool to dig them out.

But, there's a problem with most multitools. I'm often assigned to news locations that don't allow knife blades- courtrooms, police stations, schools and the like- so I have to remember to leave the multitool in the car. If I don't, it becomes the property of the state for good (somewhere, there's a security guard making a fortune selling confiscated multitools on Ebay) .


I did find the solution eventually. The Switch Modular Pocket Knife doesn't have the most imaginative name, but it does have imaginative design. Think of a Swiss army knife- all in separate pieces. Look in the very organized box the SMPK comes in and you"ll see what I mean. 

See what I mean?
(source: ThinkGeek)

Now, pick the tweezers, magnifying glass, screwdriver, nail file, etc out of the box and attach them to the pocket holder. If you leave out the knife blade, then you now have something that can be carried into a courtroom or pass muster with the TSA at the airport (check the TSA site here to see what's allowed). The point is, you can install- or not- any of the tools that come with the kit. Once installed, they are secure as a bank vault until you decide to change them again. And again.



...or stuff it full.
(source: ThinkGeek)



Add just a few tools...
(source: ThinkGeek)





The good folks at ThinkGeek (yes, that's a store) have this gadget for you to purchase for the low, low price of $59.99- that's the same price of a quality multitool from the well known brands. ThinkGeek has other, hard-to-find stuff too, so look around while you're there for other gee-wizardry that will keep your inner geek happy. Click here to go to the ThinkGeek site.

Hey, I think I just double posted and you guys got two times the blogging goodness for the price of one.

You're welcome.

An Android tablet alternative to the iPad from Archos.

Think tablet and most of us think iPad. This isn't surprising as iPad has had a long time to build the name recognition and ingrain itself into the mind of the consumer. Those who build Android devices have only now gotten started on producing competitors that even start to approch the capabilities and ease of use of Apple's offering.

Looking on the horizon, there are literally hundreds of models just out of sight that are ready for their debut in the marketplace. By this time next year, we'll be knee deep in 5, 7, 10 and even 12" Android devices. But, there is a manufacturer that offers Android tablets right now and in a variety of sizes too.

Their biggest problem? Marketing.

Archos has been around for years and virtually no one had heard of them in the United States (have you?)and that's a shame. With offerings that range from MP3 players no larger than a stick of gum to full sized tablets , Archos seems to be running under the radar of the common consumer.

Sticking to the Android theme, Archos has platforms with 2.5". 3.2" and 4.3" screens that appear and operate exactly like a typical Android cell phone- without the phone part. Relying on wifi for an internet connection, these are able to use most of the same apps with the same performance and results as a $75/mo. cell phone would provide.

Moving up in size, 5, 7 and 10 inch models are available that mimic the tablet form factor and some of them have memory up to 250G in size (the iPad maxes out at 64G).

The Archos 101 internet tablet
(source: Engadget)

Is it better than the iPad? No- not yet. Most of the tablets aren't on the Honeycomb version of Android software (yet) and the ease of use may not be at the Apple level for awhile. But for those of use who could use the utility of the Apps without the inflated costs of cell phone service, the Archos line deserves your consideration, especially when you consider the model most comparable to the iPad (the 10" model) comes in at $300 less than the model from Cupertino.

I'm looking at getting one to keep near the couch upstairs for casual browsing, checking e-mail and other impulsive, light duty computer use.

BTW, I found an interesting review of the internet tablet in the photo. Go here to see it.

Go to the Archos site here and maybe next time someone mentions a tablet computer, you'll think of more than the iPad.

iPad2 Review- Is it really new or just an update?

When the original iPad debuted (iPad1?) , no one really know what to make of it. Is it a computer in your hand or is it a little laptop, minus the keyboard? I'm not sure even Apple knew, although they claimed it was an entirely different kind of computing system from the start.

