Hasta La Gadget!

Typically, when a new gadget makes its way through the FCC, we have to do a fair amount of digging to get to the juicy details, put Pandigital’s latest 8-inch tablet / e-reader, the SuperNova, isn’t holding anything back. This Android 2.3-powered slate follows in the footsteps of its 9-inch predecessor, the Novel, acting more as a glorified e-reader than a real-deal tablet. Like the Novel, it comes with B&N’s Nook app pre-installed and lacks access to the Android Market — apps can be downloaded via SlideMe. What’s more, it’s got front (0.3 megapixel) and back-facing (3 megapixel) cameras, 4GB of internal storage, HDMI and mini-USB connectivity, support for 32GB micro-SD, and an 8-inch capacitive touch screen. Just about the only things missing from this FCC filing are price and availability, but we have a feeling the pair isn’t far behind. If SAR reports and tablet entrails are your thing, you can peek even more SuperNova details at the source link below.

Pandigital’s SuperNova Android tablet gets its FCC on, leaves little to the imagination originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Consumers, it seems, aren’t quite ready to declare the devoted e-reader market dead just yet — according to IDC, the space is set to grow by 24 percent globally in 2011. That’s especially good news for Barnes & Noble, as the company pushed to the top of the e-reader race for Q1, edging out Amazon’s industry-defining Kindle. The bookseller’s lead came thanks to its multiple devices, including the recently introduced touchscreen Nook and the tablet-esque Nook Color. The research firm credits the latter with Barnes & Noble’s surge in the standings, explaining that the Kindle’s colorless state has negatively impacted sales. Check out the sadly uncolorful press release below.

Continue reading IDC: Barnes & Noble charges ahead of the e-reader pack, people like a little color with their books

IDC: Barnes & Noble charges ahead of the e-reader pack, people like a little color with their books originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard not to love Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color, especially if you’re amongst those who’d rather look at text on a quality backlit screen than an e-paper display. Not only did we enjoy the e-book reader when we first reviewed it, but it keeps getting better thanks to updates to its hidden Android core plus the recent addition of its own app store complete with Pandora and Angry Birds. And while there’s also a decent bundled web browser and music player, it’s not the software that we like the most — it’s the hardware, and particularly the value proposition.

See, $250 ($200 on sale) buys you a gorgeous 7-inch 1024×600 pixel capacitive IPS panel with excellent contrast and viewing angles, an 800MHz TI OMAP 3621 CPU, a PowerVR SGX 530 GPU, 512MB RAM, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth, 8GB of built-in storage, an accelerometer, and a microSD card slot — all wrapped in an attractive 12mm thin package. Sure, there’s no 3G radio, no camera, no microphone, no ambient light sensor, and no haptic feedback, but despite its lower-end specs, the Nook Color just begs to be turned into a full blown Android tablet.

And that’s just what we did, by installing CyanogenMod 7 on Barnes & Noble’s color reader, complete with Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) and the full suite of Google apps. Take a look at our screenshots gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video and impressions.

Continue reading CyanogenMod 7 on the Nook Color hands-on (video)

CyanogenMod 7 on the Nook Color hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Many who follow the e-reader market keep coming back to the same question: how long does it realistically have left? The explosion of tablets and reader apps for smartphones have left their respective impacts on the space, while the market for devoted readers continues to be dominated by Amazon’s Kindle. Undaunted, both Kobo and Barnes & Noble launched new black and white e-readers based around the same touch and display technologies last week. After all, despite increased competition from outside the space, the reader market continues to be a vibrant one — and after the Nook Color proved it was an undercover tablet all along, Barnes and Noble has hit back with this latest Nook as proof of its focus on one thing: reading.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Nook WiFi review

Barnes & Noble Nook WiFi review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Nook WiFi and Kobo eReader Touch Edition assault the Amazon Kindle fortress: a chart

Nook WiFi and Kobo eReader Touch Edition assault the Amazon Kindle fortress: a chart originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 17:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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