Apr 13

Kindle 2 users complain of eye strain, mull over possible solutions

Posted in: amazon, e ink, e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, kindle, Today's Chili

You know how it is: Amazon refreshes the Kindle, makes some upgrades, and everybody’s happy. Almost. It seems that a small but vocal minority is really, really not into the way that fonts are rendered on the new device. For real. Y’see, the newest iteration of the e-reader sports font smoothing algorithms and sixteen levels of gray (as opposed to four levels on the original). For sure, these enhancements make for prettier pictures, but on the downside it causes text to blur significantly when displaying fonts in the smallest three sizes. If you’re one of the disgruntled Kindle 2 owners looking for some relief for your tired eyes, there are a couple options available to you. You might want to try the Unicode Fonts Hack, which will allow you to replace the system font for something more to your liking. Or you could hop on over to Amazon’s Kindle forum, where you can commiserate with your fellow angry customers (OK, not really a solution — but possibly therapeutic). You could wait for the rumored Kindle with a larger screen to arrive (no telling when or if that’s gonna happen), or even downgrade to a first gen device, as some folks already have. Or you can read a book. One thing you can’t do? You can’t stop progress.

[Via Wired]

Read – Amazon: Please make the text darker on Kindle 2
Read – Unicode Fonts Hack

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Kindle 2 users complain of eye strain, mull over possible solutions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 10

Is Amazon developing a larger screen Kindle?

Posted in: amazon, e ink, e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, kindle, rumor, Today's Chili

With raging success, you can always count on one thing: copycats and rivals. Okay, so maybe that’s two, but you catch the drift here. Not long after Amazon launched its Kindle 2 to much fanfare, Hearst confessed that it was looking to produce a competitor with a screen that was about the size of a standard sheet of paper. In a presumed effort to keep up with the Joneses, The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Amazon is looking to develop yet another Kindle (something we’ve definitely heard before) with “a larger screen,” which would obviously help it appeal to newspaper companies looking to easily transition their content to a large form factor e-reader. Not surprisingly, Amazon refused to comment on the “speculation,” but the report did note that there was at least some chance that the newfangled device would debut before the 2009 holiday season.

[Thanks, bo3of]

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Is Amazon developing a larger screen Kindle? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 10

Rumor: Sprint, Barnes and Noble to Release E-Reader

Posted in: amazon, e-books, e-readers, kindle, Today's Chili

Amazon_Kindle_2_Cover.jpgFile this one under rumor, although it’s been bouncing around the intertubes pretty heavily over the past 24 hours: Barnes & Noble is reportedly working with Sprint, along with an unnamed hardware manufacturer, to build an e-reader device to go after the Amazon Kindle, according to Computerworld.

The report said that discussions are also ongoing with AT&T, but have ended with Verizon Wireless, apparently without a deal for that carrier.

No one–including B&N, Sprint, AT&T, or the guy selling coffee
on the street corner–is commenting on the record so far. But it makes
sense, now that the Kindle has reinvigorated a stagnant e-book market
with its wireless, over-the-air book purchases and streamlined pricing.

(Unrelated note: I almost wrote “streamlined, iTunes-like pricing,” but I can’t anymore, now that Apple has gone and screwed that up. How depressing.)

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Apr 09

Rock Band double bass pedal brings out the Joey Jordison in you

Posted in: amazon, Music, now shipping, NowShipping, on sale, OnSale, ship, shipping, ships, Today's Chili

True metal-heads have already modded their Rock Band / Guitar Hero kits to accommodate that DW 5000, but for those who lack any DIY genes whatsoever, there’s this. Accessory maker PDP is gearing up to ship its universal Rock Band replacement kick pedal, which conveniently ships with a “double bass adapter that allows for two pedals to be used at the same time.” Time to get to work on your coordination skills, ’cause you’ll definitely want to lay down $24.99 on this when it ships on June 1st.

[Thanks, Omar]

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Rock Band double bass pedal brings out the Joey Jordison in you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 08

Amazon now selling Xbox Live Arcade games

Posted in: amazon, Microsoft, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, xbox live, Xbox360, XboxLive

Amazon might still make most of its money by shipping physical items to your door, but it’s clear that the retail giant knows the future of media is digital — not only is it pushing the Kindle and services like Amazon Video On Demand, it’s expanding its downloadable video game catalog to include Xbox Live Arcade games today. The process seems a little clunky at the moment — you buy a code from Amazon that you have enter into your Xbox — and it’s not exactly easy to compare prices, since Amazon charges you real money instead of Xbox Live points, but we’re not going to complain too much about anything that increases gamer choice. (Using real money actually seems like a benefit to us — we’ve never really loved the idea of points.) The service is live now, anyone going to do a little shopping?