Soon, however, the iPad became enormously popular for millions of buyers who made the best use of the iPad's ideal size, weight and long battery life. Apps by the tens of thousands were written for all manner of purse and purpose specifically for the iPad's large screen and computing power.

See? I told you it came in white.
(courtesy: Engadget)

So, now we are given the iPad2 even as rumors of an iPad3 introduction this fall continue to swirl around the Silicon Valley. Thinner, lighter and with two cameras, the iPad2 also comes in a new optional color too- white- to go along with the classic black and silver colors of the original. Everything seems to be tweaked a little bit faster and more powerful, but not really the huge boost one would expect from an upgrade that apparently has earned the right to go up one whole number.

But, with competition from the Motorala Xoom and dozens of other competitors about the enter the tablet market, it's going to get really interesting from here. Not all are based on Android (although most are), but all boast fast speed, long battery life and the ability to match or exceed the Apple iPad2.

It's gonna get interesting, but until then, Engadget has the full review of the iPad2 here.

The Roku Box- Cable programming without the cable cost?

The mysterious "Little black box" is legendary. Investigators look for it when a plane crashes and it seems to be the brains for all of the new cars made today. It sits there and we don't know really what it does, but it always seems to work for us and make our lives somehow easier.

Well, to add to that legend here is another black box called the Roku.

The Roku little black box.
(source: Amazon)

The Roku is an electronic appliance- a black box, no less-  that uses the wireless internet in your home to connect to thousands of sources of video content across the globe. It sits quietly near your TV and delivers full 108op High Definition quality video to any television (now, whether or not your TV is 1080p capable is up to you).

Set up could not be simpler: plug in the box to your TV's video and audio inputs, connect to your wireless internet and that's it! You now have access to Netflix, Hulu Plus, MLB, NHL, listen to your music on iTunes and thousands of other sources provided to you instantly. Some, like Netflix and Hulu Plus charge a small monthly fee, others provide their content for free and more providers are added all the time.

Lastly, the cost of the Roku is the greatest, best shock- Full 1080 HD television for under $100. Plus, a basic Roku with standard definition and fewer of the bells and whistles can be had for $69.99. If I were you, I'd pop for the extra $30 and get the best box with the most stuff. Amazon has all of the flavors of Roku for sale and you can find it here.

Ironically, the only reason you'll continue to need cable is for the internet connection to keep you Roku well fed.

Motorola Xoom. Finally, a Competitor for iPad? We'll see...

For the past couple of years, the Apple iPad has had the tablet market (which it invented) to itself.

But no more. On the very near horizon, there are dozens and dozens of manufacturers tooling up for their version of the tablet for a piece of the consumer pie and the vast majority of these makers will be using the "Honeycomb" version of the Android opreating system. This is a variation of the same smartphone operating system found on so many cell phones these days. It was especially created for tablets and made available to tablet makers for free.



The Motorola Xoom
(source: Motorola)



Why free? Android is an open source software, meaning that anyone who wants to use it may- at no cost. This can save a tech company hundreds of millions in development costs and allows small companies to play in the same playground as the big boys.

The first player to produce a Honeycomb tablet (all previous Android tablets ran on ver. 2.2, a smartphone-only version scaled up for tablets) hits the market next month and it's called the Motorola Xoom.

 Pronounced "zoom", Mototrola hopes this newest entry will be the first to take away marketshare from Apple and give them a leg up on the competition. Problem is, no one outside of Motorola has had a chance to use one yet, so no reviews are available.

For the latest on the Xoom, click here for information on specs, pricing and availablity and make a decision for yourself if the Xoom makes your heart zoom or fizzles to a pop.

iPod Nano watch- Why didn't I think of that?

I have these things I call "million dollar ideas"- they're inventions I think up that (theoretically) will make me a million dollars...someday. The iPod Nano watch should have been one of them. Put simply, this is a wrist strap that securely holds a standard Apple iPod Nano (latest generation only and sold separately) and is worn as a standard wrist watch.



