Hasta La Gadget!

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.

Permalink   |  Associated Press, Amazon  | Email this | Comments

Well, it looks like Republicans in the House of Representatives weren’t about to let this one slip past a possible government shutdown — they just passed a measure that seeks to block the FCC’s net neutrality rules by a largely party line vote of 240 to 179. That follows a House subcommittee vote last month but, as then, the bill still faces an uphill battle in the Senate and with the President, who’s expected to veto any such legislation if it somehow got to his desk. Not surprisingly, the rhetoric from both sides is only increasing following this latest development, with Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman saying the Republican bill would “end the internet as we know it,” while Republican Rep. Fred Upton argues that “the internet is not broken and this bill will assure that the FCC does not break it.”

House of Representatives votes to block FCC’s net neutrality rules originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Reuters  | Email this | Comments

The official word has been spoken with regard the T-Mobile G2X. LG’s dual-core, pure Android handset will be hitting T-Mo’s online outlet on April 15th for $200, and the same price will also apply in stores when it lands on April 20th. There’s a pesky $50 mail-in rebate to negotiate your way around, but after that you’re looking at one of the finest and smoothest Android experiences we’ve laid our hands on yet.

[Thanks, Kyle]

Update: The Sidekick 4G has also received its date with T-Mobile destiny: April 20th for $100 on contract.

Continue reading T-Mobile G2x priced at $200, coming April 15th online and April 20th in stores (update: Sidekick 4G date)

T-Mobile G2x priced at $200, coming April 15th online and April 20th in stores (update: Sidekick 4G date) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  @TMobile (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

Been waiting for a new Nikon DSLR to slide in under that magical $1,000 mark? Then we’ve got some good news for you, as Digital Home Thoughts has now let slip some official details and pictures of Nikon’s new prosumer D5100 model. This one steps things up to a D7000-matching 16.2 megapixels from the 12 megapixel D5000, and boasts a 3-inch articulated display (side-mounted this time), 1080p video recording at both 30 and 24 fps (with autofocus!), ISO settings from 100 to 6,400, and an 18-105mm lens included in the kit (no body-only option available just yet, it seems). What’s more, Nikon’s also releasing a new ME-1 microphone alongside the camera to let you take full advantage of those video recording capabilities — check it out after the break. Look for this one to set you back $899.95 for the kit, with the mic running $159.95. Those are Canadian prices according to Digital Home Thoughts, though we’d expect US pricing to be the same.

Continue reading Nikon D5100 DSLR surfaces with 16.2 megapixel sensor, 1080p video recording

Nikon D5100 DSLR surfaces with 16.2 megapixel sensor, 1080p video recording originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Digital Home Thoughts  | Email this | Comments

They said they would do it, and by golly it’s nearly here — Samsung just revealed that its assembly lines are starting to churn out see-thru computer screens that don’t require power-sucking backlights to function. Unfortunately, it looks like the amazing AMOLED variety is still on the drawing board, but ambient light-powered LCDs are on the way, with Samsung offering a 22-inch, 1680 x 1050 resolution panel with a 500:1 contrast ratio to begin with. Sammy suggests we’ll see it in HDMI and USB-compatible monitors and suspects it’ll be used in advertising and teleconferencing first — which suggests this display won’t come cheap — but we all know the true killer app will be a nice big frameless laptop screen. We’ll take two, please. PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung mass-producing 22-inch transparent LCD, your desktop monitor seethes with jealousy

Samsung mass-producing 22-inch transparent LCD, your desktop monitor seethes with jealousy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink OLED-Display  |   | Email this | Comments