This has been backed up by recent rumours of an iPod Touch touting front and rear cameras which would tie in with the pictures of what are supposedly cases for the new iPod Touch and Nano (right). The speculated cameras would in all likelihood  allow the iPod Touch to benefit from the iPhone 4 Wi-Fi only FaceTime and would perhaps explain why Apple, for now at least, have chosen to keep FaceTime Wi-Fi only across the board. It’s also said that the cameras would allow the new Touch to support Apple’s new iMovie software, allowing on-the-move video recording and editing. It’s also rumoured that the iPod Touch will utilise the Retina Display technology found in the current iPhone 4. The rumoured iPod Nano however, is likely to simply be a smaller, re-designed unit with a larger memory.

Whilst we agree with the majority, that tomorrow will see the announcement of a new iPod Touch and iPod Nano, we feel it’s worth mentioning the other announcements we could potentially be seeing tomorrow in place of or as well as the iPod Touch? Well, here’s a run down of what we think these could be:

A ‘Cloud’ based iTunes

There were rumours circulating only a month ago regarding a wireless iTunes streaming and synching functionality which would undoubtedly be in addition to a new iPod announcement at tomorrow’s event. Apple has already moved below the radar to add the ability to stream music from MobileME in it’s latest update, a move which is said to be a test run for the larger iTunes update and would make sense given the possible damage that could ensue if it were to go wrong upon release.

TV show rental

Again, this is another rumour which has been ‘to-ing and fro-ing’ around the internet, which would see Apple give the option to essentially rent a TV show for a few days for $0.99 (likely to be £0.99 too knowing the Apple currency converison rates) as oppose to the current set up of having to purchase the show for $1.99.

Apple TV Update

There is rumoured to be a new version of the Apple TV winging its way to the market and we’ll give you three guesses as to what it’s called… Yeah, you’ve got it, the iTV (law suit filed in 5, 4, 3…) The iTV is rumoured to have a built in 16GB memory, the ability to run applications and the possibility of streaming iTunes to iPads/Phones/Touches through a Wi-Fi connection.

A new tablet

This is probably the least likely of all the possibilities we’ve outlined so far, somewhere up there with the pink elephants or flying farm animals of the swine variety, making an appearance but it’s still worth a mention. Ever since the iPad launched, there has been speculation as to whether Apple would release a 7 inch tablet to co-exist alongside the current, larger iPad. The recent tablet rumours from Samsung, LG, HTC/Google et al, would suggest that they believe there will at some point, be a smaller tablet, given that each is looking to release tablet into this exact space as oppose to taking the iPad on head-to-head. Now, we’re not suggesting that there won’t be an iPad Mini on the horizon somewhere but we doubt very much that we’ll see anything concrete this year.

Well, i think that’s about covered everything unless Apple really pull an Ace from their sleeve and in all likelihood, tomorrows announcement will be the new iPod Touch/Nano as expected, but we wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the announcement of the cloud based iTunes in tow. Whatever happens, make sure you check back at the blog tomorrow for our coverage of the announcement(s).

Now, following Apple’s success it would appear other manufacturers are falling over themselves to release an iPad rival. RIM (the guys behind BlackBerry smartphones) have previously been rumoured to have a tablet in the works going under the codenames “Cobalt” and “BlackPad” sporting an 8.9 inch touchscreen display running BlackBerry 6 OS. And, whilst it had gone quiet on the BlackBerry tablet front for some time, rumours have heated up once again with the news that RIM have bought the domain name blackpad.com. And, with RIM holding a press event on the 3rd of August, could we be treated to our first glimpses of the BlackPad?

On to Palm now who, prior to their acquisition by HP, were the subject of frequent rumours around a tablet running WebOS (the OS powering the Palm Pre and Pixi smartphones). With HP already committed to Microsoft Windows with the Slate, it had seemed that WebOS fans hopes had been dashed but the WebOS tablet is very much alive once again with the news that HP have filed an application to trademark the name PalmPad. So, it would seem that not only are HP and BlackBerry keen to join the tablet revolution but they’re also acknowledging ‘Pad’ as the recognised name for such a product.

Keep an eye on the Blog and we’ll keep you up to date on all the latest tablet news and we’ll also be all over RIM/BlackBerry’s press conference on the 3rd of August to give you all the gory details.