This gives a good indication of size.
(source: Amazon)

It's so simple, it's beautiful. The iPod Nano is small enough to be a slightly large watch face (see my previous post here for the dimensions) and the "watch face" display is one of the standard displays on the Nano anyway, so the execution could not be simpler. The picture pretty much says it all. 

There's several styles, makers and colors of the watch strap available and it makes a great gift for Nano owners or as a great accessory to go with a brand new Nano. The cost seems to be well under $20 for most styles. You can go to Yahoo! Shopping to see a representative selection.

After all, do you know anyone who owns a watch that not only keeps accurate time but holds 2,000 songs as well?

It might be time to get one today.

Harbor Freight Tools- tools are gadgets, too...aren't they?

A few years ago, we bought an older home with a kitchen frozen in time. The stove, sink, plumbling, electrical and floor were all 1947 tech. It was long past time for a rehab and after careful planning and holding a funeral for our savings account, we tore into the room, demolishing everything to the bare walls.

Once that was finished, I went to the local home store to acquire the tools necessary to reconstruct the kitchen of our dreams. However, the price of some of the tools were shocking. $400 for a drill? Really? Plus, the price of a reciprocating saw equaled that of a large TV. There had to be somewhere tools were available at a cheaper price. I soon found it just a couple of miles from my home.

(source: HFT)

I went to my local Harbor Freight Tool store and found some of the tools I required to get the job done. For 30%- 70% less than the home store, I was able to get some of the tools (both powered and otherwise) that allowed me to complete the job with a high quality result.



Look- a Harbor Frieght reciprocating saw.
(Source: Harbor Freight Tools)



Few of the tools have name brands anyone would be familiar with- most tools are labled with Harbor Freight's own brand name. The stores aren't what anyone would call fancy, but like most HFT products, they get the job done. Also, the stores have other products for the garden, camping and hobbies.



The catch? The tools are made to a price and sometimes feel like it. I wouldn't buy any of these tools to earn a living, but for occasional use (I bought a reciprocating saw for $20 and have satisfactorily used it about 5 times in 10 years) they're great. There might also be fewer included accessories in the box and a good case may not come with the purchase price.

 My advice would be to invest in high-use, precision tools like table saws, jigsaws, levels, etc., but for occasional use tools like crowbars, impact drivers and the like, Harbor Freight Tools deserve a look. Go here to see what's available and to find out if a brick and mortar store is in your town.

The Shaper Image U Video Camera Review- For less than $15 is it worth it?

My wife took a a Christmas job at a local department store to earn some money for the pile of toys our kids expect Santa to bring on Christmas Eve. Along with the job she also got 20% off of anything in the store.

So, Christmas came and went as did most of the products the department store sells. Any remaining items were sold at extreme discounts- 50%, 60% or even 70% and that's where The Sharper Image U Video Camera comes into the (video) picture. Starting at a price of $99 a few weeks before the holiday, my better half managed to find one on clearance near her department for 70% off, plus a coupon, plus her employee discount, etc.. The final tally totaled less than $15 for a brand new video camera! By the way, in preparing for this post, I found the camera for $30-$49 elsewhere online.

In the box was the camera, a velevet-like carry pouch, a wrist lanyard and a cable that plugs into any TV for instant viewing. The camera itself weighs about 4 ounces and is the size of an average cell phone. It's powered by two AAA batteries which are easily replaceable with spares. This may be a better method of keeping constant power as built-in, non-removeable rechargeable batteries often die with no way to recharge until a wall-out let can be found- and this could mean missed memories- gone forever.



Minimal buttons mean minimal hassle.
(Credit: The Sharper Image)



Operation is quite easy. Press the large, red button below the LCD screen for a few seconds and the unit powers up and displays the image in front of the camera on the 2" LCD screen. Pressing the red button again initiates the record function. It's possible to "zoom" by pressing a rocker switch, but the effect is so minor as to be of no use. It's a better idea to simply walk closer to the object of your video and use your legs as a zoom instead.



