Gadgets

Apple has today made available a low-specced, slightly cheaper iMac to the educational market. The 21.5-inch model costs $1000, $200 less than the regular entry-level iMac of the same size.

However, for that relatively small saving you get a lot less Mac. The processor is a dual-core Core i3 running at 3.1GHz, against the quad-core Core i5 at 2.5GHz, RAM is just 2GB instead of 4GB, the hard drive is a pathetic 250GB (Vs.

Research in Motion announced Wednesday that five new smartphones will be released later this year, including two new versions of the BlackBerry Torch series.

The most noteworthy of the bunch, the BlackBerry Torch 9810, is RIM’s flagship 4G device set to run exclusively on AT&T’s HSPA+ network. The phone will come with a powerful 1.2-GHz processor, a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, and RIM’s signature slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

All of the devices will run on the company’s new BlackBerry OS 7 platform, an updated version of the smartphone software that brings a speed boost to the BlackBerry WebKit browser, enhanced HTML5 performance, hardware accelerated graphics and NFC support.

The company will also offer two Sprint devices, the Bold 9930 and the Torch 9850. RIM boasts that the Bold is its “thinnest smartphone ever,” coupled with a 2.8-inch touchscreen and QWERTY keyboard. Sprint’s Torch comes with the largest touchscreen ever seen on a BlackBerry at 3.7 inches, pre-loaded Docs to Go software, and no physical keyboard — it’s the first full-touch BlackBerry device for Sprint.

RIM has had a difficult year.

Here’s pretty much the weirdest electric bike idea I have ever seen. It’s called the OneBike, and it combines an exercise bike and an electric bike into one. If that sounds ass-backward, read on: it gets worse.

It works like this. At home, the bike folds and fits into a base-station, turning it into a stationary bike.

Samsung has its sights on being the king of all things Android.

The company announced Wednesday that its Galaxy S 2 smartphone reached record sales numbers for the company, with more than 5 million handsets sold in the first three months since the smartphone’s debut. And that number accounts for only a quarter of the company’s total smartphone sales over the past three months.

“[Samsung is] claiming that they shipped 19 million smartphones in the second quarter,” IDC mobile analyst Al Hilwa told Wired.com in a statement.

Gerber, purveyor of rough-and-tumble multi-tools, knives and, tiny axes to adventurous outdoor types, will soon be adding a photographers’ tool to its range. Called the “Steady,” it has a familiar Leatherman-like design, only it adds a couple of tripod legs and a threaded bolt to the pliers-shaped package.

The Steady won’t launch until 2012, so we don’t have further details of the full twelve-tool lineup inside, but you have to think it’ll be the usual collection of screwdrivers and blades.

Along with the new MacBook Airs, Apple has also updated the Mac Mini line. Out go the year-old Core 2 Duo CPUs, replaced by 2.3GHz or 2.5GHz Core i5 (“Sandy Bridge”) chips.

Also gone is the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, replaced by an Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor or AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics processor, depending on the model you choose.

You can now play over 15 million Spotify songs on your computer for free in this country — partially because Spotify counts on the fact that if you get addicted to listening to music and building playlists on the service, you’ll want to play those playlists and listen to that music on other devices: your smartphone and your home stereo.

We count at least five great ways to play Spotify Premium within the home.

The FlickKey Mini is billed as the “World’s Smallest Keyboard.” What’s more, it’s a virtual, on-screen keyboard, expanding the market for possible haters twofold.

Why would you want such a thing? Well, the somewhat confusing PR e-mail talks about putting it on the face of a watch. This opens up the possibility of turning something the size of an iPod Nano into a full(ish)-featured computer.

First, though, the keyboard has to actually work.

Despite somewhat polarizing looks (I kind of like them, and some of you probably hate them), the Sportive “watch” from French company VEA looks like the idea runner’s companion. Not only does it pack in the tracking, altitude and speed-recording features of a wrist-mounted GPS device, it also replaces your cellphone, camera and — yes — your watch.

As a phone, it’s certainly not smart, with EDGE connectivity, MMS and Bluetooth, but it is pre-loaded with the “apps” you might need.

Delorme’s InReach GPS Communicator lets you send text messages, even when you are in the wilderness and far away from cellphone coverage.

As befits a GPS device, it’s all done with satellites. Delorme has teamed up with Iridium, the satellite phone people, to offer a $10-per-month messaging package.

It works in two ways. First of all, you can set three messages before you head out and then “send” any of them direct from the device.