Anyone with an eye to the tablet market cannot help but notice how inundated the landscape has become over the last few months. It seems that virtually every week another device is released by Samsung, Motorola, HTC, or RIM. The market, which is relatively small to begin with, is being stretched thin by the increasingly vigorous competition from companies all vying for a thick chunk of the market.

However, analysts seem confident that the tablet that started it all, the Apple iPad, can expect to comfortable hold sway over the competition for the next decade. Steve Jobs’ brainchild has captured the public’s imagination like no other tablet has been able to thus far, and is predicted to retain a whopping 85% market share by the end of the year. By the end of 2020, the iPad will allegedly still control 60% of the then-increased tablet customer base.

According to Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham, the mitigating factor that makes a tablet such a desirable device is its apps. And no tablet currently on the market can measure up to iPad in terms of the sheer number of available apps. Most app collections sported by competing tablets number in the hundreds, compared with the more than 100,000 apps boasted by the iPad. Until another manufacturer can find a way to come up with something comparable, the general tablet market will remain footnotes to Apple’s bestselling book.

This year marked the beginning of 8th generation video game consoles. The first to be released was the Nintendo 3DS on February 26th which will probably meet its Sony counterpart, the Playstation Vita, towards the end of 2011. Nintendo has been on the roll and also announced the Wii U at E3 2011 which will be the first eight generation home video game console. Sony will not be releasing a new home system as soon, due to the ten year life cycle given to the Playstation 3.

It’s hard to believe that video games have come so far and some can’t seem to fathom their continuation. Gamers worldwide however still await the newest games, consoles, and technology with each coming generation regardless of the sometimes dizzying price tags. While most 7th generation consoles come with wireless capabilities to allow internet connection enabling new realms of game play, new consoles are still being developed with even better abilities.

So what exactly is new about the eight generation consoles coming our way? Let’s start with the Nintendo 3DS. The latest version of this popular line of portable game console, it projects stereoscopic three-dimensional effects without the use of additional accessories. It is backward compatible with the Nintendo DS series software and is available in Japan, Europe, North American, and Australia. Nintendo has been experimenting with 3D technology for almost three decades but this is the first 3D console that has experienced success.

The Wii U on the other hand is under much speculation since it will be the first home console released in 2012. It will be Nintendo’s sixth home console and features 1080p HD graphics. The system comes with several impressive features including a controller with an embedded touch-screen. With the Wii user being mostly casual video game players, Nintendo is hoping to lure those hardcore gamers back in with the Wii U by offering a wider range of games including a new Super Smash Bros. Game. Shareholders are still pretty skeptical about Nintendo’s goals for the new console and after the unveiling at E3 shares took a ten percent fall. However, perhaps the new features and killer resolution will attract the core gamer population and reel a loyal amount of customers in.

While some people will always be partial to solid novels with real pages to turn, e-books are becoming more and more popular. Those of us who commute on trains and buses have surely spotted a growing number of the sleek, flat screen devices poking out of backpacks and in the hands of fellow travelers.

Skeptical about how many people really do use e-books? Amazon first released the Kindle in the United States in 2007 and by Q2 of 2010, e-book sales had outnumbered sales of hardcover books on Amazon.com. In May of this year Amazon announced that its e-book sales had actually exceeded all of its printed book sales. This is quite the feat since most of us are aware that millions of college students, professors, teachers constantly contribute to Amazon’s print sales.

Since the release of the Kindle, other e-book readers have hit the market from companies such as Apple, Sony, and Google. Notorious book seller Barnes and Noble also released their own device in 2009 called the Nook. Ranging in prices and capabilities, the array of e-books available today are what set some consumers apart from one another.

Apple, which released the iPad that has an e-book app called iBook, has sold millions of the device since its launch because of the many other features offered as well. Amazon has released several versions of the Kindle, the two most recent being Kindle DX International Edition (offered worldwide) and the third generation Kindle, available in 3G+Wi-Fi and solely Wi- Fi versions. Barnes and Noble’s Nook has also gone through several alterations since its launch, now offering color and touch screen which has become the norm for today’s consumers. Kobo Inc. has also updated its Kobo e-reader which now includes Wi-Fi.