Holding the U Video in your hand is not too bad- it simply feels like trying to take a photo with a cell phone. Construction quality is merely adequate. All plastic and a bit flimsy in places- but let's remember we're talking about a product that costs less than lunch for two.

We took the camera to record my son's basketball practice. We were indoors and he was approximately 10 feet away while he performed his passing drills. I was initially concerned because the image on the screen appeared really quite dark and I thought the video would be dark too. Once we returned home and I downloaded the video to a computer (quite easy with the unit's built-in USB port) we viewed the result of our work.



Much to our relief, the video was far brighter than it appeared on screen. The video is not of high quality, limited to a resolution (or sharpness) of 640x480. I would equate this to YouTube quality. Ok- but nothing special. The color was a bit washed out and the lighting exposure jumped around some, giving the video a "blinking" sort of effect. Audio quality sounded slightly tinny, but I could make out all sounds clearly.

It's possible to record up to 1 hour of video on 2 gigs of internal memory. After that, you'll have to keep the video on a computer hard drive (which can then be recorded to a DVD for long term storage).

So...the question in front of us is: For under $15, is this camera worth the money? I would say, for that amount, a solid yes. The camera is truly built to a price and feels like it. However, it does deliver on its promise of recording a certain level of video and makes it easy to download and share with family and friends. Plus, my wife now keep the camera in her purse for quick and easy recording of memories.

However, if I bought this camera at the originally listed price of $99, I would have felt like I spent too much for the end result of just OK video with low resolution and low-quality sound and I would have returned it.

But, I didn't pay $99- I paid less than $15 and for that amount, I think the purchase of The Sharper Image U Video camera was money well spent.

Money for your old gadgets- don't sell it, Gazelle it!

So, you got a new gee-whiz gadget for Christmas. What do you do with the old tech that, until two weeks ago, was state of the art? Sure, you could give it to relatives or friends who may or may not appreciate it.

Or...

You could make a few bucks on it and pocket the dough for yourself. How? Just gather together all of the electronic widgets you want to give the heave-ho and check out the website Gazelle.com here.

Fill out the simple online forms provided by Gazelle and they'll make a cash offer for your unwanted MP3 players, old cell phones and dozens of other orphan electronic gear. As you fill out the age, condition and accessories for your whatever it is, you'll see an easy-to-understand graph that lists the current dollar value of your item that Gazelle is willing to pay.

If you're agreeable to the amount, send the item to Gazelle (they pay postage!) and a check will soon arrive in the mail with your name on it. If, however, Gazelle reviews the item and they decide they have no interest in buying the product, they will offer to responsibly dispose of the product (at no cost to you) or return it exactly as you submitted it. BTW, this is also a great way to raise money for charity.

All in all, this is a no lose senario for those of us with little space to store those old products, a love of money and a desire to take that cash and buy even more technology.

The "new" Apple TV is here! Did you know there was an old Apple TV?

It's true. Apple's 1st generation of the Apple TV appliance/computer has been around for a few years now, but it never really took off. In fact, hardly anyone outside of the home theater geek groups knew anything about it. It's not a TV at all, but a computer appliance that plays out content of all kinds to your preexisting TV.

The Apple TV box- typical Apple
design understatement.
(credit: Apple)

That's about to change because the new Apple TV is completely revamped. Contained in a small box no larger than a paperback book, Apple TV (picture, right) allows you to access High Definition content to Netflix, Flickr and YouTube. It connects wirelessly to your computer and streams video (through the air! no wires)  immediately. It can also play all of the music (or movies) you've purchased on iTunes.

Additionally, if your iPhone or your iPod already has a movie or TV show downloaded into it, you can play the production to the Apple TV wirelessly using a free app called Airplay. Press the button and the movie appears- full HD and all- on your TV. And all of this for $99. I don't think apple has sold anything for $99 for a long time, so you'd better get down there and get one before they change their mind.

