Want a 3G under the tree?

Tech products are high on many people's holiday wish lists. In this inaugural column, we'll talk about some of the hottest tech products available for gift giving or to indulge yourself this holiday season whether you are a tech guru or just interested in the latest products available this year.

One of the hottest holiday items has to be the Apple iPad (Wi-Fi & 3G). It allows you to read eBooks, play games, read emails, watch movies, or surf the Web. Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs' called it "a magical and revolutionary product" and he was right on. The price is $499 for Wi-Fi internet connectivity or $629 to add 3G connectivity (AT&T network only) to allow you to connect to the Internet when you are not in range of a Wi-Fi connection.

 Verizon now offers the Wi-Fi iPad along with a MiFi device for $629.99 (plus the monthly cost of data) with no contract. The Verizon data plan with the Wi-Fi version has more flexibility when compared to the AT&Tmonthly data plans for the 3G model.

 The AT&T prices are: $14.99 for 250MB/month and $25 for 2GB/month.

 The Verizon prices are $20 for 1 GB/month, $35 for 3GB/month, $50 for 5GB/Month and $80 for 10GB/month.

   The iPad has some features of note: a 9.7-inch screen using a custom processor running at 1GHz, Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) connectivity for both models, the ability to access both the AT&T 3G and Edge networks for the 3G model, location recognition, a digital compass to allow you to rotate a map to reflect "straight ahead," assisted GPS which uses cell-phone towers to enhance the reliability of the GPS unit (on the 3G model only), and cellular triangulation which helps narrow the iPad's approximate location (3G model only).

 If you are going to want to have Internet connectivity away from Wi-Fi hot spots, we recommend buying the Wi-Fi version from Apple or at&t and a MiFi device as opposed to buying the 3G version from at&t or Apple.

MiFi 2200 (Verizon, Sprint, Virgin Mobile), MiFi 2372 (AT&T) allows you to connect up to five wireless devices at one time when you are away from a WiFi hot spot and yet still covered by a cellular network. The coverage and speed of the network will vary depending on where you are. The average speed for most parts of Grafton for each of the networks is 283 Kbps for AT&T; 303 Kbps for Sprint/Virgin Mobile 3G and 329 KBPS for Verizon.

Kbps stands for thousands of bits per second, a way to measure data transfer speed. A higher Kbps number means faster data transfer and a faster connection, allowing you to surf the Web faster because the pages fill the screen faster. The prices for the MiFi devices varies by vendor depending on whether you want to commit to the carrier for a one- or two-year period or not.

After the initial cost of the device, you need to decide how much to pay a month. This is usually an important decision, because if you download more data that the contact specifies, there are additional costs that will be charged to you.  Most carriers offer a 5GB plan. GB is GigaBytes, and 5 of them should be enough for an average user who does not download a lot of movies or streaming videos such as from YouTube or Hulu. Most carriers are currently on the 3G network and just a few are on the 4G network, which is a new technology that is available from Sprint in most of Boston as of this writing and is in the process of expanding coverage, hopefully out this way. (Stay tuned.)

If you will only need the MiFi device occasionally, our recommendation is to buy the Virgin Mobile device for $149.99 and get the 10 day or 30 day pre-paid service when you need to use it. If you are going to need the MiFi device daily or if you change your mind after using the Virgin Mobile device for the first 10 days, our recommendation is the same device with the $40 unlimited option for 30 days.

Here are some comparisons:

AT&T, no commitment: Device, $299.99, $60 per month, 5GB, two-year total, $1,739.99

AT&T, two-year comittment, Device, $49.99, $60 per month, 5GB, two-year total, $1,489.99

Verizon, no commitment, Device, $269.99;

Verizon, one-year commitment, Device, $70; $50 per month, 5GB, two-year total, $1,270.

Verizon, two-year commitment, Device, free; $50 per month, 5GB, two-year total, $1,200.

Sprint, no commitment, Devise, $349.99, $59.99 per month, 5GB, two-year total, $1,789.75

Sprint, two-year commitment, Device, $49.99; $59.99 per month, 5GB; two-year total, $1,489.75

Virgin Mobile, no commitment (unlimited data transfers for a consecutive 30-day period),

Device, $149.99, $40 per month, 5GB; two-year total, $1,109.99

The Logitech Harmony One ($249) replaces up to 15 different remotes you may have hanging around that control your record player, CD player, DVD (Digital Video Disk, a high-quality method of storing video such as movies), Blu-ray player (an even higher-quality method of storing movies), a high definition TV, surround sound system, cable or satellite box, DVR (a Digital Video Recorder, usually attached to a cable or satellite box that allows you to record signals from the box to play back later allowing you to pause live TV), game console, computer, and home automation (to name a few). The Harmony One has a rechargeable battery and comes with a cradle and produces an  Infrared (IR) signal requiring line-of-sight to the device in order to operate it remotely. This is one of Logitech's sleekest designs cosmetically and ergonomically. The touch screen is much sharper than previous models and new Logitech models offer a sensor to notice when you pick up the remote to turn on the display. One of the downsides of having an IR signal is that it will not work through walls or doors, and does have a limit of how many devices it can operate at one time.

Moving on to the ultimate wish list, the 2011 Ford Edge Sport with MyFord Touch saw a big change from last year's model with a new dashboard and new body styling. The dashboard now has two LCDs (liquid crystal displays, screens of information) on either side of the speedometer and one in the center of the dashboard above the radio and environmental controls. The left display shows car information, including the fuel usage and tachometer; the right display includes a compass, audio, and phone controls.

The center display has an 8-inch touch screen which can be sluggish when connected to an iPod with a large library; the Edge is capable of HD radio, and Sirius Radio offers traffic, weather options, along with commercial-free radio. The 2011 Edge has a backup camera standard on the Limited and Sport editions. The radio and environmental controls have backlit touch buttons which makes it easy to turn things on or off when you accidentally brush against them. The engine has either a 3.5 or 3.7-liter V6, for a 3.7-liter that equals a 305 horses, and 280 feet of torque. MPG is 17 city, 23 highway.

Additional options include a blind spot indicator, Vista Roof (skylight panel), Navigation, Family Entertainment Package (2 independent DVD headrest systems), plus more options to choose. The base price for the 2011 Ford Edge Sport AWD is only $38,845 and goes up from there with all the gadgets that you will want to add to your new toy. Availability may vary.

Each article, we will present our choices for best iPhone and iPad free and paid apps. Click on the links to go to the App Store for details. For December, our recommendations are:

iTrailMap (Ski and Snowboard trail maps) (Free)
RAGE ($.99) iPhone
USA TODAY for iPad (Free)
RAGE HD ($1.99) iPhone 4/iPad

Roger Graham lives in Grafton and is currently a Computer Science major at Worcester State University and is the computer geek at his house. He uses an iMac, iPad, iPhone, and a Gateway laptop, so he is fluent in Apple and PC use. He provides the youth perspective on technology, and he's not afraid to try something to see what will happen. He subscribes to mailing lists for upcoming technology and likes to share what he has learned.