Strange New World: Tech Picks of the Week

July 11, 2008 — -- Newsflash from the strange new world of electronics: Blistering-high gas prices are now officially a bigger story than the iPhone. Or to put it another way, Steve Jobs finally has met his PR match -- the fact that nobody can afford to fill their gas tanks has distracted the average user from the much-buzzed-about iPhone 3G -- which made its debut this week.

Remarkably, of far more import to the techno world is that the non-fossil fuel sources of energy are finally losing their touchy-feely edge. The G8 nations are meeting in Japan this week, and the big topic seems to be thrifty eco gadgets.

Considering this confounding turn in techno events, what better time to go old school and check with the granddaddy of all gadget vendors, Hammacher Schlemmer. If these strange days don't call for an underwater pogo stick, what does?

Here are our picks of the week:

We know in our hearts that Apple develops products only to make our weekly list. But the fact is, any time Mr. Jobs & Co. releases a new gadget, it is the de facto story of the week. And this week is no exception. Although it's not quite the mega event it was hyped to be, the new iPhone 3G made its way to market, and amazingly, the digital world was sort of, well, bored.

The unit has some new features: It comes done in a nifty flat back, has a GPS built-in, and it is ostensibly cheaper to buy. Lower-power versions start at just $199. And the new iPhone is finally connected to AT&T's real live broadband network, so it's faster than the original iPhone. But the unit is more expensive than the original to actually use: Data plans can be viciously pricey. The AT&T NationSM Unlimited plan, for example, which includes unlimited e-mail and Web hosting, runs $130 a month -- or almost $1,400 a year. Ouch!

Also, there is a general sense that the upgrade did not address the real issues with the iPhone: its utter hugeness, the hard-to-get-used-to touch keyboard, and the limited battery life.

So, yes, the 3G made a splash, but not that big of a one. And it is fair now to wonder what Apple has next up its sleeve.