This is an awesome video featuring the lovely Inessa Chimato and a hula cam. What's a hula cam? Well, it's another example of the incredible potential of the new generation of miniature digital cameras. The clever guys at Clip Critics decided to put the brand-new GoPro Hero3 black at 2.7k and 1080p 60fps on a hula hoop. Give it to a girl in a bikini on the beach and you have a super fun video!

We're pretty confident that these tiny digital cameras are going to have a huge impact on our lives, with fun implications for entertainment, helpful implications for security and possibly troubling implications for privacy.

Tech developer ADR Studios has revealed a new concept design, that is sure to make the many Instagram users in the world gather their pitchforks and torches (or just start a cause on Kickstarter) and plead for someone to make this a mass produced reality.

Meet the Instagram camera.

That is a digital handheld camera that can print an instant photo from the model, complete with all of the features the Instagram app allows. What strikes me right away about this project is:

A. That's a beautiful camera. Not just "hipster cool" but genuinely well designed.

B. This is an incredible marriage of times gone by charm (the polaroid this whole thing is based off of) and new technology (Instagram, obviously), that wouldn't look out of place in a 50's sci-fi where a vague idea of what future technology might hold, was paired with a current product to create something that's just kind of out there.

C. Far from a novelty, this thing could actually make a practical investment considering its' list of features.

· 16 GB mass storage.
· Wifi and Bluetooth.
· 4:3 touchscreen.
· 2 main lens, first for main capture, second for 3D filters, webcam applications and QR Code capturing.
· Optical zoom.
· LED Flash.
· Internal printer to make your Instagram photos real.
· Paper cartridge with Instagram Paper Sheets.
· Dedicated 4 colors ink tanks.
· InstaOs 1.0, which put together Facebook and Instagram App feature.

Now again, this is still a concept and as of now, no one has plans to make this thing on a retail level. Still though, with the mass popularity of the Instagram app, and the many social networking friendly features this thing has, someone with the ability to make this would be a fool not to considering it's almost literally a license to print money.

It's now going to be much easier.

The biggest technology and gadget show, CES, just kicked off in Las Vegas, and as usual much of the talk surrounds Apple:

Apple is the only company that consistently gets big buzz out of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas - without even attending.

This year will be no different.

Connected TVs - TVs that connect to and can access content from the Internet - will be a big part of CES this year. And just about everyone in tech expects Apple at some point to launch such a television - an iTV - that easily consumes and shares with other Apple devices content served from the company's media-storing iCloud.

Microsoft made news earlier by saying this was the last year they would attend CES/ Why attend if Apple gets all the buzz anyways? Maybe Microsoft should focus on new products instead of protecting its Windows/Office cash cow? Or maybe not . . .

The holiday season is here, and today is Cyber Monday so it's time to go searching for deals. There are a ton of gadget gift guides out there, and Bullz-Eye.com has a gadget section in their 2011 Holiday Gift Guide. The WOWee One Slim Portable Speaker is one of the featured products.

You'll be amazed when you plug this tiny gadget into your MP3 player or phone and turn on some music. Of all the gadgets we've tested recently, the WOWee ONE Slim Portable Speaker is one of our favorites. It's about the size of a deck of cards and easily plugs into any device with an audio jack. All of a sudden you can have a party. The WOWee turns flat, solid surfaces like tables, counters, bumpers, hoods and truck beds into bass-filled sound systems using patented gel technology. The sound changes depending on the type of surface and you can really feel the base on some surfaces. It's perfect for events like tailgates as it provides about 10 hours of tunes and can turn your grill/cooler/hood into a high-end sound system for the whole parking lot. It's also great for impromptu parties as it can fit in your pocket, computer bag or glove compartment. Take it on a trip and have parties in your hotel room or by the pool. The possibilities are endless and kids will love it as well. It seems like everyone listens to music alone these days with their headphones, so the WOWee makes it easier for everyone to share and enjoy music.

There are a ton of gadget gift guides out there, so do your research and you'll find some great stuff. You can start with the ones from USA Today and CNET.

USA Today has a great gift guide for gadgets, covering cameras, video cameras and more.

