Hasta La Gadget!

The Kindle 2 may only be a few months old, but the New York Times reports that Amazon is set to unveil a big-screen E ink reader, designed for newspapers, magazines and textbooks. Like, soon.

The idea of a larger, newspaper-oriented reader (including a Kindle) has been floated before, most publicly by Hearst, who proposed a 8.5×11-inch reader in February. This report revisits that plan, pegging Plastic Logic as the manufacturer of the device. But that stuff is decidedly future tense (“by the end of the year”), and digital access to Hearst titles is only exciting if you live in one of their papers’ markets.

Amazon’s device would have access to the same wide range of publications as the current Kindle, and likely a few more, but a larger screen could mean content would be presented in a different way. Hilariously, the Times reports that they are “expected to be involved in the introduction of the device”, but couldn’t extract a comment (revealing!) from anyone allegedly involved in the project, despite the fact that they work in the same cubicle farm. But this naturally Times-centric report kind of dilutes the significant of such a device: Amazon will likely carry titles from a vast number of news providers, and if the E ink experience becomes enough like newspaper—in term of news choice as well as literal usability—then this product could represent the newspaper and magazine industries’ first financially viable step away from dead trees.

As sanguine as newspaper folks might be about this, magazine publishers are, predictably, a little less optimistic. Conde Nast’s editorial director said, “I don’t think we would be anywhere near as excited about anything in black and white as we would about high-definition color”, hinting that even a mondo-Kindle wouldn’t be a game-changer for their richly visual magazine stable.

The NYT report doesn’t mention the most obvious possible fault with these plans: despite the fact that a larger screen would be better suited to displaying newspaper content, it might make the device kind of impractical. The current Kindle is small enough to chuck in a bag or briefcase, and carrying one around isn’t much more of a burden than toting a weekday newspaper or single magazine. Using a larger reader, on the other hand, would be more akin to carrying a clipboard than an iPhone; fine when you’re reading, but a pain in the ass when you’ve got to leave the subway. [NYT]

It’s been an awful long time in coming, but AT&T’s customized remix of Nokia’s lovely E71 — the E71x — is now available for sale direct from the carrier’s site. As was revealed a little over a month ago, pricing comes in at just $99.99 on contract after rebate, which seems like a steal for a device with this level of capability and sex appeal. Of course, you’ll need to be okay with S60 3.2 — but if you can get past that, you’ve got a gorgeous all-metal shell, full QWERTY, HSDPA, 3.2 megapixel cam, and WiFi waiting for you. What now, Bold?

[Thanks, Ivaylo]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia E71x now available from AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 00:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on June 10, 2008 by CyberNet.

It was an interesting day for Apple stock yesterday. Durning Steve Jobs’ keynote at WWDC we saw their stock go up and down as the time went on, and eventually once the keynote was over, it just stayed down for a while. It has been steadily climbing back-up, but now their competitors and other cell phone providers are seeing their stock drop as the news of the iPhone 3G settles in. The iPhone can sure rattle things up, can’t it?

So who’s up and who’s down as of 9:45 AM (CST)?

Up

1. Apple (AAPL): + 3.56

Down

1. Research In Motion (RIM): -0.53%
2. Nokia: -2.10%
3. Garmin (with their Nuvi Phone): -5.51%
4. Samsung: -2%*
5. HTC: – 6.9%*

*= closing value from yesterday

PC World attributed the fact that stocks were sinking to Apple’s new iPhone. It’s now 3G, half the price, and it’s one of the most affordable smartphones out there that is full of features. Clearly other manufacturers and carriers are worried. Let’s take a look at some of the carriers in the U.S. to see what’s going on:

1. AT&T: -1.06%
2. Verizon: -1.87%
   
3. Sprint Nextel Corp.: -3.85%
   
4. T-Mobile: -1.67%
   

Some of you are probably wondering why AT&T stock is down if they are the exclusive carrier in the United States for the iPhone. While the iPhone is great for AT&T, they did release an announcement saying that over the next two years they will be losing money because of the cheaper price on the phones. In the end though, they should benefit because they are expecting an increase in subscribers.

Steven Hartley, a senior analyst at Ovum, a marketing research firm said in regards to the iPhone, “We feel that this time the potential for disruption is great than before. Apple’s marketing strength has allowed it to consistently punch above its market share weight. Vendors should not be complacent and must continue to focus on the user experience to regain the marketing initiative from the iPhone, or risk losing even more ground in the high device marketing stakes.“

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Klipsch has never really been a company to cater to the low-end, but there’s likely never been a time in the outfit’s history to better introduce a lower-end pair of earbuds than right now. The Image headphone line, which started in August of 2007 when the X10s launched at $349, has grown a few members since. Today, we’re talking a look — er, a listen, actually — at the $79 Image S4 in-ear headphones, and while these are far from “cheap,” they’re definitely in the realm of feasibility for anyone considering a set of ‘buds that are marginally more awesome than the stock ones bundled with PMPs these days. Head on past the break for a few impressions.

Continue reading Klipsch Image S4 impressions

Filed under: Portable Audio

Klipsch Image S4 impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 May 2009 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been toying with the idea of buying a bulletproof shell for your CradlePoint portable hotspot, we’re guessing that Proxicast’s Cell-PAK is an entirely better option. Said box, which is described as a rugged, self-powered 3G + WiFi wireless hotspot in a box, was designed to provide “mission-critical wireless communications” in the jungle, on the battlefield or in your backyard. Aside from having its very own battery pack for completely untethered access, the device comes encased in an impact and water-resistant MIL-spec rated chassis, and we’re told that it can accept “any 3G modem from any cellular carrier worldwide.” We’re talking over a dozen hours of wireless access from anywhere that you can retrieve signal, and there’s even an external high-gain antenna to help with that. Now, if only that $1,295 price weren’t so gigantic…

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Proxicast’s Cell-PAK: it’s a portable 3G / WiFi hotspot, but rugged originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 May 2009 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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