I guess you could say that it’s the end of an era. Apple just issued a press release saying that this next MacWorld in January will be the last, and sadly Steve Jobs won’t be there. Instead, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will be heading it up. It marks an end to the daily conference that has launched some of the most important pieces of consumer tech in recent years.

Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, and trade shows have become a very small part of how Apple reaches its customer base. Also, the increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores factor into it as well. More than 3.5 million people visit them every week. Plus the Apple.com website lets Apple reach more than a hundred million customers around the world.

These days it’s hard for Ninja’s. First there’s extra security everywhere. Second, there are so many weapon choices available. How do you decide? Do you go with Wolverine claws? Or bust someone’s face with an umbrella? There’s always Dark Knight throwing knives.

Here’s another more practical option for the modern ninja. It’s a blowgun that doubles as a 3.5-inch knife. You can get yours, along with a “go straight to jail” card, for just $20. It pays for itself after your first kill.

The Huawei U121 is a brand new entry-level handset from Huawei Technologies. It features some high-quality materials like stainless steel casing. Despite being entry level, the phone comes with a 1.3MP camera that supports video calls, an integrated FM radio, microSD memory card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Audio and video playback, miniUSB port and 3G connectivity. The Huawei U121 is currently only available only in Russia.

The iPhone is one of the most desired smartphones on the planet and is at the top of the sales charts for all phones in the US. The latest phone to take aim at the iPhone has been announced by Nokia. As you expect the phone has a touchscreen and a few features that iPhone owners will wish they had.

The touchscreen is 3.5-inches and offers a 16:9 aspect ratio. Under the touchscreen is a slide out QWERTY keyboard for typing email and text messages on the go. The N97 has 32GB of onboard memory and a microSD card slot.

The name is a mouthful, but this tool is a long overdue upgrade to the traditional hammer. Without a single swing, it will drive up to 3.5-inch nails with just the pull of a trigger. It’s powered by a 12-volt Lithium-Ion battery and works great in tight spaces.

The best part of course is that it’s a tool for the extremely lazy. Much like me, it nails at 2000 impacts/minute. Just ask the ladies. It also sports a retractable nail sleeve and magnetic head that makes it easy to operate one-handed.

One gift at the top of many wish lists each holiday season is a new mobile phone. There are all sorts of interesting mobile phones this holiday season ranging from smartphones to music phones and all sorts of devices in between.

Nokia announced today that its 5800 XpressMusic phone is now shipping globally. We first talked about the 5800 XpressMusic in October. The handset has a touchscreen that is 3.2-inches wide. Other features include 8GB of storage, support for all main music formats and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

When it comes to gaming, headphones are often the choice for gamers for many reasons. One being that no one complains about the constant explosions and another is that many gamers like the sound you get form headphones. The catch is that many gamers run the headphones at volume levels too high and can be causing hearing damage.

Able Planet has announced a new set of gaming headphones called the PS500MM that promises to help gamers save their hearing by integrating LINX AUDIO technology to allow gamers to use lower volume levels and still get full and rich sound.

This is what an iPod Touch Nano might look like should Apple release one. It’s designed by Isamu Sanada and the iPod Touch Nano features a 2.8-inch touchscreen display, 3.5mm headphone jack, dual dock connectors, and would come in a variety of colorful cases. Probably the coolest thing about the design is the removable game controller for when the accelerometer and touchscreen aren’t enough. Maybe it’s just me, but this is probably the one feature that the iPod Touch could use in the real world. Pretty sweet design.

The i-Station Rotate from Logic3 is the latest offering in the i-Station line. It makes sure that your iPod or iPhone is always oriented in the right direction, which I’m sure will help you avoid some neck problems while watching videos. The i-Station Rotate has a built-in dock rotating mechanism that turns your device horizontal or vertical depending on your whims, when you still need it to be connected to the dock.

It’s pretty practical and compact, which is good for taking the i-Station Rotate with you on the road etc. It features a Video Out function, TDMA noise suppresion, 3.5mm Stereo line-in socket, a remote control and a carrying case. You can get the i-Station Rotate in January of next year for $129.99.

If you’ve been drooling over the Nokia E71 but want something a bit more affordable, here’s the recently released E63. It looks like the E71 and also has most of the business functionality. Some specs include: Full QWERTY keyboard, Touch sensitive Navi wheel, 3.5mm audio jack, 2.36″ 16 million colors QVGA display, 110MB internal memory, microSD memory card slot, Quad-band GSM and dual-band UMTS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and a 2 megapixel camera. The price is $250. No GPS, but for that price you get plenty of other great features.

External storage can get expensive, but for keeping data safe, an external storage system is important. You can buy your own external hard drive ready to use form places like Seagate, or you can roll your own and save some cash.

StarTech has announced a new storage enclosure for those looking to build their own external hard drive. The enclosure accepts 3.5-inch SATA I or SATA II drives and connects to the PC via USB. The enclosure is physically small to make it easier to fit on a desk.

Best Buy isn’t content to let Target get away with unique gift cards this holiday season. That’s why their gift cards for the holidays will double as speakers with a 3.5mm hookup. This way you can rock out while contemplating what to buy with your card.

Is it gimmicky? Sure. Will suckers fall for it? Enough will bite to make them happy they thought of it. And if it takes batteries like Target’s new gift card/camera, they might really make out great. The question is, how muc does it cost them to produce these cards? Bottom line, even though it’s gimmicky, it beats a wool shirt from grandma. Check out a cheesy video below.

Every time I look up it seems like someone else is introducing a new set of earphones. I guess considering that the quality on most MP3 player or music phone earphones are seriously lacking it’s no real surprise at the wealth of aftermarket options.

The latest aftermarket offering is from a company based in Switzerland called Stafa. The earphones are the Audeo earphones and they claim to be some of the most comfortable earphones on the market. The manufacturer promises that the earphones can be worn for hours without getting uncomfortable.

Those who have been trying to make their desks look like Spocks science station will like this one. Plus you’re getting three gadgets in one; a speaker, a 4-port USB hub and a digital alarm clock with 12 or 24 hour mode.

Some other functions include a Loudspeaker, Blue Color Back Light, Speaker On/Off Switch and Volume Control, Built-in Audio Jack to connect to PC, MP3/MP4, iPod/iPhone or other audio device with 3.5mm audio jack. It uses 4 AAA Batteries. The only thing missing is Spock’s “Disk” wafers to load into …

Just about everyone has an iPod or music phone today. One thing that is common among the different MP3 players and music phones on the market is that most of them don’t have very good headphones. The quality of the music from the player could be improved by simply changing the earphones for many users.

Memorex has introduced a new line of in-ear headphones called the EB series. The line includes the EB100, EB200, and EB300. All three of the models have a 3.9-foot long cord and a 3.5mm gold-plated plug.