The iPad will be officially touching down here in the UK on the 28th of May and will launch with the iBooks app and Apple’s iBookstore allowing customers to purchase and download eBooks to then read on the device much like Amazon’s Kindle eReader . There had been concerns that iBooks wouldn’t be available here in the UK so confirmation that this will be available from launch gets the iPad off to a good start.

Pricing for the Wi-Fi only model starts as £429 for the base 16GB model, £499 for the 32GB and £599 for the 64GB version. If you want the 3G enabled iPad, you’ll need slightly deeper pockets with the 16GB fetching £529, £599 for the 32GB and an eye watering £699 for the top of the range 64GB model. Whilst the Wi-Fi only models don’t break the bank too much (they are still slightly higher than customers are paying in the US), the 3G pricing is quite hard to swallow when you factor in the monthly cost for a data plan from your chosen network (O2, Orange and Vodafone are all set to offer iPad data tariffs).

In addition to the flurry of iPad announcements, Apple CEO Steve Jobs also chipped in with some interesting news regarding upcoming features. Responding to an Email from an unnamed member of the public asking “Why no iPad printing? What gives?”, Jobs replied with some Yoda-like wisdom simply stating “It will come”. The ability to print web pages, documents and notes could prove a valuable addition to the iPad’s already rich feature set.

What do you make of the UK pricing for the Apple iPad? Will you be taking the plunge come the end of May? Or will you hold off until the inevitable slew of Android powered tablets or potentially even an HP/ Palm WebOS tablet hit the shelves? Answers on a postcard (on second though, the comments section will do) and keep your eyes on the blog for all the big tablet news.

What, i hear you ask, is Quantam Physics going to allow my phone to do? Run on nuclear power? Transport me to another dimension? Shrink the family pet to a mere fraction of it’s original size? Well, in a word no, it isn’t anything quite as cool as those, but, it is something we feel could become an integral part of everyday Smartphone use. What the Yorkshire based company have come up with, is a technology that will not only allow a touchscreen to register the touch from your digit, but also how much pressure you are applying at any given time.

What this will allow a phone to do is to interpret how much pressure is being applied into varying responses, i.e. for instance if you were scrolling a page and wanted to scroll faster, you could apply more pressure on the screen. There are many applications for this that spring to mind although probably the most obvious of which will be the inclusion of this technology into gaming.

The Yorkshire company has since sold the rights to this technology to manufacturing giants, Samsung and Japanese Touchscreen manufacturer Nissha; so expect to see this technology making it’s debut in mobile touchscreen application in the not so distant future.

With no official specs on the table for the Apple tablet (likely to be called the iSlate), it’s hard to pinpoint exactly who the product is aimed at. The obvious target market is netbook users. An ultra portable, user friendly touchscreen device sporting Mac OS or Windows could conceivably replace a netbook. Couple this with Apple’s stunning design and unrivaled ability at generating market interest and the tablet could be a runaway success. However, the lack of a physical keyboard could deter some whilst others may wish to avoid the early adoptor phase to see how third party support develops.

Along with netbooks, the tablet could also have the high end smartphone fixed firmly in its sights as it looks to enter the market this year. Whilst very few cold hard facts are known about the HP tablet or proposed iSlate, one company who have laid their cards on the table are DigitalRise, a little known company specialising in home entertainment solutions. Debuting their X9 tablet at CES earlier in the month, DigitalRise confirmed the device will feature built in 3G connectivity and Wi-Fi, GPS and a webcam along with a rather tasty 10.2 inch multi-touch touchscreen display. In terms of size, the X9 is more than double even the largest smartphone (currently the 4.3 inch HTC HD2) and is unlikely to handle voice calls but a superior web browsing experience and powerful (relatively speaking) Intel Atom processor could put the smartphone under some serious pressure.

Will Apple risk cannibalising their crowning glory, the iPhone, in an attempt to coax users on to the tablet or do they see the iSlate as the perfect companion to the iPhone capable of more heavy duty computing? Obviously the emergence of tablets won’t have people abandoning their smartphones in favour of the device but will tablets offer enough to encourage us to carry both? Only time will tell.

Normally, i detest these Star-Trek wannabe devices because frankly, excluding the rare few, they’re just isn’t any conceivable way that a piece of plastic hanging from your ear could be considered cool or fashionable, that was until now.

This is the Jabra Stone and it is said to break the mould of the traditional headset. I think we can all agree, when docked, it is an incredibly sleek and stylish looking thing isn’t it? The unit looks to be an almost seamless, polished and perfectly formed pebble; which in actual fact was what Jabra sent it’s customers as a marketing stunt.

