Word from Apple is out -- so get your credit cards ready. The iPad will be launching on Saturday April 3rd (and on the shelves, er... display tables at Apple retail stores), but you'll be able to plunk down cold, hard cash for it in just a week. Pre-orders will begin on March 12th for the US version (non-3G) for that April street date, with the 3G version coming in late April along with iPads for eager buyers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Says our man Steve Jobs: "We're excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before." Remember, it's magic.

Advances in solar power aren't always the most immediately exciting sort of developments (a more efficient solar panel still looks like a solar panel), but this new solar power system developed at the University of Michigan certainly won't have any trouble turning a few heads. Not only is it 1,000 times smaller than any comparable commercial counterpart (just 9 cubic millimeters), but its processor, solar cells, and battery are all self-contained, and the researchers say it would be be able to operate "nearly perpetually" if not for the battery eventually giving out after "many years." What's more, they say the system could also be adapted to be powered by movement or heat instead of light, which means that it could eventually power medical implants in addition to a whole range of other devices. No word on when that might happen, but the inventors are already busily working to commercialize the device.

[source: engadget]

Piezoelectrics are nothing new -- though most applications, they've proven to be far more theoretically useful than practical. Still, the technology is starting to move in a direction that could prove more applicable to everyday situations -- and a new piezo material recently developed could really get the ball moving. Called PZT, it's made of nano-sized fibers of lead zirconate titanate, which are applied to thin (and we mean thin) ribbons of flexible silicone rubber. The material is super efficient, and has the ability to convert mechanical energy into electricity at a rate of about 80 percent, and, because it's made of flexible rubber, it would be well-suited to converting electricity from the energy of body movements, meaning all sorts of wearable fun may be imminent.

[source: Physorg via Engadget]

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If you're of the persuasion that likes to get their DTS surround sound from a pair of headphones, the kids at Hanwha Japan have just the thing for you. The X-Tube is a USB dongle that contains a vacuum tube-shaped headphone jack that glows blue when in use. When combined with its Windows-only software and compatible headgear (both included) this bad boy promises DTS Surround Sensation (DTS' surround sound effect from 2 speakers), and looks really cool to boot. See for yourself after the break. On sale now in Japan for $45.

[source: engadget]