Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve been impatiently waiting for that $380 WiFi-only Dell Streak 7 you pre-ordered, you can stop your fidgeting because it looks like Amazon, at least, has quietly started to ship them out to eager US customers — the second market to get the Android tablet this week. Just to refresh your memories, it offers a dual-core 1GHz Tegra T20 processor, 16GB of storage, dual cameras, and, eventually, an upgrade to Android Honeycomb (3.0), something Samsung’s 7-inch Galaxy Tab isn’t guaranteed to get. But is that worth the Streak’s higher price and shorter endurance? We’ll let you and your wallet be the judge.

Amazon beats Dell to the punch, quietly ships WiFi-only Streak 7 in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew it was coming, and today at MIX 11, Microsoft showed off its developer platform for the next version of Windows Phone, which developers will be able to get their hands on for free in May. The new application platform adds:

• Multitasking for background processing, audio and file transfer, and fast app switching, including background audio playback for HTML5 webpages
• Deeper integration of apps into the OS, allowing programs to leverage Live Tiles, including push notifications via Live Agents running in the background
• Raw access to the camera and sensors (gyro and compass) via the Motion Sensor library, letting apps to control device hardware

Microsoft hopes this will allow developers to make even more creative and engaging apps. To get our juices flowing, it showed off demos of new app concepts from Skype, Spotify, Layar, Qantas, Amazon Shopping, and Kik Messenger. Check out our gallery below and hit the break for the details.

Continue reading Windows Phone adds multitasking, deeper OS integration, and sensor access to dev platform

Windows Phone adds multitasking, deeper OS integration, and sensor access to dev platform originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a scenario: what if we told you that your next Kindle could be had for $25 less than retail? What if we told you it came from the rear of a nondescript white van? Or what if we told you that you’d first need to sign up for 842 email marketing scams? Thankfully, none of those scenarios are ones we’re looking to tell you about. Instead, we’re here to introduce you to the world’s first ad-supported Kindle, going on sale within Target and Best Buy locations for $114. That represents a gentle $25 savings compared to the price of today’s cheapest Kindle, but those 2500 pennies don’t come free — you’ll be asked to endure “advertisements on the bottom of the device’s home page and on its screen savers.” Furthermore, it sets a new precedent in the gadget arena that could very well carry over to ad-discounted tablets, netbooks, PMPs, and who knows what else. At this point, Buick, Olay and Visa will be advertising, and we get the impression that said list will bloom in due time. It’s hard to say just how intrusive they’ll be, but Kindle director Jay Marine seems to think that “customers are going to love it.”

We aren’t so sure. While it’s crystal clear that the general populace adores coupon cutting, it seems problematic to us to ship a pair of identical products that cost within $25 of one another and expect Joe Sixpack to grok the difference. In fact, we’re guessing that this will inevitably lead to consumer complaints from those who can’t figure out why their “on sale Kindle” isn’t nearly as enjoyable to read as “Bob’s Kindle… that he found during a sale.” At any rate, a demo of the new device displayed a screen saver deal “where customers would pay $10 for a $20 gift card to Amazon,” and while no ads will appear in e-books, there’s still “a clear advertisement” along the bottom of the home screen. All that said, here’s the key feature that Amazon’s seemingly overlooking: an option in the software to pay back the $25 a customer skimped on to do away with the ads on their ad-supported e-reader. Solves the buyer’s remorse problem, at least.

Update: And it’s official — PR’s after the break!

Continue reading Ad-supported Kindle to ship May 3rd: saves $25, includes lot of enticement

Ad-supported Kindle to ship May 3rd: saves $25, includes lot of enticement originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia E7 now shipping from Amazon for $649 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As you may be aware, Amazon does actually already make it easier for you to shop at places other than Amazon.com with its Amazon Payments service, and it now looks like it might even be thinking about expanding things to brick and mortar stores as well. More specifically, Bloomberg is reporting that Amazon is exploring a mobile payment service based on NFC technology, which would let you pay for items and receive things like loyalty points using nothing other than an NFC-equipped cellphone. Not surprisingly, Amazon is also said to be considering some other features that would send folks back to Amazon.com — Bloomberg gives the example of someone shopping for jeans in a retail store who can’t find the right size, and says that they could simply scan the jean’s tag to order a pair online. Details are otherwise a bit light, and the service is apparently still not quite a sure thing, although a person familiar with the matter says Amazon will decide whether to go forward with it or not “in the next three to five months.”

Amazon said to be considering NFC-based mobile payment service originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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