| Kindle app updates bring children's books, graphic novels and comics to iOS, Android and Cloud Reader Jun 14th 2012, 13:42  Put down War and Peace for just a second. If you're a Kindle user on iOS, Android or Amazon's Cloud Reader, a new update brings children's books, graphic novels and comics to your virtual library. The children's titles will support Kindle Text Pop-Up to help boost the size of the words and spare your little one's eyes. Comics, however, get the Kindle Panel View treatment -- on supported titles -- that'll keep that analog format's frame-by-frame style. An iOS-only tweak adds title- and author search of your library, plus smaller margins on the iPad. Android tablet owners and Cloud Readers, on the other hand, can now enjoy a two-page view. The updates are available starting today, so fold the corner on the source links, or head straight to the next chapter. Kindle app updates bring children's books, graphic novels and comics to iOS, Android and Cloud Reader originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  iTunes, Google Play, Cloud Reader | Email this | Comments | | Sony Xperia Ion hits AT&T June 24th for $99 on contract Jun 14th 2012, 13:30  In the tech industry, time (and the fleeting interests of geekdom) waits for no one product. So, it's understandable if you've already forgotten about Sony Mobile's US flagship: a sleekly designed, mid-range contender known as the Xperia Ion. It's been nearly six months since the electronics giant officially unveiled the device at CES and, for brand loyalists still clinging to the edge of their seats, the wait's nearly over. Starting June 24th, AT&T will be offering the LTE handset -- a first for the newly unified wireless outfit stateside -- for $99 with a new two-year agreement (insert applause for Nokia and its precedent setting Lumia 900 here). So, what do you get for that compelling price tag? For starters, there's that gorgeous 4.6-inch 720p HD Reality display, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 CPU, 16GB of inbuilt storage (expandable up to an additional 32GB via SD card), 12-megapixel rear camera with Exmor R sensor, PlayStation Certification and a healthy 1,900mAh battery. Whether that spec list and associated on-contract pricing will pack enough of a power punch to win over Android elitists remains to be seen -- for now, this mid-2012 phone'll be shipping with Gingerbread 2.3.7 on board. That's not to say it won't ever see a much needed upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich; it's certainly on the way, there's just no telling precisely when it'll arrive. If the company's recent track record is any indication, however, the Ion stands a very good chance of joining the Xperia upgrade brigade sometime soon. Hit up the break to peruse the official presser in all its hyperbolic glory. Continue reading Sony Xperia Ion hits AT&T June 24th for $99 on contract Sony Xperia Ion hits AT&T June 24th for $99 on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Orange San Diego review: Intel does phones, finally Jun 14th 2012, 13:00  The first generation of Intel-powered Android phones has arrived, and while the chip maker doesn't appear to be claiming that its initial efforts are world-beaters, we've been promised a chipset that prioritizes what people want most: capable web browsing, strong camera performance and robust battery life. Although we've sampled plenty of incremental versions of this Medfield tech, Orange UK's San Diego is the first finished device to land for review. Priced at £200 ($308) it joins a large spread of wallet-friendly, entry-level smartphones in Orange's lineup. With a (1024 x 600) 4-inch LCD, 8-megapixel camera with flash, micro-HDMI port and 1GB of RAM, it looks to be a respectable, if middle-of-the-road, Android device. But the focus here lays with the 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2460 CPU and whether it delivers on those performance and battery life promises. Does Intel have a handle on mobile processors? Is the San Diego, near-identical to Intel's own reference model, going to be attractive enough for buyers? You'll find our verdict after the break. Continue reading Orange San Diego review: Intel does phones, finally Orange San Diego review: Intel does phones, finally originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Western Digital enters the router market, higher-end models include built-in hard drives Jun 14th 2012, 12:00  Western Digital is no stranger to media streaming, but until now its specialty has been moving content off a set-top box and onto your television. Now, though, the company is getting into the wireless game as well: it just announced its first networking products, including four dual-band routers and an Ethernet switch. Across the board, the routers use WD's so-called FasTrack technology to prioritize bandwidth-hogging activities like movie streaming, video chats and online gaming. And, like any modern-day router worth its salt, they include options for parental controls, as well as setting up a guest network. At the high end, the N900 Central (pictured) doubles as network-attached storage, suggesting WD was eager to put its hard drive know-how to good use. That'll be available in 1TB and 2TB flavors, and you can use a WD 2 Go website to access the drive remotely. There are also iOS and Android apps, with a Windows Phone version coming soon. Rounding out the spec list, it has one Ethernet and USB port. Similarly, the N900 router is rated for top speeds of 900 Mbps, except it lacks the built-in storage. In its place, it has seven Gigabit sockets, along with two USB ports. Moving on down the line, the N750 and N600 each have four Ethernet ports and two USB openings, with the N750 maxing out at 750 Mbps and the N600 -- well, you get the idea. Lastly, that switch has eight Gigabit ports if increasing your wired connections is what you're really after. With the exception of the storage-enhanced N900 Central, these are all available today, with prices ranging form $70 for the switch, $80 for the N600, $120 for the N750 and $180 for the N900. The N900 Central won't be available until next quarter, and will cost either $300 or $350 depending on whether you go for the 1TB or 2TB model. Continue reading Western Digital enters the router market, higher-end models include built-in hard drives Western Digital enters the router market, higher-end models include built-in hard drives originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook arriving this month for $1,400, S3 gets updated with Ivy Bridge and new color Jun 14th 2012, 12:00  It was only last week that Acer unveiled its first touchscreen Ultrabook, so you'd be forgiven if you forgot about the company's other pinch-thin laptop -- the one that was announced back in January at CES. That would be the Aspire S5, and now, five months later, it's finally going on sale. We just got word that it will hit shelves the last week of this month, with a starting price of $1,400. To recap (in case you've been overwhelmed by all the Ultrabooks on display lately), this is the one with the motorized, drop-down door hiding HDMI, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports. If fourteen hundred bucks seems expensive, remember that these specs (a Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor and 256GB SSD) are actually pretty standard for the money. And, at 2.65 pounds, it's lighter than almost every other 13-inch Ultrabook we've seen. Still, at that price we'd expect something a little crisper than a 1366 x 768 display. For what it's worth, too, the S5 is the first product to ship in the US with the company's free AcerCloud service baked in. In brief, you get unlimited storage for backing up your stuff, all of which you can access remotely using an Android app (Acer has said iOS and Windows Phone versions are on the way). As with other syncing services, your computer needs to be asleep, not powered-off, in order for you to retrieve your files, so avoid shutting down if you think you'll need to reach into your PC later. In other news, Acer is refreshing its first-gen S3 Ultrabook with a new champagne color, and will now offer it with an Ivy Bridge Core i7 processor and 256GB hard drive. The starting price has dropped to $648 with a Sandy Bridge CPU, with the highest-end models fetching about $1,000. Look for these upgraded models sometime next week. Continue reading Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook arriving this month for $1,400, S3 gets updated with Ivy Bridge and new color Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook arriving this month for $1,400, S3 gets updated with Ivy Bridge and new color originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
