Hasta La Gadget!

Most PC users hit the web using Internet Explorer by default, simply because that’s what came along with Windows. Now, after antitrust investigations, European users get a choice of browser to install via ballot screen, and initial reports are not good for ‘ol IE. According to Statcounter, IE use in France has dropped 2.5 percent since last month’s implementation of the ballot, 1.3 percent in Italy, and 1 percent in Britain. It’s still early days, and it’ll take more than this to chip away from IE’s 62 percent lead in the browser war, but it’s certainly not a good trend for Microsoft. With that in mind, we’re going to have to ask you to place your bets now.

Early reports show IE not faring well in the post-ballot screen days originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, all the talk lately is about Windows Phone 7 Series and all the things it can and can’t do. But, in the months between now and its release, companies still have to make money, and so LG has turned to Windows Mobile Classic 6.5 to drive its VS750. We first heard wind of this Verizon-bound machine back in December, and now it’s been spied by Mr. Blurrycam over at PhoneArena, apparently due for a mid-April release. The QWERTY slider is intended as a world phone, and its list of wireless support certainly sounds comprehensive: CDMA 1x/EVDO Rev A. 800/1900MHz, and GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/190MHz and UMTS/HSDPA. Why, it’ll even include plug adapters for Europe, Asia, and Australia right out of the box. It’s fronted by a 3.2-inch 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen, backed by a 3.2 megapixel camera, sports WiFi and Bluetooth, a microSDHC slot and, if our eyes don’t deceive us, its case has more than a passing resemblance to the prototype unveiled on The Engadget Show a few weeks back.

VS750 confirms LG’s love for WinMo Classic, starts torrid new affair with Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlueAnt introduces its new Bluetooth headset, dubbed the T1. The company also announces an Android app. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12261_7-20000861-10356022.html” class=”origPostedBlog”CTIA 2010/a/p

Buying USB cables is like buying plastic shopping bags: both normally come free with a purchase (and both end up stuffed into the back of a cupboard or drawer). But Gonglue Jiang’s USB cable concept design would actually get me to part with some cash.

The cables solve the problem of overloaded USB ports without resorting to a messy hub. Each plug is both male and female, letting it both give and receive USB data and power. The hermaphroditic cords can be daisy-chained, letting you stack several plugs together for some hot multiple gadget-on-port action.

The only limit we see is that of power, just the same as when you use a non-powered hub to hook up too many devices to one port. Other than that, this design is so good we’d like to see it incorporated into every USB cable out there. That way we could go back to not paying for them.

Running Out Of USB Ports? [Yanko]

Amazon has announced Kindle Apps for Tablet Computers (including Kindle for iPad), a rather polished e-reader application that both makes the Kindle itself look rather old-fashioned and explains why last week’s Mac version was so unfinished: The Amazon developers have clearly been spending all their time on this instead.

The app offers all the usual Kindle features: Whispersync to keep your bookmarks and notes in sync between devices and the ability to load up any books you have previously bought. It also adds a lot of visual polish, from the obligatory page-turn animation (you can switch it off) to a fetching, full-color grid view of your library. You can adjust “paper” color, and change screen brightness from within the app.

Most interesting, though, is the way you buy books, which circumvents Apple’s 30 percent cut of in-app purchases. When you buy books, you are sent to the Kindle store in a web browser to make your purchase (Amazon doesn’t say whether the screenshot comes from an in-app browser page, or Mobile Safari itself, but it makes no difference).

We also see a page on display which has a full-color photo. This will be ideal for cookbooks bought from Amazon, but it also sends Amazon’s own grayscale-only hardware to the back of the line. Still, the effort Amazon seems to have put in show that it is clearly focused on selling books, not the hardware the books are read on. That the app is almost certain to make it into the App store shows that the reverse is true with Apple: It wants the iPad to be the go-to media device, whatever that media may be.

Kindle Apps for Tablet Computers [Amazon]

See Also:

• Kindle for PC Ships, Hints at Future Color Kindle
• First Look: Kindle for Mac
• Amazon Brings Kindle to iPhone