Top 5 Gadgets of the Week: FitBit Aria, Brydge iPad Keyboard, Solidoodle 3D Printer

April 29, 2012 — -- intro: Rival tech companies were at each other's throats this week. Samsung took a shot at Apple users in the teaser video for the new Galaxy S III, Tim Cook criticized Microsoft's Windows 8 strategy, and Google aimed to kill the other Cloud storage players with the release of Google Drive.

And the gadget sector wasn't making peace either. Solidoodle announced that its ready to compete with with Makerbot in the 3D printer market with a new affordable device, and newcomers Brydge raised lots of money on Kickstarter to duke it out with Logitech's new iPad keyboard cover. Click through to see the top gadgets of the week.

quicklist: 1title: FitBit Ariatext: This stylish scale comes with a hefty price tag, but it does a lot more than that dusty old one sitting in the corner of your bathroom. Of course, the FitBit Aria reads your weight, but it also connects to WiFi to track your weight and upload it to your FitBit account. It can also report your Body Mass Index and fat/lean percentage. Worried about putting your health information online? The privacy settings allow you to keep that information entirely to yourself, but you can choose to share it if you need some external motivation. Check out our full review, before plopping down the $130. (Fitbit) media: 16227332

quicklist: 2title: Brydge for iPadtext: The Brydge is one of many keyboard attachments to turn your iPad into a laptop, but it stands out for a couple of reasons. First, it actually matches the look and feel of Apple products with an aluminum build. And with that, it folds shut, giving it the look of a MacBook Air. Judging by the video on Kickstarter, the Brydge is sturdy and attaches very securely to the iPad, unlike a lot of other flimsy docks and keyboards. Estimated to ship in October of this year, it's available now on Kickstarter for $170. Oh, and if you're looking to pump up the sound on your iPad, you can shell out an extra $40 for the model with built-in speakers. (Brydge)media: 16227273

quicklist: 3title: Acer Predator AG3620 text: Just this week Intel announced that its next generation of processors -- codenamed Ivy Bridge -- will be hitting the market soon. And Acer is wasting no time in beefing up its desktop offerings. The Acer Predator AG3620 gaming tower has the newest 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7-3770 processor, a whopping 16 GB of RAM, and a spacious 2 TB hard drive. Even though the newest Predator is primarily aimed at gaming, the NVIDIA GeForce GT630 is a mid-level card, meaning it will not play the most demanding games on high settings. Currently the only Acer computer with Ivy Bridge, the Predator AG3620 costs a reasonable $1200. (Acer)media: 16227208

quicklist: 4title: ASUS Transformer Pad TF300Ttext: Tim Cook might have knocked Microsoft for its tablet/laptop convergence, but ASUS has proven that pairing a keyboard with a tablet can be quite a hit. ASUS's Transformer Pad TF300T has an optional dock with USB and SD card ports that also extends the battery life of the tablet to nearly 15 hours. The tablet itself contains a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and an 8-megapixel camera. As for looks, at 0.38 inches thick the 10.1-inch tablet is thinner than the Galaxy Tab 2 and comes in a very sexy blue and red with a concentric design. The TF300T rings in at a competitive $399; the keyboard dock costs an extra $100. (Asus)media: 16227224

quicklist: 5title: Solidoodle 3D Printertext: The reigning champion of affordable 3D printing has been MakerBot Industries, but Solidoodle, run by former MakerBot executive Samuel Cervantes, now solidly holds that title with the release of a new $499 model. The Solidoodle prints objects up to 6 x 6 x 6 inches and comes fully assembled; just load up the software and get printing. It still isn't cheap enough to make a great Christmas present for the kids, but it's the most affordable yet. Available for pre-order now, the Solidoodle ships in six to eight weeks. (Solidoodle)media: 16227453