[Via Joystiq]

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Amazon now selling Xbox Live Arcade games originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 07

PSA: Advantageous auto-checks Amazon MP3 pricing from iTunes

Posted in: amazon, Apple, itunes, Today's Chili

So now that iTunes variable pricing is live, cross-shopping with Amazon is going to be a Thing — and while we’re certain slicker utilities will pop up soon, for right now we’d install Advantageous, which is just a little script that automates an Amazon search query from within iTunes. Yeah, it’s not perfect — it fails if you’re logged in with iTunes store credit and it’s far from bulletproof otherwise — but it’s a fine way to at least have kids or the less computer-savvy stop and check prices with at least one competitor before laying down an extra thirty cents on each purchase. This is has been a public service announcement… with guitars.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read – Advantageous for Windows
Read – Advantageous for Mac

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PSA: Advantageous auto-checks Amazon MP3 pricing from iTunes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 05

Archos 2 and Archos 4 flash players leak out

Posted in: amazon, archos, rumor, rumors, Today's Chili

We haven’t heard anything official, but images of an Archos 2 flash player have turned up in a few places on the web today, along with word of an Archos 4. The 2’s already listed on Amazon — it’s not going to rock worlds, but it’s not bad for $60, with 8GB of storage and microSD expansion, a 1.8-inch 128 x 160 display and a voice recorder all in a .35-inch thick package. There’s also a 16GB version on Amazon.de for €68 ($92), but that hasn’t yet made it to the US Amazon site. The Archos 4 is a little more mysterious — all we really know about it is that it’ll have a four-inch screen and 16 to 32GB of flash. We’re guessing these’ll pop soon, we’ll let you know.

[Thanks, Bill]

Read – ArchosLounge
Read – Amazon

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Archos 2 and Archos 4 flash players leak out originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 03

Engadget Podcast 140 – 04.03.2009

Posted in: amazon, engadget podcast, EngadgetPodcast, HTC, palm, podcast, pre, samsung, Today's Chili

Do you love people talking? Do you love technology? Then you’re in the right place, friend. Welcome — yes, welcome one and all to the Engadget Podcast! This week, you get to hear the coolest set of cats this side of the junkyard pontificating on the week’s top stories. Listen as Josh, Paul, and Nilay dish about Palm’s SDK happenings, marvel at the HTC Snap, relive a Dell unboxing, and get crazy on Sling for some questionable business practices. If you don’t enjoy this podcast, you may not be listening to it closely enough.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: 8BN – Push It

00:03:10 – Palm announces webOS SDK availability, Palm OS emulation for Pre, new cloud services
00:11:08 – Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre
00:36:44 – HTC Snap hands-on
00:43:25 – Samsung Mondi WiMAX hands-on with video
00:52:37 – Dell Studio XPS 13 unboxing and hands-on
01:01:50 – Older Slingboxes won’t work with SlingPlayer for iPhone

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Engadget Podcast 140 – 04.03.2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 02

Verizon Wireless Exec: Will E-Readers Invade the Campus?

Posted in: amazon, e-readers, kindle, Today's Chili

kindle 2 side.jpgThere’s a wave of electronic books coming, suggests a Verizon Wireless exec, and it’s taking aim at markets the Amazon Kindle doesn’t cover.

Speaking in Las Vegas, Tony Lewis, who heads an initiative within Verizon Wireless to provide cellular connections for new types of gadgets, said that his company had been approached by five companies about new e-readers.

While he wouldn’t give the company’s names or specifics, he suggested that they weren’t going to go head-on against the Kindle, which has already built up a significant advantage in the electronic book market. Instead, they planned to market to areas the Kindle left out, such as the education market.

It makes a lot of sense. While some people would never give up the romance or feel of a printed book, any student would be happy to trade a ten-pound book bag for a lightweight, searchable reader.
 
[Via Google News/AP]
 

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Apr 01

Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre

Posted in: amazon, ctia, palm, pre, Sprint, Today's Chili, webos

Dovetailing dreamingly with the company’s SDK announcement today, Palm’s chosen CTIA to show off a round of third-party apps for the Pre, and the good news is that they’re definitely dispelling some doubts we had about the robustness of webOS’ development platform and its ability to deliver compelling software. We were emphatically reminded that everything here is strictly for the sake of preview — it’s all beta, just like the Pre itself — but that being said, it all looked smooth and relatively crash-free (as best as we could gather anyhow without giving it a more ruthless hands-on beating of our own).

First off, we saw a NASCAR app, perfect for die-hard fans (but really, even more perfect for Sprint’s track record of sponsoring NASCAR events) that culls video highlights, driver profiles, and more. Next, we were treated to a brief look at the Pre’s Google Maps implementation, Pandora, Amazon’s music store, and FlightView, a trick little flight status app that every frequent traveler will likely want loaded. We also saw a Pre version of the Sprint TV player — a staple service on most of Sprint’s devices — proving that the Pre has the stones to handle multimedia within its development framework. Video was just a little bit choppy, but they’re not making any claims that this is final, optimized code at this point. The best part of the whole demo, perhaps, is Pandora’s notification implementation, which brings up a mini-player by tapping on the “P” visible at the bottom of any Pre screen; from here, you can play / pause, rank tracks up and down, and see a full track name, all without leaving the comfort of whatever app you might be in. Try that on an iPhone, eh? Follow the break for video!

Continue reading Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre

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Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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