2006 was indeed a banner year for portable related consumer electronics. Apple released a new generation of iPods, Microsoft debuted a direct competitor to the iPod in the Zune and every other major MP3 player manufacturer was showcasing unique products as well. Portable DVD players continued to be popular and kids electronics became more creative as alternatives to expensive electronics for your children. For some ideas on the best portable electronics in 2006, read on.
1. Apple iPod
The fifth generation of the Apple iPod proves once again why Apple is at the top of the MP3 player heap. It is available in a 30GB model for $249 and an 80GB model, which holds up to 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video, for $349. It offers gapless music playback and new search and scroll functions for more quickly finding music selections. It can also support playback of popular video games downloaded from the iTunes Store for a fee. Other features of the new iPod 5G (video) include up a longer battery life, body color choices of black or white, a 2.5-inch color and the ability to display photos.
A wide range of optical electronic devices, from laser disk players to traffic lights, may be improved in the future thanks to a small piece of semiconductor, about the size of a button, coated with aluminum, gallium, and arsenic (AlGaAs).
The 1-centimeter square coating, just 3 micrometers thick, is the first standard for the chemical composition of thin-film semiconductor alloys issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2841 was requested by the compound semiconductor industry to help measure and control thin film composition as a basis for optimizing material and device properties. The SRM can be used to calibrate equipment for making or analyzing these materials. Buyers are expected to include companies that grow or characterize thin films or use them to make devices, as well as government and university laboratories.
AlGaAs is used as a barrier material to increase conductivity in high-speed circuits for wireless communication; semiconductor lasers for optical disk drives, bar code scanning, xerography, and laser surgery; and light-emitting diodes for remote controls, traffic lights, and medical instruments. The NIST standard is expected to increase the accuracy of chemical characterization of AlGaAs films by an order of magnitude over the current state of the art. Improved accuracy will reduce wasteful duplication of reference wafers, increase the free exchange of thin-film materials between vendors and their customers, and ultimately improve the accuracy of data on relationships between material composition and properties.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012184139.htm
