Hasta La Gadget!

Today you’ll be digging your fingernails into your kneecaps with anticipation all the more readily as Amazon ships their Kindle Paperwhite device to stores across the USA. If you’ve ordered a unit beforehand, expect your device to be getting to your home either today or within the next couple of days without a doubt. If you’re thinking about getting an e-reader in the near future and have been thinking about grabbing a Kindle, now is the time – have a peek at our full Kindle Paperwhite review and check the details.

This release is what Amazon is calling the “most advanced e-reader built” and lets the world know without hesitation that they’ve got technology that’ll back up their claim. In our full review, you’ll find that Cory Gunther had a fabulous time taking a peek at how this device functioned. In addition to this device having a free 3G connection at all times in 100 different countries around the world, it’s got advanced display technology that brings your reading experience up to a new level.

“Essentially what we have here is a front — or side-lit display — instead of a backlit screen that will strain your eyes after an extended period of time. What makes the new Paperwhite that much better than the Touch is not just the built-in light on the screen, but the 6-inch display has 62% more pixels (221PPI) with a 1024 x 768 resolution too. The screen looks better, text is crisp, vivid, and easy to read, and of course the light makes the reading experience top notch.” – Cory Gunther

This device will work with Amazon Prime for 210,000 books right out of the Lending Library, and of course the full Amazon e-book library is open to anyone who purchases the device – buy em up! This device also comes in a wi-fi-only iteration for a slightly smaller cost. The wi-fi version of this tablet will cost you $119 USD while the 3G version will run you $179. Expect these devices in stores this week – and again, if you’ve pre-ordered a Kindle Paperwhite, it’s time to start waiting by the mailbox!

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite ships today in USA is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you were looking for another reason to pick up a new Nook tablet – revealed earlier today – you’ll find it in Barnes & Noble’s announcement of Nook Video, a streaming service they’re set to release to fight Netflix and Amazon’s efforts in the video universe. While Amazon does indeed have a tablet competitor for the Nook line in their own Kindle Fire HD (and the rest), they don’t have the same key-word that Barnes & Noble is coming up with: UltraViolet – and the same, basically, goes for Netflix. With HBO, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros, and Starz already signing up for the Nook Video team, there very well could be some clout to the book company’s claims.

What we’ve got here, according to Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating speaking with Business Week, is “a complete library from all the leading studios.” With the introduction to this initiative showing off next to no final details as far as pricing goes, investors have been left in the dark. Amazon Prime Instant Videos makes the Kindle Fire a beast to be reckoned with, and every single Android tablet and the Apple iPad are able to work with Netflix – that’s a monster of a market to deal with.

The Nook Video service will be launching this Fall along with the NOOK HD and NOOK HD+. Take a peek at our hands-on with that duo of next-generation content-filled tablets right this minute. Then hear this: Nook Video will also be launching in the UK by the winter holidays. This means a global launch may not be that far behind. What we’ve got on our hands here is a real effort by the book-smiths to enter the video content market with the tablet, which came first.

In this way, Barnes & Noble are aiming to becomes another content and hardware company in an already multi-armed market that includes the Kindle Fire and the iPad as well as Google’s own Google Play media market. Will Barnes & Noble be able to keep up the way they’ve done with the ebook industry? We shall see!

Nook Video aims to jab Netflix and Amazon all at once is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Not content at stopping with its recent European tour, Google Play Books has made the trip to Japan and brought back a handful of new features. In addition to support for reading Japanese books in a vertical, right-to left layout, Mountain view now lets users tap on names of geographical spots within text and see them pinned to a Google Map alongside the option to find more information using Larry Page’s favorite search engine or Wikipedia. A freshly added translation feature takes user-highlighted words and phrases and spits them out in the reader’s language of choice. Particularly studious literature lovers can now mark up their digital books with notes and highlights that sync to the web and across their personal fleet of devices. A new sepia tone theme also joined the existing day and night views on their journey abroad. Hit the source links below for more details and the download.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Google Play Books app arrives in Japan, adds translation, place info, highlighting and more originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you had your heart set on a Kindle Fire, Fire HD 7 or Reader, you can now plunk down your plastic and receive one as fast as your shipper can wheel it over. The 1,280 x 800 Fire HD 7-inch model, which we recently put through the wringer, is available in a 16GB version for $199, and Amazon says the 32GB version will arrive October 25th. As we noted, it carries a new dual-band WiFi system for greater surfing speed, dual speakers, a front HD camera and a TI-made dual-core ARM Cortex A-9 processor. The updated Kindle Fire can be had as well for $159, with double the RAM of the last version, a new processor and a bigger battery. Finally, the new Kindle Reader is also up for grabs at an ad-supported cost of $69, while the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD should be along in November at $299 ($499 for a 4G version). So, if you’re already looking ahead to a certain holiday, check the sources to see how to get one.

Filed under: Tablets

PSA: Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 7, new Fire and Reader now stocked originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you ever sat there reading an e-book to yourself and thought, wow, I wish I could read this book out loud while Samuel L Jackson read it out loud with me – Amazon says you’re in luck. This week along with the new Kindle Fire HD line and refresh of the original Kindle Fire, they’ve shown off a technology called Whyspersync for Voice – this brings on Bimodal reading for those who have difficulty reading and for high-functioning readers alike. This technology, in a nutshell, syncs your audiobook and the text from the book you’re looking at so you can listen and read at the same time.

This technology was shown off on the new Kindle Fire HD series this week by Amazon with a couple of celebrities in tow. Both Anne Hathaway and Samuel L Jackson were shown up on the big screen, with Jackson specifically reading “A Rage in Harlem.” With Immersion Reading – here with Whispersync – you’ll be changing the way you read electronic books.

This new ability brings on what Amazon prosmises will be dual-sensory reading, this improving your understanding of the content. You’ll be hearing the words as they’re highlighted on the screen – and it will, if Amazon has its way, bring you another giant reason why it makes sense to pick up the newest Kindle Fire HD hardware – coming in October, on the way! Check out the rest of our Amazon and Kindle Fire content from this week’s big event in the timeline below, and stay tuned to SlashGear for more hands-on action as it appears!

Amazon Kindle Fire Whispersync introduced with Anne Hathaway and Samuel L Jackson is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.