As far as specs go, you can expect 8 hours of talk time, thanks to the re-charging on-the-go capabilities of the Dock, as well as up to 12 days on standby. It also has something built in known as Noise Blackout Extreme Technology which doesn’t just sound cool, it apparently completely eliminates background noise. Apparently there is also what Jabra describe as a “nearly invisible” touch-controlled volume pad.

Expect to pay around the £99 mark for this bit of kit, which may sound expensive, but is worth it in our opinion.

Mobile Wi-Fi on the 3 network works in the same way as traditional mobile broadband modems. The included sim sits inside the Mobile Wi-Fi device and gives you a connection of up to 3.6 Mbps. The difference is that rather than connecting via a USB cable, you connect wirelessly via a Wi-Fi connection. The Mobile Wi-Fi device can support multiple connections at once so is perfect when shared between students or for a start up business. Best of all, as all you need s a Wi-Fi enabled device to connect and get online, you don’t have to just use a Laptop, you can use anything from an iPod Touch to your mobile phone and even a Sony PSP.

The Mobile Wi-Fi device from three is available on a 1 month rolling contract so you don’t have to worry about signing your life away. £69.99 gets you the device, 5GB of data a month and you’re good to go. The Mobile Wi-Fi modem is not only great when you’re out and about but also doubles as a wireless router when you’re at home. Let’s say you’re upstairs and your friend is downstairs and you want to watch a movie he’s got stored on his laptop. Simply connect to his laptop using the Mobile Wi-Fi device as a router and share pictures, music, movies – whatever you want! In stock now at Mobiles.co.uk, click here to check it out!

In the run up to the announcement, a specifically arranged webcast was aired entitled “put your ears in control”. It is this that proved to be the most telling insight into Sony Ericsson’s plans as they unveil to the world, drum roll…. a new pair of headphones. Yes, when Sony Ericsson said they were going to change the way we listen to music, we didn’t think they meant it so literally. The new MH907 headphones literally put your ears in control as they offer motion activated controls. Pop both the buds into your ears and the music starts. Pull a headphone out and your music will pause. Simple, yet effective. These controls are mirrored when using the headphones for handsfree calling. Plug ‘em in to answer a call and take one out to end it. Okay so it didn’t exactly deliver the life changing event promised, but still it’s good to see someone putting a new twist on an old product. Check out the video below to see a demonstration in eye-wateringly cute cartoon format.

And, as pointless as it seems on first encounter, after watching the promo video, we actually quite like the idea, the only slight problem we have with it; it’s American, and whether or not the UK is to be blessed with such an app is yet to be seen . (It can’t be long before other car manufacturers do something similar surely?)

The new app allows the owner to schedule services, access trouble shooting guides and place tow requests for those times the car isn’t, well… at its best . The application automatically submits the location and car details for you, so you spend less time having to spell out every detail of your car two or three times because the operator on the other end can’t hear a word over the traffic belting past, beeping their horns and shouting obscenities.

As the video shows, the user can enter all of the details of the car, which will be then submitted to the company, with even the ability to give the car a nickname, quite what the relevance of the cars nickname is to the mechanic we don’t know, but we’re pretty sure its a feature female MINI owners will love.

Whether or not this service works well or even at all, we don’t know, what we do know is, for those of you sitting with a Blackberry Curve or Bold in your pocket, you need not feel left out as the application would be available for you too, if they ever bring it to the UK.

Sony E

But what we do have is some features of the RIM watch, so how does it stack up against the LG? well, lets find out…

Firstly, the RIM watch is not going to be a standalone device, it is a bluetooth paired accessory to accompany the Blackberry phones, but hang on, that doesn’t mean you should rule it out completely, because not only is it likely to mean a significantly lower price tag, it also means that it is far less likely to suffer from software bugs and other issues that may arise when trying to include all of the features of a phone into a watch that isn’t the size of that worn by Flavor Flav.

In addition to this Blackberry has promised to build in what is being called a “solid selection of features.” Quite what this means, we don’t know. But from the rumours and what RIM have released, we can assume that it includes the ability to check messages (we assume that will include text messages, e-mail and Blackberry Messenger,) as well as displaying Facebook and Twitter posts.

Keep watching the blog for photos and updates about price and the release date.