Kindle For iPhone

Late on Tuesday, Amazon released Kindle for iPhone application, which you can get for free, from the iTunes Store.

The app does exactly what says. You can download Amazon e-books and read them right from your iPhone. And, while I have only had the application for a few minutes, I can say that it works surprising well.

There are a few drawbacks however.

- You cannot download books directly from the iPhone

-You can not sync any subscriptions to newspapers and/or magazines that you may have from the Amazon store.

-The iPhone app does not have and of the highlight/search features that you will find on the Kindle.

Honestly, I am perfectly okay with that. As someone who was ready to spend the $350 to buy a Kindle, I have no problem with Amazon having a few "Kindle exclusive" features.

I must say, that the timing of this app surprises me, being so close to the Kindle II. But it does send a clear message. Amazon interest is selling content, not Kindles. And by releasing this iPhone app, they are well on their way to making the Kindle store a huge success.

Job well done Amazon!

Dell Studio Laptop Review

Parsing the intended markets for Dell's ever-shifting in-house brand names requires a bit of tea-leaf reading, although it's been easier of late, with the company stripping down its consumer brands to just the Inspiron and XPS lines. Now the company is adding a new line between the budget Inspiron and the high-end XPS. The new Studio line, as personified by the $1,250 15-inch Studio 15, has the same tapered shape, slot-loading optical drive, and rounded hinge as the Dell XPS M1530, but a similarly configured Studio system costs roughly $300 less than a similarly outfitted XPS.

The trade-off is mostly in size and finish. Even though it has a similar look, the Studio laptop is about 25 percent thicker and slightly heavier than its more upscale XPS cousin, with plastic accents instead of metal. We'd be tempted to toss in the extra $300 for the brushed-metal wrist rest and slimmer design of the XPS, but the Studio line does offer personalization options (lots of colors and graphic imprints) beyond what's available for Dell's other laptops, along with a slot-loading optical drive and credit-card-style media remote for about $200 more than a similarly configured Inspiron 1525 (not including discrete graphics, which are not available on the 1525).

Price as reviewed / Starting price	$1,189 / $799
Processor	2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100
Memory	2GB, 667MHz DDR2
Hard drive	250GB 5,400rpm
Chipset	Intel GM965
Graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400
Operating System	Windows Vista Premium
Dimensions (WDH)	14 x 10.16 x 1.25 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	15.4 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	6.0 / 7.2 pounds
Category	Mainstream

While clearly inspired by the popular XPS M1530, the Studio 15 has a more angular look, with its large side hinges curving the screen down at a sharp angle; the XPS presents a more rounded look. At 6 pounds, it's a bit heavy to tote around every day, but still at the lower end of the 15-inch scale, around 6 pounds. Our early review unit had a matte midnight blue lid, but there are a variety of color options. We've also seen some leaked shots online of several artistic designs motifs that should be available in the future, which we've previously covered on Crave.

The Studio 15 follows Dell's recent, and welcome, trend of putting HDMI outputs and touch-sensitive control buttons on just about every laptop--you can also get those on even the cheapest Inspiron 15-inch. Like the XPS 1530, it has a slot-loading optical drive and an Express Card slot that doubles as a holder for a credit-card-style media remote.

Also like the XPS M1530, the Studio 15 has a 15.4-inch LED backlit display with a native resolution of 1,440x900, which is standard for higher-end midsize laptops. Dell's cheaper Inspiron 1525 has a 1,280x800 display, but the extra screen real estate at the higher resolution in the Studio 15 makes for a much less cluttered desktop. We prefer these newer LED displays (over older LCD models lit by a fluorescent lamp) because of their lighter weight, brighter whites, and lower power consumption.

	Dell Studio 15	Average for category [Mainstream]
Video	HDMI, VGA-out	VGA-out, S-Video
Audio	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	4 USB 2.0, mini-FireWire, multi-format memory card reader	4 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Expansion	PC Card slot	ExpressCard/54
Networking	Modem, Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional Bluetooth	modem, Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional WWAN
Optical drive	DVD burner	DVD burner

Intel's 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 CPU is the current default for mainstream performance, and the Dell Studio 15 easily outperformed Dell's 14- and 15-inch Inspirons with slower 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processors, as well as the most recent XPS 1530 we looked at, which had an older 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500. But for most typical tasks, including Web surfing, working on Office documents, media playback, etc., any of these CPUs would be more than adequate. We'd expect new CPUs from Intel's Centrino 2 refresh later in the summer.

