Gadgets and Celebs: Two (Black Eyed) Peas in a Pod

Just a short time ago, a new music video for the song ‘The Time (Dirty Bit)’ by the Black Eyed Peas was posted on Will.I.Am’s website, Dipdive . Within that video, if you can look past all the dancing, crazy effects and Fergie, is a device called the BlackBerry PlayBook .

You know, RIM’s upcoming tablet device.

While Will.I.Am might actually be an avid BlackBerry user, this still is another example of tech companies working closely with celebrities in mediums other than television ads and magazine spreads to get their new gadgets in the minds of the consumers before they launch.

Another example?

Microsoft just launched their latest and greatest in the world of mobile software, Windows Phone 7. To celebrate and market the launch, Redmond hired Maroon 5  and Katy Perry to play free shows at two famous venues in two world class cities, San Francisco and New York. Oh, and Minka Kelly and Rob Drydek were also in attendance. (They’ve also recently hired Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus and Sylvie Van Der Vaart to promote the Kinect .)

That’s a pretty star studded affair for new mobile software and you know what the funny thing was? It wasn’t labeled outrageous or outlandish. It was, well, normal. Normal for consumers and normal for a company competing in today’s mobile software market, one that has iOS, Android, webOS,  Symbian (not for long), BlackBerry and others fighting for the attention of not only teenagers, not only folks in the United States, but millions of people around the world.

And what better way to bring attention to your product then having it be the centerpiece of a free concert featuring some of the world’s biggest acts?

Or getting it placed inside a music video and in the hands of one of the most popular people on Earth.

Comparing the Two Fastest Selling Gadgets of All Time

As 2010 draws to a close, we can reflect on another fantastic year for gadgets.

Technology has advanced to a point where we can now watch 3D programming in our living rooms, computers have reduced in size, increased in power and can now be placed on our laps. We are even able to control a Parrot A.R. Drone with our smartphone.

This years two fastest selling gadgets, the Apple iPad and Microsoft’s Kinect, also happen to be the two fastest selling gadgets of all time.

With that in mind, we immediately set to work creating an infographic that could represent the sales of both the Kinect and iPad, focusing specifically on how many units were sold and how much money they made for both Microsoft and Apple.

Apple Store taking $101 off MacBook Air and Pro tomorrow, $41 off iPad

Apple has posted its Black Friday deals for the US, with the largest discounts coming on its Mac line, with $101 off the MacBook Air and iMac.

The iPad is $41 off (so you can get the 16GB WiFi version for $458 before tax), the pretty expensive to start with 2TB Time Capsule is $51 off (so $448), and the 1TB version and the iPod Touch are $21 off – everything else is either $5 or $11 off.

We’d say by far the best deal is the $101 off the new MacBook Airs, as they are Apple’s newest gadget and we’d expect a fair number of them to sell at that price. The iPad at $41 off isn’t that bad either, especially as many people are probably buying them as gifts at this point in the year, as they are just about the #1 “want” tech item of the season.

Also, as 9to5 Mac reports , international Apple Stores are currently down right now, which we have confirmed.