Isn't that something? Learn more about the Apple TV here from the Apple people themselves. I'll  post a review of the new Apple TV as soon as I can find a quality one.

It seems the new Apple TV is a peach!

BREAKING NEWS! Apple's new iPod Touch hits the market!

There's at least $687 worth of iPods in this photo.

A few months after the 4th generation iPhone went public, now it's time for the 4th generation of the Apple iPod Touch to debut. Known as the "iPhone without a phone", the new iPod Touch has a ton of new features that's best described at Apple's website. You can go to it here.

Apple also debuted new versions of the Nano, Shuffle and Apple TV, which we'll touch on in a later post.

What does this mean for Apple? Well, the Christmas buying season is soon approaching and there is just enough time for teens to get whipped into a consumer frenzy and beg their parents or grandparents for this exact item. It is expensive, starting at $229 for the 8gig version, but I predict that Apple will not be able to keep them in stock.

That is the most sure-thing prediction since I predicted my teenager would be hungry at dinner time.

How an iPod is just like a Jeep and a box of Kleenex.

The word iPod is alot like the word Jeep.  Both are brand names but both are also synonmous with the product they represent. The makers of Kleenex often take out ads in jounalism trade magazines making the point that Kleenex is a brand name for facial tissue.

The iPod is like that too. Many folks simply say they "have an iPod" when they really have something else as their MP3 player of choice. This avoids having to explain exactly what brand you have ("Archos? Who's that?"), what it does and you usually end up the explanantion with the phrase "just think of it like an iPod".

In the world of MP3 players, the 2nd most popular player in the United States after the iPod is the Microsoft Zune HD. Never heard of it? Not to worry, most folks haven't either and that's a shame because the Zune is a darn fine player in it's own right. It has a HD screen (thus the "HD" portion of the name), huge memory- up to 64 gigabytes- and a touch screen that is simplicity itself to use. It can hold 10,000+ photos, audio books and even has an FM radio! OK, that doesn't seem like such a big deal, but the iPod Touch doesn't have a radio at all...so there!

The best thing about the Zune HD, however, is the Zune Store. Think of it like Microsoft's version of iTunes. Millions of songs and movies are for sale, thousands of podcasts available for free and a special little item call the Zune Pass. For $15 per month, you can download unlimited (yes, unlimited!) amounts of music into your Zune player for as long as you pay the subscription. the good news of all this is you get to keep your choice of 10 of those songs every month forever- even after you cancel your Zune Pass subscription. Apple has nothing like it and no one else does either. You can also buy songs and keep them permanently one at a time too.

The Zune HD doesn't come with all sorts of apps like the iPod (although it does have a few that come preinstalled), but it's comparable in nearly every other way and the best feature of all? It's cheaper than the iPod- 16G versions start at $156 (go here to see it on sale for that price), Apple's 8G iPod touch starts at around twenty dollars more with half of the memory. ($175). So, you're getting twice the memory for the less than the price of the iPod Touch.

Available at most big box stores, the Zune HD is available right now. Go to the Zune site here to learn more.

Remember, it's just like an iPod.

Only better.

What the heck is an iPad?

Recently, Apple debuted the iPad. To me, it looks like an iPod Touch on steriods. So, what's the big deal, right? Apparently, plenty. With the ability to do everything a smaller iPod can do, the iPad (was that really the best name they could come up with?) is so much more. After sifting through a bunch of websites detailing the advantages in geek-speak, I found one that explains exactly what the iPad is, what it can do and why the Apple fan base is ga-ga over it.

Me? I'm still not so sure. It can't play back Flash video (for instance, all of YouTube uses flash to play their videos- at least for now), doesn't have a camera for stills or video chat (talking to and seeing each other over an internet connection) and it truly seems to me like a huge iPod Touch.

Click on the link and decide for yourself.