That's right - according to TG Daily, the actor famous for playing in one of Disney's most spectacular 3D films, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, can't see 3D images.

Here's what the actor said to Access Hollywood:

"I'm unable to see in 3D. My eyes don't see in 3D. I have a weird eye... It just doesn't work. It may come as a surprise to you, but I've never seen normally."

The condition, though unnamed and not recorded, is actually fairly prevalent according to most sources. I wouldn't exactly call it a surprise, but it's certainly intriguing to see all the effort behind shooting in 3D wasted on one of the film's most prominent actors.

Today Cisco finally had to come to terms with the fact that it fundamentally misunderstands the consumer electronics market. Like, $590 million misunderstands it. That's how much the company paid for Pure Digital originally. Now, Cisco will kill off the brand and let go of 550 employees in an attempt to restructure.

I can't say I understand why Cisco bought the Flip in the first place. It's like you can almost see the guys at Pure Digital biting their lips and trying not to laugh as Cisco drops a $590 million dollar offer on the table. I imagine there had to have been one guy in that meeting who would raise his hand every now and again to say "Hey, don't you think this tech will be in every smartphone ever soon?" He was also probably getting kicked every time he got to, "Hey don't you think...ow!"

MG Siegler at TechCrunch has put together another interesting article, this time on the future of the point-and-shoot camera. His basic point is that the industry is behind the curve and needs to evolve quickly to catch up in the social game. Though he makes some good points, I think it's too late.

Siegler starts his article with an anecdote about his latest camera purchase, a high end Canon point-and-shoot, the S95, which he also says he uses five percent of the time. I can't imagine why you would spend $400 on a camera you would use so little, particularly when the impetus behind most point-and-shoots is having pictures you can share. There are plenty of options at the prosumer DSLR level that can take better pictures for hardly more cost. If you need something more social, get a decent phone.

Siegler mentions all of this, but I think it's actually too late for the point-and-shoots to make the necessary changes. Phones are just too far ahead. Sure, the S95 takes vastly superior pictures to my iPhone, but the times I want to take decent pictures I plan ahead. The rest of the time, I don't want to be carrying another device with me. My phone is plenty sufficient if it means I don't have to keep track of another device.

As cell phone cameras continue to improve, point-and-shoots will be more and more marginalized. Sure, there are still people buying them - a fairly significant part of the market - but dedicated devices rarely do well for everyday use. This is the same reason we aren't going to see the Peek take off. Yes, it's nice for checking email or tweeting, but do you really want to carry around the same device. Granted, a good point-and-shoot offers much more functionality than the Peek does, but it's the same physical limitation. I don't always want to have a bag with me, or worry about whether I'll break something important if I put my camera in my pocket. I want something quick and usable, not something for taking super high-quality pictures. If I want that, I'll take my DSLR. I don't need an in-between.

Of course, that's also where Siegler's article ends. It seems for him that the dream of a connected point-and-shoot is truly a dream, and one that won't be realized before smartphones have killed the market segment.

Microsoft's Kinect has some undoubtably cool technology, but cooler than its game applications could be the power behind the camera. This video shows what Kinect is capable of once it has been hacked to allow a little input. The results are astonishing.

We have regular porn. We have streaming porn. We have 3D porn, giant porn, mobile porn, and now, NOW we will have 3D IMAX porn. Yes, folks, gigantic people parts smacking all over each other IN 3D! This is just sad.

The film, based on a classic Chinese erotic text, is being shot in Hong Kong. Director Christopher Sun thinks 3D porn will bring the "wow factor" that porn viewers long for. "Somehow when you're doing a 3-D movie you always want to make an impressive image because the viewers ... are going to buy tickets with double or even triple the ticket price to get into a world they've never seen before," he said. He's right on one count. I don't live in a world of giant balls.

For all of you thinking this is a great idea, remember that there is someone sitting next to you. On both sides. Someone you don't know. Oh, he's also probably touching himself. I can think of very few things I would rather do less in a theater than watch porn. And just in case you thought maybe this one time the porn industry would try to make a respectable film, consider this: "The sex scenes are explicit and sometimes violent, but the main theme of the story is love," according to the director. NOthing says good love like violent sex.