While it's not the top of the video card food chain, the 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD3400 will provide for some basic gaming muscle. We got around 17 frames per second on Unreal Tournament III at 1,280x800. Tweaking the settings and turning down the detail level should get more playable frame rates in the mid-20s, but this system is targeted more at creative types, not hard-core gamers.

The Studio 15 ran for 2 hours and 46 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, using the included six-cell battery. That's reasonable for a midsize laptops, and our battery drain test is especially grueling, so you can expect longer life from casual Web surfing and office use--we got more than 3 hours out of it in anecdotal use

----Sam P.

Palm Pre

I know most of the Apple fanbase has an iPhone, but I think that this phone is most deserving of a blog entry. The Palm Pre was announced for the first time at CES 2009. Palm said that the idea behind the Pre is a consumer and business level phone to handle every aspect of your life. The focal point of this phone is the ability to multitask. Having multiple apps open at one time and the ability to swipe through each one using the gorgeous 3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320x480 resolution HVGA display.

The web browser is also something to praise. The device renders the page as you would see it on your computer screen and is based on Javascript, HTML, and CSS. The multimedia features on this phone are also typical on most of the phones on the market. You get a 3 MP camera, video recording is not a feature as of now, but could be added by time it is released. You also get 8 GB of built in storage. There is a 3.5 standard head-phone jack, Wi-Fi, EVDO Rev. A, and a GPS. 

This could possibly be the best alternative for an iPhone if you are a Sprint customer.

Full Specs: 

• High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A or UMTS HSDPA)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Integrated GPS
• Large 3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320x480 resolution HVGA display
• Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
• Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
• Email, including Outlook EAS (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers), as well as personal email support (POP3, IMAP)
• Robust messaging support (IM, SMS and MMS capabilities)
• High-performance, desktop-class web browser
• Great multimedia experience and performance (pictures, video playback, music), featuring a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field, and a standard 3.5mm headset jack
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
• 8GB of internal user storage (~7.4GB user available)
• USB mass storage mode
• MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
• Proximity sensor, which automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear
• Light sensor, which dims the display if the ambient light is dark, such as at night or in a movie theater, to reduce power usage
• Accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
• Ringer switch, which easily silences the device with one touch
• Removable, rechargeable battery
• Dimensions: 59.57mm (W) x 100.53mm (L, closed) x 16.95mm (D) [2.35 inches (W) x 3.96 inches (L, closed) x 0.67 inches (D)]
• Weight: ~135 grams [4.76 ounces]

FOR THE FULL REVIEW, PLEASE VISIT  http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/palm-pre/4505-6452_7-33490473.html?tag=mncol;lst

Four New iPhone Browsers

It seems that Apple has started to allow different web browsers onto the iPhone. Although, of the four new browsers, I wouldn't say that any of these are a true competitor to Safari. So, it remains to be seen if Apple will allow a full fledged browser like Firefox to make it on the iPhone But, that aside, here is what we have now:

Edge Browser (Free)

This appears to be a rather simple browser that removes the search and address bars from the top of the iPhone to give the user maximum screen real estate.

Incognito ($1.99)

Think of incognito as Private Browsing mode for your iPhone. When using incognito, none of your information (links URL's etc.) are saved.

WebMate: Tabbed Browser ($0.99)

The WebMate browser puts an interesting twist on “tabbed” browsing. What makes this browser unique is how it handles the links that you click on. Basically, instead of loading a new page (as Safari would) this browser loads the links in a queue style, for you to view at your convenience.

Shaking Web ($1.99)

This browser is hoping to catch the attention of those who are constantly on the road. The browser uses the accelerometer in the iPhone to compensate for a slightly shaky hand, keeping text steady on the page.

It remains to be seen whether or not these alternative browsers will gain any traction, but it is interesting to see apple allowing these browsers into the App Store.


kankney@gmail.com

Information courtesy of MacRumors

The LG GD910

At CES 2008 LG gave us a sneak peak at their innovative watch-phone, the GD910. This year at CES, they took it out of the display case and out onto the floor. The watch features a 1.43 inch diagonal touch screen, and 3G networking. The interface looks similar to other LG touch screen phones, such as the Dare and Voyager, and yes, you use your finger. That's right! no stylus for a 1 inch screen.(Imagine typing a phone number with that!) If you think this product sounds exciting and you can't wait to get your hands on one, you better make sure of one thing: you live in Europe. That's right, the phone works in Europe only. Rumors suspect AT&T may pick it up for America some time this year. The watch is still a prototype but should be out soon.