Hasta La Gadget!

Over the years, I’ve managed to accumulate about 7 or 8 iPhone cases. Some are broken, some are cheap knock-offs and a couple are quite nice. That being said, I’ve always have liked the style of wood cases for my gadgets. There’s something about the juxtaposition of high-tech with sustainable materials. In this case, we don’t have an actual wood case, but a woodgrain design that looks pretty real.

The n-Sert Case from Design Skinz is a case that can be customized to your liking.  The thin protective case allows you to change the look of your iPhone with a variety of interchangeable inserts like the wood pattern shown above, as well as a number of graphical patterns.

The case itself is available in matte black, white or hot pink for the iPhone 4/4S or iPhone 5 through Design Skinz’s Etsy store for $21.99(USD), including one design insert of your choice. Additional inserts are available for $7.99 each.

The idea isn’t completely original, but it makes for a good way to change the look of your phone quickly and inexpensively, and without having to buy a bunch of different cases.

For the past few months, Mexico has been sitting in limbo as far as Google’s mapping services were concerned: you could see Mayan ruins in Street View, but you couldn’t get directions to them from your phone. Google has redressed that balance now that Google Maps Navigation is reaching the country. Anyone with an updated version of Google Maps on Android can get turn-by-turn directions, traffic and nearby points of interest as they cruise towards Veracruz. Mass transit navigation appears to be the lone (if glaring) omission for Mexican use. While we’d like all mapping options to be available, it’s good to know that drivers can more smoothly cross the vast expanses of Mexico City.

[Thanks, Luis]

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Mobile, Google

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Via: CNN Expansión (translated)

Source: Google Mexico (Twitter)

Ever since the Surface tablet was released from Microsoft, we’ve only been more and more curious about their upcoming Pro version. Finally, the Redmond-based company has released details about the upcoming tablet for power users, including pricing and availability. Starting in January, you’ll be able to grab a Surface Pro starting at $899 for the 64GB version and $999 for the 128GB variant.

The $899 and $999 models will be the “standalone” versions, meaning you’ll have to crank out more cash if you want the keyboard attachment. However, it’ll come with the pen/stylus in the box. As you can see, the device looks very similar to the regular Surface tablet, including the same type of casing and built-in kickstand. Plus, it also boasts the same 10.6-inch display with the 16:9 aspect ratio.

However, a lot of differences are coming to the Surface Pro. For one, the screen will feature a full HD 1920×1080 resolution. It’ll also bypass ARM chips altogether and will opt for an Intel Core i5 processor, as well as a Mini DisplayPort that can output a 2560×1440 resolution, a full-size USB 3.0 port, and a copy of Windows 8 Pro with support for traditional desktop applications.

The Surface Pro will act more like a laptop than the regular Surface tablet. Of course, you’ll still have the ability to easily use it as a tablet, but using it with either keyboard attachments will no doubt give the Surface Pro more credit as being a true hybrid, thanks to a full version of Windows 8 Pro instead of just Windows RT.

Microsoft Surface Pro arriving in January starting at $899 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple’s thoroughly re-engineered iTunes is now ready for you to try. The desktop download includes a new MiniPlayer for playing tracks in a widget-sized window, an “Up Next” feature for cueing up songs and viewing what’s next at a glance, and — if you can’t decide which tune to rack up — Apple’s software will now offer “instant recommendations” of its own. iTunes 11 will also endeavor to relocate your position within a song, movie or TV shows if your media consumption ever gets interrupted. Finally, iCloud integration will allow you to play back your library on any device, while an offline option should allow in-flight or underground listening sessions to continue without a hitch. Right now, iTunes 11 is mostly appearing as an option in Software Update for existing users, although it shouldn’t be long before manual downloads are at hand.

Jon Fingas contributed to this report.

Filed under: Software, Apple

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Source: Apple

This week Barnes & Noble has made the call on their financial second quarter, citing increased spending on their Nook division to keep pace with Amazon.com and Apple. The company made it clear that as the Nook accounts for 8.5 percent of their total revenue, it wasn’t going away any time soon – meanwhile same-store in-store book sales dropped over Black Friday weekend – imagine that! Barnes & Noble also reported that quarterly sales of its high-margin digital periodicals and books went up significantly.

Chief Executive William Lynch let it be known that his forecast for the fiscal year stands – he believes that the Nook segment of the company’s loss will narrow without a doubt. It’s not out of the question as just half way through the fiscal year the business is in, loss had increased just 6.1 percent to $108.1 million – much narrower than it could have been.

Meanwhile the new Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets were launched right after the company’s second fiscal quarter – that being the one ending on October 27th of 2012. The real battle, then, is now for Barnes & Noble’s tablet warriors to take out the iPad mini as well as the Kindle Fire HD 7 and 8.9. They’re certainly making strides in Target and Wal-Mart stores, it seems, as the company reported sales doubling from last year over Thanksgiving weekend.

This was helped at least a little bit by the fact that Target and Walmart no longer sell Kindle tablets of any kind. Lynch noted that Barnes & Noble continues to rule a 25-30 percent share of the e-books market in the USA, while net quarterly income was positive at $2.2 million – this much, much better than last year’s results at this time which were a loss of $6.6 million.

[via Reuters]

Barnes and Noble Q2 earnings show digital content grind is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.