Source: Reuters

Since the launch of the iPhone, it seems Apple has been the only company we hear about using the cheap little accelerometers and gyroscopes, despite the popularity of those little gizmos in just about every modern cell phone and some other burgeoning technologies. Microsoft, for one, wants in on the game, so the company is making a splash with some very cool photo stabilization tech.

Microsoft developed an image stabilization rig that uses accelerometers and gyroscopes to detect the little movements you make when taking a picture that turn it into a blurry mess. Software then corrects the image to look as it should have before the shake. From the initial before and after posted on the research website, I'd say this looks pretty good, and the tech is small enough that it could easily be built into most cameras.

Take a look at the full range of images on the research site. Don't stare at it too hard, though - those overlays will make you sick.

Things have been a little slow over here as I've been working on a few other projects and dealing with some big announcement over on Fearless Gamer, our gaming blog. This week we'll be back in full swing though, and I'm adding a bunch of reviews to the site.

Later in the week you'll start to see some of the new iPhone 4 accessories. Over the rest of the summer I'll be getting a few more, but for now I've got at least a dock to show off. I'll also be covering the Booq line of laptop bags (more specifically the Boa S Nerve) and Warpia's wireless PC-to-TV broadcast system.

I've also been starting to dig around Aperture. I had played with the software a bit when it first launched, but without any high quality images, it wasn't a piece of software I cared to invest in. Now that I have my shiny new camera, I think it's time I take a more serious look. I'll be posting my impressions throughout the week as I get to know the ins and outs of photo management (from what I hear, Aperture is the way it should be done).

Around 1:30 today I got a knock on the door from our friendly UPS man, delivering my newest toy - the Canon Rebel T1i. Yes, the T2i is out, but I got an awesome deal on this thing and since both my girlfriend and I are fairly new to the digital photography scene so this camera should be plenty to get us going.

Shopping for a new camera online can be a harrowing experience. There's actually too much information available, too many opinions to read. I spent hours and hours digging through forum posts and reviews. Hours reading every conflicting opinion about brand, lens-type, and model. And honestly, none of it was all that helpful.

The thing that was helpful was getting my hands on a bunch of different models and seeing which felt best, which I was able to adjust quickly and comfortably, and out of all that, what fit my budget. I landed on the T1i and I'm sure I'll be happy.

The best camera is the one you have with you, and since my new favorite point-and-shoot is built into my phone, I should be all set. When the 3GS came out last year, I was ready to say goodbye to point-and-shoots all together. There were still a lot of situations, though, where the 3GS was terrible (low light, of course). The iPhone changes that with the addition of a flash and another megapixel bump, putting the iPhone camera on par with all but the best in the point-and-shoot category. The fact that the camera is built into the phone is more than enough to discourage me from taking a point-and-shoot anywhere.

Obviously the camera will still shoot best in bright, natural light, like you find in North Carolina when it's almost 100 degrees. The colors are bright and vibrant, a trait most of the professional photographers I've spoken with say Apple borrowed from Nikon's processing style. It was pretty windy today, so I was surprised to see how focused the pictures of the flowers came out (still a little blurry away from the focal point). Overall, the sensor handles light well, and the camera is fast enough to catch a bit of motion.

In low light the story is still pretty grim. Even with a flash there's a lot of noise, though that's typically true of most point-and-shoots. This isn't meant for high-quality photography, though, and when viewed as most camera phone shots are these days - on Facebook - the iPhone 4 will stand up with the best your friends can offer. That's thanks to the f2.4 lens, compared with the f2.8 or above offered on most phones. It's nice to have that extra light and extra width.

On the whole, Apple's taken a decent camera and turned it into a true point-and-shoot replacement for taking quick shots on the fly. And it is quick. The limited controls are just a tap away, and there are so few (some say it's good, some say it's bad) you won't spend the precious seconds trying to find a setting. You'll snap the picture, again and again, which is exactly the point of carrying a quick and dirty camera with you wherever you go.

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