E-book producers seem to have figured what customers like and need since the ones available today share some large similarities. They tend to offer the same services so perhaps e- book aesthetics are simply the deciding factor for many as well as the brand name, usually associated with a certain idea of quality. Regardless, book sellers and long time gadget developers alike are dueling to see where customer loyalties really lay.

The demand for touch screen apps and games is ever increasing, with more and more people using touch screen platforms such as iPhones and iPads to do anything from playing games, reading books or checking their bank balance. Apple’s slogan “There’s an app for that” has found its way into people’s everyday vernacular, and with Apple announcing to have hit the one billion app download mark, it’s little wonder why. But what are the best iphone apps today in 2011? Time Magazine asked themselves the same question, creating siz different categories of app and listing the top apps for each category on their website. Here are the winners of each section-

1. In the games category, the best iPhone app of 2011 went to Finish designed “Angry Birds”. The concept of hurling wingless birds towards a horde of egg stealing pigs may seem like a bizarre one, but this doesn’t stand in the way of it being highly addictive, and a massive hit amongst Apple’s touch screen users, with downloads in excess of 12 million.

2. The “on the go” category voted the app from meta search website kayak.com as their number one. Perfect for travellers, the kayak app allows you to search for hotels, flights and airport information and car rental. This is one of the best free apps for iPhone, but for $1.99, can be updated to a pro version, allowing you to book business class tickets.

3. The lifestyle category chose Amazon’s app as its 2011 number one. Users are able to instantly connect to their online Amazon accounts, and shop for whatever they like on their iPhone. The app also allows users to scan any barcode to search for comparison prices and can even take photos of a product you see whilst out and about, which you can then input and search for online. This innovative app is also free.

4. Top of the pile in the Photography and Music category is Music app “Mog”. Free to download, and with a $9.99 per month subscription, users can stream an enormous music library straight onto their iPhone, and for times when internet connectivity is unavailable, can downloads tracks in advance and listen when offline. iPhone 4 users can also fiddle with other apps whilst playing music from Mog in the background.

5. Netflix was the winner of the Entertainment category. Following its enormous success as an iPad app, Netflix has now moved onto iPhone. Monthly subscriptions, starting at $7.99 per month, allow users to stream movies anywhere they can receive a WiFi or 3G connection. However, users have complained that the app doesn’t allow them to update their DVD-by-mail queue. A resolution to this problem is expected with the next update of the Netflix app.

6. Unsurprisingly, Facebook came top of the Social category. The free Facebook app allows you to continue to pursue social networking on your Smartphone. Between October 2010 and January 2011, 150 million Facebook users used a Smartphone to update their status, almost a third of the overall users.

Amrisa Bhagwandin,

The words “digital media” encompass a variety of things today. It is a prevalent part of our lives especially for those of us who live in big metropolitan areas. Cell phones and computers are two of the most commonly used devices on earth that fall under the category of digital media. Television and internet are also two forms of communication that we integrate strongly into our daily lives.

Video games and their respective consoles play a major role in the digital media market and are constantly expanding to do more for consumers while maintaining the desired fun factor that comes with game play. Video game consoles such as Microsoft and Sony have merged with interactive media to improve and enhance the experience of gamers. This can be seen with the previous releases of devices such as the Xbox Kinect and Sony Move which allow players to utilize voice control and sensor movement during game play. Of course none of this would be made possible without the internet to pull it all together whether wireless or not.

Clearly, when elements that fall under digital media blend together, new products and services are created to help us live the lives we want to. Technological advances make everyday activities even simpler and media services end up playing a larger part in our lives. Whether it is digital music, artwork, or news, we are taking part in the world of digital media by creating or using it.