As we all eagerly await Apple’s event this Wednesday to find out just exactly what products, upgrades, deals and revolutionary new features are to be unleashed on the world, it’s fitting to take a quick breather and reflect on the past.  Things continue to move fast, and you may have missed a few of the highlights from the team last week.    There was the compelling story of a man who was able to use his iPhone to survive after the tragic earthquake in Haiti.  There have been continued efforts to reach out and assist others, including developers who have directed proceeds of their application sales to help those impacted by those very events in Haiti.

In case you missed it, here’s a brief look at just a few more highlights from the team.

One of the more entertaining recent product unboxings came with a little extra Kung-Fu grip action:

Michael shared a few gaming resolutions for the new year, in addition to covering the very latest in the gaming industry.  Maybe you’d like to get some Grand Theft Auto on with your iPhone ?  Just be sure it’s not on a first-generation iPod Touch.

Maybe you missed some of the team’s Gear Chats.   There was lively discussion about the perpetual lateness of Windows releases, as well as the ladies of Gear Diary taking time  share their thoughts and review the Skin MD Natural Shielding lotion.   Didn’t catch either of those write-ups?  Hmm…perhaps you’re drowning in subscriptions (to the tune of $600 per month if you are like many people these days).  Those fees and monthly charges for your phone, data plans, eBooks, movie rentals, cable, etc. really add up.  At least Verizon took 10 phones off their  crazy-expensive $350 ETF list.

Oh, but there were disappointments.   The rumored DROID firmware update to Android 2.1 turned out to be delayed? a fairy tale, with both Motorola and Verizon denying the update was ever scheduled for January 22nd.  The NY Times is going to charge frequent visitors.  And Conan’s gone

It’s fully expected that Apple will finally show everyone a new device this week that will change the game for a variety of gadgets.  It may likely be a product that will mix computing, internet browsing, gaming and, possibly, be the eReader to rule them all.  It may not be the end-all-be-all everyone hopes for, but it will be an important announcement for the Apple product lineup.    How will the iPad/iTablet/iSlate/iWantOne impact the already declining brick-and-mortar bookstore?    How will it impact the eBook reader and content pricing ecosystem?   Will it even change the nature of publishing?  As for the competition, will they be able to offer real alternatives to the iEverything environment that Jobs has created?  Regardless of all expectations, one thing is for sure:  all eyes are on Apple this Wednesday as they possible reinvent another product market.

But not everything in Appleland is wonderful.  There are still many concerns about their App Store’s process.   There are rants from even the most faithful.  There are even a few things that Apple can learn from other platforms.  But don’t let Apple take all the focus.   Microsoft may have some surprises left for us.  There’s still debate as to whether Ballmer and company will prove critics wrong and give the mobile community a wider glimpse  of their (hopefully on-track for this year) Windows Mobile7 — or just Seven — operating system in Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress.  Otherwise, it may be a long year for team Redmond as Google’s Android and Apple continue to grow and take even more market share. Even as Google becomes more of a threat to all mobile platforms, Apple and Microsoft look like they may make strange bedfellows possible alliances this year.

Then there is online video.   YouTube announced that they’ll be hitting the video rental scene.  Hulu and Boxee look to  start charging for their content.  Who’s gonna be the leader in online video content?  What will it cost?  Will consumers be willing to pay for this content when they’re already cutting as many unnecessary costs as possible just to make ends meet in today’s economy?  There are still a few things for free, though.  One such freebie came in the form of  Nokia’s announcement that their Ovi Maps Navigation feature will be included with many of their Symbian phones (likely to put them on-par with, and perhaps even a bit ahead, of Google’s own free navigation software making a home on Android handsets).  Since we jumped over to navigation, don’t forget to check out David’s excellent write-up on the 10 for 2010 in the Auto Industry.  We gotta have a place for all this wonderful tech integration, and the auto looks to be your next convergence “hub.”

photo credit: fensterbme

One thing to keep an eye on — well, ok, maybe just your ears on for now — is the new Gear Diary podcast feature.  Dan and Larry launched a lively discussion on Android, Tablet computing and their thoughts on Google’s Nexus One.  Stay tuned for many more of their podcasts.  If you wanna take it with you, they’ve got it all set up for you so you can use iTunes , MediaFly or your own favorite app to access the content from your mobile device.

That’s it for this week.  Beginning next week we’ll be moving the roundup to Friday’s so you can relax and catch up a bit before taking off to enjoy your weekend.