Archives for October, 2009

Barnes & Noble Nook

First the Nook (pictured), now the MediaBook?

(Credit:
Barnes & Noble)

The question is, who isn’t getting in on the e-book reader action these days? Less than two weeks after we met Barnes & Nobles’ Nook and just a few days after hearing of tire maker Bridgestone’s plans for a …

Sphere: Related Content

leaked HTC doc
(Credit:

Engadget
)

New leaked documents suggest all the Droid Eris grumblings we’ve heard were true: it should launch November 6, and it will supposedly run $99 after rebate. That’s pretty cheap considering it matches the specs of the $180 Hero.

What we’ve heard about the HTC Eris …

Sphere: Related Content

Saleswoman with iPhone

A saleswoman introduces Apple's iPhone to customers in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province on Saturday.

(Credit:
Zheng Duo/ColorChinaPhoto)

It could be the Year of the iPhone in China, as Apple officially started selling its iconic smartphone in the world’s largest mobile market Friday …

Originally posted at News - Apple

Sphere: Related Content

Too busy cobbling together your Balloon Boy Halloween costume to keep up with Crave this week? Fear not! The weekly roundup has arrived.

• Nintendo supersized its gaming handheld. Here, all your DSi LL questions answered.


Creeper2

We admit it, we're scared.

(Credit:
Trossen Robotics)

• We deconstructed the Droid.

Sphere: Related Content

flexible e-reader
(Credit:
Bridgestone)

When not making tires, Bridgestone is working on e-book readers so flexible they’d probably survive being driven over. They’ve even got a prototype ready for testing, but no plans to commercialize the slender and bendy device at this point.

The reader (press release in Japanese) is …

Sphere: Related Content


(Credit:
Audio-Technica)

Last year, we reviewed the Audio-Technica QuietPoint ATH-ANC7 noise-canceling headphones, and editor Jasmine France thought they were a good value, offering decent, but not great, sound for the money. Well, when we heard that Audio-Technica was releasing a new, improved version of these headphones with a “b” tacked …

Sphere: Related Content

You probably haven’t heard of Envizen, but it’s one of several off-brand companies putting out new digital portable TVs to replace all the obsolete analog units that were toted to sporting …

Sphere: Related Content

If you’re a fan of comic books, you should also be a fan of the iPhone. Apple’s smartphone is home to several neat comic-book apps designed specifically for those who want to enjoy harrowing stories of their favorite heroes in the Digital Age.

I’ve sifted through the many apps related to comic books and found a handful that you’ll want to try out. Whether you’re a DC Comics fan or you’re partial to Marvel, I think you’ll like what you find in these apps.

Get your comic on

Clickwheel Comic Reader if you plan to read comic books on your iPhone, the Clickwheel Comic Reader will be able to satisfy that desire.

When you start using Clickwheel Comic Reader, you’ll be able to sift through comic books and find one you want to read. The app doesn’t have many of the classics like those you would find from an app like Comics or iVerse Comics (see below), but it does have some comic books you might care about. Either way, the app displays all your favorite content in full color on your iPhone. And since it’s free, it’s probably worth trying out if you don’t mind reading a relatively small collection of books.

Clickwheel

If you want to read some comic books, Clickwheel might be your choice.

(Credit:
Clickwheel)

Comic Envi If you’re more into comic strips than comic books, we have you covered too.

With the help of Comic Envi, you can check out some of your favorite comic strips. You can check out old, well-known comic strips, Web-only offerings, and more. You have the option of viewing them in a slideshow or by moving them with your fingers. You can also check out the daily updated strips or some of the titles in the archive. It’s a neat utility, but beware that you will need to pay 99 cents to get it.

Comic Envi

Check out Comic Strips with the help of Comic Envi.

(Credit:
Comic Envi)

Originally posted at Webware

Sphere: Related Content

I am not concerned about the future, only because I am told that humans will soon be in the clutch and thrall of robots and perfect harmony will be enjoyed by all. However, I must register the initial frisson of disturbia I experienced on reading a report from the Boston Globe magazine that suggests the iPhone may be a wise toy for 3-year-olds.

No, this is not some mocking suggestion that those who use an iPhone do, indeed, have the minds of children less than 4. It is, rather, a fascinating analysis of what happens when you just hand a 3-year-old an iPhone with the initial aim of keeping the little rodent in your life quiet.

It seems the iPhone’s happy, colorful design is not only a great attraction for a little child’s imagination, but the keyboard tends to suit tinier fingers rather better than larger ones.

Indeed, there is a considerable possibility that the iPhone might just help in children’s education, something app developers have not been slow to realize. The Globe tells us that 60 percent of the apps in the education section of the iTunes store target extremely little people.

Now I know there will be those who worry that if you give a little one an iPhone they will be zapped with gamma rays and all sorts of deleterious electronic waves that will seep into their brains and be an enormous health risk.

One might heed the words of Dariusz Leszczysnki, a researcher for the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland, who told a Senate subcommittee: “In my opinion the current safety standards are not sufficiently supported because of the very limited research on human volunteers, children, and on the effects of long-term exposures in humans.”

But most of the things parents give children to keep them quiet carry a certain risk to health: plastic toys that kids lick, bite, and try to swallow with the result that all sorts of paint and gunk might enter their bodies; candy that children lick, bite, and try to swallow with the result that they then put on weight; and let’s not even start with the quality of teenage babysitting in the world.

Originally posted at Technically Incorrect

Sphere: Related Content

Palm Pixi clears FCC

Besides a slew of new LG phones, the biggest news out of the Federal Communications this week is the approval of the Palm Pixi. In light of its November 15 release date, the Pixi’s appearance here is not surprising. We also spied the Google Android-equipped LG GW620.

Because the …

Originally posted at Dialed In Podcast

Sphere: Related Content

Nintendo DSi XL size comparison with standard DSi

The DSi XL's larger screens make it significantly bigger than the existing DSi.

(Credit:
Nintendo Japan)

Nintendo recently announced a new DSi model for the Japanese market. How does it differ from the current DSi, and when can gamers in other parts of the world expect to be …

Sphere: Related Content

What looks to be the LG VX8575 Chocolate Touch

What looks to be the LG VX8575 Chocolate Touch.

(Credit:

PhoneArena
)

If the rumors are true, we might finally be seeing the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 for Verizon as soon as next week. Leaked sources have informed Engadget that the phone will be announced November 5, while we’ve seen …

Originally posted at Dialed In Podcast

Sphere: Related Content

WhipCast on BlackBerry

iPhones may be all the rage in tech-crazy Silicon Valley, but if a new political app is any indication, RIM’s BlackBerry is at the heart of government.

This time the RIM love comes not from President Obama, who made headlines for trying to hold onto his BlackBerry after being …

Originally posted at The Download Blog

Sphere: Related Content

Google Voice logo

Earlier this week, I bashed Google’s visual voice mail service for its inability to transcribe my voice messages into understandable English. (OK, most of the article really focuses on a new flexibility in Google Voice, which I do like.) To be fair, poor transcription isn’t all Google’s …

Sphere: Related Content